Arthur Dubrul Daniels's Page

I have to tell you, B.R., that I really am a fourteen-year-old boy trapped in the body of a sixty-year-old man. I have two daughters and four grandchildren and many times have been lectured to in baby-talk by a an articulate two-year-old-child. One two-year-old in particular was my daughter, Gwendelyn, graced with blue eyes and super-fine hair the color of a new penny, and an awareness, an indescribable unspoken knowledge way beyond her years. When she was two, we spent many hours arguing, lectu… Continue

I have always been fascinated with the power of words. When thoughtfully composed, their power increases and certain groupings have the power to make us either laugh or cry. If one has never had the pleasure of seeing the short film in which they are spoken (the title of which I've long since forgotten), my favorite grouping of four is meaningless, but for the great majority of us fortunate enough to have had the cinematic experience, they have the power to evoke laughter just thinking them: "Mo… Continue

I can sense the approach of a powerful thunderstorm shortly before the clouds begin to gather. I turn off all the lights and electronics, and almost giddy with joyful anticipation, I walk to my overstuffed chair that faces two huge curtain-less picture widows. Assuming a meditative posture and with palms turned upward, I slow my breathing and wait. With each distant rumble that follows each flash and flicker, a sense of indescribable calm tucks me in. If luck will hold, the storm will pass direc… Continue

Doc? Note! I dissent. A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet! On cod!!

(This palindrome is one of the longest on record. Its author is unknown. My father showed it to me
when I was about seven years old thus introducing me to the joys of words and the power inherent in
their infinite possible permutations.)

Marvin had been a bartender for forty some odd years and thought that he'd heard of (and quickly memorized and added to his collection of mixed drinks) just about every combination of ingredients that his customer's were likely to order, and because he was able to prepare the majority of them from memory, his skills with the shaker, blender, strainer, shot glass and zester were famous, making him something of a celebrity in the posh hotel that paid him a very generous salary so that he would sti… Continue