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Friday, May 25, 2012

Happy Memorial Day!!

This month has been a whirlwind of traveling fun and excitement but as anyone who travels knows, it is also great to be home!  This year we stayed at home for this holiday weekend partly due to the fact that we are tired from traveling but also because we have quite a few exciting things going on in the old hometown.

First and foremost to me is Youngest kids birthday that was properly planned and executed by me and a well planned cesarean section, then there is our towns festivities that goes on all week long containing live bands, a carnival and sports such as jalapeno eating, baby crawling, pageants and of course a fabulous small town parade! 

We usually take the Harley out after the parade and a meal at our local mexican restaurant and then of course the BBQ at someone’s house.  So with all the fun that will be had this weekend, please just remember all the men and women that gave their lives since the first war and give them some props!

Happy Memorial Day!!


Monday, May 21, 2012

Vegas Baby!!

Well we just got back from Las Vegas where we had a blast!  But isn’t Vegas always a blast?  I was so excited for the trip that I watched What Happens in Vegas with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher just to get the Vegas juices flowing and add a bit to the excitement!   You could probably visit that place a million times and have a different experience each and every time! 

We met our friends and the weekends traveling companions, Magda and Jeremy in the parking lot at SFO and hit the shuttle to the airport.  We got through security and made it to our gate.  As you probably already know from other trips, we fly standby and Magda and Jeremy were actually able to come with us standby so as Sweet was getting us all set for the flight, Magda and I went to get some breakfast. My goodness, I think it was the biggest blueberry muffin that I have ever seen, so we shared it.

We boarded the flight and were actually seated in the front row that faces the flight attendants jump seats.  She was such a nice lady and since I am so shy and quiet, I started up a conversation with her.  Cheryl is from New Jersey and has never been to Vegas to play and hopes to get there one day.  I told her that we would party for her and she accepted!  So much so that she gave all of us free Vodka and OJ drinks to our hearts content, not a bad way to start Vegas huh?

The flight was uneventful as we were flying into LAX and renting a car.  We decided to drive due to the fact that flying standby to Vegas on a weekend is nearly impossible so Sweet decided that this was a great idea.  (Cut to Sunday:  We are never doing it again!)  Anyhoo…  We get to LA and the car we are renting turns out to be a brand new Camry with six miles on it.  Love that new car smell!  So we are off on our five hour drive and with a stop at In and Out we finally get there! 

Animal Style
As I have said before, Wyndham is my favorite place to stay and Vegas takes the prize for the best Wyndham experience!  We stayed at the Wyndham Grand Desert and as Sweet is checking us in, a woman comes by with champagne or wine for our libation pleasures and then it was on to our room, which of course was also amazing and the view!  Now it was time to rest and of course more libations to prepare for the night that would take us to a place called fun!

View from our room at Wyndham Grand Desert

Sweet has a friend that lives there so he came by with a Limo and we went to eat at Hugos Cellar in the Four Queens Hotel. Hands down one of the best dining experience I have ever had anywhere, I felt like a princess!  Red roses when we walked in that sat in a vase I the middle of the table. Salads made at the table, martini’s come with a small elegant pitcher sitting in a glass bowl of ice and then a small cone of lemon sorbet to cleanse my palate before dinner.  I had Beef Wellington and Sweet had rack of lamb.  Sooo good!  Then a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries, dried fruit and cookies with whipped cream.  Perfecto!

Now full and happy, we walk over to the Fremont Street experience for the ultimate vintage Vegas experience.  This is something everyone must do!  We walked along the casinos under the Viva Vision Canopy watching the Tribute to Queen music light show and then the brave souls that dare to fly through the air on the indoor zipline.  We stopped for Vodka Redbull yard drinks at an outdoor kiosk!  Live music and the Neon sign graveyard!  You couldn’t ask for a better first night!

Entering the Fremont Street Experience

Neon Sign Graveyard sign

Day 2~   Today we drive out to the Hoover Dam for a little tour and some touristy pics!  We park in the parking garage to stay in a little shade before walking out into the hot Nevada sun.  We took the underground tour that started with a little movie to give us some history, a very interesting show.  The dam was started in 1931 and completed in 1936 under budget and two years ahead of schedule (a feat we probably won’t ever see again) and was originally named Boulder Dam but later named after President Herbert Hoover.  I just wanted to see the state line that was in the movie Fools Rush In, but alas so did every visitor since the movie came out in 1997 so they had to take it out.  Aww..


