mostly nonfiction and bakersfield news | September 14th, 2009
Glass Diamonds
By Erika Rae
When I was twelve, a mirror fell off my bathroom wall. It was a large mirror, spanning two sinks and able to capture all the way down to the drop-waist on my Sunday dresses. That mirror was the sole witness to many an off-Broadway performance, as well as to an experimental run with [...]
My Top 13 Memories of the School Years
By Erika Rae
School is starting this week and for the first time in my life I’m watching from the other side of the proverbial school bus window. Yes, it’s true. I am about to be the mother of a school kid.
Over the next thirteen years I will watch as my child returns to me each [...]
By The Way…Dressing Up Emo Will Not Get You Out Of Jury Duty
By Erika Rae
Just in case you happened to be wondering: no, dressing up like a Marilyn Manson fan is not, in fact, an effective deterrent for jury duty.
I’m going to blame this one on the fact that I’m a Gemini. Allow me to explain.
I hate to lie. As a matter of fact, I can count [...]
How I Learned That Drinking Brings People Closer To God
I am a huge fan of fermentation. There are few things I enjoy more than a glass of red wine in the evening. Especially Merlot. Yeah, that’s right I said it. Despite the best efforts of the writers of the movie Sideways, I am still in love with the “M word.” Give me a glass with a nice bowl [...]
Thin Places
By Erika Rae
There is a crack underneath my fireplace, where the intake vent meets the hardwood floor. It is too small for most things, but perhaps large enough for a mouse to squeeze through if it is very determined. Tonight, however, something about this crack gets to me. Makes me dizzy. Above, the glow from [...]
Why Does the Patron Goddess of Japan Hate Me?
By Erika Rae
When it comes to my expectations of the great beyond, I try not to get too excited. If I make it to heaven, I’ll be doing good to get a studio flat with a dumpster-side view of the golden chariot highway.
If, however, the Ever After is karma-based, death will not bring me peace, [...]
The Tooth Fairy: Cute or Creepy?
By Erika Rae
Only we capitalists could come up with such story: a fairy who pays cold, hard cash for human teeth.
In ancient Europe, they would simply bury the teeth. But in 18th century France, a story appears in which a good queen hires a mouse to hide under a bad king’s pillow and to knock [...]
The Shadowboxers
By Erika Rae
I passed the turnoff to the power station and continued along the sidewalk past cane forests and banana tree leaves overgrown into the path. It was quiet, which I greatly appreciated after having been awakened so rudely by a piece of machinery earlier that morning. The jackhammer: Hong Kong alarm clock.
We had been [...]
Shells
By Erika Rae
It didn’t matter that we didn’t understand each other. Kids are like that—the language of children surpasses words and delves more into the realm of signs and expressions. Ice cream-smeared smiles and dirt-veined gestures. And anyway, we didn’t need to communicate much as our primary occupation was shell collecting. I remember they had [...]
Capillary Sunrise
I’ve never really been an early morning person. I think it is possible that I enjoy sleep too much. Kind of like how I enjoy food too much.
In the winter, of course, it is even more difficult to drag myself out of bed, although my 1-year-old daughter gives me little choice in the matter. When [...]
