MEMORIES OF RYAN O'CALLAGHAN

Ryan died April 17, 2001. He was 18 1/2 yrs young. He had many friends who loved him dearly.
I will now remember a boy who made a poor decision, that eventually cost him his life. But I will never forget his BIG HUGS and his sensitive heart.

PHOTO RAGE    by Marie Giusto

Honestly, as of my last article, I thought that PhotoWorks® and I had parted company. But that was not to be. Again I fell into my own trap of trust!

DUBYA'S 100-DAY PROGRESS REPORT    by Marie Villarreal

Every Television Channel I surfed Friday night I was confronted with Dubya's attempt to remove, without any trace, the notion that he is not actually the President of these United States. On his candid tour of the oval office, which appeared to be pristine, as if no one worked there anymore, Matt Lauer of NBC asked him: "Is this your desk, where you work?" His finger seemingly pointed to the underneath opening of the desk, which was polished clean and devoid of papers, his stunning reply, in front of tagging cameras, was: "It's the President's desk but I actually work in the backroom. That desk is always piled high with papers."

HOME DEPOT: HOME TO HUNDREDS    by Charlie "Chuck" Odessa

In forging ahead with phenomenal growth, the Home Depot Corporation, within the last three years, it seems, has brought the unemployed immigrant, whether legal or illegal, before our eyes -- in our faces, so to speak. I live in the middle of a five mile Home Depot triangle. There has never been one visit to any one of those stores when I was free from a deluge of desperate boys and men attempting to overtake my car or truck. Yes, I'm aware of their confined area for unskilled workers, put up by the combined efforts of the Home Depot and the State Human Resources Department. (Human Resources Department sounds so Sci-Fi; I liked it better when it was called The State Unemployment Office). But that system has not proven that it works.

LAUNDROMAT RENDEVOUZ    by Martin "Marty" Crenshaw

During the night, one night last week, the cold water pipe that feeds our washer, which is in our basement washroom, sprung a slow leak. Luckily we were up early enough that Monday to find that it had only partially flooded the floor closest to a support wall. The sixty-year-old pipe, imbedded into the wall, had cracked. Repairing it involved by passing the wall and relaying the pipe according to today's code. But being concerned about my plumbing is not my story for today. It does however bring me to what I want to tell you were a direct result of my burst pipe.

STRESS AND EATING DISORDERS    by Alcamo "Al" Passagento

You are not alone. Each year stress affects millions of people in the United States. It is the single most underlying cause of serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. For example, medical severities can occur and, in the extreme, prolonged, morbid obesity can lead to death, generally from cardiac arrest. Fortunately, increasing awareness of the dangers of eating disorders--sparked by medical studies and extensive media coverage of the illness--has led many people to seek help.

MORE PLOT FODDER    by Marie Villarreal

Again I would like to thank everyone for your responses to the QUILL n' PEN feature. I hadn't expected it to be quite this popular. My editor's box was and is still overflowing. The consensus of the e-mail is that you want to know more about the craft of storytelling. I did research the library for books that would give me more lengthy discussions on plot and themes but it seems that there is a serious lack of them.

A Baby Girl Named Orlia    by Liora Paniz

An original poem. Liora is 17 and a senior at Oak Park High High School in Oak Park, California.

ARE CARS SENSIBLE ANYMORE?    by Mac Meguire

If we Americans think that our opinions of our automobiles are rational, the Italians have adopted a more sensible use of their cars. Their attitudes go far beyond the product and centers on the "denial of hedonism" or the motorists' "impossibility to enjoy driving", the heads of ACI declared, at their annual meeting in Rome.

SPAM ON THE NET    by Jericho Van Orman

Have any of you out there noticed that the SPAM (Junk E-Mail) has increased by over 300% during the last two weeks? Every day I have been getting no fewer than twenty-five per day. There is no use my sending these offenders and their announcements into my browser company. All they do or can do is sent me a form announcement that they will or are taking care of the problem. I don't see any improvement. Those S.U.C.K.E.R.S (Sending Undercover Kudos E- Request Signals) are clogging up my E-Mail files -- I can't get rid of them fast enough!

THE MEANING OF SYMBOLS IN DREAMS    by Roy "Cliff" Evans

I have been a believer in dream symbols since my mid-thirties. I was in the throes of adverse circumstances in my life then and couldn't see my way out, neither was I able to find solutions that would change those adversities. One night, after a particularly disturbing altercation with my then wife, I had a particularly disturbing dream. I dreamt that glass buildings were shattering all around me, falling into the streets, but avoiding hurting me. Shaking at the sight of seeing myself walking on the shattered glass that didn't cut up my feet, I awoke in a sweat.

READER RESPONSES    by Ha3ry Giusto

Dear Reader; All of your questions have not only been interesting but challenging for me to answer as well. For this month we are going to keep the cover over the crap table and do a question and answer session.

THE ULTIMATE TRIP    by Nathaniel "Nate" Yaekel

CNN reported today that a "Tourist found 'paradise' in space." Safely back on Earth, Dennis Tito, the world's first paying space tourist, summed up his adventure with the words: "It was perfect! It was paradise!"

HISTORIC ITALIAN HALL FOUNDATION
PLANS FRIENDRAISER ON SUNDAY, JULY 15    by Garrison "Garry" Minstone

The Historic Italian Hall Foundation plans a unique celebration on Sunday, July 15 from 12:00 to 6:00 pm. This special event, which will provide an update on the restoration of the Italian Hall and the development of the museum designs, will be held at Casa Italiana, 1051 North Broadway. Architectural plans and interior design sketches will be presented with opportunity for the consultant and the designers to answer visitors' questions.