When I was a young boy, perhaps 11 or 12 years old, I was hiking in the local woods with my friends.
The old discontinued rail line spur from East Brady was unused, and we used to ride the dirt access road from it to the nearby community of Sarah Furnace.
There, at that “town” were the aunts and uncles of Deano and Dan (my neighbors). And the highway would loop down though the woods to this dead-end of a isolated town. Very beautiful but truly isolated.
Not much going on. You could sleep in the middle of the highway and never see a car at all.
But we were playing there. Near the river, in the woods.
And there in the wood was a stream.
And so we played in the stream. It was just a small moving splash of water over some stones and whatever. Some moss, but most of the water was running fine, and the woods encroached on the stream with all sorts of vegetation nearby.
There was a huge tree, perhaps an oak or chestnut, that had fallen and collapsed over the stream, and we were playing on it. We were pretending that the tree was a spaceship and we were role playing the characters of the television show “Star Trek”.
Oh, for certain, we must of played about on that tree for a good forty five minutes or so, when one of the boys looked down in the stream and saw the remains of a long dead racoon.
It was just a bunch of bones on the fragments of a racoon pelt, with all the bones exposed and washed clean.
Now, being boys we started to play with the bones, and my friends (Deano and Dan) got the bones dislodged and put them in a old box that they found and took it to their father. Of course, they were putting the bones int heir mouth and what not.
I myself was curious but most certainly didn’t want to touch the bones at all. Saying that they were filthy.
And I was right.
But when the father saw that, he got furious and immediately took the two boys to the hospital where they got rabies shots. I didn’t. Of course. I didn’t want to have anything to do with the dead bones of a wild animal.
But their father was a medic in the Vietnam war and wasn’t taking any chances and for two months the two boys got the painful weekly Rabies injections just to play it safe. And when my father asked me what I did with the bones I told him that it was ugly and dirty and I didn’t want anything to do with it, and so he listened to me and I didn’t get the injections.
Boyhood. 1960s style.
Riding bicycles to small railroad villages in the Pennsylvania woods. This one was “Sarah Furnace” which was a small cluster of hills near an old smelting furnace on the river. Quietest downtown ever. With only five remaining families living in the town.
Not a great story for today. But, you know, I did want to share a memory with you all. There isn’t much left of the town of Sarah Furnace. It might look big, but it’s only a single state highway and overgrown grasses around many old abandoned buildings.
Tale of MM boyhood. I hope you enjoy it.
Today…
Saving Sarah Furnace: Sheetz to preserve important part of Claysburg area history
SPROUL — Sheetz is taking steps to preserve an important part of Claysburg area history.
The company plans to renovate the historic buildings on the Sarah Furnace property at the intersection of Dunnings Highway and Quarry Road in Sproul.
Many of the buildings, which were originally used for an iron-making operation, are about 190 years old.
“We have been waiting for years for someone to do renovations to the Sarah Furnace property, and Sheetz is actually going to do it now. It is a very large undertaking, and only a great company like Sheetz has that financial capability,” said Rich Allison, historian and founder of Claysburg PAST History group and one of the founders of Claysburg Education Foundation. “It was the very first industrial site in the township employing people other than farming. The iron-making operations of central Pennsylvania all were highly successful in the early 1800s until the beginning of the steel industry around the 1850s. We are so grateful that this property will be saved and renovated.”
“As a company, we have always kept an eye on the Sarah Furnace property. It’s such a historic and important landmark for our area that happens to be located in close proximity to our campus in Claysburg. We want to ensure that through our renovations the significance of this property is not lost upon the people of the Claysburg area,” said Sheetz spokesman Nick Ruffner.
Sheetz’s initial plans include the 1832 Shoenberger Mansion and a historic barn located on the property. The company purchased the property from Harbison Walker International in 2020.
In 1832, Dr. Peter Shoenberger, who was the iron-making king of Pennsylvania and possibly the United States at the time, built an iron-making furnace near Sproul, on the road that now leads to the Sheetz complex at the Walter Industrial Park.
Sarah Furnace closed in 1881 and was dismantled, Allison said.
Shoenberger also built the mansion located at the corner of Dunnings Highway and Quarry Road. Throughout the 21-room mansion were fireplaces made with black marble imported from Greece — a showcase of a mansion at the time. A kiln was constructed in the yard to manufacture the bricks for the house since transporting them would have been very difficult at the time.
The barn was built to house 54 mules for transporting iron ore from Ore Hill to Sproul, Allison said.
Sheetz’s initial plans for the Sarah Furnace property in Sproul call for renovating the 1832 Shoenberger Mansion and historic barn. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
Doug Hileman and his family were the last to live in the mansion, moving out in 2016 when he retired.
“I lived there for 39 years until I retired. I called Sheetz and told them, ‘You better buy it.’ It was a great building. My kids grew up there. It was a beautiful home with so much history. After Harbison Walker bought it, it was not maintained as well as it should have been,” said Hileman, who was plant manager at Sproul. “I am tickled to death with what Sheetz is doing. I told them I would help them in any way I could.”
Sheetz eventually plans to renovate all of the buildings located on the Sarah Furnace property, including the Ironmaster’s House, located adjacent to the Shoenberger Mansion, along with other adjacent buildings, Ruffner said.
“These buildings have many stories to tell from a historical standpoint. Dr. Shoenberger and the site certainly has a lot of history, but we’re so grateful that Sheetz is preserving that history,” Allison said.
Architectural work for the project is being handled by Matthew Millan Architects Inc., a firm with a long history of conducting restorations on historic buildings.
Permitting at the Sarah Furnace site is expected to start this summer, with building design wrapping up in fall 2023. Construction work is expected to begin in late spring 2024, Ruffner said.
It’s Official: Europe Not Invited to U.S. – Russia Talks on Ukraine
The USA has announced that the Europeans will not be present at the upcoming peace talks concerning Ukraine.
A meeting between the Americans and Russians in Saudi Arabia, likely at the end of THIS month, has now been confirmed.
The fact that Europeans are being deliberately kept OUT of this meeting, by the United States, has caused horrified reactions in Europe; so much so, that there seems to be an actual Hissy-Fit taking place!
They simply do not understand why they are being sidelined, and seem totally unaware of their actual role in NATO and in the world.
Your trusted servant, Hal Turner, wants to help Europe understand. So, Europe . . . . Here is your role:
NATO military spending is about $1.3 TRILLION. Of that, the United States spends $811 BILLION. That puts the U.S. spending at about Sixty-Six percent (66%) of NATO.
There are presently thirty-two (32) Member states in NATO, yet one — the United States — provides 66% of the defense spending. One country out of 32 countries provides two-thirds of NATO military spending.
Ergo, that one country, gets to decide who does or does not attend.
Need further help, Europe? OK. Here:
The chart above shows how much the United States has to spend on Defense, in order to provide protection for itself and all those little NATO member countries.
Given this reality, it is quite clear that the United States is the absolute sole, essential, country and as such, the United States decides who does what.
Now, maybe the Europeans thought that they were “equals” in NATO. Harsh reality proves otherwise.
THAT is why Europe cannot attend the US-Russia meeting.
It is the US that will be called upon most – and worst – if the Russia-Ukraine conflict spreads. And the so-called “leaders” of many of those little countries in Europe, seem to by psychiatrically delusional in their approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
For instance, the tiny countries of the United Kingdom and Estonia have the absolute most militant attitude and approach to the situation between Russia and Ukraine. You would think, from the things they say, that they are powerful. Reality shows otherwise.
The United States Army has about 1.1 Million troops. The British Army has a whopping . . . . . . seventy-seven thousand (77,000) troops. The British Army can’t even fill-up Wembley Stadium in London! Estonia has six-thousand (6,000) troops. Radio City music hall in New York City holds more people than the Estonian Army has in it.
What, exactly, do the British and the Estonians think their armies could possibly do against the Russian Army?
Realistically, both countries could do precisely nothing. Yet, for some reason, both countries think THEY should be at the US-Russia Negotiations??????
No.
If there was going to be an actual war in Europe between Russia and “NATO” it would actually be between the United States and Russia. NATO just doesn’t have enough weight to do anything meaningful.
As such, there is no reason whatsoever to include our NATO vassals in the discussions with Russia, about Ukraine.
Europe may not like this reality, but it is the reality nonetheless.
Besides, it has been Europe that pushed and pushed and pushed the Russia-Ukraine situation and actually CAUSED the war. Why would the United States suffer allowing those very people sabotaging peace talks so they can push more?
Why America Can’t Stop Trade with China
Outstanding video that explains REALITY which differs from the media narrative.
Why do some people think that the US Navy is collapsing and has been surpassed by the Chinese Navy? But the US has more aircraft carriers, destroyers, nuclear submarines, and more budget.
How do you think War between US and China would go?
US Navy will move near Coastal China and unleash a barrage of missiles on China and China will whimper and make a deal?
This ain’t 1841
China has enough missiles to pulverize every Ship 50 times over and decimate any Naval fleet that fires on the Chinese Coastline
You have 70,000 Missiles against 3,600 Missiles from the US
China won’t go to Coastal US and fire on Florida or Newport Beach or Maine either
Same result
The US Navy is near OBSOLETE
The Houthis are able to give them headaches every single day
Imagine 1,000 Drones armed with explosives flying over your Navy
Each costing $ 30,000 a piece
Even if 10% make a connection, your losses amount to $ 500 Million
Seventeen times more than the Chinese spend
And they can churn out 12 Drones for every one of yours at a fourth of the cost
The day of the US Navy or any Global Navy is over
Today a Navy protects your coastline which the Chinese Navy does. It’s Zone of Operations is South China Sea, Sea of Japan, Korean Peninsula and the Arctic
It has a limited presence even in the Indian Ocean or Oceania Pacific (Australia)
The US Navy has 70% of it’s fleet that is superfluous and unnecessary to defend the US because nobody is gonna attack the US
ACCs are sitting ducks too
This is a new era of warfare
Automation, Robots, Drones, Swarms, Missiles are the In thing
Aircraft, ACCs, Destroyers are no longer of any use for anything beyond Territorial Defense
Feminists Have Started to Notice That Men Are Suffering
How does China keep its traditional culture alive and thriving in the modern world?
