[INTRO - Linus Tech Tips office set]
Linus: Hey, everyone! Welcome back to another exciting episode of Linus Tech Tips. Today, we're diving into a topic that's all about the king himself, Elvis Presley. That's right, we're going to explore the tech side of the legendary music icon. So grab your blue suede shoes and let's get started!
[TRANSITION - Elvis-themed background]
Linus: Now, when you think of Elvis Presley, you might envision his electrifying performances and signature style, but did you know that Elvis was also a tech enthusiast? He embraced cutting-edge technology during his time and had a few gadgets that were considered quite advanced for the era. Let's take a closer look.
[CUT TO VINTAGE RECORD PLAYER]
Linus: First up, we have Elvis's beloved record player. Now, this wasn't just any ordinary record player. Elvis had a custom-made model that incorporated the latest features of the time. It had a built-in radio, allowing him to tune in to his favorite stations while enjoying his vinyl collection. It was truly a state-of-the-art piece of tech back then.
[CUT TO VINTAGE TELEVISION]
Linus: Next on our list is Elvis's television set. Now, keep in mind, this was the 1950s and '60s, so having a TV was already a luxury. But Elvis took it to the next level. He had a massive floor-standing television that boasted an impressive 21-inch screen. That was quite the viewing experience back then. It's fascinating to see how technology has evolved since then.
[CUT TO ELVIS'S CAR COLLECTION]
Linus: Of course, we can't talk about Elvis's tech without mentioning his impressive car collection. This man had an affinity for stylish automobiles, and some of them were equipped with features that were ahead of their time. One notable example was his 1960 Cadillac Eldorado, which came with a built-in, state-of-the-art automatic headlight dimmer. That's right, folks, automatic headlights in the '60s!
[CUT TO ELVIS'S LAS VEGAS SUITE]
Linus: Finally, we can't forget about Elvis's iconic Las Vegas suite. During his residency at the International Hotel (now known as the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino), Elvis had a lavish suite with luxurious amenities. It featured a custom-built entertainment center that included multiple TVs, a stereo system, and even a jukebox. This was like having your own personal theater right in your hotel room.
[TRANSITION - Linus back in the office set]
Linus: So there you have it, folks. Elvis Presley, not only the king of rock and roll but also a tech aficionado. It's fascinating to see how technology played a role in his life and career. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit that like button, subscribe, and ring the notification bell to stay updated on all our future content.
[OUTRO]
Linus: Thanks for watching, and as always, remember to stay curious and embrace the tech world around you. We'll see you in the next one. Rock on!

I've been weighing up moving to Raglan from Hamilton. I work remotely for international company so that isn't a problem. I'm fortunate to have the option.
I made a list of pros and cons, if anyone can think of anything I've missed that'd be a big help, as well as experiences with living there yourself if you have. I'll be signing a year's lease in either place so its a commitment. I've been having a difficult time arriving at a conclusion either way so could use some insight.
​

Pros	Cons
Isolated	Isolated
Won't need to drive to Raglan (fortnightly)	Adds 1 hr to Auckland each way (fortnightly)
Great atmosphere vs Hamilton with shit atmosphere, meth heads and wannabe gangsters in city	Long drive to go anywhere that isn't Raglan or Hamilton
Great weather, escape the muggy landlocked city	No supermarkets, reliant on small grocers like Four Square
Nice location by the sea vs ugly city	EXPENSIVE; food, cost of living, and rent is at least going to be 25% higher
Family can use spare room for a weekend getaway	Family have to travel extra ~45 minutes to visit

Hi Everyone,
Hope your day is going well!
Needed some help/advice and hoping some of you could assist me. I am a 23yr old male, roughly 5'8/5'9 & weighing around 85-87kg (187-190lbs). A little about my lifestyle:
9-5 office job (more like 7-6 with commute + carry over sometimes 7/8/9 pm). Have a home gym and typically like to get my workout in sometime between 4-6AM. Home gym consists of Power Rack, dumbbells (adjustable), treadmill, adjustable bench seat & Marcy all in one, 150lbs machine.
Reason for this post is I seriously want to cut down and get into good shape. I have decent to beginner experiences with the gym, in and out of it since high school. I was looking to cutdown to 74KG (165lbs). Was looking for some help on counting calories + macros (how much I should be consuming or if there are any good links out there I can give a read). Similarly, was wondering if there were any recommended workout plans? Ideally, I want to workout 4 times with week (most feasible with work) alongside, 2-3 runs a week.
Really hoping to get some help! Let me know if there's any questions I can answer.
Thanks a lot and have a good evening!

Maybe you’re sitting and scrolling, looking to get out the house. Well, look no further.
32M here, simply looking for a vibe. Open to host/travel within reason and enjoy some company while blazing 420 and vibing.
Let’s connect. Not picky on race/size, just be down to earth as I am. Pics upon request.

The Digital Hypno Human vs Robot Challenge

Do you think you can tell which Hypnosis Script intro was written by ChatGPT and which was written by a Professional Hypnotherapist?
Are you willing to risk being right or wrong by making a decision?
For just a little bit of fun, I'll post 5 x different Hypnosis/Guided Meditation Script intros, and comment as to whether you think it was written by a human or AI.

-🌀-🌀-🌀-🌀-🌀-Intro #1 - Journey of Mindfulness:

Welcome. This session is designed to guide you to a place of peace and present-mindedness. Begin by adjusting your breathing, finding a slow and controlled rhythm. With each inhale, imagine drawing in the fresh, clean air, and with each exhale, let go of tension and stress, as if it were a puff of grey smoke dispersing into the ether. This is your time, your space.
Imagine now that you are in a deep, lush forest, surrounded by towering trees that have stood the test of time. As you breathe in, feel the cool forest breeze that carries with it the rustling whispers of the leaves, a delicate earthy scent, and the nurturing essence of nature. Each breath you take makes you feel more and more a part of this vibrant forest scene.
Now, let's embark on a journey of mindfulness, a journey that anchors us in the present moment. As you traverse the forest in your mind, notice the rough texture of the bark as you gently run your fingers along a tree, the sound of a distant stream bubbling, and the way the forest floor feels beneath your feet. This journey isn't about reaching a destination, it's about being here, now. Every sensation you experience, every breath you take, is a gentle reminder to stay present.
Remember, this journey is for you. Encourage yourself, for each step taken in mindfulness brings you closer to inner peace and tranquility. Breathe in the forest, breathe in the present moment, and when you're ready, take one last deep breath, hold it, and release it slowly, letting the serene calmness wash over you.

-🌀-🌀-🌀-🌀-🌀-Intro #2 - Universal Silver Light:

Close your eyes and take in a deep breath. Let the breath go all the way down to your abdomen, then breathe all the way back up. Allow yourself to continue breathing in and out, up and down, as you sink deeper into the chair, feeling more comfortable.
Now, as you start to focus on your breath and all the other pleasant feelings it creates, recognize that with each breath, your body is becoming more relaxed and comfortable. It's almost as though there is a white silver light washing over your body as your breath travels up towards the top of your head. It explodes out into the universe like a shower of energy, and then just as quickly, it travels back down over your entire body as you breathe in and down to your toes, grounding you back into the center of the earth.
By doing this you are giving yourself the gift of deeper connection and oneness with everything around you, bringing a greater sense of peace & harmony, as a foundation for creating long-lasting, positive changes, by harnessing the infinite power of the universe and earth.

