H N Arabian Blog - Random Tales

  *** “The Substitute Tour Guide” is a reflective short story that transforms a simple coastal outing into a meditation on continuity, family connection, and the subtle echoes between generations. Set in the bright, sensory landscape of Southern California’s Crystal Cove, the narrative juxtaposes molten depths and tidal shallows, evoking a cyclical rhythm—of nature, of time, and of familial bonds that endure despite distance. ***  The Substitute Tour Guide By Harry Arabian At 1:04 p.m., my phone buzzed. A photo came first: a streak of light glowing faintly at the end of the Thurston Lava Tube, walls slick with volcanic moisture. Then a text: “Dad—could you meet my school friend Russ and his wife Sophia tomorrow? They’re visiting Orange County with their toddler, Lorenzo. I promised to show them around but got called to handle an emergency at Kīlauea Volcano 😉😉😉” Another line: “Remember how much you enjoyed playing soccer with Lorenzo last time?” I smiled. Only my son ...

  *** "The Summer of ’79" is a deftly woven slice of memory—one that captures not only a moment in time but the emotional temperature of late-1970s America. With tactile realism and quiet introspection, narrator merges industrial life, pop culture, and human connection into a single, resonant hum. *** The Summer of ’79 By Harry Arabian  It was August 14, during the oppressively hot and humid summer of 1979. I was testing the last batch of thermal and pressure gauges for an oil client—thirty minutes before the shipping department’s final call. My determination to see Alien with Sigourney Weaver at 6:45 PM kept me focused, pushing through the heat and the hum of machinery, hoping to beat the Friday rush on Route 128. While I stayed fixed on the gauges, David “The Bum”—my coworker, as I liked to call him—leaned over. “Are you going to the company picnic tomorrow at Cochituate State Park?” he asked. Without waiting for a reply, he added, “We can hitch a ride with yo...

*** “The Last Day at InnovateTech” is a quiet, deeply introspective story that captures the moment when a man’s long career intersects with his own sense of identity and purpose. It’s a narrative of closure and rediscovery, suffused with nostalgia and humility, that transforms an ordinary corporate departure into a meditation on vocation, memory, and renewal. ***  The Last Day at InnovateTech By Harry Arabian The building smelled like plastic and memory. My last day at InnovateTech—soon to be InnovateSoft—felt like walking through someone else’s photograph. The company was shedding its hardware skin, pivoting to software only. Hardware had been my world, my compass. When the choice came—software or severance—I chose severance: the predictable over infinite flux, the tangible over the ephemeral. As Frost whispers, “Take the path less traveled.” I pushed a stack of moving boxes across the polished concrete. Through the glass, I could see them seated, heads bent over laptops, the ...

  *** “Morning Detours” unfolds as a deceptively simple narrative about an early-morning errand — a fasting blood test before a doctor’s appointment — yet beneath its plainspoken rhythm lies a quietly profound meditation on ritual, mortality, and the strange poetry of routine. The story’s opening image — the October air described as having a “faint metallic chill that makes you wish coffee counted as water” — immediately sets the tone: sensory, dryly humorous, and tinged with existential weariness.  *** “Morning Detours”  by Harry Arabian The October air carried that faint metallic chill — the kind that makes you wish coffee counted as water. My stomach was empty — not by choice, but by doctor’s orders. My annual physical with Dr. Watson was set for 9:30 a.m., but the fasting blood test came first. I left home early, trading my usual hot coffee and cinnamon-apple oats for a brisk drive and the faint hope that the clinic’s waiting room might at least smell of caffeine. ...

  *** “Armageddon Dream — The Comedy Version” is a compact yet layered piece of comic fiction that blends cinematic absurdity with domestic realism. Beneath its humor, the story functions as both a parody of apocalyptic heroism and a gentle meditation on the ordinary dramas of middle-aged life. Through rapid tonal shifts, sharp imagery, and deft dialogue, narrator turns a nightmare of cosmic proportions into a morning routine filled with coffee, companionship, and self-deprecating wisdom. *** Armageddon Dream — The Comedy Version By Harry Arabian It began with the kind of dream that would make Hollywood call for a rewrite. I was a fighter pilot—though not merely any pilot, but rather humanity’s final hope. The sky was pure chaos: clouds were on fire, satellites fell like furious snowflakes, and I shouted at my squadron through a radio that appeared to have taken a vow of silence. Our target was a super-plane so polished it resembled a sentient billionaire’s espresso machine. Ev...

  *** The Yews and the Roses  succeeds as both a portrait of community and a meditation on continuity. It reminds the reader that grace is often found in small, ordinary gestures—an invitation, a rose, a handshake scented with earth and memory. It’s a story that breathes, lingers, and leaves behind the quiet hum of a Sunday afternoon well lived. *** The Yews and the Roses by Harry Arabian The morning finally broke clear and bright after a week of drizzle, the kind of autumn light that turns every raindrop into a spark. Perfect weather for the last trim of the yew trees before their winter rest. I set up the old wooden ladder, the one that had seen more seasons than I could count and opened my horticulture guide to the section marked Dormancy Preparation. “Trim by one-third,” it reminded me—so I did, carefully, methodically, each snip releasing the scent of evergreen resin into the crisp air. From my perch, I noticed Mr. Nick Papapoulos across the hedge, tending to his rose...

