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Dead & Living
Artie Gallezi 6 stories
Then There Was One
"You're leaving?" I asked.
"Yep." Doyle adjusted the old rucksack on his shoulder. "I 'ope yer not expecting a long good bye, Peaches."
"Why?" I asked. One of Doyle's habits, among his many annoying ones, was that he always announced to the world what he planned. It was like a vocal predessor to Twitter.
"Our lil' gang's been squatting for about half a decade now." Doyle told me. "I took the lift with an old bint a couple nights ago. She let it slip that she saw me when I moved in."
"Oh." I said understanding what he meant. While an old woman could easily be ignored, senility of Alzheimer's being the main culprits, someone else might notice how we hadn't aged.
"This has to happens every now and then. Most of the time, ya don't wanna push it past ten years." Doyle shrugged. "Plus, we all can't bolt at the same time."
"Where will you go?"
"I'm gonna get out of tha city." Doyle gazed past me and out a window. "Funny, I never thought I'd get bored with this place, but it just goes to show. Maybe I'll pop over ta Chicago and see if what Maryanne is up ta." Doyle just shrugged again. "Or 'ell, I'll try tha open road I hear so much about. I ain't really sure."
Just like that, Doyle left the nest.
I won't say I pined for his presence, but I found it odd without his constant joking and carefree attitude. Regina said the nest was quiet without him. Even Adrian, who Doyle annoyed the most, claimed the next few days were boring as if Doyle was a source of amusement for us all. Wilhelmina did not betray her thoughts on Doyle absence one way or another, but I did notice she acted if Doyle's room had left with him.
I wondered where he would go. I knew many vampires wandered the country, flitting from town to town like a bee in a field of flowers. Prior to the Great Revelation, it was a necessary practice for our survival. We might never be witnessed feeding or disposing of a body, but someone would eventually take note how we did not change over time. The only locations suitable for us to stay were large cities like New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, and San Fransisco, but even then we would have to move from neighborhood to neighborhood. Although, New York was so large, I could see us spending the next century in the city even if we were forced to move every year or so. I based that on the fact Wilhelmina and Adrian had been since before the city spread enough to cover the three islands it currently did.
Matthew assured I would receive my fee when his dispute with the Alpha and Beta packs was finished, however long that took. I was not unduly concerned. As I said, vampires are deeply proud and Matthew would not dishonor himself by going back on an agreement even if it was to a newborn. He did send part of our agreement, namely the contact information of a few motorcycle repair shops that dealt with our kind.
If I had to put it into a black and white perspective, each of the supernatural beings were different level in terms of social status. And to make thing even more addled, each group had their opinion of the other's level. From what Wilhelmina had explained, vampire were at the very top. The white collar of the supernatural community. You could find us running various business, through human proxies of course, making very large profits and using our non existence to avoid all those pesky laws and taxes.
Below us came the Werewolves and the Shifters. They tended to dominate occupations that dealt with construction and other kinds most would consider blue collar. From my understanding even though vampires grouped them together, Weres considered themselves above Shifters, but that was their business. Within their section, there were the half breeds, humans that had been bitten and changed into some human animal hybrid at the full moon. Among the Weres and Shifters, these were the bottom of the barrel and hardly a step above human.
At the very bottom were the non supernatural beings, humans. The humans had their subcategory. Among those humans were those that could manipulate magical, witches. They are humans that remained human, but still needed to be monitored as they had some control over magical energies, which all the other higher beings very existence were rooted in.
After my meeting with the Sheriff of Area Two, things returned to normal. I resumed my place as Wilhelmina's side and we continued to hunt, Regina and Adrian occasionally tagging along whenever the mood struck them, but something felt wrong. I couldn't put into words, but it was as if Wilhelmina was becoming more distant.
It began in small instances, hardly noticeable at first. She might send me off to find my own meal for the night, but I took that to mean she did not want me fall back on relying on her. Whenever I went to kiss her or touch her in anyway, she would turn and step away from my reach. She no longer sought me out to join her in bed, or any human at all I noticed. Naturally, despite her protests to contrary, I assumed she was still recovering from our encounter on Halloween.
She often left the nest without a word to me and would not return until the next night, giving me only a brief explanation if at all. All she would say is that she lost track of time which she followed with an angry demand to stop policing her like a child. She even went as far to order me to stop pestering her. She had not given me an order in months.
My nestmates were no help. Regina, who watched the silent exchange between us with mild curiosity, said she found it strange. In all her time as part of the nest, a bit three years, the closest thing even resembling Wilhelmina being depressed was when she saw Les Misérables for the first time in a century on Broadway. Adrian, who had met Wilhelmina in the 1860's and always found himself close by, said he had seen her like this only three time before. The first time when hardly a few nights after they had met. The second was during the first few years of World War One and then once more during the late 1960's. He claimed wasn't privy to the exact reason for her gloom, but I knew he was being less than truthful. I resolved to confront him, but as luck would have it it was not to happen.
He must have sensed my intentions because the next night his room was bare. It was as if no one had ever used the room. The only evidence to the contrary was Adrian's scent on the bed and empty drawers and closet. Regina was just as surprised when she caught sight of me standing in the doorway. We just looked from the empty room to each other as if our eyes were not seeing what they were seeing. In the end, we both accepted Adrian was gone. Regina offered to join her to a free concert in Central Park and, with nothing else to do, I accepted her invitation and we both found our meals for the night among the crowd.
I suppose we both expected Adrian, the most polite of our nest, to least bid us farewell like Doyle had, but apparently he found it easier to slip away quietly. I was not overly concerned. I was certain I would see Adrian soon enough. He always seemed to be where Wilhelmina was and since I would be as well, it was just a matter of time.
As if the size of our nest was directly proportionate to her mood, Adrian's sudden and quiet departure seemed to have a profound effect on Wilhelmina. At best, I could describe it as she was going through the motions. I began following her, out of concern, and I did not like what I saw. She completely stopped seducing humans, choosing to ambush an unlucky humans from a dark alley or catch one unawares in Central Park. I was not preoccupied the she had fell back on her habits of killing a human, I had more or less come to accept the fact there was no use fighting, it was the habit she left her kills out in the open.
She might take a minute or two to arrange the body in a more natural manner, but more than once she did not bother to obscure or hide the puncture marks that were an all to obvious sign. I did my best to add to the illusion, but more than once the results of her negligence were reported. Fortunately the articles found in back of unknown tabloids are not taken seriously, but anyone privy to the supernatural world would know better. I just hoped there were no Weres on the police force. At least, not very smart ones.
I was so intently focused on my maker, I failed to notice Regina slowly moving out piece by piece. I'm sure if she was not such an avid collector of clothing, she could have disappeared as quietly and suddenly as Adrian. One night I went to ask her something, if Adrian had mentioned in passing where he might be going, and the door opened to reveal a bare room. The bed still sat against the the wall to my right with two nightstands on either side. There was the dresser with large mirror I had often seen Regina sit in front of as she primped and groomed, now bare of all combs and make up. If it wasn't for Regina's scent, I might have mistaken it for Adrian's.
"Thinking of redecorating?" asked a voice behind me
I turned to see it was Regina. She was wearing a women's business suit. A creamy white blouse with a gray jacket that had dark black buttons. She had a matching gray skirt that reached her knees and her her black pumps matched the blackness of the buttons perfectly. Her midnight hair hung loosely, which actually matched both the buttons of her jacket and shoes, and tumbled in a perfectly down to the small of her back. Resting against her leg was a smallish suitcase that wheels and long handle so one did not become tired by lugging it around. I suppose she thought a plain suitcase might wrinkle her clothes.
"Not really." I said.
"Oh," Regina motioned to the wall. "I was thinking you could knock down that wall."
"Why would I do that?" Maybe to get my frustration with Wilhelmina's mood out my of system, I thought.
"My room and Doyle's is actually the master bedroom. Doyle was using it when I joined the nest. He wasn't happy about it, but he built a wall and split the room in half." Regina explained. "Sooner or later you're going to run out of space to put those comics you like so much, if you and Wilhelmina plan to stay. You could knock down the wall and add some giant bookcases on the walls. Then you'll have a nice private library." The idea seemed to have excited Regina, as if redecorating was a passion she had forgotten and rediscovered. "Maybe you could put a red mahogany desk on the far end, same color as the bookcases, and one of those hollow globes people use for liquor off to the side. Oh, I almost forgot. Some red leather armchairs for guests and some green carpeting."
"That does sound nice." I admitted. "Why don't you stay? At least until that's finished."
Regina frowned and actually believe she was debating whether or not to take the offer. "I'd better not. My husband liked to joke I had a problem. It'll start with a library and it'll end chasing out every human on this floor for an indoor swimming pool and basketball court."
"I wouldn't mind a pool." I said. "I never learned to swim. Its not like I have to worry about drowning anymore."
Regina bent down and pinched my cheek, shaking my head a little with an amused smile. "You are such an enabler, but I can't."
"Then I guess this is good bye." I said, trying not sound desolate.
"For now. We're immortal. Our paths are bound to cross eventually." Regina bent down to my level. "But before I go . . ."
Regina's mouth was on mine before I could react. Regina had often hinted how she would like to sleep with me, often with Wilhelmina or someone else there as well, but I dismissed it as playful teasing since vampire do not mate with each other except for one random night. But as Regina kissed me, quite passionately and her hands bring me closer as I kissed her back, I couldn't help but think she had been genuine in her desire on some level.
Regina pulled away and smiled. "Be seeing you."
With that, she turned and walked out of the apartment, her little suitcase trailing just behind her left leg.
An hour later, Wilhelmina returned from wherever she had been. I caught the faint scent of blood and gathered she must have fed the past hour, but she hadn't sex with the human. I watch as she made her way to her room without a word or even glancing in my direction like I was piece of the furniture. I had been trying to pass the time with the latest of Stan Lee's characters, but I was too distracted to read or even admire the masterful artwork. I tossed the comic book on the coffee table and went to Wilhelmina's room.
As usual, William Wallace's sword and hammer hung on the wall on either side of the closet that held Wilhelmina's clothing and coffin. The canopy bed was still in the same place it had been when I first saw about a year and half ago. Wilhelmina did not sleep in it like I did with mine, unless whenever we agreed a brief respite from a night of passion, but she still changed the sheets and they were the most expensive silk sheets that money could buy. I'm certain that several high end fashion models wore hand tailored dresses made from the same material.
On top of those sheets were the Wilhelmina had taken off, a pastel blue blouse and dark brown pants, along with some underwear on the floor in front of the bed. I sniffed the air and felt at ease. Just her scent was enough to change my mood. I looked to see my maker sitting in front of mirror, like the one Regina had left behind only more grand. She was wearing her white bathrobe as she brushed her hair with one of the brushes she had borrowed from Regina. I silently watched as she made long careful strokes
She had not bothered to tie the belt which did not surprise me. Wilhelmina was a great and enticing beauty and after nearly seven hundred years of being pursued by men and women, she damn well knew it. While it had taken some time for me to accept that I had grown attached to her, some would even use the word love, I would've had to have been blind to deny her beauty. Had she been around the times of ancient Greece, she would have been worshiped as Aphrodite herself, or any deity for that matter.
She might have been to some. I wasn't exactly an expert on fourteen century religious mythology. The way her vibrant hair caught the light like her striking emerald eyes combined with the suggestive curves of her figure and that soft pale skin, it was enough to convince any mortal. To say nothing of her transcendent comprehension of the ways of lovemaking, able to send both men and women on the greatest planes of pleasure few would ever see.
I took a chair that sat in the corner and placed it behind her. I sat and gently tried to take the brush from her hand. She pulled away in alarm, which confused me. Our bond had to have let her know it was me behind her and not some attacker. We stared at each other for a long moment, Wilhelmina's in confusion while I opted for puzzled concern. She looked down at the brush before mentally resigning and placed the tool in my hand. Taking the hint, I began stroking much like she had only moments ago.
A minute or two passed before either of us spoke.
"You have done this before?" Wilhelmina asked.
"Once or twice." i admitted.
"When?"
I hesitated. "Uh, when I was alive."
"Who? Your mother? Your sister?"
"My mother didn't keep her hair long enough and I only had brother." I said.
"A cousin then?" Wilhelmina concluded uncertainly.
"No." I debated with myself whether or not to tell her for a minute. "I brushed Christine's hair when she wanted to grow her hair for a play."
"Christine?"
"Yes." I began drifting towards the middle as I had finished Wilhelmina's left. "Christine Willis."
"This is the first time you've mentioned her." Wilhelmina pointed out. "Your family and friends yes, but I do not think you have ever mentioned this Christine in all our time together."
Perhaps my gift was not all mine as Wilhelmina had led to believe. Nearly a year and change of spending almost every night together and she notices the one little detail I purposely left out. Well, if I was honest. There was quite few details I left out. Details about my life that involved certain patriarchal figure and his strange ways of showing affection to his children. I had done my best to forget or at the very least, refrained from mentioning it to her.
"No, I haven't." I admitted.
"Less than joyful memories?"
"You could say that." I changed the brush to my other hand. "I try to not think of her."
"Why?"
"Well," I paused for the right words. "For the lack of a better word, I wasn't as skilled at talking to women." I chuckled ruefully. "To put it bluntly, anything that even remotely resembled a beautiful woman scared me." I smiled ruefully. "The reason I was so chatty with you was because I was scared to death."
"But not with her."
"No." I confirmed. "Women just used to ignore me and that incident with Brian didn't exactly help. Christine was really the only one who was nice to me. We had shared a couple of classes, but it wasn't until she started dating one my friends that we really started talking to each other, despite the fact we had lived on the same street for years. She became one of the group after that, even after she broke up with him."
"So you sought to take his place?" Wilhelmina asked. "To catch her on the rebound as they say now."
"No. I wanted to, but I didn't." I said reluctantly. "Oh, I thought was by learning to play he piano and guitar or joining in school plays, but I was nothing more than a close friend who would always be there with a smile and a shoulder to cry on."
"Were you close?"
"We did everything a couple did except have sex." I found myself smiling oddly enough. "We would go to the movies, have dinner together, go out for drinks. Hell, we even did laundry together sometimes."
"But she did not desire you."
"She might have." I shrugged. "But she never brought it up and neither did I." There were a lot of things I didn't bring up and why I never invited her over.
"I suppose I was scared." I said. "I didn't want to risk her rejecting me so I just sat back watched her go with other men. It would end sooner or later and I would be there to comfort her and hoping she'd realize I was the one for her. It was pathetic I know, but that was all I was able to do. Or at least all I thought I could do."
"I'm curious." Wilhelmina said. "What happened?"
"You." I told her. "You happened."
"I met you." I said.
"Oh." Wilhelmina seemed to let that sink in as it truly bothered her. "When did you see her last?"
