Conservatives Just Don't Understand
Here are three questions, I, as a conservative, would like answered by honest, thoughtful liberals.
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Ramblings on Real Estate, Guns, Politics and whatever else catches my eye.
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Chapter Forty Eight
Soldier Yama
The men and boys were lined up, bow-tips resting gently in the dirt, quivers at their sides, looking down the hill at their targets, sheaves of hay scattered about a hundred yards downslope. He raised his hand high and called the count, "Eyes forward." The men stared downslope, each picking out his target.
"Draw!" Every man, in rough unison with his fellows, withdrew a long arrow from his quiver, nocked it to string, and drew past his ear. They held, straining, waiting for the word.
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Chapter Forty Seven
Alelu Plots
"Here Jorge, at least take this pillow. I have six and you none," Alelu said, exasperated at male obstinacy. "It's the lumpy one, if that makes you feel better. Don't make me order you to use it."
Jorge took the pillow and held it in his hands. He looked dubious. Alelu tapped her foot. He slipped it under his head and lay back on it, across her doorway. It almost looked like he was trying to keep his weight off of it. She tapped her foot harder, then reached down and, placing her palm firmly on his forehead, pushed him down. She graced him with a smile, turned and closed the door. He wouldn't move until Mat came to relieve him on watch.
I love fishing, but I don't like to drive far to do it, nor spend piles of money. One time last summer I caught a few dozen fish, using just about the simplest possible tackle and methods. Only a stick, line and bent pin would be cheaper.
Click here to read from Chapter One. Chapter Forty Five Jorjah: The Arming Black smoke filled the skies. Hammering, loud in the icy air. In the south, the snow was off the land, but here icy drifts, melted and refrozen remained. The Iron Mountain was alive with people, more folk than Jorjah had ever imagined in any one place, more than in the largest town of the south that she had dared to enter in her year-long journey in search of the King. Spear, sword and gun flowed out of the workshops, made from the accumulated iron stock of hundreds of years of slow and patient mining and smelting. The Eldest had been alive that long, planning, plotting. No one knew how long. No one could remember when the Eldest hadn't been eldest, old when grannies were girls. Jorjah avoided her.
Here is the beginning of The Tale Of Jon Handshaker.
Chapter Forty Three
Memory, Like A Tiny Crystal
"I've been shot," Jon said, and reached across to touch his wounded arm.
Max nodded.
"I have seen men killed with guns, and wounded," Max said. "In the last war the King finally had to bring out his old weapons. He slaughtered us. But those guns fired many times. This one only fired once, and the King's old guns didn't make clouds of smoke. This was a gun, but something new, not old Mars tech. The gunman fired it then charged with his sword."
Click here to read from Chapter One. Here is the beginning of The Tale Of Jon Handshaker.
Chapter Forty Three
An Element Of Danger
Shan Shen stared out over the city, barely visible through the heavy haze of wood-smoke. Rebels had burned the factory that produced the clean-burning coal oil, and now the city was reduced to cooking over primitive wood fires, like any farm village.
There was a small element of danger, standing here exposed. There were guns loose in the city, Mother Earth alone knew where they had come from. Shan suspected the petty Blood had emptied out their cellars and attics for family relics, and were using them to stir up trouble against the Kings.
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Chapter Forty Two
The Party
The snow had finally lifted, only a few, lonely drifts behind walls and under evergreens remained to remind them of the bitter cold of past months. They were picnicking in the sun, on the stoop of the small house Jon and Max had chosen to renovate. In a tree nearby a ragged crow stirred, shifted from leg to leg.
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker, Chapter One
Chapter Forty One
The Bird
It was getting past noon, and Jon decided to be heading back to where he had left Max. He was feeling a little guilty about leaving Max there all alone. The news about the hot springs would be sure to cheer him up. They would move over to the village the next day, if Max was up to the walk. The hard climb seemed to have taken a lot out of him.
Chapter Thirty Nine
To Take Advantage Of A Drunk
When Jon Handshaker woke on the morning of what was to be the last day of his journey westward, the hairs on his arm were standing up from the chill, his skin roughly goose-fleshed. Jumping up, he began a wild and silly dance around the clearing, throwing his feet high into the air and walking on his hands. He was feeling quite cheerful, and besides, he needed to get his blood warmed up and moving. He was not quite ready to start using a fire yet, although there had not been any recent sign of people in these parts for nearly forty miles, only the grass grown road he was following, and the occasional tumbledown house or barn.
Chapter Thirty Nine
To Take Advantage Of A Drunk
When Jon Handshaker woke on the morning of what was to be the last day of his journey westward, the hairs on his arm were standing up from the chill, his skin roughly goose-fleshed. Jumping up, he began a wild and silly dance around the clearing, throwing his feet high into the air and walking on his hands. He was feeling quite cheerful, and besides, he needed to get his blood warmed up and moving. He was not quite ready to start using a fire yet, although there had not been any recent sign of people in these parts for nearly forty miles, only the grass grown road he was following, and the occasional tumbledown house or barn.
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Click here to read from Chapter One.Here is the beginning of The Tale Of Jon Handshaker.
