I have been working in business for over forty years and now have the time to work in special areas of interest. My passion has always been to create compelling stories of fiction. I have authored six novels and am working on my Seventh. The first novel is still in manuscript form and being utilized as a door stop in the laundry room. The second is a contemporary fiction novel of 89,000 words and is complete and I am currently seeking a publisher. I also write poetry but have not had the guts to share any with anyone. The one time I read a piece to a person their only comment was, “it doesn’t rhyme.” I will continue to write and hopefully my blog, Fiction Favorites at www.johnwhowell.com will provide some entertainment and an interesting thought or two.
I live in the Austin area with my wife Molly and an assortment of loving pets.
In Keith’s words. “Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put your offering (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before Sunday evening UK time. If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here. Thank you for taking part.”
“And now our reporter Max Fly in the Far East has a story about an obscure music maker.”
“That’s right, Bradley. I am here in Thailand with what has been reported as the only miniature bed of nail player in the world. Let me introduce you to Chakan Chokdee. Hello, Chakan.”
“Hello Mr, Fly.”
“You can call me Max.”
“Ah. Hello, Max.”
“Your English is perfect. Where did you learn it?”
“Stanford University. PhD in biostudies.”
“So, tell our audience about your instrument.”
“Yes. This is a miniature bed of nails, and instead of taking a nap on it, I play it.”
“And how do you do that?”
“Well, you hold it like this and pluck each nail.”
“Can you play it for us?”
“Sure, what would you like to hear?”
“For this demonstration, how about something traditional.”
“Ah, let me see. Yes, here is a traditional song.
Pluck – You say you are lookin’ for trouble?
Pluck – Well, son, you’ve come to the right place.
Pluck – Notice that I have this fist of iron.
Pluck – That’s got a reserved sign for your face.”
“Now that is an interesting folk song. What’s its name?”
“It is an ancient song that tells a story of cultural conflict.”
“I can imagine. What’s it called?”
“Mæ̀ k̄hxng khuṇ s̄wm rxngthêā būth t̀xs̄ū̂“
“Hmm. I wonder if you could translate that for our worldwide audience.”
“I’m not sure it would mean the same in English.”
“Give it a try.”
” Okay. The exact translation is Your Mother Wears Combat Boots.”
“I think we can understand that just fine. Back to you in the studio, Bradley.”
This post was initially run on December 16th, 2016. Parties and our behavior at them have not changed much, so I hope you enjoy it again. If you remember it from the last time, you probably don’t need the advice given here.
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The inspiration for this list has been an adult life-long fascination with human interactions. There is no time like the holidays to go out and get an actual feeling of how people interrelate. I may have published some of these points under a different context, but it still bears repeating some of the advice again. I cannot swear I haven’t done any of these, but I don’t think so. Also, a message to the Yale School of Psychology. This is all in fun and should not be used as part of the curriculum dealing with Holiday stress. With that disclaimer, here we go.
The Top Ten Things Not to Do at a Holiday Party
10 At a holiday party, do not assume because the drinks are free, you can have all you want. If you do, at best, you will find the next morning that the drinks were not free after all. At worst, you might wake up in the guest room bathtub and have no idea how you got there. (Your host was very pleased when you locked the door to the only bathroom in the house. Too bad the pounding on the door didn’t give you a hint, Bunky.)
9 At a holiday party, do not think an informal atmosphere will lend itself to getting closer to your boss. If you do, At best, you will only say one stupid thing. At worst, you wake up at 3:00 am realizing you told your boss exactly what you thought of the latest project. (Now you also remember the hurt look on the boss’ face since it was a pet project. Maybe you can say you had a brain aneurysm, huh, Ferd?)
8 At a holiday party, do not double dip from the crab spread. If you do, at best, no one will notice, and you’ll be safe. At worst, unfortunately, you chose the moment when the boss was doing a video panorama and are now a piece of history. (The playback at the office caused a noticeable groan from your co-workers, and several grabbed their zinc inhalers. Why you had to sneeze right after the double dip is anybody’s guess.)
7 At a holiday party, do not think of arriving without a host gift. If you do, at best, you might be able to sneak in unnoticed. At worst, the host had requested in the invitation to bring an unwrapped toy for a needy child. (That will teach you to ignore letters. You never sent an RSVP either, did you, Buster?)
