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

Technology Tuesday: 3d Pens

Image from PC Magazine; click for original source

In a world where 3D printing already allows us to use a printer to create anything we can dream up, 3Doodler takes things a step further by letting you draw solid sculptures in real time.  

This new 3D Printing Pen called 3Doodler lets you wave your pen through the air - and a trail of heated gel - the "ink" - will follow.  Once the gel hits the air, it cools, freezing in midair.  Though the pen hasn't hit the shelves quite yet, kids reading Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon and dreaming of their drawings coming to life may be one step closer to seeing their dreams become reality.  

Happy 200th Birthday to Pride and Prejudice!

Pride and Prejudice turns 200 today!  First published on January 29, 1813, Jane Austen's novel of money and marriage has endured over the years to become a modern classic.  Though Pride and Prejudice describes a very 19th century courtship, its themes of love, independence and family bonds still resonate today.  In fact, the novel has become so much a part of our times that nowadays you can catch heroine Elizabeth Bennet doing anything from killing zombies to dancing with a gospel choir on the beach. 

Want to learn more about Jane Austen and her most famous novel?  Check out these links from the British Library and  GALILEO, the library's online academic article resource!

Jane Austen: Author Page

Database: Literary Reference Center

What's on it: Biography, analysis, plot summaries, reviews, links to full novels.

Pride and Prejudice Book Discussion

Database: NoveList

What's on it: Discussion questions, analysis, similar books

Jane Austen Manuscripts

Database: British Library

What's on it: Scans of Jane Austen's writing in her original handwriting.

Get through finals week with these handy web tools!

Finals stress getting you down?  You don't have to go it alone - you can find tons of free software on the web to help you organize, research and spice up your final projects.  Here's a sampling of some of what's out there.

Workflowy: Organize Your Brain
Website: https://workflowy.com/

What is it?: Workflowy is a fantastic tool for the scatterbrained and for list-lovers.  It has a simple interface that lets you organize your to-do list and keep your life on track.




Write or Die
Website: writeordie.com

What is it?: If you need that extra push to keep you writing, Write or Die gives the ultimate threat - if you don't keep writing, it'll start deleting everything you've typed, one word at a time.  A great website for last-minute papers.

Prezi
Website: http://prezi.com/

What is it?: A cleaner, cooler, jazzier way to do powerpoints.  Prezi has an easy to use interface that lets you make beautiful presentations and save them online.  For an example, check out this video the SCTC Libraries made using Prezi:



NoodleTools
Website: SCTC Portal to NoodleTools

What is it?: Citations! Need help pulling together a bibliography?  Type your information into NoodleTools, select what style you want your citation to be in, and NoodleTools will generate a bibliography for you.  Using NoodleTools requires a log-in - get in touch with your library staff for the password!

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...

INFOGRAPHIC: What are you reading this summer?

Everybody a loves a good flowchart - especially when that chart helps you sort through all the options of new, classic, fiction, and non-fiction you could be reading out by the pool.  This handy infographic from Teach.com  guides you through some of the best summer reading out there, whether you're interested in time travel, family drama or the Spanish Civil War.

So what will you be reading this summer?  Personally, I'm working through The Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - not completely seasonally appropriate, seeing as the tag line is 'Winter is Coming.'  Leave us a note in the comments, or see the full flowchart at the Teach.com website!

Maurice Sendak, Children's Author, Dies at 83

If you've ever joined the wild rumpus where the wild things are, or took some cautionary advice from Pierre, your life has been touched in some small way by author Maurice Sendak.  The visionary children's writer and artist died today at the age of 83, following a stroke.  He leaves behind him a rich, strange, and beautiful collection of work.  

My favorite was always Chicken Soup with Rice - a poem my sister and I used to chant as kids whenever we got sick and had to live off of soup and rice.  What's your favorite Sendak book?  What memories do you connect with the stories he wrote?

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: The Prison Poet

Robert Counts wears many hats: he is a poet, a chef, an ex-convict.  His passion for poetry developed during his 27-year prison sentence - he read everything he could get his hands on, from the works of Malcolm X to the poetry of Robert Frost.  In time, he started writing poetry of his own.

Rejection

by Robert Counts

I am the stone that the builders must reject
yet I house not anger nor regret
toward anyone lacking imagination,
I was born to move mountains,
to command the breath of worldwinds and hurricanes
to never look back nor down, except in introspection,
to make certain that only splendor surrounds me
and yet when I see pebbles floating on the scum of time,
I am forced to reflect, how can it be
that I am the stone that the builders must reject,
yet I stand tall without such defects,
for perhaps one day, the builders will need just such a structure
to measure up to...

Now, with his 27 year sentence behind him, Robert has earned himself certification as a Culinarian and works as a chef.  But he hasn't abandoned his writing - a book of his poetry titled First Light and Other Poems will hit the shelves this Fall.

To learn more about Mr. Counts, check out this feature article by Doris Friedensohn from the Huffington Post: link

National Poetry Month: Finding Poetry in Nature

Today's Poetry Month feature comes from our very own SCTC faculty, Celeste Matthews!  Alongside her work as veterinarian and teacher in Southern Crescent's Biology department, Dr. Matthews is also an accomplished singer/songwriter.  In the song featured here, Dr. Matthews reflects on some of the threats facing earth's biodiversity.

National Poetry Month: The Poetry of Limbaugh and Gaga

No matter your opinion of Mitt Romney, the first word you think of when you hear his name is probably not "poet."  That is, unless you're Kathryn or Ross Petras.  In their recent article in The Huffington Post, Kathryn and Ross skim through the words of some of today's most prominent public figures, looking for snatches of poetry.  The results are weird, hilarious, horrifying and fascinating.  But mostly hilarious.

