Editor's Corner

By Mary E. Adair

September 2013

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” -- C.G. Jung

However you personally interpret that quote, is not your fate but your judgement, which is when judgement is a good thing while using it for yourself and your future action and/or belief. If we didn't use our judgement in our daily lives, how could we set priorities, how could we make health decisions, how could we, well, how could we. Of course that is a rhetorical question so don't bother coming up with an answer for it, or rebuttal as the case may be, because you'll just be exercising your judgement to do so. Besides you have better things to do right now like getting into this month's literary offerings.

We have graced our pages with a dozen poems, five from Phillip Hennessy: "Does The Conscious Continue," (which title sounds like it was inspired by the column's leading quote, but isn't) "Move On Higher," "A Thought into The Universe," "Don't Deal All Them Lines," and "Precious," which has become a song as many of Phil's poems do. He sent along the MP3 but we haven't the capability of playing it for you; wish we did. There are four from Bruce Clifford, "Everything We Are," "Shattered Dreams," "This Can't Go on Anymore," and "Until The Day I Die." Riva Joi Smith sent along the romantic tone poem, "It Was Always You" while John I. Blair's two are "Half Moon" and "The Importance of Preflights" both of which should bring a smile to your face.

Our columnists, some enduring end of the summer vacation chores, didn't all show up, but the "Always Looking: People Who Made A Difference X" number ten in this series features Maria Louisa Baldwin, who among many other educational innovations is known for being the first to hire a regular School Nurse. John I. Blair credits his well researched info to the help of wife Clara Blair, who also suggested Miss Baldwin for the column. "Irish Eyes" by Mattie Lennon, our Dublin columnist loves making you chuckle and starts right off doing that this month.

Thomas F. O'Neill ("Introspective") compares the freedoms of his school days with the freedoms of his current students in Suzhou, China. Judy Kroll advises us to use kinder words in our lives to keep them "On Trek."

Michael John Fierro discusses "September 2013 – A Universal 15/6 Month" in his "By The Numbers" column. When you read through it, you can begin planning your month to reap the advantages inherent and avoid those less promising possibilities. Numerology works more individually for people than astrology, but like astrology only shows could's and should's not will's and won't's. Fierro also has the article with the numerological prospects for the new Royal member of the United Kingdom's ruling family: George Alexander Louis.

We introduce Kay Roy Jones, a new author with her first published tale, a dream narrative styled fantasy, "Cougar Under Glass." Be sure to click her byline for her pic and bio, and you can add comments to the blog version at www.pencilstubs.net.

A returning author, Andrew Deakin aka the "One" from our SWC days, adds the short story "The End of Time." Andrew had several compositions a few years ago which can still be accessed by clicking his byline.

Mark Crocker closes his "Rabbo Tales II" with this final chapter 18, "The Battle." He hopes his faithful readers will bear with his abrupt ending, and promises more writing in the future.
We thank our co-founder and webmaster Mike Craner for bearing with us over the years for what would we do without him. Thank you, Mike.

By the way, yours truly finally updated her own bio, so be nice and let me know what you think.  See you in October!

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Click on Mary E. Adair for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.
This issue appears in the ezine at www.pencilstubs.com and also in the blog www.pencilstubs.net with the capability of adding comments at the latter.

Always Looking: People Who Made A Difference X

By John I. Blair

Maria Louise Baldwin

"I dare not fail," said the distinguished educator Maria Louise Baldwin. She did not fail. For four decades she dedicated her mind and her voice to education. The oldest daughter of Peter L. and Mary E. Baldwin, Maria was born in 1856, in Cambridge, MA, one year after the Massachusetts legislature passed the 1855 act desegregating all public schools in the state. She graduated from Cambridge High School in 1874, and from the Cambridge Training School for Teachers in 1881. Her first teaching experience was two years in Chestertown, MD, where she did excellent work.

Several African-American citizens of Cambridge who knew of Baldwin's excellent scholastic record and her futile attempts to secure a teaching position in Cambridge formed a committee to urge the school board to appoint her to a teaching position. As a result, Baldwin was appointed in 1887 as an elementary school teacher of all seven grades in the interracial Agassiz Grammar School. A competent scholar and excellent disciplinarian, Baldwin was selected in 1889 as principal of the school.

Maria Baldwin

At the Agassiz School, Baldwin directed the work of a dozen white teachers who taught more than 500 students, most of whom were white and many of whose parents were on the faculty of Harvard University. In 1916, at her urging, a new school building was built. Her position was elevated to "master," one of two women in the Cambridge school system and the only African-American in New England to hold such a position, which she held with great distinction and efficiency for the remainder of her life.

To keep up with her field she took courses at Harvard and other institutions, and she in turn taught in the summer normal courses for teachers held at Hampton Institute in Virginia and the Institute for Colored Youth in Cheyney, PA. She organized the first Parent-Teacher group in the Cambridge Public Schools, introduced new methods of teaching mathematics, began art classes, and inspired the beginning of a science program within the school system.

Under her leadership, the Agassiz became the only public school in Cambridge (and perhaps anywhere in the U.S.) to establish an "open-air" classroom (then thought to be good for frailty and pulmonary ills and a wise measure for healthy children as well). She was also the first to introduce the practice of hiring a school nurse. Baldwin's concern for children's well-being is legendary. She was an inspiration to generations of students, parents, educators and community members, not just in the public schools, but beyond.

She belonged to numerous civic and educational organizations, lecturing widely. Her home on Prospect Street was headquarters for various literary activities. There, for years, she held a weekly reading class for African-American students attending Harvard University, which counted among its regulars W.E.B. DuBois. DuBois remembered her reverently and honored her in 1917 as "Man of the Month" in the NAACP journal, The Crisis, writing of her: "The school (Agassiz), composed of kindergartners and eight grades, is one of the best in the city and is attended by children of Harvard professors and many of the old Cambridge families. The teachers under Miss Baldwin, numbering twelve, and the 410 children are all white. Miss Baldwin thus, without a doubt, occupies the most distinguished position achieved by a person of Negro descent in the teaching world of America, outside cities where there are segregated schools."

Another of Baldwin's students, the poet e.e. cummings, related that his father enrolled him at the Agassiz in 1904 because of Miss Baldwin's reputation. In his book Six Nonlectures, he wrote of her: "Miss Baldwin, the dark lady mentioned in my first nonlecture (and a lady if ever a lady existed) was blessed with a delicious voice, charming manners, and a deep understanding of children. Never did any semidevine dictator more gracefully and easily rule a more unruly and less graceful populace. Her very presence emanated an honour and a glory . . . . From her I marvellingly learned that the truest power is gentleness."

Maria Baldwin

Baldwin enjoyed the friendship and wise counsel of numerous African-Americans whose views she shared, such as William Monroe Trotter (publisher and editor of The Boston Guardian), and Archibald Grimké, Harvard Law School graduate and editor of The Hub newspaper in Boston. She opposed all forms of racial discrimination and praised the achievements of African-Americans. Perhaps no teacher has inspired as many or been loved more. Upon her death in 1922, Baldwin was greatly mourned. Funeral services were held at the Arlington Street Unitarian Church.

Her friends, pupils and colleagues at the school established a scholarship for Agassiz pupils and named the school's auditorium in her memory. The 1916 Agassiz School building was torn down in 1993 and replaced with a new building dedicated in 1995. Architectural elements from the auditorium were retained in the new building and may be seen in the library media center. Following a campaign by a group that included students from the school, the principal, and parents, on May 21, 2002, the Cambridge School Committee unanimously voted to rename the Agassiz School the Maria L. Baldwin School.

For a video about the school today, Click Here.

Adapted from articles at:
http://www.blackseek.com/bh/2001/46_MBaldwin.htm
http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/pwork/0204/020420.htm
http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=1144
http://www.agassiz.org/ANCNeighborhoodNotables.asp

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Click on John I. Blair for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.

