Tag Archives: Nathan

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Nathan’s Private E-Journal – February 16, 2014 “My Odd Valentine’s Day Adventure” Part- IV

     tromso2

      For those not familiar with foaling or the term “red-bagging”, normally the foal is encased in the amniotic sac which comes out first.   Once this has cleared the womb, there is a second expulsion from the mother which involves the placenta which has been providing the foal with oxygen and nutrition up to this point.  But in this case, both placenta and baby were coming out simultaneously meaning no oxygen was getting to the foal.

       So you can understand why in spite of my anxiety about the approaching hunters, my first concern had to be breaking the sac so the foal could take in his/her first breaths of real air.  As I quickly started making my way back to the scene of the delivery I could tell the baby’s head had already cleared mom’s womb and was moving.  Starving for air, no doubt.  But then I noticed a curious stub-shape emanating from the forehead area of the unseen foal.  A second later it pierced the sac releasing fluids and other unmentionable things.

        I paused to marvel at the realization that the foal was born with the beginnings of what would eventually be a magnificent horn like its mother.  And unlike in some species where horns or coloration was part of attracting a mate, it served an important purpose in birth.  No doubt, red-bagging was common among their kind and the horn had been an evolutionary development to help them survive.

        Yet, in spite of the having pierced the sac the foal was still struggling so I quickly lent a hand and ripped the opening wider until the animal’s nose was clear and taking in air.  From there things moved quickly.  I wound up helping guide the rest of the foal out of mom and helped free it from the rest of the protective membrane.

        After positioning him closer to his mother, I returned my attentions to our unwanted guests only to find they had cleared the deeper snow and could clearly see us.

         “Look, someone’s found her already, Don!” said the one who must’ve been Eric.

     “Yeah, but we have guns and he doesn’t,” the other replied, cocking his gun and quickened his pace.

        Although I knew I could easily shape-shift and take them both down, a confrontation would mean gunfire.  And even a stray shot could hit mom or her newborn.  So instead, I resorted to another of my abilities.  Down by my feet a greenish mist began to cover the ground and make its way toward the pair.

efb6f-green_mist_by_devvyn

         I made the layer thin and close to the ground so as not to alert them to its presence.  As soon as their snowshoed feet touched the edges of the miasma, it quickly worked its way up their pants legs and into their clothing.  By the time they were within twenty feet of me, it snaked into their mouths and noses.

           Now I had them.

        Smiling, I drew upon my years of studying in Tromso, and called out to them in a very convincing Norwegian accent.  “Hullo!  Oh am I glad to see you.  My mare, she has just given birth and I need to get her and her baby back to the stables.”

        The brothers, paused in mid-step eyeing me warily.  They either thought I was drunk or stoned, which is why they hadn’t lowered their guns at this point.

     Finally, the one called Donnie stepped forward saying, “You got a mare that’s just given birth?  Must be pretty special.”

      “Oh, she is,” I nodded eagerly, using the unassuming almost clownish manner that I had seen Otto use on many an occasion to make people think he wasn’t nearly as clever as them.  “At least to me.  I raise her from a baby and now she has given birth to her own.”

       “Really?” Donnie said still approaching, “And here I thought she was special because of her being a unicorn.”

        “Unicorn?” I repeated stupidly.  “What makes you think she is a unicorn?”

      Now he was just five feet in front of me, and began pointing the gun at my head.  “Because I can see the horn sticking out of her head from here!” he snapped impatiently.

        This was the crucial moment and I had to get things just right.  Carefully, a let a smile cross my face.  “The horn sticking…” I began to chuckle. “She get you too, eh?”  Now I doubled up with laughter, slapping my thighs and everything.

      The brothers shared an uneasy glance at one another for a moment.  Then Donnie told his brother to check on the animal, while keeping me under guard.

      As I continued my enjoyment of a good joke, my mind was working furiously to distort Eric’s perception of what he saw.  It was a crucial moment.  If his mind proved more resistant than I’d hoped, then I’d have to take more drastic measures.  One of my hands was already beginning to take the shape of a vicious dog head, when I heard…

        “What the… Oh my God! That is so funny!”

        This was followed by laughter and the sound of Eric joining us. “That’s not a unicorn, Donnie!  It’s a horse with a big icicle caught in the hair covering her forehead.”

       “WHAT?” Donnie exploded and marched past me to see for himself.

      While Eric and I enjoyed a good laugh, I kept my fingers crossed that Donnie was as susceptible to my mist as his brother had been.  After several pregnant moments, he came stomping back towards us looking disgusted.  “I don’t believe it.  We came all this way for a stupid horse!” he groused and turned to his sibling, “This is all your fault, Eric!  You’re the one who insisted unicorns were real!”

     “No, I only mentioned it to Jared and our sister so they’d have an excuse to go skiing out this way.”

       As the accusations flew, I quietly wandered back to my charges.

mom and foal

      Mom was giving her offspring a good cleaning off while he enjoyed his first real meal from her.  She paused briefly to shoot me what I can only describe as a look of gratitude.

      I smiled and was about to tell her it was my pleasure when a menacing howl erupted from somewhere nearby.  I call it a howl, but it was more of a call which had come from no creature known to this reality.  The sound was so chilling, even the newborn paused in his feeding to shoot an anxious look at his mother, who in turned a frightened gaze to me.

