#Wheelbarrow Carrier

[seat-safety-switch]

Cargo bikes are very popular now, for the same reason that giant SUVs were popular in the Olden Times (also now.) That reason is simple: stuff. You got a lot of stuff, maybe too much stuff, and it's hard to say no to that stuff. Regular bicycles don't cut it, because you can only carry so much stuff, and if there's too much stuff to carry, then you have to leave some of that stuff at home. Cargo bicycles say: nope. Throw that stuff in there. And as a bonus, you can ram the weenies on regular bicycles when they cut you off in traffic.

In retrospect, the bastard combination of the rear half of a bicycle and the front half of a wheelbarrow was going to be an inevitable success. You can load it up with all kinds of things that used to require an emissions-spewing van: ladders, paint, children, microcomputers, and then you can use the additional caloric load of transport as an excuse to eat a third helping of emissions-spewing tacos after you help your friend renovate their apartment.

Parking is a little bit more of a challenge, being that the awkwardly long nightmare contraption you are piloting with reckless abandon through the city centre doesn't fit into the average bicycle hole. This is okay, though, because no thief will steal it, unless they are also planning to use it to commit other crimes and need the cargo space. If that happens, chances are you'll find some bonus items in the carrier when you find it. Crack pipes probably have some resale value, right? Maybe you can prevent a theft by loading your cargo bike up with worthless cinder blocks before you abandon it on the side of the road.

Above all, the important thing is that our civilization can continue to haul big items around, even in the wake of the collapse of the internal combustion engine. Cargo bicycles are a much happier, environmentally conscious, and friendlier way to transport goods of all kinds, unless you want those goods to arrive quickly or without the twisted, blood-soaked frames of lesser bicyclists wrapped around them.

[incorrect-play-it-by-ear]

6

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#pibe fandom awards #play it by ear fandom awards #jess mckenna #zach reino #play it by ear

[ellenya]

One day, one rhyme- Day 3503

Garden carrier gets the job

Of carrying corn off the cob,

But puffed up, tastiness reborn:

A wheelbarrow full of popcorn.

#rhyme #poetry #poets corner #poets on tumblr #twcpoetry #short rhyme #onedayonerhyme

[zerokrox-blog]

Based on this tiktok

The Anything but a Backpack Day in Hawkins High was started by a group of seniors who thought it would be a hilarious prank but it caught fire, it became a thing in the school. And it happened the week before exams as something to have fun with before the week's finals. 

Teacher’s had fun as well by not carrying their briefcases and instead following tradition they had to use something else. Some didn’t bother and just carried in their few notebooks. Some were creative and used whatever they had available. Miss Green, the gym teacher, used an old shoe box. Another teacher used a flower pot. 

So as the students came into the school the principal and teachers stood by the front doors seeing what people came in with as well as greeting students.

There were the typical, toy strollers, some boy came in with a brightly coloured piece of sheet metal holding his books. Two girls came in with their school books in matching red toy grocery-store carts. Munson and his friends all came in with their books a bright red wagon, which also carted Gareth who had broken his leg. One person carried their book in a pet carrier, while someone else was using a scooter. Some people used nothing, just their arms. Someone had taken a stuffed animal and turned it into a carrier. A boy in twelfth grade used a small driven lawn mower. Chrissy Cunningham came in with her books in a heavy looking tool box. Some of the basketball team used different tackle boxes. Billy Hargrove used an old tire to hold his books. 

A student came in with a large cardboard box. A girl who used a walker came in with her books neatly stacked in it, with a piece of cardboard around the back so no books would fall through. A few boys came in with their books in bike-baskets. One girl came in with her books in an old microwave. A boy was holding his younger brother who was wearing a backpack. Another boy was using an old baby sling. A girl was using a baby carrier. A random jock was using a baby car seat and another used a booster seat. 

Nancy Wheeler came in with her books in a large suitcase while Jonathan Byers carried his in an old suit bag. A few more students were using a wheelbarrow. 

The teachers were laughing. It was very funny. But then someone gasped and everyone looked up Miss Green, the gym teacher lost it. Steve Harrington was carrying an entire dishwasher on his back. He waved and both doors opened to let him in. Principal Higgins tried to help but Steve waved him away, not even sweating.   

“Steve.” Miss Green couldn't help but laugh, “why are you using a dishwasher?” 

Steve shrugged and gave a smile, “well it’s not a backpack and it wasn’t installed yet sooo I figured why not?” 

The student’s in the hallway laughed hysterically at his blase response. 

It was another successful Anything but A Backpack Day in Hawkins High.

#steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things ficlet #based on a tiktok #zerowrites #this is just for fun #i was laughing to hard #while writing this

[bichettes]

dreaming big league || chapter thirteen

word count: 2615 summary: more life, more baseball. warnings: none! author’s note: this is rushed ik but i really just wanna get to the fun stuff

February

The metal bar sat on Carrie’s shoulders as she adjusted her feet below. She had to look around from the side rather than directly right in front of her thanks to her sleeping baby girl in her carrier. Penelope’s cheeks were smooshed as gravity pulled them down. Once Carrie’s feet were situated in the correct stance, she steadied herself before bringing her body down into a squat. She normally would have done the exercise without the assist from the Smith machine but with her daughter strapped to her chest Carrie didn’t want to take any chances. She went through ten reps of the squats while Penelope slept through it. Her thighs burned along with her lungs as she put the bar on lock and dislodged herself from it. She walked around the area to relax herself, patting the back of the carrier. Once she got her heart rate down to a normal level, she moved onto the next workout of her circuit.

This is how most of her week usually went.

Since the second week of the new year, Carrie spent the majority of her weekdays at the Thunderbirds’ training complex. As she had discussed with Coach Williams her mind was still very much set on making it to the MLB. The most important thing was for her to get back into fighting form; bring the weight down a bit, gain the muscle back. That’s why the coach had asked to bring Alisha and Parker, the team’s head `athletic trainer and dietician, respectively. They had come along to talk to Carrie about how to get the ball rolling again on her exercise and diet plan. After an informative talk一 with cuddles from Penelope in between for everyone一 the four of them were able to come up with a safe plan for Carrie to follow considering she was still the main source of well, everything for her daughter.

Carrie moved on to the last part of her workout: the treadmill. She carefully took Penelope out of the carrier and placed her into her sleeping mat so she could get a proper run in. Carrie started off with a walk, watching the rest of her team do fielding drills across the way. A part of her wished she was with them but she knew she wasn’t ready to be doing any of that yet. Her mind and body still felt sluggish from that of being a new mom. She concentrated on her breathing as her feet pounded the treadmill. Following her run, Carrie went through her cool down, letting her heart recover from the intensity of her workout. To top it all off, she picked up Penelope from her mat and laid down, placing the baby right on her. Penelope squirmed for a couple seconds but eventually settled after finding a comfortable spot for her head on her mother’s chest. Some happy sounds escaped her tiny cherub lips as she fell back asleep on Carrie, putting a smile on her face.

March

“Sorry, Carrie, you have to pay up.”

“Oh my god, Brandon.”

Carrie groaned as she stared down her wheelbarrow on North Carolina Avenue where Brandon had a little red hotel sitting. She shook her head. Out of all the cousins, he was the most ruthless monopoly player. In recent years Brandon just seemed to get lucky with the dice whenever they played and he always used it to his advantage. His rolls got him the more expensive properties and he put houses and hotels on them whenever he could. Everyone else had the unfortunate dice rolls, landing them on Brandon’s properties and having to pay him a godawful amount of money (for Monopoly). And that was currently happening to Carrie.

“Fuck.”

Carrie looked at her little pile of money. The rent for the property with the hotel was $1275. She only had $500. All she kept doing was shaking her head while Brandon held his hand out for the cash. When she looked up at her cousin he had the biggest smile on his face.

“You’re sick.”

“I play the game.”

She shook her head once again. “I can’t do it. I’m going bankrupt.”

The smile on Brandon’s face somehow managed to grow even wider. Absolutely sickening.

April

The four men stood around the hostess stand while they waited for someone to help them. A few moments passed before a friendly looking girl walked up.

“Hi! For how many?”

“Five, please.” Courtney answered for the group.

The hostess gathered up five menus and a smaller one before asking the guys to follow her to a table off to the side of the restaurant. They all took their seats and thanked her. Adam didn’t waste any time, plucking the drink menu off the top of the pile. His eyes went down the page as he read the drink options. The other four scanned through the food menu, already feeling out of their depth.

“How do you know this spot again, Court?” Joe asked him.

“My sister found it last season but she came for their brunch.”

“Was it good?”

“Wouldn’t recommend it if it wasn’t.” Courtney stated matter-of-factly.

Besides knowing what the five of them wanted to drink, they had no idea what they wanted to eat. Just as they were about to flag someone down, their, who they assumed to be their waitress, appeared with a pitcher of water and a tray of glasses for the table and set them down. A pencil and a notebook was procured from her little apron.

“Hi, welcome to Magdalena! My name’s Chelsea, I’ll be your server for at least the next half hour.”

That piqued their interest, especially Adam’s.

“Half hour, why?”

“Oh, I’m technically done for the day but the next person after me is stuck in traffic so I’m covering for her until she gets here.”

Courtney, Joe, Blake, and Daniel watched as their friend and teammate flirted with their server. Most of the time it was amusing to watch. The guy had game and they respected that. The only problem was that he had game with everyone. He could flirt with a rock if he could. They didn’t mind it, really. The only time they did was if his flirting got in the way of obligations. The group eventually managed to get in their drink orders before Adam could really step it up.

They went through the menu once again, discussing their upcoming homestand as they did so. Even going through the menu a second or third time, they still felt lost. Everything on it sounded great but they had no idea where to even begin. Courtney was just about to make a comment about pitching when there was a commotion at the front door.

“Carrie!” The hostess exclaimed.

“God, sorry I’m late. There was an accident on the Gardiner just as we were about to leave the complex so Hanna had to take side streets instead-“ The girl- Carrie- explained as she whizzed by the hostess stand.

What caught Courtney’s eyes wasn’t the frazzled look on her face or the speed in which she moved, but rather the gear bag she had slung over her shoulder and the two bats in her hand. His hazel eyes followed her form as it disappeared behind the door that led to the kitchen. Interesting.

“Think I found our server.”

-

“So which side do I have?” Carrie asked as she tied her apron around her waist.

“You’re in section three today with the addition of table four in section two.” Chelsea briefed.

Carrie’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why?”

“You know how Mark is with groups.”

“Right. So how many people are at that table?”

“Five, but they’re all really nice. One of them was flirting with me.”

“Flirting or harassing?”

“Flirting, the guy’s harmless. It’s that table over there.”

Chelsea pointed through the window of the swinging doors and Carrie’s eyes followed until the group came into view-

“Wait, that’s table four?”

“Yeah, nice enough guys. Why?”

