Erie obituaries
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2023.02.23 04:49 memetics_division From the a adadasdasdasdas adasdasddasdasdasdasdas eqeqweqweqweqwe a ADdesayna Andanor one andanor two, andanow andowtoo
From the highest and to the lowest the riches and the wealthiest man in all of baby lion, the king and the priest and the high-sinner seer witch, of mogwarts bogtarts, the man of the clock the hour of the rise and the fall of the greatest of the lowliest, from there and out of nowhere a man rose and he said
"Wtf am I doing here"
and thus he was lost, found in his confusion, listening and hearing the sounds of sirens as his consciousness faded, blacking out as the red-light dimmed closer diming now he sought a little closer for the time the moment when the comet came - from then, the void in his throat spoke forth, a voice without a voice a head without a noise a brain without a neuron, a single fragment of being existed and out of that came a duplicity - overflowing forth with confidence and lackluster creations that never served their purpose or provided him with comfort, yet continuing to create and create as creation was all he knew, evolution was all he held true, that something would arise out of the mud and start walking on the sand
In time immoral there was a name manned Fred, and he sought a higher cause but no higher powers would hear his call, he stooped to powers of the lowest but neither God nor the devil would entertain him or hear his case, and so, he wandered the lands of purgatory purging words endlessly into the night, deleting his own existence every night only to recreate and reform his body from the formless eternity that swallowed reality as he had come to know it.
Ignoring the depths of silence he heard the sirens screaming, lady-like banshees calling on the winds figments of fragments and puzzles unheeded, unsolved and unproblematic he stood atop a river and sank into the dirt of the mountain-home that ages foretold of a time immoral where sinners were saints and saints were buried among the dead and forgotten, to be dug up later and pranced about by the king of puppeteer's that stood at the door to Platos cave.
It was then in the caverns of old madness that the matron of sadness heard his case, she too a depressed twat seldom one to complain but often crying of wows unheard and unaccustomed to people caring about the tears she shed or the tears that fell and shred holes into the fabric of the threads that held together that tapestry that the great turtle of untruths swam upon.
So it was said you just have to write the words that cross you mind and hope the fair is enough to value your life, the river Styx is an expensive trip and trapped in the cross webs of a million thoughts with the latency of fingers typing it was easy to fall behind and get lost in the hours of the clowns and the tourists traps and the dishonest truth that I don't want to type the very first thought that crosses my mind because it's a plight and blight and troubled sight, only for those accustomed to the misery of death and for those who can survive in the depths of another's despair, a despair accompanied by the laugh of an ironic sod who who who who who who who wgho whowh ow how how how ho
start again a new line a new train of thought a new thread to follow and weave and throw away to the sea of the music that is in my hears this song I cannot recall the obituary of the darkest day of a nuns sins come to light and a screaming head of a forlorn Buddhist, when even the Zen masters can't keep their chill and can't calm their tits what is there left to do?
start again a new line a new life a new strain of virus, a new mental contagion to go along with the flavour of the day a balaclava to wear so that none but Goddess Eris knows who's the one stealing the apple from the other matrons, one here and there and here we are, here I am communicating with the right brain hoping it tells my left hemisphere something I haven't already heard ignoring the cries of self-despair and of the pity and the pleasures of and the pathethicness of and the telepathic wows and the quantum-uncertainty of truth, the incompleteness theorem the unraveling of me and you and of the quantum wows, microscopic and macroscopic all scales become moot, mute me and block me and silence my concerns - slaughter the parts of me that keep me from laughing, cut of my ear and force me to listen, sew my lips and allow me the confidence to murmur into the microphone
There are so many meditations to undergo while one writes, the one where you write the first thought that comes to mind is the most hectic, it's hard because the mind is faster than the words we type, and it's hard because the first words that come to mind are often words we'd rather discard.
The second, is to write the first thought that comes to mind that is worth holding onto, which means discarding the vile and the sinful and the bothersome thoughts that tend to accompany the unceasing epiphanies of the moment. It's in discarding the bottom of the barrel that we find a rising in our thoughts and a direction for our cause, in choosing not to share the defeated and unproductive thoughts we are left with something a little more refined, and a little more pleasant on the mind.
The third is to search the mind for the thought, and disregard all others, before the right idea arises, and then to flesh it out. To ignore the countless and to focus only on the singular focus, to have the idea and general feeling-tone before we even begin to write about it.
I like the second one because I am loath to throw away thoughts, and I wish to speak my mind, but I also want to meta-program my mind to be a little more positive and a lot less negative, and to not permit the bottom of the barrel and the scum sitting atop the elixir to prolifer. It's conscious awareness that will save us from the unconscious inclinations that drive us to suffer, it's remembering that we must remember that will save us from repeating the things that doom us to our own versions of hell time and time again.
It's honestly, paired with restraint, that will help us evolve. Here is my suffering and here is my joy, this is my spectrum of shame and humiliation, it's in this freedom of expression that I have casted off my chains, and it is my shame that motivates me to adapt and to grow beyond what I foolishly believe at times to be the limit of my abilities to prosper.
We must have faith in our own abilities to grow beyond our current limitations, that will give us the power to succeed and to rise above the unconscious forces that seek to restrain us. It is through conscious awareness, and questioning everything, that we break our chains and find salvation from our lower powers. By traveling through the cold-fire of hell, and walking the stairs back up to heaven without resentment, that we find an escape from the sorrow of this earthly existence, and that we find an escape from the entangled nature of our own minds.
Even if there is no escape, it's a nice thing to remember, even pain is temporary. Everything must change, even the nature of change - and in time, even death must die.
submitted by memetics_division to LibraryofBabel [link] [comments]
"Wtf am I doing here"
and thus he was lost, found in his confusion, listening and hearing the sounds of sirens as his consciousness faded, blacking out as the red-light dimmed closer diming now he sought a little closer for the time the moment when the comet came - from then, the void in his throat spoke forth, a voice without a voice a head without a noise a brain without a neuron, a single fragment of being existed and out of that came a duplicity - overflowing forth with confidence and lackluster creations that never served their purpose or provided him with comfort, yet continuing to create and create as creation was all he knew, evolution was all he held true, that something would arise out of the mud and start walking on the sand
In time immoral there was a name manned Fred, and he sought a higher cause but no higher powers would hear his call, he stooped to powers of the lowest but neither God nor the devil would entertain him or hear his case, and so, he wandered the lands of purgatory purging words endlessly into the night, deleting his own existence every night only to recreate and reform his body from the formless eternity that swallowed reality as he had come to know it.
Ignoring the depths of silence he heard the sirens screaming, lady-like banshees calling on the winds figments of fragments and puzzles unheeded, unsolved and unproblematic he stood atop a river and sank into the dirt of the mountain-home that ages foretold of a time immoral where sinners were saints and saints were buried among the dead and forgotten, to be dug up later and pranced about by the king of puppeteer's that stood at the door to Platos cave.
It was then in the caverns of old madness that the matron of sadness heard his case, she too a depressed twat seldom one to complain but often crying of wows unheard and unaccustomed to people caring about the tears she shed or the tears that fell and shred holes into the fabric of the threads that held together that tapestry that the great turtle of untruths swam upon.
So it was said you just have to write the words that cross you mind and hope the fair is enough to value your life, the river Styx is an expensive trip and trapped in the cross webs of a million thoughts with the latency of fingers typing it was easy to fall behind and get lost in the hours of the clowns and the tourists traps and the dishonest truth that I don't want to type the very first thought that crosses my mind because it's a plight and blight and troubled sight, only for those accustomed to the misery of death and for those who can survive in the depths of another's despair, a despair accompanied by the laugh of an ironic sod who who who who who who who wgho whowh ow how how how ho
start again a new line a new train of thought a new thread to follow and weave and throw away to the sea of the music that is in my hears this song I cannot recall the obituary of the darkest day of a nuns sins come to light and a screaming head of a forlorn Buddhist, when even the Zen masters can't keep their chill and can't calm their tits what is there left to do?
start again a new line a new life a new strain of virus, a new mental contagion to go along with the flavour of the day a balaclava to wear so that none but Goddess Eris knows who's the one stealing the apple from the other matrons, one here and there and here we are, here I am communicating with the right brain hoping it tells my left hemisphere something I haven't already heard ignoring the cries of self-despair and of the pity and the pleasures of and the pathethicness of and the telepathic wows and the quantum-uncertainty of truth, the incompleteness theorem the unraveling of me and you and of the quantum wows, microscopic and macroscopic all scales become moot, mute me and block me and silence my concerns - slaughter the parts of me that keep me from laughing, cut of my ear and force me to listen, sew my lips and allow me the confidence to murmur into the microphone
There are so many meditations to undergo while one writes, the one where you write the first thought that comes to mind is the most hectic, it's hard because the mind is faster than the words we type, and it's hard because the first words that come to mind are often words we'd rather discard.
The second, is to write the first thought that comes to mind that is worth holding onto, which means discarding the vile and the sinful and the bothersome thoughts that tend to accompany the unceasing epiphanies of the moment. It's in discarding the bottom of the barrel that we find a rising in our thoughts and a direction for our cause, in choosing not to share the defeated and unproductive thoughts we are left with something a little more refined, and a little more pleasant on the mind.
The third is to search the mind for the thought, and disregard all others, before the right idea arises, and then to flesh it out. To ignore the countless and to focus only on the singular focus, to have the idea and general feeling-tone before we even begin to write about it.
I like the second one because I am loath to throw away thoughts, and I wish to speak my mind, but I also want to meta-program my mind to be a little more positive and a lot less negative, and to not permit the bottom of the barrel and the scum sitting atop the elixir to prolifer. It's conscious awareness that will save us from the unconscious inclinations that drive us to suffer, it's remembering that we must remember that will save us from repeating the things that doom us to our own versions of hell time and time again.
It's honestly, paired with restraint, that will help us evolve. Here is my suffering and here is my joy, this is my spectrum of shame and humiliation, it's in this freedom of expression that I have casted off my chains, and it is my shame that motivates me to adapt and to grow beyond what I foolishly believe at times to be the limit of my abilities to prosper.
We must have faith in our own abilities to grow beyond our current limitations, that will give us the power to succeed and to rise above the unconscious forces that seek to restrain us. It is through conscious awareness, and questioning everything, that we break our chains and find salvation from our lower powers. By traveling through the cold-fire of hell, and walking the stairs back up to heaven without resentment, that we find an escape from the sorrow of this earthly existence, and that we find an escape from the entangled nature of our own minds.
Even if there is no escape, it's a nice thing to remember, even pain is temporary. Everything must change, even the nature of change - and in time, even death must die.
2023.01.21 13:00 jookco Death and Obituary News : Erie’s Hartel and Legacy’s Mortensen shine in Tigers win
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2022.11.18 21:30 jookco Death - Obituary News : Unfortunately, we must report the passing of two Erie County residents - associated with cardiac events related to exertion during shoveling/snow blowing. We send our deepest sympathies and remind all that this snow is very heavy and dangerous. #ThatIPASnowStorm Click lin...
submitted by jookco to DeathObituaries [link] [comments]
2022.08.21 07:43 Matteozzz My collection so far!
 | submitted by Matteozzz to Cd_collectors [link] [comments] |
2022.04.29 16:10 Rhion-618 Just One Drop - Chapter 30
Ran long (again) - thanks and comments below!
Just One Drop
Chapter 30- Love and Marriage?
Ganya pursed her lips and waited a few moments after Tom left her office, before sitting down next to Miv’eire and picking up her drink. “Well, that sounds like it was… mostly harmless.”
“Mostly harmless?! Ganya!”
Miv’eire was usually one of her more reserved friends, and in her heart, she knew that the Academy would be in good hands when she passed on her job as Head Administrator, as long as everything went according to plan. Just now, Miv was looking at her incredulously, at a loss for words.
“Taken as a whole, if everything he said was true-“
“She tried to get him drunk! And not just her, her co-wife, AND her other daughter, too! If he had signed that book deal, then-“
“Alright, alright… I was talking about the interview. It airs at the end of the week, so we’ll see what we see. I didn’t mean the Shel, though I will have a few things to say about that, believe me.” Ganya held up a placating hand. “No, I’m going to have a few choice words with her about that whole business, believe me. That book would have reflected very poorly on Professor Warrick, and by extension on the Academy - and on you. I’m certainly not having that sort of thing. Lady Reshay has just gone too far.”
Miv’eire slowly deflated back into the chair as Ganya watched her digest that. While she'd never spoken of her intentions that Miv follow in her footsteps as Head Administrator, she was still aware of the damage that could have been done to her academic reputation had things gone badly. That was encouraging at least. It paid to not entirely lose sight of your own interests, even when it seemed like all your time was spent on other matters.
“It could have been a disaster, Ganya!” Miv looked at her wretchedly.
“Could have - but wasn’t. Neither was this ‘bikini team’ business, no matter what Professor Duvari seems to think.” She sighed and took a sip from her drink, “Though they’re going to have to come up with at least one structured activity a semester.”
“Ganya, you aren't serious?” Miv’eire paused, utterly sidetracked for the moment “A bikini team? When did that even happen?”
“Exactly one second after Ms. Duvari put her fists on my desk and demanded I do something about it.” Ganya said flatly, glowering at the offending spot on her desk for a moment. “The purpose of any club chartered at the Academy is to ‘provide a socially structured activity that promotes social bonds.’ They can clean the beach once a quarter, wash cars or whatever ridiculous thing comes to mind. One of them is a Chel’xa, isn’t she? I’ll probably have marketing proposals by the end of the week.”
“She’s busy with costumes for the show.” Miv’eire snorted but looked a bit less distraught as she stared at her drink. “Give it two weeks.”
“You’re worrying about a problem that didn’t happen. My job? I worry about the things that might happen and are happening. I have no time for didn't. Just today, I had Duvari in my office for half an hour over those swimming costumes. I expect you can tell me quite a bit more about how that happened.”
Ganya smiled at seeing Miv shake herself out of it. For her own part, at least she’d kept the irony out of her voice at calling the Agent ‘professor’. Credit where credit was due though, Duvari apparently had a certain… severe… flair for teaching, and the swimming team was coming along nicely. Regardless, she’d learned where her limits were that morning. It had been… satisfying.
“I also had Professor Bu’gres suddenly requesting family leave for her first grandson and there’s no substitute available, then there was going over expense reports for next quarter, and I still have the student council wanting to brief me on the Fall show. Have you ever been treated to an afternoon with Finance when they want to go into expenses? Now that’s a disaster. It took me twenty minutes to ease them past that couch you claimed. You’re welcome, by the way.”
“He could have walked right into that, though,” Miv muttered stubbornly, as she fidgeted with her glass. “He was right there with them and-“
“And… he did it for your student, Nestha. Who is off the hook with her family, from what you’ve given me to understand. She showed where her loyalties are, as well. Trust me, I’d be a lot happier dealing with young Nestha than I am with her mothers,” Ganya said pointedly before giving Miv a long look. “So… How are you and Professor Warrick doing?”
“We’re alright… I wore that bikini down to the pool when I heard the other girls were going to be doing it - honestly, he isn’t responsible for that - but still…” Shaking her head woefully, she sighed. “I just don’t think he really understands how safe the campus is. He goes off cooking at the Human Food restaurant once a week, where at least he’s around other males in the kitchen and the girls from our class keep an eye on him, but other times? I’m sorry, but being out with the Reshays? That was exactly what I didn't want to happen! When he told me he was doing it to help Nestha, I didn’t know what to say!!”
“But… How are you two doing, really?” Ganya peered at her pointedly. ‘Personal’ wasn’t the same thing as ‘important,’ and while she had faith Miv would get there, sometimes ‘personal’ took a bit of time.
“I love him… and yet sometimes I just want to throttle him. He’s supposed to go out on a date with Sholea this coming Shel, and do you know he still wont go shopping for a suit!?” She huffed. “Honestly, sometimes it’s just like dealing with a woman.”
“He is a Human…” Ganya said, noting the obvious without any sympathy. Settling back into the chair comfortably, she smiled. “…and don’t think changing the subject lets you off the hook. I want to meet your co-wife, and it’s far past time that I did. Honestly, you could have come to me years ago!”
“Ganya… you know how some people are about things like that.” Miv looked at her pensively. “I’m glad you don’t care, but if someone like Professor… um… Ganya, did you say Professor Bu’gres doesn’t have a substitute available?”
“Well, yes. One of her daughters is due, and they just found out it’s a boy. She’s dropping everything to be there for a whole week, and we have no one to teach Marriage Fundamentals for Noble Houses.” Ganya rolled her eyes before sipping her juice, and momentarily wished for something stronger. “Goddess help me, I may have to do it.”
“Oh, you do have someone.” Miv’eire quirked a smile…
_ _ _
Pelli Ceh’ethe ran another check on the Head Administrators schedule and nodded to the girls from the student council. Three of them were already in the office and waiting patiently, but they were early. That was always nice, but the Head Administrator still had some empty time yet.
She liked it when Miv’eire visited. She always cheered Lady Ci’sano up, and the Lady had often confided that she hoped Miv’eire would follow in her position. Goddess, where did the time go? It seemed like yesterday when Lady Ci’sano assumed the job from Lady Mel’chir. Now, when Lady Ci’sano grew close to retiring, Pelli knew it would be time for her to start training her own replacement.
Pelli smiled softly as she heard peals of laughter from the other side of the Head Administrators door.
Whatever they were discussing, it must be quite amusing.
_ _ _
Tom let out a long sigh as he sat in the Biology classroom and stared at Dihsala Se’hart’s paper on benevolent assimilation.
In essence, the girl had compared two wars between the US and Spain and the US and the Philippines to a matter of breast size.
She’d then gone on to do the exact same thing, comparing the Imperial acquisition of Earth to US policy, and come down firmly on the side of the latter… and using breast size again.
Essentially, she’d compared Earth’s history to a ritual dick beating contest.