*** “The Flight of Timmy Hawk,” the author crafts a tender, quietly luminous story about connection, impermanence, and the small acts of creation that define family bonds. Told through the perspective of a grandfather spending a sunlit afternoon with his young grandson, the story transforms a simple moment—the building and launching of a paper airplane—into a meditation on wonder and release. *** The Flight of Timmy Hawk by Harry Arabian The ocean breeze had a way of sneaking up to the tenth floor, slipping through the balcony railings and filling the condo with salt and sunlight. I’d just poured myself a cup of coffee when I heard the quick patter of sneakers in the hallway, followed by an enthusiastic knock. “Grandpa! Open up!” There he was—Timmy, beaming, his arms wrapped around a tower of children’s magazines that looked taller than he was. His hair was windblown, his cheeks flushed with excitement. “Whoa,” I said, bending to take the top half of his load before it toppled. “...

  *** Beneath the Pacific, trillions of rocks quietly breathe life into a hidden world. From high school experiments to the ocean’s depths, one reader discovers the spark that connects curiosity, science, and the unseen rhythms of nature. *** Whispers from the Deep: The Hidden Breath of Life By Harry Arabian The library was unusually quiet that afternoon—just the soft hum of the heater and the slow turning of pages. I picked up the latest Science Illustrated and flipped through until a bold headline stopped me cold: “Dark Oxygen: The Hidden Breath of the Deep.” Perfect clickbait, I thought, even in print. But the more I read, the more I was pulled in. The article described trillions of rocks at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, each coated in rare heavy metals. Over millions of years, these silent minerals had become tiny oxygen factories—sustaining strange, unknown life in a realm untouched by sunlight. The concept was dizzying: the ocean floor, alive with invisible breath. ...

*** “The Key to Success” is a sharply observed workplace satire dressed in the light, humorous tone of an everyday anecdote. Yet beneath its wit lies a quietly layered commentary on perception, coincidence, and the social mechanics of ambition. *** The Key to Success By Harry Arabian Tony, our product manager, had a knack for what he called “strategic hires.” The rest of us knew that usually meant young, bright-eyed, and photogenic enough to make Mondays more bearable. So when he strutted into the morning meeting introducing a new sales assistant—stylish, confident, and smiling like she’d just been airlifted from a recruitment poster—it didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to detect the bias behind his “strategy.” Let’s just say her résumé probably wasn’t the only thing that impressed him. By lunchtime, I needed a break from the office politics, so I wandered out to the parking lot. That’s when I spotted it: a sleek black remote car key lying on the asphalt, gleaming like bait. Naturally, I d...

  ***   “The Circuit Breaker Incident,” a short narrative that transforms a mundane camp power outage into an allegory for rediscovering connection—both human and natural. ***  The Circuit Breaker Incident By Harry Arabian — Minuteman Trade School Counselor & Outdoor Enthusiast A Sunday That Sparked Something Different It was an overcast Sunday at Adventure Summer Camp—August 28, the final weekend before I traded my counselor’s cap for a teacher’s badge back at Minuteman Trade School for Boys & Girls. Building 19 was mine to wrangle—twelve teenagers, equal parts energy and curiosity, temporarily tamed by the sound of drizzle on the cabin roof. Sunday was our “take-it-easy” day, and I planned to honor that with a fifteen-minute nap. That plan didn’t survive the first thunderous bang . The room went dark, followed by panicked shouts and shuffling feet. Then came Bob—the gym instructor from Building 18—charging in with a flashlight and rain dripping from his...

*** “The Nail at Walden Pond” transforms a simple misfortune—a hiker stepping on a nail—into a meditation on the unpredictability of life, using tone, imagery, and irony to balance humor with quiet reflection. Beneath its gentle wit lies a subtle exploration of how even the most peaceful moments can be punctured, quite literally, by life’s sharp interruptions. *** The Nail at Walden Pond By Harry Arabian The morning arrived with a kind of effortless beauty—sunlight slanting through crisp October air, the trees dressed in copper and gold. The forecast had promised a flawless day, and for once, it kept its word. I decided there was no better time to visit Walden Pond , that quiet cradle of reflection where Thoreau once tested the art of simplicity. The two-mile path around the pond was dappled in light and history. I moved unhurriedly, pausing at the stone cairns and the replica of Thoreau’s cabin, where silence felt almost articulate. The air carried that unmistakable autumn scent—a ...

*** A Columbus Day Surprise is a slice-of-life vignette and a reflection on emotional awareness. By anchoring his story in everyday moments, narrator transforms a routine holiday into an exploration of gratitude and rediscovery. Reminds readers that joy often arrives not as a grand event, but as a quiet surprise set lovingly in motion by those who know us best. *** A Columbus Day Surprise By Harry Arabian Columbus Day was an optional holiday at Technovate Inc., and after a long weekend of musical celebrations at the Newport Beach Civic Center, I needed one thing above all—a long, uninterrupted sleep. It was nearly ten in the morning when the scent of fresh basil drifted into the bedroom, wrapping around me like a soft invitation. I followed it to the kitchen, where Marie stood at the stove, stirring a pot of tomato and basil sauce—the foundation of our annual Columbus Day lunch, a tradition she’d kept alive since our move from Boston’s North End. She turned as I entered, her face ...

  ***   The Quiet Rewiring is a rare kind of story— gentle but resonant , modest in scope but expansive in emotion. It reminds us that transformation doesn’t always arrive through dramatic upheaval. Sometimes, it comes softly—through a paint-stained T-shirt, a laptop box labeled Handle With Care , and the hum of a newly powered socket in a freshly claimed life. ***  The Quiet Rewiring A Story of One Man’s Blueprint for Change By Harry Arabian It started with a text from my brother-in-law, Zack—a man so private that even his toaster must have signed a non-disclosure agreement. “Not very urgent. I’m remodeling my bedroom. Can you stop for a few minutes? Need your opinion on placement of a few items.” I read it twice. Zack didn’t ask for opinions—especially not about his bedroom. Still, curiosity got the better of me. “I’ll be there at 5:30,” I texted back. When I arrived that evening, the front door was ajar, and the faint smell of fresh paint floated thro...