text:
A cross, my son, is the most powerful punch in boxing.
Dear Trevor,
Time to work off all that Thanksgiving food. Get back to that heavy bag and keep boxing. We talked about your stance and how to jab. Now, to keep it simple, let's just focus on one other good move that you could perfect. The one-two punch.
All you need here is to throw a right cross after a jab. And a cross, my son, is the most powerful punch in boxing. It follows a left jab as naturally as boys follow a dogfight. A right cross is just a straight punch, full force. So you're in your stance: Knees bent, back straight, left foot forward, elbows in to shield your body, fists relaxed and up to shield your chin. You're working that left jab, feeling out your opponent, getting your distance down.
Jabbing with your left keeps your left shoulder forward where it should be. While you're jabbing, look for an opening. When you see one, jab hard. Pop! Your left hip is forward now, too. Then, as you bring your left hip and your left fist back, you use that momentum to slam out that straight right, in hard at Mudgett's chin. All that movement—your left side coming back and your right arm going out, will make that right cross hit like a jackhammer. Bam! Hit that chin with all you got, then pull that right back up to your chin, back to your protective stance and ready to do it again. The one-two punch. Pop! Bam! Back in position.
Get that down, Trev, and you can lick Mudgett. Work out on that heavy bag. Keep that stance. Stay on your toes.
It's sweet and sour and leaves tiny seeds between your teeth.
Dear Dad,
I'm thankful for four-day weekends and Aunt Fredi's pie. Her pie isn't any better than Mom's, but it is just as delicious. She brings more than we can eat and she brings a quart of whipping cream in the carton and then mixes a huge bowl of it so that we can slop it all over the pie. Last night, I had a piece of pumpkin, a piece of rhubarb, and a piece of blackberry. That blackberry pie might be my favorite thing to eat in the whole world. It's sweet and sour and leaves tiny seeds between your teeth.
I'm thankful I don't have to go to school today. It's one of those cold, wet days here. I think I'll go find a neighbor kid to hang out with. Someone disconnected from school. I wonder what Barry Barton is doing these days? We don't see much of each other any more. He goes to the public school.
I'm thankful for your letters, too, but honestly, I wish they were more help than they are. Since we've been writing to each other, my life hasn't exactly taken a turn for the better.
I'm thankful for books. And video games. I got the latest version of Left For Dead. You probably don't know what that is. Basically, you walk around and kill zombies. There's nothing to take your mind off troubles like killing a few hundred zombies.
I know I'm supposed to be thankful for my family, and I probably am, somewhere, down deep.
Your son,
I'm not sure if I'm thankful for anything else.
Dear Trevor,
Thanksgiving? That means we're near the end of November? Or you are, at least. I never would have guessed as much. For some reason, I thought it must be February or March by now.
What am I thankful for? I'm thankful for your letters. I devour them when they arrive. I've read them all a dozen times at least. Your quotes roll around in my mind like a bit of beach glass in the surf. Your words get less sharp and more luminous the more I think about them.
What else am I thankful for? Hmmm…I suppose I have friends here, if you could call them that. Carl is a sort of friend. But if he were gone tomorrow, I don't think I'd miss him. He's like a human end table. He serves a function, but one I could easily live without. Gordon isn't any better, although I am thankful for his Latinisms. The other day, Martin, Gordon and I were gathered around a plate of Sung-Hee's soggy French fries and Martin started raving about the poor quality of the food. Sung-Hee told him to shut up. Gordon said, "audacter calumniare, semper aliquid haeret," which translates as, "Slander boldly, something always sticks."
I'm definitely not thankful for Sung-Hee's food. Is it better than nothing? Only in the sense that a rolled up ball of paper is more fun for a child than no toys at all.
Martin, that bitter man—I could do without him completely. I always think of him as a former city councilman. He is former. In the present, he is nothing but sourness in size 48 pants.
I'm not sure if I'm thankful for anything else, other than my memories. Memories are not enough.
Happy Thanksgiving.
DadFiled under Dad Letters | Tags: afterlife, beach glass, fatherhood, fathers and sons, french fries, latin, letter, purgatory, thanksgiving | Comment (0)
What you're talking about, Trevor, is The Other.
Dear Dad,
Dang it, this whole advice-by-mail thing totally sucks. I come home from school after trying to hide my black eye all day, after trying not to talk about it, after getting called a wussy-boy by Mudgett. Then I open a letter from you that says, "Don't hide your black eye. Tell everyone how you got it."
Our timing stinks.
I talked to my English teacher, Mrs. Henry, today. I'm not sure she believed me when I told her I got the black eye boxing with my brother. I think half the school figures that Mudgett creamed me in a fight. Heck, he hasn't even fought me yet and most people already figure I've lost.
Mrs. Henry tried not to stare at my eye when we talked, but she failed on that one. She was having a conversation only with that corner of my face. My black eye has its own gravitational pull.
"If you were trying to learn about life aboard a ship, I'd have you read Melville or Jack London," she said. "If you were trying to learn about, oh, I don't know, bullfighting, then I suppose Hemingway would be your man. But what you're talking about, Trevor, is The Other. It's Heaven and Hell and God territory. There's only one kind of writer for that—a theologian—which is literally someone who studies God. Unfortunately, very few theologians died, came back from the dead and wrote about it. Lucky for us, some of them were smart enough to speculate. To try to fill in the gaps with both logic and intuition."
The Other—that's what Mrs. Henry calls everything religious. She talks about it like it's science fiction. In The Other, there are laws that control how things happen. And, according to Mrs. Henry, these laws are on a higher level than our regular laws.
"I know space and time don't matter to God," said Mrs. Henry. "if they do, he's not much of a god, is he? When we pray for others, we pray that God will intervene in their lives the next day, or in a different place. We pray to a single God, asking him to insert himself into our lives, knowing that a few other million people around the globe are asking the same of him. God could only answer these requests if space and time do not matter to him. If he lives outside of it. In The Other. And if he does, then past, present, future, are all the same to him. So are heaven, hell and earth.
"Death? Well, that shouldn't matter either, because God conquered death a few thousand years ago."
I was going along with Mrs. Henry. And all she said sounded pretty encouraging to me, until she sucked all the air out of my tires with just a couple of sentences.
"Before we go farther down this road, Trevor, we need to be completely clear on something. This is speculation on my part. This is conjecture. I don't begin to pretend to know what happens when we die. Those who do claim to know are almost certainly wrong."
I protested. She just got done talking about how clear everything looked. How logically laws operated in The Other. She said that she'd be getting input from the smartest guys who'd ever lived. Then she says that even they don't know. So what's the point?
"There are only a few tiny things I know for sure," Mrs. Henry said. "I can tell you those with utmost certainty. Those are the things that matter. These other things—how was the world made? What happens after we die?—we can only make educated guesses. And that's OK, Trevor. We don't have to know everything."
"I'm not asking to know everything," I said. "I just want to know about my dad. Can he help me or not?"
"Ahh," she said.
I hated that "ahh." Even Mrs. Henry could be annoying sometimes. That "ahh" meant, "I have just figured you out."
But she hadn't. Not a chance. I walked out.
By the way, tomorrow is thanksgiving.
Your son,
TrevorFiled under Letters from Son | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, death, heaven, hell, junior high school, letter, middle school, purgatory, teacher, theologian | Comment (0)
I always had a pretty humble goal: just land one good punch.
Dear Trevor,
Oh, my son, I am sorry. Mostly.
I am jealous, too. What I wouldn't give for a chance to spar with someone. To feel battered and out of breath. You shouldn't wear your black eye with any kind of shame at all. Wear it with pride. Patton—he was a general in World War Two and kind of a jerk—was shot through the buttocks during World War One and was famous for dropping his pants to show his scar. If Patton took pride in a butt scar, you can certainly take pride in a black eye.
Let Mudgett know how you got it. Tell him you were boxing with your brother who is five years older than you. Tell him your brother retaliated after you rang his bell. Give Mudgett something to think about.
Stick with it. Here's lesson number two—the jab:
Remember, you're jabbing with your forward hand—your left hand. So you got your hands up about chin high, palms facing each other, formed into fists, but relaxed. You're on your toes, with your right foot back.
In one motion, you're going to push off from your right foot, step forward with your left, then do a quick punch with your left hand. As your hand goes forward, you're going to twist your hand so that the punch lands palm-down. As soon as you land that punch, push back off your left foot and get out of reach. Land on your right foot and get ready to do it again.
Once more: Push off from the right foot. Step forward lightly with the left. Quickly punch your right hand straight forward, landing the punch palm-down. Push back with your left foot and get back into position. You're popping forward and back. Pow. Pow. Pow.
Do that for a while on the heavy bag. Don't even worry about your right hand yet.
When my neighbor Carl sees me shadow boxing on my porch, he comes over to give advice and to watch. "You're flat-footed again, you old Welsh bag of bones," he yells. "Put your chin down. Don't give 'em so much of a target." "Keep your elbows in." He and I were lucky enough to grow up in an era where a little friendly boxing was a pretty stress-free rite of passage. It wasn't that big of a deal if you won or lost. It was more about if you could take a licking. At least, that's how I remember it.
Think about this, Trevor. You got socked right in the eye by a kid five years older than Will Mudgett. Sure, you got a black eye. But you survived just fine. Bags of peas, embarrassment—you can handle those. Throw in a fat lip, a bloody nose and maybe even a chipped tooth. You can handle those as well.
When I was a kid and got into a fight, I always had a pretty humble goal: just land one good punch.
