The First Love Of Alipang Havens

"If you arrest that _________ for multiple counts of sexual harassment and extortion," the woman countered, "I won't feel such a wish to snuff him."

"Tell me something, Miss--"

"My name is Desiree Fields."

"Fields... Hey, do you have a sister named Enchantra? A waitress?"

"Yeah, she works at The Global Feast on Long Island."

"That's why you look familiar. I'm slightly acquainted with the owners of that place. But getting back to you and your grievance: would you say that your _whole_ life was ruined by what Professor Sanders did?"

"Not _quite_ ruined; but a sore spot forever."

"Well, I know someone whose life came _really_ close to being ruined by Sanders. Another slight acquaintance of mine, a groundskeeper at the same campus where you were. His name's Josiah Redfern. In fall of 2008, he saved a freshman named Walid Omar from being beaten to death."

"What, by Islamophobes?"

"No, by Islam-ISTS. Walid wasn't fanatical enough to satisfy some extremists, and they attacked him with steel pipes. Josiah's a combat veteran, and he opened a large can of kick-butt on those thugs. He saved Walid's life; but PROFESSOR SANDERS led an attempt to get Josiah tried for a hate crime!"

"No ____? What happened?"

"Walid's testimony cleared Josiah; and Josiah _forgave_ Sanders."
 
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Desiree's eyes widened. "The groundskeeper _forgave_ Sanders?"

"He did, and said so to his face to stop him from being afraid."

"But you said this Mister Redfern's a _war_ veteran, didn't you? And a _killer_ forgave someone who done him like that?"

"Miss, you might be surprised at how many soldiers are Christians, and ready to forgive people. They're _required_ to fight for our country, but they dismiss _personal_ insults."

"Is your point that if Mister Redfern forgave Sanders, I should too?"

"That's part of my point, anyway."

"So Sanders gets to go on doing what he likes?"

"Desiree, I keep an eye on people of _every_ color. If I ever catch Sanders committing a crime, I'll stomp on him like a bug. But I truly don't believe he _will_ be doing any more of what happened to you. I believe he _actually_ loves the woman he's getting married to in that church, and I believe he means to clean up his act."

"I heard about the bride: snotty rich white girl called Lolita, That name's from a dirty book, they say."

"First, she isn't white, she's Indian, as in the country of Indi-A. And there's a Hindu name LA-lita, which was her born name; her parents changed it to LO-lita when they moved to this country, probably without knowing about Vladimir Nabokov's novel. They're a respectable family; Jack and I did security at their property one time. And _they_ didn't make it easy for Sanders when he wanted to marry their daughter; in fact, a fellow Indian named Ranjit Karkal had to intercede for him."

"And now _you're_ interceding for him. What aren't you telling me?"

"Miss Desiree, the only thing I'm holding back is the full story of where I believe the true source of forgiveness is, because I'm not supposed to evangelize people while I'm on duty. But when I ask you to drop your plans against Professor Sanders, I'm asking you to do something which is for your _own_ good also."

Desiree glanced once more at the building containing the church. "So what happens now?"

"Ideally, here's what happens. First, you tell me: is that piece registered, and what street were you on when you got it?" When Desiree answered No, and told him the street, Danny said, "There, you gave me some information. You just became one of my confidential informants. If you give me that gun now, I will truthfully report that one of my informants turned in an unregistered firearm, and no one will push it any further." He handed her a business card. "If you feel the need for a gun to _defend_ yourself, call me, and I'll do all I can to help you get licensed for concealed carry."

Slowly, Desiree brought out the gun and handed it to the detective. "If every white cop was like you, a lot more of us would feel okay about cops."

"I'm working on that, miss. And I hope to hear of you being a big success in life."

"At least I succeeded in not going to the slammer."

"A good way to look at it. See you around, miss."

They went off in opposite directions, but a human connection had been made. Nothing like the romantic bond being formalized by the new couple who had no idea that Danny Alyard had just saved them from catastrophe; but it was a connection of understanding, and it mattered.


