(Click on the Image for a Clear View.) #ABPOS The Thinner Soul, Chp. 24 Radiance -  I was afraid to ask.  I didn't think I would get a straightforward answer, but our fears had reached their limits.  There was no greater amount of fear to be felt.  As soon as I knew he was with me, I launched my interrogation. "Where are you Eaton?  I need the truth.  And if you're in trouble, don't you think I should know?"  I lamented. "It's Unger International."  I heard pretty swiftly, but then there was nothing.  I made my way to the mirror, and he then continued. "I once worked for the owner.  Things got sour, and I'm being held in a Russian prison." "Russia?  Eaton are you kidding me?  How am I suppose to help with any of this?"  I walked away from my reflection and began pacing.  It had to be true.  It was the only sensible reason I could accept for why he hadn't returned or even surprised me with something to soli...

  (Click on the Image for a Clear View.) #ABPOS The Thinner Soul, Chp. 22 Jeff - It hit me while I was mulling over some art, and considering another reading.  It wasn't that we didn't share everything.  It was the irreverence of the moment.  Asking the questions I was asking, felt like plotting to rob a bank.  It also reminded me of being an orphan, and I preferred the poise of my current persona.  It was a thought that had been walking with me quietly for a number of years however.  Though, none of the other times I'd considered looking at my connection to the Dunbar name and possible estate had brought me this far.   I sat on the edge of the bed prolonging my routine.  It was definitely an end of the day type of conversation.  I knew it was bigger than lunch.  It had the feeling of a Sunday morning kind of dialogue, but I squeezed it into the middle of the week.  I knew where she was in her process, and I was hoping tha...

  (Click on the Image for a Clear View.) #ABPOS The Thinner Soul, Chp. 21 Radiance - I hadn't bought a dress, yet I allowed John to assume I had.  I was becoming second to none in dodging all the bullets that seemed to be coming my way.  The interest in my upcoming album had exceeded my initial presumptions, and I decided to move up the release.  "Death to Forty" was living up to her predictions, and now I needed Sand and Stars to live up to mine.   I hadn't broken the news to John as yet.  It would put the album and the wedding in competition.  Either that, or it was bound to feel like a natural born take over.  I wasn't opposed to the surround sound of the moment, but I got the feeling John would be.  We were meeting for dinner and to fine tune some of the wedding day details.   I knew I had to get it out on the table before the radio announcements.  There was also the option to push back the wedding, and I was not a hundre...

  (Click on the Image for a Clear View.  Download After Opening.) Join My Character Creation Contest October 11th-22nd here on the blog.   Submit for consideration before Oct. 23rd. Submit a Character Profile to be inserted into "The Final Chapters" of my unfolding Suspended-Release Novel A Better Pair of Shoes "The Thinner Soul" , a novel. Give the Character's Name, Age, Sex, Marital Status, any Distinct Physical Attributes, and One-thing Your Character Believes to be added into the circumstances of my novel's storyline . The Winning Character and the Creator will be announced with "The Final Chapters" official announcement.

(Click on the Image for a Clear View.) #ABPOS The Thinner Soul, Chp. 19 Monica Shepherd - I knew he was coming. The exhibit was the same. He was weeks early to see anything new.  Yet, he wandered and stopped at several of the pieces he'd gotten familiar with.  This time though he sat in the median and continued to watched on from a distance. He even snapped a picture or two, which was only allowed to be done in the staleness of the exhibit.  It's the time period after we'd given priority to media, and it was clearly noted.  There were all kinds of things people didn't do at museum and galleries that they now did, so I kept proper representation in the wings.   It was his longest visit of them all.  It was the ability to park and see as you choose, rather than the whimsy and mischief of people watching.  From my usual spot, I took in all the movement in the gallery, and continued to study the wave of seekers.  I didn't actually have a bunch to tell...

  (Click on the Image for a Clear View.) #ABPOS The Thinner Soul Part-2 Introduction (Narrated by Kaylin) It's not exactly Influenza, but the spread of influence is treated like a disease in this country.  One minute you think you're free, and the next you're being informed that your influence and your safety has become a concern to people in high places.  It's not a matter of size, but a matter of data.       It's not all things, but then again it is.  It's not all censorship, but it's all surveillance.  We're not moving in circles exactly, but it's the moving around monuments that makes the circles.  It's an organized world, and the only freedoms are a baiting system.  If people feel threatened, they lie.  If they believe they're being watched, they hide.  But if they feel like an independent piece of tumbleweed, they just keep rolling.  It's information not conversations.  It's shifting monuments, not simply i...

(Click on the Image to Open a Clear View.  Download After Opening.) Thank you for following A Better Pair of Shoes "The Thinner Soul" and UnEarth!!    Coming up tomorrow is chapters 19 and 20.  Don't forget to read the Part 2-Intro before going to chapter 19.  

  (Click on the Image to Open a Clear View) #ABPOS The Thinner Soul, Chp. 18 Jeff - I was raised by my grandmother.  My father's mother that is.  I've never met my mother or any of her family members.  She just wasn't there.  She hadn't been a distant awareness or a part of the factory settings.  Any fall back I could resort to was my grandmother Dorsey Dunbar, but she was gone now.  I'd only seen pictures of her and her husband.  He also wasn't there.  She had a tradition however of using the "D" in Dunbar to create the household and community names we often went by.  In the neighborhood, she was known solely as Ms. Dordy.  That's "Dor" for Dorsey and "d" for Dunbar.  I was about nine years old when I'd put it all together.  It was the mail carrier that brought truth and light with him.  I was Jed.  And my father; he was Tod.  His name is Timothy Dunbar.  He was killed in a robbery when I was young....

(Click on the Image to Open a Clear View) #ABPOS The Thinner Soul, Chp. 16 Radiance - The first time I heard his voice, I was rattled.  Internally, I mean.  I was frozen inside with fear.  So, I stayed quiet.  I was moving and speaking and doing all the things I was suppose to on the outside, but I remained split logistically.  I remained in my head, but I was able to multi-task it all.  I could hear my questions, "what was that?" and "what's happening to me?" replay while I conversed, and my body made all the same rotary decisions as usual.  It was a definite interruption, but I showed no disruption.  I didn't pardon myself or withdraw from my dealings, nor did I mention it.  It was a gentle and subtle voice, not completely solid in sound, but it could be recognized.  Eventually, it became a presence and subtle character impulses that I recognized.  Whenever I could feel his presence in public, I would naturally become suspicious a...