DadFiled under Dad Letters | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, black eye, boxing, bullying, fatherhood, heavy bag, jab, junior high school, letter, middle school, purgatory | Comment (0)
Thanks for the boxing idea. Now I have a black eye to wear to school tomorrow.
Dear Dad,
Thanks for the boxing idea. Now I have a black eye to wear to school tomorrow.
I did find one and one-half old pairs of boxing gloves. The half-pair is only a left glove. Rhett showed me where they were, down in the basement, stuck up in the rafters by an ancient coconut that was shipped from Hawaii. Jeez, Dad, these must be the oldest boxing gloves in Washington State. The liners are all torn up inside, so it feels like I'm sticking my hands into bags of stuffing. It takes about five minutes to get my thumbs in the thumbholes. Rhett found the heavy bag, too. It looks homemade—like a big army duffel bag stuffed full of clothes and sand or something.
We used some rope and hung it up back by the washing machine and took turns pummeling it. I was trying to get in the stance you described to me, but Rhett kept getting impatient, waiting for his turn and yelling at me to hurry up, so I'm not sure I did it right.
Then Rhett said he'd box me one handed. I put on the full pair of gloves and he put on the extra left and kept his other hand behind his back. I was poking at him with my left, jabbing like you said. And it worked, kind of. I was jabbing at his stomach and he kept bringing his one hand down to block it. So one time when he brought his hand down, I brought my right around and hit him pretty hard in the side of the head.
He was surprised all right. He stared at me and his eyes watered a bit, then pow, his ungloved right hand came out of nowhere and caught me right in the eye. I fell down and Rhett said it served me right and how did it feel and great, now he was going to get in trouble from Mom for giving me a black eye.
Boy, did he ever give me one, too. It swelled almost all the way shut by the time Mom came home. Rhett said I should put a raw steak on it, but there was no way I was going to listen to him after what he did to me so I watched TV with my one good eye while my other one was covered in a bag of frozen peas.
When Mom came home, she asked where we got the idea to box. I lied and said I didn't know, so you owe me one for covering for you.
I really don't want to go to school with a black eye.
Your son,
TrevorFiled under Letters from Son | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, black eye, boxing, brother, bullying, fatherhood, heavy bag, junior high school, letter, middle school, purgatory | Comment (1)
How about if I teach you how to fight?
Dear Trevor,
Mrs. Henry sounds like my kind of folks. There were so many days that I sat in the realty office, wishing I was teaching high school or college English instead of showing houses or filling out forms. I don't know if you like books as much as I did. I really do think I would give an arm for a little bookshelf full of some of the authors you mentioned in your last letter. I was always a sucker for Mark Twain, that closet socialist.
But it sounds like our current assignment demands someone with a bit more theological bent. I'm hoping you keep the conversation going with Mrs. Henry and try to figure something out. We could experiment from both sides of the pale.
I had another idea for you to try as well. Something a bit more practical, or at least more physical. How about if I teach you how to fight? Specifically, to box. I know this could be a bit tricky to do by mail, but just think of it as a correspondence course.
When I was still down there, we had a heavy bag and a couple pairs of boxing gloves down in the basement. Any idea if those are still there? If so, we're ready to get started. If not, we'll have to improvise.
Boxing was a big deal when I was a kid and it was one of those sports I really connected with. Probably because or your Uncle Gwyd. He and I used to get together to watch every big fight.
I figure you don't have time to learn all the subtleties, so here are some basics:
First comes the stance. Boxing is more about speed than power. Your job is to get in, land a blow, and get back out of harm's way. That means you have to stay on your toes, literally. Never box flat-footed. Always keep your knees bent a bit and keep your back fairly straight. Lean forward just a wee bit.
And don't face him head-on. If you're right-handed, put your left shoulder forward. Position yourself sideways toward the target, so that you lead with the shoulder opposite that of your strong punching hand. If you're a right-handed boxer, point your left shoulder toward the target so you're diagonal to him. Your left foot should be forward, too.
I asked Carl, my neighbor, to help me out with this, to help me remember if I'm telling you correctly. We got into such an argument about which hand should be forward that we almost came to blows. Carl finally agreed with me. I was actually a bit disappointed. I would have liked to take a swing at him.
Anyway, get your fists up about as high as your chin with your palms turned inward toward each other. Your fists and your arms are not just your clubs. They're your shield, too. Keep your hands formed into fists, but don't clench until you punch. Every time you jab, you should be clenching your fist right when it strikes your opponent. Every time you throw a cross or a hook or an uppercut, same thing. Relaxed fist then Pow! Clenched fist.
I could go on and on about this. And I will if you want me to. But that's plenty for today. Get the gloves. Get into your stance (left foot and shoulder forward, on your toes, knees bent, hands up, elbows in, fists relaxed). Then just start shadow boxing away.
Let me know how it goes.
DadFiled under Dad Letters | Tags: afterlife, boxing, fatherhood, fight, heavy bag, junior high school, letter, middle school, purgatory, stay on your toes | Comment (0)
I said, "Can I ask you a really weird question?"
Dear Dad,
Yeah, Mom sold the lots. I don't think they give us much money, but I suppose every little bit helps.
I always figured we'd be richer if you hadn't died. Probably better not to think about that too much.
I did talk to Mrs. Henry today. I said, "Can I ask you a really weird question?" When she said yes, I said, "If someone were dead, but you know, still alive. Like up in heaven or wherever, would they be able to do anything to help people here on earth?"
She smiled and raised an eyebrow at me, but she didn't laugh or call me an idiot. She said, "Why did you choose to ask me?" I told her I didn't really know, but I figured she was just smarter than other grown-ups. She seemed to like that. "I'm not smarter," she said, "just better read."
Then she explained that when she has questions she doesn't know the answers to, she goes to others to get her advice. "Like who?" I asked. "I consult the great thinkers—Shakespeare, Dante, Plato, Cervantes, —oh, there are dozens more."
"You mean books?" I asked. Of course she meant books. And she threw in a couple of the Bible writers then as well. She explained that when it came to most questions, these great thinkers usually disagreed. For example, she said, Plato seemed to think of the Underworld as an actual place. Shakespeare, James and others seemed happy to believe in ghosts. Chesterton and Lewis believed in some form of heaven and hell. While others, such as Hemingway and Twain, seemed sure that God, heaven and hell were pure fiction.
She sure knows about a lot of writers.
"So how do you figure out what the truth is?" I asked.
"That's the fun part," she said. "You find out what others—particularly others smarter than you—have to say on the subject. Then you do something remarkable. You use your brain."
It was a pretty cool conversation. It almost made me forget Mudgett. Almost. Except for the fact that he showed me his taekwando outfit in his backpack, then he said, "You know what I do everyday after school, wussy-boy? I go to the Y and take lessons in kicking your butt."
Your son,
TrevorFiled under Letters from Son | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, death, fatherhood, heaven, junior high school, middle school, purgatory | Comment (0)
Is my body still laying in the ground at Washington Memorial?
Dear Trevor,
Would you ever tell Mrs. Henry about our correspondence? Would you ever show her my letters?
I'm not sure I'm helping you. I wonder if the burden of our secret relationship is just one more thing to weigh you down. Secrets, for the most part, are not good for the soul.
Soul. Is that the right word? Is that what I am now? Is my body still laying in the ground at Washington Memorial while my soul is sitting on this cabin porch, staring down the hill into the fog?
I do think you should talk to Mrs. Henry about your struggles with Will Mudgett. I wouldn't think of it as tattling. You're just looking for advice. You don't even have to name names if you don't want to. But I wouldn't be surprised if some of the teachers already knew something sinister was going on between you two. Adults, for the most part, are smarter than kids give them credit for.
Don't let Mudgett get to you, Trev. He's just a kid like you. Deep down, he's probably as scared as you are.
In general, people are scared almost all the time. When you're a kid, it's more personal things, by which I mean that you tend to be afraid of what will happen to you, personally. Will a girl like ME? Will a boy beat ME up? Will I fail a test? Will I look stupid? When you become a father, it's worrying about your family that keeps you up at night. Will my sons find good friends? Will my daughter find a good husband? Will my wife cope after I'm gone.
When the cancer was winning its battle against me, worrying about your mom and you kids just about did me in. While I was alive, I tried pretty hard to provide for you all. I drove your mother crazy with my thriftiness. She went without whole seasons of new clothes so I could buy all the property I could afford that seemed like good investments to me. Thinking about it now, I wished I'd let her buy a few more dresses. I'd trade my cabin for one chance to see her in a red dress, with her hair all done up.
I'm pretty sure most of my speculations were spot on. Those waterfront lots would have turned into serious money if you all had been able to hold onto them. But I knew that as soon as I died, things would get hard for your mom and you kids. She'd have to sell the lots for you all to live on. I told her to do so. I told her the order in which to sell them. In other words, I gave her a bunch of advice. Lying there in bed, trying not to cough up blood, there was nothing else I could do.
That's how I feel now, in this in-between place, hearing about your struggles. Death has separated me from the ability to provide a solution.
DadFiled under Dad Letters | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, bullying, cancer, fatherhood, fear, junior high school, middle school, purgatory, real estate, red dress, speculation | Comment (0)
That whole Whitman Massacre thing is crap, anyway.
Dear Dad,
"So you wanna set a date?"
That's what Will Mudgett asked me today in social studies. He had that dark color around his eyes when he said it, even though he wasn't looking at me. Before I could answer, he grabbed my social studies book and wrote his name on it, in these kind of creepy primitive letters.
Will Mudgett
That's all it says, but I swear, every time I open my backpack, the cover of that book somehow comes into my sight. His name stares at me.
