The second time I was raped was a far cry from the first. Looking back, I count what happened to me that day as a stroke of incredible good fortune for myself, and out-of- the-blue evidence of amazing community solidarity in its intolerance for violence and cruelty, and its endeavor to maintain peace. I was […]
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Tag: line drawings
OLIVER: Sees You
September of 1999 was a hot one. I had just returned to Santa Fe a short month ago from a stint back east, house-sitting for my dear friend, Cynthia, out on Long Island. I hadn’t been able to find a place I could afford yet. I did find a little secluded glade down by an […]
BELLA: Early
My dad used to burst into my bedroom, at dawn:30 a.m., throwing the door back with a bang, roughly yank all the covers completely off me and my bed, and cheerily spout, “Time to get uuuuuuuppp!!” He thought he was being SO funny. N O T . But could I ever convince him of that? […]
SELBY’S Favorite Game (Not Really)
Recently I watched one of those ‘cute’ animal videos where a seal was bouncing a ball around and playing catch with its trainer in one of those sea life shows. I wanted to relf. Seals belong OUTside. They are cute, sure, until you come up close and dirty – if one decided to attack you […]
ELIGHTABETH, So Serioth
When I was a little kid, my dad’s mother would come stay with us. Granny. The one whose middle name, Treat, I carry. I couldn’t stand her. She smelled like Eau d’Oldde Peoplle. And she made this weird little sucking-in whistle sound whenever there was something she disapproved of, but wouldn’t speak about. This image […]
SCREEN PARALYSIS: JESSE: Caught
I’ve been writing up a storm lately, and last night as I got up to take a little break, I caught my reflection in the bathroom mirror as I left – I looked kinda like this! I realized I’d be practically glued to the screen for days! So today I’m focusing on remembering fun, funny, […]
BEARY BEAR’S DAD, BURT: Mellow
Burt is the kind of dad everyone should have. Holds little babies as if they were the gods’ own treasures; plays with the toddlers; treats little girls to merry-go-rounds and lots of colorfully illustrated books and art supplies; little boys to Tonka trucks, small-hand size tools and paints, encyclopedias, roller skates and skis; and young […]
SHYLEE: Searching
I was 13 years old the first time I was raped. Not to worry, this will not be a rant or a self-pity party. Just a story about overcoming evil who took the form of a ‘nice’ man everyone liked and respected. The summer before my sophomore year, my mother thought it would be a […]
GUS: I AIN’T DONE NUTHIN’
Some days I feel just like this. Like there’s not a single thing I can get right, and if I do do something right, it isn’t enough, or good enough. Who the hell sets up those rules??? We are so conditioned! So programmed to think we are less-than, not good enough, not productive enough, not […]
CARLOS, ALWAYS HAPPY
I have a friend who, no matter what befalls her, is always happy. For a long time, it would piss me off that she never lost her equilibrium. I think I was jealous that I didn’t know how to do that, too. But then she told me why. She grew up in horrifying circumstances. Imagine […]
PETEY, PICKY!
Have you ever watched as birdies peck at seeds on the ground? It doesn’t look like they pick and choose at all – more like they do a general all-over snatch and grab, no matter what it is. But they actually have sharply discerning senses that allow them to choose ‘seed’ rather than ‘something awful,’ […]
SAM: SHINY THINGS
Did you know that a group, or gathering, of ravens is called an ‘Unkindness’? It’s odd to me that that’s so – I’ve never thought of them as unkind. My dog and I used to walk the arroyos outside of Tesuque, New Mexico. Always there would be groups of huge ravens in the trees above […]