NORTH AMERICA LEG 1

March 8, 2019 - Vancouver, BC, Canada
March 11, 2019 - Seattle, WA, USA
March 14, 2019 - Portland, OR, USA
March 17, 2019 - San Francisco, CA, USA
March 20, 2019 - Los Angeles, CA, USA
March 23, 2019 - Las Vegas, NV, USA
March 26, 2019 - Denver, CO, USA
March 29, 2019 - Minneapolis, MN, USA
April 1, 2019 - Chicago, IL, USA
April 4, 2019 - Toronto, ON, Canada
April 7, 2019 - Montreal, QC, Canada
April 10, 2019 - Boston, MA, USA
April 13, 2019 - Philadelphia, PA, USA
April 16, 2019 - New York City, NY, USA
April 19, 2019 - Washington, D.C., USA
April 22, 2019 - Atlanta, GA, USA
April 25, 2019 - Nashville, TN, USA
April 28, 2019 - New Orleans, LA, USA
May 1, 2019 - Houston, TX, USA
May 4, 2019 - Dallas, TX, USA
May 7, 2019 - Phoenix, AZ, USA
May 10, 2019 - San Diego, CA, USA
May 13, 2019 - Los Angeles, CA, USA
May 17, 2019 - Sunrise, FL, USA

EUROPE

June 8, 2019 - London, United Kingdom
June 11, 2019 - Dublin, Ireland
June 14, 2019 - Glasgow, United Kingdom
June 17, 2019 - Amsterdam, Netherlands
June 20, 2019 - Brussels, Belgium
June 23, 2019 - Paris, France
June 26, 2019 - Barcelona, Spain
June 29, 2019 - Madrid, Spain
July 2, 2019 - Lisbon, Portugal
July 5, 2019 - Rome, Italy
July 8, 2019 - Milan, Italy
July 11, 2019 - Zurich, Switzerland
July 14, 2019 - Vienna, Austria
July 17, 2019 - Berlin, Germany
July 20, 2019 - Warsaw, Poland
July 23, 2019 - Prague, Czech Republic
July 26, 2019 - Budapest, Hungary
July 29, 2019 - Bucharest, Romania
August 1, 2019 - Sofia, Bulgaria
August 4, 2019 - Athens, Greece
August 7, 2019 - Istanbul, Turkey

ASIA

September 10, 2019 - Tokyo, Japan
September 13, 2019 - Osaka, Japan
September 16, 2019 - Seoul, South Korea
September 19, 2019 - Beijing, China
September 22, 2019 - Shanghai, China
September 25, 2019 - Taipei, Taiwan
September 28, 2019 - Manila, Philippines
October 1, 2019 - Bangkok, Thailand
October 4, 2019 - Singapore City, Singapore
October 7, 2019 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
October 10, 2019 - Jakarta, Indonesia
October 13, 2019 - Mumbai, India
October 16, 2019 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
October 19, 2019 - Tel Aviv, Israel
October 22, 2019 - Istanbul, Turkey
October 25, 2019 - Athens, Greece
October 28, 2019 - Sofia, Bulgaria
November 1, 2019 - Moscow, Russia
November 4, 2019 - St. Petersburg, Russia
November 7, 2019 - Helsinki, Finland
November 10, 2019 - Stockholm, Sweden
November 13, 2019 - Oslo, Norway
November 16, 2019 - Copenhagen, Denmark
November 19, 2019 - Amsterdam, Netherlands
November 22, 2019 - Berlin, Germany
November 25, 2019 - Warsaw, Poland
November 28, 2019 - Prague, Czech Republic
December 1, 2019 - Vienna, Austria
December 4, 2019 - Budapest, Hungary
December 7, 2019 - Bucharest, Romania
December 10, 2019 - Athens, Greece

OCEANIA

January 10, 2020 - Auckland, New Zealand
January 13, 2020 - Wellington, New Zealand
January 16, 2020 - Christchurch, New Zealand
January 19, 2020 - Sydney, Australia
January 22, 2020 - Melbourne, Australia
January 25, 2020 - Brisbane, Australia
January 28, 2020 - Perth, Australia

NORTH AMERICA LEG 2

February 10, 2020 - Seattle, WA
February 13, 2020 - Portland, OR
February 16, 2020 - San Francisco, CA
February 19, 2020 - Los Angeles, CA
February 22, 2020 - Phoenix, AZ
February 25, 2020 - Denver, CO
February 28, 2020 - Minneapolis, MN
March 2, 2020 - Chicago, IL
March 5, 2020 - Toronto, ON
March 8, 2020 - Montreal, QC
March 11, 2020 - Boston, MA

CANCELLED SHOWS DUE TO COVID-19

March 14, 2020 - New York City, NY
March 17, 2020 - Philadelphia, PA
March 20, 2020 - Washington, D.C.
March 23, 2020 - Atlanta, GA
March 26, 2020 - Miami, FL
March 29, 2020 - Nashville, TN

Please feel free to correct me if any details are wrong. I literally whipped this up at work this morning. Also worth noting, some info was featured on the "extra footage" episode of the reunion on Peacock, the Call Her Daddy podcast Ariana was on, WWHL and VPR episodes. And lastly, anytime "Tom" is used, assume I'm talking about Sandoval.
Edit: watching again for the 3rd time and added a couple dates I missed and made a couple corrections.
Dec 2021 - James and Raquel call off their engagement.
Beginning of 2022 - Tom tells Andy during 1:1 this is around the time he starts having feelings for Raquel. 🧐 🤨
Mid April (at Coachella) – Allegedly, Tom tells Raquel that he and Ariana are in an open relationship. Raquel tells others, and it gets back to Scheana, who tells us this at the reunion. Rumors start swirling that Raquel and “Tom” were seen kissing at Coachella. It’s assumed to be Schwartz, but little did we know. 😠
Sometime in July – Schwartz tells us at the reunion Tom confided to him that he and Ariana are having problems. He's setting the narrative.
Aug 2 – Ariana’s Dog Charlotte passes away :(
Aug 3 – Guys night at the Mondrian hotel. Raquel and Charlie show up after leaving the girls trip.
Aug 4 – Schwartz tells us at the reunion that Tom told him he confided into Raquel about his relationship problems with Ariana and they had an "intimate moment”.
Aug 9 - After filming wrapped at “C-U-N-Tuesday” a bunch went to the Abby and that’s the night they had sex. Tom tells Andy this during his 1:1.
Aug 13 - Tom and Ariana host a pool party where Tom defends Raquel against Lala
Aug 23 – Scheana’s wedding in Mexico (Schwartz and Raquel kissed) Tom caught in footage smacking Raquel’s ass. There are rumors Tom and Raquel were seen making out in the hotel.
Aug 31 – Schwartz tells us at the reunion that’s when he finds out about the “one night stand” between Tom and Raquel. Says Tom blamed alcohol and it absolutely won’t happen again.
Sept 2 – Lala’s birthday – Katie tells Tom that Ally saw him and Raquel at the Abby “enjoying” each other.
Sept 5 – Ariana’s Grandmother dies (according to the obituary)
Sept 5 – Labor Day cook out in LA, Raquel is also in attendance. Tom says he “couldn’t get a Lyft” back home to Ariana while others confirmed Lyfts and Ubers were in and out of there all day long.
Sept 12 – Raquel’s B-day, she buys the Lightning Bolt necklace for herself around this time. Also Glamping trip. This is also when Schwartz confirmed at the reunion he was including Tom when he mentioned Raquel having a type of going after men that are taken.
Sept 16-18 Life is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas – Pictures shown of Raquel on Tom’s shoulders. Tom tells Andy at the reunion this is when the affair “amped up”. (Ariana was in attendance.)
Sept 19 - Raquel’s Instagram post from life is beautiful featuring her wearing the lightning bolt necklace. Captioned “It’s giving Harley Quinn falls in love with the joker vibes ⚡️”
Sept 24 – Ariana’s Grandmoms funeral. Ariana flies to Florida twice this month to be with family. Unclear what those dates were.
Sept - While Ariana is home in FL, Ken Todd drops the mother of all gossip bombs. “I can’t believe, that Tom Zandaville had Raquel, over, when Ariana’s away, in the ju… jacuzzi as well. AND SHE STAYED ALL NIGHT, YEAH?!”
Sept sometime - Tom tells show runner in unaired footage that he feels guilty he’s not sharing his issues on the show and thought it was unfair to the rest of the cast. Again, laying the groundwork.
Oct 14-16 Bravocon – Raquel shows up in TomTom hoodie. Schwartz tells Katie that Raquel isn’t there for him. 👀
Oct 31 – Tom dresses up as Raquel for Halloween
December – Tom takes Raquel home to STL for Christmas.
January - Scheana says she has a convo with Ariana and she said she and Tom are in a good place. Communication and intimacy were good.
January 2023 – Big Bear trip with Schwartz, Jo, Tom, and Raquel – Ariana was not invited. Schwartz claimed he did not know about the affair at this time.
“Mid/late Jan” – Tom tells us at the reunion that’s when he told Schwartz about the affair. Neither can get their stories straight however.
Feb 8 – Both Toms on WWHL. Schwartz is extremely nervous. Tom acts very composed and laid back. (Meanwhile, Raquel is in their hotel room based on info Ariana shared on the CHD podcast)
Feb 14 – Valentine’s Day, Ariana and Tom go to V-day dinner, Tom gifts her flowers. Fight all night about their relationship. (Details provided by Ariana on CHD podcast)
Feb 28- Tom records him and Raquel fapping to each other on Facetime at Schwartz’s apartment.
Mar 1 – Scheana & Raquel are guests on WWHL. Raquel calls Sandoval the “hotter Tom”. Ariana finds out about affair by looking in Tom’s phone in a bathroom stall at Tom Tom restaurant.
Mar 2 – Affair made public by TMZ.

"They're living on planet crazy, and I don't frankly want to be on that same planet with them because they've lost their minds." - Former Arizona GOP candidate for governor Kari Lake, perhaps projecting just a tad after losing yet another legal challenge to the election she definitively lost.

The Death Ceiling

With a little over a week left until the government runs out of money, defaults on its debts, and sends the global economy into a tailspin, Republicans in Congress have seemingly unified to ensure that happens.

• Well, folks, we’ve happened upon the most destructive version of “Same shit, different day.” After it looked like negotiations between the White House and Republican leaders were getting somewhere (anywhere?) the latter have once again dug in their heels with demands to reduce spending only in ways that would hurt the most vulnerable Americans. As Rep. AOC (D-NY) said in a press conference today, Republicans, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, “are engaged in hostage-taking, not negotiation.”
  
• Republicans, it turns out, agree with AOC. Several of them have done the whole “say the quiet part loud” thing in the past 24 hours. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said wants to hold out for the entire GOP wish list, and that he doesn’t “feel like we should negotiate with our hostage.” It isn’t just Gaetz, though. When McCarthy, along with Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Garret Graves (R-LA), have been asked what concessions Republicans have offered in these negotiations, they all said the GOP concession is “raise the debt ceiling.” In other words, they get what they want, and in exchange they agree not to wreck the economy.
  
• McCarthy said on Wednesday that his team of little cretin negotiators would return to the White House to continue debt limit talks, but that the two sides were “still far apart.” McCarthy repeated that defaulting was not an option, but also offered no concessions to his insane list of demands. In a press conference, he said “it’s not my fault” that the nation is careening towards a crisis that will reverberate throughout the whole world, which is, of course, a lie. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries offered a shrewd synopsis of the problem in a press conference of his own, saying, “House Republicans are determined to crash the economy, because they believe it will benefit them politically.”
  

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen them pull this shit.

• Republicans have played this dangerous game before. They executed this strategy 12 years ago and ended up hurting the U.S. economy and getting the country’s credit rating downgraded, because they wanted to extort spending cuts out of Obama-era Democrats. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at a Wall Street Journal event that Treasury markets “are seeing some stress already.” Yellen also reiterated her belief on Wednesday that “it seems almost certain” that the United States will default by early June if this deadlock holds.
  
• Negotiations have dragged into their third week, and that’s unambiguously because of Republican obstinance. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said that according to White House officials, GOP negotiators rejected $3 trillion in proposed deficit reduction. Why? Because the cuts would be made by closing tax loopholes, a minimum tax for billionaires, and ending tax subsidies for oil companies. McCarthy is now also coming back to the table demanding 10 years of spending caps, when he had initially demanded six years. As predicted, GOP demands are becoming more hard-line, even further to the right, not less. They are not interested in negotiating.
  

President Biden has built his entire career on “reaching across the aisle” to compromise and “get things done.” But, with all due respect to our guy, what good can come of compromise when one side is saying “Raise the debt ceiling” and the other side is saying, “We’re gonna shoot you in the head,”?

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

What happens when a mysterious stranger comes to town, with a wild idea that weed can solve all of the city's problems That's the question of Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto - Crooked’s newest podcast and an official Selection at this year's Tribeca festival. Dreamtown is the zany but true story of one down on its luck city in the Southern California desert, and the scrappy - sometimes morally dubious - cast of characters determined to reinvent it.
Listen to the Dreamtown trailer now and subscribe to hear the first episodes on June 7th wherever you get your podcasts.

Under The Radar

It has been one year since the devastating mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX, and many of the victims’ families are still searching for answers. A Washington Post investigation found that law enforcement’s deadly decision to wait more than an hour to confront the gunman was not solely the fault of the former chief of the school district’s police force. It was also caused by the inaction of an array of senior and supervising law-enforcement officers who had direct knowledge that the shooting was taking place inside the classrooms, but did not intervene. Those officers remain on the job in the area to this day. The Post reviewed dozens of hours of police body-camera video footage, as well as post-shooting interviews with officers and other resources, and found at least seven officers who stalled even as the evidence that children were still in danger became incontrovertible. Top state law-enforcement and government officials promised to hold all those responsible for the 77-minute delay accountable, but all of the officers in question remain employed by the same agencies they worked for last year. The Texas Department of Public Safety cleared almost all investigations into six officers for wrongdoing, and the department’s chief, Col. Steven McCraw, who said he would personally resign if his agency had failed Uvalde, still insists it did not. Only four of the almost 200 officers who responded from state and local law-enforcement agencies were fired in the wake of the tragedy. Nineteen children and two teachers were murdered one year ago today, and they deserve closure they have not yet received.

What Else?

In an award acceptance speech at the American Law Institute, Chief Justice John Roberts said on Tuesday night that he is “confident” the Supreme Court will resolve its ethics issues and regain public trust that it “adheres to the highest standards of conduct.” Lol, sure.
The House voted to overturn president Biden’s student debt relief plan, with Reps. Jared Golden (D-ME) and Marie Glusenkamp Pérez (D-WA) joining all Republicans in supporting the GOP resolution.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) launched his presidential campaign in disastrous fashion on Twitter Spaces with his pal Elon Musk. Like anvilles-falling-out-of-the-sky-level calamity.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been—once again—referred to the police by government officials to assess accusations that he may have further violated coronavirus regulations. Johnson was fined last year while still in office for breaking a bunch of Covid rules in 2020 as part of a series of scandals that brought down his administration.
Following a report about Iran’s new underground tunnel system near a nuclear enrichment facility, the head of the country’s nuclear program insisted that the government would cooperate with international inspectors on any “new activities.”
Meta executed the last round of a three-part series of layoffs today. Since March, the company has eliminated 10,000 roles after laying off 11,000 employees last fall.
A United Nations migration agency announced on Wednesday that fighting between Sudan’s military and paramilitary forces has displaced over 1.3 million people.
Special counsel Jack Smith is wrapping up his criminal investigation into whether or not disgraced former president Donald Trump stole classified White House documents and then took them to his Mar-a-Lago home. Real mystery there!
Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) declared a state of emergency for North Carolina’s public education system due to “extreme legislation” being pushed by the state’s GOP lawmakers who plan to “starve public education” through further tax cuts and funding increases for private school vouchers.
The United States has announced nearly $524 million in additional humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa in an effort to address some of the extreme effects of climate change and the region’s worst drought in 40 years.
Queen of Rock and Roll Tina Turner passed away today at age 83.

You Gotta Be Fucking Kidding Me

After rolling out its Pride Collection at the beginning of May, retail giant Target has decided to kowtow to a bigoted right-wing mob by removing some of its products from stores. The company said in a statement that since introducing the collection, “we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and wellbeing while at work.” In other words, increasingly violent right-wing bigots have been throwing the merchandise on the floor, vandalizing stores, and harassing or even physically assaulting Target employees. The merchandise Target pulled from its shelves and website included items with slogans like “cure transphobia not trans people.” Target has been celebrating Pride Month with dedicated collections for over a decade. Framing the issue as the Pride merchandise putting Target employees in danger, rather than bigoted psychopaths putting everyone in danger, is a dangerous (and cowardly!) precedent to set. The problem is violent, hateful (let’s be honest) Trump supporters, not a tote bag that says “too queer for here.” Historically, giving in to violent extremists has [checks notes] not worked out.

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Light At The End Of The Email

A man who has been paralyzed for 12 years is reportedly able to walk naturally again after receiving brain and spine implants, with technology that creates a “digital bridge” between his brain and his spinal cord.
With a slim majority in the state Senate and a trifecta in the state government, Minnesota Democrats have been racking up huge Ws and passing a slew of progressive bills like enshrining abortion access into state law, legalizing recreational marijuana, requiring universal background checks for gun purchases, paid family and medical leave, free breakfast and lunch for all schoolchildren, and a new child tax credit, along with the biggest transportation bill in 15 years.
The Louisiana Senate Health and Welfare Committee blocked a ban on gender-affirming health care for trans minors from advancing, a rare such victory in the deep south.
After more than two years of contentious negotiations, including the first newsroom walkout since the 1970’s, the New York Times reached a deal for a new contract with the union representing the majority of its employees.

