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Mountain Musings: A Collection of Short Stories
Mountain Musings is a collection of short stories that will answer questions about a lot of the things you have always wondered about. For instance, why would anyone keep chickens in their home or what would make a praying mantis go to church? Perhaps you would like to share Millie's grief at the edge of the juniper or find out the value of looking in life's rear-view mirror. "A Sunday Snow" will tell you a lot about your neighbors and you can read about the significance of having a "Highway Angel" in your life. And I know you'd love to get the real scoop on the prodigal son and find out the name of the fatted calf. "Visit Another Place and Another Time," experience an "Empty Nest" first hand and avoid "iPad Hell" by reading the story. Life is a compilation of short stories-enjoy these as you continue to write your own.
172 pages, Paperback
Published April 7, 2022
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 18, 2025
Pros: Clean, fun and interesting short stories on a variety of topics.
Cons: Clichés and a few out-of-place pieces weaken the work.
Summary: Overall, Mountain Musings is a terrific read with minor flaws, featuring overarching themes of the brevity of life, sacrifice, and the importance of person-to-person interaction. The book should earn your attention based upon the short stories “First Miracle” and the award-winning “Amen & Amen.” The works are divided into three distinct segments, as explained in the introduction. I found the longer stories were often more interesting, heartfelt and profound, while the paragraph-sized ones frequently lacked either context or that sparkle that illuminates an enjoyable story for the reader. Mountain Musings routinely contains clean humor and fun situations, providing entertainment and thoughtful reflections within one to a few pages apiece. The book wonderfully contains no sex, profanity or blasphemy. I received a free copy of this book for personal use. My opinions are my own. I was not compensated or persuaded to give a review.
Detailed review:
—House Chickens involves a woman’s trade of her frequently traveling husband for a vast farming enterprise with comedic details. While it shows her entrepreneurship, she abandons all that she had to achieve her goal. Perhaps it is a natural end to her decaying marriage, but also a poignant reminder that marriage, like any relationship, is all about what time, effort and love is put into it by each partner. This reader found House Chickens to be one of the best stories in Section One—a terrific opening to the book.
—iPad Hell is a caricature of a marriage partner addicted to social media to the exclusion of everything else, including their spouse. A fun short story that reveals the danger of being far-too-involved in anything outside of real, everyday life experiences and relationships.
—Flashes is one of the most relatable stories in a husband-and-wife disagreement about room temperature laced with humor. Although I laughed at the phrase “sweating like a prostitute in church,” I honestly wondered both if there were a more original comment to express this, and if a prostitute would really feel uncomfortable in some churches today.
—Turtleprompter is another husband-and-wife situation that adds a talking turtle. In this case, we hear from the turtle’s point of view regarding its desired future.
—Unexpected Disappointments is a wonderful retelling of the Prodigal Son from the barnyard animals’ point of view. Imaginative and thoughtful, its only drawback is in using the cliché “blind in one eye and can’t see out of the other.” By far, this is one of the best tales in Section One.
—Pop Says is an argumentative paragraph from an elder man’s point of view towards a young man. To this reader, this story felt like the most out of place tale in the book; it is neither witty nor entertaining. Perhaps it was meant to be a reminder of the strength and pride of an older worker, or to poke fun at an old man that thought too highly of himself. Encased within the humor stories of Section One, there is a huge unmet need for context to give more significance to this story. As it stands, I cannot fathom why Pop Says is included in this work.
—Big Bob Frog is a great story about the importance of both keeping one’s promises and of how we treat others. In this reader’s opinion, the clever twist at the end makes this the best story in Section One.
—How High? is a delightfully hilarious tale with a view of the traditional marriage relationship. It is presented as a real-life experience and maybe it should carry the claim: “true story.” This story is one of the highlights of Section One.
—William and James amusingly shows us how family lore comes into being.
—Possums of Heaven is an unexpected and implausible explanation of possums in God’s plan.
