A Birthday Competition
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 201 ~ February, 2014
While in the military service, my father was stationed at Army Letterman Hospital in San Francisco, where both my younger sister and I were born, a year apart.
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From the Editor Archives
To Be or Not to Be: Acting’s not for Me
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 200 ~ January, 2014
The video experience was unexpected, the actors who were supposed to play the children in the family in the group therapy session were on strike and my father was in a panic.
Magician Dad
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 199 ~ December, 2013
So, my father went to medical school, and worked as a magician on the side, which I’m sure he’d had an interest in since childhood, and to top off the act, he became a psychiatrist.
Connecting through an essay
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 197 ~ October, 2013
I have never been a great proponent, nor participant, of doing things for the sake of doing things under the guise that such activity is something other than it really is, and for me, at least, usually means killing time while convincing oneself whatever one happens to be doing is beneficial.
A High School Football Career Good Enough For Me
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 196 ~ September, 2013
Lying sprawled on the floor between a bench and the lockers, I felt more embarrassed than anything, but instantly could see I wasn't going to ever receive any useful information from Coach Peck.
A late night boat ride
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 195 ~ August, 2013
Events were out of my control. All I could do was keep swimming, and eventually, I would come up to the rocks on the shore by the cabin at Rocky Point.
Surprising twists in family dynamics as the years pass along
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 194 ~ July, 2013
A few days before my mother died, she said to me in a hoarse whisper, with sad resignation, "I don't trust, Dad," and unfortunately, she was right.
A race to keep uninterrupted cable service
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 193 ~ June, 2013
I told customer service guy there shouldn't be a problem, to which, he replied, "I'm sorry, sir, payment is being denied on your card."
Accidental happenings along the way
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 192 ~ May, 2013
I could see my side of the car was going to smash right into a telephone pole.
One Particular Belief System, For Better Or Worse
by Derek Alger
Issue No. 191 ~ April, 2013
I do know that when I was a young child, my father was the closest I ever came to believing in a Godlike figure. The power of psychiatry was much more powerful than Christianity could ever be for me.