I heard that by investing in precious metals, you can insure you wealth because it will never be worthless. Through Monex Deposit Company you can purchase silver or other precious metals for delivery or arrange for convenient and safe storage at an independent bank or depository.
The demand for silver now exceeds annual production and has every year since 1990. Above ground stockpiles of silver bullion are low, shrinking rapidly and approaching zero.
Most silver is mined as a by-product of mining for other metals.
The price of silver fluctuates and investors should watch for that carefully. Now, I'm no metals broker nor an investment counselor but if I had the money to invest, part of it would go to silver.
Pay attention: The Earth is Changing and we are the last generation positioned to do anything about it. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Nebraska Mall Shooting
I'm listening to the news on the Omaha Nebraska Mall Shooting and am simply horrified.
Fox Cable News reported nine are dead including the shooter. They say it is a mall everyone goes to and that there was a rush of people running out of the store not saying anything--just running.
Could you imagine being in a crowded mall holiday shopping and this crap breaks out?
What about the elderly and people who can't run fast?
Oh the fear they must have felt.
They need metal detectors in all large public places in this country.
It's to unsecured. What if it had been terrorists and worse? I heard reports that people shouldn't go to the malls because of the terrorism risk.
Please forgive me. I saw The Kingdom recently and can't quite get over it. I'm going to buy that DVD as soon as it is released for sale. It was very good and explained a lot about life in Saudi Arabia.
Prayers go out for those affected by the horror at the Nebraska Mall Shooting.
Fox Cable News reported nine are dead including the shooter. They say it is a mall everyone goes to and that there was a rush of people running out of the store not saying anything--just running.
Could you imagine being in a crowded mall holiday shopping and this crap breaks out?
What about the elderly and people who can't run fast?
Oh the fear they must have felt.
They need metal detectors in all large public places in this country.
It's to unsecured. What if it had been terrorists and worse? I heard reports that people shouldn't go to the malls because of the terrorism risk.
Please forgive me. I saw The Kingdom recently and can't quite get over it. I'm going to buy that DVD as soon as it is released for sale. It was very good and explained a lot about life in Saudi Arabia.
Prayers go out for those affected by the horror at the Nebraska Mall Shooting.
I hate fake people
I can't stand fake hi-pitch people. They are the ones who are supposed to be either a positive influence in their community or at the very least, helping society somehow and they are simply worthless. What in the heck are they going to say at Judgement Day?
Really, these people astound me. I try to avoid them so that I won't be forced to say anything when their absolute fakeness gets to me. Even I have my limits.
However, I avoid lots of people for a myriad of reasons--mostly because I don't want to have to explain my behavior. So if I haven't seen you for a while and we are on friendly terms anyhow, this note is not for you. I'm angry at someone else's inexplicable fakeness right now.
Fake people ought to be ashamed of themselves!
Really, these people astound me. I try to avoid them so that I won't be forced to say anything when their absolute fakeness gets to me. Even I have my limits.
However, I avoid lots of people for a myriad of reasons--mostly because I don't want to have to explain my behavior. So if I haven't seen you for a while and we are on friendly terms anyhow, this note is not for you. I'm angry at someone else's inexplicable fakeness right now.
Fake people ought to be ashamed of themselves!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Celebrate the holidays with Vista Print
Christmas cards are a nice way of telling lots of people that you are thinking of them during the holiday season but custom Christmas cards like the ones found at Vista Print should have them thinking of you.
Of course there are the folding cards with or without photo but Vista Print also offers holiday post cards with or without a personalized photo. The option is yours.
New this year are the collage cards for when you have more than one photo you want to share. You can upload up to 6 photos and Vista Print will turn them into a collage.
Ordering Christmas cards couldn't be easier with Vista Print. Just click on the underlined words.
Of course there are the folding cards with or without photo but Vista Print also offers holiday post cards with or without a personalized photo. The option is yours.
New this year are the collage cards for when you have more than one photo you want to share. You can upload up to 6 photos and Vista Print will turn them into a collage.
Ordering Christmas cards couldn't be easier with Vista Print. Just click on the underlined words.
My deep fryer and scottish shortbread
I made some scottish shortbread Saturday but this recipie called for brown sugar. They are quite delicious. However, how does one make fried cookie dough? I guess I ought to stick to stuff I know but since I'm frying chicken, I figured I'd give it a try.
This brings me to another question. How long am I supposed to leave chicken in the deep fryer? Currently I use a meat thermometer to make sure but it should be an easier way. Each time I take the chicken out it takes that much longer to get done.
This brings me to another question. How long am I supposed to leave chicken in the deep fryer? Currently I use a meat thermometer to make sure but it should be an easier way. Each time I take the chicken out it takes that much longer to get done.
Bold Rugs can brighten your living quarters
The links to this ad have been removed per the request of the company. Please disregard this post
I wanted something nice to pull together my living room. I bought a black area rug. Both Grandma and Ma told me not to do it and I should have listened. The children have kept up bits of this and that all over the place--including the rug. Topping it all off, I dropped a hot iron on it (don't ask) and singed a portion of it. Now I need a new one. Although I liked the black area run (I'm putting it in my room) it's not fit for the living room area anymore.
Oh the beauty. All of the popular artsy styles and more demure styles are all laid out in an easy-to-use format.
SOHO Stiletto in Arctic Blue, SOHO Moirè Black-Multi Color, SOHO Sequin Princess Blue-Multi Color and SUPER INDO-COLORS in Kasbah White.
Some of the area rugs are so attractive that you may not want to put them on floor and instead mount them on the wall!
I wanted something nice to pull together my living room. I bought a black area rug. Both Grandma and Ma told me not to do it and I should have listened. The children have kept up bits of this and that all over the place--including the rug. Topping it all off, I dropped a hot iron on it (don't ask) and singed a portion of it. Now I need a new one. Although I liked the black area run (I'm putting it in my room) it's not fit for the living room area anymore.
Oh the beauty. All of the popular artsy styles and more demure styles are all laid out in an easy-to-use format.
SOHO Stiletto in Arctic Blue, SOHO Moirè Black-Multi Color, SOHO Sequin Princess Blue-Multi Color and SUPER INDO-COLORS in Kasbah White.
Some of the area rugs are so attractive that you may not want to put them on floor and instead mount them on the wall!
Please buy my book
Please buy my book. It can make a great Christmas gift for co-workers, aunts, cousins, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, people you don't know that well but want to get to know, people you should probably tip but haven't, clients, fellow church members your kid's teachers, your teachers, people who are actually in the book itself, etc.
Print: $14.00
Eighteen Months (book)
Download: $10.00
This publication is an actual script for a film. I am seeking to option this script. It's about a woman named Lois DuSol. Lois is a reporter who becomes entangled with a lawyer, dirty cops, federal agents and her editor--all while carrying her first child and experiencing her first love. Along the way, she is spied on, threatened but manages to break the biggest news story of her career.
and
Short Stories, Real Life (book)
Download: $13.00
Hardcover Print: $23.00
Another title for this book could be "Tales from an Urban Jungle," but I thought that would be a bit corny--get it? I'm from Indiana. Anyway folks, "Short Stories, Real Life," is a collection of news stories I've written that are based in the Midwest--Northwest Indiana to be exact. Locals should buy the book because they may be in it. If you aren't native to the area, the book contains well-written news stories about anyone from the governor of Indiana, Mitchell E. Daniels, to Robert F. Kennedy. There is also a story about the world-famous band, Frankie Beverly and Maze, when they performed at a summer concert in Miller section of Gary. This would make excellent light reading. It isn't often local news stories are accessable to those who live outside of the area. Most news--before it becomes national or international news--starts out as a local news story. Think about it. Maybe some of the information in this book could be of use to you.
Print: $14.00
Eighteen Months (book)
Download: $10.00
This publication is an actual script for a film. I am seeking to option this script. It's about a woman named Lois DuSol. Lois is a reporter who becomes entangled with a lawyer, dirty cops, federal agents and her editor--all while carrying her first child and experiencing her first love. Along the way, she is spied on, threatened but manages to break the biggest news story of her career.
and
Short Stories, Real Life (book)
Download: $13.00
Hardcover Print: $23.00
Another title for this book could be "Tales from an Urban Jungle," but I thought that would be a bit corny--get it? I'm from Indiana. Anyway folks, "Short Stories, Real Life," is a collection of news stories I've written that are based in the Midwest--Northwest Indiana to be exact. Locals should buy the book because they may be in it. If you aren't native to the area, the book contains well-written news stories about anyone from the governor of Indiana, Mitchell E. Daniels, to Robert F. Kennedy. There is also a story about the world-famous band, Frankie Beverly and Maze, when they performed at a summer concert in Miller section of Gary. This would make excellent light reading. It isn't often local news stories are accessable to those who live outside of the area. Most news--before it becomes national or international news--starts out as a local news story. Think about it. Maybe some of the information in this book could be of use to you.
I'm Going to Vegas Baby!
My babies and I are going to Las Vegas for the New Year! Kanye West is performing there on New Year's Eve and my crew of two and I will be there! My children and I are way overdue for a nice vacation and we all love Kanye's music.
Hotel Reservations had to be made soon so I went to HotelReservations.com. There, I could book a first-class flight which was really convenient. I was glad I didn't have to search for each little option. The site had the packages I needed to make my trip goof-proof. They have a rental car section on the site as well as sections on vacation rentals and packages. I was thinking of a surprise ">South Florida get-a-way for spring break. Getting away from it all helps the children and myself re-focus on what we have to do at home and for them, at school--without getting burned out. Yea for us!
Hotel Reservations had to be made soon so I went to HotelReservations.com. There, I could book a first-class flight which was really convenient. I was glad I didn't have to search for each little option. The site had the packages I needed to make my trip goof-proof. They have a rental car section on the site as well as sections on vacation rentals and packages. I was thinking of a surprise ">South Florida get-a-way for spring break. Getting away from it all helps the children and myself re-focus on what we have to do at home and for them, at school--without getting burned out. Yea for us!
