#but I am finally going yo start a Facebook page and need to name said page

[l3irdl3rain]

Thinking more and more seriously every day abt my future of hopefully becoming an actual nonprofit sanctuary. This also means coming up with a name which btw is the most difficult thing in the world.

I’ve considered naming it after one of my past pets. Most likely Chloe who started it all?? But also maybe Duncan who was the most special boy ever.

so either Duncan’s / Chloe’s followed by “Home for Hospice Cats”, “Home for Special Cats”, “Home for Senior Cats”. Or something else? I’m indecisive

[cards-onthetable]

Lol what?

-me the entire time I watched this episode. I don’t have that many thoughts because I don’t care about any of this at all. LeT’s DiVe iN!

Danny

Remind me who the Delgados are again? I mean, don’t actually bc I don’t care. But I feel like I’d be more invested in this storyline if I remembered.

But damn @ straight up showing a murder like that on screen. That’s A Lot for this show.

Oh the psychic lady is back? This should be fine

I am seriously missing how these cases are all connected. I guess that’s what happens when you spread some story out into 3-4 episodes over two full seasons like what’s with this lame attempt at a cohesive story arc?

We’re moving on to this club setup situation and all I can think about is all of my Questions about this whole phone/wire situation, but it’s fine

Oh, hooray, they caught the guy who killed Linda. Nice.

I don’t know how I feel about this last psychic scene. Like... it’s meaningful, and a Big Deal, but also.... is it that meaningful? To let this psychic lady who Danny’s met like twice now convince him to take off his wedding ring? I would’ve much rather seen that happen over a conversation with Frank or Henry - actual important people in Danny’s life who can offer some insight as two men who have also lost their wives - instead of this nobody psychic getting that role.

Frank & Lena

Dude Frank’s Big Three are hilarious.

Bit ~presumptuous~ of Lena to go around telling folks she has the commissioner’s ear when she’s never met the dude, lol

About to be Frank’s sister??? Um lol I don’t think that’s how the whole in-law thing works but okay

Did Frank Reagan just say the word “icky” on my TV? Lol what? 😂😂😂

GAWD it’s like they’re preparing for war up in the PC’s office. Everyone is sooo awkwarddddd

Lena Janko is ridiculous like, to the point where I can’t even enjoy this 😂😭

“Very masculine” is 100% a nod to “Nice place Reagan...could use a woman’s touch though” except it’s not a nod in a cool way, it’s like the writers rewatched that scene and changed it a little bit so they didn’t have to start from scratch 🙄

GAWD say Edit one more time. Please

Frank is a bigger person than I am yo I would’ve shot that shit right down the second she started asking for courtesy cards like I don’t care whose mother you are

“I KNOW SHE’S VERY SENSITIVE ABOUT THESE THINGS, I WOULDN’T WANT TO UPSET HER” LOLOLOLOLOLOL OF COurse, New Eddie is Very Sensitive and Easily Upset

How widespread was this scheme of Armin’s that apparently people have recognized the Janko name everywhere Lena has moved to? New York is a big city dudes, I’d think she could find some luxury high rise somewhere that isn’t run by her husband’s victims. Like considering Jamie and other cops had never heard of the case back in the day, how Big could it have really been? Lol whatever I’m thinking too much. God knows the writers don’t think when it comes to this shit.

This rich old lady with her tiny cat-dog is my all time favorite Blue Bloods character

“Looks like we might not even need to see the security footage!” Lol @ Garrett with those Detective Skillz

Lena is back in Frank’s office and what is with Frank’s hand gestures/body language? Lol it’s weird af like Frank Reagan should not be pressing a hand to his chest like that 😂

EDIT lolol

I can’t force myself to feel invested in this whole Lena situation oh well

Family dinner

I’m bored of this. they’ve had this exact same conversation 2948 times in the last 9 years

But it’s worth noting that Eddie didn’t cross herself after the prayer which lol, will probably make some people mad (I’ll be lurking on the Facebook page later folks, behave yourselves) but I appreciate it. She’s not Catholic, she hasn’t become Catholic, hooray for reality or whatever.

Jamie & Erin’s case

Lol @ Eddie screaming Jamie’s name on this scene. I thought he’s only Sarge at work? 🙄

Related: you’re still trying to tell me nobody at their damn precinct suspects a thing? Bullshit.

Daaaaaamn @ this bar fight yo.

Jamie Reagan does terrible CPR. I die laughing every time that shit crosses my screen. It’s TV, yeah dude, but like, can we at least make it look a little more realistic? Get his hands in the right spot? If I ever die in a bar fight or dentist’s office somewhere, Jamie Reagan is not who I want responding.

Convenient of this drunk trashbag to admit to the crime as soon as he’s out of earshot of everyone else.

The dude survived all the way to the operating table? LOL NOT AFTER THAT SHIT CPR

ARe yOu CaLLiNg mE a LiAr?! All I can think of is this Classic Moment:

Jamie said “wHaT DiFfErEnCe dOeS iT MaKe?!” twice in thirty seconds, in case anyone still thought this show is well-written and not sloppy

Say TO MY FACE one more time, Jamie. To mY FaCe

Lol that scene in Erin’s office is... fine? It exists? I don’t care about anything all I can think about is where is Anthony’s sixteen-year-old foster son? 🙄

WHY IS ANTHONY TRACKING JAMIE DOWN AT WORK to intervene in his ~professional disagreement~ with Erin? UGH like what makes Anthony so important that he gets all these roles? He’s not A Reagan yet he gets solo scenes/storylines with Erin, Jamie, and Eddie this season?

Why does he even exist? To turn Erin’s lawyer storylines into detective storylines. It’s dumb and demeaning and doesn’t let us see Erin doing her actual job and “Anthony” should not even exist as a role on this show. In this essay I will

“THE BOY SCOUT’S GOT SOME SPUNK AFTER ALL” lol @ that entire sentence

God I’m only halfway through this damn episode someone save me.

LOL @ Anthony yelling at this poor Statue Of Liberty chick. And LOL @ the stabby ragey drunk with fancy lawyers dating some girl whose job is Performance Art in Times Square. 😂😂😂

And now Anthony’s yelling at both of them in his office? I mean I’m all for anyone yelling at Various Reagans but w.h.y. does Anthony exist.

Except LOLOL 4ever @ Anthony pouring himself two shots and then peacing out, CLASSIC.

THE FINAL DINNER SCENE: Frank Officially Meets Lena

Lol this opening of just Frank and Jamie is awkward af

Eddie’s so nervous and jittery. 😂 “I would like... to introduce you.... to my mom...? Maybe?” It’s funny and for once I’m not bothered by this whole Demeanor on Eddie (it makes sense for her to be nervous about introducing her mom to Jamie’s family) but also don’t start talking to me about how this could/should have occurred during Jamie and Eddie’s pre-engagement dating relationship that we were deprived of, it’s fine

Eddie and Jamie’s cute little “hey...hey” was like, the most meaningful/cute/appropriate-for-an-engaged-couple Moment they’ve had all season, so thaf’s where we’re at now.

