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Life in Oak Springs, the Homeplace
January 1999
This series of posts on each Friday, henceforth, moving forward during 2015 will continue the stories of "The Homeplace Saga" series of family saga, historical fiction families in the area of Oak Springs following the novel "Christmas at the Homeplace," which ended as 1997 began. Earlier, we have seen the community move from January 1997 through December 1998. We now move into January of 1999, in novel format…
[In case you missed it, and want to learn the whole story...]
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Chapter 2 - Bart; Episode 3
Last paragraph from Episode 2:
[Karen called her brother, Bart, to share the news about Beverly's arrival. To Karen, memories of Beverly were merely a nuisance. For Bart, memories of Beverly contained a lot of hurt.]
Bart and his wife, Diane, happened to be on an afternoon coffee break at their home when Karen called with the news about Beverly. "Not again. What have we done to deserve this? Ok, thanks for letting us know. Keep us up-to-date as you hear more."
Looking at Diane, Bart said, "Karen says our sister, Beverly, has checked into HER Oak Springs Motel and told the staff that she has moved to Oak Springs permanently. Can you believe that? What do you suppose she has in mind?"
Diane touched the forearm of her husband, tenderly, and replied, "Well, I'm going to try to take the positive approach this time. Perhaps she has simply come to be closer to that new grand-daughter of hers. Becoming a Nana for the first time can be life-changing! I'm certainly living proof of that. Give her the benefit of the doubt."
"I'll start with the doubt, and then work on the benefit, whatever that might be," Bart added, shaking his head.
"Bart, we're 57. Beverly is 58. That is fairly old for becoming a grandparent for the first time. She no longer has anyone in Mississippi, with Winnie gone. She has not only a grand baby here, but a son and a daughter, a daughter-in-law, a step-daughter, a step-son-in-law, and even a step-grandson, now that I think of it. At our ages, being close to family becomes more important than ever, don't you think?"
"I suppose you could be right, but I'd hate to get burned again, by my sister's shenanigans. I am too old for that. Why didn't she let us know she was coming?"
Just the thought of Beverly back in their lives flooded both Bart and Diane with memories, few of them pleasant. Beverly's first husband, Paul Gates, and their children, Scott and Heather, were certainly pleasant memories, and now good friends and family members on a daily basis here in the valley. Scott Gates was Assistant Farm Manager to Bart in the Bevins Corporation, looking after the extensive agricultural operations for the extended family. He had married Rachel Nixon, his long-time girl-friend, daughter of the local newspaper editor, and they were new parents of Faith, a daughter born just this past fall.
Diane, who now was Manager of the Bevins Stables and Trail Rides, was also a partner now with their daughter, Jennifer, and Heather Gates in raising Palomino horses. Heather was a real asset to have around the stables, in the trail rides business, as well as with Jennifer's (Dr. Bevins') Veterinary Clinic. They each worked smoothly as a team in maintaining and growing their several mutual interests.
Paul Gates had been successful in not only continuing to raise their children (Bevins family next generation descendants) in the Oak Creek Valley but had created a very successful tourism attraction in the valley by rebuilding and promoting visits to the mill and surrounding activities such as canoeing/kayaking on Oak Creek. He also represented his children well on the Bevins Trust and was an active community leader.
His older daughter, Sheila, was another story. Although now well re-established in the community as both the wife of Peter Bevins and as Assistant Manager at the Mill to her father, Sheila would always carry negative memories for Bart and Diane. She had been a primary target during the suicide-attempted murder episode in 1987 in which their son, Jennifer's older brother, Donnie, had died. Sheila had become an HIV carrier and still was, even after these many year later. She had not contracted AIDS, but it continued to be a threat.
That summer of 1987 carried other memories for Bart and Diane as well. They lost a son, but also discovered that Bart had another son. This discovery nearly broke up their marriage. Years earlier, it turned out, Bart had a one-night affair, at an out-of-town real estate convention, with a colleague, Linda, the young wife of the family attorney, Carter Ogden. When the son, Christopher Ogden was born, Linda never mentioned that he might not be Carter's biological son. When teen-aged Christopher was in a car accident, that critical summer night in 1987, and badly needed matching blood, however, the truth came out. The other bazaar connection was that Christopher's girl-friend at the time was none other than Bart and Diane's daughter, Jennifer. The young dating couple had discovered that they were half-siblings.
In the ensuing years, Christopher went on to college and law school and had now succeeded his father, who died in 1996, as the family attorney. Jennifer had graduated from Veterinary school. She had married Brian Kirk and they now had a daughter, Ashley. Christopher had married Nicole Evans, and they had a son named C.P.
Sheila, along with Peter, had some rough years. They were each active with HIV/Aids support groups and survivors, first as clients, then as counselors. In late 1996, they had married and taken into their new family a son, Jeremy, that Peter did not know that he had, from the years he lived in a commune-like setting on the west coast. Jeremy's mother had died, in Oregon, of AIDS-related complications, and DNA tests confirmed that Peter was the father. The boy, Jeremy, was now a fine, young, 13-year-old member of the next generation of the Bevins family.
Not all of these memories, for Bart and Diane, could be tied directly to Beverly, of course. But, memories of her, and her antics and departure that year, even twelve years later, still set off that string of memories from their lives, that could not be laid aside. They simple always flowed back through their thoughts, and conversations, on each occasion when Beverly's name came up. They could not help it then. They could not help it now.
[To be continued - next Friday]
"May everyone have a homeplace, if only in your mind."
Dr. Bill ;-)


