I Am A Complete And Utter Disaster

     It's been a weird day, but in a good way. Before we get to all of that, I need to give you the Mom update. She is home and resting comfortably in her own bed, which is something she has been wanting to do since she regained consciousness in the parking lot of Publix. The thing that was holding her in the hospital was an ultrasound to check her heart. She has a heart murmur from a leaky valve. They thought that it could have been the culprit behind her passing out, but the tests came back normal, so she was finally able to come home.

     It was rough watching her in there, fortunately since I don't have a job right now, I was able to spend a lot of time in the hospital with her, but it sapped her energy. She became this very fragile woman that could barely walk. She doesn't get around like she once did, but not like that. That place was sapping the life out of her. Her personal doctor wanted her out of there two days earlier, because of her dementia. It isn't good for her to be in an unfamiliar place, and the second night she was there, she woke up in a panic, and pulled out her IV and heart monitor wires.

    She is doing much better now. She still needs to build her strength back up, and her energy is starting to return, but this took a very big toll on her. Here is the thing. People always say that they wish they could have been there, when someone dies or is dying. I've watched m father die, and it wasn't fun. Yes, there is a part of me that was glad I was there at the end, but if I could have avoided all that direct pain, I would. This is what is happening now, I don't know how much time my mom has left, and I'm going to be watching her die, and it is hard. If you are lucky, you will never get the chance to watch a loved one die. It creates a lasting impression on you, one that isn't easily covered but remembering them how they were. The were you remember is the last way you saw them, and it isn't a good memory. Be very thankful if you have never had to watch someone deteriorate before you. My father went fast, but I was there when he collapsed and had a heart attack. I was there, to perform CPR on him until paramedics came, and then had to continue until they could set things up for him. It's a memory I wish I didn't have, and I know, that I will have more memories coming that I will also wish that I never had. For the past several days, I have been reliving Sunday afternoon through my head. I walk out of the store, I tell my mom to hold onto the cart because she looks like she is struggling a bit. I open the door for her and load the groceries in the back. I walk the cart to the corral, I turn and see her falling to the ground. I run to her, and lift her head off the ground and see nothing in her eyes. I hear a rattle in her breathing and think, this is the last living image of my mother. I see her come back slightly and I begin to call 911. People are standing around and trying to help. The fire department and paramedics show up and say that they will take over. I answer questions for an EMT. I watch them load her up to go to the ER. I get in my car and head home knowing that no matter what, I will be waiting to get in and see her. I arrive and go right in, and she is awake and clear headed. I'm relieved, but then have to go through the next few days watching her spiral down form being stuck in a hospital bad on "Fall Risk", where and alarm goes off every time she gets out of bed to go the the bathroom. I really hope that you never have to go through any of this.

     Enough with the bad memories and things that will bring you down. I had a video go live yesterday and it did pretty well. Well for me any way. I did get help form a fellow YouTuber by the name of That Guy Ken. He's a good guy and helped me out by sending some people my way to check out my video. It was a bit of a thrill. Anyway here is the video so that you can see exactly what I did to Saki.



     It's kind of funny how many people that that I was talking about Purple Cush when I said that everyone needs a little purple in their life. I'm a huge Prince fan, when I think purple I think the color and then the Purple One himself. That's just me though I didn't take any offense by it, but I did think it was funny.

     I was overjoyed to sneak in a 10 second clip of one of my new favorite songs in the beginning. If you can figure out what song that is, you get a prize. That prize would be the satisfaction of knowing you are correct.

     I do have some other big announcements, but I can't tell you right now. One is a secret project I'm working on, and the other, I kind of want to save for a video, since I need one for Sunday morning, and I have nothing ready yet. So, those announcements will have to wait.

     I can get to the strange day now. It was strange only because of one specific incident, that I have now been thinking about since it happened. This is me getting trapped in my own head. This is where the panic and anxiety can come from, but I don't know if it will in this case. I was having lunch with a friend and he mentioned something. He was talking to a friend of his. I happen to know this friend in, I guess you could say casual passing. She is a dancer, that I have talked to before when I have gone to the strip clubs with him. She is a very attractive and cool young woman. In their conversation I guess she mentioned that she had broken up with her boyfriend recently. He being the mensch that he is, threw my name out there. It was more, "hey that guy I do The Pepperoni Report is single." Her response, "He doesn't like me." My first response was, why would she think that? He actually had the answer. The last time I was there with him, which was nearly two years ago now, she had asked me if I wanted a dance. I said no, because, well frankly I was broke. I did notice that she walked away dejected, and I felt bad, but I always feel bad when I tell someone no. That's part of how I get wrapped into doing a ton of things for people. I of course told him and he of course knew that it wasn't a case of me not liking her, and he told her as much. That was it, until I got home, and then I started dissecting the conversation again, and this is where I start getting myself into trouble of overthinking things. I started rounding on what she had said. "He doesn't like me." Why was that the first thing she said? Why wasn't, "Oh, he's nice and all, but he is too (take your pick of descriptive modifiers here)." Here is where I start putting false hope and definite doubt in my own head, which is what causes some of these panic attacks. Was her response an admission of attraction? She couldn't possibly be attracted to me. She is far to attractive and young to be noticing anyone like me. It doesn't matter that we had a wonderful conversation about common interests (she's a bit of a comic nerd). Yes, we talked about Batman and comics at a strip club. I told you that I'm no good with women, what part of that don't you understand. Anyway, once I start putting that into my head, I wrestle mentally with this hole back and forth concept for hours. This was at lunch when he told me that, it is now 10:35 at night and the whole conversation is still going through my head, and wanting to know unanswerable questions. I'm basically spinning myself into a tizzy. Now that is a sentence I thought I would never write.

      This is what I will do with all that information, and all that back and forth in my head. Nothing. Yep, I will do absolutely nothing. You know why? Because it is so much safer than stepping out of my skin, taking a chance on her liking me, and then her saying no. I am a complete and utter disaster. Now that's a title. I need to go to bed and think all this over a whole ton more too much. I also have to work on that secret project tomorrow. Don't worry, I will tell you about it when the time is right, but not until then. I need to keep this one to myself for now. It's coming though, and it is going to be a lot of work for me. Peace in and goodnight.

Be What Makes You Happy

Elijah Clayton

Taylor Robertson

     If you don't know those names, you should. Those are the names of the two men that were killed at the Madden tournament in Jacksonville Florida. Just one more mass shooting to add to the absolutely horrific number of them that have already happened this year. I do my best to bring the names of the fallen, so that they can be remembered, but even I can't get to as many as there are. I am happy to see that news services have finally begun to get the names of the fallen before they get the names of the viles that do these terrible acts. I will never search out or put the name of those that do these acts, but I will always do my best to give you the names that do need to be seen, heard, and remembered.

     A quick update on the Mom. She is doing well, but is still in the hospital. We are waiting on her having an ultrasound of her chest to see if her leaky valve has gotten worse and could be the cause of her collapsing. I believe, and I have no medical experience what so ever, that it was a combination of factors that became a perfect storm. As soon as she gets that ultrasound and gets cleared by the cardiologist, she will be able to get out of the hospital and come home. She was much more active today when I visited her, so I'm taking that as a very good sign. I spoke to her personal doctor today, and he wants her out of there as soon as possible, because her being there affects her dementia, and exacerbates the problem. When she wakes up confused in the middle of the night because she doesn't know her surroundings, it raises her heart rate, and could cause her to pass out again. He doctor ordered the test for today, but from what I could find out, they still hadn't given it to her. Maybe tomorrow she will get the test early, and they will release her.  Here is to hoping.

     With everything that went on Sunday, I forgot to post the video I released that morning, it was another in the series Remember When, and it's a little funny story about one time I went to Pizza Hut with my parent, a long long time ago. If you get the chance, go check it out on my YouTube channel. I do have another video going live tomorrow, that will answer the question of why Saki is up on the stand and without the fairings in this picture.