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Stained Glass from Maria Baldwin School

On Trek

By Judith Kroll 

 

There are so many negatives coming at us in every direction. Recently a Facebook friend wrote about a song on the radio that was playing, "I’m only gonna break break break your heart."

Her very gifted 7 year old said, "Can you please turn this off? I don't like this song, it makes me feel like I want to break my heart. It makes me feel weak."
 
Of course, this got my wheels turning because even if the radio is on, and we are NOT fully paying attention to it, it still seeps into our minds. Leaving the TV on and not watching it, we still get to take in the information as our mind is always aware. Many countries use that as a form of propaganda, letting the information play, 24-7. We might think we are not picking it up, but when we sleep, we will, without even trying.

Are words harmless? Remember the saying, sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me. Oh, but they do. Names don’t hurt us physically, but they hurt us emotionally. If we were overweight as kids in school and got the nickname Tubby or something similar, that hurts. That sticks with us, that is very harmful.

I read a comment once that said if we are overconfident, we can tone some of that back, but if we are under-confident, it is almost impossible to build it up. Negatives certainly don’t help.

We have negatives streaming at us all day. I heard someone say when a friend walked into the room, “oh look, speak of the devil.” That got me to thinking again about positives, so now I say “oh look, speak of the angel.” Another one I personally changed when I speak is, I love them to death.. I say, I love them to life.

Words do matter. In our home we try hard to be positive. It is our home, our sanctuary. We don’t even watch the news anymore, if we all know the news isn’t 100 percent truthful, then why would we linger on every thought, every negative morsel? It will only bring us down, make us weak.

Life is a choice, and each person has to do what they believe is right. I am merely putting some ideas out there so one can become more aware of their surroundings.

Love is always the positive .

JudyK (Featherwind)

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Irish Eyes

By Mattie Lennon

IRSIH EEYS

(Misspellings and lack of sunlight.)

I have wirtten this counlm for tewvle yares and I alwyas piad some attnetoin to sepllnig. Tehre wree tmies when I mdae the oaccsoianl msitkae when under perssrue to baet a daedlnie.

Prehpas it dind’t mttaer bceuase it has been etsbalihsed by rscheerch in Cmabridge Uinnervtisy that as lnog as the frist and lsat letter of a wrod are correct it is iervlenat what order the others are in.
Aoccridng to a porimnnat porffseor at the college in an atrcile “ The Paomnnehal Pweor of the Hmuan Mnid, “ It deosn’t mtt.aer in what order the ltters in a word are, the only iprmoatnt thnig is taht the frist and lsat ltter be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed itt wouthit porbelm. This is bcuseae the human mind deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe..”

Snice it deosn’t mttaet preahps I sohuld cnacel the splel cehck on my cmoptuer.
So who knows, prehpas my Spetmeebr piece wil all be wrttin like this. And when you bcemoe fmaliair with my sytle yuo’ll be lkoonig out for the blyine Mttai Lnneon.

* * * * *

Only joking. I’ll stick to conventional spelling (more or less.) English spelling can come in handy. Like the Kerryman who was asked, by an American tourist, “What’s the difference between peat and turf?” The Kerryman was ready with, “They’re spelled different.”

All this brings me back to my own schooldays and the hammerings I got because IO couldn’t remember, “I before E unless after C.” Or something like that. Ain’t I always reminiscing?  I like to live in the past; it’s cheaper.

During the summer my mind was constantly flying back to the house I was reared in.
Thomas Hood wrote:
I remember, I remember
The house where I was born.
The little window where the sun,
Came peeping in at morn.
I can’t identify with that sentiment.

The house that I grew up in backed on to the “Lodge Lane.” My father, a master of over simplification and sometime wit used to say that we lived “in the shelter of the road ditch.” Our house had no windows facing the road. In Kerry such a dwelling would be described as Tig a’doicheall (the house of no welcome.)

But the design of our house had nothing to do with inhospitality but with climatic foresight.
It faced north and most bad storms came from the south or south-west and, in this, case, having the door and windows facing north afforded some shelter. And shelter is important when one is surrounded by the wild Wicklow hills. But the sun didn’t come peeping in at dawn.

With one gable facing due east and the other west the only time sunbeams invaded our house was- if the door was open- for a few evenings around mid-summer. A sort of Newgrange in reverse.

I don’t know if lack of diurnal illumination from one side had any sort of detrimental effect on me psychologically but not being able to see the owner of a footfall could be somewhat frustrating for a small child, especially one with an inquiring and restless mind. Although I could eventually identify those with a peculiar or unique step.

It was more difficult to identify vehicular traffic. A Thames van sounded different to a Ferguson tractor but that was about it.

When I inherited the humble homestead the first thing I did was to put a window in the back wall. It didn’t have a very exhilarating effect on me but perhaps it was too late.

Now, whenever I am awoken from my slumber by the sound of an engine, be it in Ballybunion or Belgrade, Lifford or Lisbon, I am no longer an OAP with free travel. For the first few of my awaking moments it is once again the early fifties. And my auricular faculty is receiving the sound of an engine labouring up the Lodge Lane.

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Click on Mattie Lennon for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.

Introspective

By Thomas F. O'Neill 

 

My students at the Suzhou International Foreign Language School in Suzhou, China, love American films. They bring up the titles and talk about the new releases quite a bit on the school campus. They also love watching them in the local IMAX movie theaters here.

American films although extremely popular in China must pass the Chinese censors before they can be viewed on the big screen. The Chinese authorities have gone as far as to digitally change some of the scenes in the films prior to them being released in the Chinese cinemas. That doesn't seem to deter the American movie industry from releasing their big budget films in China. That is understandable though because the Chinese movie goers make for bigger profits for the American film industry.

What is ironic though many of China’s independent films are rarely released in their own Country. Independent film makers see it as China’s clampdown on freedom of expression. The Chinese Government in recent months shut down an independent film School in Beijing, and disrupted two film festivals.

The Government authorities are applying across the board censorship of anything that puts their country in a negative light or exposes Government corruption. Filmmakers whose work contrasts with China’s mainstream image will find their work censored for public viewing.

The Chinese Government appears to be clamping down hard on the open discourse of independent films over the internet as well. They are blocking online discussions and the sharing of information on the various filmmakers’ independent films.

The Chinese Government is aggressively seeking out independent films that potentially undermine the country's one-party rule. Some independent films revealed arrests of bloggers who posted sensitive material online and covered activists who have accused Government Officials in China of corruption. The Chinese Government views these types of films as potential threats.

Some independent filmmakers try to have their work viewed abroad in order to bypass the Chinese censorship. Yang Lina, an independent documentary maker whose first fictional film — about urban Chinese women — debuted at Rotterdam's international film festival this year.

Yang Lina, was quoted as saying "They (Chinese authorities) just want us to make films about food, clothes, entertainment. They don't want people to think, they don't want people to have the freedom to express themselves, they don't want people to have independent and free ideas," she went on to say, "we are upset, but also find it absurd."

Police under pressure from Government authorities last month came to the Beijing’s Independent Film festival and ordered the event cancelled. Organizers, however, did their best to keep their event going by changing locations and programs. Some filmmakers stayed away from the event though due to fear after what took place with the police.

Independent filmmakers also accused Government officials of intimidating their films financial backers. In November of last year attendees of the 10-year-old China Independent Film Festival in eastern Nanjing - said the festival's financial backers withdrew support under pressure from authorities.

In March of this year the Yunnan Multi-Cultural Festival in southwest China, an influential platform for documentaries, was cancelled. Last month the Li Xianting Film School in Beijing, was also ordered closed by the local authorities. They claim the School was "promoting anti-social ideology."
Four years ago film departments in Chinese universities considered independent cinemas to be a form of dissent. The students, however, see their film work as ways of expressing their views cinematically with artistic flare.

Thirty students this year from Li Xianting Film School in Beijing, ranging in age from their 20s to 60s were staying at a hotel in Beijing on the first day of their new semester. It was then police and officials from the Industry and Commerce bureau came and told them the school was illegal. Police took them to train stations and told them to return home, but teachers later arranged for the students to be taught elsewhere.

