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Post by 9idrr on Oct 9, 2021 20:34:41 GMT -6
Yeah, yeah, sure. And that empty bottle of rum that you guys left floatin' in the vicinity has whose fingerprints on it?
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Post by willc453 on Oct 9, 2021 22:54:12 GMT -6
Not mine.....which is why that sub hit us. Whoever was driving that boat was drunk! And of course, that bottle got tossed overboard once they reached the surface, along with a many good others, no doubt. Everyone KNOWS how them swabbies drink when in port.
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Post by willc453 on Oct 14, 2022 9:54:28 GMT -6
The Affected: Tale Of Two Brothers Chapter 53
Shortly after the War Between The States ended, President Lincoln was murdered by John Wilkes Booth with the news sending shock waves thru out the nation, both north and south. And while many southerners REALLY disliked or simply hated him, none wanted him dead in such a cowardly attack. Only been to four Presidential funerals: Washington's, Lincoln's, FDR's and Kennedy's. It had been about a year since I'd seen Abraham, so jumped back time wise a few days before he was killed. Thing is, back then you could simply walk up to the White House and there was a good chance of meeting him, provided he wasn't in a meeting. If so, you'd cool your heels but eventually you'd see him. Talked with his secretary and when asked who I was, I replied to please inform the President that a scruffy, shabby, never do well looking, layabout wanted a few minutes of his time. Well, the secretary looked dubious but did as I asked. He enters President Lincolns office and within a minute, I hear Abrahams booming laugh and here he comes with those LONG strides of his and a big smile on his face. He asked how long I'd be in town and when I said just for the day, he told his secretary to cancel ALL his appointments for the rest of the day which made those who had hoped to see him, unhappy. He was quite happy to leave the White House and go to a place I knew of because it was not only THE place to eat, but talk business and later, how the war was going. Yes, I had started it and before the War Between The States started, I sold it for a good profit. We ordered and while waiting for our food, started telling Abraham jokes, you know, old ones to me but for him they were all new ones. When our food arrived, we got busy eating and afterwards, he asked what I'd been up to. Now at that time, I'd just finished a tour in that town in Colorado, so wasn't about to tell him about that because the silver and gold there hadn't been discovered yet. However, having been a doctor and photographer, I told him how the Union soldiers had been treated by the Confederates at Andersonville. He wasn't happy about hearing this but as he said, I always told him the truth and didn't sugarcoat anything. Then he started telling me his plans for the south and believe me, if he'd been able to follow thru on them, the south and I believe the history of the U.S. would of been a lot different. Instead of trying to gouge the southern states for the expenses born by the Union, they would get loans from the government to rebuild their cities, rail system, etc. Too many had died on both sides and in attempting to extract revenge on the southerners, it would only divide the country even more. He told me about the government giving the freed slaves the option of having some mules, wagon and supplies so they could move west if they wanted to. Told him I'd heard of that and it was a great idea. The former slaves could now move west and claim their own places to farm. They'd be better off moving to some place new so they could start new lives, giving their children and future generations the chance to better themselves. That while many former slaves were headed north, others were going to remain in the south, working as share croppers for their former masters, all but slaves in name, with others heading west. I'm sure some of those moving wouldn't mind some help going into unfamiliar territory with me guiding them.
After lunch, we just walked around D.C. and we talked about different things. EVERY person we saw immediately recognized him, telling him how glad they were that the war was over. On the way back to the White House, he tells me of his dream of where he's been shot and dying with a lot of people around his bed. Now I'd heard of this story back before being Affected and Abraham.....he looked really, really sad as he told me. Now what the h*ll do you say to someone about this. Sure as sh*t, it's NOT the truth. It didn't bother me one bit lying to him this time. Told him sometimes you think a dream or dreams are portents or a way of telling you the future. In this case, I think you got it all wrong about being shot and killed. He looked down upon me, asking what did it mean then? I said you and our nation have gone thru many trials and tribulations, but with your plan of reconstruction, the nation will heal itself, becoming stronger than it was before. He protested, saying what does my reconstruction plan have to do with me being shot and dying? I said you're not thinking things thru of what you're going to do AFTER your second term in office is over have you? He looked shocked, saying he'd never thought about running for a third time, especially since he'd just been reelected. That's when I said your mind is telling you that you've had enough and you don't want to run for a third term. I mean, you've got FOUR years to implement your reconstruction plan which once started, you should have NO trouble healing the wounds of our nation. At which time, you're going to want to retire from politics at least for a little while. I said let me be blunt Abraham......your face has more wrinkles in it than these streets have ruts in them after it rains. He stared at me and started laughing. I then said as to those who are around your body, they're mourners all right.....they're mourning you won't run for a third term, I bet Mary wasn't one of them, right? He admitted to not remembering Mary being there and I said of course not. In another part of the dream that you may not remember, she's busy packing everything up and darn glad to be heading back to Illinois. He smiled at that thought and being freed of being President with his reconstruction plan being implemented. To have a regular job without the stress, going home where Mary and his family would be waiting. When we got to the White House, told him this was where we part our ways and he asked what I was going to do or go. I said the west is a big, wide open bit of country and I was thinking of exploring. Maybe even see if some of the blacks would like to have a white man going with them, with me taking photographs of those families and individuals during our journey together to their new land. Abraham stopped, turned to face me and said I was like a force of nature because he never knew what I'd say or do next. But instead of being a destructive force, I seemed to put things I order in ways he hadn't thought of and now his mind was at ease about his dream. I said just make sure Mary doesn't know about me showing up. I know you love her like the dickens but when my name's mentioned.... He laughed again and I said maybe after you not being President, maybe you can sneak down to wherever the blacks find a home. I'm sure they'd welcome you BUT remember what Benjamin Franklin said. That's when he asked what he'd said, I replied that fish and guests smell after 3 days! That's when he REALLY started laughing. That's when I said don't forget Fido as I'm sure he'll be quite happy to see you again....even if you are a politician. He laughed even more at that one.
