Welcome, Khush-am-did, Bon Jour, Hello and Namaste… This indeed is a great pleasure on my part to bring to you the Hors D’ Oevreues of Soups to Nuts Blog Canival v 2.0.

At any tiime, you wish to roll up your sleeves and move to the next course, here is the menu:

• The Lives and Times for Appetizers

• Health Plans Plus for the First course

• Simple Pleasures for the Main Course

• Fear and Loathing for the Dessert

This time we have a huge number of great entries to fill by and let me assure you it will be a time well spent.

So with this shall we get the ball rolling? Oh yes, we will

Warren Buffett once said, “heed my advice, never give credit cards to your kids”. The Money Blue Book said something very similar here. Often the rush of life and a huge disposable income on our hands surely and steadily mean all those junk food and all those calories. So what do you do when you are faced with a mammoth on your morning mirror. Visit this

There is something this time in US which has changed the very face of social networking. The US Elections 2008. Obama, Clinton both have their own Facebook and MySpace pages. Interesting isnt it. Oh yes, especially when phone and mobile is leveraged along with new media promotion. Check this out!

With the rise and spectacular popularity of blogs, effective and good copywriting is no more a luxury but a necessity, one of our times. Carol Bentley has a few word of advice And if you still sweat too much at the sight of copywriting your resume and articles, then go on and read hyperhidrosis. [I think I will be advising one of our friends about it, It surely is helpful]. Leanderthal, the Light House Keeper has a short piece on his encouragement of the Republican McCain. GOP takers anyone? Read him out here

And now that we are at the national issue, read how a North Canton City High School is supporting to build the wall of heroes. Read the news here, and it should come as a good thing for the parents who feel the current generation is losing its patriotism and stand on the national and moral issues. Now that we are at it, read about some WW-II bombers and their history on this part of the digital world.

So many a times in our lives we have been beaten and defeated in something which we never thought will not be ours. I for one has seen this from a real close quarter. So when finally the success comes I think it makes it even more sweeter. HorseWoman has something to tell about the sweet smell of success. Read it, you will enjoy it. Latins have a nice saying, mens sana in corpore sano. Meaning, a sound mind lives in a sound body. And both are absolutely necessary for success. Read how to train body for overwhelming fitness here. To keep the mind healthy, you sometimes have to shun, cope and deal with negative people. Alex has a word of advise to bring you on to deal effectively with negative people. I think this post is perhaps the most important thing to have come by in recent times across my way.Must read.And while you are at it, prepare for the new week with this eye opening post from Atma Jyoti Organisation here in New Mexico in how to control your thoughts and desires. As I said before, health is an important constituent of our happiness, so it is imperative that the way we want to live so should we eat. Meaning, eat healthy think better. Health Plans Plus has an interesting thing to say about lycopene one of the most essential antioxidants.

Success is different for different people. For some people it is love, for some it is acceptance. For most of us ,its the gratification from being the power of money. Sometimes, you need to know how to make money too. Read Woody Maxim on the quickest way to make money. And while you are on your way to make money, lets first check where is your money going first of all. Debt Reduction made easy.

Unwind and check out an American single mom’s take on Berlin and Berlin Film Festival of this year. So many times we take, curses and abuses for granted. Nun of the Above here have a news about a guy who is waging his own crusade against such words. Way to go boy! Encourage, Spread and read about this piece of article. Have you seen what Paul’s view out of his window? He lives in British Columbia, Vancouver and give this wonderful picture a look.

Summer is out here in this part of the world, India and I am living in south India where the heat is beating down on me, so when my friend Anthony sent me this link having 8 photographs of the after math of an ice storm, I just wished I could be there. But I will keep visiting it for the rest of the summer , for some relief from the scorching sun.

Read this wonderful piece on past lives by How To Abutei. Read the meaning of the word, abutei in this blog. Its wonderful. Winding down bit more, have something to laugh about at the Mad Kane’s humor blog. [Disclaimer: Dont blame me if you fall out of chair laughing]. Here is her Yard Yarns haiku prompt.

US Economy and the global economy as such is under huge pressure from all sides with the current system of sub prime crisis and auction rate securities. For an honest and fresh perspective, read Freddie at his blog CAN US ECONOMY SURVIVE DOOMSDAY ?

