O Righteous Evil One, First Oni

My mother's father was a samurai and a Renaissance Man: as a samurai, he knew how to paint, did caligraphy, had an extensive Bonsai collection (real trees, trained into miniature), loved horticulture and was the Chief of Police in his providence, a title usually given to men of high social status. My mother painted such a loving picture of my grandfather that I wish he were still alive because we have much in common and I think I would have never gotten tired of listening to him talk.

I met my… Continue

We just moved into a new house in NC during the summer and my family thought the house we moved into was NEW since it smelled and looked new. We heard of no prior occupants and the walls here and there were not even painted yet. It just happened that we moved in that new house during one of the hottest summers there was in North Carolina.

In NC during the summer, the lightning storms are very bad and followed by booming thunder. My mom would come during some bad storms into my brother's room an… Continue

I used to work at Lowes in a mid-size town called New Bern. I worked there during the night shift full-time while I went to college full- time and because of this I evolked the respect and friendship of a man that worked at the Plumbing Dept. for many years. This man had so much knowledge and sheer physical power and took time to teach me to drive machines and gave me advice on how to get things done faster and in an easier fashion for me. We shared jokes and would at times play tricks on each o… Continue