When he was done writing my name, he handed the book back to me and said, "What's it gonna be, ya wuss?"
I hate this.
I didn't answer him. I didn't give him a date. I couldn't really talk at all. Good thing Mr. Anders didn't call on me, because I don't think I could have said a word if I tried. He would have asked me what year the Whitman Massacre happened and I would have just sat there, croaking silently. Mudgett would have loved that.
That whole Whitman Massacre thing is crap, anyway. The Whitmans move to Walla Walla and spread measles to the Indians. We never hear how many Indians die, but I bet it was a bunch. Then the Indians kill the Whitmans. Who can blame them? It was the Whitmans and their measles who first killed the Indians. And then the white people hang five of the Indians. Mr. Anders makes it sound like the Indians were all to blame. I bet if Mrs. Henry taught us this section, the Indians would be the good guys. It's kind of like you said, about how it's hard to tell who is the hero and who is the villain.
Donnie Joad told me that he heard that Will Mudgett was taking taekwando lessons at the Y. Great. I swear, if he kicks my butt in front of the school, I'm pretty sure my life will be over.
The worst part is that he knows he's got me. As soon as I see him, I can feel my face turning red. Other people are starting to figure it out, too. I can see them elbowing each other and hear them getting quiet whenever Mudgett and me approach in the hall. Mudgett does that stare thing, too. He looks so creepy when he does it.
I'll talk to Mrs. Henry like you said tomorrow.
Your son,
TrevorFiled under Letters from Son | Tags: afterlife, bullying, junior high school, middle school, purgatory, taekwando, whitman massacre, YMCA | Comment (0)
Your burden bends you down. Let it be mine to bear.
Dear Trevor,
If I could take your fear from you and carry it for you, I would. If I could take your burdens from you, I would carry them gladly. All the weight that bends you down, let it be mine to bear. Your burden bends you down. Let it be mine to bear.
If I could, I would declare today a holiday for you. A holiday from all your fear and all your worries.
What if you were to ask that pastor—Pastor Drew—if he knows anything about how people in heaven can help people on earth? The Catholics pray to dead saints. I know I was no saint, but it can't be all that different. I've known people that others called saints, but they generally only look that way from a distance. Once you get to know someone—anyone—up close, we're all jerks.
Who is it that prays to their ancestors? The Chinese? Do you have any Chinese friends?
Maybe you should just ask that teacher of yours, Mrs. Henry. She seems wiser than most.
When my own mom – your Grandma Griffiths – found out she was dying, she was more worried about being forgotten than she was about death itself. Or maybe that's what death meant to her. I suppose being forgotten is the great fear of all mothers. Or all parents.
She made your Uncle Floyd and me promise to visit her grave. Even at the time, I remember thinking that I might as well promise to do whatever she wanted, because once she died, she'd never notice if we visited or not. I'm not saying I intentionally lied to her. My motivation was to comfort her, not to lie to her.
We stopped by her grave every Memorial Day without fail. Funny, it was always one of my favorite days. Uncle Gwyd and Aunt Hazel always came with us, and Floyd and his rowdy cabal. We'd make the rounds at the cemetery and then hit some restaurant on the way home and swap family stories we'd all heard before, but loved hearing and telling again. Gwyd's stories were the best, because he kept in all the dirt, especially his own dirt, but everyone else's as well. More than anything else, I loved hearing about him growing up in Butte with my dad. Has he told you any of those stories? Real crazy, frontier-town stuff.
With all the family we had around the Puget Sound, funerals always felt pretty common to me. And death seemed pretty natural until it came to my own. That one still feels unnatural.
Check with that teacher of yours to see if she thinks there's any way someone who is dead can help someone where you are.
DadFiled under Dad Letters | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, cemetery, fatherhood, junior high school, memorial day, middle school | Comment (1)
These pills are the only real help I've gotten so far.
Dear Dad,
Yeah, I went to the doctor this morning. Dr. Bruell said I have a "nervous stomach." He gave me a prescription for the world's largest pills. They're pink. I have no idea how I'm supposed to swallow them.
He asked me what I felt like. You know, like "where does it hurt and all that." I said I just felt generally nauseous and sometimes I threw up. He asked me if I had a test at school today. I said no, but I knew what he meant. He meant that there was something making me feel sick—something that didn't have anything to do with my body.
He's a pretty smart guy. I thought he was going to start lecturing me about being a man, but instead he wrote out a prescription and said, "These pills will help. Take them whenever you feel queasy." Except when he said it, it sounded like, "Take zem venevah you veel qveezy." He's got a really strong accent. He sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger's grandfather.
I'm about to take one right now. Hold on.
OK, I figured out why they're so big. I'm supposed to chew them. Duh. They kind of taste like Pepto Bismal. Kind of minty and chalky. It's funny, because I actually feel a little bit better already, which is good, because Mom says I have to start going to school everyday, unless I'm really barfing up a storm.
These pills are the only help I've gotten so far that's made a lick of difference. No offense, Dad.
So I guess that means tomorrow I'll see Will Mudgett. Any advice would be appreciated. Or anything you can do to take my mind off it. I'll take what I can get.
Your son,
TrevorFiled under Uncategorized | Tags: accent, adolescence, afterlife, fatherhood, junior high school, middle school, nervous stomach | Comment (1)
This is how you got that scar on the side of your nose.
Dear Trevor,
By the time you get this, you'll be home from seeing Dr. Bruell. That old German must be a million years old by now.
Quick story about Dr. Bruell. I'm sure someone has told you how you got that scar on the side of your nose, but since it was my fault, I think you should hear it from me. It was an Easter morning, when you were about three years old. We were driving in that Dodge Caravan your mother talked me into buying. I hated that thing. Anyway, you were in the back seat with your sister. One of the seat belts back there was broken. Your mom wanted me to get the belt fixed before we allowed anyone to sit there, but I convinced her it was perfectly safe, it being Sunday morning and all.
We were on our way to church, of all places. Easter was the only time I ever went to church, other than weddings and funerals. You want to know why I went? Don't tell your mother, but it was because I wanted to go out to eat afterwards. If we went out for Easter brunch without going to church first, it would be a tense meal. But if I went to church, your mother would glow like a 100-watt angel at least until the next morning.
We were driving along 312th when the car in front of us suddenly came to a stop. I slammed on the brakes. The tires screeched. Everything not tied down in the Caravan went flying. That included you. You hit your face on the headrest in front of you and blood came spurting out your nose. Your mother was hysterical, but I kept telling her it was just a bloody nose. No big deal. Put a couple of napkins on it and we'll still get to church in time to hear the choir's big number.
Then Keith started shouting, "I saw it flap! I saw it flap!" He was talking about your nose. Turns out that you cut the side of it wide open on a broken piece of plastic on the headrest. The skin on the side of your nose was flapping open and closed.
At 9:15 on Easter morning, I called Dr. Bruell. At home. He met us at his office and stitched up your nose right there, without a single nurse on site. We missed the entire church service, but still made brunch. All in all, it worked out pretty well. The scar was pretty small, last time I saw you.
Let me know what the doc said.
DadFiled under Dad Letters | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, fatherhood, junior high school, letter, purgatory | Comment (0)
You're a million miles away or floating in some other dimension.
Dear Dad,
You can't do anything. You're a million miles away or floating in some other dimension.
I went to school today. Kind of. It was actually after school. Mr. Anders, my homeroom teacher, called Mom and asked her if the three of us could meet. Mom got off work early and drove me up there in our Nissan wagon. She asked me if I knew what the meeting was about. I said I didn't know, because I didn't.
When Mom sat next to Mr. Anders, he looked about 16 years old. I'm not saying Mom looks old or anything. It's just that she looks like a regular grown-up and Mr. Anders looks like a kid. He has rosy cheeks. I bet he couldn't grow a beard if he tried.
Anyway, Mr. Anders avoided the subject for a while. He asked how I felt. He asked Mom about work and where we lived. He seemed kind of interested and surprised when Mom told him we lived on the water, because usually only rich people live on the water and we are definitely not rich.
Mom answered every question he asked, super politely. I think she secretly hoped Mr. Anders had just wanted to have a little chit-chat. She hoped he just wanted to talk about the weather for a while and then he'd send us on our way.
"Hello, Mrs. Griffiths. Lovely day we're having, isn't it?"
"Why yes, Mr. Anders, it is lovely. Such a warm fall. Unusual, don't you think."
"Indeed I do, Mrs. Griffiths. Well, nice to talk to you. Have a good day. Hope to see you at a basketball game this winter."
That didn't happen.
Mr. Anders finally pulled a folder out from under a history book. It had my name on it. He opened it up and showed Mom my midterm progress report. All my classes—even English—had i's next to them.
"Is Trevor getting bad grades?" Mom asked.
"That's the thing, Mrs. Griffiths. It's hard for us to tell. None of Trevor's teachers was able to assign him a grade, because he's missed so much school."
"What do the i's stand for?"
"Ah." Mom just sort of looked at Mr. Anders then, waiting to see what he recommended.
"Trevor's a bright kid…"
Mom nodded enthusiastically at that one.
"…but if he doesn't start showing up for school every day, he's going to get in some real trouble, academic-wise. Have you taken him to a doctor?"
"No. I don't think it's anything that serious." Mom has some sort of natural aversion to doctors.
"I think you might want to take him," Mr. Anders closed the folder, "because the farther behind he falls, the harder it's going to be to catch up. OK? Are we good here?"
