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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 3 years ago

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By: Bonnie Snyder

Published: Sep 15, 2021

[Excerpt from Bonnie Snyder’s new book, Undoctrinate: How Politicized Classrooms Harm Kids and Ruin Our Schools―and What We Can Do About It]

Gabrielle Clark was worried about her children. Something was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on the problem. Gabrielle was temporarily disabled and unemployed, so her son William worked as a fast food shift manager to help make ends meet while taking his high school senior classes remotely. As a single mom—William’s father died before he was old enough to know him—she had to figure this out alone.

One day, she decided to sit down and watch her son’s distance-learning classes from his magnet school. She tuned into a required course, “The Sociology of Change,” and what she saw on screen shocked her. Her son, unbeknownst to her, had been taught lessons that were completely antithetical to her family’s values...and common sense.

William’s deceased father was white, which means William is biracial. However, his light skin, light hair, and green eyes mean that some people assume he is white. He’s sometimes described as “the only apparent white boy in his class.��

Being “apparently white” was enough for his teacher to target him.

For years, schools have had “anti-bullying campaigns” to stop kids from picking on each other. But what if the bullying is coming from the teacher and school administrators? According to the family’s recently filed lawsuit, William was singled out and subjected to derogatory name-calling and hurtful labeling, based on his physical appearance. His teacher delivered regular “privilege checks” for William, which his mother described as “deliberate and protracted harassment” and “emotional abuse.” The classroom materials even implied that William’s white father probably physically abused his black mother, because—according to his lessons—that’s what white men do.

This is a far cry from Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a nation where people “will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Gabrielle claims her son, as well as the other students, were forced to profess their identities which were then subjected to open, official scrutiny that assigned negative character attributes and worldviews based on unchangeable personal characteristics, such as race and gender.

When students, including William, attempted to object, discussions were terminated and their speech effectively chilled. However, William refused to complete certain “identity confession” assignments or to avow certain politicized statements he could not in good conscience affirm.

That was enough to earn him threats of a failing grade.

As a senior, that was bad news. He had planned to spend the year applying to colleges and dreaming about his freshman year in which he’d study music. But this bad grade would put all of that in jeopardy.

Gabrielle had her attorney write a letter to the school, which prompted a meeting. But Gabrielle didn’t feel the school was taking her concerns seriously. “That’s when I withdrew my daughter and got the lawyers for my son,” she wrote. “I’m not playing with these people.” She filed a lawsuit against the school, claiming they violated the mother’s constitutional due process right to “family integrity and autonomy” by interfering with her “right and covenant to guide and direct the upbringing” of her children.

This case may have some of you scratching your heads. Others of you—having experienced similar interactions at school—might be nodding at how sadly familiar that story feels.

* * *

Our nation has a problem. Recently, in both urban and rural communities, young children are being indoctrinated, bullied, and harassed by their fellow students and teachers for not falling into line on various topics.

In Arizona, Roberto Sandoval, the son of a Mexican immigrant who worked hard to achieve the American dream, was alarmed when his teen showed him her high school homework. “I have an assignment that’s asking me how I am privileged,” she told him. The homework included statements such as “My skin color gives me privileges I didn’t earn … Your skin color gives you struggles you didn’t deserve,” and “No one is asking you to apologize for being privileged; people want you to stop using your privilege in ways that require an apology.”

In Seattle, meanwhile, teachers explain that “Western” mathematics has been used “to disenfranchise people and communities of color.” Then, they attempt to “rehumanize” math by incorporating curricular content such as explaining “how math dictates economic oppression” and asking, “How can we change mathematics from individualistic to collectivist thinking?”

Third-grade students in Cupertino, California, were told to deconstruct their racial and sexual identities, ranking themselves on the intersectional hierarchy from “oppressor” to “oppressed.” One scandalized parent objected, saying, “They were basically teaching racism to my eight-year-old.” When questioned, the principal acknowledged that the lesson was not part of the “formal curricula.”

The specific topics of parents’ complaints in the examples above change from year to year, or even from week to week. Over the past few years, the following issues have waxed and waned in intensity: global warming, Occupy Wall Street, weapons of mass destruction, voter suppression, immigration reform, the border wall, DACA, Black Lives Matter, gun control, same-sex marriage, reproductive rights, abortion, patriotism, election integrity, and the MeToo movement.

In all of these examples, well-intentioned people of good faith can agree on underlying problems, while disagreeing on what to actually do about them. Increasingly, however, children who are too young to have developed solid or informed opinions are being forced into premature ideological conformity with some teachers and administrators who seem intent on pushing their own particular worldviews in K–12 classrooms.

These kinds of transgressions are not limited to the political Left.

A Georgia teacher was yanked from class after telling the students that President Barack Obama was a closeted Muslim.

In Wisconsin, a high school social studies teacher was placed on leave after instructing students to watch a one-sided video questioning the integrity of election results. In a shared screenshot of the assignment, he also apparently made sure to inform students that he would be protesting what he saw as unfair election results because it was “too important” not to do so, in a pretty clear attempt to influence them on this issue.

In Alabama, a geometry teacher actually taught a math lesson by asking students to evaluate the best angles to assassinate Obama.

No matter the specifics of the heavy-handed ideological teaching, we should all be against it. “Citizens of both parties should adopt a legal corollary to the Golden Rule—fight for the rights of others that you would like to exercise yourself,” writes former president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and Persuasion advisor David French. “And one of the most important and vital of those rights is the right to speak and act in accordance with your deepest beliefs.”

In fact, I’ve noticed that liberal parents are—in some ways—even more alarmed over the rapid transformation of their children’s schools and surprised to find themselves opposed to it. If it ever was a partisan issue, the problem of school indoctrination has steadily worsened to the point that people across the political spectrum have found themselves allied against it.

* * *

Many of you don’t want to think about this, and I understand. You’d rather send your kids to school and trust implicitly in the system, as your own parents probably did. After all, it worked out okay for you. However, this fight will come to you, whether or not you want it. It doesn’t matter if you live in a city or the rural South.

As frustrating as it can be to hear from people who disagree with us, this is part of the temperament that productive citizens need to develop in order to take their places in our society. In order to achieve this goal, our schools must be populated with educators who model and practice appropriate intellectual forbearance worthy of emulation by the younger generation. Remember, it’s an imperfect world and we are all imperfect people: practice forgiveness and give others the benefit of the doubt whenever possible.

All Americans, regardless of political persuasion or direct personal experience, should be alarmed at the path on which our nation is careening. We’re at a crossroads. It’s a good time—a necessary time—to see what is going on and to fight for the ideals our founders envisioned for us.

Bonnie Snyder is director of high school outreach at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the author of Undoctrinate: How Politicized Classrooms Harm Kids and Ruin Our Schools—And What We Can Do About It.

Reminder: The ACLU opposes curriculum transparency.

#Bonnie Snyder #Bonnie Kerrigan Snyder #Foundation for Individual Rights in Education #indoctrination #ideological indoctrination #antiracism #antiracism as religion #woke indoctrination #Undoctrinate #corruption of education #ideological corruption #school indoctrination #religion is a mental illness

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i-drink-and-i-write-fics · 4 years ago

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She Is The Wilderness

Chapter 4: Making New Friends

Summary: Logan and Reader start to develop an close relationship as Reader delays leaving the area.

Since the night of your run in with Logan, you kept finding reasons not to finish packing or wander the woods looking for a new cabin location. The wolves could tell something was up and each night they came to look in the window and judge you. Nakia even began to scratch at the door in an effort to get you to come outside. You couldn’t really explain why you kept putting it off and staying around the cabin more.

Then Logan started coming by. It was slowly at first, starting off with bringing you a broken-in, brown leather jacket that felt amazing but was a little big on you. When you looked at him in confusion, he actually blushed as he looked down.

“I felt bad about your favorite jacket so I brought you mine. I figured up here in the woods you may need it more than I do.”

Smiling, you pushed the sleeves up so you could give him a hug. “Thank you, Logan. That was really sweet of you. But really, it’s ok. You don’t need to try to replace my jacket.”

He just shook his head. “If it wasn’t for my stupidity, you’d still have your jacket. Please take this one.”

“Heroic stupidity,” You laughed and hugged him again.

Then he found other reasons to stop by: Piotr had grown too many pumpkins and they had to keep Wade from trying to chuck them at Cable, there were left over scraps from a bbq and he wanted to bring them as a peace offering to the wolf pack, he chopped too much for firewood did you need any? Finally, you told Logan he didn’t need an excuse and that he could come by whenever he wanted just make sure he knocked on the door first, otherwise he would end up like Baby Hands McGee back at the mansion (Wade kept getting either parts or his whole hand ripped off for trying to take your food). Logan laughed and agreed.

What started as randomly stopping by to see if you needed anything turned into dinner at your cabin every Friday night to dinner almost every night at your place. You grew comfortable around each other and began to talk about your pasts. You learned how his claws became metal and how his dick of a brother still showed up from time to time to try to corrupt him again.

You told him how you were from an area now known as Arizona, but when you were born it was barely a territory. Your mother had been Mexican and your father a settler who was supposed to be passing through until he met her. They had to move away from your mother’s town as interracial relationships were illegal back then. You had had siblings, but you were the only mutant of the family and it had hurt to outlive all of them.

You grew close as you ate and talked well into each night, with Logan heading back to the mansion sometime before dawn. Eventually, you started going to the mansion of your own will. With Logan’s help, you brought down several jars of your canned food for the school’s kitchen. You meet each member of the team known as the X-Men as well as some of the students. You could see why The Professor had started the school and really admired him for making such a leap forward for society. He always had a big smile on his face when he saw Logan and you standing together as you passed out things you had brought down from the cabin.

“Thank you, _____ for bringing all this food.” Charles smiled up at you.

“Well, I want to lie and say it would go to waste but something tells me you know why Logan hasn’t been in the mansion for dinner lately.” You both laughed at this.

“You’re good for him, you know? He’s become less isolated around the team and wants to help out more. Maybe you should move down here and join the team. You also manage to be the only one to put the fear of God into Wade.”

You laughed at that, “thank you, but I’m not so sure I’m ready for a move like that. While I do enjoy having Logan around, I’m still not comfortable around larger groups.”

Charles nodded at that, a smile on his face as Logan helped you grab the now empty boxes and head back to the cabin to make dinner. As you cooked, Logan poured you a glass of wine while he helped himself to a beer from the fridge. You talked about his classes and about Charles’ offer for you to move into the mansion.

Logan frowned at this. “As much as it would be nice to see you more often, I like you being here. Gives me an excuse to escape the constant noise and craziness.”

“Yeah, I can imagine being around Wade as much as you are would wear down on your soul after a while.” Laughing, you made your plates and you sat at the table to eat and watched as the day turned to night outside the windows.

“Did you get enough food? There’s still plenty on the stove.”

Logan groaned, “I always end up stuffing myself stupid when I come over here. Why do you have to be such a good cook?!”

You laughed at Logan’s fake pain as you popped a piece of a roll into your mouth. “You can’t fool me with that bitching. Coming over here to eat all my food then brag to the people in the mansion about all the home cooking you’ve been eating. Fucking Wade tried to steal a can of my peaches the other day because of you. How long did it take him to grow that finger back?”

“He’s still on it. Right now we’re all getting flipped off by a baby finger and it’s hilarious.” Logan grinned, clearly pleased with the daily sight of Wade not having a middle finger.

