My entries and thoughts on inspirational stories
Actually, I hit the books when a listener said my stories were nifty. The current Wiktionary defines the word as "good; a general term for anything that is good, useful or beneficial. " The standard reference Compact Oxford Dictionary states: "particularly good, effective, or stylish. " What was my listener describing when he called my stories "nifty?" The stories I tell always have a message, a lesson, a bit of perspective, and they are, indeed, particularly good and rather effective at making their point. You could say that my idea of nifty stories is stories that enlighten as well as entertain.