-🌀-🌀-🌀-🌀-🌀-Intro #3 - Landscape of Your Life:

Sit back, relax & close your eyes and allow this journey to help restore equilibrium in your mind, body, and spirit. To start, focus on the pattern of your breath, a simple yet powerful tool. Take a deep, full breath in, filling your lungs completely. Hold this breath for a moment, allowing the oxygen to fully saturate your system. Now, slowly let it out, taking twice as long to exhale as you did to inhale. This slow release helps signal your nervous system to switch into a state of rest and relaxation, quieting the chatter of the mind.
Visualize yourself standing on top of a majestic mountain. From here, you can see the world sprawled out below you, its chaos and noise merely a whisper carried away by the wind. The air is clear and cool, tinged with the crisp scent of mountain trees. As you breathe in this pure air, feel it cleanse your body and spirit, wiping away stress and negativity. Each exhalation is a step further into tranquility, your breath echoing the gentle breeze that sweeps across the mountain top.
Embark on a journey of rejuvenation. With every slowing breath, imagine yourself tapping into an unlimited source of energy deep within you. This journey is about revitalization, not just physically, but also emotionally and psychologically. As you look out from your mountain top, consider each element of the landscape as a part of your life. Perhaps the river in the distance represents your emotions, the forest your relationships, the open sky your dreams. Breathe in the healing air, knowing that with each breath, you are nurturing these aspects of your life.
This practice is a gift you're giving to yourself, a testament to your innate ability to regulate and balance your body and mind. Each slow, intentional breath is a step towards a better you. As you continue to breathe deeply and slowly, feel the calming effects washing over you, enhancing your capability to create positive change now.

-🌀-🌀-🌀-🌀-🌀-Intro #4 - Quantum Healing:

Sit back, relax, and close your eyes. Now, just imagine that with each breath, a radiant, healing light infuses every cell and atom of your body, energizing and harmonizing them. This light represents the powerful quantum field that underpins all of reality, capable of manifesting profound transformation. You're floating amongst fluffy clouds, surrounded by the tranquil hum of the cosmos, a testament to the vibrational nature of existence.
This journey you're on is one of quantum healing and epigenetic change. Feel the energy and vibration within you, aligning with the frequency of wellness, balance, and positivity. Visualize this light, drawn in with your breath, influencing your genes on a profound level, turning on codes of health, resilience, and vitality.
You're harnessing the vibrational essence of your being, focusing it on manifesting positive changes in your life. Continue this process of mindful quantum change, aware that each breath you take, each vibrational shift you make, brings you closer to your optimal self.

-🌀-🌀-🌀-🌀-🌀-Intro #5 - Your Inner Jedi - Star Wars

Close your eyes and allow yourself to go on a journey across the galaxies, to bring balance to your mind, body, and spirit - much like the balance sought by the Jedi and Sith in the Star Wars universe. Focus on your breath, the natural Force within you, as powerful and tranquil as the Jedi Masters themselves. Inhale deeply, filling your lungs with life-sustaining oxygen, then hold, allowing the breath to saturate every cell in your body. Exhale slowly and notice as this rhythm mimics the gentle pulse of the Force, signaling to enter a deeper state of peace and relaxation.
Now, let your mind drift even more now to the shifting sand dunes of Tatooine. This harsh, yet strangely beautiful landscape symbolizes the shifting nature of life. Each grain of sand is like a moment in time, insignificant on its own yet contributing to the vast oceans of sand, just as each moment contributes to the vastness of your life. The undulating dunes remind you of life's duality, the rise and fall, the constant flux and flow. Feel the warm sand underfoot, the dry wind in your hair, the intense sun on your skin. Let these sensations ground you in the present moment, reminding you of your resilience and adaptability.
Using the inherent Force within you, this voyage is about revitalizing your inner self; physically, emotionally and psychologically. Picture the vast cosmos before you, each celestial body representing an aspect of your life. The tranquil moons symbolize your emotions, the vibrant stars your dreams & ambitions, the infinite galaxies your limitless potential. Breathe in the cosmic energy, trusting that with each breath, you're nurturing and balancing these elements of your existence.
This a testament to your innate ability to control and harmonize your inner galaxy. Every slow, purposeful breath brings you closer to the Jedi-like tranquility and strength within you. As you continue to breathe in rhythm with the Force, feel the calming effects washing over you, getting stronger and stronger with each breath, increasing your ability to create positive change in your own universe.
---- So which of these are written by a human and which are written by AI (ChatGPT with some detailed prompting)?

Hi there! I'm a 26 year old clean and respectful 6 ft tall blue collar hispanic male looking for FWB/ ANR. I live in Downtown Long Beach but can travel and meet you anywhere you'd like. My kink is that I love to suckle on breasts and eating out my partner. What can I say? I love being a giver, nothing turns me on more than hearing a satisfied woman plead for more. I have a great track record and would love put these words into action. I could do it for hours and treat you to dinner like the gentleman that I am afterwards.
If breast play isn't you're thing that's perfectly okay, I got other talents too. I'm experienced at eating pussy/ ass, kissing, massaging, affirmations, breeding, being dominant/submissive, playing rough or making slow passionate love. I'm fun guy looking for a fun time 😏. Open to all body types and ages. Whether you're jessie's girl or Mrs. Robinson, Big or small, I love them all.
I'm someone that that doesn't mind getting to know each other first so if you're a little shy and if the mood's right we can go further on YOUR terms. I'm all about consent, boundaries and practicing safe sex. Send me a dm if you're interested or tired of being lonely and unsatisfied, maybe I'll be your guy😉

My soon to be 3rd grader has a same grade level and fellow lacrosse player friend. In visiting with my son's friend's father, the dad shared that his son didn't do great on the CogAT test this Spring '23 (our district administers CogAT testing at 2nd grade for all students). I asked how his percentiles were... 45% Verbal, 81% Quant, and 98% Nonverbal. So the kid is not getting GT services in our district any time soon, but it made me curious about how can a parent help a kid with high nonverbal abilities. What can a parent do to try and leverage this type of aptitude? I'm not trying to suggest my son's friend should get into our school district's GT services, but I am trying to help his dad gain an insight on how to play to his son's strengths. I dad coached the K2 lacrosse team for my son and his friend this past Fall and Spring. So I can see that the kid is a natural at solving problems, picking up field concepts and disciplined in his field play. Any insights you can share are appreciated. Maybe he'll test better as a 3rd grader.

I am about 5-7 years younger than the next youngest person in my office. I’m about 15-20 years younger than everyone else in my office. I work in a conservative field at a large US company. I’m the newest one on my team. I travel to a bunch to other offices and it’s the same there.
I have a masters degree in my field. I know that I’m smart and capable. But I can’t shake this feeling of not being as good and smart as others. How can I feel more secure in myself and not think that I’m not as smart as everyone else?

I’m considering traveling to Vienna for ball season next year and was hoping to gain some insight. I live in the US and I’ve been dancing competitive and social smooth/ballroom (DIVIDA syllabi) for a few years now, so that’s my experience with Viennese waltz.
I’ve heard that in Germany and Austria, the steps are much smaller and more similar to Fleckerls than natural and reverse turns. I’ve also seen videos of people dancing cross-step and rotary waltzes online, but those mostly seemed to be “Viennese balls” in the US.
I’m wondering if anybody with experience dancing in Central Europe can offer their perspective on waltz forms, and which styles would be most beneficial to dance in that region?