      I’m not going to insult myself again by saying it didn’t take a genius to figure out what had made that noise.  I already knew.  Whatever had attacked her earlier had caught her scent through the portal and was coming…

TUNE IN NEXT TIME TO MEET THE PARA-EARTH THREAT AND AN AMAZING RESCUE!

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Nathan’s Private E-Journal – February 16, 2014 “My Odd Valentine’s Day Adventure” Part- II

      Anyway, Otto was still shaking his head saying, “Missing lectures again.  How many times have I told you that will cost you on the exam?”

      That startled me.  “There’s going to be an exam?  I thought I was simply here to listen to bunch of experts in their field.  Admittedly, some were more long-winded than others, present company not included,” I added hastily.  “Is there any way I can make up the points?  Maybe, go on a field trip or something?”

      A bright smile appeared on my mentor’s face.  “What a lovely suggestion.  In fact I had recently been hearing reports of strange creatures being spotted in a region just north of here.”

      “Really?  And did that region happen to coincide with any interesting mathematical computations you’d been working on recently?”

      He gave me a disappointed look.  “I’m a professor, I’m always doing some kind of mathematics.  But to answer your question, yes they do.  By the way, how are you with snowshoes?  It’s going to be pretty deep where we’re going.”

       This time it was my turn to smile indulgently at him.  “Snowshoes?  Pffft… who needs those?  I can just do my Legolas impression and move across the top of the snow without breaking it.”

legolas172-1

     Which is true.  I can make myself extremely light at will and can walk across a number of surfaces without breaking the surface.

      Apparently, he’d forgotten this fact, but instead of looking too embarrassed he simply grinned evilly back at me.  I had no idea what was going on in his head, but I just knew my bragging was going to come back to haunt me later.

aurora

      Three days later…

      “What do you see with your elf eyes, Nathan?”

      See, I told you that wisecrack of mine would come back to haunt me.

     Turning I stared down the mountain at him and replied, “A lot of snow, trees, and one wiseass.”

     “You know, Aragorn told me Legolas said the same thing to him,” he smiled innocently.

    I chuckled at that.  Otto is one of those people you can’t stay mad at for very long if ever.  At that moment, my ears picked up a susurration off to my left.  I had gotten used to the sounds in the area over the last two days, which was why this whispering rustle caught my attention I slowly turned, scanning the terrain very carefully until my eyes detected one area among the trees where the light was much stronger than it should be, considering the sky above us was dark.

    Pointing in the direction of the spot, I called down to my mentor, “It’s about two hundred yards to your left, and twenty yards up the hill.”

     Nodding he started moving towards the spot I indicated with great speed, which was quite an accomplishment for anyone wearing snowshoes.  But Otto is far more athletic than his appearance belies.  At first glance one might think he’s in his later 50’s, short, and stocky.  But he can move as silently as a cat, and as fast as a leopard when he wants to.

      Even with my ability to run across the snow he beat me to the spot by a few seconds.  Now the thing with Para-Earth portals is that in order to spot them you have to be at just the right angle.  Otherwise, you could walk right past them and probably do several times a decade.

     As we examined the opening, Otto made careful measurements, which I faithfully recorded for him.  Then he prepared himself to step through.  He always goes first, since out of the two of us I’m more vulnerable.  The one time I didn’t wait, I wound up racing back to our reality with the worst sunburn you never wanted to see.

     I watched anxiously as he disappeared through the opening and waited.  They say the waiting is the hardest part.  Even knowing how durable my friend is, I still get a little nervous.  Luckily, my wait was not a long one.  After a few moments, he reappeared sporting a pair of stylish sunglasses which told me all I needed to know.

      “Let me guess, it’s very sunny over there.”

     “Actually, I discovered that the future is so bright in that reality, I have to wear shades,” he quipped without missing a beat.

     “Sounds too heady for me.  I’ll stay right here and make sure nothing comes through that shouldn’t,” I told him.

     “Good idea,” he nodded and then added, “And this time, please don’t let anything from this reality slip through the opening while you’re at it.”

     Rolling my eyes I protested, “I only let that happen once.  And it was just a bunny.”

     “That’s what that kid said down in Australia, and look what happened there.”

     “True,” I conceded and then added seriously, “Be careful, over there.”

     “You worry too much,” he smiled, “But it is appreciated.”

     I watched him pass through the opening once more and then turned to take in my surroundings. Trees blanketed the area, but were not so thick as to keep any snow from hitting the ground.  A thin layer of white gently covered decades of fallen pine needles.  Glancing up, I could see the snow was much thicker on the branches.

branches

      Between that and the fact that the nights were much longer at this time of year, I had little to fear from any hint of sunlight that might peek through.

     Now my ears picked up the usual sounds of nature, birds, a stream in the distance, and the occasional scurrying of an animal either underground or foraging some ways off.  In short, it was very peaceful.  The perfect place to crash out for a while.

     So I gathered up some fallen branches and moss and made a little nest against a thick tree, so my pants would stay dry and sat down.  Leaning up against the trunk I relaxed and settled in to wait for Otto’s return.  It was all so nice, I couldn’t help letting my eyelids close and drift off for a while.

