The white horse prophecy

I saw this on the front page of the Rexburg paper and thought I share it to get some responses. Not sure if this made news out of Idaho.
read it here

old printer

I bought a new printer, scanner, copier for Christmas. Now we have an extra printer if anyone would like it. It is a really good printer and I have some extra ink to go with it. It is an HP deskjet 931C. I tried to give it to James. He can still have it if he wants. But for now it is at our house. So if you are interested let me know.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I am just wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I have not been very organized this month and, thus, did not get out cards. We are all doing well and keeping busy. It was so good to see Julie and her family last night. Julie and Katrina did such a great job singing, so great that Joel just had to stay and listen to one more song! I wish we all lived closer together so we could have Christmas parties, make Christmas candies, and make Christmas projects! I just want everyone to know that Hunter is getting baptized December 31st at 2:00. I know most of you won't be able to make it, but I just wanted to make sure that you all knew. I hope I haven't already written this at an earlier date, just being thorough. I am glad to see the new car (nice!), but more glad to see that you are both whole and healthy!! What a blessing! I love you all and feel so grateful that I am sealed to you and that we know why we are here and what this season is all about. He loves us all and that is enough to help us to try a little harder to do all we have been asked to do. Have a great day tomorrow.

Love, Rachael

Mom and Dad"s Christmas Present!

Here is a photo of Grandma and Grandpa Skinner’s new "wheels" (a sporty Pontiac GrandAm) thanks to their head-on with the Bull Elk. Not my way of getting a new car personally :) but thankfully they are both “Well and Happy” as the photo attests. Merry Christmas one and all!

"All I want for Christmas is a new car!"

When the insurance adjuster looked at our car she said that there was also damage to the dash and it would cost to much to fix it up like new so they are just going to pay us off. We talked to the guy who runs that repair place and he got us another one at the auction. It is a 2005 Pontiac with only 34,000 miles on it. He said it is a good car it is a 4 door with cruise which Dad wanted and you will be happy to know that it is silver in color so now you can't bug us about having the same car. I hope that we can get it before long since it is the pits not having a car to drive. It is good today though James is hear with his wheels. Hope that you are all ready for Christmas.

Love,

Mom

Sportsmanship?

I had some guy come in at work and tell me about this one.

Christmas in Loas

DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS,
BY THE TIME I WRITE AGAIN IT WILL BE NEXT YEAR, SO ............

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU. MAY EACH OF US REMEMBER AND BE THANKFUL FOR THE REASON WE CAN HOPE FOR AND WORK FOR LIFE ETERNAL WITH OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN. MAY EACH OF US HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR, REALIZING WE ALL HAVE A NEW START EVERY DAY, BECAUSE OF OUR SAVIOR, A CHANCE TO LIVE BETTER THAN WE HAVE AND DO MORE THAN WE HAVE TO BLESS EACH OTHER AND THE WHOLE HUMAN FAMILY.

THURSDAY, THE 17TH OF DECEMBER WAS A SPECIAL DAY IN THE HISTORY OF THE LAO MEMBERS, AT LEAST 5 OF THEM. AT 12:50 PM THE BOOK OF MORMON COMMITTEE FINISHED READING THE ENTIRE BOOK OF MORMON IN LAO. WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO TOD HARRIS’ VISIT, JAN 20-25 AND HOPEFULLY SOME TIME DURING 2010 THE BOOK WILL BE PRINTED AND SENT TO THIS NATION AND WILL BE AVAILABLE TO LAO SPEAKERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. THIS IS ONE OF 14 TRANSLATIONS GOING ON IN THE ASIAN AREA RIGHT NOW. IF YOU HAVE ANY EXTRA PENNIES, PUT THEM IN THE BOOK OF MORMON FUND THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE A TITHING SLIP. IN FACT, THERE ISN’T ONE AREA ON THAT SLIP THAT COULDN’T USE YOUR HELP. THAT IS PROBABLY THE BEST WAY TO HELP BLESS PEOPLE OUT SIDE YOUR PERSONAL SPHERE OF INFLUENCE.

OF COURSE, HUMANITARIAN AID IS NEAR AND DEAR TO US, TOO, BECAUSE OF YOU WE HAD A WELL AND TOILET TURN OVER IN NAMONE---A SMALL HMONG VILLAGE ABOUT THREE HOURS FROM HERE. WE HAD TWO OF THE TOP HMONG GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS THERE ALSO, WITH THE BIGGEST CROWD WE HAVE HAD AT ANY TURN OVER, EVER. IT WAS THE HMONG NEW YEAR – THE HMONG DRESSES WERE AMAZING – HUNDREDS OF THEM!

THE SEA GAMES ENDED FRIDAY. IT WAS FUN TO SEE THE PEOPLE OF VIENTIANE, LAO SO EXCITED ABOUT ALL THAT WAS GOING ON. IT WAS GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY.

DR. CALL AND HIS WIFE FINISHED THEIR STAY AND FLEW OUT MONDAY NIGHT. THEY WILL PROBABLY BE BACK ABOUT THIS TIME NEXT YEAR AND DO A GREAT JOB ON A VISION PROJECT. HE IS A TRAUMA VISION SURGEON AND WILL BLESS LIVES AND TEACH OTHERS HOW TO DO THE SAME WHEN HE LEAVES. THEY REALIZED AT THE AIRPORT FLYING OUT THAT THEY DIDN’T HAVE A VISA INTO CAMBODIA. THEY HAD USED THEIR SINGLE-USE VISA AND DIDN’T HAVE ANOTHER ONE AND CAMBODIA DOESN’T HAVE VISAS ON ARRIVAL AVAILABLE AT THE AIRPORT. THEY WERE PLANNING TO JUST STAY THE NIGHT AT A HOTEL NEAR THE AIRPORT, BUT WITH THAT INFORMATION, THEIR ONLY OPTION WAS TO STAY THE NIGHT IN THE AIRPORT! FROM ABOUT 7:30 PM WHEN THEY ARRIVED TO 11:00 AM THE NEXT DAY WHEN THEIR PLANE LEFT! THAT’S SACRIFICE! AND THEY WERE SCHEDULED TO DO SURGERIES IN ST. GEORGE THE MORNING AFTER THEY GOT HOME!

WE FINISHED PUTTING 95 FAMILIES IN THE “PAF” PROGRAM. NOW, TO PUT THE INFORMATION ON “NEW.FAMILSEARCH” AND GET SOME OF THE NAMES THROUGH THE TEMPLE.

AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

LOVE,

ELDER AND SISTER RISER, DAD AND MOM,

GRANDPA AND GRANDMA, SCOTT AND JOLENE

Windy

It has been really windy here and we have just been staying indoors. But Leanna had a piano recital on Saturday and she played two pieces. One was a solo and the other was a duet with her teacher. Here is a bad picture. I was too far away.

The Drs. report

The specialist said that the tests show that Dad's lungs look good and his tests show good oxygen levels. But the test they did when he was sleeping spotlighted some problems, they think that he might have sleep apnea. In January he has to go to the sleep lab and sleep there overnight. He isn't looking forward to it but they told him that he could have a sleeping pill if he needed it. Other than that there hasn't been much change. We are still waiting to get our car back, so far I don't think much has happened. The insurance adjuster was to have looked at it yesterday but we haven't heard anything yet. Julie has been good to let us borrow her car and to take us places. Are you all ready for Christmas? We are getting there.

pictures of the car

It doesn't look too bad. If you look close at the front fender there is some blood on it. The windshield suffered the most damage. I was holding it up on my side after the wreck. There is a lot of glass in the back seat too but you can't see it so good since the uphostery is tweed. The man that towed our car said that there is a big collection a eagles and birds up on the hill by where we hit the elk, maybe he went up there and died.

revised list

I will have to revise my list for greatest t.v moments. After viewing Lord Monckton interviewing a greenpeace activist I have changed it to #1 on my list. You can view it at the skinner report

Top 10 lists for 2009

I will now take some time away from attacking Glenn Beck haters on twitter to present my top ten lists of the year.

