The Virus

He hitchhiked (slowly) to Plattsburgh, NY, and was pretty sick of it (the getting stranded part), so he took a bus to the border (Lacolle-Champlain).
They wouldn’t let him in. He had proper ID and all - birth certificate, SS card, photo ID, etc. They don’t believe he’s only staying for a few weeks - they didn’t believe the friend he was going to stay with there, and refused to even call the people he lives with in Ohio to confirm. He’s now not allowed in without having a house or a job on the other side, but he doesn’t exactly want to buy an expensive ticket home or anything.
I’m trying to figure out some way to help, but I really can’t think of anything, and he’s pretty bummed and thoroughly exhausted (not having slept in more than 24 hours), and is mostly looking for a cheap way home. I’m going to call the people he lives with to see what they say; he’s in customs on the US side, and they’ve told him he’s not allowed to use his cell phone.

• Pissed off. I was about to check out a patron w/2 items. Coworker answers phone, pushes me out of way, spends 10min fumbling w/comp. Pre … #

I found a whole different side to Massillon that I wasn’t aware of, while trying to find something else entirely.
I was looking for any sort of urbex opportunities, and after a bit of searching I found an art show sort of thing going on later this month, by a ridiculous hippie art center. All in town. The town that is defined by football and Jesus. Seriously.

There are more colors than black and orange, people.

• Tetris: 95,760 #

• Little boy with a t-shirt that says: JUSTIFIED (in a banner swirling around a cross) just as if I had never sinned. He looked to be about 8. #
• Gameboy Tetris: 80,845 #

One bright day in the middle of the night
Two dead boys went out to fight
Back to back they faced each other
Drew their swords and shot each other
A deaf policeman heard that noise
He came and killed those two dead boys

I find the variations of the Two Dead Boys poem fascinating. Everyone who knows it knows a slightly different version, and it changes as it gets passed along (like traditional folk songs and poems - The Three Ravens/Twa Corbies is another one that interests me).
I’ve since added the lines “If you don’t believe this lie is true / Ask the blind man, he saw it too” to the end, after picking them up from other people’s versions.

I stand before you to sit behind you to tell you something I know nothing about.
There will be a gentlemen’s meeting for ladies only, so wear your best clothes if you have none.
Free admission, pay at the door; great seats, right on the floor!

I’m probably not remembering this right, but I’ve seen it as both a separate rhyme and as part of the Two Dead Boys.

Further reading: The British Columbia Folklore Society; or just google two dead boys for other people’s posts and sites about it.

• Voting day. Clinton’s going to win Ohio, just so you know. V-V #
• Little boy with shirt saying ‘justified just #

• Idea: The Traveler’s Guide to the 20th Century. History, geography, politics, science fiction. #

• In the attic of the library, alone. It reminds me of one of my nightmares. Need to come back with a camera & a flashlight, & maybe a rea … #

• Too damn cold. It should be either April or Oregon. #

• It’s gorgeous out here, calm & cold & quiet, with the prettiest snow this season. #

• Travel scrabble. House rule: make two words in 1 move, score is both multiplied. Got 35 on ‘nee’ & ‘we’. -E #
• Nobody in the library agrees on how to shelve things in AV, & i get to deal with the mess. -E #

• A very kind man named jim - i think - gave me $5 for more glowsticks. It makes people happy! -E #
• There are some girls here discussing politics, in the way that one tells them what to think and the others nod along. "So we don’t like … #
• The ditzy girls discussing politics? Are teachers. -E #

• I had a fantabulous day at work, which involved three hours of getting high off carpet fumes in AV while alphabetizing CDs, and another … #

• Power outage in Massillon! I still have power at home, inexplicably. #

• Free glowsticks make everyone happier. Especially me. #

• 4pm-5pm wordcount: 594. Total: 594. Note: cherries & answers. Learning & forgetting? #

• Ballcock nuts! #

• I never thought I’d be so happy to have a runny nose. #
• Know what hurts like hell? MY SEPTUM. Know why? ME NEITHER. #
• BLASTERFINK! #
• Rec: www.mangolanguages.com ; very cool free flash-based language learning program. In beta, a little buggy, but great. #
• Rec:http://www.livemocha.com/ ; practice languages with native speakers, help people learn your languages, quite neat. #
• Now I want to get better at Spanish, and learn German and Mandarin. #