Chapter 1: Part 2

“Zu take the body and bury it at the spot. Mal help your brother out and then run quickly to the flag post. We need to summon the Fifs and the Lawas for a meeting. And hurry, we can’t let any of the kids see this.” He knew the children would be out any minute now playing on the sand. As Zu and Mal fetched the body out of the water he overheard them banter back and forth on how many bodies have shown up in the past month. They argued whether it was twelve or sixteen. Both didn’t know how to count properly so what amused the Chief the first time quickly became something more irritable. As they passed him down the beach and headed off to the burial site, the Chief knew that was the twenty-eighth body. More alarming to him was the fact that it was the fifteenth in two months. What started two years ago has escalated, causing fear within him. He wouldn’t be able to hide this from his people much longer.

As he turned to head back to the village he glanced to the north east and saw the blackness. Far past their eyes could see of clear blue seas and tropical skies, a continual gloom had mounted in the horizon, every month growing larger and larger. At first the villagers thought a volcano had blackened an island many ages away where they have never ventured to, but after months they knew it had to be more than that. The chief knew that was something much worse, an evil engulfing life and love and slowly creeping towards them and their neighbors.

Chapter 2: Awake

“Whatup whatup! Thank God it’s Friday! It’s the morning wake up show wit ya boy, Chuy Gomes. For all of you lovers out there, this one’s for you...”

“She makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up
Just one touch
And I erupt like a volcano and cover her with my love
Babygirl you make me say (Ohh ohhh ohhhh)”

Lawrence, tired from his late night rendezvous, rolled out of the queen bed that occupied half of his tiny San Francisco studio apartment. Last night wasn’t a dream. His clothes were still on, the star-shaped stamp from the dance club was still on his right hand, he still needed to shower, and most importantly, he could still smell her sweet fragrance and feel her light touch.

But his 9:30 meeting wasn’t going to wait for him so he slapped the alarm off, trudged slowly across the 12’x16’ room, and flicked on the wall mounted HDTV he got as a graduation present last June. Only 9 months ago that he left Cal with an econ degree. He laughed to himself, no more getting up at 1pm, time to get ready for work.

With Stuart Scott on Sportscenter “boo-yah-ing” in the background and sunlight forcing its way through the drapes above his tiny desk, Lawrence meandered on over to his small bathroom and jumped in the shower. Once finished and toweled off, he flipped through his floor to ceiling closet and got dressed.

“Gotta look good for my meeting” he thought to himself. So he donned his finest suit, navy blue with pinstripes, silver tie, and black leather shoes.

“Ain't nobody dope as me I'm dressed so fresh so clean”

He loved that song, made him feel like a million bucks. After snatching his brown leather briefcase off the desk, slipping his iPhone into his pocket, and placing the headphones in his ears, he was ready. Not ready for work, ready for the night to come so he could see her again. Work just got in the way.

Chapter 1: Part I

The waves and the gnawing from sea creatures made it impossible to tell what it was but they knew it wasn’t from around the island. The mid section and chest were still in tack but chunks of the body were missing. Green pigment on the skin was still visible with clumps of ragged sunburned hair swaying with the ocean. The neck was flimsy and the head was completely missing aside from the left cheek. A thick full lip was half there, which also revealed some sort of tusk protruding from the jaw. It looked human but it wasn’t. Large muscular legs and boulder like feet made this creature ten feet tall.

“Zu stop that!” The Chief grunted, exasperated with him but more with the situation. Zu ended his curious poking of the body as it floated near the shore.

“Chief, what do you want us to do with it?” Mal, Zu’s brother asked as he was slumped over the body as well, curios for yet another body has floated ashore.

The Chief placed his hands over his face dreading this morning. Irritated that he was awoken so early, he was still thankful his less than perfect assistants were goofing around on the beach to see it. The sun had just cracked through the clouds that blanketed the horizon giving the island a golden glow. Birds and frogs began melodic songs as the smell of sweet pig and Longa rice were in the air to wake up this tiny coastal village. Turning back to view his home, the Chief paused reminiscing of his childhood innocence and happiness. He thought of his family and his parents and how in 67 years of living in this divine island, not much has changed due to his hard work to keep it that way. Fiery tattoos sprawled all over his face as aging wrinkles changed its appearance from young confidence to bedtime stories. His portly belly and relaxed stance was a metaphor for life on the island. His nightmares had caught up. He could not longer hide the truth and knew today was the day he would have to tell his homeland what lay beyond the waves.

