#ball perkins park

[garretschuelke]

Ball Perkins Park

Grand Rapids, Michigan

October 2023

[whatsnewalycat]

Passenger / Chapter 5

Pairing: Trucker!Din Djarin AU x OFC Charlie Wanderlust

Chapter Five: Wyoming (Part Two)

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Chapter Summary: Charlie and Din test the waters.

Rating: Explicit (18+ only)

Word Count: 7.8k+

Content / Warnings: yearning, horny thoughts, anger problems, crying, food mention, handcuffs, hi yes the only one bed trope is alive and well, unlike the Titanic (it's relevant I promise), small town, lying, fictional town, sorry to Wyoming-ites if I got WY all wrong, (Bernie Sanders voice) I am once again talking about The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Notes: Howdy, howdy. We are balls deep in the yearning with this one, folks. Thank you @frannyzooey for proofreading and being the literal best, I appreciate you endlessly.

Just like Paul promised, The Jackalope Motel is conveniently located straight across the county road from Giddyup Auto. 

The single-story, L-shaped motel, whose faded roadside sign advertises low weekly rates and color TV, shares a gravel parking lot with a two-pump gas station. Its brick exterior is painted a pallid shade of yellow, all ten room doors varnished with this glossy teal finish. 

Nestled into the elbow of the building sits a white screen door with the words MOTEL OFFICE printed on the front. 

Din departs from your side to hold the door open, an action you assure yourself is rooted less in chivalry than it is him not wanting to turn his back to you. A loud creak sounds from the battered door and announces your arrival. The dog charges through the threshold, pulling his leash taut in your grip as you step inside the cramped, wood-paneled office. 

An elderly woman perks up on her barstool behind the front desk. She stubs out her lit cigarette in a nearby ashtray and calls in a husky voice, “Howdy, howdy.”

“Hi there,” you smile, glancing back at Din to determine who will take the lead in this interaction.

He does, taking three wide strides past you to the counter. As he moves through the room, a thick sea of smoke parts for him, churning and dancing in his wake.

“We need a room. Two nights for now.” 

The gray-haired woman pulls the glasses hanging on a chain around her neck onto the bridge of her nose, “Let me see here…”

At your feet, the dog sniffs his surroundings. He follows an invisible trail to a tattered plaid couch. You follow, listening to Din and the motel manager discuss lodging arrangements. 

“I got a couple two three rooms open, I can stick you in one away from the rabble rousers. Somethin’ more private,” she winks at him. 

His back straightens and he holds up a hand, “Do you have anything with two beds?”

The mischievous look on her face flattens and she raises her eyebrows, looking down at her books with a frown, “‘Fraid I don’t.” 

Din looks over at you, his face blank, eyes inscrutable behind his aviators, then turns back to the woman and gives her a nod, “Anything you have is fine, then.”

He takes out his wallet as she starts getting paperwork together. You gravitate towards a wall of faded, dusty brochures that advertise Western Wyoming’s finest tourist traps, including, but not limited to: a cowboy-themed amusement park, guided tours of mountain ranges and caves, horseback riding expeditions, and hot springs. 

“What brings y’all to town?” 

When you turn to Din, he gives you a mild, one-shouldered shrug, so you tell her, “His rig broke down about an hour from here. Paul—do you know Paul?”

She chuckles and nods, “I’ve known Paul since he was in diapers. Used to watch him for his momma while she was at work.” 

“No kidding?” you approach the tall front desk, propping your elbows up on the counter, “He’s fixing the truck. Really nice guy, referred us to this place ‘cuz we don’t know how long it’ll take.” 

“Can I get your ID, hun?” she asks Din, who complies without comment, then she glances up at you while jotting down your companion’s information, “He’ll get y’all fixed up good. We got a few things to do ‘round here if you get tireda bein’ holed up here. A few parks, some trails. There’s a fella that has a ranch just on the outskirts of town, he does horseback riding, if that squeezes your lemon. Downtown, we got some bars, coupla places to eat ‘n’ all that,” she hands the ID back to Din, sighing, “Nothin’ fancy, but better ‘n nothin’ at all.” 

“We don’t need fancy,” you grin at Din, who does not return the sentiment, then ask the motel manager, “What’s your name?” 

“Annie.”

“I love that name,” you smile, “Annie Get Your Gun.”

She smiles, too, toothy and wide, revealing her too-perfect teeth–obviously dentures–and says, “You know, I was actually named after her. Annie Oakley.” 

“That’s awesome. A fantastic namesake, she was a true badass.” 

“She sure was,” Annie nods and takes the glasses off her face, letting them drop around her neck from the glasses chain, “Well, the room comes to $59 per night, plus taxes and fees, ends up runnin’ closerta $75. Do you wanna settle the tab for two nights now, or see if you needta tack on more and take care of it at checkout?” 

You look over at Din, who answers, “We can settle at checkout.” 

“Fine with me,” she swivels on her little stool and stands to grab a key off the wall behind her, “We got an ice maker and vending machine outside the door here, don’t be too loud, and pick up after yer dog. Any questions?” 

She slides a key across the counter, whose big turquoise keychain reads 10 in metallic gold, and glances between you and Din. He grabs it, and you respond, “No ma’am.”

“Alright, well, let me know if y’all need anything.” 

“Will do, thank you, Annie,” you give her a polite wave before following Din outside, pulling the dog along behind you. 

The room smells of bleach and water damage. 

Much like the office, its walls are all wood-paneled with a dull oak finish. A framed painting of a bunny with deer antlers hangs above the queen sized bed. As you try to untangle the leash from your guitar and backpack, you nod at the painting and chuckle, “A jackalope.” 

Din grunts in response. He tosses his backpack on the bed, then turns to the dog, crouching down to unclip his leash from the collar. The dog reacts like he’s hit with a cattle-prod and goes zooming around the motel room in a lop-sided oval. 

You start giggling as he tears over the bed, to the bathroom door where he makes a U-turn and speeds past the dresser, then your feet, then Din’s, then does it again, around and around until he runs out of steam. He comes to rest on the fireproof, floral bedspread, circa 1984, and leans back on his haunches, panting and out of breath, tongue hanging out of his jowls, glancing between you and his person. 

“Feel better?” Din asks him, and he sneezes. 

You go to the window, pulling the top pane down to let crisp October air spill into the room, carrying with it the earthy scent of organic decay. When you close your eyes and inhale, you see piles of raked-up maple leaves, those big mosaics of orange and red and yellow and brown, hiding rot underneath. It reminds you of home. 

You turn to your captor, who seems to be inspecting the bathroom. He flicks the bathroom light on and peeks inside while you release an exaggerated sigh, “So, Din.”

He brings his attention to you and leans against the doorframe, crossing his arms, raising his eyebrows in question.  

“That is your name, right?”

“It is.” 

A smile spreads across your face. 

The fact that you’re able to put a name to this man, brings you a surprising amount of joy. He seems less like a force now, and more like a person. Which, you suppose, is probably why he didn’t formally introduce himself before shoving your face into a trailer door and abducting you. 

“Great, well—Din, it’s nice to actually meet you,” you cross the room and extend your hand to him. All he does for a moment is stare at it, until you tease, “Aw, come on. I don’t bite.” 

“Maybe I do.” 

Your lips part and you blink at him. When the corner of his mouth turns up in a smirk, your face transforms into a heater. This whole situation would be a lot easier if he wasn’t so handsome. 

RULE #3: Keep your wits about you. 

“Funny guy,” you snort, rolling your eyes in feigned annoyance, but continue to hold your hand out to him. 

He takes it and gives it a firm shake. His palm is warm and calloused and his grip seems to swallow yours. Even though he’s wearing those stupid sunglasses, you can tell when his eyes meet yours because a jolt shoots through the middle of you. Your throat tightens and your cheeks get even hotter. 

Before he can tell how flustered you are, you take your hand back and retreat to the bed, plopping down to scratch the dog as you ask, “What now? Do you wanna go explore this podunk town?” 

“No. We’re staying here. The less we’re seen, the better.” 

You groan and throw yourself back onto the bed. There’s a yellow-tinged water stain on the ceiling that almost looks like a face if you squint and tilt your head a little. It brings to mind this short story of a woman slowly losing her sanity while on “rest cure” to treat her depression. She’s forced to do absolutely nothing, and starts to see figures in the yellow wallpaper of her bedroom. 

Granted, your situation is much different than the one Charlotte Perkins Gilman penned, but you still feel a sense of solidarity with her protagonist’s captivity. You feel antsy. Cooped up. The thick layer of grime on your skin becomes hard to ignore, and you remember it’s been a week since you last bathed. 

“Can I at least shower?” 

When he hesitates to respond, you can’t stop yourself from sitting up and scowling at him, “Seriously?” 

“There’s a window in the bathroom.” 

You stare at him blankly, “So, what, you think I’m going to—”

“Yes.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” you get to your feet and stomp past him into the very retro, very pink bathroom, yanking the shower curtain open to inspect the window. 

In all fairness, you could climb out of it if you really wanted to, but you still roll your eyes and tell him, “Probably can’t even fit through there.” 

He just stares at you, unmoved. 

Frustration simmers in your stomach. All that’s standing between you and the sweet relief of a shower is his lack of trust. There has to be a middle ground. 

“What if—” your mouth clamps shut. You shift your weight from one leg, to the other, then shrug, “Would it make you feel better if you were in here while I showered?” 

Din’s lips part, stunned for a moment before he carefully says, “Better isn’t the right word—”

“Ok, well, feel free to substitute ‘better’ with ‘more secure,’ or ‘reassured,’ or whatever. You know what I mean.” 

He studies the window for a moment, the muscles in his jaw wiggling as he considers the compromise, then looks back at you and nods, “Sure.”

“How long will this take?” 

From behind him, Din hears you wrestle clothing off your body into a pile on the floor as you say, “Five minutes, tops.” 

The faucet squeaks, then the water comes to life with a stuttering hiss. Twin metallic swooshes signal the shower curtain being pulled open, then shut, then you moan, “Fuuuuck that’s so good.” 

His imagination bucks out of his control, and for a moment the only image in his mind can conjure is his body pressed up against yours, skin on skin. How soft and warm you must be. How those words would taste on your lips. All the ways he could make you utter them again and again. 

He thinks of your stubbornness, your defiance, and wonders what it would be like to break you. Would you like it? 

I am not a good man. 

Din squeezes his eyes shut and tries to flush out the deviant thoughts, reminding himself of the handsome bounty he’ll collect when he turns you over. The peace that financial security will bring him. He won’t have to live job-to-job with a white-knuckle grip on existence. He’ll have room to breathe. Maybe he’ll even be able to live a little. 

Your honeyed voice pulls him out of his tail-spin. 

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly…”

Din opens his eyes and stares at the bathroom door, shaking his head in amusement, thinking, Of course you sing in the shower.

It’s sort of nice, though. He doesn’t mind it. In fact, he kind of likes it. 

Grogu, obviously feeling left out, scratches at the other side of the door, then lets out a disgruntled whine.  

You stop singing and ask, “Is that the pup?” 

“Yeah.” 

The shower curtain rings squeak, then your voice is right next to him, “Let him in.” 

Without thinking, he turns to you and scoffs, “No.” 

Water drips off the ends of your sudsy white-blonde hair onto his boot. Your features pinch into a scowl, dark eyes searching his face, “What, why not?” 

His gaze flicks to the blur of skin barely concealed behind the shower curtain, then to the pink tiled floor as heat rises to his face, “He’s just gonna jump in there and get wet.” 

“So?” 

“He’ll stink up the room.”

You snort, “You’re already doing that.“

Din goes to glare at you, but corrects himself and glares at the ceiling instead, “Sure that’s not you?” 

You let out an exaggerated gasp that quickly dissolves into laughter, “You asshole.”

He looks down at the doorknob and shakes his head, stifling a chuckle. 

“So rude,” you tease as you slide the curtain closed and step back into the steaming shower stream, “Come on, big guy, let the pup come in. He can’t possibly stink more than I did.” 

Grogu scratches at the door again, this time letting out a sharp bark instead of a whine. 

“Awww, listen to him,” you say, the pout evident in your voice, “So lonely, he just wants to be with us.” 

Din rolls his eyes and twists the doorknob to let him in. The dog barrels into the room, skittering across the shiny, bubblegum pink ceramic into the empty garbage can. It goes toppling over, and he uses it like a bumper to correct his course towards the tub. He stands on his hind legs and peaks behind the shower curtain, then woofs for your attention. 

“Hello handsome boy!” 

Grogu starts panting with excitement, his nails clacking on the floor and the porcelain tub. 

“Oh my goodness, do you want to come in here with me?” 

He barks. 

Din protests, “Don’t—”

“Ok, ready, here we go.” 

Both you and the dog groan a little when you lift him, then Din hears clattering and splashing as he lands in the tub and starts flailing around in the water. A sharp giggle pierces his eardrums, making him wince, but there’s such an abundance of joy in your laughter and the dog’s playful growls, Din catches it secondhand and ends up smiling like an idiot. 

“Look at you, happy pup! You love the water, don’t you?!” 

Grogu lets out a low bow-wow and sneezes, which you respond to with a squeal of delight. Something tender and warm blooms in Din’s chest. Just as soon as he realizes its fragility, he stomps it out, snipping over his shoulder, “Are you almost done?” 

The water shuts off with a loud clunk from the faucet and you respond, “Yep.” 

Din ends up trying to dry off the wet, rowdy dog while you dig through your backpack. 

“Do you think there’s a laundromat here?” 

He glances up at you, eyes briefly trailing along the outline of your body beneath the fluffy white towel before he clears his throat, then says, “I don’t know.” 

You sniff one of the sweatshirts from your backpack, shrug, and toss it onto the dresser. 

“We should check. Everything in here is fucking rank,” you mutter while inspecting a pair of dark pants.

The dog zooms past, drawing Din’s attention, and he manages to scoop him up into a towel, “Gotcha!” 

Whining and throwing his weight around like a fish out of water, Grogu tries to escape as Din dries him off. You turn and snort at the dog, “Good luck, I’ve been trying to do that for days,” then pad across the faded, low-rise carpet to the bathroom. 

Din glances up at the oval-shaped mirror mounted to the wall, catching a glimpse of your reflection as you drop your towel. Stunned, he fumbles the task at hand and the dog flies from his grip like a bat out of hell. 

“Shit,” he mutters, propping his hands on his hips, watching the little white dog torpedo from one end of the room to the other. 

“This probably feels like wide open spaces to him after being cooped up in the truck, huh?” you chuckle from the bathroom. 

His eyes betray him, flicking to your reflection again. At least you have pants on this time, the waistband of tight black leggings nestled into the dip of your waist. He studies the curve of your spine up to a compass tattooed between your shoulder blades. You pull a baggy maroon sweater over your head and spin around before he can look away. Shame creeps hot up his neck and makes him drop his gaze. 

If you caught him staring, it doesn’t show. You just trot past him and throw yourself onto the old, squeaky mattress, stacking one foot atop the other as you stretch out. 

Grogu breaks out of his orbit to hop up onto the bed and climb in your lap, tongue hanging from one side of his mouth. A giggle chirps up your throat, and you scratch between his ears, “Do you two have a home base, or just the truck?” 

“Just the truck,” Din answers, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. 

“Oooh a coupla rubber tramps,” you grin, “It’s fun, right? Nomad life?”

He tilts his head at you. 

Is that why you do this? Because you think living on the road is fun?

His lack of response tugs at the arch of your brow. You look around the room, releasing a sigh through slack lips, making a pfpfpfpf sound, then ask, “Well, whaddya wanna do?” 

Din pushes off the wall and starts towards an armoire that looks heirloom or at least second-hand, swinging open its solid oak doors to reveal an old tube TV. A shelf at the top of the cabinet stores a VCR and a few tapes. 

“Finding anything fun?” 

He reads movie titles off the faded VHS sleeves, “The Wedding Singer, Titanic, Pocahontas, Men in Black.”

“Anything you like?” 

“I’m not much of a movie person,” he admits in a murmur, and casts a glance over his shoulder, “Do you have a preference?”

“Not really,” you shrug, “I’m not much of a movie person, either. You pick.” 

Din swings his gaze back to the armoire, wrinkling his nose at the options, then pulls out the double-barreled VHS of Titanic and pops in the first tape. 

After feeding the movie into the VCR, your captor goes to the little two-person dining room table in the corner of the room and grabs one of the chairs, carrying it over to the opposite side of the bed. You watch him the whole way, eyebrows raised, blinking with annoyance when he sits in the chair and kicks his feet up onto the bed. 

“You’re really gonna watch a movie like that?”

He glances over at you, crossing his arms over his chest, “Like what?” 

“With your whole,” you circle your wrist around your ear, “Incognito thing. Plus, boots? You can like… be comfortable, did you know that?” 

His mouth flattens into a line. A few awkward seconds go by before it clicks and you nod in understanding, “But you can’t be comfortable around me, can you?” 

He doesn’t answer. Not that you expect him to. 

You grab the remote control off the nightstand and turn up the volume. With previews still running on the TV, you sigh and pull a pillow out from the cheap bedspread, plumping it up and adjusting yourself into a more relaxing position. 

“I get it,” you mumble at the screen, “You think that in order for you to maintain this power dynamic, you can’t show belly.”

“Is that what I think?” 

When you look over at him, he seems to be studying you through the tint of his aviators. You ask, “Isn’t it?” 

He doesn’t answer. Probably because he doesn’t want to admit you’re right. Better than him giving you some bullshit contrarian retort, you suppose, but his silence still burrows gritty between the layers of your skin. 

“Whatever, man,” you scoff and roll your eyes, “If you wanna sit way over there in your stupid getup, that’s your decision, but it seems pretty fucking miserable for no good reason.” 

His jaw gnashes back and forth a bit before he sits up and takes off his hat, tossing it onto the nightstand, then his sunglasses. His dark eyes meet yours, “Better?” 

You look at his black leather boots. 

He sighs and drops his feet to the ground, bending over to remove the boots one at a time. When he returns to his previous position, arms crossed over his broad chest, socked feet propped up on the bed, you suppress a grin and turn back to the movie.

"I believe you may get your headlines, Mr. Ismay." 

Beneath the thick, curved glass of the TV, the first VHS runs out of tape. Out of the corner of his eye, Din sees you sit up and throw your legs off the bed. Grogu croaks out a sleepy sound from beside you, rolling onto his back. You rise to your feet, asking, “Can we get something to eat before starting the second tape?”

Din glances down at his watch. 4:30. His stomach rumbles. Given the unpredictable twist this day has taken, food has largely remained at the back of his mind until now. 

“We could walk further into town and see what we find. I bet the pup has to go potty, anyway. We could take him with us. Maybe Annie can give us a recommendation—”

He looks over at you to respond, but finds himself momentarily tongue-tied. You stretch your clasped hands skyward, pulling the hem of your sweater up to expose a generous slice of your midriff. You’re still distracted as rambling he stares, unable to stop his thoughts from returning to how soft and warm you must be. 

His hungry skin aches, deep and throbbing, down to the marrow.  An infection festering for years. Or longer. Decades, really. 

He tries to recall how long it’s been since he felt the heat of another person. It was snowing, he remembers that much. She was one of those women that made her way around truck stops selling pleasure to lonely guys like him. Lot lizards, some of the truckers called them. 

Was he in Colorado? Or was it Ohio? 

He remembers the excruciating quiet as she stripped off her snow-clotted outer layers, revealing a petite brunette with wary eyes and a businesslike attitude. Not that he holds those things against her. It’s understandable. Advisable, even, given her line of work and clientele. 

Her company didn’t do much to quell his hollow yearning for intimacy, but it was a release nonetheless. 

“—So, what do you think?”

Din snaps out of the trance and meets your eyes, all warm and hopeful. 

Goddamnit. 

“You stay right next to me the whole time.” 

“Do I get a treat if I’m good?” you smirk, one eyebrow raising in challenge. 

The question bubbles hot at the base of his spine. He tries to keep his countenance neutral when he says, “We’ll see how you do.” 

Grogu waddles over to the side of the bed closest to him and yowls for attention. Thankful for the diversion, Din reaches over and scratches the dog between his big ears, “Both of you.” 

