#INCLUDING mine once or twice… do you have people on the lookout For you or do you live in the tag…

[femboy-central]

I can’t believe I had to call the Real Words “have you seen my natsby yaoi pin I don’t know where I put it :(“ across the house to my actual mother today. And she knew what I was talking about

[shannygoatgruff]

My Brother’s Keeper - Chapter X

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Modern Ivar X Modern Hvitserk

Rating: MA

Overall Warning:  Dark story told from an emotionally distributed person’s POV with graphic and sadistic material including rape, terror, torture, kidnapping, drug use, slash, implied incest, necrophilia, and insecurity. Heavy trigger warnings.  

Chapter Warning: Coercion. Crazy people, being crazy. Dark thoughts.

Summary: Mama always said to be their brothers’ keeper. Now there is absolutely nothing these two won’t do for each other.  Boys will be boys…

Chapter X

I'm usually pretty excited when Ivar and I start making plans to go out, but there's something about this that's making me nervous.  Normally, after we find a location, we hang out somewhere and let whatever happens, happen. We don't make definite plans and we damn sure don’t pre-select our guests. We just leave the house and let the rest fall into place.

But this? This is too methodical. There's way too much planning and strategy involved.  It almost feels sinister.

He's given me a lot to think about, sitting here all alone. By the time he resurfaces from the basement, I now have a thousand more questions and even more reservations. Even though we've been over it at least a dozen times, I still don't totally get it.  

If I’m being honest, I like that spur of the moment feeling we have when we're scouting.  The most forethought we've ever given to any night is where we're going to the deed. Once we find cool people to hang out with and get them back to our place, the sky's the limit. But today, he actually wants to make a plan? 

What the hell?  When did this become so involved? This is supposed to be a hobby, just something to do for fun.  Ives is turning this into a full-time job.

I don't even wait for him to sit back down before I feel my lips moving. "But there are two of them. How are supposed to get both of them to come?" I need him to explain this to me like I'm a six-year-old because it's not sinking in.  Why does this make so much sense to him?  I know having to constantly explain it to me has to be getting on his nerves. But, if it is, he hasn't said anything, yet.  He's still being so patient with me.

His large hand gently cups mine and he squeezes it for added assurance. "Serk-ky. You trust me, right?" He never needs to ask that question. I trust Ivar with my life. Hell, I trust him more than I trust myself. Watching me nod, his face softens. "This will work."

"But what about the choice? We always give them a choice." I don't mean to rain on his parade, but we follow this set of unspoken rules: we don't go out partying without each other and we don't force anybody to do anything they don't want to do. That's why this feels like coercion. Of course, I can't tell him that. He'll say that I've been watching too much TV and that real life doesn't work that way. Of course, he's right...he's always right.  

I'm just being paranoid, as usual.  

Ivar considers my question as he stands. He's not angry, in fact, he seems pleased. "Come here." I don't ask him why instead I join him at the back door and lookout. "You see that?"

I look out at another warm Fall day, and my eyes land on pure beauty. All she's doing is watering her lawn, but there's something about the way she does it that has me transfixed.  I can feel myself starting to salivate and I have to run my hand over my mouth stop myself from visibly drooling.

"She's the one. Just look at her." There is grace in the way she flings her hair over her shoulder. Even as she slips her feet back into her UGG slippers, leaving only her heels and that ankle bracelet visible to me, I have to restrain myself from barging out of that door and taking her. "Look at how she holds the water hose. So delicately, so gently. You see the water around her ankles? Notice how each droplet slowly slides down her foot, how it caresses her skin? That could be sweat. That could be your sweat dripping down her legs. You wanna see that don't you?"

Why was I uneasy about this plan? This idea is seeming better and better all the time.  I think I get it now, Ivar just pointed out to me what my real motivation should be. I can't believe I was willing to forgo this beautiful creature because I suddenly got cold feet. Variety is the spice of life, right?  It's okay to switch up a plan every once in a while, especially if she's going to be my payoff. 

I can't take my eyes off of her. I want her. "I wonder what she smells like."

"Fear." Just the feeling of Ivar's breath on my neck as he whispers to me makes me groan. God. Do we have to wait? Why can't we just invite her over now? "And imagine what she tastes like."

It's almost too much to take. This woman is the most sensual thing I've ever laid eyes on. I could devour her right now, in broad daylight, and not think twice about it. Before I realize it, one of his hands is on mine and his grip is pulling it off of the door handle. His other arm is around my waist and I can feel him tightening his hold around me. Never before has the need been this severe. If he hadn't been here, I would have gone outside. 

Just that quickly, I lost control.

The sound of my moaning gets her attention and suddenly the spray from the hose stops. She's looking at us. Those big, bright eyes are fixed right on me and she smiles. She wants me, just as much as I want her. Her smile makes me smile. I know I must look like an idiot standing in the doorway grinning at this beautiful ball of innocence, but I'm entranced.

As soon as I see her hand come up in a wave, I don't know what to do. They always make contact with Ivar first, not with me, but from his position behind me, I don't think she can see him. What the fuck am I supposed to do?  

Out of instinct, I look over at him for help. I'm not good with personal interactions with them. I can't talk to them until they're tied up and filled with fear. Until I have the upper hand, the ones I need, scare the shit out of me. "What do I do?" I try to keep my lips as still as possible as I ask him the stupidest question on earth.

There's mirth in his voice, but his hand gently kneads the back of my neck to calm me. "Wave back."  His voice is gentle and low as he coaxes me through this extremely awkward interaction.  

Why didn't I think of that? God, this fucking stupid. But with that simple gesture, she sits the hose on the grass and walks across her lawn to ours. Now standing at the bottom of our stairs, she looks up at me and I swear my breath catches in my throat.  "Hi,"  I can't believe she spoke. Her voice is beautiful. Even if she screamed I wouldn't mind, it's so angelic.

I can feel Ivar's hand tightening around the back of my neck, silently encouraging me to speak to her. "Hey." I don't have a problem talking to Thora or my brother, for that matter, but everybody else? I'm not good at it, like he is. This is why he's the front-man. This is why he makes the introductions because he's charismatic. I'm awkward. I'm nervous.  I'm all unsure of myself. Hell, I'd be scared of me.

"Were the cookies from you?" She places one foot on the bottom step and rests her weight on her opposite leg. Her yoga pants accentuate her toned legs as she balances her weight on that leg.

Shaking my head, I cut my eyes to Ivar to get some direction. "Tell her, yes." My Cyrano de Bergerac. He's now concealed himself in the shadow created by the back door. Quietly coaching me, he's going to make sure we get her.

After shaking my head no, I suddenly start to nod. The confusion dances on her face and quickly turns into a wide smile followed by a giggle. "Well, which is it? Yes or no?" Please don't laugh at me. I don't like when people laugh at me. But, if I stand a chance at having her, I can't tell her or it'll scare her away.

"Both," I stammer. "He baked 'em." She doesn't say anything, but I know she doesn't have a clue what the fuck I'm talking about. I don't even know what the fuck I'm talking about. I can see the question dance in her beautiful eyes. "M-my brother. I um…I helped. Ate mostly…b-but, yeah. I helped."

Nodding in understanding, she places one hand on her elevated leg to swat at a fly. "Tell him, thank you. They were delicious." The sound of the car approaching makes her turn her head and by the time it turns back to me, she's grinning from ear to ear.

"Invite them out tomorrow night." I don't want to. This is his thing. I find them, he gets them. But for some reason, he's not doing his part. Ivar's changing the rules and I don't know what to do about it. "Trust me, Serk. You're doing fine," his whisper is still so calm and soothing.

I look past her, at the car now pulling into her parking pad. A large man with muscular arms leans out of the window and smiles. I don't say anything as he gets out of the car and starts to walk to where she's standing. She's just as fascinated by him as I am. He's so much bigger than me, so much stronger. But even being as built as he is, he gently slips an arm around her waist and looks up at me with clear eyes and gives me a smile that rivals hers. My attention is split between them. A second ago I didn't think I could want anything or anyone more than I want her. Now I'm not so sure. 

I can almost taste them both.

With her, it's about her beauty. Him? It's about his strength. I know I need to feed the feeling in me. But it's more than that with them. I want to take a piece of them and it has nothing to do with the twisting and churning in my stomach. They would fill a piece of my soul.

"Honey, um…" She looks at me with hopeful eyes and I draw a complete blank.

Ivar's chuckle is almost audible to them, but he keeps his voice just low enough that only I can hear it. "Tell her your name."

For as much as I'm salivating, my tongue feels dry and too large for my mouth. My palms are sweaty and I'm shaking.  “Um, you can just call me, Fitz.”

Her smile makes the dizziness go away. "Fitz and his brother made the cookies." She leans back against his chest and bats her happy eyes at me. There are so many things I want to see in those eyes. I want to see what they look like when she's afraid. I want to see my reflection in them while I'm on top of her. I want to see tears pooled inside of them. Maybe when we're done I'll ask Ivar to save them for me. I swear I could look at those eyes forever.

"Thanks, man. That was really decent of you." He leans down and places a kiss on her neck. He's in control. I can tell because she looks at him like I look at Ivar. I can't wait to have that control over both of them. "My wife was nervous about moving out here, and not knowing anyone... especially since I work all the time. But those cookies made her feel at home." He squeezes her tighter and looks up at me.

"Now." I hear Ivar's voice and I feel unsteady on my feet. His hand on the small of my back helps me keep my balance. Maybe I could talk if my heart was pounding like it is.

All I can muster is nod. And he nods back before taking her hand and leading her back across the way to their house. "Hey?" I bark the question still not knowing where my voice is coming from. My eyes close on their own because I don't want to see that look on their faces when I fuck this up. "Would you, um…tomorrow…want to go out? Drinks…no, uh…party. Show you some cool things we, um, we like to do here?" Shit. I feel like an idiot. Why couldn't Ivar do this? He knows what he's doing. I, on the other hand, am fucking this up.

If Ivar's hand wasn't on my back I swear I would turn and close the door in their faces. I want them but I can't take the rejection. The flashes of light are starting again. I'm getting sick.

"That sounds like fun. Around nine?" Her sweet voice saves off my nausea. Nodding in confirmation she flashes that smile at me and I see his face light up because she's happy. As they head back to the safety of their house, I can finally breathe.

As soon as I close the door the tears start in my eyes and Ivar's arms are around me. "I'm so proud of you."  His smile lights up his entire face, and he has the brightest glimmer in his eyes.

"Why?"

His fingertips wipe the tears that escape before he lovingly strokes my cheek. "Because you needed your confidence back." He's so sure of me. I can't disappoint him. I don't want to disappoint him. And more importantly, I don't want to disappoint myself.

"I want them."

"And you can have them. They're yours, baby. Anything you want; it's yours." He's right. Ivar just gift-wrapped them for me. Tomorrow will be a night that we will never forget. It's my first time stepping into the spotlight and I have to admit, I'm a little excited about that feeling. It was scary as hell, but I did it. If I could feel this good with that one triumph, I can't even imagine what tomorrow will bring.

I need to get ready - it's party time.

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[rain0205-blog]

Terminal State

Summary:  She tried leaving, submerging herself in work to escape the horrors she had seen. The horrors she kept seeing. She never wanted to go back to that life. But when the Empire takes her home, she’s forced to face her past. Can she move on? Can she cope? Or will she require a bit of help? still bad at summaries, still working on it. ever so slightly more than slight AU gadioxoc

Unwanted Guest

...

Gladiolus was not going to sleep tonight, he and his companions were bunking in a camper with a strange man only known as Ardyn. The first time they had encountered the stranger he was in Gadlin Quay, informing them of the lack of ferries to Altissia and giving them a strange coin. Later on in Lestallum, after they had come back from the cave behind the waterfall, this man seemed to be there waiting for them. Noctis was having headaches as of late, strange ones that didn't affect anyone else, however, he was seeing the astral known as Titan and since they couldn't physically go and have a look, they went toward the outlook which is where Ardyn was waiting for them. Conveniently, he was willing to take them to the Archeon as what seemed to be a good gesture.

They decided to go and Ardyn insisted on Noctis driving the car. It wasn't a very long drive, they had only made it as far as Coernix Station where it was decided that they would use the camper instead of a haven - due to Ardyn's insistence. Gladiolus didn't trust this man at all. The vibes he was getting were completely negative and he wore a scowl on his face more often than not since they agreed to go on this journey with him. On top of that, every time he made eye contact with Ardyn the man simply smiled in a suspicious way, like he knew something intimate and personal and wasn't going to share it The guy even looked shady, amber coloured eye that hid some sort of ulterior motive behind them. His hair was long, purplish or red, hard to see based on the different lights hitting it, and his age was difficult to pinpoint but it seemed older than his appearance. The worst of it was his smile, that wide, amused smile that occupied his face filled with deceit and what looked like a hint of jealousy. Words flowed out of his mouth in a thick, accented voice and carried with them an insult lying beneath every single one of them. His demeanour, in general, was suspicious enough and it put all of them on edge, making him an extremely unwanted guest.

After they had eaten with awkward conversation, everyone except Gladiolus had gone to bed. Instead, he was out at one of the tables reading one of Athenacia's medical texts that Ignis had borrowed. The Shield had taken to doing that a lot lately despite having brought his own books. While he didn't understand a lot of what he was reading, it only made him admire her more for being able to know all of this stuff. Being a doctor was hard work, he was aware of that, however, he never knew how much actually went into it. Since the invasion, he usually selected a book at random and starting to eat through it during drives or when he needed a distraction from his thoughts; and since he had arrived in Lestallum they seemed to be racing when he wasn't focused on Noctis. After the conversation he had with Gin in the hospital, more questions seemed to rise within him. The voice message Athenacia had left him was listened to at least twice per day, not having the heart to delete it. She knew that something was going to happen that day, but she seemed to have it in her head that he and the others were in danger as well. Specifically, she had mentioned more than once that she was relieved they were okay and to keep safe. The more he listened to it, the more it worried him. Had she known that the city would fall? How? Was she indeed a spy? Gladio didn't believe it. Cor didn't believe it then he didn't either. The Marshal is probably the one that convinced her to pack up a bag in the first place, never trusting the Niffs from day one and rightfully so, however, it still rose a bunch of questions. If she knew something, why wouldn't she tell him?

The large man sighed, leaning back in his chair and closing the book. He wasn't really focused on it anyway and he was sure it was because this one was mostly on the infectious disease and he didn't want to lose his dinner. The other one he was reading was a lot better, containing different poisonous ailments pertaining to all over Eos and the different courses of treatment. Gladio grabbed that one from the bag and actually continued from where he marked his page. Did Athenacia really know all of this? How could one person possibly memorize all of these facts and then use them in a split second while in the middle of a battlefield? She really was something else. The door to the camper opened, then closed, and immediately his body felt defensive. Ardyn behind him. Gladio's face went back to a scowl as he tried to focus on the words in front of them. Their guest sat in a chair on the opposite side of the table. The Shield didn't acknowledge him, not wanting anything to do with him despite that he could feel the amber stare burning into his soul it seemed like. That amused look still occupied his face and it made Gladio even more uneasy about everything.

"Those are quite the books. Looking for a second career?" Ardyn spoke in his thick accent and amused manner.

"They're not mine," grunted Gladiolus, not even bothering to raise his eyes.

"I had thought not. None of you appear to be this far advanced in medicine."

"They belong to a friend," Gladio looked up with suspicion.

