#look how they massacred my boy /ref

[sandysapphire]

season 5 hacker my beloathed

[the-s1lly-corner]

felt fun to do a live reaction of texas chainsaw massacre SOOO doing it again with the second film except its all in one post rather than a reblog chain! under the cut woo yeah

"oh hey that sign says dallas! this takes place in texas, cool! ........wait...."/srs

oh my god these two dudes are annoying as hell but at least one of them has cool glasses. me want

its not often that i root for a character to be offed however these two deserved it omfg they were so annoying

god the head getting chainsawed in half... such a cool effect and the first gore thing in a movie to make me recoil, at least first in a while... last time that i cringed like that was with the thing.... speaking of i need to lock in and finish watching, i never finished it because i pussied out

the movie keeps stopping and needing to buffer so theres going to be timestamps randomly littered througout this simply so i can know where in the movie to return if i swap stuff up, these are for me so ignore them... 17:00

lowkey rocking with the fry house this man is fully of whimsy

Unfortunately you'd better stop with that meat mess of the chili, so that you could have it for a cookoff actually, so that you could drink a soda and then eat a candy and then-- burp Excuse me. Eat meat. So- grunt I was at a cookoff and I eat chili with a- cornbread- and then, I drink a cherry sprite in the cookoff. And that was ago when I was actually well about that. Plus I would rather- eat chocolate, as well. So, that chili mess; clean it up please. So, I don't wanna cause any more troublemakers./ref

drayton couldve passed as a semi sweet grandpa if he didnt eat people/j

tweaking out over what vaguely looks like a lesbian flag at 20:23 but logically i know its not

"oh, my kid banana!"

do you think leatherface and choptop (is that the dudes name?) looked at each other like this, but with more fear, when stretch started playing the murder on the radio- also what were the chances they were on that specific station at that time?

im going to be very upset if they kill LG, he made a fry house, hes got whimsy

BUBBAS THE YOUNGEST????

choptops only been on screen for 2 seconds and i already dig his vibe

"I like his vibe!" *choptop proceeds to eat a piece of his scalp*

ik im only on the second movie, and i do know theres a grandpa but like... where are the sawyers parents?? are they just deceased or?

35:00

BUBBA PUNK ASS JUMPSCARE

he do a little steppy jig with his chainsaw before chasing

oooo metal plate- wonder what that was for- did they put it in themselves or did they take choptop to the hospital?

"music is my life!" he just like me frfr

THEY GOT MY WHIMSICAL FRY HOUSE DUDE

i think. for both the first and second movie. its a nice attention to detail to have kirk and lg seize up and stuff after getting a head injury since like... accurate... nice little detail albeit a horrifying one

oh leatherface is getting freaky call that freakyface

oh boy i sure hope no one walks in as my back and computer screen are facing the door, while leatherface is sensually tracing his chainsaw up the bare leg of a woman

he got that thang on him though i just noticed how nice his tie looks i want it

i like how leatherface keeps doing the lil jig with his chainsaw its like he keeps hitting the emote button

ballsy lady protags my beloved yes girl go chase the chainsaw having killers after narrowly surviving, go unprepared and unequipped (affectionately but gOD)

ik its for plot reasons and suspense stuff but WHHHYYYYYYYY would enright drive his car at her in the middle of the night instead of just getting out and letting her know it was him... like i already knew it was him because i saw his fatass hat in the darkness but like- YOU KNOW????

why must all the slashers have big tiddies (not complaining i like em thick)

LGS STILL ALIVE?????

even half skinned and after a bad beating to the skull with a hammer lg still tries to comfort her i think he might be one of my favorite lesser characters from a slasher film bro did not deserve to be in this mess

"s-c-e-x... sex!"

oh mu god is the body choptop carrying around meant to be the brother that died in the first movie... speaking of, where the fuck was choptop in the first movie?

oooooooh quick search says he was in Vietnam and thats also why he has the metal plate... which... i mean hes been mentioning it here and there but i deadass could not tell if he was being /srs or not i feel so dumb i thought i was so smart for thinking it wasnt that serious

"youre balling up his shit"

THE GRANDPAS STILL ALIVE WHAT THE HELL

bro took a chainsaw to the ass

im sorry but theres no way in hell enrights tiny ass chainsaw was long enough to go right through bubbas midsection and still have a sizable piece of blade sticking out the other end

wait nvm i forgot he got the third larger one but i dont remember it being that long

WDYM THERE WAS JUST. A GRENADE ON NUBBINS CORPSE THE ENTIRE TIME

ik stretch tweaking out with the chainsaw at the end is a reference to the ending of the first but its so so corny

anyways TCM2.... 8.5/10 i enjoyed it a little more than the last!! woo yeah!!

[thisismeracing]

Look how they massacred my boy 😭

https://www.instagram.com/p/C35GiwYo-VY/?igsh=dmxmOGRwZHZ6enR0

- K

ref

jajajaja oh god-

he still looks kinda cute but theres something going on that I cannot quite pin point 😭

[diegoalvesisgod]

Top 5 Ostrava games ?

Ummm, that’s hard. It’s not like I remember entire games, rather I remember that something special happened during them. This will be long, btw. I love my stories.

1. Ostrava - Znojmo (May 2017) - Back to the 1st League

I don’t even know why this one is my favorite. But it was the first match since 2004 (our title year) that was an opportunity to celebrate something. We got relegated for the first time in nearly 70 years, and our club was just done. Done. Then we got a new owner, and a very, very controversial coach (who actually spent some time in a mental asylum because he got addicted to gambling during his time in Petersburg, yeah). And this coach came and looked everyone in the eyes and said “We’ll be back in the league in a year.” We were pretty traumatized from all the years prior to that, and we were like “Ha ha ha, okay, maybe five years.” But no. The year in the 2nd league was a fairy tale. Imagine witnessing a phoenix being reborn, that’s how it felt. We drove through it so smoothly, and were holding onto the 2nd place (Olomouc were still kind of another level) comfortably... except then... we choked. We lost a 9 points advantage we had over Opava, and here we are, playing our last match against Znojmo, and it’s win or die. And what’s with the daring predictions, a player who is no top scorer by any means says before the match: “There’s no way we’re losing this.” and we are like “Suuuure, boy.” Guess what, this boy scores the first goal. And I’m like “Boy, you score another and I’m taking off my shirt.” He effin’ did, so I’m on the tribune jumping in my bra, waving the shirt above my head (I said if he scored a hattrick, I’d take off the bra as well, but that didn’t happen). Anyways, we win, and the speaker goes: “Please, don’t run on the pitch, the players will come to celebrate later on the parking lot...” Bitch, I wanna be with my boys - he wasn’t done speaking when I was jumping over that fence, and the security were of course very chill (because you’re not stopping 5 thousand people who have decided to have a party on the pitch). We also had the celebration on the parking lot, don’t worry. Free beer and all. I don’t drink beer, but it was nice of them.

2. Ostrava - Sparta Prague (April 2018) - Beating Sparta at home after 10 years

Okay, so Sparta is our biggest rival. Some might say it’s Opava, and I get it, because we fight over who is the king of Silesia (WE ARE), but we really don’t like Sparta. We’re not friends with Slavia either, but it’s not hate, and we don’t really give a damn about the other two Prague clubs, Dukla and Bohemians, but we hate hate hate Sparta. You go from our club to Sparta and you’re dead. Or you’re not dead, but Milan Baroš has to vouch for you saying “please, dear fans, he’s just a stupid child, he didn’t know what he was doing, don’t kill him!” and hold you around your shoulders, and then you have to have a long talk with the fans, wait a couple months, and score some goals, and then we will maybe forgive you and take you back (that’s what my favorite did - stupid, stupid boy). Anyway, we usually don’t beat Sparta. And especially not at home - it hadn’t happened in 10 years before this match. BUT THEN IT DID. We were leading TWICE, but then it was 2:2. And in the 86th minute Milan fucking Baroš scored the 3:2 goal with his head. The stadium EXPLODED. It was insane. We didn’t even know what was happening, it was so intense. The ref of course gave Sparta like an hour of prolongation, because it’s Sparta. It was terrible. We couldn’t even sit anymore, we just stood there, and I think we sang our anthem, and then I prayed Our Father over and over again (I do this a lot at football matches, sometimes the whole rosary when I can’t take the nerves anymore because it calms me down), and then came the final whistle, and I just fell on my seat and started to cry hysterically. I literally couldn’t calm down. It was so beautiful, and I’ll remember it until I die.

3. Ostrava - Slavia Prague (September 2018) - Winning in 10

It was a nice, sunny day, a match against Slavia like any other (which means we were bound to lose, because, hehe, Slavia is a different level *whispers* money). But things got crazy. Crazy crazy. It’s the 10th minute, and Milan Baroš commits a foul. Um, yeah, he does, let’s admit that. An elbow. The ref gives him a yellow. But then, the 4th ref (who can’t set his foot in this city anymore) tells him to go consult VAR. He does. And gives Milan a red card. Milan being Milan (I swear to you, he’s the sweetest person off the pitch... but on the pitch, he’s a monster) tells the ref something along the likes of “You fucked up the match, you fucking c*nt!” and other things, during his approximately 3 minutes long rant prior to leaving the pitch (he got a 6 match ban after that, that’s how bad that rant was). We are in 10, we don’t have our top player, and we think that we are royally fucked. NO. The team decides that they will FUCKING WIN THIS FOR MILAN. The crowd decides that we will HAUNT SLAVIA TO THEIR GRAVE. The remaining 80 minutes are hell on earth. They never, never stood a chance. We massacred them. The crowd was so hyped, like, I was so hyped that I could have killed someone. If Milan Baroš showed up on the tribune and told me to kill the ref or one of the Slavia players, I’d probably jump onto the pitch and strangle them with my bare hands. If you don’t know what deindividuation in a crowd is, that was it. It was so intense that even our coach got sent off - our coach is a former teacher and he literally never gets mad or violent or anything, but he was sent off. We won 2:1. Nobody knows what happened here. Everyone was traumatized. And we will surely be telling our children and grand-children about this match.

