Student Spotlight: A-Hunting We Will Go, Part 3

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This week's Student Spotlight is a three-part short story from Southern Crescent student Jeremy Cato.  

Link to Part 1
Link to Part 2

A-Hunting We Will Go: Part 3

by Jeremy Cato

I walk closer to him, asking over and over if he was ok, and I pleaded to him as I hurried as fast as I could to get back. Ryan just hung there shaking and had a look upon his face of complete madness. Fire replaced his eyes. He seemed as though he was in shock or something. As I drew near him I detected a foul odor that was strong and fresh. Then it dawned on me what the smell was. It was deer urine. “What did you do, spill the deer attractant on you while I was gone?” I asked, in a kidding type of voice.

     “THAT DAMN DEER PISSED ON ME,” he blurted with a deep demonic voice.

     “WHAT?” I asked in dismay.

     “Yeah, he came right up to me, smelled me for a minute, and then hiked his leg up. I knew what he was about to do so I moved enough to get my pistol from my shoulder holster and got off a shot. I don’t know if I hit him or not,” he ranted and raved.

      I finally got Ryan loose after at least an hour and a half of cutting and pulling barbed wire. I helped him gather the things that he lost on his roll down the hill and the sudden stop by the barbed wire. “Let’s get to the truck and go home,” I barked.

       “Heck yeah,” he chimed back.

       On the way back to the truck, Ryan told me more about the deer that had urinated on him and the size of his monster antlers. “Wow, too bad you didn’t kill him with your pistol, that would have been the trophy of a life time!” I exclaimed.

       “Sure would have,” he answered back.

       We went two more yards when all of a sudden this huge buck jumped out of the brush five yards from us. I quickly took my gun off  safety and shot the deer and it dropped to the earth with a thud. I ran up to it and began examining my kill. He was a beauty. As I examined him I noticed fresh blood on the buck as well as that odor that their urine gives off.

       “OH MY GOD, RYAN, THIS IS THE DEER THAT PISSED IN YOU!!” I yelled. Ryan ran over and with an amazement look on his face said, “I’ll be a mixed puppy, it is.”

       “I could not have gotten that lucky. I can’t believe it’s the same buck.” I said.  Ryan said nothing but I went to work field-dressing my kill. I finished my task and ask Ryan to help me drag it the rest of the way to the truck. He refused at first, but I talked him into it. If he wanted some of the meat it was his only option.

       On the way home, Ryan didn’t say much. I guessed it was because in reality it was his buck that was going to be mounted on my wall. A nice fourteen pointer above my fire place instead of his, I took as an insult considering he had dealings with the buck first.

       We arrived at Ryan’s and when he got out of the truck he told me he was done hunting. I didn’t question him. I went home to get my wall ready for my deer head. Ryan and I haven’t gone hunting since. Summer is coming soon and Ryan keeps bragging on this new fishing pole he has purchased. I went and bought me one too. I guess our next adventures will consist of being on a lake somewhere. I guess that bass boat I have always wanted will be in my drive way this pay day.    

The end!

Student Spotlight: A-Hunting We Will Go, part 2

Some rights reserved by Bods

This week's Student Spotlight is a three-part short story from Southern Crescent student Jeremy Cato. Keep your eye on the blog over the next week for the next installments!

Link to Part 1

A-Hunting We Will Go: Part 2

by Jeremy Cato

       As I came to the edge of the hill, I looked down at the creek. Half way down I could see where a barbed wire fence was once, and in that fence, tied up like a knotted string on a shoe, was Ryan. “Oh my God,” I shouted.  I started my decline calling his name. As I reached him, I could hear his low cursing mixed with moans and groans that were obvious from the way he was tied up with the fence. “Are you ok?” I asked. He just looked at me. His eyes filled with rage and fire. I checked him out to make sure he wasn’t badly cut. Thank goodness he only possessed a few scrapes that weren’t that bad. “ Are you ok?” I asked. He just looked at  me with a demonic look on his face and  fire in his eyes.  “What took you so long”! he demanded. I studied him a second and replied, “I had to wait till I could see since I left my flashlight in the tree stand,” I cried. “Well get me out of this crap, NOW,” he screamed. “I can’t believe I walked off the edge of the hill as many times as I hunted this stand,” he exclaimed. I looked him over a minute examining the situation he was in. “Ok, it looks like I got to go to the truck and get some wire cutters, you going to be ok until I get back?” I asked.  “Do I have a choice?” he yelled. With the rage being detected in his voice, I just turned and walked away shaking my head with a smirk on my face. I knew I had to wait to laugh, even though it was wrong of me, but it would be so considerate of me to do so. Deep down inside I knew he would be laughing his ass of at me as soon as he seen me in that predicament. I literally sprinted back to the truck. A very hard task considering I still had my gun and all. 