Lots of pics and the underground tour then a few souvenirs and we were on our way back to Vegas for dinner and some gambling.  It was a great day and so much fun and the night got just a little crazy!  What happens in Vegas….

Day 3~  Time to go home!  We drove back to LA very tired and flew back to the city where we said our goodbyes to our great friends then came home!  It was a great trip and so much fun as is always with my Sweet!  


Thank you again for another fab trip Babe!!

Thursday, May 17, 2012

RIP Miss Donna

I was saddened to learn of the passing of Miss Donna Summer, she had had such an impact on me as a child of elementary age and then into Jr. High.  That is where Disco really became the cultured joke that it is today.  The year was 1978 and my friends and I had gone to the movies to see Thank God it’s Friday where we heard her sing Last Dance as a shy up and coming singer in the movie.  Then she was Hot Stuff and finally I learned to play the guitar on MacArthur Park where my little cousin would constantly interrupt me asking why would someone leave a cake out in the rain.  Sidebar:  She is a baker now, a really good one.

So now I am a grown woman with children and GBabies and I still hum a little tune about the cake in the rain.  Rest in Peace Miss Donna, you will be greatly missed.



1948 - 2012


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A Rescue to Blog about

My day started off well enough today.  Leisurely my eyes open and I see my puppy dog Oliver waiting for my tired eyes to open so he can go outside not before giving me a zillion kisses.

Oliver's good morning face
We go downstairs and I let the dogs out and make coffee.  I open up my laptop hit the button that brings it to life and then crack open a boiled egg to eat with a little salt and salsa, slice up some strawberries and green grapes then place them on a plate.  I open up the house, drink my coffee and eat while a soft wind kisses my skin and begin working on my story.  I watch the clock because a friend of mine wants to talk with me about helping her with some marketing for her realty business and I think it is a great idea.  I can work from home and help her out with my crazy social media skills while still having time to work on my book.  Peachy right?

Alas, nothing is ever peachy when you plan peachy.  The slow chill day that you thought was ahead of you is pulled out from underneath you as though you were punished by Karma from a long ago indiscretion then you fall on your bum and wonder aloud:



WHY ME??!!??

I go to my meeting with my friend and we discuss the marketing that she wants, the marketing that I can do and the contents of a possible job description.  Sounds good right?  No, she wants someone to walk around the communities in town and leave her business flyers, THEN we can talk about social media while she picks my brain on how to do some of it and what ideas I may have.  Hmmm….  So I agree anyway and take the multiple reams of flyers and armed with a map I plan the beginning of the journey. 

Watching the time of course because last night  I had a text request from Youngest Kid to pick him up at Amtrak in Sacramento at 10 AM.  He is coming home from LA after doing a show (he is a comic/actor and I couldn’t be more proud) *gush~

So I plan to go pick him up, then come back and start the placing of the flyers on each door as she directed.  But Nooooo, the child sends a text that reads:

YK:  Gonna be late.  This bus is slacking

Me:  OK, about how long do you think?

YK:  Well we were supposed to leave Stockton at 910.  It’s now 930…

Oooh maaaan! I say low with a short growl sound.  So now what to do?  Go pass out the flyers?  Wait until he is ready for me to make the trip to Sac?  Make the trip and wait?  Arrgh…

So I text again 15 minutes later.

Me:   So have you gotten on the bus yet?

YK:  Yes we have

Me:  Eta

YK:  Not sure. Driver won’t say


Then it comes~


YK:  It appears the bus broke down…

YK:  I am in Lodi

YK:  Mom?

This is where I sit in my car as I have for the last half hour in the parking lot of Century 21 and try figuring out what I am going to do and what happened to Stockton.  So I call the child and we decide that it will be easier (for who?) for me to drive to Lodi to pick him up because he has orientation for a new job that he just got which makes job number three in the quest to get back to LA.

What was I supposed to do?  Yep, that’s what I did.  Knowing I would not get any flyers out that day, I called my friend and on the first day of this new opportunity after not working for a year, had to go pick up my kid.  Sound familiar moms?  He sends me the address and I GPS on my iPhone and I am off.  Only GPS wants me to take a three hour tour through Sacramento and I want to go through Rio Vista and take HWY 12.  Argghhh….

Then the texts of an impatient child (ya.. I said it) start rolling in.  The champagne glass clink that I use to love is now sounding every two minutes and pissing me off.  I begin to talk to my phone as though I am talking to my son.  “I can’t text and drive!!”  I think I was louder than just talking. 

