#Bedford Indiana

[unteriors]

Washington Avenue, Bedford, Indiana.

[gideonnavsenormousbiceps]

EXCUSE ME????

BITTEN??? BY A MONKEY?? IN A WALMART???....

[porcelainapparition]

Bedford, Indiana

built in 1900

[fanficsthatmakemybraingobrr]

A Night In Cairo

Chapter 1

Indiana Jones x Gender-Neutral Reader

You’re a Intern at Marshall College in Bedford Connecticut and you work with Dr.Jones, but he sucks at his job and is never there and is always behind with work making you get the short end of the stick. Then he drags you on a trip to Cairo with him.

I do want to clarify that I am making this story up as I go so i really have no idea where it is going, I'm just writing this to improve my writing skills, so this isn’t gonna be the best writing you’ll see. (and I wanted to write something with the new Indiana Jones movie coming out. I have major brain-rot! Gives me an excuse to write more about my comfort character >:} ) and if you have any feed back or criticism I would love to hear

Link to AO3

‘D correct, B nope wrong, A wrong, C that’s not even close.’ Walking down the very crowded and busy streets, while grading late work that your ‘boss’ didn’t finish and trying not to bump into people at the same time isn’t the most ideal way to start your morning, but you didn’t have a choice when he snuck them into your bag yesterday without telling you and leaving a note on top saying

“Grade these before tomorrow.” - Jones

At this point you don’t know why he’s a professor at a college if he’s never going to be in his office to do his work or help his students. ‘Incorrect…’ Probably one of the reasons these tests have horrible scores. He always does this when he's never in his office. His work plies up and you have to deal with finishing it and not to mention whiny students. ‘Wrong!’ This job is so frustrating!  ‘Wrong again!’ Why did you even agree to be an intern? 

As soon as you set foot on campus you finished grading the last piece of paper, you bring your bag around your body and place the late work in one of the pockets as you walk inside and make your way to Dr. Jones office. The whole building smells like an old book with a faint hint of coffee, it’s filled with the sound of people chatting, footsteps on the hardwood floor, students yelling- Turning the corner you see a crowd of students in front of Dr. Jones' door. They all look worried, pissed, or confused. One of the students sees you out of the corner of their eye. 

“Hey! You! You’re the professor's assistant or whatever, right? You can help us!” This causes other students to turn around and approach you with their problems. All the students are complaining to you all at once you freeze not knowing what to do. This all way too much. You .start to push your way through the wave of the students and up to the office door, and once you finally reach it you open the door. Before you enter the office you turn around to look at the students. 

“I know you’ll have concerns with the professor but right now, isn’t the best time to fix them! I’ll talk to Professor Jones and see if we can set up individual meetings!” 

The crowd of students let out a groan or a sigh of frustration, you close the door and take a deep breath recollecting yourself. You look up and surprise! He isn't here. His office is a small and narrow cluttered room with a messy desk that has work piled up high, shelves stuffed with artifacts and books, and in the back left corner there’s a boiler. It's a complete mess. The office is basically a storage room at this point, actually maybe it is. You take the late work out of your bag and place it on his desk, then sit down in a seat that’s in front of his desk while you check your watch. It's 9am. Class starts at 1pm. 

There’s a small radio on his desk you lean over and turn on. It starts to softly play music, sounds like Kay Kyser. You soak in the music as you look out the small window. It’s the one thing in this office that makes it less claustrophobic, it’s also great for daydreaming when you’re bored. The window is on the first floor of the building and has a nice view of the campus front lawn. Many students go out there to sit in the grass and study, it’s a good place to people watch. The weather is nice today. It's sunny out, the flowers are blooming, the trees are growing their leaves back, and Dr. Jones is speed walking across the sidewalk. Finally he’s here. Not too long later he pushes through the door. You look up at him.

“Good Morn-“ 

“Did you get the work done?” You point over to them on his desk. You're pretty used to him interrupting you. He hands you a cup then picks up the papers and puts them in a different pile, seriously how does this man stay organized? You looked down at the cup in your hand.

“What did you want me to do with this?”. You lift the cup. He doesn’t look at you and keeps going through things on his desk. 

“For you..to ya know…drink? I picked it up on the way here. I already drank mine on my way here…where is it? And uh.. I remember you don’t like coffee…so..I swear it was right here! I got you tea- Oh there!” He picked up a small scroll and put it in his pocket. This is probably the first time he’s ever done anything for you.

“Uh thanks?” Jones sits at his desk, he gives you a quick glance from over the top of his glasses and then starts to write something down, probably today’s lesson plan. Time passes and eventually noon comes and Jones and you walk side by side to the classroom. The work you do during Jones’ classes is very simple: he asks you to get something for him, or hand out papers etc. Hopefully one of these days he’ll let you actually talk. His classes are VERY boring, usually lectures with his rambling taking up most of class time. When you look out at his students a lot of them are usually sleeping, trying not to fall asleep, zoned out, or making goo goo eyes at him. Today was a lecture day.

“Ancient Egyptian artifacts are some of the most highly sought-after and mysterious relics of history. These objects have been passed down through generations and are seen as sacred and divine. They are typically made of gold, silver, or other precious metals and often depict scenes of ancient Egyptian life or mythology!” He’s rambling again. 

“These artifacts are a powerful link to the culture and history of Egypt and are valued for their cultural importance and great artistic value and-“ he pauses as he  looks out the door and standing there is Marcus Brody, an academic, curator, and good friend of Jones. Jones looks back over to his students and clears his throat 

“Uh, that’ll be all for today-“ and before he could say anything else students stampede through the door trampling anything in their way. When the students clear you walk over to the two older men to ask what’s going on. Jones also dismisses you as well and says he will see you tomorrow. You are about to protest but you shoot the thought down quickly, that man is too damned stubborn so you don’t question it and make your way home. Hey, at least you get to go home early, and he didn’t even give you anything to work on.

When you walk home you take your time taking in the scenery. Yes you're in a city and most places are grimy, crowded, and loud but there are still things to admire. Soon enough you arrive at your red brick apartment building. You walk up the rickety stairs of your small stairway and unlock your door. The door opens with a creek. Now this apartment is small when you walk in to your left is a very small kitchenette, right across from it is a twin sized bed and next to that is a small doorway leading to a bathroom with a closet shaped shower and toilet. It’s not much, but it’s home. 