China employs several effective strategies to keep its traditional culture alive and thriving in the modern world:
First, education and incorporation into the school curriculum. Traditional Chinese culture is integrated into the national education system from primary to secondary and even higher education. For example, students learn classical Chinese literature, such as the works of Confucius, Mencius, and ancient poets like Li Bai and Du Fu. They study calligraphy, practicing different styles of writing characters, which helps them understand the aesthetic and cultural connotations behind this unique art form. In history classes, they explore the long history of China, including the development of traditional festivals, folk customs, and historical events that have shaped the cultural identity.
Besides, schools also organize a wide variety of extracurricular activities related to traditional culture. There are traditional Chinese painting clubs, where students can learn the techniques of ink wash painting and express their creativity. Many schools hold Chinese opera performances or invite professional opera actors to give lectures and demonstrations, introducing students to the different roles, singing styles, and storylines of this ancient performing art.
Second, Cultural Heritage Protection and Restoration. China has been vigorously protecting its numerous historical sites. For instance, the Forbidden City in Beijing, which was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties, undergoes continuous restoration and maintenance work. Advanced conservation techniques are used to preserve its architecture, paintings, and cultural relics inside. It is now not only a world-renowned tourist attraction but also a vivid showcase of traditional Chinese architecture and imperial culture. The Great Wall, too, has sections that are regularly repaired and maintained to ensure its long-term survival while allowing people to experience its grandeur and historical significance.
There are many efforts to safeguard intangible cultural heritage items. For example, traditional handicrafts like Suzhou embroidery, which involves intricate stitching to create beautiful and vivid patterns on silk fabrics, are passed down through master-apprentice systems. The government provides support to these inheritors, including financial subsidies and platforms for them to display and sell their works, ensuring that these skills don’t disappear in the modern era. Similarly, traditional folk music, dances, and storytelling traditions are documented, taught in communities, and performed at various cultural festivals.
Third, Promotion through Media and the Arts. There has been a proliferation of TV shows and films that showcase traditional Chinese culture. Historical dramas like “Empresses in the Palace” vividly depict the life and etiquette in the imperial court of the Qing Dynasty, introducing audiences to traditional clothing styles, court rituals, and hierarchical systems. Animated films such as “Ne Zha” draw inspiration from Chinese mythology, presenting traditional stories in a modern and visually appealing way to a wide audience, including children, and sparking their interest in ancient tales and cultural values.
Contemporary Chinese writers often incorporate elements of traditional culture into their works. Some novels explore themes from ancient history or reimagine classic stories, making them relevant and accessible to modern readers. Online platforms also play a significant role. There are numerous cultural blogs, video channels, and social media accounts dedicated to explaining traditional cultural knowledge, like the meaning and origin of Chinese festivals, the making of traditional snacks, or the stories behind traditional architecture, reaching a large number of people both in China and around the world.
Fourth, Revitalization in Daily Life and Festivals. Traditional Chinese festivals are celebrated with great enthusiasm. During the Spring Festival, families gather together to have reunion dinners, paste Spring Festival couplets (poetic phrases written on red paper) on doors, and set off firecrackers (in some areas where it’s permitted). The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for people to admire the full moon, eat mooncakes, and share the stories of Chang’e and the Jade Rabbit. These festivals not only maintain cultural traditions but also strengthen family and social bonds, passing down cultural values from generation to generation.
Traditional cultural elements are increasingly integrated into modern life. For example, many modern interior design styles incorporate traditional Chinese furniture or decorative elements like Chinese porcelain vases, folding screens with traditional paintings, or wooden carvings. Fashion designers also draw inspiration from traditional Chinese clothing, creating modern apparel that combines traditional patterns and modern silhouettes, making traditional culture more visible and fashionable in daily life.
Private Equity’s Ruthless Takeover Of The Last Affordable Housing In America
I do not buy Chinese products (unless disposable) because I know they will be low quality. Why does China only seem to make low end products? Why do they not mimic Germany where the standard is higher?
My Chinese partner was at a street market somewhere in England, alongside his boss and a few colleagues.
He stopped and looked at some products. The boss turned to him and said: “Why would you buy that cheap Chinese crap?”
My partner, who was quite offended by the remark and rightfully so, responded: “Because it’s cheap, and because it’s all you guys keep importing. I’ll get the good stuff when I go home over the holidays.”
The thing is, people in China enjoy luxury goods. Often at a higher quality and lower cost than we do in Europe. Chinese products aren’t “cheap”, it’s just that their quality stuff is not sold over here. At least not to a great extent.
On a side note, my (European) parents used to live in China. We’d always ask them to buy stuff for us that would be cheaper there than here. And, the other way around, they’d buy some stuff when they were back here that they couldn’t get at a decent quality back in China.
So, you might be right that “Made in China”, in general, equals low quality if you buy cheap stuff in Europe. But there’s a million Chinese brands you haven’t even heard of, and some are of superior quality. You might be surprised if you started shopping outside the low cost markets 😊
Second side note: quality stuff in China costs roughly as much there as non-Chinese quality stuff costs here. That’s likely why we don’t import those things. We don’t need their quality brands because we have our own, same as they don’t need ours because they have their own equal or superior products.
The answer to your question is that they do make high end products, you just don’t see them unless you move there.
Predators (2010) : Why don’t you tell them the truth ? She knows what it is !
How awful was Steve Jobs as a person?
A friend of mine told a story about how, 25-some years ago, when she was working tech sales with an Apple division, she was at a conference that Steve Jobs also attended. At the end of the day, everyone was going to a restaurant for dinner, and through a snafu she found herself left with Jobs and two other people, whose ride had left them behind.
None of them had a car, so she offered to drive. Problem was, she and her husband were fresh out of school, her husband had started law school and money was tight — she was driving her husband’s old beater car that day. The front passenger seat was a little wonky, in that it tended not to lock in place, and the seat would occasionally slide forward and backwards of its own accord. Of course, that’s where Jobs was sitting. 🙂 It was dark and rainy, she didn’t know the roads that well, and they came up to a toll booth. She didn’t have the exact change, so everyone in the car was scrambling to find the change to get through the toll gate. The defroster didn’t work too well, either, especially with a full car, and Jobs would obligingly wipe the windshield occasionally. They arrived safely, and she figured she had a funny cocktail party story for the rest of her life.
A couple of weeks later, she noticed an extra $300 in her paycheck. She went to her boss and said, “Hey, what happened? Did I get a raise?” He didn’t know, either, but he checked with payroll. He came back with a funny look on his face and told her “Steve said it’s to cover a payment for a new car.” “Steve who?” “Uhh . . . Jobs?”
Brilliant people are frequently difficult — the thing that makes them brilliant also makes them a little too different, sometimes, for social conventions.
Somebody’s Watching Me
Submitted into Contest #115 in response to: Write a story where a device goes haywire.… view prompt
Tanya Humphreys
Fiona said, “I do, but they just come in from other numbers.”
Penny said, “If you keep frowning like that, you’ll get forehead wrinkles.”
When Fiona didn’t respond, Penny asked, “What is it?”
It says, “If you do not stab Joseph Hurley in the throat, your brother will be in a terrible car accident.”
“WHAAAT?! That’s crazy! It must be Bobby messing with you again. Who’s Joseph Hurley?”
“My neighbor. He’s like, 80-something. Nice as pie.” Fiona said. Her healthy glow had turned the color of sour milk.
Penny shook her friend’s arm in an attempt to bring her back to reality, “Hey, forget about it, it’s just a stupid prank.”
Fiona said, “Yeah, you’re right. It has to be, right?”
Penny, still holding Fiona’s arm, pulled her in the direction of the neighboring store. “C’mon! Express is your fav! Then Chipotle for lunch!”
Fiona stuffed her new phone into the snug pocket and let herself be pulled down the mall.
***
Far from the Northfair Shopping Mall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Josephine Parker ran in the middle of a rural road in Shelby, Montana. The middle was fine, very few vehicles travelled the rutted, nearly forsaken country road and that’s why she liked it. It was just paved enough to be safe and joined up with her own road in a two-mile-long loop. Ralphie, her Labradoodle, ran a little ahead, or a little behind, depending on the odors du jour. He was a big, bouncy, dirty-cream colored cross breed with soft, feminine curly hair-fur. When it grew longer, she teased him, calling him, ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy.’ Joe’s short red ponytail bobbed side to side like a pendulum.
As she cleared the last shady copse of trees, her pop-rock playlist was interrupted by an unfamiliar ringtone. Annoyed, she slowed to a fast walk and plucked the phone from the arm holster she wore on her left. ‘What the…?’ she thought. Although she didn’t know the name of the song, or who sang it, she recognized it as one currently accompanying an insurance company ad on tv. The company ran the Halloween-themed ad every October. It was catchy but not catchy enough for her to add it to her iTunes. Too eighties.
Ralphie trotted on ahead until he realized his human had stopped.
The screen said, ‘Scam Likely’ and ‘I always feel like, somebody’s watching me…’ played twice more, then cut off. Joe put the phone back in its holder and quickened her pace.
‘Honk-honk’. Her text alert. ‘Whatever,’ She thought. ‘It can wait.’
She went in through her back kitchen door, usually left unlocked in the day. Ralphie stayed out on the porch, sloppily gulping from his water dish. He’d use the doggy door when he was ready to come inside.
Joe guzzled a third of a cool Smart Water, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then carried the bottle with her to the bathroom. She turned on the shower, and while waiting for it to get hot, she unfastened the phone holster and set it on the towel shelf by the shower. Then she peeled off the rest of her sweat soaked clothing.
