Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide

Articles written by Linda Ellsworth Crisalli


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  • Bears Through Town

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli, Poetry|Sep 3, 2022

    Is it a myth or true that bears walk through the town of Tehachapi to get to the juniper berries in Sand Canyon? Black bears do live in our mountains. Bears do love juniper berries. And it is true that juniper berries ripen in Sand Canyon where bears have been seen eating them. They travel down from our mountains into our valley, but do they walk through town to get there? Stories from people who drive home from work late, people who are night owls or suffer insomnia and people who hear animals...

  • I Believe...

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli, Short Story|Dec 18, 2021

    Every fairy is born with a special talent and each fairy must find their gift and their purpose. There are all kinds of fairies...flower fairies, water fairies, tinker fairies like Tinkerbell and snow fairies like Periwinkle. Starlight was born in the Hollow amidst a flurry of snowflakes, which was quite rare. When taken to the fairy test, not one of the talents fit. The Queen said, "Do not worry. You will find it. Or it will find you!" Starlight watched the remainder of winter snow through a fr...

  • The Christmas Pickle

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli|Dec 4, 2021

    I was a preschool teacher many years ago. When the Christmas season arrived, we decorated a tree with the kids in the classroom. They were so excited. We read all sorts of Christmas books and talked about various traditions in other countries. I came across the story about the Christmas Pickle at this time. It has an ambiguous beginning. Maybe in Germany or a Scandinavian country? No one is quite sure. The story goes that a Christmas ornament in the shape of a pickle is hidden within the branches of the tree. The first child to spot the pickle...

  • Senior moments: being organized

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli, Short Stories|Jan 18, 2020

    As the pace in this 21st century world moves faster and faster, it becomes all the more important to be organized. Growing older magnifies that need. Whether memory is dimming and we find ourselves forgetting where we left things, or mobility is limited and we can’t get to the things we remember and need, being organized offers a certain salvation. Facing both situations, short term memory loss and mobility challenges, I have been very thankful that long term memory hangs on in surprising detail...

  • 'Valley of Lights': A Loop serial story

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli|Oct 26, 2019

    Start at the beginning. For Part 1 click HERE It is said all good things must come to an end. I want to thank those who contributed to our experiment with a newspaper serial that invited the community to contribute. It was a lot of fun seeing the original premise in the Valley of Light moving forward. Did the valley remind you of home? Have you yourself seen weird lights in the skies, in our mountains, in the desert? Have you found explanations for them? I’m sure our serial did not answer all t...

  • 'Valley of Lights': A Loop serial story

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli|Oct 12, 2019

    Start at the beginning. For Part 1 click HERE In the April 13 edition of The Loop newspaper, we introduced The Loop Serial “Valley of Lights” and invited readers to join us in the fun of moving the story forward. I submitted the running start by providing Part One, giving a summary of characters and events ... setting the stage. The introduction and submissions can be found online. As in life, all things must come to an end. So this week we present to you two excellent and different con...

  • Valley of Light: A Loop Serial Story

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli|Jul 6, 2019

    Start at the beginning. For Part 1 click HERE Part 5, by Linda Crisalli Ralph Rigatta, Old Time Miner I am no young pup, I teethed on mining in my youth in the Mojave Desert. Went with my pops before I was five. Helped lug out lots of stone. But it’s been gold I’ve wanted. And headlines screaming, “Ralph Rigatta strikes big time!” I did some panning up north. But these dang mountains here kept drawing me back. I can’t stop the campfire stories always running crazy like in my head, stories from t...

  • Valley of Light: A Loop Serial Story

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli|Jun 22, 2019

    Start at the beginning, for Part 1 click HERE Part 4, by Hank Rogers I've always thought that we can only know what we know, and that to believe without knowledge is for fools. Still, there are things – sometimes near unbelievable things, that we may never know. Lylah, the wife, is different than me, particularly now that the kids are grown and on their own over on the coast. She has less to occupy her, and time for dreaming. "Bill, I'm not crazy, I've seen these strange lights on the mountain l...

  • Valley of Light: A Loop Serial Story

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli|Jun 8, 2019

    For Part 1 click HERE Part 3, by G.E. Perlin "Danny!" "DANNY?" "What?" Danny responded, looking mildly annoyed. Danny turned his attention to Wade to submit his inflection of disapproval; Wade did not receive that angry glance, he was looking past Danny toward the entrance. Danny wasn't a clairvoyant, or even mildly intuitive, but without turning to look, he already knew that the Chief was standing at the doorway. "He's behind me, isn't he?" Danny said ironically, smiling at Wade uneasily. "Hi C...

  • Valley of Light: A Loop Serial Story

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli|May 25, 2019

    Part 2, by E. M. Young [Picking up the story from the paragraph beginning: “Steve leaves for work at 7 a.m. each morning. His wife, Becky, kisses him goodbye without knowing exactly where he is going or what he is working on. His work is secret ... Where does he go? What secrets does he keep?] The problem is that Steve talks in his sleep. And Becky is a light sleeper. Steve is often restless in his sleep, too. Sometimes what Steve blurts out in the quiet of the night puts an end to Becky’s rest...

  • Valley of Light: A Loop Serial Story

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli|Apr 27, 2019

    [Scroll down for Part 1] In the April 13 edition of The Loop newspaper, we invited readers to use their creativity and join in on adding to our serial story, “Valley of Light.” Part 1 is written to give you a running start. We are hoping for your imaginative ideas, where the story can take unexpected and interesting turns. There is still time. Send us what you have and let us decide! Rules: You must give us your name in your submission and the submission must be no longer than 500 words. It can...

  • The Serial: Calling all writers

    Linda Ellsworth Crisalli|Apr 13, 2019

    Did you know that Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” started out as a serial in a literary magazine? Published in 1860, from December to August 1861, readers waited anxiously for their next installment until the anticlimactic ending. Undaunted, the readers clamored for more and in the ensuing years, relished the “Pickwick Papers,” “The Three Musketeers,” “The Count of Monte Cristo” and Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina.” Serials were a way for authors to share their stories to a wider public that did...

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