Top 10 Songs of 2009

1. The count of Tuscany Dream Theater
2. Alive Leona Lewis
3. kung pao christmas Brad Paisley
4. Wither Dream Theater
5. The best of Times Dream Theater
6. Rain Creed
7. Remember Independance Rolyo
8. Resistence Muse
9. Uprising Muse
10. Umbrella Marie Digby
Honorable mention
Blow Away A fine frenzy

Top Ten Television moments
1. Glenn Beck throwing the frog in boiling water
2. Sarah Palin on Conan O Brien
3. Rush Limbaugh on the william shatner show
4.Utah losing to BYU in football
5.Finding out that John Locke is really dead
6.Anytime the Channel is changed away from the Disney Channell
7. Proving to Karissa and Kenson That Angel is more awesome than that twilight guy.
8 Elder Uchtdorfs speech in Conference
9. The globetrotters losing in the amazing race
10. Al Gore reading his poem

That took way too much brain power. I will post more top ten lists later.

A MEMORABLE aniversary!!!!

Last night we celebrated our anniversary by eating out at our favorite restaurant followed by seeing the movie Princess and the Frog. The movie was very enjoyable due to the music and its hilarious humor.

Following the movie we were in the process of driving home when the unbelievable happened; a large elk crashed through our front window with a loud BOOM! The event spewing glass all over us and the inside of the car. The glass was mostly small, like grains of sand, and we could feel it in our mouths, eyes, and over our bodies. The elk landed on the hood of the caron Moms side and something either the windshield or the elk hit her in the upper part of her chest. The good news was that it did not come in on us. It ran off into the hills according to the Highway Patrol man who was following close behind us and saw it run away. The Elk was a bull with a big rack of horns.

A police officer was luckily following us looking for elk as many had been seen in that vicinity. He had us get out of the car after which we attempted to get as much of the glass off of us as possible, which included attempting to clear the inside of our mouths glass, after which we got into a truck full of elk hunters where we remained until an ambulance came. Instead of putting us both in the same ambulance they put us in two separate ones.

They treated us as if we were badly injured, which we were not, but they didn't want to take any chances. They then took us to a hospital in Mt. Pleasant. They checked us for injuries and washed off the glass as best as they could, which included cleaning out our eyes, nose and mouth. They also gave us a tetanus shot. They were concerned about me because of my age.

Julie and Aaron came to pick us up and take us home. Even though we had been washed off we were still covered with glass. I could still feel small grains of glass in my eyes, nose, and mouth.

After we had been at home for a considerable time we noticed tiny pieces of glass on the kitchen table, and on various parts of the house where we had been setting. In the morning I washed off the table with a wet cloth due to the hundreds of very tiny pieces of glass I observed.

Before going to bed we both had a shower for obvious reasons. As it was a little difficult for us to fall asleep we watched tv for a while.

We are fortunate that we were not hurt more than we were. I should add that my glasses are marked up so badly by the glass that I had to order a new pair this morning.

Don't you think that was a very memorable anniversary? It was one we will never forget. The good part is that we are well. The Lord must have been watching over us. Creating memories are fine, but they are not always enjoyable. We survived and that is the important part. We will post a picture of the car when it gets back in town. For now it is in a wrecking yard in Chester. I don't think that the car was damaged too badly.
Love, Dad

The 9th Ward: New to your New Era!

The 9th Ward: New to your New Era!

This one is probably James favorite.

The 9th Ward: On Which Side Do You Stand?

The 9th Ward: On Which Side Do You Stand?

This is so true!!!! Ha Ha!!

The 9th Ward: Even A Rock Looks Better!

The 9th Ward: Even A Rock Looks Better!

Ha Ha!!! Awesome!!

The 9th Ward: Have You Tried To Put One Of Those Things Together?

The 9th Ward: Have You Tried To Put One Of Those Things Together?

Have we got Snow!!

Well, after all the nice warm weather I guess that winter has struck. It was already snowing when we got up and it has been snowing on and off all day. We have at least 13". Dad has shoveled it 3 times and probably will have to do it again.

sarah palin Christmas decorations

Vernon Buchanan Obituary: Vernon Buchanan’s Obituary by the Uintah Basin Standard.

Vernon Buchanan Obituary: Vernon Buchanan’s Obituary by the Uintah Basin Standard.

Inventor of Harvest Halo pancakes dies. I remember him from third ward.

invite Hyun

Brian,

Hyun says that he needs to be invited again to join the blog. If you don't have his address let me know and I will send it to you.

Remember "My Bodyguard?"

Well this is kind of stupid but I thought it was weird. I read that sometimes when people are withdrawing from Benzodiazapines they suddenly remember things they haven't thought about for years. Well it happened to me yesterday. All of a sudden out of the blue the movie "My bodyguard" came into my mind. I think the last time I watched that show was 1985 or something. It's about a guy who is getting picked on and hires a great big guy to be his personal bodyguard. Well that is all I have to say. Someone needed to make a new post on the blog so I did.

Hyun

I was really sleepy last night so about 10:30 or so I went to bed. I had barely gotten there when the phone rang and it was Hyun on the phone. He said he wanted to call and talk to us for Thanksgiving. He said that he is doing fine and plans a visit in the Spring. He asked me about all of you and wanted me to say "Hello" for him. It was good to hear from him since I hadn't heard from him for quite awhile.

The miracle of the key

Last week I had a very interesting experience. On Monday our Primary children were meeting at the church for an activity in which they were going to fill up toy bags, which we had sewn for humanitarian) with toys, some that they contributed from home and other that we had already accumulated. The Bishop had told us that we could store our humanitarian things in a small room that is above the stage, the only problem was that as yet we didn't have a key to the room. I contacted the stake person in charge of keys and he told me that he would get me a key by Sunday. When Monday came I still didn't have a key so I called around and finally located on that belonged to the Stake Executive Secretary. I finally got the key from his house and we were in business. I went up to the church and helped the Primary leaders to set up things and helped with the activity. When it was time to go home I looked in my pocket and I could find all my keys but the one I had borrowed. I looked all around the church and still couldn't find it. I finally called the Executive Secretary and then I felt even worse. We agreed to meet at the church and look for the key, we thought we might have to go through the more than 200 bags that the primary kids have filled up. I got Julie's kids to go with us to help. When I got to the church we looked first in the closets in the R. S. room and as I bent over to look into the closet I saw something silver sticking out from under a plastic container in the bottom of the closet. I looked closer and there was the lost key. When I found it both Dale and the lady who is stake humanitarian director said that they had prayed before coming to the church that it would be found. I am sorry to say that I hadn't prayed about it. But, there prayers must have been strong since I found the key almost as soon as I got to the church. It was a single key on a ring so it was small and hard to find. Needless to say we were all happy, especially the Stake Executive secretary since the key I lost was a master key to the whole building.

Christmas presents

I am sorry that I am so slow in posting this. I have talked to many of you about it but I am finally letting you all know. When talking to Maralee awhile ago she suggested that instead of the siblings buying presents for each other that we each find a cause, a family or a person who might need our help this Christmas and use the money that we would have spent on presents and contribute the money to our local project. I think that it is a good idea and should be the means of helping out those around us. That doesn't let you off the hook for great presents for your Mom and Dad though. I know this is a tough area since I have a hard time figuring out what to get Dad myself.

Skinner Report special news story

I refer you to a Skinner Report special news story to show that we at the Skinner Report know what we are talking about. I can't elaborate here or Skinnertopia will lose it's Nobel Prize.

THE MEANEST MOM: Money Down the Drain...Literally

THE MEANEST MOM: Money Down the Drain...Literally

This is worse than living with people who don't take care of parakeets.

Thanksgiving

The pictures didn't work last time.

