FictionPress.com - Wilusa's stories

Waving to Mom

2013-04-15T13:43:39-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 1,414, Reviews: 1, Complete

How my mother helped me through a crisis, and we waved a final time...months after her death.

The Empty Tomb

2013-02-10T09:29:04-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 776, Reviews: 1, Complete

As Christians prepare to observe Lent: An agnostic's guess at how belief in Jesus's "Resurrection" could have grown out of an innocent misunderstanding.

Musings of a Non-Believer

2013-01-27T08:12:09-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
Spiritual/General
Chapters: 1, Words: 10,853, Reviews: 0, Complete

Which show that I - an agnostic who doesn't presume to claim she knows all the answers or even knows any of the answers - nevertheless have thoughts aplenty about life, death, and eternity. No blind "faith"...but boundless hope.

Intro to My Guiding Light Fics

2011-11-08T08:10:52-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 3, Words: 6,195, Reviews: 0, Complete

A necessary "setting of the scene," not in itself fan fiction, that I want to store online.

Hold On to Light

2011-11-08T08:05:36-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: T
General
Chapters: 2, Words: 15,555, Reviews: 0, Complete

A record of my thought processes and intentions when I was writing a series of Guiding Light fanfics. I don't expect others to be interested, just "storing" it here!

So Long Springfield at Mohegan Sun

2010-03-13T22:25:05-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: T
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 6,329, Reviews: 1, Complete

My recollections of a daylong event featuring eleven stars of the beloved, recently ended soap opera "Guiding Light."

A Flickering Light

2010-02-10T10:20:31-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 3,584, Reviews: 1, Complete

Why I was dissatisfied with the ending of "Guiding Light," and ways it could have been improved.

Write at Your Own Risk

2004-07-20T23:05:12-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 4, Words: 5,443, Reviews: 10, Complete

When a newspaper that formerly rejected pro-Palestinian Letters to the Editor appears to have changed its policy, submitting a letter may do more harm than good. (Ch. 4: Persistence pays off! After only, um, nine months...)

Seeking Justice for Rachel Corrie

2004-03-16T07:28:14-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 742, Reviews: 3, Complete

Today is the anniversary of the death of a young American at the hands of the Israeli military.

Geneva Discord

2003-12-07T14:02:42-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 778, Reviews: 0, Complete

My comments on the recently publicized "Geneva Accord," a model peace plan drafted by private citizens of Israel and the Occupied Territories.

What's Past Is Prologue

2003-12-04T14:34:03-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: T
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 2,027, Reviews: 0, Complete

An essay on the background of the Palestinian conflict, including a number of facts I haven't mentioned before.

We'll Never Forget Where We Were

2003-11-22T07:10:18-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 966, Reviews: 4, Complete

For Americans old enough to remember it, the assassination of John F. Kennedy was a life-altering trauma comparable only to the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

In the Beginning

2003-10-31T08:15:07-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 939, Reviews: 2, Complete

Was rejection of the U.N.'s 1947 partition plan by the Palestinian Arabs an offense for which they deserve to be punished?

Settling the Issue

2003-10-21T15:17:37-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 2,028, Reviews: 4, Complete

Do Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories really violate the Fourth Geneva Convention? Here's what I concluded, and why.

The Promise That Never Was

2003-10-21T12:49:17-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 756, Reviews: 2, In-Progress

A look at what Britain promised - or more accurately, didn't promise - Jews in the Balfour Declaration.

Review of 2003 Dark Shadows Festival

2003-09-19T14:31:36-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 4,802, Reviews: 0, Complete

The title says it all...except that the "Festival" is a convention, and Dark Shadows is a cult-hit TV series that originally aired from 1966 through 1971.

The Sacrifice

2003-09-15T16:10:47-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: T
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 438, Reviews: 1, Complete

A short-short about a protagonist faced with a difficult decision.

The Bitter Truth

2003-09-07T10:07:55-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 1,983, Reviews: 0, Complete

An attempt to summarize, in one chapter, key points in the background of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute and how I've come to view it. (I'm pro-Palestinian.) Some sections have been posted before, others have not.

