(8:22 am Sat Nov 20, 2010)
*** Home ***
Home. Where the heart is.
Home. More than a house.
Home. Sweet Home.
Home. On the range.
Home. Of the brave.
Home. Away from Home.
Home. And away.
Home. Sweet Home. Alabama.
Auburn. Go Tigers. (A shout out for the Knowles crew.)
Home. Country Roads.
Home. Yellow Ribbon. (OK then, enough already.)
Home. Hearth.
Home. For good.
----------
If I could waste away with you
I think I'd do all I could do
To get in front
To stay ahead
Live my life in or out of bed
And treasure everything you said
So don't deny
Enjoy the sky
Girl we could fly
Eight miles high
Or maybe more
----------
[ Thu Nov 18, 2010 - afternoon ]
"So," said Baldy, "do you think there is anything to these Eleuthera rumours?"
"Could be, you know how those Sigilians go. The thing is, I wonder why he would go up there. Don't he know what happened to the barefoot bandit?" asked Stan.
"That's a horse of a whole nother colour," answered Zevelyn. "Still, why would he go up there where the population is so small. Surely it would be easier for him to hide here. There must be a reason. If there is anything to those rumours in the first place."
"Look," said Buster, "we don't need to be worrying about rumours, we need to make what plans we need to make and we need to get back to finding Baldy's treasure. Remember? That's what we were all excited about before Mary got taken. Are we gonna let that guy shut us down even after we took Mary back and left his places in smoke and ashes."
"Hey! Hold on a second. We didn't burn his places down, he did that to himself. We just took back what was ours. And not even all of that to tell the truth. At least we got the really valuable stuff back, huh?" said Baldy. "Hey Mary, get the map and the box one more time please."
(9:19 am Sat Nov 20, 2010)
So Mary went and got the map and the box one more time.
Yv yj'i jhuqikhu jxqj oek iuua.
Oek ckij qffbo q byjjbu xuqj.
Dej je cksx eh Y cqo rkhd.
Jxud oekh tuiyhui Y mybb ifkhd.
and heating it up...
Wisdom before treasure.
Je vydt jxyi jhuqikhu
Oek ckij vyhij vydu myitec
Jxud myitec qdt jxu dehjx ijqh
Mybb wylu oek oekh vyhij sbku
The teacher says to look for important information below the door of my house.
OK, so we tried using Caesar's code and got this:
Vs vg'f gernfher gung lbh frrx.
Lbh zhfg nccyl n yvggyr urng.
Abg gb zhpu be V znl ohea.
Gura lbhe qrfverf V jvyy fchea.
and this for the secret invisible writing part...
Gb svaq guvf gernfher
Lbh zhfg svefg svar jvfqbz
Gura jvfqbz naq gur abegu fgne
Jvyy tvir lbh lbhe svefg pyhr
"I have been thinking, the map sent Baldy to Blackbeard's Tower where he found the box. Now, what was in the box and how can it help us?" said Zevelyn.
"Well, there were thirteen doubloons and twenty four gems in the box." said Baldy.
"OK, so maybe thirteen, twenty four, or thirty seven are important numbers," said Zevelyn.
"Right, but the doubloons are each eight escudos so maybe eight times thirteen is important. What is that.... let's see... eighty plus three eights... eighty plus twenty four... one hundred and four. What does that tell us?" asked Baldy.
"I want to try thirteen first," said Zevelyn. Let me see...
If it's treasure that you seek.
You must apply a little heat.
Not to much or I may burn.
Then your desires I will spurn.
"Got it! Caesar then rot thirteen. But that doesn't make any sense. Why do it that way." said Zevelyn.
"What does it tell us?" asked Mary?
"I don't think this part tells us anything new. I think it is just a clue to heat up the map to get to the next bit. Let's see what that bit says."
To find this treasure
You must first fine wisdom
Then wisdom and the north star
Will give you your first clue
"OK, then, we have a spelling mistake, I think that should be 'You must first find wisdom' right?" said Zevelyn.
*** Jump ***
(9:40 am Sat Nov 20, 2010)
Jump. Hop, skip and...
Jump. Right in.
Jump. Up and dance.
You can jump up, you can jump down, you can jump forwards, you can jump backwards, you can even jump sideways.
You can even jump to conclusions.
If you really want to. But jumping to conclusions doesn't always work out the way you would like. Even if it does seem like fun at the time.
Jump start. Sometimes your bondo box might need this...
"What could it mean to find wisdom?" asked Baldy. "What sort of wisdom? How can wisdom and the north star give us our first clue? What, these haven't been clues so far? How can we just be looking for the first clue? This is beginning to get on my nerves. Maybe we should just put the map back in the bottle and chuck it back in the sea and go bury the box again."
"Don't be foolish!" said Buster. "After all we have been through already? That would be a big waste!"
