#magicians in spalding

[frostbounddevotion]

𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄 .

Share at least 5 songs that you associate with or remind you of your muse!

Uraume —

Ghostbox by Away x Crywolf I want this to hurt I want you to tear me open I want you to feel me underneath your fingernails Rabbit Hole by Qveen Herby You can suck my rabbit hole (okay) Yeah, lately that's my vibe (okay, okay) Whoa, don't do that shit for anyone (anyone) But me, myself and I (me and I) Command by Rustage (Its about another character but to me its the best one) Life is war, there's villains in our houses Bloody floors, you cannot stain the outfit They can put their morals where their mouth is Who needs love when pain is so nostalgic? When we're up, the view is dark and clouded Taste of blood, the mood is so arousing Forging peace with what our evil salvaged

Crazy by Doechii Then I ball like Spalding Can't call my bluff when the shit is my callin' Won't duck, bitch I'm all in It's a brand new day, new pace, light joggin' Straight facts, no jargon It's a whole lot of big blue checks, no login Low stress, no stallin' See a whole lot of big Bugattis when I walk in

Playing with the Big Boys - Prince of Egypt (metal) You're playing with the big boys now You're playing with the big boys now Stop this foolish mission Watch a true magician Give an exhibition how Pick up your silly twig, boy You're playing with the big boys now!

((This was fun and a challenge as I don't listen to music that really makes me think of them. At least not perfectly))

Tagged by — @ashestxashes and @drippingheart super thanksto both of you!!!

Tagging — @ofrosegold @ofxcrimsonxedge (both Choso and Sukuna) @ofstygiaan @praeteritus-memories (Gojo and Ei) @astarablaze (Any of them) @elysian-noctuary (Inumaki or Adrian)

[papermoonloveslucy]

THE GOLDEN TOUCH

January 17, 1951

“The Golden Touch" is a modern re-telling of the King Midas story with Jack Benny and his friends as King Midas and his court. It was directed by Robert F. Mansfield, written by Robert Hugh O’Sullivan and with Harry Zimmerman as the composer / conductor. 

“Family Theater” was a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology radio program which aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS) from February 13, 1947, to September 11, 1957. The show was produced by Family Theater Productions, a film and radio studio extension of the Family Rosary Crusade founded by Father Patrick Peyton as a way to promote family prayer. The motto of the the Holy Cross Family Ministries is, "The family that prays together, stays together." 

Although the program had no commercial sponsor, Father Peyton arranged for many of Hollywood's biggest stars to appear including James Stewart, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Raymond Burr, Jane Wyatt, Charlton Heston, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Gene Kelly, William Shatner, and Chuck Connors. 

A total of 540 episodes were produced. The program featured not only religious stories but half-hour adaptations of literary works such as A Tale of Two Cities, Moby-Dick and Don Quixote.

Synopsis ~ Lucille Ball is the hostess and Jack Benny stars as the King obsessed with his gold and counting it. The Queen and her daughter get a Genie to sort the King out. The Genie grants the King one wish and the King tells the Genie that he can always use more gold and asks that everything he touches will turn to gold. Of course this seems exciting at first until he turns the Queen and his daughter in to solid gold.

The program was repeated on May 23, 1951.  

King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This came to be called the golden touch, or the Midas touch. 

CAST

Jack Benny (King Midas) was born on Valentine’s Day 1894. He had a successful vaudeville career, and an even greater career on radio with “The Jack Benny Program” which also became a successful television show. His screen persona was known for being a penny-pincher and playing the violin. Benny was a Beverly Hills neighbor of Lucille Ball’s and the two were off-screen friends. Benny appeared on “The Lucy Show” as Harry Tuttle (a Jack Benny doppelganger) in “Lucy and the Plumber” (TLS S3;E2), later did a voice over cameo as himself in “Lucy With George Burns” (TLS S5;E1), and played himself in “Lucy Gets Jack Benny’s Account” (TLS S6;E6). He was seen in four episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Benny and Ball appeared on many TV variety and award shows together. He died in 1974, a few weeks after taping “An All-Star Party for Lucille Ball.”

Lucille Ball (Hostess) was concurrently starring in her own radio comedy “My Favorite Husband” having starred in films from 1933.  In the fall of 1951, Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz launched their iconic television series, “I Love Lucy.”  After her divorce from Arnaz in 1960, Ball starred in two subsequent television series’ - “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.” After a series of TV specials, she did one more series in 1986, which was not successful. She died in 1989. 

Ted de Corsia (Harvey Benson, Reporter from The Daily Telegram) was an actor in touring companies and on radio before making a memorable film debut as the killer in The Lady from Shanghai (1947). De Corsia's New York street demeanor and gravelly voice assured him steady work playing street thugs, gang leaders or organized-crime bosses. On radio he starred in the CBS series "Pursuit" (1949-50). Two years before he was heard on an episode of “My Favorite Husband” with Lucille Ball.

Barbara Eiler (Princess Imogene) started acting as a teenager and appeared regularly on the radio programs “The Life of Riley,” “A Day in the Life of Dennis Day,” “The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy” and “Glamor Manor." She did a 1948 episode of “My Favorite Husband” with Lucille Ball. 

Eleanor Audley (Queen Midas) played Lucille Ball’s mother-in-law on “My Favorite Husband.” She would later play Eleanor Spalding, owner of the Westport home the Ricardos buy in “Lucy Wants To Move to the Country” (ILL S6;E15) in 1957, as well as one of the Garden Club judges in “Lucy Raises Tulips” (ILL S6;E26).

Alan Reed (Matthew the Butler / Tony the Cook) is probably best remembered as the voice of Fred Flintstone. He started his acting career in 1937. He acted opposite Lucille Ball in a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show” (ILL S1;E25). In 1967, he made an appearance on the Desi Arnaz series “The Mothers-in-Law”. He died in 1977 at the age of 69.

Reed uses an English accent as Matthew and an Italian accent as Tony.

Verna Felton (Molly, Kitchen Help) received two Emmy nominations for her role in the Desilu series “December Bride,” playing Hilda Crocker from 1955 to 1959. She did two episodes of “I Love Lucy,” including playing Lucy’s stern maid, Mrs. Porter. Felton voiced many characters for Disney.

Felton uses an Irish accent as Molly.

Howard McNear (Ipsuda, Magician) played Mr. Crawford, Little Ricky’s music teacher on “I Love Lucy.” McNear went on to play Floyd the Barber on “The Andy Griffith Show” from 1961 to 1967, filmed on the Desilu backlot. He was also seen in Lucy and Desi’s 1953 film The Long, Long Trailer.

Frank Nelson (Genie / Mr. Gene Blue) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”. This is one of his 11 performances on “My Favorite Husband.”  On “I Love Lucy” he holds the distinction of being the only actor to play two recurring roles: Freddie Fillmore and Ralph Ramsey, as well as six one-off characters, including the frazzled train conductor in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5), a character he repeated on “The Lucy Show.”  Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs.

Howard Culver (Jake Workman, Ice Man) was best known as hotel clerk Howie Uzzell during the entire run of TV's “Gunsmoke.” On radio he starred in the title role of the Western adventure series “Straight Arrow” which aired on Mutual from 1948 to 1951.   

Tony La Frano (Announcer) was the regular announcer for “Music Depreciation” (1945) and every episode of “Family Theatre” (1947-1957). 

EPISODE

Hostess Lucille Ball introduces the show, which was broadcast in front of a live audience. Lucille urges listeners to pray together as a family. She then introduces Jack Benny as the King, to great fanfare. 

Instead of Benny, the show opens with Imogene on the telephone of a busy office in the Kingdom of Midas. Harvey Benson, an American reporter, arrives to see the Queen, who thinks he is there for money, but he wants the story of something that happened there recently. She tells the story in flashback...

A month ago, King Midas is at breakfast with his family. Imogene complains about having cornmeal mush for breakfast again, but Midas reasons that they have a 752 pounds of corn (thanks to the foresight of his father), so they must eat it!  

