Raphael's Village

It's always exciting to see our contributors doing well! Here's a new humorous parenting book from one of our contributors -- check it out and see if it's for you! Humor Editor

Oblivious to the Obvious: Wishfully Mindful Parenting, by KJ Hannah Greenberg, published by French Creek Press

Where you ever in Quebec? Were you ever responsible for a yard sale, for a bake sale or for the resale of overly ambitious hedgehogs? Even if not, join the celebration taking place in Oblivious to the Obvious: Wishfully Mindful Parenting of junk mail-fashioned sculptures, of hungry, angry, riotous quolls and of shiny, acrylic pantsuits. As you turn this book’s pages, you are invited to sigh, to pout and to otherwise chortle in unison with KJ Hannah Greenberg as she tells tales about raising modern children.

A new take on the afterlife and the All-Mighty from a new contributor. Both funny and thought-provoking, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Humor Editor

Strife After Death, by Jeff Gardiner

Al was glad to be dead.

His life was going nowhere with his mid-life depression turning to feelings of futility. Not that he’d contemplated suicide - he remained too much of a coward – but once he’d realised the car was going to hit the tree and no passengers or others were going to suffer, he’d lifted his hands off the steering wheel and taken a deep breath.

 We weren't sure whether to put this into Fiction, add on a Horror forum, or just turn anti-shellfish, but finally decided it fit perfectly into the Humor Forum. Perfectly. In a very deadly way, at least. And we doubt too many of our readers will be heading to Red Lobster any time soon. Humor Editor

The Deadliest Catch, by Heather Gregson

This is the Bering Sea. 1 million square miles of the most dangerous, and treacherous waters. Violent waves, bone numbing cold and bone crushing steel, make Alaskan crab fishing the deadliest job in the world. Welcome to the Deadliest Catch.

Captain Johnathan on the Time Bandit is enjoying calm seas and warm temperatures. He is first to the crab grounds and prepares to drop all 125 pots to catch his first 100,000 pounds to make his first offload delivery date.

An interesting story about faith and hope from a new contributor. We think you'll enjoy the twist at the end. Fiction Editor

Mystical Journey, by Laura Lynn Gatzow

A gritty road zippered its way through the desert landscape that lay on each side of Lana. There hadn’t been a car for over an hour, until now, until she heard the sweet whir of tires on asphalt. Lana hooked one thumb in the belt loop of her shorts and jutted the other out toward the road at the oncoming car, which kicked up sand as it swooshed by. She turned and flipped the bird. “Son of a bitch! Aaahhhgg! I hope you crash your Cadillac and end up with a cactus up your ass!” She would have thrown something too, had there been anything handy. But all Lana had was sand in her Sketchers, a diaper bag over her shoulder, a panting beagle, and a bawling six-month-old wiggling like a capsized beetle in a car seat at her feet.

Some wounds take a long time to heal as this story about guilt and loss from one of our regular contributors reminds us. Fiction Editor

15 Minutes More, by Matthew Hamilton

Ray stood in front of the gravestone and stared at his friend’s name. He'd been doing this every year now for eight years, every September 11th, at exactly 8:46a.m. And every year, he looked at the ground that held his friend’s body and asked the same question: Why?

A humor piece from a new contributor about one of the editorial staff's favorite things. Beware the wild turkeys, cats and humans alike! Humor Editor

Kitty's Gone Wild, by Lisa Dovichi

What in the world was Newton doing? I watched my white, long-haired cat slink through the tall grass outside my window. I work from home and basically that means I’m obligated to spend a lot of time looking out the window at the hill beside my house. However it hadn’t been my cat that originally caught my attention -- it had been the gobbling of wild turkeys that had made me look up. It was while I was watching at least twenty humongous turkeys strut around that I noticed Newton.

A lovely poem about looking past the surfaces and enjoying everything, including things never seen. Poetry Editor

Beach Mist, by Matthew Hamilton

It is said that we are borne from the ocean.
Maybe that is why we are so rapt by it.
Deep within the metallic blue of salty mist and white foam
can be found clues to the mysteries of life and the divine.
But do we pay close attention to those clues?

A moving story from a new contributor that reminds us that everyone we meet is a person with a past and a story, regardless of their current circumstances. You, be nice. Fiction Editor

Mad Annie, by Jack Healy

She filled her apartment with bottle caps, streaked her windows with magic markers, and slept on newspapers from the streets. On warm days she sat in her housedress on the fenders of parked cars and greeted passersby with, “’ey you, be nice.” She never missed church on Sunday and, while always arriving late to the service, walked down the center aisle and created a commotion with the crinkling shopping bags she deposited in the pew. Only at the service and no other time did she allow herself the pleasure of lighting a cigarette butt she found in the garbage cans she regularly rifled. When the preacher became animated she yelled, “’ey you, be nice!” She was known to her neighbors as Mad Annie.