The dog sniffs the sidewalk a few feet ahead of you and Din, tethered to his owner by a leash. He zig-zags back and forth, completely engulfed in the sights and smells of this brand new world. 

You find yourself in a similar state of awe and appreciation. Tilting your face up to the big cotton candy sky, you inhale two lungfuls of the most refreshingly crisp air you may have ever been blessed to receive. Yellow Seed was built in a valley, and it seems like everywhere you look there are mountains in the distance, dark and evergreen and ominous. A stark contrast to whatever magic is happening in the atmosphere. 

The world feels so infinite and beautiful that if you let yourself, you could cry about it. 

Too caught up in the moment to pay attention to your gait, you knock hands with Din. The impact makes your heart jump. You hear yourself stammer out an overreaction, “Oh shit—sorry, I um, didn’t mean to—”

“Might help if you stop daydreaming.” 

“What’re you, my mother?” you scoff under your breath, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. 

“What’s that?” 

You glance over at him. 

His smug smirk draws your attention briefly before you shake your head and change the subject, “Have you seen Titanic before?” 

“Can’t say I have.” 

“What made you pick it?”

He shrugs, “Long run time.” 

“Shut up, that’s not the only reason, is it?” you laugh, “It’s not because you get to see Kate Winslet’s tits or anything, right?” 

His head jerks back a little and his ears turn all red, “What? No—”

“I’m just giving you shit,” you snort. 

He exhales an airy chuckle, and a few seconds go by before he asks, “What about you? Have you watched it before?” 

His cadence is halting and rusty. Out of practice. You can tell he doesn’t make conversation often, but he’s trying and that’s… sort of sweet, actually. 

“I have, but it’s been years. I think I was a kid, maybe six or seven, when I watched it with my grandma at her house,” you smile fondly at the memory, kicking a rock along the sidewalk, “She made me cover my eyes during the nudity and sex and stuff, but I totally peeked.” 

“So you’ve always been a troublemaker.”

“I guess so, huh?” you chuckle. 

The conversation dies a natural death, and for a while, the two of you just walk alongside each other, following the sidewalk further into Yellow Seed. 

The houses you pass, like motel, auto shop, and gas station, all seem to have been built in the 1950’s with few updates since the 1990’s. Mid-century ramblers outfitted in white trim and chipped pastel paint—so much canary yellow. Neat lawns and landscaping and tattered American flags flapping in the wind. As the sidewalk brings you closer to the heart of the town, structures get older, more homes with front porches and earth-toned exteriors.

Downtown Yellow Seed barely occupies two city blocks. The businesses stand shoulder-to-shoulder, all of them constructed of brick or lumber, none of them within the last century. When you turn down the main drag, you squint and blur your vision so that the pickup trucks look like buggies, and you can picture exactly what it looked like when the roads were dirt paths carved out by wagon wheels and horse hooves. 

“Outlaw Saloon,” you nod to the sign on an upcoming building and grin at Din, “Sounds like the place for us.” 

“Speak for yourself,” he mutters, stepping up onto the sagging floorboards of the porch and starting towards the door. 

The dog follows his suggestion, suddenly very interested in this change of direction, his ears perking up into high-alert. Din plucks him off the ground, then pulls the squeaky door open for you to enter, releasing a cacophony of noise: country music and clinking glass and the low murmur of conversation. 

As you walk past him into the establishment, you tell Din, “That’s your problem, big guy, you know that? You think you’re so much better than me, but you’re not.” 

All you hear in response is a grumble, then the jarring crack of the spring-loaded door slamming shut behind him. When he saddles up to your side, you feel his hand press into the small of your back. 

It surprises you a little. Both the action itself, and the way your pulse jumps in response. 

You don’t move, but look over at him and find you’re close enough to see his eyes behind his aviators. They flick around the bar as if searching for potential danger in the two dozen locals occupying the saloon. He holds the dog firm and close to his chest and he doesn’t move his hand and you realize that he is protecting you both. Subconsciously, probably, but he’s doing it nonetheless. 

Something happens inside you. 

A brief but sudden free-fall that flips your stomach and gelatinizes the cartilage in your joints. Your throat struggles to swallow around your thudding heart. 

RULE #9: Do not get attached. 

Ignoring the warning, you bring yourself closer to him. Just an inch or so, intending to be subtle, so that maybe he won’t notice. You don’t want him to think you like or need his protection, because you don’t. 

Need it, that is. 

Liking it, however…

If you can glean anything from the steady thrum of heat between your thighs, it’s that you do like it. That is, unfortunately, too blunt a force for you to ignore. 

An unamused looking waitress approaches your little trio, grinding a wad of gum between her molars, “No dogs.”

“Oh—he’s an emotional support dog,” you tell her, softening your features into a non-threatening, winsome expression. You put your hand on Din’s arm and explain, “My friend has horrible agoraphobia. The only way I can get him to go out is if we have the dog with us.” 

Her eyebrow raises and she blinks at Din, “That true?”

He nods once, “It is.” 

She glances between the two of you for a moment, eyes flicking in time with the smack smack smack of her chewing gum, then shrugs, “Alright, come with me.” 

As you follow the waitress, he stays by your side, with his warm, wide palm held flush to your spine. 

He’s just making sure you don’t bolt. It doesn’t mean anything. 

This little voice inside your head makes you feel so foolish, your cheeks start to flush. She’s right, though. You’re making something out of nothing. 

But then his thumb moves. Only slightly, and just once, this gentle wiper blade motion—a fucking caress if you’ve ever felt it. 

Your face heats even more. 

The waitress stops at a wooden, high-back booth and pulls two menus from her apron, placing one on each side of the table. Only when you slide into the booth does his hand depart your body. He sits across from you, placing the dog down beside him. 

“Can I get y’all somethin’ to drink?” 

“Could I get a water, please?” you ask, flashing her a polite smile. 

She nods, then looks at Din. 

“I’ll have the same.” 

“Two waters, anything else?”

You glance up at Din, trying hard not to drop your gaze when you feel his eyes meet yours. He shakes his head slightly, and you tell her, “No, I think that’s good for now, thank you.” 

“Be right back.”

Once she’s out of earshot, Din asks, “Agoraphobia?” 

“Pretty slick, huh?” you grin. 

He smirks and shakes his head, looking down at the menu. The dog wriggles his way under his owner’s arm. Din allows it, absentmindedly petting him while evaluating food options. 

Letting out a sigh, you turn your attention to the menu, too. Burgers, chicken, basic sandwiches, fried food. Standard bar fare. It doesn’t take you long to decide on a grilled cheese, leaving you to study the innards of the Outlaw Saloon. 

The place is cavernous. Tin ceiling tiles two stories above the ground stretch much further back than you expected. Everything else, from the walls to the furniture to the floors, all appears to be made from the same dark, lacquered wood. 

Predictably, the décor is an homage to cowboy lore. Taxidermized livestock, paintings of horses, and antique farm equipment have been mounted on the walls. Among them hang wanted posters of infamous Wild West gunslingers, such as Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid. Sort of camp, but in an endearing way. 

The bar bustles with activity, much busier than you thought it would be. In a small town like this, you weren’t expecting to see more than a handful of regulars out on a Wednesday evening, but there are at least 20, maybe 30, other patrons scattered about the venue. 

As you look around at the strangers, you think to yourself, “Not one of these people would look out of place at a rodeo,” which is to say that the crowd looks to be a mix of ranchers and other working class folks. At least half are strapped with a handgun, which isn’t particularly alarming, especially in a rural Western town like this, but always good to note. Occasionally, people mutter to each other while shooting dirty looks at your table. Probably because you’re out-of-towners who had the audacity to bring a dog into their beloved saloon. 

“Damn, if we were carrying, I bet we’d fit in a little better,” you comment mildly. 

“Who says I’m not?” 

You look over at him and tilt your head, “Are you?” 

“I am.” 

This interests you. You fold your legs up into a pretzel and lean your elbows onto the table, “Whaddya have?”

With his expressive eyes concealed, it’s hard to read what his silence means, but you guess trying to determine your question’s intent. 

Before either of you can say anything else, the waitress approaches your table carrying two glasses of water. As she slides one in front of you, then the other in front of Din, you ask her, “Do you guys ever have live music here?” 

“Sure,” she shrugs and plants one hand on her hip, “Nothing this weekend, though.” 

You glance over at Din, who’s shaking his head slowly, as if to say, “Don’t you fucking dare,” but ignore it and ask, “Do you want live music this weekend?” 

“I take it I do not get a treat?” 

Din clenches his jaw, glaring up at you from his crouched position as he unhooks Grogu’s leash. He hasn’t said anything to you since you coaxed your way into a gig at the Outlaw Saloon, blatantly disregarding his wishes to lay low in this town.

If he wasn’t so goddamn hungry, and if it wouldn’t have roused the attention of the already suspicious locals, he would have hauled you out of the restaurant the second you inquired with the waitress about live music. 

You must have felt the anger radiating off him in waves, because your attempts at conversation since have been few and far in between. 

For that, he’s grateful. 

The red glowering beneath his skin feels unpredictable. That familiar loathsome beast. Something he believed extinct inside him, eradicated through years of training, now awake and growling. 

He rises to a standing position and starts pacing, trying to keep calm. 

Meanwhile, you take your doodle-ridden acoustic guitar, plop down on the bed, and start strumming a tune. 

Heat wells up in his chest. 

“It’ll be fun, you’ll see. Gives us something to do,” you tell him, watching your own fingertips move skillfully along the neck of the instrument, “Plus, I could rake in a decent amount of money, which could help us—”

“Stop it.”

The music cuts immediately. 

He takes off his hat and sunglasses, tossing them onto the chest of drawers, then turns to face you, meeting your doe-eyed gaze with too much vitriol. 

“There is not an us. This is not a team. I do not want or need your help.” 

Your shoulders sag. You furrow your brow, searching his face, and your lips part to protest, but he cuts you off hard. 

“You are nothing to me but a payload. An annoying, entitled payload. Do you understand?” 

You react as if he slapped you across the face. Your head jerks back and you drop your gaze to the floor, face getting all red.

He stares at you, awaiting your counterattack, but all you do is let out a choked sob. 

The sharp tip of this noise pierces the over-inflated balloon of his anger, bursting it instantly. In its sudden absence, an ache starts in his chest. He looks back at the situation from this calmer state of mind, cleared of red haze, and feels ashamed of himself.

Grogu jumps onto the bed to sit at your side, and whines up at you. Inhaling a wobbly breath, you reach out and scratch his head, then mumble a damp, “It’s ok, pup.” 

Some time goes by with only your quiet sniffles to break the silence, then you ask, “Where am I sleeping?” 

As soon as the mention of sleep hits him, his bones turn to lead, heavy with exhaustion. How long has it been since he’s slept? It feels like days. Nothing last night, barely a few hours the night before that. 

“You have options,” he responds. At this, you let out a sad, soft chuckle that he ignores, continuing, “There’s the bathroom, your sleeping bag, or the bed.” 

“I assume I would be restrained in each of these scenarios?” 

He folds his arms over his chest and nods, “In the bathroom, I would cuff you to the toilet. The other two, I…” he grimaces, “It would be to me.” 

“Wow, ok,” you take the guitar out of your lap and prop it up on the nightstand, “A toilet or the man who thinks I’m a piece of shit.” 

“I didn’t say—”

“You didn’t have to.” 

He meets your gaze, holding it steady for a few seconds before saying, “Charlie, I…”

The apology gets all tangled in his throat. You wait a while for him to finish the thought. When he doesn’t, you move past it, your voice void of emotion. 

“Do you have a preference?”

“No.” 

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to sleep in the bed.” 

Din nods in acknowledgment. He glances down at his watch, finds it’s barely past 6, and asks, “Are you tired now?”

“Kinda, yeah.”

As if to confirm, you suck in a shaky breath and yawn, stretching your hands above your head. It spreads to him. 

“Give me a few minutes,” he tells you.

In response, you tug at the bedspread and wriggle your way between the sheets. Grogu grumbles for a moment at the adjustment, then turns in a few circles and plops down beside you with a hmph.

You’re probably exhausted, too, given the ups and downs of this week. Being taken captive. Sleeping in the same room as Din when you cannot trust him. Spending all your time with someone whose explicit intent is to turn you in for a pretty penny.

It must take an emotional toll, even if you don’t let it show most of the time. Even if you have that rule to… how did you put it? 

Live in the now. 

To your credit, you have been trying your damnedest to follow that rule. By getting to know people whose paths cross yours, bonding with Grogu, writing and drawing in your notebook, playing music, suggesting ways to squeeze as much experience as possible out of what little time you have left. 

Din likes that about you. Your relentless optimism. It’s admirable. 

He likes a lot of things about you, he realizes. Your cunning, and your curiosity, and your ferocity. Your gap-toothed smile. The skillful way you play the guitar. How you curled into him ever-so-slightly when he placed his hand on your back earlier. 

It occurs to him then that you may feel it, too. That gooey electric current when he touches you, or when his eyes meet yours for longer than a second. 

His own words echo back to him: “You are nothing to me but a payload.” 

He wants to take it back. 

It’s not even true, he just wishes it was. He wishes he looked at you and saw a bad person who’s going to get what she deserves. The truth couldn’t be more contrary. 

While your captor goes about his nighttime routine, you sulk. 

It’s all you can do, really, since he’s made it abundantly clear your presence is a nuisance. Worse than that, even. You are nothing but an asset to him. 

Ironically, it makes you feel worthless. 

You think about how pathetic your burgeoning crush on him is. Were you imagining the chemistry between you? 

Of course you were. 

You were making things up—“Living in LaLa Land,” as your mother used to say. 

Din pulls back the covers on the opposite side of the bed. The mattress shifts under his weight, and he groans as he stretches out. Every nerve ending in your body lights up when you feel the heat of him. The distance between you is exactly the width of a French Bulldog. 

“Hey, kid,” he murmurs. 

His voice is low and syrupy. Warm. 

Your throat works in a slow bob before you roll on your back to look at him. Your eyes meet his, and your stomach flips. When whoever said that thing about the eyes being the window to the soul, they must have been talking about him. You can see it all right there, written in bold print: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. 

Or maybe that’s just what you want to see. Fuck, but why? Why do you even care? 

You should fucking know better.

This is only temporary. Din. His dog. The truck. This room. Tonight. Life, really, if you wanted to get existential about it. 

“Do you want to watch the rest of that movie?” 

You frown as you consider this for a moment, then nod. 

He gets out of bed and walks over to the big armoire. As he pops in the second Titanic VHS tape, you study the broad span of his shoulders and biceps stretching his t-shirt taut. 

God, he looks solid and strong and just so fucking good.  

This guy robbed you of your dignity and all you can think about right now is what his lips would feel like on yours. If he would be a greedy lover, or a generous one, or both. Would he be intuitive or clumsy with your body? Would he be rough? 

He would be with me.

Heat blossoms on your cheeks and deep in your center. You don’t know how you know, but you do. He just seems… pressurized. Combustible. Especially towards you. 

On his way back to bed, while the tape rewinds, Din rummages through his backpack and piles some of its contents into one arm. He sits down at the edge of the mattress and hands you a bottle of water, then holds out two candy bars and says, “Pick one.” 

“Is this an apology?” 

“No, it’s chocolate.” 

You blink at him and cross your arms. 

His features soften. He shakes his head, “What I said was not kind. You didn’t deserve that.”

“No, I didn’t,” you agree, keeping your gaze stern, “You can’t talk to me like that.”

“I understand. I’m sorry.” 

You search his face. There’s such earnestness there, you believe him. 

A mechanical click sounds from the VCR, then the TV lights up as Titanic starts where it left off. 

Your gaze drops to the candy bars, and you pluck one from his hand. The one that advertises a peanut-buttery crunch. Peeling off its yellow wrapper, you smirk, “Apology accepted.” 

Din climbs all the way into bed, stuffing the flat hotel pillows behind his back, then opens the shiny silver wrapper of his candy bar. For a while, it’s quiet except for the warbled audio from the TV and the crunch of your chewing. 

You get that feeling again like sunshine on your skin or God or whatever, and you laugh out loud. 

“What?” Din asks.

“It’s probably really weird that I’m happy right now, right?” 

“Are you?” 

You peek over at him and chuckle, “Yeah, I mean… I’m eating my favorite candy and watching a good movie. Laying in a bed with a cute dog and…yeah,” you shrug, turning back to the TV, “I don’t know. I like it.”

He hums in acknowledgment, then asks, “Do you have your knife?” 

“Why, you gonna take it from me so I don’t kill you in your sleep?” You let the question hang in the air for one whole second before continuing, “I’ll be real up close and personal, wouldn’t even have to sneak, just,” you drag your thumb across your throat, “Blech, dead.” 

“I’m not taking it from you,” he tells you, pulling out his handcuffs, “But if you want to get it or use the bathroom, now’s your chance.” 

You take the opportunity to relieve your bladder and change into your comfiest (and least offensive smelling) clothes. 

Before tucking your pocket knife into your sleeve, you stare at it for a minute and consider actually using it to get the fuck out of here. Something you’ve considered dozens of times, if you’re being honest, but this time the idea weighs a million pounds. 

When you open the bathroom door and step into the motel room, Din looks up at you from the bed. His gaze wanders briefly down your body as you climb into bed, then correct its course back to your eyes, “All set?”

You nod and hold your right arm out to him. 

His touch is gentle when he closes the cuff around your wrist. Clicks sound from the apparatus until it’s clear your hand won’t be capable of wiggling free. 

He secures the other cuff around his left wrist, settles his arm next to yours, and asks, “How is that?”

“It’s fine,” you nod, your voice too high, then swallow hard and chuckle, “Well, I guess as fine as being handcuffed in a bed can be. Probably not the best it could be, but not the worst, um, either.”  

You wince at yourself and look at the TV, where Rose is wading through thigh-high water, carrying an ax. Thankfully, he doesn’t respond, but turns off the light on his nightstand. You do the same with yours. Aside from the TV, only a faint glow comes in through the window. Daylight’s last gasping breath. 

You close your eyes and fondle the cool metal of your pocket knife in your left hand. 

RULE #8: Take care of yourself.

Din shifts a little, and the back of his hand butts up against yours. Neither of you go to move. Warmth branches out from the spot, expanding and taking root deep in your belly. 

RULE #2: Listen to your gut. 

With this, you tuck the pocket knife under your pillow and roll onto your side facing him. You think about how nice it would be to rest your head on him, but resist the urge. The edges of consciousness start to fold in on themselves, and you murmur, “Sweet dreams, big guy.”

“Goodnight.” 

