#there's his arm looking like he just stepped off the set of the 1970s texas chainsaw massacre

[1stthingsfirst]

will someone please explain to me why ray's bandages look like they were wrapped by a stylist on a low-budget horror film? why is it not a hard cast? why are they soft and lumpy like he's a mummy? wasn't he supposed to have a broken arm? these questions literally keep me up at night.

i'm also confused if he had a broken arm at all. in the eng subs, the nurse both said it wasn't broken and that he had a shoulder fracture. in my world a fracture is a break so i assume there was a translation error but then he also healed in a week so i'm v unclear

[thebookreader12345]

Family Gathering

Pairing: Kevin Atwater x reader

Summary: Y/N finally manages to convince Kevin to spend Christmas with her and her family, and seeing as its not really his thing, Y/N tries to make him feel as comfortable as possible

Requested: Yes, by anonymous

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1,249 Words

“Come on, Kevin,” I plead. “Ever since you sent Vinessa and Jordan to Texas, you haven’t had one single family-like celebration. My parents love you. My older brothers think you’re the coolest guy on the planet. My niece adores you. I don’t see what the problem is.”

“It’s just not my thing,” Kevin responded.

“It used to be your thing,” I counter. “When Jordan and Vinessa were here, you’d take celebrations very seriously. Look, I know it’s hard because you’re their older brother and you feel the need to protect them, but they’re somewhere safe now. And if they were here, they’d want you to go out and have some fun.”

Kevin sighed. “I don’t know, Y/N.”

“I’ll make a deal with you. If you come along and feel uncomfortable, then you can go home. Just please at least say hello to everyone. They miss seeing you,” I tell him.

“Fine. I’ll go over to your family’s house for Christmas,” Kevin spoke.

“Yay! Thanks, Kev. This means a lot to me,” I say and give him a hug, enjoying the feeling of his embrace. 

“I’m only doing it for your mom’s peach cobbler,” Kevin joked and squeezed me lightly.

“If you eat 3 pieces again this year, you’re going to get beat up by my brothers,” I exclaim.

“I can’t help that your mother’s baking is amazing,” Kevin stated.

I laughed. “I’ll just ask her to make one for us to take home. That way, you can eat without being threatened.”

........................................

Today was the day. Kevin and I were going to leave for my parents house in a few minutes. I was really happy that Kevin agreed to come with me. I loved getting to bring him to family gatherings because everyone loved him, and I just wanted him to feel like he was apart of my family.

“Kev, you ready?” I call out.

“Yeah,” Kevin replied and exited the bedroom. “I’m ready to head out when you are.”

“Well, I’m all set to go. We can head out now,” I tell him. Kevin and I then both grabbed our coats and made our way to the car. Now, let me give you a quick rundown of my family, because there were a lot of us, and sometimes things could get confusing.

First, there were my parents, Andrew and Stephanie, who were both amazing. I mean, they raised me and both of my older brothers, and we were all a handful. Then you had their eldest son, my oldest brother, Aaron, who was married to Lucy, and they had one daughter, Willow. Willow was the sweetest thing, and she obviously took after her mother. I’m just kidding. Aaron is the nicest guy ever. Even when we were growing up, he was rarely mean. After them you have the middle child in my family, Carson, who got married to Halle about a year ago. Carson was the sneaky child when we were younger, but he grew out of that phase a long time ago, and in college, he met his now wife Halle, who was beyond amazing. Then, of course, there was me, the youngest L/N child and only girl. Was it hard growing up with two brothers? Of course. But I loved it. 

It didn’t take long for us to get to my parent’s house because they only lived about 10 minutes away. When I climbed out of the car, I shivered and pulled my coat closer to my body. I loved Chicago with all my heart, but I hated the cold weather. Kevin and I made our way around the snow covered grass, and after we walked up the steps of the porch, I rang the doorbell. It only took a few seconds for the door to open, revealing my mother.

“Hey, mom,” I greet.

“There’s my little girl. And you brought Kevin! It’s so nice to see you,” my mother said and gave him a hug.

“It’s nice to see you too. Thanks again for having me over,” Kevin spoke.

“Of course. You’re going to be the father or my grandkids one day so-”

I cut my mother off. “Mom! Don’t you have some cooking to do?”

“Okay. I’ll leave you alone,” my mother confirmed and moved out of the way to let us inside. As soon as we were inside, we were met by Carson.

“What’s up, Kevin?” Carson asked and fist bumped my boyfriend.

“Nothing much. Lots of work,” Kevin responded.

“Hey! Is that Kevin I hear?” Aaron called out from the next room.

