Why create a book of stories short enough to be called cameos? Sometimes an idea is best presented in the fewest words possible, giving the reader the space to fill in his or her own perception of what happens next, after the page is turned. Very short stories have had their place in the writing world for a long time. They are coming back into their own in our busy world where more readers lack the time to finish a book. A short story, three or four pages, can read like your typical magazine article while waiting for a bus or an appointment, with an idea that sticks in the head for hours, popping in and out as the day continues -- a haunting of the mind. Easy to read, it is fiction. Hard to forget, it is, or could be, life. This little book is full of humans that you might know, sometimes living their lives in their own unique way, sometimes reacting to events that shatter them and change them dramatically. A soldier pays tribute to the parents that he never met, a little boy who will never grow up sees a forest for the first time, a firefighter meets his dangerous adversary; these are just a few of the characters you will meet. I hope they make your day a little more interesting for having passed your way. Share a few minutes with me, and then come back again for more. We are all human.