"Our first night together." I said. "Before I left for the city. She sort of had message for you."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"I told her a pretty girl, you, invited me to a party. She joked that whatever happened to let you know I was hers." I paused as I recalled. "At least she grew bored of me. I thought it was cute."
"Do you miss her?" She sounded casual, but I knew it meant more that at face value.
"I'm not sure." I racked my mind for the right words. "I did at first, but it got easier over time. I still sometimes wonder how she handled my death or what she is up to, like she did went on to become a doctor or not, but those are and few between." I paused. "I think I might still care about her or at very least just curious to know how she felt about me."
"Il a cultivé de bien différente dans un délai bref," she whispered quietly to herself. "Mais il tout de même exactement comme vous. Eh, William?"
"That's the second time you've said that." I realized that Wilhelmina had momentarily forgotten I could speak fluent French.
"Said what?"
"When you were draining me, you mentioned a William." I told her. "The blood loss didn't exactly make it easy to process, but I think you said 'just like William.' Did you mean your brother, William Wallace? I've avoid asking because I didn't think it meant much."
"Is your room still light tight?" she asked suddenly.
I blinked. "What?"
"Is it still safe to spend the day in your room?" she stood from her seat, leaving me still holding the brush. "Dawn is approaching."
"I checked it." I told her. "Its the first thing I do every night. Why?"
"Come."
She left the room without another word.
I set down the brush and followed her to my room. As I entered, I saw Wilhelmina sliding out of her robe and climb into the bed. I kicked off my shoes and removed my t-shirt, leaving me in gray sweatpants and a black undershirt as I climbed into bed. I leaned on an elbow and Wilhelmina mirrored me. We often did this after sex. Pillowtalk I think people called it.
"History knows very little of my brother, other than his acts of rebellion against the English." Wilhelmina began. "That is mostly due to me. Our kind tends avoid bringing important or well known humans into our rank. Fortunately, it was a simple matter of glamoring an English general to raze the town where our family had stayed. When William was executed the English sent men with orders to arrest my for my mother and I and any sisters should I have them."
"But they were already dead." I said. "Killed during a raid."
"Yes." She confirmed. "I overheard them questioning the innkeeper of possible survivors and if any were using the name Wallace in the next town over. My maker and I were listening for any loose ends that we might have missed in erasing my existence. The innkeeper, whom my maker had glamored him to forget he had seen us only minutes ago, spoke truthfully that he knew my father and saw that our home was one of the first attacked and had not seen or heard of the Wallace family since."
"But why come after you and your family?" I asked. "If William was already dead, what could you or anyone else do?"
"I assume to execute us as well so we would not bear children and not continue the Wallace line, but it was pointless as the Wallace clan was quite large with cousins spread as far as France. Perhaps to make an example of us?" Wilhelmina paused. "They did eventually find and execute my father. They charged him as a traitor to the crown and had him publicly hanged. My mother had died months before the attack during childbirth I heard the innkeeper tell them, but did not know what became of the child. They naturally tried to force my father to tell them, but all they learned was that my mother gave birth to a son."
"You mean . . ."
"Provided nothing happened to my youngest brother's descendants and each generation sired a son, the direct line of Alan Wallace endures." Wilhelmina instinctively began to curl up against me and instinctively brought her closer. "Though William's ended with him."
"He didn't have children?" I asked as I laid upon my back and wrapped my arm her. "I thought people married really young and had children back then. Like fourteen or fifteen."
"None would give it a second thought, but that was more associated with royalty and those of high station." Wilhelmina said. "It was not much different than it is now. Although I understand for a woman to have a child at sixteen in this era is common for an entirely different reason."
I could vouch for that since I was a product of that reason. My father had gotten my mother pregnat when they were both sixteen and rather than get an abortion, pretty unheard of in late 1968, I was born nine months later the day the United States of America went to the moon on June twentieth 1969.
"So William never had any children?" I asked to cover for my lapse. "Not even out of wedlock?"
"That was what surprised me most about him." Wilhelmina laid her head on my shoulder. "He was a tall man with the body of a giant, with thick strong arms and legs. He had our father's stoic handsome face along with our mother's eyes. He could have an entire tavern hanging on his every word as he told a tale from his childhood and a jester's wit, but he was terrible with women."
"He still would have doubts if a woman was to stand before him naked and say take me." Wilhelmina smiled.
"I can sympathize." I said smiling as well.
"He hardly had to crook a finger for a woman to come running ready to spread her legs as wide as the Spey River, but that was as far as things went. He was afraid of being perceived as crude and it would end with the woman becoming disinterested and turning her attentions to a more bold suitor." Wilhelmina chuckled into my shoulder and an arm went over my chest and a leg went over mine. "And when he learned to play the lute, it was like cat surrounded by a dozen mice and completely clueless on how to proceed."
"I take it he was quite good?"
"He was astonishingly talented. He had a fondness for poetry, and he had a knack for telling stories, but he was not an artist with words as others were. It is unfortunate history only knows of his military exploits and hardly at that."
"Its too bad we're in the dark." I said. "If humans knew about us, and didn't try to hunt us down, you and others could fill in the gaps of history or set some things straight. Like Jack the Ripper and Zodiac victims. I'm willing to bet Jack was a vampire and Zodiac was on of his children trying to follow in his footsteps."
"That is an interesting theory, but more likely others used them as a convenient scapegoat. You've seen how easy it is for us track a human. A quick glamor and your human police would be none the wiser. There was a vampire, Jethero, who said he found this Ted Bundy and did exactly that. Another vampire who was visiting from Washington, Chloe, said she had a similar encounter with a Gary Ridgeway." Wilhelmina admitted. "We could if we were to reveal ourselves, but we will never emerge from the shadows."
"I guess you're right." I said, not knowing Gary Ridgeway would eventually be arrested as the Green River Killer in 2001. I was surprised I had not considered blaming my kills on another human. Then again, I avoided killing in general, but I made a mental note to pursue it at a later time. "So I did William ever get over his little problem?"
"It was a simple matter of showing him what he was missing and how easily he had passing it up."
"How?" A thought came to me. "You didn't . . ."
"Again that was something those of higher station than ourselves engaged in. To keep both the bloodline pure and wealth. Our clan was one of wealthiest under English rule, but our family was on the lower end of prosperity." Wilhelmina said. "We did, however, have enough gold for servants and such. I learned that one servant, Beatrisis, desired William and he did as well. I convinced Beatrisis to surprise him in his bed and that was the end of it."
"Really? That was it?"
"They could not keep their hands, and other parts, away from each other." Wilhelmina laughed at her memories. "Once, my father settled a debt with goat and sent her to fetch it from its pen. Several minutes passed before he grew impatient and sent me to inquire after her." Wilhelmina's hand began absently rubbing my shoulder while her leg caressed mine up and down. "I found the goat chewing on a woman's shoe and I heard sounds in the next pen over. I discretely peer around the corner and saw them together on a pile of hay."
"So what happened?" I asked. "Did your father find out?"
"If he was aware, he did not confront either of them as far as I know. Most likely he considered it harmless mischief of youth. My mother said nothing to me so I assume she was not aware or kept it to herself." Wilhelmina began rubbing her cheek, much like cat, against my shoulder. "William eventually left for war, with each return more brief than the last until he thought it unsafe for us."
"And Beatrisis?"
"She eventually married, but to whom I do not remember as I was concerned with William's safety and decided upon following him. I do recall she was with child when she did, William's child, and it was to avoid scandal."
"Then William's line didn't end with — "
"It might have not, but I had already left before the child was born and I do not if the child survived. I also do not know my brother's exploits during his rebellion. He must sought the services of the whores, as all the men did during those times, but I severely doubt any carried the infant to term." Wilhelmina said reluctantly, but firmly. "Once we left our home, neither William nor I returned home. I do not know what my family thought had happened to me. Perhaps, they discovered I had followed my brother to war and some misfortune had occurred or that I met my end when William met his. I suppose that is close enough, but my death was not as permanent as his would be."
I looked over and saw Wilhelmina's eyes were beginning to fill with blood around the edges. Wilhelmina's voice was steady and even, but she was close to tears. It seemed she had been doing what I had been and pushed her human life to the darkest corners of her mind and acted as if they did not happen.
Like actors on a stage, we all assume different roles throughout our lives to others. During my human life I was many things. To my mother I was her son. To my brother I was exactly that. To my father . . . I wasn't entirely sure what he thought of me which I had to admit when the rest of family was clear to me. To Christine, I was a close friend she could always rely on no matter what occurred. I was nothing more than a weakling with slightly more value than those around me to Brian.
When I met Wilhelmina, I took on more roles. I became a predator, a musician, a consultant to others of our kind, but more importantly her companion. Right now, Wilhelmina was not the fearless vampire I had come to love. Nor was she the the mischievous goddess of beauty with eagerness for adventure. No, right now she was merely a girl who missed her brother and blamed herself for his untimely death.
Wymark had better be dead, unequivocally and absolutely dead. Otherwise I would have more than just words for him for exploiting a young woman's devotion to her brother's safety.
I brushed a lock of hair from her face and wiped Wilhelmina's eyes. "I would have loved to meet you while you were alive."
Wilhelmina looked up, taken by surprise. "What?"
I kissed her forehead. "I would have loved to see you laugh in the sun. To see you smile without the darkness brought on by centuries of witnessing the worst the world could offer."
"I do not understand." Wilhelmina wiped her eyes.
"I am so proud." I brought her closer and gently kissed her. "Even after nearly a thousand years of walking in the shadows of humanity and everything that has happened to and around you, you still feel for your brother. You can still laugh and love. I can only hope I still do after so much time."
"You will." Wilhelmina whispered. "i have no doubt even after ten thousand years."
"How can you be sure?"
Wilhelmina drew in closer, "Do you remember when you asked me why I made you and how I told you proved me wrong?"
"For nearly a thousand years, I have fed from great warriors to wise scholars to quivering cowards and not one of them behaved in a way that surprised me. A warrior would do everything he could to fight me. A scholar would use his words before he accepted his death and the coward would whimper and beg." Wilhelmina kissed me for a moment and slipped off my shirt. "When I first saw you, I thought were nothing more than a frightened child beaten down by the world around him so much so that you might welcome death, but then, as the life left your frail body, you did something I did not expect."
"I fought back." I whispered. "
"Yes. You did not beg or cry like I expected you to. Instead, despite years of being beaten down by everyday life, you fought to survive." Wilhelmina began paused to kiss my shoulder lovingly for a moment. "I was small saw William fight three men as large as him with his bare hands and rather then surrender, he continued to fight despite wounds that would have killed a lesser man and won." Wilhelmina then began to chew on my neck. "Then you went on to do the same at Ryuu's and then again when we were captured."
"You told me to think of all things that brought joy to me when I was alive and whether or not they were worth staying." I turned so we faced each other, "Then I would have thought of material things, but not anymore." I went to kiss her. "You are all the reason I need to stay."
Wilhelmina did not turn away like she had been for the past month. She parted her lips and our tongues settled into a familiar, but much more passionate, rhythm. We continued even as she rolled onto her back and pulled me with her so now I was on top of her. My mouth went to her neck as her hands and I heard the unmistakable sound of cloth ripping mixed with a snarl. I had her ear between my teeth when she turned her head and our mouths reunited.
Something was certainly different with her tonight. Other than the time when I first arose, Wilhelmina always on top of me when we had sex. It didn't mater if I made the first step or she did. Wilhelmina was always the one dominating me. Not in the whips and chains sort of way, but in the who' in charge sort of way. She didn't even like me, or anyone that I noticed, on top of her more than a few minutes before she took the reins. If I, or whomever she was with, tried to change positions midway, she would hiss and snarl as she retook. It was like she did not want to be taken, but wanted to do the taking herself.
I pulled away and stared at her. "Wilhelmina . . ."
She responded by seizing the back of my head and shoved my mouth into hers. She then moved to my neck as she began to writhe under me. I gave into temptation and reciprocated. I could feel her fangs pierce my neck and it was a switch had been flipped in my mind and I did the same. Like with me, I drew some blood and Wilhelmina dug her nails into my left hip and right shoulder and her body rubbed against mine with longing.
I pulled away and she allowed me reluctantly, her hands on my rear and trying to bring me closer, "Wilhelmina . . ."
"Please . . ." she gasped. "N'arrêtez pas de"
I gasped I felt a hand begin to stroke. I looked down to see her hand doing exactly and rubbing against her, encouraging me to enter. "After what happened . . ."
"Il n'importe pas." she whispered. "J'ai besoin de cela. J'ai besoin que tu."
I pushed into her. I gasped, and jerked, I began moving at a steady rhythm. I was aware that Wilhelmina had wrapped her legs around my waist and began bringer me closer and deeper. I also felt her clutching the nape of my neck and the small of my back as she moaned in ecstasy. I began to lose myself, my pace increasing, and mixed my own sounds with hers. As I began to move faster and faster, I could her and feel Wilhelmina approach her limit. I lifted my head and we began to kiss with such passion that any human would have suffocated.
I began to feel my own moment coming, like a tidal wave and an avalanche mixed together, and Wilhelmina seemed to be seconds away. Just as I thought I could hold on for more, Wilhelmina threw back her head in an orgasmic hiss and sank her fangs deep into my shoulder. The sensation was so sudden and exciting, the wave crashed with such force I saw a white light as I bite Wilhelmina's neck.
We laid there for a time, trembling as little aftershock rippled through us. Finally, I propped myself on an elbow and Wilhelmina wordless turned on her side with her back to me. I adjusted the sheet and covered both of us as Wilhelmina sighed slightly as curled up closer and wrapped an arm around her.
"Dominick?" She whispered sweetly.
"Hmm?" It was all I could manage as I floated on a cloud.
"Would you sing for me?" she asked. "One last time."
I racked my mind for a song, one that would be perfect, but I was finding it difficult to think after such an intense release. But I eventually decided on one and began to hum. To my surprise, Wilhelmina hummed along with me and continue as I added my voice.
For once, in my life I have someone who needs me, Someone I've needed so long,
For once, unafraid I can go where life leads me, and somehow I know I'll be strong.
For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of long before I knew
Someone warm like you, would make my dream come true.
For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me, Not like it's hurt me before,
For once I have something I know won't desert me, I'm not alone anymore.
For once I can say this is mine, you can't take it,
Long as I know I have love, I can make it,
For once I can feel that somebody's heard my plea,
She clasped my hand in hers tightly as the sun rose, ending the night for vampires and bring the day for humans in our half of the world, as we drifted off to sleep.
That was how I spent my last night with the woman I loved.
12. Then There Was One
1 Prologue
2 She's A Maneater
3 Waking Up Dead
4 Pros & Cons
5 Hiding In Plain Sight
6 Heart In The Right Place
7 Things Change
8 Hunting and Baiting
9 Christmas In October
10 What Was Always There
11 What Few See
12 Then There Was One
13 Full Circle
14 Dirt Nap
15 Decoding Lies
16 Killing Time
17 The Not So Big Apple
Books About Soccer or Football
Books About Witches
Poems For Young Adults
Drama Books for Over 18s
Books Similar to 'Wild'
Romance Books For Christmas
Books Similar to 'The Mortal Instruments'
Books Similar to J.K. Rowling's
Books Similar to 'The Lord of the Rings'


