Hestor’s Friends

Captain Evan Prince smiled as he read the message from Talia on his wall.  She was waiting for him back in the states and she said she needed him.  He was sure she did, most women needed a man like him.  She had turned him on the first time he saw her working in the coffee bar.  Not like that hag Hestor, his wife.  He flipped over to her Facebook page and the smile left his face.  All those posts from her Wicca friends, their dancing and belief in the Goddess distressed him.  She didn't need him the way that Talia did.  She had certainly fooled him before they married. 

He was almost finished with his first tour of duty in Afghanistan.  Add that to the two tours in Iraq and the leadership training at Fort Hood, where he met Talia, and he was ready for promotion.  That caused him think of Hestor again.  She wasn't the kind of wife an up and coming young army officer needed to advance his career.  Her off the wall ideas, hippy clothes and rejection of authority was not good for his career.  She had made him to go through anger management after his first combat tour and that didn’t help his career.  He began to feel enraged just thinking about that. Talia on the other hand, was young, beautiful and he could train her to be the kind of partner he needed.  Besides the two children Talia had conceived after one encounter, Sunny and Luna, were something Hestor refused to give him. He looked forward to taking Talia and the children to his father for his approval.  The General had disapproved of Hestor, she was too intelligent and independent he told Evan.  Besides, she wouldn't stop taking her birth control pills, even after six years of marriage.  She had some foolish notion that she should control the size of their family.  Not much longer now and he would take care of her and marry Talia and become the family man the Army looked to promote and his father would embrace.  

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Hestor was frowning as she read Evan's latest post.  He was such a jerk.  He had sure fooled her.  They met in college, Evan was the good looking jock all the girls in the dorm wanted.  He was handsome, intelligent and he made each women feel like she were a princess.    She decided she would be the girl in the dorm to win his love.  Whenever Hestor decided she wanted to something she worked hard to make it happen.  She had studied sexuality and the art of flirtation just like she did physics and she had wowed him with what she had learned.  What an idiot she had been.   All those hours of reading women’s magazines, learning what would make him desire her.  The hours in front of the mirror putting on makeup.  All that money purchasing expensive perfumes and sexy clothes.  It was all a waste of time, she should have been learning what to look for in a man.  Evan wasn't worth the time she had spent wooing him. He was just a spoiled child from an affluent family.   After they were married he began giving her orders like she was a soldier under his command.  Before she had a chance to regain her balance and figure out how to get away from him, they had been transferred to Germany.  Now she was stuck far from home waiting for Evan while he went back and forth between training in the states and combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.  

She wouldn’t be stuck for long, she had developed a network of friends on Facebook who would back her up and help her as she figured out the best way to leave Evan.  Most of her Facebook friends were Wiccan.  She had first heard of them in college as she searched to replace her waning Christian beliefs.  Once they were in Germany she shunned the tourists areas and explored the back streets.  There she found art galleries, antique stores and magic shops.  She became friends with women who ran these shops and they introduced her to the Goddess and others interested in preserving the earth.  These bonds had grown over the years in Germany and she was now in touch with Wiccan all over the world via Facebook.    She felt sure she could handle Evan now that she had a supportive community behind her.  His misogynist patriarchal ways were about to end, at least there were no children to complicate the future.

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Talia was unhappy, all the messages she received from Evan were about him and his plans.  He had seemed perfect when they first met.  She had come from a close family and had been home schooled to keep her from the undesirable elements in public schools.  It had worked, she knew almost nothing about relationships.  She had been working at the Starbucks in the Base Exchange when she had first seen him.  He had noticed her looking at him and flashed an irresistible smile at her.  He came over and ordered a latte, watching her closely while she prepared it then rang it up.  When she looked up from the cash register it was as if she had just awakened.  Here was a beautiful man giving her an unmistakable signal with his bright blue eyes.  She blushed when he she heard his deep voice ask “Are you free after work.”  Now she had two more mouths to feed and an absent father with no legal obligations to her children.

She looked at her Facebook page and saw a friend suggestion, Hestor Prince was connected with one person she knew.  “It must be a relative of Evan’s” she thought.  “Maybe his sister or a cousin.”  She clicked asking to be friends, shut down her computer and went to check on Sunny and Luna.

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Hestor stared at the picture of her new Facebook friend’s pictures of her and the two babies.  Talia wanted to know how she knew Evan, Hestor wanted to know how this young woman knew Evan.  She sent off a message to Talia’s wall.   I am Evan’s wife, how do you know him?

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Hestor’s computer beeped letting her know she had received an email.  She put down the book she was reading, went to the computer and clicked on a new message from Evan.

Hestor,

I will be leaving Afghanistan in about a month and want you to know I am going to take my leave in Kentucky.  Once I return to Germany I plan to divorce you.  Our marriage is doing me no good and you have become impossible to live with.  I expect you to sign the papers I bring back from the states without any complaint so we can settle our separation amicably.




Before Hestor had time to react her computer beeped again telling her that she had another email.  She looked at her inbox and saw it was from Talia.