Lol I’m so pleased @ how Nothing that scene was.

I’m going to go give my three dogs a bath. It’ll be more fun and interesting than this episode, so. ✌️

[ftmfitnessworld]

My Official Retirement Letter

Greetings, I'm writing this long (pun intended) overdue email to officially announce my retirement from FTM Fitness World. I will send one last email after this to explain the logistics of what it means and to introduce you to the new management team. In this email I want to review my time so far. For some, especially those who normally know me to be a very optimistic person, it might seem dark and gloomy but it's just a realistic way to show you the other side of things. Not for pity but with the hope that the new people who are taking over will be treated with much more grace, dignity and patience as we're going through this transitional period. First, I can never be too proud to say that I've created the first EVER bodybuilding competition event for men of Trans experience. On only year #2, it was on the front page of CNN and dozens of other outlets around the planet in multiple languages. I did it with $0, zero experience... only an idea and amazing people who believed in me and/or the idea. These people include you if you've ever come to an event, donated, liked/shared our pages, volunteered, or participated in any way, shape or form. Now, there are a lot of things that I have to mention that I will take with me moving forward. There were many people who belittled, discouraged or slandered my name since the beginning of this event, and basically it all came down to money. So much so that I wasn't even included in the documentary of my own business. Money was used as a reason to divide and some people used their already preconceived prejudices to believe that I was a bad person instead of trying to get to know me personally. Let's be real. I've always had an entrepreneurship mindset and money has never been impressive to me. I've never had to worry about money until I started my transition and was financially cut off. So if I wanted to be rich, I would not start a Trans related business because I know many of us are in the same situation. I simply wanted to start something that will impact the community in a good way. Many people don't know that I was homeless for a big chunk of time while all this was going on, that I still do not have any surgery and that I'm undocumented. In fact, the grant that started IATB was a grant for undocumented immigrants funded by Jorge Ramos and other entrepreneurs and philanthropists. I have many ideas that I could have proposed but wanted to do this final step of splitting FitCon and IATB to make things right for both audiences. And yet, despite me moving around every few weeks or so living out of a box, I still managed to write a book within 3 months and self-publish it on Amazon. So if you don't know me, you'd think I'm bragging... and rightly so, but I say all this to say that if you think the world is ending because you're Trans, you need to turn your TV off and wake up! The wealth that is inside of you is only killed by fear and because you listen to the wrong people. Anyone that discourages you from being the best version of yourself is either afraid of your potential or is projecting their own insecurities. I'm officially retired with a great feeling as I pass it on to the best people I could ever think of. I call it divinely ordered. And I can't wait to see where they take it. For now, I'm spending the next year putting things in order to allow for a smooth transition before I move on to bigger things. You will be seeing me around, and if you want to get in touch, search for my Professional Facebook Page (Neo L. Sandja). I am working on putting together something amazing for FitCon this year (the actual seminar/conference part), so if you'd like to meet up, not only I'll be there, but I won't be running around like crazy as in the past years :). I want us to talk about EMPOWERMENT. How can you empower yourself as an individual (not the checkmarks/checkboxes you fill out)? How can your newly empowered self empower your community? And can we work together to empower each other? So come on, do whatever you must, and show up. Book your flight, megabus, or put air in your bicycle, whatever, then let's find you an airbnb, checkout couchsurfing.org and I will even have some people crash with me (don't get used to it). Don't even worry about the website glitching (if you're a web guy, we need you to come help us fix it).... just send an email to transfitcon@gmail.com and say "yo, I'll be there and my name is NYX" and we'll add you to the list. Don't have the money for it? Send the email anyways! What I've always cared about is people's commitment for unity and self-improvement... not the money or the idea of money that keeps people mentally enslaved. So... I've said enough... and I plan on saying more (positive, worthwhile things) when I see you in person. I love you and I'll never give up on my community!

[wikifoxnews]

Who is Aiden McCarthy ( Toddler who lost both parents in Highland Park parade shooting ) Wiki, Bio, Age, Crime, Arrest, Incident Details, Investigations and More Facts

Aiden McCarthy Biography                    Aiden McCarthy Wiki

Couple in their 30s who left behind a 2-year-old son who was found under his deceased father in the chaos.

Irina McCarthy, 35, and husband Kevin McCarthy, 37, were at the parade with their baby Aiden when a gunman dressed as a woman opened fire during July 4 celebrations, turning the typical joyous event into a nightmare drenched in blood, officials said. Remember this little boy found wandering alone after #HighlandPark parade? We’ve just found out why… both his parents were killedA fundraiser has been started for Irina and Kevin McCarthy’s 2-yo son Aiden as he grows up without them @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/dQ2FuSrnbs — Kelly Sweeney☮️ (@KellySweeneyme) July 5, 2022 The couple were among seven innocent people shot during the chaos. According to the Daily Beast, his son was discovered under the body of his fatally injured father by a fleeing passerby. "My friend gave me this baby and told me it was under this dad who was shot in the leg," recalls Lauren Silva, 38. "They were trying to stop the bleeding, so I put the boy in the garage." "He kept asking if mom and dad would be back soon," she said. A GoFundMe page has now been created in honor of Irina's friends' son. “After the July 4 shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, the North Shore community came together to help a boy we didn't know. We brought him to safety in tragic circumstances, came together to find his grandparents and prayed for his family's safety," the fundraiser reads. "Sadly, I have to say his name...Aiden McCarthy. And he needs more of our help. His parents Irina and Kevin were killed in the July 4 shooting. At the age of two, Aiden is in an unthinkable position; growing up without his parents". The baby is currently being cared for by Irina's parents, Misha and Nina Levberg, the fundraiser said. “He will have a long way to go to heal, find stability and finally master the life of an orphan. He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family who will embrace him with love and all the resources available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows. explained GoFundMe. "On behalf of his family and with their permission, I am organizing this fundraiser to support him and the caregivers responsible for raising, caring for and supporting Aiden as he and his support system embark on this unexpected journey. ." Angela Vella, a friend of Irina's, wrote on Facebook that her "stomach was tight". "I can't believe this happened. Irina was such a funny person with a real soul. I have so many great memories with her," Vella wrote. "My thoughts and prayers are with his family, especially his adorable baby. If you can donate, please do so. I am still shocked and incredibly hurt by his death, as well as the rest of the tragedy in his life. together. " Read the full article

[andtheniwrotemarvel]

Reversal of Roles: Tony Stark

Tony Stark x Reader

Assumed female reader

Word Count: 2286

I am so excited for this series! I think you’ll understand the idea of the series more as you read this one, but each of these is going to be different.The next one that I have lined up is Bucky.

"Iron Man," you fumed. "Just because the suit doesn't have curves doesn't mean that the person inside it is a guy."

"(Y/N), you're overthinking this. Does it matter that they think you're a guy?" Pepper, your PA, reasoned, taking the remote from your hands and turning off the television. "It just means that they won't think it's you."

You snorted. "They'll be so busy looking for a guy smart enough to make the suit that they won't realize that local genius (Y/N) (L/N) is behind the whole thing. Serves the sexist jerks right."

