THE AMERICAN WAR BRIDE EXPERIENCE
THE WORLD GRIEVES THIS DAY, 11 SEPTEMBER, 2001, AS OUR LIVES NOW ARE FOREVER CHANGED WITH THIS FIRST WAR OF THE NEW CENTURY: GOD BLESS ALL THE VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES AND HELP ALL PEOPLES AND COUNTRIES IN SUPPORT OF WORLD FREEDOMS... AMEN.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RESPONSE CARE/INQUIRY AID AND VICTIM SUPPORT FORMS
THANK YOU DOJ
NEW YORK FIREFIGHTERS' FUND AND OTHER WAYS TO HELP NOW DURING THESE HORRIFIC CRISES AND TERRIBLE TRAGEDY
Madelinefelkins.com "Hotsheets.org", "Water Running", "Leaves Falling", and "Poisoning the Well". FRUIT of the EARTH :Madeline Felkins Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999,2000,2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Madeline Lucille Felkins All Rights mf
FRUIT OF THE EARTH: It was 7:00
p.m. and the thermometer inside the house read exactly 100
degrees. She went outside to see if it had finally cooled down;
outside the thermometer read 104 degrees, but earlier, at 5:oo,
it was 105, so it was dropping, but not enough. This was the
eighth day in a row when the heat daily rose to 100 degrees
before noon, and cooled down to the high 90's by 10:00 at night.
Making it through each day was like winning a battle, but there
was water available whenever she wanted it, and she ran the
sprinklers all day long which at least provided a similarity to
cooler weather. The fans blowing in the house made so much
constant noise that she was always uncomfortable, and the air
forced from them felt as if it came direct from an oven."I have to leave", she thought, "I can't put this off another day. The dog needs food and will get sick if I try to feed her scraps from the refrigerator. I've been stuck in here for over a week and I'm out of everything, but I'll have to make other trips because it'll be too much to carry. The dog has to have food. I'll get something to eat in the coffeeshop and go across to the store afterward, and get her dogfood. I'll get a soda to go at the coffeeshop and drink it on the way back.
No. Wait. I'll go to the store first, get the dogfood, and then go to the coffeeshop, get something to eat and leave with a soda. Maybe it'll be cooler by then and I can buy a five pound bag for her, and it'll last a few days, and by the time she needs it again, it'll be cooler and won't be so hard to work all of this doggie stuff next week or so when it's cooler."
She remained in her bathing suit throughout the day so she could walk into the shower fully clothed several times and her bathingsuit would stay damp for a few minutes, and while it was still wet, she was cooler. She took it off, got in the shower again, got out, patted herself down with the towel, put on her shorts and blouse, and took her shoes and socks outside with her. She put the dog outside with the sprinkler, tied her shoes and began walking down the mountain. It was hot, filthy, dusty and oh, God, it was dry as she finished the climb to the bottom of the mountain and began passing the houses and mailboxes on the road.
Twenty minutes later she was headed to the main road, crossing over the railroad tracks where the dirty road curved and people insisted on driving as if they were still on the freeway which was a solid two miles from where she traveled. Just beyond the curve in the road while she could still smell the stench of the horses in the heat, and flies still buzzed around her head, she saw a big cloud of dust, and heard some yelling; yes, it was a man and a woman she heard, and as she got closer, she could see they were in a Cadillac convertible and both were bright red and sweaty. They were driving on the wrong side of the road when the walker realized this finally, all the while knowing that something was different, but yet, she didn't know if it was the heat, or because she was so worried about lugging five pounds of dogfood from the store and up the mountain later, and she needed to get it done before dark. The Cadillac people were driving back and forth, the car brakes screaming, and then there would be lots of dust, and then another heavy takeoff with the car moving forward, screaming brakes, and the walker could actually hear the tranmission lock into reverse while the driver and his companion were yelling, louder than any of the car's noises, another screech, backwards and forwards with lots of flying dirt. She saw they were screaming while driving over and over and over again, the same rattlesnake, which was larger than any she had seen in the area. It was huge.
The rattler must have been hunting for water or a cooler, darker place like the nursery below the railroad tracks. It had gotten pretty close to the nursery and must've been in the dirt trailing alongside the road; the asphalt would have been too hot for it, because snakes breathe through their skin so it would have burned alive on this day of such unrelenting heat. The Cadillac screamers were still driving back and forth over and over and over the rattler by the time she got close enough to see that it was still alive, and while the cars' wheels were grinding it up, it kept snapping up with its head to sink its fangs into the screamers' rear tire, and its head was stuck and kept moving back and forth and back and forth with the screamers' car, because it was such a long rattler and they weren't driving far enough to kill it by pulling it apart.
The screamers looked up when the walker got close enough for them to notice her, and they drove off in a hurry. Walking toward the tires' treadmark grooves, she was scared but looked and saw the snake was gone, the rattle and head were gone, and only a bit of sticky matter and deep ruts in the road were all that was left of something she had witnessed while moving along, walking the entire time for fifteen minutes.
Copyright 2000 Madeline Lucille Felkins All Rights. Madeline Felkins: ANTHOLOGY, "Fruit of the Earth", "Angel Baby", "Angel Baby Memorial", "Poverty Pig and Other Great Bores".
Stardate 10.06.2000
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A Valentine for Everyday and Just for You: Foreverlove, Forevermore xoxoxo Forever Yours, M.
In Memory of Chet Atkins: 1924-2001 'Chester Burton Atkins' died after beating cancer for decades, Saturday, 30 June, 2001. Services were held in Nashville, Tennessee, Tuesday, 03 July, 2001 at Ryman Auditorium. Godspeed to a great artist who will continue to contribute his guitar art and innovations throughout time.
Angelenos and others fondly remember,and celebrate the life of actor and Los Angeles resident, Jack Lemmon who also died this past week, 27 June, 2001. Jack Lemmon was a great pianist and performer who will laughingly be remembered by many as the bass slapping/cross-dressing jazz musician on the lam from gangsters after having witnessed the Saint Valentines' Day Massacre in the classic movie, SOME LIKE it HOT. I will always love and happily remember him in that performance because when I was in elementary school in Riverside, California, my entire class, including my teacher, Ms. Vivian Pace, was taken to a birthday party showing of this movie and a great time was had by all. It was a party I will never forget due to the personal connection that my mother worked with Marilyn Monroe and Bob Mitchum at Rheem Aircraft/Douglass Aircraft before serving active duty during WWII as well as attehding Geller's Actor's Studio with Mitchum at war's end. I will always be grateful to Mr. Lemmon and Ms. Monroe for such a great time and such a great movie. It is one of my favorite movies, and I will continue to enjoy it at whim with my mind's eye for the rest of my life. Adios, Amigoes, Amigas...Yay! Rustic Lane Elementary School and Fox Theaters: Thanks again. P.S.(Thinking of you and I love you, oh, so much) I still love my 'blue teddy' more than words may ever express. xoxoxoxoxoxo...M. 