Hi Hestor,

I do not understand.  Evan never told me he was married.  He told me I was the only woman for him and I believed him.  I have to believe him because he is all I have.  I was a virgin before my first date with Evan but he convinced me that once I did it with him I would love it so much I would want to do it over and over.  I am ashamed to say he was right, now I want to do it all the time.  But, he is gone and I now have two children from doing it.  I disappointed my parents who have abandoned me and I don’t make enough money to support two children.  Evan is stingy with money and only talks about himself and doesn’t listen to me.  He keeps saying everything will be alright when he returns from Afghanistan, but I am in trouble now with my bills.  Now I find out he has a wife in Germany.  I don’t know what to do, maybe God needs me and the babies to join him.

Hestor was stunned, she closed her eyes and dug deep into her heart to find help.  Her Wiccan beliefs were strong and allowed her to view the situation from the perspective of the Goddess.  The Goddess wasn’t forgiving but she was loving.  Hestor decided Evan had to pay because now there were children involved.  She sat down on the couch and began to think.

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The next day Evan received a Facebook message on his wall, I await your return and will be ready for you. Hestor

That same day Talia received a message on her wall, Please, give me a call, we need to discuss our mutual Facebook friend.  Dial 011-49-9825-296-5001.  Give those babies a hug from me, I hope to meet them soon. Hestor

Friends from the Wiccan community around Ft. Campbell also received a message on their walls,   I am in need of support as I leave a man who has violated the rules of love.  Hestor

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Evan was eagerly anticipating his reunion with Talia as the plane circled Nashville.  He had sent her his itinerary and told her to be ready for him because he was one horny soldier.       Once the plane landed it was only 45 minutes to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky and the fulfillment of his carnal desires.  Talia was so hot, he knew when he picked her up for their first date that he would have his way with this woman that so excited him.  He felt this relationship was one he could control, Talia was young and easily impressed and he could teach her to be a good military wife.  He would deal with Hestor once he had Talia secured in his life.   

After the plane docked with the airport he hurried to the luggage rack, retrieved his bag and went to pick up his rental car.  All the people scurrying around the airport reminded him of the craziness in Baghdad and Kabul.  They had no idea how what it was like to be a warrior.  He felt the bile rising in his throat as he thought about the sacrifices he had made for America, sacrifices these people could never understand.  He began to count to ten just like the psychiatrist had taught him to do when he felt his anger rising.  Once he was calm he found his car and headed down I-24, speeding to the happiness he deserved.

He drove his car into the driveway of Talia’s house  and surveyed the neighborhood, taking note of his environment as if he were still in a combat zone.  When he felt safe he opened the car door, walked up to the door and rang the bell.  He did not wait long as Talia opened the door while the chime was still vibrating.  She looked at Evan without smiling.  “Honey, here I am.” he said, as he grabbed her and held her to him tightly.  He began kissing her lips but soon realized she was not kissing back.  He pulled his head away from hers and looking into her dark eyes saw that she was staring at him dispassionately.  “What is going on?” he said.  I’ve been gone for nine months and this is the reception I get?  I’ve come here because of you baby, and I’m going to turn you on whether you want me to or not.”

Talia pulled away from his embrace and said, “Is that what you called the rape on our first date, turning me on?”

“You loved it, I showed you how to make love and you know you needed it” He replied.  “What’s the matter, I thought you needed me?”

“I needed you, I needed you to support me and the babies, I needed you to be honest with me, I needed you to be tender and understand me.  I had a little girl’s fantasy and I thought you could give it to me.”

“I understand you, you’re like all women, you need a man like me to show you what’s important and show you what life is about.”  Evan was puzzled, when he left her behind she had been more compliant and less sure of herself.  He was going to have to teach her how a woman greets her man when he returns from war.  

“I’ve learned some things about life on my own since you left.  I understand now that I don’t need a man to fulfill me.  I am not a princess, but a young woman with two children whose father doesn’t care about them and pays no attention to what I say, or write to him.”

“But I do care, I want you and them to be part of my life.  You and the children can help me rise in the ranks of the army and I will give you whatever you want and I know you will keep me satisfied.  It’s just that I can’t marry you yet, but I’ll be transferred out of Germany soon and then we can be together.  I’ll make your fantasy come true, just look at me” he said as he flashed his irresistible smile at her.

There was a knock on the door and Evan heard a sound he didn’t want to hear.  It was the trilling of women ready to dance.  Hestor and her friends Germany made that sound as they danced in circles to the beat of their drums.  Talia opened the front door and his worst fears were realized.  There was a gaggle of women in their long skirts with shawls over their shoulders busily entering the house while cackling and gabbing.  There was Talia hugging each one as they entered and then he realized the woman she was hugging was Hestor, who was holding one of his babies.

Hestor looked directly at Evan and before he could register his displeasure and said, “Hello Captain, we are all reporting here for duty.  We feel it is our duty to help Talia to find happiness, and you might as well know we do not think it is with you.”