You had moved to the couch and sat in front of the fire place, slightly touching as you relaxed. Logan had an arm slung over the back of the couch behind your head while one of your legs was pressed up to his. Each time he visited, your personal space became smaller and smaller. While you certainly weren’t going to argue it, you also had no idea how to handle it. It had been at least 20 years since your last relationship; you felt rusty as hell and for all you knew you were reading the signals wrong.

Logan broke the silence. “_____, I really enjoy coming here and I really love spending time with you. So few people understand what it’s like to have lived as long as we have and the pain that comes with it.”

“Honestly, I almost didn’t stay. I was so damn annoyed at first with everyone popping up when they damn well pleased like this was a club house. I was actually looking for new places to hide my cabin the night we ran into each other.”

“I’m glad you didn’t leave, and frankly I hope you never do.” Before you could respond, your face was in his hands and he was pressing a gentle kiss to your lips. You easily melted into his touch and you spent a few minutes kissing on the couch.

“Well I can’t really fight an argument like that, now can I?” You asked once you broke apart. “Guess I’ll just have to stay right where I am. As long as you’re staying too.”

“Kid, you’ve got me here as long as you want.” He pulled you in for another kiss.

#fanfic #fan fic #marvel #x-men #she is the wilderness #wolverine #logan howlett #logan howlett x fem!reader #fem!reader #mutant!reader #fluff

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fangirlings-things · 5 years ago

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Building a relationship from scratch with Mark Sloan headcanons

this was requested by @spiritofbuddha

A/N: here it is, love!!! Your request gave me so much feels about our guy Mark (I miss him) and I loved to write it. Really hope you like this 💖 (I never wrote anything in this format before, so I'm trying it out here hahah)

✦ MEETING EACH OTHER

Since your very first day as an intern at Seattle Grace, you had known the attendants only from distance, tried to decorate their names and specialties in hopes of getting to work with them in the future

You really got to meet Doctor Sloan when the chief resident, Bailey (or the nazi, as you and your class liked to call her) assigned you to work on a case with him and Doctor Karev

The patient was a little girl, who had been born with cranial deformations and so, needed plastic surgery

Usually Doctor's Sloan and Karev wouldn't need the assistance of an intern in such a case, but her deformations were quite rare and demanded a great amount of research before the surgery could be done

So unexpectedly, you found yourself spending a 48 hour shift with both Doctors, specially Sloan, who was determined to put all his efforts on that patient while Karev had others to also take care of

As you studied the case carefully searching through books, websites and articles for alternatives of an approach to the little girl's surgery, you were surprised to see just how friendly Mark Sloan could be

He took you coffee many times after leaving the room for a while, to get some fresh air. He made you question about how had been med school and what was your specialtie of interest (even pretended to be offended when you said trauma)

It didn't take long before you decided you liked him, and you were more than pleased to think that he seemed to like you too

As the amount of research increased and you still hadn't found a secure way to perform the little girl's surgery, you started to grow really fond of her. She was a lovely kid, all cute and innocent. You desperately wanted to help her but didn't know how

One night when her parents had to work late and she would be all alone through the night you spent the night with her, sleeping on a chair right next to her hospital bed

You didn't know it, but Mark had seen that scene when bringing in the girl's chart for you to see and that had warmed his heart deeply, making him smile

Two days later, you found both found a way to make the surgery happen and when it did, happily, it was a success

When Doctor Sloan signed her discharge papers a week later, you both realized you had became attached to the girl, having been so involved in her case

The hug she gave you guys before leaving the hospital made you both smile brightly for the rest of the entire day

✦ UNSPOKEN TENSION

After that girl's case, Bailey started to often put you on Doctor Sloan's service. So often you went to her to ask why, and you couldn't even hide your surprise when she said he had asked specifically for you

You weren't that thrilled about plastic surgery, but you couldn't deny that both it would mean experience for you and the idea of being around Doctor Sloan more often could be quite pleasing

He did not mention the fact that he had asked for you to be there and you did not mention it either, leaving the unspoken tension in the air

He would always be the one to make conversation that wasn't about work, seeming to want to get to know you better and you didn't know if you were more flushed or flattered by it

You rolled with it for a while, not minding it so much. You were quite sure he was just being friendly or somewhat flirty, but nothing to overthink about

But then, whenever he and Torres would pass by you in the corridors, she would say something to him and he would laugh and avert his eyes towards where you were. It made your cheeks burn

Little by little, other members of the staff also began to whisper between themselves whenever you and Doctor Sloan were around or talking to each other

And that made you comfront him suddenly someday, asking about why he wanted you close and what had made people begin to whisper around like that even though nothing was happening

He then admitted to be interested in you, with not a single bit of shame on his tone as he asked you out on a date with that mischievous smile of his on his lips

It didn't take you too long to accept

✦ FIRST DATE AND FIRST KISS

After you accept his offer of a date, Mark would probably be torn between taking you out for some dinner or drinks. Giving it much thought during lunch breaks on shifts, he would finally decide that you deserved a fancy dinner

He wanted to impress you, of course. This is Mark Sloan we are talking about. He wanted to make you fall head over heels for him as he had for you, ever since he had seen you asleep with that little girl in the hospital in the middle of the night

So he made reservations and literally lost his breath when you arrived at the restaurant, dressed so beautifully that he forgot about everything else that could be passing through his mind

Dinner went smoothly. You talked about work (doctors never really stop talking about work, especially when they happen to be colleagues!) and your personal lives, how things were going. He was a nice and sweet person to spend time with

After dinner was over, you split the check and he made it his obligation to take you home. Meanly, because he did not want the night to end

At your apartment door, when he was about to leave, you surprised him by gently grabbing his forearm and getting closer to press your lips together in a tight kiss

That, was a promise for many more dates to come

✦ LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP

You became a couple after two months of going out in dates. Neither of you wanted to rush things, so it went on slowly and quite perfectly

When the people in the hospital found out, that was all they could talk about for what seemed like endless weeks. You were the complete center of attention, if you were either on a crowded elevator or in the gallery, as if you were more interesting than the surgery itself

His friends love you. Torres found you to be everything that seemed to be lacking in Mark's life. She always invited you two for double dates with her and Arizona

You did your best not to compromise your work together, acting extremely professional whenever you were on the same case, which pleased both Webber and Bailey a lot

He loves and cares for you deeply, enough to make you blush and smile while just looking at his beautiful face

You are totally in love with him and there is nothing you wouldn't give up on just to keep Mark by your side

You are really a sweet, cute and lovely couple

And you plan to stay together for as long as you can

#imagine #x reader #fanfic #imagines #headcanons #grey's anatomy imagine #grey's anatomy #grey's anatomy headcanons #mark sloan imagine #mark sloan #mark x reader #mark sloan x reader #mark sloan headcanons

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junker-town · 4 years ago

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Josh Giddey is the NBA draft pick who almost slipped through the cracks

How Josh Giddey went from being cut by his Australian state team to a potential NBA draft lottery pick.

Josh Giddey knew he was down to his last chance. As he arrived at a multi-day basketball jamboree known as the East Coast Challenge, Giddey was one of 60 youth players competing from the Australian states of Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia hoping to be selected for the prestigious state team.

State basketball is the pathway to a brighter future in the game in Australia, but it had alluded Giddey to this point. Three times he had tried out for state-level basketball, and three times he had received an email at the end of the event telling him he’d been cut. Only 16 years old and already realizing he was at a crossroads in his career, Giddey was determined not to let it happen again.

He had the benefit of a recent growth spurt this time around that taken him up to 6’8 as a point guard. The added height only accentuated the gifts that always made him stand out: his passing and playmaking, and perhaps more importantly his ability to think one step ahead of the next defensive adjustment. After shining at the camp, the anxious hours waiting to hear if he was selected turned into a quiet confidence.

“I kept promising myself I wouldn’t get cut, I wouldn’t get cut, and the last opportunity I had to make the state team I didn’t get cut,” Giddey told SB Nation. “I finally got that one email I was waiting for.”

Giddey’s life has been in overdrive ever since. After shining at a subsequent national event, he was offered a scholarship by the NBA Global Academy at the Australian Institute of Sport. Giddey moved across the country to Canberra, where he would spend the next 18 months developing his game and his body while competing against peer-aged competition around the world. The accolades he earned at the academy eventually led Giddey to become the first Australian player to be tabbed for the Next Stars program in the country’s domestic professional league, the NBL.

After one season with the Adelaide 36ers, Giddey is now on his way to the 2021 NBA Draft. The same player who couldn’t separate himself from his peers in Victoria only two years ago is now projected as a likely lottery pick.

Giddey is at once on a meteoric rise and still just scratching the surface. He’s one of the youngest players in the draft and has a case as one of the most accomplished given his production in a pro league against seasoned adults. He is still growing into his body and refining his jump shot while already possessing the type of mental processing gifts that can’t be taught. It has been a wild ride to bring him to the precipice of his NBA dreams, but Giddey isn’t the type to get overwhelmed by the moment.

“It’s just good to see the work paying off,” he said.

Photo by Kelly Barnes/Getty Images

Marty Clarke remembers the first time he identified Giddey as a future prospect to watch during his days as a college assistant coach at WCC power Saint Mary’s. A fellow Australian, Clarke was a former teammate of Josh’s dad, Warrick, who enjoyed a long professional career with the NBL’s Melbourne Tigers and had his No. 6 retired by the club. He saw the traits that could eventually make the young guard the type of player Saint Mary’s would one day want to target, but he knew it was going to be a while before they could do so. Giddey was only 12 years old.

“When I first went to St. Mary’s in 2013, I said coach (Randy) Bennett, there’s a kid I want to put on the board but it will be like seven years before we can get him,” Clarke recalls. “He can really pass with his weak hand. He can pass full court, off the dribble, or from penetration. He was kind of doing a lot of that stuff as a 12-14 year old. Now he’s a 6’8 person who can do that.”

Clarke would eventually get his chance to help develop Giddey in a way neither could have anticipated. When the NBA partnered with the Australian Institute of Sport and Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence in 2017 to launch the NBA Global Academy, Clarke left Saint Mary’s to take a job as its technical director. Clarke was the perfect candidate as someone who previously had experience as a coach at the Australian Institute of Sport, and now had familiarity with American college basketball.

The same place that had produced almost every Australian player to reach the NBA — Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Joe Ingles, Luc Longley, Aron Baynes, and Patty Mills among them — was now further investing in its connection to the league. Clarke would oversee all aspects of player development and coaching for the 12 high school-aged players who were offered a scholarship to the academy.

“We have a really good blue print,” Clarke said. “The Australian academy has been here for 40 years. This is what this place has always been doing, producing Olympians and future NBA players.”

The NBA launched academies in India, Senegal, Mexico, China over the last 10 years as a year-round development initiative for elite youth prospects. Australia’s Global Academy takes teenagers from around the world. In its partnership with the AIS, players with the Global Academy live in dorms and attend classes while preparing them for life as a professional athlete. Instead of trying to win as many games as possible and compete for championships like a college team, the main goal of the academy is individual development.

The players at the Global Academy go to school and training six days per week with only Sundays off. In a typical week, players will be put through regular full team practices, as well as smaller group sessions that focus on things like connecting the bigs to the smalls by drilling pick-and-rolls and post entries. There’s shooting and skill training every morning before school, as well as weight lifting three times per week, and mindfulness training. Spliced in with all of that is education on nutrition, physiology, and personal learning like financial literacy and social media courses.