6 At a holiday party, do not think everyone wants to sing carols. If you do, at best, you may be doing a solo. At worst, you will be so annoying that the host will ask his cousin Tiny, with WWF champ, to see you to the door. (Tiny’s method of seeing people to the door is very similar to his winning body slam in the ring. Don’t worry, nothing’s broken. It’s all fake, remember?)
5 At a holiday party, do not try to get away with bringing a cheap bottle of wine as a gift. If you do, at best, no one will see you set it down. At worst, your host will thank you and suggest that you open it immediately to share with the guests. (Two-buck Chuck is so well-known, Oscar, that your face is now the color of the wine.)
4 At a holiday party, do not attempt to have controversial discussions with each conversation. If you do, at best, you’ll end up talking to the dog. At worst, you’ll spark a debate that will ultimately engulf the entire room and eventually lead to the arrival of a SWAT team. (Well, you did learn that politics is a hot subject, didn’t you, Bucky?)
3 At a holiday party, do not think you have to entertain everyone with your jokes. If you do, at best, you’ll find out quickly you are no Henny Youngman. At worst, most in attendance will enquire of the host about that strange person who is not funny. (The beautiful thing is your boss’ boss took down your name which should lead to some good stuff. Maybe at the next company, huh, Milton?)
2 At a holiday party, do not suggest everyone go out into the snow to see how beautiful the lights look. If you do, at best, no one will follow you. At worst, your host will open the front door and promptly slam and lock it after you are gone. (It seemed like a good idea at the time, didn’t it, Roscoe?. Now you need to call and get your shoes back.)
1 At a holiday party, do not ignore someone who asks for your keys. If you do, at best, you will be breaking the law. At worst, you could be responsible for hurting yourself and, more importantly, an innocent victim. (Obviously, we all should remember not to drink and drive this holiday season.)
We are going to visit the Trail of Lights in Lakeway. This annual tradition is under the auspices of the Lakeway Parks and Recreation. We are catered by Interstellar BBQ of Austin. Our entertainment is Martina Mc Bride and Elvis.
Menu
BEEF KIELBASA
All beef traditional Polish-style sausage in a pork casing
JALAPEÑO POPPER SAUSAGE
Beef and pork blend in a pork casing, jalapenos, and chunks of gooey cheddar
CHOPPED BRISKET
Chopped ends sauced with Johnny’s Texas Red Sauce
PEACH TEA GLAZED PORK BELLY
Slowly smoked until tender, then glazed with our homemade peach tea glaze
TURKEY
Turkey breast brined in citrus, herbs, and Live Oak Hefeweizen, seasoned with salt and pepper.
PORK SPARE RIBS
Duroc pork spare rib; a little sweet, a little spicy
PULLED LAMB SHOULDER
Juicy pulled lamb shoulder seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and a splash of rice vinegar
BRISKET
USDA prime all-natural brisket seasoned with salt, pepper & garlic
Let’s get on the bus.
We’ll just follow the signs.
Santa’s elf welcomes us.
Tree, Santa, and all the reindeer.
A campout scene.
The toy train.
The North Pole.
A far-away shot with the trail.
Mushrooms, birds, and flowers.
Ice skaters.
Stagecoach.
Several animals and a butterfly.
A last look back at a trail. I couldn’t hope to publish all the lights, but you know how festive this display is. Time now to relax, eat, and listen to the music. I hope you have a super week.
The coffee is ready in record time, which just says to me, “We love you, boss.” After a sip of the precious fluid, the thought again turns to the alarm clock. Although experience is being gained on each trip to maintain control, it seems to me that staying within a specific boundary is a good idea.
Therefore, the clock is set to December 8th, 1923. One hundred years ago. The time is set for two hours, and the plunger is pulled. Immediately, the scene changes, and My location is Madison Square Garden. There are a lot of people in the garden cheering for men on bicycles.
When questioned, the guy next to me informs me that this is the finish of the annual December Six-day race. He tells me there are fourteen thousand people in attendance.
He also says Ernest Kockler of Chicago and Percy Lawrence of San Francisco, comprising the American team, were the winners of the annual race. He fascinated me with what seemed to me to be a professional play-by-play recap of the events. He breathlessly recapped that the American riders, hanging tenaciously to the precious lap that they gained during one of the jams early in the week, finished the grind with a total mileage of 2,519 miles and 8 laps, and their one-lap margin was sufficient to give them the honors.
