i have cried in the veil of darkness. no one hears me here. i am sure to be quiet. crumpled tissues hushed in fuzzy sweaters, comfort envy only known to skin. closed doors are quiet locks. click. turn. remain steadfast in will. you are almost there. I've known smiles once upon a time in dusty books laid upon scripted journals in fancy ink when vitality was more desired than finality. so i sit. and they roll down my face, beckoning to be wiped. i am defiant in the cause. my hand refuses to leave my side.  drip drop and I hear small feet buzzing around on warm carpet, voice booming he is a superhero. behind closed doors, I feel a rush of a cape donned from a blanket around shoulders more bigger than mine. so i wipe my face. sip water. say a little prayer. rise. -b.r.rivera Dedicated to all those living in chronic pain. Now As a U.S. Pain Foundation Ambassador, I am advocating and bringing awareness. I share my story. Please follow along with me o...

Scrap booking is nothing new, and not left to the sticker and ribbon holding enthusiasts bound to Wednesday Joanne's sales. Enter Charles Lutwidge Dodgson-or as we all follow the white rabbit, Lewis Carroll. Born in England in 1832, he began his life crunching numbers in mathematics. He also was a deacon, enjoyed photography and poetry as well. Writing stories for children, he entertained a young girl named Alice and interpreted her dream into the book Alice in Wonderland which by 1932 was the most popular book in the world. Carroll's Scrapbook Carroll enjoyed to keep his memories in a book- a beautiful scrapbook. Today it is housed in the United States Library of Congress (LoC). The book holds approximately 130 items of newspaper clippings, photographs, manuscripts, and Carroll's personal penmanship. It is ordered in proper context, collected between 1885-1872. The LoC has digitized the collection to make the resources available to those that wish to see them, and the rar...