4. Ostrava - Zlín (February 2016) - Winning for Pavel

Okay, this match wasn’t special in terms of football (I don’t remember anything that happened on the pitch), but I’ll always remember it. It was the match where we said goodbyes to our former goalkeeper, Pavel Srniček, who died in December 2015, actually a day after my birthday. I attended the traditional “New Year’s Eve Match” that is played every year, and that year it was on December 27th, and Pavel was already in hospital, and we were chanting his name there and sending positive energy. I couldn’t even imagine that day that he would be gone in two days. It was even harder for me because we played tennis at the same club, always in the early mornings in the same hall, neighboring courts, and we would exchange balls that flew over the net separating the courts and laugh all the time - it was just a constant in my life, that thing you just really feel isn’t there when the person is gone. Anyways, this match was the first match home we played since his death, and the club made a video homage to him that they played in half-time on the big screens. As I was standing there watching it, tears rolling down my cheeks, an elderly man was passing through the stands, and he just stopped and clipped me on the shoulder, and walked away - a moment I’ll remember forever. This was the season we got relegated, and we lost literally everything we could have lost, but this match we won 3:0, out of the blue. Look at this:

Strange, right? I’m probably the thickest person when it comes to spiritual stuff, I’m the first one to tell you things like that don’t exist, but that day, I simply felt that Pavel was there with us. He was there and nobody will convince me it’s not true.

5. Ostrava - České Budějovice (February 2013) - Milan Baroš’s Comeback

This was the match when Milan Baroš came back to Ostrava after 11 years. Which made me feel very old, too, since unlike the excited kids around, I remembered when he left. Ahem. I don’t even remember the score, I think it was a draw, but it was freezing cold (February, eh) and the staff had to literally clean 1 meter of snow from the pitch and the stands (open stadium, where half of it didn’t have roof, so), and there were piles of snow everywhere. Which we promptly used to make snowballs and throw them at the opponents when they were about to take corner kicks... it was fun. We had a special presentation for Milan, and I had a picture of it, but I can’t find it now. Anyways, I like the memory of this one.

[kennethstepp]

Preparation and Restoration

Preparation And Restoration

The Kindness of a Loving God

By Kenneth Stepp

Becoming Benjamin:

At 16 years old, he was coming into his own. He was a shy kid, just trying to be a man, Skinny Benny was his name most of his childhood. He found himself at a dirty gym in the inner city. The sport was boxing. He wasn’t known for his physical prowess, yet he mustered the courage to be there. He awkwardly pushed one rope down and pulled one up and stepped into the ring. The mat felt strange. Bouncy even. He wasn’t expecting that. The ring favorite came up. His name was Jabber, no doubt a nickname. Just another kid, no doubt from the neighborhood, stepped into the ring and stared at Benny. He had been here many times and they called him Champ, Benny was new at this. He thought he’d be trained before this. Evidently, training is what he was doing here. The ref made his way to the center of the ring. Fighters waved to the middle. Fair and clean fight, he said. Ding! It was a massacre. Benny found himself on the mat, bloody, ears ringing, and yet, alive in a way he’d never been. What just happened?

The next day Benny hurt in places he didn’t know he had. Sporting a black eye and a very fat lip. All he could say was two things. At least he did it. And he could do better. It was hot out that day. Benny’s family had no idea about the sport he was interested in. Something about it just sucked him in. He felt compelled to know what it was and to master it. Looking back, it was all a plan for his life. To him, it was something that called him. He trained, He ran every day, he studied the great fighters, he watched videos, went to matches, lifted weights, he trained. Some days, it was mindless actions, some days it was obsession. And to Benny, it was something he had to do. Some of the guys at the gym, seeing he was so committed to training, asked, why not be a bodybuilder? Fighters get hurt, bodybuilders get the girls. All he knew was that he was a warrior. It may be deep inside him, but he knew what he was. 

Three months had passed and Baby Leroy, the trainer at the gym said, you’ll be gloving up tomorrow night, I’m out of fighters. Benny was a little intimidated by his last humiliating loss, but reluctantly agreed. He moved across the gym to the powerbag. It was a leather bag hanging from the ceiling by a chain. It was hard as a rock and weighed about 200 pounds. Baby Leroy, Benny yelled across the room. What! Can I do this? This is your domain, the last time I fought, I embarrassed myself and hurt for days. Son, God has a plan for all of us. You are no better or worse than any of us. Tomorrow night you will take all the time and investments I poured into you into the ring. If I didn’t think you were ready, I wouldn’t tell you to glove up. Hit the showers and get some rest, you’re going to need it.

Sleep was illusive that night. He tossed and turned. There wasn’t anyone to talk to about it. His family was in disarray, no one would understand. Benny was the youngest of three boys, they called me kid. To them this fighting stuff was their business, not the runt of the family. He finally began to doze off. As he fell into a deep sleep, he dreamed. He dreamed of being a warrior. Facing the battle as a knight on the battlefield. Covered in armor, sword in hand, rushing up the next hill. With his life on the line, his next move could be his last, every step he took was important, every breath he took meant his life could end. He was sure he was in a battle with other warriors, his dream was vivid and so complete. The colors, sounds, and smell of the bloody field were so real. How, How did he get there, when would this be over? Startled by his oldest brother entering his room and shaking him. Are you ok kid? You were screaming and moving around in your bed so loud I could hear you across the hall. I’m ok. Sorry I woke you. He sank back into a deep sleep. 

Benny woke up naturally the next day. Coffee and cereal. Not exactly the breakfast of champions. He looked at the clock, 9:30 am. His fight seemed so far away. He had to check in at the gym at 5:00. Feeling this anxious, how would he fill this day? Having finished breakfast, he pondered the day ahead. Companionship on this journey would be helpful. His family had no idea and he was a loner. He made no real friends at the gym, some even made fun of him for being so quiet. Most stayed away from him because of the seriousness he took with workouts. Baby Leroy always said to take it easy before a fight. He took it easy the first time and found himself on the floor covered in his own blood. He decided to go for a run. Five miles on the street would be a great way to start the day. 

Inner city gyms are dirty and dark for the most part. And fight night had one thing that always happened. Gamblers. The amount of cash being bet was amazing to Benny. Two men get into the ring, everyone gets a good look at them, most are there every week and know who the fighters are, their records, previous fights, and their style of fighting. Benny walked the aisle to the ring, grabbed the rope and climbed in. He walked around for a moment waiting to see who his opponent would be. A train of guys and a man in a hooded robe began making a theatrical beeline for the ring. One rope up, one held down, he entered the ring. As he danced around, arms in the air, hood falling off, his worst fears came to life. It was Jabber again. No doubt, here to make a fool of him again. Baby Leroy looked over with the most wise look I had ever seen. “You got this.”

As the fighters met the ref in the center of the ring, Benny listened to his instructions, moved away, the bell rang, and they moved into the middle of the ring. Jabber began with a right hook catching Benny on the chin, he staggered back, caught himself on the ropes, Jabber, sensing the end was near, shot two more punches quickly. Benny knew he was in trouble and pushed Jabber back like he was in a street fight. Shaking his head “no”, he came back at Jabber, left, left, left, right hook, Jabber was rattled. The bell rang. No idea if anyone was saved by the bell, but this was a very different fight than before. This was two warriors, not one warrior and a lost boy. Baby Leroy told Benny while he was in his corner, you had him. The next round, take him out. 

The bell rang again, Jabber came in fast, he tried the same combination, Benny stepped back, and then back in, Jabber didn’t know what hit him. He was out, completely out. Benny had never seen a man just drop. It was as if he was an outsider watching a fight. He had beaten their best. As Jabber was helped up, Baby Leroy said, I told you you had this. I will never lie to you son. If I tell you a mouse can pull a wagon, hook him up. Still on a high that only a winner can know, he wanted to shower up and go somewhere to celebrate. But where does a 16 year old loner go? He goes home and hopes his parents don’t see he’s been in a fight, then off to his room. Today was a great day. The warrior child had his first victory. Life has a way of reminding us that not every experience will be a win. And Benny’s life was no different. Loss would always be his faithful companion. 

The Professional:

Today was the day. Going pro as they call it. After almost three years of bloodsport and pain. Benny would hold the title of a professional boxer. Oh happy day. He was excited. Now 19 years old, in the shape of his life, and eager to become whatever he was becoming. Having made a name for himself in Golden Gloves, the new Benny was emerging as a pro fighter and that was exciting to him. Pride and a feeling of superiority would not serve him well in the future. But that is a lesson to be learned. There would be many lessons to come. Today was his day. Being licensed by the state to fight professionally. That’s what today was about. Not the future, not the money, not even what people thought. The only thing that mattered was how he felt today. And that was amazing… 

Literally across the ring. That is how far he was knocked in his first professional fight. He’d never been hit so hard and so often. His knockout may have been merciful. It was also telling. He stood toe to toe with another professional boxer and lost magnificently. Not how he wanted to begin his historic rise to fame. And certainly not the record he wanted, 0 and 1. What on earth went wrong? Every thought imaginable went through his mind. If he was going to lose, why lose so easily? Why was he not able to even defend himself? Too many why’s and not enough answers. Boxing had so many rules. Was he meant to go back to civilian life, he thought. He was about as down as he’d ever been. 

Four years later, as he stepped into the ring again, he was weary. With a record of 8 and 19, he had little to no chance to make it big in boxing. All he could do was stand tall to the guy in front of him. Just another road bump in a less that average boxing career. As they stood staring at one another before the bell rang, Benny wondered, has this guy found winning to be much harder than he’d expected like he had? What is winning really? At the end of the night we will both be in the hospital. If his stay is shorter, did he win? Philosophy is a terrible thing when one is bleeding. And by the end of the fight, they both were. 

The Offer:

Gladiator sports… Benny had never heard that phrase before. Yet here he was, standing in front of a guy making him an offer. You hit like a mule kicks. You would be amazing without gloves, refs, and rules. Imagine hearing this after spending the majority of your adult life following rules and the ref’s orders. The day after the fight, a very suspicious man showed up at my door. How would you like to make some real money? Really? I make money now, Benny thought to himself. The stranger looked at him with very confident eyes. He knew what he wanted to say before he said it. Boxers like you flame out quickly. You were good enough to go pro, but not good enough to beat a lot of other professional boxers. It happens more often than not. Benny was intrigued, so he agreed to meet him in the morning at a local coffee shop for a serious conversation. 

Benny woke up late. It seems injuries drain the life out of the body and sleep is something the body requires to move on. He noticed the time and dragged himself out of bed and began to move with purpose. They say time waits for no one, and the opportunity this guy was talking about came once in a lifetime. Maybe never in a lifetime. The money he said he would make per fight, should he qualify, was more than he’d ever hoped for as a boxer. It was life altering money. Fame? He never mentioned that… He’d find out why in the future. 

He was kind of a weasel. His name was Jimmy, there was something very sleazy about Jimmy, but he spoke of a future in fighting that Benny knew he did not have in boxing. He was funny, but he knew he was there just following orders. Who gave him those orders, he had no idea. How would you like to make the big bucks? $10k per night. Looking back, Benny wished he had asked about the “per night” thing. He only knew per fight. That would be huge in his life. He asked for details. You will have to be trained, but we think you will be perfect. Intrigued, Benny said yes. The offer was just too good given the direction his boxing career was heading. 

