Some mother I turned out to be
Mommy loves you so much,” I whispered to my non-existent baby bump. “But you have to go back home.”
He was no larger than the size of grape, the first—and only—time I saw my son. The doctor could not tell if it would have been a boy or a girl, but they say a mother knows.
Then again, they also say...
Behind the makeup of a drag queen
Ebony hair cascades down his shoulders, framing a full make-up face.
Peeking through a thick rim of lashes are honey brown eyes.
As the shutter sparks, taking another snapshot, the model’s berry stained lips twist at the ends into a smirk.
Beneath the femme fatale façade of Ruby Sparkx is Edward Murillo, a man.
“Edward is more polite,” Murillo said. “When I’m Ruby...
Superstitious rituals abound within baseball team
The pitcher is the leader of the baseball diamond. The inning starts and ends with him.
The starting pitcher for the Pierce College Brahmas continued his warm-up pitches before the start of every spring game. The velocity of his throws matched the stern concentrated look on his face.
Michael Knopf, 19, is a product of Notre Dame High School and...
I was the other man
After many breakups with people I had absolutely no compatibility with, I was confused about what I wanted—or thought I wanted—when dating someone. As a hopeless romantic, I just wanted everything to feel right.
I had started dating this girl and we instantly clicked. She understood me and my strange mannerisms. Her face was the first and last image my...
Entertainment industry not all glitz and glamour
The entertainment business looks glamorous from far away, and walking into a room filled with vintage televisions and TV memorabilia, that seems to be the case.
Tucked in the city of Los Angeles, a retired television director and editor works with his brother on their latest project. Surrounded by artifacts not only from their own careers, but even Jackie Kennedy’s...
Age not an issue for couple
The Santa Monica home that overlooks the place where Don Bachardy and Chris Isherwood first met is filled with an array of color, drawings, sculptures and paintings—55 years of art accumulated in Bachardy’s brightly-lit home. Little clay reminders of his life sit on glossy white shelves.
Had it not been for Bachardy’s older brother Ted, he would have never met...
Dogs: More than just a pet?
A woman carefully puts a red American Apparel sweater around her black cocker spaniel poodle mix and grabs a Perrier bottle from her refrigerator for her dog before leaving for the park.
She secures a harness to ensure his safety and then lets him run around and adventure through the fresh cut green grass and large magnolia trees, sniffing the...
Mother shows tough love through discipline
Random photos and Afrocentric art plaster the alabaster walls gave the petite home an aura of a close-knit family. While the television played the infamous show “Out of the Box,” a few scattered toys rested on the Maplewood floor and awaited attention. A furry chestnut and ebony Yorkshire terrier barked from the top of the narrow staircase, it sensed...
Breaking the color barrier
Adam Mendelson is no stranger to misconceptions about his race.
Strangers seem to mistake him for everything but what he actually is. The issue doesn’t faze him anymore, but just because Mendelson isn’t affected by people’s thoughts doesn’t mean that he is not aware of the negative connotations that come with having darker skin.
The reactions he receives are magnified...
Tattoos and piercings don’t define father
Head to toe, finger tip to finger tip—there is no missing the tattoos on Edgar Acevedo.
Those tattoos often come with discrimination, stereotypes and prejudices.
Where do these stigma arise?
Jose Martinez, a security officer at the Pierce College Sheriff’s Station, said tattoos were originally used to keep track of slaves in Ancient Greece.
Certainly, things have changed. But Acevedo, 27, a native...