—Legend of Raoul is an odd story about a heroic, smart rooster. The tale suffers from another cliché of “a fly in the ointment,” and there is a strange dichotomy between the bulk of the story containing the feats of a remarkable bird and the ending that seems to call out the chicken farming industry for its practices. This story might have been funnier (to fit the humor of Section One) if it had more tie-ins with House Chickens, or ended with a funny twist. In this reader’s opinion, Legend of Raoul’s ending doesn’t fit the rest of the story.
—Pew Jumping is another husband-and-wife humorous disagreement story. Unfortunately, the opening two lines reveal exactly what is going to happen, thus deflating all suspense and tension from the rest of the work—like opening with the punchline and then telling the joke.
—It’s a Grand Old Flag, the opening to Section Two with themes of faith and family, is an opinion about the USA. This reader was disappointed that Grand Old Flag wasn’t in the form of a story, and felt that it made for a weak opening to the new section.
—Count Your Blessings is a simple moment in a life story that helps us to see just how well we have been blessed by God.
—First Miracle is a beautiful story that could easily be the high point of the entire book. This “must-read” piece alone has nailed down the entire premise of Section Two. Could there be any need for more stories after one as powerful as this one?
—Love Thy Neighbor is a brief tale to remind us of the importance of simple kindness to one another.
—Where’s Papa stresses the importance of grandparents. The view of an elder’s knowledge and abilities is very different between the perspectives of society and of a three-year-old grandchild.
—Sunday Snow is a casual musing about how a fresh, white blanket of snow entices people to happiness. Best quote: “…time to see the majesty of God in the snowfall, the happiness it brings to those who embrace it, and the sadness and heartache it cannot overcome.” This story is a great reminder of how we can see God moving in so many simple things—like a snowfall. For this reader, following the tale of Love Thy Neighbor, I was expecting interaction with the characters at hand, not just observation.
—Mantis Religiosa relates an event and attempts to explain why the insect came to church.
—Forgiveness is a message centered around Ephesians 4:32. While it is a worthwhile entreaty, it is not a short story, and thus it seems a little bit out of place in “Mountain Musings: A Collection of Short Stories.”
—Christmas Memories is a beautiful sharing of fond family memories at Christmas time, and how we miss those that have passed before us.
—Storm Clouds is a prayer that reminds us of a few of God’s past miracles to help us pray for our needs today. An enviable prayer, I would’ve liked to see it as a centerpiece of a short story where we can anticipate a situation is about to change, or has changed, due to our prayers.
—Blessed is a brief story that reminds us of God taking care of us, like Count Your Blessings.
—A Grandmother’s Legacy speaks volumes about the importance of raising children and grandchildren with continual exposure to God’s Holy Word.
—What Goes Around Comes Around is a heartfelt remembrance of past times spent between father and son. The unanticipated title implies a tale of vengeance, but it’s about reliving your own past.
—Family Tradition shares a memory of four generations of a family coming together for a game of cards, reminding us of how such a simple activity can delightfully bring people together, and call them into remembrance when they are gone.
—This Morning, God prayerfully recalls God’s infinite healing abilities while requesting His touch for a friend.
—My Savior is a devotion on God’s unending ability to love and forgive.
—A Time of Thanksgiving finds the ability to rejoice even within despair—perhaps this is when we are most sensitive to God’s miracles all around us.
—Highway Angel is a beautiful short story of prayer, kindness to others, being open to the movement of the Holy Spirit, and focusing on God’s protection and care for us. This story is a highlight of Section Two.
—Looking Back reflects on re-living a past moment in the present.
—Passing Through is a very good story of spiritual contemplation among a group of men. Unfortunately, it is hampered by unintended repetition, as it repeats the same phrase “less road in front of us than behind us” to describe age (just used in the prior story, Looking Back). Similarly, the words “download” and “suddenly” are repeated within two sentences of each other. While the selected prose is unfortunate, the meaning competently shines through.
—Inspiration of Christmas is a terrific brief story about transformation.
—Miracles is a delightful rhyming poem that shows the delivery of miraculous healing.
—The Ancient Order of Things opens Section Three, with this final portion of the book focused on thought-provoking stories filled with emotions of love, sacrifice, loneliness, and hopelessness. This tale cleverly alludes to aging and the phase of life of an elderly man.
—Sacrifice is a touching analogy of Christ’s death for us.