Yeah, but none of you knew of Abraham having a dog before he was President, did you? Now Fido's date of birth is unknown, but it is believed that Abraham's dog was born in 1855. He was a floppy-eared, rough-coated, yellowish "mutt" of uncertain ancestry. It was common to see Fido, with a parcel in his mouth, accompany Abraham as he made his errands around Springfield. When Abraham stopped at Billy the Barber's for a haircut, Fido would wait outside with the other customer's pets. Fido loved attention and would put on a show of chasing his tail for anyone who happened by. Although just a mutt, the Lincoln family treated Fido like royalty. Now when the Lincoln's were getting ready to leave for Washington D.C., they decided to leave Fido in Springfield. They feared that Fido would not do well on the long train ride to Washington D.C. Also, when Abrahams presidential victory was announced, the fireworks and loud cannons terrified Fido and they knew it would be worse in Washington D.C. Now Abraham looked for a good home for Fido and decided to give him to two neighborhood boys, John and Frank Roll. Both boys were very fond of Fido and promised to take good care of him while the Lincoln's were in Washington D.C. The Lincoln's had several conditions that the boys agreed to. They were to never scold Fido if he tracked mud into the house on his paws. Fido was never to be tied up alone in the backyard and was to be let into the house whenever he scratched on the door. He was also to be given scraps of food from the table. The boys both agreed that they would continue to spoil Fido. To help make Fido feel more at home, the Lincoln's gave the horsehair sofa that Fido was used to sleeping on to the Rolls. Lincoln's dog was the first presidential dog known to be photographed. Before leaving for Washington D.C., Abraham's two sons, Tad and Willie, had Fido's photograph taken at F.W. Ingmire's studio in Springfield. After Abraham's assassination, Fido watched the funeral procession as it went thru Springfield. Like his master, Fido also met an untimely demise. One year after Abraham's assassination, Fido was stabbed to death by a drunken man on a street in Springfield. And in case you didn't know, the word Fido comes from the Latin word Fidelitas, which means faithful. Anyway, after lunch was over, we shook hands and said I'll see you down the road sometime and turned away to leave him. As to his funeral, was there at several of the train stops so the people could see his casket. The people were there by the THOUSANDS and of course with him dead, his reconstruction plan never got implemented, with your history being like it was. Now before Sonny and the others in Colorado during their time, decided I'd learn how to REALLY cook. I mean, I could cook as it was something I had been doing before being Affected. Nothing ever fancy...chicken, pork chops, steaks, etc. Plain and simple fare was good enough for me. But continually living like I do, I HAVE TO find something to keep me mentally as well as physically occupied. Yeah and no doubt in my mind that you people thought I was always thinking of and only with my d*ck. Remember, I go for QUALITY, not quantity though there was that time I was in Greece where Pan got his start in mythology. This is what happens when I dress up for Halloween, sometimes drink a little bit too much and get my traveling and countries a little screwed up time wise. And yeah, Egypt too. Remember how I was busy in California during the Great Depression buying land for the forth coming second world war? Well before that hit, was wandering thru a town in Kansas where I saw the owner was looking for a cook. With wanting to learn something different, came up with a line of bs about being able to cook, which wasn't all bs you know. I mean, I did know how to cook, but that was before being Affected, for me alone and usually taking 30 minutes or so for everything. Cooking for people at a hash house as they were known back then, was different and a bit harder than I thought. Well, jump to a commercial cooking school which actually didn't exist until the late 1970's, doing my time there till I graduated, followed by me then going to others as I wanted a wide variety of skills and learning how to cook. Then it was cooking for people at those Michelin star 5 restaurants. Then watching a lot of Youtube videos on how to cook with a dutch oven for example. More than once my girls were NOT impressed, but I got good at it eventually though I think it took me about eighty years before I was happy with what I could do cooking wise.
Then there were the first of many cattle drives starting up in Texas which were headed to Kansas which was when I got hired as John Chisim's trail cook on his first cattle drive. Hope you understand that all of this took quite awhile time wise. So, what did I do with this vast knowledge of cooking? Impressed the sh*t out of more than one woman when I invited them over for supper. Of course afterwards, we did some vigorous horizontal and vertical exercising so we wouldn't get fat. Had my own wagon with Mr. Chisim supplying the supplies and as far as horses went, had 6 of my 4 legged friends with me. What surprised the cowboys after having supper, was me playing violin, guitar, flute or banjo. My coffee was strong and black, enough to jack you awake for at least 6 hours. Once a week, they'd get what was called bear sign or as they're now known as, doughnuts. Every 2 weeks I'd be busy all night making pies. With so many hands riding, while they didn't get a big piece of pie, they were happy to get anything like that. Now I'd already been all thru this country before Europeans even hadn't started colonizing the eastern shores of the U.S.
Anyway, back to my first cattle drive with John Chisim and his crew. Now John had a cook who'd come out, set things up and start cooking when the cattle were being branded. He expected to go on this drive so we had a cook off. I naturally won. Now being an unknown, this didn't sit too well some of the hands and started bad mouthing my friends. Of course, they KNEW what was being said as after all, they had been to one of the many schools I had established on their planet. And if wondering, they used REALLY BIG pencils and pieces of chalk to write with to begin with, then I had produced really large laptops and keyboards for the pc's for them to use when they got older/bigger. Not only that, they were EAGER to join me as their dads or grandfathers had told them what kind of mares were available from my planet. In fact, it became a kind of status thing to actually have a mare from my planet as part of ones herd/family history. Then it became part of an ancestry thing, you know, how women would brag about their folks being the first to come ashore via the Mayflower. It got so bad snooty wise, it was decided one could only go as far as claiming to be 1/16th of earth stock. This ended up with me getting all this information for them. Cameras were also a big thing, though they had to be REALLY big and usable by them. They'd go on a picnic, with Dad carrying not only several LARGE picnic baskets, but also the tri-pod and camera. Mom and the colts would get everything off of him, set up the tri-pod, Dad putting the camera on its large surface table, clamp it into position, use his tongue to set the timer and all of them racing to be in the family photo.
So, I told those hands that if they'd apologize to my friends for their unkind and unwarranted words, they'd be happy. They ALL started laughing, so had my friends act like they were crying and braying a lot in their “sorrow”. I said now look at what you did, you made my friends cry. I'm surprised......I thought REAL cowboys rode stallions like mine and not mares.....did you buy them with your milk and egg money before leaving the family farm? Oh boy......they did NOT like this and realized that my friends were not only stallions, but weren't fighting each other or trying to mount their mares. Now if you want, we can have a little race between me, one of my friends over there vs one or more of you. I have a little over one hundred dollars on me and if the rider and his NAG wins, you get it. HOWEVER, if my word's good, I'll also put up whatever money I'll get paid on this cattle drive if that's okay with Mr. Chisim. Well, I was kind of surprised when he pulled me off to one said if I really wanted to go down this trail and I said not actually, so he goes to turn to tell his men the bet and race is off. Until I told him, this is a trail that THEY shouldn't be going down. He said okay and I took every bet including winning that cowboys mare if I won the race. I said if you need it, we'll race one mile and I'll even give you a quarter mile head start. He agreed to this, so I had two cowboys take off. One went a mile across the countryside, the other stopped about one quarter mile away. On this race, I took Henry who was FAST compared to my other friends who were fast. We won and after the cattle drive was over, Henry, like my other five friends, not only brought themselves a new wife back home, but two others.
Now BEFORE I went on this trail drive, I did a lot of research as to what to expect. Not just trail wise, but how things were done during that time and what to expect. I mean, the hardest thing was cowhands were too d*amn busy to be doing diaries. Now I'd done the mountain man thing for about 40 years and had been all over what would EVENTUALLY become the United States so I knew not only of the various tribes, but best places to ford a river, where water holes were at, etc. Thing is, there's a lot of ways of dying back then. Your horse could get spooked, with it suddenly taking off, with you finding yourself being dragged by the horse because you got unseated. This was one of the reasons a cowboy kept a pistol......to shoot the horse if need be. Better than being dragged to death. This could also spook the herd with them taking off and the only thing the cowboys could do was get off to one side so they'd have a chance of controlling the direction of the stampede.....provided none got knocked over while getting out of the way. When they didn't make it, there wasn't much to bury. And yes, cattle got knocked over, ending up with broken legs. When this happened, they'd be shot after the herd had calmed down with me cutting them up to be eaten later as stew or steaks. Rattlesnake bites did occur, but they were rare. Prairie dog hole accidents were very rare. Water could be an iffy thing, along with being poisoned by rotting carcasses in it. Indians were/was another problem with so many tribes in what would become eventually the U.S. as you know it today.
