Paper Movies

Paper Movies is a book containing two novellas and two long short stories. The title is derived from the fact that the tales contained herein are graphic and of a visual nature. This will hopefully put the reader into a state of mind that makes him/her smell buttered popcorn and want to pull a sweaty cardboard cup of a favorite beverage from the circular drink holder on the arm of a theater chair that isn’t there. The Fishermen is the longest of these four Paper Movies and well worth the price of admission. In this story, eleven-year old Zack Bonding goes on a fishing trip with his father. What happens to them will take you places you may wish you had never gone. Max Morteman, in The Fishermen, will make you wonder if you have as firm a grip on reality as you previously thought. Upon A Star is based upon a premise that resides within us all. What if you could really have absolutely anything your greedy little heart desires? What if you could have every wish you make come true in an instant? (And, we’re talking twenty-four hours a day, folks.) And, you’re only sixteen years old? Come on! Adolescence is hard enough without that. The repercussions can be devastating. Tick Woman shows us that the most innocent actions and altruistic intentions can have outcomes beyond imagining. (Max Morteman is not a nice guy, I fear.) All Marjorie Hormel wants to do is pick enough blueberries to make a birthday cake for her twins’ tenth birthday, and two pies and a cake for a church social cum birthday party for the area’s oldest resident. (Good God, Max Morteman, how could you do this?) Finally, if you are brave enough to continue this trip to the Paper Movies, the book closes with Walking Small. Walking Small is the story of a small town principal of a rural school in the north-central region of Pennsylvania in 1967. The summer of that year, 1967, is now commonly referred to by historians as “The Summer Of Love”. Suffice it to say that the principal of Ogosh Elementary School, Rollo Jervis, is not a very loving guy. He is a fanatical believer in the biblical adage, “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” So, pop some corn (or can tabs), take the phone off the hook, and sit back and open the book. (Added bonus—you don’t need to worry about the batteries in the remote.) Max Morteman truly hopes you’ll enjoy your trip to the Paper Movies. (You just better hope he isn’t there sitting beside you.)