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syubub · 3 years

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Yoongi birthday reading/energy check!!

It's sweet sweet tangerine bois birthday!!

I wanted to do a cute little energy check up to see what's up and ask some fun little questions!!

I'm excited so let's just do this shit!!

Disclaimer: this is for entertainment purposes and not to be taken as fact!!

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I want to apologize for the absolute shit pictures but what's new lol

So, let's start with the platform. First thing I noticed was the blue was brighter but the platform was darker? It was like someone cranked up the contrast to 100. Ngl it looked pretty cool. Yoongis platform doesn't typically have a barrier like some of the others do so I just kinda walked in and did the whole, "happy birthday, I have questions" His energy seemed a lot more... vibrant? And playful I guess? It was really nice. Now. The actual connection was intresting because the cord was blue again and like, real thick. (I don't think my perceived thickness of the cord has and real correlation with how strong the connection is. It was just thicc) this time though, the cord was connected at the chest instead of the third eye. So i was like, ??? But my guide didn't give my any sort of helpful input (my guide likes to watch me suffer in my confusion. I'm sure of it)

Anyway, cord like that and then yoobi gave me a headbutt to connect at the third eye. Idk why he gotta be like that :( istg next time he's gonna flick my forehead or something.

I was like "cool cool cool. I want to do the reading now pls" and idk how to explain the energy other than sassy. You know? Blah blah blah I'm thinking, "I don't remember him being so cheeky but maybe I've been gone long enough for him to level up into his final sass monster form"

Anywho, this was intresting because after the little strings were connected and stuff, we plopped down on the floor. And it was like everything I was doing irl was being mimicked infront of yoons energy? So we were sitting facing eachother and I was putting the cards down between us?? Usually that doesn't happen but it was kinda fun!!

Moving right along. I first asked if there was anything he wanted to say or needed to get across and it was 11. Now, 11 has come up before and I'm still not to sure what it's in reference to? My best guess is possibly he's been seeing 11:11 or that it's 2? Idk let me know if you have any clues lol. Other stuff was just kinda banter and stuff.

So so so.

The reading. First thing I asked was how he was doing. And I shuffled his preticular way (when I ask a question I always ask for the energy to tell me how much to shuffle or when to stop. For yoongi it's always 2-2-2. So 2 bridge shuffles, 2 hand shuffles and then split the pile in 2. That's why I think 11 might be 2 to him?)

The cards we got are ace of swords rev, justice,the heirophant rev, the empress.

So based off this I was like okay. I want to pull clarity cards for the two rev cards to get a better picture so I pulled the emperor rev for ace or swords rev and strength rev and wheel of fortune rev for the heirophant rev.

Starting with the ace of swords rev, and the emperor reverse. It seems like yoongi has been re thinking his relationship to control in his life. That's he's possibly noticing any unhealthy needs to control his life and the situation around him. It could also refer to his judgment being clouded by a rigid approach.

With the justice card it makes me think that he's possibly considering a big choice in his life or that he's really doing some deconstructing of his own views. This second idea fits in well with him getting clarity on some possibly unhealthy control issues in his life.

Now. The heirophant rev, strength rev and wheel of fortune reverse. This was intresting to me bc they are all major arcana. The heirophant rev can really talk about no longer needing outside approval and making your own way in your own time bc you are your own teacher. Strength in rev I kinda read as self doubt and feeling down in this case. Like a lack of confidence in himself and his abilities. And the wheel of fortune in reverse I took to mean as his breaking cycles. All together these cards kinda paint a picture about wanting and trying to break a cycle of self doubt and self limiting beliefs and learning more about himself and why he think what he does about himself and searching through everything for truth. It's really good!! In short he's doing some nice soul searching and trusting himself to guide his own way through this self discovery!

The empress! This card seems to pop up for yoobi a lot and I think it really speaks to the abundance that surrounds him! Not just money but the abundance of creativity, love, friends ect.

Now now now. I asked him if there was anything that he wanted to tell us about himself or bts or what's happening in the near future. For that I got 2 of cups, king of wands and 3 of coins.

So the 2 of cups is partnership. Usually romantic. Could be pertaining to the may 13th thing that is ever present lol but I'll get to that later. With the 3 of coins talking about teamwork, this could definitely hint at collaborations coming up!! That's the vibe I get. No one crush my dreams. And for the king of wands it could be talking about taking the reigns on a new project and starting to get it done. Like a new opportunity. This could be a new bts project like starting a new campaign or new venture or maybe personal like the a mixtape or doing more songs for other groups ect.

I had to ask him how he was feeling about the grammys. I had to. Had to. The cards were ace of wands, 2 of wands and death reverse. When these came flying out I could help but smile. Yoongis energy was almost giddy too!

Witht he ace of wands

It's that spark of creativity and inspiration. It's that feeling when you get super excited over some new thing. I think this is the perfect example for feeling reinvigorated. The 2 of wands takes that spark from the ace and tries to funnel that excitement and newness into something directional. Using that burst of creativity to start planning for future progress!! Its so nice to see that! If they don't win (IF) you bet we're gonna get some bangers about a corrupt system. If (WHEN) they do win we'll get bangers about how thankful they are to have gotten where they are in spite of a corrupt system. I just want to hear an uncensored version of yoongi being like, "HOLY FUCKING SHIT, WE DID IT BITCHES. FUCK ALL YOU BASTARDS THAT SAID WE COULDN'T."

I can dream....

What a nice dream.

Now I asked if there was anything yoobi wanted to say to us as in advice or comfort or anything like that and I got, Clearing negativity, make time for self care, when I'm tuned into the energy of abundance I become abundant. when I'm in a state of appreciation im in vibrational alignment with my true love nature. The world rev, 2 of swords rev and that project, that person, that idea is waiting.

Awe. Take care of yourselves!! Make sure to take time to enjoy what you like and try not to let any negativity get in the way of you enjoying your days. The world rev to me seems to be talking about seeking closure on the things in your life that have been impacting you. Tie up those loose ends so you can move foward without triping over yourself and 2 of swords rev I think talks about information overload and being kinda indecisive bc of that. Take a sep back to evaluate the situation at hand because sometimes it's so close you can't see what you're looking for. Those of you who are studying and getting frustrated because you just can't seem to get it, try taking a step back and doing something to take care of yourself and come back to it so you can approach with a clearer mind. Try not to get stuck or paralyzed by choice but if you do get stuck, take some time to detach yourself from the situation and come back later!

A fair few people wanted an update on yoobis soulmate as well. If you need a refresher here's the run down. Yoongis soulmate is impossible for me to read, yoongi is a smug ass and I'm nosy and probably a little dumb.

Now that that's cleared up

I asked, "am I missing something?" (As to why I can't connect and why yoongi won't give me answers.)

I got queen of cups, magician and the high priestess. I read this as him being like, "yeah dude, you aren't woke enough"

YOONGI just give me answers pls. The high priestess is intuition and sacred knowledge, the magician is manifestation and the queen of cups is also intuition.

At this point I was like, okay you little shit, can you at least tell me how your soulmate is doing? Can you do that for me?

2 of cups, 2 of pentacles, 9 of wands and knight of wands. 2 of cups is partnership usually romantic, 2 of pentacles is priorities and managing them, 9 of wands persistence, knight of wands motivation for a new thing. His soulmate last time was in the process of going through some shit and figuring it out and it seems like now they've got a better clue of how to move foward and are currently heading towards good things/ important things in their life (possibly like working towards dream career or had an idea for a business the want to start or field they want to go in.)

I was thinking about the next question when this popped into my head, "if you know about your akashic book, do you know about your soulmates? Have you read it?" I used my pendulum. No movement at all. What so ever. "Are you listening to me?" Yes. "So answer my question please" No. "Do you like to watch me suffer?" Maybe. "Do you know the answer to the question" yes.

YOONGI WHY

This cheeky son of a bitch.

Now I was like, fuck it. Imma ask him the big boi question.

"Is your soulmate present when I do these readings?" Yes.

WHY THE FUCK CAN I NIT PICK UP ON IT???

I had to take a deep breath dude. Yoobi is testing my nerves.

"Are they hiding their energy?" No.

I was actually gonna combust. This makes no sense.

I asked yoongi if he would tell me what I'm not getting. Silence. So i ask my guide.

"lol ur dumb"

Watch me Google "how to fire your spirit guide"

Istg this feels like some dumb prank. Maybe I'm just genuinely oblivious to his soulmates energy or maybe I'm just doing something.

What do you want to bet that his soulmate is just hiding under the platform and I'm too stupid to notice or some dumb thing like that.

yoobi, sir, why must you do this?

I decided to continue.

"What message or thing have you learned from your soulmate recently that could be valuable to us?" I got healthy communication in relationships and deep replenishment.