[brookston]

Holidays 8.14

Holidays

Air Force Day (Taiwan)

Anniversary Day (Tristan da Cunha; Saint Helena)

Assumption Eve (France, Holy See)

Balochistan Solidarity Day

Color Book Day

Commemoration of Wadi al-Dahab (Morocco)

Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland (Abkhazia)

814 Day

Engineer’s Day (Dominican Republic)

Falklands Discovery Day

Faradda di li candareri (Descent of the Candlesticks; Sardinia)

Feast of the Tiger (Elder Scrolls)

Green Day (South Korea)

Husbands in Love Day

International Memorial Day for Comfort Women

International Nagging Day

Kaj Munk (Lutheranism)

La Torta dei Fieschi (Italy)

Liberty Tree Day (Massachusetts)

Love Donegal Day (UK)

Love Your Bookshop Day

Military Marriage Day

National Financial Awareness Day

National Navajo Code Talkers Day

National Slap Someone in the Back of the Head Day (Garfield)

National Spirit of ’45 Day

National Tattoo Removal Day

Navajo Code Talkers Day

Oued Ed-Dahab Day (Morocco, Western Sahara)

Partition Horrors Remembrance Day (India)

Pramuka Day (Scouting Day; Indonesia)

Rapeseed Day (French Republic)

Romance Awareness Day

St. Arnold of Soissons' Day (patron saint of brewers and hop-pickers)

Social Security Day

Sports Day (Russia)

Tristan da Cunha (Saint Helena)

V-J Day

Wiffle Ball Day

World Calligraphy Day

World Lizard Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Altbier Day

Chock Full O’ Nuts Day

International Rosé Wine Day

National Creamsicle Day

2nd Monday in August

Eleanor Roosevelt Day [2nd Monday]

Victory Day (Rhode Island) [2nd Monday]

Independence Days

Larsonia (a.k.a. Kingdom of Larsonia; Declared; 2012) [unrecognized]

Pakistan (from UK, 1947)

Feast Days

Arnold of Soissons (Christian; Saint) [brewers, hop-pickers]

Assumption Vigil (Vatican City)

Buck Dharma Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Carle Vernet (Artology)

Day of Peace Between Horus and Set (Ancient Egypt)

Domingo Ibáñez de Erquicia (Christian; Saint)

Eusebius of Rome (Christian; Saint)

Jacques Coeur (Positivist; Saint)

Jonathan Myrick Daniels (Episcopal Church)

Maximilian Kolbe (Christian; Saint)

Ready Eddie (Muppetism)

Rice and Millet Day (Pagan)

Think About Infinity Day (Pastafarian)

Werenfrid (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [45 of 71]

Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 37 of 60)

Premieres

Alice in Wonderland Ride, at Disneyland (Theme Park Attraction; 1958)

Born To Do It, by Craig David (Album; 2000)

Caligula (Adult Film; 1979)

Can’t Buy Me Love (Film; 1987)

Can’t Stand Losing You, by the Police (Song; 1978)

District 9 (Film; 2009)

Dora the Explorer (Animated TV Series; 2000)

The Commitments (Film; 1991)

Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry (Anime Film; 2017)

Hang On Sloopy, by The McCoys (Song; 1965)

High School Musical 2 (Soundtrack Album; 2007)

How Stella Got Her Groove Back (Film; 1998)

The Kill Order, by James Dashner (Novel; 2012) [Maze Runner #4]

Lemonade, by Internet Money (Song; 2020)

Les Miserables (Film; 1952)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Film; 2015)

Ma Perkins (Radio Series; 1933)

No Way Out (Film; 1987)

Ponyo (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 2009)

A Private Affair (Film; 1959)

The Quiet Man (Film; 1952)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Film; 1975)

Slums of Beverly Hills (Film; 1998)

So It Goes, by Nick Lowe (Song; 1976)

The Spirit Room, by Michelle Branch (Album; 2001)

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (Animated Film; 2020)

Stop! Look! And Hasten! (WB MM Cartoon; 1954)

Straight Outta Compton (Film; 2015)

Student of Prague (BBC TV Film; 1938) [1st BBC Feature Film]

Ted Lasso (TV Series; 2020)

The Time Traveler’s Wife (Film; 2009)

The Way of the Dragon (Film; 1972)

Who’s Next, by The Who (Album; 1971)

Today’s Name Days

Maximilian (Austria)

Alfred, Euzebije, Maksimilijan (Croatia)

Alan (Czech Republic)

Eusebius (Denmark)

Gisella, Svea (Estonia)

Kanerva, Onerva (Finland)

Évrard (France)

Maximilian, Meinhard (Germany)

Marcell (Hungary)

Alfredo (Italy)

Virma, Zelma, Zemgus (Latvia)

Euzebijus, Grintautas, Guostė (Lithuania)

Hallgeir, Hallgjerd (Norway)

Alfred, Atanazja, Dobrowój, Euzebiusz, Kalikst, Kaliksta, Machabeusz (Poland)

Mojmír (Slovakia)

Maximiliano (Spain)

Uno (Sweden)

Anahi, Athena, Tamara, Tamia, Tammie, Tammy, Tara, Taryn, Terra (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 226 of 2024; 139 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 33 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 7 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Ji-Wei), Day 28 (Jia-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 27 Av 5783

Islamic: 27 Muharram 1445

J Cal: 16 Hasa; Twosday [16 of 30]

Julian: 1 August 2023

Moon: 3%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 2 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Jacques Coeur]

Runic Half Month: As (Gods) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 54 of 94)

Zodiac: Leo (Day 23 of 31)

Calendar Changes

August (a.k.a. Sextilis or Augustus; Julian Calendar) [Month 8 of 12]

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 8.14

Holidays

Air Force Day (Taiwan)

Anniversary Day (Tristan da Cunha; Saint Helena)

Assumption Eve (France, Holy See)

Balochistan Solidarity Day

Color Book Day

Commemoration of Wadi al-Dahab (Morocco)

Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland (Abkhazia)

814 Day

Engineer’s Day (Dominican Republic)

Falklands Discovery Day

Faradda di li candareri (Descent of the Candlesticks; Sardinia)

Feast of the Tiger (Elder Scrolls)

Green Day (South Korea)

Husbands in Love Day

International Memorial Day for Comfort Women

International Nagging Day

Kaj Munk (Lutheranism)

La Torta dei Fieschi (Italy)

Liberty Tree Day (Massachusetts)

Love Donegal Day (UK)

Love Your Bookshop Day

Military Marriage Day

National Financial Awareness Day

National Navajo Code Talkers Day

National Slap Someone in the Back of the Head Day (Garfield)

National Spirit of ’45 Day

National Tattoo Removal Day

Navajo Code Talkers Day

Oued Ed-Dahab Day (Morocco, Western Sahara)

Partition Horrors Remembrance Day (India)

Pramuka Day (Scouting Day; Indonesia)

Rapeseed Day (French Republic)

Romance Awareness Day

St. Arnold of Soissons' Day (patron saint of brewers and hop-pickers)

Social Security Day

Sports Day (Russia)

Tristan da Cunha (Saint Helena)

V-J Day

Wiffle Ball Day

World Calligraphy Day

World Lizard Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Altbier Day

Chock Full O’ Nuts Day

International Rosé Wine Day

National Creamsicle Day

2nd Monday in August

Eleanor Roosevelt Day [2nd Monday]

Victory Day (Rhode Island) [2nd Monday]

Independence Days

Larsonia (a.k.a. Kingdom of Larsonia; Declared; 2012) [unrecognized]

Pakistan (from UK, 1947)

Feast Days

Arnold of Soissons (Christian; Saint) [brewers, hop-pickers]

Assumption Vigil (Vatican City)

Buck Dharma Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Carle Vernet (Artology)

Day of Peace Between Horus and Set (Ancient Egypt)

Domingo Ibáñez de Erquicia (Christian; Saint)

Eusebius of Rome (Christian; Saint)

Jacques Coeur (Positivist; Saint)

Jonathan Myrick Daniels (Episcopal Church)

Maximilian Kolbe (Christian; Saint)

Ready Eddie (Muppetism)

Rice and Millet Day (Pagan)

Think About Infinity Day (Pastafarian)

Werenfrid (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [45 of 71]

Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 37 of 60)

Premieres

Alice in Wonderland Ride, at Disneyland (Theme Park Attraction; 1958)

Born To Do It, by Craig David (Album; 2000)

Caligula (Adult Film; 1979)

Can’t Buy Me Love (Film; 1987)

Can’t Stand Losing You, by the Police (Song; 1978)

District 9 (Film; 2009)

Dora the Explorer (Animated TV Series; 2000)

The Commitments (Film; 1991)

Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry (Anime Film; 2017)

Hang On Sloopy, by The McCoys (Song; 1965)

High School Musical 2 (Soundtrack Album; 2007)

How Stella Got Her Groove Back (Film; 1998)

The Kill Order, by James Dashner (Novel; 2012) [Maze Runner #4]

Lemonade, by Internet Money (Song; 2020)

Les Miserables (Film; 1952)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Film; 2015)

Ma Perkins (Radio Series; 1933)

No Way Out (Film; 1987)

Ponyo (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 2009)

A Private Affair (Film; 1959)

The Quiet Man (Film; 1952)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Film; 1975)

Slums of Beverly Hills (Film; 1998)

So It Goes, by Nick Lowe (Song; 1976)

The Spirit Room, by Michelle Branch (Album; 2001)

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (Animated Film; 2020)

Stop! Look! And Hasten! (WB MM Cartoon; 1954)

Straight Outta Compton (Film; 2015)

Student of Prague (BBC TV Film; 1938) [1st BBC Feature Film]

Ted Lasso (TV Series; 2020)

The Time Traveler’s Wife (Film; 2009)

The Way of the Dragon (Film; 1972)

Who’s Next, by The Who (Album; 1971)

Today’s Name Days

Maximilian (Austria)

Alfred, Euzebije, Maksimilijan (Croatia)

Alan (Czech Republic)

Eusebius (Denmark)

Gisella, Svea (Estonia)

Kanerva, Onerva (Finland)

Évrard (France)

Maximilian, Meinhard (Germany)

Marcell (Hungary)

Alfredo (Italy)

Virma, Zelma, Zemgus (Latvia)

Euzebijus, Grintautas, Guostė (Lithuania)

Hallgeir, Hallgjerd (Norway)

Alfred, Atanazja, Dobrowój, Euzebiusz, Kalikst, Kaliksta, Machabeusz (Poland)

Mojmír (Slovakia)

Maximiliano (Spain)

Uno (Sweden)

Anahi, Athena, Tamara, Tamia, Tammie, Tammy, Tara, Taryn, Terra (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 226 of 2024; 139 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 33 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 7 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Ji-Wei), Day 28 (Jia-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 27 Av 5783

Islamic: 27 Muharram 1445

J Cal: 16 Hasa; Twosday [16 of 30]

Julian: 1 August 2023

Moon: 3%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 2 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Jacques Coeur]

Runic Half Month: As (Gods) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 54 of 94)

Zodiac: Leo (Day 23 of 31)

Calendar Changes

August (a.k.a. Sextilis or Augustus; Julian Calendar) [Month 8 of 12]

[bethanybeatdowns]

now that "pretender" is actually a class in f/go, i would be mildly disappointed if none of the actual historical pretenders would be referenced. essentially, this list are like...fanservants for the new fancy class in the game.

perkin warbeck and lambert simnel who were pretenders for the english throne during the rule of henry vii. they're kids but like, there were mysteriously dead Princes in the Tower (edward iv and his younger bro richard, duke of york) so henry's enemies could like play dress-up with some baker's kid and parade around that kid as a legitimate claimant to the throne.

richard iii, he isn't a pretender to the throne since he's still in the list of english kings. i just want one more member of chaldea shakespeare hate club.

tsarevich alexei whose lore would be similar to salieri's. he's not nastya's younger brother , but rather the amalgamation of rumors and false sensationalism of the survival of the romanov children. it doesn't help that there were a lot of impostors posing claiming as such. anna andersen, my number is open.

every single person claiming to be the king of france after 1793. napoleon? of course. louis xvii who's supposed to be an avenger class servant in strange fake? he's like eight. what about marie therese of france, only surviving child of marie antoinette and louis xvi and Queen for all of 20 minutes? i'm pretty sure someone within the writing staff could cook a homemade lore for that b/c fate is confusing enough as it is.

wait, hold on...that dude emile pugachev who pretended to be peter iii of russia and led a rebellion against catherine the great. the actual peter iii, grandson of peter the great was actually assassinated allegedly by catherine's boytoy. his cover story was that the assassination attempt failed and he wandered around like jesus in the wilderness. this man's con job was good enough he managed to convince priests into his rebellion and with how tightly russian orthodoxy is tied with the tsar's autocratic rule? oh, sisters. we're in for some soap opera russian doorstopping novels.

i ran out of ideas. there's a trend of modern european people because that's my ball park in history. don't worry i have above average knowledge of local & national history to compensate for that.

[cockasinthebird]

Now I don’t know if you take requests, but If you do here’s an idea. What about Steve being the King Steve he was, but he’s very slutty one and lets guys fuck him a lot. He would be such a tease to Billy at a party, grind his ass on Billy’s cock on purpose while they’re dancing, because he really wants this hot Cali boy to fuck him senseless already and that’s exactly what happens when Billy finally makes his move and fucks Steve somewhere away from other peoples eyes (Wow this got long sorry!)

Dearest anon, Don’t ever feel the need to apologise for such a long message, especially not one as grand as this!!! Here you go, just grazing 9 pages with the last line, so this is long yes, and I will “warn” you that there’s an excessive amount of dirty talking, at least to my standards, and a bit rough play, but nothing severe of course. Enjoy!

Another Saturday, another unsupervised party in the distant Harrington Mansion, music pulsating so vividly that Billy swears he can feel it through the soles of his heavy boots as he walks between cars parked on the grass.

It doesn't take a fool to know that the high and mighty King Steve has issues with the solitude his house brings, nestled between grand trees, so distant from the rest of the town that there's never once been a noise complaint. That he has issues with the lack of parental attention, and instead seeks to fill the emptiness of his house with his loyal subjects; particularly his bed.

Which might be why Billy always shows up, or maybe not, but who's to tell. Everyone's always at these parties filled with alcohol that Daddy Harrington pays for unknowingly, so it would be weird if Billy wasn't here, too, right? At least he's content with thinking so.

Billy knows loneliness like Steve does, seeks the cure for it just as well, finding brief notions of it when he's got his dick buried in any hole really, his body flooded with liquor, his head pounding to the beat of shitty synth.

So here he is, looking for a saving grace, to have another night filled with sweaty, writhing bodies, stepping through the front door to King Steve's castle once again; having stopped counting how many times around 20.

Just like last week, there's people everywhere – every single junior and senior that knows what's good can be found here, perhaps even a few older drunkards that has nothing better to do in this shit hole town than to crash a high school party.

And just like each and every other time, it's overwhelming in the best possible way. All senses gets fulfilled the second he's completely inside;

Sweaty bodies bumping shoulders as he squeezes his way through the hall, guys patting his shoulders, girls bashing their eyes, and he can't help but grin all smooth and charming at the attention.

Tight jeans and short skirts, bulging muscles and exposed cleavages, all so pleasing to his wandering eyes as his peers twists and turns to ensure he sees it all.

Through the music he can barely hear it when one girl says, “Looking good, Billy,” or when a guy leans in to ask, “Can I get you a drink?” as he makes it into one of the living rooms.

With every breath he takes, a wild and intrusive mixture of perfumes and colognes and deodorants fills his lungs to completion, cheap and expensive alike, and it brings him to life.

All there's left now, is to taste a nice, cold beer, and his soul will be satiated, the checklist for a good party completed, and the festivities could truly begin. But when he turns in to the kitchen, it isn't the giant fridge he focuses on, or the girls passing by, giving him all kinds of bedroom eyes, or the impressive array of chips on display on the kitchen island.

No he sees the host immediately, Steve Harrington, leaning with his back to the wall. His jeans sit a bit more snug than usual, and his tee a bit higher up; not exactly a crop-top per se, but just short enough to expose a gorgeous, wiry trail of hair dipping beneath his pants.

His face is turned towards Tommy Hagan who stands awfully close for that to just be a friendly conversation, and there's no doubt in Billy's mind what they're talking about, if the way Steve's eyes sliding up and down is any indication, or the way he bites into his lower lip.

There is no hiding why Steve is so popular, or why he remains on the top even though Billy managed to beat his keg stand record with ease. Hadn't been any hiding the way Steve leered at him at Tina's Halloween party either.

The first week in Hawkins Billy had caught Steve twice doing the most salacious things, that Billy to this day, 7 long months later, still think about daily.

Steve, on his knees in the showers of the boys locker room one Monday after practice, probably nearly drowning under the water with his mouth wide and stretched around some teammates cock. Even now Billy can recall the way he was moaning and gagging passionately; hears it louder in his mind than the music of the party.

Steve, underneath the bleachers during third period, skipping class to fuck hard into some blonde bitch who struggled to keep quiet as she stood bent forward, arms wrapped around one of the supporting beams for the seats above. And he can still see Steve's lewd expression as he caught Billy staring, Steve's mouth slipping into a sly smirk, eyes dark and heavy as he kept their gazes locked, cumming with the most enticing groan.

Of course that wasn't the last time he saw Steve like that.

Sometimes Steve was the one bent over, against a tree or knees in the grass. Billy has passed by that brown BMW bouncing and wiggling by the side of the road indiscreetly plenty of times. And at almost every party he's attended, he's watched Steve go in and out of rooms with anyone really.

One time he followed along, peeked in through the crack in the door, and watched from start to finish as Steve laid on his back on a desk, hands firmly around his neck, some dude balls deep inside of him.

But with one blink, Steve turns his head and looks directly at Billy, as if he knew the other was watching. And he tilts his head aside, allowing for Tommy to kiss and suck his way down the exposed neck, Steve's lips parting from the smile into something more comfortable.

Billy keeps staring, intently. Walks to the fridge, blindly reaches in to grab what he's hoping is a beer can, then leans against the counter; scarcely ever blinking as to not miss a single second of the show.

And it is ardently clear that Steve enjoys having an audience, enjoys performing. Eyes heavy on Billy, Steve lifts up his right hand in a slight fist, tongue poking at the inside of his cheek as he simulates giving a blowjob.

Something which Billy can't help but snort at for some reason, despite how the suggestion courses through him rapidly, and Steve seems to find that equally as humorous, as he laughs quietly.

He then grabs Tommy by the chin and guides him off of his sensitive neck. Steve says something that might sound like, “Not tonight,” which wipes Tommy's lustful grin right off. And when Steve looks towards Billy, Tommy's gaze follows right along, and now the freckled guy looks downright pissed off.

Billy stares with a strong intensity, daring him to try anything, as Tommy walks right by with a clear scowl, jaw tense and hands curled by his sides. But he manages to make his way out the kitchen without as much as a word.

When Billy turns to look for Steve again, he finds him standing right by his side, hip against the counter.

“Hi,” Steve purrs.

“Hey,” Billy says and lifts up his beer to take a sip, but Steve is quick to snatch it from his hand, to then drink from it slowly, eyes locked together.

Steve gives a little satisfied hum and licks his lips clean, a gesture that at this short distance sparks inside of Billy's chest, lighting him up.

“What's his problem?” Billy asks and nods in the direction of where Tommy had marched off. “Thought he was dating that Perkins girl.” He tries to play it cool, pretend he's above knowing who's who here, despite the fact that Carol has flirted with him enough times to need more than two hands to count on.

“Him and Carol loves to play this little game where they flirt with others at parties, get all excited at the thought of being unfaithful, then find a place to bang it out.” Steve offers Billy what's left of his beer, which is less than a half, and much less than what Billy needs to keep somewhat calm right now.

“So you and Tommy never...” he trails off, hoping that the insinuation is clear enough.

And judging by the way Steve smiles something so suggestive might just be enough of an answer, yet he says, “Wouldn't you like to know?” And watches how Billy's mouth opens to take a sip.

Neither of them talks as he empties the can. Billy watches how Steve is almost admiring the view; the bob of his Adam's apple, the way his shirt is unbuttoned nearly all the way, the tight fit of his jeans. And Billy wants to say something, a slight quip about enjoying the view, or if he sees something he likes, but it's redundant, because who doesn't like what they see when they look at Billy Hargrove, Keg King.

The tense silence between them gets interrupted, when some drunk girl shouts, “Steve!”

She's got dark hair, a low cut blouse, and an impossibly tight leather skirt. Pretty enough, Billy would say, but he can't remember her name; too many cows around here for him to bother learning what they're all called. It's only important that they know his name, yet it's Steve she calls for and reaches out to grab his hand.

“Steve come on,” she coos and sways even when standing still, “You owe me a dance for doing your essay!”

Steve doesn't resist when she starts pulling him along, just turns to Billy with a certain grin, and says lowly, “Duty calls.”

Admittedly, Billy is kinda impressed with just how easy it is for Steve, or rather, how easy Steve is.

And maybe he spends the next hour thinking about that, as he walks the party with a fresh beer in hand and a searching gaze, always keeping a lookout for where the host might have sneaked off to.

When he stops by the dining table to assist in a victory of beer pong, he's thinking about how often he's seen Steve in compromising positions, rarely ever with the same person twice in a row, but always with such a euphoric expression.

Or when he's standing with a gaggle of girls, charming his way into their hearts, and hopefully their panties, he's thinking about how Steve pays others to do his homework with the pleasure of his company, and how Billy got an A on his history test last week, and how he knows that Steve struggles with that especially.

