#Maple Barker

[chloesimaginationthings]

Under Spider plush’s mask he’s beautiful

[bloodhoundluke]

birthday shenanigans ✧ luke hemmings

description: it's luke's 26th birthday and you are trying to make it a memorable one.

pairing: gf!reader x luke hemmings

warnings: alcohol consumption, SO much fluff it's kinda embarrassing, very slight smut (let me know if there's anything else).

word count: 2,1k.

a/:n: if there are any mistakes (e.g. grammar), please do let me know :) this has been on my drafts for a few weeks and i thought i'd share it with the internet. writing this definitely deepened my attraction towards luke, lol.

not my original gifs. og gifs 1-3, 5: kaleidoscopeminds (tumblr) & og gif 4: bettermcm (tumblr)

It's Luke's birthday and you surprise him with a morning kiss on his forehead and his favorite coffee. You spend a peaceful morning together, cuddling and talking. "Happy birthday, Lulu", you hum as he grins back and thanks you, showering you in kisses.

"Stay with me. for a while longer, please? It's my birthday, isn't it?", he smirks at you. "Oh, alright then, you brat", you laugh and get back to bed, him instantly wrapping you back in his arms. It was no secret physical touch is Luke's primary love language, and oh boy, he makes you feel so wanted.

After about an hour, you make him breakfast: pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup, as well as a second cup of coffee. You eat together and spend the next few hours walking Petunia, relaxing together on the sofa, and getting ready for lunch.

You two were walking hand in hand to the place where you were supposed to eat lunch at. It was one of Luke's favorite restaurants. Luke didn't know that you had planned a lunch with the boys and Luke's mum, Liz. He hadn't seen her in ages, so when he realized it was his mum sitting at the table, he freaked out, looked at you in admiration and eagerly went to hug her tightly. "Thank you", he whispered into your ear and kissed your temple. You were happy with the fact that Luke wasn't afraid to show physical affection towards you in front of his friends and family.

"Okay, I promised myself I wouldn't do a toast, but actually, I want to. Happy 26th birthday Luke. I am so glad our paths crossed, and that I get to call you my partner. I am so incredibly proud of you. Of everything you've done, and will do. You're an incredible human being. I can't describe how lucky you make me feel. You're a ray of sunshine, I mean it. I love you so, so, so much. So, let's raise a toast to the one and only, living legend, Luke Robert Hemmings!", you giggled. Luke sat beside you, rolled his eyes jokingly, and smiled widely at you. He couldn't believe you actually made a speech - nevertheless, he was proud and taken aback by every word you said.

After lunch, you and Luke headed back to the house that you recently bought together. Petunia waited eagerly for you two and you gave her and Luke some time together, just to check everything was alright with the gift you had bought for Luke. It was quite perfectly wrapped; it was a 'Take Off Your Pants And Jacket' vinyl by Blink-182. You had gone through his vinyl collection just in case he had that one already; he didn't. The best part of the gift was that through your family connections, you had managed to get signatures on it from the members: Mark Hoppus, Tom Delonge and Travis Barker. Barker had even written 'happy birthday luke! have a great one xx - travis' on it. You hoped Luke would like it; and he loved it. "What the hell did I do to deserve you?", he closed you in his warm embrace and you tiptoed to kiss his forehead.

You and Luke made your way to the venue since the boys were having a show tonight. Luke drove with his hand on your thigh almost for the whole journey, only taking his hand away when he needed it for driving. You sang to your favorite music: Green Day, The Good Charlotte, and of course, 5 Seconds Of Summer. You insisted to listen to his solo music, and after a few minutes of convincing, he gave in. "Lu, you sure know how to sing...but have you ever considered that you'd be a great professional toucher?", your sassy remark made Luke giggle; you loved to tease him about how touchy he was towards you. "Geez, here we go again", he commented, laughed and parked the car.

You arrived at the venue and made your way to backstage. After a while of hanging out with the boys, they left to do the sound check. After they were through with that, they came backstage where you were sitting on the couch with your phone in your hand, scrolling through Instagram. You showed Luke some of the birthday posts the fans had made for him, which made him giggle and blush slightly, even though he didn't want to admit it. Luke praised the gift you had gotten him to Calum, Michael and Ashton. They were impressed and praised you as well.

Luke wanted to have an ice-cold bath and convinced you to join him. After a while, you went along with him just wearing his ac/dc t-shirt he had on earlier. It was Luke's birthday after all; anything for the birthday boy, you told yourself. "How the fuck do you do this before shows?", you questioned him while you felt like your teeth would fall off since the water was freezing. "Got used to it, I guess", he shrugged his shoulders and threw some water at you. "Hey! Stop it", you pouted and did the same to him, which lead you two to have a water fight. After splashing water at each other, you made your way towards him. He wrapped you in his arms and you shared a few gentle kisses. "I love you even though you make me join you in freezing cold baths", you petted his cheek with your index finger. "That's so cheesy, y/n. but what I am about to tell you is even cheesier...I'll love you until I take my last breath. I love to love you, it's ridiculous", he responded and admired you with his eyes. To him, being with you made the world make sense, and that feeling still sometimes scared him even though you had been dating for a few years now.

After the bath, you both hopped out of the tub. Luke changed into his show attire. Since you had hopped into the bath with just Luke's shirt on, you just changed the clothes you had on before.

Luke wanted to put on some glitter eyeshadow. You noticed he was struggling with that, so you decided to help him. "I should hire you as my makeup artist, mmh?", he mumbled and kissed your chin. "Hey! I am trying to concentrate here, Mr. Hemmings. Keep your mouth all to yourself, please and thank you", you kept on adding the eyeshadow to the inner corners of his eyes. "Oh, really? Are you sure you want that?", he smirked at you. "Okay, I am done now, so the answer is no", you placed the makeup brush aside and sat in his lap. Your lips melted into his and he deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into your mouth ever so slightly.

"Okay, lovebirds, we get that you are in love and that's adorable, but no pg stuff here, please", Calum snorted at you two all while you were sitting in Luke's lap and his lips had moved to kiss your neck. "Oh shit, sorry Cal!", he giggled. Calum exited the room. You and Luke decided to postpone the activities you both had in mind, and join wherever the boys were at.

Backstage, you, Luke, Calum, Ashton and Michael jammed to music, drank a few drinks, and hung out before the show. You perfected your make-up and hair. When Crystal arrived, you caught up with her. Crystal had picked up some takeaway on her way for the whole gang and so you all ate Chinese takeaway before the show.

Luke was having an outfit crisis, so you picked up a gorgeous blouse from the clothing rack and handed it to him, helping him to button the sleeves since he was basically just cursing while attempting to do it himself. Before the show, you wished Luke good luck and he smiled at you, thanking you. He was already out of the door, but made his way back to you just to kiss you. "Jeez, almost forgot", he giggled his slightly drunken giggle. "C'mon now silly, don't be late!", you laughed at him. As you stared at his receding back, you thought of how you couldn't believe this was your life; loving Luke was definitely the highlight of your every morning and night.

You and Crystal watched the show and danced along to the songs like there was no tomorrow. Watching your boyfriend perform was one of your favorite things; if there was one person that was born to be a performer, it was Luke. You could have never believed before tonight that he would talk about you publicly for as long as he did tonight. You both had agreed that you wanted to keep your relationship very private. He flattered you with compliments, calling you 'my love' and 'my gorgeous gorgeous girlfriend'. He even told the crowd what you got for his birthday, making the fans go 'aww'. "Yeah, I know right? She's such a simp", he giggled. You loved how he showed off his silly persona on stage.

"But anyways, been rambling for far too long...I wanted to say just one more thing about (y/n). She means the world to me, and I hope that with this next song I can prove that. This is Best Years". you tried to hold it all in, but you couldn't help the tears escaping your eyes when he started to sing. Crystal hugged you and you caught Luke looking at you in the crowd. He mouthed a quick 'I love you' and you did the same, making him flash off his perfect smile. After years of being together, Luke still made your heart flutter; as you did the same to him.

After the show, you drove home since you had been consuming non-alcoholic drinks all night. Since Luke was having an early morning tomorrow, he didn't want to stay up partying. He was slightly bummed that it was his birthday and he didn't get to celebrate the way he wanted to. Luckily for him, you had arranged a surprise birthday party for him with the boys and other friends next weekend. "I liked your little speech on stage", you commented while driving through the LA traffic. "Really? D'you think it was too much? Too cheesy?", he questioned you and continues on quietly humming along to whatever music you were listening to. "No, not at all. It was cute. Don't worry, birthday boy", you beamed and as your left hand was on the steering wheel, he took the right one in his hand and pressed a gentle kiss to the palm of your hand. "Good".

Finally, you arrived home. You had gotten Petunia a dog sitter, so you didn't have to worry about taking her on walk. The pupper was laying on her bed in the living room and waggled her tail when you two came home. Luke and you gave her some love and affection until he basically dragged you to bed. Your fingers traced his golden locks as he went through Twitter to answer to some birthday messages. You gave him a quick peck on the cheek and disappeared into the bathroom to do your skincare routine and brush your teeth. Like many times before, Luke insisted on doing his skincare at the same time as you. He loved such simple and domestic things you did together; even if they were done in utter silence.

The day was coming to an end and after taking off your clothes you both crashed into bed together. This was how you usually slept; with nothing on. It was normal for you and it felt more comfortable to lay under the cozy white sheets. After cuddling for a while, you decided to take the matter into your own hands and sat on top of Luke's waist. The day came to a perfect end: you both gave each other what you had been craving the whole day.