Training Day:

Benny showed up expecting trainers. What he found was Jimmy and another guy. Training will be intense, they said. You will go through several stages of training. The first will be with a master. Benny was asked to follow them. Three hours later, he was in the parking lot of a very seedy looking hotel. It was horrible. A clarifying picture of things to come. They entered an ally. There was a door that was very dark, They entered it and there it was. A dojo like none Benny had seen before. This would be his home for several months. He wasn’t excited about it, but he needed a career change and this held promise. That day was a turning point in his life and up till then was the most significant day yet.

Push, push, push. The training was brutal. It pushed Benny’s human limits. Strength training, endurance racing, diet, carbing up. They had found ways of adding weight to his body and dissolving fat. Injections and more injections, 1000 pushups before bed, he was becoming something unfamiliar. But it felt great. He could run, I mean run, forever, up and down streets too. He could strike a power bag so hard that the sound echoed all across the gym. He felt amazing, and felt so strong, he felt like a god. He was becoming invincible. 

The Farm:

Four months of the most brutal yet amazing training he had ever had. He was becoming something he didn't know he could be. He was awakened at 4:00 AM. Get up, we are moving. The hole in the wall Benny called home was both a dump and had become home to him. It seemed disgusting when he arrived but he made it work. The drive was long, Jimmy had very little to say, he was usually talkative to the point of bothering him. So where is my new home? They call it The Farm. That sounded like a needed break to Benny, the inner city has its own charm, but hearing a rooster in the morning sounds great too. They drove for several hours, only stopping every little while for bathroom breaks. We were in the country now and it was beautiful. The air smelled so clean. On these country roads Benny began to imagine what this farm would be like. Nothing could have prepared me for the truth.  

Anatomy 101:

The main house was big and beautiful. Off to the right was a huge barn with a small cabin beside it. They pulled up at the cabin, Benny grabbed the few items that belonged to him and took them in. Welcome home! He turned and there was a very large man in gym shorts on the porch standing at the door. No time to unpack, orientation is in ten minutes. Benny learned early on in this adventure to just go along, ask few questions, and do what he needed to to prepare him for what needed to be done. He walked over to the barn. It really was huge. Made of metal, red with a large sliding door to walk through. As he walked in, he was impressed by how neat it was kept. It had different sections for different uses. To the right was the ring, he supposed he could box there. To the left were rooms. Rooms without ceilings, the ceiling on the barn was very high, maybe 40 feet, they built these rooms to make him feel he was in classrooms, or that was the only thing he could think of. 

They walked into the first room, there was a thin pale guy in a lab coat. Benny, this is Doc. He will be spending the next month or so with you. They shook hands. Doc’s hands were soft and weak, Benny’s had become large and muscular. He winced when he tried to give him a firm handshake. Benny realized he had changed to the point that he needed to keep his hand strength in check. Time for your first class Benny. Let’s learn something, he replied. For the next month we will be studying human anatomy. More importantly, how to destroy it. Benny smiled and said, well alrighty then. Classes were 5 hours a day, seven days a week. Physical training was even harder at the farm. Benny sparred with guys that were not his equal. There were moments when he felt he had no equal. His confidence was higher than ever. He was being taught the science of devastating other human beings. It fascinated him.

Well, They Called it a Farm:

Noticing no crops or animals, Benny was left to wonder why they named this, The Farm. They say curiosity killed the cat. He was about to find out why. After a month he was in the best shape of his life. He knew he was becoming something amazing and maybe a little scary, He knew he was being prepared for something amazing too. He followed Doc to another room, it was new to him. They walked in, it was cold and dark, it was refrigerated and had a ceiling. He flipped the lights on. Ten dead bodies lay on their own tables. The Farm was a body farm. And in retrospect, he was the cash crop. Himself and others like him. He’d find out later, there were very few. Today we will learn how to maximize damage to real humans. If he had not come so far, he’d leave right now. Looking back, this also desensitized him and taught him how to bring pain, lots of pain. They had to prepare his body to hurt other peoples bodies. They were definitely on track. Bone breaking, mastoid strikes, liver strikes, anything that could win a fight was what he learned. It was brute force meeting science. He had to admit, it felt great.

Fight Day:

They drove for over 12 hours. It was beautiful. They were in Connecticut, he thought. The state signs were a blur. What day is this Jimmy? Friday, we’ll be staying in a nice hotel tonight, you’ll love it. It was all that. This was the finest hotel Benny had ever seen. Benny had his own room, Jimmy said to enjoy it. Tomorrow night is your first fight. Benny still had no idea the type of fighting or the person he’d fight. He knew one thing. He would not want to be that guy. Benny felt like Superman. And that is who his opponent would be fighting. He actually couldn’t wait. 

The Contestants:

The warehouse they were holding this fight in was large and in town. Benny was in an office inside of the warehouse. Put this on, Jimmy said. It was a baggy tee shirt. There was no ring, he was puzzled how they were going to have a fight without one. As he sat in a chair, it was a business chair behind a desk actually. Benny asked Jimmy who he would be fighting tonight. Just a few locals. A few? Jimmy, I am unsure I can take on a “few” guys at once, he said. Relax, you fight one at a time. Your job is to make it look close each time before you put them down. Make it look good. Benny knew what that meant. This entire journey had always been on the job training. As he walked out of the room he noticed the energy first, then the gambling, everyone made a human circle and he was walking towards the center of it. The names of the men they threw at him that night meant nothing to him. In all, one at a time, seven men entered the circle to fight Benny. Seven men were carried out. The hardest part of the night was making it look close, and not slipping on all the blood. He had become superhuman. 

Payday:

They stayed an extra day at the hotel. Benny had to admit, it was a welcome break. He woke up and called Jimmy’s room. Let’s do something today Jimmy. Sounds great, I’ll be over in 30 minutes or so. Jimmy and Benny had never spent any time together other than work. Their drives were quiet. He never seemed to want to be there. They took a taxi to the city, it was refreshing. Choosing a cafe with outdoor seating, they relaxed. Jimmy handed him a check. It was made out to a company, B Power Inc. It was for $10,000.00. What’s this and who is B Power Inc? That’s what you made last night and B Power is a company they set up for you. Tomorrow I’ll take you to open a bank account. He’d never seen so many zeros. Growing up in the inner city in abstract poverty, this was shocking. We will be moving to Atlanta Georgia this week. Why Atlanta? Why not was all he got from Jimmy. Let’s get going.

Atlanta Georgia:

Growing up in Kentucky, made the North Georgia mountains look amazing. He’d never seen such green mountains. They were majestic in a way. Beautiful and clean. He pictured living in a cabin on a mountain top overlooking a river or lake. Maybe one day… They drove through Kennesaw Georgia and headed west, Kennesaw was a quaint little town north of Atlanta. The fact they have a law requiring every citizen to own a gun intrigued Benny. The south. A bastion of civil war history and beautiful small towns everywhere. Down a country road again. Where are we going Jimmy? Home, our home. He’d be sharing a home with Jimmy. He did not see that coming. Another farm. Horses, goats, ducks, and chickens, he loved it. The house was nice. He counted 4 bedrooms as he walked through it. Two masters, one was mine. I hope I’m here a while, Benny said in a cheerful voice. 

The Life of a Gladiator:

Over the next few days, Jimmy and Benny were becoming friends. One night they decided to grill some steaks and have a few beers. Dinner on the back deck watching the horses play together was wonderful. How did I get to this place Jimmy? What have I walked into? You were chosen. You have a high IQ, hard to find in the boxing game. You pushed yourself physically. My job is to spot guys like you. Then manage them. What have you walked into? A machine, and you are a small cog in a huge wheel. They run a gambling machine. You my friend are a gladiator for the machine. You’re a ringer. What we call, a “fightist”. From what I can tell, we have 6 to 10 people like you at any given time. Your first fight made them over $19 million dollars. You received ten thousand, I get a little less. Every place you’ve been, including this place, belongs to them. They promote the fights to very wealthy people, some as far away as Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Some fights take in over $100 million dollars. They created you to win every fight, but make you wear a baggy tee shirt to make it look like you're not “all that”.

Every Two Weeks:

Benny’s employers had an interesting business model. He remained curious as he studied it. He trained everyday, He knew no other life now. Training was a habit, routine is his constant companion. His mind worked differently than most. He’d find out years later why. Today was a travel day. Where are we off to? Jimmy smiled and said, New Orleans. You’ll love it. Benny had healed up nicely from his last fight, he felt great. Honestly, looking back, he always felt great. It’s been about two weeks Jimmy. Is that going to be a thing? Every other Saturday night we fight. Some are bigger than others. This fight will be a big one. We are hosting some very wealthy people from the other side of the planet. Should be fun. Benny smiled. For whom will this be fun for? Jimmy laughed and said, you on payday. Remember to save your money. Shelf life in this business is brief. 

Shelf Life:

Two years. They told Benny, that was longer than most made it as a gladiator. What does a warrior do when there are no more wars to fight, no battle to be won or lost? No contests to stand up to? He had money, he had a great mind and an amiable personality. He moved back to Kentucky and bought a small home on some land. Privacy mattered to him. His home sat far enough from the country road it was on that people didn’t notice he was there. He trained outside most days. Chopping wood for hours. His mind would drift to business. He decided he should open a business of some kind. The search for his passion was on. History, training, and art were what he found gave him energy. Art and history would be his chosen career. He began going to antique auctions in the mountains. He started storing the gems he bought and looking for where to market them and how. 

Atlanta Calls Him:

Atlanta never left Benny’s heart and mind. After a lot of preparation and study, he settled on Atlanta again. He took a trip down south and began visiting areas that would make not only a great home, but a place that would be good for an antique and art store. Most days were spent just visiting these lovely little towns. He combed through ads daily until the print became blurry. He wanted to find a place that would not only be a great spot for retail, but would also have some history to it. The search was daily and obsessive. He knew when I saw it, he’d know. 

Madison Georgia:

Morning coffee and a real estate magazine. This had become his reality of late. As he looked through the colorful ads and hoped something would catch his eye, there it was. A house in Madison Georgia. It looked perfect. Built in 1886, it was everything he’d been looking for. He called the agent immediately. It was a typical sunny day in the south, it was Spring, everything was blooming, He arrived in Madison anticipating something good was happening today. He drove through the prettiest little town he’d ever seen. Madison was a wealthy small town, south east of Atlanta. Founded by James Madison before he became our president. Antebellum homes were everywhere. And he was going to be looking at one of them. He pulled up to the house. Wow! That was the only word he could say at the moment. 

