text:
Today marks the five-year anniversary of the Albany River Rats' bus crash that took place in the early hours of Feb. 19, 2009, as the team was heading home from a road game in Lowell, Massachusetts. What follows is a first-person account of the events from some of the passengers.

Coach Jeff Daniels, Assistant Coach Geordie Kinnear and players Nicolas Blanchard and Mark Flood are still with the Checkers in those same roles today. Radio play-by-play broadcaster Owen Newkirk is now with the Texas Stars.

AN ALREADY LATE NIGHT

[Jeff Daniels]

Jeff Daniels in 2006

DANIELS: It was a New England wintry day and it kind of got worse as we were playing. When we came out of the game it was coming down pretty good. We had issues with the bus and we got maybe 20 minutes outside of Lowell at that point. We sat on the side of a plaza or restaurant just kind of waiting for a new bus to come, and that added an extra hour delay to the trip before we got on the road.

BLANCHARD: We had to wait a couple of hours for the other bus to come pick us up. Some guys were sleeping and some guys were playing cards, and I remember Floodie was making the boys laugh.

FLOOD: It was kind of boring but kind of bonding time too. It was getting hot and stuffy so we popped the roof open and were kind of hanging out of there, joking around and goofing off to kill time like we always do.

NEWKIRK: By the time the replacement bus came, we should have already been home.

KINNEAR: The wait felt like forever. As we were pulling out, the driver just about hit a lamp post in the parking lot and I had to kind of speak up to give him a heads up. That kind of foreshadowed what was about to happen.

FLOOD: It was on the Mass Turnpike in the Berkshires, so it's snowy and hilly and icy. It was an icy, dark night and there was black ice. It was not a good night for traveling, but it wasn't much different than any other night because we traveled a lot on the bus. You don't think anything of it when you get on the bus. We do it every road trip.

When we got on the next bus everyone was pretty tired. Within a half hour of getting on the road a lot of guys were sleeping. I was sleeping or close to sleeping. I was laying down on my back and I had my feet across on the other seats.

NEWKIRK: It was so late that everyone was trying to sleep where normally most of the guys would be sitting up or playing cards or something like that. I wasn't a good bus sleeper to begin with, but I was laying down across the seat.

KINNEAR: You get to that point after a game, you just want to get home and get in your own bed and know you're in the right place and a safe place. After that game I probably wouldn't have slept on the bus, but with the bus breaking down it was getting pretty late and I was getting pretty tired. I was right behind the bus driver so I was kind of sitting up and leaning against the window, using the glass as a backboard. I don't remember when I went to sleep, but I remember when I woke up.

THE CRASH

[Mark Flood]

Mark Flood in 2008

NEWKIRK: I remember being able to process the driver yelling, 'Hang on!' and then I kind of bolted upright and saw the guardrail through the window. We were fishtailing.

FLOOD: I could feel the bus kind of pulling to one side, almost fishtailing. I woke up and a lot of the other guys started to perk up. I remember skidding and hearing a "boom boom boom."

BLANCHARD: All of the sudden I heard a weird noise like "bump bump bump" and I opened my eyes right away. I saw Joe Jensen in the air.

DANIELS: You started hearing the rumble strips on the side of the road and that kind of woke me up a little bit. I could hear a little panic from the driver and then it happened.

FLOOD: We flipped over on our side. Scratching, windows breaking. That's when things really got out of control. We knew we were in an accident and guys were being thrown.

KINNEAR: I woke up and we must have been spinning or something. I looked across the aisle and I saw Jeff. He kind of had the big bug eyes and we knew something was wrong, though nothing was said. There was no screaming or anything. All I remember is that we were starting to spin, and that's when everything seemed slow-mo.

DANIELS: Myself and Geordie had the front-row seat, kind of watching. It was a blur from that point. It was all slow motion, like, "Is this really happening?"

FLOOD: We slid 100 meters or something like that because we were going pretty fast.

KINNEAR: All I remember thinking is that I wanted the bus to stop. Please stop. It was just constant motion. Something was different about the bus, obviously we were on our side, but I didn't know that at the time. Jeff flew into the bus drivers' lap and because I was on that side of the bus I was more on my back. It didn't feel like I was on the ground. I don't remember any friction or anything along those lines. My whole thought process was, "When is this bus going to stop? I want it to stop." I didn't know if we were going to hit something. For some reason there was a calm for me. It felt very focused and very slow, but I just wanted the bus to stop.

[]

FLOOD: I had been in a car accident before, and it's a scary feeling when everything finally stops. You're looking around and guys are everywhere. Your first thought is, "Did somebody die?" It's a scary thing to say and a scary thing to think about, but that's what I was thinking. It was pretty bad. There was smoke, guys were bleeding. I was scared that somebody had died.

NEWKIRK: I hit the seat, but my whole left side was in pain. My color guy, John Hennessey, had fallen all the way down and basically tackled our equipment guy, Jason McGrath, through the window, and he had pieces of glass in his back.

FLOOD: I landed standing up on one leg and kind of straddling one of the seats. I looked down and I was standing on broken glass on snow. I was on the back of the bus, so I must have been standing in the median. I was looking around to see if everybody was OK.

BLANCHARD: I woke up on the ground. For one second it was silence, then after that all the boys were yelling to see if everyone was OK. I tried to stand up but I couldn't. I knew I couldn't walk but I didn't know what I had. My good buddy Mike Angelidis asked if I was OK and grabbed me because I couldn't walk. Him and Justin Peters helped me to get off the bus through the roof exit.

FLOOD: Dwight Helminen was cut pretty bad – he landed like I did but didn't have shoes on so his feet were cut and bleeding. Petey might have landed standing up too, and he had his phone out right away calling 911 and he had popped the emergency exit. He was right on things, pretty alert and focused in a chaotic situation.

KINNEAR: I'm not sure how it happened, but things started to speed up a little bit for me. I think my survival instincts kicked in. We were on our side so the door was up high and we couldn't get out. Once we got our bearings I saw the bus driver panic a little bit trying to get the door, and then I realized we were in the middle of the road on a 45-degree angle, on a hill. The front of the bus was over the middle of the line.

NEWKIRK: The whole front end of the bus was still in the passing lane and there were no lights on it. We're in a pretty remote stretch of highway where there wasn't a lot of ambient lighting to begin with and we're in the middle of this blizzard, and you could just feel the vibration of the first few trucks that whizzed past.

[Geordie Kinnear]

Geordie Kinnear

KINNEAR: The first one came and lowered his gear, and when you lower your gear the engine revs high. That's a distinct trigger memory for me, because I thought we were going to get crunched in the front. It missed us by two feet maybe. I was thinking about Lorraine and the kids because I thought we were going to get hit. I was yelling, "Get out of the bus! Get out of the bus now!" I used some stronger and more direct words than that but I said it as many times as I could. We had a matter of minutes or seconds to get out of the bus.

FLOOD: At the back, we were probably a little more calm than the guys at the front because they realized where we were. We just knew we were in an accident. We didn't realize where we were or where we were facing until we popped the thing open. We just knew we had to get off the bus, because we didn't know if it would get hit or blow up or something like that.

KINNEAR: I ended up grabbing the two railings in the aisle and started kicking the front windshield as hard as I could. Once, didn't budge. Twice, I started to get it, and on the third I finally got the whole windshield to fall out the front. I kept yelling to get out of the bus. I jumped out and I think a bunch of people followed me. Once we got out the front I saw others in the back getting out of the fire escapes, and I looked up the hill and transport trucks were still coming down.

BLANCHARD: As soon as I got off the bus I saw this big truck flying by us because half of the bus was in the middle of the road. I panicked, and for a guy who couldn't walk, I started sprinting. The adrenaline was crazy.

KINNEAR: Clear as day I see one fishtailing down the hill by the bus and he ended up going by, just missing us again. They must have got on the CBA after that and told the other ones to slow down because they all kind of stopped. It was maybe two or three minutes from the initial stop, but I was very concerned that we were going to get t-boned from the side by a transport truck, especially in the front where we were, because we would have had no chance. I honestly thought it was a matter of seconds, but thank God it wasn't, because we would have lost people for sure.

COMING TOGETHER

[]

BLANCHARD: I was only wearing my track suit and my socks, that was it. It was so cold. I remember being freezing. Some guys were just wearing shorts and t-shirts. All the equipment was wrecked and some hockey bags were 20 meters away from the bus.

NEWKIRK: After a while I realized I had my peacoat on as a blanket, but some guys were still in their t-shirts and some guys didn't have shoes because they had been asleep.

DANIELS: I had a bit of a headache just from whiplash or whatever it was. Once everyone got out of the bus we kind of converged in the median and grass area in between the two highways just to see where everyone was at and what everyone was doing. Luckily everyone got off the bus.

FLOOD: We're on the snow bank and it's freezing cold. I was still shaken from the accident but I kind of checked myself over. It was dark so I had one of the guys check to make sure my face was OK because we didn't have a mirror to look at or anything. I was a little bit stiff and had a couple of bumps and bruises, but compared to what happened to some of the other guys, I was fine. We checked each other out as best as we could at the time and assessed each other's injuries.

NEWKIRK: I saw Casey Borer standing up, but then he starts complaining about a pain in his neck and then I think he was down on his hands and knees. He's trying to rest his head on the ground or on other players because he just didn't have the strength in his neck.

FLOOD: He was lying face down in the snow bank. I asked him if he was alright and he said yeah, his neck was just really stiff and he thought he had bad whiplash or something like that. In a situation like that you're kind of in shock and you don't even know if you're hurt. You could have a broken leg and your adrenaline is pumping. You just get off the bus.

KINNEAR: Casey Borer kept saying that he couldn't move. His head was actually on the ground kind of buried in the snow. We didn't want him to move because something wasn't right. He was not good.

