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South Crossing
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Short Story by: kingstress
South Crossing
At a quarter of eight Reva Sonnier sat in the chapel twirling the dark ringlets of her hair while she pondered leaving Mrs. Fontenot's wake a bit early. As the deacons approached the coffin for the viewing, Reva glanced over at Justine two pews over to give her the signal, only to notice the look on her friend's scowled face with widened blue eyes gazing at her, signaling that Justine was more than a little anxious to get out of the chapel. They both would agree they had attended enough wakes over the last year for a lifetime. Nodding to Justine, Reva maneuvered her way out of the pew and started up the aisle when a shrill scream echoed from the front of the chapel and stopped her cold. The once quiet chapel gave way to total chaos with screams and mumblings of people scurrying, some to the front to investigate, but most to the exit of escape. Reva turned towards the front as Justine pushed through the crowd towards the exit and grabbed her arm. Pulling her arm away, Reva snapped, "Wait a minute. Maybe we can do something!"
Reva could barely hear Justine above the voices throughout the chapel, "Yeah, we can get going before the rain starts again!"
Reva cut her a stern glance and headed up the aisle. And there was Mrs. Hanson wailing like a banshee and fanning her leather pocketbook wildly in the air all the while looking back at the open coffin. Her eyes bulged so that Reva expected them to plop right down the front of her wake dress. Some of the townspeople had gathered around the old woman and one of the old deacons grabbed at her arms while trying to calm her. It would have been a really funny site if it hadn't been Mrs. Hanson.
As Reva pushed her way through the crowd, she could hear Mrs. Hanson frantically repeating what sounded like, "Oh, Oh, Lord—Lord, it was -ee, it was -ee" whimpering between every sob, before falling out cold onto the wooden floor.
"Catch her!" Reva yelled and it had come out a lot more forceful than she had planned, however nobody appeared to notice.
"Is she dead?" Deacon Dupuy asked almost as if he anticipated nothing short of her sudden demise. Considering the events of the past few months, his assumption was totally understandable.
"More like out cold." Reva answered as she kneeled beside the old lady, cradling Mrs. Hanson's head in her arms and rocking her back and forth like a fretful tot.
Mr. Henry was one of the elders of the chapel of South Crossing and the funeral director. Everyone in South Crossing could attest to his wife fainting in every church service, and all who witnessed the scene confirmed it was not a pleasant site. So, Mr. Henry kept the smelling sauce real handy on Sundays and offered it up with no hesitation, "Here's the sauce!" He slid really close and passed the sauce across the old lady's nose.
Reva caught his hand on the second pass of the sauce, "Just a bit! We don't want to send her into orbit!"
Mrs. Hanson jerked suddenly for a second and her eyes popped open just like that last kernel of popcorn that hops right out of the pot just when you think it's finished. Her eyelids fluttered a bit before she could manage to open them wider. It was a sight to see, though, the way the old lady jerked and mumbled all of sudden with her eyes stretched wide.
"Oh, God," Reva muttered. She couldn't recall ever seeing anybody that scared before. Mrs. Hanson clawed at Reva's back, moaning, "It was-ee, it was!" And then she went out cold again.
A couple of old gents carried Mrs. Hanson to the chapel study as a winded Justine finally made her way to the front of the chapel.
"Whew! Gotta lose some of this weight", she sighed."
All that talk about losing weight seldom came to fruition at the sight of a double cheeseburger, but her intentions were duly noted.
Deacon Dupuy had gone to close the lid of the coffin, shaking his head from side to side and mumbling something under his breath. Reva looked on as the coffin latch clicked shut, sending a line of cold wriggling down her back. So, when Justine grabbed her arm, she appeared to jump a couple of inches out of her shoes.
"Whoa – it's me. Take it easy!" As Justine observed Reva, she pressed her as she could see the tears forming. "Reva, what did she say – what?"
At that instant, Reva realized this was it…that which had guided - almost yanked her to South Crossing, the first stop on her quest.
Reva had studied Library Science in college, boring – somewhat, but it allowed her access to endless resources and the time to pursue her interest, almost obsession in the occult of the deep south. Enough of the hearsay and tall tales of things that go bump in the night – phooey – enough. She lived for the opportunity to actually witness the supernatural up close and personal.
A flint of a girl, Reva landed many friends in college, had even fallen in love a couple of times, but being so guarded, relationships were difficult to maintain or nurture. She realized early on that her chosen path would not be without loss and danger, but she would travel it. She couldn't be distracted, but was driven, especially on her first pursuit. God knows she had already lost too much.
It had only been a couple of years since Reva had convinced the town council to update the school's library when she'd gotten her teaching credentials. They had been hesitant at first and argued that a girl just shy of thirty and a bit of an outsider couldn't possibly handle such a daunting task. But she had convinced Justine to help her set up the library, and with Mrs. Hanson's assistance, she had gained a place in the inseams of South Crossing. Reva and her mother had relocated to the town from North Texas after the sudden death of her father in a tragic accident that had left her mother desperate for a change from the vast state of Texas to a more neighborly town. Her mother was raised in South Crossing, but had moved to Texas to attend college where she married Reva's father. One year after their return to town, her mother died suddenly, one day becoming depressed and unresponsive, the next – dead! What the townspeople didn't know was that the first death was only a hint of the evil to come.
Deacon Dupuy shuffled over from the coffin and stared wide-eyed at Reva. His voice trembled more than usual, "Well, tell her, Miss Reva. Tell her what she said, tell her!"
The cold wriggle down Reva's back had been replaced with a burning anger, as she cut the old man a sharp glance, "She was hysterical!"
But the crowd had gathered again and they were all staring at Deacon Dupuy. And he was looking around like a man expecting something to jump from the shadows yet still adamant on his intent. "Are you all senile or somethin'? We all heard it. Hadn't y'all noticed anythin' wrong in South Crossing—I mean, ever since last Halloween when Ole Jimbo--" And then the deacon just stopped. It was like his power of speech had been suddenly revoked and he just looked scared. His trembling hand wiped the sweat from his forehead and as quickly as the crowd had gathered, the chapel had cleared. The chapel became so quiet you could just about hear your eyelids flutter, so Reva could hear the rain had started up again.
It was early October in South Crossing and at that time of year, it rained everyday at some time or other. Reva and Justine had gotten word of the festival in Lafayette and for days, they had headed out only for their plans to be thwarted by the flooded out bridge. Just a brief reprieve from the difficult year in their little town would be a welcomed change since the tiny chapel had been over utilized lately depicting a steadily dwindling population.
Snugly tucked away in its own little pocket, the town has been left behind by a world blazing forward into the future. The people of South Crossing considered themselves as a special lot, the kind of neighbors that looked out for each other in a town where a Sunday afternoon drive could take you along tree-lined streets framed with houses characteristic of the quintessential old south.
Though not ritzy in any sense of the word, the town did offer a familiar quaintness of a time past with its Town Square which stands in the center of town, comprised of a Rexall Drug, a General Store, Postal Center, Ms. Daux' Diner, and a small movie theatre. About a mile up Main Street is the town chapel, just two blocks from two frame buildings designed for the elementary and high schools.
On the drive home, Justine offered her normal whining about possibly missing another festival.
"Well, well," she began. "Looks like we'll miss another one just because some old lady lost it at a wake."
"Justine", Reva began, "Mrs. Hanson was hysterical! I only wish I could be sure of what she said!"
"Look, she's old. Who cares what she said?"
"Jussie, that has to be the most selfish thing that's ever come out of your mouth!"
"Humph, right. All I'm saying, Reva, is that people always get hysterical at funerals, especially old farts like Hanson."
"But the fear in her eyes was real! She was terrified of something!"
"Okay, what you think she said?"
Well, it sounded like, "It was me", Reva's voice drifted lower as she listened to her own words and how those words sounded as they hit the airwaves. "I think that's what she said, but that makes no sense, right?"
Justine quickly quipped, "Right, cause that's just crazy. Hey! Watch out! That was a red light!"
"No, it was yellow. Why are you complaining anyway? I told you we should skip the festival. It's raining too hard and it's much too foggy to be crossing the bridge."
"Just keep driving. Anyway, even if the old fart did say that, what could it possibly mean?"
"Well, when Mrs. Hanson took her turn at the coffin, she looked in and I could tell that she grabbed at her chest. Something definitely scared the crap out of her!"
"Are you listening to yourself, Reva? So she grabbed her chest. Maybe she had a gas pain." Justine giggled a bit but she could feel her friend's hard stare.
"It's not crazy if you consider everything that's been going on in South Crossing - how many deaths, mysterious deaths? My mom, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Fontenot – think about it!"
"No, let's not think about it. That's what's wrong with you. You think too much about everything."
"Well, Jussie, maybe you're right because I'm thinking about turning around right now since this rain is not letting up. I'm finding a spot to turn around."
"Don't do that! That old bat has you spooked. Plus, if there's something going wrong in South Crossing, I definitely want to be somewhere else; anywhere else!"
"Sorry, Jussie, maybe another time, Reva comforted her friend.
"Well, since we're obviously not making the festival tonight, I guess I'll tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"I may know what Deacon Dupuy meant," Justine said with a sigh.
"What? You mean you know something and were keeping it to yourself, "Reva shrieked.
"I don't know, I might know. There's a difference, you know."
Reva had become impatient with Justine, "Just spill it, Jussie!"
Justine took another long sigh and began her story, "Well, years ago, my parents had sent me to bed when I heard voices downstairs. All I could hear were whisperings, frantic whisperings. Well, anyway they were talking about an old man who used to live in town. Called him Jimbo. My mom busted me and sent me back to bed and shut the door. It wasn't until days later when I heard two teenage boys talking and laughing hysterically. Story is that
All the kids called him Ole Jimbo. He rode this rickety old bike with wobbly wheels and rusty chain. Well, story was the old-timers in South Crossing hadn't taken to Ole Jimbo much and for good reason. He lived at the edge of town in an old beat-up shack that they called an eyesore. He collected things, you know like old lamps, even old cars. It was a hot mess. Anyway, the townspeople treated him like something stuck on the bottom of their shoes and their children treated him even worse. Not me, of course, but you know. That old man was the object of every cruel joke and prank ever imagined. And sometimes, they'd even throw things at him when he peddled down Main Street. But the haggardly old man would just keep right on peddling until he was out of the firing range."
"Reva tried to keep her eyes on the road, but was intrigued with the tale and glanced at Justine time and again while she urged her on.
Justine continued, "Well, last Halloween story is that Ole Jimbo had executed a horrible revenge on the town that mocked him, and when it was all said and done, the mutilated bodies of seven children were found buried in the woods behind his old shack."
"What?" Reva yelped in disbelief. "Why hadn't I heard about this?"
"Well, you hadn't heard about it because the good folks of South Crossing know how to keep a secret, and now Deacon Dupuy, let's just say, has spilled the proverbial beans."
Justine continued, "Anyway, word is Sheriff Tuttle hadn't been able to stop retching long enough to stop the angry mob when they sealed Jimbo in a wood box and buried him alive. Word is that some of the townspeople, till this day, can still hear the old man whimpering all through the night from his dark hole.
"That's horrible", Reva said as she pulled into Justine's driveway.
As Justine exited the car, she gazed back at Reva, "Sure, it's horrible, a horrible old wives tale with one purpose, to keep the children in South Crossing in line - - nothing more. Look, I'll see you tomorrow", and she ran up the walk to the door. Reva watched as she entered and honked goodnight before heading home.
Later that night Reva climbed into bed. Why she was unnerved, she could not determine, found herself easing into the covers, gazing at the window beside her bed. The rain was a lot heavier and the story of Ole Jimbo dimmed a bit as she clicked off the lamp. She could hear the rain beating against the window seal. A lone street lamp silhouetted the old tree in the side yard and gave it a body all its own. The rustling branches weaved back and forth like long skeletal arms reaching for her to enter their scratchy grip. And the whistling wind sounded a bit like a child whining in the night. Not long after, Reva felt herself sliding deeper underneath the covers with her eyes shut so tightly they actually ached. And she knew it would be a very long night in South Crossing, but this was exactly the kind of occurrence she sought when she moved to South Crossing; yes, this was it!
A couple of days after Mrs. Fontenot's wake, the dark cloud over the town seemed to lift with the children's anticipation of Halloween, most of them so giggly in school that Reva would just send them out to recess. And nobody had breathed a word of Mrs. Hanson's outburst at the wake, at least not until mid-October when the seasonal rains lingered, but escorted cool breezes that seemed to chase away the dark memories of the recent days. And Mrs. Hanson was dead. Word was her daughter had found her slumped against the kitchen wall like a rag doll dipped in a bucket of blood. And like the others, no one could explain how, least of all the sheriff who everybody said hadn't been quite the same since last Halloween.
As the town braced itself for Mrs. Hanson's wake, Reva had seen the old deacon about town, anywhere he could get an audience. His eyes would be glaring and hands waving wildly, as if trying to get his point across to his reluctant audience. She had even heard an old couple brush him off, calling him a crazy old man. But still the townsfolk eased inside and double-bolted their doors at the first signs of nightfall. The roads were void of Sunday traffic and the porches were empty. And some say that if the night was really quiet and the wind was low enough, you could just hear Ole Jimbo whimpering like a wounded animal.
