Whole

Lucy pretended to be asleep on the narrow twin size bed she shared with Jose. To thaw his cold body with Lucy’s body heat, Jose quickly dived under the covers and embraced Lucy spoon fashion. He was pleasantly surprised to find her wearing only a thick sweater to bed, and nothing else under the covers.

A little smile played on Lucy’s lips when she felt Jose’s responsiveness and enthusiasm. They could make the best of this time alone, since the single bedroom in this apartment was shared with another guy across from them, was empty. They marked their territories with a curtain running horizontally across the room; this makeshift wall hanged from a wire.

The roommate along with the other three roommates who slept in the living room, were busy there watching a pirated DVD of an action film barely released the week before.

As Jose glided his callous hands over the slope of her right hip and ventured in between her legs, seeking her moist warmth, Lucy closed her eyes again when her eyes focused on the framed image of Christ with a flaming heart looking into her soul from the wall above. Ceasing to pretend to be asleep, she removed the picture from the wall, to place it in the top drawer on the night stand table.

Turning on her right side after evading the censoring look of Christ for the sin of their imminent fornication, she put the pressing problems of the world, and also her guilt inside the drawer for the time being.

What only mattered now was this precious moment of privacy, to bask in their sexual communion, and to seek tender healing of body and soul. The coldness of the frosty night was thawed by their passion, consuming and desperate in its intensity to fuse, absorb, contain and penetrate. They kept the moaning and grunting and expressions to a minimum, always considerate of their roommates and the near non-existant privacy.

Regardless, this was one of the moments they lived for, and longed for. Almost as much as the fifteen- minute coffee break, or the thirty minute meal brake. These cherished moments created to repose the weary body from the ceaseless, back braking labor.

Cherished like the Friday evenings when it was pay day, and they celebrated that evening with cold beer. To toast a break from the monotony of dull and arduous work, to celebrate their own time, and to dull the senses to the despairing loneliness and homesickness they endured, resigned to the pervading sense of merely existing with loss of purpose or the elusive feeling of joy.

They clung to each other tightly, even after the waves of passion subsided. This was not making love; this was merely a validation that they were alive. They were two orphans in this vast, untamed Wild West. Two halves when joined, almost made a semblance of a whole.

to be continued...

So Close

I went to the Hollywood library today, and found it endearing that such a small library had grouped the words of Anais Nin and Henry Miller in the same shelf. They are just an arm's reach away...if only books whispered to each other.


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"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anais Nin

Do It Anyway

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

~Mother Teresa~

Profile of Courage

My name is Nick Vujicic and I was born without limbs and doctors have no medical explanation for this birth "defect". As you can imagine, I was faced with many challenges and obstacles.

I know that there is no such thing as luck, chance or coincidence that these "bad" things happen in our life.
I had complete peace knowing that God won't let anything happen to us in our life unless God has a good purpose for it all

I am now twenty-three years old and have completed a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Financial Planning and Accounting. I am also a motivational speaker and love to go out and share my story and testimony wherever opportunities become available. I have developed talks to relate to and encourage students through topics that challenge today's teenagers. I am also a speaker in the corporate sector.

I have a passion for reaching out to youth and keep myself available for whatever God wants me to do, and wherever He leads, I follow. Writing several best-selling books has been one of my dreams and I hope to finish writing my first by the end of the year.

I believe that if you have the desire and passion to do something, and if it's God's will, you will achieve it in good time. As humans, we continually put limits on ourselves for no reason at all!

remember: WHEN YOU'RE BUSY JUDGING PEOPLE, YOU HAVE NO TIME TO LOVE THEM.

Little Bird

The migrating birds arrive from south of the equator to southern California, the beginning of every April.

They flap their graceful wings tirelessly, in unison with their flock; together they focus their intent in reaching their destination guided by instinct. They reach the sunny shores of southern California for a place to call home for a while, away from the scarcity and harsh conditions of winter in the south.

