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Cover
Table of Contents
Editor's Notes
Donations
Submission
Guidelines
Website
Stories
& Essays
A Wedding Toast For Daddy's
Little Girl
_ By Miriam N. Kotzin
Bread
_ By Debbi Pless
Flowers
_ By Rachel Miller
Gyokusai
_ By
Julie Jordan
Hearts Without Armor
_ By
Angela P. Markham
Mental Constipation and Brain Vomit
_ By
Winnie Khaw
My Best Subject
_ By
Ashley Polker
Piper
_ By
Samantha Rae
Requiem For An Author
_ By
R. Holsen
Sometimes It Pours Only Dogs
_ By
Saana Tykkä
The Black Tape
_ By
Brad Jashinsky
Poetry
A Slave To Time
_ By
Clyde Windjammer
Colour
_ By
Kaleen Love
Death By My Lover
_ By
Jessica Tempestad
I Am A Pineapple
_ By
Rachel Miller
Lament For the Lost Soldier
_ By
Melissa Augeri
Laundry Arcade
_ By
Ashley Polker
Left Silent To Dream of Wine
_ By
Kaleen Love
Mortality
_ By
Henry Grieves
Ode To Microsoft Spell Cheque
_ By
Arielle Demchuk
Reminiscent of Society As An Individual
_ By
Henry Grieves
Ship's Cook
_ By
Heather Inwood
The Phoenix
_ By
Kaleen Love
The Raven and the Dove
_ By
Melissa Augeri
Train Dreamer
_ By
Heather Inwood
Art
& Photography
S. Camargo
_ Photography
and Drawings
David C. Clarke
_ Photography
Wiltekirra Samaxionn
_ Photography
Anca Sandu
_ Paintings
Austin
Tanney
_ Photography
Ray
Tsang
_ Paintings
Mark
Warren
_ Photography
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The
Black Tape
By
Brad Jashinsky
The
kids were screaming with joy when the police officers walked by,
their smiles giving even the toughest of men the feeling of
appreciation. You know the feeling where you get the chills: the
brain overwhelmed with pride and searching to find the right
public response to such emotion. These are the citizens that make
the job worth it, but in only a few years these could be the same
ones that make it unbearable. Just as we learned when we were kids
while trying to keep the Rollie-Pollies alive in an airtight jar,
some things are just impossible to hang on to. Even against these
odds now they still looked at them as kids, but in such a place
where the seasons were named for drugs few could hold onto this
hope.
“Ask
not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your
country,” president John F. Kennedy’s famous quote, has been
studied and dissected over the years by millions of people; far
fewer have echoed it’s meaning in life. As these courageous
officers walk through a battlefield, uniformed and with a target
on their back, the cold-hearted citizens make their discontent a
public display. Burdened by names and a public image that rival
those of the criminals they arrest everyday, they still protect
and serve, keeping their heads up while at the same time wishing
their vest protected them from those attacks. The dedication and
loyalty to the people ahead of even their own personal safety and
a chance at a normal life; yet, their loyalty and sacrifices go
unnoticed most of the time. Seen as controllers instead of
protectors, pests instead of pesticides, and annoying instead of
brave; yet whom do you call when you need help?
You
see the statement “I’d take a bullet for my friend”
carelessly pasted in AIM away messages, MySpace profiles, and
LiveJournals throughout the Internet with people truly believing
themselves when they write it. Police officers prove this
statement everyday, but to the extreme degree where even strangers
are pushed behind them as shots are fired. Pounding hearts beat,
gun shots numb the ears, and shells bounce off the floor with a
timid sound that seems to be disconnected from the ruthless scene
that’s unfolding, creating the bleakest of work environments.
The
shots are fired, and the adrenaline rushes through the body. Sweat
pours from all pores as fear battles with the heroism in a back
and forth medieval sword fight. The hero presses on courageously,
battling the forces of evil so you and I don’t have to. The tale
of bravery is the all too common plot of many books, shows, and
movies that have come before, but this is all too real. The
reality of no guaranteed happy ending to be composed by writers in
a cubicle creates this wide blue line that separates fiction from
non-fiction. In only an instant the flame flashes, the sound
explodes, carried by little air molecules, and in that one instant
so much is gone. All of a sudden it’s over, all over.
As
the tears run and the camera crew films, the scene is all too
familiar of so many tragedies before. The TV anchor may be acting
compassionate or may be truly feeling, but for all the stories
covered she’s trying to decipher what is nearly impossible as
she talks about the legacy of the fallen hero. The depressing
music plays and the story tugs at your heart as the screen slowly
fades to black and into commercial break.
Black
represents the ultimate emotion, conveying the feelings of
millions everyday. The world has come to symbolize the color with
broken hearts and broken lives. As the police garner black tape
over their badge it represents all of these: broken hearts, broken
lives, and a broken world.
***
Dedicated
to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Jerry Ortiz and all of the
other brave law enforcement officers who have given their life to
protect us.
A
fund has been set up in Deputy Ortiz’s honor. To show your
support and contribute, please contact:
Sheriff's Relief Fund # 285
c/o Sheriff's Relief Association
11515 S. Colima Road
Whittier, California 90604
BRAD JASHINSKY creates videogames such as "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks" for Midway LA. He also runs videogame developer NewWorldVideoGames.com, and is getting ready to launch MusicResolution.com. Brad fell in love with programming after meeting a very special friend whose wonderful writing inspired him. He is also a police explorer.
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