the editors

We're proud to present the 10th issue of Flushed for your interest and pleasure. We've grown and matured since our birth in 2002, reaching and being touched by both our readers and our contributors.

Part of the process of maturing has been the development of a sense of balance between the darkness and the light that comes in from our contributors. Some of our material inevitably has a black edge, reflecting how life is sometimes. We do decide not to publish some pieces that we think will disturb, upset or trigger painful feelings in our readers and suggest changes to the author that could make the work acceptable. We hope that the ideas expressed by our writers will make the dark side of life a less solitary scary place and a bit more tolerable. It's important not to be completely disheartened though, and we hope our lighter pieces help us all see that the world can be a sweet, safe and beautiful place, sometimes at least.

It's come to our attention that we have a fairly urban feel. Since we publish in Toronto, a large Canadian city, that's not surprising. We would love to hear the experiences of some rural readers (we know you're out there) for whom the internet is probably a more crucial connection. So use Talk to Us to do just that.