Good to know you can have a nice communicative relationship with your soulmate bc I CAN'T.

I'm petty about it, sue me.

The message does stand though. Good communication and taking proper rest to replenish yourself.

Now I had to ask yoongi directly what he thought of may 13th.

I got the lovers, 7 of swords, the magician and judgement. The seven of swords was intresting and it makes me think there's some extra stuff at play here too. 7 of swords is about getting away with something and deceit. The clarifier was the magician.... this could mean a lot honestly. It could be that maybe yoongi will have his relationship exposed or possibly that maybe him and his soulmate meet but yoongi is disguised? Idk how that would work at all but I'm stumped. There's a lot of variations that this could be. The magician is about manifesting and having everything you need to create what you want. This could possibly mean that maybe he gets a sudden idea that's like, "oh I have to go here right now. Its super important" eventhough he has practice scheduled. So that would let down his team but he would be following his path and it might lead to him meeting his soulmate? Maybe vice versa? Idk let me know what you think??

With the judgement its about inner calling and kinda like the peak. Like shit has been leading up to this moment. With the lovers too it does seem like a union?

I asked him, "but like what's gonna happen on the 13th thought and I got the 10 of cups. Divine love, bliss, alignment, happy mushy gushy shit. This is why I'm so inclined to think that they'll meet on the 13th or things will get serious or their paths finally cross. The cards seem to heavily suggest that.

My dude. Yoongi is really sappy, pass it on.

For the last question I asked yoomgi if there was messages/ advice he had given to his soulmate that we might benefit from.

First step, open your third eye, open your heart, sign from heaven, open your arms to receiving.

A lot of opening lol.

It's good advice though learning to be open and receptive and taking that first step in tackling life or any situation.

Oki. Now for the disconnecting. It was not nearly as strange as it has been in the past. I was just like thanks dude. Again, happy birthday blah blah and I got up to leave. I noticed it looked like we were in sitting in one of those old plastic hoola hoops? Like the pink and yellow ones lol. As I was looking at and and like??? Off to the side the numbers 13, 28, 54. Obvi 54 isn't a date and then I the last yoongi check up there was book pages and I feel like 54 and 28 were the pages?? I'm not actually sure as I'm writing this so I'm gonna check.

Yep I checked. They are the page #s.

So that's intresting.

Other than that though I just kinda left and he was like, "bye" and that's all.

Not as cool as other yoongi adventures but equally as frustrating.

TLDR

Yoongis doing pretty okay and he's a cheeky little shit. My guide like to watch me suffer and yoobi is mushy gushy squishy.

Happy day of birth Syub!!

#bts #bts tarot #yoongi #bts reactions #bts imagines #yoongi imagine #bts rm #seokjin #bts suga #min suga #park jimin #hoseok #taehyung #jungkook

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rachel1987 · 4 years

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GWCFT Part 6

It’s the night of the big show! All our favorite Wonderlandians gather to show off their skills to June Hare. What acts has everyone chosen to perform? Will Hare be able to pull off his big show stopper? And what is Rabbit’s talent, anyway?

x posted on ao3 and FF.net

Hare stood backstage, his chin tilted up, Hatter's hands tying his cape around his collar. "You need to relax…" Hatter mumbled under his breath. "Everything is going to be just fine."

"How did I let you talk me into this?" he heaved, fingers twitching nervously at his chest. He had been alright all day with his mother, the shopping and monotony of it all making him forget about his nerves. But now that he was here and everyone was bustling around getting ready, a wave of nausea washed over him. He had become so nervous and preoccupied he kept knotting his cape ties and Hatter had to step in to help.

"You're last on the set list, don't worry!" Hatter said, brushing off Hare's shoulders and smoothing out the satin fabric. "Your mother is excited to watch you and you're going to be great. Besides you've never gotten nervous like this before a show before. Don't start this now."

Hare furrowed his brow and huffed a little, making him look like a child who was pouting because his mother wouldn't let him have cookies before dinner. Hatter chuckled and gave his bunny a quick smooch. "Why don't you go check on your mom, show her the pretzel machine? I have a few more things I need to do before the show starts."

"Alright," he grumped, giving the Hatter's hand a squeeze before going to his Mother's side. She was sitting in the front row by the Queen, chatting about something that probably didn't matter.

"Look at my boy!" June exclaimed, cutting the Queen off on whatever she was saying, causing her to "harumph" to herself. "You look just darling in that cape. Oh, I knew I should have brought my camera!"

Hare blushed and bounced his head around a little, rolling his eyes. "Thanks, Mom. Hello, your Majesty. Thank you for coming to our talent show."

"Yes, well," the Queen shook her hand in the air as she spoke. "I had a gap in my schedule today and thought it would be a good idea to spend some time with my subjects. After all, one needs to have a little fun from time to time."

"How true that is, your Majesty," Hare said, clasping his hands together by his chest as he spoke. "Would either of you, perhaps, like a pretzel or a drink before the show begins?"

"Yes, I would, thank you," the Queen cut in quickly, not even waiting for Hare to finish his offer before speaking. "Who knows where that Rabbit ran off to? He was supposed to bring me a drink twenty minutes ago and seems to have disappeared."

"Right away, your Majesty," Hare nodded.

"I'll go with you, son," June said as she got to her feet. "Please excuse me, your Highness."

The Queen dismissed them with a wave of her hand and turned her attention to other matters. She was watching the Tweedles spin around, practicing their routine on the other side of the courtyard and found them more interesting than anything else going on.

The pair walked to the pretzel machine that hadn't been turned on yet and Hare ran through it with his mom. "You put the dough in here, there's a salt meter and a unit that shapes, bakes and cools them so they'll be ready to eat when they come out. And a little bell you can ring when it's done."

"What are the lights for?" June asked, enchanted.

"Those are for fun," Hare smiled. "When you push them, they change colors." He then demonstrated them.

"And how do you turn it on?" she asked, brows raised in intrigue. She held her finger under her lip in a familiar pose as she listened, nodding as she took it all in.

"This knob here," Hare pointed. "But once it's on, you can't turn it off. Somehow we never figured out how to fix that. It'll just keep baking till it runs through the dough and then it'll shut down."

"Do you think…" June paused, feeling a little sheepish and her cheeks going pink. "Do you think I can turn it on?"

Hare smiled widely and guffawed. "Of course!" he hopped excitedly. "You just crank it to the left two turns."

June bit her lip and did as she was told and the machine came to life, mechanisms beeping and lights flashing. It didn't take long for the pretzels to start popping out of the contraption and Hare started piling them into bowls that were spread around the table. She seemed very impressed as she picked up one of the first pretzels, giving it a sniff and then a test nibble.

"This is delicious, son," she commended. "Not too salty, not bland. Excellent flavor. All we need is a fondue pot and this would be perfect."

"Why hadn't I thought of that…" Hare muttered to himself, thinking of his full fondue set sitting at home that hadn't been used in ages.

Suddenly, Alice was next to them, a little bit of a flustered expression on her face.

"What's the matter, Alice?" June asked, her motherly intuition rearing its head.

"Her majesty wants to know what's taking so long to get her some refreshments," she shrugged.

The three looked over at the Queen, who was shooting daggers in their direction, arms crossed over her bosom in frustration. Hare panicked a little, fingers flexing as he rushed to get her Majesty a pretzel and a wine cooler, cape whipping behind him as he ran. June and Alice followed behind, each taking some snacks and tea from the refreshment table, going to their seats casually.

The seats were filling as more of the talent and audience arrived. Caterpillar sat himself to the right of the stage, giving himself perhaps the best view out of everyone and Rabbit appeared with a gym bag which he stored behind the curtain for later. The Cat hovered over the crowd, probably already thinking of some sick burns to throw during the show to entertain himself.

Six o'clock rolled around and the Hatter took center stage, a wide smile across his face as he greeted everyone. He was looking extra spiffed up, his usual purple coat and tails speckled with glittering embellishments that sparkled as he moved.

"Ladies and gentleman, cats and Majestys! Welcome to the talent show!" There was a smattering of applause as people settled into their seats, the chatter dying down. "We have a wide array of acts lined up for you tonight. You'll laugh! You'll cry! You might not even believe your eyes! So sit back and enjoy the show." Another round of applause followed and Hatter waited for the noise to settle before introducing the first act.

"Our first act is the upbeat dance stylings of the Tweedles!" He casually stepped to the side, arm outstretched as the Tweedles came through the part in the curtain.

Dum set their oversized boombox to the side of the stage (volume set to 11) and pressed the play button, racing to center to hit his mark before the music began. They stood back to back, arms crossed over their chests, sunglasses covering their eyes for that cool hip-hop look.

