After the author George Manuss releases of his three books, REFLECTIONS I - II and III, the last one in late 2017, he thought it might stop there. In the meantime, after publishing a series of five books he calls WORDS FOR THE ROAD short reflections and puns, he now comes with a new twist based on the same theme - STORIES & THOUGHTS I. They are essentially a continuation of his reflections from 1990 to the present. Some are self-perceived stories and events, while others are reflections on specific topics. The smaller format contains half of the previous reflections and is well suited as travel reading. He has dedicated the book to the thoughts, as nothing can be written without thoughts being involved. Thoughts are duty-free, it is said, and the author emphasizes that it s a privilege we all have as human beings, that we can keep our thoughts to ourselves. No one will ever get to know what you are thinking about if you wish to keep it to yourself. The thoughts are to me like steam in a pressure cooker, he continues, especially the thoughts he has long been thinking about. They want out in one form or other and out they normally get. Pleasant reading February 2020