(10:45 am Sat Nov 20, 2010)
Hold on
Help is coming
Hold on
For one more night
Time flows
Like and old hose
Leaking water
Left and right
Hold on
To your dreams girl
Hold on
With all your might
Days pass
Somehow too fast
Days pass
And so do nights
----------
Jump up and dance
And find some romance
Look in her eyes
And let her see France
Moon and a cafe
Paris not halfway
Dance in the stars
Kiss in the doorway
----------
I was doing semi OK for a while there this morning gentle and then everything just sort of fell apart. One little interruption after another. The gaps between not quite long enough to overcome the inertia of the stops.
And now, another interruption looms ahead. I must go on a pick up run in my car. Call it a half hour probably. And then once again, any flow will be broken. Once again I will be stuck. Bound. Tied down. Nailed to the ground. Down and down.
(10:53 am Sat Nov 20, 2010)
*** Kink ***
(11:17 am Sat Nov 20, 2010)
Back. But still distracted gentle reader. Still distracted and not yet ready to get back down to the task at hand.
(11:41 am Sat Nov 20, 2010)
See what I mean.
Kink. A sharp bend in something like a hose.
Kink. A sharp muscle pain in the neck or back.
Kink. A problem with a plan or operations.
Kinky. Well.
Come round here with your kinky hair and you kink up neck an I ga put a kink in ya plans fa tonight.
"OK, so what do you suggest we do next Buster?" asked Baldy.
"We need to keep looking for the treasure, that's what."
"Hold it, weren't you the one telling me I was too gung ho about the treasure?" asked Baldy.
"I just hate to start something and not finish it is all," said Buster. "That plus I don't like the idea of te bad guys causing the good guys to give up may be another part of it."
"Well, it seems like we have been at it forever and every time we think we are making progress, nothing comes out of it. Here we thought we were making progress and we are still trying to get to the first clue. The *first* clue! I mean come on. What if there are thirty clues? A thousand clues? We could spend out whole lives looking for this. And for what? On top of that, it has put Mary in danger and I don't like that. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to her."
"You are so sweet," said Mary.
"Even if we stop, Mary will still be in just as much danger as if we keep going. The only way to end that danger is to deal with the shop keeper and his friends," said Buster.
(11:54 am Sat Nov 20, 2010) 44866
"Buster is right," said Stan. "The only way to end the danger to all of us is to deal with it head on. You know this too Baldy. Don't let your concern for Mary cloud your thinking."
"OK, OK! Still. Why don't you tell us what your next step would be Buster?"
"Well, I think we should send a crew up North Eleuthera way to run down those rumours while th rest of us stay here and look for this treasure," replied Buster.
"OK, so the first part is easy enough but do tell us your next step in looking for the treasure genius," said Baldy.
*** Level ***
Level. Flat. Having no slope.
Level. A device to indicate if something is level.
Level. To make flat. To tear down until flat.
Level. A position on a scale or indicator or mark. What level is the water up to now?
Level. To take aim at.
Level. To speak plainly with. Level with me.
"Well, I am going to level with you here," said Buster, "I don't really know. 'Wisdom and the north star' doesn't really mean anything to me now."
"Great, so even if we want to take your advice and keep searching for the treasure, we don't have a clue what to do next or where to look next," laughed Baldy.
"I can't help that. It must be supposed to mean something to us though. Why leave the map and the clues in the first place if they are not meant to lead to the treasure?" said Buster.
"I don't know. Perhaps it is just some sort of dying joke. Perhaps Blackbeard knew he was leaving the island for the last time and decided to play a trick on anyone who would go looking for his treasure." said Zevelyn.
Here is a new word for you gentle reader: Conchspiracy
(12:55 pm Sat Nov 20, 2010)
"So let's get moving on the Eleuthera part of the plan then," said Buster. "At least we can deal with the ongoing danger to us all and then we will be able to keep looking for the treasure without having to look over our shoulders all the time."
"I'll get right on it," said Stan, "I should be back within an hour."
(1:15 pm Sat Nov 20, 2010)
Slowing down big time right now gentle reader. Mind is growing sluggish. I think I need to shut down for a while and go for a walk in the fresh air and sunshine. See if that can get the creative juices flowing again.
(3:52 pm Sat Nov 20, 2010)
Big time professional procrastinator in action. Find a way to not write. What's up with that?
After Stan left, Mary went to the kitchen to start on dinner. She wanted to lose herself in the mundane. To concentrate on the ordinary things of life in the hopes of forgetting the troubles that had shown up with the map.
She looked through her pantry and her fridge trying to decide what to make. It would have to be something that did not require a lot of preparation and cooking time.
She decided on a salad, some hamburger crumble, some canned green beans and onions covered with melted cheddar. She took out some frozen guava duff from her freezer for dessert and looked around for something else to have as a part of the main course. She decided on some garlic toast and some pink rice.