—Mt. Zion is a remembrance of the dead with wonderings about the lives of those represented by their headstones.
—One More Time invites us to see things as children do, and to be more like children.
—Cheated includes imaginative descriptions as an old married couple share fond memories with each other one last time.
—Shoes appears as a wonderfully written memorial to the author’s father through the types of shoes he wore. A recommended highlight in Section Three.
—Another Place and Another Time spins fond memories of a time gone by.
—Hit and Run provides an unusual twist on a tragic scenario.
—Sound of Silence enables the reader to experience the writer’s envy of the deaf.
—This Was Then is a tale of memories, compelling us to share the author’s loss of friends and neighbors.
—Empty Nest is a remarkable tale of the lives of two bird families in comparison to people. This story is a highlight of Section Three for the wonder and joy we experience, along with the pang of loss.
—Three A.M. is a contemplation of thoughts at an early hour.
—Tragedy On Crooked Creek is a well-written short story of a vagabond finding shelter and food on a cold night.
—Wind is a refreshingly poetic depiction of everyday life on a windy day.
—Millie is an interesting summary of the life of a pig.
—The Planter could be a very brief but thoughtful view of someone’s home and landscaping after death, but this reader felt a lack of connection with the author’s intended meaning. I found the second sentence to be very awkwardly written and indigestible: “…in tribute to what would not be not for the planter, not this season.” The opening of the story suggests the planter is dead, as in: “…extinguished the fire and soul of the planter,” yet the ending line unravels this thought with: “…while the planter harvests his own crop of misery and misfortune.” Although the ending might suggest that the planter has died and is facing misery in Hell, I felt that “misery and misfortune” were adjectives far too weak to work in this line of thought. This reader believes that seven sentences without further context is too little for The Planter to work as a short story.
—The Other Side is an amazing story of a man’s choices after a devastating job loss. I would point this one out as a highlight of thought and emotion in Section Three.
—Technology is less of a story than iPad Hell, more of a reminder of the importance of personal relationships.
—The Old Man and the Bee is a short poem comparing the fates of each of these creatures.
—Patience is a brief study of how rewards come to those who wait.
—Family Tree is a rhyming tale exploring the thoughts of a man as he views a majestic old tree and ponders the end of life coming for each of them. Creative and expressive, this is a highlight of Section Three.
—Time is a brief poem of past and future.
—Amen & Amen is a showstopper of a story that closes Section Three with a bang! A wonderful story of change, mutual understanding, and growth. Well-worth your time to read.
Cons: Clichés and a few out-of-place pieces weaken the work.
Summary: Overall, Mountain Musings is a terrific read with minor flaws, featuring overarching themes of the brevity of life, sacrifice, and the importance of person-to-person interaction. The book should earn your attention based upon the short stories “First Miracle” and the award-winning “Amen & Amen.” The works are divided into three distinct segments, as explained in the introduction. I found the longer stories were often more interesting, heartfelt and profound, while the paragraph-sized ones frequently lacked either context or that sparkle that illuminates an enjoyable story for the reader. Mountain Musings routinely contains clean humor and fun situations, providing entertainment and thoughtful reflections within one to a few pages apiece. The book wonderfully contains no sex, profanity or blasphemy. I received a free copy of this book for personal use. My opinions are my own. I was not compensated or persuaded to give a review.
Detailed review:
—House Chickens involves a woman’s trade of her frequently traveling husband for a vast farming enterprise with comedic details. While it shows her entrepreneurship, she abandons all that she had to achieve her goal. Perhaps it is a natural end to her decaying marriage, but also a poignant reminder that marriage, like any relationship, is all about what time, effort and love is put into it by each partner. This reader found House Chickens to be one of the best stories in Section One—a terrific opening to the book.
—iPad Hell is a caricature of a marriage partner addicted to social media to the exclusion of everything else, including their spouse. A fun short story that reveals the danger of being far-too-involved in anything outside of real, everyday life experiences and relationships.
—Flashes is one of the most relatable stories in a husband-and-wife disagreement about room temperature laced with humor. Although I laughed at the phrase “sweating like a prostitute in church,” I honestly wondered both if there were a more original comment to express this, and if a prostitute would really feel uncomfortable in some churches today.