TODAY WAS MORE THAN A TRIP AND UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T EXPECT A WHOLE LOT
This is a revision but I don't know if it improves the original or what. You tell me.
TODAY WAS MORE THAN A TRIP AND UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T EXPECT A WHOLE LOT
MORE FROM TOMORROW Copyright Leslie Jones McCloud 2007
ACT I
Firetrucks surround a simple but modern three bedroom house, hoses criss
crossing manicured lawns.
Slowly, robed and sleepy neighbors crowd around BeBe's house chattering
amongst the noise of the the shiney red engines were making in the middle
of the night.
BeBe ran a clean business. She only did the hair of those she knew, and
their friends. Most of them didn't mind her bulbous brests brushing on the
backs of their heads and they paid her well enought to afford her home in
the quiet suburb.
But this evening was different because she had gone to sleep with a
pressing comb still heating in its oven. The kitchen was destroyed and she
would have to wrangle with the insurance company in the morning.
BeBe stood amongst her neighbors, pulling closed a thick terry robe one of
her clients had brought her back from a vacation. Her own hair hang in a
straggly bedhead arrangemnt like the exotic plants she clipped from her
backyard.
BEBE
ACT I
FLASHBACK;
Bebe, thinking back, leads a group of her chattering relatives up to her
new home. She is dressed in early 90s garb, as the rest of the group,
holding a small box under one arm and the keys to her new house in the
other. The guy who sold her the house, Carl, pulls up in a shiney new car.
ANNIE
Hey, Carl. I'm glad you showed up.
CARL
I wouldn't miss this. We worked really hard to get
you in it.
Carl blows past BeBe's family to stand with her as she opened the doors to
her new home. He kisses her and takes the box she is holding. They walk in
together.
What they see is dust and sturdy hard wood floors and beautiful bare
windows. Everyone follows the pair in.
ANNIE
Oh, my ... I never thought I would get this far.
BeBe walks quickly throught he house. Unbeknownst to all, CeCe walks in
with a welcome basket in her hand.
CECE
Hi. Welcome to the neighborhood.I thought I would
just bring this by and introduce myself.
ANNIE, not used to such niceties, just stood there with her mouth agape.
ANNIE
Come in.
There wasn't much to see inside. CeCe looked around and stood there with
the basket of bread and fruit in her hand. Everone else looked at her too.
CECE
I always wanted to see the inside of this house.
Everyone said it was haunted.
No one said anything at first, then Carl broke the silence.
CARL
How about a quick tour?
Everyone chatterd happily again and started moving around sitting boxes
down and going back out to the moving truck to get more. BeBe and CeCe
walked through the house with Carl. BeBe's mother trailed behind the trio
with a small house plant in her hand.
Flashforward to present time
Fire engines break the silence of the quiet block. The large fire hoses
cris cross the manicured lawns and fire personnell trample neat flower beds
in a hurry to douse more water on the fire that raged in ANNIE's kitchen.
ANNIE, who had just moved into the neighborhood last year, alternated
between staring at the flames, trying to get her hair in to a pony tail and
clutching at her robe trying to keep it closed. But CeCe--who lives next
door, wanted answers. ANNIE turned when she touched her shoulder.
ANNIE
Hey.
CECE
Are you okay, girl? What happened?
ANNIE
I don't know T. I woke up and smelled smoke and ran
into the kitchen and the whole thing was on fire.
All of it. And you know I can't afford this.
CeCe lit a cigarette and offered one to ANNIE. The women pulled hard on the
cigarettes and stood in silence, watching the fire damp down little by
little.
ANNIE
I know they'll be asking me how this happened.
CECE
No they won't they'll go in there and tell you how
it happened. Did you pay your insurance?
BeBe rolled her eyes.
ANNIE
Yes, ma ma, I paid my insurance.
One of the firemen walked over to BeBe and pulled her to the side. CeCe
watched as they talked. She saw BeBe lower her head into her hands, silent
and still. CeCe sighed as her cragly friend walked back over to where she
was.
ANNIE
He said it started from the hot comb. I left the hot
comb in the stove and it set fire to a towel. And I
guess from there it did this.
CECE
Well, at least you can get a new kitchen out of the
deal and possibly new furniture. What else did you
have in there that was valuable.
ANNIE
Who knows? I hadn't even gotten around to cleaning
out the attic and basement from the old owners. I
was so happy to get a house...
CECE
That fireman sure was cute, girl. Did you get his
name?
Bebe rolled her eyes again and the women just stood there looking at the
smokey, smoldering mess that used to ANNIEBe's kitchen.
CECE
Don't worry, I'll help you get it back together
again. I remember when you bought this house. You
know, you and this house didn't get off to a good
start anyway. You should move.
BeBe stood alone in silence as CeCe made her way towards the cute fireman.
ANNIE
Yeah, we must have looked pretty country--trampling
over the lawn, hollering and all.
She smashes the cigarette out into the soaked lawn with the curled toe of
her leather house shoe. She looks over her shoulder and sees CeCe's lawyer-
friend, Thomas, pull up with his cell phone sealed to his ear. He looks
over towards the mess in BeBe's front yard, puts the cell inside his coat
and joggs out towards the house.
THOMAS
What happened BeBe?
ANNIE
My kitchen burned down.
Thomas looked into the dark crater that was once BeBe's breakfast nook and
stepped inside of it with the few remaining firemen.
THOMAS
Maybe I can get you some money out of it.
Forword 1/4/01
Annie didn't know if it was her hair or the cheap french purfume but she
figured one of them had to go if she was to ever climb out of the hole she
had dug for herself emotionally.
She bought herself new purfume for Christmas and swore New Years day she
would never again date a bisexual man.
It was just too hard to do.
She didn't work, but if you call writing working, well--she worked. At home
mostly or on the train or whenever she got an assignment. Annie had stop
being picky about the kind of assignment she would take long ago, so she
ended up meeting men in the strangest of places.
That's where she met Tim, in a strange place.
He was attractive but she was drunk. A normal occourrance. She didn't
notice as many quirks when she had a glass or three of wine. It made
meeting men easier and it helped drive them away before she got bored.
But Tim wasn't a bad guy only strange. Odd behaviors seemed cute when
fanned by the breeze of Merlot. And then Annie liked guys who are
considered different, the loners. The kind of men sober women only consider
dating for a few minutes before making up some excuse as to why they can no
longer share that four dollar drink with them at the crowded bar.
But not Annie. That kind of behaivor she considers rude and she suffers
greatly because of her fondness of another human oddity--Miss Manners.
But for a while, Tim and Annie together seemed to work.
They were sweet together. He was sweet to her, kissing, holding hands--the
kind of stuff girls like. She was affectionate towards him to varring
degrees and he apprecieated it. And for a while they clung to each other in
their self-made storm. But Tim craved drama and Annie was shy.
The kind of stuff that could be seen as a trap, of sorts. The kind of
closeness that would trap any of the walking wounded, like Annie. Tim was
good at caring because his feelings were genuine. He cared for Annie but
the world outside of their comfortable make believe fantasy life could
offer him more of what he wanted. And he drifted away.
Annie's folks always told her she would never keep a man acting the way
that she does but she didn't listen to them.
Instead, she listened to her heart and learned the way of the down low
brother.
Chapter One
Annie didn't really like to ride the bus but she needed to get around with
out the hassle of a ticket being slapped on her car when she got back. The
bus reminded her of how different everyone is. There are those who have
cars and ride for convienience and there are those ride out of necessity.
They were as different as night and day and always looked at each other
with suspicious looks.
But nobody ever said much. It was just another thing Annie noticed about
life and kept to herself.
Annie pulled out her notepad and started to scribble down thoughts as the
bus whizzed by her stop.
"Huron," the driver said.
Annie's eyes popped wider than they already were as she shoved her notepad
deep into her pocket, simetaneously checking for her tape recorder and
grabbing her bag.
"I missed my stop. Can I get off here?"
Without acknowledgement the driver opened the doors with a hydrolic sigh.
Annie felt the cold wind eat through her tights as she scurried off the bus
a good mile from the office.
She didn't see T tucked away in his car but he saw her.
Annie was hard to miss.
Long-legged antique bronze face and a long shock of streaked dark brown
hair she dared to let hang far below her shoulders.
T u-turned and whipped his shiney new BMW 320 Si down the block to get
another look at the woman marching--damn near bouncing--down the street in
stilleto boots, a wool coat and neat bag.
He saw her duck into one of the buildings then noticed a bar and grill next
door. But in the T tradition, he looked at the clock in the car and drove
away.
Annie bounced out of the office, assignments in hand and the idea that
tonight she would party. She stuck her arm out to get a cab. Her friend
Marcy screamed her name from across the street.
"Girl, wait," she said breathlessly.
"Hey, where are you coming from? Wanna share this taxi?" Annie said,
noticiing Marcy's new look.
"Naw, let's go to Panties and get a drink. I want to tell you about my new
boyfriend," she said presenting her wrist so that Annie could check out her
new tennis bracelet.
"Where'd you get that from," she deadpanned.
"Common, my treat."
With that Marcy pulled her unbelieving friend inside the place to a table
near the window.
"You look good. What happened in the week I didn't see you. Donald Trump
put you on his list--new job--promotion?
"Fool no, I met a guy on the sidewalk last month trying to get a cab...
Annie started to gather her things.
"Where are you going?"
"Back out there to get my taxi," Annie joked.
"Girl! Listen
Marcy explained how she and Brennon met and shared a cab a talked and
clicked and later had dinner and talked about the perfect wedding the
perfect kid the perfect life and fell in love almost immediately. Perfect.
And Marcy droned on about it, shaking the bracelet around, moving it up her
wrist, tossing her hair.
Annie wonedered if she was obnoxious when she was in love two months ago.
