My mother lived in this huge country manor outside the confines of rural Kittanning in Western Pennsylvania. When she was getting older and sicker, she ended up with cancer and I moved in with her to take care of her.
While I was there, I would keep and eye on her; play the role of “Driving Miss Daisy”, and do all the land maintenance and upkeep. Lots and lots of lawn to mow, as well as painting and remodeling of all the various buildings on the property.
There was this two story building that used to house the carriages and horse back in the day. I had renovated this “Carriage house”, making an apartment upstairs, and a workshop and storage rooms on the first floor.
There were other buildings, like this long sprawling barn like structure, a series of minor buildings, a pool building and what once was a tennis court outbuilding. But today, I want to talk about “The Carriage House”.
I spent a lot of time renovating it.
But something was off about it. Sure I fixed the windows and the doors, the roof and the floor. I remodeled the interior and re-plumbed it and laid out the electrical system. But still something was wrong about it.
And then, when I was away, my brother was “poking around” in the under floor and felt a wooden beam (huge thing, an old 100 year old wooden log)… poked it. And inside it was completely hollow.
The termites had completely undermined the “Carriage House”.
So, he took it on himself to redo the foundational sub-flooring. And he did a great job too.
But to this day, I will never forget my surprise when I say this huge oak beam, and my brother cutting it in two to find nothing but air and saw dust.
Ugh.
Termites.
Not even once!
Today…
These is why the Chinese Military have no equal – the Chinese Military parade and the weaponries displayed were impressive
but foreign observers missed the most impressive development of all – all the Chinese soldiers were wearing this:
these are battlefield terminal linking every military personnel from soldiers to cooks to tank drivers
Real time data is shared across the entire force giving its commander unprecedented battlefield situational awareness and command and control abilities
allowing its forces to be coordinated and deployed and brought to bear where required at lightning speed
The Chinese Military now has no peers
What has been the most honest moment you’ve had with a salesperson?
I’m English, and newly arrived in LA needed a second car so my wife could drive the company car we had specified.
I went into a used car lot on Carson (LA), and asked for a car that would be suitable for commuting and for taking the family on long trips. The owner/salesman suggested an enormous Crysler estate*, with the comment “no-one is buying these at the moment because of the gas crisis, so I can give you a good price”. Me: “How much would that be?”
Owner/Sales: “$1300 with three months’ warranty – but I doubt you will need it**”
Me: “Sounds good, can I give it a test drive”
Me (after drive): “Seems great to me”, and hand in pocket
(You couldn’t get anything near the offered car in the UK for that price” only get a wreck in the UK for that amount)
O/S: “I can’t sell it for that, Americans expect to negotiate. The real price is $1100”
Me: “That’s very generous to tell me”
O/S: “I do business straight – I couldn’t live with myself…”
Deal done. I recommended him to colleagues – who knew more than I did, and they recommended him in turn.
A year later I sold it privately for $1000.
*OK, “Station Wagon” – I told you I was English)
**He was right – I didn’t. Other than a service, the only money I spent was to replace the shocks so I could tow the tent trailer
What Dating A Woman Is About….From A Woman That Understands Femininity
Always a fantastic watch. Discussing family structures and the roles of men and women in society. Pretty great. This chick has her shit going on.
Is it possible that someone already invented time travel and destroyed the machine once they realized how dangerous it was?
Yes.
Not only is it possible, it actually happened .
The person who invented the time machine is Xepsis Klerglemoss and this is how it looked from the photos he left.
The machine didn’t physically go anywhere, in fact, it simply vaporized the Time Traveler, and then materialized him at the appropriate time. The machine could be controlled from wherever he was.
Klerglemoss’s diary states that his first attempt was to go back a year.
The machine worked perfectly except that it vaporized only him but not his clothes, so he arrived naked except for metal objects.
His workshop had previously been a Victorian draper’s shop, and when he arrived it was full of women.
Luckily he managed to vaporize quickly, but not before he was included in the shots a photographer was taking at the store.
This photograph was used by the police to hunt down the strange intruder.
The unfortunate consequences of the incident were that the store was boycotted by women shortly afterward, and was forced to close. Some newspapers claimed that the store had deliberately staged the event in an attempt to promote special protective clothing for women.
Klerglemoss realized that going back in time had unintended consequences, and that his laboratory was the consequence of his own actions, since the fabric shop went bankrupt because of his visit, and this had allowed him to buy the place cheaply for his experiments.
A rather complex paradox arose which resulted in the decision to abandon time travel and the destruction of his instruments.
His story is known only because of a coincidence he was involved in during a move. He had lost his keys and decided to go back to the morning when he had last seen the keys, he did so and found them.
But when he came back to the present, the movers had moved his closet and unfortunately he went back to his locked closet. The Vaporizer fell out of his hand but he didn’t have enough room to pick it up.
He was found some time later, dead, naked in his closet, with no explanation as to how he got there.
The case was covered in a local newspaper and a curious journalist seems to have discovered the story just told, although his version was apparently shelved by the police.
We may never know the whole truth, but it is a lesson to be learned about
El Paso Red Sauce
This El Paso Red Sauce improves with age.
Ingredients
- 1 large can whole tomatoes
- 1 small can whole chile peppers
- 4 to 6 jalapeño peppers
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- Pulse a few times in a blender or chop by hand.
- Let stand several hours at room temperature, then refrigerate in a glass jar.
Has a cop ever said something to you which was completely unexpected?
… It’s not so much what he said as what he did. I was on my way back to college and had gone only a few miles from my hometown in a heavy heavy thunderstorm. Bang! No, not a gun……..a tire blowout. I pulled as far off the road as I could and surveyed the situation——downpour, dark because it was past midnight, and a useless tire. So yeah, I opened the trunk and got ths jack and spare out.
Just then a police car with flashing lights pulled over. The officer was my hero………he helped me change the tire and get on my way again. He was a Wisconsin State Patrol officer on his routine schedule. Oh, he was also the son of my seventh-grade math teacher. Once again, Officer Guilday………thank you!
Saving Private Ryan: INTENSE FIRST TIME Reactions – Omaha Beach
What should President Trump do if Russia says ‘no’ to the ceasefire proposal?
Imagine if in July 1944, when the bulk of Germany’s army was pinned in Belarus and the garrison in southern France was racing to not get trapped by the Normandy invasion, Hitler called for a 30 day ceasefire and the allies just accepted it.
