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mwcowan · 2 years

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Let's Try This Again

Chapter 9, Bacolod and Sipalay

Last Saturday we flew south from Manila to Bacolod, on the island of Negros, primarily to attend Dolly’s 86th birthday celebration at the family “farm” near Alangilan. Georgia doesn’t remember exactly, but the farm is about 40 hectares (100 acres) of lush, hilly land, with abundant spring water. It’s at about 1500’ (500m) elevation so is quite a bit cooler than Manila, or even where we are in Kawayan Cove. Nice to sleep without air conditioning!

There isn’t a lot of active farming going on any more, except for a few plots leased out to sugar cane growers, and a small vegetable plot at the house. Houses actually – there’s the older family house built by Georgia’s dad, and a newer one (~12 years old) built by Dolly, where she stays when at the farm, and where we stay also. Like our house, it, and the surroundings, suffered from Dolly’s being away for 2+ years but it’s slowly coming back into shape

Nang Belen in the upstairs, open air, kitchen/living room

Preparations for the birthday party started early, with the main course being noisily dispatched below our bedroom window. He was stuffed with lemon grass, coconut milk, and other herbs then roasted in the traditional way over open coals. About four hours of this got him nice and browned.

There were probably 30-40 people, cousins and friends of Dolly, attending the celebration. Lots of good food, conversation, even a band from Alangilan that was surprisingly good. I think Dolly was very pleased with the whole shebang.

After two nights in Alangilan we rented a car in Bacolod and drove south to Sipalay, which is about a 3 ½ hour drive, on the southwest corner of Negros. Not much to the town proper, but the area’s known for nice resorts and good diving. We stayed at a wonderful place just north of the town, the Punta Bulata Resort and Spa. Beautiful, totally relaxing. Highly recommended for you next time you’re in Sipalay! Here’s our favorite spot for happy hour and sunsets!

For our first day, we decided to take the car and spend the day exploring the area. We wanted to go to an affiliated dive resort and get some tips from the owner; we also wanted to check out the top-rated resort in the area, which wasn’t available for our dates. I was wondering why Waze (which we use to navigate here) said it was only 24km to the first place but about an hour drive… although we’d had good roads on the main highway down to Sipalay, once off the main road things got a little adventurous. Very twisty, sketchy pavement, sometimes no pavement. We got to the first place, the Easydiving Resort, which was very pretty but built on a cliff that makes our house look pretty tame. LOTS of stairs to get down to the beach area. You’d be in great shape if you worked there! We met up with the owner, a friendly Swiss man, Christian, who filled us with recommendations, and even called the dive shop at our resort to make arrangements for us, for the next day.

So on to the next place, the highly-rated Bugana Resort, for lunch. Should be a quick drive, it’s only 4-5km away. WTF??? Waze says it’s 56km and over an hour! Turns out that the EasyDiving resort is at the end of one road, and Bugana is at the end of another road that approaches from the opposite direction, with no road connecting the two. I didn’t notice that tiny detail when I first looked at the map! Anyway we did get there, and had a very nice (but late!) lunch. But frankly, we were disappointed with the resort- not nearly as spacious and scenic as ours. We may have lucked into it, but we both felt we were in the nicer resort.

On the way back, Georgia wanted to see if we could find the Sipalay Mine. This is where Georgia’s dad, a mining engineer, first met 18 year old Dolly, who's father worked there in the motor pool! Sure enough, we found it on Google maps, and with a little off-roading we got to the now water-filled pit, with the ruins of what we suspect were stamping or processing facilities on the hill above. Back in the day, there were large deposits of both copper and gold; apparently enough left that there were a few pieces of heavy equipment searching for a payday.

I have to mention the adventure getting back to Punta Bulata. We’ve had Waze adventures before, Waze usually sends you on the shortest, or lowest traffic route. Well, it found one for us… the last 10km to Punta Bulata we exited the main road for a smaller road, on a direct route to the resort. Good road. For a while. Shortly it turned into a one-lane road, we had to stop and back up into a wide spot once to let another car by. Then it was unpaved. Then it became very rocky. Our Mitsubishi Xpander (sort of looks like a mini-SUV but it’s not) was game though and we kept going. But nearing the resort, we descended a muddy, rocky hill, to find a hundred meters or so of mud at the bottom (due to heavy rains the night before). Thick, deep, sticky mud. We sat there looking at it for a while when a motorcycle came up behind us; we waved him around to see how he managed. Staying to the left side it looked like he had some traction although he was cheating and using his feet, so that was the way to go – anyway backing up probably wasn’t an option because it was a long way back to a wide enough spot to turn around, and we’d likely get stuck or go off the trail trying to reverse up the hill. Plus, Waze said we were only 250m from the resort, so I figured Georgia could slog her way out and get help if needed :) Time to go! I used the rest of the hill to get some speed, and tried to keep to the left but we were getting thrown left and right and up and down. The motor was revving but the little Xpander somehow had enough traction and maintained enough momentum to make it through! When we got to the resort, I asked Georgia “you got pictures of that, didn’t you”? When she said “no”, I said “well, then we have to go back and do it again”. She was having none of that.

As I mentioned, the next day we went on a dive trip. First was Danjugan Island, a marine sanctuary a short boat ride from the resort. Nice coral reefs and many fish there. Our second dive was at the Bulata Pier, which was built for the mining operations but hasn’t been used in 40 or so years, and has mostly fallen down. Lots of life around the old pilings and on the sandy bottom – it’s what’s known as a “muck dive”, which is a lot more pleasant than the name might suggest, featuring lots of tiny creatures such as nudibranchs, shrimp, and frogfish.

Technical note: this was the first time I’ve used a dive light. Just amazing what a light does for the colors, and the resulting photography. The only problem is that I have a camera in one hand, a light in the other, trying to stay in one spot, not drifting right, left, up, or down. Quite a challenge, at least for me! OK, enough words, enjoy some of my favorite photos from these dives.

Lionfish. Beautiful but don't try to pet him!

Up close and personal with a lionfish.

Nudibranch. There are more than 3000 colorful and bizzare species! This one was about 1" (2.5cm) long.

Frogfish. About 2" (5cm) long. He walks on his pectoral fins!

Hidey-seeky shrimp.

All for today, take care everyone!

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zamgoods · 3 years

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How is Raya Like Star Wars/ Romeo Must Die

Saturday March 27th 3.27.2021 86th day Waxing Gibbous Moon (3.28)

So not having saw the movie yet, I will not spoil it. I just wanna know if Raya or a dragon gets beheaded or almost does, like in Mulan when her General pardons her, yet almost took her head off. Not trying to be gruesome, it’s a reason to look out for this.

Rush Hour 3 explains it all. It’s woman’s history month, so let’s share some facts about the importance traditions in China.

Let’s look out for Raya and the Last Dragon and see connections to Aaliyah in Romeo Must Die which brought us to newest Star Wars Trilogy. Also linked with Kung Fu Panda, Mulan, Rush Hour 3, The Last Dragon, Triads, Alice in Wonderland, Akasha in Queen of the Damned.

We are interested in the female, woman beheaded, dragon head, with secrets of the leaders of try ad family also cat hole lick ma fee ahh.

Raya movie was released 3.3.21 --->3.3.3 in US 3.5.21. Decoding is our thing so keep in mind 33 master number of Jesus. 33 movable vertebrates of the back/spine ending with a downwards pyramid, triangle called the sacrum.

Sacral chakra where the dragon sleeps also called Kundalini. Dragon or serpent. In Mulan 1998 version Mooshoo played by black man Eddie Murphy. He knocks the head of the actual family dragon and takes his place. This is the point of it. In Raya the Dragon, named Sisu, voiced by Akwafina, is the last dragon.

I also didn’t see the new Mulan yet as well. I also wanna know if there is a part where a Chinese person is disguised as an Arab, like Han did to Akbar in Romeo Must Die. I wonder if we can find out who the new Dragaon head of the try ad. See there’s the 13 plus one kay and others that may be at play. Look out for numero 489.

Remember that the try ad are known for running the casinos, gambling rings, fireworks, rockets, sex trafficking, illicit and designer drug manufacturing, k2, heroine, etc, gun smuggling, prostitution rings, massage parlors, happy endings, new clear weapons, bio terrorism, surveillance, pedophile rings, human cloning, food fakery, and more. They are a world wide family with headquarters all over the world.