"Luke?", you whispered since you weren't so sure if he was awake anymore. ""Hhmm?", he hummed back and changed his position in the bed, now facing you in the dark. "Did you have a good day?", you smiled even though he couldn't see it. "I had the best day, thanks to you. I appreciate you so much. You make me feel so special, and I love you...more than I can ever put it into words".

© 2022 bloodhoundluke.

[brckensocietyarch]

hit that heart for a starter or starters from one or more of my new muses! (i will come to you for preference - all new muses are listed below)

axel barker - detective (jensen ackles)

bailey lavender - surgical resident (madelaine petsch)

buffy drake - fiction author (jaz sinclair)

dixie fox - thief/supernatural hunter (dove cameron)

flash goodman - mechanic (kj apa)

honey durel - hairdresser (aslihan malbora)

karma adams - actress (daisy edgar jones)

landon todd - bar owner (jacob elordi)

maple harrison - professional ice skater (antonia gentry)

peach chapman - presidents daughter (sabrina carpenter)

salem richardson - veterinarian (lili reinhart)

[sharpth1ng]

"I have a shocking fetish" Ethan Landry announced dramatically to his boyfriend of six months, Sharpy the maple syrup loving dentist. "Tell me more" Sharpy leered revving his dental drill and wondering what Cronenbergian and Cliver Barker pleasures of the flesh Ethan could possibly be into. "I like using Maple syrup as lube and the word cornholing really turns me on" he admitted his face blushing red and twitching nervously in the dentist's chair. "...." Sharpy was mometarily worried. Maple syrup as lube?? His precious anchor being wasted as lube when he could drink it instead? But his love for Ethan Landry knew no bounds and like Ethan he also LOVED the word cornholing. "I think this is a sign that we are soulmates, Ethan," he said emotionally, then gave a laugh. "Or I should say, cornhole mates," Ethan laughed with him ans both of them immediately drank a bottle of Maple syrup each in celebration. " (fyi I was not the original cornholing anon. I just saw how disgusted the word made you so im sure you will _love_ cornhole mates 🤡🔪).

@scream--1996 why. Why would you do this to me.

[igazikutya]

Zajok a nappaliból – Traxelektor 2023. 09.

Kedves olvasó! Bocsánatod kérem, de az eltelt időszak történései, irama és sűrűsége nem tette lehetővé, hogy zenei asszociációkon elmélkedjek egy mikroblog kedvéért, pláne, hogy ezeket a gondolatokat lejegyzeteljem. Így most: nincsenek szavak.

Megjelenések:

Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings - Resolve [2023, Drag City][LP]

Deena Abdelwahed - Jbal Rrsas [2023, Infiné][LP]

Kasper Bjorke & Cooper Saver - Junctures [2023, Live At Robert Johnson][S]

Kim Oxlund - Very Special Things [2023, Hotham Sound][MC]

offspot data: Very Special Things LP

Laurel Halo - Atlas [2023, Awe][LP]

Low End Activist - Gossip Is the Devil’s Radio [2023, ESP Institute][EP]

Mouse on Mars - Bilk [2023, Sonig][EP]

offspot data: BILK (bandcamp)

O Yuki Conjugate - A Tension of Opposites Vols. 3 & 4 [2023, OYC Limited][LP]

Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - Killer Whale Atmospheres [2023, Hospital Productions][LP]

Terrain - Corners [2023, Varmal][EP]

Various Artists - Point E [2023, On Board Music][EP-Comp]

Various Artists - Unseen Series III [2023, Analogical Force][EP-Comp]

Void - REM [2023, Agos][LP]

Traxelektor 2023 09 Spotify playlist - link

(66/75, 7:09/8:23, 88%)

Traxelektor Playlist 2023 09

Adam Pits - Gadget Crew [Gadget Crew, Constant Sound] Ancient Plastix - Daydream Research [II, Maple Death] Ancient Plastix - Museum Of Barbed Wire [II, Maple Death] Anoesis - Trash Man Broken [Frame Jack 1, Krankq] Anthony Linell - Advanced Spiritual Evolution [Advanced Transcendent Evolution, Northern Electronics] Anthony Linell - All at the Same Time [Advanced Transcendent Evolution, Northern Electronics]

Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings – Container [Resolve, Drag City] Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings - Shuffle Effect [Resolve, Drag City] ASC & Semblance - Impulse [Point E, On Board Music] Barker - Golden Hammer [Unfixed, Smalltown Supersound] Barker - Wick and Wax [Unfixed, Smalltown Supersound] Blevin Blectum - Nocturn (Planetfall Edit, Psaltriparus Minimus Maximus Mix)[Omnii, Deathbomb Arc] Blevin Blectum - Soft Death (Afresymegol)[Omnii, Deathbomb Arc] Ciel - Scenes from a Marriage [Orlando, !K7] Coco Bryce - Yallah [My Space, PRSPCT] CZN - Year of the Rat [SSS, Trilogy Tapes] Deena Abdelwahed - Each Day [Jbal Rrsas, Infiné] Deena Abdelwahed - Six as Oil [Jbal Rrsas, Infiné] Dom & Roland - Burn Bright [Burn Bright / Being, Individual] Flower Storm - The Evil Tyrant Has Been Captured [YEK, Flower Storm] Flower Storm - This Is My Court [YEK, Flower Storm]

Ishq - A Soft Breeze at 4AM [Hillside Harmonies, Ishq] JK Flesh - NOT YOUR DUB [NO EXITS, Avalanche] Kasper Bjorke & Cooper Saver - 02 47 AM (Original Mix)[Junctures, Live At Robert Johnson] Kasper Bjorke & Cooper Saver - 06 13 AM (Original Mix)[Junctures, Live At Robert Johnson] Kim David Bots - Die Trommel, Der Trum [Oostwestkruisbest, South of North] Kim Oxlund - Hours in a Day [Very Special Things, Hotham Sound] Kim Oxlund - How Long Does It Last [Very Special Things, Hotham Sound] Kim Oxlund - Older Than the Sea [Very Special Things, Hotham Sound] Laurel Halo feat. Lucy Railton & James Underwood - Late Night Drive [Atlas, Awe] Loraine James - Gentle Confrontation [Gentle Confrontation, Hyperdub] Loraine James - I'm Trying To Love Myself [Gentle Confrontation, Hyperdub] Loraine James - Tired of Me [Gentle Confrontation, Hyperdub]

Low End Activist - G.E.L. [Gossip Is the Devil’s Radio, ESP Institute] Low End Activist - Perpetual Conflict [Gossip Is the Devil’s Radio, ESP Institute] Mouse on Mars - Bilk A3 [Bilk, Sonig] Mouse on Mars - Bilk B1 [Bilk, Sonig] Na Nich x Vera Logdanidi - Journey [Point D, On Board Music] Nuversion - Impression [Point E, On Board Music] O Yuki Conjugate - A Change of Heart [A Tension of Opposites Vols. 3 & 4, OYC Limited] O Yuki Conjugate - Deep Head Scene [A Tension of Opposites Vols. 3 & 4, OYC Limited] O Yuki Conjugate - Doubleback [A Tension of Opposites Vols. 3 & 4, OYC Limited] Om Unit - Acid Tempo (Tapes Remix)[Acid Dub Versions II, Self-Released] Om Unit & Dego Rankin - Bristol Theme (V.I.V.E.K Remix)[Acid Dub Versions II, Self-Released] Polygonia - Meteor Storm [Tales Of The Nocturnal Sky, Monument] Polygonia - Veluo [Point E, On Board Music] Purelink - Stadium Drive [Signs, Peak Oil] Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - Darkening Rain (Killer Whale Atmospheres) For Phillipe [Killer Whale Atmospheres, Hospital Productions] Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - Grown In The Shade Of The Glacier [Killer Whale Atmospheres, Hospital Productions] Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - Violent Spirit Looking Forever Out To Sea [Killer Whale Atmospheres, Hospital Productions] Shackleton & Waclaw Zimpel feat. Siddhartha Belmannu - Your Love Pours Like Water [In The Cell Of Dreams, 7k!] Shinedoe - So It Is (Lawrence Remix)[Freedom Riders Remixes, Music That Moves] sin:it:sin - Suburban Electro (Original Mix)[False Transmitter, Electro Music Coalition] sin:it:sin - The Future Is Not Yours (Original Mix)[False Transmitter, Electro Music Coalition] sin:it:sin - You'll Be Back (Original Mix)[False Transmitter, Electro Music Coalition] Sockethead - I'm Losing My Fingers [Drenched Worlds Fall Apart, Youth] Terrain - Blind Spot [Corners, Varmal] Terrain - Corners [Corners, Varmal] Terrain - Vintage [Corners, Varmal] The Chemical Brothers - Feels Like I Am Dreaming [For That Beautiful Feeling, Virgin] Timothy J. Fairplay - Aerial Phenomena [Why Are They Here, ARCHAIC FUTURE SOUNDS] Timothy J. Fairplay - Seabrook's Dream [Why Are They Here, ARCHAIC FUTURE SOUNDS] Unhuman & Petra Flurr - No Excitement [Mala Vida, Bite] Unhuman & Petra Flurr - Rush [Mala Vida, Bite] Unhuman & Petra Flurr feat. Garden Krist - Short Life [Mala Vida, Bite] Unknown - Lonely Objects [Unseen Series III, Analogical Force] Unknown - Phases [Unseen Series III, Analogical Force] Versalife - Ghosting [Genetic Cluster, Natural Selection] Versalife - Overclock [Genetic Cluster, Natural Selection] Void - Circadian Rhythm [REM, Agos] Void - Midnight [REM, Agos] Void & Materia - Adenosine [REM, Agos] Vril - Animist [Animist, Delsin] Vril - Kuru [Animist, Delsin] Vril - Terraformink [Animist, Delsin]

[kathyrenwald]

As a new sports reporter at CHCH-TV in 1977 I assigned myself to cover the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was a one person department when I started, but veteran cameramen at CH, who were used to covering sports and providing highlights for the newscasts on their own helped me greatly in navigating the sports scene.