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Post by feralferret on Oct 15, 2022 17:54:47 GMT -6
Thanks for the new chapter.
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Post by willc453 on Oct 18, 2022 15:04:38 GMT -6
Tale Of Two Brothers Chapter 54
Hey everyone.....did ya miss me? No doubt the feds and all those other alphabet agencies in the U.S. and in other countries sure did. Oops, I forgot that you people have NO idea what I'm talkin' about. How about I've been gone for basically TWO HUNDRED YEARS (at least) time wise for me while helping Mothers people finding some of their long lost colonies. For you people it's maybe a year or so? One thing about Mothers is their natural ability to lay a guilt trip on ya by just LOOKING at you. My Mother said they could use someone of my ability and reminded me that I had been made an honory Mother not long ago. So.....when THEY had a problem, I also had a problem. You know how it is....Mothers stick together. Now they didn't just send out one ship, but several to help cut down the search time. Thing is, EACH of the ships had made room for me, my supplies, etc. because with my ability of jumping, I could check in with each one quicker than they could communicate with each other which more than once, would take DECADES because some of these lost colonies were in different galaxies. So I was a kind of glorified messenger boy much like those depicted in the 1930's and 40's movies. Then there was the logistics of me getting supplies for our trip......not just for me, but for the crews. I'm talking about some Earth food they had gotten to liking. Like Mothers liking fresh coffee beans, with the men folk liking other things courtesy of my boys. As to their men, they weren't really interested in going on this trip but because the Mothers said they had to..... As to my boys and some of the others they'd “infected” with their knowledge of what they'd seen and done on Earth, they too wanted to go. Which led to a lot of crying on their part when I said no. But boys being boys, figured they'd try something and they did. Like hiding away in the same ship I was taking off in. But I was prepared for such a thing, with me jumping back to Mothers planet while we were in space but they hadn't started the star drive on it yet. Of course, a couple of Mothers were waiting for me to appear before them, then got to thinking about my kids and jumped all 5 to me and the Mothers. Boy, did they have such SHOCKED looks on their faces because they THOUGHT they'd found perfect hiding places, along with being super quiet mentally. The Mothers there gave them THAT LOOK and suddenly all they could do was shuffle their feet and not look at them. I told them that it was too dangerous for them to go with us....after all, we had NO idea what we'd find and remember how my species had originally treated them? They did and I said we have NO idea what we're facing BUT if things are safe, I'll jump back here and let you know so you can join us. The Mothers hadn't thought of me doing this but after “talking” among themselves privately, they said okay. That made the boys happy but the Mothers made sure none of their friends had snuck aboard any of the other ships too. They hadn't. Thing is, didn't figure out WHY my boys gave me such sly smiles at the time. I honestly thought they were thinking they'd pulled one over me. They had, but NOT in the way I was thinking.
Space travel.....boring as sh*t and of course, NO windows you could look out of. At least while in star drive. The first planet took us almost SIX months to get there but I kept busy doing odds and ends like learning CAD, 3D printing of models, etc. And if you're wondering, I was printing Lara Croft (the video game girl) in different poses and sizes, followed by painting them. I even made a chess set of her, with one set of pawns being like she was when her game first came out with the other set was the various bad guys she's met thru the years. Worked out, tried teaching everyone how to play poker....any- thing to keep mentally and physically active as I did NOT want to be tempted in leaving even if any of the Mothers didn't find out. As to video games, I had a lot of 'em, like around 1,000 or so, for the various game consoles: Playstation, Playstation 2, Xbox, etc. Why so many? Because the later consoles wouldn't always play the later games. Then there were my friends, those Affected and those not. Doc (Brainiac) wasn't thrilled about me taking off like I was, especially when neither of us knew when I'd be back. Of course, I never even considered that something bad like death would happen to me. So did a crash bit of jumping supplies to the Moon and Mars for a couple of months. And while Doc had designed and had made, escape rockets for the Moondogs, there was nothing he could do for those on Mars due to the higher gravity and being a lot further away. So those people KNEW this could be a one way ride. Scary sh*t to be told that by me and Doc, but NONE of them asked to be returned to earth. And actually, had a couple more hundred people volunteer from Earth to go there. Did a lot of 18 hour days for both places. Then the day came....time to leave.
When it came to leaving, I was kind of fidgety and Mother asked me what was wrong. Told her I was worried about having left something behind and she told me if I had, it was too late, besides they could probably make whatever I needed while with them. And the thing with Mother is that when she says something like this, take it as gospel. And I'm sure Mother and the other Mothers would of liked to have strangled me or ejected me out of some airlock because I forgot how they view time vs us. You know how it is....on a road trip and the kid keeps asking are we there yet, asking are we there yet, are we there yet, etc., etc., etc. But their patience is infinite because they are what they are and after all, they're dealing with a VERY ignorant species which was me. As for space travel and take off, it's kind of disappointing. I was sitting in my room thinking things over when Mother came in, so asked her when were we taking off. How about we already had and heading out to some point in space to engage the star drive?! I never felt a thing. Since it was going to be a couple of weeks before we hopefully found that first colony, I was surprised when Mother “knocked” on my door. Seems they'd talked it over and because I was now a Mother in some regards, I was QUITE ignorant about not only being a Mother but also of their species history. And oh yeah, they'd REALLY dumbed down lessons on math, physics, etc. just for me. Then they adapted one of their “headsets” so my brain could absorb this new knowledge, which I'll have to admit, came in handy when I started getting my own series of space/star ships. Thing is, they had to modify their program for me FIVE times simply because it was too much for me to absorb at the time. I'd fall asleep with them on and the first time, I was yanked out of this dream state because the Mother saw I was bleeding from my nose and ears. Kind of like putting 10,000 watts of power thru a wire rated only for 10. Once they had “dialed down” their information, I started learning. My boys were the ones that made that video console, gloves and games for Doc and his kids to play with me getting banned from their house for awhile by V.
