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Flash: Saint David

Erin Penn

Appears multiple places on the Internet, no attribution given

One of the miracles of St. David, saint of Wales, retold in a bardic manner, meant to be performed

St. Dewi, pious and true saint of Wales, known in the English tongue as “David the Waterdrinker”, was man, monk, and missionary throughout Wales after making his right pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he was made Bishop.

During one of his missionary trips, he found himself at the Synod of Llanddewi Brefi. A large crowd gathered as he spoke, so large those in the back of the crowd asked him to speak louder. So he did, his powerful, God-blessed voice carrying and even more gathered until, again, those in the back of the crowd asked for him to speak louder. He reached within himself, drawing on his faith in the Christ, and his voice boomed. Even more gathered until, once more, those in the back of the crowd asked for him to speak louder. The Welsh Saint, feed only on water, bread and vegetable, who pulled his own plow instead of putting God’s creatures to work, looked to the heavens for help.

A dove, white and holy, flew down from the clouds and alight on the Saint’s shoulder. The ground his blessed feet stood upon started to rise and rise until a hill formed. Everyone now had a good view of the nephew of King Arthur who resumed his sermon, his voice carrying to everyone present. As more gathered, the hill would raise a bit more until finally the day and the sermon ended.

Upon the miracle hill a church was build.

As for Saint David, he continued to travel. He never again had difficulty with a crowd unable to see him or hear him speak. At home, he continued to eat only bread and vegetables, drawing his own water and pulling his own plow. Upon his deathbed he encouraged those around him to “Do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.”

Pope Callixtus II, during the 12th century, declared St. David’s Cathedral to be a place of pilgrimage. With two such pilgrimages being equal to one to Rome, and three such pilgrimages being equal to one to Jerusalem.

(words 342; first published 9/15/2019)

Blog: REFUSE

Erin Penn
Image courtesy of lekkyjustdoit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Remembering September 11, 2001

You know what the terrorists wanted to do … to create fear, to make us look at every person which didn’t look exactly like us with suspicion, to retreat to our shores and not play the world game anymore. To stop being what many countries in the world aspired to. To stop trying to make ourselves better. To live in hate and fear, safe at home, but trembling.

I refuse.

I refuse to let them win.

 

I ran for office last year, because I refuse. I complemented a stranger on his durag yesterday, because I refuse. I donate to Kiva microlending, because I refuse. I will not be cowed. I will not hate. I will reach out a hand to those in need.

I will stand.

I will stand and take action for humanity.

Editing Rant: Dark Web Trope

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of lekkyjustdoit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When an Editing Rant gets Short Circuited…

Going through today’s edit.

Oh no, not another “Hacker” tapping into the “Dark Web.” As someone with a bit of background in computers, this always makes me gag. Hacking is not that simple. I mean – ugh. And to have a “dark web” that only a select few know about? Please.

Well, they got to have the remote hacker follow the car chase through the street camera. The whole thing is located in Florida.

I can’t kill it. It’s too integral to the story. Plus it is an accepted trope from the Urban Fantasy genre, that your computer guru guy/gal can do this.

But you know what? I have had enough of this. I am sick to death of this trope. Time to fact check it. Maybe I can make an alternative. I’ve managed to bring a fresh twist to overused tropes before with just a bit of google-fu. I’ll just search on “Florida Street Cams” for giggles. My know-it-all-ness can get smug satisfac….

Holy sweet half-skeletal baby Hel!!!

FL511 – Florida Traffic – https://fl511.com/

Okay, okay. Did not expect to have all those street cams available for anyone to see. You don’t need the friggin’ Dark Web or be a hacker at all.

 But Florida has some really weird privacy rules. North Carolina (where I live) ain’t goin’ to be like that. Right?

Dang-gum Loki’s maternity bra.

This link can connect you with cams from any state! – not all of them everywhere, but the weather cams are a start. If you are hacker collecting them over time for a particular area, I don’t think there will be much of a problem to build up the necessary database to follow a car or person through major streets. – https://www.weatherusa.net/skycamnet/list/North_Carolina

I stand corrected.

Dear author(s) you can have this hacker trope all you want.

I’m going to go into a corner and rock for a while.

Flash: Daylight Regrets

Erin Penn

Daylight came too soon, pushing back the magic of night. Julian pulled the crumpled bedsheeets around him wondering … wondering if he could continue, wondering if he could stop.

Joseph had been his world from the moment they met at the recreation center. Joe, blond, sculptured, and popular was the pool attendant. Surrounded by the teenage crowd of beauty, where he reigned supreme.

Julian debated pretending to drown to get his attention … for weeks. Instead, for the first time of his life, he crushed his shyness and asked the guy out. He expected to be shot down. Joe could have any guy or girl in the pace. Instead he said yes. Yes to a dweeb, yes to a guy in a homophobe town, yes to him.

They swam daily during lunch. They ate breakfast and dinner together. From the first date, they saw each other every day. The high school Julian had been certain would turn against them in their senior year, supported them – their star quarterback, swimmer, pitcher and the new guy who stole his heart and won the county science fair and took the chess team to national finals.

They changed the town. Gave hope to other kids who came out to their parents. Joe still won prom king, and the crowd cheered when Joe and Julian took the dance floor beside the prom queen and her college boyfriend.

Five years of bliss. Joe supported him through college. Cleaned house, cooked meals, massaged aching shoulders. They started talking about adoption after Julian got his first full-time job.

They were suppose to have forever.

Julian rubbed the goosebumps on his arms as he watched the sun climb in the sky.

The problem is Joe thought so too. So much, so hard, he continued to visit Julian every night since he died. And Julian couldn’t say no. He never had been able to turn Joe away.

And he needed to.

Needed to.

Needed to send Joe to the light. Instead Joe left before the dawn every morning. And Julian relived Joe’s betrayal every day – Joe dying while Julian had to keep living. The moment Julian was told Joe would never …

He needed to stop this cycle before it destroyed him. He needed it to continue so he would always be loved. Never seeing Joe again would kill him. Keeping seeing Joe would break him.

He couldn’t keep living like this. He couldn’t stop living like this.

(words 408 – originally appearing at Breathless Press 10/10/2013 for the 5/6/12 Sunday Fun – See the picture that inspired the story! – As I do not know the copyright permissions, I have not copied it here; republished new blog format 9/8/2019)