Chapter Thirty Eight
Old Uncle
The Old Uncle woke with a start, shaking and sweating in the dark. The dream had been clear, as all had since that unexpected first, long long before. He lay back and concentrated in a way peculiar to his kind. He wasn’t worried about forgetting this dream, every dream he had ever had was still as clear as a reflection in a good mirror.
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Click here to read from Chapter One.Here is the beginning of The Tale Of Jon Handshaker.
Chapter Thirty Six
Jorjah's Journey
A year in one place! Jorjah paused in her work as she considered the strangeness of it. Her clan had never spent more than six months in any one camp in her life. It just wasn’t done. It was nearly impossible anyway, as well as being impolite. Good relations with your nearest neighbors, hard enought to maintain at the best of times, would have been impossible if one clan tried to monopolize a prime spot for longer than that. Better to move on, leaving a garden half harvested than to greedily overuse the land. The flocks had to move, or strip the land of green. The land had to have half a year or more to recover before the next clan moved in.
Here is the beginning of The Tale Of Jon Handshaker.
"You are the Handshaker, are you not?" Max said quietly. "I would not fight you under any circumstances. Certainly not now, after you..." He stopped, though there seemed to be more that he wanted to say
A Push
"I have a knack for making people angry, " Max said.
Jon flushed again and didn't answer. He didn't trust himself not to say something stupid right at this point. His anger still boiled inside him, but the time for doing anything about it had passed. With his sober mind back in control, he didn't really want to hurt Max anyway, in spite of his outrageous behavior. I'll get back at him some other way. Something to surprise him.
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter 34
Training
Jon had an unpleasant day ahead of him, though he wouldn’t have suspected it when he woke that morning. The sun was bright, but with a sweet breeze blowing not too hot. For a change they had had plenty of good food these last few days. Maybe it was the deer liver that made Max feel strong enough for his new, self appointed task.
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter 33
Hand Number Seven Dreams
Dream One:
That night I dreamed. You must understand that as with Humans, we need sleep and dreams, though less because of our design, in order to provide the body time to rebuild, and the mind less fettered opportunity to integrate the experiences of the day into patterned memory.
A naked blond girl, violence and blood. Chapter 31 is now posted. Sorry, NOT x-rated.
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter 31
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter 30
Blood Trail
Jon woke with his stomach clenched from hunger, his body aching from half-healed wounds. The dawn was just a glow through the trees, and the last, brightest stars were peering through clouds. He looked over at Max, still asleep curled up inside Jon’s cloak. The nights were warm, but Max always felt cold. He hardly slept, the pain from his burns kept him awake.
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter 29
Alelu Miami On The Run
Alelu Miami stared down into the black pit at her toes. A knotted rope fashioned from fine silk clothing ran from the door handle, across the floor and down into the darkness, the lower end out of sight even with the lamp lit. Alelu got down on her knees and held the lamp down as far as she could. The lower end of the rope was still out of sight.
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Blood Ties
Jon stood before the door and listened carefully for any reaction from inside the house. All was quiet. He felt cold, though the night was warm early summer. Sweat drenched his body and his breath was still coming in gasps. One down and four to go.
The first had gone according to plan.Almost too easy. Jon tried to bring his breathing under control, and nearly succeeded, though his heart was hammering.I killed a man.
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker, Index Of Chapters
Food Shortages And Higher Food Prices
The US Military Meets Politics. What Could Go Wrong?
Population Bomb, Teen Pregnancy. Oh No! My Kid Just Had A Kid!
Just Gotta Love Them Tiny Feet
Politicians Love Poverty And Debt.
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter Twenty Six
Stuck In Telephone Hell. How To Get Off The Customer Service Merry-Go-Round
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter Twenty Five
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter Twenty
Alelu Miami In Hiding
"I'm bored," Alelu said to herself, for at least the hundredth time today. Or so she imagined. It was the one thing which she had not prepared for properly. How wonderfully it had all gone, everyone obeying her, falling in with her plans as if they were conscious partners.
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter Twenty
Alelu Miami In Hiding
"I'm bored," Alelu said to herself, for at least the hundredth time today. Or so she imagined. It was the one thing which she had not prepared for properly. How wonderfully it had all gone, everyone obeying her, falling in with her plans as if they were conscious partners.
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter Nineteen
The Bow
Jon Homeless had a problem. The day promised glories, hot sun splashed through high trees, casting shadows of oak and walnut leaf across his broad back, but Jon was sunk in thought. The fish in this little pool between twin riffles were playing hard to get. He had already taken, and eaten whole and raw a few small ones, but that was not what had him deep in a muse. The here and now was lost to him. He mechanically drew and cast his line with casual skill, trying first the bank edge, then the center, then the head or foot of the pool as the random urge took him.
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter Seventeen
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter Sixteen
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter Fifteen
The Tale Of Jon Handshaker Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Smoke And Ash
Kan Lam walked the streets of the upper village, surveying the destruction, compulsively counting dead animals. He tried to make himself stop, but every time he passed some sad crumpled corpse he added a number. He was an educated man, he could count as high as necessary. For once he almost wished he had less education. There were surprisingly few people dead. His mind shied away from that thought, but not before the image of the yew in the meeting ground filled his mind. Thank the King, nobody tried to fight.