By Nick Sweeney It was a re-read of J D Salinger’s milestone classic novel The Catcher in the Rye that reminded me that I was a phony. I read it at sixteen, of course, like all wannabe literate boys, and it revealed to me back then that the world was a phony place full of … Continue reading Signs of the Catcher
Their Time: Female Biathletes, a Landmark Anniversary, and the Battle against Climate Change
By Kris Haines-Sharp She came with two kids, two guns, and a dog. The dog and children stayed. The guns? Another story. One sold to a man in his forties who had taken up biathlon. The other, propped in a case in the back of our bedroom closet. I stopped reading the stickers, plastered on … Continue reading Their Time: Female Biathletes, a Landmark Anniversary, and the Battle against Climate Change
Fever
By Melissa Williams Midway through my second week in the ICU, I spiked a fever. My heart rate soared, and my chest felt like it might burst. Ice packs were placed under my neck, and when they thawed, I asked for more. I sucked on cotton swabs frozen in a layer of ice, convinced in … Continue reading Fever
Saying Goodbye in Key West
By Sarah Brennan “Child please, you made it safely! Praise God.” My Aunt Ruthie’s exclamations of greeted me in the small arrivals’ terminal at the Key West Airport. After a day of travel from California I was relieved, and slightly energized, to have finally made it. The warm, humid, tropical air enveloped me as we … Continue reading Saying Goodbye in Key West
A Canadian Tragedy
By Sherry Wong But your profile says… A friend of mine helped me with the profile. She actually changed it for me. With my old profile, nobody ever contacted me. I may as well not exist. So, this friend suggested that I modify my profile a little bit. It helped, didn’t it? I got your … Continue reading A Canadian Tragedy
Watching Cricket with My Father
By R.B. Simpson Unsurprisingly, and like all my fellow boarders, the highlight of our school year was the Christmas holidays, straight after we had written our last end-of-year exam. Six weeks of unrestricted mayhem lay before us! We would rip our ties off and would be playing a last game of touch rugby on the … Continue reading Watching Cricket with My Father
Me and the Chandler Mall
By Debra White In mid-October 2001, a sprawling shopping complex including a two-level mall known as Chandler Fashion Square, opened in the East Valley area of Phoenix to rave reviews. Critics said malls were fading away and questioned whether the new mall would succeed. I shrugged off the doom and gloom. Someone always nitpicked, didn’t … Continue reading Me and the Chandler Mall
The Room
By Joan Hyams Schmitz It’s been a calendar full of days since the boy entered the room, dumping his backpack on the floor as he flopped onto his bed for a power nap. This brief, impromptu trip home served one purpose—a quick trip to the dentist to repair a chipped tooth. Once the incisor was … Continue reading The Room
Nightmares and the Monsters that Breed Them
By Susan L. League Dreams have always been a part of my life, especially recurrent, other-worldly nightmares. My imagination was and still is that of a child. Born and raised in the deep south by an unusual mother, who was schizophrenic, undiagnosed, and untreated, so everything was real to her. There were aliens, who planted … Continue reading Nightmares and the Monsters that Breed Them
An Hour in the Life of a Five-Year-Old Pool Player
By Francine Rodriguez The parking lot in front of King Drew Place of Family on Central Avenue, was nearly full that morning in 1994. I didn’t recognize any of the cars filling the lot, stacked one behind the other. Gangster cars, black Suburbans, Escalades, and lowriders, like the ones in my neighborhood, like the 61 … Continue reading An Hour in the Life of a Five-Year-Old Pool Player
Academy of the Heart And Mind 