The bass boomed from the speakers and they hopped into action, poppin' and lockin', ducking and weaving around each other. They synchronized their movements to each other and the music perfectly, hitting every beat with a gesture or pose that yelled nothing but hip-hop attitude. At one point they did a little rap battle, bouncing verses back and forth off each other with ease. The audience was mesmerized and feeding into their energy, getting hyped up and sucked into the show. Soon people were clapping to the beat and the Hatter couldn't stop himself from doing some dance moves from his seat just off stage. The Tweedles did some flips and jumps, landing just as the music ended, applause filling the area. They got to their feet and bowed, waving at the cheers as Hatter ushered them offstage.

"Thank you, lads. What a great first act, am I right?" Hatter said as he applauded, a bounce still in his step from the energy he gained from the show. "Really marvelous. Such a hard act to follow. But, someone has to do it! And our next act is a dramatic reading of a new story from none other than our resident storyteller, the Caterpillar."

The Caterpillar scooted his way closer to the stage, setting just off to the right of it. There was no way he was even going to attempt to get up on that tiny stage and nobody expected him to.

"Thank you, thank you…" he said to light applause that preceded him to the stage. His lowest set of hands applauded for himself, his middle hands were holding a book tightly and his top hands were moving in a downward motion, as if to settle a crowd of unruly children. "How am I meant to follow an act like that? Well, I would say, with a story." His middle hands passed the book up to his top ones and he flipped through the pages, going to one marked with a red ribbon. This was apparently his journal that his second pair of hands worked in (his best writing hands, if you'd asked him) and it was filled with all of the stories that he was working through.

"This is a story about a boy named Carl who thought it would be a good idea to go into the haunted house alone…" He read the story aloud, bringing the energy of the room down a spell from the last act. His second and third pair of hands worked with him, pulling items from a bag that was slung over one of his shoulders to act as props or sound effects as he read aloud. He droned out the story but somehow brought it to life and everyone felt like they could almost see the tale run through in their mind's eye. The story had twists and turns and one surprise after another. There was a jump scare almost ¾ of the way through that got a lot of them, Rabbit most of all. He almost hopped into the Queen's lap, causing her to make a little bit of a scene. But the Caterpillar reeled them back in to finish the story with a grim message.

"And, in the end, Carl learned that sometimes you must heed the warnings of others. Because, if you don't, the only friends you'll have are the worms in the ground who will feast upon that's left of your corpse."

The audience didn't know how to react to the story the Caterpillar chose to read to them. It was an enthralling tale, but one that probably would have been better saved for their Halloween Campfire session.

The Cat, however, loved it and howled with laughter as he applauded enthusiastically. "The little sucker got what he deserved, haha!" he boomed, tail swishing around with excitement. Everyone looked at him with confused expressions on their faces as the Caterpillar moved his way back to his original spot, Hatter taking the stage again.

"Ooh, spooky story, right folks?" he said with a nervous laugh. He was thinking that perhaps he should have screened the talent before allowing them to perform, but it was too late for that now. "I especially liked the part where the…" he paused and cleared his throat. "Anyway, thank you Caterpillar. We will keep our eyes open for when your next book is published and I'm sure we'll all be sure to grab ourselves a copy."

"I will be selling autographed anthologies after the show," he said as he settled. "Come and see me if you're interested. Oh, and no personal checks, please," he added with the wave of a finger.

"Righty roo," Hatter said with a chuckle. "Now, on to the next act. This little guy has traveled a long way from my tea table to perform his acts of daredevilry for all of you tonight! So please direct your attention to the center of the stage as I present to you: Danger Dormouse!"

Hatter pulled on a yellow cord that was to the left of the stage and the curtain went up, revealing a miniature driving obstacle course set up on a table. It was just below eye level, so even those in the back row had some sort of view of it. The stage, however, was empty of the small mouse with a motorcycle.

From off in the distance, the put-put-put of his motor could be heard and he zoomed in from under the gate door, coming up the center aisle and up a ramp and onto the stage. He was making great speed but was still visible to everyone as he hopped another ramp onto the table, doing a wheelie as his tires screeched. That earned him a surprised round of applause, most of the audience being quite shocked that the Dormouse had this sort of act in him.

About halfway through the routine, Rabbit got a tap on his shoulder and he jumped to see the Hatter there, tilting his head to the side to indicate that he was up next. Rabbit twiddled his fingers and nodded, getting to his feet and sneaking away to prepare himself without anyone noticing.

They watched the Dormouse weave through traffic cones, do a crossing on a narrow beam from one table to another and he even did a handstand on his little cycle while driving it. Every stunt he managed to land received more applause from the audience. And when he pulled off his final trick, jumping over 8 of the Hatter's tophats side-by-side, you'd have thought he had jumped the entirety of the grand canyon by the way the audience reacted. Dee and Dum were so impressed they gave him a standing ovation, thrusting their fists into the air and hooting as the little mouse stood on the stage beside his bike, bowing to everyone.

"Alright, little guy," Hatter said as he entered the stage, applauding his small friend and housemate. The curtain had been dropped behind him and there was a scuffling sound from behind it, if anyone had paid attention to hear it. "Everyone should watch themselves with this guy on the road, am I right?" That received a little bit of a laugh and the Dormouse climbed back into his bike, kicking the stand up before looking up at Hatter. "You be careful on your drive home, alright? I know you have quite a journey to make." The Dormouse chuckled and turned the motor on, zooming away and around the side of the hat house.

"Now, this next act was a last minute addition to the lineup, so even I'll be surprised by what we're about to experience," Hatter introduced as the put-put-put of the motor died away. "Let's give a round of applause for the Queen's right hand bunny, and one of my favorite furry friends, The White Rabbit."

Rabbit took the stage from behind the curtain in a black unitard, leg warmers on his fuzzy legs, sweatbands on his wrists and no roller blades. He carried a small boombox and placed a cassette tape into it, standing upright as he addressed the audience. "I will now go through a day in the life of Rabbit… through interpretive dance." He bent down and pushed the button marked "play", waiting till an early morning music started before he started bounding around the stage, waving his arms.

Everyone in the audience was completely aghast by what they had to sit through for the next few minutes. They followed Rabbit through his day, watching him mime cleaning and cooking and the various frustrations of his life, all through dance and bunny feet shuffling across the stage. Hare couldn't help but notice that his mother's eyes never left Rabbit once. It made him feel uncomfortable and he felt badly for teasing Rabbit about it at the Market the other day.

After what felt like the longest and most agonizing two minutes of their lives, everyone in the audience applauded weakly as Rabbit stood in the center of the stage, one leg lifted up behind him, his arms above his head, the music coming to an end. Rabbit later said the dance was rather invigorating. Dee said he'd rather poke his eyes out with a pencil than sit through it again. The Cheshire Cat couldn't stop cackling to himself over it, wishing he had recorded it for later viewing.

"Well, that was something, Rabbit…" Hatter said, applauding as he entered from stage right, his guitar hanging from his shoulder. He was dragging a stool behind him as he made his way to center stage. "Thank you for sharing that with us…" Rabbit gave one final bow, his ears brushing the ground, before picking up his boombox and exiting the stage.

"After that last exciting little display of talent," Hatter started as he took a seat on the stool, flipping the guitar around to his front and resting it on his knee. "We're going to slow things down a little with a song that I wrote for the occasion." There was still a buzz in the audience about the strangeness they had just experienced and they were having a little bit of a hard time focusing on the Hatter, but his calm demeanor was drawing them in slightly. Hatter strummed the strings on his guitar lazily as he spoke, warming up his fingers to play his new song.

"As everyone here knows, we have a special guest in the audience tonight: Hare's mother June. Give us a wave there, Junie. Righty roo… righty roo… She was in the paper this morning, I hope you all saw that. And so was Hare, but that's a whole other matter…" he cleared his throat, licking his lips as he plucked the cords. "And, in seeing her with Hare over the past day or two, it's gotten me thinking about my own mother: Mother Hatter. So I decided to write a song to her and I hope you'll all be patient with me as I sing it." He paused and his foot started to tap on the floor gently as he began his song with a slow and loving melody.

This was quite a departure from the wild and crazy Hatter that everyone was used to seeing. He was calm and collected, fingers moving away over the neck of the guitar, singing a sweet song about the love of a son for his mother. Hare gasped a little at the tenderness of it, his breath getting caught in his throat as he listened. This was a song directly from the heart and it was beautiful. Even the Queen had to wipe a tear from her eye because it touched her so. His sweet song filled the dimming evening with a tranquility that was surprising to everyone in the vicinity. Every act up until this point was full of energy and excitement (except perhaps for Rabbit's strange display) and this was just plain different.