You stole some food from the faculty lounge before you left, so you munch on it and get ready for bed. Reaching under your bed you pull out a foot locker that has your clothes in it and change. You sit on the edge of your bed and take a deep breath then let out a hefty sigh. This internship is so draining sometimes. At first it wasn’t that bad, it was actually quite fun. Until Jones kept disappearing and leaving you to deal with his problems. You can tell that he does try and loves to teach but he really needs to get his priorities in order and communicate better. You’ve thought of quitting multiple times because of how draining this job is, but it pays well and you need the money. You wish you could have something more exciting. You let out a yawn and stretch your arms above your head, looking over at your clock and it’s almost 10pm. Damn how long were you talking to yourself?

“Jeez I guess I should really go to bed..”you mutter to yourself. You get under your thin sheets and stare up at the ceiling waiting for dreams to begin. Your eyelids start to get heavy and right before you drift off someone knocks- no bangs on your door making you jump up. It’s so late at night who could be here? You panic a bit. What if someone is trying to break in? Your mouth goes dry, you go to your kitchen and grab your rolling pin then walk to the door. You took a deep breath and opened the door and were met face to face with a slumped over hands on his knees and very out of breath Dr.Jones. You have so many questions but before you could ask he started talking.

“Pack. We…are..leaving tomorrow.” He looks you dead in the eyes still breathing heavily.

“What?-“ he caught his breath and stood up a bit more, clearing his throat.

“We have to go.” You are so confused.

“Ok first off, what do you mean? Where are we going? What are you doing here? How do you know where I live? D-did you run here?” You stumble over your words. He sighs.

“Cairo. I am going to Cario. I came here to tell you that you're coming with me….also yes I did run here.” He looks down at your hands. 

“What’s with the rolling pin kid?” He raises an eyebrow. 

You look down and quickly come up with an excuse.“Uh, late night baking? But that doesn’t matter right now! I’m the one asking the questions! What do you mean Cairo? I can’t just leave, I have work. You have work!” He lets out another sigh this time it sounds a bit more frustrated.

“Look, we are going to Cairo. This trip is already funded and the college already knows. I told them. And you're an intern- my intern so you're gonna listen to me! C’mon get packed and I’ll be back to pick you up in the morning. I’ll explain and go into more details later.” And with that he turns around and leaves. You stand there for a moment in shock. What would you even pack for a trip like this? Also he never told you how he knew where you lived..

[victusinveritas]

Blue Springs Cavern in Bedford, Indiana. Definitely not anything else.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Reaches Top of Jezero Crater Rim

The road ahead will be even more scientifically intriguing, and probably somewhat easier-going, now that the six-wheeler has completed its long climb to the top.

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has crested the top of Jezero Crater’s rim at a location the science team calls “Lookout Hill” and rolling toward its first science stop after the monthslong climb. The rover made the ascent in order to explore a region of Mars unlike anywhere it has investigated before.

Taking about 3½ months and ascending 1,640 vertical feet (500 vertical meters), the rover climbed 20% grades, making stops along the way for science observations. Perseverance’s science team shared some of their work and future plans at a media briefing held Thursday, Dec. 12, in Washington at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting, the country’s largest gathering of Earth and space scientists.

“During the Jezero Crater rim climb, our rover drivers have done an amazing job negotiating some of the toughest terrain we’ve encountered since landing,” said Steven Lee, deputy project manager for Perseverance at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “They developed innovative approaches to overcome these challenges — even tried driving backward to see if it would help — and the rover has come through it all like a champ. Perseverance is ‘go’ for everything the science team wants to throw at it during this next science campaign.”

Since landing at Jezero in February 2021, Perseverance has completed four science campaigns: the “Crater Floor,” “Fan Front,” “Upper Fan,” and “Margin Unit.” The science team is calling Perseverance’s fifth campaign the “Northern Rim” because its route covers the northern part of the southwestern section of Jezero’s rim. Over the first year of the Northern Rim campaign, the rover is expected to visit as many as four sites of geologic interest, take several samples, and drive about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers).

“The Northern Rim campaign brings us completely new scientific riches as Perseverance roves into fundamentally new geology,” said Ken Farley, project scientist for Perseverance at Caltech in Pasadena. “It marks our transition from rocks that partially filled Jezero Crater when it was formed by a massive impact about 3.9 billion years ago to rocks from deep down inside Mars that were thrown upward to form the crater rim after impact.”

“These rocks represent pieces of early Martian crust and are among the oldest rocks found anywhere in the solar system. Investigating them could help us understand what Mars — and our own planet — may have looked like in the beginning,” Farley added.

First Stop: ‘Witch Hazel Hill’

With Lookout Hill in its rearview mirror, Perseverance is headed to a scientifically significant rocky outcrop about 1,500 feet (450 meters) down the other side of the rim that the science team calls “Witch Hazel Hill.”

“The campaign starts off with a bang because Witch Hazel Hill represents over 330 feet of layered outcrop, where each layer is like a page in the book of Martian history. As we drive down the hill, we will be going back in time, investigating the ancient environments of Mars recorded in the crater rim,” said Candice Bedford, a Perseverance scientist from Purdue University in West Layfette, Indiana. “Then, after a steep descent, we take our first turns of the wheel away from the crater rim toward ‘Lac de Charmes,’ about 2 miles south.”

Lac de Charmes intrigues the science team because, being located on the plains beyond the rim, it is less likely to have been significantly affected by the formation of Jezero Crater.

After leaving Lac de Charmes, the rover will traverse about a mile (1.6 kilometers) back to the rim to investigate a stunning outcrop of large blocks known as megabreccia. These blocks may represent ancient bedrock broken up during the Isidis impact, a planet-altering event that likely excavated deep into the Martian crust as it created an impact basin some 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) wide, 3.9 billion years in the past.

More About Perseverance

A key objective of Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including caching samples that may contain signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, to help pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet and as the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.