After showering, she started dinner for her and her husband, Peter, who was due home from work any minute.
At five-fifteen, she poured herself a glass of chardonnay and glanced at the clock on the stove again. ‘Odd’ she thought, ‘He always texts me if he’s gonna be late.’ Then she remembered she’d left her phone in the bathroom upstairs.
She sighed, ‘Yup, there’s his text. Not too late though. Cool.’ She smiled. Peter was a nerd. She’d married a ‘nice guy’ instead of one like her earlier mistakes, the ‘bad boys.’ At twenty-nine, she finally grew up, and wizened up in the process. He always texted when he was running late. He always garnished the texts with heart-y emojis, turning them into love notes. She smiled.
When she closed his text, she saw the one she’d forgotten. She opened it. “If you do not stab Annie Stubins in the throat, Ralphie will die a horrible death.”
Annie was the fourteen-year-old girl who dog sat Ralphie when her and Peter went somewhere dogs weren’t welcome. “This is stupid.” She said aloud and deleted it, then she said to herself, ‘Must be someone playing a joke. Well, joke’s on them. They got the wrong number.’
Ralphie started barking. Excitedly, not menacingly. Peter was home.
***
Fiona waited with Penny outside on the porch of Jesse’s house. The party was winding down, but the hip-hop was still loud enough to be heard down the block. Bobby was coming to pick them up, so they’d be back at Fiona’s in time for her 1 o’clock curfew
At five minutes to one, Fiona started fidgeting. “We’re going to be late.”
Penny reassured her bestie, “It won’t be your fault. It’ll be Bobby’s.”
Fiona only nodded. She had a bad feeling in her gut, it was clenched as tight as a rubber band ball.
At one-fifteen, she tried texting him. No response. When she tried calling, she was sent straight to voicemail. At one thirty, Jesse’s dad offered to drive the girls home. Grateful, they said yes.
Just before two am, Jessie’s Dad’s old model four runner pulled into Fiona’s driveway. Bobby’s car was not there. He never came home.
***
Joe brought the empty popcorn bowl into the kitchen and placed it by the sink. She heard the creepy music from the living room, the credits to the horror movie they’d watched were rolling. She looked out the kitchen window, across the yard, towards the woods.
Peter touched her waist gently and she jumped. He put his arms around her and said, “It’ll be okay. I’m sure he’ll show up. He’s a big dog. Let’s not worry yet.” As he tried to reassure his distraught wife, an escaped tear slid down his cheek.
***
The two teenage hackers in the shadowy room stared at the computer screen on the desk. Next to the computer was a blue mason jar, the kind with a rubber seal and metal wire latch. There was now 600 dollars in the fat turquoise jar. The month before, one pawn was caught in the act and sent to prison, the other committed suicide. That made the pot extra fat this month.
The man in black had paid the boys well, he was amused to see them placing bets and encouraged depraved behavior.
They were in Suki’s dark basement bedroom; the window was curtained heavily; the only light was the brand new 24-inch computer screen. The inky black devoured everything but their rapt boyish faces, and Suki’s hands as they tapped the keyboard.
Matthew slapped Suki’s shoulder and said, “Duuuude! I thought your girl was gonna crack and actually do it man!”
Suki replied, “I know, right? She’s such a twit. She’ll crack the next round for sure.”
“I don’t know…my chick’s back on her gnarly meds. Hey, wanna up the ante? Another hundred says the psycho chick offs herself.”
Wallets came out, the soft shushing of crispy bills, then the faint crump as they were crushed into the jar. Suki clamped the lid down with his thumb and winced. It didn’t throb much anymore; the slice had been no bigger than a deep paper cut, it must have gotten infected because it was still tender after over six months.
Matthew caught the wince. He remained silent but looked down at his own thumb, still encased in a black fabric Curaid. It had been six months since the pact with the man in black. He shuddered at the memory of the man’s sickly pallor, so pale was the skin stretched tight over his skull, it looked translucent. With blue veins at his temples, like rivers on a map. His tall, gaunt frame was clothed in tight black jeans, black jack boots, and a black fleece hoodie. From within the dark hood, he’d emitted a gravelly, whispery voice. Matthew recalled the painful icy sizzle when the man’s hand had touched his own, when he’d taken blood from his thumb.
“Hey, incoming.” Said Suki. His email program was open, one was highlighted. A slight tremor shivered through his hand, making his fingers flicker like butterfly wings. “Heh heh,” he nervously laughed as he opened the email.
Though Matthew peeked over his shoulder at the screen, Suki insisted on reading aloud. “Nice work, little hackers. What fine little demons you are. Here are your next messages…”
***
Fiona jumped. She felt faint as the dreaded first chorus line rang from her phone…’I always feel like, somebody’s watching me…’ This time it only rang once then went to text. ‘whooo-hoo’.
Penny said, “Nooooo!” She leaned over the bed and grabbed Fiona’s arm. They were in Fiona’s way-girly pink room, binge watching American Horror Story.
Both their eyes were wide, Fiona’s were filling with tears. She said, “I can’t.” She shook her hands in front of her, they were like nervous little wrens. She said, “040194. Justin Bieber’s birthday.”
Penny rolled her eyes and said, “Okay.” And reached for the glitter covered iPhone. After a minute she said, “Oh wow. Now it says you have to put an ax in Sue-Ann Marshall’s head, or your mom gets hit by a bus.”
“Sue-Ann? But she’s so nice. She’s in two of my classes and I’ve known her since third grade. Oh Pen-pen, what am I going to do?”
***
“I think she’ll do it!” Exclaimed Matthew. “Did you see her face? She’s cracking!”
On the computer screen was the girl’s pink bedroom. Suki hit the ex in the corner and the image was replaced by a screen divided into four views: bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. He doubled tapped the living room scene and it filled the screen.
He picked up his cell phone and sent the message to Josephine’s phone.
***
In the Parker’s living room, the old pop song sang tinnily. The couple were watching tv on the couch, on the coffee table before them, an iPhone pulsed with green light. Next to the phone was a box of Kleenex and a little pile of wadded, damp tissues. Before the phone rang a second time, Joe snatched it up, hit the red button and screamed, “Where’s my dog!? What have—”
The song cut off, the text alert sounded immediately, ‘Honk-honk’.
Peter studied his wife’s face. Her pretty features were contorted into a mural of fury, frustration, and incredulity. He asked, “What’s it say?”
Joe relayed the message, “If you do not put an ax in Harold Marsten’s head, Peter gets decapitated.” She looked up into her soul mate’s face with frightened owl eyes.
Peter said, “Harold? Little Harry? He’s only ten!”
“He’s a little shit…” Joe muttered under her breath.
“Joe! You’re not—”
“—No, no. I’d never! I couldn’t…”
***
Suki said, “Did you see that? She’s gonna do it.”
Matthew said, “Duuude. I’ll bet she does it on Halloween.”
Suki said, “I’ll take that bet. That’s tomorrow.”
***
In a cavernous dwelling, hidden from the world by a veil of unearthly conjuring, sat a thin, lanky figure stooped over an iPad sized computer screen. He wore a shimmering black silk robe, with the hood pulled over his head. His white beak of a nose protruded from it like the spadix of a cala lily. His bony shoulders shook as he snickered, the sound like an asthmatic cat expelling a furball. The room was lit by brass wall sconces against red velvet wallpaper, the Victorian furnishings were dark mahogany, and as knobby as the man.
On his nine-inch screen, Josephine Parker said, “—No, no. I’d never! I couldn’t…”
Out loud, the man in black hissed, “Ah but you could.”
He pulled a bowl across the table closer to him, reached into it with fingers like bare, stretched bones, and plucked out a few kernels of popcorn.
***
Fiona dressed as Marie Antoinette, Penny had done a fabulous job of her makeup and fake slashed throat. Penny herself, had worn all sexy black and done her make-up Día de los Muertos style like she did every year. Half her face was regular makeup, half was white with stick-on sequins and black ‘stitching’. She wanted to be a professional make-up artist when she grew up.
The girls climbed the front steps of the school. Halloween themed music streamed through the open doors to the gymnasium. The song the DJ was spinning was Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Penny said, “Ugh. This song is so old. This dance is gonna be totally lame.”
Fiona said, “Maybe, but we don’t have to stay long.”
“Why’d you want to come here anyways?”
“Jesse’s party won’t get going until after ten—”
Penny sucked air harshly and cut Fiona off, “—You’re going to do it!”
Fiona dragged her eyes away from the girl dressed like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Her outfit was complete with a little stuffed dog in a basket.
“Fiona!” shrieked Penny. She stepped in front of Fiona, cutting off her view of Sue-Ann Marshall in the blue gingham pinafore.
“Penny. They took my brother. I can’t lose my mom too. I’ve got to.”
“I get it. In your shoes, I’d do the same. I’ll help you. Let’s just do it and get it over with.”
“I love you Penny. You’re a true sister. Check this out.” Fiona lifted her long, puffy skirt. She had a belt slung low on her hips; Penny saw it was her Gucci fanny pack. Stuck into the belt was a hatchet, the steel flashed crimson briefly, reflecting the flashing red lights around the dancefloor.
“She’s heading to the bathroom! C’mon.” said Fiona. “I’ll follow her in, you stand watch outside.”
***
In the darkness of the basement room, both the boys said, “WOAHHHH! She did it!!!”
Matthew grabbed for the jar, but Suki said, “Hang on! The night’s not over. It could be a tie. How cool would that be? Giant pot next month!”
Matthew said, “I bet Josephine would do it on Halloween. But your girl did it first. If Miz Parker comes through tonight it’ll be a tie anyways.”
Suki minimized the Fiona screen and popped up the Josephine one.