Thanksgiving 2009

We had a fun Thanksgiving day. Soon and her family, Julie and her family and James was here to celebrate with us. Aaron cooked the turkey and it was good!!! We all ate too much. Jason and Whitney entertained us with a guitar and Piano concert. After wards we went up the the Activity Center and had fun talking, eating dessert and playing games. All in all it was a great day except that we missed seeing the rest of you. Hope your day was as fun.

Dead Parakeet

I am steaming mad today!! If only people in this family would listen to me!!! Here is the situation. Marci's sister moved out of this house about a month ago. They left their Parakeet downstairs in the bathroom. Now I don't go down there that much but I fed it once in a while. I told Marci a couple of days ago. "O.K this is it. Tell them to get their stupid Parakeet out of our house because it is going to die!!" It just sits in that bathroom day after day in its cage. One day I laid down the law. I said "Today is the day that they come pick up their bird!! I will not let the sun go down before that bird is gone and someone takes care of it" I am parphrasing. Anyway since I have no authority in this house nothing was done. Everytime I would go into the bathroom I would kind of subconsiously check whether the bird was dead or not. Today I was down there and did my subconsious checking while putting Leroy's poop in the toilet and sure enough DEAD AS A DOORNAIL!!!!!!!! WHY DO PEOPLE NOT LISTEN TO MY WISDOM? Well Marci calls her sister and THEN we hear. "YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO MIX GRAVEL WITH IT'S FOOD SO IT CAN DIGEST!!" Well that is good to hear once the bird is finally dead. I am glad it doesn't have to sit in it's cage anymore and is probably in heaven giving us a bad report. Well I know when I get to the judgment seat my conscience is clear. Others in this family I fear will be trembling at the when they give their accounting for the fate of this poor bird.

Presidential Thanksgiving message

Since we don't have a President who believes in the principles of America I figured we could listen to Ronald Reagans Thanksgiving Message.

Fw: 'We all fall down' :)

Hi Family,

 

Thanksgiving is coming up and the Turkeys getting fat!  (that doesn't rhyme but its fun to say) And that means chocolate pie, corn muffins, and rolls...Yummmmmmmmmmyyyyyy  Not to mention "mountains of potatoes with the turkey gravy rising over the top like a sunrise!" (You cant really make poetry about potatoes, can you?)   

 

We have been having fun here. My tried to get us to rake the leaves, and we just ended up jumping in them. I took a cool action picture of Kenny running with his magic leaf. (but it didn't make him fly) I think it looks cool. It was a great day, it rained the next day. 

 

I am also finally sending our Nintendo themed Halloween picture!   I was happy because I got a bunch of snickers... 

 

Only two days of school this week, but the teachers are still going to give me homework! We're going to have fun playing Wii fit Plus, I like flapping like a bird!  Lol and the marching game helps me practice for Color Guard! We have a parade on Saturday at 8:00am in the morning! Mom says she is glad it is not Friday, because that is her Day After Thanksgiving shopping day! She always brings doughnuts back from Dunkin Doughnut! yay!

 

Happy Thanksgiving, eat lots of potatoes!

 

Karissa

 

 

 

insomnia from Valium?

I have started taking 5mg valium and .50 mg of Ativan. This is to slowly wean over to valium so I can get off of the stuff. Valium stays in your system way longer so it is easier to taper the dose slowly without side effects. I feel more stable now since I have a more consistent amount in my blood. It is not really that bad but when I haven't taken ativan I get tremors here and there in my body and cramps in my stomache and weird pains. It is not bad just unsettling. Now I am ticked off because Valium makes me not sleep. It is supposed to make you tired and drowsy. It calms me but kind of wakes me up at the same time. Ativan makes me sleep but it also makes me crazy. (ask Julie) Anyway the dose I am taking is very small and the doctor is surprised I am hooked on it. I guess my body is just weird. Now so that reading this post won't be entirely a waste of time I will write about something that happened to me last winter.

I went on splits with the missionaries and we went to a trailer park to visit a family. We went inside and they where nice people and everything but they where a little strange. The had a t.v entertainment center like most people do but where a glass door would normally be they had a chicken wire type door and inside of it where mice. I commented that it isn't everyday you see something like that. The guy took it as a compliment and proudly told me he had built it himself. I thought the mice were just pets until we where about to leave and they asked if I wanted to watch them feed their pet boa constricter. I did not really enjoy watching that snake chase the mouse around and finally devour it. It was gross. The people did come to church a few times but thankfully they didn't join the church. I did not want to have the assignment of being their visiting teacher.

Walmart stuff

Just letting all you after thanksgiving shopping people know I have been doing a lot of work. We were unloading a truck today and now I think I know why stuff doesn't always work when you get it home. This one blu ray player looked pretty bad. Later I was trying to get some t.vs down and they fell down. Luckly they just landed on my foot and some other boxes.

They also made us watch a 2 hour movie so no one gets killed. If there are problematic people we are supposed to give them a non-threatening stare. That will show them. I also get to guard a line for some bikes so no body cuts in or tries any antics. The good thing about our store is they are not going to close so we won't have any crazy ladies stomping on our greeter guy. I think he would get killed.

P.S. Brian I think I know what you have. It has the latin derived name wussitis.

Glenn Beck story of Statue of liberty

Fat Liver

Well it looks like medical issues is the theme of skinnertopia lately so I will ad some more. I got a whole ultrasound of my abdomen. They looked at my Kidneys, my arteries and everything. It involves a lot of holding your breathe which was about the only bad part. I had to wait two days to find out what they found out. I was nervous when I called the doctor because you never know what he might say. He said I have a fatty liver. My Gall Bladder is in good shape. I could have told them that without an ultrasound. All they have to do is look at my abdomen!!! Anyway he said my cholesterol is high too and I need to lose weight. I guess I will try to lose some weight like I did 10 years ago. I weigh a little bit more than I did when I lost the 50 pounds back then so I will try again. A vision of my fat liver will help me plus when you weigh so much your feet are starting to hurt I think its time to slim down. I am doing better with my shaking problem. It is mostly just that I am addicted to Lorazapam. I think if I lose weight it will help me with other problems. It's good to see that Rachel is o.k I bet maybe she has a bad esophogus like dad and me.

GOOD NEWS

I haven't been feeling well lately and then I got a bad pain in my chest, so I called the doctor and he said to come in. He checked me out and wanted to be completely thorough, so he sent me for a CT angiogram. Well, I am allergic to contrast dye, so they ended up doing a nuclear medicine scan (V/Q scan). That was interesting, something I haven't had before and not painful, besides lying down (I haven't been able to lie down very well because it hurts) and getting a little poke. They were looking for a pulmonary embolus and did not find one. I was very relieved, but I didn't really think it was that anyway. I guess the lupus just flared and I just have to up my steroids and get rest. In the hospital yesterday I was thinking how grateful I am that there are so many people and super technology that can help me. It is a good thing I didn't live 100 years ago or my lifespan would have been much shorter. I hesitate to write things about my health because I think you all may think that is all that happens in my life, but I just wanted to share the good news!

Joel, Dallin, and Brayden got free tickets to the BYU game Saturday. They are excited! I initially wanted to go, but the cold doesn't sound inviting. It just hurts me anyway.

Also, Hunter is getting glasses tomorrow, and he is so excited! I will post pictures soon, if I can figure it out. Mindy got her senior pictures back yesterday. We will have to post them too.

Obama bows to the burger king

Clonic seizure

I think I had a Clonic Seizure last night. Here is the definition of this type of Seizure.

Clonic seizures are repetitive, rhythmic jerks that involve both sides of the body at the same time.

