Welcome to Tales By Tom. This is the eighth installment of Tom Cagley Sr's short shory collections entitled, “Travel At Your Own Risk.”   Story 15: Weight and Balance.          Cue:Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone is playing in the background…You are one of four people ---two men, two women, four strangers ----who volunteer to get off an overcrowded flight in a small Midwestern city. The airline puts you all up at a nearby motel, gives each a voucher for dinner and a travel voucher for a future flight with them, boarding passes for the first plane out in the morning to your destination. You go to dinner together. The conversation is strained at first but after a drink you begin to talk freely. You each tell a story.No one’s life will ever be the same. Everyone’s will change --- not that night but soon.I encourage you to provide feedback on these stories or any of the earlier shorts by email at [email protected] or by voicemail at 1 206 339 5456.Check out the podcast http://www.talesbytom.com and on downloadable iTunes at http://bit.ly/yk9BC The music is a song titled "Rhapsody" by Andy Guthrie and was supplied Music Alley from Mevio (www.musicalley.com).

Welcome to Tales By Tom. This is the seventh installment of Tom Cagley Sr's short shory collections entitled, “Travel At Your Own Risk.”   Story 13: The night chivalry could have died--- but didn’t. During the trauma, that night begged a lot of questions --- like how far would you go to protect an employee who got to the point where she couldn’t help herself? How long would you stay with her to see she made it back to her hotel? How many indignities would you endure? Would you chase her up a frozen fountain? Would you rescue her from a locked Central Park?  Listen and see where I drew the line.Story 14: What happened to me on Cathay Pacific flight CX703 can never happen again --- unless you are “packing,” as they say, and have terrorism on your mind. I wasn’t and didn’t---I was just bored out of my sleepless mind, and all my traveling companions were asleep. It was a genuine treat flying that big a plane at Mach .849 at 35,000 feet. And landing in Bangkok? A snap --- my hands never touched the controls and we still made it. Skill, like talent, will out, I always say.  What a trip!I encourage you to provide feedback on these stories or any of the earlier shorts by email at  [email protected] or by voicemail at 1 206 339 5456.Check out the podcast http://www.talesbytom.com and on downloadable iTunes at http://bit.ly/yk9BC The music is a song titled "Rhapsody" by Andy Guthrie and was supplied Music Alley from Mevio (www.musicalley.com).See you in two weeks!

Welcome to Tales By Tom. This is the sixth installment of Tom Cagley Sr's short shory collections entitled, “Travel At Your Own Risk.”   Story Eleven: In this case, my twins were nothing like Barry Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby, not like any pair in the original Riverdance Ensemble and like neither of the “alleged” twins in The Parent Trap. These were my twins, dammit, and it happens and I couldn’t help it and it is what it is and --- then I passed out. So much for being cool at the birth of my third son.Story Twelve:  On Friday, March 6, 1982, John Belushi had a real bad day in his West Coast world. I had a bad day on Friday, March 6, 1982 in my East Coast world, but the next day, unlike Mr. Belushi, with some help from my friends, I got better.I encourage you to provide feedback on these stories or any of the earlier shorts by email at [email protected] or by voicemail at 1 206 339 5456.Check out the podcast http://www.talesbytom.com and on downloadable iTunes at http://bit.ly/yk9BC The music is a song titled "Rhapsody" by Andy Guthrie and was supplied Music Alley from Mevio (www.musicalley.com).See you in two weeks!

Welcome to Tales By Tom. This is the fourth installment of  Tom Cagley Sr's short shory collections entitled, “Travel At Your Own Risk.” I think this installment will deliver more surprises.  Story Eight:  I was a Cub Scout but never was a Boy Scout. I had trouble remembering the Tenderfoot pledge. But I knew enough of the “rules“ by the time of this “event” to know how to react. Anyway, when polite candle-lit conversations evoke huge and unexpected initiatives, the old Boy Scout Oath is a simple and fabulous source of inspiration. “On my honoStory Nine: There was much at stake on this particular trip to the Big Apple when all of a sudden I felt like Heathcliff (and Catherine) or possibly Lancelot (and Guinevere) or even Romeo (and Juliet) without the least bit of passion. In other words, DOOMED and alone. Part of the problem was the job, part was an accident of Fate of a permanent nature. They say this stuff happens. It did.I encourage you to provide feedback on these stories or any of the earlier shorts by email at [email protected] or by voicemail at 1 206 339 5456.Check out the podcast http://www.talesbytom.com and on downloadable iTunes at http://bit.ly/yk9BC The music is a song titled "Rhapsody" by Andy Guthrie and was supplied Music Alley from Mevio (www.musicalley.com).See you in two weeks!

Welcome to Tales By Tom. This is the fourth installment of  Tom Cagley Sr's short shory collections entitled, “Travel At Your Own Risk.” I think this installment will deliver more surprises.  Story Six:  This little jewel is about Smalltown, USA. Iowa no less. It’s about two cardinal sins in retailing --- one has to do with merchandise. It’s about the benefits (sometimes) of not knowing all the details about a job you’re taking. It’s also about being empowered and the long-lasting results thereof. Story Seven:  This story, set in rural northern Mississippi, talks of the wonderful nature of some in-laws. I said some. It also proves two things that I swear by;A.    Neither a borrower of a lender beB.    If it doesn’t smell like it, it probably isn’t. And if you can see it and it doesn’t look like it, it certainly isn’t. I encourage you to provide feedback on these stories or any of the earlier shorts by email at [email protected] or by voicemail at 1 206 339 5456.Check out the podcast http://www.talesbytom.com and on downloadable iTunes at http://bit.ly/yk9BC The music is a song titled "Rhapsody" by Andy Guthrie and was supplied Music Alley from Mevio (www.musicalley.com).See you in two weeks!