“Um, that’s the infield for the Rockets.”

Chelsea looked back out the window. “No way. You’re joking.” Carrie gave her a deadpan look. “I shouldn’t have said that, of course you know.” Chelsea untied her apron and hung it up with the rest of them and unclipped her name tag from her shirt. “Maybe you can talk to them about baseball, then. Earn your tips that way.”

“I am not doing that.”

“Why not? It’ll be fun!”

-

“Hi guys, I’m Carrie. Chelsea was covering for me until I got here but don’t worry your tips will be going to her.”

The girl Courtney had seen just ten minutes prior was now changed out of her workout gear and into a pair of jeans and loose fitting graphic tee. Her hair was pulled back into a braided ponytail rather than the messy bun she had when she first entered the restaurant. With the her body was angled more towards him and Blake, it gave Adam the perfect chance to check her out, giving her back a quick up and down. He wanted to kick the guy’s shin.

“You guys figure out what you want to eat?”

“Uh, not yet.” Joe replied.

“Did you need help with the menu?”

“Please.”

This launched a five minute lesson on the menu, with Carrie giving them a run down on the dishes they were curious about. Courtney could see the happiness on her as she described something called ‘kare kare’ to them. She somehow managed to convince them to get two different kinds of spring rolls, pork barbecue, a large plate of white rice, and three mains (kare kare, chicken adobo, and lechon).

“Don’t you think we got a little too much to eat?” Daniel asked them.

Adam waved him off. “It’s our day off, we can eat as much as we want.”

“Now that’s not true-“

“Dude, live a little! We’re about to have some good food and you’re worried about following the meal plan.”

It was about halfway into their meal when Courtney learned a little bit more about their server. An older man walked in with a baby strapped to his chest and Courtney watched as Carrie met them in the middle with the biggest smile. His head tilted as she began to unstrap the baby from his body and hold her.

“Did you have fun with papa today, sweetheart?” Carrie asked the baby in a high pitched voice. She peppered kisses all over the baby’s face and happy babbles escaped from the little body.

Courtney had so many questions. Papa? Was this her sister? How old was she? He listened in some more to the conversation.

“Where’s your papa?”

“In his office waiting for you so you can have dinner together.”

The man rolled his eyes. “Of course he is. How was practice?”

“I’m exhausted. They got me doing fielding drills today, working on my timing and whatnot.”

At the mention of the fielding drills, the other four perked up. Carrie bounced the baby in her arms as she spoke with him.

“Full gear?”

“Mhmm.”

“Well look at you go. You’ll be back in no time!”

“I know but I don’t want to get too excited.”

Was she injured? What happened to her?

-

“I hope you guys enjoyed the food.” Carrie said to them as she handed the bill over to Joe.

“We did.”

“It was amazing.”

Should she say something? Would that be weird? Who knows when she’ll have this opportunity again.

Courtney was about to say something when she spoke.

“You know, I’ve been watching the Rockets since I was five.” She could feel her heart beating in her ears. All or nothing. “Jack McQuaid is the reason I used to play shortstop. I thought he was so cool. His catch into shallow left in game six of the 2005 World Series is still one of my favourite plays.”

The five guys all stared at her like she grew another head. So maybe speaking up was a mistake.

“‘Used to’?” Blake questioned.

Carrie nodded. “I’m a catcher now. I’ve been playing at that position since I was 11.”

“Softball?”

“No, baseball.” Carrie clarified. “I play in a mixed U23 provincial league.”

There’s a provincial league? Huh.

“You any good?” Adam asked.

Carrie shrugged. She thought she was good but she wasn’t about to admit that to five professionals. “I’m alright.”

Courtney wanted to ask her something but the question died at the sound of a baby crying. Carrie immediately turned at the sound and found her dad holding a crying Penelope. She quickly put down the card reader before her dad was depositing her child into her arms.

“She wants her mama.” Andrew said to her. She looked down at the baby.

“What’s wrong, sweet girl, hm? What’s got you all upset?”

Carrie hated when Penelope cried, didn’t matter for what reason. For poop, for feeds, nightmares, whatever, Carrie didn’t like it. She wanted Penelope to always be the smiley, happy baby she’s growing into.

“Dad, do you mind finishing this up?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Before she walked off towards the back, she stopped and turned towards her dad. “Their tips go towards Chelsea’s pay.”

June

Carrie’s leg bounced on the carpeted floor of her dad’s car while she waited for the text from the trainers. Her bottom lip was chewed raw thanks to the nervousness that had settled into her since she got in the car. Andrew the look his daughter wore on her face when he saw it through the rear view mirror.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked her gently. He watched as her head turned to face the front.

“Dad, I’m nervous.”

He turned around in the driver’s chair and was faced with a worried looking Carrie looking right back at him. He wished he could talk all the anxiety and nerves away so she wouldn’t have to deal with it. He and Severino knew just how hard she had been working to get back to playing form. The plan she had set up with the help of the team’s trainers and nutritionists in January was followed religiously by their daughter. And among all that she didn’t forget her duties as a mom, as a daughter, as a friend; the duties to herself. She didn’t lose who she was over the last six months.

“Why?”

“What if I didn’t do enough to get back there?”

Andrew shook his head, reaching for his daughter’s hand. “You did more than enough, baby. We all saw the effort that you’ve been putting in since the start of the year. You have been working so hard to get back. All of this that you’re about to do next is just a formality at this point. You just have to show your team officially that you’re good to go.”

Carrie nodded. “Yeah.”

“And if for some reason you can’t come back this time around, so what? You’ll have another go at it, just don’t give up.”

Carrie’s phone buzzed in her hand.

Alisha

-We’re ready for you!

“Me and Penelope will be right here cheering you on, okay?”

-

Beck’s ears rung as he stared at his phone.

-

tag list: @paris-roubaix

#tricia writes #original writing #original work #original story #dbl

[lumpsbumpsandwhumps]

It’s Tuesday.

*dumps wheelbarrow over, splatting a whumpee to Maliks doorstep - they’re kinda cute ig*

See ya-

Malik, trying to hold a memorial service for one of the town's beloved mail carriers

#ask #painsandconfusion #always coming when he's trying to console people that their loved ones are in a better place #the better place about to be the cremator

[nickywhoisi]

welp it's been a couple days

I really need to get my pencil and ink pen back, but I have no idea if these would have been sent to a lost and found, and I have been straining my poor body trying to find anywhere I could sleep inside. For too short of a while, I did, but then I got the lines I did not want to hear, and bawled again because of...the chance at safety that I wanted lost. Once again, I had to find a spot outside. I did at least, at a vet. In this little corner where nobody at all approached me negatively. And in both places, I seem to have gotten 4 hours or so of sleep. So I am doing....ehh. Which is a step up from horrible that one time.

I really wanna post happier things, have nothing happen, and then get to work on all of my projects, life and art related. I have had enough of this. I also really need to buy that thing, the wheelbarrow, so I can just use that as a carrier and a bed. I can have my brelly as a cover. That'll be great. No more squished legs on a dinky chair I've had it. Now y'all can expect more posts from me that are lighter in nature, thank goodness

Oh and there were some genuinely good things that had happened. I got a spot to read some cute little Thomas stories, though not written by Awdry. I'm still trying to find those! And I gave myself some treats by buying back Balan and Luigi's Mansion 3! Also making some good progress leveling up in SMT5 so I can finally beat that creepy toothy hydra. I do feel like I have to be some levels higher than all the enemies; my strat is to get powerful enough to get the whole party doing 1HKOs every time. Wish me luck!

#gypsy diary #I am changing the tag because I do not actually want to be known as a hobo in any way #I am not one of them #Just a grifter at the moment #I even have a sash that proves it #Just cause I aint got no caravan #I am homeless but I do not want to have the prejudices heaped on me so unfairly like this #I really hope I can be taken in by someone soon I am REALLY WORRIED ABOUT MY HEART #it has been aching and hurting and one day there was a rally long bout of pain #I couldn't figure out what it was until I got a proper rest #I am seriously overworked with crying disgust and carrying everything around.... #Well wish me luck and fortune that I get picked up in my life real soon

[toolzee]

How to Keep the Garden Wheelbarrow Working? Best Tips

A garden wheelbarrow is a fundamental tool for any gardening enthusiast. It's the workhorse that makes transporting soil, plants, and garden tools a breeze. But, like any tool, it needs proper care to stay functional. In this article, we'll explore "How to keep the garden wheelbarrow working" effectively and include tips on "How to manage a Wheelbarrow," ensuring your trusty helper stays in top condition for years to come.

Understanding the Role of Regular Maintenance

Regular maintenance is crucial for keeping your garden wheelbarrow working efficiently. A well-maintained wheelbarrow not only lasts longer but also makes your gardening tasks easier and safer. Let's dive into the key steps to maintain your wheelbarrow's longevity and functionality.

Step-by-Step Guide to Wheelbarrow Maintenance

1. Keep It Clean

After each use, remove any soil, leaves, or debris. This prevents rust and decay, especially in metal wheelbarrows. For a deeper clean, use soapy water and a stiff brush. Be sure to dry it thoroughly to prevent rusting.

2. Rust Prevention

Rust is a common issue, particularly in metal wheelbarrows. To prevent rust, store your wheelbarrow in a dry place. If you spot rust, sand the area and apply a coat of rust-resistant paint.

3. Tire Care

A flat or damaged tire can make a wheelbarrow hard to maneuver. Regularly check the tire pressure and inflate as needed. Inspect the tire for any signs of wear or damage and replace it if necessary.

4. Handle Maintenance

Handles are crucial for control and comfort. Sand any rough spots on wooden handles and treat them with a wood preservative. For metal handles, check for rust and apply a protective coating as needed.

5. Lubricate Moving Parts

Lubrication is essential for the wheel and any moving parts. This ensures smooth operation and prevents wear. Regularly apply a suitable lubricant to keep everything moving freely.

6. Check and Tighten Hardware

Loose bolts and nuts can lead to instability. Periodically tighten all hardware to ensure your wheelbarrow is secure and safe to use.

Advanced Maintenance Tips

Customizing Your Wheelbarrow

Customizing your wheelbarrow can enhance its functionality. Consider adding accessories like tool holders or a water carrier. These can make your gardening tasks more efficient and enjoyable.

Seasonal Storage

Proper storage is important, especially during off-seasons. Clean and lubricate your wheelbarrow before storing it in a dry, covered area. This helps to prevent rust and ensures it's ready for use when needed.

Conclusion

Knowing "How to keep the garden wheelbarrow working" is essential for any gardener. Regular maintenance, proper storage, and timely repairs will keep your wheelbarrow in great shape, making your gardening tasks easier and more enjoyable.

For more detailed information and tips on maintaining your garden wheelbarrow, check out this comprehensive guide on How to Maintain a Wheelbarrow. Remember, a little effort in maintenance can go a long way in ensuring your garden wheelbarrow remains a reliable and efficient tool in your gardening endeavors.