I laugh gregariously which rings as genuine as faux diamonds. My hands reach out to hold your shoulders, embracing you lightly as if to ascertain of your solid form next to me as you sit on my right.

I animatedly share a funny anecdote with those on the table with us. My mind simultaneously, dares not think (for thoughts and words have power), of the little alarm set off by the pronounced boniness I perceive under the various layers of clothing you wore that day.

Just two weeks before you asked me to pass you a cotton swab soaked in a solution to wet your chapped lips. They would not allow you consume food nor water for several days; no wonder you seem almost emancipated. Your boniness reminds me of a little bird, although fragile, also tenacious and free-spirited.

My counterfeit laughter is set off again by something said, and again my hands reach to your shoulders, as if my intention was to slap you on the shoulders for emphasis. I steal a glance at your face to file this moment in my memory bank.
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Your profile shows your pale skin, weather beaten more than usual. Your large, long-lashed eyes enunciate your Greek heritage. Your kind of beauty does not erode with time, or illness; nothing can touch it, for it is endogenous. You radiate an innate beauty born of grace, true goodness, and a stout heart.

You are part of me, as I am of you. Yet, I am taller and bigger than you in comparison. You seem that much smaller and graceful as a little bony bird, which I could gather in the pocket next to my heart.
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You seem like a fragile little bird with beautiful eyes, yet I know one with tenacity, and fiery independence, who chose to fly one day from the harsh winters south of the equator, to the balmy shores of southern California.

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Precious Sleep

I thought I could see the gradual lighting manifesting a new day through my lace curtains. It was 5:00 am, and I had yet to succumb to sleep Monday morning.

Sleep was as elusive as a butterfly. I had spent all day Sunday into late afternoon in bed voraciously devouring a book. I had digested two-thirds of it so far, and was greedy to proceed to the climax and its ending.

I consumed each sentence with the velocity of a scanning machine at Ralphs. My reading was sporadically interrupted by spurts of crying, often followed by a mini nap, only to resume the cycle all over again. The story was sad, I was sad too…misery loves company.

As I tried to make myself drift away, the ferocious howling of the wind took on an eerie life of its own, clamoring for entry. It was accompanied by a band of roosters, a stray cat wailing like a baby, metal sheets dancing in the wind, those threatening to brake free. As if on cue, an empty plastic container of milk made its apparition on stage, to integrate itself to the wind’s maniacal orchestra.

This book I read this weekend actually was entangled between my thighs this morning. You see, I seldom sleep under covers. Actually, I don’t sleep alone either.
On left side of my queen bed is an assortment of books. Books I accumulate since I read a portion of each, until sleep overtakes me. I hope to absorb their contents through osmosis as well....in lieu of a lover...

I slept all of one hour and a half.

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Perception

This evening I saw a film titled: “There Will Be Blood."

The protagonist played by Daniel Day Lewis, said something to the effect that he could “see the worst in people.”

I have always had the notion that until proven otherwise, people merit a chance. I harbor the believe that every single person has innate goodness, as well as a constant battle with the shadow of darkness, much like our ineradicable shadow which follows us on a noon day sun.

This concept has been revolutionized for me this weekend. I think that I will automatically revise it, to be vigilantly on guard for the worst, for the chip on the tea cup...until proven otherwise.

It came to be that I called my best friend and confidante last Friday afternoon at her home. This is the person I trusted to a greater degree with my most intimate secrets. If fact, she is the one who nonchalantly agreed to photograph me only wearing wet gauze white top, which really was a sheer excuse for clothing.

My intention for taking these wet shirt pictures of me was to send to a special someone, while he was away on one of his frequent business trips. Although I did send one of these to an anonymous soldier stationed in Iraq, to help boost his…morale.

It was actually funny that we drove to a park on a sunny weekday afternoon, and we walked far into the woods to find a secluded and perfect spot for the photo session, all the while I wore a jacket over my wet shirt.

