I will always be there for you.

She looked off into the west, the gentle sea breeze blowing through her auburn hair.  The sun was just starting to set on the edge of the ocean and the water was reflecting the light brilliantly.  She stood on a rocky cliff that hung out over the water, massive waves crashing against the surface of the overhang hundreds of feet below her.  She wore a plain red dress with flat bottom shoes; her hair tied up in a red bow.  She was beautiful, but the tears streaming down her face made her makeup run, leaving dark streaks down her cheeks.  Her arms hung limp at her sides.  She simply stood staring.

In her right hand she clutched a small piece of paper folded in two.  It was wrinkled and torn in a few places, but the hand written note on it was quite legible still, despite the blood that was smeared across the page.  Written on that piece of paper was a letter from her husband, who was now dead.  He had gone off to the war.  Both she and her husband had been expecting the worst, but they couldn't help hoping for the best.  Still their goodbye had been filled with many tears and sorrowful goodbye kisses.  She had been dreading this day ever since she had parted with him at the docks and she had watched him board that big ship and sail away.

She had been given the letter only an hour ago along with an official government notice of her husband's death.  Time seemed to freeze, and next thing she new she was standing here on the cliff looking out at the sunset.  This was their spot.  This was where they had spent much of their time on picnics, and where he had finally proposed to her.  It was where she had almost screamed yes in happiness and where they shared their first kiss at that moment.  It was also where they had spent the whole day together the day before he left for the war.  This was their spot.  She slowly raised her hand up that was clutching the letter.  She unfolded it once again and began reading it for the first time.  Se had read the official letter, but had waited to read her husband's hand written letter at their spot.

The letter read:

My dearest love,

I am writing this as quickly as I can because time is pressing and I want to say all I want to before I must go.  But know that every word I say I mean with the utmost love and care.  I miss you terribly, and my heart aches every moment that we are apart.  it aches especially right now as I write this because, my love, I know we shall never see each other again.  I want you to know exactly how I died, just in case the report you get doesn't get it right.  You'll most likely be told I died trying to drag a fallen soldier back to safety.  That is only partially true.  I don't want you to remember some false story about me when I am gone, but only the truth.  I am sitting here now with a bullet in my stomach my dear.  I was shot pulling a man to safety yes, but only after I was retreating.  We were ordered to fall back.  But I wonder if there is any honor dying in this way, retreating, rather than fighting.  My darling I want you to know the truth because I know that you will always love me no matter what.  But you must know the truth. The corpsman has patched me up as best he can, but he and I both know I will not make it.  So there you have it, the accurate version of how I died.  Make of it what you will, I just hope I died not in vain.

But now I must address the matter of you and I parting ways.  Know that you are the only woman I have ever truly loved.  God blessed me beyond my wildest dreams by bringing you into my life.  I thank God even at this very moment for all that he has done for me.  I ask only one favor of you my dear, please do not cry for me.  Do not mourn for me.  My death is but a part of God's wonderfully perfect plan, and sorrow is not the right choice of emotions.  Rather, be joyful, knowing that God indeed does have a perfect plan for both you and I.  Take comfort that you and I shall meet again in glory one day my darling.  Also, know that no matter what happens, whether in death or life, I will always be there for you.

With every last bit of love my body can muster,
Your husband

She was no longer crying when she finished reading the letter.  Her last tear fell from her face but no more came forth from her eyes.  Instead she was smiling as she read and reread the last paragraph of the letter over and over again.  She pressed the letter to her heart and looked up to the heavens where a lone star was just poking out into the darkening sky.  It twinkled at her and she let out a laugh.

"Thank you, God," she said.

The Adventures of Rob the Bob #3

We last left Rob the Bob at his friend's house where the cat Kritter was slowly approaching him.


Rob jumped behind a jar of pickles and held his breath.  Kritter walked by and did not see Rob behind the pickle jar.  Rob let out a sigh, which was heard by the cat.  Kritter turned and hissed and pounced at Rob.  Rob jumped out of the way, barely missing the sharp claws.  Rob ran to the edge of the counter.  He grabbed the phone cord that was nearby and threw it over the side.  He began climbing down, but when he reached the kitchen floor Kritter was there waiting for him.  That cat took another swing at Rob who dodged it again and ran for his miniature car.  he started it up and stepped on the gas.  He was going pretty fast swerving around corners here, dodging obstacles on the floor there.  Kritter was hot on his heels.