Years ago, I assumed this to be the halfway point of "Possible Future." ​
 
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If any of you have ever heard of an editorial writer named Mary Grabar, I'm a big fan of hers. If you _haven't_ heard of Miss Grabar, I'm _still_ a big fan of hers. Recently, on Facebook, she said that she was "always looking for good fiction to read." So I have sent her the enlarged (and more adult-oriented) manuscript of The First Love of Alipang Havens.

This is Miss Grabar's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/mary.grabar?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
 
Copperfox said:
If any of you have ever heard of an editorial writer named Mary Grabar, I'm a big fan of hers. If you _haven't_ heard of Miss Grabar, I'm _still_ a big fan of hers. Recently, on Facebook, she said that she was "always looking for good fiction to read." So I have sent her the enlarged (and more adult-oriented) manuscript of The First Love of Alipang Havens.
Click to expand...

No reply so far from Miss Grabar. But meanwhile, I have a friend whom I can ask to change the manuscript into PDF format for me.
 
I do still intend, God sparing us, to commence _another_ Alipang Havens novel eventually. I left off with Wilson Havens, the son of Alipang and Kimberly, _just_ old enough to have started a romance of sorts with Cecilia Salisbury, who is his first cousin but not by blood, because Alipang and Chilena are not siblings by blood. In the next novel, I want to explore how things turn out for Wilson and Cecilia. Also to look at the growing of the several babies who were born in "Possible Future," including Melody's son Douglas.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

>>>>>> ANOTHER INSERT WRITTEN IN TWENTY TWENTY-FIVE!
IT'S FOR _WHATEVER_ CHARACTERS WILL BENEFIT BY AN INSERT.
MAKE THAT RANJIT KARKAL, AND THE YOUNG BLONDE WHOM
HE MARRIED IN THAT LOST ROLEPLAY. THIS CHARACTER'S NAME
IS LOST, SO I AM COMPELLED TO RETCON A NEW NAME FOR HER.
THIS DIALOGUE OCCURS DURING THE DAYS WHEN NEW YORK
CITY WAS GRADUALLY ACCEPTING FAIRNESS PARTY RULE.

"Ranjit, Josephine, I'm glad you joined me. Giulietta and Claudia are looking the other way; the Rooftop Gondola enjoys enough social credit that no one will get on their case for not having accepted bugging."

"What's your offer?" asked Ranjit. Detective Poc Tsan Cung, colleague of Danny Alyard, replied:

"One which will be facilitated by you not yet having children, because we need to move as fast as we can without being too obvious. My Elsa is waiting with our kids, and a certain kosher-keeper is lining up our transportation."

"Is he anyone we know?" asked Josephine.

"Not yet. You _will_ know him soon enough."

Poc was referring to Yirimyahu Kohen, the good-guy Israeli spy who is destined to live long enough that in the following century he becomes an associate of the Grey Eagle. Yirimyahu's current operational affiliation is with the same secret army to which Brendan Hyland belongs.
...........................................................................................................................

If I've kept my story-information in order, Poc Tsan-Cung is free and available for any place I need to use him.



In later chapters, we will see Ranjit Karkal, a Christian with steady faith, manifesting formidable spiritual authority against evil..... as an exorcist, no less. And I _don't_ mean a Hollywood exorcist who jumps out a window. Ranjit will be depicted more as one who, by the power of Yeshua/Jesus, throws the _demon_ out the window. But that will have to wait until some other story arcs converge..... down in Africa.
 
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I'm always alert for chances to learn new words. Today I received some dental care, and learned that the putty-like substance used to mold impressions of teeth is called "alginate." I must get that inserted in the Alipang saga someplace.
 
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Now that genuine professional publication may be impending for the _enlarged_ version of the _original_ Alipang Havens novel, here is the back-cover blurb I composed for it years ago:



AN ORPHAN BETWEEN HELL AND HEAVEN
​

Alipang Dumagat carried in his blood the strength of his ancestors, the fearless warriors of the Moro tribe. He was born poor in the Philippines, and was orphaned at the age of seven, but he didn't give up. Surviving homelessness, then forced against his will to be a drug mule for a criminal gang, he was rescued -- and adopted -- by a pair of American Christian missionaries, Eric and Cecilia Havens.