Ardyn's eyes seemed to brighten, "Ah yes a friend. All friends are important, but ones you take an interest in can be the dearest to your heart. Tell me, did this friend make it out of your once fair city okay?"

Gladiolus just shrugged, "Doesn't matter."

"Uncertainty can be a trying thing," his expression was almost bored, "But I find that some things, or even some people, turn up in the most unusual of places."

Gladiolus just narrowed his eyes. Ardyn only offered that same smile before wordlessly standing from his seat and leaving the Shield alone again. The words running through his head caused him to frown, sounding like he was trying to toy with him. Nothing about that guy made any sense and the sooner they got to part ways with him, the better.

Shaking his head, he brought his attention back the book he was reading. What he also liked the most about this one was the bestiary listed, and that included daemons. As a combat medic, she would need to know all of these while out in the field. He flipped the page, coming to one he hadn't the pleasure of running into. Arachne. They spit out level six poisons which are only responsive to two types of antidotes. The wrong one can speed up symptoms which lead victims to expire. Gladio's frown deepened as he took in the words, looking over at the images on the page. Listed there were the antibodies that were needed to fight off the poison and what would happen if the victims were left untreated. Flipping the page again, he wondered how in the hell Athenacia was able to deal with all of this. Some of the diagrams made him feel queasy, he couldn't imagine having to be up close and personal with it.

Sighing, he leaning back in the chair and looking up at the stars. Sleep would elude him tonight and not just because he was on guard duty about Ardyn. At times like these, Gladiolus found he couldn't stop thinking about Athenacia, the girl occupying his mind completely when he wasn't busy watching Noctis. He really missed her, never realizing how much until she wasn't around. After the way he acted, he was lucky she even gave him a chance again the way she did. Her last words to him swam through his head and he again wondered how much she knew about the signing ceremony. At least she was armed, wherever she was. Somehow in the pit of his gut, he knew that they would cross paths again soon, he just hoped that when they did she was alive and well.

...

Athenacia's heart raced as she looked through the binoculars stationed at the lookout point of Lestallum. The Archeon, Titan, was awake and the Empire was on the way, but she also saw four specific people right in the way of the astral's wrath. Whatever Gladiolus and others were doing there, she hoped that they would make it out alive. The quakes from the God had stirred everyone else to the same place so that they could have a proper look. Iris was fretting right beside her, the only reason that she had come this far and stayed in the first place.

The young doctor had not really meant to come into Lestallum again at all. After using a mild sedative on herself the other night, she woke up with a splitting headache. Athenacia knew why, of course, on her way down she managed to hit her head on the door of the truck. It was stupid, she really should have planned that out better but the poison didn't help. Thankfully the sun was only just starting to rise so no one had been by to go through her stuff. The other benefit: it was dreamless, even if it was for only an hour. Clearly the dosages were measured wrong, a problem that she fixed immediately. Her ankle was still twisted so she used her magic to heal that up, and magicked her laceration where the Arachne had struck her. It left a faint scar, hopefully one that would fade away before long. Once that was finished, she gathered all of her things, ready to leave.

The physician took off from that spot, going back to her aimless wandering around Lucis, however, supplies were running low and she needed some clean clothes. Unfortunately, all of that was in the humid city, so she begrudgingly made her way back in her truck. While filling it with gas, Iris had caught sight of her and insisted that the woman meet her brother. Athenacia was not interested in that whatsoever, but didn't say something about it. There would be plenty of opportunities to slip out before Gladiolus returned to the city for any reason, despite how much she actually did want to see him. The flaw in that was, Iris wasn't going to let the young doctor out of her reach, especially after Talcott was also informed of "Tia's" return. It wasn't entirely unpleasant to have them along while she did her shopping, in fact, a woman's opinion on new clothing was a welcoming approach. Athenacia was able to get a few decent items without exhausting her savings, wishing to delay the notion of hunting that would expose her to more people. Then an earthquake shook the very ground beneath them. Someone had screamed about the Archeon and they all found themselves in the outlook area to see what was going on.

Iris was the first to look and she spotted her brother instantly. That was when Athenacia's breath caught in her throat. Once the young Amicitia had let the doctor take a look, she couldn't take her hazel gaze away. The doctor watched Gladiolus and Noctis run away from the God while also trying to fight him off. It was nerve-wracking, especially when the Empire had shown up with their dreadnaughts. Now they all waged battle against a God. What were they thinking? Seriously, a God? She just couldn't bear to watch it anymore and as she took her eyes away, someone else had pushed in between the two women in order to get a better look. Athenacia went to stand on the other side of Iris who was just a wreck. Talcott had taken the doctor's hand tightly as he looked on with the wonder of a young boy and the worry of a child. The three of them watched but all they could see was an army of airships and clouds of dust coming up from where the astral would swing his giant arm. Each strike made the doctor more nervous than the last, something that Iris was also having trouble coping with.

"What are they doing there anyway?" asked Athenacia.

"Noct needs Titan's blessing," answered Iris.

"Excuse me?" she frowned.

"I don't know much about it, just that he needs the blessings of the Gods."

Titan's blessing? Whatever for? Is this what the Oracle meant when she said she had to aid the King? Is the truth of the stories Cor used to tell her as a young girl before bed coming to pass? But it couldn't be real. None of this was making any sense. Athenacia was so cut off from everything the last few days that she had no idea about what was going on around her despite being in the outside world. It was a good thing she decided to come back to the city today or else she was sure she'd be caught up in action at the Disc. That was the sort of attention she didn't need.

Her eyes snapped into focus as a blinding golden light surrounded the Archeon. Talcott squeezed her hand tighter while Iris shoved her head into the older woman's shoulder, all of them shielding their eyes from it. And then he was simply gone. The physician's breath caught in her throat once more as her eyes widened. The explosion took out the nearby dreadnaughts - which caused Iris to wail and latch onto the doctor with tears in her eyes. Athenacia put a comforting arm around the girl while she continued to watch the scene before her. If only she could see down here, to know what happened to Gladiolus and the others. Fear gripped her heart as she pictured them dead, bodies strewn among the ground lifeless, the sort of things that cropped up in her nightmares. A breath escaped her when she saw a single dreadnaught make its way out of the Disc. There was no help for it, she would have to remain in Lestallum until she heard some more news of what went on down there. Assuming they had made it out alive - and she sincerely hoped that they did - she was going to wait around until they contacted Iris. Hell, she was going to sit around in the shadows until they came back for her, because Athenacia had to see for herself with her own eyes that everyone was okay.

...

The next morning Athenacia slipped out of the bed in the hotel room of Lestallum quietly. Ordinarily, she would have stayed in her truck for the night, however, the distraught young Talcott had clung to her in the hopes that she would stay. Jared had chided him but Athenacia assured the man that everything was okay. The truth of the matter was, the boy provided her with some comfort as well and she didn't want to leave him just yet. Iris had managed to sleep only after her brother had told her that they were all safe and would talk when he got back. Athenacia had no idea when that was going to be but she definitely wasn't going to be sleeping in the same room as his sister. Despite the fact that she looked different, Gladio would recognize her instantly, of that she was certain. Besides, she just wanted to observe from a distance and get back to... well whatever it was that she was doing.

Sighing lightly, she pulled the covers back over Talcott to rest under his chin. Keeping a light smile on her face, she looked over at Iris who was also snuggled into her bed. The doctor then padded quietly across the carpeted floor toward the bathroom and shut the door behind her with a soft click. Taking a look at herself in the mirror, she was shocked at her own appearance. The dye was starting to grow out a bit but that wasn't really an issue she had. There was dirt all over her face and it dawned on her that it had been a long time since she had a proper shower and probably stunk something fierce. Her hazel eyes were still puffy and bloodshot with those same dark circles, however, she seemed to look a little better than usual. Hair was matted and greasy from not having been washed in a few days, a scrape on her cheek from her hunting and she could see the scar on her arm from fighting the Arachne with a few contusions here and there. Nothing serious at least.

Tearing her gaze away, she grabbed the tie from the end of her braid and pulled it out, placing it on the counter before beginning to unlace the braid with deft fingers. It was a bit of a struggle, all tangled and knotted together. Once it was finished, she fanned it out across her back, her eyes catching that ugly scar on the right side of her neck. Athenacia took her finger and traced over it, most of it dirty from her poor treatment of herself. The blemished skin only made her feel more disgusted and she pulled her wavy hair over her shoulder, hiding it again. Turning her back on her reflection, turned the water on in the tub and got the shower going. Steam started to billow out and she began to peel off her extremely dirty clothes, leaving them on the ground before stepping in. Athenacia sighed in relief as the scorching hot water turned her skin red instantly, basking a moment, closing her eyes and releasing a content sigh as the water fell off of her. That familiar tranquillity took over and she was reluctant to leave it. When she opened them again, she could see the dirt coming off of her so she grabbed a cloth to begin scrubbing. Her skin was raw by the time she was finished, her pressure increasing as images from the devastation of Insomnia and her own monstrosity of power came into her mind. Tears escaped the bottom of her eyes, the blood not coming off, just like when she was in the war. The cloth was thrown away in disgust, dirty from her and the clear water suggesting that she was clean. Athenacia knew better, she would never be clean with all those lives on her hands.

The doctor wiped the steam from the mirror when she was finished, wrapping a towel around her slender frame and stared back at the ugly scar that now gleamed in the lighting above her. This thing would always remind her of the failure she was, all the screams that filled her ears whenever she closed her eyes. Clenching her jaw, she grabbed another towel and began to dry her hair with it. When she was finished fussing with it, she then began the methodical twisting of her hair, leaving it in that braid that perfectly hid that ugly scar, the identifier that put everyone in danger while she remained. The towel was tossed aside before she rummaged through one of the shopping bags from yesterday, pulled on her clothes and having another look at herself. Her damp hair was hiding her left eye while the braid came down her right shoulder against her neck and stopped just short of her last rib. To help hide her blemish, she wore a sleeveless shirt that didn't come against her neck but didn't hang too low from her collarbone either and was a darker pink. Her light jeans with a tear in the upper right thigh and lower left knee were a little loose on her hips but her belt helped with that. Sighing again, her fingers ran along where her necklace would be. Eventually she would get it back, for now, it was where it belonged. At least she hoped it was.

Athenacia carefully opened the door, picking up her dirty clothes and placing them with her bag. The younger two were still sleeping soundly and she didn't want to wake them up. Pulling on her boots, she debated on strapping her weapon to her back or not. Chewing her lip in thought, she decided against it, knowing it would make her stand out walking around the city with a weapon. The goal was to blend in, not attract unwanted attention. Down the stairs of the hotel and out the door, the unmistakable smell of breakfast foods starting to cook, invading her nostrils and reminding her of the last time she ate. Her stomach began to reprimand her for the poor excuse of sustenance she had been feeding it, placing her hands there and walking to the smell that stood out to her nose the most. The physician paid for her food while making minimal eye contact with the vendor and began to eat quickly. Shoving a rather large last bite in her mouth, she began walking the streets, doing her best to blend into the crowds. It was almost nice to try and feel normal again and be around other people.

Memories washed over her as she gathered food for the upcoming trip in the market. The first time she had ever come here was with Cor and she didn't have time to really enjoy it. With the Glaive, she wasn't able to do much exploring but thankfully the foods she liked to eat the most were right near the hotel. It wasn't the same as Insomnia, nothing was ever going to be like that for a long while, however, she was still happy with what this place had to offer. It was too bad that she couldn't just stay here and live with the rest of the refugees. If only she knew why that strange man was chasing her down. Surely he could have just killed her and got it over with, instead he was playing games with her, leaving her with one eye over her shoulder and in constant fear of being. Sighing, she held her bags tightly and began to walk away from the crowds of people. Cor taught her better than this, to not let the enemy inside her head or else she had already lost the battle.

Athenacia was again caught up in her thoughts - only this time they were on Gladiolus. The images of him, the Prince and all the chaos that surrounded them while basically at the astral's feet played over in her head. Gladio... she wanted to see him so badly, missed him more than she realized. It was easier before she had actually seen him for herself, even if it was through a lens. The dangers surrounding him was much more serious than previously thought and if there was something she could do to help, she wanted to. There had to be a way for her to get a message to him, a way to meet up without bringing the enemy to them with the target on her back. For now, the safest place for her was away from all of them.

The doctor grunted as someone had bumped into her, knocking her off balance a little and pulling her from her thoughts. Instantly she looked back at the man with a frown on her face and her eyes met his. He was taller than her, with piercing green eyes and messy untamed black hair on top of his head. There was a scar on his chin that was obscured by his short beard, but his eyes were studying her a moment and she felt scared that this man knew her despite never seeing him before in her life. Shaking his head, he turned around and kept walking, not bothering to talk to her or look back again. Athenacia breathed a sigh of relief and then continued her journey, looking back one last time to make sure no unfriendly eyes were upon her.

[cupcakegumbo]

Panic!