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Don't ever let them tell you writing is easy.
Ok, that's a bit of a lie. Sometimes, writing is easy. The words just flow and you're 30 pages in before you realize it's been 5 hours and the people at Starbucks are starting to think you're crazy. Other times, it feels like an uphill battle just to write two sentences. Both experiences are ok. The trick is to take those harder days and work through them. I know a couple of authors who knocked out a whole novel in a month.
I am not one of them.
It's no secret I've been swamped by stress: my parents are getting divorced (and I still live at home at the moment), I've been struggling to go full-time at work, and tis the season to get every virus and head cold known to modern medicine. I work between 30-40 hours a week, deal with life at home, and still have to focus on finishing this novel while battling the constant distractions and overall lack of privacy.
That's why I usually take myself off to Starbucks–in the next town over.
While I change my physical distractions, the emotional ones still get me, even removed from my usual environment. This is what, for me, makes writing so hard at times. It's no surprise that I failed to meet my initial deadline, which was Thursday. My new deadline is March 1. Since I was iced in Friday, I spent the day reshaping and organizing The Killing Type, and finally cracked the 50k mark.
Sadly, this means a new set of roadblocks. I've spent the last two years working on this book (which only recently received a real title), and I'm experiencing the strangest feeling of apprehension and nostalgia. I've spent two years in this world, building this story, and really, it's all kind of downhill from this point.
All the chapters are outlined and there are only 2-3 chapters I need to start. The rest are just polishing and connecting to the events. It's so close to being over and though I'm excited to finally finish the draft, I'm nervous about what being done with the draft means.
It means I freaking wrote a book. Not a short story, not a vignette, a book. I've done it before, technically, with Deadbeat, but this feels different. I don't really know how to describe it. I know the draft being done doesn't mean it's over, not by a longshot. But things will be different. I'll be editing. I'll be starting my next book, or finishing Living Dead from Halloween.
Then it's the scary part: the querying, the pitching, the putting myself out there and hoping I don't sound like an idiot and can remember what sentences sound like and how to form them.
But first I have to sit down and crank out another 30k or so and finish off this 50 chapter beast.