And she didn't even get diamonds. Just a few lackluster meals with an
average guy who droned on about his past relationships. And he was
bothersome, always on her back about something. Maybe Brennon was a hideous
creature--that would lift her spirits.
"Want another? Have one more. I need to kill some time before Brennon shows
up," Marcy said with a toss of the head.
"Okay," Annie said with a smile.
"So what's he like? Got any friends?"
"As a matter of fact, we're going out with a few of his buddies tonight.
You should come with, it'll be fun. It'll ANNIEtter than sitting around in
that damn housecoat. I hope you threw that thing away," Marcy said.
"Hush. Where yall going?" Annie said.
"To that new place, Tino's, way up north. They don't hang around down this
way too much," she said with a roll of the eye.
A tall man walked through the door, looked around. Annie caught his eye and
he moved forward.
"Damn girl, he's fine."
Brendon was gorgeous all the way from his briefcase to his wing tips. Clean
cut, well-groomed, mannerable. Perfect.
"Hey baby," he said. His voice smooth and manly.
Marcy got up and they hugged like they were in a private room. He kissed
her on her neck and grabbed her butt. Then she introduced him.
"I'm going to go to the bar for a while," she said to the new couple. She
couldn't stand being a third wheel.
She plunked down on the high barstool with all the grace of a chubby
ballerina.
Annie didn't know if it was her hair or the cheap french purfume but she
figured one of them had to go if she was to ever climb out of the hole she
had dug for herself emotionally.
She bought herself new purfume for Christmas and swore New Years day she
would never again date a bisexual man. It was just too hard to do. She
didn't work, unless you call writing working, well--she worked.
She worked from home mostly. Annie long ago had stop being picky about the
kind of assignment she would take, so she ended up meeting men in the
strangest of places. That's where she met Tim, in a strange place.
He was attractive but she was drunk. A normal occourrance lately. She
didn't notice as many quirks about potential dates when she had a glass or
three of wine. It made meeting men easier and it helped drive them away
before she got bored. But Tim wasn't a bad guy only strange.
Odd behaviors seemed cute when fanned by the breeze of grocery store wine.
And then Annie liked guys who are considered different--the loners. The
kind of men sober women only consider dating for a few minutes before
making up some excuse as to why they can no longer share a four dollar
drink with them at the bar. But not Annie. That kind of behaivor is
consideed rude and she suffers greatly because of her fondness of another
human oddity--Miss Manners.
But for a while, Tim and Annie together seemed to work. They were sweet
together. He was sweet to her, kissing, holding hands--the kind of stuff
girls like. She was affectionate towards him to varring degrees and he
apprecieated it. And for a while they clung to each other. But Tim craved
drama and Annie was shy. The kind of stuff that could be seen as a trap, of
sorts. The kind of closeness that would trap any of the walking wounded,
like Annie.
Tim was good at caring because his feelings were genuine. He cared for
Annie but the world outside of their comfortable make believe fantasy life
could offer him more of what he wanted--guilt free sex.
And so he soon drifted away. Annie's folks always told her she would never
keep a man acting the way that she does but she didn't listen to them.
Instead, she listened to her heart and learned the hard way about the down-
low brother.
"Hey you two love birds, I'm heading home," Annie said.
Okay. Don't forget," Marcy said.
The pair watched as the wind gusted through Annie'hair as she walked out
the door.
Chapter One
"I don't know what's wrong with me anymore," Annie whined to CeCe.
This was her third call to her long-time friend in two hours.
"Girl, I know you aren't crying--WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" she hollered into
the phone.
"I don't know," Annie sniffiled.
"I'm on my way cause you aint doing nothing but running up my cell phone
bill. Put some clothes on cause I bet you still sloppin around the house in
that nasty looking robe. "Huh, no I'm not," Annie replied,picking
cottonballs off her robe.
"We can go lingere shopping. It'll be fun," CeCe said.
"For who CeCe--who's gone see it?"
"We can go out tonite. I'll tell Al to bring his nice friend from work,
okay?"
"Okay, but who's gone see it?"
"I'm on Euclid."
"I'm ready, I'm ready, bye."
The women hung up and Annie scurried around the house picking through three
days of laundry looking for jeans, a tank and a pair of high heeled
sandles.
She never really stopped looking for the right man and she never really
gave up. She was just tired.
Annie had been stumbling around the city punch drunk for a while, swinging
at anyone who came near her, and CeCe knew it. CeCe honked once and Annie
ran out and jumped in the car.
ANNIE
"You know, I don't see how you put up with the
bullshit 'cause I'm at the end of my rope."
CECE
I just do what I gotta do. You do that. You do what
you gotta do but you just complain behind it.
Annie stared hard at the side of C's face. Annie felt as if she was looking
for an argument. But she didn't give it to her.
ANNIE
Whatever fool. Whatever...
The women pull into a parking garage and head to Vikkie's. People are
lingering, talking, looking.
CECE
Look
Cece holds up a sheer white babydoll with satin trim but Annie shakes her
head. She looks for something that's not really there.
ANNIE
Maybe this?
Annie holds up a penoir set, cream. She grabs the slippers to match and
heads to the sales counter smiling.
CECE
Okay, Jean Harlowe...I guess. Don't you want to look
around a while?
Cece wanders around the store until her eye catches a simple black nightie
with a short, matching robe. She pays for her purchase and the women head
towards the exit.
ANNIE
I don't know why I bought this. Where, when and with
whom will I wear it?
TODAY WAS MORE THAN A TRIP AND UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T EXPECT A WHOLE LOT
MORE FROM TOMORROW Copyright Leslie Jones McCloud 2007
ACT I
Firetrucks surround a simple but modern three bedroom house, hoses criss
crossing manicured lawns.
Slowly, robed and sleepy neighbors crowd around BeBe's house chattering
amongst the noise of the the shiney red engines were making in the middle
of the night.
BeBe ran a clean business. She only did the hair of those she knew, and
their friends. Most of them didn't mind her bulbous brests brushing on the
backs of their heads and they paid her well enought to afford her home in
the quiet suburb.
But this evening was different because she had gone to sleep with a
pressing comb still heating in its oven. The kitchen was destroyed and she
would have to wrangle with the insurance company in the morning.
BeBe stood amongst her neighbors, pulling closed a thick terry robe one of
her clients had brought her back from a vacation. Her own hair hang in a
straggly bedhead arrangemnt like the exotic plants she clipped from her
backyard.
BEBE
ACT I
FLASHBACK;
Bebe, thinking back, leads a group of her chattering relatives up to her
new home. She is dressed in early 90s garb, as the rest of the group,
holding a small box under one arm and the keys to her new house in the
other. The guy who sold her the house, Carl, pulls up in a shiney new car.
ANNIE
Hey, Carl. I'm glad you showed up.
CARL
I wouldn't miss this. We worked really hard to get
you in it.
Carl blows past BeBe's family to stand with her as she opened the doors to
her new home. He kisses her and takes the box she is holding. They walk in
together.
What they see is dust and sturdy hard wood floors and beautiful bare
windows. Everyone follows the pair in.
ANNIE
Oh, my ... I never thought I would get this far.
BeBe walks quickly throught he house. Unbeknownst to all, CeCe walks in
with a welcome basket in her hand.
CECE
Hi. Welcome to the neighborhood.I thought I would
just bring this by and introduce myself.
ANNIE, not used to such niceties, just stood there with her mouth agape.
ANNIE
Come in.
There wasn't much to see inside. CeCe looked around and stood there with
the basket of bread and fruit in her hand. Everone else looked at her too.
CECE
I always wanted to see the inside of this house.
Everyone said it was haunted.
No one said anything at first, then Carl broke the silence.
CARL
How about a quick tour?
Everyone chatterd happily again and started moving around sitting boxes
down and going back out to the moving truck to get more. BeBe and CeCe
walked through the house with Carl. BeBe's mother trailed behind the trio
with a small house plant in her hand.
Flashforward to present time
Fire engines break the silence of the quiet block. The large fire hoses
cris cross the manicured lawns and fire personnell trample neat flower beds
in a hurry to douse more water on the fire that raged in ANNIE's kitchen.
ANNIE, who had just moved into the neighborhood last year, alternated
between staring at the flames, trying to get her hair in to a pony tail and
clutching at her robe trying to keep it closed. But CeCe--who lives next
door, wanted answers. ANNIE turned when she touched her shoulder.
ANNIE
Hey.
CECE
Are you okay, girl? What happened?
ANNIE
I don't know T. I woke up and smelled smoke and ran
into the kitchen and the whole thing was on fire.
All of it. And you know I can't afford this.
CeCe lit a cigarette and offered one to ANNIE. The women pulled hard on the
cigarettes and stood in silence, watching the fire damp down little by
little.
ANNIE
I know they'll be asking me how this happened.
CECE
No they won't they'll go in there and tell you how
it happened. Did you pay your insurance?
BeBe rolled her eyes.
ANNIE
Yes, ma ma, I paid my insurance.
One of the firemen walked over to BeBe and pulled her to the side. CeCe
watched as they talked. She saw BeBe lower her head into her hands, silent
and still. CeCe sighed as her cragly friend walked back over to where she
was.
ANNIE
He said it started from the hot comb. I left the hot
comb in the stove and it set fire to a towel. And I
guess from there it did this.
CECE
Well, at least you can get a new kitchen out of the
deal and possibly new furniture. What else did you
have in there that was valuable.
ANNIE
Who knows? I hadn't even gotten around to cleaning
out the attic and basement from the old owners. I
was so happy to get a house...
CECE
That fireman sure was cute, girl. Did you get his
name?
Bebe rolled her eyes again and the women just stood there looking at the
smokey, smoldering mess that used to ANNIEBe's kitchen.
CECE
Don't worry, I'll help you get it back together
again. I remember when you bought this house. You
know, you and this house didn't get off to a good
start anyway. You should move.
BeBe stood alone in silence as CeCe made her way towards the cute fireman.
