.... blunt, yet kindly, expression concerning his birthplace in N. Ireland, “If you haven't been there yet, don't go there.” I can remember the lyrics of a Naughty by Nature song blaring over my car radio, “If you have never been to the ghetto, don't ever come to the ghetto,” as I put in a tape. My thought stream continues as it takes me to another place where guerrilla warfare and terrorism are a part of daily life. The gunshots and unruly pitbull barking registers over the calm of the wet playground. Trash strings the streets and every dwelling has an eight foot, black, metal fence circuitously about it. Two white faces gape over the hood of a parked Cadillac .....

.... me like a blanket of warmth. I opened my eyes and saw the sun glaring down at me. I looked around seeing enjoyment on everyone’s faces and hearing laughs from all directions. Four people were standing underneath the canopy trying to escape from the sizzling cement, eating watermelon, and having a “spitting for distance” contest. Two people were sun bathing in lawn chairs. The others were in and out of the pool showing off. The shimmering blue water reflected the sun like a mirror. When I looked away all I could see were color spots from the light. I could hear the crack and spring of the diving board as someone did a belly flop. The sound of the body hit .....

.... a flame, and ending in flame. I’m a gentle creature, killing nothing. I live on dew and despite my great size, I crush nothing I touch. I always had one problem in my life – I’m always lonely. I was looking for Mrs. Right for centuries with no luck. I want to have family, infants at my nest, and duties to do. I can’t live alone. My solitude is killing me. The worst thing about being phoenix is that I’m born to be male once, and then the next time I resurrect I’m female. When I’m in state of being male I’m Ho and when I’m female – I’m Oo. Though I know that I’m the only phoenix on the earth, I still hope and pray that I will find my soul mate and live h .....

.... again. This time my heart stared to thump. Was it going to bite me? No, it just licked my cheek. Even before it finished licking my cheek, I came to my senses. I didn't understand what I dreamt about. After thinking about the dream for about ten minutes a went back to sleep. By next morning I had forgotten all about the dream. That morning , I was late as usual. I ran to the bus stop with my briefcase. My tie flew in the morning wind. Only thing that I hoped was that I would not be late to work, I had been warned couple of times about me being late. Luckily the bus too was late as usual. As I was boarding the bus I looked up for a vacant seat. What I saw then .....

.... in to Rosslare Harbor near Wexford and lowered its gangplank. I made it most of the way down before I was sucked clean out of my armor into, head over heels, and under the spell of the Emerald Isle. We had arranged for a rental car, to be picked upon arrival at the harbor. I thought perhaps we would be shown how to operate it. Instead the attendant said in his sweet Irish brogue, "It's the wee red one over there," and handed me the keys. Still dazed by the sudden entrance in to "The Spell" we sped off in our wee red Ford Fiesta. Every so many hundred yards along the road signs reminded us to "Drive to the left." On the open road it was no problem, however .....

.... other by nicknames, and I had one, too. It was Pushkin because I had short curly hair and liked to tell stories which I composed by myself. Like all children in the world, I liked to listen to tales. With my friends, the most popular were ghost stories. As a rule, for the best effect, these frightful stories were ghost stories. A group of five to ten children would sit around and listen to the teller with great attention and tension. As a rule, for the best effect, these frightful stories were told at nighttime in the garden. Everybody tried to look very brave, including me. However, in the depth of my heart, I was afraid of darkness. That’s why each .....

.... the worst mistake that he could have made. Stanley already was employed as a cashier at Butchered Prices town market, and constructed buildings for a general contractor. As a sum of all this, Stanley's life sucked. He worked from dusk until dawn, stopping only to smoke a cigarette or a joint, (although Stan felt he smoked too much of both.) With this third job now beginning, his prospects seemed nothing but grim. In Stanley's mind, work was life and life was hard, so this is how work must be. He hated this thought, and therefore his own existence, which was his mind-set as he entered the doors of Holiday Lanes Family Recreation Center. Once inside, Stanl .....

.... grounds and serpent-shaped mounds are scattered throughout the region. When the Cincinnati/Northern Shortly after the Revolutionary War, however, the newly victorious American government declared the territory available for settlement. Ohio and all points west had nothing more to offer settlers than opportunity, although that was plenty to entice explorers, range rovers and wide-eyed gamblers looking for a chance to strike it rich in real estate. The westward movement began, and it didn’t take long for people to find the area that would become Cincinnati. Because of its rich soil and abundance of rivers, which were vital to the transportation and livelih .....