Suddenly Rob heard Jim call out and he turned to see his friend grabbing Kritter around the waist.  Jim put Kritter in his cage and locked it.  


"There you go Rob, sorry about that," said Jim picking Jim up and putting him back on the kitchen counter.


"ANY MORE SURPRISES?!?!?!"  asked Rob.

Tune in next time to see what happens to Rob while he's shrunk to fifty times his normal size!

The Hunter

The wind blew furiously over the tall grasses that covered the vast plains.  The sky was covered by dark clouds that flew swiftly through the air, heading south towards the sea.  You could see it coming, a massive black wall that came closer and closer, faster and faster.  It was a huge wall of rain pouring from the heavens, drenching everything it touched.

            The young man stood in the middle of the field watching as the sheet of water rushed towards him.  He watched it, only his eyes moving from side to side.  His body was motionless, completely still and standing straight up.  His muscles tensed as the rain swept upon him and washed over him.  It was cold as ice and stung his bare skin.  He was completely naked save for a small loin cloth he wore around his waist, covering his privates.  He began to shiver as the wet sank into his skin and seemed to chill his very bones.  He simply stood there, in the middle of the field, wind and rain swirling and rushing around him.  Then came the flashes of light, and then the booms of thunder.  The lightning lit up the field around him.  He looked towards a large clump of trees to his right.  He saw it, the outline of a great beast.  It was there for a second then it was gone.  Then the lightning flashed again, and was followed by a boom.  In the brief illumination of the clump of trees, there was only revealed empty space.  Further along the field though, closer to where he stood, was the large beast.  Hulking towards him like a great hairy hand, but with more than five fingers…eight fingers, it came closer and closer.  Then it was gone.  He was surrounded by darkness again.  He continued to look at the spot where he saw the thing last.  He heard an odd clicking noise.  He couldn’t move, wouldn’t move.  Then the lightning flashed again.  He was face to face with the beast, staring into its many eyes.  Its fangs clicked hungrily at him.  He could move now, fear had taken hold and adrenaline was setting in.  He stumbled backward.  He tripped over a log and fell.  The beast picked him up by its mouth.  He kicked it in the face.  It released him.  He stood up and began running as fast as he could away from the awful creature.  He foot was badly injured.  He could feel the blood pouring from it and every step was filled with agony.  He ran as fast as he could.  He looked behind him as the lightning flashed.  The creature was gone.

            He continued to run forward.  He was running in the direction the wind was blowing, the direction he knew the small cave was.  The cave was his only hope.  He could fit in it, but the hairy monster could not.  There he would be safe.  He ran through the tall grasses and as he ran by a bush his loincloth was torn off.  Now he was completely naked.  He was bare from head to toe.  He ran through the wet, cold rain, freezing and starting to feel weak as he lost more and more blood.

            The cave was somewhere close by.  He was sure that it was up ahead somewhere.  As he ran though, the creatures came running out of nowhere and pounced upon him.  He felt a sticky substance hit his arm.  He pulled back and continued running.  He only ran about twenty more feet when the beast was upon him once more.  He grabbed a sharp rock the ground and began slashing at the monster with it.  No matter how many times he waved the rock he did not hit the beast.  It picked him up again by the same foot it had before, and finished the job by pinching it clean off.  As he fell he lashed out with the rock once more.  This time the sharp edge made contact with one of the creature’s legs.  He felt the creature’s blood spray onto his arm and hand.  He stumbled back onto his one foot, and began to hop as fast as he could.  The creature followed him still, more slowly due to its injured leg, but followed him all the same.

            It was gaining on him.  He knew he would not make it back to the fort.  The wind grew stronger and began to howl loudly in his ear, sounding like a wounded beast moaning in pain.  He let out a yell of frustration and collapsed on the ground.  He looked up.  In the distance he could see the night lights from the fort.  He reached out with his hand and muttered an inaudible sentence then went limp.

            The creatures crawled up to him and stood over him.  It began poking and nudging him with its legs.  He did not move at all.  The hairy monster picked him up carefully and turned to bring him back to its nest in the large group of trees.  As the beast walked slowly back to home the man drew a knife, seemingly out of nowhere, and thrust it into the creatures head.  The creature let out a terrible screech as blood dripped from its flesh wound.  The man let out a victory yell that could be heard over the howling wind, the pouring rain, and even over the deafening claps of thunder.