Back to Raya whose is voiced my Kelly Marie Tran Loan Tran who played in both Star Wars and Raya. Her character is Rose in the Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker. Remember her freeing those enslaved animals at the casino in Episode 8 along with Finn. Many thought this was random to the story, but when you understand what is really going on with her role. That’s why so many children are being found as part of the child sex trafficking and many mobsters are being arrested around the world.

Look out for hands signs, numbers, slavery, and freedom. The Book of Changes is the mystical book that predicts the “Change” the construction, the change of guard, money system etc.

The new 2016 Silk road is part of this plot where DMX plays the role of Silk, casino and club waterfront owner in Oakland, C.

The Whole Middle East has been destabilized to build the actual Express train from China to Europe’s door way. IT crosses land and Sea through Africa, India, Persia, parts of Russia...Red Sea. This is huge and Romeo Must Die predicted it back in 2000.

The big Heroine and Opiates epidemic is also crafted in the hands of the Try Ads and affiliates. The big White Horse in the room and White pony, snow trafficked into Mexico and up to North America is powered by this Force to truly be acknowledged. Yet nobody is talking about these things.

You’d be surprised what kids cartoons can teach you, if you know what to look for.

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dfroza · 4 years

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Today’s reading in the ancient book of Proverbs and Psalms

for friday, june 12 of 2020 with Proverbs 12 and Psalm 12 accompanied by Psalm 86 for the 86th day of Spring and Psalm 14 for day 164 of the year

[Proverbs 12]

To learn the truth you must long to be teachable,

or you can despise correction and remain ignorant.

If your heart is right, favor flows from the Lord,

but a devious heart invites his condemnation.

You can’t expect success by doing what’s wrong.

But the lives of his lovers are deeply rooted and firmly planted.

The integrity and strength of a virtuous wife

transforms her husband into an honored king.

But the wife who disgraces her husband

weakens the strength of his identity.

The lovers of God are filled with good ideas

that are noble and pure,

but the schemes of the sinner

are crammed with nothing but lies.

The wicked use their words to ambush and accuse,

but the lovers of God speak to defend and protect.

The wicked are taken out, gone for good,

but the godly families shall live on.

Everyone admires a man of principles,

but the one with a corrupt heart is despised.

Just be who you are and work hard for a living,

for that’s better than pretending to be important

and starving to death.

A good man takes care of the needs of his pets,

while even the kindest acts of a wicked man are still cruel.

Work hard at your job and you’ll have what you need.

Following a get-rich-quick scheme is nothing but a fantasy.

The cravings of the wicked are only for what is evil,

but righteousness is the core motivation for the lovers of God,

and it keeps them content and flourishing.

[Wisdom Means Being Teachable]

The wicked will get trapped by their words

of gossip, slander, and lies.

But for the righteous, honesty is its own defense.

For there is great satisfaction in speaking the truth,

and hard work brings blessings back to you.

A fool is in love with his own opinion,

but wisdom means being teachable.

[Learning to Speak Wisely]

If you shrug off an insult and refuse to take offense,

you demonstrate discretion indeed.

But the fool has a short fuse

and will immediately let you know when he’s offended.

Truthfulness marks the righteous,

but the habitual liar can never be trusted.

Reckless words are like the thrusts of a sword,

cutting remarks meant to stab and to hurt.

But the words of the wise soothe and heal.

Truthful words will stand the test of time,

but one day every lie will be seen for what it is.

Deception fills the hearts of those who plot harm,

but those who plan for peace are filled with joy.

Calamity is not allowed to overwhelm the righteous,

but there’s nothing but trouble waiting for the wicked.

Live in the truth and keep your promises,

and the Lord will keep delighting in you,

but he detests a liar.

Those who possess wisdom don’t feel the need

to impress others with what they know,

but foolish ones make sure their ignorance is on display.

If you want to reign in life,

don’t sit on your hands.

Instead work hard at doing what’s right,

for the slacker will end up working to make someone else succeed.

Anxious fear brings depression,

but a life-giving word of encouragement

can do wonders to restore joy to the heart.

Lovers of God give good advice to their friends,

but the counsel of the wicked will lead them astray.

A passive person won’t even complete a project,

but a passionate person makes good use

of his time, wealth, and energy.

Abundant life is discovered by walking in righteousness,

but holding on to your anger leads to death.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 12 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 12]

A David Psalm

Quick, God, I need your helping hand!

The last decent person just went down,

All the friends I depended on gone.

Everyone talks in lie language;

Lies slide off their oily lips.

They doubletalk with forked tongues.

Slice their lips off their faces!

Pull the braggart tongues from their mouths!

I’m tired of hearing, “We can talk anyone into anything!

Our lips manage the world.”

Into the hovels of the poor,

Into the dark streets where the homeless groan, God speaks:

“I’ve had enough; I’m on my way

To heal the ache in the heart of the wretched.”

God’s words are pure words,

Pure silver words refined seven times

In the fires of his word-kiln,

Pure on earth as well as in heaven.

God, keep us safe from their lies,

From the wicked who stalk us with lies,

From the wicked who collect honors

For their wonderful lies.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 12 (The Message)

[Psalm 86]

A David Psalm

Bend an ear, God; answer me.

I’m one miserable wretch!

Keep me safe—haven’t I lived a good life?

Help your servant—I’m depending on you!

You’re my God; have mercy on me.

I count on you from morning to night.

Give your servant a happy life;

I put myself in your hands!

You’re well-known as good and forgiving,

bighearted to all who ask for help.

Pay attention, God, to my prayer;

bend down and listen to my cry for help.

Every time I’m in trouble I call on you,

confident that you’ll answer.

There’s no one quite like you among the gods, O Lord,

and nothing to compare with your works.

All the nations you made are on their way,

ready to give honor to you, O Lord,

Ready to put your beauty on display,

parading your greatness,

And the great things you do—

God, you’re the one, there’s no one but you!

Train me, God, to walk straight;

then I’ll follow your true path.

Put me together, one heart and mind;

then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear.

From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord;

I’ve never kept secret what you’re up to.

You’ve always been great toward me—what love!

You snatched me from the brink of disaster!

God, these bullies have reared their heads!

A gang of thugs is after me—

and they don’t care a thing about you.

But you, O God, are both tender and kind,

not easily angered, immense in love,

and you never, never quit.

So look me in the eye and show kindness,

give your servant the strength to go on,

save your dear, dear child!

Make a show of how much you love me

so the bullies who hate me will stand there slack-jawed,

As you, God, gently and powerfully

put me back on my feet.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 86 (The Message)

[Psalm 14]

For the worship leader. A song of David.

A wicked and foolish man truly believes there is no God.

They are vile, their sinfulness nauseating to their Creator;

their actions are soiled and repulsive; every deed is depraved;

not one of them does good.

The Eternal leans over from heaven to survey the sons of Adam.

No one is missed, and no one can hide.

He searches to see who understands true wisdom,

who desires to know the True God.

They all turn their backs, walking their own roads;

they are rancid, leaving a trail of rotten footsteps behind them;

not one of them does good,

not even one.

Do the wicked have no clue about what really matters?

They devour my brothers and sisters the way a man eats his dinner.

They ignore the Eternal and don’t call on Him, rejecting His reality and truth.

They shall secretly tremble behind closed doors, hearts beating hard within their chests,

knowing that God always avenges the upright.

You laugh at the counsel of the poor, the needy, the troubled who put their trust in God.

You try to take away their only hope,

but the Eternal is a strong shelter in the heaviest storm.

May a new day, a day of deliverance come for Israel, starting with Zion.

When the Eternal breaks the chains of His oppressed people,

the family of Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be delighted.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 14 (The Voice)

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shadesumbra · 7 years

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Chapter 4

Jack watched her from his spot at the front counter. When most people came in they just looked at what was on the shelves, practically afraid to touch anything they weren’t buying. But this woman? She was like a child, touching, feeling, playing. He could hear her giggle at things every so often. It was nice, it almost felt like most people were too stuck up or mature to explore.

He watched as she stopped at the tea cups. While she had spent a few minutes at each section, she was spending more time at the tea cups. She compared them to each other, as if deciding which one was the best set to buy. She picked up one set and brought it to the counter.

He was surprised when she went back for another.