Lost in the Dead Zone

2003-08-24T18:24:04-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 3, Words: 4,997, Reviews: 1, Complete

The lost has been found! The lost episode of "The Dead Zone," dealing with the hunt for bin Laden, aired July 27, 2003. Read my original essay, plus my reviews of the episode and story treatment; spoilers in all chapters!

Israel: A Stolen Home

2003-08-11T18:12:01-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 8, Words: 11,751, Reviews: 17, Complete

Frequently updated essay on why I, an American in my sixties, have recently come to oppose the existence of Israel. (Yes, I've added yet another chapter, responding to feedback and including some interesting statistics.)

Reading the Road Map

2003-07-10T09:03:42-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 2, Words: 2,133, Reviews: 3, Complete

Whatever Israel may claim, nothing in the Road Map requires the Palestinians to dismantle Hamas or Islamic Jihad. A second chapter discusses other issues.

Changing Times at Collinwood

2003-05-04T10:12:05-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 2, Words: 2,688, Reviews: 0, Complete

Two Dark Shadows plot analysis essays, in which I attempt to make sense of some of the changes brought about by time travelers in 1897 and 1840.

The Metamorphosis of Mansfield Square

2003-05-02T15:52:34-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 2, Words: 5,378, Reviews: 0, Complete

A Dark Shadows essay, tracing the antecedents of the show's first and most famous time travel sequence to two classic movies and a never-completed novel.

Another World of Dark Shadows

2003-04-28T16:38:27-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 777, Reviews: 0, Complete

A Dark Shadows essay devoted to the excellent comic strip that appeared in 1971-72.

The Beginning and the End of the World

2003-04-28T11:45:31-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 2,344, Reviews: 0, Complete

A Dark Shadows essay, evaluating two sources that purport to tell us what the series' writers had in mind as they began and ended the saga of the Collins family.

Reviews of Past Dark Shadows Festivals

2003-04-27T19:06:16-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 6, Words: 9,476, Reviews: 0, Complete

In light of the distressing news that the 2003 Dark Shadows Festival is planned as the last, I've decided to post my Reviews of some of the previous Fests. A poor record of a wondrous chapter in DS fans' lives!

Apocalypse Now?

2003-04-04T12:29:03-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 332, Reviews: 8, Complete

It's April 4, 2003. The U.S. has precipitated an illegal, immoral war in the Middle East. Here's one vision of what may happen.

Land of the Weeping Sun

2003-04-03T22:09:35-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: T
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 801, Reviews: 2, Complete

A child's drawing is the last straw that drives a woman to a desperate act.

Severe Acute Respiratory Weapon?

2003-03-29T18:53:27-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 504, Reviews: 4, Complete

A nasty speculation about the origin of SARS.

Thirty Pieces of Silver

2003-03-29T16:55:23-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 831, Reviews: 0, Complete

Thoughts on the reported payment of a $27 million reward to an al-Qaida traitor who betrayed Khalid Mohammed.

It's a Puzzlement

2003-03-29T13:07:40-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 834, Reviews: 6, Complete

Where, oh where are Iraq's chemical weapons? Here's one theory as to why those notorious weapons haven't been used...or found.

Scenes in the Shadows

2003-03-23T13:01:11-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: T
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 3,315, Reviews: 0, Complete

Three different guesses at Osama bin Laden's whereabouts and reaction when he learned of Khalid Mohammed's capture. Important: This is purely a work of imaginative fiction!

Martyrdom

2003-03-23T13:00:09-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: T
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 4,407, Reviews: 0, Complete

Is this one possible fate of Osama bin Laden? A cautionary tale...

Maybe, Just Maybe

2003-03-23T12:59:19-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: T
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 2,282, Reviews: 0, Complete

A what-if story speculating that the U.S. might not have gotten the real Abu Zubaydah.

God's Warrior

2003-03-23T12:58:11-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 1,512, Reviews: 0, Complete

A fantasy about the fate of a suicide pilot...or bomber, or arsonist who causes an explosion. Read into it what you will. Written at the beginning of January 2002.

