The dictionary defines the word "paradox" as: a statement that seems self-contradictory or absurd but, in reality, expresses a possible truth. There are many types of paradoxes, such as “less is more” and “the slower you go, the faster you get there.” However, I would like to discuss the ultimate paradox. This is something that I have been thinking about for years, but I’ve never written about it. There are times when I go into contemplation about things like unanswerable que

Were you born speaking English? Do you remember learning English? Nope, it just happened, didn’t it?

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear it! I’m leaving!” This is how we apply the concept of “cancel culture” in our personal relationships. Unfortunately, it is not very conducive to good relationships. When we shut out communication entirely, no problem gets solved. If we only listen to what we want to hear, no problem gets solved. I can tell you from experience that many people have said things that I find offensive and repugnant. However, the First Amendment of the United States

“My” is a possessive pronoun implying ownership or connection. It is one of the first pronouns we ever learn: “My toy. My Mommie, my candy,” etc. Children, as they develop their ego and concept of identity, can become quite possessive. When my nephew was about three years old, we sat across from each other while my sister prepared a meal. He sat facing me with his back to her. I said, “You see that person over there?” I pointed at my sister, and he turned to look at her. Then

Piggy banks are as old as money itself. The actual term came from Medieval Europe, when coins were stored in pots made of clay called...

The dictionary defines ethics as both a noun and a verb. As a verb, it defines the meaning as: “that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions.” The problem is that since the beginning of time, different people and cultures have disagreed on the concepts of right and wrong, and those concepts have changed over time. T

The dictionary defines indoctrination as “the act of indoctrinating, or teaching, or inculcating a doctrine, principle, or ideology,...

The scourge of humanity throughout its existence has been greed, selfishness, fear, and hate. Until the human fear of lack and...

I once played the Cowardly Lion in a community theatre version of The Wizard of Oz . It got awfully hot in that costume, but I was...

Currently, there are 8.2 billion people on Mother Earth, and every single one of them, myself included, is insane. This is primarily...

I awoke from a dream on Memorial Day 2024 with the first two lines of the next paragraph in my mind and knew I had to write something. On...

Sooner or later, everything, including these flesh vehicles we call bodies, ends up in a landfill. Whether our bodies are cremated or...

Edge of Smoke Copyright © 2024 by Karlyle Tomms All rights reserved Fresh Ink Group An Imprint of: The Fresh Ink Group, LLC 1021 Blount...

The Heights of Little Rock has long been a preferred area to live and is today considered one of the most trendy and desirable...

Human beings like labels, niches, and categories, don’t we? We like to define all things, including people.

I don't remember when I didn't makeup stories. I wasn't a liar except for a few told during childhood, but I guess it could be argued that fiction writers are creative liars. We write the lies that people want to read, at least some do. We just let readers know upfront; this is fiction, a creative lie. I think I was inspired to write from a very early age. After my mother died when I was a little boy, the one connection I had to my father was through his book Laughter in

Karlyle Tomms - A Personal Story Yesterday my aunt was laid to rest. Cold Arkansas wind sawed at our ears as we stood beside the grave site, an omen of snow later to fall. There beneath a sagging cedar, by a rusted wire fence, she was put down next to the man who had abandoned her with five children and a hundred dollars to her name. Faithful to him always, she kept her commitment, ‘Till death do us part,’ and kept it long after he departed. She never

By Karlyle Tomms ~ "10-year-old calls 911 while trapped with Uvalde shooter as law enforcement stands outside..." Watching things unfold...

By Karlyle Tomms It seems like this has been a season of tragedy, both for the country and in our personal lives because many of us have also lost loved ones to natural causes. However, nothing can compare to the grief that comes when a life is cut short unnecessarily, especially the life of a child in whom we saw such hope and promise. When it came to the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, I was doing okay with it until I saw footage of parents being blocked from entering the school

A Commentary on Sex, Sexual Abuse, Society, Spirituality and Sexual Orientation PREFACE: I wrote this after having some communication with an old friend who had been sexually abused as a child and who was having confusion about his sexual feelings, the source of his feelings, and was judging his feelings as well as himself for having his feelings. I have titled it “Everything Under the Rainbow” because of the old saying that great variety is “everything under the sun”. The va