Mothers Day Cards
Betsy Shepardson
©
Copyright 2020 by Betsy Shepardson
|
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash |
I
was maybe three years sober when I finally reached a point where I
could consider buying a Mother’s Day card for my mom. Done
enough inventory, looked at my part in the resentments. (plural).
Scouring the card racks looking for one that said “Thank you
for bringing me to the planet”. Or “Thank you, for trying
your best.” But those Mother’s Day cards, so sappy and
sticky, rang nothing short of phoney. . . .
My Comfort in Discomfort: The Effects of Embracing Vulnerability
Genevieve Jaser
©
Copyright 2020 by Genevieve Jaser
|
 |
As I prepare to enter into my senior year of college, I
was struck with a realization: upon my entry into college, I was
happy and excited, but I was met with struggling students, worried
peers, and unhappy people. When I arrived at my first-ever college
class, I noticed 20 students, like zombies propped up in chairs. Is
college really as boring as their faces led me to believe? . . .
Six Little Stories
Mary Murphy
©
Copyright 2020 by Mary Murphy
|
 |
A Little Story of the
Four, Sterling Silver, Coffee Spoons.
When
my father was
called up during WWII, the family left Alabama for San Diego,
California to be near where he would be stationed. At first, we
crowded into a motel; my mother, my dad's mother, my older brother
Bobby, my younger brother, Jack, then a toddler, and I. I was around
five years old when we moved. . . .
Past The Use By Date?
Karen
Radford Treanor
©
Copyright
2020 by Karen Radford Treanor
|
|
Just
before the whole world’s door was slammed shut in our faces, we
were at the recycling shop in Huonville, Tasmania. The shop is run
by the local council, and it’s filled with odd glassware, old
furniture, used books, pots without lids and lids without pots, and
et cetera. We were poking around in search of something we needed,
such as an undiscovered Sheraton sideboard. In
a corner of a back room was a plain white shelving unit of no
particular distinction. You know the sort of thing: a low platform
made of chipboard with one drawer and two or three open-backed
shelves above. “$20 with contents” it said.
The
contents comprised a complete set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica,
including the yearbooks from 1965. . . .
More...
Max Performs for
the Last Time,
and
the Last Time, and Finally the Last Time
Mark O. J. Esping
©
Copyright 2020 by Mark O. J. Esping
|
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash |
Max
studied to be an opera singer. He actually preformed as the crocodile
in the stage presentation of Peter Pan. Health interrupted his
singing career. He started a summer theatre called Broadway RFD,
which presented musicals during the summer in Lindsborg Kansas. He
played Santa Claus at Macys in New York City. . . .
International Baby Gang
Michelle Paul Imagawa
©
Copyright 2020 by Michelle Paul Imagawa
|
 |
I’m
a Texas girl—brought up around cows, cactus, bluebonnets, and
rattlesnakes. As a child, I expected to grow old in Texas. But it
turned out there was a sweet, funny, and handsome Japanese young man
at the university I attended in San Antonio. Thirty-plus years on,
here I am in Japan. We have 3 children, born and raised here on the
island of Kyushu. This is the story of my first baby. . . .
More...
Destinations
Lori Hilton Brizius
©
Copyright 2020 by
|
 |
When
I think of all the chapters of my life, all the exciting places I've
lived or visited I realize that I was never really alone, yet
somehow, my
voice
was but a whisper to those closest to me. . . .
February,
1987
My
brother drowned at Lizard Point in Cornwall during a raging gale. He
was thirty. One wild February day, a passing stranger found him face
down on a small beach. Paramedics carried his body up the steep path.
He was laid out on a slab in a police mortuary, three hundred miles
from home. His red Vauxhall Cavalier, a tank of a car, was spread in
pieces on the rocks; in the water. . . .
More...
Extremes of Experience
Joyberl Abwao
©
Copyright 2020 by Joy Berl Abwao
|
Photo by Michael
Dam on Unsplash |
My
heart is a ghost town, with owls, ravens and jackals. Once beauty,
now only serpentine. Its magnificent now in its place ophidian.
Silhouettes of vampire ghosts. It is burning, but still covered in
frost. A hounded heart, a ghost town. . . .
Chasing Fate
Christine Verdier
©
Copyright 2020 by Christine Verdier
|
Photo by Yu Kato on Unsplash |
My boyfriend and I had been dating for
about a year
and a half and as luck would have it he owned a yacht. We enjoyed
many afternoon boat rides and since the boat was docked in Key West
for a year, we spent lots of time exploring that wonderful town along
with hanging out on the boat with friends, listening to music,
watching sunsets and drinking wine. One evening he asked if I wanted
to go to Fort Jefferson, in the Dry Tortugas on an overnight
adventure and I immediately said yes. You think I would be more
nervous considering I had zero First Mate experience and he would be
needing my help with navigating, handling the lines and various other
boat related tasks. . . .
The Gift
Sheila Sandapen
©
Copyright 2020 by Sheila Sandapen
|
 |
I
did not live a childhood full of wonder and magical moments.
