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The end of a series | the Manley series

2019-02-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

This is the end of a series and the beginning of something new
So, here we are my friends, this is the final chapter and hence, the end and closing of the series. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you, or more so. I’m going to be taking a few days of break and then I’ll be back with something new, hope you will join me for this also. And don’t keep it all to yourself now, share and tell. Thanks a lot for joining me here. Here is chapter 28 of the book called, How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley. Enjoy.

Chapter Twenty-Eight
The proposal. Down but not out.

We were descending the steps at the courthouse when I lost my footing and fell, my well-choreographed script played out just as planned, I rolled down the last three steps to the pavement below, Libby screened and hobbled down the best she could and stood over me looking into my sneaky eyes and me grinning all over my face, she offered me a hand up, I took it, not so much for the support role which she had intended but more for what I was about to do next. I got "up" to my knees from the position where I was lying there on my back. Still holding on to her right hand with my left hand I flipped open the tiny black box in my right hand. "Libby sweetheart.” I said, “will you marry me?"
With her left hand covering her mouth and her body convulsing, pulsating in a cross mix of her trying to suppress the laughter and the tears, she did manage to squeeze out a couple: “yes, yes, y...”
Before I stopped her in her tracks with a hot lingering kiss. To much oohs, Ahs and clapping cheers.
We left the courthouse and headed for home, we were both going back to my place downtown. We drove by the store in Cote des Neige, she wanted just to see the place. She doesn't seem to have the same strong feeling of resentment about the shop as she does the house, said she was going to call Selma, Kamal's wife and try to talk to her about it, see if she has any ideas that could get the place up and running again. “I don't want to have anything to do with it either, but Selma is a stranger in a strange new country who suddenly found herself alone with a young family to care for all on her own. She is going to need all the help that she can get.” She said that she was willing to reach out to her brother's wife and help in any way that she could.
“She's a good girl,” she said, “she didn't deserve any of this.”
Libby was released and placed into my care and protection after the hospital had managed to assure themselves that that was in fact, in the best interest of the patient. Or maybe it was because they were left with no other option, after Libby's insistence that she was not going back to spend another night in that house, ever again.
Libby is now staying in my spare room, recovering quite nicely indeed, everyone has been in agreement that, so far, she is doing quite well, and she really likes her new friend: Doctor Peppers, the new puppy I'd bought her as a welcome home present. It is actually more than just a welcome home present, it's in fact, a lot more than a pet for her at this point, it is aiding her along in the recovery effort in the long walk back to her optimal health.
Dr. Peppers is as cranky as I am this evening, he is whining and skipping around the apartment.
After the long and hectic day at the courthouse, Libby has had more than enough activities already for today to compensate for her daily exercises, so it's now my turn to walk the Doctor. Dr. Peppers that is.
As we turned the corner, the puppy and me, I noticed the four women standing there on the pavement near the park benches smoking and chatting away, and they were not the least bit discreet either, I knew right away what was the topic of their discussion, the news was spreading like wildfire.
“He proposed to her on the steps of the courthouse.” “During the trial of her parents.” One of those blabbermouths exclaimed.
“So did she accept?” Another wanted to know. “Did he go down on one knee?”
And then another one said, “if a guy is going to propose to me he better be doing it right, or else, no dice.”
Then yet another thought that she knows the best time and ways of doing it, on New Year's eve or new year’s day, and sealed with a kiss, the discussion continued as they started to fade out of my earshot.
I couldn't help but wonder how many of those know-it-alls have actually done it and is still basking in the after-glow, after-effects of the whole process, hmm.
Meanwhile, Doctor Peppers hoist a leg up on the signpost and shot off a few squirts of pee, couldn't be more perfect, the timing. I wanted to hear more from these toddle tails. So, I even allowed him to sniff around as much as he wanted to, before moving on, slowly, very slowly - until I was too far out of range to hear anything more from them.
It didn't really matter to me though, what they were thinking, saying or feeling on the subject. I guess it's just one of those strange phenomena where you hear or see something familiar and by reflection, you just have to react. Sort of like, you hear your name or someone speaking in a familiar dialect, in a crowd of people who all speak other languages, it’s like music to your ears, that familiar dialect will grab you and caused you to dig in closer for more. So that was all that that was meant to be for me, I just went along on my way walking the doctor, Dr. Peppers.
We went right along singing away:
One man went to mow, woof, woof,
Went to mow the meadow, woof, woof,
One man and his dog, woof, woof,
Went to mow the meadow, Woof, woof. (Adapted, I lay no claim to this)
Am I just imagining things here or is there really a bit more pep in both our steps today? Both Dr. Pepper and me?
The end

That’s it my friends. Thank you for your support and enthusiasm. Looking forward to having you join us on the next project, coming soon. See you in a few days.

Go get the Manley book and read the whole story.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history.

February 26
1998 - In Oregon, a health panel rules that taxpayers must help to pay for doctor-assisted suicides.
1998 - A Texas jury rejected an $11 million lawsuit by Texas cattlemen who blamed Oprah Winfrey for a price drop after on-air comment about mad-cow disease.
1979 - "Flatbush" debuted on CBS-TV.
1930 - New York City installed traffic lights.
1919 - In Arizona, the Grand Canyon was established as a National Park with an act of the U.S.Congress.
1870 - In New York City, the first pneumatic-powered subway line was opened to the public. (Beach Pneumatic Transit)
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the Island of Elba. He then began his second conquest of France.

Guilty verdict for all in Libby Dahoust case | Montreal man and wife

2019-02-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

The verdict is out, and some people will be going in, for a long stretch. Here is today’s episode from the Manley book.

Chapter Twenty-Seven
The trial, and more trials.

In their defense, the Dahousts claimed that it was Libby who had tried to kill herself, by swallowing the sleeping pills and the noxious windshield washer fluid, in an attempt at getting out of the arranged marriage to someone who she didn't know. Like she had told people she would do if they, her parents ever were to try to marry her off like they did her brother.
“So, you are telling this Court,” her lawyer counteracted, “that your daughter and sister: Libby Dahoust, who was on the fast track to a promising career in a medical field, who was madly in love with someone who, coincidentally, you did not approve of, and who happened to show up at your door on the very evening when your daughter was last seen alive and well, until she was rescued by law enforcement officers bound, and nearly dead in your house, her own home, or what should have been so. Your daughter who was considering moving out of your house to go out and fend for herself. She suddenly gets the bright idea that it's better to go bind and lock herself inside of the basement, swallow a hand full of sleeping pills, and a whole lot of windshield washer fluid and whatever else she could find just hanging around the room that would fast-track the process, and all this, while her hands were tied behind her back?”
They insisted though, that although it may not have followed in those orders and sequences, their version of events were the facts as they had occurred, and there are witnesses who can testify to the fact that that's what she had said that she would do if they should try to marry her off like they had done to Kamal.
“Do you love your daughter Mr. Dahoust? I repeat the question. Do you love, or even like your daughter?”
“I love all my children.”
“I see,” said the lawyer, “and, armed with those facts,” he continued, “which you just told this Court, you then went and do the very thing which you said she had told you that she didn’t want you to do to, and for her, and had even given you ample warnings, according to you, that if you ever try to do it, then she would in return do something terrible to herself.
Armed with all of that knowledge, you then went on to do the exact same thing which she told you would solicit those responses on her part, you did that to your child, your daughter whom you told us that you love so very much. Then went about taking steps to finish off the job and cover your tracks...” “Objection...” An objection was quickly mounted by the defense. Upon the objection from the defense lawyer, he quickly ventured to withdraw those comments.

…

The verdict
Found guilty of all charges. Was the verdict for all four, accuse. Libby and I were there when the verdict was read in court. She was out of the intensive care unit by then and was staying at my place most of the times. She wanted to see the proceedings live and in person. It did take some persuading on a number of different fronts but the care team at the hospital did eventually agree to send her with me to the court on the verdict day.
The convicts were being escorted out of the courthouse in handcuffs by the security guards.
Libby and I were standing near the exit when he saw us.
Mr. Dahoust saw me standing there with his daughter, the same daughter whom he, his wife, his best friend, and his son was arrested, charged and now found guilty of trying to murder.
He saw us standing there, together, and halt his steps in the doorway, “son of a bitch,” he said, staring at me there with his daughter, who could have, and probably should have died for all he cared, thanks to none other than: him, her very own sweet loving father, and her mother, and her ever loving brother. His piercing eyes, with such scorn, venom, and guile, just like a sword cutting at me...
“No sir,” I replied, in my by then fast-becoming the usual manner. “No sir, you ain't know nothing about me, nor my mother, or anyone else on my family tree for that matter. So don't you go comparing me to whatever it is that your idea of a family is, or ought to be.”
The sentencing, if there was any surprise in any bodies mind, it would have been in the length of the sentences, the amount of time each will have to serve, especially for the younger Dahoust male, he could be out in less than five years.
Twenty-five years without any chance of parole for ten years for the parents and their friend, the taxi driver, twenty years to Kamal with a chance to be paroled after serving four. Not nearly enough in the minds of most people and as the reports and comments in the papers and elsewhere would suggest. But that's where things are for the time being.
The lawyers for both the senior Dahousts as well as Kamal's lawyer had all given notices of appeals, at least in rhetoric at this point.

That’s it for today, my friends. See you again tomorrow when we shall venture into another episode.

Go get the Manley book and read the whole story.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history.

February 25
2005 - Dennis Rader was arrested for the BTK serial killings in Wichita, KS. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 life prison terms.
1986 - Filippino President Ferdinand E. Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of rule after a tainted election.
1940 - The New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens played in the first hockey game to be televised in the U.S. The game was aired on W2WBS in New York with one camera in a fixed position. The Rangers beat the Canadiens 6-2.
1837 - Thomas Davenport patented the first commercial electrical motor. There was no practical electrical distribution system available and Davenport went bankrupt.
1933 - The aircraft carrier Ranger was launched. It was the first ship in the U.S. Navy to be designed and built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier.
1570 - England's Queen Elizabeth I was excommunicated by Pope Pius V.

We are nearing the end of this series my friends, after which we will be venturing into something brand new and which I hope you will find interesting and engaging enough for you to subscribe and share the daylights out of this page. Thanks much.

Scared out of her wits | stranger on a bar stool

2019-02-22T22:25:00.000-05:00

Libby was scared out of her wits by a weird looking stranger on a bar stool. I had to take her home.
I did my best to reassure her that she's safe with me and to calm her down but she refused to be comforted.

We were having a fantastic time at the bar, she was laughing away like she used to in the old times. Then he caught her eyes. Here is today’s episode, an excerpt from chapter 26 of the book. Enjoy.

…We were having a fantastic time at the bar, she was laughing away like she used to in the old times. Then he caught her eyes.
She swallowed hard
There was grit in her mouth.
The man was sitting there on the bar stool, in the far corner by himself, sipping Rye whiskey or something like that. He was watching her, he was watching both of us. I didn't notice him, but Libby did. He smiled at me when my gaze followed Libby's and landed on him, he smiled again at Libby who was turning pale and turning around every now and then to look at him. He just keeps on smiling, showing off a bunch of mal-aligned, rusted old teeth, but rarely (if ever) did the smile touch his eyes. Those eyes were cold and scary. Libby was shaking, from being north of mildly disturbed. It was time to go, I knew it.
“That guy is up to no good,” she said when we were on route home. We had taken an Uber back home just like we did on the way there. We didn't drive because we knew that we would probably both be somewhat intoxicated by the time we were done and be ready to get back home. No thanks though, to the strange looking loner on the bar stool, we were not as incapacitated as we had thought that we would have been.
“There is something about that guy,” said Libby again, “I can't quite put my finger on it but something about him is gnawing at my psyche.” We went home and went straight to bed, but not to sleep, not straight away anyway. We weren't that drunk, we weren't drunk at all, as a matter of fact, we didn't stay long enough to get drunk so…
I had a bottle of bourbon in the cupboard so I went and fetched it. “We did plan on getting ourselves stoned tonight.” I said, “and since we never did manage to pull it off at the bar, we might as well just get it done in-house, there is nothing to stop us doing that, is there?”
“I don't suppose there is,” she said, so I popped it open. Poured one for her and one for me, we sat up in bed with our backs rest up against the headrails and supported by pillows as we sip the liquor. She wasn't into it though, she was obviously still very disturbed. And then, abruptly, she sat up straight, looked at me. “That's it!” She said. “That's What?” I asked. “That's what?”
“The cabbie, that guy looks an awful lot like the cabbie to me.” “What cabbie?” I would have asked further. Because, in my mind's eye, I could only see the Uber guy who had not too long ago dropped us home, and he bears no resemblance to the guy in the bar, not in the least. But Libby was not talking about the Uber guy, it was another taxi guy that she had in mind, obviously.
“The taxi driver who came to get me on that awful night…” she continued, “the one who they’d locked up along with...” She didn't bother to finish the statement. She clammed up, she could not finish. Not the statement, and not the drink. She was done for the night.
I did my best to reassure her that she's safe here with me and to calm her down but she refused to be comforted.
We went into investigation mode, we needed to find out if there were new developments in the case and on the status of those convicts, those who were convicted for the many crimes against her. They were all still very much on the inside as the records would show. There were still talks of appeals or pending appeals by lawyers but as for the convicts themselves, they were probably appealing to the tender mercies of their god or various gods daily, but they were doing so from behind those prison walls where they were incarcerated.
I must admit though, that I myself was more than a little bit concerned about the latest developments, but I could not allow my inner feeling to show, I had was to be brave and strong for her, for both of us. It had become customary by then for me to spend some nights with her, in her room, in her bed. This was obviously one such occasion when that will be well warranted. So we bedded down for the night, together. It was probably due to the effects of the liquor we were drinking earlier, but we were sort of in-the-mood, yes, that kind of mood.
So I whispered many sweet nonsensical things into her ears, trying to take her mind off of the many current concerns, or was it?
I told her about the things which I wanted to do.
Describing in detail the things I would do to her. Things she would want me to do to her. Things she would beg me to do to her, if and when she'd let me, and then... She let me. So I…
I kissed her there, and then there, and yep, there too, and then...
We fused into each other, and melt.

That’s it for today, my friends. See you again tomorrow when we shall venture into another episode.

Go get the Manley book and read the whole story.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history.

Fri. February 22
2010 - A copy of "Action Comics #1" sold at auction for $1 million. The comic featured the introduction of Superman.
1997 - Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut and colleagues announced that an adult sheep had been successfully cloned. Dolly was actually born on July 5, 1996. Dolly was the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell.
1969 - Barbara Jo Rubin became the first woman to win a U.S. thoroughbred horse race.
1865 - In the U.S., Tennessee adopted a new constitution that abolished slavery.
1860 - Organized baseball’s first game was played in San Francisco, CA.
1819 - Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

When a woman says, “nothing” | what does she mean

2019-02-21T21:42:00.000-05:00

When a woman says, “nothing is wrong,” what does she mean, really? You are about to find that out, and more. Come along with me as we delve into another episode of the Manley story. Here is today’s story, an excerpt from chapter 25.

Chapter Twenty-five
Watching over Libby

…"Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked under her breath. Taken aback, I halt abruptly in my tracks and stare at her.
“What... what?” I mumbled and stumbled over the words.
"Nothing," she said.
Well, it wasn't "nothing", it was big I knew it right away, this was huge. I've been around enough to know that much: when a woman says nothing is wrong, it's as close as you will probably ever get to everything being wrong.
So I gave her all of my attention. I went and sat me down right by her side and dug in, "tell me hon, what's on your mind, what's bothering you?"
"Aren't you even a little bit curious?” She asked, “how come you never…"
"Never what?" I inquired further, even though I was beginning to sense what the real issue was.
"You never look at me, I mean really look at me."
"Come on Lib. That's not true, you know that is not true."
"Okay, okay, so maybe I'm stretching it a little bit here but, what I mean is...”
After the pause, “I want you to give me a bath, tonight,” she said.
I sat there and gaze into her eyes for a good two-three minute without another word.
“Wait right there,” I said as I went into the bathroom and set up a bubble bath.
For the next half hour, not a single word more was spoken between us. I’d set the bath, leaving the tub to fill up to the desired mark. Went and got fresh towels, and lit a fragrant candle in the bathroom, then coming back and sitting beside her again I gazed deep inside her eyes, she was shaking, it wasn't the ill-effects of the medicine this time, somehow I could tell.
I reached out and took hold of her shoulders, pulled her in towards me as I leaned in and meet her, we kissed, gently, tenderly. I slowly pulled back, to focus on undoing the buttons on her blouse and opening it up, I then turned to do the same for me. Undoing the buttons on my shirt, she just sat there with her hands on her lap, head hanging low, not daring to look at me, yet.
I peel off my shirt and toss it aside, then did the same for the already opened up blouse, she shook and shiver some more. I leaned in and hugged her closely, skin to skin. I wanted her to feel the warmth. I kneel down in front of her and pull at the slack she was wearing, she eased slightly upward and backways to allow for it to go. I then removed my pants, she would not look at me, not directly anyway, but I knew that she was sneaking a peak whenever the opportunity arose. I peeled away the bra, starting with the strap on the shoulders then span it around and unhitched the hooks.
Now we are both equally attired, both sporting only one piece of clothing. As close to the Adamic scene in the garden as we two have ever been before.
I picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. As I walked into the bathroom, carrying her, she began to sing a sweet little song: tonight, I celebrate my love for you, and the midnight sun is gonna come shining through... I join in at the most appropriate point for me: what I want most to do, is to make love to you, tonight. It was magic. (Adapted lyrics, I lay no claim to same)
She steps in and slid under the mushy bubbles while still hanging on to my hand, I stepped in with her. She threw both arms around my neck and pulled me in for a hot, wet, lingering kiss, then we both leaned our backs into the support of the tub and sat there.
“You know.” I interrupt the silence, “I have been dreaming of a moment like this but...”
“But what?” She asked. “I did sort of envision some other things happening before we get to this part.”
“Like what?” She asked. “Best I leave that as is, enough spoilers already for one night.”
We would spend the rest of the night together, in her room, all night, in her bed. She just wanted to feel my body close to her, to hold me, touch me, and squeeze me really tight.
She did that, I mean, we did all that, and more?
In a few days the trials will wrap up and the verdict is expected to be handed down in the court afterward, Libby said that she is planning on being there, in person to hear it.
That’s it for today, my friends. See you again tomorrow when we shall venture into another episode.