The transition to living in the United States was only a minor change for Alipang Havens, compared with the transition to a family setting where love and kindness were normal. Full of gratitude and reverence for his new parents, the boy flourished, getting along well with his new siblings and making neighborhood friends easily. But the America he had come to was not flourishing as much as he was.

Evil and foolishness, each encouraging the other, were growing in Alipang's new homeland. Authority figures who should have known better were making excuses for deliberate wrongdoers, while scoffing at the Christian faith which could have redeemed and reformed those wrongdoers. Honorable men who opposed evil -- such as Wilson Kramer, the Navy SEALS veteran who was a dear friend of the Havens family -- went unappreciated, while deception and fraud prospered increasingly. And the growing darkness was not only in the realm of abstract ideas. People who were dear to Alipang faced the danger of direct criminal violence, as gang influence leaked out of big cities into the small town where the Havens family lived.

But Alipang understood something that many of his fellow Christians didn't understand. A willingness to forgive his enemies did not mean it was his duty to let criminals do whatever they wanted at the expense of honest people. And some arrogant thugs were going to find out the hard way that there was a Moro warrior on the loose.
 
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Although Alipang will never get to meet Eliot "Grey Eagle" Granholm in earthly life, he _will_ witness the creation of the evil "Citizoic League" that the Grey Eagle will have to contend with.

This new Soviet-style tyranny will be the brainchild of six arrogant, narcissistic women: women who get on a high horse to condemn dictatorships created by _males,_ but who really want to do THE SAME THING as all the male tyrants they condemn. Three of the six are Chinese, because that nation already in our time is the heart and the stronghold of totalitarian collectivism. The top wammun in the conspiracy is named Pang Biao-Tu, who "modestly" compares herself to Kuan-Yin, the Chinese Goddess of Mercy. Her five henchwomen are named Yung Hsiao-Chei, Olga Bronislavski, Lavinia Japera, Hua Kong-Yin, and Benazir Hamzulla.

Because the leader has the surname Pang, a male henchman of hers who is introduced to _Alipang_ will mistakenly think, when hearing only Alipang's first name, that he is called ALLEN PANG, and could thus be related to the glorious ruler. This results in Alipang meeting "The Lawgiver," so God can use him to give her one last chance to repent of denying Him.
 
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I'm praying that it will be _possible_ for me to publish all of my Alipang Havens and Grey Eagle novels. My concern is legitimate, since my stories go against the sacred cows of the anti-Christian inquisition. Those would be the same sacred cows that our EveningStar is fighting out in the real world.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( ANOTHER SPACE FOR 2025 INSERTION OF A RELEVANT INCIDENT.

"I am invisible, I am ethereal, you cannot see me, nor confine me, nor trick me, nor foil my plans. I am the queen on the chessboard, I am _both_ queens on the chessboard, I shall always win, I already _have_ won! I am everyplace at once, doing everything at once! That is why the Triads and the Rajput Racketeers trust me to be an impartial mediator when they negotiate over territory and plans!"

Thus did Chida Govinda, alias Indira Payam, rant and jabber. One meter away from her confining chair stood the reason why none of the local psychiatric staffers were afraid to be near her. Trinh Tien-Min, fellow Vietnamese-American and fellow Christian to Poc Tsan-Cung, had the demon stalemated with prayer support from Josephine Karkal; they had not yet been able to cast it out, but the presence of the Holy Spirit in them blocked the demon from trying to control anyone else in the room, and likewise had stopped it from causing the cousin of Tim Govinda to harm herself. (All the T's are pure coincidence.) Tsan-Cung and Tien-Min were waiting for the heavy artillery to arrive-- meaning Ranjit Karkal, who came with plenty of experience in the spiritual trenches.

"What's keeping Mister Karkal?" asked one of the Liberian personnel.

"He's waiting for Tsan-Cung to wake up," Josephine explained; "meanwhile, he's talking to Tim's parents and Chida's parents."

Another man remarked, "I wonder if part of it's about who's to blame for Chida having taken to crime?"