“Our goal here is when they leave here, they have lots of options,” Clarke said. “We make sure they’re eligible for universities. We want to make sure every door is open when they leave.”

The Global Academy also plays games against peer-aged teams, and that’s where Giddey continued to raise his profile. Giddey would lead the academy to the championship at the prestigious Torneo Junior Ciutat de L’Hospitalet tournament in Spain and was named MVP of the event. He followed it up with a strong showing at Basketball Without Borders during All-Star Weekend last year in Chicago.

“His development since he got here has been off the charts,” Clarke said. “Because he missed that state-level development, he skipped up to another level and had a lot to learn. He jumped a stage, really.”

Giddey’s time at the academy had given him multiple avenues to explore on what he should do next. That’s when he faced the next flashpoint decision in his burgeoning young career: Was he better off going to college in America or staying home to play in Australia?

Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Giddey had a long list of American college basketball programs who wanted him. He had standing scholarship offers from Arizona, Colorado, Rutgers, St. John’s, and more. After one college visit in particular, Giddey felt like he was ready to commit.

“I was 99 percent set on college,” Giddey said. “I took a visit to Colorado sometime in 2020, when I left there after my two-day visit, I was ready to commit there. I was about to commit there but my parents said just wait to we get home and we’ll talk about it.

“So I went home and we started talking to some people and they started talking about the NBL Next Star pathway. I met with Jeremy Loeliger, who is the CEO of the NBL, and they really sold it to me. The way they take care of their kids, the opportunity you’ll get to play against grown men at such a young age, I thought that was better for me personally than going to college to play against other kids.”

On April 16, 2020, at just 17 years old, Giddey signed with the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL. He had become the first Australian to take advantage of the league’s ‘Next Stars’ program, which was originally intended to lure top American prospects who didn’t want to play college basketball. Former McDonald’s All-Americans Terrance Ferguson and Brian Bowen were two of the first signees of the program, but it was a decision by LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton to sign in Australia that helped convince Giddey it was the best path for him.

“They surprised everyone with how good they were, especially LaMelo,” said Giddey. “It was good to see because it was something I wanted to do. I wanted to be an NBL player and eventually an NBA player. To see those guys come through gave me the confidence to think I could hopefully do something similar.”

Going from youth tournaments against peer-aged competition to playing against grown men was an enormous adjustment. Giddey struggled with it at first. The ambitious passes that defined his time at the youth level were often becoming turnovers in more meaningful games. He was ice cold as a shooter to start the year, hitting just 2-of-20 shots from three-point range over his first seven games. The biggest issue was playing through contact on both ends of the floor.

“I was struggling with the physicality of the league,” Giddey said of the start to his time in the NBL. “You don’t realize how physical the league is until you actually play against guys that are 35 years old and strong, athletic, and quick. It was just a completely different level to junior basketball. I was playing at a fast pace the whole time. I was rushed, I was nervous.”

He points to his second game as his initial breakthrough, when he finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists against South East Melbourne, and was trusted to take the final shot in regulation. Even though he missed, the 36ers would win in overtime, and Giddey started every game the rest of the season.

Giddey was masterful at times as a facilitator, firing passes to open shooters in the corner with either hand and finding unique angles to get the ball to the big man near the basket. Starting center Daniel Johnson had one of the best seasons of his career at age-33 with Giddey at the controls, and fellow teammate (and former Kentucky big man) Isaac Humphries turned into a dependable scorer, as well. Giddey’s three-point shot also started to come around eventually, hitting 36.7 percent of his shots from deep those first 20 attempts.

“The big thing for me early in the year was I was so down on confidence,” Giddey said. “I was so worried if I missed what people were going to say, what scouts were going to think. There was a point where I spoke to one of my teammates and he told me all of this doesn’t matter. Just shoot every shot like you think you’re going to make it. That was when it switched for me.”

Before season’s end, Giddey had run off three triple-doubles over a four-game stretch and had firmly established himself as a first round NBA draft pick. Given his age and the level of competition, Giddey was remarkably productive: he averaged 10.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and a league-leading 7.5 assists per game on 51 percent true shooting.

Those numbers stack up reasonably well to what Ball did in the same league a year earlier as 6’8 playmaking guard at 18 years old. Ball scored more, but slightly less efficiently (47.9 true shooting) while their rebound, assist, and steal numbers were similar. It is worth noting that while Ball was often deemed reckless as a lead decision-maker, Giddey’s turnover rate was significantly highly at 23.7 vs. Ball’s 12.4.

Giddey isn’t as flexible and shifty as a ball handler as LaMelo, but the baseline similarities and statistical profiles in the same league, at the same age will be tempting for teams, especially following Ball’s run to Rookie of the Year after being the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

“To see how (Ball’s) game translated to the NBA, it’s made me feel even better about my decision,” Giddey said.

youtube

The appeal of Giddey for NBA teams starts with his intersection of size and passing. Giddey is an impressive facilitator off a live dribble who will fire passes with either hand while on the move. Against a set defense, Giddey is able to make quick decisions with the ball, and loves to zip a two-handed, overhead pass to his big man in the paint. His interior passing is particularly impressive thanks in part to his ability to leverage his length to find creative angles in tight spaces. The big question for his offensive game will be if he can make opposing defenses respect him enough as a scoring threat to fully unlock his playmaking gifts.

There will be serious questions about Giddey’s athleticism and strength, particularly if he has enough standstill burst to beat his man and force the opposing defense into rotation. Even if Giddey can’t put enough pressure on the rim to be a primary creator, he should be custom-made as a ‘connecting’ piece who can be a secondary facilitator and floor spacer as his jump shot comes around. In Clarke’s eyes, it’s Giddey’s overarching feel for the game that will help him overcome the challenges he sees at the next level.

“He’ll often have quiet first quarters or first halves, and then he’ll have monster second halves,” Clarke said. “He can figure things out on the run, and that’s a skill a lot of players don’t have. He can fix things in game.

“It’s not just feel for the game, it’s feel for the opposition and what they’re trying to do to you. A lot of people have feel for the game when the game is mundane and vanilla. He has feel for the game when it’s chaos going on. He can figure things really quickly.”

As the NBA moves into the pre-draft process, Giddey is widely projected to be taken in the lottery. We had Giddey going No. 14 overall to the Golden State Warriors in our mock draft, while ESPN has him going No. 10 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Giddey’s entrance into the league is also an achievement for the academies the NBA invested in around the world. He’ll be the first male athlete to be drafted into the league after being a full-time academy student. Clarke sees Giddey as the type of player the Australian Institute always dreamed about developing.

“He’s kind of the guy we thought of 30 years ago when we started the program,” said Clarke. “Imagine if we had a whole team of 6’8 guys who are multi-dimensional and can pass, dribble, and shoot, defend multiple positions. We’ll stick one big guy in the middle with four guys like that. Josh is kind of exactly that.

“Coaches always ponder what the future is going to be. I think Josh is what we thought about when I first came here 25 years ago.”

If Giddey embodies the dream of what the AIS always hoped to produce, he also came dangerously close to slipping through the cracks. In the course of just over two years, he has gone from a player who couldn’t make it out of his home state to a possible top-10 NBA draft pick. For a player on such a rapid rise, the next question is the most exciting: how much room to Giddey have to grow from here?

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melbee · 4 years ago

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Electric Love

CHAPTER 5

David Lee Roth Fanfiction

Oh see, don't ever set me free

I only wanna be by your side

Girl, you really got me now

You got me so I can't sleep at night

- you really got me

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Saying goodbye to Holly must’ve been one of the most hardest things I had to do in my life. I knew that we would see each other soon, as we promised to meet up whenever we both were available, but I realized that she wouldn’t be here for everything, and somehow I would have to survive by myself.

Well not totally by myself...but you get the point. Tears were shed, hugs, a few knocks on the head and final waves as I stood near the window that overlooked the front parking lot of the apartment, as the red Ford drove away into the sun which had begun its descent.

“You know I have these beautiful bay windows over on the other side, since the sun sets over to the west. It’s much prettier.” I heard Lewis voice out as I turned around to look at him smiling, motioning with his hands toward the other room.

I smiled, “Sure, I would love to see it.” I walked over to the windows and peaked at the sun that was steadily falling with every passing second, and realized Lewis was right. It was beautiful. I imagined those right off the beach in Malibu had the joy of watching it in full every evening, and sighed in contentment.

“It’s nice isn’t it? The light beginning to fade.” Lewis said as I felt his presence as he too made his way over to the windows and leaned in a daze.

“Yes, it reminds me of Arizona, those sunsets weren’t so bad..” I said laughing as I envisioned the many times as kids me and Holly would drive out into the desert during the weekends.

“Yes, but doesn’t it get dreadfully cold when it’s finally dark out?” Lewis asked facing me.

I shrugged as I looked over at him, “Well yes, doesn’t it get cold in California?”

Lewis plastered a sinful grin as he giggled, “Honey, quite the opposite..”

I smiled and laughed, as I stood from my position making my way over to the couch. “Oh?”

Lewis got up as well as he stood walking over and begun looking at nearby fabrics left forgotten on the counter, “Well perhaps in Bel air or some shit, but here? In Hollywood? Baby it gets hot.”

A confused looked etched my face, “What do you mean?”

Lewis rolled his eyes and sighed, “Chica, you’ll figure it out one day..”

I gave him a weird smile as I shrugged. While I had no clue what he meant by hot, I had a sneaking suspicion he wasn’t talking about the weather. It was something else. I felt a chill run down my back at the thought.

“That’s besides the point... I was hoping we could go over some things, projects and sorts. I’ve got quite a few but a recent one I just picked up. I’ve been looking at designs, it’s hard to tell which would look good.” Lewis said as he sighed. I made my way over to him as I fingered the skills and the velvets, and even the.. spandex?

“Spandex?” I said as I grabbed the piece of black and tight fabric, as I heard a giggle come from my left.

“Yes, that was a bit of a client’s request. Rockstars these days...” he said as he looked at it thoughtfully.

“Oh rockstars? I heard you dealt with musicians. Who are you working with now?” I said.

His eyes bugged as his jaw dropped before slapping his face, “LORD! I completely forgot to tell you that over the phone didn’t I? Gosh I’m so stupid!”

I laughed as I shook my head.

He sprung to life suddenly, as he walked out of the room, much to my confusion. I was close to following him until he came back with stacks of what looked like paper cutouts from magazines and posters.

I grazed my hand over the first one. A beautiful tall man, with leggings that hugged every inch of his curves, a plethora of chest hair and a Jean cutout jacket that seemed to sparkle even from the picture. He had fluffy blond hair, and a look that I’m sure would make any girl drop to their knees.

It suddenly dawned on me who this was. “Are you working for..”

“Van Halen? Yes! Isn’t it wonderful. Trust me I was shocked when I got a call they wanted me to make some clothes. I mean.. come on..” Lewis gasped as he started flipping over the different pictures of the guys.

I laughed as we stared at all the different members of the band, Eddie, His Brother and what I assumed was the bass player stood in many pictures. Every time we passed by ones with the blonde haired guy, I couldn’t help but get confused at who that was.

I know I wasn’t exactly the most literate music fan, I couldn’t help my tastes were a bit old fashioned.

“So the blond guy...he’s..” I started to say as Lewis gave me a wild look.

“David Lee Roth? Do you not know who he is?” Lewis gasped standing back in horror.