Go get the Manley book and read the whole story.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history.

Thurs. Feb. 21
1989 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush called Ayatollah Khomeini's death warrant against "Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie "deeply offensive to the norms of civilized behavior."
1988 - In Baton Rouge, LA, TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart confessed to his congregation that he was guilty of an unspecified sin. He announced that he was leaving the pulpit temporarily. Swaggart had been linked to an admitted prostitute.
1965 - Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City at the age of 39 by assassins identified as Black Muslims.
1925 - The first issue of "The New Yorker" was published.
1874 - The Oakland Daily Tribune began publication.
1842 - John J. Greenough patented the sewing machine.
1804 - The first self-propelled locomotive on rails was demonstrated in Wales.

Note: Here is quite another story for you. The Trails book: Casting Shadow on the tattooed trails, is now available on inkitt.com, go read it for free, and be sure to vote in order to give it a chance at winning in the contest, thanks and enjoy.

Flowers for valentine | bouquet of flowers for Valentine's day.

2019-02-20T20:33:00.000-05:00

Libby seemed well enough to me, to be getting out of the hospital, but she said she didn't know where she was going to live because she would not be going back to live with her parents. I didn't tell her what had happened, or about her parents. But I got her flowers, and more.

You might have noticed that we’ve skipped over some things here, to protect the innocence perhaps? Get the Manley book and read the entire story. Here now is chapter 24. Well, parts of it. Happy reading.

Chapter Twenty-four: Vigil for my valentine
Valentine's Day February 14th. I picked up a bouquet of flowers and went to the hospital. I have been going there almost every day for over a week since I discovered that she was there. The pretty little receptionist know me by name now, and she seemed to be warming up to me somewhat too. “I would really like her to have these.” I said to her, “I think this would brighten up her day if nothing else.”
I was prepared to give it to her to get it to Libby but I had was to try first, peradventure she would let me go in and see her. Valentine's Day was my lucky day as it turned out, but it didn't come without a good deal of tests and trials, and the patience of a modern-day Job.
“Have a seat,” she said, “let me see if I can work something out for you.”
She got on the phone and dialed up, somebody. Who? Did you ask? How would I know who?
They talked for a minute or so then she hanged up and calls someone else, nothing. Then another, and another.
She must have called and talked to twenty, perhaps twenty-five persons. The minutes turned into hours... I was beginning to get hungrier by the minute, and then I overheard her telling someone: “he has been coming here every day for over a week now, begging for a chance to see her.”
That was rather generous of her I thought - I did miss out on a couple of days here and there.
I then watched as a couple of heads came popping out from behind a door jamb and pulling back a few times after they were done scrutinizing me for a brief moment.
I meanwhile, just sat there waiting, hoping and praying, until...
One lady came to the desk and sat down, next to the receptionist who by then was fast becoming my forever best friend, a life-saver she will forever be in my mind because of the way how things started unfolding since she took an active approach to help me.
The new lady appearing in the picture called me up to the window and started questioning me in the same way as if I was a would-be patient. And at other times, the questions took on an airy resemblance to those which the police was asking me about two weeks back.
She wanted to know my name, my occupation, home, and business addresses, what is the relationship between the patient and me, what living arrangements do I have or share with others, and the list goes on. However, deep inside of my guts I was beginning to get the feeling then that, I was being taken seriously, for once, and that I now stand a good chance of getting to see Libby, and that makes everything well worth it for me from then on.
The goodly lady then turn to me and said: “I am going to talk to the patient, to see how she feels about all of this, if she will see you, you are good to go but if not, I'm afraid, I can't allow you to go in, this will be all up to her, do you understand?”
“I… I totally understand and agree to that. That will be a lot more than I have been hoping for, for over a week now.”
“I'll be back,” she said, “have a seat in the waiting room.”
“Today is your lucky day,” said that lady upon her return twenty minutes or so later, “she will see you.”
Shuu! I exhaled, as I reached over and grabbed the bouquet and followed the goodly lady along the corridor which leads to the elevator, and up to the intensive care unit. Libby saw me on the approach, she sat up on the bed and stretch out both arms towards me as my steps hastened to get to her. We embraced, she - sitting up in the bed and leaning sideways towards me, kneeling there by the bedside and leaning in, she cried and sobbed for a while, of course, I didn't cry, but she did.
The lady, I still am not sure if she was a doctor, or a nurse, an orderly or whatever her role there was but for those few hours that our paths happened to cross, she was my angel of Mercy. Our angel of Mercy.
That’s it for today. See you again tomorrow.

Go get the Manley book and read the whole story.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history.

Wed. February 20
1998 - American Tara Lipinski, at age 15, became the youngest gold medalist in Winter Olympics history when she won the ladies' figure skating title at Nagano, Japan.
1952 - Emmett L. Ashford became the first black umpire in organized baseball. He was authorized to be a substitute in the Southwestern International League.
1921 - The motion picture "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" was released starring Rudolph Valentino.
1792 - U.S. President George Washington signed the Postal Service Act that created the U.S. Post Office.

Tues. February 19
2008 - Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency. His brother Raul was later named as his successor.
1987 - A controversial, anti-smoking public service announcement aired for the first time on television. Yul Brynner filmed the ad shortly before dying of lung cancer. Brynner made it clear in the ad that he would have died from cigarette smoking before the ad aired.
1986 - The U.S. Senate approved a treaty outlawing genocide. The pact had been submitted 37 years earlier for ratification.
1985 - Mickey Mouse was welcomed to China as part of the 30th anniversary of Disneyland. The touring mouse played 30 cities in 30 days.
1878 - Thomas Alva Edison patented a music player (the phonograph).

Montreal police roundup | top cop moves in just in time

2019-02-19T22:01:00.001-05:00

The MTL Police would have moved in on the scene and round up the suspects in time to get Libby some needed help.
Here is the story as told in
Chapter Twenty-two
On the move, again

The Manley book

Seven police service vehicles were deployed along the route from St Charles Boulevard, and on through to the TransCanada highway west side towards the Ontario border. Strategically situated at points where one might possibly get off of the road and, or change course.
This was put into effect by the sergeant after the taxi cab moved out with the woman inside. The body temperature in all the officers occupying these units was way up, at any minute the call to action could come.
Upon the approach to the bridge, at the last exit on the Montreal side of the river, the taxi cab exited the highway 40 west and parked on the down ramp near the underpass. All of that info was relayed to the man in command. And then, when Kamal and the moving truck pulled out and leave, all of the police units looped up behind him. From a distance of course, so he never knew that he was being followed until...
“Green lights,” said the sergeant, “go get them.” The truck had just exited the highway at the very same point where the taxi cab had gotten off and parked. Coincidence? Very possible, it being a real happenstance though, highly improbable. Thought the senior cop.
Based on what they had seen thus far, and because the woman in the car was, seemingly, in some sort of distress when they’d put her in, the sergeant did not want to prolong the time any further before he could get her to the hospital, to be checked out properly. Furthermore, the picture which presented itself so far left little doubt in his mind as to what was going down.
The two vehicles were by then encircled by police cars, and sirens were heard in the distance as more cops and probably an ambulance was approaching.
“What is the purpose of you being parked up here?” The officer asked the cabbie
“I was waiting for someone.”
“May I ask who might that someone be?”
“The gentleman in the truck behind you.”
“Is the lady okay?”
“I don't know sir, why don't you ask her that, she can speak for herself, I just picked her up back there a while ago.”
“Miss,” the officer called out to the woman but she didn't respond.
She looked distant and incoherent to the cop, he walked around to the other side and try again to talk to the woman but still no response other than a slight turn of the head to look in his direction.
He got on the radio and called the Sergeant.
“Serg. I think we need to get help for the woman as soon as possible.”
“Coming right up,” the sergeant responded.
Meanwhile, with Kamal in the truck behind the cab, the sergeant wasn't wasting time. Just a few questions he had asked the young man before giving the instructions to the officer to cuff him and take him for a ride back down to the station too. He wasn't in the mood to be wasting any more time out of the office on this case.
The same instructions were given to the other officers, in regards to the rest of the family at the house.
Everybody has got his man or woman. Libby was off to the hospital, Kamal and the cabbie, to the police lockup.
Meanwhile, the Sergeant has got a call to make, on the drive back towards St Charles Boulevard and Kirkland, well after daybreak, he took out his cell phone and place the call through...
At the same time, back at the family home in Kirkland, three separate vehicles were being loaded up with: the father, the mother and from the upstairs apartment came the pregnant wife of Kamal and her young son. A call was placed through to the child protection services to come and get the young child if necessary. At the hospital also, the search was on in earnest, for fresh emergency room staffing, the poison, and toxicology unit was called in also.

That’s it for today. See you again tomorrow.

Go get the Manley book and read the whole story.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history.

Tues. February 19

2008 - Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency. His brother Raul was later named as his successor.

1987 - A controversial, anti-smoking publice service announcement aired for the first time on television. Yul Brynner filmed the ad shortly before dying of lung cancer. Brynner made it clear in the ad that he would have died from cigarette smoking before ad aired.

1986 - The U.S. Senate approved a treaty outlawing genocide. The pact had been submitted 37 years earlier for ratification.

1985 - Mickey Mouse was welcomed to China as part of the 30th anniversary of Disneyland. The touring mouse played 30 cities in 30 days.

1878 - Thomas Alva Edison patented a music player (the phonograph).

Q: So why do you write?

A: I'm a guy of many words, but whose tongue is slow and heavy, and my words tend to come out awkward and clumsy, so I write, because I always have something to say, I think. Which always tends to get me into trouble anyway. The extra bonus though, in writing is that a pencil usually comes with an eraser.

Thewritingelk

Undercover spy mission | Chapter twenty-one

2019-02-18T20:55:00.001-05:00

Undercover spy mission as may be seen in chapter twenty-one of the book: How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley.
Before the mission, Manley had was to get himself in spy-game mode, a heightened state of readiness. From his mind down to his socks. And ready he was.

Now, grab a bowl of popcorn and come watch the Manley-man in action.

Chapter Twenty-one
Sly spy mission

Get the Manley book on Amazon

The white Isuzu cube truck was parked alongside the store in Cote des Neige, so I knew he was there. I put on my disguise and walked in the store, passed his mother there at the counter tending to a customer, with a couple of other customers standing in line behind her, I spotted Kamal near the rear of the store stocking shelves. He didn't recognize me of course because of my disguise and the act which I was putting on. A Russian style winter hat, definitely too warm for the current temperature, an oversized scarf around my neck and a pair of ridiculous-looking reading glasses. That was my second trip inside the store for the day.
As I approached him I would have coughed into the crooks of my sleeve - a cough, cough.
“Hi,” I said, “can you help me out here? I need to find a bottle of Ferrol compound, good for coughs and cold I was told,” cough, cough. This is the perfect camouflage for me, I’ll be using it to enhance my disguise, I will sure be coughing a lot when I get up to the counter too. Kamal points me to a shelf around the bend.
I had gone in and out of there before. That was to seek out the farthest most discreet corner where I could talk to Kamal alone, without being seen or overheard by the mother, so it wasn't by coincidence that I had chosen to ask for Ferrol compound.
Once he was standing there in front of the shelf where the items were stacked, I start dismantling my disguise.
“Look.” I said, “I am here to talk to you privately and quickly, so keep it down as much as you can and let's get it over and done with.”
“What is this about?” He asked, a cold and frightened look suddenly plastered on his face.
“Libby, it’s about Libby,” I said rather directly. “Where is she, what happened to her?”
“She, she, Libby is on her way to India... At this very moment, she is to be married to someone there in a few weeks.”
“India eh!” I said, “it had better be because if not, I can be your worst nightmare. You see Kamal, I know a lot about you, and them, your parents, and when I say a lot? I mean an awful lot. And I do know how to use what I know and use it, I will. So for your sake my friend, I do hope that you are actually telling me the truth here, strange though it may seem to you now.” I would have said this as I plant a firm and heavy hand on his sinking shoulder.
As I replaced my disguises, I added that “I'll be heading back to base now to start the process of verifying your claims.”

I was early on the scene

I was early on the scene but not as early as he was. Kamal was already there, he arrived in the truck and back up into the alleyway to get to the delivery door, I saw it at this point when I had turned the corner three blocks down. I move into position, parked and sat in my car and then zoom in with my spy-lensed eyes on the happenings as it went down, he slid like the slime-ball he is, out of the truck and hopped around it to get to the side door of the store.
Having a bunch of keys in his hand he went and open up the door and enter inside. After about fifteen anxious minutes, anxious on my part that is, while he was inside of the building, and hence outside of the scope of my vision, I waited.
He came back outside by way of the rear delivery door, then proceeded to open up the push-up garage-type door on the tail end of the truck and climb in.
I could not see him anymore from where I was sitting there inside of my car and watching the scene, but I'd assumed that he was moving around, or shifting the products down closer to the tail end of the vehicle in order to get them out of there, I was right.
He would have climbed back down off of the tail end of the truck and proceeded to move carton boxes from the truck to the store by way of the same back door out of which he had come earlier. Just then, a young man came by and greeted him, and then promptly joined in into the unloading task.
Next, there was the taxi cab, the motorized workhorse of Mr. Dahoust which arrived, bringing along the mother Mrs. Luba Dahoust with him.
They both got out and went to the back of the truck and exchanged words with Kamal, they didn’t seem to even notice that the other young man was there. And then both of them turned and went inside the store, both the man and his wife. Leaving the other two younger men to carry on with the task of unloading the truck...
I would have used that open window of opportunity to pull out of the spot where I was parked in a position parallel to both the store and the delivery truck which they were unloading, I did this without being noticed by them, I was sure, and then I circled around the block and came back to park plumb in front of the store, where I sat and waited until the store finally opened up proper for business.
I also watched as Mr. Dahoust climb back into his car and drove away about five minutes later, off to work I assumed. I remain seated for about another five or six minutes and then, when I saw that there were enough people who had gone inside of the store to do their various business in there, and which would have certainly been enough of them to provide sufficient cover for me as I go about running my sly spy errands.
Having all those bases now covered, I went inside and point my nose towards the farthest corner of the shopping spaces on the floor, far away from the direct prying eyes of the proprietors. I spotted the target there, or maybe it was the target that had spotted me since I did not know before-hand what I was going in there to pick up. However, it was that unique item which just stood out in my eyes and in my memory, and it also happened to be something that could fit perfectly well into my undercover spy plan. It was the blue carton box containing the bottle of Ferrol compound. I turned around and walked briskly back outside, being careful to keep my empty hands in plain view so as not to be soliciting any suspicion from anyone, or of me being mistaken by them for being a shoplifter, while at the same time, keeping my face as far from their view and as disfigured out of shape as possible, so that they would not be able to recognize me, be it at the present time or at some other time in the future, like when I shall return in the next couple of minutes for example.
I then hopped back into the car and drove away, doing the rounds yet again, I looped back around and stopped, almost at the same place where I was parked at the first time while watching the unloading go down. That exact spot was taken by another vehicle but just across from there, there was an open slot on the other side of the road so I park there. I then set about re-arranging my attire and hence, my appearance by putting on the other, oversized coat and a scarf, the too hot for this current temperature Russian winter hat, and the fake reading glasses which I had picked up at the dollar store on the way there. I was already burning up, but, a man has got to do what a man has got to do. Right?
So I return to the store and headed straight to the point where I already knew that I would find the Ferrol compound.
I was way too hot in my camouflage outfit to be dilly-dallying around fake shopping, just go in, get it done and out again. And the rest, as they say, is history. That’s it my friends. Come again tomorrow for more.