The Hatter played his song through, hitting the final cords with perfect rhythm, earning him applause from everyone. Hare saw June dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief she had taken from her purse, her makeup smearing a little under her glasses. He returned his gaze to the Hatter, who looked at him and gave him a wink. God, he loved this man.

Hatter relished in the praise for perhaps a little longer than he should have, before he tugged the stool off stage. "Thank you, thank you, you're all too kind," he said with a wide grin, moving his hands in a downward motion to get them all to settle. "Still two more acts to go, folks. Does anyone need a refill on refreshments? More pretzels, we have plenty? No? Ah, righty ho. Well, you're all taking home the extras because I never want to see another pretzel again as long as I live."

Returning to the center of the stage, he maneuvered his guitar onto his back again, clearing his throat to catch everyone's attention. "Now, for a little something by our very own Alice."

Alice took the stage with a bright smile and flashing green eyes, her hands held behind her back as she addressed the crowd. "I'm afraid that I don't have a big flashy act or anything to share with you all tonight," she said with a little bit of a shrug. "But what I did bring to share are a few of my favorite poems from my world that I would like to share with all of you!"

The audience "oohed" as Alice cleared her throat and began reciting a number of poems she had taken the time to memorize over the past couple days. The poems she had chosen were by Robert Frost, TS Eliot, Emily Dickenson and Shel Silverstein, who were not completely unknown to the Wonderlandians. She never fumbled her words or paused to try to remember the next line she had to say, saying every word calmly as if she were making them up as she went along. The Queen shone with pride at the girl's display, nudging June next to her to say that she had helped her learn the words and practice them the day before. The Caterpillar made a mental note to talk to Alice about the talent who was TS Elliot sometime.

After finishing the last of her memorized works, she gave everyone a bow and stood center stage as Hatter came to join her. "Very nice, Alice! Wonderful job," he said, applauding her happily. "Everyone give her a hand!"

The audience clapped for her as she gave them one last bow, rushing to her seat beside the Tweedles in the back row. She passed Hare as she made her way, taking the time to whisper a "Good luck, mr Hare" and give him a reassuring thumbs up before taking her seat.

Hare smiled and nodded, adjusting his collar on his cape before turning his back to the audience. Normally he wasn't one to get stage fright. But this was a whole different set of circumstances. He was performing for his mother and he lacked confidence in his big finale. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, taking a moment as Hatter wound everyone up.

"Righty roo, everybody!" the Hatter said, a wide grin on his face as he introduced the final act of the night. "Everyone, hold onto your hats! This is the act we've all been waiting for! Well, I know June has, anyway," he said, giving her a playful wink, causing her to giggle from her seat. "I give you, the man of mystery, the illustrious illusionist, the Amazing Hair-raising Hare!"

Hare forced a smile on his face and turned around on his heels, holding his arms out so his cape draped over his form just right. There was a light bit of applause, a boost of it coming from where June was seated.

"Thank you, thank you!" Hare said aloud, trying to make his voice sound as confident as possible. He kept his eyes off of his mother, focusing on the other faces in the audience to put himself at ease. He found he kept eyeing Rabbit, which was obviously making the elderly bunny uncomfortable.

"For my first trick of the evening, I will show you one that may ring a bell!" He chuckled to himself, pulling from behind his back three sets of golden rings. He showed them to the audience, running his hand along the golden bands to prove that it was a continuous piece. After some fancy handwork, the three rings were linked perfectly, Hare tugging on them to show that the rings were still solid. He displayed them to the audience, walking down to the Queen and having her inspect them.

"I know gold rings and, yes, these are solid!" she said with a laugh, clearly impressed. Maybe it was the sparkle of the gold, but her eyes glittered a little.

"But what good are three rings stuck together, am I right?" Hare asked, licking his lips a little before taking two of the rings and rubbing them between his gloved fingers. Pressing hard with his fingertips, he felt the metal slip and pulled them apart with ease. He handed the free one to the Queen, before unlinking the second pair as well. Everyone applauded and Hare felt a boost in confidence as he took the three rings from the Queen, tossing them in his magic box behind the curtain and retrieving his next magical item and tucking it away in his jacket.

"For my next trick, I'll need a volunteer from the audience! And who better than my own Mother, June Hare!"

June's eyes widened as her son came down from the stage, taking her gloved hand and leading her up onto the platform with him. She stood there nervously, hands balled up and fingers laced in front of her as she watched him closely.

Everyone in the audience grew nervous when they saw Hare take the handcuffs out from his jacket pocket.

"Don't think about it, Hare!" the Queen pouted, making everyone laugh a little, causing the Hare's happy demeanor flicker a little. His eyes looked at his mother, who was beaming so wide you could see all her teeth. He put on a brave face for her.

"Worry not, your Majesty! This trick is foolproof!" Hare gestured his arm out, holding the handcuff aloft in his other hand. "I'm so confident in it, I would risk handcuffing myself to my own mother to prove that it can be done!"

It probably didn't come out the way it had sounded in his head, but his mother didn't seem offended by the statement and everyone in the audience took it as a sign that he was serious. In fact, his mother seemed a little overwhelmed by being pulled on stage. Quickly, he decided he needed to distract her and give her something to do to settle her nerves.

"But first, I will demonstrate that I can remove them from myself. Ma, if you would be so kind…" He gave her the handcuffs and she snapped them around his wrists nervously, fingers shaking a little as she did it. He took hold of her hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze before continuing. "Thank you…"

Holding his hands out in front of him, he tried to tug at the cuffs, showing that they were indeed locked onto his person. "The cuffs are securely fastened… but not for long?"

With the flip of his wrists, he twisted and turned, causing the cuffs to fall right off. Of course, all the Wonderlandians who went through the great handcuff ordeal knew how the trick worked, but Hare's mother was delighted by the trick and clapped her hands enthusiastically. Her hands reached out to inspect the cuffs for herself, eyes wide with wonder.

"As you can see, there's really nothing to it!" Hare said aloud, turning to his mother. "Now, the real test."

Hatter came on stage and assisted Hare in getting the cuffs around his and June's wrists, stepping aside to allow the act to continue.

"As you can see, the handcuffs are on tight," he raised his arm out and tugged against his mother, showing everyone that they were indeed locked and not going to move. "Now, on the count of three, the cuffs will come off as easily as they had been put on."

June watched as her son guided her in her actions without really realizing it, raising and dropping their connected arm as he counted aloud. She lifted her right arm as he counted, and on the count of three he moved his wrist, causing the cuff to rotate around hers, making them fall off easily. The audience applauded as the cuffs fell to the ground with a clatter. It seemed they were impressed that he'd actually managed to get the trick to work this time around.

Again, June clapped enthusiastically, examining her wrist as if it had been removed from her body and reattached again.

Hare ushered her off stage and back to her seat, Hatter standing on stage with a box and some more magic items when he returned.

"And now, some slight of hand!" he reached into the box and took out three small multicolored balls. With nimble hands, Hare tossed the balls up in the air, not missing a beat as the orbs did their dance. He tossed them high and low, over his shoulder and under his leg, adding a fourth ball with ease as the act went along. The audience was impressed by his skill. He was a clumsy hare and people often forgot that he was a master juggler.

"He sure knows how to handle his balls," the Cat said aloud, causing Dee to laugh out boisterously.

He continued to juggle, tossing the balls to audience members and instructing them to toss them back to him when he gave them the signal. Dum might have thrown the ball a little too hard, because Hare had to stumble back in order to get it, almost causing him to trip over his own feet. But he caught himself, adding to the suspense of the trick, a smattering of applause coming from the audience. After a little more of this, getting 5 balls in the air, he caught them all in a box and gave a short bow, mentally preparing himself for the final trick. Everything had gone well up until this point, he was feeling comfortable on stage, his nerves had gone to the back of his mind. It was now or never.

"My final trick for the evening will shock and amaze you!" Hare said, tossing the box of balls backstage and into a crate with the rest of his magic items. "Hatter, bring in… the box!"

The curtains parted behind Hare and Hatter appeared, dragging a large trunk behind himself. Hare moved around to help at the other end, positioning it in the center of the stage. Hatter gave Hare a reassuring pat on the back, before stepping aside.

"What you see before you is a plain, ordinary box!" Hare said, gesturing a hand toward the trunk in a flamboyant fashion. "This trick requires a volunteer. Alice, if you will, please come look at the box to make sure that it is, in fact, ordinary."

She looked at him and nodded, going to the trunk and investigating it. She opened it with the help of the Hatter and looked inside, tapping on the sides and the lid.

"Looks like a plain box to me." She announced.

"Wonderful, wonderful," Hare said, fluttering his fingers mysteriously for effect. "One more, thing. Did you happen to find something -in- the box?"

Alice took a peek in and pulled out a large velvet bag.

Hare's mother applauded joyously, causing Dum to lean over and say to her "I don't think that was the trick…" causing her to stop.

