Sine Cera a Diversecity Writing Series Anthology
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sine cera a DiverseCity Writing Series anthology A City Devoid of Sharp Edges Volume 9 April 2011 sine cera is published by the SLCC Community Writing Center All inquiries should be directed to: DiverseCity Writing Series Coordinator 210 East 400 South, Suite 8, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) and the SLCC Community Writing Center (CWC) are not responsible for the opinions expressed in sine cera, nor does the writing represent any official position at SLCC or the CWC. Individual authors are solely responsible for the opinions expressed herein. Each author retains copyright individually. Reprinting of this publication is permitted only with prior consultation and approval from the SLCC Community Writing Center. This edition of sine cera was compiled and edited by DiverseCity Writing Series Coordinator Rachel Meads-Jardine. Cover Art created by Paige Kimball. sine cera: A City Devoid of Sharp Edges ISBN 0-9789581-4-4 © 2010, 2011 Introduction Everyone Can Write! In August of 2000, the SLCC Community Writing Center began working with writers from local organizations in two- month writing workshops. Each workshop culminated in a publication and a public reading. At first, this DiverseCity Writing Series worked one-on-one with a variety of organizations: Justice, Economic Independence and Dignity for Women; the Road Home shelter; Liberty Senior Center; and Cancer Wellness House. In the summer of 2003, the DiverseCity Writing Series expanded to offer multiple, on-going writing groups. Volunteers were trained in collaborative writing strategies and became mentors for a variety of open-interest and specialized writing groups. In the fall of 2003, the pieces written in these groups were assembled to create sine cera: People Are Strange, the first DiverseCity Writing Series anthology. The anthology celebrated the work of participants, who were then invited to present their writing at a public reading. Over the past several years, the DiverseCity Writing Series has grown to include fourteen groups, with an average of 200 community members participating; however, the mission remains the same: The DiverseCity Writing Series bridges the Salt Lake community’s diverse social, economic and educational backgrounds through writing, collaboration and dialogue. The SLCC Community Writing Center would like to thank the mentors and participants who have made this program an ongoing success. DiverseCity Writing Series Groups Avenues Courtyard Group The Center for Women and Children Group Columbus Library Group The Community Writing Center Group The Environmental Writing Group Gay Writes Group The Homeless Youth Resource Center Group The King’s English Group The Literacy Action Center Groups Men’s Detox Group Palinca Silver Pen Seniors Group The St. Mark’s Tower Group The Veterans’ Affairs Group We look forward to the future growth of the DiverseCity Writing Series, particularly with the Center for Hope and YWCA groups and development of the DiverseCity Writing Series, and are happy to present our fourteenth publication: sine cera: A City Devoid of Sharp Edges Acknowledgements We would like to thank the DiverseCity Writing Series volunteer mentors: Dave Bastian, John Boles, Meg Burke, Fran Crookstan, Randy Eggert, Shirley Fifer, Mary Fuller, Andrea Garland, Margie Gilmore, Bryant Hinckley, Peggy Kadir, Guy Lebeda, Lexie Levitt, Cyndi Lloyd, Dianne Lockard, Joyce Luttrell, Ramona Maassen, Peter Muller, Greg Near, Rob Oakes, Mary Phillips, Jessy Poole, Melissa Rasmussen, Jen Seagrave-Large, Whitney Strong, J. Phillip Wilkes, and Douglass Woodall. Your never-waning faith and support of writers in the Salt Lake community is awe-inspiring. Your time and efforts make the DiverseCity Writing Series not only a possbility, but a sucess: thank you! Also, thank you to Andrea Malouf and Elizabeth Coleman for their support and advice. And thanks to everyone at the SLCC Community Writing Center for feedback and editing assistance: Stephanie Dowdle, Alisabeth McQueen, James Singer, Kenny Simin, Brenda Sieczkowski, Hailey Jensen, and Jason McFarland. Special thanks to Paige Kimball who provided cover art, and Peggy Kadir whose work provided the title for this publication of sine cera. We would also like to express our gratitude to Deb Young of the Literacy Action Center, Anne Holman of The King’s English Bookshop, Michael Scott and the U. S. Veterans Medical Center of Salt Lake, St. Mark’s Tower, Avenues Courtyard Assisted Living, and both the Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County Public Libraries for the use of their facilities and continued support. Thanks to Salt Lake Community College for making this publication possible. And, of course, thank you to all the writers! The moments I get to work with each of you are the highlights of my week. Preface Rachel Meads-Jardine 15 A City Devoid of Sharp Edges Peggy Kadir 17 Tailwaggers Jackie Skinner 18 Jealous Randy Eggert 24 The Girl Who Spoke Cat