I finally pull over and call him to tell him where I am at and he needs to just sit tight.  I then think it's funny so I text him after the call.

Me:   I guess your stuck in Lodi again..
YK:  That's a song right?
Me:  Whatever

Turns out it wasn't so funny. 

I make my way, according to my adjusted GPS, to Lodi.  In fact, I am three miles away.  Then I hear a POP, then something hitting the back of my car.  I am still moving, but the car doesn’t feel right.  I come up to a red light and already plan my parking spot on the other side of the light.  I pull over and yep.  Flat tire.  Now I feel like crying because I don’t know how to put on a spare.  OK, in my defense, I have changed a tire before when I was in driver’s training in high school.  Long, long ago when the schools offered that.

I call Sweet and he can’t come all the way to Lodi because he has to get ready for work.  YK is sitting three miles away and wants to walk along the two way highway to get to me, which I of course tell him no. I try to call AAA, but according to them I don’t have my membership anymore, which is weird because I thought you couldn’t have insurance there without the membership.  A question that is still asked of me and I still don’t have an answer to.  Oh, did I mention that I forgot my car charger and the battery on my phone is on red.   Bleh

I am about to sit down on the dirt and rocks on the side of the road, of course, best place to have a meltdown in 90-degree weather.  When out of the blue, a Cal trans truck pulls over and two men get out of the truck and ask if they can help!!  Tears in my eyes, I say yes please!  I take a picture as they begin to pull the donut out of my trunk and remove the damaged tire.  I ask their names to which they decline because they figure I am going to put them on fb and I say no, on my blog.  Again no..  bleh.  So I have named them Christopher (patron saint of travelers) and Anthony (patron saint of lost things).  They made everything so much better; they were very nice and so wonderful.  They changed my tire and gave me advice about getting the tire fixed at Les Schwab and they were off into the good day. 



So now I have a donut and per their instruction, I don’t drive over 45 miles per hour and finally make it to Amtrak Lodi.  I am so relieved and am looking for my kid who is probably in a panic by now.  I park, get out of the car and look around.  The panic starts to set in on me because he is nowhere to be found!  I walk through the outside lobby area and there he is.  Leaning up against the stone wall, asleep.  Standing.

I wake him and we get in the car and as I laugh away the stress of the day and begin the 45 mile per hour drive all the way home.  He states very matter of factly to me with a smile.


“We’re all good mom, they let me reschedule.”


Argh..

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Mother's day is mine!

Mother’s day has always been a source of contention for me as my Mother and I have a real weird relationship.  I know she loves me but I don’t think she likes me and at this point, I don’t think I care anymore.  I have learned to accept that she and I aren’t going to have the buddy buddy relationship that my daughter and I have or that her and my sister have for that matter.

Mother’s day for me has turned into a day that I now think of as my children’s day.  I am so happy that God picked me to be their Mother and every year I love the flowers, cards and/or phone calls I get from them.  Oh I send my mom a card or a phone call and I think she appreciates it, but for me?  The time with my kids and the lunches, dinners or late night counseling that they still want from me is amazing. 

This year is even more amazing because I not only will be celebrating my Mother's day, but the first Mother's day of my beautiful Middle Kid.  So I am posting a poem that was on a wall hanging that a onetime coworker had given me while I was fighting for custody and I would like to share with all of you!!

A hundred years from now,

it will not matter what my bank account was,

the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove.

But the world may be different,

because I was important in the life of a child.


An excerpt taken from Within my Power by Forest E. Witcraft


Happy Mother’s day!!!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Tennessee Y'all

Well, the last post was definitely a traveling doozie and oh it felt like one tooo!  The rest of the trip however was amazing!!  I did realize with this trip though that when traveling with family members you never know what will happen outside of your normal traveling behavior.  For instance, when Sweet and I travel with his awesome organizational skills, we are able to take full advantage of our vacay by intricate planning.  Then again sometimes we just say screw it, be a little rowdy and do whatever we feel like even if that means nothing but laying around a pool.

On our last trip we took my Bestie FF to Kona with us and I will have to say I understand now about traveling with family.  With friends, it is as easy as when we travel together but when you are traveling with and especially the older parental types?  Considerations must be taken for their physical abilities and what they might want to do.  Hmmm, a concept not totally escaped.