"(Y/N), really?"

"Pepper, really?" you copied. "Besides, Iron Woman sounds terrible. And it's not even iron! It's a gold-titanium alloy."

"And they're supposed to know that...how?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Gold-Titanium Alloy Woman sounds stupid, too," you complained.

"What a conundrum you are stuck in," she mocked you.

"Hey! I got it! They can call me Female!" you grinned.

"How did you jump to that?"

"Fe is the notation for iron on the periodic table, and male means man. They're still technically calling me Iron Man, but they're acknowledging the fact that I'm a girl, too."

Pepper put her face in her hands. "Sometimes I wonder if all of that genius was wasted on you, (Y/N)."

"You want it? Fine! The truth is--" you took a breath, tearing your note cards in half twice and tossing them in the air like confetti-- "I am Iron Man, but you should probably start thinking of a new name," you announced at the press conference. You had accidentally revealed yourself, and were done with trying to cover. "I will not be taking any questions until approximately 'in your dreams.' Thank you, and leave me alone." You stormed away from the conference barefoot, not-so-accidentally leaving your pumps behind.

Thankfully, most of the reporters were too shocked to shout at you, but there were a few annoyingly persistent buggers that began yelling at the top of their lungs to be heard and answered. You sighed. "Some people just can't take a hint."

Pepper met you at the doors, and helped to ward the demons away from you. "Hey, you'd better be taking questions from me," she said, then told a few more reporters to go away. The two of you began to walk back to your car.

"Depends on the question," you replied.

"How about 'why would you just reveal yourself like that?' Or 'do you realize how stupid that was?'" she offered.

"I did it because I had already dug myself into a hole, and there was no getting out of it. About the second one, you always do say that all this genius was wasted on me."

"(Y/N), I was never serious about that! Now, I kind of am, but I never expected you to do that. Your thing is talking your way out of impossible situations. Why wouldn't you do that now?" she pressed.

"They were going to find out sooner or later," you said. "It might as well have been from me that they heard it." The overwhelming buzz of the crowd of reporters were really getting on your nerves now, and you make another spur-of-the moment decision that you were probably going to regret later. "Hey, would you all shut up?!" you projected your voice over the crowd.

A few of them did as you asked, while others were under the impression that 'you all' didn't apply to them, and kept shouting. After the obedient reporters realized that you weren't doing anything, they picked right back up with thee shouting.

"Pepper, please stop me before I do something stupid," you pleaded. You began to make your way back through the reporters, back into the building, and back up to the pulpit.

"(Y/N), what are you doing? If you open up questions, we could be here for hours, and you don't have time for that. You have a meeting at two with the board of the company," Pepper reminded you nervously.

"There's no way in heck that I'm opening up questions, and I didn't forget about the meeting this time," you reassured her.

"Yeah, this time," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, it was only three times," you defended yourself.

"In a row."

"Okay, okay. Now, pull me out if I look like I'm going to answer one question. I just have to announce something, and then we're out of here," you promised. You turned to face the crowd of reporters, and miraculously, they shut up. "I guess the respect that a reporter has for a human being relies entirely on whether or not they have a microphone in front of them," you started.

The crowd laughed, but thankfully didn't explode with questions.

"You're probably wondering why I'm up here again, when I clearly said that I wasn't taking any questions. No, I haven't changed my mind," you clarified. "I will allow one person to have a personal Q&A session with me. The raffle will be open to literally anyone who wants to enter. You can enter by sending one email to an address that I'll provide on my Facebook page. Wait, Pepper, I have one of those, right?"

"Yes," she answered, giving a stiff, confused nod.

"Don't use multiple email addresses for one person or news corporation," you cautioned. "I will find out. Everyone gets an equal chance."

"Can a news corporation have cameras present at the interview, regardless of who wins the opportunity to speak with you?" a particularly daring reporter shouted.

You found the young man in the crowd, and gave him the death glare of a lifetime. "Please refer to the FAQ for any questions. It'll probably be posted with the email address," you seethed. "Any additional questions will be answered as 'no.'"

The audience exploded with protests, but you stepped down from the podium, effectively ignoring them. Avoiding eye contact with anyone besides Pepper, you slipped your arm under your assistant's arm like she was escorting you, and you quickly exited the building.

"Was that whole contest thing an on-the-spot thing?" the redhead asked once you were both safely in the solitude of your car.

"Kinda," you admitted. "I've been debating it for a while, actually. I want to talk to regular people without being bombarded by other people and the media. I thought that this sort of thing might be fun."

"It's unique, to say the least," Pepper shrugged. "How are you going to know if news corporations are entering multiple addresses?"

"I actually designed the program a while ago to search the background of the people sending me emails. I may or may not have set it up to rule out names and addresses tied to the media," you admitted, biting your lip. "They don't need to know that, though."

Pepper smiled, and you could tell that she wholeheartedly agreed with that aspect of this situation. "They do not."

The quiet volume of your Bach CD filled the silencer which was much appreciated. Despite your outward appearance of being an extrovert, being quiet and enjoying the company of your best friend was really nice. Your days since your escape had been stressful, even disregarding your decision to cut (L/N) Industries from the weapons business.

"Are you going to write the FAQ, or is that up to me?" Pepper broke the verbal silence.

"I'll write it during that meeting at 2," you shrugged. "I got nothing better to do."

You already knew that you were going to like the winner of the contest based on his email address. His name was Tony Stark, and his address was "youknowwhoiam@gmail.com."

You were showing up at the guy's house in five minutes, and you had never been this excited to meet someone in your life. Pepper was excited just because you were excited, and maybe she was like that just because no media was involved.

"You look like a five-year-old on Christmas," she commented.

"Am I not a five-year-old?" you giggled. "It's not Christmas, but I think that I definitely fit the other half of the description."

"Just act like a mature adult today, and we can talk about that later."

"Being a mature adult is overrated," you scoffed.

"I now understand your philosophy on life," she groaned.

"Oh, come on, Pep, you have to get tired of being an adult sometimes."

She raised her eyebrows, her mouth a thin line. "Of course I do, but I never get a break because I'm working with you."

"Yeah, that's hard to argue," you admitted.

You pulled up next to the house that matched the address that you had. This was a pretty upscale neighborhood, and Tony Stark's house was the most upscale of them all. You wondered what this guy did for a living.

Pepper knocked on the door, and you waited for a response. After maybe thirty seconds of nothing, she tried again. Still nothing.

"Ah, screw it," you said, and pushed the doorbell three times in rapid succession.

A startled cry came from inside, followed by a thud.

"(Y/N)!" Pepper scolded you. You shrugged and smiled in response.

A man with dark hair and dark eyes opened the door, wearing a white t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. He took in you and Pepper standing on his doorstep, you dressed much more casually than your counterpart, and rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Oh, was that today?" he yawned.

Pepper rolled her eyes, but you grinned broadly. "I relate to that more than you can imagine," you said.

"You must be Mr. Stark, then?" Pepper asked, holding out her hand stiffly.

