Men of Worth

I told a number of people, not everyone but anyone I was in contact with for the past week, that I was going to a concert with my grandma tonight. My parents also came. The band is called "Men of Worth", there are two men, one is Scottish and the other Irish. They play Celtic and folk music and have been doing so for the past 25 years.

I recommend them to anyone. My family bought a couple of their Cd's. I would have but I'm trying to be smart with my money and not spend what I really don't have.

If you like Celtic and folk then you will love them. They are funny, traditional and have amazing voices and musical talent. If you don't but like trying new things, they are good to try out.

I saw them at the Benicia Historical Museum. It is a lovely place with an amazing Boy Scouts museum. They have all sorts of things from the beginning of scouts in the area and through history. They have a large collection of manuals, patches and other historical items. Also, there is a beautiful backyard area with a fountain and garden. It was lovely. The concert had a packed house but we were over an hour early so we got the best seats in the house. And, thanks to my Grammy's handicap parking, we also had the best parking space.

I don't know if I can but I'll try on Sunday to borrow the Cd's and post a couple songs here. If not, I will post them on facebook and you will simply have to check there to get a taste of the music.

It's Just Too Easy (conclusion)

Her chin rested on the knees of her blue jeans.  "I know, but you don't."  A forlorn sound echoed in her voice, lost and sad. 

"How would you know that?" Aaron grumbled as he sat up to lean his back against the wall. He was hungry and there was food sitting right in front of him. It filled the air with salt, yeast and over-greased meat. A smell to bring anyone running and panting for a taste. It was the savory flavor of bad for you food that makes your mouth water. He opened the wrapper and attacked the first burger he grabbed out of the magical bag of delicacies.

"I've been watching you." She immediately held up her hands as he glared at her, "Not in the creepy stalker way. I mean I've followed you for the past couple years that you've been traveling."

"Oh and that's not like a stalker at all." He grumbled through a mouthful of fries.

"It's not when it's for research."

Images of test animals in cages appeared in Aaron's mind. He did not like the sound of that. He was nobody's Guinna pig. Then a new image appeared, one that interested him a lot more. It was a facility out on an island, but not filled with lab coats and crazy scientists. This image made him think of a training grounds. It could be a new experience, but how was he to know that this was real. A slight breeze brushed along the island sand. The image was so vivid it was as if he was already there. Seagulls called from mountain cliffs searching for food for their young. Aaron's bare feet carried him across warm, tropical sand. There was a melody in the air so peaceful, so calming. The sound of children laughing came from somewhere in the trees. This was a place he could stay forever. Someone was roasting a pig, he could smell the delicious pork. There was also the scent of fresh tropical fruits ripe and ready for the picking. "Yes." He said to himself, "This is where I want to be. A safe place where I can find peace at last."

"You ok?" Came a concerned voice from somewhere in the heavens.

Was he ok? He was more than ok, he had never felt better. All of his life, as far back as he could remember, he had been running. There was never a moments peace. At first it had seemed like everything was going to work out. His mother was sweet and understanding. She didn't know why her son was different but she protected him as a mother lion would protect her cub. When the other kids became vicious, she pulled him out of public school. When his father tried to kill him, she took him far away, moving west as far as they could go. The move had not been good for her. She got sick, very sick. He was only 9 at the time and didn't understand what was going on. He knew how to help her and would get whatever medicines he could. Things would simply come to his mind and he would know what she needed. The problem was that he also knew that she was going to die. She only lived a few months after that, and then he was on his own. People don't like when you're different. They can be cruel and distrusting. Aaron learned that the easiest way to deal with people was to avoid them. That worked well for the past two years, until today.

"I can't read your mind. Dude? Guy? Person? I don't know your name. Are you alright?"

Blinking back to reality Aaron smiled for the first time in years. "I'm more then alright. I feel..." What could he say? Great sounded to common. Peaceful wasn't the right word either. There was a whirl of emotions from happy to calm to ecstatic. How could he even begin to describe how he was feeling?

"I know you may already know this but I was wondering if you would like to come with me. I can make sure you never have to run again." She smiled sweetly, "I know it's hard, as I said before, I've been watching you. You are not the only one who is..." she paused, as if unsure of the right word to use, "different. There are others. I had to be sure before I approached you. If you come with me you will never have to run again."