             The tool box on the back of my truck contained a vast majority of tools, so I had everything I needed to help Ryan out. I grabbed the bolt cutters, a hammer, and a multiple set of pliers for holding and twisting the barbed wire to free him. If this didn’t do the job, he was sure enough in trouble. I closed the toolbox and began my way back to free Ryan from his barbed wire imprisonment. I was just about to him when I heard him scream and shout. I heard a gunshot, but it wasn’t a rifle, it was Ryan’s 357 magnum pistol. We both carried a hand pistol for back up. It echoed through the woods like thunder during a rainstorm. I believe the ground shook as well.  Chill bumps ran up and down my spine like radio waves seen on a monitor. I broke out into a full run to get to him quicker. I was running so fast I just about ran by him.

Continue to Part 3

Student Spotlight: A-hunting We Will Go, part 1

Some rights reserved by irrezolut

This week's Student Spotlight is a three-part short story from Southern Crescent student Jeremy Cato.  Keep your eye on the blog over the next week for the next installments!

A-Hunting We Will Go: Part 1

by Jeremy Cato

          My friend Ryan and I decided it would be a good morning to hunt. We had rented this particular hunting land a few years back and had good success killing some major size deer.  We arrived at the hunt site around five o-clocks in the morning. A little early, but what the hell, the freezer was empty and funds were running low. I myself had nothing to stay home for, so I hunted. Ryan on the other hand had a sweet wife and two beautiful little girls, so I figured whoever killed one there would be supper on the table for us all.

       We pulled up where I normally park and got out. Filling my fanny pack with the essentials I would need for sitting in a deer stand for hours on end, I looked at Ryan and asked him where he wanted to hunt that morning.

        “Doesn’t matter to me,” he replied

        “Ok,” I said, “why don’t you hunt in the stand just down the hill from me?”

        “That sounds good,” he replied.

        We began walking down the small road that went toward the south of where we parked the truck. As we walked, we conversed a little on this and that - nothing too important, just getting in the mood to hunt. Killing “the big one” has been a conversation we have had on the way to our stands for years. I knew where we were going to hunt this morning, had big signs of some nice size bucks.  We talked a little of how nice it would be to kill one before we got to the stand. I reckon we were just hoping we wouldn’t have to sit in a stand for hours on end. I do not know about him but when I am in my stand I sit there and pray for a deer or just for it to be time to get down for lunch or whatever. I am not really the diehard hunting fan like some people are but I like to get out on cold mornings and try my luck.  You know, the way some people do the lottery. It gives me something to look forward to as well as some way to hang out with my friends.   I do think that Ryan felt the same way but I was not sure.

        The road came to a dead end and a trail to the left would lead us the rest of the way. A quarter of a mile and it was time for Ryan to head his way.  “Go straight to the right, down the hill a little and look up, you will see the stand that you’re hunting in this morning,” I told him.  “Just be careful. I am not able to tell you how the land looks at this particular time but it shouldn’t be that bad,” I finished.  “I know how to get there,” he replied. “You act like I’ve never hunted it before,” he bulged.  “Ok,” I said, “if you have any problems, just shoot one time and I’ll be there,” I instructed. 

        We got to the point of our departure. “I‘ll see you in a bit,” I told him.

       “Ok,” he murmured. He disappeared in the darkness and I began climbing the tree to my sit in my deer stand. Muttering to myself on how cold it was, I checked my watch. It wasn’t too long until the sun would peek over the horizon. I thought to myself and hoped that Ryan would find his stand.

        The sun began to light up the far horizon, when gunshots rang out in the quiet forest. I knew it was from Ryan’s gun. I climbed out of my tree stand but it was still too dark to see fully. I had to wait. There was no way I was going in his direction knowing he may have been shooting at a potential meal. Besides, he might mistake me for a deer and shoot me. As I waited for the sun to rise a little more I fired up a cigarette. As I stood there, I began to wonder why Ryan hadn’t come to get me yet. If he shot a deer, surely he would be here by now. So, I began walking toward his hunting area. His hunting area was on a hill that equaled out at a creek bed at the bottom.  A perfect spot to shoot a big deer. 

Continue to part 2

Spooky Storytelling Competition

Think you have what it takes to spin the most blood-chilling tale on the Southern Crescent campus?  Join us at the Griffin Library for a Spooky Storytelling Competition!  From 4.00 PM to 5.00 PM on Halloween Day, you'll have the chance to read your most terrifying original story to a captive audience.

