In the Beginning...

I want to spin words off my tongue, send them soaring through the air, until they land into your heart.

I miss the misty breath that once fogged up my chocolate glasses as your kisses and my laughter filled the room.

I long to type with eager fingers, carving letters from a sea of white screen, and watch those letters form words that bring a tear onto your cheek.

I miss the romance that used to cloak my satin pillowcase with the scent of your cologne.

I need the man you once were, some 22 months ago.

"This is Halloween, This is Halloween."

The late September rain beats against the Mazda 3, like God’s impatient fingers drumming against a wooden table. My tongue brushes the corner of my lips; it feels lower than usual. The glint of fifty water droplets catches my eye, as they hit the windshield and quickly disappear, like a finger pressed to memory foam. It's as though I'm in a fog, a state of indifference, maybe just the fall semester blues settling deep into my psyche.

I quietly admit to myself that a recent trip to Walmart was the highlight of my week. I remember nearly skipping through the revolving doors, scouring the rows of product, until I finally found the seasonal section. A row of endless Halloween supplies lined either side of the isle, and instantaneously, I felt like a child again. As my fingers grazed the cardboard boxes filled with orange and purple lights, I couldn't help but smile. For the first time in months, a fluttery sense of excitement that filled my stomach with utter joy consumed me, and sent a tension through my torso.

Upon returning home to a front porch embellished with three plump orange pumpkins my heart leaped out of my chest and I squealed like a piglet. All I wanted in that moment was to tear into the 7 boxes of lights I had just purchases and complete my little haven of "Happy Halloween" goodness. And soon enough, after hours of painstaking visual scrutiny filled with, "move that strand a little more to the left" or "drop that piece a smidge lower" until my fingers ached, my fall ball of violet spiders, jack-o-lanterns, cotton webbing, and nearly a hundred feet of lights was complete. Phew!

Impulses

I was once a steel curtain of impulses. Though, time wore on like an old pair of torn, denim jeans. My once limitless amount of patience somehow transformed into a hummingbird, soft, fluttery. And disappeared before I knew it.

Wither

It's an awful feeling, watching something wither like a daisy drenched in summer's blazing heat. Time slows, emotions run irritably, and the moisture hanging in the air feels like a doctor's BP cuff clasped around my lungs. First, it's the crisp, white petals that turn a putrid, soggy brown. Before long, the tall, leafy stem that once held it all together has arched towards the ground, and no longer supports the flower's weight.

I make my way across the yard composed of brittle blades of grass. They almost break beneath my sandals, a trail of sunken footprints behind me. I've reached the wooden, rusted pen holding my two beloved pups. I watch their tongue droop from their mouths, trickling thick, sticky spit. Wolfie's breath is quick and labored, puffing his broad chest in and out. Peanut lazes in the shade, cloaked by a sea of overgrown weeds. The smiles on their snouts nearly break my heart, because I know they're hot and miserable. Yet, they still greet me with wet kisses each afternoon when I come out of the air-conditioned house. Though, I leave them all alone, in the early summer's blaze to wither.

Heat Wave

It's been one of those gloomy days, despite the fact the sun is shining high in the Indiana sky and the air's a toasty 95 degrees. My skin may be glistening with orbs of sticky sweat, but my heart is lined with snowflakes, trickling drops of icy water down into my stomach. The urge to cry tugs at my tongue, and sends a frost across my gaze.

My fingers latch onto the damp, white basket filled to the top with paint-stained clothes. My feet drift towards the empty loveseat, floating over the caramel carpet. I fall onto the cushions. Staring blankly at the pile of red and grey cotton t-shirts, the streaks of glossy black mixed with denim legs reminds me of the couple we once were.

Before the graveyard stole time we spent together wrapped in a sea of dark blue blankets, tangled like the laundry that I'm now aimlessly folding. Before afternoon scuffles were routine due to precious daylight slept away and random bills stacked inches high. Before you left the sheets unmaid, forgot to feed the dogs, and threw your socks beside the bed, leaving me to catch the slack.

It's been one of those chilly nights, although my hair's damp to touch and the temp's at 82. My skin may be cloaked with goosebumps, but my heart is scorched in flame.

Asphyxia

Lately, it's been hard to breathe.

Beats of sweat collect beneath my fingertips, pressed firmly against the radial artery. I can feel the even steadiness of my heart's beat, I wish my mind was just as stable.

I'm sprawled across my sheer, charcoal comforter and my eyes begin to roll. The lungs that rise and fall within my chest somehow forget to breathe. My head starts twirling like an uneasy ballerina. It's like a cinderblock came tumbling from the sky and fell onto my ribcage, for a heaviness is lingering throughout my upper torso.

My lungs begin to burn, crying out for delicious air. My brain ignores the pleads, and leaves me staring at the ceiling. I watch the fan cut up the oxygen that hovers in the sky; it fades from cream to midnight black, as glimmering spots of white appear before my eyes. It all goes dark, my body's nerves flutter like a swarm of butterflies batting at my limbs. Stillness overcomes me, and I've fallen into sleep.

I'm awakened by the sound of boxes slamming into concrete, as a pair of muscular arms stack my pink totes against the wall. I look into your dirty, brown eyes and draw a smile upon my face. Sucking in a plethora of air, I turn around, folding a crate between my fingers.

"Don't Wanna Go Home"

Our curvy, silver Mazda suffocates the patches of overgrown grasses as Joshua drives deeper into the field.  Layers of fog hover in the distance, rolling towards the line of trees that house a number of noisy bull frogs and line his uncle's farmland. I gaze out into the openness of the night, beneath a handful of glistening stars shining in the charcoal colored sky. The headlights ulliminate the pupils of a two pairs of beady eyes just before the forest entrance, and my heartbeat quickly hastens.