[Owen Newkirk]

Owen Newkirk

NEWKIRK: I called my parents and told them what happened, and my dad said, 'You've already called us. You don't remember calling us before?' I didn't remember that at all. My dad is a family doctor and asked me who we played that night. I realized I had no idea. He asked me if my coach was around and I said yeah he's right here, so he asked me to ask him who we had played that night. I asked Jeff, and he just gave me this blank stare for a second. Finally he said, "Lowell" and once he said that it all came flooding back to me. My dad asked if he could talk to my coach, so I handed Jeff the phone and he told him that I was showing some symptoms of a concussion and to make sure that the EMTs would check me out.

DANIELS: Blanch and Casey Borer were in tough shape and I think Owen was a little bit in shock. I tried to make some phone calls to Carolina – Tom Rowe and Jason Karmanos at the time - to let people know right away that we had been in a bus crash.

FLOOD: Blanch was hurt pretty bad and Jonathan Paiement was hurt pretty bad, and we tried to sort through that as quick as we could and get the guys that needed help off first.

DANIELS: I was pretty impressed with the way the team came together at that point. Some guys were bleeding and other guys were helping out and trying to figure out who needed help and who didn't. A lot of credit goes to those players who understood the situation and were going around to make sure that others were OK.

KINNEAR: We didn't have a winning season, but that team was really close. You've got to give the players a lot of credit for looking out for each other. Jeff banged his head pretty hard and was hurt a little bit, but they all took care of the guys that were hurt the most in kind of a pecking order. A lot of the guys' character was revealed for sure.

NEWKIRK: Jeff and Geordie really did an amazing job of going around and talking to everyone, making sure everyone was OK and trying to be as organized as possible. I think Jeff really gained a lot of respect around the league and around the hockey world for how he handled everything.

[]

BLANCHARD: I was sitting on the guardrail and one of the players called my dad to let him know there was a bus accident, but he was speaking English and my dad didn't really understand. My dad told me later he was panicking, but a French guy grabbed the phone and told him what happened.

NEWKIRK: Some guys said it felt like an eternity before the first responders arrived, but by the time I made a few phone calls it seemed like the flashing lights were right there.

FLOOD: It took a while for the fire trucks and the ambulances to get there, but by the time they did we had kind of figured out who was in need of medical attention first.

BLANCHARD: I sat on the guardrail on the side of the road and after a while the firefighters and the ambulances arrived and they asked me if I was OK. I told them I felt something leaking on me so the guy lifted my shirt and saw a big wound on my stomach. I didn't see at that time what I had, but they told me I was going to be the first one leaving. I just remember praying to be able to play hockey and really just not to die because I didn't know what I had. After that, I blacked out.

FLOOD: Four ambulances came and they sent the injured guys away in those, and then a school bus came for the rest of us who were relatively fine.

KINNEAR: The bus came and it had that heat cranked and it felt so good.

FLOOD: They drove us to the Berkshire Medical Center and they put us in rooms of two so we could all be evaluated by the doctor until they could release us. I remember being at the hospital and the doctor coming in and saying that they had to move Casey to see other doctors because he might have fractured his neck. It turns out he had broken his neck, and he had walked off the bus. He shouldn't have probably, but at the time you're on adrenaline and you want to get off the bus as quick as you can.

I was in the room with him when he had to call his parents and tell them. It was pretty emotional. They were obviously pretty upset and he was pretty upset. I'm just glad that I could have been there for him to help him through that.

[]

BLANCHARD: I remember waking up in the hospital on the surgeon's table and they were doing all their scans. When the bus flipped, the guardrail went through my window and took a piece of my stomach. I had a huge open wound you could almost put your hand in. They were scared that the guardrail had cut my intestine – it was that deep. I had cuts on my back that needed over 100 stitches because the doctors said they could see my bone. Both shoulders popped out and my hip moved a little bit too. I also needed stitches on my elbow because that was open too. I didn't feel the pain until I was in the hospital because the adrenaline makes you forget. The guy in front of me and the guy behind me on the bus didn't have anything, not even a scar.

I remember being in the bed in the hospital and telling my family I would be OK and that I could play again. For me at that point it was a lot mental and I was telling myself I'd be OK. Finally the doctor told me I would be able to play hockey again but maybe not this season. At that point it was in my mind that everything would be fine.

KINNEAR: The bus ride home the next morning was a little nerve-wracking, but I remember getting home that next morning and was just happy to see the kids and Lorraine.

DANIELS: We were fortunate. I remember taking my family to go see Blanch in the hospital a couple of days after and he had his family there at that point, just wanting to touch base. You talked to him when it happened, but a couple of days after it was easier to talk about where you're not as worked up emotionally, just to hear his story about how he went through the guardrail and you're like, "Wow, I never even thought about that." Him telling us that they're picking out pieces of guardrail from his side and he's showing us the cut. My daughter was probably six at that time and it was a little eye-opener for her. He was in good spirits and knew he was going to be fine. It was just good to see that he was there with his family and he was in good hands.

MOVING ON

[]

DANIELS: We got back mid-morning to Albany. I told the guys on the bus not to talk to media and just get home and give it a day to regroup, but at some point you're all going to have to talk to the media and the press and all that, but right now just get home. We met the day after because most guys had been up for 24 hours probably and I kind of left it up to them as to when we would play again, because we were supposed to play the next day at home or something. It was up to them, because the league was going to work with whatever we wanted to do as a group.

KINNEAR: We wanted to make sure everyone was ready to play mentally and got the help if they needed help before we put them in those situations.

DANIELS: We told them if you're ready to get back at it, we'll play and I'll go out and find the bodies that we needed to get 20 guys, or if we needed some time to regroup we can do that. As a group we decided to take the weekend off, but we did practice to get the mind off and get back in the flow of things. Most of the guys are young, single and living in apartments by themselves, so we wanted to get on the ice together as a team. That was the team that went through it, and they could kind of relate to one another about what happened and what the situation was. It was good to get on the ice and kind of move on. You weren't going to forget, but even if it was just a practice for an hour, just that distraction. We just had a real fun practice with games and it was real loose, so we were ready to play a couple of days later.

KINNEAR: The guys were 100 percent ready to go and wanted to go, and that's when we decided we'd start playing again. To their credit, I don't think they eased into any games. They played the games the way they were supposed to. We got a lot of support from Carolina in getting players in. We moved on right away. That's just how Jeff and I operate - to keep moving forward and don't look back too often and take one game at a time. That was our approach.

FLOOD: JD and Geordie were great about it. They made everybody take a step back from hockey. I know it's our jobs and stuff, but life is more important than hockey. Everybody being alive and being OK was the main focus. It definitely made us take a step back from that. Finishing the season was different. Guys were just happy to come to the rink and happy to see each other. It gave us a different perspective on life.

DANIELS: Our next game was in Bridgeport, and to get from Albany to Bridgeport is probably a two-and-a-half hour drive. The first little while is kind of a country road, and I couldn't, and I'm sure a lot of the guys couldn't, sleep on that first ride. I know I was very jittery, kind of clutching the handle of my seat every time there was a little bump in the road or if you're making swerve on a turn, you're a little gun shy. Those first couple of trips, it was a little nervous. Any bump in the road I'd kind of tense up and all eyes would be on the road. You've driven however many miles on the bus from the time I was playing to coaching and you never thought twice about it.

NEWKIRK: On our next bus ride there were two routes, one that was all highway and another one that was a shortcut that was this big winding road along a river. We took the winding road, and I think every time we went around one of those curves there was this feeling of, "Hang on!" but I think it was good to do that and get back on that wobbly horse right away.

[]

FLOOD: I played the next game, but we had a lot of call-ups. Our first game back was in Bridgeport and we had a ton of support around the league. They gave us a standing ovation. It was crazy the amount of support we got. Every day in the dressing room there was food sent in from other teams, from NHL teams, from fans and supporters. I think everyone was a little overwhelmed by the support we got from everywhere. It kind of became a big story in the sporting world. On TSN and ESPN they were talking about it and it made the Top 10 Worst Tragedies in Sports and that kind of stuff. It was a big deal at the time and we got a lot of support from it.

NEWKIRK: We were a .500 team at the time, but that was really it for us. We weren't the same after that. The opposing teams would send us fruit baskets and things like that, but no matter what they sent it was the gesture of all being in this together and being a part of that small hockey world.

BLANCHARD: After the accident I couldn't do anything. They had to wash me, they had to feed me and I couldn't do anything. I kept my wound open for a month almost because they were scared it would get infected. The nurse would come to my house and change my wound. They'd put tissue in it and cover it twice a day. It was the most painful thing ever because the tissue would get stuck in my skin and my blood and they'd have to pull it out. It was tough. Finally a month later they did the surgery to close the wound.

I couldn't work out for the next month because I couldn't even walk. My parents came to Albany for two weeks and cooked me a lot of food and took care of me. The Canes also really took care of me with all the doctors and all the staff and the encouragement.

FLOOD: Casey stayed in Albany and it worked out good because my girlfriend was kind of his caretaker. I was on the road a lot to finish the season out and she'd help him put his socks on because he was obviously really stiff in the neck brace and limited to what he could do.

DANIELS: It was good to have Blanch and Casey around. The last game of the year was at home and we wanted Blanch to take warm-up. We got the OK from the league to have an extra guy taking warm-up because they knew the situation.

FLOOD: It was a big deal. Everyone gave him a standing ovation.

BLANCHARD: All the boys on the team were laughing at me because I couldn't handle the puck. I was laughing so hard too.

DANIELS: I think it was good for Blanch to not have to wait all summer to get back into it. He got a chance to end his season with some practices and prepare for a game. It was good for him and good for the guys to see that Blanch was going to be back. He's always been a high-character kid and I know he meant a lot to the team.

BLANCHARD: It was funny, but it was a happy moment seeing that I'm getting better and that I would be able to play hockey again. It gave me a lot of energy for the summer to work out, and in the middle of June I was back in the gym and doing really well. I was able to be ready 100 percent for the next camp in Raleigh.