Enjoy

Cats That Heal Your Depression on Twitter: "* 1 wholesome image attached *"

Of the strange and wonderful manner in which Don Quixote de la Mancha was enchanted, with other remarkable occurrences.
Prompts:
1) We part with all the side characters apart from the priest, the barber, and the officers. Now that we are finally leaving the inn behind us, what are your thoughts, looking back, on all the subplots we were treated to?
2) Don Quixote is now himself a prisoner, and a curious traveller asks about him -- a swapping of the roles from the old prisoners episode. What do you make of this, and are there more parallels?
3) What did you think of Sancho seeing through the priest and barber’s disguises, and refusal to believe there is really an enchantment?
4) What did you think of the canon’s tirade about books of chivalry?
5) Favourite line / anything else to add?
Free Reading Resources:

• Project Gutenberg
• Standard eBook
• Librivox Audiobook

Illustrations:

1. Then the goblins took the cage on their shoulders, and placed it on the wagon.
2. What think you of this, son Sancho? (coloured)
3. The hostess, her daughter andMaritornes came out to take their leaves of Don Quixote -
4. - pretending to shed tears of grief at his misfortune
5. Don Quixote sat very passively in his cage
6. with the same slowness and silence, -
7. - they travelled about two leagues
8. One of the new comers, who, in short, was a canon of Toledo, -
9. - could not forbear inquiring what was the meaning of carrying that man in that manner

1, 2, 9 by Gustave Doré (source), coloured versions by Salvador Tusell (source) 3 by artist/s of the 1859 Tomás Gorchs edition (source) 4, 5, 8 by Ricardo Balaca (source) 6 by artist/s of 1797 Sancha edition (source) 7 by George Roux (source)
Past years discussions:

• 2021-05-25
• 2022-05-25

Final line:

‘[..] because the unconfined way of writing these books gives an author room to show his skill in the epic or lyric, in tragedy or comedy, with all the parts included in the sweet and charming sciences of poetry and oratory: for the epic may be written as well in prose as in verse.’

Next post:
Sat, 27 May; in two days, i.e. one-day gap.

Hi everyone! I’m making this post because my husband has recently started looking into a job opportunity at the China Lake Base. He is getting out of the Navy this year and we are looking for our next place we will call home! I have dug through the various posts similar to this, but am still left with some questions.

1. I know he will be able to get a job, but it seems the employment market is slim. I currently work in HR, are they’re many opportunities? I had considered remote jobs but also read the internet is not good out there so not sure what the best route is?
   
2. road conditions/drivers? My husband drives a lowered car and wasn’t sure if it would be a car that wouldn’t do well if the roads aren’t great. Plus always nice to know how the drivers are?
   

3.in looking for places to live it seems like there’s a lot but not all at the same time. We are looking to be close to base and not spend an arm and a leg. What are the best apartments in that area? Anywhere to avoid?

1. what all do you do for fun? Seems like there’s a ton of outdoory activities, like hiking and biking. How often do you find yourself going to LA, Vegas, or Bakersfield?
   
2. anything you’d wish you’d known before moving there?
   
3. Is it hard to adjust to the heat? We’re coming from FL, so it’ll be a totally different type of heat. I’m originally from Colorado.
   

We’re both in our mid/late 20’s no children, just us two and our fur babies. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The pit, the abyss, it was always there. At least, as far as I can remember. The first time I heard its call, it was subtle, almost unnoticeable. My mother was reading her pick-and-choose verses from the book, looking back up at me after each reading with an expectant look in her eyes. She tried so hard to belittle me, scolding me on how wrong it was to like men, but I was never swayed. Still, the call grew stronger every time she sat me down for her dogmatic ramblings, but it would only show itself to me later on in life.
Not once did I believe she became a Christian in good faith. Way I see it, she only did so as a way to excuse her more toxic behaviours. It’s no wonder I got into my first real relationship during college, since it was the first time I was really free from her endless remarks on my so-called “dirty ways”.
I don’t know exactly what went down in the time I was away, but after dropping out of engineering and coming back home my parents were already living apart with divorce papers in order. And, like a pattern, propagating in time, Eric told me that this - us - wouldn’t work out. My attachment blinded me to how shallow Eric was. He never said anything outright, but it was obvious how he saw me as lesser than himself.
My mum said that if, after finishing my engineering course, I still wanted to pursue carpentry, then I would have the skills required. I guess she hoped I’d set my focus on greater horizons, but it didn’t help me achieve anything.
It was better, living with just my dad. He helped me through it all, but it’s always such a slippery rut I’ve found myself in. I still dreamed of being a carpenter, but even he could see that I wasn’t in the right state of mind to start a whole business. We ended up deciding that I would apply for some bog-standard transient jobs with the aim of saving up money for a carpentry course.
That never really happened. At 19, I started working at an office, spreadsheets, emails, that kind of stuff. Four years later, dad first started showing signs of early-onset dementia. At 54. It’s such a hopeless feeling to watch your father degenerate into a confused mess, and looking back I think it would’ve been better if he was struck by a heart attack.
After two more years, I was up one raise and down everything else. It was January when the pit first revealed itself to me, a late weekend night of remote overtime, the only way I could afford the ever-rocketing living costs.
The work was harsh, mind-numbing, and I kept having to go back to fix mistakes, over and over, my tired mind fucking it up, as it always did. My feet were cold to the point where I could barely feel them, even when I tried moving and wiggling my toes around. I knew I was moving my feet, but there was no feeling.
I looked down to see that, where the navy carpet had been, sat a circular hole in the floor. Almost perfect, but not. A gaping pit, walls of masterfully carved black stone, that descended into thick blankets of darkness. I forcefully pushed myself away from the desk, tumbling off my chair, then crawled over to the edge of the hole. As I peered over the crevice, the only sound was a low breeze. A cold earthen breath I imagined blowing throughout the tunnels of a cave.
You know that feeling? The call of the void? The subtle tug toward one step into nothing. I felt it. Only, the rejection of the idea that usually followed just wasn’t there. It didn’t scare me, only continued to pull me in. Gazing down into it, the knots in my stomach, pulled tight by the years, came loose. An unrestrained warmth took over my body as the pit seemed to strip away the weight on my heart, accepting the burden for itself.
Before the thought of toppling into the abyss took over entirely, my phone buzzed on the desk, breaking my trance. It was Eric.
“Eric? What’s up, man. Why are you calling so la-”
“Stop with the messages, Porter. I get you’re sad and all but can you, like, take it somewhere else? I’m with someone else now and I don’t want you stirring up any shit.”
I looked up to the shelves above my desk for a moment. At the picture I had of Eric and myself at college. It was pathetic, years had passed but I still couldn’t let go.
“Hello? Tell me you understand.”
I brought myself back and replied,
“Yeah. Um, sorry, Eric. Just hoped we might be able to stay friends at least.”
“Well, not if you go on like this. Thanks, I guess.”
He hung up, leaving me standing there like an idiot. Well, that I was. The silence that replaced his voice rang in my ears, mocking me, and when I looked back down to the floor, the hole was gone. It left an emptiness in my chest that could only be made whole again by looking down into that dark abyss.
The gentle breeze from that pit followed me. I heard it inside, outside, day or night, sometimes loud and present, other times so distant I thought it was just the wind. Not really an earworm, though, it felt more like a reminder, making sure I didn’t forget about the tunnel.
Later that week I was in for work. Only half an hour after getting in, Dennis - my manager - called me into his office. Some bullshit about underperforming, I wasn’t really listening to be honest. I rightfully disagreed, not out loud. I’d been giving as much effort to the work as I could at the time. He won’t be reading this, so fuck you Dennis. Your job is to manage, not to call in anyone you can get, and sneer down your nose at them. Asshole.
I nodded to whatever he said, and left his office. My stomach churned, what was I meant to do? Work harder than I already was? I excused myself to the toilet, needing to steady myself. A spiral was already corkscrewing its way down my spine.
I locked myself in one of the stalls and let my forehead rest against the door. Trying to calm your nerves can make things worse when you’re on a tight schedule - how long could I stay here while also making sure my papers for the day would be all done by five?
I turned around to see that, in lieu of a toilet, was the pit. How long had it been there, waiting for me? There was no spike of adrenaline. No, dopamine if anything. It’d come back to see me, like it said it would.
The fluorescent buzz began to fade away as I fell to the floor, and so did the smell of floor cleaner and poorly-masked piss. My hands pressed into the cheap, sticky laminate floor as I lowered my face down into the abyss.
The cold whispering of air had changed. It sounded faintly like a whistle, distant but growing clearer. It was… so alluring. A lullaby crafted for me and no-one else. My arms reached down into the hole, pulling me further and further in. The darkness extended deep, deep down - I was on the fifth floor, yet I could see no end to its depth.
In that thick, heavy shadow, something moved upwards. Pale, angular, limbs too numerous and erratic to count. This would be my guide to wherever the pit led, to somewhere better. Peace and tranquillity. Charon is a misunderstood fellow - he only wishes to lead the dead to where they belong.
The melody was clear now. It was bittersweet, like reminiscing on bad choices, but accepting that the past is the past. The words to the tune came from my own mind, and I found myself whispering,
"One step, into the dark,
Light hides just beyond,
No one will know, even dear old pa,
Here is the peace for which you long."
It was right. Who would know, and who would care? My mum, wherever she is, would likely be indifferent, and my dad would soon forget all about me. I clearly wasn’t a valuable asset to the company either, and Eric would be happy to never hear from me again.
As the blurry thing in the pit grew closer, the song grew louder, all else falling away. The gentle breeze whipped up into a galeforce tempest of cold air that seemed to wrap around me like tendrils and pull me in further.
I reached out my hand to meet my guide halfway, when the ear-splitting BANG of the bathroom door jolted me back to reality. Did I really want this? Was it really better on the other side? Whatever that thing was, approaching rapidly, I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to meet it.
“Porter, you in here? Boss says the papers need to be done and signed by four, so hurry the fuck up, yeah?”
I arched my head back to the stall door and replied,
“Yeah Jim, just a minute. Indigestion.”
The door slammed again, leaving me alone. When I looked back down, I flinched as my head bumped into the toilet bowl, coming off slightly wet from the residue. No pit, nothing. I returned to my desk, and saw upon checking my email a message without any named sender.
COME BACK
That’s all it said. The song played over and over in my head while I stared at those two words. Out of my lips tumbled, “I will,” and I clicked off the email. I tried blocking the sender, more out of curiosity than anything, but there was no sender to block. I managed to finish my workload for the rest of the day and handed it in on time, with no particular gratitude from Dennis or anyone else. No surprise there.
I paid dad a visit that weekend, at the hospice. When I entered his room he was staring listlessly out the window while some old songs fit for a gramophone played from the old radio beside him.
“Hey, dad.”
His head rolled around to look at me side-on.
“Oh, hello there. What time is it?”
I could tell he was only trying to be polite, that he didn’t really know who was talking to him, and changing the subject for that reason.
“It’s a quarter to three. How are you feeling today? I brought you some custard creams.”
He turned around some more to look at me, down at my hands and then back up with a smile.
“These are my favourite, how’d you know?”
The corners of my brow fell and I brought a hand up to block a potential tear.
“I, uh, it’s me, Porter. I’m your son.”
“I… I don’t…”
The look of confusion on his face told me all I needed to know. I’d been able to remind him who I was before, but now it was no use. I was all but lost to him. Was he even aware he had a son? I don’t know. There was desperation in his eyes, but the dementia won over.
I didn’t say anything more. I pulled up a chair next to him and sat, following his gaze out the window to nothing in particular. At least I could give him some company, even if he had no idea who I was. Looking through the smudge-covered glass I could hear that melody, whistling in my ears, and I knew it called to me again.
“What do you do when it seems the only direction you can go is off the edge of a cliff?” I asked.
“Wait. Look around, far and wide, to see if there’s a bridge across. If there’s no bridge, then you better set about building one. Doesn’t have to be rigid neither, just strong enough for one crossing.”
The lucidity in his answer shocked me for a moment, and I understood what he meant, but I also couldn’t grasp why he’d still think that, when he was so lost and hollow like this.
“What if the bridge collapses halfway across?”
“Hm? Bridge?”
I sighed, “never mind.”
I stood, pulled the chair back to the corner, and left dad with his biscuits. Was that it? Had he forgotten all about me? The questions weren’t answered as I walked out of the room. They say you die a second time - when your name is spoken for the last time. If I died that night, I’d have already died twice. Not figuring in the people at work, because fuck them. Dad wouldn’t be any the wiser, and mum wouldn’t care. Nor Eric.
My sleeve was damp by the time I got home, wiping away tears so I could actually see the road. I don’t know why I cared anymore. Perhaps I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.
I unlocked my front door and went into the house. A cold and empty place that I called home. My whole body ached with anguish as I climbed my way up the dark staircase.
I couldn’t sleep, of course. Why would I be able to? A good night’s rest wouldn’t make dad better. It wouldn’t make Eric come back, and it wouldn’t help me become a carpenter. I couldn’t even cobble the pieces of my life back together, let alone wooden joists or ply sheets.
Slumped in the chair at my desk, I looked up at the shelves above. There was a framed picture of an eight-year-old me with my dad, doing some DIY carpentry on a doorframe, and on the shelf above, a picture of me and Eric at a college party. I loathed the sight of them. They were nothing but painful reminders of what I’d already lost. It was all gone.
I pulled out my phone and went to notes, writing a message to send to Eric. I hoped he was happy with the way things turned out, how he let me go over the pettiest of reasons. Life must be so easy for him, huh? Still, I couldn’t break my attachment. I needed someone to guide me.
I gave up a few sentences in, placing my phone face down on the desk. Hope was evacuating my body rapidly, but in truth, it wasn’t a bad feeling. After all, why should I feel anxious or scared if there was nothing left to worry about? No, it was acceptance. This world was never meant for me.
But, I recognised the feeling. I knew instinctively what it meant. I looked down underneath the desk, but only saw the frayed, blue carpeting. I started cackling hysterically. It was funny. Now, I’d even been abandoned by the pit that had called for me. This was it. My emotions, my dreams, leaving me one last time.
A blast of freezing air poured over my head from above with a loud whoosh, and something wrapped around my throat. It was cold, clammy, and powerful.
The thing grasping my neck began to pull me up off the chair. My legs thrashed wildly, trying to find a foothold, and as I looked up, I saw it. The pit. It hadn’t abandoned me, but in that moment I didn’t want it anymore. A gaunt, pallid arm was reaching out of the darkness, clamping tighter and tighter around my neck, and it was attached to a mass of writhing limbs that wanted nothing but me.
I scraped animalistically at the arm that I hung from, but it was no use. It was a grip of cold steel. I managed to kick a foot up onto the desk enough to give my body some slack, but it would be no use when I was dragged up further. I looked around frantically for something that could help, but the only thing in reach was the picture frame with me and Eric.
Holding onto the bony wrist above me, I reached out with my free hand and grabbed the picture. I brought it up to my face and slammed it into my forehead. Blood erupted and poured down my face, but the glass was shattered. I felt lightheaded, and my feet totally lost footing on the desk, dangling uselessly. Using my teeth I picked out the largest glass shard still left on the picture, then dropped the broken item to the ground. I grasped the shard and I attacked. Slicing, stabbing, maiming the horrid limb that wanted my end.
But the world was fading, and fast. The howls and screeches of the creature above me sounded like they were underwater. I saw the rim of the black stone tunnel pass in front of me, falling away to reveal only cold and dark.
I can’t go. Not yet. There’s things I need to do, god, give me another chance.
I don’t know how far I was dragged into the abyss, but hand’s grip weakened, and it let go with a rage-filled wail. I didn’t fall back into my room though, I just kept falling. The darkness twisted and swirled, shaping into visions of those taken victim by the pit. Those found dead with no clear motives - at least, none that could be understood by the living. I saw my father lying on his bed, drool leaking from the corner of his mouth, unaware of the gaping hole waiting for him just beneath the bedframe. I screamed, then passed out.
I woke up gasping on the floorboards of my bedroom, lying on top of broken glass and dried blood. I shot up to a sitting position and looked above me. The ceiling was unbroken in its off-white mundanity. The pit was gone, and so was its call.
My body fell back to the floor, sobbing and heaving in exasperation. I was alive, somehow. Face all cut up, neck raw and bruising, palm lacerated messily, but alive. My flame had almost been snuffed out, but there was so much wax left in my candle. It couldn’t go out yet, not until I saw what there was after it all melted away.
I looked down at the broken picture frame. Eric’s face stared back in a sneer, and I stood up and stomped on it until it was nothing more than split wood and torn paper. I needed him as much as he needed me. Dad needed me though. Even if he forgot who I, who he was, I had to stick with him until the end. I couldn’t just leave without him.
I’m looking out the window at the first rays bursting from the horizon. Their warmth spills across my face, and with the warmth is calm. Different to the calm brought on by total loss of hope. Because there is hope. I don’t know what for, but the fact that it’s there is all I need.
If the pit calls to you, please think about what you’re doing. It lies. There’s no light past the shadows. It stays dark, and cold, and there is no salvation. I can’t claim to know what the thing down there wants, truly, but it doesn’t care about you.
Sitting here now, hell… the sunrise looks just a little bit prettier than before.

