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Quite an appt title really considering! This year is certainly turning into a challenging one! Just as I've recovered from the c section, my appendix (literally) blew up on me on Sunday night (double ouch, very horrible nasty ouch!). I'm now pleased to announce that the offending organ has been removed and I'm yet again, on the road to recovery (it's a shame I'm not really a sports fan, TV schedule is looking a bit bland to my eyes!)! Unfortunately this means they be a bit more of a delay in me fully being back on stage (please note the gig cancellations in August) and it also means we're having to postpone the River Man video to late September early October. There is a notion that "things happen for a reason" (it had better be a good one!). Hopefully filming in October will add to the 'air of mystery' we're hoping for.
In other, better news, I now have the final artwork and the final edit of the mastered version of the album so we can move forward in an audio sense. It's sounding fab and I can't wait for you all to hear it very soon.


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The International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C) is an alliance of several large-scale prospective cohort children studies. The group pools data and biospecimens from individual cohorts to study various modifiable and genetic factors in relation to cancer risk.
The George Institute for Global Health’s, UK Executive Director, based at Oxford University, Professor of Epidemiology Terry Dwyer has been leading the International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium’s initiative to better understand the role of early-life exposures in childhood cancers.
The research from the I4C confirmed that childhood cancer is linked to birthweight. In addition, the study uncovered that childhood cancer incidences appear to be rising by about 1% per year in developed countries. The risk increased for all cancers by 26% for each kilogram increase in birthweight.
The risk for leukemia appears to be higher in younger children than all other cancers combined. However, for children that were diagnosed at three years of age or older, cancers other than leukemia are more strongly related to high birthweight.
One of the factors that the I4C’s research ruled out was that it does not correlate with the mother’s weight gain. This is even though the mother’s weight gain might contribute to birthweight.
The I4C illustrates the power of collaboration because it allows for ongoing analysis of a wider range of potential factors and causes of childhood cancers.
Other previous studies have shown the relationship between childhood cancers and high birthweights, but this collaboration brings about a wider range of potential factors like maternal age, marital status, education level, smoking propensity, previous live births, diabetes, pre-pregnancy BMI, and total pregnancy weight gain. All of these other metrics can now be included in the research and analysis.
To summarize the current research and information on the topic, Professor Dwyer says, “At The George Institute we are focused on the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases, like cancer. I am more optimistic that we’ll find ways of preventing childhood cancer than I was when we started this study 10 years ago.
George Clinical is a Asia Pacific Clinical Research Organisation, the George Institute for Global Health acts as its parent company.

industry_corpus2: Health & Medicine


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Pinch-hitting with the Playoffs Survival Kit that we need this month is recurring contributor (and dare we suggest rather nervous Red Sox fan) Adam Perry.
Its that time of year again, when baseball fans up and down the country enter an October state of exhaustion…jetlag without the travel. Here are some tips and tricks on how best to survive the playoff season, and those late nights and early mornings.
Job done, you lucky people! You are in the right time zone so no need to worry about baseball jetlag (unless of course you end up suffering from genuine jetlag). Sadly, this is not an option for most of us, who would need to answer some serious questions from our family, work and the bank manager.
Another dangerous game… If you have been strutting around work over the past few weeks wearing your favourite teams cap bragging to everyone’s bemusement that YOU are going to the World Series, it only takes a swift google search by a conscientious boss to diagnose your sudden illness. Even if it does work, you will need to choose tactically, depending on the progress of your team, don’t be like the Cubs and blow your wildcard too early.
You stopped caring about baseball a long time ago.
Relive your GCSE’s by popping pro plus and downing Red Bull to keep you going during the day. Side effects however, include restlessness, irritation and completely forgetting all your vocab during your French oral. (at the time of writing, I do not believe that the Batflips Team would condone any narcotics of a stronger nature).
Some people prefer to listen to the radio commentary in bed, snoozing intermittently throughout the games. If you talk in your sleep however, this approach is fraught with danger as you wake up next to your partner in the morning, who insists on knowing who Mookie is, and why you love him so.
If you are one of the lucky people able to practise this type of witchcraft, this could be a genuine option. The ideal time required, according to the experts, is between 10 – 20 minutes. Anything longer than this will bring on sleep inertia and leave you feeling more tired than you were before, kind of like watching Pedro Baez pitch for the Dodgers.
Supplements shouldn’t just be reserved for A-Rod. Getting the right vitamins and foods could really help avoid the daily tiredness. Vitamin B and Iron are your ‘go to’ tablets. As far as food is concerned, more peanuts and less crackerjacks. Alcohol is a ‘no go’, but some things are just not worth the sacrifice.
Not ideal for the electricity bill but keeping it bright in your living area is proven to help you stay awake longer. Imagine your room resembles the sun-drenched dome of Tropicana Field, but with more fans!
The record for staying awake is 11 days and 5 hours, held by Randy Gardner, a high school student from San Diego in 1964. He has been asleep ever since and will only wake-up when the Padres win the World Series. Goodnight everybody!
Baseballbaseball playoffsPlayoffspostseasonstaying awakeUK Baseballwhy is pedro baez the way that he is?

industry_corpus2: Sports


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I honestly couldn’t be happier with my first-time engagement with Handkrafted and Anthony. Anthony’s proposal fit my brief exactly, he provided frequent updates on the progress of my job including photos and the end product was absolutely amazing. His craftsmanship is second to none. I can’t recommend highly enough.
Anthony was great to work with, understood brief easily and delivered exactly what we were hoping for - amazing craftsmanship and excellent communication. Already looking forward to the next project I plan to work with him on.
Anthony was a pleasure to work especially being someone who is not that knowledgable about wood and carpentry in general. The quality of craftsmanship and attention to detail was impressive and executed perfectly. I would have no hesitation in recommending his work to others. The work was reasonably priced and I felt I received very good value for money.
Really happy with our desk - Anthony used an existing chunk of wood that we supplied, cleaned it up and finished it nicely and created a base frame that matches nicely - then delivered it cheerfully. The whole process was seamless. It wasn't cheap but we now have a quality piece of furniture we'll get a lot of use out of.
Anthony was fabulous to deal with. Flexible, responsive and produced a gorgeous result. Very happy to have this tribute to my mum.
We are very happy with our beautiful table made by Anthony.
Anthony is a pleasure to work with. Open to design discussions, provided options to play with and most importantly made the whole process from paper to production an enjoyable one. Our custom shoe cabinet with matte 2 Pac & painted timber with leather handles turned out PERFECT. Impeccable workmanship, well sourced materials and as promised delivery. Nothing short of perfection. Thank you for this beautiful addition to our home. We look forward to continue filling our home with more of your amazing work.
Anthony’s communication and quality of workmanship was outstanding. Could not have been happier and would highly recommend him.
Very happy with my final product Anthony is easy and friendly to deal with.
We're really happy with the finished product! It fits exactly to requirements and is beautiful.
Anthony was easy to work with and responsive to changes required.
Anthony's workmanship is simply amazing. I couldn't be happier. What an awesome guy!
Anthony did an excellent job of completing the brief. He communicated throughout to ensure I was happy with how the job was progressing and his craftsmanship is of a very high standard. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Anthony.
We are absolutely thrilled with both of our pieces. Such beautiful craftsmanship, really happy with the materials and the execution of the design. Highly recommend Anthony, he was fantastic to work with.
Anthony was fantastic to work with right from the start - he understood what we were trying to achieve and was always available to answer questions/share photos along the way. I would highly recommend him.
Beautiful work, we are so very happy!
I'm Anthony Kleine, a contemporary wood turner and maker, based in Melbourne's northern suburbs.
I've loved working with wood and building projects since I was a teenager and shortly after finishing school in 2000, I began cabinet making which I have been working in the industry since.
During a trip to Tasmania in 2012 I came across a lot of wood turned bowls and other objects which I became really attracted to and when I got back home to Melbourne I immediately bought myself a lathe and started teaching myself the basics of woodturning.
Over the next few years I got more and more involved with turning and decided to continue with it full time and started up AKWT, where I like to incorporate different materials such as Corian and Acrylic to produce fresh and unique pieces.

industry_corpus2: Manufacturing


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The theme of this year's survey is "Orange County: Approaching the 1990s. The survey is designed to provide an extensive analysis of issues affecting the next decade. The sample size is 1,085 Orange County adult residents.
The Orange County Annual survey was directed by Mark Baldassare, a professor of social ecology at UC Irvine. For the survey, 1,085 adult orange County residents were interviewed by telephone Sept. 6 to 23. In Orange County, where more than 97 percent of households have telephones, this method of interview gives highly representative data.
Interviewing was conducted on weekend days and weekday nights, using a random sample of 4,500 listed and unlisted telephone numbers. These were generated by computer from a list of working blocks of telephone exchanges. The telephone sample was generated by Pijacki and Associates of Shoreham, N.Y. The field work was conducted at the Center for Survey Research by UCI's Public Policy Research Organization.
Of the telephone numbers called, 23 percent resulted in completed interviews and 15 percent were refusals. The completion rate for the survey (completions divided bycompletions plus refusals) was 61 percent.
Other telephone outcomes included the following: 21 percent disconnected numbers; 3 percent computer or fax lines; 15 percent businesses and other non-Orange County households; 20 percent persistent no answers and l percent persistently unavailable respondents. Two percent were not completed because of language problems, including non-English speaking households, and hearing impairment.
Within a-household, respondents were chosen for interview using the Troldahl-Carter method. This method randomly selects a household member from a grid that includes information on the number of adult household members and the number of adult men in the household. Up to six callbacks were attempted per telephone number.
Each interview included 90 questions and took an average of 20 minutes to complete. Most interviews ranged in length from 15 to 25 minutes.
The surveys were designed in three stages over several months. In the first stage, UCI undergraduate students conducted face-to-face, interviews on Orange County topics with randomly selected adult residents. The second stage involved feedback on questions and topics from the annual survey's Steering Committee, Advisory Committee and colleagues. The final stage included pre-tests by students, followed by final revisions of the questions.
The interview began with questions about housing, moving preferences, consumer confidence and perceptions of life in Orange County. These were followed by questions on growth, transportation and crime issues. A major section of the interview was then devoted to questions about air pollution and the Air Quality Management Plan. Later in the interview, we turned to the topics of charities. The conclusion of the survey was devoted to questions about work and commuting patterns, personal characteristics, household status and political attitudes.
The survey's validity was checked by comparing the sample's characteristics to available information on Orange County's population. We compared the 1989 survey results to the 1980 U.S. Census, previous annual surveys and other recent survey data. Age, income and other demographic features of our sample were comparable with those noted in other studies.
For data analyses, we statistically weighted the sample to represent the actual regional distribution of Orange County residents. The 1989 population estimates for north, west, central and south county regions were issued by the Demographic Research Unit, County of Orange.
Other efforts were made to correct for possible errors in the course of interviewing and data processing. Approximately 10 percent of the completed interviews were verified through callbacks. All questionnaires were checked by the interviewer supervisor immediately after completion. Finally, keypunched data were double-checked for all cases in the survey sample.
The sampling error for this survey is +/3 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. This means that 95 times out of 100, the results will-be within 3 percentage pointsof what they would be if all adults in Orange County were interviewed. The sampling error for any subgroup would be larger.

industry_corpus2: Subject Education


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Select Mr. Mrs. Ms. Prof. Dr.
Copyright © 2011 Worldwide Achievers Pvt. Ltd.


