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
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
Life Lessons I Learned From My Cat
By Leslee Kahler I have had cats in my life since I was born, I can’t say I owned any of them as any cat owner knows the cat owns you , you don’t own the cat. Over the years I have learned much from my cats, but the greatest lessons I learned were patience, … Continue reading Life Lessons I Learned From My Cat
When Fearlessness Fades
By Cynthia Yancey Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! my oldest son texted me. Can I take you flying this afternoon? Yes! I immediately texted back, happy to be remembered. Happy to think of getting back up over these lovely, old mountains in one of those tiny, little planes like I used to fly myself. The day … Continue reading When Fearlessness Fades
1973 Laundromat
By Carl Scharwath There are so many happy times and memories in a young person’s life. A first love, first kiss, first car, high school, and college graduations and the most transformative-your very own home. Your first place represents freedom, now you can do whatever you love with no parental restrictions and even perhaps get … Continue reading 1973 Laundromat
Crazophobia
By LKB Boe I coined a word today—crazophobia. Crazophobia is the fear of contracting a mental illness by being in close proximity to or touching a mentally ill person, or by hearing scary stories about the mentally ill. The common cure is to ridicule, ostracize, or otherwise demean the mentally ill person in order to … Continue reading Crazophobia
Walking Through the Seasons
By Michael De Rosa Four seasons have passed since the world locked down, and my obsession with wildflowers began. When we walk, I am now irresistibly drawn to photograph anything not green. And before COVID-19, in that period between wakefulness and sleep, my mind might turn to work or future travel. Instead, buzzing through my … Continue reading Walking Through the Seasons
Angel’s Camp
By Tamara Adelman It was the nineteenth year of the annual race and free beer would be provided at the barbecue, so the next morning, I went to view the race site. I rode my bike and ran a little while I waited for the ranger station to open. There’d been no map of the … Continue reading Angel’s Camp
True Self and Other Prose Pieces
By Alex Andy Phuong True Self A person saw the people around. The world keeps on spinning around. The crowd was loud, yetproud. The man knows his own reflection. He is like Disney’s heroine Mulan. He knowshimself, and accepts himself. Historical Ballad This is a story about the history of the world. The Earth was … Continue reading True Self and Other Prose Pieces
Academy of the Heart And Mind 