Poetry: Birth and Death
Like the trial run to the hospital when I was pregnant, I visit the San Luis cemetery with its stone and plastic-flowered landscape. Death comes with birth, yet my…
Reflections: “American Nations”
I love that Arroyo Grande—especially Branch Street Arroyo Grande—has an independent bookstore. My ego is happy because Monarch Books carries my books. We were waiting for a table to open…
The Balcony Gardener: The Kombucha Bust
Photo by Aedrian Salazar By October, the balcony was a patchwork of endings and beginnings. Tomatoes, sun-tired on thinning vines, sagged under the weight of their final fruit. The…
The Balcony Gardener: The Burning Figs
Photo by Saif Ali It was the time of year when the Balcony Gardener used to make applesauce in California. An apple tree would never fit on her Paris…
The Balcony Gardener: The Rambutan Affair
Photo by Beth Macdonald. This morning, the Balcony Gardener sat cross-legged on her folding chair, sipping garlic scape tea from a chipped porcelain cup that once belonged to someone…
Memoir: A Souvenir for the Heart
Photo by Element5 Digital What a wonderful time it was! After six years of teaching in South Central Los Angeles, experiencing life through the eyes and minds of my…
Comedy: The Grammar of Enough
A Four-Act Comedy of Conjugation, Crisis, and Croissants Characters Steve: A retired power plant operator and procedure writer, recently enthralled by French grammar. Janice: New to France, learning French from…
Reflections: Nothing, and Everything
Photo by Alex Sheldon I met him in the fall, just as the summer fog lifted and the Monarch butterflies returned from the north. His beachside home, lived in for…
Poetry: Green Flash
Photo by Adel Emma The legendary green flash is real. After more than fifty years living on our coast and countless sunset viewings, I finally saw it as the last…