Marriages are no more about two people, the food, the grandeur, venue, decoration and everything else plays an important role. When it comes to Indian Weddings, everyone wishes to have the best of possible. Amongst every aspect involved with preparing for the Wedding Day, the Indian Invitation Card plays a vital role as it is the first impression a guest will get of your upcoming functions - make it special. Amongst our Indian Invitation cards, we have Hindu Wedding Cards, Muslim Wedding Cards and Sikh Wedding Cards. We also provide a range of Hindu Wedding Wordings, Sikh Wedding Wordings, Wedding Reception Wordings and Civil Ceremony Wordings which can be used together with our Indian Wedding Invitations.
Indian Wedding Invitation cards usually feature vibrant and vivid colours such as bright Red, Gold and Royal Blue. Some symbols that are usually associated with Indian Wedding Invites when a religious symbol is not required are peacocks, elephants, feathers, umbrellas. The reason why these symbols are popular choices is because they look beautiful when colour has been added to them.
Our Hindu wedding invitations usually include a Ganeshji symbol, who is the remover of all obstacles. Ganeshji is called upon at all aspects of the various ceremonies, including the wedding ceremony, the civil ceremony and the mandap muhurat. Many people also hold a Ganesh puja, a ceremony dedicated to Lord Ganesh.
Our Sikh wedding invitations usually have an Khanda or Il Onkar symbol. The Khanda symbol represents some of the fundamental concepts of Sikhism. The Il Onkar symbol translates directly to 'There is Only One God'.
A popular symbol for the Islamic (Muslim) wedding invitation invitations is the Bismillah. Bismillah translates directly to "In the name of God".
We use high quality card stock for our Indian Wedding Cards, with many invitations offering a pearlised shimmer effect. They have a grand look and feel to them, which will leave your guests impressed.
We also supply Wedding Ceremony Program Booklets, Table Plans, Table Numbers, Table Menus and RSVP cards to complement our Indian wedding invitation cards.