Matthew, King Midas’ butler, suddenly quits after 32 years! He is tired of carrying the King’s gold. He is also tired of the mush. Because of an ancient decree, the help must eat whatever the King eats. 

Imogene and the Queen insist King Midas counts his money too much - 80 million dollars a day!  Once the King is gone, the Queen sends Imogene on a mission to see a magician named Ipusda to buy a genie. 

At Ipsuda’s shop, Imogene has her pick of genies - even ones vacuum packed in cans (only for tourists)!  She buys the blue bottle special for 5 gold pieces - plus a small deposit on the bottle!   Imogene brings the magic blue bottle back to the Queen, who says the magic words: “Genie out and at attention!�� Do the chores which I will mention!”  The giggling Genie immediately appears, talking in rhyme, very amused at his own cleverness.  They promise the Genie his freedom if he does as bid.  The Queen whispers the orders to the Genie, without letting Imogene know.

Next morning, Imogene and the Queen introduce Midas to his new servant - the Genie!  At their bidding, he conjures up bacon and eggs. Midas hates the Genie’s rhyming. He asks Midas what one wish he wants more than anything else in the world.  Naturally, he wants more gold. 

The Genie grants him with the skill to turn everything he touches to gold!  The Genie pops back into the bottle. Imogene notices his utensils have turned to gold - then his eggs - then his coffee.  

Before he can stop himself, he turns his own daughter to gold! Midas demands the Queen bring the Genie back, but she refuses and storms off. 

Midas hears the kitchen servants Tony and Molly arguing in the next room. Tony goes to shake his hand, but he turns to gold! He touches Molly and she, too, turns to gold. 

The ice man arrives and sees the two golden servants. Signing for the ice, the King tries to give him the golden pencil as a tip! Midas explains his problem - everything he touches turns to gold. Jake is about to phone his brother-in-law, Ipsuda, but when he learns that it was the work of a genie, he hangs up. All they can do is wait for the Queen to return to get the Genie out of the bottle! 

Time passes and Jake reveals that the King is not as highly regarded in the Kingdom as he thinks.  The King admits to being money mad. Midas decides to start giving his money away - starting now!

The Queen arrives and she Midas admits that he never wants to see gold again as long as he lives. After accidentally turning Jake to gold during a hug, the Queen summons the Genie to change the King back - in return for his freedom and a good job. The Genie removes the curse. 

Flash forward to the Queen’s interview with newspaper reporter Harvey Benson. Mr. Gene Blue, the president of the relief organization, enters. He makes a joke about his name sounding like “Benson Burners.” He laughs hysterically as the music swells. 

Lucille Ball closes the show by asking if the audience knows how Hedda Hopper makes a hat, comparing it to how scientists make a concoction out of ordinary things to create something incredible: jewels out of sawdust, perfume out of coal tar, medicine out of weeds or mold. She says the power of prayer, just like the ordinary things that create something magical, are there all the time, but must be used to get benefits: the jewel of a happy home life, the perfume of uplifted hearts, medicine for a sick world.

LUCILLE BALL: “The family that prays together, stays together.” 

Announcer Tony Lo Frano reads the credits and says that next week’s program Walter Brennan and Bette Lynn in “A Star for Helen” with the honorable Frank Walker as host.  

[doanalyzethis-blog]

Magician and Mind Reader in Spalding

Magician and Mind Reader in Spalding

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] Spalding Magician and Mind Reader Spalding Magician | Close up Magician in Spalding | Hire Spalding Wedding Magician Spalding Magician Dean Odell performs…

[hopeishappinessff]

Holding Onto Hope: Chapter 51.1

Hope

I’d been home for almost a full week now and I couldn’t have been happier. Upon my release from the hospital, only one day after I was admitted, I was given strict orders to be about thirty percent active and seventy percent on bed rest. Initially I had a problem with that, because I was entirely too active of a person to lay around all day. I just didn’t have it in me to deal with restlessness. But my doting baby’s father on the other hand, was of course elated to get to cater to my every need. And it was only because of him and his desire to simply want to take care of me that I submitted and allowed him to do just that.

Like now, for instance, I lay snuggled against the mountain of pillows on my bed with Chris sitting in the middle of the bed with my left leg propped in his lap, eyes glued to a new episode Ninja Turtles, and his hands working like a magician to massage my foot.

“I don’t know why you love this show so much… it’s not even funny.” I mumbled as I flipped through my aunt’s newest Essence magazine. I could feel his searing stare and though I tried to maintain a poker face, I couldn’t help but smirk at the thought of him peeved at me for criticizing his favorite show.

“It’s not supposed to be funny.” He muttered. Cutting my eyes in his direction, I full out laughed as he sat there frowning at me as if I’d really hurt his feelings.

“Then why are you so dedicated to watching it? What’s the point?”

With a sigh he playfully rolled his eyes and eyed me with a smirk “Because I just like it… I’ve been watching it since I was a kid and it’s never gotten old to me.” “Sooo… you enjoy watching abnormally human sized turtles, who can also talk, run around a city fighting people?”

A handsome smiled breeched from his quirky smirk and he shook his head and temporarily stopped massaging my foot, which left me playfully pouting at him “Do you like the feeling of me rubbing your swollen feet?”

Tossing my head back into the mound of pillows, I cackled as I gripped my belly and he asked again “No, I’m serious… do you?”

“What does that have to do with you watching mutant turtles?”

“Just answer the question.” He chuckled, still refusing to touch my foot until I clearly responded.

“Well… yeah, I do.” “Okay. So… why?”

“What do you mean why?” I snickered, “It feels good. It relaxes me. I just enjoy it.”

Staring at me through squinted eyes, he raised a brow suddenly and nodded triumphantly… as if he’d just proven some magnificent point “Exactly.”

Quickly snatching up my foot and getting right back into his rhythm of kneading and rubbing, he turned his attention back to the large flat screen television on the tallest dresser in my room and I laughed.

I’d been doing that a lot lately… laughing just about every time I was in his presence. If I didn’t know anything about him and the drastic changes he’d faced in his life in the past few months alone, I would say that he was just a typical pretty boy with a great sense of humor. He was becoming himself again with every passing day and I swore that alone made me fall in love with him over and over again.

“You didn’t prove any point sir.” I giggled, slowly tugging my foot back away from him, knowing it would get his attention. I pulled my foot all the way back and after about a second or so, he finally realized it was no longer in his lap and he turned to face me with a brow raised inquisitively. I only smiled, holding his stare and enticing him to move closer to me… which he did, as if caught in a trance. I waited until he rested right beside me, snuggled up close with his large left hand splayed over the top of my belly almost like he was gripping a Spalding basketball…

“Hey,” I started quietly, “You know what I can’t help but wonder?”

‘Hmm?” He hummed softly at my side, his lips pressed ever so softly against my shoulder blade.

“Do you miss basketball?”

I could feel his plump lips smiling against my skin, and that made me smile “You’re very random.”

I laughed and stretched a hand down to meet his at the top of my stomach “Just answer the question.”

He too chuckled from my mocking tone of the exact phrase he’d used against me earlier and heaved a warm sigh against my arm “Honestly… yeah, sometimes I do.”

“Do you ever plan to go back to it one day?”

“Sure I do. I’ll always love that sport… I just don’t know if I’ll ever play for a team again.” My brows instantly furrowed at the sound of his somber words and my heart nearly sank at the realization of what he’d said… did that mean he also didn’t have any future plans to go back to school?

“But why wouldn’t you? If it’s something you love, why would you not want to play it with a team again?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to play again, I just… I don’t know. I’ll always play it for leisure. I just don’t think I’ll be back on a team anytime soon…”

He left that thought to linger for a while and it dawned on me that that was exactly what he was trying to say… he didn’t think he’d be going back to school. I turned to face him to find him staring down at both of our hands spread against my stomach, his leading the way to gently caress it. He must have felt my stare because eventually, he raised his head and watched me quietly for a while, obviously awaiting my response.

