By Mike Ivaska What does it mean to be “from” somewhere? Do the places we are from still exist? If so, in what sense? And if not, should it matter? Like any good, self-respecting longtime Islander, I have been known to wax philosophic about the way Vashon “used to be.” Even as I sat to…
By Suzanna Leigh Beside me, Steve holds his cat Bunny gently, wrapped in a blue bathroom towel. We are driving to the Fair Isle Animal Clinic. The glow of love emanating from the two of them fills the car. This may be Bunny’s last day. When Steve called me first thing this morning, he was…
By Suzanna Leigh James and I were still living with the evangelical Jesus-loving Pilgrims in a mansion on Hilo Bay when it happened. One day while James was in school, I hitchhiked into Hilo to buy some watercolor paints and a roll of rice paper. Karl and his partner, who had so generously put us…
By Gates (Pam) Johnson Tomorrow morning at o’dark thirty I will be off to the hospital for my hopefully first and last cancer surgery. Seems like it has been a long journey to get here, but in reality it has been about two months, give or take. Those months have been filled with super highs…
By Richard Odell Some among us get trees like a disease. Big boys are especially prone, but big girls get it too, sometimes. The psychosis might simmer for years, before it really starts to roil. I’d always been a plant guy, and I liked trees well enough. Wanted to see more of them, hated to…
By Michael Shook In previous pieces about Communism, we saw how its foundational Marxist doctrine renders the individual null and void, and declares that humans are infinitely malleable. Such a doctrine readies the ground for a system that is free to ignore the sovereignty, both individual and collective, of the people living within it. Such…
By Daniel Hooker Three From Debbie at Ace Hardware: Q: Why do the French eat only one egg for breakfast? A: In French, one egg is un oeuf. ~ Q: How many nihilists does it take to change a light bulb? A: It doesn’t take any, because why should they change the light bulb? It’s…
By Gates (Pam) Johnson It’s been a rough few months. In December, I had major back surgery that would hopefully help my foot neuropathy, but would take a year to heal. Okay. I can deal with that. Not fun, but chances are good that life will get better because of the surgery. A couple of…
By Rocky (Donna) Liberty Raggedy Andy & Ann – crafted by the author How to make a grandma cry. Take a labor of love, add in animal instinct, throw in some time (thyme), fate, and Voilà! She was ten years old and the apple of my eye. I would die for my grandchild if necessary,…
By Suzanna Leigh James and I landed in Honolulu in late February of 1974. No one to meet me, of course. Culture shock; people in shorts, brightly colored shirts, long muumuus, fragrant plumeria leis around their necks. The very air smelled different. I knew no one. I sat on the edge of a fountain with…