I
was not encouraged to believe in fairies, elves or to even consider
the very real nature of magic. My parents were too practical to
entertain encouraging such notions in their house. Their days were
filled with strife, work, and a general sense of discontent with
their lot. . . .
This
winter has been relatively mild so I give myself a goal in February:
walk 5,000 steps every day. May not seem like a lot to some, but it
is to me. There’s something wrong with my muscles, you see. But
that’s a different story for a different day. This story is
about money. . . .
That Perpetual Plaid Dress
Iris Leona Marie Cross
©
Copyright 2020 by Iris Leona Marie Cross
|
 |
I
begged my
mother to get rid of the plaid dress she had had for
years, and
always wore. My pleas fell on deaf ears. She wore it to death (well,
until her death) as if it were the only dress she owned. This
narrative tells of my frustration at seeing her in that dress, day in
day out. . . .
My Favorite Drinking Place
Ian Rogers
©
Copyright 2020 by Ian Rogers
|
|
Living abroad, one
encounters more than a few challenges and surprises on a daily basis,
and Japan is no exception. Social norms, particularly those involving
drinking, differ greatly here, and some of what's acceptable on a
night out in Japan would never fly back in America. It's not always
easy to know how to handle a strange encounter, but when something
unexpected happens, I try my best. . . .
More...
Frigid Fun In Fairbanks
Bethany Buckles
©
Copyright 2020 by Bethany Buckles
|
 |
I
like to say that I wouldn’t mind traveling so much if I didn’t
have to leave home. My hubby, on the other hand, loves adventure,
traveling, and new places. Now that our son, Jacob, was living in
Alaska he had the perfect excuse to plan a trip. “I booked
tickets for Fairbanks,” my hubby broke the news to me over the
phone. He knew I would be less than enthusiastic. . . .
Reflections on a Fallen Hero
Teddy K. Makarow
©
Copyright 2020 by Teddy K. Makarow
|
Photo by History in HD on Unsplash
|
The first time I became aware of the young Junior
Senator from Massachusetts, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, I was in a high
school history class in a group discussing current events. . . .
More...Revisionary Mythmaking in Amelia Lanier’s “Eve’s Apology in Defense of Women”
Natasha Rogers
©
Copyright 2020 by Natasha Rogers
|
 |
“The
silence of women reverberates through the tradition, distorting the
shape of narrative and skewing the content of the law . . . if we
refuse to recognize the painful truth about the extent of women’s
invisibility, we can never move forward.”
Judith
Plaskow 205 . . . .
|
The Open Wound: Borders and
Liminal Space
in
Ursula K. Le Guin’s The
Left
Hand of Darkness
Natasha Rogers
©
Copyright 2020 by Natasha Rogers
|
 |
“Removed from [a]
culture’s center you glimpse the sea in which you’ve been
immersed but to which you were oblivious, no longer seeing the world
the way you were enculturated to see it.” - Gloria
E. Anzaldua, qtd. in
Keating 8. . . .
Tinders of Kindness
Sheridan West
©
Copyright 2020 by Sheridan West
|
Sheridan's childhood home. |
Each
time when I am feeling unhappy and thinking life doesn’t treat
me fairly, I remind myself of true miracles I have seen with my own
eyes. I have hit rough patches several times on my way, but sometimes
going through dark times showed me that there is a light of kindness
in the world, and there are many people who make a difference to ones
near them not being superheroes, simply by truly caring and showing
it to them. . . .
Nuance
of the human acts has arrived to a point where Mother Nature can only
sit by and watch. Temperament so evocative and warm the climate has
bring forth and relentless that drives us so mad. Have we not have
had the heart to simmer down our thoughts to climate change. So
apparent that each subject in all nations is restricted from stepping
out of our homes. Once a home called a home but when during lockdown,
we called it a doom, a boredom, a troubled mess we long not to stay
any longer within. . . .
Zion National Park
A Day Trip to an Alien World
Josh Black
©
Copyright 2020 by Josh Black
|
 |
A
week before
travelling to one my favorite destinations, New York City (primarily
a business trip, taking an extra day or two to play tourist is almost
always a given) a quick visit to spend time with family surfaced.
Instead of the mundane sitting around the house, watching golf or
lazing poolside a recent conversation about travel lead to an idea,
flicking the switch in my head to explore someplace new, someplace
away from urban life. . . .
Black Army
Frank Lukupwa
©
Copyright 2020 by Frank Lukupwa
|
 |
. . .What
makes these
black ants popular among many people is that they are extremely "hot
tempered" and easily provoked. They are ready to bite with their
mouths at the slightest provocation. However, mankind has learned to
live side by side with wildlife and appreciate the fact that life is
a platform for coexistence. . . .
More...
The Test of Love
Frank Lukupwa
©
Copyright 2020 by Frank Lukupwa
|
 |
There
are many definitions of love in this world. Many view it as kind acts
accompanied by feelings of friendliness towards others. But whatever
we can say, love is easier said than practiced, especially if it has
to be accompanied with some form of sacrifice. . . .
Battlefield
Winston C.