It was acidic, but it was also clever… and like it or not, she wasn’t entirely wrong. As he thought about Miv’eire, he didn’t expect a lot of traction on the whole issue of breast size, either. God love her… or goddess, probably. The goddess had been fairly kind to his lady.
Tom grimaced as he marked the paper with the equivalent of an A-, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was a shame. Dihsala was a bright girl… but she was also an unrepentant bitch.
Maybe she and Nestha had been switched at birth.
That made him snort, and he looked over as his omni-pad pinged for his attention. He picked it up and looked at the text. It was from Ganya…
GC: Professor Warrick, I am sorry to intrude on your club time, but I need to ask you to stand in as a substitute professor for Professor Bu’gres’ seminar. She requires immediate family leave, and you are the only one available. You will be needed for two days, during the times below.
Tom looked down at the times and dates, which generally ran through his chess class… which was still empty. Well, it was part of the job…
TW: Certainly, Head Administrator. I have the time, but I don’t know the subject and I don’t have any material prepared?
GC: That won’t be an issue. Please meet with Professor Tananda Bu’gres. Her entire seminar is written out, and you only need to read to the class. Thank you very much for your time, as this is very important to her family.
That was that, then.
TW: I will get with her at once. What is the name of the seminar?
GC: Marriage Fundamentals for Noble Houses. Thank you again, Professor. Her contact information is below.
Tom looked at the title and shrugged. He could call the woman up after he finished grading the last two papers. He opened up Kas’lin’s, because he liked to save the twins for last. It was interesting to see the similarities and the differences, and he settled in to read the opening with anticipation.
He paused.
Swiping the paper aside, he pulled up the Academy syllabus and scrolled down. After a minute or so, he found the entry under the listing for seminars. It was one of the mandatory ones required for first-year girls, and they cycled through it by assignment, with a new class every few weeks. Roughly seven hundred and fifty first-year girls, divided up by the months of the long Shil year… Give or take a few, it worked out to an average of ninety girls filtering through each seminar. That made him gulp despite himself, but if it was just reading pre-prepared material, how hard could it really be?
He shifted in the chair and pulled up the byline for Marriage Fundamentals for Noble Houses and started to read…
“She can’t be serious… “
_ _ _
“I do love when you make pasta.” Miv’eire smiled pleasantly as Tom set out the plate, “It's one of my favorites!”
“It’s easy to make, once you get the sauce right… I should probably teach it to Bherdin, but he’s still wanting to experiment with bacon.” Tom sighed heavily as he sat down and watched Miv’eire tuck in. “Anyway, this seminar. It’s sex ed, Miv! What in the world am I going to teach these girls about sex education?!”
Miv’eire made a small strangled cough, and reached for her drink “Sorry… bit of sauce went down the wrong way…” she took a long swallow and patted her chest a moment, then smiled “Really, Tom, you’re just being melodramatic. I know it’s a lot of girls, but this isn’t a class for using your Socratic Method. All you have to do is read from the book and maybe answer a few questions at the end. It won’t be any problem at all!”
“I suppose…” he said, shaking out the napkin over his lap. “Is there anything I should know about Tananda Bu’gres?”
“Mmm… She’s fairly conservative, but she cares a great deal about the students.” Miv set her fork aside and picked at a bit of the bread, thoughtfully. “She’s been teaching at the Academy long before I got here. I think she’s the oldest person on the staff besides Jama, and she’s been teaching that seminar for as long as I can remember. When are you meeting her?”
“Tomorrow…”
_ _ _
“Good afternoon, Professor Warrick.” Although she’d been scrupulously polite over the omni-pad, Tananda Bu’gres looked at him a bit uncertainly, “I want to thank you for taking my seminar. It means so very much for me to be there for my first grandson. My daughter Caleis… She’s my youngest, and the others all had girls. Everyone is quite thrilled!”
“I can imagine.” Tom smiled easily. Professor Bu’gres wasn’t ancient… but middle age had definitely come and gone. If her youngest was having a son it didn't seem like a reach to imagine it was probably the last child her daughters would have. Great-grandchildren looked far more likely. “My congratulations to your family.”
“Thank you!” she smiled. “Now, won't you sit down? Before I go, I want to give you a quick briefing on the lessons.”
Tom nodded amiably and took the seat in her office, and looked at her expectantly.
“Now, I don't use an omni-pad, only this old lesson book of mine… You’re going to be starting with the introductory day, tomorrow... And the lesson after that, on the importance of moral codes.” she said, slipping a bookmark in at each page.
“Now, if you get to the end of the second day, it’s very important to get all the way to the end of the lesson. Check your time, because it's about the implications of physical proximity by your third date, and I wouldn’t like to leave that section hanging in the middle. It gives girls the wrong idea.” She slipped a purple bookmark in and looked up at him expectantly. “If you don’t think you have the time, then it's better not to start that part at all unless you have at least ten minutes.”
“Ten whole minutes…?” Tom struggled for something to say. “It all sounds… very relevant. I’ll look forward to reading it.”
“My word, yes.” She said, flipping the folio closed with satisfaction. “That’s really all you should have the time for.”
“So… that's it? I just read to the class?”
“Oh, yes. I’ve spent a good many years accumulating all of this.” She smiled and rested a hand on top of the thick folder. “I really should put it on an omni-pad for when I retire, but it's been such a task, accumulating all of it over the years… putting it together for the girls… and I really do just prefer reading something off a hard copy instead of the omni-pad. I just don’t think there's any better way of getting the information across.”
“Now then, Professor Warrick. I’ll leave this with you, and pick it up when I get back from my leave, after Shel.” Bu’gres stood up and gave him a kindly smile. “Now don't worry, I know that filling in can always be a bit difficult. You just stick with the material and I’m sure you won't have any problems.”
_ _ _
Tom kept his gaze averted from the auditorium full of girls and continued reading.
Somehow, some way, he had to be paying off karma from a past life. There was no way he’d screwed up badly enough in this one…
“This brings us to the other side of the matter - why do people marry? There are countless millions of happily married families throughout the Empire today, and they didn’t get married only because it is the customary thing to do. Consider all the facts:
Fewer married people go to jail than single people…”
…he stared at the next line, and his brain rebelled. ‘Just read it… don’t think about it…’
“Ah… umm, pardon me... ‘Fewer married people go crazy… ‘”
He looked down at the clock on the podium. He’d stopped being able to look at the girls some time ago.
“Also, by marrying, a woman becomes a better employment risk outside her House. Married women are regarded as more steady, and shows a woman is ready to assume… wholesome responsibilities.
“Psychiatrists agree that, apart from exceptional cases, men who live alone will… will become neurotic and frustrated. It is an abnormal state for a man, and they will... Mmhiihmm… ah… overcome this… only by setting out intelligently to seek enrichment in life.
“Life is also more comfortable if you are a married woman, as it provides you with home cooking in her own home and… someone… someone… to keep her socks in order.”
He had to bite his tongue hard, and looked at the clock. Two more minutes…
“Finally, marriage offers a legal and socially approved way to achieve… sexual satisfaction. Women and men can receive relief from their bodily... HeheAhmmm… their bodily tensions... without the terrible feelings of guilt, anxiety, and remorse… that often accompany unmarried intercourse. While modern science recognizes that sexual satisfaction is far more than a product of reproducing one’s kind, it is also a satisfying activity and releases many nervous tensions, as well as tensions brought on by hormonal needs.
“During the rest of this seminar, we will focus on why marriage is an important move to consider for yourself and your House...
“In closing before questions, we want you to consider these twelve steps to finding a man…”
He stared... Digging his thumbnail into his hand helped.
“Take note and always help a man when their vehicle breaks down… Look at census reports and live or get stationed where there are more single men… Read the obituaries and take note of sudden widowers your age… Pay close attention to men working as secretaries or nurses… Sit on a park bench and feed the animals… Take a class at a cooking school... Get a cute pet and walk it in the parks where men like to be with children… Ask any married friends w-where the eligible men are… Be nice to everybody, as… as they may have an eligible brother or son… Prove you’ll provide - make a lot of money… Pay special attention to men carrying a hat box… and… and n-number twelve… Don’t be afraid to hang out with more attractive girls, as they may have some leftovers.”
Tom closed the booklet and strangled down the hysterical laughter that was screaming to be let out. He stared at the clock. “Are… are there any questions from the class?” he said, then managed to look up at the audience.
As luck would have it, there were a hundred and three girls in this month's class, as Fall break prevented one the following month. He gazed up into a sea of blushing faces…
Belda and Pri’sala were there at least, and he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Both of the girls looked more transfixed than when he’d first met them, and the other girls…
He had to be paying off heavy karma. At least one murder, maybe.
“Anyone?” Tom looked around at the sea of faces and nodded as one girl raised her hand tentatively. “Yes, miss…?”
“Pindre Sa’varae…'' she said, standing up. It seemed to be the custom in most of the larger classes, and Tom nodded and tried not to notice if she was trembling. He wasn’t sure he wasn’t trembling himself. “Professor… I… that is, we were wondering… ummm… What are… well, what are Humans like? In marriage! I mean, what are Humans like in marriage?”
An excited murmur swept the auditorium, the girls looking to one another as Pindre smiled expectantly. Glancing up in the third row, Pri’sala was sitting bolt upright, while Belda looked like she was trying to slowly sink into her chair. Pindre grinned again, and canted her head, to show she was curious.
Joy.
“Ah… Human marriage… “ He tried to gather his thoughts. “That is, I suppose you know that Humans tend to be monogamous. Until recently, that was pretty much all there was. One man and one woman in a marriage, though that’s changing a bit, now.” He thought about it a bit. “I do think it's important to focus on family planning. It’s not always easy when you’re getting started. My first wife and I-“
“Wait, um... Professor? You said you only had one wife?” Pindre looked like she was trying to process something, frowning furiously.
“I … Oh! Well, yes.” Tom sighed and shrugged slightly. It wasn’t a happy memory for him. It had been a long time ago, but it was a lesson learned. Family planning was important. “My first wife and I met in my university days, and we were married right after. I kind of struggled with my career because I was training as a pilot and two of the big airlines went under… and hers took off in a different direction. It made money a real problem for a while, too, and we ended up getting divorced.”
A susurrus of whispers washed through the girls like a wave.
“You… You were divorced, sir?!” Pindre looked aghast, darkening past cobalt into deep indigo as she struggled with the question. From the look of things, she wasn’t alone. “I mean, I’ve heard that can happen with Humans, but didn’t your mothers step in to help? What about your Houses?”
“Ah… umm… That’s not such a big thing … That is to say, young people would get some help from their families when they needed it, but generally speaking, we were expected to make our own way in life.”
“But… that’s what poor people do! Or-or outcasts! No one from a good family would do that to a boy?!” Pindre was looking at him incredulously, and he felt a bit ashamed. It wasn’t a great memory… there had been the fights, the regrets, the sorrow… He’d received the divorce paperwork in his last four weeks of OTS, just before Christmas. It had been bad all the way around, but he hadn’t felt so ashamed in years, and certainly not after he’d been remarried.
None of which mattered just now, as he saw the hole he was digging for himself.
“The thing is, I didn’t come from a noble House… that is, I did, but that was a long time ago, and the history is a little spotty.” Tom thought back over his family tree, trying to find something…
“Ohhh…” Pindre bit her lip and seemed to twist a bit as she stood there, looking at him uncertainly. “I’m sorry, Professor. More than one noble house has fallen on hard times. It's no real disgrace to the children. I mean, everybody has heard about somebody. Sort of? I mean, I’m sorry… it’s nothing for you to be embarrassed about.”
“I’m not embarrassed.” He said flatly, looking at a few of the girls in the front row. There was a sea of polite disbelief, and he wasn’t sure for a moment if he was better off in the hole or not. He stopped just short of telling them that was hundreds of years in his family's past, and Humans didn’t have noble houses the way Shil’vati did… which, he realized, might sound even worse! Even so…
“No, really… Look, family planning is important, and I wish that I’d thought it through the first time. Just so you all know, I was very happily married after that.“
“So… you’re married?” One of the girls in the first row blurted out the question, then quickly stood up when he looked at her. “El’eri Grem’maie, Professor… That is, you’re married now?”
“Ah… um… no, Miss, El’eri…My wife and my daughter were killed.” He tried not to sigh as he looked at her. She had a full face that was almost heart shaped, and despite the school blacks, she wore a bright topaz pin and had a purse down at her feet. It had flowers on it. His gaze lingered on her for a moment… El’eri’s face had clouded over, and he could feel the awkward apology coming. It wasn’t her fault, and she was just a child at the time… “My family was killed in an accident. I’m currently single… though I am seeing someone.”
“Oh, we all guessed that you must be, sir!” Her face brightened like the sun coming out when he added that last part.
It was something of a relief, but in spite of himself, he canted his head. It was catching. “Why is that, exactly, Miss El’eri?”
“My mothers says that you can always tell. I mean you just have to be looking.” She said brightly, “Everyone knows men who are hunting for a relationship take jobs in places where there are a lot of women working.”
“That’s… not why I’m teaching here, Miss El’eri.” He tried to process that one. First the interview, now this? “I’m here in a professional capacity, representing my species. I mean, it's not like I’m the only Human dating a Shil’vati...”
Movement caught his eye, and he glanced up to see Belda, who was violently shaking her head in rapid little twitches and seemed ready to disappear through the floor. No help there… “But yes, I am seeing a Shil’vati woman.”
At least twenty more hands immediately shot up, and he absently nodded at the one in the fourth row. “Yes, miss?”
“Reihe Anla’thre, Professor.” She shot up and looked at a couple of the other girls around her quickly, who whispered and nodded. “That is… Well… Can you tell us who she is?! And are you making sure to wear something she gave you!?!”
Hands shot up across the hall.
_ _ _
“No, Ka’mara, I didn’t hear about Professor Warrick yesterday…“ Jax’mi sighed miserably as the two girls walked back toward the dorm. “No more than a dozen times… by the end of breakfast! All of the girls who aren’t in our class want to know things, all over again! And no, that’s not going to cheer me up.”
“You really can't blame them for being extra curious,” Mara said philosophically, shrugging a little bit as she shouldered in under the umbrella. “You said it would be here the week before last, and they’re getting nervous.”
“Nervous?! Those girls were acting like they want to tie me in chains and throw me in the bay.” Jax’mi didn’t want to whine, but she’d already hocked her entire graduation fund with her mothers just to make this happen. It wasn’t like she could admit that, but still! “Interstellar shipping isn’t an exact science, you know, right? I mean, it can be with a modern world, but this is Earth we’re talking about. It's not like there couldn’t be delays…”
“I know…I know you’d do your best… but they don’t know you like I do.” Mara said quietly. “Maybe it would be better if you just tell them it isn’t coming, and start work on what you have? It's not like your designs aren’t brilliant! It's just that you could probably look at doing them… maybe a bit plainer? I’m sure no one will hold it against you.”
There it was then. Jax could hear it in Ka’mara’s voice. She was trying to be solicitous, after all the nasty remarks in the Council meeting, but it was still there all the same. House Chel’xa had failed to deliver, and they were running out of time.
Mara gave her a compassionate smile before continuing. “I mean, not really… I know I won’t, and Melondi said the very same thing to me just the other day. It’s still going to be a great show. I expect everyone will be so happy to do it that they won't even remember, afterward…”
Jax’mi wanted to wash away with the rain.
_ _ _
Miv’eire drew Tom closer to her on the couch, wrapping her arm around him as they watched one of his favorite movies. It was something in black and white, and she’d enjoyed it the first time. Right now, her mind wasn’t on it very much, but she’d hoped it would have cheered him up more.
Honestly, she’d never seen him in as much of a funk, and now it was into the second day.
As the credits on the film started to roll at the end, he scrunched down against her.
“Miv?”
“Umm?” Leaning over and resting her head gently against his, she watched him turn off the video screen and waited for him to say something.
“Miv, I’m wondering… I had that seminar, and it was… different. Half the time I wanted to gag, and the other half I was on the verge of nervous laughter. I mean, I know that’s out of touch... Isn’t it?” It wasn’t a question, but it came out like one. “I just wanted to ask... By your standards, am I a bad boyfriend?”
“What?!” Miv’eire blinked in surprise. “Dear heart, I love you… Why would you even ask something like that?”
Tom sighed. “It wasn’t the seminar… it was the questions they asked. Like, do I wear something you give me every day? I mean, yes, I wear the Academy suits you got me on Earth, and you know how much that means to me… and you wore the bikini, which I’m kind of thinking isn’t nearly as good in kind, now... And-“
“Tom, just stop... You met Tananda Bu’gres.” Miv closed her eyes. She’d hoped for something, but not this. “She’s been teaching the same material for the last thirty years, and yes, it's hopelessly out of date… She wouldn’t in the least bit approve of Sholea and I if she had any idea! But you’re a great boyfriend! There are a few things I’d like you to do, sure, but you’re kind… you care. I could have throttled you over what you did for Nestha, but it's why you did it that matters. You talk with me… you listen. You might not have gotten me a lot of gifts, but you wrapped up your whole world and made it a gift to me! The night out at the theater? The trips to all the universities?”
“That was all a part of my job, though.” He was looking down and slouched against her. “All of that sort of thing is why you hired me to begin with.”
“The kimono wasn’t… You arranged all of that, and it’s the nicest gift I’ve ever had.”
“It's not something you can wear…”
“I’m going to wear it for the Fall Show - with you.” She hugged him and felt him relax a bit into her. “It's not that I won't wear it. We just haven’t had the occasion yet. That’s different.”
“I’m glad you like it.” He mumbled, and she jostled him into her a bit more.
“I absolutely love it,” she said firmly, then added a bit guiltily, desperately blanking Ganya’s questions from her mind for a moment. “And the bikini is nice, too. It’s not nearly so bad when other people are around wearing one.”
“But there are a few things you’d like me to do…?” he said after a moment.
“Not many...” She hugged him again, and met his eyes as he moved back and looked at her “I’d really like it if you’d set something up with Sholea. Something firm? Shil’vati don’t make plans for a date on a whim. She’s asked you with more than two days notice, the way that she should do, and you haven’t set anything up yet. She’s… worried. Things like that matter…”
_ _ _
Tom was walking along the Commons and waiting for Miv’eire.