Now, me being a prepper, etc. before all of this being Affected, I had since accrued a wide variety of weapons. This was something the Mothers and their people hadn't considered......that things might be violent on these lost colonies. So there we are, orbiting this forgotten planets colony while they were doing a lot of surveys. Thing is, all they saw were heavily forested areas which COVERED those areas where cities USED to exist. They were worried about me coming in contact with any and all sort of germs that my species hadn't been exposed to, so they made me a “spacesuit” if you will just for this. I TRIED going with my Mother and some of her people when they went down to the planet to check out one of these cities where there was a large, open and grassy kind of area. They would NOT let me go with them, so I was FORCED to watch what was happening from their monitors. Well, they landed and they're doing various kinds of experiments with the equipment they had with them. Like seeing if any of the plant life could be giving off some sort of deadly gas. Well, a couple of the men got near the trees when suddenly they're attacked and killed by a pack of things that looked like a cross between a baboon and a octopus, but the size of a steer! Then they're going after my Mother and the rest of her crew, with them firing what I'd call stunners which didn't work worth a sh*t against these things. Man, I was down there in a heartbeat with 2 swords that I'd not only designed, but made. Think of a Samurai and scimitar combination which I called Father and Daughter. Long, but curved upwards at the end. Not only that, BOTH sides were RAZOR sharp. When I go to cuttin' thing up, I want to do A LOT of damage quick as possible. When I suddenly appeared between those things and Mother and her people, they didn't halt but kept coming but this time for me. Had enough time for me to shout RUN to Mother and her people and they beat feet for their landing craft. Then I got busy, as in REALLY busy in attacking these things first from the front, then the sides, etc. Well, once they were in the air and returning to our ship, Mother says come home NOW. I said wait a minute and jumped where the bodies of their 2 dead men layed, Once I had them in hand so to speak, jumped to what I called the decontamination area they'd set up for me. I had all sorts of blood and other icky stuff on me and of course, so did the dead men. I can tell you this: going thru decontamination is NOT pleasant. Some of the stuff made me sick, but it was the ONLY way to neutralize some of the cr*p I came in contact with.
Well, afterwards, the Mothers and the rest of the crew were utterly and totally shocked how I not only appeared WITHOUT my suit but armed and becoming a killing machine. Think they were regretting that they had me with them until I told my Mother NOBODY f*cks with MY PEOPLE like which just happened, with me looking at her when I said this. This was when they KNEW I considered myself to be one of them even though I was an entirely different species. Now they all knew about what I'd gone thru for my kids and of course, what happened when one of their “animals” got loose from one of their zoos. But for me to go into action, doing what I did, was an entirely new thing for them to think about and remember. Yeah, I was a Mother but a different kind of Mother. Got permission to return the 2 dead bodies to their world, along with taking a short report of what had happened. From their planet, I jumped to the other ships with copies of the same report. Thing is, EACH ship had quarters set up for me, just in case. Not only that, there was an area where NONE of them were EVER to enter because they never knew when or if I'd suddenly appear before them with important news. Found out later, this info also contained videos of me doing my thing which spread like wildfire on their planet. Of course, my kids got busy telling everyone how I was THEIR uncle/ Mother.
While I was gone, the Mothers had a talk with each other, then the rest of the crew where it was decided they'd keep looking for any possible survivors. Now there were some, though not many. Like a couple of thousand vs what had been several million? Seems that planets sun would every couple of thousands of years put out some sort of radiation and the new colony just happened to have the misfortune of not knowing this. All other life forms had built up an immunity to this radiation, but as for them.... It was one thing if they'd been killed, but this radiation gave them amnesia. Suddenly they knew NOTHING. As in being able to operate any of their equipment. The only good thing was some Mothers were able to survive as the males were now operating(?) at a basic, biological and primitive level. When survivors were found, they were living in tree cities for lack of a better word. Think of tree branches being tied into place among other branches which they figured would protect them if the sun went crazy with radiation again. Thing is, they'd been fighting each other for centuries for whatever food resources that could be found and it wasn't till about a thousand years ago they rediscovered farming, with some being better at it than others, which led to even more conflict. As to weapons, they were still at the club and spear stage. My Mothers were talking to each other and letting me know what they were saying. Their problem was how to approach one tribe of them without being attacked. I said that's not a problem and I can solve it for you. They just looked at me and no doubt thinking of my last interaction on this planet. I said all you need to do is find each tribes Mother which should be easy enough considering since you're taller than your males, you should give off more body heat. Find her via thermal imaging, send a drone so I know who to take and bring her back here, then you can have a talk with her. Not only that, I don't have to be in the same room where she appears. Also, it might help if you start leaving food for them to eat. Well, that's what they did and the new Mother....well, she was in shock for a bit, between going thru the ng, ng, ng bit, then not only meeting 2 other totally unknown Mothers but also on a space ship. One thing about Mothers, they tend to work quick when working together. She got another shock when they introduced me AND telling her I was an honorary Mother. Oh yeah....and she sure as h*ll liked the coffee beans I'd brought aboard, which ended up with me starting a couple of coffee plantations and farms of not only earth veggies but from their home planet. However, some of the animals on that planet got to liking them a bit too much, which I ended up bringing some of Dancing Winds bushes from one of our farms....the kind that grew thorns up to 6 inches long. With their growth rate, pretty soon the farms reminded me of the hedge rows of Normandy in the early parts of the invasion in Europe.
The one thing I and other Mothers believed in was education. So when the off spring of the original colonists weren't busy bringing their living standards up, they all went back to school, which also included those I'd call warriors. Yeah, those people had gone back to being savages which surprised and hurt the Mothers I was with. So the call for new colonists went out on their home planet. Now consider how they were now population and thinking wise, had just over 100 of them volunteering and frankly, I was surprised we got that many. As far as kids go, the birth rate on this planet was REALLY bad and believe me, those that were born were FIERCLY watched over. Part of the problem was what I call birthing pools which the Mothers upgraded to basically reduce to zero those birth deaths. The former colonists survivors got another shock when I brought some of the Tree People. They didn't expect a plant, for a lack of a better word, to be able to communicate with them. The Tree People were quite happy to go to another planet to learn about and study new life forms, where they became these peoples doctors and teachers. Man, I was busy for the longest time on that planet between being messenger boy among the starships, bringing equipment from the Mothers home planet, etc., etc., etc.
As to my boys and their friends, I did bring them to that lost colonies world. Not as a large group of course, but no more than 5 at a time. Nor were they going to stay until they completed their schooling and got older. Not that they matured with many of them doing practical jokes, racing thru the streets, etc. And yes, they still continued their educations while there something I'm sure they were thinking/hoping WOULDN'T be happening. Think I spent 20 some years there and of course, got a lot of new plants with the “natives” showing me what they could do, along with ones that were poisonous. And metals....found 4 more different kinds, which I did get some samples for Doc to look over and eventually see about bringing a few tons back here. One of the plants I liked was the one I called water suckers. You know how plants use the sun to grow, along with water and other nutrients? Not these as far as water goes. It actually absorbed ANY water that was in the air! Thing is, water's basically EVERYWHERE in our air. Once the Mars colony gets enough air produced in its atmosphere, plan on bringing a bunch of them there.
