Jazmee27 
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THE TWENTIETH
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The curious thing is it looks like Tom did fix the heating/cooling system. There were air currents from the time he left until around 8:30, when I turned the heat button on just to see what would happen when I switched it off. Oddly enough, there were no more air currents. Mom’s opinion? “You overreacted.”
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Reply #1941. Aug 09 12, 7:14 AM
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Jazmee27
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I knew to expect it, and even so I jumped. But the advanced warning from Mom helped afterward: normally, I dissolve into tears once the drill’s over. Then again, maybe the alarm just wasn’t on long enough to shatter my nerves. We’ll see.
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Reply #1942. Aug 09 12, 7:14 AM
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Jazmee27
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MISS SMITH
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I read it in ‘Short Stories’ issue #200. The story? “Miss Smith,” by William Trevor. I’be never cared much for the author’s other works, but I try not to judge a piece of writing by its author.
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Reply #1943. Aug 09 12, 7:15 AM
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Jazmee27
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A lot of the pieces in this magazine tend to be weird. In “Miss Smith,” a student is picked on by his teacher—and is relieved when she quits to start a family. James continues to bump into Miss Smith—and she continues to look down on him, for what reason I cannot fathom.
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Reply #1944. Aug 09 12, 7:17 AM
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Jazmee27
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At some point, James decides to get his revenge—and the perfect opportunity comes in the form of Miss Smith’s baby. Just how James does it is unclear, but little “incidents” happen at Miss Smith’s that make her appear to be an unfit mother. When her husband discovers the nursery is full of gas, things come to a head:
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Reply #1945. Aug 09 12, 7:18 AM
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Jazmee27
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“It hissed insidiously from the unlit fire. The room was sweet with it. The child, sleeping, sucked it into his lungs. The child’s face was blue. They carried him from the room, both of them helpless and inadequate in the situation. And then they waited, without speaking, while his life was recovered, until the moment when the doctor, white-coated and stern, explained how it had been a nearer thing than he would wish again to handle. ‘This is too serious,’ Miss Smith’s husband said. ‘We cannot continue like this. Something must be done.’ ‘I cannot understand—‘ ‘It happens too often. The strain is too much for me, dear.’ ‘I cannot understand it.’ Every precaution had been taken with the gas-fire in the nursery. The knob that controlled the gas pressure was a key and the key was removable. Certainly, the control point was within the child’s reach but one turned it on or off, slipped the key out of its socket and placed it on the mantelpiece. That was the simple rule. ‘You forgot to take out the key,’ Miss Smith’s husband said. In his mind an idea took shape that frightened him. He shied away, watching it advance, knowing he possessed neither the emotional nor mental equipment to fight it. ‘No, no, no,’ Miss Smith said, ‘I never forget it. I turned the fire off and put the key on the mantelpiece. I remember distinctly.’ He stared at her, drilling his eyes into hers, hopelessly seeking the truth. When he spoke his voice was dry and weary. ‘The facts speak for themselves… I’m sorry, dear. We must advertise for a woman.’ ‘Please—‘ ‘Darling, I’m sorry, there’s no use talking. We have talked enough and it has got us nowhere. This is something to be sensible about.’ ‘Please let’s try again.’ ‘And in the meanwhile? In the meanwhile our child’s life must be casually risked day in, day out?’ ‘No, no.’ Miss Smith pleaded, but her husband said nothing further… Miss Smith’s husband did indeed advertise for a woman to see to the needs of their child, but it was, in the long run, unnecessary to employ one. Because on his third birthday, late in the afternoon, the child disappeared.”
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Reply #1946. Aug 09 12, 7:19 AM
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Jazmee27
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THE TWENTY-FIRST
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Mom has a plan to go to the Market tomorrow with Kathy. When asked if I wanted anything, my reply was the same as last week “my usual.” And then I stopped and asked if they still have fruit, and if so whether they have strawberries. “I don’t know why, but I’m hungry for berries.
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Reply #1947. Aug 09 12, 7:21 AM
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Jazmee27
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DEADLY WOMEN
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‘I’m taking notes, and I’m not talking about in the Pac Mate,’ I thought as the 8 PM showing of “Deadly Women” came on, ‘but I’ll do that, too.’
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Reply #1948. Aug 09 12, 7:22 AM
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Jazmee27
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[FOR MY STORIES]
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First was the story of a twelve-year-old Canadian girl who, along with her twenty-year-old boyfriend, disposed of her parents and eight-year-old brother. The motive? She was in love.
