RePost: Berserker

Below is a micro-story I wrote back in September of 2004 on my LiveJournal (Original Link). It was referenced today, so I figured I would repost it somewhere easier to find.

For those wondering, the [lack of] backstory post is here. Basically, there is no backstory, not officially. It was kept open to reader interpretation. The story came from what flashed through my head when I heard Bodies by Drowning Pool and tried to figure out what would take me to that level.

---

Berserker

He walked into the house at a near run. On his way to the stairs he shouted to the man on the couch that the girls would be home soon and he needed to fix them something to eat. All he got in reply was a grunt from being forced to wake too early.

Once upstairs, he grabbed the small duffel he had sometimes used for short weekend trips. He put in a white sheet from the linen closet, then made his way to the closet. Pulling various things from the shelf behind the clothes, he strapped them onto his arms, legs or belt.

Before he left the room, he grabbed the necklace that bore the ring she had worn so many years before. Putting it on, he did run now, catching a confused look from the man, and answering it with a look to which the man could only nod.

By the time he made it back, he did not hear, and could only barely see. He dropped the bag, kissed her, and he squeezed her hand. As he stood, his eyes faded from the deep forest green they had been to a dull grey. He saw little except for the flash of a red bandanna on the kid running behind the building. They were the reason he was here, and they knew it.

He started with a slow walk. The first one still had the look of shock on the face that was, along with the rest of his head, severed from his body. He did not think, he only acted. One of them thought to aim a gun at him, only vaguely did he wonder if that one had felt the small throwing knife sink into the soft place in his throat. They were shouting at him, but he did not hear. Those that came to him were dead before they realized they didn't have the upper hand. Those that ran were followed, or fell from a knife in the knee or tendon.

One by one, those with the red bandannas fell. Knives, and other blades were discarded when they were no longer necessary. The last one tripped over her, the end result of their deed, and fell to the ground, tears streaming from his eyes as he prayed to his God and begged for mercy. What he got was the hilt of a seventeen-inch dirk sticking out from between his eyes where the blade had been driven home. Twenty-three had worn the bandanna. Twenty-three had done the deed. Twenty-three corpses were now in the backstreets and alleys they had once claimed.

With the white cotton sheet he pulled from the duffel he wrapped her lifeless form and lifted her from the ground. After carrying her back to the garden they had grown, he placed her on the bench they had placed there.

Pulling his last clean knife, a sgian dubh with their clan crest on the butt, he cut her a longstem red rose and placed it atop the sheet, already soaked with a red deeper than the petals of the rose.

He stepped inside the house and found his girls at the table with Tim cooking grilled cheese sandwiches not far away. Kneeling down, he hugged the two close, "Mommy won't be coming home, and Daddy's going to have to go away for a while." He ran his hands through their hair and kissed their foreheads. "Uncle T will take care of you until I get back."

He took the sgian dubh and placed it, along with the ring, on the table before the eldest of the girls, his First-Born. "Never forget who you are."

He collected his things and walked towards the front door. "Take care of my girls, T, they are all I have left of her." With that, he opened the door and walked out, bag in hand, shutting it before the children could notice the red and blue flashing lights.

Frugal Living 2: Food Frugality

In an online "discussion" (link) on taxes, food stamps, "fair share", government spending, and other semi-related things that typically get brought up in such "discussions", I came across someone making the statement that Eating fresh, healthy, unprocessed food is expensive and a luxury.

It does nott matter if you fall to the left, right, or centre when it comes to fiscal matters; that someone would make (and believe) such a statement is wrong on many levels. Including in those levels the fact that government subsidies (such as those for corn) has driven the cost of "junk food" well below where it should be. Further, people have forgotten how easy it is to grow "fresh, healthy unprocessed food", and even if you include the cost of preserving it for later use, it is still far more inexpensive to grow and store your own food than it is to purchase it from the store; at least for the items you can produce on your own.

Insight: Selective Perception

Last night a number of recent conversations culminated in some very reflective dreams. originally, I was going to write a long blog post about family, and may yet do that, just not today. It was going to be about the different kinds of family, with a portion dedicated to "the family we choose" and how, over the years, most of my family of this type has dwindled to nothing before I realized what they were.