Go support this story on NoSleep :)
The pit, the abyss, it was always there. At least, as far as I can remember. The first time I heard its call, it was subtle, almost unnoticeable. My mother was reading her pick-and-choose verses from the book, looking back up at me after each reading with an expectant look in her eyes. She tried so hard to belittle me, scolding me on how wrong it was to like men, but I was never swayed. Still, the call grew stronger every time she sat me down for her dogmatic ramblings, but it would only show itself to me later on in life.
Not once did I believe she became a Christian in good faith. Way I see it, she only did so as a way to excuse her more toxic behaviours. It’s no wonder I got into my first real relationship during college, since it was the first time I was really free from her endless remarks on my so-called “dirty ways”.
I don’t know exactly what went down in the time I was away, but after dropping out of engineering and coming back home my parents were already living apart with divorce papers in order. And, like a pattern, propagating in time, Eric told me that this - us - wouldn’t work out. My attachment blinded me to how shallow Eric was. He never said anything outright, but it was obvious how he saw me as lesser than himself.
My mum said that if, after finishing my engineering course, I still wanted to pursue carpentry, then I would have the skills required. I guess she hoped I’d set my focus on greater horizons, but it didn’t help me achieve anything.
It was better, living with just my dad. He helped me through it all, but it’s always such a slippery rut I’ve found myself in. I still dreamed of being a carpenter, but even he could see that I wasn’t in the right state of mind to start a whole business. We ended up deciding that I would apply for some bog-standard transient jobs with the aim of saving up money for a carpentry course.
That never really happened. At 19, I started working at an office, spreadsheets, emails, that kind of stuff. Four years later, dad first started showing signs of early-onset dementia. At 54. It’s such a hopeless feeling to watch your father degenerate into a confused mess, and looking back I think it would’ve been better if he was struck by a heart attack.
After two more years, I was up one raise and down everything else. It was January when the pit first revealed itself to me, a late weekend night of remote overtime, the only way I could afford the ever-rocketing living costs.
The work was harsh, mind-numbing, and I kept having to go back to fix mistakes, over and over, my tired mind fucking it up, as it always did. My feet were cold to the point where I could barely feel them, even when I tried moving and wiggling my toes around. I knew I was moving my feet, but there was no feeling.
I looked down to see that, where the navy carpet had been, sat a circular hole in the floor. Almost perfect, but not. A gaping pit, walls of masterfully carved black stone, that descended into thick blankets of darkness. I forcefully pushed myself away from the desk, tumbling off my chair, then crawled over to the edge of the hole. As I peered over the crevice, the only sound was a low breeze. A cold earthen breath I imagined blowing throughout the tunnels of a cave.
You know that feeling? The call of the void? The subtle tug toward one step into nothing. I felt it. Only, the rejection of the idea that usually followed just wasn’t there. It didn’t scare me, only continued to pull me in. Gazing down into it, the knots in my stomach, pulled tight by the years, came loose. An unrestrained warmth took over my body as the pit seemed to strip away the weight on my heart, accepting the burden for itself.
Before the thought of toppling into the abyss took over entirely, my phone buzzed on the desk, breaking my trance. It was Eric.
“Eric? What’s up, man. Why are you calling so la-”
“Stop with the messages, Porter. I get you’re sad and all but can you, like, take it somewhere else? I’m with someone else now and I don’t want you stirring up any shit.”
I looked up to the shelves above my desk for a moment. At the picture I had of Eric and myself at college. It was pathetic, years had passed but I still couldn’t let go.
“Hello? Tell me you understand.”
I brought myself back and replied,
“Yeah. Um, sorry, Eric. Just hoped we might be able to stay friends at least.”
“Well, not if you go on like this. Thanks, I guess.”
He hung up, leaving me standing there like an idiot. Well, that I was. The silence that replaced his voice rang in my ears, mocking me, and when I looked back down to the floor, the hole was gone. It left an emptiness in my chest that could only be made whole again by looking down into that dark abyss.
The gentle breeze from that pit followed me. I heard it inside, outside, day or night, sometimes loud and present, other times so distant I thought it was just the wind. Not really an earworm, though, it felt more like a reminder, making sure I didn’t forget about the tunnel.
Later that week I was in for work. Only half an hour after getting in, Dennis - my manager - called me into his office. Some bullshit about underperforming, I wasn’t really listening to be honest. I rightfully disagreed, not out loud. I’d been giving as much effort to the work as I could at the time. He won’t be reading this, so fuck you Dennis. Your job is to manage, not to call in anyone you can get, and sneer down your nose at them. Asshole.
I nodded to whatever he said, and left his office. My stomach churned, what was I meant to do? Work harder than I already was? I excused myself to the toilet, needing to steady myself. A spiral was already corkscrewing its way down my spine.
I locked myself in one of the stalls and let my forehead rest against the door. Trying to calm your nerves can make things worse when you’re on a tight schedule - how long could I stay here while also making sure my papers for the day would be all done by five?
I turned around to see that, in lieu of a toilet, was the pit. How long had it been there, waiting for me? There was no spike of adrenaline. No, dopamine if anything. It’d come back to see me, like it said it would.
The fluorescent buzz began to fade away as I fell to the floor, and so did the smell of floor cleaner and poorly-masked piss. My hands pressed into the cheap, sticky laminate floor as I lowered my face down into the abyss.
The cold whispering of air had changed. It sounded faintly like a whistle, distant but growing clearer. It was… so alluring. A lullaby crafted for me and no-one else. My arms reached down into the hole, pulling me further and further in. The darkness extended deep, deep down - I was on the fifth floor, yet I could see no end to its depth.
In that thick, heavy shadow, something moved upwards. Pale, angular, limbs too numerous and erratic to count. This would be my guide to wherever the pit led, to somewhere better. Peace and tranquillity. Charon is a misunderstood fellow - he only wishes to lead the dead to where they belong.
The melody was clear now. It was bittersweet, like reminiscing on bad choices, but accepting that the past is the past. The words to the tune came from my own mind, and I found myself whispering,
"One step, into the dark,
Light hides just beyond,
No one will know, even dear old pa,
Here is the peace for which you long."
It was right. Who would know, and who would care? My mum, wherever she is, would likely be indifferent, and my dad would soon forget all about me. I clearly wasn’t a valuable asset to the company either, and Eric would be happy to never hear from me again.
As the blurry thing in the pit grew closer, the song grew louder, all else falling away. The gentle breeze whipped up into a galeforce tempest of cold air that seemed to wrap around me like tendrils and pull me in further.
I reached out my hand to meet my guide halfway, when the ear-splitting BANG of the bathroom door jolted me back to reality. Did I really want this? Was it really better on the other side? Whatever that thing was, approaching rapidly, I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to meet it.
“Porter, you in here? Boss says the papers need to be done and signed by four, so hurry the fuck up, yeah?”
I arched my head back to the stall door and replied,
“Yeah Jim, just a minute. Indigestion.”
The door slammed again, leaving me alone. When I looked back down, I flinched as my head bumped into the toilet bowl, coming off slightly wet from the residue. No pit, nothing. I returned to my desk, and saw upon checking my email a message without any named sender.
COME BACK
That’s all it said. The song played over and over in my head while I stared at those two words. Out of my lips tumbled, “I will,” and I clicked off the email. I tried blocking the sender, more out of curiosity than anything, but there was no sender to block. I managed to finish my workload for the rest of the day and handed it in on time, with no particular gratitude from Dennis or anyone else. No surprise there.
I paid dad a visit that weekend, at the hospice. When I entered his room he was staring listlessly out the window while some old songs fit for a gramophone played from the old radio beside him.
“Hey, dad.”
His head rolled around to look at me side-on.
“Oh, hello there. What time is it?”
I could tell he was only trying to be polite, that he didn’t really know who was talking to him, and changing the subject for that reason.
“It’s a quarter to three. How are you feeling today? I brought you some custard creams.”
He turned around some more to look at me, down at my hands and then back up with a smile.
“These are my favourite, how’d you know?”
The corners of my brow fell and I brought a hand up to block a potential tear.
“I, uh, it’s me, Porter. I’m your son.”
“I… I don’t…”
The look of confusion on his face told me all I needed to know. I’d been able to remind him who I was before, but now it was no use. I was all but lost to him. Was he even aware he had a son? I don’t know. There was desperation in his eyes, but the dementia won over.
I didn’t say anything more. I pulled up a chair next to him and sat, following his gaze out the window to nothing in particular. At least I could give him some company, even if he had no idea who I was. Looking through the smudge-covered glass I could hear that melody, whistling in my ears, and I knew it called to me again.
“What do you do when it seems the only direction you can go is off the edge of a cliff?” I asked.
“Wait. Look around, far and wide, to see if there’s a bridge across. If there’s no bridge, then you better set about building one. Doesn’t have to be rigid neither, just strong enough for one crossing.”
The lucidity in his answer shocked me for a moment, and I understood what he meant, but I also couldn’t grasp why he’d still think that, when he was so lost and hollow like this.
“What if the bridge collapses halfway across?”
“Hm? Bridge?”
I sighed, “never mind.”
I stood, pulled the chair back to the corner, and left dad with his biscuits. Was that it? Had he forgotten all about me? The questions weren’t answered as I walked out of the room. They say you die a second time - when your name is spoken for the last time. If I died that night, I’d have already died twice. Not figuring in the people at work, because fuck them. Dad wouldn’t be any the wiser, and mum wouldn’t care. Nor Eric.
My sleeve was damp by the time I got home, wiping away tears so I could actually see the road. I don’t know why I cared anymore. Perhaps I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.
I unlocked my front door and went into the house. A cold and empty place that I called home. My whole body ached with anguish as I climbed my way up the dark staircase.
I couldn’t sleep, of course. Why would I be able to? A good night’s rest wouldn’t make dad better. It wouldn’t make Eric come back, and it wouldn’t help me become a carpenter. I couldn’t even cobble the pieces of my life back together, let alone wooden joists or ply sheets.
Slumped in the chair at my desk, I looked up at the shelves above. There was a framed picture of an eight-year-old me with my dad, doing some DIY carpentry on a doorframe, and on the shelf above, a picture of me and Eric at a college party. I loathed the sight of them. They were nothing but painful reminders of what I’d already lost. It was all gone.
I pulled out my phone and went to notes, writing a message to send to Eric. I hoped he was happy with the way things turned out, how he let me go over the pettiest of reasons. Life must be so easy for him, huh? Still, I couldn’t break my attachment. I needed someone to guide me.
I gave up a few sentences in, placing my phone face down on the desk. Hope was evacuating my body rapidly, but in truth, it wasn’t a bad feeling. After all, why should I feel anxious or scared if there was nothing left to worry about? No, it was acceptance. This world was never meant for me.
But, I recognised the feeling. I knew instinctively what it meant. I looked down underneath the desk, but only saw the frayed, blue carpeting. I started cackling hysterically. It was funny. Now, I’d even been abandoned by the pit that had called for me. This was it. My emotions, my dreams, leaving me one last time.
A blast of freezing air poured over my head from above with a loud whoosh, and something wrapped around my throat. It was cold, clammy, and powerful.
The thing grasping my neck began to pull me up off the chair. My legs thrashed wildly, trying to find a foothold, and as I looked up, I saw it. The pit. It hadn’t abandoned me, but in that moment I didn’t want it anymore. A gaunt, pallid arm was reaching out of the darkness, clamping tighter and tighter around my neck, and it was attached to a mass of writhing limbs that wanted nothing but me.
I scraped animalistically at the arm that I hung from, but it was no use. It was a grip of cold steel. I managed to kick a foot up onto the desk enough to give my body some slack, but it would be no use when I was dragged up further. I looked around frantically for something that could help, but the only thing in reach was the picture frame with me and Eric.
Holding onto the bony wrist above me, I reached out with my free hand and grabbed the picture. I brought it up to my face and slammed it into my forehead. Blood erupted and poured down my face, but the glass was shattered. I felt lightheaded, and my feet totally lost footing on the desk, dangling uselessly. Using my teeth I picked out the largest glass shard still left on the picture, then dropped the broken item to the ground. I grasped the shard and I attacked. Slicing, stabbing, maiming the horrid limb that wanted my end.
But the world was fading, and fast. The howls and screeches of the creature above me sounded like they were underwater. I saw the rim of the black stone tunnel pass in front of me, falling away to reveal only cold and dark.
I can’t go. Not yet. There’s things I need to do, god, give me another chance.
I don’t know how far I was dragged into the abyss, but hand’s grip weakened, and it let go with a rage-filled wail. I didn’t fall back into my room though, I just kept falling. The darkness twisted and swirled, shaping into visions of those taken victim by the pit. Those found dead with no clear motives - at least, none that could be understood by the living. I saw my father lying on his bed, drool leaking from the corner of his mouth, unaware of the gaping hole waiting for him just beneath the bedframe. I screamed, then passed out.
I woke up gasping on the floorboards of my bedroom, lying on top of broken glass and dried blood. I shot up to a sitting position and looked above me. The ceiling was unbroken in its off-white mundanity. The pit was gone, and so was its call.
My body fell back to the floor, sobbing and heaving in exasperation. I was alive, somehow. Face all cut up, neck raw and bruising, palm lacerated messily, but alive. My flame had almost been snuffed out, but there was so much wax left in my candle. It couldn’t go out yet, not until I saw what there was after it all melted away.
I looked down at the broken picture frame. Eric’s face stared back in a sneer, and I stood up and stomped on it until it was nothing more than split wood and torn paper. I needed him as much as he needed me. Dad needed me though. Even if he forgot who I, who he was, I had to stick with him until the end. I couldn’t just leave without him.
I’m looking out the window at the first rays bursting from the horizon. Their warmth spills across my face, and with the warmth is calm. Different to the calm brought on by total loss of hope. Because there is hope. I don’t know what for, but the fact that it’s there is all I need.
If the pit calls to you, please think about what you’re doing. It lies. There’s no light past the shadows. It stays dark, and cold, and there is no salvation. I can’t claim to know what the thing down there wants, truly, but it doesn’t care about you.
Sitting here now, hell… the sunrise looks just a little bit prettier than before.