            The beast dropped him on the ground and then collapsed next to him.  He brought the knife up into the air, where he held it for a mere second, then brought it down into the monster’s head once more, making sure that it was really dead.  Then he grabbed one of the legs and hoisted it over his shoulder.  He began dragging the beast back towards the fort.  He limped on his one leg.  Though he was losing blood fast, he knew he could make it back before it was too late.

            In order to be a good hunter, sacrifices needed to be taken.  Let the prey think you are beaten, wounded, left for dead.  When the prey thinks they have overcome you and are safe, then you strike.  If this means losing a limb or two, so be it.

            Anything to catch the perfect kill right?

Beware! Large Bird In Vicinity

So a large bird was perched on the telephone wire.  No big deal the old chap thought.  He could just keep on feeding those dumb pigeons the bread crumbs.  If the big old fatty bird wanted some it was more than welcome to come get some.  But instead the ugly brute sat on that wire and watched the old chap sitting on the par bench feeding the pigeons.  In fact it was the bench that was feeding the pigeon's and not the old chap.  The old chap was feeding them as well, I should say.  Both he bench and the old chap were feeding the pigeons.

The large bird sat on the wire and watched.  The bench was having difficulty throwing the bread crumbs, since it had no arms, only armrests.  The old chap was constantly having to aid the bench in throwing the crumbs to the stupid pigeons gathered round on the pavement.  The park was very still and quiet, for it was early morning.  But the big bird did not care, it just went on watching, watching, eating worms.  The worms crawled along the telephone wire right to the big bird so they could get eaten.  It was a sort of honoring ceremony for a worm to be eaten, especially by a bird as large and dumb as the fatty on the wire.  The big fatty bird watched the old hap and bench as they fed the pigeons.

The sun began to set and so the old chap patted the bench goodnight and then left the park.  On his way home he noticed the big fatty bird waddling along beside him.  It looked at him and screeched, then took off and landed in a nearby tree.  The worms no longer crawled to it, for they were taking a break from their honoring ceremonies.  The bird watched the old chap, and the old chap grabbed a chicken leg from his pant's pocket and began chewing it.  He sat down on the ground, crossing his legs, an sat there stubbornly watching the fatty bird, and the fatty bird watching him too.

And so night came.  The bright stars far up in the dark heavens twinkled and sparkled down at the old chap and the fatty bird.  Beware!  The stars said.  Beware!  Large Bird in the Vicinity.  They seemed to laugh at the old chap who had long finished his chicken leg and was now playing a small fiddle the size of a peanut.  He played a merry tune that seemed to say, this night is my day, and my day is too bright for you!  And so the old chap played on, while the large fatty bird watched.

Then morning came, and the old chap lay dead on the sidewalk.  People came from miles around to see the old chap's lifeless body.  It was rather incredible to see such a sight, the old chap, dead, and the fatty bird still sitting in the tree, watching, watching, eating.

Ouch! That hurt!

So this is a bit late I'm sure since I had this done over two weeks ago, but I just thought I'd write about it anyway.  What did I have done you might ask?  I had my four wisdom teeth taken out!  I had had mouth surgery before as well as some teeth pulled, so I was ready for this.  It wasn't exactly anything new, but it still sucked...like, a lot!  It hurt like crazy for the first week, and even now I still can't chew food in the back of my mouth.  I'll probably be chewing food with my front teeth like a gopher for another month or so.  But overall I seemed to recover quickly, which I was thankful for.  So here's just a rundown of what I remember from the surgery.