The ability to instantly capture a mood on film with a smartphone is something that was unavailable a generation ago. The Chinese authorities are becoming more and more threatened by the current generation’s ability to use social media and technology as a means of mobilizing others and creating activism.

Today’s youth have the ability to tune themselves and others into the social issues of the day through instant online communication. It’s not just the independent films that China is threatened by but rather the potential social unrest generated by social media.

The Chinese authorities are also threatened by students growing interests in "Western constitutional democracy" and "universal ideals." The Chinese authorities believe such interests could lead to wide-reaching descent among university students.

China’s mainstream movie industry is supported by their Government; they see huge potential in the world’s second largest film market. China’s censorship, however, restricts their film industry’s growth with safe story lines.

The Chinese Government would like to shape the world’s perception of China by controlling and managing how information is disseminated. However, that lack of control on their part is becoming counterproductive when it comes to the eyes of the world.

Artists, journalists, and academics throughout China are always exploring new ways to bring new ideas and social themes to the world. Digital filmmaking is just one of the ways in achieving their goals.

Many films as I said before that deal with China’s social issues rarely make it to the movie screens in China with the exception of in small clubs. Some independent films however have gained critical acclaim outside of China, such as Wang Bing's 9-hour "West of the Tracks," which documents the lives of workers in a decaying industrial area of China. Wang's latest film, "'Till Madness Do Us Part," will be shown at the Venice Film Festival this year. Sadly to say though none of Wang's films have been screened in his own country.

It really doesn't matter how hard the Chinese authorities’ crackdown on the independent filmmakers because they will continue to go on making their films. The great artistic voices throughout the world have always been heard. They are like burning flames that dissipate the darkness of ignorance around them.

What the Chinese authorities are failing to understand is that the popularity of the American culture especially in Asia is mostly due to our free society and our ability to express ourselves openly. The Chinese youth are intrigued by our freedom and that is why American films and music are so hugely popular in China.  China has come a long way in the past 30 years or so but it surely needs to move further in terms of allowing its people to voice their opinions openly and freely without the fear of a Government crackdown.

Our ability to express what we think and feel is an inalienable right in America. That freedom not only defines us as a people but it defines us as a Nation. Our Country the greatest Nation on earth is a beacon of hope for all people throughout the world due to our freedom and that alone makes me proud to be an American.

Always with love from Suzhou, China
Thomas F O’Neill

U.S. voice mail: (800) 272-6464

China Cell: 011-86-15114565945

Skype: thomas_f_oneill

Email: introspective7@hotmail.com

Other articles, short stories, and commentaries by Thomas F. O'Neill can be found on his award winning blog, Link:
http://thomasfoneill.blogspot.com

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Click on Thomas F. O'Neill  for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.

By The Numbers

By Michael John Fierro

September 2013 – A Universal 15/6 Month

With its emphasis on home, family and service to others, the 15/6 Universal Month energy of September can be a month in which these concepts receive greater attention on both a personal and global level. This is a month during which people may be required to show a greater degree of responsibility in their homes, jobs, communities and their relationships with one another.

The 6 energy of the month may bring about continuing improvements in issues around the economy and finances and there may be a greater emphasis on materialism. Money may flow more easily than it has and we may see general improvements in various facets of life. This is a time for problem solving and creating greater balance, especially in issues around home, family, health and education. An increased emphasis on domestic and community matters can bring about a greater focus on local and national levels surrounding issues that affect the all.

People and institutions may discover that by making radical lifestyle changes, opportunities may abound that result in changes in long-held and accepted views. New ideas and concepts can create an easing of tensions as well as a dissipation of old fears. With that in mind, it is important that individuals look beyond the surface of things to better comprehend that which they are observing. A level of discernment will go a long way in providing deep understandings that can take root while providing a deeper, inner knowing.

Because the negative side of the 15/6 energy can bring about a rise in dishonesty, fraud and irresponsibility it is incumbent upon people to pay attention to, and focus on those areas in which these conditions are prevalent. September is a great time for a raising of the community and the national conscience that can result in a greater compassion and tolerance in areas of upset or discord. Demanding the truth from those who serve us can create a better understanding and balance in areas of government and business, especially in those areas that directly affect home and family life. Maintaining order in all systems and fixing those things that are in need of adjustment or overhaul, will also add to the general welfare and common good of the people. Particular attention may be needed in the fields of medicine and health.

Another topic that could demand greater attention and concern is the issues surrounding our food and food supply. It is possible that the continuing debate over GMOs and the control of our food sources by a handful of large corporations will move further onto center stage. In any area of concern experienced by the individual, it would be advantageous to add your voice to the dialogue. Individually we may be drowned out...collectively we possess great power in asking for greater transparency and consideration of our desires. People must learn to channel their emotions on these subjects into actionable behavior, especially in holding our leaders to their position(s) as our voices in the process.

Since 2013 is a Universal 6 Year, the 15/6 energy of the Universal 6 Month is reinforced and amplified and conditions are primed for a greater sense of service to others. We must all keep in mind the bigger picture of a global community and work towards the improvement of conditions for all, wherever one may live. Get out there and make your contribution.
Blessings of Love and Light!

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Click on Michael John Fierro for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.

The Future King of England

By Michael John Fierro

George Alexander Louis

George Alexander Louis* born on 7/22/2013 has a 35/8 Life Path and may truly be a king for the 22nd Century. The 35/8 Life Path is the inheritance 8 and is a strong indicator of money, power and position. With a birth day of 22, the Master Builder, this is an individual who will have ample opportunity to make his mark on the world (a world that may be very different from the world into which he was born).

The 35/8 imbues in the individual a great deal of vision and foresight and provides a strong energy for being a great leader. It is conceivable that he will change the monarchy in a way never before seen because the 35/8 coupled with the 22 shows that he will be an inspired person who is very much a humanitarian and philanthropist (much in the way his grandmother Diana was). This will be a king/leader of the people, looking to make a mark in the world that improves the general welfare of the many. He may also show himself to be a world leader, inspiring and guiding other heads of state towards a more compassionate and caring form of government. He innately knows the meaning of true peace while understanding and executing the law of giving and receiving in balance.

This is a dependable and organized person who understands the need to unify while re-evaluating conditions that may already be in place. An individual with a strong mind and keen insight, he knows what the public needs and he knows how to provide it for them (and this may be especially true in the areas of public health). When opposed, he will display great inner strength in meeting the opposition. He will meet all tasks with a great energy and vitality and use his abundant personal charm to win over any detractors. With a strong desire to create and maintain stability, he will tirelessly work to create that which can do just that. This will be a traveling king as he moves around the planet to share his knowledge, wisdom, insights and ideas with as many people as possible. He will be a harbinger of freedom and change and an inspiration for all to participate in making the world a better place in which to live.

The 8 gives George an almost unending supply of energy and could make him a perpetual motion machine, always moving, and taking action that will help him implement the ideas that he holds. He is a person who likes to live hard, work hard and play hard and he may show some athletic prowess in a sport of his choosing.

This is a person who is friendly, helpful and considerate and it is important for him to maintain an emotional balance in his life. Balancing his work life with his personal life will go a long way in creating the peace of mind and heart that he needs.

Being born on the 22nd of the month imbues the future king with inspiration and a practical imagination. George is a very capable individual who will exhibit great magnetism, power and determination in those things with which he chooses to engage. He must learn to bring his various talents together in a manner that can bring about the greatest good for the many. Coupled with his 35/8 Life Path, the future king could very well be a global leader in a way that hasn't been seen in the British monarchy in a very long time. The Master Builder energy of the 22 will provide him with opportunities to lead his country, and by extension the world, in new and exciting directions with particular emphasis on 'big picture' things that benefit as many people as possible. It will be important for him to be a universalist in the way he brings ideas and concepts to the world making it necessary for him to understand and embrace a global understanding and philosophy.