An interesting take on a familiar story from a new contributor. We particularly enjoyed how this went the opposite way from what the reader might expect. Poetry Editor

Trinket, by Elise Park

He slipped, falling deep into darkness one night,
A slippery slope full of demons and fright.
He didn’t know then just what he’d become,
But he already knew it could not be undone.

A meditation on the fragile emotions of pets, originally published at FLYMF.com, and now published here. Because we can. Humor Editor

Pet Psyches, by Jeanne Cook

If a person’s pets tell outsiders about them, I shudder to think what that says about my family.

A sweet little poem to start the new year from a new contributor. What 'mights' will it inspire for you? Poetry Editor

I Might, by Ben Langhinrichs

An deeply felt poem from a new contributor. We loved the imagry this creates and think you will, too. Poetry Editor

Tre Fontane, by Matthew A. Hamilton

Poisonous green cracks the dry dusty earth on Oppian Hill.
Flowers of white, red, and pink appear: brilliant colors
surrounded by thin, gristly leaves, dance on sun beams,
moving in silent motion to the rhythm of the wind.

This story will make you think, and, we hope, remember that pets, and the elderly, need and deserve our care not just at the holidays, but all year long. Fiction Editor

Rescued, by Heather Gregson

Mitzi watched the stray enter the park. She'd seen this stray many times before. He looked old and tired. His steps were slow and dragging. Mitzi just knew life had worn this poor old guy down. He needs a friend, Mitzi thought to herself. Someone who will love him and show him he still matters. The trouble was going to be approaching the stray. Few people went near him and when they did, the poor thing shied away from them. Perhaps he'd been treated badly in his life and feared more heartache.

A new contributor gives us a thoughtful rumination on death, dying and living we found both moving and thought-provoking. Fiction Editor

Hello, Goodbye, by Bruce J. Berger

Gene stepped outside the front door of his log cabin to feel the bracing early morning air, inhaled deeply, and closed his eyes with pleasure. It wasn’t the first time that the mountain chill helped him to wake up, clear his head. It had been his habit for years to rise before sunup, walk to the town center, pick up the morning paper, and return up the hill to his house.

This morning was different. He wouldn't walk towards the town, but start uphill from his house towards the forest. He locked the wooden door and, for the first time in his life, leaned forward to plant a kiss on it. He expected never to see that door, or his house, again.

A witty poem by a new contributor we found rather too relatable...but in a good way. Poetry Editor

ODE TO AN ABODE (FAREWELL, PAINTED LADY), by A.E. Skalitza

A sweet children's story adults can enjoy, too, from a new contributor. Fiction Editor

Mud Pies and Snowballs for Thursday Junebee, by KJ Hannah Greenberg


Thursday Junebee sat on her small stool and laughed. Outside, her older brother and her older sister were making a snowman that looked more like a cow. Thursday liked cows. She did not like snowmen.

A witty poem with an ending we didn't see coming. Humor Editor

Pearls of Wisdom, by Ken Johnson

A haunting remembrance piece from one of our favorite contributors. Poetry Editor

Denouement, by W.K. Everhart

A contemplative and touching piece by a new contributor. No matter what your beliefs, we think this piece will make you feel both the joy and the loneliness of following a cause bigger than yourself. Fiction Editor.

Letters From Jane, by Rob Crandall


The burning rays of the sun bored into Thomas’ forehead, causing droplets of sweat to bead up, then streak down his face. Periodically, he wiped his eyes with his forefinger and thumb so he could see. The rest he just let drip. Partially because it was a futile effort to wipe them. Partially because it felt nice with the breeze.

For one night only, Aug. 27th, 2009, D'Arcy McGee's at the Tempe Marketplace, 2000 E. Rio Salado Pkwy, Tempe, will host CELTS, KILTS & TUMBLEWEED. This premiere event will support Maricopa County's Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development.

Since 1972 Tumbleweed has expanded to provide more than 12 direct service programs that provide a continuum of care for over 3000 homeless, abused, abandoned, neglected, and at risk youth annually, ages 11-22

Admission is free, donations will be taken at the door, in addition to 10% of ALL event sales will directly to Tumbleweed.

LIVE MUSIC, RAFFLE, FREE SAMPLINGS, FOOD & FUN!

7pm: ONE FREE GUINNESS to anyone wearing a kilt!
7-8pm: The Bushmills girls will be there LIVE and SAMPLING Bushmills
8pm: We are HONORED to welcome: The MASTER of Whiskey: Thomas Turner who will be sampling whiskey!

LIVE MUSIC ALL NIGHT! Including Ocean's Apart! This is going to be an AMAZING event for an AMAZING CAUSE!! Check out everything Tumbleweed does www.tumbleweed.org. Hope you can join us… BRING A FRIEND or TWO or THREE!