Sarah’s Journey By John T. Allen When the time is right the frigid winter winds come roaring down from the Northwest, from the Arctic Circle, gathering roiling momentum across the vast, treeless tundra of superior Canada. Winter circles around, adding bitter snow and icy sleet into the mixture, swirling past the frozen Great Lakes before settling into New England. From Maine to New York winter demands attention and respect. Like a Bengal Tiger met on a jungle path, master of the domain,...

The New Donner Party By John T. Allen Saturday, December 18th “It’s party time ladies and gentlemen,” said Lowell Donavan, smiling, laughing, waving to people he supposedly knew (but didn’t) across the room, acting like he was having the time of his life while trying to get some attention from the passing stream of tourists at Corrigan's Hotel & Casino in Lake Tahoe. He was in the lobby, the crossroads for people on their way to and from the 100,000 square foot Luc...

-2- Lou was on the road before 7:30 the next morning. He=d stopped at a Burger King and had gotten a coffee and ham and egg sandwich from the drive-through and now he was cruising down Highway 101 south away from town. The scenery changed from coastal to primeval forest in a matter of minutes. This was the big forest, the California redwoods forest, and he loved it. The trees were one of the reasons he=d moved there after he got out of the Merchant. The sky was gray and overcast and a light r...

Hope & The Resurrection of Jack Evans By John T. Allen The black asphalt highway ran straight down the middle of the desert valley floor, artificially dividing the bleak landscape into two equal parts of desolation. Rusty red mesquite ironwood bushes and bright green Saguaro cactus broke the lonely monotony of the Arizona sands. The low slung mesas in the distance had a reddish tint from the iron ore deposits that dated back millions of years to the Pleistocene Era. Then, the area was the bot...