tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231305942024-03-07T18:36:32.423-05:00Bob SanchezWriter, editor, book reviewerBob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.comBlogger519125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-85997282457185927012022-06-22T10:24:00.002-05:002022-06-22T10:24:26.949-05:00<p><span style="font-size: medium;">A random photo from my hard drive. My Dad took this in the 1950s in Massachusetts. Apparently people collected used wooden barrels, piled them up, and lit July 4 bonfires. If memory serves, this may have been in Lynnfield or Topsfield. I don't know what WPCC meant.</span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNBAdjv2hE_6QKJxlrRH_OjroSj4Z8IzRT4SR_cKpPWMVfDGEG_kyatQXpwSDi1UY0Ou6Xs_4CRuueZXZHtZZUe0RwJ2dtR3tHDI3UPeA62Nl1Zq18Azoj8zEQyAhIzKt4y1kpwQwV3_qE8Q-Iie54JLrIwIQ0Vfzsr8v3_2rw5Eq5op6gA/s2939/Barrels%20for%20bonfire.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2939" data-original-width="2337" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNBAdjv2hE_6QKJxlrRH_OjroSj4Z8IzRT4SR_cKpPWMVfDGEG_kyatQXpwSDi1UY0Ou6Xs_4CRuueZXZHtZZUe0RwJ2dtR3tHDI3UPeA62Nl1Zq18Azoj8zEQyAhIzKt4y1kpwQwV3_qE8Q-Iie54JLrIwIQ0Vfzsr8v3_2rw5Eq5op6gA/s320/Barrels%20for%20bonfire.jpeg" width="254" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-11892831656318480222020-02-18T17:04:00.003-05:002020-02-18T17:04:40.767-05:00Mucko -- short fiction<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>Mucko<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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By Bob Sanchez</div>
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Gilly’s gut cantilevers over his belt. Holds a coffee from Dunkin’ in one hand, couple of sugar-coated Boston Cremes in the other, powdered sugar dusts his reindeer sweater. Lid’s loose, and given what’s about to happen, Mucko figures there’ll be spillage in the IT department. No, spillage in the whole company.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“How they hangin’, Mucko?” Gilly’s daily greeting. “Place ought to be closed, day after Christmas, you think?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I expect it to close early,” Mucko says.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Yeah? I didn’t hear that. We leave early, I can play with my kids on their new X Box. Nor’easter’s coming in a couple days, I’ll fire up the snow blower my wife just gave me. I couldn’t believe it. There’s this one little package left under the Christmas tree, and Sandy’s like “Open it,” and I tear off the wrapping and it’s this little plastic John Deere, and I’m thinking like what do I need a kid’s toy for, and then she’s like “look out the window, baby” and I’m like holy shit, the luckiest guy in Wakefield, and now I’m hoping for three feet of snow.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mucko twitches. He likes Gilly, he really does. Mucko doesn’t usually mind Gilly running his mouth. Looks like a slob, codes like a demon, covered for Mucko in a couple of jams. As developers they’ve worked long hours together on deadlines, til midnight even. The rest of IT he could take or leave, at least they never fucked him over like Rose in Accounting. Gilly doesn’t know the festering canker that Mucko’s life has become. Wife bitches like a banshee, car’s about to be repossessed, IRS is on his ass, he’s got a variable mortgage that only varies up, and Rose tells him no to a pay advance—<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gilly bites into a donut, keeps talking. “The blizzard of ’78, remember that?” Of course Mucko remembers, everybody does. Gilly talks like a pinball machine as his monologue bounces from Red Sox spring training to how much the Yankees suck to how compassionate a conservative George W. Bush really is to why Gilly thinks his oldest daughter just missed her period to how the company just gave out such nice bonuses. “You got yours, right?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mucko doesn’t answer, and that’s his answer. Not stupid, Gilly takes the cue, shuts up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mucko stands up, opens a cabinet. Takes out a 12-gauge, an AK-47 and a .32-caliber that he tucks into his belt. Walks out of the cubicle. Gilly’s mouth opens, a donut-filled cavern. Coffee splashes onto the carpet. “Where you <i>going</i> with all that?” he asks.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“To Accounting,” Mucko says.<o:p></o:p></div>
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~~~</div>
Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-15745220279224793832019-10-20T12:08:00.001-05:002019-10-20T12:36:47.900-05:00Memories -- short fiction<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<b style="font-size: 12pt;">Memories</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 409.5pt;">
<b>by Bob Sanchez</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Denise and Ronald
sat at their favorite table at The Golden Sunset, waiting in the dining room
for lunch. Ronald had removed two chairs to discourage further company. Someone had been pounding out “Roll Out the Barrel” on the piano across
the hall but stopped in the middle of the tune; a few minutes later, two EMTs
carried the pianist away on a stretcher. More residents arrived in the dining
room using canes and wheelchairs. The place smelled like meatloaf with a whiff of
Lysol. Silverware clattered on plates. Lupe the lunch lady delivered two
plates with identical meals with whipped potatoes, green beans, lime Jell-o,
and a heap of something from the animal kingdom that was blanketed in brown gravy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s come to this,” Denise said. “We used to
eat Shrimp Étoufée at Arnaud’s and drink Hurricanes in those huge glasses, and
then stagger back to our hotel—and oh my, could we ever sin! And now look at
this slop. No shape, no color, no taste. They’re trying to bore us to death.
Numb us before they put us on that ice floe to be eaten by polar bears.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Ronald smiled,
though he had forgotten about Arnaud’s and the sin. What kind of sin? And who
was Flo? He touched her wrinkled hand, mottled with age spots. “Yes,” he said,
“it’s come to this. You and me together again, the way Fate intended.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She tasted the
potatoes and pushed the plate aside. “Salt-free food. Ugh. I’m going on a
hunger strike as of now. Will you come with me, Ronald?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I will go
anywhere with you.” Her eyes were pale blue, and her face was truly lovely
because of the wrinkles, he thought, not despite them. “Off the edge of the
earth, if we can hold hands doing it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re an old
romantic fool, talking such drivel. I just want you to boycott this place with
me. Tomorrow we’ll sneak out for burgers and the saltiest fries we can find.”
She tapped the cube of Jell-o with her knife to watch it wiggle and glisten in
the fluorescent light. Ronald thought of emeralds and shamrocks, fragments of
memories he couldn’t piece together.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes, tomorrow.”
He ate a forkful of whipped potatoes. A dab of it stuck to his chin. “These
spuds are good, don’t you think?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She asked, “Do you
remember when our oldest finally tied the knot? It lasted six months, as I
recall. Children know nothing of commitment anymore.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
How could Ronald
admit he’d forgotten everything she talked about? Their lives together must
have been filled with such passion. Foggy notions drifted about his head that
they’d never been together before Golden Sunset, but she was smart and
beautiful, while he thought himself dumb and ugly. “Yes I do,” he said. “Kids
these days.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They ate slowly
while he tried to process her memories, as he had so few of his own. In time
the other diners left, and Denise and Ronald found themselves alone except for
the lunchroom staff collecting dishes and cleaning tables and speaking to each
other in Spanish.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then he stood up,
his knees and back objecting. Grasping his walker with one hand, he reached out
to help her with the other. They walked down the quiet hall, she to Room 142,
he to Room 141. Was she right? Had they ever married and raised children
together? Fought, divorced and met again here?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m in love with
you,” he said as he fumbled for his key.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Denise turned at
looked at him and said, “Of course you are.” Then she went into her room and
closed the door.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-81345564530362494552019-08-18T17:03:00.001-05:002019-08-18T17:09:31.756-05:00Book review: Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEb5KeiJIECv23RdFfDkNWzljiPZL4N5dhyphenhyphenHPUFrcjxmOLCEASpkn166hgPlWDn4NOnpCpmo-Avoy0eXS7aduk5XR2CfEgZQ6jKLNC8hjbtpKgqfj-k7U51_DfTWu2WOXWeDqK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-08-18+at+6.02.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="676" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEb5KeiJIECv23RdFfDkNWzljiPZL4N5dhyphenhyphenHPUFrcjxmOLCEASpkn166hgPlWDn4NOnpCpmo-Avoy0eXS7aduk5XR2CfEgZQ6jKLNC8hjbtpKgqfj-k7U51_DfTWu2WOXWeDqK/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-08-18+at+6.02.17+PM.png" width="208" /></span></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nonfiction</span></b><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When the moon hits your eye<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand:</i></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Fifty Wonders That Reveal an Extraordinary Universe</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">214 pp. Diversion Books<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By Marcus Chown<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Reviewed by Bob Sanchez<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Originally published in the Internet Review of Books</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The very fact of the universe’s existence poses a profound puzzle. Answers used to be as simple as Genesis, where God placed mankind at the center of everything, and the daily sunrises and sunsets made Earth’s centrality in the heavens self-evident.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then telescopes opened our eyes, and now we know we are a minuscule blue dot in a Universe of endless complexity and wonder. At least two trillion galaxies originated in one unimaginably small space, and now they race away at increasing speeds. Dark matter and dark energy envelop everything we see and hold it all – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">us</i> all – together. That includes atoms, the building blocks of everything. Atoms are mostly empty space, with relatively vast distances between their nuclei and the electrons whizzing around them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Author and radio astronomer Marcus Chown brings these facts to our attention with clarity and a light touch. For example, he states that the moon “is perpetually plummeting towards the earth,” and that “pound for pound … Jupiter’s pizza-like moon, Io,” generates more heat than the sun. He also points out in his chapter <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Please Squeeze Me </i>that if you could squeeze all the empty space from our atoms, the entire human race could fit in the space of one very heavy sugar cube. “We are all ghosts,” he writes, 99.9999999999999 percent empty space. (He also writes that we are one-third mushroom, so which are we, Mr. Chown, ghosts or fungi?)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When he gives public talks, he shows off his pet mosquito named Terry, which he keeps in a jam jar. He says that if he could magically remove all the bug’s electrons, leaving only the positively charged nuclei, the resulting explosion would cause a global mass extinction. (And to think we’ve all been fretting about global warming!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As the subtitle suggests, this book describes fifty wondrous phenomena of the Universe. Topics range from the indivisibly small to the unknowably vast. No chapter exceeds a half-dozen pages, and readers will never feel bogged down in convoluted or technical language. Chapter titles alone give away the flavor of the book: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hex Appeal, Pocket Universe, Credit Card Cosmos, </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Loopy Liquid</i> are a few of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Make no mistake, though. No amount of clear, enjoyable writing will simplify quantum physics enough for some of us – okay, <i>for me</i>. The same particle can exist in two places at once? The concept makes my brain feel like empty space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This popular-science overview of the Universe is perfect for lay readers with inquiring minds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-81307251418541200702019-08-11T16:13:00.000-05:002019-08-11T16:13:17.692-05:00Book review: Bloodlands<b style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Nonfiction </b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; float: right; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-left: 1em; padding: 4px; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRNS8_3-a7cI7dnBqMDtzt7dAe6fbxOqqSjr4KXk8dhoG8EzjiRCnLsCu6Wh9eKeoxcu2PjuPEyo-LzhThhhF4V2RE5sBHer2G8dQFOXh5JaZ-6x8u9T2G0EnvlOhZSaTe9OyRA/s1600/bloodlands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #009eb8; display: inline; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRNS8_3-a7cI7dnBqMDtzt7dAe6fbxOqqSjr4KXk8dhoG8EzjiRCnLsCu6Wh9eKeoxcu2PjuPEyo-LzhThhhF4V2RE5sBHer2G8dQFOXh5JaZ-6x8u9T2G0EnvlOhZSaTe9OyRA/s320/bloodlands.jpg" style="-webkit-border-image: url("data:image/png; border: 9px none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: auto; margin: 10px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="203" /></a></td></tr>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Fourteen million times one </i><br style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">BLOODLANDS: </b><br style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Europe between Hitler and Stalin </b><br style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">By Timothy Snyder </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">524 pp. Basic Books</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">Reviewed by Bob Sanchez</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0c0c0c; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><i>Originally published by the Internet Review of Books, 2011</i></span><br />
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There may have been no worse place on earth. Trapped between two hostile giants, about fourteen million innocents were murdered in the area that Yale History Professor Timothy Snyder labels the bloodlands: Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, and part of western Russia. To the west lay Nazi Germany, with its policy of eastward expansion and depopulation. To the east lay the Soviet Union, with its policy of starving and killing masses of people, in particular its own peasants.</div>
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The bloodlands were not a specific, defined region, Snyder writes, but simply the lands where the two regimes did “their most murderous work...where most of Europe's Jews lived and where Hitler and Stalin's imperial plans overlapped.”</div>
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In page after page of <i>Bloodlands</i>, Snyder documents the mind-numbing atrocities committed by both sides. Sometimes the numbers of gassed, shot, or starved are estimates, and sometimes they are precise because the killers kept records. Either way, those numbers blur together throughout this painful, important book.</div>
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As early as 1933, Stalin had begun a killing binge that reached its nadir with his Great Terror of 1937-1938. The Bolsheviks learned from their experience with the famines of the early 1920s that “food was a weapon.” Between 1933 and 1945, more than half of the civilians who died in the region had been deliberately starved to death. Yet news of Hitler's rise to power in 1933 overshadowed the famine in the Ukraine.</div>
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Stalin treated the Ukrainian famine as sabotage by lazy peasants and disloyal local officials, though the Soviets shipped massive quantities Ukrainian grain to other parts of the USSR. Peasants were allowed next to nothing. Unauthorized collection of the smallest food scraps was considered theft and was punishable by death. Snyder writes:</div>
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<i>A peasant slowly dying of hunger was, despite appearances, a saboteur working for the capitalist powers in their campaign to discredit the Soviet Union.</i></blockquote>
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And he quotes a communist party official as saying during Stalin's Great Terror that people belonging to national minorities “should be forced to their knees and shot like mad dogs.”</div>
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Meanwhile, Hitler had a grand vision of using the area to his east as Germany's breadbasket, enslaving the “subhumans” he chose not to immediately exterminate. The “Final Solution” to the Jewish “problem” underwent several versions ultimately deemed impractical, such as deporting the Jews to Madagascar as slaves. Then in late 1941, Hitler settled on killing them all during the war. Hitler believed that “human beings were containers of calories that should be emptied,” Snyder writes.</div>
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Bloodlands is far from a casual read, but it will deepen one's perception of the depravity to which humans can sink. “This is a history of political mass murder,” Snyder writes. None of those deaths resulted from Soviet-Nazi combat but from their separate killing policies. In a broad sense Nazi policy was political, while Soviet policy was economic. The victims, I suspect, cared nothing about the distinction.</div>
