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 |   So playing the trombone wasn't getting me in enough trouble? |
| I need someplace to write down the often confusing thoughts that enter my mind, while my stories give voice to the characters that wander through periodically, this is the place for my voice. Join me if you wish, comment if you wish, all are welcomed and appreciated. |
5 DAY Andre the Blog Monkey's April Fools Mystery Writing Challenge Blog Prompt for Day 5 Yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery. Think about your future, short-term then long-term, is it all a mystery or fairly predictable, share your findings in today's blog entry. Thank you for playing along in this 5 Day Challenge. I enjoyed it so much I'm adding a BONUS PROMPT for Day 5.1 (April 15th) I was going to release the prompt in this post, but then thought, No! I'll leave it a mystery. I have more or less touched on this subject in my blog before, take a peek here if you’d like "Looking Forward...and back"  , so I am going to try hard not to repeat myself!I will update the countdown for the most important upcoming date/change in my life my pending retirement is now 438 days away, sometime in June 2021, I will leave my current job and head off into the sunset of retirement years. It’ll be a little weird but not as much as it might be for some…after all I’ve got an ace in the hole – "I'm Just the 'Bone Player" Are there plans? Yes, of course there are, some are detailed in that earlier blog post and of course there are others. A bit of travel; Two biggies are Italy and Ireland. With the love of my life, Lenore, I’d like to visit both countries for a minimum of a month each. Figuring it’s a one-shot deal, let’s do it right! Of course, places and things in the States and Canada I would like to see again for the first time with Lennie. And, Oh Yeah! A cruise or two would round everything out. Lennie is a great baker; I’m looking forward to when she has more time to bake. I want to learn to bake bread. Maybe we’ll do a cooking class or two together. There are “little ones” in both of our families, we’re both looking forward to seeing them grow up! The Mystery in all this? Wellllll – “The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men”, comes to mind. If these last few months have been any indication, plans have a way of going awry in a double-time hurry. Life can change in a heartbeat; plans are wishes that don’t always come around. You can make’em, but don’t bet the farm on’em. I’d like to Thank Brother Nature  and all my fellow participants in the Challenge, it’s been fun!! |
5 DAY Andre the Blog Monkey's April Fools Mystery Writing Challenge Andre's Stone Ball Challenge Hundreds of these large stone spheres are scattered across the Costa Rican jungle and are thought to have been constructed by prehistoric humans. For years, they have baffled scientists and archaeologists as to why they are there and how they were built. The spheres range up to 2.4 meters (8 ft) in diameter and are almost perfectly round. Blog Prompt for Day 4 - Andre the Blog Monkey helped me out with today's prompt. Andre sometimes drinks vodka to a point where he talks of stone ball drinking parties in the jungles of Costa Rica. I looked it up and it's a legit thing. I asked Andre about the stone balls but he doesn't remember much about anything. Andre will name a drink in the bar after the blogger who writes the best explanation of ... The Mystery of the Stone Balls of Costa Rica. The Joke’s On Us! Pol Tu’ Sei and Utri Fey’ Dza had been best friends for as long as they could remember, all the way back to when they had broken out of the hard shells they pupated in. Today was a great day for them, finally old enough to take the family cruiser out on their own they decided to make the best of it. Packing a light lunch of millu mash snacks, they set off on their first adventure in the universe. Setting a course to a familiar planet, one they had visited before with their older siblings, they settled in for the brief hundred million light year ride. Barely having time for a brisk game of nahdar sama before the craft announced their arrival at a planet they called Arin Eenal. “What should we do first,” wondered Dza? “Let’s go visit those giant heads your brother made on that little land mass surrounded by the big water, I want to watch the terrestrials do that little dance around them…” Dza giggled. “Affirmative, that will be entertaining!” She set the coordinates into the nav-guide and hit the travel button, a small lurch told them the craft had entered the planet’s atmosphere and that they were on their way. The trip to the little land mass took almost as long as the trip to the planet did, another quick game of nahdar sama pasted the time. Sei and Dza laughed at the terrestrial’s dance, watching them circle and gyrate around and around the giant stone heads that Dza’s brother had set into the ground. The terrestrials weaved among them, emitting weird smoke from some form of tube they sucked on, moving more and more frenzied before finally collapsing in heaps on the ground. The two friends waited a bit, but the terrestrials seemed to be in some sort of stupor, unconscious and unmoving. “This is boring,” Sei complained, “nothing’s happening…” “You’re right,” Dza agreed.