The pit, the abyss, it was always there. At least, as far as I can remember. The first time I heard its call, it was subtle, almost unnoticeable. My mother was reading her pick-and-choose verses from the book, looking back up at me after each reading with an expectant look in her eyes. She tried so hard to belittle me, scolding me on how wrong it was to like men, but I was never swayed. Still, the call grew stronger every time she sat me down for her dogmatic ramblings, but it would only show itself to me later on in life.
Not once did I believe she became a Christian in good faith. Way I see it, she only did so as a way to excuse her more toxic behaviours. It’s no wonder I got into my first real relationship during college, since it was the first time I was really free from her endless remarks on my so-called “dirty ways”.
I don’t know exactly what went down in the time I was away, but after dropping out of engineering and coming back home my parents were already living apart with divorce papers in order. And, like a pattern, propagating in time, Eric told me that this - us - wouldn’t work out. My attachment blinded me to how shallow Eric was. He never said anything outright, but it was obvious how he saw me as lesser than himself.
My mum said that if, after finishing my engineering course, I still wanted to pursue carpentry, then I would have the skills required. I guess she hoped I’d set my focus on greater horizons, but it didn’t help me achieve anything.
It was better, living with just my dad. He helped me through it all, but it’s always such a slippery rut I’ve found myself in. I still dreamed of being a carpenter, but even he could see that I wasn’t in the right state of mind to start a whole business. We ended up deciding that I would apply for some bog-standard transient jobs with the aim of saving up money for a carpentry course.
That never really happened. At 19, I started working at an office, spreadsheets, emails, that kind of stuff. Four years later, dad first started showing signs of early-onset dementia. At 54. It’s such a hopeless feeling to watch your father degenerate into a confused mess, and looking back I think it would’ve been better if he was struck by a heart attack.
After two more years, I was up one raise and down everything else. It was January when the pit first revealed itself to me, a late weekend night of remote overtime, the only way I could afford the ever-rocketing living costs.
The work was harsh, mind-numbing, and I kept having to go back to fix mistakes, over and over, my tired mind fucking it up, as it always did. My feet were cold to the point where I could barely feel them, even when I tried moving and wiggling my toes around. I knew I was moving my feet, but there was no feeling.
I looked down to see that, where the navy carpet had been, sat a circular hole in the floor. Almost perfect, but not. A gaping pit, walls of masterfully carved black stone, that descended into thick blankets of darkness. I forcefully pushed myself away from the desk, tumbling off my chair, then crawled over to the edge of the hole. As I peered over the crevice, the only sound was a low breeze. A cold earthen breath I imagined blowing throughout the tunnels of a cave.
You know that feeling? The call of the void? The subtle tug toward one step into nothing. I felt it. Only, the rejection of the idea that usually followed just wasn’t there. It didn’t scare me, only continued to pull me in. Gazing down into it, the knots in my stomach, pulled tight by the years, came loose. An unrestrained warmth took over my body as the pit seemed to strip away the weight on my heart, accepting the burden for itself.
Before the thought of toppling into the abyss took over entirely, my phone buzzed on the desk, breaking my trance. It was Eric.
“Eric? What’s up, man. Why are you calling so la-”
“Stop with the messages, Porter. I get you’re sad and all but can you, like, take it somewhere else? I’m with someone else now and I don’t want you stirring up any shit.”
I looked up to the shelves above my desk for a moment. At the picture I had of Eric and myself at college. It was pathetic, years had passed but I still couldn’t let go.
“Hello? Tell me you understand.”
I brought myself back and replied,
“Yeah. Um, sorry, Eric. Just hoped we might be able to stay friends at least.”
“Well, not if you go on like this. Thanks, I guess.”
He hung up, leaving me standing there like an idiot. Well, that I was. The silence that replaced his voice rang in my ears, mocking me, and when I looked back down to the floor, the hole was gone. It left an emptiness in my chest that could only be made whole again by looking down into that dark abyss.
The gentle breeze from that pit followed me. I heard it inside, outside, day or night, sometimes loud and present, other times so distant I thought it was just the wind. Not really an earworm, though, it felt more like a reminder, making sure I didn’t forget about the tunnel.
Later that week I was in for work. Only half an hour after getting in, Dennis - my manager - called me into his office. Some bullshit about underperforming, I wasn’t really listening to be honest. I rightfully disagreed, not out loud. I’d been giving as much effort to the work as I could at the time. He won’t be reading this, so fuck you Dennis. Your job is to manage, not to call in anyone you can get, and sneer down your nose at them. Asshole.
I nodded to whatever he said, and left his office. My stomach churned, what was I meant to do? Work harder than I already was? I excused myself to the toilet, needing to steady myself. A spiral was already corkscrewing its way down my spine.
I locked myself in one of the stalls and let my forehead rest against the door. Trying to calm your nerves can make things worse when you’re on a tight schedule - how long could I stay here while also making sure my papers for the day would be all done by five?
I turned around to see that, in lieu of a toilet, was the pit. How long had it been there, waiting for me? There was no spike of adrenaline. No, dopamine if anything. It’d come back to see me, like it said it would.
The fluorescent buzz began to fade away as I fell to the floor, and so did the smell of floor cleaner and poorly-masked piss. My hands pressed into the cheap, sticky laminate floor as I lowered my face down into the abyss.
The cold whispering of air had changed. It sounded faintly like a whistle, distant but growing clearer. It was… so alluring. A lullaby crafted for me and no-one else. My arms reached down into the hole, pulling me further and further in. The darkness extended deep, deep down - I was on the fifth floor, yet I could see no end to its depth.
In that thick, heavy shadow, something moved upwards. Pale, angular, limbs too numerous and erratic to count. This would be my guide to wherever the pit led, to somewhere better. Peace and tranquillity. Charon is a misunderstood fellow - he only wishes to lead the dead to where they belong.
The melody was clear now. It was bittersweet, like reminiscing on bad choices, but accepting that the past is the past. The words to the tune came from my own mind, and I found myself whispering,
"One step, into the dark,
Light hides just beyond,
No one will know, even dear old pa,
Here is the peace for which you long."
It was right. Who would know, and who would care? My mum, wherever she is, would likely be indifferent, and my dad would soon forget all about me. I clearly wasn’t a valuable asset to the company either, and Eric would be happy to never hear from me again.
As the blurry thing in the pit grew closer, the song grew louder, all else falling away. The gentle breeze whipped up into a galeforce tempest of cold air that seemed to wrap around me like tendrils and pull me in further.
I reached out my hand to meet my guide halfway, when the ear-splitting BANG of the bathroom door jolted me back to reality. Did I really want this? Was it really better on the other side? Whatever that thing was, approaching rapidly, I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to meet it.
“Porter, you in here? Boss says the papers need to be done and signed by four, so hurry the fuck up, yeah?”
I arched my head back to the stall door and replied,
“Yeah Jim, just a minute. Indigestion.”
The door slammed again, leaving me alone. When I looked back down, I flinched as my head bumped into the toilet bowl, coming off slightly wet from the residue. No pit, nothing. I returned to my desk, and saw upon checking my email a message without any named sender.
COME BACK
That’s all it said. The song played over and over in my head while I stared at those two words. Out of my lips tumbled, “I will,” and I clicked off the email. I tried blocking the sender, more out of curiosity than anything, but there was no sender to block. I managed to finish my workload for the rest of the day and handed it in on time, with no particular gratitude from Dennis or anyone else. No surprise there.
I paid dad a visit that weekend, at the hospice. When I entered his room he was staring listlessly out the window while some old songs fit for a gramophone played from the old radio beside him.
“Hey, dad.”
His head rolled around to look at me side-on.
“Oh, hello there. What time is it?”
I could tell he was only trying to be polite, that he didn’t really know who was talking to him, and changing the subject for that reason.
“It’s a quarter to three. How are you feeling today? I brought you some custard creams.”
He turned around some more to look at me, down at my hands and then back up with a smile.
“These are my favourite, how’d you know?”
The corners of my brow fell and I brought a hand up to block a potential tear.
“I, uh, it’s me, Porter. I’m your son.”
“I… I don’t…”
The look of confusion on his face told me all I needed to know. I’d been able to remind him who I was before, but now it was no use. I was all but lost to him. Was he even aware he had a son? I don’t know. There was desperation in his eyes, but the dementia won over.
I didn’t say anything more. I pulled up a chair next to him and sat, following his gaze out the window to nothing in particular. At least I could give him some company, even if he had no idea who I was. Looking through the smudge-covered glass I could hear that melody, whistling in my ears, and I knew it called to me again.
“What do you do when it seems the only direction you can go is off the edge of a cliff?” I asked.
“Wait. Look around, far and wide, to see if there’s a bridge across. If there’s no bridge, then you better set about building one. Doesn’t have to be rigid neither, just strong enough for one crossing.”
The lucidity in his answer shocked me for a moment, and I understood what he meant, but I also couldn’t grasp why he’d still think that, when he was so lost and hollow like this.
“What if the bridge collapses halfway across?”
“Hm? Bridge?”
I sighed, “never mind.”
I stood, pulled the chair back to the corner, and left dad with his biscuits. Was that it? Had he forgotten all about me? The questions weren’t answered as I walked out of the room. They say you die a second time - when your name is spoken for the last time. If I died that night, I’d have already died twice. Not figuring in the people at work, because fuck them. Dad wouldn’t be any the wiser, and mum wouldn’t care. Nor Eric.
My sleeve was damp by the time I got home, wiping away tears so I could actually see the road. I don’t know why I cared anymore. Perhaps I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.
I unlocked my front door and went into the house. A cold and empty place that I called home. My whole body ached with anguish as I climbed my way up the dark staircase.
I couldn’t sleep, of course. Why would I be able to? A good night’s rest wouldn’t make dad better. It wouldn’t make Eric come back, and it wouldn’t help me become a carpenter. I couldn’t even cobble the pieces of my life back together, let alone wooden joists or ply sheets.
Slumped in the chair at my desk, I looked up at the shelves above. There was a framed picture of an eight-year-old me with my dad, doing some DIY carpentry on a doorframe, and on the shelf above, a picture of me and Eric at a college party. I loathed the sight of them. They were nothing but painful reminders of what I’d already lost. It was all gone.
I pulled out my phone and went to notes, writing a message to send to Eric. I hoped he was happy with the way things turned out, how he let me go over the pettiest of reasons. Life must be so easy for him, huh? Still, I couldn’t break my attachment. I needed someone to guide me.
I gave up a few sentences in, placing my phone face down on the desk. Hope was evacuating my body rapidly, but in truth, it wasn’t a bad feeling. After all, why should I feel anxious or scared if there was nothing left to worry about? No, it was acceptance. This world was never meant for me.
But, I recognised the feeling. I knew instinctively what it meant. I looked down underneath the desk, but only saw the frayed, blue carpeting. I started cackling hysterically. It was funny. Now, I’d even been abandoned by the pit that had called for me. This was it. My emotions, my dreams, leaving me one last time.
A blast of freezing air poured over my head from above with a loud whoosh, and something wrapped around my throat. It was cold, clammy, and powerful.
The thing grasping my neck began to pull me up off the chair. My legs thrashed wildly, trying to find a foothold, and as I looked up, I saw it. The pit. It hadn’t abandoned me, but in that moment I didn’t want it anymore. A gaunt, pallid arm was reaching out of the darkness, clamping tighter and tighter around my neck, and it was attached to a mass of writhing limbs that wanted nothing but me.
I scraped animalistically at the arm that I hung from, but it was no use. It was a grip of cold steel. I managed to kick a foot up onto the desk enough to give my body some slack, but it would be no use when I was dragged up further. I looked around frantically for something that could help, but the only thing in reach was the picture frame with me and Eric.
Holding onto the bony wrist above me, I reached out with my free hand and grabbed the picture. I brought it up to my face and slammed it into my forehead. Blood erupted and poured down my face, but the glass was shattered. I felt lightheaded, and my feet totally lost footing on the desk, dangling uselessly. Using my teeth I picked out the largest glass shard still left on the picture, then dropped the broken item to the ground. I grasped the shard and I attacked. Slicing, stabbing, maiming the horrid limb that wanted my end.
But the world was fading, and fast. The howls and screeches of the creature above me sounded like they were underwater. I saw the rim of the black stone tunnel pass in front of me, falling away to reveal only cold and dark.
I can’t go. Not yet. There’s things I need to do, god, give me another chance.
I don’t know how far I was dragged into the abyss, but hand’s grip weakened, and it let go with a rage-filled wail. I didn’t fall back into my room though, I just kept falling. The darkness twisted and swirled, shaping into visions of those taken victim by the pit. Those found dead with no clear motives - at least, none that could be understood by the living. I saw my father lying on his bed, drool leaking from the corner of his mouth, unaware of the gaping hole waiting for him just beneath the bedframe. I screamed, then passed out.
I woke up gasping on the floorboards of my bedroom, lying on top of broken glass and dried blood. I shot up to a sitting position and looked above me. The ceiling was unbroken in its off-white mundanity. The pit was gone, and so was its call.
My body fell back to the floor, sobbing and heaving in exasperation. I was alive, somehow. Face all cut up, neck raw and bruising, palm lacerated messily, but alive. My flame had almost been snuffed out, but there was so much wax left in my candle. It couldn’t go out yet, not until I saw what there was after it all melted away.
I looked down at the broken picture frame. Eric’s face stared back in a sneer, and I stood up and stomped on it until it was nothing more than split wood and torn paper. I needed him as much as he needed me. Dad needed me though. Even if he forgot who I, who he was, I had to stick with him until the end. I couldn’t just leave without him.
I’m looking out the window at the first rays bursting from the horizon. Their warmth spills across my face, and with the warmth is calm. Different to the calm brought on by total loss of hope. Because there is hope. I don’t know what for, but the fact that it’s there is all I need.
If the pit calls to you, please think about what you’re doing. It lies. There’s no light past the shadows. It stays dark, and cold, and there is no salvation. I can’t claim to know what the thing down there wants, truly, but it doesn’t care about you.
Sitting here now, hell… the sunrise looks just a little bit prettier than before.
RPH
AB

I feel am an angel shopper.right now...
On mother's day i being deliver all day in FL, help customer deliver flowers and other.gift to.their mom.
Back home about 5pm to eat dinner with my mom, and think about.maybe i can order flower through insta cart to one of my friend in LA, she.is a single mom with one daughter.
So I made a order taken from ralphs, a guy with 3 years 4000 orders pick up the order, I text to the guy first by saying thank you for taking my order. This is a order to my friend. Just let me know if the flower was out of stock. He just reply ok.
My friend's house is like a apartment, but it's not very big. Just to make things easier, I google my friend's house and take a screen shot on the google map And use the pen mark to circle the building number location and entrance to the apartment. So the shopper won't take much time to finding everything. or confuse.
I send the picture to him and he just reply, ok.
And there is nothing else before he delivered the Order. My friend received the flower and chocolate I order for her. She is very happy and send me the Picture of everything. And I found the flower was not in good condition.
I know it's not the shopper fault For the flower were not in good condition but I don't know what you guys will do. for me, When I shopping For stuff like bananas, avocado flowers. that is not in standard complete seal box or package. I always take a photo and sent to the customer to let them check and make sure this is the condition of.the stuff that they want.
And also every time I start shopping always send a greeting message to the customer first.
Compare myself to this shopper. I feel like I'm an angel

Four or more dead (Suicides Indicated by an asterisk)
By a single killer (The killer is charged or would have been charged had he lived.)
Minors cannot generally be held legally liable for a murder or homicide. Such cases are included here with an annotation.
By any criminal means
The editor aims to include all cases. This leads to a presumption to publish. I welcome corrections and additions.
==1970==
17 February 1970 Fort Liberty NC, 4 killed (including unborn child) (stabbed) (http://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/macdonald-jeffrey.htm) Fort Liberty was then called Fort Bragg
20 March 1970 Seattle WA, 21 killed (arson) (https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Ozark-Hotel-fire-unsolved-1971-Seattle-blaze-4401146.php) unsolved
14 September 1970 Los Angeles CA, 19 killed (arson) (http://gendisasters.com/california/6608/los-angeles-ca-hotel-fire-claims-many-lives-sep-1970)
19 October 1970 Santa Cruz CA, 5 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.F/f/frazier-john-linley.htm)
==1971==
14 June 1971 Detroit MI, 8 killed (shot) (New York Times 21 June 1971 p. 59:4) unsolved
19 October 1971 Honesdale PA, 15 killed (arson) (https://www.tricountyindependent.com/article/20091217/NEWS/312179990)
9 November 1971 Westfield NJ 5 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/list-john-emil.htm)
20 December 1970 Tucson AZ, 29 killed (arson) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Hotel_(Tucson%2C_Arizona))
==1972==
6 February 1972 Pierce County WA, 4 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/clemmons-maurice.htm)
24 March 1972 Clarkstown NY, 5 killed ("criminally negligent homicide") (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilchrest_Road,_New_York_crossing_accident) school bus driver failed to yield to a train
3 April 1972 Philadelphia PA, 4 killed (shot) (New York Times 4 April 1972 p. 47:1) botched gang hit
29 May 1972 Raleigh NC, 5 killed (shot) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rampage_killers_(Americas))
21 June 1972 Cherry Hill NJ, 7 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.G/g/grace-edwin-james.htm)
==1973==
“Early January 1973” Santa Cruz County (Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park), 5 killed (shot) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Mullin) Same killer as 10 February
7 January 1973 New Orleans LA, 4 killed (shot) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Essex#New_Year's_Eve_1972)
10 February 1973 Santa Cruz CA, 5 killed (multiple) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Mullin)
29 January 1973 Pleasantville NJ, 10 killed (arson) (https://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/30/archives/fire-in-jersey-rest-home-kills-woman-106-and-9-woman-106-dead-in.html)
22 April 1973 Los Angeles CA, 7 killed (shot) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ray_Bonner)
14 May 1973 Seminole County GA, 6 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.I/i1/isaacs-carl-junior.htm)
22 May 1973 Los Angeles CA 7 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/bonner-william-ray.htm)
8/9 June 1973 Boston MA 7 killed (shot) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rampage_killers_(familicides_in_the_United_States))
24 June 1973 New Orleans LA, 32 killed (arson) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UpStairs_Lounge_arson_attack) unsolved
==1974==
15 January 1974 near Blythe CA, 19* killed (vehicular homicide) (1974 Blythe, California bus crash - Wikipedia)
15 January 1974, Wichita KS, 4 killed (multiple) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Rader#Evaluation_by_Robert_Mendoza)
18 February 1974 Fayette MS, 7 killed (arson) (https://newspaperarchive.com/murder-clipping-feb-19-1974-173948/)
10-11 May 1974 McLennan/Collin Counties TX 4 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.W/w1/white-robert-excell.htm) unusual as a machinegun was used.
30 June 1974 Port Chester NY, 24 killed (arson) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulliver's_nightclub_fire)
Before 1 September 1974 near Copper OR, 4 killed (multiple) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowden_family_murders) unsolved, one suspect
13 November 1974 Ammityville NY, 6 killed (shot) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_DeFeo_Jr.)
==1975==
24 January 1975, Manhattan NY, 4 killed (bomb) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraunces_Tavern#Bombing) Terrorist attack. May not meet the one killer requirement. No arrests.
30 March 1975 Hamilton OH, 11 killed (shot) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ruppert)
7 July 1975 Portland OR, 12 killed (arson) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomona_Hotel_fire)
1 November 1975 Black Hawk County IA 4 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/mark-jerry.htm)
13 November 1975 Amityville NY, 6 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.D/d/defeo-ronald.htm)
4 December 1975 Orange County FL (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.Z/z/zeigler-william.htm)
24 December 1975 Orange County FL, 4 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.Z/z/zeigler-william.htm)
29 December 1975 (bomb) 11 killed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_LaGuardia_Airport_bombing) unsolved
==1976==
30 January 1976 Chicago IL 13 killed (Arson) (https://www.nytimes.com/1976/01/31/archives/nursing-home-fire-in-chicago-kills-13-30-suffer-injuries.html) (http://gendisasters.com/illinois/12897/chicago-il-nursing-home-fire-jan-1976)
1 March 1976, Bethesda MD, 5 killed (multiple) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_Bishop)
12 March 1976 Bucks County PA, 6 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.G/g/geschwendt-george.htm)
12 July 1976, Fullerton CA, 7 killed (shot) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_University,_Fullerton_massacre) School shooting
24 October 1976 Bronx NY, 27 killed (arson) (http://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/25/archives/fire-sweeps-bronx-social-club-leaving-25-dead-and-24-injured.html)
20 October 1976, Saint Charles Parish, LA 78* killed (Drunken/negligent operation of a ferry)( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_George_Prince_ferry_disaster#Conclusions_of_the_investigation)
28 November 1976, Mountvale NJ, 4 killed (shot) (https://www.nydailynews.com/true-crime-justice-story/ny-de-la-roche-massacre-nj-20201119-if3c2dz34fhc7czpgehyxym3um-story.html)
==1977==
14 February 1977 New Rochelle NY, 7 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/cowan-frederick.htm)
28 May 1977 Southgate KY, 165 killed (arson) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Supper_Club_fire) unsolved
29 June 1977 Columbia TN, 42 killed (Arson) (http://gendisasters.com/tennessee/4124/columbia%2C-tn-fumes-fire-kill-42-jail%2C-june-1977) The arsonist, Andrew Zimmer was a juvenile. He was released a few months later.
22 July 1977 Prospect CT, 9 killed (beating/multiple) (http://murderpedia.org/male.A/a/acquin-lorne.htm) familicide ..
27 July 1977 Miami-Dade County FL 6 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.W/w1/white-beauford.htm)
23 July 1977 Klamath Falls OR, 7 killed (shot) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rampage_killers_(Americas)) Total includes unborn child
14 August 1977 Terrebonne Parish LA 4 killed (shot) (http://murderpedia.org/male.M/m1/martin-david-dene.htm)
26 August 1977 Hackettstown NJ, 7 killed (shot) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rampage_killers_(Americas))
15 September 1977 Climax Springs MO, 4 killed (shot) (http://www.lakeexpo.com/news/top_sto...e261211e4.html)
2 October 1977 Plant City FL, 10 killed (vehicular homicide) (http://www.gendisasters.com/florida/23027/plant-city-fl-train-crashes-truck-oct-1977) (Logansport Pharos-Tribune Indiana 1977-10-0)
17 October 1977 Port Hudson LA, 5* killed (vehicular homicide/DWI) (http://www.gendisasters.com/louisiana/22790/port-hudson-la-pickup-truck-auto-crash-oct-1977)
4 December 1977 Cochise County AZ, 4 killed (stabbed) (http://murderpedia.org/male.C/c1/clark-james-dean.htm)
29 December 1977 to 27 January 1978 California, 6 killed (multiple) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Chase) May not meet the requirement of a single emotional event.
==1978==
7 January 1978 Rockford IL 6 killed (multiple) (http://murderpedia.org/male.N/n/nelson-simon-peter.htm)
2 June 1978 Choes VA, 8 killed (arson) (https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/City-still-bares-scar-of-1978-fatal-arson-589835.php) Unsolved, only 1 suspect
18 June 1978 Warwick RI 5* killed (multiple) (https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/18/archives/cafe-shooting-leaves-five-dead.html) One died of a heart attack. One pregnant woman killed Not clear if he killed himself.
28 June 1978 Boston MA 5 killed (shot) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfriars_massacre) (Unsolved, three attackers, but unknown number of killers)
17 July 1978 Buffalo NY, 4 killed (stabbed) (http://murderpedia.org/female.T/t/trait-gail.htm)
3 August 1978 Salt Lake City UT, 7 killed (multiple) (http://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/braxton-nadia.htm)
3 August 1978 Brooklyn NY, 6 killed (arson) (https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-walbaums-forty-years-20180801-story.html) (https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/fst/17/1/17_1_10/_pdf/-chaen) Later (1994) the case fell apart on retrial. He was acquitted.
17 November 1978 Speedway IN 4 killed (Multiple) (Unsolved)( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burger_Chef_murders) probably two killers
26 November 1978 10 killed Greece NY, (arson) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_Holiday_Inn_fire) unsolved
==1979==
31 July 1979 Cambridge OH, 10 killed (arson) (https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/1979-july-31-arson-fire-and-smoke-inhalation-holiday-inn-cambridge-oh-10/)

