ontents, pring 1997

Moondance

oetry

Featured Poet Christina-Marie

 

Being a poet has given me immeasurable rewards, friends, and journeys of mind, body, and spirit. It has given me a way to work at understanding and meaning. In many other careers we can skim over life without really touching it. I want to touch it deeply through living, transforming, and writing more poetry.

 

The Rainbow Trout

 

Time

 

Transformation

 

Cracking Rabbits

 

Hands of Cedar

pinions

A Gun of My Own

 

Loretta Kemsley

 

With crime on the rise, a gun in the home may be our best chance for survival.

 

No Guns Needed

 

Sue Marquette Poremba

 

Who are you more afraid of: a criminal with a gun or a homeowner, untrained in gun safety?

 

iction

Talk to Me

 

Carol Borzyskowski

Skye watches the smoke curl up from Tony's cigarette. She should be glad he's back, right? That's what everyone's been saying all week: "Skye, aren't you glad he made it back? You're one of the lucky ones." Tony lies on the blacky vinyl couch in their darkened living room, his eyes open, staring at the ceiling, smoking and not talking. Not talking at all.

Drowning Hard

 

Debra Di Blasi

I once told Joey I wasn't as pretty as he wanted me to be, and he said: "It's the inside of you I care about." Well, I thought he was referring to my heart, its kindness and generosity, but what he really meant was my sex, its tightness and generosity.

DOLLs

 

Sara McAulay

I run a souped-up Pentium with worlds of RAM and the mother of all hard drives, and I can be on-line in less time than it takes to tell you how I do it. My screen is crayon blue, the cursor a sly grey wink: Come on, it beckons. Say more. Tell your story...

Coming to Terms

 

Jan Strever

You'd better do something before you crack, Maury told herself as she plodded out of the Safeway store with German sausage, red cabbage, sour cream, and two packs of Marlboro 100's, the only kind of cigarette she'd smoke. The gray sky and incessant rain weighed upon her like a winter coat.

Call it Caring

 

Susan Weston

When Jenny Adair got a small part in the fourth grade play, she attended every rehearsal and quickly memorized the entire script. While the other students horsed around, she sat quietly, cringing when they blew their lines and pressing the script against her chest.

A Journey

 

Deborah Shouse

My lover goes on a journey. I pack for him a quartz wrapped in silk, a bottle of Evian wrapped in my purple satin underwear, and a pear, not yet ripe. He kissed my eyelids.

on-Fiction Articles and Essays

Sex Ed

 

Lani S. Kraus

 

Ever explained an episiotomy or feminine hygiene protection to a four-year-old? Ever going to? If so, you might have a lot in common with this mother's experience.

 

Sacred Mothers

 

Stacy Peters-Walters

 

In Native American mythology, especially in the Oglala band, women play a central role in the creation of the people and their culture. To ancient Oglala, the woman's role as mother to the people was vital to the well-being of the clan.

 

You Can Grow Your Own Herbs

 

Melinda Reese

 

Growing your own herbs is both rewarding and relaxing. Reap the many benefits of fresh herbs by following these simple guidelines.

 

Sage, for Colour, Culinary, and Cures

 

Marjie Scharff

 

Butterflies love it. Deer don't nibble it. It's a great flavoring. It can even turn your gray hair brown. Learn all about the ever-popular herb, sage, including some very old and unusual uses.

 

Verbal Violence: When Words Wound

 

Debra Littlejohn Shinder

 

Have you ever been wounded by words? I have, and most of you who are reading this probably have, too. As children, you might have recited the familiar rhyme: "Stcks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Even then, you probably sensed that it isn't true.

 

olumns

Safety Online

 

Loretta Kemsley

Sexual harassment in cyberspace is a growing problem. Learn how women are being assaulted, how to identify the attacker, and protect yourself before the problem becomes too dangerous.

Cybersecrets--How Safe Are Yours?

 

Debra Littlejohn Shinder

The computer has become a gateway to a world full of faceless friends with whom we share a peculiar bond of both intimacy and anonymity. It's an alluring combination, that may seduce us into revealing our darkest desires, our deepest fears, our unfulfilled fantasies. Just how wise is this?

 

Legal Briefs

 

Debra Littlejohn Shinder

Thou shall not kill." In most cultures, taking the life of another is one of the most serious of all crimes, and punishment is severe. It is generally recognized, however, that there are legitimate exceptions to the rule.

Women@Work

 

Debra Littlejohn Shinder

Much of the media treats the concept of "working women" as if it were a recent phenomenon. Perhaps the idea of pay and recognition comparable to that of men is a new one in many cultures, but performing tasks of equal or greater difficulty and importance is not.

Your Health Matters --The Fibromyalgia Syndrome

 

Thomas W. Shinder, M.D.

 

If you are one of those who suffer from fibromyalgia, you know the feelings all too well: pain which moves from joint to muscle to bone to back to head. It's not all in your head. This "unexplained pain" syndrome has been reported in almost every part of the world.

 

horts

WHOA: Women Halting Online Abuse

 

Lynda L. Hinkle

Demographically, large numbers of women are a new thing to this community, and our pioneer voyage into the depths of cyberspace was not always met with welcome and support. Even as you read this, somewhere on this great communications network there is a woman being silenced by harassment and abuse.

An Officer And a Gentle Woman

 

Debra Littlejohn Shinder

 

Had I not seen someone else do it first, I probably would never have entertained the notion that I, at thirty years of age, would or could become a police officer.

 

Staying Safe--Armed Or Not

 

Debra Littlejohn Shinder

 

What every woman needs to know before she is confronted with a violent encounter.

 

Painted Eggshell Ruth

 '

Sara Greenwald

 

A woman's monologue of unrequited love, beautifully reflected in the Biblical story of Ruth.

 

Quotes

 

Jarrin Kendall