Fireflies, A Story of Three Encounters, And Other Tales of Random Connections

About the Book

This book is a collection of several stories, as well as poems and other writings. What unites them is the notion of random connections with others, and with places, the natural world, and the imagination. Thus, a young man has three chance encounters on a trip to Europe that help him understand his own life. In another story, a young Hawaiian reflects on myth and the natural world as he considers new directions for his future. In another tale, a newspaper article brings back memories of fishing on the Platte River and a killer prizefighter on a Nebraska football field. Chance meetings on a beach and a dead bird leads to Shakespearean thoughts, and the imagination take us to the Greek islands in one case and into the mind of an ant in another. And so, these stories, poems and random thoughts reflect on where mind and imagination can lead, both outward into the world and within oneself.

About the Author

The author, Barry Veret, grew up in Nebraska and left home anxious to explore the world. He studied philosophy and law, worked in international development, and has often lived and traveled abroad. Later in life, reflecting on memories, the natural world and imagination, he began to write. He published a first novel, “Parallel Tracks, Two Landscapes/Two Journeys”, based on his experience in Africa and the U.S. in the late 1960’s. Now retired, he lives with his wife in Bethesda, Maryland and regards himself as “a gainfully unemployed writer” of fiction, poetry, and other scribblings.