I looked sheepish as I scratched my arm, “I know a few songs by them.. I haven’t really gotten a chance to listen to them fully.”

“Oh god.. that’s it! Impromptu music sesh’.” Lewis said as he made his way over to a cabinet bringing out an old record player, and opened a cabinet adjacent which was stocked with vinyls of all types. He looked through, as I made my way over to him, before he gasped and grabbed the first album to come out.

“Van Halen 1. No bullshit just straight up rock n roll.” Lewis said as he put the track on as a familiar song came on that I’m sure I heard on the radio at some point.

He beckoned me to sit down on the couch as he grabbed the pile of pictures of Van Halen, nodding his head back and forth to the music. I smiled finally getting to understand the meaning behind the meolodies. Some of the songs were quiet sad, Jamie’s Cryin? It irked me they could play such powerful and rocking music, and the lyrics were much deeper then what they appeared to be.

When Eruption started playing I couldn’t help but gasp, at the sounds that were emitted from the record player. The guitar wailed with power and sophistication. “Wow!” I said to Lewis, who just smiled at my reaction.

“You should here him play it in concert. Holy fuck, Eddie is the cutest little thing with that impish grin, he just plays that shit like he’s washing his car.” He said as he sighed looking at the pictures once more.

“Oh I’m sure..” I said imagining myself at the concert. “Do they play to big crowds?”

Lewis gave me a dumbfounded look before nodding his head vigorously, “Huge! Every single one of them are controlled by those guys, I’m telling you..”

“So what outfits are you making for them?” I asked as Lewis set the pictures down, as he got up.

“All for their shows mostly, specifically for the one coming-“ He paused with dramatic horror as his eyes bugged. “Chica!!! Their show is coming up!”

I gasped realizing he was right, remembering the billboard I had drove past on our way here. I feared the worst at his reaction. Did he not have all the outfits ready?

“Oh don’t worry. I’ve got most of them finished, I’m just finishing the bedazzled sequins on David’s chaps, and Michael’s cowboy pants.” He said as he grabbed my hand pulling me off the couch and into a separate room, that reminded me of a seamstresses room.

“Do you know hand stitching? Or bejewelling by chance?” Lewis asked as he unzipped a hanging bag and grabbed a pair of pants that by my astonishing surprise, were assless.

I smiled and laughed, nodding my head yes. As I rubbed a finger down the material “Yes, I love bejewelling! I always got As in that class in college.”

He grinned grabbing a container of crystals, and some sort of machine that imprinted them into the material. “Well great this bottom half still needs finishing. Also bear in mind that these are swarovski crystals, and I’d love if none of them get lost somewhere.”

My eyes widened as I nodded my head. He quickly showed me how to use the machine, before he made his way over to a pair of cowboy pants, and grabbed slashes of leather. “I’ve got to finish these up. Don’t worry we’ll have it all done quickly. I’ve got my friend Mari from the front desk she used to help me out, but she’s going to be help us on Saturday to load everything up to the venue.”

“Oh I met her at the front desk. She’s very nice!” I said laughing as I begun placing the crystals on the pant carefully.

“Oh she’s wonderful, poor thing won’t go to the venues anymore though...” Lewis said sighing.

“Oh really, why?” I asked. Curious if it had any thing to do with her bold words when she warned me about rockstars earlier.

“Poor thing, her heart got broken.” He said clicking his tongue, as I heard the sound of snips and tears as he worked.

“Oh.. By who?” I said.

He suddenly stopped as he gave me a look, “David.. He.. well I guess you could say they had a falling out. He wasn’t really interested in her, but she was completely in love.. I think he kissed her and well..”

“Dissed her?” I said as I frowned going back to my work.

“Yes, something like that. He played with her emotions a lot and well, she’s never been able to see him again.” Lewis said as he sighed.

“Is that why she was so stand offish about your clientele?” I asked

I looked over to see Lewis nodding, “She wanted to quit helping me out, but I told her she needed to find a way to balance her life again and so this is the only solution. That’s why I needed a new assistant. I can’t just pay someone to walk the outfits to the car and leave.”

I nodded in understanding, but what confused me, is why Mari would be so heartbroken she couldn’t even do her job properly. What exactly did that guy do to her? I hadn’t even met him yet, and he already sounded like an asshole.

“David’s very.. peculiar. He’s very eccentric, and sometimes that makes him a little insensitive at times. However, I think he means well for the most part. It’s understandable, ever since his claim to fame he would be more egotistical.” Lewis said as he continue to cut through the pieces of leather and sowed them onto the jeans.

I nodded my head in understanding, but I still didn’t believe that was a good enough excuse. Was he that clueless enough to not be careful with manipulating someone’s emotions? Something didn’t sit right with me, but I chose to ignore it until I got a better judgment.

“So what are the other guys like?” I asked Lewis, slightly humming to myself as I felt an onslaught of exhaustion hit my face as I realized that the road trip had definitely taken a toll on my body.

“Oh they’re lovely..wild... crazy as ever for sure..but a lot of them have different personalities.” Lewis said as I turned to him.

“Oh yeah?” I smiled.

Lewis laughed, “Yes, well Michael Anthony—he’s the bass player by the way— he’s a lot more calmer then the rest and very sweet, but so funny. He’s got a great smile.”

“Both the Van Halen brothers while they might be similar, they are polar opposites in a lot of ways. Eddie’s a bit more quieter, but is so cute and charming. Al is a bit wild, but he’s funny, and has a good time.” Lewis said.

“So you know them on a personal level?” I asked, realizing how familiar Lewis spoke when referring to Van Halen, and I had a hinting suspicion he was closer to them then what he put on.

Lewis laughed nodding his head, before shrugging. “I got the call almost a year ago that they wanted costumes, and I guess they liked my work so I continued. I’ve been to lots of there shows over the year, and their parties.”

I gasped, wondering how fun hanging out with celebrities would be. “Did you get to travel?”

Lewis smiled and nodded. “The best part was probably getting to go to Japan for a couple days, and a night in Sweden. I’m telling you they must ditch all the ugly people to Norway, because EVERYBODY was so attractive.”

I laughed, trying my best to picture the scene in my head.

We continued on for hours until I was just about finished, and my eyes were starting to fall from exhaustion.

Lewis noticed my tiredness and smacked his arm much to my humor. “Jeez, I’m a totally idiot! I totally got sidetracked! You must be dead tired right now.” He had finished his pants and was now cleaning up. he stood up and walked over to me signaling for me to get up.

I stood up smiling and laughing, “Are you sure I can’t help finish this last bit? I’m almost done.” I said holding my hand to my mouth as a yawn passed my lips.

Lewis frowned making a tsking sound, before grabbing my hand and leading me to my room. He turned on the light, and pointed to an adjacent door. “There is a bathroom in there, and a closet to the left side of the wall. Help yourself with a shower if you want, just don’t be in there too long. The neighbors upstairs run an indoor ‘kiddie’ pool, or some shit..”

I smiled suddenly getting the urge to hug him, so I did. Patting his back thoughtfully, before pulling away. “Thank you Lewis, truly.”

Lewis smiled, before grabbing my cheeks and squeezing them. “That’s what friends are for.”

I smiled, as he walked away before standing at the doorway giving me a happy smile. “I’m so glad you’re here, Rosie.”

I laughed, “I am too.”

“I want you to know that no matter what happens or where you go in life, I have full belief that you will excel in life. I see the passion for designing in you. It’s a wonderful thing.”

I blushed tucking my hand over my ears. Lewis beamed tapping the door softly with his hand, his rings making a solid thumping sound. “Goodnight. We will be up early tomorrow, I’ve got some of Van Halen’s tour designers coming to get the clothes ready for fitting, before the show. Mari will be here on the following Saturday.”

I nodded my head sighing loudly. “Sounds exciting. Goodnight.” With that Lewis closed the door silently, leaving me to breathlessly plop my body onto the bed, a slight creaking noise resonating through the quiet atmosphere.

I held my head in my hands, before looking up in exasperation. “Well I guess I’m fucking doing this thing.”

With that I prepared myself for the day ahead, that I had no doubt would be as eventful as they come.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

When morning came, I was ill-prepared from what would meet me through the front door.

Sure, I assumed that Lewis had a few designers he worked with and maybe they would bring in a rack of clothes, possibly some bags to help transfer them, but I had no idea the size of what the operation really was going to be.

So when a flank of men and women combined dressed in suits, and skirts came in with clothing racks of various styles of pants, shirts, and even scarfs I knew I had not prepared myself enough.

Lewis smiled brightly as the people came in, as I watched as a smaller figured girl holding a box of fabrics, with pretty brown hair struggle to keep up with the pace. I sprinted over to her, grabbing onto the other side to help her pick it up.

“Here I let me help you.” I said with a huff as I picked it up, much more effortlessly then I anticipated.

“Ooh!” I heard a cry come from the other side as we walked backwards over to a table and set the box down. I walked backwards to see the girl raise her eyebrows questioningly at me.

I smiled as I wipe my slightly sweaty palms on the side of my jeans as I raised an arm for her to shake. I could see hesitance in her eyes before she gave me a small smile and shook it.

“Hi, I’m Rose.” I said laughing as I stood back awkwardly. I couldn’t tell if she liked me or not from the odd look on her face as she stared.

She suddenly gulped as she nodded her head quietly. “I’m Annie.”

I smiled nodding my head. “Nice to meet you Annie. So, I assume you work with all these people?”

She shrugged shoving her hands into her pockets, “Yes well, it’s a way to meet ends. I love fashion.”

I laughed and smiled, but couldn’t help but turn at her odd comment. If she loved it so well, why did she say it as if she would rather be doing something else?

Her eyes glazed over, as I sucked in my cheeks at the awkward silence.

“Oh there you are!” Lewis said as she grabbed my shoulder, and looked over at Annie.

As if she was a brand new person, Annie suddenly smiled so brightly. “Hey Lewis!”

He laughed grabbing her into a hug, as she giggled wrapping her arms around him. I couldn’t help but frown slightly at her sudden bold and excited nature around him. Did she not like me? Why was she so cold and hesitant, but suddenly a new person around Lewis?

They pulled away from the hug as Lewis noticed my odd look, but decided not to comment on it. “Well it seems you guys met.”

I smiled looking over at Annie who had quieted down to only a small smile. The original glint in her eyes slightly coming back as she set her gaze back on me.

I laughed trying to cheer up the awkwardness, “Yes we have. Wow! I didn’t know this was all going to be as formal as it was!” I said trying to change the subject.

Lewis shrugged as he surveyed the busy room. “Believe me it wasn’t always like this, but we’ve all built up ourselves a lot over the past year. We’re closer then ever.”

I smiled, as he motioned for me to follow him into the room we were in last night working on the outfits. “So as you know this is my work room. We do most of the making here, and we also organize the clothing for before and after the fittings.”

I nodded my heads as the people from before stop there chattering as they all looked at me with curious expressions.

Lewis laughed, “Okay guys don’t bite. This is Rosie, my new assistant. She’ll be helping with all our preparations.”

The room immeasurably lifted as they all came walking over, a few girls laughing as they pulled me into a hug. Complimenting my hair and whispering how pretty I was.

One of the guys with a bright smile walked over embracing me tightly. “Lewis, you’ve got yourself a keeper.” He winked.

Lewis rolled his eyes trapping me in a playful arm lock, “Channing, she isn’t up for sale.”