Home:

The agent was filling him in on the history of this house. Her words fell on deaf ears. Benny was lost in the old architecture, the gingerbread on the three sided front porch. He was home. He was also going to have his business here. He would live upstairs and have his antiques and art downstairs. When can I move in? Well, we have to see when we can close. I’m writing a check. I’ll be ready to move tomorrow. Happy but confused, she said, let me see what I can arrange, her smile never left her face. In three weeks Benny was open for business. Marketing came naturally for him. Business began booming. You would think he’d be happy. He missed being a warrior. But that life was behind him. What to do now?

Benny Sees Bad Guys:

Benny had a BMW that he’d bought when he first retired from fighting. He ran an ad in a local publication. He received a call from a man who wanted to come and buy it. The car was over $20,000.00 and he wanted to pay cash. Of course I’ll accept cash, Benny answered. Why not? He came with his tribe. Africa somewhere was where his accent came from. He paid Benny for the car and left. A week later he received a call from a federal agent about the BMW. The car had been involved in a plot to scam a bank in Michigan for millions. The only thing the agent had to identify anyone was that Benny’s card was inside the glove box of his old car. It was a real estate deal that involved money laundering. Benny was instantly fascinated. The agent said he’d be in town soon and wanted to see Benny while he was there. He was intrigued. He began investigating this Stranger who bought his car. Turned out, it was a skill he had. And a passion.

Another Beginning:

Benny dug in, he began looking into everything about the guy that bought his car. He had about an hour long conversation. He was relaxed with him, like most are. He remembered every word. One thing he remembered was the area he lived in Atlanta and a bar he and his friends frequented. He went online and studied surveillance techniques. Figuring they were night owls, He watched. The next night was the payoff. There he was, with all his tribe in tow. It was a little after 2:00 am, they came out and headed home. Benny followed from a distance. They pulled into a townhome complex. He hung back, waited a few minutes and drove in. He knew they were here somewhere and only had to find the van they were in. There it was in the driveway. He went by, took a snapshot of the tag and wrote down the address. He had created an entire file on his foreign friends. Where they went during the day, places they liked to eat, their lives in a nutshell. It was exciting and fun for him. 

The Offer:

The agent finally arrived in town and called. Can you meet me today? Of course. Benny gave him the address of a restaurant in downtown Madison with outdoor seating. They met at 1:00 pm. Sitting at a table outside, the sidewalk was made of brick. Quaint and something Benny particularly enjoyed. They shook hands and went right at his case. He said he needed to find out who this man was, he has hurt so many over the last 24 months. Benny handed him the file he compiled on them. Have you ever been a cop? No, just have a knack for finding people. I enjoyed it, he said. Three nights later they raided the townhome and took down what turned out to be a bank fraud network. Benny was pleased to get a bad guy off the street. He thought that was the end of it till a couple weeks later he received a call from a man he would forever know, as Rocky. I represent the American government and would like to buy your lunch. Benny had no idea how his life would change after that day. 

Meeting The Handler:

Rocky was Italian and funny. Too much energy, but very likable. Looking back, he was a recruiter. I represent federal law enforcement. I’d like to know if you would consider working with us from time to time? I looked your tax records up, I know you do not need the money. It’s cash and we are generous. You are right. I am ok financially, Benny answered. But before I accept or reject your offer, what would I be doing? Investigations, building cases, making arrests. Pretty simple really. Benny’s imagination was piqued. I think I would like that, he said. We’ll set you up with everything you will need. I’ll call you soon. Wait. What agency do you work for? He smiled that broad smile, “all of them”. Again, Benny was intrigued. He really looked forward to his call. 

My First Case:

Two weeks later Rocky called. Meet us at FBI headquarters, ask for Rocky at the front desk. He already had their address. It was north of Atlanta. Benny was uneasy, but excited to see a new chapter opening in his life. The antique business was great, art moved him, but something was missing. Maybe it was taking risks, maybe it was excitement. Or perhaps he’s just addicted to fear. The idea of doing something that might end in him dying was invigorating. The idea of thinking that confused him a little. Am I normal, he asked? The jury was still out on that one. All he knew was he had something exciting to look forward to and nothing was going to stop him from doing it. 

Agent In Charge:

Rocky introduced him to Senior Field Agent Michaels. I’ve been assigned this case, I’ll be the agent in charge. I will be the agent you work with. You will not work with anyone but me. Rocky cannot know anything about my case. With that, Rocky excused himself. It was just the agent and Benny. The case was about an elusive con man named John. He left a trail of victims for over 10 years. He’d never been caught, he was good at taking things that weren’t his. He briefed Benny and handed him a copy of his file. Benny suddenly found himself so thankful for his two employees. He could take a case any time and they had his back. People like that are so hard to find. The case was impossible for the FBI to end because this guy moved every two weeks. He had two armed bodyguards, so it really made Benny’s head tingle with excitement. Time to dig in.

The Take Down And Arrest:

His first case took him 45 days. It turns out, that would be the longest one he’d have for the next twenty years. He set up a sting and he fell for it. He made the arrest himself at Aaron Rents in Buckhead, near downtown Atlanta. It will forever be burned into his memory. He thought the federal Marshals were meeting him there. They were stuck in traffic, it was on him to bring this to a conclusion. He walked into the store, it’s him, he told the two employees that Benny had prepared earlier. He began moving towards the door. Benny stepped in front of the door and locked it before he could leave. He pulled his weapon and ordered him on the floor. He had no cuffs, he yelled at the guy behind the counter to throw him a roll of tape. He taped his hands behind his back and took him to the back room. He stood him up by the back door. He began asking questions about where his gang was and the address of their operation. He just said, “I want an attorney”, and smirked. Benny grabbed his throat pinning him against the wall. Do you think I’m a cop *&X$#@, his eyes looked as big as dinner plates. He saw fear like he’d never seen before that day. He gave Benny the information. He would have told him anything really. He gave up his entire crew out of fear. He was now a rat. The marshals arrived minutes later and were amused to see a broken man sitting in a chair with his hands taped behind his back. Benny was surprised to learn he only served 3 years. 

She Touched Me:

Benny was minding his store one day and in walked a girl. She was a vision. She began looking around, if you don’t find anything you want just ask, smiled Benny. There is more in the back. I’m Pam, she stuck her hand out, Benny, or Benjamin, if you were family. She bought a couple of small pieces and left. She also took a piece of his heart with her. That had never happened before. Their conversation sat directly into his heart. Women buy antiques all the time. Benny met so many of them and didn't feel a thing. This girl got his attention the second she walked into his shop. His hope was that she saw something else here she liked. He busied himself the rest of the day, but Pam stayed on his mind the rest of that evening. 

He woke up before the sun the next morning. Something he felt was residual effects of his years of training. He still worked out. The intensity wasn’t the same. His friends considered me freakishly in shape. For him, he knew what being in shape was. He remembered, he always remembered how strong he became. And being able to run all day and never tire. He remembered when no other man had a chance against him. His confidence had not waned in the least. He was still becoming something. His entire life had felt like preparation for something. What? That remains to be seen. 

Hunting Humans:

Rocky kept him busy. His spare time did not exist. His skill set seemed to be hunting. Bounty hunting for the feds. He doubted anyone saw that coming. I know Benny didn't. Hunting became a way of life for him. It served up the excitement he needed and locking up bad guys couldn’t be a bad thing. He spent most weekends hunting. The FBI gave him access to all of their databases. Had he wanted to do domestic work, that would have been a handy tool. But chasing wayward spouses seemed repulsive to him. Not needing the money helped make decisions about what he spent his time doing easier. His antique and art business was growing and he had plenty of time to pursue other passions. 

Expert Witness:

Rocky called last night. Calling at night was odd for him. He always felt he was put on his agenda most days and he was at the top of his call list. Benny usually heard from him before 6:00 am. I want to introduce you to someone in the morning, Rocky stated. So that morning, Benny stood at the federal building in Macon Georgia. Hello Benny, Rocky called and apologized, he won’t be joining us. In Benny’s mind, everything happens for a reason. Rocky was an operative. If he wasn’t here, it was because being here would hurt the outcome of the op. The man who greeted Benny was a federal prosecutor. He needed help with a money laundering case. He led Benny into his office and handed him a case file. As he read through it he saw an easy case in his opinion. Why do you need me? This case is a no brainer. He sat back in his chair and looked at Benny. I’ve had him here before. I had a first hand witness just like I do now. In that case, my witness died before trial. I have another first hand witness this time too. They do not know his identity. I’m asking you to be him. I need someone who can stay alive till this guy is behind bars. Rocky said you might be perfect for this. Benny’s new friend was asking him to follow a script on the stand. Lie under oath. You will be Ben Stone while the trial goes on. Benny smiled, I’m in. The trial begins next week. Here’s your script. Rocky wasn’t here so that there would be no witness to him asking me to lie under oath. 

The Trial:

The following week came quickly. Benny arrived at the courthouse prepared for his role as an expert witness.  As the proceedings began, he studied the courtroom and everyone in it. People interested him. He guessed that everyone says that, but his fascination with them is borderline obsessive. He wanted to know about everyone he met. The defendant looked very sociable. Like a nice guy. Unlike the jury, Benny had an opportunity to browse his file. He was a dangerous man and capable of great evil. They wrapped up the first day, Benny was told he did a great job. Evidently it was good enough to cause his defense attorney to ask for a plea deal. The first day was the last. They wrapped up. The guy received a sentence of 6 years in the federal penitentiary. There would be more courts, more scripts, more bad guys seeing Ben Stone on the stand. Benny would remember every last one of them. 

She’s Back:

Minding the store that day was boring. He was alone most of the day, few customers, and very little to do. He toyed with the idea of closing early. At that moment he heard the ding of the bell on the front door. Pam, hello, you came back. Yes I did. I was in the area and thought I’d see if anything interesting came in. I went to an auction in Tennessee last week. I picked up a few paintings you may like, come this way. As they walked towards the back of the store she asked, is there a good place to eat in town? Yes, several. A few are stand alone restaurants, owned by locals. That’s the best kind, she said. It’s after 5, what time do you eat? Pam, I was just thinking of closing early and going to dinner. How about I show you around my beautiful town? I’d love that, she said with a grin. Closing up quickly, they jumped in his truck and headed out for a night he would remember the rest of his life.

