• Non-fiction

    Let the Scent Not Fade

    I once heard or saw or read a thing … for me, the three are often one and the same.The thing was that humans (and other animals as well) use pheromones for attraction. To bring it down to basics, a person might smell pleasant, smell unpleasant, or seem to have…

  • Non-fiction

    It Begins With One Step Beyond

    I’m watching this very thought-provoking anime called Shigofumi. A Shigofumi is, as the English titling suggests, a letter from the dead. In the story (no spoilers!), the young woman pictured above is the person who delivers such post; when a person dies, he or she is given the opportunity to…

  • Non-fiction

    Life Cleaning

    When someone Leaves for the Great Beyond, those remaining must begin, at some point, to pick up the pieces.Of everything:Shards of broken heart.Bits of memories that randomly flutter in like leaves.Tears that fall intermittently like Southern California rain.And then there is the cleaning, the removal of papers, clothes, and various…

  • Non-fiction

    Appetites

    I popped into a convenience store the other day, desiring something sweet. Chocolate, I figured, would take care of the problem.Chocolate almost always works.I looked up and down at all the neatly lined boxes and tried to get excited about something. Anything.I paused at the Caramellos, one of my all-time…