@jancyweek2022 Day 4: I’ll always come back to you or partners in crime 

working remotely is such bullshit truly and completely i’ve got the windows down blasting jimmy buffett on a1a and i’m like i have work on monday.

But I can’t help falling in love with you <3

—————————————————————————————————————————Words : 855

Description: you and Colby have been friends for a long time when he asks you a rather interesting question

Warnings : none just fluff

Not proofread , let me know if you spot any mistakes

ASKS ARE OPEN and any feedback is appreciated

You and Colby were inseparable. You had been best friends for years, and you knew everything about each other. You had never thought of each other as anything more than friends, until one day, everything changed.

It was a beautiful day outside, and you and Colby had decided to go on a hike. You always loved hiking, and Colby was always up for exploring , I mean that is his whole brand . You had been walking for a while, and you were both getting tired after walking what felt like 2000 miles . You decided to take a break and sit down on a big rock overlooking the mountains below . You both admired the beautiful view,feeling at peace. Colby moved closer to you , resting his hand on your thigh . For the next few minutes you both sat there in a comfortable silence .

Colby turned to you "Y/N, I have something to tell you." You looked at him you could see that he was nervous. His forehead was creased with worry, and his eyebrows were furrowed as if he was trying to solve a difficult puzzle. His eyes darted back and forth, unable to settle on any one thing. His mouth was dry, and he licked his lips nervously, causing them to purse tightly. He fidgeted with his hands, rubbing them together or clasping them tightly, as if he was trying to calm himself down. Despite his best efforts, his face remained tense and anxious, reflecting the turmoil within. "I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I don't know how to say it, so I'm just going to come out and say it. I love you, Y/N. I've loved you for a long time, and I can't keep it inside anymore. I-I just need you to know. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same-It won’t change anything between.. we can still be f-friends"

You were shocked. You had never thought of Colby in that way before. You didn't know what to say. You just sat there, looking at him. Colby took your silence as a bad sign, and he started to get up. "I'm sorry, Y/N. I shouldn't have said anything. Just forget I ever said anything ." He started to walk away, but you grabbed his hand.

"Colby, wait," you said. "I don't know what to say. I've never thought of you in that way before, but now that you've said it, I can't stop thinking about it. I don't know what this means for us, but I want to explore it. I want to see where it goes."

Colby looked at you, and you could see the hope in his eyes. "Really?" he said. "You mean it?"

You nodded. "I do," you said. "Let's see where this takes us."

And that's how it started. You and Colby started dating, and it was like a dream come true. You had never been happier. You loved spending time with him, and you loved the way he made you feel. As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, your love for each other grew stronger. You went on more hikes, had picnics in the park, and went on romantic dates. You felt like you had found your soulmate.

After 5 years of dating , Colby took you on a surprise date. He blindfolded you and drove you to a secret location (which he told you was for a video ). When he took off the blindfold, you saw that he had set up a beautiful picnic in a meadow. There were flowers everywhere and the sun was shining. You sat down on the blanket, and Colby poured you a glass of champagne.

"Y/N, I have something to ask you," Colby said, getting down on one knee. You immediately froze , shocked at what was happening "I love you more than anything in this world, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you , Y/N L/N , make me the happiest man on the earth and marry me?"

You were speechless. You had never expected this. Tears started to form in your eyes as you looked at Colby. "Yes! Yes Colby. Yes, I will marry you," you said, throwing your arms around him, after a few minutes of hugging each over close he placed the ring on your finger.

From that moment on, you knew that your life would be full of love and happiness. You and Colby got married in a beautiful ceremony, surrounded by your friends and family. You felt like the luckiest person in the world.

Many years went by, and you and Colby grew old together. You had children, and you watched them grow up and start their own families. You and Colby never lost the spark that brought you together, and you knew that your love would last forever.

As you sat on your front porch, holding hands with Colby, you looked out at the sunset and smiled. You had lived a beautiful life, full of love and joy. You knew that you had found your soulmate, and that nothing could ever change that.