—Turtleprompter is another husband-and-wife situation that adds a talking turtle. In this case, we hear from the turtle’s point of view regarding its desired future.
—Unexpected Disappointments is a wonderful retelling of the Prodigal Son from the barnyard animals’ point of view. Imaginative and thoughtful, its only drawback is in using the cliché “blind in one eye and can’t see out of the other.” By far, this is one of the best tales in Section One.
—Pop Says is an argumentative paragraph from an elder man’s point of view towards a young man. To this reader, this story felt like the most out of place tale in the book; it is neither witty nor entertaining. Perhaps it was meant to be a reminder of the strength and pride of an older worker, or to poke fun at an old man that thought too highly of himself. Encased within the humor stories of Section One, there is a huge unmet need for context to give more significance to this story. As it stands, I cannot fathom why Pop Says is included in this work.
—Big Bob Frog is a great story about the importance of both keeping one’s promises and of how we treat others. In this reader’s opinion, the clever twist at the end makes this the best story in Section One.
—How High? is a delightfully hilarious tale with a view of the traditional marriage relationship. It is presented as a real-life experience and maybe it should carry the claim: “true story.” This story is one of the highlights of Section One.
—William and James amusingly shows us how family lore comes into being.
—Possums of Heaven is an unexpected and implausible explanation of possums in God’s plan.
—Legend of Raoul is an odd story about a heroic, smart rooster. The tale suffers from another cliché of “a fly in the ointment,” and there is a strange dichotomy between the bulk of the story containing the feats of a remarkable bird and the ending that seems to call out the chicken farming industry for its practices. This story might have been funnier (to fit the humor of Section One) if it had more tie-ins with House Chickens, or ended with a funny twist. In this reader’s opinion, Legend of Raoul’s ending doesn’t fit the rest of the story.
—Pew Jumping is another husband-and-wife humorous disagreement story. Unfortunately, the opening two lines reveal exactly what is going to happen, thus deflating all suspense and tension from the rest of the work—like opening with the punchline and then telling the joke.
—It’s a Grand Old Flag, the opening to Section Two with themes of faith and family, is an opinion about the USA. This reader was disappointed that Grand Old Flag wasn’t in the form of a story, and felt that it made for a weak opening to the new section.
—Count Your Blessings is a simple moment in a life story that helps us to see just how well we have been blessed by God.
—First Miracle is a beautiful story that could easily be the high point of the entire book. This “must-read” piece alone has nailed down the entire premise of Section Two. Could there be any need for more stories after one as powerful as this one?
—Love Thy Neighbor is a brief tale to remind us of the importance of simple kindness to one another.
—Where’s Papa stresses the importance of grandparents. The view of an elder’s knowledge and abilities is very different between the perspectives of society and of a three-year-old grandchild.
—Sunday Snow is a casual musing about how a fresh, white blanket of snow entices people to happiness. Best quote: “…time to see the majesty of God in the snowfall, the happiness it brings to those who embrace it, and the sadness and heartache it cannot overcome.” This story is a great reminder of how we can see God moving in so many simple things—like a snowfall. For this reader, following the tale of Love Thy Neighbor, I was expecting interaction with the characters at hand, not just observation.
—Mantis Religiosa relates an event and attempts to explain why the insect came to church.
—Forgiveness is a message centered around Ephesians 4:32. While it is a worthwhile entreaty, it is not a short story, and thus it seems a little bit out of place in “Mountain Musings: A Collection of Short Stories.”
—Christmas Memories is a beautiful sharing of fond family memories at Christmas time, and how we miss those that have passed before us.
—Storm Clouds is a prayer that reminds us of a few of God’s past miracles to help us pray for our needs today. An enviable prayer, I would’ve liked to see it as a centerpiece of a short story where we can anticipate a situation is about to change, or has changed, due to our prayers.
—Blessed is a brief story that reminds us of God taking care of us, like Count Your Blessings.
—A Grandmother’s Legacy speaks volumes about the importance of raising children and grandchildren with continual exposure to God’s Holy Word.