Those were tumultuous, chaotic times for the Leafs, with the drama fanned expertly by their owner, Harold Ballard. He had all the bluster of a carnival barker and never hesitated to ridicule a player or coach when he was displeased.

A signature moment of the Ballard era was when coach Roger Neilson had to announce his own firing.

I was there.

Neilson, polite and thoughtful, waited patiently while cameras were set up. Before he delivered the news he waited for a CBC cameraman to finish loading his 16 millimetre film, “Are you rolling Morty?”, he said before detailing his unceremonious sacking.

In the midst of those rocky times, there were two constants at Maple Leaf Gardens, the forceful play of Borje Salming, and the dignity of Darryl Sittler.

That’s why it was so heartbreaking to see Salming in the grip of ALS, at centre ice with Sittler this past weekend at the Hall of Fame ceremony.

Salming, unable to talk, and moving unsteadily was supported by his former teammate. When Sittler, with tears streaming down his face, lifted Salming’s arm to acknowledge the love from fans it was a powerful and unforgettable moment.

In the 1970’s reporters had one on one access to players and coaches before the managed media scrum introduced a uniform dullness to pro sport coverage.

I did many interviews with Salming. Including one where he said he hated the organ music played at the gardens, by the revered Ralph Fraser, and urged the team to start playing popular tunes. He was way ahead of his time. At stadiums and arenas now, it’s wall to wall music.

Salming, tall, strong and handsome, struck me as a guy willing to suffer anything for his sport. That Tour de France kind of suffering where you leave it all on the battlefield.

The other thing I remember from 45 years ago is Salming’s car. The players parked across the street from the Gardens. He drove a very fine looking Saab, the elegant and confidently different Swedish car rarely seen on the road then. Salming was cool, on ice and off.

Sittler was a stand up kind of guy. He was always available to the media, took questions on every wild development in hockey’s most intense fishbowl.

As captain of the team he was a stoic observer of such hijinks as Roger Neilson coaching with a paper bag over his head, Coach Red Kelly placing plastic pyramids under the bench for supernatural powers and goalie Mike Palmateer’s mysterious hand injury from hanging curtains the night before a playoff game.

Salming and Sittler, outstanding athletes who survived a bizarre era in Maple Leaf history with their reputations intact were reunited in a ceremony of compassion and sadness.

[blogger360ncislarules]

Get roped into the New Movies coming to UPtv on Sunday nights this October...

Movie: Adeline

Airing: October 1, 2023

Starring: David Chokachi, Erin Bethea, Jane Mowder, and John Schneider

Storyline: A small Midwestern community becomes the epicenter for miracles when a mysterious woman brings a healing horse to town.

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

Sweet as Maple Syrup

Airing: October 8, 2023

Note: This movie previously premiered on BYUtv on December 23, 2021. This will be it's first time airing on UPtv.

Starring: Brooke Nevin and Carlo Marks

Storyline: When Rachelle's family maple orchard starts to decline, she enlists the help of Derek, a professor of arboriculture, to heal the orchard in time for the annual maple syrup festival.

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

The Cowboy and the Movie Star

Airing: October 15, 2023

Starring: Mackenzie Porter and Toby Levins

Storyline: When city girl and actress, Isabella, lands a dream role as a rancher, the studio sends her to live on a ranch to learn the ropes but she soon discovers the rancher, Hunter, is too busy trying to save his ranch from ruin to help make her dreams come true. Can Isabella find a way to help save the ranch and her starring role?

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

Country Hearts

Airing: October 22, 2023

Starring: Lanie McAuley, Chris Jericho, and Michelle Nolden

Storyline: The daughters of country music and rock & roll royalty find themselves at a crossroads, torn between following their dreams of performing or helping their father run their up-and-coming horse breeding business. Between old flames, new love, best friends and family - they'll all need the strength of each other to face the next steps.

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

Love at the Lodge

Airing: October 29, 2023

Starring: Megan Elizabeth Barker and Marc Herrmann

Storyline: Emma, an uptight lawyer, plans the perfect retreat in hopes of making partner. But as Emma and the retreat center's manager, Liam, get to know each other better, Emma starts to learn the value of cutting loose.

[notjordie-gvf]

the poosh smoothie

okay this smoothie is 18 dollars at a restaurant. Was Kourtney Barker high when she thought I was going to pay $18 dollars for a smoothie

ingredients

1 cup harmless harvest coconut water

1 container harmless harvest vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup almond milk

1 packet foursigmatic vanilla protein powder

15 blk drops

1 tbsp neocell hyaluronic acid\

1/4 cup coconut cream

1 tsp food grade charcoal powder

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp cacao powder

1/4 cup avocado

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 banana

blend all ingredients with some ice and serve in a frozen glass and enjoy

[michaelgbrown]

Vancouver, Saturday August 6

A busy day starting with the obligatory trip to our now favourite cafe, Cafe Artigiano for croissants and coffee to start the day. Bernie and Rose planned to go to the shops and shop, while Aaron took Norah and Hugo to the hotel pool to swim, so I decided to cycle along the Stanley Park Seawall. I took a picture of Mount Barker which can be seen from Vancouver looking south. It is located ‘across the line’ in Washington State USA. The cycle was fun, I starting by riding on the road and getting used to being on the right hand side. Then along the sea wall were thousands of tourists were running, walking, cycling and generally blocking my passage. Still fun, but slowing my usual cycling swiftness.

For dinner we all went to a cafe called Homer Street Cafe, which is located on Homer Street in downtown Vancouver. There-in we washed down a meal with Canadian lager and white wines, and had a delicious traditional Canadian meal consisting of: ribs basted in maple syrup, chicken basted in maple syrup, vegetables basted in maple syrup, and for desert Burnt Butter maple syrup pie, cheesecake with maple syrup cream, and Bernie got especially for her birthday a chocolate mouse with maple syrup and peanut butter sauce. All was very nice and shouted by the Conway family which made it even nicer.

We then walked off this feast with a 10km hike back to our hotel.

Apparently I look like a lumberjack?

Some old cocks also at the cafe Homer Street.

[mmguitarbar]

A whiff of that Grandma’s attic musk cracking open the case on this absolutely bonkers, clean as a whistle 1951 Gibson SJ-200. (In best carnival barker voice) We’ve got your tiger maple, we’ve got your bubble maple, we’ve even got your curly maple #Gibson #SJ200 #gibsonacoustic #vintagegibson (at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJSS_CEAFX4/?igshid=jmo1lfsz37zc

[sagehaleyofficial]

HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (1.22-1.28.20):

NEW MUSIC:

·         All Time Low dropped their first new song in over a year, titled “Some Kind of Disaster”. The music video takes place at an emotional group therapy session, in which we are able to observe all the different struggles people go through.

·         Over the weekend, Billie Eilish performed at the 2020 iHeartRadio ALTer EGO Festival, where she revealed when we can expect the release of her sophomore album. “This year? No, but I will be making it this year,” she said.

·         Producer Tommie Sunshine and dance artist Disco Fries turned the track “Falling in Love Will Kill You” into an electronic club remix. In 2014, My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way collabed with Wrongchilde (Mat Devine, formerly of Kill Hannah) for the song.

·         Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams released her solo debut after many weeks of waiting with a song titled “Simmer.” She then took to social media to share an extended cut of the video, titled “Simmer Interlude.”

·         After Waterparks’ Awsten Knight got one of his tweets to 20,000 retweets, the singer uploaded some unreleased demos to SoundCloud. The compilation is titled 1 (A COLLECTION OF UNRELEASED HOME DEMOS, THIS IS NOT G, OR EVEN AN ALBUM, SHUT UP ENJOY).

·         Billie Eilish shared the music video for her latest single “Everything I Wanted,” which features the talents of her brother FINNEAS. She shared the video with a caption revealing that she directed the video herself.

·         Machine Gun Kelly shared an Instagram story showing that he would be collabing with The Used on his upcoming pop-punk album. In the video, we see MGK dancing next to Blink-182’s Travis Barker with The Used frontman Bert McCracken singing in the booth.

·         Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong allowed Tyla Yaweh and Wiz Khalifa to use a sample of the band’s hit “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” for the remix of Yaweh’s song, “High Right Now.” The singer also makes an appearance in the track’s accompanying music video.

·         Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots posted a picture with cryptic caption including the words “rough mix,” which may indicate new music on the way. The band has not put out an album since Trench in 2018.

·         Picturesque released a new single titled “Necessary,” alongside a music video, via Equal Vision Records. The band kicked off a tour with Hands Like Houses and Dead American on Saturday in Brooklyn, New York.

·         The Wonder Years dropped a new acoustic version of an old song, “Washington Square Park,” to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their record The Upsides. The band is hitting the road soon with Free Throw, Spanish Love Songs and Pool Kids for a special tour.

