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There is little inherent meaning in things. Objects are defined by their context. For example, in the African savanna, an elephant keeps an eye out for lions and crocodiles. In a circus, an elephant had better do some tricks. In both scenes, the elephant itself does not change. But the way it is described would change dramatically. Context defines everything. So went the impetus for my story “Vertigo Unbalanced,” which has been recently reprinted in the Gold Dust Magazine anthology, Solid Gold (Merilang Press). Strangely, so to went my personal reacceptance of this piece. Once a story is physically printed (a form of context) the new medium has a way of changing a story. Every detail suddenly becomes striking, flaws and strengths alike. But of course, from the author’s perspective the flaws stand out more. So when “Vertigo Unbalanced” was first published in Gold Dust Magazine late last year, I…

I’ve long used the phrase Norman Rockwell nostalgia as a way to describe those yearnings for simpler times that, in truth, never existed. We watch reruns of Leave it to Beaver or Lassie and imagine how great it would have been to have lived during those depicted times, times when war meant girls and the biggest threat to our national heath was undercooked vegetables. Because these hyper-polished versions of reality were standard TV fare, they became following generations’ standard understanding of better times. But again, this type of harmony never existed. Is it escapism that causes us to willfully absorb into obvious fictions (along with the 1950’s audience who would have seen these shows during their original runs)? I think so. Can this concept of escaping to a fading past continue in a time when everything is recorded and youtubed? Will we ever have the opportunity to be fooled by…