Prizes will be given to the most spine-tingling story tellers, with a $30 gift card going to the first place winner, a $20 gift card to second, and $10 gift card to third place.  Come celebrate Halloween in spooky style!

Student Spotlight: A Detective's Tale, Part 3

Written by student Michelle Silver, this mystery will be posted in three parts over the next week.  

A Detective’s Tale: Part 3

I ran into Dottie few days later as she was leaving a salon. She had drastically changed her hair color and style.  This intrigued me.  Something told me she was up to something.  When I said hi she acted as if she had never seen me before in her life.  I decided to follow her as I was off for a few days and had nothing better to do.  Instead of going home, she went to a restaurant on South Beach.  It was sort of run down and not the type of place she would normally frequent.  She sat at an outside table and ordered a frozen daiquiri as if waiting for someone.  She kept looking around every way except toward the beach that everyone else was looking at.  The clouds over the water were the prettiest shade of pink and purple, as it was nearing sunset and it made me wonder why she hadn’t noticed. 

I didn’t have to wait long for my answer.  All of a sudden, who shows up with a new haircut and clean shaven, but Mr. Undercover?  Now they really had my attention.  How did they know each other?  Had they met during the murder investigation?  I doubted that - after all that would have jeopardized his operation.  I tried to move close enough to hear their conversation.  What I heard would totally turn this whole story around.  I approached the detectives working the case and they were interested enough to arrange to watch and record both Dottie and Mr. Undercover.  After all, no one likes a dirty cop.  They hoped I was wrong, but I wasn’t.

It seems that Dottie had met Mr. Undercover during a domestic dispute before her divorce.  They had been attracted to each other from the start.  After her divorce they started dating.  When Jake had gotten into financial trouble, knowing he liked to gamble they plotted to set him up.  Mr. Undercover met him at Jai Lai, and told him about a bookie he knew that understood about gambling addiction.  Introductions were made and Jake fell into the dangerous world of bookies and loan sharks.  When he had gotten in deep enough, Mr. Undercover told Mike about Jake’s ex-wife wearing some very expensive jewels at some fundraisers he had seen in the paper.  Arrangements were made for Jake to steal the necklace and bring it to Mike.  Unbeknownst to Jake and Mike, another plot was also in the making.  Mr. Undercover would find out where and when Jake was supposed to turn over the necklace and would beat Mike’s man there.  Unfortunately, Jake had changed his mind.  So, Mr. Undercover went to Jake’s house in the middle of the night, and tortured him until he turned over the key to a locker where the necklace was.  Knowing Mike was sending someone to Jake’s house in the morning, he couldn’t leave Jake alive.  So he killed him and got to Mike’s house at his normal time.  In the morning he acted surprised to find out Mike had been crossed.  He volunteered to help Mike find out who had gotten to Jake first.  In the meantime he turned over all his information on racketeering to the RICO squad and Mike was busted. 

Mr. Undercover took a few weeks off and during this time he and Dottie applied for passports.  Supposedly to go to the Bahamas on a much needed vacation. I was lucky enough to be there when they were surrounded at the marina as they were about to set sail.  They even had the necklace on them. It seems they had contacted the original owners and had negotiated a very profitable deal for its return.  After all, the insurance company had paid her over $75,000.00 twenty years ago.  The daughter wanted her necklace back but didn’t want to reimburse the insurance company.  So it was worth it to her to pay these people $100,000.00 to give her the necklace and move to some island far away and start life over.  I just wonder if both of them would have made it to the Bahamas.  After all, the brutality I saw in the way Jake died made me wonder if Dottie would have become shark bait.  One can live a lot better on $100,000.00 than two. 

I returned home after stopping at police headquarters where I had to make a statement.   No charges would be filed against the daughter from Star Island, but the insurance company was notified that the necklace had been recovered.  They took possession and she could have it back if she repaid the insurance company.  At this time the insurance company is loaning the necklace and its story to one of the museums here in Florida.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a TV movie about this one day - after all it has theft, deceit, and dirty cops - what more could you ask for? As for me, I think it’s time to find a small town, maybe in Georgia, to move to, as I have had enough of this big city life!!!

Student Spotlight: A Detective's Tale, Part 2

Written by student Michelle Silver, this mystery will be posted in three parts over the next week.  