As well as another.

He certainly wasn’t going to complain that she was buying all three tea sets. Business was still business after all.

He carefully wrapped each piece of each set, more so since she seemed to not be able to decide which to get, so she simply got all three. Not the worst choice to make.

He remembers times he decided to buy something later only for it not to be there.

He looked up, he briefly wondered how she saw through her hair, then decided it was best not to question it. He’s seen some strange things as Starman, extra long bangs as a fashion choice certainly wasn’t the strangest.

He decided to spark a conversation, she was a potential returning customer.

“All three sets huh? Couldn’t decide?”

“No, they’re all so cute! Look this one has little bows, but this one is cut in half! A half cu’! That’s so adorable! And these…” She trailed off “Sorry,” It was small, and shameful.

“There’s no need to be sorry, you’re interested in tea cups, I think that’s pretty cool.”

She was silent for a moment before giving a shy smile. “You have other neat stuff in here too, I don’t even know what most of it is.”

Jack laughed. “You’re welcome to bring anything up to the counter and I’ll tell you what it is and what it does.”

She seemed to light up at this. “Maybe next time, I already have what I came for. Besides, I need to get back to ‘ainting.”

He noticed she wasn’t able to pronounce her ‘p’s, strange. He wondered where she was from, but considering how shy she seemed, asking probably wasn’t the best idea.

“I’ll ‘robably come back next weekend. There’s so much stuff in here it’s going to take me a little bit to look through it all!”

She seemed to glow. He was glad she had decided to come back, not only for the potential business, but also because she seemed like a person he’d want to have around. He was looking forward to next weekend already. He’d have to see about getting more tea sets in.

Heh, out of context that last part sounded like something Shade would say.

The exchange between the two of them was quick, after that, he wrapped up her items, she paid, he bagged them and she was out the door. By the look on her face, well what he could see, she looked happy.

All three tea sets. Must be a collector.

She was right through, the little bows on that tea set were cute. Not that he’d ever say that out loud.

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, a few more customers came in and he made a few more sales, just like any other business day. Now came the other part of his life, picking up his cosmic rod and being Starman.

He couldn’t really don a costume, since he didn’t really have one. A jacket and goggles doesn’t really count as a costume, just a look. More convenient that way.

He took to the skies, a simple hero patrol and he’d retire for the night. Nice and simple.

In concept at least. It only took a few minutes before someone had shot a net at him. It was a narrow dodge. He looked down to try and see who had shot a net at him, and he found them. All seven people. Why did seven people shoot a net at him? Correction.

Why were seven people currently shooting nets at him.

He was able to narrowly dodge each one. Landing was out of the question, they’d be able to trap him no problem. He didn’t really have another choice.

He’d have to flee. Not the most heroic action to take, but if these people were so determined to capture him, he’d be seeing them again in the near future. But then again, it would be useful to know what they want. He swooped down so that he was still above them, but high enough that they couldn’t physically reach him.

“You should watch where you’re shooting that, you could hit someone.”

They didn’t listen, instead they simply shot more nets at him. However, he was able to get a look at their robes. On the back of their black robes was a red mark, he couldn’t exactly describe it. All he could say was it was a circle with magicy looking stuff in it. That was the only look he got before he had to dodge more nets. He flew off, maybe the O’Dares knew something about this.

He never got the chance to get to their apartment. On his way he saw more of the weird cultists, but this time they were harassing a woman. He swooped down behind the cultist and swiftly took them out. It’s very easy to knock someone out when they don’t know you’re there.

“That should be all of them, do you know why they were harassing you?” He turned and looked at the woman. Oh. It was the woman from earlier with the bangs in front of her face.

“Do you know why these guys are after you?”

She shrugged.

“Better get you somewhere safe, more of these guys might show up.”

And he was right. Neither of the two were prepared for the man that jumped out of the shadows. He held a large metal pipe, and with his surprise attack advantage, swung and hit Jack directly in the face hard enough to knock him unconscious.

When he woke up later, it was still dark, but his cosmic rod was gone and so was the woman. He had been dragged into a nearby alley and hid behind a dumpster. The other cultist that had been knocked unconscious by him earlier were gone. He was the only one there. Great. Just perfect. Now what was he supposed to do?

Find help, that’s what. He knew who had attacked him, in a sense. If these people were going around abducting people and stealing stuff, the police would have to know about it.

He got up and began his trek. The walk to the O’Dare apartment was going to be a long one considering they lived on the opposite side of the city.

Wait. Phone. He still had his phone. And his wallet. Why would they leave his phone and wallet?

Without anymore delay he opened his phone and called Hope O’Dare.

“‘Ello?”

“Hey um, Hope?”

“Jack what did you do?”

“Why do you think I did something!”

“Because you wouldn’t be callin’ otherwise!”

“Okay fine. It wasn’t something I did, it was something I didn’t do.”

“Meanin’ what?”

“I, uh, got knocked unconscious while helping this woman getting harassed by cultists and they took her and the cosmic rod?”

“Jack Oh my God.”

“I know, I know! But you can tell me off later but right now there’s a woman in danger, and possibly a whole lot more.”

He could hear her sigh through the phone.

“Where are you right now? I’ll come pick you up and you can start from the beginning.”

“On the corner of 87th and 86th.”

“I’ll be right there, try not to get hit again while you wait.”

Jack didn’t get a chance to respond because Hope had hung up. He didn’t have to wait long for her to show up though. She pulled to the side and he got into the passenger seat.

“So, start from the beginnin’.”

“The begining of the day or the night?”

“Why would you start from the day? I need what’s relevant.”

“Well, the woman that was taken was in my antique shop earlier today, she got three tea sets because she couldn’t decide which one she wanted the most.”

“That could be relevant, I’ll keep it noted. Go on.”

“I went out and started a parole, and about an hour in some guys started to shoot nets at me. I tried to ask them why but they really didn't answer, there were six of seven of them I think. So I fly off to find you because I figured you might know something about them and I saw this woman getting harassed by more of those guys so I swoop down and knock them unconscious. I asked her and she didn't know why they were harassing her and some other guy jumped out of the shadows and hit me in the face with a metal pipe.”

“You said they took your cosmic rod?”

“Yeah.”

“And you said the woman was in your shop earlier?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you or she say anything suspicious? I know you’re memory isn’t that good but think back.”

“Ouch Hope, but no, nothing out of the ordinary. She just seemed a bit childish is all.”

“But we can’t rule her out as a possible suspect in this.”

“You think the woman who got kidnapped is working with the crazy cultists?”

“We can’t rule her out,” she paused. “You didn't mention cultists before.”

“Yeah, they had black robes and this weird red circle thing on the back. All of them had it.”

“I know exactly what group you’re talking about, they’ve attempted a few raids before with no luck. You’d be their first success.”

“Wow that makes me feel so much better.”

“It should good job you just made a bunch of criminals feel confident in themselves.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Anyway, they’ve been trying to steal stuff for their ‘resurrection ritual’ or something. Shade and Matt had to deal with one awhile back. Something about runes or something. You’ll have to ask.”

“You think it’s the same people? I heard there wasn’t a body left after that.”

“I know it’s the same. Call it a cop’s hunch.”

“All right then. Now what?”

“They call themselves the Shadows Devout. Their goal is to try and raise some demon of some sort.”

“So why did they take that woman and the cosmic rod?”

“They tried to use Shade as a power source in their last attempt, they could be aiming to use your cosmic rod this time.”

“They tried to use Shade? How did they get him?”

“He won’t reveal any details beyond that. I’ve been trying to get him to talk.”

Jack didn’t know what to say. Shade? No, impossible. But Hope wouldn’t lie to him.

“Yeah, I know. I thought the same. It’s probably why there wasn’t a body to recover.”

“Okay, so all that aside, why the woman?”

“Well that’s the mystery isn’t it? We’re headed to a shipping dock. It’s where they’ve been hiding.”

“Shouldn’t you call backup?”

“Nope, this is Starman business.”

She pulled the car into a hard drift that positioned the car directly into a parking spot.

Hope and Jack got out, listening for anything coming their way.

“You go find the woman and the cosmic rod, I’ll distract them.”

“They don’t know we’re here yet though.”

“You think I pull in like that and they don’t know we’re here?”

“Good point.”