George's approach to things may be somewhat conservative in nature, yet through that conservatism will he be able to create stability in situations. A deep and serious person, it will be important for him to develop tact as he works to organize others and exercise his ample executive abilities. This is a person who is quite adept at handling and solving problems while being both diplomatic and cooperative. He will be a king for the 22nd century as he could be in the forefront of re-building England into a global, leadership role. His originality and creativity will be an asset in solving problems for his country, and once again, for the world. A highly competent, intense and inspired person, it will be important for George to maintain an internal balance between his emotional and practical sides as he could be (at times) nervous and high-strung.

In summary, the future King George of England possesses the tools to be the leader he was born to be and be a positive influence on the world in which he lives. The world in which he leads may be quite different from our world of today and I believe he will quite adequately fulfill his destiny.

*British royalty traditionally does not have a surname.

Blessings of Love & Light ©2013 Michael John Fierro

Michael John Fierro is a Numerologist, Life Coach, and Author of YOU KNOW YOUR NAME...LOOK UP YOUR NUMBERS. He has been working with numerology since 1984 and is available for private sessions, lectures, and more. You may contact him at numerologist.michaelfierro@gmail.com or www.michaeljohnfierro.com

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Precious

By Phillip Hennessy 

As time goes by,

do we ever wonder,
have we been through this before..?
And I don't know why,
but I'm often thinkin',
have I ever missed you more..

The days go by, so slowly,
each time Love leaves you lonely
Could this be our song,
Could our Love last,
for so long, so long…?

Could Lives divide,
those tears we cried,
over Loves’ big mystery Could Life decide,
which fears inside,
could be part of History

Although we come this way,
could we Live and Love another day
Could this be our Song,
Could our Love last, for so long, so long
The days go by so slowly,
each time Love leaves you lonely
Could this be our song,
Could our Love last, for so long, so long

Was our Love, - Meant to be,
-and were you Truly sent for me
Do we Live again,
Loving now and then,
to be Destiny
How many days are there,
how many ways to share ?
(you know, that I'm amazed that you care)
Could this be our song,
Could our Love last,
for so long, so long

©2010 Phillip Hennessy

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Move on Higher

By Phillip Hennessy 

 

You cannot Hurt me,
I'm alive
That's in the Past,
Another Life
Here, and NOW,
Is what I've chosen..
Time, itself,
Cannot be frozen... I'm not the way you think I am...
I'm all the good, And bad,... I am.
I'm dying,
And you're Loving me to Death
I'm crying,
And you're holding my Breath.
Loving the good and the bad,
Are the Same
You must accept,
It's a Rule of the Game
Within each Day
The Sun shines bright...
The Dark is ALIVE,
For You,....are the Light.
Within the Night,
And Darker Days
Within each Fight....
The Martyr stays
Outside the Night,
In Light of Day
Outside the Fight,
The Children play
It's only Human to wonder...why
Paradise awaits us,...in the Sky
It's only Human, not wanting to die
Kissing the Life that we wanted..
...Good Bye
Much better to live
Each day, like your Last
With nothing to say
About your Past.
...When you arrive
At Heaven's Gate
Be sure you Recognize
- Your FATE
Holding on to what is Dear,
Can sometimes change
The way we Fear
What we were scared of there,
Has gone...
And Here we Are,
Still moving...ON
You cannot Hurt me, I'm alive
That's in the Past, another Life
Here, and NOW, is what I've chosen..
Time, itself, cannot be frozen...
Past or Future, "Que Sera"
We Create, just what we are
No Blame, No Trust, No Guilt required
Just...... Believe.....
And move on,
...Higher ©Phillip Hennessy

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The Importance of Preflights

By John I. Blair 

 

If I had done a walk-around
Like any pilot would before a takeoff
I might have noticed
I had an unbooked passenger
Riding on my hood.

Halfway through my journey
To the drugstore
A very startled face popped up
Into my line of sight,
Glaring through the windshield.

A lizard, green as leaves,
Was clinging tightly to the trim,
Not quite taking in the fact
That he was making 30 mph
Along the street.

Lizard lover that I am
(Go figure) I slowed,
Turned carefully into the lot,
Then cogitated what I could accomplish
With a lizard spryer than my seven decades.

Abandoning all hope
Of catching him or safely
Routing back to home
Without a catastrophic bailout,
I pulled over to the edge

Where grass and bushes offered haven,
Slid out of my seat,
Wrangled Mr. Greenskin to the ground,
Then made like a border collie
(If collies cared for lizards).

And after safely shooing him
To shelter in the shrubbery,
I solemnly avowed
That any future driveway checks
Should cover lizard lookouts.

©2013 John I. Blair

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It Was Always You

By Riva Joi Smith 

 

It was always you ~
In my dreams
By my side
It was always daylight
Sunshine
Springtime
In the middle of my heart.
 It was always dreamland
Yesterday
A far off tomorrow
The smell of baking cakes
And noisemakers.

It will always be
A loving melody between us
A synergy of life.
I never wanted this dance to end. ©2012 Riva Joi Smith

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A Thought into The Universe

By Phillip Hennessy

A thought into the Universe
A thought inside my head
I hope I get it out there
Before my brain is dead

My Universe is here inside
It can't be outside too
Because we're all connected
My thought is part of you

So if I'm part of this whole thing
And if this all works right
Then what I got to say today
Will still be true tonight

Tomorrow comes, and goes away
It's just another date
A whole day passed not much to say
Someone's passed, for them, too late

Maybe they pass the message on
Someone's life it could get turned
For every word of wisdom
There's two that's unconcerned

There's no agenda, it's all false
'Cause no one can really care
All they want is satisfaction
Retribution's never Fair.

©2012 Phillip Hennessy

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Does The Conscious Continue

By Phillip Hennessy

Does the conscious continue
When all else is dead,
Could mind and spirit live on,
With no life ahead?

Outside the body,
Out of the mind
Do thoughts stay alive,
(The no-brainer kind)?

Does the spirit survive
When the body is gone
Do thoughts stay alive
And go on, and on?

When dead people speak
And we hear the sound
Is it deep in our soul
From a past, earthly bound

That random connection
Of messages learned
The noise of corruption
So passive, so stern

It's all wishful thinking,
Or powerful senses
That transpire reason
And transform pretenses

Subconscious feelings
That come to the fore
Of deep understanding
And so, so much more.

We're guided, it's true,
The mysteries timeless.
It's all we can do
To still retain 'mindness'

The answers we seek
From elders all passed
The meanings of life
Elusive, so vast

What goes around,
comes around, Heart to Heart
Forever entwined
When our spirits depart

Whispers from souls
Each side of the veil
Each message reminds us
That Love will prevail

©2012 Phillip Hennessy

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Everything We Are

By Bruce Clifford

You took me by the heart

I never felt so strange

I'd rather be in the stars

Then lost here in this place

I can't make any sense of this go around

I can't pretend you're not in my heart

I can't escape the fears in front of me

I can't get away from everything we are

You took my soul many lifetimes ago

You took me by surprise

I never knew I could change 

Looking through your worried eyes

Nothing ever will be the same

I can't make any sense of this go around

I can't pretend you're not in my heart

I can't escape the fears in front of me

I can't get away from everything we are

©8/19/13 Bruce Clifford

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Until The Day I Die

By Bruce Clifford

You deserve so much more

I can't tell you why

It is what I live for

Until the day I die

I can tell the many ways

How you touch my heart and mind

This goes on day after day

Until the day I die

Until the day I die

I see your smile all around me 

Until the day I die

It's what I live for

You deserve so much more

I can't tell you why

It is what I live for

No matter how hard we try 

You deserve peace i know

Oh how I hurt you in so many ways

I know I could never let you go

There's so much left to say

Until the day I die

I see your smile all around me 

Until the day I die

It's what I live for

©8/8/13 Bruce Clifford

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Don't Deal All Them Lines

By Phillip Hennessy

Don't deal all them lines
You're tryin' to sell me
I don't believe a word you tell me
I just know,
I see in your eyes
WE both know,
It's a whole pack of lies

You know it too,
You're making excuses
The stories you tell
Get plenty of uses
You back them all up,
With made up stuff
Tho just like you,
One's never enough

You think you say it
Like it was true
Though lies that you speak
Return to you
When no one believes,
And you shuffle that pack
Each one's a hook
That holds your life back.