A Detective’s Tale: Part 2

            I started calling Jake’s phone numbers which she had supplied, and got no response.  I checked to see if any other numbers were registered to him as maybe he just didn’t want to talk to her.  No new numbers - and according to a friend of mine at the telephone company, no usage on his phones in about two weeks.  This seemed strange, as everyone gets some calls.  I decided to drive out to Surfside where he was last known to be living.  It was a small beach side bungalow set back from the road, and as I approached I knew something was wrong.  The closer I got to the house the stronger the stench got.  Having worked with animals for a while, I knew the smell of decay.  I called Surfside police and had an officer meet me there.  

           When they arrived I identified myself; one of the officers was familiar with my company and asked why I was looking for Jake.  I told him his ex-wife was worried as he hadn’t picked up the dog as scheduled and I was checking it out for her.  They asked if I had knocked at the door and I responded no; because of the smell I didn’t want to approach the house in case something was wrong.  To me it smelled like death.  I told them that Jake supposedly had been in financial trouble and if he was indeed dead which I expected, I didn’t want to contaminate the scene.  I was thinking depression leading to suicide.  Boy was I ever wrong.  The two officers approached the house and found the back door had been broken into.  Inside Jake was dead alright, but he had been beaten, tortured and then killed.  Crime scene was called out and I gave them my fingerprints to eliminate me as a suspect since I never entered or touched anything on the property.

            I called Dottie and told her she now had full custody of Aimee as Jake was dead.  I explained the police would probably want to talk to her since she was his ex.  I also told her not to worry, I had only told them she was concerned since she hadn’t heard from him and he had failed to pick up the dog.  I wasn’t going to bring up the necklace until I did some further investigating.  I returned to my office and started researching her ex-boyfriend.  Since he was famous, there had been quite a few books and articles about his days as the most famous cat burglar in the Miami, Miami Beach and Golden Beach area.  I found an interesting article about a Golden Beach robbery that has never been solved.  It occurred around twenty years ago, which put it near the time Dottie received her necklace.  Could this be the same necklace?  I was going to try and find out.  Meantime, the police were looking into the murder of Jake.  They were nice enough to keep me in the loop, as I think they knew I was looking for more than why he didn’t pick up the dog. 

I awoke one morning to find the detective at my door asking me to please come down to the station.  When we arrived they put me in a comfortable office and started asking why I was really looking for Jake.  I had a reputation to uphold and didn’t want Dottie hurt in case Jake had gotten into something, so I told them the whole truth.  After all, this is south Florida, and between the mob and the drug cartels anything is possible.      
One of the detectives showed me an empty jewelry box that had the outline of the missing necklace.  He asked me for a description of the necklace and I saw a glimmer in his eye.  He was an old timer and I think he had the same feeling I did about that necklace.  We looked at each other and then he said he had worked a case about twenty years ago and still had his notes somewhere.  He said although the case was never solved it intrigued him, because all of the other pieces had surfaced in the last twenty years.  However, there was never a trace of this piece.  He even had a picture of the necklace, and it was gorgeous.   
Later that day Dottie was brought in. They explained that she wasn’t in trouble and was not a suspect in Jake’s murder.  She was however, a person of interest in another case.  They showed her a picture of the necklace and her eyes got as big as a deer in the headlights.  Even though she tried to play dumb, she wasn’t fooling anyone.  She sat there for a while and I finally got permission to enter the room.  I had been observing from a connecting room via video cam.  She seemed relieved to see me and asked if she needed an attorney.  I told her cooperating with the police was her best option.  She explained that a boyfriend had given her the necklace twenty years ago and until he was arrested she had never even suspected that he hadn’t bought it.  After all he had a great address, pockets full of money and partied with the rich and famous.  She was young and in love.  She finally grew up got an education and changed her ways.  She had kept the necklace as a token of love from her first “True Love”.   They had a few more questions for her about who Jake hung out with and did he gamble.  She didn’t know much and they believed her.  She was driven home and told not to leave town. 

A search of Jake’s house revealed he indeed was in financial trouble.  He had kept email records on his computer of loans and gambling debts with an interesting IP address.  It turned out the IP address belonged to a loan shark and bookie that was being investigated for racketeering amongst other things.  The RICO squad had him under surveillance and had someone in his organization undercover.  It seems that people that did business with this person ended up in the hospital or vanished.  Being surrounded by ocean it wasn’t hard to completely disappear from Miami.  Contact was made with the undercover officer and a meet was set up.  During the meeting, the officer had a very interesting twist to add to the story.