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Decorist couldn't wait to get their hands on our images too!
Natalia Foto Published in Boston Home Magazine!!!
Back to work today with one of my first clients back when I first we started out, @circlefurniture !! Great way to start back to work. Thanks for getting this twin momma out!
Loving taking time off work to raise our girls!!
I love my best friend @karee487 !! Always thinking of others. Love my get well gifts 🕊🙏🏻so blessed.
We love showcasing designers in their space!
Read up some more about this amazing kitchen I recently blogged about. Get more insider tips from Cecilia Casagrande Interiors!!
If you have not heard of Boston Home Magazine I suggest you run out and get a copy now!!! Also a big reason why is because we just got published in the magazine! It is my favorite local magazine as it only publishes local high-end designer homes. Even just the quality of the magazine is amazing, the thickness of pages and the color! It is chock full of wonderful photography and great articles with little to no advertisements. A real great read! You can always find articles online but I find online distracting with all the advertisements popping up. There is something special about curling up with an artsy quality magazine and a cup of tea for inspiration on a Saturday morning! I also am a big advocate for printing photographs.
I teamed up with Cecilia Casagrande Interiors to photograph her kitchen showroom. These photos may wow you but if you could only step into her kitchen you may just fall over. I wanted to skip and dance for joy when I first met Cecilia the first time for tea in her gorgeous kitchen. And let me tell you this kitchen gets a lot of use with her young boys and her amazing cooking skills I had the benefit of enjoying during our shoots! If you haven’t heard of her yet she is a rising star, she aleady was published once before in Boston Home Magazine in their Summer 2016 issue. http://www.ceciliacasagrande.com/press/ Not bad for your first year in business!!
If you haven't heard of Cecilia Casagrande yet, you will soon! The up and coming interior designer is amazing and I have been fortunately enough to photograph her work. She is focused and has an attention to detail I have never witnessed. Not only is she a fabulous designer but also amazing at styling which is always helpful for a photographer!
If you are looking for a fresh look for your home you must visit Cecilia's Brookline, MA home which showcases her amazing design. When we first met for tea to get to know each other and as I walked through her front doors I felt giddy and delighted as her home whisped me off my feet!!!
She is currently working on my new home. Being a creative person I usually am able to do this myself but with a busy work schedule and a fresh canvas home I thought I should call in a professional. She really helped me develop and perfect my personal style and what is truly was truly important to me. What pieces were visually inspiring and had a special story got me excited! She is amazingly creative and also amazingly organized keeping us on task and focused through the design process.
I'll be posting some before and after photos on the blog as our design journey continues here at Natalia Foto! For now check out our amazing mood board!
Follow Cecilia at her website or on instagram!!

industry_corpus2: Real Estate & Construction


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2 Ways to cook: Skillet and waffles.
Versatile skillet meals: Eggs and bacon omelets French toast sandwiches.
Side grips for easy safe handling.
Folding collapsible handle on skillet for easy storage.
Pour spout on skillet for easy grease drainage.
Removable nonstick skillet and grids are dishwasher safe.
Pre-measured scoop (equals 1/2 cup or 125 ml).
Power On and Ready lights.
Heated coverlid ensures fast even cooking on both sides.
Bake fluffy restaurant-style waffles in minutes with our popular collection of Hamilton Beach Waffle Makers. An indicator light tells you when the waffle maker is ready to use and nonstick grids make it easy to remove freshly cooked waffles.
Hamilton Beach Waffle Makers are designed for quick cleanup. A covered hinge and batter channel help prevent messy spills and the nonstick surfaces are easy to clean with a damp cloth. Select models take convenience one step further offering removable dishwasher safe grids for the easiest cleanup imaginable.
Cooking will never be the same again with Hamilton Beachs newest addition to their slow cooker line. The 3-Quart Slow Cooker with Swirl Pattern Design is easy to use and surely efficient when cooking foods for the whole family. They can not wait for your next menu.
With a sleek shape and extra-wide slots to fit bagels and thick gourmet bread this Hamilton Beach 24504 4 Slice Mechanical Toaster is stylish any way you slice it. Even better it has a smudgeproof brushed finish to keep fingerprints undercover.
Bagel defrost and cancel functions.
Slide-out crumb tray for easy cleanup.
Powerful ice crushing with patented Ice Sabre blades.
Press once for automatic cycle.
Action system for smooth results without stirring.
The Hamilton Beach Easy Reach Toaster Oven has all of the great features of our other toaster ovens plus a removable roll-top door for easy access and cleanup. Other features include - Bake Broil and Toast settings a 30-minute timer a front access crumb tray and a baking pan and broil rack are included.
For more than 100 years, Hamilton Beach has continued to introduce new and innovative products that bring Good Thinking into American homes. Below, you'll see some of the high points. But we've only just begun. New features. New products. New styles and colors. It's all a part of today's Hamilton Beach . This Fresh Grind Grinderfrom Hamilton Beach is very quiet. With durable stainless steel blades it grinds coffee and spices. It features a removable grinding chamber for easy filling and dishwasher cleauphidden cord storage and On/Off button.

industry_corpus2: Hospitality & Catering


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Kinder supports you in raising happy children by providing unique products and experiences that enhance moments of joy and on special occasions. This is a fundamental ingredient for children's growth and development and has always been part of our story.
Now, Kinder is facing an important milestone in its story: in 2018 the brand celebrates 50 years of uncountable joyful moments with its consumers. Join the worldwide celebration.
Kinder is celebrating 50 years worldwide!
Creating chocolates is just a part of our story. Learn how a sincere idea blossomed into the Kinder we know today.

industry_corpus2: Others


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The V-SERIES shock absorbing lanyard line simplifies product selection by offering a concise line of standard lanyards that meet a wide range of customer needs. These lightweight safety lanyards not only limit force on the body in a fall, but also on the anchor location. The shock absorbing pouch includes a clear, durable protective cover on the labels to increase service life, and allow for easy inspection.
A fall restraint lanyard connection is used between the anchor point and the body harness to prevent the user from reaching the fall area and work positioning applications. MSA restraint lanyards are available in web and kernmantel rope.


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The basic black-and-white elements and rounded typeface are professional and read fluently.
Our design for the website of the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) features an organised grid layout for the hyperlinks on the home page along with a ubiquitous navigation bar, both of which facilitate a user-friendly experience. The basic black-and-white elements and rounded typeface are professional and read fluently, yet splashes of SIA’s signature orange have also been introduced to our concept as a subtle but eye-catching marker of the company’s identity. The overall effect is a refreshing online environment which is nevertheless rounded off with elegant restraint.


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Many governmental and commercial organizations have implemented smart cards as their preferred method for Multi-factor Authentication. This post explains how to configure Centrify Identity Service or Centrify Privilege Service to provide authentication using Smart Cards. This article provides the configuration steps to enable Smartcard (certificate)-based authentication for CIS or CPS.
Generally, cryptographic credentials (user certificates) are stored in the smartcard (PIV or CAC card) and the system has a dedicated reader. Upon successful authentication (credentials verified and PIN submitted) the operating system or application will use a standard protocol (like Kerberos) or a one-time-code to grant access to the system or application.
For example, Centrify Server Suite allows the user of Kerberos for SSO to applications like Secure Shell (SSH). Our DirectAuthorize can enforce if the user is allowed to log in with a password or with Kerberos/GSSAPI only.
In the case of Identity Service and Privilege Service, we use a Centrify capability called Zero Sign-on (SZO). SZO provides a one-time token to use for authentication if the Authentication Profile that applies to the user is configured for Certificate-based Authentication. All the user needs to do is navigate to the CIS/CPS site, select the smart card certificate and PIN.
This setup provides strong authentication to access Apps or for Privileged Identity Management scenarios.
Public Key Infrastructure Infrastructure (Enterprise CA, Revocation Infrastructure, well-configured PKI clients) and understanding of how the subject name is being provisioned.
A copy of the Certificate Chain (or Root CA) for your PKI infrastructure.
A SmartCard or Yubikey configured for authentication into your environment.
This post contains instructions to set up a lab. See "Lab - Base Setup"
Strong Disclaimer: This is a PKI-related topic. You should always be workign with your PKI SME with anything related to certificates, trust chains, revocations, etc.
The configuration depends on the deployment option of the service.
Note: If you can't see the Certificate Authorities option, you're not running the App+ edition or in the case of Privilege Service on-premises, you have to perform the activation steps (see below).
Click Browse and select the location of the root ca certificate.
If you are confident that you have a highly-distributed (Internal & Internet facing) Certificate revocation infrastructure, check the "Enable Client Certificate Revocation Check" if you are not sure un-check the box for now.
Note: If you don't know what PKI certificate revocation is, it's time to find your in-house PKI expert and get him or her involved. This is a serious topic.
Set the "Enable authentication policy controls" setting to Yes, if not selected.
The first setting "Use certificates for authentication..." is the main switch. If you un-check this box, the users in scope for this policy won't be able to use smart cards for authentication. This bypasses any controls set under "Login Authentication" in the preceding section.
The second setting "Set identity cookie..." controls whether the cookie is set for the browser. I would not set this flag if you expect users to access via non-managed systems.
The third setting "Accept connections using certificate..." defines whether if users logging in with smart cards or certs are treated as "strongly-authenticated"
Make your selections based on your desired security posture.
Once you type-in the PIN, you'll be redirected to the appropriate portal (User | Cloud Manager | Privilege Manager).
Background: Centrify Privilege Service can be deployed on premises on a Windows Server 2012 R2 system. You need a CNAME record for the Zero Sign-On website and a x.509 certificate with that DNS name.
a) Set-up a DNS CNAME record to with the name hostname[zso].domain.name pointing to the hostname.domain.name. E.g. if your system name is app1.corp.contoso.com, create a CNAME record to app1zso.corp.contoso.com and point it to the original host name.
b) You need an SSL Certificate with the DNSname for the SZO special host.
Run the setup_certauth.ps1 script. The program will ask if the pre-requisites have been met.
Confirm and you'll be prompted to provide the x.509 (SSL) cert for the SZO site.
Once completed, you can return to Cloud Manager and perform the steps outlined above in the: "Configuring the Root CA in Identity Service App+ or Privilege Service (SaaS)" section.

