Humanity
A Modern Dilemma
Thirty minutes after our last fight, Lannie and I were driving south on California Interstate Highway 163 through Balboa Park. This is a beautiful stretch of two-lane highway that usually gives me a great deal of pleasure. For about four miles you travel through a lush subtropical jungle of ferns, eucalyptus trees, and grassy hillsides; it’s as if you have been transported to the Pacific Northwest; refreshing, to say the least. Not too far north, 163 is a typical six-lane freeway that clogs up like a fat man’s arteries during daily rush hours, but this four-mile stretch through Balboa Park, as you pass the zoo, is as beautiful as any highway on Lanai or Kauai. Local legend has it that JFK once deemed this section of Interstate 163: “the most beautiful highway in America.”
By Richard L. Boyer5 years ago in Confessions
Turning Fat During The Pandemic
Everyone's worse nightmare or maybe it's just mine... but I've gained over 10 pounds since this pandemic started and I hate looking at my body now. I was once a track and cross country girl who always looked good in a bikini and could pull off bralettes.
By Chantel5 years ago in Confessions
Treasure Map
There is that very famous poem by Robert Frost, about choices you make in life: The Road Not Taken. It speaks of a path in the woods splitting two ways. Both ways are just as fair, and the passing there had worn them really about the same, both equally lay. The narrator finally chose a path; the one (he deemed) less traveled by, and that made all the difference.
By Ames5 years ago in Confessions
At least I’m doing some things right
One of my favorite jobs I had was when I was 19. I worked with a bunch of self-professed “weed-smoking hippies” – Okay not everyone was a weed smoker, but some of my closest friends were. We canvassed door-to-door about all kinds of environmental issues. My time employed there in 1993 was before Wisconsin implemented the recycling laws that the organization, Citizens for a Better Environment, helped passed.
By Julie "US Writer" Anne 5 years ago in Confessions
My Complicated Relationship With My Fertility
“What about when I get pregnant?’ My doctor looked like someone had just told him pigs not only could fly, but were now rainbow colored. I hadn’t considered he probably didn’t hear these words coming out of a 17-year-old’s mouth every day.
By Camille Prairie5 years ago in Confessions
I've Been Abused and Now I'm Often Misunderstood
Every now and then I hint at my childhood abuse. For the most part though, I stop at hinting because talking about these things isn’t easy. Especially not when the abuser is someone who’s supposed to give love unconditionally.
By Emari5 years ago in Confessions
A beautiful Day to save lives.
I bought myself a sweatshirt that says “It’s a beautiful day to save lives” when I got the job. I was a fan of Grey’s anatomy and this felt apropo. I had a job I was proud of. I got to tell people that every single day I got up and helped people fight for their lives. I was, in my own mind, a fucking rockstar, at the start of this. If you had asked me in 2018 I would have told you that I had the coolest job, and that I was fucking good at it.
By Brittany Richardson5 years ago in Confessions
Promethean Star by Power Flower
I am not sure I actually believe him. He told me he was born millions of years ago on a planet on the opposite side of the Universe. He claims to have lived thousands of lives on the Earth over the past million years or so. As I said earlier his claims are really rather fantastical and mystical.
By David Olson5 years ago in Confessions
Cutting through traffic
As a child, about nine or ten years old, I was with my brother (who in his teens... came across more than a few beautiful little cars, like minis, and metros... all twin cams and turbos. His good friend Augustine.. oh boy! could he swap engines, and seats, and wheels, and things. One day I was with a friend, his name was victor. we were together in my brother's latest boys toy. I can't remember if he just offered or if I asked, to learn, but all I can remember is it being my turn. I'm in the drivers seat, facing the steering wheel, rev counter and speedometer, barely was able to see over the dash. nevertheless I did nothing rash as I listened keenly to my big bro who stressed clutch control over and over again. Before I knew.. I was on a roll, start stop, start stop, start stop.. each time adding a strand of nerve, between my brain, and my left foot.. now clutch down put it in second and ease it up... then third... I was driving. Changing gears was something my brother or father would allow me to do as a nipper in the eighties, as was steering. many times I had helped my mum into, or out of, a tight parking space with my natural spacial awareness. I even graduated to fully contracting of the job of parking for her sometimes. Then came the naughty years. I'd steal my mother's keys and go driving to see my friends, or just for the pure pleasure ... (a sort of benign joy ride), even tried to give it the big shot a get a date lol. I had and engine problem once as a sign I was on the wrong path however I was under the thinking that so long as I return the car in one piece, spent fuel replenished (about a fivers worth or so), preferably parked back in the same spot... then no harm was done. Needless to say I grew out of that attitude with maturity and responsibility. Came a time I was seeking a profession of some sort or just something to do, and so i trained as a courier, got an NVQ level 2 "delivering goods by road", and got myself a job as a motorcycle courier. this is when I learned the humble "Lifesaver" (a simple look over your shoulder to see what is happening around you), and well... I still got knocked over many times. Mostly by cab drivers. however those experiences came with the proverbial silver lining as firstly.. I learned. I learned all sorts of stuntman type breakfalls. I learned how to eject myself from my bike or bycicle in the split seconds before a collision. rather like a struck fighter pilot. I learned how to roll along the floor (like Arnie in T2... the liquid nitrogen scene) and get up and get myself off of the road before being struck again because the moving traffic isn't stopping soon enough ..like an action man. I learned to read and interpret the roads from a much more vulnerable and defensive standpoint! I learned to take care of myself! and that my safety, was in my hands! and more specifically, in my brain! all of which had the side effect of me scoffing at helmets for a while. Those and bike lanes. For the reduced agency and self responsibility and (one of my favourite all time road safety related words)... Anticipation. with maturity I now see clear cut bike lanes, well planned, and safely designed, with zero confusion or ambiguity, and well fitting, properly fastened, helmets as essential components of health and safety. Naturaly I moved on eventually becoming a driver's mate after joing an employment agency. In actual fact, I was a mate for many years. Having my first taste of being a white van man whilst out with my dad, helping him with his work for some pocket money. He delivered parcels, and I'd go out with him, to a lovely rural area called Buckinghamshire, which was his patch. I'd see how the other half and was always impressed to see all the lovely greenery, leafy villages and beautiful house with names and not numbers. finding them was easy, as it was so exciting to do so. my eyes eyes were naturaly peeled. I had a great experience and it was also a time of good man to young man bonding with my father. I got good excercise, running catalogues and boxes from the van to the doors. many a time was a moment of connection when we be offered a drink or a tip or a look around at some beautiful home or garden (the type with a lake and acres of Greenery.. maybe a horse etc) it was a far cry from hackney Islington or Camden etc. Courtesy, and invitation, a drink and relaxation, it was nice, and also a lesson in life.
By POETSKY5 years ago in Confessions