For the last few days I've had twitching in Various parts of my body. Last night was the worst it ever was. It was kinda like when you are really cold and your whole body shakes. It lasted about 5 minutes. Now I am still Jittery. I upped my ativan today to help control it. I think the problem is that I have developed a tolerance for Ativan. My body has been in withdrawal for it since I haven't upped the dose before because I want to get off of the stuff. The longer you take it the more you need. I am going to the doctor today. Maybe he will give me a different Benzo with a longer half life so I can slowly taper off of it. It's possible though that I have some sort of neurological problem and the Ativan is just masking it. My favorite Author Fyodor Dostoyevsky had epilepsy and he didn't have access to medicine so now I have more compassion for him. I still think maybe when I took Avelox and then took Ambien might have messed me up because there are studies that show the two medications mixed together can cause chronic nerve problems.

Update: Went to the Doctor. He and Marci thought I was full of Baloney. Anyway he is going to have me get an ultrasound monday to check my gall bladder. I also got some sleeping pills.

Fw: Emailing: Amos & Samson.

Fw: Razzle amos samson

DEAR BRIAN AND MARCI---WE ARE SO IN LOVE WITH OUR LITTLE BLACK PUGLETS---THEY ARE DOING GREAT---AND WE WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW MUCH WE THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO BRING THEM INTO OUR HOMES---AMOS LOVES HIS BROTHER AND SISTER AND WE WERE SO HAPPY TO KNOW THAT ALICE GOT A GOOD HOME ALSO---PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU GET THESE PICS

HOPE YOU ARE GETTING SETTLED IN UR NEW HOME AND THANK YOU AGAIN

LAURA / JAMIE / KAMI / AMOS / SAMSON / AND RAZZLE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE

I hope you have a great day. I know you have had a lot of worry with Jasmine, but take a few minutes today and enjoy yourself and count your blessings. I love you. You are a great person and have such a happy family. Keep us posted on what you find out with Jasmine and all the rest of the fam, of course! Enjoy! Love, Rachael

Bad Sport: Female Soccer Player Suspended

Bad Sport: Female Soccer Player Suspended

How dare she!!! Picking on a poor defenseless Byu player

happiest states

http://www.livescience.com/culture/091110-fifty-happy-states.html

This really ticks me off. I used to live in the happiest state and now I live in the 12th happiest. Some of the people in the family are just lucky. I noticed Pennsylvania is clear down at 32. I was thinking that there is something about November 10th that should be signifigant but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's because the D.C sniper will be executed tonight. I took a few trips through that area when he was killing people. I have even been to the Rest area where he was caught. It is right on the Appalachian trail. I walked about 40 feet on that trail and there where lots of fireflies. Not dim ones like in Utah either. Those fireflies back east put out lots of light.

Dramatic ending to Return of the Jedi

Happy Birthday to me!

Julie and her friend Cami surprised us while we were gone to dinner and a movie and decorated up our house with balloons and signs etc. It looked good. I thought that you might like to see some pictures of us celebrating. You can't see the sign very good in the picture of me but that's ok you can see it is Dad's picture. Thanks for all your cards, and calls and presents. We both had fun birthdays.

John Voight speech.

Allred Pics

Here are a couple of pictures from a little outing. The family picture is was taken up at the Roy Museum and the one with the kids was taken up at the Timbermine Restaurant.

Happy Birthday MOM!

I hope you get spoiled today!!!! Happy Birthday! We love you!

Here is the kitchen and the front room. We have lots of garbage in here because Half of Marci's sister's stuff is still in the house. We have a new table coming soon. Marci bought it a long time ago but it wouldn't fit in our old house. That little black dog had a hysterectomy last week and is doing good now. : )

just a picture of the stairs. two bedrooms and a bathroom down there. Really dirty carpet on the stairs huh?

living Room

The Bedroom

Can you see Marci's head? She is sleeping.

The bathroom

There is also a private "Reading Room" Complete with throne and bookcase. Yes it's messy but we are moving. Of course I wouldn't have a messy bathroom. You know me.

our closet

I include this picture only because it is astounding that the new closet is 50 times larger than our last one.

Official portrait of our House

I took this picture this morning. My battery died plus the house is a mess inside so I didn't take any pictures inside. I will try to later. We are going to paint Rachel and Morgans room purple and then their Aunt Lainee is going to paint a mural on there wall. She is the one who helped us make the statues.

The christmas list

I bought mom "The christmas list" by Richard Paul Evans. I read the whole thing last night. It is pretty good. A little sappy but good. I hope Mom doesn't already have one since I bought it for her birthday. I also bought dad a book called "Skeletons of the Zahara" It is about some sailors who are enslaved by muslims in the sahara desert in the early 1800's . I will send it soon. (maybe after I read it) We are moving all the junk of Marci's sister out of this house today and will send pictures soon so you can see what the place looks like.

The red wolf conspiracy

http://www.redwolfconspiracy.com/1/intro.html

I am currently listening to "The red wolf conspiracy" on my ipod. I am halfway done and can safely say we have another classica on our hands. It has pirates and onery captains, magic and sentient animals. Normally I don't like books with talking Rats but this one is awesome.