Get the Manley book here.

What're your thoughts on this? Please give us your feedback in the comments area below. Thank you.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history

Mon. February 18
2006 - American Shani Davis won the men's 1,000-meter speedskating in Turin. He was the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history.
1953 - Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz signed a contract worth $8,000,000 to continue the "I Love Lucy" TV show through 1955.
1885 - Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was published in the U.S. for the first time.
1841 - The first continuous filibuster in the U.S. Senate began. It lasted until March 11th.
1564 - The artist Michelangelo died in Rome.

Here is a book to read for free | Online free books to read

2019-02-17T15:21:00.001-05:00

Looking for a riveting free book to read online? Here is the book for you. An action-packed adventure tale by E Lloyd Kelly the poet and author of such books as, How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley, 76, Clancy’s journey, and many more. This new book: Casting Shadow on the Tattooed Trails, is now available for free on inkitt, go read it there. Like and share.

Note: this is an excerpt from the book, chapter eleven of the book, Casting Shadow on the Tattooed Trails. Subtitled: Searching for the lost Genodes.Here is Chapter 11 of twenty-nine chapters.

Chapter Eleven:

Oh for girl’s sake!

Go to Kelly's author's page

I saw them there, beauty beyond compare, I couldn’t help myself, I had was to stare.

I thought they were sis. But then they kiss... I mean, we kissed, we would have kissed, eventually. And then…

Her hands outstretched, her thigh would have heaved up to strike the solid thing that would have awaken me to life, life I never knew I was capable of, even with all of those incarnations under my belt, this time, for the first time, I would have come to know what it meant to live, really live, at last.

“I’ve missed you all my life,” I would have mumbled through her breathing, through her parted lips, but how could I have known?

She would have kissed my face, threw flames like a blow torch down my spine, and it would have happened, again. And then again.

She would have grown momentarily shy, her face would have buried itself into my tunic, and then she gave me the top of her head, I would have breathed steam into each strand, each strand of her long flowing hair.

That’s when she would have bent over backward and lie down, sprawled out on her back, her head to one side. “Crucify me,” she said. And sent me to work. Hard I would have labored. But she was never dead.

You don’t know, and I hope no one will ever come to know how beautiful that woman is, she is really, really something, I never knew until I gaze at her from that angle.

Nobody would have thought me this but, I would have fumbled at undressing her, with my trembling hands, with my mouth, with my eyes, with my tongue, my imagination. With mine everything.

I had was to hurry, to get to the place between Cornwall and Surrey.

Her lively and wet centers in half way tree were focused too, she was fused into me. Look! Look she said, look at me so that I can feel the caress, the ravaging of your eyes. Touch me! Touch me there. And cover me with your skin. Kiss me, kiss me she said, and…

I would have kissed her there and then, and banish the talking. And, and… My heart just flew away. And, and…

“And his mind followed.” That’s what he’s trying to say. But…

“Shad had been searching everywhere since, but can’t seem to be able to find it again, his mind, she out-rightly stole it from him. But who’s complaining?”

I never understood the mortal spoken words until I found her and tasted her tongue. Continued the Shadow man.

I had was to hunch slightly forward to try to mitigate the swelling of the crowd in that region of the woods you know.

And she? She did turn at least once to glance at the ballooning crowd too, in that self-same region of the park in the Half-way-tree city, I could have sworn that I heard her gasped. But, I could have been wrong.

I would have pushed my over-active halfway pointers, my center stages, I pushed my ways hard at the half-open door, she opens the door, some more, and she would have moaned and groan, and then.

And then the floodgates would have flung opened from within me, a million years of pent-up alien energy came flowing through, unabashedly, the bands start to play, the sweetest music ever.

I would have slid my hand up there under her dressing room and up her smooth sidings, she gripped and move under me, I was busily watching over her, protecting her from harm.

I would have felt her nippled spout under my fingers and almost died, right there. I then reached out, found her hand and led it to my place, the mountainous regions. It was new even to me but it was mine.

She would have wasted no time in directing the traffic towards her summer destination, rolled me over and then.

French-kissed me there with the mouth that she keeps out of sight but not out of my mind, not anymore, she can no longer keep some things hidden. Not from me.

And then she would have taken control of things, this thing even, she has a way of taking control of such things and keeping it happening. Then we would have taken the shallow turn inside and sucked moisture and air in, like a greedy sinkhole.

I was smitten good and proper, and even after, after we could finally stop, I knew I would never be the same again, ever.

Spend time walking in the other person’s shoe man. Mine even. Spend time living their lives, witnessing their struggles, feeling their pain and their hardships. As well as all of the other “hard” things which we have to endure. You won’t have to worry about such things over on those hidden shores. Here though, walking shoes are here a-plenty, so come on over and walk in them and experience them. As well as the love, passion, passion for life even. Then and only then you might begin to understand this.

Her eyes had an inner fire, a boldness that resonates deep within, those were qualities though, which would have inspired and stirred me, stirred me to life even.

We would have both gone away to repent because we had sinned, transgressed sacred things. So, we had was to go, some of us rather reluctantly.

But we would have been back, and we would have remake ourselves, our identity even, because of all of the ghosts of the past, but upon the return, things began to happen, really happen, again.

Tomorrow this time, she will be laying him to rest, her father, and me? What does she know about me? Does she even know that I know these things, still?

Life goes on for some of us though, for the wicked and evil ones mostly it would seem. But as for me and all the others like me… Hmm.

……

As it turned out, those women where trained, they were very highly trained women. Not only could they wield a mighty sword, but they could also wield the power of many worlds, as some agent from another world was soon to find out, and many were the powers which they did wield, Power as a force of Light. For instance.

Men are turned insane by it, by such powers, this Shadow man even, by this much power, are they driven, the other men, they would just degenerate to become instruments of the Darker Powers, something that will probably become an issue for them, for everyone even, and soon…

Both the present and the future together weaves a fate for these individuals. Things seemed to happen and move along in mysterious ways over there, but things are not always what they seemed.

“These fighting girls weave webs and wields a sword as the girls wills,” in these parts, creating havoc from strong female energies and characters in the process.

Sedalie Newman is the leader of the pack there, and she wields a great amount of power and a mighty sword too. Even as the wisdom of the group, and Elsie? Elsie is a leader in training. Sedalie is my kind of girl for that sort of job, She was my girl from the get-go. But I had was to settle for Elsie.

The whole realms are soon to be ruled by a strong queen-if Sedalie Newman is to have her way, she will soon reign, to be succeeded one day by Elsie, maybe. Heaven, or somewhere else. Let’s stick with heaven here. Heaven helps them if that day should come.

I can’t think of a more evil female in these exalted realms than Elsie. Not so with the men though. In these parts, it had long been a given that they, the men were in charge. So there was nothing for them to prove, to anyone.

“The men” were in charge of everything, that was a given, in theory, it won’t be long before something, or someone would sneak up their backsides though, and institute a new normal in these lands.

Yet there are both strong and delightful male characters there in these lands, from some of the very well-abled custom-keepers to the current chief himself, and even on down to his son, Carmi.

And as for the guards and agents who are tasked with keeping things in order there. These are still very well capable and well-loved men, in general.

The chief’s son though, that said Carmi, who had laid himself down to sleep once upon a long, long time ago, long according to earth standards, he has not woke up again since, not in terms of him maturing and getting himself in a state of readiness to be able to assume the leadership of the region.

His “kingdom” is hanging in limbo, things are weighing in the balance, but Carmi is sleeping, still. Most of all though, trouble is brewing over there. Seymour, one of the chief warders and gate-keeper.

And the current steward of the training institute and the entire security apparatuses in and around those parts, he is being closely watched and scrutinized under orders from the chief, but he, Seymour doesn’t even know that. Some kind of a leader and warder-in-chief he is.

As it is in life, in our lives even, the forces of good and evil are often at odds one with the other, oft times cross-purposed and can even found to be under different orders than the conventional.

The Children of Light, and the children of darkness, as well as various other kingdoms and peoples. Are always pulling wills one against the other.

They all seemed at some point to be becoming threats one to the other, even now.

So the question now is, will it go on? Can it go on like that? I can’t say that it will, or even if it won’t, I don’t know, not as of yet.

I wonder if the Dark Power will be defeated. I do hope so.

It is clear that the plots here will take many twists and turns, only some of which will be resolved in the end, probably.

Rand the chief would have worked himself to death to provide for his family, her even, his beloved daughter, but a dark secret from his past seemed to be the force which drives his need for revenge. Revenge against everyone, against Shad even.

Elsie loves her family but feels as if she's been cheated out of her youth. She has some dangerous secrets of her own.

And after her vile encounters with me, the wild one from out of this world, her troubles have now been multiplied a thousand folds.

She would have put some more time. Between her sleeping place and mine. But that was just for a time, a short time.

Are you a hitchhiking kind of someone, Shad? Think of getting a life, before you want the next one, and before you go wanting someone else, other than this same Else, -Elsie.

That's it for today my friends, be sure to go check out the book on inkitt. Don't keep it all to yourself though, share the love.

What’s your thoughts on this? Please give us your feedback in the comments area below. Thank you.

Previous episode Next episode

Extra, extra. On this day in history

Weekend in music.

1968 - In Detroit, MI, Aretha Franklin day was declared.

1971 - Aretha Franklin recorded "Spanish Harlem." It was released on July 9.

1985 - New Edition performed "Mr. Telephone Man" and "Lost In Love" on "American Bandstand."

1999 - "Rolling Stones Day" was declared in Minnesota.

Sun. February 17

1996 - World chess champion Garry Kasparov beat the IBM supercomputer "Deep Blue" in Philadelphia, PA.

1934 - The first high school automobile driver’s education course was introduced in State College, PA.

1933 - "Newsweek" was first published.

1878 - In San Francisco, CA, the first large city telephone exchange opened. It had only 18 phones.

1876 - Julius Wolff was credited with being the first to can sardines.

Sat. February 16

1989 - Investigators in Lockerbie, Scotland, announced that a bomb hidden inside a radio-cassette player was the reason that Pan Am Flight 103 was brought down the previous December. All 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground were killed.

1972 - Wilt Chamberlain (Los Angeles Lakers) reached the 30,000-point mark in his NBA career during a game against the Phoenix Suns.

1970 - Joe Frazier began his reign as the undefeated heavyweight world champion when he knocked out Jimmy Ellis in five rounds. He lost the title on January 22, 1973, when he lost for the first time in his professional career to George Foreman.

1968 - In the U.S., the first 911 emergency telephone system was inaugurated in Haleyville, AL.

1963 - Paul Anka married Marie-Ann DeZogheb in Paris.

1959 - Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba after the overthrow of President Fulgencio Batista.

1858 - The first ironing board was patented by William Vandenburg and James Harvey.

1923 - Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen. The next day he entered the chamber with several invited guests. He had originally found the tomb on November 4, 1922.

1883 - "Ladies Home Journal" began publication.

1857 - The National Deaf Mute College was incorporated in Washington, DC. It was the first school in the world for advanced education of the deaf. The school was later renamed Gallaudet College.

1741 - Benjamin Franklin published America’s second magazine, "The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle".

Cops, cars, trucks and vans | Moving time in Montreal.

2019-02-15T22:48:00.000-05:00

There were vehicles everywhere in and around the neighborhood. Players from either side of the issue. The cops on this side and the culprits, or suspects on that side, and somewhere caught up in the middle of it all, was Manley, along with his work truck, and at some other times, his car. Let’s delve into the story for more as things heat up here in chapter twenty.

This is the Manley storybook romance, as taken from the book, How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley.
Here now is episode 20 in the series. And it is taken from Chapter twenty of the book.

Chapter Twenty
Get on the move, now

On the second evening of the stakeout, Saturday evening, the two officers were sitting in the lookout vehicle, a Ford club wagon at some time around 7:20 PM. When the darkness was beginning to settle in properly, they spotted a U-Haul moving truck rolled up and stopped in front of the Dahoust's family home. Kamal was the driver.
He got out of the vehicle, carrying a duffle bag which he swung over his shoulder and went inside.
The lights flash twice to indicate that the vehicle was securely locked up and probably, it did activate an alarm system. Immediately the constable dialed up the Sergeant's number.
"Action, action," he said, “we've got activities at the location, some sort of a moving truck has just pulled up and parked in front of the house.”
“Okay, got you, keep your ears and eyes peeled, we can't afford to miss anything. I'll be there soon.”
They were so very surprised to see the senior cop not more than five minutes later driving by, in a regular police car.
Normally he would have used an unmarked car for this type of fact-finding mission, but, maybe it wasn't so much a fact-finding mission which the Sergeant was on in his mind, not yet at least. He probably just wanted to reassure the guys that he was on the job and that he has got them all covered.
And he could have also wanted to make it appear as normal as possible, just a patrol car doing the rounds in a quiet, upscale neighborhood, nothing to be alarmed about in that, nothing at all.
For the rest of the night, everything remains quiet and calm, yes there was obvious activities inside of the house but nothing it would seem that was not consistent with the rhythm of life in a normal household.
Come the following morning, however, the activities revved up by several degrees. Of course, there was a move in the making, a big move.
They were loading up the truck with household items - everything from beds, table, and chairs, through to clothing and kitchen wares.
It was Kamal and another young man, whom the cops were not able to properly ID from where they were sitting in their lab-van.
Every now and again the elder Dahoust man would come outside bearing a small item or two, at other times it seemed like he would just bring instructions to the two workhorses and then leave.
At two separate points, the madam - Mrs. Luba Dahoust, came to the door and stuck her head outside to look at the happenings, but also on both occasion, before returning inside the safety of the house, she would make what had by then become a sort of defining signature-like: look up, look down the road ritual before pulling herself back behind the closing door.
As soon as the truck loading activities get started, the officer called back to the base and to the Sergeant. “Get ready for action,” said the officer, “real action. The truck is being loaded, as we speak.”
"Got you," the sergeant acknowledged the info. “You guys did very well,” he said, “be there in a flash...” “Stay calm and covered, no need for rushing it now.”
Understatement of the decades that was in the cop’s minds, as it turned out though, the Sergeant's decisions to take things slowly would lead to the further collection of ironclad evidence that would solidify their case and prove beyond all reasonable doubt what was taking place, or about to take place within the family and the household in general, and also help them in putting the guilty parties away for a long stretch.
Because these two officers have been working on the stakeout continuously for a couple of days on ends, the sergeant had was to arrange a change of shift. Five officers came riding in the blue Chevrolet express van all but one being armed and equipped for action. The one exception in the bunch was corporal weir. Other than for his service revolver which he was carrying concealed, he bears no other resemblance to being a cop on duty. He was there to drive back the other vehicle, the Ford club wagon with the other two overworked and tired officers. The other four who came with him in the newly deployed vehicle, was there to take up from where those two had left off, and to be alert and ready for action at any given moment. They had dropped him off, (corporal Weir that is,) on the corner of the streets, on the corner of St Charles and Brunswick boulevards, he would have walked in from there and approach the Ford van, shaking the bunch of keys in his right hand, he inserted the key into the lock and open up the door, or at least, he acted those parts as a disguise to the would be eyewitness, since the other two cop was already inside of the vehicle, all the while expecting him to show up, and laying themselves low in the vehicle in order to maintain their cover. He wasted no time, acting as normal as he could, he started the engine and then hesitated just long enough to make it appear to anyone who might be looking on that, this is someone who has just come back to pick up a vehicle which has been parked there on the corner for a while.
With the other two cops still laying low inside the vehicle, he drove away.
Meanwhile, one street away, but still in plain view of the front door of the house, and of the moving truck which was parked in front of that house, the blue Chevrolet express van was strategically parked, with the four freshly deployed cops sitting inside of it, alert and ready to pounce.
Other police vehicles were also strategically deployed and were circulating on nearby streets in the area, all the while being in continuous, up to the minute communication with those cops in the lookout van and with the Sergeant.
Nightfall and the activities step up a notch, the lawmen could feel it, something was about to go down and they did not want to blink a heavy eyelid, lest they should miss out on something important

1:20 AM and the activities became visible in the Dahousts household, the dim light, the moving around, and then, a car pulled up and stopped right behind the moving truck, a taxi it was, seemed like one from the same company where Mr. Dahoust works.
Although the cops were monitoring what was going on within the house, both visually and electronically, they did not pick up on a call for a taxi, did they mess up on that? How could they? How could they have missed that one?
The front door cracked open partially, Mr. Dahoust came to the door and look outside, apparently to verify that it was the cab which he had ordered.
Seemingly satisfied with what he had seen, he pushed back the door and left it somewhat ajar as he walked back inside and tarried for a while. The cabbie did not get out of the vehicle, not at once anyway. He remains seated until...