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Were the concentration camps the worst of the Nazi atrocities? No, Snyder argues. “The image of the German concentration camps as the worst element of National Socialism is an illusion, a dark mirage over an unknown desert.” The camps seem the worst because there were survivors to tell about them, while vast numbers of victims never spent time in a camp but were simply shot or gassed in specialized death facilities. “In a matter of a given few days in the second half of 1941, the Germans shot more Jews in the east than they had inmates in all of their concentration camps.”</div>
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Both regimes had the ability to strip their victims of their humanity, he writes, yet “Each of the living bore a name. ...Each of the dead became a number.” By adding names and quoting from victims' letters, Snyder reminds us that each number still represented one real, unique human being. Fourteen million times one.</div>
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I had offered <i>Bloodlands</i> to a reviewer who, as it happened, had already read the book and hated it as a one-sided apologia that presents the Holocaust as less heinous than Stalin's crimes. So rather than write a scathing review, he declined the assignment. But Bloodlands left me with an altogether different impression: both Hitler and Stalin were bloodthirsty ogres. We can total up the victims and judge one dictator to be more evil than the other, but the exercise is pointless. Each was a scourge on humanity.</div>
Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-83767894072635857392019-01-22T16:55:00.000-05:002019-01-22T16:55:11.811-05:00About that southern borderWe lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico for nine years, not far from the Mexican border. Go into many commercial establishments and you'll find people who speak both Spanish and English, sometimes switching back and forth between the languages in the same sentence. The kid at the McDonald's counter takes one look at you and knows to greet you in English, then greets the next customer in Spanish. Signs in storefronts read "Se habla español." Hungry folks who visit Delicias around noontime will find the restaurant packed with Spanish- and English-speaking workers sitting at brightly colored tables and chairs. A few years ago, a mariachi band occasionally came in and serenaded the customers. Perhaps they still do.<br />
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Many laborers make a daily round trip from Ciudad Juárez to do much of the work Americans want done but won't do themselves. A landscaping crew might have one man who speaks sufficient English to talk to the customer. They work in the hot sun, wearing long sleeves, jeans and boots, hats with a cloth in the back to cover their necks. Offer them <i>agua</i>, and they gratefully respond with<i> sí, gracias</i> and a smile. At least in the moment that's enough Spanish for a gringo to know. Of course, many Mexicans work here for a time before recrossing the border to home and family. Some live on this side of the border.<br />
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In El Paso, a woman told me she is from Mexico and is annoyed when her compatriots come to the U.S. and do not speak English when they're here. On that side of the border, you speak Spanish. On this side, English. I told her New Mexico has two official languages, English and Spanish. She didn't like that. Me, I don't mind at all.<br />
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The border, <i>la frontera</i>, is artificial anyway. A huge swath of the Southwest was occupied by nomadic Indian tribes, colonized by Spain, and became Mexico. Then the United States took a lot, bought some, and drew a line.Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-618350385087143712018-10-09T16:59:00.001-05:002018-10-09T16:59:08.704-05:00Revisiting Frankenstein<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4gRpALIFktkLAK7vv0JBMb4V9RY5JiJ71EfaOzTLrjJZ688Vq_VDmU_UBqsp43Bi5ZJCH2YZ6SeDaQhULqopJmgCghVFyNsPAer6yyaY6_1hzFMiZ9MAsOhG_1eo7cAAeBA9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-03-21+at+11.33.59+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="344" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4gRpALIFktkLAK7vv0JBMb4V9RY5JiJ71EfaOzTLrjJZ688Vq_VDmU_UBqsp43Bi5ZJCH2YZ6SeDaQhULqopJmgCghVFyNsPAer6yyaY6_1hzFMiZ9MAsOhG_1eo7cAAeBA9/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-03-21+at+11.33.59+AM.png" width="213" /></a>Not long ago, a TV ad for The Frankenstein Chronicles prompted me to download Mary Shelley's 1818 classic, <i>Frankenstein, </i>and read it on my iPad. We all know the story, or some version of it. Doctor Frankenstein builds a creature in his laboratory, and it turns out to be a monster that goes on killing rampages.<br />
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What an imagination Shelley had! Victor Frankenstein has an idyllic childhood in Switzerland--perfect parents, no misfortunes, and a lovely cousin and playmate named Elizabeth who is expected one day to be his perfect bride.<br />
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As an adult, the highly intelligent and happy scientist Doctor Frankenstein labors in his lab to create a man. But why, when he could marry Elizabeth and create fellow humans in the easy, traditional way? He wants to advance the well-being of the human race. Of course, he discovers too late that his handiwork is hideous. How it's possible for the good Doctor to be so clueless must simply be put down to literary license.<br />
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The misfortunes that follow aren't the monster's fault. He wants love and acceptance, yet his creator hates and rejects him, purely on his looks. At night he gathers firewood as a favor to the local cottage dwellers, hoping that they will appreciate him when he finally shows his face. But when the townsfolk see him, they run away in terror. The only person not to fear him is a blind man. Only after being roundly abused does the monster despair and begin his path of destruction and vengeance.<br />
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Shelley accomplishes a lot without describing the monster in detail, though we do know he is eight feet tall. The terror comes from people's reactions. Artists' renditions often depict him with a bolt through his neck, but that didn't come from the story.<br />
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The prose is florid, overblown and awash in emotion, but it's 18th-century fiction. I love how no matter where Dr. Frankenstein goes to find peace, his monster shows up.<br />
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<br />Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-28341110413341948352018-01-23T22:05:00.002-05:002018-01-23T22:05:31.053-05:00FATHERS IN WAITING<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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FATHERS IN WAITING</div>
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The man sat next to me in the maternity ward, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world. He was burly, with calloused hands, oil-stained jeans, flannel shirt and a Patriots cap, and I pegged him for an auto mechanic interrupted in the middle of an oil change. After a while, he hailed a passing nurse.</div>
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He asked, “Why is my wife taking so long? She’s done this six times already.”</div>
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“The baby will be born when it’s ready, Mister Stanley. Please have a seat. We’ll let you know as soon as there’s news.”</div>
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“It’s gotta be a boy this time, right? I’m goddamn sick of her having girls.”</div>
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“Sir, please sit down and relax. She won’t be much longer.” The nurse walked away, and he returned to his chair.</div>
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I was nervous too. Yesterday I’d held my wife’s hand as she lay on a gurney and screamed bloody murder. She had been in labor for over 24 hours, going on forever.</div>
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“It’s our first,” I told the man. “We’ve waited eight years.”</div>
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“Our seventh,” he said. “Six girls! She goddamn well better give me a boy this time.”</div>
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“It’s the father who – ” I stopped myself.</div>
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He let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m surrounded by them at home! Everything’s dolls and pink ribbons. There’s nobody for me to play ball with, nobody to teach about being a man. God, I want a son. Don’t you want a son?”</div>
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“I just want a healthy baby.” I yawned and looked at my watch. “And for this to be over with.”</div>
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“I’ll name him Arthur Stanley, Junior.”</div>
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Time stretched out like taffy. An eon later, someone paged me on the loudspeaker. I hurried down the hallway, where a doctor handed me a clipboard and said something like “your wife can’t give a vaginal birth and she and the baby will die if she doesn’t have an immediate Caesarean section and it requires your approval and you have no choice so sign here NOW.”</div>
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So I did. And my exhausted brain fought my fears to make room for – for a family.</div>
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A nurse approached Arthur Stanley. “Your wife had a beautiful, healthy girl,” she said. Stanley flung his hat against the wall and stomped away.</div>
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A few minutes later, she beckoned me. “Your wife is resting and your son is beautiful,” she said. “Want to see him?”</div>
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I did.</div>
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Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-31020202650150168932017-11-26T15:25:00.001-05:002017-11-28T11:55:47.260-05:00Six Million Stamps<h1>
Six Million Stamps</h1>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>By Bob Sanchez</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The stamp shows off its ochre engraving under the magnifying glass. Three black lines slash the Austrian prince: canceled, dead. In 1856, someone had paid a <i>kreuzer</i> for it—maybe for a wife’s letter to her husband, wishing him godspeed for safe return from war with the Prussians. Light sinks into the stamp’s surface, only a dull glory reflecting from it, harkening to dusty battalions of conscripts long since in their graves.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Did the woman ever see him again? I cry for her. A voice tells me that no one ever came to her village to express condolence, only to claim her sons of fighting age.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Portraits with perforated edges lie in a jumble on my desk: Tamerlane, Frederick, Ceausescu. Downstairs a door slams, and Thomas stomps up to the attic. He doesn’t bother to brush the snow from his scarf; he never stays. Heat rises from downstairs and passes through the rafters, barely enough to melt the frost in my son’s voice. But that truly does not matter, as a visit from Thomas means mail, and more friends.</span></div>
<div class="m_-6869403478769836258gmail-MsoPlainText" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="m_-6869403478769836258gmail-MsoPlainText" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thomas drops the manila envelope on my desk and sends a flurry of stamps flying. A million-mark Hitler overprint lands face up in front of me. “You’re obsessed, Father,” he says, which merits no reply. He turns a chair around and straddles it, staring at me. “Well? Open it!” he says. Eagerly I pry open the clasp and dump out the contents.</span></div>
<div class="m_-6869403478769836258gmail-MsoPlainText" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="m_-6869403478769836258gmail-MsoPlainText" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hitler is my favorite. It’s a crazy thought, but I wish I could have six million stamps with his picture. As it is, I’ve owned over five thousand of them, and he and I always have the same conversation. I hold the border of each stamp with a pair of tweezers. Under the magnifying glass, the whorls on my fingertips look like those of a giant. That is how I feel: the strongest man in the world, the acme of the human race. Even Hitler averts his eyes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="m_-6869403478769836258gmail-MsoPlainText" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“There is nothing to fear,” I tell him. “A shower. A simple de-lousing.”</span></div>
<div class="m_-6869403478769836258gmail-MsoPlainText" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="m_-6869403478769836258gmail-MsoPlainText" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I dip <i>der Führer</i> into the solution in the glass dish. His face contorts in terror and pain. Over the rage of the wind outside, over the rage of my pounding heart, I hear his screams as droplet by droplet the ink lifts from the stamp.</span></div>
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Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-76629644794192589372016-11-14T11:18:00.003-05:002017-09-23T18:22:28.655-05:00I've been thinkingI've been thinking:<br />
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<br /></div>
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<ul>
<li>Donald Trump has not improved with experience, nor does he intend to.</li>
<li>Colin Kaepernick should kneel if he wants to.</li>
<li>Freedom to stand for the National Anthem also means freedom <i>not</i> to stand for it, or it's not freedom.</li>
<li>I've been told I'm useless, a liar, and a hypocrite only once this year.</li>
<li>We are so lucky to have missed Hurricane Irma's worst.</li>
<li>Jim Comey's statements hurt Hillary Clinton, but her private server hurt her more.</li>
<li>I recently submitted my 200th book review to a firm that does not want to be identified.</li>
<li>I am still happily married to my best friend after 52 years.</li>
<li>Black lives matter.</li>
<li>The Internet Review of Books will be 10 years old on October 1, the same day I turn 74.</li>
<li>New Mexico is far more beautiful than Florida, but Florida has the vibrant community we need.</li>
<li>This winter we may visit Belize, the country of my father's birth.</li>
<li>Trump will be re-elected if the Democrats aren't careful.</li>
<li>Trump, Putin and Kim all deserve each other.</li>
<li>A few of us post the American flag in 90 neighbors' yards three times a year, and they love it.</li>
<li>Never, ever send me jokes that belittle President Obama.</li>
<li>I am not religious, but if you wish me merry Christmas or a blessed day, I will thank you and wish you the same.</li>
<li>Treat others the way you want to be treated.</li>
</ul>
</div>
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Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-91994005828484741012016-11-14T11:18:00.002-05:002016-11-14T11:21:32.019-05:00So Donald Trump wonSo Donald Trump is President-elect. For all the usual reasons, that is an election outcome I fervently hoped would not come to pass. During the campaign I didn't even want to mention his name, but I can't keep that up for four years.<br />
<br />
Now protesters are exercising their right of free speech and assembly, but if their gatherings are mere expressions of hatred and bursts of vandalism, they will become isolated. Democrats should resist President Trump where he is wrong and support him where he is right. For the sake of national sanity, we must look for common ground. Trump has taken a number of conservative stands, but he seems not to have an ideology. And he touts his deal-making skills, offering hope that that he will not give the right everything they want. Yes, he will probably make them happy with his next Supreme Court pick, but justices <i>are</i> independent--for example, President Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren and later said it was the worst mistake he'd ever made. Whether a Trump appointee will one day overturn <i>Roe v. Wade </i>is a distinct possibility, and Democrats should fight hard to block such a person. But we shouldn't do what Mitch McConnell did, blocking any nominee no matter the qualifications.<br />
<br />
By the way, my voting record hasn't been all that successful since my first vote for LBJ back in 1964: six wins and eight losses, which break down thus:<br />
<br />
64 W 80 L 96 W 12 W<br />
68 L 84 L 00 L 16 L<br />
72 L 88 L 04 L<br />
76 W 92 W 08 W<br />
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<br />Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-16400070656478986852016-09-16T12:47:00.002-05:002016-09-16T14:00:40.194-05:00Tiger! Excerpted from the Vietnam memoir Just Like Sunday on the FarmThis great story is an excerpt from Bill Crawford's Vietnam memoir, <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2c47RM4">Just Like Sunday on the Farm: Crawdaddy Remembers the Nam and After</a>. </i>(Kindle version available soon.)<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQucUzvfu6ARAVrHWPUhrzb4Yu3c_3xZHhqu2MbA-58LXmziubUkT5ZggjM7C7r7ZF0N4zAVvlq1vUcbMgz7uebva8QDCPAN9CZ_82XYuJqWYOPkpNWeITAoC70ht2GJ_6DdY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-09-16+at+12.22.19+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQucUzvfu6ARAVrHWPUhrzb4Yu3c_3xZHhqu2MbA-58LXmziubUkT5ZggjM7C7r7ZF0N4zAVvlq1vUcbMgz7uebva8QDCPAN9CZ_82XYuJqWYOPkpNWeITAoC70ht2GJ_6DdY/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-09-16+at+12.22.19+PM.png" width="132" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";"><span style="font-size: large;">Tiger!</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";"><b>By Spec.