Our best friend is diabetic and autistic. We all met around the same time, and my husband and I have been his closest friends since we met, so we have known him going on 30 years. Every other week, my husband and I run him around and help him do his errands, as he doesn't have a car of his own, and he really doesn't like to drive. This is a twice monthly thing that we do for him when he gets his paychecks. In return for our company and driving him around, he likes to end our trip into town by stopping somewhere to eat, and he picks up the tab. This is one of his favorite parts of the day. We have learned over the years, that there are things that our friend just doesn't think about due to his autism, and if we don't take them into account there will be issues with our anxiety as we try to readjust our plans. Due to being diabetic, our friend needs to eat rather regularly. Not wanting to inconvenience us, he often forgets to eat something before meeting up. We have tried to explain to him that it's better if he eats something before we leave, so that he doesn't start having issues with low blood sugar, as it really affects his ability to think and function. He does try, and we know that he isn't trying to make things difficult for us when he doesn't eat. He just doesn't notice when his blood sugar is dropping and assumes that he will be fine; this happens nearly every time. So my husband has simply started taking it into account that he will not have eaten anything in his rush to meet up with us, so the first stop we make is to get him something small to eat to bring his blood sugar up to level. For my husband, keeping everything outlined on a list, helps him to keep his anxiety in check. So now the first thing that we do when we all get in the car, is ask him if he's eaten anything. When the answer is no, my hubby immediately knows to add a quick food stop to the top of his list. Any deviation from his list tends to throw my hubby into chaos. Yesterday was such a day. It was a hot day, the temperature got up into the mid 90s'. (About 32 degrees Celsius, for the non Americans.) We started out asking our friend if he had eaten and the answer was no. So my husband nodded, and mentally adjusted his list. I started to comment and he gave me a panicked look and a wave of his hand. I nodded and told him no problem, I understood. He laughed and said that he had a momentary wave of euphoria because I had agreed with him and basically confirmed that he had this. So the day started out okay, things were under control. We stopped and got our friend a bite to eat, and were back on track. One of my hubbies conditions due to his anxiety and PTSD, is hyper vigilance. That means that his brain is constantly on alert for trouble or danger. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing. It's a good thing, because he is very aware of other drivers and is constantly on the lookout for dangerous situations. This is also a bad thing, because his brain never stops doing that. It is constantly looking for trouble and trying to adjust when it thinks it spots some. Which means that he's hyper aware of me as well, and is constantly trying to keep me safe. So if I negatively react to something, (even subconsciously) he notes it and begins to try and adjust to keep me safe. This of course makes him more anxious. My anxiety is triggered a lot of times due to my empathy. I tend to feel (in some folks opinion) too strongly for total strangers. As we were driving along the main street of town, there was a parked car ahead of us that had what looked roughly like a two year old little boy leaning out the open window on the traffic side, watching it go by. The mother in me immediately began to panic seeing him leaning dangerously far out of the window. My hubby picking up on my panic, became even more cautious as we approached the car. The child was laughing and smiling, and he leaned back in as we drove by. I looked over to see if his parents or whoever was watching him had a good hold on him, and realized that there was no one else in the car. I closed my eyes in absolute terror as my mind began giving me very graphic images of what could possibly happen to the child. My husband noted my increased panic, but did not know what caused it so assumed that it was just the child leaning out of the window in proximity to our car that had me panicked and got us past it a little quicker. I couldn't explain until we were a long way past the car, and then my hubby got really angry at the missing parents. Sadly our anxiety prevented us from going back to make sure the child was safe. Mine due to not wanting to turn back and see any of the horrible things that my imagination was conjuring actually happen, and my hubby due to not being able to handle trying to adjust his mental list to suddenly include trying to find somewhere to turn around, park, and go back to check on the child only to have someone think he was trying to kidnap him. So, both of us were already trying to deal with panic at this point. Our friend in the back seat, was blissfully unaware of what was going on and was happily enjoying the ride. Now I was not only rattled by this incident, but was also feeling guilty for not going back to make sure that someone elses child was okay. My brain was screaming at me to not get involved, and also screaming at me, that if anything happened to the child it would be all my fault for not going back and making sure he was safe. My husband had also noted at this point that due to the bright sunny day, more people seemed to be driving like idiots than normal. People switching lanes without turn signals, cutting dangerously close to other cars while cutting them off. That sort of thing. Someone (who was not in a turn lane) even took an illegal left turn against the light cutting someone off who was actually turning left from the turn lane. So my hubby was being extra careful with his defensive driving. We managed to make it through nearly all of the errands that our friend needed to run, so it was now approaching his favorite part of the trip. Sharing a good meal with us. We only had one more stop to make and then it was off to a restaurant we had already picked out ahead of time. We made our last stop, without incident, but I was so hot and tired at this point from sitting in the car while they ran into the different shops, that I had lost any appetite that I'd had. I'd had a minor panic attack in one of the stores early on due to asking to spend some money on a video game and then finding out that it would be $5 more expensive than I originally thought. We don't have a lot of money, so if I feel like we are spending too much on something frivolous that I asked for, it makes me panic. I actually wound up running out of the game store to hide in the car when I realized that the game I thought was only going to be $15, was actually going to cost $20. That may not seem like a lot of money to most folks, but since I don't have a job, every little bit that I ask to be spent feels like I'm taking food out of our mouths. My hubby on the other hand feels that if it helps to keep us sane, it's a worthwhile expenditure. So I couldn't go into any of the other stores, and there was never any shade to park in. Even with the windows open, it was hot as heck. Finally it got to the meal segment of our day. We had picked a place that we had enjoyed eating at the last time we were in town, so we knew where we were going and we all knew basically what we wanted. Since I had no appetite I told my husband that I would just be ordering my meal to go. My thought was that once I was home, cooled off, and felt safe again, I would get my appetite back and be able to enjoy the meal. Sadly for my hubby, that meant a disruption of his plans because he knew that our friend would feel bad if I couldn't eat while they were eating. I tried to explain that I would just sketch while they were eating and there wouldn't be a problem, but he was already trying to figure out how to deal with this disruption, his brain had already kicked into overdrive trying to figure out how to keep our friend happy, while decreasing his stress as much as possible. We were also getting into the area where the restaurant was, and it's always crowded in that area due to it being the main avenue where college students stopped for lunch. Traffic always got really bad due to all of the pedestrians, the college students that drove like idiots, and the meter cops who drive slowly along checking for expired parking meters, etc. We actually noticed a meter cop pull up behind a parked car, get out and begin walking along checking the meters as we were looking for a place to park. My hubby actually managed to find a free two hour parking spot mildly in the shade. As we were getting out, we saw the meter cop move up to an expired meter and begin writing up a ticket. My hubby laughed and said, "I bet that someone didn't bother feeding the meter because they figured they would just be in and out quick with a 'to-go' order." Sure enough, as we were walking to our designated eating establishment, someone ran out of one of the other restaurants with a to-go box in hand and began trying to wave down the meter cop and get her to take back the ticket. We all just shook our heads, you don't argue with a meter cop, once the ticket is printed it's done. So if you screw up like that you should just accept that you screwed up and deal with it. Sadly this guy was being a douche and continued to argue with her as we made it to our restaurant and discovered that it was not open, and wouldn't be open again for nearly a month. So here we were with our hearts and minds set on this, and it wasn't available. My hubby had to once again try to resort his mental list. Once again, I tried to help by giving a suggestion but he was already in a state of panic due to my earlier disruption, and now this. When he is panicking, too many options only serve to overwhelm him. So here we are, all hot, tired, disappointed, mildly panicky and him trying to figure out what to do while his brain is starting to hit overload while trying to keep track of everything else going on. So we head back to the car and start to head out of the area. The guy with the ticket has once again flagged down the meter cop and is standing in the middle of the road arguing with her. My hubby gets to the intersection in preparation for turning, while trying to figure out what to do next. As he starts to pull out to make his turn a guy on a bicycle goes shooting through the intersection in front of him like a bat out of hell, causing my mate to slam on his breaks. This rattles him enough that he decides to back up, not realizing that the meter cop has finished with the angry guy and is now right behind us. His brain in complete fight or flight mode had her still arguing with the guy a ways back. So he's unaware that she's right there in her little golf cart type meter car until she hits her horn, but it's already too late, his back fender already hit her front bumper. His foot once again hits the brakes, and he jumps out to check on the meter cop to make sure that she's alright as our hearts sink. He glances at me guiltily and whispers that he doesn't have any insurance on the car. "I know." I said as my head was sinking down to my chest, my eyes were already closed trying to fight tears of frustration, panic, and guilt of my own. Our friend in the back seat didn't even realize that it was the meter cop that we'd hit until my husband was standing in the street between the two cars looking for the damage. As he'd gotten out of the car, some stoned a-hole sitting outside of another restaurant yells out, "You're our hero!" at my hubby who is checking to make sure the meter cop is okay and that the damage isn't too bad.   I'm already crying and shaking due to heat, stress, and guilt, knowing that this is going to be expensive. Our friend is trying to reassure me, so I tell him about our lack of insurance. He once again tries to reassure me stating that he will try and help us cover the expense, which just kicks my guilt in the teeth even more. The meter cop tells my hubby to pull off to the side, as she has to call in to find out what to do about the situation. So he moves the car off and parks to the side with her pulled off to the side behind us as we have to wait for a sheriff to arrive. All the while, my mate and I are trying to fight to hide the panic due to having to deal with authority figures, fear of him losing his license, and fear of having another huge bill on top of everything else. But like the guy with the ticket, we know that we have to swallow our pride and our terror and just deal with it as best we can. I wound up getting out of the car and asking the meter cop if we could move someplace else due to the heat and fear of heat stroke on my part. I guess I looked pretty bad as she went into helper mode, even though she couldn't let us move the car. She suggested that I maybe go into one of the restaurants and get some water. I explained about my anxiety disorder and being unable to handle going inside so she just had me sit down in the shade at an outdoor eating area and gave me the unopened jug of water that she kept in her cart and told me I could keep it. My mate was being very protective of me at this point and doing his best to help me to stay calm, but I can't control my tears or shaking. Another officer showed up to look over the vehicles as a witness because the meter cop couldn't get a hold of a sheriff. They both decided that there was no actual damage to either vehicle and the other officer called it in trying to get a hold of someone higher up to see what should be done. It was determined that no ticket was necessary due to the lack of damage, the state that I was in, and how helpful and honest my husband was being. After taking down his drivers license number, and giving him their cards, we were allowed to go on our way. Still shaking rather badly, we all loaded back into the car to get out of there. As we were leaving, the stoned guy got up and started yelling at the officers about police harassment. One of his friends got up and covered his mouth with his hand and told him to shut up and they started getting into a fight. We decided that food was right off the table for all of us and we just wanted to go home. The rest of the trip was spent in mostly silence as I did my best to calm my shattered nerves. My mate did his best to come down from the overload, and our friend did his best to be supportive. I won't lie, we got lucky. We were in the wrong, and if there had been any actual damage, that could have gone all kinds of bad for us. My mind kept whispering about all of the things that we would be dealing with if they had asked to see his proof of insurance, my husband could have lost his license, or we could have been saddled with a huge ticket that we couldn't pay. We would have had to either ask our friend, who only earns minimum wage, for financial help, or we would have had to turn to my husband's parents to bail us out... again. His mom already gives us money to pay our rent and bills, which we feel horrible about. We are in our late 40's near 50's and we have to rely on others to pay our way because we are too broken to be able to take care of ourselves financially. The rest of the evening was spent with me in the bedroom, playing a video game that I felt guilty even asking for, while my husband sat in the living room playing a game on his tablet until his sleep medication kicked in enough for him to be able to go to bed. I was about to turn in myself around 2:30 in the morning when I suddenly realized that I had only had one meal that day, and that my mate, (who's also diabetic) most likely didn't eat anything. So I got up, forced myself to have a quick microwavable meal and turned in. This morning, I sent my husband back into a massive panic attack by asking him to get insurance on the car. So yeah... dealing with that.

[pamalamherron92]

20 Repetition Examples Worth Repeating (+10 Repetition Types)

We see repetition examples everywhere — in books, movies, music, and even commercials.

Advertisers use repetition to craft catchy slogans that entice us to buy. Musicians use it to create songs that get stuck in our heads. Politicians use it to persuade nations.

But you? 

How can you use repetition to spice up your writing and make it memorable?

I’ll show you how. 

But first, we need to start with the basics. So let’s define repetition then jump into some examples. 

Shall we?

What is Repetition? 

Repetition is a literary device where words or phrases repeat for emphasis. 

There are several types of repetition. For instance, alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds. 

You might remember this consonance example from your childhood:

“Sally sells seashells by the seashore.”

Sound familiar?

But repetition is used for more than just childhood tongue twisters. If used correctly, it’ll strengthen your writing by:

Emphasizing your message

Boosting memorability

Adding rhythm

Linking ideas or topics together

But I should issue a warning.

There’s a fine line between repetition and redundancy.

For example, take the following paragraph:

He raced to the grocery store. He went inside but realized he forgot his wallet. He raced back home to grab it. Once he found it, he raced to the car again and drove back to the grocery store.

“Raced” is repeated, but it doesn’t strengthen the sentences. Instead, it sounds like the author couldn’t think of better word choices.  

What follows, then, is too many filler words that confuse the reader and lose their attention. 

Now compare that redundant paragraph to this repetition example:

It was the best of times,

it was the worst of times,

it was the age of wisdom,

it was the age of foolishness,

Do you see how compelling that is? 

It’s the opening to Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities. 

Dickens’ repetition draws his readers in and encourages them to keep turning the page. 

Can it do the same for you and your audience?

Yes. 

Let’s show you how to replicate this with more examples.

10 Types of Repetition with Examples 

Repetition is an umbrella literary device that includes more specific types of stylistic tools, like alliteration, epistrophe, diacope, and others. 

And here’s a hint:

Each type of repetition serves a unique purpose. The one you choose depends on what you’re trying to convey. 

So let’s talk about that next. 

1. Anaphora 

Anaphora is the repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses. 

It’s common in music, poems, and children’s books that have a rhyming element.

For example, Nico and Vinz’s song “Am I Wrong?” features this anaphora:

So am I wrong for thinking that we could be something for real?

Now am I wrong for trying to reach the things that I can’t see?

Listen to how catchy this line sounds below:

Anaphora can also be used in speeches to motivate people. Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech included this repetition example:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

See what I mean? 

Repetition not only emphasized Dr. King’s point, but it made it more memorable and quotable. 

2. Epizeuxis

Epizeuxis is the repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession. 

Winston Churchill used epizeuxis in his address to Harrow School:

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty-never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense.

How’s that for a commencement speech?

Churchill was known for his inspiring speeches that were packed full of powerful words and rhetorical devices. 

But while repetition examples are common in speeches, they don’t stop there. Writers have used repetition for ages.

For example, in King Lear, William Shakespeare wrote:

And my poor fool is hanged! No, no, no life!

Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life,

And thou no breath at all? Thou’lt come no more,

Never, never, never, never!

In the scene above, King Lear is grieving the death of his daughter. The use of epizeuxis is a perfect choice for this scene because it strengthens the emotion.

3. Epistrophe 

Epistrophe, also called “epiphora,” uses repetition at the end of independent clauses or sentences. 

Many writers and speakers use epistrophe to drive home their points. 

Abraham Lincoln achieved this in his “Gettysburg Address”:

Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Powerful, isn’t it?

Many musicians also love using repetition to add a regular rhythm to their songs and make them catchy. 

And they’re right. 

We see it in Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” song:

‘Cause if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it

If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it

Don’t be mad once you see that he want it

4. Negative-Positive Restatement

A negative-positive restatement states an idea twice, first in negative terms and then in positive terms. These are typically “not this, but that” statements. 

For example:

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country,” said John F. Kennedy. 

Another famous negative-positive restatement comes from Martin Luther King. He said, “Freedom is not given; it is won.”

5. Diacope  

Diacope is the repetition of a single word or phrase, separated by intervening words. It comes from the Greek word thiakhop, which means “cutting in two.”

My favorite example comes from Michael Jordan. He said:

“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” 

Jordan first said this in a Nike ad. You can watch this short commercial below. I promise you won’t be disappointed:

Speaking of commercials, Maybelline uses a diacope in their tagline when they say, “Maybe she’s born with it; maybe it’s Maybelline.”

6. Epanalepsis 

Epanalepsis repeats words or phrases at the beginning and the end of the same sentence or clause. 

For example:

“Control, control, you must learn control,” said Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back.

Check it out:

Epanalepsis puts a heavy emphasis on the idea you’re trying to convey. 

It also uses the “primacy” and “recency” effects which means the first and last thing we hear is more likely to stick in our minds. 

Some politicians love this technique. Politicians like John F. Kennedy. 

He used this repetition example in his address to the United Nations:

Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind.

7. Epimone

Epimone uses repetition to dwell on a point. It’s commonly used in stories where a character is pleading or commanding someone to do something. 

We saw it in Oliver Goldsmith’s play, She Stoops to Conquer: 

I tell you, sir, I’m serious! And now that my passions are roused, I say this house is mine, sir; this house is mine, and I command you to leave it directly.

Epimone is also used to illustrate persistence. For example, in Webster’s address to the Senate, he said:

The cause, then, Sir, the cause! Let the world know the cause which has thus induced one State of the Union to bid defiance to the power of the whole, and openly to talk of secession.

8. Polyptoton 

Polyptoton involves the repetition of words that derive from the same root word. 

Here’s a famous quote from John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton:

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Remember that one?

“Absolute” and “absolutely” are different words, but they derive from the same root word. 

Polyptoton is common in headlines and book titles too. 

Heidi Murkoff’s popular book on pregnancy is titled What to Expect When You’re Expecting

Here’s a screenshot of the cover page:

9. Antistasis 

Antistasis uses repetition to contrast two ideas. It derives from the Greek meaning “to stand against” or “opposing position.”