“No, you don’t hear my boyfriend,” I reply sarcastically. Seconds later, Aaron emerged from the next room, and when he saw Kevin, he smiled. See, I told you my brothers loved him. “Hey,” I murmur and turn to Kevin. “I’m going to help my mom with the food. You gonna be good here?”

Kevin nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.” I then pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and made my way into the kitchen where my mother was preparing food. A while later, it was finally time to eat, so everyone situated themselves at the table. Kevin and I took seats next to each other, and he placed a comforting hand on my thigh.

“So, Kevin, how’s work been?” my father asked.

“Work is good. We’ve been solving cases like crazy lately, which is good because that’s the reason we were able to get off this week,” Kevin informed my family.

“And you’re keeping Y/N safe, right?” Aaron questioned.

“Well, I’m not her partner, so I can’t keep her safe all the time, but when we’re together, I make it my number one priority,” Kevin responded and gave me a small smile.

“I do have one question,” my mother spoke. “When’s the wedding?”

“Mom, we’ve only been together for two years,” I point out.

“Yes, but your father and I were together for two and a half years before we got married,” my mother said.

“This isn’t like the 1970′s mom,” I counter, earning a laugh from my brothers. Dinner tasted amazing, like always, and after chatting and hanging out for a few hours, it was time for Kevin and I to head out.

“Bye Kevin!” my niece Willow shouted and hugged Kevin’s legs. 

“Bye, Willow. Can we do our secret handshake before I go?” Kevin asked. Willow nodded eagerly, and the two performed a handshake full of complex moves.

“I’ll talk to you guys later,” I tell my family as Kevin and I made our way towards the door. As soon as I walked outside with the peach cobbler in my hands, I stepped into about a foot of snow, which went up past my ankle. I guess it had snowed a decent amount while we were inside.

“Let me help,” Kevin muttered and scooped me up into his arms like I weighed nothing. Kevin was on the taller side, so the snow did not affect him as much as it did me. He effortlessly carried me to the drivers side of my car where he set me down. 

“Hey. Thanks again for coming tonight. It means a lot to me,” I exclaim.

“I had fun. And you were right. Ever since I sent Vinessa and Jordan to Texas, I haven’t been the same me that I used to. But that’s going to change. I promise,” Kevin stated.

“Good. Now, I say we get home and eat some of this peach cobbler,” I say.

Kevin smiled. “Sounds perfect. Lets go.”

______________________

Tag List:

@prettypyschoinpink @securityfriendly-jay @scarletsoldierrr @lorenakaspersen @virtualreader @carnationworld @caitsymichelle13

[newstfionline]

Friday, February 19, 2021

NASA rover lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life (AP) A NASA rover streaked through the orange Martian sky and landed on the planet Thursday, accomplishing the riskiest step yet in an epic quest to bring back rocks that could answer whether life ever existed on Mars. Ground controllers at the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, leaped to their feet, thrust their arms in the air and cheered in both triumph and relief on receiving confirmation that the six-wheeled Perseverance had touched down on the red planet, long a deathtrap for incoming spacecraft. The landing marks the third visit to Mars in just over a week. Two spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China swung into orbit around Mars on successive days last week. All three missions lifted off in July to take advantage of the close alignment of Earth and Mars, journeying some 300 million miles in nearly seven months. Perseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars. Over the next two years, Percy, as it is nicknamed, will use its 7-foot (2-meter) arm to drill down and collect rock samples containing possible signs of bygone microscopic life. Three to four dozen chalk-size samples will be sealed in tubes and set aside to be retrieved eventually by another rover and brought homeward by another rocket ship.

Share of U.S. workers holding multiple jobs is rising, new Census report shows (Reuters) The share of Americans working more than one job to make ends meet has been growing over the past two decades, and the pay from second jobs make up a substantial share of workers’ earnings, according to a paper published by the U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday. An estimated 7.8% of U.S. workers had more than one job as of the first quarter of 2018, up from 6.8% in 1996, according to new data unveiled by the Census bureau. The earnings from the workers’ second jobs make up an average 28% of their total earnings, showing that workers are likely relying on that pay, researchers said. In general, women were more likely to have multiple jobs than men, with 9.1% of women holding multiple jobs as of 2018, compared with 6.6% of men.

Desperate for Light and Warmth (NYT) Halfway through the week that Texas froze over, everything seemed to be in a state of frigid chaos. Some homes had no water at all while others watched it gush from burst pipes into their hallways and living rooms. On Wednesday more than 2.5 million people were still without power [now down to 330,000], while at least twice as many were being told to boil their water. In Houston, Catherine Saenz and her family, like most of their neighbors, have had no power or water for days, as the city remains in the grip of the fiercest winter in memory. But they are fortunate: They have a fireplace. Even fireplaces have to be fed, though, and to keep the two parents, two daughters and two grandmothers from freezing, her husband has spent hours in the afternoon scouring the neighborhood for fallen trees and rotten wood. “I never imagined that we would be in this situation,” said Ms. Saenz, who grew up in Colombia but has lived in Houston through Hurricanes Ike and Harvey. “No one is prepared, it is dangerous and we are very vulnerable.”