"Please, call me Tony," he answered, taking her hand and shaking it more firmly than she thought that he would. "Mr. Stark was my father."

You snorted, and Pepper shot you a glare. "What? You don't recognize SpongeBob when you hear it?"

"Finally, someone gets the reference," Tony said, throwing up his hands.

"See, Pep, normal people do watch SpongeBob," you huffed.

"Anyway, how about you guys come in?" Tony suggested, moving out of the doorway. He looked in, and realized that a blanket still covered his couch, and this throw pillows rested on the floor. "Just let me take care of that," he mumbled, rushing in and putting everything back in its place.

"Why were you sleeping on the couch?" you asked bluntly. "Mrs. kick you out of bed?"

He laughed at that. "Nope. No, it's just me. But if you must know," he began, taking a seat on his one-and-a-half person chair, "I couldn't sleep, then watched the 60's Batman TV show until I did."

"Are you sure that this guy isn't the male embodiment of you, (Y/N)?" Pepper said.

"Well, we have yet to find out," you replied, sitting down on the soft black couch. "What do you do for a living, Tony?"

"I'm an engineer, for the most part, but when the need arises, I make a good blue-hat."

"Didja hack your way here, then?" you joked. He was silent for a few seconds, and the expression on his face told you that he was debating whether or not to tell the truth. "No way. You hacked my program?"

"It was hard, it that's any consolation," he shrugged.

Despite Pepper's obvious disapproval, your face split into a grin. "Dude, that's really impressive!" you gushed. "And you said you're an engineer? What do you do there?"

"Ever since I heard about the contest and hacked my way into winning, I've been working on designs to improve upon what you've already built, specifically, the arc reactor, your suit..."

"Do you have your designs on you?" you asked, intrigued.

"Oh, yeah, they're up in my lab," he said, jumping up from his seat. "It's up this way." He walked toward the staircase, expecting you and Pepper to follow.

"(Y/N), I don't know if this is a good idea," Pepper expressed her worries. "We don't know this guy's intentions."

"Ah, come on, Pepper, lighten up a bit. Who knows, he could really help us. Maybe his is the kind of attitude we need at (L/N), instead of the anxious, stressed mood we've had going on since I pulled us out of weapons."

"I think we'll be fine with or without this guy. I think that we should leave."

"You just think that he's annoying," you claimed, cracking a smile. "Just think about what you said before about him being the male embodiment of me, and then I think you'll be a little more optimistic."

Tony backtracked a couple of steps down the stairs and asked the two of you, "Are you coming, or should I send you the schematics?"

"We're coming," you smiled at the same time as Pepper deadpanned, "Send the schematics." You both rolled your eyes at each other, and followed Tony up the stairs.

To say that Tony's designs were impressive was an understatement. He had gotten such good ideas of what he was working with by just looking at pictures and video footages that there were very few things that you would have had to correct him on. The two of you talked for a couple of hours while Pepper listened from an office chair.

"Have you ever considered working at (L/N)?" you inquired. Pepper put her face in her hand, but you ignored that.

"I have," he nodded, "but I didn't want to start with the entrance-level stuff."

"Understandable. But, hey, I can take care of that. Welcome to (L/N) Industries, if you want," you said, -offering him your hand.

"(Y/N), why?" Pepper groaned.

"He'll grow on you, Pep, I promise!" you exclaimed. "What do you say, Tony?"

Tony shook your hand excitedly. "Let's take over the world," he said.

You smirked devilishly. "I like the way you think."

Tags: @shamvictoria11

Sorry I’ve been slacking on the tag list, but I can’t even find the other blog that used to be on there anymore :/

[jennmoslek36]

TO THE OFFICIALS AND CITIZENS OF MARIANNA, FLORIDA:

I AM WRITING this to implore you to step up and finally do the right thing regarding the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys (formerly the Florida Industrial School). For years, representatives of Marianna and its residents have spent much of their time and energy disputing and distorting the facts of this situation. You have put maximum effort into denying what happened at Dozier and at times have flat out lied/covered up the details of the horrendous events that took place for over 100 years while an entire town chose to look the other way.

MILTON AND DOZIER were given proper burials and rest in peace in a well kept graveyard. Both are memorialized with marble headstones & elaborate monuments, surrounded by their families. The same cannot be said about Dozier’s “students.” They were dumped into the ground secretly, under the cover of night. NO beautiful headstone confirming their short existence on this earth. NO family there to say goodbye. NO pomp and NO circumstance for them because in the eyes of Marianna, they meant nothing.

YOU HAVE CONTINUALLY painted CHILD ABUSERS, SEXUAL PREDATORS and MURDERERS as town heroes. Arthur Dozier is NOT a hero (nor are his predecessors, successors and ALL of the other disturbed individuals that spent countless hours abusing young boys). Senator W.H. Milton is certainly NOT a hero as it was he who started Marianna down the path of destruction, fighting to have the school built in Marianna and springing into action each time an FISB/AGDSB superintendent approached him with some “innovative” way to increase the school’s profit. YOUR TOWN HAS canonized them, protecting and defending them and ALL of the others involved. Arthur Dozier was given a memorial on school grounds; The same grounds where countless children were raped, beaten and murdered. The school became his legacy, eventually bearing his name. But sometimes fate has a way of biting back as Arthur Dozier, the man, will now forever be synonymous with a notoriously brutal reform school.

THERE ARE PEOPLE in Marianna who know and have the power to finally give these families closure and yet you choose to keep your secrets buried. I ask you, where’s the humanity in that?

YOU BELIEVED THAT you were untouchable. As the decades passed, the views and practices of the world were ever evolving but NOT in Marianna. You stayed true to your cruelty, convinced that the laws protecting children were NOT for you to follow. You almost got away with it, however, you became over confident, leaving behind many witnesses. They were victimized BUT they are NOT victims. They are survivors and they are brave. They WILL now be YOUR undoing. You call them liars but have you asked yourselves what purpose it would serve for NOT one, NOT ten, NOT fifty BUT hundreds to step into the public eye and tell millions of strangers that they were abused in the most heinous of ways? Having worked with abused children myself, for many years, I can assure you that there isn’t ANY. Of the many ways one can gain notoriety, publicly declaring yourself a victim of the most horrific abuse imaginable is NOT very high on the list. Having hundreds speak of the same instances is unheard of.

IT WAS YOU that caused these men to go to the public. It was YOU that set these events in motion. YOU had an opportunity to listen to these men, acknowledge their pain and suffering, empathize with what they had gone through and offer a sincere apology. By failing to do even one of these things and continuing to taunt, slander and bully, you threw gasoline on a fire that has been smoldering since the day that the very first adult fist was raised to strike a child residing at AGDSB. YOU have nobody to blame but yourself. Your behavior is shameful.

YOU SAID THAT there were NO undocumented burials on school land and yet the remains of 24 boys were found in unmarked graves on the property, with evidence that there are many, many more. Even after that YOU still minimalized the situation, intentionally setting out to deceive.

WE ALL KNOW that there are former Dozier staff in your community that shouldn’t be free and definitely should NOT be within 50 miles of ANY child.