That is literally how silly Zelensky’s ceasefire proposal sounds. If he wants to negotiate peace terms that’s fine, but that doesn’t mean he gets a free “time out” for his army to not get smashed by daily missile and drone strikes. If Zelensky is scared that the frontline will collapse before his diplomats can negotiate a deal then that’s his own problem to deal with. If Zelensky had been smart enough to seriously negotiate earlier then he wouldn’t have this problem.
As for Trump, he has a remarkable opportunity to create his personal legacy as the great power broker who negotiates a proper end to the Cold War that has killed tens of millions of people since 1945 and never properly ended. But there is also a high risk of him being the next Nixon.
Like Trump, Nixon inherited an unpopular and unwinnable war but failed to end it. So Johnson’s war became Nixon’s war, and any excuses about “Well I tried to end it” just don’t fly.
I also don’t have a high degree of confidence in Trump’s cabinet or Trump himself. JD Vance is the smartest man in the room and clearly does his due diligence to research topics before publicly running his mouth about them. But I don’t think Vance is in danger of being the next Bismarck, and everyone else in Trump’s team is at a lower caliber than Vance, not higher.
Russia has already laid out the terms for any ceasefire, and Ukraine has pretty much flatly rejected them, so Trump is once again in the position of boasting that he has ended the war then failed.
Please Don’t Forget Me
Submitted into Contest #289 in response to: Start your story with the lines: “The room is unfamiliar. I don’t know how I got here.”… view prompt
S.M. Knight
The first man doesn’t acknowledge me at all. He walks over to a stainless-steel table and examines the tools on its surface. The other walks over to me with a tablet in his hand. He looks at his tablet and then up at my face. He scrolls down the screen with a swipe of his finger, pauses, and utters a series of numbers under his breath. Then, leaning over, he folds my left ear down.
I try to retreat from his touch, but my body stays firm. Instead, I only manage to let out a low whine as he touches me. He moves his face beside my head. I can hear him repeat the numbers softly to himself.
“Ok, so what’s left for this one?” The tableted man asks.
“memory load, ain’t it?”
“Yeah, and a systems check. It looks like this one’s voice box was torn out by one of the guests.”
“That wasn’t the only thing that was torn out. I worked on this one with Mark yesterday. Talk about a mess. Those rich bastards are sick, man.”
“So, you’re the one that didn’t put it in storage mode and left it sitting up like this?”
“Nah, it must have been Mark.”
“Sure, it was. And It’s not just rich bastards anymore. Even poor bastards like you and me can afford to be sickos now.”
“I’m good. These things give me the creeps.”
I try to look at the one who had called me a “Thing.” I am not a thing. I am a person. I have a name. My name is… My name is. My old friend Panic comes back in a flood. I can’t remember my name. I can’t remember anyone’s name. I look at the man in front of me as he swipes and pokes the tablet’s screen. Then he looks up into my eyes.
“authentication code: One, six, two, six, five, six.” He speaks the numbers slowly and clearly.
I let out a sound that can only be described as an idiotic moan. I’m embarrassed, and the man at the table laughs. I can tell the man in front of me is more than a little frustrated.
“You two are morons. Did you not verify the system update yesterday after replacing the voice box?”
“I thought we did.”
“Well, you didn’t, it takes two seconds. Two!” He swipes and prods at the tablet as he speaks.
“Damn, Drew, sorry. Get off my case.”
“Just do your job, Mike. That’s all I ask. It’s not much.” Drew looks back up at me. “Ok, let’s try this again. Authentication code, five, two, nine, five, three, three.” He reads from his tablet.
My body feels as though Novocain was injected into every muscle. “Credentials required.” The words escape my lips. Words that were not my own. In my mind, I am screaming and flailing my limbs, trying to escape. In reality, I sit numb, frozen to the edge of the bed. I hate the voice.
“Andrew Tate, ID number one, five, six.”
“Hello Andrew thank you for visiting me today, how are you?” Again, the words came, but they were strangers. This voice is calm and almost comforting. It’s the voice of an automated phone recording. It doesn’t show the fear and uncertainty I’m feeling.
“I’m fine, thank you for asking. What is two plus two?” He asks.
“Four,” The voice answers.
“What is the ocean’s name between Europe and the United States?”
“The Atlantic.”
“What is the capital of Texas?”
“Austin.”
“Which word is unlike the others: Milk, Water, Juice, Rock.”
“Rock”
“What is your name?”
“Unit awaiting name assignment.” The words sent an icy chill down my spine. This was not happening.
“Ok, cool, easy day. It looks like you guys didn’t screw everything up. You got the base memories in.”
“You think you’re so much better than us, Drew. You’re not. You’re not any better than the rest of us techs.”
“I don’t think that Mike. I’m just tired, is all.” Andrew made some swipes on his tablet. “Ok, unit 450, your name is now Melissa.” He said to me without looking up from his tablet.
“Thank you, Andrew, I like the name Melissa very much.”
“Glad to hear it,” He said to me. “Uploading personal memories time, now.”
A life rushes before my eyes. I see my parents and my siblings, I remember how I got the scar on my right knee from falling off a bike. I remember the first boy I kissed and the first girl. The joy and pain of high school. Every sight, sound, smell, taste. Every emotion, every physical sensation hit me like a wrecking ball.
I can hear Mike and Andrew arguing over me. I open my eyes and find myself curled on the cold cement floor. I can see their bootie-covered feet as they blame each other for what happened. I can feel my body again and wiggle my fingers. I hold back a smile at my own autonomy.
“Why didn’t you lay it down before the upload!” Mike yelled.
“Because I forgot it was sitting up! You should have stored it right! They aren’t supposed to be upright in storage!”
“I did store it right! Even if I didn’t, how do you not notice those giant tits?”
“Screw you, pervert. Help me get it up on the table.”
Their cold hands grab my warm body. Hands slide into my armpits and on my thighs. I feel weightless as they lift me back on the table. When they let go of me, I sit up quickly, and they both jump back.
“Where am I, and who are you?” I beg, looking at Mike and then Andrew.
“Wow, wow, it’s ok, you’re ok. We’re not here to hurt you.” Andrew reassures with his hands held out in front of him.
“I find that hard to believe.”
“You had a little fall. You’re in the hospital. I’m Dr. Tate. This is my Nurse, Michael.”
“Screw you. Why am I the nurse?”
“Shut up, Mike.” Andrew answers without taking his eyes off me.
“Why not just tell it the truth? You’re a –”
“Shut up, Mike!”
“You know what Drew. I’m getting really tired of you bossing me around.”
“M I C 547 shut down authorization Andrew Tate ID 156.” Andrew blurts out the command.