A silent killer inside: Carbon monoxide (Washington Post) With no electricity in their home for hours, the Houston family tried to fight off the freezing cold by running their car in the attached garage, authorities say. When Houston police officers entered the property to conduct a welfare check, they found the two adults and two children, police said in a statement Tuesday morning. The woman and girl did not survive, and the man and boy were taken to a hospital. The deaths are among a rising number of reports of people being poisoned by carbon monoxide as Texans face a deadly winter storm that has brought record-low temperatures and demands for electricity that overwhelmed the state’s grid, leaving more than 3.2 million people in the dark and with no heat for more than 24 hours. As more reports of poisoning emerged Tuesday, government officials sounded the alarm. “SPREAD THE WORD: The number of people being admitted to local hospitals for carbon monoxide is rising at a disturbing rate. Do not bring any outdoor appliances (grills, etc.) inside, or run your car inside the garage,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo wrote on Twitter.

Word of flight to Cancun from frozen Texas lands Senator Ted Cruz in hot water (Reuters) U.S. Senator Ted Cruz faced widespread criticism on social media on Thursday after images went viral online that a journalist said showed him flying to a resort in Cancun while his home state of Texas struggled through a deadly deep freeze. Photos circulating on social media appeared to show the Texas Republican in airport line, in a passenger lounge and aboard an airliner. “Just confirmed @SenTedCruz and his family flew to Cancun tonight for a few days at a resort they’ve visited before. Cruz seems to believe there isn’t much for him to do in Texas for the millions of fellow Texans who remain without electricity/water and are literally freezing.” former MSNBC anchor David Shuster tweeted shortly after midnight.

Rare Earths (Financial Times) It takes 417 kilograms of rare earth minerals—more difficult-to-obtain bits of the periodic table that have uses in elaborate semiconductors and instrumentation—to build one F-35 fighter jet, a critical set of components that are about to be much harder to find. China is considering an export ban on rare earth minerals, and given that they control about 80 percent of the global supply, that would put Lockheed Martin, which makes the aircraft, in a bit of a pinch. As it stands now, even ore mined in the United States has to be sent to China for refining.

Migrants on the move again in Mexico and Central America (AP) In the first Mexican shelter reached by migrants after trekking through the Guatemalan jungle, some 150 migrants are sleeping in its dormitories and another 150 lie on thin mattresses spread across the floor of its chapel. Only six weeks into the year, the shelter known as “The 72” has hosted nearly 1,500 migrants, compared to 3,000 all of last year. It has halved its dormitory space due to the pandemic. That wasn’t a problem last year because few migrants arrived, but this year it’s been overwhelmed. Latin America’s migrants are on the move again. After a year of pandemic-induced paralysis, those in daily contact with migrants believe the flow north could return to the high levels seen in late 2018 and early 2019. The difference is that it would happen during a pandemic. The protective health measures imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19, including drastically reduced bedspace at shelters along the route, mean fewer safe spaces for migrants in transit.

Weary of COVID restrictions, Finns take up running in deep snow in socks (Reuters) Finns keen to avoid gyms and other indoor sports venues this winter because of the coronavirus pandemic have found a new way to keep fit—running in the snow wearing no training shoes, just thick woollen socks. Finland has seen particularly heavy snowfall this winter and running outside in just socks provides great exercise as well as a sense of freedom, said Pekka Parviainen, a helicopter pilot and an avid barefoot runner. “This is traditional Finnish crazy stuff, I think we all agree,” said Parviainen. In Finland, where taking a sauna in winter and then running through snow to jump into an ice-cold lake is a traditional pastime, barefoot running has become popular in the past few years during the warmer months. Running in socks through heavy snow, now about half a metre deep in many places, takes this to the next level. Parviainen recommends wearing at least two, preferably three, pairs of woollen socks to get the most out of the run.

Two journalists jailed for two years in Belarus for filming protests (Reuters) A Belarusian court sentenced two Belarusian journalists from Poland-based TV news channel Belsat who filmed protests against President Alexander Lukashenko to two years in prison on Thursday. Katsiaryna Andreyeva, 27, and Darya Chultsova, 23, were detained in an apartment in November from where they had been filming protests taking place over the death of a protester who was killed several days earlier. Both women pleaded not guilty after being accused of orchestrating the demonstrations by filming them. Neighbouring Lithuania urged Minsk to end a “spiral of repression” while Poland said Belarus should end its persecution of journalists. More than 33,000 people have been detained in a violent crackdown on protests against Lukashenko’s rule following a contested election last August that his opponents say was rigged to extend his rule. He has been in office since 1994.