SOON THE ENTIRE world will have heard of Marianna, Florida and the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. You can’t change the past, however, What you now need to decide is what you will be known for from this moment forward. Will you forever be known as the town that did nothing while children were tortured and murdered OR will you be the town that refuses to allow its dark history to define it. The sins of the father do NOT have to be passed to the child.

I CHALLENGE YOUR town to come together, admit to what has taken place and issue a sincere apology to ALL affected by what took place at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. It’s time for you to let go of the reigns as they don’t belong to you…They never really have. What’s happened can NO longer be covered up. You are NO longer in charge and with so many people standing behind the survivors, you are starting to lose what little control of the situation that you have left. Take a moment to let that sink in, swallow your pride and step aside. If there is anyone having an issue with this request, remember this:

WE ALL KNOW what you did and we are ALL watching you…

☆ IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW SUFFERED ABUSE, PASSED AWAY, WENT MISSING OR WITNESSED ANY WRONGDOINGS WHILE AT “THE FLORIDA INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS” AKA “THE ARTHUR G. DOZIER SCHOOL FOR BOYS” OR THE OKEECHOBEE SCHOOL FOR BOYS, PLEASE REACH OUT AT findingflorida.blog OR ANY OF THE CONTACT INFO LISTED BELOW!!☆

PLEASE SUPPORT FINDING FLORIDA BY “SUBSCRIBING” & “SHARING”

FOLLOW FINDING FLORIDA: FACEBOOK: FIND PAGE: fb.me/findingfloridablog MESSENGER: m.me/findingfloridablog INSTAGRAM:  findingflorida.blog YOUTUBE URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsnmCP5RB2BHct4mTb4FWZQ CONTACT ME AT: findingfloridablog@gmail.com FOR ALL DOZIER RELATED INFO: http://thewhitehouseboysonline.com AND http://www.whitehouseboys2007.com

AN OPEN LETTER TO MARIANNA… TO THE OFFICIALS AND CITIZENS OF MARIANNA, FLORIDA: I AM WRITING this to implore you to step up and finally do the right thing regarding the Arthur G.

[plogan721]

I Am Looking Back and Remembering My First Blog Post as a Blogger

Photo byPixabay 

My very first post on my P. Lynne Designs blog.  My Ambiance Life is not the first blog I started.  The evolution of my blogs goes like this:  MDN Creates.  This started as a hodge-podge like a blog that covered topics such as “What heck am I doing” to “I got this, but it is time to split the blog because there are too many different topics on here”. That last topic I owe to my friend, who told me that I was covering too many topics on the blog.  The first post was an introduction to me and the blog itself, so I will not reminisce on that topic.  Nothing much to reflect on.  The next post, the one I will be commenting on was dated January 5, 2009, was titled Resolutions, and again, it was before I separated and divided the blog into the three blogs you know of today. 

Reflecting on Resolutions

As I am reading, I am first reflecting on how much I have grown as a writer in the past 10 years (January 1, was my anniversary).  In order to get anywhere, you need a starting point.  The only things I knew at the time in regard to blogging was;

1)      This blog had to be interesting to grab a reader’s attention to the point where the reader cannot wait until the writer puts in a new post. This means that I needed an interesting topic and the content of that topic is not of your typical, boring textbook variety

2)    Consistency is the key to all, even though I have not always reflected that consistency.  I am getting better.

I also had a moment or two, where I reflected:

·        I started the blog (now called P. Lynne Designs) at a time when Oprah was still on the air.  In fact, I referred to something she said on her show.

·        I mentioned that I had goals in 2009.  They were: 

o   To organize

o   To stop beating myself up

o   To love me more

o   To do more of what God asked of me

o   To scrapbook more

o   To take my business more seriously

o   To take time for me, to learn, and to grow.

·        I mentioned each goal and how I would do it.  Now I am finally going to give you an update on those goals in a moment.

·        Joel Olsteen came up in the conversation about never be still.

·        I submitted an article to Associated Content.  I am not sure what the results of that were, I am a terrible person in the art of follow-up.

Some of those moments made me cry.  Why?  I get extremely emotional at times or there is something in my eye?  I love gushy moments like this, and this is one of the reasons why I started blogging and journaling in the first place, to not hold it in.  I have gotten better on where to channel my anger, but that does not mean I do not get angry anymore.  That is like taking an emotion away from someone.  For someone like Abby Lee Miller to tell a dancer to save their tears for their pillow or to tell a boy that men do not cry does not do it for me.  Yes, there is a time and place to cry, but if you must cry, do it right there and get it over with.

So, back to my reflections on resolutions….

I mentioned that the post was long.  Why did I say that when the average post is supposed to be at least between 1,000-2,000 words?  Yes, back in 2009, “Resolutions” would be considered a long post.  No one knew exactly how long a blog post had to be at that time. Experts used to mention that anything blog post beyond 500-800 words is a fairly long post.  Another reason for that statement is back then the experts thought that such a lengthy post would give way to repeat phrases and ideas, and you cannot and should not repeat what you said 5 minutes ago unless you are summarizing.  

Summarizing a post

When I summarize, I call them TAKEAWAY MOMENTS.  During this time, I am telling you again what I said throughout the piece, or I am giving you little nuggets of information that should help you should you be going through what I have been through. I start out by reminding the reader of my topic then I sprinkle in the repeated information that was mentioned in my blog post.  When I repeat, I often remind the reader what is important, and I try not to sprinkle in the fluff.  Finally, I concluding with on a bit of advice to carry through.

What has changed since Resolutions?

This is an update to the goals I mentioned in “Resolutions”. Not only has my writing changed from that post, but the goals as well.  The most noticeable change is the blog name.  It is now P. Lynne Designs and it reflects that on the blog when you first click on the blog post.  It is about the change again soon because I am working on my website, P. Lynne Designs, and new posts will be going in the blog section on the website. It has been a good ride on Blogger, but I have grown, and my writing has grown. At the moment, I have a coming soon on the website, but you are welcome to signup to be on my mailing list to be notified when the website is coming.

Also, the niche has changed.  It is no longer a hodge-podge collection of what I feel like writing.  I own that splitting the blog up into bite-size pieces.  My Blessed Life (now known as My Ambiance Life) is part of the split.  So is At Home with Tricia's Baskets, a combo of former blogs Simply Organized Crafts (which is now ONLY a Facebook page), Traveling to the Mouse’s House, and Tricia’s Baskets.  These two blogs will also leave the Blogger Home for WordPress.  The foundation of the blogs are there, I need to start the final setup and launch.

Updating my goals since that date

Since I wrote that entry, here is what has transpired:

        To Organize:  well, I am not totally organized to that point.  I can receive company now, even though I was always able to receive company.  When you are in possession of things, even things that people agree you should have or not have, you want to make them presentable and so not messy.  I was on the side of messy, and even though people had places to sit, hold a conversation and eat my food without feeling ill to the pit of their stomachs, I did not feel comfortable without someone saying something.  That may have been my OCD kicking in at the time.  As my pastor puts it quite eloquently, I am an extrovert introvert.  More on that in another post.  If you do not understand, try not to overthink it for now.