[Nicolas Blanchard Carolina Hurricanes]

Nicolas Blanchard in the NHL

KINNEAR: With Nicolas Blanchard, it was part of his journey to the NHL. Not that you want to be in a bus crash, but it makes Blanch's story that much better and shows you what type of kid he is. You have a couple of letdowns or a couple of valleys in your career but you stick with it and you persevere. You end up having a lot of respect for a guy like him and a guy like Casey Borer because they battled back. When Blanch got called up, it was pretty special for all of us because he battled. Not only people on the ice with sticking up for teammates, but he battled through a thing like that and defied the odds. Those are the types of people you want on your team and in your organization.

DANIELS: You see that nothing can stop him. He plugged away for many years not getting a chance until he finally got that chance last year. When you tell those guys that they're going up, it's pretty special because you've been with them for so long. Nothing was ever given to him. He's had to earn everything.

FLOOD: The next year after that I played in Bridgeport, and getting on the bus was tough. I had trouble sleeping on the bus after that for a while. When we'd hit the rumble strips or something I'd perk up, and when it was bad or snowy weather it was tough. I was nervous, for sure.

NEWKIRK: There are still moments where the brakes hit quickly where it comes back to you a little bit.

BLANCHARD: For the next year after that, every time I lay down on the bench and the driver hit the brakes, I'd wake up right away and look out front. Obviously it's on your mind, but I'm OK today. Mentally it's been really good.

KINNEAR: The only trigger I have is that loud engine. As soon as I hear someone downshift a transport truck. I don't think about the bus crash that much because I'm the type of person that moves on when things happen in your life. That's one trigger I definitely have – when I hear someone downshift a tractor trailer. It's like a song where you're dancing with your high-school sweetheart. I get a different kind of feeling when I hear that transport truck and it brings back those memories. Those 30 seconds where it could have been ugly. I don't get nervous or scared – it's just a reality check.

BLANCHARD: You're looking back and feeling lucky because the guardrail didn't hit me anywhere else. You're going 60 miles an hour and all of the sudden a guardrail hits you. It could have taken part of my body with it.

KINNEAR: Someone was looking out for me and everyone else because we didn't lose anybody. If they had turned four feet one way we would have lost a lot of people, but it wasn't meant to happen.

BLANCHARD: As a team we were really lucky that no one died. It changed the perception of life for me. I consider myself a lucky man to be healthy today and do what I love to do as work and just be around the people that I love. I'm not afraid to say that I appreciate a person or that I love a person anymore. I'll let them know that they're important for me in life. For me it was a wake-up call. Life can be really short and you've got to appreciate life every day because you never know what's going to happen. Do whatever you want in life but be happy, because life is short.

question: What are the River Rats?

answer: They are a hockey team.

question: What format is this article?

answer: It's an interview?

question: What caused the bus crash?

answer: The bus slid on black ice.

question: What was Blanchard wearing during the crash?

answer: A tracksuit and socks

question: Who died during the incident described?

answer: Nobody.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: This interview focuses on the victims of a bus crash in 2009. Owen Newkirk is discussing this with Albany Rats Coach Jeff Daniels, Assistant Coach Geordie Kinnear, and players Nicolas Blanchard and Mark Flood. They discuss the conditions leading up to the crash and the consequences it had on the players and the team.


split: train

text:
UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub has competed in the octagon seven times. Six of those times, someone has been knocked out. Unfortunately for The Hybrid, he's been the guy on the losing end of those half the time. A loss to Ben Rothwell in his last bout was likely the most memorable to fans, and one of the better comebacks of 2012. So after a brutal KO, who does Schaub ask for next?

Lavar Johnson. One of the hardest hitters in the division.

That doesn't seem like very sound logic, but Schaub has something to prove and he explained his thought process while making an appearance on UFC Tonight on Fuel:

  "I think it's good to control your own destiny. I just throw a name out there. He's had three fights in the UFC and two Knockouts of the Nights. His sole loss is to Struve. I think people are scared of him. I think it'd be a good fight. Lavar hits hard. For me, yeah people say I have a weak chin, so this would solidify my place. But I fight at heavyweight. Everyone hits hard."

I'm not really sure how it would 'solidify his place' unless he took a big shot from Lavar and walked right through it. Schaub's most likely going to try to take him down and submit him since that's a major weakness in Johnson's game. But if that's what Schaub wants to do, more power to him. We'll find out how it goes on December 8th at UFC on Fox 5.

SBN coverage of UFC on Fox 5: Henderson vs. Diaz

question: Who is Brendan Schaub?

answer: Brendan Schaub is a UFC heavyweight.

question: Has Brendan Schaub competed in the octagon?

answer: Yes, he competed in the octagon seven times.

question: Who will Schaub fight next?

answer: Schaub will fight Lavar Johnson next.

question: Who is Lavar Johnson?

answer: He is one of the hardest hitters in the division.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Brendan Schaub, the UFC heavyweight, has competed in the octagon seven times. He will fight Lavar Johnson next, one of the hardest hitters in the division. Johnson has had three fights in the UFC and two Knockouts of the Nights. Schaub thinks it'd be a good fight.


text:
RIDGE PRAIRIE is an unincorporated community in Saline County, in the U.S. state of Missouri.[1]

History

A post office called Ridge Prairie was established in 1846, and remained in operation until 1907.[2] The community was named for a prairie near the original town site.[3]

[1]

[2]

[3]

title: Ridge Prairie, Missouri

question: What is Ridge Prairie?

answer: Ridge Prairie is an unincorporated community in Saline Count, in the US state of Missouri.

question: When was the Ridge Prairie, the post office, established?

answer: 1846

question: When did Ridge Prairie, the post office, close?

answer: 1907

question: What is Ridge Prairie named for?

answer: the prairie near the original town site.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Ridge Prairie is an unincorporated community in Saline Count, in the US state of Missouri.


text:
Skateboarding is for the birds

_[It's Go Skateboarding Day! And to celebrate, we're publishing this story about Tony Hawk's Underground. It was originally meant to run on the game's thirteenth birthday, but somehow got lost in our CMS. Two years later, here it is. Fuck Eric Sparrow. -Ray]_

_Tony Hawk's Underground_ starts on a depressing note. Its first level is a digital recreation of the Garden State that's a mess of decrepit row homes and cracked asphalt. Unlike previous _Pro Skater_ levels, New Jersey doesn't have perfect handrails or embellished takes on iconic skate spots. Instead, there are shitty streets, drained concrete basins, and a bunch of drug dealers.

New Jersey is hardly the best level ever featured in a _Tony Hawk_ game. It is, however, one of the most important. _Tony Hawk's Underground_ is an underdog story, and underdogs tend to come from dirt. Like Bon Jovi and Bruce, Redman and Ted Leo, the protagonist of _Underground_ rises from Jersey before taking the world by storm.

[]

When _Tony Hawk's Underground_ was released, it was an anomaly. The Birdman-backed games that came before it treated skateboarding as a silly thing, all crazy combos and mindless replayability. _Underground_ aspired to more by taking the proven gameplay of _Pro Skaters_ past and adapting it to work alongside a fully formed story. It was weird, occasionally stilted, but a genuinely enjoyable journey.

_Underground_ follows the misadventures of a New Jersey skater and his friend Eric Sparrow. The two rise from skate punk scum to legendary professionals. Along the way, they win contests, meet famous skaters, and engage in one of fiction's most notorious beefs. Even by 2003's standards, the story was hardly original, but playing through it today, _Underground_ stands out as a game that attempted to portray and humanize skateboarders. It dealt in kickflips sure, but the mischief and filming missions that its characters undertake are touchstones that anyone who spent countless hours pushing around with friends will instantly recognize.

But before _Underground_ really goes anywhere, you still have to get through New Jersey. It's a far cry from the sleek, architecturally blessed skateboarding mecca of Southern California. The decision to start the first true story-driven _Tony Hawk_ game on the notoriously rough East Coast seems strange at first, but within the context of the classic "hero's journey" story the game tries to tell, it makes sense. By starting in New Jersey, _Underground_ can emulate the path that countless skaters have embarked on before -- and after -- its release.

There's no surefire way to make it big in skateboarding. SoCal rippers tend to come up on a steady diet of perfect handrails and close connections to the industry's California roots. For those on the East Coast, it's an entirely different story. Instead of setting sights on Los Angeles, most skaters start by making a beeline towards the Big Apple.

And that's exactly what happens in _Underground_. The protagonist and Sparrow escape the seedy NJ streets and hightail it to Manhattan. Though thousands of miles removed from the skateboard industry's beating heart, New York City has always been a cultural hub of rugged skaters and no-bullshit brands.

_Underground_'s story has players pushing from humble origins in New Jersey to the infamous Brooklyn Banks, and skateboarding's biggest amateur contest in Tampa, Florida over its first three levels. This works as a means of giving players three distinct environments to skate through while also tracing a path that has a real-world analog to aspiring pros from the East Coast. _Underground_ isn't just the first game to elevate skateboarding past a nutty, gravity-defying activity, but also the only one in the series that appeals to a "core" skateboarding audience.

Winning Tampa Am is one of the few surefire ways to kickstart a career in skateboarding, and after a stellar performance, the protagonist (and Sparrow) get a golden ticket to sunny California. Again, this follows a similar path that well-known skateboarders have taken -- and will continue to -- while also sowing the seeds of Sparrow's heel turn. While _Underground_ has been an interesting, if not gamified version of an underdog's quest for skateboarding glory up until this point, San Diego and Hawaii mark a turn in the story's direction.

[]

Once the protagonist has piqued the interest of a real-life skateboard team, it seems as if things are finally coming together. The Jersey-born shredders impress some pros, wow some crowds, and get the opportunity to film a skate video in Hawaii. That's when things get wild.

