E-EVERYTHING; AUTHORS, NOVELS, NOVELLAS, SHORTS, TRAVELOGUES, NEWSLETTERS AND SITES
by Delvin Shrout, Assistant Editor

E-EVERYTHING is here to stay; I'm convinced of it now. As it is, the Internet seems to have pervaded our existence and it will soon encompass our lives. Does that sound familiar? Remember the start of television and how it quickly permeated the fabric of our culture and forever changed all of us and how we lived our lives?

BAH!!!! HUMBUG!!!!    by Charlie "Chuck" Odessa

One of my readers has more gripes than any other reader we have heard from. He virtually snipes about everything from Aardvarks to Zymurgy. Last month he wrote me about a funeral he had attended for his younger cousin.
"I felt weird," His letter started out. "Only me and Doug were dressed in a suit. The rest of the attendees were in t-shirts and a whatnot of garb that I can only describe as redneck trash.

OCTO CLUB    by Martin "Marty" Crenshaw

Mary Lunetta Martin celebrated her eighty fourth birthday this last March. She is a woman short of stature, sure-footed, spry in nature and soft-spoken. What drew me to her when first meeting her, at St. Peter's Table, held at Casa Italiana, in Los Angeles, was her positive spirit, her engaging personality and her laugh, which was constantly present as she talked. I was there, on March 17, to photograph the progress of the crew who were setting up the main tables for the following three-day celebration. For at least the last twenty years, since her husband died, she, along with at least one hundred other volunteers, ten of who were octogenarians, as she is, have loyally served on the committee to organize St. Joseph's Day for her church and community.

STRESS, COPING and BALANCE    by Alcamo "Al" Passagento

Most of us know that it's best to keep our stress level in check, but sometimes, like our weight, stress symptoms do creep up on us, despite our best efforts to avoid that happening. Dr. Pamela Edwards, psychiatrist and director of the adult psychiatry clinic at Oregon Health Sciences and an ardent researcher on stress, coping and balance, recently said, "Stress is a mental and physical state resulting from the perception that the demands on oneself are greater than one's ability to meet the demands." Think of your capacity to deal with stress in terms of a bucket, she suggests. "There is a limit to how much the bucket can hold. As humans, it is virtually impossible for us to have an empty bucket, or zero stress, but try to limit your bucket's contents to one-half or two-thirds of a full bucket. That way, if an emergency situation arises, you have some reserve to help you deal with it."

STORY ENHANCERS    by Marie Villarreal

A good story is a good story is a good story and every good story must have a plot. Spicing that story with enhancers becomes the essence of storytelling. They lend richness and fullness to every tale that you tell. Since man was able to master language, he has been a storyteller. First came the oral tradition to pass stories on, from one person to another, from one group to another, then one generation to another. Oral storytelling gave way to the written word fairly recently in man's history. Through written language the storyteller is able to reach people on a wider scale.

LATENT LITERARY ACHIEVERS    by Genviev Pannos

Since our editor falls into the category of those who want to realize their life-long ambitions of entering into the literary field, we, here, at 4 Points Press, appreciate those people who, in the twilight of their lives, have already reached that goal. Of course, all of you know of a recent notable among these is the admirable Frank McCourt. Our editor counts herself as one of his biggest fans. Around the office and in our e-mails, she is constantly quoting him.

ALTERNATE FUEL TECHNOLOGY HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES    by Mac Meguire

Look out, hybrid electric vehicles are coming… oops, they are here!
So, what's a hybrid? A "hy-brid" is normally an off-spring of two dissimilar plants or animals, but the US Dept. of Energy defines a hybrid as a type of electric vehicle (HEV) which -- "combines two or more energy conversion technologies (e.g., heat engines, fuel cells, gen-erators, or motors) with one or more energy storage technologies (e.g., fuel, batteries, ultraca- pacitors, or flywheels)." Hybrid power is hardly new; it's been around for years. Prenuclear era submarines are diesel electric hy-brids; so are most of our railroad locomotives, many industrial machines, etc. From an automo-tive perspective, hybrids are still rare, but that's changing. Let's look closer at HEVs-what they are, where they are, and why they're showing up on our high-ways. After reading this, you might even find yourself shop-ping for one.

MORE RULES FOR WORKING    by Jericho Van Orman

I set down very definite criterions and parameters for working. I expect not to be taken advantage of by any one of my employers and so, nothing bothers me more than to given a batch of assignments then not telling me which is the priority one, as if I were a psychic. Coupled with that is when special instructions for a job does not accompany the assignment, or, at the worst, they are presented when the job is almost done. I guess the logic of that is that my superior might be afraid that any useful instructions he might have for me might confuse me.

THE DREAM WORLD    by Roy "Cliff" Evans

Looking over the last two months and all the e-mail response, it has occurred to me that I never laid down a foundation for the paranormal world of dreams. Just for a lark, I had dove into the subject never "dreaming" (forgive the pun) that your response would be so overwhelming. I will briefly try to capture the essence of the phenomenon.

THE OTHER SIDE OF LAS VEGAS    by Ha3ry Giusto

As I promised Mr. Detroit last month that we would leave the cover on the craps table this month. In lieu of lifting the cover, let me tell you about the awesome side of my seemingly 'seedy world', as one of my reader's called it.
I love Las Vegas! It's been my adopted hometown since the mid-sixties, as I told you all before. I've watched it grow up before my very eyes from a few downtown and strip casinos, catering to the die-hard gambler, to today's mega-casinos with something for everyone. There is no place on earth today that offers the vacationer, family's included, what Las Vegas offers in ambiance, entertainment, fine or off the cuff dining and top-notch hotel accommodations. Can you imagine us who work here, being on a perpetual vacation?

JET LAG    by Nathaniel "Nate" Yaekel

Recently I made a quick trip to Paris for two weeks to visit my in-laws. I assume many of our readers have visited Paris, some of you for a few days and others of you for more time than that. I will refrain from taking you on a verbal tour of that famous, beautiful city. Instead, I will take you along with me on a plane ride to observe what I had not really taken notice of before, "Jet Lag". This phenomenon is a bane to most twentieth century air travelers.

CREATING COMMUNITY THROUGH A COMMON VISION