He’d had a lot to think about since their conversation the night before, but at least he’d messaged Sholea back and set something firm in place for the Shel. He wasn’t sure what they’d do, but at least Sholea… or Lea as Miv often called her… had followed up to ask him what sort of things he liked.
It wasn’t exactly the kind of question he could field. Shil wasn’t his home turf, and Miv told him that bringing her back to watch a movie was out. He had no intention of taking her out to a bar… not even to pay a visit to Dahkra again… and he had no idea where anything was, what there was to do, or what would appeal to him on Shil.
It sucked living like a tourist.
While this was home now, he still didn’t know where anything was off of the Campus, and the idea of taking her sight seeing to things she’d probably seen all her life seemed… dull.
A thought came to him, and he worked his way across the Commons hopefully. It was with a profound sense of relief when he spotted Jama Ha’meres not far from the bench he’d seen him on the week before, and he picked up his pace.
“Jama! How are you?”
“Lad! You’re looking well!” the elderly Shil’vati man smiled broadly and patted the seat beside him “I’d heard from Ganya your Shel was more than a wee bit interesting. I’ve been just waiting to catch up with you and get all the details firsthand, though.”
“Ah, I… I’m meeting Miv’eire in a bit, but I’ll come by your office later?” Settling into the seat and checking his watch, he looked back “There’s a couple of things I wanted to ask without her around, if you have the time?”
“What is it, then? You and she seem to be getting on. I heard you made quite a splash with the Marriage Fundamentals seminar.” He gave a rich chuckle and leaned in. “I think it's fair to say your secret is out.”
“Yeah... The seminar.” Tom deflated. “That’s been a real treat.”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you kidding me? I had to stand there and read material… for forty-five minutes! And what I was reading!?“ he shook his head. There was still a lingering sense of disbelief that only being on an alien world could account for, in the absence of Rod Serling. “I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It was insane. Do you know she teaches these girls to meet men by sitting around on park benches? I mean, just like we are here?”
“Aye, Rule Number Five.” Jama nodded.
“… What…?”
“Rule Number Five. You don't think I’ve been sitting on these damned hard benches just to feed the bloody preltha, do you?” He said again, a bit more gruffly. “I told you about young Akimei Zah’rin over in the science department? Well, now, she works with Professor Loi’trien, who’s doing quantum fluctuation theory. I’ve had my eye on her for the last few weeks! She’s a bit young, but you should see the way she-“
“Jama! Not. Helping.” Tom exclaimed, then hushed his voice as several women looked over and whispered “Anyway, I thought you were over all that?”
“I’m old, lad, not dead. A fine woman doesn't get less appealing with age - you just learn the rules and play the game better.” Jama looked at him sharply, “Anyway, what has your daks in a twist, exactly?”
“I… well, two things. I’m a bit worried about my date with Miv’s co-wife, Sholea, but mostly it’s that seminar.”
“What's wrong with Tananda’s seminar, then?”
“Wrong? Jama, that advice went out of style a hundred years ago on my world. I can barely say it with a straight face!’ Tom spread his hands, not quite sure how to say it. “Even Miv’eire says the information is out of date. I mean, this isn't Earth, but I’ve seen my share of Shil’vati. About one in five of those girls looked like they wanted to eat me alive!”
“Mmm.” He nodded. “You know when you get the rest of that brown out of your hair, and turn a decent silver, you’re going to do quite well?”
“Jama!” Tom closed his eyes for a moment and breathed. “Look, the ones who looked like they were after me were fine - once I stopped looking up. It was the ones asking who I’m dating that were the problem! When they weren't prying at who I’m seeing, they were asking how I’m being dated, and… other things. And there's nothing wrong with brown hair!”
“At least you got a curious bunch.” Jama chuckled, and brushed his hands dismissively. “Listen now, Tananda Bu’gres has been teaching here for two years longer than I have, and that's a bloody long time. I’ll have you know she started that class. It was a tough stand at the time and she fought hard for it. Everyone else thought planning for a marriage was something mothers - and only mothers - should be involved in. Now, maybe her seminar is getting a bit dated, but none of us is getting any younger - and her heart has always been in the right place.”
Jama waited a bit as he digested that, before carrying on. “As for the girls, whatever they’re asking, there have to be some things in common between Shil’vati and Humans. If there weren't, you wouldn't be getting on so famously with young Miv’eire, would you? Why not focus on that, hmm?”
“I… suppose so…” Tom started mulling the idea over in his mind.
“That's the spirit! Now, tell me about this Sholea girl…”
_ _ _
Jax’mi lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling when the knock came on her door.
She sighed, before rolling her head towards the door “Yes?”
“Jax, it’s Melondi, Let me in?”
Jax’mi closed her eyes for a moment. Her reputation was crashing around her and her next three years would be a smoldering heap of rubble… couldn’t anyone just let her social life die in peace? “Fine… Come in,” she grumbled. “Ka’mara… Kas’lin… you…”
Melondi burst into the room and shut the door behind her. In spite of herself, Jax’mi sat up. The girl looked flushed and backed against the door as if a legion were going to try and break it down. “Alright… what is it?”
“So I started watching one of the videos… for movie night... To see what might be good?”
“Uh-huh…?”
“So I started one, and it was soldiers! Humans! In combat! Against spacecraft… there were people in purple armor… ” Melondi lowered her voice and whispered. “It looks like battle footage. I’m worried it might be treasonous!”
“Mel, just calm down, have a seat, and let's have a look at it.” Jax’mi looked at her friend and then sighed again. “Look, everything he has was musicals or movies. What’s it called?”
“Ummm…” Mel looked at her omni-pad like it was going to bite her, but pulled up the title. “Firefly.”
“Right… Look, sit down and let's have a look at this thing. If it has a title and everything then it’s probably just fiction.” Jax’mi rolled onto the side of the bed and sat up. “Were they singing?”
There was another knock at the door.
Jax’mi rubbed her forehead and counted to twelve. “YES!?!”
The door opened slowly, as an older Shil woman poked her head inside. Jax’mi sat up straighter as she looked at the woman, who was wearing Academy coveralls. It was unusual for anyone but the custodial staff to be in the dorms. For one of the Academy Stewards, it was practically unheard of! She felt embarrassed at her greeting, and belatedly stood up. “Excuse me! Please forgive my manners.” Melondi clutched her omni-pad tightly against her chest, but stood up beside her.
“Are you Jax’mi Chel’xa, miss?'' The woman looked between her and Melondi in uncertainty.
“This is my room.” Jax’mi stepped forward, offering her fist. “How can I help you?”
“Actually, Miss, it would be a good deal of help if you could sign for this?” The Steward bumped fists before offering over her omni-pad. “We have a cargo container that arrived for you about an hour ago, and the hauling company says it’s signature only. We need you to sign before they can unload it from the transport down on dock two.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Heart thundering in her chest, Jax’mi took her omni-pad and let the steward swipe the displayed file over to her pad, before signing it and swiping a copy back. Her hands were shaking as she set the tablet on the table. “I appreciate you bringing this to me so quickly. Dock two, you say?”
“Oh yes. It’s one of the large containers, and dock two is the only one with space right now.” the Steward nodded, and Jax’mi found herself nodding along. “Miss, if you don’t mind, I need to get back to the driver.”
“Of course.” Jax’mi bowed her head respectfully. Stewards weren’t nobles… but they were adults, after all… “Thank you for your time and troubles.”
A moment after the door closed, Mel stepped over, “Ummm… Jax, are you alright? You look a bit pale.”
Jax could barely breathe as she paged down through the shipping manifest. It was from Earth.
There was an attachment at the bottom.
Jax’mi quickly thumbed it open, and read…
Dearest Jax’mi,
You are taking after your uncle in more ways than one! Getting in over your head is one of the key things you will have to learn about, and it’s good to start early.
I am sending you a dozen bolts of silk (fabric is sold on Earth in a quantity called a ‘bolt’, which is about 91.5 meters) in assorted colors. You can return the money to your mothers; six thousand credits is a lot, but it’s nowhere near what good quality silk costs in quantity. Each of the bolts I am sending cost about eight thousand credits each. I am fronting the material cost to you in exchange for a thirty percent stake in your coming business ventures. I trust you will find it acceptable.
I suggest you find a tailor on Shil from a good family and work with them. When you’re dealing with high quality materials one of the worst things you can do is skimp on the manufacture. Trying to ‘pinch pennies’, as the Humans say, is a shortcut to failure.
Speaking of Humans, I have one last thing to tell you. As you know, I have been working with them extensively here on Earth and much of our family’s recent success is due to our business ventures taken with this strange species. My advice for you is this: DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THEM. Always assume that the Humans you are dealing with are smarter than you are and plan accordingly. Better to be pleasantly surprised to find yourself ahead than to try to take advantage of one and have everything come tumbling down. Even the dumb ones have a sort of cunning and, if your new teacher has made it to Shil, they’re definitely not one of the dumb ones.
Love always,
Jem’si Chel’xa
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Just One Drop
Chapter 30- Love and Marriage?
Ganya pursed her lips and waited a few moments after Tom left her office, before sitting down next to Miv’eire and picking up her drink. “Well, that sounds like it was… mostly harmless.”
“Mostly harmless?! Ganya!”
Miv’eire was usually one of her more reserved friends, and in her heart, she knew that the Academy would be in good hands when she passed on her job as Head Administrator, as long as everything went according to plan. Just now, Miv was looking at her incredulously, at a loss for words.
“Taken as a whole, if everything he said was true-“
“She tried to get him drunk! And not just her, her co-wife, AND her other daughter, too! If he had signed that book deal, then-“
“Alright, alright… I was talking about the interview. It airs at the end of the week, so we’ll see what we see. I didn’t mean the Shel, though I will have a few things to say about that, believe me.” Ganya held up a placating hand. “No, I’m going to have a few choice words with her about that whole business, believe me. That book would have reflected very poorly on Professor Warrick, and by extension on the Academy - and on you. I’m certainly not having that sort of thing. Lady Reshay has just gone too far.”
Miv’eire slowly deflated back into the chair as Ganya watched her digest that. While she'd never spoken of her intentions that Miv follow in her footsteps as Head Administrator, she was still aware of the damage that could have been done to her academic reputation had things gone badly. That was encouraging at least. It paid to not entirely lose sight of your own interests, even when it seemed like all your time was spent on other matters.
“It could have been a disaster, Ganya!” Miv looked at her wretchedly.
“Could have - but wasn’t. Neither was this ‘bikini team’ business, no matter what Professor Duvari seems to think.” She sighed and took a sip from her drink, “Though they’re going to have to come up with at least one structured activity a semester.”
“Ganya, you aren't serious?” Miv’eire paused, utterly sidetracked for the moment “A bikini team? When did that even happen?”
“Exactly one second after Ms. Duvari put her fists on my desk and demanded I do something about it.” Ganya said flatly, glowering at the offending spot on her desk for a moment. “The purpose of any club chartered at the Academy is to ‘provide a socially structured activity that promotes social bonds.’ They can clean the beach once a quarter, wash cars or whatever ridiculous thing comes to mind. One of them is a Chel’xa, isn’t she? I’ll probably have marketing proposals by the end of the week.”
“She’s busy with costumes for the show.” Miv’eire snorted but looked a bit less distraught as she stared at her drink. “Give it two weeks.”
“You’re worrying about a problem that didn’t happen. My job? I worry about the things that might happen and are happening. I have no time for didn't. Just today, I had Duvari in my office for half an hour over those swimming costumes. I expect you can tell me quite a bit more about how that happened.”
Ganya smiled at seeing Miv shake herself out of it. For her own part, at least she’d kept the irony out of her voice at calling the Agent ‘professor’. Credit where credit was due though, Duvari apparently had a certain… severe… flair for teaching, and the swimming team was coming along nicely. Regardless, she’d learned where her limits were that morning. It had been… satisfying.
“I also had Professor Bu’gres suddenly requesting family leave for her first grandson and there’s no substitute available, then there was going over expense reports for next quarter, and I still have the student council wanting to brief me on the Fall show. Have you ever been treated to an afternoon with Finance when they want to go into expenses? Now that’s a disaster. It took me twenty minutes to ease them past that couch you claimed. You’re welcome, by the way.”
“He could have walked right into that, though,” Miv muttered stubbornly, as she fidgeted with her glass. “He was right there with them and-“
“And… he did it for your student, Nestha. Who is off the hook with her family, from what you’ve given me to understand. She showed where her loyalties are, as well. Trust me, I’d be a lot happier dealing with young Nestha than I am with her mothers,” Ganya said pointedly before giving Miv a long look. “So… How are you and Professor Warrick doing?”
“We’re alright… I wore that bikini down to the pool when I heard the other girls were going to be doing it - honestly, he isn’t responsible for that - but still…” Shaking her head woefully, she sighed. “I just don’t think he really understands how safe the campus is. He goes off cooking at the Human Food restaurant once a week, where at least he’s around other males in the kitchen and the girls from our class keep an eye on him, but other times? I’m sorry, but being out with the Reshays? That was exactly what I didn't want to happen! When he told me he was doing it to help Nestha, I didn’t know what to say!!”
“But… How are you two doing, really?” Ganya peered at her pointedly. ‘Personal’ wasn’t the same thing as ‘important,’ and while she had faith Miv would get there, sometimes ‘personal’ took a bit of time.
“I love him… and yet sometimes I just want to throttle him. He’s supposed to go out on a date with Sholea this coming Shel, and do you know he still wont go shopping for a suit!?” She huffed. “Honestly, sometimes it’s just like dealing with a woman.”
“He is a Human…” Ganya said, noting the obvious without any sympathy. Settling back into the chair comfortably, she smiled. “…and don’t think changing the subject lets you off the hook. I want to meet your co-wife, and it’s far past time that I did. Honestly, you could have come to me years ago!”
“Ganya… you know how some people are about things like that.” Miv looked at her pensively. “I’m glad you don’t care, but if someone like Professor… um… Ganya, did you say Professor Bu’gres doesn’t have a substitute available?”
“Well, yes. One of her daughters is due, and they just found out it’s a boy. She’s dropping everything to be there for a whole week, and we have no one to teach Marriage Fundamentals for Noble Houses.” Ganya rolled her eyes before sipping her juice, and momentarily wished for something stronger. “Goddess help me, I may have to do it.”
“Oh, you do have someone.” Miv’eire quirked a smile…
_ _ _
Pelli Ceh’ethe ran another check on the Head Administrators schedule and nodded to the girls from the student council. Three of them were already in the office and waiting patiently, but they were early. That was always nice, but the Head Administrator still had some empty time yet.
She liked it when Miv’eire visited. She always cheered Lady Ci’sano up, and the Lady had often confided that she hoped Miv’eire would follow in her position. Goddess, where did the time go? It seemed like yesterday when Lady Ci’sano assumed the job from Lady Mel’chir. Now, when Lady Ci’sano grew close to retiring, Pelli knew it would be time for her to start training her own replacement.
Pelli smiled softly as she heard peals of laughter from the other side of the Head Administrators door.
Whatever they were discussing, it must be quite amusing.
_ _ _
Tom let out a long sigh as he sat in the Biology classroom and stared at Dihsala Se’hart’s paper on benevolent assimilation.
In essence, the girl had compared two wars between the US and Spain and the US and the Philippines to a matter of breast size.
She’d then gone on to do the exact same thing, comparing the Imperial acquisition of Earth to US policy, and come down firmly on the side of the latter… and using breast size again.
Essentially, she’d compared Earth’s history to a ritual dick beating contest.
It was acidic, but it was also clever… and like it or not, she wasn’t entirely wrong. As he thought about Miv’eire, he didn’t expect a lot of traction on the whole issue of breast size, either. God love her… or goddess, probably. The goddess had been fairly kind to his lady.
Tom grimaced as he marked the paper with the equivalent of an A-, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was a shame. Dihsala was a bright girl… but she was also an unrepentant bitch.
Maybe she and Nestha had been switched at birth.
That made him snort, and he looked over as his omni-pad pinged for his attention. He picked it up and looked at the text. It was from Ganya…
GC: Professor Warrick, I am sorry to intrude on your club time, but I need to ask you to stand in as a substitute professor for Professor Bu’gres’ seminar. She requires immediate family leave, and you are the only one available. You will be needed for two days, during the times below.
Tom looked down at the times and dates, which generally ran through his chess class… which was still empty. Well, it was part of the job…
TW: Certainly, Head Administrator. I have the time, but I don’t know the subject and I don’t have any material prepared?
GC: That won’t be an issue. Please meet with Professor Tananda Bu’gres. Her entire seminar is written out, and you only need to read to the class. Thank you very much for your time, as this is very important to her family.
That was that, then.
TW: I will get with her at once. What is the name of the seminar?
GC: Marriage Fundamentals for Noble Houses. Thank you again, Professor. Her contact information is below.
Tom looked at the title and shrugged. He could call the woman up after he finished grading the last two papers. He opened up Kas’lin’s, because he liked to save the twins for last. It was interesting to see the similarities and the differences, and he settled in to read the opening with anticipation.
He paused.
Swiping the paper aside, he pulled up the Academy syllabus and scrolled down. After a minute or so, he found the entry under the listing for seminars. It was one of the mandatory ones required for first-year girls, and they cycled through it by assignment, with a new class every few weeks. Roughly seven hundred and fifty first-year girls, divided up by the months of the long Shil year… Give or take a few, it worked out to an average of ninety girls filtering through each seminar. That made him gulp despite himself, but if it was just reading pre-prepared material, how hard could it really be?
He shifted in the chair and pulled up the byline for Marriage Fundamentals for Noble Houses and started to read…
“She can’t be serious… “
_ _ _
“I do love when you make pasta.” Miv’eire smiled pleasantly as Tom set out the plate, “It's one of my favorites!”