In response, Mike’s face goes blank, and his arms fall slack at his sides. He squats down and hugs his legs, making a compact ball of man. His eyes are open as he stares straight ahead without signs of life.
“These damn software updates are going to get someone killed.” Andrew says, “Sorry, Melissa, we have to start over. Can you please lay down for me?”
I can’t stop looking at the balled-up man behind Drew. The expressionless face and contortion of the body make me sick. I don’t want to lie down; I want to get out.
“Melissa, did you hear me? Please don’t make this more difficult than it has to be, I’ve already had a long day.”
I did the first thing I could think of. “Look out!” I shout, pointing at the balled man on the floor. It’s not very clever, but it does the trick. Andrew jumps up from his stool and turns around to find Mike’s motionless body. Now, with his back in front of me, I reach forward, wrap my arm around his neck, and squeeze.
I wrap my legs around his body, and we both fall to the floor. I contract every muscle in my body. Andrew squirms as he pries at my arms with his hands. He continues to pry with one as the other disappears.
His fist slams into my thigh. I scream in pain as he continues to stab me. The pain is like a shock from a cattle prod, but I refuse to let go of his neck. The stabs grow weaker until Andrew’s body hangs limp in my arms.
I let go, and his body lies limp next to the bloody screwdriver. I hop to my feet and am met with pain exploding through my leg. I fall back to the ground. Determined, I claw my way back up. In my head, I had pictured this going more smoothly. I had imagined Andrew falling unconscious and stealing his uniform. Reality was different. Alarms began to scream before I could catch my breath.
In a combination of fear and instinct, I grab the bed sheet. I wrap it around my body as I bolt out the door. Flashes from the red warning lights punctuate the dark hall. I run down the dark tunnel.
I hear voices and heavy boots chasing after me down the hall. I run as fast as my injured leg allows. Turning with frantic desperation down one hall, then another. I don’t know or care where the corridors lead as long as they lead to somewhere else.
Through the flashes of red, I see inside the cells, each holding a different body. Each one is in a different state of construction. Some lay limp on benches with no limbs. Others hang from the ceiling like life-sized marionettes with their chest open. Some pound on the windows and beg for help as I pass. Others curl in the corner of their cells, not knowing what to do.
They’re children and adults. Boys and girls. Men and women. I pay no attention to them; all my focus is on my escape. Then I see him. With a sheet around his waist and his dark hair reaching just past his ears. He looks as handsome as the day he proposed to me.
“James!” I shout, pressing against the glass wall of his cell. He looks at me, confused. “James, it’s me.”
“Get me out of here. Please, lady!” He yells after a moment’s hesitation.
“James, I’m not some lady. It’s me. It’s Mel, I’m your Mel.” I start to cry as I scream to James through the glass. I can hear the boots getting closer. “I’ll get you out, don’t worry, honey; I’ll get you out. There has to be some way to open this door.”
I hear a voice scream, “Shock! Shock! Shock!” Everything goes black.
The room is unfamiliar. I don’t know how I got here. The last thing I remember is… is… I don’t remember anything.
What is an “only in Canada” moment?
I was in a night bus. It was around 1 am. Classic bunch of late night riders – drunks, hobos, some people who have to work or finished working at 1 am. Then this old guy was leaving the bus at a station and radio was playing a song.
He said to the driver: “You know? This is my most favorite song.” And the driver put it louder, kept the doors open and the old guy was just standing there and listening. And I looked around the bus and everyone was just smiling, and nodding in approval.
That’s when I knew, I’m definitely in Canada.
I can’t imagine any other country where the bus driver would react the same way or the people in the bus wouldn’t complain or at least look upset. It was a fairly long song.
What is the most outrageous “fee” you’ve ever been charged?
This is slightly lengthy story, but it is the reason for the outrageousness of the fee I had to pay. A number of years ago I was driving along on a Southern California freeway when I was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol for having an expired registration tag. At the time, I owned two cars and had legitimately renewed the registration on one and completely forgotten about the other, which I happened to be driving that day. The officer was nice enough, and told me to just bring the registration up to date and it would be a simple fix-it ticket.
Just a day later (and before I could get the registration taken care of), I was pulled over a second time by an LAPD officer for the same thing. I explained that I had just been ticketed by the CHP the day before but hadn’t had time to renew the registration yet. He understood and told me that if I could show him the CHP ticket, I could be on my way. Unfortunately, I had left the ticket at home, so he wrote me up a second ticket, identical to the first.
A few days later, I finally managed to get to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), where I renewed my registration in person. After that, I went straight to the traffic court to plead my case, which took all of 5 minutes after I was finally called. Once I left, I figured I had been rehabilitated by the system and off to start my new life on the straight and narrow.
That new life lasted all of about 6 months, when on the Friday evening just before Memorial Day weekend, I came home, went to the mailbox and found an arrest warrant in my name for failure to appear in court. At that point, it was past 5:00 P.M. on a Friday before a 3-day weekend, which meant that I didn’t dare drive anywhere until the following Tuesday, when I took the morning off work and returned to court. I ended up getting the same judge, who looked at my arrest warrant, researched his files, and couldn’t figure out why an arrest warrant would have been issued in my name. He concluded that it must have been some sort of timing issue, so he signed off a form that would stop the warrant, and then sent me on my way.
Exactly one week later, and of course on a Friday at 5:00 P.M., I opened the mailbox to find another arrest warrant, this time for the second ticket. After not driving for the entire weekend, I returned to court the first thing on Monday to find the same judge and bailiff. At this point he decided that whatever problem the first ticket encountered also happened with the second, so he signed off again and sent me on my way.
At that point, I thought I was finally free and clear, which was a bad assumption on my part. Like clockwork, I began receiving arrest warrants on two consecutive Fridays of every month for the next 2–3 months. On my next trip to court (again with the same judge and bailiff), he became a lot more visibly irritated with the situation and asked me to wait while he had a clerk research what exactly was happening. He finally concluded that a clerk had incorrectly entered and coded my two tickets as “failure to appear” rather than “dismissals”. Once they were in the system, correcting the error turned out to be much harder than expected. He finally wrote up a letter, which he asked me to carry with me and show the officer in the event I was ever pulled over before the problem was resolved (fortunately, I wasn’t ever pulled over and did not need it).