Oh boy, talk about a pucker factor when we arrived at that 2nd colony....which wasn't there at all. The sun had not only gone nova (meaning it exploded), it had collapsed, creating a black hole?! They'd cut things a little close, with us not only being caught in the black holes gravitational field, we could NOT escape it either! People are running around and this was when I heard an alarm going off that I hadn't heard before....nor had I been told about it. Basically it meant kiss your a$$ goodbye cuz you're goin' to die. The word I got from one of the men was death and that was a word I'd never heard any of them use before, so asked my Mother what it meant. Mother's don't lie or bullsh*t (like me), so she told me. I said we ain't dead yet. Get EVERYONE to my jumping area NOW as we're going home. And one thing about her, she understood and passed the word and REALLY quick, she, the other Mother and some of the men folk were jumped back to their world. Took me about 30 minutes or so and it reminded of me and Hercules doing our thing on that 747 over London, which is why I went back just to make sure everyone was out. Well, all of this got written up with me being a messenger boy again but this time on the last ship I jumped to, found I had 2 new Mothers and was to help them with their search for the lost colonies. As to my Mother, she got everyone busy pulling another space ship out of mothballs. Yeah while they had a few in mothballs, remember they hadn't done any colonizing in a LONG time and we're talking their time. However, I did learn a lesson on what happened.....I started wearing my space suit EVERY TIME I'd jump to another ship just in case it wasn't there for any reason. At least if the ship had been destroyed ala black hole, I could still jump from the vacuum of space to another ship or back to Mothers home world.
Next colony also had bad luck....not a black hole or being hit with radiation. Seems the original colonists used some sort of radiation on some of the planets plants as while edible, they figured they'd improve them and of course, increase their crops size, along with using the plants “juice” for other things. They didn't expect these planets plants to mutate like they did as in turning into carnivorous plants, which at first didn't breed(?) that fast but they were also now semi-intelligent. Thing is, these things had a 2 part breeding(?) season. Now these things grew HUGE, as in up to 25 feet in height and would use their “limbs” which were kind of like tentacles on an octopus but without the sucker. They secreted a a fluid which when it hit something living, it stunned their target, at which point they would simply “walk” over their next meal and devour it. The people were now hiding by going underground because these plants actually started using tools to break down the “electric” fences that had been installed to keep these plants back. No, nothing technical about using a large tree limb to break the “connection” of this fence down and then would weasel their way into a building by actually using more tree limbs as battering rams. The birthing pools were lost and though some of the “men” tried” getting the needed ingredients for it, none ever returned from their attempts. What helped once again, was the longevity of everyone but even so, people died with no new births happening. You people think you had it bad when WW 3 hit your world? These people were OLD when we found them, but I'm getting ahead of my story.
This time things went differently, with the Mothers deciding to expose me to the air on this planet, but in a sealed room on their ship. Got a little sick but that was about it and then I was good as rain a day or so later. Much as I enjoyed killing that b*tch WAY back when, with me getting a healing ability like got from her, it's saved my life more than once. Once again, I'm stuck on the sidelines watching the landing party hit dirt in an open area. Yeah....Mothers knew I could go real ugly when it came to fighting and doing it fast, so I was the measure of last resort. Besides, with me watching everything, they knew I'd be there jiffy quick. They had done some looking for what VERY basically be called thermo scanning and had found an underground city, if you will. So they were going to basically knock on a door (if they could find one) and hoping after that, they'd be warmly greeted. As the people had declined, those plants had evolved going from leaving their roots in the ground except when hunting for food. Now they could move almost as fast as a horse at a trot which which is pretty fast, especially when it wants to eat you.....and they numbered by the hundreds in that clearing.
Thing is, I was the first to catch on what was going to happen when I saw those “trees” moving. I THOUGHT at first it was the wind moving their “branches”, but when I realized there was no wind and the party was going to be surrounded, also realized what the clearing really was.....a killing field. And just like that, I had my 2 swords and yelling at that Mother and her party what was about to occur. They didn't hesitate and started beating feet for their landing craft but those “trees” had seen them land and if they were blocked from getting back inside of it..... Jumping time again, but there was the matter of of their scout/landing ship being left behind and of course, I had NO idea at the time how to even raise its ramp. As to that Mother, the only “words” she heard from these things was FOOD and EAT, so she knew they weren't intelligent by any means of the imagination. They also needed to find those lost colonists, but I got to thinking about Agent Orange and its use in Vietnam because if it killed all plant life then....... Now it wasn't a problem on getting my hands on this stuff, the problem was coming up with a pressurized delivery system. Remember, back then it was delivered by aircraft, and I'd be on the ground as it'd take too long to modify one of the scout ships for this, So back to Mothers home planet and told one of them what I needed and why. And believe me, they came up with just what I needed, with me being VERY careful while pouring Agent Orange into that system. Think of a something like a single tank flame thrower. Back to everyone on that spaceship, with me explaining what I had thought of and they looked at me in utter horror but realized it had to be done if they were to make contact with the lost colonists and get their scout ship back,
Jump to that planets surface and sh*t, it did NOT work out like I thought it would. Those sons of b*tches actually GREW LARGER when I sprayed 'em with Agent Orange. I'll be honest....this was something I hadn't planned for AT ALL because now they were ALL calling out about the abundance of this new and DELICIOUS food and the chase was on, with me being the only item on their menu. So I decided the best thing was to lead all these things away from the scout ship and then simply close the ramp. I then realized I didn't even know how to do such a simple task. Back to the space ship where I was taught what to do to close the ramp. Now some of you may be thinking why not just jump these “trees” into the nearest volcano? How about there weren't any and I didn't want to take any chances of jumping them to another volcano on another dimensions world. I had NO idea how these things grew and last thing I wanted was them even getting a small toe hold on some other world. Another problem Mothers people had never thought of was remotely controlling their landing craft or having cameras inside of it, Once all of this was over, hello messenger boy to the other ships. When in doubt, improvise, adapt and overcome whatever problem you're facing. Okay...since Agent Orange didn't work, so how about fire with napalm mixed with it?
Now ya gotta remember, there's more than one of me time and dimensional traveling, with me coming back here and in Europe shortly after WW 2 was over. Which meant there was A LOT of military equipment just laying around and up for grabs. The bad part was the younger me had already done a lot of grabbing to use elsewhere in time, other worlds and of course, other dimensional worlds. But I found and got 6 U.S. flame-throwers, then back to mothers planet where I talked with the Mothers and they had their “menfolk” alter them so they'd be more efficient. And yeah, I made sure I got 2 flamethrowers that were filled and ready to use. Then when the newer models were ready for use, I practiced using them......a lot. Instead of 3 minutes of burn, it was now just beyond 10 minutes, with a shooting “field” of 150 feet, more than enough for me as far as safety measures go. I had a dozen of the new and improved flamethrowers when I arrived back on Mothers starship. With the use of “drones”, I was able to see there were no “trees” inside of it, so jumped inside of it and closed the ramp. Once that was done, got one of the “men” into the scout ship and from there he returned to the starship, where it was placed in an area for complete decontamination. As to the pilot, he was wearing a space suit, though he had to still go thru decontamination. As for me, I jumped behind the “trees” who'd taken off running for the shuttle once it started rising into the air. Then I got busy “herding” those “trees” into being closer and closer. Yeah, flamin' 'em did the trick, but there were.....repercussions, in a way. There was A LOT of smoke from the burning of these things and found myself getting high as in smoking some VERY heavily laced THC marijuana?! Back to the ship to suck down oxygen and between that and my 2nd ability, I was soon ready to go back but this time, I was wearing an oxygen mask which made things a little awkward. Thing is, the “trees” were all burning nicely, since it was the outside ones burning, which caught the ones on the inside, on fire.