And read about Ohio and its latest news on this blog. Ohio had been under the scanner for quite some time due to a steady fall in employement levels, and has been quite an issue in the current US elections. Read about Ohio

Coupled with such sober news read an Art History student living in France and her take on the way she prefers to cite references and do her studies. Friday is coming, prepare for some fun Read about the Marshall baby out here. Its sorta cute and heart warming to read this young fellas blog. I mean his parents blog about this kiddo.Read him here . This weekend is also a wonderful time to catch up on old recipes, new recipes and forgotten recipes and oft made recipes, so give a whirl at how to make hummus. Change is the way of nature and new comes up always to replace the old. But the new its also important to take care of the old and help them in making their transitions into their world in the most comfortable way. Telling it like it is, has a very helpful piece of advice on the challenges and necessity and ways to take care with aging parents.

But sometimes the old, has to just go and not turn back and cling to what is not theirs. Disillusioned Words have a thing or two to say about Burma and its old rotting military junta. Touching upon the new, Tired Garden digs up some interesting facts about a really ‘new’ information. I wont let you know what he found out, but the subject is running the car on water. Can it or can it not? I know what you are saying, but he said, scam scam scamity scam…

Yosemite Reservations has something to tell about the room with the arguably the most majestic view getting a little better.Dive in and give it a read.

With this we close our Soups to Nuts Blog Carnival Part 2.0. Before we close in, lets stop for a moment, let the incessant clicks of mouse rest and the soft keybuttons cease. With this lets fill our hearts with the most positive thoughts and quotes from people who indeed did something worthwhile over here, till they were living. Read to turn in Your Success Corner.

Thank You everybody for participating, and contributing to this blog carnival. My special thanks to Fear and Loathing, The Lives and Times, Simple Pleasures and Health Plans Plus to come up with something so amazing.

Hello Everyone,

Back after a long time I must say. April 30th is fast drawing in. For me , my proverbial “fingers-in-the-many-pies” have gone too deep. Dabbling with various diverse interests of mine[as you can very well understand from this post ], has made 30th April come way too soon, than I would like it to be.

So here I am, making one last call, for all ye bloggers to dive in this blog carnival, Soups-to-Nuts, a unique five-in-one blog carnival, in the lines of progressive dinner.

I will be hosting the Hors d’Oeuvre of the blog carnival, Kilroy at Fear and Loathing will be hosting the Dessert Section, the Appetizer course will be on at Nicole’s on Musings of a Manic Mom the first course at Helene’s on Health Plans Plus, and the Main Course will be served by Dana at her Simple Pleasures

So wait not for a moment more, and join in for this one of a kind blog carnival.

You can enter in the carnival through this link

Hope to see you soon…. 30th April is not too far…

Soham
http://soulwitness.wordpress.com

I didn’t think twice. Took the road and walked down in the cool shades of the trees. The air was laden in a heady aroma of the spring flowers and the leaves rustled in the mischievous winds of the sea. For the next half an hour I spent drenching myself in the blue waters alongside the street urchins and the kids of the fishermen.

It was around 11.20, I guess… I kept on walking. I don’t know what all happened around me. Milestones came and went. Buses stopped and left. People kept on gesturing that the next bus will be soon, but I kept on walking. I don’t know. Lost in the thoughts of mine.
“Whats the problem with you dude?”
“I dont know”
“Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want… I … “

Sholinganallur [dont try to read it even] was left long back. VGP was far behind. I walked around 11 kilometers from the last place I knew. I was still wondering.Uthandi [u-tan-di]. I was staring myself at an entire troop of policemen, searching for the god-knows-what-contraband.There I was, nonchalantly walked right under the very nose of all those SUV owners and salon drivers.

Uthandi Toll Plaza was half a kilometer away, and trust me, when I crossed the toll booth, the journey just got shorter. The road turned itself from a lifeless entity to a joyful merry life, tempting me to keep walking. The East Coast Road just got a life.