Hey everyone,
Figured I'd write down my thoughts on a few days I spent in Madeira this May (2023).
Accommodation: I was deciding for quite a while what to go for. Hotels seemed a bit too expensive and impersonal. I don't yet feel like going for hostels and everyone seems to have a bad experience with Airbnb (plus it's not that good for the local housing market). Went with a serviced apartment through Booking. Paid about 100 Euros a night and it was located in Funchal near La Vie. I can highly recommend that as a base for your first trip to Madeira solo. Quite close to La Vie with a big grocery store there, as well as some options for fast food if you feel tired and don't want to go downtown to eat out. It's conveniently close to the SAM main bus stop (think it's called Edificio 2000) so you can hop on loads of buses in the Funchal/Eastern Madeira area.
Food, Drink, Experiences: Before I set off I only had plans to see one restaurant as I saw someone on Instagram go to it and I wanted to try out what they had (limpets). It was a decent experience but for me almost all restaurants in Funchal seemed very identical. Waiters standing outside, lots of pictures of food on menus and a similar ambiance. Of course if you went off the Michelin Guide I'm sure you'd find places which would feel more premium/special, but I didn't find a lot of "local gems", bar one I place visited on my last day.
That was Bela 5 Snack Bar, near Zona Velha. The atmosphere was great, it seemed like a tiny tucked-away spot, but the food was really really good, I felt really welcome and other reviews seem to think likewise. I wish I went there a few more times as the meals they had were relatively cheap (8-12 EUR), they had good cheep beer and as I mentioned the food was delicious. Definitely a place I'll go back to. In my hikes I went to a few spots, such as Snack Bar Faisca, Restaurant Portela a Vista and the cafe at Achado do Teixeira. All were great and are definitely good places to stop by.
In terms of drinking and night life, Funchal definitely seemed on the calmer end. I didn't see that many groups of party goers around and I was downtown pretty much every single night as what I saw I really liked. I liked the area around the Flower Market at Av. Arriaga, with plenty of poncha stands opened up until quite late. Barreirinha Bar & Cafe was also a good spot, with plenty of people there drinking poncha/beers and enjoying life.
A word on poncha, it's strong. Enjoyable but strong so take it easy. It's quite sweet so it doesn't feel like you're drinking a lot of alcohol, but in every one I think there's about 40-50ml of 50% rum so it is definitely quite a bit of alcohol.
In terms of social memories/experiences, I met up with this girl who was on Erasmus there, and a few times we went to the beach at 21 R. do Lazareto in Funchal (you can find it on Google Maps as "Path to Praia do Toco"). The walk down and through the rocks is a bit sketchy, but it was really peaceful, a good place to chill with a beer, read a book and try and gather some limpets. Although if you see really small ones leave them alone to let them grow and try to gather only the bigger ones. You can eat them raw or cook them in a bit of olive oil with some garlic, served with lemon juice and crusty bread. (I didn't feel like swimming there as the waves were really quite strong and the rocks seemed very jagged. If I had swimming shoes with a good grip I'd give it a go, as my main worry was decking it whilst getting in/out of the water on the rocks.)
I didn't go to Madeira particularly to meet a lot of people and do a ton of social activities, but those evenings at the beach were certainly a highlight and I made some great memories there :) . Everyone else young I spoke with, either at the aforementioned bars or on hikes I went to spoke very good English and was down to get to know each other a bit.
Hikes: I will talk about transport here too. Can you spend a week in Madeira without renting a cascooter or going on tours? Yes. I managed to do 4 big-ish hikes in 5 days, 3 by bus and one using a transfer company. I did the Levada dos Tornos, Levada do Furado + Vereda dos Balcoes, Pico Arieiro to Pico Ruivo and Vereda Da Ponta De São Lourenco. All were great, very different, all moderately tiring. I wouldn't go on them without at least some fitness or you won't have a good time. Every time the trail goes up or down it's through very steep stairs so it's taxing going both up and down them. I'd start all of them with a lot of water and some snacks, decent shoes and for the Levadas and Pico Arieiro a decent flashlight. I used Pico Transfers for the Picos and I can wholeheartedly recommend them (the sunrise hike, but there were a ton of people at the top there so it got a bit crowded). In terms of other hikes, there are plenty of blogs around if you search "Madeira hikes by public transport"/"Hikes in madeira you can do without a car". Those had up-to date info on how to get around. For navigation on the hikes, AllTrails/Gaia GPS worked well. Oh, and definitely pack a powerbank with you too and plenty of sunscreen!
Overall: It was a great first introduction to solo travel. I both want to do it again and I'd also like to see Madeira again. Funchal would be where I'd base myself, but I'd rent a car probably to see some places in the Northern or Western part of the island. The people were great, the food was too and it wasn't too expensive.
PS: Prepare yourself for some stress arriving/departing as sometimes the winds can get quite strong around the airport and flights might get cancelled, so give yourself a day or two of a buffer for your arrival back/any connections/important things you can't miss.
If you've got any questions for me feel free to ask!