Hare forced a smile and took the bag from Alice, showing it to the crowd. "Now, Alice, inspect the bag for any holes or imperfections, if you please."

Alice came over and glanced over the bag, turning it this way and that and checking the inside before agreeing that the bag hadn't been tampered with.

"Thank you, Alice," Hare said aloud, taking the bag from her and placing it in the bottom of the box. "Now, Alice, stand in the bag!"

She looked at him, shoulders dropped, her jaw slack. "What?"

Hare's eyes widened and he smiled at the audience, hearing them laugh nervously, before turning to Alice. "Get in the box."

She blinked and shook her head a little, before the Hare put a hand out and guided her into the box, positioning her so she was standing in the bag.

"Now, Alice, I'm going to close you in the bag and lay you down in the box. Do not be frightened! You will come out of this, completely unharmed!" He accentuated the last bit by looking at the audience, gesturing an outstretched hand at them as if he were reeling them in, causing them to Ooh and Aah. Dee might have muttered something along the lines of "I hope Alice has health insurance" before being jammed in the ribs by his brother.

Hare helped Alice pull the bag up around her, seeing her give him a wink to signal him that she was okay, before tying the bag shut above her head. Then, with the Hatter's help, they helped her get in a lying position in the box before closing the lid.

"Now, Hatter, the lock please!"

The audience was on the edge of their seats as Hare put a comedicaly large lock on the front of the lid, jangling it around to show that it was, in fact, sealed.

Hatter came from the left side of the stage with a portable curtain on a rod. He switched it around, making it flutter in the wind, before handing one end to the hare. They walked around the box, before Hare stepped atop it.

"Now, don't look away!" he shouted, wiggling his fingers at the audience a little before lifting the curtain in front of him. Hatter stepped aside as the curtain shook and shimmered in the light, obscuring the view of the trunk from the audience. It continued to shake from side to side for a few moments, before falling to the ground, revealing…

Alice standing atop the box, arms outstretched and wearing Hare's cape.

The entire audience gasped as she was revealed, not missing a beat before they erupted into applause. Everyone jumped to their feet and roared, even the Queen had gotten swept up in the moment. They were all so impressed that they forgot to ask where the Hare went.

With Hatter's help, Alice hopped off of the box and took a bow, before taking a step aside and gesturing toward the trunk.

And nothing happened.

Alice had a strained smile on her face and Hatter was starting to look nervous. She gestured back to the box and still, nothing happened.

"Uh… mr Hare?" Alice asked, going to the box and tugging on the large lock, finding that it was still stuck shut. "Uh oh…"

There was a thumping and banging from inside the trunk as the noise died down and people started to get the feeling something had gone wrong. The box shook a little and scooted around as Hatter bowed down next to it.

"Hare? Are you in there?"

"I can't get out!" Hare shouted from inside. "I can't get the thing open."

"Oh dear…" Alice gasped, hand going to her mouth as she bent down beside the Hatter.

Hatter hit against the back of the trunk, finding that the secret door was stuck. He reached for the lock with his giant hands and gave it a yank, straining to pull it off. After struggling for a few moments, the crowd had gathered at the foot of the stage to get a better look at what was going on.

"Where is the key?" Rabbit asked, pointing at the lock. It was the most obvious solution, why hadn't they thought of it already?

Hatter patted his sides down, but he didn't have it, so he bent down and shouted at the box. "Where's the key, Hare?" he asked, holding his ear against the lid of the trunk to listen for an answer.

"It's in my pocket…" came the response.

June looked like she was about ready to either faint or pull the lid off the trunk with her bare hands. To say she was getting frantic was an understatement. "Did he just say they're in his pocket?"

Hatter laughed and shook his head. "No, he couldn't have!"

"He did, Mr Hatter…" Alice said, biting her lip.

"Oh… well, this is quite a pickle here, isn't it?" Hatter said, scrunching up his face and putting a hand to his hip. "Well, only one thing to do." He got to his feet, everyone having their eyes trained on him as he walked in through the IN door and immediately through the OUT door, holding an ax in his gloved hands. The group parted as he stood at the front of the box, lifting the ax above his head and was about to swing down, when…

"I don't think so!" June exclaimed, putting her arm out.

"But, June! How else are we going to get him out of there?" Hatter asked, still holding the axe above his head.

"A mother has her ways…" she said, raising her hands to her head and pulling two hairpins from her updo. Kneeling down at the lock, she straightened the pins and shoved them into the lock, moving them around with expert fingers. They sat for a few minutes, Hare tapping on the lid of the box every minute or so to let him know he hadn't passed out. Eventually he started making casual conversation with those outside the box, asking what the outside world was like and if the price of gasoline had dropped because it was much too high. He also asked if it would be appropriate for him to sing a song when he got out of the box (they told him no) so he started singing a song about being stuck inside it instead.

A few minutes and broken hairpins later, the lock clicked open and fell to the floor.

"She got it!" Dum exclaimed, jumping to his feet in excitement.

"I'll be damned…" Dee added under his breath as June wrenched the lid open.

She found her son scrunched up inside the box, trap door knocked off its hinges on one side, tied up in the sack.

"He did it!" Hatter rejoiced, giving Alice a hug. "He finally got inside the bag this time."

Desperately, Hare clawed at the mouth of the bag, pulling it down over his sheepish face. The view from inside the box was one he didn't think he'd ever forget. All his friends were looking down at him, expressions varied from surprise to anger to trying to hide laughter.

"Ta-da!" he shouted, with a little bit of a nervous laugh. He wanted to climb back into the box and die right at that very moment. Instead, he allowed Hatter and the Tweedles to help him get out of the box and to his feet, dusting himself off as Alice gave him back the red cape. June fussed over him, giving him a once over to make sure he was alright. If you had looked at her while she was picking the lock, you'd have thought she was keeping very calm, but on the inside she was frantic with worry. Now that her son was sitting on the lid of the box, sipping a calming cup of tea, she was starting to relax.

"Where did you learn to do that, mrs Hare?" Alice asked, very impressed with how well she dealt with the situation. And her skill with a pair of hairpins was very intriguing.

"I'm sorry, dear," June said with a friendly smile, once she realized Alice was talking to her. She was watching Hare from a distance now, just making sure he was okay. "What did you say?"

"I was curious about how you knew to pick the lock, mrs Hare," Alice said, taking a seat beside the elder bunny.

June couldn't keep the shy smile from her face. Her cheeks turned a little pink as she bent toward Alice.

"Let me tell you," June whispered to her, patting the child on the knee. "When you have a son who would accidentally lock himself in rooms as often as Hare did, you had to get good at picking locks," adding a playful wink at the end, she held a finger to her lips to tell Alice it was a secret. The girl nodded and returned with a wink of her own.

#gwcft #guess who's coming for tea #adventures in wonderland #aiw #hatter and hare #fanfic

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itsworn · 7 years

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Exclusive! Jeff Lutz’s New 1957 Chevy Race Car

Multi-time Hot Rod Drag Week winner Jeff Lutz built a new 1957 Chevy race car to compete in this year’s Drag Week competition (September 10 – 15, 2017). He debuted the car today at the 3rd Annual Tri Five Nationals in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Originally inspired by Project X, Popular Hot Rodding’s long-running 1957 Chevy project car, this is the third ’57 drag car Lutz has built, and it’s the culmination of everything he learned racing the prior two ‘57s and Mad Max, the 1969 Camaro Pro Mod he won Drag Week in last year. Aside from the striking yellow paint job (all three former Drag Week cars wore flat-black paint) the specs on the new car read more like an evolution and refining of the combination than radical changes from car to car. Where the two prior ‘57s were powered by 632 cubic inch big block Chevys with twin 88mm Precision turbochargers, Mad Max was a 540 with twin 88’s. Lutz says the 540 makes more power because of its smaller stroke. The new ’57 also has a 540 big block, but with twin 98mm Precision turbos. It’s a fresh build that was fired for the first time while we were at Lutz Race Cars in Callery, Pennsylvania watching the car come together.