Peggy Kadir 25 Excerpt Kelly Verdejo 26 Mud Pies Dr. Joyce Murray 27 Yesterday and Today Rudy Pedersen 28 The Music Box Joyce Luttrell 30 Son of Superman Paige Kimball 31 Expressions Cyndi Lloyd 36 The Girl Who Was Gone! Fantasia Ward 43 Orphan Wars Jaron Frost 45 (excerpt) Memories in early life-5 to 8 years Dr. Joyce Murray 47 The Dread of Pipersmill Hollow Greg Near 48 (excerpt) Cold Embers Never Die Nikki A. Inkcraft 54 My WWII Report Ray Wright 55 Storm Children David Goodale 56 Precious Life Tali Morgan 62 Little Girls Denise Bell 63 First Day at Clayton Middle School Joseph Gilmore 64 Miss Paul Remembered Peggy Kadir 65 Paul’s Reading Adventures Paul L. Rosser 67 Reading Is Pain Scott Aldrich 68 Why I Write Meg Burke 70 Stepping Over Katherine January 72 Monster Story Part 1 Julie Liljenquist 73 Marble: A Chakra Series Ramona Maassen 75 Broken Rules Rachel Frost 79 A Murder in the Switching Yard Robert Rischel 81 Love II Nicole Milgate 85 A Phone Call Too Late Elizabeth Ernsten 86 Sixty Years Mary M. Fuller 88 Lonely Shirley Fifer 89 Ode to the Meds Elizabeth Ernsten 91 Dots Jonnathan Hardy 92 If Babies Could Fly Jo Anna Johannesen 93 Genetic Amputation Garrett Drage 94 Friends Jo Anna Johannesen 95 Public Reading Karen Larsen 96 The Table Katherine January 97 Don’t forget The Mustard Joyce Luttrell 98 Raspberries Ramona Maassen 99 One Summer Day Paul Loya 102 Rebuilding the Leeves Chris Steffen 104 The Trespasser Steven A. Dame 114 Waterhole Diane Lockard 119 No More Belts Margie Gilmore 121 In the Yard Scott Aldrich 122 Essence Gifted Annie Stakland 124 Lovely Winter Shirley Fifer 126 The Stars of Heaven Steven A. Dame 127 Respect Jonnathon Hardy 132 Judge Them Not! Elizabeth Ernstsen 133 Hate and Consequences J. Phillip Wilkes 134 Emotional Armor Barry Kesler 136 More Meg Burke 138 Witness Christine Lee 139 Visions and Voices Evany Pace 141 It’s All Daddy’s Fault Jill A. Vanderwood 143 My Father, the Stranger Garrett Drage 144 Prologue Nikki Hammer 145 Greyhound Adventure Marlene Arbogast 150 Summer Ms. Sadie 151 Enough Katherine January 153 Tool Time Scott Aldrich 154 April tax day Shirley Fifer 155 My Job Experiences Issa Mberwa 156 In Business, the Generic Pronoun ‘He’ Mary M. Fuller 157 The Best Layed Plans J. Phillip Wilkes 158 Plagarism Fran Crooksten 161 Discovering My Dream Stateki Kinikini 162 Daytona 500 Julie Liljenquist 166 Dragon David Goodale 168 Chores John Boles 171 Martha Reformed Andrea Garland 176 Diamond in the Rough Paige Kimball 181 Getting Lost: Finding Myself Michael D. 184 Whitworth Back to Basics Karen Larsen 188 Hold Still, or Rain Jackie Skinner 190 sine cera A City Devoid of Sharp Edges Volume 9 April 2011 sine cera: A City Devoid of Sharp Edges 14 Preface The DiverseCity Writing Series bridges the Salt Lake community’s diverse social, economic and educational backgrounds through writing, collaboration and dialogue. —DiverseCity Writing Series Mission Statement We live in a world that encourages a remote existence. Maslow’s hierarchy of need—food, shelter, safety—forces us out of our homes to forge means of satisfying the most basic of human desires. Each day when the necessities of work and requirements for sustenance compel us to leave our homes we find ways to distance ourselves from the constant threats to our senses of safety. iPods, phones, books and body positioning are used to avoid any eye contact or dialogue that would put us in contact with a sine cera: A City Devoid of Sharp Edges stranger. Twice a month the writers of the DiverseCity Writing Series break through the barriers that distance us as they the share words that have only been heard in the privacy of their own minds. Over the last twelve months I have watched the writers of the DiverseCity Writing Series stretch the boundaries of their understanding and come into caring contact with those they would otherwise overlook or segregate. This caring contact roots the foundations of the DiverseCity Writing Series in empathetic human interaction. The thoughtful consideration of others ideas, experiences and feelings has led to an overreaching sense of hope and vitality across the various writing groups. The stories, memoirs, poems, and essays told in this publication fearlessly give attention to things in life most of us spend time avoiding—death, grief, violence, crisis of faith, sexuality—while simultaneously celebrate birth, triumph, 15 laughter, and love. The courage and intimacy present in the sine cera are a result of the unique space of respect and reciprocity carved out when a wide-range of voices both listen and speak. These relationships of respect and reciprocity make for a publication rich with a nuanced interpretation of the world, in which people challenge how they relate to issues of race, class, gender, sexuality and other markers of difference. Through reading their words we are given the opportunity to remove our own sharp edges, to push past our own sensation of discomfort, stop waiting for the other shoe to drop and connect in a meaningful way with our and other humanness.