Once I was sure none would escape from their burning inferno, got busy burning all the brush and regular trees to the underground entrance. Once all the fires were out, down comes Mother and some of her “men” who were able to figure out how to open the door to this underground city. Naturally, some of the inhabitants were ready to greet us in an unfriendly matter as they didn't know who or what would be coming thru their access door. Thing is, what they didn't expect was facing TWO Mothers and thing about them was their ability to control basically ANY situation when it came to their own people. Then of course, when they see me standing behind those Mothers they guys couldn't believe their eyes until the Mothers explained my background......along with how while I was a Mother, I was simply of a different nature. Once again, I'm a messenger/delivery boy, along with going to visit the tree people and bringing back “nuts” and “saplings” if you will. The “nuts” would be planted and grow until they were full grown, at which time, I'd harvest some of their “nuts” to take back to the tree peoples home where they'd spread among the other tree people, what they'd learned on a new and different world. O(f course, the saplings already had a wealth of knowledge so they could help others when it came medical knowledge for example.
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Post by feralferret on Oct 18, 2022 22:12:38 GMT -6
Thanks for the chapter!
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Post by willc453 on Dec 19, 2022 20:59:28 GMT -6
The Affected---Tale of Two Brothers Chapter 54
With me being Affected like I am, time is something I have a lot of on my hands. Thing is, unless you're mentally occupied, life can be a rut. So one of the things I learned was playing musical instruments of ALL types, on and off this world, along with those on other worlds/dimensions. And I always liked big band music, especially during WW 2, with me playing with the big bands such as Glen Miller, Artie Shaw. Funny thing, couldn't get a job playing with Count Bassie. Why? Because I was white and that sort of thing simply wasn't done back then. And if wondering, you'll notice no blacks playing with the all white big band names either. WW 2 was another time period that I spent a lot of time in and will have to post more about this some other time.
Anyway, it started off simple enough with me working as band director at a high school (no names please) in the 1950's. Always like to keep kids on their toes mentally....to think outside of the box. Of course, never thought about getting a formal degree in education because by this time, I had about 35 years worth of experience before the 1950's, teaching mainly out west. Of course, when I applied for the position I had good paper credentials....and it helped a lot was that it was pre-computer age, background checks, etc. Add to this was when a school would call the school number given, the call was answered by one of my Laura's who'd wail and lament my departure from that fine institute of learning.
I'd shuffle into the classroom looking like I was in my very late 60's, nice little pot belly, not much hair and walking like I had a bad case of hemorrhoids/shingles. A lot of kids thought I was German which was not a good thing being right after WW 2 ending but told them I was Swiss. A couple of kids were jamming on playing rock n roll music and I said, ach, vat is dat noise? Come, we play some classical music ya? Maybe even we try big band music? Kids explained it was a new form of music called rock n roll or rockabilly and of course, they looked at me like some not yet dead dinosaur. I shuffle over to look at their instruments and they were basic ones, kind of the very low end of medium quality. Asked for and was given the one kids guitar and of course, I deliberately did a horrible job of trying to imitate the kid who was playing it. The kids grimaced at hearing me trying to “play”. Said dis is terrible instrument, not my fault and of course, the kids didn't believe a word of it, believing that I simply didn't know how to play the guitar.
Told 2 kids that there were 2 instruments in the back of an old, beat up delivery van in the parking lot and would they get them? Followed by me saying oh yeah and tell George that it's okay and he is NOT to bite or eat you. If he doesn't do either, tell him there's a Scooby snack in it for him. One kid asks who George is while the other asked like you've got your own tiger or lion with you and kind of snickered. Just looked at them and they took off. When they returned, they were a little pasty faced and I said good to see that George didn't bite or eat you. Asked if George said anything when you mentioned the Scooby snack and they said no, but he did shake his head up and down like he understood us! Which was a good thing, because George has forgotten from time to time about not speaking while people are around us on this world. Yeah, he's from what I call dog world, an alternate version of earth and yes, I'll post that story some other time too.
They had come back with 2 guitar cases and they were quite shocked when I pulled out a Gibson Les Paul and Fender Stratocaster. On the Fender, I played a few classical Spanish flamingo riffs but showed one kid how to give me a basic riff while I showed another what kind of beat I wanted on the drums and from the Gibson, I started to play what was to be AC/DC's Back in Black for a few minutes. Oh yeah, they were shocked, then really shocked when I started removing my makeup, false hair piece, “pot belly”, etc. Told them even though I'll tell you right up front you can expect the unexpected from me, you will never know what I'll come up with next with the kids now enthused about their new music teacher. The problem was a few of the goody two shoeing teachers did NOT like rock n roll or what was also called “rock a billy”. Kind of ticked me off when I heard one of them remark that it was shameful that whites would even consider listening to, much less play something that was no more than glorified n*gger music. Of course, we did play a lot of classical/big band music with the occasional popular movie theme tossed in for everyone in school/various high school games. Thing is, I had one band class per day and after my little demo, more than one kid looked forward to my class, including two girls who wanted to now take up band. Specifically, Mona and Renee.
You hear how opposites attract each other? That was the case with these two. Mona came from a way upper middle class family, while Renee's was a bit further down below middle class. Mona was quite plain looking and had a lack of self confidence. Think it was due to her father who looked at her as trading stock....you know, get her married to some equal or better yet, socially/financially successful higher up kind of boy. But Renee....she was not only really pretty, life of the party, head cheerleader, etc. but never let her looks go to her head. How those two met, never knew but from what I under-stand, they met when they were about 7 years old. Funny thing is, they were both born in same year/month but Mona was born 1 day later than Renee. Which is why Renee would call Mona her younger sister more than once. Anyway, they came to see me one day as I was still going thru who would/wouldn't be in the band. Yeah, band was popular to a degree but kids weren't beating on the doors to become part of it....until word later got passed around about me. Now the thing is, back then, girls played only certain kinds of instruments like cello, flute, violin, etc. You know, lady type musical instruments. Kind of surprised Renee wanted to play drums and as for Mona, she wanted guitar. I'm thinking well, give 'em a chance and if they don't have the ability, they're out. I originally had 16 kids in my class but that jumped to 45 in the end, which was considered extremely large for a band at the time.
Now John was the principal and USUALLY easy going, however that day I had those 2 try out for the band..... I said to the girls, okay I'll give you a try out, let me get some music sheets for you and walked into the closet and made sure the door was closed. Of course, what I wanted wasn't there, so no problem jumping time wise in getting it and then coming out. I had a couple of the others on guitar and told the others we're going to have a sing along...and they kind of looked at me dumbly. I mean, singalongs were done all the time at the movies but a band doing it? Had twelve of the kids doing the sing along part and they were a bit shocked at the words but had the gumption in singing them... and of course being a bit rebellious at that age helped. So there we are, I started playing and told Renee be prepared to take over when I nod to you and I'll play backup along with the other 2 guys. Well, we started playing AC/DC's I'm on the highway to hell and of course, the kids REALLY got into not only playing it but those doing the sing along part. What I DIDN'T know at the time is one of the singers had hit the schools PA switch as soon as we started playing. Why? Because he knew from the lyrics and my earlier playing, this was going to be something entirely different. Again. I, of course, did all the main vocal singing. Not great, but passable.