We got to the oral surgeon's office and I was brought into the room where I laid down on the chair.  I had taken a pill to sort of relax me before hand, and then they put laughing gas over my nose.  I won't lie, I enjoyed that immensely.  I wish they would just send you home with a tank of that stuff to help withe the pain!  So after I was nice and giggly, the doctor then began attempting to stick a needle in my arm.  He tried four times and failed to get a vein so finally he just stuck it in at my wrist area.  I usually am not a big fan of needles, but I can handle them.  But this time I was pretty much happy with being stuck so many times.  I couldn't feel a thing.  I was also too busy laughing at nothing.  So then I fell asleep and woke up.  Boom, just like that.  I was in the room for an hour I was told, but it felt like no time had passed.  That's drugs for you!  Then I went home and had to have that nasty gauze in my mouth.  Sure it helped with the bleeding, but still, it's not comfortable.  And from there I just sort of did my thing.  I had to eat soft foods and all that.  I pretty much just ate stuff that I could shove to the pack of my throat with my tongue and swallow whole.  Isn't that lovely?!?!?!?!  Sadly the pain killer they gave me upset my stomach, so I ended up taking Ibuprofen.  It wasn't bad at all really.  Sure I had some painful moments the first week, but the medicine kept me pretty well off.  I had no dry sockets thankfully!

The moral of this story is, eat your vegetables kids!

Peppy Pizza

She was a happy pizza.  Her cheese was all melted and bubbly, and her crust was  nice golden brown color. The pepperoni's were baked to perfection and the seasonings were just right.  Yes, she was very happy indeed....That is until she was carried out and set upon the table where a family of five savages stared at her hungrily.  Drool dripped from their open mouths and their fangs seemed to glisten in the light.  Their eyes were filled with a hungry fire and their hand went straight for plates and silverware.

Now at this point time seemed to freeze for Peppy Pizza.  She was about to be eaten by these monsters that surrounded her, and she had no way of stopping it.  Her life was about to end.  Her life flashed before her eyes and she saw everything that had happened since she had first been mixed together in the mixer.  She just remembered things coming into focus until everything was crystal clear.  Then the nice baker man had taken her out of the mixer machine and gave her a massage until she was all flat and feeling great.  Then all that sauce and cheese and spices that they put on her.  It tickled a bit but she enjoyed it.  The best part though had been tanning in the oven, oh by did it feel awesome!  Then she'd been taken out of the oven, happy as can be, but then she had been taken out to these beasts...these...humans, if that was what they were called.  She began to cry, sauce spilling out onto the table cloth.

"Do not cry child," said a voice.  Peppy Pizza looked up to see a jar filled with staring bread sticks.  All of them looked at her with pity on their faces.  One of the monsters grabbed a bread stick and began eating it, but the bread stick did not cry, in fact it seemed to be enjoying being eaten.

"Doesn't it hurt?" asked Peppy Pizza stuffily.

"Not at all, it tickles, it fees great!" laughed the bread stick just before the savage stuffed the rest of him in its mouth.

Peppy Pizza felt a little better, until they began slicing her up.  Her screams were heard all over the pizza parlor as the monsters cut her up into slices, red tomato sauce squirting all over the place.  The cheese and eggs in the fridge heard her, and the carrots and lettuce heard her as well.  Even the ketchup and salt and pepper heard Peppy's screams of agony.  And when they began to eat her, it did not tickle.  It was the most painful thing she had ever felt.  Actually it was the only painful thing Peppy had ever felt, but it certainly hurt.  She cried as the bread sticks laughed at her pain.

"Now you know what it feels like Peppy Pizza!" spat the biggest bread stick.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO" shouted Peppy Pizza, but then she woke up and realized it had all been a dream.  In fact she was not a pizza at all, he was a twenty-five year old man who lived in a nice apartment complex in New York City.  So Bill got up and ate breakfast and went to work.  He was a therapist.  So before his first patient got there he decided to talk to himself about the dream, to find out what it meant.  In the end he agreed with himself that the dream meant that you should never be a pizza.

The Adventures of Rob the Bob #2

When we last left Rob, he had just gone from being 5'5" to 1.3" tall...or short.

Rob had just climbed into the car that the lab techs had shrunken with the ray gun and was about to start it when the ground began to shack violently.  The lab techs were now wheeling the ray gun out of the room and it was causing quite a racket for poor rob.  Rob the Bob started the miniature car up and began driving towards the door.  He was almost at the door when the techs typed in a code on the other side, sealing the door shut.  There was a way to open it from the inside, but the keypad was at least a half a mile up in Rob's standards.  Rob growled in frustration and banged the steering wheel with his fist.  BAM!  The airbag went off and hit poor Rob in the mouth busting his lip and making it bleed.  He groaned in pain and then climbed out of the car.  He stared up at the door and then an idea.  He began honking the horn in the car, hoping that someone might hear it.  While it was plenty loud for Rob the Bob, he figured it was barely audible for a normal person, if at all.  Rob was certainly in a pickle right now.  Too bad he didn't have a pickle though he thought.  He was hungry.