—What Goes Around Comes Around is a heartfelt remembrance of past times spent between father and son. The unanticipated title implies a tale of vengeance, but it’s about reliving your own past.
—Family Tradition shares a memory of four generations of a family coming together for a game of cards, reminding us of how such a simple activity can delightfully bring people together, and call them into remembrance when they are gone.
—This Morning, God prayerfully recalls God’s infinite healing abilities while requesting His touch for a friend.
—My Savior is a devotion on God’s unending ability to love and forgive.
—A Time of Thanksgiving finds the ability to rejoice even within despair—perhaps this is when we are most sensitive to God’s miracles all around us.
—Highway Angel is a beautiful short story of prayer, kindness to others, being open to the movement of the Holy Spirit, and focusing on God’s protection and care for us. This story is a highlight of Section Two.
—Looking Back reflects on re-living a past moment in the present.
—Passing Through is a very good story of spiritual contemplation among a group of men. Unfortunately, it is hampered by unintended repetition, as it repeats the same phrase “less road in front of us than behind us” to describe age (just used in the prior story, Looking Back). Similarly, the words “download” and “suddenly” are repeated within two sentences of each other. While the selected prose is unfortunate, the meaning competently shines through.
—Inspiration of Christmas is a terrific brief story about transformation.
—Miracles is a delightful rhyming poem that shows the delivery of miraculous healing.
—The Ancient Order of Things opens Section Three, with this final portion of the book focused on thought-provoking stories filled with emotions of love, sacrifice, loneliness, and hopelessness. This tale cleverly alludes to aging and the phase of life of an elderly man.
—Sacrifice is a touching analogy of Christ’s death for us.
—Mt. Zion is a remembrance of the dead with wonderings about the lives of those represented by their headstones.
—One More Time invites us to see things as children do, and to be more like children.
—Cheated includes imaginative descriptions as an old married couple share fond memories with each other one last time.
—Shoes appears as a wonderfully written memorial to the author’s father through the types of shoes he wore. A recommended highlight in Section Three.
—Another Place and Another Time spins fond memories of a time gone by.
—Hit and Run provides an unusual twist on a tragic scenario.
—Sound of Silence enables the reader to experience the writer’s envy of the deaf.
—This Was Then is a tale of memories, compelling us to share the author’s loss of friends and neighbors.
—Empty Nest is a remarkable tale of the lives of two bird families in comparison to people. This story is a highlight of Section Three for the wonder and joy we experience, along with the pang of loss.
—Three A.M. is a contemplation of thoughts at an early hour.
—Tragedy On Crooked Creek is a well-written short story of a vagabond finding shelter and food on a cold night.
—Wind is a refreshingly poetic depiction of everyday life on a windy day.
—Millie is an interesting summary of the life of a pig.
—The Planter could be a very brief but thoughtful view of someone’s home and landscaping after death, but this reader felt a lack of connection with the author’s intended meaning. I found the second sentence to be very awkwardly written and indigestible: “…in tribute to what would not be not for the planter, not this season.” The opening of the story suggests the planter is dead, as in: “…extinguished the fire and soul of the planter,” yet the ending line unravels this thought with: “…while the planter harvests his own crop of misery and misfortune.” Although the ending might suggest that the planter has died and is facing misery in Hell, I felt that “misery and misfortune” were adjectives far too weak to work in this line of thought. This reader believes that seven sentences without further context is too little for The Planter to work as a short story.
—The Other Side is an amazing story of a man’s choices after a devastating job loss. I would point this one out as a highlight of thought and emotion in Section Three.
—Technology is less of a story than iPad Hell, more of a reminder of the importance of personal relationships.
—The Old Man and the Bee is a short poem comparing the fates of each of these creatures.
—Patience is a brief study of how rewards come to those who wait.
—Family Tree is a rhyming tale exploring the thoughts of a man as he views a majestic old tree and ponders the end of life coming for each of them. Creative and expressive, this is a highlight of Section Three.
—Time is a brief poem of past and future.
—Amen & Amen is a showstopper of a story that closes Section Three with a bang! A wonderful story of change, mutual understanding, and growth. Well-worth your time to read.
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