But I didn’t have one. I didn’t want to put him on the spot by pointing out that he had no further plans for what I knew to be one of his biggest aspirations, so I smiled instead and leaned forward to press my lips against the warm flesh of his forehead.

“I’m sure you’ll play again one day.”

He only grinned as he pushed up onto his elbow and moved closer to me, keeping his focus on my lips until he met them. All he ever did lately was press his lips against mine sweetly. He never bothered to ask for entry or make it sloppy and I always appreciated that because it made me feel like a delicate piece of china whenever he did it.

“Can I take you somewhere today?” He asked quietly.

He could offer to take me all the way to the moon and I’d go with a smile. As long as I was with this guy… I didn’t care where we went.

“You can take me wherever you want… as long as it doesn’t require much walking.”

He laughed and kissed me again, keeping a hand pressed against my belly while the other tinkered with a few of my loose curls “You won’t have to walk much at all. And… I got you something I think you’ll like.”  

With a mischievous smirk, he slid off the side of the bed and shifted around to my desk chair to a medium sized shopping bag that I hadn’t even seen before. He’d been with me since last night and I honestly didn’t even remember him walking in with the bag. My eyes were glued to it as he made his way back around to his side of the bed and plopped down with a chuckle.

“Here,” He pushed it out toward me, waiting for me to take it from his grasp, “Open it.”

I eyed it for a moment, smiling though I didn’t even know what was in it. With the curiosity of a little kid, I quickly reached for the bag and snatched it open, staring for a moment at the heap of lace at the bottom of the bag. Glancing up at Chris, I giggled at the sight of him staring at my hands, waiting almost more excited than me to see what this lacey item was. I pulled it out and it seemed to go on forever and once I finally got every inch of the fabric out I turned to him in utter confusion.

“You got me lingerie?”

He stared at me for all of one second before falling back on the bed and bursting into a hearty fit of laughter. His laugh was infectious and it made me laugh, though I didn’t even know where the joke was. But anytime he laughed… I couldn’t help but do the same.

By the time he lifted his head and faced me, I laughed a bit harder at the red tint that’d risen in his cheeks and neck… he was really laughing that hard.

“It’s not lingerie Hope, lemme see…” He reached out for the pretty lace fabric and stood at the side of the bed with it, adjusting and rotating until I could get the gist of it. And when I finally did, I gasped… it was clearly a dress. It was a strapless dress that was slit wide open in the front with no slip underneath, leaving nearly nothing to the imagination. The top of it looked like it would hug my chest with perfection, but the bottom clearly wasn’t going to do much for me… where exactly was he planning on taking me?

“I guess I just… had a vision. I conjured up a whole image of you in this exact dress for your maternity pictures, but if you don’t like it…”

“My maternity pictures? What?” The excitement was rearing its head and I was trying to make my way up from the cozy bed as fast as I could. Maternity pictures… he had to be pulling my leg.

“Well, yeah… I wanted to surprise you, but…”

“Oh Charlie,” I sighed, waddling my way around the end of the bed to meet him on the other side, “You set up a maternity photoshoot for me?”

He nodded slowly, watching my every move as I edged closer to him. I stood within arm’s length and reached out for him, catching him by the front of his plain black t-shirt.

“Are you okay with that? I promise, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just thought…”

He was so flustered… my poor baby. The red tint hadn’t even left his cheeks or his neck from his laughter earlier… it’d somehow transferred right over to his embarrassment. But what did he have to be embarrassed for? He had such a thoughtful mind… a beautiful soul.

Easing him closer, I shushed him completely by reaching up and cupping his warm cheeks and tugging him down to my short stature. I met him halfway with a smile and pressed my lips against his once, twice, then three times before opening my eyes and peering up at him.

“Of course I’m okay with it. I can’t believe you set this up for me Charlie. You’re so good to me.”

He smiled and slowly leaned in again, meshing his lips with mine then shifting to the corner of my mouth and finally my cheek.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be good to you.” His voice was so soft and husky and strong. And my heart warmed and the butterflies in my tummy danced at the sound of his words… he’d been showing his gratitude ever since I made it clear to him that he was indeed still mine and I was surely still his.

“But I have to ask though…” Pulling back away from him, I almost laughed when his smiled faltered and his eyes danced over my face hesitantly, “What am I supposed to wear under this?”

His smile was reignited then and he gently reached for my hand, pulling me around to my dresser to help me complete the wardrobe for my surprise photoshoot.

  Chris

I wasn’t exactly sure what to do with my hands, or my eyes, or my whole life as I stood near the photographer. He was a pretty cool, eclectic white guy I’d met once in an impromptu art class I’d taken in my spare time before Hope came back to me from school. It was a onetime deal, really just to collect a few complimentary tools that came with the price of the class. I didn’t even bother to share the experience with Hope because I was sure I would probably never go back to a class again… but something about the whole ambiance of this guy’s craft and artistry kind of inspired me to want to spruce up my own skills a bit.

But, the guy… Micah, I clicked with him not long after I took a seat in the rear of the class, because he honestly gave me a vibe that lowkey matched my own. Yes he was white, but… the way he dressed, the way he styled his hair slicked up in a neat half comb over half Mohawk, and the colorful tats splayed from his face down to his legs just screamed ‘me’ and it made it easy to connect with him in class. Of course we weren’t in there for more than a couple of hours, but in that time alone I really felt like I’d known the guy forever.

“Man, she’s a natural bro,” He muttered just loud enough for me to hear, pausing briefly to glance back at me with a smirk, “You sure she’s not a model?”

Nibbling into the corner of my bottom lip, I bit back a smile as I glanced over at Hope and shook my head “Nah… she’s not.”

She was standing a good half a yard away from us in the soft pink lingerie, as she’d called it. Her hair was stacked in a huge messy bun atop her head, but there were several straggling pieces hanging here or there. She wore a colorful floral headband that complimented the dress and her makeup was soft and feminine… pulling the entire look together flawlessly. I was truly captivated by the sight of her. She moved fluidly through every picture and from what Micah had shown me so far, she nailed every single photo he snapped.

She stood there now, with her head tilted halfway back and turned to the right with her eyes closed. It was the perfect windy day out, so her dress blew back just enough to expose her round, glowing belly. Her hands gripped lightly at the base of it and my eyes couldn’t help but to wash over her insanely toned, golden legs. I had helped her pick out a matching pair of soft pink lace boyshorts, which surprised her and shit… it surprised me too. It didn’t really hit me until I saw her standing there, almost completely naked… just how naked she was. But, she had me so damn captivated by her beauty that I almost forgot that there was another man standing here watching her through the lens of a camera.

“Beautiful Sy’Diyah… just gorgeous.” Micah called out. He’d been doing that since the moment he started snapping and yeah, it was weird for me and I did find myself cutting my eyes at him a few times. But I knew it was all a part of the job… and he was doing absolutely phenomenal at that.

Her face lit up at the sound of his encouraging compliments and somehow at that exact moment, the sun peaked timidly from behind a fluffy white cloud through the thick foliage… casting down onto her skin in a way that had my lips parting with shock. She looked like an angel… she was literally my angel. God, how could someone so damn perfect be mine? This couldn’t possibly be fair… I dropped my head, shaking it as I chuckled to myself.

“You good dude?” Micah muttered, this time keeping his focus on his lens.

“Yeah man, I’m good.”

He turned to face me again and smiled wide, shaking his head at the obvious heat in my cheeks “This lady’s got you smitten. Look at you bro… you’re gushing over this pretty woman.”

“She’s just,” Damn, she really had me at a loss for words… I shook my head again, “She’s too beautiful, you know.”

He nodded and smirked “Yeah… I know.”