     And before anyone asks, no, I didn’t wind up sinking into the ground for a dirt nap.  Contrary to what many in my extended family think, I do not always go to ground to sleep.  I’m perfectly capable of sleeping in a bed, on a couch, or a sleeping bag, whatever.  However, sometimes it gets a little lonely so I actually sleep in the ground more often than I actually need to.  While I’m in the soil I feel more attached to the world itself.  I can see and feel the vibrations of nature at work, like the plants drawing their nourishment, the passing of an industrious mole or field mouse making its way through the Earth.  I’ve even had some pass through my liquid-like state on occasion, which was actually rather ticklish, believe it or not.

     Anyway, this time I stayed above ground.  The cool fresh air lent itself to some very pleasant dreams.  Because I never know who might be reading this entry (i. e. YOU Lisa), I won’t go into details.  However, I will say I was enjoying the company of an enchanting young person when a weight settle in my lap.  Immediately, I recognized this form had warmth which roused me from my slumber.

     Having grown up in the 1850’s when horses were our main means of transportation, I can safely say I’m quite familiar with their general physique and shape.  I’d spent many hours among those my parents kept for pulling our carriages, as well as for personal riding.  And more than once I’d had one of my more favored mares place her head in my lap while I was sitting on the fence of their enclosure.  So even without opening my eyes, I knew my visitor was of the equine persuasion.  A gentle horsey snort confirmed my suspicions.

     At this point I was still not fully awake, but it did occur to me that this encounter out in the wild was rather odd.  Not that I minded.  Animals in general seem to be attracted to me, perhaps it’s the way I smell that puts them at ease.  In any case,  I started stroking the side of its face to reassure the animal that I did not mind the intrusion.  Still, I couldn’t help wondering what was a horse doing out here in the woods?  Just I moved my hand moved up to the animal’s long face and encountered an odd bony protuberance.

     Immediately my eyes snapped open and I stared down at my visitor and saw a very long white horn sticking out of the animal’s forehead.  It was a unicorn.  A real live unicorn, and it was resting its head in my lap.

unicorn

TO BE CONTINUED…

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Nathan’s Private E-Journal – February 16, 2014 “My Odd Valentine’s Day Adventure” Part- I

Perhaps ‘Odd’ isn’t the right word for this entry, ‘Most Unique’ would probably be a better phrase to describe what happened this year.  Things certainly didn’t go as I’d planned, but at least Lisa is speaking to me again.  She’s given me the cold shoulder more than once over the years when I’ve broken one of my promises.  Heck who am I kidding, she doesn’t give you a simple cold shoulder.  That girl can give you a look so cold it would make the iceberg that sank the Titanic turn green with envy.

In fact we were visiting a zoo once when she shot me one of those looks.  We were standing next to the penguin exhibit, and I swear every bird in the enclosure closed ranks to keep warm like they do during an arctic storm.  Heck, I even tried joining them but they kicked me out as if to say, “Forget it, Pal!  You brought this on yourself and we’re suffering for it, now go take your medicine.”

Needless to say I made nice with Lisa as quickly as possible, while preventing a new global ice age in the process.

So what does all this have to do with Valentine’s Day?  Simple, I promised to spend it with her and… I didn’t make it.

 

 In my defense I had a perfectly good reason for being two days late.  You see it all started about a week ago…

I was attending a symposium that was taking place in Tromso, Norway, where one of my old Alma Maters is located.  I had attended the University of Tromso – Arctic University about seven years ago, thanks to Otto.  He had told me about their Master’s Program in Molecular Environmental Biology and thought it might help me gain some new insights to the symbiotic life form which shares and prolongs my existence.

He also pointed out that the timing of the classes coincided nicely with the seasonal Polar Nights in Norway, which meant I wouldn’t have to compete with the sun very much.  This suited me just fine of course, so of course I quickly enrolled.

Looking back I can easily say I enjoyed my time there.  Not only were there some wonderful concerts, but also the location of Tromso offered some of the most spectacular views of the Northern Lights.

Anyway, after the third day of the symposium, I was ready to move on.  I’d already listened to the speakers I was most interested in hearing from and didn’t feel like hanging around the campus.  So I made my way into the main city to explore the architecture and other sights Tromso had to offer.  I had just made my way down by the water and was enjoying looking up at the Northern Lights when I heard a familiar jovial voice saying, “Ah, here you are.  I see you decided to play hooky instead of attending my presentation.”

Turning I saw Otto walking up to me.  He was shaking his head and making tsk-tsk noises.  I could tell already by his manner that he had something on his mind, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was.  Cleary he had learned of another possible Para-Earth incursion and he wanted me to come along to help make sure nothing came through that shouldn’t and vice-versa.

And looking back at that last sentence I realize now that I just zinged myself but good.  In my defense, our latest adventure has left me a little giddy but once you hear what happened you’ll understand.

TO BE CONTINUED…  

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Questions, questions, and more questions…

Greetings dear readers.  I know its already 2/3rs of the way through January and there’s been no new posts here, which of course has prompted a number of questions such as “Are we getting any new stories?”, “Tell us you your still writing about these characters…”, “The book is still coming later this year, right?”and even “Are you planning on keeping this blog going?”

So many questions, but luckily I have a simple answer for all of them:

The blog is continuing and new stories are coming.  The book is still on schedule to be released around Sept/Oct of this year.