#How to keep the garden wheelbarrow working #caring the garden wheelbarrow

[dependablehaulingsolutions]

Factors To Consider When Choosing A Furniture Moving Company

Relocating a home or office requires moving a lot of furniture. Moving some furniture to the new location is usually cheaper than buying new furniture. Additionally, people will want to move personal effects, antiques, and other irreplaceable items.

Furniture movers move furniture professionally. Hiring them makes moving easier and prevents precious furniture from being damaged. Having had experience moving jobs, they are very knowledgeable about packing, loading, and unpacking procedures. Depending on the distance and the items to be transported, they also suggest the best means of transportation. Sometimes most carriers have extra space. If the furniture is listed on an online marketplace, many carriers post attractive offers.

One of the first factors to consider when choosing moving companies is the company's experience in the industry. Moving companies with more experience will have better quality control processes to ensure customers remain satisfied. When looking for local trucking companies, it's important to research when they were established and whether or not the company has a long list of complaints. You should expect to find a company with official complaints. It is more important to investigate whether or not the company resolved the problem by responding.

Another important factor to consider when choosing furniture moving company whether the company carries adequate insurance. Commercial insurance for movers will pay for lost and damaged property. This ensures that the customer is reimbursed for their loss and that the company does not have to pay out of pocket. If you choose a company that does not invest in insurance, it can be difficult to receive compensation for lost or damaged property.

Packing is a crucial point for a successful move. Special packaging material for delicate items is used to minimize damage in the event of an accident. Specially made boxes are used for extremely delicate items.

Moving furniture through small doorways also requires the services of an expert. Wheelbarrows and hand trucks are useful for moving furniture. Movers put special motors or wheels under some heavy furniture. Then it becomes easier to move and load them. The ways and means employed by moving professionals are time-tested and safe. It's best to let them handle moving the furniture.

Remember

If you're in the process of moving out of state, it's important to do your research to find a quality, respected moving companies. Not all moving companies will offer transportation out of state. Those that do will have different ways of calculating charges. You should consider the quality of service provided by the company, like pick up and delivery as well as packaging and their price quotes before making a decision. The burden of moving can be extremely stressful. Knowing that you have chosen a quality moving company, you will have peace of mind knowing that your valuable belongings will arrive on time and intact.

#Furniture movers #furniture moving company #Furniture Moving Services #Dallas Furniture Moving Services #Dallas Furniture movers #Dallas Furniture Moving Company

[gaia-is-here-now]

it's spirit week at my school this week. All the previous days have been boring as fuck but today. today is anything-but-a-backpack day.

I use a messenger bag every day and also I forgot so there's that but here's a comprehensive list of everything I've seen in no particular order.

- A stuffed llama

- A pinata

- a mini shopping cart

- a full sized shopping cart (confirmed not stolen)

- a home depot cart (presumably stolen)

- a walmart shopping cart (presumably stolen)

- a wheelbarrow

- shoeboxes

- rolling suitcases

- Bucket™

- a coca cola fridge like they have in convenience stores

- full sized coolers

- a trash can

- a trash bag

- an instrument case

- a kayak. it was yellow!

- a baby carriage

- a wagon

- shopping baskets

- a chair(?????)

- one of those toy cars kids ride

- a microwave

- a laundry basket

- a bike

- stuffed snake

- a knee scooter

- a dryer drum

- someone's little sister (had to go home)

- a truck roof cargo box

- metal barrel

- a pet carrier

- a coffin. an actual literal coffin.

- a crock pot

- a barbie jeep, blasting taylor swift music

- a grass seed spreader

- a laundry basket strapped to a skateboard

and that's just the stuff I could remember/identify.

#gaia's batshit american education spirit days

[shihlun]

Canton, c. 1900.

#magic lantern #glass slide #1900 #canton #china #wheelbarrow #Wheelbarrow Carrier #carrier #hand colored photography

[dwellordream]

“...you should know that there are three kinds of servants: some are hired as help for a specific amount of time to perform a distinct job—such as porters equipped with padding who carry things on their backs, carters with wheelbarrows, packers of wares, and the like. Additionally, laborers may be hired on for a day or two, a week, or a season for a job that is urgent, difficult, or for strenuous fieldwork—such as reapers, mowers, threshers, grape harvesters, carriers of large baskets, fullers, coopers, and the like. The second type of workers are hired for a fixed period because of their specific skills (such as tailors, furriers, bakers, butchers, shoemakers, and those who do piecework). Still others are engaged as domestic servants to serve by the year and live in the home. Of all these, there is not one who does not willingly seek work and a master. 

Regarding the first type of day laborers mentioned above: they are needed to unload and carry burdens, and to perform heavy and tough tasks. As a rule, these workers are troublesome, crude, and full of insolence, arrogant and impertinent—except about taking payment—always ready to insult and reproach if you fail to compensate them to their liking when the work is finished. I beg you, my dear, when you have to deal with these people, tell Master Jehan the steward, or another of your household men, to seek out and choose—or have chosen and engaged—only the peaceable ones. Always bargain with them before they even begin the work, so there will be no dispute afterward. Although, most of the time they do not want to bargain but rather wish to delve into the task without negotiating. 

They say, so agreeably: “Sire, it is nothing; it is pointless. You will pay me well, and I will be satisfied with whatever you decide.” Yet, if Master Jehan hires them in this way, when the work is done they will gripe: “Sire, there was more to do than I thought. There was this and that to do, here and there.” They decline the payment proffered and shout odious and vulgar words. So instruct Master Jehan not to hire or allow others to hire such men without first making a deal with them. For those who want to earn money are tractable before they begin working. Since they need the wages, they fear that someone else will grab the job before them and they will lose the contract and the profits, and so they are more reasonable beforehand. If Master Jehan were so credulous toward them and trusted their sweet words, and allowed them to begin work without haggling, they know very well that after they have begun the job, no one else would touch it for fear of shame. 

Thus you would be at their mercy and they would demand more money. If they are not paid what they want, they will shout and howl nasty and disrespectful reproaches. Such churls are not ashamed of anything, and the worst of it is, they will give you a bad reputation. So it is better to wrangle with them openly and sharply beforehand to avoid any dispute. And most particularly I beg you that if the situation or task calls for it, make inquiries about the behavior of those you wish to hire, and do not have anything to do with impertinent people who are arrogant, haughty, disdainful, or offensive—despite whatever benefit or advantage you may see in them or how cheaply they offer their services. Rather, dismiss such folks from you and your business graciously and calmly, for if they elbow themselves in, you will not escape without slander or quarrel. 

Therefore, have your people take on tractable and gentle servants and helpers, and even pay them extra, for it gives you peace of mind to deal with worthy people. For it is said: “He who has to deal with good people has peace.” Likewise, one could say: “He who has to deal with bad-tempered people has only increased his suffering.” Item, concerning those other workers, such as wine growers, threshers, field hands, and the like, or tailors, cloth makers, shoemakers, bakers, farriers, candle makers (and nota that for making tallow candles it is necessary to dry the wick well by the fire), spicers, blacksmiths, cartwrights, and such, my dear, I advise and pray that you always remember to tell your people that they must employ amiable help, always reaching an agreement before the job. 

Reckon up and pay often, without waiting to have long credit by tally or on paper, although tally or written accounts are still better than keeping everything by memory, for the creditors always imagine the total is more and the debtors less, and from this are born disputes, hatred, and foul reproaches. Have your honest creditors paid willingly and often what you owe them, and be kind to them so they do not leave you for another. It is not always easy to find truly peaceable people. Item, concerning chambermaids and house varlets, who are called domestics, understand, my dear, that I leave you the power and authority to have them chosen by Dame Agnes the Beguine (or another woman you choose to have in our service), to hire, pay, retain, or dismiss them from service as you wish, in order that they may obey you better and fear to anger you.

Nevertheless, you should consult me privately about this and act according to my advice, because you are too young and could easily be deceived by even your own people. Know that among those chambermaids without a position seeking masters and mistresses, many offer and present themselves out of great necessity. Do not take any of these without first discovering where they dwelled before, and send someone there to inquire about their behavior: whether they talk or drink too much, how long they were employed there, what services they performed and are skilled in, whether they have a room or acquaintances in the town, from what country and people they originated, how long they lived there, and why they left. Through familiarity with their past service, ascertain what confidence or trust you can have in their future service. Keep in mind that often such women from foreign parts have been accused of some vice in their country, leading them to seek work far from their own region. For if they were without stain, they would be mistresses and not servants; and I say the same of men. 

If reports from former master, mistress, neighbors, or others show that she suits your needs, ask the prospective servant directly—and in her presence have Master Jehan the steward write it down in his account book the day you retain her—her name and that of her father, mother, and any other relatives, where they reside, where she was born, and her references. For they will be more fearful of doing wrong since they recollect that you have recorded these things. Should they flee from you without permission, or commit any offense, they worry you will write and make a complaint to the justice of their land or to their friends. Despite everything, recall the words of the philosopher Bertrand the Elder, who said: “If you take on a chambermaid (or manservant) who answers haughtily and proudly, know that when she leaves she will do you injury if she can. If instead she is a flatterer and cajoler, do not trust her at all, for she strives to trick you in some other way. But if she blushes and remains quiet and shamefaced when you correct her, love her as your daughter.” 

Next, my dear, know that after your husband, you must be mistress of the house, giver of orders, inspector, ruler, and sovereign administrator over the servants. It is incumbent upon you to require submission and obedience to you and to teach, reprove, and punish the staff. Thus, forbid them from such excess or gluttony of life that would ruin them. Also, do not allow them to quarrel with each other and your neighbors. Forbid them to speak ill of others, unless in private to you, and only insofar as the misdeed touches upon your welfare to avoid harm to you, and not otherwise. Prohibit them from chattering falsehoods, from unlawful gaming, swearing crudely, and using vulgar, lewd, or ribald words, like some miserable people who curse with “bloody bad fevers,” “bloody bad week,” “bloody bad day.” They seem to know well what a bloody day, a bloody week, etc., is, but in fact, they don’t; they certainly should not know what a bloody thing is! 

Nay, worthy women do not know about such things; they are completely disgusted at the mere sight of the blood of a lamb or pigeon slain before them. Assuredly, women should not speak of anything filthy, especially about cunt, ass, or other private parts, for it is an indecent topic for women to discuss. I once heard of a young gentlewoman who was seated in a crowd of friends, men and women. By chance she said just in fun to the others: “You are pressing me so hard that my cunt is squashed.” Although she said it in jest and among friends, thinking herself to be acting merry, nevertheless, in private the other wise gentlewomen, her relatives, rebuked her for it. Item, such ribald women sometimes say of a woman that she is a wanton slut, and it seems that they know what “slut” or “wanton” means; but honorable women should not know what it means! 