First, congratulations to all the graduates! And, congrats to everyone for finishing up their exams. For those still in town, here's a weekend breakdown of local fun in Blacksburg and across the New River Valley along with some Mother's Day Events too....
1. The WORX Band In Concert Sinkland Farms, Christiansburg Friday, May 12, 2023, 6:00 - 11:00 PM Admission: $15.00 Enjoy live music from The Worx, wine and beer for sale on the terrace along with food trucks. The WORX is an award winning Mid-Atlantic regional band entertaining audiences for over 30 years. The professional musicianship, variety, and versatility will impress the hardest critics and leave you wanting to see more. Covering all genres of music from modern pop to hip hop, from country to the eighties, The Worx can play it all. Gates open at 6:00 PM and the band plays from 7:00-11:00 PM. Must be 21 and older unless you are a designated driver in which case you must be 18 and older. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=685258
2. Author Night with Allan Wolf Blacksburg Books, Blacksburg Friday, May 12, 2023, 7:00 - 8:30 PM Admission: Free Award-winning author and performance poet, Allan Wolf, demonstrates how he transforms historical fact into historical fiction. Experience the 1912 voyage of the doomed Titanic through poetry, storytelling, costume pieces, and historical photos as Wolf presents a special interactive author talk based on his multi-voice novel, "The Watch that Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic". With a 5 foot long Titanic model "puppet," Wolf demonstrates how the ship was constructed, struck ice, broke in half & then sank. He addresses Titanic myths and facts. He brings some of the Titanic’s passengers to life: the ship’s designer, the ship’s owner, the captain, a 9-year-old boy, the "unsinkable" Molly Brown, even the iceberg itself. "The Watch that Ends the Night" was named the North Carolina Young Adult Book of the Year by the North Carolina School Library Media Association and Booklist named it one of The Fifty Best Young Adult Books of All Time. This event is recommended for adults and families with older kids. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707437
3. The Get Right Band in Concert Dogtown Roadhouse, Floyd Friday, May 12, 2023, 8:00 - 11:00 PM Admission: $10.00 One of Relix Magazine’s “On The Verge” picks, The Get Right Band is “hip-shaking, earthquaking pure funk fun” (The Alternate Root). Combining catchy, clever songwriting with musical expertise and fearless improvisation, the live show promises to make you shake everything you’ve got. From funk to rock n’ roll to reggae, this is a dance party. The Get Right Band has been wowing audiences around the country and the Caribbean with their unparalleled live show since their inception in 2011. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=697279
4. Three Band Concert with Cinematheque, Copy Cat Syndrome and Vin Noir The Milk Parlor, Blacksburg Friday, May 12, 2023, 9:00 PM - 12:00 AM Admission: $10.00 Cinémathèque originally formed in Roanoke, VA, in 2011. The main goal was to have an outlet for producing and performing a wide array of cinematic music influenced by niche genres such as surf rock, exotica, spaghetti westerns, Ethiopian jazz, and Afro-Beat. Cinémathèque is a surf rock and exotica dance band that comes to life with unique world rhythms and familiar themes on guitar, keys, bass, drums, horns, and aux percussion. Copy Cat Syndrome is a fusion trio performing jazz based in Blacksburg, VA. Vin Noir is a jazz fusion band based in Blacksburg, VA. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707471
5. 2023 New River Valley Master Gardener Association Plant Sale Montgomery County Government Center, Christiansburg Saturday, May 13, 2023, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM Admission: Free The New River Valley Master Gardener Association (NRVMGA) presents their 2023 Plant Sale offering vegetables, annuals, herb, perennials, trees, shrubs, natives, houseplants and a garden themed yard sale. Many plants are grown by NRVMGA members and others are donated by retailers, individuals and organizations from throughout the area. There will also be a "garden supply/treasure area" with gardening related items for sale. The Plant Clinic will be on-site to answer your questions, problem plant issues, or gardening concerns.They will also have a selection of free seeds to give away to help support pollinators in our area. All proceeds fund their Community Grants program which provides funds for area educational gardening projects offered by schools, day care, non-profits. The event is rain or shine. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=696553
6. 2023 One Stop Spring Shoppe New River Valley Fairgrounds, Dublin Saturday, May 13, 2023, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Admission: $1.00 Shop and browse from over 100 vendors, crafters and direct sales consultants. This will be an inside and outside event. There will also be a variety of food and drinks available for purchase from food trucks and other vendors including the Snack Time Food Truck and Space Rabbit Coffee. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=697255
7. 2023 Floyd Fine Art Show Warren G. Lineberry Memorial Park, Floyd Saturday, May 13, 2023, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Admission: Free The Floyd Center for the Arts and Floyd Tourism presents the first juried Floyd Fine Art Show Floyd at multiple venues in Floyd, VA including Warren G. Lineberry Memorial Park. The Floyd Fine Art Show features: Photography, Painting, Sculpture, Jewelry, Mixed media, Drawing, and Printmaking along with Fine Crafts using; Wood, Clay, Fiber, Glass, and Metal. The show will play host to a multitude of local and Regional Artists. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707495
8. Balance and Brews Iron Tree Brewing Company, Christiansburg Saturday, May 13, 2023, 10:45 - 11:45 AM Admission: $20.00 Move through foundational yoga poses, gentle stretches, and experience the many restorative benefits that yoga has to offer. This one hour class is appropriate for all levels, including those who are totally new to yoga. The class includes an Iron Tree beverage of your choice. No reservation required, just show up. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707460
9. West End Weekend Festival Glencoe Mansion, Museum & Gallery, Radford Saturday, May 13, 2023, 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM Admission: Free Mountain Trotter presents the West End Weekend Festival featuring over 30 artisan vendors, live music from The Breakfast Club and FloydFest On-the-Rise band Appalachian Space Train, four food trucks, and an array of craft beers. As always, admission is free, but donations are welcomed. Bring your blankets, lawn chairs, and well-mannered dogs, too. The West End Weekend is a jam-packed, art-filled celebration taking place Friday, May 12 2023 through Sunday, May 14, 2023 at multiple locations in Radford, VA. Throughout the weekend, MoutainTrotter Arts will be selling flowers as a fundraiser in conjunction with Gates Flowers & Gifts. A portion of the proceeds from these sales will benefit the Women’s Resource Center (WRC). These single stems will make a great gift for Mother’s Day, and will help fund a more secure front door at the WRC administrative offices. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=697211
10. Hotdog, Bake Sale and Car Wash Pembroke Volunteer Fire Department, Pembroke Saturday, May 13, 2023, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM Admission: Free The Pembroke Volunteer Fire Department presents a Hotdog, Bake Sale and Car Wash. Get your hotdog with homemade chili and something sweet while for your vehicle is being washed all while supporting your local fire department. Donations are appreciated. Note: The event was originally scheduled for April 29th and then again on May 6th. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707494
11. Yoga on Tap Long Way Brewing, Radford Saturday, May 13, 2023, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Admission: $15.00 Join Kady Lafferty of Big Body Yoga at Long Way Brewing for no-experience-necessary yoga classes every other Saturday on Long Way's outdoor patio. Expect an upbeat playlist, laid back atmosphere and all-levels yoga class followed by a fresh cold beer. A ticket to the event covers the yoga class and your beer after. Be sure to pre-register for each class you plan to attend. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=684787
12. Free Drive-Thru Lunch with a Hot Dog Lunch Park United Methodist Church, Christiansburg Saturday, May 13, 2023, 12:00 - 2:00 PM Admission: Free Park United Methodist Church presents a Free Drive-Thru Lunch featuring a homemade lunch consisting of hot dogs, baked beans, chips and dessert will be prepared and packaged for carry-out and delivered to you in your vehicle while supplies last. There is no charge, however donations will be graciously be accepted for local neighborhood missions. Walk-ups are welcome. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707470
13. 2023 Spring Carnival Uptown Christiansburg (formerly New River Valley Mall), Christiansburg Saturday, May 13, 2023, 1:00 - 11:00 PM, Sunday, May 14, 2023, 1:00 - 10:00 PM Admission: Free, Ride Tickets: $1.25 each and each ride takes multiple tickets, Unlimited Ride Wristbands: $25.00 per session Uptown Christiansburg (formerly New River Valley Mall) presents the 2023 Spring Carnival from Cole Shows Amusement Company starting on Thursday, May 4, 2023 through Sunday, May 14, 2023. Enjoy amusement park rides, game booths, food and fun for the whole family. There is no gate fee. Note: Hours are weather dependent. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707355
14. Poetry-palooza with Allan Wolf Blacksburg Books, Blacksburg Saturday, May 13, 2023, 1:00 - 2:00 PM Admission: Free Award-winning author and performance poet, Allan Wolf will join us for an interactive presentation on the magic of poetry and the universe. Expect music, audience participation, and fun! Great for kids of all ages. No advance registration required, just show up. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707438
15. Music at the Villa with Zach Wiley Villa Appalaccia Winery, Floyd Saturday, May 13, 2023, 1:00 - 4:00 PM Admission: Free Relax and enjoy some great music along with great wine and food. Zach Wiley is a Virginia-based singer and songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Pulling from influences such as The Beatles and Bruce Hornsby, Wiley shapes melodically well-structured and purposeful original music and covers. With inspiration ranging from places like Spain, his home state of Virginia and his home-away-from-home, Raleigh, North Carolina, Wiley brings original music with a rich autumnal indie sound. With a whole host of instruments in his repertoire, you never know what Zach will bring to the Villa, but it’s always good. Kids and friendly, leashed dogs are welcome. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707443
16. The Ryan Greer Band (Trio) in Concert Rock House Marina, Pulaski Saturday, May 13, 2023, 4:00 - 6:00 PM Admission: Free The Rock House Marina welcomes The Ryan Greer Band in trio format back for another Saturday of blues-infused, Southern-soul. Ryan Greer is a Roanoke-based Americana musician who was born and raised in Franklin County, VA. Ryan has been a standout member of area bands Barefoot West and The Riverbank Ramblers as well as playing solo gigs. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707475
17. Rockin' Main Street Concert Series with Miller Holler and The Carolina Shreds Downtown Christiansburg, Christiansburg Saturday, May 13, 2023, 5:00 - 9:00 PM Admission: Free The Town of Christiansburg and the Christiansburg Parks & Rec continues their Rockin' Main Street Concert Series featuring music from Nashville's Miller Holler and The Carolina Shreds. Attendees can purchase food and drinks from a selection of food trucks and wine and beer vendors. Patrons are encouraged to bring lawn chairs to sit and enjoy the live performances. Miller Holler is a country rock band with southern roots and a hunger for going against the grain and stirring up the music industry in Nashville, Tennessee. The Carolina Shreds is a North Carolina rock band shredding familiar tunes and keeping great music alive. An assortment of beer and wine options will also be available for purchase at this event. Please bring your IDs if you would like to purchase beer or wine. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707405
18. Mt. Tabor Ruritan May Fish Fry with DJ Earl Brown Slusser's Chapel Church of God, Blacksburg Saturday, May 13, 2023, 5:00 - 7:00 PM Adults: $12.00, Children Ages 3-11: $6.00, Children Under 3: Free Carry-Outs: $12.00 The Mount Tabor Ruritan Club presents their May and first Fish Fry of 2023 with DJ Earl Brown performing. Enjoy a serving fish, fries, slaw, homemade desserts and beverage. DJ Earl Brown will be spinning some hits to get our 2023 fry season off to a swinging start. This is a fundraiser for the Ruritan Club's community service projects and scholarships. Held rain or shine under the picnic shelter below the lower church parking lot. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=697269
19. Bluegrass and Baseball Benefit with Lonesome River Band and Hot Dog Supper Newport Community Center, Newport Saturday, May 13, 2023, 5:30 - 9:30 PM Admission: $25.00 Enjoy a night of legendary bluegrass music with nationally known bluegrass artists the Lonesome River Band along with opener Gold Rush to support the youth baseball and softball programs in the Newport community starting at 7:00 PM. A benefit hotdog supper will precede the event starting at 5:30 PM in the cafeteria. Lonesome River Band continues their reputation as one of the most respected names in bluegrass music. Led by five-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Banjo Player of the Year and Virginia Country Music Hall of Famer Sammy Shelor, the group holds a powerhouse line up of award-winning players. This concert helps provide uniforms, equipment, field improvements, and experiences for players age 3-14. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707414
20. Mist on the Mountain in Concert Rising Silo Farm Brewery, Blacksburg Saturday, May 13, 2023, 6:00 - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Mist on the Mountain is an Irish Traditional Music group based in the New River Valley. From lively jigs and reels to heartbreaking laments and rollicking ballads, Mist on the Mountain provides great Irish music for any occasion. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707385
21. Dirt Road Breakdown in Concert Long Way Brewing, Radford Saturday, May 13, 2023, 6:00 - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Lee Worley and Bob Chew bring you swamp rocking Americana and classic honky tonk plus originals and enough rock and rockabilly to keep your feet a jumping. This unique duet we'll have you thinking it is a full four-piece band. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=696648
22. Justin Craig in Concert Mountain Lake Lodge, Pembroke Saturday, May 13, 2023, 6:00 - 9:00 PM Admission: Free Justin Craig is a classical and jazz guitarist, arranger, composer and recording artist residing in Blacksburg, VA. Justin is a graduate of Radford University with a Master of Music degree in classical guitar performance. He performs often as a soloist and leads a variety of groups including a modern jazz and Brazilian group. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707501
23. Compton & Newberry in Concert Floyd Country Store, Floyd Saturday, May 13, 2023, 7:00 - 9:30 PM General Admission: $20.00, Reserved Seating: $25.00 Mike Compton and Joe Newberry, masters of old-time mandolin and banjo / guitar, dig deep into early country music and blues. Their duet-singing, two-man string band ranges between traditional songs, instrumentals, 'mother' ballads and original tunes. It’s not about the number of notes with Compton and Newberry, but telling the truth and respecting the song. A Compton & Newberry program features a familiar combination of tunes and songs from the great American songbag mixed with their own newly composed numbers which are already taking their rightful place in the new tradition. Mike Compton is a Grammy award winner, IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year nominee, a steady sideman for John Hartford from 1994 until Hartford’s death in 2001, and mandolinist for the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Known far and wide for his powerful banjo playing, Joe Newberry is a prizewinning guitarist, songwriter, and singer to boot. In addition to his work with Mike, Joe plays with fiddler and step-dancer April Verch. He was a frequent guest on Garrison Keillor’s "A Prairie Home Companion", and was a featured singer on the Transatlantic Sessions. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707449
24. College Baseball: Clemson vs. Virginia Tech English Field, Virginia Tech Saturday, May 13, 2023, 7:00 PM (Senior Night), Sunday, May 14, 2023, 3:00 PM (Kids Can Run the Bases After the Game) Adults: $10.00, Youth Ages 6-18: $5.00, Youth Ages 5 & Under: Free Watch the Virginia Tech Baseball Team compete against ACC conference opponent and #16 ranked Clemson in their final three-game home series of the 2023 season. Saturday is Senior Night and all the Hokie baseball playing seniors will be honored. At the conclusion of Sunday's game, kids will be invited to run the bases on English Field, weather permitting. Gates and ticket booths at English Field will open 90 minutes before first pitch on gamedays. Fans accessing English Field on gameday are encouraged to use free parking in Lot 16 ("The Cage"). Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=696451
25. Furious Jones in Concert Square 5 Public House, Blacksburg Saturday, May 13, 2023, 8:00 - 11:00 PM Admission: Free Singer and songwriter Furious Jones currently resides in Blacksburg, VA though originally from Houston, TX. Enjoy a live acoustic solo show featuring Americana, Blues, Folk, and Rock with both originals and extensive covers. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707461
26. Mother's Day Brunch Buffet Our Daily Bread Bakery & Bistro, Blacksburg Sunday, May 14, 2023, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM Adults: $29.95, Kids 12 & Under: $15.95 Enjoy a special Mother's Day Brunch with mom! Menu includes: Herbed Roasted Prime Rib Carving Station, Chilean Salmon with Papaya Mango Salsa, Roasted Vegetable Display, Sausage, Ham & Cheese Strata, Herbed Garlic Breakfast Potatoes, Sunrise Scramble Eggs, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Assorted Pastries and more. Mimosas, spritzers and more available a la carte. Tax and gratuity not included. No reservations, just show up. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707415
27. May Blacksburg Vintage Market Market Square Park, Blacksburg Sunday, May 14, 2023, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Admission: Free Vendors will be selling all things vintage from clothes, jewelry, vinyl records, accessories and more. Soul folk musician Kat Mills will perform from 1:00-4:00 PM. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707476
28. Pianist Joey Harrington in Concert Chateau Morrisette, Floyd Sunday, May 14, 2023, 1:00 - 4:00 PM Admission: Free Pianist Joey Harrington’s interest in music began at an early age, taking piano lessons in elementary school from a local pianist. His interest then turned towards playing guitar and electronic sample-based music before rediscovering his love for piano at a later age. After graduating from high school in 2010, Harrington spent five formative years pursuing his music and working in Minneapolis, Minnesota and then subsequently in Asheville, North Carolina. After returning to school, he graduated summa cum laude from UNC-Asheville. Apart from being a hired free-lance musician, Joey plays in number of groups including the Joey Harrington Trio, the Wayne Banks Trio, Less Poets, Vermillion Quartet, and the Mouthbreathers. Picnic baskets and outside food and drink are no longer allowed. It is suggested to bring your own seating because the available tables fill up fast. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707482
29. Mother's Day Wildflower Walk Claytor Lake State Park, Dublin Sunday, May 14, 2023, 2:00 - 3:00 PM Admission: Free Master Naturalist and owner of Draper Springs Nursery, Justin Ciallella, will lead a short hike on one of Claytor Lake State Park's many trails as he points out and discusses native, invasive, and edible plants along the way. Celebrate Mother's Day and start a new Mother's Day tradition. The event will begin in the small parking lot between Campgrounds B and C on the right just past the Contact Station as you enter the park. The event is free of charge though the $7.00 per vehicle parking fee still applies. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707448
30. Mother's Day - Glaze Your Own Wine Glass Class Beliveau Farm Winery, Blacksburg Sunday, May 14, 2023, 2:00 - 4:00 PM Admission: $35.00 Celebrate this Mother's Day with your mom and family by taking a "Glaze your own Wine Glass" class with Celestial Ceramics. The bisque wine glass, materials, and firing is included for the fun, interactive event. Wine, beer and food will be available for purchase throughout the event. Wine glasses will be available for pickup in Roanoke or at Beliveau Farm Winery by May 21, 2023. Advance purchase is required. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=696634
31. Leslie Brooks & Friends Mothers Day Concert Moon Hollow Brewing, Blacksburg Sunday, May 14, 2023, 4:00 - 7:00 PM Admission: Free Enjoy the patio performance with your favorite songs along with guest musicians and singers. Leslie Brooks is a singer-songwriter, performing solo with guitar, playing jazz, folk, blues, rockin' country and popular favorites. She has played the best venues in a 16-state area, as well as in Norway and Monte Carlo. Opened for Heart, James Taylor, Bob Margolin and Willie Nelson to name a few. Papa's Box food truck will be on-site from 4:00-8:00 PM. Link: http://www.nextthreedays.com/FeaturedEventDetails.cfm?E=707457
Have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

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MC# 1504460 USDOT# 4002149
B2B Logistic Solutions
Business Address:
907 Pollard St STE 110
Dallas, TX 75208
Phone: 469-812-0112
MC# 1446226 USDOT# 3914769
TQL Brokerage Express Inc
Business Address:
5135 W Byron St #1
Chicago, IL 60641
Phone: 773-787-3856
MC# 1121195 USDOT# 3447174
American Success Trans
Business Address:
1810 E Sahara Ave STE 701
Las Vegas, NV 89104
Phone: 725-228-2345
MC# 1261615 USDOT# 3655424
BR Jefferson Partners Corp
Business Address:
3018 Coney Island Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11235
Phone: 917-781-0383
MC# 1473485 USDOT# 3955478
TMD Transport Inc.
Business Address:
140 Oakland Ave
Uniontown, PA 15401
Phone: 215-600-0064
MC# 1234323 USDOT# 3617325
BNL Freight Logistics LLC
Business Address:
202 Village Circle STE 1
Slidell, LA 70458
Phone: N/A
MC# 1440565 USDOT# 3906237
House of Freight
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N Las Vegas, NV 89086
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3430 E Flamingo Rd. STE 238
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MC# 1504639 USDOT# 1504639
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17977 E 54th Ave
Denver, CO 80249
Phone: 720-416-7267
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Houston Trans LLC
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424 E. Washington Ave.
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Tempe, AZ 85281
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MC748469 USDOT 2190975
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DBA GOLDCOAST LOGISTICS GROUP
BUSINESS ADDRESS
2130 POINT BOULEVARD SUITE 100
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PHONE (312) 533-4993
MC# 1385366 USDOT# 3824910
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Phone: 208-656-1857
MC# 1465082 USDOT# 3943126
Lotus Global Trucking Inc.
Business Address:
6991 East Camelback Rd. #D-300
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Phone: 877-935-4512

Here are all of the new US CCS (Level 3 fast-charging) stations that rolled out in April 2023, according to the Department of Energy. These chargers are suitable for most new EVs on the market, except for:

1. Tesla drivers who haven't bought the official CCS adapter yet. Certain older Teslas need additional work done to accept the adapter.
2. Leaf owners like me, and some owners of older cars that also use CHAdeMO. If you drive a Leaf, or an older CHAdeMO car, see my matching post in leaf.

Some of these chargepoints will be "refreshes," e.g. the provider replaced them with faster chargers etc. Some may be incorrect. This report is only as good as the Alternative Fuels Data Center data.
There were 171 CCS charge points added or refreshed in April 2023, which is up from 159 in March. For comparison, there were only 100 new CCS charge points in April 2022. Things are speeding up.
"What about CCS charging at Tesla superchargers?" Tesla is in the process of rolling out their "magic dock" for non-Tesla cars in certain locations. I assume they will start to include this in their reporting to the Alternative Fuels Data Center soon. When they do it should be reflected here.
If you'd like to know about new chargers along your routes right away, or just prefer not to check this list monthly when new openings are rare in your area, I've set up a free service that provides email notifications as soon as they open. You can sign up at evpov.com. Or not! I don't really have a business plan here, I built it to help EV owners like myself.
To streamline this post, multi-chargepoint locations are listed with the number of chargepoints first, so that's why the post is shorter than in previous months.

