Everyone thinks of changing the world, but few think of changing themselves.

The Sara G & A Macarthur Challenge
The Sara G and A Macauthur Challenge is a writing contest, with all proceeds from the posts, going  to charity. Their concept,; present a picture taken by A Mac and come up with a story based on the picture. I was one of 3 lucky woman to have been chosen as this challenge's winners. My submission is below, but to read the other 2 wonderful submissions by Holly and Heckofawoman and help raise money for one of the NV charities, please make a post here!


Life During Wartime

The sound of gunfire, off in the distance
I'm getting used to it now
Lived in a brownstone, lived in the ghetto
I've lived all over this town.....

Since the lights went off on the Promenade, there has been almost total darkness at night, with the exception of candle lights in the windows of the brownstones. The heat from the asphalt still generates at night so there is no relief from the summer. I barely sleep at night. I lie in bed and try to remember back to better times, as my body sweats and soaks the sheets. In the morning I will start to make plans to get out. This takes much planning, since the "New Party" took over. Who would have ever thought that this would have started with an oil leak at the bottom of the ocean.

In any case, I'm not safe here any longer. The New Party says that there will be enough water to get us through the summer, but I am doubtful. The wait on the water lines grows longer each day and there are an increasing number of bodies with the sunken in faces of dehydration. The loud speakers from the trucks assure us that these are victims of SARs and just to keep our faces covered. But you can't cover up those eye sockets, can ya? I'm pleased with myself that I started to stock pile water from the beginning. One of the smartest moves I've ever made. In the morning, I'll gather the others.

Transmit the message, to the receiver
hope for an answer some day
I got three passports, couple of visas
don't even know my real name.....

I've been constantly sending the message asking for the directions to The Village, but no response yet. I know others have gotten the directions and have left but I don't know if they made it. I'm ready when it comes. I have my have my passports and visas packed and ready to go. I haven't used my real name now for over a year, and no two people know any of my alias. Heck, even I have even forgotten my real name; a side effect from the drugged peanut butter the New Party was supplying. Still, this bothers me less than not knowing who to trust. I think this group is solid. I hear that it's a long drive to The Village. I am sure that we will get to know if there are any weak links among us.

Heard about Houston? Heard about Detroit?
Heard about Pittsburgh, PA?

Finally, we received the message with the GPS to The Village. The news we got was worse than we thought. According to the underground, Houston, Detroit and Pittsburgh are over run with people fleeing the coast line, looking for water from the cities more inland. The New Party has been cracking down and has been blocking cellular service in all metropolitan areas. Because of this, we were given locations where we could uplink our computers and tap into the phone lines. But I can't help worrying about being caught doing this. Punishment is death, and I'm concerned that we are not harboring a sleeper.

Tomorrow we leave. We'll spend the night packing the car with food, water and basic medical supplies that we'll need for the journey. Also packed are gas masks, in case we come across a road block. We were warned to do this. It seems that many have been caught this way. Oh, better not forget the bag of costumes, hair dye and scissors.

Trouble in transit, got through the roadblock
we blended in with the crowd
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines
I know that ain't allowed
We dress like students, we dress like housewives
or in a suit and a tie
I changed my hairstyle so many times now
don't know what I look like!

Just as warned, we ran into a few road blocks. Thank goodness for those gas masks. At night we stopped and rested. It also gave us the time we needed to change our look to match the various ID's. This was necessary, when we got into the big cities so we blended in with the drugged out peanut butter heads. The New Party was quite cleaver to assign each city an official outfit, hair cut and color, so that if one of the "citizens" could be easy to identify. As we got closer to our destination we move at night and sleep during the day. As the cities under control of the New Party grew further apart, they patrol by helicopter. We can hear them off in the distance, and by traveling at night, we have time to hide. We only have about 300 miles left to go. We should be arriving at The Village sometime after 3 AM. As we get closer, we meet others like us. They share stories they have heard about the Village. How it's beautiful with clean water and plentiful food. How the people are freely under the Constitution. It sounds too good to be true. We'll know soon enough. Now we sleep.