Protesters out again in Myanmar, police use water cannon in capital (Reuters) Protesters were out again across Myanmar on Thursday to denounce the Feb. 1 coup and arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with police resorting to force to disperse crowds, using water cannon in the capital and catapults in a northern town. The daily protests and strikes that have paralysed many government offices show no sign of easing despite a junta promise of a new election and appeals for civil servants to return to work and threats of action if they do not.

Facebook blocks news access in Australia (AP) In a shocking act of retaliation Thursday, Facebook blocked Australians from sharing news, a milestone in the increasingly frantic jockeying between governments, media and powerful tech companies. Australia’s government condemned the decision, which also blocked some government communications, including messages about emergency services, and some commercial pages. The digital platforms fear that what’s happening in Australia will become an expensive precedent for other countries. Facebook took the drastic action after the House of Representatives passed legislation that would make Facebook and Google pay for Australian journalism, said Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Facebook said the proposed Australian law “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it.” Both Google and Facebook have threatened retaliation if Australia enacts the law, which the government contends will ensure media businesses receive fair payment for their journalism being linked on those platforms.

Jerusalem’s Old City turns white after rare snowfall (Reuters) Jerusalem woke up to the rare experience of seeing its holy sites covered in snow on Thursday, with the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall under a layer of white after an overnight snowstorm. Before dawn children were up hurling snowballs at each other outside the Old City gates, as the faithful trudged to sites holy to Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The snowstorm began on Wednesday evening, leading the authorities to shut down public transportation and block the main road to Jerusalem.

After delay, Israel allows vaccines into Hamas-run Gaza (AP) Israel allowed the Palestinian Authority to deliver the first coronavirus vaccines to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday despite objections from Israeli lawmakers who suggested they be used as a bargaining chip for the release of captives held by the territory’s militant Hamas rulers. Israel has faced international criticism for largely excluding Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza from its highly successful vaccination campaign. It held up the shipment for two days as the government faced questioning from a parliamentary committee before ultimately approving it. The dispute highlights the Palestinians’ reliance on Israel even as they struggle to combat the pandemic on their own.

[melvinfellerstuff]

A Productivity Secret According to Abraham Lincoln

A Productivity Secret According to Abraham Lincoln

 Melvin Feller a longtime admirer and reader of Abraham Lincoln, has known what a just and wise man he was!  In fact, one of my favorite quotations comes from Abraham Lincoln when he said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

 Melvin Feller feels that not only was that a metaphor for how we might approach all the work in which we engage, but it also represented his philosophy as a skilled woodcutter. He spent much of his early life working odd jobs including rail splitting.  As Melvin Feller points out, that history shows that he is considered as one of the top three presidents in American history, but Melvin also feels that this same philosophy was applied to his political career as well. Therefore, Melvin Feller points out that we can take his quote both figuratively and in a literal sense as well.

 Melvin Feller thinks of Lincoln’s quote often.  It is so simple, efficient and wise to apply it to any project we undertake.  After all, how many times do we bring the wrong tool to the job, only to waste countless hours or days trying to avoid the certain purchase of the right tool? 

 As a boy, Abe Lincoln owned a hatchet and skill at using it.  I could guess he knew intimately what the difference in outcomes he could expect when he used a dull hatchet when compared with a sharpened one.  He knew the dull ax lacked efficiency; it made the work harder and resulted in less consistency in outcomes.

When the hatchet is dull, the job is long and tiring.  It is even more dangerous because a dull hatchet has a tendency to bounce, resulting in a wild chop that can fling it into your leg.  However, when it is sharp, the job can take as little as a few minutes and it is actually more fun.

 However, how do we “sharpen the ax” when it comes to our goals and our projects?  We may set a goal to manage our money better and keep more careful track of our budget.  Some of the steps include collecting all of our bills into one location, write them all down, enter them into a spreadsheet, balance our checkbook and add up our monthly expenses.  In addition, it would be smart to write down what we spend every time we buy something.  This would involve keeping a pad of paper in our pocket and a pen so we could record them.

  If you are like me, what can happen is I will sit down, start the writing down the bills and “oops! I forgot one, I need to get up and go get it.” I go into the other room, grab the bill and sit back down.  After I am there for a while, I remember, “Hey, I need my car registration, oil change receipts, and car mileage so I can record what I pay for that every year.” Therefore, up I go again, this time so I can go out to the car and rifle through the glove compartment.  As you might guess, I would be lucky not to find something to distract me from my task.

