Levels of Joy

At this moment in time I thought by now that I would've found my marbles. I finally admit that it's impossible for me to achieve perfection because everyone sees things differently. There were days when I felt at the top of life and thought that I had been in control but the wheel hub fell off. I soon realized that I wasn't, why did the hub fall off? What did I do wrong? A friend called today. I don't know why. The principal of growing old is the only thing that is fair in life...I think that's right. It may just be my opinion...hum. That may be a fair statement, at least to me, I guess. I believe in something greater than this life, some people don't. That belief keeps me motivated to be a better person. An iron building sits high in the small city where I live. Each floor in the building has levels. The construction crew worked until each level was complete. I wonder if they got paid before or after the work was done. They left the comfort of their homes to build and some died in the process but the building process is seen, even from far away. I bet this is how joy works. You have to build levels of happiness in your life and keep building until the work is done. I figured it out. Wait...what about the sad days? Hum...I can see the building though, once it's done, in the day, people will look up and see the shining sun; in the night, people will look up and see the glowing moon. I wonder what the top level looks like. Can I prove the earth is round if I go to the top floor? Is it possible that my marbles are up there? I hope they let me in the building so I can check the top floor. If they don't let me in I'll keep trying until I reach the top level.

The Talk Show

"Fred, I've been your producer for almost twelve years and I've never heard such filth," Greg said, making sure he got his point across.
"I want a show that's interesting. I want to talk about things that make people's minds tick," Fred replied.
Greg's face turned ugly.
"You asked a nun what her cup size used to be before she became a nun. You're fired Fred. Get the hell out of my studio."
Fred fixed his tie and began to mumble as he walked away.
"You're only saying that because you're Catholic."
Walking away Greg heard what he said and turned around.
"You know you need to watch what you say around me. I pay the bills around here. Everything you say affects me and my company's name. That has nothing to do with the question you asked that nun. Face it Fred your career in show biz is done."
As Greg began to walk away Fred hurried to catch him.
"I asked her that question because you need me Greg," Fred said with a straight face.
"What the hell are you talking about. You're out of your mind," Greg replied.
"You've been having an affair with the new camera girl. You've also been sleeping with the new host of you're new radio talk show. You want to fire me because I interviewed a nun who helped raise me and my brother. I did that for you Greg. If you review the footage you would listen to the question. I specifically asked her her cup size because most women have stopped breast feeding. It was a joke. If you want to expand the conversation after you fire me, then you better be ready for the hell you're about to face from the people in your faith. I may not be Catholic, Greg, but I know the rules. You've been enjoying your privileges of power while you're wife has been at home raising your kids," Fred explained, realizing that he had gotten Greg's full attention.
"Look Fred, you're right. They're going to crucify me. I'm a sinner and I hate my life. No body talks to me like they used to. You know when I got in this business it was fun. We all just talked about life and we were having fun. I know you remember those days. Now everything is so political. I'm tired Fred. Confessions won't even help me. I still love my wife but I need a fix. Sex has become my fix. It's either that or drugs. I just need someone to talk to. I need a friend," Greg explained with his back against the wall.
Fred fixed his tie again as he homed in on an opportunity.
"Well in this business, my friend, we talk. Now we just have to make it into a story. My advice to you would be to tell your wife what's been going on and see if she sticks around, then we can get the both of you on the air to discuss how America can fix this sad, sad problem of infidelity and fornication. I've been battling a porn problem myself. Do you drink Greg? Being a Baptist, I hear that you Catholics drink a lot of wine."
Fred and Greg began to slowly walk and talk down the hall.
"Well I don't drink, but talk to me about this porn problem you've been having."
Fred fixed his tie again.
"I will if you join my church and get baptized."
After a long conversation the two of them went home to their families and talked about it with their wives, then their wives began to talk about it. Then they began to talk about it on the air. Realizing the problem, everyone began to talk about it and the ones who listened began to talk about it and everything became all good. This pleased the Lord and everyone became all talk and the show went on. Fred and Greg lived happily ever after on the Morning Horizon.