Image courtesy TNRDC

Image courtesy TNRDC

I kept walking and around 12.15 reached Muttukadu [mu-ttu-ka-du]. I sat on the bus stop and had a swig of the bottle. My first swig of water in the last three hours. The milestone said Chennai, 26 kilometers. I thought and then walked up and down the length of the shade, then thought again and for sometime I didnt think at all.
Then it came!
It was here, that I found my answer. It came as a dim ray of light and came flooding in when the realization dropped upon me. I understood what was the reason for my unease. I smiled, thinking it was so easy that it was right in front of me. I felt foolish and then grateful. I smiled, and the old man sitting beside me, flashed a toothy grin. I smiled even brighter, appreciating the beauty of the moment. Here I was 26 kilometers from Chennai, 17 kilometers of walk, tired, drenching my parched tongue with some water, a stranger sitting beside me flashing a toothy grin. It was surreal, let me tell you. I extended my right hand, the bottle in it-
“Tanni?” Water?
“Kurunge” Give.

I soaked in the nature around me. The wind was light. Breeze. Leaves rustled and birds cooed. I took the bottle, emptied it and carried onwards. The ECR got increasingly desolate with only two or three cars rush away at a time. The road ahead felt like curving away to entice me,tease me, with its beauty. Life couldn’t have been better. My legs had started to ache long back. But this was turning out to be a dominating mistress. And then a moment came, when I was all alone, not a single car, not a single life present. I looked back, looked ahead. Zilch. It was so lonely that I could hear my own footsteps, the calling of the birds and the roaring of the seas. I wondered if they can hear all these sitting inside their SUVs and Sedans.

Taj Fishermans Cove, Dakshina Chitra, Green Coconut Resorts…

and then Covelong , 29 kilometers from Chennai, 20 kms on foot. All left behind.

I walked on, 21 kilometers and counting till I reached a bend on the East Coast Road where the road ran parallel to the shore. And I mean dead parallel. From the grey tarmac you could see the horizon vanishing away, the catamarans drifting and at the midst of all, a guy sitting all alone on the scenic ECR facing the blue seas. Heaven!
Time 3:00 p.m 11th March 2008, 24 kilometers on foot, 28 kilometers from Chennai.

I reached home that evening and contemplated on the past two weeks. It was time to act. It was time to prove.
Today, I have joined office again, and doing things which I do the best. I am back doing things which I love doing , sort of back in my elements. Solve challenges, crack problems and reignite my desires . And in this entire process, I understood what I desire and I what I aspire.

Someday, inshallah, I will make this journey once again, only to relive these exciting times, those exciting days… that exciting moment, when I walked 24 kilometers from my office just on a bare whim.

The entire jouney can be found in my google map : here

I don’t know, how to start this. I don’t know do I even need to do this. Zilch. Nada. Sifar… I really don’t know.

I had the option. One side lead me to the city, the other out of it.

Authors note: Trust me, my family is still spooked out when I told them what I did today.

[Continued in the next part]

Oh yeah, I smell a rat! A stinky one, that too. The entire world seems to come to an end, and here I am smelling a rat? You want reasons, why I am smelling rats? Okay take this then, for starters of course, how about the Chinese Year of Rat have started, and I am supposed to celebrate as people in media (print or otherwise) are trying to convince me how all of my wishes are going to come true this year. And to top it all, my Zodiac animal is Ox… it still seems a puzzle to me how this year is the luckiest time for me.

Okay, oh yeah I do smell a rat not just because Ox and Rats should I just say, don’t go together, but because I don’t understand how Chinese people had it all figured out, that Ox indeed go together with rats!!!

And yeah, but Ox and rat is the least of all worries of mine( told you it was just for starters!). Lets first talk some finance, Indian and otherwise. In India, two almost rocking IPOs were cancelled… should I say the name? Emaar and Wockhardt. Believe me, I know Khorakiwala right from childhood, ahem ahem… give or take 18-20 years on the higher side( okay not exactly, I knew him but he didn’t know me) , and knowing how will he be feeling right now, boy I can almost see him feeding his IPO papers to the rats!!! And then, with the volatility in the markets, this indeed seems to be the cursed time for Khorakiwala. Never mind… And yeah Dow Jones is swinging more than Charlie Brown and Lucy’s swing in the park. But hold on… what about subprime crisis? Oh yeah blame it on rats and dogs, and Bears and Stearns, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch… And my my I can literally smell the shit coming this way, to be precise rat shit!(heard they smell the most, I didnt do the survey boy! Dont look at me like that).