So much trust, love, secrets, tears and laughs shared were obliterated by mere chance. These created a precious and rare mosaic shattered into a hundred pieces, which cannot be glued together again without showing a grotesque disfiguring, too ugly to hold viewing under the glaring sunlight.

This chance was due to a freak coincidence that someone pressed the wrong button on a cordless receiver and pressed speaker phone.
I know I should not have eaves dropped; it is wrong to do so, yet I was riveted to their conversation as they enjoyed their early dinner.

I know it was wrong, but remember we wrestle with the shadow constantly. I find that my curious nature can also be a handicap.

After being privy to their intimate conversation, which by coincidence detailed the contents of an earlier conversation we had sustained, I called her cell phone. In a softly modulated tone, not belying the gut-wrenching hurt, and shock I had experienced from her betrayal, I carefully enunciated each word when I told her not to ever, ever call me again.

The film I saw tonight aptly suited my mood; it helped somewhat to crystallize my general perception of people from now on.

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Simplicity

Thought for the day...


Handle every situation like a dog.

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If you can't eat it or hump it.....piss on it, and walk away.

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thought sent by my sister Scarlett.

Passage of Time

Open Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZwJA1S2i-U

Complaints

We complain, yet...

1. We complain without acknowledging our blessings.

2. We complain about having to go to work, while others don't believe they have a future.

3. We complain about our parents misunderstanding us, yet would you want a parent like this?

4. We complain about being fat, too skinny, ugly... focusing on superficiality, not seeing from the heart.

6. We complain that we have no one to love us. Yet, have they ever felt loved?

8. We complain about not having something fashionable to wear, luxury cars, multiple homes.

10. We complain about things we have lost, not having a prayer answered. Do you know what a desperate heartfelt plead is?

11. We complain about gaining weight during the holidays, when others would love a piece of bread.

12. We complain about our misfortunes which only happens to us; let's not be egocentric, when there is another reality.

13. We complain that we are not happy because we are incapable of seeing the BIG blessing we enjoy daily...

14. LOVE this picture... Old soul.

Next time we complain, get angry, inflict self criticism, ignore...

Ask yourself, have you lacked food, shelter, work, love, friendship, family....truly.

Take this as a message to your soul.

~ Unknown author

Open link: Excelente...pps (1144.9 KB)

Eden VII

Jennifer sighed in relief when Carla stopped the car abruptly at a look out vantage point of view. The car halted to a scratch a foot from the railing.

-“Let’s take a walk Jennifer, shall we?” Carla said in a deceptively velvety purr.

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-“Sure.” Jennifer was glad to exit the oppressive interior of the car.

She walked ahead of Carla a few feet, yet Carla matched her pace to lace her arm with Jennifer’s.

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-“Jenny, we need to air some things out in the open fresh air, with this amazing view around us. You see, I have built my business unfazed about stepping on other’s toes, using people to get ahead, and waking the like between the legal and the not so. My instincts have brought me this far, and I’m not stopping now…for anyone. Do you understand me Hon?
.

Now, I want you to confess to me if what you told of the inside operations of Eden. I know it was you, admit it! The leak was an inside job, I was made aware of early this morning, and before the shit hits the fan, I need to know who you told, what you told, and with what you supported your claims.” Carla said with a frightful contained feral intensity.

Jennifer could see it in her eyes. Carla was deranged. No doubt that she’d tear her to pieces if she confessed.

-“Carla, I don’t know what you are talking about, really! It wasn’t me, whatever information was leaked.” Jennifer said while finding it extremely difficult to hold her gaze steady on Carla’s.

Carla launched at Jennifer with the swiftness and ferocity of a hungry tiger going for the kill. She slammed Jennifer against the railing, and then proceeded to choke her throat.

-“You stupid little cunt! Do you think someone as insignificant as you is going to bring me down, and topple all I have built with my bare hands, on my back, and bore forth like a child? This morning we tracked your computer activity, and access with your password into the network.