Chapter one

Chapter OneTarboy1 Vaqrin (first day of summer) 941Midnight
.....It began, as every disaster in his life began, with a calm. The harbour and the village slept. The wind that had roared all night lay quelled by the headland; the bosun grew too sleepy to shout. But forty feet up the ratlines, Pazel Pathkendle had never been more awake.
.....He was freezing, to start with – a rogue wave had struck the bow at dusk, soaking eight boys and washing the ship’s dog into the hold, where it still yipped for rescue – but it wasn’t the cold that worried him. It was the storm cloud. It had leaped the coastal ridge in one bound, on high winds he couldn’t feel. The ship had no reason to fear it, but Pazel did. People were trying to kill him, and the only thing stopping them was the moon, that blessed bonfire moon, etching his shadow like a coal drawing on the deck of the Eniel.
.....One more mile, he thought. Then it can pour for all I care.
.....While the calm held the Eniel ran quiet as a dream: her captain hated needless bellowing, calling it the poor pilot’s surrogate for leadership, and merely gestured to the afterguard when the time came to tack for shore. Glancing up at the mainsails, his eyes fell on Pazel, and for a moment they regarded one another in silence: an old man stiff and wrinkled as a cypress; a boy in tattered shirt and breeches, nut-brown hair in his eyes, clinging barefoot to the tarred and salt-stiffened ropes. A boy suddenly aware that he had no permission to climb aloft.
.....Pazel made a show of checking the yardarm bolts, and the knots on the closest stays. The captain watched his antics, unmoved. Then, almost invisibly, he shook his head.
.....Pazel slid to the deck in an instant, furious with himself. You clod, Pathkendle! Lose Nestef’s love and there’s no hope for you!
.....Captain Nestef was the kindest of the five mariners he had served: the only one who never beat or starved him, or forced him, a boy of fifteen, to drink the black nightmare liquor grebel for the amusement of the crew. If Nestef had ordered him to dive into the sea, Pazel would have obeyed at once. He was a bonded servant and could be traded like a slave.
.....On the deck, the other servant boys – tarboys, they were called, for the pitch that stained their hands and feet – turned him looks of contempt. They were older and larger, with noses proudly disfigured from brawls of honour in distant ports. The eldest, Jervik, sported a hole in his right ear large enough to pass a finger through. Rumour held that a violent captain had caught him stealing a pudding, and had pinched the ear with tongs heated cherry-red in the galley stove.
.....The other rumour attached to Jervik was that he had stabbed a boy in the neck after losing at darts. Pazel didn’t know if believed the tale. But he knew that a gleam came to Jervik’s eyes at the first sign of another’s weakness, and he knew the boy carried a knife.
.....One of Jervik’s hangers-on gestured at Pazel with his chin. ‘Thinks his place is on the maintop, this one,’ he said, grinning. ‘Bet you can tell him diff’rint, eh, Jervik?’
.....‘Shut up, Nat, you ain’t clever,’ said Jervik, his eyes locked on Pazel.
.....‘What ho, Pazel Pathkendle, he’s defendin’ you,’ laughed another. ‘Ain’t you goin’ to thank him? You better thank him!’ Jervik turned the speaker a cold look. The laughter ceased. ‘I han’t defended no one,’ said the larger boy.
.....‘’Course you didn’t, Jervik, I just—’
.....‘Somebody worries my mates, I defend them. Defend my good name, too. But there’s no defence for a wee squealin’ Ormali.’
.....The laughter was general, now: Jervik had given permission.
.....Then Pazel said, ‘Your mates and your good name. How about your honour, Jervik, and your word?’
.....‘Them too,’ snapped Jervik.
.....‘And wet fire?’
.....‘Eh?’
.....‘Diving roosters? Four-legged ducks?’
.....Jervik stared at Pazel for a moment. Then he glided over and hit him squarely on the cheek.
.....‘Brilliant reply, Jervik,’ said Pazel, standing his ground despite the fire along one side of his face.
.....Jervik raised a corner of his shirt. Tucked into his breeches was a skipper’s knife with a fine, well-worn leather grip.
.....‘Want another sort of reply, do you?’
.....His face was inches from Pazel’s own. His lips were stained red by low-grade sapwort; his eyes had a yellow tinge.
.....‘I want my knife back,’ said Pazel.
.....‘Liar!’ spat Jervik. ‘The knife’s mine!’
.....‘That knife was my father’s. You’re a thief, and you don’t dare use it.’
.....Jervik hit him again, harder. ‘Put up your fists, Muketch,’ he said.
.....Pazel did not raise his fists. Snickering, Jervik and the others went about their duties, leaving Pazel blinking with pain and rage.
.....By the Sailing Code that governed all ships, Captain Nestef would have no choice but to dismiss a tarboy caught fighting. Jervik could risk it: he was a citizen of Arqual, this great empire sprawling over a third of the known world, and could always sign with another ship. More to the point, he wore a brass ring engraved with his Citizenship Number as recorded in the Imperial Boys’ Registry. Such rings cost a month’s wages, but they were worth it. Without the ring, any boy caught wandering in a seaside town could be taken for a bond-breaker or a foreigner. Few tarboys could afford the brass ring; most carried paper certificates, and these were easily lost or stolen. Pazel, however, was a bonded servant and a foreigner – even worse, a member of a conquered race. If his papers read ‘Dismissed for Fighting’, no other ship would have him. He would be cut adrift, waiting to be snatched up like a coin from the street, claimed as the finder’s property for the rest of his days.
.....Jervik knew this well, and seemed determined to goad Pazel into a fight. He called the younger boy Muketch after the mud crabs of Ormael, the home Pazel had not seen in five years. Ormael was once a great fortress-city, built on high cliffs over a blue and perfect harbour. A place of music and balconies and the smell of ripened plums, whose name meant ‘Womb of Morning’ – but that city no longer existed. And it seemed to Pazel that nearly everyone would have preferred him to vanish along with it. His very presence on an Arquali ship was a slight disgrace, like a soup stain on the captain’s dress coat. After Jervik’s burst of inspiration, the other boys and even some of the sailors called him Muketch. But the word also conveyed a sort of wary respect: sailors thought a charm lay on those green crabs that swarmed in the Ormael marshes, and took pains not to step on them lest bad luck follow.
.....Superstition had not stopped Jervik and his gang from striking or tripping Pazel behind the captain’s back, however. And in the last week it had grown worse: they came at him in twos and threes, in lightless corners belowdecks, and with a viciousness he had never faced before. They may really kill me (how could you think that and keep working, eating, breathing?). They may try tonight. Jervik may drive them to it.
.....Pazel had won the last round: Jervik was indeed afraid to stab him in front of witnesses. But in the dark it was another matter: in the dark things were done in a frenzy, and later explained away.
.....Fortunately, Jervik was a fool. He had a nasty sort of cunning, but his delight in abusing others made him careless. It was surely just a matter of time before Nestef dismissed him. Until then the trick was to avoid getting cornered. That was one reason Pazel had risked climbing aloft. The other was to see the Chathrand.
.....For tonight he would finally see her – the Chathrand, mightiest ship in all the world, with a mainmast so huge that three sailors could scarce link arms around it, and stern lamps tall as men, and squaresails larger than the Queen’s Park at Etherhorde. She was being made ready for the open sea, some great trading voyage beyond the reach of Empire. Perhaps she would sail to Noonfirth, where men were black; or the Outer Isles that faced the Ruling Sea; or the Crownless Lands, wounded by war. Strangely, no one could tell him. But she was almost ready.
.....Pazel knew, for he had helped in his small way to ready her. Twice in as many nights they had sailed up to Chathrand’s flank, here in the dark bay of Sorrophran. Both had been cloudy, moonless nights, and Pazel in any case had been kept busy in the hold until the moment of arrival. Emerging at last, he had seen only a black, bowed wall, furred with algae and snails and clams like snapped blades, and smelling of pitch and heartwood and the deep sea. Men’s voices floated down from above, and following them, a great boom lowered a platform to the Eniel’s deck. Onto this lift went sacks of rice and barley and hard winter wheat. Then boards, followed by crates of mandarins, barberries, figs, salt cod, salt venison, cokewood, coal; and finally bundled cabbages, potatoes, yams, coils of garlic, wheels of rock-hard cheese. Food in breathtaking quantities: food for six months without landfall. Wherever the Great Ship was bound, she clearly had no wish to depend on local hospitality.