     That video will go live tomorrow at 5 PM New York time. I'll have it for you here on Thursday night. That only leaves me with one other thing, and that would be Favorite Song of the Week, except it isn't going to be FSOTW despite the fact that Twenty One Pilots released audio for a new song. Oh, don't worry, that will come next week. There just so happens to be something else that caught my attention this week and I found the full version of it.

     I'm not sure if it has made it's way to Facebook yet, but I have seen the shortened version of this video many times on Twitter. That brings us to what this is, and that is Favorite Thing of the Week. It is a short video of Toni Basil dancing. What? You don't remember Toni Basil? Ok, how about this. Remember the song "Mickey", hey Mickey you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey? It's all starting to come back to you now right? Ok, now that we have established who Toni Basil is, we have to get to why the is FTOTW. Most people do not know that Toni was nearly 40 years old when that song came out. Also, they didn't know that she was a dancer, teacher and choreographer. Very good at all of them, and she still does that to this day. This day making her 74 years old. Here is the full video of what has been going around, and it is way worth the watch.

     When I grow up, I want to be Toni Basil. How great is that? She moves with so little effort, and is just killing it. The guy she is dancing with is only a fraction of her age, and she moves just as good as he does. Watch this video and strive to be that. If you can't, just let it make you happy then. Peace in and goodnight.

Today Was A Day

     Like the title says. It was a day. I'm exhausted and I did nearly nothing today. Why am I exhausted? Well, I got the scare of a lifetime.

     My mother is old, and not in the best of health. It's a little better than average I would say. I took her to Publix to get groceries, and everything was fine. She was moving a little slower than normal, which isn't really saying much. She doesn't move all that fast anymore either. I opened her door and put the groceries in the car, then I took the cart to the cart corral. I turned to walk back and saw her starting to drop to the ground between the door and the car. I ran as fast as I could to her. When I got there she was on the ground and unresponsive. Her eyes were glazed over, and the wouldn't answer me. I picked her up as best I could and then fought to get my phone out of my pocket.  A gentleman asked if I needed help and I said I needed an ambulance. My mom began to slide down again. I threw my phone on the front seat and lifted her up again, she was breathing heavy, but she was starting to be a little responsive. When I got her a little more comfortable, I grabbed my phone again and dialed 911. At that time another man ran over and helped me left her while I was talking to the 911 operator.

    The original gentleman ran in and told management what had happened, and they ran out. Before the ambulance and fire department got there, there were a dozen people wanting to help out. I had my mom leaning on the car rail and my leg for comfort, and the gentleman that ran over was keeping her responsive and telling her to keep looking at him.  With the EMT's on the scene, they quickly took over so that I could fill in the detail to what happened and her medical history and what not. Before they even said they were going to recommend that she go to the ER, I was already nodding yes. They got her to stand up, with help, and get on the gurney.

     The remaining EMT told me where they were taking her, and that it would take time to get her settled in, that was when the manager of Publix asked if I needed to store my groceries with them. I made the decision to get to the house and put the groceries away, to give them the time they needed. Then I headed to the ER.

     I got there and they let me right in to see her. She was in a room covered in wires. She definitely looked better than she did when they put her on the ambulance. Some of her color had returned, she still wasn't all there, but she said she had been asking for me the entire time. The did a few tests, and we had to wait for results before anything could happen. The tests came back normal, but they wanted to keep her overnight to evaluate her since she did collapse with no sign as to why. She didn't want that, but I spoke up, so she stayed. By the time I left the hospital she was ready to go to sleep, but before that, she was feisty, wanting to fight the entire nursing staff to find out what was taking so long.

     Earlier she had fought with one of the nurses about having to use a bed pan. Well, it wasn't a fight as much as when the nurse said that she couldn't stand up and go to the bathroom, do to her collapsing earlier in the day, my mom just said she didn't need to go anymore. After several hours, she was finally given a room. That is when the tech and me had to make a decision. To get her in the bed, there were two options, Option one was to wheel the ER bed in and transfer her over to the hospital bed. Option two was for my mom to walk from the hallway to the bed. Guess which one she wanted to do? You guessed it. She said she could walk. The tech and I looked at each other, and said, what the hell, let's guide her all the way there and see what happens. She handled it like a champ. After her nurse got there, and I was going over her history with him, she finally braved going to the bathroom. I guided her there, and she handled her business. When she came out, she told me to finally get out of there, so she could go to sleep. Her nurse was done with needing any more information from me, and just told me what the plans were going forward. With that all taken care of, I let her get some sleep.

     It was a day. I'm home now, and writing this looking forward to getting her out of the hospital tomorrow. She is a tough old bird and not done with this world yet. Peace in and goodnight.

The Patchwork Knight (Chapter 41)

     That night was peaceful as was the next week. Sir Paljin, Rolf and I would ride ahead to scout, and the caravan would catch up. It was this way until we reached the narrow trail of the mountain pass that led to the Crystal Palace. It was barely wide enough for the wagons to go through. Sir Paljin took the lead so that he could speak with the guards that protected the pass from an wanderers.

     Sir Paljin walked towards the pass and a lone Knight came from the side behind a large boulder. He had a crossbow pointed directly at Paljin.

     "Halt, you need walk no further."

     "I stand my ground."

     "Sir Paljin, is that you?"

     "It is. My fellow riders and I are scouting ahead for a caravan led by Sir Jacob."

     "The King will be happy that the two of you made it back unharmed."

     "I wouldn't say that we were unharmed. You could you point that flying sticker away from me now."

     "Of course, I don't know where my head was."

     "Let me introduce you to my mates here."

     Paljin waved us forward to stand along side him.

     "This is Sir Pitre, he is the son of Feyre."

     "The Feyre? The boy that nearly beat the Princess at the tournament a few years back?"

     "One and the same."

     "The King will definitely be happy to see him. You were believed dead my boy. Wait, you are clearly no longer a boy, and knighted at that."

     "Thank you, and I was told by Sir Jacob of my demise."

     "Sir Jacob knighted him in the field. Believe me, it is well deserved. This young man that stand before you, is the best fighter I have ever seen. Sir Jacob himself, can't stand before him in combat."

     "You best Sir Jacob in combat?"

     "Not in combat, but sparring, yes I did."

     "Next to Sir Wallace, Sir Jacob is the best swordsman in the land."

      "Not any longer, but we digress, there is still one other for you to meet. This is Rolf, he was a Raider scout that Pitre captured, but he ended up helping to save my life, when I was struck by an arrow."

     "A Raider scout, here, with you."

     "I have fought alongside this man against the people that he once called his own. I will stand beside him again when it is necessary, and I will stand in front of anyone that tries to cause him harm because of his past."

     "Those are some bold words Sir Paljin. I am not one to stand against you, but I do fear you may have your work cut out for you. The people at the palace are not kind to a former Raider in their midsts."

     "Sir Jacob will speak for him as well, and once they see what Pitre is capable of, I doubt anyone will stand against Rolf. I should also introduce you to our young guardian of the gate here. This is Sir Constance, but we tend to call him Sir Constant, because once he starts talking, he rarely stoops."

     "That isn't fair and you know it."

     "I dare say I remember a time when you began talking around a dinner fire and everyone left with you still talking to yourself."

     "One time, and I was exhausted from training that day, I didn't know up from down."

     "If you ever want a conversation that goes on for days, just have a meal with Sir Constant here."

     "It is nice to meet you Sir Constance. Are you the only one guarding this pass."

     "Oh no, I was just the one that drew the short stick and had to come out to greet you all. COME ON OUT BOYS."

     As Sir Constance shouted 9 more men came from behind the boulders that lined the entrance to the pass. They were all large men in full armor and heavy swords.

     "I give you, the Guardians of the Gate."

     "We told you that that is not our name. It is good to see you again Sir Paljin."

     "As I a to see you, Gorin. Guardian of the Gate? I like it."