His eyebrows quirked, “Really? So my man finally likes the front hol-“

Lewis turned tomato red, as he slipped his hand over Channing’s mouth. He laughed putting his hands up in mock surrender, as Lewis still recovering from his blush as he shook his head.

I giggled in understanding. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but many men in the fashion world tended to be, a bit blatant in their...preferences? I had a slinking suspicion that Lewis was the same way.

They all backed away, as I saw Annie who had been behind us quietly make her way over to the girls as they all began surveying the work.

“Wow! These chaps look great!” One woman said as she grazed her finger down the side of the seams.

Lewis winked at me, grabbing my hand and brought me over to the table where the clothes lay. “Well I happened to know a girl.”

The woman smiled, and looked at me in surprise. “The cross-stiching at the ends are impeccable! The crystals are placed wonderfully.”

I laughed as I shrugged, “It isn’t too complicated.”

She rolled her eyes playfully, “You’ve got in you girl. Id love to see some full ensembles.”

The other girl with red pigtails that reminded me of Holly giggled, “Yes, those outfits would for sure sell some more tickets to the concert.”

They all giggled in response except for Annie who only smiled, as her eyes glazed over in a thoughtful look.

“David’s going to love them. I just know it.” The woman said as she grabbed a hanger and clips from the rack as they all begun ensembling the outfits into bags and secured them.

“Oh he’s going to just love her, Molls” The One with red hair, said as she winked at me. “Have you met the boys yet?” Her eyes glinting with curiosity.

I simply shook my head, crossing my hand over my chest. “No, I haven’t gotten the chance. However, I’ve heard a few of the stories.”

“Yeah well, trust me they aren’t as available as you think they are.” I heard the quiet voice of Annie ring out as she stepped away from the rack.

Oh. I had wondered what her hesitancy was. Did she see me as some threat? I didn’t have the slightest idea as to why, though. I had no intention of even getting to know them, rather then actually..

Molly sighed sympathetically patting Annie’s back. “Babe, I just don’t think-“

“I don’t really want to talk about my personal life. I’ll bring some of the stuff down to the car.” Annie said with a tight lipped smile as she walked away.

The red head, noticed the tension and smiled, “Rockstars will surely be the end of all of us.”She walked over to me grabbing my shoulders. “I’m Liz by the way.”

I nodded, “Nice to meet you, Liz.” I looked over to the woman who had a small frown over her face. “You too Molly.”

She snapped out of her haze and gave me a wide smile. “Anytime, girl. We’ll be seeing each other soon.”

We heard thundering footsteps come into the room, as I looked over recognizing that it was Lewis, who must’ve slipped out the back while we are all talking. This time his signature smile was gone, as a deep perturbed looked etched his face.

“What’s wrong?” Molly said as she gave Lewis a concerned look.

“I just got off the phone with Noel. They’re all hungover as hell, right now. Apparently they all pissed somebody off at some bar.”

Liz snorted, “okay, that’s their regular Tuesday. What about it?”

Lewis sighed as he shook his head, “No, it was someone important I guess in the industry. Anyways, they’re kind of off the rails a bit still, at least David is. They had to put him in a..” Lewis then seemed to be battling his smile, as he bit a lip.

Molly gave him a humorous glance. “What?”

Lewis began laughing, “They had to put David in a straight jacket.”

I couldn’t help but smile along with the rest of group as we all snorted and giggled, at the idea of a rockstar being put in a straight jacket for being so off the walls.

I hadn’t even met David, and he already seemed like quite a character. What irked me even more is that I felt as if I did know him. I acted as if I was battling whether he was a weird guy, or just a gigantic asshole. I didn’t know what I would do when I met him. However, I knew it wouldn’t be a boring conversation.

I pictured the man in the magazine articles, his hair wild, like a mane of a lion. He had such a lustful look in many of his doctored, professional looks. However, I couldn’t help but admire the ones with him performing. That wild look, the giant smile, something told me deep down that, that was the real David. Under all the glitz and glamour, there was just a man going after one big dream.

I finally looked back at the people to realize only Channing, Liz, and Lewis had stayed in the room. I watched them all converse animatedly as Channing brought out a notebook and was hastily writing things down. They all seemed to be conversing about the outfits, as they all waved their hands widely with deep expressions.

I smiled realizing I had finally found my people. True artists. I walked over to them, as they wrapped up their conversation.

Channing smiled embracing me in a hug, “It was nice meeting you, Rose. I’m already counting the days till our next partnership.” He said as I kissed my hand, with a suave look in his eyes.

“Okay Romeo, back off.” Liz said as she laughed grabbing me in a hug. “We’ll be seeing each other in a couple days.”

“Really?” I said as I looked over at Lewis. He smiled nodding his head.

Lewis gave me a knowing look as he winked. “Chica, we’re seeing Van Halen. And I’ve got backstage passes.”

They all began to laugh as the day seemed to close with that single thought.

I was going to meet Van Halen.

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tutree · 4 months ago

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#coding tutor near arizona #tutree

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bigcat-hanson · 5 years ago

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Long Way From Home [Part One] | Arin Hanson X Reader

You and your best (and only) high school friend, Arin, spend a day together at the new mall in your hometown. Your parents give you earth shattering news that turns your world upside down

Word count: 1670

The tires of your bike propelled you forward, the occasional rock crunching below its weight. Your legs pedaled as fast as they could, fueled by your determination to beat him to your destination. There was no way he could catch up to you in time.

“Slow down! You’re already winning!”

“No chance, Hanson!”

Two sets of tires skidded to a stop in front of the mall in your hometown of Wellington, Florida. It hadn’t even been a year since the mall was built, and it was already riddled with tourist trap crap. There were machines at every turn for little trinkets and souvenirs. Pressed pennies, cheesy keychains, and dad hats. You thought it was a bit cringy, but for whatever reason, Arin loved it.

“Alright, (Y/N), lunch or Pokemon card hunt first?” Arin looked at you as he asked the question, waiting for your answer before entering the building. You adjusted the strap of your backpack to prevent it from further slipping off of your shoulder.

“Cards. That way you can open them and brag about it while we eat. You did remember to bring your sleeves, right?”

“In my pocket. I didn’t bring that many, though. I probably won’t get any rares.”

“Fingers crossed. Alright, let’s go.”

The mall was busy, as it was practically every weekend since it opened. The two of you swerved through crowds, around slow walkers and even managed to dodge the few seemingly unattended children that ran a million miles an hour in your direction. As you approached the game store, you crossed your fingers, hoping you could find what you were looking for.

Arin bolted directly inside and to the card display before you even had a chance to set foot inside. It wasn’t hard to find him when you finally did. The large sign advertising the new Pokemon: Neo Destiny release was practically a beacon for finding your friend. He already had at least seven packs in his hands by the time you found him.

“Dear christ, Arin. You know you can’t buy out the whole store, right?” you laughed, gesturing to the packs of cards in his hands.

“It’s only ten packs!” he said defensively, grabbing one last pack. You shook your head, unable to help the smile that crept onto your face.

With pockets full of new Pokemon cards, Arin followed you to the food court. Both of you had agreed that it would be best if you took your food to one of the tables outside, and after receiving your orders, did just that. As Arin placed the food onto the table, you removed a small box from your backpack and slid it across the table to him, the Pokeball design slightly scratched from it.

“Ok, fingers crossed. Crack ‘em open, Hanson,” you prompted, taking the hot fries out of their container and cautiously biting into them. The look of excitement on his face was one that you wouldn’t trade for the world.

The first half was nothing to brag about. Almost every card was a common, with some neat looking holofoils mixed in. The next four packs after that revealed a number of low-level rares, all of which ended up getting sleeved just in case. Then there was the last pack.

“Holy shit! Oh my god, are you fucking kidding me?! Yo!!” Arin practically screamed, a look of amazement plastered on his face as he stared at the card in his hand. His free hand ran through his hair as he let out an excited laugh.

“Wanna share with the class there, bud?” Your voice held a tinge of amusement. Seeing him that excited never ceased to be one of your favorite things in the world.

“I got a foil Dark fucking Espeon! Holy fucking Christ!” He scrambled wildly to find a sleeve to put the card in, his frantic movements turning into careful, precise ones as he slipped the card into one.

“Good pull, Hanson! God damn, nice work.”

“That’s fucking awesome. Oh my god, I can’t believe I pulled that. That’s amazing.” You did have to admit, the shine of the foil did make it look super cool.

“Alright, mission accomplished, fantastic pull made. You gonna eat or what?” you asked, placing the now full box of Pokemon cards back in the backpack. You gathered up the empty card packs and threw them away as Arin finally started eating his lunch.

You were finally about to head out after he had finished eating, but before you could even see your bikes, Arin grabbed your arm to prevent you from walking any further.

“Look! They have one of those machines where you can make your own dog tags!” You looked in the direction that he was now pointing and, sure enough, he was right. You sighed, knowing exactly where this was going.

“Arin, no. It’s cheesy tourist crap. I’m not doing that.” You tried to take a step forward, but he just pulled you back.

“Come on, please? Perfect ending to a perfect day. Think of how cool it would be to have dog tags with our names on them! Please, (Y/N), I promise I’ll never ask for anything like this again. Just this once, I promise,” he pleaded. You so desperately wanted to say no, that it was most likely cheap metal that would rust or break within a week, but as he always did in moments like these, he was boring a hole into your soul with those damn eyes of his, and you couldn’t resist.

“Damn it. Fine, but just this once, and only because of the Espeon,” you relented, still trying to hold even a shred of sternness. Still keeping a hold on your arm, he bolted over to the machine and began digging around for coins in his pockets. You took the handful of quarters you always kept in a small pocket of your backpack and handed them to him.

“Ok, uh, what should I put on it?”

“Didn’t you just say you wanted your name on it like, three seconds ago?”

“I mean, yea, but I want this to be perfect. I don’t know if just my name and a little picture of a palm tree would be cool enough.”

“Here, let me do mine first,” you offered, moving in front of the machine. The quarters clinked as they disappeared inside, and the machine whirred to life. You typed out what you wanted to be on the tag, making sure to hide the display from Arin until you were finished. The machine went to work carving the letters and image into the metal, and dropping it into the dispenser once it was done.

Arin got to it before you did, reaching into the slot and bringing it closer to himself to read it.

AJH (Y/I) ESPEON 2002

He laughed as he read it, rubbing his thumb over the little carved palm tree under the lettering.

“Well?” you asked, smiling at his apparent amusement with your inscription choice. He nodded and handed the small piece of metal to you.

“That’s perfect. I’m doing that, too.” Taking a step back, you dramatically gestured to the machine, allowing him to make his own. Once the tag clattered out of the machine, he picked it up and inspected it before proudly turning it towards you, revealing an exact replica of the design you had used. “Now we match.”

