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Hello, Everyone!

I just dropped in to say Hello!

Hey Kitty - Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

JP-Where is everyone chatting?

Don't know! Seems like everyone went off in different directions. Sure messed up our fun when those silents starting complaining!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY...HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYS THEIR SWEETIES...AND I DON'T MEAN THE CANDY...
SEMI-SWEET DARK CHOCOLATE ROCKS!!!

Happy Valentine's Day! I got a Milky Way!! Yippee!! LOL

We are on sugar overload at work! Guess I'll have to do a couple more exercises on the bowflex today! Hate when that happens!!!

crowbird wrote:Happy Valentine's Day! I got a Milky Way!! Yippee!! LOL

Keep missing you in chat. You planning to be back in the area today?

Al wrote:

crowbird wrote:Happy Valentine's Day! I got a Milky Way!! Yippee!! LOL

Keep missing you in chat. You planning to be back in the area today?

I'm there right now.

Good morning. It's cold out..35 degrees, not as bad as yesterday.

crowbird wrote:Good morning. It's cold out..35 degrees, not as bad as yesterday.

Really like your new avatar, crow. Formidable woman!

Al wrote:

crowbird wrote:Good morning. It's cold out..35 degrees, not as bad as yesterday.

Really like your new avatar, crow. Formidable woman!

Believe me, I don't look like her, just the long hair and the gun. LOL

I'm not flaming or being disparging, but the Larry Campbell III arrested for B&E is the sheriff's son isn't it? Just curious...

no_bs wrote:I'm not flaming or being disparging, but the Larry Campbell III arrested for B&E is the sheriff's son isn't it? Just curious...

That's what the story is and I read that the other kid is a deputy's son, have no idea if that's true.

Hello Crow :-) I'll also repeat you have a hot avatar

You know being a cops kid can be tough...the story becomes more sorted in that a firearm was stolen. I believe when no one is hurt maybe circumstances allow being cut a break. Unfortunately people believe when it is their kid or relation that should hold -but- when it is someone else's precious then smoke em...

no_bs wrote:Hello Crow :-) I'll also repeat you have a hot avatar

The avatar is hot, but I sure ain't. lol..thanks.

no_bs wrote:You know being a cops kid can be tough...the story becomes more sorted in that a firearm was stolen. I believe when no one is hurt maybe circumstances allow being cut a break. Unfortunately people believe when it is their kid or relation that should hold -but- when it is someone else's precious then smoke em...

I guess that's true. I hope that I never have to deal with something like they are doing but I think kids make choices and at their ages, they surely should know better. Hopefully they will get straightened up. Bad thing.

I used to do IRC on MSNBC...it was fun/quick; people from all over the country and planet. It can be exciting when it goes fast...I'm an older dude crowbird so anyone younger and packin' is cooleto lol Have a great one...just passing through to check out the new digs

no_bs wrote:I used to do IRC on MSNBC...it was fun/quick; people from all over the country and planet. It can be exciting when it goes fast...I'm an older dude crowbird so anyone younger and packin' is cooleto lol Have a great one...just passing through to check out the new digs

I'm an old lady now but I've always carried, since I was 16 or 17. lol

CHAPTER I


Out on the hard karst of a Florida prairie, 2 cowpenguins are just finishing supper. As daylight loses to another evening..... Those were some unusual sardines, Lefty. Thanky, Dusty It's the peanut butter and jelly stuffing.Say, What are you doing with your saddle there, Dusty? Lefty, you hear that harmonica music driftin across the river? Yeah, I cant quite make it out though... I believe that's travelin music, old friend. But, Dusty.....Why? And what about Miss Kitty? Sometimes I don't know why..I just get to thinkin about the mesquite trees along the brazos, or that barmaid at the Brown Dog Saloon out in Yuma...And, Kitty, I'm too ya... Mind if I take that book with me, Lefty? Go ahead, Dusty, I know you been wanting to do some reading. Yuma? Now that's a godforsaken country. Yeah, it is, Lefty. But sometimes, when the world around you seems desolate and overrun with demons and fools, you get a reminder that the kind hearts and joyous laughter of friends are the brightest stars in the firmament. ..And Kitty? She's too o..Say, hand me those green shoes, will ya? I was about to go off and leave em. You're not lettin that fool old crazy woman run you off, are you, Dusty? What's her name... Gracious, no, Lefty. She sure stepped way over the line, though, doing a background check on me and tryin to bludgeon me with the past. She kinda did violence to the sanctity, ya know. It's Windy, isn't it? The Moss is blowin every witch way in the oaks. Not very bright, either. I can see my way. Lefty. Now, how about given me a hand up onto my horse. I'm not getting any younger, ya know. Yeah, what are ya now, Dusty? 50? I Just turned hey, look off to the south there. That's that eagle you thought was a crow, Lefty. Sure is, Dusty. It's obvious she's an eagle now. How old was you gonna say you was? I did say, Lefty. Kitty said she was 41, and I said I was one more score. Sixty one? Ya just don't seem it, ya know---say I can hear that music a little better now--is that "This is where the cowboy rides away?" Nah, Lefty. That's "Happy trails to you." I may look ya up if I get back around this way.. Take care of yourself..