And when he walks into the other living room that has been designated as a dance floor it seems, he's thinking about that happy trail being exposed whenever Steve raises his arms too high, the way his hair moves fluidly along with the motion of Steve's lively expression, the way his hips goes from side to side in rhythm to the music, and the way his grin twists something so delicious when almond eyes catch angelic blues staring.

Without missing a beat, Steve prances through the crowd; the flow of his body uninterrupted and damn near beautiful as he makes his way to still before Billy's motionless stature, and they share similar smiles as Billy looks at Steve with hooded eyes and something darkening the calm skies in his eyes, tongue out to wet his grin and Steve's appetite.

You Spin Me Round plays louder than Billy's thoughts, and Steve turns his back to him, dancing, arms up, making the shirt expose his dimples of Venus, and Billy finds himself wanting to grab on to the swaying hips, press his thumbs into where the skin dips in the small of Steve's back.

Billy's not much of a dancer himself, but he still sways slightly to the song, shoulders pumping to the rhythm of the least detestable song that's been played so far tonight. All the while he stares at Steve putting on quite the sweaty, twisting, swirling show, and it wouldn't be hard to believe that it is all for the enjoyment of Billy only, despite how others occasionally shoot jealous glares at the pair of them.

He doesn't even notice it when Steve takes a step closer, having once stood a respectable distance away, now so close that Billy can smell perfume on him; whether it's Steve who's gone diving in his mothers drawers, or from girls having been all over him tonight, is an uncertain factor, but he smells good. And perhaps Billy takes a step forward, the movement of Steve enchanting, but the Keg King would absolutely deny it. Deny that there's someone in town who can so easily bewitch him with barely any effort. Deny that he's not in control of this attraction no more than magnets are to metal.

But when there's contact between them as Steve accidentally grazes against Billy with his ass, it becomes increasingly difficult to sustain plausible deniability, and his salacious little smirk falls. And as Steve continues to flow with the rhythm, he meets with Billy's crotch again, this time with more accuracy- more force, and Billy chokes back a, “Fuck,” that wouldn't have been heard no matter what here. When it happens again and again and again, Billy feels heat drain down to pool near his gut, and with every timid grind against his swelling flesh, it ripples through him, like rain breaking surface tension, a fever pulsating.

And this time he takes a definite step forth, pressing himself into Steve's confident movement, who pushes back against him, hips circling around, plump cheeks pressing deliberately into the noticeable bulge now, and although Billy can't see Steve's face, he would bet money on how he's undoubtedly smiling at the attention.

Enough is soon enough, and Billy grabs on to Steve's hips with near brutish force, stopping the irritatingly erratic motion and pulls him as close as possible, so that hopefully Steve can feel just how hard he is.

He leans forward, lips at the shell of Steve's ear, as he growls, “If you don't stop what you're doing, I won't be able to hold back.”

Steve turns his head as far as he can, ass flush with Billy's trapped erection, and shows just how eager he is for that little promise; mouth not turned up in a smile, but hanging wide open as he pants out, “Then don't.” Honeyed eyes drowning in black, lashes fluttering as he gives a tentative roll of his hips, causing Billy to lurch forward, grinding into the friction with a stuttering notion.

Behind a locked door, Steve's desk slams against the wall as he lands on it, Billy shoving at him, tearing off his shirt and dipping down to kiss rudely and bite along the exposed shoulder. Steve with his legs spread wraps them around Billy's firm hips and draws him closer to feel just how eager he is, too, as if the way he's moaning wasn't enough proof of that.

Steve yanks at golden hair to guide Billy up for a desirous meeting of lips, when Billy pulls away to hiss out, “You taste like pussy,” almost in wonder.

“Didn't think you'd mind that,” Steve chuckles then drives his slick tongue into Billy's mean mouth, feels how he sucks it all in, groaning at the mix of spit and booze and pussy that lingers. “How you want me, big boy?”

It takes Billy a second to understand he's being spoken to, as alcohol and his own unadulterated lust mixes in his system, making him grind all animalistic into the spread of Steve's thighs, like a fucking dog humping a leg.

“On your stomach, in bed,” he breathes out wetly and licks his lips to savor what's left of Steve there.

With a hand spread out onto his chest, Steve pushes Billy away, so that he can move off of the desk and step around the hulking, panting stature of Billy's burning hot body. There's a not-so-subtle chime of Steve's belt, his zipper going down a joyous melody, and honestly Billy shouldn't be this surprised to find out that Steve is going commando tonight, and perhaps he always is.

Billy doesn't move at first, paralyzed by the gorgeous curve of Steve's naked ass, how long and perfect his dick is, and he understands now why girls flock to him the way they do. Each and every mole across pale, lean skin the landmarks of a treasure map guiding you down between his legs.

And Steve crawls on to the bed, his knees just on the edge of the mattress, his back turned to Billy still, and he bends over, cheeks spread to expose his tight hole. Moves his right hand down between spread legs where his leaking erection hangs lonely, starts stroking it with slow pulls that brings out fresh moans, while his left hand goes past parted lips; two fingers knuckle deep as he sucks on them, tongue slipping between to get them proper wet and dripping.

“I want you so bad, Billy,” he whines once he's removes his fingers from his mouth. Leads them behind himself, presses both inside with ease, voice stuttering as he pumps them in and out. “Every since I saw you at Tina's party, ahh, when you knocked me off my throne, beat my keg stand record- fuck-” Fingers speed up for a moment, then slows down again, teasing himself- teasing Billy. “I've- I've never felt so defeated, so... alive.”

Billy feels his underwear stick where he's leaking, untouched, but the performance that of a lifetime, and fuck he wishes he had a camera – convinced Steve would be into that, into being filmed like this. He's heard rumors about certain Polaroid pictures circulating school, but he hasn't had the chance to see yet, although that only makes this all the more sweeter, to see King Steve in all his glory afresh.

He tugs his shirt off over his head, unbuckles and unzips, moving closer with a hand down to massage his painful, throbbing cock. Knows that Steve is watching him as he leers at his entrance begging for more, clenching something so unsatisfied at his own two fingers. Without warning, Billy slicks up his own fingers with spit and plunges them inside along with Steve's own two digits.

“Fuck, ahh!” Steve cries out and arches his back, “Your fingers are so thick.”

At a pace set by Billy, they dive in and out, stretching him together, and Billy sees it fit to spit right on him, lubing him up a bit more and moves faster as he intently listens to how Steve is moaning and calling out for more, harder, deeper.

“Jesus Harrington, you're so fucking insatiable...” Billy looks down at where Steve's eyes are closed tightly, knitted with pleasure, mouth wide open to let out all these delicious noises. “Such a slut,” Billy drawls, and is convinced that Steve's ass clenches a bit tighter at that word. Slut. “So hungry for my fat cock, huh?”

“Yeah,” Steve whines and nods profusely, opening his eyes finally to catch cold waters meeting his gaze immediately. “Please,” he begs.

And as Billy pulls out his fingers, so does Steve, who brings both hands down to clutch at the bed sheets, his breathing shaky with anticipation, his prick drooling all over the blue covers.

“Lube and condoms in the top drawer, there,” he pants and points to the bedside table.

Where Billy is quick to yank it open and grabs both in one hand; his other continuously stroking himself through the trunks that are suffocating him, knowing that if he didn't keep that barrier of fabric in place, he'd blow far too soon from just the sight of Steve being so damn horny and needy.

“Can't wait to fill you up so good, princess,” he huffs as he slips on the condom.

Steve shakes his ass in a taunting manner with a lazy smile, and Billy can't help but laugh lightly at it, then brings his hand across one cheek, and-

“A-ah!” Steve moans out and presses his face deeper into the duvet.

And the grin that cracks across Billy's handsome features is awfully telling.

“I'm gonna fuck you so hard, baby, you won't be able to walk or sit straight for month,” he growls and licks his lips. “When I'm done with you, no other guy in Hawkins will be able to make you cum as good, won't satisfy you the same way I do.”

The cap of the lube pops open, and Billy slicks up two fingers, then promptly pushes them inside to lather Steve's ass up, who whines impatiently and moves his hips against the broad digits.

“Please, Billy,” voice all pathetic, “Just fuck me already.”

“Mmm patience,” Billy coos as he removes himself again, “Don't wanna hurt you by going in too dry.”

He covers his steely erection in a spirited amount of lube, excessively so as he strokes himself through the condom, and then goes to line up with Steve's fluttering hole, gasping, aching to be full. Pushes inside with nary a hint of kindness, bottoming out in one headlong swoop, leaving Steve moaning out long, and Billy grabs on with both hands to quell all motion between them, as he revels in how tight Steve is, how he's sucking him in.

“Oh fuck, Billy,” Steve keens and tries to move, but stern hands keeps him locked in place. “You're so big.”

“Yeah, I know,” Billy chuckles out like rumbling thunder in his chest.

Hands move off of Steve's hips to go grab two fistfuls of soft ass, where he spreads the cheeks as far apart as they can go, as to get a good and proper look at how his girthy cock is sunk deep inside, watches how the rim clench around him with a hunger to be thoroughly fucked. And at a pace menacingly slow, Billy pulls out, feels how every muscle clings to him like he's the most important thing in the world right now, and Steve whines as if it's true, too.

He keeps his stare there, watching with great interest as he moves till just his fat head remains inside, then shoves right back in, receiving the most vivid and alluring cry of his name from Steve's pretty pink lips.

“Billy- fuck, ah-” Steve moans with no inhibition as Billy sets a brutal pace of pulling out just to snap his hips back against Steve's exposed ass.

Skin slaps louder than the music downstairs, accompanied well by the squelching of Steve's dripping wet hole and his lascivious singing of praises and curses; the bed concurring with slight creaks. Steve arches his back in the most gorgeous curve, a pose with his plump ass raised with such expertise it shows just how often he's found himself like this, yet still calls out as if it's his first.

“Shit, princess, harrh, for being such a slut you sure keep tight,” Billy groans out as he slams his veiny cock into the most fantastic velvet heat.

A warmth that stirs perfectly at the base of his dick, waves of it washing down his thighs as he continues to chase his own high with the most ferocious will.

He bends forward, driving himself as deep as physically possible, and brings one hand down onto the back of Steve's neck, squeezing and pressing him into the bed.

“Yes- yes! Ah-” Steve croons like a bitch in heat, eyes rolling back, hands seeking for something to grab on to.

And Billy barks a laugh at how lost Steve becomes, how indignant and uncontrolled his voice becomes.

“You like it rough, huh bitch?” Billy growls like a wild hound, baring his canines and licking across the sharpness there, his thrusts rapid. “Like it when a real man fucks you?”

“Yes,” Steve chokes out, oh so pliant and dazed.

“Mmnh, hah, feel so good inside baby, sucking me in- my thick cock splitting you open.” Billy grazes his teeth across where he can reach on Steve's shoulder.

The response a whine, high pitched and erotic, and Steve reaches for himself-

But his wrist is quickly grabbed by Billy's other hand, pinning it above Steve's head; now most of Billy's heavy body weight pressing onto his neck, and his body tenses tighter.

“Fuck, ah,” Billy grunts as he feels muscles clasp around him like a vice. “Why don't you show me how beautiful you look cumming on my dick alone?”

“Billy,” Steve moans in a telling way of how close he is, and of how helpless he is. “I'm- I'm close-”

“Yeah you are.” Billy grins and bucks his hips all cruel and ruthless; wants Steve to remember this, to maybe be a bit sore after, cheeks red and ass puffy, throat sore from overuse. Want hims to know that absolutely no one else is ever going to make him nearly scream like this. “You're such an easy little whore, Stevie.”

“I am, ah- shit-” Steve admits readily, mumbles something more in agreeance, but all Billy can make out is his own name being called for again and again in tandem with his girthy cock hitting all the right spots.

It barely takes more than that before Steve's cumming; shooting hot and white all over his expensive sheets, body tensing up to a choking point that pulls Billy closer, the tightness unparalleled by any pussy he's ever been this deep in.

“Fuck that's hot,” his voice dripping with lust thick as honey.

“Don't- don't stop, please,” Steve's voice barely there, fucked out and hoarse, body going limp as he whines at the delicious overstimulation.

“Oh yeah, pretty boy? Want me to-” Billy gasps as he can barely manage words as he slams hard against Steve's worn ass, desperately clenching around him, and he stands up fully, plants his feet and digs his nails into fleshy hips. “-Want me to use you? Like a fucking toy?”

“Yes! Yes, Billy, fuck me-”

The wet slapping of skin in perfect harmony with Steve moaning a whole ballad, brings Billy to his blinding climax, forcing a stutter to his hips as he slams home hard enough for Steve to move up the bed, and he calls out with no restraint as his throbbing cock pulsates and kicks; draining him of all heat and energy into the condom buried deep in Steve's desirous hole.

As adrenaline seeps out, exhaustion comes in and he slumps forward, shoving at Steve's shoulder to keep him in place as he twitches and goes soft. Chest heaving, curls sticking to his neck and forehead, thighs sore from a good days work. He rubs the space between Steve's shoulder blades with a firm thumb, who hums pleasantly between equally exhausted pants.

But Billy has to pull out, takes off the condom and ties it neatly, before collapsing next to Steve on the bed.

And Steve rolls on to his side, rests his warm palm on sweaty pecks, smiling all satisfied and admiring the view of Billy's spent dick. “You did good, tiger... think you can go another round?”

Billy snorts abruptly – he can barely keep his eyes open right now. “Are you serious?”

Steve climbs right on top of him, landing with his own impressive cock side by side with Billy's vastly shorter, but definitely thicker, dick. He rocks back and forth all lazy like, sighing with a definite promise of more.

But Billy winces with a sharp inhale and reaches down to stop the motion of those pale hips on top. “Fuck- stop! I'm spent, go find some other hole to fulfill your needs.”

“Hmm...” Steve thinks about something, but climbs off never the less. “I'm gonna give you fifteen minutes, and if you're still to weak after that I can easily find someone else.”

He's quick to get dressed again, leaving Billy to feel, yes, weak and perhaps a bit piteous, sprawled out on King Steve's bed, a mess of sweat next to a pool of semen, yet Steve steps up to him and leans down.

“But,” he coos softly and smiles just so, “If you ever want to do this again, or something else, I can make room for you in my busy schedule.”

And Steve kisses Billy on the lips, making the poorer guy immediately desire more, but as Steve pulls away again, Billy continues to feel defeated and impossibly exhausted.

The last thing he notices before dozing off is the bedroom door closing.

[buzzdixonwriter]

The Purple Monster Strikes

Recently in an online discussion of 1950s sci-fi films, the old Republic serial The Purple Monster Strikes came up.

Why is came up I’ll mention later, but first let’s note it: 

was made in 1945 

was the last 15 chapter Republic serial

is awful

Not eyeball gouging / brain melting / soul scorching awful the way The Lost City or Gene Autry And The Phantom Empire or Captain Video are awful, but awful enough…

…yet at the same time, worthy of comment (as we’ll soon note).

1945 is a crucial year.  Despite the Nazis last ditch Battle of the Bulge, WWII is clearly winding down to an Allied victory in both Europe and the Pacific. 

American audiences feel tired of the war wand want something else in their entertainment, even low brow / low rent entertainment like movie serials.

Republic produced three serials that year:  Federal Operator 99 proved surprisingly good, Manhunt Of Mystery Island (their next to last 15 chapter serial) tried some new ideas that while interesting didn’t prove interesting enough to be tried again, and The Purple Monster Strikes brought interplanetary thrills back to the theaters, only this time instead of visiting Mars, Mars (at least two of ‘em) came to Earth.

As noted in my overview of Federal Operator 99, Republic serials of that year looked…inexpensive.* 

This is especially true of The Purple Monster Strikes which really needed a bigger budget, a better script, and adequate production time for the type of story it was trying to tell.

That story?

In a nutshell:   The Purple Monster is a one-Martian invasion come to steal the secret of the “jet plane” (the script uses the term interchangeably with “rocketship”) from Earth and take it to Mars where it can be mass produced and used to attack our world (Why?  WTF knows or cares?).  To achieve this The Purple Monster bumps off the scientist in charge of the project, physically possesses his corpse by turning into a ghost-like entity, and tries to kill a nosy investigator and the late scientist’s niece.  In the end The Purple Monster tries to escape Earth only to get blowed up real good (Did I mention this is silly, stooped, and trite?  I did?  Good).

So why am I interested in The Purple Monster Strikes?  Well, for two reasons, the second and more important one we’ll save for the end, the first is that when watched with fully informed eyes, it’s a testament to the single greatest contribution the serials made to filmmaking:  The production board.

Lemme ‘splain what that is.

In the old days of movie making it was a folder with slots for narrow strips of colored cardboard to be slid in.  The strips were color coded for interior or exterior scenes, night or day, specific locations, second unit or special effects, etc.

These strips were grouped together on the production board so all the exterior day shots at one location could be filmed back-to-back, followed by all the night shots there before moving on to a new location.

The colored carboard strips were further broken down to match production numbers in the shooting script (“Scene 37:  The bandits take the town”), key props and costumes, stunt work, but most importantly actors / characters in the scene.

You want all your most important / expensive / difficult stuff grouped together…but you also need to figure out what you didn’t need so you could pare down your budget.

For example, if you need someone to play a policeman in Scene 1 and in Scene 12 but those scenes are shot two seeks apart, maybe it’s cheaper to have two different actors playing two different policemen for one day each than keep one actor on call for two weeks.

Likewise, if you’ve got an actor in a key supporting role, put all his scenes together.

This necessitates shooting out of sequence, but shooting out of sequence is now pretty much the industry norm for any filmed or taped production.

The serials invented the production board and the rest of the industry speedily glommed onto it.

Once you know what to look for in The Purple Monster Strikes, you can pretty much break down which scenes were shot when.

Case in point: Masked heroes and villains aside, serial characters rarely change costume except to match stock footage from earlier productions.  It’s not especially notable for male characters but females typically wear The Same Damn Dress in Every Damn Scene.

So when heroine Linda Sterling gets dunked in a water tank midway through The Purple Monster Strikes, you can bet that was her last day of filming since they were no longer worried about ruining her costume.

Likewise when a female reinforcement from Mars arrives, the exact same location right down to the same car parked in the same spot are used even though the female Martian doesn’t arrive until 2/3rds of the way into the story.

You wouldn’t notice this week to week in a movie theater, but they’re painfully obvious when bingewatching.

Case in point: There are never more than four characters onscreen at any time; this was all the production could afford on any given day.  If a fifth character showed up, one of the others needed to be knocked unconscious (if they were lucky) shot and fall off camera (if they were unlucky), or disintegrated (if they were really unlucky).

For example, the hero and heroine could be talking to a scientist (day 1 / shot 1) when three baddies show up at the door (day 2 / shot 1).  The first baddie shoots the scientist, who falls off camera then enters the frame and knocks out the heroine, who conveniently falls behind a counter (day 1 / shot 2).  The other two baddies enter and a huge brawl erupts (day 2 / shot 2).  The heroine revives (day 1 / shot 3) and shouts a warning at the hero.  The hero blasts a minor baddie who falls off camera as the other two baddies flee the scene (day 2 / shot 3), then the heroine rejoins the hero (day 1 / shot 4).

Binge watching also reveals a lot of sets and props reused again and again.  The same footstool is used as a weapon more than once, a prop valve in one chapter serves an entirely different function in another, and while serials frequently reused stock special effects shots, The Purple Monster Strikes doesn’t just use the same exploding car shot twice in the same serial, not just twice in the same chapter, but twice in the same car chase!

(Speaking of which, whenever they get in Linda Sterling’s car you know the odds are 50-50 it’s going off a cliff in a big flaming fireball.  The Purple Monster Strikes has her going through so many identical make automobiles you’d think she owned stock in a car dealership.)

Anybody familiar with Republic serials is going to find a lot of reused sets and props here.  Having seen Manhunt Of Mystery Island recently, I immediately recognized their ubiquitous warehouse set, the Republic Studios loading dock doubles as two different factory exteriors, and having lived in Chatsworth several years I can practically name each and every rock in the exterior scenes.**

On the plus side, bonus points for some impressive looking props, including a rocket test engine that provides the explosive cliffhanger for the first chapter, a double-barrel disintegrator that looks like a giant set of binoculars (I wonder if it was originally a military surplus training aid), and a spaceship seen under construction for most of the serial that proves to be the most striking design the redoubtable Lydecker brothers ever created (a pity it’s glimpsed only briefly before being blown up in the last chapter; Republic should have reused it for their later sci-fi serials instead of the dull unimaginative designs they went with).