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This is my baby and you are not going to stand in my way.” Carla spit these words out through a red faced, contorted to an ugly grimace which obliterated any resemblance of beauty or sanity.

.

Although of similar height and physique, Jennifer was no slouch. She had taken personal defense classes, and worked with resistance weights regularly. She clawed at Carla’s face and kicked her soundly on her stomach.

After the initial shock of pain, Carla attacked Jennifer with renewed violence.
Emitting a war cry, Carla leaped on Jennifer with such force, that they both toppled backwards over the railing to roll together in a death embrace.

Jennifer's guardian Angel must have been looking out for her, for she was able to grab and hold onto a thick vine, with mighty strength just as they were nearing the end of the slope and the deadly fall to the canyon bellow beckoned like a gaping hungry mouth.

Gravity forced Carla’s body down, as she slipped and held on to Jennifer’s right foot. Jennifer’s dress pumps were not fabricated for such adventures. Carla slipped into oblivion taking Jennifer’s shoe with her.

Although Jennifer was eventually applauded for blowing the lid off a scandal that rocked the elections and brought to light the ethical standards of the candidate in question, as well as denouncing the mind altering, subliminal manipulations of this type of business, it also made Jennifer a pariah in the corporate world. For nobody truly likes a snitch.

Eden VI

Jennifer turned off her computer, after being summoned to accompany Carla to business lunch.

She met Carla at the main lobby, with a feeling of dread slowing her steps. Jennifer did not consider herself a good liar in the least. She was prone to blush easily, and her expressive, eloquent eyes spoke for her.

She moderated her expression when they went into the elevator together. Carla exuded expensive perfume and contained sexuality. As gorgeous as ever, Carla smiled congenially and made small talk with Jennifer on their way to her car.

Jennifer found it perplexing that Carla could have such different personalities. She was very charismatic, and as she had inadvertently witnessed herself, Carla possessed a dark and cruel hue to her personality make-up. Jennifer found it hard not to feel tense as Carla drove smoothly down the highway.

After the dreaded small talk littered with questions of a personal nature, as to her family and plans for her future, Jennifer noticed they had driven farther than the usual distance, going east. As soon as she inquired where they were heading to, Carla’s visage changed immediately.

-“I will post the questions here Jennifer – not you. I always considered myself a good judge of character. I saw a bright, hardworking, and ambitious young lady in you. Yet, I seemed to have erred in my judgment. If you were bright and ambitious you could have come to me directly and made a bargain. If you want to call it that. More like an extortion. The point is you would have secured a seat in my inner, elite circle and gained knowledge, power, and instant wealth.

I like enterprising women, what I don’t like is a snitch.” Carla said this with spite as the car drove at exceeding speed limits while hugging the curve of the of the mountain. The only thing that separated steep precipice on Jennifer's side, was a white strip of rail.

To be continued…

Eden V

-“Lock the door.” Carla ordered.

Jennifer lay on the floor behind the sofa. She had a limited line of vision underneath the sofa where she could make out Carla’s black pumps walking to her desk, and a pair of man’s shoes which moved to stand behind Carla.

-“Stop it! We should focus on business, don’t distract me with your hands in my bra.”

-“There is plenty of time to talk about business, let me feel you, taste you, let me worship you!” The man said with vehement ardor.

Carla allowed Brad to scoop her in an embrace, and lead her to the over sized leather couch. She pushed him down on the sofa and smiled seductively as she unzipped her tube skirt, letting it rest at her feet. As long as she was not distracted, and did not have to reciprocate in any form, she was agreeable to play during business hours.

Leaving her top, and just her garter belt and black stockings on, Carla straddled his face. Her overly active mind struggled to maintain focus as the assault of his tongue teased her to a feverish pitch.

Jennifer was mortified. From her proximity, she could smell the musky scent of Carla’s lubrication, as well as hear the muffled groans and laps of the man who was servicing her.