Now, lets come to some better news. Hey of late, I heard that NASA people have started getting Beatle-sick[ read it here ]… they love their Beatles isnt it… boy, I love my Black Sabbath too… especially they have such a uncanny resemblance to each other… they both sing songs, which I could never appreciate. Well, I tried hard to listen to Black Sabbath, and never tried Beatles. But still boy I love their music! And you know what, aliens were the first people to hear non-DRM music before us!! Wonder, how much did Steve Jobs bribe NASA for that? What does Steve think, boy? He thinks-”… lead to exploration of new markets…”. What ?? Now is Jobs going into rake alien mullas too? Told you boy, I am smelling rats, alien rats!

P.S: For that matter, rats were the first animals to be sent to space, isn’t it?

And then one day, Jon stopped receiving any letters from Kenny. It stopped almost as suddenly it started. Montana for months after kept wondering, while watching the night sky, if Kenny finally found the world he wished for. Montana for the rest of his short life lived with this constant amazement and a gratefulness that fate had not been cruel to him.

In Kenny’s small apartment, there was a table which rested its one side with the window pane. It had something scratched out by a knife. In some ways it reminds me of a custom in prison, etching out ones deepest desires of freedom on its walls, so that the next person will have a bit more courage.

It was a simple sentence which read,

One day, gonna fly through this pane, to freedom.

VACANCY FOR EXTRA HELP
$600 per month
6.00 am to 10.00pm

Kenny stared at the sign for a long time. Behind the shiny glasses of McDonalds, letters painted in yellow, gave him a way to start out once again. He had no social security number, no IRS, “no nothing”, as Mr. Stevens said, but McJobs are like that, often “no nothing” does equally well. Kenny realised his battle has started.