Evan began to splutter, “You witch, how dare you!”  He was incensed and his anger management program was quickly fading from his consciousness.  Somehow this witch who was his wife had entered this part of his life turning his dreams into rain.   He began to yell, “Talia, Talia, you need me.”

Talia watched him dissemble and said, “No I don’t Evan, you don’t need a woman, you need a servant.  Hestor has taught me that I am not a servant, I am a complete woman who deserves to be treated with respect.  I don’t think you can do that.”

Hestor was holding some papers in front of Evan’s face as the drum began to beat and the women began to dance, trilling their pleasure as Evan backed away from her.  “Here is the divorce you wanted.  It is ready and you are going to share your money.”  Talia smiled as she waved the papers.  “You are going to share you money with me and Talia and Sunny and Luna.”  If you don’t sign these papers we will destroy you.”

Evan’s head jerked up as she uttered these words.  He laughed and said, “And how do plan to destroy me.  I’ll beat the crap out of you before you can touch me” he snarled.  He was so angry he began to move toward Talia before he realized he was surrounded by dancing, trilling women who were dancing around him, wrapping him with colorful ribbons.  He tried to move forward but there were ribbons around his ankles and he could not take a step.  That was when Hestor walked up to him and shoved him to the ground.  “You are not strong enough to overcome our power” she told him.  Then there was a sharp blow on his temple and his mind became a black hole.

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Captain Prince felt horrible as he began to gain consciousness and heard an authoritative voice demand, “Get up soldier!”  As his eyes opened he realized the sun was rising and he felt water dropping on him.  He smelled wet grass and heard the clicking sound of a sprinkler circling around as it dispensed water, and then it dropped on him again.  He was lying on his back and looking up at two Military Police whose faces looked grim but amused.  As he began to rise he realized he was naked and on the lawn of somebody’s house.  “Come on soldier, the general is highly pissed and wants you locked up while he decides what kind of court martial you deserve.”  

“Oh my God,” he thought, “Those bitches brought me to the base and left me here on the commandant’s lawn.”  When he looked down he saw that his penis had been stained purple making it look like it had just voted in Iraq.  His body was covered with the word “pig” in the bright colors of permanent markers.  One of the policemen cuffed him and he was led off the lawn, through the curious onlookers and into the waiting vehicle as the beginning of his destruction began.




Anthony is 13

 

Clenched Fists

        She lay with her fists clenched, stretched and made tiny sounds.  Testing the limits of her abilities, this red new born with a head full of hair and closed eyes was beauty personified to her family.   Unknown to them, her clenched fists was a foreshadowing of her fate.  

        Throughout her childhood she defied all conventions and from an early age had, as her Dad said, “a mind of her own”.  She never accepted anything without questioning its purpose.  When her Dad would tell her to go to bed she would clench her little fist look up defiantly and ask why she had to go to bed, or why she had to eat all her food, or why she could not go outside, why, why, why.  It was the inevitable response to anything she did not want to do.  

        She continued this behavior in school, never accepting the authority of any teacher.  She always wanted to know the reason for everything that she was required to do.  She went through her school years with her fists clenched and a defiant look for anyone who tried to assert their authority over her.  This included her peers as well as adults, she would not meekly acquiesce to anyone’s demands.  She was defiant and often her clenched fist was used as a club to drive away the other kids who demanded her obedience.

        Her defiance was was seen as a sign of strength by her parents and as leadership by her peers.  As she explored the world and learned of the injustices and inhumanity of others she would become angry, clench her fists and wonder how others could be so intimidated by the power that demanded others to bend to their will. 

        In college she joined groups demanding social justice and attended protests against police brutality, hunger, war, higher taxes or any other action that caused her to clench her fists and ask why is it that way.  Her activist life made her happy but she was not fulfilled.  She felt that she needed to do more to help solve the inequities the world presented to her.

        Her family began to worry about her activities.  They warned that her defiance of convention and authority would lead to problems.  She clenched her fists and and told them she would do things her own way and did not need their advice nor their help.  She was dedicated to her activist life and could imagine no other way to live.

        She joined an international aid agency and soon was traveling around the world to some of the most dangerous and depressing places in the world.  She became an organizer helping groups who wanted to obtain justice and equality.  Her primary work was with women seeking civil rights in their homelands.

        That led her to Afghanistan.  In the midst of this war torn country she began working with women who wanted an education.  She soon became known as the woman with clenched fists.  She was adamant in her beliefs and unwavering in her courage to defy anyone who would deny women an education.

        One day as she was working at a school for women, a group of radical religionist entered the school and began beating the women yelling and telling them that God wanted them to cover themselves and serve their husbands, not learn foolish western ideas about mathematics or science.  In the midst of this uproar she entered with her fists clenched and that defiant look on her face.  Telling these men that women had every right to be exactly what they wanted to be.  Her anger and defiance was met with a clenched fist in the middle of her face.  She screamed and attacked the man who had hit her.  Suddenly a shot rang out! When the sound had died away and the smoke had dissipated she lay on the floor with her fists clenched and her heart stopped. 