On August 11, 2000, 7-year-old Midsi Sanchez was walking home from school in Vallejo, California, accompanied by her younger brother. Due to her brother's slower pace, Midsi had moved ahead when she suddenly fell victim to a horrifying abduction. A man forcibly seized her and forcefully placed her inside his car. Once inside, he handcuffed Midsi to the car's gear stick and concealed her beneath a blanket. For the ensuing two days, he drove around with her captive, providing her with nothing to eat or drink except wine and beer.

The perpetrator eventually parked his car in an industrial area of Santa Clara, approximately 70 miles away from where he had initially abducted her. When he exited the vehicle, he inadvertently left the keys behind. In a remarkable display of courage and resourcefulness, Midsi seized the opportunity. She managed to retrieve the keys and proceeded to methodically test each one to unlock her handcuffs. Miraculously, her efforts proved successful, and she succeeded in freeing herself, clambering out of the car through a window.

The man quickly realized her escape attempt and gave chase. In her desperate flight to safety, Midsi ran onto the road and frantically signaled a passing trucker. This unexpected intervention prompted her kidnapper to flee in the opposite direction. Witnesses provided crucial descriptions of the kidnapper to the authorities, leading to the eventual identification and capture of 39-year-old Curtis Dean Anderson.

Subsequently, Anderson's arrest unraveled a horrifying web of additional crimes. He was linked to the 1988 disappearance of 7-year-old Amber Swartz-Garcia and the 1999 murder of 7-year-old Xiana Fairchild. Following his apprehension, Anderson chillingly confessed to the murder of six other children, a nightmarish revelation for Midsi's family and countless others. Anderson was ultimately sentenced to 302 years in prison, but he took his own life in 2009.

YOU SEEM LIKE TROUBLE TO ME

☆*:.｡. eric sohn imagine. ☆*@: cloverdaisies

𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍’𝚟𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚠𝚜 ☆*:.｡.

☆*:.｡. ★彡☆*:.｡. ☆*:.｡. ☆*:.｡.★彡 .｡.:*☆☆*:.｡. .｡.:*☆

☆*:.｡. description: should’ve known he was a bad guy, maybe all the red flags would be a good sign? are you really gonna let eric sohn take you on a test drive?

carwashboy!eric x fem!reader!suggestive themes!

☆*:.｡. member: eric x you

channel: @deoboyznet

a/n: very short drabble from a while ago! sumn about eric sohn being a sleaze in the best way possible has me floored !! 🧍‍♀️leave me alone crying over this concept !! i’m so sorry eric stans in advance, all in love <3

☆*:.｡. ★彡☆*:.｡. ☆*:.｡. ☆*:.｡.★彡 .｡.:*☆☆*:.｡. .｡.:*☆

“you can’t be serious” you sighed as your water went out once again. watching as the garden hose you’d tediously dragged around from the back of your house pathetically spat out its last drops.

there was a car wash no further than a mile out and it seemed to be the only option since you had an interview the next day and your car looked as if it had been driven three times through quicksand.

music blared from the small station, the metal shack rusting in a dirty bronze colour, with an unmissable billboard that read “a beautiful spot for amazing car repair” above the place that was practically falling apart.

you drove in, spotting a crimson haired man presented in a white tank covered in black soot, wrench in hand seemingly working on another car out in the scorching heat.

“hey, my waters gone out. I was hoping I could get a wash and polish.” you walked up to the man who was crouched in front of the tire of another car.

he looked up at you briefly, his skin glazed over shining under the unforgiving sunlight, he dropped the wrench and stood to look at the absolute disaster state your car was in.

“jesus, where’s this girl been?” he ripped the orange gloves off his hands and walked you into the garage space.

“listen it rained a lot before the draught.” you spoke with a serious tone, watching as he chuckled and kissed his top row of teeth with his tongue.

“yeah, just park over there, 10 minutes darling.” he wrote out a bill of $5, cutting the price by almost half of what it was supposed to be.

“hey, is this for the polish too?” you asked looking at the receipt with a confused frown.