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

·         YUNGBLUD announced The Underrated Youth North American Spring Tour, starting off with his two Coachella performances on April 12 and 19. From there, he will play a total of 16 shows before wrapping up the tour at the Hangout Music Festival in Alabama in mid-May.

·         This year, The Maine surprised fans at 8123 Day with a free meet and greet at their store in Phoenix, along with a “Make America Emo Again” after-party. They also revealed an online scavenger hunt, through which they released several pieces of content.

·         The Academy Is… took to Facebook to share a celebration of 15 years of the band’s debut album, Almost Here. The event will take place at an EmoVsPopPunk night next month in Chicago.

·         My Chemical Romance announced four more shows, all of which will take place in Europe. Lucky fans will be able to see the band live in Italy, Russia, Ireland and Germany, as well as two more shows added in England.

·         Third Eye Blind and YUNGBLUD had a special performance of the former band’s song, “Graduate,” in Los Angeles during their set at the Roxy. The performance preceded the Grammys ceremony this past weekend.

·         Firefly Music Festival is coming back to the Woodlands in Dover, Delaware, this summer. This year, headliners include Rage Against the Machine, Billie Eilish, Halsey, Blink-182, Khalid and Maggie Rogers.

·         Bayside will be celebrating their 20th anniversary with the 20 Years of Bad Luck Tour. The band plans on bringing fellow acts Senses Fail, Hawthorne Heights and Can’t Swim on the road with them.

OTHER NEWS:

·         Fall Out Boy appeared on the iconic game show The Price is Right. Only one half of the band, Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz, were present, but the pair hilariously played the game, filled in and even modeled prizes for other contestants.

·         Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco was revealed to be making an appearance in Taylor Swift‘s new Netflix documentary, Miss Americana. The duo previously worked together on their collaboration for Swift’s latest album, titled “ME!”

·         Fearless Records announced they would be hosting an immersive music and merchandise arcade pop-up to raise money for Heart Support and the Living the Dream Foundation. The event was held over this past weekend in Los Angeles.

·         PUP guitarist Steve Sladkowski will be honored in his home country of Canada with the honor of receiving the “Maple Leaf Forever” guitar next year. The guitar is made from a silver maple tree that inspired legendary musician Alexander Muir’s famous 1867 song.

·         Former Set It Off guitarist Dan Clermont revealed he is no longer using his Instagram account to promote music, but instead will be focusing on producing. He also revealed he would be changing his username for “starting fresh.”

·         Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, age 41, passed away on Sunday following a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria Onore and Orange Coast College basketball coach John Altobelli were also tragically killed in the crash.

·         The 62nd Grammy Awards were held on Sunday at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, with all Rock/Alternative categories announced prior to the televised program. Winners included Tool, Gary Clark Jr., Cage the Elephant, Vampire Weekend and Soundgarden.

·         Delivering an emotional performance of her hit song “When the Party’s Over,” Billie Eilish accepted her first ever Grammy Awards. Eilish had six total nominations, breaking a record as the youngest artist to be nominated and win the four major categories.

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

[spine-buster]

Alone, Together | Chapter 28 | Morgan Rielly

A/N: I couldn’t bear to re-live too much of the playoffs so...yeah.  This is the last chapter to deal with them.  We are now moving on to the summer!  Fun and interesting shenanigans ahead!

Lmao wow. So official with ur jacket in the wag group pic. Bet u begged the other wags for a jacket and to be in the pic.

You look really cute in your jacket!  I think you’d look better if you were maybe Steph or Madison’s size though!  Other than that, super cute!

OMG you are honestly the most desperate person in the city of Toronto

pls pls pls how can I become a wag

can u give Auston my number 416 555 0123

So…how’s Scotiabank treating you?

For the love of God, sign up for a yoga class girl.  Pilates.  Start jogging.  Something.  Nothing about your body is flattering.  You can’t tell me Morgan likes all that flab.  You were always a calf but you’ve been a cow since Christmas.

You want to make it seem like you’re ‘part of the group’ of WAGs but we can all tell you’re not.  They include you to be nice but in reality, they probably don’t even speak to you outside of the arena.  To think you are isolating Morgan from his friends and teammates – and for what?  So you can have a WAG jacket one year?  So you can flaunt in front of everyone?  Morgan would be so much better off with someone who doesn’t leech off of him and who doesn’t reek of desperation.  

***

Bee didn’t know how she survived all the way up to game six.  It was a back and forth between the Leafs and the Bruins and she didn’t know how she was going to handle this game, with the Leafs being able to eliminate the Bruins if they won.  The Leafs won game three, even though at 6:15pm that same Monday, it came down that Naz had been suspended for the rest of the series – however long that was.  The boys were angry, but they tried not to let it show.  That Wednesday, they lost 6-4.  Morgan got two assists that night but they still couldn’t capitalize.  In Boston for game five, the Leafs won 2-1, with Morgan getting another assist on Kappy’s goal.  Now, with game six about to start, she was jittery.  She even felt hot in the jacket but couldn’t bear to take it off.

She was praying for an Easter miracle.  

Once everyone settled back into their seats after the singing of the anthems by Martina, her leg couldn’t stop bobbing up and down.  It was Aryne who had to lay her hand on Bee’s thigh to get her to stop.  “Are you nervous or something?” she asked sarcastically.  

“How have you done this for almost ten years?” Bee asked.  “I don’t know if I can handle it.”

“You’re going to be okay.  You get used to it,” Aryne said.  “Besides, this is actually only the fourth time John’s made the playoffs.”

“What?  Really?”

Aryne nodded her head.  “When we went to Sochi it was much more nerve-wracking.  But that’s besides the point.  You need to calm down.”

“So if they win this, they face the Columbus Blue Jackets, because the Blue Jackets swept the Tampa Bay Lightning,” Bee listed off, remembering the look of the bracket in her head.  

“Exactly.”

“Could we beat the Blue Jackets?  Like in a series?”

“In a heartbeat.”

Bee’s chest tightened.  “So…like…we could really do this.”

Aryne nodded her head.  “Really really.  But we can’t think about that right now.  We need to focus on beating the Bruins.”

Morgan opened the scoring.  It happened about ten minutes into the first period, a one timer from the blue line thanks to Willy keeping it in the Bruins zone, and Bee erupted from her seat with the crowd to scream and cheer for him, even high-fiving a man and his son who were seated in front of her.  She looked up at the jumbrotron to see him fist-bumping with the bench before they replayed the goal.  Her heart fluttered in her chest knowing that he had opened the scoring in such a big game, motivating the rest of the team.  

That didn’t last long though.  Brad Marchand scored less than two minutes later, and another goal by Krug ended the first period.  DeBrusk, still playing even though there were rumours that he had a concussion, scored in the second period.  Auston scored in the third period and tried to rally the team to tie it.  Late in the game, Morgan and Jake DeBrusk got into a little…scuffle on the ice, and DeBrusk pushed Morgan’s helmet off.  There was an exchange of words, a little pushing and shoving, and Bee couldn’t bear it.

“PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, surprising even herself at the ferocity and volume of her demand.  She stood up in her seat to watch the aftermath and the replays on the jumbotron.  Surely an opponent pulling off the helmet of another player would result in a penalty?  “WHAT FUCKING BULLSHIT!” she screamed at the top of her lungs again.

“Bee, there are children present,” Aryne grabbed her hand.

“FUCK YOU DEBRUSK!” she shouted one more time before sitting down, huffing and puffing in anger as they showed a replay yet again.  “I guess game two let us all know the Bruins can do whatever the fuck they want and get away with it!” she said loudly, but not as loud as before.  She looked at Aryne.  “Can you believe this?!”

“Yes Bee, it’s game six of the playoffs,” she giggled slightly.  “This is the most I’ve seen you get riled up about hockey ever.  I think Mo needs to start getting more physical more often,” she wiggled her eyebrows.

Bee snorted.  If only Aryne knew.  “I just…nobody’s allowed to touch him.  Nobody.  I’ll deal with them myself if I have to.”

Unfortunately, the Leafs couldn’t capitalize and Brad Marchand scored again.  The final was 4-2.  They’d be going back to Boston.

Another game 7.  

Bee could see the looks on everyone’s faces as the buzzer rang to signal the end of the game.  The girls who had been through this before – Alannah, Lucy, Madison, and others – were not smiling.  At all.  There was a look of worry mixed with dread on their faces.  As fans filed out of the arena, the girls all sat in their places, staring at each other.  Nobody got up – Bee didn’t think anyone had the strength to.  There was always a lot of media after the games, anyway, so there was no point in leaving when the fans did.

Aryne, forever the optimist, saw the look on Bee’s face.  “They can do this, Bee.  I know they can,” she said.  “We need to stay positive.”

“I know they can.  The question is if they will,” Bee mused.  “What if they get those awful referees from game two again?”

“They won’t.  The NHL will never let them officiate another game again, they were so bad.  We need to stay positive.  They have all the tools they need.  They can beat the Bruins.”

Bee wished she could be as positive.

***

Morgan wasn’t a man of many words when he came out of the locker room.  He gave Bee a kiss and said goodbye to everyone before they descended down to the parking garage.  Rocco and Clarette had invited them over for an Easter dinner, and that’s where they were supposed to be headed.  But Bee could see the dejected look on Morgan’s face and the bags under his eyes.  She knew he would probably rather just go home.  She knew he was tired, aching, that he now had a flight to catch tomorrow to go into enemy territory.  