4 Bill Crawford<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";"><b>Information
Specialist</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">For the infantryman, a tour in the Republic of Vietnam means a year
of mental and physical agony. The dangers and discomforts are real, but the
devices of the human mind magnify the worst of them. Sometimes reality
surpasses the horror that is manufactured by the human mind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">Spec. 4 Kurt Montanye was serving as a rifleman with the 4<sup>th</sup>
Inf. Div. in the central highlands of Vietnam, in the vicinity of Landing Zone
Penny. At dusk last Aug. 31, Montanye and three other infantrymen moved down a
ridgeline leading from the LZ to the jungle floor of the valley which surrounds
the base. The four-man element was to be one of several listening posts (LP)
which were placed around LZ Penny.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">The LP is one of the most dreaded tasks of the foot soldier in Vietnam.
A small element – alone outside the safety of the defensive perimeter – with
only a radio and the darkness. Enemy soldiers lurk in the murky jungle – the
enemy or something worse!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">“It was my turn to stand guard,” relates Montanye. “It must have been
about 1 a.m. when I heard a faint sound behind me, and I whirled around.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">A tiger! Even in the darkness there was no doubt. The cat sprang
forward and began to tear with his razor-sharp teeth at his arm. A scream
pierced the stillness of the jungle. The beast began to drag him into the dense
foliage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">“He dragged me almost 2,000 meters in all,” continued Montanye. “Then
he dropped me and went to work on my head. I could feel my skull splinter as he
ground away on it. I had been screaming for help since the tiger first grabbed
hold of me.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">Spec. 4 Roger Ranker answered his comrade’s plea for help. “It took
quite a guy to come rushing out into the jungle like that without knowing what
was going on,” said Montanye.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkwC8XyGrdfjFIrfPcWdPteNtV6Nf_nm64cUOlRjYURfmM-LkLRlmcFfrRjVesf3S7MzRSymYprHdeqjoJPhZcQL-tyoCuD-BL4SFXt21cSf9VHLubMUDJNt_sUtO491mEXdB/s1600/Article.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkwC8XyGrdfjFIrfPcWdPteNtV6Nf_nm64cUOlRjYURfmM-LkLRlmcFfrRjVesf3S7MzRSymYprHdeqjoJPhZcQL-tyoCuD-BL4SFXt21cSf9VHLubMUDJNt_sUtO491mEXdB/s320/Article.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Undated clipping from <br /><i>The Armored Sentinel</i>, Fort Hood, Texas</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">Ranker immediately fired his M16 into the air in an attempt to
frighten the great cat away. The tiger ignored Ranker’s efforts, and it became
apparent the tiger would have to be killed to save Montanye’s life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">Montanye was struggling violently for survival. Although weakened by
the loss of blood, the young soldier was still battling to extract his head
from the cat’s deadly jaws.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">“Ranker did the only thing he could,” continued Montanye. “He stepped
right into the middle of the fracas and placed the muzzle of his M16 against
the tiger’s thrashing head. I heard his skull shatter with the first shot. The
impact of the round nearly knocked me out!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">“The tiger only sank his fangs in deeper, but the second round
finished him, and Ranker worked my head out from between his jaws.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">“I can remember screaming for a medevac chopper,” recalled Montanye.
“It was only then that I lapsed into semi-consciousness.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">Enemy contact in an adjacent area had all available medevac
helicopters tied up, so his buddies helped Montanye back up the ridgeline to
the LZ. The bleeding man then finally went into shock as he was placed about a
waiting helicopter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">Today, Montanye is assigned to Hq. and Hq. Co., 2<sup>nd</sup> Bn.,
52<sup>nd</sup> Inf., 1<sup>st</sup> Armored Div. He joked lightly about his
terrifying struggle against the jungle beast. “Everyone in the barracks calls
me ‘Tiger Man’.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">The terrifying memories still linger, however. “I dream the cat is on
top of me, and I wake up screaming and thrashing around in a cold sweat. The
nightmares are getting less frequent now.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">Still present is the memory of the hospital following his jungle
ordeal. “I was half-conscious, and I can remember the doctors talking about
amputating my arm because it was so badly mangled. I told them I would rather
have my own useless arm than the best artificial arm that could be made.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .2in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">Today Montanye’s right arm has all but recovered, and he staunchly
defends his choice of a few months ago. He is unable to wear a steel helmet,
however. “The helmet puts too much pressure on the old wound, and the pain is
pretty bad,” declared the youth. Montanye has a scar which runs from ear to ear
– across the top of his head – as a grim reminder of his jungle confrontation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">Montanye grins and jokes with the men in his barracks when they call
him “Tiger Man.” The former infantryman faces life with a friendly smile and a
sharp sense of humor. He readily tells a visitor that “I am lucky to be alive.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond";">~</span></span></div>
Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-31857651717351462882016-08-19T13:21:00.002-05:002016-08-19T13:23:45.188-05:00The 18 Minute Rule Throws Jimmy Pro for a Loop in Gotham City<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
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<i>Photographer and Vietnam veteran Bill </i>
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 12.0pt;">” </span><i>Crawford presents an excerpt from his upcoming memoir </i>Just Like Sunday on the Farm: Crawdaddy Remembers the Nam and After<i>.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The 18 Minute Rule Throws Jimmy Pro for a Loop in Gotham City</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By Bill Crawford</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Jimmy Pro hit the subway
turnstile at full tilt. We stopped for an impromptu bathroom break on the way
to Chelsea’s <a href="https://milk.xyz/articles/platon-pays-service-to-fallen-u-s-soldiers-at-the-milk-gallery/">Milk Gallery</a>. Draining your lizard is a priority at over 70,
especially when you are jammed tightly in a car of a lurching train.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
We thought that we could just
slide in and out of the station long enough to find a restroom. We were hauling
some serious ass to hear a presentation by the big time New Yorker
photographer, Platon, who was delivering a serious rap about some of his recent
work.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Jimmy and I meet up a couple of
times a year to work on our emerging photographic technique, Forensic Foraging.
It focuses on plodding, throwback techniques that are mostly now eschewed by
younger, techno-driven shooters.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
We thrive on photographing the
mundane using simple techniques highlighted years ago by Kodak in their Brownie
Hawkeye Camera Owner’s Manual. Our credo trumpets “straight out of the camera”
with little computer manipulation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Jimmy is seriously addicted to
the <i>New Yorker</i>. He devours it weekly in his Sydney, North Beach haunts. As he
swills his java, he especially venerates the tony writing and the 20-page
features on contemporary issues. He gravitates immediately to Platon’s photographs
which differ immensely from ours even as his often flirt with instant
immortality.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Platon has a big rep in the New
York photog world while we labor in near obscurity being only ex US Army photojournalists
with a near 50-year friendship going. Platon’s stark images are so arresting
that even hardened minimalists like us are drawn into his flame. We hoped to
hear the great man in person if we could only speed through the rush hour
underground to the famous Milk Gallery. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Negotiating the trains on the fly
is a Gotham City survival skill of the first order. You have to pace yourself
and not let multiple flights of stairs burn you out. Zig-zagging through the
crowds is behavior usually restricted to water bugs. But the deft Metro Card
swipe can make or break you. Getting through the turnstile on the first try is
imperative. It requires soft hands and riveted concentration akin to that of an
NFL wideout.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Jimmy, being an ex-Ivy League
D-back, had the card swipe down to an art form. He raked his Metro Card through
the slot in a single, smooth, steady movement. Then he rolled his thick body
into the unlocked turnstile in a quick, flowing motion. I, on the other hand,
often swiped my card only to encounter an immobile turnstile. My card swipe was
herky-jerky and half-assed. I am from North Carolina, and big city finesse is
way above my pay grade.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
On this busy evening, the Platon
lecture was at the top of our agenda. As writers, we were accustomed to
rejection, but that night offered up full-force rejection. Jimmy unleashed his
usual slick card swipe, but as he glided into his infamous turnstile roll
things turned to shit in a hurry.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
The silver gate was unyielding.
Jimmy hit the barrier like the proverbial ton of bricks. His body went vertical
in a flailing downward jackknife. His head went over the turnstile and straight
down to the pavement. On their way up, his heels missed my nose by a hair, as I
trailed him closely anticipating another snappy subway entry. People behind me
accordianed into my rumpus as I ground to a dead halt. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Jimmy’s painful landing was
caused by the MTA’s legendary 18 Minute Rule. Enterprising New Yorkers often
passed their Metro Cards back over the turnstiles to give friends and family
free rides. Moreover, professional hustlers bought multiple Metro Cards to
constantly be able to sell rides at deep discounts. The fraudulent
entrepreneurs cost the MTA millions.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Our bathroom break in Bryant Park
outside of the 42nd St. Station set the 18 minute, no reentry rule in motion.
Our Metro Cards were disabled and Jimmy hit the gate with a dead card paralyzed
by the MTA bureaucracy. The blessed relief that we enjoyed as we emptied out in
the public restroom was quickly eclipsed by Jimmy’s spectacular header as he
rushed back to the platform.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
A subway cop witnessed the melee
that Jimmy caused at the gate. Nobody else was hurt, although several commuters
behind me sprawled out on the pavement. The officer offered to call an
ambulance, but Jimmy demurred as somebody handed him a cup with ice to press
against his throbbing forehead. A street musician muttered something about the
“damned 18 minute rule,” and we looked at each other in stunned amazement. By
now, more than 18 minutes had passed, and our thoughts somehow turned back to
Platon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Jimmy was still very shaky, but
we got on the train and we finally made our way to Chelsea. We eased into the
crowded Milk Gallery, and we found Platon holding forth before a throng of
photography devotees. We were pretty late, and he was winding down by
chronicling the background about his “Service” exhibition which was showing
there now.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
~~~~~<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
All of the images are quite well
known. They offer stark insights into the aftermath of the Iraq War. One of the
most famous pics shows a grieving mother draped around her son’s tombstone at
Arlington National Cemetery. He was an Islamic American GI killed in combat.
The Quran and other Muslim artifacts are visible at the gravesite.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Platon vividly described his
meeting with the mother to discuss his planned shot. In his clipped English accent,
he related the poignant story of how the dead soldier’s personal effects had
arrived at the family home in a prim box. The mother eventually opened it to
find that her dead son’s clothing had been washed and neatly folded. Her most
fervent wish to smell his body scent one last time was dashed by blind military
efficiency. People in the Gallery openly wept at the pathos of this revelation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
~~~~~<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
I was shell-shocked by Platon’s
story and our earlier subway drama. As I reeled, Jimmy moaned and swayed precariously.
He was obviously concussed and in need of medical attention. Moreover, Platon’s
anecdote triggered my memory to retreat back to a dreaded place.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
It was December 1968, and my
infantry unit was pinned down in Antenna Valley south of Da Nang by crack North
Vietnamese regulars. I hadn’t flashed back in years, but Platon’s chilling
images and tender commentary proved to be a catalyst deep in my cerebral core.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
I spent every moment in the Army
up to that long ago day with a young carpenter from Cincinnati, Mike Bach. We
were drafted together at Fort Bragg, and we stayed in the same training units
all the way to Alpha Company, the Nam, and combat. We then were placed in
different platoons of the same rifle company. He was tall and strong, so he
landed a job humping the field radio for his platoon leader. The long radio
antenna made RTOs (radio telephone operators) inviting targets for enemy
snipers. Mike took a lethal round that day as we walked headlong into an NVA
unit on the move off of Nui Chom Mountain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
I later visited the Vietnam
Memorial in DC to pay my respects to the dead carpenter. When he died, I penned
a heartfelt description of the printable details of his death to mail to his
family. Now, the Islamic mother’s gut-wrenching lament for her dead son’s body
scent triggered long suppressed torment deep inside of me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
I could picture Mike’s young,
smiling face vividly, but I could not remember a single iota about his voice. No
audio replayed in my mind. Once again, the Jungle War engulfed me when I least
expected it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Jimmy was concussed, and I lapsed
into a disbelieving funk. For us, things screeched to a halt. I headed to the
hospital with my head down to hide my tear-stained cheeks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
~~~~~<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
Jimmy finally got checked out,
and I eventually drank a couple of beers in search of sleep. The next day we
gingerly continued shooting the city utilizing our throwback technique,
Forensic Foraging. We captured every scene along the way in a funky, minimalist
style. Maybe some photography mag might profile us before we hang it up? The
odds are against anachronisms like us. Photo mags aim their advertising to
young techno-driven photogs. Not much chance they will give us any play.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
We hope to shoot again together
soon. Jimmy always carefully lays out sensational venues for us to forage. I
don’t yet know where we will wind up, but the odds are extremely high that we
won’t see many shiny turnstiles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
I may well sleep again in Jimmy’s
favorite road haunt, the Motel 6. We might even experience escapades that will
surpass the drama of the subway and the Milk Gallery. But if I awake with a
start in the wee hours of the night, I hope to hear a missing voice from the
Jungle War. The familiar video in my old, fading mind could really use a final
audio track. Then maybe I could say a proper goodbye to a young carpenter I
knew long ago.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDnpORF4_DTmjzSuwPVgEAU1a2zJIQU2sHYFWw0Oc91gp3ltkCJo9E3SCk9N2GIXY-uaYWGzqa2akdvglGzZdd6LxUIqbgFZaVpd3JMLjj8aMGHVoXZtZxcfkVAXkpyngRxnW/s1600/Crawdaddy+selfie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDnpORF4_DTmjzSuwPVgEAU1a2zJIQU2sHYFWw0Oc91gp3ltkCJo9E3SCk9N2GIXY-uaYWGzqa2akdvglGzZdd6LxUIqbgFZaVpd3JMLjj8aMGHVoXZtZxcfkVAXkpyngRxnW/s200/Crawdaddy+selfie.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">William C. Crawford is a writer and photographer living in Winston
Salem, North Carolina. He was a grunt and later a combat photojournalist in Vietnam. Jim
Provencher is a teacher, poet, and lensman in Sydney, Australia. They met at Fort
Hood, Texas in 1970 where they were Army photojournalists.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-39313557292735752802016-07-01T00:01:00.000-05:002016-07-01T00:01:02.715-05:00Get familiar with Lynne Hinkey's The Unfamiliar<br />
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The other day I had the pleasure of Skyping with author, marine biologist, animal lover and nice person <i><b>Lynne Hinkey</b></i>. Today, July 1, Casperian Books publishes her new novel, <i>The Un-familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods</i>. It's funny, well written, and likely to raise a hackle or two with climate-change deniers and religious fundamentalists.<br />
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Here's the gist: "There's a beast of a storm brewing over Puerto Rico, and only a god can stop it." But in this universe, a god's existence depends upon belief. Natural disasters befall the island, and people whisper that perhaps a supernatural beast--a chupacabra--is to blame. Maybe that's just a rumor, but rumors lead to beliefs, and beliefs create more gods. In this irreverent tale, Señora Milagros and the dog-god of Mercy are two of the colorful characters you'll meet.<br />
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This is the second part of her trilogy (<i>Ye Gods! A Tale of Dogs and Demons</i> is first), but there's no reason you can't jump right in with <i>The Un-familiar</i>. Here is a small taste:<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Start"></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial rounded mt bold"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
UN-FAMILIAR<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial rounded mt bold"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A Tale of Cats and Gods<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial rounded mt bold"; font-size: 14.0pt;">(Sample
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Chupacabra Novel<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">by<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lynne M. Hinkey<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">This is a work of fiction.