Love Happens:

Pam and Benny saw one another every chance they could. He’d never been in love before. This was new territory for him, did he know how to love? Would she love him back? Days, weeks, months, they turned into years. They loved one another. Marriage was the inevitable end to this journey. The end. They were married at her home. A small wedding and a wonderful honeymoon. They decided on Charleston South Carolina for five days. It was one of the happiest times of their lives. He was so in love. He knew she would be his soulmate forever. Love is a powerful thing, many never find it. He felt he was the luckiest man alive. Other moments to be thankful for were on the way. He had just begun his most interesting adventure. 

Having My Baby:

Three years passed like three weeks, business was booming, they had grown so much as a couple. Benny didn’t know he could be so happy or love so much as today. It was so busy at work and his bride had asked him to come home early. Dinner at home and a movie, cuddling with his girl. Who wouldn’t want to come home early for that? The drive home seemed long that day, they had been talking about selling the house and moving closer to his store. It’s a conversation that is getting ready to move to the front of the line. He pulled into the garage and walked in, Pam had a way of always having something awesome cooking, the smell is always wonderful. She made their house a home… 

Thank you for dinner baby, thank you she said. I have news she said with excitement. What’s the news sweetie? I'm pregnant! Not even for a nanosecond did he think about it. That’s awesome Pam. They had been trying to have a baby for over a year. His previous life led to injuries to his baby making parts and we were having difficulties conceiving. This was amazing news for their family. He was on another adventure, but this time he had a partner in crime. The love of his life will take this one with him. Happiness was magnified that night.

Family Matters:

Her name is Madison Elizabeth, they will call her Madi. She is the most beautiful person he had ever seen. This might be the best day of his life. This was the most impressive achievement in his life. Did he really achieve something here? Ha, who cares, he was so happy. This little girl would be his life, the reason he did anything important, she will be one of his main purposes in life. He was a father now. He had a great dad. He only hoped he could be as good as he was. He remembered that he couldn’t wait to call him and give him the news. Everything changed in their lives when Madi arrived, everything. 

Changes:

He came home from work, Madi heard him and made a beeline for daddy, it was the happiest moment of the day for Benny, everyday. She was two now and was their world. Benny, we need to talk… Pam had a beautiful heart and those words never rattled him. What is it baby? How would you feel about going to church? I hadn’t thought much about it, he said, but sure. Raising Madi in church seemed like a great idea. Any thoughts on a church babe? We received this flyer yesterday. Rock Falls Church, it’s just two miles from us and it’s a contemporary style church. I’m in baby. Find out what time we should be there and we’ll go. 11:00 am sweets. Casual dress. Benny couldn’t wait. 

Changes were coming. Many. Benny embraced positive change, he always had. Their lives had a cadence to them. They were a family that went to church regularly, They were active in their community, and they took a mini vacation every month. Life was good. It couldn’t get better than this. 

It Gets Better Than This:

Benny will never forget the day he walked in the door and Pam had a frightened look on her face.  Baby, are you ok? Is something wrong? I have something to tell you and how you feel about it will decide if something is wrong. Pam, spill it. You can always say anything to me, you know that. I’m pregnant, she blurted out. Benny was fired up, he wanted another child, this was perfect. He would be his last child. She saw the excitement in his eyes, she smiled and said, I knew you would be happy. Like he says all the time, changes are coming and these kinds of changes were amazing. 

Life In Motion: 

Ben Jr came on the scene and gave them another love of their  lives. He was amazing. As the years flew by, they found that he was so smart. He just figured things out. His mind worked like Benny’s and he looked like a mini Benny. Scouting would become a big part of the family. Madi would grow up and become a Gold Scout, Ben would achieve his Eagle Scout award. They raised two wonderful humans. Two responsible, smart, active people. They didn’t raise children, they raised adults. Pam and Benny did well by them. 

Trouble Brewing:

They enjoyed a great lifestyle. Benny had become comfortable with others running his store, it had grown to the point that he was looking for a second location. Years ago he converted the part of his home he lived in, into an upper showroom, Ebay, and online sales rose every year. Crazy growth and it seemed the music would never end. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. He just never thought theirs would. Times they were changing. Not good change, the bad kind. After an assessment and some forensic accounting, Benny was done. His employees became addicted to meth and stole everything he had. In the end they lost everything. Their homes, properties, and social standing. Most will understand that last one. The only thing left to do was to file for bankruptcy relief. They were left with nothing. They had to move into a rental house, everything had changed. They were changing. Their relationship was changing. She looked at him differently. 

Moving On:

It was over. Every dream, every great night, event, vacation, and anniversary. They were done. He just couldn’t make a comeback. Making a living always came easy for him in the past. Today, he wasn’t capable. Today he was alone. Pam had to go back to work, she worked three jobs. She barely got by.  Benny rented a bedroom in a stranger's home. And even then, he barely made it. He was miserable. What does a man do that no longer has a clue what to do next. He could barely make enough to eat. He began shrinking his life so that he owed less. He became a minimalist. Still, he was broken and broke. He needed to make a living. He’d tried everything. He applied for many jobs before his marriage fell apart. None wanted a has been or a used to be broken man. A man who use to be something. He was a shell of that man. How could he go from where he was to where he is? The solution doesn’t manifest itself. Every day is Groundhog Day, all the same. 

The Past Is The Future Again:

Benny woke up early and headed to a nearby lake. He needed to make a decision, it could be the most important of his life. Money was gone and none was coming in at any future date. He was looking at being homeless. The thought was awful. The only asset he had was his old truck. Would that now be his home? He met a guy that knew his history, he gave him a number of a guy, a biker. There was a fight club that was involved in gambling. It was run by a biker club. Underground, illegal fighting. It had been many years. Could he still survive in the ring? He made the call. The man on the other end of the phone said he’d meet with him. The first fight is free my man. That will be your resume. If you can fight, you’ll get $1000.00 per fight if you are good. He gave Benny a place and time. No phones or recording devices. Benny already knew that.

Out Of Retirement:

Saturday night, a warehouse, and a bunch of drunks. Benny showed up and checked in. Tonight would be free and tonight will tell him if I still had what it took. Uncertainty had never been his companion before. But there he was, big grin and all. A guy knocked on the door. You’re up. Benny came out and walked towards the circle of people. His opponent was already there and waiting. He was a bit bigger and a lot younger than him. Benny was just a middle aged man in a young man's game. He began to taunt Benny. For some reason him telling Benny what he was going to do to him made Benny smile. He could not stop smiling. Ding! They moved towards one another, he swung a right at Benny, he stepped back, he hit nothing. He was angry and losing control. Benny used an old trick, he kicked forward into the front of his hip, predictably, he grabbed Benny’s leg, Benny pulled his leg in and struck his mastoid with a hard right. He was asleep. I still have it, Benny thought to himself. It felt like old times. 

Becoming Thunder:

The fight game was going well. Benny was slower and older, so he got hurt, but he continued winning. He won easily, although he was slower, the science remained the same. The money was good. $1000.00 every Saturday night in cash. He could live well on that. It wasn’t a permanent solution. But money to live indoors and eating every day was the goal at the moment. Because the fights were illegal, no one used their real names. They use nicknames and the biker in charge picked them. Benny’s handle was, Thunder. This because he was slow but powerful. All thunder no lightning. Benny liked it and thought it was an honest handle. He won every fight. It didn’t take long to go through their best and beat them all. Gambling on Thunder’s fights began to change. Instead of betting on Benny or the other guy, they bet on how long the fight would last before his opponent was out. The music wasn’t great this time, but he didn’t want it to end anytime soon. 

The Event:

It was a beautiful Saturday. Benny visited a gym in Atlanta. It was inner city and seedy. But he liked it. He always felt it gave him an edge. He had a light workout that day because it was fight night. He showered, packed up and headed outside. He had to park a block away on the street. Walking through gang territory was never a good idea. A handgun doesn’t care how much you trained. He was walking down the street past an ally. Motions made him look. There were 7 guys kicking what looked like a couple of cops. Benny approached, the officers were hurt badly and they weren’t stopping. Benny was running now, He made to the guy holding a gun kicking the male officer, Benny hit him hard, he fired a shot that sunk into Benny’s right thigh. He stepped back and instantly threw a left hook and what might have been the hardest right uppercut he ever delivered. He hit the ground and his gun slid towards the others. Another guy was picking it up so Benny moved as quickly as he could towards him to take him out, he fired a shot into his stomach, it burned but he knew he had to move. He shattered his face, he was out, then Benny methodically began taking out the ones that didn’t run. The gang on the ground and Benny getting foggy.

He grabbed the female officer and threw her over his shoulder and dragged the male officer at the same time. He leaned him against the front tire of their cruiser and laid her on the hood. She was waking up. Benny asked if she could hear him, yes I can she said. He placed the gun in her hand and told her to radio for help. He could barely stand or even lean. I’m done sweetie, he said. Protect yourself. Benny remembered nothing after that. 

Almost… :

Waking up in the hospital dazed and confused. His first words. Are the officers ok? The nurse was startled. You’re awake! It turns out he was in a coma for over a week. No one expected him to survive. He felt so weak. His room was full of cards, balloons and well wishes of all types. The doctor came in and asked how he felt. Lost, that was all he could think of to say. How am I doc? Well, I’ll know more in a couple of days. Benny wasn’t patient at all. And he was ready to go home. The next two days dragged on. He waited but  was ready to go home. He had to get out of here. He almost died, but he was asleep the whole time. Processing was needed, but he will do that alone. He heals quicker than most. Maybe it’s the steroids he still takes, maybe it’s genetics. Maybe it’s both. 

Another week in the hospital was brutal. He hates hospitals and he likes to do for himself. When the doc came in and asked if there was anyone home to take care of him, I’ll be home and will take care of myself, was all he could say. His doctor stared at him for a long minute. Ok, you will be out of here shortly. But your life has changed. I’ll let you figure out how on your own.

My Story:

Youtube is an amazing thing. It turns out a couple of people watched Benny fighting and getting shot twice. They filmed it on their phones and it went viral. He was now, internet famous and a lot of people now knew Benny. They didn’t know the whole story. Calls flooded in. Everyone wanted to interview him. Before he did anything, he had to process what had happened to him. People inhibit that process. Days went by and thoughts of what really happened. He found himself talking with God. He began praying again, he was a prayer warrior back in the day. God did something here. He had to know what. His processing took a turn. 

God’s Preparation:

Prayer. It’s a direct connection with God. Seeking Him is seeking His purpose for your life. Benny’s purpose was to be prepared to save those officers. He’ll probably never know why. God really does work in unusual ways. Looking back on his life, he could see how He prepared him for that day. 

He prepared him for this. 

Benny’s Recap:

He had me train as a boxer as a 16 year old lost kid. He instilled the tenacity that even after being shot I kept going. 