The reason why I haven’t been posting anything new lately has been because of a little thing called

I had really hoped that during the winter break from university I’d have a chance to catch up on my writing and get a bunch of stories lined up.  As it turns out, life had other plans for me.  Between the holidays and having family visiting, December and early January were quite busy.

Then as things started to quiet down I got a job offer, which I have accepted, with the County of Monterey.  This will be a full-time job which means I can only take 6 units of school at a time.  However, in order to keep my current housing situation here at campus I need to be full-time.  I still have a lease here that lasts until the end of May, so my wife and I have sent an appeal to allow us to stay until then while we arrange for new housing elsewhere.  If that is accepted, we’ll be okay.  Otherwise, we’ll have to scramble and find a new place much sooner.

I should have answer by this weekend or early next week. If our appeal is refused… things could get complicated for a while.  So please bear with me and I’ll fill you all in as soon as I have an answer and know what the next few months have in store for us.

Also, if you don’t mind, keep your fingers crossed for us as well…

We need all the luck we can get right now.

In the meantime, know that Nathan has been kept busy elsewhere.  I have been working on “The Door” which comes out before “The Vampyre Blogs-Coming Home”, and will guest star Nathan along with the characters from my first two books “The Bridge” and “The Ship”.

“The Door” will wrap up those storylines, as well as reveal more of Nathan’s past experiences that have been hinted at in several entries here and will be well-worth checking out.

So stay tuned and thank you for your continued patience.  I’m eager to get back to more stories involving Nathan, Marisa, Lisa and everyone else.  And believe me all of them have been clamouring inside my head with story ideas they want to see written next as well.

I might have to have them draw straws to see who gets their story told first.

That’s all I have for now.  Until next time my friends…

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Lisa’s Private Thoughts – Nov. 26, 2009 – Thanksgiving With Uncle Nathan – Part II

Now, the sight of a roasted turkey, with no head, getting up and shaking a fist was weird enough.  But watching it grab one of the nearby carving knives and taking a dueler’s stance took it to a whole new level of silliness.

Even before Uncle Nathan reached for the other carving knife, the rest of us automatically took several steps backwards, away from the table.  We all knew what was coming and didn’t feel like getting caught in the middle of what was undoubtedly going to be a memorable battle.  Man and roast bird saluted each other with their weapons, followed by each taking a dueling stance.

“I knew I should’ve left you in the oven for another ten minutes, you over-sized chicken,” Uncle Nathan grunted, while parrying an attack.

The turkey, unable to speak, merely flipped him the bird in return.  Then it retreated across the table and waved its backside at him.

Looking properly offended, Uncle Nathan muttered, “Oooo… I’m going cram an onion the size of a bowling ball in you for that.”

Our intended dinner responded by making the ‘Bring it,’ gesture.

Leaping up onto the table Uncle Nathan rushed towards his opponent across the length of the table and their carving knives clashed once again.

For the next minute, man and dinner, battled across the table in a remarkably silly yet athletic duel, while managing to avoid knocking over candelabras or glasses, or even stepping on a plate or utensil.

I glanced over at Dr. Jack and my father who were both shaking there heads and trying to suppress smiles, as their wives gave each other resigned sighs.  Meanwhile Joe and Darlene, who hang out with me at school, are both enjoying the spectacle as much as I am.

Finally, my mother steps forward and puts her hands on her hips.  Then she yells, “No feet on the dinner table!”

Both bird and man freeze in mid-fight.  The two of them stare at her for a moment and then take very guilty stances and point at each other.  “He started it,” Uncle Nathan murmured, while his opponent took advantage of the moment to slap the knife out of his hand.

Immediately, our host, did a double-back flip off the table and retreatede behind the nearby harp.  His opponent beat its breast in triumph and leapt after him, waving its weapon angrily.  Now began a game of cat and mouse, with Uncle Nathan using the harp as a shield.  At first the roast bird, tried chasing him around the harp, then it tried to stab at him through the strings, which proved to be a mistake.

Uncle Nathan kicked the weapon out of its grip and then pushed the harp down on top of the bird.  The strings of the harp sliced through the bird, leaving it carved in pieces on the floor.

Straightening up, Uncle Nathan looked at his handiwork and shook his head.  “Wow, the guy at the butcher shop told this bird might be a little tough, and he wasn’t kidding. Okay, who wanted white meat?” he asked turning towards us.

Naturally no one spoke.  We all just glared at him.

“Oh come on, how many times do you get to have dinner and a show?” he insisted.

At this point I saw the green mist slipping out from the remains of our ‘dinner’ and into the cuffs of his pants and knew what was really going on.  Stepping over to where the harp lay I took a close look at the ‘remains’ and saw the that the bird had actually been made of foam, covered in latex and painted to look like a roast turkey skin.

“You didn’t get a turkey did you?” I said pointedly.

Uncle Nathan bowed his head and said, “They were all sold out by the time I got back this morning.”

“This morning?” I cried in disbelief.  “Where were you?”

“I was out of town, sort of…” he began, when a loud boisterous voice, with a thick German accent, rang out from the area of the kitchen saying, “Happy Thanks-Pizza everyone!”

A moment later, a short stocky man with a greying beard and moustache appeared pushing a cart with the biggest pizza I’d ever seen on it.  He was wearing a chef’s hat and moving around so quickly, it took me a moment to recognize him.  His name was Professor Otto Hofstadter, and he was one of Uncle Nathan’s closest and oldest friends.  They’d known each other for years, according to Uncle Nathan, but there was always something about the way he said it that had made me wonder if there was more that he was not telling me.  But now was not the time to ask questions.  Dinner had arrived and everyone was starving.