One of a kind vintage unused 1960's round crystal eyeglass frames in crystal green. I've only got one pair of these and don't think my vintage supplier has another. This pair came right off his shelves and date back to the 1960's. In perfect condition and will suit a long, oval, oblong or rectangular face. I'm the model and I have a narrow oval face and these look just a little big on me, but I'm okay with that. On an auburn mane and freckles??? Drop dead gorgeous xoxo. Get your green on... only here at Retro Focus Eyewear.


text:
von Celonis
2020 was a difficult year for Accounts Receivable (A/R). Global economic and operational uncertainty forced millions of businesses to refocus on the importance of cash to ensure their survival. And practically speaking, that means pushing A/R and collections teams to collect more cash from a customer base that's less likely to pay on time than ever.
That's a tough task by anyone's standards. But the upside is that this increased focus on cash has put A/R in the spotlight once more, and driven more organizations to think critically about how they measure and enable effective and productive collections.
If 2020 was the year of disruption, 2021 will be the year of recalibration. As companies focus on recovery and building their organizations back to full strength, their A/R teams and processes need to be able to execute at maximum capacity.
To help, we've brought together five KPIs you should be measuring to get a comprehensive picture of A/R performance — and get a clearer idea of where and how your team's performance can be improved.
KPI #1: Average Days Delinquent (ADD)
Average Days Delinquent (ADD) provides a decent snapshot of your overall collections performance — making it a valuable metric for those looking to gain a quick, reliable view of how their team is executing at a glance.
This is largely thanks to how simple the KPI is to calculate, and how reliable and accessible the data inputs for it are. All ADD is concerned with is the due date of a receivable (usually captured reliably in contracts and invoices), and the paid date of that receivable (reliably captured at the point of payment).
At the most basic level, ADD offers a valuable, high-level view of collections performance, while asking very little of you or your team. There's no data deep-dive to do, very little scope for bias or inaccuracy to creep in, and the calculation behind it is very straightforward.
Recent research by Celonis found that the highest performing organizations were able to achieve an ADD of just 8 days. But across all organizations, the average figure was 29.9 days. If your figures are above that number, you've likely got some collections performance issues on your hands. If you want to understand where those issues may be coming from, you'll need to look at some other, more advanced metrics.
KPI #2: Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
DSO is the most commonly tracked KPI for Accounts Receivable — and for good reason. By determining the average number of days it takes to collect payments, you can monitor cash flow at an individual customer and organizational level.
By helping to identify problem payers and the customers frequently pushing your ratio up, DSO starts to highlight some basic next steps and priorities for improving collections execution. It helps you understand at a very basic level where issues may be originating from on the customer side. Fluctuations in DSO can even help you understand how different market forces influence payment times, so you can adapt your A/R strategy accordingly.
Lower average DSO is obviously better when it comes to maximizing cash flow, but very low DSO is typically only possible for those in certain industries, such as retail. Payment terms and collection effectiveness are the twin levers here.
KPI #3: Percentage of Current A/R
The big problem with DSO is that it doesn't consider receivables before they're due. It's only concerned with receivables that have already become a problem. So it can't do anything to help your collections team work proactively. That's where percentage of current A/R comes in.
Percentage of Current A/R helps you better understand the relative distribution of current and overdue receivables. Instead of just looking at the payments that are late, it helps teams to be more proactive about high-value receivables that are about to come due.
Percentage of Current A/R is helping to drive a real transformation in A/R departments. It's supporting a shift in mindset and showing teams that to execute at maximum capacity and deliver the best results, they need to shift their focus away from just the oldest receivables, and instead focus on the trifecta of age, value, and risk That way, teams can recover more cash, faster, and waste less time on delinquent payments that are never going to come in.
KPI #4: Collections Effectiveness Index (CEI)
Understanding the execution gaps in your collection processes — and how to eliminate them — is vital when maintaining tight control over your cash. But it can be difficult to see exactly where your teams are working ineffectively. And metrics like DSO, which only provide an overall sense of your cash flow health, don't provide a complete, reliable picture.
Your Collections Effectiveness Index (CEI) however, looks specifically at the effectiveness of your collections department at securing overdue payments within a specific time period. By calculating the percentage of collected payments against available receivables, you can see clearly whether or not you might have a problem. Technology like Process Mining or EMS can then more specifically identify where the execution gaps might be.
Ideally, this number should be above 80%, with the best A/R departments out there reaching 83% CEI. If it drops, that's a clear indication that something is getting in the way of your execution capacity — whether that's your customer's health, how you're targeting specific accounts, or team efficiency.
As your organization and A/R department evolves, tracking this metric frequently and over shorter time periods provides you with up-to-date insight into gaps in your processes, as they occur.
KPI #5: Operational Cost Per Collection
For many organizations, COVID recovery efforts will naturally focus on strategic short-term goals and improvements — the kinds of changes that keep them stable and operational. But during times of change, it's also important to consider how decisions today could support long-term efficiency gains.
Tracking Operational Cost Per Collection is hugely valuable for supporting long-term improvement and optimization of collections. It's one of very few metrics that looks beyond receivables alone, and considers how your team's execution capacity — and the processes surrounding them — could be maximized to deliver more collections at a lower cost.
Tracking this KPI won't help you find quick fixes. Nor is it likely to help you understand how your performance stacks up against competitors. And frankly, building a reliable view of your cost per collection based on accurate data that's free from bias is a difficult task (although one which the right technology can simplify significantly).
But, when tracked accurately, it can support significant changes and optimizations across the A/R department. Take a change like process automation for example. Accurate cost per collection data can help you understand where automation can be applied to help you maximize the execution capacity of your team and deliver the best results.
More and more A/R teams are realizing that there's only so much they can do to drive collections using the methods and metrics they have in place today. Becoming more proactive has a big role to play in changing that, but so too does looking inward for opportunities to improve efficiency by maximizing your department's capacity to execute.
Cost per collection is a hugely valuable tool for teams interested in delivering those internal optimizations and improvements.
Set yourself up for the future of A/R
2020 wasn't easy on anyone, but things are at least looking better for 2021. A/R teams have felt and weathered the disruption — now it's time to define what they want their lasting 'new normal' to look like.
The metrics outlined above can all play an important role in A/R's transformation and advancement. By providing unique views of performance, and the sources of A/R challenges, they can contribute to an A/R department that's both highly aware of its current performance, and clear on what needs to be done to maximize their execution capacity, improve operations and bring more cash into the business.
To find out how Celonis can help you optimize these KPIs and maximize execution capacity in Accounts Receivable, take a look at our Execution App for Collections Management.
Celonis believes that every company can unlock its full execution capacity. Powered by its market-leading process mining core, the Celonis Execution Management System provides a set of instruments and applications, the Celonis Studio as well as platform capabilities for business executives and users. The Celonis EMS offerings help companies manage every facet of execution management from analytics to strategy and planning, management, actions and automation.
The Perfect Session Guide for Every Industry at Celosphere Live