She made so much sense and she was cute too. He didn't even have to think about it, he simply held out his hand in agreement. She smiled and shook his hand.

"I'm glad you're coming willingly." She smiled innocently as he felt a needle puncture his wrist. Immediately he felt the effects of some type of drug, collapsing to the ground. Everything went black, but even in the blackness he could still hear the sounds of music. He could still smell the roasting pig. Paradise. That was what she promised. She had known of his ability. Of course she would have, she'd been tracking him for over 2 years.

When he awoke, he was behind bars in some type of lab. The same lab he had seen the first time, before the beach scene became so overwhelming. There were others, in similar cages. Some were yelling, some crying, but most sat back with a look of deep sadness in their eyes. Those were the ones that knew their fate and accepted it. The light was gone from their eyes. They would never fight even if freed and given the chance. Aaron would not let them break him. He knew this place. Actually, he knew everything. The dream had been compelling but he knew it was fake. Just as he knew that there was a hidden hole connected to his cell. An opening that was so well hidden his captives had never found it. It was a hole that connected to an underground tunnel. A tunnel he could use to escape at anytime. He knew he would escape, without any problems. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew. These things just came to him. They knew that he knew things. What they didn't know was how much he actually knew.

THE END

Not enough time in the day

So death to me. I have excuses though, as to why I can not post the story conclusion today but must post it tomorrow.

I've been having trouble with my breathing.
I was not near a computer at all today.
I have it all finished, it just needs to be typed.
Work is taking more time than I expected.
I went to the Temple with friends.
I had to deposit a check and buy necessities.

Can't think of anything else. Today was wonderful. I saw so many people I knew and got to talk with one of my really good friends. I have been able to help a friend with rides too and from work and I have done pretty well on keeping up with my homework and such. I enjoy my job and other than missing this post, life has been going pretty well so far.

Oh and I decided not to move to Crescent City. It's been my plan for so long, but I'll have to share the details later.

Tuesday will be different

I had a great post prepared today about how everyone has the light of Christ and that is a particle of faith that we can choose to exercise or ignore, depending on our choices. How God can touch anyone's heart, you don't have to be smart, logical, speak same language, etc. There are no requirements, God can touch anyone and allow them to feel something extraordinary. Not everyone moves at the same spiritual pace and that it is alright. It took Brigham Young 3 years to be baptized. There was so much more. I wanted to share everything that I felt today, but I know it is not possible. Also, as I was preparing what I wanted to write I came to a realization. Spiritual experiences are not something to be published widely at least not in the sense that I am building my blog for. Eventually I am working so that this blog is a story blog and that everyday I post a part of a story. That is a work in progress and I'm not ready for that kind of commitment. So, I have a week to decide what I want this day to be. It can be poetry, movie or book quotes, tales from work or something. I'll have that figured out preferably before next Tuesday.

So I will end this post with a bad joke and a preview of the story I will be starting on Saturday.

"Does _______ (enter least favorite politician here) wear boxers or briefs?" "Depends"


INTO THE DEPTHS (sneak peak)

"Shep?" There was no answer, Jim was starting to get worried. Shep was in charge of everything and Jim hadn't seen him for over an hour. Jim had no idea how far below the surface they had gone. The water pressure had to be high. If anything went wrong they would probably die before they could have the chance to drown. "Shep?" Jim called desperately. Why wouldn't he answer? Could...

"Here. I'm here stupid. Stop your hollerin' and yellin'. It's not like you're dying." There was a pause, then a crash of metal followed by a barely audible curse. "You're not dyin', are ya?" Shep asked quizzically.

Antarctica

Well this cool fact is courtesy of my astronomy class, I just found this so interesting.

If you lived in Antarctica you would have the opportunity to experience some unique happenings.

One thing is that no matter where you are or where the wind comes from, it will always be blowing from the north.

There is the 200 degree club.  These are people who will hang out in a sauna for a bit, then they will step outside into the cold.  This causes their body to go through a 200˚ difference. To do this they do have to have one very important piece of clothing, and it's not the kind that you're thinking of.  They need a cloth to cover their face so that they do not "frost" their lungs.  I have no idea how these people do not kill themselves doing this but apparently it's a great adrenaline rush.

