Victor D. López's Blog: Victor D. Lopez, page 43

Also free on Wednesday, February 17 only: Of Pain and Ecstasy: Collected Poems (Volume 1)

On Wednesday, February 17 you can download a free copy of my first collection of poems from Amazon. In the U.S., the direct link is https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0059XEREI. In other parts of the world served by Amazon, please check your local Amazon link.

This collection of poems presents a unique perspective on enduring themes—love, existentialism, the darker side of life in an urban environment, loneliness, quiet heroism and the transcendent power of poetry to rebuild weary souls and teach le...

Free for one day only at Amazon: The Day the Dolphins Vanished

My short story, The Day the Dolphins Vanished, is free for one day only on Wednesday, February 17. It is one of the 13 stories in my speculative fiction collection, Echoes of the Mind’s Eye. You can download it at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EAVUV04 in the U.S. and at your local Amazon pages elsewhere.

Imagine what it would be like to be able to have an actual conversation with the other intelligent species with whom we share the planet. What might they tell us? What might we learn from them...

Unung Heroes III – Remedios (maternal grandmother)

Remedios (Maternal Grandmother)

Your husband died at 40, leaving you to raise seven children alone.
But not before your eldest, hardest working son, Juan, had
Drowned at sea in his late teens while working as a fisherman to help
You and your husband put food on the table.

You lost a daughter, too,
Toñita, also in her early teens, to illness.
Their kind, pure souls found
Their way back home much too soon.

Later in life you would lose two more sons to tragedy, Paco (Francisco),
An honest, hard-wo...

Héroes Desconocidos – Parte I y II- Emilio (abuelo materno) y Remedios (abuela materna)

Héroes Desconocidos

Aunque estoy parado en los hombros de gigantes,
No veo mucho más lejos del puente de mi nariz.

La culpa es mía. La vergüenza es mía.
Pues no soy digno de ustedes, mis queridos muertos.

Parte I – Emilio (abuelo materno)

Su crimen fue su inteligencia y su posesión de una conciencia social, que le hizo anhelar
Ver a su amada España permanecer libre y le impidió tolerar a fascistas.
No portó armas, aborrecía todo tipo de violencia. No incitó la rebelión,
Aunque se rebeló c...

Unsung Heroes: Part I — Manuel (Maternal Grandfather)

Although I stand on the shoulders of giants, I fail to see much farther than the bridge of my nose. The fault in mine. The shame is mine. For I am unworthy of you, my beloved dead. Emilio (Maternal Grandfather) Your crime was literacy, And the possession of a social conscience, That made you yearn to see your beloved Spain remain free, And prevented you from suffering fascists lightly. You did not bear arms, For you abhorred all violence, You did not incite rebellion, though ...

I So Yearn to Ring / Anhelo Tanto Sonar

I so yearn to ring, Chimes that waken sleeping hearts, And lift them skyward. Like Keats and Shelley, Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Blake, Or Whitman and Poe. Sadly my chimes are, Like a cracked church bell struck by, Leaves in a wind storm. Anhelo Tanto Sonar Anhelo tanto sonar, Campanas que despierten a corazones dormidos, Y los exalten hacia el cielo. Como Keats y Shelley, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Blake, O Whitman y Poe. Tristemente mis campanadas suenan, Como hojas batidas ...

Requiem for Love / Réquiem Por El Amor

Requiem for Love

Love does not die of just a single blow,
Its life flows out quite slowly over years,
One drop follows another as love flows,
From thousands of unfatal cuts and tears.

A thousand little stings from tongue or eye,
A thousand unkind words from me and you,
A thousand “I told you so’s” piled on high,
A thousand battles lost, refought anew.

Each wound a scab that grows harder with time,
Covering festering hurts that won’t heal,
An unwise word morphs to betrayal sublime,
Suppuratin...

Hire Lernin’ – Chapter 10

Chapter 10

He awoke the next morning startled by his alarm clock. It was rare for him not to wake up on his own before the alarm went off, but this morning waking up felt like swimming to the surface of a tar pit. Nevertheless, he was fully alert in a minute or two, and rose to his usual routine, leaving his apartment in a two-family home owned by an aging lovely woman whom he thought of as an adopted grandmother more than a landlord, and she him as another grandson. He should talk to her, ...

Echoes of the Mind’s Eye: 13 Speculative Fiction Short Stories

Are you in the mood for reading something different? Do you want stories that both entertain and leave you thinking long after you’ve put down the book? Then please accompany me on a journey through inner and outer space that explores the duality of the human condition with our feet planted in clay while our spirits yearn to soar. Put aside your preconceived notions about love, reality, consciousness and science and explore the mysteries of the universe beyond the reach of our five senses. You m...

Mandatory Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Contracts: A Legally Permissible Means of Denying Consumers the Constitutional Right to Litigate Contract Disputes in Court and the Right to Trial By Jury

Mandatory Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Contracts: A Legally Permissible Meansof Denying Consumers the Constitutional Right to Litigate Contract Disputes in Court and the Right to Trial By Jury

by Victor D. López, J.D., Esq.*

North East Journal of Legal Studies: Vol. 40 , Article 1 (Spring 2020).

ABSTRACT

Mandatory arbitration clauses have become ubiquitous in consumer contracts. The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) was enacted by Congress in 1925 in order to overcome the judicia...