On the Friday before Halloween, just before Mrs. Hanson's wake, Reva and Justine had met at the café a couple of blocks from the chapel. Reva had drained her glass of wine and then looked sternly at Justine, "Jussie, do you think the deacon could be right—I mean about Ole Jimbo?" There, she had said it out loud! And the two looked quietly at each other for a time and without waiting for the answer, Reva clutched the small cross around her neck. Her mother had given it to her on her last birthday and Reva had never taken it off.
Justine watched wide-eyed at Reva's grip on that cross, "Don't ever let the council hear you say that. They'll shut that school down so fast you'll hear the doors slam at your house," she scowled.
"Look, I love the school and the kids, but there's something going on her, "Reva answered. "Maybe not Ole Jimbo, but Mrs. Hanson said. She said, "It was me!" And I believe she thought she saw something horrible in that coffin!"
Now Reva was fidgeting with that cross, but she cued in on the anxiety in Justine's face and became a bit impatient. "Well, that's what I think," she snapped.
"Do you hear yourself? You really need to take a beat because you're sounding like Dupuy now---crazy!" Justine had started to say something more, but decided not to push it. She couldn't allow herself to think about it anymore.
On the way to the chapel, the dark cloud had formed just above the little white chapel. It floated right above, waxing and waning like a huge see-saw. Reva stared into the dark mass and turned to Justine, "Somebody will be taking Mrs. Hanson's place tonight. I feel it," as she clinched her fists tightly against her thighs.
Inside the chapel, Reva held Deacon's Dupuy's bone-thin arms as he shuffled up to the shiny brown box, the viewing line behind him ending with Justine. She had done her best to convince him not to view Mrs. Hanson's remains. Though she had rehearsed the words in her mind over and over again, they had somehow translated into a feeble, "Don't." And the old deacon had taken his turn at the coffin. Reva inched closely behind the old man and peered into the coffin with him, sort of like a two-for-one. She hadn't planned to but felt compelled to look. She was almost leaning into the coffin when the deacon jolted away from the box screaming and shuffling backwards until he fell back dazed into one of the pews.
"God, help us! Help us!" he moaned. Mr. Henry rushed to his side as the deacon raised his hands up in front of his face to refuse the sauce. His eyes were bucked wide and flooded with tears that wouldn't flow. Several minutes he sat there in a wide-eyed gaze, but then calmed a bit.
Reva slowly kneeled beside him, "What was it? What did you see?"
The old man just got to his feet and stood there shaking his head. He then planted his dusty old Stetson atop his head, "Just the crumblin' sight of an old man," he said. But Reva had looked into those eyes flooded with tears and bucked wide open and she believed that Ole Jimbo had somehow returned. As the crowd looked on, the deacon got to his feel and headed for the chapel door. He flicked his black umbrella and stepped off into the rainy night. But he had yelled back to her, "Bless you, child!" And that was the last time anyone saw Deacon Dupuy alive. That is until a few days later, October 29th it was.
Tommy Lee, the delivery boy from the Main Street Market, delivered the deacon's weekly grocery order. When there was no answer, he'd gone to the window. Some of the neighbors later told Reva that he had come away from the window yelling and screaming like a banshee, groceries strewn across the yard, and Reva had heard him spending many hours afterwards with the town shrink. What Tommy Lee told the doc was a tale that was kept hidden away tightly in his little black book. The folks in South Crossing knew how to keep a secret!
Life in South Crossing had gone just about like that for the past few months. It was a brutal rainy season, one of the worst in South Crossing history. So, Reva was more than shocked when the door bell chimed. She gasped as she saw Justine leaning on the door. When she opened the door, Justine stumbled in, breathing like she had run a race but Reva could see her car out front.
"Jussie, what the hell are you doing out in this mess?"
Justine was quiet and panting, her face puffy and dripping with rain mixed with tears. Reva pulled her in and sat her at the dining room table as she poured two glasses of brandy.
"What is it, Jussie?" she urged.
Justine emptied her glass with one big gulp and was helped herself to another. "I---I heard him," she stammered. She coughed because the second brandy didn't go down quite as smoothly as the first.
"You heard who?" Reva pressed.
"Tonight---I heard him whimpering," Justine panted. She had a lot more luck with that third glass of brandy before bursting into heaving sobs that made her shoulders rise and fall in spells.
Though Justine was as cynical as they come, Reva was well aware of her inability to handle her liquor, so she took the glass and ushered her to the sofa. She'd hit that brandy pretty hard and when she came in Reva could tell she'd had a nip or two of something before arriving.
"He's gonna kill us all," Justine cried. "And there's nothing we can do." Justine began to slip into a drunken nod but Reva slapped her across the face a couple of times until her eyes popped open again.
"Jussie, what do you mean? What?"
Justine's eyes fluttered and Reva smacked her again.
"Ah—they—all know--afraid—all afraid," Justine stammered and she went out cold again.
"Shit", Reva snapped as she rose from the sofa. She peered down at Justine as a feeling of doom crept right up into her stomach. As she watched her friend sleep, she realized Justine would be the only one sleeping that night. Yes, she'd thought about it more than once, even said it out loud, but it couldn't be possible! Could Ole Jimbo be reaching from the grave to repay his debt to their little town?
At dawn Reva made plans to pay the funeral director a visit. She'd leave Justine asleep on the sofa. She wouldn't be much help anyway with the hangover she'd have.
It was a clear day and the town had draped itself with black and orange crepe streamers hanging all around. Carved pumpkins sat on the porches as the children skipped around their tailored yards. There was talk about town that nobody wanted to attend the deacon's wake, especially not on Halloween night. It reminded her of the Sunday morning when she and her mother would hide in the kitchen away from the windows when the Jehovah's Witnesses would ring the doorbell.
In funeral director's office, Reva had made her request. She sat there as Mr. Henry glared over his wire-rimmed glasses, leaning back in the leather chair that had obviously been designed for a man taller in statue.
"Miss Sonnier," he began, "Your request is a far stretch from the ordinary, but seeing as though I know'd you since you came to town, I'll do it." He chuckled a bit, "Hell, people always think a funeral man is strange anyways. But they all know that sooner or later, they all end up right here in my parlor." He stopped smiling then and stared directly into Reva's eyes, "especially in South Crossing."
The night was still clear with not a cloud to be seen, and the townspeople gathered at the chapel. The children trick-or-treated up and down the streets at dusk with parents or older siblings, but surely to return to doors locked tightly by nightfall.
Justine had reluctantly come along with Reva to the wake and they had no trouble getting a pew close to the front.
"My head's throbbing," she groaned.
But Reva only glanced at her as they took their seats in the third pew.
The chapel was only half filled and Reva stared at the coffin while the preacher droned away in the pulpit. As Reva surveyed the chapel, she saw a few faces which were grief-stricken but most looked just plain terrified. So, when a couple of the ushers marched to the front of the chapel to assist Mr. Henry with the coffin lid, Reva could hear a lot of deep breaths that reminded her of a room filled with asthmatics; and Reva noticed that her own was the most obvious. She inhaled deeply to calm herself.
Justine sat there for a minute quiet and frozen in her seat until she saw Reva grab her handbag.
"What're you doing? Are you crazy?" Justine whispered through clenched teeth, all the while clutching her friend's arm yanking her back into her seat.
"I've got to," Reva snapped. Her hands were shaking so violently that she just knew that she'd lose her grip on the bag.
"I don't know what you're doing but remember, HE WILL KILL YOU!"
Reva sat back for a minute and noticed that nobody else stirred an inch. The preacher motioned the woman at the old organ and a few of the audience sang a tearjerker of a hymn, but Justine's grip tightened so until Reva winced in pain.
"Jussie, if he is back, he may kill me, but he will for sure kill you and all of the others if I don't try this!"
Justine's grip slowly relaxed as she watched her friend stroking that cross, all the while sliding the handbag strap firmly on her shoulder. The two friends locked stares as Reva slid out of the pew.
Mr. Henry beckoned the ushers to move away from the coffin and the looks on their faces screamed they didn't mind it a bit.
Reva heard someone sniffling behind her—Justine for sure! Not looking back, Reva eased closer to the front and noted Mr. Henry resting his hands on the lid as if to close. They locked stares until Reva found herself standing really close to the open coffin. She leaned forward and looked at the deacon for what felt like forever and whispered, "Bless you." She peered into his chalky face. That's when she saw it – the deacon's face transforming into a blur right before her eyes. Reva squeezed her eyes shut and when she opened them again, there was an old haggardly man's face with a stubbed beard and swollen red eyelids. And suddenly his eyes popped open, yellowed eyes that seemed to burn right through her. Reva shrieked out loud and knew that she'd die right there. She'd fall over in that coffin with Ole Jimbo and they'd both be whimpering and screaming from that dark hole in the ground. It was only Mr. Henry's thumping and slapping on that lid that jolted her back. And he was yelling to her, "Do it, girl – do it!"
Reva grabbed something from her handbag and shoved it hard into Ole Jimbo's twisted face. Then, Mr. Henry pushed her back so hard she stumbled back into one of the pews. As she landed, she heard the lid slam shut and the latch click. And there was plenty of screaming coming from that coffin. Reva watched as the whole thing just wiggled and rocked with a force she'd never seen and she just knew the lid would fly right off its hinges. Breathlessly, she sat in the pew, realizing that all of the screams were not coming from the coffin, but from the people scurrying from the chapel. And the one she determined to be the loudest was her own. When she turned to the back of the chapel, she saw Justine running to exit, but had stopped cold in her tracks. With hands wringing, she screamed over and over, "Lord, forgive us---forgive us!"
Suddenly, the lid blasted from the coffin as a horrid being burst upward into a haze of grayish cloud, in the midst of which weaved the decayed remains of an old man. Its clothes were tattered with reddened eyelids. Reva gasped loudly as its yellowed eyes sprang open and a hallowing noise escaped its snarling mouth. The figure hovered above the coffin, weaving back and forth as if surveying newly purchased property. The chapel filled with screams of horror as prayer books and hats sailed above the pews.
Reva's body sprang forward to escape, but became frozen in her tracks. She screamed hoarsely as the yellowed eyes then focused solely on her as its screams became deafening. The chapel had nearly cleared with Mr. Henry still standing near Reva at the front of the room when the coffin suddenly settled back on its rollers. Reva looked on as her power of mobility had betrayed her. She could hear and feel every thump of her heart, but watched as the figure let out one last gurgled snarl before it evaporated into ceiling.
Reva forced herself to breath as the screams subsided to moans and "Oh Gods."
The chapel was again quiet, a peaceful quiet.
Later that night Reva drove Justine home. As Justine exited the car, she asked, "Wanna a drink? God knows I need one!"
"No—I really just want a good night's sleep," Reva answered and that night she realized it would be just that. But Justine sat there for a minute with the car door open, looking at her friend.
"Reva, how did you know—I mean, all those people dead—how did you know?"
And Reva had known she'd have to answer the questions sooner or later but after the last couple of hours, she wished it could be later.
"Jussie, I know you have a lot of questions. I still have questions, too, but---."
Reva could see the pleading look in Justine's face, almost desperate, so she took a deep breath and began, "While in college up North, my roommates and I had a fascination with the South, all of its tales of voodoo and spells really intrigued us. I mean, we read everything we could find on the occult. We didn't believe we'd ever see it; but the search was fun to us, you know, exciting."
Justine closed the car door again and sat on the edge of the seat facing Reva. Her hands tightly gripped the leather seat and her eyes widened in anticipation.
"Well, what?" she asked.
Reva sighed, but forced herself to continue, there was always one point that always rang true, "Only evil can destroy evil! Somehow, Ole Jimbo found a way—well, he forced his victims see their own reflection in the coffin. After they saw it---well, that was it. That's what Mrs. Hanson was trying to tell us. She said, "It was me!"
Justine interrupted, "But you looked into the coffin before throwing the--. What did you throw into the coffin?"
"It was a two-way mirror," Reva said in disbelief and she repeated as if she had to hear it again out loud, "a mirror."
Confusion shrouded Justine's face as she pressed, "What---ah---ok, but you did look into the coffin. She stammered, "No, I don't get it."
"I looked in, yes, but I wasn't born in South Crossing and neither was Mr. Henry. We are implants and neither of us was here last Halloween night. "And the mirror, well, I prayed that if Ole Jimbo got a glimpse of his own reflection, maybe he'd leave us along. We didn't know if it would work; but somebody had to try something! I mean people were dropping like flies."
That was two Halloweens ago and things in South Crossing have gone on pretty quietly. Reva and Justine still cross the old I-10 bridge into New Orleans for the festivals. And they always end up right back in South Crossing. But some nights when it's raining and the wind whistles really low, Reva finds herself slipping deeper into the covers because lately, she's been hearing somebody whimpering in the night and she knows that Ole Jimbo just might come back one day to repay his debt to her. But none of those good neighbors will ever really say; not in South Crossing, anyways!"
© Copyright 2017 kingstress. All rights reserved.
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Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams picked up the slack left from injured teammate Ronnie Brown, and then some. Williams finished the day with 119 yards rushing and 3 TDs as the Dolphins rolled passed the Carolina Panthers, 24-17. Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme had an off-night, only throwing one pick.
Dolphins coach Tony Sparano hinted his team might abandon the wildcat without Brown, who was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Miami didn't use the formation until the second quarter. It coincided with the Dolphins' first touchdown drive—Chad Henne's 14-yard touchdown pass to Williams, who wrestled away from linebacker Na'il Diggs. –Y! Sports.
Maybe this is the ether talking, but these Thursday night games seem to be boring as all hell, and it's obvious to see why–coming back from a Sunday game and then ratcheting oneself up to play again four nights later is difficult. There's only so much a coaching staff and a team can do to prepare in that amount of time. But the league seems happy to air them anyway, and with the matchups being as woeful as they are, the networks don't seem to be complaining as much as I am.


