Michele Cozzens

Warning: Ephedra Tests Positive For Amphetamines

I have a friend with three children. Two of the three are ill. Gravely ill. It’s a degenerative disease with no known cure, although through efforts of research and experimental medicine, “progress” and “hope” are words deeply engrained into their everyday lives. Once she expressed a concern she had over elementary school boys making fun

Dear Diary, I have opened your pages to the world. I’ve thrown away the key. No one was interested in you before And as for now, why should they be curious about my life and my hours spent twisting thoughts into words? You once held all my secrets, my dreams, desires, hopes both realistic and

The redheaded woman with eyes as green as a Jesus Christ lizard called to me from the back of the tourist bus. “Pssst, Michele,” she said. I wasn’t sure I heard it the first time, however, the second time she uttered my name, I knew I had to turn around. “Has anyone ever told you

How lucky I am to have English as my first language. I’ve had the good fortune to travel to many countries and am continually grateful to find that most persons, even in the remote corners of the globe, understand enough English (mixed with universal sign-language) to meet my communications needs. The consistently most universal word:

Mention you’re going to Costa Rica and the first question you hear from anyone who knows anything about this Central American country is, “are you planning to go canopying?” “What, pray tell, is canopying?” was my response. An Internet pal, someone from Guyana with whom I sometimes chat, zipped me a photo of helmeted individuals

Nobody Looks Up in the Internet Café Had my first experience in an Internet Café in Costa Rica. With directions swimming in my head—go past the escuela, past the futbol field, and on la isquerda you’ll see a sign reading Le Chante—we spotted a little orange, concrete building perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific

There are fifteen days in October each year where I am the same age as my sister. These fifteen days begin today and we are both 44 years old. Back in the days when age was important, my younger sister (I have never been inclined to refer to her as my little sister) was quick