Ten Things For Tuesday

1. I learned how to install a new hard drive in a laptop (my son’s)

2. I learned how to use a new toy that lets you get data off the old hard drive and put it on the new one  (Thanks Tony!)

3. I learned that if you look for hard answers then you will get nothing but hard answers

4. I learned that pressing F12 to get your laptop to boot from the cd drive may not be all you need to do – you may have to change the boot order in the bios to make the cd drive priority (Thanks Eddie)

5. I learned that if you have to do all these things in a hurry that it will be stressful and not go as smoothly as you wish

6. I learned that if you think you are done, something else will happen (like your daughter’s car will fall apart)

7. I learned that if you help your son and his roommate move, the roommate will have a lot more to move than you think and everything will be on the second floor

8. I learned if you wait til the last minute to do everything – a last minute is all you will have.

9.  A mustang does not hold very much if you are moving with it

10.  I learned that the term summer vacation is relative…

Give Me Wings

One Word Prompt: Gravity

http://www.flickr.com/photos/frielp/

The only thing that holds me down sometimes is gravity.  I hate it.  I wish I could just float up with the clouds, above all the storms and the dark winds that blow.  No feet in the muck for me – give me wings.

Picture courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/frielp/

Paschal’s Seafood Gumbo

Paschal threw out a curve ball with Shrimp Montage for a prompt.  I couldn’t catch it but I “tipped” it as it flew by.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/modomatic/

They were the ugliest things she had ever seen in her life.  She wanted to cry.  How could she tell – what would she say?  This is awful, what was she going to do?  She knew that his mother didn’t approve of her and she had hired the decorator because she knew there was no way the old bat would like anything she came up with.

Now she was going to have to tell her husband that she had spent several thousand dollars on drapes that were a cross between The Little Mermaid and The Monster From The Black Lagoon!  Some kind of weird shrimp montage with mustard yellow and puke salmon.  Hideous!

She had gotten the name from a group of her ladies she had lunched with.  They all grew up with Jordan and had known him for years.  She should have known that there was some resentment there.  This decorator was a train wreck and they had to have known it.  Jordan was good to her but this one was going to be a little hard to explain.  No matter how she played it in her head, either she had absolutely no sense of style or she was just stupid and gullible and listened to the wrong people.

Maybe she could just set the place on fire.  Would the drapes burn before he got home?  She hoped so because as soon as she got rid of this curse of a decorator she was going looking for liquor and a lighter.

Picture by http://www.flickr.com/photos/modomatic/

The Pause

One Word Prompt: Pause

I wrote, paused, and wrote some more

I kept playing the tape over and over again, hitting pause when it got to the part where he proposed to by best friend.  I would hit pause and stare trying to convince my eyes that they were not seeing what they were seeing but no matter what direction I tried to come at it from the truth remained.

~~~~

There it was, the pause.  Always the pause.  He would start to say I love you and she would hold her breath to listen more carefully for it.  It.  The pause. He couldn’t say the words without hesitating.  That’s how she caught him in the lie.

~~~~

Breathe.  Pause.  This is the good part.  This is the meat of the story.  Wait for it – it will come around just as surely as the music comes around on the guitar just before the singer begins. Just as surely as the leaves burst out on the branches after the frost has ended.

~~~~

She stood very still.  The wolf paused his circling and sank down in front of her.  He smiled with the eyes of , oh it can’t be.   But she knows in her heart that it is.  How can she be friends with someone who changes to this – this – thing?  And she knows in her heart that she loves him no matter what.

~~~~

This heart will beat
blood will move to hands and feet
breath will be drawn in and out
and in between each beat is a pause
the moment when the universe stops
waiting to see if life will continue
for another beat
til the next pause

~~~~

pulsing changing dancing
alive for the moment
unable to think beyond today
singing the eternal song
enabled by  hope

~~~~

The Table

First attempt at Three Word Wednesday.  Prompt: cradle, perfect, and snare.

The Table

She cradled her head on her arms, resting on the oak table that had deepened dark and light grains from years of gathering.  If the table could speak it would tell a perfect tale of their history.  The meals, lovingly prepared and laid out for the family, the homework completed while a mother dried the dishes with one eye open for daydreaming, the late night glass of milk to help a worried father pass the time till a newly licensed driver arrives home.  The scratches from  patterns being pinned and cut for home sewn dresses and the stains from the red candle that had been allowed to burn for too long waiting for an anniversary dinner that was delayed by overtime.  Memories were a snare that held her, aching and unable to move forward.

Two coins

Sunday Scribbling prompt: plans, Carry On Tuesday #10, and One Word: Coins

Fixed some glaring typos thanks to hubby editing.  Apologies to all.