     "I told you it sounded good."

     "Ahh, that is just Sir Constant being his talkative self. Who are your friends here, and why does one of them look like a Raider."

     "That is easily explained. This is Rolf, he was captured by my other friend here, Sir Pitre. He also helped save my life, he goes where I go and no one will say otherwise."

     "Calm yourself Paljin, I wouldn't dare stand against you. Sir Pitre? I didn't know there was a Sir Pitre. Wait, are you the same Pitre that fought in the tournament against Princess Alma? You are, I recognize your face. Lad, you have grown."

     "You were at the tournament?"

     "I was, I was one of the guards instructed to stay by Princess Alma's side."

    "You were the Knight that was always to her left?"

     "Good memory boy, I was indeed. How did you know."

     "You were the bigger of the two, but only by an inch or so."

     "Yes, I was. The other Knight was my brother. He unfortunately died trying to find you. He was part of Sir Wallace's group that went on a search for you and your father when the Raiders began their advance into the Realm."

     "I'm sorry to hear that. Was he in the patrol that came to my village with Sir Wallace before?"

     "He was, he always rode by Sir Wallace's side. Sir Wallace spoke fondly of you, and how he sparred with you in the forest near your village."

     "We only sparred a few times, but I quickly became very fond of Sir Wallace, it was truly sad when I heard of his death and that of his men. Do you know Sir Salvor? Is he at the Palace? I would like to speak to him."

     "Sir Salvor is at the palace, how do you know of him?"

     "Sir Jacob told me that he survived the attack that killed Sir Wallace and your brother. I was hoping he could tell me where the attack was so that I could pay my respects to Sir Wallace and those that rode with him."

     "He was marked from that fight. He has a fear that is always there since that day. He bravely buried his fellow Knights and walked in what little clothes the Raiders had left him all the way back to the Kingdom, his head wound was closed until he made it to us. He vowed to never go back to that location again, but he told us the way. I would be happy to take you there as soon as we can go. I Haven't been about to visit the area myself."

     "I would count myself luck to have you as a guide."

     "Now, about this Sir Pitre thing. How did that come about."

     "He saved a fort from Raiders, then protected the caravan by leading a vanguard of Raiders away, then almost single handily defeated an infantry of Raiders as they attacked Sir Jacob and the caravan, not too mention, he saved my life."

     "Sir Paljin is being too kind. He and Rolf did their fair share against that infantry of Raiders. They must have taken twenty men themselves."

     "Those twenty pale in comparison to the circular pile of bodies that surrounded you at the end of the fight., Oh and did I mention that he best Sir Jacob sparring with swords."

     "They were only sticks, we didn't use swords."

     "Good that you didn't or Sir Jacob would have been shaved closer than he ever had been before."

     "Is this true, you bested Sir Jacob in swordplay."

     "It was only sticks."

     "I know Sir Jacob, and if he was sparring with sticks it meant that he knew there was potential for pain if you used swords. I'm betting he was fearing he would hurt you not the other way around."

     "He had heard tales that the villagers told him from the battle on the fort."

     "Tales or not, it seems you have done something that no one has done since Sir Wallace died. Sir Jacob is a remarkable swordsman, and Sir Wallace was beyond him. Sir Wallace spoke of your skill with a sword and how you had bested him a few times in your training sessions with him. We only thought he was trying to create a legend of the boy that nearly beat the Princess. Hearing this, I now think he tales were true."

     "I can tell you from fighting along side of him, they are true and under told. He can do things that I've never seen before and he has already taught me how to enhance my sight so that I can see farther."

   "See farther? What are you talking about."

    "You can do it with the Swordsman's Euphoria, and speaking of that, he doesn't need to do the movements to enter it."

     "Is this true Pitre."

     "Yes it is. I can use my sight to see about two miles away. I can make it look as though it is only a few yards in front of me, and I non longer have to do the movements to enter the Euphoria."

     "Can you do it now. There is a marker on the side of the mountain where the trail follows. It can not bee seen from here, but it is in that direction. Can you tell me what it says."

     I entered the Euphoria and gathered the aether from the stone and looked in the direction that Sir Gorin was pointing. I could see a banner that had white letters on it, as I focused more I could read words that said, 'Only the valiant can walk this path.' I relayed what I saw to Sir Gorin.

     "That is remarkable, you must teach me how to do that. You can't let Palji out do me."

     "I'm not a very good teacher, but I will tell you what I know."

     "If you taught Paljin how to do something, you are an exceptional teacher. He was the worst student we ever had at the academy."

     "You should know, that Sir Gorin would be of better use as a court jester than a Knight."

     With that everyone in attendance burst into laughter.

The Schedule Is On Fire

     It's been a weird couple of days. I've gotten a lot done, but I feel like I've done nothing. The really weird part is, that I don't think that is a bad thing. It means that the new schedule I have created for myself is working. No, I'm still not going to fill in the details of the schedule, just know that it is in place and it's working as it should. For example I now have The Patchwork Knight written through the month of September. Not bad right? I could sit back and relax for a while if I wanted to, but that isn't part of the schedule, so that won't happen.

     Normally, this would be the time of year that I take two weeks off from social media and basically completely minimize my online presence, but since I have so many things that are depended on me being online, I don't think I'll be able to do that. Although I have everything ready for the PR, but I did run into a problem today. For some reason the blog didn't launch as it was scheduled to. It was scheduled but for some reason I had to do it manually. Even though I seem to have that problem fixed for the scheduled chapters of The Patchwork Knight, I don't have it fixed for the PR. Oh, that reminds me, for some reason Medium stopped posting the link for the latest Chapter on there to Facebook, so I have to post that manually as well. Just a few of the reasons why I can't step away and gain some peace of mind.

     Speaking of the PR, there isn't a single view on the blog despite it being live for over 3 hours at this point. Granted I didn't post anything promoting the blog (only the video) because we want to guide traffic to the YouTube page. I did check the numbers on the video, and they are abysmal. I need to figure out a way to fix this problem, but I don't know where to start. I will share the video here with you though.



     Get used to that thumbnail design. That is going to be the go to from now on. It's simple and I can write whatever I want in those three little bars. The colors will change, but it will always be that design.

     If you follow me on Instagram there is a chance that you saw the picture I posted up yesterday. If you didn't, I'm going to share it again. As you an see, Saki is still up on the stand, but now the fairings are off. Why is it so? I'm not going to tell you, but I was busy for a couple of hours yesterday taking care of something that is going to make Saki stand out. In the next couple of days, I'm going to shoot a video explaining that picture and everything that I did. It will be out this Wednesday, so you have something to look forward too. I will also have to get a video ready for the following Sunday. I have this Sunday taken care of with another Remember When. I need an idea for that Sunday video though. I have a few things I can do, but I want to know what you want to see. Give me an idea, and I'll see if I can put it together. Is there any topic that you want me to talk about? Is there anything you want to see in the area? Is there anything you want to see me try and do on Saki? If I can attempt it I'll make a video for it. Leave a comment below on what you want to see.

     Oh, I wanted to talk about guitar class tonight. I was leaning how to use a slide. If you don't know what that is, it is a piece of glass or some type of metal that you put on one of you fingers and slide it along the strings to get a really cool sound. It seems really easy right? Just slide it along the string and voila! you have a cool sound. It's not that simple, there are rules to it, and when it is done right it does sound really cool. I have some work to do, but my teacher said that I'm getting it rather quickly. There is one problem though, I don't have a slide of my own to practice, so I did order one. It should be here next week. Back to the rules. You can't just slide it anywhere and get that good sound. You have to focus it over the fret, and it has to be certain frets to get it to sound right. Of course that all depends on what key you are in, but for what I was doing today. I have certain frets and areas that I have to hit, and it gets a little complicated at times. I think I have the basics now, I just have to be able to remember it when I get that slide in the mail. I went with glass, which is what I've been using in class. I also ordered a little something extra. It's called and ebow. That is a little battery power tool that you lay over three strings. It rests on the two outer ones, and uses electricity to create a constant harmonic on the string in the middle. It sounds a little like a violin and can be used for a ton of applications, even slide. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this, and I can't wait to take it to class to really learn how to use it. I'm still hoping to at some point create my own music for these videos. It's just going to take a lot of time and learning. That brings us to tonights lesson. Go out and learn something new. It's never too late, and you are never too old. Peace in and goodnight.

