The old bear lumbered slowly along the tree line, his body tired and sore from the many battles that ensured his royalty. The sun barely warmed his exhausted soul anymore as he lay in the daylight between the branches. He closed his one good eye for the briefest of moments. In the world he lived in, domination often meant sacrificing pieces of himself for each victory. His broken left leg that healed bent and awkward. The...

Ursa Major (cont')7 The enormous gantry of halogen arc lights turned night into day as they splashed their hot, humming radiance across the deck of the rig. High above the platform a gas flare burned relentlessly into the oil-black sky. During the night a regular flotsam of charred and stricken birds fell from this huge flame into the catch net below like moths scorched by a candle. The gas flare was an irresistible magne...

Denial: a memoir of terror, written by Jessica Stern- experienced by Jessica Stern- talks mostly of Concord, Massachusetts and areas around it. It starts in the first couple chapters at the night that changed everything for her and her younger sister. They were then 15 and 14. It was October of ’73 and in Concord nobody thought anything like this could happen. Afterwards, speaking with police, even the police didn’t belie...

Ursa Major Continued4 The seal launched itself into the water like a black torpedo in a disappearing sheath of silver bubbles. It was no longer the cumbersome inhabitant of the land but was transformed into its antithesis; a creature entirely of the sea able to glide, dive and rise effortlessly. No obvious propulsion was in evidence to cause its slippery speediness. It could turn about - even turn full circle - within les...

Ursa Major1 High on the iron-blue mountain where the tall trees begin to shorten and the ground is steep, cradled in a quiet bowl is an almost forgotten place. Nestling unseen, beneath one of the few remaining gnarled ash trees, shielded by the rustle of the brittle brown leaves and blanketed in deep snow there is a narrow entrance. This entrance leads to a cave, a silent cave that nothing has visited for the longest of t...

Maybe I’m more sensitive about cockroaches than most other people because I was eighteen, in the army, before I ever saw one. I was working in the mess hall and I went to the broom closet to get a mop when the little monster chased me out. In Montana, only Deer Lodge Penitentiary has roaches, and there’s this guard that collects them and shellackes them to boards in posed courtroom scenes, fishing and hunting scenes, etc....

As the gate to the castle came near, Lucinda tore her eyes away from the prince. Partly in fear and curiosity of what lay beyond, Lucinda let out a gasp at the beauty of what lay before her. She turned to Cal and asked, “Is this real?” Cal smiled down at her and said, “Yes Lucinda, it is very real.” “Oh my, it's so grand, I just don't know if I belong.” Cal: “Lucinda of course you belong, I invited you.” Lucinda: “But Cal...

The Closed Cosy World Of Just A Six Year Old A life time in a day- A life in the day time Being too low for anybody to look you square- makes it impossible for anybody to directly say anything that can sink straight into your soul and rot. And above all you have never and can never be wrong… how beautiful. Nobody in the house possesses an alarm clock- me and my brother do that job just fine, getting you up earlier than yo...

I had always heard stories of the prince of the pond, but had never seen him in real life. I mean, why would I have ever seen him, he lived in the castle at the edge of the lake, surrounded by the great big thistle shrubs. No one ever came out that went inside the shrubs. Oh how I dreamed of one day, getting a glimpse of the prince. I often thought of ways to get inside, or close to the castle. But I never had the courage...

He’d left the dance early, needing to be alone, to think, to sort out his emotions. Then he got hungry. The one place still open was the all-night, Hilltop Café Motel and Truck Stop.With the country club dance still going on, the over air-conditioned, neon lighted café seemed empty. A few couples were sitting in the back booths. None looked familiar. Out-of-town kids, he guessed. A lot of them would have stopped in after...

As he looked around all he could see, except for the long line in front of him, was a thick fog. It was certainly different from any other fog he'd seen. Instead of a damp, gray, chilly, fog, this one seemed to be warm and inviting, even cheerful with its rosy glow. Looking to his rear he saw more people joining the line in a continuous stream. Immediately behind him was a short, elderly man, dressed in nothing but what s...

Mr. Raymond's Jingling Jangling Wagon Mr. Raymond had so many pots and pans and other metal objects hanging from his pushcart he could not move it a couple of feet without the noise alerting the folks on Mulberry Lane that he was on his way. He was the Mulberry Lane peddler and philosopher whose wit and wisdom offered his customers not only something they might need or want, but also warm-hearted attention to lighten thei...

PrologueMy body shook with silent laughter as he ran his fingers down my back. He flipped me over and stared down at me adoringly.“God, you’re beautiful.” His voice was husky and smelt of cloves. He must have taken up smoking again. I didn’t answer him with words, though my lips said it all.He pulled away a little breathless and asked, “What time…what time are your parents expecting you home?” I smiled. “Not till six. We...