Note: I don’t mean to diagnose myself the ptsd (I have not been evaluated) or am I using that term lightly. I don’t know if ptsd can even happen from seemingly minor events (even though to my nervous system it feels catastrophic)
Trigger Warning! This year has rocked me and through my teenage and young adult years I’ve dealt with SA, domestic violence, and abuse. I had taken a trip with my boyfriends family and I found certain things they did and the unspoken way their family unit operates to me very upsetting to me. And they did not treat it kindly. I got slandered and talked shit about behind my back and his mom ended up prying into personal information about my life. I have a pervious post on it (albeit an emotional word plop) if it’s helpful to know more. The back handed comments and assumptions about me and then these passive aggressive ways to go about it from his mom and sister has led me to feel extremely uncomfortable in my body for the past 6 months and it just won’t go away. Almost every day since I get caught in mental angst and repetitive thoughts rethinking the situations, anger, resentments, etc. just mental spiral and I have to try really hard to try to get out of it. My body has been so tightly wound up from the stress of having to repeat these situations in my head. Very frequently I have anxious dreams about the trip and his family and I’m stuck there again. It’s really taking a tole on me to have to keep dealing with this. It’s been extremely hard and deeply affected. A part of its guilt? Even though I feel like I didn’t do that much wrong to have gotten the reaction it caused from them and simple conversations would have explained everything but nobody had asked. When my boyfriend and I try to talk it through, I get extremely emotional and upset and eventually hot headed because it’s so uncomfortable for me to feel like I’m not being understood. He more so agrees with his family on what happened and kind of refuses to talk to them about it which makes me feel like he doesn’t have my back in this. Any advice is appreciated. Could this be ptsd? It’s definitely causing me extreme prolonged anxiety. What do I do in this situation ? I’m exhausted from holding this and can’t take it much longer. Something needs to give
Edit: I’ve also avoided seeing his sister and his family to the point of having massive panic attacks and not being able to function for hours.

I'm a single dad to a 3-year-old. She is glued to my hip and I bring her everywhere with me, she even goes to work when my sister is busy. I don't trust anyone except her with my kid. I had a shitty childhood. Some people just pretend to be good to you.
I have a date Saturday with a woman I met at work. She knows I have a kid and said she didn't mind. I asked her if it was OK since we will meet at 11 am and just go hiking around the river. My sister is on a trip until Monday. My friend made me realize that maybe she's just saying it's fine but would be weirded out, or she would assume I'm using my kid for brownie points. He said to imagine if the roles were reversed. Got me thinking, but I don't want to cancel since we click pretty well and it's gonna be our fifth date. Plus , maybe gauging her reaction would be good , see if it’s gonna work out in the future. WIBTA?

I'll try to keep it as short as possible. I've been living with my GF for about a year, together for more than 2 years. There's been a rift between her and my family that wants to invite me all the time to family functions (e.g. birthday parties). I never used to care and just went along before having a relationship. Now everytime I tell her I'm going out (usually because my parents pressure me into going and constantly scold me), she gets cold and doesn't respond to me even when I update her. I always expect a big fight after the fact and we always end up on the verge of breaking up, but even after the fight ends, I always just think it will happen again when the next family member's birthday comes and I am getting pressured with the fear of being disowned or otherwise being treated poorly.
My father's birthday is in two days and I went last year, after which my gf not only blocked me but fpught with me overnight. I get that she does not like my family which can be controlling and strict, and my family dislikes her for wanting me away from them. It doesn't really matter what I think, I can't go my own way and say they're both being difficult because I'm always clashing with both sides. I've already given up on reconciling them. My dad's celebration this weekend might be an overnight outing which I'm definjtely not going to, errands and responsibilities notwithstanding. My mom, however, constantly stresses that I ought to go there and not follow my gf. My gf will likely stress that we have our own plans to go out on the same day. There's no one I can really turn to for advice and my only plan is to talk to my dad hoping he'll understand (he's a little less strict than mom but can be just as upset). I've been tied in this difficult situation for several times and it has not gotten easier. Some people might call me a mama's boy but believe me, I do not like having to go with a big family of people who I'm at best cordial with, and this decision would be much easier if I had the financial means to cut ties entirely, which even now I can't fully justify just going for as I can't pay for my own studies and still need their financial support.
I have no idea what to do, I've tried flaking on my parents and promising to call which they hate, and I've done it a few times. I really want to know what I should do. Who will I need to face and tell that I'm not going with them that day? My family whose relationship with me is getting worse, or my gf who will get extremely upset if I go out with them?
TL;DR my family's pressuring me to come to my dad's birthday and I know my gf will hate it.

Hi there! I'm a 26 year old clean and respectful 6 ft tall blue collar hispanic male looking for FWB/ ANR. I live in Downtown Long Beach but can travel and meet you anywhere you'd like. My kink is that I love to suckle on breasts and eating out my partner. What can I say? I love being a giver, nothing turns me on more than hearing a satisfied woman plead for more. I have a great track record and would love put these words into action. I could do it for hours and treat you to dinner like the gentleman that I am afterwards.
If breast play isn't you're thing that's perfectly okay, I got other talents too. I'm experienced at eating pussy/ ass, kissing, massaging, affirmations, breeding, being dominant/submissive, playing rough or making slow passionate love. I'm fun guy looking for a fun time 😏. Open to all body types and ages. Whether you're jessie's girl or Mrs. Robinson, Big or small, I love them all.
I'm someone that that doesn't mind getting to know each other first so if you're a little shy and if the mood's right we can go further on YOUR terms. I'm all about consent, boundaries and practicing safe sex. Send me a dm if you're interested or tired of being lonely and unsatisfied, maybe I'll be your guy😉

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My Dad had a Gibson SG guitar that was stolen along with other guitars in his collection and other irreplaceable valuable stuff from his storage locker a couple years ago. They had access to the building and came with a moving truck long with tools to cut the lock on the locker, it was basically organized crime. They were caught on video camera jumping with joy as they scored big time from being thieves.He never got any of the guitars or stuff back. The Gibson Sg was supposed to be gifted too me and I grew up playing it, it was my favorite guitar of all. The Gibson SG was dark brown wood finish body no lacquer , black pick guards with white trim, thin profile neck, trapeze pearl inlays, pearl gibson logo, 3 humbucker pickups with no pickup guards, vintage tuning heads and it had a Bo Diddley signature on the back of the guitar which I believe was engraved with a wood engraver so it wouldn't get taken off by wear and tear. The Rcmp got involved and they said nothing could be done about it because 9 10ths of possession is the law even

I recently graduated with a Kinesiology degree. I have no interest in going back to school, I originally wanted to go to PT school because when I had to choose a degree at 17 years old the only thing I knew I was passionate about was sports and PT. Despite my degree in Kinesiology I have grown a passion for marketing and travel and social media etc. I had a remote internship (no longer hiring) and was able to travel to Costa Rica with my gf all summer. I also did Marketing internships here working for a startup creating social media content as well as other hospitality companies making content for them. I also have a travel tiktok with over 100K followers which may help on my resume? But after I graduated I absolutely can not find a job anywhere. Right now my main goal is to land a remote job, or start something I can do from my computer because I have no interest in going into an office everyday for the rest of my life. I want a remote job or an adventurous job so that I can travel and see the world while im young and also make a living. I was wondering if any one has any advice for me? I've been applying since beginning of may and only have received 1 interview which I didnt get which was in remote sales. I just feel like I have no guidance on where to start applying or what entry level remote jobs I can get despite my degree. Thanks so much!