NASA’s Mars Sample Return Program, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), is designed to send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

[goalhofer]

2024 Pittsburgh Pirates Roster

Pitchers

#23 Mitch Keller (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

#26 Bailey Falter (Chino Hills, California)

#27 Marco Gonzales (Ft. Collins, Colorado)*

#28 Josh Fleming (Columbia, Illinois)*

#35 Colin Holderman (Bourbonnais Township, Illinois)

#36 Dauri Moreta (Comendador, Dominican Republic)

#37 Jared Jones (La Mirada, California)**

#43 Ryan Borucki (Fremont Township, Illinois)

#45 Albertín Chapman (San Isidro De Holguin, Cuba)*

#48 Luis Ortiz (San Pedro De Macorís, Dominican Republic)

#51 David Bednar (Mars, Pennsylvania)

#54 Martín Pérez (Guanare, Venezuela)*

#59 Roansy Contreras (Peralvillo, Dominican Republic)

#61 José Hernández (San Felipe De Puerto Plata, Dom Rep)

#63 Hunter Stratton (Bluff City, Tennessee)

Catchers

#6 Yasmani Grandal (Miami Springs, Florida)*

#14 Joey Bart (Buford, Georgia)*

#32 Henry Davis (Bedford, New York)

#55 Jason Delay (Johns Creek, Georgia)

Infielders

#2 Connor Joe (San Diego, California)

#3 Ji-Hwan Bae (Daegu, South Korea)

#13 Ke'Bryan Hayes (Tomball, Texas)

#15 Oneil Cruz (Nizao, Dominican Republic)

#19 Jared Triolo (Austin, Texas)

#25 Alexander Williams (San Diego, California)

#44 Ryan Tellez (Elk Grove, California)*

Outfielders

#10 Bryan Reynolds (Brentwood, Tennessee)

#18 Michael Taylor (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)*

#22 Andrew McCutchen (Ft. Meade, Florida)

#38 Edward Olivares (Santiago De León De Caracas, Venezuela)*

#65 Jack Suwinski (Chicago, Illinois)

Coaches

Manager Derek Shelton (Warren Township, Illinois)

Bench coach Don Kelly (Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania)

Hitting coach Andy Haines (Louisville Township, Illinois)

Assistant hitting coach Christian Marrero (Miami, Florida)

Bullpen coach Justin Meccage (Billings, Montana)

Bullpen catcher Jordan Comadena (Normal, Illinois)

Bullpen catcher Raúl Hernández (Maturín, Venezuela)

Pitching coach Oscar Marin (Los Angeles, California)

1B coach Tarrik Brock (Goleta, California)

3B coach Mike Rabelo (New Port Richey, Florida)

Infield coach Mendy López (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)

Strategy coach Radley Haddad (Carmel, Indiana)

Assistant coach Stephen Morales (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico)

Assistant coach Jonny Tucker (Oakland, California)

[wutbju]

Philip Lee Estes, BJU Class of 1984.

Philip Lee Estes was born on August 6th, 1940 to Geneva Canady & Victor Estes in St. Louis, Missouri. Their small family grew when his sister Janace was born a few years later. After growing up in the St Louis area he joined the US Navy in 1963 in San Diego and served his country as a hospital corpsman, traveling the world from Japan, Thailand, and throughout the South Pacific during the buildup of the Vietnam war.In 1967 after being honorably discharged from the Navy, he arrived at Kansas City College and Bible School to finish his college degree and met Susan Clare Olsen of Binghamton, New York that first semester. They were married after a whirlwind romance of one semester, on a snowy December 30th in 1967 at the Pilgrim Holiness Church in Binghamton, New York.

The newlyweds returned to KCCBS in Overland Park, Kansas until 1970 where he taught classes, and also where they welcomed the arrival of their first child, Jennifer Lynn, in October 1969.In 1971 the young family moved to Nicholson, Pennsylvania where Phil took the pastorate at Green Grove Pilgrim Holiness Church. In September of that same year their second child, Philip Francis, was born.After a few years in Pennsylvania, in preparation for going to the mission field in Korea, the family moved to Columbia, South Carolina where Phil attended Columbia Bible College graduate school, followed by a year spent in preparation living locally here in Hobe Sound, Florida through 1975.

Finishing their preparations, in the spring of 1975 the family moved to Seoul, South Korea with Evangelical Faith Missions of Bedford, Indiana. The next four years were spent on the mission field helping pastors at Lifeline Holiness Church as well as teaching bible classes at Korea Holiness Seminary. Phil and Susan’s deep-rooted love for Koreans was evident for a half-century, passed along to their children and grandchildren whose passion for the Koreans included many trips to Korea, the mentoring of dozens of graduate students (including many of whom received a doctorate), and an abundance of lifelong family friends. On a furlough back to the United States in 1977, their third and final child, Elizabeth Marie was born.In 1979 the family returned from the mission field and moved to Penns Creek, Pennsylvania where Phil took the role of Academic Dean of Penn View Bible Institute until 1981.

In 1981 he was interested in more advanced theological education and the family moved to Greenville, South Carolina for him to attend Bob Jones University. After three years at BJU, Phil received a Masters of Divinity degree after which the family moved to Quincy, Illinois where Phil became the pastor of Quincy Church of God Holiness. At the close of the 1986-87 school year, soon after their daughter Jennifer graduated high school, an opening at Hobe Sound Bible College led to a family move back to South Florida. This move would become a long span of time for their life among friends and extended family in the Hobe Sound area. From 1987 through 1997 Phil was a bible teacher and professor at Hobe Sound Bible College where he taught many subjects including English, Christian Worldview, Acts, Greek, and Literature. He was a well-loved and respected teacher who challenged many students over the years to think deeply about their faith and walk with Christ. Phil’s love for books and learning led him to one final degree achievement at the age of 58: a Master’s in Library Science that he received from the University of South Florida, leading to a new role as the librarian at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Phil & Susan took a break from South Florida life for a five-year stint at Mount Vernon Nazarene University from 1999 through 2004, where Phil continued in his latest calling as a librarian there at the university. Grandchildren arrived quickly through these years and they returned to South Florida to enjoy family while Phil finished out his career at Northwood University. They enjoyed life, traveling to see children and grandchildren over the years, serving in many ways in local churches and ministries, surrounded by a medley of many good friends and a broad array of extended family. During the waning years of his working life and on into his retirement, Phil enjoyed a growing passion for woodworking that led to building out a complete woodworking shop with a significant investment in tools and machinery. In some ways, this passion grew into a nearly full-time business building furniture, framing photographs, and refinishing antique pieces for friends, family, and even for some clients on Jupiter Island. His pieces of furniture are found throughout his children’s and grandchildren’s homes and his eye and attention to detail made for some excellent workmanship.

Throughout these years, if he wasn’t already busy enough, his impact was noted by so many through avenues like Bible studies hosted at their home, teaching Sunday School, singing and leading music, among many other acts of service and spiritual leadership in his communities. He even was the host of a short-lived email discussion list called “Issues of Faith” where many former students sought out his insight and wisdom on interpreting and understanding matters of faith and scripture. Around 2016 Phil started his long battle with dementia, a cruel disease for someone who had spent his life pursuing learning, loving books, and the life of academia. Thankfully, Phil held on to pieces of his keen dry wit and love of music until almost the very end.