“You know boys, a pregnant lady can only stand directly in the sun for too long before she’s forced to ask what the hell the hold up is.”

The sound of her voice had us both whipping around to face her, like we’d just gotten caught with our hands in the cookie jar. She stood there with both hands on her hips and a wide, playful grin on her face… she sounded so sexy when she cussed.

“My bad mama, just making sure the father of your child was alright over here.”

“Charlie… you okay?” She called out. I assumed she couldn’t catch the hint of a joke in his tone, because she completely disregarded him and took a few steps in my direction.

I smiled reassuringly and quickly nodded “Yeah, I’m okay love. I’m fine.”

She smiled in return and stepped back into her original position. I truly couldn’t get over this new protectiveness she exuded… she really was mama bear now.

“Yall’s adorableness just sickens me.” Micah said, causing us all to laugh. He finally stood from his squatted position in the grass, glancing down at the last shot on his screen before he smiled at Hope.

“Alright sweetheart, I’ve got well over a hundred and fifty shots of you in the grass. You wanna move on to the water now?”

I waited for Hope to waddle her way over to us and smiled at her as she approached me, reaching out for my right hand. I reached out and linked it together with her much smaller one and stared on in awe as she leaned onto the tips of her toes to lay a gentle peck on my lips… it’s like neither of us could go more than ten minutes without doing that.

“This is turning out to be so much more fun than I thought it would be.” She beamed excitedly.

“That’s because you’re a pro, baby.” She quickly dropped her head. The straggling pieces of her hair that’d fallen from her bun barely did much to cover the blush in her cheeks.

“I was asking your guy here if you’ve ever modeled before. I’m telling you, you are phenomenal behind that lens. I’ve snapped actual professional models before that have never come close to that naturalness you emanate.” Micah exclaimed, clamoring along beside us with his prized camera equipment in tow. I had offered to help the guy carry it all a long time ago, but he swore he had it. I figured it had something to do with him being territorial.

“Oh Micah, you’re too sweet. I swear I’ve never been in front of the camera before. Well… except for the occasional selfie here or there.”

We both laughed at her silliness and I laughed in particular at the sound of her adorable giggle.

They allowed me to lead the way through the thinner foliage and I did proudly, knowing my way through the lush greenery like the back of my hand. I’d been to this place almost too many times to count… I’d offend my own damn self if I didn’t know my way around.

Hope held tight to my whole right arm as I carefully guided us along a narrow path through the trees until we reached a clearing near the edge of my favorite part… the glistening water. This was the very spot… I’d frequented it my earlier years of high school and it’d always done wonders with me to help clear my mind and invite me into sanity. It was also the first place I ever even remotely admitted my feelings to Hope. I mean, I didn’t come right out and profess my love to her. But it was my first time letting my guard down just the slightest and acknowledging to her face that I was secretly in love with her…

““I wanna be honest with you Hope,” I said nervously after she’d safely claimed a seat on the rock beside me, “You’re the only girl who’s ever made me question why I stayed with Gabby.”

I watched as she furrowed her brows, clearly completely confused by what I was saying “What do you mean?”

My nerves were seriously in overdrive as I chuckled softly and shook my head, turning away from her hypnotically beautiful face and staring out at the calming water “I’ve been with a few girls, you know. Out of every single one that has come and gone in my entire life, you’ve been the only constant. I mean, besides Dez and my mama.”

She giggled cutely and moved back a bit on the cool surface of the flat rock as I cleared my throat and continued on “I don’t know if I can make it make sense to anyone else, but in my mind it makes perfect sense. It’s like…what this lake does for me whenever I drive out here, you do for me every fucking day. You make me focus, you show me what’s good in this world… you make me want to be a better person. With Gabby, I feel like I’m settling for something all wrong for me. That’s not what I want… but that’s what I seem to attract. There’s no depth to her. It doesn’t feel like she loves genuinely, her love is almost artificial. She has her reasons for being with me and I know none of them have anything to do with her actually caring about me.””

“I care about you Hope,” I continued, cutting my eyes at her with my elbows propped on my knees and my hands linked casually together, “You mean a lot to me and I want you to understand that. You’re like my little gem.”

 I couldn’t help but smile at the memory. It was the first that we’d created as a couple…even though we weren’t even together yet. Well to me we were… it just took me a while to convey that to her.

“What are you smiling about, handsome?”

The sound of her sweet voice brought me back to reality and I shrugged, but couldn’t seem to rid myself of the growing grin on my face “Nothing… just, my thoughts.”

“And what are you thinking?” She asked cutely, cozying up even closer to me as we slowed near the water’s edge.

I took a deep breath… inhaling some of the freshest air nature had to offer “That I’m happy… really happy.”

With the cutest giggle, she eased back up onto the tips of her toes and leaned in to press her soft lips against my jaw. The gesture alone left my heart fluttering and my lips smiling.

“Alright love birds,” Micah chuckled, “Are you ready for part two?”

Hope nodded excitedly and moseyed off toward him and while she waited at his side for further instructions, he turned his attention to me with a smirk.

“You’re down for this photo-op too right Chris?”

Blinking quickly with surprise, I looked from him to Hope then back to him before finally stabbing an index finger into my chest “Me?”

They both laughed at my idiotic question and I blushed with embarrassment… who else could the guy be referring to?

“Nah dude, the squirrel behind you. Yes bro! Come on, let’s get this party started!” He turned to drop most of his equipment near a tree trunk to his right, but he kept one particular camera situated in his left hand. It was a bit smaller than the huge piece of equipment he’d been using for the last hour, so I figured it had to be his waterproof camera. He was wearing a pair of joggers, a white tank, and a pair of classic black and white Adidas and he didn’t seem to mind slipping right out of those, with his pant legs rolled up, and wading right into the first few inches of water with Hope at his side.

She gripped onto his left arm and swung her head back around to face me with a smirk “Come on silly boy. The water feels fine.”

They were only ankle deep in the sparkling water, so I chuckled at the thought of how she managed to get a full feel for the temperature only that far in. With a sigh, I glanced down at the basic white vans, khaki shorts, and white polo shirt I wore… guess I wouldn’t be losing much if I got at least the shorts wet. Glancing briefly in their direction, I realized they were now waist deep in the water, so I hurried to kick my shoes and socks off and I quickly peeled out of my shirt, hesitantly laying it across Micah’s tripod that leaned against a tree. It may have been a basic piece of clothing, but my nerves would not allow me to place a white ass shirt directly on the ground.

I felt self-conscious for some reason as I made my way into the pleasant water. He really put me on the spot with this one and I was not at all prepared to stand half naked in the middle of this lake. I honestly hadn’t been without this many clothes in Hope’s presence in I don’t know how long and the further into the water I got, the more I started to wonder if this was a bad idea. I refused to even look up at the two of them, who’d already stopped at what I assumed to be the perfect spot for the pictures. I could feel their stares and I made sure to keep my hands in the water because Lord knows I would simply pass out if I caught either of their eyes on my wrists.

Stopping once I reached them, I sighed and stared out at the beautiful scenery around us until Micah started to speak.

“Bro… where the hell do you workout at? I seriously need to join your gym and soon.” Cutting my eyes at him, I watched as he shook his head with his eyes dancing from my chest to my arms… my brows furrowed.

He burst into laughter and took a step back from me, holding a hand out as he continued to shake his head “No homo man, no homo. I knew that would come out all wrong.”

Hope giggled right along with him and when I finally gave her my attention, I caught her nibbling on her bottom lip… curiously eyeing everything below my neck. God… why did she have to stare like that?

Tilting my head back and staring up at the perfect clouds in the ridiculously blue sky, I huffed and shook my head “You guys… are making me… uncomfortable.”

I couldn’t even cross my arms over my chest if I wanted to, because I was so deathly afraid to lift them out of the water, so I kept them tucked into my soaking pockets. I felt like a female with too much cleavage showing!