➡ AZ (6) 3320 Stockton Hill Road (US-UV2-8EL-1B) 3320 Stockton Hill Road Kingman, AZ 86409 (6) 1349 W. Main Street (US-Z2C-3SA-2C) 1349 W. Main Street Quartzsite, AZ 85346 (2) GPM INVESTMENTS 4597 DC2 21198 E Ocotillo Rd Queen Creek, AZ 85142 ➡ CA (1) Shepard Place Shops - CPMD 1001-1049 Casitas Pass Road Carpinteria, CA 93013 (1) Eureka 1912 Broadway St. Eureka, CA 95501 (1) 5515 Automall Pkwy 5515 Automall Pkwy Fremont, CA 94538 (1) 7097 - Morgan Hill, CA (18605 Monterey Road) 18605 Monterey Road Morgan Hill, CA 95037 (1) Hemborg Ford 1900 Hamner Avenue Norco, CA 92860 (1) ROSEVILLE HYUND STATION #2 200 N Sunrise Ave Roseville, CA 95661 (2) 101 LOMBARD ST LEVIS RAPID 1 101 Lombard St San Francisco, CA 94111 (1) CHARGEPOINT ZNKR DC 1 2191 Zanker Road San Jose, CA 95131 (1) BOA San Leandro Main CA4-111 (San Leandro, CA) 1400 E 14TH ST San Leandro, CA 94577 (1) ARCO Torrance 1800 Artesia Blvd Torrance, CA 90504 (1) Woodland Motors 530 Quality Circle Woodland, CA 95695 ➡ CO (2) HION NETWORK ALAMOSA PL2 610 State Avenue Alamosa, CO 81101 (2) CONIFER CONIFER PL2 27171 Main Street Conifer, CO 80433 (1) In-N-Out Denver-- 4597 N. Central park blvd 4597 Central Park Blvd Denver, CO 80238 (2) CITY OF DURANGO DURANGO PL2 250 West 8th Street Durango, CO 81301 (4) VOLVO CAR USA GW SPRINGS DC4 2115 Grand Avenue Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 (2) KUM & GO GRANBY PL1 308 West Agate Avenue Granby, CO 80446 (2) MONTROSE EV 1 MONTROSE PL2 533 North 1st Street Montrose, CO 81401 (1) HION NETWORK OURAY PL2 1230 Main St Ouray, CO 81427 (1) HION NETWORK OURAY PL1 1230 Main Street Ouray, CO 81427 (2) CENTENNIAL PARK PAGOSA SPGS PL2 San Juan River Walk Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 (2) ES1 SALIDA PL2 1 County Road 105 Salida, CO 81201 ➡ CT (2) BMW RIDGEFIELD RIDGEFIELD 2 746 US-7 Ridgefield, CT 06877 (1) SUBARU CUSTOMER CUSTOMEREXPRESS 45 Winsted Rd Torrington, CT 06790 ➡ FL (1) GLENEAGLES STATION 2 7667 Victory Ln Delray Beach, FL 33446 (1) Bird Ludlam 6890 Bird Rd Miami FL 33155 Bird Rd Miami, FL 33155 ➡ GA (1) GEORGIA POWER VININGS DC1 4300 Paces Ferry Rd SE Atlanta, GA 30339 (1) GENESIS ATL #1 GEN ALT #2 5917 Peachtree Rd Atlanta, GA 30341 (1) GEORGIA POWER LAKEPOINT DC1 171 LakePoint Pkwy Cartersville, GA 30121 (1) GENESIS ATL #1 GEN ATL #1 5917 Peachtree Industrial Blvd Chamblee, GA 30341 (1) GEORGIA POWER CUMMING DC1 1532 Market Pl Blvd Cumming, GA 30041 (1) GEORGIA POWER CAPTAIN D MADI 1930 Eatonton Rd Madison, GA 30650 (2) GEORGIA POWER THOMSON DC2 2101 Washington Rd Thomson, GA 30824 ➡ IA (1) KUM & GO CEDAR RAPIDS DC 2604 16th Avenue Southwest Cedar Rapids, IA 52404 (1) LITHIA BMW BMW DC 1 9631 Hickman Rd Urbandale, IA 50322 ➡ IL (1) Kunes GM Of Belvidere Il 1855 N STATE ST BELVIDERE, IL 61008 (1) HOP CHARGERS HOP2-NORTH LOT 343 N Perryville Rd Rockford, IL 61107 ➡ IN (1) CHARGER SOUTH CHARGER SOUTH 920 N Nappanee St Elkhart, IN 46514 (1) KELLEY CADILLAC 4-G-250-L-W-15 555 Grand National Dr Fort Wayne, IN 46804 (1) GM - Schepel Buick GMC 3209 W LINCOLN HWY MERRILLVILLE, IN 46410 ➡ KS (1) Midway Motors Supercenter 2075 E Kansas Ave McPherson, KS 67460 ➡ KY (1) Don Franklin Campbellsville Chevrolet Buick GMC 200 N Bypass Rd. Campbellsville, KY 42718 (2) FORT KNOX IBCRG#4 10 Bullion Blvd Fort Knox, KY 40121 (5) FORT KNOX IBCRG#3 397 Redmar Blvd Fort Knox, KY 40121 (1) FORT KNOX IBCRG#1 7543 McDevett Circle Fort Knox, KY 40121 ➡ LA (1) Gerry Lane Chevrolet 6505 Florida Blvd Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (1) EVerCharge - Minden City Hall 520 Broadway St Minden, LA 71055 ➡ MA (1) BIG Y FOODS MOHAWK TRAIL #1 249a Mohawk Trail Greenfield, MA 01301 (1) Simon Cape Cod Mall (Hyannis, MA) 769 Iyannough Rd Hyannis, MA 02601 ➡ MD (1) Pepco - Southern Regional Tech and Rec Complex 7007 Bock Rd Fort Washington, MD 20744 ➡ ME (1) QUIRK AUTO SABARU 295 Hogan Rd Bangor, ME 04401 ➡ MI (6) 10401 South Clare Avenue (US-X52-57X-2A) 10401 South Clare Avenue Clare, MI 48617 (1) KOOL TOYOTA CPE-FAST 3780 Plainfield Ave NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525 ➡ MN (1) House Chevrolet Buick Cadillac 3700 FRONTAGE ROAD WEST OWATONNA, MN 55060 ➡ MO (1) 301 West 5th Street 301 West 5th Street Eureka, MO 63025 (1) Reliable Chevrolet 3655 S Campbell Ave Springfield, MO 65807 (1) Dutch Valley Grocery 760 MO-13 Warrensburg, MO 64093 ➡ MS (1) Columbus Hyundai 150 Hwy 12 E Columbus, MS 39702 ➡ NC (6) 278 Shoppes on the Parkway Road (US-FHK-SDZ-2A) 278 Shoppes on the Parkway Road Blowing Rock, NC 28605 (1) 2211 Vinnie's Way 2211 Vinnie's Way Charlotte, NC 28214 (1) Ballantyne BP 9935 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy Charlotte, NC 28277 (1) EchoPark Sonic Automotive 4401 Colwick Rd Charlotte, NC 28211 (2) MODERN HYUNDAI 100000111 965 Concord Pkwy S Concord, NC 28027 (1) Circle K - Gastonia, NC 2106 N Chester St Gastonia, NC 28052 ➡ ND (1) Hwy 83 Leisure & Tools 1619 US-83 Garrison, ND 58540 (1) Enel X - Northdale Oil 4400 32nd Ave S Grand Forks, ND 58201 ➡ NH (1) NOURIA NOURIA ENERGY C 195 S River Rd Bedford, NH 03110 ➡ NJ (2) AAF PARAMUS DC LEFT 375 NJ-17 Paramus, NJ 07652 (1) bp - Springfield, NJ (5 Meisel Ave) 5 Meisel Ave Springfield, NJ 07081 (1) Brogan Cadillac Co. 112 RT 46 EAST TOTOWA, NJ 07512 (1) ESSEX COUNTY ESSEX COUNTY DC 900 Bloomfield Ave Verona, NJ 07044 ➡ NY (1) Applegreen Electric - Chittenango Travel Plaza 2188 Tag Rd NY State Thruway Chittenango, NY 13037 (2) S-R CPE2502 784 County Rd 64 Elmira, NY 14903 (2) PRESHYUN PKG 2 768 E Chester St Kingston, NY 12401 (1) Courtyard Syracuse Downtown At Armory Square 300 W Fayette St Syracuse, NY 13202 (1) MBOC WAY DC250 1 1 Mercedes Way Woodbury, NY 10926 ➡ OH (2) RICART CHARGER HYUNDAI PARK 4247 S Hamilton Rd Columbus, OH 43125 (2) DENNIS HYUNDAI FRONT DRIVE 1 2900 Morse Rd Columbus, OH 43231 (1) RICART CHARGER KIA LEVEL 3 4255 S Hamilton Rd Groveport, OH 43125 (1) Sugar Crossing Convenience Store 2049 Hornsmill Rd SE Lancaster, OH 43130 (1) DONWOODAUTO DW CHEVY 1 12916 OH-664 Logan, OH 43138 (1) CAPITAL KIA CPE250 1 9630 OH-14 Streetsboro, OH 44241 ➡ OK (1) EDMONDOK FESTIVAL MARKET 26 W 1st St Edmond, OK 73003 ➡ OR (3) VOLVO CAR USA HERMISTON DC1 1215 N 1st St Hermiston, OR 97838 (1) VOLVO CAR USA HERMISTON DC4 1235 N 1st St Hermiston, OR 97838 (1) OEM 3250 NW Yeon Ave Portland, OR 97210 (1) WinCo Foods - Portland, 102nd #13 1222 NE 102nd Ave Portland, OR 97220 (6) 1620 NW Mulholland Drive (US-2SP-J3B-2C) 1620 NW Mulholland Drive Roseburg, OR 97470 ➡ PA (1) PLEASANT HILLS FRONT 1 106 McKinley Rd Beaver Falls, PA 15010 (1) PLEASANT HILLS REAR 2 139 McKinley Rd Beaver Falls, PA 15010 (2) DC CORRIDOR BRISTOL PL2 3260 New Rodgers Road Bristol, PA 19007 (1) GM - TROY-ALAN CHEVROLET BUICK GMC 217 Grove City Rd Slippery Rock, PA 16057 ➡ SC (1) Parks Buick GMC 2640 LAURENS RD GREENVILLE, SC 29607 ➡ SD (1) Vern Eide Chevrolet Buick GMC 219 E First Avenue Mitchell, SD 57301 ➡ TN (1) Chattanooga Plant (Chattanooga, TN) 8001 Volkswagen Dr Chattanooga, TN 37416 ➡ TX (1) Chipotle Corinth 8201 S Interstate 35 E Corinth, TX 76210 (1) Prestonwood Town Center 5301 Belt Line Rd Dallas, TX 75254 (1) Gateway of Euless 3050 Highway 360 Euless, TX 76039 (2) PHILOTT HYUNDAI CPE250-B 2310o U.S. 69 Access Rd Nederland, TX 77627 (1) GUNN CHEVROLET, LTD. 16550 IH-35 NORTH Selma, TX 78154 (2) HOS CHARGEPOINT DC FAST 1 4100 Hwy 96 Bypass Silsbee, TX 77656 ➡ UT (1) U OF U SOLAR CANOPY 357 1400 E Salt Lake City, UT 84112 ➡ VA (1) Robert Woodall Cadillac 1063 RIVERSIDE DR DANVILLE, VA 24540 (1) Center of Excellence (For Testing Purposes Only) 300 Victory Drive Herndon, VA 20170 (1) Circle K - Wytheville, VA 2622 E Lee Hwy Wytheville, VA 24382 ➡ WA (1) 7116 - Burlington, WA (9596 Old Hwy 99 N) 9596 Old Hwy 99 N Burlington, WA 98233 (1) 5443 - Everett, WA (701 128th Street SW) 701 128th Street SW Everett, WA 98204 (1) Ruddell Auto 110 S Golf Course Rd Port Angeles, WA 98362 (1) Lincoln Conoco 301 N 1st Street Yakima, WA 98901 ➡ WI (1) AVISBUDGET WEST CPE250 N755 Communication Dr Appleton, WI 54914 (1) AMATO GLENDALE LOT N80W12650 Leon Rd Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 (1) RACINE HYUNDAI LVL 3 EAST SIDE 13313 Washington Ave Mount Pleasant, WI 53177 (1) Wheelers Chevrolet of Wisconsin Rapids 2410 W. Grand Ave Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495 

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I let the thought marinate in my head, and weeks after posting this rant I think I finally understand why I love tracking Gundam just as much as watching/rewatching it.
See, with most adaptations, you more or less have an idea of what to expect, especially if you've read all of it/finished it and have seen anime from the studio that will adapt them. Look at the hype for Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, One-Punch Man, EIGHTY-SIX, Eminence in Shadow, or Kaguya-sama: there's already an expectation of quality and thoroughness. With anime originals, on the other hand, it's a wait-and-see: will it be weird, will it be a banger, or will it be a franchise-launching meteor? You don't know until you dive in, and even then it's a matter of being in or out after a month depending on where the plot and character dynamics turn.
Gundam, specifically alternate-timeline Gundam, is enjoying the worst of both worlds: it has both a rich, towering legacy to hold up and an unknown "what will this be" risk factor. In the case of The Witch from Mercury, it's a an epic tug-of-war because it's both a brand new world AND an adaptation of at least three texts. That's a lotta strings pulling G-Witch in all three axes of motion, way more than originals or adaptations. And each string exerts enough force that at times Sunrise frays at the seams trying to keep the show together, whether it's in the writing and plotting or animation production.
That's exactly why it's hella fun for me to focus hard on Gundam: on my screen is the result of a weekly struggle juggle to be as many things at once while still being its own person. In a sense, the current reception among audiences is a reflection of the story and character journeys as a whole. And the more theories, reactions, counterpoints and memes I see, the more G-Witch proves to be one of the most thought-provoking new entries of the new decade. You rarely get walls of text in even more intricate shows like Vivy: Flourite Eye's Song, but every anime and Gundam thread is brimming with them. It's an effective show. I shouldn't have been surprised.
Now, I know: WfM kits are selling gangbusters, YouTube replays on GundamInfo averages 400,000 views a week with upwards of 15k watching the premieres. Blue-Ray and DVD sales are also decent from last I checked, and it's clear that even Western audiences are noticing. In terms of numbers that matter, G-Witch is surpassing expectations and has bought Bandai enough leeway to take risks come July of this year. (If anything, those numbers may point to a bigger truism: Gundam Aerial is the most compelling unit ever designed for Gundam. She's her own character, a robot who is as human can be because a human lives in the machine. That is a compelling design and writing decision that adds intangible value and endears a piece of merch to a customer, completing the feedback loop.)
I also know that it hasn't moved an inch on MAL, that it's splitting /m/ and /a/ in pieces and it's non-existent on Anime Corner voting. In some circles, it's dominant. In others, it's like it barely even airs. For one hemisphere, it's the anime to watch. For Westerners, it's still a risky endeavor.
Following Gundam in this anime landscape is a fun sport because it's in a position unlike any other anime franchise on earth, and it's equally rewarding to see a studio deliver something spectacular and harrowing every week despite the odds being stacked against them. Yet you can't help but wish it to perform better, to be DOMINANT a la Star Wars in being all that everyone talks about in a given point in time, because the experience is simultaneously unlike anything else and reverent to what came before.
There's so much more riding on G-Witch than there is Attack on Titan or The Marginal Service, and more forces trying to both keep it together and rip it apart. The fact that it's still a baseline-enjoyable anime is miracle enough. To see it defy my expectations and most "mecha is dead" naysayers as a defiant "We're not done yet!" is something worth admiring.

Here are all of the new US CHAdeMO (Leaf fast-charging) stations that rolled out in April 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
There were 112 "new" CHAdeMOs added in April. To put it in perspective, there were 171 CCS chargers added in April. I think the pace of CHAdeMO rollout has stabilized, while the pace of CCS rollout is still increasing. This makes sense given that only Nissan still makes a CHAdeMO car.
Some of these chargepoints will be "refreshes," e.g. the provider replaced them with faster chargers etc. Some may be incorrect. This report is only as good as the Alternative Fuels Data Center data.
We all know that CHAdeMO is a legacy format and will eventually go away, but clearly Nissan and their partners are continuing to support it for the time being. This shouldn't be surprising. After all, you can still buy a new Leaf.
If you'd like to know about new chargers along your routes right away, or reading these monthly reports is just frustrating in your state, I've set up a free service that provides email notifications only when new stations actually open. You can sign up at evpov.com. I built it to help EV owners like myself (especially my fellow Leaf owners). You can pick other plug types as well.
To streamline this post, multi-chargepoint locations are listed with the number of chargepoints first, so that's why the post is shorter than in previous months.

