This is a collection of short stories presented in two sections. The first section represents stories that are pure fiction, with Payday being the only exception. The second section, Centerville, represents autobiographical sketches that are, for the most part, true stories but stories that are well seasoned with fiction when necessary for the sake of creating and maintaining dramatic interest. The titles of the stories, with a brief synopsis, appear as follows: THE NAHJA (fantasy) The nahja described in this story supposedly has magical properties—or does it? THE VIAL (fantasy) A ne'er-do-well car salesman finds that a magic potion does not bring him happiness. PAYDAY (inspirational) An audiologist finds that his best pay comes from job satisfaction. THE DUMMY (inspirational) A severely hard-of-hearing man with a pronounced speech disorder, and lonely for female companionship, finds love from serving as a mime THE SOW’S EAR (unexpected) A bogus bearer bond is used to make several expensive purchases before being returned to its point of origin. THE BARGAIN (fantasy) A child’s love convinces Danny that his bargain with the devil is a bad one. RACE WITH DEATH (adventure) Diptheria antitoxin is needed to save the life of Luke’s little daughter. He has less than forty-eight hours to make a dog-sled run to get the antitoxin. CENTERVILLE (memoirs) Through a series of short stories, or sketches, the author recounts growing up in a pre-World War II Mormon community. [from publisher web site]