“Yes we do. Alright, I really need to head home. Let’s go.”

~~~~~

The front door to your house closed quietly behind you. Something was up. Usually, your parents would still be at work at this point in the day, but for whatever reason, both of them were home. You walked into the kitchen to get yourself some water, when your mom called you into her bedroom.

“Hi,” you said cautiously, not sure what to expect. The two of them both sitting on the edge of the bed, seemingly waiting for you set your nerves on edge.

“Come sit down. We have something to tell you.” Your dad gestured to a chair sitting across from them as he spoke. You sat down, expecting the worst.

“What’s going on?”

“I know this is going to be hard for you, but your mother and I agree that it would be the best thing for you.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You’re going to move to Arizona with your au-”

“Arizona?! What? Mom, what is he talking about?”

“Your aunt has an extra room in her house, and there’s a really good high school there for you. I promise you’ll like it there.”

“I don’t know anyone there! It’s hard enough for me to make friends here, let alone in a completely new place!”

“We understand that, but a good education is worth it.”

“But Arin-”

“Arin will be fine without you. Now, we need this to happen as soon as possible, so you’ll fly out first thing tomorrow with your essentials, and we’ll send the rest of your things as soon as…”

Your mom’s words suddenly sounded like you were hearing them from the inside of a glass jar as you tried to process this. You knew things were bad for the three of you, but not bad enough to send you across the country. How the hell could they afford to move you away like this when they could hardly put food on the table on a consistent basis? How could they send you away from the only friend you had without giving you a chance to say goodbye?

“You’ll tell him, right? That I say goodbye, and I’ll miss him, and that I’m sorry. You’ll tell him?” Your words were strained, every ounce of energy being spent on trying not to break down then and there. Your parents exchanged a look, but through your foggy eyes, you couldn’t tell what it was about.

“We will. If I were you, I’d pack for tomorrow so you don’t have to worry about it when you wake up.”

#arin hanson #arin hanson x reader #game grumps #egoraptor #long way from home #yikes this is really bad lmao #i know jack shit about pokemon

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onbeatbot · 5 years ago

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Injury

The Palma residence is my favorite aspect of summer. In the lonely heat of southern Arizona, it is easy to lose yourself to time. This is especially true if you are a transplant, which I am, one who resides in the 14th ward of Oimech (budget housing) in a studio unit of one of about 50 closely packed tenement towers that stretch into the clouds, all identical, each just topping 2000 feet. So, you can imagine the appeal of the tiny, white, one story house, which is nestled with 20 or 30 other 30’s style cuboid residences on the western edge of Oimech’s bustling business district.

The 200 mile trip here from home means a daunting 60 minute subway commute, but babysitting is the only work I have between April and July, so I make it over by 5:45 every Tuesday when Ms. Chu leaves for her weekly yoga class. She will be back at exactly 8:10. Ms. Chu is a single mother nearing 50, and a neurotic homebody, but she has a strange, commanding poise. Her kids, Mono and Callie, are surprisingly well-adjusted, but do not meet the mirroring standards of the Arizona public school system. Both of them have rapidly filled each inch of intellectual growing room from the moment of conception, and so have surpassed or failed to reach this and that developmental benchmark that would have allowed them to join their respective age groups in Standard Learning. I love Mono and Callie, if not for their energy, for the unique characteristics that set them apart from the other children I watch as a licensed caretaker, and from the students I meet as a math tutor during the school season. And, of course, their house.

A block from their street, I press the stop button on my armrest and exit the subway car, pushing past the waiting area and up the stairs into the dry air. Rounding the corner of their grey street, I instinctively look at the right side window of the house, where I meet Callie’s eyes, causing her to jump away. She opens the front door, calling my name, “Rebecca!” I hustle to meet her with a hug.

“Where’s little Mono?”

She smiles, “Aw, he’s still sleeping.”

“At this hour?” I reply with mock surprise, but Callie is already bored of the exchange, and has run to lay on her back in front of the TV, which is playing Nat Geo on mute. Ms. Chu exits her bedroom, one of two in the 2BR/1BA, and embraces me. “I’ll be back shortly, Rebecca,” she is always visibly glad to see me, “Callie has big plans for you this evening. I know you two will have a good time.” She gets her phone from the kitchen counter and with a warm, pointed glare at Callie, then me, she nods and departs.

I sit on the white sofa and put my feet on top of Callie as if she were an ottoman. She doesn’t move, but tells the TV to turn the volume on low. On the screen divers are swimming slowly near a bleached stretch of coral reef. The narrator is explaining that a certain species of shark inhabits this area, and the divers aim to tag them because their population is greatly depleted, threatened by pollution. Callie begins to fidget, pulling and twisting her short brown hair. She is a restless 7 year old. She is afraid to go outdoors, and so is very pale. This used to worry me, but I gave up those thoughts because I am not her Mother. That took some time.

When the commercials come on, Callie silences the TV and I stand up to check on Mono. Their bedroom is at the end of a white hallway to the left of the living area. Everything in the house is white. Somehow the sparse, modern decor augments the comfort of the small home. It is hard for me to wrap my head around. I crack the door, and see that Mono is buried and unmoving on his twin sized pallet beneath a pile of comforters and throw blankets. “How long has he been out?” I ask Callie, loudly.

“Since about 9AM.”

“Goodness.”

“Yeah,” she walks up behind me, “and he finished the Cheerios.”

“I can’t say that surprises me,” he only eats Cheerios.

Callie spins me around by my waist so that I’m facing her. “Rebecca,” she says to me with a blank expression, “We have to bake a cake.”

That is just fine with me, “OK. Do you have cake mix?”

“We’re making it from scratch,” she replies, “the only thing we are missing is salted butter.”

“And Cheerios.”

She smiles, “Yes. And Cheerios.”

There is an auto supermarket right around the corner, a large, bright green box with a cashier’s window and a pickup station. You have to order everything you need before you get there, as machinery inside sorts through thousands of items, rapidly picking out items on your list, and the list after yours, and the list after that. I sometimes wonder what it looks like inside an auto supermarket. Very few people make contact with the guts of automated businesses and services, as repairs are ordered and executed by robotic equipment that’s all included on the inside. It would probably be anticlimactic to peek at the inside. It is most likely grey upon grey, like most things in the city.

I toss Callie my phone so she can place our order. “Pay cash?” she asks.

“You know it.” Very few people keep physical money around. I myself certainly do not, but I enjoy interacting with cashiers, and so keep my card handy.

I head out; it is only about a 15 minute walk round trip. The wide sidewalks and seamless streets do not present a single soul other than myself. The sun is setting, and the sky is painted with purple and peachy hues. I arrive at the green wall, and step cheerfully to the cashier’s window. She is in her early 20’s, about my age. She is an expressionless type, which is a let down, though I understand. She scans my card, “You know nobody really carries their card with them,” she says as she returns it to me. “Yes.” I don’t know what else to say. She hands me a paper bag, and I walk, less leisurely, back to the Palma’s.

Callie is not at the window when I approach the house. This is off, as I know she would be done preparing the dry ingredients by now. My heartbeat quickens and I knock on the door with five hard raps. Thirty seconds pass without a sound, and I dig my phone from my pocket to pull up my key. I step in and call Callie’s name. I walk to the kitchen in the back of the room to see the ingredients set out neatly, as I expected. “Callie?” I call again, throwing the grocery bag on the counter. The oven is preheated. Something feels very wrong.

I rush to the kid’s bedroom to find it just as it had been. I knock on the bathroom door and open it without waiting for a response. To my great relief, Callie is sitting on the floor surrounded by what looks like Band-Aid wrappers.

“What the hell, Callie.”

She looks at me, slightly wounded, “I said I’m in here,” she wrinkles her nose for a second, “Sorry.” Taking a deep breath, I survey the bathroom.

“It’s OK, you just scared me,” there isn’t a drop of blood to be seen, “What happened?”

“It was the weirdest thing!” Her tone brightens, “As I was measuring the flour, a yellow jacket flew out of the bag and stung me,” she presents me her arm, which sports an asterisk of at least 6 Band-Aids arranged over the same spot.

“Ah,” I choke back laughter, “I see.”

“How was your trip?” She asks me, picking up the trash from the floor.

“Just fine. Got everything we need.”

It is now 6:45. I help Callie to her feet and we return to the kitchen.

#story story #creative writing #future #dystopia #robots

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bountyofbeads · 6 years ago

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‘People Actively Hate Us’: Inside the Border Patrol’s Morale Crisis https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/15/us/border-patrol-culture.html

Excellent article looking at what the Trump administration immigration policies are having on the men and women inside Customs and Border Protection (HINT:Not Good)

‘People Actively Hate Us’: Inside the Border Patrol’s Morale Crisis

Overwhelmed by desperate migrants and criticized for mistreating the people in their care, many agents have grown defensive, insular and bitter.

By Manny Fernandez, Miriam Jordan, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Caitlin Dickerson Photographs by Kendrick Brinson | Published Sept. 15, 2019Updated 6:26 p.m. ET | New York Times | Posted September 15, 2019 |

One Border Patrol agent in Tucson said he had been called a “sellout” and a “kid killer.” In El Paso, an agent said he and his colleagues in uniform had avoided eating lunch together except at certain “BP friendly” restaurants because “there’s always the possibility of them spitting in your food.” An agent in Arizona quit last year out of frustration. “Caging people for a nonviolent activity,” he said, “started to eat away at me.”

For decades, the Border Patrol was a largely invisible security force. Along the southwestern border, its work was dusty and lonely. Between adrenaline-fueled chases, the shells of sunflower seeds piled up outside the windows of their idling pickup trucks. Agents called their slow-motion specialty “laying in” — hiding in the desert and brush for hours, to wait and watch, and watch and wait.

Two years ago, when President Trump entered the White House with a pledge to close the door on illegal immigration, all that changed. The nearly 20,000 agents of the Border Patrol became the leading edge of one of the most aggressive immigration crackdowns ever imposed in the United States.

No longer were they a quasi-military organization tasked primarily with intercepting drug runners and chasing smugglers. Their new focus was to block and detain hundreds of thousands of migrant families fleeing violence and extreme poverty — herding people into tents and cages, seizing children and sending their parents to jail, trying to spot those too sick to survive in the densely packed processing facilities along the border.

Ten migrants have died since September in the custody of the Border Patrol and its parent agency, Customs and Border Protection.

In recent months, the extreme overcrowding on the border has begun to ease, with migrants turned away and made to wait in Mexico while their asylum claims are processed. Last week, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to close the door further, at least for now, by requiring migrants from countries outside Mexico to show they have already been denied refuge in another country before applying for asylum.

The Border Patrol, whose agents have gone from having one of the most obscure jobs in law enforcement to one of the most hated, is suffering a crisis in both mission and morale. Earlier this year, the disclosure of a private Facebook group where agents posted sexist and callous references to migrants and the politicians who support them reinforced the perception that agents often view the vulnerable people in their care with frustration and contempt.

Interviews with 25 current and former agents in Texas, California and Arizona — some conducted on the condition of anonymity so the agents could speak more candidly — paint a portrait of an agency in a political and operational quagmire. Overwhelmed through the spring and early summer by desperate migrants, many agents have grown defensive, insular and bitter.

The president of the agents’ union said he had received death threats. An agent in South Texas said some colleagues he knew were looking for other federal law enforcement jobs. One agent in El Paso told a retired agent he was so disgusted by scandals in which the Border Patrol has been accused of neglecting or mistreating migrants that he wanted the motto emblazoned on its green-and-white vehicles — “Honor First” — scratched off.