“So Mr. Richards, keep in mind, that I have got a business to run”, said Stevens
“Oh yes sir..absolutely, I will try my best to deliver”
“You better be good Mr.Richards, I am already running low on numbers”
“You will not be disappointed, Mr. Stevens”

~~~~

“Grandpa, there is a letter for you”, yelled Samantha from her porch,
After a moment too long, Jonny arrived on the door.

“Jonny Montana?”, asked the young delivery boy, 18 hardly.
“Yeah it is”
“A letter from some Kenny Richards, sign here please”, handing over the pain to the old man.


“Old Bastard!”, muttered Montana excitedly. He took the knife and cut the envelope.

Dtd: 7th Jan 2008

Hello, Montana

Seasons greetings and a Happy New Year. How is life keeping you? And how is the young lady, Samantha. Tell her, she is beautiful and she will grow upto be a charming lady. And yeah, Montana… keep the log fire burning, it keeps you warm against the Northampton winds at this time of the year.

Hey, Jonny, thanks for that day, for comforting me in your home. In Ohio now. Today I received my first paycheque in as many years. I am working in the local McDonalds . Feels good you know. And yeah, before I forget, I have sent some money for you, keep them. The next time I am ‘broke’ I know where to look for.

Montana with his old hands pressed the edges of the torn envelope close and the mouth widened. Montana peered inside and found two hundred fifty dollars inside.

“Schmuck!”, he cursed. He read on

You know, its hilarous at times how the fellas at work handle the goofups I make. Once, a customer asked me for a Latte, I couldnt serve it fast enough. You know it was hilarious to see him, thumping and fuming. And crazy me, you know for a moment I got so startled, that the latte mug slipped. Poor guy, left cursing at us. [Thats another story, that Mr. Stevens was too upset.] But sometimes guys, whoops cant call them guys, gotto call them customers, Mr. Stevens insists. Yeah the customers are too harsh. There is this young girl, you know, 22 around ,works along with us. A guy came upto her, one day and asked for a burger. She just missed on serving sauce… and man! the noise that young punk created. Jenny almost was on tears. I walked upto her and told its okay, he is a punk. Jonny boy, you know it feels great to console somebody. Four decades of prison, numbs things you know. But I guess you should do it too. It feels good.

Lunch time is almost over. We get a long break of around 15 minutes. Really long, given that I dont eat much. They just allow us some pasta for lunch. But believe me, it finishes long time before our lunch breaks. And so we chit chat for some time. Thats the best time of my day. I like hearing to Jenny and May talking their heart out about trivial things. And there is a guy here, Chris. Poor fella, likes Jenny but she doesnt even give him a shit. Yeah, gotto run, boy…

Your friend,

Kenny

Jonny felt helpless, in ways he couldn’t fathom. Kenny was just 6 years younger to him, yet had to work harder to keep himself going. A swift tug of luck here, a pull there and life becomes awry, he thought.

And to Jonny it was evident that McD store had the workers of Ohio mines as its loyal customers. People perennially in hurry, people rushing along to catch up with life. People to whom trampling on others didn’t look bad. And Kenny was fighting with his slow hands and weak vision. For the first time in as many years, Jonny felt an ocean of grief grip him.

Kenny as the days passed, got more and more distressed with the inhumanity of world around. And he seeked refuge in those letters which Johnny sent and loved talking about their old days, in his own. Anything as long as it didn’t talk about the present day.

Hey, Montana, Date: 15th Jan 2008

Received your letter just now, Yeah it does feel great to talk to old friends. And sort of it doesn’t seem all that great. You see, what I mean? All these years, down living in the death row, contemplating about when am I gonna go back, when can I start all over again, and all you get is this. Seems hilarious at times. Its sort of a joke gone awry. Each day, I prayed for freedom and at the end I am confused sort of,whether its all that fine with me.

Anyway, you remember, Dawson? He used to read a lot in his days. Loved his books… You know Montana, once he told me- “Kenny, when you set a bird free from its cage, you know what it does? It turns back” I couldnt understand why those birds do it. Now I can understand it. I am thinking a lot these days. But it feels awful. Cant say how awful it feels, boy.

Ohio these days seems to be a different place altogether. I never saw places like these before. And in ways, it tells me, how small I am in this universe. In jail, the story is different. The toughnuts even had that something when talking to me.

I just feel at times, how inadequate I am for these times. Only if I could stop this gnawing pain inside me.

Friend,
Kenny

Jonny often at times talked to Samantha about things like these, yet it was more of a catharsis act he was performing. Samantha understood Kenny’s pain and Montana’s helplessness, yet she herself could do even less. She reasoned with Montana, that this last battle, Kenny has to fight alone.

The letter often carried a sense of foreboding and almost always felt something heavy whenever Jonny received them. Jon often wondered if he poured his sorrows into his letters. Yes it did carry his longing for a humanity which slowed a bit and cared a little more, but he often sent his memories of the gone days along with his letters.