Tell the truth
And set yourself free
Those dark nights of shame
Were sent, to Be...
A message to you,
Some kind of sign
To take a step back,
And then walk the line.

Don't deal all them lines
You're tryin' to sell
It's a whole pack of lies
You know that, as well
Just give it all up
Don't be so intense
Don't deal them no more
It doesn't make sense.

©2012 Phillip Hennessy

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Half Moon

By John I. Blair 

 

It’s only half a moon, and blue at that;
Yet as it glows above the rooftops
It dominates the night.

My kind has known this moon
Since life began in tidal pools;
But all we know is what we see,

And that depends
Upon the man or woman viewing
And when and where.

Here and now, in flower-fragranced air
Still filled with city sounds at three a.m.,
I contemplate the partial moon

And, being me, must choose
If a fragmentary moon
Might merit only half a poem.

©2013 John I. Blair

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Shattered Dreams

By Bruce Clifford

My mind can't think straight

I know the time is getting late

All these conversations keep playing in my mind

Wish I could find a place for us to hide

Every moment the noise holds me down

There are no secrets in this crazy desperate town

Wish I could show you just what you mean to me

Every moment remembering shattered dreams

Shattered dreams of desperation

Shattered dreams I can't protect

Shattered dreams and inspiration

Shattered dreams of empty souls and neglect

My can't can't think beyond this shattered dream 

My heart can't decide what this broken heart could mean

All these years circling under the stars

Every moment trying to remember who we are

Shattered dreams of desperation

Shattered dreams I can't protect

Shattered dreams and inspiration

Shattered dreams of empty souls and neglect

Shattered dreams of emptiness and fear

Shattered dreams of the chill and the void

Shattered dreams that won't disappear

Shattered dreams that were too hard to avoid

My mind can't think straight

I know the time is getting late

All these conversations keep playing in my mind

Wish I could find a place for us to hide

©8/6/13 Bruce Clifford

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This Can't Go On Anymore

By Bruce Clifford

I've tried so long to make start

I never knew it was a matter of the heart

I paid my dues for carrying on

Maybe this is why I had to write this song

This feeling's never gone

I've made my bed, but I can't sleep

I don't think I have eaten in a week

I cry at night with my heart wrapped in pain

Maybe I will never see her beautify and her grace

Never again

(Chorus)

Where do we go now

I've been hurt for so long

What can I say now

This can't go on anymore

I've tried so long to heal my heart

I never knew it was tearing you apart

I fought the fight, you fought the war

Nobody told us what we were fighting for

The battles lines were drawn

(Chorus)

Where do we go now

I've been hurt for so long

What can I say now

This can't go on anymore

I touch the sky to clear my mind

I never knew I could do this until I tried

I hold you close in every dream

I never meant to cause you disbelief

(Chorus)

Where do we go now

I've been hurt for so long

What can I say now

This can't go on anymore

©8/1/13 Bruce Clifford

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Cougar Under Glass

By Kay Roy Jones 

 

Oh, my head, what a dream? What? I cannot move…I looked around for help ....but my cries were going unheard. I could see out but I was frozen in a land of giants. Oh, what has happened…last I remember was lying on the rocks in the forest sunning myself. Feeling the warmth of the sun on my fur made me so sleepy. As I lay on the rock… I looked around and saw all the places I called my home…I stretched out, relaxed, I fell asleep and woke up here… But where am I? As I look out I see these strange surroundings…there are people all over and things that I had never seen before…oh, my! what has happened to me?

There was a human couple looking at me…and I could hear them talking. I heard as the woman said that I was alive, miniaturized, frozen in time…and that as long as the glass was over me … I would forever be frozen. The man decided that this would be a novelty to show his friends so he purchased me and took me home with him.

Once at his home he placed me on this shelf… Each day he came over and talked to me…and carefully dusted the glass off. One day the man started taking me with him on short trips. Then one day he placed me on the dashboard of his car while he was getting everything loaded and ready to leave for his trip.

When He placed me on the dash of his car the glass that held me captive…shifted ever so slightly…air…oh the smell of the sweet air. He quickly saw that the glass had shifted and moved to re-align it to correct position. Tears formed in my eyes…and I had this strange feeling coming over my body… it started at my tail…it moved… ever so little…and he saw it… he saw my tail move. He stared at me for several minutes and saw again that my tail moved and as he looked closer he saw the tears that were frozen in my eyes.

He sat back in his seat, tears formed in his eyes and streamed onto his cheeks…and to my utter surprise he reached over and removed the glass that had entombed me. As he sat and cried I heard him say how sorry he was….Oh God, I’m so sorry were his words…I never truly believed you were alive…Please forgive me, I did not know.

He took me off of the dashboard of his car…and removed the wooden base that I had been attached to with glue. He carefully peeled the glue away from my feet and wiped my tears from my eyes. There was so much tenderness in his touch..as he was wiping my eyes I nuzzled his hand to thank him…he placed me gently close to his heart and continue to cry and sob…suddenly I started purring…and he stopped crying and a smile came over his face. At that moment I knew that I was home and that he would protect me…as I would protect him from this day forward.

Just like the lady in the shop had warned him… I did indeed start growing… some days more than others. Each day he would comment on how big I was becoming…as his hands gently stroked my head. Each day he would stop his work and take me outside to sit, allowing me time to nap in the sun. He knew how I loved feeling the warmth of the sun on my fur.

As I continued to grow the people around us became nervous and afraid having a full grown cougar living in the area. I would hear him arguing with people when they would come to the door…and eventually he was afraid to leave the house without me. So he decided to sell his home and move to a safe location that allowed me to have freedom… to run and play….to be a cougar.

He found a cabin that was settled at the base of a small group of mountains with a stream that ran through it……there was a meadow with all these butterflies to chase…it was a wonderful feeling of freedom and joy for me.

Each day he would stop his writing and we would go outside for a long walk…exploring the area around us…and each day when we would return home, I would purr and nuzzle his leg to tell him thank you.

As fall approached and the cold was coming it was becoming painful for me to move. But we still went out for our walks together. There was a cave that I loved to venture to…I would lay on the warmth of the rocks while he would write in his journal. I wondered what he was saying…sometimes I saw tears in his eyes again…then he would look over and see me watching him and he’d say …he was ok… And they were tears of joy for our time together.

Each time we left the cave I would walk next to him… as his hand would rest on my back…we walked home. The walking helped to ease my pain and discomfort…then once we arrived home he would light a fire…and sit in the couch close to the fire…there he would motion for me to join him on the couch…so I would curl up next to him and place my head and paws on his lap…and purr…this was the happiest I had ever been…..

Each day it was becoming harder and harder for me to get up and walk… but each day we walked to the cave…but I noticed that he was leaving things at the cave…I could not understand why he was not returning home with it…but each day more and more was taken to the cave. Pretty soon we started staying at the cave…spring was in the air and it was wonderful lying there by the fire in our cave.

Time was passing fast for me and the pain was becoming intense. The time which I had been miniaturized it hurt my body and now the pain was harder and harder to hide from him. I no longer wanted to move away from the fire…or walk down to the stream to drink…so he brought food and water to me and stayed next to me..reading about the heavens and the stars above me…. As he would read I would look up into the stars and think how wonderful it would be … to have no more pain…why can we not go now, he and I on our walks …but he kept reading stroking my tired body, it was so comforting.

One day as we sat by the fire… he stopped and held my head in both his gentle hands. He looked deep in my eyes… I could see tears starting to run down his cheeks. I was thinking why are you crying…so I painfully nuzzled his cheek to make him smile…but this time he did not smile…only more tears came to his eyes…then I heard him talking to me…telling me thank you for the wonderful years we had had together…that our time would live on forever…..and that he knew that I was in immense pain and that each and every day was a struggle for me…and that he knew it was getting close to my time to leave him and go to the place he had read to me about…. A place of no pain…endless naps in the sun…adventures in the mountains… chasing butterflies……he was telling me that it was ok if I needed to leave and go to our special stars in the heavens. He said he would be ok…and that he would understand…that he would always walk with me…each day…but we would no longer be able to walk side by side.