industry_corpus2: Technology & Research


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I grew up in a railroad family – but certainly not a conventional railroad family. Our railroad is the Black River & Western Railroad, a short-line tourist excursion line that runs between Ringoes and Flemington, NJ – and on to Lambertville on rare occasions.
As a teenager, my summer and weekend job was tending the concession stands at the station in Ringoes or selling tickets in Flemington and the experience brought me into close contact with a not-so-rare breed of enthusiast: the rail buff.
Railroad buffs are a well-known strain to anyone who actually works around railroads and many of them are even recognized for their sub-specialties – a certain type of diesel engine or a fascination only with steam — or semaphores, evidently. Some are so ubiquitous around rail yards, they’ve acquired not-so-flattering nicknames like Diesel Dan or Willie-Lump-Lump.
The point of this polemic – and there is one – is that I find the enthusiasms of the human race fascinating. When in my dotage – and some would say I’m getting dangerously close – I imagine writing a book about buffs. And to start my research, I am hopeful I’ll hear from you. I have no doubt that many of you will know of rail buffs yourself, even if not extreme ones like the ones I’ve described. What I’m interested in learning a about are buffs with other equally esoteric interests.
For instance, I’m sure all modes of transportation attract their share of buffs. I know there are those who are courtroom junkies or are never far from their police scanners. I have heard of people who collect barbed-wire specimens – who knew there were so many varieties? And I almost consider the collectors of glass insulators from telephone poles a step-cousin to the rail buff. Do you know of other unusual hobbyists – those who have a single-minded devotion to an obscure collection or interest?
Please let me know – I plan on becoming a buff of buffs!

industry_corpus2: Transportation


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Salisbury has Britain’s finest 13th century Gothic Cathedral boasting the tallest spire in the Kingdom.
Built between 1220 and 1258 it has over 750 years of history including the world's best preserved original Magna Carta and Europe's oldest working clock. The Cathedral is a record holder for having the largest Cathedral close, the largest Cathedral Cloisters and the largest and earliest set of Quire stalls in Britain. The Cathedral is still an active place of worship and visitor access is restricted on Sundays during services.
Guides can take you on a free tour of the Cathedral or there are self guiding leaflets in English and other languages. If you want to see the tallest spire at close hand then the Tower tour will take you up the 332 steps in easy stages, by narrow spiral staircases and interior roof walkways, to reach the base of the Spire. Not for the the faint hearted or young children!
There is a restaurant which offers a self service buffet and has a special childrens menu. There is also a shop for souvenirs.
Open on Sunday from 7:15am – 18:15 but during services access will be restricted.
The Cathedral floor, Chapter House, Cloisters, Refectory Restaurant and Shop are wheelchair accessible.
Find out how to get to Salisbury Cathedral with directions and maps from Google.

industry_corpus2: Travel & Geography


text: Garden Condos are now selling at Esplanade Golf & Country Club of Naples! Take A Virtual Tour of the Garden CondosCome Home to Esplanade Experience a new level of inspired living and enjoy an exciting array of resort-style amenities. From active recreations to relaxing pursuits, Esplanade Golf & Country Club of Naples presents an air of sophistication and luxury like nowhere else. Beginning with entry views of lavish water features, lush landscaping, and perfectly manicured golf links, every aspect of this exclusive community makes it clear this is a location to be coveted. Taylor Morrison's Esplanade communities offer beautifully appointed homes, inspired by California Tuscan architecture. Our Garden Condos are built to Taylor Morrison's high standards of construction quality and design. Our Garden Condos offer many spacious, open floor plans featuring designer touches. Explore the Possibilities with this Financing Option Inspired by YouWith our Rate Roll Back, 2/1 Buydown offer, you’ll enjoy a lower mortgage payment for the first two years of your loan on an eligible move-in ready home or a home that can close on or before April 30, 2019. This equals a lower payment and hundreds saved every month—giving you the freedom to accomplish more now and and save for the future. Calculate Savings for Your New Condo at Esplanade Golf and Country Club of Naples!


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I love all galleries and museums but my 19-year-old daughter does not. She usually zips round them in a flash then adopts a bored face and begs me to “hurry up”. So when she takes her time, reads the blurbs and looks interested I know I’ve found somewhere exceptional. Here she is on the ground floor of York Art Gallery looking at the Flesh exhibition, which she declared “really good”. By the time she got to the top floor – home to the fabulous Lumber Gallery and the Centre of Ceramic Art – she was in raptures and rightly so as this really is a great place to visit.
Grace at the Flesh exhibition. The man on the plinth is a life-like sculpture.
There has been a fair amount of anger over the charges imposed by York Art Gallery after its revamp and I understand the reasons why. It would be wonderful if all museums and galleries were free. They are medicine for the mind and soul and good for the nation’s health. However, the arts are poorly funded so admission is £7.50 for an adult ticket, £4 for students and under 16s go free with a fee-paying adult. It adds up when you visit as a family. In my case it was £23 but I felt it was worth it as there is a lot to see and the quality of the displays are excellent. Flesh, which runs until March 19, explores how artists represent flesh in their work. It features pieces from the 14th to the 21st century and is remarkable. There are three rooms packed with paintings and sculptures with some past and present greats, including Rubens, Rembrandt, Rodin, Bacon, Degas and Sarah Lucas.
One of my favourite paintings from Flesh mainly because it’s so old and startlingly vivid. It was painted in 1350.
So Flesh is good but my favourite exhibition by far was The Lumber Room: Unimagined Treasures. York-based artist and printmaker Mark Hearld raided the York Museums Trusts collections and put his finds together in one magnificent jumble of paintings, artefacts, objects and curios. His fans (I am one of them) will be pleased to know that some of his own work is in there too. He called it The Lumber Room after the evocative short story by Saki in which a little boy discovers “a large and dimly lit storehouse of unimagined treasures”.
Mark remembers this story from primary school and it fired his imagination.
One of Mark Hearld’s own pictures.
Who knew that York Museums owned a string of old rocking horses?
I love this vintage teapot in The Lumber Room.
We skipped the Burton Gallery, home to paintings and sculptures, as we’d spent far too long in The Lumber Room and were in need of food. But we did pay a visit to the Centre of Ceramic Art, which is devoted to promoting greater understanding and enjoyment of British studio ceramics i.e. the lone makers. All the big names are here, including Lucie Rie and David Lloyd-Jones and many, many more. So many that I intend to go back to have a longer look.
I’m afraid I wasn’t too impressed with the key exhibit – Clare Twomey’s Manifest, a tower of 10,000 handmade bowls, but then I am an average punter rather than a ceramics buff.
Still, I left on a high after spotting Grayson Perry’s Melanie. I love a man who can make you smile and make you think. Grayson’s Melanie is based on a contestant in “Miss Plus Size International”. The piece explores how the definition of feminine beauty constantly changes.
If you want a souvenir of your visit then the shop is good and has some fab cards and books. The loos are sensational – a shoe-in for Loo of the Year – and the little cafe does excellent coffee.
having been to york several times i didnt realise they actually had an art museum, and if your daughter says it was good then it must be. will put it on the list next time.


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Bay2 Campers specialise in converting VW vans into stunning, stylish campers with bespoke features and fittings.
To create a strong, bold brand and showcase the impressive campervan conversions carried out by Bay2Campers.
Creative marketing that converted into contracts worth thousands of pounds.

industry_corpus2: Automobiles


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tributary slots for ODUk (K=1, 2, 3), and the ODUflex service type.
[RFC6163] and [RFC6566] for further information.
link can carry one or more types of ODUj (j<k).
Address TLV (referred to as the Node TLV) and (2) the TE-Link TLV.
multiplexing levels.  In the following, the term "multiplexing tree"
provides an illustration of one-hop OTUk TE-Links.
Capability Descriptor MUST be interpreted as defined in [RFC4203].
examples) and different TS granularity supported within the TE-Link.
Signal Type.  Signal Type values are defined in [RFC7139].
support for Type 22 adaptation.
o  Signal Type (8 bits): Indicates the ODU type being advertised.
Values are defined in [RFC7139].
It MUST be set to the number of stages represented in the sub-TLV.
*  The value 0 in both the T bit and S bit MUST NOT be used.
SHALL be at priority level 0.
the Stage and Padding fields MUST be omitted.
first indicating ODU2 and the second ODU3 (server layer).
that are not indicated in the Priority field.
field, and the fields are ordered to match the Priority field.
filled according to the evolving of the TE-Link bandwidth occupancy.
advertised to support ODU0, the value of its TSG field is "ignored"
of the capabilities of such interfaces, two different ISCDs are used.
the Hierarchical-LSP (H-LSP) (penultimate hop of the LSP).
please see Section 3.2 of [RFC7096].
fields are not relevant to this example (filled with Xs).
granularity and non-homogeneous muxing hierarchies are considered.
described in [RFC4201] and illustrated in Section 5.6.
automatically protect the extensions defined in this document.
IANA has made the following assignment in the "Switching Types"
TDM.  Each sub-TLV includes a 16-bit type identifier (the T-field).
The same T-field values are applicable to the new sub-TLV.
sub-TLVs of OTN-TDM SCSI (Switching Capability Specific Information)"
networks", Recommendation G.805, March 2000.
Protocols (KARP) Design Guide", RFC 6863, March 2013.
[RFC7062]    Zhang, F., Li, D., Li, H., Belotti, S., and D.

