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travelingtheusa · 9 months ago

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TEXAS

2024 Apr 20 (Sat) – We went to Spindletop-Gladys City this morning.�� It was the site of a big oil dig and the city was, at one time, full of well heads. We went through a museum and walked the sidewalks of a replica old west town. There was some kind of health fair going on and tables were located around the square with different organizations offering information about their particular health plans. There was also a band playing on a raised stage in the middle of the square.

We left with Joe & Diane and went to lunch at Floyd’s BBQ. The meal was good and we brought home left overs. Back at the campground, Diane made carnitas for dinner.

2024 Apr 19 (Fri) – We both packed up and left Ledbetter at 9:05 a.m. after first stopping at the dump station. It was a long drive to Beaumont. We missed a turn for I-10 and had a heck of a time finding a route to Sam’s Club to stop for lunch. We wound up taking over 5 hours to get here to the Elks Lodge. We set up, took a short nap, then went into the lodge to pay for 2 nights camping. We have full hook ups with 50 amp service. The camping area (can’t really be called a campground) is a kind of mish mash in the parking lot. Very un-improved.

We had drinks, played shuffle board, and had dinner. The exalted ruler reheated smoked ribs, chicken and beans. They also offered potato salad, cole slaw, and bread pudding with a pecan sauce.

2024 Apr 18 (Thu) – We drove into Brenham at 11:30 a.m. First stop was at Blue Bell Creameries. They stopped giving tours 2 years ago so we just stood on the second floor and looked down at the factory workers hard at work. There was a museum area that explained the process for making ice cream and lots of pictures of the founders of the creamery. It is still a family run business. We then stopped at the counter and each got a scoop of their special flavors.

Now that we had finished our dessert, we went out to lunch at Must Be Heaven. It was a very eclectic restaurant. You picked up a menu, got on a long line, and placed your order. We then moved down the line where several employees behind the large counter prepared your food. It was all pretty good. We then took a walk around the quaint western town, admiring the many murals painted on the sides of the buildings.

Sated and satisfied, we headed down the road to Koopers Distillery where we tasted different types of bourbon and a whiskey. Paul bought one bottle and Joe bought two.

At 5 p.m. we went to Joe & Diane’s RV where she cooked pork carnitas with lime rice. After our meal, they taught us how to play Pegs & Jokers. It was fun.

2024 Apr 17 (Wed) – We packed up and left Fredericksburg at 9:40 a.m. It was almost 4 hours to Ledbetter where we are camped at Lake Sommerville State Park Nails Creek Campground (isn’t that a mouthful?). We stopped at WalMart for lunch and Paul pulled over to the side of the road when he spotted a liquor store. I ran in to get a replenishment for our libations. We arrived at the new campground around 2 p.m.

At 4:30 p.m. Joe & Diane and we drove down the road to a little barbecue place to get dinner. It turned out to be something about the size of a broom closet with a huge smoker outside. A woman sat at a window and took your order. They only do sandwiches on Wednesday and Thursday. Dinners are on Friday and Saturday. We all got sandwiches. The meat was good but they put it on regular hamburger buns, which were too soft and mushy. Yuck! After dinner, we played Rummy Kube.

2024 Apr 16 (Tue) – We went into town and had lunch at Opas Smoked Meats. Joe & Diane met us there. It was a kind of deli that also made sandwiches. Paul and I both had chicken salad. The bread was dry and crumbly but the salad was good. Everyone wanted to walk the town but I was feeling woozy and went home to nap. Every few months, I get that. I think it’s the medication.

At 5 p.m. we went over to Bill & Rhonda’s RV to join the remaining group of Cajuns (several have left) for a grilling. We brought over chicken to grill. Others brought steaks or burgers. It was a very pleasant evening. The sunset was beautiful with a bright red sky.

2024 Apr 15 (Mon) – We went to WalMart to pick up a few things. My pedi-shaver and Paul’s shaver both quit on us. We also got Sheba a new scratching post and a mat for underneath the cat box. Still couldn’t find drawer slides. *sigh*

We did the laundry today. For a resort, the machines were cheap! Just $1.50 for washers and $1.00 for dryers. It made me wish I had more laundry to do. 😊

The President of SMART and his wife, Richard & Mary, drove in from San Antonio to join the group for potluck tonight. We went over to visit with him at John & Kathy’s RV. At 4 p.m. we went into the community hall for happy hour. At 5:30 p.m. all the food was cooked and we shared a potluck meal. Past President Willie and his wife Joyce also came in to visit. It was quite enjoyable.

2024 Apr 14 (Sun) – We drove to Luckenbach this morning with Joe & Diane. It is a modern day ghost town. Three people live in the town but they have wooden buildings with shops, a large dance hall, and a stage for musicians. The schedule is for music all weekend and there was a band setting up while we were there. We got lunch at the one food truck in town. It was far more reasonable than the food truck we ate at yesterday! We wandered around the town, reading information plaques and memorial signs for those who started the town. It was established in 1850 and closed in 1971. Individuals have come along and made the town a tourist stop. The lady who owned the hat store was from upstate New York and we enjoyed conversing with her about the poor state of affairs back home. We then wandered through the general store and picked up a Christmas ornament.

Our next stop was at Meierstone Winery. John & Kathy know the owner and arranged for a tasting for a group of 12 of us. I didn’t like any of the wine. Paul bought 2 bottles.

After our return to the campground and a quick nap, we went to happy hour. Paul brought over the beanbag baseball game and we had a rousing competition. It was fun.

Sheba is doing better. She, at least, is looking to eat again. That was a pretty bad flare up she had.

2024 Apr 13 (Sat) – We ran into town to pick up a few things from WalMart. Paul is still searching for 12” drawer slides. It’s still the only size missing in all the stores we look in. We stopped at the Auslander Restaurant for lunch. It as a quaint German restaurant. There were cuckoo clocks on the wall and the stuffed heads of elk and moose around the room. Paintings were hanging to depict the German countryside.

After happy hour, Joe & Diane and we went over to a parking lot next to the campground where there are six food trucks parked. We got burgers. It was quite expensive! There was a band getting ready to play some music.

2024 Apr 12 (Fri) – We packed up and left Elm Mott (Waco) at 9:30 a.m. With Joe & Diane in tow, we headed out to Fredericksburg. Johnny & Linda dropped in on our group about half way here. We pulled off into a WalMart parking lot to make sandwiches, then continued to Fredericksburg RV Park. We were here back in 2017. It’s still a very nice campground. And the laundry is cheap, too! $150 for washers and $1 for dryers. They have a community room that the Cajuns will use for our 5-day stay here. We all enjoyed happy hour at 4 p.m. The group had a potluck for dinner at 5 p.m.

2024 Apr 11 (Thu) – We had a delightful tour of the Waco Mammoth National Monument this morning. I thought we had seen it before but it was totally unfamiliar to both of us. Two boys found a bone while exploring a creek bed. They brought it to a nearby museum. It turned out to be the leg bone of a Columbian mammoth. Excavation found 15 mammoths at the site. It was a nursery herd that was at a watering hole when a flash flood trapped them in the mud (or so they hypothesize). Since, they have discovered more bones and are still digging out more remains.

The dig site was covered by a large building. We walked in the door and were on a suspended walkway that looked down on the dig site. There were several bones marked with signs identifying where remains were found as well as implements spread around the place telling what they are used for. It was an interesting stop.

After the monument, Johnny & Linda and Joe & Diane and we went to lunch at Ninfa’s Mexican restaurant. The food was very good. We then ran some errands – stopped at Home Depot, Lowe’s and Ace Hardware looking for drawer slides to repair the desk drawers. There seems to be a shortage of 12” drawer slides. There are many other sizes in stock, but no 12”. Wonder what’s going on. We also stopped at H.E.B. to pick up potatoes for potato salad for a potluck and the gas station to fuel up for tomorrow’s move.

