http://pebbles.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/680019 theory is a big leap and involves asking " What causes the phenomenon in the first place?" The question I posed fellow students is; how far can we take the Freedom of Speech? And what is child pornography?

My purpose is also to show you the danger of using children as sex objects, and the general apathy or acceptance American and Dutch culture has toward these sexual portrayals of children through literature, art, and erotica. Art is not the core issue of my research, but this is a way to soften public resolve. Sexual portrayals of children are common in bookstores, sex shops, video stores, and in private collections, even museums, which may at times be described as art and thus legal. Because of the liberal stand the Netherlands takes on matters of sexual issues, as described later, there could be questionable material concerning young children and adolescents sold directly to anybody in sex shops or video stores anywhere in the country, or on the Internet, internationally, affecting all of us and our children.

It was important to see what was being done in the country about this subject because of its international impact on child sex trade. There was some questions raised to me about the validity of this research because a non-government organization (NGO) is not ‘scientific”. In fact I found that they are the one of the only sources that take an active role in combating the child sex trade, whether it be in a democratic “Western” country or poor country and their resources are based upon fact, and detailed research. As a student doing this solo research project in two countries I also faced obstacles such as funding, and professors willing to work with me on this subject.

Permission was granted by Dutch International NGO’s to conduct interviews, but was denied by GWAK, a new special police force in the Netherlands to combat child sexual exploitation, although I did interview a new special Child Pornography Unit on the telephone. The NGO’s that I have interviewed from were; ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes), Defense for Children International, Terres des Hommes, ChildRight, and a government supported scientific institute in the Netherlands; the Verwey Jonker Instituute. Almost all of these groups are a part of international organizations that work along with the United Nations as well as the Ministry of Justice in the Netherlands, and especially with the Convention of the Rights of the Child. I think it is very important how each of these NGO’s look into the problem of child exploitation, namely child pornography in the Netherlands.


Feelings about the Subject

I have found in doing research many uninformed democratic citizens believe in the idea child pornography is protected by the Freedom of Speech. Child pornography is not protected by the Freedom of Speech, as children must deal with the permanency, longevity, and circulation of the record of the crime long after the act (106th Congress, 1996). This I also feel is true as in one case, that is close to me, the charges were dropped and the thousands were never found of one "collector" pedophile, who was never held in jail for using 4 female children for his own purposes.

In cultural anthropology, unobtrusive observation includes all methods for studying behavior where informants don't know that they are being studied. My methods involve unobtrusive questions or observations of American students and Dutch students at New Mexico State University, and in the Netherlands at Leiden University from August 1997 through May 2001.

Student reporter, Sylvia Carlson asked New Mexico State University students how they felt about child pornography on the internet and the accessibility of it. Some students felt aggression and anger and formed a group to block “censorship.” About five hundred students, the President of NMSU, and the Board of Regents openly expressed how they supported the accessibility of child pornography on the internet at NMSU.

Although my questions aimed at Dutch students were not printed in a school journal, their answers I feel remain important. Do Dutch citizens believe the number of children used in exploitation in Holland is a small number, and is this an important subject to them? When I moved to the Netherlands, my new Dutch housemates and I exchanged ideas about the problem of human rights that are violated in their country, namely child pornography. What follows is a summary of a heated discussion between us that provides an example of a typical social reaction about this subject;
Many of my housemates asked, “Why did you decide to come to the Netherlands?” My answer was, “Well, two years ago while doing research about the problem of child pornography in the United States, I discovered there was an amazing amount of child pornography coming from the Netherlands”.

My roommates replied, “You have been misinformed! There is no one in the Netherlands that is interested in child pornography. It is illegal here! You won’t find any child pornography here if you tried. You are wrong. Now don’t go back to the United States and print lies about our country”. Not to mention violence and aggression, on their part. They felt targeted.

During many discussions with fellow students and professors and while reading academic research in the United States and the Netherlands, I discovered several interesting opinions from democratic students/citizens besides persons with empathy for victims, I would like to share with you:

 The person researching the nature and extent of child pornography is actually interested in it for himself/herself!

 Children cannot be harmed by child pornography, it can actually benefit their sex life later as adults! "What about PTSD, depression, suicide, and the like?"

