Strange Tales and a Memory

By J. R. Croft

Tom Cleaver is obsessed with sharpening knives and beomes an international celebrity in this absurd tale of a gifted child.

Jim Langley lives in a marina, and loves to eat seafood. He unknowingly feeds a lobster who lives under his boat by tossing the scraps of leftovers from his large dinner parties. After decades, Jim comes down with gout, and must quit eating seafood. When the scraps are discontinued, the lobster must find a new source of food...

A young man witnesses a horrific scene of gore as a group of sea monsters attack two islands that suffer massive earthquakes, toppling statues and throwing the citizens into the foamy seas.

A passenger aboard a ferry submarine describes his trip across the bottom of the lake, and the and the interesting passengers sharing the voyage.

A group of children lose control of their adult masters when their outing on the lake trail turns grim.

An old man remembers a childhood evening fishing with his father on a calm lake on the Great Plains. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.R. Croft
• Release date: Mar 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386674368

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Tom Cleaver's Ultimate Edge

© 2018 J.R. Croft

When I first met Tom Cleaver I knew he was different, but I never imagined that he would become an international celebrity. Then again, I never imagined that pre-school existed, either.

We were in diapers back then, hanging out in the nursery at the bowling alley. I couldn't help but notice that Tom had a certain glint in his eyes, and at first I thought it was tears, but later discovered that it was the wheels turning in his tiny baby brain. I knew Tom was going places, and not just across the carpet to the toy box—no, Tom Cleaver was different—and he was ambitious.

As his name might suggest, Tom Cleaver was fascinated with cutlery. He began sharpening butter knives when we were still pooping yellow, much to the surprise and injury of his family. I remember that Thanksgiving, when his uncle ended up in the emergency room with a gashed finger, after he scoffed at Tom's sharpening skills. We had just turned one.

By the spring of that next year, Tom became known in our town as 'Baby Blades'. People came from all over the countryside to drop off their knives with Tom's faithful employees—his parents—who were very proud of their little boy.

People fell in love with the adorable child and before we could talk, Tom's employees had built a huge customer base—some even dulled their knives on purpose so they could take them back sooner. By the time we started pre-school, Tom and his parents had won the sharpening contract with the school district, working for cafeterias and teachers, as he'd added scissor sharpening to his list of services. How sweet the fragrance of success. How stark the image of what was to come.

News spread like Baby's Breath. Sixty Minutes, Dateline, and Baby World—along with many others—clamored for interviews, and the boy-wonder blade honer couldn't wait to talk to them, even though all he could speak was pre-schoolish.

I remember watching Tom's first appearance on television. I was young enough that I didn't know how the TV worked. I don't remember how my mom explained that Tom really wasn't inside the box, but I soon forgot the question when I saw him smear his peanut butter sandwich all over the inside of the TV.  I was shocked that he didn't get into any trouble; at that moment, I realized that Tom held actual power over the adults who thought they controlled him, and it stirred something inside me.

Knife companies erected huge billboards featuring 'Tom Cleaver!' posing with beautiful women in skimpy clothing. The music business jumped in, too, featuring Tom on heavy metal album covers, holding some type of knife, sword, or—his signature blade—a gold-plated cleaver.

I have to admit that, at first, I was kind of jealous when I