"Joshua, I think we should stay in the car. What if there are coyotes in the woods. I swear I saw some eyes."

He sighs as his fingers grip the shifter and put the car in park. "Just quit worrying so much and get out of the car," he teases.

Joshua makes his way to the back seat of the Mazda and pulls out the red, white and blue quilt we just bought at the Madison Wal-Mart. My eyes dart back and forth, scanning the hazy surrounding as he lifts the blanket up into the air and sets it gently on the soft, dewy ground.

"Grab the Mountain Dew and get your butt out here," he says as he flips on the radio. "Don't Wanna Go Home" starts pulsing through the speakers, and I'm thinking, "Well, actually, that's sounds pretty nice right about now."

"But, but but, I'm scared Joshua. I saw something out there," I whine. The unfamiliar territory sends me into a state of unease. My love of the moon, the stars, and nature was forgotten the moment we pulled onto E 1050.

"Just come lay down with me."

I gingerly step out of the Mazda, and shuffle across the wet grass. I stand, looking down at Joshua sprawled out onto the thick, colorful quilt and he crooks his finger ushering me down. I slowly lower myself onto the blanket, and my skin is met with damp cloth.

"Ugh."

"Oh, just stop and look at the stars."

I lay myself backward, resting my neck on Josh's bicep and tilting my head into his chest. The scent of his Axe Chocolate body wash calms my nerves a little, and I close my eyes.

"Look up," Joshua whispers.

I turn my head and gaze up into the midnight sky. The boldness of the few stars lingering in the sky stops my breath and silences my mouth. The sight was absolutely indescribable, and this moment was all mine.

Misery Loves Company

I slam the bedroom door and sink onto the floor. That familiar feeling settles in: eyes glaze over, lips start to quiver, and the remaining molecules of air bobbing in my lungs escapes me. My torso trembles like baby raccoon that's been dipped into a scorching tub of water, then tossed into the wilderness in the middle of winter. The stale taste of vomit bubbles in the back of my throat, and makes its way to my tongue.

I push myself up onto the edge of the bed, ears perked, and eyes bolted to the white, discolored door of this room that was once my own. My parents argue outside the door, and bits and pieces of my mother's muffled screams find their way into my ears. I only pay attention for a moment. The house goes silent, minus the echoes of my father's T.V. blasting some late night show six clicks too loud. The steady creek of the front, screen door tells me that the two of them are out on the porch for their thirteenth evening smoke break.

The clear and pink totes stacked half way to the ceiling have been hugging every corner of the room for over three weeks now, only adding to the distance between this room and I. My younger brother's antlers, license plates, and posters mounted across the walls do not ease the sense of foreignness. This room longer feels like home, but really did it ever? Despite the two fans' puttering in two corners of the room, the tension pulsing in my muscles lingers.

I'm only a days away from a whole new life, nestled in the cornfields of Madison, IN, alongside a tenacious fiance, a beautiful Husky puppy, and an easy-going mother figure. Yet, I knew the storm was coming, it was only a matter of time.

Days of half-hearted visits or empty conversations, and nights filled with the scent of Vladimir vodka mixed with puppy piss. 

Minutes soaked with arguments made for nights of throbbing headaches, shaky limbs, and a churning stomach as I tossed and turned for hours, a decade away from sleep. 

Words caked with cruel intentions, concealed by a film of cheap concern flopped across the living room like mud pies in the yard.

Guilt trips as long as the Mississippi and as deep as the Pacific, served with diced regrets and seasoned tempers, and a tall glass of vomit.

How am I to enjoy my family's company: it's dipped in constant chaos. How am I to be excited: my thoughts are plagued by anxiousness. How am I to stand on my own: my mother's already demanding my return. How am I to fly: my wings were clipped at birth. How am I to laugh: I'm scolded when I smile. How am I to breathe: this town is smothering me with fluffy pillows. How am I to live: my heart's has been forbidden to ever beat.

On Faith and Hypocrites

He finds himself at church on every Sunday, spectacles perched upon his nose as he  peruses the instructional pamphlet he was given at the door. He's in his navy, button up, a pair of black denim jeans, his silver hair slicked back without a ball cap.

Listen: his voice, sings the word of God professed in faithful hymns. Watch: his eyes, settled on a the Pastor preaching from the pulpit, eyes gently tearing as he absentmindedly nods his head.

He can say all that he wants to us: that he honors the will of God, that he is saved and has reserved his one way ticket that'll send him up to heaven.

Those words are dandelion seeds floating off into the wind: they end up lost between the blades of grass that sway amidst the open, overgrown field.

Your thoughts are dipped in Coors Light: the first sip's quite refreshing, until you've reached the 13th can, and then its simply senseless rambling.

Those dreams are cloaked with guilt and fear: you've lived your life a sinner, and now that your ticker's ticking's getting louder, your in a rush to be forgiven.

Your faith is flavored by other's opinions: are your beliefs really your own, or are they your mothers, your fathers, your spouses, your neighbors?

They tussle back and forth, pummeling one another with blank excuses, clique sayings, quotes from scripture, and drunken mumbling.

Is a whole lot of ground being covered? Definitely.
Are tempers flaring? You bet your bottom dollar.
Do they really mean all that they are saying? The booze sure thinks so.
Are truthful points coming up in conversation? Sure.
Is process being made? Of course not.