“ “Whatta wanna do now? Hey! I know…” “What?” “Let’s go make our own play things for the terrestrials…” “Here?” Sei looked down in confusion. “Your brother used all the easy to find surface rock up.” “No,” she answered, already powering up the nav-guide. “We’ll go someplace else – someplace new!” They skimmed over the water, heading away from the planet’s day side, a short trip brought them to a much larger land mass, now in the dark, they searched for the perfect place to set up their practical joke on the terrestrials who lived there. “Now what should we do,” wonder Sei aloud, “more heads like your brothers?” “Well, the instructions for them are still in the fabricator, but there are no stones big enough.” Making a face. “Besides do we just want to copy my dumb brother?” “Hey!” Very excited. “What about mining spheres, we can make them any size, are there any good size stones for that, Sei asked?” “Plenty, that’s perfect.” Dza laughed gleefully. “Just let me punch that into the fabricator…” The crafts lights dimmed a bit as its fabrication unit came on line, returning to full brightness once the reactor compensated for the increased demand. “How many should we make Dza?” “I set a size and a radius parameter, it will make as many spheres as there are enough stones of the right size in one hundred berlul…” Just then the both their ‘rent-coms chirped a greeting tone, they both rolled their eyes, but dutifully answered the call from their parents. “Where are you two,” sounded the implant in their ear hole. “We’re just playing on Arin Eenal…” “Well, it’s almost meal time, come home now,” the ‘rent-com ordered. “But…” They protested together. “Now!” Firmly, “or no more craft time” Dza shut down the fabricator reluctantly, “well, we created over three hundred spheres, that should get the terrestrial’s attention.” “Let’s hurry home, Sei laughed, “I wan’na come back next day and see what happens when they find them!!” |
5 DAY Andre the Blog Monkey's April Fools Mystery Writing Challenge Blog Prompt for Day 3 - In today's mystery blog challenge you'll write a detailed description of a MURDER scene. Da - Da - Daaaa You'll have a victim and a cast of suspects, including possible murder weapons, motive, etc. End your entry with this challenge to your readers. "It's up to you to solve this murder in a comment on my entry." Merit Badges will be awarded to the best MURDER scene and the best solution to the mystery. Nobody leave the building! The Motor Vessel Banana Republic drifted silently as a tomb, becalmed in the torpid currents of the Tropic of Cancer. No signs of life lingered on her barren decks, no answers to the to repeated hails as the USS Fullam. The Fullam approached warily, circling the deserted vessel twice before sending a launch over to the MV Banana Republic. Ensign Matt Hooper was concerned, this was his first “command” and he didn’t want to blow it, “Chief, let’s circle once and come up on her bow.” Chief Roberts acknowledged the “command” with a curt “Aye…sir”, he was here to keep the newbie out of trouble, those were the Captains orders. Roberts was over joyed, another newb to keep out of trouble, fifteen years of service in this mans navy and most of it spent babysitting newbs… Finishing the circle, still in eerie silence, the launch approached the ship’s bow, bumping against the hull gently as Roberts expertly brought the launch alongside. One of the Marines secured the now tiny seeming boat to the Banana Republic with a grappling hook tossed across the ships aft mast. A second grappling hook made its way over the ships railing. Hooper made for the rope, only to feel Roberts’ hand on his arm. “Hold up…Sir,” pointing at the three Marines, “they go up first,” nodding a go to the Marine corporal leading the team, “then you.” Hooper looked a bit disappointed, but he saw the Chiefs point, the Marines did this for a living and were packing more firepower than his sidearm. It didn’t take the Marines long to scale the vessels sides, nor to drop the rope ladder down. Hooper and Roberts made short work of climbing the ladder and joining them on deck. “Anything Sarge,” as he looked around the bleak deck. “Corporal, Ensign,” grinning, “not a thing movin’, makin’ noise or shootin’, but I do thank ya’ kindly for the unofficial pre’motion.” “Uhh, yeah, sorry Corporal,” recovering, “let's make a sweep of the ship…” The radio crackled to life, a tinny version of the Captain’s voice asked, “Hooper, what’s your status?” “Just hit the deck Sir,” regretting not having initiated that report himself, “we about to sweep the ship.” “Let the Marines handle that Hooper, you and Roberts head for the bridge, see what you can find there.” Roberts and Hooper both answered, “Aye Sir,” at the same time. The corporal started to split the men up to begin the sweep, Roberts was about to object when Hooper