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Older is better
When Andrew Tomasello, of Little Silver, N.J. was chosen as an audience member to step on stage with Jimmy Fallon on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" in 2010, it was "one of the best days" of his life. Key word: 'was.'
"I can't say that anymore because I beat cancer," he tells me.
In 2012, Andrew, then 20, was living the life of an aspiring politician and broadcast journalist in Washington, D.C. He was elected chairman of the College Republicans at The Catholic University of America, interned at N.J. Gov. Chris Christie's office and had a job lined up at a TV station. Everything was going great until a tumor was diagnosed on his pelvis. It was deemed non-malignant, so he had non-surgical treatment to remove the tumor, and went on with his life.
When the tumor reccurred a year later, it was malignant; and Andrew received a diagnosis of osteosarcoma. That May, Andrew underwent a 10-hour surgery in which two-thirds of his pelvis was removed. "A significant part of the surgery was spent separating the tumor from his nerves so that his leg would not be paralyzed and would function, as well as his bladder and bowel," says Andrew's Orthopedic Surgical Oncologist James Wittig, chief of Orthopedic Oncology at John Theurer Cancer Center in Hackensack, N.J.
Thankfully, Andrew didn't have to undergo amputation. "In Andrew's situation, I was able to save the important nerves, blood vessels and muscles necessary for saving the leg," Wittig says. Andrew had to start treatment almost immediately following the surgery. On July 1, 2013, he had the first of his 19 rounds of chemo. His treatment also included 35 rounds of radiation. He spent the "Big 21" in the hospital due to complications from treatment. "It's ironic because I always knew I would spend my 21st birthday in the hospital sick, but I never thought it would be for chemo," he says.
Andrew spent a couple nights in the hospital for each chemotherapy treatment. During that time, he developed close friendships with his healthcare team, especially his nurses. He often posted photos on his Facebook and Instagram account of times with them.
While Andrew maintained a very optimistic spirit, he had his down times; especially in the beginning. "Yeah, I had cancer, it sucked," he says. He was saddened by having to put his life on hold; his job, school and independence--a common issue young adults with cancer face during treatment. However, the feeling was short lived. "It is hard to see anybody diagnosed with a cancer, let alone such a young man just starting college and getting his life underway," Wittig says. "He approached the entire situation very bravely."
Andrew was officially deemed in remission on April 17. "I'm 100 percent cancer–free, and it's all because of Dr. Wittig," he says. "He's the greatest man on the face of the earth."
Talk about this article with other patients, caregivers, and advocates in the General Discussions CURE discussion group.
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Former Campbell Co. Teacher Will Serve Four Months in Jail
Campbell Co., VA - A former Campbell County teacher who admitted to having a sexual relationship with a student will spend four months in jail.
Kathleen Cawthorne was sentenced to five years for taking indecent liberties with a minor and a total of six years for three counts of electronic solicitation of a minor.
All but four months was suspended.
The former student was not at the sentencing, but Cawthorne's husband was. He took the stand saying he's standing by his wife through all of this.
Prosecutors say the former William Campbell Combined School teacher started having an inappropriate relationship with a student in March of 2012. Over the course of a few weeks, the two had sex on at least one occasion. Cawthorne took at least 30 sexually explicit pictures of herself on her cell phone, and sent some of those pictures to the student.
"In talking with her and in talking with her family I think she accepted that she was going to have to go....and she's sort of at peace with that," said Gordon Peters, the defense attorney.
Cawthorne turned herself into jail immediately after Thursday's hearing where she's being booked. She'll have to be on the sex offender registry for at least 15 years and undergo mental health treatment.
She apologized to the victim's family.