That last sentence really got on my nerves. It was like Mr. Anders figured he'd done his little bit and everything would somehow take care of itself. No one asked me what was wrong. No one asked me why I might be staying home from school. All we had to do was go to the doctor and everything would magically turn out right. Little Trevor would go back to school and Mr. Anders wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.
Mom and me piled back into the Nissan. Mom called Dr. Bruell on her cell phone and made an appointment for the next morning. Thank the lord she listened to the radio on the way home so we didn't have to talk about it.
Your son,
TrevorFiled under Letters from Son | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, bullying, fatherhood, incomplete, junior high school, letter, middle school, purgatory, teacher | Comment (0)
Perhaps life is such a gift that it's worth the shame of cowardice.
Dear Trevor,
I think you might have been half joking in your last letter. Sorry, but I don't know you well enough to be sure. That kind of knowing—joke knowing—only comes with time.
I used to drive your mother crazy with my sarcasm. It took her years to recognize when I was joking and when I was serious. Then she eventually just got mad at me for not taking anything seriously. Oh, God. Dear, God. It was nearly the end of us when It happened. My shame.
I was about to say that you should fight Will Mudgett. I was about to tell you that if you examine the three choices—avoiding him, fighting him or turning him in—and if you really do die in all three, then number two—where you fight him—is clearly the best option. Because if you're going to die anyway, the pleasure of getting those couple of punches in may just get you through a few millennia up here.
But now I find myself reconsidering. Perhaps you should run, hide, do whatever it takes to stay alive. Perhaps life is such a gift that it's worth the shame of cowardice.
What was it Caesar said in the Shakespeare play? "Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once." That's the kind of thing is so easy to write about. But even in the context of the play, Caesar dies and Marc Antony lives, then goes on to have sex with Cleopatra. So who is the smart one?
I probably shouldn't be talking about sex with you when you're in seventh grade. Your mother would definitely not approve. But we are men. Or at least, I was a man and you will be, soon. Right now, we live on both sides of the state. If manhood was Oregon, you'd be Washington and I'd be California.
I understand you are afraid, Trevor. What can I do to help you with this?
DadFiled under Dad Letters | Tags: afterlife, bullying, cowardice, fatherhood, joking, julius caesar, junior high school, shakespeare | Comment (0)
No matter what I do, I still end up dying.
Dear Dad,
Should I fight Will Mudgett? Should I hide from him? Or should I turn him in?
Here are the pros and cons of the three options:
Keep avoiding Will Mudgett
Pros: I stay alive, at least for now. No one stabs me. I don't get bloodstains all over my shirt. I don't go to social studies anymore. I don't bleed all over everything in front of half the school. Misty Lee doesn't get to smile and flirt while she watches me die.
Cons: I have to work hard to find ways to avoid Will Mudgett. I have to listen to Donnie Joad bugging me to be a man. Since I can't avoid him forever, Will Mudgett eventually catches up to me and stabs me in the face.
Fight Will Mudgett
Pros: Maybe I can get in a sock or two before Will Mudgett stabs me in the face. Since I'll still die, I still don't have to go to social studies.
Cons: I still get stabbed in the face. I still die. Misty Lee gets to watch. I never have another summer vacation.
Tattle to a teacher
Pros: Assuming they believe me, Will Mudgett gets booted from the school. I live.
Cons: I'm branded for the rest of my life as a tattle-tale ratfink. Donnie Joad clucks like a chicken whenever I walk by. My brothers and my sister all sneer at me and make me sit in the back of the van forever. Will Mudgett has even more of a grudge against me and stabs me in the face while I'm sleeping and I die anyway.
No matter what I do, I still end up dying, so what difference does it make?
I didn't talk to Mrs. Henry today. I didn't go to school.
Your son,
TrevorFiled under Letters from Son | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, bullying, fatherhood, junior high school, letter | Comment (0)
I think that's what death is more than anything else: separation.
Dear Trevor,
What can I do for you from here? So little. I can't fight your fights for you. I can't take you to the doctor. I've never felt as dead as I feel right now, realizing how separate from you I am.
I think that's what death is more than anything else: separation.
As far as I can tell, I still have matter. My body, for what it's worth, still is made of something. I can see it and feel it, although it does not feel as solid as the body I recall on Earth.
You've gone swimming in the Sound, right? You know how you feel when you come shivering out of that cold water and you can barely feel the rocks beneath your feet? Someone wraps a rough towel around you, but it barely feels scratchy, because your skin is so numb. That's close to how I feel up here. Feeling acts more as a point of reference than an experience.
It's hard to hear from you down there, unwilling to go to class because of Will Mudgett. It's hard to know you're suffering and that I can do nothing but write you a letter. Hell, by now you may have gotten into a boxing match with the kid while our letters are crossing in the mail.
I hope you talk to Mrs. Henry again. I like her. I wish you'd tell her about me, but maybe that's just my ego talking. Maybe I just long to be included. I've always longed so. Who hasn't?
Here's the thing, Trevor. You may think me irresponsible, but boys like Mudgett rarely stab people. I know what you're thinking: It could happen. Boys pulled out guns in that high school in Colorado back when you were a toddler and I when was still alive. So you're right. It could happen. But it almost never does. Your fear is not completely unreasonable, but what you are afraid of is unlikely.
You could also tell a teacher that the boy is threatening you. If schools continued changing like they appeared to be doing when I was still alive, just the threat of a knife at school is enough to get a kid yanked.
Perhaps that's what you could do: Perhaps you could write out a pros and cons list of all the options you have. They seem to be this:
- Continue trying to avoid Will Mudgett.
- Face him and fight him.
- Tell a teacher about his threatening you.
If you do this, I'd like to see the results.
DadFiled under Dad Letters | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, bullying, fatherhood, heaven, junior high school, letter, puget sound, purgatory | Comment (0)
I should have known that Mrs. Henry would even know about stuff like soccer.
Dear Dad,
Thanks for all the great advice and everything, but I don't think it's helping much. I went back to school today, mostly to avoid getting bugged by Rhonda for staying home. But I went to the nurse's office to avoid going to social studies. Will Mudgett. He's in there. If I go in the class, he'll turn those dark eyes on me.
I tried to speak to Mrs. Henry today. I asked her if I could talk after class. She said sure. Then, when I walked up to her desk, I just stood there. She said, "What's up?" All casual and friendly-like, because she's really good at making kids feel comfortable. Like how she shows us stuff she wrote when she was a kid even though she knows it was bad, just so we feel more comfortable writing our own stuff. She read us this one story she wrote about these birds. The birds had dorky names like Hawkwing and Windrider. They talked to each other in this kind of pseudo-Lord-of-the-Rings-language. "Hail, Hawkwing. Thou art mighty of feather, with beak of stone." We all laughed and she laughed along with us, which is so different than Mrs. Fletcher or Mr. Schick, who I bet would never admit to doing anything stupid in a million years, even though they do stupid things every single time they come to class.
So I stood there in front of Mrs. Henry's desk, feeling like a total dork. What was I going to say? "Mrs. Henry, I wanted to tell you I'm pretty sure that total nerd, Will Mudgett, is going to stab me. My dead dad thought it would be a good idea if I talked to you."
She said, "What can I do for you, Trevor?" I still just stood there. It was like when Eugene Tinkham gets up in front of class and then freezes. The whole class gets embarrassed, not just Eugene, because it's so weird watching someone be that uncomfortable. Except Mrs. Henry didn't seem embarrassed. I could tell her brain was working, behind all those smiley wrinkles. She was trying to figure out how to get me to say something. She was gearing up for her next technique.
"How's the soccer season going?" she asked.
"What position do you play?"
"Ah, the most important position on the team."
"How do you figure that?" I asked.
"Well, of course, it depends on your strategy. Did you watch the Italians in the 2006 World Cup? If your defense is strong enough, you only need one goal to win."
I should have known that Mrs. Henry would even know about stuff like soccer.
"Of course," she continued, smiling, "I'm not sure our Mr. Schick is quite up to the same level as the Italian coach."
"Yeah, my brother Keith thinks he's a dork."
"Remind me again how many brothers and sisters you have," she said.
"Three brothers and one sister,"
"And you're the…"
"Ah. How old were you when your dad died?"
"Five." See, this is the thing about Mrs. Henry. She doesn't get all uncomfortable when she talks about tricky stuff like dead dads. She doesn't start saying how sorry she is. She just jumps right in and talks about it.
"Do you remember much about him?" she asked.
"Kind of. Well, it's sort of confusing, because I think I remember things about him or things we did. You know, like camping trips or going out in the boat. But then Rhonda or Rhett will tell me that I wasn't even born then. So I think that sometimes when I think I'm remembering him, what I'm really doing is remembering stories about him."
"That makes complete sense," Mrs. Henry said. "William Wordsworth—he was a writer, like you—has a famous poem about how memory and imagination are the same thing. Trevor, you're going to be late for class if you don't go now. And my next class is going to start in one minute. But we could talk after class again tomorrow, if you like."
That was it. It's funny with people like Mrs. Henry, because we didn't talk about anything, really, but I still felt better afterwards.
Your son,
TrevorFiled under Letters from Son | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, bullying, fatherhood, junior high school, letter, purgatory, soccer, teacher, william wordsworth, world cup 2006 | Comment (0)
We agreed early on to be honest with each other, right?
Dear Trevor,
We agreed early on to be honest with each other, right?
I think you are acting like a chicken. I don't think you are a chicken.
You may think this is one of those workaround phrases that grown-ups like to use to avoid their true feelings. It's not. I'm just trying to be precise. Even with our beautiful English language, saying what I feel is an awkward, stumbling exercise. When words connect to thoughts, it's usually by accident.
