Tom Brown
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I have 278 stories published in
25 collections on the site.
My stories have been read 454086 times
and 19 of my stories have been cherry picked.
440 of my 3,032 comments have been voted Great Feedback with a total of 441 votes
Born South-African, I went to a dual medium primary school and Afrikaans high school, NG Church mostly and sunday school Methodist. At school achieved top positions in science and mathematics olympiads, after as well completing two years of engineering studies with very good results but I did not graduate, I had to stop due to mental health problems.
Graduating under WK Bartoszek at Unisa, MSc (1997) and Pretoria University, Niko Sauer PhD (2006), formal interests were to be in abstract analysis and broadly in applied mathematics. All of my qualifications were with honours.
I had permanent teaching positions at Unisa and at Wits, however since not having been academically active, and as such absent from formal academic research for very long now, years. Advanced study and research was in Markov operators and stochastic processes; vector valued Laplace transforms applied to semigroups and families of evolution equations (Empathies).
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Unfortunately I have had a history of medical treatment for psychiatric illness with diagnosis of a bipolar mood disorder.
It was very fortunate in that my condition responded very well to medicine it helps if you cooperate and comply, if not, you don't have much of a chance. Also I am totally abstinent from alcohol and other mood altering substances for great many years, it did not accord with my constitution at all. As a chain smoker I also managed to kick the habit, more than a decade smoke-free now, by the Grace of God.
I have always been able to function completely normal and independently in society my isolation was not because of my own doing it was due to circumstances, and has just been getting stricter I seem to have almost no contact outside, save only for AbcTales. My saving grace.
I am totally isolated and financially barely getting by.
Although I am still studying mathematics and applications, more popular accessible kind of work, while interested and looking forward to hopefully be active in research or industry again.
God is in the details of the details. God is in the timing of the timing.
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Apart from studies in the natural sciences I am interested in languages and literature in general as well as religion. In high school I majored in German also, and Biology, in the meanwhile I have taught myself French, well enough to read (with a bit of difficulty).
Lately I have been writing more popular general interest essays and also trying for a bit of balance with mathematics and while keeping things understandable for most people.
Thus not involved at all with any social media, and having time for writing, leisure, watching movies, reading fiction, classics mostly, poetry and music. I miss my friends, and would really love getting outdoors and in nature more.
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Favourite authors are Jules Verne, HG Wells and Jack London, Shakespeare and poets William Blake and Dylan Thomas. I like adventure, science fiction and fantasy movies my all time greatest are the Narnia stories and the Lord of the Rings.
The meal best enjoyed is a breakfast of bacon eggs on toast fried chips with fresh orange juice, and for supper an ox-tail stew. I like eating out romantic. For recreation nature hikes, camping and fishing, listening to good music and reading, classics mostly, and good movies. I love dogs my best one was a Maltese poodle Freddy.
I love rain and lightning thunderstorms and rainbows. As well as writing and publishing here on AbcTales.
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These are my stories!
Keep your feet on the ground and reach for the Stars!




I would say it's really a bit early
Posted on Mon, 13 Apr 2020
I would say it's really a bit early Richard! Well, on that side, make the most enjoy the summer! This poem also makes me think of Narnia there it was always winter.
Cheers, Goodnight! Tom
Read full commentPosted in There is No End
Sermon on the Mount
Posted on Sun, 31 Mar 2013
Sermon on the Mount
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh....
Read full commentPosted in Confession Of Faith
"I hear a knock on the window"
Posted on Tue, 31 Mar 2020
"I hear a knock on the window", reminds of the Raven! But a nice cheerful little story! Sounds like you live close to the sea, and maybe you're being taken advantage of? Or the other way round?"
Read full commentPosted in Spencer
The Eagle
Posted on Fri, 27 Mar 2020
You outdid yourself this time Richard, masterful! Do you now this poem by Lord Tennyson?
The Eagle
He clasps the crag with crooked hands; close to the sun in lonely lands, ring'd with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea...
Read full commentPosted in Eagle-Swoop
"His eyes are saying goodbye"
Posted on Mon, 23 Mar 2020
"His eyes are saying goodbye", you are capable of very sensitive very tender writing Richard. But some of this is a little puzzling one should have a bit more background I think.
All the best! Goodnight!
Read full commentPosted in His Eyes
Heartbreaking
Posted on Sun, 22 Mar 2020
Heartbreaking
Read full commentPosted in He Knew
Certainly good advice
Posted on Sat, 21 Mar 2020
Certainly good advice Richard and practical. There is a similar poem by Rudyard Kipling.
Hope you are well! Tom
Read full commentPosted in Tall Walking
It's difficult to ask forgiveness
Posted on Wed, 18 Mar 2020
It's difficult to ask forgiveness for sins you know you will commit. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen, nobody knows ...
Thanks Richard!
Read full commentPosted in Seasons
Yes I have noticed Richard
Posted on Tue, 03 Mar 2020
Yes I have noticed Richard and it makes a lot of sense. You leave the pauses and stops, feelings and nuances over to the reader it makes everything much more natural and fluent. The interpretations are lot more flexible as such.
The...
Read full commentPosted in Oh Sweet Lullaby
The free rhyme
Posted on Tue, 03 Mar 2020
The free ryme is beautiful it is always so much more natural than fixed patterns, that is better left to the masters.
Your sentiments are wonderful Richard! Tom
Read full commentPosted in Oh Sweet Lullaby
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