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[WATCH] 9/11 Truther Interrupts Super Bowl Post Game Interview
Many of were probably in bed by the time the post game interviews at The Super Bowl rolled around or on another channel. Despite the tightest security known to man, a guy was able to invade the post game press conference to call 9/11 a government hoax. Click to watch the video.
Malcolm Smith was in the middle of answering a question about being named the MVP when the guy storms the stage and grabs the microphone. Smith handles it well, asking "if everyone is alright" and suggesting someone "check the man's press pass."
The NY Post says the man had press credentials.
Matthew Mills, 30, of Brooklyn briefly held up the start of Super Bowl XLVIII MVP Malcolm Smith's media session on live TV after the game by screaming that the real reasons for the attacks needed to be investigated.
Subscribe to Big Frog 104 on
SOURCE: NY Post


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Press release
From the Charles George VA Medical Center:
CHARLES GEORGE VA MEDICAL CENTER, Asheville – The Third Annual Saluting Our Veterans Open Car and Bike Show is scheduled for 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Charles George VA Medical Center, 1100 Tunnel Rd., in Asheville. The show is free to the public.
The show will go on rain or shine. Car and bike owners that want to enter a car in the program are being asked to pay a $10 registration fee and contribute a new unwrapped toy that will be donated to Toys for Tots. Proceeds of the show benefit the Charles George VA Medical Center Patient Recreational Therapy program.
For more information call Gary Oliver at (828) 335-9134. The Charles George VA Employees Association is the sponsor of this event.


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Bad Mojo (Windows 3.x)
Published by
Developed by
Also For
ESRB Rating
Critic Score
100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
User Score
5 point score based on user ratings.
DescriptionRoger was about to do something bad. Unfortunately, he can't remember what it was because he has been transformed into a cockroach. In this Kafkaesque graphic adventure game, Roger (you) must scurry through the walls of a run down San Francisco bar trying to restore his memory and his human form while avoiding spiders, a roach eating cat, and other creatures that live in the bar.
There are no Windows 3.x user screenshots for this game.
There are 14 other screenshots from other versions of this game or official promotional screenshots.
Promo Images
There are no promo images for this game
Alternate Titles
- "坏蟑螂" -- Chinese spelling (simplified)
- "Bad Mojo: Путь таракана" -- Russian spelling
- "Bad Mojo: The Roach Game" -- Tag-lined title
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
There are no reviews for the Windows 3.x release of this game. You can use the links below to write your own review or read reviews for the other platforms of this game.
Critic Reviews
|Online Gaming Review (OGR)
|Mar 05, 1996
|9 out of 10
|Mar 07, 2014
|18 out of 20
|May 01, 1996
|9 out of 10
|PC Action
|Apr, 1996
|84 out of 100
|Power Play
|Apr, 1996
|83 out of 100
|High Score
|Jul, 1996
|4 out of 5
|PC Player (Germany)
|Apr, 1996
|Adventure Advocate
|Sep 27, 2008
|Computer Gaming World (CGW)
|Jun, 1996
|Just Adventure
There are currently no topics for this game.
EndingsThe three possible endings can be found as .mov files on the CD-ROM.
- At the bottom of the newspaper page placed above the urinal, there is an ad for Iron Helix, which was developed by the same team.
- The cat's name, Franz, is an obvious homage to Franz Kafka. Protagonist Roger Samms's name is very similar to Gregor (spelled backwards = rogerG) Samsa, Kafka's main character from The Metamorphosis.
- The cut out eyes on the wall of Roger's research room include those of celebrities, such as Michelle Pfeiffer and David Duchovny.
- Computer Gaming World
- November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #7 Top Sleeper Of All Time
- PC Player (Germany)
- Issue 01/1997 - Most Innovative Player Character in 1996
Related Web Sites
- Another Bad Mojo Walkthrough (on Computer Show)
- Bad Mojo - FAQs & Guides (on GameFaqs.com)
- Bad Mojo Hints (Robert Norton's Hints for Bad Mojo will help you solve the game with nudges toward the final solutions.)
- Bad Mojo Setup for Windows XP (Yes, Bad Mojo can be played in Windows XP with a little tweaking.)
- Randy Sluganski's "Crawlthrough" (Randy's Walkthrough contains everything you'll need to finish the game.)
- Wikipedia (article about Bad Mojo in the open encyclopedia)
- Zarf's Review (A review of the Macintosh version of Bad Mojo by Andrew Plotkin, with additional information about convincing the title to run under newer version of Mac OS X (December, 2004).)
There are no game credits on file for this release of the game. Everything in MobyGames is contributable by users.