T.I.Double Ga. ERRRR

     Most days, you walk through like, not remembering why you do the things that you do. They have just become a part of your very being. It's no different than breathing, drinking and eating, it just is. Then a day comes along that reminds you, and it hits you like a ton of bricks. Today was one of those days for me.

     I love writing, and I rarely give much thought as to why I love it and why I do it, but today I went and saw Christopher Robin, and remembered everything. A.A. Milne's classic story about a boy and his bear lit something inside of me as a child and made me want to be a storyteller. Stories bring a new life into the world, but it is only in the readers mind. That is what you are told, books bring life to fantasy, and create worlds that you can't visit on your own. There is another place where that world exists, and that is in the mind of the writer, and it is very much real. When I sit down and write a story, I'm no longer sitting at my desk typing away on a laptop. I'm in that world. I'm seeing everything that is there, I'm smelling the smells, and feeling the emotions of every character. I can feel the warmth of the sun on a spring morning or the bite of the cold on a winter's day.

     Christopher Robin tells the story of a grown up Christopher Robin who has left Hundred Acre Woods and the residents behind. Then something amazing happens, and Pooh tracks him down. He is not the boy that he once was, and society has made him more serious, and forgetful of those simpler times, but Pooh helps him find his way.

     That is all I'm going to tell you about the movie. I loved every second of this film. It was absolutely brilliant, and the story and screenwriters; Greg Brooker, Mark Steven Johnson, Alex Ross Perry, Tom McCarthy, and Allison Schroeder captured A.A. Milne's voice perfectly. It is rich with nostalgia, from Pooh waking in his house in the tree, to Eeyore's droll voice spreading anything but cheer, to my favorite part of the movie. Tigger singing his theme song. I was a kid again, I sang along with him, and I was remembering how that story inspired me to want to be a storyteller. The characters, were so rich and complex, but relatable to anyone, from child to adult. The story about innocence and dealing with everyday things in a whimsical way. The drawings by E.H Shepard that brought a vision of the character into the light of the minds eye.

     I may never make a penny from what I write, but right now, right now at this very second, I'm doing the one thing in this world that I love more than anything. I'm writing. Peace in and goodnight.

Sometimes It's The Little Things That Make A Difference.

     I've been busy with the small things this weekend. I broke the camera out, and got some decent shots. I edited two of them and left one of them as is. It was just too good to do anything with.

     Can you guess which one is untouched? 1,2,3? I won't tell until someone asks. I also put together a little video for this morning yesterday. It was a fun one to do, and one that I've been wanting to do for a while now. I think you will figure out why once you've watched it.

    That's right, the stickers are finally here. Just follow the instructions in the video to get your very own Counterfeit Squirrel sticker. Here is one more picture just to really get a good look at it.

     When I was finished with that video, I stopped by a housewarming party for some good friends of mine. I hadn't seen them in over a year, so it was really good to get in touch with them again. I only stayed briefly because of my very special gift of social anxiety, and I also needed to edit that video and get it uploaded for release this morning. While I was there though, I did get to see a few other friends that I hadn't seen in the same amount of time of longer. It made the panic attack that was going on inside of me a little bit easier to handle. 

     These panic attacks are getting a little worse and a little more often, but I'm dealing with it the best that I can. I won't let them stop me completely, and I have gotten my schedule together and it will start tomorrow morning. I'm not going to give you the details, but I will tell you if it makes a difference in how I'm feeling.

     On a different subject, I finished the painting for the PR logo. It didn't come out how I wanted it. I'm afraid I just don't have the skill to do what I want to do. It's a bummer, but I think it came out ok. If you have been on any of the PR social media accounts today, you would have seen it. I put it in place, but just in case you haven't, here it is. I really wanted it to be more photorealistic, but as I was trying to go deeper and deeper into it, I was getting to the point where I was going to really screw it up. Since I have put a lot of work into it, that was the last thing I wanted to do. I know what you are think, "you could just paint over the mistakes" It's not that simple. When the mistakes keep getting bigger and bigger, it becomes demoralizing, and just eats away at your self esteem. This is the best I could do, and for me, it wasn't good enough, but it will do for now. Maybe if we can get this thing really going, we can pay someone to do exactly what I want to do with it. Until then, this is the official logo for TPR, and yes I know I always shorten it on here to just the PR, but TPR is what it really is. We have the new business card, we now have the logo, and we are going to be working on a massive project that could be a game changer for us when it comes out. I'm not going to give you any details, but I will tell you when it comes out, so you can check it out.

     Now that the PR business is out of the way, there is one more thing that I did this weekend, and I just finished it. A couple of weeks ago, I ordered these pens that are made to paint the logos on your tires. I came up with this idea out of no where and started looking things up online to see if it was really a thing, and it was. I wanted a way to get some purple on Saki without repainting it, something I need a lot of money and time to be able to do myself. Anyway there is a company called Tire Ink that makes these paint pens just for painting on your tire, and they just so happened to have purple, red would have been my second choice had they not had purple. Here is how it looks.

     Pretty cool right? That is the practice for when I get the new tires put on. I'm going to do that in a couple of weeks. The company says that one pen can do a single car, so I'm covered with the bike. It gives it that little pop of color that makes me happy. With that done. I did find a place to put my own sticker on Saki, here is the pic of that.

     If you look under the R on the side of the bike you will see that CS logo. I do think that if I reorder these stickers, I will go bigger the next time. Those are 2 1/2 inches so I can go 3 or 3 1/2 for the next one. That of course adds cost, but the next ones I will sell, if there is enough demand for them. I'll figure out the price once I have to order them, but I can't see them being more than $5. Until then, watch that video above to find out how to get your hands on the ones I have now for free. I have already handed out a few of them, and of course I put a few on my own things, but I still have at least 80 more. First come first serve Y'all. 

     That was my weekend in a nutshell. I'm going to go around next week to get things set up for that special project. I only have a week to do the set-up and then two weeks to put it all together. This is going to be a lot of work, but I'm pretty sure that what I see in my head, I can do. This isn't like the painting, I knew there was a shot I wouldn't pull of what I wanted, but I had to try. This I know I can do. I can't wait to share this with you. Peace in and goodnight.

The Patchwork Knight (Chapter 40)

     "The trail is clear ahead, but there is a squad of Raiders along the Kingdom trail."

     "How do you know this."

      "I caught a scout ahead on the trail. He told me of the scout we caught earlier and a squad that is waiting along the trail to the Kingdom. He was told to watch for travelers, follow and report their location. The squad would then march and attack."

     "Did he say anything about the infantry we encountered yesterday?"

     "No, he didn't speak of them at all."

     "He may not have been telling you everything then Pitre. We should still remain cautious. How far did you make it on the trail."

     "I went five miles before I found the scout hiding amongst the trees."

     "We will make Sir Jacob aware of this, but I feel he won't be happy about how we found out."

     "I think that knowledge is more important than orders."

     "Pitre, you have clearly never fought with an army.  Orders are always more important than knowledge. We were only meant to know our orders and follow them or be punished."

     "It's not quite like that with us Rolf, but in is true. Orders are based on what command knows, and are meant to keep us safe."

     "Know we know more, so we have better knowledge."

     "This is true Pitre, but we gained that knowledge by disobeying orders. I don't think Sir Jacob will punish you, but he will be disapproving of your actions. Let's stick to our orders from now on. We wait her for the caravan and then advance in front of them as planned. I'm sure Sir Jacob will leave a couple of scouts behind to trail the caravan to be aware of any trouble coming from the rear. The knowledge is useful Pitre, but you could have been hurt getting it. What did you do with the scout?"