I'm not sure about a life after this
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That is runnin' through the promised land......

As we drive, the ground gets gradually lower, until we began to see water and lights, first dim then brighter and brighter. Bridges seem to be coming from almost everywhere, all leading to an island, with a beautiful city skyline, unlike any I had seen before. It was better than the stories, like a perfect photograph of a perfect city. As we crossed a bridge we were greeted at the other side by the warm smiling integration guides. They directed us to the information center, where we would be assigned living quarters and given a stipend till we could be matched with a job. I knew we were home.

Life During Wartime, The Talking Heads, 1980
River of Dreams, Billy Joel, 1993




Recent Articles
  • Mood Music Maestro.....

    Yes, it is possible to tear yourself a way from the vine, even when it means leaving saying good bye to your friends. My family is taking our annual trip and meeting my cousins in Spain. I have left my watch kitty [OK Mr. Tough guy, ] I mean ...pitbull, nonStitiousZealot to watch over my articles. So if anything should happen, say a nasty troll or a visit from Billy Joel, please let him know. And thanks NSZ, for doing me this favor.

    Well I will be back September 1, and I hope all of you enjoy your last days of summer

    Love,

    Perrie

  • Over the last couple of weeks there has been a massacre of ethnic Uzbeks on border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. According to the AP, "Entire Uzbek neighborhoods in southern Kyrgyzstan were reduced to scorched ruins by rampaging mobs of ethnic Kyrgyz, who forced nearly half of the region's roughly 800,000 Uzbeks to flee. Interim President Roza Otunbayeva says as many as 2,000 people may have died in the clashes." Almost all of the homes of these displace Uzbeks have been burned to the ground, their business trashed, and the police that the Kyrgyzstan government sent in to "protect" the returning Uzbeks are not to be trusted. The UN has appealed for 71 million dollars to rebuild, but nothing has been done to assist the returning Uzbeks at present, other than some food supplies, which have been stolen. Which brings up a question that has bothered me for a very long time. Why does the world champion some human rights causes, while almost totally ignoring others?

    Continue reading this entry ...

  • Recently, I read a discussion between a person of faith and an ethical humanist about why it seems that America and other western nations have lost their moral compass. The person of faith blamed this loss of morality on growing numbers of people who have given up religion and are now embracing Ethical Humanism, atheism or agnosticism. The ethical humanist disagreed, stating that you don't need religion to be a moral and ethical person. This discussion was not particularly unique. I have seen it discussed many times before, and more often than not, I have seen these discussions turn nasty. The personal observation that I have made in my almost 50 years is that there does seem to be a trend towards a lack of morality and ethical behavior. We can see it on a grand scale, when banks fail and need to bailed out; yet greedy CEO's receive large bonuses. Their greed out weights what should be their embarrassment. And we see it in our day to day lives, with the loss of people saying "Please" and "Thank you". When we no longer embrace the pleasantries of holding a door for someone, or giving up our seat on a bus or a train to an older passenger or a pregnant woman. We hear in our daily conversations, words that would have been consider rude, now peppered everywhere. But the question I wonder about is this; does loosing ones religion encourage this and ethical humanism is the reason? Maybe, none of this matters and it's just a cultural change for the worse.

    Continue reading this entry ...

  • She has hair of gold, And a sharp wit. She is the bad girl of the vine, But we love every little bit. She gave us the Hair Article, That made us laugh till we peed, And top it of with "The Valentine's Day" Card

    Continue reading this entry ...

  • If you agree with the sentiments of this article, please vote it up. Let's make a statement here!

    I fancy myself a moderate on most topics. I believe in compromise, compassion, and trying to find logical solutions. I can go into almost any discussion with a willingness to keep an open mind and my mouth shut and listen to both sides of an argument....
    But then you try to discuss the Israeli/Palestine issue and that all goes out the window.

