At the Vatican-UFO Summit
In a departure from its traditional position that the earth is the only inhabited planet, the Vatican has consulted experts on the possibility of extraterrestrial life. The Boston Herald Even though I’ve been […]
Author: Con Chapman
I'm a Boston-area writer, author of The Year of the Gerbil, a history of the 1978 Red Sox-Yankees pennant race, and 50 books of humor including "Scooter & Skipper Blow Things Up!" by HumorOutcasts Press. My work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Christian Science Monitor and The Boston Globe among print outlets. "Rabbit's Blues," my biography of Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellington's long-time alto sax player, was published by Oxford University Press in 2019, and was named Book of the Year by Hot Club de France. My young adult novel, "Kimiko Chou, Girl Samurai," was published by Atmosphere Press in 2021.
Let’s Put on a Show
Like every red-blooded American boy of a certain age–gay or straight–the first time I saw Judy Garland I fell deeply and tragically in love. Those big cocker spaniel eyes; the quivering lip when faced with […]
Spot Gets Involved in Politics
In 2014, a man who did not live in Wyoming was the Democratic Party’s nominee for that state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. His campaign consisted almost entirely of sock-puppet videos. Los […]
Norm Bladdon, Private G.I.
I screwed the top back on the bottle of J.T.S. Brown bourbon I kept in my desk drawer at Mass. Gastrointestinal Hospital, or “Mass Gas” as it is more commonly known, and stared out the […]
My Unacknowledged Childhood
Susan Mary Patten and British ambassador Duff Cooper carried on a six-year affair during which she had a son by him, which neither acknowledged. Moira Hodgson, review of American Lady by Caroline de Margerie, […]
Cape Town Fights Flip Flop Flap to Keep Fun at Bay
OYSTERVILLE, Mass. This exclusive enclave on Cape Cod does not spring readily to mind when tourists think of summer vacations, and the local Chamber of Commerce aims to keep it that way. If you have […]
Writing Coach Helps Literary Tyros Get Over Their Youthful Selves
SOMERVILLE, Mass. Like many professional writers, Maggie Turbek can recall with clarity the first time she set crayon to paper with the thought of becoming a writer. “I wrote a poem when I was four,” she […]
Jack Garner, Parsley Farmer
Jack Garner gazed out over the farm that had been in his family for three generations and let out a sigh of exasperation. He looked down the rows of curly leaf parsley, often used as […]
Your Bug Advisor
Summer is here and bugs are back! There are between six and ten million species of insects, but only one for humans. Hardly seems like a fair fight, which is why you need Your Bug Advisor on your […]
Don’t Call Me Bambi
A deer crashed into a liquor store in Weymouth, Mass., breaking a $205 limited edition bottle of beer, cocktail glasses and high-end liquors, causing damage estimated at $3,000 before sprinting out the front door. The Boston […]