I had plans of seeing Beale Street in Memphis, Jack Danielsdistillery in Lynchburg, Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills and walking along Broadway Street in downtown Nashville at night with my love on my arm and a brewsky in my hand.  Alas, it was not to be.  The more than hour drives to the other sites were too long to sit and the walk along Broadway was too much.  Now I am not complaining or whining, but yes a wee bit disappointed.  Alas, we just turned the frown upside down and discussions ensued.  I will admit my frown did take a little longer to turn…  bleh

Anyhoo~
Day 2 was Cinco de Mayo!  Which as it turns out is celebrated big in Nashville.  Who’d a thunk it!  Our day started off with the discussions of said plans and the frown turning (ok last time I mention it) and breakfast. Of course coffee was the first item made because I must have the brewed nectar of morn or I am a crab!  As always with any Wyndham stay, we must have our member services meeting and I have to say this time is was enjoyable.  We met with Chrissi and she was informative and very helpful!  Finally on our way, we went downtown and drove along Broadway Street and stopped in at the Honky Tonk Central for a beverage and as we sat in the lower level we caught sight of a Pedal Tavern!! 

Pedal Tavern right outside Honky Tonk Central
Coolest thing I have seen in a long time, next on the list was lunch at Margaritaville with very good Margarita’s!  After nice eats, it was back to the condo to change for The Grand Ole Opry! I will tell you they put on a great show, so after great music, libations from the in house bar and lots of pics we were back at the condo sitting on our patio listening to rolling thunder claps and watching lightening strike.  Although not the day I thought, it turned out to be perfect!

Front of Grand Ole Opry

Entry sidewalk, note big guitars

Day 3 was Celebrity Tour day!!!  We had a great breakfast and showered to ready ourselves for Home of the stars Tour! So we all went down to the Member center and waited for our bus to pick us up.  We got on the 25 passenger bus and after a couple of more stops we were ready to begin our 3 ½ hour tour. Our driver took us along Broadway Street again and showed us places of interest like Nashville’s first public school, LP Field (Titans field), old historical churches and the Shelby street pedestrian bridge.  Next we toured the homes of Minnie Pearl, Little Jimmy Dickens, Martina McBride (who has the cutest little blue VW bug!), members of Lady Antebellum, Kid Rocks condo and finally Taylor Swift’s apartment penthouse!! 

Kid Rock's Condo

Taylor Swifts Penthouse Apt
It really was a great day and the driver was funny and knew his stuff!  The ended with a nice dinner at the condo that ..  ahem .. I cooked for us, then you guessed it!  Ceeegars and cocktails on the patio to wind down such a great day!

Day 4 was saying Goodbye to the parents.  We were up early and helping them get the luggage and bags in the car for their long drive back to Ohio!  Then we were off to a quick meeting with Chrissi that we had requested because of how knowledgeable she was and we still had questions about Wyndham timeshare ownership. 
~~~
This is where I insert a note to self:

Self, never request a timeshare appointment and think you will be out of there in less than three hours.  Now back to you in the studio!
~~~

Needless to say, we wasted a whole day of our vacation with questions and sales people in the sales office.  Not to say that we didn’t learn a lot and I was ultimately glad that we did it.  So we went to dinner  back to the condo to wind down.  It was actually wonderful evening.

Broadway Street in Nashville
Day 5 was Country Music Hall of Fame and walking along Broadway Street.  We walked through the Museum and got quite a few pics and learned more about country music than a person has a right too.  Ha ha?  Ok.. anyhoo one of the most interesting things we learned is that country music was born in Nashville, but also had a cousin born in Bakersfield!  Who would of thunk it?  It was all due to Buck Owens and the Buckaroos and Merle Haggard, and then brought back to life by Dwight Yoakum.   One of the things that I had wanted to do was to go see Loretta Lynn's ranch but as we walked down Broadway, I came across Ernest Tubbs records where the Opry stars would sing in the midnight jamboree after the show!  I was in heaven!  I had only known about it from Loretta's movie, Coal Miner's daughter.  It was a wonderful experience and I fully recommend it!



Now onto Broadway street!  We stopped at several bars and had a few beers, did some window shopping and then back to the condo to relax and have a dinner for two!  It was such a great trip and I look forward to coming back! 

Thanks Sweet for another wonderful trip!!  Luvs U!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Standin' by Tennessee

Our trip to Tennessee was a pretty good trip and unlike any other trip we have ever taken.  As most of you know, we fly standby and usually the trips are uneventful because we can usually get on any flight that we are listed for. It was not to be this time…  Ooooh Nooooo.