Fun factoid: Mi amigo Donald F. Glut, filmmaker / NYTimes bestselling author / film historian, knew The Purple Monster hizzownsef, Roy Barcroft, and reports Barcroft had the wardrobe department sew a secret pocket in his costume for his cigarettes! 

Speaking of Barcroft, he’s the best thing in this serial and he ain’t that good.  A perennial bad guy in serials and B-Westerns, he normally turned in a satisfying performance, but the script for The Purple Monster Strikes gives him nothing to work with.

I mentioned previously how Federal Operator 99’s script works more often than not and gives its characters something the actors can work with, but The Purple Monster Strikes?  Nada.

Every line is a clunky flat declarative sentence exposition dump of the “I’ll take this strange medallion we discovered to Harvey the metallurgist to analyze” variety.

Even Linda Sterling can’t do anything with this though she tries to find an appropriate facial expression for whatever scene she’s thrown in.

As for nominal star Dennis Moore, I won’t say he’s wooden but in one of the innumerable fight scenes Barcroft hurls a coatrack at him and for that brief moment the coatrack delivers a far more memorable performance.

Sidebar on the fight scenes: They are choreographed expertly, among some of the best Republic ever staged, but directors Spencer Gordon Bennet and Fred C. Brannon -- both serial veterans who could do much, much better -- really dropped the ball in shooting them.  They’re shot almost entirely in wide angle longshots using slightly sped up photography instead of intercutting to keep the pacing fast.

The rest of the cast consists mostly of stuntmen carefully enunciating their one line before the fists start flying, or older male actors who deliver surprisingly good performances compared to everyone else.

But that script -- oh, lordie, that script!  This was made in 1945 and they’ve got a damn organ grinder in it!  Organ grinders vanished from the public sphere with the damn of movies; by the 1940s they were found only in comic books and animated cartoons; in other words, kid stuff.***

It’s clear the writers on The Purple Monster Strikes (Royal Cole, Albert DeMond, Basil Dickey, Lynn Perkins, Joseph Poland, and Barney Sarecky) considered this mere juvenile pablum, not worthy of even the smattering of sophistication they sprinkled on Federal Operator 99.

An adult can watch Federal Operator 99 and at least feel the story makes some kind of sense and the characters, however imperfectly enacted, at least offer adult motives and behaviors, but The Purple Monster Strikes is just insulting to the intelligence (I mean, they call the female Martian invader Marsha.  Seriously?).

Okay, so why do I think this is worth writing about?

Because The Purple Monster Strikes is the bridge between WWII and the Cold War.

Most of the major tropes of 1950s sci-fi are reactions to Cold War anxieties, and those anxieties are transplanted WWII anxieties.

Before WWII, American moneyed interests waged a relentless PR campaign against communism, socialism, and labor unions (sound familiar?).

Forced to make peace with the Soviets during WWII, these moneyed interests -- now heavily invested in what Dwight D. Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex -- bit their lips as US pop culture portrayed the Russians as gallant allies against fascism (and they were; credit where credit is due).

As soon as the war ended, however, and in fact, even a little before the end (see The Best Years Of Our Lives; great movie), they were already recasting the Russians as treacherous authoritarian atheists out to conquer the world.

As noted earlier, American audiences felt weary of a relentless diet of war related entertainment and in the waning days of the war turned eagerly to non-war related stories. 

Likewise studios, not wanting to get caught with rapidly dating WWII related material nobody wanted to see began actively developing different kinds of stories.

After four years of intense anxiety, the country needed to come down but couldn’t go cold turkey.  Science fiction (and hardboiled mysteries and spy thrillers) provided safe decompression.

1945 marks a significant sea change in Republic serial production.  Sci-fi would become a more predominant theme, infiltrating other genres such as the ever popular masked mastermind (viz. The Crimson Ghost).

Federal Operator 99 would be the last highwater mark for more plausible serial stories, but crime and undercover espionage remained serial staples to the bitter end.

Only Manhunt Of Mystery Island seemed a misfire and even in that case it only meant the masked mastermind returned to more traditional origins instead of the inventive backstory created for Captain Mephisto.  

What The Purple Monster Strikes did was take a very familiar set of WWII cliches and stereotypes then recast them in a (relatively) safe science fictional context.

The closest prototype to The Purple Monster Strikes is Republic’s G-Men Vs. The Black Dragon, as racially offensive as you could hope to imagine, and turn the inscrutable “yellow” villains into malevolent purple ones (later green when colorization was added).

By making the literally other worldly alien the “other”, 1950s sci-fi sidestepped the worst implications of their own themes:  

Invasion 

Subversion 

Fifth columns 

Loss of soul / identity / individuality (personified in bodily possession by alien intellects)

Paranoia

The Purple Monster Strikes lacks the wit and wherewithal to fully exploit these ideas, but it sure could hold them up for everyone to get a quick glimpse.

As childish and as inane as the plot may be, by the end when hero and heroine realize there is literally no one they can trust, The Purple Monster Strikes dropped a depth charge into preteen psyches fated to go off six years later with the arrival of The Thing From Another World and countless other sci-fi films and TV episodes afterwards.

Did The Purple Monster Strikes create this trend?  No, of course not – but as Stephen King pointed out in Danse Macabre regarding the incredibly inane The Horror Of Party Beach’s selection of nuclear waste dumping as their raison d'être for their monsters:

“I’m sure it was one of the least important points in their preproduction discussions and for that reason it becomes very important.”

King’s point is by not giving the matter much thought, The Horror Of Party Beach’s producers simply tapped into a subconscious gestalt already running through the culture and said, “Yeah, nuclear waste, wuddup widdat?”

Likewise, The Purple Monster Strikes’ producers / directors / writers didn’t sit themselves down to analyze Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four but rather picked up on the forever war current already moving through the American body politic.

War without end, war without ceasing.

And if we can’t define an enemy by name or place, so much the better!  The war on crime, the war on poverty, the war on drugs…

The war on terror.

The forever war thrives on the faceless unknowable enemy with the unknown but clearly malevolent anti-American agenda.

“Them”…against…U.S.

As an artistic achievement, The Purple Monster Strikes is sadly lacking in nearly all aspects, but as a cultural artifact, it’s still a clear warning.

Only not about “them” but about…us.

  © Buzz Dixon 

  *  read “cheap”

** Republic’s low budget backed them into an overlapping series of sci-fi serials, loosely referred to as the Rocket Man / Martian invasion serials by fans.  The Purple Monster Strikes’ costume was reused for Flying Disc Man From Mars (which featured a semi-circular flying wing already featured in Spy Smasher and King Of The Mounties) and again for Zombies Of The Stratosphere, but between those two serials the wholly unrelated King Of The Rocket Men was released.  Zombies… is a sequel to both Flying Disc Man… and King Of The Rocket Men but Radar Men From The Moon introduces a new character -- Commando Cody -- who wears the same rocket pack as the heroes of King… and Zombies… but faces a lunar, not Martian menace then he spins off to become Commando Cody:  Sky Marshall Of The Universe in a quasi-serial (i.e., no cliff-hangers, each chapter a complete adventure) fighting a third alien invasion!

***  Or the works of Bertolt Brecht, but that ain’t what Republic’s going for here.

[healthycoffeeguy]

Check out When Rock & Roll Was… on Mercari!

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When Rock & Roll Was Young / Various Artists

All discs in like new condition.

This box set includes 140 tunes on 10 CDs.

Disc 1:

1. Palisades Park - Freddy Cannon

2. Big Boy Pete - The Olympics

3. One Kiss for Old Times' Sake - Ronnie Dove

4. Trouble in Paradise - The Crests

5. Once in a While - The Chimes

6. Running Bear - Johnny Preston

7. When We Get Married - The Dreamlovers

8. A Million to One - Jimmy Charles

9. Guardian Angel - The Imaginations

10. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans - Freddy Cannon

11. Timothy - The Buoys

12. Take Me as I Am - The Duprees

13. Valerie - Jackie & the Starlites

14. Willow Weep for Me - Chad & Jeremy

Disc 2:

1. Try the Impossible - Lee Andrews & The Hearts

2. Trickle Trickle - The Videos

3. What's Your Name - Don & Juan

4. The Gleam in Your Eye - Earl Lewis & The Channels

5. My Own True Love - The Duprees

6. Wine, Wine, Wine - The Nightcaps

7. Till Then - The Classics

8. Heart's Desire - The Avalons

9. Right or Wrong - Ronnie Dove

10. What Time Is It - The Jive Five

11. Pretty Little Angel - The Crests

12. The Closer You Are - Earl Lewis & The Channels

13. Action - Freddy Cannon

14. Feel So Fine - Johnny Preston

Disc 3:

1. One Summer Night - The Danleers

2. Tell Me Why - The Belmonts

3. Step by Step - The Crests

4. Winchester Cathedral - The New Vaudeville Band

5. Yesterday's Gone - Chad & Jeremy

6. Tallahassee Lassie - Freddy Cannon

7. Baby Oh Baby - The Shells

8. Loop De Loop - Johnny Thunder

9. Why Don't You Believe Me - The Duprees

10. Dance by the Light of the Moon - The Olympics

11. Mountain of Love - Ronnie Dove

12. Don't, Don't Don't Drop Out - Ronnie & The Schoolmates

13. Teardrops - Lee Andrews & The Hearts

14. Pipeline - The Chantays

Disc 4:

1. Have You Heard - The Duprees

2. Peanut Butter - The Marathons

3. Sandy - Larry Hall

4. Mixed-up, Shook-up Girl - Patty & The Emblems

5. Cradle of Love - Johnny Preston

6. Moonlight Cocktails - The Riveras

7. Beach Baby - First Class

8. Solitaire - The Embers

9. Deserie - The Charts

10. Six Nights a Week - The Crests

11. Goodnight Baby - The Imaginations

12. Transistor Sister - Freddy Cannon

13. Say You - Ronnie Dove

14. You Gave Me Somebody to Love - The Dreamlovers

Disc 5:

1. Wild Thing - The Troggs

2. Hang On Sloopy - The McCoys

3. A Groovy Kind of Love - The Mindbenders

4. Western Union - The Five Americans

5. Hats Off to Larry - Del Shannon

6. California Sun - The Rivieras

7. Crimson & Clover - Tommy James & The Shondells

8. The Boy from New York City - The Ad-Libs

9. Leader of the Pack - The Shangri-Las

10. Devil With a Blue Dress On - Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels

11. Love Is All Around - The Troggs

12. Sugar Sugar - The Archies

13. The Game of Love - Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders

14. I Think We're Alone Now - Tommy James & The Shondells

Disc 6:

1. Jim Dandy - Lavern Baker

2. Lipstick on Your Collar - Connie Francis

3. Sweet Nothin's - Brenda Lee

4. Mr. Lee - The Bobbettes

5. Eddie My Love - The Teen Queens

6. Lollipop - The Chordettes

7. Born Too Late - The Poni-Tails

8. What a Difference a Day Makes - Dinah Washington

9. Pink Shoe Laces - Dodie Stevens

10. Ivory Tower - Cathy Carr

11. Teach Me Tonight - The DeCastro Sisters

12. Tonight You Belong to Me - Patience & Prudence

13. Don't You Know - Della Reese

14. Cry Me a River - Julie London

Disc 7:

1. Sixteen Candles - The Crests

2. Cara Mia - Jay & The Americans

3. At the Hop - Danny & The Juniors

4. Little Darlin' - The Diamonds

5. Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry

6. Runaway - Del Shannon

7. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - The Platters

8. Why Do Fools Fall in Love - Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers

9. Under the Boardwalk - The Drifters

10. This I Swear - The Skyliners

11. Maybe - The Chantels

12. Let's Hang On - The Four Seasons

13. La Bamba - Ritchie Valens

14. Shout! - The Isley Brothers

Disc 8:

1. Earth Angel - The Penguins

2. Since I Don't Have You - The Skyliners

3. You Belong to Me - The Duprees

4. Sherry - The Four Seasons

5. I Only Have Eyes for You - The Flamingos

6. Tears on My Pillow - Little Anthony & The Imperials

7. Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & The Comets

8. My Girl - The Temptations

9. Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino

10. The Great Pretender - The Platters

11. Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison

12. California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas

13. Do You Love Me - The Contours

14. Walk On By - Dionne Warwick

Disc 9:

1. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On - Jerry Lee Lewis

2. All I Have to Do Is Dream - The Everly Brothers

3. I Wonder Why - Dion & The Belmonts

4. You Cheated - The Shields

5. I'm So Young - The Students

6. Book of Love - The Monotones

7. Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins

8. Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis

9. Wake Up Little Susie - The Everly Brothers

10. Stormy Weather - The Spaniels

11. The Angels Listened In - The Crests

12. Susie Q - Dale Hawkins

13. Short Shorts - The Royal Teens

14. Church Bells May Ring - The Willows

Disc 10:

1. Lightnin' Strikes - Lou Christie

2. Rescue Me - Fontella Bass

3. Downtown - Petula Clark

4. Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett

5. Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye - Steam

6. The Rain, The Park and Other Things - The Cowsills

7. My Booyfriend's Back - The Angels

8. No Particular Place to Go - Chuck Berry

9. But I Do - Clarence "Frogman" Henry

10. Where the Boys Are - Connie Francis

11. Wolly Bully - Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs

12. It's My Party - Leslie Gore

13. You're the One - The Vogues

14. A Summer Song - Chad & Jeremy

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[nothingtowear05]

Top: Dorothy Perkins Ivory Broderie Bardot Top (£22.00) | Skirt: 갠소 플레어밴딩롱샤스커트 (29,900₩) | Shoes: Repetto Ballerines Cendrillon (255€) | Backpack: Loungefly DISNEY CINDERELLA 70TH ANNIVERSARY PEEK-A-BOO MINI BACKPACK ($80.00) | Choker: Dorothy Perkins Black Flower Lace Choker Necklace (£5.00) | Earrings: Mikimoto Pierced Earrings (¥ 39,000) | Headband: Jennifer Behr Lucy Headband ($128.00)

...and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.

I decided to join the Color Me Park Hopper challenge on IG. I was not originally planning to, but then I started to get outfit ideas for some of the prompts, and I just knew I had to do the entire challenge.

Today’s theme is “Magic Kingdom”. Being a Walt Disney World fan (I wrote my master’s thesis on the subject), I had to make an outfit inspired by the park’s centrepiece, Cinderella’s Castle. So, I created a casual outfit based on Cinderella’s ball outfit.

The top and skirt are obviously of the colours of the ball gown. Because glass slippers are hard to come by and not so comfortable to explore the park in, I decided to go for silver flats. The black choker, pearl earrings, and blue headband are reminiscent of the accessories Cinderella wears with her ballgown in the movie. Finally, the backpack is a wink at the pink dress she wears before her step-sisters destroy it, which leads to the intervention of her fairy godmother and the creation of her iconic outfit. 

Fun fact: In kindergarten, we did a play based on the Disney movie, and I played Cinderella in her pink dress (there were three Cindrellas, one for each outfit).

[blackkudos]

Otis Blackwell

Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist, whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include "Fever", recorded by Little Willie John; "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless", recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis; "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender" (with Winfield Scott), recorded by Elvis Presley; and "Handy Man", recorded by Jimmy Jones.

Biography

Blackwell was born in Brooklyn, New York. He learned to play the piano as a child and grew up listening to both R&B and country music.

His first success was winning a local talent contest ("Amateur Night") at the Apollo Theater, in Harlem, in 1952. This led to a recording contract with RCA and then with Jay-Dee. His first release was his own composition "Daddy Rolling Stone", which became a favorite in Jamaica, where it was recorded by Derek Martin. The song later became part of the Who's mod repertoire. Enjoying some early recording and performing success, he found his first love was songwriting and by 1955 had settled into the groove that he would ride for decades. His first successes as a songwriter came in 1956, when Little Willie John's R&B hit with the sultry "Fever" was an even bigger pop success for Peggy Lee, and "Don't Be Cruel" began a highly profitable association with Elvis Presley.

Blackwell was one of the leading African-American figures of early rock and roll, although he was not well known by the public. His own records never cracked the Top 40, yet he wrote million-selling songs for Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dee Clark and others. He also recruited other songwriters to write for Presley, such as Winfield Scott.

In the liner notes of Elvis' Golden Records (1958), Anne Fulchino, of RCA, wrote,

While sipping coffee, Steve Sholes pulled out a demonstration record of 'Don't Be Cruel' and told Elvis it was a new song written by Otis Blackwell, whom Elvis had long admired as a rhythm and blues artist. It took just a few bars to convince Presley that it was a perfect song for him, and he decided to cut it right away. Presley learned the song within minutes—he had an inherent musical sense—and in short order a great master was put on tape.It isn't often that the title of a song will create a whole new expression in Americana. 'All Shook Up' did exactly that. Youngsters and adults alike have made the phrase a common part of everyday usage. The background to the song itself is a rather interesting one. Since the huge success of 'Don't Be Cruel', Elvis had been anxious to record another song from the pen of Otis Blackwell. Eventually, Blackwell came around with 'All Shook Up' (first recorded by David Hill on Aladdin). Presley wasn't completely satisfied with the song, and with Blackwell's consent re-wrote part of the lyrics. Thus, as co-writer as well as artist, Presley produced his ninth consecutive gold record, his first in the year 1957.

During an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman, Blackwell said he never met Presley in person. When he was having a contract dispute with his publishing company, he also wrote under the white-sounding pen name John Davenport. Blackwell composed more than a thousand songs, garnering worldwide sales of close to 200 million records. Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, asked Blackwell to appear in the Presley movie Girls! Girls! Girls!, for which he had written "Return to Sender", but a superstition about meeting Presley kept him from accepting.

In 1956, Blackwell gave "Don't Be Cruel" to friend Frankie Valli's group, the Four Lovers, but as they were recording it he asked to take it back and in turn gave it to the up-and-coming Presley. In exchange for this song he gave them "You're the Apple of My Eye", which became a chart hit for the Four Lovers (Billboard number 64). The song was performed on Ed Sullivan's television show that same year and was probably instrumental in at least shaping events for the group to eventually becoming the Four Seasons. A shortened version of "You're the Apple of My Eye" is also featured in the Broadway show "Jersey Boys".

As the tide of rock and roll receded, Blackwell recorded R&B songs for numerous labels, including Atlantic, MGM and Epic. In later years he was in semi-retirement, making only occasional live appearances.

In the 1980s, Blackwell toured and recorded with the Smithereens as his backing band for both live shows and studio recordings. The partnership produced two self-funded albums, "Let's Talk About Us" and "From the Beginning," which were released independently on Blackwell's ROC-CO imprint.

In 1991, Blackwell was paralyzed by a stroke. Three years later, Shanachie released the album Brace Yourself! A Tribute to Otis Blackwell, containing 15 songs written by Blackwell and recorded by the likes of Kris Kristofferson ("All Shook Up"), Blondie's Debbie Harry ("Don't Be Cruel"), the Smithereens ("Let's Talk About Us"), Graham Parker ("Paralyzed"), and Ronnie Spector ("Brace Yourself").

Blackwell died of a heart attack in 2002, in Nashville, Tennessee, and was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in that city.

Awards and recognitions

Otis Blackwell was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986 and in 1991 into the National Academy of Popular Music's Songwriters Hall of Fame. Blackwell's crowning moment came in the late 1980s when the Black Rock Coalition, a prominent organization of black rock musicians, led by Vernon Reid, the lead guitarist of the band, Living Colour, held a tribute for him at the Prospect Park Bandshell in his native Brooklyn. Many prominent musicians and singers took part including Blackwell himself, who performed an assortment of his best songs, including "One Broken Heart for Sale," "Back Trail," "Don't Be Cruel" and "Daddy Rolling Stone."

Blackwell was named one of the 2010 recipients of Ahmet Ertegun Award in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This category encompasses those who primarily work behind the scenes in the music industry.