For example, when someone asks you:

“Are you working hard or hardly working?”

That’s an antistasis example because it contrasts two ideas on work. 

Advertisers use this technique too. The tagline of the Starkist Tuna commercials was:

“Sorry, Charlie. StarKist wants tuna that tastes good, not tuna with good taste.“

Do you see how the combination of those contrasting ideas makes you stop and think? 

That’s the goal. 

10. Antanaclasis 

Antanaclasis repeats the same word or phrase but with a different meaning each time. This repeated phrase is also known as a pun because it’s a play on words. 

Benjamin Franklin used it when he said, “Your argument is sound, nothing but sound.” 

In the first part, he said the argument is solid. In the second, he discounted it as noise. 

Vince Lombardi, a famous football coach, also used antanaclasis when he stated:

“If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.”

See how easy that is?

Stating the same phrases in a different way makes them wittier.

Examples of Repetition in Literature 

Surprise, surprise:

Some of the best repetition examples come from books and poems.

It didn’t take long for many of the world’s most famous writers — like Shakespeare and Maya Angelou — to understand the power of this rhetorical device.

For example, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare used repetition when he said:

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Oh, woeful, oh woeful, woeful, woeful day!

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, he used repetition in successive phrases to emphasize his point:

The apartment was on the top floor-a small living-room, a small dining-room, a small bedroom, and a bath.

The repeated word “small” highlights to the reader how tiny Tom’s apartment is.

Maya Angelou also knew how to use this literary technique to her advantage. In her poem, Still I Rise, she said:

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

This repetition in poetry emphasizes Angelou’s main point and signifies her strength. 

Famous Examples of Repetition in Pop Culture 

Repetition is common in music because it makes it easy to sing along with the lyrics.

Here’s an example from Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog”:

You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog

Cryin’ all the time

You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog

Cryin’ all the time

We also see repetition all the time in movies. 

Why?

Because it gives us quotable movie lines that stand the test of time. Here’s a famous repetition example from Taxi Driver:

You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin’ to? You talkin’ to me? Well, I’m the only one here.

Hear this quote in action:

And then, of course, another famous repetition example comes from the James Bond series. James Bond always introduces himself as “Bond. James Bond.”

Why Write with Repetition? 

Let me ask you:

If there was an easy way to be more memorable, would you do it?

And if you could easily add emphasis to your message, would you do it?

Of course you would. 

Just by using repeated patterns in one sentence or paragraph, you can:

Make your point more convincing

Increase memorability

Add flow to your writing

Make your words rhyme

Link topics or ideas together

Think of it this way.

There’s a reason why some of history’s most famous speakers used repetition. Winston Churchill, JFK, and Martin Luther King used it because it works. 

It makes your writing more persuasive, quotable, and memorable. And in writing, that’s considered the triple threat. 

Ready to Put These Repetition Examples to Work?

Using repetition is simple.

Start by choosing an idea that you want to emphasize. Then repeat words that stress that idea and make your prose more quotable. 

But a friendly reminder:

Don’t overuse repetition. Just use it on thoughts or ideas that you want to carry a significant impact, or else it’ll lose its effect. 

Remember my redundancy example from earlier?

You don’t want to look like a lazy writer who couldn’t find a better way to word your message.

Instead, use it like David Schwartz when he said:

“The mind is what the mind is fed.”

See how that works? Now go try it for yourself.

You’ve got this. 

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[travelcenter-uk]

Things to do in Santorini, Greece.

Greece is all about striking blue skies, spectacular views of the endless shoreline, age-old history and culture bursting with ardent melodies, adventuresome engagements & bountiful cuisine. if you’re a staunch Thalassophile, and on the lookout for a beach holiday then Santorini, Greece will surely knock you off of your expectations.  

Santorini is easily one of the many astonishing characteristics of Greece. Flaunting a glimmering view of the Aegean Sea, this volcanic island is a dream destination for many including mine! White-coloured buildings & blue-domed churches, etched into cliffs, overlooking the deep blue waters.

So, here are some of the best things to do in Santorini:

Oia

Oia is a must-see tourist attraction in Santorini. Oia’s pretty whitewashed houses, blue-domed churches & spectacular views over the complete caldera! It is also known as the best place to enjoy the sunset in Santorini, where thousands of people flock together to see Santorini’s most remarkable show.

Tips: The best place to watch the sunset in Oia is the Byzantine Castle. Be there at least 1 or 2 hours before, to a good spot.

Fira

The capital of Santorini is one of the best places to see on the island. Fira is a perfect Cycladic town, that looks like a painting on a canvas that is tainted with many shades. Wander in the city’s alleys and discover the breathtaking views of the sea and the caldera. follow the narrow walking trail to the villages of Firostefani and Imerovigli the highest point of the caldera Fira. You can also walk to the small port of Fira Skala. Tired of walking? take Santorini’s cable car, for a different vantage point. Fira is also a great place to enjoy the nightlife in Santorini: you will find the best bars, restaurants and night clubs! If you’re a history buff, or if you want to know more about Santorini, you can visit museums:

The Museum of Prehistoric Thera

The archaeological museum

Tips: Try to visit Fira early in the morning, to avoid most of the crowd. The temperatures will be cooler, and your stroll will be more pleasant.

Sail around Santorini

Boat trips are among the best things to do in Santorini. Take a 1-day cruise in the volcanic islands and Palea Kamini hot springs to take a dip & explore the island of Nea Kameni an active volcano. Visit Thirassia island, situated right opposite Santorini.

Best beaches in Santorini

It’s impractical to do a decisive guide about Santorini without mentioning the best beaches on the island. If you want to take a swim in Santorini, the best beaches are:

Perissa, Perivolos and Agios Georgios: black sand beaches with snacks and bars

Kamari Beach, another large black sand beach

The Red Beach, named after the volcanic ochre cliffs surrounding

Monilithos Beach, ideal for those with children as its waters are shallow

Take a wine tour

Wine Tours are very popular in Santorini. The island is famous for its exquisite white wines. Visit some vineyards on the island and taste the best wines.

These are some of the best vineyards:

Boutari vineyard

Gavalas traditional winery

The Estate Argyros.

Why not a movie night?

Even if you’re on your honeymoon or a family trip in Santorini, a movie at the open-air Cinema is a must-do. The Kamari Open Air Cinema, or Cinekamari, is an outdoor movie theatre located in the middle of the forest.

Get your gastronomical experience

The island is an authentic culinary bliss! Give your taste buds an explosion of flavours by some the popular traditional food like white eggplants, cherry tomatoes, fava, caper & a Santorini signature, a kind of fresh goat cheese found on the island called, “hloró tyrí”

Don’t think twice! Experience for yourself the once-in-a-lifetime romance and charm of majestic Santorini a gem of the Aegean Sea.

Book cheap flights to Greece via Travel Center UK today to get the best deals in Santorini. whether you are planning your honeymoon or a holiday with the family, we have flights that match your needs!

Read More:- https://blog.travelcenter.uk/things-to-do-in-santorini-greece/

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[shelleyseale]

The 7 Most Unusual Towns in the World

While every place on this planet is unique, few among them are truly unusual.

Some places are more wonderfully weird than others — there are even towns that hold Guinness world records for their bizarre traits! Places with more animals than people, underground towns, and villages in which all the citizens live under one roof.  Today, Trading Places is sharing some of the most delightfully wacky towns across the globe:

1: Coober Pedy, Australia

The opal capital of the world is named after its primary quality: opal gemstones. This tiny Aussie town has approximately 3,500 inhabitants — half of whom live underground. Since its founding 100 years ago after a teenager discovered opal gemstones there, the town has been ground zero for opal mining. An estimated 70 percent of the world’s opal production can be linked here, earning it the title of Opal Capital of the World. One of the latest finds was a set of opalized pearls dating back more than 65 million years. Before you think of mining your fortune in Coober Pedy, know that it is hot — hellishly hot. Temperatures can rise to over 110 Fahrenheit, in the shade. That's the reason why so many of its citizens live underground, where it's much cooler. Today, roughly 1,600 out of the total residents like suchlike saving a huge on AC bills in summer and heating bills in winter because of insulation of the cave walls! The Outback Bar & Grill was a little petrol station, that has now been converted to a restaurant. There are even underground hotels, churches, restaurants and bars here. 

The Lookout Cave Underground Motel in Coober Pedy, Australia

2: Nagoro, Japan

This town is home to only 35 humans — but 350 human-sized dolls. An artist, 64-year-old Ayano Tsukimi, came up with the idea of creating these dolls when the population of the village started shrinking, to alleviate the loneliness of being one of only a very few people left in the nearly deserted town. The lifelike, human-sized dolls accurately represent real individuals, such as the profession that they were once engaged in.  You can even check out a recent documentary, called The Valley Of Dolls, that explores Tsukimi's world, highlighting the time and artistry that goes into making the figures, and explaining her motivations.

3: Hallstatt, China

China is a master at replicating things that it loves from around the entire globe, from Disney World to Las Vegas. Hallstatt is an Austrian village, replicated in China down to the smallest detail to become the world's first cloned town. Construction started back in the year 2012 by a Chinese mining company, with a church being the first structure built. Hallstatt, China is an exact copy of the town in Austria, though with more expensive real estate. It attracts tourists from all over the world by virtue of its incredible imitation. 

The original: Hallstatt, Austria

The replica: Hallstatt, China

4: The Federation of Damanhur, Italy

This town, with a population of only 600, is known as "The Laboratory for the future of mankind." It was founded in 1975 by Oberto Airaudi as a sort of commune for him and his friends. Known simply as Damanhur, it's an ecovillage and spiritual community in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. The town has many underground "Temples of Humankind," built at depths reaching up to 100 feet beneath ground level. In Damanhur people live in community houses of 10-30 people. Living in a community and sharing life with other people is an important part of the damanhurian philosophy, however, they recognize that having your own private space is also fundamental. The federation even has its own currency, called Credito. It might sound crazy, but this town (and its stunning setting) is a must-visit place. 

5: Matmata, South Tunisia

Primitive humans used to live in cave habitats — and in the small Berber village of Matmata, in Southern Tunisia, they still do. Here, the residents reside underground in the traditional way of our fore-fore-fore-forefathers, and make their homes out of caves. The entire town has cave houses, and people still manage to live there comfortably just like our ancestors.  The unusual landscape of Matmata is filled with these ingenious dwellings burrowed into the rocky ground, and is a testament to human's ability to domesticate almost anywhere.

Photo by Bernard Gagnon - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

6: Whittier, Alaska

A 14-story building that used to be a military barrack, today makes up the entire town of Whittier. Known as the "Gateway to Prince William Sound," the town has 220 residents who all live under one roof, with a gas station, police station, church, and video rental shop all located in one building called Begich Towers. There is only one tunnel to enter or exit the town, and it opens twice every hour, shutting at night and reopening the following day.  Each summer, Whittier gets 22 hours of sunlight, and in winter it may get covered with as much as 20 feet of snow. The Inn at Whittier is a hotel and restaurant that faces the sea at Prince William Sound, and is an attraction for the locals as well as many tourists from across the globe. 

Photo courtesy of Begich Towers Facebook page

7: Longyearbyen, Norway

What if the place you live in does not let you officially die? That is (sort of) the situation in the town of Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway, which is the world's most northernmost city. The name of the town is literal, actually meaning "long year." The sun sets each year for the very last time on October 25th and does not rise again for four months. It's such a big deal when the sun officially returns to Longyearbyen on March 8th, that all of the citizens gather on the steps of the old hospital at precisely 12:15 to await its arrival, kicking off a week-long celebration called Solfestuka. Other interesting facts about Longyearbyen include: The citizens are used to living alongside polar bears and reindeer. Snowmobiles are the preferred mode of transportation, and none of the streets are named. It's home to the world's northernmost gourmet restaurant, the historic Huset, which boasts one of Europe's largest wine cellars (hey, you have to do something all winter!). But perhaps the most interesting thing about Longyearbyen is that its citizens aren't allowed to die. The incredibly frigid year-round Arctic climate doesn't permit the dead body to decompose, and so its one small graveyard stopped accepting burials more than 70 years ago. Residents are required by law to go elsewhere to die; and if a death does occur in the town, the body must be transported to Norway by ship or plane. 

Longyearbyen, Norway; Photo courtesy of VisitSvalbard.com If you want to add some truly quirky places to your bucket list that most people have never even heard of, much less visited, just set your typical travel taste aside and explore these truly unusual places. Read the full article

[shannrussell-blog1]

135 years ago, visionaries dreamt of a ribbon of steel linking the north and south of the country. Called the Great Northern Railway, but later simply known as “The Ghan”, the first sod was turned at Port Augusta on the 18th January 1878.

Those visionaries would not have dreamt that the first passenger train undertaking the journey from Port Augusta to Darwin would not arrive until 4th February 2004, 126 years after construction began. I guess you can’t rush these things!

For the adventurous traveller interested in a very significant part of our history, the section of this railway between Port Augusta and Alice Springs provides a brilliant insight into the hardships and magnificent achievements associated with this engineering masterpiece.

A significant length of the railway runs alongside another great Australian icon, the Oodnadatta Track. Even though this track does not officially start until Marree, the Old Ghan began its often arduous journey from Port Augusta.

Conditions of the track

Luckily for the modern day traveller, this trip is pretty easy going for anyone with a 4WD or SUV, with the dirt section of the track north of Lyndhurst being well maintained.

The only exception to this is with the advent of rain when the track can become quickly impassable and is closed by the road authorities to prevent damage.

Caravans set up for dirt road travel should not have too much trouble, although corrugations can be rugged at times. Camper trailers are a common sight along the track.

Once you reach Oodnadatta there are several options if you wish to continue on to Alice Springs, however, to follow the Old Ghan route requires high clearance, dual range 4WDs. Fortunately, there are other options.

Travelling the Oodnadatta Track is a surprisingly accessible adventure and this series will provide you with the information to confidently give it a go – it’s your one-stop shop for a successful trip.

Significance in Australian history

This trek can immerse you in some of the most significant aspects of Australian history. The rich indigenous culture can be discovered, particularly in Port Augusta, Marree and Oodnadatta. The ochre pits just north of Lyndhurst are a graphic reminder of the aboriginal trade routes that crisscrossed this area and the importance of these coloured soils in aboriginal culture. This is the area covered by John McDouall Stuart on his famous attempt to cross the continent from south to north and return successfully.

It is along this route that the groundbreaking Overland Telegraph Line was established, with some of the telegraph stations still standing and accessible. The Old Ghan railway line is now largely gone but the embankment and regular station and siding ruins will be a constant reminder of the enormous feat of engineering involved in making this connection to Alice Springs.

One can only wonder why it took another 100 years for the connection between Alice Springs and Darwin to be made. You don’t have to be a history buff to appreciate the incredible achievements of the indigenous and European peoples who settled in these areas.

Port Augusta – Lyndhurst (297km)

What will you see

From the top of Spencer Gulf to the northern section of the Flinders Ranges, a few days can easily be spent exploring museums, rail heritage, and some magnificent natural beauty. Port Augusta is a major centre and the last opportunity to stock up on provisions at the major supermarkets and variety stores in town.

This town is also a major rail hub servicing the passenger and freight services north to Alice Springs and Darwin, west of Perth and east to Sydney. The enormous coal trains from Leigh Creek pull in daily to the major power station that provides much of the power for South Australia.

