My Brilliant Career: Stories

Here are ten stories about ordinary people facing dilemmas that may change their lives. They range from a naive young surfer to a highly distinguished U.S. Army Colonel. All seek something, though not always aware of what it is. Within these stories, characters fall in love, get married, divorced, have love affairs, perform heroically or otherwise, commit criminal acts, and let death have its due. The stories:

An introverted engineer attempts to build a new career as a magazine editor based on the unsound premise that he will be able work alone and have little contact with other people.

A Los Angeles marketing executive, unhappy with his corporate job, is tempted by his mentor to move to a small, lovely town and manage his mentor's troubled real estate firm.

An ace copywriter challenges his company's bureaucratic management in an attempt to advance his stalled career.

A young man maintains a friendship with a charismatic friend, always wondering what secret underlies his abusive behavior.

Two cousins with different gifts and ambitions travel parallel lives and reach different places.

Two over-the-hill Air Force bomber pilots revisit a raid that made them heroes until their trip down memory lane is interrupted by an irate husband.

An ambitious doctor courts the daughter of a ruthless multimillionaire to win the lottery of his life.

A naïve young surfer has a chance encounter with some eccentric artistic types who shatter his notions about sexuality.

A cuckolded army colonel tries to salvage his family while avoiding scandal and saving his promotion to brigadier general.

A loving son takes his hard-as-nails father to a Summer Solstice celebration on what turns out to be the second most important day of the old man's life.