It was very big and heavy, cardboard, cheap painted white with clasps and lock, a holiday case which I used as a school bag, awkward to hold all the books I stored, caught on my bicycle carrier. Cycling home I felt a thud and heard a guffaw: the big school bully had knocked the suitcase onto the road. A challenge, a fight in the field, fear entering my bones. A school memory which sparked the bullying incident in Peeling Oranges. http://www.amazon.com/Peeling-Oranges-James-Lawless/dp/1496007646 ...continued...

Hello, my name is Daina, but hey im gonna talk about my self/mylife :) I am a 16 year old teenager who has lots of drama, excitement, respect in her life or well needs to have some respect for others and from others, I guess. I was born in 1998, I was born with a dent in my chest. My father is a man who left me when i was only 9 months old. I live with my mother, step-dad, my 4 siblings but i got more siblings than that. The siblings i live with is younger than me, I have 5 siblings who dont live with me, 3 of them are out of school, graduated. My actual sister has been living with ...continued...

I had a best friend while we were living in Gold Hill. Her name was Gail Stevens. We were really close. She's part Native American. She told she was part Cherokee. One day while we were at recess, we decided to sneak off and go across the road over to the cemetary. To this day I'm stillnot sure why we did it, I guess we were just curios. Well we were walking around and came up to a shed. All of a sudden we heard a noise, it sounded like a ghost, being only 6 years old you would think that we were scared, well we weren't. Next thing we know the grounds keeper jumped out ...continued...

Living in El Monte, California, She had been in an abusive relationship off and on for several years. One day this man she was dating, decided he was gonna take a trip to go visit his parents in another town. As she waited for him pregnant and patiently, and in communication, realizing 1 week pased, then 2 weeks came around finally wondering why a month has already gone bye, and he wasnt home yet. As time passes she has found that while visiting his parents he was really visiting his fiance' and with in that time he got married to his fiance' and made her his wife. Finally 8 months kater s ...continued...

He is mysterious in every way, the boy I have yet to meet. Nick got my hopes up. He stated that George was coming to visit. As my day progressed, the communication between he and George changed. George wasn't coming to visit... He was coming to say goodbye. As a newly drafted marine, George sought it fit to say his goodbyes before being deployed. The news hit me like a ton of bricks. I had yet to meet him and the possible man of my dreams was going to be just that... a dream. I nearly cried over a boy I had never met. I've been alone for so long that possibilities of meeting peop ...continued...

Blue Hole By Rolland Love The following are a couple chapters from my mystery suspense novels "Blue Hole" and a sequel "River's Edge" which have received over (300) four and five star reviews. ☂ In River's Edge I aged Dub (12) and brother Tommy (15) by 50 years and made them Grandfathers who take their Grandsons to Blue Hole where a murder occurred the last time they were there in 1949. They become a family of cold case detectives. It's not easy to solve a (50) year old murder but they prove to be up for t ...continued...

The Million Man March Commemorative Poem titled: "A Black Man" written by myself two years before the Million Man March. "A BLACK MAN" DO NOT LOOK INTO MY FACE AND SEE THE COLOR OF MY SKIN, AND NOT SEE THE CONTENT OF MY CHARACTER. DO NOT LOOK INTO MY HISTORY AND SEE THE THE DARKNESS OF MY PAST, AND NOT SEE THE BRIGHTNESS OF MY FUTURE. DO NOT LOOK AT THE LOSSES OF MY MISTAKES, AND NOT SEE THE PROFITS OF MY ACHIEVEMENTS. DO NOT LOOK AT THE DISTANCE I HAVE YET TO TRAV ...continued...

North Pole ...continued...

Sitting here in Oslo Norway the past few days waiting for our flight back to the States we had the opportunity to rest, recharge and go to the Polar Museum in town as Norway has one of the most storied reputations for Arctic and Antarctic exploration in the world. Adventurers such as Amundsen, the first to reach the south pole and cross the Northwest Passage, and Nansen, famous for his expedition to the north polar icecap in the ship named Fram which was frozen into the ice intent on floating with the drifting icecap both hail from here. After experiencing the unrel ...continued...

In order to prepare for this trip Mark and I went to a 3 day shakedown camp with the guides in January. We spent two nights in a tent at minus 20 Fahrenheit. The guides talked about knowing where all of your gear is at all times. They would say for example to keep your lighter in the same pocket and if you need it, it is there. And as soon as you are done put it back because it lives there. This is crucial in the arctic because we have limited space and you need to keep track of your gear. Too much energy is spent looking for something and if you are freezing you need it right away. Anyone ...continued...

I was born on November 14, 1933 at 1307 Rhomberg Avenue at around 6 AM during the middle of the depression. As most of the birth's at that time, it was not at a hospital. Dr. Bacon was our family doctor and he was present at my birth. Dr. Palen, who was related to Pop, was just coming up the stairs when I left out my first cry. Paul was downstairs and Dr. Palen told Paul that he had the baby in his bag. I think Paul believed that for decades. Mom says she always wanted a black haired baby and she got one in me as I had a lot of it. ...continued...

By Chris Christodoulou &nb ...continued...

The Walk "Dad, can you wait for me to take your walk?" My seven year-old son was looking up at me expectantly. His eyebrows were arched over his brown eyes and his close cropped hair was sticking up in three different directions. "Can ya, Dad? Just fifteen minutes." I looked away from my e-mail and smiled at Eric. "Sure, but hurry up and get ...continued...

I went to about a dozen elementary schools from Kindergarten through 8th grade, though I skipped a full year. Many of them in and around Chicago, primarily the south side, but also in Big Rapids Michigan and Hollywood, Florida. We were not a military family, nor were either of my parents climbing any kind of corporate ladder, but we moved around even more than most of those kinds of families. We moved mostly because the rent and or utility bills were due. Sometimes we moved because the landlord found out really how many kids or dogs or adults we had in the house. Funny we usuall ...continued...

Published by Central Methodist University © 2011 My roommate at Central Methodist University, Fayette, Missouri, was Max Nickerson (class of 1960), but everyone called him Snake. He helped his dad run Nickerson’s Zoological Gardens. Snake was my roommate during my freshman year and always had a stash of exotic wild meat, rattlesnake being one of his favorites and mine as well after I adapted to the idea. Snake had been bitten by a cottonmouth when he was a youngster and lost is index finger down to the second joint. His trademark, in addition to other things was sticking the s ...continued...