"I'm So Heavy. Heavy In Your Arms"

My mind is in pieces, like scraps of fabric, fluff, and string strayed across the living room floor, left over from a ripped-to-shreds chew toy.

"My beloved was weighed down. My arms around his neck, my fingers laced to crown."

My eyes are scorched. Flames of smoldering heat consume my lashes, and burn them one by one, staining my lids ashy black and replacing my vision with a thick, cloud of smoke.

"I was a heavy heart to carry, my feet dragged across ground. And he took me to the river, where he slowly let me drown."

My heart is flooding, like a violent river pounded with a constant, steady rain. It's tears drift up and out, across tired, muddy banks caked with lifeless sticks and cold, stones, dragging them into its depths, never to see the light of day again.

"My love has concrete feet, my love's an iron ball, wrapped around your ankles over the waterfall."

My hope has vanished. A snowflake lands amidst a boiling, sea of grass, the liquid streaming down a single blade, evaporating instantly once kissing the bubbling, Midwest dirt.

"Who is the betrayer? Who's the killer in the crowd? The one who creeps in corridors, and doesn't make a sound."

My faith is tested. I reach my arms into the damp, April sky and scream up to the clouds. "Lord, take me! Take me into your arms!" I fall onto a patch of cold, moist graveyard, consumed by the buzz of hungry mosquitoes and a chorus of twilight crickets. I gaze into a nearby tombstone, Mary Thatcher, and pray to God you will not join her. I'm not ready to live without you.

"I'm so heavy, heavy in your arms. Whispering like it's a secret, only to condemn the one who hears it."

"Is There No Truth In Beauty?"

There came a time when words failed me, and the world looked a little darker than I had once remembered. At twelve years old, horizon lines were painted navy laced with grey, rather than plum purples and deep peaches that one becomes accustom too.  I woke up miserable every morning, and most nights I felt like a feather tossed into the eye of a hurricane.

I shed my own blood on a weekly basis. Once a week reached
every day, and soon enough I was cutting myself up to four or five times each day until I was a sophomore in high school. Without fail,  the moment I drew a blade across my skin, tension would ease, and my body relax despite the searing, aching pain. Yet, the emptiness I felt inside remained; nothing and no one could fill the void that I so desperately wished I could simply toss into the wind. I thought, maybe, if I filled it up with blood, it would drown the trauma, and set me straight.

*

I somehow managed to get a hold of a camera my eighth grade year. After school, while my mother was at work, my father was asleep, and my younger brothers were off somewhere with my grandfather, I would take pictures. The viewfinder found and captured anything and everything in my path.

When I discovered MySpace, I got the courage one afternoon to take a picture of myself and post it up on the page. A simple shot, straight on, and that was all it took. Soon enough, I began playing with camera angles. I learned that my "good side" was to the left, my face looked thinner at an elevated angle, and my forehead was entirely too big to be shot head on.

After a few weeks, I tinkered with some computer programs and eventually found photo editing software loaded onto the system. Crop, re-size, color saturation, hue, brightness, and contrast were the only options available, but boy, did I make them work. Before I knew it, I was editing dozens of pictures on a daily basis, hundreds monthly.

At fifteen, I started researching free photo editing programs on the Internet that could help me expand my editing capabilities. I found one that worked wonders: Picasa. Although not as in depth as Photoshop, it got the job done and I still use it today.

I lost nearly all of my earliest photographs due to a memory malfunction in an old camera, and I haven't had much time to take photos recently. I plan to pick up photography upon settling myself in Indiana. Taking and editing pictures was one of the most relaxing hobbies I have ever attempted, and I cannot wait to start up again. It gave me an outlet of emotion, creativity, and ultimately a voice at a time in which I felt I had little to live for. I hope to save up for a more professional camera some day in the future, take a few photography classes, and make this a lifelong hobby. Maybe I will even attempt some senior pictures, and a wedding or two. :)

Here is a sample of a few pictures I have taken over the years.

Taken and edited at 14

Taken and edited at 14 years old

Taken and edited at 15

Two different takes on a single picture taken of my eye last year

Taken in Clifty Falls Park last summer

Taken in Clifty Falls Park last summer

Taken in front of Knox Learning Center last year

Taken and edited a month ago

Taken and edited today

"Remembrance, the Lasting Perfume."

I know death like the lines the reach across my palm: seldom looked upon, though always with me.

How can one remember every single loved one that has passed on since his birth? Death is an inevitable and inescapable fate for all. Who is to say that one's death is less significant than another? That's why I am honoring them all.

*

I'm not one that favors an abundance of tattoos, and I never really understood  the beauty of them until last year. Most of the tattoos I had seen beforehand were somewhat silly. My father has his name on his shoulder, and many of my classmates have stars or flowers tattoos in rather provocative locations. 

*

Joshua saved up for a tattoo in remembrance of his grandfather for several months. Clyde died when Josh was six years old, and was one of the most impactful forces in his life. The moment that I first saw it, I knew that it was a work of art. Joshua even claims to this day that he feels the occasional sensation where the tattoo is located: a touch of heat, a slight tingle, a rush of chills. 

*

During my senior year of high school, I knew that I wanted a memorial tattoo. However, I did not know who had been "most important" in my life to dedicate a patch of ink on my body.

Death has been a great part of my life, and I have lost a lot of dear ones in my childhood. I had no idea were to start. At one point, I researched memorial tattoos for hours on end, trying to come up with a fresh idea. I eventually gave up and settled for a rather clique dove tattoo.

