Editor’s Notes: Carol Lem

As I am writing this from my new home in the upper canyon of Sierra Madre, overlooking green hills and the city beyond, I can't help but reflect on noisy Temple City Boulevard where I lived for twenty-six years. Friends anticipated the poems I would write here as though this city poet would suddenly infuse her verse with squirrels and deer, and though one or two have managed to find a home on the page, I can't forget where I've come from.

So, too, for the contributors of Milestone 2004. In the various poems, essays, and stories, we will find that the places we come from range from Olympic Boulevard to Zacatecas, from a café in L.A. to a battle zone in the Pacific. There are the places of the heart, too, like remembering an eighty-five year old mother, honoring the wishes of parents who have passed on, and reflecting back on that first kiss, even if it did take place in a cemetery. Finally, there are the inevitable journeys we must all travel from who we once were to who we hope to become.

Identity has always been a major theme throughout the long history of Milestone on our campus. As in previous issues, we continue to highlight the myriad voices, the writers and artists, represented by the students at East Los Angeles College, whose stories, poems, and art work cross generational, cultural, and ethnic borders. And, as in the last two issues, we also have an example of analytical writing, a film review of American Beauty.

All of us who have contributed to and worked on Milestone 2004 look forward to an issue as beautiful as Milestone 2003, which could not have been possible without the generous support of the East Los Angeles College Foundation. As the Creative Writing instructor for the Spring 2004 class, I am also grateful to the students who practiced the skills we learned in the workshop by selecting the pieces for this current edition. As always, this literary journal belongs to the writers and artists on this campus. Those of us who have nurtured them in our classes, counseled them through the transfer process, and represented them on the administrative level should be proud not only of their emerging talent but their creative, intellectual spirit as well.

I would also like to express my appreciation to Trish Glover from the Graphic Arts Department and her Assistant, Yegor Hovakimyan, for designing and formatting; members of the Art Department, in particular Jim Uyekawa for his ongoing support and Chris Moreno for her contributions to this issue; Selina Chi from Resource Development, whose input and advice have been invaluable; and, of course, my colleagues in the English Department: Susan Suntree, James Kenny, Joan Gurfield, and Gisela Herrera. Thank you all, we've done it again!