“It’s easy to make, once you get the sauce right… I should probably teach it to Bherdin, but he’s still wanting to experiment with bacon.” Tom sighed heavily as he sat down and watched Miv’eire tuck in. “Anyway, this seminar. It’s sex ed, Miv! What in the world am I going to teach these girls about sex education?!”
Miv’eire made a small strangled cough, and reached for her drink “Sorry… bit of sauce went down the wrong way…” she took a long swallow and patted her chest a moment, then smiled “Really, Tom, you’re just being melodramatic. I know it’s a lot of girls, but this isn’t a class for using your Socratic Method. All you have to do is read from the book and maybe answer a few questions at the end. It won’t be any problem at all!”
“I suppose…” he said, shaking out the napkin over his lap. “Is there anything I should know about Tananda Bu’gres?”
“Mmm… She’s fairly conservative, but she cares a great deal about the students.” Miv set her fork aside and picked at a bit of the bread, thoughtfully. “She’s been teaching at the Academy long before I got here. I think she’s the oldest person on the staff besides Jama, and she’s been teaching that seminar for as long as I can remember. When are you meeting her?”
“Tomorrow…”
_ _ _
“Good afternoon, Professor Warrick.” Although she’d been scrupulously polite over the omni-pad, Tananda Bu’gres looked at him a bit uncertainly, “I want to thank you for taking my seminar. It means so very much for me to be there for my first grandson. My daughter Caleis… She’s my youngest, and the others all had girls. Everyone is quite thrilled!”
“I can imagine.” Tom smiled easily. Professor Bu’gres wasn’t ancient… but middle age had definitely come and gone. If her youngest was having a son it didn't seem like a reach to imagine it was probably the last child her daughters would have. Great-grandchildren looked far more likely. “My congratulations to your family.”
“Thank you!” she smiled. “Now, won't you sit down? Before I go, I want to give you a quick briefing on the lessons.”
Tom nodded amiably and took the seat in her office, and looked at her expectantly.
“Now, I don't use an omni-pad, only this old lesson book of mine… You’re going to be starting with the introductory day, tomorrow... And the lesson after that, on the importance of moral codes.” she said, slipping a bookmark in at each page.
“Now, if you get to the end of the second day, it’s very important to get all the way to the end of the lesson. Check your time, because it's about the implications of physical proximity by your third date, and I wouldn’t like to leave that section hanging in the middle. It gives girls the wrong idea.” She slipped a purple bookmark in and looked up at him expectantly. “If you don’t think you have the time, then it's better not to start that part at all unless you have at least ten minutes.”
“Ten whole minutes…?” Tom struggled for something to say. “It all sounds… very relevant. I’ll look forward to reading it.”
“My word, yes.” She said, flipping the folio closed with satisfaction. “That’s really all you should have the time for.”
“So… that's it? I just read to the class?”
“Oh, yes. I’ve spent a good many years accumulating all of this.” She smiled and rested a hand on top of the thick folder. “I really should put it on an omni-pad for when I retire, but it's been such a task, accumulating all of it over the years… putting it together for the girls… and I really do just prefer reading something off a hard copy instead of the omni-pad. I just don’t think there's any better way of getting the information across.”
“Now then, Professor Warrick. I’ll leave this with you, and pick it up when I get back from my leave, after Shel.” Bu’gres stood up and gave him a kindly smile. “Now don't worry, I know that filling in can always be a bit difficult. You just stick with the material and I’m sure you won't have any problems.”
_ _ _
Tom kept his gaze averted from the auditorium full of girls and continued reading.
Somehow, some way, he had to be paying off karma from a past life. There was no way he’d screwed up badly enough in this one…
“This brings us to the other side of the matter - why do people marry? There are countless millions of happily married families throughout the Empire today, and they didn’t get married only because it is the customary thing to do. Consider all the facts:
Fewer married people go to jail than single people…”
…he stared at the next line, and his brain rebelled. ‘Just read it… don’t think about it…’
“Ah… umm, pardon me... ‘Fewer married people go crazy… ‘”
He looked down at the clock on the podium. He’d stopped being able to look at the girls some time ago.
“Also, by marrying, a woman becomes a better employment risk outside her House. Married women are regarded as more steady, and shows a woman is ready to assume… wholesome responsibilities.
“Psychiatrists agree that, apart from exceptional cases, men who live alone will… will become neurotic and frustrated. It is an abnormal state for a man, and they will... Mmhiihmm… ah… overcome this… only by setting out intelligently to seek enrichment in life.
“Life is also more comfortable if you are a married woman, as it provides you with home cooking in her own home and… someone… someone… to keep her socks in order.”
He had to bite his tongue hard, and looked at the clock. Two more minutes…
“Finally, marriage offers a legal and socially approved way to achieve… sexual satisfaction. Women and men can receive relief from their bodily... HeheAhmmm… their bodily tensions... without the terrible feelings of guilt, anxiety, and remorse… that often accompany unmarried intercourse. While modern science recognizes that sexual satisfaction is far more than a product of reproducing one’s kind, it is also a satisfying activity and releases many nervous tensions, as well as tensions brought on by hormonal needs.
“During the rest of this seminar, we will focus on why marriage is an important move to consider for yourself and your House...
“In closing before questions, we want you to consider these twelve steps to finding a man…”
He stared... Digging his thumbnail into his hand helped.
“Take note and always help a man when their vehicle breaks down… Look at census reports and live or get stationed where there are more single men… Read the obituaries and take note of sudden widowers your age… Pay close attention to men working as secretaries or nurses… Sit on a park bench and feed the animals… Take a class at a cooking school... Get a cute pet and walk it in the parks where men like to be with children… Ask any married friends w-where the eligible men are… Be nice to everybody, as… as they may have an eligible brother or son… Prove you’ll provide - make a lot of money… Pay special attention to men carrying a hat box… and… and n-number twelve… Don’t be afraid to hang out with more attractive girls, as they may have some leftovers.”
Tom closed the booklet and strangled down the hysterical laughter that was screaming to be let out. He stared at the clock. “Are… are there any questions from the class?” he said, then managed to look up at the audience.
As luck would have it, there were a hundred and three girls in this month's class, as Fall break prevented one the following month. He gazed up into a sea of blushing faces…
Belda and Pri’sala were there at least, and he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Both of the girls looked more transfixed than when he’d first met them, and the other girls…
He had to be paying off heavy karma. At least one murder, maybe.
“Anyone?” Tom looked around at the sea of faces and nodded as one girl raised her hand tentatively. “Yes, miss…?”
“Pindre Sa’varae…'' she said, standing up. It seemed to be the custom in most of the larger classes, and Tom nodded and tried not to notice if she was trembling. He wasn’t sure he wasn’t trembling himself. “Professor… I… that is, we were wondering… ummm… What are… well, what are Humans like? In marriage! I mean, what are Humans like in marriage?”
An excited murmur swept the auditorium, the girls looking to one another as Pindre smiled expectantly. Glancing up in the third row, Pri’sala was sitting bolt upright, while Belda looked like she was trying to slowly sink into her chair. Pindre grinned again, and canted her head, to show she was curious.
Joy.
“Ah… Human marriage… “ He tried to gather his thoughts. “That is, I suppose you know that Humans tend to be monogamous. Until recently, that was pretty much all there was. One man and one woman in a marriage, though that’s changing a bit, now.” He thought about it a bit. “I do think it's important to focus on family planning. It’s not always easy when you’re getting started. My first wife and I-“
“Wait, um... Professor? You said you only had one wife?” Pindre looked like she was trying to process something, frowning furiously.
“I … Oh! Well, yes.” Tom sighed and shrugged slightly. It wasn’t a happy memory for him. It had been a long time ago, but it was a lesson learned. Family planning was important. “My first wife and I met in my university days, and we were married right after. I kind of struggled with my career because I was training as a pilot and two of the big airlines went under… and hers took off in a different direction. It made money a real problem for a while, too, and we ended up getting divorced.”
A susurrus of whispers washed through the girls like a wave.
“You… You were divorced, sir?!” Pindre looked aghast, darkening past cobalt into deep indigo as she struggled with the question. From the look of things, she wasn’t alone. “I mean, I’ve heard that can happen with Humans, but didn’t your mothers step in to help? What about your Houses?”
“Ah… umm… That’s not such a big thing … That is to say, young people would get some help from their families when they needed it, but generally speaking, we were expected to make our own way in life.”
“But… that’s what poor people do! Or-or outcasts! No one from a good family would do that to a boy?!” Pindre was looking at him incredulously, and he felt a bit ashamed. It wasn’t a great memory… there had been the fights, the regrets, the sorrow… He’d received the divorce paperwork in his last four weeks of OTS, just before Christmas. It had been bad all the way around, but he hadn’t felt so ashamed in years, and certainly not after he’d been remarried.
None of which mattered just now, as he saw the hole he was digging for himself.
“The thing is, I didn’t come from a noble House… that is, I did, but that was a long time ago, and the history is a little spotty.” Tom thought back over his family tree, trying to find something…
“Ohhh…” Pindre bit her lip and seemed to twist a bit as she stood there, looking at him uncertainly. “I’m sorry, Professor. More than one noble house has fallen on hard times. It's no real disgrace to the children. I mean, everybody has heard about somebody. Sort of? I mean, I’m sorry… it’s nothing for you to be embarrassed about.”
“I’m not embarrassed.” He said flatly, looking at a few of the girls in the front row. There was a sea of polite disbelief, and he wasn’t sure for a moment if he was better off in the hole or not. He stopped just short of telling them that was hundreds of years in his family's past, and Humans didn’t have noble houses the way Shil’vati did… which, he realized, might sound even worse! Even so…
“No, really… Look, family planning is important, and I wish that I’d thought it through the first time. Just so you all know, I was very happily married after that.“
“So… you’re married?” One of the girls in the first row blurted out the question, then quickly stood up when he looked at her. “El’eri Grem’maie, Professor… That is, you’re married now?”
“Ah… um… no, Miss, El’eri…My wife and my daughter were killed.” He tried not to sigh as he looked at her. She had a full face that was almost heart shaped, and despite the school blacks, she wore a bright topaz pin and had a purse down at her feet. It had flowers on it. His gaze lingered on her for a moment… El’eri’s face had clouded over, and he could feel the awkward apology coming. It wasn’t her fault, and she was just a child at the time… “My family was killed in an accident. I’m currently single… though I am seeing someone.”
“Oh, we all guessed that you must be, sir!” Her face brightened like the sun coming out when he added that last part.
It was something of a relief, but in spite of himself, he canted his head. It was catching. “Why is that, exactly, Miss El’eri?”
“My mothers says that you can always tell. I mean you just have to be looking.” She said brightly, “Everyone knows men who are hunting for a relationship take jobs in places where there are a lot of women working.”
“That’s… not why I’m teaching here, Miss El’eri.” He tried to process that one. First the interview, now this? “I’m here in a professional capacity, representing my species. I mean, it's not like I’m the only Human dating a Shil’vati...”
Movement caught his eye, and he glanced up to see Belda, who was violently shaking her head in rapid little twitches and seemed ready to disappear through the floor. No help there… “But yes, I am seeing a Shil’vati woman.”
At least twenty more hands immediately shot up, and he absently nodded at the one in the fourth row. “Yes, miss?”
“Reihe Anla’thre, Professor.” She shot up and looked at a couple of the other girls around her quickly, who whispered and nodded. “That is… Well… Can you tell us who she is?! And are you making sure to wear something she gave you!?!”
Hands shot up across the hall.
_ _ _
“No, Ka’mara, I didn’t hear about Professor Warrick yesterday…“ Jax’mi sighed miserably as the two girls walked back toward the dorm. “No more than a dozen times… by the end of breakfast! All of the girls who aren’t in our class want to know things, all over again! And no, that’s not going to cheer me up.”
“You really can't blame them for being extra curious,” Mara said philosophically, shrugging a little bit as she shouldered in under the umbrella. “You said it would be here the week before last, and they’re getting nervous.”
“Nervous?! Those girls were acting like they want to tie me in chains and throw me in the bay.” Jax’mi didn’t want to whine, but she’d already hocked her entire graduation fund with her mothers just to make this happen. It wasn’t like she could admit that, but still! “Interstellar shipping isn’t an exact science, you know, right? I mean, it can be with a modern world, but this is Earth we’re talking about. It's not like there couldn’t be delays…”
“I know…I know you’d do your best… but they don’t know you like I do.” Mara said quietly. “Maybe it would be better if you just tell them it isn’t coming, and start work on what you have? It's not like your designs aren’t brilliant! It's just that you could probably look at doing them… maybe a bit plainer? I’m sure no one will hold it against you.”
There it was then. Jax could hear it in Ka’mara’s voice. She was trying to be solicitous, after all the nasty remarks in the Council meeting, but it was still there all the same. House Chel’xa had failed to deliver, and they were running out of time.
Mara gave her a compassionate smile before continuing. “I mean, not really… I know I won’t, and Melondi said the very same thing to me just the other day. It’s still going to be a great show. I expect everyone will be so happy to do it that they won't even remember, afterward…”
Jax’mi wanted to wash away with the rain.
_ _ _
Miv’eire drew Tom closer to her on the couch, wrapping her arm around him as they watched one of his favorite movies. It was something in black and white, and she’d enjoyed it the first time. Right now, her mind wasn’t on it very much, but she’d hoped it would have cheered him up more.
Honestly, she’d never seen him in as much of a funk, and now it was into the second day.
As the credits on the film started to roll at the end, he scrunched down against her.
“Miv?”
“Umm?” Leaning over and resting her head gently against his, she watched him turn off the video screen and waited for him to say something.
“Miv, I’m wondering… I had that seminar, and it was… different. Half the time I wanted to gag, and the other half I was on the verge of nervous laughter. I mean, I know that’s out of touch... Isn’t it?” It wasn’t a question, but it came out like one. “I just wanted to ask... By your standards, am I a bad boyfriend?”
“What?!” Miv’eire blinked in surprise. “Dear heart, I love you… Why would you even ask something like that?”
Tom sighed. “It wasn’t the seminar… it was the questions they asked. Like, do I wear something you give me every day? I mean, yes, I wear the Academy suits you got me on Earth, and you know how much that means to me… and you wore the bikini, which I’m kind of thinking isn’t nearly as good in kind, now... And-“
“Tom, just stop... You met Tananda Bu’gres.” Miv closed her eyes. She’d hoped for something, but not this. “She’s been teaching the same material for the last thirty years, and yes, it's hopelessly out of date… She wouldn’t in the least bit approve of Sholea and I if she had any idea! But you’re a great boyfriend! There are a few things I’d like you to do, sure, but you’re kind… you care. I could have throttled you over what you did for Nestha, but it's why you did it that matters. You talk with me… you listen. You might not have gotten me a lot of gifts, but you wrapped up your whole world and made it a gift to me! The night out at the theater? The trips to all the universities?”
“That was all a part of my job, though.” He was looking down and slouched against her. “All of that sort of thing is why you hired me to begin with.”
“The kimono wasn’t… You arranged all of that, and it’s the nicest gift I’ve ever had.”
“It's not something you can wear…”
“I’m going to wear it for the Fall Show - with you.” She hugged him and felt him relax a bit into her. “It's not that I won't wear it. We just haven’t had the occasion yet. That’s different.”
“I’m glad you like it.” He mumbled, and she jostled him into her a bit more.
“I absolutely love it,” she said firmly, then added a bit guiltily, desperately blanking Ganya’s questions from her mind for a moment. “And the bikini is nice, too. It’s not nearly so bad when other people are around wearing one.”
“But there are a few things you’d like me to do…?” he said after a moment.
“Not many...” She hugged him again, and met his eyes as he moved back and looked at her “I’d really like it if you’d set something up with Sholea. Something firm? Shil’vati don’t make plans for a date on a whim. She’s asked you with more than two days notice, the way that she should do, and you haven’t set anything up yet. She’s… worried. Things like that matter…”
_ _ _
Tom was walking along the Commons and waiting for Miv’eire.
He’d had a lot to think about since their conversation the night before, but at least he’d messaged Sholea back and set something firm in place for the Shel. He wasn’t sure what they’d do, but at least Sholea… or Lea as Miv often called her… had followed up to ask him what sort of things he liked.
It wasn’t exactly the kind of question he could field. Shil wasn’t his home turf, and Miv told him that bringing her back to watch a movie was out. He had no intention of taking her out to a bar… not even to pay a visit to Dahkra again… and he had no idea where anything was, what there was to do, or what would appeal to him on Shil.
It sucked living like a tourist.
While this was home now, he still didn’t know where anything was off of the Campus, and the idea of taking her sight seeing to things she’d probably seen all her life seemed… dull.
A thought came to him, and he worked his way across the Commons hopefully. It was with a profound sense of relief when he spotted Jama Ha’meres not far from the bench he’d seen him on the week before, and he picked up his pace.
“Jama! How are you?”
“Lad! You’re looking well!” the elderly Shil’vati man smiled broadly and patted the seat beside him “I’d heard from Ganya your Shel was more than a wee bit interesting. I’ve been just waiting to catch up with you and get all the details firsthand, though.”
“Ah, I… I’m meeting Miv’eire in a bit, but I’ll come by your office later?” Settling into the seat and checking his watch, he looked back “There’s a couple of things I wanted to ask without her around, if you have the time?”
“What is it, then? You and she seem to be getting on. I heard you made quite a splash with the Marriage Fundamentals seminar.” He gave a rich chuckle and leaned in. “I think it's fair to say your secret is out.”
“Yeah... The seminar.” Tom deflated. “That’s been a real treat.”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you kidding me? I had to stand there and read material… for forty-five minutes! And what I was reading!?“ he shook his head. There was still a lingering sense of disbelief that only being on an alien world could account for, in the absence of Rod Serling. “I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It was insane. Do you know she teaches these girls to meet men by sitting around on park benches? I mean, just like we are here?”
“Aye, Rule Number Five.” Jama nodded.
“… What…?”
