By Roger Funston I’m watching traditional German folk dancing on my 70th birthday today (May 5, 2024) at a German social club in Sacramento, California. Men and women in traditional German garb perform the Maypole Dance. We arrive at the opening, spy an amazing display of desserts laid out on a table and go directly … Continue reading Birthday Surprises
I Felt it in My Blood
By Lennox Shuppe I remember my great grandmother, Maude, collecting things. She went to flea markets in rural Oklahoma, coming home with little treasures that she squirreled away. Her home smelled of cinnamon, sage, and old books. The ground was neatly swept cement in her tiny little home on the Cherokee reservation. As you walked … Continue reading I Felt it in My Blood
A Pandemic Journal, the First Few Weeks
By Bakhtiar Ahmed First published: March 2022 in Kindle Thy Embers Anthology published by Lit-light publishers, Pakistan A Pandemic Journal, the First Few Weeks Bakhtiar Ahmed I woke up with a sinking feeling, a feeling of dread and hopelessness; I had an intense urge to flee but there was nowhere to go. I felt trapped, suffocated, … Continue reading A Pandemic Journal, the First Few Weeks
Who Am I? A Journal of Self Discovery
By Savannah Sisk This essay is a journey of self-discovery contained in a meager two thousand-something words. As you read you will watch me discover, then re-discover the concept of identity. As you read, you will watch me discover my identity. Along the way, you might be influenced to begin your own journey of self-discovery. … Continue reading Who Am I? A Journal of Self Discovery
Sun Tzu and Entertainment: Evan Almighty’s Flood
By Andrew Nickerson When it comes to endurance, only a handful of classics can boast of having truly stood the test of time. One of those is Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, which has stood as the tactics/strategy manual by which others are measured by for 2,000 years, namely because of its commonsense approach … Continue reading Sun Tzu and Entertainment: Evan Almighty’s Flood
Brain Silence
By Danielle Evans-Cole Those nagging, spinning, twirling thoughts in your head that weave around in and out of your consciousness. Like an invasive weed sprouting up in your synapses twisting around them. The… Should you be worried about that new knocking sound in your car … leads to the time your boyfriend’s car overheated on … Continue reading Brain Silence
Where Beauty Meets Peace
By Noeline Ann Anthony The blazing light of the sun somehow manages to splash some paint into the ocean and turns it into a rippling blanket of jewel blue. The ocean turns blue boldly for a touch of drama with the support of the atmosphere to show its purity. Not only does it stretch to … Continue reading Where Beauty Meets Peace
Sun Tzu and Entertainment: The Magnificent Kotobuki’s Heavy Bomber’s Raid
By Andrew Nickerson Throughout history, it’s hard to find a tactical/strategic manual anywhere near as influential as The Art of War by Sun Tzu. This 2,000-year-old manuscript differs from virtually all others on its premise alone: how to win. It then lays out the means of victory in simple, common-sense principles, an approach so effective … Continue reading Sun Tzu and Entertainment: The Magnificent Kotobuki’s Heavy Bomber’s Raid
Moment of Truth
By Peter Rodrigues Variations of the saying “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” originally attributed to Jesus, are now mottos inscribed in stone above the entrance to several secular universities, and the Original Headquarters Building of the Central Intelligence Agency. “You!” Dr. Steinberger said loudly, his voice piercing the … Continue reading Moment of Truth
Hijacked
By Carol E. Anderson The plane bounces once on the tarmac then screeches to a halt. The flight attendant opens the steel door and the heat blows through the aircraft causing my already pretzeled stomach to twist once again. I snatch my tattered backpack, sling it over my shoulder and step out. Thoughts whip through … Continue reading Hijacked
Academy of the Heart And Mind 