The Day

She had taken the clothes to Goodwill,  the furniture was sold, what little anyone would have.  The flowered upholstery on the old rocker he sat in everyday was worn clean through and the footstool had been nailed back together so many times it was more nails than wood. His side table was covered with cigarette scars and water marks from his beer bottles. She had pulled the old drapes down and threw them in the trash.  They were so full of dry rot that they came down in pieces with her coughing and sneezing. He had gotten so mean the last years, no one would come over to the house and he stopped caring what anything looked like, or smelled like for that matter.  Most of what was left when he passed was hauled off to the dump and the house would be sold for taxes.

She just couldn’t bear for folks to see how he lived so she did her best to clean out.  She wiped down the shelves in the living room and kitchen, scrubbed the bathroom, and was making one last walk through before she gathered up her cleaning stuff and walked home.  She couldn’t afford the bus and as tired as she was, she didn’t want to try to sleep on the floor here with the ghosts and grime of the past.  Mama had been gone for years and he had just grown more bitter with time.

As she walked through the bedroom to the front of the house she spied a box on the closet shelf.  “Wonder how I missed that?” She thought.  She set her bucket and rags down and reached up to pull it down.  It was an old boot box, crumbling and faded.  She could just make out the lettering and the picture of steel toe work boots.  She sat down on the floor with it and pulled off the top.  Inside was a treasure.  Mama’s bible and a few pictures, an old lace trimmed hankie that Mama had embroidered, and a little red plastic coin purse – the kind you squeeze to open.  Inside were two coins.  They were odd looking with markings she couldn’t read.  She put them back in the purse and covered the box and set off towards home, hugging the box to her chest.

She trudged up the stairs, unlocked the door of her apartment and flipped on the light switch.  There wasn’t much to see and it needed painting but it was as clean as she could get it and it was hers as long as she kept the waitress job at the diner. It paid the rent and she got a free meal.  Tips bought a few little necessities.  It kept her off the streets and out of the shelter anyway. She put up her cleaning supplies and opened up the box.

She dug out the nicest dish towel she had and smoothed it out on the little box she used for a table.  She laid the bible gently on it.  She folded the hankie and placed it inside the cover where her Mama had signed her name and the date she had been given the bible.  It had her and daddy’s wedding date and the date she was born.  Another lifetime ago.  She closed the cover.  She took the pictures out of the box.  There were her parents, young and smiling.  Another showed her mother holding her when she was born, smiling and proud.  She slid them inside the back cover of the bible. She put the little coin purse inside her tote bag and set the box on the counter.  Stifling a yawn, she headed to the shower and got ready for bed.  She was tired and slept almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Day Two

He walked purposefully down the street glancing neither right nor left.  He knew exactly where he was going.  He carried his leather briefcase close to his side and held himself with the dignity of a British royal, even though he was actually a glorified messenger boy.  He turned at her apartment and climbed the steps, debating on whether he should use his handkerchief to knock on the door, this place was back alley seedy and not to his liking at all.  He sighed and raised his hand and rapped on the peeling wooden door.

She washed her breakfast dishes and as she was putting them away there was a loud knock on the door.  She peeped through the little hole and didn’t recognize the man outside.  He definitely wasn’t from around here.  She cracked open the door, peering from behind the chain and timidly said “Yes?”  The gentleman removed his hat and said “Miss Lydia Rose?”

“Yes, that’s me.  But who are you?” She asked.

He passed a business card through the narrow opening.  “Here is my card.  I represent a firm of solicitors in London.”

“England?” She asked.  “You must have the wrong person, Mr. uh, Mr. Brown!  I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Yes Miss.  That is correct.  My employers wish for me to speak to you about some coins.  If I may please come inside?  I feel a bit uncomfortable discussing this through the door.”  He replied.

She fumbled with the chain, finally removing it and held the door open for him.  “I’m sorry.  I don’t get many visitors.  Please come in.” She said.

“If I may?” He said pointing to the table and chairs.

“Sure” She said.

He placed his briefcase gingerly on the table, flipped it open and took out a stack of papers. He set the papers down and reached into his inside jacket pocket and took out his glasses and put them on.

“Miss Rose, just to clarify, you are the daughter of one recently deceased, Johnny Rose?” He asked her.

“Yes I am, but I don’t understand how that’s any of your business.” She replied.
He raised an eyebrow at that.  Maybe she wasn’t as much of a pushover as they thought.  “There is the matter of Mr. Rose’ estate and we have to verify your identity before we can release it to you” He told her.

“Estate?  My dad?  That’s a laugh.  If this is some kind of a joke Mr. Brown, it isn’t funny.  You need to go back and tell your bosses that they have made some kind of mistake.  The have the wrong Johnny Rose!  My dad didn’t have anything.”  Politeness was wearing thin.  He had a look on his face like he had eaten something sour and she had the feeling that he thought that just because she was poor she must be stupid too.  She had noticed the way he looked around when he walked.  Like he was afraid to touch anything in case he caught poverty like you caught a disease.  She worked and she paid her own way.  She might not have much but she stood on her own two feet and she was proud of it.

“Miss Rose, this is not a joke and I assure you that I wouldn’t come here without a good reason.  If you allow me to explain I think I can prove my story.”  He said.