Jack ducked into the shadows as some of the cultists came out to investigate. He watched for a moment as Hope made a scene, and he took his chance to sneak inside.

He got inside and he instantly began to explore. He came across books about magic and maps marked up with markers. Even notes about plans, shipments, stolen goods. These guys really were confident that they wouldn’t be found weren’t they? He swiped the notes off the table and stuffed them in a coat pocket on the inside of his jacket. Might as well get them in trouble in the process. His eyes wandered to a nearby door. Maybe in there?

He crept over and listened through the door. All quiet. He pushed open the door ever so slightly so he could see. There wasn’t anyone in there, maybe they were all distracted by Hope? He slipped in, careful to shut the door silently behind him. His eyes scanned the room, it was dark, but not too dark. He wasn’t able to make out details, but he was sure this was some kind of machine.

He got closer so he could get a better look. It looked like his rod would go here. Really, what else could? But what about that other tube? It looked like it was built to hold a person. Maybe it needed a human sacrifice. He shuddered, he rather not think about that.

On closer inspection, the container that looked like it was supposed to hold his rod looked… well, broken. Like someone had ripped the rod out forcefully.

The sounds of fighting caught his attention. He hoped that Hope wasn’t hurt, and pressed on. He slipped into the next room, and was slightly horrified. There was a coffee table with the tea set that the woman had bought earlier that day, the one with the bows. Yet, it was filled with blood. Oh God that was disgusting. He seriously hoped that the woman didn’t have anything to do with this cult, but Hope’s words from earlier echoed in his head.

He pressed on, and a thought crossed his mind. What if that was her blood? He felt sick to his stomach. Oh God what if she was killed because she had thought a tea set looked cute? Oh God.

It didn’t take long for his question to be answered. As he reached the next door, he was only narrowly able to dodge the body that was flung through the door. Jack looked down at the body of the cultist, then peered into the room. There was the woman, holding his rod, and beating cultists with it. And she looked angry. Well, at least that’s what he thought, it was hard to tell since he couldn’t see her eyes.

She obviously didn’t see him and she kept fighting off the incoming cultists. She wasn’t even using the cosmic rod properly, she was using it more as a staff.

She however couldn’t fight them all off alone, especially since there were a few she couldn’t see. These guys really do like their sneak attacks don’t they? Well, now he had the element of surprise. He grabbed the sneaky attacker by the back of the head and slammed them into the ground.

The woman swirled around and pointed the rod at him, then lowered it when she saw who it was. There were still more cultists approaching however, so Jack snatched the cosmic rod from the woman’s grasp and launched himself into battle. There weren’t many more to take care of, considering that this woman had taken out most of them by basically beating them with a glorified stick.

He heard an “oof” and turned. She had knocked out a cultist that had snuck up on him. She gave him a soft smile, and he gave one in return. He was honestly glad that she wasn't part of this crazy cult, and just a victim of it.

That meant he’d be seeing her next weekend at his shop.

When the two of them were sure the last cultist had been knocked out, Jack led her out. She stopped and looked sadly at the sight of her new… Old… tea cups filled with blood. And that’s when he noticed the bleeding on her upper arms. Oh God, they were filled with her blood.

He couldn’t see it at the time, and he wouldn’t know until later, that the substance filling the cups was blood, just not as he traditionally knew it. In the dark, he really couldn’t see the green shimmer.

“I’m sure they can be cleaned out. We’ll just have to wait for the police to get them.”

She continued to look sadly at the set.

“Those were the ones with the bows on it.”

“I know.”

Really, what else could he say to comfort her? Not much.

He lead her out, and there was Hope, also surrounded by unconscious cultists.

“Hope! Good news, the woman wasn’t part of the cult! Also good news, I got my cosmic rod back! Better news is I snatched some notes and plans!” He handed over the papers to Hope.

“Good job Jack,” she turned her attention to the woman. “You’re bleeding, sit down I have a med pack in my truck,” and she wasted no time in getting it. “I’m Hope O’Dare, police officer.”

The woman was shy and silent at first before she started talking. “Hi H-” She went silent.

“What is it? Is something wrong? Do you feel dizzy?” Hope’s questions came rapid fire.

“No, no that’s not it O’Dare.”

“You can call me Hope.”

She stayed quiet and it was Jack who intervened. He leaned in close to Hope and whispered to her.

“She can’t pronounce the letter P.”

“Why does that… Oh. Oh okay.”

The three of them were awkwardly quiet. But it was Jack that broke the silence first.

“Hope they were planning on using more than just my cosmic rod for energy.”

“What?”

“It looked like there was a container to hold a person in there.”

“The officers on duty are going to have to check it out when they get here, along with these notes you snatched and anything else that might-”

She didn’t get a chance to finish as the building went up in a blaze.

“Christ!” Hope jumped. “They’re burning the building down! Good thing you snatched these notes.”

It only took a few minutes for the police and firefighters to arrive. When the fire was settled, police tried to salvage anything they could, to little avail.

“Christ Hope, I’m starting to worry.”

“Why?”

“First they get the jump on Shade and use him as a power source. Then they get the jump on me and try to use my cosmic rod and this woman! Which I’m assuming they were going to use as a sacrifice. What next?”

“What next is that we’ll be prepared for the next time they strike.”

The woman however had seemed to grow smaller at the mention of Shade. Neither Hope nor Jack realized this, and the woman didn’t speak until Hope walked away.

“Shade, what is he like?” Her voice was small and uncertain.

Jack was caught by surprise by her sudden question. “Well, um. He can be pretty rude, and upfront. And overall he’s not really nice, but he’s honest. And he’s confident, he always seems to be calm, unless he’s angry. I’ve only ever seen that once and that was scary. But uh, he cares a lot about Opal, no place else really, just Opal. So, I like to think he’s at least a little good, if he’s so willing to protect this place.”

The two of them fell into another silence and she seemed to ponder over this. That as, until Jack exploded.

“And he has this horrible habit of just showing up and not announcing his presence! He can’t do anything like a normal person!”

The woman blinked at Jack.

“If he did that wouldn’t that make him less Shade and more like you?”

It was Jack’s turn to fall quiet and ponder.

“I know I’d like to be able to a’ear anywhere I want whenever I want, it’s certainly more useful to go from A to B than A to C to D to B. it would save an awful lot of time.”

Jack never got a chance to respond, he was pulled away by the cops to be questioned about the encounter, as was the woman.

It was later he realized he never got her name. That’s okay.

He’ll see her next weekend.

Maybe he’d be able to find another bow tea set.

#ShadowHearts #Jack Knight #Hope O'Dare #fanfiction #Old Writing

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gadgetsrevv · 5 years

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Penalty shambles is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s fault – Man Utd boss must make big decisions | Football | Sport

I cannot understand how a manager can send two players, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, on to a pitch with a mind-set of one having to stand down as penalty taker in the heat of the moment.

Solskjaer carries the can for this one.

It makes no sense. A penalty taker has to be confident 100 per cent and you have to know in your mind, if you get one, that you are ready and mentally prepared. You are sending two players out who mentally don’t know who will actually take it.

I wonder whether this illustrates something about the power dynamic between the Manchester United manager, and his star midfielder.

Is Solskjaer strong enough to tell Pogba, who has now missed four spot kicks in the last 12 months, he is off penalty duties?

Marcus Rashford has converted his last two kicks.

Is Solskjaer tip-toeing around a sensitive issue, at a sensitive time in the European transfer window, to keep Pogba happy and at the club, rather than seek confrontation?

Solskjaer needs to be tough enough to enforce some clarity on the penalty taking situation, and not be influenced by a powerful player wanting to indulge himself.

I was surprised. It is a strange scenario and no one you should be putting your players in. You should make a decision, who is your penalty taker, and you go with it.

It is a mistake from the manager’s point of view.

However it has become another bit of Paul Pogba bashing, and that is not right. Especially the racist abuse he has got since.

I respect anyone who takes a penalty. They put themselves on the line. They are in a pressurised situation. Pogba is an even more pressurised situation because of the person he is. Some people want Paul Pogba to fail. It is just the way it is, a natural instinct. They don’t like him to be successful.

I have never been around indecision like that. In my teams we had Alan Shearer or Robbie Keane as the main penalty taker. We always had a penalty taker.

For there to be two people having a discussion about who takes a penalty moments before they have to shoulder that pressure is a distraction that can lead to a miss.

