My Three Friendbursts
My Three Friendburstsa memoir by Colin Campbell I had new blooms of friendship when I was 30, 42, and 53. I didn’t realize this until I was 67 and got an email out of nowhere from my ex-wife, Rhonda. We’d eloped from Detroit to California in 1969 and married at age 22 at […]
The AI Invasion
Everywhere I look I see AI invading. The Turing Test has long since been sent to the old folks’ home–AI can write stuff well enough to persuade you a human did it. Fool me once, fool me forever. There’s no going back. I look at VentureBeat.com several times a week–it’s been around […]
A Dog in the Manger
A Dog in the Manger A story by Austin I Pullé “Will cost pennies you say? And the market? Shit-hole countries! No way Jose!” He was talking about an inexpensive pill for the prevention for river blindness. “This is ours. Intellectual property is property. If we can’t sell it on TV and […]
At My Age
At My Agea poem by Irene Solovij At my age, I have experienced nature’s benevolent touch How it nurtured me, as I walked amidst its beauty Humbled by its power and might through the years But should anyone just tinker within my mind long enough They would discover a fetus still unborn, awaiting birth, seeking […]
Waxing and Waning
Waxing and Waninga memoir by Colin Campbell I fled my toxic situation in Detroit in October 1975 by taking a ten-day bus ride to Santa Barbara where my brother Scott lived. When I arrived I called him from the pay phone at the Greyhound station: “I’m here,” I said. Scott and I […]
We Are Here To Heal You
We Are Here To Heal Youby Colin Campbell “We are here to heal you.” The voice was loud enough to make the windows shake. The noise woke up Mary Whitlow. It was just dawn, Mary saw, and she wondered if she’d dreamed it. She hadn’t been sleeping very well since the accident that […]
Instructions to Forgive
Instructions to forgiveA poem by Cesar Verrier First, remember. It is a painful task. Be gentle with yourself. Write down your recollections. You can’t forgive what you refuse to remember. Start your excursion into memory before you were so cruelly treated. Recapture what your life was like then and what you were like, too. Reconstruct […]
Love Renewed
Love Renewedby Irene Solovij Talk to me in love words Breathe your sweet breath into my soul Touch my skin until I can’t bear the fire Then consume me in the flames Whisper stories of the battles Once fought with tears and pain Now how they lay at our feet Never to rise again […]
The Lost Bicycle
The Lost Bicycle a story by Irene Solovij Walking down a well-trodden and favored trail of many years, Tristan reveled in the sights and sounds surrounding him. He breathed deeply and relished the damp, mossy, odor so prevalent this early part of the day. In a few more hours, the sun would be strong enough […]
Five Poems
Seven Poemsby Julia Lee The Righteous Fire When California’s warm winters become a sin,Shrubs, thorns, and fallen leaves only add to the blame.The wind is cursed as an accomplice,While red-legged frogs and fish remain the last fig leaf of environmentalism. The burning that captivates the world—Whose heart does it truly scorch?The sharpest bullet can traverse […]