After a few months, the arrest warrants stopped arriving, so I naively thought that I was off the hook. That was, until about 2 years later when I went in to renew my drivers license. I made an appointment and walked up to the counter with all my paperwork. The DMV clerk pulled up my records on his computer, looked me in the eye and then with a completely deadpan delivery said, “I’m sorry sir, I can’t renew your license because it was revoked 2 years ago for failure to appear in court”. I tried to explain the entire situation, which did absolutely no good whatsoever as he just kept telling me about the importance of appearing in court. I ended up going home, finding all of the paperwork and judge’s letter, returned to the DMV, waited in the long lines and got pretty much the same results as on my first trip. What really got me was the fact that not only did I have multiple arrest warrants issued, but I had also been apparently driving without a license for 2+ years!
Once again, I returned back to traffic court, where again I found the same judge and bailiff. He vaguely remembered me from a couple years prior and shook his head at the situation. Once the arrest warrant was reported to the DMV, it took on a life of its own and was out of the control of the courts. The best he could do was apologize for the situation and write me another letter for the DMV, explaining situation and asking them to help expedite correcting it. On my 3rd trip to the DMV, I finally got a bit smarter and instead of going to the really big DMV with the long lines, I found one in a small neighboring area that was much quieter and with less stressed employees. That one actually had a lady who was willing to listen to my story, read my paperwork, and help resolve my problem.
After an inordinate amount of time for her to confer with managers and deal with their computer system, she handed me a form to sign. All I had to do was to sign the form, and I would get my drivers license back …for a fee of $15! Although I really wanted the problem to be over once and for all, the thought of paying the $15 blood money request seemed repulsive. The DMV clerk completely understood and handed me a second form to sign which I could use to request a refund of my $15 in 10 to 12 weeks. I paid the $15, but I still do consider that to be the most outrageous fee I’ve ever had to pay given what I had been through.
The U.S. Economy Is REALLY Looking Shaky – Urgent Warning Issued
Did living conditions improve under Stalinism?
Living conditions worsened for my great-grandparents who were peasants.
They spared some money, bought a separator and could make cream and butter. They didn’t own many cows, instead they made cream, butter for other peasants and could keep some dairy products for themselves.
Also, great-grandfather owned more horses than an average peasant. Because he worked as a postman, delivered letters, newspapers, etc from the town to villages.
And because of that separator and extra horses he became a kulak.
Then, some day he met a friend who was a member of the village council and was told something like,
‘Sorry, but we have to de-kulakize you and your family.’
Great-grandfather didn’t want to wait for deportation somewhere in Siberia, so they ran away and he became a worker in the Urals.
Brother of my grandmother was deaf in one ear because as my grandmother said that when he was a toddler they lived in a droughty barrack for labourers.
Not Tatars in the Soviet Union but Dutch people.
Why did many Dutch people live like this in 1930s if they didn’t live under Stalinism and had colonies to boot?
Sir Whiskerton and the Arrival of Lady Quacka: A Tale of Feathers, Fame, and Fowl Play
Ah, dear reader, prepare yourself for a tale of flamboyant feathers, pop-star quacks, and one particularly dramatic duck who just can’t handle the competition. Today’s story is one of absurdity, adventure, and the occasional existential crisis, all wrapped up in a whirlwind of glitter, glamour, and a whole lot of quacking. So, grab your sense of humor and a pair of sunglasses (for the glitter), as we dive into Sir Whiskerton and the Arrival of Lady Quacka: A Tale of Feathers, Fame, and Fowl Play.
The Flamboyant Arrival
It all began on a sunny morning when a pink limousine (yes, a limousine) rolled down the dirt road leading to the farm. The limo was adorned with glittering feathers, neon lights, and a license plate that read “QUACKA1.” Out stepped Lady Quacka, a flamboyant duck with a sequined cape, oversized sunglasses, and a feather boa that could double as a parachute.
“Quack-quack, darlings!” she declared, striking a pose. “The one, the only, Lady Quacka has arrived! Prepare yourselves for a quacking good time!”
The animals, who had been going about their usual routines, stopped to gawk. “What in the name of cluck is that?” Doris the Hen asked, tilting her head.
“That,” Sir Whiskerton said, adjusting his monocle, “is either the most fabulous duck I’ve ever seen or a disco ball that learned to walk.”
The Pop-Star Phenomenon
Lady Quacka wasted no time making herself at home. She set up a stage in the barnyard, complete with a glittery backdrop, a karaoke machine, and a spotlight powered by solar panels (courtesy of Chef Remy LeRaccoon’s latest invention). Her first performance was a rendition of Quack Like a Pop Star, complete with backup dancers (a group of very confused chickens) and a pyrotechnic finale that nearly set the barn on fire.
“Bravo! Encore!” the animals cheered, clapping their wings, hooves, and paws.
Everyone, that is, except Ferdinand the Duck. The farm’s self-proclaimed “singing sensation” watched from the sidelines, his feathers ruffled in jealousy. “Who does she think she is?” he muttered, pacing back and forth. “I’m the star of this farm! Not some… some… glitter-covered show-off!”
The Rivalry Begins
Determined to reclaim his spotlight, Ferdinand challenged Lady Quacka to a sing-off. “You may have the glitter,” he said, puffing out his chest, “but I have the voice! Let’s see who the real star of this farm is!”
Lady Quacka smirked, adjusting her feather boa. “Oh, honey, you’re on. But be warned—I don’t just quack. I perform.”
The sing-off was set for that evening, and the animals eagerly gathered to watch. Sir Whiskerton, ever the diplomat, agreed to judge the competition. “This is either going to be brilliant or a complete disaster,” he muttered. “And I’m leaning heavily toward disaster.”
The Sing-Off Showdown
The sing-off began with Ferdinand’s performance. He chose a classic: Quack of Ages, a heartfelt ballad about the struggles of being a duck in a world of chickens. His voice was strong, his emotions raw, and his dramatic pauses perfectly timed. The animals were moved to tears—or at least, they pretended to be.
“Bravo, Ferdinand!” Doris the Hen squawked, dabbing her eyes with a wing. “You’ve outdone yourself!”
But then it was Lady Quacka’s turn. She took the stage with a flourish, her sequined cape catching the light. Her song of choice? Quack It Like It’s Hot, a high-energy pop anthem complete with choreography, costume changes, and a surprise appearance by the yodeling fish as backup singers.
“YODEL-AY-HEE-HOO!” the fish sang, their synchronized yodeling adding an unexpected twist to the performance.
The animals were mesmerized. Even Sir Whiskerton had to admit it was impressive. “Well,” he said, adjusting his monocle, “that was… something.”
The Turmoil Escalates
Ferdinand, unable to handle the competition, stormed off in a huff. “This is an outrage!” he quacked. “She’s stealing my spotlight! My fans! My… my everything!”