Therefore, Melvin Feller illustrates that in order to sharpen the ax in this example, it would be far better to start out by thinking.  Grab a sheet of paper and make a list of all the items we need to start and everything we need to see our goal through to completion. Thus, the list might look something like this:

Spend     10-15 minutes collecting every last bill and receipt I need to record in     the ledger

While     I’m up, grab a notepad, pen and calculator

Collect     my wife’s checkbook and my own

Gather     all of our credit cards, banking passwords and account numbers.

Think     through whether I need Quicken, or if I can use Excel to perform my     budgeting needs

If I     need Quicken, go up to Wal-Mart and buy it, bring it home and load it

Clear     everything off my desk except for my computer, notepad, stack of bills and     invoices

Might     I need a drink of water? Go get a glass.

Will I     want some music playing in the background?  If so, turn it on

Shut     the door for privacy

Unplug,     or turn off my network connection – no e-mail, web browsing.

Unplug     the phone in my office

  Starting with everything I need is so much more efficient, because the excuse to get up and become distracted becomes more difficult.  In fact, it becomes easier to work on the project than it is to have to get up repeatedly and get a missing piece of the puzzle.  When we have everything we need within arm’s reach, we finish faster.  Progress will be steady and we will succeed more often.

 Think about some of your top goals on your list for a few minutes.  Do you have everything you need to keep the progress rolling along?  Sure, we may have some big goals that requiring we achieve smaller goals ahead of time.  Therefore, you could start with a sub-goal or “step”. Think through everything that you need to carry out that step.

 Another side to sharpening the ax is educating yourself.  Think of it this way.  When Lincoln said the first four hours of a 6-hour tree cutting activity, he would spend the first four sharpening the saw.  How can we apply this to our continuing education?

 In my coaching and business ventures, I can sometimes “paint myself into a corner” if I do not first research what I am trying to do before I start.  A client may ask me to add a feature to their business that sounds great, but I do not necessarily know how to do evaluate how it would fit without first dissecting their business.  My tendency is to plow right in, with a dull ax and try to force the feature to work.  You see, it is much more fun to get started.  Yet, several hours later, I find I’ve got a headache, my idea isn’t working and I’ve got a big mess on my hands.  There have been more days than I care to reveal where I have messed up so bad that I have had to re-evaluate their whole business from the beginning – costing sometimes days of progress.

 The alternative to this inefficiency is to make the first task of any project to carefully plan the enhancement.  For me, writing a “mockup” or “ghost business” of how I was going to add the feature or service.  Finally, using my rough draft as a guide ask what I need to read and research to get that job done.   It might not be fun to face the fact I do not know something.  I like to think of myself as smart.  However, by admitting, I do not know it and then seeking out chapters of books or articles describing what I want to do and then compiling it, I learn.

 Why do we avoid sharpening the ax?  This usually is because we want to begin our projects right away.  We want to get moving so we can complete the tasks as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately, like the examples above reveal, going to work with a dull ax usually takes longer and makes the task less enjoyable.

 We can motivate ourselves to sharpen the saw is to remember we face several risks for not sharpening:

We     risk extending the time it takes to complete our goals.

We     risk frustrating ourselves by having to stop several times midway through     and having to sharpen.

We     risk damaging the work and tools we already have

We     risk decreased enjoyment of working through the project.

We want to enjoy what we are doing don’t we?

 Like everyone, I have to struggle with the fact ax sharpening is not as fun as whacking away at the tree.  Collecting the sharpening stone and ax takes time.  Running a wet stone over hard steel gets boring after just a few minutes.  Nevertheless, as Lincoln said, the simple ax sharpening can decrease tree-cutting time by hours.

 However, I challenge you to take some time to review your goals and look for “ax sharpening” opportunities you can take with some of them.  If you are just starting out on one of your goals, ask yourself if you have everything you need to complete it.  If you are missing something, what is it?  Are you lacking information/education?  A tool or some software?  Do you have the right materials?  If you are in the middle of completing a goal, then it is not too late to assess whether you have everything you need and to write it down.  Whatever you are missing, go out and get it.

 Melvin Feller is known as “The Entrepreneur’s Mentor” because Melvin walks his talk. Melvin Feller has been there and done that and more importantly, Melvin Feller knows how to transfer the skill set for success.  This is main reason that he has been the sought after coach to hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs, Realtors, real estate investors and service professional internationally. Melvin Feller’s main talent is to show you how the step by step process to build and enjoy a successful 6-figure plus business while having a balanced life.  Melvin Feller maintains offices in Texas and Oklahoma.  