Lutz and his son Jeffrey, Jr began construction of the car on Christmas Day in 2016. They began with a complete, but very tired 1957 Chevy 210. Jeff wanted a post car because the windows of his previous two, which were coupes, would get sucked out at speed on the big end of the track. This new car retains the original steel roof, cowl, and windshield frame, but that was the extent of useable parts from the donor car. The quarter panels are steel reproduction parts from Woody’s Hot Rodz, and the rest of the car is comprised of polished and powdercoated chromoly tubing and carbon fiber composite, which contribute to an impressive race weight of 2,360 pounds. The car has working headlights, taillights, turnsignals, back-up lights, and a horn. On the track, the car runs on VP Racing M1 methanol, then Jeff switches to gasoline to drive between tracks on Drag Week. He was the first to pioneer the notion of running the two different fuels, and it makes sense. Methanol runs so cool, you don’t need a cooling system at the track, so Lutz built his radiator, fans, and water pump on a stand that removes from the chassis as a single unit. The water and fuel lines from the gasoline cell in the back are capped off and a small methanol-filled fuel cell is dropped in place and hooked up to the main fuel rails, and Jeff plugs in his methanol-tuned ECM. A second ECM is tuned for gasoline when on street duty, and Jeff made an adaptor to run an HEI distributor in place of the MSD Pro Mag 44 distributor he runs at the track, because on the street, spark energy from the magneto was too hot and they were burning up plugs. The HEI solves that problem, and he wired in a module to drop the car’s 16-volt system down to 12 volts going into the distributor to prevent damage to the ignition module. The gasoline cell is mounted between the wheelie bar struts in the trunk, and with a 9.0:1 compression ratio, Lutz says he can fill the car up with 87 octane on the street.

At the track, however, the car unleashes 3,500 hp thanks to those big turbos. Lutz leaves the line at about 10 psi and boost is ramped in progressively to prevent wheelspin at mid-track. A set of 24 fuel injectors feed the engine at full power, and Lutz shifts the car at 6,500 rpm.

The yellow basecoat is a custom mix done by Lutz’s long-time friend Jeff Thompson of Pro 1 Automotive in Butler, Pennsylvania, who deftly massaged the steel and composite panels before laying down the smooth base/clear combination.

With this new car, Jeff is hoping to be the first person to break into the 5’s in this year’s Drag Week competition. Early testing at Beech Bend Raceway Park has him just a tenth off the best time is his Pro Mod, which is promising.

Scroll through our build photos and videos, and be sure to follow all the action from Drag Week next month, which will be broadcast live on HotRod.com, and follow Lutz Race Cars on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest news on this car, which Jeff simply calls The 57. “That’s what people will end up calling it anyway,” he says.

Tech Notes

Who: Jeff Lutz What: 1957 Chevrolet Where: Callery, Pennsylvania Engine: The foundation is a Trick Flow aluminum engine block that’s no longer available. Jeff bought several on the advice of engine builder Marc Vinson, who said he’d never seen thicker deck surfaces on any aftermarket aluminum block. The Callies crank has 4.250-inch of stroke, and aluminum rods mate with 4.500-inch Ross pistons. The compression ratio is a street car, pump-gas friendly 9.0:1. Twin 98mm Precision turbochargers provide up to 62 psi of boost, and they’re controlled by 66mm Precision wastegates and 64 mm blow-off valves. Jeff switched from a single, 5-inch throttle body to two 88mm throttle bodies because boost levels more than 54 psi would hang the single throttle blades open- a scary proposition at 250 mph. The cam is a solid roller fro Crower, with keyed Crower lifters and tapered Smith Brothers ½-inch pushrods. The Profiler heads are run straight out of the box. Their “roval” intake ports are smaller than you’d imagine, but with those huge turbos, you don’t need monster intake ports. The intake is custom-made by Profiler with a CNC’d lid by Bonifontane Fab. Jeff made the exhaust with Stainless Works tubing. A Moroso dry-sump oiling system is employed that incorporates the cool billet oil filter from Clear View Filtration. Brown and Miller provided all the hoses, and the fuel system components are from Aeromotive. All told, the combo is good for 3.500 hp and Jeff says he’ll get 11 mph driving on the street.

Driveline: A Rossler TH400 backs the engine. It’s got a 2.10:1 first gear to help load the turbo. Pro Torque provided an EV1 converter and a carbon fiber PST driveshaft connects to the Jerry Bickel-built Pro Mod 9-inch rear. Moser axles are the penultimate link to the ground, sending power to the big Hoosier slicks. Strange disc brakes are on all four corners.

Suspension: Triple-adjustable Penske struts and shocks are on all four corners, supporting Hypercoil springs.

Electronics: There’s more computers and wiring inside Jeff’s new car than were likely used during the whole Apollo program. He’s got Big Stuff 3 engine management, one computer to run on methanol, and a second when he runs on gasoline. MSD’s Grid and wiring from Speedwire distribute power to items such as the two-step, trans brake, torque converter dump valve, and electronic wastegates. The car leaves the line hard with a best 60-foot time of 1.06, but that’s sure to fall as Jeff and his crew continue to refine the tune-up. The car has functional Lumtronix headlights, brake lights, turn signals, backup lights and a horn.

Body: Jeff began the build with a stack of tubing and a rough 1957 Chevy. He salvaged the roof anf cowl, added steel quarter panels from Woody’s Hot Rodz. The trim is a mixture of real reproduction parts from Danchuk and carbon fiber pieces chrome plated by 3D Liquid Design. The chassis was powder coated by Durable Powdercoating, and Totally Baked Powdercoating treaded the smaller pieces. Jeff Thompson at Pro 1 Automotive painted the car in a custom yellow basecoat and Euro clear. Stainless Works made a custom grille on their laser CNC machine. VFN and JW Composites provided the carbon panels, CG Cooling wired the car and provided the fans for the Be Cool radiator on the removeable cooling module Jeff employs for street driving.

Thanks: Jeff wants to thank his wife Chris, son Jeffrey, brother Mark, Ben Ross, and Bob Perrine who helped build the car. Thanks also to Ed Dultowski Dan’s Polishing for the smooth exhaust tips, Mitch Stapleton, Rob Gouple, Kristian Nyberg from Speed Ventures, Adam Campbell, Chris Sondles from Woody’s Hot Rodz.

Appearances: BE sure to watch The 57 run on Drag Week, on Season 10 of Street Outlaws, and just announced- Powercruise in Australia.

The post Exclusive! Jeff Lutz’s New 1957 Chevy Race Car appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

from Hot Rod Network http://www.hotrod.com/articles/exclusive-jeff-lutzs-new-1957-chevy-race-car/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Hot Rod Network

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the-record-columns · 7 years

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June 7, 2017: Columns

A lesson learned in kindness...

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

As I get older, I am often reminded of the expression I heard an older gentleman use one day about the passage of time, “...whoever is cranking out these days sure seems to be cranking harder than ever before.”

To that end it seems practically impossible for almost 15 years to have gone by since the passing of one of the sweetest, kindest ladies I ever met, Annie Gray Seats Barnett, proprietor of the Rockford General Store in historic Rockford, NC.

I met Annie and her longtime friend and companion Wade Edwards quite at random courtesy of WKBC's Steve Handy and Main Street Music and Loan's Mike Palmer early one morning at the Hometown Opry, which was then being broadcast live each Friday morning from the music store on Main Street.

After meeting Annie and Wade at the Opry that morning, we all three left and went to breakfast, and, by 11 am, I thought I had l known them all my life. They were as different as night and day, yet a wonderful couple to know and to spend time with. Annie had a drawl that could stretch the name Wade into three syllables, and Wade, a veteran of the Army and the Navy in World War II, had a sense of humor like no other. They spent a lot of time in our home, we went to music events together, and they became like another set of grandparents to me and my wife, Laura.

Sadly, Annie Gray, as we all called her, died unexpectedly but peacefully in her sleep in September of 2003. In addition to the Rockford General Store, she owned the railroad depot across the Old Rockford Road from the store--where she lived. In what she liked to call her “home depot” was a tremendous collection of advertising items that included an unbelievable array of tin signs, thermometers and banners. The first time I set foot in the old depot building, I broke the commandment against coveting all to pieces.

Annie Gray had no children, and all this brings us to the day in 2004 when I went to the auction of her personal property conducted by her niece and nephews. My son Sam was home from school and we arrived at the auction about an hour early to look around. At one point, while actually looking for a Porta-John, I noticed a small shed next to the depot. I made my way into the shed and saw a beautiful Coca-Cola chest cooler and not much else. Then I spied a painted metal sign which read “Barnett's Antique Shoppe,” and remembered Annie Gray speaking of the store she and her late husband ran for years.

This is what I had come for. Something that had a personal connection to Annie Gray, besides just being a cool Camel Cigarette thermometer or something. The auction began and I did purchase a few items just because they belonged to Annie Gray. I kept waiting for the contents of the shed to come up, but they never did. When I inquired of one of the nephews about those items, he told me that the shed was sold with the depot and store to a Mr. Paul Carter.

