Author: James Pack

James Pack is a member of the Horror Writers Association and has published several collections of poetry and short fiction. He is the editor of the left leaning political blog, www.theproperdeal.com. Learn more about James and his collected works on his personal blog www.thejamespack.com. He lives in Tucson, AZ.
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Coffee & Contemplation: Pride Month

June is Pride Month. It’s about being proud of who you are and your sexuality, whatever it is. Homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, pansexual, demisexual, asexual; it comes in all shapes and sizes. The point is being proud of who you are. I identify as demisexual. This means I cannot reach full sexual arousal unless I have an emotional connection with the person. I’m not going to go into further details in this post. 

June is also PTSD Awareness Month. May was Mental Health Awareness Month so we’ll continue spreading awareness. June 27 is PTSD Awareness Day, and I’ll share more about that around that time. I have PTSD from various traumas I’ve experienced since childhood. This also caused me to have anxiety and depression. I have spent the last few years attempting to overcome some of my issues. I succeeded in some places and failed in others. 

The biggest thing for me is to no longer feel ashamed of having a mental illness. And to no longer feel ashamed of past transgressions. I’ve made many mistakes. I’ve lost people I cared about because I wouldn’t face my problems. I won’t feel sorry for myself anymore. I ask that everyone have pride in fighting against a mental illness. Be proud of the progress you’ve made. The point of Pride Month is to love yourself. So, bring awareness to your community and be proud of everything you’ve overcome.

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Remembering D-Day: June 6, 1944

76 years ago, during World War II, the Allied forces invaded northern France with beach landings in Normandy. This event was used as the opening sequence for the film Saving Private Ryan (1998). The “D” stands for day. The title was conventionally used for the date of any important military operation. Days leading up to D-Day were designated as D-1, D-2. Days following D-Day were designated as D+1, D+2, etc. This event was as important to World War II as the Battle of Gettysburg was for the Civil War. The official name for D-Day was Operation Neptune.

This was the turning of events for Nazi Germany as they began to lose control of territories. Less than a year after the D-Day invasion, the Allies formally accepted Nazi Germany’s surrender. The relevance of this invasion and the purpose of World War II is obvious. Here in the United States, we are experiencing continued hate towards people of color and other minorities. Nazis and white supremacists are as abundant today as they were during the days of World War II. I hope the United States does not have to resort to fighting each other to finally put an end to this madness. 

I do not condone violence of any kind no matter the justification. I try to live my life with kindness as my religion. Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. Being kind does not mean I’m not angry. There is nothing wrong with being angry and expressing that anger in production, non-violent ways. Now I have a message for the Nazis out in the world. Whether you believe you’re a Nazi or not doesn’t make you different from them. If you’re racists and promote hate speech, you’re a Nazi. Nazis are not welcome in my country. Get out!

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Flashback Friday Poetry: Death

death is the man
who searches for life
he takes it away
with a flash of light

that young man there
he was stabbed and shanked
the stupid bastard
tried to be a saint
to save a girl’s life
they took the bait
it was his life
he let them take
unfortunately for her
the life wasn’t saved
the stupid bastard
tried to be a saint

my death is uncertain
my time will end soon
after all i have seen
death is my only friend
he’ll always be there
when others have fled
he’ll be my bestest bud
my friend to the end

Early poetry from James. From the poetry collection Pariah Bound: The Lonesome Poetry.