My mother shook her head as we all sat down around the table and said, “Well, it might not be a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, but at least we’ll all be eating well.”

“On the contrary, my dear,” the professor corrected as he and Uncle Nathan started serving huge pizza slices.  “I made sure that we used turkey sausage as part of the toppings.”

“Oh well, that makes all the difference,” said Dr. Jack as he helped pass the food around to those farthest from the pie.

A part of me wanted to ask where they’d gotten an oven big enough to cook a pizza this size, but I decided not to.  I was more interested in knowing where Uncle Nathan had been and what had kept him away all this time.  The fact that Professor Hofstadter was with us, told me that an adventure had taken place in one of those strange places Uncle Nathan has always hinted at, but has never fully explained to me.

I decided there and then that I was going to keep a close eye on those two and maybe follow them if possible and see what they got up to when the next opportunity presented itself.

*This concludes this year’s Thanksgiving tale.  I hope you all found it amusing and entertaining.  May all of you have a Happy Thanksgiving and may all your travels be safe and enjoyable — Allan Krummenacker* 

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Nathan’s Private Journal, October 12, 2011 “The Theater” – Part III

A hand touches my arm at that moment and I’m brought back to the present.

“Are you okay, Uncle Nate?” asks Olivia, studying me closely with those big blue eyes of hers.

I nod and sigh, “Yeah, just took a little trip down memory lane.  I met some of my best friends in this place.”

“Including, my Aunt Mae,” she smiles.  “You were thinking of her, weren’t you?”

I give her an inscrutable look and ask, “Now what makes you think that?”

“You had a little smile on your face,” she replies with a grin.  “It’s the same one you always get whenever you tell me stories about my godmother.  God, how I miss her.  She passed away when I was only seven, but I still remember how full of life and sass she always was.”

“I know what you mean,” I tell her and look out at the empty theater.  “She’s the reason this place is still standing.”

“I thought you had a hand in keeping this place alive,” remarks Gina who has joined us.  “Don’t you own the building?”

“I do, but it was your girlfriend’s famous godmother who made that happen,” I explain and once again my mind slips back across the years.  This time it only goes back to 1970, when a phone call brought me back to this building for the first time in thirty years.

The entryway was dark and there had been a bunch of red posts plastered on the doors.  The frames on the walls which usually held posters about the coming performances were empty and dark.  The sight had saddened me.  Overall, things didn’t look too bad from out here.  But when I slipped inside, that was when the truth really of how bad things had gotten really hit home.

The old concession stand was still standing, just at the bottom of a grand staircase.  Both had seen better days.  The shelves were empty, except for dust and cobwebs where an industrious spider had been hard at work sometime in the past.  But there was no sign of the arachnid now.  I stared forlornly at my surroundings, and remembered how it looked in the past.  This area was always teeming with people waiting in line to purchase some goodies to enjoy once they’d reached their seats in theater.  Some would make their way up the staircase, passing through the ornate archways at the top, while others would head for the doors here on the ground floor, which led to the main seating area.

In my mind I could still hear the hustle and bustle of the crowds who were eager to see my cohorts on stage, performing and delighting the audience to no end.  But there were no sounds now.  Just the echoes of my footsteps across the tiled floor.  Yet I wasn’t alone.  I could sense a familiar presence nearby, watching me from above.

Turning and looking up I see a vision of beauty from my past staring down at me.  Even at 77 she still made my heart skip a few beats.

A warm smile crosses her lips as she puts one hand on her hip and leans up against the railing and says, “Well, are you gonna stand down there all night or are you finally gonna come up and see me?”

Needless to say I practically fly up the stairs to.  I could’ve actually flown, but sometimes my abilities made her a little uncomfortable.  Although on this occasion she gave me a look and shook her head.  “What kept ya?  I half expected you to just leap up here and into my arms.”

“I still might, Baby Mae,” I smiled.

That made her laugh.  “There’s a name I haven’t heard in decades,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

But I could tell she was delighted, deep down.

“I’ve missed you,” I tell her.

“The feeling’s mutual,” she replies, and I can tell she means it.  For one thing, she’s dropped the sassy act.

Then she takes my arm and we start walking.  “I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked you to come here. tonight,” she says after a moment or two.

“The thought has crossed my mind,” I admit, but I’m mostly enjoying being with her again.  It had been too long.

“I wanted to show you something,” she explains, and then gives me a look.  “And I don’t mean anything naughty.”

Naturally I protested my innocence to no avail.

“Don’t give me that old routine.  I’m the one the one who taught it to you, remember?” she laughs.

“Like it was yesterday,” I reply.

Here she became more quiet and said, “A yesterday that had a lot of months and years in front of it.  And here’s the proof.”

She opened the doors to the upper balcony seating and carefully stepped through…

TO BE CONTINUED…

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Nathan’s Private Journal, October 12th,2011 “The Theater” – Part II…

Staring at the playbill in my hands, I couldn’t believe my eyes.  It was a an old vaudeville poster, only the paper it was printed on was quite new.  Then I spotted the dates for the performance and blinked.  “December 2011!” I read out loud and then turned to Olivia and Gina, who were standing there trying to look innocent and hopeful at the same time.