industry_corpus2: Computing & Telecommunications


text:
Some documents need to be stamped with relevant date and time. You can easily add specific date or time or an auto-updating date and time to any Microsoft Word Document.
3. Select any of the given Date – Time format as per need.
If you uncheck Â ‘update automatically’ option then date and time at the moment of document creation will be stamped on the document. If this option is checked, then whenever you open the document – current date and time will be displayed.
How to add simple or styled tables to Microsoft Word?


text: Buy 2008 Dodge Ram Parts and Accessories at TopGearAutosport.com. We have got a great selection of auto parts, in stock and ready to ship. Order now and upgrade with these aftermarket 2008 Dodge Ram Parts and Accessories.


text:
Visit a teeth whitening clinic near Pin Green in a relaxing and comfortable environment in just one hour's travel time! We also arrange 0% finance on flexible dentures.
Our general and cosmetic treatments include 6 month braces, implant supported dentures and LA teeth whitening to name but a few. We are happy to discuss any procedures to help you achieve that gorgeous smile many hope for. Telephone 020 3468 5020 for more details. Alternatively book a Complete Care Assessment.
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We really care about the service and prices we offer and the high level of care we provide. That is why so many of our dental customers leave delighted and recommend us to friends.
Interested in veneers? Porcelain veneer dental procedures can be used to mask a single dark tooth but more often are used to give you that dazzling smile and raise your confidence. Our Hertfordshire dental patients can relax in the knowledge that they will get an excellent level of care from some of the top dentists around SG13 who provide denture implants among other services. We are also CQC, BACD and BILD registered.
Do you have faulty or fractured teeth in need of repair? Many of our dentists and hygienists specialise in emergency dental solutions. We will aim to see you as soon as possible. If you would like to know what time we can offer our dental treatments, do ask us your questions by phone or through our contact form. We specialise in mouth braces.
To discuss our various treatments or to ask about minor oral surgery and paediatric dentistry in the Pin Green area call 020 3468 5020.
Find flexible dentures locally in Pin Green. We also cover Bedfordshire.


text:
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages,teaching in their synagogues, and preaching thegospel of the kingdom, and healing everysickness and every disease among the people.
 But when he saw the multitudes, he wasmoved with compassion on them, because theyfainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheephaving no shepherd.
There have been some recent news worthy events that have me thinking. Truthfully, theyhave taken me to a fork in the road.
Then I am reminded that my choice does not speak to simply a couple of news articles but myattitude toward the broken lives that live outside the four walls of the church, in my neighborhood,my community and my world.
How should the church respond to the death of superstars because of drugs and alcohol?
How should the church respond to pure evil being portrayed by musical artists on live TV?
In John the 8th chapter, a woman that was caught in the very act of adultery was brought toJesus. This woman was broken, her life hanging in the balance and two groups emerged.
Grace does not mean compromise, nor does it require tolerance of sin, but it reveals the love ofJesus Christ to those in need.
The doctrine never changes. The truth of God remains, but if we condemn instead of love thenblood will be our our hands.
When the church witnesses broken lives, a fork in the road emerges.
Do we condemn or love?
Do we show mercy or shun?
Do we reach or withdrawal?
There are those in our community that need tosee the love of Jesus Christ. Their are those that their brokenness become evident and is transmitted through the news media.
During their time of brokenness and no direction, they may make decisions that are "ungodly" butthat is the time that we reach out to them andlove them. that is the time that we do as Jesus and have pity.
The church is a place of safety. A city of refuge. The stop for weary travelers in life so they can find the rest that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
When we condemn or judge others for the path that their journey has taken, we also have chosen the wrong path.
When standing at the fork in the road, be sure to choose the path that is covered in prayer and love, because like Jesus, we need to have pity for our city.
Lost causes and broken lives is the business of the church.
We will never reach the hungry if we feed them stale bread.
But if we first condemn, we will never reach anyone.
The next time you see something that is not pleasing to God, pray, reach and love.


text:
As healthcare services are concerned, then Muzaffarpur is unarguably the most critical city in entire North Bihar. Muzaffarpur with number of hospitals is well equipped to handle any emergency like situations. Everyday thousands of patients from nearby towns and villages visit these hospitals for medical treatment. Below mentioned names and addresses of some of the most trusted and renowned hospitals in Muzaffarpur.
Maa Janki Hospital & Research Centre Pvt. Ltd.


text:
Seasonal Allergies. How do I explain it to my children?
Achoo! Achoo! Your son has been sneezing all morning and while you hand him yet another Kleenex, you´re probably asking yourself whether he has allergies? Each year, when spring blossoms, allergies do too and children are no exception when it comes down to developing them. Juan Casado, Head of Paediatrics at the Niño Jesus Hospital in Madrid, assures parents that children do not show signs of allergies until they are at least four or five years old. But how do we know for sure? And how can we explain it to our children so they understand?


text:
All people are likely to be part of unaccepted injury at any period. The occurrence of this accident will injury the person and end up getting hurt to the extent of failing in handling the daily activities. This accident might be caused by another person. The work of the injury lawyer is to stand on the side of the client who is affected in the accident. They help in the realization of justice to such people. The individuals might get injured such that they are rendered incapable of working to bring bread on the table. The article, will explicate the responsibilities of the accident lawyer and how employ one.
One of the roles of the accident lawyer is to handle the issues about the improper grafts set up. You will have a family associate who gets the metallic installed but after the process fails to work well. This will result to the subtraction of the implant and set up a unique one. This might cause some extra charges on the person who suffers. To abolish the inequality, the accident lawyer will intrude to evaluate the possibility of the ironic remove. This is practical mostly when the hip transplants is supplied in the body.
Further, acquire the services of the accident lawyer operating on the consumers after the lorry happens to smash them. The driver of the lorry might be the one who is on the bad side. The work of the lawyer is to review deeper and acquire the evidence. This will be used to find justice on the part of the client affected in the accident. Further, get the upkeep and maintenance to protect the individual to whom the accident has had an impact on. In most of the instances, the affected person is incapable of offering optimal care to the affected person. There is money offered to the victim until they acquire the power to work function one more.
For the best law services, it demands the services of the professional lawyer. The lawyer will offer services for the proper medication and healing to your body. Pick the lawyer who has the applicable papers. Request to get the copy of certificates attained by the lawyer. The lawyer must give the information about the probability of extending the education . This would be the probability of attaining more information. Further, get the information of their having additional skills in the field. Gain the data related to the achievement of the details in the gone days. The lawyer should give out the services with the evidence enough without revealing what the client wants to keep secret. The information they are not ready to expose should be kept personal.

