I'm home, safe and sound! Goodbye Orlando, till next year!

RIP Neil Armstrong! http://uk.news.yahoo.com/first-man-moon-neil-armstrong-dead-82-u-191446019.html

"You can take issue about anything almost all of the time, but it isn't compulsory." ~ Anonymous

An Altered Fairy Tale #1

In this altered tale, Hunter Fox is the young agent who saves Red Ryder from the clutches of Wolf Lupino, who's been sentenced to 25 to life for two counts of attempted murder, assault and battery, and attempted rape. Grandma won't feature here, either - the state put her in a nursing home the minute they left the forest, and gave Red to Hunter's family as a foster child. But Red is no "child" in my tale... (Not sure I like where I left it...)

THE FOX HUNTER

Today she turned twenty-one. It had been five years. Wolf Lupino languished in a maximum security prison, Grandma was still muddling along at the old folks' home, and Hunter... Red sighed as she raised her arms to rinse the shampoo from her hair. She had only dreamed about today for five years, because today she would get Hunter. She'd fallen for the tall, broad-shouldered protector of the weak almost from the day he saved her from Wolf. At first, she didn't hide it, but everyone laughed and found it cute that a teenager would have such a crush on a grown man. No one took her seriously.

She lathered her skin with shower gel as she thought back to the first time she knew he felt something too. It had been her eighteenth birthday party, and his mother had asked him to take her shopping for a beautiful dress for her party. She had chosen a deep emerald green gown, that floated around her and made her feel beautiful. And she had seen the spark in his eyes when she walked into the room to cheers and wolf whistles.

"What big eyes you have, Hunter!" she had said to him, laughing a little so he wouldn't get spooked and stop looking. "D'you like my dress?"

Hunter had swallowed and nodded, smiling in lieu of an answer. "Thank you! Wanna take a picture with me?"

She knew he wouldn't refuse such an innocuous request, but she managed to get him to encircle her waist and she snuggled up against him, and looked into his face with a bright smile. That was one of the best pictures from the party. She rinsed the soap from her body, and reached for a towel, wrapping herself in it as she stepped from the tub. She used the edge of the towel to wipe away the moisture from the mirror, and set about blow drying her hair.

"Red!" Hunter's voice sounded outside the bathroom door. "Hurry up! I'd like a shower before people start coming!"

"Sure thing, hon...Hunter!" She caught herself on the endearment. She hadn't been taking lessons at The Charming School, patronized by no less a personage than the Princess Snow White herself, for nothing! She had studied all the tricks for getting round obstinate men, seducing them, and then winning their affections, and she wasn't about to give away her plan before it even got off the ground.

She hurriedly finished the drying and walked into her bedroom as Hunter walked out of his.

"Sorry!" she mumbled as she hurried by him.

In her room, she dried herself, rubbed the jasmine-scented lotion that she knew Hunter loved into her skin, spritzed herself with the same scented perfume, and then set about making up her face. She knew Hunter liked her "innocent" look, so she wrapped her hair in a sleek, elegant chignon at her nape, and kept the color on her face to a minimum. Besides, the red dress she was planning to wear would more than compensate for any lack of color anywhere else. Barely there lip and cheek color, eye makeup only a little darker than her green eyes, light mascara, and her face was ready. Next came the silk stockings, held in place by lacy white garters attached to a sweetly feminine corset that pushed up her full breasts.

The dress was last. It was a long, slender sheath, falling to the tops of her feet when she put on the stiletto heels she had bought to match. It fitted her breasts like a glove, swirling around her middle before falling in soft folds down to the floor. There were no straps, but she carried herself with such panache that straps would have been superfluous.

Red looked at herself in the mirror, and whistled. "What big boobies you have!" she said in a deep voice, and chuckled, waggling her eyebrows before adding, "All the better to catch you with, my dear!"

Still chuckling, she took one last look at her reflection in the mirror, added the simple gold chain Hunter had given her when she turned eighteen, a jingle of bangles to her wrist, and she was ready to face the world, and the man she loved.

The doorbell rang as she stepped out of her room. She walked to the top of the stairs and looked down. People were beginning to arrive, and she and Hunter had decided that she would mingle with them until the hour set aside for dinner. She moved to go down the stairs when Hunter's door opened, and she stood transfixed, watching him walk toward her with a quickening heartbeat. His smile left her rooted to the spot, and when he stopped in front of her, she found she could not speak, either, but could only stare at him in his dark blue suit, his crisp white shirt and dinner jacket stretched over impossibly broad shoulders, the scent of his cologne weakening her already shaky knees.