It seemed that Jake had gotten in over his head with the gangster who we will call Mike.  Jake had told Mike about his wife’s necklace and that it was worth about $50,000 which was a little more than he owed Mike.  Jake was supposed to get the necklace and bring it to Mike and they would split the difference between what was owed and the value of the necklace that Mike had a buyer for.  Mike wasn’t dumb; he knew exactly where that necklace came from.  After all it had been custom designed at Tiffany’s for one of the wealthiest families on Star Island.  He also knew it had been stolen from the daughter’s Golden Beach apartment twenty years ago.  Poor Jake had no idea what that necklace was really worth.  

Mike sent one of his collectors to Jake’s house to pick up the necklace.  Jake had called earlier and was trying to renegotiate the deal.  Mike guessed he realized that the necklace was worth more than he originally speculated.  He refused to give up the stones.  Mike’s man had called and said Jake didn’t have the rocks with him, what should he do?  Mike told him “Find out where he put that necklace, whatever it takes, and then make sure he never crosses me again!”  It seemed like a lot of information until I saw the recording. Apparently the undercover had wired Mike’s house and because of new technology the tiniest mike picked up clear concise communication. The officer asked who the collector was but the undercover said he wasn’t sure.  He would get back to them as soon as he knew more.  In the meantime the RICO squad was reviewing their wire taps on Mike’s residence.  They were thinking maybe Mike called in outside talent to retrieve the necklace.  After all, the way Jake was tortured before he was killed had to be the work of a real sadist and none of Mike’s known associates had that type of reputation.  Reviewing the tape from the wiretap revealed a new twist to this already twisted story.

It seems Mike is looking to find somebody.  Whoever tortured and killed Jake was not the person authorized by Mike.  So now we have a missing necklace and a dead Jake and Mike’s man never saw Jake.  There was a taped conversation of the hit man stating that Jake is dead, the necklace was missing and the place was a mess.  Someone had beaten them to the scene!  According to the crime scene investigators other than Jake and a hooker or two, there were no prints at the house.  Which meant gloves must have been worn.  Would we ever find out who killed Jake? What happened to the necklace?  Who ripped off Mike?  What do I tell Dottie?

 I returned home and thought about it.  I would sleep on it and call her in the morning.  Didn’t sleep too well, something just didn’t seem right.  Next day I called Dottie and explained what I had found out.  Surprisingly, she didn’t have a lot of questions - she almost seemed relieved. Again I started getting that red flag feeling.  Oh well, I made up a bill and sent it to Dottie.  There was nothing more I could do as it was now a police matter.  She sent me a check with no questions asked and thanked me for my help.

Student Spotlight: A Detective's Tale, Part 1

Written by student Michelle Silver, this mystery will be posted in three parts over the next week.  

A Detective’s Tale: Part 1

From a young age I wanted to be a detective.  I grew up watching Dragnet, Police Women, and Dick Tracy and still like programs such as Law and Order, Criminal Minds and NCIS.  Around 1978, I applied to the Dade County sheriff’s department and passed my civil service exam with flying colors.  I made my appointment for my police physical and hoped to attend the academy in about three months, when the next class started.  One week before my physical, all my plans would change forever.  I was on my way home from the grocery store when I was struck by a hit and run driver forcing me down an embankment and overturning my car.  I ended up in traction in the hospital and therefore had to cancel my physical. 

After rehab and release from the hospital I found a job with a company that trained dual personality dogs, supplied security guards and did light surveillance.  I started out feeding and cleaning kennels, transporting guards and dogs to jobs and answering phones.  The owner was a retired police detective and on occasion took private investigation jobs.  I took to the job and he offered to train me to help out more in the office and maybe do some surveillance.  After about two years he decided to expand to West Palm Beach and I was made manager and partner at our Pembroke Park office.

I was now pretty much on my own and able to sign contracts, accept jobs and handle most anything - or so I thought.  Most of our work was patrolling construction sites, with or without human guards.  Some places just wanted the K-9’s which we supplied by dropping them off at closing, changing company lock to one of our red locks and picking the dogs up before the company opened in the morning.  Only our employees had keys to the red locks so we had someone on call 24/7.  In an emergency the police or company owner could always get in touch with me or one of the employees to remove the dogs.  It was an interesting job and we even provided security at the coliseum for some interesting concerts.  We were there to keep kids from jumping fences and sneaking into concerts.  Once or twice someone would want a cheating spouse followed to document the cheating for a divorce.  Although this didn’t happen too often, it was during this time that Dottie entered the picture.

