News from Home

Ok, so I forgot to post this morning and for a very good reason…I had to get up and be to school by about 0945 and I woke up at 0857. Sooo, I had to throw on some clothes, get beautiful-which by the way, usually takes upwards of thirty minutes or so…I mean, it does take a while to make a prince out of a toad- I also had to eat, get my laptop ready for school and get out the door; all in less than ten minutes. Needless to say I did not have the brain power to remember that you all would be waking up with an insatiable appetite for part two of M.I.A- News from Home.


Hopefully you have enjoyed the first part of M.I.A and were left clawing at the screen in anticipation for part two. In fact, I am hoping that you have been sitting there since last Monday staring at the screen in hopes that I would decided to pull some shenanigans and post part two early. If you have been, let me know and I will send you a fully bound, signed, numbered and custom addressed copy of M.I.A, because you are a true fan…take that Stephenie Meyer, you and your best seller “dreamed” book series! If you can’t tell there will definitely be a rant coming to a computer near you about the pandemic that is all things Stephenie Meyer. Here is a little teaser for the rant…


“Friends, family and loved ones, did you hear this from those who got you to read the Twilight series?

‘oh, you might hate them at first, but tough it out and they will grow on you, and you’ll be hooked.’

oh, I'm sure most of you heard or said that to someone in one form or another, but I wonder if the same insane logic could work regarding other things.

I know. Here is a question for ya… what else will you hate at first but grows on you??

give up…

A FUNGUS! A fungus you will also hate and it grows on you. So using that same crazy logic, your friends could be asking you…’hey (insert your name here) a few of us are going swimming at the local sewer treatment plant. Sure you will hate it at first, sure the air is almost as acidic as battery acid, and burns like fire as you breath, but tough it out and it will grow on you.’

yep that sounds like a great idea right? Well to those of us with sense, that is how ridiculous the persuasive argument is in support of Twilight.”


Soon that obra maestra de divertido (means "masterpiece of funny" for all those not named Christina) will be unveiled.


And now, the second installment of my epic...




*****NEWS FROM HOME*****


He awoke early, about six forty-five and headed for the Inn’s modest gym. It was not a great gym but it had the basics, some dumbbells, a bench-press machine and a few free weights to do curls with. In one corner of the room, mounted to the wall was a flat screen TV, about forty inches. Jason usually liked to listen to his IPod when he worked out, but had left it at home in Vegas and decided to settle for a little CNN or Fox news; whichever he came to first.


As he began to sweat and feel the burning in his muscles, he unconsciously banished the news broadcast into the background to serve as ambient noise.


Halfway through a bench-press set an oddly familiar sound broke through Jason’s lifting induced trance. He set the bench bar back and grabbed the white hand towel from his pocket, wiping the sweet from his face as he turned toward the TV. The noise he heard was the short piece of music that plays just before the announcement of breaking news. On the screen appeared the familiar blue backdrop sheet with the White House emblem hanging on it, and the dark wood podium with four or five microphones attached. “Breaking news from the White House? The heck’s going on?”


He barely broached the thought in his mind before a man entered the picture and stepped up to the podium. The man pulled out a pair of gold framed reading glasses from the inside pocket of his black suit and put them on. He had salt and pepper hair, more on the pepper side, with deep lines in his face announcing to all that he had been through not a few trials in his life. As the man began to speak the words “Secretary of Defense” appeared at the bottom of the screen and Jason turned up the volume.


Jason sat stunned; he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. With each sentence from the man, Jason’s mouth dropped a little more and his mind pushed all thoughts out his ears. Jumping up, Jason tore out of the room, and as he ran down the hall the flower patterned walls seemed to blur into lines. In his haste Jason forgot his room key and found himself pounding on the door.



“Cindy answer the door, you’re never going to believe this. Something terrible has happened. Cindy open the…”


The door swung open with Cindy standing in her night gown glaring at him. “What’s so important that you had to wake me up at,” glancing at the alarm clock, “seven ten? And why don’t you have your room key?”


“No time for questions” he barked back grabbing the TV remote and turning to the news broadcast he’d been watching.


The man was now gone and pictures from what must have been helicopters were being shown on the screen. A male voice was giving commentary in the back ground. “It is unsure what caused the destruction, and communication into both Las Vegas and Chicago seems to be down. Reports are coming in that the damage in Las Vegas is around ninety-five percent, and eighty percent in Chicago.”


As pictures flashed on the screen, Cindy felt her legs turn from bone and muscle into jelly; thankfully the edge of the bed caught her as she fell. With a trembling hand lightly covering her wide open mouth, she began to cry. The commentary started again. “The death toll is estimated in the hundreds of thousands for both cities right now. Authorities are urging all who have loved ones in Las Vegas or Chicago areas to not call in, as the few lines of communication being found are needed for emergency personnel.”


“What happened?” Cindy whimpered to Jason.


“I don’t know” he replied. But of course that was a lie. Quickly Jason’s thoughts were dragged back to the FBI briefing he had the previous day. His thoughts were disrupted when he heard the buzz of his cell phone, vibrating on the dresser. He looked at the screen and it read “emergency connection.” His heart sank, his knees gave out and he also found himself saved by the edge of the bed.


“Hello?” he asked. The voice on the other line was unfamiliar.


“Officer, I have Sergeant Opey on the line I will connect him.”


“Jason?” The familiar voice of his sergeant sounded strong and gave Jason the strength to stand.


“Yeah man I’m here. What’s going on?”


Cindy could only hear her husband’s responses but she knew by the tone in his voice things were not good. After Jason hung up the phone Cindy didn’t even have to ask, with a single look she knew; he was leaving.


“Why you, you are three hundred miles away. It is going to take you at least five hours to get there, and that’s without traffic.”


“Cindy, you don’t understand. I am the only guy on my squad my sergeant could get a hold of. The other guys could be dead for all we know. It is my duty as a cop to go back. I have to go. You and the rest of the family will stay here at Ashley’s house until things get better, and then I will come back and get you and the kids.”


Cindy looked at him with tears in her eyes and said, “But every one you care about is here. I can’t stand the thought of loosing you.”


“I’m coming back to get you, Ok? I love you” The words seemed almost reckless as they rolled off his lips.


Cindy nodded in duressed approval, and with that began to weep.


Part three "The Journey Back (Worse than expected), will be posted next monday. Until then CiAo!