I have acted out of fear so many times in my life. Fear is intricately wrapped up in so many of my days. Fear is part of my great shame. I am no hero.
I mostly joined the service as a way to pay for college, but like every guy in there, I knew I might actually see some action. I was fortunate enough to be in between any wars of note. I don't think the government had much of a clue what to do with us at that time, so they stationed us on places like Johnson Island, where I ended up. We patrolled the thoroughly unthreatened shores, kept the never-used equipment running, and occasionally practiced fighting against each other, just to stay prepared for the real thing, should it ever happen.
A few times, a USO tour would come to our base with some tier-four starlet from a movie none of us had ever heard of. Or they'd fly in an unfunny comedian or fresh-out-of-the-minors ball player. And these guys or girls would get up on our little plywood stage and tell us how proud they were of us, how we were willing to sacrifice ourselves for our country, how we were the real heroes, not them.
I'd just sit there in my folding chair stewing. Thinking, if they knew what kept me awake at night. Thinking, if they knew how scared I was every time I went on patrol, even though there was no enemy to even be afraid of. Heck, even in World War II when the Pacific was hopping, Johnson Island never saw any action.
It didn't matter. I was still afraid.
You've got these fears that seem to make you sick. The couple you've mentioned that I recall are Will Mudgett and jumping off the marina. I never jumped off that marina, by the way. Trevor, don't let the way you act in these couple of moments define you. Unlike me, you're still alive. You've still got a string of moments stretching out ahead of you. No single moment defines you. If it did, all your remaining moments would have no choice. Your actions would be preordained. They're not.
Each moment of every day, you choose. If you let Will Mudgett make you piss your pants on Tuesday, on Wednesday, you can rush into traffic and push an old lady out of the path of a city bus.
I don't think you're a chicken.
I wish there were someone you could talk to. Maybe that Pastor Drew guy you mentioned before. Nah, I'd skip him. Maybe your English teacher. If she teaches English, she must be a reader. She's got to have picked up a little wisdom in all those books.
DadFiled under Dad Letters | Tags: afterlife, bullying, courage, fatherhood, fear, johnson island, letter, military, purgatory, USO | Comment (0)
I'm kind of a barfer, I guess. Did you throw up much when you were a kid?
Dear Dad,
You never answered my question. Do you think I'm being a chicken?
All I know is that when I think about Will Mudgett, it makes my stomach turn. Mom made goulash for dinner tonight. It seemed spicier than usual. Right before we were done, she asked me how school was. All I could think about was Will Mudgett. And that spicy goulash started jumping around in my stomach. I ran from the kitchen, down the hall to the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet and barfed all that goulash right back up.
I'm kind of a barfer, I guess. Did you throw up much when you were a kid?
Mom came in and said, "Oh, honey," and "poor dear" and put her hand on my forehead. I'm always surprised how this generally makes me feel worse. I know she thinks comforting helps, but I think I could tough it through times like this better if Mom didn't get all gooshy on me.
Sometimes when she starts talking that way, I imagine I'm a soldier in Call of Duty Four and that I've got to be really tough. It's tough to be tough when your mom is patting your head and saying, "There, there, honey."
And I'm not tough, anyway. If I was, I'd tell Will Mudgett to kiss my butt and I'd punch him in the face. I'd probably get suspended, but I think it would be worth it. I don't want to go to school, anyway.
In fact, I didn't go to school today. I'm home. Rhonda thinks I'm faking. "I threw up!" I said to her, when she called me a faker. "You throw up from a long car ride," she said. "You're fine. You're just too big a baby to go to school." I don't think Rhonda actually knows what's going on with me and Will Mudgett, but I could be wrong. She's got kids in her class that have brothers or sisters in my class. And Rhonda always seems to just know things, anyway.
So I'm laying at home, pretending to do math homework, watching Cartoon Network, and writing letters to you.
You think I'm a chicken, don't you?
Your son,
TrevorFiled under Letters from Son | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, bullying, cartoon network, fatherhood, junior high school, sick | Comment (0)
The kid hit me in the cheek, almost knocking me down.
Dear Trevor,
I don't know if I've ever had anybody want to kill me. I never saw any action when I was in the military. My longest stretch in one place was when I was stationed on this tiny South Pacific base called Johnson Island, which was about as exotic as you'd expect a place named Johnson to be.
You want to know the real fighting that happened in your family? It was between Steffan and Keith. Keith was a thorn in Steffan's side from the moment he appeared in his crib. As soon as Keith was old enough to stand up, Steffan was happy to knock him down. By the time Keith was three, he was tough enough to knock Steffan down, too.
Here's the thing: You talk a lot about what great athletes Steffan and Keith are. I never thought it was because they were particularly gifted. It was because neither one could stand to let the other win. It didn't matter what the sport was—football, baseball, basketball, soccer, swimming, waterskiing, hiking. As long as it wasn't academic, they were at each other like two cats with their tails tied together. Rhett was always happy to sit back and watch. Maybe that explains why, as you say, he's not all that good at soccer. There's no one he's trying to overshadow. Contentedness is bad for athletics.
I got in a few tussles when I was a kid, but mostly just playground dust-ups, where the worst you could expect was a bloody nose or a fat lip. It was more like kittens fighting with each other–more about learning to be a man than any kind of deep hatred anyone had for each other.
Being a Griffiths, I was always skinny as a rail and never exactly a big kid. I could hold my own, I suppose, mostly because Uncle Gwyd taught me and Floyd how to box. And for Gwyd, boxing meant more coal miner rules than Queensbury. Below the belt, above the belt, thumb in the eye—it was all OK with Gwyd.
One time, when I was about eight years old, Uncle Gwyd and Uncle Joe came in the house after dark and pulled me out into the front yard. There were two other young men out there and a boy a few years older than me. I never knew his name. All I remember about him was that he had this mop of black hair on his head that fell over one eye.
I was waiting for someone to tell me why we were all standing there, when the black-haired kid took a swing at me. Gwyd and Joe started yelling at me. "Come on, Hugh! Knock him out!" The kid hit me in the cheek, almost knocking me down and I finally realized I was supposed to fight him. So I started swinging back, hitting him in the stomach and on the arms. The four men were all yelling and cheering. I was landing a few decent hits when all of a sudden the black-haired kid slipped a right cross through and hit me right in the Adam's apple. I started choking and coughing. Gwyd and Joe just stood there, grumbling. "Awww, Hugh! What'd you stop for? You had him!" I couldn't breathe and for half a minute, I thought I might die.
But I didn't die. That's the point, this time. I didn't die. I just got beat up for the stupidest reason in the world.
I thought there'd be some helpful advice in there. Maybe I was wrong.
DadFiled under Letters from Son | Tags: adolescence, afterlife, bpxing, bullying, fatherhood, heaven, junior high school, purgatory | Comment (0)


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Corpse Party: Book of Shadows celebrating on PSP next week
by Alice O'Connor, shacknews.com, Jan 9, 2013 6:00AM PST
Invited to a party! Ooh, how exciting! Your party frock is so pretty and you've brought such a thoughtful gift, but... why do half the guests have blank faces? And why are they eating people? There's no such party, of course, this is purely a lie I've told to introduce the news that publisher Xseed has confirmed horrifying PSP adventure sequel Corpse Party: Book of Shadows will hit next week.
Book of Shadows is an adventure game/visual novel packing eight spooky standalone chapters, some featuring characters from the first Corpse Party. The terrifying tales revolve around a high school, which do seem to be the source of an awful lot of horror in Japan.
Why a PSP release in 2013? Well, Book of Shadows originally came out in Japan in 2011, before the original even came out in North America. I suppose it's called 'vintage' now. Corpse Party: Book of Shadows will hit the PlayStation Network on January 15, priced at $19.99.

subset: commoncrawl


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Welcome to MK Orthodontics
Since 2008, the orthodontic patients of the greater Augusta and Waterville, Maine areas have been receiving nothing but the highest quality of orthodontic care and treatment from board-certified orthodontist Dr. Michal Kleinlerer and her exceptional staff here at MK Orthodontics. With complete focus on exceeding the expectations of patients of all ages, our practice is dedicated to providing you an orthodontic experience that is as enjoyable as it is effective and beneficial to your health.
We proudly offer our patients a wide array of orthodontic treatments, such as traditional metal braces and clear aligners with Invisalign® and Invisalign Teen™, and we are the only SureSmile® braces provider in the state of Maine.
When you're ready to place your whole family's orthodontic care in the skilled, compassionate, and efficient hands of Dr. Michal Kleinlerer and her patient-centered team, we invite you to contact either our Waterville orthodontic office or Augusta orthodontic office to schedule a complimentary consultation. We look forward to working with you and helping you achieve a brilliant and healthy smile that will last a lifetime. Call today!
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Elections for the presidency of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) later this month must be fair and transparent to allow the world's second most populous nation to tap its sports potential, the IOC said on Thursday.
The run-up to the IOA vote has been mired in controversy with beleaguered president Suresh Kalmadi bowing to pressure in October and not seeking re-election.
"Top priority for the IOC is integrity," International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice President Thomas Bach told Reuters when asked what his organisation expected from the November 25 vote in New Delhi.
"Therefore a fair and transparent campaign for the presidency of the IOA is essential," said Bach.
Corruption charges
Kalmadi, who was released from prison on bail in January after nine months, had been arrested in April 2011 on charges of inflating tenders worth millions of dollars for equipment used at the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games which he was heading.
The $6bn Commonwealth Games were billed as India's answer to the 2008 Beijing Olympics but descended into rows over leaking stadiums, filthy athletes' rooms and corruption scandals.
