(a cute, kid-safe story, inspired by my frustrating children)
� Hunting for Mangoes. "In the long, lazy afternoon, under the shade of a wide-leafed coconut palm, a brother and sister were quarreling. This was nothing new; Arun and Ziya had been born in the same moment, under the same star. Their exhausted mother would tell anyone who asked that they had been fighting ever since that day."
(a performance piece I did at a queer organization's anniversary event)
� Remember. "I feel the need to tell you this in order to establish my queer, sex activist, credentials. Even though you can be queer without being sexually active, just like you can be straight and a virgin. I know that. I know you do too. But I have such a hard time remembering that I'm bisexual these days, remembering, even, that I'm sexual. Sometimes I need to remind myself that once upon a time, I had sex. I had a lot of sex. Now I have a two-year-old and an infant, and I tell people my sexual orientation is tired."
(the story that sparked my current SF book project, The Stars Change)
� Jump Space. "Joshua glanced over to where Kate stood in the doorway, her hands twisting together in front of her. She was the calm one, but she'd never make a good poker player. Her hands always gave her away. "Maybe Mommy will sing you a song?" They were usually careful not to break the routine -- bath, book, song, bed, in strict order. The adults had long ago agreed that the children needed as much routine as possible in their itinerant lives. But Sarita hadn't come home for three nights now. The story was her job."
(an essay excerpted from my other current project, Arbitrary Passions, a travelogue / memoir)
� The Arrival: "Four days before my departure for Sri Lanka, it is seven a.m. and I am standing in an airport in San Francisco. I was in Connecticut two weeks before, visiting my parents, have been in the Bay Area for a week, and am now supposed to be getting on a plane to Vancouver, to be on a panel about South Asian Literature at AWP, the associated writing programs conference. But I have forgotten that Vancouver is in Canada. I have forgotten that Canada is a separate country. I have forgotten to pack my passport and green card, the alien registration card that will allow me back into the United States, certifying that I am a permanent resident, with certain, limited, rights."
Whew! All up for free here. Enjoy!