Flying Sparks

Pre Order Now

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https://i.redd.it/vub83em8fb3b1.gif

Chapter 2

“Hazardous? I’ll show that manipulative, misanthropic, anti-establishment cretin just what hazardous means if he thinks I’m going to fold on this!”
The sound of vigorous guitar riffs made a fitting accompaniment to the angry tirade despite originating on opposite sides of the communal area. Ama was glaring at a laptop that sat on a stained oak desk shoved against the large table near the kitchen. She tapped a fingernail on the wood as she read through the alert.
“And what violation of basic human dignity has her royal prudishness’s undies in a bunch?” Em demanded with an affected sneer without looking up from his guitar scales.
“Oh you’ll agree with this one tree-hugger,” Drake muttered from where he sat oiling his work boots.
“Yeah,” Donny piped up, “Finney is trying to kill a perfectly healthy fir.”
“What!” Em demanded, carefully placing his battered old acoustic guitar down in its case and darting over to look at the computer screen. “You mean apark tree?”
Despite her simmering frustration Ama allowed a small smile to flicker across her face as she continued to type.
“Get out of your pajamas and I’ll tell you,” Drake ordered pointing towards the bathroom door with a stained rag. “School starts in forty-five minutes and you still have breakfast and chores. That goes for you too Pip-squirt.”
“I hope you washed your hands before you touched our food,” Em said with a frown.
“Boot grease makes a great source of fatty acids.” Drake retorted. “Now go!”
The two smaller boys muttered in annoyance but stumbled off to follow orders.
“So what is up?” the youth asked as he bent his head back over the smooth leather of his boots.
“Mrs. Finney wants that tree down that’s blocking her perfect view of Crescent Lake.” Ama replied in a dry tone.
“One that’s clearly on park property?” Drake asked.
“Indeedy-do.” Ama replied giving the paper in front of her a glare.
“So how’s she justifying it?” Drake asked.
“As a safety hazard to her house.” Ama replied.
“And?”
The biologist groaned and rubbed her face.
“As far as I can tell the trunk is perfectly healthy. There is an old trash can lid grown into the trunk and a little discolored sap is leaking out there.”
“Frass?”
“Watch your language!” Donny interjected as he darted up to the table.
“Frass is not a bad word,” Drake stated. “Have you let the chickens out?”
“Yes, what does frass mean?” Donny asked as he started piling stir-fry onto his plate.
“Look it up.” Drake ordered him. “Emerald! Breakfast ends in ten minutes! Get your tukus down here!”
“It’s bad health to rush meals,” Em snapped out as he came down a narrow stairway with deliberate slowness.
“It’s even worse for your health to skip meals altogether,” Drake growled threateningly.
“Shut it and give me some eggs.” Em snapped back.
“Emerald Waters Undersun,” Drake hissed out through gritted teeth. “You are going to get your own eggs.”
The boy threw himself into a chair and glared at Drake with challenge in every line of his body.
“Emerald,” Ama said in a calm tone. “I think you should apologize to your cousin now.”
“Sorry I disturbed you Ama,” he offered without breaking eye contact with Drake.
“Not me, him,” Ama said.
“Sorry you had to hear that Donny.” Em said.
Ama heaved a sigh and closed her computer.
“Emerald,” Ama said.
“Do you want to eat or go hungry?” Drake demanded.
Ama glanced at him with a familiar uneasy look in her eyes and Drake fought down a wince.
“Now, Em.” she said in a patient tone.
“I’ll go hungry,” Em snapped, jumping up and stalking over to the couch.
Donny kept his eyes fixed on his plate. Ama heaved a sigh before turning back to her computer. Em wriggled on the couch for several minutes before skulking back to the table. Drake moved to intercept him but Ama stopped him with a look and he let Em serve himself. Drake cast irritated glances at the wall clock as the time crept more and more into school time.
Ama closed her computer and stood, then sighed, sat and opened it again.
“I need to pick out their report topics,” Ama muttered.
“I could do it,” Drake offered.
“You do quite enough,” Ama replied briskly, as she scanned the news. “Here you go. For Donny, malfunctions at the Lewis- McChord Air Force Base air show.” A frown creased her face. “Wow, this is pretty serious. It looks like the F-16 demonstration team nearly got killed.”
Drake whistled and leaned over her shoulder.
“Multiple system failures,” he read out loud. “I am pretty sure that isn’t supposed to happen.”
“Nope,” Ama agreed. “Here is a topic on big game management for Em.”
“Reports due by next week?” Drake asked as the old printer on the desk began to squeal and grumble as it powered up.
“Same as usual,” Ama confirmed.
Drake put the printouts on top of the homework pile and moved to wash up the breakfast dishes.
“I need to get to work early today so you two be good for Drake,” she called out placing a quick kiss on top of the smaller boys’ heads and giving Drake’s shoulder a friendly squeeze.
“Good luck with Mrs. Finney, and stay safe.” Drake called out as she went into her room.
The table was cleaned off and wiped down and the clink of forks gave way to the steady scratch of pencils on paper. They broke for a recess after religion and then lunch after history and math, and by the time the Grandfather clock in the corner struck two the younger boys twitching with energy. Drake made certain the internet was disconnected at the router, and chased Donny and Em out into the garden.
“And don’t come in until dark,” he ordered tossing two snack bags out after them.
Donny as usual snatched his food and disappeared into the small orachard. Low grumbles about troglodytes and the Amish wandered out into the high corn following Em and Drake shook his head in exasperation wondering, not for the first time how the dark haired princeling came from the same gene pool as his little brother. The kitchen being mostly ordered Drake was turning to put the last random dirty sock in the hamper when a gnarled hand clutching a cane head appeared in the corner of his eye, causing his heart to make a valiant attempt to bolt out of his throat.
“Abuelita!” he gasped forcing his hands down from the guard position. “Where did you come from?”
Smoldering black eyes ran searchingly over the tall youth. An impossibly long mane of streaked silver and black hair was barely contained in a thick braid. A sharply pointed nose perched over a small wrinkled mouth. A vibrant red horse-hair serape hung over her shoulders concealing everything except her brown and gnarled hands which currently clutched the old tree branch she used as a cane. Drake had been more than a little comforted by the fact that both Em and Donny had admitted to having the thought ‘witch’ every time time they saw her as well.
“From the hand of God by the bodies of my sainted mother and father,” she replied after a long, uncomfortable silence.
She always spoke in a low husky voice that suggested years of smoking, though Drake had never smelled even stale smoke on her.
“Right,” Drake blinked and grinned at the response; the one she always gave. “So you are here for their Spanish lesson? I have their grammar books ready and-”
The narrow end of the tree branch rapped against the concrete of the floor causing Drake to jump. Abuelita glared at him, locking his gaze and holding him in place with it for a moment.
“I am here for their lessons,” she finally stated, “and you are there for my payment.”
Drake thought longingly of the repair and maintenance manuals in the cab of the truck and the new tool he was itching to try, but he forced a grin on his face.
“Yes ma’am,” he said. “What can I get you today?”
Abuelita pulled out a bag of woven grass from under her serape causing the indistinct patterns on the cloth to shift and change.
“Take this,” she ordered him, “and collect me the cobalt blue berries that grow on a single stalk close to the ground. They must come from the mountain to the south east of here by the crystal brook.”
Drake nodded, and took the little bag, he didn’t quite manage to infused his gestures with enthusiasm he supposed. The old woman, probably wouldn’t have noted it anyway. She turned and moved towards the garden door without waiting for any other reply. However she called out over her shoulder as he turned to find his own way out of the rambling structure.
“Don’t dawdle little one. A storm brews in the distance.”
He tried not to roll his eyes at that, the weather forecast was clear and eighties for the next week according to the morning fire report Ama had printed. The youth only nodded and slipped around the corner. He circled the barn and pulled a set of loose tan pants and tunic out of the cubby. The soft worn leather almost perfectly matched the forest floor for color as did the moccasins he pulled on after them. His morning running clothes were modern stuff that wicked the sweat away from him and let him speed through the forest. These were his free day clothes. The ones that let him disappear into the forest and wander. Abuelita, for all of her demands, would tend Em and Donny until he returned no matter how late that was, and with the Park’s yearly budget talks still under way it was highly unlikely Ama would be home until long after the sun had set. Despite still hearing the call of the half restored truck he felt something lossening in him already. The soft cotton and smooth leather rested easily against his skin and Drake slipped into the forest.
Freedom; for the moment at least, blissful freedom. Pushing aside the guilt that accompanied the thought as well as any lingering worries about his charges the youth let his legs carry him through the trees. He shunned the man made paths, following the faint animal trails. This close to the barn they were as clear to him as if they were named city streets. Being animal trails, they invariably led him to water. Today he stopped at a trickling stream, took off his moccasins, and rolled up his pants legs. The youth turned and followed the thin flow of icy water upstream, letting it steal the heat from his body through his feet.