“yeah, dolls like you don’t pay full price.” his mischievous grin, stank of trouble but you couldn’t complain since you’d gotten a pretty good deal.

you drove into the station, flicking through your phone whilst you waited for him to wander over with a few sponges and cloths hanging out from the pocket of his work bottoms.

he began to hose down the car, his hair somehow getting wet in the process hanging down in strands over his forehead. his jaw sharpened as you noticed his side profile, and the little smile he broke as he noticed you checking out his toned biceps was more than enough to say he was entertaining himself.

as soon as you thought he was finished, he swung open your door and whipped open a handheld hoover to clean the dashboard and seats.

“do you mind?” he asked pointing towards the gearstick, the compartment beneath clearly needing a swift clean. unbuckling your seatbelt about to move out of the way for him, your eyes almost bulged out of your skull as he leaned over you slightly, hand rested on top of the car as he reached over you. he hadn’t left much to the imagination since his shirt stuck to his abdomen, showing off his toned physique. and… and.. his scent… a manly musk, coated in the sweetest smelling aftershave.

trying your best not to externally yell, he smirked as he reached back and smirked at you, catching your eye contact for just a second.

it was almost like a 2000s college movie, where the frat boys hosted one of those cliché sexy car washes, the feelings in your stomach churning as the red flags waved in front of your eyes.

“what’s your name gorgeous?” he asked still leant against the side of the car, smiling down at you promiscuously.

“y/n” you replied, the smart side of you wanting to slap you silly.

“well y/n, let me know if, you know, anything else needs a clean.” he passed you a crumpled piece of paper with a number scribbled on it in pencil beneath his name eric sohn.

☆*:.｡..:*☆☆*:.｡..｡.:*☆☆*:.｡. .｡.:*☆☆*:.｡. .｡.:*☆:*☆

ok I’m not actually sorry for the delay between chapters because since I posted chapter 4 I had a severe gastro illness, did a 3 day climb in new mexico, soaked in a mud pit, saw king gizzard and the lizard wizard live, got a dog, was home alone for a month, quit vegetarianism after 11 years, had my ceiling collapse, drove 2000 miles, flashed my project, and went on vacation with my friends, lmao

a couple weeks before christmas my parents & brother & i were discussing which of our extended family members have Major Problems™️(spoiler alert: literally all of them) and my dad brought up his uncle kenny who apparently did some time at folsom prison for armed robbery back in the day. And then years later after he got out when my dad was like 10 he temporarily moved in with my dad’s family. and when my dad was 11 uncle kenny took my dad and my dad’s cousin who was also 11 to a christmas parade and parked by the courthouse and then disappeared. and when the parade was over my dad and his cousin went back to the car and uncle kenny wasn’t there. and they waited and waited and waited but uncle kenny never showed up so my dad and his cousin went to a random house and asked to use the phone(this would have been like 1981) so they could call my dad’s parents to come pick them up. and then it turned out that uncle kenny had disappeared because had been arrested at the christmas parade because he had gotten drunk as fuck and passed out on the courthouse steps. And then a few months after that he disappeared in the car my dad’s dad had been letting him drive and two guns and a stereo and i believe also some cash disappeared along with him. and when my dad was like 19 uncle kenny came back and he was like, “you know i didn’t steal the guns or the car or the stereo or the cash, right?” and he and my dad drove to a convenience store that was less than a mile away from the house and uncle kenny went inside and bought a 24oz tall boy can of beer and chugged the entire thing on the car ride back. and i asked, “when did uncle kenny pass away?” Because it had already been established at this point that uncle kenny was no longer with us. and my dad said that it was in the very early 2000s and that “details are fuzzy, but apparently he had been involved in some kind of altercation and he fell and hit his head on something and it killed him.” And i started laughing because that’s pretty much exactly how bojack horseman’s dad died on bojack horseman. and then i had to explain to my mom how bojack horseman’s dad died on bojack horseman. and she was like Oh that’s horrible! And i was just like well mom it’s not real. It’s a cartoon horse on a tv show

Major General Robert “Bob” Behler

The General entered the Air Force in 1972 as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He is a magna cum laude graduate of the College of Engineering. He is a command pilot with over 5,000 flying hours in 65 aircraft types, including the SR-71 and U-2. He has impeccable credentials as a former fighter pilot, test pilot, engineer and most importantly, a former SR 71 pilot. Bob puts a little things into the book that no one else would really know such as, “I’m down to my last shot of.”TEB” and using Blackbird diplomacy as a distraction.(sonic booms)

General Behler helped with the information in the recently released fictional book Tom Clancy “Weapons Grade” by Don Bentley.

