It had been five years since great grand mama L’wanna had passed at the age of 108. As I gazed out the window, an incessant tapping as if a message or call to come forth. I thought it was a bird’s beak, ever tapping, but it was a birch branch hitting the window as the [...]

Rivers cross, at forest dark A deafening howl, on wind does ride Of moaning creatures of the night Hungry to feast and souls to take The headless horseman, a traitor’s curse Doomed on galloping steed in haste A graveyard’s hero aglow, with spirit’s dance Faceless forms of long dead lives Emerging from unholy ground Unmarked [...]

Mother had taken me to a green field, with the scent of lavender. I went to play near the forest. It was dark and foreboding as I gazed at the trees and a small path that led between them, beneath the green leaves where the light dimmed as if a roof has been created from [...]

At the turn of the Twentieth Century, the most common cause of death was from infectious diseases, such as Pneumonia, Tuberculosis and Influenza. Infant mortality was high worldwide and the treatment for sexually transmitted diseases such as Syphilis was almost non-existent. With the development of Penicillin, subsequent antibiotics and vaccinations for diseases such as Polio, [...]

According to custom, “the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is given periodically at the Academy Award ceremonies for outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes. It is named after screen actor Jean Hersholt, who served as the president of the Motion Picture Relief Fund for eighteen years. The award trophy is an ‘Oscar’ statuette. Past recipients have included [...]