Then there's A LOT of banging on the bands room door and guess who? Yeah, it's John and he's screaming to be let in. Kids couldn't back away from the door fast enough, so I let him in. He wanted to know what was going on and told him that I thought the kids would like to hear and maybe practice another form of rock n roll but didn't realize we were playing THAT loudly. This is when he goes to the PA switch and turns it off. Asks did I turn it on and told him no....but I WILL find out right here, right now. Told the choir/band members to get in front of me and confess RIGHT NOW, otherwise, NO MORE rock n roll music will be played/practiced here. Walt stepped forward and confessed. John told him to get to his office and I said what a minute, how about something different instead of probably suspending him for a few days or week? How about keeping him after schools out for a few hours each day helping the janitor? And that's what happened and when other kids got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, they'd have to help clean up the baseball or football fields after a game. If you're going to punish someone, let it be productive. It also kept their school records clean.
The problem was, those goody two shooers, specifically the principal would NOT allow rock n roll/rock a billy to be played even practicing on their own after school was over at the school?! Remember that back then, kids basically didn't have constitutional rights. Got a good a$$ chewing on even allowing them to do this AND supervising them. The kids were really bummed out, so I said let me see what I can do which of course, no problem for me, my ability, connections and money. Bought a small government surplus warehouse, then brought in some Johnathon's & Mathews to fix it up for me along with, of course, some “modifications”.
Oh....Johnathon's & Mathews are male androids from the same planet/dimension where I get my Laura’s from. I'd take the various Laura's back to their planet/dimension from time to time for repairs/updates and of course, they'd download to the main frame on where they'd been with me, doing, etc. And soon after, I had these guys asking to go which was NOT something I expected/thought of. Thing was, I wanted to be the only bee around the flowers so to speak until I got to thinking about it. There's an awful lot of flowers that will never have a bee around them for whatever reasons and figured, why not give them some happiness in life even if it's for a little while? Besides, I can't be everywhere, satisfying every flower no matter how much ganja I took. So explained to all of them how things had to be and they were quite happy in being able to full fill their programming. Actually it turned out pretty good money wise for me too because I opened more than one tomcat house that was for women only. Yeah guys, women get horny and all they want to do is get laid but with no strings attached. Thing is, most guys when they worked at a regular cathouse couldn't keep up with the demand/pace if you know what I mean. Besides, women want to talk/relax before going upstairs. Everyone paid the same price and there was a 1 hour max for being upstairs unless you paid an additional fee. More than one woman did. And being mechanical, the Johnathon's/Mathews didn't need/use ganja which saved me money. Yep, never turn down an opportunity to make a buck, yen, ruble, etc. Not only did my Johnathon's/Mathews service the ladies, they knew how to cook a variety of snacks which was part of the service. Thing is, there were a lot of Johnathon's/Mathews on their world and we're talking thousands upon thousands, with me rotating the stock so to speak, every 2 months. Now some of my women customers were disappointed when a particular Johnathon/Mathew was no longer there but with little trouble, they found comfort in anothers arms quick enough.
I knew the kids were still playing/practicing rock n roll off the school grounds and on the last day of the 3rd semester, told those kids to meet me after school where I had bought/modified a bus to take us to my warehouse. Of course, the kids were filled with questions, none that I answered other than to remind them to expect the unexpected from me. Get to the warehouse and it's dark all around the neighborhood including the warehouse windows, which by the way, were NOT actually made of glass. I ended up moving out of my place because I was losing money paying rent and needed privacy for obvious reason and went to living upstairs. To save money, had my Laura's, Johnathon's and Mathews do all the upgrading while making sure that EVERYTHING was up to snuff code wise. Drive up to the delivery ramp and of course, the door slid up automatically, then back down once we were clear of it. Then led the kids to thru SECURE doors and to the stage I had set up. I said, you all play pretty good considering the instruments you have to use, but I know some people and....well, here you go. Everything I had bought was THE best available at the time and the kids went ape. Of course, they had to leave them at my warehouse after practice but were welcome to come over any time to practice for as long as they wanted. And of course, there was always more than one Laura there to supervise/watch over them. While I trusted kids, I wasn't that stupid either. If you're wondering about the rest of the kids and their instruments in the band, they too got the best I could buy. Principal was surprised how much their playing improved with me telling the kids/principal I had gotten the money from grants given out by various companies which was something they hadn't heard of. College scholarships yes, but grants like this? Well, the kids got really good/enthusiastic at playing not just rock n roll, but rock a billy and boogie woogie. And that's when a couple of my Laura's and I did some boogie woogin' dancing while they played. The kids were a bit shocked at seeing someone “our age” being able to dance like that, while their parents and the other teachers just kind of stood there....not that they considered it dancing like we were doing. Well.....most of the teachers/parents did. Yeah, I had some Laura's around and of course, since they were all different, the kids/school/parents thought I had a lot of girlfriends and was a big, bad wolf or as Elvis put it, nothin' but a hound dog.
Then one day, the kids came to me asking if I had heard about a contest of rock n roll bands being played reasonably near by. I said yes, which is when they asked if they could go but they wanted to use my instruments and of course, they figured their parents would say no to something like this.....then looked at me with pleading eyes. Like when I was THE Pied Piper, I took the kids down a path their parents never suspected. Told them they'd really have to start practicing and I'd deal with the parents and getting us a bus to go down there, okay? It was okay with them. Like I said, they were really good and I told them so which made them smile....until I said IF you like elevator music. Had to explain that one and of course they wondered what was I thinking of music wise? With me not aging, along with being considered a wild eyed radical, beatnik, hippie, commie, etc., usually I only stay a few years at one school before heading to another, while also checking out another time period or alternate earth. This way every time I go somewhere, it's new, different, exciting and some times terrifying. Like the time I found myself as a sex slave for womens pleasure for awhile.....and NO memory of who I was or could do.
Anyway, found myself a job as the schools band instructor. I happened to overhear a couple of kids talking about how this guy (pillar of the church, outstanding member of the community, etc.) had not only forced himself on a couple of girls, but there had been a series of unsolved rapes. With my time machine & jumping ability, found out this guy had been doing this for the past 8 years! Unfortunately for him, he seemed to have eaten & breathed something that was detrimental to his health, though it took almost 18 months in constant agony before he passed on to the hereafter. And by amazing coincidence, I just had happened to have submitted my job application there at the right time, so was quickly hired. First thing was to deal with the situation this guy left behind. There were only 3 girls in the band class because after all, women belonged at home, taking care of the kids, etc. at the time. I had a blunt talk with them and they soon passed the word to other girls who came to me when they had problems they couldn't/wouldn't talk with their parents/friends about. Then came the boys in the band turn. They were shocked that an adult would actually talk to and act like they were adults but expected them to behave as adults in many ways. Some complained how they were “only” 15, 16, 17 and told them they needed to have their balls drop and grow some hair around 'em because their fathers were usually 17-18 years old when they went to Europe, Italy and the Pacific where they fought, killed and died. Then turned around to do the same thing during the Korean War. So, they had balls and you “boys” don't? Nothing like verbally b*tch slapping a kid to get him to thinking. And of course, band wasn't a fulltime job either, so also taught history classes. Of course, my classes were NOT some boring on this date, this happened, blah, blah, blah. Which lead me to being part of the rocket, photography, chess clubs and because of my previous newspaper experience WAY back when, the school newspaper. And I got into trouble with some of the things we covered AND exposed like the mayor and some cops being corrupt.