“Rule Number Five. You don't think I’ve been sitting on these damned hard benches just to feed the bloody preltha, do you?” He said again, a bit more gruffly. “I told you about young Akimei Zah’rin over in the science department? Well, now, she works with Professor Loi’trien, who’s doing quantum fluctuation theory. I’ve had my eye on her for the last few weeks! She’s a bit young, but you should see the way she-“
“Jama! Not. Helping.” Tom exclaimed, then hushed his voice as several women looked over and whispered “Anyway, I thought you were over all that?”
“I’m old, lad, not dead. A fine woman doesn't get less appealing with age - you just learn the rules and play the game better.” Jama looked at him sharply, “Anyway, what has your daks in a twist, exactly?”
“I… well, two things. I’m a bit worried about my date with Miv’s co-wife, Sholea, but mostly it’s that seminar.”
“What's wrong with Tananda’s seminar, then?”
“Wrong? Jama, that advice went out of style a hundred years ago on my world. I can barely say it with a straight face!’ Tom spread his hands, not quite sure how to say it. “Even Miv’eire says the information is out of date. I mean, this isn't Earth, but I’ve seen my share of Shil’vati. About one in five of those girls looked like they wanted to eat me alive!”
“Mmm.” He nodded. “You know when you get the rest of that brown out of your hair, and turn a decent silver, you’re going to do quite well?”
“Jama!” Tom closed his eyes for a moment and breathed. “Look, the ones who looked like they were after me were fine - once I stopped looking up. It was the ones asking who I’m dating that were the problem! When they weren't prying at who I’m seeing, they were asking how I’m being dated, and… other things. And there's nothing wrong with brown hair!”
“At least you got a curious bunch.” Jama chuckled, and brushed his hands dismissively. “Listen now, Tananda Bu’gres has been teaching here for two years longer than I have, and that's a bloody long time. I’ll have you know she started that class. It was a tough stand at the time and she fought hard for it. Everyone else thought planning for a marriage was something mothers - and only mothers - should be involved in. Now, maybe her seminar is getting a bit dated, but none of us is getting any younger - and her heart has always been in the right place.”
Jama waited a bit as he digested that, before carrying on. “As for the girls, whatever they’re asking, there have to be some things in common between Shil’vati and Humans. If there weren't, you wouldn't be getting on so famously with young Miv’eire, would you? Why not focus on that, hmm?”
“I… suppose so…” Tom started mulling the idea over in his mind.
“That's the spirit! Now, tell me about this Sholea girl…”
_ _ _
Jax’mi lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling when the knock came on her door.
She sighed, before rolling her head towards the door “Yes?”
“Jax, it’s Melondi, Let me in?”
Jax’mi closed her eyes for a moment. Her reputation was crashing around her and her next three years would be a smoldering heap of rubble… couldn’t anyone just let her social life die in peace? “Fine… Come in,” she grumbled. “Ka’mara… Kas’lin… you…”
Melondi burst into the room and shut the door behind her. In spite of herself, Jax’mi sat up. The girl looked flushed and backed against the door as if a legion were going to try and break it down. “Alright… what is it?”
“So I started watching one of the videos… for movie night... To see what might be good?”
“Uh-huh…?”
“So I started one, and it was soldiers! Humans! In combat! Against spacecraft… there were people in purple armor… ” Melondi lowered her voice and whispered. “It looks like battle footage. I’m worried it might be treasonous!”
“Mel, just calm down, have a seat, and let's have a look at it.” Jax’mi looked at her friend and then sighed again. “Look, everything he has was musicals or movies. What’s it called?”
“Ummm…” Mel looked at her omni-pad like it was going to bite her, but pulled up the title. “Firefly.”
“Right… Look, sit down and let's have a look at this thing. If it has a title and everything then it’s probably just fiction.” Jax’mi rolled onto the side of the bed and sat up. “Were they singing?”
There was another knock at the door.
Jax’mi rubbed her forehead and counted to twelve. “YES!?!”
The door opened slowly, as an older Shil woman poked her head inside. Jax’mi sat up straighter as she looked at the woman, who was wearing Academy coveralls. It was unusual for anyone but the custodial staff to be in the dorms. For one of the Academy Stewards, it was practically unheard of! She felt embarrassed at her greeting, and belatedly stood up. “Excuse me! Please forgive my manners.” Melondi clutched her omni-pad tightly against her chest, but stood up beside her.
“Are you Jax’mi Chel’xa, miss?'' The woman looked between her and Melondi in uncertainty.
“This is my room.” Jax’mi stepped forward, offering her fist. “How can I help you?”
“Actually, Miss, it would be a good deal of help if you could sign for this?” The Steward bumped fists before offering over her omni-pad. “We have a cargo container that arrived for you about an hour ago, and the hauling company says it’s signature only. We need you to sign before they can unload it from the transport down on dock two.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Heart thundering in her chest, Jax’mi took her omni-pad and let the steward swipe the displayed file over to her pad, before signing it and swiping a copy back. Her hands were shaking as she set the tablet on the table. “I appreciate you bringing this to me so quickly. Dock two, you say?”
“Oh yes. It’s one of the large containers, and dock two is the only one with space right now.” the Steward nodded, and Jax’mi found herself nodding along. “Miss, if you don’t mind, I need to get back to the driver.”
“Of course.” Jax’mi bowed her head respectfully. Stewards weren’t nobles… but they were adults, after all… “Thank you for your time and troubles.”
A moment after the door closed, Mel stepped over, “Ummm… Jax, are you alright? You look a bit pale.”
Jax could barely breathe as she paged down through the shipping manifest. It was from Earth.
There was an attachment at the bottom.
Jax’mi quickly thumbed it open, and read…
Dearest Jax’mi,
You are taking after your uncle in more ways than one! Getting in over your head is one of the key things you will have to learn about, and it’s good to start early.
I am sending you a dozen bolts of silk (fabric is sold on Earth in a quantity called a ‘bolt’, which is about 91.5 meters) in assorted colors. You can return the money to your mothers; six thousand credits is a lot, but it’s nowhere near what good quality silk costs in quantity. Each of the bolts I am sending cost about eight thousand credits each. I am fronting the material cost to you in exchange for a thirty percent stake in your coming business ventures. I trust you will find it acceptable.
I suggest you find a tailor on Shil from a good family and work with them. When you’re dealing with high quality materials one of the worst things you can do is skimp on the manufacture. Trying to ‘pinch pennies’, as the Humans say, is a shortcut to failure.
Speaking of Humans, I have one last thing to tell you. As you know, I have been working with them extensively here on Earth and much of our family’s recent success is due to our business ventures taken with this strange species. My advice for you is this: DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THEM. Always assume that the Humans you are dealing with are smarter than you are and plan accordingly. Better to be pleasantly surprised to find yourself ahead than to try to take advantage of one and have everything come tumbling down. Even the dumb ones have a sort of cunning and, if your new teacher has made it to Shil, they’re definitely not one of the dumb ones.
Love always,
Jem’si Chel’xa
2022.03.25 01:53 Skye000000 10/23/2006; Maywood, IL: Shortly after calling the girlfriend of a known local gang member, Officer Thomas Wood is shot several times by an unknown person. In a long line of suspects that includes gang members, local felons, and corrupt cops, who killed him?
The Incident
On October 23, 2006, at 10:49 PM, Maywood Police Officer Thomas T. Wood responded to a dispatch about an unspecified problem around a storefront parking lot near South Fifth Avenue and Madison Street. Then-Officer Robert Welch also responded to the dispatch, but neither of them saw anything out of the ordinary happening. Welch went back to the police station, while Wood kept driving along Fifth Avenue. Despite the fact that his shift was essentially over (it ended at 11:00 PM), Wood went to the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Erie Street, where he’d been dispatched on a drug traffic call a few hours earlier. He pulled over near 319 North Sixth Avenue, a house known for gang and drug activity. While there, he ran the license plate of a white Pontiac Grand Prix parked in front of the house and made two calls to Maywood police dispatch shortly after 11:00. For reasons that are still not known, he also called a woman who was dating a known member of a gang in Maywood.
At approximately 11:15 PM, Thomas Wood was shot multiple times in the chest and head while sitting in his marked police vehicle near the intersection of 6th Avenue and Erie Street. His canine partner, Daro, was found unharmed in the back of Wood’s car. Wood was transported to Loyola University Medical Center where he died from his wounds about forty-five minutes later. The murder weapon is believed to be a .380 caliber pistol.
Usually, the murders of police officers are solved. Among forty-eight officers nationwide who were “feloniously” killed in the line of duty in 2006, according to the FBI, just three of those killings remain unsolved: Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Vaughn Mitchell in Sacramento County, CA., who was shot during a traffic stop; Agent Juan José Burgos-Vélez in Puerto Rico, who was struck by gunfire during a gang shootout; and that of Officer Thomas T. Wood. However, the investigation into Wood’s murder has been plagued by so many errors that some have wondered if Maywood Police intentionally sabotaged the investigation.
Background
Before giving background info on Officer Wood himself and this incident, I think it would be best to give background info on Maywood itself.
Initially founded in 1881, Maywood was a prosperous village situated on former farmland on the west bank of the Des Plaines River. However, in the 1970s, Maywood was hit by economic decline. Big companies such as Canada Dry and the American Can Company left the area, putting thousands out of work. By 1990, increasing amounts of gang violence had turned Maywood into one of Chicago’s most troubled suburbs.
Maywood has also frequently dealt with management issues over the past three decades. In 1991, outside auditors were brought in to evaluate Maywood’s books. They were declared to be “unauditable”, and Illinois had to bail out Maywood with a $12.5 million bond issue (this was the first time the state had been forced to rescue a municipality from bankruptcy with bonds).
Despite only having about fifty members, the Maywood Police Department also has a history of frequent misconduct and corruption. In 1997, the entire Maywood Police Department was temporarily disbanded because of claims that officers were selling badges and robbing locals. Despite the temporary disbandment, the restructured Maywood PD was unable to stay out of trouble for long. In 2005, then-Officer Arian Wade was caught on tape tipping off a Gangster Disciples leader about an upcoming raid. In 2007, then-Officer Dwayne Wheeler shot and killed an unarmed motorist, claiming that the man was trying to run him down while escaping from a bust. The motorist’s family claimed that Wheeler killed him in cold blood. In 2010, during an FBI sting, then-Officer Robert Welch was caught stealing money from suspects. Also in 2010, Maywood’s then-deputy police chief, Brian Black, was involved in an off-duty incident in which he allegedly pistol-whipped a teenager who rebuffed his “advances.” The point is, many members of the Maywood Police Department weren’t exactly model citizens. From 2005 to 2010, two dozen lawsuits related to Maywood PD misconduct were settled for $1.5 million, collectively.
Ironically, it was during the year of the disbandment that Thomas Wood joined the Maywood PD at 28 years of age. According to his wife, Helene, he became a police officer because he wanted to “change the world”. She also said that Wood “got to know drug dealers, gang members and troubled youths while working on the streets”, but “he would try and help them get their life straight instead of putting them in jail”. Wood had previous experience as a reserve officer with the Schiller Park Police Department from 1992 to 1996 and served as a part-time officer with the Stone Park Police Department from 1995 to 1997. Despite the conduct of his fellow officers, Thomas Wood was well known as someone who was strait-laced. He rarely drank, and people at the Stone Park PD thought that he was an FBI mole because of how good his conduct was. It was during his time with the Stone Park PD that he met his wife, Helene, a divorced mother of three that he had previously coached gymnastics with. One day, he spotted her speeding, pulled her over, and they ended up dating soon after that, marrying in 1998 and going on to have two children together. (Yes, cheesy romance scenarios do happen in real life.)
The Investigation
At approximately 11:15 PM, a man who lived nearby, Robert Novak, heard gunfire and went outside to see what happened. (An aside, Novak had been an officer for the Maywood PD until 1997, when he resigned because of unspecified complaints.) Novak went over to Officer Wood’s SUV, and immediately noticed several things. The tail lights were on, indicating that the vehicle was not in park (Wood’s food was still on the brake). Novak also said that he reached inside the vehicle and put it in park. The window was partially open, which combined with the state of the vehicle, indicated that Wood had most likely been talking to someone when he was shot, and over $600 was found on Wood, so robbery was immediately thrown out as a motive.
Maywood police soon arrived at the scene. However, for some reason, Novak was allowed to remain at the scene, which was the first of several investigative missteps. A few hours after the incident, Novak was arrested and questioned. He had several run-ins with Wood in the past, due to the fact that police had been called to Novak’s house eighty-one times since 1999, mainly because of domestic disputes and issues with his neighbors. He owned a .380 caliber pistol, but his gun didn’t match the murder weapon. Even if Novak was able to be ruled out as Wood’s murderer, letting a potential suspect wander the scene of a crime for a few hours with no supervision was a pretty big blunder. However, it was only the beginning of the long line of mistakes that would be made in the investigation.
People that Wood saw or called in the previous few days weren’t questioned. Evidence was damaged by flooding at the Maywood police station. One of the biggest mistakes was made when Elvia Williams, who had become Maywood’s police chief a few months earlier, asked for help from West Suburban Major Crimes Task Force (WESTAF), a collection of specialists from police departments in the western suburbs. From the beginning, Maywood police officers and WESTAF butted heads, as members of Maywood’s PD saw WESTAF as a group of uninformed outsiders. Vice versa, WESTAF didn’t trust the Maywood police because of their long history of misconduct.
Eventually, both groups had zeroed in on their own suspects. Maywood police had questioned a reputed member of the Latin Kings whose family lived close to the shooting scene and had once rented an apartment to Wood, and whom Wood had arrested on a gun charge in 2005. The Latin Kings member said that the killer was the gang member whose girlfriend Wood had called right before his death. However, WESTAF, which was partially composed of Cook County prosecutors, didn’t think that the informant was credible.
Instead, WESTAF decided that the prime suspect was Terry Gilford, the driver of the Pontiac Grand Prix that Wood had been looking up before his death. Gilford was a felon and had previously fought with Wood during a traffic stop. However, Gilford had an alibi: he had been cheating on his wife at the time of the murder. His mistress lived nearby, which was why his car was parked close to the scene. Despite this, Gilford remained a person of interest for several months after this, angering the Maywood police force.
Yet another blunder made in this investigation involved the reward money offered for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect. West suburban law enforcement agencies promised $10,000, and a crime scene clean-up company offered another $10,000. Eventually, a reward of $100,000 was promised by the CEO of Park National Bank of Maywood, Michael Kelly. He expected that the Village of Maywood would match this reward, but that never materialized. Regardless, flyers went up all around Maywood and the surrounding communities promising a $100,000 reward related to this crime.
In 2009, Park National folded, and its assets were taken over by U.S. Bank of Minneapolis. Maywood Police Chief Tim Curry said he was told by Kelly and others that, because of the turnover in banks, the $100,000 reward was gone. He added that, as a result, he tore down the posters as he saw them. In May of 2012, FOX Chicago and the Better Government Association contacted U.S. Bank to ask if the reward was still available. A spokeswoman, Nicole Garrison-Sprenger, replied and said that the reward money was still up for grabs, adding “We’ve acquired several banks over the past couple years, and it’s been our practice to honor those community commitments where possible.” Garrison-Sprenger also added that, as far as she knew, nobody from Maywood had asked to say if the reward was still being offered. After this revelation, the village board later added $10,000 to the reward, bringing it up to $130,000 total, but the damage from the three years of missed publicity had already been done.
Current Status
Although the $130,000 reward is still up for grabs to this day, investigators have been unable to get anybody to come forward with any worthwhile information. Helene has theorized that the killer may have been a corrupt cop. Before his death, Wood was being pressured to change his account of an incident in which a suspect was beaten by officers. As Helene tells it, Wood walked in on the aftermath of the beating and the other officers feared he would turn them in. Helene also says that Wood had a falling-out with an officer he suspected of shaking down drug dealers. The officer told Wood it was all an undercover ruse—a story her husband didn’t believe. The officer, she adds, “made it sound like it was a misunderstanding. [But] if Tom believed in something, he absolutely would not back down.” To back this idea up, Helene claimed that Thomas had been acting depressed in the months before his death. Usually, he spent any time not at work with his family. However, before his death, he had been spending his free time holed up in the basement of his house. When asked what was wrong, he assured her by saying that it was just “some things going on at work.” The fact that such a hefty reward has gone unclaimed certainly lends credence to the idea of Thomas being killed by a fellow officer. However, for obvious reasons, it seems like investigators never put much stock into this theory.
It’s probably worth pointing out that, unknown to his wife, Wood took out a life insurance policy a few weeks before his death. Did he think his life was in danger, or was it a coincidence? Additionally, the Wood home was burgled a few months after Thomas’ death, but the only things stolen were two hard drives. That incident also remains unresolved.
For a murder of a law enforcement officer with a $130,000, this case seems to have spent very little time in the news. The latest articles that mention it are a 2019 FBI press release about unsolved LEO murders/assaults, and a 2016 news article published around the tenth anniversary. The "seeking information" entry for Wood's murder doesn't even mention the reward for whatever reason.
Anyone with information about the case should call the FBI at (312) 421-6700 or Maywood police at (708) 450-4471.
Notes
If any of the links in this writeup go dead, please tell me. I will update them to point to archived versions on the Wayback Machine. If you notice any errors, let me know so I can correct them. Also, constructive feedback would be appreciated.