That’s it for today. See you again tomorrow.
Continue reading this chapter and much more if you like it. Go get the Manley book and read the whole story.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history.

Fri. Feb. 15th
1968 - "Soul on Ice" by Eldridge Cleaver was published for the first time.
1912 - China's boy emperor Hsuan T'ung announced that he was abdicating, ending the Manchu Ch'ing dynasty. Subsequently, the Republic of China was established.
1909 - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded.
1879 - The first artificial ice rink opened in North America. It was at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY.
1870 - In the Utah Territory, women gained the right to vote.
1554 - Lady Jane Grey was beheaded after being charged with treason. She had claimed the throne of England for only nine days.

Good news first | Cops dressed up the news for Manley

2019-02-14T22:00:00.001-05:00

The cops would have called with news for Manley on the following Monday morning. “First the good news” the Sergeant had said, they had found her, Libby. But... Read the rest of the story, as it is told in chapter nineteen.
This is a storybook romance, Jamaican Yardie-style. Taken from the Manley book.

Here now is episode 19 in the series. And it is taken from Chapter nineteen of the book. Note: Remember the Trail story which we had started sharing on these pages a while back? It is now in a contest on "Inkitt" under the heading: Casting Shadow on the tattooed trail. Go have a look and be sure to vote and share, thank you. Now here's today's episode for you.

Chapter Nineteen:
Breaking news and reports

Monday morning, 9:15 AM on the dot. The phone rang, it was the Sergeant's private number which he had given me before I had was to skip the joint in the wee hours of that morning. “Got some news for you,” he said, “first the good news. We've found your girlfriend, the bad news is. She is in bad shape.”
“Where is she, can I talk to her?”
“No, no, you can't talk to her nor can you see her anytime soon, and you cannot talk to anybody connected to her either, not her parents, not her brother, not anyone. Not until I give you the okay.”
“Is she going to be okay, how bad is this bad news of which you speak?”
“She will be okay buddy, she will be okay soon. You just keep calm and go look after yourself, try to be your best self against that day when she may need you.”
“And how is her family, what about her parents – where are they?”
“I can't divulge those pieces of information. That will be all for now, if and when I have further information I will be in touch with you, okay?”
“It's not okay Serg, but what can I do? You are the boss.”
“Take care, Manley.”
“Bye Sir.”
The sergeant might not be able to tell me what I want to know, but this is still a free country and the wide open road leads to Libby's door, and that's just where I'm going, not when the officer gets back to me, not tomorrow but now, right away, right this minute.
I fired up the car engine and hit the road West towards Kirkland. I drove right by the Dahoust's home, circled the block and came back around. There weren't any signs of life in the main dwelling area where Libby live with her family, but there seemed to be a light and some movements upstairs and both vehicles were still parked up there in the driveway. I didn't stop or linger, just passed by on the drive in and out again. I needed to dig in a bit further, so I drove into the Tim Horton’s parking lot and park, I went inside and ordered something to eat.
I picked out a particular girl sitting by herself at a table. A young woman with auburn hair, blue eyes, and a shape to die for. A perky pair of breast, just a tad on the small side but a proper mouthful for someone like Mr. Puppy dog here to nibble on.
She seemed likable too, a friendly outgoing type and she did give me the eyes a time or two while I was at the counter placing my order.

“Care if I join you?” I had asked when I approach the table where she was sitting, holding on tightly to the tray in my hand. “Sure,” she said, “go ahead.”
So I pulled out the chair and sat down across from her.
“You from around here?” She inquired.
“No, just kinda passing through, and you? Do you live around here?” “Umm um,” she nod shook her head, “all my life, born and grew up here on the west island, not too far from here as a matter of fact.”
“So, you happen to know anything about what had happened around these parts yesterday?” I inquire, “or last night?
I hear a lot of talk about some police operations and such the likes.”
“Umm um,” she nod shook her head again. “A girl who went against her family's wishes and was dating some guy which they didn't approve of, they held her hostage in her own home for days, weeks maybe, without food and all, the cops got word of it and busted in on them, freeing the girl and locking up the parents, as well as the brother whom they say was aiding and abetting them.
And some other guy, a taxi driver or something like that, who got himself caught-up into the whole mess.”
“So where is the girl now, any word on her whereabouts?”
“In the hospital, I would guess, they said that she needed urgent medical attention...”
I glanced at my watch, “oh-oh!” I said. “I have got to go, back to work, can't keep burning money even before you get it in your hands, can you?”
“What manner of work is it that you do again?”
“I'm a technician, computer technician” I replied.
She trotted out of the door behind me, obviously yearning for more.
“Can I call you sometime?” She asked. “Is there a number I can reach you at, or something?” “I don't think that will be such a good idea,” I said as I opened up the door and hopped in, closing the door behind me. She furrowed her brow and stared at me in wonderment.
Had it been any other time in my life, I'd be banging hard on her wide open door in a New York minute, even if it was, like: while I was still married to Aylene, or any other time, up until a couple of months ago, when I started to talk to Libby, and not just watching her from a distance.
If it had been any other time up until then, that I had happened upon this girl, in a setting like this, I'd be squeezing my way in and out of her pants in those types of metropolitan time measures, and be done gone long before one (anyone) could say: you slimy little puppy dog you.
But there is a fork which suddenly popped up in the road, and I've gotten myself derailed off of the track which I was previously on, where does this new road lead from here? I have no concrete idea, but...

And that's it for now folks,

That’s it for today. See you again tomorrow.

Go get the Manley book and read the whole story.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history.

Thur. Feb. 14th
2005 - The video-sharing website YouTube was activated.
1989 - Union Carbide agreed to pay $470 million to the government of India. The court-ordered settlement was a result of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak disaster.
1989 - Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini called on Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie because of his novel "The Satanic Verses."
1966 - Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers set a National Basketball Association (NBA) record as he reached a career high of 20,884 points after seven seasons.
1929 - The "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" took place in Chicago, IL. Seven gangsters who were rivals of Al Capone were killed.
1912 - The first diesel engine submarine was commissioned in Groton, CT.
1900 - In South Africa, British Gen. Roberts invaded Orange Free State with 20,000 troops.
1876 - Alexander Graham Bell filed an application for a patent for the telephone. It was officially issued on March 7, 1876.

Losing sleep over a girl | what should I do?

2019-02-13T20:34:00.000-05:00

Have you ever find yourself in a situation where you are losing sleep over a girl? You are not alone. Manley was losing sleep too, over Libby.

Here now is episode 18 in the series. And it is taken from Chapter eighteen of the book.

Chapter Eighteen

Working the night shift and overtime too

The clock on the night table was reporting six-thirty when I popped my eyes open the following morning, Friday morning. I propped myself up on my elbows in bed and blinked the eyes on rapid, I rubbed my hand over my eyes and stare again at the clock. It ain't lying, it really is 6:30.

I have been missing out on a lot of sleep over the past week or so and now it is finally catching up with me.

What I have to do can't wait too long, the Life and welfare of my beloved Libby could be laying in the balance, but my plan cannot be implemented under the lights of the noonday sun, so, back to the drawing board I must go.

This is Friday morning, Friday night is not the best night of the week for me to put into effect the plan, but it will have to suffice. I cannot put it off any longer.

I got to my stakeout point on the corner of the quiet street in Kirkland at exactly 12:15 AM that morning, and promptly set up my signal scanning system, all set, let's roll.

My head was down, the lion's share of my attention was focused on the computer screen when I heard it.

The police car had snuck up on me. There were no flashing lights, no siren, just that little croaking frog-like beep, beep.

I looked up from the computer screen, glanced at the rearview mirror and there it was. “Oh shit! I'm busted,” said I. Two cops got out, the one on the right quickly positioned himself to the tail end of my truck, a drawn gun in hand. The other one carefully approaching from the left, gun in hand also.

“Good evening sir,” said he, “do you live around here?”

“No.”

“What is your purpose for sitting out here in the truck? Is this your truck?”

More questions coming and faster than I could answer them.

“It is my truck, yes, and I am a computer technician,” I said this while reaching out to give him the business card I have tucked in between my fingers.

“Keep your hands where I can see them, keep your hands where I can see them,” he said.

Meanwhile, the other one who was posted at the rear of the truck quickly filled my right side window and promptly cracked at the door latch, which did not budge.

The other officer likewise, grabs hold of the other door latch, pulling and screaming - “get out of the vehicle, get out of the vehicle.”

I unlocked the door and slid out. They bounced my face up against the truck, twisting my arms in the most unnatural ways possible, as the handcuffs where being clamped on.

They didn't read me any rights like one might see in the movie, but this is not the movies, this is real life baby, and the pain and fear I was feeling right at that moment was as real as it gets.

They pushed my head down and squeezed me into the back seat of the police car.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked. “Down to the station for starters,” he replied, “and then where we go from there will be dependent on how cooperative you turn out to be.”

“What will become of my truck?” I asked several minutes later when we were about halfway to the station as it had turned out.

“It will probably be towed by tomorrow this time, unless...”

“Unless what?” I had asked several minutes later when it became clear that there was no intention of him finishing the statement.

“It all depends on how cooperative you turn out to be,” he repeated, “what answers you have for these troubling questions floating around in the air,” said the sergeant, “and which needs to be answered.”

“It's all a misunderstanding,” I said, after the preliminary questions which were designed to ID me.

“So Mr. Techno man, try to make me understand here, tell me what the story is, what's the real story?”

“Like I said before, sir, I'm a technician, amongst other things.”

“What other things, what else do you do? Home invasion? Stalking people in their homes? What is it?”

“Can I speak a word in your ear, your ear only?” I said to the Sergeant. He didn't speak, he just fanned him away - the young constable, with a little bit of waving movement of the hand.

He, the constable to his credit, had started to clear out of the office, as soon as I had said that I wanted to talk to the Sergeant, alone.

“Here's the deal”, I said when we were left alone, “I cut right through to the chase and give you what you are looking for, tell you what is going down, and you give me a break with this, interrogation bit, and let me go get my truck and get on home.”

“Is that it?” Asked the Sergeant.

“Well, one more thing, that you keep me updated on whatever you may find out.”

“No, oh no, that I cannot do, police work is serious business jack.”

“Okay, okay I got you. But I want you to understand that there might be people's lives at risk here, people that I care greatly about.”

“So start talking, I'm listening.”

“You’d ask me what I was doing over there, the truth is, I was doing your job, sort of. I do believe that someone is in that house who is in trouble and I wanted to be sure before I go on to make an alarm.”

“Who is this person? This someone of whom you speak?”

“A friend of mine, Libby is her name.”

“What kind of friend are we talking about here, are you seeing her?”

“Sort of, it's not official yet but we have been getting really tight of late, but her family is very controlling and overbearing. And…”

“Hang on right there, I'll be back,” he said...

And we are hanging it on this too for now folks,

That’s it for today. See you again tomorrow.

Continue reading this chapter and much more if you like it. Go get the Manley book and read the whole story.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history.

Wed. Feb. 13^th

2000 - Charles M. Schulz's last original Sunday "Peanuts" comic strip appeared in newspapers. Schulz had died the day before.

1990 - In Ottawa, the United States and its European allies forged an agreement with the Soviet Union and East Germany on a two-stage formula to reunite Germany.

1947 - "Family Theatre" was heard for the first time on Mutual radio.

1914 - The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (known as ASCAP) was formed in New York City. The society was founded to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.

1741 - "The American Magazine," the first magazine in the U.S., was published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1542 - Catherine Howard was executed for adultery. She was the fifth wife of England's King Henry VIII

How should I act when meeting the parents?

2019-02-12T22:14:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wonder what to say and how to behave when meeting the in-laws, or in-law-to-be? Well, you are not alone in this regard. Manley was wondering about those things too, but then came the day when he would have met up with them, unplanned and unprepared.

This is how it went down. Partly.
Manley would have dropped Libby home after an afternoon out with her at the movies. And this is the outcome. Here is episode 17 in the series. and Chapter Seventeen from the book.

Chapter Seventeen
Problem? What problem?

After the movie, I took her home. That was when the troubles start...
Her parents were waiting for her, and when I say waiting, I mean, they were literally standing there at the door kind of waiting, yes, that kind of waiting, for her.
“Who is this?” The father asked even before any exchange of greetings, “who is this?”
“Hi Dad, this is my friend Manley...”
“Manley, Manley who... What is this about?”
“Like I said, Dad, he is a friend of mine, we go to the same school, and he did offer to take me home today and I accepted the offer. I never did think that that would pose a problem.”
“Problem? Problem? Why would it be a problem? Let him in, come in, come in and tell us more, I want to hear some more about this...”
As of late, I have been finding myself playing a song over and over in my head and singing along to the lingering refrain, and it goes something like this:
Miss Luba's one daughter, she's a girl I love,
I'm gonna marry her soon,
Under a silvery moon.
However, only bubbles and I knew about this little song, and I was looking forward to popping the big question, after consulting with and receiving the blessings of the Dahousts family of course.
But after this encounter, after what had just happened here tonight, I have to be thinking of another song to sing:
I'm not sure anymore, more.
Who is knocking at my door, door...
Libby's family home is a duplex in Kirkland, near the strip mall on St Charles Boulevard. They, all four of them, used to occupy the main floor of the house, and the upper floor was rented out, right up until just over a year ago when Kamal got married or was married off to a girl he hardly even knew.
Now, Kamal and his young family occupy that space. In a sense, it is still rented out because, Kamal has been paying rent to his father, not the full amount like that which the previous tenant was paying but, it's rent payment anyways.
His father said that he has to teach the boy (he still calls him boy even at twenty-six and married, with a second child on the way), so he is out to teach "the boy" how to be responsible in life.
The well-manicured lawn out front was still mostly covered over with dark, dirty snow and ice.
The temperature has been fluctuating widely in recent times, rising and falling, but mostly rising significantly over the last week or so. I even saw a couple of white Lilies spouting out from under the sappy, Fall leftover grass from last year.
Those first blooming spring lilies were spouting up along the peripheries near the ice mounds where the brown-greenish grass was already bouncing back from hibernation.
I had gotten as far as up to the granite tiles at the front door.
Mr. Dahoust's words were saying, come in, “come in, and tell us more,” but his eyes were saying something quite different and very frightening.
“I really have to be going now.” I had said, “maybe some other time we can meet up when it is more convenient and more planned out, as opposed to me just dropping in on you unannounced like this.”
He didn't take the hand which I had offered.
“No, no,” he protested, “you really must come on in and sit down and talk to me.”
His wife though, she waved a shaking bye-bye hand at me as I turned and walked away. “Some other time sir.” I had said, “and I will come back to talk to you but I really must go now.”
That was the last I have seen of Libby since, in the ways as I have come to know her.

That’s it for now folks. See you again tomorrow.

Continue reading this chapter and much more.
Get the Manley book and read the whole story.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history.

Tues. Feb. 12th
1968 - "Soul on Ice" by Eldridge Cleaver was published for the first time.
1912 - China's boy emperor Hsuan T'ung announced that he was abdicating, ending the Manchu Ch'ing dynasty. Subsequently, the Republic of China was established.
1909 - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded.
1879 - The first artificial ice rink opened in North America. It was at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY.
1870 - In the Utah Territory, women gained the right to vote.
1554 - Lady Jane Grey was beheaded after being charged with treason. She had claimed the throne of England for only nine days.

So why do I write? I heard someone ask.

And the answer is: I'm a guy of many words, but whose tongue is slow and heavy, and my words tend to come out awkward and clumsy, so I write, because I always have something to say, I think. Which always tends to get me into trouble anyway. The extra bonus though, in writing is that a pencil usually comes with an eraser.