“You’re just… really ripped dude. And coming from my scrawny ass, believe me… that’s a huge compliment. Again… no homo.” Micah cackled.

His comment repeated itself in my head and I almost smiled, because I swore I don’t think I’d ever heard anyone refer to me a ‘ripped’ before. But… I felt the water ripple in front of me and I quickly dropped my head, panic setting in because I didn’t know what the fuck was approaching me in this dark ass water. It was only Hope creeping up on me though, with a grin plastered on her face. She reached forward and brushed the tips of her fingers from my jaw down to my collar bone, then cupped her palms over my shoulders.

“Why have you been hiding all of this from me?” She asked quietly. I heard a camera click off to my right and glanced in that direction, smirking at the sight of Micah leaning down closer to the water with the camera aimed right at us.

“Those candids are important… they’re genuine, and genuine on a camera is the most powerful thing you’ll ever see.” He spoke quickly, snapping again as I eyed the lens.

We fell into a comfortable rhythm then, well… Hope did. I initially stood there awkwardly as she posed in front of me, attempting to get me on board with her excitement but failing miserably because I was just entirely too awkward.

“Chris, look in front of you man,” Micah said after about ten shots of my ass frozen in the lukewarm water… he really should have just let this be a solo session with Hope because she was killing these shots all on her own, “That should be all the motivation you need to get your head in the game.”

I chuckled and shook my head. I had to give him props… the guy was truly amazing at his job. The actual artistic aspect of it and… the motivational aspect. Micah lowered his camera after a while and sighed, chuckling at my expense I’m sure.

“You’re ruining all the shots man. I’m gonna drag you off set in a minute.”

I was going to respond to him, in my smart-ass nature of course, had it not been for the sensation of small fingers tickling at my chest. Peering down in front of me, I watched Hope as she watched me with a grin on her face. Her fingers trailed from my chest, down into the water to my stomach, and finally to my hands which were limp at my sides.

She held my stare and I held hers, even as she linked her fingers together with mine and lifted them slowly out of the water. I had no clue what she was doing and though my wrists were fully exposed, I was too far into my trance to care. I could hear the camera clicking to my right, but I kept my eyes glued to Hope as she held our hands out then lowered them until my arms were wrapped around her.

“Will you take my hair down?” She asked softly, leaning forward to mesh the side of her face against my chest. My heart jolted and I’m sure she could feel it when the pounding picked up with an intensity because I wasn’t expecting that. Her voice sounded so soft and sensual… it was alluring and had me completely consumed with her, to the point that I totally forgot about our cameraman.

Like a puppet, I did as she said without question and reached up into the magnificent jumble of golden tresses atop her head. I couldn’t even see a hair tie through all the soft thickness, but I felt my way around until I found it and gently tugged it a loose from her hair. It fell in waves over her shoulders, down her back, and into the water. The way it quickly stuck to her skin caught my attention, reminding me of exactly what it was like when sweat would coat her unblemished skin when I made love to her and her hair would stick to her so exotically.

The thought alone sent my thoughts into a frenzy and the next thing I knew, I was reaching forward to cup the sides of her neck and pulling her in for a hot and heavy kiss. That feeling was something I hadn’t experienced in so long, I was almost afraid to continue kissing her because I didn’t know my own limit.

It’d been entirely too long since I’d been in any type of sexual setting with her and for the longest, the thought didn’t even cross my mind… until this very moment, while we were being captured on camera.

Micah was snapping away, having a field day with all this action, and though I tried to stop myself because I knew how inappropriate this had to look… I just couldn’t. I had never tasted something so sweet before and because it’d been so long since I’d honestly been this turned on, the feeling rising in the crotch of my shorts became addicting. My heart thumped so wildly in my chest, I could hear it in my ears and I really couldn’t tell which one of us was struggling to breathe more. She kept up with me though… she had her hands up and linked onto my wrists as I continued to ravish her mouth like it was the sweetest candy known to man and after a while, I absolutely lost myself and snatched away from her lips… only to slide right down to her neck.

“Jesus…” I heard Micah mutter after a prolonged moment of silence from his clicking camera and just seconds later, I heard the most enticingly beautiful moan flee this girl’s lips and I almost literally died.

I stopped myself right at that moment, because I had to. I don’t even know what came over me to begin with so I abruptly stopped and kept my now reddened face tucked into the crook of her neck until I could catch my breath.

“Chris?” She called as she continued to stand there with her hands sitting loosely at my waist. Hesitantly, I pulled back and looked at her smirking face. She leaned in to pressed her lips against my chest, then reached up to press them softly against my lips with that same adorable smile.

“Someone is a little feisty today.” She whispered with a playful, yet seductive wink. I swallowed down an uncomfortable lump in my throat and quickly looked away from her… I couldn’t believe that’d just happened. It wasn’t supposed to happen… it just, did. It’s not like I forgot how sexy she was… not beautiful, but sexy. And no, I would never forget how much she turned me on… just her, alone, doing no more than just standing there in her natural beauty. I just… I’d suppressed all those feelings because I was just afraid to go that route with her. But it was all coming back to me now… today… in front of that damned camera.

“Well uh, ya’ll good over there?” Micah asked, a hint of laughter in his tone. I didn’t even want to turn around to face this guy because I was truly embarrassed by my actions.

“Yes… I think we’re good.” Hope giggled.

After that awkward ass exchange, he instructed us into our next pose, which I of course almost butchered because my mind was now entirely too focused on what I was doing. It was only when I got caught up in Hope and my newly rediscovered sexual attraction to her that I was able to ‘create art in the lens’ as Micah said. So she took it upon herself to maneuver me around, first behind her with my arms extending around her and my hands gripping her belly, then beside her.

And now as I stood there at her side, I stared down at her as she floated halfway in the water. Her breasts and belly peaked playfully over the surface, as well as her face but everything else was underwater… she literally looked like an angel. Her hair cascaded all around her and I both in the water and she looked so at peace with the most gentle smile on her face. I barely held her up with the palms of my hands pressed up against her back and for a second, I got completely lost in the moment because it was just that perfect.

She opened her eyes suddenly and locked them right onto mine with a smile that left me smiling in return… I almost didn’t even notice Micah standing right on the other side of her, with his camera hovering high above us both.

“That’s it. That was our statement piece. That was… magnificent.” He muttered after he’d pulled the camera down and stared at the screen. He was shaking his head in a way that confused me… I couldn’t tell if he was fascinated or disappointed by what he saw.

“Is it bad? Lemme see…” I said, leaning a bit to attempt to get a look at the small screen.

He snatched it back from me though and chuckled “What does magnificence mean to you bro? Nah… these are gonna be a total surprise.”

I chuckled because for one this guy really was a hoot and two… I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t highly anticipating the turn out of the pictures. I wasn’t much of a fan of surprises, but I was actually excited to see what he had up his sleeve.

I felt a splash of water hit me in the cheek and my initial reaction was to flinch, but then I suddenly remembered that I was still kind of supporting Hope in the water. I glanced down at her, wondering where the splash of water came from and quickly decided she was the culprit just by the mischievous smirk on her face.

“Are you just gonna leave me floating here?” She giggled.

With a laugh, I shook my head and carefully pushed her up while she held onto my arms until she was back up on her feet. She huffed and straightened her posture with a twinge of discomfort on her face that quickly morphed into the same pleasant smile she’d adorned since we set foot out here. Her wet hair continued to cling to her skin succulently and I swore my mouth was beginning to water at the sight. She looked… so… fucking… good.

“You guys did awesome today,” Micah’s voice breeched my thoughts and I snapped my head around to face him, fighting off a frown because he’d interrupted the start of my fantasy, “By far the sexiest couple I’ve ever worked with.”

I blushed… I could feel the heat in my cheeks. Hope giggled and thanked him, but I suddenly morphed into a bashful little child and shied away from facing either of them. I couldn’t take all his compliments today. From telling me that I was ‘ripped’ to calling us sexy… like, come on guy chill out.