In every other set piece, coaches have clarity. There is a dossier in the dug out saying who stands where, who marks who, who is taking responsibility in every area. Then you are telling me at Manchester United, there is no firm plan for the most decisive set piece of them all?!

No plan, which means the clubs two best penalty takers have to joust between themselves about who gets the kick. And the resulting miss means they don’t go top.

I can imagine there were players on that pitch thinking: ‘Marcus, get that ball and keep doing what you’ve been doing for us’.

He scored last week. If I was on the pitch I’d be saying: ‘Rash, get the ball, take the penalty’.

At Man City there was a situation with Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling when they beat West Ham 5-0. I liked that Aguero put his foot down in the 86th minute and was able to say to Sterling: ‘You may be on a hat-trick, but I am the penalty taker at this club’.

If it was last minute in a Champions’ League final to win, we’ll see who steps up to take it then! I am pretty sure it would be Aguero stepping up.

Shearer was the best taker I’ve played with. He would not have been questioned. He could have missed four on the run and he’d have taken the next penalty. You have confidence in your penalty taker until the point comes when he’s missed too many.

We had a situation at Spurs when Defoe had missed a few more than he should have. He was like: ‘alright, let someone else take this one’.

This situation is not Pogba’s fault and not Rashford’s fault. It is Solskjaer’s fault.

Jermaine is an ambassador for footie5 from thepools.com. footie5 is a weekly free-to-play football prediction game where you can win £25,000 just by predicting the scores of five matches from the English and Scottish leagues. Create leagues with family and friends and go for the jackpot. Download the app or play at www.footie5.com.

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torentialtribute · 5 years

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Just like Man Utd’s best teams, Liverpool are winning in FERGIE TIME!

Like the best teams of Manchester United, the Liverpool side of Jurgen Klopp win matches in FERGIE TIME!

By Dominic King for the Daily Mail

Published: 22:30 BST, April 1, 2019 | the more they evoke visions of Manchester United .

It would be easy to roll out Bill Shankly's old quote about the ability of the Cup to suck the ball up into the net at crucial moment, but when Liverpool moved to Tottenham somehow the get the best opinion, the spirit dropped back to 1993.

In the first season of the Premier League United tried to end their 26-year career waiting to become crowned champions. Alex Ferguson's side seemed destined to never go wrong.

The ball rolls over the goal line around Liverpool give a dramatic 2-1 win over Tottenham on Sunday "

The ball rolls across the goal line to give Liverpool a game 2-1 win over Tottenham on Sunday

<img id = "i-a65c3450b7c70afe" src = "https://ift.tt/2FPjlAa" height = "522" width = "634" alt = "Jurgen Klopp celebrates three valuable points after seeing his party claim" class = "blkBorder

Jurgen Klopp celebrates three valuable points with a clenched fist after seeing his side

<! –

Premier League

Championship

League One

League Two

Scottish premièreship

Scottish Div 1

Scottish Div 2

Scottish Div 3

League 1

Series A

La Liga

Bundesliga

But in the second half of that campaign, United started to find a way to win. Sheffield United and Southampton were beaten 2-1 in February with the final goal, Eric Cantona reported when the clock ran to save a draw in Manchester City in March, before April saw the ultimate late show

Steve Bruce & # 39; s two headers, in the 86th and 96th minutes, Sheffield Wednesday topples are part of the folklore of Old Trafford. United critics complained about & # 39; Fergie time & # 39; and frowned at their ability to reclaim lost causes, but it was no coincidence.

You have to wonder if the same thing happens in Anfield. Liverpool, of course, remains a second favorite and even their most avid supporter could not deny the happiness that they had over Tottenham.

However, there is nothing happy about a team that consistently draws results from the fire. If Hugo Lloris' blunder had been an isolated incident, you could say Liverpool was rude, but a team that scored six goals in injury time did not do this by chance.

Liverpool may not play with ruthless flair but, at this stage of the season, fatigue is invaluable and the incident when Lloris bit the soft ball of Mohamed Salah and the ball of Toby Alderweireld and hugely crossed the line

This, as Jurgen Klopp notes, was better than winning 5-0. No one on the team talks about fate or ends the 29-year-old waiting to be champion, but faith throws them up as United did in their breakthrough year

Sir Alex Ferguson, pictured in 2009, saw his Manchester United team often score late goals "

Sir Alex Ferguson, shown in 2009, shown in 2009, often saw his Manchester United team scoring late goals"

Sir Alex Ferguson, pictured in 2009, often saw his Manchester United team scoring late goals

<img id = "i-68165d82c005daf7" src = "https://i.dailymail .co.uk / 1s / 2019/04/01/20 / 11733988-0-image-a-51_1554147674247.jpg "height =" 454 "width =" 634 "alt =" Earlier this season, No 27 chose Divock Origi in a 96th minute winner to beat Everton rivals

Earlier this season, No 27 Divock Origi chose a 96th minute winner to beat Everton rivals

Earlier this season, No 27 Divock Origi headed in a 96th minute winner to beat Everton rivals

LIVERPOOL FIXTURES

April Southampton (A)

April 19 – Chelsea (H)

Huddersfield (H)

MAN CITY-FIXTUREN

April 19: Tottenham (H)

April 19: Cardiff (H)

Manchester United (A)

May 12: Brighton (A)

May 19 – Leicester (H)

& # 39; We have more games to go, but it's a good sign & # 39 ;, said Sadio Mane. & # 39; That's what makes you more motivated and lets everyone say: & # 39; Let's go! We can do it! & # 39; This is a very good sign. Everything is possible. It won't be easy.

& # 39; But we can still win every game because we are a good team. It was difficult after the international break because we only had two sessions together. Now we are back and we started with a victory. We will go again.

van Dijk, who was injured when Moussa Sissoko looked pissed off when Spurs had a two-to-one advantage, claims it will be all right after having ice on his ankle

their efforts against Tottenham if they have to win on Friday at St Mary's, but sometimes it needs a game of this nature to be the catalyst for the final push, and a few clubs will know better than City.

When they aimed for their first title after 45 years, a match in March 2012 against Chelsea – when they trailed 1-0 in the last 12 minutes to a 2-1 victory – proved huge. Liverpool hopes that this episode will have the same effect.

& # 39; We are all buzzing and the fans happily went home, but only time will tell if it has gotten the elevator & # 39 ;, said Andrew Robertson. & # 39; It will give us a good push until the end of this season.

& # 39; Sometimes you need that bit of luck and we have it. We have the energy. We know that we have the heart to continue until the end in every game. Our fitness levels are the best they can be at this point, so we know we can go on until the end. "

A point they have proven time and again. Andrew Robertson (right) said he and his teammates buzzed & # 39; after Sunday's victory"

Andrew Robertson (right) said he and his teammates & # 39; buzzed & # 39; after Sunday's victory. Andrew Robertson (right) said he and his teammates buzzed after Sunday's victory

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the-record-columns · 6 years

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September 5, 2018: Columns

Marjorie Roberts about to open up another block of Jenkins finest on Livermush Monday

Americana Day and Livermush Monday

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

What an amazing fun weekend we were treated to this Labor Day!

At 11 a. m. on Saturday morning, the ridge on E Street in North Wilkesboro where The Record Park is located simply broke out in music when the 13th Annual Americana Day Youth Music program began.

This event, hosted by The Record, pays tribute to our local VFW Post and its Honor Guard with a special day of music, made all the more special by the fact that the players are all under 18 years of age.

Clearly, bluegrass and Americana music is safely in the hands of some very talented young people.

At noon, as is our custom during events at The Record Park, the American flag was raised by the VFW Post 1142's Honor Guard. After Post Chaplain Larry Reavis led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance, 12-year-old Libby Harbour played the Star Spangled Banner on her fiddle. The sun was bright, the wind was calm, the soldiers and the crowd stood at attention, and the silence was broken by only by Libby's perfectly played rendition of our National Anthem. I said it then, and I'll say it again now, it would bring a tear to the eye of a stone statue.

And so it went for the rest of the day. Youngsters like 8-year-old Lake Carver played and sang with a stage presence that completely belied their youth. Two others, Heidi Holloway and Devin Huie, have both played at 12 Americana Days, and are about to age out of this event. They thankfully both have a future in music that we will all get to enjoy for the years to come.