Legacy

Blackwell was one of the greatest R&B songwriters of all time. His songwriting style is as uniquely identifiable as that of Leiber and Stoller, Chuck Berry, or Willie Dixon and helped redefine popular music in America in the 1950s. This is true even though he often collaborated with such partners as Winfield Scott, Eddie Cooley, and Jack Hammer. Blackwell was one of the most important innovators who helped invent the musical vocabulary of rock and roll at its very beginning. His works have been recorded by a host of major artists, including Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, James Brown, the Who, Johnny Thunders, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty, the Judds, Carl Perkins and Peggy Lee, among numerous others. At other times in his career, Blackwell was also successful as a record producer, having helped turn out hits for artists as diverse as Connie Francis, Mahalia Jackson and Sal Mineo.

Songs

Songs composed by Blackwell, with the performers who made them famous, include the following:

"All Shook Up" (Elvis Presley)

"Don't Be Cruel" (Elvis Presley); inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002

"Fever" as "John Davenport" with Eddie Cooley (Peggy Lee, inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998; Little Willie John, Madonna, the McCoys, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Over the Rhine, and numerous other performers).

"Great Balls of Fire" (Jerry Lee Lewis); inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998

"Breathless" (Jerry Lee Lewis, X)

"Let's Talk About Us" (Jerry Lee Lewis)

"Hey Little Girl" (Dee Clark)

"Handy Man" (Jimmy Jones, Del Shannon, James Taylor)

"Return to Sender" (Elvis Presley)

"One Broken Heart for Sale"(Elvis Presley)

"Nine Times Out Of Ten" with Waldense Hall (Cliff Richard, Ral Donner)

[papermoonloveslucy]

ELLEN CORBY

June 3, 1911 - April 14, 1999

Ellen Hansen Corby was born in Racine, Wisconsin, in 1911, just two months before Lucille Ball. An interest in amateur theater while in high school led her to Atlantic City in 1932, where she briefly worked as a chorus girl.  A year later she moved to Hollywood. She spent 11 years as a script clerk and doing extra work. Corby is best remembered for the role of Grandma Walton on the CBS series “The Waltons” (1971-81) for which she won three Emmy Awards. She was also nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Aunt Trina in I Remember Mama (1948). That film also featured “Lucy” performers Florence Bates (Mrs. Pettebone) and Rudy Vallee. 

In addition, she appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958), Sabrina (1954) starring William Holden, and the perennial holiday favorite It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) with Lucy character actors Charles Lane and Sheldon Leonard. 

Besides being the same age, Corby started film acting in 1933, just like Lucille Ball, and entered television around 1950, just like Lucy. Both became two of the medium’s most cherished female stars. 

Lucy-lovers fondly remember Corby as Miss Hanna, Lucy McGillicuddy’s high school drama teacher from Jamestown in “Lucy Meets Orson Welles” (ILL S6;E3) in 1956.  

Miss Hanna traveled to New York City just to see Lucy perform Shakespeare with Orson Welles - not knowing that she is merely the assistant in his magic act.  

Two years before her Oscar nomination for I Remember Mama, Corby did two films with Lucille Ball. 

In The Dark Corner (1946), Corby she played a new maid who meets a nasty ending her first day on the job.  

In Lover Come Back (1946), she played Lucille Ball’s secretary. The cast also included Charles Winninger, who played Fred Mertz’s old vaudeville partner, Barney Kurtz. 

During the first season of “The Lucy Show” in 1963, Corby played a Woman in the Park (with Benny Rubin), who watches in disbelief as Lucy Carmichael (in her bathrobe and slippers) wildly chases an escaped butterfly, wreaking havoc as she does!  

A few months later, Corby returned to “The Lucy Show” at the start of season three (now filmed in color), to play Miss Tanner, Danfield Bank secretary. This episode also marked the debut of Gale Gordon as Mr. Mooney. 

Corby and Ball were both in attendance for “The All-Star Party for Carol Burnett” on December 12, 1982. Corby was essentially ‘in the audience’ and did not speak, while Lucille Ball was there as a former honoree and Burnett’s mentor. 

When CBS celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a week of specials titled “On The Air” the Sunday night, March 26, 1978, kick-off featured CBS stars from each evening of the week in a grand parade. Naturally, Lucille Ball represented Mondays, while Corby joined the Thursday group representing “The Waltons.” 

The Corby Connection!

During her long run on “The Waltons” Corby acted opposite several “Lucy” alumni.

Helen Kleeb played Miss Mamie Baldwin on 47 episodes of “The Waltons” but first she played Mr. Reilly’s MGM secretary in “Ricky Needs an Agent” (ILL S4;E29) in 1955. 

John Ritter played the Reverend Fordwick in 18 episodes of “The Waltons” and later played himself on “Life With Lucy” in 1986.  

Peggy Rea played Rose Burton on 3 episodes of “The Waltons” but first played a member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in several episodes of “I Love Lucy” and was also a member of Lucy Carter’s Bridge Club on “Here’s Lucy.” 

William Schallert played Stanley Perkins on four episodes of “The Waltons” but played Mr. Cresant, Danfield Tigers Little League Manager, on season one of “The Lucy Show.” Like Corby, he also returned for at start of the more colorful season two. 

Lucy’s good friend and frequent guest star Mary Wickes played Cousin Octavia in a May 1981 episode of “The Waltons” (opposite Helen Kleeb) but unfortunately Ellen Corby was not in the show that week. 

In an even weaker connection to Corby, just after Desi Arnaz Jr. left “Here’s Lucy,” he was in the 1971 film Red Sky at Morning starring future John Boy Walton Richard Thomas. The film also featured “Lucy” character actors Strother Martin (“Off to Florida”) and Richard Crenna (“The Young Fans”). Before marrying Desi Arnaz Jr. in 1980, Linda Purl starred in two episodes of “The Waltons,” one of which featured Corby. 

In 1963, Corby did an episode of “The Andy Griffith Show,” filmed on the Desilu backlot, and later did two episodes of its spin-off, “Gomer Pyle USMC” - one in 1964, and another in 1969. “The Andy Griffith Show” was a spin-off of “The Danny Thomas Show” which did a rare TV cross-over with “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” titled “Lucy Makes Room for Danny” in 1957. In return, Lucy and Desi turned up on Thomas’s show as the Ricardos. In 1966, Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) made a cameo appearance on “The Lucy Show,” which means that both Lucy Ricardo and Lucy Carmichael both exist in the same world!  

"I can't go anywhere without meeting someone I worked with. When the children on 'The Waltons' heard that I worked with Laurel and Hardy, I was in". ~ Ellen Corby

In 1934, Ellen married Francis Corby, a director / cinematographer who was two decades her senior; they divorced in 1944. The marriage did not produce children and she never remarried. Following a stroke in November 1976, Corby was supported by her partner, Stella Luchetta, whom she met in the 1950s and who lived with her until her death in 1999 at the age of 87.   

[garretschuelke]

Ball Perkins Park

Grand Rapids, Michigan

October 2023

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84097 Attorneys

When it comes to 84097 Attorneys, you should call Ascent Law LLC (801) 676-5506 for your Free Consultation.

We can help you with:

Estate Planning Lawyer

Bankruptcy Lawyer

Probate Lawyer

Trial Lawyer

Real Estate Lawyer

Injury Lawyer

Family Lawyer

Tax Lawyer

Contract Lawyer

Securities Lawyer

Copyright Lawyer

MLM Lawyer

Intellectual Property Lawyer

Business Lawyer

Criminal Lawyer

Divorce Lawyer

Child Custody Lawyer

Appeals Lawyer

If you want to check out other attorneys, here is a list of lawyers and paralegal services that we were able to locate. Please keep in mind that we do not constantly update this page and some of the information may be outdated or incorrect.

• Clarkson & Associates, LLC 1240 E 100 S #222 Kanab, UT 84790 • Sadler Cindy M Attorney 3770 Viking Road Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • Phillips Randall G Attorney 2510 Washington Blvd. Suite 200 Ogden, UT 84403 • Roy B Moore PC & Associates 428 E Winchester St Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Roberts J Val Attorney 48 E 400 S Bountiful, UT 84010 • Holman & Walker 9537 S 700 E Sandy, UT 84070 • Snow Ryan Attorney 9657 Vance Ct South Jordan, UT 84095 • America’s Capital 631 W North Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84116 • Bishop Lee Attorney 4700 S 900 E Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Aaronson Grand 19 W Main St, #28 Vernal, UT 84078 • The Bankruptcy Center 36 E 400 N Provo, UT 84606 • Klc Thomas J Attorney 4725 Holladay Blvd, Ste 110 Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Flint Edward Attorney 7190 S State St Midvale, UT 84047 • Legal Benefits 44 E St Salt Lake City, UT 84103 • Davis Elmer Thomas Jr Attorney 1181 Chandler Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84103 • Washburn Kimberly D Attorney 405 E 12450 S Draper, UT 84020 • Buchi Mark K Attorney 299 S Main St, Ste 1800 Salt Lake City, UT 84111

• Chiara Keith H 98 N 400 E Price, UT 84501 • De Jonge Nicolaas Attorney 4212 Highland Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • Allred David M PC 26 E Main St Castle Dale, UT 84513 • Newtxt Inc 40 S 600 E Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Loveridge Michael R Attorney 262 E 3900 S, Ste 209 Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Olsen Skoubye & Nielson LLC 45 W Sego Lily Dr, Ste 300 Sandy, UT 84070 • Laker Stephen A Attorney 2568 Washington Blvd Ogden, UT 84401 • ARIC Cramer Attorney at Law 845 S Main St Bountiful, UT 84010 • Greg Ericksen Attorney at Law 1065 W 500 S Woods Cross, UT 84087 • Cummings Craig S Attorney 50 S 700 E, #4001 Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Uresk Roland PC 47 S Main St Roosevelt, UT 84066 • Slaugh Franklin L 880 E 9400 S, #103 Sandy, UT 84094 • Brown George E Jr Attorney at Law 6 W Main St American Fork, UT 84003 • Lord- Robert L Attorney 2029 Highland View Cir Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • Robbins L Edward Attorney 190 W Center St Kanab, UT 84741 • Thompson Roger H Attorney 111 E Broadway Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Mansfield Corporation 11075 S State St Sandy, UT 84070 • Credit Attorney 555 E 1860 S Provo, UT 84606 • Ward David R Attorney 4543 S 700 E Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Bankruptcy Law Professionals 111 E Broadway, Suite 340 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Ferre L Mark Attorney 1366 Murray Holladay Rd Salt Lake City, UT 84117

• Ball J Spencer Attorney 7109 Highland Dr, #201 Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Gotthard John CPA ESQ 2078 Prospector Ave Park City, UT 84060 • Robert J Fuller Attorney at Law 1090 N 5900 E Eden, UT 84310 • L G Cutler 1415 Skyview Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • Neeley Douglas L Attorney 1 S Main St, Ste 205 Manti, UT 84642 • Perkins D Kendall Attorney 2417 Cliff Swallow Dr Sandy, UT 84093 • Quick Records Professional 147 Election Rd, Ste 200 Draper, UT 84020 • Wilde- Robert H. Attorney P.O. Box 71922 Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Fadel George Attorney 170 W 400 S Bountiful, UT 84010 • Gravis Martin V 2562 Washington Blvd Ogden, UT 84401 • Roybal Frank A Attorney 442 N Main St Bountiful, UT 84010 • Buividas Alan J Attorney 107 N Main St Bountiful, UT 84010 • Hulse Loren R Attorney 15 W South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Lybbert Steve Attorney 7069 Highland Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Winesett- Nathan S. Attorney 8180 S 700 E, #200 Sandy, UT 84070 • Vincent- Craig T. Attorney 333 N 300 W Salt Lake City, UT 84103 • Doncouse Law Firm P.C. 2411 Kiesel Ave Ogden, UT 84401 • Davis Scott B Attorney 863 25th St Ogden, UT 84401 • Roylance- Bradley N. Attorney 175 S Main St, #1100 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Slemboski James E Attorney 32 E 100 S #203 Kanab, UT 84770 • Dangerfield Joel R Attorney 9 Exchange Pl, Ste 1123 Salt Lake City, UT 84111

• Berrett Joel D 58 E 100 N Roosevelt, UT 84066 • Jones Gilliam & Burr 853 W Center St Orem, UT 84057 • Huang Rex H 8148 Highland Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Winegar Todd Attorney 523 Cambridge Cir Salt Lake City, UT 84103 • Awerkamp E Scott 37 W 1070 S #102 Kanab, UT 84770 • Winters Donald W Attorney at Law 375 E 790 S Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 • Lundberg & Associates 3269 S Main St, Ste 100 Salt Lake City, UT 84115 • Bertch Daniel F Attorney 1996 E 6400 S Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Schmutz Mohlman & Rohbock Attorneys at Law 533 W 2600 S Bountiful, UT 84010 • Perry Malmberg & Perry 99 N Main St Logan, UT 84321 • Brinton- Robert L Attorney 675 E 2100 S Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • Flitton John S Attorney at Law 1840 Sun Peak Dr Park City, UT 84098 • Kruse Landa Maycock & Ricks LLC 50 W Broadway, #300 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Neilson Lenard Attorney 8160 Highland Dr, #209 Sandy, UT 84093 • Fonnesbeck Christian S 215 A St Salt Lake City, UT 84103 • Jason P Eves Attorney at Law 3055 N 1300 E Layton, UT 84040 • Henriod Joseph L Attorney 2262 E 1700 S Salt Lake City, UT 84108 • Cummings- John Attorney 3856 Washington Blvd Ogden, UT 84403 • Stewart Timothy 3761 S 700 E Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • Bown Edward M Attorney 1015 E 3900 S Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • Goldstein Janet A Attorney 5077 Silver Springs Rd Park City, UT 84098 • Olsen Justin R PC 45 W Sego Lily Dr, #307 Sandy, UT 84070 • Security Title Insurance Agency of Utah Inc 376 E 400 S Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Clark Carlos Attorney 1640 W 500 S Salt Lake City, UT 84104 • Ziter James Cattorney at Law 3760 Highland Dr, #500 Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • AF Attorney-Lebaron Law Offices 802 Bamberger Dr American Fork, UT 84003 • Bankruptcy Attorney 5595 S Redwood Rd Salt Lake City, UT 84123