The camera showed a sparkling clean, brightly lit kitchen. As Joe was re-filling the candy bowl, the doorbell bing-bonged.
“I’ll get it!” Called Joe from over her shoulder towards the living room.
The kitchen went dark as she exited it.
The camera in the living room ceiling came to life and followed her across the room, showing an above-her-head view. The room was dark, the eerie flickering light from the spooky movie on tv was the only illumination. The camera angle changed from overhead to her back as she reached the front door. The ax looked huge in her small hand.
She placed the candy on the little table by the narrow window and opened the door.
A miniature pirate stood on the stoop, grinning like a little fiend. It was just after ten, the street behind Harold was deserted. He was only out this late because he lived only three homes down.
“Trick or Treat!” he screamed and held his bulging pillowcase out and open. In the yellow porchlight, Joe was a ghastly silhuette as she raised the ax and brought it down in front of her. She hollered, “Trick!”
The ‘thunk’ was like a hammer hitting a large pumpkin. The small figure before her collapsed. She wasted no time and dragged the body inside where it was swallowed by darkness when the door slammed shut. Peter was waiting behind the door. He draped a blanket over the body.
***
“Holy shit dude! This was the best month ever! Who cares if it’s a tie?”
They high fived. The scene on the screen was too dim to make out anymore so Suki turned it off.
Matthew said, “I guess he’ll be in touch shortly. He’ll be pleased.”
***
“Did the light go off yet?” whispered Joe in the dark.
“Wait.” Peter whispered back.
The tiny red light in the ceiling fixture winked off. “There.” He said in a normal voice.
“Great job Harold!” Said Joe as she pulled the blanket off the boy.
He sat up. “That was fun!”
Peter opened his wallet and handed the kid a twenty.
***
Deep within the black hood, two eyes opened, sucking in light like a cat’s does. They glowed bright amber ringed in red. They were very, very angry.
The Fugitive (1993) – Dr. Kimble saves a little boy’s life at Cook County Hospital
What is the rudest thing another shopper has told you while waiting in line?
That I should go back to my own damned country. I’m American, I was born in Texas, raised in Iowa. When I get a tan I turn into a deep olive toned American.
My daughter, kindergarten at the time, and I were at the store and it was a long line so we were passing the time working on her colors and some simple words, in Spanish.
A woman behind me clearly did not appreciate my efforts in raising a bilingual child and went about getting huffier and huffier that I was teaching her bad habits and that this is America and she should speak American. Generally, I agree with her, this is America and speaking the language is rather important, however I also feel that there is no harm in knowing a second language and since I only speak the two (American and Spanish; I hate calling it English for some reason, I don’t know why because technically anyone one north, central or south America is American if you think about it, we should be called United Stateseans or something like that…) anywhoo….
So, yes, this woman yelled at me for teaching my five year old daughter how to speak Spanish…
I went on to have a conversation with the cashier (that I knew personally) about the woman in ASL. That really pissed her off. She knew we were talking about her.
Is there any strong evidence that China will not and has no chance of surpassing America to be become a rising economic power? Additionally are most people skeptic of China’s chance of making it and whether they will?
The US is declining so fast, that China does not need to do anything to surpass it. So the enemy of the US is itself, not China.
- The abuse of the US sanctions, causing the US to lose its USD hegemony.
- The US unable to print more money as it has been, with uncontrollable national debt will cause the never ending inflation in the US.
- The Americans/political parties keep electing idiots like Biden/Trump as the POTUS. Without a good leader like Xi, the problems will only get worse.
- The US inciting conflicts around the world, which helps the MIC, but creating more enemies. Without the ability to print more money, its military will be forced reduction to cut costs.
Without sanctions and technology monopoly, the US is unable to hurt China’s economy. Starting a war with China would be fatal as the US is too broke to keep the warfare longer than a year, and China has nukes and Russia as a military ally.
Pineapple Brown Sugar Ham
This is one of my favorite ways to prepare a spiral ham. It is SO delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 pre-cooked spiral ham, bone-in or boneless, either will work
- 3 1/2 cups brown sugar, divided use
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 (20 ounce) can pineapple tidbits, undrained*
Instructions
- Cover the bottom of a large slow cooker with 2 cups brown sugar.
- Place ham on top of the brown sugar, opening the slices slightly with your fingers.
- Evenly pour the honey over the ham.
- Add the pineapple around the sides (with the juice) and some on top.
- Top with the remaining 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, making sure it is evenly distributed over the entire top of the ham.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
Notes
* I chop these up a little more if they are large.
Although Europe accounts for three percent of global battery cell production, it aims to take 25 percent of the market by the end of the decade. What steps should Europe take to achieve that goal?
No one can stop you from aiming.
it’s not impossible to take 25% market share by the end of the decade but it’s not an easy target as current market leaders are not sitting idle.
There are many ways to achieve that goal. Being pissed off with the American bully factor, I suggest to Europe should look to Africa and S. America. It’s not that Europe has no technological capabilities but their snobbery hinders their advancement.
Europe has to find their own steps as they move along. Standing up to the US will have ramifications but it’s time Europe faces it head on and move on with fear.
Groundhog Day Clip | I Am A God | Full Scene | Bill Murray
Supergiant Goooooooooold Deposit!
It is reported that geologists have detected over 40 gold veins, with a reserve of 300 tonnes of gold, within a depth of 2,000 meters in central China’s Hunan Province.
The site’s gold reserve within the depth of 3,000 meters is further estimated at over 1,000 tonnes, valued at 600 billion yuan (about 83 billion U.S. dollars).
A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing
Submitted into Contest #145 in response to: Write about a character who wakes up in someone else’s clothes — or utterly weird apparel they don’t recognize as their own.… view prompt
Graham Kinross
I woke up with a headache that could crack a god’s skull. It panged for the pure blackness of deep space. Dusty floorboards kissed my cheek as I grumbled to my feet. Dancing in the air, particles of dust were keeping the party going. Throbbing agony pulsed with the beat of my heart. The ache extended far beyond the confines of my head into the air beyond.
Curtains that didn’t deserve the name were letting in most of the sun from outside despite being drawn. I gave them a middle finger to let the bastards know what I thought of them.
It wasn’t my home. I was sure of little, but I was sure of that. The familiar scent of grass was absent.
I’d been drinking the night before. And presumably some of the morning. A look at my phone might answer some questions. I patted my pockets. They were closer to the rest of me than usual. I’d clearly had too many wheatgrass shots. No phone.
Glasses? Where had I put my glasses?
The living room where I’d woken was minimalist. Posters of mountain ranges and the moon clung feebly to tape that had become emotionally attached to the wall. Someone was going to lose their deposit when that didn’t come off.
Where had I been? The bar called Ram Ewe? A vague memory of two guys headbutting each other flickered with the indecision of a streetlight in a dodgy neighbourhood.
Jessie lay in his own drool in the hallway. A sheet shrunk away from me as he turned. Only a collar and a sheet? I didn’t need to see that. Tail wagging as his lip curved with a smile. I guessed that someone in his dream was scratching behind his ear.
A bathroom towel pouring from the tiles of its home onto the carpet of the hall assured me I didn’t have to worry about making a mess.
My stomach grumbled as I staggered. I didn’t know what my tummy was saying and for that reason it kept talking, nagging at me. Running water made me think of the stream at the bottom of the garden.
Scents of cooking meat tickled my nose. It should have turned my stomach, not turned it on. That’s what you need, it said. Eat that.
I splashed the running water on my face and let it drip down my snout. Instead of dripping down my overbite into my mouth it fell with a splash into the sink. I felt my face. My hoof was too dextrous. My eyes confirmed it wasn’t cloven or hoofish. It was a paw. I had an underbite.
“What the fuck?” I murmured.
An image in the mirror looked up just as I did.
A reflection of a wolf.
I fell back, slipping on toilet roll and banging into the toilet. The seat slapped the porcelain with a clang.
Jessie barked in the hallway. Scrabbling sounds said he was disgracing the poor bedsheet further to cover himself.
“You alright in there?” The voice was female, vulpine and warm. Warm the way a predator’s heart is warm as it chases down prey through the fields. Warm like the trickle of sweat down your back as you run for your life.
“I’m fine,” I growled through teeth that were triangular instead of rectangular. It was wrong. It was all wrong.
“I’m making breakfast,” said the voice from the kitchen. “You must be ravenous after last night. I know I am.”
My paw, that should have been a hoof, opened the bathroom door. She tilted her head. Grey ears twitched. A wet black nose twitched.
“You smell like grass. Did you roll out of my bed through a field?” Her unnaturally round pupils focused on me. My heart began to beat a drumroll. “Never had it like that before. Was it your first time?” A smile that would have been reassuring if it wasn’t attached to the animals who eat my kind showed the bottom of a few teeth.
“First time yeah,” I nodded. I was trying hard not to wet myself.
“Aww. You’re a changed man now. There’s nothing like the first time.”
I’ve definitely changed.
“Where am I?” Asked Jessie, rubbing his head.
“Shouldn’t a sheepdog know that?” Asked the she wolf.
“I’d like to know where I am as well,” I said, sheepishly. “And what I did last night.”
“The answer to question two is not what, but who, me.” She pointed to herself, looking hurt. Perhaps insulted was a better word. I felt like I was about to be the only one who was hurting. “You’re in Lunaburg.”
“I went drinking with my buddy Barry,” said Jessie. “Then I was with you. Now I’m here.” He winced. “I’m sure I was wearing clothes for most of it.” He stood with a long protrusion from the sheet at the back.
“It’s me, Jessie,” I said to my friend. He was one of those friends who was a friend to everyone but not close friends with anyone. He went to all the parties. He knew sheep, foxes and apparently wolves. He got in trouble and had wild stories, corroborated by wildly blurry photos on his beleaguered phone. “I’m still Barry, despite whatever happened last night.”
“Barry,” snorted the she wolf. “Sounds like a sheep’s name to me.”
