My counselor recommended this clinic to me so that I could have a tooth pulled out. So, I was kind of disappointed to find out that you don’t do that here. I had to drive quite a way, with poor instructions from her. But that’s not your fault. And at least I got some information| The Phoenix Spirit
My first calls for help weren’t loud enough – given the deserted condo grounds three stories below. No tracks in the snow. Not even a bird or squirrel in the oak trees outside the screen. The sun was low, showing streaks on the sliding glass door that had closed with a solid, unmistakable click. I| The Phoenix Spirit
This article was originally published in the August 2006 issue of The Phoenix Spirit. Some numbers and reports about smoking may have since changed. Stop me if you've heard this one before: Smoking is bad for you. For more than 55 years, we've known that tobacco is bad for our health — so bad that| The Phoenix Spirit
“He does not seem to me to be a free man who does not sometimes do nothing.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman lawyer and statesman; 1st century BCThe letter confirming the August 1986 10-day retreat in California’s high-Mojave Desert contained the usual details about weather, suitable clothing, facility, housing, and this: “During the conference, there| The Phoenix Spirit
My story is kind of long and complicated, but the best place to start is in Iowa City, around 2011/2012. I transferred there from Iowa State University, because of the famous Writer’s Workshop, and I had made the recent decision to pursue my passion as a writer. But that year at the University of Iowa| The Phoenix Spirit
It was May and I had just passed through the most painful period of my life. I was 51 years old and living alone in the same city I had lived with my family for the past twenty years. On warm evenings, I sat in a lawn chair and enjoyed the setting sun. One evening,| The Phoenix Spirit
It’s hard to imagine myself drinking or using again. It’s been so long since the last time I got drunk or high that it seems like an alternate life. The old me is a far away, distant memory. No more hangover headaches punishing me for the previous night. That past life of alcohol and drugs| The Phoenix Spirit