"No squabbles between the couples. Chida's father is the brother of Tim's mother, and vice versa. That's right, Tim and Chida are first cousins twice, but no genetic defects that anyone's confirmed. They've always been close, and only closer since the Hindutwa rampage in their part of India. No need to detail that right now." Josephine sensed an attempt by the unclean spirit to tighten its hold, and rebuked it. Tien-Min picked up the expository thread:

They're a _very_ cohesive family. Both sets of parents have desired all along that the kids would grow up to marry each other; they were around each other from Tim's birth, and always loved each other. Unusual social isolation, _greater_ than usual for the dalit caste, virtually guaranteed this. When Tim went to America to study, the isolation seems to have made him more vulnerable. However much of a role the demon, Jesus rebuke it, played in Tim's shape- changing fantasy, he was more vulnerable to it in the Diversity States. Chida's case, falling into ordinary white-collar crime, _should_ have been more 'ordinary;' but one way or another, the thrill of assisting high rollers in the Asian crime scene made for delusions of grandeur, and this gave >her< demon, Jesus rebuke it, a window to climb in."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

In the neighboring room, Ranjit was in the midst of his own parallel briefing for personnel of the facility. He also made reference to the Hindutwa fanatics, but Copperfox can't expect the current readers to know what that was. In the real world, somewhere around the time when The Dancing Lawn was created, Hindu fundamentalists decided to compete with Islamists for intolerance. Hindutwa mobs assaulted Indians who became Christians or otherwise disobeyed custom. The two Govinda households had bravely done what they could to aid victims of these mobs-- which apparently had caused demons to be annoyed at them.

Moving on from these basic facts while the other subject was managing some sleep (which her demon would have denied her if it could have), Ranjit switched to sharing some facts about the nature of possession itself. In this connection, my audience is invited to read Malachi Martin's non-fiction book "Hostage to the Devil." Hopefulness is best when based on relevant knowledge.

"God will not permit demonic activity to nullify human will altogether. This face, however, is a two-edged sword. No demon ever can possess a human being unless the target gives it some kind of consent; but once possessed, the person has to _want_ to be set free. At this stage, I believe Tim will be less difficult to set free than his cousin, exactly _because_ the delusion Tim gave in to is just >so< obviously absurd......."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Moment of truth.

Based on prayers for guidance, Tim and Chida were placed in the same room. The demons could not prevent the two sweethearts from being aware of each other's presence. The remnant of each one's normal mind understood: The love of my life is here, needing the same deliverance as I need. They both had this incentive to strive to break free. True God, whatever Your correct name is, please break this evil grip on us!

Ranjit had never possessed a majestic theatrical voice; but the greatest of all voices was now speaking through him; and unlike the unclean spirits, the Triune God was operating with His informed consent.

"CHIDA GOVINDA AND TIM GOVINDA: THE LIVING GOD, WHO BECAME INCARNATE IN THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST, INVITES YOU TO BE FREE. YOU ARE _ABLE_ TO REJECT THE TRESPASSING OF EVIL SPIRITS IN YOUR LIVES; YOU NEED ONLY AGREE IN YOUR THOUGHTS, AND HE WILL HEAR. EVIL SPIRITS, I REBUKE YOU IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT! YOU HAVE NO CLAIM ANYMORE; TIM AND CHIDA BELONG TO THE TRUE CREATOR. YOU WILL DEPART _NOW,_ NEVER TO RETURN!"

The air in the room turned ice-cold, but only for a moment. Though exhausted, the two cousins managed to clasp hands. Ranjit had to sit down, but sat happily, with Josephine beside him. Poc Tsan-Cung took over for him: "Brother Tim, Sister Chida, understand that the Living God, Who does not deal in illusions, is not angry at you for your time of ignorance. You followed the best way that you knew. Particularly in your case, Tim, by the time you came _among_ Christians, the delusion you had absorbed prevented you from benefiting by the availability of the gospel. Now that you know the Way, you are not required to hate those who have not yet arrived; far from it, you should, and can, offer _more_ love to those who love you. Right now, this means respecting your parents as before."

As it turned out, Mr. and Mrs. Govinda, _and_ Mr. and Mrs. Govinda, were too overjoyed at this deliverance to have any objections.

They even asked Ranjit Karkal to conduct the wedding of Tim to Chida.
 