“Well, then let’s sit down.  Sounds like this will be a long tale.”  She said, pulling out a chair.  He frowned, looking at the other chair and then shrugged and sat down.  “Your mother was Glory Rose, maiden name Jackson?”  He wasn’t really asking her, but she nodded anyway.  “She came to possess two coins.  My employers have been hired by a man who wishes to remain anonymous.  It is his desire to purchase those coins.  If you are able to produce the coins there will be a very generous compensation.  We are assuming that you now have the coins?”

“So estate is not exactly correct. How does this man know my mother had some coins and why are they so important to him?”  Lydia decided she might need to learn a little more before she answered any more questions.

“The coins belonged to his father many years ago.  Your grandmother was working as a housekeeper for his family and she and this man fell in love.  His parents did not approve of course, and sent her away.  He, being young and foolish,  gave her the coins before she left.  He told her to sell them to help her get a start somewhere and he would come for her when he could.” He explained.

“What do you mean ‘his parents did not approve, of course’, Mr. Brown?”  She was getting more than a little tired of this stuffy little man in a too tight suit, who obviously looked down, not only on her, but everyone related to her.

“I don’t mean to be rude, Miss Rose.” He said.

“Well you are, Mr. Brown.  I’m not sure we need to go on with this conversation!”

“Oh. Goodness. I am sorry.  Please let me finish. I think you will be very glad that you did.” He said.  He used his handkerchief to wife a little sweat from his shiny red forehead. It occurred to her that his employers might not be too thrilled if she threw him out and refused to talk to him anymore.  She tucked that knowledge away for future use.  It was always good to know where you stood and what you might be able to use.

“I take it mister young and in love rich boy, never went looking for my grandmother.”  She said.

“On the contrary.  He searched but was never able to find her.  It has taken me years to locate her and by the time I found her, she had passed away.  In her belongings was a letter that she never mailed to him. In it she told him that she kept the coins to remember him  and that she ended up with so much more. She had a child.  That child was your mother, Miss Rose.” He finished triumphantly.

“How did your ‘employers’ end up with a letter that my dead grandmother wrote?” She wanted to know.

“By the time your grandmother passed, your mother was married to Mr. Rose and as I understand it, the two of them didn’t get along.  Your grandmother had been dead and buried for several months before your mother found out.  Notices were sent but she never responded.  We went to her house and there was a box of her things in the garage that the new owners were more than glad for us to take off their hands.  The letter was in that box.  She also wrote that she had given those coins to your mother and told her that they would lead to her father’s family someday.”  He told Lydia.

Lydia stood up and walked around the kitchen, pretending to wipe the counter which was already spotless.  Trying to give herself a little time.  She had known her dad had a mean streak but not that he would have been so cruel to keep her grandmother’s death from her mother.  Even as she thought it she new that it was true.  He was a strange and insecure man.  He didn’t like her mother to go anywhere without him.  It must have been like a prison all those years but she wasn’t the type to get a divorce.  She stuck it out until it killed her.  Did she know about the coins?  She must have known they meant something or they wouldn’t have been in the box with the bible.  It’s a miracle that her dad didn’t find them.

“I’d like to see a little more proof that you are who you say you are, Mr. Brown.  She said.

“Certainly” He said “He pulled out a sheaf of papers with the letterhead to a firm of Solicitors in London.  The address matched the one on Mr. Brown’s business card. “Here is a photocopy of the letter your grandmother wrote to your mother.”  He handed her another piece of paper.  He had a lot of paper.  She took the copy and read through the letter.  She felt the pressure of tears but was determined not to cry in front of this stranger.  “How much are these people willing to pay for this little keepsake my mother left me?” She asked him.

Well, well, he thought.  Now we are getting down to it.  He could almost taste the nice commission he was going to get if he could just bring this to a close.  “You will be very well compensated Miss Rose.  We are prepared to pay you a fee of ten thousand dollars up front and then another ninety thousand when we have the coins in our possession.” He looked smug as he said this and she found he was really starting to get on her nerves.

“You have that much money on you now?  In this neighborhood?” She asked.  “I’d like to see that!”

All I have to do now is reel the fish in, he thought.  He reached for his briefcase again and dialed a combination that opened a bottom compartment.  There were stacks of cash, all neatly bundled.

She walked around the kitchen, shocked at what she had seen.  She had never in her life seen that much money.  “So what do you get out of this?” She asked.

“Well I get a small commission, of course.  For my trouble you know.  I’ve had to do a lot of research to track you down Miss Rose!”  He was smiling now, certain that his money was as good as in his hands.

Lydia leaned up against the counter and took a deep breath.  When she turned around, the lid was off the box and there was a gun in her hand.  Yes, the box held a treasure.  A wonderful treasure.  Mr. Brown’s eyes were wide and he was stuttering and spluttering and his fancy handkerchief wasn’t going to help him now.  “What are you doing?” He asked.

