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| Pandorus Sphinx Moth, © 2012 T. Mininni-Totin. |
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| Photograph of Virginia Creeper by Aydin |
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| Pandorus Sphinx Moth, © 2012 T. Mininni-Totin. |
The Dungeon, and all things Chaotic!
“Lori!” Mama’s voice carried across the yard and into the field. The house loomed behind Mama and Dad’s truck sat in the drive. Suddenly the ground didn’t matter. The humidity and the water couldn’t touch her. She really could fly, just because Mama was so close, and nothing in the whole world would be able to stop her. She reached the fence separating the yard from field, and then was across the yard, and before she could draw a breath, she felt Mama’s warm hug.
We found our way down winding highways and stumbled upon
Ferda’s Garden Center. It’s a shame that it took us so many years to find it;
they are in the process of selling the business. I fell in love with the center immediately. 
The rich and the poor have this in common: the LORD is the maker of them all. ~ Proverbs 22:2
The offerings given for the sake of God are [meant] only for the poor and the needy, and those who are in charge thereof, and those whose hearts are to be won over, and for the freeing of human beings from bondage, and [for] those who are over burdened with debts, and [for every struggle] in God's cause, and [for] the wayfarer: [this is] an ordinance from God - and God is all-knowing, wise. ~ Quran, 9:60
Loud voices shouted in a foreign language. Alia skittered back over the wall and snaked her way toward the front of the building. Baahir followed, protectively pushing her closer towards the cooler shade provided by a wall. They peered around the corner.
The Darfur Genocide in Darfur, Sudan began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) groups in Darfur took up arms, accusing the Sudanese government of oppressing non-Arab Sudanese in favor of Sudanese Arabs. . There are various estimates on the number of human casualties which range from around 70,000 to several hundred thousand dead, from either direct combat or starvation and disease inflicted by the conflict. There have also been mass displacements and coercive migrations, forcing millions into refugee camps or over the border and creating a large humanitarian crisis and is regarded by many as a genocide. These refugees faced starvation, disease, and rape, while those who remained in Darfur risked torture, death, and displacement. Over five million people have been affected by the Darfur conflict and life is still bitter for so many children. There is a peace treaty now in place, but that does not change the fact that atrocities happened.
Due to the lack of funding in 2009, UNICEF had to scale-back measures and plan strategies for handing over lifesustaining and life-saving programmes to the government, despite its limited capacity to fund and manage activities. I wrote this short story to reflect how urgently UNICEF needed donations. The organization is still in need of your support worldwide.
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| The back road to Robinson Township |
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| Our front garden, late spring 2012 |
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| photo courtesy of www.firefly.org |
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| Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica), our porch 2011 |
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
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| Hungarian (banana) pepper bloom, our porch 2011 |
Our concern is that Dad was emotionally abused and bullied. We learn more and more as time passes, bits of shocking information that trickle in like fine sand and chaff the soul. The small grains become a grand tide and sweep us into gritty rapids, and we thump over rocks and choke on dust as we go. The lawyer hands us an ore, albeit an expensive one, and we attempt to navigate this raging course and find our way to solid ground. The whole situation makes us feel as helpless as if we were going over Angel Falls in that canoe. We’ll ride the rush and see it through to the end.  |
| This photo is from Fishes Make Wishes and is a sand sculpture from an exhibition down under around the Patterson Lakes area in Australia. |