He made me fearless when He sent me traveling the nation fighting strangers in strange places. 

He made me fierce by having me make myself feel invincible. 

He taught me to love by giving me Pam and my kids.

He taught me how unimportant I am by breaking me financially.

He taught me to value others by allowing me to unconditionally love my family.

He reminded me I was a warrior by allowing me to fight and win again.

He prepared my heart to give my life away when I lost my family. 

Benny wrote; I had my story. It was the story God wrote for me. It was God preparing me for His use. This was my story and this story will be told. Of all the offers for an interview. My old pastor called to check on me. After I told him my story he was quiet for a moment. Would you consider telling your story on Sunday at Rock Falls?  That wasn’t what I expected. If God is in this then where I grew with God seemed a good choice. Yes, I’ll be there. 

Restoration: 

Walking into Rock Falls Church seemed like old times. I hadn’t been here in years. It was by all definitions, a mega church. But very personal. They did it right. People didn’t get lost here. I went straight to Pastor Dan’s office. It was so good to see him again. You ready for this Benny? As ready as I'll ever be. The music ended and Dan walked on stage. He spoke for a moment and said, I have a very special guest today. Some of you will remember him, most of you have seen a video of him saving two Atlanta police officers. The sound level rose. Give a warm welcome to Benny. The entire church stood and clapped. I stood watching them. How humbling it was. Dan and I sat on stools and he asked me questions. My story of how God prepared me for that one moment. How decades of preparation prepared me for less than one minute of use. How I prepared even through loss. Especially the loss of my family. 

Pastor Dan began talking about God’s timing and God’s redeeming love. He then looked at me and asked the big question. How can I pray for you? Dan, I wasn’t expecting this question. He’d never really thought about it. What does his heart want? I lost my wife and I lost my kids. Benny began crying, hardly able to talk at all. God please restore my life. He fell to his knees. Dan knelt with me, the church was so quiet. 

Daddy… 

Benny turned to see my Madi standing to his left

His son Ben, his Eagle Scout stood beside her

You could hear a pin drop

Pam stood up. Through her tears she spoke. We love you Benny, come home…

Pastor Dan motioned for my family to make their way to the stage. They came up and all we all could do was cry and hold one another. 

Benny looked at Dan and said I’m sorry to take so much time. 

He was gracious. 

If all we do today is watch you guys love on each other, it was a good day at church. 

---------------------------------------------

This is a story of God’s unconditional love. How He uses our actions, even our mistakes to prepare us for our purpose He has for us. This is also the story of how He restores us out of the love He feels for us. 

[blackhatcannons]

(( Well, I tried. ;_;

Anyways, a lot of you requested stuff with the PTA moms and Alan!Dad. And I’m quite flattered you guys like them so much! But some of you also asked for more BH-centric things, which I also approve of. So, I compromised! I did my best to combine everything into one huge clusterfuck of an event.

Here’s what happens at the fucking school soccer game))

Dementia is on the soccer team. (Fútbol/Football. Whatever.) It helps her work off some of her excess energy and she normally has a great time running around and kicking things. She actually finds practices more fun than the games, since parents aren’t allowed to watch those. (Helen has a kid on the soccer team.)

Normally, Black Hat doesn’t go to these events. But OF COURSE Alan decided to visit and OF COURSE he wants to see one of Dementia’s games. So BH goes with Alan to make sure his higher-eldritch-entity father doesn’t accidentally destroy human minds with his enthusiasm

“You can’t just break dimensions like that! Just keep your applause in the physical plane, not the abstract one!” “Aww, Hattie, you do care about humans!” “No, I just don’t want you to ruin the soccer game with an accidental massacre. Dementia’s gonna complain for weeks if you fuck this up and drive everyone to insanity.”

So the game starts off pretty okay. BH sits far away from Alan, who is sitting next to a nervous Flug trying to explain “human-foot-kick-ball” to a being whose existence he can’t even fully comprehend.

“And when the ball goes out like that, she gets to throw it back i-- oh come on!” “Huh?” “That was such a foul, are you kidding me?!”

Flug sounds surprisingly annoyed. BH gets a little bit interested as he hears Flug angrily explain the rules to Alan for offsides and what actually counts as a penalty kick. Alan nods along with the sageness of someone who doesn’t understand jack shit

BH suddenly interjects. “Wait a minute! So Dementia shouldn’t have gotten punished for bumping that other little shit! What the FUCK” He angrily storms over to the sidelines. Flug follows him, trying to make sure he doesn’t actually kill the referee.

“WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU CALL THAT A FOUL?? THAT’S CALLED A FUCKING BUMP, NOT A SHOVE YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A REFEREE. DID YOU SEE ANY HAND OR ELBOW CONTACT?? B̵̧̡̪̻̟͍Ḙ̵̝͕̙̗̳C̵͕̪͓͈̱ͅA̸̧̭̖̹̹̥U̴̢͈̩͕͕͜S̸̨̻̘̘̜̱E̵̫̱͍̞̜ͅ  I̶̢͚̙̲̗͓ S̶̤͙̟͔͙̳Ụ̷̧̬͈̣͜R̷̮͎̭͈̤̭Ę̸̢̤̟͜ͅ F̵̼̞̰U̶̹͚͙̗̤ͅC̷̡̦̟̠͙̼K̶̥̰̬̭̘̤I̴̖͖͇͖̺̫N̷̩̫̝̫̘͖G̵̢̗͙̣͍͜ D̵̝̙͉̮̪̩Į̵̲͖̞͔̫D̷̝̮̣͓͕͉N̷̦̞͕͇̼̻’T̴̢̧̰̠̼̘” (BH grows several extra eyes in his coat, to emphasize his point. The ref almost shits himself.)

Surprisingly, one of the yoga moms walks over. “Esteban! We were just looking for you; come over here.” (Little does she know that she probably just saved that referee’s life..) The other yoga moms are all set up at a table beside the soccer field, so they can help out at water break.

(5.0.5 is also there. He has been handing out orange slices and water bottles to the soccer kids this entire time. what a good boy.)

They all talk shit about the coaches and referees together. Apparently this kind of behavior is normal for their group.

“And Coach never puts Becky in, honestly. Sometime I just want to walk over there and give him a piece of my mind--” “Got it. HEY COACH! Quit being a fucking asshole and rotate some of the other kids in! WE GET IT, YOU’RE KEEPING KRISTY AS THE GOALIE BECAUSE YOU WANT HELEN TO SUCK YOUR SAD EXCUSE FOR A DIC--” eventually Karen manages to clap a hand over BH’s mouth, while the rest of the yoga moms are fucking dying

It only escalates from there, with BH screaming threats to disembowel various referees for their shitty calls. He doesn’t even care that they’re supposed to be on the same team, he will absolutely go over there and bitchslap the coach. The mom squad offer various suggestions on what calls were absolutely incorrect and who he should yell at next. None of them know he’s actually serious.

Ofc Helen is absolutely furious. This fucking annoying, practically insane, Mexican asshole has been nothing but a nuisance since day one. But she has an ace up her sleeve. Because Black Hat’s dad is right there.

Helen casually meanders over to where Alan is. Flug excuses himself to run and get BH. But there’s plenty of time for her to start chatting Alan up. “What do you do for a living?” “I actually am an artist! And you?” “Just a housewife, always looking after the kids!”

“So, Esteban is...” “My son!” Alan beams. He always loves talking about his favorite little eldritch hellspawn. But before he can start bragging about how great his Hattie is, Helen interrupts him. “Actually, sir, your son has been rather, how do I put this.... rude?”

Alan freezes, smile stuck on his face. “Reeeeeally now?” He turns towards Helen, and she suddenly feels a level of terror most humans can’t even physically experience.

“Â̴̘̳̺̱͉̹̼̖̹͓̄̌̆̇̎̈́̕͘̚n̸̼͚̮͈͓͍̪̜̟̰̔̉͌̂̂̐͐̕͘͠d̸̨̨̢̞͍̘̥̠͇̝̓́̋̑̉̏̽͒̀̊ w̴̢̤̼̩̱̻̖̗̯̑̑̔̈́͂̀̆̄̈́̚ͅh̷̨͖͓͖̤̹̺̬͇̿͐͛̐̑̑̾̂̆̉ͅą̶̨̻̲̤̫̥͍̞̰̈́͑̾͆̄̽̊̇̈́̽ţ̷̝̺̲̯͕̮̖̭̓͋̈͛̏͌̾̏̕͝ͅ d̸̘͖͚̺̫̹̻̟̪̺̄̽͂̇̃̅̇͆͌̌o̴͍̗͚͙͎̙̞͚͖͈͛̏̉̀͊̋͛̈́̌̊ ȳ̶̭̻͚̮͍̼̪̺͍̎̏̇̑̈͗͛͜͝͝o̶̧̬̣͉̥͖͎͇͈̾̓̽͆̈̓̓́̚͘ͅu̸̥̼̗͉͔͖̻͓̺̓̆̾̌̈́̊͛̅̊͜é̴̡̼̮̼̦̳͍͖̬̏̀͌̀͐̎̑̽̕͜x̶̤͎͇̳̫͈̠̻͙̀̓̇͗͒̇͒̆̔̈́͜p̸̧̧̛̤͍̰̥̠̖̪̙̿̐̌̒́͂̍̚͠ę̶͚͕̤͇̖̤̱̰̟̇̆̉̍͆̈͋͐̕͠c̵̢̩͖̦̻̣̼̜̟̭͑͐̈́̾͌̈̊̉̏͘t̵̢͍̪͍̭̝̪̞̪̓͆͌̿͛̔̃̈́̀̚͜m̸̞͔̝̹̙̙͉̝̳̍̑̈́͊͛̀̾̃̚͜͠ë̵̥̝͇̲͚͚̘̝͕́̒͐̀́̔͒̓͗͘ͅţ̶̧̟̺̪̭̣͍͔͌̄͗̀̿̊̑̉̚̚͜o̸̗̹̦͓͎̦̪̥̬̓̃̽̀̊̎̈́̔̊͗͜ d̵̡̬̭̖̘͖̹̥͔͋̑̇́͆͂͋̈́̿͘ͅo̷̙͎̖̩̩͓̝̮̝̍̑̈́͐̈̅̇̽̕͜͝ a̴̡͉̩̰̙̘͓̹͙̳͊̐͆̏͛̚͘̕͝͝b̵̛̛̳̮͇̠̱̱̟̳̺͆̍̏͆̑̊͜͝͠ö̸̥͍̻̣͈̟̤͙̮̓̈́͒͌͐̑͗͝͠ͅű̸̢̼͔̲͉̬̭͙̭͓̃́̀̃̍̐̉̕͝t̵̻̹͉̪͙̙̫̪̪̼̑̏͌̅͑̄͘͘͝͝ t̷̢̻̭̳̹̱̱̲̩̅̂͛̀͊̆̍̒̚͘͜h̴̢̧̲̖͈͎̼̫͈̫̃̓͒̏̇̿͆̈̌̂ȁ̶̢̱͇̤̺̺̱̼͓̫͐̌́̈́̊̎͂͘͘t̵̡̖̞̼̭͔̳͔̗̜̏͂̆̄̈́̈͛̂̉̉?̸̡̡̤̘̘̭̯̲̟̗͋̍̑̇̓̂̿͆͗͘?̷̡̧̤̙͚͇̪̙̘̖��

Helen immediately goes home to take Xanax and a nap. Dementia wins the school soccer game. BH fucking laughs the entire car ride back to the house. (And Alan refuses to let anyone talk shit about his son.)