Pagador
©
Copyright 2020 by Winston C. Pagador
|
 |
Few
days after the mandatory home quarantine was imposed, I found out
that a friend died, not of the “virus” but of a previous
illness she was long suffering. I forwarded the sad news to our
common friend and he bluntly expressed his disappointment that she
died at this time of uncertainty. As if death should have cautioned
on the side of magnanimity. As if the time of death mattered more
than the reverence of the dead. . . .
The
Big C and Me - Part Two
Albert Vetere Lannon
©
Copyright 2020 by Albert Vetere Lannon
|
 |
It’s
six months since I stopped treatment for multiple myeloma, an
incurable bone plasma cancer that sucks the calcium out of my bones. It
was diagnosed in June, 2017, when I sneezed and broke two ribs! I
am now in Julian, California, while my amazing mate Kaitlin is
getting our rural Arizona house ready for sale – if there is
any market in this time of pandemic and panic. . . .
Taking Care of Daddy
The Last Seven Months of His
Battle With COPD
Cathy B. Bridges
©
Copyright 2020 by Cathy B. Bridges
|
 |
In
December 2007, my
dad's quality of life started going downhill rapidly. He had very
unhealthy lungs, and his body was growing steadily tired from
fighting to breathe. . . .
What Feet Remember
Christin Nice-Webb
©
Copyright 2020 by Christin Nice-Webb
|
|
The floor now under my feet is a deep red
wood. Its
rough smoothness reminds me of my dojo. Two years have come and gone
since I left my first college’s Shotokan Karate Club, but it
still feels wrong to cross such floors barefoot, without gi
or
belt, with no ceremony whatsoever. . . .
More...
The Timing
Maureen Moynihan
©
Copyright 2020 by Moynihan
|
|
When
and how do we have difficulty conversations with our children?
Sharing my cancer diagnosis with my child was a painful
necessity...is there a 'right way" to deliver bad news to kids?
The answer is not simple, or existent at all. It just takes a lot
courage. And a whole lot of love. . . .
It seems that holidays have became
a reflection of
good parenting. Or worse, a symbolic gesture of a parent's love for a
child. I wrote Unlucky Leprechaun to capture some
of
meaningless and unnecessary cultural pressures placed on parents
today. . . .
The Catcher in the Rye
Maureen Moynihan
©
Copyright 2020 by Moynihan
|
 |
When
breast cancer treatment stripped me of my identity, my rescue lab
enabled me reconstruct my sense of pride and dignity. I wrote
"Catcher" to give a voice to creatures that inspire us to
move through the mud and reclaim our humanity. . . .
The Incomplete Story
Gregg Heid
©
Copyright 2020 by Gregg Heid
|
 |
In
my son TJ’s final two years of college he lived in a trailer
with three roommates. Vicky, my wife, and I would visit occasionally.
Above the cabinets stood their collection of beer cans and whisky
bottles. We asked him about them. “We have poker parties here
once a week,” he said. “Some of our Physics
professors even come. Sure we drink but nothing bad.”. . .
The Days That Are No More
Eva Bell
©
Copyright
2020 by Eva Bell
|
|
I
must confess - I am a
compulsive hoarder. It breaks my heart to get rid of books, papers or
letters. I always feel that I might want to look through them again.
Now our ancestral house which I have inherited, was up for sale. I
was moving into a flat with no extra storage space. Boxes of
accumulated junk belonging to various members of the family had to be
thrown away In the time left at my disposal, sorting through them was
impossible. But the carton marked “Mum” caught my
attention. In it I unearthed a precious treasure which I might have
inadvertently junked. . . .
Hang Gliding, Wild Horses, and Solitary Confinement in the Outer Banks
Jaime Conlan
©
Copyright 2020 by Jaime Conlan
|
 |
Crumbs
of doughnut cascaded into my lap as I sped down the highway,
bleary-eyed from lack of sleep and on hour twelve of driving on my
spontaneous quest to see wild horses and make it back in time to take
a Kitty Hawk flight lesson.
My
New Years Plan, ever since turning 18, had simply been to leave, to
get out of wherever I had been before. A loose definition that could
mean leaving my house but usually meant leaving my state. . . .
|
For The Love Of Baseball
Paul
Marion Fleetwood
©
Copyright 2020 by Paul Marion Fleetwood
|
|
I
want to tell my greatgrandkids about my love of BASEBALL and how it
came to be. It is a rather long story but I want them to know
how I came to love the game and enjoy it all of my life.
At
the time of starting this real life story I am 86 years old.
Still in good health and still loving the game even though my beloved
St. Louis Cardinals just got beat out of the 2016 play-offs by one
thin game. . . .
Perfect
Winter Day
June
Calender
©
Copyright 2020 by June Calender
|
|
Where: Cazenovia, NewYork, a small village 20+ miles
east of Syracuse, 500
feet higher elevation, settled on shore of a lovely little lake about
3 miles long and 1 mile across. By the 1970s it had become a bedroom
community for executives from Syracuse. The shores of the lake were
entirely build up with expensive homes. After several years as one of
the town’s pair of family doctors, we had purchased the Colgate
Cottage—not really a cottage—built for a member of the
family that endowed Colgate College when he married a Lincklaen
daughter. . . .
More...