 Melvin Feller MA is in Texas and in Oklahoma. Melvin Feller founded Melvin Feller Business Group in the 1970s to help individuals and organizations achieve their specific Victory. Victory as defined by the individual or organization are achieving strategic objectives, exceeding goals, getting results or desired outcomes. He has extensive experience assisting businesses achieve top and bottom line results. He has broad practical experience creating WINNERS in many organizations and industries. He has hands-on experience in executive leadership, operations, logistics, sales, program management, organizational development, training, and customer service. He has coached teams to achieve results in strategic planning, business development, organizational design, sales, and customer response and business process improvement. He has prepared and presented many workshops nationally and internationally.

[cranberrybogmummy]

Excerpt of Drifting part II, Chapter II

In a little while Stan had dressed and down in the kitchen, it was neat like nothing of the debauchery of last night happened. Mrs. Patterson smiled when she saw him. She was washing dishes in the sink.

“Hi there how do you like your eggs and toast?” She said, stepping away from the sink and wiping her hands on a dish towel.

“Uhhh over easy and almost burnt,” Stan said.

“Gotcha.” she replied with a wink.

She moseyed over to the other counter and started making him breakfast. She really was a pretty good cook Stan mused as he ate. Also he was bored.

“Where’s Rick, I mean Rich?” He asked

“Oh he’s in the cellar working his project. He said no one can else can go down there not even to clean,” Mrs. Patterson said.

“Anything I can do around the house?” Stan asked. He normally hated chores, but it beat sitting around watching fuzzy tv.

“Well, I guess the lawn needs mowing, and maybe set out some poison for the mice in the attic.” Ms Patterson said putting her chin in her hand.

“Sure.” Stan nodded.

Stan decided the lawn could wait until it cooled down that evening. For now he’d go to attic with the rat poison, Mrs. Patterson gave him and deal with the vermin and a flash light.  He found the trap door to the attic  on the second floor near the back of the hallway, he pulled a string attached to it and it opened up, a small wooden ladder slid out. He climbed up into the attic,  The air up here was stuffy under the eaves among the pink insulation. He casually sprinkled the poison in  the nooks and  crannies. He wasn’t here to poison vermin, he needed to find out about Rick and his family. He opened the first cardboard box he found, which turned out to be christmas decorations, the second box was winter clothes and mothballs and so on. Was there nothing? Had Rick already been up here and destroyed everything? Then he stumbled on an old accordion file folder in it was a certificate of marriage, in spanish between Viola Ernestine Van der arrt and Hernando Christopher Sanchez. From what Stan could make out it was from San Juan, in Puerto Rico. There was an old black and white photograph of that young woman, heavily pregnant of the dark messy hair, scowling in a wedding dressing next to a  older Tall, thin faced, balding bespectacled man with smiling wearily in a suit. He could see the resemblance to Rick in both of them. There were other photos: Viola holding a dark haired infant. Viola, Hernando, a toddler shirtless Rick and an older woman on a tropical beach. Then nothing, more papers something in legalese Stan and no patience for and photographs of Rick a little older maybe four  heavily tanned, glaring into the camera as he twisted in his mother’s arms, she was paler. They were in heavy winter clothes. A Christmas picture all the Van der aarrts gathered near a decorated tree, Viola looking haggard, Rick  still four  the same age, paler, hair slicked back,  and still  seething with anger. Stan looked back at papers, what he could make out is that Viola Van Der Arrt was getting custody of her four year old son. An old  photo album of Rick’s boyhood followed. There were a few  older images of him his Father, Mother and an old lady labeled as ‘Abuela Sanchez’ in Puerto Rico. In these toddler Rick was shirtless, messy haired and very tan he looked happy. The images of Rick from four and up didn’t look happy,  (expect in one album labeled summer memories. Which showed Rick or ‘Rich’ in this house.  out on the lawn or splashing in a creek). Most the of the pictures Rick was surround by grown ups in suits and his mother who was grinning in a forced way. Rick always looked angry, or exhausted or resigned in these pictures, a few of them had  that psycho Doug Blevins in them. Stan shoved them aside, he explored another box, that was mostly full of spiral ring binders with scribbled mathematical formula, diagrams, and loads of paperwork. And a framed diploma from MIT, saying that Richard Van der arrt was graduating Suma Cum laude. Stan looked at the date, Rick must have been about seven or eight when he received this. Stan found a few other diplomas, same deal. And loads old paperwork, he couldn’t understand it, so he pushed it aside. Maybe it was time to scatter more rat poison. It was hot and stuffy in here after all, maybe going out on the mow might be better, get some fresh air. That’s when he tripped over a box labeled in a scrawling hand: ‘Vi’s diaries (1956 -1970).’ Maybe this would shed some light on whoever Rick was. So Stan carried the heavy box down from the attic and hid it under his bed.