Sources
https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/officer-thomas-t.-wood
https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/September-2012/The-Unsolved-Murder-of-Maywood-Police-Officer-Tom-Wood/
https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/September-2012/What-Happened-with-the-Reward-Money-in-the-Maywoods-Tom-Wood-Case/
https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/September-2012/Maywood-Police-Have-Sordid-Past-and-Present/
https://legacy.suntimes.com/us/obituaries/chicagosuntimes/name/thomas-wood-obituary?pid=19726411
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/fbi-seeking-new-information-about-cold-case-murder-of-maywood-cop
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/10/31/18323885/the-watchdogs-after-10-years-a-cop-s-killing-remains-unsolved
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/investigation-into-murder_n_1783014
https://www.odmp.org/office18561-police-officer-thomas-t-wood
https://www.odmp.org/office18629-agent-juan-jos-burgos-vlez
https://www.odmp.org/office18563-deputy-sheriff-jeffrey-vaughn-mitchell
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006-10-25-0610250064-story.html
https://youtu.be/ST_62BwFafA (Warning: really bad reenactments.)
submitted by Skye000000 to UnresolvedMysteries [link] [comments]
On October 23, 2006, at 10:49 PM, Maywood Police Officer Thomas T. Wood responded to a dispatch about an unspecified problem around a storefront parking lot near South Fifth Avenue and Madison Street. Then-Officer Robert Welch also responded to the dispatch, but neither of them saw anything out of the ordinary happening. Welch went back to the police station, while Wood kept driving along Fifth Avenue. Despite the fact that his shift was essentially over (it ended at 11:00 PM), Wood went to the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Erie Street, where he’d been dispatched on a drug traffic call a few hours earlier. He pulled over near 319 North Sixth Avenue, a house known for gang and drug activity. While there, he ran the license plate of a white Pontiac Grand Prix parked in front of the house and made two calls to Maywood police dispatch shortly after 11:00. For reasons that are still not known, he also called a woman who was dating a known member of a gang in Maywood.
At approximately 11:15 PM, Thomas Wood was shot multiple times in the chest and head while sitting in his marked police vehicle near the intersection of 6th Avenue and Erie Street. His canine partner, Daro, was found unharmed in the back of Wood’s car. Wood was transported to Loyola University Medical Center where he died from his wounds about forty-five minutes later. The murder weapon is believed to be a .380 caliber pistol.
Usually, the murders of police officers are solved. Among forty-eight officers nationwide who were “feloniously” killed in the line of duty in 2006, according to the FBI, just three of those killings remain unsolved: Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Vaughn Mitchell in Sacramento County, CA., who was shot during a traffic stop; Agent Juan José Burgos-Vélez in Puerto Rico, who was struck by gunfire during a gang shootout; and that of Officer Thomas T. Wood. However, the investigation into Wood’s murder has been plagued by so many errors that some have wondered if Maywood Police intentionally sabotaged the investigation.
Background
Before giving background info on Officer Wood himself and this incident, I think it would be best to give background info on Maywood itself.
Initially founded in 1881, Maywood was a prosperous village situated on former farmland on the west bank of the Des Plaines River. However, in the 1970s, Maywood was hit by economic decline. Big companies such as Canada Dry and the American Can Company left the area, putting thousands out of work. By 1990, increasing amounts of gang violence had turned Maywood into one of Chicago’s most troubled suburbs.
Maywood has also frequently dealt with management issues over the past three decades. In 1991, outside auditors were brought in to evaluate Maywood’s books. They were declared to be “unauditable”, and Illinois had to bail out Maywood with a $12.5 million bond issue (this was the first time the state had been forced to rescue a municipality from bankruptcy with bonds).
Despite only having about fifty members, the Maywood Police Department also has a history of frequent misconduct and corruption. In 1997, the entire Maywood Police Department was temporarily disbanded because of claims that officers were selling badges and robbing locals. Despite the temporary disbandment, the restructured Maywood PD was unable to stay out of trouble for long. In 2005, then-Officer Arian Wade was caught on tape tipping off a Gangster Disciples leader about an upcoming raid. In 2007, then-Officer Dwayne Wheeler shot and killed an unarmed motorist, claiming that the man was trying to run him down while escaping from a bust. The motorist’s family claimed that Wheeler killed him in cold blood. In 2010, during an FBI sting, then-Officer Robert Welch was caught stealing money from suspects. Also in 2010, Maywood’s then-deputy police chief, Brian Black, was involved in an off-duty incident in which he allegedly pistol-whipped a teenager who rebuffed his “advances.” The point is, many members of the Maywood Police Department weren’t exactly model citizens. From 2005 to 2010, two dozen lawsuits related to Maywood PD misconduct were settled for $1.5 million, collectively.
Ironically, it was during the year of the disbandment that Thomas Wood joined the Maywood PD at 28 years of age. According to his wife, Helene, he became a police officer because he wanted to “change the world”. She also said that Wood “got to know drug dealers, gang members and troubled youths while working on the streets”, but “he would try and help them get their life straight instead of putting them in jail”. Wood had previous experience as a reserve officer with the Schiller Park Police Department from 1992 to 1996 and served as a part-time officer with the Stone Park Police Department from 1995 to 1997. Despite the conduct of his fellow officers, Thomas Wood was well known as someone who was strait-laced. He rarely drank, and people at the Stone Park PD thought that he was an FBI mole because of how good his conduct was. It was during his time with the Stone Park PD that he met his wife, Helene, a divorced mother of three that he had previously coached gymnastics with. One day, he spotted her speeding, pulled her over, and they ended up dating soon after that, marrying in 1998 and going on to have two children together. (Yes, cheesy romance scenarios do happen in real life.)
The Investigation
At approximately 11:15 PM, a man who lived nearby, Robert Novak, heard gunfire and went outside to see what happened. (An aside, Novak had been an officer for the Maywood PD until 1997, when he resigned because of unspecified complaints.) Novak went over to Officer Wood’s SUV, and immediately noticed several things. The tail lights were on, indicating that the vehicle was not in park (Wood’s food was still on the brake). Novak also said that he reached inside the vehicle and put it in park. The window was partially open, which combined with the state of the vehicle, indicated that Wood had most likely been talking to someone when he was shot, and over $600 was found on Wood, so robbery was immediately thrown out as a motive.
Maywood police soon arrived at the scene. However, for some reason, Novak was allowed to remain at the scene, which was the first of several investigative missteps. A few hours after the incident, Novak was arrested and questioned. He had several run-ins with Wood in the past, due to the fact that police had been called to Novak’s house eighty-one times since 1999, mainly because of domestic disputes and issues with his neighbors. He owned a .380 caliber pistol, but his gun didn’t match the murder weapon. Even if Novak was able to be ruled out as Wood’s murderer, letting a potential suspect wander the scene of a crime for a few hours with no supervision was a pretty big blunder. However, it was only the beginning of the long line of mistakes that would be made in the investigation.
People that Wood saw or called in the previous few days weren’t questioned. Evidence was damaged by flooding at the Maywood police station. One of the biggest mistakes was made when Elvia Williams, who had become Maywood’s police chief a few months earlier, asked for help from West Suburban Major Crimes Task Force (WESTAF), a collection of specialists from police departments in the western suburbs. From the beginning, Maywood police officers and WESTAF butted heads, as members of Maywood’s PD saw WESTAF as a group of uninformed outsiders. Vice versa, WESTAF didn’t trust the Maywood police because of their long history of misconduct.
Eventually, both groups had zeroed in on their own suspects. Maywood police had questioned a reputed member of the Latin Kings whose family lived close to the shooting scene and had once rented an apartment to Wood, and whom Wood had arrested on a gun charge in 2005. The Latin Kings member said that the killer was the gang member whose girlfriend Wood had called right before his death. However, WESTAF, which was partially composed of Cook County prosecutors, didn’t think that the informant was credible.
Instead, WESTAF decided that the prime suspect was Terry Gilford, the driver of the Pontiac Grand Prix that Wood had been looking up before his death. Gilford was a felon and had previously fought with Wood during a traffic stop. However, Gilford had an alibi: he had been cheating on his wife at the time of the murder. His mistress lived nearby, which was why his car was parked close to the scene. Despite this, Gilford remained a person of interest for several months after this, angering the Maywood police force.
Yet another blunder made in this investigation involved the reward money offered for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect. West suburban law enforcement agencies promised $10,000, and a crime scene clean-up company offered another $10,000. Eventually, a reward of $100,000 was promised by the CEO of Park National Bank of Maywood, Michael Kelly. He expected that the Village of Maywood would match this reward, but that never materialized. Regardless, flyers went up all around Maywood and the surrounding communities promising a $100,000 reward related to this crime.
In 2009, Park National folded, and its assets were taken over by U.S. Bank of Minneapolis. Maywood Police Chief Tim Curry said he was told by Kelly and others that, because of the turnover in banks, the $100,000 reward was gone. He added that, as a result, he tore down the posters as he saw them. In May of 2012, FOX Chicago and the Better Government Association contacted U.S. Bank to ask if the reward was still available. A spokeswoman, Nicole Garrison-Sprenger, replied and said that the reward money was still up for grabs, adding “We’ve acquired several banks over the past couple years, and it’s been our practice to honor those community commitments where possible.” Garrison-Sprenger also added that, as far as she knew, nobody from Maywood had asked to say if the reward was still being offered. After this revelation, the village board later added $10,000 to the reward, bringing it up to $130,000 total, but the damage from the three years of missed publicity had already been done.
Current Status
Although the $130,000 reward is still up for grabs to this day, investigators have been unable to get anybody to come forward with any worthwhile information. Helene has theorized that the killer may have been a corrupt cop. Before his death, Wood was being pressured to change his account of an incident in which a suspect was beaten by officers. As Helene tells it, Wood walked in on the aftermath of the beating and the other officers feared he would turn them in. Helene also says that Wood had a falling-out with an officer he suspected of shaking down drug dealers. The officer told Wood it was all an undercover ruse—a story her husband didn’t believe. The officer, she adds, “made it sound like it was a misunderstanding. [But] if Tom believed in something, he absolutely would not back down.” To back this idea up, Helene claimed that Thomas had been acting depressed in the months before his death. Usually, he spent any time not at work with his family. However, before his death, he had been spending his free time holed up in the basement of his house. When asked what was wrong, he assured her by saying that it was just “some things going on at work.” The fact that such a hefty reward has gone unclaimed certainly lends credence to the idea of Thomas being killed by a fellow officer. However, for obvious reasons, it seems like investigators never put much stock into this theory.
It’s probably worth pointing out that, unknown to his wife, Wood took out a life insurance policy a few weeks before his death. Did he think his life was in danger, or was it a coincidence? Additionally, the Wood home was burgled a few months after Thomas’ death, but the only things stolen were two hard drives. That incident also remains unresolved.
For a murder of a law enforcement officer with a $130,000, this case seems to have spent very little time in the news. The latest articles that mention it are a 2019 FBI press release about unsolved LEO murders/assaults, and a 2016 news article published around the tenth anniversary. The "seeking information" entry for Wood's murder doesn't even mention the reward for whatever reason.
Anyone with information about the case should call the FBI at (312) 421-6700 or Maywood police at (708) 450-4471.
Notes
If any of the links in this writeup go dead, please tell me. I will update them to point to archived versions on the Wayback Machine. If you notice any errors, let me know so I can correct them. Also, constructive feedback would be appreciated.
Sources
https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/officer-thomas-t.-wood
https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/September-2012/The-Unsolved-Murder-of-Maywood-Police-Officer-Tom-Wood/
https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/September-2012/What-Happened-with-the-Reward-Money-in-the-Maywoods-Tom-Wood-Case/
https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/September-2012/Maywood-Police-Have-Sordid-Past-and-Present/
https://legacy.suntimes.com/us/obituaries/chicagosuntimes/name/thomas-wood-obituary?pid=19726411
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/fbi-seeking-new-information-about-cold-case-murder-of-maywood-cop
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/10/31/18323885/the-watchdogs-after-10-years-a-cop-s-killing-remains-unsolved
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/investigation-into-murder_n_1783014
https://www.odmp.org/office18561-police-officer-thomas-t-wood
https://www.odmp.org/office18629-agent-juan-jos-burgos-vlez
https://www.odmp.org/office18563-deputy-sheriff-jeffrey-vaughn-mitchell
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006-10-25-0610250064-story.html
https://youtu.be/ST_62BwFafA (Warning: really bad reenactments.)
2022.02.28 18:06 jookco Obituary - Cause of Death : Bishop Donald W. Trautman Death, retired bishop of the Diocese of Erie, has sadly passed away at 85 - DeathObits.com . Click link below to read more
 | submitted by jookco to DeathObituaries [link] [comments] |
2022.02.27 22:09 jookco Obituary - Cause of Death : Former Erie Bishop Donald Trautman Dies at Age 85 - Erie News Now WICU and WSEE in Erie, PA . Click link below to read more
| | submitted by jookco to DeathObituaries [link] [comments] |
2022.02.06 18:07 tormik Boston's Troubled Water Part 5 Heaven, Hell Or Hoboken (Andrew, Anthony, and Matthew)
 | Boston's Troubled Water Part 1 Sunrise, Sunset (Ram and Nolan) submitted by tormik to BostonsVanishingMen [link] [comments] Boston's Troubled Water Part 2 The Music Men (John and Jon) Boston's Troubled Water Part 3 Secret Garden (Will and Michael) Boston's Troubled Water Part 4 February (Unidentified and Unidentified) Boston's Troubled Water Part 5 Heaven, Hell Or Hoboken (Andrew, Anthony, and Matthew) A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.By 2016, after a dozen young men had disappeared on winter nights, Boston law enforcement found itself battling relentless rumors of a predator at the water's edge -- pushing young men into the water. That same year, 200 miles south of Boston, another small city was battling the same rumors. In the winters of 2014, 2015, and 2016 -- three young men drowned in Boston. Shortly after each of those tragedies, three additional young men washed up at the Hoboken waterfront. Andrewhttps://preview.redd.it/howp3u8q28g81.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=5a9b45c35cf022b25bf923668530cd9c251a1fdeHoboken is a small New Jersey city (53,000 residents) on the Hudson River, looking out across the Manhattan skyline. Once an industrial port, Hoboken is now known for its riverside parks, creative arts, unique restaurants, and waterfront bars. Young professionals began to flock to the city in the 90s, but there was no record of young men mysteriously disappearing and drowning in the wintertime -- until 2014. On March 30, 2014 at 1am, 27-year-old Andrew Jarzyk left the West Five Supper Club where he had been drinking with friends, and returned to his apartment a few blocks away. At 1:30am, a neighbor saw an intoxicated Andrew struggling to get into his apartment through the back entrance by climbing (and falling off) an adjacent shed. Police later determined he had been locked out of his apartment. After apologizing to his neighbor and gaining access to his apartment, Andrew then changed into athletic clothing and went for a run (he had been training for a marathon). At 2:09am, a restaurant surveillance camera captured him jogging south past Pier C Park, and then entering Pier A Park. That was the last time he was seen alive. Source: NJ.com The following afternoon, Andrew's family went to the police station to report him missing. While Hoboken police were accustomed to young people sleeping off a night of drinking, they noted there was something different about this case. On that first night, we were totally unsure of what we had, but we knew it was out of the ordinary. It was a situation that moved a lot of people in the department. Just so many questions about how this happened, why this happened.Like many Boston winters in the years prior, the small city soon became an eerie home to missing person posters and puzzled residents, as police spent an entire month unsuccessfully searching for the missing young man. Source: DailyMail On April 30 at 5:30pm, a month after Andrew vanished, a jogger saw a body in the Hudson river near the Erie Lackawanna Train Terminal. Police removed the body from the river, and dental records soon confirmed it to be Andrew. His brother confirmed on Facebook as well. At this time we do not have answers into why Andrew’s life ended at such a young age. Please be accepting to the fact we may never have these answers.One week earlier, 24-year-old Eric Munsell's body had been discovered in the Boston Harbor. Andrew's family and friends began mourning the loss of this bright, energetic young man. Andrew was a middle child, athlete, math wiz, fraternity president, and AVP at a financial firm. He grew up in Hamilton NJ and had only moved to Hoboken a year prior to his disappearance. Andrew was a person whose intentions you never questioned, whose work ethic you strived to match, whose opinion you valued and whose ability to love and trust others without reservation you admired. Andrew's a phenomenal friend, and it's hard to believe he's gone.You can read his entire obituary here. One of the outcomes of Andrew's disappearance was public scrutiny around the security cameras at the waterfront where he vanished. Although there were several cameras in the area where his body was found, not a single one was turned on. The Hoboken City Council approved a resolution to replace the cameras. But the following two winters, two more bodies would be discovered in the same exact location. Neither would be captured on video. Anthonyhttps://preview.redd.it/umlf23xud8g81.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=820da6a5a9df91a44faa78c1c3e6e482d21124ddAnthony's story begins two days after 18-year-old Josue Quispe-Almendro's body was discovered in MA. On November 14, 2015 at 5am, 23-year-old college student Anthony Ureña left the Cliff Lounge in the Inwood neighborhood of NYC. A friend called him a taxi, but he instead decided to walk to a nearby food truck at 204th and 10th Ave. Nearby business surveillance footage showed him stumbling down the street, but they also captured something unusual. A black car in the video passes Anthony on the one-way street and then is seen driving past him again the wrong way.That video was the last time Anthony was seen alive. https://preview.redd.it/gfxsnwilg8g81.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=c17376c15796f1a3d469cc79024c97c5034401e1 Two days later, NYPD refused to acknowledge Anthony as a missing person, telling his mother that "he was a healthy 23-year-old who didn’t want to come home". She tried again the next day and was told to go home and call 911. When she collapsed in tears, an officer finally took her name and assigned a detective to the case. Missing persons posters were put up in the area where he disappeared, but NYPD uncovered no leads in the following month. On Christmas Day, Anthony's body was recovered from the Hudson River at the Hoboken waterfront near Pier A Park, which is a block from where Andrew Jarzyk's body was found. Investigators would later say that Anthony fell into the river at 203rd and 9th Ave (there was no security footage of this occurring), and then his body drifted to New Jersey. This would mean Anthony's body took a 10-mile journey through at least two rivers -- all to end up moments from the same location Andrew Jarzyk was found the previous winter. It's certainly an impressive coincidence, at best. https://preview.redd.it/9zooeev3j8g81.png?width=1240&format=png&auto=webp&s=ed33f34d1b5a2005b99d2f2a285db971da67247a Anthony's mother was understandably dissatisfied both during and after the official investigation, so she started raising money for a private detective: This GoFundMe is to hire a private investigator that can concentrate on really finding my son because we need answers, and I know deep in my heart he is out there somewhere. We need my Moreno back home, the house is not the same without his craziness and smile, his dog is acting weird because he misses him.She described Anthony as an upbeat fitness buff who would never jump in a river, nor did he have any history of mental illness or suicidal behavior. No further answers were ever uncovered about his disappearance and death, but his family members remain skeptical to this day. Anthony's uncle says the official theory doesn't make sense to him, because he visited the supposed site of Anthony's accidental drowning and the water is less than knee deep. Like many mothers of the vanishing men, Anthony's mother will never stop looking for answers and will never stop fighting to prevent another mom from going through the same pain. She has been working hard to change the way NYPD handles missing persons reports. Take the report! Find the person! I just don’t want any parent ever again to have to go through what I went through.Unfortunately, another family would indeed go through the same turmoil the next winter. Matthewhttps://preview.redd.it/tmpvltzjn8g81.png?width=566&format=png&auto=webp&s=10c39aabece4f07fb19a83366422c47769ac9891Matthew's story begins 3 weeks after 21-year-old Dennis Njoroge's body was discovered in the Charles River. On January 23, 2016 at 11pm, in the middle of a blizzard, 24-year-old Matthew Genovese left McSwiggan's Pub, a few minutes from the Hoboken waterfront. A bar employee stated that Matthew did not appear to be intoxicated. He stated he was going home, a short ten minute walk from the bar. But when he didn't show up for work at Wall Street on Monday, family members immediately reported him missing. https://preview.redd.it/h99tsmqtn8g81.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=c54cdc302aa6ef909ffd2b4cdcf74ab6c8c168a4 By this point, the bodies of young men washing up in Hoboken already had residents on edge. Social media comments on Hoboken's missing men started to look a lot like Boston's: He'll be found in the riverThe investigation didn't turn up many clues and he was not seen on any CCTV cameras. Police eventually found Matthew's wallet and keys at Pier A Park, near where Anthony and Andrew's bodies were found. One day later, on January 27, Matthew's body was discovered in the Hudson River by Pier A Park. Once again, there was no security footage of his disappearance. https://preview.redd.it/9ultosbvr8g81.png?width=1322&format=png&auto=webp&s=20c63236ca49f792aeedfc4417eced41a66d70e4 Friends and family mourned the loss of yet another promising young man. He was remembered as quiet, polite, and intelligent. When he was working on something he cared about, you could see the sparkle in his eye. What impressed me the most about him was that when he got excited or enthused about something he put his heart and soul into it.He had recently been sharing his excitement with friends about his job on Wall Street, and seemed to be on an incredibly impressive path to success for a person his age. You can view his memorial page here. Outcry among Hoboken residents became so intense that Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante and Mayor Dawn Zimmer issued a joint statement denying any pattern of foul play: It is important to understand that in this case and in all past cases of entry into the Hudson River from Hoboken over the years, there have been no indications of foul play in any instance. Every case has been determined to be accidental or voluntary entries into the river.It was not well-received among residents. Police chiefs in Boston and Hoboken would eventually release statements denying the possibility of a serial killer in their cities. Boston: "There's no sinister plot out there. There’s some bandit... the smiley face bandit or something, I've heard it. There’s no one out there killing these kids." Hoboken: "There is no 'smiley face serial killer' throwing people in the river in Hoboken" Pier A Park, Hoboken, credit: David Sundberg "In a city the size of Boston, one young dude drowning each winter is practically expected."What about a city 1/10th the size of Boston? Is one drowning each winter still expected? In 2019, the body of another 27-year-old male would be recovered from the Hudson River at Pier A Park. But this one was investigated as a homicide, after the deceased Air Force veteran left behind a series of clues -- including disturbing messages that he was being chased by a predator at the water's edge. His last words were: "Please help me." Thank you for reading Part 5 of Boston's Troubled Water. |
2022.01.04 23:59 jookco raymond payne obituary erie pa Death - Dead - Obituary News : What Happened, Cause of Death. Click link to read full story.
