Just a Walk in the Park (2nd September 2002)
She was the wisest person I'd ever met. With messy hair and tattered clothes, she never cared one bit about success or wealth. It seemed that her only job was to laugh all day, which kept her healthy...

Are We There Yet? (26th August 2002)
Holding to a steady pace,/from the back seat came a voice./In belief that life was one long race/and fate - a simple choice./"Are we there yet?" was his main concern,/as he twisted in his seat...

The Red Door (19th August 2002)
"I just need to finish up," he'd slur. "I'll be right back!" With an eerie grin, he'd turn and stagger back toward "the club" where he'd disappear behind its red door...

House Guest (12th August 2002)
I must have looked interested because he went on. It didn't take long to discover that the man was a true storyteller. I knew right away that we'd become good friends...

A Walk in The Clouds (5th August 2002)
It was the grandest picture/my eyes had ever seen./I couldn't make out colors -/except for blue and green./And yet, I could see people;/a whole race on the run...

The Tool Box (29th July 2002)
I recall the box - I was just a kid/when my Dad said, "Here's your tools."/The shock I felt - to crack the lid/and discover just one rule...

Higher (22nd July 2002)
A pair of eager legs march into adolescence,/tripping on the discovery that the world can be unkind./Again, looking back, those same eyes betray his silent plea...

Ice Cream Cone (17th June 2002)
Minimum wage and all out of luck,/in sofa cushions, some change was stuck./Enough to buy one ice cream cone-/we shared it on the long walk home...

May the Best Man Win (10th June 2002)
As if enemies since birth, Republicans filled one side of the hall, while Democrats staked the other. They were actually split down the middle like the Red Sea. This was done, however, not for the passage of Moses, but to insure that the strongly opinionated constituents didn't kill each other...

A Gold Album (3rd June 2002)
With only one peek, the treasure hunt paid off. It was an old photo album covered in gaudy gold foil. Jake sat down with a tall glass of iced tea and flipped through its bent pages...

Luke's Wish (27th May 2002)
...Luke was diagnosed with a fairly unknown disease called AIDS. Quite painfully, life was about to change. As a result of his courage, the love of his family and the compassion of his town, the name Luke Hoffman would forever become synonymous with the word triumph...

Doin' Time (20th May 2002)
Nine years! Nine wonderful years spent swimming in the cesspool of society. Surrounded by everything from murderers to child molesters, each one an innocent man...

Weekend Dad (13th May 2002)
He'd lost many things in his life, but to not be able to tuck his little girl in every night seemed inhumane. Since she could speak, Aubrey called Max her "bestest friend"...

A String of Moments (6th May 2002)
Before the sun even awoke, Jeff and Andrea dove into a box of chocolate-covered donuts. They were on their way to the airport...

America's Daughter (29th April 2002)
Without question, good things come to those who wait, while great things come to those who go after it. Andrea Evans has always dared to do just that...

A Wedding Gift (22nd April 2002)
She was rapture, the perfect picture of beauty. Her makeup had been professionally applied, her permed hair 200 dollars prettier than the day before. Yet, it was the gown that stole the breath of the well-dressed mob that mulled about. Maggie wore pure white...

Nearly Extinct (15th April 2002)
Of all the soldiers that sat at the large round table, Lou Rossi was the closest thing to reason one would find. Rolling his dark eyes back to their starting spot, he topped off his glass with Chianti, took a long draw on a cheap cigar and waited for the debate to begin...

Sunday Driver (8th April 2002)
"Sit on your bum!" Jacob yelled at Michael, the oldest of the three, "If the police pull Daddy over, then I'll be going to jail. Do you want that?"...

The Nightwatchman (1st April 2002)
The apparition floated out of the tangled branches and moved unnaturally, gliding inches above the earth in short aggressive spurts. As it got closer, the girls observed it was an old man, his clothes outdated by nearly a century...

Three Choices (25th March 2002)
Cindy Butler was a nineteen-year old college freshman, with a promising life ahead of her. There was hope of medical school and then a successful career to follow. Michael Evans, her latest boyfriend, didn't even know that he'd planted a seed...