Up until the Hawaii trip, Sparrow is a decent, if not a little shady, friend to the protagonist. He's supportive of the player's dream of making it big in skating, and always seems to be there when you need him. But, like so many crappy friends, Eric has selfish reasons for sticking with you. While _Underground's_ protagonist loves skateboarding for skateboarding's sake -- he's a "soul skater," if you want to get corny about it -- Sparrow sees skating as a means of making millions.

In Hawaii, Sparrow reveals himself as the ultimate snake in the grass. Sparrow, in what is one of gaming's most memorable acts of villainy, steals footage of the protagonist's McTwist over the whirring blade of a helicopter. He then edits himself into the video clip -- using what's best described as technical wizardry -- and uses the fudged footage to launch his career into the stratosphere.

[]

It's utterly absurd, of course, but Sparrow's betrayal stings nonetheless. Up until this point, _Underground_ felt like a send-up to the pure, simple fun that attracts so many people to skateboarding. Eric's theft takes things down a darker path. The game is no longer about becoming the best skateboarder ever; it's about getting even with a bitter rival.

Throughout the rest of the game, players spend their time following Eric's footsteps. _Underground's_ latter half is about dealing with betrayal and figuring out how to climb up from the bottom once more. Sparrow turns pro, gets a record deal, and generally acts like a rich asshole while the protagonist gets fired from his team and shanghaied in Russia.

While the first handful of _Underground_ levels appealed to a skateboarder's dreams of making it big, the later portion of the game refocuses -- and becomes more relatable in a broad sense -- by being about dealing with a bad friend. Who hasn't had someone screw them over at one point or another? Who hasn't wanted to get even with a friend who betrayed them? _Underground_ knew _exactly_ what it felt like to be a teenager, and its silly story is just as much about skateboarding as it is about dealing with the anxieties and annoyances that come from being young and awkward, but also old enough to realize that not everything ends perfectly.

Of course, _Underground_ ends on a positive note. Sparrow gets exposed as a fraud after the protagonist assembles a dream team of professional skateboarders and drops the hottest skate video of the year. Players, high off of their video's success, challenge their former friend to a final challenge where the winner gets the unedited version of the McTwist. You win, obviously, because heroes refuse to quit, and this is a game about being an underdog.

Though its story is hardly the most innovative or groundbreaking thing ever written, it's a reminder -- or maybe a cautionary tale -- about the pitfalls of both skating and friendship. _Underground_ wants you to remember that sometimes real life can suck. Your friends might dick you over, and you might get arrested in a foreign country, but skateboarding will always be there for you. It's not the most profound statement, but at the time of its release, _Underground_ seemed almost prophetic. Hell, at least it's better than encouraging kids to ollie over homeless people.

_Underground's_ enduring appeal has just as much to do with its narrative arc as it does with the time it released. By 2003, skateboarding had blown up. What was once an activity reserved almost exclusively for society's misfits and social outcasts could no longer exist on the fringes. A new generation of skaters had arrived (due in large part to the success of previous _Pro Skater_ games), and _Underground_ had to comment on that. It showed East Coast skaters a path they could aspire to while warning everyone who played it not to trust people named Eric.

_Tony Hawk's Underground_ came out at the perfect time. It brought the flips and spins of _Pro Skater_ games to new heights by featuring a story that took place on the ground. Games have tackled mature themes and tough subjects, but they've never told a story of betrayal quite so well.

[]

question: What is Tony Howk's Underground?

answer: It's a video game that follows the misadventures of a New Jersey skater and his friend Eric Sparrow.

question: Who is the protagonist of Underground?

answer: The protagonist of Underground is an underdog who rises from Jersey and becomes a legendary professional.

question: What is the relationship between the protagonist of the game and Eric Sparrow?

answer: Sparrow and the protagonist are friends but while Underground's protagonist loves skateboarding for skateboarding's sake, Sparrow sees skating as a means of making millions and betrays the protagonist.

question: How does Sparrow betray the protagonist?

answer: Sparrow steals footage of the protagonist's McTwist, edits himself into the video clip, and uses the fudged footage to lunch his own carrier.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Tony Howk's Underground is a video game about the misadventures of a New Jersey skater and his friend Eric Sparrow who rise from underdogs to legendary professionals. When they get the opportunity to film a skate video in Hawaii, Sparrow steals footage of the protagonist's McTwist, edits himself into the video clip, and uses the fudged footage. He becomes a professional skater, and the protagonist is fired from the team. The protagonist finds a way to climb up from the bottom once more, and Sparrow gets exposed as a fraud.


text:
Batman looked out the empty window to see an empty chair in a field full of pansies all up staring up at him with their little faces.  Some were a deep dark purple and others were varying shades from sky to royal blue.  There were also some yellow and white ones which were only just yellow or white.

This year was unseasonably warm but the flowers didn't seem to mind.  If they were asked they would say they really enjoyed the warm weather, each others' company and the extra lifespan given that the lawn hadn't been mowed in over two months.

Batman simply stared out the window in a typical Batman-grimace way as he was unable to appreciate the pansies.  He was actually upset the lawn hadn't been mowed.  The pansies didn't mind.  The chair probably didn't mind either since it was just a chair and not pansies or Batman or any kind of flower at all.

--

I really like pansies.  For most of this year I had forgotten what they were called until I asked my mom "What are the ones with the faces?".  There was a lot of them in my yard this summer.  Then one day my dad came over and mowed the lawn.

title: Batman is not a flower

question: How did Batman feel when the narrator's dad finally mowed the lawn?

answer: Presumably, Batman's mood changed from upset to happy because he didn't like pansies.


text:
The Fussball Club Basel 1893 1985–86 SEASON was their 92nd season since their foundation on 15 November 1893. It was the club's 40th consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football since their promotion in the 1945–46 season. FC Basel played their home games in the St. Jakob Stadium. Urs Gribi was the club's chairman for the third consecutive year.

Overview

Helmut Benthaus returned as first team manager, after his successful three-year term with VfB Stuttgart in which they won the Bundesliga in the 1983–84 season. He took over from caretaker manager Emil Müller. A number of players left the squad. Former Netherlands international Adrie van Kraay retired from active football. Swiss international player Martin Andermatt moved on to Grasshopper Club and Livio Bordoli moved on to Locarno. Two players, Beat Feigenwinter and Nicolas Keller, left the first team squad and went to play for the reserve team. In the other direction Gerhard Strack signed in from 1. FC Köln, André Ladner and Marco Schällibaum both signed in from Grasshopper Club, Francois Laydu signed in from La Chaux-de-Fonds and local lad Enrique Mata joined after a three season period by Xamax. Further, another local lad Stefano Ceccaroni returned from his one season loan to Baden.

In this season Basel played a total of 51 games. 30 matches were played in the domestic league, five in the Swiss Cup and 16 were friendly matches. Of their 16 test games, 12 ended with a victory, one was drawn, three ended with a defeat, the team scored 78 goals and conceded 18. Only one of these test games were played at home in St. Jakob Stadium, againt Bayern Munich, all the others were all played away.[1]

Basel played in the 1985–86 Nationalliga A, which was contested by 16 teams, these being the top 14 clubs from the previous 1984–85 season and the two promoted teams from the second level Nationalliga B the previous season, these being Grenchen and Baden. he league was contested in a double round robin format, with each club playing every other club twice, home and away. Two points were awarded for a win and one point given to each team for a draw. The champions would be qualified for 1986–87 European Cup and the next two teams in the league would be qualified for the 1986–87 UEFA Cup.

Basel ended the season in tenth position, 14 points behind BSC Young Boys who became that seasons champions and qualified for the 1986–87 European Cup. In their 30 league championship matches Basel won ten games, drew ten and also lost ten, which meant that they obtained 30 points. They scored 44 and conceding 40 goals. Erni Maissen was the team's top league goal scorer with 14 goals, Enrique Mata scored seven, Thomas Hauser scored five. Xamax and Luzern qualified for the 1986–87 UEFA Cup. The two newly promoted teams Grenchen and Baden suffered relegation.[2]

Basel entered the Swiss Cup in the round of 64 with an away game against lower classed Concordia Basel. The game was played in the St. Jakob Stadium, in which Concordia had home team status, in front of 1,800 spectators and Basel won 9–1. They continued to the round of 32 in which they had a home game against FC Vernier, which was won 6–0. In the round of 16 they had a home game against Lausanne Sports, which ended in a 4–1 victory. The quarterfinal was played as visitors to lower classed FC Lengnau and with a 6–0 victory, Basel advanced to the semifinal. The semi final was played at home in front of 12,000 spectators against Servette on 15 April 1986 and Servette took an early three-goal lead. A hat trick form Gerhard Strack in the last 22 minutes of regular time meant that the match had to go into overtime. But with a penalty goal against them in the 4 minute of the extra time meant that Basel did not reach the final.[3] Sion beat Servette in the final and as Cup winners were qualified for the 1986–87 Cup Winners' Cup.[4]