Now with my warehouse, it became THE place to hangout. Why? Because I gave the kids someplace and something to do after school. Like bringing in pinball machines, pingball, some pool tables, a jukebox, along with a separate area for those needing help with their homework or wanting to do it while with friends. Then added a kitchen so the kids could buy burgers, malts, etc. I named the place Shangri-La after that movie. However, I did put bars on the outside of it to prevent any possible break ins, with the kids calling it The Joint as in jail/prison. Well, parents got concerned when they heard this slang being used and some came out to “investigate”. Kids had a good laugh when they came out and as to the cops, they were happy as juvenile delinquency/hell raising dropped like a rock. Of course, the cops came around when we were open because they got free coffee and doughnuts but they paid for any other food they wanted. Now with cops there, it put a damper on the kids, so the cops would eat in the back part of the kitchen while entering it thru a back door. This way they were out of sight, out of mind. Thing is, more than one cop would be enjoying themselves at my place and word would be passed among the other cops. Now not all kids were good kids and headed down the wrong road in life, with me helping those I could.
Then there was the time rock n roll was banned in Santa Cruz, California. This was on June 5th, 1956. Yeah, so much for the 1st amendment. Now my band kids told me about a rock n roll concert of different bands being in another city and you KNOW that more than one wanted to go but because of the distance to get there....... And let's not forget I'd been teaching them music...... Now Santa Cruz was a favorite haunt of Ken Kesey and his merry Pranksters, along with being an established capital of the West Coast counter-culture by the mid 1960's. But 10 years earlier, the balance of power in this town tilted heavily toward the older side of the generation gap. But in their defense, they'd been involved with WW 2. Thing is, in the early months of the rock and roll revolution, adult authorities around the country were struggling to come to terms with a population of teenagers with vastly different musical tastes and attitudes, with Santa Cruz capturing national attention for its response to this “crisis”. On June 3, 1956, city authorities announced a total ban on rock and roll at public gatherings, calling the music “detrimental to both the health and morals of our youth and community”. Of course, these “authorities weren't bitching/raising h*ll during the roaring twenties, boot leg liquor, flapper music, etc. Yeah, make something illegal and EVERYONE'S going to want it. God, the profits I made back then. Best part about this was having Laura's people making my hooch and bottling it. Couldn't tell the difference between what they made or you'd buy from someone's back door, nor would you go blind from drinking bad hooch. Not that I ever got busted by Hoover's boys for this or the gambling places I had going. Anyway, it was a dance party the previous evening that led to this reaction on part of the Santa Cruz authorities. About 200 teenagers had packed the Santa Cruz auditorium on a Saturday night, with them listening and dancing to music played by Chuck Higgins and his orchestra, a L.A. band with a regional hit record called Pachuko Hop. Now the cops entered the auditorium just past midnight to check on the event and what they found according to Lt. Richard Overton, was a crowd “engaged in suggestive, stimulating, tantalizing dancing induced by the provocative rhythms of an all Negro band”. No doubt in my mind that the cops (all white) felt that this band being black, had forgotten where they were suppose to be on the food chain. Not only that, they were leading a bunch of white kids to a live of depravity and of course, hoping to score some white pu$$y if possible after they got done playing. Yeah, racism wasn't only a problem in the south but also California. This Lt. instead of seeing a pretty good dance party happening, immediately shut the dance down and sent all the teenagers home. Thing is, this got reported and it was like a bunch of dominoes lined up, with similar actions happening across the country. Two weeks later on the 18th, Time Magazine reported similar bans in Asbury Park, New Jersey and in San Antonio, Texas where the city council's fear of “undesirable elements” over the racially integrated nature of the event at Santa Cruz. Remember, this was when segregation was the norm all over the U.S.
As for me and my kids, took a bunch of 'em to that concert, which they got to listen for free as they were going to be playing. Just as I thought, they were playing a lot of popular music you'd hear on the radio or listening to records. Now I had the kids show up and Shangri-La was closed to everyone but them, which drove the other kids crazy as I wouldn't say why. They, no doubt, was thinking the cops were trying to close my place. Do you have ANY idea how hard it's in finding bag pipe players in the 50's? Really f*cking hard, so I cheated. Go back to Lara's world where I had a bunch of teenage boys bodies made up, with the full sized male Johnathon and Mathew's memories transferred to them. Then it was getting them programs how to play bagpipes, something I already knew how to do. Once they knew how to play, that knowledge was downloaded with me teaching not only them but others on their world how to play different music. The sad part was while they could play music perfectly, they had NO idea how to create their own. Eventually, a few centuries later on, one of them did, which shocked everyone on that planet but it made me very happy in getting them higher on the food chain so to speak. Even occasionally would have them go to a few semesters to learn more about humans other than me. Which got passed along to everyone on Lara's world. It also didn't bother me once again to take a lot of people who were called retards, those with physical disabilities and in some cases, those of old age and stuck in a nursing home. With no internet, the only news you'd get was from a newspaper, the radio or maybe, some tv station which at the time, there were only 3 of in each state.
So when I stepped onto the stage, I was in my clans colors which included wearing my kilt while carrying my bagpipe, along with my teenage looking Johnathon's and Mathews in their outfits and bagpipes. TOTAL silence from the kids in the audience, at which time I asked this ISN'T the first annual bagpipe festival? Of course, more than one kid (male) said for us to get our faggity a$$es , etc. off the stage. I replied in Scottish that their mothers and fathers were actually brother and sister, not that they understood this and then waved my kids to the stage with their instruments. While they got things set up, told the audience that while rock n roll something new, it too would change in time. And don't be looking down on people playing something other than a piano, guitar or drums. More catcalls but not many this time because they realized something was going to go down....they just didn't know what which got their interests and they quieted down. Then when I had my kids start playing and repeating the beginning riffs of AC/DC's It's a long way to rock n roll if you want to succeed. Now 2 of my band members were playing the beginning riffs for about 15-20 seconds, at which time Johnathon, Mathew and I started playing our bagpipes and believe me, the kids in the audience went WILD. And of course, the band kids didn't expect us to show up dressed like we were, along with bagpipes in hand at The Joint during our first band practice. Yeah....they were quick to realized I was NOT your normal band teacher. When we got done, the audience let us know they liked what we'd played and the ONLY band to get asked for an encore. So we did ZZ Top's Bad To The Bone, again, bringing down the house. Even after we were done with that second set, there were cries of more from the kids. Once we were declared the winners of this contest, packed our gear and headed for home with a stop at a A&W root beer burger joint which started back in 1919. And believe me, the food back then was a h*ll of a lot better in some ways.
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Post by feralferret on Dec 20, 2022 3:38:30 GMT -6
Thanks for the fine surprise chapter!
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