        The women she had defended quietly surrounded her dead body.  As they viewed her their faces turned red, they stretched their arms to the scarves on their head uncovering their hair, making quiet sounds of anger and grief as they clenched their fists and asked why the world was full of injustice and wondered what they could do to change it.

The War Bride Takes Control

That man drives me crazy, Mary thought.  He says he loves me when I ask and we go out when he’s home, but he never writes me when he is away or tells me about things happening in his life if I don’t ask.  She gazed in the mirror watching as she carefully applied her reddest lipstick.  Rising from the stool in front of the vanity she inspected herself in the mirror.  She hadn’t been the prettiest girl in their high school class three years ago, but she was trim and her smile was captivating.  Her pin curled hair style had perfect victory rolls and even though she didn’t make much as a waitress at the cafe counter in Woolworth’s 5 & 10 Cent Store, she knew how to handle what she made so she could dress in the latest styles. 

She smiled at herself in the mirror then looked down at the photo taken on the day she and Carl graduated from high school.  He looked so handsome and mature in the suit he had borrowed from his brother-in-law for the ceremony.  They looked so perfect together, his crooked smile in the picture made her feel warm inside.  He is not going to get away from me she decided, besides he told me if he had to go into the army we would get married, that sounds like a proposal to me.  I know he loves me even if he can’t tell me himself.

“Mom!” she called as she walked down the narrow staircase inside their green shingled farm house.  She glanced out the window located on the landing at the spot where the stairs turned.  The sun lit the corridor brightly when the sun was up, at night it was dark and spooky in the same space.  She could just make out the new plants in the garden her daddy raised when he wasn’t working in the coal mines.  The rest of the forty acres was covered in corn.  “Mom, where are you?” she called again.

“I’m right here on the back porch.”  She heard through the screen door leading from the kitchen to the porch. She stepped outside and saw her mom pumping water from the well.  Her mom’s heavy body, was backlighted by the rising sun and Mary could see the rows of sprouting corn marching right up to the edge of the narrow yard behind the shadowy figure of her Mom.  It was Saturday morning and that meant her mom and daddy would bathe. Her Daddy first, after he finished her Mom would pour some more boiling water from the kettle on the wood burning stove into the tin tub and wash herself.  Mary always looked forward to Saturday because the house smelled so much better.  She took sponge baths every night but, her Mom and Daddy got a little pungent by the end of the week. 

Country life on this small farm three miles outside Illinois’ capitol wasn’t what she had in mind for her future.  That, she thought to herself, was part of the reason she wanted to marry Carl.  He was so smart, going to college on a scholarship, studying chemistry and he had signed up to become an officer in the Army Air Corps.  She just knew their life would be happier than her parent’s had been.  That is if he would show a little more interest in getting married.  Carl tended to put off today until tomorrow anything having to do with their relationship.  He had never asked her to a dance in high school until she had asked him if he was going to ask her.

“What do I have to do to get married?” she asked her mom.  “Carl’s sister says he has been called to active service in the Air Corps and will be leaving for training a the end of the spring semester.  That’s only two months away.”

“I don’t know Mary Elizabeth, why would you want to get married anyway, men only want one thing, you know.  Carl is okay but he is a man.”  Pansy replied in a flat emotionless tone.  

“I know Daddy’s been hard on you, and me for that matter, but Carl isn’t like that, he doesn’t have a mean bone in his whole body.  He’ll make me happy.”  Mary Elizabeth answered defensively.

“Help me carry in this water,” Pansy said as she stooped over and grabbed one handle on the tub of cold water.  Mary reached down and grabbed the other handle. They lifted up the heavy bath water and carried it into the kitchen, setting it next to the stove where there were already kettles of water sending out puffs of steam signaling they were almost ready to boil.

“Who is getting married?” said a quiet voice at kitchen door leading to the living room.  

“Grandma, what are doing out of bed?  I thought you were sick.”  Mary told her short, white-haired step-grandma.

“No, I’m okay, I need to move around a little, I can’t stand laying in bed when there is so much work to do.”

Mary looked at her Grandma and saw that she was pale and her eyes lacked the gutsy spark that she loved so much.  “Okay, you walk around, but you don’t need to be doing any work.” 

“Phooey, I been working my whole life, I can’t stop now.” Grandma said as she looked at the pile of dishes on the counter from last night’s meal.  “Did Carl ask you to get hitched?” She inquired.

“No, well sort of, you know he doesn’t really express himself, but I know he loves me and Marg says he has been activated and he said we would get married if he got called up.   I certainly don’t want him going off to those French girls without a ring on his finger.”   

“Mary Elizabeth, put some more water on the stove and stoke the fire a bit while I go to the outhouse.”  Pansy ordered as she walked out the back door. Mary began filling more kettles with water and placing them on the stove while her Grandma continued speaking.

“Lord, Lord I remember when your Uncle Pearl was sent off to the great war.  Those people over there are always needing our young men to die for them.  That was a terrible time and now Carl has to go.  No telling what will happen to him.  You better marry him while you can or some French girl will grab him.”  Grandma told Mary.