     "He tried to attack me, so I took his head."

     "Hmmm, that isn't good Pitre. If he was daring enough to attack you, then he probably had help closer than he told you. We will have to be extra vigilant as we scout ahead, we could run into that squad he was talking about."

     "But he told me they were on the trail to the Kingdom."

     "Yes, Pitre, but that could be misdirection. If they were along this trail then that would explain why he didn't tell you about the infantry. They could have come from the Kingdom."

     "That makes sense. Several war bands, squads and attack forces were sent out to patrol the countryside. I was part of the largest one. I have no knowledge of the others orders, but I would assume that they were similar to our own."

     "That is it then. We wait for the caravan, tell Sir Jacob what we have learned, and then proceed with great caution."

    ***

     The caravan arrived an hour after the sun had broken the ground. We gave Sir Jacob our report and he was as Sir Paljin said, full of disapproval. He also ordered trailing scouts to watch the rear, and had us advance ahead, but to stick to our orders this time and not go traipsing off on our own to find more information. We would fight as a unit.

     The trail was long and didn't fork until it met with foothills. That was our stopping point. The trail had remained clear and there was no sign that anyone had traveled this way in some time. It seems our headless scout had been telling the truth. 

     The fork once again had a sign pointing to the Kingdom, but that was it. There was nothing telling the way to the Crystal Palace.

     "Paljin, why is there nothing telling of where the Crystal Palace is?"

     "The Crystal Palace is in a secret location."

     "How can it be secret, everyone knows of the Crystal Palace?"

     "True, but does everyone know where it is? The Crystal Palace seems like only a legend. People have heard tales of it, but they have never gone to it."

    "The Palace is in the south right?"

     "Indeed it is."

     "My village is in the south, was I near the Palace?"

    "What village are you from Pitre?"

     "I'm from the Colsteen village at the base of the mountains."

     "We will arrive at the Palace before the Colsteen village. Your village was just beyond where the palace rests."

     "I was that close to the Crystal Palace and never knew it."

     "Not many would. It is high on a plateau in the mountains. It is fortified by natural canyon walls around it, with only one trail to access it. The trail is also guarded with hidden outposts. If anyone were to venture along the trail they would be questioned and then turned around before they were near the palace."

     "How many people can stay at the palace?"

     "The Palace is nearly as large as the Kingdom. There is a small lake on the plateau that is fed by a natural stream the flows through the mountain. I'm not sure of exactly how many people can live there, but I would say that it is close to the number that were in the Kingdom."

     A tree branch cracked behind us along the trail to the Kingdom, and we all sprang to action. I opened up my sight to see what made the noise, while Sir Paljin and Rolf stood behind me with swords drawn. I could see a feint gold outline surrounding a body again, but it wasn't on the ground it was in the trees. It was another tree lion, lounging in the sunlight high in a tree.

     "You are in luck Sir Paljin, you are going to get your chance to see a tree lion. Enter the Swordsman's Euphoria and look to the large tree ten yards into the forest along the trail to the Kingdom."

     "Are you serious Pitre? A tree lion? That is two that you have seen. You are going to be full of luck."

     "I can see it Pitre. Its remarkable. I can't believe something so large can balance on a limb so small."

     "Rolf, when you were in your village did the tree lions ever attack people?"

     "No, the tree lions are very peaceful, they would just stay away from people for the most, but if one did cross your path, they would look at you, and then proudly walk away. It was as if they knew you had no chance against them. I dare say, that they are kind of like you."

     "It's a shame that you can't see it Rolf, they are quite beautiful."

     "I've seen one up close. When I was a child, I was playing in the forest, and one came walking along. I stopped in terror, I had not known what it was. I had only heard stories about the tree lions at that point. It wan't until the shock wore off that I noticed it's brindle coat. It looked at me, and even walked closer to me. I slowly reached my hand forward and it sniffed my hand, then licked it. I felt good fortune wash over me. He then turned, flicked it's tail, and walked away in the direction it was going."

     "If it's good fortune to see one, what is it if it licks your hand?"

     "I don't know the answer to that Pitre but I do know that luck has been on my side ever since. It may not seem like it at times, but I always find my way on the better side of things. That is how I knew staying with you was the right thing to do."

     "Well then, this tree lion is a sign of our good fortune then. We have along wait ahead of us gents, so I believe that we are in the right location for just that.

     It was indeed a long wait, the caravan didn't arrive until the sun was nearly at rest. Sir Jacob led the caravan a few hundred yards along the trail to the palace and circle the carts and wagons for the night. Sir Jacob wouldn't allow me to take first watch this night, so I got rest until I was awoken for the last watch of the night.

   

The Queen Is Dead Long Live The Queen

     When you look up at the stars tonight, you will notice that they are brighter. That is because one of the greatest stars to reside on this planet is among them tonight. Aretha Louise Franklin was born March 25th in 1942, in a small house in Memphis Tennessee. That day a legend was born. She relocated with her family to Buffalo New York before finally calling Detroit home in 1946.

     Her father was a preacher and that is where she got her start singing. She toured around with her father on a gospel tour, and sang hymns. On one of these trips she met Sam Cooke, and he changed her path. She wanted to step out from choir and sing popular music. This was at the age of 18.

     She signed her first record deal with Columbia but they really had no idea of the talent that they had. They gave her old songs to sing, that gave her limited success, but it wasn't until she signed a deal with Atlantic, that she had the freedom to write her own music and make decisions on what sound she wanted to pursue. Her first single to hit the pop charts was "Won't Be Long". She didn't just stick with pop music, she branched out into other genres, and crossed over seamlessly. There wasn't a style of music she couldn't sing, and she sang it well. Her first top 40 hit was, Rock A Bye Baby with a Dixie Melody, but it wouldn't be her last.

     It wasn't until 1967 when she recorded her version of Otis Redding's song "Respect" that she hit number one, and that song was the diamond on her tiara. Everyone knows that song because of Aretha. After that, the hits just rolled in, one after another. "Chain of Fools", "Think", "I Say a Little Prayer",  just to name a few.

     Aretha had her down time though, and the 70's weren't kind to her, but then The Blues Brothers happened, and the most memorable scene from the movie where she sang her hit "Think". That movie helped her reach a whole new audience and once again the clouds lifted so that you could see the light of her star. The rest of the 80's were owned by Aretha. "Freeway of Love", Who's Zoomin' Who",  "Jumpin' Jack Flash", and the song I'm going to share with you now. A duet she did with one of her biggest fans, and an icon in his own right. "I Knew You Were Waiting For Me" with George Michael.



     Aretha will alway be remembered for her voice as a singer, but what few don't know or remember was the legacy she will leave with her voice as a civil rights leader. Early on she spoke up and campaigned to help raise money for the Southern Christian Leadership. She Stood beside Martin Luther King Jr. in his activist work, and sang at his funeral when she had to bury her friend. She worked to keep his work alive and bailed Angela Davis out of prison. She fought for women's rights and equality for all. Her acts for the civil rights made a difference and many won't remember that, but those she touched surely will.  

     Remember Aretha as you will, but please try to remember this quote of hers, "It's the rough side of the mountain that's easiest to climb; the smooth doesn't have anything for you to hang on to." It was that attitude that gave her success. Nothing comes easy, but easy isn't best. Aretha Franklin was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Let that sink in.

     Aretha Franklin is swirling in the ether tonight. The star are brighter not because she is among them, but because they are delighted that she is there. Her star always shined brighter than anyone else. Peace in and goodnight.

My Feet Hurt

     I don't know where to begin tonight, so let's just do this thing in order. I woke up early Monday morning to get ready to go to Busch Gardens. That didn't happen. There was a bit of a snafu with the tickets so plans were changed and we instead, went to Universal Studios. I wasn't upset in the least, because I love Universal, but yesterday kicked my tail inside and out.