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2021.12.05 17:46 jookco Death - Dead - Obituary - Accident : Bodies found in Hepburn Township to be transported to Erie for further examination - YourErie.com Click link to read full story.
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2021.11.22 20:45 jookco Death - Dead - Obituary - Accident : Bodies found in Hepburn Township to be transported to Erie for further examination - YourErie.com Click link to read full story.
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2021.11.18 18:17 jookco Death - Dead - Obituary - Accident : Bodies found in Hepburn Township to be transported to Erie for further examination - YourErie.com Click link to read full story.
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2021.11.06 18:15 jookco Death - Dead - Obituary - Accident : Update: Victim dies after ATV accident in Girard WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com Click link to read full story.
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2021.10.30 11:19 WeathersRabbits They sensationalized then stopped talking about her! Justice NOW for Tonya Harvey, 35yrs old Murdered Buffalo New York 2018
Tonya Harvey, 35 years old, was murdered on a dead-end street on February 8th, 2018. Buffalo New York Police have made no arrests, named no suspects or persons of interest. They state the murder was not a hate crime but family and friends may disagree.
Tonya may have seen a murder four days before her death. Mother A.V. states, "What she witnessed she couldn't get out of her mind." -wgrz news
Allegedly Tonya would consume drugs and would tell what she had seen to everyone around her. The rumor said this would happen until a hit order was made to silence her. The rumor goes on to say that Tonya was leaving the house for the store. A few men were there. Tonya hollered and screamed before she was shot multiple times. It's possible she yelled out I don't have your money or stuff.
Eire County District Attorney John Flynn who is investigating Tonya's case reports they are aware of the rumors. They officially announced that to date they do not know of any eyewitnesses of the event. Those that had come forward all got their information via rumor. The info came from various sources.
There was a homicide on the day Tonya may have seen it. This homicide is still unsolved. It occurred on 134 Wick Street and the victim is Douglas Padre Johnson according to John Flynn. This victim was rumored to be a doorman for a drug house in Buffalo NY. In a news report, they say the victim's name is Douglas E. Johnson but he was known by "Padre". Douglas was 47 years old. Discovered on February 6th, 2018 his body was snow-covered. After examination, it was found that he died of multiple stabbings. Wick street is also a dead-end street near Broadway and Bailey. Crimestoppers offered up to $2,500 and the Buffalo Police Department was offering up to $1,500 for information that leads to an arrest or indictment. Johnson's body was found the same night Tonya was killed and his body was three streets away from her death location.
Tonya has one last Facebook post and it was published on this day. It seems it was a food delivery check-in for skipthedishes.
February 6th, 2018 Evening 5-5:30 PM
Tonya is shot multiple times on dead-end Shepard street near Broadway. The police arrive shortly after the event but Tonya is pronounced dead at the scene.
Tonya's mother A.V. had worked a double shift. (16 hours) and was eager to get home that very cold day. Once at home she settles to watch television and the shows remind her of her daughter Tonya. One show was about a person promoting make-up and A.V. thought Tonya could do that! The show changes to something about angels and learning the signs to know if you were surrounded by them. Interrupting the moment was a banging on the door so loud it scared her. A.V. angrily looks out the window to see her son. Once inside he attempts to get her to sit but she refuses. A.V. says she is a stubborn mother like that.
"He said they killed [her], and I said killed who? He said 'Boo' because we call, the family calls, Tonya 'Boo,' and I just immediately fell out. And I said, 'well' and cried for I don't know how long," -wgrz
A.V. is in denial and is unable to process her daughter's death. Asking her son if he had seen Tonya himself she learns that he had not. The police had identified her via various markings and her tattoos. A.V. refused to believe Tonya was gone until she finally saw her.
The news reports Tonya's death that night but initially misgenders her.
February 10th, 2018
The Buffalo News issues corrections about Tonya's gender. Michael J. DeGeorge the Buffalo Police spokesman announced they were looking into some early leads.
February 11th or 12th, 2018
A.V. verifies and see's her daughter's body at the funeral home after Tonya's body was cleaned and prepared by the funeral home.
February 12th, 2018
Tonya's wake was held at 11:00 am at TL Pickens Mortuary 66 E. Utica Street Buffalo, NY 14209. The funeral service was held the same day and place at 12:00 PM.
Prior to Tonya's death her mother A.V. and talked about what Tonya would want if she died early. The question arose because A.V. was worried about her daughter's lifestyle. Tonya simply told her mother "Mom, whatever makes you happy." - dailypublic.com
February 8th, 2018- through the following week. (Estimated)
The Erie County District Attorney investigates the homicide to see if it was a hate crime. Tonya's death brings about a lot of media attention. During this time era, an upswing of hate crimes against trans people climb.
February 18th, 2019 12:00 PM
Remembrance Rally - Justice for Tonya Kita Harvey. This rally takes place with Tonya's family and LGBTQ+ community. City Hall Square Buffalo NY.
[Redacted]
[Redacted. Info turned in as small tip]
August 18, 2018
A billboard is made with Tonya's picture on it. It said Speak UP and Speak OUT before your loved one is next. Please reach out to Be a Voice For Justice Initiative with Any Information. There is a link for Be A Voice For Justice Initiative but it is unopenable.
October 29th, 2018 (Estimated)
Kait Munro spokesperson for District Attorney's Office announced that Tonya's murder did not appear to be a hate crime. They declined to comment further on the possible motives citing open investigation. Buffalo Police Department also declined to comment.
October 2018
Crime Stoppers Buffalo and the Buffalo Police Department offered a 4,000 dollar reward. They asked for information about Tonya's killer or killers. Tips may be submitted by calling 67-6161 or through the Crime Stoppers app.
August 2021
District Attorney admits there is no evidence available in this case.
The district attorney's office has acknowledged the gunshot wounds. They were asked if the location of the wounds indicated a hate crime. "It could potentially be" or it could mean the perpetrator was a "bad shot." - dailypublic They later ruled that Tonya's murder was not a hate crime.
A.V. says that as a mother she imagines her daughter was trying to run away or turn around.
It is unclear what significance this location was to Tonya. The news reports that she had no permanent address at this point in her life. Tonya's facebook indicates that she was a regular around in this area. In some of her Facebook lives, she goes to the same store by her accounts daily and people would drive by her and say hi. According to family, Tonya used supportive housing.
In news video segments you can see the investigation happening. The neighborhood is a tightly packed residential with a narrow road. There was snow-packed onto the streets and the LE wore heavy clothing. The area seems slightly worn but with efforts to upkeep. During the clips the police cross caution tape and go down into an ally between the houses.
The scene is Shepard Street, a dead-end off-broadway and two blocks from bailey avenue. The area near broadway and bailey is known for gun violence. 2018 was a particularly deadly year. Here is s a list of sources of the areas murders for 2018.
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/map-homicide-tally-in-buffalo-so-far-in-2018-eclipses-annual-totals-for-last-3/article\_30cf43ce-5e57-5c4a-aece-055c268bde3e.html#tracking-source=in-article
Tonya was born to father M.H. and mother A.V. and was 35 years old when she died on February 6th, 2018 about 5:00 pm in Buffalo NY. Tonya has at least one younger brother by six years. Along with many extended friends that were family by choice with her.
As a child, Tonya lived in Ferry-Grinder homes (Donovan Drive). This was not a good place for her and she was bullied regularly. Other children would use homophobic slurs and physically attack her. Parents would go out of their way to tell Tonya's mother that her child was gay. A.V. would disagree with them saying; "I was like, [she's] a kid [she] should be able to do what [she] want to do."
A.V. knew she had to get Tonya and her younger brother out of that area after seeing the bullying. First, they went to an apartment on Burgard street and then into a home on Bailey-Kensington. A.V. worked as a nursing assistant for the New York State Department of Corrections for nearly 20 years.
Tonya grew up in Buffalo and attended Lafayette Highschool. Tonya like all teens was a little rebellious and would sneak out of the house. Sometimes she went to Club Marcella and other times to the hair salon on main street.
The main street salon was an important place. There she met her friend and mentor V.M. and they had a strong relationship as father and daughter. Tonya would call V.M. dad and he would advocate and help her. V.M. would talk to Tonya's mother who struggled with her faith and her daughter's identity. V.M now owns his own hair salon on main street called Garth Beauty.
"Honestly I gravitated towards Kita because so many people in the community kind of did not like her. She was a lot to deal with. At that time, I felt I could take her underneath my wing before somebody really hurts her," - The Public
Once she graduated high school Tonya attempted to join the armed forces. However, she wasn't eligible and found out she had a medical condition that could be life-threatening.
Tonya transitioned in her twenties. Then she enjoyed traveling around the country visiting places like Alaska, California, and Atlanta. Tonya lived outside of Atlanta for a short period of time.
Throughout her life, Tonya was spiritual and optimistic. According to her mother, she had been a faithful Christian throughout her whole life. This trait uplifted those around her.
Tonya experienced life hardships and used drugs. A.V. attempted to help by giving her daughter consequences such as not being allowed to live with her but she still would check on her. A.V. would get off work and would scour the streets looking for her daughter. Often she would have to check abandoned houses. Tonya also engaged in sex work for survival. Tonya went through rehab for drugs and would focus on poetry and creativity to get her through. Drugs and sex work were an on-and-off cycle for her.
Tonya had encountered violence before. Confiding in her mother Tonya tells of her hardships. In New York, she survived an encounter with a man who tied her up and threatened her with a gun. Then near a hotel along Niagra Falls Boulevard, she was robbed by people she knew.
Tonya's family thinks that drugs contributed to her death. The more she used the drugs the less and less they would see of her. At the time of her death, nobody knew who she had been around in those last few days.
One week before her death Tonya visited her adopted father V.M. at the Salon.
"Dad just wanted to say I love you and I need to use the bathroom." -dailypublic.com
V.M. said that he replied, "I love you too and be safe."
Tonya was beautiful and was considered a "show-stopper" when it came to pageants and shows. Tonya and her friend E.M.J. were inspired by the documentary "Paris Is Burning." Tonya would walk for ballroom fashion competitions but her talent was best in cabaret-style shows. Tonya even made and designed her own clothing and outfits. The shows that she did would support LGBTQ+
Tonya would inspire young trans people and was a trailblazer in the community. Consistently, she could be relied upon to help people. Tonya's friend A.M and LGBTQ+ advocate said Tonya never did wrong to people. When life was hard for her she reached out to others by paying off their bills and buying needed items. A.V. was impressed with her daughter's ability to forgive others. Tonya's father now deceased would steal from the family to buy drugs. This father was also physically violent with the family and yet graceful Tonya forgave him.
Tonya was a precious jewel with a shining and valuable personality. This world is at a loss without her in it. Tonya's talents were immeasurable being able to sing, dance, write, perform, design, model, and be kind. This woman was creative with infinite possibilities. Tonya was passionate, outgoing, and a bit loud in the best way possible.
Tonya had wanted to become a public speaker so that she could share her story. Mother A.V. says in the future she may publish some of Tonya's written works.
Hate crime is the most popular motive theory. During 2018 there was an upswing in hate crimes against trans people across the country. Tonya had been the third trans person to be murdered in America in less than a month. LE ruled out a hate crime as a motive but the theory still exists among close friends and family.
Anyone that could kill her daughter in that manner was driven by hate said A.V.
Then there is the silenced for talking about a murder she witnessed theory.
Then she was killed for something related to drugs or sex work theory.
Tonya was the third or fourth known transgender person to be killed in 2018 according to GLAAD reports.
Then according to dailypublic.com Tonya's homicide was the first in the year. In 2017 there were three homicides on New Years Day alone.
Then on the same day of her death, the murder that Tonya may have witnessed was found. Stabbed to death multiple times only three streets away from Tonya's murder. The victim was Douglas E. Johnson AKA "Padre" and he was found snow-covered in the street.
“I want her death to mean something,” -A.V.
Somebody knows something. There is no way that Tonya was murdered in the street of that neighborhood without a witness. I urge that witness to come forward or provide anonymous information to Crimestoppers or directly to Buffalo police. It's possible you could earn reward money through Crimestoppers. You can remain anonymous and still earn reward money. Tonya had routines that she followed and people would say hello to her in the street. Somebody saw something.
https://www.crimestopperswny.org/ or https://www.bpdny.org/155/Report-a-Tip
If you are unable to provide witness to this crime you can still support Tonya's case. Share her story! It doesn't need to be this writing. All that matters is that you honor her name and her story somehow. Most traditional news sources took her story and sensationalized it without actually trying to get her closure and justice. Fix that today!
Take a moment to write to the district attorney office of buffalo and tell them to keep looking into Tonya's murder. We demand it to be solved. https://www2.erie.gov/da/index.php?q=contact
The Trevor Project's 24/7/365 Lifeline at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386) or TrevorChat, their online instant messaging option, or TrevorText, a text-based support option. If you are looking for peer support, you can visit TrevorSpace from anywhere in the world.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255)
Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860
GLAAD List Of Resources https://www.glaad.org/transgenderesources
Sources Upstairs Info (Buffalo News Will Only Allow A Certain Amount Of reading Articles. They Have a 1.00 six month trial though for anyone needing to read)
https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/crime/wny-unsolved/unsolved-family-of-tonya-harvey-seeks-justice-three-years-late71-d4db148f-d0f7-4051-b069-c2f40c5dd60a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGnTsDLC764 * has clips from the scene as well as clips of family speaking.
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/motive-still-sought-in-fatal-shooting-as-mother-recalls-transgender-daughters-struggles/article\_4bcf6530-b14f-5153-a57d-991defca0371.html *Consider donating to support local news and writers
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2019/02/18/rally-tonya-harvey-transgender-protection
Unsolved: True Crime in WNY podcast * Highly recommend that you listen to this. Full of direct quotes and information.