Players

Players who left the squad

Results

Legend

Friendly matches

Pre- and mid-season

Winter break

Nationalliga A

League matches

League table

{{#invoke:sports table|main|style=WDL |res_col_header=Q |show_limit=5 |winpoints=2 |team1=YB |name_YB =Young Boys |team2=NX |name_NX =Xamax |team3=LUC|name_LUC=Luzern |team4=ZÜR|name_ZÜR=Zürich |team5=GCZ|name_GCZ=Grasshopper Club |team6=LS |name_LS =Lausanne-Sport |team7=AAR|name_AAR=Aarau |team8=SIO|name_SIO=Sion |team9=SER|name_SER=Servette |team10=BAS|name_BAS=Basel |team11=STG|name_STG=St. Gallen |team12=WET|name_WET=Wettingen |team13=CDF|name_CDF=La Chaux-de-Fonds |team14=VEV|name_VEV=Vevey-Sports |team15=GRE|name_GRE=Grenchen |team16=BAD|name_BAD=Baden |win_YB =18|draw_YB =8|loss_YB =4|gf_YB =72|ga_YB =28|status_YB =C |win_NX =18|draw_NX =6|loss_NX =6|gf_NX =78|ga_NX =32 |win_LUC=16|draw_LUC=9|loss_LUC=5|gf_LUC=56|ga_LUC=39 |win_ZÜR=15|draw_ZÜR=9|loss_ZÜR=6|gf_ZÜR=64|ga_ZÜR=43 |win_GCZ=15|draw_GCZ=8|loss_GCZ=7|gf_GCZ=64|ga_GCZ=32 |win_LS =13|draw_LS =9|loss_LS =8|gf_LS =59|ga_LS =50 |win_AAR=14|draw_AAR=6|loss_AAR=10|gf_AAR=62|ga_AAR=47 |win_SIO=14|draw_SIO=5|loss_SIO=11|gf_SIO=54|ga_SIO=39 |win_SER=14|draw_SER=3|loss_SER=13|gf_SER=49|ga_SER=50 |win_BAS=10|draw_BAS=10|loss_BAS=10|gf_BAS=44|ga_BAS=40 |win_STG=12|draw_STG=6|loss_STG=12|gf_STG=48|ga_STG=46 |win_WET=8|draw_WET=8|loss_WET=14|gf_WET=35|ga_WET=42 |win_CDF=3|draw_CDF=12|loss_CDF=15|gf_CDF=24|ga_CDF=61 |win_VEV=6|draw_VEV=5|loss_VEV=19|gf_VEV=36|ga_VEV=76 |win_GRE=5|draw_GRE=6|loss_GRE=19|gf_GRE=33|ga_GRE=81 |win_BAD=1|draw_BAD=6|loss_BAD=23|gf_BAD=14|ga_BAD=86

|col_EC=green1|text_EC=Champions, qualified for 1986–87 European Cup |result1=EC |col_UC1=blue1|text_UC1=qualified for 1986–87 UEFA Cup |result2=UC1 |col_UC2=blue1|text_UC2=qualified for 1986–87 UEFA Cup |result3=UC2 |col_CWC=yellow1|text_CWC=Swiss Cup winners, qualified for 1986–87 Cup Winners' Cup |result8=CWC |col_R1=red1|text_R1=Relegated to Nationalliga B |result15=R1 |col_R2=red1|text_R2=Relegated to Nationalliga B |result16=R2

|update=complete|source=rsssf.com }}

Swiss Cup

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

title: 1985–86 FC Basel season

question: When was the Fussball Club Basel founded?

answer: On November 15, 1893

question: Who is Helmut Benthaus?

answer: Benthaus is the returning team manager after a successful three year term with Stuttgart

question: How many games did Basel play in the current season?

answer: 51 games

question: In what position did Basel end the season?

answer: In tenth position

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The Fussball Club Basel 1985-86 was the 92nd season since their foundation in 1893. It is the club's 40th consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football.


text:
Viktor sneaked inside the remnants of a collapsed parking garage just in time. Two Toxins walked by, talking loudly, boasting about their 'accomplishments,' such as beating up a defenceless twelve-year-old. Cowards. But with Tox in command, and his private army of Toxins patrolling the streets, this was the way of the world.

Viktor himself had been recruited as a Toxin. He was plucked from the street and had to start training under strict surveillance. After the first round, he received an 'E' rating, meaning he had the build, speed and intelligence to train for the elite squad, Tox' personal guards. This also meant the surveillance measured were slacked. Within a week Viktor had crafted a knife of a piece of bent metal and some charred wood, held it to a guards' throat and ran of. That's why he had to be so careful to stay out of sight.

The wisest thing would be to hide, to run off into the woods and never go back. But Viktor knew he was the only one capable of overthrowing the reign of the maniac Tox had become. He had seen an inside view of the guarding system. He was lean, swift and bright. He could craft a weapon out of nearly anything. Most importantly, he wasn't afraid of some blood on his hands.

It's not as if he walks through the street randomly cutting out young boys' gobs, like some of the Toxins do. But he wasn't one to let harm come upon himself and he wielded his knife in any way necessary. When the Toxins were gone, Viktor crept out of hiding and continued his path. At seventeen, he was one of the oldest boys still alive. When the collision drew near, it was decided that all fifteen-year-olds would live. They were old enough to take care of themselves and eventually reproduce, but young enough to adapt and create government in the new world. When all the fifteen-year-olds were saved, the remainder of places in the bunkers was distributed to anyone between twelve and eighteen. Viktor had been lucky, unlike many.

The silence was pierced by a shuffling sound and Viktor turned with a start. There was no one there, except a rat gnawing on something that looked suspiciously much like human flesh. Irritated by the distraction, Viktor threw one of his knifes. The rat let out a shriek as it was skewered, then dropped dead. It tumbled off of the beam it was crawling over, into the basement of the garage. It was a shame to lose that knife, but Viktor was happy. In the end, he would only need one. Tox' lair was in sight and his training, carried out all alone in the woods, proved solid. He stowed away his other weapons and starting creeping along the final mile.

title: 500 word post-apocalyptic story I wrote today. I hope you like it :)

question: Why does Viktor want to escape?

answer: He finds the behavior of the Toxins reprehensible and wants to end the regime of Tox.

question: Does Viktor live in a dystopian society?

answer: It seems so. The kids between the ages 12 to 18 were selected randomly to survive and repopulate except for the 15-year-olds, who all survived.

question: What kind of surveillance measures was Viktor under?

answer: It's not mentioned in the story.

question: How did the apocalypse happen?

answer: It's not mentioned in the story.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Viktor seems to live in a society of teenagers, everyone between the ages 12 and 18. After a round of training and subsequent relaxation of surveillance on him, Viktor escapes from his training camp. He hides from two Toxins, the personal guards of Tox while thinking it reprehensible that these men would boast about beating a defenseless twelve-year-old. In a society dominated by Tox, he finds himself the only one capable of overthrowing the ruling regime.


text:
JOHN WALLACE TURNBULL (January 8, 1936 – May 19, 2020) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and judge. He served in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1974 to 1978 as a Liberal member from the constituency of Saint John Harbour.[1] He was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Brunswick (Court of Queen’s Bench) in 1983.[2]

[1]

[2] John Turnbull

title: John W. Turnbull

question: Who was John Wallace Turnbull?

answer: He was a Canadian politician, lawyer, and judge.

question: What career event is highlighted in Turnbull' life in 1983?

answer: Turnbull was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Brunswick in 1983.

question: In what position did Turnbull serve from 1974-1978?

answer: Turnbull was a Liberal member from the constituency of Saint John Harbour.

question: Where did Turnbull serve from 1974-1983?

answer: Turnbull served in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1974-1983.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article highlights the career path of John Wallace Turnbull, a Canadian politician, lawyer, and judge.


text:
“CONSEQUENCES” is episode fifteen of season three of the television show _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. It was written by Marti Noxon, directed by Michael Gershman, and first broadcast on February 16, 1999.

Plot

Buffy dreams that she is being pulled underwater by the corpse of Deputy Mayor Allan Finch; when she manages to reach the surface, her fellow vampire slayer, Faith, pushes her back down. Faith's plan to cover up her accidental killing of the deputy mayor fails when Allan's body is recovered from the water. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce orders the slayers to investigate the death to see if anything supernatural was involved. Privately, Faith asks if Buffy is going to turn her in, and Buffy is not sure. Buffy and Faith sneak into City Hall to try to find out what Allan was doing in the alleyway in the first place. They find that all of his papers have been shredded, and that the mayor is in league with Mr. Trick.

After much thought and discussion with Willow, Buffy decides to tell Giles what happened, only to discover that Faith has already told him that Buffy was the killer. Giles easily sees through the lie, though he lets Faith think he believes her so the gang can keep closer tabs on her and get her off the slippery slope she is on. Giles tells Buffy that accidental human deaths do occur in the fight against vampires, and that Faith is in denial about the killing. Wesley overhears the conversation and calls the Watcher Council.

While offering to help, Xander reveals to the gang that he slept with Faith. Willow tries to play down her reaction but ends up crying alone in the bathroom. Buffy expresses her worry about Faith and the need to deal with the problem now.

Xander tries to reason with Faith, but she throws him on the bed, teasing she could do anything she wanted to him, and proceeds to strangle him. Angel bursts in and clobbers her with a bat. Angel then tries his own brand of reasoning and seems to be making progress. The mayor and Mr. Trick watch Buffy and Faith's City Hall break-in on CCTV. The mayor says that the slayers both have to be taken care of and quickly as there is not enough evidence to put them in jail.

Helped by others with crosses and nets, Wesley attacks Angel and shackles Faith for transport to the Watcher Council in England. She quickly escapes, and plans to hop a boat out of Sunnydale. On his return to the library, a bruised Wesley receives a very hostile reception from the gang. Buffy finds Faith and tries to reason with her but Faith challenges Buffy to join her side instead, eventually inciting Buffy to hit her. Their confrontation is interrupted by several vampires led by Mr. Trick. As he is about to bite Buffy, Faith stakes him. Buffy returns to the library, convinced that there is still good in Faith. In the final scene Faith approaches the mayor and offers to replace Mr. Trick as his assistant.

Reception

A review for the BBC criticized “Consequences”, which followed the events of the previous episode “Bad Girls”, for its heavy dialogue, abrupt location changes, and the predictability of Faith teaming up with the mayor.[1] Noel Murray of _The A.V. Club_ said “Consequences” was necessary to progress the story arc, but “doesn't really work as a stand-alone episode”.[2]

[1]

[2]

title: Consequences (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

question: What is Buffy's overall disposition toward Faith?

answer: She seems to be concerned about her, taking some responsibility for her, almost like an older sister to a younger sister.

question: What is the nature of Willow's relationship with Xander?

answer: The text implies she may have romantic feelings for him that he doesn't know about.

question: Why doesn't Faith want to go to the Watcher Council in England?

answer: The text doesn't say.

question: What is the general consensus of the reception included in paragraph 7?

answer: The consensus of the reviews in paragraph 7 is that "Consequences" has some flaws and isn't a great stand-alone episode.


text:
[Walmart set to snap up Flipkart; But e-comm war far from over]

__ Walmart set to snap up Flipkart; But e-comm war far from over

The moment is upon us. India is the new battleground for two top American retailers — physical Walmart versus digital Amazon.