ANNIE
Yeah, we must have looked pretty country--trampling
over the lawn, hollering and all.
She smashes the cigarette out into the soaked lawn with the curled toe of
her leather house shoe. She looks over her shoulder and sees CeCe's lawyer-
friend, Thomas, pull up with his cell phone sealed to his ear. He looks
over towards the mess in BeBe's front yard, puts the cell inside his coat
and joggs out towards the house.
THOMAS
What happened BeBe?
ANNIE
My kitchen burned down.
Thomas looked into the dark crater that was once BeBe's breakfast nook and
stepped inside of it with the few remaining firemen.
THOMAS
Maybe I can get you some money out of it.
Forword 1/4/01
Annie didn't know if it was her hair or the cheap french purfume but she
figured one of them had to go if she was to ever climb out of the hole she
had dug for herself emotionally.
She bought herself new purfume for Christmas and swore New Years day she
would never again date a bisexual man.
It was just too hard to do.
She didn't work, but if you call writing working, well--she worked. At home
mostly or on the train or whenever she got an assignment. Annie had stop
being picky about the kind of assignment she would take long ago, so she
ended up meeting men in the strangest of places.
That's where she met Tim, in a strange place.
He was attractive but she was drunk. A normal occourrance. She didn't
notice as many quirks when she had a glass or three of wine. It made
meeting men easier and it helped drive them away before she got bored.
But Tim wasn't a bad guy only strange. Odd behaviors seemed cute when
fanned by the breeze of Merlot. And then Annie liked guys who are
considered different, the loners. The kind of men sober women only consider
dating for a few minutes before making up some excuse as to why they can no
longer share that four dollar drink with them at the crowded bar.
But not Annie. That kind of behaivor she considers rude and she suffers
greatly because of her fondness of another human oddity--Miss Manners.
But for a while, Tim and Annie together seemed to work.
They were sweet together. He was sweet to her, kissing, holding hands--the
kind of stuff girls like. She was affectionate towards him to varring
degrees and he apprecieated it. And for a while they clung to each other in
their self-made storm. But Tim craved drama and Annie was shy.
The kind of stuff that could be seen as a trap, of sorts. The kind of
closeness that would trap any of the walking wounded, like Annie. Tim was
good at caring because his feelings were genuine. He cared for Annie but
the world outside of their comfortable make believe fantasy life could
offer him more of what he wanted. And he drifted away.
Annie's folks always told her she would never keep a man acting the way
that she does but she didn't listen to them.
Instead, she listened to her heart and learned the way of the down low
brother.
Chapter One
Annie didn't really like to ride the bus but she needed to get around with
out the hassle of a ticket being slapped on her car when she got back. The
bus reminded her of how different everyone is. There are those who have
cars and ride for convienience and there are those ride out of necessity.
They were as different as night and day and always looked at each other
with suspicious looks.
But nobody ever said much. It was just another thing Annie noticed about
life and kept to herself.
Annie pulled out her notepad and started to scribble down thoughts as the
bus whizzed by her stop.
"Huron," the driver said.
Annie's eyes popped wider than they already were as she shoved her notepad
deep into her pocket, simetaneously checking for her tape recorder and
grabbing her bag.
"I missed my stop. Can I get off here?"
Without acknowledgement the driver opened the doors with a hydrolic sigh.
Annie felt the cold wind eat through her tights as she scurried off the bus
a good mile from the office.
She didn't see T tucked away in his car but he saw her.
Annie was hard to miss.
Long-legged antique bronze face and a long shock of streaked dark brown
hair she dared to let hang far below her shoulders.
T u-turned and whipped his shiney new BMW 320 Si down the block to get
another look at the woman marching--damn near bouncing--down the street in
stilleto boots, a wool coat and neat bag.
He saw her duck into one of the buildings then noticed a bar and grill next
door. But in the T tradition, he looked at the clock in the car and drove
away.
Annie bounced out of the office, assignments in hand and the idea that
tonight she would party. She stuck her arm out to get a cab. Her friend
Marcy screamed her name from across the street.
"Girl, wait," she said breathlessly.
"Hey, where are you coming from? Wanna share this taxi?" Annie said,
noticiing Marcy's new look.
"Naw, let's go to Panties and get a drink. I want to tell you about my new
boyfriend," she said presenting her wrist so that Annie could check out her
new tennis bracelet.
"Where'd you get that from," she deadpanned.
"Common, my treat."
With that Marcy pulled her unbelieving friend inside the place to a table
near the window.
"You look good. What happened in the week I didn't see you. Donald Trump
put you on his list--new job--promotion?
"Fool no, I met a guy on the sidewalk last month trying to get a cab...
Annie started to gather her things.
"Where are you going?"
"Back out there to get my taxi," Annie joked.
"Girl! Listen
Marcy explained how she and Brennon met and shared a cab a talked and
clicked and later had dinner and talked about the perfect wedding the
perfect kid the perfect life and fell in love almost immediately. Perfect.
And Marcy droned on about it, shaking the bracelet around, moving it up her
wrist, tossing her hair.
Annie wonedered if she was obnoxious when she was in love two months ago.
And she didn't even get diamonds. Just a few lackluster meals with an
average guy who droned on about his past relationships. And he was
bothersome, always on her back about something. Maybe Brennon was a hideous
creature--that would lift her spirits.
"Want another? Have one more. I need to kill some time before Brennon shows
up," Marcy said with a toss of the head.
"Okay," Annie said with a smile.
"So what's he like? Got any friends?"
"As a matter of fact, we're going out with a few of his buddies tonight.
You should come with, it'll be fun. It'll ANNIEtter than sitting around in
that damn housecoat. I hope you threw that thing away," Marcy said.
"Hush. Where yall going?" Annie said.
"To that new place, Tino's, way up north. They don't hang around down this
way too much," she said with a roll of the eye.
A tall man walked through the door, looked around. Annie caught his eye and
he moved forward.
"Damn girl, he's fine."
Brendon was gorgeous all the way from his briefcase to his wing tips. Clean
cut, well-groomed, mannerable. Perfect.
"Hey baby," he said. His voice smooth and manly.
Marcy got up and they hugged like they were in a private room. He kissed
her on her neck and grabbed her butt. Then she introduced him.
"I'm going to go to the bar for a while," she said to the new couple. She
couldn't stand being a third wheel.
She plunked down on the high barstool with all the grace of a chubby
ballerina.
Annie didn't know if it was her hair or the cheap french purfume but she
figured one of them had to go if she was to ever climb out of the hole she
had dug for herself emotionally.
She bought herself new purfume for Christmas and swore New Years day she
would never again date a bisexual man. It was just too hard to do. She
didn't work, unless you call writing working, well--she worked.
She worked from home mostly. Annie long ago had stop being picky about the
kind of assignment she would take, so she ended up meeting men in the
strangest of places. That's where she met Tim, in a strange place.
He was attractive but she was drunk. A normal occourrance lately. She
didn't notice as many quirks about potential dates when she had a glass or
three of wine. It made meeting men easier and it helped drive them away
before she got bored. But Tim wasn't a bad guy only strange.
Odd behaviors seemed cute when fanned by the breeze of grocery store wine.
And then Annie liked guys who are considered different--the loners. The
kind of men sober women only consider dating for a few minutes before
making up some excuse as to why they can no longer share a four dollar
drink with them at the bar. But not Annie. That kind of behaivor is
consideed rude and she suffers greatly because of her fondness of another
human oddity--Miss Manners.
But for a while, Tim and Annie together seemed to work. They were sweet
together. He was sweet to her, kissing, holding hands--the kind of stuff
girls like. She was affectionate towards him to varring degrees and he
apprecieated it. And for a while they clung to each other. But Tim craved
drama and Annie was shy. The kind of stuff that could be seen as a trap, of
sorts. The kind of closeness that would trap any of the walking wounded,
like Annie.
Tim was good at caring because his feelings were genuine. He cared for
Annie but the world outside of their comfortable make believe fantasy life
could offer him more of what he wanted--guilt free sex.
And so he soon drifted away. Annie's folks always told her she would never
keep a man acting the way that she does but she didn't listen to them.
Instead, she listened to her heart and learned the hard way about the down-
low brother.
"Hey you two love birds, I'm heading home," Annie said.
Okay. Don't forget," Marcy said.
The pair watched as the wind gusted through Annie'hair as she walked out
the door.
Chapter One
"I don't know what's wrong with me anymore," Annie whined to CeCe.
This was her third call to her long-time friend in two hours.
"Girl, I know you aren't crying--WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" she hollered into
the phone.
"I don't know," Annie sniffiled.
"I'm on my way cause you aint doing nothing but running up my cell phone
bill. Put some clothes on cause I bet you still sloppin around the house in
that nasty looking robe. "Huh, no I'm not," Annie replied,picking
cottonballs off her robe.
"We can go lingere shopping. It'll be fun," CeCe said.
"For who CeCe--who's gone see it?"
"We can go out tonite. I'll tell Al to bring his nice friend from work,
okay?"
"Okay, but who's gone see it?"
"I'm on Euclid."
"I'm ready, I'm ready, bye."
The women hung up and Annie scurried around the house picking through three
days of laundry looking for jeans, a tank and a pair of high heeled
sandles.
She never really stopped looking for the right man and she never really
gave up. She was just tired.
Annie had been stumbling around the city punch drunk for a while, swinging
at anyone who came near her, and CeCe knew it. CeCe honked once and Annie
ran out and jumped in the car.
ANNIE
"You know, I don't see how you put up with the
bullshit 'cause I'm at the end of my rope."
CECE
I just do what I gotta do. You do that. You do what
you gotta do but you just complain behind it.
Annie stared hard at the side of C's face. Annie felt as if she was looking
for an argument. But she didn't give it to her.
ANNIE
Whatever fool. Whatever...
The women pull into a parking garage and head to Vikkie's. People are
lingering, talking, looking.