[holliswoodny]

The More-or-Less Annual George R. Stewart Christmas Story | the EARTH ABIDES project

The More-or-Less Annual George R. Stewart Christmas Story Here’s the annual re-post of a story of the close connections between George R. Stewart and Jimmy Stewart, and between the mythical town of Bedford Falls and the real  town of Indiana, Pennsylvania – the boyhood home of both Stewarts.    It’s A Wonderful Story This is the time of year when most of us, regardless of our religious…

[indianagoldensllc]

your best companion Golden Retriever Breeders in Indiana

Since 1998, Indiana Goldens has been a family-owned Golden Retriever Breeders Indiana. We breed Golden Retrievers in Bedford, Indiana. We feel honored and proud to have been the reason for happiness for so many families in the area and strive to continue doing that for many years. We provide training to the puppies and dogs through our beginner training program.

[lovelylittlelosers]

Okay so, I've never really added to an analysis before so if I do or say anything wrong please let me know but I also wanted to point out the connection that can be made between Will and Ryan White.

Ryan White was 13 when he was diagnosed with AIDS in December 1984. Living in Kokomo, Indiana, doctors gave him six months to live.  He gained national attention after he and his mom fought for him to be able to go to school and he ended up becoming the face of public education about the disease. Ryan White programs are actually the largest provider of services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States which I wanted to point out just to show that his legacy is very much alive and well known.

There's a lot of similarities to be drawn between him and will- they're the same age both being 13 in 1984. Also that's the year of Ryan's diagnosis and the year that s2 takes place and of course there's the fact that they're both from Indiana. I actually dove a bit deeper into finding similarities between Kokomo, IN and Hawkins but with Hawkins not being real there wasn't a lot of concete stuff to go off of. That said this reddit thread of people from Indiana that I'm just going to trust know a lot more about this then I do seemed to all agree that the closest thing to Hawkins in Indiana is Bedford, IN. Bedford and Kokomo are almost the exact same distance from Indianapolis (75 mi and 61 mi respectively) just in opposite directions. So though I can't compare census records and such they are at least the same amount of far away from the major city in Indiana. Location aside, both Will and Ryan are targets of homophobic bullying. Ryan had severe hemophilia A and contracted AIDS due to a blood transfusion but was the target of this bullying because of his diagnosis. you can hear his mom talk about this here in an audio file but she said:

"It was really bad. People were really cruel, people said that he had to be gay, that he had to have done something bad or wrong, or he wouldn't have had it. It was God's punishment, we heard the "God's punishment" a lot. That somehow, someway he had done something he shouldn't have done or he wouldn't have gotten AIDS."

(side note: the god's punishment thing really reminded me of all the religion talk that starts rearing it's head with Jason in s4)

It was actually seeing this poster on the cdc's website page about the AIDS epidemic that led me into researching further because the Indiana AIDS hotline and the National AIDS hotline being the two mentioned stood out to me.

It just felt like another potential reason to have the show take place in Indiana specifically given this context. Because before I did all this research I had no clue that Indiana had any particular ties to the AIDS epidemic itself.

The Big AIDS Metaphor Post

In her essay "Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?" from her book The Language of the Night: Essays of Fantasy and Science Fiction, science-fiction and fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin writes—

"The use of imaginative fiction is to deepen your understanding of your world, of your fellow men, and your own feelings, and your destiny."

It would be easy for me to claim that Stranger Things is a show that utilizes its science-fiction elements as an AIDS metaphor, but that only goes so far without being able to prove that the show is in fact employing said metaphor. "The show takes place in the 80's -> AIDS was a big part of the 80's -> therefore the show is about AIDS" isn't an airtight argument in itself. I can quote famous sci-fi writers all day but that still wouldn't prove that the Duffers themselves are actually following similar trains of thought.

So here's my big long post about why the show is utilizing it's science-fiction elements as an AIDS metaphor.

Lengthy discussion of rape, violent homophobia and drug use below the cut.

A Brief History of HIV/AIDS in America

For those not in the know about HIV/AIDS, and in order to all get on the same page, here is a short recap. For my information, I will be this timeline from hiv.gov as well as this timeline created by History Channel, as well as some of the supplemental hyperlinks provided. Any other sources I use will be linked throughout.

HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus is a virus that attacks the body's immune system, making it highly susceptible to infection and cancers. The virus can progress to a more severe version of the infection, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS. The virus spreads through bodily fluids such as semen and blood. The most common ways for HIV/AIDS to spread was through unprotected sex and sharing needles while using drugs.

The initial cases of HIV were present in America in the 70's but become much more rampant starting in the early 1980s. Because cases of AIDS were most commonly seen in gay and bisexual men, there was a large misconception that AIDS was a "gay plague" or a "gay disease" as it was nicknamed. By 1984, 3,500 Americans had died from AIDS related illnesses.

The reason that AIDS epidemic got as deadly as it did is often attributed to the Reagan Administration's failure to act, something that President Reagan denied. Reagan would not publicly acknowledge AIDS until 1985, despite U.S. health officials being aware of AIDS since 1981.

Understanding just how entrenched this metaphor is in the story will include going through each season and examining in detail how each one plays into this metaphor.

Season One: Establishing Metaphor & Government Cover Up in Early Years of Epidemic

The AIDS metaphor is most closely connected with Will's storyline, although it's not exclusive to Will nor is his storyline exclusive to AIDS. Furthermore, the supernatural elements of this show are multifaceted. AIDS is but just one of the metaphors expressed in the show, but for the sake of this post it's what I will be focusing on.

The setup begins following Will's disappearance in episode 1, when Joyce introduces Will's queer coding to us.

By 1983 the terms "gay disease" and "gay cancer" had been in the public vocabulary for a couple years now. So when Joyce brings up his queerness in regards to to his disappearance in a show that takes place in the early 1980s, there is a subconscious correlation that can be made in the watchers mind. His sexuality is significant to the why he went missing, otherwise why bring it up?

We then hear through Troy exactly what the town believes happened to Will.

I think that Troy essentially being a mouthpiece for his father is significant to show that Troy's beliefs are not exclusive to him and they do not exist in a vacuum. Troy's homophobia is a product of his environment, which includes his home and by extension, Hawkins.

The specification that Will was killed by "some other queer" adds another layer under the surface of Troy's statement, one that implies that Will was raped before he was kill, otherwise, again, why bring up sexuality in the first place? This was the attitude toward gay men— they rape and kill little boys.