subset: commoncrawl


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We had a new NBN Phone system installed by Telaustralia. Tony and Adam have been most helpful through the process of acquiring new phones and establishing a hosted PBX. The new phone system has only been in for a couple of weeks but is working very well so far.
David Fearn-Wannan
Ashburton Baptist Church


text:
While I was growing up there wasn't much on the TV besides sports. Between boring golf tournaments on Sunday afternoons, March Madness basketball, Monday Night Football, and the World Series I remember watching a few episodes of Dr. Quinn the Medicine Woman, Walker Texas Ranger, and maybe some 7th Heaven if Mom and I got lucky.
The past probably 5 or 6 years though a show has consumed our Tuesday nights. The Biggest Loser. I started watching it on the couch between my Mom and Dad before Brandon came into my life and we now continue to watch it as a family of 3.
I'll be honest. I would watch the show in the past and feel sorry for the people on the show. How could they let their life end up that way. So unhappy, hurting, sick-and-tired of the way they were living. We would watch as Bob and Jillian would scream, curse, and work them to death.
This season has been different for me. My heart aches for every member of the red, blue, and black team. Each Tuesday night my eyes fill with tears for those people and I believe it is because we are fighting the same battle. The truth is: I have let my life end up that way. Unhappy, hurting, sick-and-tired of the way I am living.
I want my story to change lives, just like theirs are. Sure I don't have Jillian Michael's and Bob Harper in my living room, I have something better. I have a Brandon Robertson Armstrong and a little girl that motivates me.
This morning I feel like I have the weight-of-the-world on my shoulders. I want a better life. I want to feel beautiful everyday, not just every-now-and-then. I want to be healthy. I not only want to run, I want to run fast. I want push myself to new heights. I want change.
Change is coming. I am so close to my goal of {135lbs}, but Mission-Get-My-Body-Back is no where near over. You'll see.


text:
Showing off its winning ways, the New Mazda2 has triumphed in the Car Dealer Power Awards.
Explore the New Mazda2 Discover Mazda2 offers
Run by Car Dealer Magazine, these awards are voted on by car dealers throughout the UK, who choose the best manufacturers and models. With a 15-strong line up that includes 11 petrol and four diesel variants, as well as being packed with high levels of equipment as standard, the New Mazda2 is the spacious supermini with impressive performance, that's a real star in every way.
Search our latest stock of high quality used Mazda cars


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Kids, Inc. salutes sportsmanship
Kids, Incorporated, in conjunction with Wendy's, last week announced the winners of the Wendy's Sportsmanship Awards from the recently completed Spring Sports Season. Teams received votes from coaches within their league. Additional input was provided by game officials and other Kids, Inc., personnel.
"Wendy's has been a most gracious sponsor of this award for the past several years," said Jimmy R. Lackey, president and CEO for Kids, Inc. Each team member and coach receives two certificates. One is theirs to keep for display purposes, while the second certificate can be redeemed at any Wendy's location for a combo meal.
Kids, Inc., has provided youth sporting opportunities since 1945. The mission of the program has always centered on the values of sportsmanship and participation for all children. Lackey added, "Youth sports have become very competitive in recent years. We are extremely grateful to Wendy's for helping us maintain a sense of perspective with respect to all of our programs."
Sportsmanship recipients for the 2014 Spring Outdoor Soccer League are:
School League Coach
Carver Pre-K North Rose Hambrick
Carver Pre-K South Saul Ruiz
San Jacinto Kindergarten N Amanda Soliz
Glenwood Kindergarten S Cindy Sosa
South Georgia 1st Grade David Harker
St. Andrew's 2nd/3rd Girls JD Graham
Woodlands 2nd/3rd Boys Nate Magloughlin
Olsen Park 4th/5th Boys Heather Jensen
Bushland 4th/5th Girls Donnie TeBeest
Sportsmanship recipients for the 2014 Spring Flag Football League are:
School League Coach
Southlawn 1st Grade EJ Chavez
Olsen Park 2nd Grade Allen Grant
Hillside 3rd/4th Grade Art Gustin
Bonham 5th/6th Grade Jay Rendon
Sportsmanship recipients for the 2014 Spring Volleyball League are:
School League Coach
Arden Road 2nd Grade Cale Hawley
South Georgia 3rd Grade Angela Mathes
Rolling Hills 4th Grade Matt Newkirk
South Georgia 5th Grade Connie Ewing
Highland Park 6th Grade Shanna Rider
Sportsmanship recipients for the 2014 Coach-Pitch Softball League are:
School League Coach
Avondale Kindergarten David Burnam
Tradewind 1st Grade Andrew Chavez
Hillside 2nd Grade Melissa West
Sportsmanship recipients for the 2014 T-Ball League are:
School League Coach
Rogers Pre-K North Brandon Blassingame
Arden Road Pre-K South John Russell
Western Plateau Kindergarten Paul Aguirre