We both knew my time had come…I nuzzled him and licked his tears…he knew this was my kiss good bye…I purred and then suddenly there was no pain…I felt this wonderous lightness all over my body…I was running and bouncing all over the mountains…so light…no pain, this is heaven. He told me it would be like this but I could never imagine the glorious, peaceful feeling.

One day I sensed a familiar feeling. The smell of the man I had come to live with for many years. I bolted down the mountains ever so lightly and swiftly… ran towards the cabin. As I approached the cabin I heard talking…mmmm I know that voice… he is here..BUT wait I do not know the other voice…it was different than his…more female…..

I approached the cabin with extreme caution.. ready to protect my friend…as I went through the door I saw him seated on the couch with her seated next to him. She was asking if this was where his books had started. He explained that yes this is where we had lived and where he wrote of my life…how much he had come to love me and protect me….we were friends for all time and throughout time. Again I saw the tears form in his eyes…he must have sensed me there…he placed his hand down for me to nuzzle against it…I moved to him…at first I felt him jolt a little like he was shocked…..then he continued to stroke my head… and I nuzzled his leg…and purred.

He explained to her that I was there next to him…and as he cried… she held him close…..then as if she could see me… she looked at me…and held her hand down to touch me…as I was watching the tears in her eyes I walked to her… and nuzzled her hand and purred. I knew that it was time now to finish my journey…that he was once again loved and not alone….

I reached up and licked his tears and I felt his arms around me one last time…he released me and I went to the woman with him…I licked her face to thank her for loving him…..and to take care of him…..

I moved and started to the door. The woman said wait…she explained that she loved this man…and would protect and take care of him until we all met again. Tears formed in my eyes again…..one last time I nuzzled their legs and accepted the hugs and kisses from each… knowing this would be the last time for me to see them…until we met again in the stars..

Walking through the door … suddenly I felt like running …chasing the butterflies…I felt like I wanted to fly…then I looked down … I was flying.. towards the stars…
©2013 Kay Roy Jones

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The End of Time

By Andrew Deakin

"What time is it, mommy?” The words rang out from the ether.

"It's the end of time, David dear," came the reply.

David sat in the corner of the room playing with a hammer, hammering shapes through holes. The hammer, the room, and David seemed to be see-through, like clouds or fog, a fog that seemed to permeate everything, and the colors all looked faint, faint within the fog. David looked up from his hammering and checked around for his mum. She stood a meter from the only door in the room. She too was enveloped in the fog.

As David watched, someone opened the door and walked into the room. It was a small African man, wearing glasses and thinning short hair. He too was within the fog but his colors were more defined than David or his mum. The man slowly walked over to David’s mum. As he did, he seemed to slowly begin to fade away. He faded more the nearer he came to her, until he stood within David’s mum, where he faded completely until there was only David’s mum left.

"Who was that, mommy?" asked David, wide eyed from fear.

"Don’t be afraid dear, nothing to be frightened of." She replied, calmly.

David, reassured, turned back to his hammering, hammering a star shaped block into its relative hole. As David was hammering all sorts of different shaped objects through different shaped holes, more people began coming through the door. Some walked in and went straight into David’s mum, fading away similar to the first man that had entered. Others stood around for a while, chatting or waiting for someone, before walking into David’s mum. Some in twos, some in threes, some were couples, some were families, others were friends.

David stopped hammering for a moment, stood up, and looked out through a small window just above where he sat. Outside there seemed to be a storm circling around the room, but not a normal storm, this was a storm of swirling colors, set against a backdrop of darkness that seemed to stretch outwards into infinity. All the people in the room stopped moving and looked directly at David, some almost faded away, others looked more solid and defined. David turned away from the window and looked at the people staring at him, he then sat back down on the floor.

Puzzled he looked over towards his mum and asked her, "Why are all these people here? Why are they staring at me?"

His mother smiled and replied, "Don’t worry dear it will all become clear soon. You just keep playing with your hammer and these people will stop staring at you."

David listened to his mum, nodded at her and turned his attention back to his hammering. Time went by, more and more people entered and faded into David’s mum. David himself kept busy with his hammering, so many shapes, so many holes to fill. How many people came and went was hard to say, too many to count. Only David’s mum remained, watching David play, always watching. More and more time went by, but it was a time that felt different from ordinary time, a time that went by swiftly but smoothly, a time that seemed impossibly short, but also impossible to measure.

Eventually the people stopped arriving. David’s mum walked over to the door and closed it. She then went over to the window and pulled down the blind. Outside the storm of colors seemed to be slowly ceasing. She then returned to where she had been standing previously. She stood and looked towards David with loving eyes and said softly with a smile, "Its almost time David, come to me." David looked up and saw his mum with her arms open, inviting him to her. He stood up and began to walk to her.

"Don’t forget your hammer and your holes," she reminded him.

It was then that David noticed that there where no shapes left but still one empty hole.
"What about this hole mommy? It’s still empty," he enquired.

"That’s ok I have the last piece here," she said while patting her pocket.

"I’m scared, will I disappear like everyone else?" asked David worryingly.

"Yes and no David. But there’s no need to be afraid, you will understand soon and all will be well," reassured David’s mum.

David slowly and nervously walked into his mother’s arms, clutching his hammer and the last hole. As he went into his mother she handed him a small dark sphere, saying, "You’re always the last to come David. Here, this is your shape." As David took the sphere and started to hammer it into the last hole, both he and his mother began to fade into each other.

It was then that he realized what everything was about. Realized that for a moment, just a moment, everything was clear to him. Understood what the purpose of all this was. How long that moment lasted is uncertain, it seemed to stretch out endlessly, but at the same time was over instantly. As David hit the shape one last time to make sure the hole was filled, that was when it all began, with one big colorful explosion.

©12/05/2008 Andrew Deakin 

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Rabbo Tales II-Chapter 18

By Mark Crocker

The Battle

The second morning had come clear and bright as Merwyn and Angus stood on the city wall watching the warriors of Ma’at and Anubis assemble again on the beach. They could clearly see that they had made bridges to cross the water filled trench and that they would be used very soon.


The warriors on the beach started to bang on their shields with swords and spears and started to advance en mass towards the city. Behind them the artillery thundered into life sending huge stone cannon balls right at the wall.

The defenders on the wall were showered with chunks of stone making them move back from the wall. Three more times the artillery was fired and three more times the stone cannon balls thundered into the wall showering the defenders with stone chucks.


But thankfully there were few wounded by the shower of sharp stones that resulted from the stone cannon balls hitting the wall. There was also little damage to the thick walls and Merwyn was thankful that the walls were so thick and heavy that they could stand such a bombardment. Merwyn turned and looked towards the gate were the five thousand warriors were lined up waiting for the gates to be thrown open so that they could race out and attack the forces of Ra.


The bridges were laid across the water filled trench and the warriors marched across only stopping to reassemble their formations before they continued forward to attack the city walls. Behind them came the two remaining battering rams. Merwyn knew that the artillery fire was being used to keep the heads of the defending force down while the battering rams would be used to breach the gates.


Merwyn turned to Angus. “Well here goes. If I have everything right this should be the day the battle ends”?


“I hope so” said Angus. “So what is the plan”?


“Once the gate is open our five thousand will race out and engage their force. They will spread out in a huge Vee and get the attacking force between the arms. Bastet’s archers will follow behind the five thousand and they will come out and split into two groups of thirty; one group on each arm of the Vee. They will shower the wings of the attacking force with arrows forcing them to move to the center. This will make the attacking force bunch together and make it harder for them to fight and move. All our five thousand have to do is slice stab and jab and we will win” said Merwyn smiling.