You would have to eat at least 7,000 calories a day to NOT lose weight.  Need a weight loss program, move to Antarctica for 6 months.

If you go to the geographic south pole on New Years Eve and walk in a circle you can experience the New Year in all time zones.

Those were some interesting facts I learned and now to end today with a badly told joke:

It's a good thing Microsoft doesn't make a car - it would go 100 miles an hour and then all of a sudden shut down for no reason and need to be rebooted.  It's a good thing Apple doesn't either - their car would only drive on 5% of the road.

"Be careful how you choose your words for they may be your last."  Until tomorrow, have a wonderful day/evening/whatever. 

Pillow Fight

Looks like I'm going to have to change things up a bit.  I am switching today with Wednesday so I can post this update with an interesting thing I ran into today.  Then on Wednesday I will post the conclusion to the latest story I've been working on.

So today I was in San Fransisco with my sister, her boyfriend and our friend Steve.  I was going to take the ferry home but missed the boat.  I wouldn't have missed the boat if we hadn't tried to have dinner at Johnny Rockets first.  That was a fiasco seeing as we were trying for a sit down but it was so crowded that by the time we got our food we had to take it to go.  Even then, I missed the boat.  So I had to walk 2 miles to get to the ferry terminal where the bus would be stopping.  The good thing is, the ticket I bought worked for both the ferry and the bus.  As I was walking from pier 41 Steve caught up with me.  He decided to walk with me and then would walk back to the hotel after I was on the bus.  While we were walking we passed a group of teenagers carrying generic white pillows.  We figured that there was probably a sleep over going on.  Then we passed more people carrying pillows.  They were people of different ages, all carrying white pillows.  Was there a protest for Valentines Day?  Was it a "massive" sleep over?  Was it coincidence?  Was it a joke and we were out of the loop?  After I got on the bus, as we were pulling out, the drive announced, "On you're left you will see a pillow fight."  Sure enough there were people hitting each other with pillows.  Then after the bus turned around I saw the plaza.  It was filled with a hoard of people all hitting each other with pillows.  There was fluff and feathers everywhere, so thick in some areas that it looked like snow.  I had to tell people.  I sent out a number of texts and then called my mom.  I asked her to google "Pillow" and "San Fransisco".  She did and came up with an event page.  Apparently there was an advertised event that anyone could come and join the pillow fight that would start at 6pm.  The only rule was that you could only hit people with a pillow if they were carrying a pillow themselves.  I then received a text from a friend of mine who told me that San Fransisco did this every Valentines Day and that it was a HUGE event.  I could definitely see it was quite the event.  It was random, funny, crazy and unique.  So unique in fact that I had to change up my days to post this blog today.

It's just too easy pt 3

...Aaron's life just got a lot more complicated. At least, until he found a way to shake her off.

Aaron laid there, his head pillowed by nothing but concrete.  The girl had left as soon as he had opened his mouth to start answering her question.  It was almost as if she had known his answer.  Was it possible that she was like him?  No, he would have known if that was true.  She was simply smart and intuitive.  It was pointless to run or hide.  If she was going to find him anyways, then any effort would all be wasted. 

Aaron was not one to fight a losing battle.  He had lived his life by flying under the radar.  Life had no purpose other than simply existing.  That was good enough for him.  Being noticed always led to hatred, mobs and sometimes jail.  never again.  Avoiding people seemed the safest answer.

Not even thirty minutes, after she had left, passed before he heard her soft footsteps returning.  There was a smell of unhealthy grease in the air as a red and white paper bag was dropped by his head.  Aaron's stomach growled.

"Figured you were hungry.  Lookls like I was right."  She stated mater of factly.

Without moving or even opening his eyes, Aaron muttered.  "I never asked for anything.  I can feed myself, if I so choose."

The girl plopped down on the other side of the alley.  She pulled her legs close to her chest with her arms wrapped around.  Her chin rested on the knees of her blue jeans.  "I know, but you don't."  A forlorn sound echoed in her voice, lost and sad.  ~to be concluded~