As they got into the car, she looked over at him and put her hand over his.  “I can call Clarette and tell her you’re tired if you want to go home,” Bee said softly.  “They’ve been watching.  They’ll understand.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Morgan, come on,” she said.  “If you want to just go home we can go home.  Or I can take the subway up myself and you can go and rest.”

“No no no,” he said, flipping over his hand to hold hers and bring it to his lips to kiss.  “We promised them we’d be there for Easter dinner.  Clarette’s probably made four different courses.  We’re going.  I’m okay.”

“Morgan.”

“Briony, I want to take my mind off of hockey right now,” he said, his voice sombre, firm, and resolved.  “I want to be around family.”

She couldn’t protest.  Not when she heard the tone of his voice, not as he cradled her hand in his against his chest, not as he looked at her with his blue eyes.  She couldn’t do it.  “Promise me you’ll tell me you want to go the second you want to?  Don’t feel obligated to stay longer.”

“I will Bumblebee.  I promise,” he said, kissing her hand one last time before pulling out of the parking spot.

When they arrived, it was Rocco who opened the door to greet them.  “Mr. Goal Scorer tonight!” he beamed as he hugged Morgan.  “Great goal tonight!”

“Thank you,” Morgan smiled.

“And you!” Rocco turned his attention to Bee.  “That jacket looks great!”  She spun around so he could see the giant Maple Leafs logo on the back and he oohed and awed at it.  “Can I buy one too?”

Bee giggled as she showed him the ‘Rielly’ patch on her arm.  “You have to start dating Morgan to get one.”

“He’s handsome.  That could happen.”

They broke out into a fit of laughter as Sarah Jessica Barker came running towards them, bringing with her Angie, Mason, and Joshua.  Morgan bent down to pet her and coo at her while Angie, Mason, and Josh looked on with amused expressions on their faces.  “Sorry about the game,” Angie said as Sarah Jessica Barker had enough of Morgan and moved on to Bee.  

“What are we having for dinner?” Morgan asked.  His way of letting her know he didn’t want to talk about it.  Angie got the hint.  So did everyone else.  

“We’re Italian.  We have lamb on Easter,” Rocco informed him.

“We’re also French-Canadian,” Clarette piped up from the kitchen.  Morgan couldn’t help but laugh.  “We are also French-Canadian and have butter tarts to offset the Italian lamb.”

“That’s what I like to hear, Clarette!  Dessert!” Morgan called out to her as she appeared from the kitchen.  “I’m sorry we had to push this back so late because of me.”

“Late?  What late?  It’s barely 7.  Italians have dinner at 9pm,” she said, side-eyeing her husband.  “But everything is ready, so everyone should go sit at the table.”

***

pls tell ur boyfriend the next game is kind of important and if he could step it up that would be nice

lemme guess…ur going to boston on mo’s dime for game 7?  U have a job yet u never work. So lazy.

No matter how hard you try you will never be as pretty as Steph or Cassie.  Don’t know why you think you are.  Don’t bother.  

You know all the other girls are talking about you behind your back, right?  Word on the street is you’re the most desperate social climber ever, and when the playoffs are over, you’ll be gone too.  On to the next hockey player, slut.

***

Bee didn’t have anymore nail polish on.  She had peeled off her shellac from sheer anxiety.  Going into the second period, the Bruins were up 2-0, and then John had scored thanks to an assist from Tyler.  Going into the third, it was 2-1.  The boys could do this.  They could do this.  They could do this.

Bee decided against getting together with any of the girls.  She was too nervous and she didn’t want any of them to see just how worried, panicky, and jumpy she was.  She was alone in the apartment and, honestly, right now, she preferred it that way.  She could yell at the TV without anyone looking at her.  She could yell stupid stuff, stuff that probably didn’t even make sense, and nobody would say anything.  She could cry in peace if she wanted to.  She also knew that, regardless of the outcome, the boys would be on a flight after the game, coming home in the middle of the night.  She wanted to be home for Morgan.  Regardless of the outcome.

When the third period started Bee was optimistic.  But less than three minutes in, Sean Kuraly scored.  3-1.  The boys could still do this.  They could come back.

Then Charlie Coyle scored near the end.  4-1.  Bee’s chest tightened.  That was what the score was during that awful game seven in 2013 before the Bruins came back.  Maybe the boys could do the same, with much, much less time.

Patrice Bergeron.  An empty-netter.  5-1.  The Bruins fans went wild.  A waterfall of tears streamed down Bee’s cheeks.

The Toronto Maple Leafs had been eliminated from the playoffs.

Despite her sadness and despite her pain, she kept the TV on.  The stupid panellists with their stupid opinions provided background noise for her tears, but she didn’t listen to anything they had to say.  Why would she when they were trashing Fred, saying he was incapable of being a “game seven goalie”, whatever the fuck that meant, when just two weeks earlier they were calling him the best goaltender in the world?  Why would she when all they did was go over every single little thing the Leafs did wrong?  Why would she listen to them completely tear apart and break down a team they all relied on for their hefty paycheques?  She wasn’t stupid – she knew how sports media worked.  She knew the Leafs provided rating and that their ratings were through the roof because of this – they’d probably be getting some nice bonus cheques.  They were all feckless – all of them.  They changed their opinions on the fly, whenever it suited them, whenever it got them more ratings and more viewers who ended up adopting their shit opinions.  ‘Experts my ass’ Bee thought.  Especially that Nik Kypreos guy.  What an idiot.

And then Morgan appeared on the screen.

She wanted to scream.  Were they actually interviewing him right now?  Really?!  Not even two minutes after the end of the game and they had paraded him out of the locker room into some hallway to answer asinine questions about another heartbreaking game seven?  ‘LET THEM GRIEVE!’ she wanted to shout.  ‘LET THEM FUCKING GRIEVE!’  But no.  Apparently that was impossible.  They wanted every sound bite they could get just so they could talk about it for fifteen minutes afterwards.  Because they Leafs were money.  That’s all they were to these people – sound bites and ratings and money.  They weren’t just hockey players dejected after a loss; they weren’t men who put everything they had into the game, into the entire series, into the entire season; worse yet, they weren’t human beings with complex emotions who didn’t want microphones and cameras shoved in their faces as they dealt with the insurmountable fact that they had let an entire city down.  Money.

She looked at him and how dejected he looked, how heavy his breathing was underneath all his gear.  She wanted to shatter every plate in their kitchen against a wall in anger.  When he was finally released and went back to the locker room, she shed more tears.  God knows how many reporters would be waiting for them in there, too.

She just wanted him home.  God, all she wanted was for him to come home.

***

When Bee heard the door unlock at almost 2am, she jumped off the couch but stood stoic in her place.  She watched as Morgan pushed open the door, lugging himself into his apartment, letting the door close behind him.  The first thing he looked for was her.  She was all he wanted to see.

“Baby…” she mumbled, running over to him.  “Baby, baby, come here.”

She grabbed on and attached herself to him like he was going to float away.  He immediately wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her neck.  He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him tightly.  Almost absent-mindedly, he walked them over to their bedroom before collapsing on the bed.  He didn’t let go.  She felt tears on her neck as they lay there, wrapped into each other, and she began running her fingers through his hair and playing with the tufts of hair at the base of his neck, knowing it was soothing for him.  It was all she could do; all she knew she could do.  There wasn’t anything she could say that would make him feel better.  There were no words for this.  No words besides “I love you,” which she whispered to him over and over again, for however long she needed to.

***

“We couldn’t do it.”

That’s what Morgan kept repeating.  

“We couldn’t do it.”

Bee couldn’t rewrite history.  “You couldn’t do it now.  But you can and you will.  One day.”  It was all she could offer.

“We couldn’t do it.”

***

Bee had pre-emptively taken the day off.  She didn’t need to worry about work and, quite frankly, didn’t exactly want to right now.  She got a text from Mark early that morning.  Tell Morgan we were rooting for him all the way.  We’re proud of him.  He’s one of the only guys who showed up to play the game the entire series.

Bee read the text out to him.  He said nothing.

***

Bee only left the bed to make him breakfast – some Greek yogurt with an organic granola mix and some fresh raspberries and sliced bananas.  When she brought it to him, still in bed, she saw he was in and out of sleep.  She could only imagine he was trying to survive on his last legs of energy by this point.  She placed the bowl on the side table before helping him out of his clothes so he could at least be comfortable in his sleep.  He moved around absent-mindedly to help her, but she knew he wasn’t there.  He probably thought he was hallucinating.  When she was finished, she cupped his face in the palm of her hand gently.  She’d put the granola mix in the fridge to eat later.  

“Y’know what?” he mumbled out suddenly, barely audible or understandable through his fatigue, his eyes cracking open only slightly to look at her.

“What?”

“I wanna take care’f you.”

Bee didn’t understand what he meant.  She thought for sure he was dreaming already and in some form of sleep paralysis or lucid dreaming.  “What are you talking about?”

“I wanna give you s’much you c’n quit your job n’do s’mthin’ you really love.  Cause I love you.”

Bee was completely still as the words escaped his mouth.  Before she could come back to, or say anything, she heard his soft snores.

***

It was a few days until Morgan returned to his normal self.  Well, semi-normal.  