[brisbanelife]

'Everything went black': Christchurch surgeon who saved four-year-old still cries

Id never seen anything like that before, Khanafer says. Khanafer has years of experience with highly complex surgery and is used to treating adults with devastating injuries. But this time the patient was a child a weak point for the father-of-four.

Vascular Surgeon Adib Khanafer, centre, at a media briefing after the Christchurch massacre in March.Credit:Monique Ford/Stuff No words to describe the horror All he knew was that there had been a shooting. He didnt know yet the full extent of the tragedy that had unfolded at the Al Noor Mosque nearby, and at the Islamic Centre in Linwood. But he knew how he felt. The look of the girl on the table was very painful for a father, and any surgeon, to see. I cant find the words to describe how horrific it was. The girls father, who cannot be named as his daughter's name is suppressed, had been walking towards the mosque holding her hand. It would have been her first visit.

Temel Atacocugu, a victim from the Christchurch mosque shootings, leaves the Christchurch District Court on Friday.Credit:AP As they approached the entrance, they heard a friend shout: Run! Thats when the father saw the shooter, aiming straight at his daughters head. He lifted her by the hand but the first bullet hit her bottom. The second her stomach and the third her toes. The father was shot three times too. He threw his daughter between the footpath and a car for protection and threw himself next to her, playing dead. After the gunman left, strangers rushed over to help. She had lost a lot of blood already. By the time she arrived at the hospital, she was blue and had no pulse.

Abdul Aziz, center, a survivor of the Linwood mosque shootings, is embraced by friends outside the Christchurch District Court.Credit:AP 'Everything is black' March 15 started as an ordinary day for Khanafer. He cycled to work, did ward rounds and started getting ready for a scheduled surgery around 12pm. He had coffee in the morning but no lunch as he planned to get home early to spend time with his family. The day changed around 1.45pm, while Khanafer and a colleague were doing an angioplasty. There was a trauma call about a shooting but they didnt give it much attention and carried on. Loading A few weeks prior, Khanafer treated a patient who had been involved in a shooting with police during a domestic violence incident. He had repaired the mans artery in the leg. It was just another day in the office for me. Fifteen minutes later, his phone rang. A nurse took the call and put it on speaker phone. The nurse on the other side said he needed to come to theatre immediately. Its common for a vascular surgeon to be called in when there is bleeding in theatre, where the situation is usually under control. In this case, pediatric surgeons had found a major vessel injury and were panicking, Khanafer says. They demanded his presence immediately. He de-scrubbedand ran the 100 metres across the corridor to reach the operating room. Loading Once he had his surgical glasses on, Khanafer scrubbed, took a deep breath and buried his emotions to switch into vascular surgeon mode as he approached the operating table. He identified the main problem: a hole to the inferior vena cava, a major vein that carries deoxygenated blood into the right atrium of the heart. Khanafer didnt even have child-sized instruments but there was no time to waste. With major vein injuries, patients can lose about 500 millilitres of blood in five to six seconds, Khanafer says. He needed to get control at the top and the bottom of the vein to stop the bleeding. But the bullets had done so much damage Khanafer could not see anything. With gun wounds everything is black, you dont know what youre looking at. He kept washing and cleaning the area to find the edges but eventually had to take a guess. It worked: the hole was shut and everything was watertight. He moved on to injured arteries, an easier job: I put a clip on it and that was the end of it. When we had situation under control, I looked at the paediatric surgeons and said 'are you happy to carry on? I wanted to get out of there quickly. "As soon as I took off my gown and my surgical loupes, I started crying. Two colleagues came and hugged him and told him what theyd heard. A gunman had entered the Al Noor mosque and shot at worshippers. It was unclear how many people were injured or dead. 'We are all humans and we all bleed' Khanafer, who was born and raised in Kuwait and whose wife is Lebanese, is part of Christchurchs Muslim community. It dawned on him that the child he just operated on could have been his own. He immediately rang his wife. She was fine and the children in lockdown at school. He didnt have time to chat longer several patients needed his help. Meanwhile, their 13-year-old daughter, who was in Auckland for a soccer tournament, texted her mum to tell her to take off her hijab. She was worried for her, Khanafer says. Her mother reassured her: There is nothing to worry about. We are still in Christchurch, we are still in a safe place and we have to have faith in the systems around us, Khanafer says she told her. Still, the teenager texted her mum every hour that afternoon to check on her. The family moved to Christchurch in 2010 after 15 years in the UK, where Khanafer completed his medical training. He knew two people who died in the attack, including one of his patients. His children two girls aged 13 and 14, and two boys aged seven and eight used to take Arabic lessons with the Linwood Mosques Imam. When Khanafer first heard there had been a mass shooting, he worried the gunman was an Islamic fanatic. When he learnt it was Muslims in their place of worship who had been the target, he was shocked. When we pray, our back is to the door. It was a cowardly act against peaceful people. Khanafer stresses he would have been equally shocked if the shooting had happened in a church, a temple, a synagogue, or even a mall, concert hall or stadium. As a doctor, religion comes at the bottom for me. We are all humans and we all bleed. A long night The gunman shot at least 98 people. Forty-nine of them died at one of the mosques. The rest arrived at the emergency department, many suffering life-threatening injuries. One died at the hospital on the day and another succumbed to his injuries a couple of months later. Emergency medicine clinical lead Dominic Fleischer previously said 180 units of blood were used on March 15, with 12 operating theatres working at once. Khanafer was called in to help with five other patients that afternoon. Around 8pm, he had done all he could. He cycled home in the dark, pedalling fast. He was keen to hug his wife and children. He barely had time for a meal before he was called in to hospital again at 10.30pm to help with two patients. At midnight, he went to the intensive care unit to check on the little girl. She was about to be transferred to Starship Hospital in Auckland but became unstable. Khanafer called his paediatric surgeon colleague. They found another hole in the vein, along with two other bleeding points, which they repaired. Within an hour, she was ready to transfer. Khanafer reassured the childs parents. Her condition was critical but he was confident she would survive. He went back home about 1.30am. Muslims are meant to pray before sunset on Fridays but on March 15, Khanafer prayed late. Khanafer is one of 11 children. He said his phone rang all night with friends and family from overseas checking the family was OK as well as colleagues from around the world sharing words of support. He eventually fell asleep at around 5am. I dont think anyone in Christchurch went to bed early that day. 'Miracle kid' on the mend Khanafers daughter is not as worried for her mother anymore. I told my daughters this is the time to wear the hijab, but they said no. His two younger boys, aged seven and eight, were less affected. They are in their own world; they laughed at me when they saw me crying on TV. The little girl has been discharged from Starship Hospital and is receiving fulltime care at a rehabilitation centre. She still cant see and it will take up to a year of rehab for her to walk again but she remembers the attack and is now talking. Shes a miracle kid, her father says. At the end of the hour-long interview, Khanafer jokes that the photographer must be asleep. He apologises for talking for so long, and for getting emotional. Every time I talk about [the girl], I cry a little bit. I try not to. It was an evil thing to happen. I hope it never happens again. Stuff.co.nz Most Viewed in World Loading https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/oceania/everything-went-black-christchurch-surgeon-who-saved-four-year-old-still-cries-20190614-p51xw1.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

[avanneman]

Forward!

Okay, it’s National Review week at Literature R Us. I’m bouncing this post off a nice review by NR’s Kyle Sammin of Brit historian David Cannadine’s new book, Victorious Century, The United Kingdom 1809 – 1906. I’ve got Victorious Century already loaded on my ebook, but my backlog is pretty massive, so I won’t be getting to it for awhile. I have read the introduction, and I’m definitely looking forward to the rest. Kyle’s review only encourages my appetite, but what really has me going is one of his few criticisms of the book—Dave’s perhaps less than forthcoming discussion of the British appetite for conquest:

“While it is true [says Kyle] that Parliament never directed companies and colonial adventurers to conquer nearby lands, they always accepted the fruits of those efforts. The non-British reader could be forgiven for viewing Britain’s profession of reluctance with a gimlet eye. One unexpected annexation of a native Indian kingdom could be seen as an accident, but when the pattern is repeated time and again, and the men who carried out the invasions are rewarded instead of punished, one begins to suspect that the British government was less hesitant about its hegemony than it professed to be.”

Well, amen to that. A classic bit of British bullshit is the line “Britain acquired its empire in a fit of absence of mind.” In fact, for literally centuries, ambitious men went to “the colonies” and sought out every opportunity for conflict—a “forward” policy—knowing that the home government would back them up: “It’s a matter of honor, after all.” (Well, honor and greed)

In my readings of Victorian history, I was always fascinated by the fact that men like Gladstone and Disraeli, men whose entire lives centered around a few square miles of London, could have their careers vitally affected by bloody skirmishes in Africa. Disraeli’s government was severely shaken in 1879 thanks to the Battle of Isandlwana, when 750 British were killed by about a 1,000 Zulu warriors. Disraeli lost the subsequent election. Gladstone was driven in office in 1885 when “rebel forces” conquered the city of Khartoum in Sudan, massacring troops led by General Charles George Gordon.

Yet every disaster was mere prompt for another advance. Isandlwana led to the Zulu war, which ultimately resulted in the conquest of all of South Africa, and Khartoum produced the same effects in Sudan. Thousands of officers, administrators, journalists, businessmen, politicians, and any manner of other “experts” made careers and fortunes out of “Forward”. Defeat, yes, but retreat? Never!