We finally exited the water and I stared on completely dumbfounded as Hope tugged on the long flowing ends of her lace dressed and gathered it together on her right side. She wrung out most of the water and tied off the end so that it wouldn’t dangle near her feet. I forgot to look away before she lifted her head and was caught in only a second when she locked eyes with me.

“See something you like, daddy?” She muttered playfully… with a not so subtle hint of seduction.

I swallowed down a lump of nervousness in my throat and stared at her until Micah ambled up beside me, breaking my trance yet again by tossing an arm up over my shoulders. Secretly, I couldn’t help but rejoice the fact that he was here. I hadn’t felt any of what I was feeling today in months, hell damn near a year, so I wasn’t completely sure how to react. I guess I’d never really thought about it before, but my sex drive had been almost nonexistent… until today.

TBC...

[calledelio]

1. Name: Bri

2. Star Sign: Scorpio

3. Height: 5′5″

4. Put your iTunes or Spotify on shuffle. What are the first 5 songs that come up?

the road - nick cave, warren ellis

arrival at thornfield hall - dario marianelli / jane eyre

i get a kick out of you - frank sinatra

danny boy - franc d’ambrosio

really very small - esperanza spalding

5. Ever had a poem or song written about you? poem, yes. song, i don’t think so??? 6. When was the last time you played guitar? lmao dude idk. i think the last person to dick around on my guitar was osric chau and that was a long time ago 7. Who is your celebrity crush? tom hiddleston lmao waddup. 8. What’s a sound you hate and a sound you love? any screechy sound, a like a fork on a plate. --- bitch rain 9. Do you believe in ghosts? I’ve experienced WAY too much shit to not lol 10. How about aliens? i think it’s silly to believe that in an universe that is literally infinite that we are the ONLY intelligent life out there. now, do i believe those aliens come to earth? idk, maybe, but i’m not hard set on it. 11. Do you drive? ;alsdkfj;asfj yes and i’m so bad at it and i hate it. typical bottom lesbian culture 12. What was the last book you read last one i finished was spinning silver by naomi... something. it was so good. one i’m reading now is memorykeeper’s daughter and god it’s so bad. 13. Do you like the smell of gasoline? ugh god yes. 14. What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had? mmm i’ve never done anything too bad, but i have one that’s chronic from lacrosse. it’s something with my hip and it pops every time i walk, which makes my hips misaligned, which puts a bone in the way of a nerve in my spine, so if i bend back too far or lift something too heavy, the nerve pinches and i’m in ludicrous amounts of pain :) 15. Do you have an obsession right now? the magicians!!!!! as soon as i catch up with the show, imma put quentin on my multi and start the books 16. Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong? yes. i will always be salty. but unless it was something big, it won’t really affect how i interact with you

Tagged by: @thundaddy Tagging: @veksler @edwardamasen @olympicpup @broughtchaos

[littlewalken]

What’s on my Kindle

Part of making a list of all the books I have be they analog, digital pdf, or digital Kindle (which is what the k means). 

So, um, make your own jokes/assumptions about the kind of person I am based on my partial library. They’re all real books and quite a few are free public domain.

