Colorado Kimmie

 Hello and Happy Summer!  I've always been one of those people who tells friends to "break a leg" before a big performance, presentation, or event. To me, it was simply a fun way of wishing someone good luck. Recently, though, someone called me out on it. "Why would you tell someone to break a leg?" they asked. It was a fair question, and it sent me down a rabbit hole to find out where the phrase actually came from. The explanation I'd always heard was rooted in theater superstition. Actors and actresses were believed to be wary of wishing each other "good luck." The thinking was that openly hoping for success might somehow tempt fate and cause the performance to go badly. So instead, performers would say the opposite: "break a leg." By wishing something seemingly unfortunate, they hoped the reverse would happen and the show would be a success. It's a charming story, and one that has been repeated for years. But as I dug a little deep...

  PREFACE During the Victorian era, “penny magazines”—often called penny dreadfuls—revolutionized storytelling. These serialized thrillers were sold in weekly installments for just a penny, bringing suspenseful tales to the working class and transforming fiction from an elite luxury into an affordable pastime for the masses. Today, in the Information Age—somewhere between TikTok scrolls and rapidly shrinking attention spans—I’m resurrecting the spirit of the penny dreadful. But this time, it’s completely free , delivered right here on my blog. So without further ado… (drumroll please) Welcome to my first serialized short story of "In Thin Air":  Installment Eight The Edge The drive to the trailhead took almost an hour. Snow still clung to the higher elevations, lingering in patches beneath the pine trees. Daniel drove with one hand on the wheel and the other resting casually on the center console. For a while they talked about ordinary things. Work. Travel. The absurd price o...