Mary’s mouth turned down and she looked at the floor as she considered what her Grandma told her.  “I think I have a plan to do just that.” She mumbled as the kettles on the stove began to whistle.

The screen door opened as Pansy walked to the stove, picked up a kettle and began adding boiling water to the tub she and Mary had just brought into the house.  “Chester your bath is ready.” She called.  “Chester can you hear me!” she yelled to her husband.

“I’m coming woman, stop your caterwauling!”  a throaty voice answered from another part of the house.

“Your Daddy won’t be happy about you wanting to marry Carl.  You know he don’t like him much.  He and Carl’s pop never did get along.  Them Bullocks are always putting on airs but they ain’t nothing but dirt farmers without a farm.” Pansy told Mary.

“That’s right.” Grandma added, “Remember Chester and Carl going at it last year when he dropped you off after the dance?  Chester thinks all the Bullocks are lazy and shiftless.  Carl’s dad ain’t worked a day in his life, I bet.  He’s always to sick and his wife is always yelling at all those kids, making them work, carrying papers and taking care of yards.  I don’t think they would be able to eat if there weren’t eight kids in that house that all began working when they can carry a newspaper bag.”

“I don’t care what Daddy thinks I’m a grown woman, I make my own decisions and Daddy can go to hell as far as I’m concerned.”  Mary said vehemently as she remembered childhood beatings from her alcohol crazed Dad.  What right does he have to judge anybody?  If it weren’t for her Grandma and mom she would have moved out of the house long ago, but they needed someone to keep the old man from taking his anger out on them and she wasn’t afraid to stand up to him and tell him what she thought.  She planned to move her Grandma out when she moved out, but she knew her Mom would never stop being a victim because she didn’t think she could live without Chester. She was an old fashioned woman who thought she needed a man to take care of her.  Chester could barely take care of himself, besides this was 1943 and women were learning how to take care of themselves working in factories and wherever else the men had  worked before so many had been shipped of to fight the Nazis.

Chester entered the room, his fat belly preceded him through door, hanging over the top his underpants and jiggling from side to side as he waddled toward the tub.  He looked at the women in his life in silence, glaring at each one before pulling down his shorts.  He stepped into the tub, farted and squatted down in the hot water.  “Wash my back Pansy.” He said as she took the soap from his uplifted hand.

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Later that day as she walked down Oak Street, bound for Carl’s house to talk to his brother, she finalized her plan.  She had hitched a ride into to town with her neighbor, Earl, in his brand new green 1941 Ford One Ton Express pick up truck.  She sure hoped she and Carl would be able to afford a new car someday, new things smelled so nice.  Earl dropped her off at the library telling her he would pick her up in exactly two hours.  At the library she discovered that all she needed to do was show up at the justice of the peace with a consenting Carl.  They could get married after filling out some papers and paying a small fee.  That was all she needed to know to begin her ambush.

She was pensive as she approached the picket fence surrounding the front yard of the Bullock’s small house.  Her plan really depended on Carl’s brother Vern and he wasn’t always ready to be helpful.  As she opened the gate she looked at the front porch and saw him sitting on the porch swing, slowly moving back and forth.  His head had fallen forward on his chest, his usual position when he was sitting on the porch swing.  Vern said he liked to sit there and think, but Mary knew he was asleep.

“Vern, wake up!” She called and was gratified to see Vernon’s body jump, startled by her voice.

“Hey, Mary, what you doing here, Carl isn’t home this weekend, I don’t think he’ll be here for a couple of weeks.” Vernon tells her.

“Thats okay, I want to talk to you.”

Vern’s eyes narrowed and he asked, “What for?”

“I need your help Vern.  Marg told me yesterday that Carl has been called up and I want you to take me to Macomb in your dad’s car.”

“Why do you want to do that?”  Vern asked, “I’m not sure dad will lend me the car, there ain’t much money for gas anyway.  Besides, does Carl know you’re coming?”  

“Look Vern, I’m going to take Carl to the justice of the peace and we are going to get married.  He isn’t going off to the army before that happens.”

“I don’t know Mary, I don’t want to do anything like that.  Carl will ask you someday and then you will get married.”  

“You know Carl and I have been dating since we were sixteen. He loves me and I love him.  Who else is he going to marry?  Besides he might never ask me and he’ll go off to war and maybe never come back.  I couldn’t stand for that to happen to us, but I could stand it better if we were married.  Besides, do you want him to meet some foreign girl and bring her home?  Any way he almost proposed already, he just needs to be pushed a little to remember that.”  She finished and smiled at Vern.

“I believe he loves you Mary, I just don’t want him to be mad at me, but I sure don’t want no foreign sister-in-law.”

“He won’t be mad Vern, after we are married he will be very happy.”  Mary replied sweetly.  “Besides I’ll give you $5.00 to take me to Macomb.”

