In Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison describes the maelstrom that led to the murder of Trayvon Martin: “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me.”

On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin died at the hands of George Zimmerman’s 9 mm handgun. George is a self-appointed volunteer neighborhood crime-watch captain.

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Image: Tina Phillips / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When you become a parent, be prepared to do ALL that stuff you said you would never do. Have you ever said you wouldn't go up to your child's school looking crazy? Well guess what! Sometimes you can't help it because your kids have driven you crazy. You don't look like that on purpose. Hell in some cases, you might not know you look crazy until the school secretary stares at you with a wide-eyed look. True story, my oldest left something at home and I had to take it to her. The lady at the desk looked at me with this crazy expression...I was drying my hair when my daughter called and  forgot to remove the wrapping strips from my hair.

Remember saying, "I will never say or do the things my parents said" before you had children? Guess what your favorite words are now..."Because I said so!" "I'm the mama and you're the child!" "Sass me again and the police will have to pull me off you!" "This gun is loaded!" Well, maybe I'm the only one that says the last two. My point is, history repeats itself repeatedly.

If you are successful, you will raise children you are happy to claim. If you are really successful, you will raise children other people want to claim. I look at my children every day and wonder how they made it so far with me as a mother. Then I look at my mother and realize it's because she lost her mind raising me.

The key is to find a happy medium. Say "no" to drugs, but "yes" to alcohol and naps as much as possible. If you put the alcohol in your coffee, no one will know. Learn to take naps standing up, sitting down and while talking to other people. Keep them brief because children can wreak a lot of havoc during a nap. Above all, accept your mistakes and remember you're only human.

Seed. Ania Ahlborn.

Kindle Edition, 2011.

169 pp.

Available for $2.99 on Amazon

Synopsis

While driving home one night with his wife and two daughters, Jack Winters gets into an accident on a dark, lonely road. Jack totals the car, but no one is hurt. All seems well until one daughter becomes ill. What he thought to be the flu turns out to be something more sinister.

His wife, Aimee, sees something else. She knows something is wrong, but can’t pinpoint the exact cause until she uncovers Jack’s secret. By then, it’s too late.

The Review

In Seed, Jack watches his daughter deteriorate into someone he doesn’t know, or so he thinks. You will like and hate Jack at the same time. You like him for the person he tries to be, but you hate him for what he allows to happen to his family. For example, he’s a patient father and tolerant husband who puts aside his feelings to ease his wife and daughter’s fears. At the same time, he sees his youngest daughter transitioning into something sinister and does not attempt to stop it.  

Ahlborn manages to paint an eerie picture without all the gratuitous gore associated with horror. The story flows well, but there are several unresolved storylines. ~Spoiler Alert~ For example, we never really know or understand how Jack’s torment began, or why his daughter experiences the same torment. There’s no real understanding of what the menacing figure in the book wants or why it chose Jack. The graveyard and dark, lonely roads are two overdone clichés the book did not need. You may find yourself liking the minor characters more than the main characters. Jack’s best friend, Reagan, has a likeable personality. In fact, Reagan should have been a main character. His wife, Aimee, has a large role with no real purpose.

Ahlborn is no Stephen King, but this author manages to weave a tale of suspense filled with several “wow” moments you have to read to believe. She manages to keep you hooked until the very end. The final chapter leaves you wanting more from this author.

A little child stood in line waiting patiently waiting to speak to Santa Claus.  He listened carefully as each child named toy after toy. When it was his turn, he walked up to Santa Claus and climbed in his lap.  The man under the suit couldn’t help but notice his tattered clothes and the gloves with worn fingertips.  He hoped the little boy’s list would be short because he was sure he hadn’t bathed from the looks of his clothes.  He didn’t want the filth to get on his Santa suit.

“Ho, Ho, Ho little boy what do you want for Christmas?”

“My name is Justin and I want my friend Jessica to get a new heart because the one she has is filled with so much love that it doesn’t work any more. The doctor says that she doesn’t have much time left and if she doesn’t have the operation she won’t be able to love anymore.  I was just thinking if she got a brand new one then she wouldn’t need to worry about it ever again. I told her that she could stop loving me until she gets a new heart, but she says that its okay there is still a little room left in her heart so she will still love me.”

“What else do you want little boy?”

“Just a minute Santa, I am not done. I want her mommy to stop crying because Jessie, that’s what I call her, says that it breaks her heart.  If her mother keeps breaking her heart she will become sicker.  Her mother can’t help it because she loves her, but I don’t think she understands that a broken heart doesn’t work.  Jessica is older than me so she will need a bigger heart than mine. I offered to give mine to her, but she said if she takes my heart then I can’t love either.  I want her dad to smile more because Jessie says that it hurts her heart to see him so sad. I don’t think he understands that a hurt heart don’t beat as much. Please make her husband’s heart stronger because he says that it breaks every time he sees her. I don’t want his heart to need fixing too.”

“I see,” said the man under the suit ashamed and fighting to hold back tears.

The little boy continued, “Jessica is a very special person because she comes to see me every week at the orphanage.  She plays with me and tells me stories. She says that the stories are from her heart; so you see Santa she needs a new one so that she can keep telling stories. Don’t worry if you can’t do it Santa I understand that you have a lot of wishes to make come true. Jessie says that she needs a miracle so I figure if I talk to you and pray to God she will get the miracle she needs. I put my faith in God first, but I figure you can help too.”

The little boy started to climb down from his lap and then realized that he forgot something.

He handed the man in the suit a crumpled piece of paper “In case you can’t find her here is my address. You can leave the heart with me.”

The next day the boy was sitting in Jessie’s hospital room reading his favorite book to her when a man walked in. He said that he was a doctor and he was there to fix a heart filled with love. He walked over to the boy and handed him an envelope. Inside it was a letter:

Dear Justin,

Your Christmas wish was touching and selfless. 

So I spoke with a friend and he decided to grant your wish.

He said to enter his kingdom you must humble yourself like a child.

The fact that you requested nothing made him smile.

So this Christmas he grants you the one thing that you ask

Someone that can fix your friend’s heart and make it last.

He also granted your friend’s wish too.

She asked for a little boy just like you.

I am honored that you made this request of me.

But I do not work alone you see.

I almost gave up on Christmas and God sent me you

You see Justin, I pray too.

 

Santa Claus.

By: Patrice Davis

After I made my decision to become an author I began reading everything I could get my hands on; mysteries, romance, how-to-books, poetry and sci-fi. The one thing I realized was that I do not like poetry, but let me clarify what I mean. I absolutely hate erotic poetry, well not all erotic poetry, but most of it. And why? Because there is no mystery to most erotic poetry. Beautiful metaphors that refer to a woman's intimate parts have been replaced by words like "p****" and "c***." The words no longer inspire a person to make love; it inspires them to "f***." Please excuse the language in this post, but it is necessary to get my point across. Why have poets resorted to such ludeness to describe something so beautiful?<< MORE >>

Arizona passed a law prohibiting a school district or charter school from including courses or classes that either promote the overthrow of the United States government or promote resentment toward a race or class of people. There are four provisions to this law: << MORE >>

Trina possesses the qualities of a devoted woman. Every Sunday she sits in the third pew and listens intently to the minister’s word. Every third Sunday, she sings lead in her church choir. She’s a diehard friend to the end, something she attributes to the fact she was born a Scorpio, and she loves her man. Yet, one day almost a year ago, she came close to throwing her relationship of two years away all courtesy of a private chat request. Normally, she ignored them, shaking her head at the desperation, but that night she clicked “Accept” and unwittingly started her first “affair.”<< MORE >>