John R. Hoffman is a Professor of Biology, public speaker and a scientist examining the recovery of the nervous system after injury. Since 2006 he has written several unpublished manuscripts and he is currently working on the first Nathaniel Smythe novel and short story collection. He spends his spare time with his family and running.
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 The young children held the brightly polished trumpets with pride as they raised the horns to their lips. The music teacher tapped the stand with her baton to get their attention. A brief silence ended as each inhaled a deep breath. The audience flinched as the song began. Out of tune, off key, and at different beats the musical notes produced could be described as painful and chaotic. The children bounced with joy. The old man sitting in the back smiled as tears of delight streamed down his face. The love of music was the most beautiful sound of all.
(Photo credit: “Louis Armstrong. Handcolored etching and Photogravure Statchmo (Louis Armstrong) by Adi Holzer, 2002 (Work number 899). It is a part of the Zyklus Mythos 2 from the year 2002.” Selected as Picture of the Day, Wikimedia Commons on August 4, 2012)
 I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely a bee.
A bee who buzzes to and fro,
A bee who is always on the go;
Searching every leafy tower,
Looking for that perfect flower;
To most the bee is a busy collector,
Finding the most yummy nectar;
But what the bee does as it’s job,
Could incite an angry mob;
Making seeds is most complex,
The secret of the bee is sex;
Bees go directly to the source,
Helping plants do intercourse;
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a bee.
(Photo source: “Pollination by a bee.” Picture of the Day, Wikimedia Commons, August 3, 2012)
(with apologies to Joyce Kilmer and her poem “Trees”)
 The man pulled the hood of his djellaba over his head to obscure his face. There was no place to hide with the bridge shining like the gold he sought.
His target stepped into the arch and asked, “Do you have the money?”
“Yes,” he answered. “Do you have the relic?”
As the target nodded, the man drew his pistol only to look into the barrel pointed at him.
“You’re under arrest,” said both simultaneously.
“Mohammed?”
“Omar?”
The men laughed. The agent from the Ministry of Antiquity Theft Prevention shook hands with the agent from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage.
(Photo credit: “Si-o-se Pol, also called the Allah-Verdi Khan Bridge, in Isfahan, Iran. It is highly ranked as being one of the most famous examples of Safavid bridge design.” Selected as Picture of the Day, Wikimedia Commons on August 2, 2012)
Sweat flowed through the designer moisture wicking outfit and pooled in the new hiking boots. The climb up from the trailhead had been arduous since his departure just after dawn. Even the animals he passed acted as if they had never seen a man before. The view of the setting sun was breathtaking. Everything that the travel agent claimed: secluded, pristine, and quiet. Exactly what the doctor ordered as a break from being connected 24/7/365. A smile erupted across his face as he read the sign above the door to the alpine hut. “Internet Cafe – free Wi-Fi and coffee.”
(Photo credit: “Panoramic picture of Rätikon mountain range in Austria, near the border of Switzerland, with Austrian Alpine Club hut Tilisunahütte on the left.” Selected as Picture of the Day, Wikimedia Commons on August 1, 2012)
The Red Baron patrolled high in the cloudless sky, watching the approaching squadron skimming just above the water below. The strong, transparent wings buzzed frantically as he hovered patiently. The target slowly passed under him into the perfect strike position. He was invisible diving out of the sun. His shadow suddenly formed, betraying his approach. The alerted mosquitoes reacted instantly and scattered. He pulled up just before crashing into the empty ripples on the surface of the pond. Despondent, he returned to patrol, empty-handed and hungry. Suddenly he is plucked from the air. The frog slowly submerged, satiated and happy.
