Just Another Bozo On The Bus

I had no idea what I was going to do with all the flash comedy and satire that I’ve had published over the past few decades. The stuff kept collecting on my writer’s pages and on the dashboards of comedy and satire `zines I’ve contributed to, all over the Internet. So, I decided to put these little stories - most around 1,000 words or so - into a collection and sell it as a book. I wanted to make "Just another bozo on the bus" affordable; and at a bit more than a penny a page, it’s a pretty good deal.

A lot of the work I completed while contributing to the now defunct National Lampoon Humor Network and these stories cannot be found on the Internet anymore, since the NLHN went defunct years ago and has no Internet presence. The NLHN included roughly 20 comedy and satire 'zines that were linked to the main "National Lampoon" homepage. I’ve redrafted, and even rewritten, much of this comedy and satire that appeared on the NLHN shortly after the turn of the new millennium and quite a few stories from those days are captured in this collection. . . .Everything here has been published online on Internet comedy and satire magazines. So that means everything made an editor's and publisher's cut. One of the main ways comedy and satire is gauged on whether it is publishable is if it's funny or not. So, I guess a few people who know comedy and satire writing thought all this stuff worthy to fly on an untold myriad of Internet magazines. Some of the stories were published as "flash fiction" by literary magazines. Comedy is a relative thing, though, and what some may laugh at, others may frown over. One of the NLHN mags I contributed to heavily back in the day is called "The Frown", in fact!

So why the title? Well, a lot of these little ditties were written when I lived in the Deep South for about a decade - for around five years in Mississippi and after Hurricane Katrina, another five years or so in North Florida. Anyhow, for a good part of that time, my means of transportation was the city bus. Have you ever had to ride a city bus? Well, after many of these bus trips of yesteryear a stop before home was a public library, where I hacked away at stories on public computers. And my own form of "entertainment" was normally preceded by a long workday.

For the price of a couple bucks that included a ride to the downtown terminal and a transfer out to my destination, I had the honor and privilege of riding along with some of the funniest, most fascinating characters I've ever known. Some of their mirth and levity is captured here - although none of the bus riders are represented - except in a vicarious flippant way or voice.

Some people like to put together jigsaw puzzles. Others enjoy penciling in the grids of crossword puzzles. Some knit macramé or cross stitch. Others guzzle down beer and watch TV. I write stories. All sorts of stories. For the most part, I write for myself. I do it as a form of relaxation and respite. It’s cathartic. It’s a way of jotting down daydreams and nightmares. It's a way to expound on wet dreams and get through the dry times. It’s a way of tickling my own funny bone and a way to combat the tears that come all too often by just living and "being there", wherever "there" might be, , , ,

And writing is a way of creating worlds, at least on these electronic document pages - of all sorts. And characters of all types. Funny people. Wise guys. Shady ladies. Good-time girls. Prudes. Phonies. Fools. Outrageous frauds. Sages with an eccentric side. And just ordinary, run-of-the-mill weirdoes.

Anyhow, for a little more than a penny an electronic page - or even much less than this during book sales - I hope you consider it a fair deal, if not a bargain.

Even more, I'm glad we're seeing each other now on your laptop or PC. You're not reading this at work, are you? Well, all I can say is that it's a complete waste of company time! Shame on you!

We'll have lunch again sometime. Soon. Very soon, I hope. . . .