by Kerry Kijewski It’s said that chronic pain is a neurological syndrome, a switch which gets flipped on in the brain at some point, resulting from some kind of trauma to the body. Chronic pain has gone on to be a part of me for coming up on twenty years (nearly half my life). I could go on and on trying to figure out the how and the why of all of the pain I feel, but since finding a…
Lauren Jonik: When people think of archaeology, often the first thing that comes to mind is a swash-buckling adventure like in Indiana Jones. What is it really like being on an archaeological dig? Taylor Kendra: Well there are a lot less whips and Nazis, that’s for sure. And, to the best of my knowledge, Indiana Jones never had to trim a baulk or map a top-plan. It’s a lot less glamorous than Hollywood would have you believe, but that feeling…
by Megan Giller I have a confession: I love milk chocolate. It was my first love, and it’s often my treat of choice—but as a writer specializing in chocolate, it’s a fact I only whisper to close friends after making sure the room isn’t bugged. That’s because for years milk chocolate has gotten the shaft. In fact, for years you weren’t considered a serious chocoholic if you ate anything with milk in it. I can’t tell you how many times…
by Gretchen Hanson I love my country. When I was a child I canvassed door to door for George McGovern. I must have been incredibly cute in strawberry blond pigtails with my patent leather Mary Jane’s and, my basket full of red, white and blue pamphlets, and strawberry blond pigtails knocking on doors in Southern California. I had listened to the evening news with Walter Cronkite every night of my short little life and as that generation did, I believed…
Lauren Jonik: What drew you to skydiving? Amy Chmelecki: When I was 14, I remember hearing about two women going skydiving. It put an image in my head of being able to flip and flip and flip and keep flipping for a long time! I wanted to do that so bad. A seed was planted that day. Shortly after I turned 18, I went to a skydiving facility for the first time. The Drop Zone (DZ) scene blew my mind….