In early 1984, there was a study conducted by the American Journal of Medicine to trace the sexual partners of a cluster of patients with Kaposi Sarcoma, one of the common cancers that killed AIDS patients. The study identified a flight attendant as "Patient O" who was among the first to exhibit symptoms of HIV/AIDS and had a rather active sex life with a multitude of sexual partners. The study was soon misconstrued by the public to claim that there was a Patient Zero who was "a promiscuous or even malicious gay man who single-handedly and knowingly touched off the AIDS pandemic in the United States."

Another crucial factor of the metaphor is the cover-up and blame shifting from the government lab, the exact thing that allowed the problem to escalate and become as deadly as it did to begin with. In the early years of the epidemic, Reagan slashed the budget of public health agencies like the CDC, and it would be years until he ever made a speech about it let alone even mentioned AIDS publicly.

We see how adamant the lab is to cover up any supernatural involvement with Will's disappearance in an attempt to cover their own asses. Framing his death as an accident was their call, all while being acutely aware of what the actual problem was. This confrontation from Joyce to Brenner puts it pretty aptly.

Tangent About Barb

This AIDS metaphor is something that I thought of when I first watched the show back in 2016 (humble brag) but what tipped me off the most wasn't Will or the lab but it was the fact that Barb was the other victim shown.

Barb's queer coding was clear to everyone and their mother. Hell, there's even a joke about it in the Bad Lip Reading of the first season. Barb, Nancy's short haired female friend who takes issue with Nancy's new relationship and has a hard time fitting in with with all of the heterosexual antics of Steve's house party. She's singled out, and while the rest of the gang get to casually enjoy the pleasures of sex, while Barb, another member of the queer community, sadly loses her life. The show cuts between Nancy having sex with Steve with Barb being killed to emphasize this stark contrast.

Season Two: Personal Effects of HIV/AIDS & Social Stigmatization

Season one was surrounding Will while not really showing us much of his pov, but season two dives right in to his perspective.

So, remember when I talked earlier about how Troy, and by extension the town, believed that Will was raped? Well, he wasn't exactly wrong.

This moment wasn't lost on me when I originally watched the show, although I think I ignored the implications because I didn't want to believe what I was seeing. But it's pretty well spelled out— A long, tentacle-like organ used for the sake of reproduction (Will "births" D'Art as a result of this), is inserted inside of Will's mouth without consent.

It's been a year, and Will is still dealing with the trauma of what happened, along with all of these new changes to his life. Will frequently attends doctors appointments at the lab, where the lab themselves aren't completely confident what is happening with him either.

When cases of HIV/AIDS were first appearing in the U.S., health officials were unclear as to what exactly this virus was and how it worked, only that clusters of otherwise healthy gay men were suddenly developing rare and aggressive infections and cancers.

Owens refers to the spread of the Upside Down very clinically— describing it as some cancer. One of the first articles published about HIV/AIDS in America before more information was known was a New York Times article titled "Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals." The cancer the headline refers to being Karposi Sarcoma, the rare skin cancer developing due to their weakened immune system.

HIV/AIDS in itself isn’t the disease that patients die from, but instead the weakened immune system allows for diseases to take over the body without much defense. After his visit to the Upside Down, Will faces a series of “True Sight” visions as Mike puts it, which allows for a destructive foreign entity to invade Will's body and slowly take it over.

HIV.gov lists the following as some of the symptoms of AIDS:

"Rapid weight loss"

"Profuse night sweats"

and "Memory loss"

To the government agents in the lab, we see just how disposable Will is to them. In their words, if it kills him, it kills him. (thank you to @emblazons for being the one to point this out to me)

Owens may have held more concern for Will, but he still continues the government cover-up started by Brenner in season one. We also see the fallout of Barb's death, with Nancy and Jonathan fighting to uncover and reveal the truth. Owens is the one who tries to put a stop to their exposé of events to Barb's mom.

Not only is Will facing trauma and his body being ravaged by this new illness, but he's also facing social stigmatization, something common among gay men with positive HIV statuses at this time. There seemed to be some sympathy from the townsfolk when Will was missing and presumed dead, yet he faces animosity almost seemingly because he came back.

The "Zombie Boy" Nickname

I once made a whole separate post about this, but Will's "Zombie Boy" nickname from season two fits in with this AIDS metaphor.

On a surface level, the nickname is in reference to the fact that Will seemed to come back to life despite having a funeral and being buried. In a literal sense, however, his peers are quite literally referring to him a walking corpse that spreads disease. Individuals suffering from AIDS often have very short life expectancies, and zombies are the re-animated dead that aim to infect and kill as many people as possible. It is a very coded nickname.

In the post that I linked, I speculate the possibility that some people in town may even believe that Will has HIV. Remember earlier when I mentioned Troy's comment "he was probably killed by some other queer" which implies a belief that Will was raped. The town don't know about any of the supernatural goings-on, but they do know that Will went missing, was found in a cabin a week later, was hospitalized shortly after and attended frequent doctor visits through the following year. I don't see a reason that malicious rumors would cease, especially considering that they already continue to be cruel and ostracizing with the Zombie Boy nickname.

Look also at this moment of Will getting weird looks as he is being pulled from school to attend his doctors appointment. Why so much stigma around simply going to the doctor?

The 1984 Reelection of Ronald Reagan

In 1984, Ronald Reagan won reelection in one of the biggest election wins in history. And— subsequently continuing his and the governments silence towards the AIDS epidemic.

Season two takes place in the week leading up to the reelection. There are small set pieces that draw attention to this, such as this election sign in front of the library.

If the date November 6th sounds familiar, it should.

Dr. Owens mentions the anniversary of Will's disappearance. The one year anniversary of Will's disappearance is the same day that Ronald Reagan was reelected. Will's trauma is being purposefully associated with that day.

I've also made a separate post before just about the Reagan/Bush '84 signs that litter the lawns of Hawkins houses. They appear most notably in the Halloween episode, building to when Will has his true sight episode that night. There is one clearly in frame just before Will is separated from the group, called a "Zombie Boy" and a "freak" (two very coded nicknames) before he falls into his vision.

We also get a clear view of the Reagan/Bush sign outside of the Wheeler house before Will describes his experience to Mike.

A Tangent About the Wheelers

And now the question on everyone's mind: Are the Wheeler's homophobic?