Retailing behemoth Walmart with annual revenues northwards of $500 billion in conjunction with Google’s parent company Alphabet will acquire 70 to 75 per cent stake in domestic e-commerce giant Flipkart. Bentonville, Arkansas, meets Bangalore headlong through this mega transaction, even as Jeff Bezos’s Amazon is defeated at the gates.

The deal may be announced as early as Wednesday itself. The valuation for 70-75 per cent is expected to be in the vicinity of $15.2 billion, even as Flipkart will be valued at $20 billion. The investment will help accelerate Flipkart’s innovation on behalf of customers and will underscore Walmart’s commitment to sustained job creation and investment in India. The Walmart-Google combine will then enter into a straight bare knuckle fight with Amazon in India.

Walmart is expected to invest $2 billion directly by infusing fresh equity in India’s biggest e-comm success story. The 11-year brand founded by Sachin and Binny Bansal (unrelated) thus falls into American hands. Google is expected to subsequently pick up approximately 7 per cent stake in the entity at a valuation of $1.5 billion. The partnership will dominate the online space using Google Express’s Home device to order online in the future. Flipkart under the new order is likely to be listed as a Walmart subsidiary in India in 2019-20, similar to its model in Mexico. The fresh investment will bolster infrastructure building specifically in rural Bharat, boost the agri supply chain, provide customers with affordable goods and most importantly create new skilled jobs and fresh opportunities for farmers, small suppliers and women entrepreneurs.

To bankroll the investment, Walmart will use a combination of newly issued debt and cash on hand. Sachin Bansal, who reportedly opposed the deal with Walmart, will exit cashing in his 5.2 per cent stake. Flipkart’s existing shareholders, China’s Tencent Holdings and US-based Tiger Global Management, will exit partially and retain small stakes, but remain on the board. South Africa-based Naspers Ltd and Microsoft Corp will also keep small holdings in the new company. Sources close to developments indicated that these investors will likely have the option of selling their stake to the Bentonville-based retailer at a later date at the same valuation at which Walmart buys its majority stake in Flipkart.

SoftBank, which owns 20.8 per cent stake in the company will exit completely. The Masayoshi Son-controlled Japanese company will make a killing by selling its stake in Flipkart, with its investment of $2.5 billion set to fetch about $4 billion, a gain of 60 per cent. It was not immediately known how much of stake group CEO and co-founder Binny Bansal—w ill retain. He currently hold 5.1 per cent stake in Flipkart. Walmart India and Flipkart will continue to maintain distinct brands after the deal, but over time, its financials will be relayed through Walmart International. For the fiscal year ended March 31, Flipkart recorded a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $ 7.5 billion, effectively meaning that goods worth $ 7.5 billion were traded through its site involving thousands of sellers and millions of buyers. It recorded net sales of $ 4.6 billion during the year, representing more than 50 per cent growth in both cases.

New investors can pick up stake in Flipkart in a fresh round, which could bring down Walmart’s holding proportionately but slightly, even though it will continue to retain a significant majority holding. Walmart will in all probability use a mix of fresh debt and cash to finance the deal.
With the snapping up of Flipkart and its brands Jabong, Myntra and PhonePe and logistics firm Ekart, an Indian ecomm start up which has become a household name and brand to reckon with not just in India but worldwide for its innovation and sourcing model goes under. This way, another Indian brand will be acquired by a global heavy hitter. The trader community, a core BJP constituent, is already in disarray because of GST and DeMo will not take kindly to this deal. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an umbrella association representing millions of traders, has already demanded government probe of the Walmart-Flipkart deal, which it says will only encourage predatory pricing. It wanted the “unholy nexus” to be “scanned and stopped” and wondered why the government was “keeping its eyes and ears shut” despite knowing the “intent and hidden agenda of companies like Walmart”.

This will be the second time when Walmart and Google will offer a joint front to tackle the domination of Jeff Bezos-controlled Amazon in an online market place. Last year, both the companies had struck a partnership through Walmart products are sold on Google Express, the internet search giant’s online mall. This will be Walmart’s largest acquisition in the e-commerce space. It had acquired Jet.com for $3.3 billion in 2016. Last month, Walmart gave up control of its UK grocery chain Asda, merging it with British retailer J Sainsbury Plc. Walmart will retain a 42 per cent stake in the combined company. The decision to cede control of Asda is seen as part of Walmart’s global strategy to focus more attention and resources on faster-expanding markets such as India where consumer spending capacity has been rising significantly.

According to India Brand Equity Foundation, a government-supported research agency, the Indian e-commerce market is expected to reach $64 billion by 2020 and $200 billion by 2026 from $38.5 billion as of 2017. With growing internet penetration, internet users in India are expected to increase from 481 million as of December 2017 to 829 million by 2021. This will be Walmart’s second coming of sorts for India’s retail market. In 2013, it pulled out of its wholesale joint venture with Bharti Group. Walmart India currently operates 21 B2B Best Price cash-and-carry stores and one fulfilment centre in 19 cities across nine states in India.

question: What does the text say about how Jeff Bezos feels about Walmart's acquisition of Flipkart?

question: What does the text say about Flipkart?

answer: Flipkart is an e-commerce company based in India. The 11-year brand was founded by Sachin and Binny Bansal (unrelated)  and will be valued at $20 billion when retail giant Walmart and Alphabet (Google's parent company) acquire a 70 to 75 percent stake in the company. Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal opposed the Walmart deal and will exit, cashing in his 5.2 percent stake. CEO and co-founder Binny Bansal currently holds a 5.1 stake in Flipkart. The company recorded a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $7.5 billion and net sales of $4.6 billion during the year, representing a 50 percent growth.

question: What does the text say about Flipkart's other shareholders?

answer: Flipkart's existing shareholders, China's Tencent Holdings, and US-based Tiger Global Management will partially exit and retain small stakes but remain on board. South Africa-based Naspers Ltd and Microsoft Corp will also keep small holdings in the new company. These investors will likely have the option of selling their stake to Walmart. The Masayoshi Son-controlled Japanese company, SoftBank, owns a 20.8 percent stake in the company will exit completely. SoftBank will gain 60 percent of its initial investment, from $2.5 billion to $4 billion.

question: What does the text say about Walmart?

answer: Walmart is an American retail behemoth based in Bentonville, Arkansas, with annual revenues north of $500 billion. Together with Google's parent company, Alphabet, Walmart is set to acquire a 70 to 75 percent stake in India's e-commerce giant Flipkart. Walmart is expected to invest $2 billion directly by infusing fresh equity in Flipkart. Walmart wants to take a jab at Amazon's e-commerce domination and partnered with Google to sell its products on Google Express. The company also acquired Jet.com for $3.3 billion in 2016 but gave up control of its UK grocery chain Asda, merging it with British retailer J. Sainsbury Plc. and retaining a 42 percent stake in the combined company.


text:
When I was little, I’ve always wanted to become a scientist. That seems like the most incredible thing. Just the admiration, prestige, media coverage alone was enough to give me the adrenaline rush. I wanted friends and family to come to my parents with that envious tone, and be like, hey, your son is amazing. I wish my son was like yours.
As time goes by, those dreams are shattering soundlessly. My ambition has gone down to the well that is so deep that no amount of ladder could reach to the bottom of the well and let it climb back up.

I started isolating myself from my friends and my family, and whenever they ask me if I need help, I tell them I’m fine. I don’t know whether they are genuinely concerned about me, or they are just curious. I mean, people do compare themselves to the less fortunate ones for self assurance, you can never trust anyone too much to assume that they have all the best intentions in the world.

I turned to alcohol and nicotine for help. It was an autumn night, I smoked a pack of Marlboro while sitting at the roof top, pondering upon the meaning of life, and came to the solution that life is death, we live to die. It’s just a matter of time, because death will eventually come to everyone.
I could hear the the rustling sound of the leaves, a shiver run down my spine. With my heart writhed in a swamp of sadness and loneliness. I begin to cry.

Then, I jumped. Goodbye world. May the life you lead be a good one. Till we meet again, in heaven.

title: Confession

question: What's the confession about?

answer: It's about the narrator's regretful life and his suicide.

question: Who is the narrator?

answer: The narrator is someone who wanted to be a scientist but became melancholic about life, which finally led to his suicide.

question: Where does this take place?

answer: That information can’t be found.

question: Did the narrator die?

answer: Yes, it is implied that he committed suicide.

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: This is a confession from the narrator. He had always wanted to become a scientist since when he was little. He wishes to be renowned and admired by both friends and family. But as time goes by, those dreams are shattered and are a reflection of a ruined ambition. He starts isolating himself and begins relying on drugs for solace. Eventually, one night, he climbs onto the rooftop and ponders about the meaning of life before jumping to his death.


text:
[Alexandru A. Suțu] ALEXANDRU A. SUȚU (November 30, 1837–September 1919) was a Wallachian-born Romanian psychiatrist.