industry_corpus2: Law & Justice


text:
Back with part 2 of the rookie camp player watch list, going out West. As mentioned before- these are players I’m familiar with- either through scouting them or interviewing them in their respective draft years. I don’t claim to have a monopoly of knowledge, but share these observations a time when they are getting a chance to compete with and among their peers- before the veterans show up and camps formally begin next week.
Brandon Montour, D- Former UMass defender left after just one season but has live wheels and impressive puck moving ability. He was drafted in 2014 as a third-year draft eligible out of Waterloo of the USHL and may have been that league’s best d-man in 2013-14. He’s 21 and ready to handle the physical demands and rigors of pro hockey after just one season in the Hockey East.
Nick Ritchie, F- Massive power forward has bigger upside than his older brother Brett after being drafted out of the Peterborough Petes of the OHL in 2014. Tremendous core strength means he generates power few can match when he decides to drive the net and works up the speed to take the puck straight in. Gets some real torque on his shot and hides his release point well. Effort level and intensity comes and goes- if the light ever comes on for him he could be a force. People said the same things about Ryan Getzlaf back in 2003, after all.
Nick Merkley, F- What a gamer! Although undersized and lacking a top gear, he’s an elite passer and finds ways to generate offense as evidenced by his great WHL playoff and Memorial Cup run last spring. He was a steal for the Desert Dogs with the final pick of the opening round, a player who was projected to go anywhere from the around the top-15-20 picks but slid down to 30. To get Dylan Strome and Merkley in the same round and with Max Domi ready to take his game to the big show, Arizona is building some serious firepower up front.
Rasmus Andersson, D- Talented Swede was Calgary’s top selection (after trading three picks to Boston for Dougie Hamilton) in the second round, just after the B’s opted for Jeremy Lauzon, and he’s an interesting prospect. A superb power play presence and puck mover, he uses his vision and soft hands to distribute with the added time and space. His skating- especially the transitions and lateral movement- is an area that needs improvement, but he was a productive player in his first OHL season.
Jon Gillies, G- A Scouting Post favorite, he went out on top at Providence College, playing a huge role in his school’s first ever NCAA title last April and will likely spend the year with the Stockton Heat of the AHL. With his huge frame, he doesn’t allow much daylight in the net and he’s a competitive battler. Scouts have knocked him for not being an elite athlete, but when you look at his numbers- they don’t lie.
Graham Knott, F- Excellent physical tools are brought into question when it comes to the hockey sense and overall competitiveness. If he develops a little more “want to”, Knott certainly has the talent to be an NHL regular and Chicago will have done it again by landing a quality forward without a top-round selection, but several NHL scouts questioned his ability to process and decisions at times when he was with Niagara of the OHL this past season.
Conner Bleackley, F- I liked the Red Deer Rebels captain as an option for the B’s in the 2014 draft’s first round, but Colorado grabbed him earlier (not that it would have mattered, as David Pastrnak was Boston’s guy all along). Scuttlebutt with scouts I spoke to at the 2015 NHL draft is that Bleackley was not ready to go for his first pro camp and his play suffered last season. This is a key opportunity for him to put a better foot forward and justify the team’s faith in him- he’s a leader so don’t count him out on that score.
Jason Dickinson, F- The player chosen by Dallas with the pick Jim Nill got from Boston in the 2013 trade deadline deal for Jaromir Jagr, Dickinson hasn’t put up eye-popping numbers in the OHL, but has been pretty consistent as a scorer over the past year. Knocks on him entering his NHL draft was a lack of intensity and a tendency to go long stretches at Guelph without doing much and then scoring in bunches. Felt he was a reach at the end of the 1st round, but there’s no doubt he has the skating and tools to justify that pick going forward.
Cole Ully, F- Undersized and underweight at 18, Ully has always had the speed and “want to” coming out of the rugged WHL with the Kamloops Blazers. He’s the anti-Dickinson if you will- a kid who has the skating and shot if not the more ideal pro size but has a non-stop motor and a knack for finding the net in key situations. He’s gotten stronger and added more mass to his light frame, but he’s always going to be challenged in the rougher areas of the ice, where his compete and grit will give him a chance to win puck battles. Speaking of battles, he’s not afraid to drop the gloves to defend teammates- he’s willing to earn respect the hard way.
Leon Draisaitl, F- In hindsight, Draisaitl wasn’t ready for prime time when he began the 2014-15 NHL season in Edmonton, but the experience has made him a much better player and he was in beast mode during the WHL playoffs with Kelowna. He’s the sturm to McDavid’s drang, and these two are going to give the Oilers a wicked 1-2 punch up the middle for years to come, giving the rest of the league much turmoil and emotional heartache to face as they mature into stars.
Connor McDavid, F- What more can you say about McDavid that has not been mentioned already? I’ll just share an observation of him from Sunrise on draft weekend. The day after going 1st overall, he was back in the building doing some kind of promotional events, and I happened to be walking into the BB&T Center with him. He eschewed the attention and almost seemed embarrassed by it. A few minutes later- he was quietly by himself taking a breather from what he knows will be the bright lights and attention that will follow him for the duration of a long NHL career. I thought that touch of humility- not coming off like he is bigger than the game or his team- was a good sign that the NHL’s next big thing deserves the spotlight, even if he doesn’t really want it.
Valentin Zykov, F- The rich get a little richer with this plum of a forward that Red Line projected in the first round in 2013 (26th), but slid down to the Kings at the 37th selection. He’s got a thick, pro-style build and can really skate and shoot the puck. He’s expected to be a big-time contributor to the AHL’s Ontario Reign. He missed the WJC last year due to injury, but is on a mission to prove himself and don’t be surprised if he sees some NHL action at some point this season- legitimate top-six scoring potential as a left wing in my view after splitting the year between Baie-Comeau and Gatineau of the QMJHL.
Mike Reilly, D- The former Columbus prospect out of Shattuck St. Mary’s in 2011 declined to sign with the Blue Jackets and inked a deal with his home team Wild, where he makes his pro debut this season and might do enough to earn an NHL job coming out of camp. Although not blessed with a lot of size, he’s a premier puck mover with his mobility and vision as his 36 helpers in 39 games with the Golden Gophers attest.
Flahr said when Reilly began to settle down his play influenced the game.
“He made a lot of things happen for the back-end, and generated a lot of chances because of his mobility, and ability to get up ice and make plays,” Flahr said.
Juuse Saros, G- Little goalie that could is a rarity in this day and age- a sub-6-footer between the pipes vying for NHL time among the freakishly athletic redwoods that are in vogue. Gritty little competitor just stops the puck and has some Tim Thomas (on the ice) compete in his game. He gets his pads down fast and brings a never-say-die mentality to every scoring chance. I was a big fan in his draft year and believe he’ll reach the NHL despite the lack of size. I love this guy and if they don’t already, Preds fans will too.
Robby Fabbri, F- Boy, the Blues got themselves some terrific value with Fabbri a year ago at 21, when scouting lists like Red Line had him ranked in the top-10. He was part of Canada’s WJC gold medal-winning team, but missed the medal games due to a high ankle sprain after making an impact during the round robin portion. He’s a tremendous competitor who doesn’t seem bothered by his diminutive size, although some point to the injuries he’s had as indicators of what lies ahead as he moves into the more rugged pro ranks. Me? I love heart-and-soul guys who go out and get it done- he’s one of those types and more.
Tommy Vannelli, D- 20-year-old Minnesotan who left his home state to play in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers is a truly gorgeous skater who can rev it up in his own end and push the offensive pace whenever he leads the rush. He’s always been rangy and aggressive- grabbing the puck and going with it- scoring a respectable 35 points in 44 games, a chunk lost to injury. He’s a talented player who only appears to be scratching the surface of his potential but will be given time to continue to grow and develop and won’t be rushed.
Pat McNally, D- Former Vancouver pick in 2010 was a defense partner for fellow New Yorkers and Boston prospect Rob O’Gara at Milton Academy in 2010-11, and his riverboat gambler ways are what drew me to O’Gara in the first place- as he often found himself covering for McNally. When moving forward McNally has always been a threat, charging up the ice and in prep- he used his wheels and feared shot to score a lot of goals. His all-around game, however, has been more of a work in progress and he remains a project with some upside. We’ll see if the Sharks can harness his potential going forward, as this swashbuckler won’t get away with doing some of the things he did at lower levels now that he’s a pro.
Timo Meier, F- Boston was reportedly about to draft its first Swiss player in team history with Meier, whose heavy style and scoring chops would have been a fine fit. The Sharks beat them to the punch, grabbing the QMJHL standout inside the top-10 and Meier will probably become a reliable and dependable scorer for them in time.
Jake Virtanen, F- When Jim Benning left Boston to take the reins as Vancouver GM a year ago, it wasn’t a big surprise that he used his first draft choice on the big and skilled forward who has a natural knack for scoring goals. He took a step back in 2015 with Calgary of the WHL after being the sixth overall selection- only tallying 21 goals and barely registering a point-per-game. With more expected, watch for the 19-year-old to rebound this year with his speed and shot.
Nikolaj Ehlers, F- Wow, what a player! This top-10 selection in 2014 is an absolute stud who is going to make the rising Jets even faster and more dangerous offensively than they already are, which is saying a hell of a lot. You don’t want to overuse the word “special” to describe too many prospects but that’s what this Great Dane is. Turn him loose and as Mr. T used to say- pity the poor fool who lets Ehlers get a step on him…goodbye!
Eric Comrie, G- This stud goalie prospect fell a bit in 2013 because he suffered a serious injury, but he put together a great follow-on campaign with the Tri-City Americans in 2013-14, then looked pretty strong in a handful of AHL games when his junior season ended last spring. With his fluid athleticism and near-flawless technique, he’ll be pushing for quality NHL starts before too long.


text:
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39). God is not a generic refuge for every person on earth, but only for those who belong to Him by repentant faith in Jesus Christ.
Mankind consists of two categories: children of God and children of the devil (1 John 3:10). Only children of God have the impenetrable assurance of God’s covenant love in any and every trial of life. John 1:11–13 says of Christ: “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” In other words, we are not children of God by physical birth, but by the new birth, by faith in Jesus Christ, by the spiritual rebirth brought about by the Spirit of God (John 3:1–8).
When we have assurance of a relationship with God through His Son, we possess a refuge in Him. The psalmist writes, “though the earth should change,” or “mountains slip into the heart of the sea,” “though its waters roar and foam,” and the “mountains quake,” we will not fear (Psalm 46). Why? Because the living God, our refuge and strength, is present with us. The causes of fear mentioned by the psalmist are totally beyond our control. We have no control over earthquakes or mountains slipping into the sea. God alone controls these things. We must remember that, no matter how difficult our circumstances may become, we are never alone. God is our very present help. The psalmist is saying, “Trust God. Fear God, and nothing else.” To fear God is to escape from all other fears, to anchor our souls to an immovable rock in a harbor of strong defense.