Once past Hawker, the magnificent Flinders Ranges rise to the east and flat desert country disappears to the horizon in the west–what a contrast. The old Ghan Railway runs right along this section, crossing the road in a couple of places.

The ruins of station buildings and sidings are quite obvious and worth a poke around. The famous Prairie Hotel at Parachilna beckons, especially if you can time your visit around a meal break. You won’t be hungry after an FMG (Feral Mixed Grill).

Copley also has a good pub and excellent caravan park. Grab a quondong pie from the bakery–delicious! Just a little further you come across Lyndhurst and it’s time to say goodbye to bitumen.

The Towns

Port Augusta

Wadlata Visitor Centre and Museum

a wealth of information can be found here, together with an excellent display of outback heritage and indigenous culture that will set the scene for your upcoming adventure.

Arid Lands Botanic Gardens

Stroll through the garden and learn about the flora that you will encounter on your trip and gain an understanding of how these plants survive in such a harsh environment.

Port Augusta Railway Station

All trains, both passenger and freight pass through the station – great for trainspotters. For a ride on what is left of the old Ghan line, hop on a historic Pichi Richi train that leaves from here on some weekends. Check www.prr.org.au for details.

Gladstone Square

The Historic heart of the town is now a beautiful park flanked by the old courthouse and surrounded by the CBD. This is a significant area for the local indigenous community with an interpretive pathway detailing indigenous involvement in the area.

Quorn

Quorn was a major siding on the original Ghan Railway and is now home to the Pichi Richi Railway that uses lovingly restored engines and rolling stock that once travelled these lines to take passengers on a trip into yesteryear. See here for details and timetables.

Around the town are some great old buildings that hark back to the days of steam trains and a bustling rail centre. Take a walk around, you won’t be disappointed.

Hawker

Another station on the old Ghan railway, Hawker boasts a well-restored railway station that is now a restaurant and gallery. Hawker is also the gateway to the Flinders Ranges with Wilpena Pound, the heart of the Flinders, only 55km away.

Parachilna

Even if you don’t arrive here at meal time, pop in and have a look at the Prairie Hotel. There is usually some magnificent artwork on display and a coffee, cool drink or ice-cream may well tempt you.

The Prairie is famous for its menu of feral food, so give a go to a camel burger, kangaroo steak or perhaps a goat pie. Keep an eye out for the massive coal trains that go past twice daily.

Leigh Creek

This town was built solely to support the workers at the nearby Leigh Creek Coalfields. There are a few shops, petrol station, tavern and a caravan park, but not much else.

Copley

A stop on the old Ghan Railway that also supported the early days of the coalfields, this town is a little gem, particularly if you are looking for a place to stay overnight. The caravan park is excellent, has cabin, caravan and camping sites and the owners are extremely hospitable. In the cooler months, an evening campfire is provided where you can sit around, chat and meet fellow travellers.

The park also operates the bakery where some very yummy delights are to be had. The pub is just down the street and a small store can provide basic provisions. Fuel and mechanical assistance is also available.

Lyndhurst

The last stop on the bitumen, Lyndhurst is also the turning off point for those travelling the Strezlecki Track. This is a tiny settlement with a few houses, roadhouse and a pub. For something a bit different, travel about a kilometre up the Strezlecki Track to see Talc Alf.

You will be amazed at the carvings he does in zebra stone and may get caught up in quite a conversation about the ways of the world.

Accommodation

Port Augusta – all forms of accommodation, including a fairly fancy motel

Quorn – several hotels and motels and a good caravan park with cabins

Hawker – a hotel with motel rooms and two caravan parks

Merna Mora Station – camping and cabin accommodation

Parachilna – the Prairie Hotel has accommodation ranging from camping to cabins, hotel rooms and a very fancy, partly submerged rammed earth hotel wing if you want to do it in style

Leigh Creek – a basic caravan park and motel

Copley – an excellent caravan park with camping, caravan sites and cabins

Lyndhurst – Lyndhurst Hotel offers hotel rooms, converted rail carriages, camping and a caravan park.

Side Trips

The most significant side trip in this section is to the Flinders Ranges. The road to Wilpena and Blinman starts at Hawker and takes you through the heart of the Flinders and some of the most spectacular scenery the area has to offer. To get a really good feel for the area take the road to Wilpena and then go through Brachina Gorge, meeting the next section of this trek 70km north of Hawker. Allow at least several hours to enjoy this 110km detour.

Another alternative is to continue past Wilpena to Blinman and then travel through the Parachilna Gorge to re-join the main trek at Parachilna, 90km north of Hawker. This 153km detour provides magnificent scenery and a chance to look around the old copper mining town of Blinman and, if the time is right, enjoy a “Big Blinman Burger” at the Blinman Pub.

Merna Mora Station has some 4WD tracks through their property, one of which will take you to Lake Torrens. There is a fee to travel these tracks, but 4WD enthusiasts may find this well worthwhile.

Just 12km north of Copley, turn east for a couple of kilometres and visit the Leigh Creek Coalfields lookout. The kids will thank you! (UPDATE: As of September 2014 this lookout is no longer accessible)

Along The Way

Pichi Richi Pass

The drive between Port Augusta and Quorn winds through the picturesque Pichi Richi Pass, with the old Ghan railway line your regular companion. If lucky, you may see the steam train that takes passengers between Port Augusta and Quorn.

Warren Gorge

About 10km out of Quorn, this beautiful gorge provides a nice camp spot or a beautiful picnic spot.

Gordon and Wilson

Two of the old Ghan railway sidings are just on the roadside between Quorn and Hawker and have significant ruins that are worth having a poke around.

Kanyaka Ruins

Take the signposted turnoff 32km south of Hawker to the well-preserved remains of a major sheep station.

Aboriginal Paintings

Look out for the sign and turn off about 10km south of Hawker. This will lead to a parking area and walking trail to the cave paintings. The last part of the trail is steep. Allow at least a couple of hours.

Old Ghan Railway Sidings

The old rail line runs adjacent to the road in most of this section. Look out for the ruins at Hookina, Edeowie, Brachina, Commodore and Nilpena.

It is worth getting out and wandering around at least a couple of these to marvel at the conditions of the time and also some of the beautiful stonework involved in the buildings and bridges.

Beltana

This is now basically a ghost town with only a few hardy souls enjoying the isolated life. Once a bustling mining and rail town, many of the buildings are intact and good signage explains the history. Turn off the main road 20km north of Parachilna for the 17km of dirt road into Beltana.

From there you can take the 10km road out past the Beltana Roadhouse or continue north along the 17km road through Puttapa Gap following the Old Ghan–far more picturesque.

Distances and Services

Fuel: U = unleaded D = diesel L = LPG

Accommodation: CP = caravan park H = hotel/motel C = cabin

Distance from Port Augusta Fuel Accommodation Public Toilets Quorn 41km U,D,L CP,H,C Y Hawker 107km U,D,L CP,H,C Y Merna Mora 150km CP, C N Parachilna 196km CP,H,C Y Leigh Creek 260km U,D,L CP,H,C Y Copley 264km U,D CP,H,C Y Lyndhurst 297km U,D,L CP,H,C Y

NB. – there is no LPG fuel available beyond Lyndhurst.

Download the Oodnadatta Track Distances and Services PDF

Maps

Hema Maps Great Desert Treks–South East

Royal Automobile Association of S.A. – Flinders Ranges and Outback

Check out Part 2 of this 3 part series here. Do you have any tips for the Oodnadatta Track?

The post Oodnadatta Track Part 1 – Port Augusta to Lyndhurst appeared first on Snowys Blog.

[jacewilliams1]

Adventures of a Canadian bush pilot

I arrive in Fort William-Port Arthur by train in mid-May. Pop has paved the way and I obtain an interview with Orville Wieben, owner of Superior Airways. The company is well known as a major charter air service in Northwestern Ontario. The headquarters base in Fort William includes a seaplane facility on the Kamanistiquia River and operations at Sioux Lookout and Armstrong. The company had several dozen aircraft including Norseman Vs, a Bellanca Skyrocket, a Douglas DC-3 and a number of Cessna 180s. They are also an official Cessna Aircraft sales and service facility for Northwestern Ontario and eastern Manitoba.

Orville Wieben is an excellent pilot and savvy aircraft owner-operator with a fleet of high-performance bush planes. These aircraft had to be relatively low maintenance, easy to fly, and carry a diverse cargo of passengers or freight. Two aircraft are the workhorses of the Superior Airways fleet. The first is the Noorduyn Norseman, almost a flying truck. With a 450hp Pratt and Whitney radial engine, it can cruise at 120 mph on floats with a 2,700- pound payload. The other is the fairly-new Cessna 180 on floats. It has a 230hp Continental engine, consumes 11 gallons of gas per hour with an 800-pound payload, and competes nicely with the de Havilland Beaver, which is a bit slower than a Cessna 180 and consumes twice as much gas.

Mr. Wieben reviews my logbook, asks questions about my southern Ontario flying experience and in particular, my float endorsement for pontoons I earned at Orillia Air Services. He apparently has a high regard for Orillia’s Harry Stirk and his pilot training.

He also says my 200 hours with a commercial pilot license represent a modest experience but hires me and sends me off to the Sioux Lookout base.

Superior Airways operated a thriving seaplane business in Northwestern Ontario for many years.

There I would be under the guidance of chief pilot and manager Ranny McDonald. On May 25, 1957, McDonald checks me out on Cessna 180, CF-HZY, on floats. We fly to several nearby lakes where I perform a float plane landing, a pilot’s most difficult maneuver on water. They are glassy water landings and docking in an adverse crosswind—difficult, as the aircraft wants to weather cock into the wind. Being on the controls requires aileron, water rudder, and power manipulation. Ranny says I did well. Before he assigns me to my own aircraft, I am scheduled for familiarization and navigation of our extensive Northwestern Ontario charter air service territory as a co-pilot.

For the next six weeks I fly co-pilot for Captain Gord Norell in the Norseman V. I also co-pilot a Bellanca Skyrocket, similar to a Norseman, with Captain Alex Maxwell. Flying with these senior pilots, I learn a lot. Our jobs are very diverse and include flying prospectors to find mineral ore. We augment the Ontario Provincial Air Service and fly people requiring Sioux Lookout Hospital medical help. The company has four or five hunting and fishing camps throughout our territory. Flying fishing and hunting parties with an Indian guide for a week’s fun in the bush is big business.

There have been various books written about bush pilots. We are great storytellers about our many escapades, but a lot of what has been published does not get to the crux of what makes a bush pilot. So here is my take. When I visited Orval in his Thunder Bay office in the mid-70s, we reminisced about my experiences with his company in the 50s. I was proud when he said, “George, you are one of the last real bush pilots.” So, this is my definition:

A bush pilot should be categorized as an adventurous, resourceful Grade A pilot-cum-mechanic/technician. He or she should have the instincts of an explorer to fly and navigate over Canada’s vast geography of forests and lakes above the 49th and 50th parallels north of Lake Superior and James Bay. By comparison, most of southern Ontario straddles the 44th parallel.

“Be Prepared” as the Scouts say, often seven days per week. Pushing the limits responsibly to get the best power and fuel efficiency to reach the destination. Bush sense includes how to fend for yourself when downed by weather in a remote area. A fishing rod, 410 shotgun, Arctic sleeping bag and camping on the shore under the wing while waiting for weather to clear are a part of the job. So is fuelling the aircraft by oneself from a cached 45-gallon drum of gas with a wobble pump and chamois in a funnel.

Bush pilots need to have the courage to face hardships and danger. Bush pilots flew aircraft at the time with basic flight instruments: an airspeed indicator, turn and bank and sometimes an artificial horizon, if it worked. Navigation equipment was a magnetic compass and directional gyro. Reading and interpreting the VFR nav charts over wide swaths of barren terrain is vital. In some aircraft, we were lucky to have a UHF radio to communicate with our base. These signals were often erratic and dependent on us trailing 200-foot antenna.

An essential ingredient of being a good bush pilot is having strong self-discipline and in its modern sense flying and working with situational awareness. Today, pilots have the luxury of advanced high-tech satellite, GPS, transponder, T-Cast, and glass cockpit instrument panels to aid their flying.

In late July 1957, I was assigned my own airplane, Cessna 180 CF-JEV. Flying engineers and equipment to the headwaters of the Great Divide along the 51st parallel was one of my jobs. The streams and rivers flowing from this terrain’s high point descend north into Hudson Bay. A series of dams was devised to divert the water southward to Lac Seul and Lake Joseph’s hydro projects. By mid-August, I had done this trip many times. One day I took an engineer who had not flown with me before and he asked if he could follow our journey by reading my map that was on top of the instrument panel. After a while he remarked, “you are going straight to our destination.”

I said I hope so and why do you ask. He said, “I was recently flying with one of your other pilots and he got lost. We had to land on a lake and ask an Indian in his canoe where we were.” I recalled the pilot he referred to. He would go out on a two-hour trip and come back four hours later. He was getting lost. Apparently, the Indian took the chart, turned it over several folds and stabbed his finger at the correct location which was about 50 miles away from the intended route. Quite laughable if it wasn’t so serious.

Ontario is dotted with over 250,000 lakes—perfect for seaplanes.

Our contract with the Federal Government Department of Entomology biologist meant that once every several weeks, one of us would fly the bug doctor, as we called him, to collect samples from various lakes in the territory.

Ours was an avid fisherman. We would take off early in the morning and go to three or four lakes, pull up on a sandy beach and the doctor would collect various insect samples from the trees and bushes and place them in tagged bags. He always scheduled our flights so that about 1 pm we would arrive at one of his favourite fishing holes. We would then de-plane and fish for pickerel for several hours. It was like being on vacation. We cooked some of our catch and had a shore-line lunch. I even became adept at landing fish from the teeming schools of prevalent pickerel. What a lot of fun amidst a very busy bush pilot’s week.

The Ojibway and Cree, indigenous aboriginals of Northwestern Ontario, are a special group of natives who are everything from fellow workers to customers of our company. The Albany River Oji-Cree have a good fishing business. Our contract requires we pick up freshly-caught sturgeon every several weeks. The Indians catch the fish, keep them alive and tethered by a rope through the gills to a stanchion on the riverbank. When they hear the aircraft arriving, they kill the fish and prepare them for transport. This means cleaning out the innards and saving the roe/eggs from the females.

I have the interior prepped for this cargo. All seats have been removed except mine and the interior lined with a waterproof canvas tarp. I have taken a 16-ounce glass jar with me to be filled up with eggs. It cost me only $.50 for a full jar. On returning to Sioux Lookout with my sturgeon cargo for the Fish Monger Warehouse, the company did not mind me selling my jar of sturgeon eggs which I do and earn the princely sum of $5. I later find out that when this is made into caviar for the big city restaurants, my 16 ounces of eggs are worth about $100.

Forced landings can occur at awkward times. Flying the Norseman with Gord Norrell, we are near Big Cat Lake when one of the cylinder heads blows off. Instantly, the windscreen is doused with oil and it is hard to see. We are flying at approximately 2,000 feet and losing manifold pressure so we determine that Big Cat Lake will be our emergency stop. I am on our UHF radio with a Mayday call but get no response. Landing safely, we pull up to a nice sandy beach in front of the only habitation we could see. We are warmly welcomed by a family of Indians who live in a hut. They help us tie up, clean off our oily overalls and invite us for supper and to stay overnight while we wait for a new cylinder and our mechanic. No doubt, our absence would be noted and a search made.