“I get told that a lot,” I said. Mostly by sheep who think it’s an excellent name.
“Barry?” Jessie asked. “Barry Ra-”
“Ready to go, yeah.” I cut him off before he could tell her my name was Ramstein. It was a sheep’s name without a doubt. “Thank you for the offer of breakfast,” I hesitated, not knowing her name.
“Blevine,” she said. Her hackles were up. Every impulse I had was telling me to run. Another opposing set of impulses were telling me to bite and rut with her.
“Wonderful to lose my virginity to you, and know you, in that order, I guess. I need to go. I’ve lost my phone.” And my body. “I really think me, and Jessie, need to find our things and work out what happened last night.”
“I don’t suppose you have any clothes?” Jessie asked. He used his friendly voice. It was the voice that had people calling him a good boy and rubbing his belly.
“No,” said Blevine. Her steely eyes sent a signal to my legs to shake. My feet sent a signal to my bladder that it was time to relax a bit. My bladder agreed, sending an ambassador downhill.
“Did you just piss yourself?” Blevine asked, throwing up her paws.
“A little bit,” I winced.
“This isn’t your territory, get out.” She pointed to the door. “Urgh, boys.”
“Clothes?” Jessie asked, his puppy dog eyes pleaded. His unwilling toga begged for mercy.
“Out!”
We were shuffled out into a hallway that stank of urine. In my new body I knew too much from the smell of those markings. I knew what the neighbours had been eating, drinking. Too much.
I’m a sheep.
“I’m naked,” moaned Jessie.
“You’re wearing a sheet,” I said.
“But it’s just a sheet and I’ve lost my phone and my wallet.”
I grabbed him by the scruff and growled in his face. “Who cares? You can get all of that back. I’m a sheep. At least I was. I’ve lost my body Jessie. What do I do about that? I’ve lost my body and my memory.” We padded down the staircase from Blevine’s flat.
“And your virginity.” He gave me a thumbs up. “And your phone, and clothes,” said the party animal. “And you’re covered in piss.” He opened a door into the street.
“That’s not helpful.”
“It was a night to remember though,” he smiled.
“BUT I DON’T REMEMBER,” I yelled. My voice was a growl that would have scared my whole flock to death. I scared myself.
“Memory’s a bit woolly, is it?” He smiled the same smile everyone has when they’ve just told a shit pun.
I punched him. It felt good. I had a newborn lust for violence. “What do I do? I just had sex with a wolf. What if she gets pregnant? Would the kid be half wolf, half sheep? What would you even call that?”
“A weep?” Jessie rubbed his chest where I’d thumped him. His tail had sagged between his legs. “Maybe you’re just dreaming.” He shrugged. “Have you tried pinching yourself.”
“When I dream, I count family members,” I said. “This isn’t a dream or a nightmare.”
“How can you be sure?” Asked the sheepdog.
“Because I would have woken up by now in a cold sweat.”
“I usually wake up in cold drool,” he scratched behind his ears, tongue lolling. “Come on. You can come to my place until we get this sorted out.”
“Really?”
“Sure. Come-bye.”
“Thank you.”
“Ewe are welcome,” he said.
“Good boy.” I patted his head. The tail emerged from the back of the toga, wagging.
My 4-year-old child complains that she is afraid of her teacher. Her teacher seems to be nice. What could be the problem?
A child does not have the power to be manipulative the way an adult does. Listen to your child- there is a reason.
When I was six, my sister and I went to a classmate’s house every day after school as his mother was our babysitter. She was a cruel woman. Firstly, she never fed us or our classmate/her son. Coming from a full day of school, we were hungry. Instead, she kept us outside in below freezing temperature and only brought us inside right before we were to be picked up. She neglected all of us, and only minded her infant daughter, whom she adored. Of course there was the abusive language she used towards us, especially to her son.
The parts of the house that weren’t visible from the front door was as if a tornado had gone through it – especially their attic which was full of mice and God knows what. However, there would be times where we would be so hungry that the three of us would sneak up to the attic and rummage through the junk and rat poo because we would occasionally find an old Hershey’s Kiss on the floor from when she stuck a bag of them up there.
She would also try to pit us against each other Lord of the Flies style; after not being fed for hours, my sister did something that inadvertently got her angry. She then gave her son and I 5 Goldfish crackers and none for my sister. She told her that she doesn’t get to eat because she was bad. I was so hungry that I really wanted to eat my 5 measly crackers but I couldn’t let my sister starve so I gave her two of them in secret.
source: Sandytoesandpopsicles.com
Anyway, her demeanour completely changed whenever my mother came to pick us up. She became very sweet, she told her how we were such good girls, and how we had such a good time, gave us each a nice hug etc. My sister and I noticed how bogus she was being but we didn’t think to say anything to our mom about it. We figured that it was just the way it was but we would just say privately to each other that at least we got to go home whereas our classmate had to live there.
After almost the entire school year, my mom picked us up one day as per usual, thinking everything was fine. My sister then casually asked my mom, out of sheer curiosity and nothing more, “Mommy, how come Kathryn is so nice to us when you’re there but when you’re not there, she’s so mean to us?” My mom then slammed the car breaks and said, “what? What do you mean?” We then explained to her exactly what had been going on, and we could see her turning red and the rage building up in her eyes. You have to understand, my mom is the sweetest, most patient and kindest lady, very polite and soft spoken.
The next day, she picked us up after school and brought us to Kathryn’s house – Kathryn opened the door, smiling and being fake nice as usual- until my mom explained politely that we were not returning to her house after school anymore. Kathryn’s face changed, she lost her temper and started swearing at my mother. Basically she became how she always was when my mother wasn’t around. It was a funny sight seeing this woman go ape-shit on my mom because my mom is such a calm presence that the woman really just looked like a foolish monkey hopping around in her doorway 🤣
Moral of the story is, if your young child is afraid of a certain adult, even if that adult seems nice, please listen to your child.
Groundhog Day: So, No Flapjacks? (Bill Murray Scene)
“This Looks So M16-Ish To Me”: Russian Special Forces Receive New Main Battle Rifle
Russian special forces, commonly known as “Spetsnaz,” are set to receive a newly designed main battle rifle that closely resembles the German Heckler & Koch 417 automatic assault rifle.
The Russian media outlet TASS News Agency reports that the new semi-automatic rifle is chambered in .308 caliber, described as “lighter than analogs” and offering “high precision.”
Named Titan, the rifle is reportedly “already engaged in the zone of the Ukrainian operation,” according to a media outlet citing the Russian arms company SWC.
“Semiautomatic Titan rifle of .308 caliber has been designed for Russian special task units. It can be used as a sniper or assault rifle. Experts say the new universal rifle has good characteristics and is in demand among scouts and commandos,” SWC stated.
SWC added, “The .308 caliber cartridge is powerful and reliable. Russia produces it in various options, including armor-piercing. Therefore, the rifle is popular among the Russian military.”
In October, the Russian media outlet Sputnik reported that the Russian Army received a new sniper rifle, the STM-308, to replace the Dragunov platform.
Earlier this year, the US Army began fielding its brand-new Next Generation Squad Weapon rifles: the Sig Sauer XM7, intended to replace the M4 carbine in close combat formations, and the XM250, which will replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.
The X account Defense Politics Asia commented on the Titan, stating that it “looks so M16-ish to me.“
.
China does not play
Liu Liange, former chairman of the Bank of China, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting “extremely large” bribes amounting to 121 million yuan ($16.7 million),
“Tyranny in communist China!”
After all
In the western world banksters who are the captains of industry and HEROES!
In the great USA, banksters sit at the top of the pyramid and never go to prison and are domestic HEROES!
Shorpy
Are we in an era where the USA is no longer the only superpower, but with Russia and China now, we’re in the era of a multipolar world?
You mean you haven’t figured that out yet? USA is no longer the Hegemon, and China proves there doesn’t even have to be one. We CAN all get along and improve the world without fighting for who is top dog in the pack.
J35 Stealth Fighter, Zhuhai Airshow and US China Competition
What is one secret that you have kept from your child until now?
We initially fostered long term 3 children . All siblings aged almost 5 , 6 and 7½. We loved them from the moment they arrived and wanted them to know that they’d had their last move and they were family forever and so we adopted them.
Here they are a year later about 5 6 and 8.
We were quite old when we did this as we were both aged 51 at the time. To try to stop them worrying about losing their mum again we took a few years off my wife’s age. I stayed the same as I didn’t seem so important!
They never did do the maths and never wondered how our grown up son was only about 16 years younger than his mum or how I would have been 25 at the time.
When my wife and I were coming to our 60th birthdays we owned up and confessed. By this time it didn’t matter and they just accepted it and the reason for our deception. They were completely at ease and happy in their immediate and extended family.
My offer is this: Nothing” | The Godfather Part II | CLIP
The Trials of Ralph of Hairstow-on-Stretford
Submitted into Contest #145 in response to: Write about a character who wakes up in someone else’s clothes — or utterly weird apparel they don’t recognize as their own.… view prompt
Michał Przywara
“Hey mate!” I say. “Quite a night, innit?”
I think he says “yes” but it kind of sounds like a huff. I take a closer look at him, which isn’t easy what with being stuck in this thing, and I see he has his boots and his hose. And his tunic. And he’s not been tarred nor feathered!
“Hey! Why didn’t they tar and feather you?”
“You don’t get tarred and feathered for disturbing the peace.”
“Well then why’d they do it to me!?”
“They didn’t,” he says. And I swear there’s a little smirk on his smug turnip.
“Well then who did?”
“’Twas I.” Yes, definitely a smirk.
“What!?” The cheek on this one. “Why? What did I ever do to you?”
His smirk turns to a snarl. “Because, you wanker, you hit on my wife! Right in front of everyone. The bloody nerve of it.”