text:
Synopsis: An innocent conversation from five years before leads to devastating consequences in the present.
“There’s an art to decorating a tree,” Adam replied as he continued to study the large Ponderosa pine in front of him. “The best ornaments should be in front, and there should be a balanced look.” He frowned a bit, then took a step forward to place a red ball of glass on a low branch to his right.
“Let’s just get this done,” suggested Hoss. Holding two glass bulbs in his hand, Hoss took a step forward and hung the ornaments on the tree branch in front of him. Adam grimaced at his brother’s haphazard placement of the decorations and quickly moved one of the ornaments to a lower branch.
“And pretty girls willing to be kissed under the mistletoe?” Adam said, arching his eyebrows a bit.
“I’ll bet you are,” observed Adam dryly.
At that moment, the front door opened and Ben Cartwright walked into the warmth of the Ponderosa ranch house. His tan coat was dotted with specks of liquid, indicating the light snow that had begun earlier in the day was still falling. Placing a large bundle of envelopes on the bureau by the door, Ben began removing his hat and coat.
The half-decorated Christmas tree was forgotten as the three Cartwright brothers moved toward their father. Ben felt like a postmaster as he pulled each envelope from the bundle and handed it to the son to whom it was addressed. The house grew quiet as Adam, Hoss, and Joe began opening envelopes and reading the notes each one contained. For a moment, Ben just stood and smiled indulgently at his sons, enjoying the look of pleasure on each of their faces as they read. Then he began opening the envelopes addressed to him.
“Looks like you’re a mite late for that party,” commented Hoss with a laugh.
“I’ve heard of mail getting delayed, but five years seems ridiculous,” Adam added.
“Why would someone do that?” asked Hoss.
“Well, if it’s a joke, it’s a pretty subtle one,” Adam commented.
The Virginia City Christmas Dance was one of the holiday festivities Joe looked forward to each year. Held annually on the Saturday before Christmas, the dance was a chance for everyone in the area to get together to exchange holiday greetings and celebrate the season before traveling to visit family or hosting guests for Christmas. People had been known to trek through snowstorms and frigid temperatures to attend the Christmas Dance. This year, however, the temperature was mild for December – a little above freezing — and the attendance at the Christmas Dance was expected to be large, especially since the day of the dance was four days before Christmas this year.
As Joe entered the old warehouse that had been converted into a dance hall for the night, he wasn’t surprised to see the floor was already crowded with people. Everyone he knew had been talking about coming to the Christmas Dance, and it appeared all of them – and more – had already arrived. While the hard-working people of the West didn’t have fancy dress suits and silk ball gowns to wear, everyone had donned their best clothes. Men wearing jackets and suits brushed clean were mingling with women clad in brightly colored cloth dresses. Joe knew he looked good in his dark blue suit, crisp white shirt and string tie; he had spent over an hour in front of the mirror at home to insure he looked his best.
“They did a nice job of sprucing up the place,” commented Adam as he stood at Joe’s right.
Looking around the old warehouse, Joe had to agree with his brother. Strings of green garland were draped along the walls, interspersed with bright red ribbons. A large green wreath hung on the back wall behind the stage which had been constructed for the musicians. Lanterns were hung everywhere, illuminating the large building with their bright glow. Two small stoves near the stage gave off enough heat to take the chill out of the room, but the crush of bodies on the floor generated more than enough warmth to keep the warehouse comfortable. To the left were long tables covered by bright red cloth on which numerous punch bowls, cookies and cakes had been placed. To the right were rows of chairs – currently empty – for people to rest between dances. Joe noted that someone had thoughtfully hung sprigs of mistletoe high on the wall, mostly in the darker corners of the building.
“Looks like pert near everyone in the county is here,” Hoss observed from Joe’s left.
“You shouldn’t have much trouble finding someone to dance with tonight, Joe,” Adam agreed.
“So many girls, so little time,” murmured Joe in reply.
The musicians were still assembling on the make-shift stage, so people were socializing in the middle of the large floor. Once the music started, the crowd would separate – some moving to the side to watch and wait, others hurrying on to the floor to dance with their spouses or selected partners.
“I think I’ll go over and sample some of them goodies at the food table,” Hoss announced, and he ambled toward the left of the building.
As his father and brothers disappeared into the crowd, Joe moved slowly around the edges of the floor. He was making note of who was in attendance, as well as compiling a mental list of dancing partners. So absorbed was he in planning his evening that Joe didn’t notice the raven-haired girl in the green dress until she lightly grabbed his arm.
“Well, I did miss you…a little,” Beth admitted with a twinkle in her eye. “But that’s not why I was looking for you. Someone asked me to give this to you.” She handed Joe a small white envelope.
Knitting her brows, Beth thought a minute before answering. “He was about thirty, had dark hair, a little taller than you. Nothing special about him…except…” Beth hesitated.
“Except what?” Joe encouraged the girl.
“You don’t know them?” asked Beth skeptically.
“Never heard of them,” Joe reiterated.
“Why on earth would someone send you a four-year-old wedding announcement for two people you don’t know?” Beth inquired.
“There’s more than one Joe Cartwright in the world? Oh, my! I’m not sure the girls of Virginia City will be able to stand the thought of that,” Beth teased.
It was almost midnight before the Christmas Dance began winding down and people started drifting toward the door. Joe was standing near the food table, refreshing himself with the last of the sweet liquid from a punch bowl. He had enjoyed himself during the evening, dancing several times with Beth Matthews and squiring a number of other girls around the floor. He had even managed to steal a kiss or two underneath the mistletoe. But the pleasure of the dance had been a bit damped for Joe by the envelope Beth had given him. He had found himself watching the men around him from time to time, trying to spot a stranger with cold eyes. Periodically, the thought of wedding notice as well as the party invitation crossed Joe’s mind, and he wondered why he had been sent these old announcements.
“Joe, you ready to go home?” Hoss asked as he threw his arm around his brother’s shoulder.
As he strolled toward the entrance with Hoss, Joe’s mind turned again to the envelope Beth had given him. He wondered briefly if he should tell his father and brothers about the wedding announcement, but quickly decided against it. Joe knew they wouldn’t understand why someone had sent it to him any more than he did, and showing the old clipping to them would be pointless. Besides, it wasn’t like the messages had a threatening tone. For some unknown reason, he was being reminded of events from Christmases in the past. Whoever was sending the notices must have thought Joe would understand why, but the fact was, he had no idea what the old announcements meant.
“Did you fellows have a good time?” Ben asked with a smile as Joe and Hoss approached him.
“It was a great party,” Hoss answered enthusiastically. “Them cakes were the best I’ve ever eaten.” Joe merely smiled and nodded.
The four men headed toward a small room off to the side of the entrance. Once an office, the room had been converted into coat closet, with pegs on the wall and a number of coat racks on which people could hang their capes, heavy jackets and other outer garments. Adam walked to a rack in the far left corner and began pulling coats off, handing a tan jacket to his father and brown coat to Hoss. He stopped suddenly, though, and looked around.
“Joe, you hung your coat on the same rack as ours, didn’t you?” asked Adam.
“I don’t see it,” Adam said, as he began pushing through the garments on the rack.
“Oh, brother,” muttered Adam, rolling his eyes.
As Ben walked out of the converted cloak room with Adam and Hoss, Joe took another look around, searching in vain for the missing coat. Finally, he just stood in the middle of the room and shook his head. “There are a lot of strange things going on,” Joe muttered, looking perplexed.
As he raised his head from his pillow, Joe peered toward the window with eyes still half closed with sleep. The pale light of a winter morning was visible through the glass, so Joe knew the time must be after 8 am. The sun didn’t rise until almost 8 in Nevada this time of year. Normally, Joe’s still being in bed so late in the morning would have been cause for loud raps on the door and shouts for him to get up. But Ben had told his sons to sleep in this morning. The dance and the late hour at which they had gotten home had made them all tired. Ben and the boys had made sure the horses had plenty of hay and water in their stalls when the animals were stabled in the barn last night, so having to wait a bit to get their morning feed wouldn’t hurt the horses.
Throwing back the covers, Joe sat up in bed and stretched his arms, then reluctantly climbed from the soft mattress to the floor. The feel of the cool wood on his feet reminded Joe of his chilly ride home last night. As Hoss had predicted, Joe hadn’t frozen to death, but the ride was still uncomfortable. He had kept his horse moving at a brisk walk the whole time, trying to shorten the time it took to reach the Ponderosa ranch house. Nevertheless, he had felt like an icicle by the time he had reached the yard in front of the house. Remembering the cold ride home, Joe once more silently cursed whoever had taken his coat.
It didn’t take Joe long to wash, shave and dress, and he emerged from the bedroom less that twenty minutes after he had awakened. As Joe started down the stairs, he wasn’t surprised to see his father and brothers were already seated at the dining room table eating breakfast. Their idea of “sleeping in” was a whole lot different than Joe’s. He guessed that they had been up for an hour or more and he hoped they had finished the morning chores by now.
The retort Joe was going to throw back at his brother died on his lips as Joe reached the bottom of the stairs. From the corner of his eye, he saw something blue hanging on the pegs by the door which held the Cartwrights’ coats and hats. Joe turned his head and stared at the coats by the door, then slowly turned to face his father and brothers. “My coat is here. Where did it come from?” asked Joe in astonished voice.
“Hop Sing, do you know how Joe’s coat got here?” Ben asked.
“Hop Sing find coat on porch this morning,” the cook answered, his irritation not abated. “It good coat. Youngest son just leave by door. Not deserve warm coat if not take care of it.” Hop Sing turned his fiercest look on Joe, then sniffed and walked out of the room.
“Whoever took the coat must have brought it back early this morning,” Ben suggested after the cook had left.
“But why just leave it on the porch like that?” asked Joe.
“Maybe,” Joe said doubtfully. As he turned to hand the coat back on the peg by the door, Joe noticed a bit of white paper sticking out of one of its pockets. When he pulled the paper out, Joe somehow wasn’t surprised to see it was another envelope. He opened it quickly and looked at the contents.
“It’s another newspaper clipping!” Joe exclaimed.
“What’s this one about, little brother?” Hoss inquired curiously.
Edwin Frye, who was convicted of embezzling almost $8,000 from the Carson City Merchants Bank, will be released from prison on Christmas day. Readers will recall Frye was sentenced to three years in prison when an audit of the bank’s book uncovered Frye had stolen money over a six month period by issuing false loans and taking the money for himself. Frye, who was the assistant manager of the bank at the time of his arrest, admitted the theft and made full restitution. He has served thirty-three months of his sentence and is being released early as part of the governor’s Christmas pardon for prisoners who have shown good behavior. It is not known whether Mr. Frye plans to return to Carson City after his release.
“Do you know this Edwin Frye?” Ben asked his youngest son.
“All right, all right,” Ben agreed in a voice obviously meant to mollify the cook. He turned to his sons. “Hop Sing is right. Our breakfast is getting cold. We can talk about this while we’re eating.” He walked back toward the dining room, followed by Hoss and Adam. Joe took a moment to read the article again, then put the envelope and clipping on the bureau by the door. Shrugging a bit, he headed to the dinning room.
Standing near the table with his arms crossed, Hop Sing watched with a scowl on his face until all four men sat down and began filling their plates with food from the serving platters. When he was satisfied the Cartwrights were bowing to his insistence that they eat breakfast, the cook gave a quick nod and padded back to his kitchen.
“Did you meet any of these people – Susan Pennington, William Johnson or Edwin Frye – at the Austin’s party?” Ben asked.
Knitting his brows, Joe tried to remember the Austins’ Christmas party. He recalled the large house on the edge of Carson City decorated both inside and out for the holidays. Inside the house, a large room had been filled with people. A single violinist provided the music, and there had been a little dancing. Mostly, though, people simply chatted with each other, exchanging news, gossip and opinions. Joe had found it to be a rather dull gathering. The mental picture of a small room – quiet, empty, dimly lit from a single fireplace – flashed across Joe’s mind, but in an instant the picture vanished.
“Yes sir,” said Joe glumly.
“I’m sure you can count on us to take as much time as necessary in Virginia City to make sure everything is done properly,” added Adam. He tried to sound solemn but the twinkle in his eye and the smile tugging at his face belied his serious tone.
“Yeah, it could take hours and hours,” Joe agreed, trying to match his oldest brother’s serious demeanor. But Joe’s natural enthusiasm couldn’t be contained, and his face broke into a wide grin.
With a bundle of envelopes in his hand and a discouraged look on his face, Joe trudged down the main street of Virginia City toward the general store. Adam’s prediction had proven all too accurate. After spending almost an hour asking questions of various people in town, Joe was no closer to finding who had been sending the strange messages than he had been at the breakfast table the day before.
The weather was unseasonable mild – so warm, in fact, that Joe was wearing only his light green jacket – so he didn’t mind traipsing all over town. What bothered Joe was that all of his questions had yielded no answers.
When he had picked up the mail, Joe had leafed through the envelopes carefully. But the only mail addressed to him had been a few cards with familiar return addresses. Joe had opened his mail right there in the post office, just to be sure, but the envelopes contained nothing but traditional Christmas greetings from friends. He had asked Tom, the postmaster, about the envelope his father had picked up a few days before – the one with only his name on the outside – but wasn’t surprised when Tom remembered neither the envelope nor who had put it in the mail basket. This time of year the postmaster was extremely busy sorting all the Christmas greetings both coming and going from Virginia City. One somewhat oddly addressed envelope wouldn’t stick in the man’s mind. Joe doubted he had done anything more than glance at it before placing it in the box reserved for the Cartwright’s mail.
Without much hope of success, Joe had spent the rest of his time questioning people about a stranger with cold eyes who might have been asking questions about him. He talked with Sheriff Roy Coffee, the clerk at the hotel, and the bartender at the Silver Dollar Saloon. No one had any recollection of a stranger asking questions about Joe.
As he neared the general store, Joe saw Hoss carrying a box from the store toward the buckboard parked in front of the building. He slowed his step a bit, as a small smile tugged at his face. There was no sense arriving at the store until he was sure Hoss had all the heavy items loaded into the wagon.
“Well, let’s get the supplies loaded and then head over to the Silver Dollar for some Christmas cheer,” Joe suggested as he put the envelopes into a box of supplies in the back of the buckboard.
“I done finished loading the supplies, as if you didn’t know,” retorted Hoss with a scowl.
The two brothers started walking down the street, but Joe stopped when he heard his name being called. He turned to see a boy about 10 years old running toward him, shouting his name.
“Hey, Tommy, what’s all the ruckus?” asked Joe when the boy skidded to a stop in front of him.