The next day the door was opened once again.  Rob the Bob had fallen asleep inside the car, but he suddenly found himself being lifted off the ground.  One of the lab techs had picked up the car and was carrying it into the main part of the laboratory.  Rob began to beep the horn furiously.  The lab tech looked around and then realized where the sound was coming from.  The lab tech, Jim, looked at the car in surprise.

"Must have set the alarm off!" he said with a chuckle.  But then he caught sight of the tiny little driver that was Rob.  "Rob!"  exclaimed Jim in surprise.

"JIM!"  shouted Rob the Bob at the top of his lungs out the window, "AM I GLAD TO SEE YOU.  THE RAY GUN BEAM HIT ME AND SHRUNK ME.  CAN YOU MAKE ME GROW AGAIN?"

"Make you grow again?" asked Jim looking puzzled, "OH!  You mean with the ray gun?  Well I'm terribly sorry to tell you this Rob, but the ray gun is broken.  After the test it sort of died on us.  We're working on getting it up and running again, but I have no idea how long that will take!"

"WHAT AM I GOING TO DO JIM?" asked Rob in a distraught voice.

"You can come to my house," said Jim, "and I'll let you stay in my daughter's doll house."  Jim laughed until he saw Rob's expression and stopped immediately.  "Well seriously, I'll take care of you until we get this thing fixed Rob, don't you worry."


Jim took Rob home with him that evening.  They also took the little car so that Rob could get around more easily.  When they entered the house Jim put poor Ron the Bob up on the kitchen counter, not thinking about the great danger of doing so.  For up on that counter was sitting the family cat, Kritter.  It was the ugliest thing in the world, but had the sweetest disposition...except for one it saw small objects that looked good for chewing on.  Then it became a raging, terrifying monster.  When it caught sight of Rob the Bob, it let out a loud hiss that sounded like a roar to Rob.  Kritter's fur stood on end and it slowly prowled towards poor Rob the Bob!  The worst part was that Jim had left the room to get some things for Rob to use, and Rob was all alone.


Tune in next time to see how Rob the Bob get's away from Kritter the Cat in The Adventures of Rob the Bob!

The 4th of July

So it's the 4th of July!  Time to break out the grills and coolers.  Throw on the burgers and hotdogs, ribs and steaks.  Throw some soda and beer on a pile of ice in the cooler.  Invite friends over and have a great time.  Don't forget the fireworks!  The 4th just ain't the 4th without those busting, colorful, beauties to light up the night sky.  It's a great day for parties and fun.  


But think, what was the 4th like 236 year ago.  The day the Declaration of Independence was adopted and America was freed the British rule.  We became a free nation, but not until after a bloody and brutal war between the states and the English.  Many lives were lost.  Sure, Independence Day was a day of celebration, but not everyone could celebrate I'm sure.  What about the families who lost loved ones in the war?  I'm sure there are families today, right now this very minute, mourning the loss of a loved one in battle. Not everyone can celebrate and have a great time today, here in the states or out on the battlefield.


So happy 4th of July everyone, but please do not forget why we celebrate it.  And PLEASE, do not forget those who gave their lives, are giving their lives, and will give their lives for our freedom.  Support our troops, and God bless America, we sure need it.

The Adventures of Rob the Bob #1

Being only 5"5' was not so bad for Rob the Bob.  In fact he learned to enjoy his height (or lack thereof) from an early age.  He could fit into many places most people could not, and he could still jump pretty high.  He was a skinny fellow, mostly skin and bones.  He had medium length, blonde, wavy hair.  He had light blue eyes and was considered attractive by most women.  In fact he had over heard a group of women commenting on how "cute" he was just the other day at a party.  They proceeded to make comments on his shortness though.  Rob walked away not caring, with a little "Psh."  He could care less what people thought about his height, or about himself in general.  If people liked him then that was all very well, but if someone had a problem with him, he felt it was up to them to confront him about it personally.  Wait.  Who was he kidding.  Rob was sick and tired of being short now.  He'd been fine with it until about a month ago when three times in a row he was stuck behind someone much taller than he in the theater.  This had happened before, but it was just too much now.  Still, he couldn't complain outwardly.  Grumbling inwardly was fine for him.  Either way, Rob the Bob was mostly happy with life.  God had blessed him in many other ways, if not in height.

