At around 2:30 on the morning of September 14, 2026, I'd been asleep for several hours when I was suddenly overcome by a sense of being trapped and claustrophobic. As the sensation built and became debilitating, I began to pray. Moments later my airways closed and triggered a debilitating cough. Unable to control the cough, I managed to get to the bathroom and sit down. The cough continued until my airways entirely closed and I was unable to get air in or out. Finding myself on the verge of passing out, I managed to call for my wife, who immediately retrieved the Albuterol inhaler which is on hand for these occasions. I managed to use the inhaler and my ability to breathe slowly returned. Returning to bed, I was struggling to go back to sleep when my vision slowly opened onto a deep blue sky with the sun filtering through the center. As I watched amazed, a swirl of indistinguishable images appeared in the center of the scene. The colors morphed into a pulsing purple haze which gradually transformed into a vibrant blue, before a membrane like filter came down and the entire scene returned to velvet black. I lay there fascinated; in the hope this scene would repeat. Moments later, it did. As I watched amazed, it occurred to me this must just be light somehow entering from the room. I put my hand over my eyes to make certain this was not the case. With my hand over my eyes, the sky, the filtered light, the swirl of images, and the colors pulsing from iridescent purple to vibrant blue, before being swallowed up by velvet black repeated several times. As I lay there fascinated and hoping to see more, I eventually fell back to sleep. SC
As Americans, we are members of the most remarkable club ever devised by mankind. We pay our dues in the form of taxes. We elect officers. And we enjoy benefits that are inconceivable by most people all over the world. Clean air, fresh water, freedom of religion, civil rights, freeway systems, National Parks, and the list goes on and on. As we speak, America is being dismantled and sold off to the highest bidders. Wake up. Defend freedom.
Shannon Thomas Casebeer, 1950s
Dear friends and fellow citizens,
Greetings, fellow citizens! There is a new Bookshop on the square in West Plains. Check it out. You will love it! A number of you have voiced an interest in purchasing one of my books. Here is your window of opportunity! The Bookshop in West Plains, Missouri has graciously agreed to make my historical novel, CLARA'S BEST available for a brief period of time in their new bookstore at #4 & #5 Court Square in West Plains, MO. These copies of Clara's Best are new, signed, first editions. Each has over fifty episodes. I guarantee you will love several. The holidays are fast approaching. Buy several for gifts. And please tell our friends. Thanks, Shannon
Often, when I succumb to these nocturnal attempts at wordsmithery, I wake the following morning to find I've once again embarrassed myself. Of course, by then, the damage is done. The participles have been dangled, and the cat is out of the bag, with a legion of yelping terriers at his heels! I've been asked, on more than one occasion, if I am truly Mark Twain. Of course, I'm not at liberty to say. I've never piloted a steamboat up the Mississippi or crossed the rut riddled country by stage. I've not entertained royalty or captivated millions with my wit and wisdom. I've not authored dozens of beloved and timeless tales. Still, I believe I can say with some degree of confidence that the spirit of Mr. Twain is alive and well within me. I'd like to believe that Sam would be pleased by my efforts. I think he'd be tickled. I'm certain he'd be amused by the comparison. SC
SHANNON THOMAS CASEBEER
Like many of my childhood friends in Placerville, I attended grades 5th through 8th at Edwin Markham middle school. My 8th grade aptitude test suggested my abilities (assuming I had such) were limited to creative writing. All these years later, regardless of what the world at large may believe, I have convinced AI. AI suggests the following:
Have you ever wondered why some people seem consistently happy? Most people have short term goals, long term goals, dreams, and fantasies; happy people know the difference. Happiness is attained by avoiding the dissatisfaction and disappointment which result from unrealistic expectations. It's okay to entertain fantasies; it's essential that you manage your expectations. Set achievable goals. Be gratified by your achievements, however humble, and never pursue the unattainable. SC
By the close of the 1880s, there were estimated to be slightly over 500 buffalo left alive in North America. Inconceivable. A noble creature which had sustained generations of Native Americans through the centuries and had numbered in the tens of millions only a century earlier had been driven to the point of extinction by greed and a despicable desire by some to expedite what they considered the inevitable annihilation of everything and everyone which had come before. Native Americans were the intended target. The wanton and wholesale slaughter of the American buffalo was merely a means to an end. They were considered collateral damage. The lamentable state of the bison was the abhorrent result of deliberate commercial and political efforts designed to hasten the encroachment of what many considered civilization and progress. As their complete extinction seemed certain, unpreventable and imminent, some believed the buffalo could be saved by crossbreeding them with cows. Others considered the very idea sacrilegious.
Through the dedicated efforts of President Theodore Rosevelt, William Hornaday of The American Bison Society, the iconic rancher, Charles Goodnight, Comanche leader, Quanah Parker, and numerous others who's timely and compassionate intervention combined to build scattered remnants of what were essentially pet buffalo preserved in private collections into eventually viable herds, the noble creatures would one day roam free and unmolested in numbers reminiscent of the vast herds which once carpeted the plains. Mankind, who had deliberately brought the buffalo to the verge of extinction, would repent, rally, and make reparations. Mankind was once more somewhat redeemed. The Indians paid a terrible price for what some considered progress, but the buffalo would be back, and not as cows.
(Insert as paragraph four of episode 50 of MIAH.)
I currently have three books available at Lulu Book Shop online.
CLARA'S BEST, OBIE book One, and OBIE book Two.
I strongly suggest buying all three books, post haste! ;)