     I kept with my longstanding tradition of getting a pass and then promptly losing it on The Mummy  ride, but this time, it was even worse. See, The Mummy ride changed the lockers around, and you used your pass to get one and then needed that pass to unlock your stuff. Guess whose pass was needed to unlock the locker? Yep, me. Fortunately the staff member was very helpful and was able to open the locker for us. I did have to prove the stuff was really mine, and my proof was my green wallet. Unfortunately I actually kept my wallet with me, so It was looking like I was trying to steal someone else's stuff. I figured out another way though. I took my phone out and said, "Oh, wait, I can unlock my phone with facial ID. Boom it opened and our stuff was confirmed ours. I was so lucky that wasn't the one time that Face ID didn't work.

     I did have to go to guest relations and get another pass, which was easy, since no one was there. I walked right up, explained what had happened, and the gentleman there got busy and issued a new pass. Free of charge mind you. They are supposed to change a fee of like $10 or something like that, but He felt sorry for me, and gave it to me with a hearty, "Enjoy the rest of your day." I couldn't be more thankful for his kindness and generosity.

     We wandered the park, hit rides, finally stopped late in the day for a bite to eat, and that is when the pain set in. I don't know what happened. I was fine when we sat down, but when we left, my left foot began hurting me, bad. It felt like someone was stabbing a pencil into the lower side of my foot right in front of the heel. It was excruciating, and yes there is still some pain now. Not as much though. I hobbled over to the Hogwart's Express, which is the train that will take you from one park to the other, and then we worked our way around Island's of Adventure for one last ride for the day. We were going for The Hulk. Halfway around the park and both feet started hurting now. I was miserable. We got to The Hulk and it was a 50 minute wait. I threw in the towel. I couldn't stand there and wait in line with that pain for 50 minutes. It was just too much, so I told my companion for the day that I was sorry, but I couldn't take it. She was understanding and we finally made our way to the car.
 
     Oh, I forgot to tell you about the car. She let me drive her car, which was a Subaru WRX. If you don't know what that is, it is basically a toned down Rally Race Car. 300 horsepower all wheel drive, and it was a manual transmission. I love to drive stick, but the clutch on this car was the stiffest I had ever experienced. Before you ask, no, I did not drive the wheels off of it, to see what it would do. Not my car, so I drive it with respect. I could feel the power though. It had a very smooth power band that could get you in trouble if you weren't paying attention. It was crazy at night too. The steering wheel had all these lights all over it. I was amazed, I had never seen anything like that before. It was a blast to drive, and a beautiful car.

     I know I said I was going to have lots of pictures, but since it was Universal and not Busch Gardens, I didn't see a need for pictures. I've posted pictures from there before. Despite the pain in my feet, I had a great time. I'm pretty sure that the pain was caused because I have basically not done much walking around in the past two months, and then yesterday we walked 7 and a half miles. That isn't including the amount that we walked when my phone was tucked away in a locker. I'm sure you could add probably another mile to that. My feet have just gotten too soft, so I'm going to have to work on that. That will all be part of that schedule I was talking about.

     On to today. As you know, we had a PR to do today, and I had my doubts about this place because they used a conveyor oven instead of a brick or wood fire oven to make their pizza. My doubts were for nothing, this place was really good. I won't spoil the review and tell you everything, that will all come in about 4 weeks. We got to talk to the owners, who were really friendly and dug what we were doing. They gave us a tour of the kitchen and showed us where they grate their fresh cheese daily, and make their dough. Their sauce is made daily as well. It wasn't a dine in restaurant, but they took care of us while we were there as if it were one. It was really a great place. The name is Luna Blu Pizza Co., so if you are in the area of Port St. John give it a try. Although if you go before you see the video, you probably won't watch the video or read the review, so hold your horses and just wait until that comes out.

     Finally time for Favorite Song of the Week. Guess who released the third song in a three song series of videos? Wait, you seriously can't guess, I've only been talking about and posting this band for the last month and a half or so. I even told you that they had one more song coming out for a three part story line with the videos they were putting out. Ok, you have it now right? One more hint? Ok, fine, it is none other than Twenty One Pilots. I don't feel like I need to tell you anything about them, especially if you have been reading this for any length of time, so let's just get to the video. Again, they released a song that sounds like nothing they have done before. I can't wait until their new album Trench comes out. I have a feeling that it is just going to be a journey from song to song. Anyway here is Twenty One Pilots, my favorite band, with "Levitate".



     The album is available for pre-order, so if you are ahead of me on this news, you know that Jumpsuit rolls right into Levitate, as tracks one and two. with Nico and the Niners all the way down at track 9. That makes me wonder if this three part story is in that order as well. I haven't gone and watched them in that order yet, but I might do that tomorrow.

     I am exhausted. The pain in my feet has taken toll on me today. As I said, it is significantly less than last night, but it is still there. I need to try and go out and film a video in the morning and then put it together and have it ready by 5 PM tomorrow, otherwise I ruin my streak of on time videos. I also have to squeeze that meeting in with my partner and that guy that might have some information on improving our views on YouTube. I don't know what this is really going to be about, but listening costs nothing, and it could work for us. Who knows. I'm going to hit the sack and pass out. Oh that reminds me. If you have an ALEXA you can have it play thunderstorm sounds, by saying just that. It will play mild rain with the occasional distant thunderclap for an hour, and it is great to help you go to sleep. I have been doing to for the past week or two. Goodnight and peace in.

I Need Help

     It was a very strange week. This was the first week that it felt weird to not have any place to go. I need structure and right now there is none. I wake up, make breakfast, and then either write, paint, or film a video. I need to create a schedule, so that I have a plan for each day. I can't keep going on with this chaotic type of pattern that I'm in right now. This has actually caused me to start going down the spiral, and that is definitely not good. It didn't help that the PR is grossly underperforming this time.

     Since I'm on the subject of the PR. I created a new business card as you may remember. I ordered a limited number from the site I used to create them. It's called Canva.com. It's a great site that has helped me out a great deal with creating the logos, images for title page backgrounds, and the thumbnails for YouTube. It's free for the most part. You can create a membership, or you can pay for individual things if you want, but you can do pretty much everything you need to, for free. I did have to pay for the business cards, but it was only $12.50, that only gets me 50 cards though, but it will give me an idea if we want to go with that design in the future, then we can figure it out form there. Oh, and I'm still waiting on the stickers for the CS. I have had no word from the Sticker Guy, that is the site, on if they are done or if they are on their way. I figure if he is going by business days, they should be done based on his 10-15 day estimate on Monday or Tuesday. That will be 15 days since I ordered them.

     That is added on to other things that has bummed me out this week. Let's just get into that. You know about the lack of structure for my day, you know about the PR underperforming, you now know about no word on the stickers. Here are the other things. My partner felt short again. The schedule has been set for the release of these reviews for weeks now, so it's is imperative that we get on top of it when they are released and promote that they are out there in the world. He waited a full 24 hours before he did anything. The weekend is when we get the vast majority of our views, and if you take an entire day away from that, we only lose. That is one full day of promotion that we lost. He had his excuses, but I don't care about excuses, I care about actions. He told me that he did some things to promote, and they seem like good things, but I have seen no results from any of it yet. I'm hoping that it will pay off as the week goes on.

     I have also not gotten out to film anything for a Wednesday video or for a video that should be scheduled for Sunday. I haven't been able to, because of this spiral. The panic attacks are starting and when that happens, I can't get out and ride. I will fight through when it comes to driving some place, but I just can't muster up the courage to do it on Saki. I was planning on going out later this evening at sunset and maybe shoot a video around this small lake, but the rain is rolling in, and it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

     I'm not sure when I will be able to shoot anything at this point. I'm going to Busch Gardens with a friend of mine tomorrow, then I have a PR to do on Tuesday, this one was a bit of a surprise, because the previous schedule had us doing it in another two weeks, and then I'm scheduled to go meet with someone on Wednesday to take about the PR and how to maybe get more views and subscribers. My week is jam packed up until Wednesday. I might be able to go out Wednesday morning and shoot something, quickly put it together so that it will be ready for a 5 PM release. I'm going to have to scramble and that is just mounting on top of the spiral.  I'll get it done, I set a schedule and I'm going to stick to it. I only will have to figure out what that video will be, and then what will be the video for Sunday.