“Okay, Mary, I’ll borrow a friends car though, I don’t think Dad’s carburetor is working right, but you have to pay for the gas too.  When do you want to go”

“Great, I’ll be here at 8:00 am on Monday morning, Carl only has morning classes on Mondays and I don’t have to work until Tuesday afternoon.  We can get there in plenty of time to go to the justice of the peace in the afternoon then you can stay in Carl’s room that night while we go to a motel and we’ll come back on Tuesday morning.”  She explained to Butch.  And I will make Carl very glad he married me and we will start a whole new life somewhere besides Springfield she thought to herself. 

“Don’t forget,” She told Vernon as she patted him on the cheek, spun around and said over her shoulder, “Eight sharp.”

“Right.” He answered as he watched her walk away.  Carl is in for the surprise of his life, he thought as his head fell forward and his eyes closed.

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At noon on Monday the car pulled up in front of Carl’s house in Macomb and Vern honked the horn of the 1940 Chevrolet Special Deluxe 2 door convertible coupe he had borrowed from his friend.  The noisy passengers called out for Carl to come to the door.  Mary sat quietly as she contemplated her next move.  She was glad that Carl’s younger sister Marg, her boyfriend and Carl’s older sister, her husband and their young son Dick had joined the expedition to Macomb with her and her best friend Ruthe.  They were all excited about the wedding, now she hoped Carl would be just as excited.  

Carl came to the door, his hair disheveled and his corduroy slacks and a checkered flannel shirt were wrinkled like he had never ironed them.  He smiled and waved to his family and Mary.  “What the heck are you guys doing here on Monday?” He asked after Vern shut off the engine.  Before anyone could reply Carl’s roommates, Freddy, Harry and Wayne followed each other out the door and stood behind Carl wondering what was going on.

Vernon said, “You better ask Mary.”

Everyone became quiet as Mary opened the door and went to stand in front of Carl.  She looked in his eyes and saw that there was a glint of amusement accompanying the crooked smile she loved so much.  This is going to work she thought, he probably expected me to make the first move anyway.

“Carl, we’ve come for a wedding.” 

“Carl’s smile widened as he asked her, “Who do you know in Macomb getting married?”  

“You” Mary whispered, as she looked up and peered into Carl’s blue eyes where saw the look of amusement change to a look of surprise.

“Mine, what do you mean?”

“Carl, you boys are going to get cleaned up and all of us are going to the justice of the peace where you and I are getting married.  If you remember you said we would get married if you had to go into the army and I hear they’ve called you up.”

“I guess I did promise that.”  Carl remembered.  “It’s just that I expected this happen just before I left.  You caught me too quickly Miss Howard.”  Carl laughed as he looked at Mary and took her small hands in his callused hands and stared into her eyes. “I guess I better make sure you really want to do this.”

“You want to make sure I want to do this?”  Mary said the surprise was in her voice now.  “Why do you think I gathered all this people up and traveled for two hours in this crowded car?”

“Take it easy, you sure get riled up easy.  Just be quiet for a minute.”  Carl looked at Mary as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box.  “Okay, here goes.”  He knelt in front of Mary, opening the box while he spoke. “Mary Elizabeth Howard, will you marry me?”  As he finished speaking the box was open and there gleaming in the sun was an engagement ring, with a very small diamond.  “He looked up at Mary expectantly and said, “It isn’t a big one now, but someday we will buy you the one you want.”  

Mary’s mouth was open but no words were coming out.  She reached for the ring and taking out of the box she placed it on her finger.  Carl stood up and Mary put her arms around his waist and pulled him forward.  He bent his neck and his lips found hers.  When they had finished kissing Mary finally spoke.  “I will, Carl, I will marry you and love you forever.”  

Carl smiled and said, for the first time, “I love you too.”

Mary realized that her plan had worked even better than she hoped, for it appeared Carl already had plan for her.  She turned to her friends in the car and held up her hand displaying the ring on her finger.  “Hallelujah,” she giggled the onlookers cheered for her and Carl.  Some bottles of champagne appeared from within the house and they all toasted Carl and Liz.  Then they all began talking and planning the rest of the day as they moved into the house to celebrate the engagement.  Four hours later they were back in the house celebrating the wedding.  That night Mary Elizabeth Bullock made sure Carl Henry Bullock would remember that day with joy.

Chaco Canyon Culture

Whispers of ghosts 

accompany us as 

we walk through

their sun baked ruins. 

They watch as we 

look for traces

of early New Mexicans

who exchanged turquoise

frogs for golden rings and

other valuable things 

with people from 

far  away places. 

It is here they prayed

to honor  their gods In 

kivas deep and round

which abound in this mud

bricked town where

rituals and ceremonies

helped them understand 

the ancient ones who 

came up from deep 

underground.

Here is where they fell in love

with black velvet skies filled with 

jewels that twinkled their minds 

with curiosity about time as

they measured it's movement

With such precision we think 

they must have been aliens.

We look at their past 

from our throne in the now 

seeking a future for humans

while the ghosts observe

and wonder if we too 

can learn to balance our 

pursuit of gold, god and glory.