Months passed, then in the summer of 2010 until the winter of 2011, my family was struck with seven deaths, four of which resulted in two double funerals. None of the deaths occurred simultaneously; most were the result of natural causes. The horrific car accident that stole my cousin's life was the final and most alarming wake up call my family received.

*

Talking on the phone with Joshua one night, the idea finally came to me. I wanted a dove tattoo, alright, but it wasn't going to have the classic "white dove, olive branch in the beak" design. I began brainstorming symbolic components the tattoo could possess in order to set it apart from others and truly make it my own.

In the end, I decided that the dove's feathers will have a light blue tinge; the body would be in mid-flight. The dove will hold rosemary in its beak, signifying remembrance.

In the dove's talons will be a bundle of forget-me-nots and poppies, symbolizing the many memories that are lost to the wind, carried up and out alongside death itself. 

Finally, the quote, "Remembrance, the lasting perfume" will be written in script beneath the dove. The flowers may rest a garbage bag, piles of dirt and dust being poured over top. Yet, the scent, light and fresh, still lingers in the air and takes one back in time, offering a sort of peace.

*

I'll wear the pains of my past, preservers of the present, and my hopes for the future inside my right shoe beneath a layer of soft, white cotton. I'll carry them with me in every step I take, for the rest of my days.

From a House to a Home

One of many muck ponds located behind my parent's house

“You know, behind H.C. Tire”

I grew up some 300 yards behind a tire company near the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania, a patch of land that’s settled on the borough side of the city/township line. 

On the northern side rests the township’s stretch of woods that extends up and out into a vast bony pile of cascading hillsides intermixed with coal, long, overgrown grasslands, and sporadic tree growth consisting of pine, oak, crabapple, walnut or poplar. The scent of dust, sap, and burnt wood always lingers in the air, for winds blow swiftly, rustling the leaves and smacking the branches of many treetops. 

The black and elderberry bushes that grow along an unnamed creek attract a few black bears and their cubs, a mass of white tail deer, and plenty of pesky raccoons that can be found coming and going from town. 

All of which, surrounds a few muck ponds, stretching a mile or so in length, one of which is visible a few hundred yards out from my family’s property, past a dusty alley that lies directly on the township line. 

Southward is the borough of my town, a population of less than 1,400 people, nestled between two larger cities ten times its size. On First Avenue, a few dozen elderly folk live peacefully in their homes from the 1970’s. The couples occasionally wander out to their front porches in the early evenings, disrupted by the calls of laughter pouring in through their front door screens. They watch over the few neighborhood children as they dribble their basketballs, play hopscotch in the streets, and ride their bikes passed, bells ringing, and baseball cards puttering against dirty tires. 

The house to the left of the tire company doubles as a daycare center, where students ages three to twelve spend their afternoons playing in a makeshift school house or roughhousing in the yard enclosed by a rainbow-colored fence. Though, only until their parents return from work, which results in the anticipated rush of traffic along my street between the hours of 4-6 pm. One can hear a constant crunch of gravel over a television at low volume, as dozens of tires travel gingerly passed the house.

The tire company is situated just a few feet before the strip of highway that runs through the borough. The constant roar of bustling traffic becomes second nature to a local. One intersection, just 100 yards from my double-wide trailer, was an infamous spot of numerous wrecks, which led to the permanent east to west way block off a few summers back.

Down the street rests an old Ma/Pa Deli, the only place in town where you can buy a block of brick cheese, a pound of cooked ham chipped, a six-pack of beer, and order a pizza. It is one of very few kid’s hangout s available, where boys rides their bikes through the unmarked parking lot, popping wheelies, and jumping off the four-inch curb of sidewalk. Girls simply walk over in pairs, buy themselves a crème soda, a Hershey’s bar, maybe a strip of beef jerky, teriyaki flavored. 

Of course, they all know to be home before the sun settles on the horizon and the aging streetlights project their faint, amber light onto the street corners. And as the children age, the blare of a steady, fire whistle, sounding promptly at the strike of ten, reminds all minors that they must now be safe and soundly in their houses (unless in the company of an adult.)

"If You Only Knew" 

Sounds great, doesn't it? A house situated between a patch of woods, and a block of town, almost the best of both worlds to a growing kid, right?  As charming as my small town neighborhood appears to be, let's be perfectly clear. From the time I was about eight years old, I had come to understand one simple fact that would disconnect me emotionally from my family forever: nothing is always as it appears to be. My parent's house was never a home. 

There was no "Family Game Night," Mommy/Daughter Day," or "Sleepover Weekend." There were unwritten laws that floated in the air of that double wide trailer, and as one grew older, it only became clearer that those laws were never to be broken. Simply put, the Golden Rule I lived by: "What happens in this house, STAYS in this house." We were not to invite outsiders in, nor venture out. 

"Your With Us Now."

I walked around the single level, red bricked palace, exploring foreign territory. I gingerly tip-toed across the woolen, tan carpeting, (without shoes of course) and marveled at the beauty of Joshua's house.

Peeking into the bedrooms located in the far right wing, I stopped in my tracks just before the door frames. The spaces looked so put together: cleanly painted walls, flawless bedspreads, vibrant sheer curtains, and matching furniture sets. 
 

"Whatcha doing, silly girl," Joshua's mom called as she stocked up the linen closet with freshly washed towels. The unfamiliar scent of Gain floated up into my nostrils and comforted me. 

I glued my eyes to the carpet, observing the many intricate shades of tan that made up the overall color. "Just looking around, I'm sorry," I stuttered. I plowed through the hall, heading back to the openness of the living room. 

