He Finally Understood: A Harris Burdick Inspired story

The door had always been the least favorite part of his house. It was strange, way to small for a normal person to comfortably use, and it had this sense of wrongness about it. Whenever he looked at it through the corner of his eye he could’ve sworn he could see symbols traveling along it, His heart was pounding. He was sure he had seen the door knob turn. He hurried to grab the can of paint he had come to the basement for. He then turned his back toward the door and quickly walked up the stairs, until he heard a creaking behind him. He whipped around and stared at the door. It hadn’t moved, he shook his head convinced that he was just imagining things. He then continued up the stairs, as he left the basement he let go of the breath he didn’t realized he was holding. The tension left his body as he locked the basement door. He thought he was being paranoid but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with that door.

He awoke to the sound of something moving through his house, he could hear the opening and closing of drawers and doors. He prepared himself to go and investigate, when the door to his room began to open. He instantly froze and feigned like he was sleeping. He peeked and saw that the door was wide open. Standing in the frame was a creature that defied reality. It’s face was frozen in a grotesque smile that defied it’s cold dead eyes. It was incredibly tall with lanky limbs that seemed to have no weight to them. It moved towards his bed with a smooth gait that seemed so incredibly normal. He scrambled up to the other side of the bed. It didn’t even react to his movement, except to adjust its path towards him. As it approached it simply asked him “ Why did you ignore the door?” By the time the last word had been spoke the monster had reached him. It towered over him, looking down upon him with those beady black eyes. As he stared into them he began to see the door, and the symbols, he finally understood.

They found the man’s body in his basement with his hand wrapped around a doorknob, His eyes had turned a deep inky black and his face had a look of profound terror. The Forensic experts were puzzled they could not understand how the man had died he had no marks upon his body, and no sign of any damage at all. It was late at night when finally there was only one police officer there to guard this crime scene. The officer decided to check the basement, he didn’t know why he just felt uneasy about it.

He made his way down the basement stairs, staring at that little door. It seemed wrong, impossible, like it shouldn’t exist. How such a mundane thing could give off such a feeling the officer did not know. He froze on the steps as he could see the doorknob slowly turn. The door opened and the creature seemingly unfolded from it. He was petrified with fear he couldn’t move or think. The creature approached and he stared into the void of those eyes, and he finally understood.   

Window Poem

A band of trees

The beautiful open sky

The leaves are falling

Sometimes I think I'm like those leaves

The sun sinks down, it's light retreating

A deer traveling through the trees

A family of Ducks nesting near a pond

Artist Poems

The prison fell, and I rejoiced

My bonds had been destroyed

I was free

I must have my revenge

The crimes committed

Must not go unanswered

The tragedies befallen me

Will be there final regret

With revenge

I will find Peace

They watched as people passed them by

Forgetful of the old ways

The traditions of mankind

Forgotten they had lost their power

But not their ambition

A return to the old ways

A restoration of how things were

Until then they would wait, and watch

Patiently waiting for a return

An awakening of the truth

Favorite Quotes

"It doesn't require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires to people's minds."- Samuel Adams

"If a man neglects to enforce his rights, he cannot complain if after a while, the law follows his example."- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Tell them of us and say, For their tomorrow We gave our today."- Kohima Epitaph

"In the end what separates a man from a slave? Money? Power? No, a man chooses, and a slave obeys!" Andrew Ryan - Bioshock

"No one rises so high as he who knows not whither he is going" - Oliver Cromwell

"The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood." - Otto von Bismarck

"Nearly all mean can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character give him power." - Abraham Lincoln

"The mob is the mother of Tyrants."- Diogenes

"In a rich amn's house there is no place to sput but his face." - Diogenes

Artist profile: AI Weiwei

Ai weiwei is a Chinese artist who was born on August 28, 1957 in Beijing, China. His father was the famous Chinese poet Ai Qing, and his mother was Gao Ying a stay at home mother. He has a younger sister Ai Xuan. He started his schooling at the Beijing film Academy, then he moved to America and studied first at University of Pennsylvania then at University of California Berkeley.

Some important world events that happened during Ai Weiwei life are the fall of the Soviet Union, the Cultural Revolution of China, the Vietnam war, 9/11, and the Iraq War. One thing that most people would not know about Ai Weiwei is that his father was Ai Qing.

The Mediums that Ai Weiwei uses are Film, sculptures, photography, and architecture. The movement that Ai is most associated with is Excessivism. His most famous works are Sunflower Seeds, Beijing National stadium, and Dropping Han dynasty Urn. The two pieces that I could write about are Dropping the Han dynasty urn, which is him taking pictures of himself dropping an ancient Han urn. I could also write about The Circle of Animal Heads, which is just sculptures of animal heads in a circle.  

Fist Line and Last Line Make Them Yours

"Of all the things that drive men to sea, the most common disaster, I've come to learn, is women." -

The old question rings particularly true, is it better to have love lost or to never have loved at all. I wish I would have never loved at all. To never know the pain of having your heart ripped out as someone you loved betrayed you would be worth never loving. It creates this howling emptiness a void of hatred and regret. All other feelings are numb with in your chest. The disgust that simple memories could bring. So I ran. I ran until I hit an ocean, and decided that I had found the perfect escape. The next day I had enlisted in the Emperor's Navy. I was stationed on the HMS Charlemagne, the flag ship of the entire navy. After ten years of service fighting pirates, raiders, and massive monsters of the deep ocean. After distinguishing myself in many battles and skirmishes I was finally given my captaincy.  My first assignment was the dreadnought the HMS Attila. We immediately sailed off to patrol the fat reaches of the empire. as we finally reached our destination in the cold winter north, we ran into a raider fleet. I called for my ship to go into battle stations as I sent a message warning the empire of the oncoming enemy. We set course directly for the center of the raider formation. We entered the center of the formation all of our weapons firing. After minutes of constant firing, we begin to take heavy damage. My men began to give their lives to continue to fire at the raiders. Suddenly I found myself on the ground unsure of how I got there. I continued to bark orders until I saw my second in command in my vision. I told him "... you must go on, I can't go on, I'll go on." As everything faded to black.

Memorable Passage

"Men and women, Canadian and American, who have been born in the concept, instilled in the idea, of liberty. These people of the fields, woods and mountains, pour from these regions to fill our military. Not, as many city folk think, because they're poor or desperate but because this is their essential nature. No person is happy to give their life, but the people of this region believe that there is something larger than their selves. Not just God, although many are believers in God, but a vision, a philosophy, a shared belief in freedom and justice and the battle against tyranny. From their mother's milk they are filled with this belief, that to die in the cause of freedom brings not heaven but a better place here on Earth for succeeding generations." - Live Free Or Die - John Ringo

This passage really speaks to me because I really feel the same way. I believe that freedom truly is worth dying for. It is something that is precious for me. I do see my goal that before I leave this Earth I want it to be a better place not only for my children but for everybody on the planet. The fact that they're judged by the city people that the only do this because they're poor or desperate, but because they believe in something. This belief is something that I think is beginning to disappear with all of the political infighting that America is facing. I hope that we can make a comeback, and return to the time where freedom is more important than anything else.