text: Dear Foreign Friends, This upcoming weekend, Saturday 18 July, Britbike would like to invite you for one-day trip to Kanchanaburi. The schedule is as follows: 08:30 Meet up @ Triumph Showroom, RCA Rama 9 Rd.. 09:00 Leave for Kanchanaburi. 12:00 Lunch. 14:00 Head back to Bangkok. If you have any questions, please call K.Bank 085-155-2224, and K.Joey 085-155-2225. Hope to see you guys on Saturday morning. Best regards, Britbike Co., Ltd. Tel. 02-203-1315, 02-203-1316 Fax 02-203-1317 e-mail [email email[email protected]][email protected][/email], [email [email protected]][email protected][/email]


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The Letter of the Law
When Congress was writing the Department of Education
Organization Act in 1979, lawmakers wanted to allay fears that
the new Cabinet-level agency would bring Washington's political
meddling into local classrooms. So language was written into the
law, below, that strictly forbids the department from wielding
any control over curriculum. The General Education Provisions
Act, a law dating back to 1965, restricts "any department,
agency, officer, or employee of the United States from exercising
control over curriculum."
Public Law 96-88—Oct. 17, 1979
Sec. 103
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text:
You might be familiar with Gansbaai Explore? Well the site has undergone a complete makeover and is now called Xplorio Gansbaai. Better yet, this community-driven platform is extending to Stanford.
We hope you are as excited about the new possibilities with Xplorio Stanfod as we are! We look forward to working together to showcase the unique qualities of Stanford.
If you have any questions or would like to get listed, please email us at email@example.com.
Let's go Xplorio!


text:
Shacklebolt was the surname of a pure-blood wizarding family.
The Shacklebolts were included in the Pure-Blood Directory (published anonymously in Britain, although widely believed to have been authored by Cantankerus Nott), which listed them as one of the twenty-eight truly pure-blood families (the so-called 'Sacred Twenty-Eight').[1]
Among the family members was Kingsley Shacklebolt, an Auror active during the Second Wizarding War who rose to the position of Minister for Magic in the late 1990s. He was the only member of the family alive, at least as known to the Ministry, by 1997.[2]


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Why not every man?
Now this is ever-so-slightly weird: James singing a plain-out religious song. Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel is a traditional song of praise that's been around for ages and covered by many, including Paul Robeson whose version was in all likelihood the inspiration for this – after all, this cover was released as a b-side to Let Robeson Sing.
It's not a shabby track but loses its momentum by only focusing on James and his acoustic guitar. Bradders does a good job keeping the interest up and sounding good but the song both begins and ends with a gorgeous organ that turns the song into something regal and eery for the fleeting moments it appears. The last 40 seconds give a nice idea what the song could have been and then you wish the organ would have stayed throughout the length.


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Let's walk.
Even though you may know the summit is your business's final destination, it can be difficult to determine the most effective way to reach it. There are many paths and not everyone reaches the summit.
However, do not worry. Metis can be your guide along the journey. Whether it is to check in with you along the way or to walk side by side with you on your way to the summit, Metis is here.
You know your business better than anyone. However, you may need help throughout the year keeping up or staying on task. Metis will partner with you over the course of the year to ensure our strengths keep you focused on your strengths.
There are several options within the Guide package that hope to meet your organizational needs. These reoccurring packages have a standard contract with no minimum time frame. The biggest differentiation between options will be a) time spent, b) organizational role, and c) the value your organization receives.


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Terms: the BMW as a main prize is in the UAE and KSA only. Upon buying a large fragrance the customer receives an instant gift and also enters the draw for a chance to win the BMW 435i convertible. The draw will take place 31st March.
The promotion with the Iphone 5s is for Kuwait – Qatar – Bahrain and Lebanon markets only and the mechanic is buy a large fragrance and instantly win a set of mini fragrances, a Calvin Klein gift or an Iphone 5s.
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