 Why didn’t I study in Belgium or Thailand? It is not a problem in the Netherlands. "Doesn't happen in my backyard?!Only a third world problem?"

 NGO work is not scientifically proven research and therefore not acceptable to use as a resource in an acedemic paper. "Hmm, really? Then get some scientists to work on it."


 Child pornography is not an acceptable topic to discuss and there are no classes that teach students about this topic. "Thats why there are 6 million images on the internet, because no one has a clue. Why can't we talk about it? Fear, anger, apathy?"

 If the Dutch were to make a hard rule about child pornography, the people actually interested in the material would riot and cause too many problems for the government.
"What about the victims? Don't you think they suffer? Don't they deserve justice?"

 People interested in child porno are the same as the people interested in members of the same sex (homosexuals or lesbians)! "Says, what official source?"

 The child pornography that is available now has not been recently made, but it is from the 1960's. "Then why does the Department of Justice say there are 6 million images of child pornography online today? People just stopped after 1969? Not in the cases I have read about and personally am affected by."

 Child pornography is protected by the Freedom of Speech. "Oh really. Tragically many people believe this. The sad case is trying to be made that child pornography is a human right of certain folks who "need" such things to keep them sane. Very dangerous thinking, indeed."


The nature and extent of child pornography is difficult to understand due to the lack of scientific data.Due to the lack of scientific data about the extent of child pornography in the Netherlands, or we may use the term, the commercial sexual exploitation of children, all of the complexities about this issue cannot be answered. This could also be said for the United States.

You may ask yourself if you stumble upon something questionable; is the photo is this child pornography, or adolescent pornography? Did this adolescent make a mature decision about her employment? Could she have been manipulated? Is this legal? I discovered typical photos found in the advertising sections of a popular adult magazine and teenage porn sold in magazine shops in the train stations in the Netherlands. My purpose will be to show the nature of erotica and child pornography and how difficult it is to define.

The United States also needs to take an example from the Netherlands and sign the Convention of the Rights of the Child. For such a large country there are such few places to report child pornography, and few police organizations that work specifically on the issue, as well as research centers for students who like myself, want to end this crime against our children and children's children.



]]> Tue, 26 May 2009 18:52:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/680019 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/605131 George put a gun to his head,
Erica overdosed a floor above me,
Darrin lay in my arms with white lips,
It could have been me.

Full of moot,
It could have been me, dead,
long ago.


The phonecalls, the threats,
the fists, and heavy voices.
Intimidations,
loose doorknobs and moot,
It could have been me.

Am I ready?
I don't know when I will go,
or where it will be,
full of moot
because it could have been me.

*m.t.*]]> Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:39:00 EST http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/605131 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/574583
World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child (WCPRC)
Honouring three individuals or organisations for outstanding contributions on behalf of the rights of the child. The election of finalists is structured as a worldwide educational and empowerment process for the rights of the child and democracy and gives the world's children an opportunity to present the prizes that are awarded for outstanding contributions on behalf of the rights of the child.

Deadline: 1 March 2009
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/13120

World Summit Youth Award
Recognising youth-led projects that encourage the active participation of young people in the emerging information society. The World Summit Youth Award (WSYA) is intended to be a global 'youth for youth' initiative for selecting and promoting best practice in e-content and technological creativity, demonstrating young people's potential to create digital opportunities. The WSYA lies within the framework of the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS); the winners will be celebrated at the World Summit Award Gala at the WSIS.

Deadline: 28 February 2009
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/12900



[Source: The Communication Initiative Network]
]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:34:00 EST http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/574583 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/469117
'Children are like that one beautiful woman who men pursue in order to deface' and that is why i am here. Since 1997, I have looked into the nature and extent of commercial sexualization of children, in other words, child pornography and child trafficking. On a positive note; it is great to have met such good people around the world that have offered encouraging words that have kept the fire burning. The goals of my project are: 1) find and seek information that the public and victims need in order to combat child porn more effectively. 2) find and seek present attitudes about the commercial sexual exploitation of children 3) find others to work with, as well as victims to interview, that want to work on this issue 4) discover the differences of how each country combats child porn, in their NGO work and legal codes, for future change and collaboration.