"Only with the leadership of integrity can the IOA play the deserved important role in world sports and exploit the huge potential of sports in India," said Bach, who is seen as a possible candidate for the IOC presidency next year.
The nation of 1.2 billion people saw its athletes return from the year's London Olympics with two silver and four bronze medals, the country's biggest Olympic haul and equal to the collective tally of India's previous seven campaigns.
"Six medals was a good harvest. However, a nation of 1.2 billion should do better," Indian President Pranab Mukherjee said as he hosted the medal winners in August, highlighting the country's growing appetite for sporting success.
The frontrunners for the top job at the IOA are Indian Amateur Boxing Federation's (IABF) Abhay Chautala and IOA secretary general Randhir Singh.
Singh, an IOC member since 2001, has been untarnished by the Commonwealth Games fallout while Chautala is a politician and his brother Ajay heads the Table Tennis Federation of India.
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I wen to Joseph a banks the other day looking at suits and couldn't believe how expensive it was. Are their suits really worth the extra money or is it just a rip off? I've always gotten my suits from K&G
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Jeep Grand Cherokee headed for Detroit Auto Show with diesel power
Posted Dec 5th 2012 5:14PM
Time to quit your bellyaching and pony up your pennies, Jeep fans. Chrysler has announced the Jeep Grand Cherokee will bow with a 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel engine in the first quarter of next year. The engine yields 237 horsepower and an impressive 406 pound-feet of torque, and all that twist shows up from 1,800 rpm on. If you're counting, that's 16 lb-ft more than the 5.7-litre V8. Expect to see it bolted to a six-speed automatic transmission. As you may recall, this isn't the first time we've heard this news.
Jeep CEO Mike Manley let the news slip while speaking with Ward's Auto at the LA Auto Show, and said if buyer feedback is any indication, the new model should see healthy sales. Manley also pointed to the now deceased Liberty diesel, which the executive said that enjoyed a faithful, if small following. Odds are we'll hear more about pricing and fuel economy when the diesel Grand Cherokee gets an official unveil at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show.
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Forest of Fear
he Forest of Fear is located just south of Grand Rapids in Caledonia. The Forest of Fear is an interactive, self guided walk though five chilling acres of haunted woods and swamps inhabited by ghosts , monsters, and other terrifying creatures. As you walk along the dimly lit and winding trails of the Forest of Fear you will face one spine-tingling jolt after another in an experience unlike any other haunted house! This unique outdoor experience will scare the pants off of any haunted even that you've seen before! So, this Halloween season, grab your friends, take a deep breath, and ask yourself, 'Are you afraid of the Dark?'
Admission: $10
Friday, October 07, 2011
Forest of Fear8758 Patterson Ave SE
Caledonia, MI 49316
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Authentic Wood-Fired Gourmet Pizzas
Not too long ago, before the first sighting of authentic gourmet pizzas, the people of Singapore were led to believe that only thick-crust pizzas existed.
Singapore was hungry and ready for the real deal.
Which is probably why, when our concept of an exciting Italian pizzeria dedicated to bringing Singapore a slice of Authentic Italian Wood-Fired Pizza goodness, materialized in Club Street, in 2002, it quickly expanded.
Today, SPIZZA is the most fashionable eatery-hangout to infiltrate Singapore yet. Serving affordable yet delicious Italian fare: from salads and soups to 23 thin-crusted wood-oven-baked pizzas - made in-house daily, with the freshest ingredients and utmost care and dedication.
With outlets island-wide and a catchy hotline, SPIZZA 's philosophy to serve up a truly modern and authentic Italian dining experience is now even beyond the outlets. Visit us today, or call 6377 7773 and let us visit you!
See our SPIZZA Delivery Menu here!
Spreading the warmth of SPIZZA
Indulge in pristine Napoli pizzas, baked in authentic firewood ovens with gloriously fresh toppings that will keep you coming back for more. There are 23 mouth-watering pizzas all named after Italian women, 9 scrumptious desserts named after famous female opera characters and 12 equally tantalizing starters named after the emperors of Rome.
Staying true to its Italian authenticity, Spizza for friends hosts an extensive beverage list that includes beautiful Italian wines, beers and grappa to match.
Search for express food delivery services in Singapore at 88DB.com, Asia-Pacific's service portal & classifieds. Find a baking classes, catering services, nightclubs, food clubs, food events, singapore cafes, restaurant promo, singapore restaurants guide & wine stores. Buy cake desserts, food for delivery, food products, hawker food, chinese food, indian food & halal food.


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dreading guides and pages
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I have received quite a few compliments on my dreads. Of course, compliments are pretty rare... for me anyway when it comes to things like this. Every now and then, I always encounter that person that tells me or even asks me about retwisting. A co worker today was talking about retwisting and what not,and I told him that I like natural dreads (and I forgot to mention that I don't like the look of retwisted dreads.) It really hurt me though. He wasn't trying to offend me, nor do I have anything against him, but it just hurts me a little for some reason. :/
Views: 1853
did you tell him that retwisting will cause r=the dreads to thin break and worse cause traction alopecia and balding?
look at the salon thatr just posted pictutes for a great example of why you dont want to ever retwist
just tell them why its soooo bad for the scalp and leave it at that
educate them
u can tell them that u dont want to go bald like this poor dude
u want a full head of healthy thick dreads like this dude
i realllly dont understand why anyone would think the twisted dreads look better
do u?
the 1st 1 im sure wasted a few thousand dollars and will need a hair transplant
the second 1 never spent a cent just let em dread and they will last a lifetime
No, I don't think retwisted dreads look better. I like the natural ones much much better. I have pictures of my dreads when I first got them started (which was at a salon) and she did a great job starting them off. Of course, I wash and separate now, but some people want to get the idea that if you don't retwist your dreads that must mean you aren't taking care of them. I told him that I am taking care of my dreads and that natural dreads 'last longer'. I should have said 'are much healthier' instead. As for the thinning and balding... I didn't want to get into that since I haven't really learned much about how retwisting would cause that, but once I get a better understanding, I will be able to explain to others when they tell me to retwist.
As I was saying about my photos of when I first got them done, which was about..4 months ago... I like my dreads now better than when I first got them done. I have lots of dreads, so the scalp look wouldn't have even been noticeable, but that scalp look is what's considered "maintained". My dreads looked really flat and had no volume, but now they do. :-)
twisting pulls the hairs from a wide area intio thin dreads thinning the roots making them breal=k it pulls sideways on the hair folicule damaging the scalp so the hairs slip our-t and do not grow back
the areas around the dreads get wisder and wider till they reach a point where they just become a general balding like jay sil[mmons's video shows
its called traction alopecia its caused nby..traction..tension making the roots way too tight
look at any salon maintained dreads and u will see traction alopecia either uin early stages or advanced
a salon posted pivs on here yesterdat=y that are shocking in how painfully tight the roots are every 1 of her clients will go bald
thats where i got pic number 1 from
You know... I think it's more of a cultural thing because I have seen white people with dreads and all of them I have seen looked natural and in my opinion...great. Though, just about every black person I have seen has their dreads retwisted sooo tight. I honestly hate that look and but to them it looks "neat". To each is own but I wouldn't ever want to do that to my dreads. So yeah, I think it's more of a cultural thing if anything at all. People influence each other, especially when you're a minority.
well partialy right i mean rastas certainly dont go twisting theirs
and alot of caucasians live in that same fear and maun[intain other ways with crochet ab=nd wax etc
partialy its the whole you wont get a job with hair like that and the fear of being associated with hiuselessnes poverty..try=u neglect that comes with mental illness
but also partialy its still the same ol misinformation that dreads are hard to care for need to be maintained they are hard to wash so only a qualified loctician can wash them tc
its not strictly cultural cause the phenomi]enon croc=sses all cultural borders its just how they are maintained that changes and the african salons tend to really crank the roots down insanely tight and cause traction alopecia
but part of thats also that traction alopecfia is practivcly a part of the culture starting with kids and very tight braids then corn rows and hairstyles that are real tight and left in for months or longer its kinda a norm to see it every day so they dont think its oy[ut of the ordinary until its really almost too late
Great point. I wonder why that is. It may have started as a tradition as society's standards change and now it's just become a norm I suppose. The feeling of dreads when they're really tight is very uncomfortable. I don't understand how some want to do it so bad.
My dreads aren't neglect though. I had them started using the 2 strand method,and I just wash them and separate them. I don't think that's considered neglect..... is it??
we call that natural surender when u started with a method then surrendered to the natural process
did u see that salonsss pics? they are shocking
1 sec
Find more photos like this on dreadlocks forums
shocking huh?
people actualy pay to hacve this done?
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ACP President Testifies to House Ways and Means Committee In Support of Value-Based Purchasing
July 21, 2005
(Washington, DC): C. Anderson Hedberg, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP) testified this morning in front of the House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Health in support of establishing a value-based purchasing program for physicians under Medicare.
ACP was among the first medical professional organizations to support the concept of linking payments to physician performance on evidence-based measures. ACP firmly believes that the medical profession has a professional and ethical responsibility to engage in activities to continuously improve the quality of care provided to patients.
The College urged the Subcommittee to include several key policies in any value-based purchasing legislation. First, it should provide sufficient funding to support quality improvement, so that all physicians would receive a positive update linked to inflation with the opportunity to receive additional reimbursement for participating in performance measurement and improvement. Second, performance measures should be phased in gradually. Third, data collection should not impose an unreasonable administrative burden. Fourth, performance measures should be developed by medical specialty societies and validated through multi-stakeholder consensus processes. ACP also believes that the initial framework for value-based purchasing should be followed by a comprehensive re-examination of Medicare payment policies to create models that reward physicians for effectively coordinating the care of patients with chronic diseases.