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
About 3D Strategies
Dominic D. Dutra
Schools, Universities, and Community Colleges
Faith-Based Communities
Local Government Agencies
Affordable Housing and Nonprofits
Foundations and Family Trusts
Dominic Dutra worked closely with the following Community Leaders during his previous role as CEO and Co-Founder of DCG Strategies and welcomes you to contact these leaders for personal references.
These comprehensive video testimonials will help to give you insight about Dominic's work with past clients and innovative solutions that helped to give momentum to their efforts.
I had the blessing of working with Dominic Dutra on various projects. Dom is a caring, compassionate advocate for faith-based organizations. From consulting with seminaries and churches; to problem solving workforce housing issues, Dom always has the best interest of the person he is working with in mind. He has a warm heart and truly believes that faith-based organizations can transform communities and lives.
I would welcome collaborative efforts in the future.
Rev. Mary Allman-Boyle
Church Consultant/Coach
I'm the pastor of a Fremont church, Journey of Faith. We recently sold our Fremont property after a difficult process required to get city approval. We'd been trying to work with different groups to accomplish this for 4-5 years. When we eventually started working with Dominic Dutra, we finally began to overcome the obstacles. We were able to sell for the exact amount we'd set out to fain in order to enable the implementation of the future for our congregation. Along with my church board, we highly recommend Dominic as a creative representative for real estate planning issues.
Pastor Joseph Shreffler
Senior Pastor, Fremont Journey of Faith (formerly Nazarene Church of Fremont)
Having seen him in action, I'm deeply impressed by Dominic's brilliant strategic thinking, creative vision, and fierce determination. He puts the interests of those he is working with first and works diligently, even heroically, on their behalf. He is committed to community service and understands how to creatively use – and optimize – an organization's resources to achieve their vision. Without hesitation, I would recommend Dominic as THE best partner for mission-driven organizations.
Steffani Kizziar
Doctoral Student and former VP of Faith-Based Services
Dominic Dutra has been our real estate consultant for the last three years. He is a consummate professional and knows his craft well. He always has the interest of the people that he is working with at heart. His wisdom and knowledge has guided Claremont School of Theology through a long and arduous process in best use of the schools real estate in fulfilling its mission in preparing religious leaders for the society and the world.
Dr. Jeffrey Kuan
President, Claremont School of Theology
I have known and worked with Dominic Dutra for over ten years, most recently he helped craft and deliver a massive development project, which brought immense benefit to the jurisdiction for which I was CEO. Dominic brings a highly principled and experienced skill set to any real estate/development deal. He is dedicated to assisting public jurisdictions in maximizing the value and community contribution of their assets. He and his astute and competent team are thorough and patient when dealing with policy makers and Boards of Directors. His communications are transparent, his approach innovative, and his skill at crafting a win-win outcome creative and always consistent with his ethics and commitment to community value.
Fran David
City Manager (Ret.), ICMA-CM
Dominic was a God sent individual who assisted us in purchasing a multi purpose facility. An individual with high integrity, he has a passion for assisting faith based organizations, as well as other nonprofits in reaching their dream facilities potential. We continue our professional friendship because I really treasure his friendship, beyond the work relationships. The people he works with come first, their needs become his needs. We will continue to seek his expertise.
Rev. Adam Lopez III
Senior Pastor, Union City Apostolic Church
Dominic's approach is always to find a win win for everyone protecting the general public's interests.
Enrique Palacios
Chief Business Official (retired), Pittsburg Unified School District
Dominic Dutra is a super service-oriented professional. He goes above and beyond the call of duty to serve the people he works with. He navigates difficult situations with confidence and connects people to important human resources. He brought success to several sensitive situations while keeping all relationships respectful and productive. I highly recommend Dominic Dutra and his team.
Superintendent, Napa Valley Unified School District
I have known and worked with Mr. Dutra for the past five years and have found him to be a straightforward, honest, hardworking individual who truly wants to assist school districts support student learning.
Ed Cora
Superintendent, Guadalupe Union School District
Dominic Dutra has been our real estate consultant for the last three years. He is a consummate professional and knows his craft well. He always has the interest of those who he works with at heart. His wisdom and knowledge has guided Claremont School of Theology through a long and arduous process in best use of the schools real estate in fulfilling its mission in preparing religious leaders for the society and the world.
Dr. Arnulfo Cedillo
35-Year Board Member (retired), Chabot-Las Positas Community College District
Dominic Dutra
Founder / CEO
Email: ddutra@3Dstrategies.com
Cell Phone: 510.366.9931 (available 24/7)
BRE Lic# 00963281
Set Up your consultation and get started today.
Find out how you can strengthen your organization and forward your mission through innovative, community-minded solutions in real estate.
Message or Questions
California school districts like yours are suffering.
Public school districts need to assess all resources that can be used to further their organizational mission and to attain fiscal sustainability. In this guide, we'll share how California K-12 school districts can do just that.
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With the M-Track 2X2M, you can create flawless 24-bit 192kHz studio-quality recordings with an intuitive and easy-to-use audio interface. Boasting an elegant pro-grade metal chassis with a large central volume knob, the M-Track 2X2M features all-new transparent low-noise pre-amps and pristine analog to digital converters that deliver the highest audio performance in it's class. The M-Track 2X2M enables you to record up to 2-channels at once with it's dedicated XLR+1/4" balanced combo input, and an all-new 1/4" instrument input that has a specially designed gain and impedance stage to provide the most accurate representation of a guitar or bass plugged directly into the interface. 5-pin MIDI in and out connections are included for connecting synths, sequencers and other external MIDI gear. The M-Track 2X2M connects to your Mac or PC via a standard USB or USB-C port using one of the 2 included cables. This premium Hi-Speed USB connection combined with the USB/Direct balance knob enables you to have zero-latency monitoring of your inputs, making the recording process easier than ever. The overall combination of professional audio performance, easy-to-use features, and the included software bundle that provides everything you need to start recording now makes the M-Track 2X2M the best and only choice for solo artists.


AN international team of astronomers has provided the most compelling evidence yet of a massive black hole at the center of an energetic galaxy 21 million light-years from Earth.
The research, presented this week at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Tucson, Ariz., comes 60 years after an astrophysicist from India proposed to the Royal Astronomical Society in London that certain stars could collapse into dense, gravitationally muscular neutron stars.
It is from neutron stars that, under the right conditions, black holes are thought to develop.
Subrahamanya Chandrasekhar's idea was scorned by more-senior astronomers at that 1935 meeting. The reaction to these latest results, which were reported in this week's issue of the journal Nature, stands in sharp contrast to Chandrasekhar's rebuff.
A black hole is an object with gravity so strong that even light, traveling at 186,000 miles a second, cannot escape its grip. Its presence is inferred by what it does to the material that surrounds it. One of its calling cards is the presence of a rapidly rotating disk of material circling a relatively small volume of space.
The most likely candidates for so-called stellar black holes, thought to form after massive stars exhaust their fuel and erupt in a supernova, are binary-star systems that emit copious amounts of X-rays. As material from the companion star is sucked into the black hole, compression heats the material to the point that energy radiates as X-rays.
But the nuclei of some galaxies also emit vast amounts of X-rays, leading many astronomers to suspect that extremely massive black holes may lie in the galactic cores. These jumbo black holes are thought to be the engines driving a variety of bizarre phenomena, including jets of energy that can appear to be traveling faster than the speed of light.
The galaxy NGC 4285 had been observed to emit thin jets of energy from its core, visible in a range of wavelengths. In 1982, radio astronomers noted that the galaxy also emitted intense beams of microwave energy, known as masers. Ten years later, three Japanese radio astronomers discovered that the masers were moving rapidly when compared with the velocity of the galaxy. They theorized that a black hole might lie at the galaxy's center.
The three joined forces with four colleagues from the United States and last year used the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Long Baseline Array, a set of radio telescopes that stretch from the Virgin Islands to Hawaii, to take another look. The VLBA was linked to yet another dish array in the New Mexican desert, giving the sharpest renderings yet of a disk 1.5 light-years in diameter spinning around the center of a galaxy 90,000 light-years across and 21 million light-years from Earth. The disk is extremely thin - only 2 percent of its diameter.
Based on the disk's rotation, the central object's mass worked out to be 36 million times that of the sun, says James Moran, an astronomer with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and one of the members of the international team. Yet the density worked out to roughly 100 million solar masses per cubic light-year, at least 10 times the density of any other galactic black-hole candidate.
Some astronomers suggest that such densities also could be achieved by clusters of stars rather than black holes. ``If you want to explain this as a star cluster that provides the mass that binds our disk, you need 100 million solar-like stars,'' Dr. Moran says. The distance between those stars, he adds, would have to be relatively small, roughly 100 times the sun-to-Pluto distance.
The evidence was strengthened by a second group that looked at the same galaxy using the ROSAT X-ray satellite.
Do black holes limit galaxy growth? Jet of ionized gas offers a clue.