CECE
Look
Cece holds up a sheer white babydoll with satin trim but Annie shakes her
head. She looks for something that's not really there.
ANNIE
Maybe this?
Annie holds up a penoir set, cream. She grabs the slippers to match and
heads to the sales counter smiling.
CECE
Okay, Jean Harlowe...I guess. Don't you want to look
around a while?
Cece wanders around the store until her eye catches a simple black nightie
with a short, matching robe. She pays for her purchase and the women head
towards the exit.
ANNIE
I don't know why I bought this. Where, when and with
whom will I wear it?
I Won Something!
Have you ever won anything? Until now, I hadn't. However my video was one of those selected as an advertisment for the Pentel EnerGel Deluxe pen now being viewed on Rollimo. Yea for me. Wanna see it?
For more videos, rollmio.com
For more videos, rollmio.com
www.IMADEAMESSS.COM NOW HAS 3 S's
I have my own domain name now so all you have to do is type "www.imadeamesss.com" into your browser and the blog will pop up. This is a first for me. Notice that I had to add an "s" to "mess" to make "messs" because some person had taken my blog's name and put a junk site in it's place.
Below is the begining of a film I started to write but couldn't decide if it would be a better book or what.
AND THE 'L' IS SILENT Copyright Leslie Jones McCloud 2007
ACT I
Fire engines break the silence of the quiet block. The large fire hoses
cris cross the manicured lawns and fire personnell trample neat flower beds
in a hurry to douse more water on the fire that raged in Cissy's kitchen.
Cissy, who had just moved into the neighborhood last year, alternated
between staring at the flames, trying to get her hair in to a pony tail and
clutching at her robe trying to keep it closed. But Haelo--who lives next
door, wanted answers. Cissy turned when she touched her shoulder.
CISSY
Hey.
HAELO
Are you okay, girl? What happened?
CISSY
I don't know T. I woke up and smelled smoke and ran
into the kitchen and the whole thing was on fire.
All of it. And you know I can't afford this.
Haelo lit a cigarette and offered one to Cissy. The women pulled hard on
the cigarettes and stood in silence, watching the fire damp down little by
little.
CISSY
I know they'll be asking me how this happened.
HAELO
No they won't they'll go in there and tell you how
it happened. Did you pay your insurance?
BeBe rolled her eyes.
CISSY
Yes, ma ma, I paid my insurance.
One of the firemen walked over to BeBe and pulled her to the side. Haelo
watched as they talked. She saw BeBe lower her head into her hands, silent
and still. Haelo sighed as her stragly friend walked back over to where she
was.
CISSY
He said it started from the hot comb. I left the hot
comb in the stove and it set fire to a towel. And I
guess from there it did this.
HAELO
Well, at least you can get a new kitchen out of the
deal and possibly new furniture. What else did you
have in there that was valuable.
CISSY
Who knows? I hadn't even gotten around to cleaning
out the attic and basement from the old owners. I
was so happy to get a house...
HAELO
That fireman sure was cute, girl. Did you get his
name?
Bebe rolled her eyes again and the women just stood there looking at the
smokey, smoldering mess that used to CissyBe's kitchen.
HAELO
Don't worry, I'll help you get it back together
again. I remember when you bought this house.
BeBe 's mouth curled into a smile, gigling like school girls to the
amazment of the fire fighters.
CISSY
Yeah, we must have looked pretty country--trampling
over the lawn, hollering and all.
FLASHBACK;
Haelo leads a group of her chattering relatives up to her new home. She is
dressed in early 90s garb, as the rest of the group, holding a small box
under one arm and the keys to her new house in the other. It ends abruptly.
Chapter One
Haelo didn't really like to ride the bus but she needed to get around with
out the hassle of a ticket being slapped on her car when she got back. The
bus reminded her of how different everyone is. There are those who have
cars and ride for convienience and there are those ride out of necessity.
She always wondered about the people walking the streets she drove by when
she was in a hurry. Where are they going?
But nobody ever said much. It was just another thing Haelo noticed about
life and kept to herself.
She pulled out her notepad and started to scribble down thoughts as the bus
whizzed by her stop.
"Huron," the driver said.
Haelos eyes popped wider than they already were as she shoved her notepad
deep into her pocket, simetaneously checking for her tape recorder and
grabbing her bag.
"I missed my stop. Can I get off here?"
Without acknowledgement the driver opened the doors with a hydrolic sigh.
Annie felt the cold wind eat through her tights as she scurried off the bus
a good mile from the office.
She didn't see Tim tucked away in his car but he saw her.
Annie was hard to miss.
Long-legged antique bronze face and a long shock of streaked dark brown
hair she dared to let hang far below her shoulders.
T u-turned and whipped his shiney new BMW 320 Si down the block to get
another look at the woman marching--damn near bouncing--down the street in
stilleto boots, a wool coat and neat bag.
He saw her duck into one of the buildings then noticed a bar and grill next
door. But in the T tradition, he looked at the clock in the car and drove
away.
Haelo bounced out of the office, assignments in hand and the idea that
tonight she would party. She stuck her arm out to get a cab. Her friend
Cissy screamed her name from across the street.
CISSY
"Girl, wait," she said breathlessly.
"Hey, where are you coming from? Wanna share this taxi?" Haleo said,
noticiing Cissy's new look.
"Naw, let's go to Panties and get a drink. I want to tell you about my new
boyfriend," she said presenting her wrist so that Annie could check out her
new tennis bracelet.
"Where'd you get that from," she deadpanned.
"Common, my treat."
With that Cissy pulled her unbelieving friend inside the place to a table
near the window.
"You look good. What happened in the week I didn't see you. Donald Trump
put you on his list--new job--promotion?
"Fool no, I met a guy on the sidewalk last month trying to get a cab...
Haelo started to gather her things.
"Where are you going?"
"Back out there to get my taxi," Haleo joked.
"Girl! Listen
Marcy explained how she and Brennon met and shared a cab a talked and
clicked and later had dinner and talked about the perfect wedding the
perfect kid the perfect life and fell in love almost immediately. Perfect.
And cissy droned on about it, shaking the bracelet around, moving it up her
wrist, tossing her hair.
Annie wonedered if she was obnoxious when she was in love two months ago.
And she didn't even get diamonds. Just a few lackluster meals with an
average guy who droned on about his past relationships. And he was
bothersome, always on her back about something. Maybe Martin was a hideous
creature--that would lift her spirits.
"Want another? Have one more. I need to kill some time before Martin shows
up," Cissy said with a toss of the head.
HAELO
"Okay,"
"So what's he like? Got any friends?"
CISSY
"As a matter of fact, We're going out with a few of his buddies tonight.
You should come with, it'll be fun. It'll be better than sitting around in
that damn housecoat. I hope you threw that thing away,".
HAELO
"Hush. Where yall going?".
CISSY
"To that new place, Tino's, way up north. They don't hang around down this
way too much," she said.
A man walked through the door, looked around. Annie caught his eye and he
moved forward.
HAELO
"Damn girl, he's fine."
Brendon was gorgeous all the way from his briefcase to his wing tips. Clean
cut, well-groomed, mannerable. Perfect.
MARTIN
"Hey baby," he said. His voice smooth and manly.
Cissy got up and they hugged like they were in a private room. He kissed
her on her neck and grabbed her butt. Then she introduced him.
Flashback Haelo sitting in a bar 1/4/01
Annie didn't know if it was her hair or the cheap french purfume but she
figured one of them had to go if she was to ever climb out of the hole she
had dug for herself emotionally.
She bought herself new purfume for Christmas and swore New Years day she
would never again date a bisexual man.
It was just too hard to do.
She didn't work, but if you call writing working, well--she worked. At home
mostly or on the train or whenever she got an assignment. Annie had stop
being picky about the kind of assignment she would take long ago, so she
ended up meeting men in the strangest of places.
That's where she met Tim, in a strange place.
He was attractive but she was drunk.
A normal occourrance.
She didn't notice as many quirks when she had a glass or three of wine. It
made meeting men easier and it helped drive them away before she got bored.
But Tim wasn't a bad guy only strange. Odd behaviors seemed cute when
fanned by the breeze of Merlot. And then Haelo liked guys who are
considered different, the loners. The kind of men sober women only consider
dating for a few minutes before making up some excuse as to why they can no
longer share that four dollar drink with them at the crowded bar.
But not Annie. That kind of behaivor she considers rude and she suffers
greatly because of her fondness of another human oddity--Miss Manners.
But for a while, Tim and Haelo together seemed to work.
They were sweet together. He was sweet to her, kissing, holding hands--the
kind of stuff girls like. She was affectionate towards him to varring
degrees and he apprecieated it. And for a while they clung to each other in
their self-made storm. But Tim craved drama and Haelo was shy.
The kind of stuff that could be seen as a trap, of sorts. The kind of
closeness that would trap any of the walking wounded, like Haelo. Tim was
good at caring because his feelings were genuine. He cared for he but the
world outside of their comfortable make believe fantasy life could offer
him more of what he wanted.
Then he drifted away.
Cissy's relatives always told her she would never keep a man acting the way
that she does but she didn't listen to them.
Instead, she listened to her heart and learned the way of the down low
brother.
When they met, she didn't notice the things that would later make her cry.
Tinos meeting with Martin's friend Gavin/donovan
He is thin--an ex teen chubster.
Still shy after growing up fat, he talked with anyone. He was too old for
that, his friends thought. They wanted him to act dignified.
He grew up with those who now act dignified--friends, same school same
phobiass And she never would be prepared. He let her know that within the
first hour of their blind date. But it didnt seem to matter. 'Who cares,'
she mumbled. At least she was dating.
He was being himself when they walked into the club.
And she didn't want another horror movie on her hands.
Below is the begining of a film I started to write but couldn't decide if it would be a better book or what.
AND THE 'L' IS SILENT Copyright Leslie Jones McCloud 2007
ACT I
Fire engines break the silence of the quiet block. The large fire hoses
cris cross the manicured lawns and fire personnell trample neat flower beds
in a hurry to douse more water on the fire that raged in Cissy's kitchen.
