January 2011

LIMITATIONS ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH: A Canadian PerspectiveBy Roderick MacDonald   Watching CNN of late, it’s hard for a Canadian to get caught up in the hoopla about the recent US midterm election. Nearly everything else of interest was eclipsed by exhaustive (if not exhausting) reports on polls, probabilities and proclivities of various candidates, but […]

MY STORY By MAX BIRD Translated by Janice Kimball   My siblings and I were kept comfortable and well fed in the dark chicken coop awaiting our fate. In there with us were a Toucan, a group of twittering Canaries, some haughty hook bills splashed with brilliant markings, and oddly enough, an Iguana. Occasionally the

COLLOQUIUM By Roberto Moulun, M.D. A Strange Event in Saipan   It was sweltering hot that Thursday, noon, in Saipan, when Rose Marie bent her head over her folded arms. We thought she had fainted, but she had died.   But let me first explain. We, the Hawaii Chapter of the American Red Cross, had

A Classic Case Of Twisted Priorities   One day an Irishman, who had been stranded on a deserted island for over 10 years, saw a speck on the horizon.He thought to himself, “It’s certainly not a ship.” As the speck got closer and closer, he began to rule out even the possibilities of a small

THE OTHER 9/11 By Kenneth G. Crosby   To Americans, 9/11 means September 11, 2001, the day on which terrorists crashed two hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon, with the fourth, aiming for the White House, crashing to the ground in Pennsylvania due to heroic intervention by its passengers

AGONY and ECSTASY By Mark Sconce   O Writers, O you chosen ones!  And Poetasters on the run, As I describe your agony And then perhaps your ecstasy. Come closer now, sit next to me.   You agonize, as is your wont. You wonder why your face is gaunt. You question why your soul lies

Wordwise With Pithy Wit By Tom Clarkson   This morning, my pal F.T. – who shared the Iraq experience with me during my third trek there – forwarded some James Thurber quotes. They gave me pause to relish the deep and sometimes droll mentality of this great man who “set the standard for sophisticated humor

“Go Stick It In Your Ear” By Peter E. Gibbons   Those of us who have been married, or had a partner for more than a month or two, know that we experience periods of silence; sometimes welcome! As the years pass by, a kind of metamorphosis transpires. The silence is replaced by whispering, or

Mother Mexico By Bill Frayer   She is a beautiful dama. Her dark tragic eyes call to us. Her dark smooth hair flows Over her face, down her back, Reminding me of every mother’s love. Her red lips sing The songs of the Indio, Songs of hope, songs of loss. She lulls me with her

FRONT ROW CENTER By Michael Warren Lend Me a TenorBy Ken LudwigDirected by Roger Tredway   If you like a traditional farce, chock full of mistaken identities, double entendres and doors slamming as characters rush in and out, this is the show for you. Roger Tredway has upped the pace to breakneck speed and his