Disconnection Nervousness
James Pykonen
©
Copyright 2020 by James Pykonen
|
 |
In
March, 2014 my 10 year-old black Pug, Smokey Joe suffered an incurable
illness, euthanasia was quick and painless. After leaving the
veterinarian hospital home was where I did not want to be nothing but
echoes of silence to greet a heavy heart so I aimlessly walk through
late night crowds in
a nearby department store, distraction is what I desired. . . .
Baby
Brianna Solis
©
Copyright 2020 by Brianna Solis
|
 |
I
was 7, and my sisters and I were at Macy's trying to “secretly buy”
gifts for each other for Christmas. The problem for me was that I had
to stay a distance away from my mom and my sister Paige. By the time we
got out of the store, it was pitch black. I couldn’t bear to leave my
mother and sister for even a millisecond. The thought of being alone in
that store, a store that felt like a maze that I was never going to
figure out. The store wasn’t just a store for me, it was my worst
nightmare; a death trap. . . .
It's Just Bent
Patricia Kirby
©
Copyright 2020 by Patricia Kirby
|
 |
We
felt the
anticipation, excitement, the pure joy of once again seeing our best
friends the Knoll’s. The Knoll’s were that kind of family
that every time you were about to see them you couldn't wait to be
right next to them to share all your adventures with them. . . .
Breeda
Michaela Brady
©
Copyright 2020 by Michaela Brady
|
 |
This
is by no means the whole story of my grandmother’s
life; it is more of a swan song for the last time we were able to
really bond, since she lived an ocean away from me and became quite
sick soon after. I was only nine years old when the events of this
piece took place, and even 13 years later, the implications of
Breeda’s actions, words and feelings in this moment still
reveal themselves in clearer, sharper light. She was and still is a
tangible example of a lost childhood, a story many people in rural
Ireland knew all too well, and how you are never too old to reclaim
it. . . .
Ama in Ghana
Nancy Graham Holm
©
Copyright 2020 by Nancy Graham Holm
|
Photo by Michael Mims on Unsplash
|
My
four-year-old Danish daughter clutches her favorite book and calls me
to read it to her while she falls asleep. We do this every night,
even though American vowels and consonants still color my accent in
the Danish language. Repetition, it so happens, has made a difference
by softening the offending sounds and instilling forgiveness in this
child’s heart. She knows the text by heart and gently corrects
me when I make mistakes. . . .
More...
Intensive Care
S. Nadja Zajdman
©
Copyright 2020 by S. Nadja Zajdman
|
|
He was born in Joliet, Quebec,
early in 1926. He had an
unremarkable childhood, and came of age listening to Rene Levesque’s
Radio-Canada broadcasts from a newly liberated Europe. With a marked
distaste for organized religion in a province dominated by the
Catholic Church, his options were few. He chose to become a doctor. . . .
The Doll Lady of Wisconsin
S. Nadja Zajdman
©
Copyright 2020 by S. Nadja Zajdman
|
Renata with her "Janka" doll. 1994 |
On the first anniversary of my
mother’s passing,
a letter was forwarded to me from the Holocaust Center. My mother
had been prominent in Holocaust Education. A woman in Wisconsin was
writing a book and looking for my mother to provide her with
background information. The Center didn’t know what to do
with the letter, so they forwarded it to me. Enclosed were
photographs of my mother, taken in her home. . . .
In Between
Vitalina Vergeles
©
Copyright 2020 by Vitalina Vergeles
|
|
Life
in the army is full of challenges and obstacles. Serving your country
but without a free and independent mind. Life and work in the air
force are not easy. He was an Air Force pilot Capt. Karl Norris in
Eugene. He had everything a man could dream: noble and rich parents,
good education and a bright future. . . .
I'll Have What She's Having
Barbara Wentzell Jaquith
©
Copyright 2020 by Barbara Wentzell Jaquith
|
 |
Winding up a steep
incline and around sharp bends, the approach to Pine Grove Furnace
State Park penetrates a dense pine forest. The Appalachian Trail
bi-sects this Pennsylvania park and thru-hikers are everywhere in the
early spring, getting an early start on their goal of reaching Mt
Katahdin in Maine before the fall/winter weather sets in. The road is
narrow and the visibility is limited, keeping my husband, Arnie
acutely focused behind the wheel and me clutching the hand grip. We
are pulling a thirty-three foot trailer behind the truck on an
impossibly narrow back road. . . .
Lessons From A Saint
Kelly Alblinger
©
Copyright 2020 by Kelly Alblinger
|
 |
When
I began writing this piece I intended to describe the relief of
finally laying down an emotional burden, but something else began to
emerge as I typed. Letting go of my preconceived ideas allowed a
greater truth to surface, and the life lesson that resulted was a
beautiful surprise. . . .
Hairetical: A History of Hair
in
my Sikh Family
Diya Sabharwal
©
Copyright 2020 by Diya Sabharwal
|
 |
Having been raised in a devout Sikh
household, I am,
unquestionably, an expert in avoiding hairy situations.
In my religion, hair is a sacred object,
and it is
seen as a sin, practically hair-etical, to cut one’s
hair. Accordingly, all the adults on my mother’s side of the
family have unshorn hair. . . .
