A few years ago Hollywood came up with a story they called The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, apparently based on a short story by F.Scott Fitzgerald. In the story when Benjamin is born, he is lined, wrinkled and grey, looking like an old man. But as the years pass
After years in the prison system Beloved Childe truly believes that all other prison personnel see the dangers posed by many of the inmates. And she is right in most cases. She knows that prison guards are simple men and they see the inmates the way enemy soldiers see prisoners
Editor, journalist, author and poet Jeremy Gordin was stabbed to death in his home by intruders who traded his life for his car and his television set. Those who knew him thought of him as worth a whole lot more than that. In a recent letter to his adult children
Magnuson, a ruthless killer, is faced with approaching death by lethal injection. Escape from Death Row is almost impossible. His only chance lies in Gillian Patterson, the new prison doctor. He can see her weakness, and plans to exploit it. It is clear that life has not been easy for
Everyone who has the task of hiring people sometimes makes mistakes. Prison authorities are no different. Hiring Gillian Patterson as a prison doctor was such a mistake. She came from two failed marriages, one to a good man who bored her, and the other to a rotten man who almost
Cults have been a reality since the days when witchcraft was commonly practised, and even before. Membership of a cult appeals to many. The member becomes part of a closed community and enjoys the comfort of being part of something important and exclusive. Like mainstream religion, the adherent may feel
The creation of Beloved Childe, the hero* of The Gathering, came about almost accidentally. She appeared for the first time as an important but minor character in The Top Prisoner of C-Max, a Yudel Gordon story. In that story she is visiting from the United States to find and punish
You remember I told you about when I took a shortcut through the cemetery. The night was cold and I was very hungry. Miriam’s warm dinner made the choice for me. I took the shortest route down the path between the graves. Almost immediately I was sorry I had made
Death is a serious business. Shakespeare told us that it is “that undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns.” We knew that though. Some very rich people have bemoaned the knowledge that “you can’t take it with you.” The lyricist Moss Hart even collaborated on a play with that
He came from the city. Right away we could all see that. And he came with a mission. He was going to change Bultfontein, turning it into an industrial hub. He was going to be the van der Bijl or the Motsepe of our area, maybe even the Elon Musk.