We started the trip Friday night and the flight we were listed for was leaving at 11:00pm, so we arrived around eight and checked our bags then went to The Buena Vista located within SFO to have a celebratory cocktail where we were actually carded!  She must have seen me on my left side…

Libations at the Buena Vista in SFO

Anyhoo, Sweet heard our names and we were on the flight. He was a little stressed because the flight was delayed due to maintenance.  I couldn’t sleep, not sure why, so I watched the in flight movie instead which was My Week with Marilyn.  The movie was pretty good but it made me sad for her.  After about an hour’s worth of sleep, we landed at O’Hare where we were supposed to have a 1 ½ layover, but with the delay in San Francisco we only had minutes.  So we get to our gate and we are told another delay, this due to weather.  Now Sweet is not happy with himself because he always checks the weather for our connecting flight and did not do it this time.

With flights delayed or cancelled due to a hailstorm and also a few plane inspections we were pretty sure we were going to be stuck in Chicago.  So Sweet went to work trying to get us out of there.  The answer?  His parents were driving from Ohio to meet up in the big TN, so they would detour and pick us up in Lexington, Kentucky.  Whew! 

Still with me? 

After a pleasant little flight on an express plane, we land at the Blue Grass airport in Kentucky and grab a bite to eat at The Tap Room located right inside the gate.  The derby was that weekend so hats and hatboxes were invading the waiting areas and sidewalks.  I wanted one so bad!!!

Attempted Derby Hat
It is now a road trip to Nashville after his parents pick us up!  We travel along the Kentucky Turnpike and the drive was beautiful!!  We all talked and laughed our way to Tennessee.  Our arrival is timed at somewhere around 5:30pm and we now need to go to the Nashville airport to retrieve our luggage that has been there since 8 that morning when we should have been.  Alas, we would have missed out on the quality time with his parents.  Which was good because they were very clear that at their age, it was probably their last trip.

I have to give thumbs up to United Airlines because when we walked into customer service to get our suitcases, the young man behind the counter was professional and prompt.  Now onto the rental car!  Avis check in was fab and the young woman behind that counter was wonderful, she had us in and out in no time.  We get to our car and as Sweet is loading the vehicle, I open the passenger door to get in and something pricks me.  I lean forward and my hand goes underneath me to see what it is.  I pull up a razor blade that was in the crevice of the seat blade side up. No bueno..  also no blood so complaint filed, we move on.

Finally at our destination, we check into the WyndhamNashville and it is gorgeous!  After unloading luggage, going to the store for groceries and libation ingredients (a must have when vacationing with parental units) we settle in out on the patio and relaxed!!  It was definitely a long and memorable day!!

Patio view from our room at Wyndham Nashville

Friday, May 4, 2012

Just another Writing Prompt!