Biography

Origins and activity at Mărcuța

He was born in Bucharest into the aristocratic Soutzos family; his father Alexandru Sutzu was high _vornic_ and _cămăraș_ (official in charge of the royal court's pantry). His grandfather George Sutzu was high dragoman; George's brother was Prince Alexandros Soutzos. Suțu began school in his native country before entering the University of Athens, where he studied from 1856 to 1862 and obtained a doctorate in 1863.[1][2] Unhappy with the education he received,[3] he went to the medical faculty of the University of Paris, where he obtained a second doctorate in 1865, dealing with dyspepsia.[4][5] He then returned home and began his activity as a physician. In early 1866, he was named secondary physician at Mărcuța Hospital in Bucharest, rising to chief physician in the summer of 1867 and thereafter director, remaining there until retiring.[6]

At Mărcuța, he established a new type of specialized, clinical practice; he and his colleagues and disciples drew on a wide range of French, English and German models of psychological medicine, such as: Philippe Pinel and Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol's paradigm of mental alienation; John Conolly's doctrine of non-restraint; Jean-Pierre Falret's theory of the clinic; Bénédict Morel and Valentin Magnan's ideas on hereditary degeneracy; Charles Darwin's theory of evolution; and Wilhelm Griesinger's principle of the organic nature of mental illness.[7]

Believing that mental patients should be put to work, Suțu added new workshops and wrote the first theoretical papers on work and occupation in psychiatry. He classified four major types of care for the insane: the lunatic asylum; the cottage system proposed by British authors; villages or colonies for the insane, such as that found in Geel, Belgium; and agricultural farms inside or near asylums. He considered only the last model appropriate for Mărcuța and for Romania as a whole. This conclusion stemmed in part from the overcrowding at Mărcuța; the open-door system might mitigate the practical problems he encountered. He viewed patients' work not only in moral and medical terms, but also economic: patients could actively contribute to reducing the costs of their care by performing agricultural labor. He also claimed therapeutic benefits to labor, and suggested that farm supervisors would not exploit patients because medical staff, especially the chief physician, would wield great power on the farm. As to what would now be called occupational therapy, Suțu was also enthusiastic about music, but the modest financial situation of Mărcuța prevented the development of music therapy there.[8] Overall, his objective at Mărcuța was to transform it from a place of isolation and detention into a modern medical institution that would cure patients and return them to society.[9]

Other endeavors

In 1867, he founded and edited Romania's third medical journal, _Gazetta Spitalelor_. Together with three colleagues, he published _Gazetta Medico-Chirurgicală a Spitalelor_ from 1870 to 1879. Most of his articles appeared in the latter publication, and are characterized by intellectualism and an elegant style.[10] In 1874, Suțu published an article in which he established a direct relationship between heredity and the degeneration of nations; his ideas were a precursor of eugenics.[11] In 1877, he published _Alienatul în fața societății și a științei_, the first Romanian treatise on psychiatry and on forensic psychiatry. _Revista de medicină legală și psichiatrie_ (1884) was the country's first magazine dedicated to forensic medicine.[12]

Widely considered the founder of Romanian psychiatry,[13][14] in 1867-1868 he held Romania's first course on pathological and clinical psychiatry; classes were held every Sunday at Mărcuța for students from the University of Bucharest's medical faculty. In 1879, he was named professor at the university, where he taught mental pathology and forensics. In 1897, he became chairman of the country's first psychiatry department.[15]

In 1877, he established and became director of Institutul Caritatea in Bucharest; this was a small, private asylum.[16] The main difference with Mărcuța was that while the latter catered mainly to the lower classes, particularly the rural poor, Caritatea was mainly, albeit not exclusively, meant for the wealthy, cultivated sector, probably including famous people. Among these was Mihai Eminescu; first confined at Mărcuța, he was transferred by Suțu to Caritatea, where he died.[17] Under Suțu's guidance, psychiatry in Romania became a specialty appreciated for the important benefits it could provide society. He trained assistants to diagnose dangerous mentally ill patients based on their antisocial reactions, confining them in asylums and providing them with humane care. Between 1885 and 1890, he insisted on the need for new mental hospitals. Due to his efforts, a law was adopted in 1892 providing for a new hospital in Moldavia and one in Wallachia (the latter at Bucharest).[18] He retired in 1909, and was succeeded by his follower Alexandru Obregia.[19] He died in Bucharest a decade later, and was buried at Bellu cemetery.[20]

Suțu was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1888.[21]

Notes

Category:1837 births Category:1919 deaths Category:Physicians from Bucharest Category:People of the Principality of Wallachia Alexandru Category:Romanian psychiatrists Category:Romanian magazine founders Category:Romanian magazine editors Category:National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni Category:University of Paris alumni Category:University of Bucharest faculty Category:Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy Category:Burials at Bellu

[1] Valentin-Veron Toma, _Alexandru Sutzu. Începuturile psihiatriei științifice în România secolului al XIX-lea_, pp. 19-24; 26-27. Bucharest: Domino, 2008,

[2]

[3] _Analele Academiei Române_, p. 21. Bucharest: Editura Academiei Române, 1921

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13] Valentin-Veron Toma, “Work and occupation in Romanian psychiatry, _c._ 1838-1945”, in Waltraud Ernst (ed.), ''Work, Psychiatry and Society, _c._ 1750-2015'', pp. 196-201. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016,

[14] Marius Turda, “Controlling the National Body: Ideas of Racial Purification in Romania, 1918–1944”, in Christian Promitzer, Sevastē Troumpeta, Marius Turda (eds.), _Health, Hygiene, and Eugenics in Southeastern Europe to 1945_, p. 327. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2011,

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18] E. Aburel, _Învățămîntul medical și farmaceutic din București_, p. 359. Bucharest: Institutul de Medicină și Farmacie, 1963

[19]

[20]

[21]  Membrii Academiei Române din 1866 până în prezent at the Romanian Academy site

title: Alexandru A. Suțu

question: When was Alexandru A. Suțu born?

answer: November 30 1837.

question: Where was Alexandru A. Suțu born?

answer: Bucharest.

question: What career did Alexandru A. Suțu practice?

answer: Psychiatry.

question: When did Alexandru A. Suțu die?

answer: September 1919.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about Alexandru A. Suțu, a Romanina psychiatrist.


text:
VINCO CORPORATION was a Detroit, Michigan based manufacturer of jig (tool)s, fixtures, gauges, gears,[1] ground tools, index plates, and angle tangents. Before 1940 it was known as the Vinco Tool Company.[2] In 1962 the New York based Recony division[3] of the business produced air conditioners, heating, and ventilating equipment.[4] By 1980 the firm made rocket-engine parts.[5]

Prior to working for the Belock Instrument Corporation in 1957, golfing great Gene Sarazen was in charge of customer relations for the Vinco Corporation.[6]

A company known as Vinco Tool is still operative in Clinton Township, Michigan.[7]

[1] _Who's News_, Wall Street Journal, June 5, 1957, pg. 11.

[2] _To Offer Vinco Stock_, New York Times, July 29, 1940, pg. 23.

[3] _Robert M. Drysdale Jr.; Management Advisor_, New York Times, February 28, 1985, pg. B6.

[4] _Executive Changes_, New York Times, April 12, 1962, pg. 52.

[5] _Albert Gebhard Jr. Weds Lydia Sherer_, New York Times, July 27, 1980, pg. 39.

[6] _Sarazen Joins Belock Corp._, New York Times, March 17, 1957, pg. 12.

[7] _Vinco Tool_, Industry Net website, internet listing.

title: Vinco Corporation

question: Where was Vinco Corporation based?

answer: Vinco Corporation was based in Detroit, Michigan, United States.

question: What things did Vinco Corporation manufacture?

answer: They manufactured jig tools, fixtures, gauges, gears, ground tools, index plates, and angle tangents. By 1980, the firm made rocket-engine parts.

question: Is Vinco Corporation still active?

answer: Unclear. A company known as Vinco Tool is still operative in Clinton Township, Michigan.

question: Who owned Vinco Corporation?

answer: Not answered.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: Vinco Corporation was a manufacturing company based in Detroit, Michigan.


text:
If Looks Could Kill.