“To have gone from where people didn’t know much about us to where people actively hate us, it’s difficult,” said Chris Harris, who was an agent for 21 years and a Border Patrol union official until he retired in June 2018. “There’s no doubt morale has been poor in the past, and it’s abysmal now. I know a lot of guys just want to leave.”

EDUARDO JACOBO, AN AGENT IN CALIFORNIA’S EL CENTRO SECTOR:

The difference between doing the job now and when I started is like night and day. Before, it was a rush of adrenaline when you caught people with drugs. You were doing more police stuff. Now it’s humanitarian work. If you ask anybody about being in Border Patrol, they’re playing a movie scene in their head, jumping into a burning building and saving people. Now, it means taking care of kids and giving them baby formula.

By and large, the agency has been a willing enforcer of the Trump administration’s harshest immigration policies. In videos released last year, Border Patrol agents could be seen destroying water jugs left in a section of the Arizona desert where large numbers of migrants have been found dead.

Some of those who worked at the agency in earlier years said that it had changed over the past decade, and that an attitude of contempt toward migrants — the view that they are opportunists who brought on their own troubles and are undeserving of a warm welcome — is now the rule, not the exception.

“The intense criticism that is being directed at the Border Patrol is necessary and important because I do think that there’s a culture of cruelty or callousness,” said Francisco Cantú, a former agent who is the author of “The Line Becomes a River,” a memoir about his time in the agency from 2008 to 2012. “There’s a lack of oversight. There is a lot of impunity.”

The Border Patrol was established in 1924. Early agents were recruited from the Texas Rangers and local sheriff’s offices. They focused largely on Prohibition-era whiskey bootleggers, often supplying their own horses and saddles. Though horseback units still exist, the culture of the agency bears little resemblance to its past.

It has become a sprawling arm of Customs and Border Protection, the country’s largest federal law enforcement agency, which is responsible for 7,000 miles of America’s northern and southern borders, 95,000 miles of shoreline and 328 ports of entry. On a practical level, the Border Patrol’s hubs along the Mexican border, known as sectors, operate in some ways as fiefs.

In border cities, sector chiefs become household names, delivering annual State of the Border speeches. In the 1990s, an El Paso sector chief, Silvestre Reyes, used his popularity to win a seat in Congress.

In El Paso and other border communities, becoming an agent has long been viewed as a ticket to the middle class. A starting agent with a high school diploma and no experience can expect to earn $55,800, including overtime, climbing to $100,000 in as few as four years.

But given the long, solitary work, often in punishing heat and far-flung locations, and a growing workload, the agency has had difficulty recruiting: It remains about 1,800 agents short of its earlier hiring targets.

Some trace the increasing bitterness and frustration among agents to 2014, when large numbers of migrant families, as well as unaccompanied children, began arriving at the border. Many agents said they weren’t given the money or infrastructure to handle the emerging crisis. Desperate mothers and sick children had to be herded into fenced enclosures because there was nowhere else to put them.

Some agents blamed migrant parents for bringing their children into the mess. Their anger began building under President Barack Obama. Then, with Mr. Trump’s election, it found a voice in the White House.

Mr. Trump “said it to us, he said it in public, ‘I’m going to consider you guys, the union, the subject-matter experts on how we secure the border,’” said Mr. Harris, the former agent and Border Patrol union official from Southern California who retired last year. “We had never heard that from anyone before.”

The private Facebook group, which was created in 2016 and had more than 9,000 members, became a forum for agents to vent about the increasingly thankless nature of their jobs and the failure of successive administrations to fully secure the border.

Some agents who were members of the group said the tone of the posts shifted after Mr. Trump’s election, becoming raunchier and more politically tinged. A post mocked the death of a 16-year-old migrant while in custody at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Tex., with an image reading “Oh well.” A member used an expletive to propose throwing burritos at two Latina congresswomen.

AN AGENT IN SOUTH TEXAS:

What really pisses me off is that the agency knew about this group for a while. Those stories are true. There were patrol agents in charge on there. They knew it was wrong.

Most agents interviewed said a minority of those in the Facebook group were responsible for the most offensive posts.

BRANDON JUDD, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL, THE AGENTS’ UNION:

We have been pointed at with this broad brush and there are certain segments trying to make this out that all agents are bad and ‘Here’s the proof, look at these Facebook posts,’ when really the vast majority of our agents are very good people.

In some ways, though, the posts reflected a culture that was long apparent in parts of the agency. For years, the Border Patrol has quietly tolerated racist terminology. Some agents refer to migrants as “wets,” a shortened version of “wetbacks.” Others call them “toncs.”

Jenn Budd, a former agent of six years who is now an outspoken critic, said a supervisor at her Border Patrol station in California had explained the term “tonc” to her: “He said, ‘It’s the sound a flashlight makes when you hit a migrant in the head with it.’”

Josh Childress, a former agent in Arizona who quit in 2018 because the job had begun to wear him down, said the Facebook posts hinted at a deeper, darker problem in the agency’s culture. “The jokes are not the problem,” he said. “Treating people as if they aren’t people is the problem.”

Calexico, Calif., 120 miles east of San Diego in Southern California’s agrarian Imperial Valley, offers a glimpse of the relationship between a border community and the agents. Hemmed in by rugged mountains, desolate desert and the Colorado River, the valley has an economy that revolves around seasonal farm jobs and government work. Temperatures top 110 degrees during the parched summer months.

About 800 Border Patrol agents work in the vast El Centro Sector, which runs about 70 miles across the Valley. They patrol on bikes and in their white vehicles in Calexico, whose downtown sits up against the rust-colored bollards that separate the United States and Mexico.

When Mr. Trump visited the city in April to tout 2.3 miles of a new border barrier — a row of 30-foot-tall, slender steel slats with pointed edges — Angel Esparza organized a binational unity march that drew 200 people. But he said the march was to protest Mr. Trump, not the Border Patrol.

Mr. Esparza has featured Border Patrol agents on the covers of two issues of Mi Calexico, a magazine that he produces and distributes sporadically in this town of 40,000.

“The Border Patrol agents are part of the community,” he said.

NATALIA NUNEZ, A COLLEGE STUDENT IN CALEXICO, CALIF.

Being in the Border Patrol is a normal thing around here. I have three cousins who are agents. I have friends whose parents are agents. They aren’t supposed to talk about it. I wonder how they can sleep at night if they have to lock up kids in cages like animals.

David Kim, the El Centro Sector’s assistant chief patrol agent, is the son of a South Korean immigrant who worked for the Postal Service. He has been with the Border Patrol since 2000.

Asked about the agency’s relationship with the community, he recalled the government shutdown that began in December 2018, when Mr. Trump was locked in a standoff with Congress over funding for an expanded border wall. Border Patrol agents, who were working without pay, were offered food vouchers by restaurants. Jujitsu academies and gyms offered free passes. Mr. Kim’s chiropractor waived his co-pay.

Mr. Kim, seated in the sector headquarters building, went silent for about a minute as he talked about it. Tears rolled down his face. “The community,” he said finally, “stepped up for the Border Patrol when we were furloughed.”

But with the fraught atmosphere across the country over immigration policy, hostility can emerge even within agents’ own families.

BRANDON JUDD, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL:

I just had a relative four days ago send me one of the nastiest emails I’ve ever had in my life. How bad of people we are. How taxpayer dollars should not be used to abuse individuals.

Operating in communities that are often heavily Hispanic and quietly hostile to Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda, the Border Patrol has become more openly political than at any time in its history.

Agents have nurtured a strong loyalty to the president, whom many of them see as the first chief executive who is serious about border security. The union endorsed Mr. Trump in 2016, a move that gave the Border Patrol a line of communication to the White House but has also created friction in Democrat-dominated border communities.

A 10-YEAR VETERAN AGENT IN SOUTH TEXAS:

I have personally not come across any agents that do not like Trump’s positions on border security, on immigration. Hispanic, Latino, black, white — it doesn’t matter the origin of the agents, they all have a strong border-security mentality. So they love what Trump brings to the table. What they hate, what is detrimental, is the complete opposite feeling from the Democratic side.

Democratic lawmakers flocked to the Texas border throughout the spring, many holding news conferences to criticize the filthy, crowded conditions in which migrants, including children, were being held — some with unchanged diapers, little access to showers and little or no hot food.

Agents said they had done the best they could — some bought toys for the children in their care — but were overwhelmed by the number of new arrivals.

AN AGENT IN THE EL PASO SECTOR:

‘Oh, that kid’s cute’ turned into, ‘Oh, there’s another one, there’s another one.’ We’ve done more for these aliens than these senators and congressmen that come down here. They make this big scene but then the next day they get on a plane to go back home. They didn’t take any of them with them, right? They’re going home to their running water, to their nice, comfortable bed, and meantime, we’re here dealing with them.

The Border Patrol’s culture is unabashedly self-reliant and male-dominated. Agents operate largely alone in the desert and brush, using neither body cameras nor dashboard cameras.

About 5 percent of agents are women. Some interviewed spoke highly of the agency and their male colleagues. Others described a culture in which women were demeaned, passed over for promotions and assaulted by co-workers. A supervisor in Chula Vista, Calif., pleaded guilty in 2015 to seven counts of video voyeurism, admitting that he had placed a camera in a drain in a women’s restroom.

In a written account of her time at the agency, Ms. Budd described women being forced to perform oral sex on fellow agents and subjected to humiliating labels. “I never, ever met a female agent that was not targeted by the male agents,” she said.

The job has taken a psychological toll on men and women alike.

From 2007 to 2018, more than 100 Customs and Border Protection employees, many of whom had worked as Border Patrol agents, killed themselves. Ross Davidson, who retired in 2017 after 21 years with the agency, said he was certain that stress from the job has been a factor.

“The repetitive monotony of doing the same thing over and over and seeing no outcome, seeing no end to it and nothing changing,” he said. “It’s just going deeper and deeper, and getting worse and worse.”

SERGIO TINOCO, AN AGENT IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY OF TEXAS:

Now, with all this rhetoric, I actually have to go home where I want to unwind, and hear my wife tell me the comments she was told, and my kids tell me the comments they’re told. So at what point do I relax? The only time I relax is when my eyes are closed and I’m dead asleep.

Nicholas Kulish, Mitchell Ferman and Erin Coulehan contributed reporting.

#cbp #u.s. customs and border protection #u.s. immigration and customs enforcement #u.s. news #u.s. politics #trump scandals #trumpism #trump administration #president donald trump #against trump #trumpcamps #impeach trump #president trump #ice #ice raids #immigrants #immigration #immigration reform

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bewitchingbaker · 2 years ago

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Send ✚ for one of my muse’s prized possessions.

[ @brooklynislandgirl ]

Chris wears a pair of round, thin gold-framed glasses. While they fit, at times they can look a little oversized for his head. This is because they belonged to his mother. Once she died, Chris became pretty attached to the specs because they reminded him of good times with his mom. Specifically, painting and helping her with her lesson plans. Like his dad's jacket, he took them with him to Arizona and he began to wear them with them until they became a part of of his normal outfit.

"Those glasses make sense, Luna. Girly glasses for a girly lookin ass boy."

At this very moment, Christopher Noe Luna was 14 years, 5 months, 29 minutes and 8 seconds years old when his eyes met the other young man. Duncan Andrews. 14 years, 4 months, 26 minutes, and 2 seconds years old stared down at the young Luna. Chris had become the most recent target of Duncan's torment.