“Mr. Brown, I’ve decided to accept the offer from your employers but I have a different plan that does not include you.” She told him. “I guess you thought you were going to be my hero today.  I think I’ll be my own hero thank you!” She squeezed the trigger.

She went to her closet and put on her best dress and got out her coat that she saved for church.  She put the bible and pictures in her tote bag along with the bundles of money.  She took the papers she would need to identify herself to the solicitors.  Everything that had to do with him she put back in his briefcase along with the gun.  She would make a little stop at the incinerator on her way out.  She gave a little wave in his direction.  “Sorry to leave you like this Mr. Brown, but I’m sure you would understand.  We don’t want to keep your employers waiting any longer!”

She carefully locked the door on her way out.  The incinerator door was almost too small for her bundle of garbage, but she managed to shove it through the hole.  No one would look for her.  She paid cash for her rent and no one here asked questions or bothered to get to know their neighbors.  They were all too deep into their own misery to notice and by the time the smell from her apartment attracted attention, she would be long gone.  She did a little turn and dance step as she moved down the sidewalk toward the bus stop.

Lydia was lost in dreams of future comforts.  Clothes that fit, plenty to eat, no more crappy waitress jobs!  She never saw the car that came barreling down the sidewalk behind her.  She was dead on impact and hit so hard that it knocked her shoes one direction and her tote bag the other.  There was paper and money all over the sidewalk.  Deserted just moments ago, now there were people pouring out of doors grabbing up cash and stuffing it in their pockets.  The local cop shop would have a busy night as the liquor flowed and the unaccustomed windfall brought disagreements.  No one noticed the little man in the coat with the bullet hole in it as he walked by and scooped up the little change purse.

His chest would be sore for weeks, but the vest had done it’s job.  He had told them he could get the coins for fifty thousand and forty was already in a special account.  Ten thousand wasn’t too much to pay for the coins and no loose ends.  The car driver had medical bills that would be taken care of by the life insurance policy that he had taken out on Lydia a year ago.  He hated losing his favorite briefcase.  He strolled down the sidewalk whistling.  The Widow’s Mites, once delivered to his employers, would find their way into a very private collection and he would get his next assignment.

Flotsam

I”m starting to feel the summer circling the drain and it will be time for school to start before I can blink.  I’m looking forward to getting back to work and at the same time, dreading the end of summer vacation.  I get to used to staying up, sleeping later if I want, not worrying what day of the week it is.

This week we will move number one son into his apartment and number one daughter will go for freshman orientation and get her classes scheduled so the sign is on the wall.  Fall is around the corner.

Son’s laptop has major problems and I’m ordering a new hard drive for it in the morning.  I googled how to install a new hard drive and I think I can do it myself.

I’ve committed to being involved with the church webpage so I am working on getting up to speed with Joomla, the content management system they use.  Today the host migrated it to a new server and upgraded to a newer version of Joomla which means that for now the original site is still in place while we choose a new template and do some rearranging on the new site before we go live with it.  It will be a bit of work at first but once it is set up the way they want it it will be easy to update.

My quote of the night from Big Bang Theory (yes it was a repeat, but a good one.  I am sooo ready for the new episodes!)

Shelton: No you can’t go on a quest to the Black castle – you’re only a level 25. Those Hungarians are just using you for dragon fodder!

Penny: Boy you think you can trust a horde of Hungarian barbarians.

It has been a hectic day and I am curling up with my book and going to sleep.  Currently reading “Finder”  by Emma Bull.

Goodnight blogosphere 🙂

One Word : Welcoming

One Word prompt: welcoming

The hose attached to his helmet waved in a welcoming manner as the last of his air leaked out along with his life.  Hope they were able to manage re-entry without him because he and his wrench were floating in freefall. The view would be magnificent if his dead eyes could see like they didn’t see the sharp metal tile that found a home in the line that was his life, his oxygen, his umbilical cord, linking him to home.

On Break

Just for a day :)  Hubby and I are heading to Gladewater to hang out in antique stores, eat, and generally do absolutely nothing productive.  Got my book, a notebook, snacks and a cd of road trip worthy tunes so I’ll see you on the flipside world!

Peace, out.

The Reef

One Word prompt: coral

lazlo

Jeff surfaced and waited to be hauled back up on to the bow of the research vessel.  He was gasping, not from lack of air but from horror.  “We were a little off on our calculations” , he told the men that pulled him up.  “The coral has multiplied and at the rate it’s growing it will rise out of the sea in about a week.  The chemistry mutation that we discovered in the lab is going to cause it to give off gas particulates that will poison the air for miles.  Instead of a honeymoon paradise,  this place will be a oceanic graveyard!”

<<>>

She had shopped for weeks to find the perfect bridesmaid dresses, the exact shade of coral that would match the flowers and decorations she had seen in the magazine.  It would be beyond perfect!  After the wedding, she and Jeff would be whisked off to the island and a secluded cottage and spend days on the beach and scuba diving on the coral reef. Jeff had promised a once in a lifetime experience!