"You look incredible, sweetheart!" he said, and bent to kiss her. Despite her surprise at the endearment, she presented her cheek, still intent on following the formula, and was therefore knocked for a loop when he turned her face back to his and dropped his lips to hers. It was a gentle kiss, and quickly over, but Red knew something had changed. Hunter had turned the tables on her, and she didn't know how to proceed. This was NOT in the manual. She blinked when he added,

"I've always loved a good hunt!"

He put his arm out for her to take, and she took it, smiling, regaining her composure. They walked down the wide staircase together, and on the last stair she said,

"What a handsome man you are, Hunter!"

He didn't miss a beat. "All the better a match for you, my dear!" he said.

Red knew, as she walked into the family's living room, that this would be the birthday where all her dreams would come true. She smiled as Hunter released her, and went to mingle with her guests.

Testimonials

Remember these, from Yahoo 360 days?  We and our friends exchanged loving words of support, admiration and affection with each other in a public way, so anyone who came to visit could see how closely bonded we were. Remember how we deplored the fact that Multiply didn't have such a feature? Most of us gave it up without too much of a struggle, but some of us didn't.

Laci, my Indian friend in Canada, has set up a testimonial page on her WordPress site, and so I posted the poem I wrote for her when she won it for being the 5000th visitor on my Kittigory page.  It reminded me that I had saved all my testimonials from 360, as well as the ones written for me here on Multiply on Kittigory, and I almost deleted them.  Don't worry...I've put them with the blogs I have saved from both my pages here.

Why am I telling you about them?  Well, that e-mail I received earlier has been doing a number on me.  The earlier laughter with which I had greeted it has changed...never mind to what, but I have become morose and angry and hopeless.  Reading the lovely things some of you have said about me has helped to lift my spirits immeasurably.  The weight is still there, but I am no longer rubbing my chest to dissipate the hurt and anger -- at least it's bearable now.

Thanks, guys!  I love you all!  *hugs*  

Sometimes what it looks like is all that it is.

Captions

PLEASE NOTE:  The task is to write a one-sentence description of each picture that tells the story somehow.  The captions appear ABOVE the pictures they refer to.  I did my best - enjoy! 

"Oh damn, it's my Dad!"




"Not sure I LIKE this position, honey!"



"What?  It was an accident!"

Child's Play

"Hello?"

"Jenny?  Is that you?  Jeez, girl, you sound terrible!"

"Thanks for waking me up to compliment me, Tansie!"

"Oh pooh, don't go all sarcastic on me, please!  And what do you mean by wake you up?  It's after noon!"

"So?  Is there some rule that says I have to get out of bed before noon?"

"Jenny," (patiently) "I know you're on leave, but this is ridiculous!  You can't spend the rest of your holiday holed up in your room!"

"Why not?  Besides, it's raining, so I can't go out."

A sigh.  "Look, Jenny, why don't I come over and we can make a gourmet meal together like old times, and after we eat, we can go for a drive.  The weatherman says the rain will stop soon."

"Thanks, Tansie, but I'm fine.  I don't feel like cooking."

"Jennifer Thomas, you 'haven't felt like' doing a whole lot of stuff since Jim passed.  It's time to let someone in to be with you and help you go through this!"

"I'm fine, Tansie!  Tell Mom I'm fine, she doesn't have to worry!"

A pause.  "You want me to tell our 86-year-old mother, whom you haven't spoken to in over a month, that you're okay?  And you expect her to believe me porque why?  Don't forget, she knows about the job you didn't get, before Jim died.  Two major losses, Jenny, one after the other.  Mom's beside herself with worry, and you want ME to tell her you're fine? Well you can forget it!  If you want Mom to know you're fine, YOU tell her yourself!"

A shrug.  "Sure, Tansie, I'll tell her soon."  Swiping at a tear.  "Thanks for calling me, anyway."

"Oh no, you're not!  You're NOT brushing me off this time!  When are you gonna call Mom?  She's home now."

"I don't know.  Maybe when I get out of bed."

"When will that be?"

"In a minute, Tansie!  If you'd get off the bloody phone I would, for goodness sake!"

Another pause.  "When was the last time you ate?"

Silence.

"Jenny?  Jenny!  Don't tell me you haven't eaten!" Low cursing.  "Jesus!  I'm coming over there right now, and you're gonna eat if I have to drench you like a horse getting his meds!  You hear me?"

Click.

Sniffling, then broken singing.  "Rain, rain, go away! Come again some other day!  Maybe I'll come out to play..."

Dum-diddlyum...idiom fun!

...idiom fun!  See if you can figure out what these mean without looking them up online.  And then, if you can, share some you like from your culture.  I'd love to read them!