More...
What's
In A Name?.
Albert Vetere Lannon, aka---
©
Copyright 2020 by Albert Vetere Lannon
|
Alberto, Adelbert,
ألبرت,
Alberik, Alpertii,
Альберт,
Albertino,
Ales, אַלבערט,
Aliberto,
Αλβέρτος,
Alberte,
ア
ルバート,
Альберт,
Æthelberht,
อัลเบิร์ต,
Aalbert,
阿尔伯特,
Ailbhe, Albertus,
etc.
|
My
name is Albert Vetere Lannon; the name on my birth certificate is
Albert Francis Lannon, Jr. But is that name traceable in any
genealogy survey? Probably not. . . .
Bastille Day
Joelle Ballonzoli
©
Copyright 2020 by Joelle Ballonzoli
|
|
“Bastille
Day” is one of a series of short stories, each standing by
itself, which focus on the importance placed on the communal nature
of life in France in the 1950’s. The series is based on my
childhood memories in La Ciotat, a shipyard town of what was then the
blue collar portion of the French Mediterranean coast. . . .
Just Call Me Milagro
Nancye F. Rivera
©
Copyright 2020 by Nancye F. Rivera
|
|
“I'm
going to live to 103," I prophesied as a six-year-old. Now at
65, I’ve added “a strong life” to the mix so I can
finish well. Actually, it is a miracle that I am alive, and I often
joke that I should change my name to Milagro, which means miracle in
Spanish. . . .
The One That Got Away: A True Love Story
Dixie Jade
©
Copyright 2020 by Dixie Jade
|
Photo by Michael Dam on Unsplash |
Every
time I fell in
love I realized that I never knew what love was. Everything I thought
I knew, all the things I thought I felt, it all seemed meaningless
once I found true love. What they don't tell you in the storybooks is
that love is double-edged sword-- sometimes love is walking away.
Before it kills you. . . .
The Helping Field
Facerlyn Wheeler
©
Copyright 2020 by Facerlyn Wheeler
|
 |
I
took my first job working with people right around age 20. I was
terrified when someone suggested it to me, as the job would be
helping individuals with physical and mental challenges. The first
company I worked for the disabilities were severe and there was a lot
of physical agility involved. Though I grew to love helping others, I
did not enjoy the physical strain it was putting on my body often
taking individuals from wheelchair to chair and then from wheelchair
to and from bed. . . .
Gun in a Straw Stack
Lew Goddard
Edited by Anne Goddard
©
Copyright 2020 by Lew Goddard
|
 |
. . .In one of three stores on Main Street he
had noted a particular and exceptional cap gun. He believed it was
fashioned after the Luger that he had heard about
that was
used by the enemy in the Second World War. The whole country had been
ecstatic earlier this year that fighting in far off places had come
to an end. Instead of hearing how many more soldiers were killed that
day or week, they were coming home in person. . . .
More...
How To Go From Identity Crisis
to Identity Creation
Kathy G. Lynch
©
Copyright 2020 by Kathy G. Lynch
|
Photo by Daniel Páscoa on Unsplash |
. . .When I was in my
twenties, I experienced what could be called an identity crisis. I
was working as a waitress when I wanted to be a horse trainer. And I
got so tired I didn’t have the energy to ride my horses. . . .
A Musician's Journey
Eric Sykes
©
Copyright 2020 by Eric Sykes
|
 |
I
grew up a product of divorce from the age of six. I suffered from
chemical depression, which was properly diagnosed much later in my
life. Somewhere in those early years, I discovered music. It must
have started with soundtracks to the movies Grease and Saturday Night
Fever, not to mention the car radio which was harboring contemporary
artists like the Eagles, Jimmy Buffet, disco tunes, and significant
one-hit wonders of the '70s. . . .
Things Will Always Get Better
Serinah Kingsley
©
Copyright 2020 by Serinah Kingsley
|
Photo by
Slawek K on Unsplash |
Ever
since I was younger there were always high expectations of me, I was
to be the “good child” or the “successful one”.
Even my older brothers agreed with this sentiment and when I was
younger I never really questioned it, simply believing all I had to
do was continue to behave but as I grew older and life went on I soon
came to realize that being the “successful one” wasn’t
as simple as it seemed. Life wasn’t as simple as it seemed. . . .
A Walk A Day Keeps The Doctor Away
Ila Das
©
Copyright 2020 by Ila Das
|
|
With
an impressive weight of 70 kilograms stacked in a frame of 5 feet
height, my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) does not speak of an attractive
figure. By figure I mean both, the physical and the numerical status.
It puts me in the frustrating obese category, a category which
everyone hates to be in. In this age of fitness freaks, what am I
doing? Having a sweet tooth does kill all my dietary
restrictions. . . .
B+ve…no,
it’s not the blood group; it’s the bloody thought
of ‘BEING POSITIVE’.
I
could sense the note of panic in my son’s voice, changing from
querulous to scepticism to dismay to ‘i-am-a loser’ kind
of a feeling, when he called up to say that his company, which
recently merged with another heavyweight multinational company, is
about to bring out the second layoff list. He considered himself
among the lucky few to have evaded the disaster in the first list;
but luck is an uncertain element of one’s life and certainly
cannot be relied upon. . . .