The Brown Cheerleader

She was fat, ugly and brown to the popular, but to the poor, hungry and losers, she was beautiful in every way. When she tried out for the cheer-leading squad they told her everything that was wrong with her but they forgot to tell her everything that was right. "Misty Brown," was her name, and her drive is what made her amazing. Her ability to shine came from inside, and the average person would die for her. When she noticed that the football team had been win-less after eight games, she just had to break her bitter silence and attend a game. Arriving at the game, there was hardly a fan in sight; the cheerleaders were sitting on the bench with some of the players. The fighting spirit of the Fighting Bulldogs had disappeared. Misty dug deep into her playbook to find a solution. The Fighting Bulldogs were on her mind sundown to sunup. She had to find the heart of an underdog, she had to find a way to win one game. Misty had to create a new dog pound to replace the ones who left their seats so she hit the streets. It had gotten so bad that she saw one of the star player's jersey up for bid on an auction site. Misty's heart began to beat slow when she saw a picture of her great grandfather, who had the school's passing record, in a trashcan by the vending machine. Motivation filled her spirit as the blood of determination sped through her veins. In a shaking fit, she went under the bridge and gathered up all of the poor people that she could find, she then withdrew all of the money out of her school loans and paid so they could attend the rest of the games. Misty also conned the cheerleaders by putting bleach in the school detergent and when they turned them in after the game to be washed the uniforms came out rusty brown. Realizing they had no good uniforms, the regular cheerleaders were too snobby and didn't want to cheer in their street cloths. When the team took the field and saw all of their real fans cheering playing their school song, the fighting bulldog had been resurrected. The other team was so confident that they were going to win that none of the players took the time before the game to watch the scouting footage. In all of their confidence and athleticism they stormed onto the field, but the Fighting Bulldogs had nothing to lose and the fans had nothing to lose also. Cheering with every bit of gratefulness from all of the hospitality in the stands, the Raging Tide did not see a loss coming. When the Fighting Bulldogs hit the field with their small team, Misty grabbed her bullhorn and began cheering from the stands. In this new battle, it was not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. In the first quarter, after kickoff, the Fighting Bulldogs hit the gas and didn't let up. Whenever the visiting team would get close to scoring a touchdown, Misty would put her hands up to rev-up the dog-pound. At the end of the game the visiting Raging Tide were so shocked and beat-up that they couldn't even walk to shake hands. Once the win hit the airwaves and the miracle was done, Misty slammed into the announcer's booth and took the microphone; in a protest, her emotions turned into words.
"I want everyone to remember this day. From day one I believed in this team. I believed in them so much that I gave up my job to cheer for them and I suffered for three weeks when I didn't make the team. I believe in this team so much that I went and got all of the people off of the streets who grew up watching them. They now can't even afford a damn ticket to cheer for the team that their kids are now watching. They have no money because they have no jobs; therefore, I sacrificed my whole college paycheck to get them here and we won." She took her finger and pointed at the losing team. "Do you see this. The energy from the hungry souls who used to slave the mills in this town has punished your opponents and put the fear of God in your next challenger. From this day on, I will be cheering for the rest of the season and these real fans will be here to not only cheer but to collect a paycheck because all of your other fans left. We are the Fighting Bulldogs of Youngsland County and your brown and sassy cheerleader declares that from this moment on, we show no mercy." The stadium exploded with cheer after Misty had spoken. The other team was so eager to get out of town that they didn't even shower after the game. Misty had put the fight back in the Fighting Bulldogs. When they finished the season on a seven game winning streak they were so filled with the football spirit that they changed their uniforms to brown to match all of the dirt that was left on the field from trying to win. Misty Brown may not have made the cheer-leading squad but she was now the new hope and also owner of the new team nickname, "The Browns."   

Diamonds of Transition

There's one thing certain about life and that is that everyone who walks this earth will have to make a transition: Children have to make the transition to adults; the president, along with military men and women, have to make the transition back to civilians; the list goes on-and-on. Transitions teach us how to adapt; transitions also teach us how to prepare for the uncertain. This story is about a girl in the diamond fields who was rescued by the Red Cross. No one could've ever imagined how one life could get ordinary people in the mindset to save others who meant little to society.