     There are a few good things that have happened. I am determined to create a daily schedule for myself. That is a good thing believe it or not. It will have to wait until Thursday though before it can kick in. I will be working on it Monday and Tuesday. I get to go to Busch Gardens with a pass that my friend got for free, that is a really good thing. I get to eat pizza on Tuesday, when is that not a good thing. I do believe that I finally figured out the camera to where I want it. This is still a work in progress though. I figured out the settings I like it is all a matter of adjusting for light to get the affect that I like best. No, I don't have any pictures to share, because I only did test shots. The first pictures should come on Tuesday night from the PR. I solved the problem with scheduling posts on here. This is a big one. I finally got it to work. The Patchwork Knight that was released yesterday was scheduled to release and it went on time. That eases a lot of pressure off of me for the PR. I have a months worth of The Patchwork Knight scheduled and ready to go on here. I'm way ahead of the game and I'm nearing the next transition point in the story, and I'm really excited about that. I released a new video today. It is a Remember When, but it is the first video with the new thumbnail that is going to be the standard for Remember When from now on. I will go back and create the thumbnail for the rest of them later this week. This is also the last video that I use that particular musical sound that was Remember When. The next one that is scheduled to release in two weeks has new music with it, and I think I like it better. First though you need to watch the latest video. This one took me way back.



     I'm really excited for you to hear the new music. I also watched a new series on Netflix. It was released Friday and it is great. It is called Insatiable, and you may have heard about it, due to the controversy about the main character. Before I get into that, I do think that the people that are passing judgement on it, haven't seen it yet. Here is the plot as it was promoted. A high school gets thin and pretty and wreaks havoc on everyone that did her wrong in the past. The main Character is named Patty, and she was nicknamed Fatty Patty. Patty is played by Debby Ryan, and she does a great job. I'm not going to tell you what happens and why the reviews more than likely are form people that haven't seen it. I am going to tell you to give it a try, and judge for yourself. The plot is not what they promoted it as. It is far more complicated than that, and creates a dialogue beyond the idea that you have to be pretty to be popular. I watched the whole series between Friday and Saturday night. I'm not even sure how long each episode is. I didn't care. There are 12 episodes and they move real fast. They are full of everything; humor, intrigue, morality, drama, and even a touch of suspense. I'm sure it won't be for everyone, but sit down and watch the first episode and see what you think.

     I need to go and relax for the rest of the night and get ready for Fear the Walking Dead. It's the mid season premier tonight, and I want to be there for it. I'll get some pictures form Busch Gardens to share, and I will have pictures from the Canon that I'll take during the PR. You'll see if I have this camera thing down.

     Oh, I almost forgot, there is one last thing. I need help. I have an idea for a few videos, but I need people to help me out with it. Here is the idea. I need shots of me on the bike from a chase card. Chase car is a bit of a misnomer, because you would in fact be in front of me. I'm going to need a driver and cameraperson. I will teach you everything you need to know to get the shot that I want. I will lay out the idea for you, so you will know exactly what I want, but I can't shoot this stuff by myself. I need help. You can either leave a comment on here, and we will work things out on how to get in touch with each other, or you can message be on Facebook or Instagram. I really need help on this, and here is the bonus. I will give you a credit in the video for what you did to help out. I'll discuss details on the shots when I hear from you. Peace in and goodnight.

The Patchwork Knight (Chapter 39)

     We awoke to the sounds of shouting and calamity. One of the guards had caught a Raider scout. He was sneaking around the base of the forest spying on our makeshift camp. He was small but feisty. He looked like a rabbit caught in a trap being held by the large Targen Knight.

     "LET ME GO!"

     "That's not going to happen. Why were you spying on us?"

     "LET ME GO!"

     "Why were you spying on us?"

     Sir Jacob spoke with a calm demeanor. He stood in front of the spy while Sir Darius held him in the air dangling by one of his hands.

     "LET ME GO!"

     "As I said before, that is not going to happen. This is very simple, you can tell us why you were spying, or we simply kill you now and be done with you. So what will it be?"

     "KILL ME THEN, MY REVENGE WILL COME WHEN THE HOURDE COMES TO FINSH YOU OFF!"

     "See there, we learned something new. You call your army a Hourde. Now, where are they and how soon will they be here?"

     "YOU WILL DIE WHEN THE SUN SETS ON THE MORROW, YOU FILTHY MAGGOTS!"

     "So they are within a days travel of us, interesting. Would you mind tell us which direction they are coming from?"

     "THE HOURDE COMES FROM EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE!"

     "Fair enough. It appears that we have learned all that our little friend here will tell us. Sir Darius, please dispense of him and toss his body with the rest of his kind in the woods."

     "Yes, sir."

     Sir Darius slowly led the young spy down to the ground and quickly grasped his head with one of his massive hands, and wrenched it to the side, snapping his neck. The body dropped to the ground. Sir Darius reached down and picked the body up slinging it over his shoulder and took him into the woods where the rest of the infantry were scattered.

     "It appears that we aren't out of the woods yet. I will need volunteers to scout ahead along the trail so that we avoid this Hourde."

     "I'll do it. Just tell me the direction we need to go, and I will scout the trails ahead of us."

     "I'd say, you may be the best choice Pitre. Sir Paljin told me about your sight. Truly remarkable, I'm hoping that you will teach me how to do that as you taught Paljin. I would prefer that you only travel from junction to junction. If they truly are coming from everywhere, then we should go station to station. That way we can stay together for the most part."

     "That seems like the smart choice Sir Jacob. I know where the crossroads is from here. It is only a half a mile away. I will ride ahead and meet you there."

     "I want someone else to go with Sir Pitre. I will only accept volunteers, but if none come forward, I will go myself."

     "I think we make a pretty good team. I will go, and I'm sure that Rolf will ride along as well."

     "Indeed I will. As fearsome as you Knights are, I believe I would be safest with Pitre."

     "Rolf you have nothing to fear from us. We will fight to keep you safe as if you were one of our own."

     "I'm sure you will, but I've seen what Pitre is capable of, and please take no offense to what I'm going to say, but I don't think a man among you can stand against him. I will always go where he goes."

     "No offense taken, I would dare say you are right, after the display he put on yesterday, I don't think there are twenty men that can stand against him. You three will ride ahead, but go no further than the crossroad. We will regroup and then make a plan at that point. Ride safely gentlemen."

     "That we will. Commander."

     "Sir Jacob, we will ride out as soon as our bedrolls are packed. We can have our breakfast at the crossroad. How soon can we expect you and the rest of the caravan."

     "We have about an hour before sunrise, I believe we will be on the trail as the light breaks the night. Those of you who can cook begin preparing a small breakfast, everyone else, begin packing the carts and wagons. We move to meet these three at the crossroads soon after first light."

     "See you soon then Sir Jacob."

     "Soon Pitre."

***

     The crossroad was quiet, with no sign of traffic from any direction. I could still see the caravan with my sight as they were packing up and eating breakfast.

     "Do you know which direction we will take from here Sir Paljin?"

     "Pitre, aren't we beyond calling each other Sir by now?"

     "I thought it was customary?"

     "It is, but when we are on our own, there is no need for it. We will take the southeast trail. The one without the sign."

     "Good, you stay here with Rolf and I will scout ahead to see if there are any ambushes along the trail."

     "Wait a minute Pitre, you must not have heard me back at the camp when I said I go where he goes."

   

     "I heard you, but it is safer for you to stay here."