“You want to put together a vaudeville show?” I said, raising an eyebrow curiously.

“More like a review of some of the more famous acts,” Olivia told me.  “And no one knows them like you do.”

“That’s true,” I admitted and looked at the floorboards of the stage.  They weren’t the original boards of course.  I’d had those torn up and replaced when I bough the theater back in 1970, with an old friend who’d talked me into buying the place with her.

I remembered feeling a little melancholy about having the original floorboards torn up.  After all, I made my stage debut on them back in 1911 with the Marx Brothers.  It was only a small part, but the brothers had made sure my brief moment on the stage had been a hilarious one.  But after that night, a number of the other performers started asking me to help out in their acts.  Soon I was spending most of my time in front of the curtain instead of behind it, like it had for ten years.  Not that I had minded.

From the day I’d started in 1910 until that night, I had worked and learned every aspect of what went on behind the scenes of every show.  From wardrobe, to sets, to actors having jitters or meltdowns, I’d seen it all and had helped out whenever I could.  By the time my friends had dragged me onto the stage with them, I’d even stood in for the stage manager a number of times.  Everyone seemed to turn to me, and so many asked time and again, “Why aren’t you out there?”  This question came up more and more after I started helping some of the performers during rehearsal by standing in as they straight man or victim.

My old pal Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was the first who started training me to be a stand-in for some of his acts, but he never got to use me, as much as he wanted to.  He wanted to see me get my moment to shine and did that night, when the Groucho and company finally got me out in front of the audience, and I loved every minute it of.  Roscoe had just started doing movies by then and had urged me to go with him to Hollywood and be part of his films.  But alas, film could not capture my image and I came back here, much to the delight of the brothers.

Like Roscoe, Groucho and his siblings had learned of my true condition and found new ways to exploit some of my abilities as well as teaching me all about comedic timing, patter, musical instruments and other gifts.   We were able to pull off certain tricks that defied all explanation and even had more than one professional magician wondering how we’d pulled them off.  (But that’s a story for another entry)

 But they weren’t the only ones who were glad to have me back.  The other performers had missed my easygoing manner and how I handled things both on and behind the stage.  And I soon found that even the crowds had missed me, as well.   Even though I never headlined an act of my own, the audience always greeted me warmly. But soon my time at this theater came to an end, as I moved on with  Groucho and company to tour other bigger venues in the vaudeville circuit.  But every so often, we’d come back to this theater and it was on one of those return engagements that I found myself being asked to help out one of the newer performers, who needed a silent straight man to react to her singing.

Naturally I was only too glad to help out and that was when I was introduced to a petite fourteen year old girl, who would become one of my dearest and most cherished friends.  And in 1970, she would be the one who called me back to this theater, which had by then had been abandoned and practically falling down, and talk me into buying it with her so we could restore it to its former glory.

But, on the day we met, neither of us knew what the future was going to bring us.  Or that we’d become so close that we’d fall deeply in love.  She only gave me her stage name the first time we met, “Baby Mae” she called herself.  But down the road the world would know her by a slightly different name.  And she would become not only a star but a legend…

 

To be continued…

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Message From The Author….

I want to apologize for the lack of updates lately.  I’m attending university and have a major exam coming up this Thursday and am studying like crazy.  Let me tell you, Pre-Calculus and I just do not see eye-to-eye very easily.  Luckily, my wife, the graduate with the B. S. in Mathematics, is helping tutor me, so hopefully I’ll do all right.

But rest assured, once the exam is over on Thursday, i’ll be working on continuing the current story about the “Theater” which has several poignant memories for our favorite vampyre, Nathan

Also I wanted to let you all know that “The Vampyre Blogs – Coming Home” is on schedule to be released this December, as planned.  The book will be available in paperback, and the following e-book formats: Kindle, Nook, Apple, Sony, etc.  I decided against going exclusively with Kindle for this book, after a number of readers asked if it would be available for Apple and Nook.

Currently the 2nd draft is fully under way, and I’ll be sending it out to beta-readers soon, so stay tuned.

That’s all for now.  I thank you for your patience and continued support.  I’m really looking forward to unleashing Nathan and company on you all come December, where all the characters who’ve been leaving entries on this blog will come together in one epic story.

Note: Image above is NOT necessarily the finalized cover.

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Nathan’s Private Journal, October 12th, 2011 “The Theater” – Part I

Yesterday I brought Lisa to this theater so she could learn about vintage clothing styles, corsets, and costuming.   Tonight, I’ve returned, just as I have so many times before.

It’s quiet and peaceful, especially after the shows have ended.  I can still hear a few of the girls changing clothes and cleaning up after tonight’s performance.  As they told Lisa yesterday, there’s a lot more to burlesque than just taking your clothes off.    The same could be said for vaudeville and just about any other type of live performance.  Bands have entertained audiences on this stage, as has many actors and actresses.  In fact I did my part in “Arsenic and Old Lace” around this time last year.  Originally I wanted to the play the role of the the criminal brother who’d had plastic surgery to make him look like Boris Karloff, but instead I wound up with the lead role of Mortimer Brewster, the straight man who’s surrounded by one cousin who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, and two sweet old aunts who also happen to mercy-kill the occasional visitor who’s life had become lonely and sad.