<<>>

Coral’s eyes were red and she was so tired of cleaning up cottages after bridesillas and their lovesick little grooms headed off to the rest of their lives.  She finished making up the bed in the cottage, fluffed the pillows, dusted the night stands and wished the rest of her life meant heading off somewhere.  As she passed through the little kitchenette, she glanced out the window at the boat off into the distance, idly wondering what they were pulling up out of the water. Her chest was hurting and she wasn’t feeling so well.

<<>>

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/laszlo-photo/

An Experiment

the sun sisters want to rock me
but I fell into the ocean spray time after time
I need a resolution, a remedy now
faster than the speed of sound
I ride wild horses on a mandolin wind
listening to my heartbeat
it’s a mad world at the last chance texaco
if you got the money the yellow taxi
will take you there
to feast on berries just for one minute
one word alert
I’m lazy and these hands
would write vows
but it’s too late to apologize
you had the time of your life
free falling in your wildest dreams
I will follow you into the dark
because this is how you remind me
I’m surrounded and can’t find my way
home

Post Five Hundred

Carry On Tuesday #8 on a Thursday and Sunday Scribbling #171 Indulgence

I re-worked this a bit.  One paragraph had the word listen in it six times – that’s what happens when I write late at night 🙂

This is my FIVE HUNDREDTH post.  I have lived here in the blogosphere since March 2006.  That’s  40 months, or 160 weeks, or 1120 days, or approximately a post every other day.  Who knew I had that much to say.

This little place has changed since the beginning.  I’ve had several themes (getting bored with this one so a change is imminent) , and the focus has changed depending on where my eyes happened to be pointing at the moment.  I’ve written about my opinions on whatever.  Thought out loud, which can be a bit dangerous!  There were the dark times when Dale was so sick and I poured it all out here and held on by my fingernails.

I’ve posted little computer notes on things I’ve learned, I’ve talked about my faith, chronicled “The Great Kidney Transplant”, recipes, pictures,  thoughts about books I have read, whatever sparkled and caught my eye – it landed here.  Thanks Tony, for setting up the blog, for encouraging me to write, and for always patiently answering my unending questions.  This one is for you.

Tomorrow Light #2

It’s been a month since I crept up to the barn and saw the computer under the floor.   If it gets weird here, I’m gone. These days things are crazy.  You just never know.    Glenna and Tom had been kind and I help with  chores.  Glenna has been teaching me how to knit and a little cooking.  This week she  started teaching me how to play the piano.

There was  no lesson today though.  The house was clean from top to bottom and I was helping Glenna in the kitchen.  There were people coming and they would be hungry she said.  I thought it was crazy for others to know where we lived but Glenna smiled and said sometimes we have to trust folks or we might be safe but there won’t be much point to being alive.  I’m not sure what I think about that. I saw some pretty bad stuff happen before I came here and I’m not jumping in and trusting anyone.

Tom has been out in the barn all day putting benches out. Some, he built this morning out of logs.  He set up some sawhorses and boards to make a table to set food on.  Glenna says some folks will bring food.  I’ve been chopping and peeling all day.  We are using fresh vegetable out of the garden that won’t keep anyway.  That at least makes sense to me.

Most everything is done and Glenna said I should take a nap.  People won’t get here till after dark.  I’m not a baby for Pete’s sake.  I climb up to the loft just to make her happy.  I like it up here.  There’s a little window to let in some sunlight and a quilt that has reds and yellows in it.  Tom let me have some blocks and boards up here for a shelf, and Glenna gave me some books.  Ain’t. (I mean ‘I haven’t’, Glenna says I need to stop saying ain’t) had books for awhile and when I did they were mostly hunting and fishing books belonging to Pa.  My favorite right now is Jane Eyre.  She is a poor kid staying with rich family and they are mean to her but she has this whole other life going on in her head.  The rich kids are hateful and think they are so much better than her because she doesn’t have money.  I like her a lot more than her stupid cousins.  I laid down with my book and the sun is warm coming  through the little window.  Next thing I know, I’m waking up and the lanterns are lit downstairs.

I climb down the ladder and see Glenna setting out the bowls of food to take to the barn.

“Well hello, sleepyhead!” She says.  I’m glad you got some rest.  Do you want to help me take these out to the barn?”  Before we start loading up the bowls there is a sound at the door.

Is there anybody there?” said the traveler, knocking on the moonlit door.

My heart’s pounding and I am ready to run out the back but Glenna smiles and says “I’d recognize that voice anywhere!”  She opens the door and hugs the stranger as he steps inside.  “Come in Tony. It’s been too long!”

He has dark shoulder length hair, pulled back in a pony tail and he’s carrying a guitar case.  Glenna had told me he came when they gathered and he would play his guitar and sing. Tthe music was important.  “Hi there.” He said to me, smiling.  He had a kind smile.