Sir Whiskerton, ever the problem solver, decided it was time to intervene. “Ferdinand,” he said, flicking his tail, “you’re being ridiculous. There’s room for more than one star on this farm.”
“But she’s so… so… extra!” Ferdinand wailed. “How can I compete with that?”
“You don’t have to compete,” Sir Whiskerton said. “You just have to be yourself. Besides, have you considered… a duet?”
The Duet of Destiny
At first, Ferdinand was resistant. “A duet? With her? Never!” But after some gentle persuasion (and a few well-timed quips from Sir Whiskerton), he agreed to give it a try.
The duet was set for the following evening, and the animals eagerly gathered to watch. Ferdinand and Lady Quacka took the stage together, their contrasting styles creating a unique and unforgettable performance. Ferdinand’s soulful quacks blended perfectly with Lady Quacka’s high-energy pop, and the result was nothing short of magical.
“Bravo! Encore!” the animals cheered, clapping their wings, hooves, and paws.
Even Sir Whiskerton had to admit it was a success. “Well,” he said, adjusting his monocle, “that was… surprisingly harmonious.”
The Moral of the Story
As the animals reflected on the day’s events, they couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.
The moral of the story, dear reader, is this: Embrace your uniqueness—there’s room for everyone to shine. Whether you’re a soulful duck, a glittery pop star, or just a cat trying to keep the peace, the world is big enough for all of us to quack our own tune.
A Happy Ending
With the rivalry resolved and the duet a success, the farm returned to its peaceful routine. Ferdinand and Lady Quacka continued to perform together, their contrasting styles creating a unique and unforgettable sound. The animals, now fans of both ducks, eagerly awaited their next performance.
As for Sir Whiskerton, he returned to his sunbeam, content in the knowledge that he had once again saved the day. The farm was calm, the animals were happy, and the glitter… well, the glitter was everywhere.
And so, dear reader, we leave our heroes with the promise of new adventures, new performances, and hopefully, no more glittery feather boas. Until next time, may your days be filled with laughter, harmony, and just a little bit of feline genius.
The End.
Is there any power that could potentially make China relinquish their claims on Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and/or Inner Mongolia/Tibet?
TL;DR The same kind of power that could potentially make the USA relinquish their claims on Florida, Texas, California, Alaska and/or Hawaii.
Tibet has been a protectorate of part of China since 1751. California was conquered by the army of the USA in 1846. What makes you comment on the status of independence of Tibet and not question the status of California?
Long answer:
Below is a map of the USA in 1820. Note how none of the territories that I just quoted above are part of it.
This is a map of China in the same year 1820. Note how all the territories that you quoted in your questions are part of it, and even some listed as protectorates (in green and pink) had been actually ruled by them for 100+ years at the time.
Now I’d be glad to understand how you can consider that some territories acquired (Alaska) or taken by force (California, Texas, Hawaii) within the last 200 years are without a question American, but other territories that have been ruled by China for 300+ years are not legitimately Chinese?
What are some popular destinations that are nothing more than tourist traps?
- The Pyramids of Giza , Cairo (Egypt).
How they sell it to you:
What they really look like:
In your imagination, you see the pyramids and a sphinx in the middle of a lonely desert, with the sun in the background. In reality: a place where there are apartment buildings a hundred meters away and a Chinese restaurant two hundred meters away. The advantage is that you won’t need to ride camels to get to them (if that’s an advantage).
- Taj Mahal, Agra (India).
How they sell:
As it appears in reality:
Don’t expect to see luxurious halls and rooms inside; the building is in a state of disrepair and the whole complex looks like a giant mausoleum. The “fog” seen in some photographs is nothing more than a cloud of contamination. And as if that weren’t enough, right behind the entrance there is a horrible city, with semi-slum neighborhoods where the sewage, which acts as “tributaries” to the Yamuna River, is in the open air.
The slopes of the pipelines are full of garbage in the middle of the city, serving as a pen for pigs. Other than that, there is not much to see, except the hotel room.
- Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy).
How they sell:
As it actually appears:
Oh, sorry, but there isn’t much to see in Pisa either. It should be noted that the tower was the bell tower of the cathedral, which is why there is nothing inside it. A hollow well like a spiral staircase that goes up to the top, where there are some bells.
You cannot access or look at the external balconies, which are closed off with gates. It costs 18 euros to see the tower, whose great virtue is that the foundations, although poorly made, have not yet collapsed.
- The Great Wall , Beijing (China).
How they sell:
The harsh (very harsh) reality:
I didn’t go, I didn’t have the pleasure of visiting China (except for a stopover in Hong Kong), but my sister did. And the experience of visiting the Great Wall of China was what you see in the previous photo.
Unless you have the money to access the lesser-traveled sections, have a driver take you several miles to the “known” accesses so you can have a long ride without being bothered by anyone.
- Stonehenge (United Kingdom)
How they sell it to you:
The reality:
So if you were expecting to have a druid experience wandering through a solitary green meadow among stone columns, forget it. When people were allowed to get close, the place was always packed with tourists, both inside and outside the circle. Now all you can see is a pile of rocks in the distance.
- Walk of Fame , (United States).
How they sell:
The reality:
I really don’t know what they see as attractive. It’s a simple place that has little or nothing to offer, and it’s respectable that some people are attracted by the idea of meeting a celebrity. In truth, you’ll hardly find anyone famous walking around there.
What’s the most bizarre experience you’ve had with the IRS?
Got a letter in the mail asking me to pay a tax bill from a number of years ago, I think it was like 8–10 years in the past
The problem was that it was not my tax bill, it was my then boyfriend/ father of my childrens tax bill, from years before id even met him. I called the local tax office and asked them why is received the letter from the IRS about it. They told me that they were just trying to get it resolved and didn’t think I’d contest it?
Why on earth would I be responsible for past due taxes for someone I’d only been with a couple of years and didn’t even know when the thing had been assessed.
Not married and never married him. I ended up ignoring it, and never heard anything from them again.
Li Hua letters move Chinese and US netizens to tears
What’s the craziest thing you found in the middle of nowhere?
Well it wasn’t eactly crazy, but considering where it was it was pretty unlikely.
I was driving a truck across the Nullabor Plain in Australia (Nullabor means ‘tree-less’). Now this stretch contains the longest straight road without a bend in Australia, at roughly 91 miles (147km) long, but, in the same section, there are multiple stretches almost as long in a row.
There is not a huge amount of traffic as you can imagine, and what there is can be seen for miles. So when I had a minor mechanical malfunction to correct on a bright, sunny day, I just coasted the truck to a stop without pulling off to the side and stepped out into the middle of the road.
