Ron's Ramblings

STORIES ESSAYS THOUGHTS

Welcome....

This is where I park links to my published fiction, essays, and other writing. It is also where I post random thoughts, questions, and conversational topics.

It's the best way for me to share with others and begin dialogue that can continue in other forms and modes.

Thanks for dropping by!

Ron Wetherington

About me....

I am a retired anthropologist. I was, for 53 years, a professor at Southern Methodist University. My research spanned both prehistoric archaeology and physical anthropology--from potsherds to primates, Mayan sites in antiquity to mutation sites in our genes.

Some of this background finds representation in my creative writing, which I share here. But, aside from a brief inventory, my professional writing--books and articles--won't be found here,

I'm done with that.

I also provide here a link to a blog I established when I was diagnosed with lymphoma. In it, I provided regular updates on both my medical and my personal journeys. Each entry--very brief--details the clinical and hospital visits first, followed by personal reflections. I no longer maintain it, but many friends with cancer in their lives still find it helpful. This link will take you there.

Contact: rwetheri@smu.edu

Creative Publications 2022

Fiction

Leaves, flash fiction, Words & Whispers, March

The Fairy Tree, Flash Fiction Magazine, April

The Interview, flash fiction, Adanna Literary Journal, Issue 12, pp. 139-141

Nonfiction

Aspen Leaves, The Ekphrastic Review. June

Rubens' Anatomy Lesson, The Ekphrastic Review, June

Creative Publications 2023

Nonfiction

Neanderthal, prose poem, The Literary Yard, April

The Magic Did Not Bring Her Back, prose poem, The Ekphrastic Review, October

Creative Publications 2024

Fiction

Touch, Androids and Dragons, #4, Winter

A Stitch in Time, Flash Fiction Magazine, August 16

Susan's Demon, flash fiction, Intangience Magazine, Vol.2, Issue 3, pp. 48-53, Fall (print only)

Sister Deborah, flash fiction, Suburban Witchcraft Magazine, Issue 7. December 21, 2024, pp. 194-196

Transfiguration, The Empyrean Literary Magazine, Issue 12, Vol. 3, No. 4, December 21, 2024, pp. 115-126 (online and print)

Nonfiction

On Guillamet’s Sahara, prose poem, The Ekphrastic Review, March

River, Penumbra Online, Summer

Wilderness. Abandon Journal, Issue 5, May

Cycles, The Ekphrastic Review, October

Creative Publications 2025

Fiction

The Companion, flash fiction, The Lorelei Signal, January

Remembering, Macrame Literary Journal, Winter

(Featured Author interview here), February

Nonfiction

Fog, The Human Narrative, January 23 (previously published
in The Dillydoun Rwview, Issue 10, November 2021, now
defunct)

Jenny's Garden, Poor Yorick Literary Journal, April accepted

Epsilon and Tau, Flash Fiction Magazine, accepted

Reassigning Mortimer. Androids and Dragons, June accepted

TheWoes of Hibernation. The Scalar Comet, accepted

Vignettes and Pirouettes

(being bits of sense and nonsense that will occasionally appear without proper warning)

Becky Tuch’s Lit-Mag News [click]

How to Write a VERY Sensitive Rejection Letter (A Modest Proposal) --Lev Raphael, Jan 23, 2025

"We're in business to publish. But we’re also in business not to publish…"

My response...among others:

Dear Editor:

I submit this example of my award-winning literary style with the full understanding that it is possibly a bit too innovative for your rather promising magazine. I realize that you have many choices to make and voices to please, as you must necessarily aim for the middle despite your pledge to reach for the top. I get it, I truly do! I submit it nonetheless to give you a sense of what is possible. I know that you will continue in your efforts to achieve a stellar standing among your peers, even at the expense of rejecting this piece. You have my best wishes for your future efforts!

--R. Wetherington

Obscuring the Obvious: (Just Sayin’)

Nothing to say

I recently read a Substack feed entitled “Nothing to say” in which the author used 961 words to say it. I have nothing to add to this. There’s nothing more to say.

Expressive Faces Make People More Likable (headline in Scientific American, Jan. 28, 2025)

Quoting from a scientific paper published in Nature (13 June 2024): “In a recent study, we found that people who were more facially expressive were more liked by a new social partner.”

Those I know without any facial expression are deceased. There’s a reason it’s called "deadpan"! [NOTE: The article covers 2.6 Mb of text, not including 91 citations.] Do grimaces count?

Selected Newsletter Articles

Since 2021 I have been a regular contributor to the monthly newsletter of my community. These are humorous (mostly) takes on serious topics. The first selections are part of a science series--attempting to touch on each of the major fields.

Every science begins as philosophy and ends as art, wrote Will Durant. I aim to honor that sentiment.

Doing Science Stuff Oct. 2022