“Was your trip hard?” Glenna asked?  He looked a little tired.

“I had to stay off the roads during the day.  North of here there was a group of people on foot that looked like they hadn’t eaten in awhile.  I hid out in the woods until they passed.  They didn’t look friendly.”

Glenna looked concerned. “Which way were they heading?” She asked.

They were on the east road that heads out of town. Soldiers passed in a truck and I didn’t see them any more after that.” He said.

A look passed between them and then they looked at me and got that look grownups get when they remember I’m in the room.

“If you want to clean up a bit, you know where everything is.  We are going to take these to the barn and we’ll be back for more.” Glenna told him.

“Sounds good! I’m hungry and those look like vegetables from your garden.” He said.

“There is plenty. We’ll see you in a minute.” Glenna said as we went out the door towards the barn with bowls and serving spoons.

The barn was transformed! There were lanterns hung around the walls and people were all smiling and hugging and talking at one time.  There were already plates and bowls on the makeshift table.  People took the bowls from us and put them on the table and there were kids giggling up in the hayloft. They were all hugging and greeting each other.  Finally we headed back to the house for the rest of the food.

“Do you remember everything I told you about tonight?” she asked me.

I nodded.  She had told me that we didn’t ever mention the computer but that tonight was important because we would get a new password.  I had heard about the internet and how before everything changed, anyone could talk to anyone else and pass information back and forth.  Now the N.U.S.A. had control and when people can’t talk to each other, they have no way of knowing if what the government tells them is true. No one says it out loud but everyone knows they lie.  You don’t need a computer to figure that out.

Glenna told me that now they had small groups of people that could only talk to each other and then only if they had the password.  There were a bunch of these ‘darknets’, she called them and each group could only talk to the people in their network.  When I asked her how they could connect to each other she smiled and called me ‘one smart cookie’.  She said before the world lost it’s mind, cables were laid all over the place.  If you had to dig a hole and put one cable in, it wasn’t much extra trouble to put in several cables.  There were thousands of fiber cables that were never used and mostly forgotten. They were being used now.

We went back to the house and got the rest of the food and Tony walked back to the barn with us.  When we set the food on the table, Glenna smiled at Tom and he put his fingers to his mouth and whistled.  Everyone stopped chattering and Tom said a blessing, thanking God for letting everyone get there safe, for providing food, and good friends, and asking Him to keep blessing us.  Everyone said Amen and started filling plates and passing them around.  I got me a plate and found a seat on a box back in a corner so I could watch.

The flickering lantern light threw shadows around the barn and reflected in smiling eyes. Men talked about weather and traveling. Women talked about their kids and food and health as they ate.  Kids finished eating first and ran around the barn or hid behind mothers who fussed at them to settle down It wasn’t mad kind of fussing because they would smile indulgently. I didn’t run with them but it was nice to see them having fun  Kind of made me sad about my own mama.  Silly, how can I miss someone I don’t even remember.

Empty bowls and plates were stacked in a metal washtub for later and Tony pulled out his guitar and started to tune it.  Everyone settled down and got quiet as he strummed a few chords.  He played a few songs that some of the older folks must have known, because they sang along.  They asked him to play one of his own songs. I watched Glenna sit quietly as  he began to play.

He picked out the first chords and I heard the word ‘dark’ and my ears perked up.  Glenna sat quietly with her head leaned toward the music and  as he sang the chorus  the second time through she sang it with him.  She had  explained how  the password would be in the music.  I was just beginning to learn but I knew there were eight notes in an octave.  At some point the lyrics would mention the word  ‘dark” and those who knew what to listen for would memorize the chorus and later transcribe the notes in the chorus as numbers.

Just a group of folks getting together, eating and enjoying some music. No law against that.  Tony played a few  more songs after that as families loaded up and started  home.  I helped Glenna start cleaning up and Tony packed up his guitar.  I was walking next to him going back to the house.  I looked up at him and said “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure” He said.

“How did you figure all this stuff out?” I asked.

He smiled. “Music is just math out loud.” He said.

Glenna asked him if he could stay but he said he had to move on.  There were others to sing for and miles to go. He looked at me and grinned. “I think I’ll be seeing you again.”

I hoped so.  I wanted to learn more.
To go back to the beginning : Part One

Stealing Time #8

Cassie and Kell slept for a few hours, then got up and dressed.  Cassie packed a few necessities in her backpack.  Kell had noticed that she always carried the pack but had never paid attention to what she put in it before.

“Prepared for emergencies?” He asked.

“I learned after a few jumps to try to have a snack and some clean clothes with me all the time.” She grinned as she stuffed a tee shirt for him into the bag.

They locked up and walked down to the coffee shop where they saw the computers for public access.  While Kell logged in, Cassie went to the counter and got them two coffees.  She held out Kell’s coffee and asked him what he had found.

