A Jew passing as Catholic is Galileo's lifelong friend and takes it upon himself to protect the scientist from rival colleagues, enemies in the clergy, and the gutter rats of urban Italy who are hired by the former two to discredit and even harm Galileo. Fishbeingnola risks danger and denouement as a Jew to keep Galileo whole, all the while concealing his efforts from his friend, so that the great man won't be distracted. The conflicts range from tavern debates to physical confrontations as various competitors and religious zealots take their turns at harming both Galileo and Fishbeingnola....

Tatiana is the best business person in Red Lodge, Montana. Her boyfriend, a cowboy weary of fence riding, doesn't care that she's the Madame of a fancy whorehouse, among other business interests. He just wants a modern job, but not at a desk. In 1927 Montana, that means traveling salesman. He volunteers to show one such drummer around, in hopes of gaining the Montana territory for himself. The two become fast friends, and gain enemies as they travel the state. The enemies would like to do them in. Tatiana would like to keep her only non-fiduciary love alive. With the help of local sheriffs...

As the title indicates, this collection of short stories is eclectic, ranging from pathos to comedy, with the writing at the very least mediocre, sometimes actually almost above average. They were collected personally by the named compiler, me, as I dodged bullets, skied double black diamond runs without a helmet, fought the bareknuckle champ of Papua New Guinea, danced with an admittedly aging Ginger Rogers, free dove to a record 407 while tied to a Weddell seal, won the World Free Lance Bocce Ball Championship against the great Canadian Bocce player Les Miserable, and did a lot of other...