Thewritingelk

Snow day tempers flare | on the road to the movie

2019-02-11T21:22:00.000-05:00

Snow day tempers flare | on the road to the movie
Manley and Libby would have happened upon mister personality on a snow day while on the way to the movies. And this is the outcome. Here now is episode 16 in the series. chapter sixteen

Chapter Sixteen
Poetic justice

Get the Manley book

Mr. Personality, got his car towed
Because, in his selfish desire to park, he blocked the whole road.
And then the fines which he was forced to pay amounted to quite a mighty load.
Poetic Justice lends itself well to the judicial code
As the cheering voices gave way to relieved breath from the nodding crowd.
It was two days after the big snow storm, the usable parts of most of the roadways being reduced to about a third of the usual norm, snow being piled up high at several points where the snow plows had pushed it. As I inched my way along in the slow-moving traffic, trying to get out of the city.
Libby was sitting right there beside me seemingly oblivious to the time slowly slipping away.
We were finally nearing the end of the one-way street, after almost half an hour of us just crawling through at the speed of a turtle on route to Sunday school, on lessons review morning.
This car - which was immediately in front of our car, proceeded to pull off of the roadways, venturing to breach the accumulating snow and slush to the left side of us in order to park.
Meanwhile, to the right of where he ended up parking was another stopped vehicle, which seemed to be throttling, and a man was sitting in the driver's seat. So this second vehicle, braze the snow and slush and then stopped, crookedly.
He shut down the engine and crack the door open to get out. I tapped on the horn to solicit his attention, he turned and look at me, then quickly seemed to survey the long line of traffic behind me and then close the door to the driver seat, and proceeded to get a small boy out of the back seat, to go off somewhere I’d assumed. Again I tapped on the horn very gently and roll the window down. I stuck my head out of the window and said, “can you just move over a bit more so that the rest of us can pass by you?”
“Too much snow,” he said, as he closed the door out of which he had just taken the little boy, and turned to walk away.
“So,” I said. Because there is "too much snow" that makes it okay for you to block the entire street, and hinder everybody else from moving along?
“Calm down,” he said, “calm down,” and again he said, “calm down.” I was as calm as could be. And believe me when I say, I was calm.
The snow of which we speak, (both he and I,) were of the slushy type, it tends to shifts and move under the weight of the vehicles.
“He said to calm down,” said Libby, “but he is the one who is aggressive here, passively aggressive.”
So, he went away leaving this long line of vehicles stuck behind his crookedly parked street-blocking vehicle. Turning his head around while leaving to say: "ask the other guy to move."
"He was there before you, I said, and neither you nor I know if his vehicle is, in fact, mobile, but your vehicle is.
“Yes,” said Libby, “it's always the other person's responsibility, never yours or mine.”
“Why am I even here arguing with you though?” He said, as he took the child's hand and walked away, leaving everyone there stuck in a gridlock.
Since I was sitting in my warm and comfortable car, having my favorite person in the world (at this point in time,) sitting right there next to me, and who seemed just as content with the thought of being here with me as she would, being in the cinema staring at the screen, maybe even more so.
I pulled off of the roadways and park behind his vehicle and sat there, just watching the scene...
The driver of the pick-up truck which was behind me wasn't as patient as the rest of us were. As soon as I pulled off and park behind the agitator’s vehicle, navigating over much more of the very same sort of snow and slush which he was avoiding at every cost.
The pick-up truck passed by my vehicle and proceed to take the mirror off of the crookedly parked vehicle and also leaving a long streak mark on the side of the vehicle for him to deal with when he gets back.
Did you all hear those shouts and cheers just now?
That came from the many other satisfied drivers and onlookers who had seen it go down, and whose faith has now been restored in the concept of Poetic Justice.
The very next vehicle which happened to pull up though, was a city bus, whoa, whoa.
Such a letdown, the people's bubbles have just been burst. If he, the bus driver, had followed the lead of the pick-up truck and just push that car out of the way, man oh man! No matter what they were showing up at the cinema at that moment, it couldn't have rivaled the satisfaction which all of us looking on would have gotten out of it, but the bus driver was cut from a different cloth than that guy just before him, or it could be just the fact that he - the bus driver, has much more responsibilities riding on him. He just stopped there, with his Hazzard lights going, case closed, street close, everything close.
Complete standstill now for traffic on that street, as if it wasn't so before.
Next, there was flashing lights and siren, a police car pulled up from the other direction and against the traffic flow, and stopped. Then came the tow truck with yet more flashing lights, and proceeded to back up in front of the car, the crookedly parked car. Libby and I were not yet at the cinema, and at this rate, we probably won't make it there any time soon, but we were having the time of our lives, show time that is.
The cop by now was coming out with his ticketing pad, the tow truck guy was moving into position too. And now...
Here he comes, here he comes... Guess who? Yep. To the loudest of applause ever, entered the man of the hour, but, hey! Why aren't you smiling, aren't you happy? You are the star of the show here.
So now it's negotiating time, but neither the cop nor the tow truck guy was budging. So, the begging and pleading went on until…
Not sure how it all went with him thereafter, since the goodly police officer and the tow guy did manage to clear the street enough, to get us moving and out of there.
That’s it for now folks. See you again tomorrow.

Previous Next

Get the Manley book and read the whole story.

Extra, extra. On this day in history.

Mon. February 11
1990 - In Tokyo, Japan, James "Buster" Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in the tenth round to win the heavyweight championship.
1990 - Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity.
1975 - Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to head a major party in Britain when she was elected leader of the Conservative Party.
1960 - Jack Paar walked off while live on the air on the "Tonight Show" with four minutes left. He did this in response to censors cutting out a joke from the show the night before.
1958 - Ruth Carol Taylor was the first black woman to become a stewardess by making her initial flight.
1929 - The Lateran Treaty was signed. Italy now recognized the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City.
1812 - The term "gerrymandering" had its beginning when the governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, signed a redistricting law that favored his party.

Poetry speaks | Poems about life, love and other such nonsense.

2019-02-10T15:44:00.002-05:00

A little bit of spoken word poetry here for you today my friends. Poems about life, love, death and just about any other of the little things which make life happens. As seen through the eyes of the poet himself, E Lloyd Kelly. Here now is a poem called, “All that sheet” as seen among others on YouTube, where poetry speaks the inner thought of the mind. #poetryspeakstheinnerthought

So, is that the way how you happen to seet?

That my family and I ain't even sheet.

Just because we haven't arrived on the money street, yet.

While you were there busily lifting loads of multicolored discreet,

Off of the other folks' bundle of joy,

And sorrows too, pick-a-booboo!

As joy was laughing, laughter, while crying too,

Shedding tears of yet more joy, and bouncing baby boy,

And girls, and dancing ballerina shoe, who do you!

And that was just because you had happened to discover,

That my family and I haven’t yet crossed over.

The bridges and turnstiles turn the corner,

Where Wall Street’s big shots money garner.

Would show you that, my family and I ain't even squat.

Because we ain't yet got, it backed up to the loading dock,

In trucks and backhoe, backed up with all that Doe, ray, mi, fah, so. Yet.

Like you'd thought and afterthoughts long, long ago,

When you had set out to become, and became, a friend,

To me and to my children, but then again.

Your plans were thwarted, when the doe which you had wanted, was not forthcoming, coming, coming,

And the friend –ship began a-doning, downing, doning, downing, done.

By: E. Lloyd Kelly. 22/10/2018

All that sheet: On YouTube

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This week in music: Singing Sundays

Prince History(The Musician Prince Rogers Nelson) and more.

2008 - The Time reunited at The 50th Grammy Awards in a medley that included Rihanna and featured "Jungle Love."

1998 - It was announced that Blockbuster Music was going to sell the Prince album "Crystal Ball."

1993 - Michael Jackson granted his first interview in 14 years to Oprah Winfrey. In the interview, Jackson claimed that he has a disorder (vitiligo) that destroys the pigmentation of the skin and that he had had very little plastic surgery.

1979 - The Jacksons performed "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" on "American Bandstand."

1964 - Elvis Presley sent a telegram of congratulations to the Beatles after their successful first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Sun. Feb. 10th

2009 - Amazon announced the Kindle 2.

1990 - South African President F.W. de Klerk announced that black activist Nelson Mandela would be released the next day after 27 years in captivity.

1989 - Ron Brown became the first African American to head a major U.S. political party when he was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

1870 - The YWCA was founded in New York City.

1763 - The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War. In the treaty, France ceded Canada to England.

Sat. Feb. 9th

1984 - NBC Entertainment president, Brandon Tartikoff, gave an interviewer the "10 Commandments for TV Programmers."

1960 - The first star was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star was for Joanne Woodward.

1932 - America entered the 2-man bobsled competition for the first time at the Olympic Winter Games held at Lake Placid, NY.

1895 - The first college basketball game was played as Minnesota State School of Agriculture defeated the Porkers of Hamline College, 9-3.

How do you spell relief? | The Manley book

2019-02-08T22:15:00.003-05:00

How do you spell relief again? The Manley book gives some answer. Manley becomes a teacher, if only for a short while. He then ventured into teaching Libby how to spell relief.
So, if you too are searching for the correct way to spell relief, here it is, as seen through the eyes of Manley.

Chapter Fifteen: How do you spell relief again?

Get the Manley book on Amazon

She was almost done with the exams and done with swatting the studies, she accepted my invitation to go out somewhere else, somewhere other than the usual little diner across the street. She wanted us to go see a movie.

“What are you going to do about your brother, your chauffeur, when he comes back to pick you up?

And also for the rest of your family when you get back home and they start quizzing you as to your whereabouts?” I'd asked this because she never seems to go anywhere or do anything without their blessings, and participation.

"I'm a grown woman," was her response, "haven't you noticed?"

"Oh yeah, I notice. And what a relief it is to hear you say that.

Speaking of relief, how do you spell relief again?”

“R-E-L-I-E-F? You mean you really didn’t know?” “No, that’s not it, it’s spelled G-R-A-D-U-A-T-I-O-N.” She stared at me and gasped. “You are so damn silly,” she said.

I rested my case there and then.

Although it was not yet summer, and although it was a little bit on the nippy side, the weather that is, she wore a dress and heels, she was stunning, I couldn't keep my sneaky peaky eyes off of her, her long beautiful legs were there, just begging for attention, my attention.

I did see a bit of her lower legs before, last summer I think it was when she wore shorts a time or two, but that was just slightly above the knee since she never did wear them higher than that like the other girls usually do.

We chatted about many things on the drive to the cinema, or as far as we managed to get on the route there before the trouble started.

She was highly confident that the exam results will be phenomenal. She had already gotten herself many jobs offers coming in from many and varied places.

Places such as Toronto, Ottawa, Victoria, and Vancouver. Even got at least three from cities in the US.

Of course, Montreal's medical institutions were not to be left out of the biddings, three hospitals in Montreal and many other health facilities and clinics were bidding too.

Her father and her mother to a lesser extent were trying to get her to choose the Jewish General Hospital right here in Montreal. But she would rather not, she’d said that she wanted to get as far away from Montreal as possible, but I think it’s not so much Montreal itself that she wants to get away from but rather, far away from her overbearing parents.

Though not as far away as some of us would like, she is leaning towards Ottawa, or Toronto, in that order. Said she likes those cities, and being as realistic a person as she is, it's just a two-hour drive back to Montreal for those occasional visit with her family and vice versa, which are bound to happen.

“And we could link up from time to time too” I’d said, “whenever you are in town, you and I, you know?”

“I was kinda hoping...”

“Hoping what?”

“Nothing.”

“Hoping that I could join you on the move, right?”

“No, never mind me.”

“That's exactly what you were about to say, I'll bet my lunch on it.”

“You are getting a little bit too full of it mister, that's not it at all.”

“Too full of what?”

“Yourself, too full of your damn self, like, like, you must be thinking that you are God's gift to the world or something.”

“I never said that at all, I only did challenge you to finish the statement, finish saying what you were about to say, and you can't, because you know I'm right. But I can finish it for you, you were hoping that I would come along with you.”

“Are you listening to yourself? Really? Talk about being pompous.”

“That's not being pompous, that's called being on point missie.

And funny though it may seem, I was thinking the same damned thing too.” Pause...

“What same thing are you talking about?”

“You know full well what I'm saying, and the answer is yes, I would love to.”

That’s it for today friends, come again for yet more. And bookmark this page for easy access.

What're your thoughts on this series so far? Please give us your feedback in the comments area below. Thank you.

Get the book here. How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley

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Extra, extra. On this day in history

Feb. 8th

1985 - "The Dukes of Hazzard" ended its 6-1/2 year run on CBS television.

1971 - The Nasdaq stock-market index debuted.

1952 - Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne. Her father, George VI, had died on February 6.

1910 - William D. Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America.

1900 - In South Africa, British troops under Gen. Buller were beaten at Ladysmith. The British fled over the Tugela River.

Teenagers house calls | the headmistress’ house

2019-02-07T21:12:00.000-05:00

What happened when a teenage boy with an over-active imagination made a house call on the headmistress and would have ventured to document the even for future uses. Read Manley’s account of the encounters on Ms. B’s own domain, -at her very own home.

Manley would have gotten an invite to the house, and this was what transpired there.

Chapter Fourteen

Me and Mrs. B?

Meet the author, E Lloyd Kelly

I still did have some unfinished business with Ms. Brodbendt, which needed some tending to.

On the Walk to the bus stop, I was singing away: I shot the Sherriff, but I did not shoot...

“What?” Bubbles Butted in, he wanted to know, “you did not shoot what? Ms. Brodbendt's furry old pussycat? You probably should have,” he said.

Cute, very cute.

…

Close encounter of the worst kind

After the close encounter of the worst kind with me thinking that I was going to get lucky and hit the jackpot with Ms. B, it never did work out as I had planned. Did hit something in fact, but it wasn't the jackpot, at least not the one which I did bet on, or in the way I had wanted it to be. But there is always another day, and one can always dream.

Didn't have to wait very long.

The following afternoon I was called to the principal’s office, again.

For the first time in a long time, I was feeling rather apprehensive about going into Miss Brodbendt's office, it was like I'd done something really bad, only worse. I couldn't remember ever feeling so bad going in there, even after getting myself into some kind of trouble but on this day, I was so very nervous that even the hair on my head seemed to be sweating.

Guess I was a bit ashamed of myself for... for - whatever reason, letting down Ms. B perhaps? Or, letting myself down in Ms. B's presence, not living up to expectation, not measuring up to the billing?

Ms. B's mission, it would seem was to reassure me, to smooth over the bruised ego. She was so sweet and understanding.

“Don't you go beating up on yourself,” she told me, “you are perfectly okay, nothing wrong with you, nothing at all. As a matter of fact, I think it was rather sweet.”

She would have winked at me and smile. “What do you say? You come over this afternoon again, and I show you how to do it right?” I didn't respond, just sat there staring at the boots on my shaking feet on the floor, but then...

To the house, we went. Miss Brodbendt and me.

“Yay…: I stifled a shout, “Ms. Brodbendt and me?” I said, “we are taking it all the way home baby.” I was sure that bubbles heard me, but he never said a word in response.

…

My commanding headmistress

“Go have a shower.” Ms. Brodbendt commanded me as soon as we get home to her house. I was more than a bit self-conscious and resented the way how that came across. Is she saying that I stink? I tucked my nose under my armpits as soon as she turned her back. Can't say that it was scentless or pleasant, but still, come on, give a guy a break here. Won’t you?

However, whenever Miss Brodbendt says jump, I usually ask, how high? So I went to the bathroom and got me my shower, just like she wanted. Must admit though, I felt a whole lot better afterward.

Now it's her turn, to get a shower. I sat myself down on the couch and grab the remote control for the TV. I turned on the big box and flick through channel after channel, just to kill some time, trying to pacify the nervous tensions within.

I didn't hear the shower going like it was going the last time, instead, the bathtub was filling up. I could hear the water running out of the faucet and into the tub.

Miss Brodbendt would have called out to me from inside of the bathroom, “Manley! come here, Manley.” I didn't budge, “Manley!” She called out again, after the third time, I slowly got up and walked up to the door, and even more slowly I turned the doorknob and pushed it open. She was in the bathtub, covered up with the mushy white bubbles. I edge my way back to go out through the open door, by the same way which I had just come in.

“Come here,” she said in a sort of a whiny high-pitched whisper while stretching out the right hand over and across the edge of the bathtub, reeling me in with calling-fingers.

“No.” I said, “I don't want to, I don't feel too good.”

I pulled the door closed as I walked back out.

Wasn't sure why but I did feel somewhat restrained from just gabbling up Miss B. like that, it probably was because of the office, her station in life, her roll in my life, she's the principal for crying out loud.

I didn't feel quite the same way about doing things to get my fairy godmother going. Even though they were both similar to each other in many ways, both of them were teachers, roughly the same age, same physical make-ups, appearance and body types, but still...

If it was goddy my fairy godmother's place that I had gone to, like that, the TV would still be as cold as icicles, since I would not be turning it on. I'd be busy right off the cuffs, getting the biggest bang for my hard-earned bucks. Working the late shift and overtime too, on my fairy godmothers bus, and also on the brand new second hand Volvo.

The only thing that would be turned on after we get inside the house and close the door behind us, would have been me taking out the jackhammer keys and turning it over to goddy.

Since both of us would have had our other hard and even the soft metallic mechanism and body parts already turned on and heated up to a fever pitch, even before we managed to bust in through the open door.

But as for Miss B? It is going to take a lot more out of me, getting used to the idea that I can actually bang on her door in like manner. And to think that I really, really wanted so very much to be doing just that, more than anything in the world, at this stage of my life, my teenage boy’s life.

That’s it for today friends, come again for yet more. And bookmark this page for easy access.

What're your thoughts on this series so far? Please give us your feedback in the comments area below. Thank you.