The locker clear out was scheduled for Saturday, April 27th, and because they were leeches who didn’t know when to stop sucking the life out of something, the media was expected there.  Mike Babcock would hold a press conference.  The summer rumour mill began of who was staying and who was not; who was going to earn these many millions here and who was going to earn those many millions somewhere else.  Morgan spoke to the media, as he always did.  Off-camera they asked about what he would get up to the entire summer over in Vancouver, since naturally he’d go home.  ‘Lots of golfing, probably,’ he’d answered.  ‘Dad’s birthday at the beginning of June.  Long walks with Maggie where she gets to swim – she loved swimming.  She’s queen of the ocean, too.  Lots of poolside days.  Good wine on the deck.  Back to Toronto for the Pride Parade.  Fishing trips too, as always.  But mostly just stick around home.’

Of course Morgan would go home.  He deserved more than anybody to go home to his family, to take in the fresh air of the B.C. coast and rejuvenate himself.  He deserved to relax; to kick his feet up and sleep with Maggie in his lap; to take the boat out to Gibsons for oysters or to chase pods of whales again.  He deserved to go fishing.  Go golfing.  Do anything he wanted to do.  Isolate himself from the outside world, from hockey.  Live through summer on his rules, how he wanted to.  

She just wondered how their life in Toronto factored into that.

It was a long flight, from Toronto to Vancouver, and Morgan was meant to relax.  She didn’t want him to feel obligated to do anything he didn’t want to do.  They had events that they needed to attend together, sure – like Zach’s wedding at the end of June – but she wondered how all that would factor into him taking time for himself.  She knew they would work it out, like they always did, but it was four months of summer that needed to be accounted for and planned.  There was only so much time she could take off at work – they both knew that.  So she’d have to stay in Toronto.  She wondered if his schedule would be like how she assumed last summer’s was, when she met him.  A bit of time here, a bit of time there, a bit of time anywhere he wanted to be.  

When the locker clean out was all said and done, Bee and Morgan sat together in their apartment, her legs draped over his.  It was all she thought about on the way home.  Since the reporter had asked the question.  “What are we going to do this summer?”

“Well, we have Zach’s wedding and--”

“You deserve to go home,” Bee blurted out.  She was trying desperately not to let her tears fall.  Being without him for long stretches of time was going to be hard – just like it was during the season – but he needed it more than anything.  “You deserve to go home and relax for a bit.  You’ve had a tough year outside of hockey, too.”

She watched as his brows furrowed at her words.  “What was so tough outside of hockey?” he asked.

“Me.  The break-in.  My mom dying.  You didn’t deserve to have to deal with that and--”

He cut her off by giving her a kiss.  “Do you mean outside of hockey, when I met the love of my life?”

She couldn’t handle his words.  The tears escaped her slowly, and immediately she wiped them away with the backs of her hands.  Morgan leaned forward again, capturing her lips in another kiss, and soon, they couldn’t tear themselves away from each other.  It was only when they had to break for air that he spoke again.  “I am going to go home, Briony.  But only for a bit.  I’ll be back and forth, but it’ll be okay.”

“You need to take this time to relax,” she stressed, putting her hand on his chest.  “You can’t go back and forth all the time.  This is your time off.”

“I’ll be fine.  It’s nothing that I’m not used to,” he said.  “Besides, you know I can’t go too long without seeing you.”

She sighed again.  “I can’t go too long without seeing you either.  But your priority shouldn’t be me, your priority should be yourself.”

“Hey, you’re always my priority,” he said, grabbing hold on her hand on his chest.  “You’re my home now too, Bumblebee.  Don’t you ever forget it.”

She internalized his words as much as she could.  You’re my home now too, Briony.  She never thought she’d hear those words – that someone would consider her home.  But of course Morgan did, and Morgan was the one to say it about her.  And even though she knew that in her close future she’d be spending more time than she liked alone, she knew that once he came back to her, they’d go back to being themselves, together.  “Let’s…let’s take out our calendars.”

“Bumblebee.”

“I want to see when you’ll be gone.  I know you’re out in PEI with Dion an the Boys and Girls Club, and I know--”

“Bumblebee--”

“Please Morgan.  Just take out your calendar.  For me.”

He didn’t fight it.  He moved to take his phone out of his pocket and he opened the calendar.  “I’m going to see if I can catch a flight to Vancouver mid-week, okay?  It can give us a couple of more days together,” he said.  Bee nodded her head, cuddling more into him so she could lay her head on his chest, just below his shoulder.  “We don’t have much in May.  I know you have Alannah’s bachelorette party on the 11th but it’s not like I need to come to that.  I can be back in town for the long weekend the following week and stay for a while.  But then I want to be back home for dad’s birthday.  I want to take him golfing.  We always go golfing for his birthday.”

“Of course,” Bee said.  She couldn’t help but smile slightly.  “Back and forth, back and forth – it’s gonna be like hockey didn’t even stop.”

“What did I tell you?” he smirked, giving her a quick kiss.  “I’m gonna miss your cooking.”

“I’m gonna miss you eating all my cooking,” she said.  “The apartment is going to feel so empty with you gone.”

“You should get a gerbil.”

She snorted as he wiggled his eyebrows at her.  “Don’t tempt me, Morgan Rielly.  You’ll come back in May and this place will be a literal zoo.”

“If that’s what you want that’s fine by me,” he mumbled, leaning in to kiss her again, and again, and again.  Eventually, he pulled her on to his lap and let his hands wander underneath her shirt.  “I’m gonna miss this most,” he mumbled against her lips.

“Me too,” she agreed, her hands cupping his face so she could look at him.  He had shaved off his playoff beard, and there was only stubble now.  She ran her thumbs along his jawline.  “Gonna miss waking up to those baby blues every morning.”

He gave her another kiss.  “Gonna miss waking up with my face between your thighs.”

A smile broke out on her face.  “You’re a perv.”

“Only for you.”

***

Tick tock tick tock…who is the next hockey player you’re gonna fuck for relevancy?

I bet ur gonna try to get with auston next.  Or fred.  You’re such a slut

Now is your chance to turn into a hot girl for hot girl summer.  Join a gym ffs!!!!!!!!!!

[sole-cuore-amore-e-droga]

Tel Aviv 2019: Straight outta Germany to Eurovision with two total strangers turned friends overnight

First, S!sters, let me tell you how it works, hey!

I am never too sure why but German national finals just almost NEVER work in my exact favour. Granted, I have forgiven them for Roman Lob because I have had literally no other reason to hate him other than “eww he’s winning every single Unser Star für Baku show bar one he’s such an easy winner”; and maybe Michael too because my only vitriol towards him was that he’s such a great soul... but only on his non-ESC stuff? If I had anyone else at the time, it would have obviously been the energy of Xavier Darcy and his song too! But at the same time Xavier would have placed worse than Michael so I’ll assume that Michael was actually the best possible choice for Germany at the time? Sorry, voXXclub, Ryk and Ivy Quainoo fans.

But god damn Germany, you could have given us just at least SOME ounce of competitiveness this year, couldn’t you??? And you'll know exactly why do I feel this certain way about this next target of my reviewing. Meet Carlotta Truman and Laurita Spinelli that were assembled specially for the German national final (which hopefully gives you a bit of a heads-up of where are the things going) and have a song written especially for them to pretend to be something they are actually not looking like to be, without their involvement... this songwriting camp experience has turned them into S!sters. Got that? Even the exclamation point part? Good, because you'll probably never hear of neither them, nor their song "Sister", ever again. Just like it is accepted for a German entry as of lately, I suppose.

It starts off innocently enough, with the music-box-y sound, and then quickly escalates into the singing on top of a different set of instruments. If there’s one thing I can’t fault this song for, it’s the instant relatability levels this song hits you with: “I’m tired”, “I’m tired of competing”, “I’m sorry for the drama”, “I tried to steal your thunder”... if these aren’t moods. Now what does this message tie into? Of course one of the songwriters (Laurell Barker) talked about the message of it being somewhat related to women who get aggressive with one another for things and I think I remember that the choruses represent their unity or so. However, I’d like to interpret it a little differently. If I consult myself of the meaning of this song for myself, it is somewhat indeed about two sisters that find it hard to get along a LOT (e.g.: me and my sister irl), but the chorus represents that in the end of the day, they’re still sisters, therefore, they’re each other’s family parts and the “fire” burning in between of them is the sign of the by-default sisterly bond and that it can be strong. If I listen to Laurell, however (and I should because it’s HER song and HER interpretations should be official), it’s two women who probably compete for a man’s attention and get angry at each other when they either receive something from that man (”how dare you get more flowers from him than me!”) or they don’t (”it’s your fault he didn’t look at either of us today!”). At the end they’re just “tired of competing” and “tired of always losing” and secretly accept the fact that they should just get the man notice them both equally so he can hang out with two chick of one’s price, all at once. ^^

But what about how the song sounds? Well, that’s the problem. It’s just your standard average pop tune that doesn’t offer anything fun nor exciting. It uses simple instruments (guitars, music box), simple melodies (the main leitmotif progression on this song is C - E - lower B - C), even the simple stage presentation (the girls were dressed in black for this song on the NF). Simplicity is key, but for a country like Germany, they often tend to wander off into a painfully average or just plain ‘misunderstood-idea’ category. Cascada had a good tune but in a rapidly evolving Eurovision their act just looked completely uninspired - just some chick with a mediocre dress dancing on stairs with random camera shots to the backings. While the others were even more fun and intriguing (or diaspora overvoted them). Elaiza for some reason was uninteresting for most songwise, to say the least. Ann Sophie wasn't so bad but the German staging director did not get the gist that turning your ass against Europe is a no way points magnetiser, not even from the thirsty guys looking for attractive Eurowomen. Jamie-Lee was so-so but she refused to let her otaku look go away for her Eurovision performance, therefore everything looked so confusing and there was no absolute point in anything, not even in those laser trees. And Levina was... ehhhhh... and like someone said on Twitter few days ago, this was a song with no staging. It's sad to see Germany sending something cookie-cutter but it's even more awful when they send something remotely decent but their staging sucks at the end. Even the one for "Sister" is not gonna feature the spinning platform they had in the NF originally for Tel Aviv, that's a shame.