This Ol' Town
Lew Goddard
Edited by Anne Goddard
©
Copyright 2020 by Lew Goddard
|
 |
Things
used to be SO simple!
The
creation of this story commenced when I left THIS OL’ TOWN.
That’s sixty-five years ago. . . .
More...
Safe Harbour: The Story of Janek Bartczak and his Brave Heart
S. Nadja Zajdman
©
Copyright 2020 by S. Nadja Zajdman
|
Renata interviews her wartime rescuer Janek Bartczak in Phoenix, Arizona, April 1997. |
Into
the 1990s my mother Renata became increasingly active in Holocaust
Education. She trained as a docent at Montreal’s Holocaust
Center. She worked as an interviewer and researcher with McGill
University’s oral history project Living Testimonies, which was
a precursor to film director Steven Spielberg’s Shoah
Foundation. She attended international conferences. She lectured
to students in schools and on group tours, both at home and abroad. She
reunited long-lost relatives and rescued the lost identities of
hidden children. Mum became a wounded healer transforming lives. . . .
The 67 Debacle
James Pykonen
©
Copyright 2020 by James Pykonen
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In
1999, I enrolled in a two year business course with on of the classes
on Economics which I knew nor understood little. However, I
thought the course would be easier than it turned out to be.
The following story is about the journey I took over a course of 10
weeks, the struggle to comprehend the subject and matter and how help
arrived on time from an unexpected source. . . .
Summertime
Lona Matshingana
©
Copyright 2020 by Lona Matshingana
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The
beginning of a new season was something we all cherished in Tembisa,
South Africa. Tembisa wasn’t a beautiful place because it was
filled with shacks as it was a poverty stricken place and when I
stayed there, we stayed in a one room house, that was part of other
one room houses but it was surely packed with beautiful people inside
and outside. . . .
More...
Life in the Rearview Mirror
Robert Dustman
©
Copyright 2020 by Robert Dustman
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At
this stage of my life, 74, I find myself introspectively and
reflexively looking back at the landscape of my life, especially some
of the decisions I made as a young man, some of which were good,
others not so good and some downright terrible. . . .
Your Missing Daughter
Letters to an Unknown Father
Brenda North
©
Copyright 2020 by Brenda North
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Brenda
is the only child of her mother but has never known her
father or if she has any half siblings. All of her life, she has
wondered about her father and wanted to know him. These letters have
been a way for her, after sixty plus years of these feelings, to
release the hurt and anger about her situation. . . .
An Echo Of Things To Come
Garry Goodfellow
©
Copyright 2020 by Garry Goodfellow
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The
chamber of
the dawn seemed gigantic, the mountains having lifted up the roof of
heaven higher than the man had seen for a long time, the woodlands
below the sunrise proving a wonderful lack of mankind and a glorious
after-life beyond this world. The Day Star flashing in the East, his
face turned toward the distant moon, the high hills cast their gaunt
shadows as the wind that blew with a spirit of rest, and the grass
was bright with the dew. . . .
Pohnpei, The Hotspot of Micronesia
Alan Kim
©
Copyright 2020 by Alan Kim
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We learn in
school in history and world geography of different countries, cites
and cultures. While learning about foreign places like Paris, Tokyo
and Sydney, we dream about traveling there and around the world. It
is when we actually go to these places that we experience and learn
what’s like living there. To take in the sights, sound and food
of different cities around the world is exciting. . . .
Pandemic Diary
Judith Nakken
©
Copyright 2020 by Judith Nakken
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This
is my stepfather's true story and also
contains a warning that the Spanish flu lasted the better part of 2
years.
Clifford
Guy Wessman, unlovingly remembered as my Wicked Stepfather, was
inducted into the army shortly after the United States finally
entered World War I, the War to End all Wars. He was twenty-five,
married but childless. When he left Alta, Iowa in July of 1918 he
had no idea -. had never even heard a rumor - that the Spanish
Influenza had a six-months start on becoming a global pandemic. . . .
Stalag 38319--Covid-19 Avoidance Unit
Kathryn
Lynch
©
Copyright 2020 by Kathryn Lynch
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. . .When news
broadcasts indicated that the Covid-19 corona virus was deadliest to
15% of the population who were over 80 with underlying medical
conditions, I was neither surprised nor particularly fearful that
this would be the means of my final demise. However, I had no raging
desire to become a victim of this disease if it could be avoided. I
had already paid a heavy price for being elderly. I would not expose
myself unnecessarily to allow this disease to curtail any remaining
time I would otherwise enjoy. . . .
My Love Affair With Horse Racing
At Caymanas Park
Ranklin Dennis
©
Copyright 2020 by Ranklin Dennis
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From
as far back as I can remember, I was not given much rein to wander
about and mingle with most children in my neighborhood except for
those of my mother’s friends and approved neighbors. . . .
More...