When we got back, we had happy hour where the group played card bingo. It was a good night for the Thomases! I won a game and Paul won 2 games. All in all, we won $20. Then we went to Johnny & Linda’s new rig for dinner. She made chicken and rice; I made a salad. They traded their Class A for a Class C rig. It is much smaller than their previous rig and they are adjusting to it. We are still adjusting. Both of us keep going to the wrong cabinet for the garbage. Just got used to where things were before.

2024 Apr 10 (Wed) – It was raining lightly this morning. We packed up and with Joe & Diane in tow, we pulled out at 9:35 a.m. The rain picked up over the ride and it poured buckets during some parts of the trip. We traveled Route 31 to Elm Mott, just outside of Waco. There was a section of road that so bad. We hit many bumps. When we got to the campground and opened the slide on the RV, we had damage. The drawers on the desk had opened and caught the side of the slide. Two drawers were damaged beyond repair and the trim piece around the slideout was pulled out. We also found another leak in the RV. *sigh* I am suffering buyer’s remorse. There are several things about this RV that I am not happy with.

After set up, we did the laundry. At 5 p.m. we went over to the community room where almost everyone else joined us for happy hour. There were some very tasty snacks. When we got back, I worked on sending out a newsletter about the upcoming National Muster in September while Paul went out to Home Depot to buy material to repair the drawers. They did not have everything we needed but there was a liquor store next door. Paul was able to replenish our alcohol supply, so all was not lost.

2024 Apr 9 (Tue) – It rained all morning and didn’t clear up until almost 2 p.m. Because of the rain, no one really did any activities together. At 4 p.m. we climbed into Joe & Diane’s car and drove down to Easley’s Steakhouse where about 12 of us had dinner. There definitely seems to be a very strong schism in the Cajuns chapter. Doug, who was supposed to be coordinating activities, hasn’t done any planning and has shared no information. There is a lot of grumbling about the lack of communication.

After dinner, Joe, Diane and we went to the town square to explore. We parked and walked around the block. Like many small towns we have been in, Canton’s court house is located in the middle of the square. Stores and shops surround the court house on all 4 sides. We had to cross the road at each corner to go to the next area. Most of the stores were closed.

Afterward, we came home and prepared for tomorrow's move.

2024 Apr 8 (Mon) – Today was the Solar Eclipse. We worried about the weather – forecasts were for thunderstorms and hail starting around the time of the eclipse. Although there were scattered clouds, we were still able to gather together and watch the eclipse. Totality took place at 1:44 p.m. It got pretty dark for a few minutes. Automatic sensors turned on outside lights. Bo grilled up some hamburgers and Diane made chili. The rain started after 7 p.m. tonight. Paul discovered that the window next to the desk is where the leak in our side cabinet is coming from. He’ll take a look at it tomorrow.

2024 Apr 7 (Sun) – We worked around the rig, continuing to plan our Michigan caravan next year. Paul and I went food shopping to pick up snacks for happy hour. Happy hour was at 4:30 p.m. We went to dinner with Joe & Diane, Johnny & Linda, and Hank and Brender. We ate at Val’s Italian Restaurant. There has been a band playing in the field across from the parking lot for 2 nights. We sit in the rig and listen to them playing.

2024 Apr 6 (Sat) – We left the Shreveport Elks Lodge at 10:30 a.m. The drive was just 2 hours. We stopped for lunch at a rest hour about half an hour away from Canton. When we came out of the rig, we discovered we were hemmed in by 2 semi-trailers. We started to back up when they both pulled out. That was a pain in the butt!

When we got to First Monday Trade Days Campground, we had to call to the camp host, Frank. He arrived in his little golf cart and led us to our site. We are basically located in a huge open dirt lot with rows of hookups. Every site is a pull thru. It is good to see many of our friends here: John & Kathy from our Appalachian Caravan this past October, Johnny & Linda (who we just left in Chatham, LA), Joe & Diane, Bo & Karen from Mississippi, and Hank and “Brender” (Brenda with an accent) from south Texas. There was happy hour at 4:30 as we all caught up with one another on what we’ve been up to. Four of us have new rigs so it was fun touring everyone’s camper to ooh and aah over them.

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mao-likes-2-draw · 2 years ago

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stupid thing i wrote while jetlagged

a few days ago i submitted a concept for a fanfic and some art to @dweamisland and i finally wrote it. Have a poorly written thingy because my grammar sucks and i was really jetlagged when i wrote this

(this takes place in a rural country town [imagine fredericksburg texas because i have been there and imagine it not being an attraction and more of a small spread apart southern town] because thats what i headcanon, human au, most stuff is based of dweamisland’s headcanons because they are the best headcanons)

It was a hot summer day, the sun was sizzling on the wooden floors of Flame [firey] Ash’s porch. They were kicking a ball in their small backyard while his older sister Matheia [Match] was sitting on a lawn chair taking care of her tamagotchi. Their name was Asul.

“Ugh! Flame, do you know how you play correctly with Asul?” Matheia grumbled while her head was crunched on her knees.

“Nope, but I know how to do this..!” Flame exclaimed, and kicked the ball high into the air. Matheia squealed as the ball zipped past her.

The ball hit a wall-hung lantern by the door. The lamp shattered and the lightbulb depleted. Matheia flinched as the glass fell onto the grass. Flame suddenly slipped and scraped himself up.

Matheia huffed and pulled Flame to their feet. “You need to be more careful…Come on let’s go inside and I’ll fix you up…” Matheia said as she guided Flame across the yard, careful not to step on any glass as they were both barefoot.

She foraged through the cabinets for bandages. She wiped him down, put some bandages on Flame and went to her room to watch Sailor Moon.

Firey slumped on the kitchen chair, looking at the faulty faucet drip water.

The repetitive sound was interrupted when he heard a ring at the doorbell. He peeped out the window to see who it was, and he nearly doubled over in his chair when he saw her.

It was that cute girl who delivered newspapers, Flame always watched when she rode past the house. He always grabbed the newspapers eagerly, nearly tripping himself on the boiling hot porch. Then he gazes hazily at her, as the wind blows through her hair. Matheia loved to tease him about his crush. Firey denied it, she was cute but why would he like her? Right?

Once she looked right at them and smiled, he nearly fainted.

This happened time and time again, he slowly started to crush on her…yet his stubborn personality prevailed, oblivious to what he felt.

It was not Sunday though, why was she here? Not like Flame was complaining…

He opened the door, and saw the girl. Even cuter close up..She had tan freckled skin, green hair, hazel eyes and a bright smile on her face.

“Uh—Hello. I’m Flame, how can I help you?” He smiled nervously.

The girl chuckled. “Hi, I’m Leah Límon. (Leafy) My grandma told me to go meet new kids on the street. Can I come in?” Leah said in her sleepy voice and smiled.

Flame nodded with an inaudible squeak of joy and anxiety, and told her to come in. “So, you live with your grandma?” Flame asked. “Yeah…” Leah sighed.

“My mom got me and my sister a Nintendo, Matheia always wins…Do you wanna play Mario Kart?” Flame exclaimed. Leah nodded and they started up the system.

Leah picked Luigi as her character. “What? I wanted to be Luigi…” Flame groaned. “Too bad~!” Leah exclaimed tunefully. Flame selected Mario Circuit. Leah won.

“Haha! Yes!” She smiled in victory. “You only won because you got a bullet bill at the last second…Her laugh was genuine and set Flame’s heart beating fast. They talked for a little bit, but it was so hot they could barely focus. “I need something cold…” Flame sighed, dehydrated as a desert.

“Let’s make lemonade!” Leah perked up. “I made it all the time for me and my grandma, and it's super refreshing!” She explained. “That sounds awesome, but we don’t have any lemons!” Flame sighed.

“Oh no!.. Well, we can buy some at the store. Let’s go on my bike!” She suggested. They both went to Leah’s bike and sat on it.