Cissy, who had just moved into the neighborhood last year, alternated
between staring at the flames, trying to get her hair in to a pony tail and
clutching at her robe trying to keep it closed. But Haelo--who lives next
door, wanted answers. Cissy turned when she touched her shoulder.
CISSY
Hey.
HAELO
Are you okay, girl? What happened?
CISSY
I don't know T. I woke up and smelled smoke and ran
into the kitchen and the whole thing was on fire.
All of it. And you know I can't afford this.
Haelo lit a cigarette and offered one to Cissy. The women pulled hard on
the cigarettes and stood in silence, watching the fire damp down little by
little.
CISSY
I know they'll be asking me how this happened.
HAELO
No they won't they'll go in there and tell you how
it happened. Did you pay your insurance?
BeBe rolled her eyes.
CISSY
Yes, ma ma, I paid my insurance.
One of the firemen walked over to BeBe and pulled her to the side. Haelo
watched as they talked. She saw BeBe lower her head into her hands, silent
and still. Haelo sighed as her stragly friend walked back over to where she
was.
CISSY
He said it started from the hot comb. I left the hot
comb in the stove and it set fire to a towel. And I
guess from there it did this.
HAELO
Well, at least you can get a new kitchen out of the
deal and possibly new furniture. What else did you
have in there that was valuable.
CISSY
Who knows? I hadn't even gotten around to cleaning
out the attic and basement from the old owners. I
was so happy to get a house...
HAELO
That fireman sure was cute, girl. Did you get his
name?
Bebe rolled her eyes again and the women just stood there looking at the
smokey, smoldering mess that used to CissyBe's kitchen.
HAELO
Don't worry, I'll help you get it back together
again. I remember when you bought this house.
BeBe 's mouth curled into a smile, gigling like school girls to the
amazment of the fire fighters.
CISSY
Yeah, we must have looked pretty country--trampling
over the lawn, hollering and all.
FLASHBACK;
Haelo leads a group of her chattering relatives up to her new home. She is
dressed in early 90s garb, as the rest of the group, holding a small box
under one arm and the keys to her new house in the other. It ends abruptly.
Chapter One
Haelo didn't really like to ride the bus but she needed to get around with
out the hassle of a ticket being slapped on her car when she got back. The
bus reminded her of how different everyone is. There are those who have
cars and ride for convienience and there are those ride out of necessity.
She always wondered about the people walking the streets she drove by when
she was in a hurry. Where are they going?
But nobody ever said much. It was just another thing Haelo noticed about
life and kept to herself.
She pulled out her notepad and started to scribble down thoughts as the bus
whizzed by her stop.
"Huron," the driver said.
Haelos eyes popped wider than they already were as she shoved her notepad
deep into her pocket, simetaneously checking for her tape recorder and
grabbing her bag.
"I missed my stop. Can I get off here?"
Without acknowledgement the driver opened the doors with a hydrolic sigh.
Annie felt the cold wind eat through her tights as she scurried off the bus
a good mile from the office.
She didn't see Tim tucked away in his car but he saw her.
Annie was hard to miss.
Long-legged antique bronze face and a long shock of streaked dark brown
hair she dared to let hang far below her shoulders.
T u-turned and whipped his shiney new BMW 320 Si down the block to get
another look at the woman marching--damn near bouncing--down the street in
stilleto boots, a wool coat and neat bag.
He saw her duck into one of the buildings then noticed a bar and grill next
door. But in the T tradition, he looked at the clock in the car and drove
away.
Haelo bounced out of the office, assignments in hand and the idea that
tonight she would party. She stuck her arm out to get a cab. Her friend
Cissy screamed her name from across the street.
CISSY
"Girl, wait," she said breathlessly.
"Hey, where are you coming from? Wanna share this taxi?" Haleo said,
noticiing Cissy's new look.
"Naw, let's go to Panties and get a drink. I want to tell you about my new
boyfriend," she said presenting her wrist so that Annie could check out her
new tennis bracelet.
"Where'd you get that from," she deadpanned.
"Common, my treat."
With that Cissy pulled her unbelieving friend inside the place to a table
near the window.
"You look good. What happened in the week I didn't see you. Donald Trump
put you on his list--new job--promotion?
"Fool no, I met a guy on the sidewalk last month trying to get a cab...
Haelo started to gather her things.
"Where are you going?"
"Back out there to get my taxi," Haleo joked.
"Girl! Listen
Marcy explained how she and Brennon met and shared a cab a talked and
clicked and later had dinner and talked about the perfect wedding the
perfect kid the perfect life and fell in love almost immediately. Perfect.
And cissy droned on about it, shaking the bracelet around, moving it up her
wrist, tossing her hair.
Annie wonedered if she was obnoxious when she was in love two months ago.
And she didn't even get diamonds. Just a few lackluster meals with an
average guy who droned on about his past relationships. And he was
bothersome, always on her back about something. Maybe Martin was a hideous
creature--that would lift her spirits.
"Want another? Have one more. I need to kill some time before Martin shows
up," Cissy said with a toss of the head.
HAELO
"Okay,"
"So what's he like? Got any friends?"
CISSY
"As a matter of fact, We're going out with a few of his buddies tonight.
You should come with, it'll be fun. It'll be better than sitting around in
that damn housecoat. I hope you threw that thing away,".
HAELO
"Hush. Where yall going?".
CISSY
"To that new place, Tino's, way up north. They don't hang around down this
way too much," she said.
A man walked through the door, looked around. Annie caught his eye and he
moved forward.
HAELO
"Damn girl, he's fine."
Brendon was gorgeous all the way from his briefcase to his wing tips. Clean
cut, well-groomed, mannerable. Perfect.
MARTIN
"Hey baby," he said. His voice smooth and manly.
Cissy got up and they hugged like they were in a private room. He kissed
her on her neck and grabbed her butt. Then she introduced him.
Flashback Haelo sitting in a bar 1/4/01
Annie didn't know if it was her hair or the cheap french purfume but she
figured one of them had to go if she was to ever climb out of the hole she
had dug for herself emotionally.
She bought herself new purfume for Christmas and swore New Years day she
would never again date a bisexual man.
It was just too hard to do.
She didn't work, but if you call writing working, well--she worked. At home
mostly or on the train or whenever she got an assignment. Annie had stop
being picky about the kind of assignment she would take long ago, so she
ended up meeting men in the strangest of places.
That's where she met Tim, in a strange place.
He was attractive but she was drunk.
A normal occourrance.
She didn't notice as many quirks when she had a glass or three of wine. It
made meeting men easier and it helped drive them away before she got bored.
But Tim wasn't a bad guy only strange. Odd behaviors seemed cute when
fanned by the breeze of Merlot. And then Haelo liked guys who are
considered different, the loners. The kind of men sober women only consider
dating for a few minutes before making up some excuse as to why they can no
longer share that four dollar drink with them at the crowded bar.
But not Annie. That kind of behaivor she considers rude and she suffers
greatly because of her fondness of another human oddity--Miss Manners.
But for a while, Tim and Haelo together seemed to work.
They were sweet together. He was sweet to her, kissing, holding hands--the
kind of stuff girls like. She was affectionate towards him to varring
degrees and he apprecieated it. And for a while they clung to each other in
their self-made storm. But Tim craved drama and Haelo was shy.
The kind of stuff that could be seen as a trap, of sorts. The kind of
closeness that would trap any of the walking wounded, like Haelo. Tim was
good at caring because his feelings were genuine. He cared for he but the
world outside of their comfortable make believe fantasy life could offer
him more of what he wanted.
Then he drifted away.
Cissy's relatives always told her she would never keep a man acting the way
that she does but she didn't listen to them.
Instead, she listened to her heart and learned the way of the down low
brother.
When they met, she didn't notice the things that would later make her cry.
Tinos meeting with Martin's friend Gavin/donovan
He is thin--an ex teen chubster.
Still shy after growing up fat, he talked with anyone. He was too old for
that, his friends thought. They wanted him to act dignified.
He grew up with those who now act dignified--friends, same school same
phobiass And she never would be prepared. He let her know that within the
first hour of their blind date. But it didnt seem to matter. 'Who cares,'
she mumbled. At least she was dating.
He was being himself when they walked into the club.
And she didn't want another horror movie on her hands.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
killthetermites.com
The first house we looked at during our search for the perfect home was an old stick built house. I saw a sawdust-like powder in certain places on the woodworking (which was beautiful) but I paid no mind. The price was right so we wanted to move in right away. What we didn't know is that it was infested with termites. It didn't help that fell through the backporch/mudroom floorboards trying to help move a bookcase. I should have tried to look for a termite treatment but we just moved because we were renting to buy and didn't have the structure inspected for termites. Now I know better.
World Aids Day
This appeared in the Chicago Defender
Advocates push for wider HIV/AIDS testing to stem rise of disease in Black community
by Leslie Jones McCloud
December 2, 2005
Going to the Chicago Cultural Center Yates Gallery Exhibit Hall on World Aids day was like entering into a different world.
There, people either knew their HIV status or were being gently pressured by friends to go get tested, or were getting tested. They weren't shy, nor did they find the subject matter too distasteful to discuss over hors d'oeuvres.
Either attendees were openly gay or still debating the issue, advocates for the cause or affected by it.
Some had friends who died during the 1990s (when gay men, mostly white, were still dying in droves from AIDS) and had changed their outlook on life or they had plenty of friends who still embraced a carefree lifestyle and all of its pitfalls.
It didn't seem to matter.
Hundreds of people poured inside the Yates Gallery Thursday. Vendors stopped handing out leaflets long enough for the entire room to fall silent in honor of those who had died from the disease.
People gathered to hear the various speakers and singers, to network and chitchat, but mostly, they were there to get tested for the virus that causes AIDS.
Phyllis Rogers, 43, arrived with her female friend, who did not want to be identified.