    You see, the problem with this topic is that the parties who are invested into this issue have lost the capacity to do listen, compromise, and debate There is a total inflexibility in their discussions. They all do their standard talking points at first, which quickly turns into a fight and name calling. What they are is a mirror image of the actual problem of the Middle East. There is no trust between the two sides. They are invested in their anger. If they took the time to actually get to know one another as people, they might realize that they have more in common then they thought.

    Regular folk never show up at these articles, although, I am quite sure that they have an opinion. They fear expressing themselves freely without coming under attack by the usual combatants. It seems that you also have to have a PhD in the history of the Middle East to enter these debates, and I use the word debate loosely here, otherwise your point is invalid

    Personally, I have always been for a two state solution. I believe that the past is the past and it's time that we find how the parties can live together in the here and now. We know that this is possible. Just look at Northern Ireland. All it takes is compromise, compassion, and finding a logical solution.

    I am not taking comments on this Op Ed. It would only turn into the usual angry fight and that is not my point. This is just a statement of fact, that if you can't even have a good and proper discussion on this subject; one that is inclusive and inviting to all; one where people actually listen to one another and come up with ideas and solutions, instead of history and anger, then we are nothing more, than the problem it's self......

    How sad.

    • 35votes
  • And just as I was thinking it was safe to go back out to East Hampton, I read the Police Blotter!

    By David Lion Rattiner

    Gutter Caper

    Police in East Hampton Village have opened an investigation into the string of gutter thefts that have taken place in the last two months. They are following up on leads as to where the gutters would be sold, who stole the gutters and the home owners that the gutters were stolen from. Yes, it's official, we have officers who have to get their heads in the gutter.

    Paintball Sniper

    A man in East Hampton reported to police that he was shot at with paintballs outside of his home. It was described as a drive by paint-balling, as the suspects did not exit the car and took off after they fired. The man was able to describe the vehicle. It was really, REALLY yellow, with polkadots.

    Caught With Pepper Spray

    A man in Hampton Bays who was previously convicted of criminal activity was caught by police with pepper spray on his person. Police arrested him because it was unlawful for him to carry pepper spray due to his previous criminal history. The man could not convince police that the pepper spray was to be used on his food.

    Stop Calling Me

    A man in East Hampton just doesn't seem to be getting the message. The man has been calling a woman he wants to develop a relationship with but unfortunately for him, she isn't interested. The woman called police and they contacted the man and advised him to stop calling her. However, the man continued to call her and was subsequently arrested. We are waiting for details to see whom he called when police gave him his one phone call.

    OMG....I'm scared. Remind me when I'm resting on the beach.

  • When I was in elementary school, I had two wonderful teachers, Mrs. Hower and Mr. Dreyfus. They helped me understand the turmoil I was growing up in. The 70's had just begun, and there was a war going on in Vietnam. Lieutenant Cally had been brought up on charges for the My Lai Massacre and Richard Nixon was under a lot of stress to end the war, while he was still increasing troops. All of these events were not filtered on the TV as they are now. We got full coverage of all of these events, live action war, body bags, body counts, bodies of men, woman and children lying in a mass grave. As I watched the nightly news, I saw anger and protests. I heard a lot of anti America talk from Hippies and Yippies. I heard counter reactions, calling Hippies and Yippies un-American. It was within this context that I grew up and it was the guidance of these two teachers who helped me navigate through the rhetoric and noise and understand what it meant to be a good American.

    Continue reading this entry ...

  • Souvenir

    A picture postcard
    A folded stub
    A program of the play
    File away your photographs
    Of your holiday

    And your mementos
    Will turn to dust
    But that's the price you pay
    For every year's a souvenir
    That slowly fades away
    Every year's a souvenir
    That slowly fades away

    Words and lyrics, B. Joel

    Souvenir. From the French word meaning to remember. We collect souvenirs throughout our lives. Occasionally we take them out from their dusty boxes, the scrap books we carefully constructed, or the photo albums we put them in, and look at them and remember. But the real souvenirs are the ones that are not physical, not the ones that we can actually see, but the ones that made us who we are. They are the defining moment or moments of our lives. Yet, those we rarely look at.

    Continue reading this entry ...