Does this sound in the least bit familiar here and now in the present day? In 1900, every “serious” man in London believed that British prosperity depended on creating an African empire that would run literally from “Cairo to the Cape”, on the utterly absurd theory that otherwise a “hostile power” might march hundreds of miles inland to the headwaters of the Nile, dig an enormous canal hundreds of miles back to the Indian Ocean to divert said headwaters to the sea, thus destroying the economy of Egypt, causing (somehow) the collapse of British control of the Suez Canal, causing (somehow) the loss of British control of India, causing the collapse of the British Empire and British prosperity, all of this to be accomplished under the nose of the British Navy, then easily the most powerful in the world.

Today, of course, we don’t believe in such nonsense. We believe in much greater nonsense. We believe that we must promote democracy everywhere in the world, which is to say that we must harass every country in the world that resists our telling them what to do. We have the right, the duty, and indeed the necessity to expand our influence everywhere while no other nation has the right to expand its influence anywhere.

We insist on this necessity—the necessity, for example, of telling China how to behave, a nation with an economy almost equal to ours, with a population almost four times ours, located 6,000 miles away, even though we cannot tell Afghanistan what to do, a tiny, impoverished nation we have been occupying with “boots on the ground” for sixteen years. All of this sounds rational—indeed is taken for granted, never rises to the level of a conscious decision—in Washington.

Today virtually every “serious” man (and woman) in our nation’s capital believes that we are barely spending enough on defense, though in fact we easily spending more than twice as much as we “need”, since we have no enemy, something I am both unable and unwilling to stop moaning about. Even the most partisan Democrat will offer the barest peep of outrage at the disgusting lies routinely retailed by the right about American “retreat” under President Obama.1 Because they love that sweet, sweet Pentagon cash just too damn much.

While Victorian Britain had its thousands of outstretched palms, we have tens of thousands, the palms of generals and journalists, defense contractors and think tank double domes, Wilsonians and Jacksonians, Democrats and Republicans, all worshiping at the throne of “toughness”—toughness and mindlessness. Even the prospect of actual nuclear war with North Korea, which would be the necessary result of President Trump’s announced “policy”, evokes no response from anyone other than that “well, he can’t really mean that”. After all, when was the last time anyone won an election promising “peace”?

Afterwords I don’t believe that Great Britain fell into the much discussed “Thucydides Trap,” explicated by such accomplished chin-strokers as Graham Allison and Hal Brands. The true cause of World War I was the determination of the three autocracies of Germany, Austria, and Russia to turn back the clock against the rising forces of democracy. Each sought a “big win” that would give its emperor the prestige necessary to dispense with the whole notion of representative government. Authority came from God, not the people.

Germany and Austria deliberately conspired to back Russia into a corner and force it to accept an Austrian conquest of Serbia. If the Czar lost his throne as a result, well, that wasn’t their problem.

The Czar, of course, didn’t want to lose his throne. He wanted a big win too, so he could get rid of the Duma, the new Russian parliament he had gotten stuck with as a result of the failure of his previous search for a big win, the Russo-Japanese War, which hadn’t worked out the way Russia planned.2

It’s not very likely that a war between the three emperors could be contained in the East—France’s status as a “Great Power” was utterly dependent on the survival of its Russian ally as a Great Power as well—but the possibility of peace in the West was eliminated by the German army’s infamous “Schlieffen Plan”, which required the destruction of France before the destruction of Russia. With that the case, Great Britain was inevitably pulled in, because it was impossible for the British to allow Germany to gain effective control of the Channel ports, which a German victory in the West would have guaranteed.

German ambition was made possible, of course, by the immense growth of German economic power from the period 1870-1914, which upset the balance of power in Europe without a war. “Germany,” sighed Henry Kissinger, who (occasionally) got it right, “too big for Europe, not big enough for the world.” A “big” argument—a meta- or mega-argument, perhaps—is that all of the major industrial nations at the time were slaves to the notion that only imperialism along the lines of the British model could generate the profits necessary to satisfy the rising expectations of “the masses” while also allowing the “natural rulers” of society to maintain their traditional aristocratic roles and lifestyles. An “enlightened Britain”, supposedly, could have allowed Germany to realize its “African dream”, an empire running horizontally across sub-Saharan Africa—dueling idiocies, one might say—an empire that probably would have bankrupted the Germans, while condemning millions of Africans to a rebirth of the horrors of the slave trade.3 But I’m afraid it’s impossible to imagine “men of affairs” behaving so sensibly.

The U.S., I fear, is more likely to fall into the Thucydides trap than the Brits were. The recent decision by Chinese President Xi Jinping to essentially declare himself president for life has been greeted with barely disguised glee by hawks all over America. “Oh, boy! Those guys really need a lesson in democracy now! And we’re just the ones to give it to ‘em! Another Cold War! Another Cold War! Fifty more years of ballooning defense budgets, never-ending crises, and ever-increasing tension, and ever-expanding career opportunities for people like me! Just like the good old days!”

My most recent harangue on this topic is here ↩︎

You might have thought the Czar would have learned his lesson, but he didn’t Autocrats really had only one trick, to “draw the sword”. ↩︎

Of course, they were so happy under British rule. ↩︎

[sanago]

Cinematic Film Watchers from Roman Holiday on Vimeo.

The only people who enjoy watching movies more than you or I are the people in movies. To prove my point I've cobbled together this collection of films being watched by characters in other films.

So, here are the movies being watched followed by the films they're featured in:

00:06 - Sunrise (1927) / Interview With The Vampire (1994) 00:09 - The Wolf Man (1941) / The Sandlot (1993) 00:10 - King Kong (1933) / The Cider House Rules (1999) 00:11 - The Third Man (1949) / Heavenly Creatures (1994) 00:13 - Myrt And Marge (1933) / O Brother Where Art Thou (2000) 00:14 - Li'l Abner (1940) / The Notebook (2004) 00:16 - Double Indemnity (1944) / Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) 00:17 - Apocalypse Now (1979) / Jarhead (2005) 00:18 - Seven (1995) / The Butterfly Effect (2004) 00:20 - Dirty Harry (1971) / Zodiac (2007) 00:21 - Problem Child (1990) / Cape Fear (1991) 00:23 - Wizard Of Oz (1939) / Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow (2004) 00:24 - South Pacific (1958) / Welcome To Woop Woop (1997) 00:25 - The Sound Of Music (1965) / The Postman (1997) 00:26 - The Shining (1980) / Twister (1996) 00:28 - Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) / Chicken Little (2005) 00:29 - The Evil Dead (1981) / Donnie Darko (2001) 00:31 - Raging Bull (1980) / Arizona Dream (1992) 00:32 - The Godfather Part II (1974) / The Freshman (1990) 00:33 - The Charge At Feather River (1953) / A Star Is Born (1954) 00:35 - The Birds (1963) / Twelve Monkeys (1995) 00:36 - Mon Oncle (1958) / The Illusionist (2010) 00:38 - Sunset Boulevard (1950) / Things We Lost In The Fire (2007) 00:39 - Enter The Dragon (1973) / The Tenant (1976) 00:40 - The Way Of The Dragon (1972) / Limitless (2011) 00:42 - The Lady From Shanghai (1947) / Ghostbusters (1984) 00:45 - The Last Shot (2004) / Casablanca (1942) 00:48 - It Happened One Night (1934) / Sex And The City 2 (2010) 00:50 - Harvey (1950) / Field Of Dreams (1989) 00:52 - The Ref (1994) / It's A Wonderful Life (1946) 00:55 - To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) / One True Thing (1998) 00:58 - Miracle On 34th Street (1947) / Home Alone (1990) 01:00 - A Star Is Born (1954) / Hearts In Atlantis (2001) 01:01 - War Of The Worlds (1953) / Explorers (1985) 01:02 - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) / American Psycho (2000) 01:04 - The Sixth Sense (1999) / 50 First Dates (2004) 01:05 - Night Of The Lepus (1972) / The Matrix (1999) 01:06 - The Good The Bad And The Ugly (1966) / The Tiger And The Snow (2005) 01:08 - Audition (1999) / The Departed (2006) 01:09 - On The Waterfront (1954) / Friends With Benefits (2011) 01:11 - Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) / The American (2010) 01:12 - Dr Strangelove (1964) / Next (2007) 01:14 - Lethal Weapon (1987) / The Last Boy Scout (1991) 01:15 - The Ten Commandements (1956) / Rise Of The Planet of the Apes (2011) 01:17 - The Gold Rush (1925) / Jack (1996) 01:18 - The Thing From Another World (1951) / Halloween (1978) 01:20 - Vampires (1998) / Mystic River (2003) 01:21 - North By Northwest (1959) / Richie Rich (1994) 01:22 - The Princess Bride (1987) / Employee Of The Month (2006) 01:24 - Can't Hardly Wait (1998) / Prom Night (2008) 01:26 - The Golden Stallion (1949) / Kill Bill Vol 2 (2004) 01:28 - Nam's Angels (1970) / Pulp Fiction (1994) 01:29 - The Mad Dog Killer (1977) / Jackie Brown (1997) 01:31 - The Terminator (1984) / Encino Man (1992) 01:34 - The Criminal Code (1931) / Targets (1968) 01:37 - Roman Holiday (1953) / You, Me And Dupree (2006) 01:39 - Metropolis (1927) / Android (1982) 01:42 - Nosferatu (1922) / Vampire's Kiss (1988) 01:44 - Battle For The Planet Of The Apes (1973) / Argo (2012) 01:45 - The Jazz Singer (1927) / Goodfellas (1990) 01:47 - The French Connection (1971) / Big (1988) 01:48 - A Fistful Of Dollars (1964) / Back To The Future Part II (1989) 01:50 - A Christmas Carol (1938) / Rocky (1976) 01:52 - Starman (1984) / Pulse (1988) 01:54 - Young Frankenstein (1974) / Big Daddy (1999) 01:56 - One-Eyed Jacks (1961) / Jimmy Hollywood (1994) 01:58 - Fight Club (1999) / Drillbit Taylor (2008) 02:00 - Forbidden Planet (1956) / Firewall (2006) 02:02 - Point Break (1991) / Hot Fuzz (2007) 02:04 - Night Of The Living Dead (1968) / World's Greatest Dad (2009) 02:05 - La Dolce Vita (1960) / Lost In Translation (2003) 02:07 - Bride Of Frankenstein (1935) / About A Boy (2002) 02:09 - Sweet Smell Of Success (1957) / Rain Man (1988) 02:12 - Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) / Gremlins (1984) 02:14 - Frankenstein (1931) / Weird Science (1985) 02:16 - 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968) / The Cure (1995)

Hmm...looks like I found the limit to how much you can write in this box. I tried to post the list of films featured but there wasn't enough space. I'll post the rest in the comments.

Music: Transformation - The Cinematic Orchestra

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films used in this compilation. I mean I have some of them on DVD but I don't have the copyrights for them so don't sue me.