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What I wrote here as "The Possible Future of Alipang Havens" turned out so long-winded that it will have to be divided into volumes. Here is a possible blurb for the first volume, which would bear the volume-title "Freedom inside A Prison".......


TOO VALUABLE TO KILL, TOO DANGEROUS TO RELEASE
​

The United States had collapsed under the weight of an unsustainable welfare state, leaving China as the world's dominant country. Fortunately, the Chinese government was edging toward moderation and increased civil liberties. Unfortunately, China did nothing to prevent the ruins of American society from being taken over by ideologues who were determined to out-Marx the Marxists.

Alipang and Kimberly Havens, with their children Wilson, Esperanza and Brendan, were grateful not to have been murdered in the bloody purges conducted against Christians. They were grateful that at least part of their extended family was with them. But where they were, was on the equivalent of an Indian reservation.

The bosses of the absurdly-named "Fairness Party" were smart enough to realize that it was the Christians who had preserved a work ethic, which made them productive whereas the welfare parasites were -- well, parasitical. So, after the purges had shown who was in charge, the surviving Christians were treated as a precious resource: people who actually liked honestly earning a livelihood. They were granted tolerable living conditions, and allowed to practice their faith within some limits, in return for helping to rebuild America's crumbled economy and shattered industrial base. Alipang even was able to practice dentistry as he had sought to do.

But they were constantly reminded that they lived on sufferance -- that anyone among them could at any time be arrested for an imaginary offense, and would have no legal protection.

They could always pray, and pray they did. But they had already been praying before America's collapse, and America had still collapsed. What, then, was God's will for them here? Was there any action within their power that might restore their liberty? Or were they supposed to be passive, resigned to their captivity?

Alipang was longing for answers from God.... because he was a man of action as well as faith and intellect. But life in "the Western Enclave" was perpetually reminding him of the old saying, "Sometimes history gives you the test first, and the lesson afterwards."
 
Trying to keep all the plates spinning on the sticks. I frankly feel entitled to do so. Especially since, if God spares me, I do really intend to write more tales of Alipang and family -- as is hinted at by my story in progress on the "Sanitized" thread.


* * * * * 2025 !!! ::::::::::::::: As I revive and revise this epic which was left idle for years, I give myself signboards to keep it straight as I run back and forth. Tim Govinda, the Hindu- ancestry boy who imagined he was a shape- changer, is a familiar fixture; but very little has been told of what his girl cousin Chida was doing after they fled from sectarian violence back in India. If you're looking at this page in 2025 or later, you've seen that Chida Govinda was redeemed from her career of non- violent crimes, married Tim, and became Mrs. Chida Govinda-Govinda. Ranjit Karkal, the officiant at their wedding, has another speech to give, which was worded to be comprehensible for non-Indians......
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Mister Govinda and Missus Govinda-Govinda have consented to my including their past in what I will say. This may not sound reception-like, but the very act of anyone getting married these days, _means_ that they are taking a stand against the moral entropy which has plagued our world in this first quarter of the century. We, the people of India collectively, have been in the trenches for millennia: sometimes on the side of good, sometimes not so much.

"The caste system, whose perpetuation was facilitated by the doctrine of karma, was India's greatest moral failure. Our _next_ greatest failure, a grimly close second, was the custom of the suttee; but for what it's worth, outsiders were the reason it was instituted. When Muslim aggressors invaded us in medieval times, tens of thousands of Hindu matrons were widowed. So somebody decided-- some _men_ decided-- that the 'purity' of those widows would best be served by cremating them alive. It was _Christian_ outsiders who ended the suttee.

"Even the overrated Mohandas Gandhi wasn't what his p.r. made him out to be. When >he< was seriously ill, he allowed British doctors to treat _him;_ but when his wife fell gravely sick, he 'suddenly remembered' his noble principle of rejecting foreign resources....... and he let her die.

"Other side of the ledger: the present generation of India has been undeniably a force for good. All of you here know how Hindus, with Sikhs, Dacoits, Gurkhas and Sri Lankans, have consistently aided the cause of liberty. Tim and Chida separately ventured away from the Subcontinent, and witnessed much of the current low-level world war. Neither of them had an easy journey, nor made all the right choices-- but here they are, and the God Who created the universe, not an illusion, has turned their wounds into strength.