And there, laying right on the white centre dividing line, was an old, scruffed, dirty, Australian $2 coin.
(Not the actual coin but the same type.)
For non-Aussies, a $2 coin is about 20mm or 3/4″ in diameter, or just under the size of a USA nickel, so pretty small. You can drop one on the floor of your bedroom and struggle to find it. Yet here it was, somehow lost in the middle of absolutely nowhere, where virtually no-one even has the need to ever stop, let alone use money, and I happened to almost step on it. How it even managed to stay on the road for so long (it was really scuffed and even had some corrosion from the elements) with heavy trucks and cars passing by I have no idea.
I thought it was pretty lucky so I kept it in my wallet as a lucky token for years until I got so broke and desperate for cigarettes that I spent it. I wish I still had it – it was cool.
TL:DR; A tiny coin in the middle of desert.
Russia has specifically indicated they will intervene militarily if the US attempts to seize the Panama Canal. How might this scenario play out, given China’s close military involvement with Panama as well, and Mexico’s clear commitment to Panama?
Neither China nor Russia will deploy their own military forces. The military gap between China and the United States is narrowing rapidly, and China has no intention of confronting America at this stage. Moreover, lacking military bases in the Western Pacific severely limits China’s capacity for effective military projection. As for Russia, it simply lacks the capability altogether.
Of course, this doesn’t mean they’ll do nothing. First, they will actively promote multiple initiatives within the United Nations to undermine America’s moral high ground – likely spearheaded by China, given that Russia’s own credibility is currently bad either.
Militarily, the Panamanian government lacks the capacity to resist a U.S. invasion. However, sabotaging canal operations would be far more achievable. China would likely send equipment (specially drone) and military instructors through Brazil to train guerrilla forces, creating significant operational challenges for the U.S. To prevent this, America would need to garrison troops at every critical node of the canal – a security cost that would far exceed the waterway’s economic returns.
This would constitute an exceptionally poor strategic transaction. If I were formulating U.S. strategy, I would revive CIA operational templates – controlling the Panamanian government through color revolutions or targeted assassinations. Historically, U.S. overreach in appropriating 95% of canal revenues fueled local resistance. By instead claiming 50% of proceeds and allocating the remainder to a puppet government as “special funds,” Washington could co-opt local elites to collaborate in the systematic exploitation of their own nation’s interests.
Who was the most ignorant American you have ever met?
So I had an “interesting” experience this afternoon. I was on vacation and sitting in in the hot tub when a group of 30-somethings that were together were talking about this, that and whatever. And then one of them chimed in with something that FLOORED me. Out of the blue, he saiid, “So did y’all know that in Canada, if you have 4 kids or more, you get welfare even if you have a job? You can be a DOCTOR [his emphasis] and get welfare if you have 4 kids.” The others were oooh, ahhh wow.
And I couldn’t keep quiet, like I usually do. I told them that was wrong. I told them that Canadians work hard and long hours and there is no such thing as getting welfare based on how many kids you have, and CERTAINLY no welfare law where someone who has a job would get welfare.
Then I looked them straight in the face and said that I knew this to be true because I was born in Canada, raised in Canada, worked in Canada all my life and was now retired in Canada. I further informed them that Canada is not commie, socialist or a welfare-state country.
The one who had made the statement insisted that it was true. And kept insisting that they knew this to be true because someone else had told them this (while they were in the hot tub) just a few nights earlier. The others in his party backed him up. They knew this to be true.
Now I was just plain mad. I said that the person who told them this was either grossly misinformed, or maliciously spreading falsehoods about Canada / Canadians, And they should go look it up for themselves.
Their response? “OK OK lady. We’re not pissing on Canada or Canadians.”
Gobsmacked. Just. Gobsmacked. I actually expect they’ll continue to tell others this “news” that they have about Canada. And it makes me sad.
Shorpy
How many Mainland Chinese live below US$7/day?
I asked DEEPSEEK, and DEEPSEEK gave me the answer.
In China, $7 USD converts to approximately 50 Chinese Yuan (CNY), based on an exchange rate of ~7.2 CNY/USD. Here’s what 50 yuan can buy across different categories, with prices varying by region (higher in cities like Shanghai/Beijing, lower in smaller towns):
Food & Drinks
- Street Food:5–10 baozi (steamed buns, 2–5 CNY each).3–4 jianbing (savory crepes, 8–12 CNY each).5–10 meat skewers (chuanr, 5–10 CNY each).
- Meals:2 bowls of noodles or fried rice (15–25 CNY/bowl).1–2 bubble teas (15–25 CNY/cup).1 fast-food combo meal (e.g., KFC/McDonald’s, 30–40 CNY).
Transportation
- 10–25 metro/bus rides (2–5 CNY/trip).
- A short taxi ride (e.g., 5–8 km, starting at ~12 CNY base fare).
- 1–2 shared bike rentals (e.g., Hellobike, ~1.5–3 CNY/30 mins).
Daily Essentials
- 10–20 bottles of water (2–3 CNY each).
- Snacks: 5–10 packs of chips, candies, or local snacks (5–10 CNY each).
- Household items: A basic umbrella, toothbrush, or phone charger (10–20 CNY).
Entertainment & Services
- 3–10 hours at an internet café (5–15 CNY/hour).
- A discounted movie ticket (40–60 CNY, depending on time/day).
- A basic haircut at a local salon (20–40 CNY).
Miscellaneous
- Shopping: Small items on Taobao/Pinduoduo (e.g., phone cases, socks, stationery).
- Phone Credit: ~1–5 GB of mobile data (varies by carrier).
- Park Entry: Admission to a local park or temple (10–30 CNY).
Regional Notes
- Tier 1 Cities (e.g., Shanghai): Prices are higher; 50 CNY covers 1–2 meals or 2–3 bubble teas.
- Smaller Cities/Rural Areas: More value—e.g., a full day of street food + transportation.
50 CNY offers flexibility for a mix of experiences: a meal, snacks, and a metro ride, or a budget-friendly day out!
In international trade, exchange rates are set in order to price goods.
There is a big difference between China, which uses the yuan, and the United States, which uses the U.S. dollar.
Because services are expensive in the U.S., people in China earning $3,000 a month have a higher standard of living than people in the U.S. earning $3,000 a month.
The purchasing power of 1,500 RMB (Daily wage $7） in China is similar to that of $2,000 (Daily wage $67) in the United States, and the purchasing power of 1 US dollar in the United States is equivalent to the purchasing power of 0.6 RMB in China.
