Grogan’s Castle Lounge is located on South William Street. This is not a wide street but from its pavement grand stonework steps lead up to the magnificent eighteenth-century Powerscourt House. A few yards further down this street, on the other side of it, stands Grogan’s. It was Saturday evening at around 6pm when I entered this fine establishment. This was twilight time – the crossover between the business of the day and the night. The space was shared by shoppers and regular drinkers. The shoppers were rewarding themselves after a hard day’s procurement. Many were ...continued...

I vividly remember writing a story about a Strawberry Queen, just before my 11+ exam (I had just read Alice in Wonderland). I was rather proud of my surreal composition but my headmistress, who for unkown reasons was taking our class, told me that if I wrote rubbish like that in the exam I didn't have a hope of passing. Beware of throwing me down a gauntlet! I was only one of two in my class who did pass the 11+. Not that it did me much good. With parents that never stayed in one place very long and this being during the period when w ...continued...

North Pole ...continued...

http://tinyurl.com/y8kakux7I'm writing this as encouragement for authors who get dumbed down reviews from mindless readers. Even though I have over (200) five star reviews on my novels Blue Hole and the sequel River's Edge I still get a few reviews like the following. One said, "I haven't stated to read the book yet and not sure i will so I'm giving it one star. Another said, "Not sure if I was able to follow the story I've been on pain medicine, one star. A third said, "I didn't like the book but my husband and our son did, one star." I le ...continued...

I always think about my past, and what my past brought me that woud trap me up inside, surround and remind me of fear, disappointments, and hopelessness. Once it would help me with struggles so many things I done. Like the song said to me, “There’s always tomorrow..,” but the past was monopolizing my present today. So what do I do with all that baggage inside of me? How did I sort it all out? I know that my troubles and lack of resolution with my past affects important relationships. The peopl ...continued...

Affirmations Morning thoughts are very important because it establishes our attitudes for the day. What do you think about when you first wake up. Are you irritated? Are you unmotivated? Do you hit the snooze over and over. Remember, the top don’t act like this. Neither do you. Nothing changes overnight, and for that matter over a week. Commit to the following exercise. What do you have to loose? The majority of people are not doing mental programming. The majority of people are not successful. As (??) said &ldquo ...continued...

My mother said I was a wampus cat. What a wampus cat is exactly, I can't tell you, and I doubt if Mom could either, but there you have it. A wampus cat. It brings to mind some sort of wild animal, like a bobcat or panther maybe. A wild animal isn't me, though, but wampus sounds kind like whopper, and to my ears it also brings to mind big. Maybe that early conditioning is why I still fight the battle of the bulge today. After all, if I'm a wampus cat, I must be big. Nothing like starting on the old self concept a little young. Bu ...continued...

Once again it's “Deja vu all over again.” Never ending white entitlement, delusional history and the usual threats of violence are now playing out at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon, one of the more important bird and wildlife sanctuaries in the country and located in an isolated corner of Oregon. Malheur is being occupied by a handful of white (Christian?) terrorists with the apparent and enthusiastic support of ISIS no less. The Refuge, however, happens to belong to all the people of the United States. But like a shopworn moral ...continued...

Born in Grenada, Mississippi on March 26, 1996. I had always known that i was attracted to other since I was about 6 years old ...continued...

Hello, I am Austin. I am currently enrolled as a Biology student at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. This story will follow me through out the coursework of Client Diversity in Health Science, which is part of my required social sciences/cultural diversity core competencey classes. I've always taken a liking to natural sciences, more specifically health science. I began my journey as a Biomedical Sciences (medical technology) student back in 2011 where I began to fall out of line with the concepts that were being taught to me. I took a few years off and am now back studying Bi ...continued...

I regard the Hi-B bar to be a family gem. It must be treasured, jealously guarded and passed down the generations. Established in 1923 and originally named The Hibernian, my father must have been a patron of this establishment since its first beginnings. He was born in 1897 and spoke fondly of his time spent here, sometimes before and after a visit to Cork opera house. In the 1930’s he moved to England with the Ford motor company but a visit to the Hi-B was a mandatory part of our annual summer pilgrimage back to Cork. The Hi-B is situated on the first floor of the junction of Oliver ...continued...

My entire world changed, days before my eighth birthday. The years of pain and stress had taken its toll on my guardian angel. I awoke one morning to find her out of sorts. Something major was happening to her health. The last I remember of this time was trying to talk to her, but she had gone deaf. I watched her intently as she sat in front of her dressing table getting ready to go to the doctor. Little did I know that this would be the last time my guardian angel would be with me. My mother suffered a stroke, and was left paralysed the ...continued...

Cultural competence has a great deal of meaning to me especially after taking this class. I define cultural competence by having the ability to be cultural aware of the differences of other cultures than of your own. It has a major impact on health care in our country because there are so many different groups and cultures of other people besides your own. I feel one is an ideal health care provider when they continually educate themselves on how to be culturally competent and understanding of others. I feel being culturally competent means making sure a patient you are working with understand ...continued...

The lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the government, the government should not support the people. (President Grover Cleveland, while vetoing a bill offering financial aid to the poor, 1887) Collyfoxing By coincidence I happened to see a YouTube video put up by Jon Ritzheimer a few weeks back, one of the gang leaders that occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and who is now in jail. He stood in front of a table piled high with dozens of dildos that his detractors had sent. What struck me, however, was the seemin ...continued...

[These series of articles were written in 2005 and some appeared in the Kansas City Star] What was the best “con” of the twentieth century? My vote goes to the worldwide diamond trade. Debeers and friends, who consolidated the markets in the late nineteenth century, secured a monopoly of truly remarkable proportions. Who in the world today doesn’t know that a diamond is forever and is also a girl’s best friend? The “grass” trade in the United States may not be in the same league as the diamond monopoly, nor did it deliberately start out in it ...continued...