All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either fictitious or
are used fictitiously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">THE UN-FAMILIAR. Copyright © 2016 by Lynne M.
Hinkey. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in
any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Paperback edition published by Casperian Books
(</span><a href="http://www.casperianbooks.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">www.casperianbooks.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">) and available in print from most online book
retailers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Print edition ISBN-13: 978-1-934081-52-5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Also by Lynne M. Hinkey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Marina-Melee-Lynne-Hinkey/dp/1934081329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467228642&sr=8-1&keywords=Marina+Melee">Marina Melee</a></i><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Free
chapter terms of use<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">This free e-chapter is intended to pique your
interest and hopefully lead you to purchase the complete book to see what
happens next. If you enjoy it, please feel free to share it. Despite the many
marketing venues available to authors today, the most effective one is still
word-of-mouth. I hope you'll help me to spread the word.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">You might also want to read book 1 of the
Chupacabra Trilogy, available at Amazon and other online booksellers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial Rounded MT Bold"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ye-Gods-Demons-Chupacabra-Stories-ebook/dp/B00K1N8VAM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467228519&sr=8-1&keywords=Ye+Gods%21+A+Tale+of+Dogs+and+Demons#nav-subnav">YeGods! A Tale of Dogs and Demons</a></i></span><span style="font-family: "arial rounded mt bold"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">THE
RISING COST OF CLIMATE CHANGE: $4.5 BILLION IN LOSSES<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">Costliest
Wildfire Season in US History<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">U-T San Diego</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">,
San Diego, CA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">28
September<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">CATEGORY
4 HURRICANE GRACE TO PUMMEL ISLAND OVERNIGHT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">Residents
Urged to Hunker Down and Pray<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">El Nueva D</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">í</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">a</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">,
San Juan PR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">13
October<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">REV.
AURELIO PE</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">Ñ</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">A
TO VISIT ISLAND<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">Famed
spiritual leader says God, not man, behind extreme weather<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">En Otras Noticias</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">,
Mayag</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">ü</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">ez,
PR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">17
October<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS ゴシック"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">~ ~ ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-pagination: widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after: avoid;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">1--</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">IN A BEGINNING<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">THE
GODS</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">A blue flash rent the
time-before-time sky, and threw the verdant landscape into brilliant relief.
When the gods' eyes adjusted to the returning dimness, their number had
increased by one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Sentience," spat the
amorphous gray and black cloud of Extreme Weather.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Evolution," grumbled the
dancing flames of Fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Lovely," whispered the
one they'd nicknamed DD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The others focused their various
forms, solid and ethereal, on her, the oldest among them. Disease and Death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She shrugged, or what passed for
such in her murky miasma of pestilence. "Without evolution, there'd be no
sentience. Without sentience, there'd be no recognition of self and other.
Without that, there is no one to blame or be afraid of but oneself. Now they
have us for that. I think it's lovely the way they've created us from a mixture
of their fears and hopes." She turned to the newcomer. "I am the
cause and the end of pain. What do you do?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"More. I do more."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"More what?" asked the
Dark of Night. "What is the belief that brought you here?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"More. More is better, safer.
More food provides more energy, a bigger lair offers more protection from
predators, more mates ensure more offspring. More."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The others nodded, as much as their
physical forms allowed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"This will continue," said
the golden orb of Daylight, blurred into silhouette by her own blistering
brightness. She pointed at the newcomer. "He's the proof. They already
believe in quantity over quality. No offense," she said, eyeing the greedy
new god.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Greed glittered when he replied.
"It's what I am."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Daylight continued. "We'll have
more and more gods popping up for every little thing. Especially now that
mammals have developed abstract thought. Worse, this latest group of uprights
has learned to rationalize. They'll never take responsibility for their actions
now. It'll be 'this big, bad god made me do it' and 'I'm being an ass in the
name of that god.' Before you know it, there will be almost as many
manifestations of belief as there are believers. You know what that means,
don't you?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Competition." The air
swirled around them, kicked up in dirt devils when the roiling cloud of Extreme
Weather spoke. "Belief makes us stronger, so we'll all want more
believers."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"What's wrong with wanting more?"
asked Greed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;"> "One of us..." DD looked at each of
them in turn until her eyes settled on the newcomer. "...might get greedy.
Try to take over."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The deities gasped. "You mean a
single god?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Absurd."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Horrifying."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Unbelievable."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">DD nodded. "But possible."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Extreme Weather's voice thundered:
"We must prevent it."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">So it came to pass that, in a rare
moment of self-awareness, the ancient gods--charter members of the club, as it
were--recognized their own arrogance as a potential threat. They devised a
strategy to keep any one god from gaining enough belief to eliminate the rest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"What form will these helpers
take?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Should we give them a
choice?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"I vote for something with
thumbs. Handy feature, that," the god of Fire offered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"As intermediaries between us
and our followers, I think they should choose whatever form will be familiar to
our respective believers, no?" suggested Daylight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Familiar. I like it." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">They agreed these beings, who would
both help them to achieve their full power and hinder them from overreaching,
who could regulate their power if needed, would be called familiars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"What do we do with these
familiars when belief wanes?" asked Greed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The god of Darkness grew darker.
"Wanes? What do you mean?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Oh, come on. I know it's
already begun for you." Greed nudged the Dark and pointed to Fire.
"The uprights figured out how to keep you at bay and it's weakened you
some. Am I right, or am I right? It happens. But so does evolution. There'll
always be something that's afraid of the dark, so you'll always be needed.
Still, if we're, let's call it 'on hiatus' due to a lack of belief, do the
familiars die or what?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;"> "How about hibernation?" suggested
DD. "If we go through all the trouble to select the right ones, train them
up, bond with them, we don't just want to start over every time some fickle
followers chase after a shiny, new god." She paused and addressed Greed.
"No offense."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"None taken." More
glittering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">DD went on. "We'll allow them
to wait for our return, but in stasis."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Even then, their bodies will
eventually wear out--that's just how physics and chemistry work," Daylight
said. "We can't change that."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Fire flickered. "I like the
idea of them going dormant to wait for us. Save on wear and tear, extend the
life of their bodies. But, the bright one has a point. They will wear out. We'd
better come up with a plan for succession, for when their bodies...retire.
Maybe even some sort of compensation package, as a reward if they served us
well."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The others agreed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Thus, the gods created familiars.
These assistants would hold part of a god's powers, doling out additional
portions as their deity demonstrated the maturity not to abuse it. They would
help their respective gods find their true nature, but would also humble them
and snap them out of any delusions of omnipotence that might come from having
many believers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">This required familiars to have
their own abilities. The gods weren't fools, and, like anyone with power, they
were a bit paranoid. To avoid the risk of being overthrown by their aides, the
gods made the familiars' powers dependent on the physical presence, proximity,
and strength of the god they served.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"This will work." Fire
nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Evolution changes
things," said Darkness. "The uprights will find a way to fuck it up.
You just watch."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"We've thought of
everything," Extreme Weather assured the Dark. "What could possibly
go wrong?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">~ ~ ~</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">CARMEN DEL TORO<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Darkness and something more enveloped her.
Something scratchy and moist like a giant cat's tongue rasped against her back
and legs. A knobby shoulder poked into her belly, jostling her back, forth, up,
and down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Where was she? Where was he taking her? Did she
know it was a he? For that matter, who was she?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The woman made to call out, but her lips
remained shut and her cry for help turned into a squeal. Duct tape will do that
to a scream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"It's okay, Carmen. Almost there," a
deep voice rumbled over the wind and rain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">A man. She'd gotten that part right. Was Carmen
his accomplice?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The rain stopped beating down on her. The
storm's noise muffled and grew distant. Opening her eyes wide did nothing but
confirm her predicament--bound and bagged--so she squeezed them shut again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">A disorienting flip tossed her from
his shoulder and deposited her in a soft pile of blankets on the ground. The
sodden burlap sack pulled from her head to reveal cave walls. Firelight shadows
danced over dripping yellow, brown, and green moss. She twisted and craned her
neck to see the man behind her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The fire's flames cast his features
into an eerie, writhing orange and black mask. He turned his gaze on her and
she once more tried to scream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Shh. Easy, Carmen. I'll
protect you."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Protect her from what, she wondered?
Had he saved her from the raging storm? Why? What did he want in return?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"I have to go now. More work to
be done. You'll be safe here. Hurricane's almost past us, only a few more
hours." He reached for her and firelight glinted off a blade in his hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She shrunk away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">He grabbed her tethered wrists.
Shadow and light bathed the man in a demonic glow. The knife slashed through
the air. "There." He dangled the cut rope in front of her eyes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Returning circulation prickled
through her fingers and up her arms. She scooted back until she bumped against
the damp wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"What do you want?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"You have to help me, and I can
help you. We'll talk when I get back."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Her eyes flicked to the cave's
mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Don't try to leave. That'd be
dangerous, out in the storm. In the meantime, I need you to remember."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Sure. Easy for him to say, but she
couldn't even recall her own name. "Remember what?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"A beginning." He laid a
hand on her head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The tingling in her arms raced
upward, then exploded, sending her crashing back into the warm, soft pile of
blankets. And she remembered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">A blue flash rent the
time-before-time sky... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">~ ~ ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br clear="all" style="page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 107%;">2--RAINING CATS AND DOGS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 107%;">THE DOGS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Gale force winds lashed the water
and plucked the tops off breaking waves, smashing them in furious bursts
against the sea grapes and coconut palms along the shore. The storm begged the
universe to answer the age-old riddle: If a tree falls on the beach and no one
hears it over the shriek of hurricane winds, does it make a sound?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Does anyone care?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">A dog cowered at the base of a tree for the
protection it failed to offer. She whimpered her last. Her broken body grew
cold and wet. Three newborn pups wiggled beneath her. The largest, a pudgy male
with black and white spots, succumbed first. With no knowledge of the world
they'd been born into and no mother to teach them, the remaining two, driven by
instinct as old as life, cried into the void for help, for mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">I am here,</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;"> came the answer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The lone female, the runt, small of stature but
boldest of the litter, responded: Who are you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">I am Dog.</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;"> The disembodied voice chuckled at its own
joke, but the humor was lost on the pup.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Help him, please, she begged. Her brother's
last sigh blew warm across her neck. The runt felt his body grow limp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">It is done. Now move over, commanded the voice
in her head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">What?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Make room.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">For what?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">For me.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">I have chosen you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Why me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Why not?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Too tired to debate and afraid of being alone,
she scrunched her consciousness into a small corner of her mind. Will it hurt?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Not at first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">~ ~ ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">SEÑORA MILAGROS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Fifi the cat yawned, mouth open so
wide her eyes scrunched closed. She extended one long, slender forelimb and
spread her toes to unsheathe razor-sharp talons. Ahhhh, her new feline form
felt so lithe. Far better than that aging human body with its aches and pains,
crackles and creaks. She brought a paw to her lips and licked at bare skin with
her smooth wet tongue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Bare?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Smooth?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Her eyes flew open and she examined
her retractable...fingers?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She ran the tip of one over her
tongue. Soft and moist. That's not right. She wasn't Fifi the cat at all, but
Señora Milagros Isabela Hernán de Santiago. Still.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Well, shit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">What happened? Where were the dainty
cat's feet, twitching tail, and raspy tongue? She should have gone through the
change. Retired. Become Fifi, the black and white tuxedo cat. What went wrong? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Remnants of a dream tickled her
memory, one of those dreams that made her heart race. Roused by an overwhelming
fear, the feeling disappeared into a cloud of nothing the more alert she grew,
and left her with an urgent need to act, but no memory of why or how.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She concentrated, trying to grasp
some shred of the cause for her angst. A voice echoed through her, spoke
directly to her soul: You have revealed too much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She pressed her lips together and
nodded. "I'll fix everything."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The voice, sounding very much like
her own, whispered: Better get a move on, then. You don't have much time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">What did that mean? As she pondered
the strange warning, the background noise, a din like a thousand semi-trucks
barreling down the highway, seeped into her consciousness. She cranked the
handle of the jalousie to roll the window open but something blocked the slats'
movement. She flicked the light switch. Nothing. Sniffed the stale air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Boarded windows. No electricity.
Roaring wind. The pieces fell into place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Hurricane.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Carmen?" she hollered and
stumbled from her room. "Carmen? Are you all right?" She threw open
the door to the spare bedroom and seeing the mound of blankets, breathed a sigh
of relief. Together, they could try to figure out what had stopped the change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Señora Milagros laid a hand on the
lump in the middle of the bed and gave a gentle shake. The body beneath rolled
over with a groan, then bolted upright, eyes wide, and screamed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Milagros mirrored the reaction.