Some distance upstream, the stream widened and pooled under a boulder. There Drake paused and pulled an old black compass out of his pocket. Behind him he knew every trail and tree. Ahead was a broad swath of National Wilderness he would have to cross, or possibly Bureau of Land Management or even state managed forests where he more rarely wandered. It was hard to tell where the boundaries were from the ground. The clearing he wanted for the berries was solidly in BLM land and he still had quite a ways to go to get there. The stand of timber that stood between him and his goal was dense with young tree and branches that frequently formed impenetrable hedges he had to track around and he checked his compass regularly as he climbed in elevation. Even so the youth found he had wandered too far off his route and had to correct when he spotted the boundary fence. However he was in no hurry and he reached the clearing long before the sun told him it was time to turn around.
Sometime in the past some unknown force had carved a shallow trench across the side of one of the small mountains that that dotted the wilderness. It had puzzled Drake at first. The scour was at the wrong angle to be an old rock slide, and terminated in a near perfectly circular clearing at the lower end. Centuries old Douglas Firs abruptly gave way to a second ring only a few decades old. Those were in turn beginning to produce cones and a smattering of knee high saplings. The rest of the space was completely given over to wildflowers. No matter what season Drake visited it he found a riot of life.
There had been an early spring and many herbs that normally would have waited a month or more were already in full bloom in the mountain meadow. A white wave of foamflower washed in from the deep forest surrounding the clearing, sending up knee high stalks covered in the delicate white blooms. Late trillium hid close to the roots of the great firs, many having shed their white corollas and begun to put forth their bulbous seed heads. Fuzzy white baneberry blossoms nodded gently in the breeze. A riot of yellow and purple spread across the ground as vetch and buttercups and a host of clovers competed for space in the open sun. Great stalks of lupine as high as his head thrust up their purple and blue proudly from thick clusters of palm shaped leaves. Pink shooting stars and violet harebells crouched under the protection of the larger plants. Indian paintbrush lit the scene with flames of red and orange. Where a spring seeped into the meadow elephant’s head flared neon pink and corydalis bushes put forth blushing blooms. Pale green wild orchids stood along the wet spot and the swarms of bees danced from them to the glacier lilies.
Sometimes, as he bent over a tiny blossom and traced the intricate network of veins in the petals, drank in the scent, and felt the smooth surface of the leaves an otherworldly feeling would come over him. It was as if there was another world just out of range of his senses. If he could only really look, the thin illusion that was blocking him would slip away and reveal the real world underneath it.
“Look Awiegwa,” his father would whisper, pointing at a deer mouse perched on a fallen log. “What does it see?”
Awiegwa would screw up his face and squint. Trying to find the answer to the question.
Awiegwa had often wondered how so many flowers had come to be in the relatively small area. He had identified dozens of species and there were more he had yet to determine. The clearing was always the first place to bloom and the last to go dormant. Many of the flowers seemed to utterly defy their usual blooming patterns. However, as time passed he had simply come to accept it. It was one of the small good things that brought back the memories of his father. If it didn’t quite follow the rules Ama had taught him, well an impossible clearing in the mountains wasn’t a place for rules.
The particular bloom that Abuelita had requested had taken full advantage of the early sun and had already put forth a few cobalt blue berries; easily spotted at the edge of the clearing in the delicate sea of white flowers.
However before he left the shade of the forest for the meadow the youth paused and closed his eyes. Bole wasn’t always here, but he was often enough that Awiegwa always checked for him. Carefully he reconstructed the clearing in his mind; marking every tree and boulder on the edge. Three years he had been coming here and each time it was easier to recreate the clearing. Breathing evenly he opened his eyes, letting the mental image merge with the actual. There was a brief moment of confusion as details like the play of light through branches and the trembling of small clusters of flowers fixed themselves but there was only one truly jarring note. Awiegwa didn’t let his eyes focus on the disparity; he never did anymore, but a warm smile spread across his features as he slipped silently into the meadow.
He was here. As the youth moved in a low crouch, gathering the first fruits of the Queen’s Cup, he let his peripheral vision linger on a particular snag. There was nothing obviously interesting about it, other than the fact that it had not been there the last time Awiegwa was here. He had named the wanderer Bole, because it most often appeared as a thick tree trunk; sometimes living, sometimes dead. Occasionally it would be a boulder or simply a mound in the dirt. Often it wasn’t in the clearing at all. If the youth moved forward and tried to closely examine it he could never find anything to suggest it was something other than a tree or rock.
He had thought about taking a sample occasionally, had taken his knife out to do just that more than once, but something always held him back. Bole was a part of this place. Dissecting him would be too much like attempting to dissect his sense of his father’s presence here. The youth had never told anyone about this place, not even Ama with who could get most things out of him easily enough. Down at the house, in town, when he was Drake; solid, reliable, first up in the morning, two grades ahead in school with a penchant for science Drake, a productive member of modern society with a promising future and his mother smiling at him. Here he could be Awiegwa. Here he could believe in the ancient medicines his father had dug out of dusty old tomes and brought to life from the forest litter. Every time Awiegwa left the clearing and headed back towards home reality would reassert itself. Bole would resolve back into a figment of his imagination, created from pride in a somewhat better than average memory and what the social workers had called an “intriguing imagination”. When he reached the house and become solidly Drake again flickers of embarrassment would begin eating at him for letting his senses trick him like that, but as long as the blooms nodded around him in this garden Bole could exist even on a Thursday.
The little woven grass bag filled up with the berries fairly quickly and Awiegwa soon stretched out of his crouch and let his gaze wander contentedly over the clearing. As it always did, the warm space was working its special magic. Worries about Em getting out of his schoolwork, of not paying enough attention to the quiet Donny, of letting Ama see his petty resentments: it had all melted away from his muscles, thoughts of college costs and abandoning his duties dissolved into an acute sense of the now. The leaves rustled softly in a barely-there breeze, the heavy scent of some unidentified blossom filled his lungs, a dozen shades of green framed the rainbow of flowers, and over and above it all the creaking of the firs as the wind played over them. It was at times like these that he felth he could almost see into heaven; that something wonderful that existed just beyond his senses, and all he had to do was reach out and claim it.
The youth took a deep breath and let himself fall backwards onto a handy rise in the forest floor. His path had taken him to the foot of the snag and he shifted slightly to align himself with the gnarled roots. One hand gripped a time smoothed root.
“Ama trusted me enough to go out of state,” he murmured. “That’s the first time she’s done that. Usually she has Abulita stay with us to fend off the Harsh, but she said it’s long past legal now.”
It was his imagination of course that made him think the root vibrated in his hand in response. Many a long hour he had spent in this clearing with the wanderer. He had poured out his frustrations and anguishes over life’s injustices, had shared his secrets as he grew, and had shouted his triumphs. Sometimes he felt closer to Bole than to any of his human friends. However, something that sounded like his mother’s voice warned him that there was something odd about this and that awareness was the main reason he had kept this place secret from Ama. Their mother hadn’t exactly liked stuff like that. She had never objected to his father’s digging up the old stories of her people. Making cross generational connections between elders, who more often than not lived isolated lives, and the next generation, was an admirable goal in of itself in her eyes; objectively a social good. Storytelling was only the natural course for these relationships to take, but subtle looks had warned even a very young Drake that it was best to cautious what he shared with his mother. At least of those things that couldn’t be placed on a microscope slide. So this was Awigewa’s place, and while his father’s spirit wanders the flowers with he had never felt his mother here.
He let his focus drift up, and up. Dark blue Lupine nodded over his head framing the faint crisscross of jet contrails that threw a light haze over an otherwise cloudless sky. His clothed grew deliciously hot from the spring sun. The ground too had eagerly accepted the energy and now it conducted the heat into the muscles of his back. Bole’s wood beneath him was warmer even than the surrounding ground and an idle thought traced across Awiegwa’s awareness; something about it being odd for the light colored wood and relatively dry wood to retain more heat than the darker soil surrounding it. His mind was filled with the impression of a goal. He had been meaning to do, something. Something fun, yes, exploring, he’d meant to see if whatever had dug that den by the second boulder was cubing this year. He would just get up and do that in a minute. His back was so warm and comfortable.
​
https://i.redd.it/9sde27n9fb3b1.gif
“Flying Sparks”
Another foray into the lives of Drake McCarty, Ama Love, and the rest of their siblings as they discover that something alien is out in the forest around their home.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flying-sparks-a-novel-of-dragon-bear-and-boy/coming_soon
#FlyingSparks #ScienceFiction #Scifi #Story #novel #book #DrakeMcCarty #AmaLove #Donny #Em #Bard #Bole #Aliens #Spaceships #Crystals #fireflies #NPS #NationalPark #Doctor #Sever #family #storm #writing #reading #drama #literature #author #BettyAdams #DyingEmbers #Dragons #ThingsThatGoBoomp #Indiegogo #CrowdFunding

