The Snow Globe By Kristen Harmel: A Book Review

                                                                  Photo Source: Amazon


You can't judge a story by it's word count. This is an accurate statement when it comes to this ebook from author Kristen Harmel. I'll be honest I downloaded this simply because of it's price but I have to tell you I'm glad I did. This is a very short story clocking in at just fifteen pages, but I guarantee this story will resonate long after the last page is turned.

The story is set in 1942 Paris on Christmas Eve.A boy stands beneath the statue of Liberte in the Jardin du Luxembourg on the eve of his sixteenth birthday. It is close to curfew and he needs to get home but he catches sight of a young girl Rose and his fate is sealed. Although we don't we have very long in the company of our lead characters, you will definitely feel their plight by the end and keen to find out how their story ends. The story sets up the events of the novel The Sweetness of Forgetting, and if this short story is anything to go by it's one novel I'll definitely be checking out. Short, but definitely sweet.

Balancing Act - Living with a balance disorder

A Personal account of the day to day life I have no choice but to live with.

As a young man I had always considered myself to be a fairly balanced individual, but at age thirty five it was officially confirmed I was anything but. Now I don't want you to assume from reading the above that I'm some sort of unbalanced maniac who at any given moment will leap through the screen and knife you, rather if you just give me a minute while I put this knife quickly away I'll try to explain.

As a child I had always been prone to headaches. At the time my headaches were dismissed as sinus and mild allergies and during my schooling I spent much of my time in the school sick bay, so much so I began to think of it as my second bedroom. As time went on I did my best to live with the headaches with varying degrees of success. Somehow I made it into adulthood and once I achieved one of my many goals by marrying my girl and starting a family the headaches had transformed themselves into full blown dizzy spells. At first I was treated for everything from inner ear infection to vertigo but my condition continued undeterred. As a last resort I was referred to a neurologist who after some tests announced I had a rare condition known as episodic ataxia type two, a neurological condition which can cause dizziness, slurred speech and on occasions black outs. Between attacks I'm perfectly alright, but when they occur it's like being on an out of control roller coaster with absolutely no way off. I simply have to sit down and wait for the ride to end, which it eventually does. Fortunately this condition is treatable and I began a course of medication which at first appeared to be working, until the side effects kicked in and I developed kidney stones. I spent the next few months in and out of hospital (I won't begin to discuss the food). I was in constant pain for almost two months waiting for surgery, and naturally my medication was stopped for fear of doing more damage to my kidneys. Once this hurdle had been the jumped the hunt was on for an alternative medication, and the attacks began once more and unfortunately much more frequently.

As I write this I am still awaiting my medication, which for various reason keeps getting delayed, in fact I now keep a journal entitled "And today's excuse is...." just to lighten the mood, but with support from my family and support base I know I can overcome this condition. I am now able to spot the warning signs when an attack is imminent, and nine times out of ten I recover straight away in order to get on with what needs to be done. One final thing; as we all know the earth is constantly spinning and due to gravity we simply don't notice. Well I and others who are unfortunate enough to have this condition know exactly what it's like, and I'm happy to say once you manage to get used to it it's really not that bad, it's not fun but it's manageable.Sharing this experience is honestly like having a massive weight lifted from my chest, and I know one day hopefully in the not too distant future my balance will be restored. Thank you for reading.

Update: Since writing this Hub I have now been placed on a steady medication. While there is no cure for my condition my medication has stabilized my attacks, so I very much live one day at a time, which isn't a bad thing. Through it all my wife has been my rock and I dedicate this article to her. Without her love and support I would never have made it this far! I'm the pen and she is definitely my paper!

Yours in writing,

Jez Cartner

The Empty Park - A poem

* I'm no poet, but I love a challenge, and poetry is quite a challenge. I was inspired to write the following poem after walking past a park one day which was missing one very important ingredient: Children playing. The following poem is the result of me trying to work out exactly why would be. I hope you enjoy it.

The Empty Park

A playground with children at play.

The sound of laughter and fun,

Ring out like a bullet from a gun.

"They're happy." The mother will say,

Knowing there's only so many minutes in a day.

Time moves on, as it inevitably does.

Emptiness has left it's mark,

Like a lighthouse beam cutting the dark.

Silence fits snugly, like hands in a glove.

The unlikely resting place of peace's dove.

The ghosts of before; this was their realm now.

And the present knows not to interfere,

So if a pin were to fall everyone would hear.

No-one played, and no-one dared go.

A forbidden place where even grass won't grow.

A father and son stand side by side.

They survey the park, never a word being said.

Both are haunted by strange thoughts in their heads.

The father from images that had not yet died,

The boy from swings and slides he was unable to ride.

The father had heard it's secrets in his youth.

But there's a fine line between truth and fiction,

Which causes it's own share of friction.

But he had seen enough to have his proof,

And he knew the park was mysterious and aloof.

"Dad, can I play?" The boy was to ask.

The reply "I'm afraid not, for it is not ours to use.

It's full of danger, like a lighted fuse.

The park you see is but a mask,

It's all that remains of a troubled past.

The truth is so vast, and well I'm not up to the task.

"It's sad." He went on. "The park was once a happy place,

But as your mother says the past and present seldom meet.

To us the park is empty, like shoes without feet.

But somewhere though the children play still, with smiles on their faces.

And you can be sure in that somewhere the park is no longer an Empty place."

Jez Cartner - 19/01/2013

Copyright the Author