         The next three I will tackle together; To not beat myself up, To love me more, To take time for me.  This does not mean I was harming myself.  When I do something that was a mistake, I am harder on myself more than anyone.  I am constantly saying why did you do that.  To love yourself means, do not get upset because you are not married, you do not have children, or you are not a certain status in life.  Just because you see someone who has those things that you desire does not mean you do not have to say things like, “I wish”, “Why did this happen”, “why was I not more intensive”, or “if only”.  That ship has sailed, or it has not come to you.

           Scrapbooking More.  Actually, that has slowed down a lot.  Since that time, I have created one scrapbook album for someone in 2018, a lady at church. The reason was around October 6, 2010, a little company called Instagram got started and paved the way for scrapbooking the traditional way obsolete.  Instead of sharing scrapbook pages you have made with the photos you took, you share them on an account.  No one was asking for an album to be made because they can make them on the phone and in an online account. Not only that, there were people who asked me at work why to make albums when all you are doing is wasting paper and making the world a bad place to live.  Please do not get me started for there are worst things a person can do to desecrate this world than making a project out of paper.  I shifted my focus more to making cards and learning how to turn my skills into freelance writing, graphic design, and projects.  This lead to;

         Taking my business more seriously.  No explanation there, except I am still learning.  This also leads to-

Photo by Pixabay

          I am still learning and growing to better myself and to teach others.  I keep mentioning that in a former career move, I was once a preschool teacher.  While I may never find myself teaching anyone (children or adults) full-time again, I enjoy learning more so I can teach.  Last month (June), I was thrown into being a teacher’s assistant for my church’s Vacation Bible School.  I actually had double-duty.  I was the assistant director and a teacher’s aide.  One of the teachers ended up in the hospital before VBS got started, and since no one volunteered to be a helper and substitute for her, I volunteered.  Even though it was for one week, I enjoyed listening to the children (ages 4-11), and it reminded me of why I chose to be a preschool teacher in the first place.  Every once in a while, take in the small moments on why you started something in the first place. For me, it was the love of children, and watching how they process things and ideas. I will have a whole blog post on why I quit my teaching job later

Conclusion and takeaways

If you are a blogger, I suggest that you take a look at your first blog post to see how much you have grown as a writer.  Even if your blog is only a few months old you will discover in that few months’ time how much you have grown as a writer.

If you are not a writer but do not know where to begin, start with journaling.  Once you are in your comfort zone, try to expand your writing.  It does not have to be a blog, but I can tell you right now that sharing in some compacity helps you to grow.  Also, sharing helps you to be mindful on your writing skills.  If it a journaling post you do not have to share every detail of your life. 

If you do start blogging, use a program like Grammarly (a program I use and love).  Grammarly is a free spell checker and grammar checker.  Grammarly also comes in a premium subscription too.

Finally, if you share things like goals, it makes you more accountable than to say them and forget them.  Work on those goals and update your readers.

Until next time, take care of those things that matter to you, which include those persons in your life that matter to you.  You matter to me, so, take care, and God Bless you and your week.

from Blogger http://bit.ly/2YUIjVI via IFTTT

[paultys]

Before I continue from where I left off, I want to present a snippet of why I love this Island. Driving the children to school this morning, the sun is shining, but Charlie has just annoyed me to the point of shouting. As I drive I’m fuming, we sit silently in the car, the boys afraid to make noise for fear of re-awakening my wrath! We pass an elderly gentleman and with a piece of paper he flags me down. “Are you going to town” he asks, “yes, do you need a lift?” was my reply I have given more lifts to strangers in the past three years than the rest of my life put together. “No” he says, “but could you please deliver this letter to Sure (the Island’s telecom providers), it’s very important”. “Of course I can, no problem sir”, and with that a complete stranger trusts me with an important letter, and instantly lifts my moods and brightens my day.

I appologised to the boys for losing my temper, whilst re-iterating that they can’t leave their shoes in the rain all night, we cuddle, I tell them I love them and they walk into school happy, all friends again. Magic.

So back to the main story, after my last blog, things went from unusual (for St Helena) to damn right weird. A passing adventure cruise ship, fresh from taking bird watchers to the Antarctic is passing St Helena and agrees to call in to take approximately ten stranded, and urgent passengers to Ascension Island and beyond to Cape Verde, where they can then catch a flight to the UK. Crazy I know, but if you need to get off the Island, at this point in time, it’s your only option.

For me this was not a strait forward option, it gave me two days’ notice and may of cost a lot of money. After checking with my new boss, I decide to wait in hope the RMS is fixed, and I can travel on the 17th May, arriving just two weeks late for work. For friends of our however this was not an option, with their passports expiring they were not able to travel through South Africa, and Ascension was their only option. But as I explained, Ascension Island runway is now also closed, so the MV Plancius, leaving in two days became their only option to get off the Island. With the ship boarding at 11am, Frankie and Dean Gonsalves were still rushing round town, trying to speak to one government official after another to get emergency documents sorted to allow them to travel. With the children in tow and the sun reaching its mid-day peak I offered my hand and took their children for toasties and slushes in the park, a welcome relief to the stressed parents.

Eventually the documents come through and after a now third goodbye I saw off some of my best friends on the Island, not sure when I would see them again. They travelled for two days before arriving on Ascension Island, and with a few hours stop over headed to English Bay, a stunning white sand beach with clear blue waters. Now at this stage some of you probably know what’s coming next, yes that’s right, my friends were attacked by a shark. Are you f**king kidding me, you can’t make this up. As Bev and I are enjoying a wonderful wedding on the Island news comes through that our friend Frankie has been attacked by a shark, and although is alive and safe, will face months of surgery and rehabilitation as her Achilles tendon and other parts of her ankle have been torn to pieces. By all accounts Dean was something of a hero, punching said shark in the face repeatedly to get it to leave his wife alone, before fending it off from himself. Two other people worthy of a mention are Paul and Craig Scipio who selflessly ran to their aid pulling the couple from the water and administering essential initial first aid.

The children, thankfully not in the water, witnessed the whole thing and were understandably in pieces. The news left us all on the Island shocked and worried. With Frankie stable and in good care, she awaited an emergency flight to the UK (one way to get home quicker) whilst Dean and the children were dumped back on the Plancius to spend another ten nights at sea away from their injured wife and Mum.

Happily I can report that Frankie is doing well, operations have gone well and I’m sure she will be back with us before long, already able to laugh and joke about the events. The children and Dean remarkably got back in the sea at Cape Verde, something I think is pretty incredible. For us it was difficult, not only the trauma of getting trickles of information about friends in a very serious situation, but, having spent most of our lives as Marine Biologist peddling stories of how sharks are not dangerous and the oceans are safe and sharks should be protected, one of our closest friend’s bloody well gets attacked by one. It’s important to present some background though. For some time now Galapagos sharks have been encroaching on the island, encouraged by the discard’s of fishermen thrown freely into the shallow waters. These sharks have not only begun to relinquish their fear of man, but are actively seeking out shallow waters with people around, associating the situation with food. The Ascension Island government must make some changes. Although not a tourist destination, the two swimmable beaches on the Island are very very popular with the locals on the Island and those passing through, who now would risk swimming in their clear blue waters.

