Calista Marchand-Nazzaro
Bio
Always learning and always evolving. I’m a creative, an idea person, a thinker, a dreamer, and working on being a doer. Many interests. Varied content. Food. Sustainability. Comedy. Poetry. Music.
Stories (94)
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The Assault
In the house on the hill, on the other side of the tracks, a card game was underway. This wasn't the sordid poker game that you're probably picturing. This was a classic game of Go Fish - adding to the wholesomeness, it was happening on one of those physically big card sets adorned with an overly-large font and clad in the images of goofy cartoon fish. Sitting around the table, and thoroughly engaged in the game at hand, were a motley assortment of characters. The ones who initiated the game (and were currently in the lead) were two young girls, sitting directly to the left of them, at the head of the table, was Fred, the grandfather of one of the girls - and the Guardian of the household. Filling the remainder of the table were five men between the ages of 35 and 60 - all looking as shady as their pasts. It was a sight, that's for sure, but for this group of misfits, it was a pretty average Friday night - Fred's granddaughter and her best friend come over for game night and all the guys gather 'round to partake in whatever game they choose. About halfway through their third game of Go Fish, they heard a dog bark in the distance. Other than that, the night was filled with contemplative silence and giggles.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro2 years ago in Criminal
Ecoverklempt
I turn on my laptop and immediately open my browser. I see the headlines because my eyes can't help but look at them. The first one of importance that catches my eye is "Town To Require Resident Composting." I smile and weep silently as I begin reading the details. I am instantly covered in full-body goosebumps, my shoulders heave, and I have the contradicting urges to sob with every ounce of my being and to jump for joy. It is a good day in such an overwhelmingly bad system. This little win feels like a whole lot of hope in a hopeless situation. I continue reading and see the related article: "Woman Builds Outdoor Cat Houses From Rescued Materials" - the tears keep coming. The least we could do really feels monumental at this point. I think of last week when you freed that baby bunny from the chicken wire and the same rush of emotion came over me. Even the thought now brings that same gut feeling and the irrepressible urge to cry; it’s visceral. This deep ache comes from somewhere in my soul. It’s akin to the bittersweet way I miss your touch, yet wish you find the one who’s right for you. I can’t be entirely sure if the involuntary tears are out of sadness for what has been lost or destroyed or hope for what good persists and what is to come.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro2 years ago in Fiction
Then and Now
The first ever piece that I published here on Vocal is “What a Glass of Merlot Can Hold: Seeing Past the Now.” As I am writing this, I see the irony in that subtitle; perhaps deep down I knew I would be referencing it someday in the future. Reading that piece two years after writing it, I still think it’s a solid short story. However, I also noticed quite a few things I would like to edit and improve upon. I didn’t remember every detail that I chose to include so, in a way, it was like reading something new to me, yet so familiar.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro2 years ago in Writers
Seeing Hope in Destruction
I am deeply passionate about the climate crisis and our connection with the world. That passion was fueled by the knowledge I gained during the semester I spent on my Farm to Table Concentration in college. My primary professor for that semester assigned us many exceptional reads that served to heighten my awareness about the world around me and the role that we all play in altering it. Although assigned by this professor as reading for my final semester in college, not my Concentration semester, Adventures in the Anthropocene: A Journey to the Heart of the Planet We Made by Gaia Vince had, perhaps, the most profound impact on me.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro2 years ago in BookClub
The Dangerous Relationship of Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a tale as old as time; everyone loves a story of forbidden love. However, everyone should not love how little Romeo and Juliet value themselves individually. This toxic overreliance on another human being is not the foundation that love should be built on, Will.
By Calista Marchand-Nazzaro2 years ago in Critique