spoke. “No dice, you guys stay together…” “Sir, we’ll get this done a whole heck of a lot fasta’…” “No way,” insistently, “nobody goes anyplace on this tub alone.” Hooper smiled when Roberts nodded his assent, waving the Chief on, “now move out corporal, and stay together that’s an order.” Making their way to the bridge, their path was littered with banana peels, hundreds of peels scattered across the deck. It made for slow a slippery going. Roberts couldn’t help but remark, “what the deuce is with all these banana wrappers, was the ship commandeered by a herd of monkeys?” “Barrel.” “What?” The startled chief looked around. “Where?” “A group of Monkeys is called a barrel Chief…” “You mean like in a barrel of…” “Monkeys.” Hooper laughed. “Exactly, but these peels were peel from the stem end of the fruit.” “Whatta’ mean Sir?” Roberts was clearly puzzled. “They’re peeled wrong Chief.” Picking up a peel. “Somebody went to a lot of trouble to set up a monkey.” They entered the abandoned bridge, Roberts checked the ships controls while Hooper pulled up the ships log. “Chief, I may have found our problem…” Crossing the bridge, Roberts asked, “what is it Sir?” “Chief, the ships last log entry was entered when she was at 25.0000° N, 71.0000° W…” "It's up to you to solve this murder in a comment on my entry."  ...I'm only the trombone player! |
5 DAY Andre the Blog Monkey's April Fools Mystery Writing Challenge Blog Prompt for Day 2 - I for one have always been interested in the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. I like to ponder possible explanations for what it is. Think about it for a few moments, then share your possible (or improbable) explanation. If there is another mystery you'd rather share your thoughts on, that's okay too. Ahh... the Bermuda Triangle! A place loaded with myth, misinformation, legend and lore. A favorite statistic often sited by traffic safety groups; "The NHTSA reports that approximately 52 percent of all accidents occur within a five-mile radius of home and 69 percent of all car accidents occur within a ten-mile radius from home. While these car accident statistics seem rather discouraging, there is no reason to give up driving altogether." A rather sobering statistic Makes one want to sell their car and buy a horse! Until you look at this statistic; "Using data obtained from the Department of Transport’s 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), Garrett Fitzgerald and Rob van Haaren analyzed the travel data of survey participants, concluding that 95 percent of the 748,918 recorded single-trip journeys by car were under 30 miles." The average single-trip distance? Just 5.95 miles. The US average for work place commutes? 13.9 miles. While rural respondents naturally traveled further on average than their urban counterparts, 95 percent of all rural-based trips were still under 50 miles. Basically, the point is that 95% of trips are "close to home", so now that statistic is explained. Most accidents occur close to home, because most driving is close to home What does that have to do with The Bermuda Triangle? The principal is basically the same. The Triangle Area is one of the most trafficked areas in any ocean. More ships equals more potential for ships accidents. The loss of ships is not disproportionate to the level of traffic. FromWiki ;"the marine insurance market Lloyd's of London was asked if an unusually large number of ships had sunk in the Bermuda Triangle area. Lloyd's determined that large numbers of ships had not sunk there. Lloyd's does not charge higher rates for passing through this area. United States Coast Guard records confirm their conclusion. In fact, the number of supposed disappearances is relatively insignificant considering the number of ships and aircraft that pass through on a regular basis." Additionally, much of the purported myth surrounding the Triangle is filled with misinformation and fabrication; ~ Incidents that happened outside the Triangles boundaries are often included. ~ Weather reports are often omitted. ~ Ships that were reported "missing" were very often over due and eventually made it to port. ~ Simple explanations are often ignored. There are some natural anomalies in the Triangle Area; ~ Magnetic North fluctuation - compasses have been shown to not indicate a consistent NORTH. This is true, however this happens in many other places, in fact there are very few places where True North and Compass North coincide. ~ The Gulf Stream - basically a river in the Atlantic Ocean, a surface current with a speed of 2 meters per second. This would cause debris fields and ship wrecks to move quickly from their last reported position. Making search and rescue/recovery improbable at best. ~ Weather; The area is rightfully also known as "Hurricane Ally", many of the worst storms experienced originate or intensify in these warm Caribbean waters. In addition, other factors, proven by science may account for many of the disasters; Rogue Waves , are waves of unusual size, ferocity and unpredictabilitySevere and sudden down drafts of cold air; "A National Hurricane Center satellite specialist, James Lushine, stated "during very unstable weather conditions the downburst [sic] of cold air from aloft can hit the surface like a bomb, exploding outward like a giant squall line of wind and water." Sorry Andre, no Mystery in the Bermuda Triangle...but the Banana Daiquiris are on me tonight.   |
