Scrabble: a game of life and death
By SCOTT SAALMAN Scarmouch Before Mom’s cancer, Dad and I bonded in the evening during kitchen table Scrabble wars. From the living room, Mom, unseen, cackled at Two And A…
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Joe Aaron is dead, and I don’t feel so good myself
By SCOTT SAALMAN Scaramouch An email arrived while I was writing a column about my childhood memories of Evansville. The email: “Time for a quick call next week?” The sender…
What I did on summer vacation (circa 1974)
By SCOTT SAALMAN Scaramouch “Put in a quarter / Turn out the light / Magic Fingers makes ya feel alright.” – Steve Goodman My first vacation with my parents was…
Breaking bald: Funny, he writes like he has hair
By SCOTT SAALMAN Scaramouch I was alone, eating a fish sandwich at Arby’s, when I heard a reverend delivering some sort of moment of reflection via local radio. His subject…
Will Read and Sing For Food
Could Hamilton County be next spot for Harry Chapin-inspired food bank charity event? By SCOTT SAALMAN Scaramouch The most satisfying result of my column writing, to date, has been the…
The hellish etiquette of the “ish”
By SCOTT SAALMAN Scaramouch Call me ish. Actually don’t. I hate the ish. Nix the ish. Ish, as in, say, when my writer friend, Angela, texted me for coffee. I…
There’s nothing petty about a NYC pedicab ride
By SCOTT SAALMAN Scaramouch It was a cold, drizzly April night in NYC. Curbside pedicab operators in rain gear smiled warmly like politicians on Election Day as tourists (a.k.a. Hoosier…
The Bottomless Lake
By SCOTT SAALMAN Scaramouch Recently, we were notified that our rent in Fishers would be raised an added $800 per month, triggering a second move in less than a year….
For him, a little kudos can go a wrong way
By SCOTT SAALMAN Scaramouch I was walking in my neighborhood when a bicyclist shouted, “I liked your last two columns.” A rarity. An unsolicited compliment from an uncloseted reader for…
Michelangelo paints wrong ceiling, Scott poops in Walmart bag
The role of arts & humanities during tough times By SCOTT SAALMAN Scaramouch How do the humanities help us all cultivate hope and community in times of crisis? Indiana Poet…