Yes, I write, and quite often most often in books that I keep on my shelf. Mr. John Flanagan, your title does not appeal to me. You call yourself a judge, but you are nothing to me, nothing but another animal on this planet, after his own selfish intentions. You ask me lists and lists of questions which I answer for you, honestly. I traveled quite a distance to talk openly about a subject which is very important to me, which deserves attention and that is child pornography.

You work for yourself and my opinion I think you do not like what I have to say. You may think that because you are a judge, you are somehow better that everyone else, that you can slide documents under the rug. You are mistaken. LIght shines upon everything that is hid, eventually. Even if you try to hide something, it will be revealed.

I am glad that you asked me to come and speak with you, and that you came and talked with me. Your purposes are still unclear, even though I believe that it is only to keep me from speaking, only when a person like you tells me no, it only makes me do the opposite. So keep saying no. I am sitting here smiling. As a child victim and a witness, wouldn't my words be of interest to you?

Do you know what Social Anthropology is? You say I have abandoned the topic of archaeology. Clearly you have read nothing that I have sent you. I want to see what how people handle this subject in the courts today, in countries today, yes in the past, in the arts, and in the arts now, but how are we handling things now, how do we protect our children now? You are a unfair judge and no matter what you say, I will write about child pornography as long as possible, and tell the only story I know.

Goodday, judge...professor...whatever you are.]]> Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:54:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/469117 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/215841 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 09:58:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/215841 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/86321
The purpose of this account is to make available the realities of child exploitation using real life examples, and to draw attention to the economy of child pornography in the US.



Related Resources05/01/2007 - L'ONU annonce avoir rapatrié quatre casques bleus pour des abus sexuels commis au Soudan
05/01/2007 - Soudan: Le Sud Soudan ouvre une enquête suite à des accusations d’abus sexuels
04/01/2007 - Four peacekeepers accused of sex abuse already repatriated – UN mission in Sudan


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http://www.nordicom.gu.se/


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"Dewdrops in the Garden" is also a senior thesis submitted to the faculty of Northland College, a Liberal Arts faculty in Ashland, Wisconsin. This autobiographical story details the author's experience as a victim of child pornography in the United States. The purpose of this account is to make available the realities of child exploitation using real life examples, and to draw attention to the economy of child pornography in the US.

This story was also accepted as documentation for researchers and students at the the International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media. The Clearinghouse collects and documents research and other information on children, youth and media across the world. By means such as yearbooks, newsletters, survey articles, the Clearinghouse aims at broadening and contextualising this knowledge, thereby increasing awareness and media literacy. A global network is fundamental to the work of the Clearinghouse, which is carried out in co-operation with UNESCO.

Author: Melanie Thoreen

To obtain a copy of "Dewdrops in the Garden", email the author at: bluefish.swim@yahoo.com
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=5007
]]> Thu, 11 Jan 2007 13:03:00 EST http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/86321 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/42985 Date:
01/06/2006

Organisation:
BBC

Resource type:
News release



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5038682.stm


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A political party with a paedophile agenda has been registered in The Netherlands, prompting outrage among many parts of society.

The party plans to push for a cut in the legal age for sexual relations to 12 from 16 and for legalisation of child pornography and sex with animals.

The Charity, Freedom and Diversity (NVD) party says it promotes freedom of speech and will stand in May elections.

MPs say they will ask the government to do something to stop the new party.

The Charity, Freedom and Diversity Party says it intends to "shake The Hague awake".



Taboos

The party says its aim is to break taboos and fight intolerance. Its members say they want paedophilia to be freely discussed, arguing that a ban just makes children curious.

They claim the subject has been a taboo since the 1996 Marc Dutroux child abuse scandal in Belgium.

They also want to break the "negative" stigma surrounding paedophilia by getting into parliament.

But the NVD says it is not just a one-issue party. It also wants children from the age of 12 to be able to vote; it promotes the legalisation of hard and soft drugs and free train travel for all.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Organisation Contact Details:

BBC
]]> Thu, 07 Sep 2006 15:43:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/42985 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/37280 Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?
'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.
So I took what was mine by eternal right,
Took your soul out into the night,
It may be over but it won't stop there,
I am here for you if you'd only care,
You touched my heart you touched my soul
You changed my life and all my goals
And love is blind and that I knew when
My heart was blinded by you.
I've kissed your lips and held your head
Shared your dreams and shared your bed
I know you well, I know your smell
I've been addicted to you.

Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one
You have been the one for me.

I am a dreamer but when I wake,
You can't break my spirit -it's my dreams you take.
And as you move on, remember me,
Remember us and all we used to be.
I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile.
I've watched you sleeping for awhile.
I'd be the father of your child.
I'd spend a lifetime with you.
I know your fears and you know mine.
We've had our doubts but now we're fine,
And I love you, I swear that's true.
I cannot live without you.

...

And I still hold your hand in mine.
In mine when I'm asleep.
And I will bear my soul in time,
When I am kneeling at your feet.
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.

i am so hollow... james blunt]]> Mon, 03 Apr 2006 14:24:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/37280 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/32051
2) How do you feel this matter is handled in the educational system? In the justice system?

3) Do you believe that the sexual slavery of children occurs in your country, and if so, do you think it is a problem?

4) Do you think, in your own country, that a rapist, child pornographer, or child molester is given enough jail time?
Do you think that most of them can be caught?

5)What do you think of a law where the public has to know where and when a pedophile gets out of prison? Do you know if your country enforces this?

6) Should pedophiles have a human right to have sex (or take pornographic images) with children (that is a person under the age of 18)?



The goals of the project are:

1) find and seek information that the public and victims need in order to combat child porn more effectively.
2) find and seek present attitudes about the commercial sexual exploitation of children
3) find others to work with, as well as victims to interview, that want to work on this issue
4) discover the differences of how each country combats child porn, in their NGO work and legal codes, for future change and collaboration.
]]> Thu, 17 Nov 2005 15:40:00 EST http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/32051 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/31487 Fri, 04 Nov 2005 12:52:00 EST http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/31487 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/22553 Sat, 26 Feb 2005 10:42:00 EST http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/22553 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/21955 Mon, 24 Jan 2005 16:07:00 EST http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/21955 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/19603
According to two researchers, employees are just as likely to speak to a co-worker working on the same floor via email as they would counterparts working in different time zones, says Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper. Speaking of the effect email can have on social skills, David Crystal, a professor of linguistics at the University of Wales, says: "simultaneous feedback is a fundamental feature of conversation," and email does not allow for this because of the time lag between recieving and responding to a message. Moreover, an email writer can monopolize (i have experienced this!) the conversation without being interrupted. "The ability to take turns in a conversation," states the Globe, " is an essential social skill."]]> Thu, 23 Sep 2004 14:35:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/19603 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/19150 cause it aint no use to pretend your wrong
i call you out, you can't hide anymore
you have no disguise i can't see through
you say its bad luck to have fallen for me
what can i do? make it good for you?
you wore me out like an old winter coat
trying to be safe from the cold
but its my time
to throw the next stone
i'll call you beautiful
i'll call it loud
you tell me i'm low cuz i slept on the floor
i didn't watch you with the banshee moaning in the wall
you threw me out cuz i was begging for a bone
i came home with a hand full of coal
but its my time to call your bluff
i'll call you beautiful
i'll call it out
oh leave it alone
you call me a dog, well thats wearing out
it doesn't bother me as long as you know
but bad luck with follow you
if you leave me at least
you could throw me a line

-temple of the dog]]> Thu, 02 Sep 2004 13:27:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/19150 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/18650

Robert Frost



]]> Sat, 07 Aug 2004 14:35:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/18650 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/18359 or if you don't
If you believe
or if you doubt
There's a
universal justice
and the eyes of truth
Are always watching
You.

~Enigma]]> Tue, 27 Jul 2004 15:06:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/18359 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/17717
tears are misting my eyes.............



]]> Mon, 28 Jun 2004 14:16:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/17717 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/13620 Mon, 19 Jan 2004 14:43:00 EST http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/13620 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/12178
Date: 24 October 2003
Location: Brussels, Belgium

Every year 1,2 million children, girls and boys, become the victims of trafficking. Far away from their homes they are used as cheap labour forces and are physically abused. The trade in children for labour, prostitution and adoption exists also in Belgium.