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Reply #1949. Aug 09 12, 7:23 AM
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Jazmee27
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Next, a 27-year-old married woman meets 30-something police officer online and “manipulated him. He had no idea that the contents in his emails were lies… He wanted nothing more than to live with her. Among the stories she concocts: she’s pregnant with his twins, and her husband’s abusive—and that one day he kicked her in the stomach. And, out of a desire to be with her, he kills the husband—then realizes, when he sees her with another man, that “he killed an innocent man.” And so he goes to the police to turn himself—and this con woman—in.
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Reply #1950. Aug 09 12, 7:24 AM
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Jazmee27
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The third story is that of a toxicologist and drug addict who murders her husband a few months after their marriage—and tells police he did it himself because he was distrqaught she wasdivorcing him. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old woman was having an affair with her boss and starts using meth again. “She felt the only way out was to murder her husband.” But her undoing came because she attempted to duplicate a scene from a popular movie.
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Reply #1951. Aug 09 12, 7:24 AM
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Jazmee27
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Fourth was a woman who “believed she had special powers… no one was safe when Josephine was around.” At some point in a relationship, she’d become more and more hungry for cash—and her spouses would then become expendable. Finally, the police are able to charge her with fraud and murder by using “The Slayer’s Rule.”
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Reply #1952. Aug 09 12, 7:25 AM
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Jazmee27
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The fifth story is about this young attorney who defends—and marries—a con artist, only to end up dead.’Elisa and Sarah became good friends, and partners in crime. They began stealing money from Larry, and the women couldn’t risk that he’d go to the police or something, so they killed him.’ “The idea of giving someone horse tranquilizer just boggles my mind.” And the two friends: Police arrest Sarah, and “take her into custody,” then apprehend Elisa “at a resort.” Sarah goes to trial, but Elisa dies in prison—killing herself before the appointed day.
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Reply #1953. Aug 09 12, 7:26 AM
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Jazmee27
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Sixth, a 51-year-old millionaire marries a 33-year-old woman who takes advantage of his nice nature. “Peter had been good to Shirley,” but the end of the story ended tragically for him. She befriends a couple of drug users and claims that her husband’s abusing her—sound familiar? The three call on Peter and torture him for hours: “If he was conscious at all, it would have been terrifying.”
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Reply #1954. Aug 09 12, 7:27 AM
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Jazmee27
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NIGHTTIME VIEWING
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Here were my choices for TV viewing tonight:
- “Main Street Mysteries”
- “Forty eight hours on ID”
- “Deadly women”
- “Hocus Pocus”
- “Manhattan Mob Rampage”
- “Lockdown”
- “Fatal Attractions”
- “Ainfested”
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Reply #1955. Aug 09 12, 7:28 AM
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Jazmee27
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First up, “Fatal Attractions.” What would possess someone to (a) keep a tiger as a pet, (b) blame the cat when he/she got hurt?
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Reply #1956. Aug 09 12, 7:28 AM
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Jazmee27
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RUNNING LATE
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Chris called to say he was running late, and could he come in twenty minutes? I decided to reschedule, as my leg still hurts. So we’re scheduled for Monday at the same time.
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Reply #1957. Aug 09 12, 7:30 AM
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Jazmee27
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DING DONG!
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It’s been a year since Michael broke up with Jodie, and I get it’s hard for him, but the way he’s putting his life at risk… Smoking’s bad enough, but he routinely goes to bars and gets drunk—considering he’s on Coumidan, that’s just not wise.
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Reply #1958. Aug 09 12, 7:32 AM
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Jazmee27
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DIPSTICK
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According to emedtv.com, “alcohol intake can affect the medication in various ways. A consistent, moderate intake (such as one drink per day) is usually OK for most people. However, binge drinking (or even “saving up” for the weekend can increase the risk of bleeding—including dangerous internal bleeding. Chronic, significant alcohol use, such as with alcoholism, can have the opposite effect, making Coumidan less effective by increasing the risk of blood clots, while at the same time increasing the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.”
e [EEK]
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Reply #1959. Aug 09 12, 7:33 AM
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Jazmee27
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THE TWENTY-SECOND
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“Every time I talk to you, you get stranger and stranger.” This I said to Michael when he answered the phone, as he has a tendency to goof off, and I couldn’t tell who it was at first.
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Reply #1960. Aug 09 12, 7:36 AM
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