Everyone insisted I take that role because “You’re too nice-looking to play the villain… and besides your too short to play a Boris Karloff look-alike”.  Curse my average height for a guy from the 1860’s.  I mean really, five foot seven isn’t that short, is it?  Sigh.

Before I can ponder my ‘shortcomings’ Olivia appears from one of the wings.  Her long wavy blonde hair frames her oval face in gold.  Her blue eyes light up as she looks at me.  Her smile practically illuminates the entire stage as she comes over for a hug.

“I’m glad you came back again so soon,” she murmurs holding me tightly.  “I’ve missed you something awful.”

“The feeling is mutual,” I reply putting her into a dip.

Her smile widens and then shrinks as a pensive look crosses her lovely features.  “I’m sorry things didn’t work out for us.”

“So am I,” I tell her honestly.  She was one of those rare people I could’ve seen myself settling down with.  Especially after the night of passion we’d shared on her twenty-fifth birthday, seven years ago.  But in the end I knew she’d made the right decision.  Her heart longed for another who even now was stepping out onto the stage and clearing their throat rather loudly.

Still in the dip, Olivia let’s her head fall backwards and says, “Relax Gina, we’re just talking.”

Looking up I see only Gina’s silhouette, but she’s struck an enticing pose that I know is not meant for me.  A moment later she steps out onto the stage and once again I remember why Olivia fell for this woman.  Gina is the living embodiment of  a ‘Smoking Hot Latina’ beauty.  She’s also got a slightly insecure streak when it comes to me and Olivia, who I quickly bring back to an upright position.  I even pull out a handkerchief and pretend to dust her off.

Much to my relief this makes Gina laugh. It’s a lovely laugh and genuine.  Obviously, she’s more confident in where things stand between me and her love.

As she draws closer I see her dark eyes turn to Olivia with a hopeful look in them.  “Did you ask him?” she whispers.

“Not yet,” Olivia replies and quickly smiles at me.  I know that particular smile only too well.

Quietly I pull out my wallet, doing the long-suffering father routine, and say, “Okay, so how much this time?”

“Hey, I never ask you for money!” Olivia protests loudly, her voice echoing off the walls of the empty theater.  “And I’m not about to start now.”

My eyes narrow.  “You want me to do Arsenic and Old Lace for Halloween again, don’t you?”

Both of the ladies give me wide innocent smiles.

Immediately I realize that’s not the case, they want something else.  “Okay, what’s up?”

Gina quietly hands me a rolled up poster which I carefully unfurl.  A moment later my eyes widen and my mind is catapulted back across the decades…

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An Entry From The Private Journal Of Doctor Jack Tyler – September 2nd, 201- Part-II

Nathan turns and sees me.  He waves and smiles, as does my mother, then they go back to their talk.  Meanwhile, my children notice the fox who has started racing around my feet again, and come over to investigate.  As they draw near I kneel down and my furry companion flops down on his back and allows me to give him a belly scratch.

My son and daughter gasp in awe, and in that moment, I have become the coolest dad ever.  Or so I believe until several smaller foxes, come out of hiding and begin to start yipping and getting rambunctious around me.  I start to pet them as well, but there are simply too many.  Inside my head I hear, ‘Too much?’  Glancing over at Nathan I gesture with my head towards my son and daughter.

He nods and soon the little kits are frolicking around my children, who proceed to pet them every so gently.  I’d seen enough kids come into the surgery with bites and scratches from family pets or stray animals, so Cheryl and I made sure Joe and Darlene understand how to behave around animals, even friendly ones.

My little friend suddenly abandons me and heads over to where my mother is standing, and begins to demand attention from her.  The smile on her face as she bends down to comply is priceless.

A voice from behind me asks gently, “She’s doing well?”

“Very well,” I reply without turning around.  I don’t want to take my eyes off my mother at that moment, for fear I might suddenly wake up and find that I’m still only sixteen and that she’s still fighting a losing battle with cancer.

I had cut out of school early that day.  The news that she wasn’t responding to the treatments had been devastating.  I couldn’t eat, think or control my temper.  At one point I came close to putting a freshman through a wooden door during second period.  I can’t even remember why I did it, I just know it happened.  Three teachers had to pull me off the kid and had ordered me to go to the principal’s office.  Needless to say I didn’t go.  Instead I ran all the way here, to this very spot, and collapsed.

I cried, punched the ground, cursed life the works.  It was so unfair.  Why should my mother be given a death sentence.  Where was the justice in that?  Why weren’t the doctors doing more for her?  Why couldn’t they save her?

Exhausted from my rage I fell asleep and woke to find night was already closing in.  I remember seeing a full moon through the branches of a tree.  It was so beautiful, for  moment I forgot my pain and wished my mother was there to see it with me.  She loved looking up at the night sky.  Then I remembered she wouldn’t be able to do that for much longer, and it all came flooding back.

That was when the fox showed up.  Apparently, she had been watching me for some time and could sense my distress.  She wanted to come closer, but was afraid.  But then a mist slowly crept across the forest floor.  It seemed to swirl and move towards us as if it had a mind all its own.  The fox was alarmed at first but then after sniffing the air, she seemed calmer and more confident.  That was when she came over and started to sniff and nuzzle my hands.