I was excited while reading this book because the SR-71 is back in the air. Flying! Just as good as new. There are some computerized adjustments to the SR-71 backseat. The pilot’s cockpit remains analog. A difference is a table with a computerized tablet in the Pilots cockpit so that Bob can see what his backseater Charlie, is also seeing.

Charlie is not one of the Air Force esteemed former RSO’s’ but instead a mechanical engineering, computer whiz in his 20s who considers Bob a fossil..

They do bridge the generation gap together after one disaster after another happens at the speed of 2000 +miles an hour in the SR-71 this happens, when Bob (Snake) gives Charlie his handle( Cowboy).

Bob and Charlie are flying in formation with the Convair an unmanned aerial aircraft that can fly hypersonicy. A quote from the book”Tom Clancy Weapons Grade” by Don Bentley “The Habu’s air speed record has finally been broken. It was broken by the Corvair….We’re at Mach four and climbing to Mach five.” Bob was just fine with flying the Habu the way he had 30 years ago but as much as he wanted to pretend otherwise, Bob had become quite enamored with the tablet that displayed the imagery that Charlie was collecting. Why is the SR 71 Blackbird back in the sky? The SR-71 is flying chase after the Convair UCAV. Who else could try keep up with them?

This time around the Blackbird SR-71 is not the celebrity. That honor belong to the sleek black form that just shattered the air breathing speed record that stood for 50 years. However, ‘’That no man or woman will ever be, sitting in the cockpits to hear the thundering engines that drove the vehicle to the ragged edge of speed. This fact diminishes the glory. Because the Convair had no cockpits. Bob knew that he was lucky to be standing in this hangar with the Habu This beauty came together with slide rules, and number two pencils. As the story continues Colonel Buehler receives a phone call from the White House asking his opinion of the UCAV.( Unmanned combat aerial vehicle). The weapons system that the Corvar was trying to become would fill a new role in America’s arsenal. The President of the United States of America decides that he wants Bob to suit up and fly the Habu on one more mission. i’m not going to give away what happens next but I will give you an example of how beautifully Don Bentley writes.” Although the Blackbirds thick windows didn’t make for a great sightseeing Bob was only 200 feet from the Convair had no problem picking out its distinct shape. The UCAV Resembled nothing so much as an ethereal spirit,an ink blot rendered across a canvas of blue. Though he could see no difference in the vehicles flight profile as the onboard computer assumed control the aircraft felt different to Bob with live munitions and no human in the loop Convair seemed like an attack dog who’s leash had just been on unclipped”

I certainly enjoyed the book but please remember this is fiction. There are no SR- 71s flying anywhere. Perhaps in the future, though we may see a movie that re-create some of the magic that we all remember in the SR -71.

Written by Linda Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X

Radio

early 2000s au

eddie munson x oc!fem

warnings: mentions of drugs, cursing, eventual smut, mentions of abuse, friends to lovers 18+

(a/n: this chapter will focus on the troubled teen industry, which I did research on during one of my law classes back in college. its a sensitive topic so you can totally skip this chapter its sort of filler of what happened during their time apart from each other '10- early 2011.)

"I'd rather go to hell than be in purgatory. Cut my hair, gag and bore me. Pull this pin, let this world explode"

Purgatory ( the months of failures and success 2010-2011)

It all happened so quickly, which she had prepared for mentally. She didn't fight whatever was happening, she was just told that they were taking her to where she would get help. Placing her in a van with blacked out windows, she stared at her parents wondering why they ever even chose to become parents. The van drove for a whole day, no one spoke to her after the first couple of miles, they only spoke to explain what would happen when she got to the 'boot camp'.