The College also emphasized the importance of carefully assessing the impact of value based purchasing on physicians' relationships with their patients, being mindful of potential unintended consequences. "One of my responsibilities is to travel around the country to learn from my colleagues," said Dr. Hedberg. "Many internists, especially those in primary care, worry that pay-for-performance will be another unfunded mandate, leading to more paperwork, more expense, less revenue, and less time with patients. They are concerned that it could create adverse consequences for sicker and non-compliant patients. So as we move forward, let us keep in mind two questions: Will we end up with a system that supports the physician-patient relationship by providing resources to help physicians improve care of their patients? Or will it be a system that undermines that relationship, resulting in more paperwork, more expense, less revenue, and less time with patients?"
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States. ACP members include 119,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internists specialize in the prevention, detection and treatment of illness in adults.
Jacquelyn Blaser, (202) 261-4572


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January 31, 1998 Small Size the Key to Success as Napa Vintner Releases Three Outstanding Wines A California winemaker used to making wine in the millions of gallons has recently downsized with a new label of his own--and the results are impressive.
For the full article, check out the new issue of Wine Spectator, on newsstands January 31, 1998.
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Al-Qaida wanted to hit Chicago trains, security stepped up
BY FRANK MAIN AND STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporters May 6, 2011 7:12PM
Increased security was visible at Union Station on Friday. Security has been more visible since Osama bin Laden wasa killed. | John H. White~Sun-Times
Updated: May 9, 2011 5:29PM
Already on high alert because of the killing of Osama bin Laden, rail services in the Chicago area took extra steps Friday to protect their passengers after learning of terrorists' scheme to derail a train in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security and FBI released an alert Thursday saying that since February 2010, al-Qaida was discussing a terrorist operation against trains, said Roderick Drew of the Chicago's 911 center.
"There is no recent information indicating an active ongoing plot to target transportation, nor is there information on possible locations or specific targets," Drew said.
After the alert was issued, Metra boosted its track inspections, said agency spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet. Metra is guarding against derailments by using "geometry cars" to ensure tracks are the proper width and "highliner" trucks to inspect the tracks, Pardonnet said.
In 2007, officials discovered that railroad spikes were missing from tracks on Metra's Electric and South Shore lines. The FBI is continuing to investigate their disappearance. There's a $50,000 reward for information leading to whomever is responsible, Pardonnet said.
Metra has also bolstered uniformed police patrols of its stations and platforms, as well as the use of bomb dogs, Pardonnet said.
Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority and Amtrak have been on high alert since U.S. Special Forces killed bin Laden at his home in Pakistan in a daring raid Sunday, officials said.
Plainclothes Chicago Police officers have been placed in uniform since Monday to increase their visibility, a department spokeswoman said.
Thursday's alert warned of the possibility of an attack that could take place on a significant U.S. date such as Sept. 11 — the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center attack.
The alert stemmed from a handwritten notebook from February 2010 that was recovered from the home of bin Laden. The notebook included passages about tampering with rail tracks to derail a train on a bridge, possibly on Christmas, New Year's Day, the day of the State of the Union address or Sept. 11, the New York Times reported Friday.
Although the alert did not list any targeted cities, material gathered from bin Laden's home indicated that al-Qaida was focused on striking Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, federal officials said.
On Friday afternoon, several Metra commuters said they believe they're safe — despite the ominous warning.
"Commuters who have a daily routine, they get on the train at a certain time, they see familiar faces," said Arbin Smith, 44, a management consultant who lives in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood.
"But if you see something that is slightly off-kilter, you're going to notice it right away," said Smith as he waited for a train at Ogilvie Transportation Center.
Doug Wexler, a Metra commuter, said: "I am not the least bit concerned about the rail system in America. I just think that they are doing a better job with intelligence and that they do a good job of policing it already," said Wexler. He added that people are also more vigilant and willing to report anything suspicious to authorities.


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Monday 16 April 2012
Strong, iconic and charismatic - some of the greatest football managers in the world have taken charge of Premier League clubs during the past two decades.
A panel of leading football figures, journalists and commentators will vote for the Best Manager in the history of the Premier League.
These are the five that made it on to the shortlist:
Club: Manchester United
Premier League Seasons: 20
Premier League Titles: 12
Fixtures managed: 765 (as of 04/04/2012)
Wins: 496
Draws: 162
Losses: 107
Premier League Manager of the Season: 10
The only person to manage in every season of the Premier League, Sir Alex Ferguson has set standards which are unlikely to ever be matched. Through the years, many faces have come and gone from Old Trafford but Manchester United's iconic figurehead has ensured one consistent thread through the years – his teams always know how to win.
Ferguson's United sides are by far the most successful in Premier League history with 12 titles sitting alongside a host of other silverware. Ferguson has been a fearsome foe for most opponents over the years but he has also nurtured some of the brightest talent in the Premier League. And, as he enters his eighth decade, his passion for the game remains undiminished.
Club: Chelsea
Premier League Seasons: 4
Premier League Titles: 2
Fixtures Managed: 120 (as of 04/04/2012)
Wins: 85
Draw: 25
Losses: 10
Premier League Manager of the Season: 2
Complex,charismatic and cool, José Mourinho swept into Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2004 and instantly caught the eye. The self-styled "special one" – a label he gave himself at his first news conference – quickly set about living up to the hype. His Chelsea side of 2004/05 was immense, storming to the title, the first for the Blues in 50 years, setting records for the number of points (95), most wins (29) and fewest goals conceded (15).
Mourinho stayed until September 2007 and oversaw a huge period of success for Chelsea, which saw them win another Premier League title as well as other domestic trophies and they also became a force in Europe. Throughout the highs and lows (mostly highs) Mourinho was a compelling presence, on and off the field.
Club: Everton
Premier League Seasons: 10
Premier League Titles: 0
Fixtures Managed: 382(as of 04/04/2012)
Wins: 154
Draw: 104
Losses: 124
Premier League Manager of the Season: 0
One of the game's most respected figures, David Moyes recently celebrated a decade in charge at Goodison Park. Tenacious and dedicated, Moyes has worked wonders with the resources available to him and has made the Toffees one of the Premier League's most consistently tough opponents.
Everton are regular top-10 finishers under Moyes and he has also taken them to Wembley in the FA Cup Final and into the UEFA Champions League. He has won the League Managers Association Manager of the Year three times and USA international Landon Donovan – who has had two spells at the club - said he could not overstate Moyes' importance to Everton, adding: "What he has achieved is remarkable".
Clubs: West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League Seasons: 18
Premier League Titles: 0
Fixtures Managed: 587(as of 04/04/2012)
Wins: 224
Draw: 152
Losses: 211
Premier League Manager of the Season: 1
Harry Redknapp is one of football's most popular characters. But behind the affable persona is an astute, tactically sharp manager who has become one of the most experienced and respected in the game. He first made his mark in the Premier League at West Ham United, guiding them to fifth in 1998/99 and leading them to the UEFA Cup. Then, at Portsmouth, he steered the south coast club to the Football League Championship title and into the Premier League.
After a spell at Southampton, Redknapp returned to Pompey and kept them up in 2005/06 before guiding them to ninth the following year, then eighth in 2007/08, picking up The FA Cup along the way. Redknapp since moved to Tottenham Hotspur, taking over a side which was struggling and transforming them into genuine top-four contenders. Redknapp's sides are known for playing entertaining football and the man himself is one of the game's true characters.
Club: Arsenal
Premier League Seasons: 16
Premier League Titles: 3
Fixtures Managed: 593(as of 04/04/2012)
Wins: 344
Draw: 147
Losses: 102
Premier League Manager of the Season: 3
Arsène Wenger was not widely known in England when he took the reins at Highbury in September 1996 but he has since built a reputation as one of the game's thinkers who has created an Arsenal team which not only wants to win, but win in style. Wenger has presided over a period of great success for the Gunners – and also a rich era for the club's history which has yielded many stars who will be revered in north London for many generations to come.
Wenger won the Premier League in only his second season in charge, and has claimed the title twice more – most memorably in 2004 when his 'Invincibles' side went through the entire League season without losing. He has enticed greats such as Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira to the club and the roll-call of talent has continued with the likes of Robin van Persie in the current set up. When Arsenal are at their best under Wenger, few teams in the world are able to live with them.


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Versailles Orientation
General Information
- Type:
- Museums / Zoos
- Price from:
- 80 USD /person
- Payment Types:
- Cash
- Credit Card
- Cheque
- Travellers cheque
- Paypal
- Wire Transfer
- Location Start:
- 2 Rue des Pyramids
- Location Finish:
- 2 Rue des Pyramids, Paris
- Start time:
- 09.00 pm
- End time:
- 02.30 pm
- We Speak:
- French, English
Last updated: 05/18/2009
Tours in Versailles - We cross Paris by the western districts of the city before taking the motorway to the Versailles town.
Average journey from Paris : 40 minutes. Free time : 2 hours.
Day 1
We cross Paris by the western districts of the city before taking the motorway to the Versailles town.
Average journey from Paris : 40 minutes. Free time : 2 hours.
Available at each departure : English, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Cantonese, Hebrew, German, Russian,
Portuguese Polish, Czech and Greek.
Departure times:
Everyday 09:15 AM & 02:30 PM
Included in the tour price:
* Return transport in luxury air conditioned coach.