Thanking him for the information, the bell clanging means my time is up here in New York. In an instant, the familiar surroundings of the home told me the adventure is over. My phone buzzes, and a text arrives from Linda Hill. It reads.
A collaborative study involving experts in Europe and the US found the treatment of stem cells appears to protect the brains of MS patients from further damage.
In the first-ever clinical trials in humans, the researchers found patients injected with the stem cells exhibited no increase in disability or worsening of symptoms.
The promising study, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, is hoped to lead to further clinical trials that could provide treatment for progressive MS.
More than two million people live with MS across the globe, and while some treatments currently available can reduce the severity and frequency of relapses, two-thirds of patients still transition into a debilitating secondary progressive phase of the disease within 25 to 30 years of diagnosis.
An autoimmune disorder like Lupus, ALS, and Crohn’s, MS is characterized by the body’s immune system attacking and damaging myelin—the protective sheath of tissue around nerve fibers, disrupting messages sent around the brain and spinal cord.
An immune cell called a microglial can attack the central nervous system in progressive forms of MS, causing chronic inflammation and damage to nerve cells.
Recent scientific advances involving the transplantation of stem cells have raised expectations that therapies could be developed to help ameliorate this damage.
Previous experiments in mice from the Cambridge University unit of the new study team have shown that skin cells reprogrammed to be brain stem cells and transplanted into the nervous system can help to reduce inflammation and may even be able to help repair damage caused by MS.
The research team behind the latest study, incorporating experts from the UK, US, Switzerland, and Italy, completed a world-first early-stage clinical trial in which neural stem cells were injected into the brains of 15 patients with secondary MS recruited from two Italian hospitals.
Along with the Cambridge unit, teams performed the trials at the University of Milano-Bicocca, the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza and Santa Maria Terni hospitals in Italy, the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale hospital in Lugano, Switzerland, and the University of Colorado in the United States.
The transplant patients were followed for 12 months. No deaths or serious adverse events related to the treatment were observed throughout the year. Side effects were mild, transient, and reversible.
All patients had a high degree of disability at the start of the clinical trial—for example, they were wheelchair-bound—but during the 12-month observation period, they showed no increase in disability or worsening of symptoms. None of the patients showed symptoms that would indicate a relapse or signs of clinical progression, suggesting substantial stability of the pathology.
A subgroup of patients was also assessed for changes in the volume of brain tissue associated with disease progression, which found that the larger the dose of injected stem cells, the smaller the reduction in this brain volume over time.
The researchers speculate that this may be down to the stem cell transplant dampening inflammation.
Professor Stefano Pluchino, a co-leader of the study from the University of Cambridge, admitted that though the research had limitations, the findings were extremely promising.
“We desperately need to develop new treatments for secondary progressive MS, and I am cautiously very excited about our findings, which are a step towards developing a cell therapy for treating MS,” he said.
“We recognize that our study has limitations: it was only a small study, and there may have been confounding effects from the immunosuppressant drugs, for example, but the fact that our treatment was safe and that its effects lasted over the 12 months of the trial means that we can proceed to the next stage of clinical trials.”
Professor Angelo Vescovi, another co-leader of the study from the University of Milano-Bicocca, added that it has taken nearly three decades to translate the discovery of brain stem cells into this experiment, which he said will “pave the way” to broader studies “soon to come.”
The Good News is that the scientific community is still working on improving life. Today’s JohnKu talks about perspective in a bad news world. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
In Keith’s words. “Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put your offering (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before Sunday evening UK time. If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here. Thank you for taking part.”
The golf cart has become a significant form of transportation here in Lakeway. Mainly because the town was built around several golf courses. This post originally ran on December 4, 2017. Since I see golf carts everywhere, I think it is still valid.
10 If you are on a golf cart, do not think the safety belts are there as a bit of humor. If you do, at best, you’ll get a $150.00 ticket. At worst, you will find yourself outside the cart at the first bump. (You didn’t think nineteen miles per hour could cause you to pitch out onto the street, right, Chadwick?)
9 If you are on a golf cart, do not expect Tiny, the WWF champ who has just left his weight training class, to yield to you. If you do, at best, you will miss each other in the middle of the street. At worst, Tiny will stop your cart and then show you how he can press the hardware with you on it. (Watch that trip down when Tiny drops the whole mess on the street, Chalmar.)