Her belongings were taken from her and she was told that her parents placed her in the program because of her behavior. Instantly, she knew this was going to be like a prison. Every day was some sort of manual labor and any sort of attitude or supposed disobedience was met with all sorts of punishments from cleaning to being made to sleep out in the woods for as many nights as they deemed necessary. Sometimes they wouldn't get dinner, and the food wasn't even a meal just small things.

She never bothered to write to her parents or use her calls on them. Just to her best friend to ask how people were, still even that was heavily monitored. It was though, how she found out about Eddie leaving Hawkins and about the band blowing up. In her heart she was happy for him, but a part of her broke knowing she wasn't with him. Still her friend always reassured her that Eddie had loved her and even told Julie about what he did at her parent's house. It was the only small bit of hope she clung to when it came to him.

During those months in her incarceration she had made friends with a girl who was similar in age to her. Her name was Charlotte which she hated because of the book and how growing up people always asked if she was named after it. They both bonded over their style and music taste, which got them into more trouble at times. One night it even led to both of them having to sleep in the woods, which was something they tried to avoid from happening again.

Due to their closeness in age, they were both brought into some sort office in the facility, where they were told they would be getting released out of the program soon. In the state they were currently in, they could not be held after eighteen which technically meant they were free to leave. When they did get released Julie had made a decision to do like Eddie and leave Hawkins behind. There wasn't any real reason to go back to that place. Graduation and prom had already happened by the time she was out.

Charlotte had mentioned how she had planned to go to New York, in her possessions was a credit card her grandma had given her. She had mentioned to Julie that her family was wealthy and only really did this to her to get rid of her for some time. It was fucked, and Charlotte agreed but didn't really care because she was just going to start over. Julie asked if she could join her, promising that she would work for her end of whatever payments or bills that had to be paid. Her new friend shrugged saying it wasn't that big of a deal.

-

Inheritance had been a hell of a savior, as soon as they bought their plane tickets and landed in New York, they had a place to stay. Julie hadn't gone into the facility with much. She had brought her phone but it hadn't been paid, so no service, and her wallet only had twenty bucks and her ID's. Apart from that was a small duffel of clothes her parents had packed for her. So once they arrived and cleaned up, Charlotte let her use the card she had to buy new clothes and what not.

Within the month they had started to make do with their situation. Where Charlotte didn't really care for finding a job, Julie did and when she found one she started saving to have enough to replace her belongings and pay for rent. Eventually though Charlotte did get a job working for a friend of her family, who was close to her grandmother.

In-between all the working and saving though, they started going out to the clubs around the Manhattan area. Documenting everything through pictures and being asked back by promoters who had found both girls 'pretty' enough to help bring people in. It was how Julie ended up befriending Alexa Chung one night. She had no clue who this girl was, but everyone around them at the club did, and at the same time, Julie and Charlotte were just as popular in that spot. It led to them talking about it the whole night and soon enough Alexa's agency wanted to talk to both of the girls.

By the late summer the girls had signed onto a modeling agency and gotten approved for work visas to enter the UK. Julie wasn't as picky as her friend had been about everything, she started doing ads for shops and magazines, being a guest interviewer for music channels and online radio shows. People loved her sweet demeanor and cheeky manner. Lottie never held it against her, she knew Julie didn't grow up in the limelight like she had so she let her friend make her way on her own.

With this new freedom, it didn't take long for her to make drastic changes. She didn't want to be found and she didn't want her past to exist anymore, so with her agent and publicist she got on a flight to Indianapolis and signed all the paperwork that would change her name, she'd chosen something slightly foreign and bubbly sounding, Francesca Thompson, the name added with a nickname, Frenchie, was a hit, her team agreed the decision to make the change helped her career immensely.

-

Frenchie had been reborn and her popularity in the indie scene had begun to bloom. Everyone spoke about her as Alexa Chung's sister from another mister. However, where Alexa was dating someone in her scene, Frenchie had a thing for guys who reminded her of the guy who had stole her heart. Though she never wanted to forget Eddie, she knew by looking at his social media and magazine articles that he had moved on. She was happy for him though, she always look out for him and the band, but now as a fan. By the end of 2010, she had found herself with this new guy who was coming up with his band.