Nothing could describe the fear I felt when I looked into her eyes.
It was cold. Leaves scattered the ground, and the gravel under my back felt like sharpened icicles on my skin.
The physical cold was only compounded by her eyes.
My God, those eyes.
Those piercing, icy blue eyes that seemed to tear a path to my heart like a frozen bullet. Those eyes that
stopped the hypothermia and started melting me from the inside out, igniting a burning passion to thaw out
my long dead love life. The contrasting feelings caused a slight sense of excitement.
But I knew that this couldn't happen.
She reaches down to help me up, I thought she meant to harm.
Where am I? That's all I can think. Who is she? What did she do?
I slap her arm away. She looks offended.
What happened?
I try to sit up, and suddenly feel a sharp pain in my back.
I'm not going anywhere.
My legs don't work.
Upon this realization, my back follows suit, and I quickly feel the pangs of frozen rock on my back.
For the first time in my life, I panic. I truly panic.
She leans in close.
Panic.
Who is she? Did she do this to me?
Suddenly I become aware of sounds. Noises. Like an infant in a game of peek-a-boo, I cannot seem to
comprehend where these sounds were coming from.
But it's starting to clear up.
I look back into her eyes. Crystal blue ice turns to lightning as I feel her gaze connect with mine.
Are you okay? She asks, as if I can understand her.
I should understand.
I can't.
More panic.
The sounds are becoming more clear. Her voice. It was muffled, but I could understand it.
Are you okay?
It's clearing up.
It's being slowly drowned out.
What's that noise?
It's like.. a.. siren. That's what it is.
A siren.
Getting louder.
Are you okay?
No, I'm not. If only I could tell her that. My voice isn't working.
I turn my head sideways. A bicycle. My bicycle? I don't recognize it. But I don't recognize my shirt either.
The siren. It's stopped. The woman. She's getting up.
Don't go.
Please, I'm not scared anymore.
We can happen.
I just remembered, my arms work.
I reach out. Grab her hand.
Static. No, more than a static shock. Something. The connection. It's there. Why is it there?
My back. Oh man, my back. The pain. The fear.
Panic.
I look away. A car. An ambulance creeping up. The car is really close. I can almost touch it. But I'm touching her.
Her, with the frozen bullet eyes.
Two men. Running. To me.
Running to me. I'm not letting go of her hand.
They touch me. She touches me. She has the electric fingers.
They push her away. I wish I could protest, but my voice still betrays me.
She lets go.
I try to keep looking at her, but the men are in my way.
The lights on the ambulance are bright.
But they are getting dimmer.
The men are trying to move me.
It hurts.
They pick me up.
Please, stop. I can't tell you, but please. See my face. I'm hurting. Don't move me.
I swing at the one on my left. He stumbles back and drops me back on the gound.
They tell me to calm down. They are trying to help after all.
Their voices. Getting quieter as they talk.
Panic.
I look around as much as I can.
Every time I make a move, the world gets a bit darker.
Where is she?
I have to see her again.
The men pick me up. I have no more strength to contest.
She's behind them.
Her eyes. Her stormy, lightning blue eyes. Clouded by tears, she just stands there, watching.
I'm watching too.
But not for long.
I want to tell her.
Her eyes are comfort. They are all I needed.
The men move me to the ambulance. I think. I don't really care.
The sounds have faded some.
I can still see her from the back of the ambulance. Wait. They shut the doors.
She's gone.
Panic.
Someone is in here with me. They move so fast that I only see them as a blur.
It's getting darker.
Darker.
Panic.
The blur is asking me questions.
What is my name?
It asks me, but I can't seem to recall.
I can only remember her. Those eyes.
The next question I'm asked fades to silence.
Panic.
What color was her hair?
I didn't even notice.
I've been moving too much.
Things are almost out of sight.
The pain is gone.
I feel like I'm slipping.
Darker.
I'm just going to rest my eyes. I'm sure the blur won't mind. It's too dark to see in here anyway.
This just makes it easier to see her eyes.
I can hear some sounds.
The siren is back.
I think my eyes are still closed.
Either way, it's dark.
I feel like she touched my chest just now. The electricity was there. Both hands, bare flesh. The jolt startled me, and I knew she was there.
I open my eyes. The blur is still there, but she isn't.
Panic.
I try to sit up, but the blur holds me down. The effort must have broke my back.
The pain is back.
My eyes are adjusting to the darkness. I can see the blur. It's one of the men. The one I swung at.
The other one. Where is he?
I look around the best I can.
He's driving.
Someone is in the passenger seat.
A girl.
Her hair. Red. Burning.
It's her. I remember. She has red hair.
I reach out towards her. Point.
The man looks at her.
We stop moving. The ambulance stops screaming.
The men come to the back, and she is there with them.
I take her hand. The men move me out and wheel me on a bed toward a building.
She comes with me.
They are moving me really fast. Everything is blurring, except for her.
But her electric touch is losing its spark. Her icy blue eyes no longer reach as deep. Her burnt auburn hair is getting dimmer.
I'm moving too much.
It's dark again. I heard voices a minute ago, but now it's silent again.
Her touch. The electric fingers on my chest. I feel it. Three times.
But my eyes won't open.
I feel it a fourth time, stronger than ever.
All of my senses come rushing back to me. I can see her.
I wonder if my voice works.
I have to try.
I love you.
I said it.
I heard it.
My voice was weak, but I said it.
And now it's fading again.
I don't think she can bring me back.
The sounds are fading again, but not as fast as my vision.
The darkness returns, and I hear a soft voice.
It's her voice.
It's all I needed. I don't have to wonder.
The voice. It told me what I needed to hear.
I love you too.
She loves me.
It's the last thing I hear before the silence returns.
I don't think I can come back.
Her touch sparks agains my chest.
But it isn't enough.
At least I know how she feels.
The burning hair matched with the freezing blue eyes.
If looks could kill..
If looks could kill then she'd be the last thing I ever see.
I'd be fine with that.

title: Decided to try a little bit of writing, what do you think?

question: Why is the narrator lying on the gravel?

answer: He's been knocked off his bicycle and has injured his back.

question: Why don't the narrator's legs work?

answer: The back injury has left him paralysed

question: Where do the noises "like an infant in a peekaboo" come from?

answer: It is probably he that cries in pain

question: Why does the woman tell the narrator that she loves him?

answer: This could be the response of a kind stranger to a dying man or it may be that the narrator does know her. This could be why he feels love for her despite his loss of memory.

question: Write a ~24 sentence summary.

answer:
The narrator lies upon a bed of gravel. He’s filled with fear as he looks into the icy blue of her eyes. She puts out a hand to help. He slaps her hand away. He tries to sit up. There’s a pain in his back and his legs won’t work. He panics. He’s prone – flat on his back.

Who is the woman? Why did she do this to him? She asks if he’s okay. He hears a siren in the distance. He turns his head, sees a bicycle but doesn’t recognize it as his own. The woman wants to go. He grabs her hand. The men run to him from the ambulance. They try to move him. Every time the narrator moves, the light gets a bit dimmer.

He needs the woman. Her eyes bring comfort. They take him to the hospital. The woman is in front of the van. As the light fades, he tells her he loves her and she tells him the same. He’ll die a happy man.


text:
I don’t remember how I got there or where it started. So, in a way, it started off like most dreams do. I was running. But not in solidarity; with a group. I wasn’t exactly sure who they were, I just felt a deep camaraderie with them as if they were close to me. It’s hard to explain. None the less, we trekked on. The barren, gray landscape made me feel empty and thirsty inside, like I knew something better than this was out there somewhere. Or was it somewhere in the past? Was this the aftermath of a dispute between our territory’s leader with another? Regardless, I knew that there was something better than this. It was eating at me.

We ran for what seemed like hours, passing abandoned houses, ransacked for their valuables. Finally, we stopped in a small neighborhood. Three houses stood there seemingly untouched by the madness of what the earth was now. It was a comforting feeling to be back home. We set down our valuables and watched the sun slowly make its dissent over the orange horizon. We felt closer than we ever have before to each other. Quickly afterwards, we all wished each other good night. I lied in my bed wishing for this to be over. Whatever “this” was, I don’t know.

The next morning, I awoke with a kick of my own leg. This seems to happen every time I die in a dream.

The rest of my group awoke, and we packed up again. This time though, we carried only the necessities as if we would come back. Maybe I could call this place home again. It’s been so long since I could. I kept that from the others. I found it difficult to show much weakness to them. Not now. One must be callused and strong in these times.

The morning sun was beautiful, it was the only thing that gave me hope, as we marched onward. We didn’t talk about the past much, but when we did, It was certainly a touchy subject. You can only joke and play around for so long before conversion turns serious. It’s what we needed to keep sane, none the less, as we walked on this abandoned interstate. The hours were long, but I felt as if we were coming up to something big..something worth our while. Just then, our leader, average in height with a weathered face and wrinkly brow, raised his binoculars that hung around his neck. He trembled as he said, “There! Over there! Something… miraculous!”. Every one of us immediately perked up at the thought and made a mad dash towards the undiscovered locale.

We stopped and gazed in awe of what we saw, a large neighborhood of houses. What struck them as odd though was their toy-like appearance. The orange and green houses looked almost gelatin-like. Maybe they were? Relishing at the thought, I was the first one down the steep hill that separated me and this mysterious village, but before I could make it, a married couple from my group had already beaten me there and had sunken into the gelatin-made streets. It was the most peculiar thing we had all ever seen, but at the same instant, it was beautiful. We laughed, and we became children again. I didn’t look back or even think of the home that I left behind.

At that very moment, my leg kicked. I awoke in my bedroom; It was all a dream.

**Note:** I am in high school and a very amateur writer, and I'm sure that is apparent by my grammar. I would love to hear some feedback though. The good and the bad, I want it all! Thank you!

title: A dream that I had.

question: Kept what from the others?

answer: That it had been a long time since they could call somewhere home

question: What are the times like?

answer: Seems like War times

question: Where are they?

answer: Doesn't say

question: What is the miraculous thing?

answer: Toy like houses made out of gelatin

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator has a vivid dream about running with a group in difficult times then happening upon a marvelous street made of gelatin.


text:
	"I'm feeling it again," Kiasha gasped to her husband in a panicked voice. "I'm tellin' you, this don't feel like no kicking, Deandré."
"Bullshit!" Deandré spat at his pregnant, teary-eyed wife, who was now backing up into a corner of their living room in fear of getting beaten by her husband. Domestic violence was a casualty in this household.
'"If only you believed me! If only you could fell what I feel!" Kiasha whispered.
"Woman, I don't give two shits what you feel! We gettin' a divorce and that's my final word on the matter! Ain't nothin' you can say to change my mind on it!" Deandré shouted back at his wife, sweat pouring from his forehead.
"This is your child, Deandré! That don't mean *nothin'* to you?" Kiasha asked, her urban voice now cracking from the overwhelming sense of betrayal she felt.
"Not when I got some crazy-ass bitch tellin' me she feel my son break-dancin' in her damn uterus!" Deandré roared back at his wife, his words like daggers into her womb.
Kiasha collapsed onto her knees with her face in her hands and began to sob. She couldn't take this any longer, she needed him to trust her that their son would become a break-dancing prodigy. If he only had the same hope for the future as she did, he would want to continue on with their marriage and take part in parenting their child.

title: A Tyler Perry-themed story that I began to write one night

question: What was the constant reason for the domestic violence in Kiasha and Deandre's household?

answer: The reason for abuse in their household was not stated, but it's clear that Deandre is naturally abusive towards his wife.

question: Why was Deandre abusive to Kiandra?

answer: The reason for his abusiveness towards his wife is unknown; however, it appears he was a naturally abusive person.

question: Why did Kiandra feel that Deandre didn't love her anymore and didn't feel committed to parenting their child?

answer: Deandre probably wasn't as committed to her as he used to because his feelings for her may have waned, and with their child on the way, her visions of their son's future further aggravated his frustrations towards her.