In the meantime, I really get to know these Indians. Their modest shack was immaculate. They hunt and fish and explain their spirituality and sacred respect for their land. The recent Federal Government Indian Act has not affected them yet, but they are aware of the potential of being relocated to another reservation and they are unhappy about that. They go on to explain that their ancestors taught them that they had the right to live on their land, which had been theirs for hundreds of years, but they were not entitled to squat or live on another’s land, which belonged to their brothers for centuries and is sacrosanct.

I find all of this very educational and subsequently become very sensitive to indigenous peoples’ relationships with the land. I learn more about this from my son Andrew, who reads a lot about our native people, and Dr. Robbie Keith from the University of Waterloo. I have become very concerned about our Canadian government’s management of our native Canadians ever since this experience. We spend two days there before a replacement cylinder and the mechanic arrive.

The post Adventures of a Canadian bush pilot appeared first on Air Facts Journal.

from Engineering Blog https://airfactsjournal.com/2020/06/adventures-of-a-canadian-bush-pilot/

[yournewapartment]

Moving to A New Home

Moving to a new home can be daunting and complicated at times, especially if it’s something you’re doing on your own. I promise that no matter how stressful it may seem, this process will become exciting and invigorating for you to conquer. Regardless as to whether you’re moving across state lines or to a new country, the adventure begins now! I hope this helps babes.

Before You Move

1. List it up. Make a list of everything that you will need to accomplish before you are ready to move. This includes items that need to be packed, people that need to be contacted, pet accommodations, etc. I love lists, but you may not, so use any organizational technique that works for you.

2. Divide and conquer. After you’ve made your list, organize items based off of how much time they’ll take you. Packing will be fairly time-consuming, so this is something you’ll want to invite friends over for and break up over several days. I like to have “moving” parties whenever I’m getting ready to move, essentially I buy some chips and dip, play some Trap, and invite my friends over to act as my minions. Something like canceling your subscription to Cosmo will take you very little time and energy to do, so it’s something you can do when you’re ready for a stress-free activity.

3. Contact companies. Speaking of canceling your Cosmo subscription, you will need to update your address with all of the companies you use. If you’re no longer going to be using that company, you’ll need to call them and tell them when to end your service. If you’re going to continue to using that company, you’ll have to call them and tell that you’ll need an address change. Give them the exact date you’ll be moving so that they can backdate your information. Some examples of companies:

DMV in the county you’re moving to (if you’re going to drive)

Your doctor’s office

Your college (even if you graduated, they send out alumni letters all the time)

Your credit/debit card company

Your bank

Your phone company

Any government programs you’re a part of

Any companies that you have loans with

Your health insurance company

Your auto insurance company

Amazon

4. Set up. Nobody likes living without internet in this modern age, so make sure to call your internet/cable provider for your new home and setup an installation date ahead of time. Do the same for your electric company, although they will probably be able to activate your electricity remotely.

5. Send ahead. If possible, send/drop off some of your items ahead of time. If you have a family member or a friend that lives nearby where you’ll be staying, ask if they can hold a few boxes for you. You can also mail yourself packages and ask your local post office to hold them for you, but you’ll need to arrange that ahead of time.

6. Forwarding address. You will inevitably forget something, so make sure to leave your forwarding address and contact information with your landlord, college, ex-roommate, etc.

During Moving

1. Take your time. Don’t try to unpack everything in one day! Take some time to explore your new space, and decide where to put everything in a leisurely way. There is no set schedule for moving.

2. Assistance. If you have friends/family helping you make the move, assign them specific tasks so that nobody spends their time pestering you and asking “what do you need help with?”. You can even decide these tasks ahead of time, during your plane or car ride over.

3. Be neighborly. You’ll likely meet some neighbors during this process, and make sure to stop and greet them, even if you’re in the middle of something. First impressions do matter, even when they shouldn’t, and spending thirty seconds to greet someone in a parking lot may save you a lot of hardship in the long run. Ask your neighbors to recommend local attractions, places to eat, what laundromats to use, etc.

4. Check everything. Walk around your new home and make sure that everything is as it should be. Make sure all the light switches work, all the doors open, that the cabinets are empty, that everything has been cleaned properly, etc. Address anything that is not right immediately in a letter to your new landlord. 

After You’re Settled (Specifically for Living Alone)

1. PKW. Phone, keys, wallet. Every time you go anywhere. Check twice. The worst part of living on your own is having to rely on yourself to never forget to lock yourself out or leave your wallet at a sandwich shop in a mall. Make absolutely sure you have duplicates of your keys (I would get a couple made) and give one to a friend who lives nearby who you can count on. I also like to keep an extra set inside the apartment itself in a secure place, just in case. Your landlord can let you in during office hours, but giving a key to a trustworthy friend helps you 24/7.

2. Cleaning routine. You don’t have to sit down at a writing desk and draft this out, but spend a few minutes coming up with a basic cleaning regime for you to follow. It’s definitely easier to do a little each day, but if that doesn’t work for your schedule set aside at least an hour and a half during your time off to get your apartment spotless. I don’t know about you, but whenever I deep clean my apartment I feel like I’m living in a hotel for a day, and I absolutely love it.

3. Make a “moving” shopping list. This is everything you will need (minus food) for your first week at your new place. Do a big shop, and get all the essentials out of the way: first aid kit, cleaning supplies, tape, cat food, etc. Your first week moving into your new place will be stressful enough, you don’t want to be halfway through setting up your living room and realize that you forgot to buy trash bags.

4. Secure yourself. I’m not the most agile or fast person in the world, and I do live in a mid-sized city that has a good deal of crime. The apartment complex I live in is very safe, but I still like to double lock my front door at night. It might be smart to keep some pepper spray or a baseball bat somewhere in your apartment, just in case.

5. Stay social. Even the most anti-social person gets lonely. Make sure to hang out with your friends, not just your co-workers, your actual friends. Get out off your apartment every few days and go see a movie, get a cup of coffee, go people watching at the park, etc. It’s easy to get depressed if you’re living alone and doing the same things the same way every day- allow yourself to mix it up.

6. Meal prep. It can be stressful and seem useless to cook complicated or “fancy” meals when you’re living on your own. Plan your meals for the week and make a list before going shopping. Get yourself enough food to make a variety of dinners that will only take you fifteen minutes. If you do want to go crazy and make steak and mashed potatoes for yourself, make enough for two meals. Also, nobody is going to think poorly of you for stocking your fridge with a couple frozen dinners.

7. Customer service. Living alone means that you are going to be doing a lot of talking to customer service representatives. Get comfortable talking to people over the phone. Tell the rep what you need as quickly as you can, and try to be polite because customer service at a phone center is a garbage job that doesn’t pay well. On the flip side, don’t be afraid to ask for a manager if you’re upset or unhappy with your service. Take their survey at the end of your phone call, tell them how unhappy you are. It’s someone’s shitty job to look at all those surveys, no complaint goes unheard. Companies with great phone service: Verizon, Apple, Amazon. Companies with awful phone service: USPS (literally the worst), electric companies, health insurance companies.

8. Guest space. This is not required, but it’s a good idea to have some sort of space for a friend to stay the night. A friend of mine had a bad breakup, showed up at my apartment with ten minute’s notice, and then fell asleep on my couch after an hour of crying. It as 7:30! Whatever, she needed it. Keep an extra blanket and pillow in your closet, I like to keep travel sized shampoos and conditioners in my bathroom cabinet on the off chance a guest wants to use my shower. I got these at a hotel for free, but they’re available at CVS and other pharmacies.

9. Toilet paper. Don’t let yourself run out of toilet paper! I like to buy more when I notice I only have one roll left. The same deal goes for paper towels.

10. Enjoy. Living on your own is simoltaneously exciting and exhausting, but an all around must-have experience. Enjoy the freedom to forget to make the bed, to decorate your bathroom however you want, to have ice cream for dinner, to watch reruns of Friends and cry when Rachel decides to move to France. Make sure to give yourself lots of space to move at your own pace, but please remember to eat three meals a day and to go to the doctor’s for a checkup at least once a year!

Making Friends and Staying Social

First things first- we as humans are social creatures. We seek out social interaction, even the most antisocial person in the world still needs the occasional stimulating conversation. Don’t stress about making friends, it’ll happen one way or another.

The best friendships are created organically, but that said, there are some things you can do to quicken the process.

1. Friends by proximity.  Be social and inquisitive when meeting your new co-workers and that openness will help you create fast friendships. Ask lots of questions, people love it when you ask them lots of questions about things. Remember elementary school? Remember how easy it was to make friends then? You’ve got this.

2. Places. Hang out at places that you would normally hang out with your friends. Scope out cool bookstores and cozy coffeeshops, and be on the lookout for similar-minded people. Find reasons to talk to these strangers, whether that means asking them for directions, what they’re drinking, etc. The next time you run into them, you’ll be able to start up a conversation.

3. Events. One of the quickest ways to make lots of new friends is to join a group that meets weekly that does something that’s important to you. This could be anything from a book club, to a Dungeons and Dragons game, to volunteer work. Go to your local library and read the bulletin board looking for groups that interest you. You may have to get on the internet to find something close by. At the very least you’ll have a weekly social event to go to where you won’t feel out of place.

4. Neighborly. This next one depends on you, but if you have cool looking new neighbors introduce yourselves to them. Hit them up at random and say something casual like “I was going to go out for a drink, wanna join?” Planning things in advance puts pressure on acquaintances, so try to be spontaneous.

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Deadline notes, Currie analysis, Trade Speculation, Zuccarello fallout and so much more (Feb 25)

Ramblings: Deadline notes, Currie analysis, Trade Speculation, Zuccarello fallout and so much more (Feb 25)

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With regards to today’s NHL Trade Deadline coverage, this will be the 14th year I am covering it on this site. Please check in throughout the day to see my breakdown of each NHL trade. When things get too nuts, Cliffy and Ian will be around to do a few as well. We’re fast, and we’re thorough. You’ve seen it year after year – and if you haven’t, then you’ll be impressed. We have the full list of trades, player links, and forum links related to that trade, in our Trade Deadline Tracker.

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When I saw Josh Currie scored his first goal and Allan Walsh, whom I’m assuming is his agent, tweeted that he had three consecutive 20-goal AHL seasons after working his way up from the ECHL, I wanted to look into him. Much like I’m always looking for the next possible Martin St. Louis – a smaller underrated player who becomes a superstar (so far I’ve dug up Cam Atkinson and Vinnie Hinostroza – obviously still waiting for the next steps if they ever come, but it’s as close as we’ve gotten so far), I’m also always on the lookout for the next possible David Desharnais. And as much as you probably have distaste for Desharnais due to his more recent years, he really was a fantasy boon early on. He was a prolific scorer in junior, was plunked into the ECHL without being drafted or having an NHL contract and worked his way up to the NHL. In his first couple of seasons he was not only very fantasy relevant, but it was also great because you were able to scoop him out from under the noses of your supposedly savvy fellow GMs and he helped you very quickly. The fun part, of course, is the ‘under the nose of your fellow GM’ part.

So what do we have in Currie? Well, he did get 104 points in his final year of the QMJHL…but he was 20 years old when he did that and tons of players have done that over the years. It’s almost expected of you at 20 years old to top 100 points in the Q. The year prior, he did get 30 goals but only managed 46 points. The rest of his PEI team wasn’t loaded with goal scorers, so maybe he could have had more assists with better star power around him, but he’s still a sniper. He’s a late October birth so he actually began those two years at 18 and 19. He went directly to the ECHL when he turned pro and steadily improved his numbers – from 41 points in 70 games to 49 points to a 65 pace. He made the jump to the AHL two months into the latter year, and had season-over-season points-per-game averages of 0.45, 0.54, 0.68 and 0.76 before getting the call to the big show last week at the age of 26. However, what’s interesting is the latter number includes 24 goals (though only 13 assists) in just 49 games. Very different from Desharnais in the following ways:

1. Currie is a sniper

2. Currie’s production is less than Desharnais’ at every level

3. Currie is a winger

On the surface, it appears that his upside is lower than Desharnais was. Clearly Currie is a passenger, whereas Desharnais was more of a driver albeit a low-level one. Put Currie with Kyle Brodziak, he gets 12 goals and 20 points. Put Currie with Connor McDavid? Because Desharnais never had a McDavid-type in winger-form to play with, he couldn’t possibly match Currie’s upside. So can Currie succeed where Ty Rattie, another solid AHL sniper, failed? Will he even get a chance to try? That’s the question. I’ll be watching as – for now – he’s just another one of a hundred players with a 1% chance of truly thriving with a lucky break. But as Jim Carrey once noted:

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Trade Speculation

If Tampa Bay does any trade other than a backup fourth liner or a No. 7 or 8 defenseman, then they are overthinking things. The roster as is should win the Stanley Cup, all that’s left now is pro roster injury protection.

It’s not just the big-name players you should be watching for today. Sure, that’s going to be much more exciting. But these are great players – they’re doing well now, they’ll do well no matter where they go. As far as fantasy is concerned, it’s not even going to move the needle. What we should be looking for, as fantasy owners, are the underused and underrated players who could stumble into a great opportunity. Yes, the odds will be slim in the way that Ty Rattie (or the aforementioned Currie) could get a chance and thrive. And between slim odds of getting decent ice time, and risk of injury (that to me derailed Rattie twice this year), you probably won’t see anything special. But the exciting thing is that you could. Chris Kunitz was once claimed off waivers. Patrick Sharp was traded to Chicago and considered a third-liner. Lots of examples out there. I wonder if Austin Czarnik goes anywhere. Or Nic Petan. Players not only on the cusp, but possibly getting their last shot. Keep in mind that whatever team they go to it will be a team with a shortage of forwards so they’ll get their chance.

Another name to watch for is Daniel Carr, who is embarrassing the AHL right now with 66 points in 47 games which is by far the league lead. Or whoever the Blues trade today. Could Robby Fabbri or Sammy Blais go? Any takers for Jordan Schmaltz as a throw-in?

At midnight, Sunday/Monday, Bob McKenzie reported that Gustav Nyquist was about to be traded to San Jose. I think we can assume that will happen. UPDATE: Deal done, for a 2nd and a conditional 3rd that can become a second if the Sharks re-sign him or make it to the Final. Trade breakdown on this will come in the morning (or is already up if you’re reading this later).

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Lots of minor moves as teams gear up for life beyond the deadline. The Islanders have signed Dennis Seidenberg, who had loyally remained with the team without a contract all this time. Depth option at less than half the cap hit. The Bruins have signed winger Lee Stempniak, also for depth. Both players need to get through waivers in order to join the team. The Sabres signed a depth goalie in Adam Wilcox, the Islanders have signed depth goalie Jeremy Smith, and the Panthers have signed depth goalie Chris Driedger. Teams are making sure that they have all the bases covered.

Anaheim Ducks traded Brian Gibbons to Ottawa for Patrick Sieloff. I’m not sure about that one, other than Ottawa maybe looking for an NHL body for their lineup to give the kids more AHL time…

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Goalie A vs. Goalie B

If you could take Goalie A, who has a strong likelihood of getting you 40 wins for the foreseeable future, is in his prime on a great team…or Goalie B, who also has a strong likelihood of getting you 40 wins, is probably a little more talented, has a slight chance of getting you 49 wins, but carries say a 10% chance of missing half the season with an injury. Which one do you choose? The answer is, both goalies are great, I’d be fine with either. And they easily top the rest of the field.