Therefore, forbid servants from using such language, for they do not know what it means. Prohibit revenge, and teach them with great patience through the example of Melibee, as recounted above. As for you yourself, my dear, conduct yourself always so that by your actions you provide our servants with an example of goodness. Now we must speak about putting your people and servants to work, occupying them at the proper times, and about letting them rest at the appropriate times. Concerning this, my dear, know that according to the tasks you need accomplished and the fitness of your people for your various needs, you and Dame Agnes the Beguine (who is with you to teach you wise and mature conduct, and to serve and instruct you, and whom I particularly charge with this matter) must divide up the work and allocate the different tasks according to what needs doing and the suitability of each servant to those tasks.

If you order them to do a chore right now and your servants reply, “There is enough time; it will surely be done,” or “It will get done early tomorrow morning,” consider it forgotten. You’ll need to begin again, since the effort was for naught. Also, concerning tasks you may order everyone in general to do, realize that each servant waits for the other to do the job, so it remains undone. Be thus forewarned. Tell Dame Agnes the Beguine with her own eyes to witness them starting the work that you want completed in short order. First, she must assign the chambermaids early in the morning to sweep and keep clean the entrances to your house (namely, the hall and other places where people enter and linger to talk), and to dust and to shake out the foot rests, bench covers, and cushions. Next, every day the other rooms should be similarly cleaned and tidied for the day, as befits our social position.

Item, see to it that Dame Agnes tends your house pets carefully and diligently, particularly the lapdogs and little birds. Also, you and the Beguine must care for the other household birds, for they cannot talk, and therefore you must speak and think for them. When you go to the town house, I charge Dame Agnes the Beguine to supervise those who are responsible for looking after the other animals: for example, Robin, the shepherd, cares for the sheep, ewes, and lambs; Josson, the oxherd, the oxen and bulls; Arnold, the cowherd, and Jehanneton, the dairymaid, the cows, heifers, calves, sows, pigs, and piglets; Endeline, the farmer’s wife, the geese, goslings, roosters, hens, chicks, doves, and pigeons; and the carter or farmer, our horses, mares, and the like. The Beguine, and you too, must display to your people that you oversee it all, are quite familiar with their work, and deem it important, for then they will be more diligent.”

- “Choosing and Caring for Servants and Horses.” in The Good Wife's Guide (Le Ménagier de Paris): A Medieval Household Book, translated by Gina L. Greco and Christine M. Rose

#medieval #history #servants #noblewomen #french #the good wife's guide #late middle ages

[dawnrider]

Dunno if I'm making this a thing or if it's just the mood I'm in today.

Either way, here it is!

Another tree, another field, some more cows, a couple horses... more trees! Hitomi sighed again. This had to be the most boring drive she'd ever done. There were no buildings, aside from a few farm houses here and there, and all the other drivers on the road were clearly not from around there, simply passing through. “Now where is that turn?” she mumbled aloud, squinting at the road signs, trying to find the right county road. Finding it wasn't easy, but as soon as she turned there was a sign that directed her farther west to reach the town she was looking for. “Thirty more miles? This place really is in the middle of nowhere.” A faint sound of discomfort from the kennel next to her made her look over. “I know Jasper. We're almost there. Then you can get out.” The feline whined, turning around again and laying down. He meowed pathetically. Poor thing, that sedative really helped, but it's starting to wear off. Hitomi tried not to speed too much despite her eagerness to get to her new house. A ticket was the last thing she needed in a new place.

When she finally pulled up in front of the small house that was designated as hers, the first thing she did was pull Jasper out. She fumbled with the keys to unlock the front door, struggling with the lock a minute. Jasper yowled a little more loudly until she opened the door to his carrier. In spite of his desire to get out, the cat sat and stared out of the carrier for a long time, sniffing and peeking out of the door. Hitomi shook her head, leaving her pet to get used to the space. She went into the kitchen, fighting her way past boxes, to set out a water dish for Jasper, knowing he would be thirsty after the long trip and the effects of the sedative. “Here Jasper, come get a drink.” Unsurprisingly, she didn't hear him budge. With a sigh, Hitomi looked around the space. There was a lot to do before she could relax. Before unpacking... she needed food.

The grocery store was tiny. Hitomi wondered how it fed a few hundred people, but there wasn't anyone else in it. With the majority of the community making their living by farming, they probably mostly fed themselves, she realized. The older woman behind the counter kept eying her suspiciously. Hitomi had been eyed like that before, but it was when she was fifteen and in a convenience store where stuff got stolen all the time. She'd never stolen anything in her life, but that didn't mean the shopkeeper didn't suspect her. This was a more confused suspicion. Her first day in town and she hadn't been able to introduce herself to anyone yet. It was natural for the woman to be a little wary.

Walking up and down the aisles, she found the essentials she needed. Milk, eggs, cereal, bread. The produce didn't look the best, at least, the things not grown in that area looked a little iffy. She got what she could from the frozen aisle and then decided she was going to have to start a garden. She looked everywhere for cat food and couldn't find anything. She frowned. How could they not have cat food at the store? “Something you need help finding?” Hitomi fought the urge to jump, turning slowly to find the woman standing just behind her. Quiet old bat! She stared a moment before nodding.

“Uh, cat food.”

“Ah. Well you won't be finding that here, darlin'. You'll have to go over to the feed store. He carries all we need for our pets.” The woman's face was a little less threatening now that she was smiling. Hitomi tentatively smiled back. “You're new here.”

Hitomi's smile faltered a moment. Was it really necessary to state the obvious? “Yes. My name is Hitomi. Hitomi Kanzaki. I'm the new fifth grade teacher.” Sticking out her hand, Hitomi was surprised by the strength of the woman's hold.

“Oh! Pleasure to meet you! We've been wondering when you would get here. I'm Gladys Larson. How's the house?” Her enthusiasm was infectious and Hitomi's smile returned. The house was fine, a little old-fashioned when it came to the decorating, but she'd fix that with time. “Well I'm glad you like it. What was it you were looking for again?”

“Cat food? And I think I want to start a vegetable garden out back so...”

“Now don't you worry dear, I'll just take you right on over. Van's not used to strangers coming in and he needs someone familiar to introduce them.” Hitomi stared at the woman a moment before following her up to the counter. She paid for her things and Gladys had her put them in the big refrigerator so they wouldn't spoil while they were gone. “He's a sweet boy, a little rough around the edges though,” Gladys told her in a conspiratorial whisper as they crossed the main street and walked a few store fronts down. Hitomi glanced back at the grocery, surprised that the old woman had no problem leaving it unattended. “Here we are,” she laughed, opening a door into one of the larger stores on the street. A bell tinkled as they entered. “Van, Honey! I've brought in the new teacher. She needs cat food,” she called. Hitomi heard some shuffling and a head poked out from behind the cash register. Her eyes widened and she took a slight step back.

He was gorgeous. Hearing Gladys call him a sweet boy who was a bit rough, Hitomi had anticipated a teenager who was afraid of people and possibly had an acne problem. This man was nothing like that at all. He was tall, as she saw when he stood up, with dark shaggy hair, a strong chin and intensely brown eyes. She was startled when he frowned in her direction. “Gladys, you know where the cat stuff's at.” And that was it. He didn't try to introduce himself or ask her name. The grocer didn't seem fazed at all, leading Hitomi back toward the food. Apparently this was also the hardware store, the opposite side filled with shovels, mulch, hammers, wheelbarrows and planters.

“Don't mind him dear. It will take him a while to get used to you.”

“I can hear you...” the store owner grumbled loudly, sitting back down behind the counter.

Gladys grinned and shook her head. “Yes I know Honey. Best set of ears in town.” Hitomi bit her lip, glancing back at the counter. She found the food she needed, but she wasn't sure what to do about her gardening idea. Maybe it would be best to come back another time... like never. “That all you need dear? What about your garden?”

“I-I'll come back later once I'm more settled in. I really should get home and feed Jasper. He'll be mad. I'm sure he's freaked out in the new house by himself,” she explained.

“Oh! Poor dear. Well you just run along to my store and grab your things. There's the town social tonight, you should come to meet everyone! Seven o'clock at the hall. It's just down the street from here. Can't miss it,” she pointed down the road the way Hitomi had come in from. She nodded, thanking Gladys for her help.

Stepping up to the counter she set the bag of food down and waited. The man behind the counter seemed to be ignoring her, listening to some soft music from a radio on the floor. “Um...”

“Just take it. It's a welcome gift.” Hitomi bit her lip. He still wasn't looking up at her and she was a little offended. There was no need to be rude to her!

“Thank you. It's... it's Van right?”

He snorted impolitely. “Yea.” Waiting a moment to see if he would say anything more, she sighed when nothing else came. Taking the food and turning away from the counter, Hitomi scowled, leaving the store and marching over to the grocery store to get her things and go home. Once the two heard the sound of her car pulling away, Gladys approached the counter. “What?”

Gladys sighed, leaning on the countertop. “That's no way to treat a young lady. She was simply trying to be nice.”

“I don't need nice,” he huffed in response.

“Hitomi is very pretty. And she can't be any older than twenty-five. You're just about the only person her age.” She shifted, drawing Van's attention. “I saw the way she looked at you the moment she saw you. She thinks you're good looking, and she'd be right.”

“Knock it off Gladys,” he growled, but he couldn't hide his faint blush.

“You planning on staying single your whole life? Has to be awfully lonely...”

“You need something else?” he interrupted. The old grocer smiled slightly, taking the hint. She said her goodbyes and wandered back over to her own store. Van sagged, sighing heavily. She'd sounded young, so Gladys telling him she wasn't more than twenty-five hadn't come as a surprise. She had a nice voice, a bit unsure, but that was likely from being new in a new place. “Hitomi, huh?” He turned the radio up a little and relaxed. There wasn't going to be much of anyone else in for the rest of the afternoon. He took out a book, his fingertip smoothing across the page as he read.

#Dawnrider Fanfiction #Fuck it Friday #Escaflowne #Modern AU #Posting whatever I want

[blackroseaki38]

Team Awesome Prank War

Varian never really paid attention to getting people back for how they treated him or acted around him. Sure, now the villagers never did that anymore. In fact, they hardly ever approached him, which was completely fine with him. Varian didn’t need much, and certainly not their approval. He had his friends and his father, and is content with them. 

But, when Eugene glued his shoes to the ground to get back at him for the yelling prank, something inside of him awakened. A need for victory arose in him and it fueled Varian to get him back.

So much for being content.

---

Eugene knew Varian was just trying to get him to stop messing with his things when he scared him with his little yelling prank. Still, he couldn't help himself, he just had to get back at the kid. So, he glued his shoes to the ground, and loved it when Varian fell over when he tried to move. Though he had to admit to himself, that wasn't his best. Eh, it's not like he will need to get the kid back again anytime soon, so he will do better next time in the distant future.