Churlish Fate
Pavithra Silva
©
Copyright 2020 by Pavithra Silva
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Welcome
to the most churlish episode of my life’s expedition, which
knocked me out at a younger age than I expected. So, particularly my
autobiography does not present a person overridden with
self-confidence or life’s ecstasy but merely a sentimental
human being trying to communicate the tragedy of her life, so as to
inspire all readers of this story to evade all sentient and
insentient mistakes I committed, by simply not being true to myself
and by not being genuine with others. . . .
More...Beyond
the cracked sidewalk, and the telephone pole with layers of flyers in
a rainbow of colors, and the patch of dry brown grass there stood a
ten-foot-high concrete block wall, caked with dozens of coats of
paint. There was a small shrine at the foot of it, with burnt-out
candles and dead flowers and a few soggy teddy bears. One word of
graffiti-filled the wall, red letters on a gold background: Rejoice! . . .
Unforgiven
Kim Smyth
©
Copyright 2020 by Kim Smyth
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I
don’t really know when it was my son started changing. I think
it was around fifteen, he became what I described to my friends and
family an “alien,” someone I no longer knew as my sweet,
loveable, baby boy anymore. . . .
Only God Has The Power To Heal
Ellen Fannon
©
Copyright 2020 by Ellen Fannon
|
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The
day after Christmas 2004, the most destructive tsunami ever recorded
occurred after a magnitude 9.1 underwater earthquake struck off the
coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Within fifteen minutes, the tsunami,
measuring more than 100 feet, hit the west and north coasts of
northern Sumatra,
particularly devastating the heavily populated province of Aceh,
known as the front porch of Mecca (the area with the strictest form
of Islam).
Entire communities were swept away in a matter of minutes. The terrible death
toll in Aceh was estimated at 150,000—half its population, with
an additional several thousand people left homeless. . . .
We Cannot Be Happy: The Intricate and Complicated Economic and Socal Labyrinth in which Venezuela is Trapped
Douglas Comacho
©
Copyright 2020 by Douglas Comacho
|
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An
ordinary
Venezuelan citizen briefly relates the hard and difficult economic
and social situation that Venezuela is going through, as well as the
incoherent, confused and irrational behavior that his compatriots
have adopted in trying to survive in a country with growing poverty,
blocked internationally and lacking in tranquility, well-being and
happiness. . . .
My First Day of TeachingInside A State Prison
Tom Davison
©
Copyright 2020 by Tom Davison
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This
was it - today was the big day! The much anticipated (at least by me)
day was finally here. My first day of teaching college to felons
inside of an all-male State Prison. I was standing in the parking lot
of that prison - gazing toward the entrance – deep in
trancelike reflection. . . .
More...
Not Again!
Tom Davison
©
Copyright 2020 by Tom Davison
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“That’s
not another
poem you’re gonna read to us – is it Dr. D”
asked the blue denim-clad inmate in a strident voice? Here I am–
I thought to myself for the umpteenth time– forging young
minds. . . .
Ode to a Grecian Journey
Martha Patterson
©
Copyright 2020 by Martha Patterson
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In
remembering
travel in Europe while young, I am sad to recall the callow
indifference my
American
college-age companions had towards me, their insularity and coldness.
Possibly I was
more
sophisticated than they were, possibly more well-read. In any case I
was sorely taken aback
by a lonely
trip I took with these girls who seemed singularly lacking in
politesse. . . .
Storytelling: A Journey
Shana Bestock
©
Copyright 2020 by Shana Bestock
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At
the Golden Globes, a year and a half after the world turns upside
down and I think I'm out of stories, Oprah goes viral preaching her
truth, which is that there is value and power in speaking your truth,
telling your story. I had never watched Oprah before, and it only
took one speech for me to understand this woman's magnificence. Her
stature, her cultivated authenticity, her self-awareness and
intentional use of charisma, her passion for storytelling. . . .
Lost and Found
Shana Bestock
©
Copyright 2020 by Shana Bestock
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The
last week of my first European adventure - undertaken at a moment of
extreme personal loss and anguish of identity, a mid-life rediscovery
of discovery and the revalation of Europe in general - I returned
from a morning walk in Toulouse to find my hosts' car gone. Stolen.
Disappeared, on my watch. . . .
I
am an actor living in LA and, like almost every other actor in LA, I
have a day job. Mine is working at an ice cream shop.
People
are always asking me what it’s like to work in an ice cream
shop. They ask “how do you not eat ice cream all the time?”
My answer to that question is, “I do eat ice cream all the
time.” . . .
The Big One
Marie Barski
©
Copyright 2020 by Marie Barski
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My
father was a nomad at heart and as a family we moved often. One of
those many relocations found us living in Montenegro, his birthplace.
Montenegro shares the beautiful Adriatic Sea with Croatia to the west
and Italy to the south. In March of 1979 Montenegro was rocked by an
earthquake that shattered a few windows and nerves. . . .
More...
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Destined
Silence
Anisha Dutta
©
Copyright 2020 by Anisha Dutta
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Photo by Chris Child on Unsplash
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Preparation
leave prior to Examination on Masters’ Degree started for long
six months. Parents of Arianna suggested her to spend the period in
Uncle’s place on remote suburb. The place is solitary calm
devoid of noises and city disturbances. It is prime time to avail of
long leave for examination preparation. She should not lose the
opportunity to concentrate exclusively on study. . . .