CHAPTER II

As the dawn chorus sings in a troubled, cloudy morning.... Hey, Dusty. Wasn't expecting you back so soon. You forget somethin? Howdy, Lefty. Naw, I just...well it wouldn't be right to ride out and leave things like they were, ya know? I was impugning the wrong woman, there. Witch?Which Witch?You need to witch switch?Moreso, lefty. I need to switch the snitch witch.What's the hitch?Which hitch?The hitch in which snich witch you need to switch?More glitsch than hitch, in that snitch witch switch. You....I....the.... Dammit, dusty, thought I had ya that time. Is that rain comin in? Yeah, Lefty, the Confusion Rains have begun. OK, Dusty, so, what happened? Grace was Gracious when Grace wasn't Grace. Gracious!Exactly. Like a fool I stepped right into that hole just because I didn't know it was there.But, if you didn't know it was there...See, I also didn't know it wasn't there.You didn't know much, then.Lefty, you have boiled it down beautifully. I didn't know much. When I finally figured out that Grace wasn't Grace, I had to talk to Grace. Face to Face. She was very very Gracious. I still feel like a fool, though. Why's that, Dusty? You and me just cow penguins, lefty. Hell, a can a sardines, harmonica music drifting across the river, the horses tied up downwind--these are the things we have come to enjoy. I also like that little black frilly thing miss kitty talks about wearin. You never notice when the music changes, do ya, Lefty? Oh sorry, Dusty, go ahead, then But a woman--where would a man be without her? A woman is holy, Lefty, she is the vessel of life. She is the nurturer, she gently holds the tenderness, the kindness, the love that every creature seeks. She is the keeper of the key, and of the tower, and of the flame. She is mystery itself, the Fountainhead and the Godhead. She is the gossamer wings with which our spirits take flight. And I have falsely accused this good woman of foul deeds, because I didn't know she wasn't her. She wasn't her? 1Teach is gonna whip you for using the objective as an appositive for the subjective, ......... ... ... Naw, Lefty she teaches science. But thanks for the visual.. The music must have changed again. Yeah it did Lefty, but you're not really Lefty are ya? What gave it away? That appositive business? Yeah, Lefty wouldn't know about that. So, who are you? Tell you who I'm not- I'm not any of those soft, tender things you said up there. You're not a woman? You pretend to be. Dusty, everyone knows about your little gingham dress Unlefty, that was meanly mentioned. Impersonatin women is not the same as just dressin up. What kind of a man would impersonate a woman. Not many would...unless Unless what Dusty? Unless you're impersonatin a man impersonating a womanThen I'd be a woman, wouldn't I?But you might not know your are.But you might not know I'm not.Self knowledge is the hardest won.Yeah--you got a point there. You'll find the real Lefty tied to that big cypress over there.That's not the real Lefty.You mean..That's right, Unlefty. The man you thought was Lefty was really you.I tied myself to a tree? We're in Franklin County. Apparently that kind of stuff happens here all the time. Dusty, I've learned a lot here. I've learned that I'm not who I thought you thought I thought I was. Gender confusion's been holdin me back.I need counseling, and more powerful meds. I need to appreciate the finer things in life, like the joy of a woman's laughter...See, I heard it change that time. That's good, Unlefty. Hearing the music is a big step out of the darkness. And one more thing, Unlefty. What's that, Dusty? Is that a soap box? You'll know you're healed when your confusion changes. When it gets harder to tell the beautiful music from the tender kindness of a woman from the unbridled joy of life. When the little boxes of right and wrong and judgementalism and fear begin to collapse, and you are ready to use ALL the oils to paint your canvas. Censorship is self-loathing, Unlefty. Never forget that... Cue harmonicaRoll creditsOr vice versa