My heart sank. At least I had met the niece and nephews, and now I had to deal with a perfect stranger. And a foreigner to boot, all the way from cosmopolitan Winston-Salem. Soon I sought out Mr. Carter, a man who said he took a wrong turn one day while house-hunting and ended up with store and depot. He was pleasant and listened attentively to me as I poured my heart out about how much I missed Annie Gray and how badly I wanted that sign. After a bit, he smiled and said, “I can make that happen.” When I asked him how much he wanted for the sign, I was completely unprepared for what came next, “Oh, Mr. Welborn, after talking to you, I wouldn't think of charging you anything.” I am sure the look on my face was one of utter amazement, and he continued, “Really, take the sign. It's a gift.”

I was especially pleased my son heard this conversation. I am sure Sam was waiting for the man to quote a price and for me to try to beat him down. Instead, he witnessed a man being kind to a complete stranger.

Not too much later, Sam and I left the auction. Yes, we had some treasures, but even better, we had our faith in humanity renewed—a wonderful plus we had not expected,

In the years since, Mr. Carter's family has bought the tavern next door which included the land around the store. They now have an amphitheater and host music events and have made Rockford a true tourist destination.

Annie Gray would be proud of Paul Carter. I certainly am.

Just show up and breathe!

By LAURA WELBORN

The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit and I wonder what the notion of spirit is.

Is it the air? A swirling motion that can’t be controlled or predicted? In John20:22-23 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

So maybe the spirit shows up when we need it the most- to forgive sins and help us from retaining the sins of others (holding a grudge, lessening the impact of the sin). And this power of forgiveness is in the sharing of our stories as part of the commission of the spirit- it happens as we share our stories of love, joy, peace, generosity and when we did harm. The Spirit is life and maybe we just need to show up and breathe. Breathe in the spirit and receive its healing force.

Today is the 14th anniversary of my marriage to Ken Welborn . We have quite a story between us, but one of the resounding moments came years before we even dated, I called him and said to him “you must have such faith to keep marrying time after time”. Ken replied “and many people have called me stupid but not very often a man of faith.” Years later when we were preparing to get married (against all odds) we went to premarital counseling as required to get married when one partner has been divorced. Needless to say Ken went kicking and screaming (literally). It was so bad I asked the Rev. John Setzer if we could just do a test to find the “tough spots” and address those. Well Ken hated that idea but back in the day he would actually do things I suggested so we both filled out pages and pages of questions related to marriage. On the day we went in to discuss the results Ken was in a dark mood, certain this was it for us. John said to us “I have never seen anything like this before, you both scored so high on the compatibility scale and realistic about what you are facing with blending families that I really don’t have anything to work on with you”. Ken responded “does that mean I don’t have to bribe the Bishop?.”.\ John essentially told him “Just show up”. Now I would say “Just show up and breathe” breathe in the spirit of redoing relationships and getting right. We had both learned the hard way of the challenges in marriage and have learned to exist on “faith”, the belief that second, third and fourth chances can sometimes be the charm- you just have to keep showing up and let the spirit (air, energy whatever) flow through you. Can’t control it or predict what direction it will move you in.

Every single thing you’ve gone through in life – every high, every low, and everything in between – has all led you to the moment you’re experiencing right now.

This means that you are exactly where you need to be to get to where you want to go.

Unveiled: The Two Faces of Islam

By EARL COX

Special to The Record

Which is the true face of Islam—the coat and tie or mask and fatigues? No matter what the attire, the goal remains the same: the eradication of Jews, Christians and all other non-Muslims. Islam is the master of disguise.

The two faces appear contradictory, but they’re not. They represent two strategies with one goal—jihad. For the well-dressed jihadist, a close shave (for some), or silk suit and tie is 21st-century battle gear for waging diplomatic jihad.

"Our negotiations with world powers are a source of national pride," said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. During the Iran-Iraq War, our “brave generals stood against the enemy on the battlefield. Today, our diplomatic generals defend [us] in the field of diplomacy–this too is jihad."

Jihadist strategy “operates in the confines of an ideology,” said Middle East expert Walid Phares. Diplomatic jihad is but one prong of Islam’s long-term global strategy to influence, infiltrate and defeat the West, including Israel. Its diplomatic initiative gained momentum due to jihadists’ frustration with Western military might, which they see as a deterrence to their plan to reestablish the caliphate by violent means, and then supplant all other religions with Islam.

Spotlight on History

Regionally, diplomatic jihad sheds light on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. From the Palestine Liberation Organization’s inception in the mid-’60s, its stated goal has been the “liberation of Palestine” by armed struggle - meaning the destruction of Israel. During its first 10 years, the PLO pursued this goal in a bloody terrorist war. But after the Arab armies’ defeat in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, PLO leader Yasser Arafat understood that violent terrorism alone was not achieving the desired results—so he turned to diplomacy. Arafat realized that the PLO and its Arab allies not only lacked military clout but that terrorist brutality was not good PR. To gain legitimacy for the PLO and delegitimize Israel, he deliberately launched diplomatic and political offensives. Arafat’s efforts peaked at his 1974 address at the United Nations where he presented the PLO as peace-seeking freedom fighters with legitimate claims, and gained observer status in the world body. Mahmoud Abbas is both the current PLO chairman and the president of the Palestinian Authority.

Unveiling the Foundations

Arafat’s “aha” moment was not new—it is deeply embedded in Islamic sharia law and doctrine. “The real bomb is in Islam’s books,” said Muslim reformist scholar Islam al-Behery. Those containing the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence outline the blueprint for Islamic world dominion. “Everything happening today is in these old books,” al-Behery said, including the “obligatory” law to “kill the people of the [other] book [Christians and Jews].”

One expert counts six tracks of the jihadist master plan: economic jihad, such as BDS; ideological jihad including “jihad of the pen” and penetrating academia; political jihad; intelligence jihad by infiltrating a country’s institutions; subversive jihad to sap a country’s defenses from within while protected by its laws; and diplomatic jihad to manipulate foreign policy.

From this foundation stem the multiple faces of militant Islam. Compare this to Israel, which has never called for undermining or destroying the Palestinian people or questioned their right to exist. Unlike Islam’s abhorrence of diversity, Arabs live within Israel’s borders and enjoy the rights and privileges of democracy including freedom of religion.

Since “the real bomb is in the books,” the true source of strife lies in the foundational laws and documents themselves. Just as the Israeli and U.S. Constitutions determine how these countries are governed, sharia law and Islamic jurisprudence does the same for Muslims.

The Israel-Arab conflict is ultimately a clash between two worldviews—a result of irreconcilable foundational precepts. Any initiative to tackle the Israel-Palestinian equation requires discerning their respective foundational documents, and exposing and addressing the on-the-ground applications. Those who use diplomacy for peace—not jihad—would do well to consider this premise.

“Father’s Day Reflections”

By Carl White

Life in the Carolinas

My Dad was a hardworking and kind man, he loved his family, wood working, taking care of the yard and a diversity of animals.

When I was a young boy I remember when the chinchilla salesman came for a visit. He made a spectacular presentation and the near guarantee of untold fortune was too good to pass up.

The day finally arrived when the soft and adorable critters become part of the collection of happy animals that lived amongst us. I was intrigued with the care required. for example, the dust bath. We would put a rectangular medal box in the cage with a grey powder and the chinchilla would hop in and roll and flip around and in general seem to have an outstanding time.

While intrigued, I was disappointed in that my attempts to make a pet of one of our chinchillas failed. As it turns out they are not much for being held and you can forget about a cuddle. They need to say busy gnawing on things as their teeth are for every growing, so having one run freely about the house was not an option.

I recall certain times of my childhood when it was a bit like Charlotte’s Web. The pasture would have cattle, a horse or two, pigs, free range chickens and rabbit hopping all about.

We are all formed by the influences of our childhood. There are so many things that my Dad did that provided a positive influence on my life. I’m glad he loved animals and I am sure that is why I do as well. By the way, the chinchillas never made it to market.

The celebration of fatherhood goes back to the middle ages, when Catholic Europe identified March 19 as the day of celebration with the feast day of St. Joseph.

In the United States the journey to establish Father’s Day reportedly started December 1907 in the small town of Fairmont West Virginia when in a neighboring town 360 men were killed in a mining explosion. More than 1000 children were left fatherless.

Grace Golden Clayton was troubled by this tragedy as well as the losing of her own father, she asks her pastor Robert Thomas Webb to have a service to honor all the fathers that were lost in the mining accident. It was on July 5, 1908 in Fairmont, West Virginia at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South that the first reported local observance of “Father’s Day” was held in the United States.

It’s noteworthy that Anna Jarvis’ first Mother’s Day celebration was in Grafton, West Virginia.

There is a bit of a debate over who is in fact the Father or Mother of Father’s Day in the United States. Harry C. Meeks also claimed it was his idea for Father’s Day in 1915.

Sonora Smart Dodd held a Father’s Day celebration at the YMCA in Spokane, Washington June 19, 1910. She was the daughter of civil war veteran William Jackson, who after the death of his wife he raised his six children. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson visited Spokane and spoke for a Father’s Day celebration. President Wilson endeavored to establish an official national Father’s Day, however Congress was not ready. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge also recommended the day be recognized.