Frugal Living 2: Extreme Couponing

At the grocery store tonight I got stuck behind a Couponer. I was reminded of what it is I dislike about the whole "Extreme Couponing" phenomenon. It perpetuates the illusion(delusion?) that how much you are saving is more important than how much you are spending.

Milestones

In just under four dozen days, I will have been on this earth two and a half dozen years.

Somewhere in those 0z40 days I'm going to have to write a post as to why I prefer dozenal over decimal, but for now, just understand that dozenal ages make for great milestones.

• At a half-dozen years, I started the first grade, and, more importantly IMO, Cub Scouts.
• At a dozen years of age, I was given my first [pellet] rifle and taught to shoot.
• At a dozen and a half years of age, I graduated High School, became recognised as a legal adult and eligible to vote in elections.
• [Incidentally, the legal drinking age in this state is one and three-quarter dozen years old.]

You can see why this makes for great milestones; well, as stated above, I will be two and a half dozen years old fairly soon, so it's time to assess where I am, and, more importantly, where I want to be in six years.

Here's where I am:

• The Good:
• I'm married to the love of my life
• I have a smart, handsome son
• The Bad:
• I'm broke
• Over $40k (decimal, not dozenal) in debt
• No House
• Currently living with / renting from my mother
• Car that constantly needs fixing
• The Ugly:
• I'm obese (I weigh well over two gross pounds, and I consider two gross too gross)

So, where do I want to be in six years? 

Well, I want the parts that are currently good to stay that way, if not improved upon (growing the family would be nice).

 I want to be in shape, 0z160lbs would suit me just fine if it was muscle instead of fat.  I want to be able to do all the things a human should be able to do (pull myself up onto a ledge, walk around Stone Mountain at a decent clip without getting winded, etc).  Barring injury, I want to have participated in a few Highland Games.

As for the improving my financial state, I need to be in my own house. I don't want to be in any more debt than I am now (including any mortgage). I want a new vehicle, one that I can do some of the maintenance on myself (I'm currently too fat to change my own oil).

I've got a long way to go, but I'm constantly working towards becoming debt free, self-reliant, and fit; while maintaining honour & integrity, improving happiness, and decreasing negative stress.

KUpdate!

I tried to start back to my paleo/primal diet at the beginning of the year, and it lasted for a little over half the month of January before we hit a snag with the finances. So, I was eating grains and other such foods I should be staying away from for the later half of the month as they were already in the pantry. As of this morning, I am officially back to the low-carb lifestyle. Also, as of yesterday morning, I am back to taking my multi-vitamin of choice.

Baked Scotch Eggs [Paleo Friendly]

Time for another recipe post, this time for baked scotch eggs, one of my favourite paleo-friendly foods. I was initially taught how to make them by Pam Kohler-Camp of And Sarah Laughed Pottery, who is like a second mother to me. They are dead simple to make and can be altered to fit your dietary requirements… maybe… as long as you can still eat eggs, I'm pretty sure you can find vegan sausage out there, but I'm going to stick to meat.

Electoral College – The Last Bastion of State Power

The Electoral College is probably the most debated aspect of our election process by those who are aware of its existence. You will find many articles and arguments on the internet calling for it's removal; I say most of these are by people who either a) don't understand why it exists or b) understand why it exists but believe in having a powerful central government rather than a limited one. Here you will find my views on the subject and some of my arguments on why we should keep the Electoral College, and perhaps strengthen it with a repeal of the 23rd Amendment, which, I am proud to say, was never ratified by my home state of Georgia.

2012 Goals

Okay, stealing the idea for this post from Shawn Stratton's Blog and his post of the same title, I am posting a list of my major goals for the year (along with some of the minor ones). Like Shawn, I don't really do New Year Resolutions all that often, but I do set goals and swear oaths.

As the below goals get completed, they may be replaced with newer goals. This is especially true of the Health & Fitness and Professional goals.

What's Cooking: Steak & Onions

Evening, folks. I'm going to try a new segment called What's Cooking, where I will share what I'm cooking, and how I'm doing it. I will also try to post pictures to a web album, so you visual people can get a better idea of what's going on.

Tonight's dish is Steak & Onions which is one of the things we do with the London Broil(Top Round) that comes as part of our package from the meat market. This is about as simple as we make it, as we always have onions in the house. Feel free to add mushrooms or strips of peppers to this dish, we do. This dish is a low-carb dish and is suitable for paleo/primal diets/lifestyles.