Dental Survival
by Martha Hull
written response by Julia Sero
also in this issue:

Bigfoot: Alive in '04
 wow. that guy could be anywhere
by Tom Young

The Evolution of the Mohawk
 comic
by Joshua Robinson

Corporate Meltdown
 drawing
by Wade Preston
response by Paul DeGeorge

9289 kilometers
 and you thought the chinatown bus was tough
by Darlington Howland

Alert & Aloof
 remember kids: survival is a state of mind!
by Georg Pedersen

Pompano Beach, Florida
 in case you didn't know, there's a downside to florida
by Marcella Hammer
illustrated by Dave Murray

Eating
 the miracle of aging, in all its glory
by Rich Zessis

Dental Survival
 you've gotta brush everyday
by Martha Hull
response by Julia Sero

Tuck Position
 practice makes perfect
by Fred Chao

Inside
 painting
by Karin Goodfellow

Pain
 painting
by Karin Goodfellow
response by Audubon Dougherty

Marriage
 painting
by Karin Goodfellow
response by Marcella Hammer

Survival Doll
 painting
by Martha Hull

Who Is My Love?
 painting
by Karin Goodfellow
response by Nayiri Krikorian

Response:

The other week I chipped a tooth

on a pit in a piece of cherry pie.

It was okay; I mean, I thought it was okay at the time-

it was just a nick, just an etch,

but it must have cracked because it shattered

two days later, shattered on a pretzel stick-

all shards of enamel and shellac on my tongue,

in my mouth; I even swallowed some.


I had a dream that night;

I dreamed my teeth were alive,

moving around my gums at unnatural speeds,

and I thought, Hey! There's a party in my mouth!

Even asleep I knew it was a cheesy line,

but you can't be held responsible for jokes

in your dreams, right? I thought so at the time.


But really I'm kind of, well, pretty upset;

I mean, not even thirty and already I'm cracked.

I mean, if a tooth can just shatter-

this hard, chomping thing-

if a tooth can be shattered so easily,

what's next?