Ted and Karen Wheeler are not violent, homophobic bullies. That would be a massive reach. But it would also be a reach to say that they are vocal allies. And maybe that's just what the average middle class family

In the very least, the Wheelers are passively contributing to a system that enables homophobia. To be honest, they are probably just going along with what everyone else is doing. Like I said earlier, Reagan was an incredibly popular candidate for the 1984 reelection. The Wheelers have the privilege of being able to comfortably conform without having to worry about much of the consequences. (I'll talk more about the Wheelers later)

In the episode where Will is possessed by the Mind Flayer, Joyce calls the school and we get an extended shot with Reagan's portrait in the background. The shot begins with the portrait slightly obscured, then the camera dolly's in towards the receptionist with the portrait still in frame. Shortly after this Will is possessed in the field. Here is one of the camera begins the shot and where the camera ends the shot.

I also wanna note that when Joyce calls in this scene, the receptionist makes a side comment about her and rolls her eyes. There's a clear animosity towards not only Will, but the whole Byers family, including the adults of the town. Including Reagan's portrait in this shot is meant to create a subtle correlation between him and the stigma that the Byers' face.

Season Three: The Façade of Patriotism Over a Dying Nation

It's 1985, Ronald Reagan has been reelected, and this season introduces Hawkins Mayor Larry Kline.

Is Larry Kline meant to be Ronald Reagan?

I would say that Mayor Kline is probably exemplary of American politicians in a broader sense (in fact the Duffers may have been making allusions to Trump with his connection to the Russians) although the fact that he's in office the same time as Reagan is still significant.

In the beginning of the season, Mayor Kline is being met with protesters outside his house, not unlike many of the AIDS awareness protests from the 80's.

The townsfolk are angered with Kline for building the mall and running some of the small businesses into the ground. During Reagan's run, he implemented a system of economics called "Reaganomics," which aimed to cut taxes and support economic growth. Although critics of Reaganomics will point out that his policies had actually increased the wealth gap, making the rich richer and the poor, poor. I want to keep this post about the AIDS metaphor, although I wanted to point this out as it is a connection between Kline and Reagan. And as I said earlier in this post, the metaphors are multifaceted and not just about AIDS.

But continuing, later in the season Kline puts on a big 4th of July festival to celebrate the independence of his country with neon lights and flashy fireworks. Meanwhile, the people of his town are dying right under his political reign.

During season 3, the AIDS metaphor actually moves away from Will, with the focus of his story shifting slowly to romance. This was setup at the Snowball at the end of season 2, and season 3 hints at some of Will's feelings for Mike which will be carried into season 4.

But the metaphor is carried on by Will's name twin, Billy.

Billy and Will sharing the same first name, that being William, feels significant as Will basically passes the baton to him and Billy now becomes the focus for this metaphor. We learn from Max that Billy is very sexually active, and in the beginning of the season he has eyes for Karen Wheeler. It is while he is on his way to this illicit sexual affair when he is "infected" by the Mind Flayer. (this was pointed out to me in the comment of one of my posts, but have since lost it. If you are reading this— thank you.)

Billy then passes the "infection" along to a girl he was flirtatious with, before the "virus" begins spreading over town.

There is also language and rape imagery associated with being flayed. There is the repeated lines "hold still" and "it'll all be over soon." When Heather's parents are flayed, they are tied up something is forcefully inserted orally, not unlike what we saw with the tentacle inside of Will in season one and his possession in season two. (I first saw this pointed out by @kaypeace21

The flayed begin to eat chemicals, and Nancy makes the comment that Tom, one of the flayed, appears to have been on drugs. Another common way that HIV is spread is through the sharing of drug needles.

HIV/AIDS in the Press

Nancy's arc with the newspaper this season reminds me a lot of how AIDS was first being reported in the press. Nancy begins her search for a story with stolen fertilizer and diseased rats, not realizing that there was a much bigger and much more dangerous story at hand. One of the first reports HIV in the media was from a CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from 1981, which cited five cases of pneumonia in previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles. While still a deadly number, it was relatively small compared to the massive number of AIDS cases and deaths that would soon follow.

When Nancy brings her story to work, Bruce, one of her higher-ups, sips from this rather patriotic coffee mug before telling Nancy to drop the story.

At the end of the 1985 summer in Hawkins, the flayed have died in a "mall fire" and Larry Kline is arrested for colluding with the Russians, and their patriotic façade is shattered.

In September 1985, shortly after actor and close friend of Ronald Reagan, Rock Hudson dies, of an AIDS related illness, Reagan makes his first public acknowledgement of AIDS.

Season Four: Further Stigmatization & LGBT Witch Hunting

In season four the town is finally privy to the fact that there is something wrong going on, although they are unsure of exactly what. When things begin to escalate, instead of blaming the actual guilty party, they go on an all-out witch hunt.

Once again, Will's pretty removed from the AIDS storyline in this season with his arc focusing on his romantic feelings for Mike. With Billy dead and Will out of town, the baton passes once again for the metaphor to be carried by Eddie Munson.

In the first episode of season 4, Eddie is reading a magazine with an article about the Satanic Panic, a real case of wide-spread hysteria in the 1980's regarding the fear of rising Satanism, supposedly promoted by D&D. The article links the game to violent behavior, Satanic worship, sodomy and murder.

Tangent on Sodomy and Sodomy Laws

Merriam-Webster defines sodomy as "anal or oral copulation with another person." The definition is often expanded to include copulation with animals, although the term sodomy, according to Merriam-Webster, means "especially: anal or oral copulation with a member of the same sex."

While definitions may vary depending on states, some states have specific laws outlawing sodomy, even between consenting adults. In 1986, the Supreme Court upheld Georgia's anti-sodomy laws in Bowers v. Hardwick, after a homosexual man and his partner were arrested after being caught while having sex in his own home. Sodomy laws would eventually be challenged again in 2002 with the Lawrence v. Texas case.

While sodomy can technically can refer to both homosexual and heterosexuals, it is especially and historically has been used in regards to homosexual sex. When Eddie reads the word sodomy here, gay sex is being lumped in and made equivalent to violent behavior, Satanic worship, and murder. Quite literally in season four, Hellfire Club is seen as the evil Satanic sodomizers who bring death to their town.

While trying to find a substitute for the D&D game, one of kids Mike asks mentions 60 Minutes in his rebuttal of Mike's request. This episode takes place on March 21st, 1986. On March 16th, 1986, 60 Minutes played a segment called "Life and Death in San Fransisco," a segment about the AIDS virus on CBS. (EDIT: I originally attributed this to the wrong person, but thank you to @aemiron-main for being the one to point this out. Apologies for my memory mixing up my ST analysts in my head 😔) The archived footage can be viewed on YouTube.