1.  Enough is as good as a feast.

2.  A change is as good as a rest.

3.  You can't see the wood for the trees.

4.  You're as much use as a wet fart in a thunderstorm. 

5.  Better untaught than ill taught.

6.  That's a horse of a different color.

7.  A penny saved is a penny earned.

8.  He can't cut the mustard.

9.  That was a flash in the pan.

10. We're all going to hell in a handbasket.

Idioms are more than just words, aren't they?  Reminds me of this song, which I love so much...

They did it again!

And despite the sudden necessity of having them tested for illegal doping -- after all, how could four black boys from a tiny little Third World country REALLY achieve such brilliance without cheating? -- they've done themselves, their country, and their countrymen proud!  Go deh, boyz!  

Hmmm...interesting! http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jamaican-sprinters-expect-more-drugs-tests-pound-204717922--spt.html

Watching the Women's Mountain Biking in the Olympics, and this thought occurred to me: "It's not a race, it's an endurance test." Seems like that's a great description of life, don't you think.

Found Poem

(Sample "true" found poem, from Beowulf – from the beginning of “the dragon’s treasure” digression, ll. 2230 – 2280. This was done to provide an example for my students, who were required to choose a digression in the poem, and make of the words in it their own composition, focusing on something that catches their creative eye. A "true" found poem uses mostly, if not only, words from the original document.) 

I thought this was apropos, given the end of my blogging life on Multiply.

SURVIVOR

The last survivor of a noble race,

he looked around him, joyless --

gold and jewels in a sealed fortress,

precious, ancient treasures

in that large stone tower,

built near the sea below a cliff;

waves in front of it, rocks behind.

The last survivor of a noble race,

he knew how war and terror

had closed the door

to all gladness, delight, and living.

He knew that hidden treasure,

heaped high in the tower,

would tarnish and crack.

The last survivor of a noble race,

he alone in the darkness sadly watched

the end of a dynasty.

Gone the harp’s bright song;

gone the hawk on its swift wing,

gone the trampling stallion,

their masters hurled to the grave.

Copyright © 2012 by Teri K D Bannerman

Don't Cry For Her! (Not a blog for haters!)

Whitney Houston would have been 49 years old today...  Her good friend Cece Winans sang this song at her funeral.

SWEEP!!!! Jamaicans RULE!!!!! YAY!!!!! *doing the excited, I'm Jamaican-and-proud happy dance*

Wow! That clap of thunder scared the business outta me!

How Sweet!

A friend of mine wrote this poem.  I think it's such a great little poem, because it speaks of deep affection, maybe even love, while at the same time it's sounding a note of fear, if she leaves him.  Is it just me?  What do you think?  I've omitted the name of the person to whom it is dedicated.

UNDONE

To _________________, with love.

No lilies, you know, nor peacocks; it was 

not a Lalique gem but rather the wholesome 

loveliness of spring when you came 

that day. The bitter wind 

had temporarily left the garden, green, 

untidy, and night fell, the sky cloudless 

like a sudden revelation. I knew 

there must be some truth in such 

matchless beauty. It is strange, now, 

to meet you here. The light 

seems changed by your eyes, as then - 

when you close the door on me

I will be sitting here staring, the fire 

gone cold. There will be left 

not even a handful of stars.

Copyright © 2012 by Peter V.

Wild at Heart!

Gloriana is a newer country band, and I love their music.  It makes me wanna dance, and the lyrics are great, too!  "I just wanna free fall for a while!"  Add to that the musicianship, the performance, the way the parts go together -- guitars, synthesizer, drums, voice -- delightful!  These kids have that magic "something" that I find very attractive, not to mention they're good-looking!  All of them!  

First, the title tune!  *head bobbing foot stamping, as I type"

*singing*  "You've got me running, baby, wild at heart!  Oh-oh!  All riiiiiiight!"

Next, double entendre to the Nth degree...at least in the title!  Or am I just naughty?  

Well?  "Are you looking for a little more?  How far do you wanna go?  Tell me..."  

He finally got up the courage to ask her out, and of course, he got lucky!  As we knew he would!  The goodnight kiss in this next video, "(Kissed You) Good Night", was a cool foot in the door, eh?  

 

So, he kissed her, and he told her where HE wanted to go!  Hence this next song, "Wanna Take You Home". Sexy lil hip-shaker, complete with boot-scootin' line dancing! Yeehaw!!  Lucky sod!

Three -- count them THREE -- Jamaicans in the 200m finals tomorrow night in London! Oh YEAH!!! Time for a sweep!!! *grins*

"If you don't whistle while you work, your work's not worth a whistle!" ~ Designing Women

Goodbye Multiply!