I’ve been taking heat on Twitter and FB over having Frederik Andersen at the top of my goalie list over Andrei Vasilevskiy. It’s the usual problem for writers when people don’t read the full article (or in this case, the intro). Andersen is not over Vas. He is in fact equal. They are in the same Tier and deservedly so. If you can’t see the reasoning I outlined above, you have a right to that opinion. If you want to see mine, I proudly present it every month. But do me the favor of reading the intro too, and know exactly what it is you are criticizing.

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This is unbelievable and I feel horrible for Dallas and their fans. But they lost Mats Zuccarello for four to six weeks after suffering a (apparent – at least as I write this) broken arm in the third period Sunday. He took a Connor Murphy shot off the arm. This is after Zuccarello slid seamlessly into the lineup and picked up a goal and an assist.

King Henrik breaks down, discussing Zuccarello:

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Jamie Benn also left game, but he left early and is day to day. Dallas, as I noted in the trade breakdown, was a three-forward team when it came to offense and it makes a huge difference when they added a fourth. It changes everything. So many more options now up front at even strength and on the power play. But now, instead of having four stud forwards they are down to two? Brutal!

In the game against Chicago, Patrick Kane had his 20-game point streak snapped. But Erik Gustafsson surges on with his seventh point in three games and 33 in his last 31. He also has 38 in 39.

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Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin each left Saturday’s game. The latter has a concussion, the former has an upper-body injury.

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Rangers’ line combination with Zuccarello gone:

26.4%

KREIDER,CHRIS – VESEY,JIMMY – ZIBANEJAD,MIKA

19.1%

FAST,JESPER – NAMESTNIKOV,VLADISLAV – STROME,RYAN

10%

ANDERSSON,LIAS – BUCHNEVICH,PAVEL – CHYTIL,FILIP

7.7%

BRICKLEY,CONNOR – NIEVES,BOO

So Vesey has slid into Zuke’s spot and Lias Andersson takes Vesey’s spot. Advantage: Vesey, who picked up two points in the game.

Brett Connolly has seven points in his last nine games, but is still only getting 11 minutes of ice time. He’s already at a career high of 33 points and has tied his high of 15 goals. I’d like to see him get another chance – he got all his chances too early in his career. But now is the time he’s ready. As a big 6-3 player he needed more time than the average player. (And yes, Striker, that fits in with your model! Love that model)

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Another hat trick for Joe Pavelski gives him 18 points in his last 13 games, with nine of them goals. Kevin Labanc has 15 points in his last 15 games.

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After three games with the Minnesota Wild, Ryan Donato has four points. Now, before you start building that Donato shrine it’s important to note a couple of things. First, he made a similar splash at the end of last season when he arrived in Boston. Second, of his three assists all three of them were secondary assists. Great player, good upside, but before declaring that he has arrived I am preaching caution.

Jake Allen has faced 111 shots over the last three starts and he has stopped 105 of them. Perhaps the fear of losing his job is belatedly starting to kick in. But what he needs is to go three consecutive games without allowing four goals. The last time he did that was early December.

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Speaking of Austin Czarnik, who I made note of in the trade speculation above, I was wondering why after he scored in three consecutive games did he only get 10 minutes of ice time on Saturday? It just makes a Dobber Darling become even more of one when the coach holds him back. On Sunday he scored again, and it was the game winner. His ice time was 12:15.

Sunday also marked the first ever NHL game between Matthew Tkachuk versus Brady Tkachuk. Matthew won the game but Brady was the only Tkachuk to put a point on the board.

The Senators scratched Mark Stone, Mikkel Boedker and Cody Ceci, each of whom could be dealt before the deadline. With Stone out of the lineup, the top scoring forward on the Sens was Chris Tierney. And yet he still wasn’t on the first PP unit. That trio was Tkachuk, Bobby Ryan and Anthony Duclair. Frankly I prefer the second unit that had Tierney, Logan Brown and Drake Batherson.

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Interesting note from the NHL about Saturday’s outdoor game – 13 of the league’s 27 outdoor games have resulted in come-from-behind victories. That’s a shade under half. No lead is safe when the game is outside.

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The Coyotes retired Shane Doan’s number on Sunday, as they should. The guy played his entire career with the franchise and finished with 402 goals and 972 points in 1540 games. So close to 1000 points, I can see why he flirted with the idea of playing for another season had there been any takers. Doan’s best fantasy season was 2007-08 when he had 78 points in 80 games, though in 2005-06 he had 30 goals, 66 points and 123 PIM.

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Patrik Laine has three goals in his last two games and is now on the top line with Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor. It gives Laine 28 goals on the season. Last year after 62 games he had 31 goals, so is his season really so bad? Assuming you’re not in a caveman league that still counts plus/minus, that is (ha ha). He could be right back to his usual self in two more good games, that’s all it takes.

Josh Morrissey was injured in the third period. He left the game and did not return.

When Clayton Keller scored Sunday it was his first point in seven games and his first goal since January 20.

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Personal Note

Friday marks 18 months since my stem cell transplant. Most of you already know this, but in May of 2017 I was diagnosed with Myelodysplasia and by July it had expedited to Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Thankfully a world donor was a 100% match and after a summer in-hospital receiving chemo and radiation, I received the transplant. Today I am happy to report that I feel normal, and I am in disbelief that this can be the case. And of course, grateful. What 18 months means is that I am (or will be on Friday) officially halfway to being deemed cured of cancer. Needless to say, the more difficult half is behind me. At this point, the only thing different in my life versus before is the fact that I need to check into the hospital every few weeks for tests, and I need to gradually re-do all my vaccinations. In fact, things are even better because with the new blood I have more energy, and when I exercise it actually makes a difference – the body processes energy and calories better, to say nothing of an improved immunity. (You can read my initial statement here, my update here – and you can register to donate your stem cells here for Canada and here for the USA. As you can see this does save lives.)

Anyway, this is an enjoyable day for hockey fans and I just thought I would add my good news to that.

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See you…all day long as I pound out the trade analysis…

        from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-deadline-notes-currie-analysis-trade-speculation-zuccarello-fallout-and-so-much-more-feb-25/

[survivingmexico]

You can get groceries at a variety of stores. In fact, depending on what you need, you may need to stop at several stores to find all the items on your list.

    The smallest corner store is usually called abarrotes or tiendita or miscelanea. There’s typically a small selection of necessities including soap, canned goods, and chips. Usually, there’s quite a large selection of chips and soda. Even with the sugar tax, these items remain best sellers and are what probably keep these little stores in business.

If it’s a store you frequent, you may be able to request certain items. For instance, peanut butter is available at some stores but not part of the Mexican diet. If you let the store owner know you’ll be buying it regularly, it just might appear on the shelves.

The next size up is the mini-super. There’s a little more selection, but not much.

    Then there’s the super (from the word supermercado). It has a larger selection and sometimes even a section for imported goods. You never can tell what you might find on the shelves. I once found Mountain Dew at a super. One can cost more than $20 pesos, so I didn’t get it though. Another time I found pesto sauce, but again it was out of my budgeted price range.

Mini-supers and supermarkets often have a small section of fruit and vegetables. In a pinch, you could buy your produce there. However, you’ll have more variety of in-season fresh produce at the frutería. You’ll also likely find bags of beans, popcorn, sunflower seeds, cheese cut to order, peanuts, and eggs.

At a frutería you don’t have to buy the whole stalk of celery if you only want 3 stems. You can request that a melon or cabbage be cut into halves or quarters and just buy that. Everything is bought by weight.

Our local frutería houses some cows, goats, and chickens behind the store to aprovechar (take advantage of) the produce that has gone bad. It means, sometimes it’s a bit smelly there and a friend of mine said that she saw a swarm of rats running under the shelves, but what can you do?

  Cold cuts can be found in supers or stores that specialize in carnes frias (refrigerated meats) Usually at the back of a super you can find a little deli counter known as a salchichonería  (delicatessen). Here you’ll find mostly different brands of processed ham, hot dogs, and bacon. Our local super also carries Vienna sausage which seems a little odd to me, but hey, whatever there is a demand for I guess. It’s possible to buy a packet of hot dogs or ham but all of these items are also sold “suelto” which means you can ask for a specific amount and the deli clerk will slice and dice and package what you want. With the cold cuts, you can request a particular thickness if you like since the standard slice is very, very thin.

Often the salchichonería is paired with a cremería (dairy) which includes lacteos (milk products). Here you can buy dairy items like cheeses, butter (although not often available), margarine, yogurt and heavy creams.

You can also buy eggs. When you buy eggs, you can ask for a specific amount (10 pesos) or buy by the kilo or media kilo. The eggs will be passed to you in a clear plastic bag, so be careful. You have no idea how many times I’ve broken an egg or two on the motorcycle ride home. If you are buying a large quantity, you can ask the deli person to give them to you in the cardboard egg holders. The cardboard will be layered and tied up and it provides marginally more protection against breakage.

You can also do your shopping at the weekly tianguis or at the mercado (market). Vendors have stalls or stands and you can find just about anything. If you don’t see what you want, don’t be afraid to ask.

During different growing seasons, you might find temporary stands on the corner or people carrying buckets of different fresh food items.  The strawberry and honey sellers are a common sight during certain times of the year. You’ll often see the strawberry sellers carrying plastic buckets and the honey sellers carrying a crate full of their products strapped to their chests.

Produce trucks provide fresh fruit and vegetables to outlying areas.

If you live in outlying areas, the produce truck will come to you. You can expect them on set days of the week and stock up until their next pass through.

This guy sells elotes (corn) from the back of his truck.

Be on the lookout for trucks with sound systems as well. Jicama, melons, oranges, pineapples and other fresh food can be bought cheaply off the back of these trucks. You’ll find trucks parked at corners or by topes (speed bumps) handing out fresh slices of whatever they are selling on the point of a knife. Feel free to sample before buying. There’s no obligation implied.

A wide variety of items can be found at the molino de chiles (literally pepper mill). Not surprisingly, this is your best bet to find ground black pepper which isn’t typically a part of the Mexican diet. Also available are varieties of prepared moles, garlic salt, ground chiles and other seasonings. This is the place to go for baking items like cocoa powder, flour, yeast, sprinkles, candies and if you are very fortunate, chocolate chips.

As you can see, grocery shopping can take the better part of the day at this rate. The trade-off is it’s never the same experience twice. It’s much more like the foraging our ancestors did than modern-day grocery shopping. Where you might have located those elusive chocolate chips last month, may no longer have them in stock, so you must head to another establishment whose owner has different ideas on what the average household needs and stocks his shelves accordingly. Who knows what you might find today?

Grocery Shopping in Mexico–a bit of a quest You can get groceries at a variety of stores. In fact, depending on what you need, you may need to stop at several stores to find all the items on your list.

[lindoig]

Days 92 to 102 - 27 July to 6 August

Thursday, we headed for Port Hedland, calling in at Eighty Mile Beach on the way – very hot, dusty and windy on the beach, but there were heaps of people in the very full and obviously popular caravan park.  Fishing and the beach seemed to be the only activities and we weren’t into either of them on the day.  We drove just over halfway to Port Hedland, a bit over 300km for the day, and camped in a cleared area a little way off the highway 60km short of Pardoo. Not another bloody sunset……

Friday started with a mini-disaster.  I decided to make a cheese and herb damper for brekky, so we built a fire and used the camp oven we had purchased in Broome specifically for the purpose.  It was my first attempt, a complete experiment with no recipe, but I think the main problem was that the fire was way too hot.  I also suspect the dough was a bit too stolid and maybe we let it cook longer than necessary.  The lump of charcoal that came out was almost axe-proof, but we managed to salvage some of its innards - moderately edible dryish bread that became breakfast once smothered in butter.  No probs – life is a learning experience and next time, I am sure we will do better.

On arrival in Port Hedland, we booked in at the Big 4 Park (I said in an earlier post that I have never liked Big 4s) and they put us on a ‘premium’ site.  What a joke!  It was tiny, simply a small patch of sand, on a corner, with traffic squeezing past us day and night.  I badly bent part of our stabilising gear when I had to jack-knife the van to get it on the site – and that cost us $35 to have it straightened before we could move on anyway.  When we complained that it wasn’t concreted like all the other premium sites, they said it was a gravel site – oops, no gravel.  Oh sorry, it is a grassed site – but no grass this decade.  There were numerous other problems – cracked bowl in the toilet with sewage on the floor, toilets that don’t flush, a dump point with a perished hose that sprayed everywhere and soaked me, no light in the shower, the washing came out dirtier than it went in, etc., etc., etc.  (I made a list of about 20 complaints.)  By the time we decided we had to stay a second night, the office was closed so next day, we read the riot act to them and refused to pay for the second night.  That was when they admitted that our site was supposed to be for a small camper-trailer only – and that they knew about all our other complaints because other people had also complained, but they hadn’t got around to fixing them. We posted a comment on the Big 4 Facebook page (as invited to do) and Heather ended up getting an abusive phone call from their Customer Relations people.  Seems my prejudice against Big 4 may have some substance.

Notwithstanding the Caravan Park, we did get around and saw a few things in the area on the Saturday. We did a harbour cruise conducted by the Seafarers Centre.  It is run by the Anglicans and provides a service for seamen from the bulk carriers and other ships in the mining industry during their short stopovers in Port Hedland while their ships are being loaded.  They collect them from the ships, bring them to shore, take them to the supermarket or other shops, give them internet access and other services along with a package of goodies (lollies, etc.) to take back with them.  We tourists are allowed on the cruise around the harbour as they visit all the ships to collect the seamen – and our tour fees go toward providing the services they deliver – a very neat arrangement all round. We got up very close to lots of things in the harbour that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise and they gave us a really interesting commentary and DVD show before we actually left for the cruise.  Seems like a great service to men - and women - whose life is less than enjoyable and a cause we were happy very to support.

We went to the pub for lunch and drove around much of Port Hedland and out to Finucane Island in the afternoon.  It is a very spread-out town spanning about 20km or more and does a huge volume of shipping.  I counted at least 25 ships on the horizon and they are apparently just the ones in the front line waiting to be filled.  There are two more lines behind that and there are often more than 100 gigantic carriers anchored out there, sitting idle waiting to be filled.  They can only get in and out of the harbour on the high tides and it takes a day and a half to fill a ship so keeping everything running smoothly is critical given the billions of dollars of shipping anchored out there looking for a profitable load. Driving to Finucane Island gave us lots of different aspects of the loading process to look at – we saw more of the giant loaders, the 3km 250,000 tonne trains and all sorts of other massive mysterious plant and infrastructure sitting in the middle of nowhere.  As we drove through the whole Kimberley/Pilbara area, I have been staggered by the number of projects with giant infrastructure sitting out in the middle of the desert - squillions of dollars, maybe even more, all quarantined from we plebs,but hopefully feeding zillions of dollars into our economy - hopefully, if the resources go overseas, not all the profits follow them.

Obviously, iron ore is the main export from the Pilbara, but the world’s second largest area of salt extraction ponds is at Port Hedland and as you drive in and out of town, you pass a massive 50 metre high pile of salt and adjacent loading area – not sure what they do in the monsoon season: maybe they have a big umbrella or maybe, it just all dissolves and runs back into the sea??  And Port Hedland is only one of our salt mines - we have seen at least 2 others that look (to my untrained eye) to be about as big.

