humanity
For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.
The Last of Her Kind
About 35 miles outside of Phoenix lives an old woman with a very grandmotherly aura. If she misses your call, her raspy voicemail message says “Hi, it’s Mary Durand. Please forgive me for not being able to answer your call right now, but I swear things will get better soon.” She’s a hippie, or at least a former one, one of the dwindling number of people in the United States who spent portions of the Sixties and Seventies fighting injustice and protesting the war in Vietnam, desperately trying to bring peace to this violent and vile world from the bottom up, who involved themselves in a countercultural revolution which made its way into history starting in Haight-Ashbury. Safe to say, she is no fan of Donald Trump, and got a good, cough-filled laugh out of me referring to him as ‘the Cheeto with a hairpiece on Pennsylvania Avenue.’ She’s lived one hell of a life, to say the least; she’s been engaged to be married three separate times –all of her fiances died before their wedding day–, she spent four years in a convent before deciding the Catholic Church could stick its dogma right back up its ass, and finally settled on a career by taking a job as a social worker who works with convicts on death-row, fighting for life in prison rather than the chair. Her career is now in its twilight, and her legacy of legally battling the death penalty in the US is coming to a close.
By Christopher Handwerger6 years ago in Humans
To Better Days and My Return to the Movies After COVID-19
Every day, amid the threat of the virus, I find ways to stay positive and think of the future. That's not easy for those of us with pre-existing lung conditions. I have asthma and I live with the specter of COVID-19 and the damage it does to the ability to breathe. It's terrifying, I have been on a ventilator and I know the horror of not catching your breath.
By Sean Patrick6 years ago in Humans
A Long-Awaited Perfect Day
Ah, the day that we've all been waiting for. The day that seems so close yet out of reach. The day in which we all want to run out the house and hug our loved ones. For me that day will be full of the tiny little things that before seemed so insignificant but now mean the world.
By Ellie Browne6 years ago in Humans
Stay Safe
In many senses this lockdown has been an unbelievably trying time for the whole world, bringing boredom, misery and in many cases anxiety amongst other mental health issues. But also, what it has given us, is the time to wipe our emotional windscreen that has been misty for a while and see just how much we've been taking life for granted. Losing many entities that have given us leisure, fun and freedom. Just a few would include the fun of splashing in refreshingly cold water in a swimming pool or the sea in the summer and allowing our skin to soak up the sun, or going out with your mates to sink a pint or many in your local boozer to the sound of your favourite tunes booming from the speakers while throwing darts or indulging in your pool table skills, or going out for a lovely dinner with your family or a more intimate meal with a date or the person you love. Although I would say the biggest is merely the freedom just to go outside outside and get a much needed lung-craving breath of fresh air. Many people who have been in lockdown have been unfortunately deprived of this, as many homes that people inhabit do not come with an outside space and the closest many people get aside from going out to the shops or a limited walk in the park, has been a window being pushed ajar. I would say this is a very small price to pay if it means more people on this earth will stay alive, but that doesn't stop the entire world looking forward to the days when we can dive headfirst into social life again. I would compare it to a goose having stepped out of it's habitat for a while for safety reasons, such as a dangerous predator invading their body of water. But once that predator has disappeared, that goose will be longing to return.
By Johnny Hutchinson6 years ago in Humans
Better Days...
Do you ever feel like the world has turned completely upside down? Lockdown has truly and utterly felt like this. Losing an overseas performing contract and having to travel back to the UK to unemployment wasn't exactly the idea I had in mind for 2020, however it has allowed me some time to recentre myself and focus on what is truly important in life.
By George Fairclough6 years ago in Humans
False Bravado
(Victorie) A slender girl of about eighteen years old stands outside the entrance of the circus, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her favorite gray hoodie. Her dark brown eyes stare at the festivities, though they lack the warmth usually hidden in their depths. The harsh night air pulls her long blonde locks from her face, and she sighs, slightly annoyed.
By Zoe Mitchell6 years ago in Humans
Night Lives and Past Times - Welcome to the Neighborhood
In my bedroom, I have a large window that spans most of the far wall. I've started to use natural light from this window to wake me up in the mornings instead of an alarm clock (let’s face it, I’ve got nowhere to go), and I find myself staring at the open expanse of sky and the rosy blush of every new morning fading to a tentative blue. It’s funny because from my bed, that’s all that I can see, but if I lift myself up and sit by the windowsill, I see the rooftops of the houses that line my street, the mess of laundry lines and patches of garden separated by fences and walls.
By India Childs6 years ago in Humans
