About
Life is full of untested assumptions: Prostitution exploits women, bloody religious ceremonies are of the past, Santa is jolly, there is one God, suburban life requires a great lawn. The six stories here, some drawn from life and some tongue-in-cheek, suggest otherwise. Humans justify their existence in many ways in many cultures. The concepts of god and sin are not universal. In the modern world human sacrifice mostly has become a symbolic sacrifice with wine substituting for blood. But not always. Most western religions are monotheistic, but the concept is a relatively new. The following six tales explore some of these quirks. What happens when a Jersey City Catholic elementary school teacher inherits a notorious Latin American hotel-casino better known for babes than bets? Do Medieval and bloody religious ceremonies still take place in America? How about really bloody pre-Columbian rituals? Can the green thumb pressures of suburban life warp the mind? Has Santa been short-changed? And is monotheism just marketing? James J. Brodell considers himself a skeptic or an iconoclast, perhaps due to the 50 years as a reporter and editor. His novels and short stories builds on the wacky incidents he has witnessed. He said he prefers short stories because he has a short attention span.