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2018/02/26/justice-rally-held-for-transgender-homicide-victim
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/crime-safety/2018/02/06/buffalo-shooting-east-side
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tonya-harvey-is-the-third-known-trans-person-to-be-killed-this-year\_n\_5a7de442e4b044b3821d0ace
https://www.hrc.org/news/hrc-mourns-tonya-harvey-a-transgender-woman-murdered-in-new-york
https://www.essence.com/videos/7-things-know-about-tamron-hall/
http://www.dailypublic.com/articles/05152018/remembering-kita-harvey
https://www.mic.com/articles/187853/transgender-woman-tonya-harvey-fatally-shot-in-buffalo-new-york
https://www.advocate.com/crime/2018/2/08/transgender-woman-murdered-buffalo
https://www.tonylpickens.com/obituary/MarkE-Harvey
https://www.echovita.com/us/obituaries/ny/buffalo/mark-e-harvey-6896407
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/two-east-side-deaths-ruled-homicides-buffalo-police-say/article\_2a98d614-9fc5-5612-8032-5b7b70caeae9.html
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/body-found-on-wick-street/article\_ea851478-41fd-5a19-8327-7238115e9809.html
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/reward-offered-in-fatal-february-stabbing/article\_ff9ce7fd-1511-59f5-ac56-248796dca41d.html
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/map-homicide-tally-in-buffalo-so-far-in-2018-eclipses-annual-totals-for-last-3/article\_30cf43ce-5e57-5c4a-aece-055c268bde3e.html#tracking-source=in-article
https://openbuffalo.org/get-involved/events/event:02-18-2019-12-00pm-remembrance-rally-justice-for-tonya-kita-harvey/
https://www.blackgirltragic.com/home/2018/2/10/tonya-harvey-35-year-old-trans-woman-gunned-down-in-buffalo
https://www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-calls-increased-and-accurate-media-coverage-transgender-murders-0
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/02/transgender-woman-buffalo-becomes-third-murdered-yea
Social Media
Tonya Harvey Facebook (Now Memorialized) [redacted link to fit the rules]
Friend M.V. Facebook also redacted!
Thank you
submitted by WeathersRabbits to UnresolvedMysteries [link] [comments]
Content Warning! This case is sensitive and it involves marginalized and overly sensationalized people. LGBTQ+, Trans, black, and women. Please, take care of your mental health. Please, be sensitive in the comments especially if you are not a part of these communities. I am including mental health resources for us at the end of Tonya's story. If at any time you need them to take a break and look into it. If you are mentally able to handle the strain please share her story. You can always turn off your comments!
Timeline Of Events And Details
February 4th, 2018Tonya may have seen a murder four days before her death. Mother A.V. states, "What she witnessed she couldn't get out of her mind." -wgrz news
Allegedly Tonya would consume drugs and would tell what she had seen to everyone around her. The rumor said this would happen until a hit order was made to silence her. The rumor goes on to say that Tonya was leaving the house for the store. A few men were there. Tonya hollered and screamed before she was shot multiple times. It's possible she yelled out I don't have your money or stuff.
Eire County District Attorney John Flynn who is investigating Tonya's case reports they are aware of the rumors. They officially announced that to date they do not know of any eyewitnesses of the event. Those that had come forward all got their information via rumor. The info came from various sources.
There was a homicide on the day Tonya may have seen it. This homicide is still unsolved. It occurred on 134 Wick Street and the victim is Douglas Padre Johnson according to John Flynn. This victim was rumored to be a doorman for a drug house in Buffalo NY. In a news report, they say the victim's name is Douglas E. Johnson but he was known by "Padre". Douglas was 47 years old. Discovered on February 6th, 2018 his body was snow-covered. After examination, it was found that he died of multiple stabbings. Wick street is also a dead-end street near Broadway and Bailey. Crimestoppers offered up to $2,500 and the Buffalo Police Department was offering up to $1,500 for information that leads to an arrest or indictment. Johnson's body was found the same night Tonya was killed and his body was three streets away from her death location.
Tonya has one last Facebook post and it was published on this day. It seems it was a food delivery check-in for skipthedishes.
February 6th, 2018 Evening 5-5:30 PM
Tonya is shot multiple times on dead-end Shepard street near Broadway. The police arrive shortly after the event but Tonya is pronounced dead at the scene.
Tonya's mother A.V. had worked a double shift. (16 hours) and was eager to get home that very cold day. Once at home she settles to watch television and the shows remind her of her daughter Tonya. One show was about a person promoting make-up and A.V. thought Tonya could do that! The show changes to something about angels and learning the signs to know if you were surrounded by them. Interrupting the moment was a banging on the door so loud it scared her. A.V. angrily looks out the window to see her son. Once inside he attempts to get her to sit but she refuses. A.V. says she is a stubborn mother like that.
"He said they killed [her], and I said killed who? He said 'Boo' because we call, the family calls, Tonya 'Boo,' and I just immediately fell out. And I said, 'well' and cried for I don't know how long," -wgrz
A.V. is in denial and is unable to process her daughter's death. Asking her son if he had seen Tonya himself she learns that he had not. The police had identified her via various markings and her tattoos. A.V. refused to believe Tonya was gone until she finally saw her.
The news reports Tonya's death that night but initially misgenders her.
February 10th, 2018
The Buffalo News issues corrections about Tonya's gender. Michael J. DeGeorge the Buffalo Police spokesman announced they were looking into some early leads.
February 11th or 12th, 2018
A.V. verifies and see's her daughter's body at the funeral home after Tonya's body was cleaned and prepared by the funeral home.
February 12th, 2018
Tonya's wake was held at 11:00 am at TL Pickens Mortuary 66 E. Utica Street Buffalo, NY 14209. The funeral service was held the same day and place at 12:00 PM.
Prior to Tonya's death her mother A.V. and talked about what Tonya would want if she died early. The question arose because A.V. was worried about her daughter's lifestyle. Tonya simply told her mother "Mom, whatever makes you happy." - dailypublic.com
February 8th, 2018- through the following week. (Estimated)
The Erie County District Attorney investigates the homicide to see if it was a hate crime. Tonya's death brings about a lot of media attention. During this time era, an upswing of hate crimes against trans people climb.
February 18th, 2019 12:00 PM
Remembrance Rally - Justice for Tonya Kita Harvey. This rally takes place with Tonya's family and LGBTQ+ community. City Hall Square Buffalo NY.
[Redacted]
[Redacted. Info turned in as small tip]
August 18, 2018
A billboard is made with Tonya's picture on it. It said Speak UP and Speak OUT before your loved one is next. Please reach out to Be a Voice For Justice Initiative with Any Information. There is a link for Be A Voice For Justice Initiative but it is unopenable.
October 29th, 2018 (Estimated)
Kait Munro spokesperson for District Attorney's Office announced that Tonya's murder did not appear to be a hate crime. They declined to comment further on the possible motives citing open investigation. Buffalo Police Department also declined to comment.
October 2018
Crime Stoppers Buffalo and the Buffalo Police Department offered a 4,000 dollar reward. They asked for information about Tonya's killer or killers. Tips may be submitted by calling 67-6161 or through the Crime Stoppers app.
August 2021
District Attorney admits there is no evidence available in this case.
Crime Scene
Tonya suffered multiple gunshots. Allegedly it was six wounds total to the head, chest, back, bottom and genitals. The information about the wounds was not given by the police but by the funeral director. -dailypublic There were 9-millimeter shells on the ground in the vicinity of Tonya's body.The district attorney's office has acknowledged the gunshot wounds. They were asked if the location of the wounds indicated a hate crime. "It could potentially be" or it could mean the perpetrator was a "bad shot." - dailypublic They later ruled that Tonya's murder was not a hate crime.
A.V. says that as a mother she imagines her daughter was trying to run away or turn around.
It is unclear what significance this location was to Tonya. The news reports that she had no permanent address at this point in her life. Tonya's facebook indicates that she was a regular around in this area. In some of her Facebook lives, she goes to the same store by her accounts daily and people would drive by her and say hi. According to family, Tonya used supportive housing.
In news video segments you can see the investigation happening. The neighborhood is a tightly packed residential with a narrow road. There was snow-packed onto the streets and the LE wore heavy clothing. The area seems slightly worn but with efforts to upkeep. During the clips the police cross caution tape and go down into an ally between the houses.
The scene is Shepard Street, a dead-end off-broadway and two blocks from bailey avenue. The area near broadway and bailey is known for gun violence. 2018 was a particularly deadly year. Here is s a list of sources of the areas murders for 2018.
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/map-homicide-tally-in-buffalo-so-far-in-2018-eclipses-annual-totals-for-last-3/article\_30cf43ce-5e57-5c4a-aece-055c268bde3e.html#tracking-source=in-article
Tonya Harvey
Tonya Harvey, with her own words, used an "AKA" which is why some may know her as Kita Harvey. Pronounced Kee-Tah. Family would call her Boo. Others still gave her nicknames like "Freckles" or "The black Cameron Diaz." Tonya may have used other AKA's but it seemed like she wanted to be known as Tonya or Kita the most.Tonya was born to father M.H. and mother A.V. and was 35 years old when she died on February 6th, 2018 about 5:00 pm in Buffalo NY. Tonya has at least one younger brother by six years. Along with many extended friends that were family by choice with her.
As a child, Tonya lived in Ferry-Grinder homes (Donovan Drive). This was not a good place for her and she was bullied regularly. Other children would use homophobic slurs and physically attack her. Parents would go out of their way to tell Tonya's mother that her child was gay. A.V. would disagree with them saying; "I was like, [she's] a kid [she] should be able to do what [she] want to do."
A.V. knew she had to get Tonya and her younger brother out of that area after seeing the bullying. First, they went to an apartment on Burgard street and then into a home on Bailey-Kensington. A.V. worked as a nursing assistant for the New York State Department of Corrections for nearly 20 years.
Tonya grew up in Buffalo and attended Lafayette Highschool. Tonya like all teens was a little rebellious and would sneak out of the house. Sometimes she went to Club Marcella and other times to the hair salon on main street.
The main street salon was an important place. There she met her friend and mentor V.M. and they had a strong relationship as father and daughter. Tonya would call V.M. dad and he would advocate and help her. V.M. would talk to Tonya's mother who struggled with her faith and her daughter's identity. V.M now owns his own hair salon on main street called Garth Beauty.
"Honestly I gravitated towards Kita because so many people in the community kind of did not like her. She was a lot to deal with. At that time, I felt I could take her underneath my wing before somebody really hurts her," - The Public
Once she graduated high school Tonya attempted to join the armed forces. However, she wasn't eligible and found out she had a medical condition that could be life-threatening.
Tonya transitioned in her twenties. Then she enjoyed traveling around the country visiting places like Alaska, California, and Atlanta. Tonya lived outside of Atlanta for a short period of time.
Throughout her life, Tonya was spiritual and optimistic. According to her mother, she had been a faithful Christian throughout her whole life. This trait uplifted those around her.
Tonya experienced life hardships and used drugs. A.V. attempted to help by giving her daughter consequences such as not being allowed to live with her but she still would check on her. A.V. would get off work and would scour the streets looking for her daughter. Often she would have to check abandoned houses. Tonya also engaged in sex work for survival. Tonya went through rehab for drugs and would focus on poetry and creativity to get her through. Drugs and sex work were an on-and-off cycle for her.
Tonya had encountered violence before. Confiding in her mother Tonya tells of her hardships. In New York, she survived an encounter with a man who tied her up and threatened her with a gun. Then near a hotel along Niagra Falls Boulevard, she was robbed by people she knew.
Tonya's family thinks that drugs contributed to her death. The more she used the drugs the less and less they would see of her. At the time of her death, nobody knew who she had been around in those last few days.
One week before her death Tonya visited her adopted father V.M. at the Salon.
"Dad just wanted to say I love you and I need to use the bathroom." -dailypublic.com
V.M. said that he replied, "I love you too and be safe."
Tonya was beautiful and was considered a "show-stopper" when it came to pageants and shows. Tonya and her friend E.M.J. were inspired by the documentary "Paris Is Burning." Tonya would walk for ballroom fashion competitions but her talent was best in cabaret-style shows. Tonya even made and designed her own clothing and outfits. The shows that she did would support LGBTQ+
Tonya would inspire young trans people and was a trailblazer in the community. Consistently, she could be relied upon to help people. Tonya's friend A.M and LGBTQ+ advocate said Tonya never did wrong to people. When life was hard for her she reached out to others by paying off their bills and buying needed items. A.V. was impressed with her daughter's ability to forgive others. Tonya's father now deceased would steal from the family to buy drugs. This father was also physically violent with the family and yet graceful Tonya forgave him.
Tonya was a precious jewel with a shining and valuable personality. This world is at a loss without her in it. Tonya's talents were immeasurable being able to sing, dance, write, perform, design, model, and be kind. This woman was creative with infinite possibilities. Tonya was passionate, outgoing, and a bit loud in the best way possible.
Tonya had wanted to become a public speaker so that she could share her story. Mother A.V. says in the future she may publish some of Tonya's written works.
Motives
Tonya was well-loved and liked and because of this, it has led to speculation on who could want her dead.Hate crime is the most popular motive theory. During 2018 there was an upswing in hate crimes against trans people across the country. Tonya had been the third trans person to be murdered in America in less than a month. LE ruled out a hate crime as a motive but the theory still exists among close friends and family.
Anyone that could kill her daughter in that manner was driven by hate said A.V.
Then there is the silenced for talking about a murder she witnessed theory.
Then she was killed for something related to drugs or sex work theory.
Similar Cases
Buffalo, N.Y. on the same block a 19-year-old man was shot early Monday morning on Feb. 19, 2018. The event took place around 1 am. https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2018/02/19/police-investigating-possible-shooting-on-shepard-streetTonya was the third or fourth known transgender person to be killed in 2018 according to GLAAD reports.
Then according to dailypublic.com Tonya's homicide was the first in the year. In 2017 there were three homicides on New Years Day alone.
Then on the same day of her death, the murder that Tonya may have witnessed was found. Stabbed to death multiple times only three streets away from Tonya's murder. The victim was Douglas E. Johnson AKA "Padre" and he was found snow-covered in the street.
“I want her death to mean something,” -A.V.
Somebody knows something. There is no way that Tonya was murdered in the street of that neighborhood without a witness. I urge that witness to come forward or provide anonymous information to Crimestoppers or directly to Buffalo police. It's possible you could earn reward money through Crimestoppers. You can remain anonymous and still earn reward money. Tonya had routines that she followed and people would say hello to her in the street. Somebody saw something.
https://www.crimestopperswny.org/ or https://www.bpdny.org/155/Report-a-Tip
If you are unable to provide witness to this crime you can still support Tonya's case. Share her story! It doesn't need to be this writing. All that matters is that you honor her name and her story somehow. Most traditional news sources took her story and sensationalized it without actually trying to get her closure and justice. Fix that today!
Take a moment to write to the district attorney office of buffalo and tell them to keep looking into Tonya's murder. We demand it to be solved. https://www2.erie.gov/da/index.php?q=contact
Mental Health Resources For Us
National Alliance On Mental Illness and 800-950-6264 https://nami.org/HomeThe Trevor Project's 24/7/365 Lifeline at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386) or TrevorChat, their online instant messaging option, or TrevorText, a text-based support option. If you are looking for peer support, you can visit TrevorSpace from anywhere in the world.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255)
Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860
GLAAD List Of Resources https://www.glaad.org/transgenderesources
Sources Upstairs Info (Buffalo News Will Only Allow A Certain Amount Of reading Articles. They Have a 1.00 six month trial though for anyone needing to read)
https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/crime/wny-unsolved/unsolved-family-of-tonya-harvey-seeks-justice-three-years-late71-d4db148f-d0f7-4051-b069-c2f40c5dd60a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGnTsDLC764 * has clips from the scene as well as clips of family speaking.
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/motive-still-sought-in-fatal-shooting-as-mother-recalls-transgender-daughters-struggles/article\_4bcf6530-b14f-5153-a57d-991defca0371.html *Consider donating to support local news and writers
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2019/02/18/rally-tonya-harvey-transgender-protection
Unsolved: True Crime in WNY podcast * Highly recommend that you listen to this. Full of direct quotes and information.
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2018/02/26/justice-rally-held-for-transgender-homicide-victim
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/crime-safety/2018/02/06/buffalo-shooting-east-side
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tonya-harvey-is-the-third-known-trans-person-to-be-killed-this-year\_n\_5a7de442e4b044b3821d0ace
https://www.hrc.org/news/hrc-mourns-tonya-harvey-a-transgender-woman-murdered-in-new-york
https://www.essence.com/videos/7-things-know-about-tamron-hall/
http://www.dailypublic.com/articles/05152018/remembering-kita-harvey
https://www.mic.com/articles/187853/transgender-woman-tonya-harvey-fatally-shot-in-buffalo-new-york
https://www.advocate.com/crime/2018/2/08/transgender-woman-murdered-buffalo
https://www.tonylpickens.com/obituary/MarkE-Harvey
https://www.echovita.com/us/obituaries/ny/buffalo/mark-e-harvey-6896407
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/two-east-side-deaths-ruled-homicides-buffalo-police-say/article\_2a98d614-9fc5-5612-8032-5b7b70caeae9.html
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/body-found-on-wick-street/article\_ea851478-41fd-5a19-8327-7238115e9809.html
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/reward-offered-in-fatal-february-stabbing/article\_ff9ce7fd-1511-59f5-ac56-248796dca41d.html
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/map-homicide-tally-in-buffalo-so-far-in-2018-eclipses-annual-totals-for-last-3/article\_30cf43ce-5e57-5c4a-aece-055c268bde3e.html#tracking-source=in-article
https://openbuffalo.org/get-involved/events/event:02-18-2019-12-00pm-remembrance-rally-justice-for-tonya-kita-harvey/
https://www.blackgirltragic.com/home/2018/2/10/tonya-harvey-35-year-old-trans-woman-gunned-down-in-buffalo
https://www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-calls-increased-and-accurate-media-coverage-transgender-murders-0
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/02/transgender-woman-buffalo-becomes-third-murdered-yea
Social Media
Tonya Harvey Facebook (Now Memorialized) [redacted link to fit the rules]
Friend M.V. Facebook also redacted!
Thank you
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