“Hold on to me so you don’t fall.” Leah said. “Oh..Uh okay!” Flame complied. This made him flustered and he did not know why. They rode off to the grocers and wandered around in the produce section for lemons. The mist machines refreshed them and replenished their energy. Leah found the crate of lemons and examined her choices. “Flame, come here…” She said in a quiet voice. He came over and looked at her confused.

“What are you doing?” He asked. “I’m a fruit whisperer, I pick fruit in my backyard and make food for me and my grandma. I know which lemon is bad and which lemon is good.” Leah explained, holding lemons, squeezing them, tapping them and more.

Flame being the impatient tween that he is, he quickly got irritated with this. “Are you done?” He mumbled. “Yeah, yeah..Okay! These are the perfect lemons.” She said, and put them in her wick basket. She asked how much it would cost, and it was 2$ for a pound of lemons. Flame shuffled through their pockets, looking for any coins or dollars. They were empty.

“Don’t worry, I have 5 dollars from my chores.” Leah smiled. Her head barely peaked over the counter. She put down the lemons and the money.

After they had gone home, Flame wanted to cut the lemons. When he cut his first one, a squeeze of lemon juice shot out of the lemon and into his eye. He inhaled sharply and rubbed his eye.

“You are not doing it right.” Leah said. “Oh yeah?” Flame scoffed. “Yeah.”

“Do not apply too much pressure to the knife, because it could slip or the juice could go into your face.” She instructed, and held his hand accordingly, guiding it.“Yeah, like that.” She smiled. Flame was flushed, like a tomato.

Flame blushed and thanked her. They squeezed the lemons into the glass and put water and ice into it. Leah rummaged through the cabinets for sugar. She opened the bag and put some in. “Let’s see how it tastes…” She smiled, and clinked her glass against Flame’s. “Uh..yeah!” He snapped out of his trance, and drank some.

A sour taste filled both of their mouths, not good like a lemon tart but more intense and pricked at their taste buds. Leah swallowed it and sighed. They needed more sugar.

So, they took turns putting more sugar until it was perfect. Not too sour or sweet, just right. When they finally found the perfect lemon to sugar ratio, Leah turned on the radio and they danced together. When they were worn and exhausted, to the point they couldn’t dance any more, Flame told Leah to come outside.

They brought their pitcher with them, and Leah happily poured it into his glass. They sat on the lawn chairs drinking lemonade and chatting as the sun set. Flame still could not believe this girl knew his name. Why was he like this..?

“Leah, why do you live with your grandma and not your parents?” He asked. “My dad is living in a different house right now. My mom died because of childbirth issues, so my Grandma takes care of me, and I take care of her.” Leah explained. “I’m sorry.” Flame said, embarrassed that he even asked that.

“Don’t worry, I have a good life. And it just got better because of you!” Leah smiled right at him. Leah looked at the sky and frowned. “It’s getting kind of dark. I should get home, but hey…I really think we should be friends! See you!” She exclaimed, and hugged Flame. She got on her bike, winked at him and rode away.

Flame was dumbfounded on what just happened, in his hazy trance he stumbled inside where he found Matheia sitting on the couch. “What’re you doing?” He asked. “I found an old tape in the attic.” She said. “How was your day?”

“You have no idea…”

@dweamisland

#bfb #fireafy #bfb leafy #bfb firey #leafy bfb #firey bfb #bfb fanfic

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salmonskinrolltf · 4 years ago

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Joining the Team - Chapter 1

[A story commissioned by @beardobession, who has also commissioned some of the most righteous Stucky art you ever did see]

Danny Tripp tried to smile as he took another of his endless series of attempts to get a good picture for his Tinder profile. He knew he wasn’t bad looking, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what women might find sexy about him. The only thing he had been complimented on before was his thick Southern accent, which some girls (especially his ex, Alice) found sexy. But he couldn’t exactly show that in a photo.

He grimaced at the result, but uploaded it anyway. What the hell, it’s not like he’d been having luck with any of the the others, so why not? He turned back to his morning’s task, packing his equipment bag for tomorrow. As of Monday, he would be the new sports med student assistant for the Timberwolves, the baseball team that was the pride and joy of University of Virginia: Fredericksburg. He didn’t know how he’d feel returning to that field, and to the stern, appraising gaze of Coach Mark, after failing so miserably during tryouts when he was a freshman last year.

An old elbow injury prevented him from ever being able to properly play the sport he loved (that and his pitifully weak muscles and two left feet), but he knew he’d hate himself if he didn’t give it a shot regardless. He smiled wanly to himself. At least he’d excelled in his sports medicine program. Working with the baseball team was a coveted position and he’d fought tooth and nail to get to work with the sport he loved in whatever way possible.

In fact… he looked at his watch. One hour before the spirit store closes. He could just make it! He wanted to get himself a Timberwolves hat to wear on his first day. He finished his prep and raced across campus as quickly as he could, arriving with ten minutes to spare, huffing and puffing with his hands on his knees.

The store was empty. Clearly everyone had left campus for one of the infinite parties being held in the surrounding neighborhoods that night. Danny shook his head. He never understood the appeal of getting drunk on a Sunday night. He didn’t really party at the best of times, but he imagined nursing a hangover in the middle of an 8AM lecture on muscular degeneration must be a nightmare.

Once he caught his breath, he made his way over to the row of hats neatly stacked on a nearby table. In addition to his two left feet, he must have had two left arms, because when he tried to pick up a hat to look for the price, he knocked over a wooden display bearing a creepy looking mannequin head in a Timberwolves helmet. It fell to the floor with a resounding crash and he winced. He ducked down to pick up the helmet, and when he rose he slammed his head against the underside of the table for good measure.

He noticed something small and red fall off the far corner of the table. Holding his head to cushion it from any more clumsy mistakes, he crawled over and picked it up. It was a bracelet woven with red string. It didn’t have any distinguishing markings.

He took a look at the small tag affixed to it:

“This is a one-of-a-kind item. Made with the strings of retired baseballs handled by our very best Timberwolf players, former and current: MLB pro Jose Peña, retired champion Alex Gonzalez, coach and former Timberwolf MVP Mark Alardy, current MVP Brian Geoffrey, and hotshot pitcher Carlos Ruiz.”

Danny smiled to himself. This was quite a remarkable piece of memorabilia!

“Finding everything alright?”

The sudden appearance of the clerk almost made Danny slam his head again as he jumped and scrambled out from under the table.

“Sorry, I accidentally knocked over the thing.”

The clerk, an older man with a kind glint in his eyes, smiled. “Let me handle that. What do you have here?” Danny held up his bracelet and shrugged. The clerk took the bracelet and his eyes lit up. “I didn’t even know we still had this in stock! I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. You have a good eye, son. You know, since we don’t stock bracelets anymore, I can let it go for five bucks.”

Danny smiled and thanked the man, grabbing a hat and bringing both to the checkout counter. The clerk handed him his receipt. “Will you be wearing those out of the store?”

“You know what? I think I will.” Maybe they’ll bring me luck tomorrow, he thought. He slipped on the hat and bracelet, which felt warm and snug against his wrist, like it knew it belonged there. He shook his head. What a weird thought. Must be the nerves.

——-

Danny’s alarm blared. Not the alarm that would give him plenty of time to mentally prepare for his first day on the field. Or his backup snooze alarm. No, this was the red alert “HOLY SHIT GET UP RIGHT FUCKING NOW OR YOU’RE GOING TO BE LATE” klaxon. The wrist under the bracelet - which he had forgotten to take off last night, apparently - itched, but there was no time to think about that. He scrambled out of bed, tripped over his feet, and ended up in a heap on his rug. Danny stood up. And up. And up. And right into the hanging lamp that lit his bedroom.

Flailing and stumbling, he threw on his work clothes, which were usually baggy and breathable but seemed extra tight for some reason, and rushed into the bathroom. He flipped on the switch and gazed into the mirror. Wait, what the fuck?