5 DAY Andre the Blog Monkey's April Fools Mystery Writing Challenge Blog Prompt for Day 1 - When mystery surrounds an object, that object then becomes a clue. Have you ever discovered a mysterious item, which became a clue to an investigation? Tell us about what you found and where the investigation led to. When I was much younger, way back around 1965, making me about 10 or 11 years old my family put an addition on our house. That addition created an attic space with ready access. My Father decided to take advantage of that by "flooring" that space. My job was to move boxes stored in the crawl space to a temporary holding spot and put them back after Dad and my big brother put the plywood floor down. It was late fall, so it wasn't to bad heat wise, and I liked the idea that I had a project to myself. In the process of moving the boxes I found one way in the back that was identified in my Mom's neat hand writing. In fact, there was no writing at all on this box. Cleverly, I decided to leave that box till last as I put the others away for easy access later. Later came, we finished renovating the house, and I transferred my mystery box to my room. Opening it in secret, I found training manuals, flight logs and other documents associated with the Army Air Corp, the precursor of the modern day Air Force. Like any good detective I questioned witnesses, My Mom being the most likely "suspect". I found out that five years earlier we had bought our house from a former pilot, a member of the Air Corp during World War Two. He and his wife had purchased the house one year earlier. My family bought the house when he was recalled into the service during the Korean War. Mom helped me write a letter to the address we had, but we never received a reply. Jump forward to the present; I came across the box again, now cleaning up in preparation for selling the house. Now armed with the internet and it search capabilities I decided to try one more time. Alas, sadly my quest found rather bad news. I found the pilot in question, his name listed on the dry casualty reports from a War that still goes on. The box? It's now in the hands of the local Air Power Museum, built on the site that most likely manufactured the jet the pilot was flying. ...I'm only the trombone player! |
| What Happened to March? It reeaalllly seems like months are just zooming by, especially when your having FUN!! All in all March was a pretty productive month for me, part of that is of course that in some ways I have lots more free time, that's not a bad thing per se. I just wish it were under better circumstances, and there weren't so many people at risk. My screen time has doubled, not all due to WdC, because of the dreaded plague, I am teaching two distances classes at the high school level. I just had to send an email telling the kids to slowdown, and limit themselves to one lesson per day. (  Over Achievers)I have been having quite a bit of fun here on WdC, Helping me realize my goals is a big part of that, for that I have "Destination: Goal Zone" helping me along, doing my goals on a monthly basis and actually ticking off items as I complete seems to work the best for me.I also had a great time participating in "The Music of Poetry" , finding old and new poems to add to my collection was fun, interesting and educational. Reading other member's selections also gave me an opportunity to see many styles and poems I had not been exposed too previously. You can view my selections here; "The Music of Poetry" .I managed to keep up with this years entries for "The Contest Challenge" , as well as adding another entry for a past year, slowly but steadily I'll catch up!I used a composite of several reviews and editorial comments to rework one of my stories "A Thieve's Christmas" . It still feels like it has some kinks, and I'm seeing more as an opening chapter now then ever ( a writers work is never done). Thank you to all who have reviewed it and if you haven't read it please feel free to read and drop me a line or review.ANNNNDDDDD I learned how to make trinkets, prepared to be awed annoyed as I present my trinket of the month club! I won't promise not to toss in extra trinkets if the situation warrants it. One last thing that's making very happy, I am using this extra time to get back to practicing my horn (much to the chagrin of the neighbors...why does it always take several tries to spell that word?) Here's to hoping everyone's April is Happy, Healthy and Productive. Please Stay Safe And Well! |
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Credit is delaying the pain unless one pays it off every month. I don't buy what I can't afford. I don't go into debt. I live well by living well within my means. 