Except her scream was significantly louder than the one coming from the
duct-tape-covered mouth of the woman she'd awoken. “Laurie? Why are you here?
Where’s Carmen?” She yanked at the duct tape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Unmuffled, Laurie's shriek pierced
the air. Señora Milagros winced and covered her ears. “<i>¡Cállate! </i>Tell me what happened.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Laurie Buso, Señora Milagros’
personal assistant and housekeeper, held her bound hands in front of her while
Milagros hunted for the scissors and cut her free. Laurie gathered her
composure and, with a few sporadic hiccups, began. “<i>Un ladrón</i>. I never saw the thief. I was bringing in the chairs from
the porch when he grabbed me from behind. He covered my mouth so I couldn’t
scream. I don't remember anything else." She scowled. "Wait. There
was a flash, like lightning, then nothing." She broke into soft sobs.
“What did he take?" She looked around the room. "Where's
Carmen?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Milagros shook her head and absently
patted Laurie's back. Oh, dear. Losing one's apprentice couldn't be good. If
the succession of power didn't go smoothly, the results could be catastrophic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Her own continued presence in human
form indicated it hadn't gone smoothly. It appeared to not have gone at all.
Only Carmen had gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Señora Milagros picked up a
newspaper from where Laurie had stacked them on the kitchen table and checked
the date. Two years. Why, that was hardly a cat nap for a familiar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"What day is today?" she
asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Tuesday, I think. That's
yesterday's paper. The last one before the storm hit. We have to call the
police."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Milagros held up the silent
receiver. "Phones are out. And this isn't the work of an ordinary thief.
The only thing missing is Carmen." She didn't add that only someone--or
some thing--with extraordinary power could take her apprentice. She'd need
extraordinary help to find her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Scanning the headlines for news of
murders, mayhem, or dead livestock, she found nothing out of the ordinary,
aside from warnings of a category four hurricane. She picked up another paper.
Even the gossip-filled <i>En Otras Noticias</i>
made no mention of the chupacabra.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">He had to be back. The god's return
was the only thing that could have awakened her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Flipping to the best-seller list in
the Sunday paper, she searched for Jack Halliman's name. Where was it? While
she hadn't exactly revealed the mysteries of the universe to the author, she
had inspired his creativity. The result of that inspiration, <i>Murder in Mayagüez</i>, should be on the
bestsellers' list. It had to be. That had been her plan: Jack's story would get
people talking, talk would create belief, and belief would bring back the god,
sometimes known as the chupacabra.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">If Jack's latest novel hadn't
created belief, how had he returned?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She flicked on the NOAA weather
radio and the robotic voice of the announcer filled the room. "Hurricane
Grace has been downgraded to a category three storm and continues to move
west-northwest away from Puerto Rico at seven miles per hour. Hurricane-force
winds extend thirty-two miles from the well-formed eye, with sustained winds of
114 miles per hour and gusts up to 140."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Even with that warning of what
awaited outside, the devastation took her breath away. Power lines and poles
down, trees stripped bare of leaves, roofs torn from houses, sofa cushions,
mattresses, and clothing strewn through the streets. A boat sat in the road in
front of her house, deposited there by the storm surge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Tears welled in Milagros' eyes. So
many animals out in the deluge. How they must have cried for help, for mercy.
Now she understood how he had returned. He had felt his followers' belief,
heard their prayers, and answered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Laurie stepped onto the porch next
to her and they huddled together against the gusting wind and rain, taking in
the destruction around them. A sheet of corrugated roofing flipped through the
yard. "Come in," Laurie said. "There's nothing we can do until
this passes."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Milagros fought down the frustration
and helplessness that threatened to make her do something stupid. They went
into the kitchen where Laurie busied herself setting out plates and a thermos
of tepid coffee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"You seem no worse for the
wear. Are you sure you're not hurt?" she asked her assistant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Laurie rolled her head from side to
side. "You know, I actually feel really good. When we catch this man, I'll
have to thank him for the good night's sleep. Before we throw him in jail...or
worse." Milagros glared, but Laurie ignored her and sliced the guava brazo
gitano, Milagros' favorite. "Eat," she commanded, and filled their
cups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Milagros lowered her nose over the
cake and dabbed at the powdered sugar with her tongue. She sniffed at the
coffee and hissed. "Do we have any milk?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Laurie poured her a glass. Tilting
it until the liquid ran toward her mouth, Milagros darted her tongue in and
out, lapping at it. When she noticed Laurie watching her, she set the glass
down. "I'm fine."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Laurie stared. "I thought you'd
be...more different."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Milagros shrugged. "So did I."
She wadded up a piece of paper and batted it back and forth across the table.
Something had prevented her becoming more different. But what? And why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">~
~ ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">CAPTAIN EDDIE CORREDOR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Captain Eddie Corredor tucked a
squeaking, squirming towel into the front of his coat and stepped from his car
into the rain and gusty wind. The day before, the yard in front of his condo
had overflowed with the bold colors of tropical vegetation: emerald-leafed
palms and banana trees, scarlet wild ginger, sunset-hued birds of paradise, and
a rainbow of bougainvillea. Today, all the leaves and flowers lay drowned in
puddles, stripped from their stems. Beheaded palms stretched to the angry sky,
the barren landscape naked and gray, like images of Hiroshima after the bomb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Spying the intact roof of his condo
unit, the tension that had been with him all through the long night departed.
The neighbor's building hadn't been so lucky. Eddie shoved a sheet of
corrugated roofing aside and walked up the three steps to the small porch.
Using the crowbar he'd pulled from the trunk of his unmarked police car, he
pried a board from the doorway. "Rafael?" he called. "Rafi? You
okay? I only have a few minutes. Open up."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">His <i>pareja</i> emerged. "<i>Cielo</i>."
He embraced Eddie, then pushed him to arm's length. "How are you holding
up?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Good. You?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Rafi's hair, usually pulled into a
neat ponytail, haloed his face in tawny ringlets. His hazel eyes, red-rimmed
from a sleepless night, were alert and concerned, but held no sign of panic or distress.
"I'm okay. Just worried about you."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Eddie relaxed as a weight lifted
from his shoulders. Like public safety officers everywhere, in the most
dangerous of times, he had to leave his loved ones behind to serve and protect
strangers. He shoved his guilt over abandoning Rafi back into its designated
compartment in his head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Inside, the NOAA weather radio
crackled and hissed. The forecasters' drone had become so much white noise,
Muzak to the storm's destruction. He vaguely wondered if the standard meteorologists'
college curriculum included a class to master that particular speech pattern,
devoid of intonation or interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"So? How is it out there?"
Rafi asked, returning Eddie's thorough scrutiny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"A lot of structural damage,
flooding, no casualties yet." That would change. It always did, every
hurricane. Whole families would be found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning when
someone ran a car in the garage for the headlights or radio, or used a gas
stove in a boarded-up house. "Had a report that some moron headed out to
surf before dark last night and never made it home. Beach patrol's searching
for the body now."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The fabric of his coat bulged and
Eddie cradled his hand under it. Rafi pulled away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Eddie's gaze wandered the room,
studiously avoiding eye contact with Rafi. He draped an arm nonchalantly over
the belly-level protrusion from his coat in a pose common to mothers-to-be
everywhere, but seldom, if ever, struck by fathers. "The mountains got hit
hard," he went on, ignoring Rafi's suspicious looks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Rafi studied the squirming bulge
beneath Eddie's coat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"We sent work crews up to the
poultry farms to help with the cleanup." Eddie continued the innocent act.
"Don't want another mess like we had after Hurricane Georges with dead
chickens contaminating water supplies." He hitched the bump under his coat
to chest level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Eh-ddie?" Rafi drew the
name out, pausing between syllables. "Why is your coat moving like that?
It's not a chicken, is it?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Don't be silly." He
forced a smile, more grimace than grin. Reaching inside the standard-issue
black slicker---<i>Policía</i> in reflective
chartreuse on the back--he pulled out a squirming pink ball with patches of
downy brown and black hair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Is that a," Rafi paused,
examining the animal, "a guinea pig?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Eddie chuckled a deep "huh,
huh, huh," and placed the bundle snugly in Rafi's palm. "Puppy. I
went to check some reports of weird lights on the beach and found this. Mother
must've given birth during the storm. She didn't make it. Neither did the other
two pups. But this little one was squirming and squeaking away." As if it
understood, the black and brown bundle proceeded to wiggle and whimper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"What are we going to do with--is
it <i>macho</i> or <i>hembra</i>?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Girl, I think. We'll keep her,
of course. What should we call her?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Are you kidding?" Rafi
pulled her closer, planted a kiss on her head, and cradled the tiny body in the
crook of his neck. "There's only one proper name for a pup that survives
outside in these winds."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"What's that?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"BJ." The pup emitted a
growl that vibrated deep in Rafi's gut, the kind of rumble that made humans
imagine monsters lurking in the dark. He held her at arm's length and peered at
her closed-tight eyes. "<i>Tranquila</i>,
puppy. Joking. No need to go all monster on me."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"What about Grace, after the
storm?" Eddie suggested.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Rafi rolled his eyes. "There
are a thousand other babies out there being named Grace right now. Can we at
least try to be original?" He studied the small, squished face. "So
tiny. How did you ever make it through the night, little one?" The pup
opened her small pink mouth and gnawed on Rafi's finger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"She has to be pretty fierce to
have survived that. She needs a fierce name. Tiger? Killer? Storm?" Eddie
offered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Rafi wiggled his knuckle in front of
the puppy. "Is you twying to eat me up, you widdle monster?" She bit
down on his finger. "You are a chewy one, aren't you? How about
Chewy?" He looked into her pink
face again. "Is that all right with you, mija?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Eddie chuckled. "I like it.
Chewy it is. Glad that's settled, and now that I know you're all right, I have
to get back to the station. Don't spoil her while I'm gone." He left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Wait!" Rafi called after
him, then followed outside. "What am I supposed to do with her?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Eddie stopped half way into the car
and hollered over the wind. "It's just a dog. You'll figure it out."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">~
~ ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">3--STRANGE CHANGES<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">CARMEN DEL TORO<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">What an odd dream. A land of mist
and darkness. With strange beings, neither human nor animal, but made of
feeling and emotion. Discussing...gods? Very strange indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She didn't know where she was and,
come to think of it, she wasn't quite certain who she was either. She drew her
knees into her chest, tucked into a ball, and tried to recall something,
anything, about herself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Memories slipped in and out of
focus: a red-haired lady in colorful silk scarves, jingling bangles running up
her arms. The woman had been kind, given her food and a place to sleep. Had
that been a dream, too?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Thoughts of food and drink grew into
a telltale pressure in her groin. Kicking her legs out from the tangle of
blankets, she searched the shadows until she found a spot away and downhill
from her bed, but still within reach of the gray light filtering in from the
cave's mouth. She hobbled toward it, stopped to shake the stiffness first from
one leg, then the other, squatted and relieved herself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"That's better." Except
for her head's continued throbbing. She curled back into the blankets and
struggled to remember.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Who am I?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Lips pressed together, eyes squeezed
tight, she let images flow freely through her mind. Roosters, bloody and
afraid, dogs, beaten, their bodies striped with scars, begging for mercy.
Animals in pain. So much pain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Did I do that? She gasped in horror.
A pang of remorse stabbed her chest and brought tears to her eyes. I'm a
monster. The agony of so much suffering convulsed her, but the images kept
coming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">A horse, alone and sick, pleading
for an end. Goats, half-starved. Cats, tortured, abandoned. A small dog, alone
in the storm, crying for help. She heard all of their cries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">A single word filled her and she
listened. Mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Not cries. Prayers. Now the dream
made sense! They pray to me and I answer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She bolted upright and announced,
"I am a god."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Approaching footsteps echoed in the
chamber and she scurried into the shadows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">A man stood silhouetted in the
entrance, hands on his hips. "Carmen?" he called. Then he muttered to
himself, "Now where did she get to? And what is that smell?" He
wandered through the chamber, shining a flashlight into dark recesses. "Great.
She's not even housebroken."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She frowned. Housebroken?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">He swung the light around and
spotted her. "There you are." His voice rolled over her, smooth and
calm. "Come on out, Carmen. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She inched away. A low growl
emanated from deep in her throat. Oh yes, she remembered this sound. She
growled again, louder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">He hushed and cooed, inching closer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">A snarl, starting deep in her chest,
rumbled from between her lips and echoed off the cave walls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Oh hell, I don't have time for
this." His arm shot out and a blue flash erupted from his fingertips.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Her world went dark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Unsure if hours or mere seconds had
passed, she swam up from the inky depths of unconsciousness into something less
than awake. A dream, or maybe a memory. She didn't know or care which, but let
herself be swept away in the warm scents and sounds of somewhere else. A man
smelling of soap and toothpaste cradled her on his shoulder, whispering
soothing words while he stirred at a meaty-smelling concoction simmering on the
stove. "There, there, <i>mi chiquitita</i>,"
the man murmured. "You're safe here."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">~
~ ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">RAFAEL BISHOP SOTO<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"You're safe here," Rafi
whispered. He rocked to and fro, cuddling the puppy close in one hand and
stirring chicken broth with the other. "Like my <i>abuelita</i> always said, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. God
knows how strong I must be after all those tries. Strong like bull," he
rumbled in a deep false-bass and thumped his chest. "Your Papis won't let
anyone hurt you, not a big old storm, not anyone or anything."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The barest hint of a breeze ruffled
the air between the open front door and the kitchen window. He'd have to remove
the rest of the hurricane shutters soon or he and the dog would roast in the
tropical heat as the sun rose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">But first, he had to feed Chewy.
Rafi didn't know much about dogs, but he remembered his grandmother's words: <i>Las penas con pan son menos</i>. A full
belly makes everything better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">He'd been feeding her every two
hours all through the day and night since Eddie brought her home. The gas
stove's blue flame flickered under a pan of warming milk. "A little <i>leche</i>, a little <i>pollo</i> and you'll grow up to be our big strong girl." As he
spoke the words, an image of a mastiff standing at attention, legs stretched
long and head held high, filled his thoughts. "Well, maybe not quite that
big and strong." The imaginary dog shrunk to German shepherd size.