She came into the office a little hesitantly and seemed troubled.  I asked her how I could help her; did she need a dog trained, boarded or security for her business?  She stated that she needed help locating an object and needed to be discreet.  I was intrigued, so I offered some coffee and listened to her story.  It seems that she was a teacher at a preschool and divorced.  She and her ex-husband Jake shared custody of a seven year old Rottweiler named Aimee.  The arrangement was that Aimee spent every other month with her.  Her ex didn’t come to pick up the dog last week when he was scheduled to be there Thursday.  She told me he has not missed picking up the dog once in over two years.  She couldn’t find him and he wasn’t answering either of his phones.  I explained she needed to file a missing persons report with the police.  She said that was not why she was here.  It seemed as though she was invited to a benefit for a charity she believed in.  When she was getting dressed for the benefit, she opened her safe to take out a very sentimental necklace and found it was gone!  

I asked her if she called the police, and she said she didn’t want them involved.  She was certain that her ex-husband had taken it since he was in financial trouble.  After all, why else didn’t he pick up the dog?  I then asked her to describe the necklace and what she told me gave me a funny feeling.  She described a Victoria graduated diamond necklace about 20 inches long set with round and marquise cut diamonds and a black 5ct. opal pendant in the center all in a platinum setting.  In the back of my mind red flags started going off.  I did a little research online and found out a necklace like that at Tiffany’s would run about $75,000.00.  My next question was who held the insurance on the necklace and had she contacted them.  I was informed the insurance had lapsed - more red flags.  How did she acquire the necklace - was it an heirloom, a gift from Jake - because I knew she hadn’t bought it.  When construction was booming her ex could have possibly bought it, but something in my instincts told me there was a lot more to this than met the eye.  

She explained that when she was in her 20s, she dated a gentleman who has since become famous.  She claims she didn’t know at the time, but he was a renowned cat burglar.  In fact, he gained world recognition when he stole one of the biggest sapphires in the world.  Apparently he had given her the necklace on their second anniversary.  After he went to prison she started wondering if he really bought the necklace as he had led her to believe.  That is partly why she didn’t want to go to the police; she also had been pretty wild as a young adult and didn’t think they would believe her.  I said I would try and find Jake and see if he had the necklace or if he knew where it was.  I explained my rates and said I couldn’t guarantee the results but I would try my best.

To be continued...

Student Spotlight: Sherry Caldwell

Blue Eyes, Skies and Why's
by Sherry Caldwell, SCTC student

People have blue eyes
Whether born with them or added on
We need them to see
Because, one day they will be gone

Blue skies are up so high
We tend to see them
Only to dream that one day
We will go to meet Him

The question is why so high or blue
We as people will need
the answer of merely
Blue eyes, skies and why's creed.

National Poetry Month has arrived!

Now that we've had a chance to recover from Kodak's false promise of instant live kittens on April Fool's Day, it's time to kick off National Poetry Month!

On the Griffin Campus, celebrate poetry with the library's I Am Poetry project at 3.00 p.m. on Thursday, April 5.  Come and listen to live readings of original poetry by Southern Crescent students!

On the Flint River Campus, stop by the library to check out the Poetry Wall, or submit some poetry of your own!

To cap it all off, we'll be posting poetry on the blog throughout the month.  We're kicking things off with former Poet Laureate Billy Collin's thoughts on reading and teaching poetry.

Introduction to Poetry
by Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

April: National Poetry Month

Calligramme de Guillaume Apollinaire [http://peinturefle.free.fr/activite/calligram.htm Source] 

Help us celebrate National Poetry Month in April by sharing your poetry with the world!  To see your poetry featured on both the blog and the Flint River library's Poetry Wall, you can email us or bring your poem to the library desk.  Whether you just like to scribble poems in your note margins during class or are an aspiring writer -- this is your chance to have your voice heard!

To submit a poem, include:
           *Your name and program
           *Do you want your name published along with your poem?
           *A typed, handwritten or scanned version of your poem

You can bring your poem to the front desk, or email it to library@sctech.edu.

To learn more about National Poetry Month, visit the official website here! 

Review of "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan

God is Love. Crazy, relentless, all-powerful love. This is the theme from Francis Chan's most famous book, Crazy Love. I really like this book because Francis Chan points out the flaws in the modern day church and how to fully live out God's true purpose in your life. He digs deep into Christian theology and helps us figure out the amazing love God has for us; to help understand that God, Himself, is the embodiment of love. Francis writes on how the storms that are allowed to swell in our lives are there so that we will turn our eyes to our Heavenly Father, but we are so focused on the problem that we don't notice. God is relentless and He will never give up on you, and all of this is backed up by research and Scripture. I recommend this book to everyone.

