Editor's Corner

By Mary E. Adair

Welcome to another fine issue of Pencil Stubs Online! We do enjoy planning and publishing this ezine, envisioning the delight many will share while reading it. This month finds us able to offer more than the usual number of articles, and we remind the reader that feedback is encouraged. Most pages will have a comment section especially for that, and also a framework that enables one to invite others to come read whichever page they have found intriguing. The Wall remains available for comments, too.

Being your editor's birth month, May always puts her in a good visiting mood, and ready to share info about what's what in this issue. Speaking of Articles, this month we feature the following:
"An Editorial: What can we say" by a writer whose pseudonym is merely Shadow;
"An Editorial: While America Is Waging War" by Leo C. Helmer;
and "The Crescent and The Cross - Intro," introduction to a series about the history between Islamic and Christian devotees, written by the knowledgeable Dr. Sam Vaknin.

We shall miss pbobby this month who is having some back problems. Hurry and get back to us, pbobby!!! Our other columnists are shown here:

Denise "Alas, To Muse And Ponder"
Cassandra "Cassandra's World"
LC VanSavage "Consider This"
Leo C. Helmer "Cookin' With Leo"
Mattie Lennon "Irish Eyes"
Erick S. Van Savage "Just One Guy's Opinion"
Michael Craner "Mike's Place"
Phil Miller "Stellar Notions"
Gerard Meister "Thinking Out Loud"

This is the month to observe Mother's Day, however Sheila Keith's poem "Your Love is Like a Soft Rose" is the only one for Mother, although "Motherlight" by Clara Blair mentions mom while her other two, "Job's Daughter, on Horseback," and "Kismet" are thought provoking. So are the two by Judith Alexander ("Do Unto Others" and "A Heart Attack is a Big Surprise;") also "It's Between Me and Me" by Pradeep Damodaran though the author's "A Morning by the Ocean," is more serene. The lament, "Cry For Maria" by Noreene M. Bailey was written in memory of her friend. Peter Tonge pens the highly romantic verses, "I Remember You" and "Forever Yours;" and M. Jay Mansfield submits the hypnotic "I Cling To The Mist" and an analytical "Math."

Single poetic offerings from various authors include: Mattie Lennon's ballad, "John Carthy;" TheOne ("The Physical Dream;") Bruce Clifford with "Leaders;" and by the new author Scooter, "I Must Be In Love."

Another author new to this ezine but oft-published (see bio) is Laurence Overmire with three precisely incisive poems: "Redeeming the Loss," "Safer to Ignore," and "Seer." John I. Blair's four verses with widely varied topics and insights ("An Egret in A Roadside Ditch," "Baghdad," "Cat In the Garden," and "Snake") round out the poetry section for May.

Remember that clicking on the author's byline takes you to his/her bio page which includes a list of what Pencil Stubs Online has published by them. Titles are clickable and you can, by using the back function of your browser, read through an author's work without having to go back and forth through the monthly tables of contents. This is another way that our webmaster, Michael Craner, facilitates the pleasure gained by browsing the ezine. Thanks, Mike!!!

We'll see you in June!!!