     "It is also safer for you to stay here as well Pitre. Jacob said for us to stay here and wait for the caravan."

     "I know that, but I can get a jump on anything that is ahead of us."

     "Not if it is a Hourde as that scout said. You are good Pitre, but no one is that good."

     "I will be fine. I won't engage a Hourde, but I can take out a small force or solo scout on my own. Maybe I can learn something from them."

     "I don't like it Pitre."

     "Me either. Listen Sir Paljin here is very capable, but I'd rather have you as my armor."

     "As long as you stay here you won't need any armor. It is more likely that you will get hurt or killed if you go with me."

     "So you are expecting trouble. Even more reason for me to go with you."

     "Pitre. I can't believe I am saying this, but go, but be back here before the caravan arrives. I don't want to explain to Sir Jacob why we didn't obey his orders."

     "Consider it done."

     I took off on foot and used the Euphoria and the aether to propel me along. I was able to cover a few miles in minutes. I used my sight along the way and the area was fully clear. I could see small animals along the sides of the trail. They had that now familiar line fo blue light around them. I considered that a good sign. This was the first sign of any animals in days. War hasn't found it's way to this trail yet.

     When I was five miles from the crossroad, I saw a faint golden glow coming from the tree line. I stopped in my tracks, and made my way into the forest. I silenced my footsteps, and made my way to where the golden glow was coming from. I weaved my way through the trees and could see the silhouette of a man standing behind a tree. His glow was slight like Rolf's, it only outlined his body. I continued to sneak up behind the man and drew the dagger from my belt. I grabbed the top of his head and brought he dagger down to rest in front of his neck.

    "If you scream of move, I will open your throat."

     He didn't make a sound or even the slightest of movements.

     "Good, it appears that we have an understanding. Are you a scout?"

    The man shook his head quickly.

     "When and where are you to report back?"

     "I'm to remain in my position until I see anything along the trail. I am then to follow them to where they rest for the night, then I report to my squad along the trail to the Kingdom."

     "What happens if you don't report back with in a day."

     "Nothing, I am only to report if I see anything."

     "Are there any other scouts along this trail?"

     "No, there is another scout along the trail to the north, and our squad is camped along the trail to the Kingdom a few miles along the trail."

     "We've already met the scout along the north trail. He was rather rambunctious, and not very smart. It appears that you are much more intelligent than he. You continue to remain quiet. I will give you a choice. You can remain alive and walk with me back to the crossroad and wait for our caravan, or I can let you lie here."

     "By lie here, do you mean the place I will rest finally?"

     "Yes."

     "Then I will gladly take a walk with you."

     "Do you have a horse with you or are you on foot?"

     "I'm on foot. Our squad leader thought a horse would be to difficult to conceal."

     "Very well then, on foot it is. Head back along the trail to the crossroad."

     We began walking along the trail. I had returned my dagger to my belt and remained a step behind the scout. He quickly stooped down.

     "I think I have something in my boot. Can I take it off and check?"

     "Go ahead."

     I heard the blade slide from a sheath in his boot. He was beginning to stand up with the blade out and trying to turn when my sword removed his head from his body. I had drawn at the same time that he had, but I was quicker. When his head came to rest on the ground before his body had fallen, I could see the final look of shock on his face. the body collapsed in a thud. I walked over and picked the head up.

     "I would have let you live. It seems you were just as foolish as your friend."

     I threw the head as deep into the woods as I could and then I dragged the body in after it.

Be Like Dave

     It's the day I've been waiting for for a few weeks now. I can finally show you the review for Genna's Pizza Company. I really liked the way this video turned out, and the new things I tried with it, that I think worked. Let me know what you think.



     Oh, I also think I figured out the problem with the scheduling of the blog post. It's not completely my fault. I noticed today when I got home from my guitar lesson that the post hadn't launched like it was scheduled to. I went in and manually clicked the publish button. When I did that, it switched the little orange button that said Publish on it, to Scheduled. It should have posted, but at least it was something different. Here is the problem, when I've hit that publish button after scheduling things before, it simply published them, but it was different today. I will know if I figured it out on Saturday. I have the next chapter of The Patchwork Knight scheduled for Saturday morning. If it finally works, then it is one less thing I have to worry about when getting the PR out on time and together.

     I fixed the problem with the GoPro Hero 5 Session. I ground down the area that was holding the door on the side from opening. I didn't grind it all the way down, because I still want that structural integrity on the side of it, but I ground it down just enough to open the door wide enough to get the mic adaptor plugged in. I took my time with it, and worked it slowly, so that I wouldn't dig in to deep. It almost looks like it was always supposed to be that way. I smoothed it all out, so that it won't damage the Session or catch on my fingers when I am going in and out of there with it. Although I don't have to take it out of the cage for any real reason now. I do want to to a text video for it to see what it looks like with the filter on it. I may just make some video and then post it up on Wednesday for my mid week video. I have no idea what I'm going to talk about, and then there is the added non-bonus of me being on camera for another video. No one wants to see that. I do it for the PR under protest.

     A video was released today by Dave Grohl. If you don't know who that is, then I have to ask you where you have been living for the last ten years or so. Anyway, he posted a video that goes along with a new song of his, and this song is unique. The video is 31 minutes long, so I'm not going to post it on here, but I am going to ask you to look it up and give it a watch when you have the time. Here is a little history lesson for you about Dave Grohl.

     Dave Grohl was the drummer of Nirvana. The story goes, that Nirvana needed a drummer and he said he could do it, but he had never really played drums. He just had this insane drive to succeed. The of course became one of the biggest bands of all time, then Kurt Cobain took his life. When that happened, there was a ton of speculation about what was going to happen next. Almost everyone believed that Krist Novoselic would start a band and kind of pick up the mantle. Dave Grohl had quit music entirely. He didn't want to play without Kurt, but then the itch took hold of him again, and he started a secret project called Foo Fighters. He wrote all the songs, and played all the instruments on that first album. He had no idea that it would become a big hit. He had to put a band together so that he could go on tour. Within a year or so, he was once again in one of the biggest bands of all time. This time he was fronting it. The Fighters of Foo have been going strong ever since. He has had several side projects along the way. He did a hardcore punk album called Probot. He is the official drummer for Tenacious D. He was offered to tour with Led Zeppelin as their drummer for a potential world tour. He even did a stint with The Muppets. He has filmed documentaries about music, and with today's release, he did a single song that is 23 minutes long and he plays every single instrument on the song. It is remarkable. He has a little 8 minutes piece in the front of it, featuring kids that are learning how to play music, and this song is putting a spotlight on how music programs are disappearing from schools.

    I received the email announcing the video and song being out today, and at the bottom are all these links on where you can go if you want to play, or you can be a mentor, or you can learn how to play. and that is what the song is, it is called Play. He played instruments that he had never played before, or even knew how to play. At one point in the video he says, "by the end of this, I'm going to actually be able to play one of these instruments" of course he knows how to play several instruments, but the thing is, that he wanted to challenge himself to do something new and out of his comfort zone. He said that the most intimidating thing, was standing at the percussion table. Even though he is known primarily as a drummer, he had never played any of those percussion instruments. There is a story from when Nirvana did their Unplugged special on MTV, about how Dave was worried about the drums being too loud for an acoustic set. Someone handed him a pair of brush sticks. He had no idea what they were. They told him to use the brush end to play the drums. He tried them out, and said they were amazing. He had never seen or even heard of them before. You man know that that was one of the highest rated Unplugged that MTV did.

     This is a guy that said, I believe in myself. If he can do that, why can't you? He made an entire 23 minutes instrumental song, playing instruments that he had never played, or even knew how to play. He speaks of his worries and fears about how it is all going to go, in the piece leading up to the song. He overcame those fears. You can do anything you want to, you only have to put the effort into doing it. Dream big, but work harder to make those dreams come true, You could be the next Dave Grohl, and that is not a bad thing at all. Peace in and goodnight.