Still not convinced?  Maybe the poetry of Lady Gaga will change your mind:

So Many Different Ways to Think About Colors

by Lady Gaga

If I decide to make a red coat in the show, it's not just red. I think:

Is it communist red?

Is it cherry cordial?

Is it ruby red?

Or is it apple red?

Or the big balloon red?

I mean there's so many @&#*ing different kinds of red!

Check out the article here!  (*Warning for strong language)

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! 

Winter Reads: SCTC Suggestions

Looking to earn your pizza party by reading a book over winter break?  Here are some recommendations from your library's bookshelf - perfect books to keep you going during the cold winter months.

Griffin Campus Library

61 Hours
by Lee Child

Summary:  A tour bus crashes in a savage snowstorm and lands Jack Reacher in the middle of a deadly confrontation. In nearby Bolton, South Dakota, one brave woman is standing up for justice in a small town threatened by sinister forces--and Reacher will risk his own to save her from a coldly proficient assassin who never misses.

Call Number:  PS 3553 .H4838 A614 2010



The Devil in the White City
by Erik Larson

Summary: Erik Larson intertwines the true tale of the 1893 World’s Fair and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.

Call Number: HV 6248 .ML37 2004

A Game of Thrones
by George R.R. Martin

Summary: A tale of court intrigues in the land of Seven Kingdoms, a country "blessed by golden summers that go on for years, and cursed by cruel winters that can last a generation." The story that inspired the HBO series.

Call Number: PS 3563 .A7239 G36 1996




The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson

Summary:  The disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger gnaws at her octogenarian uncle, Henrik Vanger. He is determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder. He hires crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist to get to the bottom of Harriet’s disappearance. Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old, pierced, tattooed genius hacker assists Blomkvist with the investigation.

Call Number:  PT 9876.22 .A6933 M3613 2008


Flint River Campus Library



Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking
by Malcolm Gladwell

Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others? Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology, the author reveals that great decision makers aren’t necessarily those who process the most information or spend the most time thinking.

Call Number: BF 448 .G53 2007


The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd

Summary: Fourteen-year-old Lily and her companion, Rosaleen, an African-American woman who has cared from Lily since her mother’s death, flee their home after Rosaleen is victimized by racist police officers. The story takes place in 1964 when racial unrest and civil rights were in high mode in the South.

Call Number: FIC KIDD



Middlesex
by Jeffrey Eugenides

Summary: "I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of l974. . . My birth certificate lists my name as Calliope Helen Stephanides. My most recent driver’s license...records my first name simply as Cal."

Call Number: FIC EUGE


The Yiddish Policemen's Union
by Michael Chabon

Summary: Imagine if Franklin Roosevelt had opened Alaska to unlimited Jewish immigration during and immediately after World War II. In Chabon's alternate history, millions of Jews emigrated to Sitka, establishing a vibrant Yiddish-speaking culture. Now, sixty years after the creation of this independent Jewish settlement, Alaska is about to revert to U.S. control. What will happen to the population?

Call Number: FIC CHAB

Technology Tuesday: Finals Edition

December is just around the corner - and with it, the finals crunch! This Technology Tuesday features tools to help you cope, whether you're cramming for a test or trying to churn out another paragraph for a research paper.

Noodle Tools
*What: Noodle Tools walks you through the whole research process, from information gathering to writing the paper to citations and bibliographies.  You can use Noodle Tools to help you organize your resources, format your paper, and even set up 'To Do' lists to keep you on track with your assignments.  Check out the online tour for more information!
*How: You can access Noodle Tools through the library website.  To create your account, you will need the school/library password, which you can get by talking to your librarian.

Scholarly vs. Popular Resources
*What:  One of the hardest parts of any research project is figuring out how trustworthy your sources are.  This video is a great starting point for judging any information resources you might think about citing.



Internet Public Library
*What:  Google not giving you the resources you need?  Search through the Internet Public Library (IPL) for free, reliable online resources.  You can search by subject or by resource type.  Still not enough?  You can submit a research question, and a librarian will help you find relevant resources.
*How:  Click here to browse IPL's resources, or here to ask a question.

Write or Die!
*What:  If you need that extra boost to get you writing, Write or Die gives great motivation - if you stop writing for too long, it'll slowly start erasing what you've done so far!  You can adjust the speed and the length of the 'crunch time' before it starts deleting.  This is a life saver for procrastinators.
*How:  Visit Write or Die, set your time and word goal, and start typing directly into the text box.  When you're done, you can download or copy/paste what you've written to Word.

Do You NaNo?: find out more about national writing month!

Calling all writing fans!  Whether you've been writing for years or just have some fantastic ideas for a story that you never had time to put on paper, here's some great motivation to sit down and plug out that novel you've always wanted to write.  November is National Novel Writing Month (or 'NaNoWriMo' for short), a time when writers across the world challenge themselves to come up with 50,000 words worth of a novel in the space of thirty days.



This may sound a bit crazy at first.  Fifty thousand words in thirty days is no slouch, especially if you're balancing school, a job, or any sort of life at all.  But what better way to make yourself finish a project than setting a deadline and sticking to it?  Many writers can tell you how hard it can be to find the motivation to not just start writing a novel, but plowing through the stress and self-doubt of actually finishing it.  Through NaNo's website, writers find a community of support where they can trade ideas, encouragement, and review each other's work.

Interested in signing up, or just checking out what all the fuss is about?  Check out their website here, take a look around and set up a free account!