“I hope you are right” said Angus.

“Have I ever let you down” said Merwyn smiling.

“Yes” said Angus. Both Merwyn and Angus laughed as they both knew that the one time Merwyn had let Angus down was not really Merwyn’s fault as Hermes had sold them out to the followers of Toner.


Merwyn watched the attacking force get closer and as they reached the point that Merwyn thought would be perfect he gave the signal and the gates swung up and the five thousand warriors came running out forming the perfect Vee shape. Behind them came the sixty archers who split into two groups and went to the arms of the Vee. Once there they started to shoot arrows high so that they could hit the wings of the attacking force and drive them like cattle towards the center.


As Merwyn and Angus watched from the wall the attacking force started to bunched together and their five thousand warriors started to attack the formation that was now falling apart. The two battering rams now became a huge problem for the attacking force as it meant that they could not back up as the rams were now blocking their retreat.


Shower after shower of arrows fell on the attacking force and as Merwyn and Angus watched young boys came running out of the gates carrying more arrows for the archers. “Were did those children come from” said Merwyn trying to contain his anger at young boys being used as supply troops.


“I don’t know” said Angus.


“I ordered them my lord Zeus” said the elder standing near by. “I thought Lord Zeus would be pleased that the archers have more arrows”.


“I would be as long as you did not use boys to carry supplies” said Merwyn his eyes now a blaze in his anger.


Merwyn and Angus turned back to watch the battle and could see that their forces where cutting the attack force to pieces and that the press of warriors was such now that the attacking force was helpless. As they watched their attacking force started to push Ra’s warriors back past the battering rams that had been abandoned and towards the water filled trench.


“That’s a beautiful if deadly move by our forces” said Angus.

“Yes a classic pincer movement if you ask me” answered Merwyn.

“Oh now they have them at the trench and forcing them across the four bridges that they laid across the trench” said Angus laughing softly. “I don’t think many will survive as they are starting to panic”.


Merwyn turned looked at Angus and shook his head “That’s a side of you I never liked much my old friend. The enjoyment that you get at watching an enemy getting soundly beat. But it is what makes you who you are”.


“To be honest it worries me too. And I do get some pleasure out of watching. It sure beats being down in the thick of things” said Angus still watching the battle.


“What worries me more than the pleasure you take is how this whole ordeal will bother Athena for the rest of her life. She is a gentle soul really. I am just glad that she is not down here watching so many die in a horrible manner” Merwyn said sadly and thoughtfully. “I hope that Bastet can help heal her. Besides working at the hospital will help keep her busy and if I know Bastet she will point out all the good that Athena is doing and that she is saving lives and not taking them”.


“Yes she is a gentle soul. Athena should have stayed at home. I made a huge mistake bring her here. But she so insisted that she came. I should of tried harder to talk her out of it” said Angus sadly.

The few surviving warriors numbering no more than a thousand had crossed the bridges back to the other side of the trench. As they ran the archers started to pick off the stragglers and the wounded while the surviving warriors of Merwyn’s forces who numbered about four thousand walked around to finish off those of Ra’s forces that were too wounded to live much longer.

“I see that they give mercy” said Angus sadly. “I hate this part of a battle. To see such brave men being thrown away and being unable to save the nearly dead. Mercy is all that is left for them. Ma’at and Anubis should be ashamed of what they have done to these fine warriors.”

“Both Ma’at and Anubis were very able regiment commanders but Ra should never have asked them to command an army. Let alone attack a city. Both of them are out of depth when it comes to commanding an army or laying siege to a city” said Merwyn sadly as he turned away from the battle.
“Ma’at might have been heartless and ruthless as a regiment commander but she always cared for those below her. More than likely she is hiding some place out of sight crying at the waste of life”.


“Really” said Angus with a shocked tone in his voice. “I never knew that about Ma’at”.

“Yes” said Merwyn sadly. “More than once she came to me and I would let her hide in my command center and cry alone for those that she has sent to their deaths. She was and still is a good woman at heart. Just confused about what she is doing”.


Angus turned to a young man standing next to him and smiled. “Sound the recall and bring our warriors back into the city.”


The young man standing next to Angus brought a ram’s horn to his mouth and started to sound the recall so that the archers and warriors could return to the city.


Merwyn and Angus were surprised at how few wounded were being helped back to the city. Yet they had lost nearly a thousand warriors but only thirty or forty warriors seemed to need help coming back to the city. Merwyn and Angus moved down off the wall and walked towards the warriors than were now coming back in though the city gates.


“I think its time that we gave Ma’at and Anubis more to think about” said Merwyn. “Those artillery pieces need to be dealt with and we don’t have the ability to send a force to attack them so you and I will have to deal with them.”


“Yes sir” said Angus getting all formal. “How are we to go about it”?


“Very simple we manifest an explosion at each artillery piece and damage the barrels so that they can’t be used against us” said Merwyn.


“Ok sir, let’s get to it. Do you want me to work from one end while you work from the other end” said Angus wondering why Merwyn had taken so long to get around to destroying the artillery pieces.


Merwyn was about to turn towards the gate when the ground around him started to shake very violently knocking him to the ground. As Merwyn lay on the ground he watched in horror as the battered building started to fall on warriors who were running this way and that way to try and get away from the ground shaking. Huge chucks of masonry started to hit the ground close by as damage buildings started to crumble to the ground.

Merwyn held firmly to the ground that bucked and rolled and shook as the powerful earthquake rumbled its way though the area. Then a mental pain filled his head as he heard Athena’s mental voice scream loudly in his head.


The earthquake seemed to last forever but in fact lasted only about ninety seconds from beginning to end. Weakly Merwyn looked around for Angus. As soon as he spotted Angus he weakly crawled over to Angus and spoke softly, “Something is wrong with Athena. You help the people here and get the gates closed. And get everyone to higher land. I think the earthquake was far out to sea and there might be a tidal wave coming this way. I am going to find Athena”. Without waiting for an answer Merwyn pushed himself upright and ran towards where the hospital was.


Far out to sea a slight bulge in the ocean raced toward the coast at a speed close to five hundred miles per hour. As it got closer and closer to shallow water the slight bulge started to take on the form of a huge wave almost twenty five feet height.


Ra turned and looked at the huge wave racing towards his small invisible sail boat. He only had enough time to spin himself a small shield that protected the sail boat from the water and not the movement of the water. The sail boat tumbled over and over while Ra held on as tight as he could and somehow he managed to keep control of the shield he had made.


Angus had just closed the gates of the city when a shout came from the wall. He ran up the stairs to the top of the wall taking each step three at a time.


Out to sea he could see a huge monster wave heading towards them. “Everyone get to higher land now. Move it move it” Angus shouted as he ran back down the stairs and started to run up the slight hill towards where the temple was.


Rabbo opened his eyes and could just make out the shape of rocks and rubble, he could feel Athena under his body and she felt warm.

“Athena can you hear me” said Rabbo breathing in dust.


“Yeah” answered Athena so weakly that Rabbo could hardly hear her.


“Stay with me Athena” said Rabbo.


Rabbo could hear the rubble groaning and creaking above him so he made a hard shield that covered both he and Athena.


“Hail dad” said Athena weakly.

“I can’t I am using all I have to hold up the rubble above us” said Rabbo focusing all the energy he had to stop the rubble falling down on them and crushing them.


“I can’t feel my leg” said Athena sobbing weakly.


“Stay with me Athena” cried Rabbo.


“I’m so sleepy” said Athena her voice starting to fade.


“Athena stay with me please” Rabbo said sobbing.


Bastet stood up weakly and looked around the ruins of the hospital. She spotted mischief sitting in a pool of urine and blood. “I hurt” said mischief whimpering.


Bastet looked into mischief’s body and saw that her bladder had ruptured. Quickly Bastet stopped the bleeding and repaired the damage as quickly as she could.


“How did you hurt yourself” asked Bastet once she had healed the damage to mischief.

“I saw the roof coming down on us so I made a wall to cover us so that it would not hurt us” mischief said weakly.