Kenny knew it too, and he felt he could understand what is going to happen next. But one lingering doubt in his heart stopped it from being a strong belief. He just bid his time.

…continued

Kenny took one last breath of the Northampton air and took the bus to the life ahead. The local FM was on.

“These are good times, blue skies, dark nights,
baby… see that you take me, wherever you go.
Baby, see that you save me… a seat next to you”

Kenny let out a lonely smile come to his face, and looked at the arduous road ahead. On the way to Ohio, after 50 years and world just seemed too deliriously fast.
A Goth girl took the seat next to him, all black leather and and a small shiny silver-ish box on her lap and two white wires snaking up to her ears. To Kenny it seemed that she was tethering somewhere in between an orgasmic joy and a head jerking sickness. Kenny looked at her with all the amazement he could muster and the girl kept up at her devotion to her punk star. Suddenly the girl opened her eyes, conscious of a gaze on her. But Kenny couldn’t help.

“You got a problem, Mister? “
It took a fraction of a moment more for Kenny.
“Noh, I was just…”
“Didn’t see a girl before, old man?”

Kenny just smiled at himself and for a moment felt lucky he has been left behind.

“Its okay, don’t mind” , letting a friendly smile do its job.

“Kenny! “, yelled Scott from the road.One more shout and Kenny appeared on his porch, and let a short sharp whistle reach out to Scott. It’s summer in Ohio, and surfing was the best thing a teenager could do. Kenny put on a blue tee on his lanky body, and hopped in his bike. He didn’t have a surfboard. But he loved seeing Scott roll on his board. Sometimes, he would surf on Scott’s blue board and imagine himself touching the blue sky. He loved when the white waves took him along, threw him on another one. And he imagined himself as a conqueror, riding on the blue board, dressed in blue tees, making his way through the blue roaring waves.

“Hey man! wake up!, Ohio is here”, a huge burly guy called Kenny.

Kenny for a moment disoriented, instantly feeling the burden of 60 years.

“Ohio, is it?”
“Yeah man! wake up… hurry along ol’ man”
“Thanks, just managed a shuteye”
A song seemed to be blaring out of radio.

I always knew that I liked this place
You don’t have to look too far
to find a better living place
I feel life while walking down its street

Kenny rubbed the sleep and the waves away from his eyes and got down of the bus.The song of the road seemed to fade away,

The world keeps spinning round and round
this is where all those comes down down, down
Say I love this town, oh yeah I love this town

Kenny had to find Lana and his life again. Ohio was bigger than Northampton, and more dreadful. Kenny found himself strangely disoriented and afraid seeing the skyscrapers and the unending milieu ahead.

“You know what, Richards, why these guys serving time over here feel tough to move back into that world. Its all because, they are somebody out here, boy. He has got friends, he believes he has got a sense of belonginglyness.”

“You mean belongingness”

“Yeah, belonginglyness. Out there nobody knows him, and everybody has forsaken him for good”

“Al , dear ol’ Al “, and he let out a smirk come upto his face. That winter, Al was killed trying to escape. It was a bad plan gone awry. But for the sheer will for freedom, Al almost made it to the compound wall. The next day, even police couldnt identify his face for sure.He jogged his memory, and tried to remember the way to his home. Took another bus and reached the ranch. It was a huge ranch even in those days. But a whole lot many houses have popped up, almost as if sprayed randomly across the panorama. Kenny hobbled his way to the outhouse. With what seemed, Lana has moved away. Or passed away. He went downhill to the nearest neighbor around 600 feet away. Maslows, read the nameplate. He wagered it will be a perfect American family.

He went upto their porch , but hesitated a long time. He stepped forward on the porch to ring the bell, once and took a step back. Hands, tucked inside his pants, betraying apprehension and hesitation from every pore of his body. A young lady, of around 24, opened the door.

“Hello…”, Kenny in his best pleasing tone, that forty three years as a jailbird allowed.

“… I was looking for the Richards family, was just wondering if you know anything about them. Remember the Richards lady, Lana”

” Ohh, yeah… they used to live uphill”, quickly adding seeing the lady change her face from suspicious to puzzled.

The lady’s face instantly seem to lit up.

“Uh huh… the Richards family I see. But dont know much about them. Soon after their elder son, got acquitted, the Richards elders died. With some Lana Gabors still living there till we came, she passed away soon after. She had a son, Mike. A hopeless chap, must say….”

“… Wait a minute, are you a friend of theirs or something like that, didnt you fellas keep in touch?… ” added the lady seeing the hopeful face of Kenny go dead with despair.

” No, nothing like that, I am Kenny, cousin of Lana”

“Aah I see… Kenny… Oh my God!, is it Kenny Richards? The Kenny Richards, the Monster of Northampton?”, her face become horror stricken, yet a faint sense of doubt remained, to see the monster in such a humbling form. Yet instincts are what drives us. She slammed the door shut on Kenny’s face.

Kenny, dejected, started out on the uphill road and when he reached, Kenny gave one last look to his home, and took the long ride back to Ohio.