He was something of a mix between Julian Casablanca and Oli Sykes but he wasn't either and his band was well into the metal scene. Nothing about him was similar to Eddie though, they didn't click as quickly but his piercings and tattoos made her feel like she could make believe. Both of them were on the come up and their fans ate up their relationship.

They entered the new year with his band and her modeling gigs blowing up. Their names synonymous with each other's careers. It was beginning to get easy to forget what once had been. She was a whole new person in love with someone who was close enough to home without the pain it once carried.

-

Eddie was touring, the band growing in success and notoriety through the approval of all the older groups who insisted that Corroded Coffin carried the spirit of metal into the present day. Ever the front man he didn't mind being on the front page if meant people were tuning into what the band was playing. Of course it wasn't what he wanted the focus to be on, but he'd grown up on Fred Durst doing outlandish shit all the time so what did it really matter?

He'd tried to look for her every once in a while, but there was nothing to be found. Julie's best friend had only mentioned once that Julie was safe, but what did that mean and why wouldn't she speak to him? He never got answers, but in his heart she was always going to be his first true love. Where ever she was he only hoped she thought of him the way he thought of her, but he moved onto someone new.

-

In September of 2011, there was a business party for her boyfriend's record label, of course he took her as his plus one. The night was going well til she saw them walk in, there he was with the boys. They looked so different now, well put together and groomed, something she'd never seen Eddie as before. They didn't speak, she stood beside her boyfriend the whole night.

Only for a brief moment did they pass each other as she went to grab some more drinks from the open bar. He just barely glanced at her apologizing for reaching over her to get some beers from the ice bucket beside her. Though their eyes met, its as if they were complete strangers. Her hair was platinum blonde now, his was cut short and there was a stud in his ear where there hadn't been a couple years back.

That night when she got back to her place, she lied about a migraine from the drinks to get her boyfriend to let her be for the night with the promise of brunch in the afternoon. In reality she spent the remainder of the night crying in her bed to an old picture she had of her and Eddie from their last hang out at the band's gig.

Meanwhile Eddie got drunk that night, his mind thinking back to how familiar that blonde at the bar looked. His mind couldn't piece it together, how something about her eyes reminded him of someone or something. However with the liquor in his system and a flight in the morning he started to forget about her as quickly as he thought about her in the first place.

taglist: @writinginthetwilight

#Jancyweek2022 Day 1- Lyrics

You know how scared I am of elevators never trust it if it rises fast it can't last/You know how much I hate that everybody just expects me to bounce back Just like that - Labyrinth by Taylor Swift 

Just got back from an endless business trip. I had to extend my stay twice. I was gone for just over two weeks.

I actually drove there, with a coworker, because we had to keep stuff plugged in the whole time. 2000 miles in 3 days. He flew back as soon as we delivered the equipment.

I was feeling a bit bad about how much trouble I was having with the two-person lift. Like, I was fine on the lighter box, but on the heavier box I could barely get it from the ground into the back of the giant SUV we'd rented. I'd estimated that the lighter box was ~80 lbs and the heavier box was ~90 lbs.

Well, yesterday our customer weighed the boxes. 120 lbs and 150 lbs. I do not feel bad about that anymore. Lifting 60 lbs without much trouble but really struggling with 75 lbs is nothing to be ashamed of.

Probably some of the other stuff at work where I've been like "oh, it's too heavy, it's at my limit, probably it's 30 lbs"... probably actually weighs a lot more than that, in retrospect.

In the small town of Dell, Arkansas, Amanda Tusing, a 20-year-old young woman, resided with her parents. She was a petite, spunky brunette affectionately called "Mandy" by those close to her, and had a promising future ahead. Amanda was engaged to her high school sweetheart, Matthew Ervin, and they were planning their wedding for the following year in June. While Matthew sold insurance after graduating from Arkansas State University, Amanda had aspirations of becoming a veterinarian.