` It was still mid-afternoon, well better mow that lawn. The lawn was huge, wished he had a tractor or something kind of riding mower as the sun beat down, he sweat and reddened under it. Sometime in the middle he took off his shirt.Around three Mrs. Patterson came out with a  ham sandwich and tall cold beer. Yeah it was old Canoe, the worst, cheapest beer, but on a day like this the very fact it was cold, light and beer made it perfect for the sweltering heat.The lawn was done at four. The sun still high in the sky, Stan slunk off to the shower cuz he stunk worse then a goat. Stan knew this because he’d met some goats out on that Peace Ascendant Family commune when he was out in Texas with Carla… under the cold water of the shower, it was okay to cry no one could tell. He’d blocked out the memory after he got out the shower, about an hour later  later. The hi-fi speakers down stairs boomed with rock music, which meant one thing, Mrs. P was gone and Rick was out from the basement.  Stan toweled off and put on a clean pair of shorts and a tank top.  Rick was scarfing down dinner, hardly looking up, a protective arm looped around his dinner. Stan could see the remains of potato salad, baked beans and baked chicken thighs with some kinda herbs on them. The potato salad, wasn’t cold, the beans and chicken weren’t hot but it was food and Stan wasn’t about to complain about a free meal.   He sat down and began to eat

“Find anything good?” Rick said.

Stan choked on his food sputtering, he drank some water and finally swallowed, coming up with a gasp. “What do you mean, Rick?”

“Mrs. P said you were putting down poison for the mice in the attic. So I f-f-figured you dug up a bunch of shit about me.” Rick said, He lent back in his chair, pulled out a zippo and lit a joint.

“Nothing…” Stan Lied. “Just a bunch of junk up there.”

Rick rolled his eyes. “Yeah sure.” Rick oozed sarcasm.

“Fine.. fine  I found out you were some kind of boy genius who graduated all these fancy-ass schools before your balls even dropped.” Stan said. “Can I have a toke?”

Rick passed him the joint. “Look, it wasn’t my idea, my Mom always thought she was soooo smart, despite the fact she was only slightly above average, when she found out about me, she saw her ticket for academic glory.”

Stan took a hit, he was feeling better. “So that’s why she got custody from your Dad.”

“Heh, Naw… that her way of shitting on him. She didn’t even really want me. “ Rick sighed. “Ya know, when your a kid and your really happy? Yeah, that was Puerto Rico for me with my Dad and  my Abuela. I’d just ya know run around, half naked and do kid shit, build my own toys… radios…and blow up stuff, you know I did kid shit, maybe play a game. But she and to come and take it away, cuz she was shitting on my Dad. It was downhill from there…Pines.”

He passed the joint, Stan took a hit. “So you were only really happy when you like four?”

“Yep.” Rick sighed and giggled. He took a hit, passed it

Stan took a hit, passed it back.  “Yeesh.” Stan sighed. “It all ended for me, at 17, I thought me and my brother we’d be together forever, but he decided he wanted nothing to do with a dum-dum like me.”

“I only have two degrees, in case your wondering. I decided if they were gonna try me act like trained monkey, I might as w-w-well fling shit.” Rick said. “School sucks, it;’s a place for smart people Stan.”

They finished the joint. Minutes ticked by of them sitting there stoned, not talking.

“Yeah…. Whadda you wanna do now?”

[conflictandscotchblog]

Proving Ground by Alicia V.

Living in the Adirondack Mountains in New York state can be beautiful, but it is not without its perils. For the uniformed it can be downright dangerous. The year rounders are a hearty bunch that not only enjoy the merits of the beautiful surroundings and use of the many lakes in the summer but endure a long and brutal winter. Over the years many books have been written about those brave souls that live alone in the wood fending for themselves. Anne La Bastille, a prolific writer and environmentalist, wrote the book “Woodswoman” to tell of her life in the park during the 1960s and 1970s.

In August of 2001, after years of talking about buying a camp, (that’s what they call rustic homes in the Adk’s) we purchased one on a quiet lake in the south-central part of the park. I remember the date because September 11th happened shortly thereafter, and my husband said that if all hell broke loose the family would head for the hills. Thankfully that didn’t need to happen.

After a year of cleaning up the place I was keen to share our serenely tranquil summer home with my sisters. My sister, Gerri, was to visit us that summer from her home in Texas and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for all the girls to have an adventure at camp for the weekend. The trip coincided with me dropping our daughter off at a girls’ sleep away camp about an hour south where she would join girls from our church. After leaving the sleep away camp, we had a nice satisfying lunch and went to some shops (isn’t that what all women do when they get together?)