Or so he thought till he got out of the shower and took a look in the mirror.

"AHHHHHHAAAAAAA!!!!" 

Eugene’s loud yell brought in Lance next door and the Captain himself who was passing by.

They both took a look at Eugene and couldn't keep their laughter contained, though Lance tried. Failed, but tried.

"Pfffttttt. Oh, hey Eugene! Um... Nice hair?"

"Pink's a good look on ya, Fitzherbert! Remember you're training the new trainees on criminal etiquette today. Haha,"

The Captain left chuckling all the way,  while Lance leaned against the doorway in tears from his now unrestrained laughter.

Eugene knew there could be only one person who could make his hair the ungodly pink color it was right now. He narrowed his eyes and said his name in a dark tone promising vengeance.

"Okay, Varian. It's on."

---

Varian woke up to find Rudiger wasn't in his bed anymore, but he wasn't too worried. He comes and goes through his window all the time. As long as he wasn't gone too long, he would just wait for him to come home.

But, then something fluorescent purple came through his window and Varian gasped in disbelief.

Eugene dared to dye Rudiger with the same potion he disguised as the shampoo. Lance helped him out by sneaking it in his friend’s room. Varian let the raccoon, who wasn't bothered too much by his new look, pounce on him as he laid tangled up his blankets. His body was not moving, but his mind was whirling with new ideas to get Eugene back. This was not a joke anymore, this was war!

Varian didn’t bother to try fixing his furry friend's purple fur. He designed the potion to fade away in a week and any tampering just made the colors get worse. He already has an idea in mind now and he will implement it.... as soon as Rudiger stopped purring and let him leave the comfort of his bed.

---

Eugene woke up to find his room full of apples and all kinds of animals eating them at their leisure. He let out a shriek and fell off the bed in surprise. Luckily, he landed on the ground, and not on one of the cute animals EATING HIS ROOM AWAY.

Someone took a literal pile of apples, leaves, and branches just to toss in his room?! And guess who has a farmer as a father? A certain alchemist! Hmmmmm.... this required more finesse than he had originally thought it would. Well, it would, once Eugene GOT THESE ANIMALS TO LEAVE HIM ALONE.

"Hey! I am not an apple! Stop eating my shirt! It's silk-NO! NOT THE LEATHER BOOTS!"

---

Varian silently ate his breakfast trying not let himself slip up, and admit what he did. His father was mystified on how someone literally stole the top half of his tree, branches, leaves and all!

It wasn't easy, the boy thought to himself as he recalled last night’s events. Using a temporary tree weakening potion, he was able to tear off most of the branches from one of the trees in their orchard without much trouble. An hour later, he snuck out of Old Corona to go to the castle. He used their wheelbarrow to carry the bag with a chunk of an apple tree in it. Lance ran into him on his nightly walk and helped him out cause he thought the whole prank war was funny. The animals that smelt the apple juice trail he left on the way there did the rest.

As soon as Varian finished his food, he left to go to his lab near home. He loved having the Demantius lab for his projects as well, but he didn't mind having a lab this close either, it made it easier to work near home. He only stayed in the other lab for important projects that took all his time and mainly used his lab in Old Corona for less explosive projects.

As he got into his lab, he grabbed one of his potions to plan to use for a prank when he noticed something was off about its color. Varian took a good look at his numerous shelves of tiny containers with all sorts of chemicals. Something was wrong here, he can’t put his finger on it- He let out a loud scream of horror.

"OH MY GOSH…! HE SWITCHED ALL MY LABELS! THAT TOOK ME WEEKS TO DO!"

Varian knew this would take him a long time to undo, he was already dreading the task. He would have to separate them all by color and then test them before relabeling them all. But, for now, he'll just have to make a fresh portion for his uses. He pulled down his goggles over his eyes and a smirk climbed over his face as he got to work.

"Hehehehehehhehe."

---

Eugene smiled as he looked in the mirror. No wrinkles in sight. He's been using this serum he got from Xavier to keep his skin great. Even though the older man told him it wouldn't help him much since he had nothing to worry about at his age, he still wanted to dab a bit of it on his face every morning... and night.

He dipped his fingers inside the oval container and spread the clear liquid on his face. And he went to sleep like a baby.

He woke up and took one look in the mirror and fainted on the spot

*thud*

Lance ran in when he heard the loud noise from his room. They've learned too often that any sudden noise could be a danger.

He paused though once he realized, no, there was no danger. Which was a relief, but now he had to keep from laughing too hard.

Ah, what the hay!

Lance chuckled at his friends previously smooth and perfect skin was now wrinkled like that of an old man's now. His luscious dark hair was a pale grey and barely covered his head. This was his friend's worst nightmare had come true! So he left the antidote Varian gave him, just in case, on the table next to the aging serum. He knew Eugene would be miffed anyway, so why make him suffer any more than needed.

Yet, he did leave a note that says, "Haha! The kid got 'ya good. Hope you don't let him one up a pro like you!"

Lance was sure the yelling he heard later that day was Eugene scheming. He shamelessly added more fuel to the fire, cause hey, this was fun to watch. Lance knew if he wanted too, he could join in any time he wanted to. But, knowing those two, someone was bound to get hurt and he does not want it to be him!

But, he didn’t mind sitting back and watching the fireworks erupt from the sidelines.

---

The castle was getting too uptight lately, nothing like a prank war to loosen things up!

Varian giggled as he read the message Lance sent him by carrier bird. He didn't mind that he gave him the antidote so early, but he didn't realize how frightened Eugene would be and ended up actually fainting

The boy walked into the pumpkin pasture to help his dad when he noticed his dad wasn't by the pumpkin patch, but was looking up at their house instead.

"Hey, dad. Whatcha looking at?"

"Well, son. I found the stolen apple tree, Though now it's part of our roof now. That poor tree. Who would do such a thing?"

Varian looked up and cringed as he saw the remains of the tree he hacked away scattered across their roof. Surely, if they didn't clean it up soon, animals will probably descend upon the food remains, like the crows were doing right at this moment.

Quirin sighed and got ready to climb up the ladder he positioned, but Varian stopped him.

"Dad, I'll clean it up. If you don't get started on the pumpkins, we'll be late for the harvest."

Quirin smiled, ruffled his son's head in a silent yes and got to work on the pumpkins. Varian grimaced and got to work. He spent his afternoon fighting the crows away and cleaning up the apple tree carnage. Rudiger helped, eating any apple bits that remained.

Someone giggled from the bushes near their home before leaving quietly.

---

Eugene smirked as he considered himself to be the winner since he hasn't been pranked in a few days now.

He walked into his room and there was a  platter of cookies sitting on his desk. They were shaped like his face and iced to his handsome likeness as well! Though the noses were a little long and pointy, well it's the thought that matters! Eugene spied a little note nearby, with a heart drawn on it! Of course, Rapunzel! Bless her little golden head of hair. The young man took a big bite out of a large-nosed Eugene cookie with a large smile.

"Mmmmmm, delicious! Though I better save the rest for later. I don't want to lose my slim figure. Wellllllll, a few more won't hurt. "

Eugene finished a few cookies before he finally put (hid) the rest away for later. He left his room humming a cheery tune on his lips.

"Hey, Eugene!" Pete called waving his hand as Stan tried getting his partner to calm down as they went on with their patrol.

"Hiya fellas!" Eugene replied, but like he couldn't stop himself, he felt like talking some more than a casual 'hiya' like usual.

"You guys know what, when I first moved into the castle, I was kinda jealous of how close you guys were. Pete and Stan! Never seen without each other. I was jealous because my buddy Lance wasn't with me yet. Ya know, I got over my envy once my best buddy rejoined my life, and realized I shouldn’t have been envious anyway cause you both are great guys!"

The two guards looked at Eugene wondering why he was sprouting his feelings so openly. The ex-convict wondered the same thing before he saw Lance come out behind them. He had tears in his eyes as he smiled.

"Really, Eugene? You really mean it? You really missed me that much?"

"Of course, buddy! You are my best friend! Well, you and someone else are pretty much my best friends. You've always been with me! Even when I was a jerk! I love being your friend so much that I can't help checking in on 'ya at least once a day. I don't want to lose you again! I'm always afraid you're gonna have enough of my idiotic personality and leave! Leave without saying goodbye!"

Eugene was freaking out! He was saying his deepest secrets and concerns to the world! The man dodged Lance's hug and tried leaving before he met someone else.

Instead, he accidentally barged into the throne room where everyone in town were trying to seek the King's council. They all looked at Eugene who just barged in. He tried backing out, but the concerned faces of Pete and Stan, plus happy Lance, blocked his way. Rapunzel approached the group. She placed her hand on Eugene's shoulder.

"Sweetie, is everything fine? You don't look so good."

Eugene wished he could just shut his mouth, but he couldn't stop talking his heart out.

"Rapunzel, I love you and you know that. But, when I first proposed to you, I wasn't doing it because I wanted to make us permanent. I did it because deep down, I'm always going to be afraid I'm going to lose you and the only kingdom that welcomed me in. I was sure you would eventually realize I didn't deserve you and leave! So, I kept trying to propose, each time thinking of our future, but also secretly securing my place in your heart and this family we made. If we ever broke up, I am sure our family will break as well. I love you and this family too much to let that happen!"

Rapunzel was looking emotionally happy and sad at the same time. Eugene didn't want to look at her and tried leaving through another door. But, he kept speaking as he looked at every family face he knew.

"Feldspar! I always loved your boots! Their leather always hugs my ankles just right and I don't trust anyone else to make my ankles look as amazing as they do in your footwear!"

"Old lady Crowley! I know I joke around a lot, but you remind me of the lady who raised me at the orphanage, which is why I ask you for advice once in a while!"

"Monty, Atilla! I love your guys' candy and baked goods! But, I always feel guilty about eating them because I'm worried my fine figure will be gone! They are just that good."

“Xavier, I appreciate the skin serums you made for me, but are you sure they work right? No matter how much I dab under my eyes, my eye bags continue to get worse! Let’s meet up for tea to discuss this before I’m old and grey!”

“Friedborg, you are amazing and don’t you ever let anyone say otherwise! You're secretly the key to why this castle is still standing. Without you in charge, I’m sure this kingdom would have fallen apart ages ago!”

"Max, Pascal. I love you guys, even if I may act like I don't care for you guys a lot. I enjoy my time with you guys and will always be by your side!"

Eugene kept trying to avoid people, this was getting out of hand, but it wasn't working since most of the town was here to ask or inform the king of something. Finally, he bumped into someone and felt the world spin less than before. Then he looked up and realized it was the King, with the Queen by his side.

"Eugene, are you okay?" The queen was deeply concerned. Fredrick was concerned as well, as he helped pull the young man up.

"Is something the matter, son?"

Eugene wished his big mouth would stay shut, but he couldn't stop himself.

