An incredible true story - in 1964 my father, British Javelin champion John McSorley, built a man-size box and shipped it from Heathrow airport. The airfreight was human; his friend Reg Spiers, a penniless young Australian athlete desperate to get home and win back his girl. He was in for the ride of his life; a nightmarish cocktail of turbulent cargo holds, forklift truck disasters and mind-altering dehydration. He’d risk everything for Annie, but little did she know, they'd soon be skipping bail on drug-smuggling charges. Follow the true-crime exploits of the young couple and their years of gripping, high-stakes dramas through India, Africa and Sri Lanka.

Children shouldn't have to play with IV lines attached to the back of their hands. But they do. Cancer made it so. Here are some stories of some of those brave kids I have met in some of those playrooms. To be honest I never wanted to able to tell these stories. I didn't want to have a reason to go into those rooms. But, as bad luck would have it, I will visit these rooms on and off for a while with my grandson Andre. There is sadness here, but there is also so much hope.

Mother's Day At The Orphanage is collection of semi-autobiographical short stories about odd jobs, fake businesses, mistaken identities, close shaves, and near misses, written by David Leigh Abts and Michael Shattuck, edited by Leslie Blodgett, and with the Foreword by Courtney Taylor-Taylor (Frontman of The Dandy Warhols). It is also a collaboration with guest NYC authors and Baltimore/D.C. artists - a chance for a bunch of friends who dig each other's creative work to get together and put something out, and asks the following burning questions. Has Art Garfunkel ever taken your putt-putt club? Was Michael Jackson the focus of your middle school science fair project? Have you ever tried to coax a moth out of your ear with a lamp? [New chapters every Friday]

A beautiful young woman was missing. I knew I had a murder. I even had a suspect. But would I ever find the body? Would I ever be able to arrest the suspect without the body? Don't believe all that crap you see on TV shows. Follow me on this true crime story and see what happens in a real murder case.

I have had a very eventful life. The stories that I post are from real events that I have witnessed. Some of them are quite humorous, some may be totally outrageous and shocking, but all of them are true (Most of the time, real events are lots better than fiction anyway). I hope that when you read these clips from my life that it may bring a smile to your face and make your day a little more pleasant, or make you count your blessings! Copyright 2014 Lloyd Benson

My son doesn't remember. He just doesn't. And yet, before he was even in kindergarten, he could read. I don't understand the human brain...

I thought I understood dreams until I had this one.

Growing up in white-bread Omaha, Nebraska, Rachel Shukert was one of thirty-seven students (circa 1990) in Nebraska’s only Jewish elementary school. She spent her days dreaming of a fantasy Aryan boyfriend named Chris McPresbyterian, a tall blond god whose family spoke softly in public and did not inquire after his bowel movements. She spent her nights frantically plastering her bedroom with pictures of intimidating co-religionists such as Henry Kissinger and Bette Midler, hoping to repel the Gestapo officers she was certain were lurking behind the drywall. Even back then, Rachel knew she was destined for greatness. After winning the Omaha Metropolitan Area Theater Arts Guild Award for Best Youth Actress–and imagining herself as the biggest talent to come out of Nebraska since Montgomery Clift–Rachel finally arrives in Manhattan. Intent on making her mark in the glittering world of Show Biz, she isthwarted at every turn by episodes of anorexia, verbally abusive sock puppets, and a certain terrorist attack you may have heard of. She nevertheless soldiers on, as her people have done from time immemorial. In this hilarious, mordant, and moving memoir, Rachel Shukert tackles topics as diverse and weighty as life, death, love, Jewish paranoia, and errant feminine hygiene products with a fresh and irresistible mixture of humor, brains, and candor, proving that having no shame can sometimes be a very good thing indeed.

Essays on Writing is a collection of thoughts I come across during my writing journey. They cover topics such as grammar, editing, writing, publishing and very often character and story development within the expectations of genre or society.