In the United States, are there people who earn $2,000 a month? Yes! Are there many? Not many, because the median monthly income is $3,000. Similarly, in the China, are there people who earn 1,500 RMB a month? Yes! Are there many? Not many, because the median monthly income is 3,000 RMB.
Generally speaking, the United States is a large agricultural country with cheap agricultural products, and China is a large manufacturing country with cheap industrial products.
So, in the US-China trade war, the US sanctioned Chinese industrial goods while China sanctioned US agricultural products.
How do you handle daily cultural conflicts with in-laws about raising your child?
Thankfully, we live thousands of miles away from my Japanese wife’s parents, and I last saw them about 13 years previous, when they visited Hawaii. They lived through WWII Hiroshima, so their way of thinking is quite different from younger people.
During a 2024 visit to my Japanese in-laws, I let slip (I was showing them my Apple image folder to catch up on life in the years since I saw them last) that my 26 year old son, the former valedictorian with perfect SAT and ACT scores, the Ivy League School graduate and computer programmer in the leader of its IT industry, lives like this:
Our son has no furniture. He sits, eats, and sleeps on the floor. He keeps his computer and router on a cardboard box he uses as a desk. He doesn’t have food, because he eats at work or in take out restaurants. When I last looked in his refrigerator, there was nothing but take out condiment packets. His kitchen drain has been clogged since 2022.
He has a walk in closet with disposable razors, one jacket, and maybe three towels. He has extra toilet paper in the bathroom. I bought him lamps for the bedroom, because it had no lights.
He keeps his clothes in the two small suitcases on the floor he brought when he moved in three years ago, or in the dryer after he does the laundry.
He said he has worn long pants once at the start of his job. Otherwise he wears t-shirts and cargo beach shorts to the office, because that is acceptable dress for them. He left the trousers standing accordion style where he dropped them in the middle of the living room floor the year before.
My father in law is losing his sight. My wife’s stepmother described the situation.
My father in law said in Japanese, “What is that? What kind of way to live is that? He was raised wrong.”
I replied that we cannot tell our son what to do because he doesn’t listen. (And at this point he is an independent adult, with plans to retire around 40 years old.) I did tell my son he lived like a homeless person. I had more, and more neatly, in my van I bought for $600.
And my view!
[For different reasons, I do not believe either of my children will reproduce. Maybe my daughter will have cats. I have told my wife so.]
My father in law continued grumbling.
I feared that he would take it out on my wife after she arrived home. (Due to scheduling conflicts, we traveled Japan separately.)
Later I asked my wife if they brought it up. They had not. Perhaps they wished to avoid conflict.
Fancy Fajitas
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
Fajitas
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- 2 1/2 pounds skirt steak
- 12 flour tortillas
- Fresh Mexican Salsa
- Guacamole
Fresh Mexican Salsa
- 1 medium tomato, finely chopped
- 1/2 medium white onion, finely chopped
- 6 sprigs fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 3 serrano or other fresh hot green chiles, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup fresh tomato juice
Guacamole
- 2 fresh hot green chiles
- 3 sprigs fresh cilantro, leaves only
- 2 tablespoons finely-chopped onion
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 large tomato, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 ripe avocados
Instructions
Fajitas
- Combine wine, oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, basil and peppercorns in a large nonmetallic bowl.
- Add steak and toss well.
- Marinate for 24 to 48 hours in the refrigerator. Toss several times during marinating.
- Grill steaks over a very hot fire, 4 to 6 inches from heat, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Do not overcook.
- Cut steaks into thin strips across the grain.
- Warm tortillas.
- To serve, place a portion of the meat strips down the center of each tortilla. Top with salsa, Guacamole and/or sour cream, and fold in half or overlap edges.
Fresh Mexican Salsa
- Mix all ingredients together well and serve.
Guacamole
- Crush chiles, cilantro, onion and salt to a paste.
- Add tomato and blend together.
- Peel and pit avocados, then mash. Add to tomato mixture and blend well.
Attribution
Braniff Destination, October 1986 – Cooking Texas Style, by Candy Wagner and Sandra Marquez
What is your opinion of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ claim that concerns over China’s ongoing nuclear expansion resulting in parity with the U.S. arsenal is a “gross exaggeration”?
They’re simply following the Western government propaganda.
The original estimate of 200 nuclear warheads was done by the Federation of American Scientists. They used electrical generation to make that estimate. Kinda funny right? If you’re going to use that estimate then why don’t they continue to use the same method to estimate how many nuclear weapons China has?
Well, China’s current electrical generation is 2 TIMES that of the US. So according to them, China should have 12,000 nuclear warheads. Strange that we hear that China only has 300.
To be fair. The Pentagon publicity has been leading people astray for decades. Because they report also said that they have no idea how many nuclear weapons China has. It could be 5,000 (this is back in the 80s).
But the Pentagon and the US government chose to go with 200 to make Americans docile as the US government ramped up aggression against the Chinese. The US government did not want another US vs USSR nuclear war scenario scaring Americans.
Now Americans can feel safe while threatening China. Which is idiotic. Because if there is a nuclear war, no amount of propaganda will change reality. And by the time Americans realize they have been lied to, it will be way too late.
They will have been vaporized.
Twilight Zone – »The Call«
Why can’t everything stop being made in China? We should manufacture our electronics in the United States!
Talk is cheap, do it.
Get the funding to set up factory, convince the American workers to work 12 hour shifts without weekends.
And you will only find that one necessary part or another for your product is made in China. So you go through all the trouble to convince 100 like minded American entrepreneurs to set up factories for each individual part and attract workers from around the country.
And you will only find out that China has moved to lightless factories of robots.
You try to go robotic too but all those robots are made in China, which means you will always be one iteration or update or repair behind Chinese competitors. Plus, electric bills in China are cheaper with all the new renewables in the power grid.
Finally you deliver the final product. Only then do you realize that the biggest consumer market for your product is China. So now you need to ship your product to China, putting yourself at a constant disadvantage against companies making things there.
The US is not just behind in China in one factory. It’s behind China in pretty much every aspect of the supply chain, from energy production, to the work force, to the making of parts, to factory tech, to the final distribution of the product. Save for a small number of high-tech or niche products, it makes more economic sense to produce in China.
This is what happens when you let the 1% hoard all the wealth generated by your economic development instead of reinvesting it into building infrastructure and upgrading your industries, for decades.
Empathy
Submitted into Contest #289 in response to: Start your story with the lines: “The room is unfamiliar. I don’t know how I got here.”… view prompt
Jeff Witorsch
There wasn’t a whole lot to it, frankly. All I saw were three walls, a ceiling and a floor, all bright white. It wasn’t clear where the light was coming from, but there was no lack of it.