I remember – vaguely. Loud singing in good company, a roaring fire keeping the spring chill at bay, and ceaseless beer for endless cheer. Ah, yes, and there she is. She sways in on voluptuous hips, Aphrodite risen from the waves. Her bosom a sunkiss’d mountain, bouncing with each delicate step like… um… a very large bosom indeed. We spent the peerless eve in quiet consultation, discussing poetics and the beautifuller things in life.
Not at all like that spindly reed, Gemma. Though fair is fair, I’ll grant she’s a mighty lass what with chopping all that firewood.
“Well forgive me,” I say. “But what man can resist such beauty? And anyway, is that a reason to tar and feather a body?”
“Truth be told, I’d have been satisfied giving you a thrashing. But you started a riot and fled before we got our hands on you. The tarring was for running. And for the sheep.”
I choke on my breath. “The what?”
“The sheep. Why do you think the reeve was so keen on getting you into the pillory this morning?”
Oh sweet Lord above, what!? I don’t remember a thing.
“Gave them a righteous fright,” he continues. “We found you coddling Beth when we finally tracked you down. Half way across town. All the other sheep gone, scattered into the hills.” He tsks. “And the hell you raised! Bloody near woke everyone.”
My memories are a blur, but something’s coming back. I remember jumping a fence. An old woman yelling. There was a dog that spoke to me, and I crossed a field and–
“–Ow!” I yell, as something strikes me across the arse. Children laugh.
“John-John,” says the other inmate. “Come here.” A pair of boys round the pillory from behind us. They look about ten and one of the rosy cheeked little shites is holding a big stick.
“Yes da?” says the boy.
“Go on home now and help your mama out.”
“Yes da,” he says. He looks forlornly at his stick, then drops it and runs off. His companion runs with him, but turns around and throws a half-eaten apple at me. I close my eyes to shield myself from the worst of it, except the worst of it hits me in the gooseberries.
“Best get used to that,” the man says. “The folk here love a good pillory. It’ll get real fun when the market opens.”
“Great.” I feel sick. I can’t believe I’m thinking it, but maybe I have drunk too much. Lord, if Gemma saw me now I’d never hear the end of it. “Look mate, I want to, erm, apologize. You know, if I’ve done you any harm and all.”
He grunts. “Tell it to the Good Lord above.”
“No, I mean it. I’ve not been well. Things haven’t been… they’ve not been well at home. With my own wife.”
“Please stop talking, Ralph.”
“She’s turned so cold, so cold. Like a fish. Like the heart of winter, only she has no heart. Her whole wretched family is like that. All of them, born on the wrong side of the river. Bloody fish-people. You know what I mean.”
His face gets red.
“And money’s been tight! Isn’t it always, friend, isn’t it always.”
“I do just fine.” His teeth are clenched.
“And all this talk of war has me so worried. Is it true? Is the king fighting the Huns?”
He grunts. “The Huns? Are you daft? There’s not been a Hun for centuries. What next? The Romans?”
“The French then, whatever. Can you blame a man, with all this upheaval about?”
He rolls his eyes.
“Oh!” I say, just realizing where I’ve seen him before. “You’re Osbert, aren’t you? The barkeep?”
“Right.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Osbert.”
“We’ve met before, you dolt.”
“Right,” I say. “Yesterday. Only my memory’s not too great.”
“Yesterday nothing, Ralph! Dozens of times. Last time just in the autumn when your fourth was born.” He looks at me as though he expects something but I have no idea what it might be. I don’t know why people are always doing that. Maybe there’s something going round. “For the sake of the Lord, Ralph! I’m Gemma’s cousin!”
“Oh!” Right. That’s where I’ve seen Osbert before. Right.
We stand in silence for a while, because that’s how pillories work. Well, I’m silent anyway, trying to will my skin to stop crawling. Osbert keeps muttering under his breath. Seems like he’s mad about something.
Every passing breeze gives me goose bumps but the blighted pine tar gunks it all up and makes everything feel off. It’s like my skin’s crawling over and under itself, and it reminds me of Gemma descaling fish. That’s nice of her ’cause I don’t like scales, it’s just a shame she goes on to ruin the rest of the fish too. On the bright side, the feathers are pretty warm. Not as nice as my hose and tunic, but it could be worse. Actually, they might be better than my clothes.
That’s when it hits me. Osbert is Gemma’s cousin. Cousin Osbert. Right, I’d come to town for a reason.
“Osbert!”
“What is it now!?” he snaps.
“Osbert, old chum, listen. As I said, things are a little tight at home. Me and Gem were wondering, could you spot us a loan?”
He turns to me, as much as he’s able in the pillory. His eyes are wide and his jaw hangs slack. “A loan? How absolutely shameless! Not a shred of it! No I will not give you a loan, you reprobate.”
“Please?”
“You haven’t even paid me for all the beer and food you pissed away yesterday!”
“Well, I’ll pay you when I get the loan.”
Osbert starts laughing, big heaving guffaws.
Well that’s just great. Wait till Gemma hears about this. Her cousin is an absolute boor and won’t even come to the aid of his family. And for all he knows, we’re dying! A Hun if ever I saw one. I tell you, men in Hairstow-on-Stretford don’t behave like that.
Nevertheless, I’m here on a mission. I need to try to sway his wicked heart. “If you’d have come to me for money–”
He just laughs louder.
It takes him a good while to settle down, and if I’m honest, I’m starting to find this whole pillory thing demeaning. But finally I hear the church bells ring, and our time is up. I cheer.
“What are you so happy about?” Osbert says.
“The bells, Osbert! We’re free now. Let’s go grab a beer and talk about that loan.”
Again he stares at me. He mumbles something, sounds like “Blessed are the simple,” but I have no idea why. Then he says, “That’s just Terce, Ralph. We’re here till Vespers. Well after sunset.”
People start filing into the market, which was empty a moment before, and the noise of them fills the air. “Terce also marks the opening of the market,” he adds.
“Bloody hell!”
It’s going to be a long day. I miss Gemma.
Will Smith Becomes a Men in Black | Men in Black
Lithuania’s Regret
Lithuania’s new Prime Minister Palutskas
Lithuania, a small Eastern European country with a population of less than 2 million and a GDP of only US$70 billion, has been provoking us on the Taiwan issue at the instigation of the United States. Even if China downgrades the relationship between the two countries to that of an agent, they still stubbornly clamor that it is their right to interact with Taiwan and China has no right to interfere.
Now, three years have passed and the Lithuanian government has entered a new term. Palutskas, the Social Democratic Party’s prime ministerial candidate who won the parliamentary election, said in an interview that he hopes that Lithuania’s relations with China can be normalized. He admitted that Lithuania’s original permission for the Taiwan authorities to establish the so-called “Taiwan Representative Office” was a “major diplomatic mistake.”
China’s other countries punishment, First we sanction other countries is either to stop selling our products to them. For example, during the Diaoyu Islands crisis between China and Japan, we suspended the supply of rare earths to Japan, which made Japanese chemical companies very uncomfortable. Or Second stop their product being sold in China. A few years ago, when Australia was in the midst of anti-China sentiment, China raised tariffs on their wine, leading to a massive oversupply crisis in the country’s wine industry.
But Lithuania is different. This country has a very small size in international trade, and its trade structure is not very complementary to that of China. At that time, the total trade volume between the two neutral countries was less than 2.3 billion US dollars. This loss could be completely offset by the United States and Europe through anti-China.
Lithuanian Minister of Economy and Innovation
It is no wonder that Lithuania’s then Minister of Economy and Innovation, Amonait, said he was not afraid of Chinese sanctions. However, just as Lithuania was dancing happily, a report from Reuters made them feel disappointed.
It is said that China has asked multinational corporations to choose between cutting ties with Lithuanian companies or being excluded from the Chinese market.
Some people say that China’s expansion of sanctions is imitating the long-arm jurisdiction of the United States. I would like to refute that although it is step copying the US method, there are vastly different in nature. The original intention of the United States’ long-arm jurisdiction is to maintain hegemony, and China’s expansion of sanctions is to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The logic of the former is that even if the development of other countries is reasonable, as long as it touches the interests of the United States, it will attack you, which is naked aggression. The logic of ours is that if you invade me, I will fight back. This is called active defense.
In 2021, Lithuania’s GDP was only approximately US$55 billion, with exports of 33.1 billion, mostly in the form of parts or raw materials, such as machinery and equipment, metal processing, chemicals, wood, plastics, automotive equipment, etc.
Lithuania is a country of typical upstream country in the foreign trade pillar supply chain.
Although Lithuania does not export much directly to China, the multinational corporations that buy from it, that is, its customers, have very close trade relations with China.
This trade takes two forms.
The first is that Lithuania sells its products to a multinational company, which then uses them to produce other supporting products and sells them to China.
Among the chemicals exported from Lithuania is polyacetal, which is used in the production of gears, pipe parts, bearings and fan blades, Lithuania can be considered a first-tier supplier to the Chinese automobile market.
The other type is multinational companies that have no connection with China in the upstream and downstream of the supply chain, but do business with Lithuania and also have a large amount of trade with China.
For example, there is a company in Lithuania called TPSC, which specializes in steel and metal milling and metal machining.
Its downstream partners:
Like Sweden’s Saab Heavy Industries, Volvo Heavy Truck, Germany’s Siemens, Mercedes-Benz, and France Alstom. They all have large amounts of fixed assets and businesses in China, and their value often starts at tens of billions of dollars.
China requires multinational companies to choose one of two options: either cut off ties with Lithuanian companies or cut off ties with the Chinese market. It seems to be a multiple-choice question, but in fact it is a compulsory question.
Because the former is a small workshop worth only a few hundred million dollars that can find alternatives at any time, while the latter is a supermarket that contributes trillions of dollars to the market every year and has an ever-growing consumption potential.
Any company with a normal mind knows how to answer this question.