Darla looked at me quizzically. "You don't have to park it in the living room, it's okay to look around. It's not like we're gonna spank you for being nosy," she chuckled, flipping the closet door closed.

A surge of queasiness flooded my stomach, and I'm sure it was present in my face, for Darla inched closer to me and looked me square in the eye.

"Make yourself at home, you're with us now." She wandered off into the laundry room, and threw in another load of clothes. I stood in the hallway, tears gathering upon my lash line.

But...How do I do that?

"Live Each Day Like It's Your Last"

I've gathered, dissected, and analyzed my past. I have also laid out a sketch of what I want my future to hold: happiness. 

Creating and maintaining a sense of happiness has been a life long battle. It came much easier in my earliest youth, and has ever since been a most challenging journey to venture.

I've possessed more faith than a devout Christian, and I have also questioning why I have been put on this Earth in the first place. 

Then the dark, chilly waters start creeping up my neck. I feel its icy mist penetrate my nostrils. Yet, I can see the metal stopper, just barely in my reach. I know somehow, I will gain my footing once again, yank my spirits free, and let my troubles drain into the oceans of doubt. 

Most days, I shove my worries, my fears, my secrets into my pants' pocket. When laundry day rolls around, those worries explode in the washer like a pen releasing ink. That dark, thick ink sinks into the deepest crevices of the cotton, saturating every remaining thread, until the stains can never really be erased.

What I want more than anything in this world, is a huge bottle of bleach to dump onto those old, hardened stains, and let the chemicals lift them all away until those stains are no more.

I need a gust of clean, pure, soothing wind to toss away the layers of dirt, leaves, sticks, and weeds that surround my self-esteem, so I might wake up in the morning and realize that I am free of all the chains that once bound me to great heartache. 

You Gotta Root For Somebody, Right?

This image can be found at: http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kty-m-baskbl-mtt.html

 UK Roster 10-11

The state of Indiana is into basketball like all of Pennsylvania is obsessed with the Steelers. Personally, I've never really gotten into watching sports in the past. Although, that, I believe, is about to change thanks to Joshua Allen Leach.

The basketball team he roots for is the University of Kentucky, better known as UK or Big Blue. As I write, they are up against the University of North Carolina, a.k.a the Tar Heels, for a spot in the Final Four. 

I played basketball for Homer-Center Elementary grades 3-6. At six years old, I stretched and tore a ligament, resulting in permanent knee trouble. Once I started playing basketball, my issues worsened and I eventually had to wear a knee brace at all times. Once opposing team caught wind of my injury, players started going after my knee every single game, which ultimately ended my basketball career for good.

As dedicated as I was to playing basketball, I never enjoyed watching it professionally. Upon seeing my first Kentucky game on TV Friday night, I decided to make a bet with Joshua.

If Kentucky defeats the North Carolina Tar Heels, I will officially become a Kentucky Wildcats fan (unless they play against a Pennsylvania team of course) and he will seal the conversion by buying me a  UK t-shirt. The catch is, however, if Kentucky loses, Joshua has to root for the Pennsylvania team of my choice. The kicker: I buy him a t-shirt that he must wear during all Kentucky games. It's quite lovely seeking this type of revenge against a man who always rags on Pennsylvania ;].

*

My parents are die hard Steelers fans. I can remember throughout the course of my childhood the constant flow of hoots, hollers, curses, and screams at the television during one of their games. It got to a point when I simply could not stand the noise, so I stopped watching the Steelers altogether. I would spend game time alone in my room, with the stereo blasting or headphones plugging my ears. 

This past February, I decided to watch the Steelers for the first time in six years, in their match against the Packers for the Superbowl. Upon the Steelers' pitiful loss, I asked my father why he continued to watch the Steelers after all these years. He didn't get excited about much these days. For most of my life, he pretty much stayed in bed or watched TV, for he became disabled back when I was about two years old. He responded to me without missing a beat, "You gotta have somebody to root for, right? Something to get you excited about life for a change. What else do I have to be happy about."

I thought about this for a moment, and understood  why my parents were so passionate about the Steelers'. They served for them an escape from reality, a chance to celebrate with them when they win, and cry with them when they lose.

*

"What the hell was that," I muttered under my breath as I watched Knight chuck the ball to some imaginary player standing at half court. The Tar Heels drives the ball down court. A player tosses the ball effortlessly into the air and towards the net, as two Kentucky players bat their hands across his arms like flustered birds senselessly flapping water off their wings. Kentucky, for the umpteenth time, has handed UNC another chance to secure foul shot points. 

"Really?!?" I exclaimed. "I'm gonna strangle your freaking team, Josh," I call into the phone. Joshua remains silent. "I swear, if they hand that team another point because they can't stop sissy slapping when UNC is at the net, I am gonna scream."

I immediately stop myself. "Oh my god," I stated flatly. "What is happening to me," I shuttered. I folded my face in my hands and shook my head, placing Joshua on speakerphone. He lightly chuckled on the other side of the line, "You are becoming a fan," he grinned. 

*

I'm pretty sure I want to go see UK play live sometime in the near future. I think it will be nice having someone to root for; maybe it will make me less bitter about things that don't go my way. Maybe, it will lighten me up a bit. 

My "going to a Kentucky Wildcats game" proposal has now been secured, for they just shut down the Tar Heels 76-69. 

It is now Facebook official: I am a Kentucky Wildcats fan. Big Blue is going to the Final Four, and I am actually excited about it. :].