The person staring back at him in the mirror was definitely not the Danny Tripp he knew and reluctantly attempted to love. For starters, he must have been at least six inches taller. He had to crouch down to see his full frame in the mirror. And were those pecs straining to be contained by his work shirt? He lifted it up to reveal that indeed they were. He ran a hand down his torso, his body now a roller coaster of smooth skin that saw his fingers sliding up and over a huge mound of flesh that then flattened out before bumping and tripping over the ridges of six cobblestone abs that definitely hadn’t been there last night. He’d spent enough time in his biology labs to know that this was real flesh and blood. It was impossible that he would find it attached to him, but this was very, very real.

His phone pinged, jolting him back to reality. Shit! Late! He pointed at the mirror in utter shock. “I will deal with you later.”

Not even taking time to brush his teeth or shave, which he usually did religiously every morning rain or shine, he grabbed his kit and a granola bar and raced out the door toward the field.

He made such great time he actually arrived a minute before the athletic trainer he was shadowing, a Black man in his mid-30’s with salt-and-pepper hair named Mr. Thomas. Before shaking hands with the man, Danny went to wipe his palms but realized he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

This was the first practice of the season, so the team was already on the field getting their yearly inspirational speech. They weren’t really needed until the practice started so Danny got a tour of the facility, admiring his new physique in goggle-eyed awe every time he passed a mirror, once or twice having to quickly duck to avoid smacking his head on a low hanging light fixture. When they finally got to the field, practice was just starting up.

Mr. Thomas smiled and said, “Relax, son, they’re taking it easy so far, so I doubt there will be any injuries. Why don’t you help Rivers over there.” He pointed at a forlorn looking ginger kid sitting on the front row of the stands. “He needs a wrap on his knee. I don’t need to ask if you can wrap a knee, right?”

Danny grinned, “No sir, you don’t. I’m on it!”

He jogged over, enjoying the way the slightly damp dirt sucked against his feet, belying his heavier stature. As he drew closer, he realized he recognized the player. It was a kid from his freshman year dorm floor. They had both tried out for the team together last year and spent (perhaps wasted) many an evening playing catch in the quad and trying to pump each other up. He was in the middle of changing into his new team jersey.

“Cody? You made it on the team? Congrats, buddy!”

Cody grimaced. “Bat boy to benchwarmer isn’t as much as an upgrade as you might think. I just make it look cool. It’s my effortless charm.” Cody looked Danny up and down. “I recognize the voice but I don’t recognize… any of this. You been working out, Danny boy?”

Danny chuckled under his breath. “Something like that. Now let me see that knee.”

He had just smoothed down the last bit of bandage when Cody’s eyes widened. “Dude! Heads up!”

Danny whirled around to see an errant pitch zooming its way toward the back of his head at 90 miles per hour. On any other day he would have ducked and cowered, but panic cleared his mind. His hand reached out, seemed to snatch the ball out of thin air, and he hurled it back to the pitcher (Carlos Ruiz, if he remembered his team roster correctly) with such surprising smoothness that Ruiz almost toppled backward onto his ass.

“Who the fuck are you, and what the fuck was that?” Coach Mark came barreling toward the two boys, fire in his eyes.

Danny jumped to his feet. “I’m Danny Tripp, the student med assistant. I’m sorry sir, I wasn’t thinking.”

Coach Mark patted Danny’s back with a powerful, meaty hand. “My boy, I’d love to see what you can do if you start thinking. Our catcher dropped out of school at the last minute. We’re fucked if we don’t find a replacement fast. Tell me you’ll ditch ol’ Thomas and join the team, or I’ll rip off your arms and sew them to Rivers here.”

Danny stammered, “Sir, I don’t even know what to say. I’ve never-“

“I think you’ll find I don’t take no for an answer. Meet with the registrar, tell them you’re changing course, and tell them to call me with any questions. Meet me in the locker room at 1PM sharp. Got it?”

Danny stared at the coach, stunned.

“Got it?”

“Uh… yes! Yes, coach, sir. I’ve got it. I’ll be there.”

—-

Danny arrived at the locker room three minutes before 1:00, still reeling at the incredible direction his life had taken in the last three hours. While waiting in line at the registrar’s, he’d poked and prodded at his elbow. No tension, no pain. Even his old scar had completely vanished. He might as well have been a brand new person. Hell, maybe he was.

Interrupting his reverie, Coach Mark blustered in and swept Danny through the locker room doors, where the players were assembled, still half dressed. Coach introduced him to the entire team in alphabetical order. He was so stunned he could barely process anything that was happening. Of course he waved a sheepish hello to Cody, grinning subtly, as though he were scared looking too excited might make the whole scene crumble into dust around him. He felt a slight tingle emanating from his wrist when he was introduced to Brian Geoffrey and Carlos Ruiz. He studied them when coach launched into a long-winded pep talk.

Brian was a strapping mustachioed blonde with muscles that Danny would have envied on any other day.

And Carlos was a Dominican with bulging veins and an easy smile framed by a short goatee.

When Brian laughed at something Coach said, his mustache wriggled like a caterpillar, the longer hairs rippling slightly as he exhaled. Danny shook his head. What a weird thing to notice, especially when he needed to focus on what Coach was saying. The words, Tripp! Focus!

He nodded along for the rest of the speech, and just as the meeting was breaking up to head out, Carlos clapped Danny on the shoulder. He felt a slight twinge in his wrist. “So newbie, since you weren’t here for team prep, you need to know we’re all getting our heads shaved to celebrate the beginning of the season. Isn’t that right, boys?”

His other teammates nodded, though Danny noticed Cody’s mouth was in a hard line. Maybe he was worried what the loss of his ginger locks would do to his prospects. He smiled placatingly. “If you’re all doing it, I’m game. See you cueballs tomorrow!”

—-

The buzzing razor tickled Danny’s scalp, sending shivers down his spine and causing the hairs on his long, muscular arms to stand on end. He marveled at how quickly his life had changed over the last 24 hours. The razor snagged a hair on the crown of his head, tugging at his scalp with a sharp jolt of pain. He figured that was about as good as a pinch to prove he wasn’t dreaming. He watched his reflection in the mirror as clumps of dark hair fell past his vision. His pecs jutted out so well, he could actually see his nipples through the barber’s cape. Once he’d gotten past the initial rush of activity that was his morning, he’d decided to just lean in. This body could go away as quickly as it came, so he might as well enjoy it while he was in it.

The barber finished up, whipping off Danny’s cape with a flourish. He rubbed his scalp, shocked at how pleasant he felt the smooth, warm sensation. It was like rubbing a bowling ball, slick and hard and even masculine. He thought he’d feel like less of a man without his hair, but the opposite was true. He thrilled at the dashing silhouette he cast across the pavement as he walked home under the waning rays of the evening sun.

—-

The next morning saw Danny doing what he did best the last few days: appraising himself in the mirror. His stubble, which he never did shave yesterday, was growing in thicker than it ever had before, contrasting sharply with the smooth cueball of his scalp. But habits were habits. He grabbed his razor out of the medicine cabinet, then sprayed a lather of shaving cream into his hands, rubbing it between his palms. He began to smooth the foam across his cheeks, the thick stubble rasping against his smooth hands, another tingle causing his hand to spasm and send foam spraying over the sink basin.

He rubbed his hand along his cheek, the bristles gently resisting his motion and springing back into place once his hand passed. The effect was twofold. His gently abraded hand crackled with energy as the blood rushed to his face, heating up the spot beneath the thousands of tickling follicles. Every pass of his hand caused pleasure to reverberate through his face, his hand, his alarmingly warm wrist, and down to his dick, which sprang to attention. Fuck. He rinsed the shaving cream off his face. Maybe skipping one more day wouldn’t hurt so much. He wiped his face with a towel, the sudden transition between his slick scalp and rough face causing his dick to judder with anticipation. Fuuuuuuuuck. He was hot now, wasn’t he?

He snapped a shirtless pic in his bathroom mirror, still flecked with unused shaving foam, and uploaded it to his Tinder, erasing every old photo from his profile while he was at it. As he donned his crisp, new baseball uniform, Danny didn’t even notice knocking his razor off the lip of the sink and into the trash can. He wouldn’t miss it.