"Now that, we can work with."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">He buried his nose in the puppy's
wiry hair and chuckled. In one short day, she'd worked her way into his heart,
drawing out a strong paternal instinct he didn't know he possessed. If only the
electricity would come back on so he could Google how to properly take care of
her. For now, he'd have to go purely on instinct.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Rafi wiped a drip of sweat from his
brow and jiggled the pup on his shoulder. He sang a lullaby his grandmother
used to sing to him: <i>Mi sol sol sol sol,
No llores bien mío, No llores mas no... </i>My sun sun sunshine, Don't cry my
dear, Don't cry any more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The condo filled with the low,
mournful howl of a hound dog. Rafi held Chewy at arm's length. "Is that
you?" The pup blinked and yawned. As her tiny tongue curled up over her
nose, the awwwooooooo came again. This time, clearly from outside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Rafi inched along the wall to the
door and craned his neck to peer out. In the mud-churned yard, a dozen animals
paced and circled. Species that should have been chasing one another instead
walked, or more accurately, limped, side by side. Dogs, cats, roosters, hens,
and a goat. Refugees from the storm. When he stepped into the doorway, they all
turned to face him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"<i>Ay, Dios mío</i>."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">He took a tentative step onto the
porch and moved a squeaking, wriggling Chewy to his other shoulder. As one, the
animals came closer. "Well, that's just creepy." The puppy whimpered
and squirmed in his arms. "Don't worry, Chew-Chew. I won't let them get
you."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">He slammed the door shut and
returned to the stove. An agitated Chewy yipped soft puppy cries. "I know,
baby, you've got the hungries." He offered her an eyedropper filled with
milk, but she turned her face away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Help
them.</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">His conscience? The scene in the
front yard, all those injured animals, haunted him. "I don't know what to
do for them," he said out loud. "The only pet I ever had was a
goldfish and it died." But the voice in his head demanded more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Help.</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;"> Not a plea, a command.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Damn it." He set Chewy in
her basket of blankets, then gathered up fruits, vegetables, bread, and
leftovers for the mixed herd of animals in the yard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Nothing unusual about this, he told
himself as a goat butted against him, its prehensile tongue curling around his
hand to get at a bit more food. Hurricanes bring out strange behaviors in
everyone--people and animals. Their owners would come looking for them soon.
Until then, they needed his help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">~
~ ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">SEÑORA MILAGROS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Workmen swarmed over the house and
yard, supervised by Laurie. Above, Señora Milagros paced the veranda, still
frustrated in her efforts to sense Carmen's or the god's presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Laurie barked orders, commanding the
men like a drill sergeant: "Don't leave that board here. Clean up that
mess there. I'm not paying you to sit around in the shade and drink rum. Get to
work or I'll call her out here, I swear I will." That got the men moving
double time. She muttered under her breath about good-for-nothing bums, finishing
with, "<i>Que Dios los bendiga</i>."
God bless them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">When Milagros asked her assistant
about the men, Laurie sniffed. "My no-good brother, brother-in-law, and
cousin. I promised my <i>abuelita</i>, God
rest her soul, I'd take care of the family when she was gone. Now I'm stuck
with them."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"What did you mean when you
told them you'd call 'her' out here?" Already knowing the answer, her lips
twitched with suppressed mirth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Laurie flushed. "They listen to
the stories." Señora Milagros waited. "You know I'd never tell them anything
about you. That's nobody else's business. I just let them think what they
will."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Which is--?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Yes. Witches. You know they
think that you and Craz...er, Señorita Carmen are witches. So," she
shrugged, "if it makes them work faster, I might as well use it, no?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Milagros grinned. She'd hate to
discourage her reputation in the town. A little bit of superstition and fear
could go a long way toward protecting a woman living on her own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Inside, she paced the living room,
picking up the phone at each pass. Still no dial tone. She switched on the
radio, scanning through the stations looking for any that had returned to the
airwaves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">A scratchy voice grew clearer as she
tuned in. "...flooding in the Midwest, wildfires in California,
hurricanes, tornadoes. These disasters are not man-made. They're a message from
a god. Repe--"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Piddle." She flicked it
off. "If that's all there is, the battery can go ahead and die."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Laurie cleared her throat to
announce her presence. "They're about done. What else can I do?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Why don't you go home? I'm
sure you have things to take care of there, and I have everything I need for
now."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Laurie studied her like a specimen
under a microscope. "You're sure you'll be all right by yourself?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Go. I'm fine."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Alone, Milagros dropped her head in
her hands. The worry that had gnawed at her gut since waking to find Carmen
gone, left her exhausted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Where can the girl be? Who would,
who could take her? An idea struck her, more a hope, really. Perhaps her own
retired familiar hadn't moved on yet. "Matagata? Here
kitty-kitty-kitty," she called. She dug through the kitchen drawer, found
a bag of cat treats and shook it. "Mata?" She went from room to room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">The house was silent, no thumping of
little cat feet down the hallway, no screaming demand for treats
"nee-ooow." Not that Matagata could help. She'd been in her cat form
long enough to have become completely feline, with no trace of magic or
familiarity left. Still, her presence always soothed Milagros. Like a security
blanket past its prime, the memory of its comfort surpassed the reality, but
sometimes that was enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">If Matagata were here, what would
her former mentor say?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Think, Milagros. You
know." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She could still hear the gravelly
voice clearly, even after almost a century.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Milagros tapped into her vast store
of divine history, part of the knowledge obtained by familiars during their
dormant period between apprenticeship and maturity--what Carmen should have
received while she'd slept. She couldn't recall a single case of a failed transformation.
If Carmen had survived the night, if she was out there, this was new, uncharted
territory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">"Start at the beginning,"
the raspy voice of a memory told her. She went into the guest bedroom, Carmen's
room. After more than twenty years, she still thought of Carmen as the little
girl she'd first met, long before Milagros had revealed Carmen's destiny as the
next familiar to the god of Mercy: a nine-year-old with a big imagination and a
fierce loyalty to her dog. Her apprentice hadn't changed much. Her delicate
body belied both her age and her strength.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Anyone who thought the girl's
diminutive size made her vulnerable or weak would be sorry. Milagros had seen
her bring a bully to his knees with a few well-placed blows. That the man had
later been killed had nothing, and everything, to do with Carmen's strength and
her loyalty to the dog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">And yet someone had been able to
take her from this very house. Someone even stronger than Carmen. The thought
sent a shiver through Milagros.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">As she had done a half dozen times
since waking, she found an item of Carmen's--a shirt neatly folded on the chair
next to the bed, and rubbed her face in it, inhaling the musky smell, focusing
her thoughts on the lingering essence of the girl. "Where are you, Carmen?"
She closed her eyes and concentrated, letting the feeling of Carmen del Toro
wash over her, dimmer now than the time before, fading with the girl's scent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">Or had her own powers waned?
Milagros released a thought, a prayer, to her god. Let her be safe. Let her be
with you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">It was a futile wish. If Carmen had
found the dog, Milagros would be no more. Instead, she would be relaxing,
retired in the feline form of Fifi. No, that hadn't happened. She was on her
own until the dog got stronger and could help her search. Or, perhaps she could
recruit some help. But how to do that without revealing too much?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: middle;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">She pondered for a moment, then nodded, satisfied. She knew
where to turn for help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: middle;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;">A disturbing thought pushed its way up from her subconscious.
She pushed back, but it refused to stay put.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: middle;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;"> Her change would continue, and she had no way to prevent
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 110%; text-indent: .5in; vertical-align: middle;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;"> Contemplating her fate, she licked at one paw, er, hand,
and ran it through her hair, over one ear, and down her cheek. She had
better find them, and soon. Her retirement--and Carmen's and the god's
survival--depended on it.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 110%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 200%;">~ ~ ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<!--EndFragment--></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-27372550811408690642016-05-18T17:05:00.002-05:002016-05-18T17:54:07.732-05:00A Dream Come True<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><i>Again, a little writing exercise, this one about a dream come true.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: large;"><b>By the Light of the Silvery Moon</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria";"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The cozy green bungalow was all she had ever wished for,
with scalloped eaves, red and yellow tulips, and a tiny lawn, all bordered by a
white picket fence. Oh, and there was a garden decoration showing the backside
of a plump woman bent over and planting flowers—yes, she had wanted that too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Wasn’t it lovely, then, that her dear father had left her a
little something on his sudden passing. Hardly a fortune, but enough to pay for
utilities and groceries, a monthly movie, and an occasional girl’s night out.
She was proud, however, that she had found this dream home completely on her
own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Red lettering on the front door proclaimed “Welcome,” and “Home
is where the heart is,” with a red heart ensconced in the middle. For now, she
let herself in the front door and inhaled the scent of the rosebud and gardenia
sachets she had left previously to overcome a disagreeable odor. A tiny living
room held a doily-covered loveseat, daintily draped windows, and don’t you
know, an old Victrola record machine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She stepped into the even tinier kitchen, where she heated
up water for jasmine tea. Dropping a cube of sugar into a dainty china cup, she
said, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Would you care for tea, Arnold, dear?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The offer stemmed from pure politeness, as she knew that the
house</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">╒</span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">s
previous occupant never replied. She poured one cup and stirred the steaming
brew, carried it into the living room, and set it down to crank up the machine
and play “By the Light of the Silvery Moon.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Taking her teacup, she sat on the loveseat next to her
silent companion. Arnold wore a snappy summer outfit accented by a red bow tie.
At Arnold’s acme alit a straw boater that could make any body a gentleman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She blew at the wisp of vapor coming from the aromatic tea.
Someday Arnold might become too brittle for them to spoon—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">By the light of the silvery moon—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Arnold,” she whispered, “you are my dream come true.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-67145237611078890252016-01-02T15:58:00.000-05:002016-01-02T15:58:41.887-05:00Mannequin Musings: Man of Steel<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Here's a writing exercise where the assignment was to present the point of view of an inanimate object such as a doll, a statue, or a mannequin.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>MAN OF STEEL</b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzofK0YCXX4CnH-ZY3x_aJGnK0AMSEEy4dAUSpN1PsPHd5_cf4sv8tBhz1cyU-nOYHTGoNXSE3l2xiMQ0VwURQJbeIP8_zFOx8DmuWeobZ69tIuDPacvWhucMo02y_2vqTqwf/s1600/stalin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzofK0YCXX4CnH-ZY3x_aJGnK0AMSEEy4dAUSpN1PsPHd5_cf4sv8tBhz1cyU-nOYHTGoNXSE3l2xiMQ0VwURQJbeIP8_zFOx8DmuWeobZ69tIuDPacvWhucMo02y_2vqTqwf/s1600/stalin.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><i>Joe Stalin, mass<br />murderer extraordinaire</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Here I stand in the middle of the square, the Man of Steel cast in bronze. Cars drive by, and pedestrians walk near me without a flicker of the fear I once inspired. Once I ruled this godforsaken country—that’s only a figure of speech, of course. Even though I attended a seminary as a youth, I’ve always been a godless communist. Lenin was not bad as mass murderers go, but I could make my countrymen’s blood flow like a river bursting through a dam. The siege of Leningrad, the battle of Stalingrad—my men never retreated, and the cowards who ran from the Germans fell to our own machine guns. No one ever questioned me and survived. Once, hundreds of millions revered me, feared me, starved to death in the fields for me. And still they sang my praises. Didn’t I save them from Hitler’s invasion? I knew he was coming, that the fool would betray our treaty.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course I died, so what? I knew that after death there was no heaven or hell, no eternal punishment by a vengeful god. All I expected was nothingness. Generations of comrades would praise my name, and I would be oblivious. Fine.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">So I never expected this: an afterlife stuck inside a statue of myself, staring out at the busy boulevard, not even in Red Square. Nearby, I can see a capitalist restaurant called McDonald’s, and I demand to know why. Sometimes a tourist takes a photograph of me, but where is the awe and reverence? The terror? Several times a day, pigeons roost on my hat or shoulders and take a shit. Last month, a hooligan spray-painted me. A policeman chased him away, but I still have the paint. No doubt, the boy hasn’t even been sent to a gulag. It’s been months since anyone has given me a proper cleaning, and as soon as I get out of this confining cast, a lot of people are going to Siberia.</span>Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-38559667977182496352015-11-20T00:01:00.000-05:002015-11-20T00:01:00.791-05:00Tomorrow I'm Dead: A true story from Cambodia's Killing Fields<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpJa3BhHCP6LxphRykUBpHi8Qoj3vH3gmseTtYWOW1ekp1QMfn9SosNPL1vZzWuaRzmaMPVLDA8LBMNMI08Wn3SlQRTCDZfzevvNUpSFt0hDjAVSN6Q3UDKCM_-qWLmaR9htD/s1600/TomorrowImDead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMpJa3BhHCP6LxphRykUBpHi8Qoj3vH3gmseTtYWOW1ekp1QMfn9SosNPL1vZzWuaRzmaMPVLDA8LBMNMI08Wn3SlQRTCDZfzevvNUpSFt0hDjAVSN6Q3UDKCM_-qWLmaR9htD/s320/TomorrowImDead.jpg" width="207" /></a>Meet <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bun Yom</b>,
author of the chilling memoir <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tomorrow I’m Dead</i>.
The world must never forget the horrors the Khmer Rouge inflicted on the people
of Cambodia, which is why his brief, gripping personal account is so important.
The communist army drove everyone out of cities and villages and sent them into
the countryside. Over a million souls were murdered for showing the smallest
sign of education or wealth, often for no reason at all. Colored clothing was
considered a sign of wealth, so all workers wore white. No one was allowed to
find food on his own:</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
next morning, after I had worked for a while, I asked the Khmer Rouge if I
could go pee—I wanted to eat some more meat. When I ran down there, I saw the
snake was gone, but the two kids’ bodies were there, with their throats cut. I
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Bun Yom not only survived the four-year catastrophe
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">…You
are with the Freedom Army now. You cannot fight. No more bullets and guns. No
more green uniforms.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Eventually Bun Yom came with his parents and brother to
Ellensburg, Washington, sponsored by the local First United Methodist church.
