Drake Avenue and Other Stories is a collection of ten short stories. The title story is a tribute to marine biologist Ed Ricketts, close friend of John Steinbeck, and part of literary history in novels such as "Cannery Row." Other stories deal with a test of faith if there is life on Mars or other planets, the dangers of expeditions to deep space, the trauma of a random murder, the danger of exploring the murder of a man's father years before, if ESP might be a part of a great athlete's success, a study of people who patronize a late night diner, the joys of Paris and the life after, the end of a wrestler's long career, and the disillusionment with a good friend upon finding the truth after the friend's death.