Crystalline Cool (8)

   
   "Crystalline Cool (8)"
    
   Duncan labored with invisible intensity, lost in the backwoods, using his trusty, war-torn shovel to unearth Terra's terrain for peanuts, knowing his loving and loyal father had sweetly said:  "It's okay if that's all you can do--just do it well, being the best ditch digger in the world."  Roadkill watched alongside him, as well as other souls from the Otherworld; thus, perhaps his labor was not unnoticed or devalued.
   He remembered his matriarch, and how the family would persuade her to dismiss the fantasy of her beliefs, saying stuff like:  "King David is full of shit.  Psalms 103 is crap.  The Virgin Mary is a witch, and Jesus doesn't save."
   Duncan keep digging, regretting their exile, even though they poured their negative possibilities upon his past and today, which is supposed to be the present, a gift from God.  Now it was just Dad, him, and the Golden Retriever.  Yes, he had read Joyce like a madman at one point, hoping they loved him as did Leopold Bloom, identifying with a wandering Jew, perverted by his own imagination as the culture of the world spread disbelief and spoke with the adversary's forked tongue.
   He put his mind into a state of remembrance, his Dad and him always watching old Westerns on their black and white, Dad saying with a smoky smile:  "Every John Wayne movie--the Duke gets shot in the leg."
   Duncan too remembered Day of the Evil Gun, the androgynous-looking cowboy Glenn Ford quoting Christ in the movie, saying:  "Blessed are the merciful, for they too shall obtain mercy."
   What would he do without his father's wisdom?  Then, Roadkill came close, licked him into the present, that gift from God, and Duncan noticed the aches in his back, his blistered hands, and all the rest that went along with his personal creation.  As tired and worn-out as he was, he knelt down, praising:  "Thank you God--thank You for now."  

Squirrel Girl

   
   "Squirrel Girl"
   
   Squirrel Girl was bullied and taunted due to her bizarre mutations; nevertheless, she idolized Iron Man, him not accepting her longing to be his partner, yet she defeated Doctor Doom, and buried her nuts, growing to know that every soul has power.
   Much like the youngest seed of Jesse, David's brothers possibly made fun of him for being a mere shepherd, yet none had the scrotal qualities to defeat Goliath, and simply because:  David LOVED God.
   In Squirrel Girl we see a protector of Central Park.  An admiration for even the lesser mammals, knowing:  power is relative, and be can potent if we appreciate ourselves, and laugh at ourselves.
   I like Squirrel Girl due to a squirrel's tail I used to hang from the rear-view mirror of my Chevy Monza during adolescence, which everyone called a piece of crap.
   We all have bullies.  We all have potential.  So, send out love, and bury your nuts.  Whoever you are, if you love the Kingdom of God within you; next, IT will love you back.   

Crystalline Cool (7)

   
   "Crystalline Cool (7)"
   
   Duncan returned home to the mundane modesty of it all, yet as the Moon did offer a New and changing perspective, the mysticism of his beautifully bizarre life ignited--Roadkill jumping upon his chest for a doggy embrace as he exited the El Camino, and Dad, puffing away on his Dominican Republic cigar ordered off the Internet, smiling under a night sky only ornamented in the constellations that once offered Ronald Reagan the courage to speak the truth of things beyond the nature of man.
   After some heavy petting on Roadkill and innocent licks from the dog's slobbery love, Duncan approached his father, sitting next to him on a futon out upon their redneckish front yard, the old, mature-looking man, steeled by years of existence, crafted by God's Divine Hand, and armed with a sense of jocular joy probed his son's night out with a girl, like this:  "Was it better than that time you fornicated with a seedless watermelon?"
   Duncan blushed:  "Dad, I told the Priest about that at Confession.  Why are you giving me the business?"
   The old man laughed, saying:  "Oh Duncan, my child, how you loved your mother while all the rest ran, living their lives while you transformed yours--you took a beating, yet God spanks all of his children, though from now on--you'll only get a time-out."
   "You're such a sage Dad."  Duncan said, blushing.
   His Dad puffed away; next, stated:  "The Book of Life has already been written, and sometimes God rereads it; thus, time is relative, and there are funny stories, for some pursue that witch-scorned look of a man having a selfish discharge into his own jubilation, yet others suffer with the Saints, and those fools for Christ give the downtrodden water; then, Jesus gives them a hundred cups in the Heavens."
   "Have you been drinking tonight Dad?"  Duncan asked.
   His Dad blew a symmetrical smoke ring, saying:  "No firewater tonight; plus, I never wear a mask, you know that, or speak bravely of myself, yet lock my prayers in a secret chamber, unlike the hypocrites wanting to be seen giving false praises in public, while a dog gallantly poops underneath the Sun, and your mother used to lock the bathroom door when she made a bowel evacuation--that poor, nervous woman."
   Duncan laughed so hard his belly felt warm and cozy.  