The Maicao Mall

 The Maicao Mall

The best part of Maicao was the Islamic part of town.  It was clean and people were friendly and helpful.  The worst part of Maicao was the craft market, an area in the middle of town, covered by a variety of large multicolored tents held up by rough wooden poles connecting ramshackle tin roofed establishments creating a crammed maze of dark narrow passages separating clusters of vendors.  The heady odor of food, excrement, dead animals, and the hundreds of people selling and buying goods was not conducive to shopping, but there were not many choices in that part of the world.  The dirt streets surrounding this covered square block caused dust to permeate the air when it was dry. During the rainy seasons the streets were like rivers of deep dark stinking mud that made the streets impassable to pedestrians.  Little boys carried planks around town to help shoppers cross the streets without stepping in the mud.  Thankfully the narrow concrete sidewalks were mud free and fairly ubiquitous, carrying people to the narrow colorful tiendas guarded by serious men holding shotguns.  This was our mall where we bought the household items, imported foods and cigarettes that made our lives in the gray metal house at the Cerrejon coal mine more comfortable.  The mine was over an hour away on the bus and was located on the south edge of a jungle.

We were in front of the International Hotel, all five members of our family, looking around the narrow street trying to find our bus.  The bus with the armed guards who protected us on the ride through the wilderness to and from Maicao.  They were also a reminder that the the huge open pit coal mine where we taught the children of the engineers and administrators, was an important financial presence in Maicao.   Our employers paid royalties to the local government so that the the mine’s employees had a kind of immunity from the harsh life of the town during the day.  We had been told by our Colombian neighbors, “Do not get caught on the streets of Maicao after dark.”  We even knew people who had been pulled form their cars, robbed and left helpless right in the middle of town during daylight. Without the bus and its armed guards we were beginning to feel a little panicked.  We were a remarkably visible foreign presence in the midst the dark natives who saw foreigners as easy pickings.  

It had actually been a pleasant day wandering around town, eating in the Islamic section,  buying items we wanted to take back to camp to make our life a little more comfortable; clothes, electronics, candies, liquor, cigarettes.  We had visited the Wayouu craft tents where we had wandered around disoriented and that was why we missed the bus.   Maicao had begun in 1927 as a stronghold keep the Wayouu people under control.  That hadn’t worked well and now the town was a crossroads for “black market” imports.  Situated on the Venezuelan border and only an hour away from the deserted beaches of the northern coast on the Caribbean.  To the east are the Sierra Nevada mountains, an important pot growing region and from the south, out of the jungle, there is a flow of marijuana and cocaine.  Maicao was given special tax status so there is no import fee for raw materials, but this turned into a free flow of goods from outside Colombia and sold without the crippling taxes you would pay elsewhere.  Drugs and the black market combined with the war against FARC, Wayouu unwillingness to be Colombians, the harsh terrain, and the humid climate made Maicao a place ripe for tough hombres, and we were not those hombres as we stood in front of the hotel and tried to figure out what to do.

     

We began to feel that our space on the sidewalk was not secure.  Scott, our youngest son, was bumped by some young boys running down the sidewalk.  Our daughter, Heather, thought that maybe we should stay at the hotel.  Jeremy, our middle schooler, did not want to stay in Maicao preferring to find the city bus station and pay for a bus to get back to camp.  Although we were not sure where the bus station was located, LaWanda and I decided that was probably the best idea as we noticed the appraising looks we were getting from the many pedestrians while the sun continued it’s descent and the light began to dim. 

So, I asked someone for directions in my heavily accented Spanish.  This drew a group of men who menacingly watched while we attempted to get directions.  After we figured out what was being said, we took off at a brisk pace to distance ourselves from the group of men. The people on the sidewalk did not smile and wish us a good day.  They bumped into us as we hurried along and maybe attempts were made to pick our pockets, but we were moving too quickly for anyone to be effective.  We just kept walking faster and faster, hoping we would get to the bus station before the last government bus took off for the jungle.  We felt as if the whole town was watching our flight through the streets of Maicao.  

   

Finally, after an unnerving walk through town, we found the bus station.  We were so anxious to get off the street that we almost ran the last fifty yards.  Once we were inside the station there was a sense of relief and the unhurried pace of life in Colombia returned.  There were people sitting around waiting for buses who didn’t even look up as we entered.  We approached the ticket counter, requested five tickets for Cerrejon and were told the bus would leave in half and hour.  When we crawled aboard the brightly painted bus we were greeted by a sign telling us that Jesus wished us a good trip.  Our bus trip was uneventful and our imaginations settled down as the bus took us back to our metal house with the bright red carpet on the edge of the jungle where we felt safer and a little more comfortable with the things we had bought in Maicao.

The Princess of the Pond: An American Fairy Tale

 

       She was watching him carefully, her green body suspended in the water.  Her eyes were barely visible on the water line while her legs were extended and her webbed feet were inches above the bottom of the pond.  She had noticed him before and wondered why he made her feel the way he did.  He was a human after all and she saw plenty of humans as they searched for their lost balls in her pond.  But, this was the first one that interested her.  Maybe he was the one she was waiting for.  She had been told stories by the ancient toads of mysterious beginnings and omens portending her greatness.  She was the Princess of the pond, but the stories hinted at more. She was impatient to begin her life and this boy felt as if he might be part of it. 