8 If you are on a golf cart, do not think you can ignore the traffic rules. If you do, at best, you’ll get a warning. At worst, you and the cart will be under arrest. (You gotta envy the fact that the cart gets to stay outside the jail, don’t you, Chas?)
7 If you are on a golf cart, do not try a turn at full speed. If you do, at best, you may blow a tire. At worst, as you take the curve on two wheels, all your belongings and half your family will be dumped on the street. (You will have a tough time explaining your maneuver to those in the emergency room, Chauncy.)
6 If you are on a golf cart, do not think you can go twenty miles an hour under the speed limit on the main road. If you do, at best, you’ll realize soon you need to get off. At worst, an irate driver will help you, along with little concern for your welfare. (You didn’t know a golf cart being pushed by an eighteen-wheeler could go that fast, did you, Chetwin? Also, you didn’t have that white hair before the lift, did you?)
5 If you are on a golf cart, do not think you can carry more people than the number of places to sit. If you do, at best, the golf cart won’t have enough power to move. At worst, you will lose a couple of the standing-room-only passengers on the first turn. (You say one of those thrown into a cactus patch was your boss, Clemens?)
4 If you are on a golf cart, do not think you have the right of way because you are smaller. If you do, at best, you’ll just get an air horn warning. At worst, you will be trying to return a flattened golf cart. (The cart store proprietor doesn’t have much of a sense of humor, does he, Clovis?)
3 If you are on a golf cart, do not think the police will ignore drinking and driving. If you do, at best, your friends won’t let you drive. At worst, you’ll try to explain to the officer why you think a golf cart is just a toy. (Looks like the punishment is the same as a car, Cowen. Hope you have a spare $15,000.)
2 If you are on a golf cart, do not think you have to wave to everyone you pass. If you do, at best, you’ll be taken as an idiot. At worst, people will think you are a politician and will chase you off the beach. (Oh, you are, in fact, running for office, Creighton. I would move off the beach fast.)
1 If you are on a golf cart, do not think you have to display several flags. If you do, at best, folks will think you work for the circus. At worst, all that flapping in the wind will slow you down and make you lose your hearing. (You think that the “It’s five o’clock somewhere” flag is unique, don’t you, Cydney?)
The annual Lakeway Walk of Lights officially opened on Friday. Using my time travel alarm, we are going back to join the festivities. We’re being catered by Craigo’s pizza, and there are smores and hot chocolate as well. Our entertainment is Michael Bublé.
Let’s go.
The giant screen is playing A Christmas Story and one of the best scenes.
Who put the Howdy in Holidays?
Santa will be here after he lights the walk.
The bookmobile is here, too.
A place to write and mail a letter to Santa.
Face painting.
Ah, the fire to roast marshmallows for smores.
There’s Craigos.
Hot chocolate (After all, it’s 64 degrees F and 17.7 C.)
A reindeer to ride.
Ornaments to make.
Cookies to decorate.
The Liebolt cabin to visit.
The mayor introduces Santa and Mrs. Claus.
The countdown to plugging in the Trail of Lights (notice the lights in the upper right-hand corner)
Santa is happy the lights work.
A quick view of the trail.
Another view.
And another. We may need to come back for a trail tour, but for now, we should relax with the music and pizza.
When brewing coffee using a magic machine, you have to have confidence that everything will work. Much like a sophisticated car, the magic machine does not suffer incompetent fools lightly. No butterknife screw removals or fork probes are going to fix the problem, so if it goes south, there is only one thing to do. Cry. Oh yes, and a call to the magic machine helpline can be of benefit.
Today is not the day to worry, however. Like the previous 365, the saving grace fluid flows from the twin spouts like it looks forward to my lips. A few sips and the clock once again comes into view. The power of being able to set it to December 2, 1923, is a great feeling. The time is set for one hour, and the plunger is pulled.
It looks like the clock took us to a hospital in New York City. The name on the stuff in the hallway says Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital. Looking ahead, the sign over the door says “Maternity.” It is anybody’s guess as to why we are here. There is only one baby still in a bassinet, and above the baby is a large tag with the name Sophie Cecilia Kalos.
While scratching my head at what this could mean, the alarm goes off, and I drop back into my living room. It seems one hour in the time travel business is too short. Looking at my phone gives me the idea of looking up Sophie Cecilia Kalos. The stunning answer comes in an instant. We just visited Maria Callas when she was born.
I also have a text from Linda Hill. It reads. Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “confidence.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