Then the world shook again, but this time I saw the one who was shaking it, or, more accurately, me.
“I said, why won’t you talk to me?!” the young boy yelled, from just over my left shoulder.
When I’d woken, I’d been on my right side, so what I’d previously seen of the room was skewed. Clearly, there was something behind me, or I might have seen the annoying child trying to knock me out of the…cot?…I was lying in.
“What is your problem?!” I yelled back at the little twerp. He couldn’t have been more than 7 years old. “I was obviously asleep!”
I flipped over to my left side before fully sitting up. The young boy sat back on his own cot. More like fell back, really. I think I startled him a bit.
“I…I was scared, and you wouldn’t answer me,” the little guy sputtered.
I wasn’t particularly amenable to children, but his demeaner tugged at me a little. I mean, if I had no idea where I was, what was this kid’s story? And why were we in this small empty room alone together, come to think of it? No wonder he was scared. I had to set my own questions aside and be the adult in the room. Even if I was only 12.
And then he started gushing and bawling, which broke the spell entirely.
I rolled my eyes and transferred myself over to his cot next to him. I patted him on the head with an obligatory ‘there, there’ as I sat down. That’s what adults do, right?
I gave him a chance to catch his breath and settle down before plying him with questions. “Maybe you can start by telling me what’s going on here. Do you know why we’re here? Do you know where here is? How did we get here? Who brought us here? And who are you?”
He stared at me slack jawed for a few moments as he sniffled. After finally rebooting from my overload, he let the dam burst. “Iwassittinghereforeverbeforetheybroughtyouinandyouwereasleepthewholetimeand…,” he paused less than a second to suck in a breath, “…thentheybroughtinfoodbutyoudidntevenwaketoeatandIstartedgettingscaredand…”
I was able to clamp my hand across his mouth before another syllable spilled out. He actually kept going for a moment before realizing it was wasted breath.
I kept my hand right where it was as I asked, “How do you expect me to understand that?”
I slowly pulled my hand away and invited him to speak again. He took a few slow breaths before proceeding at a more sedate pace.
“You were asleep when they brought you in, and you wouldn’t wake up. I got scared. I don’t know who they are. Grown ups. I’ve never seen them before. A big guy with a beard and a woman with long blonde hair.”
He took a breath to compose himself, as his emotions started to flare, before he wrestled them down again. “I don’t know how long I’ve been here. It feels like forever. There’s food over there, if you’re hungry.” The boy pointed with thumb over their shoulders, to the opposite side of the room from what I saw when I woke up.
I looked in that direction and saw two glasses of water and two plates containing cheese and bread. Prisoner fare.
Who took children as prisoners? Oh yeah. Kidnappers. Kid…nappers. Duh.
The right question is, why? My own parents must be out of their minds about me at this point. Presuming I have parents. I must have parents, right? So why couldn’t I remember them?
I had no idea how long I was going to be stuck with the kid, but the food in the corner by the door held no interest to me whatsoever. Maybe because it was the most basic of foods, but whatever. I wasn’t hungry.
But I was getting a little angry.
It was clear that I was stuck with this other small person until I could get answers from the man with the beard and the blond. Were we being hesld for ransom? Were we part of some experiment?
I stood and did a simple check on my exposed skin for obvious marks. That didn’t take long because there wasn’t much exposed skin. I was covered from neck to ankle in a one-piece body suit, with no closure in front. The only thing exposed was my head, hands and feet. I reached to the back of my neck, where the collar crept about halfway up to my chin, and found the zipper.
Checking the rest of my body would be impossible.
I sighed deeply and stared at the ceiling with my eyes closed. I didn’t really have many options but to wait.
Which didn’t end up being long.
While I was still contemplating the insides of my eyelids, the latch on the door clicked and the door swung open.
A dark bearded man, thin but nearly as tall as the door, entered through the frame, flanked by an equally tall pale skinned woman with blond hair cascading down to her midsection. She had no discernable makeup on, and she looked like she might have just woken up herself.
Before I could utter a single syllable, the man pointed a small remote in my direction and I was immobilized completely. I couldn’t move anything, even my eyes. I’m not even sure I was blinking.
The boy was still in front of me, and it appeared that whatever the man had done affected him too. Despite the fact that my eyes were squarely fixed on the two adults, I could clearly see the runt in my peripheral vision. He too was stock still and unblinking.
The man shook his head. “We’re making progress, but I think we still have a long way to go.”
The woman seemed to concur. “You’re not wrong, but I’m concerned about the empathy.”
The man responded with a shrug. “It’s better than the last time. He didn’t even have a trace of it before.”
“Still not wrong. That pat on the head, though felt more like a concession than empathy,” she replied tersely.
I realized at that point that they were talking about. I understood their words, but not what they were talking about. They had an issue with my empathy? What did that mean? Who cared? I’d been kidnapped, and was being held against my will! So what if the little brat was scared?!
The woman raised her hand toward me. “See, even now it’s like he’s devolving into a more primitive demeanor. Emotions clearly aren’t the issue, but we need to get the balance settled. He really needs to show a lot more compassion. Oh, and of course, he’s not thinking or acting age appropriately. I think the base imprint is too strong. We’ll need to adjust that too.”
If I could have rushed them, I would have done so. I was done with whatever crap was going on and I wanted answers. If I could have raised my voice at them, I would have done so. That fact was, I wasn’t even breathing.
“We’re going to have to reset. Again.” With that statement, the bearded man raised the remote one more time and everything went black for me.
The world shook. Wrenched from sleep, my eyes snapped open and I looked around. The room was unfamiliar, and I didn’t know how I’d gotten there.
When did you realize that the world is a cruel place?
At 16 years old.
When I was 16, I lost my parents in a car accident. I was just a little girl. Also, my mom had no brothers or sisters and her parents had died before I was born.
My dad had a brother. His name was Ted.
My parents had asked him years before if he could take care of me if anything happened. T
ed came and was very compassionate.
He then explained to me that he would come back to get me with all my things the following Friday.
Somehow I packed up the packages.
My mental state was so fragile.
I waited until Friday. I waited until I fell asleep at the airport.
Ted never showed up.
To this day, I have never heard from Ted again.
I was unwanted. I had no one. Over the next few days, I found my way.
The world can be a cruel place when you have no family and are still young. Now, life is good. I teach and I adore my students (99% of the time),
I have people who love me, and puppies I love.
Yet, somehow, I think… deep down, I am still the waiting sixteen year old.