For a couple of reasons. 1, Chris was too quiet for his liking. 2, he was weak, thanks to the panic attacks that caused class to stop and have him escorted out. 3 and most important reason? The young Luna caught the eye of his crush, Jasmine Charles. Not helped byt he fact that the young Luna was already growing as a baker and could draw pretty well. Plus with his growing height, the young man felt like he needed to take him down a few pegs.

Now the only thing that stopped him from coming after Chris were the two older kids he was always clinging to. Andrew 'Andy' Riley and Jessica 'Jess' Luna. Especially Jess. Duncan once got caught pushing an unsuspecting Chris down with his crew and Jess gave him a black eye as a reward for his actions.

But since they transferred to the local high school, Chris was an easy target. At least that's what he thought.

"Hmm, " Chris mused. "Damn, I'll have to tell your mom to get me another pair."

Silence. Nothing like the class-quiet kid having a good comeback. You could hear a pin drop in that classroom. At least until a loud snicker echoed through the classroom.

Elizabeth Irene Riley, 15 years old, 3 months, 13 minutes and 40 seconds old, covered her face in an attempt to cover her growing laugh. A feeble endeavor because her tiny snicker soon grew into an uproarious laughter that made other kids join in.

How embarrassing! The entire class laughing at you because of the two quiet kids? No way was he going to let this slide. With a red face and scowl, he snatched the baker's glasses off of his face.

"Oh yeah, well let's see if these things are as delicate as you!" Duncan yelled before snapping the specs in two.

A collective gasp from the class.

No way he just did that?

It was no secret that it wasn't just Jess and Andy who were protective of the baker. Beth was always ready to fight for the baker's sake just like he was ready to fight for her. But before the young Rokea could even think about making a move, Duncan was already tackled to the ground.

As sweet and kind as Chris could be, people had a tendecy to underestimate what he could do. When you're raised by two people who grew up fighting, you were going to learn a few things. Specifically, making the first move and how to pin someone down for a while.

A fist met with Duncan's face, the young bully's nose getting well acquianted with the Chris's knuckles. Another followed, each stronger and faster than the other. Though youh ad to give Duncan points for getting at least a punch and scratch in. Even one of Duncan's friends tried to join in but thanks to Beth throwing a textbook at his head, Chris could continue his assault.

Every strike earned a 'ooh' and each punch earned a gasp.

If it weren't for their homeroom teacher breaking it up, Chris would have kept going.

How the so called mighty had fallen, that confident smirk was replaced with a teary eyed frown. Combine that with a bloody nose and bruised lip. Needless to say, he was looking a little sorry. Plus with his friend having a knot in his head from Beth's textbook, these two wouldn't be messing with duo anytime soon.

Of course, the two defending themselves were due for a visit to the principle's office.

Chris's eyes were locked on the two cracked lenses in his hands, a scowl resting on his face.

"Fuckin asshole, he's lucky Mrs. Johnson broke it up. I would have fucked him up even more," Chris frowned, Spanish flowing out of his lips.

Beth nodded, following along. She had seen enough arguments between the Lunas to know what certain phrases meant.

"...Thanks for helping me out," Chris began looking at his friend."I'm sorry you saw me like that..."

Her hand hand reached out to hold his.

"It's no problem, really," Beth smiled. "Us quiet kids gotta stick togetha, y'know. Plus, someone had t' punch him out and I'm glad it was us."

She pauses once her eyes look at the broken glasses in his hands.

"But...why do ya wear those glasses? Ya got pretty good eyesight, Jess even said you don't need them."

Chris blinked for a moment, eyes looking at Beth then to his glasses. His hand rubbed the back of neck. He was surprised Jess never told Beth, usually she was always ready to spill all of Chris's business when it came to their friend. But he figured Jess knew this would be his story to tell.

"Well..." Chris began. "These were my mom's. She always wore them when she would paint, read, or make her lesson plans. They always looked cool and she always had the best view on life, you know."

He swallows before continuing.

"The authorities brought us her glasses and some other things from their car. I feel like when I wear them, I feel like she's still here with me."

Beth offered a sympathetic smile as she gave his hand a small squeeze, leaning on him for a moment.

"Well, I'm glad I was able to help preserve such a precious gift."

Chris smiled, leaning on his friend.

"I appreciate it."

#ooc #facts #drabbles #brooklynislandgirl

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letsimportanttreecollection-blog · 7 years ago

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Insurance estimate on Integra, Mustang?

"Insurance estimate on Integra, Mustang?

Hey. So I am getting my first car in a couple months, and my dad said I could choose which car, but keep it in a low price range. I've always liked Integras, since I was little, and I always wanted it to be my first car, so thats in consideration. And my dad said get a mustang. I would like to know how much insurance is on each? The cars would be- Acura Integra 1996-2001 (LS, RS, SE, GS) Under my dads name (age 50) I would be secondary driver Silver or black or white Roughly 150k miles Maybe 25 miles a day Would buy used around 2000$ - 4000$ Im aware its a luxury car, thus insurance being a tad more expensive How much would you think insurance would be? We have Progressive but I just want a estimate - Maybe like the average of how much people with integras pay for insurance. Mustang 2004 Under my dads name (age 50) I would be secondary driver Black or silver Maybe 100k miles 25 miles/ day Used around 4000$ - 5000$ Not luxury, but its a sports car, Im guessing insurance is more expensive for it Anything will help :)

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://freeautoinsurance.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr

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I am an electrician and would like to get liability insurance because I do a lot of jobs on my own. Where can I find this? And is there an inexpensive plan? I live in New Hampshire.

Will I have to switch my car insurance if I buy a new or used car from a dealer?

My current car is just costing far too much money in repairs for it to be worth it to keep piling money into. I'm a college student, so money isn't exactly plentiful, but its looking right now like I just need a new car, period. I have a decent job, and I could probably afford a car payment of around $200 a month just fine, however I am very concerned about any hidden cost with insurance. My dad told me that if I buy a car from a dealer, then I will have to switch my insurance to full coverage (I'm currently just on my dads insurance, and I only have to pay about $50 a month) but he says that if I get a new or used car from a dealer, I will have to change my insurance coverage and it will cost me more around 150-200 a month in insurance. And if you pair that with a car payment, I simply couldn't afford it and still be able to make rent and whatnot. So I came here to see if he is correct in this. I know there will be taxes, dealer fees, registration costs etc. but Its the insurance part of it that might make it impossible. Also, do I have to have my credit established for a certain amount of time before I can buy a car? I tried to avoid credit cards for as long as I could, so now Im still kind of new in the whole credit game.... Anyways, thank you for taking the time to read my question and hopefully answer it!! It is much appreciated!!""

Car insurance...........?

Right.. my mom already has a car and is the named driver of it. I have got a ford ka and have been looking on insurance company's and it is cheaper for my mom to be the named driver of my car but for me to go on the insurance.. Can my mom own to cars or is this not possible UK only please.

Insurance estimate on Integra, Mustang?

Is it up to age 26 or through age 26 for insurance coverage on parent's plan?

With health care reform, young adults can now stay on their parent's insurance longer. Is it UP TO the day they turn age 26 or through the age 26 that they are able to have the coverage?""

What is the cheapest company for a 17 year Old's car insurance in the UK?

I am 17 and looking around on sites the car insurance is around 2500 but this is too expensive for me, if I was to get car insurance I would probably drive a ford fiesta or something like that.""

Audi Q5 2014 car insurance cost houston?

i just moved to Us , Houston and i am 32 year old male so i would like to buy a new Audi Q5 2.0T any idea how much the full insurance ? and is it good car Q5 2.0 T ? Thanks a lot""

""What is the cheapest car to insure, and what makes insurance go up and down?""

Well, i'm 17 and i want a car. I've been going on all the price comparison websites and lately prices have been going up, alot. Not too long ago you could get a 1.6 Focus, 02 reg - for around 2.5k. Now it seems that a 1L corsa is in excess of 4,000? I've just been looking now, and i can get a 1.4L Nova Saloon '92 reg, for less that the price of a 1L Corsa, '99 reg. What's going on here, both cars are completely standard. Also, what makes insurance go up and down? And please, don't just post about group 1 insurance vehicles, because i cant afford a new/nearly new car.""

Is their any where that can calculate the average price of car insurance without details?

I just want to calculate the average cost for car insurance without the hassle of putting in my personal details being that it will be at least 2months till i get my licence.

""Car insurance, they didn't take payment, was I insured?""

I have a classic car insurance policy with two cars on it, the policy started on one car but I later added a second. I have just taken the second car off the policy but it turns out ...show more""

What do you think about auto insurance?

How does car insurance work?

I'm a 17 year old girl and I recently got my license. Yesterday my dad bought car insurance for me, but I don't have a car. So i'm assuming that this insurance is for his car, but can that same insurance be transferred if I get my own car? Or did my dad just put my name on his insurance? I don't really understand.""

How do you go about getting insurance for a car you don't own yet?

Say you don't have any insurance but you have to go pick up a car and drive it home...?

Has anyone heard of Unitrin Direct Car Insurance. Yay or Nay?

I need to purchase car insurance right away. Their rates are pretty low. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Health insurance.?

I need affordable health insurance.Where to find one? Thanks!!!

Does late payment on car insurance affect credit?

just wondering if a late payment of a bill....say my telephone bill, or car insurance affect my credit?""

Do you have to have proof of car insurance to get your car inspected in texas?

Just wanted to know if you have to have proof of car insurance in order to get your car inspected in the state of Texas?

Do you know any Insurance companies that would do 6m Car Insurance?

For various reasons, I would like insurance quotes for my car for 6 months. Has anyone had any dealings with companies that have or would? It's not a money saving exercise, thanks :)""

How do you get insurance?

Before I get my license, I have to get insurance. But I wanna know what do I need to get insurance? What do I have to bring?""

What is the cheapest car for insurance?

I am 17 years old and i want to know which car is the least expenssive for insurance. What insurance group is the car in.

Tips for a 17 year old MALE driver to get his CAR INSURANCE premiums below 2000?

In all seriousness, it takes the absolute Michael how much it costs a 17 year old male to get insured.... on my mums insurance on an Insurance band 1 car i'm looking at 2400. I'm a student, my mum has over 20 years no claims, and still i'm getting ripped off. Any tips other than doing driving courses? Am I just doing something wrong with the insurance websites?""

Cheap insurance for '99 mustang?

I'm buying a used mustang next month and need to get cheap insurance since I will be making payments. What is the best (and cheapest) insurance for an 18 year old young woman?

Cheap No fault insurance for 18 yr old?

How could the health insurance mandate not be constitutional?

Excerpt from: http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/102620/individual-mandate-history-affordable-care-act?wpisrc=nl_wonk The founding fathers, it turns out, passed several mandates ...show more""

What is the CHEAPEST car insurance for a 21 year old male who never had his own policy?

What is voluntary access on car insurance?

i saw it on the go compare web site but i dont know what it is as im a 1st time driver

What are some good low cost learner legal bike with cheap insurance?

i'm 17 and i'm looking to purchase my first motorbike so i was wondering if you could give me some bike for less than about 2000 with cheap insurance?, but no rubbish Chinese bike because they fall apart""

""I am looking for affordable auto insurance, quote that i get online with AA is confusing, any suggestions?""

I am looking for affordable auto insurance, quote that i get online with AA is confusing, any suggestions?""

How can I pay for my car's insurance?

I'm buying my first car tomorrow. I will be the Legal Owner and Registered Keeper but NOT the main driver (i'll be the 2nd driver of the car) Can I pay for the insurance using my card details (because i own the car and im getting insured on it, im just not the main driver because i will name someone else as main driver) ?? or does the MAIN DRIVER has to pay the insurance using their debit card?""

Insurance estimate on Integra, Mustang?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/get-instant-nj-auto-insurance-quote-jose-boyd/"

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