The Funky Writer

From the Archives of The Funky Writer Show. Medicine on Trial. Retired surgeon James Ogsbury relates how a medical procedure gone sideways, leading to a collapsed lung and a subsequent stroke. Which is the basis of the malpractice lawsuit.

@VisionaryVoid Grateful to know her story after all these years.

The Nurse Who Stayed in Hell. In December 1944, as the Battle of the Bulge raged around the besieged town of Bastogne, a 23-year-old Belgian nurse named Augusta Chiwy made a quiet choice that saved hundreds of American lives. She could have left. Instead, she walked into a freezing basement aid station filled with wounded soldiers and worked beside U.S. Army doctor John Prior. Day after day she cleaned terrible wounds, assisted in operations, and comforted men who thought they were going to die. German shells fell constantly outside. On Christmas Eve the aid station took a direct hit. Her friend and fellow nurse Renée Lemaire was killed instantly. Augusta herself was wounded, but she refused to stop. She went straight back to the operating tables and kept working through the rest of the siege. After the war her story was almost forgotten for decades. A mixed-race woman in postwar Europe, her courage was quietly pushed aside. It was only in her nineties that the world finally learned what she had done. In 2011 the U.S. Army and Belgium honored her bravery. Augusta Chiwy never thought of herself as a hero. She simply stayed when almost everyone else could have left.

@Mr_Husky1 Arkansas?

In the quiet town of Jonesborough, mornings didn’t simply begin—they unfolded like a shared promise. The first light of dawn slipped gently over the hills, touching a farmhouse that was never truly silent, only full of life waiting to rise. Inside, footsteps echoed softly across wooden floors as thirteen brothers prepared to greet another day together. In 1955, Emory and his wife weren’t just raising sons—they were nurturing a bond that would carry each child far beyond those hills. Every morning, without fail, the family gathered outside beneath the wide, open sky. The youngest stood close, still wrapped in sleep and wonder, while the older boys stood tall, ready to carry the day’s responsibilities. Side by side, they formed more than a line—they became a living story of unity, patience, and quiet strength. There was no luxury in a house so full, no room for selfishness or distance. Each boy had a role, a purpose, a place where he mattered. Chores were shared, laughter was constant, and even the simplest moments—like standing together in the cool morning air—felt meaningful. The scent of earth and woodsmoke drifted gently around them, but the real warmth came from something deeper: the comfort of knowing they were never alone. To Emory, this life was never overwhelming. When he looked at his sons, he didn’t see burden—he saw possibility. Thirteen different paths, thirteen different dreams, all beginning from the same place: a home built on love and understanding. To others, it might have seemed extraordinary. But to them, it was simply life—beautiful in its simplicity, powerful in its togetherness. Because sometimes, the most unforgettable stories aren’t about having everything… they’re about having each other, every single morning.

@Mas97646Masia Sad life.

Frances Farmer, ca. 1960s

@BlackMediaHub Sporting a “Free Angela” tee.

Before he was a Hollywood star, Samuel L. Jackson was a civil rights activist. In 1969, he was expelled from Morehouse College after a two-day "lock-in" where he held the school's board of trustees, including Martin Luther King Sr., hostage to demand changes to the university's curriculum.

@SalvadorDafti Rocking to this when I was in the 7th grade. Love this.

Ben E. King - Spanish Harlem A graceful ode to a rare and special beauty thriving in tough urban surroundings. No chorus, no bridge, and it’s romantic without being sappy. My idea of a perfect pop song. 1960.

@HistoryUnd Light that wick on top.

Men observing fountain that froze solid in Detroit, 1917

@JD_Iredell Creepy film.

Happy Birthday to the great Melvyn Douglas (born this day, April 5th, in 1901), pictured with Lilian Bond and Gloria Stuart in James Whale’s classic “The Old Dark House” (1932).

@HistoryUnd I’ll take your word for it.

A couple on a porta ledge. Everything is clipped into a solid bolt that can hold all of it. That includes you, your packs, and anything else.

@jonnybid @readingagency @RuddickRichard @TeresaCremin @MichaelRosenYes @MarieZarro97723 @GalwayMr Check out a great novel, set in the 1960’s that references the great music of the time period.

With this year's Summer Reading Challenge theme, Read to the Beat!, I'm going to be sharing lots of music-related books over the next few weeks. When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop, by Laban Carrick Hill and Theodore Taylor III, is a standout choice.

@karenshane63 Beautiful! Should’ve been a bigger star.

#YvetteMimieux #HappyEaster

@PJScribbansAuth Both.

Do you like your stories slow-burning… or straight into chaos?

@WallaceReid_ Held, Burke, someone else?

1919 Mrs. Flo Ziegfeld with daughter Patricia

@DrPopCultureUSA Looks a lot older than 14.

April 4, 1958: Cheryl Crane (14), daughter of actress Lana Turner, stabs to death organized crime figure Johnny Stompanato, her mother's boyfriend, in self-defense; crime later ruled a "justifiable homicide."

@edwereddie Wet, but the Sun is shining.

A wet day in New York City, 1944. Photographic rights owned by oldNYCphotos.com.

@IPhillips79 Looks almost real! 👍🏼

#NewProfilePic Just me & Diana back in the 80s...😂Thanks to Ant and Dex Photography for their amazing work (check out their facebook page).

@Warren1delivery @HistoryUnd Or Harold Lloyd from the same ere.

@FunkyWriterShow @HistoryUnd Maybe it could be Buster Keaton, the classic comedian from the silent era.

A New York policeman hanging from a girder, 1920.

@60sPsychJukebox James Brown, The Legend!

April 5th 1968 - After riots had broken out in thirty US cities, James Brown made a national television appeal for calm in the wake of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Brown’s appearance that night at the Boston Garden had been scheduled for months, but it nearly didn’t happen.

@edwereddie Love this tiny candy stores with 2 for a penny candy.

“SPRING COMES TO BROOKLYN” 1940s Our favorite hangout, the candy store Photographer: Ralph Morse LIFE Picture Collection

@mlduncan7 Nope.

Dear fiction writers, Does religion play a significant role in your novel(s)?