• Kirk Paul Alma Attorney 125 E 300 S Provo, UT 84606 • Robert Henry Copier 17 E 400 S Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Shand Bruce W Attorney 4505 Wasatch Blvd, #340 Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • Rudd Jonathan Attorney 392 E 12300 S Draper, UT 84020 • Halliday Paul M Attorney – Halliday Paul M 3986 Lares Way Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • A Better Choice 140 W 9000 S Sandy, UT 84070 • Paulsen Ted B Attorney 9350 S 150 E Sandy, UT 84070 • Jackson J Bryan Attorney 97 N Main St Cedar City, UT 84720 • Law Office of Ron J Kramer 11576 S State St, #501 Draper, UT 84020 • Deboer Gordon W Attorney at Law 69 Thaynes Canyon Dr Park City, UT 84060 • Atkin J Ralph Attorney 1240 E 100 S #10 Kanab, UT 84790 • Harmond George M Jr Attorney 1198 W 1500 N Price, UT 84501 • Jones Tom Criminal Attorney 211 E Broadway Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Ellis Dean B Attorney 3600 Market St, Ste 101 Salt Lake City, UT 84119 • Egan- Sean N. Attorney 136 S Main St, #408 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Skeen Richard C Attorney 201 S Main St, Ste 1100 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Fishburn Bryan Attorney 4505 Wasatch Blvd Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • Professional Offices 5450 Green St Salt Lake City, UT 84123 • McBride Edward W Attorney 2749 Parleys Way, #300 Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • Utah Bankruptcy Professionals P C 9217 S 1300 E Sandy, UT 84094 • Bucher John R Attorney 957 1st Ave Salt Lake City, UT 84103 • Bartholomew WYNN 5505 S 900 E Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Feil Randall S Attorney 3748 Bountiful Blvd Bountiful, UT 84010 • Jaenish Michael Attorney 150 S 600 E Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Havas David Bert 533 26th St, Ste 100 Ogden, UT 84401 • Larry Long Attorney 350 W Broadway Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Schlopy Max PC Attorney 3429 Saddleback Rd Park City, UT 84098 • Multi Cultural Legal Center 205 N 400 W Salt Lake City, UT 84103 • Phinney Law Firm 1055 S 545 E Orem, UT 84097 • Schwab & Hardcastle LLC 225 S 200 W Farmington, UT 84025 • Larsen & Rammell Attorneys at Law 3600 S Market St, #100 Salt Lake City, UT 84119 • Anderson- L Robert Attorney 17 Blue Mountain Dr Monticello, UT 84535 • Pearce Brett Attorney 1218 W South Jordan Pky South Jordan, UT 84095 • Jamis Johnson Johnson & Associates 352 Denver St Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • John C Heath Attorney at Law PLLC 634 S 400 W Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Legalees 556 E 1400 S Orem, UT 84097 • Robert J Debry and Associates 4252 S 700 E Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Kipp Blake P Attorney 825 E 4800 S, Ste 133 Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Second Opinion Executive Business Assistance Po Box 11586 Salt Lake City, UT 84147 • McGee Mary Paxman 1855 Brookhill Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Cragun Dan Law Offices Of 2608 Washington Blvd Ogden, UT 84401 • Karlin Myers Attorney 60 N 100 W St Kanab, UT 84770 • Bullock- Clinton J Attorney 353 E Broadway Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • King Samuel Attorney 3189 Joyce Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • Parry Edwin Attorney 3782 W 2340 S Salt Lake City, UT 84120 • Pre-Paid Legal Independent Associate 15366 Silverpoint Cir Bluffdale, UT 84065 • Woolley Chad L Attorney at Law 78 E 100 S Payson, UT 84651 • Rose Reilly Attorney at Law 81 N 300 E Moab, UT 84532 • Adams Stanley Attorney at Law 680 E 600 S Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Buckley John W Attorney at Law 3311 N University Ave Provo, UT 84604 • Swindler & Co. 1743 Horizon View Ct Draper, UT 84020 • Mangum & Holt 251 W Main St Vernal, UT 84078 • Matthews- Elaine Moore Attorney 649 Mi Vida Dr Moab, UT 84532 • Law Office of David Pedrazas 4001 S 700 E, #500 Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Hughes & Morley Law Practice Attorney 21 E 300 N Spanish Fork, UT 84660 • Roth Linda L W Attorney 215 S State St, #800 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Chacon Solomon Attorney 945 E 100 S Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Martin Mel S Attorney 5286 Commerce Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Fund Raising Counsel Inc Po Box 58605 Salt Lake City, UT 84158 • Adams William H Attorney 170 S Main St, Ste 1125 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Davies Christopher A Attorney 7651 Main St, #107 Midvale, UT 84047 • A Plus Accident & Injury Attorney 290 25th St, Ste 204 Ogden, UT 84401 • Macfarlane Grant Attorney 35 50 E Coalville, UT 84017 • Alpine Residential Mortgage LLC 141 E 5600 S Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Gubler Scott A Attorney 1414 E 3850 S St George, UT 84790 • Law Office of Stephen Elggren 7390 Creek Rd, #201 Sandy, UT 84047 • Shaggy’s Living Room 155 W 200 S Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Morrison Heather E Attorney 4276 Highland Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • Frazier Law Firm PC 11778 Election Rd Draper, UT 84020 • Daniels Scott Attorney Po Box 521328 Salt Lake City, UT 84152 • John H Jacobs PC 75 N Center St American Fork, UT 84003 • Vance Ronald N Attorney 57 W 200 S, Suite 310 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Argue Pearson Harbison & Myers- LLP 10 W Broadway, #500 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Bouwhuis Michael Attorney 2564 Washington Blvd Ogden, UT 84401 • ABC 4 News Southern Utah Bureau 205 E Tabernacle St St George, UT 84770 • Family Law Practice 150 S 600 E, #8c Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Berry & Tripp P C 1150 S Bluff St, #8 St George, UT 84770 • Stratton Keven 1313 E 800 N Orem, UT 84097 • Nakamura Blake A LLC 142 E 200 S Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Essig Fred D Attorney 36 S State St, Ste 1250 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Hanna Charles Attorney 311 S State St, Ste 450 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Peterson & Simpson 2115 Dallin St Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • SMAY E Craig Attorney 174 E South Temple St Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Allen- Randall C. Attorney 415 N Main St, #303 Cedar City, UT 84721 • Gould Mark H Attorney 1050 E 3300 S Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • Steffensen David W Attorney 448 E Winchester St Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Barton-Coombs Cindy Attorney 193 N State St Roosevelt, UT 84066 • Lindberg Neil 13692 Hackamore Dr Draper, UT 84020 • Dodenbier Robert F Law Offices Of 12357 S 450 E Draper, UT 84020 • Hoskins Katherine Attorney 857 Meadow Way Dr Layton, UT 84041 • Hillyard Anderson & Olsen Attorneys 175 E 100 N Logan, UT 84321 • Richman & Richman LLC 60 S 600 E, #100 Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Noyes Ron Attorney 746 E 1910 S Provo, UT 84606 • Jensen Michael R Attorney at Law 90 W 100 N Price, UT 84501 • Peck Elizabeth M 134 S 700 W Salt Lake City, UT 84104 • Thomas Tax & Law 220 Morris Ave Salt Lake City, UT 84115 • H Otco 4516 Mathews Way Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • EDER Robert Jr Attorney at Law 565 E 4500 S Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Dunn Clifford V Attorney 170 N 400 E St George, UT 84770 • LY VINH K 2900 S State St, Ste 208 Salt Lake City, UT 84115 • Taylor Jay W Attorney 8160 Highland Drive Ofc Sandy, UT 84093 • Novak Joseph Attorney 960 Donner Way Salt Lake City, UT 84108 • Redd F Bennion Attorney 132 S Main St Monticello, UT 84535 • Warner Frank S Attorney 3564 Lincoln Ave Ogden, UT 84401 • D’Elia & Lehmer 7620 Royal St Park City, UT 84060 • Harmon Milton T Attorney 36 S Main St Nephi, UT 84648 • Saunders & Saunders Attorneys 401 Main St Park City, UT 84060 • G Eric Nielson & Associates 4790 Holladay Blvd Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Holmes Douglas J Attorney 274 25th St Ogden, UT 84401 • Utah Valley Patent Svc 846 S 1350 E Provo, UT 84606 • Vanwagenen Michael Attorney at Law Esquire 1505 S Redwood Rd Salt Lake City, UT 84104 • Harris L James Jr Attorney 214 E 500 S Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Carver David Ray Attorney 93 S Main St Kaysville, UT 84037 • Grant & Grant PC 420 E South Temple St Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Thomas Jonathan P 31 Federal Ave Logan, UT 84321 • Hawkins Boyd J Attorney 459 N 300 W Kaysville, UT 84037 • Magid Sydney Jayne Attorney 136 S Main St #820 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • BEUS Edwin H Attorney at Law 1440 Granada Dr Sandy, UT 84093 • Snow Legal Centers 105 E State Rd Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 • Guglielmo Paul Attorney 68 S Main St Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Utah Legal Services 893 24th St Ogden, UT 84401 • Fairbourn Clayton Attorney 7321 S State St Midvale, UT 84047 • Carolyn Attorney at Law Degroff 24 N Main St Kanab, UT 84741 • McHenry Samuel Attorney 672 E Vine St Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Fisher Darwin Law Office 40 N 300 E St George, UT 84770 • Jensen Jonathan K Attorney 4849 S State St Murray, UT 84107 • Jaussi Clair J Attorney at Law 350 E Center St, Ste 2 Provo, UT 84606 • Meyers Oliver K Attorney 265 E 100 S, #300 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Sackett Gary G Attorney 180 East 100 South Salt Lake City, UT 84139 • Ormond William R Attorney 3354 Harrison Blvd Ogden, UT 84403 • Besendorfer Mark Attorney 942 E North Union Ave Midvale, UT 84047 • ZOLL & Tycksen LC Attorneys at Law 5300 S Green St, #360 Murray, UT 84123 • Savage J Bruce Jr Attorney at Law 1821 Sidewinder Dr Park City, UT 84060 • Brown Don Attorney Courthouse Richfield, UT 84701 • Mathews Dennis Attorney 55 N Main St Logan, UT 84321 • Lewis Kay M Attorney 320 S 300 E Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Carmicheal Larrie Attorney 975 E 6600 S Ogden, UT 84405 • Wall & Wall Attorney 5200 Highland Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Moffat Stephen Attorney 452 E 3900 S Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • All-Search & Inspection Inc 1108 E South Union Ave Midvale, UT 84047 • Don R. Schow Attorney at Law 4059 S 4000 W West Valley City, UT 84120 • Christensen Steve S Attorney 136 E South Temple St Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Taylor Margret Sidwell Attorney 147 S Main St Helper, UT 84526 • Cannon- Karl R. Attorney 1225 Fort Union Blvd, #300 Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121 • Berry Andrew B Attorney 35 W Main St Mt Pleasant, UT 84647 • Chrystler Gary L Attorney 363 N University Ave Provo, UT 84601 • Maw- Barbara L. Attorney 515 E 100 S, #525 Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Jones Kyle W Attorney 36 S State St, Ste 1200 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Homer Stephen G Attorney 9225 S Redwood Rd West Jordan, UT 84088 • Jacques Bruce A Attorney 3194 S 1100 E Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • King- Brian S. Attorney 336 S 300 E, #200 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Beshear Law Center 2679 Builders Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84118 • Beecroft Joseph N Attorney 2655 Hillside Pines Cir Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • Cook David S Attorney 85 W 400 S Bountiful, UT 84010 • Dew Lindsey Phillip Attorney 7660 Holden St Midvale, UT 84047 • Rouse Morna Bowman Attorney at Law Po Box 369 Park City, UT 84060 • Laurence Arthur Bruce National 621 S 1360 W Logan, UT 84321 • Gardner Development 4120 Highland Dr, Ste 100 Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • Rasmussen Thomas V 4659 Highland Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Brown- Jennifer A. Attorney 136 S Main St Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Hines Dane L Attorney 524 W 300 N #103 Provo, UT 84601 • Bailey Steven R Attorney 2454 Washington Blvd Ogden, UT 84401 • Cutler Nicholas W 265 E 100 S, Ste 250 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Daines Chris Lawyer 135 N Main St Logan, UT 84321 • Jackman Frederick A 1327 S 800 E, Ste 110 Orem, UT 84097 • Palmer L Paul Attorney 3646 Wendell Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84115 • Liapis & Gray LC 175 W 200 S Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Public Defender OFC – Felony Division- Misdemeanor Division 424 E 500 S, Ste 300 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Hutchison Richard C Attorney 111 W 200 S Farmington, UT 84025 • Hatch Denton M PC 128 W 900 N Spanish Fork, UT 84660 • Lunt- Larry V Attorney 275 E South Temple St Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Boley Mikel M Attorney 3535 S 3200 W Salt Lake City, UT 84119 • Bearnson & Peck LC 74 W 100 N Logan, UT 84321 • Tina Lefgren Attorney 200 W Parrish Ln Centerville, UT 84014 • Spratling Ronald N Jr Attorney 2020 Murray Holladay Rd Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Janerich Dwight Attorney at Law 4764 S 900 E Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • County of Salt Lake – Aging Services-Administration- Legal Services 205 W 400 S Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Taylor- Nolan S. Attorney 170 S Main St, #900 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Henrie Gary R Attorney 1200 S State St, #215 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Herron Nathan V Attorney 935 E South Union Ave Midvale, UT 84047 • Hartman Eric P Attorney 2558 Wilshire Cir Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • Utah Legal Services Inc 965 S Main St, #3 Cedar City, UT 84720 • Law Student 2052 Wilmington Ave Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • Lange Jennifer L Attorney 60 E South Temple St, #1270 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Lundgren Alvin R Attorney 5015 Old Highway Rd Morgan, UT 84050 • Hamilton Keith N Attorney at Law 10168 S Redwood Rd South Jordan, UT 84095 • Dixon Truman Bangerter & Fisher 192 E 200 N #203 Kanab, UT 84770 • J Franklin Allred P C 4047 Highway 36 Tooele, UT 84074 • Hatch Joseph E Attorney 5295 Commerce Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Watkins Kevin Attorney 3 Triad Centre Salt Lake City, UT 84180 • Archuleta Robert M 333 Denver St Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Wansker- Henry B. Attorney 4543 S 700 E, Ste 101 Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Millard County – Attorney Po Box 545 Delta, UT 84624 • Speciale George H Attorney 39 Exchange Pl, #200 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Boyer Associates LLC 2545 N Canyon Rd Provo, UT 84604 • Gregersen Mark J Attorney 3855 S 500 W Salt Lake City, UT 84115 • Card Scott Attorney 39 W 300 N Provo, UT 84601 • Frandsen Richard B Attorney 7109 Highland Dr, Ste 204 Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Marshall- Ward S. Attorney 135 N 900 E #5 Kanab, UT 84770 • JAX H Pettey Attorney at Law 9488 Union Sq Sandy, UT 84070 • Bartlett & Webster A PC Attorneys 5093 S 1500 W Ogden, UT 84405 • Johnson David W Attorney at Law 301 W 5400 S, #104 Murray, UT 84107 • Holdsworth David J 9125 Monroe St Sandy, UT 84070 • Clayton Grant R Pat Attorney 10117 S 2165 E Sandy, UT 84092 • Walstad & Babcock 57 W South Temple, Fl 8th Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Fisher- Kulaniakea Attorney 10653 S River Front Pky, #150 South Jordan, UT 84095 • Urry Pamela C Attorney 136 S Main St, #221 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Weber County Public Defenders Association 2568 Washington Blvd, Ste 203 Ogden, UT 84401 • Rick S Lundell PC 136 S Main St, #200a Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Johnson Blain Attorney at Law 3434 Washington Blvd Ogden, UT 84401 • Walsh John Attorney at Law 2319 Foothill Dr, Ste 270 Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • Roundy Thor B Attorney 448 E 400 S Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Neff R Bradley Attorney 9730 S 700 E Sandy, UT 84070 • Friel David Attorney 2875 Decker Lake Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84119 • Carr & Waddoups 8 E Broadway, Ste 609 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Rushton Kenneth A Attorney 99 W Main St, Ste 208 Lehi, UT 84043 • Packard Packard & Johnson 2795 E Cottonwood Pky, #600 Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Buhler- Stephen J. Attorney 3540 S 4000 W, #245 West Valley City, UT 84120 • Hayes Michael Z Attorney 300 E 3900 S, #2118 Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Richards Kevin G Attorney 2671 Foothill Dr Ogden, UT 84403 • Easterly Eric G Attorney at Law 1795 Sidewinder Dr, Ste 201 Park City, UT 84060 • Park Glen W Attorney Po Box 17181 Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • David R. McKinney- P.C. 8 E Broadway, #500 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Denali Inc 1134 Whileaway Rd E Park City, UT 84098 • Burningham- Leonard W. Attorney 455 N 5th W Salt Lake City, UT 84116 • Gustavson Mark S Attorney 1348 Longdale Dr Sandy, UT 84092 • Lind Eric S Attorney 34 N Main St Kanab, UT 84741 • Blackburn- Timothy W. Attorney 2404 Washington Blvd, #900 Ogden, UT 84401 • Cowley Charles H Attorney 308 Alta St Salt Lake City, UT 84103 • Douglas Hogan 86 S Main St Tooele, UT 84074 • Allphin JERI L Attorney 1327 S 800 E Orem, UT 84097 • Call- Frank Attorney 29 S State St Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Bailey Taylor & Jennings LC 584 S State St Orem, UT 84058 • Richards J Randall Attorney 5373 S Green St Salt Lake City, UT 84123 • Shapiro Bruce H Attorney 3760 Highland Dr, Ste 200 Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • Hartwig David R Attorney at Law 1817 S Main St, #17 Salt Lake City, UT 84115 • Schoenhals Jack L Attorney 2849 Millicent Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84108 • Atwood Robert D 40 W Cache Valley Blvd Logan, UT 84341 • Kenny Philip S Attorney 1892 E 5665 S Ogden, UT 84403 • Argyle Wesley C Attorney Attorney at Law 495 S 100 W Bountiful, UT 84010 • Hettinger H Russell 211 E Broadway, #216 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Barker Phillip D Attorney at Law 165 W Canyon Crest Rd Alpine, UT 84004 • Corporon & Williams Attorneys 405 S Main St Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Mitchell Scott B Attorney 2469 Fort Union Blvd Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Guyon Peter W Attorney 3300 Newhouse Dr Magna, UT 84044 • Welling Scott Attorney 502 W 200 N Midway, UT 84049 • Drake David 7146 S 1300 E Midvale, UT 84047 • Stuart Dean A 1805 S Redwood Rd Salt Lake City, UT 84104 • Cox- ELLE Attorney 39 Exchange Pl Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Marshall Randall Lee P C Attorney 5926 Fashion Point Dr, #200 Ogden, UT 84403 • Combs Kenneth L Attorney at Law 120 E Saint George Blvd St George, UT 84770 • Warr Irene Attorney at Law 5285 W 2400 S Salt Lake City, UT 84120 • Anderson & Anderson PC 1st St N Monticello, UT 84535 • Immigration Law Center 320 W 200 S Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Adams- Gregory J. Attorney 170 S Main St, #800 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Durham- John C. Attorney 2 S Main St Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Hunt Brian T 1111 Brickyard Rd Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • Parsons William B III 440 E 3300 S Salt Lake City, UT 84115 • Ascione Heideman & McKay LLC 50 E 100 S St George, UT 84770 • Clegg- Perry S. Attorney 8 E Broadway, #550 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Collard Kathryn Attorney 9 Exchange Pl, #1111 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Clark J Colby Attorney 201 S Main St Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • McCullough & Associates LLC 6885 S State St Midvale, UT 84047 • Cook Craig S Attorney 3645 Cascade Way Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • Goodman Joseph Attorney 2825 E Cottonwood Pky Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Medsker Richard R Attorney 205 26th St Ogden, UT 84401 • Medlin James B 783 Rainforest Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Smith Joyce G Attorney at Law 34 E 200 N Blanding, UT 84511 • Cannon & Match P C 370 E South Temple St, #200 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Corry W Kent Attorney 630 W 200 N Cedar City, UT 84720 • Beaslin John C PC 185 N Vernal Ave, Ste 1 Vernal, UT 84078 • Calder Tom 312 Main St Park City, UT 84060 • Rudman Tony J Attorney 1111 Brickyard Rd, #106 Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • Haugej Tamera 1121 E 3900 S Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • Warren- Barton J. Attorney 261 E 300 S, #175 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Immigration Law Offices of REZA Athari 498 Skyline Dr St George, UT 84770 • Guardian Ad Litem & Casa 37 N 100 E Salina, UT 84654 • Harper Ward Attorney 525 E 100 S Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Jaussi Jonathan Attorney at Law 524 W 300 N Provo, UT 84601 • Beaver County – Attorney 600 N Beaver, UT 84713 • Watts James Attorney 774 E 2100 S Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • Cummings Craig S Attorney 240 S 200 W, Ste 100 Farmington, UT 84025 • Douglas D Adair Attorney at Law 80 N Main St Bountiful, UT 84010 • Arnold- R. Clark Attorney 425 S 400 E Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • County Attorney 8000 W Duchesne, UT 84021 • Burton Rulon T & Associates 6000 South Fashion Boulevard Draper, UT 84020 • Stewart Jon K Attorney 50 W Broadway, #100 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Williams Scott E 3325 N University Ave Provo, UT 84604 • Reber Fay E Attorney 260 W Saint George Blvd St George, UT 84770 • Law Offices of Kendall C FARR 4400 Butternut Rd Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • Hugie Amy Forsgren Attorney 33 S Main St Brigham City, UT 84302 • Malmberg Jan Attorney 245 N Vine St Salt Lake City, UT 84103 • Henry Sara A Sahv PC 1400 Snow Creek Dr Park City, UT 84060 • Law Office of Lewis P Adams 495 E 4500 S, #102 Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Peck Elizabeth M Attorney 350 S 400 E Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Lallatin Gerald J ESQ 226 W 2230 N, #100 Provo, UT 84604 • Rodriguez Baltazar Dorany Attorney 8541 Redwood Rd West Jordan, UT 84088 • Blakesley James R Attorney 2595 E 3300 S Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • Martinez Michael N Attorney 4479 Gordon Ln Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Malouf Law Offices LC 150 E 200 N Logan, UT 84321 • Coggins Deven J Attorney 5684 Green St Salt Lake City, UT 84123 • Russell Y. Minas Attorney At Law- P.C. 1945 S 1100 E, #200 Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • Halls Craig C Attorney 333 S Main St Blanding, UT 84511 • Brown Jeffrey B Attorney 4685 Highland Dr, #175 Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Professional Corporate Compliance Inc 147 Election Rd Draper, UT 84020 • Metro National Title 345 E Broadway Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Tucker Robert M Attorney 1326 E 900 S Salt Lake City, UT 84105 • Stout Michael Attorney 9 Exchange Pl, #800 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Chamberlain Associates 225 N 100 E Richfield, UT 84701 • Stith L James Attorney 2029 Sidewinder Dr Park City, UT 84060 • McClellan- Clark A. Attorney 363 E Main St, #201 Vernal, UT 84078 • Quinn Kofford PC Attorneys 481 W 50 N American Fork, UT 84003 • Rammell Jason R Attorney 3600 S Market St Salt Lake City, UT 84119 • Essig Fred D Attorney 2240 N 1600 E Logan, UT 84341 • Lauritzen A W Attorney 610 N Main St Logan, UT 84321 • Dart Adamson & Donovan 310 S Main St Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • National Sentry Corporation 260 W Saint George Blvd, Ste 201 St George, UT 84770 • Florence Brian R Attorney 5486 Skyline Dr Ogden, UT 84403 • Sundwall Michael G Attorney 533 W 2600 S, #125 Bountiful, UT 84010 • Morris Bill Attorney 3293 Harrison Blvd Ogden, UT 84403 • Marsden- McKay Attorney 8 E Broadway, #414 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Robinson Bryan Attorney 4970 South 900 East Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Lee Wallace A Attorney 55 N Main St Panguitch, UT 84759 • Stephens Jeffrey R Attorney 2964 W 4700 S Salt Lake City, UT 84118 • Sampson John P Attorney 2650 Washington Blvd Ogden, UT 84401 • Snow J Matthew Attorney 299 S Main St Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Bradley Richard H Attorney 4525 Wasatch Blvd Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • Cook Tom Attorney 3269 S Main St Salt Lake City, UT 84115 • Gregory Skabelund 2176 N Main St Logan, UT 84341 • Law Office of Steven Baeder 333 E 400 S, #204 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Thornley Richard H Attorney 2610 Washington Blvd Ogden, UT 84401 • The Bankruptcy Center 145 W Gentile St Layton, UT 84041 • Howell Armand J 648 E 100 S Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Johnson Eric Kent PC Attorney 2666 S 2000 E Salt Lake City, UT 84109 • J Garry McAllister 14254 S 6400 W Riverton, UT 84096 • Aaronson Grand 808 E 1910 S Provo, UT 84606 • Marshall Jan Law Office of Derek Coulter 11576 S State St, #503 Draper, UT 84020 • Williams H Mifflin Attorney 500 S Main St, #68 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Monson- Sean A. Attorney 10 Exchange Pl Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Vancampen Chris Law Office 189 S State St, Ste 200 Clearfield, UT 84015 • Durbano Properties 476 Heritage Park Blvd Layton, UT 84041 • Coombs John Michale Attorney 3098 Highland Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • Paulsen Erik C & Associates 9425 Union Sq Sandy, UT 84070 • German & Associates Mba Attorney 246 N Orem Blvd Orem, UT 84057 • Pendleton Gary W Attorney at Law 301 E Tabernacle St, Ste 200 St George, UT 84770 • Phippen David P 55 N Main St, #301 Logan, UT 84321 • LaMar J Winward 150 N 200 E #204 Kanab, UT 84770 • Smedley- James J Attorney 30 N Main St Heber City, UT 84032 • Ashton Paul H ESQ 175 S Main St Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Miller Christina Attorney Park Ave Park City, UT 84060 • Allan & Easton LLC 1892 N 1120 W Provo, UT 84604 • Aaronson Grand 2708 S Redwood Rd, #200 West Valley City, UT 84119 • Olsen John K Attorney 120 W Main St Midway, UT 84049 • Neeleman- Jennifer L. Attorney 9 Exchange Pl, Ste 417 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Davis Doug Attorney 333 S 520 W Lindon, UT 84042 • Findlay- Delano S Attorney at Law 684 E Vine St Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Gold Brent Attorney 2064 Prospector Ave Park City, UT 84060 • Jensen Michael MBA 136 S Main St, #300 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Dorius- Dale M Attorney 201 S Main St Gunnison, UT 84634 • C Michael Lawrence P C 5681 S Redwood Rd, #23 Salt Lake City, UT 84123 • Colton Sylvia ESQ 1206 W South Jordan Pky South Jordan, UT 84095 • Hare Ronald Attorney 765 S Highway 99 Fillmore, UT 84631 • Essig- Lester K. Attorney 36 N State St, #1400 Salt Lake City, UT 84103 • Utzinger Todd Attorney at Law 144 N 100 W Bountiful, UT 84010 • Eliason- Eldon A Attorney 187 N Center St Delta, UT 84624 • Barker Ronald C Attorney 2870 S State St Salt Lake City, UT 84115 • Palmer- Mark D. Attorney 976 W 1700 S Clearfield, UT 84015 • Isbell Law Office 2202 N Main St Cedar City, UT 84721 • Matthew T Graff & Associates 1160 W 250 N Kanab, UT 84770 • Greene Brian Attorney at Law 875 S Orem Blvd Orem, UT 84058 • Anderton Kenneth G Attorney 110 E 100 S Vernal, UT 84078 • Anna W. Drake- P.C. 215 S State St, #500 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Christensen Steven A Attorney 3381 Star Fire Rd South Jordan, UT 84095 • Hafen Kendrick J Attorney 2766 Red Mountain Dr Santa Clara, UT 84765 • Trotter- Donna M. Attorney P.O. Box 340 Vernal, UT 84078 • Howell Reese S Attorney 376 E 400 S, #304 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Jensen Justin Attorney 14111 Senior Band Rd Draper, UT 84020 • Frischknecht- Paul Attorney 40 N Main St Manti, UT 84642 • Duzan- James R. Attorney 230 S 500 E, #300 Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Falk- Jennifer L. Attorney 105 S 1100 E, #2257 Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Dahl Everett E Attorney 49 W Center St Midvale, UT 84047 • Schwegman Lundberg 4625 Sycamore Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Weeks E Nordell Attorney 19 E 200 S, Ste 1000 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Jackson Leray G Attorney 259 N Highway 6 Delta, UT 84624 • Chuntz Howard Attorney 1149 W Center St Orem, UT 84057 • Harrington Richard R Attorney 2696 N University Ave, #200 Provo, UT 84604 • Kessler Law Office 9117 W 2700 S Magna, UT 84044 • Noland Jeffery J Attorney 859 E 900 S Salt Lake City, UT 84105 • Bankruptcy by Tina Lefgren 290 25th St, #102 Ogden, UT 84401 • Wangsgard Scott R Attorney 57 W 200 S, Ste 400 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Wilson & Wilson 5620 Highland Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Whatcott Kevin D Attorney 1846 S 300 W Salt Lake City, UT 84115 • Sessions Todd Attorney 2485 Grant Ave Ogden, UT 84401 • Russell Steve Attorney Grand County Law & Justice CNTR 729 Bartlett Cir Moab, UT 84532 • Williams Scott C LLC 43 E 400 S Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Dawson Bruce L Attorney 3755 Washington Blvd Ogden, UT 84403 • Richard Allen Attorney 2975 Executive Pky, Ste 200 Lehi, UT 84043 • Hale Barbara P Attorney 1063 E South Union Ave Midvale, UT 84047 • Rice John K Attorney 51 E 7800 S Midvale, UT 84047 • Schmidt Gregory J Attorney 2046 Murray Holladay Rd Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Molgard Jack H Attorney 102 S 100 W Brigham City, UT 84302 • Johansen Conrad H Attorney 45 W Sego Lily Dr Sandy, UT 84070 • McPhail Ross E Attorney 70 N Main St Bountiful, UT 84010 • Tanner Mark H Attorney 655 S Main St Orangeville, UT 84537 • Romney Lisa G Attorney 2118 E 3900 S Salt Lake City, UT 84124 • PRM Investment CO 4547 S 700 E Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Poulton & Yordan Attorneys 324 S 400 W Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Cummings Michael D Attorney 225 S 200 E Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Quintana & York 3341 S 700 E Salt Lake City, UT 84106 • Mangrum Dennis Attorney 7110 Highland Dr Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Hatch- Cleve Attorney at Law 155 E Lagoon St Roosevelt, UT 84066 • Sampinos Nick J Attorney 190 N Carbon Ave Price, UT 84501 • White- Joane Pappas Attorney at Law 6 W Main St Price, UT 84501 • Farnsworth Briant J Attorney 5383 S 900 E Murray, UT 84117 • Olson & Hoggan PC Attorneys at Law 123 E Main St Tremonton, UT 84337 • Smedley J Mark Attorney 30 N Main St, #5 Heber City, UT 84032 • Ayala C Theodore Attorney 205 W 700 S Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Brindley Sullivan 249 E Tabernacle St, #102 St George, UT 84770 • Starley Sandra V Attorney 76 S Main St, Ste 19 Moab, UT 84532 • Crook- D. Scott Attorney 215 S State St, #650 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Celeste C Canning PLLC 2590 Washington Blvd, #200 Ogden, UT 84401 • McCullough Lee S P C III 5255 Edgewood Dr Provo, UT 84604 • Halls- Craig C Attorney 159 W 700 N Blanding, UT 84511 • Dawson Bruce L Attorney at Law 340 E 400 S Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Neeleman Jennifer L Attorney 192 E 200 N, Ste 202 St George, UT 84770 • Snow-Sorensen Marla R Attorney 765 N Main St Spanish Fork, UT 84660 • Edwards Duke Attorney 4625 S 2300 E, #206 Salt Lake City, UT 84117 • Graham Jan Law Offices 150 S 600 E, #5a Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Henderson Law Offices 40 W Cache Valley Blvd, Ste 4C Logan, UT 84341 • Branch Tom D Attorney 1350 Draper Pky Draper, UT 84020 • Kennicott Jim Attorney 136 Heber Ave Park City, UT 84060 • Whiteley Brenda S Attorney 32 E 100 S Kanab, UT 84770 • Nielson Parker M Attorney 655 S 200 E Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Hatch- Kendall P Attorney 230 S 500 E Salt Lake City, UT 84102 • Nalder Robin Kent Attorney at Law 1835 W 1950 S Ogden, UT 84401 • Mulliner John G Attorney 363 N University Ave, Ste 103 Provo, UT 84601 • Coleman- Jared G. Attorney 136 U St, #200 Salt Lake City, UT 84103 • Pace- Ryan H Attorney 4723 Harrison Blvd Ogden, UT 84403 • Nemelka Rhett B Attorney 6806 South 1300 East Salt Lake City, UT 84121 • Bird J Kevin Attorney 384 E 720 S Orem, UT 84058 • Zarr Thomas M Attorney 1134 S 1700 E Salt Lake City, UT 84108 • Kingston Carl E Attorney 3212 S State St Salt Lake City, UT 84115 • Salberg Jeffrey D Counselor 255 Main St Park City, UT 84060 • Bunderson Jon J Attorney at Law 45 N 100 E Brigham City, UT 84302 • Poole & Adams LC 4543 S 700 E, #200 Salt Lake City, UT 84107 • Hanks & Mortensen- P.C. 8 E Broadway Salt Lake City, UT 84111 • Gaither Randall Attorney 159 W Broadway Salt Lake City, UT 84101 • Martin J Pezely Attorney 7700 Maple St Midvale, UT 84047 • Baar- Lois A. 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Ascent Law St. George Utah Office

