"So that's it then. They produce the most so they should be rewarded, not penalized." The ruler gestured."So it is done," said the sycophant. "But master, what about reciprocity? Those that produce the least. Should they not be punished in some fashion?""Of course. Take a percentage of their goods and distribute among the producers." He paused. "And make of this a lesson. For every act rewarding the deserving, there shoul...
The cave lit up at first sight of the sun. Sommer had already been outside the cave and back So when Eduardo woke up to find Sommer now fully clothed, he was surprised. “Where did the clothes come from?” “You forget. This is a war-ridden time. Dead bodies aren’t that hard to find. I got the clothes from the first one I found.” Eduardo made the symbol of the Cross out of respect for the dead, then kissed his small golden r...
One of the funniest, yet simplest things I have ever seen since working with children happened on Thursday and even now, just thinking and writing about it, I have the giggles again. We have a 'family play' area set up for the children. They have a little seating area, a round table, two small cots and a small bed for the dolls or some of the smaller children, though they are bigger than the dolls and my fear is the wood...
Kaye made her way to Ed's room. She wondered how can all this be happening right now. He seemed better yesterday, had a little cough; nothing serious. As she entered the room, she scanned the small room looked at the medicine pole; several new full bags were on it, the antibiotics she supposed. Ed's face was pale, beads of sweat on his forehead. Oxygen tube placed in his nostrils the hissing of the oxygen, the monitor bes...
Yes, Here!We were not very water savvy due mostly to not being blessed with enough deep water to learn to swim. In my teenage years, this began to change through visits to swimming pools and making friends with the Layborn’s, who were passionate white water enthusiasts.I eventually bought a 17-foot aluminum canoe, and we found a favorite float trip down Wendover Canyon above Gurnsey Dam on the Platte River. Most of this t...
SETTING: A boy wakes up in a hospital bed next to his father. A doctor walks into the room to deliver the news.Doctor: Hello and welcome to-Son: Doc, give it to me straight.Doctor: Well son, there’s no easy way to put this but-Son: Doc! How long do I have to live?Doctor: A weekSon: A week! That’s not enough time to live. I’m gonna die young. I’m gonna die young. [Son whining]Father: Oh would you stop with the whining, you...
I walk along these lonely roads and go where I have been directed by the Tao, and in most cases I am the only one walking down these empty streets. With usually having my shadow walking with me to wherever I head as I make my way down the line, and it seems as if at times like I am on the borderline that divides my mind. Reading all between the lines, and seeing all things in shades of grey and not in black and white like...
Another day has passed with some carrying the ghosts of the past that hide in the shadows, and in the smoke carried in those wounded eyes. Being like some sort of fatal attraction where one can lose themselves, as long as they don’t lose control. Looking for the light and it feels as if the someone shut off the power and they sit there in the dark, like they are sitting in a cell with the walls making them feel so small....
Is it fateHow we relateWhen things are greatWe celebrateWe shift and spinHonoring our winIgnoring our sinsThe darkness withinThere is no painFor me to explainNo way to complainWhen we've gone insaneGoing day by dayIs there any other wayShould I simply stayIs it time to walk awayPerhaps a little napA voyage sans mapNo arms around me wrapNo love to fill the gapUntilWe shift one againRushing through our veinsWe find ourselve...
Tell me truthfully how it came about,Explain to me where things went so astray,That joyful certainty should turn to doubt,Those bright flowers of love stained by decay.My aching heart is full of unnamed fears,Dreading to hear the unforgiving truth,Assure me that all will not end in tearsThat time itself will be unable to soothe.Speak words to prove my disquiet baseless,Merely unreal spectres sent to tormentBy the demons t...
So the handsome Chevalier returnsLeaving a trail of broken hearts in his wakeYet there is one heart he lusts after but cannot haveFor it is under safeguardLock and keepThe fair maiden plays a tough gameLeaving our handsome Chevalier to guess what really lies beneath the surfaceHe has hinted at knowing her true soulYet he will not tell of his findingsFrustration looms between the pairNeither willing to break the silenceAnd...
A Set-BackThe morning sun rose over the maple trees that edged her farmland. Kaye stood looking out the kitchen window; one knee resting on a cushioned kitchen chair as she sipped her morning tea. She loved this time of day. The maples bordered the sides of her driveway then down the roadway. She enjoyed watching them each morning as they marked the seasons.In the spring, Ed gathered the sap, turning the sweet, clear liqu...
Desperately watered you every daySinging to you some calming songsTalking to you, begging not to dieLeaves keep falling out on youStarting to dried up and died on meCried to sleep the whole day throughWoke up and looking at you, still sadSaid to myself your roots are still aliveHave to save you, replant where youMight grow back to a new lifeDespite you're dead twigs nowReplanted you in a new pot to surviveWatered you for...
Land of the brave… home of the free?That’s not quite right, but he’s not a mind for details. The whiskey slurs and slops in his stomach like a bad dream. American flag shorts. Unemployment lines color his future.The men America left behind sit huddled in the truth of their own misery. While gold litters the streets of the coastal elites, there is nothing left for them in the Rust Belt. Torn asunder by progress and conserv...
"Miss, Vena! Welcome back!" "Aye, Vena. It's been a while sweet heart." "Yo! Vena! Over here!" "Molo, Vena. Kuye mzuzwana, abe na?" "Hey, Vena!" "Welcome back, miss snake. What'll it be tonight?" "I told you," Vena replied. "It's not snake. It's Vena. Give me a caipirinha." "You know I can't do that," the bartender replied. "Besides, even if I knew how to mix that, a girl your age shouldn't be drinking alcohol." "Come on,...