Flying Sparks Pre Order Now Chapter 2 “Hazardous? I’ll show that manipulative, misanthropic, anti-establishment cretin just what hazardous means if he thinks I’m going to fold on this!” The sound of vigorous guitar riffs made a fitting accompaniment to the angry tirade despite originating on opposite sides of the communal area. Ama was glaring at a laptop that sat on a stained oak desk shoved against the large table near the kitchen. She tapped a fingernail on the wood as she read through the alert. “And what violation of basic human dignity has her royal prudishness’s undies in a bunch?” Em demanded with an affected sneer without looking up from his guitar scales. “Oh you’ll agree with this one tree-hugger,” Drake muttered from where he sat oiling his work boots. “Yeah,” Donny piped up, “Finney is trying to kill a perfectly healthy fir.” “What!” Em demanded, carefully placing his battered old acoustic guitar down in its case and darting over to look at the computer screen. “You mean apark tree?” Despite her simmering frustration Ama allowed a small smile to flicker across her face as she continued to type. “Get out of your pajamas and I’ll tell you,” Drake ordered pointing towards the bathroom door with a stained rag. “School starts in forty-five minutes and you still have breakfast and chores. That goes for you too Pip-squirt.” “I hope you washed your hands before you touched our food,” Em said with a frown. “Boot grease makes a great source of fatty acids.” Drake retorted. “Now go!” The two smaller boys muttered in annoyance but stumbled off to follow orders. “So what is up?” the youth asked as he bent his head back over the smooth leather of his boots. “Mrs. Finney wants that tree down that’s blocking her perfect view of Crescent Lake.” Ama replied in a dry tone. “One that’s clearly on park property?” Drake asked. “Indeedy-do.” Ama replied giving the paper in front of her a glare. “So how’s she justifying it?” Drake asked. “As a safety hazard to her house.” Ama replied. “And?” The biologist groaned and rubbed her face. “As far as I can tell the trunk is perfectly healthy. There is an old trash can lid grown into the trunk and a little discolored sap is leaking out there.” “Frass?” “Watch your language!” Donny interjected as he darted up to the table. “Frass is not a bad word,” Drake stated. “Have you let the chickens out?” “Yes, what does frass mean?” Donny asked as he started piling stir-fry onto his plate. “Look it up.” Drake ordered him. “Emerald! Breakfast ends in ten minutes! Get your tukus down here!” “It’s bad health to rush meals,” Em snapped out as he came down a narrow stairway with deliberate slowness. “It’s even worse for your health to skip meals altogether,” Drake growled threateningly. “Shut it and give me some eggs.” Em snapped back. “Emerald Waters Undersun,” Drake hissed out through gritted teeth. “You are going to get your own eggs.” The boy threw himself into a chair and glared at Drake with challenge in every line of his body. “Emerald,” Ama said in a calm tone. “I think you should apologize to your cousin now.” “Sorry I disturbed you Ama,” he offered without breaking eye contact with Drake. “Not me, him,” Ama said. “Sorry you had to hear that Donny.” Em said. Ama heaved a sigh and closed her computer. “Emerald,” Ama said. “Do you want to eat or go hungry?” Drake demanded. Ama glanced at him with a familiar uneasy look in her eyes and Drake fought down a wince. “Now, Em.” she said in a patient tone. “I’ll go hungry,” Em snapped, jumping up and stalking over to the couch. Donny kept his eyes fixed on his plate. Ama heaved a sigh before turning back to her computer. Em wriggled on the couch for several minutes before skulking back to the table. Drake moved to intercept him but Ama stopped him with a look and he let Em serve himself. Drake cast irritated glances at the wall clock as the time crept more and more into school time. Ama closed her computer and stood, then sighed, sat and opened it again. “I need to pick out their report topics,” Ama muttered. “I could do it,” Drake offered. “You do quite enough,” Ama replied briskly, as she scanned the news. “Here you go. For Donny, malfunctions at the Lewis- McChord Air Force Base air show.” A frown creased her face. “Wow, this is pretty serious. It looks like the F-16 demonstration team nearly got killed.” Drake whistled and leaned over her shoulder. “Multiple system failures,” he read out loud. “I am pretty sure that isn’t supposed to happen.” “Nope,” Ama agreed. “Here is a topic on big game management for Em.” “Reports due by next week?” Drake asked as the old printer on the desk began to squeal and grumble as it powered up. “Same as usual,” Ama confirmed. Drake put the printouts on top of the homework pile and moved to wash up the breakfast dishes. “I need to get to work early today so you two be good for Drake,” she called out placing a quick kiss on top of the smaller boys’ heads and giving Drake’s shoulder a friendly squeeze. “Good luck with Mrs. Finney, and stay safe.” Drake called out as she went into her room. The table was cleaned off and wiped down and the clink of forks gave way to the steady scratch of pencils on paper. They broke for a recess after religion and then lunch after history and math, and by the time the Grandfather clock in the corner struck two the younger boys twitching with energy. Drake made certain the internet was disconnected at the router, and chased Donny and Em out into the garden. “And don’t come in until dark,” he ordered tossing two snack bags out after them. Donny as usual snatched his food and disappeared into the small orachard. Low grumbles about troglodytes and the Amish wandered out into the high corn following Em and Drake shook his head in exasperation wondering, not for the first time how the dark haired princeling came from the same gene pool as his little brother. The kitchen being mostly ordered Drake was turning to put the last random dirty sock in the hamper when a gnarled hand clutching a cane head appeared in the corner of his eye, causing his heart to make a valiant attempt to bolt out of his throat. “Abuelita!” he gasped forcing his hands down from the guard position. “Where did you come from?” Smoldering black eyes ran searchingly over the tall youth. An impossibly long mane of streaked silver and black hair was barely contained in a thick braid. A sharply pointed nose perched over a small wrinkled mouth. A vibrant red horse-hair serape hung over her shoulders concealing everything except her brown and gnarled hands which currently clutched the old tree branch she used as a cane. Drake had been more than a little comforted by the fact that both Em and Donny had admitted to having the thought ‘witch’ every time time they saw her as well. “From the hand of God by the bodies of my sainted mother and father,” she replied after a long, uncomfortable silence. She always spoke in a low husky voice that suggested years of smoking, though Drake had never smelled even stale smoke on her. “Right,” Drake blinked and grinned at the response; the one she always gave. “So you are here for their Spanish lesson? I have their grammar books ready and-” The narrow end of the tree branch rapped against the concrete of the floor causing Drake to jump. Abuelita glared at him, locking his gaze and holding him in place with it for a moment. “I am here for their lessons,” she finally stated, “and you are there for my payment.” Drake thought longingly of the repair and maintenance manuals in the cab of the truck and the new tool he was itching to try, but he forced a grin on his face. “Yes ma’am,” he said. “What can I get you today?” Abuelita pulled out a bag of woven grass from under her serape causing the indistinct patterns on the cloth to shift and change. “Take this,” she ordered him, “and collect me the cobalt blue berries that grow on a single stalk close to the ground. They must come from the mountain to the south east of here by the crystal brook.” Drake nodded, and took the little bag, he didn’t quite manage to infused his gestures with enthusiasm he supposed. The old woman, probably wouldn’t have noted it anyway. She turned and moved towards the garden door without waiting for any other reply. However she called out over her shoulder as he turned to find his own way out of the rambling structure. “Don’t dawdle little one. A storm brews in the distance.” He tried not to roll his eyes at that, the weather forecast was clear and eighties for the next week according to the morning fire report Ama had printed. The youth only nodded and slipped around the corner. He circled the barn and pulled a set of loose tan pants and tunic out of the cubby. The soft worn leather almost perfectly matched the forest floor for color as did the moccasins he pulled on after them. His morning running clothes were modern stuff that wicked the sweat away from him and let him speed through the forest. These were his free day clothes. The ones that let him disappear into the forest and wander. Abuelita, for all of her demands, would tend Em and Donny until he returned no matter how late that was, and with the Park’s yearly budget talks still under way it was highly unlikely Ama would be home until long after the sun had set. Despite still hearing the call of the half restored truck he felt something lossening in him already. The soft cotton and smooth leather rested easily against his skin and Drake slipped into the forest. Freedom; for the moment at least, blissful freedom. Pushing aside the guilt that accompanied the thought as well as any lingering worries about his charges the youth let his legs carry him through the trees. He shunned the man made paths, following the faint animal trails. This close to the barn they were as clear to him as if they were named city streets. Being animal trails, they invariably led him to water. Today he stopped at a trickling stream, took off his moccasins, and rolled up his pants legs. The youth turned and followed the thin flow of icy water upstream, letting it steal the heat from his body through his feet. Some distance upstream, the stream widened and pooled under a boulder. There Drake paused and pulled an old black compass out of his pocket. Behind him he knew every trail and tree. Ahead was a broad swath of National Wilderness he would have to cross, or possibly Bureau of Land Management or even state managed forests where he more rarely wandered. It was hard to tell where the boundaries were from the ground. The clearing he wanted for the berries was solidly in BLM land and he still