“I don’t know. He just said I had to find you right away,” Tommy answered.
“Did he say why he needed to see me?” Joe asked with a puzzled expression on his face.
“Who was the fellow, button?” Hoss asked.
“What did he look like?” Joe asked the boy.
Grinning, Tommy snatched the quarter from Joe’s hand and ran off.
“What do you think that’s all about?” Hoss asked.
Looking around cautiously, Joe entered the old warehouse. The decorations from the dance still hung on the walls, but they no longer looked festive and bright. The garland appeared wilted, and the floor with littered with the dried pine needles which had fallen from the roping. The large wreath, also looking a bit withered, had been taken down and propped against at the front of the stage. Without the bright cloths that had covered them, the long tables were merely dark pieces of wood shoved against the wall. The lanterns were no longer lit, and the only illumination was from the weak winter sunlight streaming through the small windows high on the walls. The empty floor seemed cavernous in the dim light.
“Mr. Cartwright?” The voice echoed a bit from Joe’s right. Joe spun around and saw a figure emerging from the shadows.
For a moment, Joe said nothing but rather studied the man standing in front of him. Wearing brown pants, a cream-colored shirt and string tie, Frye looked like a clerk or shopkeeper. Joe noted he wasn’t wearing a gun. Frye had a long thin face, and while not ugly, no one would have called him handsome – ordinary was the word that best described his features. But it was the man’s eyes that drew Joe’s attention. As Beth had described, Frye’s eyes seem cold and hard, showing no emotion. They seemed to suggest a man who felt nothing, who cared about nothing.
“Does my name mean anything to you?” Frye asked.
“A letter might have been ignored, and it certainly wouldn’t have had the impact,” replied Frye.
As Frye moved toward the chairs, Joe hesitated. There was something about the man that made him feel uneasy, yet Joe was curious about what was behind the strange messages. Finally, Joe decided there was no harm in listening to what the man had to say. He walked over to a chair near where Frye was sitting, laying his hand reassuringly on the pistol strapped to his hip as he moved forward.
In an instant, the image that had been a vague memory for Joe the day before became a clear picture. He remembered now. Bored by watching the games at the party, Joe had wandered around the Austins’ house. He had entered a small room – a study or library, perhaps – down the hall from the large room in which the guests were being entertained. The room had been dimly lit, with only the light from a small blaze in the fireplace providing any illumination. At first, Joe thought the room was empty, but then he heard the sound of crying. He had seen a girl sitting on a chair in the far corner of the room with her face in her hands. Joe approached her, offering help and comfort. The two had talked for awhile, and then the girl had left. Joe never saw her again.
“And that’s when you advised her not to marry me,” said Frye with a touch of bitterness in his voice.
“I did love her!” shouted Frye angrily.
“Am I?” Joe shrugged and got to his feet. “Well, you can believe whatever you want. I’m leaving. Thanks for any interesting trip down memory lane.” Joe brushed past the dark-haired man and headed for the entrance to the warehouse.
Ignoring the shouts, Joe continued toward the door until he felt a hand grab his shoulder and tug on it. Spinning around, Joe started to say something but was abruptly silenced by a fist which smashed into his jaw. Immediately, he balled his own hand and pulled it back in order to throw a counterpunch. But his thrust stopped in mid-air and Joe took a step back.
“I thought you might,” Frye admitted.
“There’s a third choice,” said Joe, pulling his gun from his holster.
Whatever emotion had manifested itself in Frye’s eyes disappeared, and the cold, dead look once more reappeared. Frye stared at Joe for a moment, and then his shoulders sagged in resignation. “It was worth the try,” he muttered.
Suddenly, Frye spun around and grabbed a chair. With incredible quickness, he swung the chair off the ground and smashed it into Joe’s side, knocking the youngest Cartwright to the ground. The gun slipped from Joe’s hand and skidded a few feet away from him.
“I’m not going back to jail,” cried Frye as he made a move toward Joe’s gun.
Surprised and stunned more than hurt, it took Joe only a moment to realize Frye’s intentions. He reached up and grabbed the man’s leg, pulling him away from the gun and onto the floor. Joe scrambled to his feet just as Frye was getting up. Joe threw a fist into the other man’s stomach, causing Frye to double over and stagger back a step or two. But Frye quickly straightened and charged straight at Joe, knocking him back to the floor. He jumped on top of Joe and belted the man below him with a quick jab to the face. Joe reached up and threw an upper cut which caught Frye just under the chin. Frye fell back and Joe kicked the man off of him.
The two combatants got to their feet, both breathing hard. They watched each other warily for a moment, then Frye charged forward. This time, Joe was ready for him and side-stepped the charge, hitting Frye on the back as the man went past him. Frye fell to the floor, then rolled quickly to his left. He threw his legs at Joe’s shins, causing Joe to loose his balance and fall.
Once more, the two men scrambled to their feet and faced each other. They began circling slowly, each man crouched and fists ready, as both waited for the other to make the next move. Frye took a step forward, and this time, it was Joe who charged. Joe’s shoulder hit Frye in the chest, causing the man to tumble into the row of chairs behind him. The chairs skidded into one another, the last one hitting the wall with a resounding thump.
The vibration from the impact caused a lantern to fall from the wall to the floor. The lamp’s glass shattered, and the oil spilled out from the lantern onto the dry pine needles scattered on the floor.
Frye got to his feet quickly, and shoved aside the chairs in which he had become entangled. The legs of one chair scratched noisily across the wooden floor, creating a spark. Almost instantly, a small tongue of fire popped up from the oil-laden needles on the floor.
A roar of anger escaped from Frye’s lips as he charged at Joe again. Joe tried to side-step the man as he had done before, but Frye altered direction at the last minute so that his body slammed directly into Joe’s. Both men crashed to the floor, and their arms began flailing as each tried to pound their fists into the other. Joe pushed Frye to the right, and the man slid off of him. But Frye grabbed Joe’s arm and pulled his opponent toward him. Joe flipped himself over the man on the floor, landing on his back next to Frye. He quickly got to his feet and joined his hands together. As Frye began to rise from the floor, Joe threw his entwined hands into the man’s stomach, then jerked them upwards to hammer Frye just under the chin. Frye’s head snapped back and his body went limp. He collapsed to the ground in a heap and laid still.
Breathing hard and coughing a bit, Joe stood over the fallen man for a moment, making sure his opponent was down for good. Suddenly, Joe realized the air around him was becoming thick with smoke, and he heard an ominous crackle behind him. He whirled around and his eyes opened wide with both fear and astonishment as he saw the fire burning behind him.
The dried-out pine needles scattered on the floor gave the fire the fuel it needed to spread quickly. With almost morbid fascination, Joe watched as the flames raced along the wall toward the back of the building and then turned toward the make-shift stage that had been erected. The fire paused long enough to set the wreath leaning against the stage ablaze, and then continued its sprint around the edge of the floor. The fiery wreath ignited the wooden stage and soon flames were shooting from the platform.
Moving his head from side to side, Frye looked at Joe with glazed eyes. Then, Frye’s eyes suddenly cleared. Without warning, he jerked his arm upward, hammering the side of Joe’s head with his fist. Joe wasn’t expecting the blow, and the punch seemed to rattle his brain. He released his hold on Frye’s shirt and crumpled to the floor, hitting the hard wood with his head as he landed.
Stunned by both the blow and the fall, Joe laid unmoving on the floor. He heard a roaring in his ears and sparks of light exploded in front of his eyes. His arms and legs felt heavy, useless. A small part of Joe’s brain was urging him to move, but the rest of his body refused to obey. Joe knew he was on the floor and wondered dully how he had gotten there. For several moments, he simply laid still and watched the black smoke that was beginning to curl and thicken above him.
At last, the part of his brain that was urging Joe to move got a response. He blinked twice and tilted his head until it was almost resting on his shoulder. Expending what felt like an extraordinary amount of effort, Joe pushed himself up from the floor. He winced and gritted his teeth as head throbbed, but Joe continued to push against the floor until he was in a sitting position.
Joe sat for a moment with his head hanging forwarded as he waited for the pain inside his skull to abate. When the throbbing finally eased, Joe raised his head slowly and looked around.
The flames that had been licking the walls had found new fuel in the wooden tables and the row of chairs on either side of Joe. He could feel the heat as the fire burned its way from the perimeter of the building toward its center. Dark smoke swirled around him and Joe coughed as the smoke found its way into his mouth and nose. He could see nothing but flames and smoke all around him.
“Frye!” Joe called loudly. “Frye! Where are you?” He coughed the smoke out of his lungs and tried again. “Frye! Answer me! We have to get out of here!” Joe listened hard but heard nothing except the crackle of burning wood. Frye either couldn’t answer or had left, abandoning Joe to whatever fate the fire had for him. Joe knew it was too late to worry about Frye. He had to concentrate on saving himself.
Dazed and disoriented, Joe peered through the smoke, trying to figure out which way he was facing. He knew he had only one chance to find the front of the building and the doorway that led to safety. If he moved in the wrong direction, he wouldn’t have time to correct his mistake. Joe could see a sea of flames to his left, but wasn’t sure what was fueling the fire. If it was the stage, then the entrance was to his right. But if the chairs were fueling the blaze to his left, then the pathway to safety was in front of him.
Turning his body, Joe began crawling to toward the flames, hoping he could tell what was burning and which way to go in order to escape. He stopped and reached out his hand, but felt nothing, then began crawling forward again. Once more he stopped and reached forward but his outstretched hand felt only heat and air. He was beginning to think he was facing the stage, but Joe knew it was worth his life to be sure. Forcing himself to continue toward the flames, Joe crawled a few more feet before stopping. Yet again, he stretched his arm forward and this time his hand bumped into something hard. He touched the smoke-obscured object, moving his hand around until he felt the thin, rounded leg of a chair.
A small smile of satisfaction broke out on Joe’s face as he backed away from the flames. The row of chairs was in front of him, which meant the entrance to the warehouse was now to his right. Joe crawled rapidly backward until he was a good distance from the fire, then turned his body to the right. For a moment, Joe considered getting to his feet and trying to run out of the burning building. But he knew the smoke would be thinner closer to the floor and he could breathe what little air was left in the warehouse. Besides, his head was still throbbing and he felt a bit dizzy. Joe decided he was better off using four limbs to balance himself than just two.
Joe heard a loud crash behind him as some piece of burning material fell to the floor. He didn’t bother to look to see what it was. He could feel the heat of the flames intensifying and see the smoke thickening. Joe knew he had no time to lose. He began crawling forward, praying that the entrance to the warehouse wasn’t too far away.
As he moved on all fours across the floor, Joe came across pieces of debris, some smoldering and others bright with flames. Joe pushed these aside, even though the fragments singed his hands. He didn’t want to crawl around the burning pieces and take a chance on getting disoriented again. He knew his only hope was to keep moving in as straight a line as possible toward the door.
The smoke near the floor was getting thicker and Joe began to cough. His head was spinning, and the roaring had resumed in his ears. His arms and legs began to tremble as his strength started to ebb away. Joe wasn’t sure if the fire or the blow to head – or both – were the cause of his difficulties, but he knew it didn’t matter. He had to keep moving forward; he had to continue crawling and pushing himself toward the front of the building.
After crawling for what seemed a mile, Joe’s right arm gave way and he fell forward. He tried to push himself up again, but his arm felt as if it was made out of putty. Joe reached out with his left arm, trying to pull himself across the floor with that one limb, but his left arm didn’t seem to work properly either. The thick smoke enveloped him and the heat from the flames seemed closer than ever. His thinking confused by the fumes from the smoke, Joe decided it wouldn’t hurt to rest for a minute before continuing toward the door. He laid his head on the floor and closed his eyes.
And then, without warning, Joe felt a pair of hands taking a firm grasp on his left upper arm, followed by a second pair of hands grasping his right arm. He felt himself being dragged for a short distance and then pulled to his feet. His right arm was flung across a neck and shoulders, and then the action was repeated with his left arm. Joe felt two arms – one from the right and one from the left – wrapping themselves around his body. He was propelled forward, being pushed and dragged at the same time. In less than a minute, Joe felt a rush of cool, fresh air against his face. He breathed in deeply, sucking the clean air into his lungs, as he continued to be pulled forward.
Pulling his horse to a rather abrupt stop, Ben Cartwright jumped out of the saddle and hurried toward the door of the brick building in which Dr. Martin’s office was housed. The man who had ridden out to the Ponderosa from Virginia City to advise Ben to come to town right away had offered him little in the way of hard facts. He had only known that the warehouse in which the Christmas Dance had been held had somehow caught on fire, and Joe had been trapped inside. Adam and Hoss had pulled their brother from the burning building only minutes before it had begun to collapse. The last thing the man had seen was Adam and Hoss carrying Joe toward the doctor’s office.
The fear and anxiety Ben felt was evident on his face as he pushed open the door and walked into the doctor’s office. In the waiting room, Ben hesitated, looking around for someone from whom he could demand information. Then the door to the examining room in front of him opened, and Dr. Paul Martin emerged.
Ben’s body sagged a bit as he let out a sigh of relief. “How bad is he hurt?” he asked, his voice trembling a bit.
“Of course,” replied Dr. Martin. He moved aside and motioned Ben toward the room behind him.
Walking rapidly, Ben entered the examining room and saw his three sons. Adam was sprawled in a chair, and Hoss leaned against the edge of the examining table. Their relaxed poses confirmed to Ben that Joe was all right. Nevertheless, he walked straight toward his youngest son. He gave Joe a quick hug and then stepped back to examine the young man himself. Sitting on the edge of the examining table with his feet dangling a few inches above the floor, Joe waited patiently as his father looked him over.
If the doctor hadn’t told him so, Ben wouldn’t have believed that Joe had escaped from the fire with only minor injuries. Joe’s pants were streaked with soot and smoke, as was the front of his shirt – the part of the shirt not protected by stained green jacket which lay in a heap on the floor by the table. A large white bandage circled Joe’s head, holding in place a small squared white cloth positioned toward the back and left of his skull. Even though Joe’s face had been cleaned, Ben could see the dark bruises on his son’s chin and cheekbone. White bandages were wrapped around the palms of Joe’s hands. Ben pursed his lips a bit as his eyes raked over Joe from head to toe. “How are you feeling, son?” he asked in a quiet voice.
After taking a deep breath, Joe related the story of his extraordinary meeting with Edwin Frye to his father. It was a story Joe had told twice already, once to his brothers and a second time to Sheriff Roy Coffee. Joe fervently hoped this was the last time he was going to have to tell it.
“What happened to Frye?” asked Ben after Joe had finished.
“But will he come back?” persisted Ben.
“You mean Tiny Tim?” asked Hoss.

