Views and Mechanics Publisher's Note Editor's Note Review of A Man Without a Country Review of Gail's Place Review of Three 1-Act Plays Review of Yesterday's A Dream Crossword (Solution Posted in May. Printable version in pdf format of journal.) Jan/Feb Crossword Solution Creative Nonfiction Imagining Nora By Lisa Norris Loving the Fat Girl By Christina Fisanick Nate's Fish and Poultry Shop By G. David Schwartz The Folly of Valentine's Day By Andy Martello Poetry Hawk King By Wanda D. Campbell After the Rain By Wanda D. Campbell You Cannot Fold the Flood. By Mariela Perez-Simons And Darkness Fell By Beth L. Block Demise of a Family Resort By Carolyn Howard-Johnson The Asparagus Cutters By Joe Wilkins Fiction Voices By Ed Boyd Little White Sambo By Brett Alan Sanders Dies Irae By Timothy Reilly Follow By Dawn Paul Crumbs By Kim Tremblett Cover Art Photography by Seth Brown About the Contributors © 2006, River Walk Journal and respective authors and artists. All rights reserved. Do not use or reproduce without permission. River Walk Journal, Inc. Board of Directors Chairman - Elizabeth Ross Vice Chairman - Joseph Koch Secretary/Treasurer - Geri Stock-Ross Editorial Director - Patti Kurtz, DA Literacy Director - Bill Mausteller Policy Director - PA State Rep. Jess Stairs Advisory Board Chairman - Patti Kurtz, DA Asst. Chairman - Dan Lachenman, PhD Samuel Hazo Christopher Leland Edwin Yoder Joseph Bathanti Journal Staff Publisher - Elizabeth Ross Editor-In-Chief - Joseph Koch Sen. Fiction Editor - Patti Kurtz Sen. Poetry Editor - Neeldhara Misra Sen. Creative Nonfiction Editor - Brenda Coxe Contributing Editor - Robert Dittman Publicity Director (PA) - Geri Stock-Ross For information about submissions, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/submission.html. Questions about promotions, subscribers' services, and advertising should be sent to publisher@riverwalkjournal.org. River Walk Journal, Inc. is a non-profit corporation run entirely by volunteers. For information about volunteer opportunities and internships, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/volunteer.html. |
Becoming the Archetype I spend too much time in bars. That isn’t an admission of consuming too much alcohol, essentially because the glass sitting next to me at this moment contains diet soda. The fact that I find myself writing in a bar while my son is in preschool is still bothersome. There is the stereotype – looming large over my head - of the writer or reporter spending countless hours in a “second office” that is invariably a dimly lit watering hole not far from “the office.” True, that archetype is male, but here I am with the worn out suit jacket, shirt that has seen better days, laptop on the table, and a lit cigarette sitting in the ashtray next to me. People nearby are seemingly oblivious to my existence, except for occasional furtive glances while my fingers fly over the keys. Dietary choices are the center of their conversation, and they probably have no idea that what I am typing has anything to do with them. Because I have been spending so much time in these kinds of places, I’m becoming acutely aware of why the reporters and writers, real and fictional, have found homes here. There is the anonymity of the new location, which is what I’m enjoying now. In spite of the fact that this particular bar is in my hometown, I am unknown here. Over the past year, I have been here a handful of times, and never during the day. The fact that I am sitting here working has caused the staff to be more attentive in service, without being overbearing – they don’t want to interrupt my train of thought, I presume. That may change if I continue coming here on a regular basis, but such changes would take weeks or months to appear. For now I am just a woman working on a laptop. One day I may let out the secret that I’m a writer and publisher or be noticed here by someone who knows me. Another bar in town is quite the opposite of this one. Instead of hard wood floors, trim, and bar, it is finished with 1960’s style Formica on the bar, and commercial carpeting over creaking floorboards. It’s closer to my home, the drinks are cheap, and it’s a perfect example of why Kerouac advised against getting drunk outside of one’s home. I can’t help thinking of the place while I sit here typing – something I would never do in that other bar, simply because it wouldn’t be worth the headache. I’ve read books and papers in that other bar, and been informed by the other patrons that the place isn’t a library – one building in town that they recognize only the exterior. The answer that has been eluding me for some time is much simpler than I realized – I read and write in bars around here to keep from drinking too much. It helps to have something to distract one’s mind while in the company of people who consider the morning paper heavy reading. Hunter S. Thompson had it right: “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they’ve worked for me.” For a socially liberal anarchist in a conservative small town that thinks it is liberal because most of the voters are Democrats, avoiding both the drugs and alcohol would definitely precipitate violence against the natives - or at least insanity. The hardest drug I’ve ever used is marijuana and I haven’t had a hit in years – nor do I have the desire for it. I settle with alcohol, avoid the violence, and resign myself to the concept that I will always be considered at least a little weird until I move to a place where the natives are wackier than I. Elizabeth Ross Disclaimer Note: The views and comments conveyed in this article are exclusively those of the writer and in no way reflect, in whole or in part, the official or unofficial views, attitudes, or beliefs of River Walk Journal, Inc. |