Randy Smith

A Review of Ted Dekker's "Thr3e"

This book was incredibly captivating; it had many twists and turns in it and I never saw the ending coming. There’s a young man, named Kevin, who is becoming a preacher at a Christian school; on his way home one evening, he gets a strange phone call where a man tells him a riddle and then informs him that if he cannot solve the riddle in 3 minutes his car will be blown up. The man also states that Kevin needs to confess his sins to the world by solving the riddle. Confused, but not taking any chances, he manages to cause mass chaos trying to get his car off of the road before it explodes. The caller calls again and tells him that this was only the first of a series of test. Before he knows it, he’s wrapped in a life surrounded by agents of different companies around the country who all want to catch a well known serial killer known as the “Riddle Killer”; one of the agents is a female CBI agent who is also Kevin’s best friend, Sam, and one other is an agent from the FBI who is the sister of the Riddle Killer’s last victim, Jennifer. They must dive into Kevin’s past where they discover his family’s abuse, his friendship with Sam, the young Riddle Killer and most all his sin. Together the three of them get wrapped in a world full of confusion, bombs, riddles and the killer’s obsession with the number three all in order to obtain one goal: to keep Kevin alive. The book was constantly keeping me guessing and changing my mind about who the riddle killer was. I would definitely recommend this book.

Lisa Smith
PALASA President

Book Review: Now You See Her and Tick Tock by James Patterson

by Michelle Silver

Now You See Her is a fast-paced moving mystery about how the mistakes we make in our youth can come back to bite us.  An innocent young girl on spring break makes a foolish mistake - now she is running for her life.  An up-and-coming attorney in the big city enjoys a respectable life with her daughter.  She has worked hard to provide a good life for her child and a promising career for herself.  How can trying to save an innocent man from death row change everything you have worked so hard to accomplish?  Will the past not only ruin your career but cost you your daughter and possibly your life?  Love, lies, and murder - or was it?

Tick Tock is a part of one of James Patterson's most popular series, relating the stories of Detective Mike Bennett, a single parent of ten adopted children from different backgrounds.  He is a devoted father and hardworking officer who, with the help of a nanny and an old priest, effectively fights some of the hardest cases New York has ever experienced.  In Tick Tock, a bomb in the library, an explosion at Grand Central Station and a homicide in an industrial area bring Detective Mike Bennett to the scene of crimes that resemble past serial killers.  Taunting messages directed at the detective make it almost seem personal.  Are these cases the work of one man or a cult?

James Patterson is a great author who introduces characters we can relate to.  In his novels, the main characters are well-respected people that you get to know personally.  I have read just about everything he has written and have never been disappointed.  The books are a fast read and move swiftly along so as not to allow boredom or loss of interest.  I would highly recommend any James Patterson novel.

Student Spotlight: "Wasn't Meant to Be"

Wasn't Meant to Be
A short story by SCTC student Jeremy Cato

 It was a cool morning on this fourth day of the tenth month. The wind was cold and seemed to cut through me like a knife going through soft butter. The sun was just starting its rise from the horizon. It would take just enough time for it to reach the point that was needed to start the day. After all, one just doesn’t get in a hurry on days like this. As a matter of fact none of us really wanted to be out on a day like this.  We arrived on the job well past our set schedule. I didn’t think this would be a problem, for the fact that we needed the sun’s light as its warmth. The house seemed to be never ending. It wasn’t a spiffy looking home but large enough to be considered a house for middle to upper class.

   As my crew and I unloaded the material that was needed for our project at hand, I walked around the job site, looking at the places we needed to repair. The house was in bad shape to only have been around for twelve years. As I was looking at a particular part of the top portion of the house I hear her soft and pleasant voice. “Good morning,” she said. I began to look around to see where this amazing voice was coming from. It didn’t take too long before my eyes met hers.

    As I looked upon her, the beauty she possessed was mesmerizing. My breath left me quickly. Her hair was golden blonde. Her eyes blue like the ocean. A figure of a goddess. Even in this weather she was protected from the cold by her looks.  The curves of her body warmed me from the inside out. She introduced herself. Her name was Karen. I introduced myself as Ned the contractor and began telling her what my crew and I were going to accomplish by the end of the day. As we talked I could feel the vibes we both were sending to each other. I asked her if she would like to have dinner with me and to my surprise she accepted.

    I picked her up at around 7.30 and took her to my favorite place to dine. We talked the whole way through dinner. It was as if there wasn’t enough time in the world to talk about simply nothing. Afterwards we took a walk in the park. I dropped her off and went home. We went out several times after this. I was beginning to fall for this lovely woman. I had to tell her. The two of us went on a picnic in the park one Sunday afternoon. After a few hours of talking and laughing I just looked at her and spoke my feelings. She said nothing. The look upon her face was a state of shock or so I thought. With a smile she told me she felt the same. A warm and happy feeling came over me, so I asked her hand in marriage. She said yes and a date was set. Karen and I would sit for hours talking about how we would decorate the church and where we could go for our honeymoon. It seemed like nothing fit our taste. As the planning went on simple was the way to go. Fancy décor just couldn’t amount to the two of us being together forever.