Well, here is another prompt that I posted in April on the Writer’s Digest wall.  This premise is why you were late for a meeting.  Hope you like it!!  Please feel free to leave a comment, they are appreciated!

 ~~~~~~

Hannah stared down at her phone as it lay on the white tablecloth while she waited for her food.  She pushed the refresh button again to see if Roger had emailed her. She was getting impatient.  Instead the dreaded email of her boss displayed with a ding. 

“What could she possibly want?” Hannah growled.

 “Where the hell are you Miss Riley?” it read. “The meeting is in ten minutes and of course it looks as though you forgot!!!  Get your soon to be jobless ass here immediately!”

 “Oh crap!” Hannah mumbled as she threw a twenty on the table and hurriedly grabbed her suit jacket from the back of the chair then bent to grab her purse on the floor.  She rushed toward the little gate that separated the cafĂ©’s patio from the sidewalk and began to run.  Just as she rounded the corner she was enveloped into a rush of passengers coming from the ferry that had just docked and now filled the entirety of the walkway. 

The panic set in as she realized that she wasn’t going to make it and would have to deal with the evil that was Cora.  She made it to the crosswalk and while waiting for the light to change she realized that she had left her phone on the table.

“Shit!!”  Hannah was close to tears as she turned to make her way back through the crowd to the cafe.  She was in full sprint now and trying to think why she had even decided to go out to lunch? She knew why, it was Roger and her stomach jumped with excitement at the thought of his daily salacious emails.  She was now at the table she had been sitting at and no phone in sight.  She looked around and called out to a passing waitress.

 “Oh my God!  This can NOT be happening!”  She cried as she followed the young girl to the bar area where the lost and found was.

She looked up at the clock above the bar that teased her with the fact that she was already fifteen minutes late.  She wasn’t going to make it back for the meeting, which meant the bitch would surely fire her now.  She sat down on the nearest stool to wait for the waitress when she heard the sirens.  She looked up at the breaking news on the flat screen mounted in the corner and the reporter standing in front of the building where she worked.

 Hannah was listening but the words didn’t make sense.  She watched as people were running from the revolving doors with their hands up, some bloody and some being helped.  Police and SWAT teams were running inside along with paramedics.  The waitress came back with her phone as she listened of the shootings on the 17th floor.  Her floor. She looked down as her phone rang to life and Roger’s smiling face displayed on the screen.
 
“Honey, I think you just saved my life!” She whispered.


Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Those Blessed Writing Prompts

I made the dreadful mistake that I am sure (I hope) quite a few of you have made as well.  What could that possibly be you ask?   I allowed someone to read part of my novel(s) that I am working on and they were so disinterested and said the dreaded words “pretty good” while setting the papers down on the table that I call my workstation, then moving on to other discussions or food.  Bleh…

So I did what any insecure aspiring writer would do. I quit.

But just for a time, how stupid was that?  What was I expecting from these readers that I had ambushed to do when they read my little short stories or the jewel encrusted folder that is the haven for my novel?  Well I’ll tell you…

I wanted gush people!!    

So after I realized the errors of my ways, I dusted off my sparkly folder and went back to work.  I did however notice that my writing had changed and just as I go to the gym everyday, I really needed to write the morning pages that I had become accustomed to and exercise my thoughts, writing and words. 

I feel like my writing is back and although I am still trying to find my style, I feel good about it. I no longer am writing for gush but for me. So I am back to writing prompts and I want to enter competitions again.  My novel is coming along now that I am back at it.  I tried not to go back to page 1 and edit for the thousandth time, I just continued on with the story and figure I can change or mesh the styles later?  What do you think?

Anyhoo..  Here is a writing prompt that I posted on Writer’s Digest in April.  Its premise is Bribing an IRS Agent.  I changed it up a little based on a comment made by a wonderful person named Ann.   Hope you like it!!

~~~~~~~~

The doorbell rang and I sat at the kitchen table trying to pretend it wasn’t going to play out this way.  After the last several years, why even pretend?  The mess she and that spectacled bean counter left would never end.  I got up from the table and with the memory of that bitch’s voicemail I opened the door for the IRS. 

“Mr. Gauthier??”  The man at the door in the shiny black suit and sunglasses said darkly.

“Yes, please come in.” I moved back to let him in.  We sat down as he opened his briefcase and began to pull out folders.  He explained the discrepancies of my last two years tax returns and then went on to explain the consequences of blindly signing tax returns and listening to big breasted blond idiots.  Wait, I think that was just in my head.  I hadn’t heard a word he had said until I heard the word jail.

“Listen, isn’t there something we could do here?”  I said with sweat pouring down my temples.  “I mean to make this go away?”

“Are you attempting to bribe an agent of the IRS Mr. Gauthier?”

“I think I am kidding?”  I said clasping my hands together and looking down.

“Maybe there is something we can do” I looked up with relief in the distance. “ I see that you owe over a hundred thousand which would be the right amount of money needed for a hit job.” 

Did I hear him right?  I looked up and he was staring directly at me with those cold blue eyes.  After hearing him out and understanding the object of his murderous desire, I finally agreed.  I would kill the man about to testify at his fraud trial and he would correct my taxes so that all went away.  Hands shook and the deal was done.  What was I doing?

I moved in a fog for the next few days as I studied maps, schedules and photos of the soon to be deceased.  Then it came to me, I knew what I had to do to fix everything.  The plan was in motion already, might as well run with it.

The day had finally came and I was scared.  Armed with the gun Mr. Agent had given me, I followed his witness to the location that I had carefully planned for and just as I thought at 1:30 PM, in that familiar suburban alley. The Mercedes was there.  I walked up and fired two bullets into each of them.  I smiled as I watched the blond hair absorb the blood and the shocked look on his face.  I pulled off the gloves and wrapped the tape with the fingerprints of the IRS agent on the gun and tossed it. 

The next morning, I drank my coffee and read the insurance policy that would take care of all my problems with pictures of my Ex wife, my CPA and the IRS agent flashing across the TV in the background. 

*gush