She chopped up some onions and put them into a pot with some fresh thyme and a little butter to cook down. While that was cooking she opened the can of green beans. She also cut a block of cheddar and grated in preparation.
When the onions were done she separated them into three parts. One part went into a pot with some water which she brought to a boil for the rice. The other went into a frying pan waiting for the hamburger meat, the third was set aside for the green beans.
While the water was boiling for the rice, she seasoned up the meat. Lots of garlic, some black pepper, some more thyme, some vinegar, some tomato sauce, some dry mustard, some catsup.
(4:27 pm Sat Nov 20, 2010)
When she finished the meat, she turned on the fire under the frying pan and let the pan heat for a bit before putting the meat in.
The water for the rice started to boil so she put in the rice and added some curry powder and then covered the pot and reduced the heat.
When the burger was almost fried, the turned off the heat and tilted the pan to let the grease drain to the low side and used a spoon to spoon out the grease into a jar from under her sink. That done, she turned the heat on to finish cooking the meat.
Then she put the can of green beans into a no stick pot and brought it to a boil. She drained off the beans in a colander and then put the shredded cheddar and the set aside onions into the post and stirred everything together.
She checked on the rice which was almost done.
*** Stimulate ***
(4:41 pm Sat Nov 20, 2010)
Stimulate. Induce. Provoke. Stir feelings or emotions. Cause alertness. Make energetic.
Stimulus. OK then.
Mary quickly cut up some lettuce, onions, carrots, spinach, and tomatoes and mixed them together in a large bowl. She poured in some olive oil and tossed the salad mixture before adding some balsamic vinegar. A little garlic salt and some black pepper and one final toss and she put the bowl in the fridge to chill.
One more check and the rice was done. Perhaps a little overdone but that was OK as both she and Baldy were partial to a little rice pot cake.
Every thing was done so Mary put everything in serving dishes and called out to let Baldy and the rest know dinner would soon be served.
[ Thu Nov 18, 2010 - evening ]
Stan returned and Mary decided to send him home to see if Devlin would like to come over for some dinner.
Stan smiled and went home to ask. It would be nice if Devlin came over for dinner. Except that he would probably bring the rat if he came and that might be a pain.
(5:06 pm Sat Nov 20, 2010)
Mary remembered that she forgot the garlic toast so she quickly too some frozen brand out of her freezer and put some slices into her toaster oven.
Well gentle reader, it seems the dinner has really helped me with my word count lately. If you decide to make this dinner yourself, let me know how you like the various dishes.
(5:40 pm Sat Nov 20, 2010)
Mary looked out of her kitchen window and saw Devlin returning with Killer and Rug. She smiled broadly and called out a welcome.
"Hey there Mary, how are you doing? You took a little vacation recently I see." said Devlin. "You forgot to tell me this time so I could feed Baldy for you hey?"
Mary was conflicted. She hated to lie to Devlin but she didn't feel like going into everything.
"I didn't really go on vacation. Something came up that kept me away for a few days is all. Sorry I didn't get to tell you. Baldy was fine though." said Mary.
They all sat down at the dinner table and Mary served up the food. Everyone enjoyed their meal and after their duff for dessert.
Mary and Develin went out to the front porch after dinner to sit and drink a mug of tea together. The dogs went to the back porch and the birds to the dilly tree.
Baldy was surprised at dinner that Rug was not as much of a pain as he had expected him to be. In fact. He was downright decent at dinner which was really something.
"I never did thank you properly the other day for your help with finding Mary," said Baldy, "I really appreciated it."
"I was happy to help," said Rug, "I like Mary a lot, she is always nice to me. I am glad she is back safe. Is everything OK now?"
"Mostly but the people who took her are still on the loose, we are looking for them but no real luck so far. If you could keep your eyes open around here until we deal with them I would appreciate it," said Baldy.
"I can handle that. How can I let you know if I see something though. Are you going to be nearby the whole time or what?" asked Rug.
"I will get a radio for you from Buster before you leave tonight and you can use that to get me." said Baldy.
[ Thu Nov 18, 2010 - night ]
At ten Devlin left with his dogs and went home, Rug with a radio and Mary and her household went to bed for the night. Mary to sweet dreams, Baldy to troubled dreams.
(6:27 pm Sat Nov 20, 2010)
Well gentle reader, it looks like I should be able to get to three thousand words tonight but I am not sure I have the energy to go for thirty five hundred or four thousand like I had wanted. Still, yesterday and today look pretty good word wise and with my best day so far tomorrow I should be able to cross the line. It would have been nice to do better today and not needed a seasons best tomorrow to get there.
For his part, Devlin had sweet dreams as well.
And with that I will bid you good night gentle reader.
(6:33 pm Sat Nov 20, 2010) 46503
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