Americana Day 2018 was truly a beautiful day with beautiful children, and a musical treat for everyone which will be long remembered. Thank you to all who helped.

Then comes Labor Day Monday morning, and I find myself in Carl White's studio with Allen Langley, our mutual friend from Shelby, N.C., recording a podcast with Carl. These podcasts, as Carl says, will tell the story behind the stories. From there we head up NC Hwy 268 West to beautiful downtown Ferguson to introduce Allen to an event like no other, The Grocery Basket Café, 86 year-old Marjorie Roberts, and a unique musical experience known simply as Livermush Monday.

Some 15 years ago, musicians and others who attended the fiddlers convention in Happy Valley near Ferguson, and didn't leave on Sunday evening to go home, found themselves looking for a bit of breakfast on Monday. The Grocery Basket Café was nearby, Marjorie is an angel on this earth, and in no time a few folks began to bring along their fiddles and banjos and such, and Livermush Monday was born. Sometimes there are as many as 15-20 people in a loose circle; one person will start a song and the others will jump in, playing everything from "Froggy went a Courtin'" to "Will the Circle be Unbroken." If you can't pat your foot at Livermush Monday, you have a broken leg.

A few years ago, through our connections with Allen and Carl, Marc Mauney with Jenkins Foods in Shelby was contacted and Marc cheerfully took on a de-facto sponsorship, providing Jenkins Livermush for the event. He spent a lot of time in Wilkes and surrounding areas and we came to know him as a man who didn't mind working hard and who had a heart of gold. Sadly, we lost Marc last year in September to a heart attack, but it was truly uplifting to speak with many of his customers in Wilkes--to them he was far more than just Jenkins Foods, he really had become their friend on many, many levels. Marc Mauney's legacy was well-remembered on Monday.

I spent several hours on Monday at the Grocery Basket Café with Carl, Allen, and a full house of folks from Icard to Ireland--all with a common bond--a love of family, friendship, music and especially love for a wonderful soul who had just celebrated her 86th birthday, Marjorie Roberts.

Her smile would open the vaults at Fort Knox.

What a great weekend, full of music and smiling faces from 8 to 86.

Standing Up

By LAURA WELBORN

There is so much in the news these days revealing the destruction that has been wrought from keeping things secret.

The Me Too movement came from this: the Catholic Church that kept secret the years of abuse by priests and the pharmaceutical companies’ promotion of opioids. Both have been destroying lives with well intentioned people hiding the truth to protect institutions or companies with little regard to the lives lost.

Yesterday, a friend of mine gave me the book “Dopesick-Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that addicted America” by Beth Macy.

The book documents how opioid pain drugs got their start in the 90’s and where they were first heavily marketed. That first market was Appalachia. Wilkes County is part of that region.

We have the highest number of opioid addicted people of any county in the state. I help people everyday who started out on painkillers from an injury or post surgery and ended up unintentionally addicted.

How big is our problem?

Wilkes County has one of the highest rate of opioid-related deaths per capita in the state. In 2016, Wilkes County saw 25 such deaths compared to 10 fatalities by car crashes (many car crashes are related to impairment by alcohol/drugs- which are related to people taking painkillers (opioids) while driving).

In her book, Macy talks about the marketing of the drug OxyContin. It used preliminary and ultimately flawed scientific studies heralding the “less than 1 percent” addiction rate from observations of hospital use of opioid pain relievers. The critical part left out was a 56 percent addiction rate after patients left the hospital and tried handle their pain.

The book talks about Purdue Pharma’s marketing of OxyContin for all kinds of chronic pain, not just cancer, and claimed it was safe and reliable. Pardue sales reps get bonuses for the number of Appalachia doctors they convinced to prescribe Opioids. They fanned out, evangelizing doctors and dentists in all 50 states with the message “prescribing OxyContin for pain is the moral, responsible and compassionate thing to do for people with back injuries, wisdom-tooth surgery and bronchitis.” The wave of Opioid addiction that followed could not be called moral, responsible or compassionate.

The 1996 introduction of OxyContin coincided with pain being defined as “the fifth vital sign.” Traditionally, temperature, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and heart rate were considered the vital signs, and all could be easily measured and recorded. Pain level was different. In 1999, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations approved new mandatory standards for the assessment and treatment of pain. But, unlike the other four vital signs, pain could not be externally measured. Patients were asked to assess their own pain and the goal was no pain. Sales rates and profits for opioid producing pharmaceutical companies skyrocketed. The movement of opioid pain relief had begun and with it the cover up of the devastation and death from addiction.

The book describes several physicians and advocates who tried to stop this movement but were largely ignored. It is the advocates who interest me. The people working to uncover wrong and stop harm. What separates these people willing to risk their own careers, comfort and peace to advocate for the most vulnerable? Is it the power of love and not the love of power? People who are willing to stand up against wrong and challenge rules and institutions when they see harm are a special breed. I think every time we challenge something we see as wrong we are doing God’s greatest work.

Laura Welborn is a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist with Donlin Counseling Services. See www.Donlincounseling.com

Enemies of Israel Pay the Price

By EARL COX

Special to The Record

Israel has a long history of standing up to bullies and their threats. They require not only an Iron Dome but also an iron fist, occasionally wrapped in a velvet glove, to protect her land and her people.

One of the first bullies to unleash taunts and threats against Israel was the Philistine giant Goliath. His military stance—and the future king of Israel’s response—is an example of how to stand up to bullies, whether individuals or nations.

Before David showed up at the battlefield, things weren’t going well. Goliath’s intimidation tactics were working. Fear had paralyzed King Saul’s army. Nine-feet tall, armored to the teeth, and toting a formidable 14-kilo spear, this guy trained hard and was combat-seasoned. But above all, he was BIG. Israel’s present-day enemies are also “big”— in the sheer numbers of anti-Zionists, radical Islamists, and hostile leftists, globalists and thugs spewing threats, lies and insults like a giant corporate Goliath.

Due to fear, no soldier was willing to confront the giant. But fear is what feeds bullies. The best way to neutralize intimidation is to run at it with the right weapon in hand, which David did. Even school counselors in America, which is facing a rash of bullying, advises kids to look the bully in the eye without hesitation and stand their ground. Bullying only increases “when the bully realizes his victim is not going to stand up for himself,” says author Signe Whitson.

But the truth is, Goliath didn’t have much going for himself except for his colossal size.

His presumed victory was so narrowly focused on bigness that he rashly provoked a one-on-one contest—based not just on ancient custom but also on his own arrogance—that would haunt his people for years: “If [David] can fight and kill me, then we will become [Israel’s] subjects.”

Goliath’s gigantic ego was his undoing. His imperious belief in himself blinded his judgment and limited his focus. The mighty warrior —crippled by inadequate intelligence (in more ways than one)—underestimated his opponent. Could history be repeating itself?

In the giant’s eyes, David didn’t have much going for him. He was young and seemed inexperienced for war. After all, he had no armor or helmet, spear or sword.

Nor did he anticipate David’s speed, training, or motivation: David, zealous for Israel and the G-d of Israel, was appalled that an “uncircumcised Philistine” [defied] the armies of the living G-d.” (1 Sam. 17:26)

Mustered by Saul, David “ran quickly” toward Goliath and hurled a fatal stone into his forehead. The giant fell hard and before the shocked Philistines could react, David again “ran,” grabbed Goliath’s sword, and severed his head.

Unbeknownst to Goliath, David did train for adversity—as a shepherd under sometimes dangerous conditions. The flock’s enemies were his own enemies. He perfected his aim with a sling while guarding the sheep entrusted to his care. When a lion or bear attacked, David killed them head-on thus delivering the sheep from their jaws and laws. His training helped him develop an intense motivation foreign to Goliath’s low mentality. David’s heart was for Israel and for the G-d of Israel. This made him fearless.

Israel has had its share of lions, bears and Goliaths. They still stalk, sniffing at the borders, probing for vulnerabilities. They still brag, threaten and incite violence and fearmonger.

But they underestimate and fail to understand Israel, whose founding documents, laws and defense forces have a different motivation and moral code than to rob, hate, kill and destroy. Israel does not sacrifice its people to lions and bears—it defends them.