Back on St Helena the fall out for me was somewhat intense as the worlds media did their best to find out what is going on. A quick search on Frankie’s Facebook page reveals a photo of her swimming with a whale shark, taken of course by yours truly. This led to five national UK papers phoning me directly trying to get more information. Sticking to the facts as I knew them and correcting some inaccuracies it was a delicate situation. My friends still separated as Dean and the family travelled by sea, the extent of Frankie’s injuries not clearly known, and not wishing to upset anyone I told them as little as I could get away with and bided them a polite goodbye.

The photo itself though did appear in several national newspapers. One would never ever wish for anyone they care for to be injured in this way, but it’s a pretty cool photo and seeing it in the national press I must admit is exciting!

Now, at two pages long already I should probably stop writing before boring you all to death, but if you’re with me so far I shall continue. Set as I was to leave on the 27th of April, our personal belongings were boxed and packed into shipping containers the week prior, on the 20th April ready for their long journey back to the UK on the MV Helena (the replacement cargo vessel commissioned to ensure supplies to the Island) . Now with over a month left on the Island, and Bev and the boys even longer we had no option but to move into someone else’s house, a family, who were on leave and would be off the Island, whom perhaps had young children with toy for the boys. Whom could that be, yep, that’s right, Frankie and Deans house! And so it was that we left our lovely home in Alarm Forest and crossed the Island to Cleughs plain with just a suitcase each to last the next three months! The local news outlets were keeping us informed about how passengers, now stranded in Cape Town might get home and how in turn, those here might be able to leave. A plane, no plane, the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship, no Queen Elizabeth Cruise ship, RMS on schedule, RMS needs more work, the stories and rumours went back and forth like a yo yo. Eventually confirmed, news from SHG that a plane had been commissioned to fly people, now stuck in Cape Town for, in some cases 6 weeks, home to St Helena. So finally I had a confirmed route back to the UK that would get me to work on time.

I e-mailed the given address and was assured my name was on the list and more information would be provided when available. Waiting and waiting it was 2.30pm, the day before the flight before I phoned up Solomon’s Shipping office who were dealing with bookings. “Hi there, its Paul Tyson here, I think I’m on the flight, but Ive not heard anything more can you provide some information. What time will we depart, what time do we arrive, do I have a ticket, where do I get my ticket from, hat is the baggage allowance?” My question went on and the response was a rather despondent “I’m sorry Sir, I don’t have any information to provide you, we haven’t been told anything yet”. I asked if I was still booked onto the 17th May RMS voyage, and had it confirmed I was, with that I asked them to call me as soon as any information is forthcoming. As I sit here now, the plane has been and gone and I still haven’t received that phone call. But never mind, my passage on the RMS is booked, the ship is repaired, has reached St Helena and is currently steaming towards Ascension Island.

I will arrive in the UK on the 24th May, ready to start work on the 29th. My sixth and final voyage on the RMS, a small piece of history of my own. In the meantime St Helena made its own history once more, as, only 12 months late, the first commercial passenger plane landed and departed on St Helena. The boys and I went to watch this historic event. For most parts of the world, a plane with 60 passengers landing is not big news, but for the Island this is massive. The airport heaved with people, family and friends and curious onlookers like myself. The airport, baggage handling, oversubscribed restaurant all ran perfectly, and for the first time the airport operated as it was intended. The excitement was palpable, and I am thrilled for all the staff and people involved in the project. We are still some months away from the airport operating properly, but at least we now know it can. Will we ever get to the bottom on who cocked up along the way, I doubt it, and does it matter? Well yes, but we can move on and the successful landing of RJ85 Avro flight takes everyone a step closer.

Crowds gather waiting for the plane to arrive.

The airport seen from Millenium Forest

The airport was heaving with excited friends and family.

Anyone wishing to read more about the airport and this historic day should take a look at Darrin and Sharon Henry’s terrific blog, What the Saints Did Next. Fantastic photography and writing.

So what’s with the title, “Packing it in”, obviously I have eluded to our personal belongings being packed away, but, set as I was to leave on the 27th April, the past three weeks have truly allowed me to pack it in, and my weeks have been nonstop fun. People are no asking me, “how many leaving do’s have you had Six!!” The undoubted highlight of which was an awesome party with our neighbours who put on a mini festival involving a swimming pool and bouncy castle, barbecue and cooking on a fire pit, lots of beer, a live band and a stunning sunset to boot. Oh what a night. A huge thanks to Hayley and Jamie Bridgewater for a memory lasting night.

Aside from hangovers I have also managed to start, at long last, playing golf. My game is not good, but improving, and with that I played my first (and last) Texas Scramble tournament, a doubles game where the use of whichever balls is hit best, allows for my way wood shots to be discounted! Alas my teammate Tina Johnson and I came last, or joint third as I prefer to call it, but it was a great day and was followed up with another barbecue and more drinking. There is a solid theme of the past few weeks and beer has been central to that theme, I shall have to re-asses my habits wen I’m back in the UK, but for now I’m on holiday and shall enjoy it!

I have also fitted in three post box walks. Post box walks are  list of 21 walks, of varying difficulty across the Island that, at the end of the walk, have a post, containing a stamp, for you to mark ones guide book at the completion of each walk.

The first was a walk to Great Stone top, with friend Gordon Brodie. Gordon has not yet featured in my blog, which is strange as he has been something of an ever present. Cards, Golf, Snooker, drinking and barbeques all, inevitably are shared with my unique and characterful friend. Some (well he) would come him powerful, his friends affectionately tend to call him Gordie Bollocks, and I could tell you a hundred stories from our time here together, most of which involved beer and often the breaking of something or someone, or other inappropriate behaviors. But for now I’ll leave the stories to his company as a walking companion for the week!

Leaving the Bell Stone (an ancient phonolithic volcanic rock that rings like a bell when struck) we started out through forests of pine before the path opens out with spectacular views across Prosperous Bay and the airport. With another drinking engagement in the afternoon we soon made the decision to forego the full walk to Great Stone top and instead settled for its little brother, Little Stone Top! A pleasant walk with enough out of breath moments to make one feel as though they have done some work, but short enough to get back in time for a party we all enjoyed the views, the climbing and the company.

Gordon and his son William also joined us a few days later as we tackled Sharks Valley. A longer walk through a steep sided Gorge that falls deep into a ravine and opens out onto the rugged rocky coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. This was something more of a challenge as much of the walk traverses along very narrow loose paths across the steep sided rock face of the gorge with a precipitous drop below. Oliver in particular struggles with this, the combination of exposure and loose grit below his feet, understandably unnerving him. We edged along, hand in hand, for what felt like an eternity as his nerves undoubtedly rubbed off on me. Nut we made it, down to the sea where we were faced with what I personally can only describe as a shocking scene. Here we are, 800 miles from the nearest other land, 1400 miles from the nearest continent, on a rocky beach simply covered in the world trash. Rubbish, carried on the current for hundreds or thousands of miles and washed up on our isolated Island. You would struggle to find somewhere more remote than this beach, and yet Mans’ mark has been left. Humanities collective contempt for our planet never ceases to amaze me, and here it was laid out before me in the form of bottles, sandals, ropes nets and trash.