"Josephine and I, for our part, look forward to serving in the same army as our newlyweds."
 
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Long before I wrote anything else of mine that members here would know of, I managed several chapters of a novel to be titled "Upon the Narrow Pacific." Its intent was to speculate on the near future similarly to what I ended up doing with "Alipang Havens." Therefore, if God spares me to continue the Alipang series, what comes next will incorporate the ideas from that unfinished novel, including the principal characters.

Among these "recycled" characters will be a brother and sister who are Armenians and Christians, named Vartan and Vartui Yenovkian. I took that last name from Richie Yenovkian, a Christian musician from the old Jesus Freak era. Vartan and his sister will both be military people.

TEN YEARS AFTER THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARED, updates have begun proliferating both before and after it. So don't get a Twilight Zone feeling if these Armenians have new scenes BEFORE this post. I'm doing this on the run, simultaneously with Wood Nymph and myself confronting multiple health issues.

This, that, the other thing. I'll work it out, Aslan willing. 9999999
 
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Just in case anyone still is interested enough to be piqued by a spoiler, here is a crucial "story fact" I have in mind for Alipang's later life. Typed in white, so you have to highlight it to read it.



----


----


----


----



About fifteen years after the end of what I've written so far, Kim Havens and Evan Rand both die at the same time in an accident. With a suddenness which startles them both, after burying their spouses, Alipang and Summer simultaneously realize that they have both had feelings for each other deeply buried for all these years. Neither had been in doubt of their first marriages; Alipang really did love Kim supremely, and Summer really did love Evan supremely; but now they realize that their obligations to Kim and Evan have been honorably fulfilled, AND THEY ARE NOW FREE. For the first time ever, the warmth Alipang and Summer have never stopped feeling for each other is morally permitted to express itself AS A SEXUAL ATTRACTION. Consequently, Alipang and Summer get married to each other at the soonest possible moment consistent with a sense of propriety. And they will be happy together, with the blessings of both of their sets of children, for the rest of their lives.
 
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By Aslan's mane, I am NOT letting this vanish. I'm in the middle of doing the same thing for "Possible Future" as I did for "First Love": transcribing it into a printable form, and revising some of the content for an audience OLDER than ten years.
 
Copperfox, you didn't save all of this as you wrote it on a personal machine? It's generally not a good idea to trust some random computer online to exclusively store all this stuff for you.
 
Captain Holly, only now am I even able to see your words here. You are quite right. Much of my material is in fact saved elsewhere, but some is not. I was actually in the process of "extracting" some for safe storage when the roof caved in on Dancing Lawn. I will hope now to be able to retrieve the rest of it.
 
Computer problems remind me of the line from Spaceballs: "Even in the future, nothing works!"

Computer problems have made it very hard for me to get "Possible Future" worked up for adult publication.
 
Hanging on, so Carol Strote can read.

********************************************************.

In the intervening time, Carol Strote unilaterally killed our friendship, despite her being a sister of my former singing partner Kevin S. Johnson. Kevin and I had performed in Christian venues as "The Knights of the Lord's Table." _That_ was back when there _were_ Christian venues outside of Sunday morning worship. Used to be, we could sing something _other_ than "He saved my soul and made me whole." Now that's in the past; no more coffeehouses now. Pastors decided that there MUST NOT EVER BE any music which gave any actual messages that called on hearers to _think_ about something.

To realize what's been lost, I invite you to look up my old T.D.L. topic titled "A Christian Life In Lyrics."

********************************************************

But I haven't yet explained _how_ Carol destroyed our friendship.

Have any of you heard of an imaginary planet called Nibiru? Around a decade ago, Carol jumped on the bandwagon of a cosmic urban legend. Embracing the fantasy of some cultic imbecile, she insisted that Nibiru _soon_ would enter our solar system, passing near enough so its gravity would cause enormous damage to Earth. She called >me< "intellectually dishonest" for not swallowing the false prophecy.

Pssssst, Nibiru never showed up; yet Carol _never_ apologized for insulting me.
 
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