When Chrissy is killed by Vecna inside of Eddie's trailer, leading the town to suspect that Eddie was the killer, she was going there to do drugs. Again, a common way for AIDS to be spread was through the sharing of drug needles. After the town and cops suspect Eddie, the town goes on an all-out witch hunt for him and other members of Hellfire, invoking Christianity as their reasoning. In Eddie's words— "Hunt the freak, right?"

Does this mean that Eddie is queer?

The black handkerchief in his back pocket and Joseph Quinn's flirtatious ad-libs with Steve are not completely lost on me. And the AIDS coding here does seem to be pointing in that direction, but here's what I think.

Eddie's actual sexual orientation, and by extension that of Hellfire, is beside the point and doesn't actually matter in the eyes of the town. Every member of Hellfire could be straight and every member of Hellfire could be gay, but what matters is that Hellfire Club is a group of outsiders that participate in recreational activity that is deemed dangerous, and that in itself is queer, regardless of who they may actually be attracted to.

Another Tangent on The Wheelers

During Jason's religious spiel in town hall which invoked the witch hunt against Eddie and Hellfire, we get this shot of Ted and Karen Wheeler upon remembering that Mike is a part of Hellfire. And boy do they look terrified.

This moment, right here, is what I believe to be the Wheeler rug pull. They may not have been signing up to witch hunt their son when they put that Reagan sign in their front lawn, but this is what it leads to. They're being confronted with the most extreme end of their forced conformity and they fear what they see. I think part of what causes this change in character is because they know Mike, had Mike not been a Hellfire member, who is to say if they would have changed their tune or join in the witch hunt. At the end of the season, when the news reports that the giant gate in town is a "doorway to Hell," both Ted and Karen scoff at the report, calling it "hysteria." The conformists are beginning to un-conform.

Concluding Thoughts & Season Five

Providing a story about HIV/AIDS through a science-fiction metaphor is both practical and ethical. The metaphor allows the show to tell the story to a wide audience without the reliance on outside knowledge. You don't have to be an expert in HIV/AIDS history to understand the story that it's trying to tell. It's ethical as well in that it doesn't force it's incredibly young actors to have to act out being raped and developing HIV/AIDS.

With Eddie Munson dead and Zombie Boy back in town, I think that the AIDS metaphor will shift it's focus back to Will. I think we may see a colliding of the AIDS plot with his romance plot. How do you pursue romance with a HIV+ status? Can you?

The way I see, season 5 has the choice to go in one of two directions:

But first, a short tangent about my uncle

In recent years, I came to learn that my uncle was HIV+, something that wasn't known to me when I was younger. Him and his partner are both in their sixties, and they currently bought a plot of land in which they plan on building their dream house together.

But anyways, the two choices are this:

Will dies by the end of the season. He becomes one of the many gay men with HIV/AIDS who lived a short life, unable to grow into adulthood and pursue his love life. His story is a tragedy.

Will lives. He becomes one of the many gay men with HIV/AIDS who survived and is able to live a long and happy life full of love. His story is an uplifting one full of hope.

Tagging: @emblazons @italiantv @gaysmindpalace @ven0moir @punkwillbyers @mikesbasementbeets @quinterobb @drangues @basiltonpitch @howtobecomeadragon

[porcelainapparition]

Bedford, Indiana

built in 1929

[fanficsthatmakemybraingobrr]

A Night In Cairo

Chapter 4

Indiana Jones x Gender-Neutral Reader

You’re a Intern at Marshall College in Bedford Connecticut and you work with Dr.Jones, but he sucks at his job and is never there and is always behind with work making you get the short end of the stick. Then he drags you on a trip to Cairo with him.

I actually liked how this chapter turned out! i don't think it's half bad. but i am still very open to criticism! anyways i hope you enjoy! :}

link to: Chapter 1/Chapter 2/Chapter 3

Link to AO3

Regret. That is all you have right now is pure regret. You wish you slept on that damn bed. You should have made him sleep with that sad pile of comforters. You also regret using comforters, you should’ve taken the sheets you woke up in the middle night drenched in your own sweat and what feels like a broken back.

That’s also the reason you’re up so early you couldn’t fall back asleep. If you had to guess it’s probably 7:00 in the morning? Indy was passed out and sprawled across the bed, laying on his stomach hugging a pillow smooshing it against his face. He's pretty knocked out and is sleeping soundly, his face is gently illuminated by the sunlight coming through the window.

You just stare at him.

His eyebrows slightly furrowed.

You seem to be doing that a lot lately. Just starring.

His hair all tousled.

Why are you looking? 

The way the light played on his face perfectly framing his facial features was intriguing. 

Maybe because you've never been able to get a good look at him? I mean the time you spend around him you're always grading things or helping him plan out his syllabus day by day because he didn't do it before the semester started?

You never noticed the scar on his chin- damn this man has long ass eyelashes! 

Stop it. You're being creepy, you're standing over his body like he's a cadaver or something. You turn your gaze to the window hearing the sound of busy streets, the calls of vendors and talk of passersby. An idea pops into your head. This Is your first time out of the US, why not explore the city for a bit? You tiptoe across the hotel room grabbing your things and making your way to the door. 

The minute you step outside it's hotter than hell, you almost want to go back inside but this is a once in a lifetime chance for you right now. Hm? Where do you start, which direction do you walk in? You shrug your shoulders and think whatever and you just start walking. Your Arabic is pretty rusty so when you read signs you're mainly going off context clues. You start to pass by little shops and vendors admiring what they had to sell. The city really starts to feel alive as you take in the small details around you. In the background you hear people chattering, having small conversations About how busy they are today or their plans, the playful screaming of children, the sound of vendors selling their goods. You see how different areas of the city are all unique with different stores and goods available. At one point you see a small cat wandering around. You stop and pet it. You can feel it purr as you glide your hand down its back and off its tail.

As you were enjoying your enrichment time petting the stray cat you didn't notice Indiana come up behind you. He looked over your shoulder watching with a small smile patiently for you to notice him.

Wow.

It’s been like five minutes. Indiana is taken back for a moment. He finds it almost… What's the word, Endearing? that you're putting so much effort into petting this damn cat. He almost feels jealous. 

“You know that thing probably has fleas?” He let slip out in a teasing and joking tone. He didn't mean to say it truly…okay maybe he did. You were a little startled when he talked, you looked up from the cat at the older man and lightly rolled your eyes and let out a small chuckle.