A Letter from the Front (18th March 2002)
Max Evans was already well into his sophomore year of college before realizing he knew absolutely nothing about the opposite sex...

The Hitchhiker (Concluded) (11th March 2002)
Emma watched her. "The monster's name is Brad," she pondered, "and he has a wife named Paula." This was not how she expected their horror story to end...

The Hitchhiker (25th February 2002)
A pang of fear ripped through her body. Her brain finally deciphered the message sent from her wide eyes. The strange shape was a man...

The Early Years - II (18th February 2002)
For the first time, I saw fear in her face and I quickly accepted my share of it. Through my childish pleas to stop, he suddenly lifted his big hand and struck my mother hard across the face...

The Early Years (11th February 2002)
The first thing I can remember is my mother. Maybe this is not so much a thought or a picture as it is a feeling. She was there, always there...

Unstoppable (4th February 2002)
For years, his bouts with old demons came and went, but to fight them always proved futile. Even as he aged, his instincts to strike back remained strong...

Weekend Warriors - Part II (21st January 2002)
The Marines were just passing through the base until they met up with the antagonizing Private Amaral. The First Platoon watched in amusement as the harsh words got heated. Before long, the Marines heard enough. They stood and prepared to beat Sal to death...

Weekend Warriors (14th January 2002)
In an instant, the weapon-wielding drunk felt Sal's right foot strike the left side of his face. As he fell into the booth, Sal picked him up and tossed him through a nearby partition...

Summer's Magic (Concluded) (7th January 2002)
Emma was so easy to talk to and even easier to listen to. And she was pretty too! In fact, with their matching hair and eyes, she and Lori could have passed for sisters...

Summer's Magic (31st December 2001)
Old Glory crackled and popped in the summer wind. Suddenly, a siren wailed in the distance. All eyes went big. The parade was finally underway...

One Favor (24th December 2001)
You've lived within my sweetest dreams,/your voice, your smell, your stare./And on the night an angel spoke,/I found you standing there...

The Boys Club (17th December 2001)
...for a list of once avoidable reasons, he sat in a stiff wooden chair, going over every detail of an agreement that would seal his and Rebecca's separation - for life. Scanning the cold room, Max understood that reality might have turned cruel, but it was no joke, not any of it. Reality made his head pound...

They Said: (10th December 2001)
They said it was impossible for man to fly,/so the Wright Brothers took to the air...

The Perfect Day - Concluding Part (3rd December 2001)
Buddy threw the goods on his gold card, while Seamus headed out the door to pull the car around back. As Buddy tiptoed out the back, the first rolling camera made its way through the front door...

The Perfect Day (19th November 2001)
It was amazing what an extra hour of rest could do for a man's perspective on life. For a few minutes, Buddy lay beneath a mountain of warm cotton, while his memory returned in fuzzy bits and pieces...

In Before the Dark (12th November 2001)
I begged and pleaded, "Let me go. I swear, I won't go far."/He said, "It hurts to watch you grow…/be in before the dark!"

The Castaways (5th November 2001)
From his earliest memories, Jake could recall the echo of his late grandmother, "If you help dig someone out of their troubles, you'll always find a place to bury your own." She was a simple woman, the salt of the earth, but she possessed a wisdom unknown to most...

Autumn in Massachusetts (29th October 2001)
cornstalks, scarecrows, apples on the ground/colored trees of red and green, crickets quiet down...

Evicted (22nd October 2001)
It was like heaven, or at least as close to heaven as I could have ever imagined. Life was so simple back then and unbelievably kind. My room had plenty of privacy and not a soul bothered me...

Prologue to Jacob Evans (15th October 2001)
Jacob S. Evans, 53, of 66 Oliver St., Fall River, died unexpectedly Thursday evening at Mass. General Hospital. He was the husband of Emma (Duff) Evans. Born in Fall River, Mass...

Mother Liberty (8th October 2001)
The twins were slain before her eyes/on the morn of 9-1-1,/when a band of cowards struck them down/in a Kamikaze run...