Ascent Law Ogden Utah Office

from Michael Anderson https://www.ascentlawfirm.com/84097-attorneys/ from Divorce Lawyer Nelson Farms Utah https://divorcelawyernelsonfarmsutah.tumblr.com/post/626210255033040896

[ch-dld-bft-brit-omm]

Gunsmoke blues - Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, Big Joe Turner, George "Harmonica" Smith

During a production hiatus of the popular TV Show "Gunsmoke", the film crew decided to take off and film a barnstorming blues revue making it’s way across the country and they ended up in Eugene, OR with cameras rolling to film Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, Big Joe Turner and George "Harmonica" Smith as they performed in a music hall. Date: October 20, 1971. 

 Setlist: 1. Big Mama Thornton - Early One Morning 2. Big Mama Thornton - Ball And Chain 3. George "Harmonica" Smith - Juke 4. George "Harmonica" Smith - Leaving Chicago 5. Big Joe Turner - Hide And Seek 6. Big Joe Turner - Shake, Rattle And Roll 7. Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy 8. Muddy Waters - Long Distance Call 9. Muddy Waters - (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man 10. Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Working 11. Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, Big Joe Turner, George "Harmonica" Smith - So Long 12. Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog 13. Big Mama Thornton - Rock Me Baby 14. Muddy Waters - She's Nineteen Years Old 15. Muddy Waters - Walking Thru The Park 

 Muddy Waters Band: Muddy Waters: guitar, vocals George "Harmonica" Smith: Harmonica "Pinetop" Perkins: Piano Sammy Lawhorn:  guitar Pee Wee Madison: guitar Calvin "Fuzz" Jones: bass Willie "Big Eyes" Smith: drums

[realretroroger]

QRKY Radio Playlist For 04/30/20

QRKY – Quirky Radio Playlist For 04/30/20

Listen Free.  Blues, Swing, Rockabilly, Old Time Radio Shows & More.

Click on the individual song titles in BOLD below.  They’re linked to music videos or to online audio files of the old time radio shows.  Or, if you’d prefer to autoplay the music video playlist, just click HERE.  It’s all for fun and for free, so enjoy.

Midnight At The Oasis -- Maria Muldaur

Sheik Of Araby -- Jim Kweskin Jug Band

Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby -- Carl Perkins & George Harrison

Across The River -- Bruce Hornsby & the Range

Born Under A Bad Sign -- Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan

Blues Power -- Eric Clapton

Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu -- Huey “Piano” Smith & His Clowns

Vicks VapoRub (Retro Commercial)

Flying Saucer Rock ‘n’ Roll -- Billy Lee Riley

Knocked Out Joint On Mars -- Buck Trails

Space Girl -- The Imagined Village

I Got A Rocket In My Pocket -- Jimmy Lloyd

Spaceman -- Harry Nilsson

Rockit -- Herbie Hancock

Big Loo Giant Robot (Retro Commercial)

Right Hand Man -- Joan Osborne

Want Ad Blues -- John Lee Hooker

Right Tool For The Job -- Marcia Ball

Gotta Get It Worked On -- Delbert McClinton

Dirty Work -- Steely Dan

Hard Work -- Smoove & Turrell

Maggie’s Farm -- Flatt & Scruggs

Cullman Liquidations (Retro Commercial)

Queen Of My Double Wide Trailer -- Sammy Kershaw

The Bubblin’ Vista -- Donna Kay Honey & The Cowpokers

Trailerhood -- Toby Keith

My Neighbor Burns Trash -- Southern Culture On The Skids

Burn Down The Trailer Park -- Billy Ray Cyrus

My House Has Wheels -- Southern Culture On The Skids

Living In Aluminum -- Trailer Park Troubadors

Chevrolet Leader Newsreel 1935

Winnebago Spring Rally ‘73 (Retro Commercial)

Born To Be Wild (”Lost In America” clip)

To Be A Lover -- Billy Idol

Camel Walk -- The Ikettes

Tell Her She’s Lovely -- El Chicano

In The Mood -- Brian Setzer Orchestra

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) -- They Might Be Giants

Cigareets, Whuskey And Wild Women -- Big Three Trio

Mambo Swing -- Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Chiquita Banana (Retro Commercial)

Guitars, Cadillacs -- Dwight Yoakam

What’d I Say -- Ray Charles

Get A Haircut -- George Thorogood & the Destroyers

Summertime Blues -- Eddie Cochran

The Loner Rebel -- Pee Wee Herman

He’s A Rebel -- The Crystals

(I Know) I’m Losing You -- Rod Stewart with The Faces

[tlatollotl]

Of all the places to discover a lost city, this pleasing little community seems an unlikely candidate.

There are no vine-covered temples or impenetrable jungles here — just an old-fashioned downtown, a drug store that serves up root beer floats and rambling houses along shady brick lanes.

Yet there’s always been something — something just below the surface.

Locals have long scoured fields and river banks for arrowheads and bits of pottery, amassing huge collections. Then there were those murky tales of a sprawling city on the Great Plains and a chief who drank from a goblet of gold.

A few years ago, Donald Blakeslee, an anthropologist and archaeology professor at Wichita State University, began piecing things together. And what he’s found has spurred a rethinking of traditional views on the early settlement of the Midwest, while potentially filling a major gap in American history.

Using freshly translated documents written by the Spanish conquistadors more than 400 years ago and an array of high-tech equipment, Blakeslee located what he believes to be the lost city of Etzanoa, home to perhaps 20,000 people between 1450 and 1700.

They lived in thatched, beehive-shaped houses that ran for at least five miles along the bluffs and banks of the Walnut and Arkansas rivers. Blakeslee says the site is the second-largest ancient settlement in the country after Cahokia in Illinois.

On a recent morning, Blakeslee supervised a group of Wichita State students excavating a series of rectangular pits in a local field.

Jeremiah Perkins, 21, brushed dirt from a half-buried black pot.

Others sifted soil over screened boxes, revealing arrowheads, pottery and stone scrapers used to thin buffalo hides.

Blakeslee, 75, became intrigued by Etzanoa after scholars at UC Berkeley retranslated in 2013 the often muddled Spanish accounts of their forays into what is now Kansas. The new versions were more cogent, precise and vivid.

“I thought, ‘Wow, their eyewitness descriptions are so clear it’s like you were there.’ I wanted to see if the archaeology fit their descriptions,” he said. “Every single detail matched this place.”

Kacie Larsen of Wichita State University shakes dirt through a screened box to see what artifacts may emerge. David Kelly / For The Times

Conquistadors are often associated with Mexico, but a thirst for gold drove them into the Midwest as well.

Francisco Vazquez de Coronado came to central Kansas in 1541 chasing stories of a fabulously wealthy nobleman who napped beneath trees festooned with tinkling gold bells. He found no gold, but he did find Native Americans in a collection of settlements he dubbed Quivira.

In 1601, Juan de Oñate led about 70 conquistadors from the Spanish colony of New Mexico into south-central Kansas in search of Quivira in the hopes of finding gold, winning converts for the Catholic Church and extracting tribute for the crown.

According to Spanish records, they ran into a tribe called the Escanxaques, who told of a large city nearby where a Spaniard was allegedly imprisoned. The locals called it Etzanoa.

As the Spaniards drew near, they spied numerous grass houses along the bluffs. A delegation of Etzanoans bearing round corn cakes met them on the river bank. They were described as a sturdy people with gentle dispositions and stripes tattooed from their eyes to their ears. It was a friendly encounter until the conquistadors decided to take hostages. That prompted the entire city to flee.

Oñate’s men wandered the empty settlement for two or three days, counting 2,000 houses that held eight to 10 people each. Gardens of pumpkins, corn and sunflowers lay between the homes.

The Spaniards could see more houses in the distance, but they feared an Etzanoan attack and turned back.

That’s when they were ambushed by 1,500 Escanxaques. The conquistadors battled them with guns and cannons before finally withdrawing back to New Mexico, never to return.

This bluff overlooks the spot where many believe Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate met a delegation of Etzanoans. David Kelly / For The Times

French explorers arrived a century later but found nothing. Disease likely wiped out Etzanoa, leaving it to recede into legend.

Blakeslee enlisted the help of the National Park Service, which used a magnetometer to detect variations in the earth’s magnetic field and find features around town that looked like homes, storage pits and places where fires were started.

Then, relying on descriptions from the conquistadors, he discovered what he believes was the battle site in an upscale neighborhood of Arkansas City.

Volunteers using metal detectors found three half-inch iron balls under the field. Blakeslee said they were 17th century Spanish cartridge shot fired from a cannon. A Spanish horseshoe nail was also found.

It all lent credibility to the detailed accounts left by the conquistadors.

The battlefield sits in Warren “Hap” McLeod’s backyard.

“It’s a great story,” he said. “There was a lost city right under our noses.”

McLeod, 71, offered a quick tour of the area.

He started at Camp Quaker Haven overlooking the spot where Oñate would have encountered the Etzanoans. McLeod then drove up to the country club, the highest point in the city of roughly 12,500 people.

“Lots of artifacts have been taken from here,” McLeod said.

In 1994, thousands of relics were unearthed during road construction. In 1959, the renowned archaeologist Waldo Wedel wrote in his classic book, “An Introduction to Kansas Archeology,” that the valley floor and bluffs here “were littered with sherds, flints, and other detritus” that went on for miles.

“Now we know why,” McLeod said. “There were 20,000 people living here for over 200 years.”

Local rancher Jason Smith, 47, said he had seen collections “that would blow your mind.”

“Truckloads of stuff,” he said. “Worked stone tools, flints. One guy had 100 boxes at his house.”

Russell Bishop, 66, worked at the country club as a kid.

“My boss had an entire basement full of pottery and all kinds of artifacts,” he recalled. “We’d be out there working and he would recognize a black spot on the ground as an ancient campfire site.”

Bishop, who now lives outside Denver, has coffee cans full of arrowheads. He spread some on his counter.

“I don’t think anyone knew how big this all was,” he said. “I’m glad they’re finally getting to the bottom of it.”

Kansas State Archaeologist Robert Hoard said that based on the Spanish accounts and the evidence of a large settlement, it’s “plausible” that Blakeslee has found Etzanoa.

Still, he would like more evidence.

The early Great Plains had long been imagined as a vast empty space populated by nomadic tribes following buffalo herds. But if Blakeslee is right, at least some of the tribes were urban. They built large towns, raised crops, made fine pottery, processed bison on a massive scale and led a settled existence. There were trade connections all the way to the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan in Mexico.

"So this was not some remote place. The people traded and lived in huge communities," Blakeslee said. "Everything we thought we knew turns out to be wrong. I think this needs a place in every schoolbook."

And that may just be the beginning. Blakeslee has found archaeological evidence in Rice and McPherson counties for other large settlements extending for miles, which he believes existed around the same time as Etzanoa.

He has published his findings in the peer-reviewed journal Plains Anthropologist, and next spring he will present his evidence for Etzanoa at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. A bigger excavation is planned for next summer.

The Wichita Nation, based three hours south in Anadarko, Okla., is watching all of this carefully. Experts believe the Etzanoans were their ancestors.

“The accounts of Oñate and Coronado have been interpreted for years,” said Gary McAdams, cultural program planner and historic preservation officer for the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, which number about 3,300. “We had a suspicion it was settled like this, but now it’s starting to be documented, which makes it feel more real.”

In the meantime, Arkansas City is trying to determine how to promote its new claim to fame. Etzanoa remains mostly underground or on private land. Yet that hasn’t deterred interest.

“We get about 10 calls a day to see the lost city,” said Pamela Crain, director of the Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The vision is to have a visitors center. The other key is to persuade landowners to allow people onto their property.”

Professor Donald Blakeslee of Wichita State University shows a black pot unearthed by student Jeremiah Perkins, behind him. David Kelly / For The Times

Russell Bishop still has the arrowheads he collected as a kid in Arkansas City. David Kelly / For The Times

Limited tours began last spring, focusing on key historical and archaeological sites. Town leaders are hoping for a UNESCO World Heritage site designation.

Back at the dig site, all eyes were on Jeremiah Perkins as he lifted the hefty black potsherd from the dirt.

Blakeslee dropped into the pit for a closer look. It was the largest artifact of the summer, perhaps 12 inches high.

“That’s a nice big cooking pot,” he exclaimed.

Yet many mysteries remain about the people of Etzanoa.

“How were they organized? How did they farm the bluffs? How did they maximize bison herds?” Blakeslee asked. “The questions go on and on and on.”

And the thought of that made him smile.