had quite a ways to go to get there. The stand of timber that stood between him and his goal was dense with young tree and branches that frequently formed impenetrable hedges he had to track around and he checked his compass regularly as he climbed in elevation. Even so the youth found he had wandered too far off his route and had to correct when he spotted the boundary fence. However he was in no hurry and he reached the clearing long before the sun told him it was time to turn around. Sometime in the past some unknown force had carved a shallow trench across the side of one of the small mountains that that dotted the wilderness. It had puzzled Drake at first. The scour was at the wrong angle to be an old rock slide, and terminated in a near perfectly circular clearing at the lower end. Centuries old Douglas Firs abruptly gave way to a second ring only a few decades old. Those were in turn beginning to produce cones and a smattering of knee high saplings. The rest of the space was completely given over to wildflowers. No matter what season Drake visited it he found a riot of life. There had been an early spring and many herbs that normally would have waited a month or more were already in full bloom in the mountain meadow. A white wave of foamflower washed in from the deep forest surrounding the clearing, sending up knee high stalks covered in the delicate white blooms. Late trillium hid close to the roots of the great firs, many having shed their white corollas and begun to put forth their bulbous seed heads. Fuzzy white baneberry blossoms nodded gently in the breeze. A riot of yellow and purple spread across the ground as vetch and buttercups and a host of clovers competed for space in the open sun. Great stalks of lupine as high as his head thrust up their purple and blue proudly from thick clusters of palm shaped leaves. Pink shooting stars and violet harebells crouched under the protection of the larger plants. Indian paintbrush lit the scene with flames of red and orange. Where a spring seeped into the meadow elephant’s head flared neon pink and corydalis bushes put forth blushing blooms. Pale green wild orchids stood along the wet spot and the swarms of bees danced from them to the glacier lilies. Sometimes, as he bent over a tiny blossom and traced the intricate network of veins in the petals, drank in the scent, and felt the smooth surface of the leaves an otherworldly feeling would come over him. It was as if there was another world just out of range of his senses. If he could only really look, the thin illusion that was blocking him would slip away and reveal the real world underneath it. “Look Awiegwa,” his father would whisper, pointing at a deer mouse perched on a fallen log. “What does it see?” Awiegwa would screw up his face and squint. Trying to find the answer to the question. Awiegwa had often wondered how so many flowers had come to be in the relatively small area. He had identified dozens of species and there were more he had yet to determine. The clearing was always the first place to bloom and the last to go dormant. Many of the flowers seemed to utterly defy their usual blooming patterns. However, as time passed he had simply come to accept it. It was one of the small good things that brought back the memories of his father. If it didn’t quite follow the rules Ama had taught him, well an impossible clearing in the mountains wasn’t a place for rules. The particular bloom that Abuelita had requested had taken full advantage of the early sun and had already put forth a few cobalt blue berries; easily spotted at the edge of the clearing in the delicate sea of white flowers. However before he left the shade of the forest for the meadow the youth paused and closed his eyes. Bole wasn’t always here, but he was often enough that Awiegwa always checked for him. Carefully he reconstructed the clearing in his mind; marking every tree and boulder on the edge. Three years he had been coming here and each time it was easier to recreate the clearing. Breathing evenly he opened his eyes, letting the mental image merge with the actual. There was a brief moment of confusion as details like the play of light through branches and the trembling of small clusters of flowers fixed themselves but there was only one truly jarring note. Awiegwa didn’t let his eyes focus on the disparity; he never did anymore, but a warm smile spread across his features as he slipped silently into the meadow. He was here. As the youth moved in a low crouch, gathering the first fruits of the Queen’s Cup, he let his peripheral vision linger on a particular snag. There was nothing obviously interesting about it, other than the fact that it had not been there the last time Awiegwa was here. He had named the wanderer Bole, because it most often appeared as a thick tree trunk; sometimes living, sometimes dead. Occasionally it would be a boulder or simply a mound in the dirt. Often it wasn’t in the clearing at all. If the youth moved forward and tried to closely examine it he could never find anything to suggest it was something other than a tree or rock. He had thought about taking a sample occasionally, had taken his knife out to do just that more than once, but something always held him back. Bole was a part of this place. Dissecting him would be too much like attempting to dissect his sense of his father’s presence here. The youth had never told anyone about this place, not even Ama with who could get most things out of him easily enough. Down at the house, in town, when he was Drake; solid, reliable, first up in the morning, two grades ahead in school with a penchant for science Drake, a productive member of modern society with a promising future and his mother smiling at him. Here he could be Awiegwa. Here he could believe in the ancient medicines his father had dug out of dusty old tomes and brought to life from the forest litter. Every time Awiegwa left the clearing and headed back towards home reality would reassert itself. Bole would resolve back into a figment of his imagination, created from pride in a somewhat better than average memory and what the social workers had called an “intriguing imagination”. When he reached the house and become solidly Drake again flickers of embarrassment would begin eating at him for letting his senses trick him like that, but as long as the blooms nodded around him in this garden Bole could exist even on a Thursday. The little woven grass bag filled up with the berries fairly quickly and Awiegwa soon stretched out of his crouch and let his gaze wander contentedly over the clearing. As it always did, the warm space was working its special magic. Worries about Em getting out of his schoolwork, of not paying enough attention to the quiet Donny, of letting Ama see his petty resentments: it had all melted away from his muscles, thoughts of college costs and abandoning his duties dissolved into an acute sense of the now. The leaves rustled softly in a barely-there breeze, the heavy scent of some unidentified blossom filled his lungs, a dozen shades of green framed the rainbow of flowers, and over and above it all the creaking of the firs as the wind played over them. It was at times like these that he felth he could almost see into heaven; that something wonderful that existed just beyond his senses, and all he had to do was reach out and claim it. The youth took a deep breath and let himself fall backwards onto a handy rise in the forest floor. His path had taken him to the foot of the snag and he shifted slightly to align himself with the gnarled roots. One hand gripped a time smoothed root. “Ama trusted me enough to go out of state,” he murmured. “That’s the first time she’s done that. Usually she has Abulita stay with us to fend off the Harsh, but she said it’s long past legal now.” It was his imagination of course that made him think the root vibrated in his hand in response. Many a long hour he had spent in this clearing with the wanderer. He had poured out his frustrations and anguishes over life’s injustices, had shared his secrets as he grew, and had shouted his triumphs. Sometimes he felt closer to Bole than to any of his human friends. However, something that sounded like his mother’s voice warned him that there was something odd about this and that awareness was the main reason he had kept this place secret from Ama. Their mother hadn’t exactly liked stuff like that. She had never objected to his father’s digging up the old stories of her people. Making cross generational connections between elders, who more often than not lived isolated lives, and the next generation, was an admirable goal in of itself in her eyes; objectively a social good. Storytelling was only the natural course for these relationships to take, but subtle looks had warned even a very young Drake that it was best to cautious what he shared with his mother. At least of those things that couldn’t be placed on a microscope slide. So this was Awigewa’s place, and while his father’s spirit wanders the flowers with he had never felt his mother here. He let his focus drift up, and up. Dark blue Lupine nodded over his head framing the faint crisscross of jet contrails that threw a light haze over an otherwise cloudless sky. His clothed grew deliciously hot from the spring sun. The ground too had eagerly accepted the energy and now it conducted the heat into the muscles of his back. Bole’s wood beneath him was warmer even than the surrounding ground and an idle thought traced across Awiegwa’s awareness; something about it being odd for the light colored wood and relatively dry wood to retain more heat than the darker soil surrounding it. His mind was filled with the impression of a goal. He had been meaning to do, something. Something fun, yes, exploring, he’d meant to see if whatever had dug that den by the second boulder was cubing this year. He would just get up and do that in a minute. His back was so warm and comfortable. “Flying Sparks” Another foray into the lives of Drake McCarty, Ama Love, and the rest of their siblings as they discover that something alien is out in the forest around their home. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flying-sparks-a-novel-of-dragon-bear-and-boy/coming_soon #FlyingSparks #ScienceFiction #Scifi #Story #novel #book #DrakeMcCarty #AmaLove #Donny #Em #Bard #Bole #Aliens #Spaceships #Crystals #fireflies #NPS #NationalPark #Doctor #Sever #family #storm #writing #reading #drama #literature #author #BettyAdams #DyingEmbers #Dragons #ThingsThatGoBoomp #Indiegogo #CrowdFunding