Chapter 1: Drunk

Lawrence came home drunk. Again. It was the fourth straight night. The smell, the laughter, the freedom. Boy how he enjoyed himself. These late night rendezvous were becoming routine. Every day after work, he’d be out late enjoying himself. So much so that all of his regular routines were compromised and he neglected his other responsibilities. He didn’t stay at work late to finish his projects. The gym and exercise became afterthoughts. His life was changing for better or worse and he simply couldn’t concentrate on anything else.

But it didn’t matter, especially after tonight. Tonight topped all of the previous nights. Even at 3:43am as he fumbled for his keys in the darkness, nothing could wipe that smile off his face. He couldn’t help but enjoy himself. Just like the previous nights, he would collapse into bed without changing his clothes and without showering. He actually preferred it that way because when he woke up in the morning, it reminded him of the amazing night he just experienced.

He went to sleep thinking one thing, how much fun it was going to be tomorrow night. How intoxicated he was going to get. How drunk he got off of her love.

Religion? Your first post is about religion?

I never intended my first blog post to be about religion, but it’s been on my mind for a few days after reading, The Case for Faith. In fact it’s been on my mind for awhile now, and seeing my perspective change on Christianity is crazy. Having finished reading two books, The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith, I have a completely different view of what it means to be Christian. In my exploration of Christianity, there are a bunch of obstacles in the way. This proverbial path towards becoming Christian is littered with questions and concerns. Let’s look at one.

So Many Christians, So Many Sinners
One of my obstacles centered on why so many horrendous things were done in the name of Christianity such as The Crusades. Heck even normal people living their lives perform obviously sinful actions and still call themselves followers of God. Why would I want to be a part of a religion whose people can’t seem to help themselves from doing immoral things?

Then I read this. Gandhi said of Christianity, “I love Christ, but not Christians”. It’s so simple, but powerful. Think about it. The one and only representative of Christianity should be Jesus Christ and how he lived his life. He was loving, cared for the poor, the sick, the weak. He embodied what it means to be a great person. That is what it means to be Christian. Ignore the Christians, focus on Jesus. Honoring him and living your life after what he taught, that is what Christianity is.

I’ve come to believe that 80% of Christians are not people you want representing Christianity. Whether it’s because they live a purposefully sinful life or because they simply cannot help it, these so-called Christians are poor examples. So, I’m trying to separate the two, trying to separate Jesus and Christianity from Christians because the two are not the same. Christianity isn’t about these people, it’s about living your life honoring God.

It’s an interesting revelation for me because it allows me to ignore all the junk said about Christians, ignore all the negative news, and focus on how Jesus lived his life and understand what that really means.

I can tell that as I learn more and more about Christianity, I’m going to write more and more about this and what I’m finding. Hey it's a big piece of what's going on in my life, gotta write about it. It’s forcing me to focus on each obstacle and clarify my thoughts.

Does Gandhi's quote have the same effect on you as it did on me?

EDIT: What are your thoughts on Gandhi's quote?

The Welcome Wagon has Arrived

What the heck is this blog about? And what is a Proverbial Post-It? We don't even know, but we will be writing. Writing about whatever we feel like. Here are some of our ideas:

- describing a scene of a picture
- starting a chapter story
- debating! We pick a topic and have to bring only one point at a time and argue it
- short story, emphasis on short
- pick 5 words and weave them into a story
- find a news article and make an argument for or against something in it
- pick a letter and every sentence has to start with that letter
- poems - haiku, limerick, rap, etc
- write a children's story

Come to think of it, we'll probably just be writing about whatever is on our minds. Sometimes we'll write about a certain topic, other times we'll just write because we want to write. We're just trying to get better at writing and have fun at the same time.

Let's get writing...