“Your being mean Jones!” you exclaim. Indiana walks over and kneels down next to you in the cat. He extended his hand out letting the cat sniff him, the cat let out a small meow and it nuzzled its small head into his hand. You smiled as he began to pet the cat. You noticed how gentle he was in the way he treated the animal. The cat seemed to like Indiana as much as it liked you. 

“Now you have fleas” you teased back. Indy was caught a little bit by surprise by you making that sly comment but he couldn't help but smile at you.

“Yeah, I probably have some fleas now.” he said while smiling. A faint growl came from your stomach, oh yeah eating. You forgot about that. Indiana laughed as he heard your stomach growl.

“Seems like someone skipped breakfast, come on i know a place that has some great food” You stood up and the cat walked away probably to seek attention from someone else. 

“Yeah, I'm very hungry.” you say with a tinge of embarrassment. Indy then smiled and offered his arm to you. You looked at him a little confused. You let out a little ‘hm?’ and then you realized, he wants you to hold on to him. You awkwardly take his arm and he starts leading the way.

“This place gets pretty busy around this time and… ya know…i don't wanna end up losing you in this crowd.” you look at him and smile. He could have just told you to stay close but you let him keep his pride.

Indy led you into a little hole in the wall restaurant that was tucked away. Once you both walked you took a seat at a table for two in the corner of the small but humble restaurant. The decor was simple but comfortable and it had a warm and cozy atmosphere. The walls were painted a warm shade, with decorations hanging from them. The restaurant was busy with locals eating and enjoying their food. You picked up the menu and realized you could only read about half of it. You looked at Indy and he had on his round reading glasses. They made him look mature and intelligent. The round frames complemented his face.

“Uh Indy i can't read the menu that well…” you say as you sheepishly look over your menu. Indy looked up from his own menu at you and smirked at your statement. 

“That's alright sweetheart, I'll get us something we’ll both like.” 

“Okay..” you nodded.

Sweetheart? You were frozen, you moved your eyes down towards your menu finding it hard to concentrate on it. Did he mean to call you that? Why did he call you that? You could feel your face slightly burn. You found yourself almost wanting him to call you that again.

He did not mean to call you that.

Indiana Jones, a full grown man who has plenty of lovers is failing to suppress his feelings. What's going on? He's never done this before. He doesn't slip up like this (yes he does). Did you notice his slip-up? Indy suppresses these thoughts, glazing his eyes over the menu picking something out for you two to eat. Indy picked something out, called over a waiter and put in the order. There was an awkward silence between the two of you. God this is horrible. Indiana does want to know you better, he never really has sat down and had a genuine conversation with you except once. But that was your first day on campus.

Indiana had just walked out of the faculty lounge with a cup of coffee in one hand and his briefcase in the other. He had just gotten back from Turkey with his father. He was tired, his back hurting, he was behind on work, and did not have much patience. As he turned the corner to his office he noticed someone standing in front of his office door. He sighed as he approached them.

“I know I haven't graded exams but i'll get to them today.” he grumbled as he walked by them and unlocked his office. The person turned their head to the side in confusion.

“Um sir i’m not one of your students..” Indy stopped and turned around.

“What?”

“Sir i'm an Intern, My name is ___! I was told I'll be working with you this semester!” They gave him a smile and extended their hand out to him. Oh yeah, Indiana forgot about that. Oops. 

“My bad,” he said, extending his hand to shake theirs. "I'm a bit out of it today I suppose. It's nice to meet you, I'm Indy.” Indiana Jones then sighed, still feeling tired and slightly irritable after his most recent trip abroad. He took a sip of his coffee and rubbed his neck, as he could feel the tension building up in his shoulders. He looked at the intern and forced a smile, trying to mask his tiredness. "Well then, let's get to work."

Okay…maybe not too genuine, but you two are always so busy from that point on he doesn't know that much about you. 

“So..” Indy mumbled, breaking the silence. “Did you sleep well last night? I saw that you made that…nest?” You finally looked up from the table and at Indiana. You laughed as he called your bed a ‘nest’. 

“Yeah it was fine, just a bit warm.” 

“I'm sorry you had to sleep on the floor, i mean i would have but by the time i came out of the shoulder you were already asleep.”

“No it's okay, I really don't mind!” the waiter came back with your food and placed it on the table. You and Indy started eating and enjoying each other's company. It was nice, you told him about your life growing up and how you ended up at Bedford as his intern and he told you stories about the different adventures he’s been on ending on the last trip he took with his father. 

“The holy grail?” you looked at him in shock. Indy smiled and let out a small laugh.

“I thought it was just a myth!” you added. Indy looked at you with a slight smirk on his face. 

“Yeah, so did I. Even though my fathers obsession with it I never thought the damn thing had a basis in this reality. I always thought of the relic as mythical.” he let out a half hearted sigh and called over a waiter asking for the bill. You pulled out your wallet but Indy interrupted you.

“Hey I've got it.” you shook your head at his comment.

“Come on, you brought me on this trip for free! It’s the least I could do!”

“To be fair this trip is already funded by the college and I'm not paying anything either.” you stayed silent for a moment trying to come up with an excuse to pay.

“Could we at least split the check?” you suggested with a nervous smile. Indy looked up from the bill and stared at you for a moment. Then his lips curled into a playful smile.

“How about this? I pay for this meal and to pay me back and at the banquet tonight you owe me a dance?” 

[victusinveritas]

Greenhill Cemetery, Bedford, Lawrence County, Indiana: Stone Carvers Union monument.

[rjptalk]

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE & A WONDERFUL STORY

IT’S A WONDERFUL STORY – THE PARALLEL LIVES OF GEORGE AND JAMES (JIMMY) STEWART For many people It’s a Wonderful Life is the Christmas movie. George R. Stewart fans will be interested to know that George R. Stewart – and another Stewart – spent their boyhoods in a town that was one of the inspirations for “Bedford Falls.” George R. Stewart was raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where his mother’s…

[rosemariecawkwell]

Review: Seventy Times Seven, by Alex Mar

Bedford Square Publishers09 November 2023£20.00978-1-9157-9896-1 A masterful, revelatory work of literary non-fiction about a teenage girl’sshocking crime — and its extraordinary aftermath. On a spring afternoon in 1985 in Gary, Indiana, a fifteen-year-old black girl kills a white elderly bible teacher in a violent home invasion. In a city with a history of racial tension the press swoops…