Hi Everyone,
Hope your day is going well!
Needed some help/advice and hoping some of you could assist me. I am a 23yr old male, roughly 5'8/5'9 & weighing around 85-87kg (187-190lbs). A little about my lifestyle:
9-5 office job (more like 7-6 with commute + carry over sometimes 7/8/9 pm). Have a home gym and typically like to get my workout in sometime between 4-6AM. Home gym consists of Power Rack, dumbbells (adjustable), treadmill, adjustable bench seat & Marcy all in one, 150lbs machine.
Reason for this post is I seriously want to cut down and get into good shape. I have decent to beginner experiences with the gym, in and out of it since high school. I was looking to cutdown to 74KG (165lbs). Was looking for some help on counting calories + macros (how much I should be consuming or if there are any good links out there I can give a read). Similarly, was wondering if there were any recommended workout plans? Ideally, I want to workout 4 times with week (most feasible with work) alongside, 2-3 runs a week.
Really hoping to get some help! Let me know if there's any questions I can answer.
Thanks a lot and have a good evening!

My boyfriend and I are both 25. Wanting to save for a house, get married, travel, the whole shabang, if our income allows it. I think to us, our priorities are a house & travel, no need for an extravagant wedding. We’ve heard from friends & coworkers that they’re able to afford their frequent trips to Europe through credit card benefits. Neither of us travel for work, so we have no interest in a card that accumulates sky miles based on travel. We really don’t travel much, but we’d like to. Looking for options on a standard credit card that can be put towards sky miles