On the night of June 14th, 2000, Amanda departed from Matthew's home in Jonesboro, Arkansas, around 11:30PM. It was a rainy night, and she promised to call him once she arrived home safely. However, when Matthew hadn't heard from her by 1:30AM, he called her parents, Ed and Susan Tusing, only to discover that she never made it back home.

Filled with fear, Matthew and Ed immediately began searching for Amanda along the route she would have taken to reach her parents' home. As they drove along Ark 18, about one mile west of Monette, Matthew's headlights shone on Amanda's black 1991 Grand Am, pulled over to the side of the road. At first, he assumed that she had broken down, but upon closer inspection, he realized that the car was empty, and the keys were still in the ignition.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞:

https://morbidology.com/what-really-happened-to-amanda-tusing/

This blog is so fun to scroll as someone who knows almost nothing about cars. I had a deep familial love for my 2006 Ford Escape, which my parents bought new when I was 9, and was the only car I ever drove until she was diagnosed with terminal rust last year. I couldn't afford another SUV so I replaced her with a 2020 Chevy Spark (almost new, only like 20k miles, got an insane deal) which is a very fun little car, nice to drive and I don't drive a lot so I don't need something very heavy. I do miss my baby though :'( Just wondering what do you think of those cars! And is there any specific individual car that you've really loved?

(me getting my drivers license lol)

aww omg. that’s awesome! ford has their issues but any car that stays with you that long is gonna feel special and worth it. and for all the issues 2000s ford are notorious for theres a reason so many of them are still on the road, they’re really not that bad. rust sucks, it’s killing my car now and takes so many good cars off the road.

i will say i’ve had a few friends have some issues with their chevy sparks so it wouldn’t be my choice, but especially if you got a good deal on it that’s awesome, they get insane gas mileage from what i’ve heard. i’d say just keep an eye on all your fluid levels when you can!

'I need an outlet': Grieving relatives talk to lost loved ones on phone in the forest

By Matt Mcknight

13 June 2023

OLYMPIA, Washington, June 12 (Reuters) - In the middle of a serene forest four miles from Washington state's capital, Olympia, sits a vintage rotary phone.

It is not connected to a telephone line and looks out of place.

But it has become a literal lifeline for people to speak words out loud to lost loved ones; words they never got the chance to say while they were still alive.

Corey Dembeck, 41, created and installed the original wind phone in the Pacific Northwest's Squaxin Park in late 2020, after learning about the death of their family friend's four-year-old daughter.

It was inspired by the original wind phone set up in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, ten years earlier.

"One morning, I woke up and went downstairs, and my wife looked shocked. She was like 'Joelle died,'" says Dembeck.

He has since moved away from Olympia but keeps in touch with the Sylvester family, whose young daughter Joelle Rose died suddenly after becoming sick with strep throat that triggered sepsis in her body.

"It messed me up, so I was like, right then and there, I'm going to build one of these things for them."

Dembeck, a U.S. Army veteran who worked as a photojournalist from 2000-2005, brought the phone, supplies and tools into the city-owned park and attached it to an old-growth cedar tree in a quiet area off a trail.

Dembeck, standing beside the phone almost three years later, says his reasoning behind sneaking it into the park was that it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission, especially because it was going to be something that was hard to explain.

After people learned of the phone and started visiting it in droves, the city decided to make it an official installation, removing it from the tree and working with Dembeck to create a signage board and plaque memorializing Joelle.

The plaque reads:

"This phone is for everyone who has ever lost a loved one. The phone is an outlet for those who have messages they wish to share with their friends and family. It is a phone for memories and saying the goodbyes you never got to say."

'I NEED AN OUTLET'

During a recent afternoon, Joelle's family paid a visit to the phone to celebrate her life.

Erin Sylvester, Joelle's mother, said they sometimes have pizza parties and invite friends to join them.

"I need the phone. I need an outlet. Because it's dedicated to my daughter, I feel like it's different than for someone else to come and use it," says Sylvester, 34, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Not being able to hear her voice on the other side of that phone can be very gut-wrenching. So, I usually come when none of my other coping mechanisms are working and I'm looking for a last-ditch effort."