  • In Tyler's article, "Does not Compute: Newsvine, Still Not A Country", it was clearly pointed out that we all signed on here at Newsvine, that we had to abide by it's by the CoH and the User Agreement. But while this seems to be followed on Newsvine proper, in Meta, it's like the wild wild west.

    Continue reading this entry ...

  • So here I sit, a woman quickly approaching fifty and actively evaluating my own life, now that I can no longer deny that I am middle aged, when along comes a show, "Men of a Certain Age", which is all about men evaluating and having personal meltdowns as they go through their midlife crisis. Wait a minute....isn't that a woman's domain? I mean, out bodies supply us with enough hormone fluctuations that we should be allowed a period of legal mental insanity, where anything short of homicide should be allowed. And what about empty nest syndrome? What the heck am I suppose to do with all these twigs and feathers that I built my nest with. Burn them with a large group of other middle aged woman in some sort of "Burning Nest" festival, that we hold in the fall as the last of our flock leaves for college? What about those careers we gave up to raise that family that is now gone. Those diplomas look good on the wall, but do you realize how hard it is to start all over again? Midlife crisis is a real thing for us woman. What are the men moaning about? There is no men-o-pause for them, right?

    Continue reading this entry ...

  • You've got to be taught to be afraid
    Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
    And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
    You've got to be carefully taught.

    You've got to be taught before it's too late,
    Before you are six or seven or eight,
    To hate all the people your relatives hate,
    You've got to be carefully taught!

    South Pacific Rodgers & Hammerstein

    As a New Yorker, I have always felt comfortable with my cosmopolitan idea that hate in America was an anomaly . I felt I lived in a fairly progressive country, that had grown from the civil rights movement and WWII. As a country, I was confident that we all knew that hate is bad, that hate is evil. Then I was introduced to the world of news groups and my illusion of an evolved America was blown. It wasn't that I was naive that hate was out there, I knew that it was. But I didn't think that it was as pervasive as it is. Many articles that I read contain "information", that in actuality is an attempt to spread hate. All kinds of hate. This rude awakening that my assumptions were wrong about America is shocking. So I decided to investigate the facts about hate, and it confirmed my worst fears. I found out that very little has changed about hate in the US. All that has happened is it went underground, and how it is reported depends on the news service what what editorials you choose to read.

     

    Continue reading this entry ...

  • I can't believe it! I have been on Newsvine for One Year! And what an interesting year it has been. I have found that I really did get smarter here. I have found my voice and a place that I feel that I can be me. I have found so many wonderful writers and photographers and interesting exchanges of ideas with people. For the most part, I have enjoyed these exchanges even if we agreed to disagree, because in the course of discussion I grew. And where would I be without those wonderful people that I have met here and call friends! You all know who you are! What a wonderful, big hearted, silly, naughty, interesting, and thought provoking group of individuals you all are! Whether we've agreed or not, you're friendship has always anchored me here. In the moments that I have wondered if the ranker here were worth staying around for, my friends have always made me feel like this really was home. By the way, I have an article going out tomorrow, called, "Hate in America." Your all welcome to kick in, LOL! How about that for self promotion! Well, I hope that you all feel the same way about knowing me this year, as I do about you. It's been a great ride! I'm getting back on again.

    Love,

    Perrie

  • "Fearless people,
    Careless needle.
    Harsh words spoken,
    And lives are broken."

    A Prayer for the Dying, Seal

    "I'm Sorry"

    There I said it. Seems so simple, right? Then why is it said so infrequently? Why is it that we would rather see the end of a relationship then utter those two words....I'm sorry? Is it that our pride is more important than whether we are wrong? Have we forgotten to take a moment to look into the future to see the hurt that we may be inflicting, or is it that we are so self absorbed that we just don't care? Does our anger take over at a perceived injustice, or is it just a thoughtless act of inaction? All I know is that, too often, we don't say "I'm sorry" when it would be the best thing, the adult thing, to do. Even though we know that saying "I'm sorry is the right thing to do, it is almost too painful for many of us to say.