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How in holy hell did Chris Froome win? | The 2018 Giro d'Italia final week wrap
May 26, 2018 · by Alex · in Giro d'Italia
Chris Froome (LaPresse)
2018 Giro d'Italia contenders
The first rest day wrap
The second rest day wrap
The third rest day wrap
Final week wrap
The great thing about doing these Giro updates weekly is that it keeps a great deal of my daily wrongness safely out of sight.
The final week brought many surprises, not least of which was stage 19, almost the whole of which I am going to officially classify as "fully bonkers".
The "all-important" time trial
Everyone had been waiting for the time trial. If Tom Dumoulin could get far enough ahead of Simon Yates then maybe he could just about hold on in the mountain stages to come – that was the thinking. Such an outcome didn't seem likely given Yates's form, but it was something to cling to if you wanted a bit of tension in the final week.
As it turned out, Dumoulin didn't even manage to take the race lead. Yates rode well enough to retain it and the Giro seemed, to all intents and purposes, over.
Turns out the Giro wasn't over.
Simon Yates DOES get tired
Pozzovivo et al (LaPresse)
'Will Simon Yates ever tire?' I asked on the third rest day. The answer to that question was 'yes'.
Three summit finishes on the bounce seemed to provide the Bury Bullet with ample opportunity to increase his 56 second lead over Tom Dumoulin. It didn't really pan out that way. After the first one, that lead had been halved.
The Dutchman attacked with about 1.5km but couldn't initially shake the race leader or third-placed Domenico Pozzovivo. Shortly afterwards, Chris Froome caught up with the trio – and then he attacked. It was here that the magic ended. Yates could not follow them.
It's amazing how quickly three summit finishes in succession can go from seeming like a wonderful opportunity to a hellish nightmare.
Simon Yates really, really does get tired
Colle delle Finestre (LaPresse)
Stage 19 brought the Colle delle Finestre. This delivered the highest point in this year's race and as you'd imagine, it was a bit of a slog to get there.
The climb is 18km long and averages 9%. There are 45 hairpins – and let me tell you, only a fraction of that number is quite sufficient to make a baby vomit while travelling in a car. The top half is on gravel too, just for good measure. The climb also came halfway through the stage with two more climbs to follow.
In short, if you've shown faint signs of weakness the day before, the Colle delle Finestre is not a place where you want them to be further explored. Yates was dropped early and very quickly lost minutes and also the Giro d'Italia.
"After the time trial, I've not recovered since then," he said afterwards – so turns out the race against the clock WAS all-important. Just not in the way we all expected.
And he really was tired. By the end of the stage he'd lost 39 minutes.
Simon Yates struggles (LaPresse)
Chris Froome, meanwhile, went on the rampage.
The Team Sky man went on a mad attack with 80km to go.
He was so focused he barely even noticed some spectacularly impressive roadside goading about his Salbutamol case from a couple of fans who came extraordinarily well prepared.
By the summit of the Colle delle Finestre, Froome was 42s ahead of Dumoulin and several other major rivals. Domenico Pozzovivo had sadly also been dropped – the Italian lost fewer minutes than Yates, but still lost plenty.
On the subsequent descent, Froome gained another 50s on Dumoulin, at one point skipping round a race motorbike that had crashed in a tunnel.
Next up was the climb to Sestriere and this saw his advantage grow by another 40s.
Chris Froome was on it.
The key to the performance was creating an "every man for himself" scenario. The pace low down on the Finestre had been so hard that long before the summit there were only small uncooperative groups dotted along the road. A small group where no-one wants to help each other is actually less effective than one guy riding on his own.
Nevertheless, this kind of thing takes some effort and by the finish, it was largely about holding on for Froome – but hold on he did. His demented and optimistic attack with near-enough three climbs to go saw him finish three minutes ahead of second-place Richard Carapaz and 3m23s ahead of Dumoulin.
Having started the day 3m22s behind, Froome somehow ended it 40s ahead and there was only one stage to go.
It was wise to try and peak in the third week
Froome attacks (LaPresse)
It is at this point that I feel a strong urge to quote myself. After nine stages of this race, with two great days for Yates and Froome at the time looking like absolute dogshit, I wrote:
The idea is that Froome's arrived fresh and will be strongest in the third week. If it really does pan out that way then he could still win the Giro.
It's all well and good being Simon Yates, racing away from everyone every chance you get in the first week because the simple fact is that there were really only these two chances to make use of the good form. If this was Yates's best week, he's spent most of it waiting for steeper roads, which is not a very productive use of one's supremacy.
And now I'll tell you how I managed to deliver this uncanny vision of the future: through blind luck and hedging my bets.
I've written plenty of things about what might happen in this race and that was just one of them.
The final mountain stage
There were attacks, they didn't stick, Froome held off Dumoulin and won the race overall. This was no mean feat when you think back to the start of the race and remember that he kicked things off by crashing in the stage one warm-up.
The most striking development on stage 20 was actually Thibaut Pinot taking a turn at implosion, getting dropped on the first climb and tumbling off the podium. He actually managed to improve on Simon Yates's terrible effort and lost 45 minutes. This meant Miguel Angel Lopez finished third.
In all honesty, I don't think there's going to be much going on this site until the Tour de France from July 7.
After last year's Tour, the Vuelta a Espana and this, Chris Froome has now won three Grand Tours on the bounce. Can he make it four?
That's a question for another day, but with a tough Giro in his legs and rivals who've trained purely for the Tour, it's a big ask. But then so was winning this Giro from three minutes behind with two stages to go.
I wouldn't be placing any bets either way.
Let's rank Simon Yates and the other climbers | The second 2018 Giro d'Italia rest day wrap
Will Simon Yates ever tire? | The third 2018 Giro d'Italia rest day wrap
Chris Froome, jack of all trades, master of three-week racing | the 2017 Tour de France final week wrap
Tags: Chris Froome, Simon Yates, Tom Dumoulin


Overall Dimension: 78.7" x 39.4" x 31.5"
This long tunneled greenhouse is made by a solid steel pipe frame and high quality PVC cover. Perfect for seeding or just to protect your young plants from the outside elements, shield plants from dust and gaze, and help to keep out pests. Seedlings and plants will live safely in proper temperature. It is lightweight but sturdy for long lasting use. 2 doors on the side allows easy access as well as ventilation.
Copyright © 2012-2019 wendilanthier.ca. Powered by Hedge Shear with Wavy Blade,ZaoProteks ZP5001 Extended Long Cuff Garden Gloves,AIDELAI flower rack Vertical iron flower pot rack Patio Garden Pergolas.


at 627 South Broadway in Boulder.
The eatery features 21 in-house beers on tap, as well as up to ten rotating guest taps; a cocktail program is also in the works.
"This restaurant is simply a different room in the Mountain Sun house," explains Mountain Sun's founder, Kevin J. Daly. "We have always strived for our pubs to be gathering places for great food, craft beer and free-flowing conversation. This concept will strive to do the same; we are excited to put a new spin on our mission for the Mountain Sun family of pubs."
The menu, which was a collaborative effort between Mountain Sun executive chef Annabelle Forestall and Top Chef competitor Melissa Harrison, focuses on local products and dishes cooked in the restaurant's wood-fired oven; visit the Facebook page for the full selection.
Under the Sun is now open Tuesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. until close; call 303-543-0886 for more information.


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Falkvarv AB är ett svenskt reparationsvarv i Falkenberg, som bildades 1993. Det är en uppföljare av det tidigare nybyggnadsvarvet Falkenbergs Varv AB på samma lokal. Falkvarv bedriver reparations-, underhålls- och ombyggnadsarbeten och förfogar över två flytdockor: nummer 1 på 120x19 meter upp till 4.500 ton och nummer 2 på 155x24 meter på 7.500 ton.

Varvet fick 2020 i uppdrag att slutföra nybyggnaden av Göteborgs universitets forskningsfartyg R/V Skagerak.

Källor

Noter

Externa länkar
Falkvarvs webbplats

Svenska skeppsvarv
Företag bildade 1993
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LOOK: JOHN LEGEND, CHRISSY TEIGEN Expecting Second Baby! - MYX | YOUR CHOICE. YOUR MUSIC.
LOOK: JOHN LEGEND, CHRISSY TEIGEN Expecting Second Baby!
Chrissy Teigen is expecting her second child! The model and TV host first revealed her baby bump on Snapchat!
And yes, the ever cheeky Chrissy confirmed that her latest pregnancy is courtesy of husband John Legend! Check out her Instagram video featuring their adorable firstborn Luna!
Of course, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter is already full of love for baby no. 2!
Congratulations to the beautiful couple and the soon-to-be big sister!
John Legend is set to return in Manila for his Darkness and Light Tour at the Araneta Coliseum on March 21, 2018. Tickets go on sale this November 30.
Send your best wishes to John and Chrissy in the comments!