Get the book here. How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley

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Extra, extra. On this day in history

Wed. Feb. 7th

1991 - The Rev. Jean-Bertrand Aristide was sworn in as Haiti's first democratically elected president.

1986 - Haitian President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier fled his country ending 28 years of family rule.

1985 - "Sports Illustrated" released its annual swimsuit edition. It was the largest regular edition in the magazine’s history at 218 pages

1974 - The nation of Grenada gained independence from Britain.

1959 - The play "The Rivalry" opened in New York City.

1922 - DeWitt and Lila Acheson Wallace offered 5,000 copies of "Reader's Digest" magazine for the first time.

She went off to the races. | Race horse riders

2019-02-06T22:06:00.000-05:00

She went to the race track with her friends and never came back, well now she seems to be working her way back but Manley has a few things to say about that, and more. Here is Manley’s version of the story. Hey, my peops, how you all doing? Hope it has been good. As for me, as you might know, if you have been following the series, this should have been yesterday’s post, but.

In the midst of our plans hopes and dreams sometimes, life does happen, this is one of those sometimes. Here we are again today, and it promises to be just as good. Here is yet another episode. Excerpts from the chapter which is also episode 13. And yes, we will be giving you the extras for yesterday and today too, so, nothing missing here.

Chapter Thirteen

Exes, O’s and horse riders

Get the full story, get the book

On my birthday, I got the most unexpected, sweetest voicemail ever, followed by the follow-up call later that evening, from whom you asked? None other than my beloved Ex-wife. What was she up to this time, hmm? When it rains, it pours.

“Just called to wish you a happy birthday dear,” she had said, but it was obvious that that was not all that she wanted to talk about.

“Maybe we should have tried a little bit harder to make our marriage work when we had it,” she went on to say, “maybe it was not all that bad after all. Maybe we could take another kick at the can,” she said further.

An awful lot of maybe, maybe, maybe, Ain’t it?

“It's a bit late for that now don't you think?” I had said.

“Well, we all have made our mistakes, nobody is perfect, but mistakes can be corrected, can’t they? What can one do with perfection?”

“Not much,” I said sarcastically. “How is your husband doing these days?” I then asked, emphasizing the "husband."

Silence, “uh! I thought as much.” I said, before ending the call.

…

She went off with the horse rider

Dan Rhyder was the champion jockey that year, and vying for a second straight year in the enviable position. But then came the big fall. He was riding the big mount: Run-for-joe, who was herself vying to become the horse of the year. And they were in slot number three of seven, in the gold cup race.

Run-for-joe was no doubt, the two to one favorite, but strong challenges were expected from the likes of Rude boy and Jeremy's pet. Dan Rhyder's friend and competition jockey. Wayne Martin wasn't riding in the race, and since he himself was not in the running for any big prizes, trophies or top honors that time around, there was no doubt that all of his support was behind his friend Danny.

The queen was at the races, with the other women when it happened.

The stands were jam-packed with race-watchers and spectators of all stripes and colors, as the horses burst out of the starting gates. Run-for-joe broke nicely and quickly stake out her favorite position to the far left of the field. Miracles and wonders, then broke out into the lead ahead of Jeremy's pet, and Holiday season, followed closely by Rude boy, Simplicity, and March break bring up the rear. As they approach the halfway mark, it was now Run-for-joe in the lead but Rude boy was beginning to find his footing and pounced ahead of the rest to be sitting in the second position, meanwhile, Jeremy's pet was sitting in the catbird seat at third, poised and ready to pounce at any moment.

The race was between those three, while March break, surprisingly, was putting on a gallant challenge up the middle. As the finish line approach, it was Rude boy, Jeremy's pet, and Run-for-joe. Coming down to the wire, it was Rude boy and Run-for-joe, Rude boy, Run-for-joe, Run-for-joe just knocked Rude boy right on the finish line for a photo finished winning.

But that was not all that had happened there and then. It would have appeared as if the last minute push to the finish line by Run-for-joe was just a bit too much on the horse's legs, and caused her left front leg to snap and broke in the joint just above the horseshoe. The animal stumbled and fell right through the finish line to secure the win for her owners and supporters but she herself, she did not fare quite as well, the horses’ leg wasn't the only thing broken there that day. The fall was much too powerful on the animal's neck which hit the ground first, they had was to put the poor beast down.

Some folks I know though think that they should have put the injured jockey down too, right there and then.

He, the jockey, was carried away on stretchers with a broken left leg and a fractured hip, never did mount up on a horse again, at least not in a professional capacity.

I have a funny feeling that he has been having trouble mounting up on some other beastly things too, other than of the feline kinds, based on the evidence which has been showing up of late.

That’s it for today friends, come again tomorrow for yet more.

What're your thoughts on this series so far? Please give us your feedback in the comments area below. Thank you.

Get the book here. How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley

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Extra, extra. On this day in history

Tues. Feb. 5th

1994 - White separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, MS, of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

1972 - Bob Douglas became the first black man elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.

1961 - The first issue of the "Sunday Telegraph" was published.

1924 - The BBC time signals, or "pips", from Greenwich Observatory were heard for the first time. They are broadcast every hour.

1846 - "The Oregon Spectator", based in Oregon City, became the first newspaper published on the Pacific coast.

Feb 6th

1999 - King Hussein of Jordan transferred full political power to his oldest son the Crown Prince Abdullah.

1973 - Construction began on the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

1952 - Britain's King George VI died. His daughter, Elizabeth II, succeeded him.

1843 - "The Virginia Minstrels" opened at the Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City. It was the first minstrel show in America.

The facts of life as seen through mothers eyes

2019-02-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

Here are some interesting facts of life as seen through mother’s eyes, as well as those of Libby Dahoust and Manley J Woodhardt. Among others.

One can learn some very interesting fact of life over a meal with the right kind of company. That is precisely what is about to transpire as Manley and Libby open themselves up for scrutiny over a meal at the diner, come along with me as we eavesdrop on the conversation.

Libby and Manley at the diner

This is an excerpt from Chapter Twelve: The Stakeout, and is episode 12 in the series. (I think)

…We would have sat down at the table, just like we did on the very first occasion there. The only difference this time is that she didn't have a pile of books in front of her, however, she seemed just as purposeful as ever, she was focused on the task of getting to know me perhaps? I mean, really know me this time?

“So what have you been doing?” She asked me again.

“As I have said, I've been busy with work and studies, work more so than studies. Did I not tell you about the gig which I had was to go and do at the techno-center last evening? Thought I did.”

“Yes, you did mention it but I didn't know it would be taking you that long.”

Bubbles: “that long? She misses you, dude...”

“So what happened at the Techno center? Did you say that something occurred there that...”

“I don't want to talk about it, at least not yet.” I interrupted her.

I didn't think that we were at that place yet, wasn't sure how she would view the whole thing. Would she think that I had something to do with it? In leading the woman on? That I was flirting with her or something? I didn't want her to be seeing me like that. But then again, would that view of who I was, be a misrepresentation of the facts?

Maybe my fame had gone on before me and had featured prominently in the Madam's decision to hire me. In which case, I couldn't deny the accuracy of her assessment of the whole mess, but for once in my life, I didn't want this person, this woman with the heavenly glow and vivacious energy to see me in that light, it had suddenly dawned on me that this one, for some strange reason, this one does matter to me, a lot.

My mother used to say in those days: “only the vain and clueless man is led to believe that his whole life’s purpose and vocation is to make his woman happy, there is much more to life than that,” she has said but, since meeting up with this woman, Libby Dahoust, I'm not sure anymore man, I'm just not sure.

But I'm willing to go out of my way to at least try to make this one woman happy. If not just to piss my mother off, then maybe it's to get a chance at seeing where things lead from here. Whit Libby and me.

Not quite sure where Mom stands in this regard when it comes to Amy, and other women folks, she would probably say the very same thing, with just a bit of alteration of the gender parts of those sayings to make them fit, but as for Norm and Me? She never did fail to remind us of this, her version of what the truth in the facts of life is.

That’s it for today friends, come again tomorrow for yet more.

What're your thoughts on this series so far? Please give us your feedback in the comments area below. Thank you.

Get the book here, How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley

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Extra, extra. On this day in history

Tues. Feb. 5th

1994 - White separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, MS, of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

1972 - Bob Douglas became the first black man elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.

1961 - The first issue of the "Sunday Telegraph" was published.

1924 - The BBC time signals, or "pips", from Greenwich Observatory were heard for the first time. They are broadcast every hour.

1846 - "The Oregon Spectator", based in Oregon City, became the first newspaper published on the Pacific coast.

Talk about body odor. | How to talk about

2019-02-03T22:14:00.000-05:00

Talk about body odor! This person has got that a-plenty, but. It is never an easy thing to talk to someone about body odor, except if and when it is about someone else other than for yourself or your friends, and unless you are the gossiping type. However, there might be ways in which one can address the issue, nicely and be helpful to a person who probably doesn’t even realize that they have such an issue.

Here now is one such example as seen through the eyes of Manley and Libby. In the tenth chapter of the Manley book. This is episode no. 10 in the series. Happy reading.

Chapter Eleven: Hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting.

Get the book, read the whole story

We would have picked up our partially eaten meals and briskly walked out of the diner, I grabbed a hold of a few extra sheets of paper towels on the way out, we might come to need them to clean up, should in case we happened to spill any of the gravy from the silicone cup.

The creamy, tasty poutine was beginning to get a bit cold and saggy in the sauce but that didn't take away from my cravings for it. What had caused us to ditch the joint so hurriedly was the alarmingly loud smell emanating from the girl, the one who had just come in and sat herself down at the table in the farthest (but not quite far enough for my liking), corner from us. The smell was unbearable.

“Wow! Can you believe that?” I said as we exited the building, "has she not yet heard of something called deodorant?"

"Or just plain old soap and water," Libby added.

"Maybe she doesn't realize that she smelled though," she pounced, in the girl’s defense.

"Come on!" I countered. "How could she not know that? She's as loud as a bull-horn at the county fair."

"To us, she may be as loud as a bull-horn at the county fair but to her, it may not be so pronounced."

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"Have you ever gone into a restroom?” She replied, “and have to beat a hasty retreat when the smell from inside hit you, or let me put it another way, have you ever used the restroom yourself, and just as soon as you were done and walked out, you turn to see someone else walked on in and have to beat a swift escape when the odor which you had left behind you, hits them square in the face?"

"Please, don't spoil my appetite. That is not the type of thing I want to be talking about over my lunch."

"Oh come on Mr. Chicken chest, well, if you think that is too gross for your lunch-hour conversation, let's try another analogy." "Okay, let's say it's garlic breath then. How many people are ever aware that they have that before others start resenting them? Or until someone kind and caring points it out to them?"

"So what exactly are you saying here?" I asked again.

"I just think that we might have gone about it in the wrong way."

"And what is the right way as you see it, Miss Lib?"

"Lib? Where did that one come from?"

"Off of my tongue, it just rolled that easily off of my tongue, why?"

"It's just that no one else has ever called me that except."

"Yes? except who?”

"Never mind that, let's get back to the point at hand."

"No, I want to hear this, except who?"

"My mother, she always calls me that, satisfied?"

"Maybe we should have told her," she continued.

"Are you crazy? You mean you want us to Walk up to her, to this total stranger and say: hey, you stink?"

"No, that is not what I'm saying, not like that, not in those words, or in that tone. Put yourself in her shoes for a moment here, if everybody just keep on running away from you, beating a swift escape every time they get anywhere near to you, not taking the time to talk to you, (nicely), and tell you what the problem is, you might never know, taking the garlic analogy into consideration here."

"So you mean, you want to become her angel of Mercy? You want to go save her from the demon which she likely doesn't even know that she has?"

"Not really, but everyone does need a friend sometime, and maybe we could be that friend to her, befriend her and guide her into something better than that."

"I don't want to be any friends with someone like that."

"Like what? She is a human being, a living, breathing person with a beating heart, with feelings like you and me."

"Why can't her folks teach and guide her, why has it got to be left up to others to do it, why me, or you?"

"Maybe she has no one here, she could be here in this city all by herself you know, just like many of the people whom we pass on the street, or sit beside on the bus or even in the classrooms daily. She might just need guidance, she might just need a friend."

"What if we should just give her some deodorant? You know, What if we could just stick it somewhere where she is bound to find it? She'll get the message, don’t you think?"

"No, no, you don't do things like that to people, that would even be worse than if we just leave her alone and letting her be, and that is what everyone seems to be doing already as it is, and that is not helping her, right?"

"So can we just get back to doing just that: leave her alone and let her figure it out for herself, and let's just eat what's left of our meal?"

To be continued.

What're your thoughts on this story? Please give us your feedback in the comments area below. Thank you.

That’s it for today, my friends, come again tomorrow for yet another episode in this series. Be the first to know when we post. Subscribe, follow and share.

Get the Manley book here. And read the whole story, on your own terms and time if you prefer, get the Manley story.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history

Mon. Feb. 4th

2004 - The social networking website Facebook.com was launched.

1997 - Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) scored his 600th National Hockey League (NHL) goal during his 719th game. Lemieux reached the milestone second fastest in history. Gretzky had reached the plateau during his 718th game.1993 - Russian scientists unfurled a giant mirror in orbit and flashed a beam of

sunlight across Europe during the night. Observers saw it only as a momentary flash. 1952 - Jackie Robinson was named Director of Communication for NBC. He was the first black executive of a major radio-TV network.

1824 - J.W. Goodrich introduced rubber galoshes to the public.

1789 - Electors unanimously chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States.

Disclaimer.

Note also: Some contents on these pages/post are/may be the property of third party owners. We don't hold or claim any right to such contents. These contents are/may have been collected from websites considered to be in the public domain. If anyone has any objection to us displaying these contents here, just send us an email or leave a message in the comments area, and we will remove such contents immediately after verifying the claim. Thank you very much.

Also. In some instances, and in our writing style.

The feminine may include the masculine and the singular the plural, and such. Sometimes. Handle contents accordingly.

Black history did not begin with slavery.

2019-02-03T14:11:00.000-05:00

It is Black History Month, Black history month is celebrated this and every February in the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, and in many Caribbean countries.

It is very important, however, for us to know and remember the context under which these observations were instituted, Black History Month began as a way of remembering many of the important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. The emphasis here is on the DIASPORA. Because, Because, our history, sure as hell, did not begin with slavery.

Every February though, people in the observing Countries are invited to participate in Black History Month festivities and events that honor the legacy of Black people, both past and present. For 2019, the poet is pleased to share with you one of his poetry pieces which were written a year ago and came out of those 2018 Black History Month celebrations. Never forget though, that our history, sure as hell, did not begin with slavery. That’s my Story.

Author & poet, E Lloyd Kelly

Now, here’s the poetry piece. A poem for black history month called:
Black man, know thyself. By E Lloyd Kelly.

Hey there Black man,

Do you know who you are?

You have got to know who you are, black man.

Or someone else will tell you who you are. And define you

Black man, know your own God.

Because, while many will come to you, professing religious values and morality.

Every day in their own society, they practiced immorality, routinely.

Then there are those who talk about justice and equality, but...

The last five hundred years, of the domination of Europe over the rest of the world's population, has been unjust.

Who then is going to teach our children "our history?"

And I mean, the real history?

Because our history, sure as hell, did not begin with slavery.

Four hundred years is a very long time to be brutalized,

And de-humanized.

For having to go through hell-on-Earth?

What's the prize? Heaven when we die? Crush that lie.

Tell me black man, what is your plan?

Are you satisfied with just being accepted, by the other man?

Who is actually your mortal enemy?

Or will you rise up? Stand up.

And pursue your own freedom? And your dignity?

Where is the black man's vibrant and progressive countries?

Where is the power of his economy?

Where are the Garveys’ and Martin Luther's?

Where are the Malcolms, Namumba and the Nkrumah?

Many People have suffered, many people have died,

Fighting for our liberty. What little of it there be.

We have paid a heavy price to be free, and yet, hear me clearly.

Freedom... freedom is most definitely. Not free.

From slavery to colonization,

From colonization to the plantation.

Without any form of restitution.

For labor stolen, Savagely broken.

And after the plantation. Then came neo-colonization.

Which is with us to this very day.

In the presence of the IMF, and the World Bank.

The United Nations. And world trade organization

So here we have it, as you can see.

The continuation of the inequality.

And all this is being maintained by systems of governments

And international treaty.

Here now is the burning question.

Who among us will commit,

Commit to reconstruction?

And to redeem the African civilization?

Africa is not a wasteland

She has been giving to the world from day one

In terms of the very first human, And also, the first Civilization.

Be proud black man, be very proud.

Your job now is to perfect yourself black man.

That is the whole purpose of your life, this you must understand.

It is that struggle on a day to day basis for perfection.