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Washington State Basketball: Cougs Will Be Hunting Ducks New Year's EveDecember 30, 2009
Pulllman, WA —Washington State (10-2) will open their Pac-10 conference play Thursday afternoon against the Oregon Ducks (8-4) at 3:30 p.m. on the home floor of Cougar basketball, Friel Court.
The first 12 games of this season were preparation for what really counts: conference play. Coach Ken Bone takes his team into the Pac-10 schedule with confidence.
During his teleconference Tuesday morning, Coach Bone was pleased with the progress players have made during practice and through the non-conference portion of the season.
"I think there are some kids in our program that are playing with more confidence than they have in the past. Any time guys play with confidence they usually play better. They're a little more relaxed and they just perform a little bit better," Bone said.
After media covering the Pac-10 projected the Cougs to finish near the bottom of the conference, many a head has been turned by the sparkling record WSU has earned up to this point. Heck, even Coach Bone can be counted among those surprised by this young Washington State team.
"I don't think I would have guessed we'd be 10-2 at this point. As far as how we are playing, I'd hoped we'd be playing about the way we are right now…which is good. I was being optimistic. Our guys are accepting their roles and we're pretty healthy. Those were the two main concerns (going into conference play)... We have continued to get better at a decent rate for a young team and a new staff...We feel good about how we're playing and how we're playing as a group." - WSU Coach Ken Bone
Coach Ernie Kent is getting players back from injuries and has his team on a nice four-game winning streak coming in to Pullman. Oregon has a strong blend of good outside shooters and size up front to crash the boards as hard as any team in the conference.
When it comes to putting up points, Tajuan Porter is capable of exploding for 30-plus points every time he takes the floor. Porter brings quickness and an NBA-quality outside shot to the game that will drive any defense crazy. His outside play is complemented by the power and size of Michael Dunigan .
Dunigan is rounding into shape for the Pac-10. He's coming off a 26-point performance Monday, night which should be a real boost to his confidence. Yes, that's a career best for the 6'10" center from the Chicago area.
Expect to see plenty of scoring when these two teams play Thursday. Both average around 80 points per game, while yielding around 67.
One area the Cougs hold an edge is in shooting percentage, suggesting they are working to take quality shots on the offensive end of the court.
Coach Bone spoke to that issue Tuesday saying, "I'm pleased we're looking for opportunities in transition and if they're not there we're playing the half-court game."
Reggie Moore has been doing a great job running the WSU offense with Klay Thompson terrorizing opponents with his scoring ability. Both will get plenty of attention from Oregon when the Cougs have the ball.
DeAngelo Casto appears to have no lingering effects from knee surgery this past summer. No question Casto is much improved from a good freshman campaign a year ago. Last season, he was apt to pick up fouls in bunches coming off the bench.
Coach Bone points out that last year Casto was free to play with abandon because senior center Aron Baynes was the man in the middle.
DeAngelo was only going to get roughly 12 to 14 minutes of playing time a game, so picking up two or three fouls in a matter of minutes wasn't an issue. He wasn't going to be counted on to shut down players in the paint for the majority of any particular game.
Casto is the big man Coach Bone is counting on this season. He's adapted his style to play his role protecting the basket and frequently swat away opponents' shot attempts. Strength and length are the combination making Casto a force in the middle for Washington State.
One other player who has been coming on strong the last few games is the lone senior on the WSU roster, Nikola Koprivica . "Gramps," as his teammates like to kid him, will usually be the first player Coach Bone rotates in off the bench. Koprivica has been a force on both ends of the court with high energy, physical play.
It's time for another season of Pac-10 basketball.
Televised coverage of the game is limited to the Oregon Sports Network. For most Cougar fans, your best option will be to tune in on the Cougar Sports Radio Network and listen to one of the best broadcasters in the business, Bud Nameck.
Originally published in Lew Wright's WSU Sports column on Examiner.com


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Sporting a pink polo, dangling earrings and golf shoes, Alice Brown braves the morning rain to hit balls at the driving range. At 49, she is a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association. She is also a hairstylist, wife, grandmother and golf teacher. All things are possible, she says. It doesn't matter how old you are, or who says no. You just have to go for it. "I have no limits because I don't put limits on myself," she says, a golf bag and bucket of balls at her side.
• • •
Brown's preparing for the LPGA Developmental Tour qualifiers, a tournament she breezed through in 2008 to make it on the association's 2009 Developmental Tour. To get ready, she spends at least four hours a day practicing her game. Sometimes, she's at Ace Golf on Kings Avenue, where she also teaches lessons. Other days, when she has a lot of appointments at the Brandon salon where she works, she hits balls down the aisle next to her stylist chair.
She knows some golf professionals see her age and the fact that she's a black woman as a disadvantage. While golfers such as Renee Powell have made the game more accessible for women like Brown, blacks remain a minority at the top of the game. Brown says it is sometimes hard to find sponsors. The opposition just makes her work harder.
She teaches her students to do the same.
"It's encouraging to watch her persevere despite the hurdles she has to get over," said Tampa's director of solid waste Tonja Brickhouse, a New Tampa resident who also is Brown's student.
Brown says her competitive spirit keeps her going. Growing up in South Hill, Va., she played high school softball. She was a shortstop of the year, a home run champion. Then, at age 16, she gave birth to a daughter who became her world. Later she met and married an Army soldier, Gary Brown, and decided to go to cosmetology school.
She worked as a licensed master stylist out of salons near where her husband was stationed in Illinois, Georgia, Hawaii and New York. She played on women's softball teams, recruiting players as hair clients.
When her husband asked her to learn to golf with him, she told him softball was her game. But after some convincing, she tagged along.
She started out with a swing and a miss.
"I thought, why is it I can hit a ball that's moving but I take a swing and I miss a ball that's sitting still? I liked the challenge," Brown said.
Brown began taking golf lessons in 1997. She practiced several hours a week, then almost daily. It was a bonding experience for her and her husband, who retired from the military and moved the couple to Brandon in 2003. The two fell in love with the sport together, but she took it to another level when she entered an amateur tournament in Tampa in 2004.
Brown quickly mastered the greens at local tournaments, winning a championship title at MacDill Air Force Base. Then, in 2008, she entered the LPGA qualifier and registered as a professional.
This year's qualifier is in November. She says she is ready. It is a step on the way to the major tour. She golfs with a pink ball marked by a purple heart. The pink represents the friends and clients she has lost to breast cancer. The purple heart is to honor military friends wounded in battle.
Her fight to win a game is an easy one compared to those struggles, she says. She wants to win, but the journey is what's most important to her.
"I'm just going to keep going," she says, pulling her golf bag through the rain.
Sarah Whitman can be reached at (813) 661-2439 or [email protected]


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Aubrey Levin has been sentenced to five years in jail and is planning to appeal against his sentence.
The former South African psychiatrist was sentenced in a Calgary, Canada, court on Thursday.
A week ago the jury came to the decision that Levin, 74, was guilty of sexually abusing three of his former patients.
He was acquitted of two other charges and the jury was unable to come to a unanimous verdict on a further four charges.
Levin will be registered as a sex offender.
The Calgary Herald reported that Court of Queen's Bench Justice Donna Shelley said Levin, as a psychiatrist, should have helped his patients for their problems rather than add to them.
"Dr Levin, your actions in sexually assaulting (the patients) constitute horrible violations of the trust that these patients put in you as their psychiatrist," Shelley told Levin.
"As a psychiatrist, you knew their vulnerabilities. They have confided in you things they likely had not confided to anyone else. They were entitled to feel safe and supported during their appointments with you. Instead, you exploited them in a predatory and repetitious manner."
Shelley said Levin deserved eight years in jail.
The Calgary Herald reported she had reduced his sentence because of his age and ill health.
Levin, known as "Dr Shock", headed a programme at 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria during the apartheid era that was designed to "cure" soldiers of homosexuality with shock therapy.
Levin was charged in March 2010 when the original complainant showed two videos, taken on a spy watch camera, which showed Levin fondling his genitals.
The defence, who had called for a sentence of no more than a year, is expected to file an appeal for Levin within two weeks.
The Star


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Forget $200 for counselling. If we're serious about a society of stronger, happier relationships, prenups should be a mandatory part of marriage.
In fact, in view of the fact "prenups", or binding financial agreements, are also available to people who are in de facto and same-sex relationships, perhaps they should be a mandatory aspect of monogamy.
And the signing of them should be celebrated with the same gusto as we mark the marking of marriage certificates. Or likewise sign of commitment - We've bought the house, but we organised our finances first – come enjoy our BFA buffet and toast to love and commonsense!
Don't you agree?
Watching my parents divorce brought a few things home to me as a teen. Thou shalt not be put in a position where thy financial security depends on another person. Thou shalt not wash one's hands of hoop-jumping, painful though it may be. And thou shalt clearly establish the reasons for and expectations of marriage long before marriage is actually done.
I had thought the best way to avoid all this heartache was to simply never get married.
I am now about to get married.
So there goes that resolution.
Hence, I find myself looking for a lawyer to help draw up my side of the bargain, as the law requires. I am going to be copping the short-term expense sweet as I look to long-term satisfaction. I am swatting away criticism. I am reminding myself I am not planning to fail – I am just not failing to plan.
Most importantly, I am talking about all of this with my soon-to-be-husband. We are on the same page. No one is pushing, as the law requires. We've been open and honest from the start. If we weren't, we probably wouldn't be getting married. In that sense a prenup is like a litmus test.
Basically, no one feels as though the prenup is a problem – no one within the relationship that is.
Some people, on the other hand, just can't help crying out in horror when they hear what we're up to.
"What do you mean you're getting a prenup? Don't you trust him? More importantly, does he not trust you?" they'll say.
"What a romance killer – why would you ruin the love by locking it up in a legal document?" (This friend clearly forgot the legal essence of Australian marriage.)
My response is always the same. I am crazy in love, but I am not crazy.
It's interesting. The whole "doing" of love involves losing one's mind and making bold statements no rational mind would ever commit to – like not possibly living without so-and-so, and so-forth. We learn that love is somehow beyond the realm of reality – love is divine – and so anything from the hum-drum mundane world that seeks to impinge on that gorgeous grace is bad. That's why people go bonkers booking big weddings – they're in love, hang the cost and the commonsense.
I think being madly in love is good, but I think behaving madly is bad. And mad behaviour includes not paying proper mind to the fact that, while the joy you find in each other is magnificent, you still live in mortal world governed by rules, shaped by responsibilities. And those rules and responsibilities apply to us all, no matter what we may think.
So, I believe that, as we live in a society where relationships – be they matrimonial, de facto, same-sex, etc – are governed by laws, ignoring those laws is perilous, and more should be done make people omniscient of this fact. Having to organise a prenup, or binding financial agreement, might be the right way to do so.
Especially in consideration of the fact Australians are now more likely to cohabit without getting hitched than before. And there is greater parity between men and women than before. It stands to reason that if we're occupying new social territory, we should reconsider old social attitudes.
We should start looking at prenups as a good way to make sure people who are decided to commit to each other properly scrutinise their decisions, and be held accountable to them. In some ways, a prenup could fill the role priests used to play. The church used to govern our society, now economics plays a greater part – so if there's no fear of God, why not invoke fear of financial ruin to keep people on the straight and narrow?
Great love affairs are beautiful things, but they're even greater when beautifully organised.
That's why prenups should be a mandatory part of marriage, and any other long-term committed relationship for that matter.
Don't you agree?
Katherine Feeney is a journalist with the Nine Network Australia.


