A geezer launching his first book, tossed like a message in a bottle into an uncharted turbulent sea, Robert McBryde is a professional translator with a master's degree in English literature and a passion for the arts of the stage. A product of Toronto, Ontario, educated in both Canada and Switzerland, he taught literature and theatre at the junior college level in Quebec City for 35 years and worked as a writer/ broadcaster for CBC radio for 10 years, honing his storytelling skills through a weekly recounting of absurd yet poignant tales of everyday life, which a number of listeners urged him to publish. Crafted in his current home in Dijon, France, My Time With You Has Been Short But Very Funny is a belated response to those requests, and includes an array of other humorous and quirky sketches besides. Awarded the Most Embarrassing Winter Garb Award in perpetuity by his offspring, along with a gold medal for the weirdest accent in a foreign language, Robert McBryde has turned to storytelling for solace. He hopes that his two sons, who figure prominently in these narratives, will not find his tales to be flat seltzer.