And to again become strong

The aged man must teach the younger ones,

Teach them in the homes, and in your institutions. Because

The battles of the future are going to be the battles of the mind and for the mind,

It's all about knowledge now. Knowledge and science.

So, up you mighty man,

Press onward and forward,

Cause you are a black man

Yes... you are an African.

By E Lloyd Kelly, Feb. 2018

End.

So why do I write? I heard someone ask.

And the answer is: I'm a guy of many words, but whose tongue is slow and heavy, and my words tend to come out awkward and clumsy, so I write, because I always have something to say, I think. Which always tends to get me into trouble anyway. The extra bonus though, the bonus in writing is that a pencil usually comes with an eraser.

Want more poetry from this poet? Psst! it's over here.

Disclaimer.

Please note: this piece was born out of a speech given by the son of one of the world’s greatest black freedom fighters, a man called, Marcus M Garvey. I being a poet and being a guest at the event, quickly went to work putting this poetry piece together.

Note also: Some contents on these pages/post are/may be the property of third party owners. We don't hold or claim any right to such contents. These contents are/may have been collected from websites considered to be in the public domain. If anyone has any objection to us displaying these contents here, just send us an email or leave a message in the comments area, and we will remove such contents immediately after verifying the claim. Thank you very much.

Also. In some instances, and in our writing style.

The feminine may include the masculine and the singular the plural, and such. Sometimes. Handle contents accordingly.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history

Sun. Feb. 3rd

2009 - Eric Holder was sworn in as attorney general. He was the first African-American to hold the post.

1989 - South African politician P.W. Botha unwillingly resigned both party leadership and the presidency after suffering a stroke.

1951 - The Tennessee Williams play, "The Rose Tattoo", opened on Broadway in New York.

1947 - Percival Pratt became the first black news correspondent admitted to the House and Senate press gallery in Washington, DC. He worked for "Our World" in New York City.

1916 - In Ottawa, Canada's original parliament buildings burned down.

Sat. Feb. 2nd

1990 - South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.

1989 - The final Russian armored column left Kabul, Afghanistan, after nine years of military occupation.

1893 - The Edison Studio in West Orange, NJ, made history when they filmed the first motion picture close-up. The studio was owned and operated by Thomas Edison.

1863 - Samuel Langhorne Clemens used a pseudonym for the first time. He is better remembered by the pseudonym which is Mark Twain.

Manley, the welder, coming to a town near you

2019-02-01T23:24:00.001-05:00

Manley, the welder is coming to a town near you, don't miss this.
After getting himself into more mess than any one teenage boy should, Manley needed a change of scenery. That was when the big city of Toronto came calling and Manley being Manley, the dirty dog of a man he was fast becoming, he would have been into it like mot to a bright shining light. Here is Mister Manley at his very best, falling headlong into the mess. This is episode 10 in the series.

Chapter Ten:
Coming to a town near you

Get the Manley book on Amazon

The Millers wanted to do things to me, one wants to grind me, the other wants to grind me up, like mincemeat.
It was in my teen years, I was about fifteen or sixteen at the time. I had run away from home and hitched a ride on a delivery truck into the big city of Toronto, lucky for me, I had managed to find myself a job that very day, a Gardener and errand boy with a rather wealthy family. I had arrived, I thought to myself.
The man, the master of the house, was a businessman, a CEO of a Nation-wide manufacturing and distributing business outfit. The woman, who as it turned out was his wife because, at first I thought that she was probably his daughter or some other relatives of his, because of the obvious massive age difference between them. She seemed to me, to be rather mean and sad-at-heart most of the times, but she also came across as awfully sweet at other times. I never did see any signs of children around the house, if there were any, I thought, they were probably living somewhere else. Then one day it happened that the mister man: Mr. Miller, had was to go overseas on some business trips. That was when it happened.

She had asked me to come inside and tend to the kitchen sink, the wastewater outlet pipe she said, was leaking and dripping water onto the kitchen floor. Why did I suddenly feel so uncomfortable, why all of those knots in my stomach? Oh well, I consoled myself, it was probably nothing more than the fact that I have never done anything even remotely resembling a plumbing job before, but I am a fast learner, a willing hand, and a guy who really needed a job, this job.
She had all the tools on hand which was necessary to get the job done, and on this particular day, it did seem to me like it was one of her better days, she seemed exceptionally exuberant, spirited, helpful and generous, and was rather perky in her overall mannerisms too.
The problem was quickly spotted and just as quickly rectified. There was nothing wrong with the pipes more than a loose connecting coupling on the p-trap, in no time I was done with tightening it up, but she seemed to be searching all over the place for more and more chores for me to do. In the meantime, she wanted to know all that she could about me, and the more I divulge, the more she dug in.
What started out as mere small talks, quickly escalated to the point where I was even telling her all about the escapades between me and my fairy-god-mother. Perked her up real quick, and then, after she has done got me baring my soul to her, my physical appearances were her next target. She eyed me from head to toe.
"Oh I forgot," she said, "the one upstairs needs fixing too."
"What one upstairs?" I asked.
"The basin in the bathroom upstairs," she replied, “there is something wrong with the basin drain pipe up there, maybe you can take a look at it too since you are already here.”
So up the stairs we went, she in the lead, and nervous, shaking in my boots little me, in-toe. She talked very loudly as we mount up the stairs, maybe she was nervous but not nearly as nervous as I was.
Her heavy army-like footsteps were pounding on the hardwood too, as she mounts up on them, mine - in contrast, was soft and well thought out.
"Mind you wake the baby up," I hear Bubbles saying in my inner ear. "What baby you fool," said I, in my near-inner voice.
Her perplexed gaze caught me off guard, "what? What baby are you talking about now?"
“Never mind.” I said, “I was just thinking out loud."
There were no repairs to be done up there, well, that is unless we can categorize what happened next as repairs... It probably was.
In her lazy, heavy-tongued West African accent, she said, "So you are Mister lover-man eh, let me see what you have here, give me some of your best stuff."
“What about your husband?” I asked, “what if he should find out?”
“You don’t have to worry bout he, or nothing else oh, I will take good care of you, and him.”
"I'm scared.” I said, “suppose Mr. Miller should..."
“Eh! Eh!” she interrupted. “He is 93 years old oh, what is he going to do, eh, what is he going to do? Even if he should come inside here this very minute, what, is, he, going, to, do? To me. Or even to you?”
She said all that one word at a time while poking her index finger, with a sharp nail, hard into my forehead, as if to make sure that each letter, each syllable, each word, was firmly registered somewhere in there.
When she'd asked for my help to fix the sink drain, I’d obliged, when she’d asked me up the stairs to go and check out the bathroom plumbing, I did also oblige. Well, she now finds it necessary to check out my best stuff, and to show me hers, so what do you think I'm going to do?
I reached into my ever-ready tool chest for my trusted nails and hammer and went to work nailing her to the ceramic tiles all over the bathroom floor, and up the steep-climbing walls.
To be continued.

That’s it for today, come again tomorrow for yet another episode in this series. Don’t forget to subscribe, follow and share.

Get the Manley book here. And learn how Manley man would have gotten himself out of this one.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history

Feb. 1st
2003 - NASA's space shuttle Columbia exploded while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. All seven astronauts on board were killed.
1960 - Four black college students began a sit-in protest at a lunch counter in Greensboro, NC. They had been refused service.
1957 - P.H. Young became the first black pilot on a scheduled passenger airline.
1930 - The Times published its first crossword puzzle.
1920 - Canada's Royal North West Mounted Police changed their name to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The organization was commissioned in 1873.
1913 - Grand Central Terminal (also known as Grand Central Station) opened in New York City, NY. It was the largest train station in the world.
1898 - The Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, CT, issued the first automobile insurance policy. Dr. Truman Martin of Buffalo, NY, paid $11.25 for the policy, which gave him $5,000 in liability coverage.
1884 - The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was published.
1862 - "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," by Julia Ward Howe was first published in the "Atlantic Monthly."
1790 - The U.S. Supreme Court convened for the first time in New York City.

What happened at this church

2019-01-31T22:20:00.000-05:00

What happened at this church may not stay here at this church for too long as is expected.
The things that happened at this church will make you want to shout sometimes, and not for hallelujah. But shout you will anyway. Read Gervis’ story as it is told in the Manley book, under the caption: Amy’s lost and found. Oh the things that are likely to show up in a church lost and found! or just in a church. period.

An inside church story

“So, she would have met up with this man who came to church, with scars of a different sort, Gervis was his name. He would have met up with her when he did took to the church life as a replacement for his previous tug life. Gervis was a man with a badly scarred past but he has a heart of gold, and he is at this point? In the church.
What sister Mills, thought of him, who she thinks he was and what he was after, conflicted greatly with who he really was and what he was really after.
She was into the finer things of life alright, and he? He was going about trying to refine the thing, or a couple of things which he thought was the only thing or things, that really mattered in life after all. He was out to save himself, and his son. He wanted to remake himself and to win custody of his son.”

Here is today’s excerpt from Chapter nine and episode 9

Chapter Nine
Amy's lost and found

…It was an unholy Meetup, although it had happened right there in the holiest of places: in church. She was recovering from something, something that left her with visible as well as audible scars... And he, he was recovering from something too, something somewhat of a different sort, a scarred past, most of which cannot face the light of day. But he has a heart of gold, or more like, a heart of diamond, a diamond heart. As a matter of fact. Many folks said that it was the pressurized process which he had been through, and have managed to survive, that had brought him to the current state of being, and make him out to be the ever so in-demand person which he had managed to become.
Gervis was a master musician (among other things,) and he was also a devote worker in the church. He had in recent times been rising up the holy ladder of ministry to become the secretary-treasurer for the men's fellowship department, he was also mentoring boys into becoming better men, better husbands, and better fathers.
Brother Gervis was fast becoming an icon and a staple in the church. The women revered him, including my mother and my sister Amy.
Most of the young women just wanted to get their claws into him, including my sister Amy.
Folks said that it was the women that had drawn him into the church, chiefly my sister Amy.
That's what the women in my bloodline seemed to do - always, they go off to church, dragging their men folks along with them, kicking and screaming, that was what mom did to her children, that’s exactly what she did to me.
The very first chance that these selfsame men folks would get to get out of there though, that is what they usually do, just like me, that was exactly what I did.
We usually go off searching for some other types of women folks, the types who are often times ever so very delighted to go dragging us off into some other, much more fun directions, doing much more fun things, screaming yes, but not necessarily kicking, at least not that much nor as hard as we were before. These are the types of women folks who tend to get my mojo going every time, these are the types which I adore. If I love them? Yes, you have guessed it right, I do.
So, sister Mills was sitting in the front row seats, in terms of her getting the first pick at brother Gervis, she was on top of the pile so to speak, and therefore, she had the first pick at the lottery draw to get at him, in theory. And so, she did just that. She ventured out to exercise her option, at the very first chance which presented itself.

A master church musician was Bro. G

Brother Gervis was on the keyboard doing his usual thing - playing an interlude, while the testimony service dragged on. It was Sister Mills' turn to testify and she wasn't going to miss this opportunity to stake out her claim.
Sister Mills was a woman with scarred beauty - yes, but a survivor she was too, she was recovering from cancer, cancer of the throat, which slightly altered the tone of her voice but other than for that, she was as classy as they come. Always immaculately dressed, well-spoken other than for the tiny speech impediment, and she was always chauffeured around in her big Lincoln Town car, by her ever-so-loyal and attentive chauffeur - Gus, also known as Angus, or is it the other way around? What difference does it make?
So then, she met up with this man who came to church, with scars of a different sort, Gervis was his name. Or was it Gervis who had met up with her? when he did took to the church life as a replacement for his previous tug life? Gervis was a man with a badly scarred past but he has a heart of gold, and he is at this point? In the church.
What she, sister Mills, thought of him, who she thinks he was and what he was after, conflicted greatly with who he really was and what he was really after.
She was into the finer things of life alright, and he? He was going about trying to refine the thing, or a couple of things which he thought was the only thing or things, that really mattered in life after all. He was out to save himself, and his son. He wanted to remake himself and to win custody of his son. They, Brother Gervis and sister Mills, run into each other there in the church, she had been watching him for quite some time it would seem, just like all of the rest of those women was - because, after an otherwise insignificant verbal exchange between them both, where he had inquired into the cause of the neck scar, the inner thoughts, her inner thoughts which were there, incubating inside of her, and the desires which she had cherished for months, years probably, those desires suddenly popped out like chicken from the hatch, and she did run with it. He followed along for a while, trying to glean whatever insights he could garner on the inner workings of the mind of the members of the opposite sex and to try and figure out what makes them function. His findings, what little of it that can face the light of day, was as could be expected, very controversial, to say the least.
He had merely asked about the scar, how did she come to have them, she took hold of a microphone and ventured to announce that: "he wants to check me out." And then went on, on a show and tell episode, bearing her soul in what one might conclude was a misguided effort at winning the man. Will she?

To be continued.
That’s it for today, my friends, come again tomorrow for yet another episode in this series. Don’t forget to subscribe, follow and share.

Get the Manley book here. And continue reading the story

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Extra, extra. On this day in history

Jan. 31st

1983 - The wearing of seat belts in cars became compulsory in Britain.
1983 - JCPenney announced plans to spend in excess of $1 billion over the next five years to modernize stores and to accelerate a repositioning program.

1946 - A new constitution in Yugoslavia created six constituent republics (Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia) subordinated to a central authority, on the model of the USSR.

1876 - All Native American Indians were ordered to move into reservations.

1865 - The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. It was ratified by the necessary number of states on December 6, 1865. The amendment abolished slavery in the United States.

1606 - Guy Fawkes was executed after being convicted for his role in the "Gunpowder Plot" against the English Parliament and King James I.

A shy boy who became the man, Manley

2019-01-30T21:36:00.000-05:00

A shy boy became a man

How does a shy boy become “the man” Manley, even?
I have some real trouble on the social scene as a small boy, said Manley. I couldn't understand girls. And boys? It would seem as if the only thing that they would want to do with me back then, was to beat me up, and that they surely did, at every juncture and with every opportunity which presented itself. I stuck to myself always back then, until that day when Bobbie Nooks - the schoolyard bully, messed with me one time too many, and I busted his head, and then kicked the living daylights out of his already bloody face, and got myself sent off to the principal's office for it. I got sent to the principal's office a lot in those days, to my mother's chagrin, but as for me, the more I got sent there, the more I loved it

Here is today’s excerpt from Chapter Eight. Note: note the entire chapter, just parts of it.

Chapter eight: Women are from where again?

…Ms. Brodbendt was the very first one to get my attention and capture my teenage boy's lustful thoughts and imagination, at about twelve or thirteen years of age, it was my fairy godmother who initiated me in the real meat of the matter though.

A young woman with chestnuts hair, and Amber eyes, skin so soft and clean as if she'd never been bitten by a mosquito, or even had a scar, or maybe she was just over waxed, over shine.

When I got back home after leaving the Millers, I discovered that she was gone, they told me that she got herself a teaching job south of the border and headed down to the great big USA, making the big bucks doing what she does best - teaching, or was it?

I can't help but wonder at times if she took all of her teaching tools, her tactics and all of her techniques with her when she went down there, Hmm. Some southern teenage boy must be counting his lucky stars right this minute.

…

My fairy godmother and her family were living just two blocks away from my mother's house, that's the house where we all lived at the time, my mother, my sister Amy, my brother Norm and me, too close to her for comfort as it turned out. But who's complaining?

She, goddy, (that's what I started calling her since no one seemed to know her name, everyone else just calls her Miss), so, goddy was able to watch me, as I grew up and develop, putting on the muscles. Between ages thirteen and fifteen I had grown about a full foot in height and I was putting on the weight, in all of the right places and in pure clean muscle too. I was ripped. And she? She noticed for sure, she never did miss an opportunity to tell me how great I looked.

I was beginning to get the feeling at times though, that someone was talking to her, telling her things about me and about all of the troubles which I was having or getting myself into at school, because, she started showing a bit too much interest in me, and in particular, in those personal and private aspects of my life. Much too much for my comfort at the time. And then she offered to come "sit and talk to me." The timing couldn't have been wackier.

It was just around those same times as I was beginning to get cozy in Miss Brodbendt's company, and I was also seeing the spikes in the sexual tensions in that arena. Unlike Miss Brodbendt though, goddy didn't waste any time on priming and prepping me, she just delves right on in with the brush and started painting, and this well and timely relieved puppy dog breathed a huge sigh of relief. Not a minute too soon.

…

Unlike how things were at our house, where there was never more than four people living there at any given time, my fairy godmother, in contrast, seemed to have an entire village living inside of their apartment, she was always reminding me that she's from a very big family.