"Everything is fine, except for the fact I can't keep myself from hiding my feelings forever. You guys helped bring my life from the dark. Sure, Rapunzel did most of it, but if you guys hadn't opened your home and kingdom to me, I wouldn't be the Eugene I am today. And though I know who my parents are now, you two will always hold a place in my heart. And I can't wait to be the best son in law once I and Blondie get married."

Eugene took a deep breath and turned around as the royal couple took in his words. The Captain opened his mouth to speak, but of course, Eugene interrupted him.

"CAPTAIN. I ALWAYS LOVED YOUR MUSTACHE. IT'S SO MANLY THAT MY GOATEE CAN'T EVER TOP YOUR FACIAL HAIR."

The captain was silent a little flabbergasted and a tad touched. Using this as a distraction, Eugene took the chance to escape. Finally, he was on the other side of the room at this point! He ran out into the courtyard, only to bump into Quirin and Varian unloading crates of apples and pumpkins for the castle. Eugene barely stops himself from running headfirst into the wooden cart.

"You okay there, Eugene?" Quirin asked. Eugene grabs him by his shirt.

"Sir! I love your apples. There are the apples of my eyes. Sometimes I wake up with apples everywhere! And animals. Lots of animals!"

Quirin just blinked in surprise as Eugene moved on to Varian.

"Kid, you're like the little brother I've never had. I love messing with you, even this prank war we've been having has been amazing. My hair is still this hideous pink hair, but I can't help smiling every time I see my own reflection. You looking up to me makes me feel important in your life. I still feel bad for not giving you enough attention in the past and where it leads you. I’m sorry for not being there for you! That’s why I’m here now! I want to make your life happier with me in it! Team awesome will always be important to me!"

Varian didn't know what to say. He was touched he felt these things about him and kind of felt guilty considering he drugged his newly proclaimed brother with truth serum laced cookies. Clearly, Eugene ate the cookies he left in his room, but he didn't expect him to be telling these kinds of truth. He must have had more than a few to be acting like this.

"Varian, what's this I hear about a prank war?" Rapunzel asks from the doorway from the throne room.

Varian nervously met the princess and his father’s eyes. They looked at the two boys in thinly veiled disapproval as the teen looked at the ground while the elder started telling Rudiger about how he isn't a pest and deserves all the kingdoms apples for being there for Varian. The raccoon agreed with him greatly, evidenced by his excited chittering.

"Ummmmmm... we may have been having a war of pranks this week. And it may have gotten out of hand. Eugene is probably under the effects of my truth serum cookies. But, I have the antidote right here!"

The teen looks through his bag for the vial of golden liquid while the king redirects all the people back to their court with him. The Captain made sure the door to the courtyard is closed.

Promptly, Varian pulled out a tube of golden-colored liquid. He swiped an apple from their cart, using his father's dullest blades (under his watchful eyes) to cut the apple in half. He poured a few drops on to one half of the fruit. Once he was sure there was enough antidote in the apple half, Varian offered it out to Eugene.

"Eugene, I'm sorry for this whole mess with the truth potion, I didn’t think it was that strong. Here's the antidote."

Eugene took the apple half, once he bit into it, he already started feeling better as the cloud in his mind dissipated. He stopped cuddling a resisting Rudiger and got up, dusting his clothes

"Oh, that was a doozy. Eh, don't worry about Var. I had fun with the prank war. Next time, we just need to calm it down some. Besides, as the winner of the Team Awesome prank war, you get some .... hot cocoa! And I get some too! Come on, kid."

Rapunzel shakes her head as the two walked off to get some hot cocoa. If she had listened to the rumors around the castle, then she would have put a stop to this war much sooner. But, it seemed like she didn’t have to put an end to things ….. this time.

Quirin continued unloading the cart of produce with a relaxed smile on his face. He’s never seen Varian act like this before. And it was …. relieving. Varian’s never had friends to laugh or mess around with before. Now, seeing him act like a real kid with Eugene, he felt satisfied seeing his son happy again. 

---

Varian and Eugene were drinking hot cocoa in the Dementius laboratory under the castle. Rudiger has made them his special drink, in regular mugs at Eugene’s insistence. Now, the two were enjoying their drinks as they compared notes on their pranks on one another.

“So, how’d you get that shampoo potion into my room?” Eugene asked at one point.

“Lance helped me out. He offered when he saw he sneaking around your room,” the teen admitted.

“Hmmmmm….. Lance held Rudiger down for me to dye his fur.”

Varian sat up straighter and continued Eugene’s line of thought.

“He…. helped me get that apple tree in your room. And opened the windows.”

“He helped me put that aging potion in your room.”

“He helped me switch all the labels in your lab.”

“He put that platter of cookies in your room.”

The two looked at each other and they both realized …. Lance has been playing them! They wordlessly started putting away their finished rinks and started to leave the lab.

“I still got them truth cookies in my room,” Eugene offered.

“Good idea. Don’t want them to waste. We’ll force-feed him. Any other ideas?” Varian asked.

The two spent the day together scheming their ideas before implementing them the next day.

Never mess with Team Awesome when they in a mood to prank, whether it is each other or not! 

#varian #variantts #varian tangled #tangledvarian #Eugene #Eugene Fitzherbert #tangled eugene #flynn rider #flynnrider #flynnpunzel #tangled #tangled rapunzel #Quirin #tangled quirin #quirintts #tts quirin #team awesome #VarianFanClub

[shiftyskip]

Edward James “Babe” Heffron

The real Babe Heffron: 

Edward James Heffron was born on May 16, 1923 to Joseph and Anne Heffron in South Philadelphia. He was the third of five children in his Irish-rooted family. He had three brothers: James, Joseph Jr., John (called Jake or Jack). He also had one sister named Anna Margaret. He attended a Catholic elementary school, but his parents could no longer afford it after a while and in high school, Babe attended public school Southern Philadelphia High (which he called Southern). He dropped out in his third year, to help with finances. Babe took up betting on horses. Every penny he got off of a horse race, he gave to his mother. 

Babe used to rough house and play football when he was younger, but one day he hurt his hand playing. He says that “my hand and fingers contracted to the wrist and curled under, and I was in excruciating pain from my wrist all the way up the arm.” The pain would come back whenever he used his hands too much. The pain would stay with him for decades, even after the war. 

His friends decided to rent a room, fix it up, and make a dance hall called the Shindig. He and his friends were at the dance hall on December 7, 1941.The brothers decided to tell their parents before enlisting. His father had a talk with them the next day, without their mom. Babe states that, “He told us that we had to fight for our country and for the freedom of those less fortunate than ourselves. He made it clear he wouldn’t accept a slacker for a son and that he was expecting us to do our part.” His father had previously served in World War I, so Babe knew what was expected of him. 

Babe enlisted in August of 1942. His brother Joe was drafted into the Army while Jake and Jimmy were in the Navy. His call to service was on November 7, 1942. Which his official date of when he went on Active Duty. Babe was working at a shipyard in New Jersey at the the time. His job was to help fix up ships to become aircraft carriers and he hadn’t told them about his enlistment. His boss handed him a 2B slip, stating that he did not have to serve because his work served the war effort. Babe ripped it up in front of him. In Babe’s words: “I wasn’t going to shrink from my duty to my country. If my brothers, neighbors, and friends were all going, I wasn’t about to stay behind.

Babe went through Basic at Fort Eustis in Virginia, he was not a Toccoa boy. Meaning, Babe didn’t have the absolute joy of training under Sobel.He was assigned to B Battery, an anti-aircraft unit. He was promoted to a tech corporal and helped prepare future officers for officer candidate school. When he had arrived, he instantly put in the paperwork to become a paratrooper, but was told to finish Basic Training first.  Six to Seven months later, he was given the okay and was on his way to Fort Benning, Georgia. Babe was not in Jump School until January of 1943. In Fort Benning, he was put with 1st Parachute Infantry Regiment, K company.

Night life was limited. The boys spent most of their time by reading, listening to one man’s radio, or talking about home. Lights out was at 10:00 PM and they were up by 5:00 AM. When they did get to have some more time, Babe and others went to the Bama Club nearby. One day, a wife of an officer hosted a competition. Her best jitterbug partner got a bottle of champagne. Babe went up and danced with her. He ended up winning the competition. 

In jump school, Babe made a new best friend, Johnny Julian. Johnny was from Alabama and both men thought the other talked weird since Julian had a strong southern drawl and Babe did not. Babe said, “He was clean-cut, believed in God, believed in everything I believed in, believed his was coming home. We could talk to each other real easy.” Babe and Julian also became friends with J.D Henderson. Together, the three made a pact, that if one died the survivors would have to tell the parents. The trio stuck together through Jump School.

Babe loved jumps, even though his hands provided extra difficulty. He enjoyed the beauty of the day jumps, but disliked the night jumps. Night jumps were dangerous and one night, a plane crashed, killing all the men inside the plane. The night jumps were cancelled at the camp and the men were transferred to Camp Mackall for their final jump. Babe got his Jump Wings in March. 

 He was transferred to Camp Shanks, preparing to go home one last time before heading out overseas. In May of 1944, Babe was headed out overseas. When they reached, Liverpool, England, they had learned that the 101st and 82nd had jumped into Normandy. Babe was not part of the D-Day jump, instead he was a replacement for the troops who didn’t return from that jump. Babe, Henderson, and Julian were all transferred to Easy Company once they returned.

Easy Company’s barracks were in the middle of Aldbourne, England. Babe was told to visit Bill Guarnere. Guarnere, also from South Philadelphia, noticed that when Babe walked in, he walked like a penguin. This walk was like a duck, side to side, which Guarnere recognized as the South Philly shuffle. Guarnere and Babe only lived a short distance from each other in South Philly. 

Babe learned that replacements were not easily accepted. Toccoa Men wanted little to do with the replacements. They had trained together, jumped together, fought together, and mourned together. They didn’t want much to do with a replacement, didn’t talk to them and sure as hell didn’t want to fight with one. Babe was assigned to a Toccoa vet’s gun squad, Joe Toye’s. Joe Toye, unlike the others, didn’t give a damn if Babe was a replacement and accepted him. Chuck Grant was another Toccoa man that accepted Babe easily, even gave him a new nickname: Jigger. Guarnere was also often with Babe, going out to pubs and dances. Even so, Babe stuck with his fellow replacement friends, Julian and J.D. 

Babe and his friends enjoyed their time in England. Babe was often jitterbugging with girls and dancing away. They went to several different dance halls and other places. Even when they were supposed to be watching over the shed that held their chutes, Chuck Grant and Babe never made it to the shed. They never did. They were always off somewhere, enjoying a pub or two. 

During his time at Aldbourne, Babe’s girl back home, Doris broke up with him. She dumped him in a letter because she’d found another man. Babe didn’t much care about it. He hadn’t even visited her before he had left for England on his last weekend pass, saying that a previous weekend with her had been, “the most boring few hours [he] could’ve spent.” The world had a funny sense of humor, because the plane Babe boarded to jump into Holland, was named Doris. 