——

Carlos was laughing uproariously in the dugout. “Shit, man, you actually did it? Nobody’s ever fallen for that one before! Well, you’ve been properly hazed, bro, so welcome to the team!”

Danny would have been more annoyed when he arrived to find every single one of his teammates’ scalps teeming with hair, but hazing or no hazing, he was feeling himself. And so were the chicks on Tinder. He’d gotten four matches just on his walk from his dorm to the field.

Coach Mark arrived, barking for the boys to start warming up. Before he could walk out with them, Danny felt a pressure on his wrist. Cody had grabbed him. His face was flushed red from embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, Danny. I thought they would tell you before you actually went through with shaving your head. They made me promise not to say anything. And I really want to fit in. I don’t want them to see me as the loser bat boy all season. But I didn’t know they would do this. I would never have -“

Danny smiled, “Cody, thanks for looking out for me. It’s OK. Really it is. Let’s just say you owe me a favor, huh? Call it even?”

Cody’s face broke into a relieved smile, his eyes lighting up. Danny had never noticed what a delicious, reassuring hazel they were. He smiled too. “No harm, no foul. Unless Carlos fucks up another one of his pitches.” He winked, Cody laughed, and they walked out onto the field, arms draped over each other’s shoulders.

——

Practice went better than he could have ever expected. Danny made a series of increasingly impressive catches that had Carlos sweating to come up with wilder and wilder pitches to try and trick him. Brian had even complimented him, his mustache twitching up at either end as he smiled.

He had also retrieved his phone at the end of practice to discover a message from a Tinder girl named Tara, someone he had given up on ever matching with after swiping right on her two weeks ago. They had been chatting all afternoon, and she had seemed particularly interested in the goings-on with the Timberwolves, which Danny was all too happy to share. A brand new body, new teammates and an old friend, and now a baseball-obsessed potential girlfriend? Don’t mind if I do!

He did bat an eye when Tara suggested that they take things to the next level with a video chat (complete with altogether too many suggestively phallic emojis), but decided that if he was going to live in this body, he was going to LIVE in this body. He nervously rubbed his head while the video chat browser connected. He found the sensation oddly calming. Tara’s face suddenly filled the screen, brown curls spilling over the suggestive curve of a buxom bust at the bottom of the screen.

He started chatting with her about her grad program (she attended a school 30 minutes away), but as she spoke, she started drifting the camera downward, revealing that she was just in a bra and panties. She whispered “show me yours,” and Danny stripped down to a striped pair of briefs that was just barely clinging to his muscular torso (he would have to buy some new clothes this weekend, everything he owned was way too tight now).

The chat progressed from there, and without realizing exactly how he got there, Danny was dressed in his jersey and hat, pantsless, holding his throbbing cock in his hand, and watching Tara pleasure herself. He squirted some lotion from his nightstand onto his shaft and began sliding his hand up and down, thrilling with pleasure every time his fingers slid past the extra inch that had definitely not been there last time he’d done this.

Tara hadn’t done too much talking before now, but all of a sudden she seemed to perk up. “Danny! Tell me about Brian Geoffrey. You must have seen him in the locker room. All of him. Tell me about it. Tell me what you two would do to me if you could.” Danny frowned. He’d never participated in dirty talk before, let alone with someone who clearly was more interested in the MVP than him. But he’d never done almost anything like this before, so he attempted to lean in.

“Well, he’s really cut. His muscles bulge out of his jersey all the time when he moves. And he has this mustache that clings to his entire upper lip. It’s really thick and dense…”

Tara rolled her eyes, “You’re such a boy. Tell me about his dick!”

Danny hadn’t actually seen Brian naked, nor did he have a particular desire to. He racked his brain for other details he could share, but two memories surfaced simultaneously. Brian’s mustache rippling under the force of his breath as he laughed, and the way it seemed to dance across his lips when he smiled.

Suddenly, Danny exploded. Or at least, that’s what it felt like. He’d orgasmed before, of course, and that felt great. But this felt… otherworldly. Like a supernova star had suddenly attached itself to his dick, sending waves of white hot ecstasy through every vein in his body. His cum pooled in his belly button as shot after shot turned his abs and pecs into a white Jackson Pollock painting.

The tingling sensation threatened to engulf him and send his consciousness spinning off into the void, but slowly feeling began to return to his extremities, then his torso, then his pelvis. The only thing still tingling was his face.

“Ew, what the fuck?” Tara gasped. Shit, Danny had almost forgotten about her. She cried out, “Danny, what’s going on with your face?!”

Danny saw what looked like a giant bug crawling across his upper lip in the small self-facing window. He shrieked, dropped his phone, and ran to the bathroom, swatting at his face. But when he arrived at the mirror, all he saw was… hair?

The thick stubble that dotted his upper lip was… moving. It pulsed left to right, then right to left, like a crowd doing the wave at an arena. Only after each pass, the hair didn’t return to normal. It was puffing out more and more, a millimeter at a time. The tingling sensation grew stronger and stronger until it felt like his lip was going to go flying off his face, every follicle lit up with prickling energy. The hair began to grow into a dense thicket, whorls overlapping and growing over one another their fervor to wriggle from his face. Hair curled over his top lip, tickling the bottom lip when he shut his mouth.

The corners of his mouth twitched as more hair began to wriggle out of the follicles on either side, pulling his mustache down as if applying great weight, causing the whole thing to droop down to almost the bottom of his chin in an impressive horseshoe that fluffed out and sat atop his dense stubble, which otherwise remained unchanged. He looked exactly the same as he had twenty minutes ago, except a mat of hair suddenly framed his mouth like it was water spilled down his chin while slurping from a glass.

Danny heaved a great sigh and rubbed the back of his head nervously, willing the calming smoothness to quell his rapidly beating heart. Well… That was certainly something.

Continue to Chapter 2

#Commission #Baseball #College #Mustache #Jock #Muscle #Height #Joining the Team

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regnbuereisen · 5 years ago

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Day 4: Fredericksburg

We slept in today, because going on holiday is an exhausting affair :D Øyvind woke up before me (as usual), and by the time I was up and ready, we were both so hungry it was too late to go to the grocery store to buy ingredients for breakfast, so we ate at a cute, little place called City Café.

I finally got my pancakes! With eggs and bacon and corn syrup. Weird combo, but it was really good. The pancakes were big, though. Couldn’t finish them. X)

Øyvind got an omelette with vegetables - and we can safely say that the American obsession with cheese hasn’t lessened since we were here last.

We meant to book a wine tour before we left Norway, but we both kinda forgot, so it was done in the last minute, after breakfast, and on the phone. Try spelling our names over the phone to an American. Yeah. We decided that when we’re here, Øyvind goes under Evan. It’s close enough.

So. Wine tour. Fredericksburg has a lot of wineries. And there’s a lot of companies that offers tours, but we went with Majesty Tour because they had available spots, and also they could pick us up so Øyvind didn’t have to drive. Our driver and guide, Logan, picked us up at 1.30pm, and off we went. Along with us, there were two more couples, so a total of six guests.

I firmly believe that Logan must be one of the most patient people on the planet. In fact, he needs to get an award!

We had three wineries to visit, each serving 5-6 (small) glasses of wine, and it was amazing. The wine was good, the company was awkward at first, but after the first place we got to talking. Turns out Norway is as exotic to Americans as USA is to Norwegians.

First stop was Four Point O Cellars, which is three wineries that has gone together to open a tasting room. The sherry was sublime - we bought a bottle to save for Christmas, and I bought a bottle of a white wine called Lily, that smelled of peaches, and I will happily drink it on the ranch in Bandera later.

Second stop was Texas Heritage Vineyards. The woman serving us was super cute, and had a lot of knowledge. It was so interesting talking to her! And they had the most amazing view from their patio. Bought a bottle of wine called The Troubadour’s Edge. It tasted of butterscotch fudge and was delicious.