There was a small festival in town, presumably in honour of our visit. Leastways, they put on a reasonable fireworks display across from the Caravan Park to wish us well on our journey further south.

We drove to Karratha on Sunday and it was a nice surprise.  Port Hedland didn’t have much to recommend it, at least for us, but Karratha is quite a large town of about 25,000 and a pleasant dormitory area for all the industry surrounding it.

En route to Karratha, we called in at Point Sampson, Wickham, Cossack and Roebourne – in that order despite the geography suggesting the opposite.  We had a fish and chips lunch at the Port Sampson pub and did some shell collecting on the beach afterwards.  We then drove around the port and loading area, but we couldn’t get in to see much – apart from being staggered by its size.  There is not much to at Wickham, mainly workmen’s houses and barracks, but the abandoned town of Cossack was interesting.  We had a walk around some of the old buildings and the wharf area.  There is an annual art competition at Cossack (I think it has the richest or second richest art prize in Australia) and we just happened to call in while it was on – but shortly before it closed for the day.  We then went onto Roebourne, smaller than I imagined, but still a pleasant little town, and then on to Karratha.

We called in at the first caravan place we saw, but it was not very suitable so we rang and booked at another one – and would you believe it, the woman running the place was the same woman who had booked us in at the awful place at Port Hedland. Fortunately, all went smoothly and our problems up there were not mentioned so we set ourselves up in what was really quite a good caravan park.

Monday morning was a slow start, just doing things around the van, dealing with email and getting ourselves a bit better organised.  In the afternoon, we went for a drive to Dampier, some 15 km away on the sea.  We were interested in doing a mine tour so called in to the Dampier Information Centre (the Seafarers Club) but were told that there are no such things.  We had a good look around the town, went to the local lookout, and took a drive out along the Burrup Peninsula to where the port and industrial area is located.  It is only about 15km out there, but there is a huge amount of development there, including an Information Centre to tell the tourists about the whole area and what they are looking at. Alas, we arrived as they were closing for the day, so we retraced our steps and visited Withnell Bay – a little further along the Peninsula.  The road was so bad that we gave up just short of the actual Bay, but it was basically just a marshy mangrove area anyway – but apparently a favourite spot for fishermen. We also called in to Hearson’s Cove: a lovely long beach, sheltered on both ends by long promontories.  On the way back, we went in to Deep Gorge, but it was approaching dark and the few people we met in the parking area were unsure of where the Gorge actually was – they had trekked 2 kilometres in and seen nothing (they took the wrong track as we found out next day) – so we decided to leave that to tomorrow – that would be Tuesday.

Our trip list of birds topped 250 since we left home that day – a mini-milestone.  I also found out that the ‘lumpy’ termite nests I have tried to describe a couple of times are called Cathedral Mounds and they can be up to 8 metres high – and they all are twice as deep underground as they are above ground.  That’s quite a construction project for such tiny workers.  The last termite census conducted by the Bureau established that they have about 8 million workers in the larger mounds, so the workforce is substantial even if the individual workers are small. The mounds all have a nipple on top and the termites apparently use airways in that to maintain a constant cool temperature underground irrespective of how hot it might be above ground.  Maybe their air conditioning technology is better than we humans’.

We got a reasonably early start on Tuesday and headed for the North West Shelf Gas Project Visitors’ Centre that was closing when we arrived the previous day.  It is a really excellent display with loads on information about the project, including a couple of new DVDs showing how the oil and gas is formed and collected underground and how it is extracted, processed and exported by Rio Tinto.  It was all very informative and because we expressed interest, they actually gave us copies of the 2 DVDs and a bit of other material to take with us. It was definitely worth the time spent there!

We had lunch at Hearson’s Cove and the tide was out so we walked a couple of hundred metres out to sea on the wet sand.  That was when Heather got her annoying 20-minute call from Big 4 when she almost hung upon them – she has a lot more patience than I have!  By then, the tide had turned and we had to return to the beach without really discovering anything on our walk out.

We had rung early in the day to find out a bit more about Deep Gorge, including which track to take.  It was really only 3-4 hundred metres in among the huge piles of rocks and there were thousands of ancient aboriginal etchings on the rocks.  Many were not recognisable, but there was obviously a huge artists’ colony there at some point in early history.  The path in is simply a metre-wide line of jagged rocks so we trod carefully and made it there and back without injury.  We had been warned of a lot of snakes in the area including a big grumpy olive python, but we saw none.

And about the landscape/rockscape around here…..  It is quite extraordinary, composed very largely of spinifex country with a few stunted trees and gigantic piles of higgledy-piggledy red rocks, all jumbled together, big and small, all shapes and sizes, some as big as a car, but mostly maybe just car-boot size and smaller.  They are almost completely exposed with few places where enough erosion or wind-blown sand has collected to support plant life.  It is a combination of huge piles of dramatic dark red-brown rock and plains of creamy-grey spinifex – and man! is that prickly!!  Fortunately, the spinifex grows in clumps and it is often not too difficult to tiptoe between the clumps to creep up on a bird or photograph a flower.  Interestingly, as the spinifex plants die, their seeds grow around their perimeters forming quite large fairy rings – or vicious circles, depending on your fancy.

We tried to get to the end of the Burrup Peninsula and drove several kilometres in, but the road was deteriorating rapidly (it started as a narrow, rough, rocky bush track) to the point of impassibility (impossibility?) so we spent some time photographing some painted finches (another first for us) and then headed back to the caravan – and yet another of those sunsets.  There was a BBQ and entertainer on that night, all welcome by donation with proceeds going to Variety (a great children’s charity) so we went along and ate our sausages and tapped or sang along with the entertainer’s songs and jokes.  Three Irishmen went into a pub…..well, they would, wouldn’t they?

Some people at the same table as us told us not to believe what the Seafarers had told us.  There was a tour and they were going on it in a couple of days.  So we rang and booked to go on the same tour as them on Thursday.

Next day, Wednesday, we went for a long loop drive to Python Pool, through the Millstream-Chichester National Park and back to Karratha.  Python Pool is a beautiful big swimming hole at the foot of some massive cliffs – with an obviously massive waterfall during the Wet.  Heather braved it and had a very cold swim, but I guarded her towel and took the photos.  We ate our lunch there and drove on, stopping at several places to look at birds and/or plants.  The people who had told us about the tour had previously spent a couple of weeks camped by the ocean at Cleaverville about 40 clicks north of Karratha and said it was just fantastic!  We decided to check it out on our way back to Karratha, but decided that it was not our scene at all.  It was crowded and unfriendly – one couple had even set up their van in a big area on the top of the hill overlooking the sea and parked their car sideways across the road to prevent anyone else getting in to disturb their solitude. Selfish people!

I had seen a sign for some Plankton Farms 4 kilometres off the road near our caravan park so we went exploring.  Unfortunately, after nearly 4 km, we came to a locked gate with the usual ‘No Admittance’ signage.  In the absence of first hand enquiry, we had to explore the business by Google and it seems that it is a new industry, supplying algae and plankton, mainly to the pharmaceutical industry.

We topped up our larder from the supermarket before reaching the caravan because we knew we would be off the grid for the following few days.

As I said, we did the mine tour on Thursday.  It wasn’t actually a mine tour, but very interesting just the same.  They drove about a dozen of us from Karratha to Roebourne where we were shown a DVD about the mine and loading facilities, in fact quite a lot about the whole Pilbara area, then went out to Point Sampson where we were able to drive right through the mammoth Port Lambert Loading Facility. It was amazing to get within touching distance of so many of the things we had seen in the far distance from our own car a few days earlier.  It is mind-bogglingly massive and all the statistics are off the chart – needless to say, I can’t recall much, but the scale of some of these developments is almost unimaginable.  I think there are 13 separate mines feeding into the stockpiles – massive trains, 65-metre road-trains – even quite a flow of scrap metal trucks/road trains constantly feeding the export markets.  We saw them tipping the train-trucks upside down to empty their few hundred tons of crushed stone onto the miles-long conveyor belts to the stockpiles and from there to the loading machinery.  It is all highly automated with most of the control being effected from Perth, 1300 km away. People in Perth even drive some of the 150-tonne driverless dump-trucks they use.  They are working on driverless trains too, but I understand the TWU has a problem with that.

Our driver and guide was a mine of information and never stopped talking the whole time.  He lives in Roebourne and is a passionate local history and conservation buff and had plenty to say wherever we went.  He took us to Cossack for a cut lunch and a walk around, including the Art Gallery that was then open – then for a drive around Wickham and Roebourne with lots more local facts and fables before we were driven back to Karratha about 1.30pm or so.

We had left our car and van parked at the Visitors’ Centre so had a coffee and topped up our tanks and headed to Pannawonica (love the sound of that).  The ‘caravan park’ there only has 4 sites adjacent to the sports oval and all were occupied so we free-camped in an open gravel area 50 metres further on. Just in time for another glowing sunset!

Friday was Day 100 – and a really great day.  We drove less than 150 km on the day, but took all day to do it.  We stopped numerous times for longer than usual each time looking for birds and photographing many of the roadside flowers. We just moseyed along slowly, stopping often, eventually camping in the middle of nowhere about 4pm – quite early for us. We were itching for a bush camp and this was on the Karratha-Tom Price Road about 53km from the closest turnoff.  It was just a cleared area 50 metres from the road but I think the first car that went past us was not until early next morning. We lit a fire and sat under the stars until it got too cold and we went inside for a really scrumptious meal.  I cooked the rissoles and Heather made a delicious red wine and caramelised onion sauce as well as a cheesy potato bake.  It was a great meal, supported as it was with a bottle of bubbles and a little supplementary red wine.  A wonderful day, a wonderful night: one of the best.

This place was so enjoyable that we decided to simply stay there in the middle of nowhere for an extra day. We kept our fire going all night and next day and made a MUCH more successful damper in the coals for Saturday lunch.  Maybe a bit too hot again – we need to keep practising – but dripping with jam, honey, cream, butter, cheese and the remains of our red wine and caramelised onion sauce, it made for a rather tasty meal – with half the damper left over to form the basis of our evening meal with a tinned meal and a swathe of veges. We sat around the campfire for a couple of hours – another really great day and night.  I reckon only about 15 or 20 cars passed us in the 36 hours we were there and the freedom of being away from everyone and everything was wonderful. The only distraction was the caravan that pulled up right next to us to have their lunch.  The clearing we were in was about 300 metres long, but they chose to park no more than 5 metres from us.  At least they only stayed for an hour – with some broad hints from us about how much we were enjoying the peace and quiet with nobody around!  Sitting by our fire watching the stars and the almost full moon that night attracted a toot from one of the two cars that passed by after dark.

We spent the day blogging, researching our bird and plant books, photographing the many grey-headed honeyeaters and painted finches that surround us, and generally hanging out, just relaxing.  Maybe we should all make time in our lives for regenerative experiences like this.

Sunday saw us back on the road, a little uncertain about exactly where we were, but wanting to call in at Wittenoom.  We had been told in Karratha that the authorities didn’t encourage visitors so they had removed all the directional signs and the road would probably be pretty terrible, but we decided to give it a go anyway.  Turns out we were not actually on the road we thought we were, but it was a superb gravel road that eventually took us to where we wanted to go. It was just a little further on that road and I was a bit concerned about having enough fuel.  We carry 50 litres in jerrycans so we put that in the tank when we got to Wittenoom and decided we had plenty.

Wittenoom is backed by the Hamersley Range and that is truly magnificent.  It is rugged with huge cliffs of rich red rock running down to wide slopes and plains of spinifex – truly remarkable country.  The town itself is supposedly almost deserted – we understood from Karratha and a TV program we saw some time ago that there were only 3 people still there who the authorities had been unable to dislodge, but I reckon at least 4 houses were moderately well-maintained and still in regular, if not constant, use. We drove around and ended up eating our lunch on the edge of town and in the short time we did that, 2 huge road-trains and about 5 or 6 other cars passed us so the road through town is still getting a lot of commercial use (and a bit of tourist traffic), despite all the big government warning signs on all the approach roads.  It is actually a sad little place, heavily vandalised, but obviously still loved by a few souls willing to chance it with all the warnings about potential asbestos-related disease.

Onwards to Tom Price after lunch, driving along the foot of the beautiful Hamersleys.  Close to the Gorge turnoff, the road becomes a series of single lane no-stopping segments with the rocks crowding both sides of the road a mere metre or so away.  They are the starkest red I have seen and I would have loved to stop and look more closely at them and take some photos, but I didn’t want to be caught in a cutting with a massive road-train coming at me from the opposite direction.  The gap between the rocks is so narrow in places, it is hard to imagine a road-train squeezing through, but obviously, they do.

Still cognizant of our fuel situation, we stopped a guy coming out of the Hamersley Gorge access road and asked how far in the road went – I didn’t want to drive 40 kilometres in and out to an unknown destination only to run out of fuel a couple of clicks out of Tom Price.  He assured us that it was only 15 minutes or so in so off we went – and it was barely 5 minutes.  Lo and behold, there is a free Wi-Fi hotspot at the entrance to the Gorge – so we sat in the car in the middle of absolutely nowhere and downloaded 3 days’ worth of emails and dealt with some texts that had been waiting for us to get a signal!  Amazing?

More amazing was the Gorge itself.  We only went to the observation platform above the Gorge – the sign said it was 400 metres down and to allow an hour! Very steep and probably quite beyond us to climb back up – much easier going down. The Gorge is quite narrow with a series of small waterfalls cascading down into quite a large swimming hole at the bottom that let out into another section of the gorge that we couldn’t see. There were a couple of people swimming – and it would probably have been nice – but the rocks were what captured our attention.  The strata is extremely convoluted and has many layers of different colours, all exposed in a craggy cliff across the Gorge from the platform we were on.  The Sun was on it and the colours glowed richly – reds, browns, yellows, black and white.  We just marvelled at it for 20 minutes or so and then drove through to Tom Price where we set up in the caravan park for the night.  Washed a lot of mud off the car and van (we later found that park rules prohibit such heinous practices) and then washed a few days’ dirt off our own bodies.  It is delightful to feel clean after days of feeling your skin almost being sucked dry by the layers of dust covering everything, including us!  I think the dust in the Pilbara gets into everything far more than the dust anywhere else we have been.  Maybe it is finer, maybe the colour just makes it more obvious, but it had leached our skin much more savagely than any other place we have been.

One interesting little thing as we travelled the dusty track was the frequent sound of things rolling across the roof of the car.  At first, we took no notice, not even sure where the sound came from, but it happened quite a lot of times and we figured it was from the roof.  I was concerned that the nuts on the roof bars or roof rack could be coming loose but when I climbed up, there were 20-odd small pebbles up there and it was them that were rolling off from the wind and bouncy road. We figured that passing cars must have thrown up stones that lodged in the stuff we had up on top and gradually shaken down to the roof where they rolled around.  Some lodged between the edge of the roof and the top of the tailgate and crunched and ground paint off when we opened the back of the car. In the end, we decided that the stones were flying up from our own wheels, hitting the sloping front of the van and bouncing forward on to the roof – then rolling off again.  We have a flexible stone-guard, but it is hard to get properly fitted so we don’t always use it – but once fitted, we had no more ‘Rolling Stones’.