Babe was eager to jump. Babe made the jump into Holland on September 17. The jump in Holland went easy. Babe helped one mad who’d broken his leg during the jump off the field, but other than that there was not much, if any, combat. The Dutch greeted the paratroopers in celebration. They loved the paratroopers and called them angels from the sky. In Son, they received word to take Eidenhoven. On the route there, a Dutch woman gave Babe a baby carriage for him to carry his supplies in. He did so until Popeye threw his weapons in, then Babe made him push the carriage.

His platoon was the first to enter the city, and he instantly set up his machine gun by a footbridge, facing an entry way into the towns. Dutch underground members asked to attack the Germans instead, and Babe allowed them to. When the Germans appeared, the Dutch attacked them and killed all but one. The injured German was taken as a prisoner, but first a woman asked where he was hurt and when he pointed to his shoulder, she beat him with a hidden brick in her pocketbook and screamed something along the lines of evil at him. Babe said that it made his day.

Babe had many close calls in Holland. In Nuenen, a tank caught on fire and all of the men inside had died, leading it to be driven into the ditch next to Babe. How he escaped, he doesn’t remember. Later on, he thought he was hit but Buck Compton has been hit in his butt, tripped over a wheelbarrow, and hit Babe’s leg on his way down. Guarnere and others eventually rescued Compton.

 To escape the Germans, Babe had to get over a 6 foot hedge. To get over, Babe had to back into German fire and get a running start. As he jumped, his rosary came off of him. Sheehy grabbed his jump jacket and pulled him over the hedge. Babe, reluctantly, was about to leave his rosary behind, but found it inside his helmet. His mother had given him the rosary before he left and he was determined to carry it through the war.

Then he had another close call as the Germans shelled a cemetery he was standing in. One last one was when he was stuck in a ditch, with Germans firing at them. He went to return fire when Guarnere kicked him backwards and back into the ditch, saving him from getting shot while Guarnere himself still stood in the fire. Another close call was in October. Babe witnessed Joe Toye and Jim Campbell go into enemy territory. Toye had called for Babe, but Campbell stepped up instead, telling Babe to stay back. Campbell was hit in the back with a shell and died instantly. Toye was wounded pretty badly. But Campbell stuck out in Babe’s mind, for he had taken the hit for Babe. Babe never forgot him.

One time, when stopped by a river, Babe fell asleep by his machine gun. When he woke up, another paratrooper was peeing on his gun, since it was too dark to see. Babe started screaming and yelling, ready to kill the man. He never did shut up.

Babe was on the front lines for 73 days in Holland. When they reached Mourmelon for their rest. All the boys who were left after Holland got dysentery. Bill, as Babe envies, missed this because he had been hit and taken to a hospital. Even with dysentery, the men continued to train and work. In December, they had all received weekend passes to various towns when Bill ran in with the news that they were leaving, the Germans had broken through the Ardennes. Their weekend passes were off and they were headed into one of the worst winters Belgium had without winter gear. They had no combat gear, no ammo, no supplies. They were headed, unprepared, into the winter.

They arrived outside of Bastogne in the early morning. Their greeting was disgraceful to Babe. They encountered American soldiers fleeing. These soldiers tried to convince them to turn back. It was a disgraceful sight for the men to see. Medical supplies were extremely limited after this. On the way up, the 101st medical company was captured, but Babe offered to go get more supplies with another soldier. On the way back, when dark gave them cover to move around, Babe suggested they take a shortcut through the woods. Babe fell into a hole he didn’t see in the dark, snowy forest. Below him, a voice asked, “Hinkle, Hinkle, ist das du?” 

Babe scrambled out of the foxhole and yelled, “Hinkle your ass, Kraut!” And then he ran. 

Babe attended Mass in the snow one day when Father Maloney came up. They took communion in the snow and used the Father’s jeep as an altar. Skip Muck was in front of Babe once, after the communion, Babe said: “At least if we die, we’re going to die in a state of grace.” Skip agreed with him. 

They lost track of days out in Bastogne. It was a despairing, never ending situation. But the boys were determined. Babe states that, “If our general would have said, “Drop your weapons,” I don’t think a man in the 101st would have surrendered. Wouldn’t have happened. I think they would have gone against his orders. As bad off as we were. as cold as we were, as hungry as we were, I don’t think an American Airborne soldier could throw down his gun.” The armored division, according to Babe, likes to believe they saved the Airborne at Bastogne. But Babe says all they did was end the siege. The paratroopers were there before, during the fighting, and after the fighting. 

Joe Toye and Babe had another close call on New Year’s Eve. At exactly midnight, the artillery started shelling the Germans. But the shells started falling short and were landing right in front of Toye and Babe’s foxhole untl Toye called the men in charge and told them to aim better. Turns out, Joe Toye has shit luck, because he was hit in a German air raid by shrapnel the next day. He came back the next morning. 

Eisenhower, much to the dislike of the paratroopers, decided to launch an offensive on Foy and Noville. This extended their stay in the bitter cold, when they thought they were going to be relieved soon. Needless to say, not many were happy. 

The same day, January 1, Babe received word Julian had been hit. Babe ran to where Julian was. The Germans had shot him through the throat and whenever someone tried to move towards Julian, they fired at them. Babe couldn’t get Julian away from the Germans. Julian had wanted his class ring, wallet, and watch to be returned home if he died, but Babe couldn’t reach him. Julian died in the snow and Babe couldn’t reach him. When the Germans were finally pushed back away from Julian, his patrol members told Babe he could visit Julian’s body if he wanted. Babe couldn’t do it. He refused because he couldn’t stand to see Julian that way. His only relief was that Julian hadn’t suffered long.

Times were tough for Easy. Although Toye came back January 2, the day after Julian died, the same day Hoobler accidentally shot himself and died. Babe says he was gone before they got him out of the forest. January 3, it started snowing and the boys went back into their foxholes in the Bois Jacques forest. They had just reached the foxholes when the Germans started shelling them. Toye lost his leg in the shelling and Guarnere lost his leg trying to help Toye. Babe tried to light a cigarette for Guarnere, not sure how to help the men. He thought they were both going to die. But a kid in a Jeep pulled by with ammo, Jackson pulled a gun on him and told him to take Guarnere and Toye back, probably saving their lives.

January 10, the Germans shelled them again. When the shelling started, Babe was talking to Penkala and Muck in their foxhole, which was a short distance away from his. As the shelling began, Luz ran by. Penkala and Muck yelled for Luz to join them in theirs. But Luz dove into his own. Shortly after that, a shell exploded directly in Penkala and Muck’s foxhole. When Luz and Babe went over to their foxhole, Babe says that it wasn’t normally like how they went, they just evaporated. There was little left, if anything. “They has just vanished into thin air.” Babe, even while mourning the loss of his friends, couldn’t help thinking that it could’ve been him. Babe believes that Muck, much like he said in the communion together, died in a state of grace and he thought of Muck with every communion afterwards.

By Mid January, they advanced on Foy. The well-known story of Speirs saving the day in Foy. They dug in outside of Foy. When they were preparing to advance on Noville, Babe found he could no longer use his hands without splitting pain. He couldn’t hold a gun anymore due to the pain. He had even tried rubbing ice onto his hands to loosen them up, but the pain was too severe. He was in the hospital for 5 days and 4 nights because his calcium was too low. During his hospital stay, he encountered a nurse from South Philly. She said that he looked like an old man. “That’s what war will do, turn a nineteen-year-old kid into a man.” Due to the fact Babe’s hands were so bad, there was nothing the doctors could do. Babe had to go AWOL to get back to Easy, much like his friend Guarnere had earlier in the war.

He hitchhiked his way back to the company. When he got back, Easy was sent to Hagenau to hold the line up there, but they stayed in houses this time. They spent a few weeks there, crossing the river nearby and capturing German prisoners (Jackson died on one of these trips). They had been fighting for two and a half months by the time they were finally relieved and taken back to Mourmelon.

By the end of March, Easy Company was heading out again. They were headed to Germany, the Ruhr pocket near the bank of the Rhine River. The men were going from house to house to search out Germans. Babe had nightmares about for years about an incident that happened on patrol. His orders were to clean out one side of town, when he stumbled upon a bomb shelter. The procedure was supposed to be throwing a grenade in the bomb shelter and then kicking the door open. Babe felt he shouldn’t throw the grenades, and he told the others not to and kicked the door open. He stumbled upon a girl about 20 years old, with toddlers and an old couple was behind her. Babe had nightmares about what would’ve happened if he had thrown the grenade first and accidentally killed them. He says he wouldn’t have been able to live if he had killed them. 

On another patrol, Spina and Babe stumbled upon several men in the house. They had a small jar of money with them. Babe and Spina took the money, which the other men claimed was a payroll, and the next day gave it out to displaced persons (recently liberated from camps) after church. They’d earned it.

They stayed on duty till the end of April. After that, Babe and Easy Company were on their way to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. They stopped in Landsberg for a few days, where they learned a Concentration Camp was located. When Easy arrived, the sight was devastating. In his words, “If any of the guys didn’t know why we were fighting, they knew then.” He continues later, “If anyone tells you the Holocaust didn’t happen, or that it wasn’t as bad as they say, no it was worse than they say...It wasn’t fair.” 

Easy Company soon continued after helping liberate the camp and made their way up to the Eagle’s Nest. As they went. they passed many German soldiers surrendering and many dead SS officers. Some took their lives, other times the French killed them, and Easy let them have that. On May 5, Easy took Berchtesgaden and were the first ones in the Eagle’s Nest. There, with little resistance, they looted and drank to their hearts content. Babe didn’t like the drink choices very much, so he didn’t drink much. But he says he did have a glass of Hitler’s champagne. 

On May 7, Babe was directing POW traffic when a car pulled up to him. A German general and colonel sat in it. The general was driving the colonel. The colonel told Babe that the general, General Tolsdorf, wanted to surrender to someone of equal rank and asked Babe to find someone. Babe told him to get out of the car. The general got out of the car and saluted to Babe. Babe didn’t salute back and sent the general on his way to Colonel Sink with another lieutenant. Babe then searched his car and took anything of value with him. Babe later learned that this specific general had been in command of the German troops in the Bois Jacques woods. 

May 8, 1945 the war was over. Easy Company left the Eagle’s Nest and went to Saalfelden, where Babe looted and got a gold sword with a swastika engraved on it, encrusted with stones. He took it with him. They were transferred to Kaprun, where they stayed for several months. There Babe met a small, Polish girl, Annie, from a DP camp. (This was common among the troopers and some even married the women in the camps) Sadly, at the end of July, Babe had to leave. Easy Company boarded a train for France, but somehow Annie had found his train. Annie chased after him, with a small suitcase, and the boys hung Babe out the boxcar by his ankles. Annie gave up chasing him after a while. 