This image can be found at: http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/032711aaa.html

Kentucky MVP DeAndre Liggins :)

"The more I see of men, the more I like dogs."

I am a dog person, as is my fiance. The two of us have owned dogs our entire lives, and simply put, we cannot picture a future without a couple of them running around a backyard.  Joshua and I have had dozens of conversations about what kinds of dogs we would like to own (upon my move to Indiana and finding our own place.)

Before I continue, I must say that the two of us technically have a dog together presently. Just before Christmas time, Joshua and I were looking into adopting a dog, for we had both lost our companions in one summer. My 11-year-old Black Labrador, Midge, passed away two months before I entered college. A few months prior, Joshua's red-haired Blue Tick named Thor, age 4, had passed on due to over a dozen consecutive seizures. Upon weeks of searching through many animal shelter's websites, we found Wolfie, a Siberian Husky, near Madison, Indiana.

This is what Midge looked like as a puppy.

Joshua and Thor

Wolfie Blaze

Wolfie is about a year old, and currently lives in a spacious pen with Mike's (Joshua's stepfather) dog, Peanut, age 4. The two of them get along pretty well, although we are still trying to break Wolfie of some food dominance issues. Wolfie absolutely loves the outdoors, especially playing in freshly fallen snow. He is surprisingly gentle with people. He doesn't bite or behave aggressively; he won't even take food from your hand unless he is continuously encouraged that it is alright.  

Peanut. I am pretty sure he is a mutt.

Save my infant years, I have become accustomed to family dogs living indoors. It was quite difficult for me to accept that Wolfie and Peanut had to live outdoors, even though they were properly provided for and perfectly safe. I am, however, constantly reminded that most Huskies prefer the outdoors to indoors anyway. I try to remember that, in spite of the absolute pain it brings my heart, in order to maintain peace of mind.

I have very thoroughly thought about which breed of dog I would like to make an indoor companion. I have also thought about what type of dog would make a nice playmate for Wolfie outside. I have considered the following breeds...

This picture can be found at: www.innocentenglish.com/funny-amazing-pictures-videos/cute-kitten-puppy-animal-pics/puppy-breeds/australian-shepherd-puppy-pictures-info.html

Australian Shepherd

I personally adore blue eyes on a dog. For years now, I've wanted an animal with brown fur (all of my past dogs have been solid black.)

This picture can be found at: http://www.dailypuppy.com/puppies/josie-the-labrador-retriever_2008-12-22

 Chocolate Labrador

Labs are one of the friendliest dog breeds I have ever come into contact with, and I have owned quite a few. However, they tend to be rather free-spirited: translation, they run off A LOT!

This image can be found at: http://www.dailypuppy.com/puppies/riley-the-nova-scotia-duck-tolling-retriever_2010-11-24

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

This dog seemed to be a combination of the above breeds: a reddish brown shade, blue eyes, and the friendliness of a retriever type.

Of course, Joshua and I have bounced different breeds off of one another. In doing so, we agreed upon two matters. One, we would not bring in another hound, for it would upset Josh too much. Two, we would not own any breed of dog smaller than a Beagle. Joshua's mother has a full blooded Chihuahua named Tessy, and apparently she is rather easy to trample (hence, why the larger dogs were kept outside in the first place.)

That being said, when I first discovered that Joshua's absolute favorite breed of dog was the Great Dane, I about had a heart attack. I'm fairly certain I will be able to sway him in the direction of one of my choices. After all, the woman rules, right? ;). Even though they are commonly regarded as "gentle giants," good lord, those things are ginormous.  

This image can be found at: http://www.salsabarrio.com/index.php?page=about

 Can you even image!?! Dear God, I'd be afraid that it would squish my future children.

Niagra Falls

My bucket list composed of places to go, people to meet, and things to do before I die, grows longer by the week. Many items on that list rank amongst a number of very cliché goals, such as going to a beach, Disneyland, maybe even the Grand Canyon. However, I have a certain place in mind that I surely cannot go a lifetime without visiting: Niagara Falls.

This image can be found at:

http://www.worldtourismplace.com/tourist-attraction-niagara-falls-usa/

I have heard a thing or two about one of the world’s most famous waterfalls. I know there have been plenty of individuals that in one way or another made their way onto and off of the falls, some surviving and others not. I also know that Niagara Falls extends across the national boundaries of the United States and Canada, although as to which side is visually more appealing lies in one’s own personal opinion. I feel as though the reason I lack knowledge on the subject is simply because I do not want to learn about the falls via research, fun facts, and online images. I want to experience Niagara Falls.

I don't want to imagine what the water smells like when it dances through the air, waltzing straight into my nostrils; I want to taste it vibrantly upon my tongue and remember it fondly. I want to hear the rushing water caressing the port and starboard sides of The Maid of the Mist, and the awe of tourists as I slowly pass the falling waters.

The remainder of the day will be filled with the consumption of pricey food, visiting a museum or two, a romantic stroll through New York, maybe Canada, with my other half. Then, the sleepy autumn sun tucks itself into the bed of the horizon, unveiling a mass of evening stars and the crisp, harvest moon. That's when the falls light up a sense of hope, and the magic of this world becomes a little bit clearer.

This image can be found at:

http://www.worldtourismplace.com/tourist-attraction-niagara-falls-usa/

I pray that my mind preserves those moments better than my pale pink Canon camera can, so I can flip through the album that is my memory, and actually be there, overlooking the falls once more.

Holcomb, Kansas

It's been four years since I last read Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. At the age of fourteen, I simply could not appreciate just how brilliant that particular piece of creative nonfiction was. Upon rereading it recently, I absolutely fell in love with the story.