For instance, Rob the Bob had an excellent job working as a Lab Technician for some government agency.  The current project they were working on was a large ray gun thingamajig that Rob could never remember the name of.  It was always referred to as the"ray gun" anyway.  It's purpose was to shrink and grow things to make traveling easier.  Switch the switch to "Shrink" and the object you shot with the ray gun would shrink to 10-50 times its usual size.  Flip the switch to "Grow" and shoot the object and it grows back to its normal size.  That was the theory anyway.  It hadn't been tested yet.  But it was about to be tested today.  They were going to be testing it out on an old wrecked car to start with.  Eventually they wanted to try a big passenger airplane.  If it could be shrunk 10-50 times its usual size, it could be transported far more easily.  Same with the car.  Rob the Bob was day dreaming about how nice it would be to be able to fit his car into a bag and carry it around with him.  This of course would be pointless, but what a way to impress your friends!  There was a tap on his shoulder and a fellow lab tech informed him it was time for the test.

Rob the Bob and two other techs were standing at the machine, wearing goggles and ready to go.  The car had been placed at the end of a long room and the ray gun was adjusted to hit it right smack in the middle.  They had set it so it would shrink he car to 50 times its normal size.  So it would be like splitting the car up into 50 equal parts, but the car would end up being the size of one of those parts.  They powered the ray gun up and then pressed the button.  A bright light shot forth from the tip of the ray gun just as one of the techs tripped and bumped the machine.  The ray gun was pushed to the side and the beam of light hit the mirror on the side of the car.  It reflected the beam back towards the techs and BAM!  It ht poor Rob the Bob right in the face.  The ray gun stopped firing and the two lab techs began clapping at the miniature car at the end of the room.  They realized that Rob was not joining in on their celebration, but when they turned to ask why he was nowhere to be seen.  Poor Rob the Bob had been shrunk to 50 times his usual size, just like the car.  He stood on the floor, staring dumbfounded up at his towering lab technicians above him.  They did not see him and left the room, thinking Rob had left early, not realizing that he had been shrunk.  Rob looked around the ginormous room in distress.  Then he saw something that made him feel a little better.  He now had a car his size as well to get around in.

Tune in next time for more of The Adventures of Rob the Bob!

Waking Up in the Early Mountain Morning

I awaken early in the morning.  Early morning light in creeping in through the window, dimly lighting the room.  I sit up in bed and look around the room.  I get out of bed and stretch.  I go to the bathroom and splash cold water upon my face, fully waking myself.  the shock makes my eyes open completely, and my mind begins to work properly.  In the morning, when one just wakes up, the mind tends to be in a sort of twilight zone.  I am no longer in the twilight zone.  I am in the real world.  But I am still at peace.  I am in the mountains, the beautiful, majestic, mountains.  I get dressed and go down stairs, open the door and step outside.

The rush of cool, morning, mountain air hits me, and I breath deeply through my nose, smelling the freshness. Birds chatter wildly in the towering pine trees around me, calling out, 'Good morning, good morning!"  I begin walking to nowhere in particular.  I simply walk quietly, listening to the sounds of the mountain in the early morning.  No one else is awake yet.  I am alone.  I am at peace.

As I am walking across a grassy field I hear the barking of a dog.  Looking up on a nearby hillside I see a coyote yapping into the woods.  He has seen me, and is alerting his fellow coyotes.  I have the feeling that I should leave, yet something magical about the creature draws me in closer.  I stand and stare at the dog for a few moments.  Then I hear a noise behind me.  A second coyote is running around me and up the slope to the first.  I feel a slight tinge of fear for only the slightest second.  There could be many more coyotes nearby.  But as soon as it comes, the fear goes.  Instead a sense of adventure takes over me.  I move in closer.  I begin climbing the slope.  I stand watching the coyotes for a little while.  Then I decide to leave them be.  Chances are following a couple of coyotes into the woods it foolish.

I head back towards the buildings and make my way back to my room.  Before I enter I take a look around at the trees and pale blue sky.  I take another deep breath and enter the room.  I fall back onto my bed and close my eyes.  I am at peace.  I am in the mountains.  I am at peace.