Third stop was Bingham Family Vineyards, and the server, Hayley, made our experience. She had so many stories to tell, and I’m really exited to see her novel ready soon. I won the discussion here, as to which wine we were buying, so we ended up with a very nice, sweet Malvasia Bianca. I think it will be perfect with some fresh fruit. Or maybe chocolate.

I also liked the branding iron chandelier. Apparently they sold them in the next door shop, which I think was called Yee Haw Outfitters.

By now, most of us were getting a bit tipsy, except the couple from Houston, who started the day early, and were already tipsy when Logan picked them up at 1.30.

After the tasting was done, we got a light snack, which was promptly compared to Lunchables. As a Norwegian, the concept is foreign, but it’s basically cheese and meat and crackers. It was good. Maybe because we were getting hugry after four+ hours of wine tasting, but we pretty much cleaned it out.

Once we were done, Logan drove us back, and dropped us off at our respective places, with one stop along the way so Houston 1 and 2 could empty their stomachs in a nearby bush. Gotta make sure the local plant life gets enough nutrition.

We named this photo “While the others are puking...” And felt very proud of our Viking genes. Poor Logan. He got a real job of cleaning his van afterwards, as both of the other couples had done their worst on the floor (and the seats).

Back at the mini house, we decided to make use of the hot tub outside on our patio. Today hasn’t been too warm (only around 30C), but still... The water was warm, but it’s something else being able to sit outside and just relax! I need one at home!

This morning we went to HEB and bought dinner and breakfast ingredients, because we’re smart and knew we weren’t able to drive to a restaurant after the wine tasting. So today dinner was sushi (delicious, and I forgot to take a photo, because we just about inhaled it), and a microwave dinner that I wasn’t too impressed by, but Øyvind seemed to like it.

So now we feel like real Americans: a microwave dinner in front of the TV.

Turning in early today too, because we’re heading further west tomorrow, to Alpine.

Today’s wildlife: grackles, a dead cicada (woopwoop), a lot of eagle type birds soaring over the fields, and a HUMMINGBIRD in the tree above our hot tub!!! I tried to photograph it, but it moved too fast.

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janicecpitts · 6 years ago

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skilltradecontractor · 6 years ago

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goswagcollectorfire · 5 years ago

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CARL’S BLOG: BLUE SKIES OF EL DORADO, ARKANSAS; carlsblog.online; http://sbpra.com/CarlJBarger

1-30-20: Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia continued and first Christmas at Three Oaks

This quote, coming from General Robert E. Lee said, “It is

well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.”

On the morning of December 15, 1862, General Burnside

called off the offensive, crossed back over the Rappahannock

River, and ended his campaign at Fredericksburg.

After reading the article on the Battle at Fredericksburg, I

laid my paper down and started praying. “Lord, help us! How

many more lives will be sacrificed before this terrible war

comes to an end. Lord, what can be done, or what needs to be

done to stop this brutal killing? Please Lord, intervene and do

something to stop this killing. If we, your people, have done

something to be punished for, please forgive us, and revive us

so, we can again start new and bring our country back together.

Oh, Lord, please hear my plea!”

While praying, the thought of losing over eighteen thousand

men in this battle made me cry. Although, those eighteen thousand

could be the lucky ones! How many more were wounded

and lying in some unsanitary house, hospital, or makeshift

building or tent, being treated by a small number of doctors?

There are never enough doctors. It makes me sick to think about

it. What’s going to happen to them? My thoughts returned to

the Battles of Shiloh and Corinth. I thought these battles were

bad, but according to this account, they wouldn’t measure up to

Fredericksburg.

Just as I finished my prayer, Penelope entered the room. She

knew I had been crying.

“Obadiah, what’s wrong?”

“It’s all right. I’ll be okay!”

“Obadiah, please tell me why you’ve been crying. I want to

be a part of this, whatever it is. I know something has hurt you.”

“There is an article in today’s paper about the Battle of Fredericksburg,

Virginia. It’s quite disturbing!”

“May I read it?”

“Surely you may, but the content of the article reminds me of

the battles of Shiloh and Corinth. It makes me wonder whether I

should be there, helping attend to the many wounded.”

“Oh, Obadiah, please don’t think about reenlisting in this

terrible war!”

“Penelope, don’t you worry, I won’t do that. My place is here

in Union County, with my family and doing God’s work through

healing the sick. I can promise you, I won’t be reenlisting in a

war that no one really wins.”

“Oh, my love,” Penelope said, as she sat down on my lap and

gave me a kiss. That was the type of medicine I needed.

“Penelope, I have to go into town today and check on

my office building. Would you like to go with me? We could

have lunch with Mary and Virgil, and do Christmas shopping

afterwards.”

“I would love to,” she said.

“Why don’t you change clothes while I have Bill bring

around the carriage?”

We said goodbye to Mother and the kids, and headed out to

El Dorado.

The office building would soon be ready to move into. The

painting had been completed, and all that was left was polishing

the floors. We should be able to move in right after Christmas.

After having lunch with Virgil and Mary at Jake’s Restaurant,

we went Christmas shopping. We had been so busy with

other things that Christmas shopping had been put on the back

burner.

As we went from store to store, I realized this was Penelope’s

first Christmas to shop. She would look at a price tag and

shake her head. I finally walked up close to her and whispered,

“Penelope, I’ve got money to buy whatever you want to buy,

within reason.” I laughed.

She looked at me and smiled. “I’ve never done this before.

To tell you the truth, Obadiah, I think some of these prices are

unreasonable. I see several things I’d like to have for the kids

and family members, but they’re really costly.”

“Let’s don’t worry about the price until you find an item you

like. We will look at the tag together, and then decide if we want

to pay that price. How does that sound?”

“That’s good for me, boss!” she said with a smile that melted

my heart. She is such a joy!

The shopping took longer than I thought. Bill kept carrying

things to the carriage. I finally asked him, “Are we going to have

any space to sit, going home?”

“Yes, Master Obadiah! I’ve kept your and Miss Penelope’s

seat clear of all them packages.”

I smiled and said, “Good for you, Bill!”

Mother and Penelope, with the help of Mattie, Betsy, and

Big Jim had put up a beautiful Christmas tree in our parlor. Our

Christmas presents would certainly take up a lot of space under

the beautiful tree.

As Bill and I carried in the Christmas presents, Charles,

Belle, Jim, and Mattie’s kids were right under our feet. Charles

wanted to help carry the presents in. Belle wanted to tear one

open. Mother was excited and asked, “Why wasn’t I invited?”

I quickly replied, “Because we didn’t want you to see what

we were buying you for Christmas! But tomorrow is your day,

and I’ll go to El Dorado with you. You can have Bill accompany

you around in the stores so none of us will know what you are

buying.”

“Obadiah, how will I get my grandchildren’s Christmas

presents back to Prattville. I’m afraid they won’t get there until

after Christmas!”

Mother was right. With all the things that occupied our time

lately, we had completely neglected Christmas shopping.

“You may be right, but I think they will realize the distance

and the shipping problems. I expect they won’t mind getting

their presents a little late. Come next year, we’re going to start

shopping earlier.”

“I certainly hope so! We always had our Christmas presents

ready on Christmas Day when we were at Twin Oaks.”

“I can promise you that next year it will be different.”

“I’m going to hold you to that promise, Obadiah,” she said

with a big smile and a hug.

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candrcarpetandrug · 7 months ago

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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63 Years Between Kisses – The New York Times

On the June day in 1956 when a young woman named Annette Adkins left Woodbridge, Va., to spend the summer with relatives in Kentucky, Bob Harvey lost the love of his life.

Mr. Harvey, who had slow danced with her weeks earlier at the junior prom, remembers seeing her get in a 1955 tan Pontiac, with a Marine Corps sticker on the bumper. She waved a shy goodbye out the back window as the car drove off and he wiped away tears.