Joelle's brothers, Jayden, 12, and Jonah, 8, and her sister, Joy, 5, take turns speaking into the handset, telling her how much they love and miss her, and place new photos on the post and keepsakes that she loved on top of the phone.

During their visit, a speckled brown and white barred owl lands on a branch of the cedar tree, just above the phone. The family is mesmerized.

Erin says owls were Joelle's "baby theme" when she was born. The same type of owl visited them recently in a similar way but at a different location.

"It's got to be a sign. There's no other way I can think about it ... that's not a fluke," says Joelle's father, Andre Sylvester, 37, wiping tears from his eyes.

Moments later, he picks up the phone to speak to his late daughter.

"I miss you. Thanks for showing up today. I miss you a lot."

Sylvester says, looking up at the branch where the owl perched moments before.

"I wish we could go take a walk around the block while I smoke my cigar and you tell everybody hi, and you pet every dog. I miss that."

Since the installation of Olympia's telephone, word of it has inspired other Americans to create ones across the country.

Dembeck has spoken by email and phone with many others who have installed a phone in honor of their loved ones.

He estimates there are now 50 across the United States.

Dembeck says everyone who tells him about using their phone also told him a tragic backstory.

"The fact that something simple like this immensely helped them, it's been really humbling," he says, adding he feels it's the greatest thing he has ever done.

The California Effect and the opportunities it provides

This has been a phenomenon for some time that a lot of real estate agents are jumping on, especially in Arizona and Nevada. So basically the California effect is a migrational pattern of Californians who leave the state for financial and personal reasons and settle into states like Nevada, Arizona and Texas.

The fear of a lot of these residents stems from the fact that there are now so many Californians that the rents and prices are going up. I’ve read comments by a lot of different people who talk about how rents in Northern Arizona have went up by 300% because of the influx of Californians.

It is kind of a very interesting pattern of people and has shown that where Californians settle they usually turn the area similar into California subconsciously and without even thinking.

Take the phenomenon in Austin, Texas for example, many many Californians went to that one specific area and a lot of large California companies followed suit and eventually turned that area into the next Los Angeles and San Francisco.

It’s interesting because there is a phenomenon about California where it is so big to the point that it has influence throughout the rest of the country. And it shows that it has more influence in neighboring states than Texas does in neighboring states there.

Although Idaho was hit much more by this phenomenon, Utah remains relatively untouched. Probably due to Utah having a very strong Mormon Identity and culture.

So who’s moving into California? Mostly the very wealthy and the very poor. California has a huge homeless problem where a lot of homeless from all over the country tend to migrate to California for safe havens but also very wealthy people migrate as well.

Which is why an apartment in the worst part of town is now costing 2000$ a month. Where does this come into effect and to understand this phenomenon? This is actually not a planned phenomena, this is more of a cause and effect for the difficulties of not being able to live in California.

Whether you believe Newsom is a good governor or not, there will always be a problem of migration going out of the state. It is starting to become a state where the incredibly wealthy are taking up the land and the resources, thus making it harder to work on.

Eventually you will begin to see a lot of the effects of Californians moving to these areas in droves and you will begin to see things become different.

Although we talk about the bad things, this can actually be a very good thing for an entrepreneur in the area who wishes to take his trade or craft to the next level and be able to work with Californians. If you’re an electrician, this is great for business! If you’re an auto technician, more cars with more miles on them!

Manufacturing coming to your area may also expand as you will begin to see more people come to your area and how exactly to cater to them. I myself will never leave California except for college but I have seen a lot of the world myself and it’s quite unique in a way.

If you play with stocks this might be perfect as well as you will be able to work in more markets. A new share market is starting to expand as well, the first app I use, Landa, focuses entirely on buying shares of houses and being able to see the dividends come in. I love the app actually and have been buying a lot more shares in Georgia. Georgia has an increase meanwhile shares for houses in Alabama don’t seem to be going up at all. New York is very matured now but will see more growth later on.

So there is a lot of opportunity here and over time you will see it grow. It becomes more apparent as things change and you will see more waves from other areas come in.