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Home > December 2015 - Volume 37 - Issue 6 > Agility Training for American Football
Thought you might appreciate this item(s) I saw at Strength & Conditioning Journal.
Agility Training for American Football
Gleason, Benjamin H. MSEd1,2; Kramer, James B. MS3; Stone, Michael H. PhD1
Strength and Conditioning Journal: December 2015 - Volume 37 - Issue 6 - p 65–71
doi: 10.1097/SCJ.0000000000000154
ABSTRACT AGILITY AND CHANGE OF DIRECTION TRAINING IS AN UNDER-STUDIED TOPIC IN AMERICAN FOOTBALL. A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF RESEARCH HAS BEEN PERFORMED WITH ATHLETES COMPETING IN OTHER CONTACT SPORTS. AS SUCH, EVALUATING METHODS THAT HAVE SHOWN TO IMPROVE AGILITY IN OTHER SPORTS MAY LEAD TO NEW METHODS TO ENHANCE FOOTBALL PERFORMANCE. A FRAMEWORK OF THE METHODS USED BY A HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL NCAA DIVISION-1 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION TEAM IS INCLUDED AS A MODEL THAT MAY SHOW PROMISE IN ENHANCING FOOTBALL PERFORMANCE.
Departments of 1Exercise and Sport Science, and
2Athletics, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee; and
3Department of Athletics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota
Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: The authors report no conflicts of interest and no source of funding
Benjamin H. Gleasonis the head strength and conditioning coach for NCAA Olympic sports at East Tennessee State University; he is also a volunteer football position coach at Science Hill High School.
James B. Krameris the director of athletic performance at North Dakota State University.
Michael H. Stoneis the laboratory and graduate program director for the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at East Tennessee State University.
© 2015 by the National Strength & Conditioning Association
Strength & Conditioning Journal37(6):65-71, December 2015.
Articles in PubMed by Benjamin H. Gleason, MSEd
Articles in Google Scholar by Benjamin H. Gleason, MSEd
Other articles in this journal by Benjamin H. Gleason, MSEd
agility, American football, agility training
Open Access Articles
Special Topics Issues
Methods of Developing Power With Special Reference to Football Players
Velocity-Based Training in Football
Nonlinear Periodization: Insights for Use in Collegiate and Professional American Football Resistance Training Programs
A Sport-specific Performance and Prevention Program for the Throwing Quarterback
Psychology of Training Football Players: Improved Performance and Success
Copyright © 2019 National Strength and Conditioning Association


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You Have to See Lily Collins Battle Anorexia in Her New Movie
The trailer for 'To the Bone' is out!
If you (or someone you know) need help or just want to talk to someone, you can get in touch with mental health facilities such as the UST Graduate School Psychotrauma Clinic, which offers free psychological services even to non-UST students.Even before the ...
This Is Lily Collins' Secret to Great Skin
Credits to her makeup artist!
When it comes to her beauty game, there's no doubt that Lily Collins slay it with total ease. Whether she's rocking her hair long and straight or firing it up with ringlets, you can be sure that her hairstyles are always on-point ...
7 Things You'll Be Surprised to Know About Lily Collins
The actress tells all in her super inspiring book, Unfiltered.
You look at Lily Collins—brow inspo, fashion kween, not to mention the girl who brought to life Clary Fray, Rosie Dunne, and Snow Freaking White—and you think she's got life all figured out. But just because she makes it look effortless, doesn't ...
Lily Collins Opened Up About Her Eating Disorder
The five things you missed today!
Lily Collins opened up about her battle with eating disorder when she was still a teenager during an interview for her movie To the Bone. She spoke of how much her role spoke to her because of what she went through. "This was ...
These Celebrities Will Make You Want to Cut Your Hair ASAP
Give us that pair of scissors now!
We don't know what's with a new year that just makes us want to get a new haircut, and we really don't care. Maybe it's because we just want something new or maybe because we're already preparing for summer (hello, short hair!).The ...
6 #GoldenGlobes Dresses You'll Want to Wear to Prom or Your Debut
Take your cue from the best-dressed ladies at the 2017 Golden Globe Awards.
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5 Things You Missed Today (December 13)
Don't forget to read today's updates on Ed Sheeran's latest social media updates, Kendall Jenner's date night, Cameron Dallas's announcement, Netflix's upcoming mystery offering, and Lily Collins's Golden Globes nomination!
Ed Sheeran just updated his Facebook page and we're going cray! As you all know, Eddie is taking a break from social media, so when we saw updates on his Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds, we just got so excited to have ...
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Don't miss today's updates on Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth, TayVin's rumored reconciliation, Lily Collins's new hair, Gigi Hadid's bangs, and the new Game of Thrones.
After their re-engagement during last year's holiday season, Miley Cyrus has been wearing her engagement ring from Liam Hemsworth constantly. However, when she was spotted at the Los Angeles Airport recently, no ring was in sight. But before you go in major panic mode, here's ...
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Don't miss the latest on SongSong couple's new sweet moment, Enrique Gil on Liza Soberano's admirer's, Ariana Grande's new 'do, Lily Collins' new hair color, and HiddleSwift's relationship!
Song Hye Kyo and Song Joong Ki's work for Descendants of the Sun may already be over, but the two remain good friends! The actress gifted Joong Ki and the cast of his upcoming film Battleship Island with a coffee truck. Aww, the caption says, "It's ...
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Work out like the Love, Rosie star!
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Makha bucha day
Celebrated on the full moon night of the third lunar month, it is a day of veneration, marking the day nine months after Buddha's enlightenment when 1, of his ordained followers spontaneously gathered to hear Him give a sermon, at which he established the basic tenants of the monastic order - the Sangha.
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Thai grocery stores sell offerings prepared especially for monks. The local government of Prachin Buri, a province located 3 hours northeast of Bangkok, annually organizes the Makha Bucha fair where religious activities take place along with a lantern release into the night sky, exhibitions about Buddhism, markets, and a cultural procession.
What is makha bucha?
How can you observe Makha Bucha Day in Thailand? While at the temple, they might also listen buhca Buddhist teachings, give alms to monks, recite Buddhist scriptures, and participate in the evening candlelight processions around the ordination hall that are held by many temples.
Popped rice and flowers, used as offerings to Buddha, are stringed into beautiful garlands and paraded across the village. Among other things, the Buddha announced that good behavior and good thoughts would lead to nirvana enlightenment, naming this as the ultimate goal of the religious movement. Find an error?
How is makha bucha observed in thailand?
Must-do food tours in Bangkok Street food. I undertake the training rule to abstain from false speech.
Makha Bucha commemorates the full moon day of the 3rd lunar month when Buddha delivered his core teachings. The teaching is known as the Ovadhapatimokha, and is focussed on the idea of refraining from evil, doing what is good, and cleansing the mind.
Thais will come to pray, make offerings, then, after sunset, there will be candlelight processions around the ordination hall ubosot or pagoda, if the temple has an especially important one. The procession takes place one day prior to the actual Makha Bucha day. When you visit a temple to observe religious ceremonies, keep your voice down. In a leap year, the celebration will be postponed to the full moon day of the fourth lunar month.
Where to Experience Makha Bucha Celebrations?
It falls on Feb 11, Mar 1, and Feb 19 in, and respectively. Pubs and bars are closed. The Fourfold Assembly Day A total of 1, Buddhist Sangha followers unexpectedly visited the bamboo grove known as Veluvana in Kajangala, makhaa India, where the Buddha was known to have stayed.
The religious ceremony had remained a royal affair for a while before temples nationwide organized ceremonies which commoners could attend. I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given.
Makha bucha day in thailand
Other ways in which practising Thai Buddhists mark Makha Bucha Day in Thailand include strictly observing the five Buddhist precepts for the day. You will recognize them because they look like gift baskets covered in saffron-yellow cellophane or decorations. Alcohol Ban: Alcohol is not served in amkha of religious holidays in Thailand.
Delicious food at makhs that only locals know about. On this day in history, it is believed that a spontaneous event happened in a miraculous way. King Rama IV felt that Buddhist teachings were very important, recognising that Makha Bucha was one of the most remarkable events in Buddhist history.
Makha is the 3rd lunar month and Cay means to honor. Written by Thailand Insider. Festivities and celebrations will take place everywhere in the kingdom.
More information : Prochaines dates : Date pas encore connue Find buch room in Thailand The best festivals in Thailand With a lot of traditions, festivals in Thailand are numerous and some are worldwide famous. Many temples, religious and mediation centres welcome both Buddhist Thais and foreigners who would like to enter into mediation sessions provided countrywide, which include Paknam Phasicharoen Temple in Bangkok.
Loy Krathong sometimes also called the Festival of Lights is held in November and was elected second best festival in the world. To his unsummoned audience, the Buddha is believed to have given an important teaching serving as a summary of the core principles of Buddhism.
Since Makha Bucha is based on the lunar calendar "Makha" in fact is the Pali word for the third monththe date varies from year to year. What is the history of Makha Bucha Day in Thailand? First, there was a full moon during ma,ha third month of the year.
As is common on all manner of Buddhist holidays in Thailand, it is common for Thai Buddhists to visit their local temple to make merit on Makha Bucha Day. I undertake the training rule to avoid sensual misconduct. Ask permission before photographing people at their place of worship. It is believed that the large gathering of monks were not called and had not organized a specific meeting time or place.
If you plan to be in Thailand on Makha Bucha day this year, how will you give thanks?
Makha bucha day - thailand
As one of the oldest schools of Buddhism, it tends to be conservative and focused on discipline. How is Makha Bucha Day in Thailand celebrated today?
It must be said that this is the most photogenic festival in Thailand. Nine months after his enlightenment, without concert, 1, disciples spontaneously came to pay homage to him the night of the full moon. Celebrated on the full moon night of the third lunar month, it is a day of veneration, marking the day Bisexual club chicago months after Buddha's enlightenment when 1, of his ordained followers spontaneously gathered to hear Him give a sermon, at which he established the basic tenants of the monastic order - the Sangha.
This is why you might well find that bars in Bangkok and elsewhere around Thailand are closed on Makha Bucha Day; the Thai government restricts the sale of alcohol, albeit inconsistently, on various religious holidays.
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Recently a young man sat in my office enthusiastically telling me of God calling him to a new level of ministry in a well-known evangelical denomination. In summarizing his new sense of motivation he recalled his formative journey: "I was raised to know well what I was against, but really never knew what I was for." He described this discovery of what he was for as a moment of freedom as he experienced God's maturing work in his life.
Clearly this is not everyone's experience. Yet too many evangelical organizations have been defined by a negative mindset that was forged at its birth when the rallying point was to "oppose" or to "correct" the extremes of another group. At its core, this mindset has tended to create an environment in which we define ourselves as opposed to the faulty beliefs or behaviors of "the other guy." As a result, our identity has too often been shaped by the position of others rather than by the center of biblical revelation.
Recently the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) made the decision to alter the longstanding position that a denomination could not be a member of both the NAE and the National Council of Churches. While to many people it may sound unimportant, in reality it serves as a weathervane to the future of evangelical Christianity in America. This decision marks a milestone in the development of the evangelical movement and demonstrates the commitment to be a strong evangelical witness that stands on its own.
In American culture, the evangelical movement in general and the NAE in particular have served the Church well with its clarion call to a soundly scriptural witness. Yet as the culture and organizations change, the points of reference also change. While the NAE was formed largely in response to the theologically liberal NCC, the landscape today is different. Likewise, the evangelical movement has matured. Not only have we grown in the confidence of our scriptural identity and witness, but the groups against which we pitted ourselves are crumbling. To continue defining ourselves in opposition to the liberal groups not only validates their importance, but ties our identity to a dying cause.
Instead of defining what we are not, we must focus on what we are. It's much like drawing a circle and focusing on the perimeter as the basis of who we are, or establishing a center-point as the focus of our identity. In one case we define ourselves by exclusion. In the other, by declaration. In both there are exclusions since those organizations not consistent with our center-point are naturally and automatically excluded. But the difference is where we place our energy and focus.
As we move into an era characterized by a post-modern and relativistic mindset, the absolutes of what we stand for are more important now than ever before. We dare not, will not abandon biblical truth. But our culture is not as much interested in how we oppose the liberal theology of old line Protestantism, as they are interested in the compelling and transformational message of the gospel of Christ. We must not continue to make our defining characteristic the fact that we are "not liberal." We must be known as the people who are so committed to the transcendence of God, the centrality of Jesus Christ, the power of His Holy Spirit, and the full authority of biblical revelation that anything that is contrary is by definition excluded. At the same time people will be drawn to the beauty of His message conveyed through His Church. The force that drives us, then, is centripetal in drawing us to be "center-seeking," focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
These are very important and strategic days in the life of the Church. It truly is the day of the evangelicals. Evangelical churches represent the fastest growing segment of the Church worldwide and hold in trust a significant measure of influence for shaping our society. Now is not the time to fight secondary battles with an adversary that is diminishing. Now is the time when God is calling us to stand on our own, preaching and living the whole gospel for the whole world. Let us not be frightened that someone will "contaminate" or impinge upon our ministry, but let us boldly articulate what we are for and move forward undaunted in our mission.
Evangelicals in America are at a point when our development as a movement calls us to focus our eyes on the "Center of all" keeping our eyes on the "inside of the curve." The faithful persons on whose shoulders we stand have brought us naturally to this point and, in God's power, our culture requires this kind of leadership and influence for a new day. Never have we been so needed. By His power and grace we can navigate the transition keeping our unity in Jesus Christ and our eyes on the goal of making Him known.