Carla prolonged the inevitable as along as she could, as Brad lapped at her silky core as enthusiastically as a thirsty dog. She would not deign him the satisfaction of knowing he had succeeded in making her orgasm. She controlled her shuddering to a minimum, as well as any verbal acknowledgement. She liked to keep the upper hand in all situations.

She stood up to get dressed as Brad crawled on his knees from the sofa to bestow butterfly kisses on the cheeks of her buttocks, while his restrained erection clamored for attention.

-“Stop it Brad! I need to finish up with this meeting. I have a lot of work pending.” Carla said irritated as she moved away from his reach to retrieve her panties and skirt.

Jennifer saw from her vantage point how the man struggled to his feet to set on the chair facing Carla’s desk.

Chastised and contained, the man detailed his business plan.

“We need you to help win this election. It’s way too close, and too much is at stake here to let it grasp away. We are aware that you infiltrate subliminal messaging to motivate the subconscious to adopt the products you advertise via your fantasy sessions. We need this form of subliminal conditioning in favor of our candidate, you have the power to reach millions of people and we intend to use it to affect this presidential election. Just name your price, money is no object.”





To be continued…

Eden IV

Jennifer tossed and turned that night. Sleep seemed to elude her, yet, when she eventually succumbed to its seductive embrace; her subconscious seemed to speak up by creating scenarios where usually a chase ensued. Jennifer then felt compelled to run and hide from the bad guys.

She kicked the bed coverlets off. This summer surely promised to be a scorcher, if an overly warm winter was any indicative of the coming attractions. Recalling the National Geographic video on bed bite bugs, she changed her mind and covered her bare legs with the top bed sheet. What if those bugs bit someone HIV positive? Would they then pass the virus to the source of their next meal?

Perhaps sleep was over rated. The dark circles under her eyes refuted that claim.

Settling in her job at Eden had been a snap. She was a quick learner, and she eased into the company’s culture, to find her niche, while maintaining a low profile.

On a particular busy day, Jennifer had meant to drop the quarterly reports Carla had requested to review before her board meeting the following Monday. The door to Carla’s office was half way opened. When Jennifer saw that Carla was not there, she walked over to her desk, to deposit the folders on her desk.

The oversized computer screen glared in the subdued lighting of the early evening dusk. The e-mail detailed revenue from pharmaceutical companies paid to Eden for advertising. Jennifer heard Carla talking to someone on her return to her office. Jennifer panicked, for she did not think Carla would be too pleased to have someone read her computer contents.

She could not walk out the door without being found culprit of snooping. Her shame would give her away. Next best thing was to hide behind the large couch of Carla’s office.

To be continued…

Eden III

Jennifer was upset the mosquito had infiltrated into the boiling pot of water. If the spaghetti were not lying relaxed in the hot tub of swirling bubbles, it would be ok. She would simply heat a new pot of water. This posted a serious dilemma.

-“All that you need to do is rinse the noodles well - end of story.”

-“You don’t get it. It’s a matter of principle. There is boiled creature in there now, even if I rinse it I will be completely grossed out.” Jennifer rationalized to her roommate Carol.

-“You know what your problem is? You’re a closet racist. You discriminate over a little mosquito disintegrating in the heat, yet you don’t mind eating salmon or shrimp. You don’t give the due importance to that mosquito also a “creature” of God.”

-“I only eat fish very seldom, and when I feel low in energy. You don’t understand. Ever since I saw a PETA brochure, I cannot consume red blooded animals without seeing the misery and barbarity exercised in getting that meat onto your plate.”

-“Oh, then you should have no problem whatsoever consuming a little mosquito wing mixed with the oregano in the sauce. That is unless you discriminate over an ignoble mosquito.”

Jennifer rolled her eyes at Carol. “How can you make jest of racism; that is a serious accusation with serious consequences. Did you know I heard directly from an war veteran that the oldest soldiers are assigned to the riskier assignments in Iraq? If you consider that the war machinery is simply business you will see the logic behind this.