What Thou Sayeth

2003-03-14T07:58:33-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 297, Reviews: 3, Complete

Written in anger at the media's fawning, uncritical acceptance of a story I find highly suspicious. I don't pretend to know the truth. It's the one-sided reporting, the assumptions of guilt and innocence, that anger me.

Just One of Those Things

2003-03-04T23:04:20-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 863, Reviews: 0, Complete

Have you ever had a lost object turn up in an unlikely place? Or in a place it hadn't been when you looked there before? Welcome to the world of jottles.

A Twist on a Twist

2003-02-26T08:20:09-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: T
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 4,438, Reviews: 0, Complete

An essay inspired by Steven Saylor's novel "A Twist at the End," which deals with real, unsolved serial murders in Texas in the 1880s. Warning: Contains major spoilers for the novel!

A Different View of Bin Laden

2003-02-26T08:12:48-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 1,113, Reviews: 0, Complete

A synopsis of highlights of Yossef Bodansky's book "Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America."

A Promise Unkept

2003-02-20T15:52:19-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 90, Reviews: 2, Complete

A poem from the heart.

Liberated and Loving It

2003-02-19T12:31:26-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 512, Reviews: 0, Complete

A letter I sent Dear Abby in defense of retirement, after she'd called it a "dirty word"!

PostStroke Rehabilitation: Don't Make My Mistakes

2003-02-19T12:27:10-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 1,155, Reviews: 0, Complete

Deals with care of an aging parent. I wrote this for a writing course several years ago; unfortunately, it's all true.

Born Again?

2003-02-18T15:03:09-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 3,857, Reviews: 2, Complete

An essay on reincarnation, focusing on suggestively similar past-life readings I've received from different psychics.

Legacy of 911

2003-02-18T15:01:08-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 424, Reviews: 6, Complete

A letter my newspaper wouldn't print.

An Appeal to our Senators

2003-02-18T14:58:29-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Essay
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 486, Reviews: 4, Complete

An August 2002 statement opposing an invasion of Iraq.

Irish Myth Haikus

2002-09-07T14:36:16-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Haiku
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 76, Reviews: 2, Complete

A set of five haikus portraying larger-than-life characters who participated in a mythic Irish war.

Same Time, Last Year

2002-06-09T07:19:56-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 958, Reviews: 1, Complete

An adult child recalls the final illness and death of an elderly parent.

How to Bend the Long Arm of the Law

2002-06-08T11:53:00-08:00

Author: Wilusa
Humor
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 203, Reviews: 0, Complete

I was once asked to write a "how-to" as part of a test of writing ability. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything useful I knew how to do! So I decided to have some fun with it, and came up with this.

Through a Glass, Darkly

2002-06-08T08:52:45-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 54, Reviews: 1, Complete

When I wrote this short poem years back, it was actually supposed to mean something. And I now have no idea what! Still like the sound of it, though...

Martian Chronicle

2002-06-08T08:49:36-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 79, Reviews: 0, Complete

Another very short poem, little more than a fragment, but it does contain an offbeat idea.

Reflections of Reality

2002-06-08T08:46:18-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: K
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 32, Reviews: 0, Complete

Another very short poem, self-explanatory.

The Mind of God

2002-06-08T08:43:35-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: T
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 71, Reviews: 0, Complete

A very short poem, self-explanatory.

Depth

2002-06-08T08:41:14-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: K+
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 84, Reviews: 0, Complete

To get the point of this, keep in mind the similarity of the title to the word "death."

Locked Away

2002-06-08T08:33:30-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: T
General
Chapters: 1, Words: 907, Reviews: 0, Complete

A short-short about a commander's angst over a setback for which he blames himself. Fiction, but suggested by very real oddities in a news report. Written in June 2002.

The Baby

2002-06-07T16:31:45-08:00

Author: Wilusa
General
English, Rated: K
Fantasy
Chapters: 1, Words: 1,217, Reviews: 2, Complete

A fantasy about a dating couple and a very unusual picnic.