Lando Calrissian and Redemption

   
   "Lando Calrissian and Redemption"
   
   Even the late, great General Schwarzkopf Jr. said that Lando betrayed Han Solo; however, when you possibly have Boba Fett's disintegration blaster and Darth Vader's powers of the Dark Side at your throat; next, there's not much of a choice--or is there?
   Regardless, Lando shows us redemption, displaying a heroic attitude in the rescue of his old buddy Han.  Plus, the deleted Tatooine sandstorm scene from Return of the Jedi possibly offers further illumination into Lando's apology to Han; furthermore, Han forgives Lando, allowing him to pilot the Millennium Falcon during a raid on the second Death Star. 
   What does this teach us?  Christ might wisely state:  "When your brother sins against you--rebuke him.  But if he asks for forgiveness many times; then, forgive him."  
   Lando, that scoundrel and gambler, turned out to be a pretty cool guy.   

Margaret of Castello

   
   "Margaret of Castello"
   
   Date of birth and corporeal death:  1287 - 1320.
   
   Margaret of Castello was birthed blind, having a severe curvature of the spine, difficulty walking; moreover, was a dwarf.  Her parents basically incarcerated her for 13 years so no one could see her unsettling disabilities.  However, they journeyed with her to a Franciscan Church, where miracles were reported, yet when no cure came--they abandoned her.
  The poor took her in; furthermore, Margaret learned and loved the Book of PSALMS, living in prayer and charity.  She ultimately joined a religious order.
   In 1558 her coffin was found rotted.  Yet when opened, her body was perfectly preserved.  She was Beatified by the Catholic Church and is considered the Patron Saint of the poor, disabled, and unwanted.  What a truly gallant tale, her never getting angry over her condition, but suffering alongside Christ our Lord.  

1984 Lotus Esprit S3

   
   "1984 Lotus Esprit S3"
  
   While residing in Little Rock in them metal music days, where the beloved Hogs will always be constantly called, I used to follow a 1980's Lotus to the gym on my motorcycle when I was an adolescent, into the belief that muscles made a tough guy, which of course is not true for the redneck scrapper, him fueled by spirit alone.  Anyway, here are some specs for the 1984 Lotus Esprit S3--this version more prominent in Europe.
  
RWD with manual 5-Speed gearbox.

120.2 Cubic Inches, though I may be a bit thrown off by the Metric System.

Cylinder Alignment:  Line 4.

2 Carburetors.

160 horsepower.

160 lb-ft torque.

Still, the performance is uncanny--like this:

0-60:  6.7 Seconds.

Quarter Mile:  Around 15 Seconds.  

Top Speed:  138 Miles-Per-Hour.    

Crystalline Cool (6)

   
   "Crystalline Cool (6)"
   
   Duncan had followed his father's advice, knowing the intercession of a truly wise patriarch was necessary at most times; therefore, he asked Aimee out on a date.  Nothing fancy, just a banana malt and some french fries with sea salt.  She agreed with a toothy smile.  Duncan returned her bright smile with a halfway, Han Solo grin.
   He filled up the rusty El Camino with a half-tank of gas--all he could afford, and a tear rolled down his cheek as he left Roadkill at home, wanting to bring the holy hound, but thinking it the wiser to allow for Aimee and him to sweetly gel on their first rendezvous before being accompanied by his canine companion.  
   She lived in a trailer, and had cats.  He sneezed a few times when she got inside his cool vehicle, her wearing jeans covered in feline fur, and a conservative gray sweater--her blonde mane flowing downwards upon her angelically curved shoulders, and when she looked at him with her emerald green eyes, he melted softly like Frosty the Snowman always did at the end of his animated life.
   They cruised the pastoral settings of their rural poverty, finding a SONIC, and ordering very meekly.  Within the counterpoise of car and truck, the twosome talked not politics nor religion, but got into the vibe of sports.  Aimee was a big baseball fan, and so alive with glee that the two teams chosen for the World Series were the Cubs and Indians.  She stated:  "Baseball is calm and charming Duncan.  So darn charming."