-“You should also alter your jokes too Jennifer, soldiers are not to be compared to mosquitoes. Although I’m sure there is a moral to be learned from this boiled mosquito.

Jennifer considered herself a person of integrity and principles. Perhaps that is the reason she found it hard to sleep some nights after a particularly hard day at work. She had been there ten months now, and was able to navigate the system, particularly by being diligent and staying under the radar.
Everything was ok until inadvertedly, she had been privy to a secret conversation, which if found out, might not only cost her job. It might also cost her life.


To be continued…

Lazy day

To me.

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While reflecting on this day, I realized how lucky I am for my family.

Thanks to my gorgeous sister Scarlett for inviting to lunch at BJ's...I omitted commenting that name for a restaurant is a bit suggestive. We split a big chocolate chip cookie with ice cream.

My boss and everyone at the office had a big ice cream cake waiting for me....I will simply OD on chocolate today.

Eden II

-“So, here is the inside scoop on what has made Eden such a huge success. I will take you after lunch to sit on a sales presentation to a prospective client, after he or she fills in a personality profile, in which we encourage them to be as accurate as possible.

This is made with the total reassurance that all information will be kept in the strictest confidence. Then we ask what sort of scenarios they would like to relive, experience for the first time, or reenact.

What makes Eden so addictive is that we feed their fantasies.

We can virtually bring back to life a deceased loved one, we create victories, triumphs, assuage their hunger for the forbidden, taboos.

Nothing is off limits, as the philosophy of Eden is that if they do it in the sanctuary of a locked room and in is simply played in their mind, it does not constitute a crime.

Morality is not irrelevant, for this is merely entertainment for adults. Besides, if people don’t exercise their personal demons here, they might just very well plan it out in real life, with probable atrocious consequences to another.”

-“I’m sorry Patricia, are you telling that there are no limits? I mean even a pedophile might enjoy a virtual sexual interaction with a minor?” Jennifer asked with barely contained outrage. The money was good, but there was a limit to what she would condone.

-“Good question! Actually those which involve minors are not allowed here as far as I know.
I like your ideals and enthusiasm Jennifer. But do realize that whether you work for Eden, or the tobacco or alcohol industries, we are merely the middle guy. We don’t regulate how far each individual will go to abuse the substances.

We don’t judge people. Often times we get a grieving spouse who only longs to have one final moment with their loved one. To tell them they love them, to hold them, make love to them, and simply talk to them and get feedback.

We might get an injured soldier traumatized post his ordeal. One who finds it easier to deal with a gorgeous virtual creature that is loving and accepting of him as a whole person, for in these fantasy sequences, the program can be altered to project the client as they wish to be portrayed. Be it whole, successful, taller, slimmer, bigger, or to appear twenty years younger…etc. There are too many variables to enumerate.

Those with psychotic and malevolent tendencies may choose to inflict horrible harm en mass with calamitous consequences. They play those hostile tendencies here, not in real life or in a school campus for instance. Though we tend to keep tabs on those types of fantasy sequences…for future reference.

Phobia victims with the aid of a staff psychiatrist may enact a phobia, and have the psychiatrist involved in the fantasy, taking him or her by the hand to face the phobia, and be reassured that there is nothing more to fear. Our success rate is quite high by the way.

See, we only strive to cater to their dreams and produce a little happiness. We liberate them! And this is what keeps them coming back for more.” Patricia said with a Colgate smile.



To be continued…

Eden

-“Patricia, please show Jennifer around, and train her in the procedures. Jennifer, you are to follow Patricia as her shadow for the rest of the week, and take notes. Our logo is synonymous with impeccable, outstanding service to our clientele. I know that you won’t disappoint us.” Carla said this with an amiable smile, which barely veiled a formidable authority, this a by product of a steely character.