"What's your name?" Martha kept repeating as she tried to bring a battered little girl back to reality.
Slowly reaching consciousness, the girl began to whisper her name.
"Zikka."
"She said her name is 'Zikka.' Did you hear her?" Brandon said, trying to make sure Martha was paying attention. Martha picked the little girl up off of the ground. She was so excited that she was responding.
"Get her to the van... Now! We have to get her out of here before they come looking for her. Go now we don't have much time."
"What about the others," Brandon asked.
Martha gave him a very frightening look.
"Just go, I will see you when the sun comes up."
Brandon ran through the open diamond mine with Zikka in his arms and hid her in the van. He stood watch over her until the sun came up and Martha returned.
"Any luck?" Brandon asked, exhausted in the driver's seat.
"Nothing. Just a bunch of dead bodies. Not a survivor left," she replied.
They then sped off to get the girl and themselves to safety. One life was saved out of hundreds of slaves in the diamond fields, but the hard part had just begun. Martha and Brandon had to find out how to get one little girl to make the transition from a battered diamond field slave in a third world country, into a citizen, in a fast pace high class country. The only thing that was certain in this case was that this little girl would have a better life. Zikka had to learn how to communicate, she had to learn how to read, and she also had to learn how to feel normal human emotions. After failing at so many things in the midst of the transition, it was hard to coexist with others in her new life. She was so used to malnutrition and digging that even when someone made her bed she didn't know what to say. As people began to see her grow they too started to change. They started to change for the better. Sometimes it's good to have everything and live day-to-day with minimal worries, but, in Zikka's case, she taught people how to show compassion for those who couldn't. She taught them how to try harder and appreciate the little things that most people take for granted. Looking into her eyes, people saw the strength to make other people's lives better. As time stood still for one little girl, Brandon and Martha gave something that not to many people would give, they gave people the images and emotions of what was going on in the middle of nowhere to people who could help. When a man cries watching a total stranger grow up after being rescued from a place where few made it out, this proved that the transition was worth it. Although life is not fair and so many fail to care, those who do, always remind others that things can get better if we're willing to make the transition.

The Heartless

On a cold November day as the snow fell from the sky and melted on the warm level ground, one man was eager for a change. Markus Rose, was his name, and he often watched this form of nature while working the steel mills every night to feed his family. In his free time he studied pimps. Listening to a sermon one Sunday morning, he watched as the reverend wowed the members with his words, he would soak in his every word and watch as they would pass the collection plate around the church. Markus Rose started to become obsessed with the ability of earning money. Living in the heart of capitalism, he determined that he could not have a soul to survive, so he started pimping his wife and daughter. He used all of the women in his network to rise to power in the streets. Markus even approached the pulpit of his church and became a reverend. No one could explain the mind of a man with no soul, the mind of a man who became obedient to the laws that governed ambition. Even in religion, it's hard to determine what's good and what's evil once someone trains their mind to believe that everything they do is right. The amazing part of this mindset is how it draws others into the circle.
"Feed off of the weak." This message was written in the mental makeup of Markus's brain. At any moment of feeling his heart showing any sign of sympathy he would intoxicate himself with the darkness of human emotion. He would feed his soul with the things that make a man heartless. In the depths of naked women and the evils of white dust, this is the life that gave him what he needed to crush his enemies. Feeding off of the evils of another man's mind. Studying the laws that governed the weak to maintain power and wealth. Knowledge of such self could only lead to the belief of no God. "There is no good on this planet." This is what he would tell his faithful servants; this is what he convinced himself to believe. The beauty of every woman revolved around him. The cunning gravity of those who craved his inner thoughts circulated and wanted to be like him. This desire took a firm hold of the innocent minds of good men and their daughters. Manipulating a woman to kill her first born was later followed by an army of children seeking his love.  Markus Rose, was his name, and only the red of a rose could show him why the beauty of such a flower had to be protected by thorns. Inside of this man was something driven by rage. Found in the pit of his own madness he was snorting and sniffing with another man's wife. In the end, the rose in the cement would be stepped on by another man seeking justice. After shooting Markus square in the head and also his wife, a heartfelt man, would spend the rest of his life in jail not knowing that he was a savior of the weak and the new ruler of those trying to heal the hearts of the heartless.

Show Mercy

The man who is hungry is in search for food.
The man who is eating forgets what it feels like to be hungry.
For a man to understand what it feels like to be hungry he must stop eating.
Only then can he show mercy to the man that is hungry.

Rocco's Temper

It was a hot day in the small town of Maple Hills so that meant work for all of the town's people. Everyone was happily working until the boss told them that they were not getting paid. Out of all of the workers, Rocco, had the worst temper.
"What you mean? 'We ain't getting paid,'" Rocco said as he proceeded to take his hammer and destroy everything he had built.
After he started a huge riot and beat the boss to a bloody pulp, the boss then pulled out all of their checks.
"I was only joking," he said, laying on the ground in pain.
 Rocco had never been so embarrassed in his life. Realizing it was April Fools' Day he attempted to apologize, but it was too late, the first aid workers had already carried the boss off of the work room floor. Rocco's temper turned a good joke into a nightmare.