The struggle against this extreme violation of children's rights is slowly developing. Yet adequate data is hard to come by. Solutions are differing and the public opinion underestimates the role it can play in the combat against child trafficking.

Is the problem worsening or has the situation improved? What information can be gained from field experiences? How can the specific needs of girls and boys who are the victims of trafficking be addressed ?

The conference, which is organised by UNICEF Belgium, the "Nederlandse Vrouwenraad" (NVR) and the Commission for Women and Development, will try to bring elements of an answer to these questions.

For more information, contact:
UNICEF Belgium, Karen Kets
Tel: 00 32 2 230 5970 ; Fax : 00 32 2 230 3462
Email: kkets@unicef.be ; Website: www.unicef.be/childtrafficking/

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=3703
]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2003 13:19:00 EST http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/12178 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/11866 speed of light is constant theory of relativity can be falsifiable, mass bends space, time (goes into orbit)

string theory doesn't have many predictions

Refract > Reflect > Contstruct > add to make bigger > Destruct > add to make smaller (laser or ripple tank)

accurate theory tells you where things might be, quantum mechanics tells you everything about particles

you never get exact ansers but probability (electrons don't go in orbits, this was something they taught me in high school) "God doesn't play dice with the universe." Anti-matter is real (PET) Einstein, that bas**ard, said, "Quantum mechanics is wrong because my relativity theory doesn't say it exists"

this guy makes no sense.........the spin is opposite. I am getting dizzy, but you probably can't tell (he is actually saying this in class!)

Gedanken-when you propose an experiment, someone might pick up on your theory, if your name happens to be Einstein (what the Hell?)He apparantly does not like Einstein.

What are YOUR HIDDEN ASSUMPTIONS? Is it possible to have both waves and particles of light? Your dark adjusted eye can detect one photon. WHOOOHOO One photon can interfere with itself. A spherical wave has three dimensions, think of a circular wave made from throwing a pebble in water. THIS GUY RAMBLES ON! This is the way the world works, just because you don't like it. Wrapp your mind around ideas using words. Semantics, what is it?

Oh here's Q.E. quantum entanglement. Here he goes with his damn confusion again. Here a special kind of crystal!! Oh god, I am actually paying for this man to teach me nothing?!
wave functions use imaginary numbers/ Woah I am bored, this guy is stealing my money, I have to sit here and listen to alien pseudoscience and the babble of this madman. I have to actually make my own pseudoscience?

OH! Lets talk about Killing Cats! (Schrodingers's Cat) Collapseable wave function is behind this > place a radioactive element and a counter and a vile of nerve gas and a cat in a box. You don't know if the radioactive element has decayed until you open the box. inside cat is alive, inside cat is dead.

SICK

this guy rambles "or here" "or here"

the cat is not alive or dead until you open the box

WHAT?

Does this make perfect sense to anyone?

Anyone?

OK, I am getting a B in this class. Drawing pics on the side of my notebook and pretending to take notes really does work!]]> Wed, 05 Nov 2003 19:22:00 EST http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/11866 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/11607 hanging in branches of a lone tree
fragile cornea, eyes seeing truth
world atlas in my mind,
where to go,
where to escape?
disheveled and stinky,
yellow sunflowers sleeping next to me.
My iron clad mesh heart.
crackle of wood, tongues of fire,
flowing through the glass
the smudge of sage and tobacco
cleared my mind.
all my layers of limitations,
leaving me crying.]]> Wed, 22 Oct 2003 19:31:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/11607 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/11411
A Cajun named Jean Paul moved to Texas and bought a
donkey from a old farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to
deliver the donkey the next day. The next day the farmer rove up and said, "Sorry, but I got some bad news. The donkey died."

"Well then, just give me my money back."

"Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

"OK then, just unload the donkey."

"What ya gonna do with em."

"I'm gonna raffle him off."

"Ya cain't raffle off a dead donkey!"

"Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anyone he's
dead."

A month later the farmer met up with the Cajun and
asked, "What happened with the dead donkey?"

"I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at $2.00 apiece
and made a profit of $898.00."

"Didn't no one complain?"