Since then he worked as a Kittitas County groundskeeper for 16 years, started a
Thai restaurant with his wife, then borrowed money and went into business as a
mechanic. Meanwhile, he had a powerful story to tell.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He first wrote it in Khmer, the Cambodian language, then
arranged for it to be translated into English. In a phone interview, he said he
sold 1,000 copies—his entire print run—in three hours at his restaurant. Since
then he’s had book signings in several locations around the US.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tomorrow I’m Dead</i> deserves a wide audience, and I encourage you to buy it. You can purchase the book through <a href="http://www.bunyom.com/">http://www.bunyom.com</a>. Note that it's also available in Kindle and Nook versions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bun
Yom in his own words</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I was born in Pailin, Cambodia
in 1960. I attended the local schools and, because I was doing so well, I
was allowed to skip several grades. As a result, I went to college early,
at age 13. I was in the second year of college when the Khmer Rouge took
over.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I lived with my mother and
father, my sister and three brothers. My father and mother ran a
restaurant and grocery store. They also found and sold rubies. I
also worked on my uncle's farm.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was 14 years old when the
Khmer Rouge came. They immediately oredered people out of their homes and
into the jungle. Because I was young and strong, I was taken as a slave
laborer. For 2 1/2 years, I worked at various tasks--building dams,
working in rice fields, etc.--with only one cup of rice soup per day. Of
course, I supplemented that meager diet with whatever I and others could find
in the jungle--snakes, rats, grasshoppers, fish, shrimp. etc.--of course,
uncooked. My legs became thinner than a normal person"s arms.
But, if anyone faltered and was unable to work, they were immediately
killed. That happened to many of my acquaintances.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Eventually, I was rescued by
the Cambodian Freedom Army. I joined them, was trained and became a
leader in rescuing other Cambodians from the clutches of the Khmer Rouge.
I helped lead the Freedom Army for five years, then I learned that my
family was alive and in a refugee camp in Thailand. So, I left the Freedom Army
and joined my father and mother and a brother in the refugee camp. We
were later transferred to a camp in the Philippines, and from there we came to
the United States, sponsored by the United Methodist Church of Ellensburg,
Washington.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I worked for a time on a farm
near Ellensburg, as well as a food processing plant and a restaurant as a
janitor. Then, I got a job as a groundskeeper at the Kittitas County
Fairgrounds. My wife and I opened a restaurant, which I subsequently sold
and invested in a garage to repair cars. I had taught myself how to
repair cars. Then the Great Recession hit and I was not able to get
enough business to pay the mortgage on the garage. It was then I focused
on writing and publishing my book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I currently live with my wife,
Aun To, and my son, Daniel. We also have two grown daughters, Louy and
Nung. We have two grandchildren, one 4 years old, the other four months.<o:p></o:p></div>
Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-40206978770918595162015-11-06T11:12:00.005-05:002015-11-06T11:14:21.235-05:00Once upon a Crime<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>This is an exercise on the idea of taking a common phrase -- in this case, once upon a time -- and changing no more than three letters. Kudos to the <a href="http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/" target="_blank">Internet Writing Workshop</a>'s Practice group for offering this and other great writing topics.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Once upon a Crime</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Payday!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">There it was, a
nickel bar of peanuts and caramel whispering my name. Psst! Hey Ricky, take me
home. Mom stood ahead of me in the grocery line, and no one noticed as the
Payday bar slipped into my pocket.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">And so began my career
in crime. I saw a girl drop a quarter and I snatched it off the dirt. The loss
must have crushed her, but it was a big score for me. The change slots in the
pay phones were often good for ready cash. Sometimes I could shake the whole
thing and unstick a couple of dimes, or even a quarter. Walking through the
left field during a baseball game that older kids were playing, I saw a
half-dollar coin laying in the grass, Lady Liberty looking up at me. There was
no doubt it had belonged to the left fielder, but finders keepers was as good
as law. I told my friends of my find, and we spent it on a plain cheese pizza
at a place on Rantoul Street. We’d heard that the pizzeria owner had killed a
man, which made my escapade even more exciting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">My friends and I
had a legitimate business, too. We collected Coke bottles and redeemed them for
two cents apiece, and sometimes we’d collect old newspapers, bundle them up,
and sell them to a dealer for a penny a pound. To relax, my gang and I would light
up the half-smoked Pall Malls we found in the gutters – not a crime, of course,
but our moms would kill us for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Maybe my
longest-running caper was unscrewing the little caps off the air valves of
tires. At one point I must have collected hundreds of them. We’d hear news accounts
of grown-up criminals going to prison for stealing hubcaps, and I fervently
hoped we’d never be caught. As a good Catholic boy, I confessed all my sins,
but told him I’d been stealing hubcaps. Is it a sin to lie in confession?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Then one day, my
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get in the cruiser; we were going down to the station and on to jail. But he
drove us around the corner and let us out with a warning. Meanwhile, I’d peed
my pants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">That close call ended
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Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-77711940666710825802015-10-31T00:01:00.000-05:002015-10-31T08:51:53.864-05:00Chat with author Guilie Castillo Oriard about The Miracle of Small Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8Rg4AsrDKu68yr8HRLV1yWW7OvFAXblz0dtL25iCup5bWQKeB7Zxuk3eOmK2PKRQzBdpBLCEfMCYUzsN7-nvN1tFipIf7c19MSz4U3V7Q9u4H7fiZESGTUJEtBUSTB3-fE4p/s1600/author+photo+HR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8Rg4AsrDKu68yr8HRLV1yWW7OvFAXblz0dtL25iCup5bWQKeB7Zxuk3eOmK2PKRQzBdpBLCEfMCYUzsN7-nvN1tFipIf7c19MSz4U3V7Q9u4H7fiZESGTUJEtBUSTB3-fE4p/s200/author+photo+HR.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Guilie and Benny, her<br />handsome rescue mutt.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoRqJjW3BGYl9NWWYEPphulvUtHLevEib4G805PuRrP5oqMfkglSxiu6-clA3JvXooiiM3LFIC-GCiy7tlsxjiKwwUnVRtpAp3WW7j8sAFR9nuVRQnWSnsFUg31jdFY3gKXSJ/s1600/Miracle+full+cover-3+HR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoRqJjW3BGYl9NWWYEPphulvUtHLevEib4G805PuRrP5oqMfkglSxiu6-clA3JvXooiiM3LFIC-GCiy7tlsxjiKwwUnVRtpAp3WW7j8sAFR9nuVRQnWSnsFUg31jdFY3gKXSJ/s200/Miracle+full+cover-3+HR.jpg" width="142" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Miracle <br />of Small Things</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>Today, please meet <b>Guilie Castillo Oriard</b>, the unusually talented writer and author of </i><b>The Miracle of Small Things</b><i>, published this summer by Truth Serum Press. At 126 pages, it's a small gem about what's important in life, learning who we are, and realigning our values. Here is our chance to ask Guilie about the book, her writing, her blog tour, life in Curaçao, dog rescuing, her next project, music, culture -- so many possibilities!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>So bienvenida, Guilie. You've had a couple of tour stops already. How are you and Benny holding up under the klieg lights?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKySoo7xkTgqGwpG1oxoo21EIxoe-DwBjS7CK2l_-PX9W2Gw2jHfd0is-zCr_6v6F4Hf2mzdnW250TeB1R9YC_9yWuyfnP2CCdrGF_iROfhjIpm-W5HhTH6hSMpbk3sAhfYbNB/s1600/benny1_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKySoo7xkTgqGwpG1oxoo21EIxoe-DwBjS7CK2l_-PX9W2Gw2jHfd0is-zCr_6v6F4Hf2mzdnW250TeB1R9YC_9yWuyfnP2CCdrGF_iROfhjIpm-W5HhTH6hSMpbk3sAhfYbNB/s1600/benny1_edited-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A few words from Truth Serum Press</span><br />
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Guilie Castillo Oriard is a
Mexican writer and dog rescuer living in Curaçao. She misses Mexican food and
Mexican <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">amabilidad</i>, but the
laissez-faire attitude (and the beaches) are fair exchange. And the island’s
diversity provides great fodder for her obsession with culture clashes.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Her work has appeared <a href="http://pureslush.webs.com/authorsc.htm#825261724">online</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> and,</span>
in print, as part of several anthologies. Her first book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Miracle of Small Things</i> (Truth Serum Press) was published in August
2015. She’s currently working on a full-length novel.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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She blogs about life and
writing at <a href="http://guilie-castillo-oriard.blogspot.com/">http://guilie-castillo-oriard.blogspot.com</a>
and about life and dogs at <a href="http://lifeindogs.blogspot.com/">http://lifeindogs.blogspot.com/</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">To buy Guilie's book</span></div>
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To purchase <i><b>The Miracle of Small Things</b></i> (and you <b>know</b> you want to):<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/guilie-castillo-oriard/the-miracle-of-small-things/paperback/product-22308118.html">paperback</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/guilie-castillo-oriard/the-miracle-of-small-things/ebook/product-22398563.html">epub
eBook</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Things-Guilie-Castillo-Oriard-ebook/dp/B0176RGSUU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1445913930&sr=8-3&keywords=the+miracle+of+small+things">Kindle
eBook</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-miracle-of-small-things/id1051065397">iBook
eBook</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-miracle-of-small-things">Kobo
eBook</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Barnes & Noble Nook (coming soon)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Find the publisher:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://truthserumpress.net/">Truth Serum Press</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Miracle of Small Things on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/miraclecuracao">Facebook</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26070141-the-miracle-of-small-things">Goodreads</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/guiliecastillo">Author
page</a> on Facebook<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Author on <a href="https://twitter.com/Guilie73">Twitter</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Author’s <a href="http://guilie-castillo-oriard.blogspot.com/">blog</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://guilie-castillo-oriard.blogspot.com/p/miracle-book-tour-in-blogs.html">BLOG
TOUR page</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-71835635828151642492015-10-27T00:01:00.000-05:002015-10-27T00:01:00.188-05:00Meet the author of The Sword & Scabbard<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Today I am happy to host Allen Woods, a writer and historian who has written the novel </i>The Sword & Scabbard: </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thieves and Thugs and the Bloody Massacre in Boston</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. Apparently, many colonists were not as well behaved as our Founding Fathers! Please feel free to ask him questions and comments.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Crude vengeance, angry mobs<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8RXI6Dv6DLuhbfrFaThRlHcNNmwwrWoat559tYfV9Ct2kfVZKHspEd5wDqCNR8gIRWnZ9qlesDsNP026Q9NyPfILoLkJq4rkprAaK1W00camUHsXC_MjiK-TX0xe5-MTVQ5Y/s1600/Allen_Woods_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8RXI6Dv6DLuhbfrFaThRlHcNNmwwrWoat559tYfV9Ct2kfVZKHspEd5wDqCNR8gIRWnZ9qlesDsNP026Q9NyPfILoLkJq4rkprAaK1W00camUHsXC_MjiK-TX0xe5-MTVQ5Y/s200/Allen_Woods_2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Author Allen Woods</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ej5LlKpkJV9csmbrppfDx5Dv_u57DYuhDfhONdYTwvDrp-VCcpZdN5tmu5bS82M6Hwf3mwfjm4kwOoXTCvlgilpRADCISbMP2eK6rp3PRAtwBFeF5DK8dxV3YJOfphyphenhyphen4S6Q_/s1600/The+Sword+%2526+Scabbard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ej5LlKpkJV9csmbrppfDx5Dv_u57DYuhDfhONdYTwvDrp-VCcpZdN5tmu5bS82M6Hwf3mwfjm4kwOoXTCvlgilpRADCISbMP2eK6rp3PRAtwBFeF5DK8dxV3YJOfphyphenhyphen4S6Q_/s200/The+Sword+%2526+Scabbard.jpg" width="141" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the reasons I
find history so fascinating is that there is so much to learn compared to what
many of us learned in school. As George Orwell pointed out in 1944, history is
written by the winners. In general, the winners have a narrative they’d like to
convey whether it strictly matches the facts or not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Most of us have ingested
a view of Revolutionary times that involves noble speeches and actions, and a
unified pursuit of democratic ideals (this is true of most other periods of
American history as well). There were certainly instances of noble thoughts and
deeds during the period, but there was a lot more going on as well. My research
brought to mind the modern cliché about politics and making sausage: you might
like the product, but the process is rather unsavory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In doing research for
some American history textbooks, I began to think about some of the realities
that were suggested but not emphasized, such as the practice of tarring and
feathering British officials or their supporters. It all sounds rather jolly
until you imagine a man stripped of his clothes, cowering before an angry mob,
painted with boiling tar from the docks, covered in foul poultry feathers and
dragged about town to the delight of jeering crowds. According to one
historical account, removing the tar took off layers of skin as thick as
steaks. Suddenly, Revolutionary ideals seem a long way off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The same was true of the
protests against the Stamp Act in Boston. Anyone willing to sell the tax stamps
or support those who did risked the crude vengeance of a rough and angry mob
directed by leaders who stayed in the background and often hypocritically
deplored the violence in public. It was common for a British Customs family to
have their house surrounded and windows broken out as a mob howled threats, for
businesses to have their doors painted with urine and feces during the night,
for officials to be accosted in the street, knocked down and dragged through gutters
filled with sewage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEC7xd7bgkCWGM9xwuDudnd8R4-MMIs5w1SHPeZjFzHxX0OxStxMiNLw87NDcacS3FR-sHXs9f7S-8D2BW4tnqgwOP7yHB6kx_rbX1IlTyOIbpRYWl_OIYyrMD2aY3tCMj1YvE/s1600/bostonmassacre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEC7xd7bgkCWGM9xwuDudnd8R4-MMIs5w1SHPeZjFzHxX0OxStxMiNLw87NDcacS3FR-sHXs9f7S-8D2BW4tnqgwOP7yHB6kx_rbX1IlTyOIbpRYWl_OIYyrMD2aY3tCMj1YvE/s320/bostonmassacre.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>An early depiction of the Boston Massacre</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, the British soldiers
responded in kind once they were ordered to occupy Boston to maintain order in
1768. There were constant scuffles and brawls in the streets between angry
British soldiers who were paid a pittance and forced to live in harsh
conditions and dockworkers and sailors out of work because of the British
occupation. It was this physical violence, especially the threats to the
British upper class and their property, that propelled England and America down
the path toward a formal war more than any of the speeches or writings by
American leaders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another issue suggested
by my research and that inspired my book was the intersection between politics
and crime. Smuggling was common in American ports before the war and was the
foundation of John Hancock’s fortune and that of some other large merchants. At
some point, it dawned on me that when John Hancock’s ships filled with taxable
wine were unloaded beneath the noses of British Customs officials, it wasn’t