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Reviews - University of Westminster Marylebone Hall4
Access via Campus reception, 35 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5LS
Customer Reviews
Our reviews are from genuine LateRooms.com customers. We verify that the customer has stayed before leaving a review.
Very Good
88% would recommend it to a friend
Customer service
Food quality
Room quality
Perfect if you are not in your room for long
I just needed a place to sleep as was not going to be in the room long.
This was perfect, nice views of London in the morning and easy to get to.
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Good value basic accommodation in excellent location
Having never stayed in University accommodation before I did not know what to expect.
The location was excellent straight opposite Madame Tussauds. The reception staff in the main building were really helpful and friendly as were the staff in the cafe. Baker street tube is 2 minutes and comfortable walk to Oxford Street.The check in was straight forward. The room was small but had plenty of storage, loads of power points, small but adequate shower room, bed OK, only one pillow, internet but no TV which was not a problem for me. There was a large shared kitchen directly opposite my room, I think 6 rooms shared this. Kitchen equipment was basic but included fridge/freezer, microwave, cooker, few pots and pans and kitchen implements, but no knives and forks so maybe a good idea to take plastic ones. The cafeteria in the main building serves Costa Cofee and basic food and opened at 8.30 so I had breakfast there. Although there is a kettle and toaster in the Uni Halls, there is no coffee etc. provided so if you need this maybe a good idea to take it with you. The room itself was boiling as it faced the sun and you can only open the window about an inch but got cooler during the evening. I would not want to stay there in the summer if the room faced SW but was fine in September. Great view from the 11th floor. I would definitely stay there again if I wanted cheap compact basic accommodation but if you are looking for comfort/luxury maybe this would not suit you.
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Can't fault the staff but my room had one issue...
I could not fault the staff, they were friendly and helpful and made me feel right at home.
I was on floor 21 Room A (the floor sign said Penthouse Suite), it was a small 1 bed room with a full size fridge and plenty of storage. My ONLY complaint was the noise, not the noise of the other guests but the noise which constantly filled the room, If you lay on the bed there was a constant hum, the vibrations came through the bed at the same volume as a microwave in the room or a dryer against the wall, the wall also vibrated, it was so loud that I woke up with partial hearing in one ear the first night and had to build a pillow tower just to deaden the noise the second night, the noise was more prominent from midnight onwards, I think I may have just got a bad room or the shower unit next door was malfunctioning. I would probably stay there again as the view was Amazing and I could see over the whole of London, it was super close to Baker Street Station and was extremely secure (maybe just not in that room next time). NOTES:
Only floors 1-20 have disabled access and all floors above this are inaccessible so please note this before booking. The elevator is scary the doors are crooked and it continues to move once they open so if you have issues with lifts I wouldn't suggest using it. Overall I would recommend the place, just not that specific room, I'm hoping the noise was just bad timing and bad luck.
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Very small and basic accomodation
I booked the room in Marylebone Hall knowing that it would be basic, being a student room.
Don't expect a TV or tea and coffee making facilities. It was tiny too. The en-suite plastic bathroom was no bigger than a wardrobe. There was a full kitchen for me to use on the floor and the fridge space was welcome. The staff were welcoming, everything was clean and tidy, the hall was even quiet at night. I had a good night's sleep. The best bit was getting a private en-suite room in central London for little more than the cost of a hostel.
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Good except for main reception security on checking in being very agressive
Ok really central, basic but good
Great for a Quick pit stop
Not a bad stay.
Popped down to London at short notice and this place had everything I needed. I stayed just one night. The Room is basic, which is all you need. Plenty of power points if you need them. With more than ample places to store your kit. It also has a safe.
It even has a kitchen on every floor. which if I had realized this I would have made use of this. It even has utensils just for guests. I did think with it being a uni, it would be noisy. But thankfully didn't hear a peep. The odd obligatory door slamming shut, but you get that at any hotel. The bathroom is very small, but that being said, it does what you need it to do. It was clean and light. The night I stayed, it was extremely hot. Unfortunately only one of the window were open and I could not open the other. I didn't go to reception and ask for a fan, so I just propped the door open a got an amazing breeze that cooled the room down. I do have one gripe with the room though. Having worked in the hotel trade for quite a while. It was a but of a let down that the mattress was not only plastic coated (not great in hot weather at all especially with a micro-fiber duvet) but also was horribly stained. I understand this is a student halls, however mattress protectors are a big must have, if only used for no student guests. It will also help in the hot sticky weather. I ended up taking the duvet cover off and just used that as it was far to hot for the micro-fiber duvet (no fault of anyone's.) The linen looked very tired but served the purpose it was intended for. Overall a pleasant stay. The only thing to let it down was the the fact the mattress was plastic coated, was very stained and frankly looked vile. However, it was surprisingly comfy. I would stay again as it is is perfect for somewhere to pop your head down for a quick pit stop.
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Value and views
Excellent location, can walk to Baker St.
tube or Regents Park in less than 2 minutes. The room on 21st floor was small, clean and ensuite, and had really good views.
For a budget room I don't see how you could do better.
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Value for money
View fantastic, unfortunately windows only open a crack and as it was lovely weather it was boiling.
Mattress a bit basic too but bottom line I would do again.
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Great location, perfect if you are not to bothered about ouxury
Cheap and cheerful, basic, very clean, couldn't fault it.
Not 5 * luxury but then that's reflected in the price. If you are just liking for somewhere to sleep in the centre of London this is perfect. Wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.
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Fab view, tiny bathroom, no hairdryer, great location, good kitchen facilities
Paid extra for the panoramic London skyline view on the 20th floor.
which was well worth it and the highlight of my stay. Found the 'pod' wet room come toilet very tiny as were the towels otherwise bed comfortable and room quiet and big enough for me. Had to have a very bad hair day as no hairdryers available after asking over three times which did spoil my stay a little. Mistake was made with my email receipt but apologies received and all sorted. Fridge in room a bonus as is the well equipped, clean and tidy kitchen. The location is perfect to allow me to access Kings Cross station by foot and easily walk to sites etc. Overall good value and will stay again but will take my own hairdryer next time!
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Florida's population is increasing at the slowest pace in 30 years, which will put a damper on economic growth, University of Florida researchers said Thursday.
"The state has not experienced a decline of this magnitude since the mid '70s, when we were in a national recession," said Stan Smith, who directs population studies for the university's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
The slowdown will affect everything from housing starts and new jobs to corporate relocations and state and local taxes. It also reinforces a recent perception that Florida's days are waning as a low-cost place in the sunshine.
The state's population grew about 2.4 percent a year from 2000 to 2007. The new UF forecast is for just 1.1 percent annual growth from 2007 to 2010, which translates into about 200,000 fewer new residents each year. Between 2010 and 2020, growth is expected to pick up to about 1.6 percent a year.
Smith said the bureau revised its forecast downward based on recent trends that researchers don't expect to turn around quickly.
"Historically, during recessions people tend not to move from one state to another," Smith said. He said the slowdown in job creation is a primary reason. Companies aren't transferring people in from other states to fill new positions, and people who want to move to Florida aren't finding jobs.
In addition, many people need to sell their homes elsewhere to have enough money to buy a new home in Florida.
"Part of the slowdown has to do with the higher price of real estate and higher cost of living in the state," said University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith. "You also have people leaving Florida, and within Florida there is a move away from coastal areas where real estate prices are particularly expensive and a push toward the interior of the state."
UF estimates only Monroe County in the Florida Keys will lose population over the next two decades. However, growth is expected to be so small in several other counties, including Pinellas, that they could easily fall into the negative column. The most recent Census Bureau data show Pinellas lost population the last two years.
Slower population growth means less demand for housing and related products such as building supplies and home furnishings. It also means there won't be as many new customers for retailers and service providers.
"It affects the public coffers as well," Smith said. Fewer new homes mean fewer construction-related taxes and fees. Sales tax and property tax collections grow more slowly as well. The plus side: less demand for new schools, roads and other public services.
"Some people view a slowdown as a beneficial thing because of quality of life reasons related to congestion and loss of green space," Smith said.
Florida's growth depends primarily on people moving here from elsewhere because births outnumber deaths by only about 65,000 a year. By 2035 that number is expected to shrink to about 10,000 thanks to an aging population. Foreign immigrants are expected to make up an increasingly larger share of new residents.
Even with the slowdown, Florida's population, now 18.7-million, is expected to be 26.6-million in 2035. UCF's Snaith said Florida's slowdown should be put in perspective.
"We're forecasting slower but continued growth that would be the envy of many places across the U.S.," he said. "It's still going to be an important driver of the economy."
Helen Huntley can be reached at email@example.com or (727) 893-8230.