.....When nothing more could be stacked, the lift would rise as if by magic. Some of the older boys grabbed at the ropes, laughing as they were whisked straight up, fifty feet, sixty, and swung over the distant rail. Returning on the emptied lift, they held bright pennies and sweetmeats, gifts from the unseen crew. Pazel cared nothing for these, but he was mad to see the deck of the Chathrand.
.....His life was ships, now: in the five years since Arqual swallowed his country, Pazel had spent less than two weeks ashore. The previous night, when the lift rose for the last time, caution had deserted him: he had seized a corner rope. Jervik had pried his fingers loose, sending him crashing back to the deck of the Eniel.
.....But tonight the little ship bore no cargo, just passengers: three quiet figures in seafarers’ cloaks, on this passage of a single night from Besq to Sorrophran. They kept apart from the crew, and even one another. Now, as the blue gaslights of the Sorrophran Shipworks came into view, these three pressed forward, seemingly as eager as Pazel himself for a glimpse of the legendary ship.
.....One of the three, to Pazel’s great excitement, was Dr Ignus Chadfallow. He was a slender man with worried eyes and large, educated hands. An Imperial surgeon and scholar of note, Chadfallow had once saved the Emperor and his Horse Guard from the deadly talking fever by placing men and horses alike on a sixweek diet of millet and prunes. He had also, single-handedly, saved Pazel from slavery.
.....The three passengers had boarded at sunset. Pazel and the other tarboys had shoved and shouldered one another at the rail, competing for the chance to lug footlockers aboard for a penny or two. Spotting Chadfallow, Pazel had leaped, waving, and nearly shouted, ‘Ignus!’ But Chadfallow shot him a dark look, and the greeting died in his throat.
.....As Nestef welcomed his passengers, Pazel tried in vain to catch the doctor’s eye. When the cook shouted, ‘Tarry!’ he sprang down the ladderway ahead of the other boys, for it was Nestef’s habit to greet new passengers with a mug of blistering spiced tea. But tonight there was more to the offerings: the cook loaded the tea-tray with muskberry biscuits, red ginger candies and lukka seeds to be chewed for warmth. Balancing these delicacies with great care, Pazel returned to the topdeck and walked straight to Chadfallow, his heart thumping in his chest.
.....‘If you please, sir,’ he said.
.....Chadfallow, his eyes on the moonwashed rocks and islets, seemed not to hear. Pazel spoke again, louder, and this time the doctor turned with a start. Pazel smiled uncertainly at his old benefactor. But Chadfallow’s voice was sharp.
.....‘Where’s your breeding? You’ll serve the duchess first. Go on!’
.....Cheeks burning, Pazel turned away. The doctor’s coldness hurt him more than any blow from Jervik could. Not that it was altogether a surprise: Chadfallow often appeared frightened of being seen with Pazel, and never spoke to him at length. But he was the closest thing to family Pazel had left in the world, and he had not laid eyes on him for two years.
.....Two years! His hands, blast them, were trembling. He had to swallow hard before he spoke to the duchess. At least, he hoped she was the duchess, a bent and ancient woman three inches shorter than Pazel himself, who stood by the foremast mumbling and worrying the gold rings on her fingers. When Pazel spoke she raised her head and fixed him with her gaze. Her eyes were large and milky-blue, and as she stared at him her dry lips twisted into a smile.
.....‘Ehiji!’
.....Her crooked hand shot out; a nail scraped his cheek. He had shed tears. The crone put her moistened finger to her lips and grinned all the wider. Then she fell upon the tea service. First she popped the three largest ginger candies into her mouth, and slid a fourth into her pocket. Next she produced an old, scorched pipe from the folds of her cloak. As Pazel watched, aghast, she tapped the halfburned plug of tobacco into the bowl of lukka seeds, stirred with a thumb and then crushed the whole mixture back into her pipe, whispering and squeaking to herself all the while. Her eyes found Pazel’s again.
.....‘Got a flint?’
.....‘No, ma’am,’ said Pazel.
.....‘That’s Lady Oggosk to you! Fetch a lamp, then.’
.....It was difficult to fetch anything while holding the tea-tray. Pazel thought his arms would break, hoisting a brass deck lamp heavy with walrus oil as Lady Oggosk struggled with her pipe. Wafts of burning walrus, tobacco and lukka seeds flooded his nostrils, and the Lady’s breath as she puffed and hiccupped was like a draught from a ginger-scented tomb. At last the pipe lit, and she cackled.
.....‘Don’t cry, my little monkey. He hasn’t forgotten you – oh, not for an instant, no!’
.....Pazel gaped at her. She could only mean Chadfallow, but what did she know of their connection? Before he could find a way to ask, she turned from him, still chuckling to herself.
.....The third passenger was a merchant, well groomed and well fed. At first glance, Pazel thought him ill: he had a white scarf wrapped tight about his neck, and one hand rested there as if nursing a sore spot. He cleared his throat with a painful noise – CHHRCK! – nearly making Pazel spill the tea. The man had an appetite, too: four biscuits vanished into his mouth, followed by the next largest ginger candy.
.....‘You’re not very clean,’ he said suddenly, looking Pazel up and down. ‘Whose soap do you use?’
.....‘Whose soap, sir?’
.....‘Is that a difficult question? Who makes the soap you scrub your face with?’
.....‘We’re given potash, sir.’
.....‘You’re a servant.’
.....‘Not for much longer, sir,’ said Pazel. ‘Captain Nestef has extended me his hand of friendship, for which I bless him thrice over. He says I have genuine prospects, with my flair for languages, and—’
.....‘My own prospects are excellent, of course,’ the man informed him. ‘My name is Ket – a name worth remembering, worth jotting down. I am about to make transactions valued at sixty thousand gold cockles. And that is just one trading voyage.’
.....‘How grand for you, sir. I say, sir! Would you be sailing on the Chathrand?’
.....‘You will not see sixty thousand in your lifetime – nor even six. Go now.’
.....He placed something on the tea-tray and waved Pazel off. Pazel bowed and withdrew, then looked at the object. It was a pale-green disc, stamped with the words ‘KET SOAP’.
.....One of those sixty thousand coins would have suited him better, but he hid the soap in his pocket nonetheless. Then he looked at the tray and his heart sank. He had nothing left for Chadfallow but a small rind of ginger and a broken biscuit.
.....The doctor ignored these, but pointed at the tea flask. Carefully, Pazel filled a mug. The doctor wrapped his long fingers around it, raised it to his lips and inhaled the steam, as he had told Pazel one should in cold weather, to ‘vivify the nosthrils.’ He did not look at the boy, and Pazel did not know whether to stay or leave. At last, very softly, the doctor spoke.
.....‘You’re not ill?’
.....‘No,’ said Pazel.
.....‘Your mind-fits?’
.....‘They’re cured,’ said Pazel quickly, very glad they were alone. No one on the Eniel knew about his mind-fits.
.....‘Cured?’ said the doctor. ‘How did you manage that?’
.....Pazel shrugged. ‘I bought some medicine in Sorhn. Everyone goes to Sorhn for that kind of thing.’
.....‘Everyone does not live under the influence of magic spells,’ said Chadfallow. ‘And how much did they charge you for this . . . medicine?’
.....‘They took . . . what I had,’ admitted Pazel, frowning. ‘But it was worth every penny. I’d do it again tomorrow.’
.....Chadfallow sighed. ‘I dare say you would. Now what about your teeth?’
.....Pazel looked up, startled by the quick change of focus: his mindfits were the doctor’s favourite subject. ‘My teeth are just fine,’ he said carefully.
.....‘That’s good. But this tea is not. Taste it.’
.....Chadfallow passed him the cup, and watched as he drank.
.....Pazel grimaced. ‘It’s bitter,’ he said.
.....‘More bitter for you than me. Or so you may well imagine.’
.....‘What do you mean by that?’ Pazel’s voice rose in confusion. ‘Why are you all so odd?’
.....But like the duchess and the soap man, Chadfallow merely turned to face the sea. And all through that night’s crossing he showed no more interest in Pazel than in the common sailors who bustled around him.
.....Now, six hours later, battered and soaking and chilled to the bone, Pazel watched the Shipworks loom nearer. They were minutes from port, and still the moonlight held.
.....Pazel knew he’d been a fool to hope for better treatment from Chadfallow. The doctor was a changed man since the invasion of Ormael, which as the Emperor’s Special Envoy he had witnessed firsthand. The violence had left him morose, and whatever spring of warmth he used to draw upon appeared to have dried up. At their last meeting, two years ago, he had pretended not to know Pazel at all.