Well if there’s something I can admire the song for is that the girls kind of sound good when they do the song live? Unlike San Marino 2018 (which is also two girls only paired for a national final that never knew each other in their lives but having to pretend to be besties after winning the NF they sang on), they truly sell the thing nicely without making it out to be a mess. The spinning platform might have helped a bit more and with it being gone so is the magic I guess, but I guess the ladies might make it work some more at SOME point (at least with their singing)... Also the structuring of the song is pretty smeared out but interesting. I'd expect them to go "oOoOo SISTER! WahOoO SISTE-ER!" after the whole chorus but Carlotta and Laurita are rebels - they use it after half a full chorus, omitting the second chorus line. And they manage to somehow bring that chorus back, so they can end it with proclaiming once more that something "[shines] like city lights, torches in the skYYY". Then they go all like "don't you try to hiiiiide iiiit, dON'T YOU TRY TO HIIIIIDE IIIIIT... SISTER!" and the music box closes everything. Bookends. And its simplicity is nice enough to not bother me, and the instrument touches (again, guitar, and they even tried to make the chorus slightly majestic, with strings I suppose, and thise backings that repeat the song's leitmotif melody) are quite delightful in itself, so that it wouldn't be boring, melred out vanilla with maple syrup - instead it's a bit more 'orchestral' vanilla. It's vanilla that's at least accompanied with some vocal strenght. I do imagine playing just that "oOoOo SISTER" part alone in a background of a fancy ball, with red carpet, punch bowl, silver sparkly dresses and chandelier lights. Everything of there filmed from top view until camera pabs to someone that looks like Anne Hathaway.

In the end I actually kinda like this, and I even liked Levina to some degree 2 years ago (but wasn’t fond of Jamie Lee and Ann Sophie, the better of the average German entries). It stands its ground out more than them - it has more going on for itself without needing to sound like a ripoff of another song or an anime fangirl staging. It has some nicer things going on for itself that I could care about (like the ‘orchestrale’). I have a feeling I might not like the girls' chemistry on stage and that it won't transmit to the viewing audience’s TV screens though, but more on that on the below résumée:

Approval factor: It’s... approvable, nothing much of complete approvable, but the feeling of liking this is there, so go ahead with it Germany...

Follow-up factor: Do I need to say more on this? You know what, these last two years for Germany proved that they decided to not improve on their result, Michael Schulte was just a fluke and if the Germans were more cloudcuckoolanding on last year’s German NF, they would’ve sent that only vanilla NF song they had in there...

Big 5 factor: If (emphasis on “if”) S!sters are staged nicely - decent vocals (no voicecracks like Levina), a bit better staging, “believable” chemistry - they maaaay escape bottom 2 at best, maybe even explore some more beyond the bottom 5... if anything else fails, bottom 5 is locked. I mean, they have plenty of places to fuck up in, like, making the girls look way too fake happy at each other at the end, or just let them scream “SISTEEEER” at each other with no mutual emotions exchanged at each other. Just like Italy was feared to look like last year - two men yelling angrily/passively-aggresively at each other. So can be S!sters, but the catch is that they’re’nt the fan faves. And they’re singing in English. And barely anyone of the “locals” would care about them anyway, just like the Eurofans don’t. (Also can S!sters get better stage clothes for Eurovision? Please? That’s just my flop suggestion, idk if it will give them better points but I would dress Laurita in a white suit (white crop top, white coat, white pants, even the stilettos white). Just because... they could play ying-yang with each other. Laurita can still have red lipstick on if she wants btw)

NATIONAL FINAL BONUS

Soooooo, Unser Lied für Israel. To be honest with y’all, this wasn’t a very favourable edition for me because, for one, I have never heard of any of those final NF acts. Wish they admitted Kasalla to the lineup, so then I could’ve had another clear favourite next to the first one down below that I’ll be talking about in this bonus. Second of all that... like I said, I wasn’t very hyped about this NF much unlike last year, where even some “who is she where did you find her” people tried their asses off to be appealing, and hey, a mediocre German NF filler-declared-winner did not win for once! (instead she went for judging talents in her actual home country and even danced a bit to that country NF’s winner song while it was performed as a competitor) This year, not only don’t I have an act that I would actively mourn of its NF loss, but also aside from my apparent favourite, the songs weren’t even that likeable by me. Yes, a lot of them were nice and Germany certainly upped their game, but I feel the same way I felt with Dora - only one good song, then another decent favourite that I have I guess, but that’s it. Let’s find out who won this NF for me and some other things:

• Look Germany, I found you your saviour you seemingly rejected! Well yeah fine, she didn’t do well with the international jury and S!sters did (only because the biased German juror pushed them into 1st), but let’s all agree her song would be a-bangin’. Meet Aly Ryan and her stylish synthpop tune “Wear Your Love”, complimented with a cool stage show, with projected stripes and everything! The expert jury rewarded it with 12 points rightfully, I’d say. Germany should’ve followed suit :) (also the trumpets remind me of a British NF fan flop from last year, “Legends” by Asanda. Is it just me???)

(this might as well just not matter anymore now that Aly’s management thought that it’s the best idea to block the fans that go to her DMs... granted that some artists could really use some privacy Instagram-wise, but that’s what disabling DMs is for. At least Aly still has fans though, unlike most other ULfI candidates. She should have enjoyed her attention, no? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) UPDATE: despite this people still would’ve wanted to see Aly win, and I agree. Some minor things are forgotten anyway and the artists are loved still if anything.)

• Not necessarily my favourite now but there was this cool chick going by the moniker Lilly Among Clouds. Nothing particular in her song “Surprise” sounds like there’s a happy sky with few clouds - it’s very much so a cloudy sky with a slightly dramatic storm coming out of them, complemented with Lilly’s bold vocals and the tone in her voice, and those orchestrals were something (and this song has an orchestral-based music video if anything). The song dragged in between a lot of the parts (verses felt like a passenger in a vast desert and the choruses were like a big oasis) but maybe those in-between song parts were to signify the calm before the storm, the warning before the “surpriiiiiiise”. Would have been a bold choice for Germany, this chick. Oh and I didn’t put a video down below (instead it’s linked somewhere) because I still have this screenshot on my phone. I love it.

• Besides those two, there also were two other remarkable ladies, and they they have a lot of things in common, besides their dark skin and that they’re ladies - BB Thomaz and Makeda. Two powerful ballads and two powerful vocals! Granted they were not my faves (I like 1,5 of both those songs combined though) but I admire their singingwork. It was magical. Not to mention are their songs themselves - BB Thomaz sang “Demons”, a quite personal song about overcoming one’s fears, bullying, naysayers, depression and everything like that, and also spawned this iconic line I am probably going to use on my T-shirt someday: “my demons can go and *dramatic thump* themselves!”. But I would’ve liked it more if the whole song sounded just like the verses - granted, it makes sense for her to go all showtune-y happy when she declares that her demons can go and *you know* themselves as she’s no longer dependent on them, but I found the choruses cheesy either way. Whereas Makeda, the sweet lil lovely gal, decided to go for a romantic ballad about not hating a guy after he breaks her heart. Her song “The Day I Loved You Most” is one big role model of mine now when it will come to my future relationships: I will never have to worry about the days when my non-existent future BF is a dick to me - instead I will rather cherish the good ole’ days in my heart without whining big time about our broken-off relationship! Yeah that’ll do I suppose. It was a nice ballad to me. Makeda also nailed one damn big great highnote live and that’s how I understood why International Jury and Eurovision Expert Jury loved it so much. Televote dares sink Makeda and uproot S!sters? For shame. Inb4 y’all ask me “but what about the other two?!?” - lol they’re not worth your attention. They’re just twink songs. I like one of them enough to be my 2nd of ULfI, but lbr, no one and absolutely no one, cared about them. That’s all.

• This NF started off with the hosts collectively attempting to make “You Let Me Walk Alone” sound somewhat funny? idk? and then Michael came back to save his own goddamn song out of the entrance door from the audience and right onto the stage <3 amazing. 

• Yet again, I commend the hosting of this show that has, and how much does it try to make a knock-off Eurovision, ever since last year ❤ Starting with the logo, continuing off with live commentary during the ending and the beginning of performances, including interval acts, and a sequenced voting ❤ One of the few complaints I have is that the postcards seemed waaaaay longer than each individual competing entries? I know I tl;dr with my reviews a lot here but some NF shows just get out the stories of singers' lives rather quickly and painlessly...

• ULfI decided that it'd be a good idea to outrival Festivali i Këngës in terms of ridiculously unnecessary interval acts. Yeah. There was this cowboy guy with glasses doing his own tunes, then him again on another interval act (I forgot but wasn’t his name Udo?), then Lena at some point (one of the better interval acts actually), then Michael Schulte, then this one dude from a band Revolverhed (who later voted as part of the International Jury as the German juror and... 12′d S!sters out of his The Voice mentor bias for one of his ladies. Yeah yeah, rigging...)... there were just a little too many, that’s what I’m saying.