    Maybe the reason we find it difficult to apologize is because it may be rebuffed then we feel that we have exposed our soft white underbelly. But what happens if we don't take the risk? What do we loose? Do we loose respect? Do we loose friendship? What we have forgotten is that the act of saying we're sorry, does not make us weaker, but demonstrates our strength, wisdom and maturity. If our apology is not accepted, then are they the lessor person?. Refusing an apology is an act that is more egregious than not apologizing, because you are taking advantage of a person when they are the most vulnerable. It makes the offended party small minded and immature. The person who is apologizing shouldn't feel badly, because they have acted maturely and the person to whom they have apologized could not rise to their level of maturity.

    Even before this cyber age,words harshly spoken were hard to take back, but at least we had face to face contact with one another. Often times the sound of our voice, our body language or a simple touch says more than the actual words we say, thus providing additional information to prevent misunderstandings. But that face to face contact doesn't make it any easier. As humans we need the connection, but we are connecting in a personal way less and less. We have given up even speaking to one another. We live in a Blackberry world, where we find it easier to text than to speak. These words are permanently stuck in cyberspace. They have no inflection or facial expression, they are just words. Misunderstandings can easily devolve into anger and hurtful words which are often compounded by hurtful responses and the damage is as permanent as the memory chip on our devices. In this modern age of texting, posting and emailing, we are lost in our faceless, touch-less soundless words. So if we find it so easy to find the words to hurt one another, why does sorry seem to be the hardest word?

  • Vendetta on the vine....I bet many of you know what I am talking about. It is when a dispute is played out on the vine, and then the vine becomes an instrument by which one viner gets even with another. This just happened to me recently. I was caught quite off guard when it happened, because I hadn't perceived that there was a problem with this individual, until the postings started to mount and the vine emails started to fly. The vine email is an excellent way to spread the poison of one viner against another. Now on the other hand, it can be used to solve the problem off line, yet this was not the case. Yes, the vine provides a most excellent way of either solving a problem or making one with this very convenient email function .

    Continue reading this entry ...

  • In the TV show, "Lie to Me", the fictional firm "The Lightman Group" consults for law enforcement, businesses and individuals in the real life science of reading micro-expressions. It is a science based on the observation that quick, small, almost unnoticeable expressions that all humans make, have a universal meaning. They give away what is going on in our heads. If you are one of the experts in this field, you can read a person's facial expressions and know what they are feeling; whether it's shame, disgust, anger, and most important, lies. You might think that this is a wonderful skill to have. No one would be able to pull the wool over your eyes, right? You would be able to read what is going on in a competitors mind and use it to get the upper hand in business. These are but a few benefits of having this ability. But for the Cal Lightman, owner and expert of the fictional Lightman Group, this gift is actually a curse. He can't have a normal relationship with anyone. He reads each face like a book, whether he wants to or not, and because of that even normal family relationships are impossible for him. It seems that what we think would be deemed as hurtful, painful, and maybe even shocking, if those we love really knew what was going on in our heads. And one of the worse transgressions is the lie. Once it is exposed, a relationship may never recover. Why? Because we are all taught from the time that we are small children that lying is bad and that liars are bad. We even have Pinocchio as a cautionary tale teaching children the dangers of the vice of lying. Most people would agree with this right? Well, I'm going to say, "Wrong" and here's why.

    Continue reading this entry ...

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About this Author
Vineacity
Articles Posted: 51
Links Seeded: 14
Member Since: 12/2008
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Perrie's Recommendations

Books

  • Adams vs. Jefferson, by John Ferling
  • 1776, by David McCullough
  • Reilly:Ace of Spies,by Robin Bruce Lockhart
  • Different Seasons, by Stephen King
  • Homicide:Life on the Mean Streets of Baltimore

Movies

  • Gran Torino
  • To Kill a Mockingbird
  • Gentleman's Agreement
  • Rendition
  • Mr. Holland's Opus
  • The Constant Gardener

Television

  • The Prisoner
  • Homicide, Life on the Streets

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