.....But why was he here, on the eve of the Chathrand’s launch? For the doctor never appeared but when some great change was about to explode into Pazel’s life. Tonight would be no different, he thought, and so he lingered by the foremast to see what Chadfallow would do.
.....A voice ashore hailed them: ‘Bring to, Eniel! Bring to, there! Crowded port!’
.....Captain Nestef bellowed, ‘Aye, Sorrophran!’ and tugged hard at the wheel. The bosun shouted, men leaped for ropes, the white sails of the Eniel furled. Coasting, she passed the Sorrophran dry docks, the long files of warships with their armoured bows and gunwales bristling with spikes, the shrimping fleet, the porcelain-domed Nunekkam houseboats. Then a sigh of wonder passed over the deck, breathed by officer and sailor and tarboy alike. The Chathrand had swung into view.
.....No wonder the port was full! Chathrand alone nearly filled it. Now that Pazel saw her plainly by moonlight, the ship seemed a thing not of men but of giants. The tip of the Eniel’s mainmast scarcely reached her quarterdeck, and a sailor high in her crosstrees looked no bigger than a gull. Her own masts made Pazel think of the towers of the Noonfirth Kings, soaring over the black cliffs at Pól. Beside her even the Emperor’s warships seemed like toys.
.....‘She is the last of her kind,’ said a voice behind him. ‘Do not turn around, Pazel.’
.....Pazel froze, one hand on the mast. The voice was Chadfallow’s.
.....‘A living relic,’ the doctor continued. ‘A five-masted Segral Wind-Palace, the largest ship ever built since the days of the Amber Kings before the Worldstorm. Even the trees of which she is made are passed into legend: m’xingu for keel, tritne pine for mast and yard, rock maple for deck and wales. Mages as well as shipwrights played their part in her creation, or so the old tales claim. Such arts are lost to us now – along with so much else.’
.....‘Is it true, she crossed the Ruling Sea?’
.....‘The Segrals braved those waters, yes: that is why they were built, in fact. But Chathrand is six hundred years old, boy. Her youth is a mystery. Only the elders of her Trading Family have seen the logs of her earliest journeys.’
.....‘Captain Nestef says it makes no sense to outfit Chathrand here, when Etherhorde is just six days away,’ said Pazel. ‘He says there are shipwrights in Etherhorde who train for years just to work on her.’
.....‘They have been brought here from the capital.’
.....‘But why? Captain Nestef says Etherhorde will be her first stop anyway.’
.....‘Your curiosity is in perfect health,’ said Chadfallow drily.
.....‘Thank you!’ said Pazel. ‘And after Etherhorde? Where will they send her next?’
.....The doctor hesitated. ‘Pazel,’ he said at last, ‘how much do you remember of our lessons, back in Ormael?’
.....‘Everything. I can name all the bones in the body, and the six kinds of bile, and the eleven organs, and the tubes in your gut—’
.....‘Not anatomy,’ said Chadfallow. ‘Think back to what I told you of politics. You know about the Mzithrin, our great enemies in the west.’
.....‘Your enemies,’ Pazel couldn’t resist saying.
.....The doctor’s voice grew stern. ‘You may not be a citizen of Arqual yet, but your fortune rests in our hands. And Mzithrini tribes raided Ormael for centuries before we arrived.’
.....‘Right,’ said Pazel. ‘They tried to kill us for hundreds of years, and couldn’t. You managed it in two days.’
.....‘Don’t speak in ignorance, boy! If the Mzithrin had wanted to take your little country, they could have done so faster than we did. Instead they chose to bleed her quietly and deny it to the world. Now prove that you paid attention to my teaching. What is the Mzithrin?’
.....‘An empire of madmen,’ said Pazel. ‘Honestly, that’s how you made them sound. Crazy about sorcery and devils and ancient rites, and worshipping the pieces of a Black Casket. Dangerous, too, with their singing arrows, and dragon’s-egg shot, and that guild of holy pirates, what’s the word?’
.....‘Sfvantskor,’ said Chadfallow. ‘But that is not the point. The Mzithrin is a pentarchy: a land ruled by five kings. During the last war, four of those kings condemned Arqual as evil, the abode of heretics, servants of the Pits. But the fifth said no such thing. And he drowned at sea.’
.....A horn rang out across the bay. ‘We’re nearly there,’ said Pazel.
.....‘Are you listening?’ said Chadfallow. ‘The fifth king drowned because Arquali guns sank his ship. He never condemned us – yet him alone we killed. Doesn’t that strike you as odd?’
.....‘No,’ said Pazel. ‘You kill who you like.’
.....‘And you insist on obstinate knavery when in fact you are moderately wise.’
.....Pazel shot an angry glance over his shoulder. He could tolerate most any insult except to his intelligence: sometimes it felt like the one thing he had left to be proud of.
.....‘I ask where the Chathrand is going,’ he said, ‘and you talk about the Mzithrin. Were you listening to me?’ He was getting sarcastic, but he didn’t care. ‘Or maybe that’s your answer. The ship’s paying a visit to your “great enemies”, the Mzithrin Kings.’
.....‘Why not?’ said Chadfallow.
.....‘Because that’s impossible,’ Pazel declared.
.....‘Is it?’ The doctor had to be teasing him. Arqual and the Mzithrin had battled for centuries, and the last war had been the bloodiest of all. It had ended forty years ago, but Arqualis still loathed and feared Mzithrinis. Some ended their morning prayers by turning west to spit.
.....‘“Impossible”,’ mused Chadfallow, shaking his head. ‘There’s a word we must try to forget.’
.....At that moment the bosun’s voice rang out: ‘Port stations!’
.....Chatter ceased; men and boys scrambled to their tasks. Pazel made to go as well – orders were orders – but Chadfallow caught him tightly by the arm.
.....‘Your sister lives,’ he said.
.....‘My sister!’ cried Pazel. ‘You’ve seen Neda? Where is she? Is she safe?’
.....‘Quietly! No, I have not seen her, but I plan to. And Suthinia as well.’
.....It was all Pazel could do not to shout again. Suthinia was his mother. He had feared both were dead in the invasion of Ormael.
.....How long have you known they were alive?
.....‘You must ask no more questions. For the moment they are safe – if anyone is, and that is no certainty. If you would help them, listen well. Do not go to your station. Do not, under any circumstances, go belowdecks on the Eniel tonight.’
.....‘But I’m to work the pumps!’
.....‘You will not.’
.....‘But, Ignus— Ah!’
.....Chadfallow’s hand had tightened convulsively on Pazel’s arm. ‘Never use my name, tarboy!’ he hissed, still not looking at Pazel but unmistakably furious. ‘Have I been a fool, then? For half a decade, a fool? Don’t answer that! Just tell me: have you been ashore in Sorrophran?’
.....‘Y-yes.’
.....‘Then you know that if you set foot outside the port district you’re fair game for the Flikkermen, who get three gold for every boy or girl they send to the Forgotten Colonies, twenty days’ march across the steppe?’
.....‘I know about the Flikkers, and that terrible place! But it’s nothing to do with me! They’re keeping me aboard tonight, and we sail at sunrise!’
.....Chadfallow shook his head. ‘Just remember, the Flikkers cannot touch you in the port. Keep away from me now, Pazel Pathkendle, and above all stay on deck! We will not speak again.’
.....The doctor wrapped himself in his sea-cloak and headed aft. Pazel could sense his doom already. The first rule of survival as a tarboy is ‘Be quick!’ – and Chadfallow was forcing him to break it. Captain Nestef hadn’t noticed yet, but the common sailors, rushing about on tasks of their own, stared at him as if he were mad. What was the boy thinking? He didn’t look sick, he hadn’t fallen from the yardarms, he was just standing there.
.....Pazel knew what would happen next, and it did. The first mate, inspecting his topdeck men, reached Pazel and fixed him with a scandalized look.
.....‘Muketch!’ he bellowed. ‘Are ye afflicted? Get below or I’ll skin yer Ormali hide!’
.....‘Oppo, sir!’
.....Pazel sprinted for the main hatch, but at the top of the ladder, he stopped. He had never disobeyed Chadfallow. He looked around for another tarboy – perhaps he could trade tasks? – but they were all belowdecks, where he ought to be. Soon they would miss him, send someone looking, and he would be severely punished for breaking orders. How could he explain? He didn’t understand himself.
.....Desperate for cover, Pazel spotted a neatly coiled hawser by the portside rail. Furtively he pushed the thick rope over, then began meticulously winding it anew. Now he would look busy at least. His mind reeled with Chadfallow’s news. His mother and sister, alive! But where could they be? Hiding in ruined Ormael? Sold as slaves? Or had they made for the Crownless Lands, slipping free of the Empire altogether?
.....Then, very suddenly, Pazel felt ill. His head spun and his vision blurred. The taste of the bad tea rose in his throat. He stumbled and knocked the hawser over again.