• Now how exactly did we all know of the victory of the S!sters? Why, with voting sequences, of course! At first we have had this international jury made up of random specific people, usually giving 12s to S!sters, Makeda or some other twink. S!sters won it, then came the Eurovision panel whose votes were co-read by ... GASP! WILLIAM FROM WIWIBLOGGS!!! ;O don’t worry though he did not dun goof anything this time - the 12 from the Eurovision panel went to Aly Ryan. Sounds hopeful enough, right?? Well, hell no, as then came the televoting results, announced by Mr. Jon Ola Sand and he announced the 12 to S!sters! Oh German televoting, why did you allow yourselves to be THIS brainwashed and decline the good progress since Michael???? I will never forgive Germany for pushing S!sters this far. Putting them up together last minute and also last-minute adding them to the lineup, giving them the pimpslot, making a person who knows one of the S!sters more personally a German 'representative' of the International Jury... unacceptable.

• IDK where to find this but there was this part of the winner reprise where the blonde S!ster (that’s Carlotta) was so overwhelmed with joy that she struggled to open her song straightforwardly and instead let all the tears and laughs(???) take over her. It’s obvious this happens during all those winner reprises that the winner cannot really contain their emotions for what joyballs the victories have rendered them to, but that moment still sticks out to me. The other S!ster (Laurita) was much more collected and later on both of them carried on the right track and sang the rest of this whole thing decently!

For now I’d just wish them viel Glück in Tel Aviv and I hope that their friendship last longer than Jessika’s and Jenifer’s from last year! (probably not because like these two, S!sters are bound to flop, and separate as immediately as the unfortunately-formed class group project participants, just like Jenifer from Jessika)

[boblahblog]

Fifth Avenue (Desolation Row Redux)

I

The carnival barker is singing

The town crier moved uptown

Even before the big top raises

They introduce the clowns

In walks the drunken ringleader

Blinded by flashing lights

The elephant parade begins to move

Monkeys to the right

A marching band preceded them

And yet we never heard a tune

Because shots rang out and one fell dead

Right on Fifth Avenue

II

Dopey and Grumpy and Sneezy

Couldn’t agree on how to feel

It all seemed just like a fairy tale

Until the big reveal

And in comes Pinocchio, he’s laughing

Is it truth or what you believe?

And someone says you don’t understand my friend

He’s just here to deceive

Dopey doesn’t remember

And Grumpy said he never knew

How someone could be murdered

There on Fifth Avenue

III

The prophets started burning books

The angels refused to sing

The preacher left the pulpit

The day the church bells failed to ring

Blasphemy came from his mouth

And sin leaked from every pore

For God is dead and in his place

The one who settle scores

The holy book for all to see

Is replaced by something new

Concealed carry to shoot the next

Down on Fifth Avenue

IV

And then Hamlet enters the castle

To be, yes always to be

Ophelia played them for a fool

They seal their fate and bend the knee

They’ll never understand her words

And can’t bear to speak the truth

As battle flags flair and burn

The nobles remain aloof

The jester runs the court today

The verdict remains true

Shoot anyone you like

Tonight on Fifth Avenue

V

Al Capone plays Houdini now

His sleight of hand for all to see

They gladly get sawed in half

And trade their freedom in for free

His rolled cigar may just be a cigar

But he’s smoking cigarettes

The mistress is the high-wire act

As the godfather cuts the nets

The gangster’s hiding in the crowd

As the clowns come into view

When the tents come down we see one dead

Right on Fifth Avenue

VI

The march started on the west

Daring the sun to come up

The ones who were hungover

They just started to throw-up

The mayor put on a new red hat

And told them the permits were revoked

The manholes had all been removed

Was this some kind of joke?

They marched on playing drum and bass

Broken twelve-bar blues

They walked until another was shot

Upon Fifth Avenue

VII

Down on the boulevard, they still shop

Food trucks drive down the street

The cast of Hamilton shows up

And leave today to history

Dante is at the podium

Doing her best to fight the flames

She’s helped by Firehouse 4-5-1

Now the messenger will be blamed

They say the Amazon was discovered

On a black Friday in June

That’s why no one noticed another dead

Down on Fifth Avenue

VIII

Across the pond and (in) Euro lands

They sleepwalk in crooked lines

Scared from their homes when lights go out

By ghosts of every kind

Even though no one wants to enter

The exit is in their gaze

Then carpenters don black robes

To reconstruct the maze

When Barbie dolls wash ashore

On a west coast you never knew

The east coast mob claims another one

Right on Fifth Avenue

IX

Praise be to Marla’s maple

We raise the flags at dawn

No one cares as you shout out

Which side are you on?

And Eisenhower and Lincoln

Throw dice in some west wing

There are no votes to be cast

Is that even still a thing?

And coal miners grab golf clubs

Because there’s nothing else do to

And nobody has to think too much

There on Fifth Avenue

X

Yes, I saw you on the news last night

And I read your Twitter feed

Some kind of courage it must take

To extol arrogance and greed

All these people that you use

Or choose to criticize

I reject your warped reality

So I see them with different eyes

But we can see you clearly now

And we’ve got no use for you

It’s time there were no more dead

Down on Fifth Avenue

[bookmonsterzero]

May 2019 in Letters and Pictures

089. Pierre: Or the Ambiguities by Herman Melville

090. The End of the Moment We Had by Toshiki Okada

091. Moving Parts by Magdalena Tulli

092. Stalin: Waiting for Hitler 1929-1941 by Stephen Kotkin

093. The Mysteries of Paris by Eugène Sue

094. Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee

095. With Fire and Sword by Henryk Sienkiewicz

096. ® The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

097. Fancies Versus Fads by G.K. Chesterton

098. ® The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle

099. ® Politics by Aristotle

100. Miss MacIntosh, My Darling by Marguerite Young

101. The Obscene Bird of Night by José Donoso

102. ® The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason

103. Bosnian Chronicle by Ivo Andrić

104. ® Al-Quran by the Muhammad

105. Supermarket by Satoshi Azuchi

106. The Jolly Parisiennes and Other Novelettes by Émile Zola

107. The Brontës: Wild Genius on the Moors by Juliet Barker

108. Yama: The Hell-hole by Aleksandr Kuprin

The Peasant Women of Ryazan (1927)

A Foreign Affair (1948)

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Fauve (2018)

Several Friends (1969)

The Shower (2011)

Uncle Yanco (1967)

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

The 10th Victim (1965)

Asparagus (1979)

Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963)

Faces of November (1964)

® Dune (1984)

Room (2015)

Sound of My Voice (2011)

The Hobbit: Maple Films Edit (2016)

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)

® Planet of the Apes (1968)

® Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

Absence of Malice (1981)

Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)

Glass (2019)

Confession (1937)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

No Name on the Bullet (1959)

Best experiences in bold, other recommended ones are linked. ® revisited.

[trustbots]

12 year old boy jumps off overpass

12 year old boy jumps off overpass driver#

12 year old boy jumps off overpass professional#

12 year old boy jumps off overpass tv#

In Shelby County alone, where the city of Memphis is located, confirmed COVID-19 cases rose from around 5,000 at the start of June to over 63,000 by the Christmas holiday.Īs of the beginning of this week, Tennessee has a total case count of 710,000 cases.

12 year old boy jumps off overpass professional#

Her previous professional experience is listed as a lab tech with Aegis Sciences for three months between June and August 2018.ĭuring the period in which Barker was employed as a medical screener at a county test site, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee rose from around 25,000 to numbers approaching half a million confirmed cases, which the state surpassed on December 19. She was new in the position, having started in June 2020. Barker’s LinkedIn page still listed her job as a medical screener employed by the Shelby County government. While the immediate motivation of Barker’s actions has yet to be fully explained, the social backdrop within which the young mother chose to end both her son’s and her own life are an indictment of the socially criminal role played by the representatives of the capitalist class in both the Democratic and Republican parties and their response to the pandemic.Īs of January 9, just over 1 million people in Tennessee had filed new unemployment claims since March 15, which was about when the coronavirus pandemic took off in that state. Her family said they were shocked by the incident and did not realize the extent of her depression. On social media, friends remembered Barker as a reliable and caring person who was there to help others in times of hardship. Barker, a 2018 science graduate from Tennessee State University, had recently lost her job at a state COVID-19 testing site in December.

12 year old boy jumps off overpass tv#

It’s just a bad situation that we hate to ever receive.”Ĭommenting on the investigation, MCSO Public Information Officer Tom Maples said Barker “evidently chose to jump off with the child in her hands.” Barker’s grandmother told local Memphis TV station WREG that Barker was depressed in the period leading up to the incident on the highway overpass.

12 year old boy jumps off overpass driver#

It’s hard on everybody, especially the driver of the vehicle. In a statement the day of the incident County Sheriff John Mehr said, “It’s heartbreaking to have that situation this morning, especially when someone loses their life. The incident remains under investigation by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. The child was later identified by relatives as her 21-month-old son, Jonathan Jones. The woman callers reported seeing has been identified as Tonisha Lashay Barker. When the authorities responded to the scene, they found two people dead on the roadway. The woman and child’s fate were confirmed minutes later, when a truck driver moving westbound on Interstate 40 called 911 reporting something had hit his truck. Tonisha Lashay Barker and Jonathan Jones (Photo: Facebook)