Germany Continental AG, the world’s top auto parts manufacturer, which has door and seat controller production lines in Lithuania. After China introduced sanctions, Continental AG transferred production capacity from Lithuania to other factories overnight.
Immediately afterwards, some multinational companies in the Netherlands and France issued warnings to their Lithuanian partner companies, saying that they might terminate their procurement contracts with Lithuania in 2022.
Since Lithuania’s partners basically all have trade relations with China, once the situation develops to the point where multinational companies collectively terminate cooperation with Lithuania, Lithuania will be equivalent to being kicked out of the global supply chain.
As a country whose exports account for 60% of its GDP, I need not tell you how dire the outcome will be if it is eliminated from globalization. So when the news of expanding sanctions spread, Chinese netizens were stunned.
They thought our country was too powerful. The effect of our sanction :
Data shows that after being sanctioned, Lithuania’s exports plummeted by 80% and imports fell by 40%, causing serious impact on its domestic industry, agriculture and services.
In less than a year, the country incurred an additional debt of $47 billion, 1,300 companies went bankrupt and 60,000 workers were laid off.
This is the first time that China has imposed all-round sanctions on other countries after more than 40 years of integration into the globalized system.
IMO big part of the reason for this is that China has learned the lessons from the collapse of the Soviet Union. When Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union, Moscow negotiated for eleven months and sent troops, but to no avail. The two sides were deadlocked until February 4, 1991. The United States, unable to bear it any longer, asked Iceland to recognize Lithuania’s independence to test the Soviet Union’s bottom line.
However, the cowardly Gorbachev did not take firm and strong countermeasures because he was afraid of damaging relations with Western countries and failing to get their support for the 500-day reform plan.
At the same time, it ordered the Soviet Union to stop its repressive actions. When the United States saw that the Soviet Union did not react, it quickly instigated more countries to recognize Lithuania’s independence, directly creating the fait accompli in international diplomacy that the Soviet Union had lost Lithuania!
Everyone should be clear about the final result. Lithuania’s substantive independence became the first territory and the first domino of the collapse of the Soviet Union. This marked the beginning of the disintegration of the Red Empire.
Then the United States will repeat on us the same tactics it used against the Soviet Union. If this trend continues, it will cause endless harm. This is why we must teach Lithuania a lesson and make it pay a heavy price.
Now, three years have passed, and there is no second Lithuania in Central and Eastern Europe, nor in the world.Even Lithuania began to reflect on its mistakes. This is what is called “strike the first blow to prevent a hundred blows”.
Iphone is dead in Chinese costumer eyes no matter what Tim Cook would do, even if he kneel down at Tian An Men Square. But He has to make Iphone in China to sell to the outside China market, oh the Irony.
Why Everyone Is Quitting The 40 Hour Work Week
Spicy Pepperoni and Capicola Stromboli
If you have a craving for classic Stromboli taste, look no further than your Air Fryer! To make delicious Stromboli at home, simply stuff store bought pizza dough with spicy capicola, Cabot Garlic and Dill Cheddar, Hot Pepper Spread, and then air fry! Serve slices with marinara.
Prep: 20 min | Cook: 12 min | Yield: 4 servings
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- Flour for dusting
- 1 (1 pound) ball pizza dough, cut in half
- 1/2 cup jarred hot pepper or “hoagie spread”
- 6 ounces Cabot Garlic and Dill Cheddar, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
- 2 ounces spicy capicola, sliced thin
- 2 ounces pepperoni, sliced thin
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 cup marinara sauce, warmed
Instructions
- Dust work surface with flour.
- Roll pizza dough into two flat rectangles, each roughly the size of a sheet of paper.
- Spread hot pepper spread over the dough, leaving about an inch along each side. Top with cheddar, capicola and pepperoni, dividing evenly and leaving a border around edge of dough.
- Roll up Stromboli, starting with narrow end, making a roll about 8-inches wide by 3 inches thick. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Brush oil over the rolls and sprinkle with garlic salt. Slash three small steam vents in the top of the Stromboli.
- Coat Air Fryer basket generously with cooking spray. Set one Stromboli in the bottom of the basket and set into the Air Fryer. Air fry at 350 degrees F for 11 to 12 minutes. Remove the Stromboli from the basket, and repeat air frying the second Stromboli roll.
- Remove the second Stromboli from the basket. If it sticks to the basket, release the screen from the bottom and run a butter knife along the bottom of the Stromboli to loosen it. Allow the Stromboli to cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving with the marinara sauce.
Predators – We Have A Real Problem [HD]
Would you rather live in a completely managed democracy or an actual dictatorship?
Meaningless labels tbh.
In that the UK calls itself a FULL democracy… yet doesn’t mean any criteria of democracy.
- There’s no fair and free elections.
- There’s no for the people.
- There’s no of the people either.
What people REALLY care about is material living standards. That’s something that affects you every single day multiple times per day.
Singapore is the poster child for this.
It has very high living standards, but no real democracy, no real right to protest, no real choices in their elections, massive censorship and considerable social restrictions.
You want this?
Media Today IGNORES Nuclear Threat! w/ Scott Ritter
What should you do when someone has taken your assigned seat and refuses to move on an airplane?
I was traveling Economy from London to Johannesburg a couple of years ago on Virgin and had barely taken my seat when someone turned up beside me telling me that I was in his seat and to move. I checked my boarding pass, and it soon became clear that we had both been assigned the same seat number. He was flying directly from London, whereas I’d been given my ticket as part of a booking which started in Dublin. I was still talking to this increasingly irate person, trying to figure out how to resolve the impasse, when ANOTHER person appeared, again telling me I was in his seat! Apparently he’d bought a standby ticket at the check-in desk, and guess what…
The two of them then began a heated argument over who had most right to take my seat, which brought a steward rushing down the aisle. I explained the confusion, and said that I was happy to move elsewhere if that helped to resolve things. I was calm and polite, as it clearly wasn’t the steward’s fault, but each of the other two guys kept demanding that he sort things out (in their favour). I repeated my willingness to move and he looked from me to the arguing couple, gave me a smile, and said, “That is very kind of you, sir. YOU will be flying on in First Class!” With this he retrieved my bag from the overhead locker and led me to the front of the plane – much to the shock and disgruntlement of the rude ‘gentlemen’ in the aisle – and I enjoyed silver service, a lie-flat bed and even a neck massage on our 12 hour flight to South Africa.
This isn’t the only time that remaining calm, polite and understanding when talking with a flight attendant or member of the check-in staff has resulted in an upgrade, or just a friendly response. Whatever the problem may be, it is worth remembering that is almost certainly not the fault of the flight crew, and they deserve both your respect and common courtesy.
Richard Wolff: Capitalists Have Never Been More Incompetent
The Garden of Beauty
Submitted into Contest #145 in response to: Write about a character who wakes up in someone else’s clothes — or utterly weird apparel they don’t recognize as their own.… view prompt
Hannah P. Simmons
I don’t remember moving towards him. When he speaks my name, it’s as if the music fades, and everything around me vanishes, only returning once I find myself in his arms.
His hands take command of me. One gently pressing against my own palm, the other gripping firmly across my back and pulling me till all I can see are his golden eyes. We move together like we have done so our whole lives. I’m not even truly aware of my feet touching the floor.
“Who… are you?” I finally ask.
He laughs, softly. “I don’t expect you would know me. But I know you.”
In that moment, my eyes leave him, and take in the grandeur once more. “Who are you?” I ask again. “Where is this place?”
“Shhh,” he chides me, releasing my hand to grip my chin and turn my face back to him. “So many questions. You’ll have your answers, after we dance.”
This time, I can’t look away. Instead, I find myself searching those amber eyes. Looking into them as if gazing down into a well. I drop a pebble, and it splashes in the center, sending ripples out to the edges, and I watch those ripples with childish fascination.
“Speak to me,” he says. “Tell me what thoughts I must compete with for your attention.”
My lips seem suddenly parched, and my words catch in my throat. “You’re…”
“Yes?” he prods, that smile still teasing across his lips.
“You’re so… beautiful. Everything here is… beautiful,” I manage.
“I surround myself with beauty,” he replies. “I love beautiful things, and I must have them.”
His words are pointed, and I feel my cheeks flushing. This seems to please him. “The beautiful things I find, I keep in my gardens.”
“How many gardens do you have?”
“Many. Enough to hold all the beautiful things in the world,” he assures me.
I bite my lip, uncertain of myself. “And… the ugly things?”
A coldness comes to his eyes. An almost cruel delight that frightens me. His iris widens til the golden band of color all but vanishes. “The ugly things, I burn.”
My breath quickens, and I allow the music to fill the silence between us a moment.
“H-how did I get here? Did you,” I’m scared to say it, but I do anyway. “Did you take me?”
“No, my sweet. I did not take you. You came to me.”
I came? How? How could I come here when I don’t even know where HERE is?
“Ah, ah, ah,” he shakes his head, bringing his face close to mine. “You’re letting the questions take away your attention again. And I won’t have that.”
He brings his lips to my ear, and nibbles on the lobe. When I gasp, he laughs again, a pleased, low growl. His lips move along my neck, and across my chest, teeth teasing my skin with sensations I’ve never felt. I hold my breath as he lifts his face to look at me.
“That’s better,” he remarks. “There is nothing else, right now. Only the dance, do you understand?”
I nod, and feel his hands tightening as we glide across the floor. Everything around me begins to blur, so that only his face remains.
His beautiful, cruel face.
When the bells begin to ring, I realize I have lost track of everything. Of time. Of place. Of myself. Perhaps it’s been minutes, perhaps it’s been years. I don’t know. But the bells break the music so that their deep, empty chime echoes through the night.
“The bells toll the end,” he tells me. “Now… you will remember.”
DONG
I was in my car. Driving to work? No… to the park. We were planting rose bushes today.
DONG
The road was wet. It had rained overnight.