Adventures of an American Girl in Victorian London- Elizabeth Banks (k) Adventures of Pinocchio-Carlo Collodi (k) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (k) The Age Of Innocence- Edith Wharton (k) Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland-Lewis Carroll (k) American on Purpose-Craig Ferguson (k) And the Universe So Big: Understanding Batman The Killing Joke-Julian Darius (k) Anne of Green Gables, Avonlea, The Island-LM Montgomery (k) Appropriate clothes for the High School Girl- Virginia M Alexander (k) The Artist’s Complete Guide to Facial Expression- Gary Faign (k) The Awakening and Selected Short Stories- Kate Chopin (k) Backstreet Mom-Denise McLean (k) Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight-Travis Langly (k) Batman at 45 part 1-4-Chris Gould (k) Batman a Celebration of 75 years-Bob Kane (k) Batman: Battle for the Cowl-Tony Daniel (k) Batman: Death in the Family (includes new Robin)- Jim Starlin (k) Batman: Under the Red Hood- Judd Winick (k) Becoming Batman- E Paul Zehr (k) Behind the Burley Q:The Story of Burlesque in America- Leslie Zmeckis (k) all colored fairy books Andrew Lang (k) The Bobsey Twind or Merry Days Indoors and Out- Laura Lee Hope (k) The Book of Hallowe’en- Ruth Edna Kelley (k) The Book of Household Management- Mrs Beeton (k) The Book of 1001 Nights v1&2 (k) Boy and Girl Wonders: Robin in Cultural Context- Mary Borsellino (k) The Brain and Voice in Speech and Song- FW Mott (k) The Burlesque Handbook- Jo Weldon (k) The Call of The Wild- Jack London (k) Candidie- Voltaire (k) Carmilla- Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (k) The Castle of Oranto-Horace Walpole (k) Celebrated Crimes-Alexandre Dumas (k) The Circus Age- Janet M Davis (k) Circus and Carnival Ballyhoo: AW Stencil (k) Circus Bodies: Cultrural Identity in Aerial Performance- Peta Tait (k) The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce vol 1&2 (k) Come Hither: A Commonsense Guide to Kinky Sex (k) The Complete Works of Nellie Bly (k) Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys- Lol Tolhurst (k) A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Ripley- Neal Thompson (k) Daily Life in Victorian London- Lee Jackson (k) Danse Macabre- Stephen King (k) Dark Places (Locations)- Barry Curtis (k) Dear Boy: The life of Keith Moon- Tony Fletcher (k) Death At SeaWorld- David Kirby (k) Demonology and Devil-lore- Daniel Conway Moncure (k) Depeche Mode: The Biography- Steve Malins corrected from analog version(k) Dick Greyson, Boy Wonder- Kristen L Geaman (k) The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History- Kathrine Ashenburg (k) The Discoverie of Witchcraft- Reginald Scot (k) The Discovery or Witches- Mathew Hopkins (k) Dolly and I: A Story for Little Folks- Oliver Optic (k) The Dominion in 1983- Ralph Centennius (k) Drawing Drapery from Head to Toe Dover- Cliff Young (k) Dyatlov Pass Keeps It’s Secrets- Irena Lobatcheva (k) Electric Dreamland: Amusement Parks, Movies, and American Modernity- Lauren Rabinovitz (k) Elizabethan Demonology- Thomas Alfred Spalding (k) Emma- Jane Austen (k) Enchanted Hunters: The Powers of Stories in Childhood (k) Famous Imposters- Bram Stocker (k) Fancies and Goodnights v1&2- John Collier (k) Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present- Alison Matthews David (k) Fashionably Fatal- Summer Strevons (k) Faust- Johan Wolfgang von Gothe (k) Female Masculinity- Judith Halberstam (k) Fetish, Fashion, Sex & Power- Valerie Steele (k) Fifty-Two Stories For Girls (k) Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions- Edwin Abott (k) Forensic Sculpting Step by Step in Photographs- Seth Wolfson (k) Frankenstein- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (k) Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement- Robert Bogdan (k) The Freak-garde: Extraordinary Bodies and Revolutionary Art- Robin Blyn (k) Freaks: We Who Are Not As Others- Daniel P Mannix A General History of the Pyrates- Daniel Defoe (k) The Girl of the Period and Other Social Essays vol1&2- Eliza Lynn Linton (k) Godey’s Lady Book 1851 vol 1&2 (k) The Golden Asse- Apuleius (k) The Great God Pan- Arthur Machen (k) Gulliver’s Travels- Jonathan Swift (k) Harper’s Monthly 1850 vol1&2 (k) The Haunting of Hill House- Shirley Jackson (k) Heidi- Johanna Spyri (k) The History of the Devil- Daniel Defoe (k) Hold Up Your Head, Girls!- Annie H Ryder (k) Horrible Prettiness: Burlesques and American Culture- Robert C Allen (k) The House of Souls- Arthur Machen (k) The House of Seven Gables- Nathaniel Hawthorne (k) How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn to Dusk Guide to Victorian Life (k) Hustlers, Harlots, and Heroes- Kirsta D Ball (k) Hysteria: The Disturbing History- Andrew Scull (k) If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home- Lucy Worsley (k) Illuminated Manuscripts- John William Bradley (k) In A Glas Darkly vol 1-3- Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (k) Inside Pee-wee’s Playhouse- Caseen Gaines (k) The Invisible Man- HG Wells (k) Irish Witchcraft and Demonology- ST John Seymour (k) The Island of Dr Moreau- HG Wells (k) Jane Eyre: AN Autobiography- Charlotte Bronte (k) Jim Henson: The Biography- Brian Jay Jones (k) Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: An Unauthorized Biography (k) LaVie Electrique- Albert Robia (k) Ladies’ Clothing in the 1830s- Sarah E Mitchel (k) Lady Susan- Jane Austin (k) Lair of the White Worm- Bram Stoker (k) The League of Regrettable Superheroes- Jon Morris (k) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow- Washington Irving (k) The LEGO Adventure Book vol 1-3- Megan H Rothrock (k) The LEGO Neighborhood Book: Build Your Own Town!- Brian Lyles (k) Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft- Sir Walter Scott (k) Liberace Extravaganza!- Connie Furr Soloman (k) Liberace: AN American Boy- Darden Asbury Pyron (k) Life as a Victorian Lady- Pamela Horn (k) Life in a Victorian Household- Pamela Horn (k) The Life of PT Barnum- Joel Benton (k) Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us- Alexandra Morton (k) Little Lord Fauntleroy- Frances Hodgson Burnett (k) A Little Princess- Frances Hodgson Burnett (k) Little Women- Louisa May Alcott (k) Lock and Key k Kipling- My Own True Ghost Story, The Sending of Dana Da, In the House of Suddhoo, His Wedded Wife Doyle- A Case of Identity, A scandal in Bohemia, The Red-Headed League Castle- The Baron’s Quarry Weyman- The Fowl in the Pot Stevenson- The Pavilion on the Links Collins- The Dream Woma Anonymous- The Lost Duchess, The Minor Canon, The Pipe, The Puzzle, The Great Valdez Sapphire Dickens- The Haunted House, No 1 Branch Line: The Signal Man Bulwer-Lyton- The Haunted and the Hunters, The incantation DeQuincey- The Avenger Maturin- Melmouth the Wanderer Sterne- A Mystery With A Moral Thackeray- On Being Found Out, The Notch on the Axe Anonymous- Bourgonef, The Closed Cabinet Crawford- By the Waters of Paradise Freeman- The Shadows on the Wall Post- The Corpus Delicti Bierce- The Oblong Box, The Gold-Bug Irving- Wolfert Webber, Adventure of the Black Fisherman Brown- Wieland’s Madness O’Brien- The Golden Ingot, My Wife’s Tempter Hawthorne- The Minister’s Black Veil Anonymous- Horror a True Tale Cherbuliez- Count Kostia Bourget- Andre Cornelius Anonymous- The Last of the Costellos, The Lady Betty’s Indiscretion Pushkin- The Queen of Spades Jelihovsky- The General’s Will Dostoyevsky- Crime and Punishment Checkoff- The Safety Match Krestovski- Knights of Industry Begsoe- The Amputated Arms Larssen- The Manuscript Ingemann- The Sealed ROom Blicher- The Rector of Veilbye Molnar- The Living Death Marus- 13 at Table Elck- The Tower Room Train- A flight in to Texas Woodward- Adventures in the Secret Service of the Post Office Department, An Erring Shepherd, An Aspirant for Congress, The Fortune of Seth Savage, A Wish Unexpectedly Granted, An Old Game Revived, A Formidable Weapon Lang- St Germaine the Deathless, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Legend, The Valet’s History, The Valet’s Master, Original Papers in the Case of Roux De Marsilly Houdin- A Conjurer’s Confession, Self Training, Second Sight, The Magician Who Became Ambassador, Facing the Arab’s Pistol Abbott- Fraudulent Spiritualism Revealed, A Doctor of the Occult, How the Tricks Succeeded, The Name of the Dead, Mind Reading in Public, Some Famous Exposures Carrington- More ticks of Spiritualism, Matter through Matter, Deception Explained by the Science of Psychology Anonymous- How Spirits Materialize The Lone Ranger Rides- Fran Striker (k) The Lost Prince- Frances Hodgson Burnett (k) Love and Frienship- Jane Austen (k) Lucy Maud Montgomery short stories (k) Madamoiselle de Maupin- Theophile Gautier (k) Maggie, a Girl of the Streets- Stephen Crane (k) Magic and Witchcraft- anonymous (k) Make Room for TV- Lynn Spigel (k) The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved- Colin Wilson (k) The Man in the Iron Mask-Alexandre Dumas (k) The Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories- PG Wodehouse (k) Mansfield Park- Jane Austen (k) Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer- Peter Turchi (k) Mark of Zorro- Johnston McCulley (k) Mary Schweidler, the Amber Witch- Wilhelm Meinhold (k) Medical Muses: Hysteria in 19th Century Paris- Asti Hustvedt (k) Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders- Susanne Alleyn (k) Memoirs of a Muppets Writer- Joseph A Bailey (k) Memoirs of Extraordinary popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds- Charles Mackay (k) Memoirs of Fanny Hill- John Cleland (k) Men in Bras, Panties, and Dresses- Dr Vernon Coleman (k) The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood- Howard Pyle (k) Metamorphosis- Franz Kafka (k) Miss Lucy’s Victorian Scrapbook- Lucy Booker Roper (k) Modern Magic- Maximillian Schele de Vere (k) Modern Women and What is Said of Them- E Lynn Linton (k) The Monk; a romance- MG Lewis (k) Monkee Business- Eric Lefcowitz (k) The Monster and Other Stories- Stephen Crane (k) Monsters in America- W Scott Poole (k) Monsters: Evil Beings, Mythical Beasts, and All Manner of Imaginary Terrors- David D Gilmore (k) The Most Disgusting Jobs in Victorian London- Henry Mayhew (k) Movie-Made America:A Cultural History of American Movies- Robert Sklar (k) A Muse and a Maze: Writing as Puzzle, Mystery, and Magic- Peter Turchi (k) My Man Jeeves- PG Wodehouse (k) The Mysteries of Udolpho- And Ward Radcliffe (k) Mythical Monsters- Charles Gould (k) Neil Patrick Harris:Choose Your Own Autobiography (k) Never Done: A History of American Housework- Susan Strasser (k) Never Enough: The Story of The Cure- Jeff Apter (k) New Kids on the Block’s Hangin’ Tough (33 1/3)- Rebecca Wallwork (k) Night Shift- Stephen King (k) Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue- Joseph Maddrey (k) The North American Medical and Surgical Journal July 1826 (k) Northanger Abbey- Jane Austin (k) Orca: The Whale Called Killer0 Erich Hoyt (k) The Origin and Nature of the Emotions- George Washington Crile (k) The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (k) Out of Sync: A Memoir- Lance Bass (k) Personal Geographies: Explorations in Mixed Media Mapmaking- Jill K Berry (k) Persuasion- Jane Austin (k) Peter Pan- JM Barrie (k) The Phantom of the Opera- Gaston Leroux (k) The Philosophy of Horror- Thomas Fahy etc (k) The Physics of 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[bmalegal]

Community Calendar: Daughtry Elementary to host Red Cross blood drive

The science club of Daughtry Elementary School, at 150 Shiloh Road, Jackson is sponsoring an American Red Cross blood drive from 2 to 7 p.m. Feb. 14 in the cafeteria. Each student who recruits a donor will receive recognition as a Pint-Sized Hero. The program also includes lessons for students on blood and blood drives. The club is making Valentine’s Day cards for everyone who turns out to make a donation. Appointments can be scheduled at www.redcross.org.