Hancock unloading the hundred-gallon barrels in the middle of the night and
transporting them to be hidden nearby. He, or those working with him, needed a
connection with people willing to work in the night and able to evade capture
by heavy-handed officials. Later, when a rival British newspaper had its office
wrecked and equipment vandalized, American leaders needed people skilled in
criminal activities to do the deeds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I used factual accounts
of many criminal incidents and political actions in my book to illuminate the
times from the ‘street level’ rather than present the flowery writings and
speeches that dominate much of the common historical narrative. My intent in
this book, and those will follow, is not to tear down the heroes of the time,
but simply to provide a more accurate picture. Just as the mythology surrounding
the personal life of Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Richard Nixon have
been fleshed out with more realistic and unflattering detail, careful attention
will allow us to understand the Revolutionary period better as well. From my
point of view, an honest portrayal of a fallible hero is better than any
mythical, sanitized one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~~~</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Allen
Woods has been a full-time freelance writer and editor for almost 30 years,
recently specializing in social studies and reading textbooks for all ages. The
inspiration for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sword &
Scabbard</i> came while doing research for an American history text. He
resides in Massachusetts and has been married to his wife, Irene, for over 30
years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">His blog is at <a href="http://www.theswordandscabbard.com/">www.theswordandscabbard.com</a>. The paperback and Kindle version are available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=allen+woods+sword+scabbard" target="_blank">this link</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-74859651964113959442015-10-25T20:37:00.001-05:002015-10-25T20:42:13.909-05:00Read ’em and weep<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>This is the result of an exercise that required using no modifiers. You can</i>’<i>t blame the <a href="http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/" target="_blank"><b>Internet Writing Workshop</b></a> for inciting this nonsense, though it is for one of their practice exercises.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>READ</b> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’<b>EM AND WEEP</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jack Jackson wiped foam from his mustache, and
he smiled the smile of a winner. Or a cheat. “</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Read </span>’<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">em and weep</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, ladies,” he
said as he slapped his cards one by one on the table, which shook with laughter
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name? Oh, and a deuce of no use.” Jack reached and scooped the scattering of
twenties and fifties, the hopes and prayers and cash for groceries and rent and
uniforms for football for the boys and shoes for Sally all disappearing in a
miasma of smoke from the Cohibas Jack had smuggled out of Havana. Wives were
going to have husbands sleeping on the couches, and apologies wouldn’t suffice
worth the kettle of beans my girlfriend burned on the stove a month ago when
she stubbed her toe and I had to drive her to the doctor. No babies were about
to begin their journey into the world that night, not from us losers.<br />
<br />
I couldn’t bear the agony. What would I tell the Missus? She’d weep, then
scream words she saved up just for times like this, then ricochet a skillet off
my cranium as her eyes glowed like rubies heated in the depths of Hades. No
adjectives or adverbs could save me, and by midnight I’d lie in a
pool of blood on the linoleum on the floor of the kitchen. Then I expect she'd
wipe her prints off the weapon, call 911, and blame it on an intruder.<br />
<br />
Fearing such an outcome, I drew my .44 and put a slug in Jack. I guess it got
him in the heart, because his shirt blossomed there like a rosebud in June. His
mouth gaped like one of them flytraps from Venus, but he was through gloating
like he'd won the lottery or laid my wife. The rest of us split the pot and
went home.<br />
<br />
I am at the gallows where I will hang for the murder of Jack Jackson, but I
don’t mind. It was either this or the skillet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-35116738615578586062015-10-12T12:48:00.001-05:002015-10-14T09:16:36.635-05:00Upcoming book eventsWe've had an avalanche of self-published and independent books in the last few years, and many of them -- most of them -- are far from being ready for the world to see. They are often poorly edited and come across as amateurish. That's too bad, because they obscure some quality works worthy of public attention. In the coming weeks I'll be posting about at least three of these, with stories that couldn't be more different from each other.<br />
<br />
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<td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaq4J0dbcRKhuAmgJHXHE9UzccPz9AL1ZVsbNQx1AhtQGoHjjO2ZOVzEQg7T8LMtv_ItqL2xy-FIsiru1R2HcPHisHNrDpUkYCg12GF95eHzVdpav95W1xy8VdcAsmctH2SS1/s1600/tomorrowimdead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaq4J0dbcRKhuAmgJHXHE9UzccPz9AL1ZVsbNQx1AhtQGoHjjO2ZOVzEQg7T8LMtv_ItqL2xy-FIsiru1R2HcPHisHNrDpUkYCg12GF95eHzVdpav95W1xy8VdcAsmctH2SS1/s200/tomorrowimdead.jpg" width="142" /></a><b>Bun Yom</b> is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide of the late 1970s and the author of <i><b><a href="http://amzn.to/1jZnVOo" target="_blank">Tomorrow I'm Dead</a></b></i>. I've read many accounts of that horror, such as <i>The Killing Fields</i>, the story of the late Haing Ngor that was later made into an Academy Award-winning movie. And there is <i>To Destroy You Is No Loss: The Odyssey of a Cambodian Family</i> by JoAn D. Criddle. But his book is in his own heartfelt words.<br />
<br /></td>
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<td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLIhEjn-xZt05nqTNlHkddrRS3blDOeQL2jt50pqG52sDR_v6lgtF7e94tB7-yJJ92uJuLJbtFkSNa2ONJWJoQqlkaLfhuc_paKPoC9ITUBpHEP0CLJaQPQRozdlwAdXQOfVe/s1600/The+Miracle+of+Small+Things.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLIhEjn-xZt05nqTNlHkddrRS3blDOeQL2jt50pqG52sDR_v6lgtF7e94tB7-yJJ92uJuLJbtFkSNa2ONJWJoQqlkaLfhuc_paKPoC9ITUBpHEP0CLJaQPQRozdlwAdXQOfVe/s200/The+Miracle+of+Small+Things.jpg" width="142" /></a><b>Guilie Castillo Oriard </b>has just published <i><b>The Miracle of Small Things</b></i>, an engaging novella set in her adopted Curaçao. She's a Mexican native who writes beautiful English. I understand she has an e-version of her book coming out soon, and it deserves to be on a lot of Kindles and iPads. Soon we'll have much more about Guilie and her book.</td>
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<td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYvCeyX5wqK7qjquKCQIUsBv5XQIBULyRNBlnoFsuV8qfDYgUqEsj2juPmez-pYBQ924lE2S9UnmGcvzIrovY8rcCoXcIxl209ySPlXNI6aSmnzz2gQlYBZxi1W0iWuaMsH9G2/s1600/The+Sword+%2526+Scabbard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYvCeyX5wqK7qjquKCQIUsBv5XQIBULyRNBlnoFsuV8qfDYgUqEsj2juPmez-pYBQ924lE2S9UnmGcvzIrovY8rcCoXcIxl209ySPlXNI6aSmnzz2gQlYBZxi1W0iWuaMsH9G2/s200/The+Sword+%2526+Scabbard.jpg" width="141" /></a></div>
<b>Allen Woods </b>has written <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://amzn.to/1NCzuYx" target="_blank">The Sword and Scabbard</a></i>, a historical novel set in colonial Boston, and it's about events leading up to the Boston Massacre. He's going to be my guest on <b>October 27</b>, and I expect we'll hear a lot about rowdies and Redcoats. </td>
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<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
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Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-64834131070020084112015-08-29T12:58:00.000-05:002015-09-06T12:58:32.524-05:00Oh God, why me?<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>A writing exercise on the theme </i>Oh God, why me?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Usual<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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First, Phil fell out of bed, the impact awakening him from a
tumultuous nightmare involving sex and chainsaws. He lay on the floor like the
woman on TV who has fallen and can’t get up, except that he had no button to
push to call for help. The night before, his girlfriend Gail had boarded a
flight to Tokyo to play house with a Sumo wrestler. So Phil remained prone and
alone, with an egg growing just above his right temple. In pain, he could think
of only three words: Ty-Le-Nol.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Eventually he got to his feet, performed his usual
ablutions, ate his usual bowl of Froot Loops, donned his usual clothes, and
headed as usual to his proofreading job. Unusually, a pizza delivery car raced
down the street, splashing mud on him “from head to toe,” as he observed,
though he disliked the cliché. There was no time to turn back and change, so he
boarded his usual trolley and found the last empty seat.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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At the next stop, a sixty-something lady got on. A gentleman
as usual, Phil offered her his seat. “No thank you,” she said. “You look like
you need it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The trolley wobbled along, and Phil observed a young man
speak to her. While she was distracted, another young man reached into her
purse and lifted her billfold.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“Hey, you!” Phil said. “Ma’am, the guy stole your wallet!”
He looked around to other riders, but as usual, no one wanted to get involved.
Then the thief brandished a switchblade, so Phil said no more. He left the
trolley before his usual stop, then reached for his cell phone to call 911, but
it was gone. He checked for his wallet: it was gone as well. He’d have no cash
for lunch, never mind trolley fare home.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For three long blocks, a bitter wind stung his face; he was
ill-prepared for the weather, as his usual stop dropped him off in front of
work. Passers-by ignored him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Finally, he arrived to find all of his co-workers standing
on the sidewalk. “What’s going on?” he asked the receptionist.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“Fire drill. God, what happened to you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grateful for sympathy, he began his tale of woe. A minute
into his story, she said “Whatever,” and turned away.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A half hour later, his boss called Phil into her office.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “but we’re letting you go.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-41244997849585384552015-08-22T15:39:00.000-05:002015-08-23T15:41:56.620-05:00Ultimatum<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>A short writing exercise on the theme "Ultimatum"</i><br />
<br />
<b>Which one do you love more?</b><br />
<br />
“You have thirty seconds to decide,” says the man behind me.
“Which one do you love more?” In front of us sit my parents, strapped into
chairs behind a plexiglas window. His tongue brushes my earlobe. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Please don’t do this,” I beg.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s up to you, Maria. Which one lives, which one dies?
Pick one, or else they both die.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Within my reach are two buttons. The left button kills
Mother, and the right one kills Father. Taking no action kills them both. A
timer counts down with large red digits. My head swims, and I am short of
breath. This is punishment for my part in the insurrection. My parents despise
the regime as much as I do, but they have warned me that resistance is too
dangerous.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Father’s lips move. “Me,” he seems to say.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mother’s lips move. “Me,” she seems to say.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Fifteen seconds,” the man says. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Let them go,” I say. “Take me instead.” He ignores my plea.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My parents have done their imperfect best in my seventeen
years. Father could be harsh with the palm of his hand; Mother with the lash of
her tongue. But they love me, and I them. And we loved my elder brother, whom
we watched hang this morning. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Decisions, decisions.” His hot breath is on my ear. Ten
seconds left on the timer. Nine. Eight. Seven. “God hates you, and so do I.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Six. Five. Four. There is nothing more for me to say. My
hands shake, palms sweat. Father and Mother close their eyes.<br />
<br />
~~ Idea borrowed from William Styron's <i>Sophie's Choice</i>~~</div>
Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23130594.post-88289085556458906272015-08-15T09:29:00.002-05:002015-08-15T09:29:32.550-05:00Message in a Bottle<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #0d0600; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">A short writing exercise on the theme of "message in a bottle," specifically communicating with your younger self</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>DAVEY DOES DARLENE </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Davey and Darlene were making out in the back seat of his
Dad’s Henry J, sucking each other’s tonsils at the drive-in. She was easy about
everything from the waist up, but getting in her knickers was a no-no. “Oh
baby,” he whispered in her ear, along with other romantic shit his big brother
Mel told him made the girls go limp. What was about to happen was he was going
to go limp, which was not the idea at all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re just like all the boys,” she said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMby3jISen8ch6hlUUysZFqYd82xQIquNFLdYt6CRT_9q9JcjM2Y2sRwTN5dv_fInfGxzFUV87GdPe3Fxfr3Z2Zeo5SVwL-CnAB_hQoaiX997h9-NEHPBNLBYf0EpOUeTgWFwu/s1600/gansett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMby3jISen8ch6hlUUysZFqYd82xQIquNFLdYt6CRT_9q9JcjM2Y2sRwTN5dv_fInfGxzFUV87GdPe3Fxfr3Z2Zeo5SVwL-CnAB_hQoaiX997h9-NEHPBNLBYf0EpOUeTgWFwu/s320/gansett.jpg" width="85" /></a>All the boys, yeah. Half the guys in high school had done
Darlene at least once; he had his best pal Mikey’s word on that. So what was
the matter with him? Finally, she pushed him away, sweetly but firmly. “Let’s
watch the movie.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Which she did, as he reached for his bottle of Narragansett
and swigged the forbidden brew. Jesus, </div>
Mary, and Joseph, why did they have to
sit through Peter Pan before Stalag 17 came on? Some fairy twinkle-toed across
the big screen as the moon rose behind it.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Davey stepped out of the car. He drained the last dewy drop
and held the amber bottle up to the moonlight. He saw handwriting through the
glass bottom. It said, “You’re screwed.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Huh?” he muttered.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You know what I said. You’re screwed six ways from Sunday.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Davey looked around and saw an apparition, a man who looked
like he’d lost a few bar fights. “I had to show up in spirit,” the man said,
“because I couldn’t fit the whole message in the bottle.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What do you want?” Davey said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m your older self, here to say enjoy life while you can,
since it’s going to turn into one unholy mess. First, don’t worry about getting
laid. She’ll do it with you during the second feature, and you’ll knock her
up.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But I’ll wear a—”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You forgot them. Your unwanted son will spend most of his
short life in juvie, by the way. From tonight on, your life is one long string
of mistakes.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But tell me what they are so I won’t make them!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s not how it works, kid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The future’s already happened, and no one can
change it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The apparition disappeared. Was Davey going nuts? What was
in that beer, anyway? Then he promptly forgot the meeting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back in the car, he reached for Darlene.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Bob Sanchezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08350825385315155962noreply@blogger.com1