As in David’s day, present-day “Goliaths” know nothing of the G-d of Israel’s love for the land and people of Israel. David knew, so he was not afraid to face Goliath—or the “giants” that followed. It is also why he won a seemingly asymmetrical battle.

Let us run, with Israel, toward this band of giants, who share not just the attitude of the Goliath of old, but who also are making the same errors in judgment. Whether our slings are the written or spoken word, diplomacy, a timely vote, or another gift, let’s use it faithfully and fearlessly just as David did.

An Invitation to Come Back

By CARL WHITE

Life in the Carolinas

It was an umbrella day for our cameras and everyone else in Shelby NC, and a lot of people had traveled to the town square for the much-anticipated opening of the Earl Scruggs Center. Earl Eugene Scruggs was born in the nearby farming community of Flint Hill. Growing up, he had been surrounded by brothers and sisters who played the banjo and guitar, so it’s no surprise that they had a significant influence on his life.

The surprise, however, may have come when, at the age of twenty-one, Earl was invited to join Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys. This was just the beginning. Three years later he and Lester Flatt left the Bluegrass Boys and formed the Foggy Mountain Boys; before long the group was simply know as Flat and Scruggs. In 1955 the group joined the Grand Ole Opry and soon the incredibly successful Martha White brand sponsorship become synonymous with the sounds of Bluegrass music. Martha White Self-Rising Flour with Hot Rise “Goodness Gracious, It’s Good” became a common expression of the day.

Another significant public success came in 1962 with their release of "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" on the TV show The Beverly Hillbillies. Flat and Scruggs were guests on the show several times over the years.

The Flat and Scruggs band parted ways in 1969 and Earl went on to organize the Earl Scruggs Revue. They enjoyed much success and the three finger Scruggs style of banjo playing has charmed hundreds of millions of music listeners and players around the world.

The Earl Scruggs Center is located in the middle of the historic Shelby Town Square in the old Court House and is all about the music and stories of the American South. I met a lot of great people on the opening day of the Scruggs Center, and we produced a good segment for Life in the Carolinas on the day’s activities.

After I finished my interviews I was leaving by one of the side doors of the center. I was greeted by someone saying, "Hi, Carl, welcome to Shelby. I’m Allen Langley and I’m a fan of your show."

We had a pleasant conversation, and Allen invited me to come back to Shelby and he gave me a list of things that he thought would be good stories. He shared his contact number and said he would be happy to assist in any way that he could. I come to discover that Allen was right about Cleveland County and he was also true to his word; when I called, he was very helpful in assisting with producing stories in Cleveland County. Allen leads a very busy life running his business activities. He is an active Rotarian, serves on various boards and has a big heart for those in need, with all that going on he found the time to help anyway. Allen is a good friend to have.

I was glad to discover that The American Legion World Series now calls Shelby NC its permanent home. When I met Eddie Holbrook, co-chairmen of the Executive Committee of the American Legion World Series, I came to understand the true power of his community.

I witnessed hundreds of people working together on projects that benefit their community at large. Eddie was the first to tell me that it’s always a team effort. And those around him told me of his tireless work and comment to benefiting everyone.

It seems like that’s the way community champions should be.I’ve been invited to return many times and I have always enjoyed by visits and continued new discoveries.

You can email Carl at [email protected] Carl White is the executive producer and host of the award-winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In the Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its seventh year of syndication and can be seen in the Charlotte viewing market on WJZY Fox 46 Saturdays at noon. For more on the show visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com You can also catch episodes of Life In The Carolinas on Amazon Prime

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mysteryfanfictheatre3000 · 7 years

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Back to the Frollo: Chapter 4

Warning: Frollo and Danisha get gross.

Chapter Four

"...Here I am, baby...signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours...", Stevie Wonder belted from the radio, to which I tuned in an oldies station just as the song started. We had just crossed 30th Street and Claude was crooning the lyrics and doing little shimmies in his seat.

Friendly reminder that he’s an elderly rapist genocidal priest. And he’s shimmying to Stevie Wonder?!

I laughed out loud at this sudden display of silliness. This man who is always so poised, so cool and confident, regal and aristocratic, allowed himself to "turn it loose". But, after what he'd been through, I didn't mind him indulging in a little fun.

She keeps acting like some horrific and PTSD-inducing thing has happened to him. Okay, getting your clothes stolen is kind of awful, but are we ignoring how Quasimodo was raised by this sociopath for 20+ years and has a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome now? Or how Phoebus was shot/stabbed (depending on the version) and nearly died? Or how Esmeralda was hunted, captured, stripped, almost raped (yes, there is an explicit scene in the musical where he actually attempts to rape her, IN FRONT of Phoebus) and then strapped to a pyre and burned alive? (Depending on the version, she sometimes dies, and in nearly every version at least falls unconscious from smoke!) Every other character has undergone much more traumatizing events, at Frollo’s hands.

I convinced him a long time ago to lighten up, get a little silly, when things got him down. Back during that fabulous summer, he was astonished at my ability to be proper and low-key one moment, and then completely off-the-wall the next. My tastes in music and literature intrigued him. I read Nikki Giovanni, Ida B. Wells, and Zora Neale Hurston, quoted Lincoln, Kennedy and King, collected old slave and Civil War narratives, and sang blues and jazz along with the the old Motown and R & B I grew up on. I think everything about me intrigued him, as I was intrigued by his complexities.

Yeah, Frollo’s the exact type of human-rights activist that would care about Civil War slave narratives. He’s also super into blues and jazz, because he just seems like that type of guy, y’know?

Claude became suddenly quiet. I switched off the radio and glanced at him. "What's wrong, baby?" Claude just sat there, staring out the window. "I ruined your evening. My darling Danisha, my dear sweet...", he began as his hand softly caressed my face, "I completely forgot that you had previous plans. This whole evening has been a shambles. I go out for some refreshing activity...blast that damned soldier! Not to mention the girls chasing me as if I was..."

He goes from angry to sympathetic in milliseconds. This author is, ironically, totally presenting him as messed up, even though she’s obviously trying to make this relationship seem healthy.

Claude fell silent, then, "If THEY ever find out about this, I'll never live it down". "They", of course, referred to the Disney people. "Now, Claude", I began, "you know and I know that you have this reputation for being a....how can I put this? Heartthrob? A sex symbol? I mean, Disney insisted on portraying you as this evil, cold-hearted villain but WE all know the real Claude Frollo is..."

Wait, so Disney, and its adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, actually exists in this universe? So this is after the movie happened, if Frollo knows about it and has heard of and/or seen it. What happened to Esmeralda and Phoebus, then? And why is Frollo known as a heartthrob? He’s not exactly attractive in any of his incantations.

Claude interrupted with a burst of hearty laughter. "Me? A sex symbol? Oh really, darling! I can assure you that I'm..." "Baby, you can't help it if you're so good-looking. Tall and lean, that sexy smile. You dress fabulously; you have the best moves. Oh, and let's not forget that deep, smooth, MANLY voice. Power, wealth, well-educated. No wonder you have the women chasing you, present company included. You got it going on, sugarbritches, and you know it!" Claude Frollo looked at me with sultry, smoldering eyes, and in a deep, wildly sexy, almost growling voice, replied, "Well...what can I say? I cannot help being so...mmmm....gifted."

Sugarbritches?! WTF?!

He flashed a wickedly seductive smile as he leaned back and continued to croon love songs. By now I was getting a little flustered. I was trying to concentrate on the road and he kept giving me that `come-on' look, pursing his lips in imaginary kisses, and mouthing "I love you's" as we waited out the light at 38th Street.

This doesn’t seem safe. I hope Danisha gets pulled over and ticketed for distracted driving.

We continued our northbound journey up Meridian. From 40th to 86th Street, North Meridian becomes solidly residential, a wide, tree-lined boulevard of stately pre-Depression era mansions and manicured lawns. Claude tried to steer the conversation in another direction, as he observed and commented on nearly every home we passed. I knew exactly what he was doing. His previous antics had clearly turned him on, not to mention what he was doing to me!

Because nothing turns people on more than… staring at other people’s houses.

"You should live in such a house, my love", he said, indicating a large Georgian-style mansion with stately columns. "Claude," I tried to reason, "these homes are expensive! Mid to upper six figures! And I'm not going to begin to tell you the property taxes and the expense of heating and cooling and..." "Just a thought, darling. Hmm...Danisha, don't you have a birthday coming up? I can't think of a more appropriate gift." Now I was too dumbfounded! Claude Frollo actually offered to buy me a Meridian Street house! "You don't have to do that, sugar. I like where I live. It's a nice gesture but..."

