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To our readers and authors: Beginning in October of 2009 we will convert to a pf format for our print issue. It was a difficult decision, but financial constraints forced us to make certain compromises. We want to be able to continue to provide a quality magazine for everyone, and in order to do that we had some hard choices to make. We will continue to put out a print issue- but only once a year. It will be bigger and better and all our online winners will appear in the yearly issue. All authors who have contributed stories to the print issue will receive their contributor copy- and we will continue to donate print issues (just like we did in the past) to our valiant men and women in the military. Authors in the pdf version will receive one to two copies of the pdf version- (they can opt to have a copy sent to a friend)

We know that you understand, and that you will continue to tell all your friends and family about our unique magazine. Sign the guestbook on our homepage and win a free pdf issue. Beginning in January of 2010, we hope to pay more for the stories accepted to both the online and pdf and print issues- plus the contest prize money should look a little tastier to all of you! We still accept donations- checks or PayPal, to help continue to provide a welcoming home to all our readers and writers.

Check back often to see what's new...we put out a new issue with great stories every three months- January, April, July and October, so make sure you mark your calenders and don't miss a single story that we offer.

Also- coming soon- a pdf version of all our staff stories- at a price you can't afford to pass up. Check back in July and see how you can get your copy. It's going to be a fun issue.

Okay- I know that this is just a joke...but it is so funny I had to share it with all of you. I know that you will all get a big giggle out of most of these.

DEAR ABBY ADMITTED SHE WAS AT A LOSS TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING:

Dear Abby,

A couple of women moved in across the hall from me. One is a middle-aged gym teacher and the other is a social worker in her mid twenties. These two women go everywhere together and I've never seen a man go into or leave their apartment. Do you think they could be Lebanese?

Dear Abby,

What can I do about all the sex, nudity, foul language and violence on my VCR?

Dear Abby,

I have a man I can't trust. He cheats so much, I'm not even sure the baby I'm carrying is his.

Dear Abby,

I am a twenty-three year old liberated woman who has been on the pill for two years. It's getting expensive and I think my boyfriend should share half the cost, but I don't know him well enough to discuss money with him.

Dear Abby,

I've suspected that my husband has been fooling around, and when confronted with the evidence, he denied everything and said it would

never happen again.

Dear Abby,

Our son writes that he is taking Judo. Why would a boy who was raised in a good Christian home turn against his own?

Dear Abby,

I joined the Navy to see the world. I've seen it. Now how do I get out?

Dear Abby,

My forty year old son has been paying a psychiatrist $50.00 an hour every week for two and a half years. He must be crazy.

Dear Abby,

I was married to Bill for three months and I didn't know he drank until one night he came home sober.

Dear Abby,

My mother is mean and short tempered. I think she is going through mental pause.

Dear Abby,

You told some woman whose husband had lost all interest in sex to send him to a doctor. Well, my husband lost all interest in sex and he is a doctor. Now what do I do?

Here are two separate points of view regarding the same subject....Pets. You'll agree with both POV, but you're either a pet owner and lover- or a happily 'single' person with no one but yourself to annoy.

The following was found posted very low on a refrigerator door.

Dear Dogs and Cats: The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food The other dishes are mine and contain my food Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort, however. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline attendance is not required.

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don't.

(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.

(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.

Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they

(1) eat less,

(2) don't ask for money all the time,

(3) are easier to train,

(4) normally come when called,

(5) never ask to drive the car,

(6) don't hang out with drug-using people;(okay- unless the owner is that drug user, they don't)

(7) don't smoke or drink, (seen a chimp smoking cigarettes on TV)

(8) don't want to wear your clothes,

(9) don't have to buy the latest fashions,

(10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college

and finally....

(11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children ..

This photo was taken several years ago when my husband opted to stop shooting deer with his rifle and used his Nikon camera instead. He always knew that the land and the scenery was beautiful, but until he began to take pictures the true wonder wasn't something he could always share with everyone else.

We see how amazing our world is everyday...but a hectic day can take away from our ability to appreciate what we have.....a photo can remind us of why it's so important to stop and smell the roses....and take care of our beautiful world.