"Just the guy who won. So I gave him his $2.00 back."

hahaha : )
]]> Thu, 09 Oct 2003 14:17:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/11411 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/11305
1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse
without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie,surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River.

18. Even in his last years, Grandpappy had a mind like a steel trap,only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil,this plan just might work.

21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

22. "Oh, Jason, take me!"; she panted, her breasts heaving like a college freshman on $1-a-beer night.

23. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either,but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

24. The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

25. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

26. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

27. She was as easy as the TV Guide crossword.

28. Her eyes were like limpid pools, only they had forgotten to put in any pH cleanser.

29. She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.

30. It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.






]]> Thu, 02 Oct 2003 14:16:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/11305 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/11173 Thu, 25 Sep 2003 14:38:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/11173 http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/10896 We met him the next day. At first, he told us that he wanted to give us one of his cars to use (we had no money and walked everywhere). I thought this was creepy; saying nothing, I let my friend do the talking. She insisted that she do all the talking. The conversation grew more and more suspicious, as the night, and my pack of cigarettes, dwindled. He offered us ten thousand dollars to do three months of work for him (not at his club), but in Chicago. Blake had drugs to sell and there was money in it for us, if, we used sex to sell them. WHAT! So, in other words, we would be his whores? Bailey seemed thrilled at the attention and even reassured him that she could sell his drugs in Detroit. She loved bragging, that was just her personality. I said nothing. The entire scenario was sinister, but my naïve, young mind was not experienced in the matters of drugs, criminality, or sex.
Time went by, and Blake called Bailey every day. She did work at the Blue Room a couple nights. Soon he appeared at our apartment, we would see him drive past us when we were on our daily walks downtown, frequently driving a different car. I felt as though he was stalking us, watching our every move. We found out that his partner Frank, was the owner of our apartment building. So in other words he could get our keys? I could not talk to my parents because there were some troubling family problems. Bailey was going through a rough time with her folks, and she was the only friend I had. I could not think of anyone to call that would help us. If she wanted to work for Blake, it was her decision. She made all of the decisions anyway. I just kept my eye on her, hoping she would be okay, trying to be nonchalant.
Blake did not agree with my stance. He wanted both of us, not just one or the other. He picked up on my unwillingness of his offer, and mentioned “breaking me in.” In the beginning he had told us of his gang connections in New York and Chicago, and as time went by he acted as if he had possession of me because I knew so much about him. We were also told he had guns and would use them. We knew that he could not get into any trouble with the law because he had with a lawyer that could get him out of anything, and if we worked for him we would have the same “protection”. I was in constant fear of my life and Bailey’s, but . . . she loved all the attention. She was in control.
After about a month of pressure from him, he demanded that I “change my attitude about sex,” giving me two weeks to rethink his “generous” offer. He told us to come over to his house because he had some clothing for us to try on, because our clothes weren’t sexy enough. Now that I think back, Bailey was not given this ultimatum, only I was. He could see she was “ready.” I was stuck in a battle of a no win situation... I should have never talked to the man in the first place... It was too late. Whatever Bailey did, I did… so I followed her to his house like a little, obedient puppy dog. His living room was in disarray with clothes piled on chairs and hanging from hangers--it appeared as if he raided his wife’s panty drawer. I remember he held up a g-string nightie and demanded that I take off my clothes. With repulsion, I ran out of his house shaking and crying, begging Bailey to come with me. She angrily refused and insisted that I stay.
It was shocking. At that moment in time, I lost my best friend.
That summer was the summer of hell for me. Bailey eventually returned to our apartment two hours later. She wouldn’t talk. Then after a night she confessed that he raped her, at gunpoint, while telling her he was going to kill me for not cooperating. After we took him to court, life went like this. RING! RING! “Hello?” I would ask answering the phone. “YOU’RE GONNA DIE!” was the reply. She dropped the lawsuit and ran back to Michigan…
Some of my friends at the time were into the drug scene and wanted to know why the biggest dope dealer in town was in trouble. Some did not believe that he could have done such a terrible deed. Others asked me why we didn’t just work for him and make a little extra “summer money.” The question I have for you is . . . would you have taken his ten grand?



]]> Wed, 10 Sep 2003 19:21:00 EDT http://pebbles.tigblog.org/post/10896