Blog Fourteen - Final Short Story

Danielle Zingalis

 

Short Essay One – Final Revision

 

 

Grandpa

 

            The drive from our house to theirs was so long. At the young age of only three or four, a forty-five minute drive is a lifetime. Chrissy, my twin sister, and I couldn't wait to see the familiar white duplex house with the big bay window. We were getting closer, so close. We were finally off the bridge and passing the cramped streets with condensed building. We had finally made it down their street and after my father had skillfully parallel parked the car, my mom said we could get out of the car. Our seatbelts couldn’t come off fast enough.

Chrissy and I used to run to him as soon as we got through the front door. We would run through the cold, white hallway and into the living room. As soon as my foot touched the outdated, but still so soft brown rug, it would creak and I would lean my hand on the velvet wallpaper as I continued to run. That’s what we always did when we went there. We ran to him, we couldn’t wait to see him and we were getting closer.

She would sit in the kitchen, at the head of the table with her cane in one hand and a cigarette in the other. We would run into the kitchen and the creaking would suddenly stop, we were no longer on the carpet, but the old tile. We were getting closer. Chrissy and I would look at her and smile and continue to run, we would say hi to her later, we wanted to see him first. We always wanted to see him first. There was something indescribable about him, something that we loved so much and we would just run when he was around.  

We’re so close to him. Just one more room. Running through the kitchen and past the little hallway, we made it. The walls were covered in wooden paneling and the carpet was green. He was there already standing up from the gray couch with bits of reds and yellows woven through. Chrissy and I would run into him and hug him so tightly. He took our hands and brought us to the couch and had us look behind one of the throw pillows and behind it was a little handheld videogame. He didn’t have to do that. We never expected anything when we went to see him, we just wanted to see him. Chrissy and I would get so excited to see him and he was always just as excited to see us.

 

Blog Thirteen - CNF Venue

Hippocampus Magazine: http://www.hippocampusmagazine.com/

 

Hippocampus Magazine was not my first choice, but in class as I searched through the hundreds of choices for a venue, this one caught my attention. I am a psychology major and the brain is something I am constantly learning about, the Hippocampus Magazine jumped out at me for the simple reason that I am a psych major. The reason the founder of this online venue chose the name is because the hippocampus is the part of the brain that our long-term memories are formed, a place where our most personal memories are stored. The main focus for this online publication venue is to engage and entertain the readers as well as educate them.

 

Hippocampus Magazine is a venue for both men and women, there is no prevalence as to whether men or women submit more work. The actual target audience is men and women who want to learn. Not only is this venue filled with great memoirs are memorable essays, but they allow new writers and aspiring writers to be educated and informed about reading and writing creative nonfiction.

 

Every piece that I have read has left such an impression. The pieces I had read were darker pieces or they had dark elements to them. When I say dark and dark elements, I mean that some were sad, some were disturbing, some were heartbreaking. These authors are delving so far into their personal lives and sharing their past experiences with their readers and it can be overwhelming. I only read about six or seven and they were amazing. A short essay about a young boy named Jake had peaked my interest when I read it - http://www.hippocampusmagazine.com/2013/12/jake-by-karen-zey/. This is from the December 2013 issue and it tells the story of a troubled young boy and a teacher who tries to help him. As a psychology major, I enjoy reading about how devoted one person can be towards someone who needs help. From the November 2013 issue, Shannon Fandler wrote about a man she went to college with - http://www.hippocampusmagazine.com/2013/11/wet-dead-leaves-by-shannon-fandler/. She wrote about him as an anomaly. He was in their circle of friends and yet he seemed so disconnected. There was something about him that intrigued her about him and when reading this, I became intrigued by him as well. In October 2013 issue was an essay written about an experience with a boy - http://www.hippocampusmagazine.com/2013/10/burn-by-cheryl-diane-kidder/. This was the essay that left the biggest impression on me, it was the darkest one I read and it just showed what kind of power a man can have over a man.

 

Submitting to Hippocampus Magazine: http://www.hippocampusmagazine.com/submissions/  

The online magazine accepts creative nonfiction work only in the forms of memoir excerpts, personal essays, or flash creative nonfiction or a work of creative nonfiction in an experimental format. Memoir and essays should be no more than 3,500 words, flash creative pieces should be less than 800 words. All submission and should be in Times New Roman, 12 pt. font and double spaced. There should be no identification on submitted pieces and only one submission per author. Hippocampus Magazine reviews all submissions and sends a response to all submitters within eight to ten weeks. The online magazine publishes new material every mont