(Photo credit: “Crimson Marsh Glider (Trithemis aurora) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. Taken at Kadavoor, Kerala, India.” Selected as Picture of the Day, Wikimedia Commons, July 31, 2012)
 The jackdaw flew in lazy circles above the pall bearers solemnly carrying the man’s pine coffin. “Chyak, chyak,” he called, but there was no answer. The bird landed on a nearby monument, the coarse limestone gritty under his toes. The groundskeeper saw him and understood. Just another dark clad mourner watching the rites in silence. When the internment was over, he stayed while the others left. He perched on the exposed soil, preening at the feathers that had grown grey as he and the man had shared popcorn through the years. “Chyak, chyak,” he called, but there was no answer.
(photo credit: “Leucistic Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) with strange white feathers in Naantali cemetery, Naantali, Finland.” Selected as Picture of the Day, Wikimedia Commons, July 30, 2012, (c) Markus Rantala, CC-BY-SA-3.0, Wikimedia Commons)
 The Shogun in full armor stands alone gazing out the window. Light clouds dance merrily across the blue sky to the rhythm of the gentle breeze. It is unlikely that the kingdom will survive until nightfall. His best friend leads the samurai assembled in the field below. The way of the warrior is shattered. The army advances toward the castle to the beat of the war drums. His katana thirsts for the blood of the traitor. He is one against many, but will face the overwhelming force with honor. His bushido spirit will live on in the clan lore forever.
(photo credit: “Himeji Castle, Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan” Selected as Picture of the Day, Wikimedia Commons, July 29, 2012, Bernard Gagnon, 2008)
 “Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it every day, and at last we cannot break it.” ~ Horace Mann
The “painting a day movement” has grown on the Internet, since Duane Keiser began posting daily painting on his blog in 2004. The practice is based on the centuries-old tradition of masters encouraging apprentices to practice their skills on a daily basis. The movement was highlighted in a USA Today article in 2006. One of my former students and current colleague is an artist that has been doing daily paintings since September 2007.
The act of creating something unique each day helps to overcome a natural block to only work when inspired. Continued practice every day will hopefully create and build the habits necessary to develop into a stronger writer.
The inspiration for each short story will be based on the Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Day.
“In order to achieve our big goals in the future, we must first achieve our small daily goals. So why worry about tomorrow when there is work to be done today?” ~ Anonymous
So why “100 words a day?”
One hundred is a nice round number; or as a mathematician would state, a square (10 x 10). One hundred percent is whole… so a 100 word short story is complete… not too much…. Not to little… 100 words is just write!
A short synopsis of one of my works in progress was published online at www.100wordstory.org, so I don’t have the argument that I can’t do this.
Even in the busiest of days it should be possible to come up with a 100-word story, to create a new creative habit that will hopefully carry over into larger efforts.
 It’s May 1st and 120 days since we declared our New Year’s Resolutions. On January 1, the new year was fresh with ample opportunities to reach new personal heights and achievements. Now with a third of the year behind us, are we a third of the way to fulfilling the goals or have we lost our way?
Mayday is an internationally recognized word for declaring an emergency.
What is the status of you New Year’s Resolutions? Do you even remember what your resolutions were? If you are like most people, myself included, you probably aren’t satisfied with your progress toward reaching your goals. I had a flurry of activity that lasted for several weeks but gradually my time devoted toward my goals was diverted to other things that seemed (and sometimes were) more important at the time. However, this isn’t a time for distress. You can still rescue your goals from being lost permanently or or at least lost until being resurrected next January 1.
May Day is a traditional celebration of spring, complete with floral crowns, fertility symbols, and dancing around the May Pole.
Spring is a time for planting. Unless you have Jack’s magic beans, you can’t expect to collect your harvest a day after you plant the seeds. Now is the time to think about what you want harvest and plan the right seeds. You still have 8 months to nurture your ambitions. Even if you don’t complete your entire resolution, any progress you make will bring you closer to your goal on December 31 than you would be if you waited to start until next January 1.
Declare your “new” year’s resolutions today.
 Photo credit: Seth Anderson (from 100 word story) [100 word story] published my first flash fiction, you can read the ultra-short version of Summer of Phear set in Philadelphia featuring Nathaniel Smythe. I am almost done with the outline of the novel-length story and plan on beginning to write once the spring semester is completed.
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