At this point I need to explain the logistics of getting to our camp. It’s not for the faint of heart or for anyone who has any difficulty climbing stairs-lots of stairs. Getting off the main highway you travel on a private road that is flat initially then keeps going down, down, down. Once you come upon our property you descend down a very steep driveway that if you lost your brakes, you’d be a goner. After parking the car, you start the process of unloading your gear. In the case of four women there is bound to be more than you’d need for a month away. Three of those women were oblivious as to how far we’d have to drag this crap which included an overabundance of snacks. Did I say that we girls are “sturdy” woman, some more than others, as Gram B (I’m her namesake) used to say.  Perhaps there was fear there could be a famine while we were away.  Upon leaving the car you travel down two sets of stairs to the camp. If you choose to go down to the dock, there are another three sets of stairs to negotiate. I thought they would pass out if I mentioned that before we unpacked in the house.

Anyway, we got all settled and I thought it would be nice to give them the full experience of life on the lake by taking a little canoe trip. Being the only one who knew which end of the canoe goes in the front is putting it mildly. Gerri opted to stay on the dock to catch up on her smoking as she was denied that right for the majority of the 5-hour car trip. I picked our largest canoe which has been in my husband’s family since he was a boy when they summered in the Adirondacks (coincidentally on the same lake as Anne La Bastille). We were able to get one sister in the front and the other sister in the middle safely and then I got in the back so I could steer and likely be the sole paddler. What was I thinking? I’d never been the sole paddler let alone with two sturdy women onboard. My sister, Lorraine, in the middle, decided that she needed to scoot over a little so she was dead center. With that the canoe flipped. I was faced with a horrible decision - do I save the family canoe or my sisters. Being that they were better swimmers that I was and I really didn’t want to explain to my husband how a childhood treasure was now lost, I opted to hold on to the dock ring with one hand and slip my other arm through the rail on the canoe so it wouldn’t float away. Again, what stratosphere was I operating in that I thought this plan was feasible. Blame it on the mountain air. We survived that adventure.

Not to be deterred, I was going to give them another taste of the Adirondacks with a dip into the cool waters off the dock. The former owner was a pool installer and had used pool type ladders so you could lower yourself in if you chose not to cannonball it in. It’s twenty feet down off the dock so diving is ok. The ladders curl like a candy cane with the curled ends fitting into couplers on each side screwed into the dock. Lorraine, the Esther Williams of our family, wanted to go in first. As she proceeded to lower herself down the ladder, the curly part came up out of the coupler and off she flew ladder and all into the water. Poor thing thought the whole dock was flipping up and was going to land on her. I grabbed the ladder and leaned on each side of the railing to hold it into the couplers while she tried to climb up. Did I say that some of us girls are sturdier than others? Off she flew with the ladder again and I almost went into the drink. Ok, let us put our thinking caps on now, girls. My sister Gerri and I leaned on either side of the railing and Lulu (an affectionate name we gave her in her later years) was able to make it out.

Call me an idealistic stubborn fool but I was determined that we WERE going to have a successful Adirondack experience. There is another way into the water from the other side of the camp. After descending a long set of steps there is a concrete platform that literally has steps going right into the water. How could we fail? We grabbed four large tubes that resembled the truck inner tubes we used as kids and off we went. Everything was going swimmingly when Kathy yelled out that she had fallen through the hole in her tube. How does that happen? I got myself to the shore, grabbed the lifesaving ring, threw it to her and pulled her in. Lulu managed to grab Kathy’s tube. You cannot make this stuff up. I was looking for Allen Funt and his camera crew.

Needless to say, we gave up after that and decided to just relax and have dinner. We dined on jellybeans and red licorice Twizzlers and had a lot of laughs, but the final blow was yet to come. On the morning we were to leave, Kathy, Gerri and I were having breakfast when Lorraine came wandering out of the bedroom in her nightgown saying “What were you guys dead last night? Didn’t you hear me calling you for help?”  Admittedly we were probably in a sugar coma from what we had consumed for dinner. We all answered that we had not heard her plea during the night. She said “I got up to use the bathroom, fell down and couldn’t get up. It was just like that commercial “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” She said,” When I fell I hit my bum on the corner of the propane heater on the wall. I’m sure I have a bruise. Can you look?

Before we could all yell in unison “No thank you, please” she hiked up her nightgown and pulled down her drawers to reveal a cottage cheese bum with a big black and blue bruise. We nearly lost our breakfast.

By the end of the weekend, I realized that I was more of a woodswoman than I gave myself credit for and that I could survive the perils of the Adirondacks. Somewhere, hovering over the lake, is the spirit of Anne La Bastille smiling down on me because at least I tried.