Today, January 13, is the birthday of Ron Goulart (b. 1933). Beyond the occasional short story, Goulart hasn’t been very active in the field for quite some time, and that’s a shame. He seems to be focusing his energies on mysteries. I’ve not read much Goulart, but what i have read has been fun. He tends to have a somewhat whacky sense of humor.

Case in point, “What’s Become of Screwloose?” First published in the July-August 1970 issue of Worlds of If, this story has one of the most unusual openings of any story I’ve ever read.

Tom is a private detective working a missing persons case. He’s in the beach house owned by the missing woman, Mary, when the dishwasher attacks and tries to kill him. He manages to lure the dishwasher outside, where it breaks through the railing on the deck and falls into the ocean. The last he sees of it, the dishwasher is swimming out to sea.

“What’s Become of Screwloose?” was a fun little story involving a murder, a woman regaining her memory, and a sinister android tutor named Screwloose.

“What’s Become of Screwloose?” was the title story of a collection of the same name. I’ll be reading more of Goulart’s work in the future.