.....Ignus, what did you do to me?
.....The next instant the feeling vanished. He was fine – but someone was snickering behind him. Pazel turned to see Jervik pointing at him triumphantly.
.....‘I found him, sir! Skipped his station! And he’s knocked over that coil on purpose, to stretch his holiday! Make him do it, Mr Nicklen, sir!’
.....The bosun, Nicklen, slouched up behind Jervik, scowling. He was a heavy, red-faced man with eyes receded into soft pouches, like fingermarks in dough. Usually he treated Pazel well enough, taking his cue from Nestef – but the rope sprawled in an accusing heap, and when Nicklen asked if Jervik spoke the truth, Pazel clenched his teeth and nodded. Behind the officer, Jervik made a face like a grinning frog.
.....‘Right,’ said the bosun. ‘Be off, Jervik. As for you, Mr Pathkendle, you’re in luck. You should be whipped for cutting chores. Instead all you have to do is come with me.’
.....Forty minutes later Pazel did not feel very lucky. The rain had begun, and he stood in a half-flooded Sorrophran street with no hat (it lay in his box on the Eniel), listening to dim sounds of fiddle and accordion, and roars of laughter, through the stone wall of the tavern beside him. This was Nicklen’s pointless punishment: to stand him here like a disgraced schoolboy while the bosun drank off his wages.
.....Not for the first time, Pazel cursed Jervik. He was still in the port district, and so safe from marauding Flikkermen. But if Pazel knew the older tarboy, he’d tell the first mate about the scene on deck and Pazel would still get a lashing.
.....Pazel had mentioned this suspicion to Nicklen as they marched through town. The bosun’s reply was strange: he told Pazel to forget he’d ever known a fool named Jervik.
.....‘Mr Nicklen,’ Pazel had continued (the bosun was tolerating his chatter tonight), ‘is the Chathrand fast?’
.....‘Fast!’ he said. ‘She blary well screams along on high winds! Trouble is finding that much. Small ships can do more with a light breeze, don’t ye know? That’s why His Supremacy loves his wee gunboats. Loves his big ones too, mind. And middle-sized. As for Chathrand, she dreams of a wind that would sink yer average boat. I dare say the Nelu Peren keeps her wings clipped.’
.....The Nelu Peren, or Quiet Sea, was the only ocean Pazel had ever sailed. It was far from quiet at times, but it was much tamer than the Nelu Rekere (or Narrow Sea) that enclosed it. Furthest of all, beyond the archipelagos of the south, lay the Nelluroq, or Ruling Sea.
.....Legends told of great islands, perhaps whole continents, hidden in its vastness, full of strange animals, and people who had once traded and parleyed with the north. But centuries had passed, and the big ships had sunk one by one, leaving only Chathrand, and whatever lands there were had likewise drowned in seas of forgetting.
.....‘Anyhow,’ said Nicklen, ‘these days she don’t need to fly like a murth on the wing. She’s no warship any more.’
.....At the mention of war, Pazel’s thoughts had taken another leap.
.....‘Were you in the last war, Mr Nicklen?’ he asked. ‘The big one, I mean?’
.....‘The Second Maritime? Aye, but just as a powder-pup. I was younger than you when it ended.’
.....‘Did we really kill one of the Mzithrin Kings?’
.....‘Aye! The Shaggat! The Shaggat Ness, and his bastard sons, and his sorcerer, too. A famous night battle, that was. Their ship went down with all hands, not far from Ormael, as you must know. But not a trace of that ship was ever found. Shaggat, lad – that means God- King to them mongrels.’
.....‘But was he . . . a friend, to Arqual?’
.....At that Nicklen had turned to look at Pazel with amazement. ‘Is that a funny, Mr Pathkendle?’
.....‘No, sir!’ said Pazel. ‘I just thought . . . I mean, I was told—’
.....‘The Shaggat Ness was a monster,’ Nicklen interrupted. ‘A vicious, kill-crazy fiend. He weren’t friend to no man alive in this world.’
.....Pazel had never heard the bosun speak more firmly. The effort seemed to drain him: he smiled awkwardly, patted Pazel’s shoulder, and when they reached the bar he bought the tarboy a leek fritter and a mug of pumpkin ale – two Sorrophran delicacies. But he wagged a finger before going in to his revels.
.....‘Skip this station and I’ll drown you off Hansprit,’ he said. ‘Keep your eyes peeled, eh? The captain don’t approve of carousing.’
.....Pazel nodded, but he knew the bosun was hiding something. Tarboys rarely tasted pumpkin ale. What was Nicklen up to? Not mutiny, or dealing in deathsmoke: he was too old and slow for such crimes. Nor did the customers, joking about ‘the little sentry’ and tussling his wet hair in an annoying way, seem much like criminals.
.....An hour later the bosun appeared with a second fritter and an old sheepskin to keep off the rain. He was bleary-eyed and frowning; his very clothes stank of ale. ‘Still awake!’ he said. ‘You’re a good lad, Pathkendle. Who says Ormalis can’t be trusted?’
.....‘Not me, sir,’ mumbled Pazel, hiding the fritter away for breakfast.
.....‘I never did hate ’em,’ said Nicklen, with a look of distress. ‘I wouldn’t be party to such a thing – hope you know, if it were my choice—’
.....His eyes rolled, and he lurched back into the bar. Pazel sat down on the steps, bewildered. Nicklen couldn’t honestly be worried about the captain. Nestef disliked carousing, true enough. But he had better uses for his time than chasing his old bosun about in the rain.
.....Hours passed, drunks came and went. Pazel was half-dozing under the sheepskin when he felt something warm and velvety touch his bare foot. Instantly awake, he found himself looking into the eyes of the largest cat he had ever seen: a sleek red creature, its yellow eyes gazing directly into his own. One paw lay on Pazel’s toe, as if the animal were tapping him to learn if he were alive.
.....‘Hello, sir,’ said Pazel.
.....The animal growled. ‘Oh, ma’am, is it? Get along with you, whatever you are.’ He shrugged off the sheepskin – and the cat pounced. Not on him, but on his second fritter. Before Pazel could do more than swear, the animal had it out of his hand and was bounding for the alley. Pazel rose and gave chase (he was hungry again and quite wanted that fritter) but the lamps were dark now, and the cat vanished from sight.
.....You fleabit thief!’
.....Even as he yelled, the sickness came rushing back. It was worse than before: he stumbled against a rubbish bin, which fell with a crash. The bitter flavour again coated his tongue, and when a voice launched insults from a window above him the words seemed pure nonsense. Then, just as suddenly, the sickness vanished and the words rang clear:
.....‘. . . out of my trash bin! Blary urchins, always up with the birds.’
.....Fuming, Pazel walked back to the tavern. But there he stopped. It was true: the birds were in fact starting to sing. Dawn had arrived.
.....He pushed open the tavern door. The barman sprawled just beyond the threshold, looking rather drowned.
.....‘Uch! Get on, beggar-brat! The party’s damn well done.’
.....‘I’m not begging,’ said Pazel. ‘Mr Nicklen’s here, sir, and I’d better wake him up.’
.....‘Are ye deaf? We drank the house dry! Nobody’s here.’
.....‘Mr Nicklen is.’
.....‘Nicklen? That putty-mug lout from the Eniel?’
.....‘Eh . . . right you are, sir, that’s him.’
.....‘Gone hours ago.’
.....‘What?’
.....‘And a good riddance, too. Moaning all night. “The doctor! The doctor paid me for a wicked deed!” Nobody could make him hush.’
.....‘What doctor? Chadfallow? What was he talking about? Where’d he run off to?’
.....‘Softly!’ groaned the barman. ‘How should I know what doctor? But Etherhorde, that’s where! Said they were sailin’ before dawn. Didn’t pay for his last drink, either, the tramp – slipped out the back door. Uch!’
.....Pazel leaped past him. The place was utterly empty. Fooled, fooled by Nicklen! And what had the barman overheard? Sailing before dawn?
.....He rushed back to the street. The rain still pelted Sorrophran, but in the east the black sky was changing to grey. Pazel flew back the way he and Nicklen had come, turned the corner, pounded down a flight of broken steps, passed the red cat devouring his fritter, knocked against more rubbish bins, turned another corner and sprinted for the wharf as if his life depended on it.
.....The fishermen were back from their night at sea. They whistled and laughed: ‘Seen a ghost, tarry?’ He dashed through their barrels and gutting-troughs and heaped-up nets. The great hulk of the Chathrand loomed straight ahead, men crawling about her in the greyness like ants upon a log. But in the corner of the wharf beyond her there was no ship named Eniel to receive him.
.....He raced to the end of the fishermen’s pier. He spotted her in the harbour, sails filling, picking up speed. He tore off his shirt and waved it and bellowed the captain’s name. But the breeze was offshore, and the rain muffled his voice. The Eniel did not hear him, or did not care to. Pazel was homeless.

Happy Birthday Dad! Hope you have a fun day!!! Love you!