text:
Please help with Apache Web Server / Apache Tomcat / PHP / Java / PHP-Java Bridge
Hi everyone,
This is my first post! And its a long one!!
I am fairly new to Linux (about 4 weeks) and I have been building a web server at work. This will eventually be used as a production environment.
So far I have Apache 2 installed, MySQL, PHP (as an Apache 2 module), phpMyAdmin, OpenSSL, Java, Apache Tomcat, and the Apache Tomcat connector (to connect Apache2 to Apache Tomcat).
The idea is to eventually get PHP and Java communicating through the PHP-Java Bridge. However, I've become confused.
I have a DNS set up which accesses my Linux server. If I access the index page of the domain on the web I get the "IT WORKS" page from Apache 2. Also, I have PHP scripts in the Apache htdocs web folder which can access MySQL databases, and they work fine. In other words I have Apache2, MySQL and PHP (as Apache 2 module) installed correctly.
If I access my domain using port 8080 (www.mydomain.com:8080) I also get the Apache Tomcat welcome page. So that is also working OK.
Now this is where it gets confusing. I originally thought that I needed Apache 2 to handle PHP and static HTML requests by itself, and to handle JSP requests by sending them to Tomcat. So I went ahead and set up the Apache 2 -> Tomcat link using the Tomcat connectors - this ultimately creates the mod_jk which is added to Apache 2. Now if I place a JSP file (a simple "hello world" script) in the Tomcat webapps/ROOT folder I can access it successfully through:
Now this confused me because using that URL should access whatever is in the Apache2 htdocs folder, as I have not used port :8080 in the URL. Does that mean that Apache2 is sending the JSP request successfully to Tomcat? I thought that I would have to place the JSP file in the Apache2 htdocs folder, yet if I do that it doesn't work and I get a Tomcat error page. Have I done this correctly? Do all JSP files go in the Tomcat webapps/ROOT folder even if they are going to be accessed by Apache 2? This is my first problem / query.
EDIT: I have recently realised that the above is actually correct, so please ignore this problem. The more important issue is below:
The second problem is trying to get Java to communicate with PHP. Is this going to be possible considering the way that I have set up the software i.e. installed PHP as an Apache 2 module? Most of the PHP-Java Bridge docs and tutorials I have read mention installing PHP as Fast-CGI. Have I become confused here? Do I even need the Apache 2 Web Server, or can I access PHP, HTML and JSP pages through using Tomcat on its own?
Can someone point me in the right direction so then at least I know what I need to do / which path to take, because at the moment I don't even know if the underlying framework is set up correctly.
ANY help at all would be greatly appreciated.
You can usually have PHP do both, i. e. be used via Apache as an Apache module, or "directly" via the CGI PHP executable produced by compiling PHP with --enable-fascgi enabled. If, however, you ONLY installed PHP as an Apache module, you are correct, you will NOT be able to get Java to use PHP, since the CGI PHP executable will not exist.
I ran into much the same problem as you (for another reason) and I had to go and recompile my PHP installation with the --enable-fascgi option so that I could get the CGI PHP executable.
So if all you want to do is to run the CGI PHP executable, you are correct, you do not need Apache. You only need Apache with PHP if you want to use PHP via a browser / the internet. I'm not sure about the rest of your question, but I'm guessing you will NOT be able to view HTML pages via TomCat, but you should be able to view PHP and JSP pages just fine, since it appears that you specify that the Java bridge "requires FastCGI PHP"? Since Apache will not be present to interpret and serve HTML, I'm guessing if you just use Tomcat, they won't be parsed correctly and thus display wrong or be interpreted wrong. But I might be wrong as well, it makes more sense that TomCat may in fact "call" Apache to interpret HTML correctly??
Thanks for the excellent help! It is much appreciated.
I have always been able to view HTML pages via Apache and Tomcat. Apache is on port 80, whilst Tomcat is on 8080. They are running separately.
The idea is to use Apache as the frontend and Tomcat as the backend. Apache sends all Java / JSP requests to Tomcat. The idea is for Apache to handle all other requests i.e. PHP, HTML etc. If I place a JSP file in the tomcat webapps folder, I can access it via:
The fact that the page works means that apache is forwarding the JSP request to Tomcat, otherwise I'd have to use www.mysite.com:8080/test.jsp to access it. This forwarding is achieved using the Tomcat connectors (mod_jk).
I just thought that I should first explain that I can view HTML through Apache and Tomcat.
As for the PHP-Java Bridge, I installed it by compiling it from the tar.gz source and following the instructions. After 'make' and 'make install' etc all I did was place 2 files in the PHP extension directory (JavaBridge.jar and java.so - which were created during the php-java bridge installation). Then in the php.ini I pointed to the php-java bridge extension and added other Java information:
Then it was just a case of placing the JavaBridge.war file in the tomcat webapps folder. This auto-deploys to give a variety of examples of PHP and Java working together. Some examples work, yet others do not. The Tomcat logs report that the bridge is working:
INFO: PHP/Java Bridge servlet /home/tomcat/webapps/JavaBridge version 5.4.1 ready.
The php example files are located in tomcats webapps/JavaBridge directory, yet I do not need to add the 8080 port to view them i.e
Does this show that PHP and Java are communicating through Apache and Tomcat? Its confusing that some examples work, and others don't -- I'm not 100% that the bridge is working how it should.
The above test.php file is pretty much <?php phpinfo() ?>, but there are reports of Java being enabled as a PHP extension, and then at the very end of the file there is a whole load of information regarding java variables, and it states "PHP says that Java says: hello PHP from Java!" This is created from the following code in test.php:
PHP Code:
INFO: Timeout waiting for PHP FastCGI daemon
05-Jan-2009 11:46:32 org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve invoke
SEVERE: Servlet.service() for servlet PhpCGIServlet threw exception
Throwable occurred: java.io.IOException: java.io.IOException: error=2, No such file or directory
at java.lang.UNIXProcess.<init>(UNIXProcess.java:197)
at java.lang.ProcessImpl.start(ProcessImpl.java:101)
at java.lang.ProcessBuilder.start(ProcessBuilder.java:463)
at java.lang.Runtime.exec(Runtime.java:604)
at php.java.bridge.Util$Process.start(Util.java:885)
at php.java.bridge.Util$ProcessWithErrorHandler.start(Util.java:987)
at php.java.bridge.Util$ProcessWithErrorHandler.start(Util.java:1042)
at php.java.servlet.PhpCGIServlet$CGIRunner.execute(PhpCGIServlet.java:248)
at php.java.servlet.CGIServlet.handle(CGIServlet.java:401)
at php.java.servlet.PhpCGIServlet.handle(PhpCGIServlet.java:350)
at php.java.servlet.CGIServlet.doGet(CGIServlet.java:470)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:617)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:717)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:290)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:233)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:128)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109)
at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:286)
at org.apache.jk.server.JkCoyoteHandler.invoke(JkCoyoteHandler.java:190)
at org.apache.jk.common.HandlerRequest.invoke(HandlerRequest.java:283)
at org.apache.jk.common.ChannelSocket.invoke(ChannelSocket.java:767)
at org.apache.jk.common.ChannelSocket.processConnection(ChannelSocket.java:697)
at org.apache.jk.common.ChannelSocket$SocketConnection.runIt(ChannelSocket.java:889)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.ThreadPool$ControlRunnable.run(ThreadPool.java:690)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:735)
I am guessing that this suggests that, like you have said, I need PHP installing as Fast-CGI. Can anyone else make any sense of the above error to tell me what I need to fix?
So is it possible to install PHP as an Apache module AND as Fast-CGI?
Can anyone give me any advice if I have / am installing the PHP-Java Bridge in the correct manner?
Its confusing how some examples work fine, yet others do not.
Anyway, thanks rylan76 for your initial help.
|All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:53 AM.