I was so amazed at this behavior, that I forgot that it was a wild animal and gently stroked her fur.  She seemed to like it, and soon climbed into my lap.  Tears filled my eyes again, partly from the gesture and partly from my pain.

At that moment I so wanted my mother to be there with me, healthy and whole, so she could enjoy this wondrous moment.

I must have spoken aloud because a voice came out of the mist which continued to hang around in the area.  “The treatments aren’t working, John?”

Startled I looked around but saw no one.  Yet I knew I was not alone.  “No, they aren’t.  I’m going to lose her and there’s nothing I can do about it.” I cried back.  “Doctors and their medicine suck!”

“You know that’s not true,” the voice said softly.  “They’re trying everything they can to save her and you know it.”

Sobbing I nodded, “Yes, I do know that.  But it’s not enough.”

Then from out of the mist I saw a hand followed by a figure that seemed to slowly solidify in the mist.  Soon the owner of the hand stepped out of the fog and I saw it was Nathan.

To say I was taken aback by his entrance would be an understatement.  He was no stranger to me, I’d known him since I was little.  My mother always introduced him as a friend of the family who was always welcome in our home.  But something about him never seemed quite right to me.  Oh he was friendly and always a lot of fun, but deep down I always knew there was more to him than met the eye.  And here, in my darkest hour, I had found out I was right.

Oddly enough, the realization actually made me feel more at ease with him.  Even as he sat down beside me, I wasn’t the least bit afraid of him.

“You’re not human,” I blurted as he reached over and petted the fox who was still in my lap.

“Depends on your point of view,” he replied calmly.  “I was born human, but then life took an unexpected turn and I became something more.”

For a while I didn’t say anything.  A faint hope had started to rise within me, but I was terrified of letting it get grow too much.  But at that point there was no stopping it, and I asked, “Is there anything you can do for my mother?  Can you keep her from dying?”

I remember he looked at me from the corner of his eyes for a moment, and then said, “Yes and no,” he answered.  “I can’t stop her from dying because we all do that one day, but I can give her more time.”

“How much more?” I asked carefully.

“Fifty-sixty years, possibly longer,” he answered.  Then he gave the fox a scritch behind the ear saying, “You’re a good girl.  I appreciate you keeping my young friend company.”

Suddenly a thought occurred to me. “You made her come to me, didn’t you?  You’re controlling her somehow.”

Nathan frowned at that.  “I do not control others,” he corrected.  “I create a bond by placing a little part of myself inside them.  Once I’m there, I can make suggestions or help alleviate any fears or misgivings they have.”

“Is that what you’d be doing with my mother?” I asked.

He thought about this for a moment and answered, “Yes and no.  Yes, some of me would be going into her, but not like what I did with our friend here.  My body produces a certain kind of cell that can be harvested and used to help fight things like cancer.  But it takes me a long time to grow those cells in enough numbers to make a difference.  Once they’ve been taken from me, I won’t be able to help anyone else the same way for a few decades.”

“Will it hurt?” I asked.

“Nah, she won’t feel anything but better,” he assured me.

“I meant you,” I clarified and waited.  He didn’t answer right away, which told me everything I needed to know.  “I thought so,” I continued, “But you’re willing to do it for her?”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve watched over her all her life, just as I did her mother and her mother’s father,” he replied.  “They’ve all been family to me.”

“But you’re not related to us,” I pointed out.  “You told me so yourself a long time ago.”

Here he smiled and said, “Family isn’t always about blood.  Sometimes families are formed in other ways.  They’re formed by people who become close by always being there for one another.  By caring and loving.  Weathering storms and making sure no one gets left behind.”

“I think I understand,” I told him and asked, “When will you get your cells ‘harvested’?”

“Tonight,” he answered.  “A friend of mine is coming into town and we’ll be taking care of things down in the cellar of The Crypt.”

“I’d like to be there for you,” I told him.

He smiled and took my hand, “I’d appreciate that…”

“Jack?”

I opened my eyes and saw Nathan eyeing me curiously.  “Are you okay?”

“Sorry, I wound up taking a trip down memory lane,” I told him.  Then I looked over to where Cheryl had been setting out the food.  Everything was ready.  My mom was already helping serve the food, and calling to my kids to come and get it.

They obeyed, but with great reluctance.  The two of them had been having a lot of fun with the foxes, who were now hovering nearby, with high hopes for a handout or two.

“When did you ‘influence’ them?” I asked Nathan as we went over to join my family.

“I didn’t,” he replied.  “They’ve just gotten used to me.  I always come here when I visit, and I think some of them are descended from our friend back when you were in high school.  She brought her kitts out to meet me.  After that they always come out to greet me and did the same thing with their broods.”

I laughed, “You have extended families all over the place, don’t you?”

“And they come in all shapes and sizes,” he smiled.

“Do they ALL know about you?”

“Most of them,” he replied.  “I usually hold off telling them until they hit a certain age.”

“I think Joe and Darlene are old enough,” I tell him.

Nathan looks up into the night sky for a moment and says, “After we eat.  It looks like a good night to stretch my wings.”

Out of the corner of my eye Cheryl gives me a wide-eyed look.  ‘Is he going to tell them?’ she mouths at me.

I nod.

She gives me a wide smile.  I know she’s remembering when Nathan shared his secret with her.  He took her up with him.  I can hardly wait to see what he does with my kids.