To my teacher and good friend,M.H I no longer stand on future's hillAnd wait for coming glory Nor hold on to roses of my pastAnd wish for a different storyI've grown tired of my restless mindThat flood my heart with worryAnd turns the blessed momentsInto haunting purgatory

10:30 P.M - Prison Cell #128 I was lying in bed with the lights off, watching the premier of "Camel Man" ­­-- the first Hollywood movie to ever feature a Middle-Eastern superhero. It starred Lightning Larabie - who in real life is a popular camel race announcer-acting as Jay Jamal, a 20- year-old petty criminal, … Continue reading The Arabian Night: CAMEL MAN! →

9:35 P.M I was lying in my bed, sipping on cold milk and eating raisins. My friend Giuseppe, a balding red rooster with just one eye, was standing on a stool beside my bed, eating sunflower seeds and spitting the shells out on the floor, like the inconsiderate sleaze ball that he was. Giuseppe was … Continue reading The Arabian Night: Giuseppe →

Previously on the Arabian Night series: The Nihilist There are dangerous men... and then... there are dangerous men. Howie belonged to the latter category. He was a 60-year-old Indonesian friend of mine who lived on myprison block; short, bold, wore thick-rimmed glasses that made his eyes appear doubletheir size, and always walked around with a … Continue reading The Arabian Night: WMD →

Previously on the Arabian Night: Operation Camel Jockey 10:15 P.M-CELL # 128 It was Saturday night and that could only mean one thing: camel racing! I was reclining on my bed waiting for the race to begin on ESPN Desert Sports, while my friend Sami was standing beside my bed. Prison cells are tiny by … Continue reading The Arabian Night: The Nihilist →

Previously on The Arab Night series: The Golden Nut 8:15 P.M. – TOSA Headquarters, North Virginia “Colonel, we have positive identification of our target, but there is a problem, Sir.” A drone operator spoke into his headset as he stared at his computer screen. “What’s the problem Sargent?” the colonel’s voice crackled through. “Sir, the … Continue reading The Arabian Night: Operation Camel Jockey →

Previously on the series: The Arabian Night clinkclinkclinkclinkDUFF! I woke up startled and looked ahead to see a blurry vision of a man resembling Officer Hadfield standing at my cell door. "Good morning Amara. Sorry to wake you up this early, but the Warden wants to see you in the yard” Still alarmed and half-asleep, … Continue reading The Arabian Night: The Golden Nut →