        He stomped about the pond angrily searching for his special golf ball imbedded with gold leaf.  He had hooked his shot on the 7th tee and watched his ball sail into the pond next to the dark forest surrounding the golf course.  He was angry because this ball had been given to him just last week by his father.  His father wanted to reward his son’s dedication to golf (actually, to anything and since golf was the only thing, it had to do) and he had this ball made especially for his son’s sixteenth birthday.  He had won his first tournament the day after his birthday with the ball,  a truly unusual gift.  Unusual was important to him because the usual was so common and he deplored the commonplace.

Deep and dark inside of me

ready to discover

what I’m meant to be?

I wonder, wonder, wonder.

        She was motionless as he approached the spot where his ball was buried in the mud at the bottom of the pond.  He took his club and began to probe for the ball.  She moved toward him, when he noticed her approach, he spoke to her, “Hey puddle splasher, do you know where my ball is?”  

        She surprised them both when she replied, “Oh human one, I know well where it is, but what will you give me for your orb of gold?”

        They looked at one another with wonder, until the boy recovered his composure and said, “Get me my ball and I will take you to live at my father’s mansion where you shall want for nothing.”  He looked at her and waited for her reply thinking to himself, what beautiful legs, they look delicious.

        Her mother emerged from the woods and hopped up to his golf bag. 

     “Daughter dear, remember the promise of your greatness,  humans only destroy and if you go with him you will be destroyed, just like your father, killed by a golf ball at the hands of the uncaring humans.  I beg you to stay and be patient with your life.”

        “Mother, Mother I will go, you can not stop me now or ever, for I know my mind and have been promised that I will want for nothing.  Is that not what has been foretold for me, to want for nothing, to live as a queen.  Is that not what you are, the Queen.” replied her daughter.

        Staring into her daughters eyes the Queen spoke softly, “Indeed daughter of mine, promises have been made, a future has been foretold, and I am Queen of that which I know.  Go if you must, but the magic you possess is powerful and I know there will be a test.”

        “Hey, what are you two blabbing about, are you going to get my ball or do I have to go hire a backhoe and dig it out myself?” whined the young man while he swung his club in preparation for the next hole.  “If you are going with me get my ball and hop in the pocket of my bag so I can finish this round before dark.”

Get his ball and hop into the pocket she did, ready to begin a life of extravagance and joy.

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

        She soon discovered she had been deceived.  The boy’s idea of wanting for nothing was to give her all the flies she could eat.  He would bring bag after bag of dried flies, she remembered the fresh taste of flies on her tongue as she captured them at her mother’s pond.  She was trapped by her own decision.  This was not a place of joy,  she was so unhappy that she stopped talking to the boy.  He became angry and stopped visiting her at the pond in the mansion’s north wing on the second floor. There was plenty to do in her extravagantly furnished room where the pond was located, but she was alone and sat all day at the window staring at the world she missed.

        One day, after a long absence, the boy came to her room.  He looked at her and said, “Puddle splasher, I think I am ready to eat you.  You have stopped talking and that was the most uncommon thing about you.  Now the most uncommon thing is your big fat legs.  Tonight I am going to have them for dinner.”  

        When she heard these words she became angry.  Truly angry for the first time in her life.  Until now she had thought things would get better, but now she realized what a stupid little princess she had been and was angry at herself for not listening to her mother.  She was so angry smoke began to come out of her ears. She felt like she was being boiled.  Her body changed from green to red.  As she gazed at the boy she spoke these dark words from deep within her. 

“You silly fool, 

I am not here for you to eat,

but to find out what makes me great,

I know now that what I want 

is for you to become as me 

and learn to hop.”  

        As soon as she uttered the curse, the boy became a big, dark green, handsome bull frog sitting next to her on the floor.  She quickly hopped out the open door and he followed, out of the house, across the lawn, and eventually they arrived at her mother’s pond.  There was her Mother sitting on a lilly pad in the middle of the pond.  Next to her were the ancient toads and all the frogs of the pond watching as the two newcomers approached.  When the toads realized who it was, they began to sing.

  

“Hail O Princess, 

Hail to thee, 

Welcome Home, 

What is it you will be?”

        The princess and the new frog jumped into the water and swam to the lilly pad next to the Queen.  

The princess announced to all, 

I have returned and plan to stay,  

for this is where my greatness lay, 

not in the human world, 

for sure that is a terrible place to stay. 

The magic in me is becoming strong and 

I have brought a human who is now a frog  

She realized there was much to learn about how to handle her magic, but right now she had a lot to teach this new frog who would become the King when her mother retired and they became the rulers of the pond.  

               The new frog sat on his lilly pad and thought to himself, “This is truly unusual.”  He sighed and jumped into the water to test his webbed feet wondering to himself, “If I eat frog’s legs, am I a cannibal?  

               As far as I know, they are still there to this day, living a life of extravagance and joy together.