In France, Babe did his last jump, this was a qualification to receive jump pay. The man before him hesitated and when Babe got him out of the plane, Babe had jumped wrong. He was facing the wrong way (towards the motor, not the tail) and his ropes were tangled. Babe panicked and started saying his Hail Marys. He eventually got his legs untangled, his chute opened, and he landed safely. 

Babe was discharged in December of 1945. He arrived back home and meet his brothers, Jimmy and Joe, and his father at a local bar. His mother had suffered a heart attack while he was gone, but she had recovered. Babe went to work when he got home. He only worked 2 jobs, and both of them were with Guarnere. He worked at the waterfront as a cargo checker and clerk. He worked there for 27 years until his retirement. 

Babe returned to playing football every weekend. He played on a team with other veterans from the war. He played with that team until he was 32. He also went back to betting on horses. There’s even one named after him in Ireland. The horse is Babe Heffron, and it jumps hurdles. Babe was pretty amazed by the fact he had a horse named after him. 

A year after the war, Babe went to go find Bill Guarnere. Babe found him shooting dice in the street. Babe immediately jumped on him, forgetting that Bill was wearing a prosthetic leg. Bill told him that he had thought he was the cops at first. Babe and Bill went out for a drink, Babe met Bill’s wife. Babe and Bill were inseparable after that. They attended Easy Company reunions (which Bill started and ran for 60 years) together, went to Europe many times together, worked together. They worked on construction projects and each others houses together. Bill copied Babe’s phrases, to the annoyance of Babe. They even got arrested together. They went to an Holocaust memorial dinner together, where they met survivors of the Concentration Camp Babe helped liberate. Bill was Babe’s best man at his wedding. 

Babe married Dolores Kessler when he was 37. She had three kids from a previous marriage, Dolly, Harry, and Bobby. Two years later, Babe and Dolores had a daughter named Patricia, who they called Trisha. Trish called her godfather, Bill Guarnere, Uncle Bill. 

Babe’s hands healed 23 years after he first got home. His hands never bothered him again. He figures his body was lacking something, and after drinking a lot of milk, he got it. He was never told what was wrong with him. 

Babe couldn’t face Julian’s mother for 12 years. He finally contacted her and he visited her at her daughter’s house nearby. Babe gave her the regimental scrapbook, the only one he owned. Babe broke down, while Julian’s mom remained tough. “She was a better soldier than I was,” Babe said. “I knew Julian was looking down on me saying, “Good job, well done.””

Band of Brothers was published and soon the HBO series was in production. Babe and Guarnere were brought out to meet their actors, who they had only had phone conversations with. Robin Laing, a Scottish actor, was playing Babe. Babe had some concerns on how Robin would play him, especially with the South Philly accent, but they vanished when he met Robin. He even teased Robin about the Philly Accent, but told Robin that he did fine. According to Babe, Robin sounded just like him. Robin even had rosary beads and scapular, just like Babe in the war, which touched Babe dearly. 

Bill and Babe stayed at a fine hotel, with HBO providing an open tab, and invited the actors back for drinks. They drank those poor kids under the table and by the end of the stay, they had a $5,000 liquor bill. in the hotel, Bill and Babe gave away any momentos they could to others. One time, Babe put three shirts on, saying, “I know they ain’t gonna get me this time...”, but by the end of the night both men were in their underwear in the hotel. They had given nearly everything away. Babe even gave Robin his scapular, the very one he’d carried through the war.

Babe had told Richard Speight Jr., who played Skip Muck, about his last communion with Skip. After the communion scene, Speight turned to Robin and said, “Well, Heffron, if we die, we’ll die in a state of grace.” Babe was forever touched by Speight’s actions. 

Babe, although he did not watch most of the series because it was too hard to handle, did have a guest appearance in one of the episodes. He’s seen as a cameo in Holland, when Talbert is kissing a Dutch girl. 

After Band of Brothers, Babe and Bill had a book published together about their story. Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends was published in 2007.

Babe died on December 1, 2013. His ashes, along with his wife’s, were later put in bronze heart and put it a statue dedicated to him in his hometown of Philadelphia. Guarnere also has a statue in Philadelphia, so even in death the two are never far apart. 

#edward heffron #profiles #band of brothers #babe heffron #Real Life Band of Brothers #real band of brothers

[tumblunni]

Stuff to appreciate:

* the pokemon theme remix sounding like football/rugby/otehr sports tourney music! we’ve seen it confirmed that there’s poke-football here so i hope they do reference rugby too and maybe some hockey? we’re honestly a really sports mad nation, tho not as much as america perhaps

* All the lil touches of random normal british stuff that i just TOTALLY MISSED the first time watching cos well its fuckin normal for me lol! im just realizing this is the first time ive seen a house have a wheelbarrow out front in a pokemon game. do other countries just not have as many wheelbarrows or do you like to hide them or somethin?? HOW DO YOU GARDEN! we like wheelbarrows so much there’s several characters in old kids shows thatre just a wheelbarrow, and lots of grandmas like to keep broken wheelbarrows and turn them into plantpots just for the aesthetic of wheelbarrows. Also welly boots!! what do people even call them in other countries cos wellingtons is a very british thing right?

* other nice touches: route signs being like our traffic signs LOL IM CONSTANTLY GONNA MISTAKE THEM FOR A SPEED LIMIT, a lot of those nice pastry crust lookin turf-roof cottages even tho sadly they arent super common anymore nowadays, generally showing a LOT of different british housing architecture like even got the old london double chimney stack things!

* oh man they even got those ground staircase things what is even the name of those actually? i always like the aesthetic of country villages that are more in harmony with nature and it sucks that so much of britain is more industrialized instead nowadays

* BIG BAGS like lol i was going OMG IM SO GLAD THE PROTAGONIST FINALLY HAS A BIG BAG even before i realized it was britain like wow is that a stereotype about us that we carry giant bags everywhere cos thats fuckin true. ‘tardis purses’ are really common amoung anyone who doesnt use backpacks, like everything has to be hybridized with a backpack somehow or else u wear a cardigan just cos stupid modern clothes aint got good pockets FUCKIN HELL I COULD FIT A WHOLE HOUSE IN A CARDIGAN i still remember how in high school i cut a hole in the bottom of my pockets so i could stuff things into the entire lining of the jacket and basically wear a bag like OH i just realized this stereotype must be really old and maybe thats legit where the tardis/mary poppins/d&d’s bag of holding actually came from? you ask for literally goddamn anything on a train in britain and someone’s gonna pull it out of apparantly nowhere, being prepared is just a Thing here

* lol they cant really show how much Pub Culture we have over here in a kids game probably? like we’re one of the world’s biggest consumers of alcohol and HOO BOY, drunken riots are a frequent occurance along with the sports obsession. also over here we straight up dont have non alcoholic cider and i was REALLY CONFUSED that america ONLY has non alcoholic version like i DIDNT KNOW IT EXISTED so i just thought they gave their kids beer?? cider festivals over here are real fun, its part of how ‘pub culture’ is kinda an all ages thing even if the kids cant drink the stuff. like there’s all fun farm events and kids rides and bbq and stuff at a cider or ale brewing town festival thing. and basically the difference between pubs and more american style bars is that pubs are..like.. homey? they really are just the ‘jrpg tavern’ thats a thing of old history in america. its more of a hangout spot thats open all day and is more spacious with comfy seating and they do food and gardens and stuff. its common to bring kids to a pub during the day and its only in the evening that its adults only, which is kinda arbitrary cos i mean they still sell booze in the mornings its just that its ONLY booze in the evenings and the family meal kitchens close. also in the mornings they still have all the gambling machines turned on and lol as a kid my dad used to plonk me down on them so i could ‘play games’ while he talked with his friends. it was extra funny how the european gambling laws made them take the game corner out of pokemon cos i knew what a slot machine was even before i played pokemon and i was like 4 when it came out XD

* yay for big fancy libraries and museums!! i hope maybe they also show buses and trains? its generally a thing that we have more extensive and well funded public transport and buildings than america. like no offense but i was fuckin FLOORED when i learned that there’s whole states that have no trains! like over here buses and trains are used even more than cars! having even one single place unreachable by bus is enough to cause protests! also maybe have some hospital themed gym leader to symbolise good healthcare but honestly they could have put that in ANY of the regions so far except for unova. srsly im always so scared for my american friends cos of that...

* IS THAT A FUCKIN REUSEABLE CARRIER BAG?? like what a weirdly specific thing to reference! do other countries have the carrier bag tax too?

* also LOL putting stickers on the back of the wardrobe!! thats such a brit kid thing, whenever u move to a new place and it has furniture included you’ll always turn something around and see a bunch of stickers someone left from years ago. it was alwyas funny as a kid to see which ones got wrecked in the move, i dunno why a headless bugs bunny was the height of my afternoon at age 9

* Weird notice: this house looks a lot like the Old Chateau from sinnoh? except obviously its more modern and not abandoned and all. makes me think that the dub kinda hecked up by calling the place french and it might have been intentionally meant to be british? its just called a ‘foreign style house’ in japanese, not a chateau.

* ALSO SINNOH FEELS! please bring the minigame back! i always felt an odd kinship with oreburgh town as a kid cos the town i grew up in was also a former mining town that turned from a capitol city port into absolute disrepair after the industrial boom ended. struggling to find a new identity and mostly getting by on tourism value of the mines and all. so makes me think this is actually legit a wales town and maybe even cardiff in particular? or other former mining towns of britain. cos having an extensive cave network thats completely unused and youre just allowed to walk around in it like its no big deal = honestly 100% accurate, the underground minigame would completely fit us. i wonder if japan really does have a similar case of the mines all being 100% abandoned and only repurposed into history museums and travel routes?

* this npc is cute and also i appreciate the accuracy to school uniforms over here! this is usually what its like for primary school (i think thats elementary in america?) and itd be in different colours for different schools and have the school badge on the left side there. and summer uniform is often just taking the jumper off and then the shirt underneath also has the same logo on it. but in my school as a kid they annoyingly made us buy a whole separate set of identical shirts but in a different colour to indicate summer uniform like GEEZ DUDE its already expensive enough! made more sense in high school where winter shirts are button up blouses like suit jackets and its only summer that gets a regular cotton shirt. but there you also wear blazers (kids’s suit jacket) instead of jumpers, and jumpers are optional if it gets extra cold but its more of a light cardigan style instead. also boringly every damn school’s colours are black blazers except like one or two rare exceptions. i got extra unlucky and the two high schools i went to also had red shirts so i kept getting them mixed up until i noticed the wrong logo halfway thru the day

* hey lol literally the park behind my house. we get real shitty weather here and i actually kinda hope maybe umbrellas are something we could pick in character customization?

#pokemon spoilers