“She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen,” said Mr. Harvey, 80, of King George, Va. “I was totally, 100 percent in love with her.”

It was if he knew right then and there he would have to wait 63 years for his next kiss with her.

Because a summer apart felt eternal, he sold his hunting rifle to fund his long-distance calls while she was away. But, within the month, and after only a few conversations, he ran out of money. He spent the rest of the summer waiting for her to return for the start of their senior year at Gar-Field High School.

When she did, it wasn’t the reunion he had wished for. And she would eventually be going by a new name as the wife of her newfound summer love, John Callahan.

When Mr. Harvey first met Ms. Callahan, she had just moved to Woodbridge to live with her cousin Betty Nichols at the start of their junior year. There hadn’t been much to do in her hometown Pikeville, Ky. “I couldn’t go to football games or really have a social life there,” she said. Woodbridge provided teenage intrigue almost immediately.

In study hall, all eyes were on the new girl. “I couldn’t take my eyes off her,” Mr. Harvey said. “She had auburn hair and a stunningly beautiful face and her eyes were just, wow.”

During one of her first few study halls, Ms. Callahan noticed Mr. Harvey passing notes to a girl she rode the school bus with, Shirley Pemberton. “One day I saw Shirley on the bus and I said, ‘Do you like Bob Harvey? I’ve seen you passing notes with him,’” Ms. Callahan said. “She said, ‘No, he’s passing me notes because he’s wanting to know about you.��”

Ms. Callahan, 80, now of Gahanna, Ohio, was thrilled. “He was handsome and tall and a football player,” she said. Still, when Mr. Harvey asked her to a school dance as a first date, she declined. “I came from a real small country town, and I didn’t know how to dance and I was shy.” She decided she would learn from the paperboy, a classmate who asked her to the same dance but wasn’t as compelling.

“I thought, I’ll go with him and learn to dance, and if Bob asks me out again I’ll be ready,” she said. “And then who was at the door collecting our tickets but Bob?” Mr. Harvey, heavy-hearted that she was there with another boy, asked Ms. Callahan to dance that night anyway. She said yes. “I was so timid I was trembling. I wanted him to like me.”

In that department, she needn’t have worried.

But when Ms. Callahan left that summer, their time apart loosened teenage heartstrings. From Kentucky, she journeyed to Miami Beach to stay with an aunt and uncle and there, she met Mr. Callahan, whom she would marry five years later.

When she returned to Woodbridge for senior year, Mr. Harvey was eager to make up for lost time. He approached her at her locker with his arms outstretched. “I said, ‘Bob, I met someone else. I’m sorry. I don’t want to date you anymore,’” she recalled. “Now it sounds unkind to me. But at that time I didn’t want to lead him on.”

Mr. Harvey was devastated. “I still loved her tremendously,” he said. “But being a Southern gentleman, I knew I had to respect what she said.”

They went their separate ways that school year, both feeling lonesome. Mr. Harvey only had eyes for Ms. Callahan. Ms. Callahan’s new boyfriend and future husband lived far away in Ashland, Ky. As the 1957 prom season swept in, though, another new girl arrived at Gar-Field High. “She had long red hair and freckles and looked like Maureen O’Hara,” Mr. Harvey said. Her name was Diane Swift. Mr. Harvey asked her to the prom. Two years later they were married.

Ms. Callahan and Mr. Harvey describe the ensuing six decades in much the same way. Though he settled in Woodbridge and had a son and a daughter, and she settled in Westerville, Ohio, and had two sons and two daughters, both lived what Mr. Harvey called typical, traditional married-couple lives. He worked as a Washington, D.C., parks police officer for 15 years before retiring in 1977 and becoming a middle-school teacher for 23 years, and has been a deacon at his church, Two Rivers Baptist in King George, Va., for 18 years. She became a nurse and worked at several hospitals while having children and relocating to cities including Nashville and Ashland for Mr. Callahan’s career in computers.

They married within two years of each other — he in 1959 and she in 1961 — and lost their spouses two years apart. Mr. Callahan developed vascular dementia and died in 2015. Ms. Harvey died of cancer in 2017.

While they grieved their losses separately, each made appearances in the other’s thoughts. Throughout his 60-year marriage, and despite what he called his “very real” love for his wife, Mr. Harvey kept Ms. Callahan’s high school photo in his wallet. And in 1972, when he heard that Gar-Field High was being torn down for renovations, he was upset that he hadn’t been told earlier. “If I had known, I would have gone there and bought the seat Annette and I carved our initials into in study hall,” he said.

In early 2018, Michael Candler, the son of Ms. Callahan’s cousin, visited Ms. Callahan in Ohio. He had found and developed an old, forgotten roll of film with shots of Ms. Callahan and Mr. Harvey posing on a couch, preprom, and thought she might like to see the photographs. Ms. Callahan was flooded with fond memories. “It came to me, looking at those pictures, that I had had so much fun with Bob,” she said. “I wanted to talk to him again.” She looked for him unsuccessfully on Facebook.

In August 2018, Mr. Harvey was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. As he negotiated his cancer treatments, he wrestled with how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. “The lady who had been gentle on my mind for six decades became heavy, heavy, heavy,” he said. A 2019 Google search turned up Mr. Callahan’s 2015 obituary. “I hit the floor. I was like, Oh, God, she’s been a widow four and a half years. She’s probably remarried and I’ve lost her again.”

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He was willing to take his chances. “I sent a donation to the palliative care unit that took care of John, and then I found a nice card of condolence and sent it to her with my name, address and phone number and signed it, ‘Thinking of you,’” he said. He had found her address through the church that held Mr. Callahan’s funeral. For eight days, he held his breath and waited. And then, on the evening of July 26, she called. “She said, ‘I’ve been looking for you and had given up ever hearing from you. Can you come to Ohio?’”

He told her he could be there by Sunday. He got up at 5 a.m. Saturday and drove 12 hours straight, stopping only for gas and to buy a bouquet of pink and white carnations when he hit Gahanna. When she answered the door, he knew what to do. “I had called my son, Bryan, and said, How do I do this? Do I just run up and plant one on her like it’s 1956? He said, ‘Go for it, Dad.’” So he did. “I handed her the flowers, and then I cupped her face in my hand and said, ‘Whether you like it or not, I’m going to kiss you.’”

Mr. Harvey spent a week in Ohio. Before he left, he asked Ms. Callahan to dance with him in her kitchen to Johnny Mathis’s “Chances Are” and the 2003 Alan Jackson hit “Remember When.” He told her he guessed she and her husband had danced a lot through the years. She told him otherwise. “My husband didn’t dance,” she said. “The last person I danced with was you.”

“My heart was beset,” Mr. Harvey said. “I am so much in love with this woman.”

Cancer treatments require Mr. Harvey to spend most of his time in Virginia, but since August he has spent 10 days per month in Ohio. On Aug. 27, a month after their reunion, he asked Ms. Callahan to marry him with a vintage 1950s diamond ring bought at his former wife’s favorite jewelry store in Fredericksburg, Va. By then, he knew Ms. Callahan’s children approved.

“At first the whole story of them seemed surreal,” said Becky Craft, Ms. Callahan’s youngest daughter. “But the more time we spend with Bob, the more we realized how much they enjoy each other

The engagement, during a picnic at Alum Creek State Park Beach in Lewis Center, Ohio, which is near Ms. Callahan’s home in Gahanna, didn’t bring tears to Ms. Callahan. “But Bob may have cried,” she said. “He’s very tenderhearted.”

On Oct. 19, Ms. Callahan and Mr. Harvey were married at Central College Presbyterian Chapel in Westerville by the Rev. David Redding, a Presbyterian minister. Ms. Callahan wore a purple cardigan and purple slacks that she said complemented her white hair. Mr. Harvey wore a white sport coat with a pink carnation, and in a nod to the era that united them, shiny penny loafers. After a brief ceremony before 17 friends and family members during which Mr. Harvey choked up twice, the couple joined 32 guests at the Nutcracker, a 1950s-themed restaurant with jukeboxes and padded booths in nearby Pataskala, Ohio.