Just got this note from Multiply...did you?

Hello. Stefan here, writing you from Multiply HQ in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

As most of you are probably aware, Multiply's mission has evolved over the past year and a half to become the biggest and most beloved ecommerce marketplace in two very exciting markets, Indonesia and the Philippines. As our focus has shifted, we have reviewed all of our operations, and made some decisions that will affect everyone here.

• From December 1st, we will unfortunately no longer be able to support Multiply in its current form - notably we will be removing the social networking and content sharing part of Multiply (photos, videos, blogs, social messaging, etc.). We have decided to discontinue providing and hosting these services, as we have concluded that other Internet sites who are committed to social networking services will do a better job serving you than we can.
• For our existing users of social networking features, we will be providing easy ways for you to either download your stuff (photos, blogs, content, etc), or migrate it to other online services. We'll announce the precise details shortly. It will be your choice whether to download, migrate or just let your content lapse (and get deleted).
• For our existing ecommerce users (both buyers and sellers) in Indonesia and the Philippines, there will be no action required.
• Regarding any existing Multiply Premium subscriptions we will refund any unused balance, and apologize for any inconvenience this will cause. Please contact customer service to request a refund. Note that this is for Multiply Premium, not the ecommerce related Multiply Trust product.

I am aware of how disruptive this news may be, and understand the disappointment that it may cause. Ultimately this was a business decision, critical to our to success moving forward. Instead, we are excited to pursue our own mission to give the 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines a great way to buy and sell items online. Our singular focus now is for Multiply to retain its status as a vibrant e-commerce destination in Southeast Asia in the years ahead. 

I suspect that many of you will not like this news, and am sorry to have to deliver it now. I hope that you will be able to understand the reasons for our decision and thank you for being a part of the Multiply community over the past eight years. 

Stef 

Pun-ography! LOL!

Sent to me in e-mail by my cousin!

*************************

Jokes about  German sausage are the wurst .

 

A soldier who survived mustard gas  and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran .

 

How  does Moses make his tea ? Hebrews it.

I stayed up all night to see  where the sun went. Then it dawned on me .

 

This girl said she  recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I'd never met herbivore  .

 

I'm reading a book about anti-gravity.  I can't put it down  .

 

I did a theatrical performance about puns.  It was a play on  words .

They told me I had type A blood, but it was a Type-  O.

 

A dyslexic man walks into a bra.

PMS jokes aren't funny,  period.

Why were the Indians here first ?  They had  reservations .

Class trip to the Coca-Cola factory.  I hope  there's no pop quiz .

Energizer bunny arrested.  Charged with  battery.

 

I didn't like my beard at first.  Then it grew on me  .

 

How do you make holy water?    Boil the hell out of  it!

 

Did you hear about the cross eyed teacher who lost her job  because she couldn't control her pupils ?

 

When you get a bladder  infection, urine trouble .

 

What does a clock do when it's hungry ?  It goes back four seconds.

 

I wondered why the baseball was getting  bigger. Then it hit me !

 

Broken pencils are pointless.

 

I  tried to catch some fog. I mist.

 

What do you call a dinosaur with a  extensive vocabulary ? A thesaurus.

 

England has no kidney bank, but  it does have a Liverpool.

 

I used to be a banker, but then I lost  interest.

 

I dropped out of communism class because of lousy Marx  .

All the toilets in New York 's police stations have been stolen.  Police have nothing to go on.

 

I got a job at a bakery because  I kneaded dough.

 

Haunted French pancakes give me the  crepes.

 

Velcro - what a rip off !

 

Cartoonist found dead in  home . Details are sketchy.

 

Venison for dinner ? Oh deer  !

 

Earthquake in Washington obviously government's fault.

 

I  used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so  sure.

An Olympic hero -- you have to respect a man who goes after his dreams, no matter what! Go, Oscar! Hats off to you! http://www.thestar.com/sports/london2012/athletics/article/1237537--london-2012-oscar-pistorius-makes-history-but-blade-runner-debate-goes-on

The Jamaicans can STILL run! YAY!!!! Go, Jam Down, go!!! *pumps fist in joy*

Black Gospel Part 1

I love The Winans, both the former quartet, now trio -- Ronald, one of the brothers died in 2005 -- and the individuals Bebe (Benjamin) and Cece (Pricilla).  This first song is one I discovered when we watched a videotape (yeah, that's how long ago I've "known" them!) of a concert of theirs.  It's a favorite of mine. (You'll note they are three here, because Ronald has passed away by this point.)

Serendipity...