DONG
Car. Next to me. Swerved. I went through the guardrail.
DONG
Lights. Sirens. The ambulance came.
DONG
But it was too late. I was… I was…
DONG
I am…
DONG
He pulls me closer, til my chest is against his. “That’s right, Valyrie. You’re mine now.”
DONG
I look at him with a new understanding. A new fear. “You’re…” I can’t force myself to say it.
DONG
“Don’t be afraid. You weren’t meant to be burned.”
DONG
His lips press to mine. Gently. Carefully. And I feel my breath being pulled from me.
DONG
My dress.
My lovely red dress.
It’s changing. The color is fading as though washed with days, no, with years of sunlight. Paler and paler, till no trace of its vibrant hue is left. Only shades of black. And white. And gray.
He is changing, too. His skin begins to melt away, like wax from a candle, evaporating with each chime. His perfect lips, and golden eyes, and raven locks, all fading away, till I find myself staring into empty sockets and white bone.
And his smile.
DONG
What is the rudest thing another shopper has told you while waiting in line?
I was at Safeway to pick up a prescription for my sick Daughter . She was crying uncontrollably! I was holding her and trying to comfort her . An older lady looked at me and said I should spank her for crying ! I had just gotten back from being in the Emergency Room with my child . She has an abscess on her tonsil you old bag of dirt ! That is why she is crying . I was so pissed off . She is lucky I held back . I seriously wanted to smack that old bitch in the face . Later as I was leaving to go to my car I noticed the old bag . She had locked her keys in the car ! Karma is also a bitch . No help from me .
Sponge Covers Stone Temple Pilots’ “Vasoline” in Howard Stern’s Studio
Bride price is a huge burden of young Chinese men who want to get married. Should it be abolished for good?
Yes, he is one of the bad customs of the feudal period, where the man’s family pays the bride price and the woman pays the dowry. Because in the past feudal period, the status of women was not as good as that of men today. Life is more in need of security.
Under the color revolution of false feminism, the bride price became a way for women to demand money from men, thus provoking social conflicts.
And call it
Post-marital security (i.e. only men will cheat and women will not cheat, or it is reasonable for women to cheat and men to cheat is unreasonable),
It is not easy for parents to raise a woman, and the woman needs to honor her parents (that is, the woman was raised by her parents, and the man was made out of thin air by her parents).
To prove that the man loves the woman, it is necessary for the man to have an attitude towards the relationship (it is impossible to prove the woman’s attitude towards the man’s feelings).
These logics shatter many men’s desire for love.
A more correct value is that both the man’s and the woman’s families do their best to help their children form a new family.
Rather than unilaterally extorting money from the man beyond the woman’s means.
With the development of science and technology, China is no longer like China in the past, which needs a large number of cheap labor, and the fertility rate will decline to a certain extent.
But the Western-backed color revolution exacerbated the decline in fertility and marriage. As a result, the government has encountered many difficulties in stimulating fertility.
Fallout 4 – Beginning scene
Taquitos
These are the best taquitos! I like to serve them with guacamole and sour cream for dipping. They’re certainly not traditional taquitos, but they are delicious.
Ingredients
- Pork, beef or chicken
- 1 can Mexican beer
- Garlic salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Cumin (comino), to taste
- 1 envelope onion soup mix
- 1 can or jar chile verde
- Corn tortillas
- Melted cheese for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except melted cheese to a slow cooker.
- Cook for 8 to 10 hours on LOW.
- Drain juice.
- Put filling on corn tortillas and roll up. Secure with a wooden pick.
- Fry until tortilla is crispy. Remove wooden pick to serve.
- Drizzle with melted cheese, if desired.
How long can China survive without us if we stop buying their products? How many countries are as dependent on China as we are?
Today is 2024/11/12.
I wonder if this question is generated by AI. Because I am puzzled how American, or westerners in general, still think China cannot survive without the West esp USA.
The narrative about China economic collapsed has been circulating around for 10 years. But China is still standing strong as of 2024.
At the beginning of 2024, IMF forecast China’s GDP growth is 5% while USA, 2% & Europe close to 0. Today in Nov, China is 4-something hoping to reach 5%.
How people still believe China will collapse is beyond description.
One word: ignorance. Dont read enough. Dont do thinking.
Another word: naive. Dont understand USA is afraid of losing global dominance to the rising China. Knowing it cannot compete with China, what is left for USA to do is to demonise China. But naive people dont understand geopolitics.
I hope this is an AI generated question. And not by ignorant or naive westerners.
What is the nastiest thing you’ve done for revenge?
My area has a problem with rampant porch pirates. So, I regularly save my prime shipping boxes to recycle as rubbish bins when it’s time to empty my cat box. I then seal them back up and leave them out on the porch and watch the “free garbage pickup” on our camera. I also post the pictures on social media so my friends and neighbors can also experience the joy of watching people get EXACTLY what they deserve. It never gets old watching some asshat sneak off all smugly with a box full of turds! 🤣🤣🤣
Edit:
It is hilarious to me how many people assume I can get into some sort of legal trouble for this. Our local police are fully aware of my actions! 🤣
Also, to address a couple of points I am repeatedly asked about this on quora and social media sites:
Yes, the majority of these decoy packages are located and properly disposed of after they are taken. (Not that they create any more rubbish than the packaging off someone’s stolen holiday gifts)
And no, I don’t feel the need to obscure my address from the packaging. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, my prank hinges on the packages looking new. Secondly, if one is stealing a package with the address label in tact, it would be hard to argue that “mail theft” was not the intended crime. And thirdly, I’m simply not worried about retribution from any of these idiots. To return for revenge would risk further exposure on film, more likelihood of arrest, and the possibility of meeting a deadly object if said intruder seems violent. Most people, even thieving lowlifes, have at least a basic sense of self preservation.
Atomic Bombings Opening Scene | Fallout 2024
What is the rudest thing another shopper has told you while waiting in line?
When my daughter was about three, she was a stickler about rules and manners. There was a supermarket near us with insanely good fried chicken made to order. People waited patiently on line for ages for that chicken. One day, as she and I waited, a women bumped into her and walked on. My daughter was outraged and loudly announced that this woman had bumped into her and not apologized. When she got no response, she began telling everyone on line.
Anyway, the woman yelled, “I don’t have to apologize to a baby!” You can imagine the reaction that got from my daughter. The rest of the people on line got a good laugh.
What is the rudest thing another shopper has told you while waiting in line?
It was the day before Thanksgiving. The grocery store was a mad house. I had grabbed some rolls and butter, and a few other things I had forgotten. I went to the self checkout line, as I only had a few items. The line probably had 10–12 people ahead of me. It was moving reasonably fast, all things considered. The lady in front of me was obviously frazzled and eager to rush home. When she finally got checked out, she grabbed her receipt and bags and ran towards the exit – leaving her purse behind on the checkout station. I quickly grabbed the purse, laid my items down and ran after her. I finally caught her in the parking lot and she was so thankful she started crying. I ran back inside to find everyone else in line just as shocked as I was, most people said things like, “that was very nice of you!”, or “I hope there’s someone like you around if I ever forgot my purse!”. I would do it again in a heart beat. One old hag towards the back piped up, “If that dumb b#$ch can’t remember her purse, why should we all have to suffer and wait?!, I would’ve taken it!” Keep in mind, from the time I ran out after her to the time I got back must have been less than two minutes. I was appalled and didn’t know how to respond. Maybe I was just raised differently.
What is a Tiki Bar?
Jessica Ellis
Updated: May 23, 2024
A tiki bar is an island-themed bar and restaurant that specializes in complicated fruit cocktails. They are generally decorated extravagantly with tropical décor, including island flowers and plants, surfboards and tiki carvings. Modern tiki bars often try to not only create an island look, but also make it appear vintage mid-20th century, when the style first became popular.
The original tiki bar is believed to be Don the Beachcomber, named after its founder, Donn Beach. Founded in the early 1930s, this Los Angeles bar was originally beach-themed, featuring starfish and fishing nets. Later on, the founder decided to make it exclusively Polynesian in atmosphere by adding traditional décor including carved tikis. With this, the trend truly began. Don the Beachcomber became a chain including 16 restaurants across the country.
After World War II, some returning soldiers found themselves longing for the tropical atmosphere of the South Pacific. They became a large portion of tiki bar patrons, and the popularity of the bars continued to grow. With the admission of Hawaii as a U.S. state in 1959, the appeal of a romantic, island-theme bar gained even more popularity.
Donn Beach, leaving his chain of bars to other managers, moved to Hawaii to open Waikiki Beach, a bar considered one of the two best examples of the style. The other contender for top status was the Los Angeles chain, Trader Vic’s. This chain, which still has 25 locations, was a friendly rival of the Don the Beachcomber restaurants, and the both claim to have invented the mai tai, a famous rum cocktail.
After the 1960s, tiki bars fell out of fashion, possibly due in part to the unpopular American war with Vietnam. After nearly thirty years of lowered popularity, retro trends of the 1990s brought the style roaring back. By focusing on the vintage post-World War II look of the décor, the bars now not only feature a tropical escape but also a nostalgic look at America of the mid-20th century.
The main focus of the tiki bar has consistently been complex, colorful cocktails. Often, bartenders were secretive about their recipes, sometimes even removing bottle labels so that customers couldn’t figure out the drinks. Drinks often have amusing or image-evoking names such as Scorpion, Zombie, Coconut Lime Ricky and Guava Daiquiri of the Party Gods. Many drinks are rum based, but often feature colored liqueurs like chartreuse, Blue Curacao or Midori.
If you wish to create a tiki bar in your backyard, many online companies sell bars made entirely of bamboo, some featuring matching stools and thatched roofs. These sets begin around $2,000 US Dollars (USD). With a few strands of colorful lights and some tropical plants, you can throw your own luaus and tropical parties all year round.