-“Welcome Jennifer!” Patricia said with a smile as she extended her hand in greeting to Jennifer.

-“I’ll leave you two to get better acquainted. By the way Jennifer, it would be redundant to say that due to the confidentiality clause in your contract, you are not allowed to whisper outside these walls, or divulge in written form, anything in regards the operation, or the client list of this company. I trust we are completely aware that this is to be followed to the letter.” Carla said as she walked away, leaving a trail of Chanel No 5 in her wake.

Both young women turned to see Carla slink away from their immediate space. She was as always, immaculately groomed. Although and attractive woman, there was a predatory, and one might venture to speculate, fierce quality to her persona.
Perhaps those qualities were innate of a woman who had built a powerful corporation from scratch which had gone public, and has since burgeoned not only nationwide, but in selective cities around the globe.

-“Please sit down Jennifer. Do you want me to order us some coffee or water?” Patricia asked.

-“No thank you, I am fine.”

-“OK, let’s get started. As you well know, Eden is a name brand as ubiquitous and well known as Starbucks. In fact, the nature of both companies are similar in that we both cater to addictions - served with a smile. " Patricia said.


To be continued….

Wrong Address

A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier.

Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day.

The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston , a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack.

The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted.

The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife Subject: I've Arrived Date: October 16, 2005

"I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in. I've seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then!!!!

Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was."

P.S. Sure is freaking hot down here!!!!

.

Joke sent by my sister Scarlett.

Changes VIII

-“I’m sorry that happened to you Sylvia. As you can tell, I am not a man, merely thought to disguise in order to avoid getting in trouble.
Please tell me something, if there are several people scattered here and there, why don’t you unite to attack those men?

I counted about forty of them, which have at this very moment, converged at the pool hall.

Even now, this very moment we could probably find rat poison in these cartons. We could take those to the camp, while they are missing to poison their limited water supply, as well as help those women escape their deplorable situation!” I suggested.

-“Those men are evil, yet if we did that, would we not become like them?” Sylvia reasoned.

-“Hello! They are evil! They deserve it…surely!”

-“We are morally superior to them, and we know they are bad people. Yet, throughout history that has been the ideology which rationalized crimes against humanity. Don’t worry about the other women, they have been rescued as well, and are hiding elsewhere in town.” She said.

-“What are you waiting for? Why don’t you leave town? What date is it by the way? I asked exasperated.

-“You think we have the money to leave orbit like the elite do? If you happen to have two hundred grand to spare, you can take off from the Mojave into space.

There are rumored fantastic futuristic cities sustainable in outer space. These are ultra deluxe, massive space stations which promise the ultimate lifestyle, for those who can afford it. It is a sure way to omit the undesirables. The date is March 3rd, 2012." She said.

-“I guess you’re right. I heard in a lecture once that the elite are exclusive, they don’t want to include regular folk in their orbit, the middle class fosters hard work ethics with sensible planning, while the low- income classes place premium interest in entertainment, and mere survival.”

-“That maybe true, yet now there is a marked difference on a world of the Haves and the Have Nots. Having means extended life span, ultimate comfort, and fabulous unlimited fun.

Virtual reality can make you enjoy absolutely any type of fantasy in the comfort of your home. No matter how depraved it may be, and no one will get hurt.

It really is addictive. For instance, you can custom build your ideal lover, and the psychological interaction can really be superior to human interaction. One can program such lover to have outstanding intellect, for it is a computer after all, and to know exactly how to respond to your psychological make-up. Personally, I think it is a tactic used to waste people’s time in a fantasy land.” Sylvia said.

-“You know, perhaps it is as the Mayans predicted. Not the end of the world, but the end as we know it. Perhaps it is time to start rebuilding anew.” I said just as Jim came in loaded with Cheetos Chips, peanut butter, crackers, and bottled water.