“Look at this!” He said.  “I knew I had seen this before.  It’s like a twisted figure eight.  It’s the symbol for infinity.  There’s more here.” He said as he clicked another link.  The next site told them about a man named Mobius that the Mobius strip was named for.  It showed a strip of paper, twisted, then formed into a loop with the ends taped together. If you were physically able, you could run your finger all the way around, touching both sides of the paper strip without ever taking your finger from the paper.

“That’s cool.  So do you think that’s how time works?”  Cassie asked.

“I have no idea but maybe? It makes sense doesn’t it? We think of time as a straight line, moving in one direction with a beginning and an end.” Kell said thoughtfully.

“The next question I would ask is did your mom know?  Did she ‘jump’?”

“If she did, why didn’t she tell me?  We never made any jumps either.” Cassie said.

Kell cleared the history and logged off.  “I don’t know Cass, maybe she thought she would have more time.” He stopped, thought and for a moment.  “Have you ever jumped to a specific time?”

“No.  It seems like a portal opens when there is a need, like when you were in danger of being killed by the explosion at the center. I don’t know what will happen next…or when.”  Cassie said as they walked out the door.”

They walked along thinking and talking, not really paying attention to where they were going.  The sky was clouding up. Kell realized they were standing across the street from the Community Center.  “Look at the poster Cassie!”

She turned and looked at him and followed his line of sight.  In the front window of the Community Center was a poster showing a large picture of the cold eyed man who was cutting a ribbon on a new facility.  “We have to get close enough to see what it says.” Kell said.

“We have to be careful though – according to the newspaper date we are only two years into the future and we have no way of knowing if you are still involved with the center or their reaction after the explosion.”  Cassie said.

“I know, but I think it’s important.  It’s about to start raining.  I’ll put up my hood and keep my head down.  Just a fast look!  You walk down this side of the street for a few blocks and I’ll meet you.”

“Kell…okay. Just be careful!”

Kell put up his hood and strolled across the street.  There was a light drizzle falling now.  Cassie forced herself to stop watching him and walked up the street.  She pretended to look in store windows as she watched his reflection as long as possible.  It was hard to keep going without looking at him but she didn’t want to attract attention to him.  As she started up the next block Kell came up from behind and fell into step beside her, taking her elbow.  His mouth was set in a straight line and his eyes were blazing.  “What did it say?”  Cassie asked him.

“Just keep walking for a few minutes while I try to calm down!” he said.  Kell was walking rapidly with his head down and Cassie was having trouble keeping up.  She pulled him down a side street into a doorway.

“Tell me. Now!” She said.

Kell took a deep breath. “That man, that Jack Maxwell…he is buying the Community Center! They are renaming it The Maxwell Center!”

“He just keeps showing up!  Kell things are looking a little weird…” Cassie said.

It was raining harder and now there was some lightening and thunder.  “We’re going to have to get inside soon.” Kell said.

“I don’t think so” Cassie said pointing a little to the north.  There were birds all whirling together, trying to stay in one place in the wind.  “I think we better head that way.”

“Oh man, not really ready to do this again!” Kell said. but he let Cassie pull him towards the spot under the birds.  They were getting soaked but they kept going.  A man called out as he ran down the street from the direction of the center.

“Run!” Cassie said and they took off.  They ran up some concrete steps and the wind was getting stronger.  “Have you ever done this in a storm before?” Kell had to yell now.

“Doesn’t matter!  Let’s go!”  The air was doing the shimmery thing again and they held hands and just before the guy following them came around the corner, they jumped.

The heat and humidity hit them like a cloud of steam.  They weren’t near the Community Center anymore.  They weren’t any where Kell recognized at all!

“I have no idea where we are!” He told Cassie.

“I do.” She said.  “We’re near my gran’s house.  We’re in New Orleans.”

Promises, Promises

white wedding

one word prompt: vows

They wrote their own vows as was the fashion just then.  He would love her forever.  she would cherish him always.  He would take care of her.  She would love and support him.  Who knew how long forever would seem.

***

There were promises and vows that she made to herself.  Vows that promised she would not live her entire life with this misery.  He never understood her, never tried.  She was tired of his harping about money, the house, the kids, couldn’t she do anything right?

***

He had made vows to her when they got the news.  He vowed he would not let her have pain, would not let her linger in limbo.  Vowed that he would never forget her and see that the kids remembered too.  she made him vow that he would marry again and not wallow.

***

She took her vows and went into the cloistered life.  She never wanted to end up like her mother, sad, bitter, disappointed in the world and old before her time.  She would never depend on man for her life, love, fulfillment.  She had a better way.

***

He vowed if he ever got out of this cell he would get clean and go see his dad.  He vowed on his mother’s grave that he would make things different, better.  He would marry the girl, get a job, buy a home.  He would join the world.

***

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronsho/

One Word Prompt: Spun

burning man

One Word prompt :Spun

His head spun with all he had heard and seen in the last hour.  How could so little completely change the way he thought, felt, believed.  He had heard but now he really saw.  It was all real.  He wanted to understand more, learn more, be more.  All because this tiny person had come into his life.  A son.  He was not the person he was an hour ago. He never would be again.  He was DAD.