CHAPTER III
THE SILENTS

In a drizzling morning rain, a lone cow penguin sits his horse and whoops an old, tin roofed cracker house somewhere in the north Florida forest. A woman comes to the door with a shotgun and hollers out. "Come in the house, Penguin." "Thank you ma'am." "Nasty day for traveling. I got coffee made." She leaned the shotgun against the wall as he entered. "Put your slicker on that hook there. Don't matter if it gets the floor wet. How you take your coffee, Penguin?" She pulled a long chrome handled 45 from her hip pocket and put it on the counter and reached for a clean mug. "Little anchovy oil and some splenda, if ya gottem. Call me Dusty." "I'm slap outta anchovy oil." She took a Glock 9 in a shoulder holster off and looped it over a chair "Black is fine, then. Coffee is like people, the color don't determine the quality. "I like em both fresh, though, Penguin." She pulled a 38 special from her waist band and laid it on the kitchen table."What's a old bird like you doin out in this weather?" "I'm huntin my partner, name of Lefty. Went missin a few days back. Last night's weather drove me in to an abandoned building in that ghost town up the road. She removed a 25 caliber automaticc from her ankle holster, checked the safety, and layed it next to her coffee mug. "Ain't seen nobody around here in about a week. Pleasant fellow, useta pass by here with his fishing rod on the way to the lake. Don't know where he's been lately. Say, ya wanna little canned tuna to nibble on with your coffee?" "That'd be real nice, ma'am. No worries, there, I guess, since I been told that mercury's in retrograde. I hope your fisherman comes back around. Sometimes folks just get treated harshly by others and need to hole up a little while. Much as it pains me to say it, I've been guilty of harshness myself." "I hope he does, too. That ghost town is a sad story, Dusty. Useta be a lotta folks there. Had a dance hall, a dinner theater, a saloon with a great jukebox, a meetin hall where folks would gather to hear the latest news or spin a little yarn. Folks came from all around to enjoy the festivities." "So, what happened to all the people up there? "Well, a group called the Silents moved in, started complaining about the noise. They convinced the mayor to move everyone that was enjoying themselves out to the edge of town." "With a name like the Silents, I guess it's fittin that I never heard of em." "I believe they've got a longer name, somethin like the church of the easily offended, or somethin. They some strange folks, to me, Dusty. They live in drab little boxes they build themselves, and believe the smaller the box they build, the holier they are. "That belief runs counter to my experience." "Mine, too. But they hated the dancin girls, the honky tonk piano, the peel of laughter ridin the night air like it was a 15 foot wave at Waimea. They hated it all. I reckon they had chosen a narrow path, and there wasn't any room on it for folks goin the other way." "Seems like they'd be livin life at a standstill." "Amazin, ain't it. With all the joys, all the savory flavors, all the exotic scents and bright colors of this world scattered like foot lights along the wide roads of the universe, they chose a narrow pig trail goes only one place and back." " Well, that ain't for me, but it's theirs to choose." " Yeah, it is, Dusty, but they wanted to choose for everybody else, too. They seem to fear most some kind of a devil, name of Innuendo." "Perhaps they prefer Intheyoutdo." "Youda fit right in around here, Penguin. "Around where?" "I'll get back to ya on that. Anyway, the Silents wasn't content with all the happy people around, even though they had to travel way out to the edge of town to watch all the folks dancin and carryin on, and to hear their laughter offered up so warmly as a feast for the Fathers. So, they convinced the mayor to force the savages into that old borrow pit out east. It was a reprise of the Indian Removal Act." "What kind of mayor would do somethin like that? He'd already moved em once. Feller didn't have a good teacher, and didn't know his history." "He was a failed TV weatherman. Never could tell witch way the wind was blowin. Anyway, folks just moved on, left the town to the Silents. Turns out they wasn't but a handful of em, and most had lived such constricted lives they had little of much interest to say. Others from the town began to move on. It became a ghost town. Now and then a drifter stops through to spend the night out of the weather, like you did last night. The mayor still makes speeches, and every few days he threatens to tear down the town and start over. But there's no one much left to listen to him." "So, what happened to the Savages?" "A few of em went to the res, but the Unconquered ones moved deep into the Glades. They party and dance and drink stolen government whiskey and pink wine and ride their Mustangs. Folks say one of the women with em is so bright she cancels out the darkness for em all. Once a month or so a couple of em ride a wagon up to Immokalee to buy rum, grits, and other essentials. They good people, Dusty. They get out of hand once in a while, a few inflatable animals go missin. Nothin serious." "The way I see it, folks might somehow acquire tolerance without wisdom, but no one has ever acquired wisdom without tolerance. Well, I best be movin on. Lefty ain't gonna get found me settin here yappin with you. Thank you for your kindness, ma'am. It's a disappearin commodity, and the world is becoming a starker place for it." "You're welcome Penguin. I hope you find your partner." "Thanks. And if you see that fisherman, tell him I'm sorry. He'll know what I mean." " OK, then. Bye, Dusty." Penguin rides out. Harmonica music drifts among the plocks of raindrops on a slicker. Credits roll. Fade out.