Never before have I enjoyed a written work that was completely factual as much as I did reading this book. In my opinion, because it is based on a real story, the characters, plot, and setting are even more intriguing.

I think of the Clutter family quite frequently. I wonder where their lives could have taken them had they not been cut short by Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. I dream of Herb and Bonnie growing old together, Nancy and her boyfriend Bobby somehow living happily ever after, and Kenyon become the world's best engineer or something along those lines.

This image can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/highranger/3693957442/sizes/m/in/photostream/

I wonder what other endeavors the murders might have explored had they not gone through with their plans. Would Dick have ended up on Death Row anyway, or was there a chance in hell of saving Perry from himself? Dick had so regard for life of any kind, save his mother and father. Somehow, I know that he would have ended up taking the lives of some other unfortunate souls had he not taken part in the murders of the Clutters. Nevertheless, Perry had potential to be someone great in the world. He was a learner, an artist, a musician, and maintained a sense of compassion. To know that such talent was wasted due to a shitty childhood yielding a lack of conscience is greatly upsetting for me.

Fifty-two years have passed since the Clutter family's lives were stolen that November night. It is a miracle that they have not been forgotten. In most cases of death, life goes on despite the loss of life. People move on, sometimes forgetting what has been done merely because that is the natural way. Yet, just two years ago, the town of Holcomb honored the Clutter family's 50th anniversary with the erecting of a memorial. It is amazing that the legacy of the Clutters lives on, despite the years that have gone by. The goodness that the family represented has not been forgotten.

This image can be found at: http://www.gcpolice.org/History/Clutter/Cutter_Family_Murders.htm

Their house still stands to this day, now shelters a new set of owners. I long to visit Holcomb, located near the heart of the Midwest, not only because I want to see the town that the story of In Cold Blood took place in person. I want to see the house where such beautiful people once lived and breathed. I long to sense their presence in the air, and feel as though I am a little bit closer to a family I have so deeply fallen in love with. Before I die, I will touch the Clutter's final resting, and place a bouquet of Poppies, Forget-Me-Nots, and black Roses before their grave.

" 'Til Summer Comes Around."

 Click here for Keith Urban's "Til Summer Comes Around"

From the time I was young, I absolutely adored going to the Indiana County Fair. It was the once-a-year event that all within a twenty-five mile radius couldn't miss. Although, there were quite a few years that my aging, tired father didn't possess the energy to get up and take us. Anytime that he did, I was in heaven.

The only attraction that caught my father's attention was the Demolition Derby, also known as the Demos. The sound of car's squealing tire, bodies crashing and cracking upon impact, and thousands of people screaming in their seats was undoubtedly a fantastic rush. However, that wasn't the reason I wanted to go to the fair in that latter part of each hot and sticky, sweltering August.

Hindered by motion sickness since I was about twelve, I didn't go for the fast, thrashing, turbulent ways of some of the county's thrill rides. I never had much money, so nine times out of ten, I didn't even bother eating any of the fair's fattening, sometimes sugary yet greasily delicious food products. The animals that lingered in the large, spacious barns didn't particularly interest me much, merely because I hated going into places alone. Hell, I didn't even go for the Bumper Cars, one of two rides I could possibly stomach.

I wanted to go to the fair each year simply because of the atmosphere: that lively, free-spirited, giggly, joyous feeling that hits you square in the gut and lifts you up into the sweat-filled summer sky. Most importantly, I went because I had always wanted to walk around the fair, hand in hand with the love of my life (that I hadn't even met yet.)

I dreamed that he and I would feed each other cotton candy, watch the children tumble through the jungle gyms, and fall even deeper in love amid the sparkling, colored lights that appeared as the humid sky softly folded into dusk. He would take one look upward, as we passed the ever-popular Ferris Wheel. With a grin, he would lead me by the hand through the line and into that rickety, slippery seat a shade of candy-apple red.

As the seat spun upward, we would look down at the glimmering scenes below, groups of people frolicking in joy, the rainbow topped merry go round spinning at a slow and steady pace. I would rest my head upon his shoulder, as my dizzy, spinning head relaxed itself, and his grip on my hand would tighten as his thumb stroked my palm.

Once we docked at the very top, as passengers below began loading off, the seat would gently sway in the warm, breezy wind. The view would be so breathtakingly beautiful, that I couldn't help but glance over at him; that is when he would run his fingers through my hair, and by the neck, he would guide me to his lips and plant upon me my first Ferris Wheel kiss.

This image can be found at: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/city-guides/chicago-green-photos-traveler/#/08-chicago-ferris-wheel-couple_23393_600x450.jpg

Needless to say, I have yet to experience an event such as this. Clique enough, each and every time I hear "Til Summer Comes Around" by Keith Urban, I am reminded of how desperately I want that Ferris Wheel kiss. To my surprise, just a week ago, my fiancé Joshua was rambling in excitement like usual about the fact that this summer I will finally be out in Madison, Indiana for good. However, to my surprise, as I was half-way listening to the unvaried babbling, as a side bar thought he uttered, "I can't wait to take you to the Jefferson County fair."

Instantaneously, my ears perked up and I felt a twinge of irony jerk within my stomach. The widest possibly smile settled itself upon my face, as my mind took me back to my adolescent dreams of country fair romance. I thought to myself, "I'm finally gonna get my Ferris Wheel kiss, I just have to wait 'til summer comes around."

I Want a Car... My OWN Car.