* Entrance to Versailles and an information leaflet illustrating the main features inside the palace.
* Recorded commentary and film shown in coach on outward journey.
* The service of our hostess.
Extra Information
- Extras -
- Tour Info:
* This tour offers the advantage of time saving door-to-door transport between Paris and the Versailles palace.
* Ideally suited to clients who prefer to do their own thing, e.g. spending more time in the gardens or photographing the palace from
outside etc. (Note : no photography inside the palace)
* Economical way of visiting Versailles for clients who have knowledge on the palace and do not need a guide.
{italic}Hotelsntours is a world leading global accommodation website offering hotel, transfer and sightseeing
bookings at excellent rates. We offer quality hotels with a full range of accommodation to choose from,
including convenient airport hotels, 2 and 3 star budget hotel rooms and 4 or 5 star luxury hotel
accommodation, with a choice of special offers and discount deals. With 10 years of experience within the travel
industry and because we are not committed to any particular hotel or hotel chains, we are able to offer
independent advice and recommendations to match each customer with a suitable hotel, sightseeing tours
according to their needs and budget. Rather than provide you with an endless list of hotels in each city or
resort, we offer a selection of quality hotels which are regularly inspected and honestly portrayed and which we
know offer the best value for money.{-italic}
Couldn't find what you're looking for? Check out more tours & excursions in Paris
1-day tours
- Jewish Tour Jewish Paris - from 200 EUR
- Free Fashion Show Invitation - from 0 EUR
- Your Private Tour of Paris - from 200 EUR
- Paris Essentials Tour - from 29.95 EUR
- Latin Quarter Tour - from 29.95 EUR
- Classic Marais Tour - from 29.95 EUR
- Illuminations Of Paris - from 45 USD
- Paris Best Of Paris - from 278 USD
- Outlet Shopping - from 35 USD
- Wine tasting in Paris - from 35 USD
- Paris Historical Montmartre & Grand Louvre - from 176 USD
- Full Day Paris - from 155 USD
- Paris Day Tour - from 22 EUR
- Fat Tire Bike Tours Paris Night Tour - from 26 EUR
- City Segway Tours Segway Tour - from 70 EUR
- Paris Historical Combined With Grand Louvre - from 121 USD
- Montmartre & the Louvre Museum - from 106 USD
- Paris Historic - from 79 USD
- Bal du Moulin Rouge - from 155 USD
- Dinner & Visit of the Chateau de Vaux Le Vicomte by Candlelight - from 197 USD
- Summer In Paris Package - from 1499 USD
- Paris 5 Night Package - from 465 USD
- Paris l - from 35 USD
- Shopping Tour Paris - from 40 EUR
- Cultural Paris - from 599 USD
- Wine Tasting in Paris - from 20 EUR
- Introduction to Paris Private Tour - from 500 EUR
- Versailles Private Tour - from 550 EUR
Long tours
- Paris Package - 6 days from 499 USD
- New Year in Paris - 5 days from 699 USD
- Christmas In Paris 4 Days - 4 days from 239 GBP
- Disneyland Resort Paris - 2 days from 148 GBP
- Paris by Eurostar 3 Day Tour - 3 days from 209 GBP
Email the tour operator - Versailles Orientation
Important Notice : Avoiding Fraud
It's rare, but some helpful hints to watch out for with regards to fraud:
- It is important to NEVER wire funds or use/employ other fund transfer mechanisms such as western union: Always use a credit card to protect yourself against fraud. If owners pressure you into providing a deposit or refuse to accept credit cards, there is a high probability that this is a scam.
- If at all suspicious of fraud, ask to see their website, or any other literature they can provide or send to you. Ask them for contact details for guests who have previously stayed on their property insisting on telephone numbers. Be suspicious of emails that originate from free email services (yahoo, hotmail, gmail, etc)
- Research the property thoroughly on the internet to see if there is any history or mention of scams associated with the property.


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The GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers are available in several cloth diaper packages with graduated savings - whether you choose to save big or small, the GroVia AIO cloth diaper packages are a boon to any cloth diaper stash!
If you aren't already familiar with the GroVia All In Ones, they are gaining popularity as "the most absorbent AIO available on the market today"! Their unique internal soaker design is as easy to clean as it is quick to dry.
The inner fabric is peroxide bleached, 100% organic cotton - this ensures the cotton fibers retain their full absorbency. A soft layer of water resistant TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethanes) make up the exterior fabric. The TPU provides an outer surface that resists tearing from abrasive surfaces, is highly elastic, as well as dirt and stain resistant.
GroVia's mission is to make "greening your baby's bum easier than ever!" The GroVia All In One Diapers merge aesthetics with function to accomplish this goal.
GroVia grows with your baby! Designed to fit babies from 10-35+lbs., the GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers will follow your baby right up to, and through, his/her potty training years.
Each GroVia All In One Diaper includes:
Because the GroVia AIO has an outer, waterproof exterior, the additional expense of a diaper cover is unnecessary.
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GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers are available in five cloth diaper packages; the 3-Pack, 6-Pack, 12 Pack, 18 Pack, and 24 pack. Cloth diaper packages are designed to give families the opportunity for savings, while customizing a cloth diaper system for their babies and toddlers.
Sample the GroVia All In Ones or increase your current stash with this 3 Pack! Though three (3) AIOs are not even enough to begin a part-time cloth diaper stash, it is a good way to introduce a new cloth diaper system into your current stash. Maybe test it for nap or night-time diapering or use them for your caregiver, babysitter…daddy.
The GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers 3 Pack have a savings of $1.80!
As with the 3 Pack, the 6 pack of GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers is more of a trial size. Enough cloth diapers to take you through half a day, the 6 Pack can be combined with other cloth diapering systems for a full-time stash, or for first-time cloth diapering families, enough to get a taste of cloth diapering.
The GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers 6 Pack have a savings of $7.20!
I like to consider the 12 Pack a half-time cloth diapering system. The GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers are available in this size for those families who tend to only cloth diaper through the weekend, need a convenient cloth diaper for day care providers, or even to supplement a growing collection of cloth diapers.
The GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers 12 Pack have a savings of $28.80!
If you want to cloth diaper your baby around the clock and don't mind washing every other day, the GroVia All In One 18 Pack is the way to go. Most babies need anywhere from 8 to 12 cloth diaper changes per day. Add just 6 more GroVia AIOs and increase your wash cycle to every 3rd day!
The GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers 18 Pack have a savings of $43.20!
Considered the "ideal" size for a full-time cloth diaper package, twenty-four (24) GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers will push your diaper wash back a day (every 3rd day) and increase the longevity of your cloth diapers. If you want to cloth diaper your baby full time with GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers, we recommend this diaper package.
The GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers 24 Pack have a savings of $57.60!
It isn't complicated to care for your GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers. First, be sure to prepare them by tossing the newly received AIOs in a hot wash with any of our recommended eco-friendly cloth diaper detergents. Then, tumble-dry 5 to 6 times before strapping them on baby! You can expect GroVia All In Ones to become more absorbent with each new cloth diaper wash.
Diapers already pre-washed? Wash on warm and tumble dry. Stay away from any products containing bleach, enzyme cleaners or fabric softeners - which can affect durability, absorbency and longevity.
PLEASE NOTE: Washing your cloth diapers on a regular schedule - and by regular we mean no more than every 3rd day - increases their lifetime. When cloth diapers sit in a cloth diaper pail for more than 2 days it is difficult to cleanse them thoroughly. Be sure to remove any solid matter before placing your baby's GroVia All In One Cloth Diapers into the diaper pail to reduce the probability of stains and unnecessary odor retention.
Please Note: GroVia AIO One Size Cloth Diapers are fairly and conscientiously made in China.
Please note: Cloth diaper packages are not inventory controlled so you may be contacted for substitutions or backorders. If this will cause a problem, please contact us and we will physically check stock before you place your order.
Toll-Free: 1-877-791-8065
Local: (757) 961-1400
Support: M-F 10-4 EST
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next business day!
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secured by GeoTrust


text:
Thank you in advance for your support of Erikson and our mission!
There are many convenient ways to make a tax-deductible gift in support of Erikson and its work to improve the lives of children and families.
- Give online: Use our secure online form to make a gift by credit card.
- Give by phone: You can charge your gift by calling (877) ERIKSON (877-374-5766).
- Give by fax: Download, print, and complete the gift form [PDF, 1pg] and fax it to (312) 893-7117.
Give by mail: Download, print, and complete the gift form [PDF, 1pg] and send it with your check or payment information to:
Erikson Institute Gift Services
4171 Paysphere Circle
Chicago, IL 60674
Give a gift of securities or by wire transfer.
Please first notify Erikson's Institutional Advancement Office at [email protected] or (312) 893-7113.
To ensure that we properly acknowledge your gift of stock, please provide us with (1) the name and contact information of the donor, (2) the name of the stock and approximate number of shares, and (3) the date of the stock transfer.
To transfer securities electronically, your broker will need the Depository Trust Company (DTC) transfer instructions [PDF, 1pg].
Ask your broker to reference your name in the DTC transfer instructions. The securities will be transferred directly into Erikson's gift account at its custodian bank:
DTC Number: 2803
U.S. Bank, N.A.
For further credit to Erikson Institute
Account number: 190009613101
Donor's name, address, name of security, number of shares, fund name/purpose
- Estate planning: Contact Randy Holgate at [email protected] or (312) 893-7110 if you have questions or if you would like information on how to include Erikson in your estate plans.