Health fair deadline

WellStar Sylvan Grove Hospital is seeking exhibitors for its annual community health fair. The deadline to register is Feb. 15. The health fair will be held at the Jackson-Butts County Public Library, 436 E. College St., Jackson, on March 15. For more information or an application form, contact Nancy Rollins at Nancy.rollins@wellstar.org.

Jackson Elementary School, at 1105 Brownlee Road, Jackson, will hold its mother/son and father/daughter Pink Out dance at 6 p.m. Feb. 15 in the school cafeteria. The school book fair will be open during the dance.

Jackson will hold an Arbor Day event at 10 a.m. Feb. 16 in the parking lot next to City Hall, at 134 S. Oak St., and be recognized as a Tree City for the 26th year. Flovilla’s Arbor Day event will begin at 11 a.m. at city hall, 308 Heard Street, where a tree will be planted in memory of former Mayor George Smith. Jenkinsburg will hold its Arbor Day event at 2 p.m. Feb. 16.

The Butts County Department of Leisure Services will hold youth spring soccer camps Feb. 16-25 at the Butts County recreation fields, 576 Ernest Biles Drive, Jackson. Camp for children ages 5 to 13 will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 16 and Feb. 23, and 3-5 p.m. Feb. 17 and 24. Camp for children ages 9 to 13 will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 17 and 24, and from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Feb. 18 and 25. For more information visit aspireunitedsoccer.com, call 770-873-3213 or e-mail george@aspireunitedsoccer.com.

Stark Elementary School, at 209 Stark Road, Jackson, will hold its father-daughter dance from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 16. The cost is $8 per person, including refreshments. Photos will be available for $8 each or two for $15. For more information, call Lauren Rankin at 770-775-9470.

The Butts Mutts pet rescue organization will hold its third annual Fur Ball from 5 to 10 p.m. Feb. 17 at The Rivers Ranch, 1959 Ga. Highway 42 N., Jackson. Tickets are $50 and include dinner, cocktails, live entertainment and a silent auction. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/3rd-annual-fur-ball-tickets-41095230942.

Indian Springs State Park, at 678 Lake Clark Road, Flovilla, will hold an indoor movie night from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at the family shelter. The movie will be a love story for all ages featuring everyone’s favorite talking donkey. Bring a camp chair, bean bag or pillow for comfort. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the movie starts at 6:30 p.m. There is a $5 parking fee. For more information, call the park office at 770-504-2277.

The Butts County Department of Leisure Services will hold its winter camp program for children ages 5 to 12 from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 19-23 at the community center at 576 Ernest Biles Drive, Jackson. The cost is $65 per child. Participants must bring lunch but a snack will be provided. Register at the recreation office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or visit bcdls.org.

The Jackson-Butts County Public Library, at 436 E. College St., Jackson, will host the Jeffini’s Reading Rock Stars Show for its winter break program at 11 a.m. Feb. 20. The show is performed by Jeffini the Great, a magician based in Atlanta who uses music, magic and puppets to encourage children to read. For more information, call the library at 770-775-7524.

The Jackson-Butts County Public Library, at 436 E. College St., Jackson, will hold family craft nights from 4 to 6 p.m. Feb. 20 and 22. All supplies will be provided and no registration is required. All ages are welcome to this free event. For more information, call the library at 770-775-7542.

Butts County Day at the Capitol is Feb 21. For those who wish to attend, registration paperwork can be found at www.partnersforsmartgrowth.org, the at the Butts County Chamber of Commerce at 625 W. Third St., Jackson, and by calling Nikki Sowell at 770-550-3065.

The Southside Butts County Medical Center, at 176 Lyons St., Jackson, will hold a health fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 24. About a dozen vendors will provide free health checks and information. There will also be a bounce house, a game truck, food, music, giveaways and face painting. For more information, call the center at 404-688-1350.

The Griffin-Spalding County Genealogical Society will hold a genealogy class from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Bailey Tibault House, 633 Meriwether St., Griffin. Susan Sloan will discuss information available from the U.S. Census and Nathan Mathews will discuss DNA matching. The program is free to society members and $10 for guests. For more information, contact the society at gshs196@gmail.com or 770-229-2432.

High Falls State Park, at 76 High Falls Park Drive, Jackson, will hold a crappie fishing tournament from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 3. Prizes will be awarded for first- through third-place anglers and the biggest fish. One- or two-man teams are welcome. Boats are restricted to 9.9 horsepower motors or smaller. Non-motorized boats are also welcome. Space is limited. Register in advance by calling the park office. The cost is $35 if registered in advance, and $40 the day of the tournament if space is available. There is a $5 parking fee. For more information, call 478-993-3053.

The Jackson-Butts County Council for the Arts will award one $1,000 scholarship to a graduating senior who lives in Butts County and is continuing education in a fine arts field like music, drama, writing, painting, design or dance. The deadline to apply is March 19. Applications are available at the Jackson High School counselors’ office. For more information, contact Diane Glidewell at 770-775-6592 or news@mymcr.net.

Scholarship deadline March 15

The deadline is March 15 for Butts County residents who are high school seniors graduating this year to apply for the Partners for Smart Growth scholarship. Applications can be found at www.partnersforsmartgrowth.org or contact Nikki Sowell at 770-550-3065 or nikki.sowell@patnersforsmartgrowth.org.

The Magnolia Grove Apartments independent living facility, at 336 April Lane, Jackson, is seeking vendors for an upcoming health fair by March 29. The nonprofit housing unit is seeking vendors to distribute materials, provide health checks and do presentations at the health fair set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 26. Vendors who will not sell any goods can sign up for free. Those planning to sell items, including food, must pay a $10 fee. For more information, contact Angela Mack at 770-775-2890 or AMack@nationalchurchresidences.org.

Free tax preparation

The Community Calendar is a regular feature of the Jackson Progress-Argus. To submit an item, email sellington@myjpa.com, write to 129 S. Mulberry St., Jackson, GA, 30233, or fax to 770-775-3855 by noon the Monday prior to publication.

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[rhianna]

30. Here we have a distinct charge of devil-worship—the old doctrine cropping up again after centuries of repose: "all the gods of our opponents are devils." Nor were the Catholics a whit behind the Protestants in this matter. The priests zealously taught that the Protestants were devil-worshippers and magicians;[1] and the common people so implicitly believed in the truth of the statement, that we find one poor prisoner, taken by the Dutch at the siege of Alkmaar in 1578, making a desperate attempt to save his life by promising to worship his captors' devil precisely as they did[2]—a suggestion that failed to pacify those to whom it was addressed. [Footnote 1: Hutchinson's Essay, p. 218. Harsnet, Declaration, p. 30.] [Footnote 2: Motley, Dutch Republic, ii. 400.]

Elizabethan Demonology by Thomas Alfred Spalding

[rhianna]

Greek System of Theology

In the Greek system of theology we find in the first place a number of deities of varying importance and power, whose special functions are defined with some distinctness; and then, below these, an innumerable band of spirits, the souls of the departed—probably the relics of an earlier pure ancestor-worship—who still interest themselves in the inhabitants of this world. These [Greek: daimones] were certainly accredited with supernatural power, and were not of necessity either good or evil in their influence or action. It was to this second class that foreign deities were assimilated. They found it impossible, however, to retain even this humble position. The ceremonies of their worship, and the language in which those ceremonies were performed, were strange to the inhabitants of the land in which the acclimatization was attempted; and the incomprehensible is first suspected, then loathed. It is not surprising, then, that the new-comers soon fell into the ranks of purely evil spirits, and that those who persisted in exercising their rites were stigmatized as devil-worshippers, or magicians.

— Elizabethan Demonology by Thomas Alfred Spalding

Magician as a stigma