Most of the couple’s combined 14 grandchildren were in attendance; a few had been instructed by Mr. Harvey to bring a CD player so he could dance with his bride to Johnny Mathis.

“We didn’t want any jitterbugging,” said Mr. Harvey, who will sell his house in Virginia and move to Ohio in the coming months. “At our age, we don’t want to risk getting hurt.”

On This Day

When Oct. 19, 2019

Where Central College Presbyterian Chapel, Westerville, Ohio

Dancing Again Mr. Harvey and Ms. Callahan entered the Nutcracker restaurant after the wedding ceremony holding hands to “Chances Are,” by Johnny Mathis. As they made their way down the steps, Mr. Harvey pulled Ms. Callahan close. The couple slow danced for the crowd before sitting down, Mr. Harvey whispering and softly singing the lyrics.

Sweet Memories Guests chose between spaghetti and garlic bread or roasted chicken for dinner. Later, the waitresses served a wedding cake shaped and decorated like a traditional Wurlitzer jukebox.

Like Old Times “I feel happy again,” said Ms. Callahan just after the ceremony. “I was alone for a while and was very lonely. I feel like I have a purpose again. It feels like no time has passed.”

Aselya Sposato contributed reporting from Westerville, Ohio.

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expomahal-blog · 5 years ago

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andrewmawby · 6 years ago

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Unique Shed Tips and Tricks & Door Latches

Unique Shed Tips and Tricks

QUESTION #1: Hello Tim. I’ve put off building a small garden shed for too many years. After the wretched winter I endured, I deserve something that will lift my spirits. I don’t know where to start, but I do know I want it to be an asset to my property. Should I just buy a pre-built shed or is it possible to build my own with limited skills and tools? I’m up for a challenge but don’t want to find out I bit off more than I can chew. What would you do if you were me? Andrea T., Blue Earth, MN

Each spring I hear from folks like Andrea. Spring as a magical time of year that unleashes pent-up energy and creativity in many things, including humans! It’s the favorite time of year for my ham radio mentor and I enjoy seeing him soak up all the wonder of the season.

I’m a big fan of addressing challenges. If Andrea would have asked me fifteen years ago, I might have hesitated to have her take the DIY approach. But technology has allowed many to do things they never dreamed of doing. Just two weeks ago, I was approached by a Japanese television show asking permission to use part of one of my past videos. It turns out a 70-year-old Japanese woman built her own home using lots of videos she saw on YouTube and the show producers told me one of mine was key to her success.

Six years ago, I created over 100 videos showing the process of building an outdoor shed. The methods apply to any shed no matter the size or shape. You or Andrea can watch these for free and become empowered so that your dreams become reality.

The first step in the process is to step back and really ponder what’s going to happen in the shed. Is it an actual work shed, is it just for storage or both? The biggest complaint I get from my subscribers and readers is that sheds are almost always too small.

It’s easy to determine the right size for a shed no matter what you intend to do with it. As you might expect, I’ve created a video showing you how to solve this conundrum. All you need is some string and the things you’re going to store in the shed. I put the things out on the grass next to one another the way I envision them in the shed. I then surround the items with the string creating an outline of the exterior walls. This tells you quickly how big your shed needs to be.

Andrea is going to have to meet with her local building inspector and get up to speed on the frost depth for her shed foundation. The frost level is very likely 5 or 6-feet deep in that part of Minnesota. It’s important to realize you need to protect all your hard work from frost heaving. Andrea may have to hire out digging the piers as doing that part by hand is mind-numbing and back-breaking work. It’s possible to rent a very small excavator to dig the holes yourself.

I’m not a huge fan of the pre-built sheds. I’ve looked at many near my home and most, in my opinion, are built to minimum standards. If you decide to buy one, absolutely get one that has treated lumber floor joists and a treated plywood floor. Yes, you can buy treated plywood and it has the same wood-rot prevention chemicals in it as treated lumber.

Be sure to think about natural light. Simple skylights or light tunnels will bathe the inside of the shed with natural light so you can see what you’re doing on cloudy days.

I prefer traditional overhead garage doors for sheds. You might not realize that you can get small overhead doors as narrow as 6 feet and sometimes even smaller. An overhead door won’t blow open on windy days and they seal very well against driving rain and frigid wind.

The good news is you don’t need lots of fancy tools to build your own shed. Yes, fancy tools will allow you to save time, but carpenters from fifty or one-hundred years ago didn’t have them. You’ll have success building with just a simple circular saw, a framing square, a tape measure, a hammer, and a few other tools.

Door Latches

QUESTION #2: I’ve got a bedroom door where the handle latch that extends from the door barely makes it to the metal keeper in the door jamb. Depending on the outdoor temperature and humidity, my cat can push against the door to get in. Once inside the room, he frolics about on the bed messing it up having a good time. Is there an easy fix so I can ban this feline from his play palace? Frustrated in Fredericksburg, VA Molly, S.

You or Molly can fix a door problem like this in a matter of minutes. The easy fix isn’t the most elegant, but it will work.

Door latch problems like this usually happen because the gap between the door and the door jamb is much too large. The gap is supposed to be 1/8 inch but I’ve seen them as big as 5/16ths of an inch, or more!

Another key point is the keeper. The face of the keeper is supposed to be flush with the door jamb, but some installers make the recessed mortise in the jamb too deep and the keeper is farther away from the edge of the door than it should be.

A typical interior door latch extends out from the edge of the door about 1/2 inch. It’s possible the latch needs to be lubricated and checked to make sure it’s not binding if yours is not extending out that far. That might be all that’s needed to solve the problem.

The fastest fix is to just shim out the keeper 1/8 of an inch. It’s not pretty but it solves the problem. If the gap between the door edge and the jamb is greater than 1/8 inch and you want the best-looking repair, then you need to remove the trim from the latch side of the door and pry the jamb out to get it closer to the door.

You’ll need to install more shims to keep the jamb at its new location. Reinstalling the trim will require precision, sparkle, caulk, and paint. It’s all a matter of how much work you want to tackle.

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thegregorybruce · 6 years ago

Text

Unique Shed Tips and Tricks & Door Latches

Unique Shed Tips and Tricks

Be sure to think about natural light. Simple skylights or light tunnels will bathe the inside of the shed with natural light so you can see what you’re doing on cloudy days.

Door Latches

You or Molly can fix a door problem like this in a matter of minutes. The easy fix isn’t the most elegant, but it will work.

Column 1300

The post Unique Shed Tips and Tricks & Door Latches appeared first on Ask the Builder.

from Home https://www.askthebuilder.com/unique-shed-tips-and-tricks-door-latches/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

0 notes

manuelclapid · 6 years ago

Text

Unique Shed Tips and Tricks & Door Latches

Unique Shed Tips and Tricks

Be sure to think about natural light. Simple skylights or light tunnels will bathe the inside of the shed with natural light so you can see what you’re doing on cloudy days.

Door Latches

You or Molly can fix a door problem like this in a matter of minutes. The easy fix isn’t the most elegant, but it will work.

Column 1300

The post Unique Shed Tips and Tricks & Door Latches appeared first on Ask the Builder.

from Home https://www.askthebuilder.com/unique-shed-tips-and-tricks-door-latches/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

0 notes

williamccreynolds · 6 years ago

Text

Unique Shed Tips and Tricks & Door Latches

Unique Shed Tips and Tricks

Be sure to think about natural light. Simple skylights or light tunnels will bathe the inside of the shed with natural light so you can see what you’re doing on cloudy days.

Door Latches

You or Molly can fix a door problem like this in a matter of minutes. The easy fix isn’t the most elegant, but it will work.

Column 1300

The post Unique Shed Tips and Tricks & Door Latches appeared first on Ask the Builder.

from Real Estate https://www.askthebuilder.com/unique-shed-tips-and-tricks-door-latches/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

0 notes