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I was born in the Bronx, and attended Columbia College for a B.A. in English, and NYU for graduate work in English. I moved to Los Angeles to become a journalist for the L.A. Weekly and L.A. Times , and helped open and run Highways Performance Art Space for a decade. I wrote two books, Sacred Lips of the Bronx (St. Martin's Press, 1994), and the social history monograph, Sex Between Men: An Intimate History of the Sex Lives of Gay Men, Postwar to Present (HarperSan Francisco, 1997).
Wanting to deepen my gay activism from the inside out, I began gay-affirmative therapy and was introduced to the notion of facing my "trauma" and transforming unfinished family business into experiences of greater strength, love and creativity. I returned to school to receive an M.A. in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University and a Ph.D. at Pacifica Graduate Institute. I wrote a dissertation on the idea of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche as a forerunner of what we today might call "gay soul-making."
I am currently completing a memoir about how I developed LGBTQ-Affirmative psychotherapy at Antioch University entitled Education of the Heart, which details how I learned how to run a program based on doing inner work and embracing racial diversity and social justice.
In 2005, I founded the Antioch LGBT Specialization in Clinical Psychology, the first LGBT-Affirmative psychology program in Clinical Psychology in the country. In 2011, I co-founded Colors LGBTQ Youth Counseling Center. In 2005, I became a founding member of the Institute for Uranian Psychoanalysis.
I am currently finishing my third book, Education of the Heart: Becoming Your Own Therapist During Challenging Times. A book for LGBTQ people and those who love them.
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Home > Case Studies > Michael Jackson's Children and Father
Michael Jackson's Children and Father
By: Libby Pelham BA - Updated: 16 Dec 2010 | *Discuss
There has hardly ever been a bigger celebrity enigma than Michael Jackson. The world watched him on the stage from an early age. He was a worldwide superstar who died with a legion of dedicated fans and still a multitude of harsh objectors. We watched as he morphed from a cute adolescent, to a talented young man, to an odd adult. And as his personality changed, so did his physical features. Will we ever know what drove Michael Jackson to be the type of person he was and what will his legacy be?
The Oprah Interview
Oprah recently brought together Michael's father Joe, his mother Katherine, and Michael's children Paris, Prince, and Blanket for an exclusive interview a little over a year after Michael's death. The body language of everyone was apparent.
When Oprah asked Paris and Prince about their father and how he made them wear veils when out in public, they both took a closed, defensive stance. Paris was sitting in a chair with her arms folded while her brother stood beside her, his arms also folded and leaning back as if he had been attacked. One foot was slightly forward towards his sister, as if he were ready to step forward to protect her if needed. While Paris said the veils were for protection, the body language of both of the children was clear this was not a topic they wanted to discuss.
Joe's Body Language
Joe was standing beside his wife. He has his head down with his head in his pockets as he looks at Prince. This submissive pose is uncharacteristic for this normally strong, outspoken character. His past body language has typically been that of someone who is very confident if not a bit cocky in his manner. There is also a physical distance between Joe and his grandchildren that speaks volumes. It is obvious that there is not a close relationship here.
Prince's Body Language
When speaking with Oprah, Prince tended to look away, as if he was only answering Oprah's questions to be polite and didn't really enjoy opening up about his relationship and special private times spent with his father. Prince remembers how private his father was and his body language seems to be suggesting that he finds Oprah's questions to be too intruding into the family's private life.
Paris' Body Language
Like her brother, Paris too seems to find many of Oprah's questions about the family to be inappropriate. Her folded arms shows she is trying to protect her family and her leaning back says she finds these questions to be too violating. While most people may find this odd – Oprah's questioning was not really that out of the ordinary – you have to remember the ultra-secretive atmosphere in which these children have been raised all their lives.
At the same time, while secretive, Michael knew how important it was to try to be accommodating to his admiring public and the children reflect this by continuing to answer Oprah's questions, despite their body language saying they are uncomfortable.
However, Oprah is trying to get the kids to open up as much as possible through her body language. She leans towards the children, a sign that she is being open and trying to engage them in conversation.
At one point, Paris does open up about her father by talking about how he made the best French toast. You can see as her eyes widen and she raises her brow that she surprised herself by revealing this personal memory.
Protective of Their Father's Memory
Michael's youngest son, 8-year-old Blanket too, remained reserved for the interview. He had his knees bent in front of him, as if to provide a physical shield for him. At times, his hands covered his mouth, as if to say he didn't want to speak.
While much can be said about Michael and the way he lived, it is seen in his children that they were much loved and cared for and obviously have little but fond memories of their father. He also instilled in them the deep desire to remain somewhat private from what he must have seen as a demanding world. The children will undoubtedly continue to try to protect Michael's image as well as each other as the world continues to wonder what their father and their lives with him was like.
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