***

The thread was light and barely visible but she had spun it so finely.  It would hold and they grasped it hand to thread each so that the circle was complete and the magic flowed through the thread to each and joined them in the spell.

***

He mashed the button on top of the brightly colored plastic and it spun across the floor playing music and moving all the colors into one.  He clapped and crawled to do it again and again.  Simple and beautiful, gold curls bouncing. The light and colors created a spell that flowed into the sunlit dust motes.

***

Photo from Flickr Burnblue

The Dating Game

Sunday Scribbling prompt #170 : human

She dressed with care, having discarded dresses that were too short, too revealing, not sexy enough, made her look fat.  She had finally gone shopping, blew a weeks pay on a little cocktail dress and shoes to match.  Got it zipped, where are those earrings?

Two weeks ago she had made the decision to go ahead and sign up for an account on eLove.com and she had filled out her profile of likes and dislikes and what she looked for in a man.  Hmmph, breathing, single, heterosexual, and employed.  She really wasn’t that fussy.  The website promised an experience that was out of this world. She had splurged on a manicure and pedicure, had her roots touched up,  She slipped on her shoes and examined herself in the mirror.  Not too bad.

The mirror showed a slightly middle-aged woman with thinning hair, a little bit of bulge and skin no amount of moisturizer would make look nineteen again, dressed to go on the prowl.  She saw an attractive, put together, vital creature in her prime, ready for love. She put on her Luscious Wine lipstick, blotted her lips on a tissue and grabbed her little purse with her mad money, I.D., pepper spray, and breath mints tucked in the bottom.

Last week she had checked her inbox and there was an email notifying her that someone had checked her profile and wished to meet.  There was a link to click on to see his profile and respond.  she clicked it and was pleasantly surprised.  He wasn’t bad looking, had all his hair.  He had beautiful green eyes and a nice smile.  He liked traveling, having new experiences, learning new things.  He listed his business status as consultant.  That sounded like it paid well and when she suggested they meet at Brocatto’s he didn’t bat an eye.  She decided to use some of her bill money on a taxi instead of taking the bus.  She wanted to make a good impression on what could be her future and smelling like some of the riff raff on the bus was not her idea of classy.

She took one last look around the apartment.  She had dusted all the knick knacks and arranged her lacy pillows just in case they ended up back here.  You didn’t plan on that, at least for the first date but you never knew.  There hadn’t been a man here since Ted and he didn’t even stay long enough to get the tour.  He finished and half dressed mumbling something about dark bars as he made his exit.  He had never even called back.  Riff raff!

The cab honked and she locked her front door and entered the cab telling the driver the address.  He dropped her at the door and she stepped into the foyer.  She gave the Maitre ‘d the name of the gentleman she was meeting and he escorted her to a secluded table in a quiet corner.  Great place for quiet conversation.  He stood as she got to the table and held out his hand.  They exchanged pleasantries and he held out her chair for her.  He ordered a bottle of wine and they talked quietly.  The waiter came and she allowed him to order for her.  She didn’t care what she ate, she was salivating thinking about her rosy future if she could work this right.  She wouldn’t have to worry about the bill money she had spent and she could quit her crappy little office job.

When the soup came she carefully placed her napkin in her lap and took a taste.  It was wonderful, nothing like the cafeteria food she was used to.  She looked across the table as she raised her face from her soup just in time to see the worm looking thing from his mouth retract leaving an empty soup bowl behind.  His green eyes glittered and glowed and spun as they bulged from his head and then sunk back into their orbits.  He smiled, or at least she thought he did.  How does one know, after all?

The waiter came to remove the soup bowls.  He had ordered her the special House Salad, prepared with fresh greens and the Chef’s own special dressing. He said he preferred to watch her enjoy her meal and the soup was all he required.  He made small talk while she savored the salad.  There was an odd flavor to the dressing that she couldn’t quite identify.  It was delicious though.  She felt very comfortable and found herself chatting about her life and job and for some odd reason it didn’t bother her that his eating habits were a bit well, inhuman.  She chuckled to herself, thinking that her preferences for a mate had not included human.  It was confusing why that didn’t bother but the salad was so good, she had the urge to lick the last drops of dressing from the bowl.  He nodded and smiled as though he read her thoughts and even held the bowl up for her.

He paid the check and took her elbow to guide her out of the restaurant.  On the street she was thinking his travels and wondered if they were on this planet.  He suggested they go for a walk and she just grinned and signaled her acquiescence.  They strolled down the street and turned down a lane that was not as well lit.  She giggled, ready for his kiss and just as the strange proboscis extended from his mouth toward her eye, she screamed.

One word: Surround

One Word prompt: Surround

The wind was blowing so hard I could hardly stand, but still I pushed ahead hoping to get to the next block, to shelter, to a place behind closed doors before whatever was blowing in on this storm could surround me.