Next up was a tour with a difference as Arran Legg, of Arran 4×4 tours met us in the morning for an off road drive through the Islands off beaten tracks. We spent six enjoyable hours in the company of the very knowledgeable, and thankfully skilled Arran as we wound through hill and dale, across lush pasture land to dry deserts. The highlight of which for me was a lengthy, often unnerving, drive through Fishers Valley and to our picnic sight overlooking the airport.

This spot and track (if you can call it that) are only used by Arran himself, and the National Trust when monitoring the Islands endemic Wirebird population. It was as remote as it was stunningly beautiful. The recent rains have brought colour to this arid landscape. The feeling of isolation and privilege was wonderful. My mind wandered as I contemplated the huge amount of change this apparently static landscape has scene. Once the location of a huge woodland of endemic Gumwood trees (large Daisies that grow as trees!!) the landscape has been eaten bare by centuries of wild goats, brought to the Island by successive Portuguese ships as a food source for their long journey on the Indian trade routes. More recently of course, a valley has been filled in, and an airport has been built. The site of which will soon become normal, but at this stage still presents a somewhat surprising image of this concrete strip perched perilously on a bizarre, remote rock plateau miles from any other human habitation!

“One of the most challenging Post Box walks”. “Walking on St Helena is different and challenging…..confident and regular walkers from elsewhere in the world have found that they are not able to cope with the local terrain”. “For walks rated 5/10 and above it is important for walkers safety that they are accompanied by a knowledgeable guide”. Are the words I read once safely back in my car, AFTER, taking on the infamously named “The Barn”. I should of read that earlier!!

Perhaps the most notorious of walks on the Island with difficult path finding, vertiginous (I love that word, it mean vertigo inducing) drops and exposure, shear cliff and 300ft drops. No problem I thought, Ive spent many years scaling Peaks in Snowdonia, this will be fine, besides, Bev has done it before!!

As I crossed the first few fields and the sight of the Barn presented itself it crossed my mind that maybe, I shouldn’t of gone alone. But my ego, which has led me into many silly situations before, would not let me turn back and leave the Island having not “done the Barn”.

It stood out ahead of me, a massive dark formation of hard rock, eroded on all sides as the softer landscape around it has dropped into the sea after millions of years of South Atlantic winds batter the cliffs. The guidebook suggests that paths may be difficult to follow following heavy rains, “we’ve had a lot of that” I thought. But the start of the path was easy to find and I followed into onto the first early challenges, traversing a grey mud cliff and gorge where the 6 inch wide path had been often filled in with an angle of mud, or obscured by sharp gorse bushes, all the while accompanied by what turned out to be an almost ever present feeling of impending doom.

Looking back towards the crazy mud “path” that crossed the steep slope of mud!

One false step and you’re in serious trouble here mate. After crossing this first challenge the path reaches a wide broad ridge, welcome relief and impressive in its beauty, sharp edges eroded and crumbling in the wind and sands or orange, red and purple. The view stretched across Flagstaff Bay, looking towards Prosperous bay in all its glory.

“Maybe that’s the difficult bit over with” I thought but before long the knife edge “Knotty Ridge” was before me and a challenging scramble down to meet it ensured. Now I felt like Oliver as I tiptoed steadily down the slope, aware of the looseness of volcanic ash and gravel below my feet.

The guide book became a little unclear, do I follow the ridge, or traverse across its flank following the very obvious scar to the base of the Barn itself. “Follow the path Paul” were my reassuring words to myself. It wasn’t long before I thought I had made a mistake as in places the path was not a path, but a slope, upon which I gripped the mud above as I dug my toes in and edged across, foolishly looking between my legs to see the 300ft drop below me!! Others have done this walk with no problem, Bev included. Either I am not the mountain man I thought I was, or the paths have become seriously degraded and filled in as the regular rains have washed sand and mud down the slopes to smooth out contours.

After what felt like a very long time my drained and tense body found flatter ground on which to rest, take a sip of water and re-group. From a distance the next challenge looked to be the worst, but I know saw ahead of me some familiar territory. With renewed confidence I climbed upwards, with good hand holds and solid rock below my feet. I was now on the Barn itself and the loose gravel and sand that led me here has given way to solid volcanic rock, both secure and grippy. The narrow path, or complete absence of path no longer bothers me. This is proper climbing, this is my world.

As I topped out I expected to be nearing the top of the Barn and some flat ground, instead what greeted me took me aback. From a distance I have looked at the Barn and dismissed its scale, unaware of where the path goes and thinking much of the walk would be across its flat barren summit. What greeted me however was the enormous Eastern flank of the Barn and a small narrow path proceeding steadily and endlessly upwards. This was not a challenge of vertigo, or tip toeing, it was simply exhausting. After a leg draining time I reached the plateau of the Barn. Empty, beautiful, barren and yet full of life. Recent rains whilst eroding paths have enabled small plants such as the colourful Ice plant to thrive. Lichens and mosses, some of which are hundreds of years old cling to rocks and give away the secrets of some of the cleanest air in the World.

As I turn to the East, I am one of the first persons on the Island to witness the joyous return of the RMS St Helena, as she steamed past the airport. A poignant image of an old ship, the life line of the Island for some many years still pushing on (just) against the empty sad face of a false dawn. In a few days I shall be on the ship once more, I’m glad that I will leave the Island that way, its just somehow more fitting.

After stamping my book, eating a sandwich and having a drink I turned to face my return journey, quickly arriving at my nemesis, the traverse. I decide that this time I simply don’t want to try that again and instead, I look upwards and decide a risky scramble to the ridge is a better option. Again I was soon doubting my judgement as I took one slip backwards for every two steps forward. But I reached the ridge and scrambled for what I hoped would be solid rock. To my dismay, the first part of this knife edge ridge was crumbling, and it wasn’t long before I was once again clinging and edging inelegantly along. A rock gave way beneath my foot as I scrapped my arm and grabbed and very well placed Wild Mango tree to arrest my fall.

After a short while the ridge widened slightly, and more importantly became solid, I could stand up on it, arms out and balance along its top. A friendly Fairy Tern came to look at this strange creature that looked as though he wanted to fly, but who’s feet were firmly planted on the ground.

A scramble uphill, and an easier uphill traverse (uphill is always easier on dodgy ground) across those same muddy slopes led me back to my car, and to my relief I was able to sit down and read the pages I should of done earlier. “Walking on St Helena is dangerous and challenging…ignoring advice and attempting the more difficult walks (without a guide) is likely to result in unpleasant experiences and is dangerous” I should bloody say so!!!

PACKING IT ALL IN! Before I continue from where I left off, I want to present a snippet of why I love this Island.