How would he even go about doing that? What’s his source of income? He can’t exactly pay for a modern house with old French money, if currency even existed and was in wide use at that time. Is he collecting royalties from Disney or something?

Claude leaned over and kissed my cheek. I could feel his warm breath and smell his spicy, musk-tinged cologne. "You know I would do anything for you, dear heart. I just want you to be happy." He caressed my shoulder, "Oh, you are so beautiful", he cooed in my ear. "Such lovely coloring, almost like dark, wild honey. Mmm...and tastes just as sweet", he sighed as he kissed my cheek again. "A woman such as you deserves the best." "I already have the best, baby, and he's sitting right beside me."

Oh, shut up and get a room. It keeps me from having to deal with you.

Claude Frollo smiled, then whispered in my ear, "I love you, Nisha. I love you, my sweet, precious darling." With that, he leaned back in his seat, and resumed crooning love songs in his deep, smooth, sultry style as I made the left turn onto the canal road. My house was less than five minutes away.

#back to the frollo #The Hunchback of Notre Dame #Claude frollo #danisha

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dfroza · 4 years

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Today’s reading in the ancient book of Psalms and Proverbs

for Sunday, march 15 of 2020 with Psalm 15 and Proverbs 15, accompanied by Psalm 86 for the 86th day of Winter and Psalm 75 for day 75 of the year

[Psalm 15]

A song of David.

Eternal One, who is invited to stay in Your dwelling?

Who is granted passage to Your holy mountain?

Here is the answer: The one who lives with integrity, does what is right,

and speaks honestly with truth from the heart.

The one who doesn’t speak evil against others

or wrong his neighbor,

or slander his friends.

The one who loathes the loathsome,

honors those who fear the Eternal,

And keeps all promises no matter the cost.

The one who does not lend money with gain in mind

and cannot be bought to harm an innocent name.

If you live this way, you will not be shaken and will live together with the Lord.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 15 (The Voice)

[Proverbs 15]

Respond gently when you are confronted

and you’ll defuse the rage of another.

Responding with sharp, cutting words will only make it worse.

Don’t you know that being angry

can ruin the testimony of even the wisest of men?

When wisdom speaks, understanding becomes attractive.

But the words of the fool make their ignorance look laughable.

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere

and he takes note of everything that happens.

He watches over his lovers,

and he also sees the wickedness of the wicked.

When you speak healing words,

you offer others fruit from the tree of life.

But unhealthy, negative words do nothing but crush their hopes.

You’re stupid to mock the instruction of a father,

but welcoming correction will make you brilliant.

There is power in the house of the righteous,

but the house of the wicked is filled with trouble,

no matter how much money they have.

When wisdom speaks, revelation-knowledge is released,

but finding true wisdom in the word of a fool is futile.

It is despicable to the Lord

when people use the worship of the Almighty

as a cloak for their sin,

but every prayer of his godly lovers is pleasing to his heart.

The Lord detests the lifestyle of the wicked,

but he loves those who pursue purity.

Severe punishment awaits the one

who turns away from the truth,

and those who rebel against correction will die.

Even hell itself holds no secrets from the Lord God,

for all is exposed before his eyes,

and so much more the heart of every human being.

The know-it-all never esteems the one who tries to correct him.

He refuses to seek good advice from the wise.

[Living an Ascended Life]

A cheerful heart puts a smile on your face,

but a broken heart leads to depression.

Lovers of God hunger after truth,

but those without understanding

feast on foolishness and don’t even realize it.

Everything seems to go wrong

when you feel weak and depressed.

But when you choose to be cheerful,

every day will bring you more and more joy and fullness.

It’s much better to live simply,

surrounded in holy awe and worship of God,

than to have great wealth with a home full of trouble.

It’s much better to have a kind, loving family, even with little,

than to have great wealth

with nothing but hatred and strife all around you.

A touchy, hot-tempered man picks a fight,

but the calm, patient man knows how to silence strife.

Nothing seems to work right for the lazy man,

but life seems smooth and easy when your heart is virtuous.

When a son learns wisdom,

a father’s heart is glad.

But the man who shames his mother is a foolish son.

The senseless fool treats life like a joke,

but the one with living-understanding makes good choices.

Your plans will fall apart right in front of you

if you fail to get good advice.

But if you first seek out multiple counselors,

you’ll watch your plans succeed.

Everyone enjoys giving great advice.

But how delightful it is to say the right thing at the right time!

The life path of the prudent lifts them progressively heavenward,

delivering them from the death spiral

that keeps tugging them downward.

The Lord champions the widow’s cause,

but watch him as he smashes down the houses of the haughty!

The Lord detests wicked ways of thinking,

but he enjoys lovely and delightful words.

The one who puts earning money above his family

will have trouble at home,

but those who refuse to exploit others

will live in peace.

Lovers of God think before they speak,

but the careless blurt out wicked words meant to cause harm.

The Lord doesn’t respond to the wicked,

but he’s moved to answer the prayers of his godly lovers.

Eyes that focus on what is beautiful bring joy to the heart,

and hearing a good report

refreshes and strengthens the inner being.

Accepting constructive criticism

opens your heart to the path of life,

making you right at home among the wise.

Refusing constructive criticism shows

you have no interest in improving your life,

for revelation-insight only comes as you accept correction

and the wisdom that it brings.

The source of revelation-knowledge is found

as you fall down in surrender before the Lord.

Don’t expect to see Shekinah glory

until the Lord sees your sincere humility.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 15 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 86]

A David Psalm

Bend an ear, God; answer me.

I’m one miserable wretch!

Keep me safe—haven’t I lived a good life?

Help your servant—I’m depending on you!

You’re my God; have mercy on me.

I count on you from morning to night.

Give your servant a happy life;

I put myself in your hands!

You’re well-known as good and forgiving,

bighearted to all who ask for help.

Pay attention, God, to my prayer;

bend down and listen to my cry for help.

Every time I’m in trouble I call on you,

confident that you’ll answer.

There’s no one quite like you among the gods, O Lord,

and nothing to compare with your works.

All the nations you made are on their way,

ready to give honor to you, O Lord,

Ready to put your beauty on display,

parading your greatness,

And the great things you do—

God, you’re the one, there’s no one but you!

Train me, God, to walk straight;

then I’ll follow your true path.

Put me together, one heart and mind;

then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear.

From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord;

I’ve never kept secret what you’re up to.

You’ve always been great toward me—what love!

You snatched me from the brink of disaster!

God, these bullies have reared their heads!

A gang of thugs is after me—

and they don’t care a thing about you.

But you, O God, are both tender and kind,

not easily angered, immense in love,

and you never, never quit.

So look me in the eye and show kindness,

give your servant the strength to go on,

save your dear, dear child!

Make a show of how much you love me

so the bullies who hate me will stand there slack-jawed,

As you, God, gently and powerfully

put me back on my feet.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 86 (The Message)

[Psalm 75]

For the worship leader. A song of Asaph to the tune “Do Not Destroy.”

We thank You, O True God.

Our souls are overflowing with thanks! Your name is near;

Your people remember and tell of Your marvelous works and wonders.

You say, “At the time that I choose,

I will judge and do so fairly.

When the earth and everyone living upon it spin into chaos,

I am the One who stabilizes and supports it.”

[pause]

“I discipline the arrogant by telling them, ‘No more bragging.’

I discipline the wicked by saying, ‘Do not raise your horn to demonstrate your power.

Do not thrust your horn into the air, issuing a challenge,

and never speak with insolence when you address Me.’”

There is no one on earth who can raise up another to grant honor,

not from the east or the west, not from the desert.

There is no one. God is the only One.

God is the only Judge.

He is the only One who can ruin or redeem a man.

For the Eternal holds a full cup of wine in His hand—

a chalice well stirred and foaming full of wrath.

He pours the cup out,

and all wicked people of the earth drink it up—every drop of it!

But I will tell of His great deeds forever.

I will sing praises to Jacob’s True God.

I will cut off the horns of strength raised by the wicked,

but I will lift up the horns of strength of the righteous.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 75 (The Voice)

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