  The day of the wedding I was extremely nervous.  The church was decorated in white roses. The ceremony got under way. I stood at the altar awaiting my beautiful bride. Several minutes passed as the bride’s music filled the church. Why isn’t she coming down the aisle? I looked around at everyone hoping for a hint of her tardiness but there was no answer. A few minutes later a young man burst into the church with news of an accident. A sick feeling entered my very soul. I dashed from the church and headed towards the wreck. I saw my beloved’s car on its side. I burst from my truck like a caged animal. I headed for my loves car only to see her lifeless corpse being covered by the paramedics. I fell to my knees in astonishment. Were my eyes playing a trick on me?  No, what I saw was real. I burst into tears. That warm and loving feeling I had felt all this time left me. It felt like my soul had been snatched from my body. Emptiness filled me like milk does a crystal glass. How could it be? What would I do without her?  It finally hit me; I had lost my love on the happiest day of the rest of our lives together. 

Snap Judgement

Ok bloggers, so this is my first blogging attempt but I think you'll like it. This video is a clip of Snap Judgement; it's story telling with a beat. Not so much about the music (although the band is epic too) these are people just like the rest of us, and they are simply telling a story with personal feeling and charisma that is all their own....


David Mayfield

Book Review: Mercy by Julie Garwood

Reviewed by Jennifer Turner


Plot: Theo and Michelle (Mike), the lovers and main characters of the story, have an interesting meeting which involves him regurgitating his food upon her expensive dress.  She ends up performing surgery on him, not knowing that they will meet up again soon.

The Sowing Club - a group of twisted people who started off committing white collar crimes just to gain money, but end up being some hard-edged, murderous and dangerous people - seek to kill Michelle because one member killed his wife with his greed.  The wife was smarter than anyone gave her credit for; she had information that endangered the club as a whole and could send them to prison.

Review: An eye-catching, action-packed, heart throbbing, lovesick romance... sounds like a cheesy advertisement for a movie.  Mercy is a mystery-romance that leads you by the nose, giving the appearance that this is going to be an average romance story - nothing new or captivating about it.  Well, not quite true - the book does start with a slow pace for a few chapters, but once the storyline progresses the romance and action blossom.  The story will hold you in captivation for many hours without being able to stop once the first page has been turned.  With all the murdering, twists, turns, and shocks, the story ends like a dream; everyone got what each earned, whether death, love, marriage or jail.

Check it Out: You can find this book on the Flint Campus, listed under FIC GAR.  If you're a student on another SCTC campus and still want to check this book out, you can fill out an Interlibrary Loan request form to have it sent to you!

Interested in writing a book review for the library blog?  Contact Teresa Nesbitt at tnesbitt@sctech.edu for more information!

Book Review: The Blessing by Jude Deveraux

Reviewed by Jennifer Turner
Score: 3.5/5

Background information:  Amy is a poor but proud widow and single mother living in a small town in Kentucky.  Jason Wilding is a millionaire who lived in the town as a child.  Jason's brother, David, tricks him into returning to the town.  David is in love with Amy, but Amy is so busy with her infant son, Max, that she will not date.  David cons Jason into being a short term live-in nanny for Max.

Review: From a rating of five stars, this book would be 3.5 out of 5.  The book was good reading material.  The story captures you right in the beginning; the humor and romance captivate your attention.  Jason pretending to be gay while being attracted to Amy is too amusing.  Amy may live in poverty and with the pride of ten men, but her character is someone you can relate to with her simple pleasure of receiving simple things and working hard to earn what she wants.  Jason may have worked to gain what he earned, but with time he became too comfortable in his money, assuming everything can be bought to make someone happy.  The story is simple, sweet, and bittersweet in ways.  If you are a hopeless romantic thinking a woman will meet her knight in armor, I'm sorry to say it does not quite go that way.  The book has its own modern twist of two lovers separated between lies, pride and love.  But happily, it finally comes to a Cinderella-meets-prince ending.

Check it out: You can find this book at the Flint Campus, listed under FIC DEVE.
Are you a student at another campus, but still want to check it out?  Fill out an Interlibrary Loan Form to have the book sent to you!


Interested in writing a book review for the library blog?  Contact Teresa Nesbitt at tnesbitt@sctech.edu for more information!