Rogers said she gets a yearly HIV test usually from her doctor but this year decided to utilize the OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV1/2 Antibody Test that was offered at Yates Gallery. The test requires a swab of the cheek, Chicago Department of Public Health Operations Manager for Outreach Mobile Services, Yvonne Cruz said.
Because there are so many sexually transmitted diseases on the horizon, Rogers said she gets tested regularly.
Share your thoughts on this story on the ChicagoDefender.com message board.
"I've been divorced six years. I haven't been very sexually active since, but I have had two sex partners since my divorce. I have had unprotected sex with both," she said.
The first incident of unprotected sex happened because she and her sex partner didn't discuss safe sex.
"I'm ashamed to say we didn't discuss it. I panicked afterwards," she said.
Since then, she decided to get tested regularly. She said the condom came off during sex with her second sex partner.
"I panicked again. Since I get tested anyway, I decided to come here instead of my doctor," Rogers said.
She wasn't aware of the differing privacy levels when it comes to HIV/AIDS results reporting. Rogers and her 29-year-old friend said they were told results would be used for statistical purposes.
"I'm old school. This did not exist in my late teens, early 20s. It scares me," she said.
Roger's friend said she was certain her test result would be negative-and it was.
"I protect myself the majority of the time and my partner and I talk about safe sex," she said.
The Yates testing site was one of several sponsored by organizers at the Greater West Side Development Corp. and U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-7th). Gospel Shout Out, a free gospel concert held at John Marshall Metro High School to wrap up World Aids Day, featured more than just music, said Beverley Donley, executive director of Greater West Side Development Corp. Executive Director.
Statistics from the CDPH state that women of color and non-Hispanic Blacks are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and account for nearly 90 percent of all HIV infections in adolescent and adult women in Chicago between 2003-2004. Statistics also show heterosexual contact and injection drug use is the two main ways in which adolescent and adult women are currently being infected with HIV.
Davis and guest speakers like Dr. Lisa Henry-Reid, chairwoman of Adolescent and Adult Medicine at Stroger Hospital of Cook County, provided information about HIV/AIDS during concert intermissions.
Davis said his interest in HIV/AIDS education is a continuation of a life long effort.
"I'm an older person and have been working in the health area for 30 years - health prevention and awareness - long before I ran for public office," he said.
Davis said he plans to tell the audience that they should do all they can to stop the increase of HIV/AIDS infections.
"They can do that by abstaining from sex - in one way and practicing safe sex - in another way. Using protective devices like condoms and shields and other things and knowing the history - as much as they can - of their sex partners. That is what people really need to do," he said.
Davis said people should stop complaining about what the government and other institutions lack but take responsibility for his or her own health and the health of others.
"We can save lives and the life that we save may be our own," he said.
Henry-Reid said half of all new HIV infections in the U.S. are in the 14 to 24 year-old group.
"Kids are sexually active during the middle adolescent years 14-17 they are capable of having sex and getting pregnant but they (have a health education knowledge deficit). They feel invincible and that nothing will happen. Parents play a big role in preparing them for peer pressure they will encounter," Henry-Reid said.
Although she agrees with abstinence education, she feels it is sometimes an unrealistic curriculum. She said many 15 and 16-year-olds have had sex already. During the course of her day, Henry-Reid often interacts with youth and plans to tell audience members to stay safe. In her position, she gets to see many health trends.
"It's just a mishmash. We have a big problem with adolescent girls dating men and if the girl says that, 'it didn't happen,' the police have no recourse," she said.
World Aids Day participant, Leedale Carter, 39, said he found out he was HIV positive in the 1990s from his partner. The saying, "your partner's past can affect your future," became a reality for him.
"Unfortunately, my partner didn't know he was positive and I became infected by him during our relationship. It didn't upset me," he said.
His partner only found out he was positive because of a toothache. A dental office he frequented had been trying to contact him for two years to tell him he may be infected with HIV.
"When he went in for the toothache that is when they let him know. I'm grateful he told me. I was prepared for what my results were and we are still friends," Carter said. Currently, Carter said he is in a relationship with an HIV negative partner.
His main concern about being infected with HIV was that he would have to take lots of medicine. He started out taking five pills a day.
"It's getting better. We are living longer and making great strides with the medication. No longer do you have to take 20 or 30 pills a day. (For me) its just three," Carter said.
Getting tested for the virus that causes AIDS was the thrust of World Aids Day, but there weren't many people getting tested. In years past, the event would draw 30 or so to get tested, on average, said Lora Branch, director of STD/HIV Prevention and Care Program.
She expected a similar turnout this year.
Advocates push for wider HIV/AIDS testing to stem rise of disease in Black community
by Leslie Jones McCloud
December 2, 2005
Going to the Chicago Cultural Center Yates Gallery Exhibit Hall on World Aids day was like entering into a different world.
There, people either knew their HIV status or were being gently pressured by friends to go get tested, or were getting tested. They weren't shy, nor did they find the subject matter too distasteful to discuss over hors d'oeuvres.
Either attendees were openly gay or still debating the issue, advocates for the cause or affected by it.
Some had friends who died during the 1990s (when gay men, mostly white, were still dying in droves from AIDS) and had changed their outlook on life or they had plenty of friends who still embraced a carefree lifestyle and all of its pitfalls.
It didn't seem to matter.
Hundreds of people poured inside the Yates Gallery Thursday. Vendors stopped handing out leaflets long enough for the entire room to fall silent in honor of those who had died from the disease.
People gathered to hear the various speakers and singers, to network and chitchat, but mostly, they were there to get tested for the virus that causes AIDS.
Phyllis Rogers, 43, arrived with her female friend, who did not want to be identified.
Rogers said she gets a yearly HIV test usually from her doctor but this year decided to utilize the OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV1/2 Antibody Test that was offered at Yates Gallery. The test requires a swab of the cheek, Chicago Department of Public Health Operations Manager for Outreach Mobile Services, Yvonne Cruz said.
Because there are so many sexually transmitted diseases on the horizon, Rogers said she gets tested regularly.
Share your thoughts on this story on the ChicagoDefender.com message board.
"I've been divorced six years. I haven't been very sexually active since, but I have had two sex partners since my divorce. I have had unprotected sex with both," she said.
The first incident of unprotected sex happened because she and her sex partner didn't discuss safe sex.
"I'm ashamed to say we didn't discuss it. I panicked afterwards," she said.
Since then, she decided to get tested regularly. She said the condom came off during sex with her second sex partner.
"I panicked again. Since I get tested anyway, I decided to come here instead of my doctor," Rogers said.
She wasn't aware of the differing privacy levels when it comes to HIV/AIDS results reporting. Rogers and her 29-year-old friend said they were told results would be used for statistical purposes.
"I'm old school. This did not exist in my late teens, early 20s. It scares me," she said.
Roger's friend said she was certain her test result would be negative-and it was.
"I protect myself the majority of the time and my partner and I talk about safe sex," she said.
The Yates testing site was one of several sponsored by organizers at the Greater West Side Development Corp. and U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-7th). Gospel Shout Out, a free gospel concert held at John Marshall Metro High School to wrap up World Aids Day, featured more than just music, said Beverley Donley, executive director of Greater West Side Development Corp. Executive Director.
Statistics from the CDPH state that women of color and non-Hispanic Blacks are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and account for nearly 90 percent of all HIV infections in adolescent and adult women in Chicago between 2003-2004. Statistics also show heterosexual contact and injection drug use is the two main ways in which adolescent and adult women are currently being infected with HIV.
Davis and guest speakers like Dr. Lisa Henry-Reid, chairwoman of Adolescent and Adult Medicine at Stroger Hospital of Cook County, provided information about HIV/AIDS during concert intermissions.
Davis said his interest in HIV/AIDS education is a continuation of a life long effort.
"I'm an older person and have been working in the health area for 30 years - health prevention and awareness - long before I ran for public office," he said.
Davis said he plans to tell the audience that they should do all they can to stop the increase of HIV/AIDS infections.
"They can do that by abstaining from sex - in one way and practicing safe sex - in another way. Using protective devices like condoms and shields and other things and knowing the history - as much as they can - of their sex partners. That is what people really need to do," he said.
Davis said people should stop complaining about what the government and other institutions lack but take responsibility for his or her own health and the health of others.
"We can save lives and the life that we save may be our own," he said.
Henry-Reid said half of all new HIV infections in the U.S. are in the 14 to 24 year-old group.
"Kids are sexually active during the middle adolescent years 14-17 they are capable of having sex and getting pregnant but they (have a health education knowledge deficit). They feel invincible and that nothing will happen. Parents play a big role in preparing them for peer pressure they will encounter," Henry-Reid said.
Although she agrees with abstinence education, she feels it is sometimes an unrealistic curriculum. She said many 15 and 16-year-olds have had sex already. During the course of her day, Henry-Reid often interacts with youth and plans to tell audience members to stay safe. In her position, she gets to see many health trends.
"It's just a mishmash. We have a big problem with adolescent girls dating men and if the girl says that, 'it didn't happen,' the police have no recourse," she said.
World Aids Day participant, Leedale Carter, 39, said he found out he was HIV positive in the 1990s from his partner. The saying, "your partner's past can affect your future," became a reality for him.
"Unfortunately, my partner didn't know he was positive and I became infected by him during our relationship. It didn't upset me," he said.
His partner only found out he was positive because of a toothache. A dental office he frequented had been trying to contact him for two years to tell him he may be infected with HIV.
"When he went in for the toothache that is when they let him know. I'm grateful he told me. I was prepared for what my results were and we are still friends," Carter said. Currently, Carter said he is in a relationship with an HIV negative partner.
His main concern about being infected with HIV was that he would have to take lots of medicine. He started out taking five pills a day.
"It's getting better. We are living longer and making great strides with the medication. No longer do you have to take 20 or 30 pills a day. (For me) its just three," Carter said.
