Yukon Charmer (2003)

The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Canada’s Yukon Territory. Then, more than the lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is 1,984 miles long and empties into the Bering Sea at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. By comparison, the total area is more than 25% larger than Texas or Alberta.

The longest river in Alaska and the Yukon Territory, it was one of the principal means of transportation during the 1896

Sudden (12/09/2010 1:17:05 pm)

The phone call came in no more than an hour ago.

A good friend awoke this morning and attempted to rustle her husband to enjoy the morning’s first light.

He did not respond.

During the evening life escaped his body and beyond the reach of a loving wife and a brave new soul who knew her daddy for too short a time.

Suddenly, the world seems different.

We are left shaken, scarred, troubled, concerned…..

Diabetes

My father was a brawny simple man who developed diabetes in his forties.
For many years my mother excused his fits of rage on the disease.
Growing up we walked on egg-shells around him so as not to trigger the anger.
When it couldn’t be helped he always went for his belt drawer. He had them in all shapes and sizes. Some were made from crocodile hides, others were thick hunks of black and brown leather.
I still remember the fear and dread when he commanded us to stay put and await his return. My back, arms, chest, legs and face still recoil when I remember the flash of heat they sensed when the belt whipped the skin.
Once the rage subsided he paced away gruffly. Muttering, cursing, and perhaps looking for other opportunities to start up again.
My on-looking mother would then remind us of his diabetes.

Teeth

The three of us had been sitting impatiently for over an hour. Trying not to wrinkle the clothes that she had pressed and fuzzed over earlier in the day.

My mother paced the living room. Constantly looking at the clock and cursing under her breath. Though I could still hear the occasional swear word.
He arrived, he had been drinking. HEAVILY!
I remember the moment that her disappointment and concern turned into scorn. The afternoon meant an important Mexican celebration and we were late and he was unstable.
She raised her voice in protest and after a few minutes of berating him she asked us all to get up. We would go to the event without him.
That lit the fuse.
He was a Mexican detective and his side arm was at the ready. With instinct on his side he swiftly drew the weapon and brandished it toward her.
My body went numb with fright.
He yelled. He had been disrespected and that was unconscionable.
Like a charging bull he sped towards her and she was unable to move from the incoming force. With the full force of his arm he let the full weight of the weapon’s steel smash at my mother’s mouth.
In an instant, her jaw was mangled and to this day continues to have issues with her teeth.
My sisters and I rushed outside and looked on to them for an eternity from a window.
He sat her on the couch and he placed himself in front of her. Their dialog only available to them.
The effects of earlier excesses eventually led to sleep and allowed his captive to sneak away and gather her frightened children.
—
On a side note. My dentist called today. My teeth need to be looked at.

Quake

I remember bits and pieces.

Mexican schools took the dress code seriously and my mother was upset that I had wrinkled my pressed shirt when jumping on the bed. The morning was hurried and I had delayed us 5 minutes while she re-ironed my shirt.
I was on my way back from having my milk in the kitchen when the shaking begun.
The record says that it was an 8.1 quake but to me if felt like the end of the world.
In a moment, I saw my mother thrown across the kitchen like a rag doll. The force shocked my sisters and I and then the violent crash of glass begun. For what seemed an eternity the ground moved and tossed us. I was so scarred.
Once the movement ceased, my mother took stock of the condition of the house. So much had happened in such a short period but in her mind we still had a day to take on and we’d be late for school.
As soon as we started to make our way down our long street to the bus stop we noticed that things would not be okay for a while. Water was bursting from the sewers and many homes seemed in disarray.
We never made it too school that day. For the next 8 months life would not be as we knew it.
My father was not about.

HAL 9000

There must have been a moment.

A fraction of a second where the first spark of intelligence took place.

That single moment made our species just a hair more special then all others we are aware off.

Where will we eventually end up. Will we let our intelligence destroy us or guide us to a new level of understanding?

These and so many other questions were sparked by one film.

Doctor Doctor

I haven’t been feeling well for a while. Constant aches, pains, and the feeling that something ‘ain’t quite right.’

Early this a.m. I made my way to the Dr.

She looked and prodded. Checked, rechecked, listened and nodded.

It seems though that despite some high cholesterol (darn tamales) I’m the picture of health.

Well that’s good news!

But it makes me wonder…my body is fine but what’s going on with my mind?

The Beautiful People

So as a lark I tried to sign up to the BeautifulPeople website and I got rejected.

Darn me and my less than average good looks!

YES I’m fishing for compliments. j/k

“BeautifulPeople.com is an exclusively beautiful community, founded for the purpose of creating personal and professional relationships. BeautifulPeople has been described as an “elite online club, where every member works the door”. BeautifulPeople is the first community of its kind. To become a member, applicants are required to be voted in by existing members of the opposite sex. Members rate all new applicants over a 48 hour period based on whether or not they find the applicant