➡ AZ (2) GPM INVESTMENTS 4597 DC2 21198 E Ocotillo Rd Queen Creek, AZ 85142 ➡ CA (1) Shepard Place Shops - CPMD 1001-1049 Casitas Pass Road Carpinteria, CA 93013 (1) Eureka 1912 Broadway St. Eureka, CA 95501 (1) 5515 Automall Pkwy 5515 Automall Pkwy Fremont, CA 94538 (1) 7097 - Morgan Hill, CA (18605 Monterey Road) 18605 Monterey Road Morgan Hill, CA 95037 (1) ROSEVILLE HYUND STATION #2 200 N Sunrise Ave Roseville, CA 95661 (2) 101 LOMBARD ST LEVIS RAPID 1 101 Lombard St San Francisco, CA 94111 (1) CHARGEPOINT ZNKR DC 1 2191 Zanker Road San Jose, CA 95131 (1) BOA San Leandro Main CA4-111 (San Leandro, CA) 1400 E 14TH ST San Leandro, CA 94577 (1) ARCO Torrance 1800 Artesia Blvd Torrance, CA 90504 ➡ CO (2) HION NETWORK ALAMOSA PL2 610 State Avenue Alamosa, CO 81101 (2) CONIFER CONIFER PL2 27171 Main Street Conifer, CO 80433 (1) In-N-Out Denver-- 4597 N. Central park blvd 4597 Central Park Blvd Denver, CO 80238 (2) CITY OF DURANGO DURANGO PL2 250 West 8th Street Durango, CO 81301 (4) VOLVO CAR USA GW SPRINGS DC4 2115 Grand Avenue Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 (2) KUM & GO GRANBY PL1 308 West Agate Avenue Granby, CO 80446 (1) HION NETWORK OURAY PL2 1230 Main St Ouray, CO 81427 (1) HION NETWORK OURAY PL1 1230 Main Street Ouray, CO 81427 (2) CENTENNIAL PARK PAGOSA SPGS PL2 San Juan River Walk Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 (2) ES1 SALIDA PL2 1 County Road 105 Salida, CO 81201 ➡ CT (2) BMW RIDGEFIELD RIDGEFIELD 2 746 US-7 Ridgefield, CT 06877 (1) SUBARU CUSTOMER CUSTOMEREXPRESS 45 Winsted Rd Torrington, CT 06790 ➡ FL (1) GLENEAGLES STATION 2 7667 Victory Ln Delray Beach, FL 33446 (1) Bird Ludlam 6890 Bird Rd Miami FL 33155 Bird Rd Miami, FL 33155 ➡ GA (1) GEORGIA POWER VININGS DC1 4300 Paces Ferry Rd SE Atlanta, GA 30339 (1) GENESIS ATL #1 GEN ALT #2 5917 Peachtree Rd Atlanta, GA 30341 (1) GEORGIA POWER LAKEPOINT DC1 171 LakePoint Pkwy Cartersville, GA 30121 (1) GENESIS ATL #1 GEN ATL #1 5917 Peachtree Industrial Blvd Chamblee, GA 30341 (1) GEORGIA POWER CUMMING DC1 1532 Market Pl Blvd Cumming, GA 30041 (1) GEORGIA POWER CAPTAIN D MADI 1930 Eatonton Rd Madison, GA 30650 (2) GEORGIA POWER THOMSON DC2 2101 Washington Rd Thomson, GA 30824 ➡ IA (1) KUM & GO CEDAR RAPIDS DC 2604 16th Avenue Southwest Cedar Rapids, IA 52404 ➡ IL (1) HOP CHARGERS HOP2-NORTH LOT 343 N Perryville Rd Rockford, IL 61107 ➡ IN (1) CHARGER SOUTH CHARGER SOUTH 920 N Nappanee St Elkhart, IN 46514 (1) KELLEY CADILLAC 4-G-250-L-W-15 555 Grand National Dr Fort Wayne, IN 46804 ➡ KS (1) Midway Motors Supercenter 2075 E Kansas Ave McPherson, KS 67460 ➡ KY (2) FORT KNOX IBCRG#4 10 Bullion Blvd Fort Knox, KY 40121 (5) FORT KNOX IBCRG#3 397 Redmar Blvd Fort Knox, KY 40121 (1) FORT KNOX IBCRG#1 7543 McDevett Circle Fort Knox, KY 40121 ➡ LA (1) Gerry Lane Chevrolet 6505 Florida Blvd Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (1) EVerCharge - Minden City Hall 520 Broadway St Minden, LA 71055 ➡ MA (1) Simon Cape Cod Mall (Hyannis, MA) 769 Iyannough Rd Hyannis, MA 02601 ➡ MD (1) Pepco - Southern Regional Tech and Rec Complex 7007 Bock Rd Fort Washington, MD 20744 ➡ ME (1) QUIRK AUTO SABARU 295 Hogan Rd Bangor, ME 04401 ➡ MI (1) KOOL TOYOTA CPE-FAST 3780 Plainfield Ave NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525 ➡ MO (1) Dutch Valley Grocery 760 MO-13 Warrensburg, MO 64093 ➡ NC (1) Ballantyne BP 9935 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy Charlotte, NC 28277 (2) MODERN HYUNDAI 100000111 965 Concord Pkwy S Concord, NC 28027 ➡ ND (1) Hwy 83 Leisure & Tools 1619 US-83 Garrison, ND 58540 (1) Enel X - Northdale Oil 4400 32nd Ave S Grand Forks, ND 58201 ➡ NH (1) NOURIA NOURIA ENERGY C 195 S River Rd Bedford, NH 03110 ➡ NJ (2) AAF PARAMUS DC LEFT 375 NJ-17 Paramus, NJ 07652 (1) bp - Springfield, NJ (5 Meisel Ave) 5 Meisel Ave Springfield, NJ 07081 (1) ESSEX COUNTY ESSEX COUNTY DC 900 Bloomfield Ave Verona, NJ 07044 ➡ NY (1) Applegreen Electric - Chittenango Travel Plaza 2188 Tag Rd NY State Thruway Chittenango, NY 13037 (2) S-R CPE2502 784 County Rd 64 Elmira, NY 14903 (2) PRESHYUN PKG 2 768 E Chester St Kingston, NY 12401 (1) Courtyard Syracuse Downtown At Armory Square 300 W Fayette St Syracuse, NY 13202 (1) MBOC WAY DC250 1 1 Mercedes Way Woodbury, NY 10926 ➡ OH (2) RICART CHARGER HYUNDAI PARK 4247 S Hamilton Rd Columbus, OH 43125 (2) DENNIS HYUNDAI FRONT DRIVE 1 2900 Morse Rd Columbus, OH 43231 (1) Sugar Crossing Convenience Store 2049 Hornsmill Rd SE Lancaster, OH 43130 (1) DONWOODAUTO DW CHEVY 1 12916 OH-664 Logan, OH 43138 (1) CAPITAL KIA CPE250 1 9630 OH-14 Streetsboro, OH 44241 ➡ OK (1) EDMONDOK FESTIVAL MARKET 26 W 1st St Edmond, OK 73003 ➡ OR (3) VOLVO CAR USA HERMISTON DC1 1215 N 1st St Hermiston, OR 97838 (1) VOLVO CAR USA HERMISTON DC4 1235 N 1st St Hermiston, OR 97838 (1) WinCo Foods - Portland, 102nd #13 1222 NE 102nd Ave Portland, OR 97220 ➡ PA (1) PLEASANT HILLS FRONT 1 106 McKinley Rd Beaver Falls, PA 15010 (1) PLEASANT HILLS REAR 2 139 McKinley Rd Beaver Falls, PA 15010 (2) DC CORRIDOR BRISTOL PL2 3260 New Rodgers Road Bristol, PA 19007 ➡ TX (1) Chipotle Corinth 8201 S Interstate 35 E Corinth, TX 76210 (1) Prestonwood Town Center 5301 Belt Line Rd Dallas, TX 75254 (1) Gateway of Euless 3050 Highway 360 Euless, TX 76039 (2) PHILOTT HYUNDAI CPE250-B 2310o U.S. 69 Access Rd Nederland, TX 77627 (2) HOS CHARGEPOINT DC FAST 1 4100 Hwy 96 Bypass Silsbee, TX 77656 ➡ UT (1) U OF U SOLAR CANOPY 357 1400 E Salt Lake City, UT 84112 ➡ WA (1) 7116 - Burlington, WA (9596 Old Hwy 99 N) 9596 Old Hwy 99 N Burlington, WA 98233 (1) Ruddell Auto 110 S Golf Course Rd Port Angeles, WA 98362 ➡ WI (1) AVISBUDGET WEST CPE250 N755 Communication Dr Appleton, WI 54914 (1) AMATO GLENDALE LOT N80W12650 Leon Rd Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 (1) RACINE HYUNDAI LVL 3 EAST SIDE 13313 Washington Ave Mount Pleasant, WI 53177 (1) Wheelers Chevrolet of Wisconsin Rapids 2410 W. Grand Ave Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495 

So, I'm incredibly fortunate to have finally secured a job after having been laid off and (basically) unemployed for about a year. I think this is going to be a great fit, and they've even offered to buy me a work laptop if I feel like I want to travel and work or anything.
Well conversely... okay, this is going to get a little confusing. Please bear with me. For reference, I'm 35.
I originally moved about two months ago, I moved in with friends who offered to let me live with them until I found something (I was expecting to only find in-office work). It's pretty clear they're ready for me to move on now that I have work, so I'm immensely grateful for their help.
Well I had been living with my father, who lives down in FL. My sister also lives down there, and I thought about moving down to Orlando, which is probably 4-5 hours away; close enough to visit over the weekend, but not too close, you know?
But... also, since living back near DC (where I used to live, years ago), I've definitely had much more of a social life I feel like. Only issue is my best friend is going to be moving away soon, so I might lose most of my social life anyways.
So right there, I'm weighing two options; moving to Orlando which is closer to family, or finding someplace near DC, which would be more expensive but I do know some people nearby after my friend moves away.
But then the other thing I'm wondering is... well, I could consider a more dramatic move? I've never been personally, but I've always heard incredible things about the West coast, and part of me suspects it might actually be easier for me to find work (if I ever need to) if I was near a major hub like LA or San Fransisco.
I dunno. I guess this past year, I was just in such a low place, I felt like I'd always made "practical" decisions, but in the end, everything still fell apart. I guess I'm questioning where the line is between choosing what's familiar, being close to people you love, versus just finding your place in the world, or if it even makes a difference? Like I said, I'm 35 and I feel like I should have things sorted out by now, but I guess I still don't feel like I've ever really found "a place where I belong", if that makes any sense. But I also don't know if that's really even a place at all, or if at a certain point, you just need to suck it up and say "I just need to worry about myself, and accept that I'm probably not going to make a ton of friends with similar interests or views"?

This is a list of pit bull attacks and fatalities documented by the media and on social media for the month of May 2023. This list will be edited throughout the month and after as new incidents are reported.
CHILD FATALITIES: 5
ADULT FATALITIES: 6
ANIMAL FATALITIES: 50
TOTAL FATALITIES: 61
TOTAL ATTACKS LOGGED: 159

May 01

ANIMAL FATALITIES - 3 - Little Elm, TX - 3 highland cows killed
Colorado Springs, CO - delivery driver attacked - Link to Post
Faridabad, India - woman attacked - Link to Article
Caerphilly, UK - child attacked - Link to Arcticle
Sheffield, UK - sheep attacked - Link to Article

May 02

HUMAN FATALITY - Paso de Ovejas, Mexico - 1 yo boy killed
ANIMAL FATALITY - New Orleans, LA - small dog killed
ANIMAL FATALITY - Nebraska - cat killed
Keller, TX - dog attacked at dog park - Link to Post

May 03

ANIMAL FATALITY - Blackpool, UK - cat killed
Dekalb, Illinois - man attacked - Link to Post
Sioux Falls, SD - woman bit - Link to Article
Tapalhuaca, El Salvador - 13 yo boy attacked - Link to Article
Alabama - dog attacked - Link to Post
Lake Worth, FL - small dog attacked - Link to Post

May 04

HUMAN FATALITY - Waterloo, IA - 9 month old baby killed and grandmother injured
ANIMAL FATALITIES - 3 - West Portsmouth, OH - 2 cats and 1 dog killed
ANIMAL FATALITY - San Francisco, CA - dog killed
Key Haven, FL - deputy bitten - Link to Article
Lake Worth, FL - dog attacked - Link to Post
Southern OH, US - dog attacked - Link to Post
Fountain Hills, AZ - dog attacked - Link to Post

May 05

Nova Odessa, Brazil - 10 yo boy attacked - Link to Article

May 06

Rotterdam-Delsfshaven, Netherlands - 14 yo boy attacked - Link to Article
Grafton, WI - woman’s face mauled - Link to Article
Washington - dog attacked, no serious injury - Link to Post
Tobyl, Kazakhstan - 3 yo girl’s face torn off - Link to Article

May 07

ANIMAL FATALITIES (4) - San Antonio, TX - four cats killed
London, England - woman attacked - Link to Article
Bahía Blanca, Argentina - young man attacked - Link to Article

May 08

ANIMAL FATALITY - Washington, US - small dog 'Delilah' killed
ANIMAL FATALITY - Georgia, US - dog killed
Lehigh, FL - 97 yo attacked - Link to Article

May 09

HUMAN FATALITY - Indianapolis, IN - woman killed, child bit
Los Angeles, CA - person bit - Link to Article
dog attacked - Link to Post
San Antonio, TX - dog attacked - Link to Post
Walker, LA - two small dogs mauled - Link to Post

May 10

HUMAN FATALITY - Galeana, Mexico - 6 yo girl killed
Davie, FL - woman attacked - Link to Article

May 11

Calgary, Canada - 2 people attacked - Link to Article
ANIMAL FATALITY - Soacha, Colombia - Cat killed
UK - attack on two dogs - Link to Post
Doncaster, UK - 6yo attacked, 40 yo man also injured - Link to Article
Newport News, VA - person bit - Link to Article

May 12

Ambridge, PA - officer bit - Link to Article
Lagoa Dourada, Brazil - 56 yo woman scalped - Link to Article
Toronto, ON - grade 8 student attacked - Link to Article
Georgia, US - Dog attacked - Link to post

May 13

ANIMAL FATALITY - Guizhou District, China - cat killed
Grand Island, NE - 3 people attacked, 1 hospitalized - Link to Article
Callahan County, TX - dog attacked - Link to Article

May 14

San Antonio, TX - man hospitalized - Link to Article
Virginia, USA - doodle attacked and pit owners fled the scene - Link to Post
Kelowna, BC - beagle boxer mix attacked by neighbors pit - Link to Post

May 15

ANIMAL FATALITY - Pará de Minas, Brazil - dog killed
Chicago, IL - 4 dogs attacked - Link to Post
Pittsburg, CA - dog attacked - Link to Post
San Antonio, TX - basset hound attacked - Link to Post

May 16

ANIMAL FATALITY - Grand Forks, ND - dog killed, person injured
ANIMAL FATALITY - Limeira, Brazil - dog killed and man injured
ANIMAL FATALITY - São Vicente, Brazil - dog killed
ANIMAL FATALITY - Crawley, UK - chihuahua killed
Ji-Paraná, Brazil - 7yo scalped - Link to Article
Stuggart, AR - dog attacked, pit owner bit - Link to Article
MOC, Brazil - policeman attacked - Link to Article
Dekalb County, GA - male shelter worked attacked - Link to Post
Norwich, UK - lab attacked - Link to Article
Port Townsend, WA - man bit while skateboarding - Link to Article
Woman attacked by pit husband adopted - Link to Post

May 17

HUMAN FATALITY- Bucaramanga, Colombia - 5 yo boy killed
HUMAN FATALITY- Dī An, Vietnam - 82 yo woman killed
Magdalena, Argentina - dog attacked - Link to Article
Florida - Man attacked - Link to Post
Gleadless Valley, UK - 17 yo attacked - Link to Article
San Pedro Garza García, N.L., Mexico - small dog attacked - Link to Post
St Louis, MO - dog and people attacked - Link to Post
Susanville, CA - teenage boy and dog attacked - Link to Post

May 18

HUMAN FATALITY - Greater Manchester, UK - 37yo killed
HUMAN FATALITY - Buenos Aires, Argentina - 81yo attacked, passed away 06/01/2023 - Link to Article
ANIMAL FATALITY - Indianapolis, IN - schnauzer killed
ANIMAL FATALITIES - 4 - Warwick, Bermuda - 4 chickens killed
Meerut, India - 9yo attacked - Link to Article
West Sussex, UK - 9mo mauled - Link to Article
Washington DC - ups driver attacked - Link to Post

May 19

ANIMAL FATALITY - Mpumalanga Province, South Africa - dog “Maxie” killed, lab mauled by same pit the week prior
North Carolina - shelter pit attacks another dog - Link to Post
Brooklyn, NY - woman attacked - Link to Post
Alliance, NE - dog mauled, officer bit - Link to Article

May 20

IL, USA - 5-7yo child attacked at friends house - Link to report
English setter attacked - Link to Post
Vancouver, BC - dog and owner attacked - Link to Post
Rio Grande City, TX - dog attacked - Link to Post
Austin, TX - 4yo attacked - Link to Article

May 21

ANIMAL FATALITY - Vancouver, CA - Pomeranian killed
Bellevue, NE - dog attacked - Link to Post
California - bloodhound puppy attacked at doggy daycare - Link to Post
Lancaster, OH - man seriously injured - Link to Article
ANIMAL FATALITY- Scunthrope, UK - small dog 'Benny' killed

May 22

ANIMAL FATALITY - Christchurch, New Zealand - dog killed
Alaska - dog and dog sitter attacked - Link to Post
Sutton, UK - springer spaniel and owner attacked - Link to Article
Philipsburt, Sint Maarten - multiple people attacked - Link to Article

May 23

HUMAN FATALITY - Rio de Janiero, Brazil - 71yo man killed by his own pit
Talbot, UK - 18yo woman attacked - Link to Article
Hartlepool, UK - man attacked by XL Bully - Link to Article
Brooklyn, NY - dog attacked - Link to Post

May 24

ANIMAL FATALITY - Big Spring, TX - small dog killed
ANIMAL FATALITY - Ohio - chicken killed and 2 goats attacked
Animal Fatality - dog killed
Utah - woman bit - Link to Post
Texas - golden doodle attacked - Link to Post
Saint Petersburg, Russia - woman attacked - Link to Post
7mo attacked by American bulldog - Link to Post

May 25

Johannesburg, South Africa - Jack Russell 'Patches' attacked - Link to Post

May 26

HUMAN FATALITY - Temósachic, Mexico - 4 yo killed
ANIMAL FATALITY - Melbourne, Australia - dog killed
ANIMAL FATALITY - Tampa, FL - beagle killed
Rhode Island, USA - small dog attacked - Link to Post
UK - woman and dog attacked - Link to Post
Hawthorne, FL - 86 yo hospitalized - Link to Article
Kitsap County, WA - sheriff's deputy bit - Link to Article
Duluth, GA - woman and dog attacked, small dog mauled - Link to Post

May 27

Atlanta, GA - dog attacked and baby injured - Link to Post
Person bit on the ear by family pit - Link to Post
Puna, HI - 32 yo woman hospitalized - Link to Article

May 28

West Jordan, UT - Pit bull attack on another pit - Link to Post
Woman attacked breaking up fight - Link to Post
Lascano, Uruguay - 1 yo attacked - Llink to Article

May 29

Orange County, CA - person bit by neighbors pit - Link to Post
Port Clarence, UK - 15 yo hospitalized - Link to Article
Pittsburgh, PA - small dog attacked - Link to Post
Houston, TX - pomsky attacked - Link to Post
Richmond, VA - Greyhound ‘Ginger’ attacked - Link to Post
Stockton, UK - 15 yo bit - Link to Post
North Yorkshire, UK - 17 yo attacked by American bulldog - Link to Article

May 30

HUMAN FATALITY - Bogorodsk, Russia - 27 yo killed
Chantilly, VA - small dog attacked by “service” pit - Link to Post
Sioux Falls, SD - man bit - Link to Article
Person bit - Link to Post

May 31

Animal Fatality - Oklahoma City, OK - cat killed
San Martín Texmelucan de Labastida, Mexico - police woman attacked - Link to Article
Sucre, Colombia - child scalped - Link to Article
Jaguariúna, Brazil - 8 injured in attack - Link to Article
Lower Saxony, Germany - 6 people bit - Link to Post

Unconfirmed Date

ANIMAL FATALITY - Georgia - dog killed
ANIMAL FATALITY - Kentucky - dog killed
ANIMAL FATALITY - cat killed
ANIMAL FATALITIES - 2 - USA - dog and goat killed (also chickens and ducks)
ANIMAL FATALITY - dog killed
ANIMAL FATALITIES - 6 - Tikitere, New Zealand - 6 sheep killed
Neuquén, Argentina - taxi driver attacked - Link to Article
New Orleans, LA - dog attacked - Link to Post
Mérida, Mexico - girl attacked - Link to Article
Carbonia, Italy - person attacked - Link to article
Bucaramanga, Colombia - 8yo girl attacked - Link to Article
Tehran, Iran - woman mauled - Link to Article
Small dog attacked and loses eye - Link to Post
Professional boxer attacked by staffie - Link to Article
Two people mauled - Link to Post
Owner attacked - Link to Post