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Winergy - more than quality and reliability
Your global partner for wind turbine components
The Earth's atmosphere is in constant motion - which we experience as wind. This natural resource renews itself, is readily available, and creates no pollution. What better way to generate electricity?
For more than 30 years Winergy gearboxes and couplings ensure that wind turbines all over the world convert wind power into electrical energy: reliable, efficient and at low lifecycle costs. In this way we contribute to further decreasing the costs of energy production from wind in the future.
Winergy Original Service at Husum Wind – and a historical exhibit
Service is one of the key factors for the performance and reliability of a wind turbine gearbox. At Husum Wind, Winergy will presents its solutions for optimum operation and maintenance of wind turbine drives. One of the finest examples for the proven quality of Winergy products and services: a gearbox from the world's first offshore wind farm. It has been in operation for 25 years without any failure and will be exhibited in Husum in its original state.
Since 1991, the gearbox has been operating in a wind turbine with 450kW nominal power in the world's first offshore wind farm in Vindeby, Denmark. The eleven turbines that have been connected to the grid back then paved the way for the modern offshore industry, which nowadays secures energy supply for millions of households. At Husum Wind, visitors at the Winergy booth can assess the gearbox internals, and convince themselves of the pristine condition even after 25 years of operating time.
For more information on the award please read our press release.
Winergy commissions largest test bench for wind turbine gearboxes in Australia
Winergy has invested in a 2.8 megawatt load test bench in its Service Center in Rockhampton, Australia. This investment means that the facility now has Australia's largest and most advanced test rig for wind power gearboxes. As a significant quality attribute a load test is essential for every wind turbine gearbox prior to installation. With the commissioning of a 2.8 MW full load test bench this is now also available at the Winergy Service Center in Rockhampton, Australia.
For more information on the award please read our press release.
8 MW gearbox selected the best wind turbine drive
The renowned professional Windpower Monthly magazine awarded Winergy a prize for the 8MW offshore gearbox being the best drive of the year. After having won an award for the HybridDrive in 2015, Winergy was presented with the "Best Drivetrain of the Year" award by the international magazine for the second time. The Windpower Monthly jurors were above all impressed by the increase in the efficiency and power capacity of the 9,900 kilo newton-meters (kNm) strong offshore giant. On the one hand, the input torque was increased by 70 percent; while on the other hand, the weight was increased by 20 percent only, if compared with other gearboxes of the 6MW+ class. In addition, Windpower Monthly prized the fact that the offshore drive can be built with both rolling and sliding bearings.
Watch the development of the award-winning offshore drive in this impressive documentary.
For more information on the award please read our press release.
Developing an offshore giant
Developing the world's most powerful wind gearbox is something unique. Therefore we have accompanied the development of the 8 MW gearbox for the Adwen AD 8-180 turbine with cameras including interviews with the responsible persons. The result is an impressive documentary.
8 MW eyecatcher and successful contract conclusions - WindEnergy Hamburg was a great success
The 8 MW exhibit at the Winergy booth drew large crowds crammed into the adjacent corridors for most of the time. Everyone wanted a picture or a selfie with the world's largest wind turbine. Aside from the hustle and bustle of the booth upcoming projects were negotiated and contracts were closed.
For Winergy CEO Aarnout Kant the trade show was a great success: "We are delighted with the good response to our presentation of the 8 MW gearbox. We had a great many high-quality customer discussions and many visitors approached us on their own initiative, which is a very good reflection on this expo."
Winergy delivers world's biggest wind gearbox to WindEnergy in Hamburg
The 3.66-meter tall, 3.35-meter wide, 3.5 meter long, 46.7 tonne giant, at 10,000 kilonewton-metres the world's largest and highest-torque windpower gearbox, rolled through the large workshop door on a specially adapted low-loader right in time for the start of set-up work for the second WindEnergy show: the Winergy 8-megawatt offshore gearbox redefines the dimensions of drive technology for wind energy.
One week before the start of the fair on 27th September Winergy delivered to the Hamburg fair halls the largest gearbox ever built for a wind turbine. It will be the highlight of the Winergy fair stand and was specially designed to give visitors to the world-leading trade fair a view of the gearbox' interior and journal bearings.
Please also read our press release.
Adwen and Winergy present the world's biggest wind turbine gearbox
In close cooperation Adwen and Winergy developed the gearbox for Adwen's AD 8-180 offshore wind turbine. With an input torque of close to 10,000 kilonewton-meters (kNm) and a weight of 86 tonnes it is the largest wind turbine gearbox ever built in the world.
It is part of a medium-speed drive train concept that will considerably help reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) on Adwen's new offshore giant. At 180 meters the AD 8-180 boasts the world's largest-diameter rotor. In combination with a nominal electrical power of 8 megawatts the gearbox attains an input torque of close to 10,000 kNm – a value never before equaled.
This 70 percent increase in torque capacity was achieved with only a 20 percent weight increase compared to other gearboxes used in offshore wind turbines larger than 6 MW. In tests the gearbox attains an efficiency of well over 98 percent. Further, by reducing the built-in components its reliability increases.
"Particularly in the offshore sector reliability is the essential thing. With this medium-speed gearbox concept we are demonstrating our technological expertise and innovative strength. The integrated drive system is not only very compact and efficient, it is also extremely reliable. It makes us proud to be Adwen's partner on this showcase project", Winergy CEO Aarnout Kant says.
Please also read our press release.
Visit our Winergy YouTube Channel
Winergy gearbox pool - now online available.
A detailed list of Winergy's available gearboxes is now ready for download. Please click to Winergy Gearbox Pool.
The list will be updated frequently.
For more information please click to Winergy Service.
3D animation of the newly developed up-tower exchange of the planet carrier bearing.
Visit our Winergy YouTube Channel.
+49 (0) 2871 92 4
Technical 24/7 Hotline:
+49 (0) 2871 92 1609
Fax: +49 (0) 2871 92 2487
Email: email@example.com


text:
I've only ever worked for one company since I left University. Rackspace. And on Thursday 19th February 2015, I leave that company to start something new. People change jobs all the time, but for me, this is a big deal, let me explain why.
Four months before I was due to graduate from University in 2006 I was sat in my room with the graduate scheme contract for Logica, working in their Space and Defence sector. I have no idea what would have happened if my dad had not called and recommended I look at a small hosting company he'd started running his business with that had awesome customer service. That one small moment and decision has changed everything…
This is why leaving Rackspace is bittersweet. They are simply a phenomenal employer, they saw something in me and helped me develop it. Taking me into new roles and more growth opportunities time and time again. I entered as a Data Centre Technician and I leave as a CTO/Technologist/DevOps Unicorn herder, who can honestly say that a company has invested that much in them? They've enabled me to take a career path that would have been just impossible trudging the world of formal graduate schemes and divisions of large consultancy practices.
However, we often toss around the term "there's no such thing as a job for life" and when you are 33, facing an ever increasing retirement age putting a 50-year shift in with a single company just doesn't make good sense, which is why I take solace from my colleagues reminding me "everyone has a last day". But it has taken something genuinely spectacular to pull me away from Rackspace. On Monday I start at Pearson, the global business providing education to the world but who also own publishers and news houses. I will be doing things I'm passionate about – simplifying technology for people and enabling businesses to do things they thought were impossible. The team at Pearson is building a reputation as forward thinking innovators and I'm going to test myself with a leadership role that will help me learn what kind of career is available to me for the rest of my time working. Its scary (which makes it more exciting) but I am also confident that I've spent the last 8.5 years working with some of the most talented and inspiring leaders and if I can apply just a fraction of what they've done for me, I'll do ok.
I don't normally do a blog post to just document something I did, and this one is no different. My ask to you is to look at what your employer has given you. Do you feel like you've had a fair deal for your years of service, not just in salary and benefits, but how much have they actually invested in you, building, shaping and developing you into a more valuable professional? If you doubt the investment, challenge it. A world class employer will invest in you without condition they live by the philosophy that you will stay for longer if they commit to developing you and giving you the opportunities to work on things you love. I'm living proof of that.
If you're not sure your employer is doing enough, talk to them. Or better still talk to Rackspace! Unless of course, you are a crack-hot DevOps legend who wants to help an ex-Racker build a PaaS at a massive global company. In which case, as of Monday… I'm hiring 🙂


text:
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- For use with SNS™ or starter SNS
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What's Included
- 1 roll on holder in plastic bag
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What's New With Medela?
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio Supreme Court ruling could allow voters next year to decide a ballot initiative aimed at controlling what state agencies pay for prescription drugs.
Backers of the Drug Price Relief Act had asked the court to order the Ohio secretary of state to certify its ballot initiative instead of sending it back to the Legislature for consideration. The court voted 4-3 Friday in favor of the issue's backers.
Last month, the court invalidated petitions after ruling that elections officials had erroneously counted some of the signatures. Supporters recently submitted additional signatures to close the gap and sought to bypass the Legislature.
The proposal aims to keep state agencies from buying drugs at prices higher than what the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs pays.


text:
I've already had 3 treatments on both underarms and brazilian with the Lightsheer--& am happy with results thus far. However the drive is too far, and I need to switch locations. A deal came up that seems to good to be true (Groupon out of London) but it is with Aurora system. I'm tempted but also apprehensive... I'm dark hair (fairly course) and have fair skin that tans. Thanks! I Would appreciate your suggestion.
Which Laser is Best: Lightsheer or Aurora?
Doctor Answers 1
Which laser hair removal system is best - lightsheer?
The lightsheer and now the even better lightsheer duet laser hair removal systems are excellent. As important as the laser is the clinic and trained personnel who are firing the laser since side effects are possible with any treatment. Unfortunately, many of the group buying sites have promotions that are "too good to be true" (usually from clinics with less than stellar reputations, and almost never medical quality) and we have seen many patients who have required fixing the problems that so called "cheaper" clinics caused, and sadly some of the mistakes can't be fixed.
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.


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