Her family is big alright, it’s so big that, she has two sisters with the very same name. The big joke in the family is that: their mother has so many children, that she had forgotten that she had already used up that name. And because the other sister, whose it was at the first, had a pet name by which she was commonly known, they didn't bother to change anything, everybody just went along with the flow. They all knew very well who is who: Deloris number one (Dell) and Deloris number two was born almost a full decade apart. So, there never was an issue in deciding which Deloris is which. With all of that crowded mess, it was only a matter of time before somebody was going to get into somebody's way. Or trip over somebody and fall.

It came about on one of our - by then, regular rendezvous. I had gone over to her house, on her invitation of course. She had said that she would be alone that day.

Our house was the meeting place of choice up to that point, but for some strange reason, I was beginning to get somewhat uncomfortable with the whole idea of me carrying my girlfriend into my mother’s house, no - wait a minute, she was not a girl, she was my woman friend, this was a grown ass woman, not a girl. I had gotten to the point where I was uncomfortable with the practice of carrying her over to our place, and into my mother's house whenever she was not there, and for no other purpose or reason than to make out with her in the basement. I had made my over-sensitized hang-ups and reservations on the matter known to goddy, and she agreed with me that it didn't seem right, and said that her mother would have been pissed off too if she should discover that she - or any other of her siblings should ever do that sort of thing. But then, not many days later, she invited me over, said she was going to be home alone. I hopped right on over and wasted no time in getting into the activities of the day: working on the day shift.

In the middle of it, without any prior warnings, her little sister popped right on in and disrupted the apple cart.

To her great credit though, she did not tarry, she just turned around on her heels and headed straight back out, maybe that was the norm in that household, hmm.

That was it for me though, I was done. You could fold me up and wring me out like a wet rag after that and hang me on a clothesline somewhere, I was that much done.

L'il sissie was not done though, she was just about to get started, she wanted in on the action, and fast.

I think this little encounter right here, did feature prominently in goddy's decisions to go south when the opportunity arose a year or two later. The relationship between her and her little sister also did take a beating from that moment on. And as for me? I was in the meantime majoring on running: running out of places for us to get comfortable and get down, running out of interest in goddy and the family gang, running into some other new and interesting prospects, running away from home, running into Mrs. Miller and then...

What? You asked if I did do them crazy little things with l'il sissie too? What kind of a question is that B?

To be continued.

That’s it for today, come again tomorrow for yet another episode in this series. Don’t forget to subscribe, follow and share.

Get the Manley book here. And learn how A shy boy became the man, the Manley man.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history
Wednesday 30th

1995 - Researchers from the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced that clinical trials had demonstrated the effectiveness of the first preventative treatment for sickle cell anemia.

1948 - Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist.

1900 - The British fighting the Boers in South Africa ask for a larger army.

1844 - Richard Theodore Greener became the first African American to graduate from Harvard University.

1798 - The first brawl in the U.S. House of Representatives took place. Congressmen Matthew Lyon and Roger Griswold fought on the House floor.

1790 - The first purpose-built lifeboat was launched on the River Tyne.

How to make bubbles shut up and mind his own business.

2019-01-29T22:47:00.000-05:00

How do I get bubbles to shut up and mind his own business? "Bubbles," is Manley’s split-personality in the story as told in the book: How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley. Bubbles is the type of character who will not stay out of the man’s business. So, those two is up to their shenanigans again and we all know that you want to eavesdrop on them, so come right on in and grab a seat, here now is an excerpt from chapter seven of the book: How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley.

If you know of a way how I can make bubbles shut up and mind his own business, leave a note in the comments section below. in the meantime though, let's get back to the series.

Chapter SevenMister techno-man, there is something wrong here

Author of the Manley book and more

"Are you operating on some closed level? like a private network or something?" she shot back at me, "your business cards and adverts are everywhere, with information on everything about you and what you do, and your profile is prominently featured on LinkedIn, and yes, that is where I got it. Satisfied?"
"No, no, that's not how I roll, you've got the wrong guy here. I don't work like that."
Pointing my nose back in the direction from whence I had come, I headed for the door. "I hope you will find the right person to get your system up and running again," I said this over my shoulder while I was leaving, "sorry I was not able to help you out here."
Me: Reaching for the doorknob, I turned around to say, "I know someone who..." hoops.
I Was just in time to catch a glimpse of the spike heal as it zipped past my head, long before I'd even managed to duck out of the way. It crashed into the door and bounced back to the middle of the open space in front of the desk.
Me: "Take very good care of yourself, miss." I pulled the door open and squeezed myself to get out.
Just then, her right hand went down, as the left leg heaved itself upward to meet up with the violent and ready-to-launch-another-attack right hand. I bet she was reaching for the other shoe.
Almost in sync with the click of the lock on the closing door, came the big bang, and then a thud and a rattle. I was right, I bet she will be picking up a pair of purple and black spike heel shoes off of the floor, somewhat damaged before clearing out of the office today.
Me: Waiting for the elevator to get out from there, while I was standing in the hallway, I ran my finger through my hair and wonder out loud, “what the hell just happened here? Had someone been flying over the Koo-Koo's nest of late?
When, and how did I get to such a place as this? Where I am now scampering away from such a ready and willing, no-stress, no-frills-attached Sex Fest?”
And then Bubbles spoke up again: “So what's preventing you from just turning around and going right back in there to finish off the job, the woman is still there you know, just as hot, wet and ready as before.”
(Bubbles is my split personality, you know the type, that smart-ass voice inside, who sometimes cracks wise-guy jokes just to piss me off, and then there are the odd moments when he actually talks sense into me.)
Me: Will you just shut the f**k up, I rebuked him, Bubbles that is, but if you or anyone else was looking on, you might have thought that I was just someone who was going off of the deep end talking to myself.
"You don't know a rat's ass what you are talking about," I said, "don't you know that a woman scorned is the best one to stay the hell away from? And this one right here? She is the Chief of them all, everything about her spells danger"
Bubbles: “dangers are ever present in the high stakes games dude, which are the ones that you love to play most. Right? And frankly, they are the only ones which are worth your while playing, where the focus of your attention is, is what makes the difference, remember?”
Me: “I'm not afraid if that's what you are implying, it’s just that I haven't been thinking straight of late, not sure what has come over me lately.”
“Libby? Perhaps?” Interjected Bubbles again.

To be continued.
That’s it for today, come again tomorrow for yet another episode in this series. Don’t forget to subscribe, follow and share.

Get the Manley book here.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history

Tuesday 29th
2014 - Archaeologists announced that they had uncovered what they believed to be the oldest temple in Roman antiquity. The temple was found at the Sant'Omobono site in central Rome.
1999 - Paris prosecutors announced the end of the investigation into the accident that killed Britain's, Princess Diana.
1963 - Britain was refused entry into the EEC.
1936 - The first members of major league baseball's Hall of Fame were named in Cooperstown, NY.
1886 - The first successful petrol-driven motorcar, built by Karl Benz, was patented.
1850 - Henry Clay introduced in the Senate a compromise bill on slavery that included the admission of California into the Union as a free state.

1845 - Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" was published for the first time in the "New York Evening Mirror."

cold snap is threatening to freeze everything

2019-01-28T22:32:00.000-05:00

A cold snap is threatening to freeze everything around these parts, including this series, but no dice on that call. Even though it might be a bit late in coming, coming it what it is. Now, because of the delay and because you all are such nice folks, I am giving you the sixth chapter in its entirety today, so, here now is chapter six of the book: How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley.

Chapter Six
Do it for the love

Staying warm in a cold snap

... I would kill myself if they ever try to do that to me Libby had said while she was sharing the story of Kamal and Selma with me.
“Don't talk like that Libby.” I rebuked her, “you shouldn't go about saying things like that.” “But it's true, I mean it, what kind of a life is that? Living your whole life with someone who you don't even like, let alone love, just because your parents thinks that they know better than you what is good for you? They may do it to Kamal and get away with it, but that's as far as they are going to get with those old-fashioned rituals unless they decide to go back to the baby pit for another child to practice on, not Libby though thank you very much.”
“Don't you think that people can find happiness within an arranged marriage, ever?”
“Good for them if they do, but not for me, I will go find me my own dream lover with no help from anyone.”
“You know”, I said. “I should be really thrilled hearing that kind of talk coming from you since it would seem like I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of your folks choosing someone like me, for their daughter, but I can't help but feel a bit concerned about you taking this stance.”
“I am a big girl, I can fend for myself.” She defended herself. “You don't have to go about worrying about me.”
“…Is this the way how it works in your household?” I asked her later on, “you have to pass every exam that you sit?”
“Why else would I sit them, if not to pass them?” She blurted back at me.
“There are people in this world,” said I, “who do believe and will swear on their mother's grave to the fact that, one can learn an awful lot more from failure, or at least, from failing an exam, as it is in this your particular case here than from passing one. You know, failure tends to get one to put things into proper perspective sometime and to try harder the next time, and then, one might even be able to pick up on a thing or two which one might have missed on the first take.”
"I would much rather pass it on the first take and be done with it thank you, which by the way, is exactly what I am expecting to happen this very summer. I just want to be done with this and be out of here, the sooner I am out, the better."
“Why is that? Don't you like it here? Or is it somebody else that you can't stand to see anymore, me perhaps?”
“No, no, this is not about you. I just think it's time for me to start moving on with my life, start doing my own thing, in my own way.”
"So what, or who is preventing you from doing your own thing now as it is?"
“Can we change the subject? Please?
I don't want to get into that sort of thing now, maybe someday in the future, but not now.”
“Yes, I was married before.” I told her in response to her queries as to my marital status, “I got myself hitched at twenty-six year of age. That marriage lasted for four years, in fact, we were together for only three of those four years when she left, a year later, we were divorced.”
“She had found someone else, who had much more money than I did. So she started acting up, behaving weird, and blaming me for any and everything. And then, I committed the biggest of faux pas ever, when I gave her a cheap gift I had picked up at the pawn shop on her birthday. That was all I could afford or barter trade for, but it's the thought that counts. Right?
She had said that she needed space. It wasn't long afterward though before that space was nicely filled by someone else, someone who just happened to be her brother's best friend and co-worker. They were both jockeys riding at the Woodbine racetrack then and was at the time locked tight in an epic and fierce battle to become the top jockey of the year. Needless to say that, the money was rolling in in that arena, coincidence or what?
Little buggers weren't just riding horses though, they were riding bitches too.”
Libby gasped. "Are you serious? I can't believe you just said that."
"Bitches, as in dogs.
You know?" I said.
"You know these competitive sports professional types?" I said further, lying through my grinning white teeth. "They just seemed to delight themselves in spending time and money on extra-curricular, extra-judicial activities, such as those which cannot face the light of a Sunny day," I said all of that still continuing along in the deceit, trying to detour her from the real and original meaning of what she knew darn well that I was saying, she was not fooled, that's for sure.
“Yes, right,” she said.

To be continued.
That’s it for today, my friends, come again tomorrow for another episode in this series. Don’t forget to subscribe, follow and share.

Get the Manley book here.

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Extra, extra. On this day in history

Monday 28th
1986 - The U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded just after takeoff. All seven of its crewmembers were killed.
1909 - The United States ended direct control over Cuba.
1878 - "The Yale News" was published for the first time. It was the first, daily, collegiate newspaper in the U.S.
1878 - The first telephone switchboard was installed in New Haven, CT.
1807 - London's Pall Mall became the first street lit by gaslight.
1547 - England's King Henry VIII died. He was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI.

ELKsPages

The end of a series | the Manley series

Guilty verdict for all in Libby Dahoust case | Montreal man and wife

The verdict is out, and some people will be going in, for a long stretch. Here is today’s episode from the Manley book.

Scared out of her wits | stranger on a bar stool

Libby was scared out of her wits by a weird looking stranger on a bar stool. I had to take her home.I did my best to reassure her that she's safe with me and to calm her down but she refused to be comforted.

When a woman says, “nothing” | what does she mean

When a woman says, “nothing is wrong,” what does she mean, really? You are about to find that out, and more. Come along with me as we delve into another episode of the Manley story. Here is today’s story, an excerpt from chapter 25.

Flowers for valentine | bouquet of flowers for Valentine's day.

Libby seemed well enough to me, to be getting out of the hospital, but she said she didn't know where she was going to live because she would not be going back to live with her parents. I didn't tell her what had happened, or about her parents. But I got her flowers, and more.

Montreal police roundup | top cop moves in just in time

The MTL Police would have moved in on the scene and round up the suspects in time to get Libby some needed help.Here is the story as told inChapter Twenty-twoOn the move, again

Undercover spy mission | Chapter twenty-one

Undercover spy mission as may be seen in chapter twenty-one of the book: How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley.Before the mission, Manley had was to get himself in spy-game mode, a heightened state of readiness. From his mind down to his socks. And ready he was.

I was early on the scene

Here is a book to read for free | Online free books to read

Note: this is an excerpt from the book, chapter eleven of the book, Casting Shadow on the Tattooed Trails. Subtitled: Searching for the lost Genodes.Here is Chapter 11 of twenty-nine chapters.

Cops, cars, trucks and vans | Moving time in Montreal.

Good news first | Cops dressed up the news for Manley

Chapter Nineteen:Breaking news and reports

Losing sleep over a girl | what should I do?

Have you ever find yourself in a situation where you are losing sleep over a girl? You are not alone. Manley was losing sleep too, over Libby.

Extra, extra. On this day in history.

How should I act when meeting the parents?

Have you ever wonder what to say and how to behave when meeting the in-laws, or in-law-to-be? Well, you are not alone in this regard. Manley was wondering about those things too, but then came the day when he would have met up with them, unplanned and unprepared.

Snow day tempers flare | on the road to the movie

Snow day tempers flare | on the road to the movieManley and Libby would have happened upon mister personality on a snow day while on the way to the movies. And this is the outcome. Here now is episode 16 in the series. chapter sixteen

Poetry speaks | Poems about life, love and other such nonsense.

This week in music: Singing Sundays

How do you spell relief? | The Manley book

How do you spell relief again? The Manley book gives some answer. Manley becomes a teacher, if only for a short while. He then ventured into teaching Libby how to spell relief. So, if you too are searching for the correct way to spell relief, here it is, as seen through the eyes of Manley.

Chapter Fifteen: How do you spell relief again?

Teenagers house calls | the headmistress’ house

What happened when a teenage boy with an over-active imagination made a house call on the headmistress and would have ventured to document the even for future uses. Read Manley’s account of the encounters on Ms. B’s own domain, -at her very own home.

Close encounter of the worst kind

My commanding headmistress

She went off to the races. | Race horse riders

She went off with the horse rider

The queen was at the races, with the other women when it happened.

The facts of life as seen through mothers eyes

Here are some interesting facts of life as seen through mother’s eyes, as well as those of Libby Dahoust and Manley J Woodhardt. Among others.

Talk about body odor. | How to talk about

Chapter Eleven: Hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting.

Black history did not begin with slavery.

It is Black History Month, Black history month is celebrated this and every February in the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, and in many Caribbean countries.

Now, here’s the poetry piece. A poem for black history month called:Black man, know thyself. By E Lloyd Kelly.

Extra, extra. On this day in history

Manley, the welder, coming to a town near you

Chapter Ten:Coming to a town near you

Extra, extra. On this day in history

What happened at this church

Chapter NineAmy's lost and found

A master church musician was Bro. G

Extra, extra. On this day in history

A shy boy who became the man, Manley

Chapter eight: Women are from where again?

Extra, extra. On this day in history Wednesday 30th

How to make bubbles shut up and mind his own business.

Chapter SevenMister techno-man, there is something wrong here

Extra, extra. On this day in history

cold snap is threatening to freeze everything

Extra, extra. On this day in history

Libby was scared out of her wits by a weird looking stranger on a bar stool. I had to take her home.
I did my best to reassure her that she's safe with me and to calm her down but she refused to be comforted.

The MTL Police would have moved in on the scene and round up the suspects in time to get Libby some needed help.
Here is the story as told in
Chapter Twenty-two
On the move, again

Undercover spy mission as may be seen in chapter twenty-one of the book: How to train a wild puppy dog named, Manley.
Before the mission, Manley had was to get himself in spy-game mode, a heightened state of readiness. From his mind down to his socks. And ready he was.

Chapter Nineteen:
Breaking news and reports

Snow day tempers flare | on the road to the movie
Manley and Libby would have happened upon mister personality on a snow day while on the way to the movies. And this is the outcome. Here now is episode 16 in the series. chapter sixteen

How do you spell relief again? The Manley book gives some answer. Manley becomes a teacher, if only for a short while. He then ventured into teaching Libby how to spell relief.
So, if you too are searching for the correct way to spell relief, here it is, as seen through the eyes of Manley.

Now, here’s the poetry piece. A poem for black history month called:
Black man, know thyself. By E Lloyd Kelly.

Chapter Ten:
Coming to a town near you

Chapter Nine
Amy's lost and found

Extra, extra. On this day in history
Wednesday 30th