Finally, in 1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson issued a presidential proclamation honoring fathers and designating the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day and in 1972 President Richard Nixon signed it into law, thus making Father’s Day a permanent US national holiday.

I’m glad we have a day to honor our fathers. I learned the good things form my Dad. I love fresh vegetables from the garden, furniture made of solid wood, I can’t pass an animal without being intrigued and the simple things in life are where I find peace and calm.

I enjoy the TV shows that I produce, however if it were up to Dad, I would be producing Westerns.

Happy Trails and Happy Father’s!

Carl White is the executive producer and host of the award winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In the Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its seventh year of syndication and can be seen in the Charlotte viewing market on WJZY Fox 46 Saturdays at 12:00 noon. For more on the show visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com, You can email Carl White at [email protected].

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itsworn · 7 years

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Jason France’s 1964 Biscayne Is a Beige, 409-Powered Sleeper

Imagine what a curious sight this beige 1964 Chevrolet sedan must be to the driver of a late-model Camaro or Mustang. It looks a lot like a brick. Did they actually make cars that looked like that? Hubcaps? All Detroit Iron wore steel wheels—until 1963, at least. You gotta be kiddin’. What the hell’s a Biscayne anyway?

In the ocean of F-bodies, A-bodies and X-bodies that have always been deemed acceptable to modify, to build, even to cherish, we have the big boys, the unheralded B-body natives. Compared to the relatively new intermediates, post cars and their heftier, hardtop buddies are most likely the dinosaurs of the realm.

This is owner Jason France’s first attempt at car building, at seeing what his future would eventually hold. “I always loved Chevy post sedans, sleepers especially, and 409 four-speed post cars have always been cool. I put this car together to be really fun and really reliable. It has some scrapes and dents and isn’t a show car, but that’s what makes it a lot of fun,” he said. At 40, our protagonist missed the heyday by a couple of decades at least, but he’s managed to hit the old-school nail right on the noggin.

Actually, Jason has been car crafting since he was a little kid. He and his dad have been going to shows. “It’s in my blood and is in my son’s blood, too,” he said. “I can say that I’ve loved cars my entire life. [Wife] Jeni and I purchased the car a year before we got married. It had a 327 and a Powerglide transmission. It had been repainted only once. You can even spot the tape lines on the cowl with the factory paint still in place.

“I did the four-speed conversion as well as converting the 10-bolt to a Posi-Traction differential. Then I drove it that way for a couple of years while piecing the 409 together. It was in our wedding along with some friends’ cars. It’s been a progression. The entire drivetrain is new: 409 engine, Muncie transmission, and 9-inch rear. It’s taken a while, but we have been enjoying the car along the way.”

History is certainly not lost on Jason. He gives nod to the X/SS period when headlights were removed so you could hook up ram tubes to feed fresh, cool air to the carburetors. He cues up the Jenkins Competition logo as well. In the heyday, lots of people paid lots of money to ink that badge on the flanks of their drag-race iron.

Jason’s active on several Facebook groups related to fullsize Chevys and is a 348-409.com member. All of it encourages him to drive the brown beast, but he says he runs it maybe 1,500 to 2,000 miles a year. And be sure, that 09’s a guzzler—gets about 10 miles to the gallon—but that doesn’t stop Jason from going anywhere. He cruises it to the Car Craft Summer Nationals, the Hot Rod Power Tour, and many local events. “This car is part of the family. It has allowed us to meet a lot of really great people in the car community. It gets a lot of attention.”

Tech Notes

Who: Jason and Jeni France What: 1964 Chevrolet Biscayne Where: Mount Pleasant, WI

Engine: Jason sussed out the parts and Tony Shaffer at Day Automotive in Independence, MO, did the machine work and screwed the engine together. Jason based his build on a 1964 (814 casting) truck cylinder block. He adapted a screw-on oil filter and a windage tray and removed the casting flash from the lifter valley and water-pump passages. Tony cleaned up the bores a bit, and that made for a final displacement of 416 ci. Meanwhile, Jason was busy building the parts schedule and putting the rotating assembly together: stock 409 crank, Eagle I-beam connecting rods, and Diamond 10.25:1 pistons. Tony file-fit the moly rings and secured coated Clevite bearings for the assembly. Goin’ old school, he stuck it with a Comp flat-tappet stick that offers 0.595/0.608-inch lift and 242/246 degrees duration at 0.050. A double-roller Cloyes timing set joined it with the crank. He paired it with Isky lifters, Manley chromemoly 3/8-inch pushrods, and Scorpion 1.75:1 rocker arms. Back at the ranch, Jason was in his one-car garage hand-porting the (333 casting) truck cylinder heads with a Dremel and pneumatic grinder. He pocket-ported the castings, polished, blended the bowls, matched the gaskets, and cleaned up the flashing. Before Tony back-cut the swirl-polished valves, he reduced the head diameter of the 2.195-inch intakes to 2.150 and the exhausts from 1.725 to 1.675 inches and gave them a three-angle job. ARP screw-in studs, pushrod guideplates, Comp dual springs, and Isky hardened keepers are part of the formula. Tony cinched them in place with ARP studs and Cometic gaskets. Fuel and spark systems are straightforward: Edelbrock mechanical pump, small-port intake manifold, and twin Edelbrock AVS 500-cfm carburetors sucking through a Show Cars open element air cleaner. On the electrical plane, there’s an MSD 6AL box, Pro Billet distributor, Blaster 2 coil, and primary wiring shooting AC Delco R43XLS spark plugs. Black death is extracted via Jerry Jardine’s Tri-Y headers that feature 2-inch primary pipes and 3-inch collectors. Clocks Off Racing in Racine, WI, constructed the 3-inch stainless-steel system dominated by Magnaflow muffs. Ancillaries include an Edelbrock water pump, Flex-A-Lite six-blade steel fan with a NAPA clutch, one-wire 65-amp alternator, and a NAPA mini-starter. On the pump and on 93 octane, Jason’s 09 cranks out 473 hp at 6,000 rpm and 465 lb-ft at 4,200 rpm. Transmission/Drivetrain: The Biscayne was originally equipped with a small-block and a Powerglide transmission. Jason replaced all that with a Centerforce 30-pound steel flywheel and 11-inch clutch assembly under a Keisler Engineering HD 621 bellhousing. Dave Martel rebuilt the wide-ratio Muncie M20 four-speed and Jason fitted it with Hurst Super Competition shifter. Torque ropes down an Inland Empire two-piece driveshaft with 1350 U-joints and a billet center-support bearing to a John’s Industries 9-inch stocked with a nodular iron chunk, 4.30:1 gears, and 31-spline axles. Chassis/Suspension: Jason made no changes to the original frame, nor did he include a rollcage; he simply put all his faith in the aftermarket. There would be no demand for high-rate cornering or 9/10ths handling; Jason stayed old school and designed the Biscuit for performance in a straight line. As such, he retained the OE spindles but rehabbed the upper and lower control arms with Moog rubber bushings, installed Moog coils and Monroe SensaTrac dampers, but removed the factory antisway bar. He rebuilt the steering box. Moving to the rear, he upgraded the original three-link to a four-link (high-powered models were equipped with the second upper attachment arm) GM brackets and Energy Suspension bushings. He partnered Moog coils with KYB gas shocks and insinuated a Spohn adjustable Panhard bar with polyurethane bushings. Body: Here it is in all its non-glory: all steel, flat hood, no tubs, and repainted 1964 Desert Beige 28 years ago in somebody’s garage. Clean and neat, but ultimately quite forgettable, which is just what you want when you’re building a sleeper. Interior: Before he did anything else, Jason upgraded the electrical system with an American Autowire harness. He liked the original equipment aura, and he soaks in it. The bench seats, door panels, and carpeting were superseded by Cars, Inc. stuff that was fitted by Perfection Auto Trim in Milwaukee, as were the door panels, window cranks, and door pulls. Instead of an audio ensemble, the old-school Biscayne proudly displays a factory radio delete plate. That big Sun tachometer is joined by Auto Meter oil pressure and water temperature gauges below the stock dashboard. Brakes/Wheels/Tires: Wouldn’t be real old school without the stock drum brakes or the period-correct rolling stock. Jason got some 14×6 Wheel Vintiques steelies for the front of the car and 15×8 renditions for the back axle (with a Chevy bolt pattern) and set them with the original Biscayne poverty caps. Just like the old days, the front rubber is BF Goodrich Silvertown 8.00×14 bias-ply, while the drive end twists bias-ply 28×11.50 Mickey Thompson ET Street R DOT slicks.

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