Disconnect Reconnected
Nastassja Ocasio
©
Copyright 2020 by Nastassja Ocasio
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Disconnect
in the dark. It was a feeling of separation between my head and my
heart, and at that very moment, in the still and silent dead of
night, I thought my heart had won. I couldn’t bare to see
myself going through anymore pain than what I had endured during the
last few months of my time here on Earth. Dramatic in the very least,
but still, my feelings in a nutshell of greater size. . . .
More...
Nice Narrow Escape
Yahaya Muhammad Khalil
©
Copyright 2020 by Yahaya Muhammad Khalil
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One
fateful day in 2019, Muneer went to his bank and withdrew the sum of
One million, six hundred thousand in Naira (the Nigerian currency).
Coming out of the bank with the money packed in a leather bag, Muneer
stopped a commercial Rickshaw, the most popular means of local
commuting in the cities of Nigeria. . . .
Bank’s Cat
Jilly Allison
©
Copyright 2020 by Jilly Allison
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In
the grimy, soot ridden streets of industrial Middlesbrough of the
early 1900’s lived a brother and sister whose exploits, such as
they were, spread far and wide to the docks (their father was a
ships engineer) and to the market of North Ormesby (where an older
brother worked a ‘ Saturday job’. . . .
Boudicca's Coins
Jilly Allison
©
Copyright 2020 by Jilly Allison
|
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Audrey
Surtees surveyed herself in the full length mirror for the first time
in over thirty years. Now she was proud of the way she looked.
Slimming
Days had set up shop in the high rise block she lived in, once a week
they took over one of the public rooms, residents trooped down to be
measured, cajoled and generally persuaded that parting with their
cash each week would bring its rewards. . . .
Heavenly View
Jilly Allison
©
Copyright 2020 by Jilly Allison
|
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“
Eh our Eff you can’t beat a cup of tea with
condensed milk can ya,”
She
laughs, “
Nice, bit of lardy cake would do well with
it though.”
At
the mention of the word’ cake’ an elderly black Labrador
snuffles the man's hand to remind him of his presence.
Sitting
on a bench gazing out on the North sea, a gentle breeze means they
need a coat but its not cold enough for a muffler, they are content. . . .
All The Blames
Stefania Ventome
©
Copyright 2020 by Stefania Ventome
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I
was in a hospital bed, looking at the small TV in front of me,
holding myself from crying. I was still wearing my street clothes,
looking at my small bag, afraid to unpack it and dress in my pyjamas,
frightened to accept my condition. . . .
More...
Drink.
Drank. Drunk.--
Came.
Came To. Came To Believe.
Albert Vetere Lannon
©
Copyright 2020 by Albert Vetere Lannon
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As
I’ve told in other stories, I got drunk for the first time when
I was 13 years old. My father, a Communist Party organizer, had been
arrested in June, 1951, along with 16 New York comrades two weeks
earlier for violation of the Smith Act. It was a fearful time for
kids, especially us Red Diaper Babies; it was the McCarthy Era, the
Cold War. . . .
Between the Lines
Messages from my Family in Cuba
Katarina Wong
©
Copyright 2020 by Katarina WongC
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Until
I was 13, I only knew my mother’s side of the family from the
letters that appeared in our mailbox in distinctive red and blue
striped envelopes. Tight, cursive handwriting declared my mother’s
full name: Lucia Capin Wong, the only time I ever saw her family name
attached to ours. The weeks it took those letters to cross the ninety
miles between Cuba and Florida made each envelope feel like a winning
lottery ticket. . . .
Our AAU Life
Dueanna Tolbert
©
Copyright 2020 by Deuanna Tolbert
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AAU
(Amateur Athletic Union) basketball is what most serious girl
basketball players strive for. They start off as young athletes
playing in little leagues and at the YMCA while receiving outside
training when possible. . . .
Love in a Covid Climate
Karen
Radford Treanor
©
Copyright
2020 by Karen Radford Treanor
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In
the blink of a metaphor we have gone from our hum-drum lives to a
whole new place, a terra incognita from which some
of us won’t
emerge alive. . . .
South America on the Up and Up
Wes Choc
©
Copyright 2020 by
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Unquestionably.
It’s confirmed. Machu Picchu is extraordinary. It’s an
amazingly amazing place … above-the-clouds high, mysterious,
mystical, breath-seizing in every literal sense … of historic
consequence beyond doubt. As one of the most photographed exotic
places on Earth, it's on the must-see or “bucket list” of
every single adventurer or National
Geographic
subscriber
I’ve ever talked to. . . .
Coming Home
Fredrick Hudgin
©
Copyright 2020 by Fredrick Hudgin
|
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“Hudgin,
you’ve got twenty-four hours to clear Qui Nhon and get your ass
down to Ton Son Nhut Air Force Base in Saigon. Here’re your
orders.” He looked over at our company clerk, Specialist
Duncan. “Duncan, carry this sorry excuse for a soldier to
finance, to personnel, then to the airport. Get him out of here
before I can think of a good reason to keep him in this hole for
another year. . . .