At the age of 15, my father decided it was time I bought myself a car. Of course, there would be no, "Don't you worry, Mommy and Daddy will take care of you, we'll buy you a car." Quite the contrary, it was more like, "If you want your permit, you need to start working, If you need to start working, then you need a car. I was always a tight wad when it came to spending money, so saving up for a car wasn't a problem.

I can remember that summer rather vividly. I spent the hot, humid days working my tail off, trying to gather up as much cash as I possible could before my father found a car. Each week he would check the classifieds, and in most cases, go look at a car or two. Of course, he always came back empty handed. "It was in too rough of shape," or even, "too rich for our blood."

Up the street, there was a young couple trying desperately to get rid of their wrecked Ford Tempo. One day, while riding past their brick house, upon the dingy red hood dwelled a piece of cardboard box with the numbers 275 written in black permanent marker. I turned to my father and said, "I think we should go look at that red car."

An hour or so later, we found ourselves knocking on the front door of the couple's house. A man in a black wife beater and jeans stepped out onto the slab of concrete porch and asked how he could help us. "We just wanna take a look at your Ford over there," my father replied coolly. The next thing I knew, my dad tossed me the keys, told me to, "start her up," and he popped open the hood.

After careful inspection, we discovered that the car was not only missing most of the front end, it was also leaking transmission fluid and oil. As my father politely told the owner that we were no longer interested, I was already falling in love with the soft, red interior. I had already picked out her name, Delilah. You better believe I was just about heart broken whenever we had to walk the two blocks home without that car.

A few weeks later, my father peaked his head into my bedroom and said, "I think I found you a car. It's a 1991 Buick Regal. This older woman is trying to get rid of it, and it's in real good condition. She wants $900 for it, not too shabby." I closed the book I was reading, hopped off of my bed, and replied, "Is that good?" He laughed, "Yeah, that's as good as it's gonna get, Amber. You think about it if you need to." I shook my head, "No, go ahead and get it," I answered. Here is what it looked like before we had to junk it...

A few hours later, my dad pulled up in that grey beast of a car. He stepped out and told me to check it out. The interior was in prime condition, and the paint job was pretty decent, minus some scratches. My hopes and dreams of sunset joyrides, blasting rock music and having my first taste of freedom had arrived, or so I thought.

Upon turning 16, I got my permit. I soon learned that I was not permitted to get my driver's license until I had turned 18. Translation: that car sat there, only driven by my father when he took me to work for three years. Guess what happened once I finally turned 18? The stupid thing stopped running. I entered college so pissed off that I could have spit.

However, my trials were rewarded not too much later, thanks to my fiance, Joshua. He owns a 2001 Ford Escort ZX2 in Atlantic Blue; he absolutely hates it. Josh has had in and around six cars since he turned 14 (he is about to turn 21.) He also has a 1993 Honda Civic hatchback that he is currently fixing up.

I was griping and moaning one evening about not having a car while we were on the phone. All of a sudden he stopped me and said, "You can have the Escort, I can't stand the damn thing anyway." I nearly dropped the phone, stammering, "Wha wha wha wha what?" He started chuckling, "You heard me. Once I get the civic up and running, the Escort is yours."

I beamed in utter joy. Instantly, everything that I wanted to do to that car in order to make it mine starting bolting through my head at the speed of lightening. Visions of a jet black paint job, star shaped chrome rimes, red suede interior with black leather accents, and a body kit got me more excited than a kid in Toys-R-Us. Not to mention, I am am most certainly getting rid of those ridiculous neon yellow decals he has plastered all over the windows. Yes sir, I am gonna have my very own car, and it is gonna look like a dream when I'm through with it.

50 States in 50 Years?

You can find this image at: http://imgs.abduzeedo.com/files/articles/inhabitat/inhabitat11.jpg

So let's get started...

One of my lifetime goals for the future is to visit every U.S. state before I die. Before I continue, I must say that this ingenious idea was not completely my own. My fiancé Joshua approached me with it one day when we were on the phone, like many long-distance lovers are, talking about our future until three 'o'clock in the morning. 

Now, at first I was dumbfounded as to how on God's green Earth we were going to be able to afford a trip to some state or another. I started rambling in an anxious panic with utterances like, "I am going to be in college for a very long time, and you just landed your full-time job, and you haven't even seen a day of your $2.00 raise you are supposed to be getting and..."

That's when he shushes me. I sit there, as quiet as a mouse, looking like a freshly scolded child. "Don't think about all that stuff. It's just stuff. We will find a way, we always do." I sat there bewildered as to how this man could apply such as cool, calm, go-with-the-flow type attitude to absolutely everything in life. Meanwhile, I would be watching myself have a nervous breakdown in my head concerning, "How am I going to buy my books, or get this assignment done on time, or talk to my parents without exasperating every cuss word in the book?" 

He simply whispered gently through the earpiece and into my rather reddened ears, "Calm down, breathe. It's gonna be alright." Of course, I would sit there, nearly in tears, and take a half-hearted deep breath. He continues, "Now, where is the first place that you would wanna go?" I reply with a slight grin, "Indiana." To fill the rest of you in, this would be where my fiancé currently resides. I could go on and on about how we met, why we decided to become a couple, and how we are still together, however I shall leave that for another day.


I sat there thinking, my head started spinning as I pictured all of these beautiful scenes in my head: clear streams flowing up and over onto a freshly blooming pasture, crisp mountainsides topped with dribbles of glistening snow, and an arid desert filled with crackly roads and green cacti. A huge smile formed upon my face as I shouted, "I'm in!"