industry_corpus2: Literature & Emotions


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Sharpening tools is metalworking, not woodworking. And, while some guys love to sharpen their planes, chisels and gouges, to others, is it a necessary evil at best. I am in the middle somewhere. I get a good feeling from using a super-sharp gouge or hand plane, but I am easily frustrated by stopping in the middle of an otherwise “productive” activity to stop and sharpen a tool.
And while you are telling me how you feel about sharpening, maybe you can let me know how you do it: natural stones, waterstones, machines … I like to know these things.
Chris Marshall shares a reader’s tip for a quick and easy way to make sure your band saw is cutting square.
This is a solid cherry aquarium stand I built for a customer of mine.
Readers respond to Rob’s question about their summertime woodworking habits.


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A 30-year-old man has pleaded guilty to obtaining by deception close to €10,000 in goods and cash from businesses and private residents in Tullamore and Portlaoise. He was charged with 13 counts of making gain by deception.
On July 7, 2017, he paid a cheque for goods worth €490 at D&S Hardware, Tullamore.
On September 8, 2016, he cashed a cheque for €400 from an account that had previously closed, at Costcutter, Mountrath. On September 13, 2016, he cashed a cheque for €400 from a closed bank account, at Phelans Shop, Castletown. On November 21, 2016, he paid a cheque for goods worth €93, at JL Bradshaw & Co Ltd, Stradbally Road, Portlaoise.
On December 1, 2016, he cashed a cheque for €350 at Peigs Bar, Portlaoise. On January 27, 2017, he cashed a cheque for €250 at Browns Shop, Dublin Road, Portlaoise. On May 17, 2017, he paid a cheque for goods worth €220 at Condell and Ryan Ltd, Portlaoise. On May 29, 2017, he paid a cheque for goods worth around €400 at a shop on the Timahoe Road, Portlaoise.
On May 31, 2017, he paid a cheque for goods worth €350, at Millers Hardware Store, Portlaoise.
On the same date he paid a cheque for goods worth €819 at DID Electrical, Tullamore. On June 2, 2017, he stole goods worth €3,336 from a store on the Timahoe Road, Portlaoise, by saying he would return the following day to pay.
On a date between August 11 and August 14, 2017, he took around €1,000 from a party in Laois for goods of services that he did not deliver. And between August 26 and August 27, 2017, he took €1,150 from a party at Highfield Meadows, Portlaoise, for goods or services he did not deliver. The accused pleaded guilty to all charges.
Defence barrister, Ms Geraldine Fitzpatrick said her client would pay compensation. She requested a probation report. The matter was adjourned to March 19 next.


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Families Against Court Travesties, Inc. (FACTS)’ mission is to assist families who have been placed into a crisis situation by the family courts or other government agencies. By implementing a court-monitoring and reporting system, our goal is to ensure that the best interests of the child prevail in family court and that due process and equity are the norm. We are also committed to educating the public on these issues.
Adele Guadalupe, one of the founding members and past President. A longtime advocate for fairness in Family Court Custody Cases, with a view to the impact these decisions make on the children.