Chapter IV
The Eyes of Joy

The rains have ceased, but the skies are still a troubled slate gray. It is Thursday afternoon. A lone penguin rides his horse down the muddy, rutted streets of a north Florida town to the sheriff's office. The wooden walkways are lined with scores of women dressed out in their Sunday finest. "Afternoon, Stranger. "Afternoon, Sheriff. Why's everyone decked out in their finery? The sheriff's spokesman stepped forward. "Word got out yesterday some feller was comin to town looking for a partner. Townswomen flooded the general store last night . Evenin in Per-ry perfume sold out, and the price of spray starch and hair spray tripled every hour. Most of the single women in town, some of the married ones, and even a few fellers has been waitin, some of em since before sunup. "Wow. What do they know about this Feller? The sheriff risked speaking for himself. "Not a thing, except he's needin a partner. ..... ........ ....Say,.... You wouldn't be that feller, would ya? "....... ... I guess I am, Sheriff. An audible groan filled the town, and as the crowd began to disperse and angry and impolite words and bouquets were hurled into the fouled, familiar street, a bemused smile rode the penguin's face."Truth is, I'm looking for a bird named Lefty, rides a sorrel mare. "Say, you ain't.....what are you.....some kind a fool duck? The crowd had cleared, now, except for one woman, looking softly at Dusty, smilin, tryin to see a little deeper. "Hello," she said. "Hello. May I say you're apparently a woman that doesn't skeer easy? Name's Dusty. "I'm Joy. "Enchante." They looked at each other, into each other, seeing different houses but familiar rooms. "Ma'am, is there some kind a power you have that electrifies daylight?" "Hey, I'm talkin here," hollered the Sheriff rudely. "I have some tea made and biscuits left from dinner. Probably some sardines. If you'd like to park your horse, we could have a bite in my gazebo. "What kinda duck was that? Did he leave the area? Was he ridin that mule?" asked the sheriff. "Was they two of em? _________________________________________ They sat together, the tea and food untouched, as a soft breeze wafted the scent of gardenias through the lattice. The sun poked straws of light through the cloud bank, knowing the planets were aligning aound them. A cerise cardinal arched a springsong from the high limb of an ancient cypress. This, thought Dusty, this is why the poet searches, this is why life happily pursues us all, this gentle, thrilling, majic. And I never knew. He wanted to take in everything about her, the wisp of her hair that rode easily on breaths of breeze, the mottled light that touched her cheek, her laughter that lifted with such sweet abandon into the fortunate air, never to be lost. And those bottomless eyes. My god, he thought. My god. I never knew. He rode out early that evening. He would continue his search, he had to find Lefty. He could make a few miles, the rains were over, at least for now. But he knew that he would come back, that his life was on a new course, now with a following wind. There was still gray in the sky, but the sun had brushed a pastel twilight onto a fading canvas. He felt the perfection of it all, how this great gift of life molds for us the answers, if we only know to ask. He had spent a good part of his life believing he knew the question, but the answer had proven him wrong. The wisdom so long sought, the redemption so long delayed, he had found in the eyes of Joy. And Dusty was at peace.

This is wonderful!! Leave it here for us all to read. Thanks for doing this, Grace. You're the best!!