“You made a hard shield to protect us” said Bastet in surprise.


Bastet looked around and saw dead and dying lying all over the place. There were broken bodies and limbs littering the floor. Some people had been crushed and died quickly were others laid half buried crying for help. Taking a deep breath she started to use her mind to lift broken masonry off those close at hand.


“Dam where is Athena when you need her” muttered Bastet.


Bastet looked around to where she had last seen Athena and Rabbo but where they were was a pile of rubble and masonry. Bastet's hand went to her mouth and her heart leaped into her mouth.


Ma’at and Anubis stood on the high ground with the warriors that they had managed to get off the beach. The mental hail from Angus that there was a tidal wave coming had shocked them almost as much as the tactics that had been used by the defenders of Athens. Now they knew that they had not been facing just the city but Merwyn as well and they had not counted on that.


Besides Ra had planned that Merwyn and Athena would be at their home and that the attack on the city would draw them out so that they could be attacked on their own. Ra had not planned for Angus Merwyn and Athena to be at the city. But once they knew that Angus was there and that they had been facing Merwyn in battle they knew that their chances of winning the battle was very low indeed.


They both had been thankful for the warning that Angus had sent and while they had lost about forty five hundred warriors in battle and so far another five thousand to the tidal wave they were glad that they had not lost the whole force as they would have without Angus’s warning about the tidal wave.


As they stood watching the tidal wave retreat back out to sea they saw the shattered remains of the artillery pieces and siege equipment. Ma’at looked at the ships that had been smashed against the beach and shook her head as most of the ships were broken wrecks with no hope of repair at all.

“Looks like we are trapped here” said Ma’at to Anubis.


“Yes” said Anubis “I am going to hate to report this to Ra. By the way has he answered your hail? I have not heard from him in five days”.


“Nope he has not answered me either” said Ma’at shaking her head thoughtfully.


As they both watched a second smaller tidal wave came rushing in and smashed what little had survived the first tidal wave.


“I would hate to have this reported to me” said Ra making himself visible to Ma’at and Anubis. “But it was something that no one not even Merwyn could have foreseen”.

Ra was bruised and battered. He had a black eye and a bloody nose from his tumble in the small sail boat that he had been in.


“How did. Why did. Umm I mean how did you get here” said Ma’at stuttering in shock at Ra being present and how he looked.


“I was in a small sail boat that I had propelled here and I kept myself invisible so that I could watch and help if needed. Doing all of that including hiding the wake from the sail boat has left me weakened. I had just enough energy to shield myself and the sail boat from the dam wave. Thankfully my sail boat is above the high water mark” said Ra. “we can get back to our home as there is room for the three of us”.

“What about our warriors” said Ma’at?

“Hail Horus and ask him to send all the trading ships we have that should be enough to get your forces off the beach. How many warriors do you have left” Ra said.


“We have about ten thousand left” said Anubis.


“That’s more than I thought would make it back from the sacking of the city. I was counting on losing half of the twenty thousand possible more” said Ra coldly.


“Where did Merwyn get these extra warriors from” asked Anubis.

“Ahh yes those warriors” said Ra keeping the fact that he had spoken though their oracle and told them that he was Zeus and that he wanted them to attack the city at the same time as it was being attacked from the beach. “I had not counted on Merwyn being here. More than likely his bimbo daughter is safe at their home. It would be a stroke of luck if she was here and had been killed by the earthquake”.


Anubis laughed “yes that would be a stroke of luck”.


Ma’at turned her head and looked towards the warriors that were laying around on the high ground. She walked over to a warrior that was breathing his last. She knelt down kissed his head and whispered into his ear “I gave you mercy and take away the pain”.

The warrior reached for her hand held it and nodded then smiled. As Ma’at took his life in mercy tears dripped down her nose falling on to the dead warriors face.


Merwyn ran up to the ruined hospital and saw Bastet moving huge chucks of broken masonry. “Is she under there” asked Merwyn panic filling his voice.


“Yes” said Bastet. She stood up walked over to Merwyn. “Control yourself or you will be no use to her” and with that she slapped Merwyn hard across the face.

Merwyn stepped back in shock and then smiled “Thank you I needed that” taking a deep breath as he regained control of his emotions he looked at the pile of masonry “How is she”?


“Alive but barely” said Bastet.


“Where is Rabbo” asked Merwyn looking around at the ruins of the hospital.


“He is with her holding the rubble up. They are both pretty weak. Now focus your mind and help me carefully lift the rubble off of them”.

Carefully together they lifted tiles and chucks of masonry away from where Rabbo and Athena lay. Little by little and very carefully Merwyn and Bastet lifted the rubble away until they came to a gray thick shield that Rabbo was using to keep the rubble off Athena and him.


“There is still too much rubble on them for Rabbo to drop the shield” said Bastet to Merwyn.


“I know I know” said Merwyn with panic returning.

“Get a hold of yourself, man” said Bastet.

Merwyn closed his eyes and started to make the rubble that still covered Athena and Rabbo into dust so that it could be brushed away. While it was slower going removing the rubble that way, it was safer for Athena and Rabbo as Rabbo’s shield was getting weaker and weaker as his energy was being drained.

It was dark by the time Merwyn and Bastet had removed the last of the rubble that was covering the almost see though shield that Rabbo was using to shield Athena and himself.

Merwyn knelt down and tapped gentle on the shield to let Rabbo know that he could drop the shield totally as all the rubble had been removed. As the shield faded both Merwyn and Bastet heard Rabbo whisper “I rest now. So very tired am I”.


Both Merwyn and Bastet gasped at the sight of Athena’s broken body. Merwyn was about to reach down and remove the last remaining chuck of masonry that was lying across Athena’s leg.


“Don’t move that. Help Rabbo” said Bastet. “I need to check her whole body before we move her”.


Mischief came hopping over and sat next to Bastet. She closed her eyes and focused on helping Athena breathe as Athena was breathing so shallow that she was not getting enough air into her lungs.

“Good Mischief keep her breathing” said Bastet to the little rabbit.


Bastet closed her eyes and focused on the damage to Athena’s body.


Merwyn looked at Rabbo who was caked in dried blood. Gently he reached down and was about to pick Rabbo up when Rabbo opened his eyes and weakly spoke.

“My back is broken don’t move me. Athena has broken leg, fractured skull, broken back, and broken ribs. I am too weak to heal and help her” Rabbo’s voice was weak and raspy.


Bastet looked at Merwyn “he’s right. She is badly hurt. I will have to stabilize them both before we can move them. Give Rabbo some water to drink. Just dip your finger in water and let him lick off the water”.

“Ok” said Merwyn following Bastet's orders as she turned and started to work on Athena.


Merwyn got up and ran to a pipe that had flowing water spilling out of it. He tasted it first to make sure that the water was clean. Then he looked around and saw a goblet lying on the floor. He filled the goblet with water and walked over and sat down next to Rabbo.

Merwyn dipped his fingers in the water and then rubbed his water soaked fingers across Rabbo’s lips.
Weakly Rabbo licked the moisture off Merwyn’s fingers before opening his eyes again.

“Tank you” said Rabbo his voice sounding less raspy. “More please.” Rabbo licked the water from Merwyn’s fingers again and requested more water.


Merwyn turned his head away so that he could no longer see Rabbo broken bloody body for a moment and noticed behind them a bright white light that was glowing so brightly and growing. Out of the bright white light stepped Pele and Yhva.


“We have come to help” said Pele.


“I have come to repay the sins of my father and grand father” said Yhva as he stooped down next to Bastet who was still working on Athena.


Pele moved over and looked at Rabbo. Pele closed her eyes and focused on Rabbo spine and started to knit and heal the broken spinal discs and the damaged spinal cord.


Yhva linked minds with Bastet and together they started to stabilize Athena.

Author’s Note: This is the last chapter in book two. I hope no one gets to upset how I leave the book. I am going to take a break from the Rabbo tales. But I will be still writing and I have more short stories to publish.

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Click on Mark Crocker for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.