With Thanks to Ambrose Bierce
By Byron and Jonah Hoover
[Editor’s Note: Byron Hoover is a longtime resident of the suburban paradise that is Stafford County, Virginia. His roots, however, are in the Amish-ish parts of central Pennsylvania. As a social studies teacher, Byron has been cultivating young minds in public schools for two decades. For at least a few years more than that, Byron has been a creative writer on the side (mostly the inside). Recently, he dusted off a few of his old Biercian definitions to provide his son Jonah, 12, with some content for his budding passion in the visual arts. When he isn’t illustrating, Jonah stays busy with typical middle schooler activities: video games, inappropriate jokes, and finding clever ways to avoid cleaning his room. The father-son team is currently collaborating on The Trickster’s ContraDictionary, an illustrated homage to Ambrose Bierce’s The Devil’s Dictionary.]
