Category Archives: Guest writer

By Sandra Hurtes This is the first of a two-part series. Next week, Sandra reflects on working with writing prompts, like the one that led to this essay. The pouring rain during my vacation in Portugal sent me and many … Continue reading →

By Marlene Samuels We’d read every book— about the experience, recovery, getting organized—plus had watched numerous documentaries. Four weeks before our life-changing event of becoming parents, our obstetrician encouraged us to register for Lamaze class taught by Nurse Practitioner Maureen … Continue reading →

By Sandra Hurtes The first time I became aware of having a heart as big as my mother’s was when we left Crown Heights for Canarsie. I was almost fourteen. Everything and everyone I said goodbye to seemed fragile in … Continue reading →

By Donald A. Ranard “In memory of Amy Ranard” He’s an orange tabby, a big-bellied, easy-goin’ good ol’ boy from Wilmington, North Carolina, 16 when we bring him back to our home in Arlington, Virginia, after the sudden death of … Continue reading →

By Jeremiah Cahill Our nation’s self-proclaimed “War Secretary,” Pete Hegseth has spotted the enemy, and the peril we face comes from—the Boy Scouts! A recently leaked Pentagon memo reveals Hegseth’s intention to cut off decades-old support for what is now … Continue reading →

Writers gathered Monday night as usual for the monthly meet-up for reminiscence writers I host, First Monday, First Person. Rich shared this ripped-from-the-headlines poem, a cri de coeur for our country and the brave people of Minneapolis. Anyone alive in … Continue reading →

By Kurt McGinnis Brown “My Islands” originally appeared in Wisconsin Writers Association Creative Wisconsin magazine, October 2025. I’m in love with islands.  Their siren call streams through me like those neutrinos constantly passing through all of us.  Thinking of an … Continue reading →

By Marlene Samuels This January in Chicago, where I feel fortunate to have settled, temperatures have given me a serious “deja vu” attack. Our arctic blast brought to mind a period in my life I’d all but forgotten! Until my … Continue reading →

By Faith Ellestad It was a celebration of someone’s life, and I dreaded going. What was the matter with me?  Normally, although I don’t look forward to such occasions, I’m okay to go.  But this was different.  We weren’t close to … Continue reading →

By Loriann Knapton In our house when I was growing up, you didn’t go to the doctor unless you were A. bleeding to death or B. weren’t breathing. Anything else requiring medical attention was pretty much managed at home. I … Continue reading →