Nonfiction

God made human beings because God loves stories. (Elie Wiesel) There are all kinds of stories. Some are taken from reality and processed through inspiration, other rise up from an instant of inspiration; and...

Isolation Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar At 10:00 a.m., the tiny Alaskan village still sleeps in this unrelenting daylight. Not one walker crosses my path on my trek to the black-sanded beach; a hulking dog, wolf-like and menacing,...

My wife, Mary, and I sit on the front porch of our Florida home. Mary is feeling nostalgic, so she asks me a syrupy question. I never feel very comfortable when Mary asks me...

MICHAEL BRANCH AND THE ONLY TIME MY FATHER EVER SMOKED POTby Leslie Bohem In the spring of 1971, I dropped out of UC Berkeley midway through my junior year because a girl who I was...

 “Rules for happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.” ― Immanuel Kant      She was challenging herself again, “Can I do it? Maybe I can do it. I think I can do it. Damn, I...

THIS WINTER This winter, in collaboration with Covid-19 Bridget Kiley I never wore socks before quarantine, but now I seem to always be in need of them -- digging to the bottom of drawers to find a...

The house was only blocks away, so I got there in minutes. Staci’s sobs were already breathless heaves. All I could do was hold her and utter empty words: “What is it, sweetheart? Tell...

Temperature Fluctuations Prologemena My father touched me after he died.  I was writing at  night under a single lamp and I felt a tap on my shoulder.  Or—one can never be certain in these matters--he passed...

APPARITIONS OF THE PASTBy Aysel Basci  From time to time, when I look back on my life and ask myself what my happiest memories are, as some of us over 60 are in the habit...

The Anatomy of Disconnected Lines I first noticed him on the other side of Westbury Avenue, as we both made our way to the bus stop. Even through heavy traffic I could see his brogues had...