Memoir
Arizona State of Mind
So, with no jobs, money burning a hole in our pocket, and a deep need to see a new part of the country, we packed up and started the hours-long drive to Arizona. From Texas, with all of our stops and such, it ended up being about an 18-hour journey. Not including, of course, the overnight stop that wasn't even planned by us that we were essentially peer-pressured to make by Madi's travel-bug grandmother...
By Raine Neal3 years ago in Chapters
Play Anything You Like
As a British ex-pat of some thirty years living and working in Spain and Japan, one of the most common questions I get asked by strangers or new friends is "Where are you from?" If I answer England, that lines them up for what comes next. Sometimes I answer their question with "Why?" I know, you shouldn't answer a question with one of your own, but I have my reasons. Not all such inquiries about where I am from are conversational ice-breakers from friendly natives.
By Liam Ireland3 years ago in Chapters
Living A Life Abroad
As a British-born and bred ex-pat, of Irish descent, living and working in the South of Spain for the best part of twenty-five years, there were three types of social events I tried my best to avoid like the plague. It's not that I am in any way anti-social, far from it, I can be quite the social butterfly when I want to be. However, I learned the hard way to be very selective about who I mixed with socially.
By Liam Ireland3 years ago in Chapters
It Wasn't the First Time I Had Died
Previously it had been about my own hopes & dreams, a recognition & accepting that my life was not my own but that I had been called by another to a purpose far more debased. Not that I couldn’t have chosen my own path—I most certainly was free to do so—but it wouldn’t have gone well.
By Randy Wayne Jellison-Knock3 years ago in Chapters
Freedom, at long last!
I had a troubled youth. That is the only safe way to express that. Shortly after I turned 15 we moved into a house that we had to share with another human. I use the term 'human' lightly, as this particular person would constantly make all of my friends uncomfortable, particularly those of the feminine variety (I've had issues with trusting males my entire life). This 'human' worked as a security guard, as well, and had access to firearms.
By Dave Rowlands3 years ago in Chapters
Gone Too Soon. Top Story - September 2023.
A Bridge to Hell I lifted the recent photo from my office desk and thought of my great day with my children. We had spent the last days of summer together on Lake Keowee boating. We didn't know it would be the last day the three of us spent together. Though imperfect at times, they had overcome and survived the antics and hazards of their teen years.
By J. S. Wade3 years ago in Chapters
The Secret Popularity of a 12-Year-Old
If there was a stampede before, now there was practically a riot when the phone rang. “Is it Beep?” “BEEP!” Doors slammed open from every direction, as fourteen and eighteen-year-old girls alike sprinted to get to the phone first; dressed or half undressed, book or pen or hairbrush in hand and sometimes wielded as a weapon, the girls as one were determined to talk to Beep. If it was Beep phoning, the triumphant victor of the day settled into the phone cupboard and shut the door against the losers with a smirk.
By Lucinda Cook learnquantumcrochet.blogspot.com3 years ago in Chapters
My Lady in Blue
I watch you sitting on the edge of the bed stretching your nude stockings up and over those long smooth legs. The first one passes right above the dark mole God placed just to the left of your knee, the color softening a bit when he pressed against your pale skin.
By Susana's World3 years ago in Chapters
