April 22, 2019
"17th Anniversary Issue"

Novella

Frederick Foote is a retired State of California worker and community college instructor. He lives in Sacramento, California and writes plays and short stories.

The great ship Nina is before Estrada's eyes at last, but her darkness has targeted his heart...

Unwillingly separated from the Nina, Estrada must find meaning in his life -- but can he live with what he finds?

Estrada has found a happiness he never expected, one he will never leave -- unless...

Conclusion. Estrada has been recalled to enlistment, back to the monstrous weapon-ship Nina. What will he find there?

Short

Clothe yourself in darkness...and then don't be surprised what you find in your pockets...

Return again to the universe of "The Mechanic" and Estrada's last hope and happiness...

How do you stand and how do you approach when you know that you cannot run?

Death is inevitable; what comes next is something more...

Time and space are finite. But love, and spirit are not...

Searching for novelty, searching for beauty, searching for excitement...why is it such a an biological imperative when so often it leads to destruction?

And this world, and all things in it...?

There! By the pilings, the water moves in that certain way -- that's where you cast your line...

Who was the first one? And who -- or what -- will be the last?

A rare look from within a lost mind...

They get into your head, into your blood, and nothing can take them away...

It's always good to plan ahead...

In the end, you're never really alone...

So different, so far apart, and yet so much the same...

Pride and greed and arrogance -- yeah, he can work with that...

Some say one thing, and some say another, but fact is, if you're doin' what you're supposed to be doin,' you'll be happy...

What did you come here to see? What has come to see you?...

Oh, for defiant hearts...

They say that when art is really good, the audience simply can't look away...

Anything you say or don't say can and will be used against you...

Does this one arrive when you least expect it? Or is it always nearby...

Aren't you glad Halloween is over?

Let this year be one of thought...

Remember that old song, "In Heaven There Is No Beer?"

Now there was some unfinished business...

"The narrator assures me that each and every word is the gospel..."

And what does "mercy" mean in the wars of politicians and their generals?

Such a treacherous road, and so many still -- still -- take its evil trail...

We all wear masks. It's not always painful to wear one, but what happens when you forget what you look like without one?

Oh, Summer. Sometimes it's not so much the heat as the proximity...

More predators than one are without remorse...

Sometimes we have a lot of explaining to do for the young. And sometimes the things you have to say in the explanation are hard to say, painful to remember...

They creep in, their intention to cut you off from everything and everyone you have ever loved...

Open. Honest. Of a good heart. Is that all we need in a friend?

Can Death be an excuse for Death?

Essay

And don't forget the wall he wants to build -- who will that keep out?

Poem

"...a hidden taking of your essence..."

"...Never sated..."

"...Substantial in every way..."

"...One note black crow..."

"...Pretentious, modest, A mummer, a scream..."

"...a hand at every throat a knife for every back..."

"...And it's alright and it's okay..."

"...Carrying away and devouring all..."

We can't hide in the dark, or behind walls, or with eyelids closed any longer...

"You suffer me, I tolerate you..."

"...Bound by high banks..."

"...The touch of your hand is more than I can bear..."

"...Ambitious feet stand, dance on the chair seat..."

"...A circus of daily death-defying events..."

"...On the battlefield they jousted..."

Opinion

Yes, let's sing along...