Getting tested for the virus that causes AIDS was the thrust of World Aids Day, but there weren't many people getting tested. In years past, the event would draw 30 or so to get tested, on average, said Lora Branch, director of STD/HIV Prevention and Care Program.
She expected a similar turnout this year.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
www.OpticsPlanet.com
My mom won't leave the house without her Ray Ban shades. Even after she got Transition lenses on her new glasses, she still liked to wear the sunglasses. She has had quite a few pair of shades over the years.
I found this site called www.OpticsPlanet.com. The site has thousands of the best binoculars, telescopes, flashlights and sunglasses. They have a Gift Guide
where you can see what the Best sellers are and choose from there. If you are wondering
Why buy from OpticsPlanet just look at some of your loved one's Christmas lists. Children go through a phase where they want binoculars (believe me, I know. If you like, you can check out the OpticsPlanet Blog to find out more about what to tell Santa to bring the kids--or maybe you.
I found this site called www.OpticsPlanet.com. The site has thousands of the best binoculars, telescopes, flashlights and sunglasses. They have a Gift Guide
where you can see what the Best sellers are and choose from there. If you are wondering
Why buy from OpticsPlanet just look at some of your loved one's Christmas lists. Children go through a phase where they want binoculars (believe me, I know. If you like, you can check out the OpticsPlanet Blog to find out more about what to tell Santa to bring the kids--or maybe you.
Tight and cuttin'
The only thing I like about the way kids dress these days is the looseness of the clothing. I graduated high school in 1984. Clothing was to be worn tight. Remember designer jeans? How tight were your jeans ladies? We were all a lot thinner back then and a lot younger and maybe a tad bit more foolish.
Well, I grew up slow and hadn't heard of wearing tight jeans with no undies until Brooke Shields did it on a commercial.
Lawd Have Mercy.
Every young girl had blue denim painted onto her ass and hips. Some were cutting inbetwix and between with the seam causing boils but the pants got tighter. They even had a style of jeans called half n' halfs. The pants were like the Chic style with no pockets and peg-legged with slits on either bottom side. The zip went from the front of the jean all the way down between the leg and to the back. They could be zipped apart so ladies had to be careful to Brazilian the area.
Thank heavens for spandex in denim. I had a pair of Gloria Vanderbilts in the llth grade me and Mom caught on sale at Venture. Even then I was too fat for all of that tight.
Well, I grew up slow and hadn't heard of wearing tight jeans with no undies until Brooke Shields did it on a commercial.
Lawd Have Mercy.
Every young girl had blue denim painted onto her ass and hips. Some were cutting inbetwix and between with the seam causing boils but the pants got tighter. They even had a style of jeans called half n' halfs. The pants were like the Chic style with no pockets and peg-legged with slits on either bottom side. The zip went from the front of the jean all the way down between the leg and to the back. They could be zipped apart so ladies had to be careful to Brazilian the area.
Thank heavens for spandex in denim. I had a pair of Gloria Vanderbilts in the llth grade me and Mom caught on sale at Venture. Even then I was too fat for all of that tight.
Massage anyone?
Have you ever come home and at the end of your day, sit and
think how great it would be to have one of those fancy Massage
Chairs you see in stores and on television in your home?
Have you ever tried to schedule time away to go to the spa instead?
We all know to go to the spa would inconvenient or you don't have time.
Here is the answer. Get the Human Torch 7450 Zero Gravity
Massage Chair.
There are four precise techniques that imitate those used by
massage professionals. It uses percussion, rolling,
compression, and kneading. The experience combines the
sensations of hands rapidly tapping on the back, gentle
rolling, alternating strokes and relieving spinal pressure, and
kneading to work out knots and ease soreness.
The HT 7450 Zero Gravity Massage Chair calibrates the body
frame of the person sitting in it and adjusts according to
that man or woman's unique physique, so each massage in the HT
7450 is perfectly focused on the right areas of the body.
think how great it would be to have one of those fancy Massage
Chairs you see in stores and on television in your home?
Have you ever tried to schedule time away to go to the spa instead?
We all know to go to the spa would inconvenient or you don't have time.
Here is the answer. Get the Human Torch 7450 Zero Gravity
Massage Chair.
There are four precise techniques that imitate those used by
massage professionals. It uses percussion, rolling,
compression, and kneading. The experience combines the
sensations of hands rapidly tapping on the back, gentle
rolling, alternating strokes and relieving spinal pressure, and
kneading to work out knots and ease soreness.
The HT 7450 Zero Gravity Massage Chair calibrates the body
frame of the person sitting in it and adjusts according to
that man or woman's unique physique, so each massage in the HT
7450 is perfectly focused on the right areas of the body.
Count Your Steps when Stepping
The difference between someone who actually knows how to perform Chicago style stepping and a person who is only shuffling his or her feet is noticable and great.
I learned the basic 5-6-1 count and it works perfectly to any stepping music fast or slow.
Steppin' Dance Videos and DVDs
"Steppin' is not just a dance, it's the music, the moves, the clothes, the mood. Chicago Style Steppin' is composed of 10% technique and 90% style," writes the creator of Chicago Style Stepping Instructional video.
Now, this is not a sponsored post. This is a public service announcement. People who dance with folks who can't dance but always on the dancefloor are thanking me right now. Those of you who have danced with me at the 3 G's are laughing and thinking, 'wow does she have a lot of nerve!'
I learned the basic 5-6-1 count and it works perfectly to any stepping music fast or slow.
Steppin' Dance Videos and DVDs
"Steppin' is not just a dance, it's the music, the moves, the clothes, the mood. Chicago Style Steppin' is composed of 10% technique and 90% style," writes the creator of Chicago Style Stepping Instructional video.
Now, this is not a sponsored post. This is a public service announcement. People who dance with folks who can't dance but always on the dancefloor are thanking me right now. Those of you who have danced with me at the 3 G's are laughing and thinking, 'wow does she have a lot of nerve!'
Depp at his best: Sweeney Todd
Remember when Joe/Donnie in the movie Donnie Brasco had to explain the nuances of "Forgettaboutit?" I like the old school Budweiser can on his head and the relaxed way he segued into his ongoing problem with Lefty. It's a part of undercover work audiences don't get to even imagine about. He knew that Lefty would get blamed for letting in a mole and get whacked. Depp's character was torn. I also like in the movie Blow where Johnny plays the character of George and he found out he got screwed out of his connections and the big drug deal and Deigo admits he stole the connections in Cali. I mean what did George think he was doing and who did he think he was going to tell? I thought George was going to get whacked right there because Deigo was high on coke and had all of his crew laughing at him. Danggone coke freaks. I liked that movie but all of the drug and drug use highlighted the more disgusting but I guess necessary segments of our society. Depp is always so believable in his roles so I guess I couldn't separate the character from the actor. You just wanted him to turn it around. I wanted him to be the good guy. Maybe that is why I liked Donnie Brasco.
For those of you who are not familiar with Donnie Brasco, Depp played an undercover FBI agent who infiltrated the mob but in doing that developed very close relationships with the mobsters--the movie basically outlined the pitfalls of undercover work. The emotion Johnny Depp showed in that role made what would have been another mob movie meaningful. It gave a whole new depth to the movie. That is why it will always be a classic.
Depp's newest role as Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, is his darkest role ever! It is about Benjamin Barker who is unjustly imprisoned but later comes back to town as Sweeney Todd the barber and begins his killing spree in revenge to what happened to him, his wife and child.
The movie is scheduled to be released December 21 and is rated R for bloody violence. Imagine what Sweeney Todd is going to do with that straight edge razor!
Visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace or visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site for movie trailers, times, movie listings and more of the backstory.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
I bought some whole cinnamon a while back
I looked up at the sky today and although I have never been to Wyoming or Montana the sky over my city was big and blanketed with white cotton-like clouds. It was like the whole cotton--the kind you have to tear apart to use--real cotton. I felt nice for a moment, just looking at the sky and feeling good. I'd like to feel that way most of the time instead of just moments out of a string of bad to worse days or simple ambivalence.
It seems sometimes the ambivalence is there only to break up the mostly sucky days and nights that have become my existence. Then again, maybe it's just winter doldrums. Heaven knows it's dark at four-thirty. Somebody ought to help me because I don't have the strength to help myself. I'm going to stop combing my hair until things get better for me. We'll see what happens then. (I really can't shake this cold!)
It seems sometimes the ambivalence is there only to break up the mostly sucky days and nights that have become my existence. Then again, maybe it's just winter doldrums. Heaven knows it's dark at four-thirty. Somebody ought to help me because I don't have the strength to help myself. I'm going to stop combing my hair until things get better for me. We'll see what happens then. (I really can't shake this cold!)
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Trusted Tours and Attractions
It's wintertime in the Midwest so that means some of us are getting the itch to go someplace sunny, bright and warm.
Trusted Tours and Attractions offers discounted tickets to the best sightseeing tours in Key West, San Diego and Savannah. Travelers get to see attractions like the San Diego Zoo to city-wide excursions on their famous Old Town Trolley tours. Whatever you taste Trusted Tours is the source for great activities for your winter getaway.
If I had my druthers, I'd go to Key West, Florida. I've always wanted to visit the land of Hemmingway. I remember one summer in college I spent it reading all of the Hemmingway greats. This man made me want to go to Key West. He wrote about Spain too in the Bullfighter but I wanted to go to Key West. It seemed as if the fresh sea salted air inspired him to write. Since that summer of reading, I always said I would go there. Also since that summer of reading I have been to Florida several times but never got to drive all the down A1A (which turns into Federal Highway or Hwy 1 somehow) All of that lovely coastline and sunshine to enjoy in a convertable along with my favorite friends. What a lovely time indeed.
As far as tours there is the Shipwreck Historeum Museum of Key West, the Conch Tour Train Key West, the Old Town Trolley Tour of Key West and the Key West Aquarium. There are many more to choose from but those would be some of the first tours I would take.
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