...is the word for how I come to be posting this video first.  I visited a friend's blog, and listened to the Donnie McClurkin song she had posted.  It sent me to YouTube, where I found another song from that concert, a Jamaican medley which I love, and I posted it on her page.  Remembering that in the concert of which those two songs were a part, Pastor McClurkin had Pastor Marvin Winans of "The Winans" as a guest, I went looking for THAT song, which took me to Whitney Houston's funeral, where he and his siblings had a part, and sang a few songs, and he was the preacher.  From there, it was a small step to this video which I think ends on a most appropriate note, as you will see if you listen to the end.  There are some glitches, but this is a student's work, so be patient.  And enjoy!  

K's "Best of the Rest" FIAF Moments

This picture was taken from the Internet.  And yes, it was a poll of one person...me!)

As I indicated in my note earlier, I'm going the extra mile, because I want to, and it was difficult for me to choose the ones I liked best.  I ended up choosing two in each self-made category -- female protagonist, male protagonist, dialogue -- and had to forcibly restrain myself from choosing more.  Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm "all that and a bag o' chips" when it comes to doing these, but I like some of them a whole lot more than I like others, and with my teacher's instinct, I also recognize some really good ones among them, as well.

I hope you enjoy the choices I have made!  

Female Protagonist "Bests"

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Male Protagonist "Bests"

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Dialogue Only "Bests"

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K's FIAF #100

THE LAST TIME

This lushest tributary of the river was especially vivid today as they hiked by the cabin where they normally stayed overnight. Today was Ben's last here, before the move he couldn't avoid.  

All he loved was here.

They came upon the wide river too soon, and waited, the silence between them deep as the river.

No one else has to do this, but because this might be the last FIAF -- I know, you all object, and I AM rethinking it -- I've decided to do three "best of the Bests". One will be the best with a female protagonist, another the best of the male protagonists, the last the best with dialogue only. It'll be fun for you, I hope, as much as it will be fun for me to choose them.

Fiction in a Flash #100 & "The Best of the Rest"

This week, in celebration of our 100th challenge, two pictures.  As usual, feel free to do either one, or combine both into one, if you can.  Then, in addition to the new challenge, please post a link to the "best of the rest" that you have done, so we can not only read this new vignette, but revisit the one you think is the best of all you've done.  Have fun with this week's game!

These photographs were taken from the Internet.

The "rules" are few and very simple:
* Your entry will come due each Saturday, when a new picture will be posted.
* You may only write 55 words.
* Your entry must be fiction.
* You may not alter the picture in any way.
* Post your entry as a blog on your page, and drop off the link in the comments section on this page.
* Have fun!  (Yes, it's a rule!  )

Pregnancy Test????? WTH!!!!!

Today I had to have two procedures done, one of which had previously been done at Vassar Brothers Medical Center.  Today's procedures were an echo sonohysterogram, and a catheter sonohysterogram. The second procedure involved inserting a catheter into my uterus, pumping some fluid into it, and then looking around.  

(If you're REALLY interested in ole lady medical stuff, go Google them!)

What I found really funny was that, to begin, I was given a regular sonogram, the kind pregnant women are given at every visit, and after that, I was asked to provide a urine sample for a pregnancy test.

Yep...you heard me right!  A pregnancy test!  You could have knocked me over with a feather!!!  When I laughed and asked why, I was told it's part of the procedure.  I guess they have to be careful, even with supposedly post- (VERY POST-) menopausal women like me, on the off-chance that there might be a lil bambina snuggling up in my womb. They wouldn't want to pass ANY objects through my cervix, or insert any foreign bodies into my womb, unless they were taking an amniotic sample (which I wouldn't have let them do, anyway. I didn't with my last child, when I was 42.)

Still, a pregnancy test!  I laughed for a while.  And then chuckled some more.  And then breathed a silent sigh of relief when the little monitor showed one line, like the one above!  

Because I hate to say it, but if, by some weird and totally odd "miracle", I became pregnant after all my eggs have been used up (three years now) -- that's what menopause is, we run out of eggs! -- I would NOT have been a happy camper.  At ALL!

Thank God for small mercies! 

YEAH!

Makes me wanna dance, coz it's a catchy tune with some awesome moves...and the big girl gets the hot guy!! YAY!!!    "I love it when a plan comes together!"

If only life were like this musical, eh?  

Spunky Attitude!

I was gonna title this one "Spunks", remembering what Christophine tried to teach her charge, Antoinette, in WIDE SARGASSO SEA ("Woman mus' have spunks to live in this wicked world!"), but I know how some of you are, and this has NOTHING to do with THAT!  

What a great song...and at the end of the short span of time -- "It isn't too long a stay" -- that is your life, can you hear Sinatra sing "Yes, it was my way!"?