-"What we are waiting for is further contact. We already see signs that things will change around. Man in not as evolved, or uses its brain capacity to its full potential, as other more evolved creatures. Man needs help." Jim said excitedly.

Sylvia and I both looked at Jim, as a specimen needed to procreate a new generation.

-"You're not going to try to convert me into a cult are you? Or take a personality test? I am weary of people trying to shove down my throat their doctrines.

I’m very tired you guys; let’s sleep on the decision of the rat poison. Tomorrow is a brand new day.” I said sleepily, after I ate a bag of chips, and inhaled a bottle of water.

Curiously, as I was falling asleep, the alarm of my bedside table woke me up. It seems as if I awoke from a very deep slumber...a very long lasting slumber.

.

Changes VII

I carefully closed the door behind me, without making much noise.

There were boxes piled high; I vacillated between looking for food, and investigating my surroundings.

I strained to hear a conversation drifting from an open door at the end of the hall. I stealthily walked down the lit corridor, to its source. From the slit of the half way opened doorway, I could make out a girl and a guy sitting on a long table. There was an open bag of cookies, and bottles of fruit punch on the table.

I slammed the door open, and walked directly to the table, intent on grabbing some cookies and punch. They looked up to me startled, and with choreographed synchronicity, they each pointed a gun to at me.

I was faster.

I grabbed a punch bottle and started drinking it, oblivious to them for the time being. I did not ask for permission to grab a cookie - I simply did. I took four of them and sat down on an empty chair in front of them. I was too hungry and grumpy to care at this time.

I burped.

-“Pardon me. I just happened to stop by looking for gas for my car, which is broken down about fifty-four miles east. Please go on about your business, I was looking for food, and plan to be on my way soon.” I said apologetically.

I looked innocently at both, and could not help noticing that the girl’s hands shook while pointing the gun. She was about mid-twenty; although she was pretty, her face was disfigured by a scar running vertically along her right cheek.

-“Relax! I’m just trying to find a place to rest and freshen up, as I intend to seek the gas station attendant tomorrow. Besides, I was told there was a gang of no good people roaming around here, and I saw a dirty bunch gathering at the pool hall on Main. I did not want to run into them.” I said with a soothing tone, while attempting to placate the woman pointing the gun shakily at my head.

-“I’m Jim. Listen, I’m going to go bring something to eat here, so you too can talk this over. I’m glad you didn’t run into those people. I’ll be back in a bit.” Jim said as he put his gun away, and walked out of the room.

-“I’m Sylvia. I was lucky to find shelter here as well after I escaped from the camp. There are several of us here, and in other parts of the city. We hide in the mall, the library, the hospital, schools. We hide from the bad guys, and wait.” She said after putting away her gun as well.

-“Who are the bad guys?" I asked, although I assumed it was the golf cart gang.

-“Those guys you saw riding the golf carts kidnapped me, when I too stumbled into this hell town. They ganged raped me, and beat me, and then expected me to cook for them during the day. There were other women held captive by them too. I was lucky I escaped when they were too drunk to notice. They are the bad guys. Although the people hiding here and elsewhere would say that the bad guys are the ones in authority. They refused to get a chip implanted on the right hand, without that chip one can’t buy or sell anything now. Every move, every correspondence is surveilled. Our rights have been eroded.” She said.

I gathered the cookie crumbs off the table to eat these as well and bid my time. These were stale chocolate chip cookies. Why was it that what she said echoed an article I had read in the Sunday 'Los Angeles Times' on abuse of women in the Congo, where they were brutally beaten, gang raped by thirty of forty men, and made to cook for the enemy soldiers?

This must be some freaky nightmare. What else could I expect, when Coty mentioned that one of the women of her temple had contributed her story to the group as testimony of evil on earth. She said that her father had raped her, and the baby that had been a product of that rape was eaten alive by her own father, and he happened to be a Satanic worshiper. I had to stop visiting Coty, if those visits lead to this type of nightmares. I felt shivers down my spine.


To be continued….