Tagging, Bookmarking or Sharing will all lead saving of the common tag i.e. “Left Behind”, hence feel free to go ahead do just the same!

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Present day, 2008

“So, Richards, this is the moment, then”. The Warden mouthed as he half-expectedly waited for something profound to come out, from the man.

A nod. Eyes downcast, a silver beard and a frail frame. Forty three years of jail has given him a lot of things to carry home. Forty three years in death row has taken away, too. Now he walks with a slight bent back, and eyes devoid of any life. Lt. Evans flanking him, handed over his belongings, and a pen.

Kenny took that in unsure hands and signed away an identity taken from him long back.

“Mr. Franklin, all these years, I prayed for my freedom. Now I am not sure if I prayed for the right thing” Kenny said, with his eyes half misty and half reminiscent.

“Its okay,Richards, you will do just fine”, said the Warden, glancing at Evans, unable to look towards Kenny.

Kenny Richards, 63, walked out of the Northampton County Jail on that day. A blue denim shirt, a gray loafer and had all been what he took. He glanced back at what had been his home for so long. Franklin looked from his window, two stairs up, slightly puffing his cigar. The Warden for one fleeting moment, felt that he was looking at him through his rheumatic eyes. And then Kenny turned back trying his best to pace with the life ahead but then he was gone.

Kenny faltering steps fell unsure on the new world. Everything seemed to change. World suddenly seemed to be a distant place and its people all of a sudden indifferent. Al these years, Kenny felt a mortal fear. Today for the first time he felt a fear of being alone.He remembered all his friends, his family, his sister and Tina. His eyes got misty and a drop of tear rolled down from his left cheek. Ohio was far, but he has got to make one final trip. Who knows, his cousin Lana may be still there.

Northampton, it was, even 43 years back. Today it looked to him as the entire world has moved leaving him behind. But Kenny wagered, Montana won’t change. He will be still the same man, even 43 years after, if he is alive. He walked to the downtown part of the town, looking for his old pal. Yet each time a car zoomed past him, it gave him shivers. He cursed, he muttered, he whispered but still it took him more than the old Richards to walk in this town.

“Yes, may I help you?”, a petite girl of 16 years opened the door to Kenny.

“Young lady, is it where Montana lives?”

“Montana? No..nobody lives by that name here…”

“Who is it Samantha?”, a voice frail and withered with the ravages of time spoke from inside.

“Dunno, grandpa, somebody asking for Montana”, replied the girl half-unsure and half-concerned.

A frail figure hobbled from inside, with a stick held tentatively in his hand. The stick seemed to cling to him, yet the old man seem to despise it. Kenny for a moment prayed for the ghost of a chance.

“Jonny Montana is it? ” Kenny’s tone suddenly a lot more hopeful and expectant.

“Yeah boy, it is. This is Montana”, Montana’s voice betraying the surprise and joy of an unexpected company.

“This is Kenny, Montana… remember me?” Kenny smiled, Montana’s fading eyes lit up.

“Its a long story Montana, they have taken 43 years of my life. I served time for something I never did. And each day I passed as my last. Jonny boy its horrible “. Kenny took a sip of Earl Grey and managed a sniffle. Montana nodded.

“I understand Kenny, life had been unfair. You cant fret over it now, Kenny. You got a second chance boy, live it”, Montana assured the defeated man, and assuaged some more.Kenny seemed to understand.

“Maybe I will, stay back in Ohio, Jonny. My nephew must be a big man now. Wonder what he does for a living. Lets see, what can I do up there.”

“Montana I needed some money… to go home”, hesitating words from a proud Kenny. Kenny sighed in his heart what all his sentence has taken from him.

“… you see the nickels and pences of those years don’t go these days.” Kenny spoke with a embarrassed smile.

“Yeah, yeah Kenny boy. I always borrowed from you, didn’t know you would remember those things all these years”, said Montana with a toothy grin.

“Wait.. let me get you some”

***

…continued

Tagging, Bookmarking or Sharing will all lead saving of the common tag i.e. “Left Behind”, hence feel free to go ahead do just the same!
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

43 years ago, 1965

Kenny Richards, loves his beer. Carlton is his favorite. He let a sip of the translucent brownish liquid quench his thirst,

” Hey, Smith, where is Lee? Doesn’t seem to be around eh?”

“Yeah, went to his shrink, that old fart thinks he’ll get pregnant”, the bartender replied

And both men, laughed off at an otherwise crass joke.

He took another swig of the drink and let Smith tend to his customers.

” Busy busy day”, Kenny replied and got up to pay his bills.

“Hey Smith, here is the bill, keep the change”

The middle aged bartender let out a smile and he swooped his share with a swift move.

Carla was there and Kenny let a smile come up to his lips. She was sitting with two of her friends, brunettes.

“Hey there beautiful, whats up?”

“Heyy.. Kenny, what a surprise. Yeah doing great. Oops I missed out, okay she is Ruby, my colleague at the school and she is Dallas. Ruby,Dally, meet Kenny”

“So ladies, enjoying the drink?”, he edged around the table and made himself comfortable.

“Kenny, you got all the moves, bastard” thought Kenny

Twenty minutes later the three girls were animatedly giggling and chatting up with Kenny. Kenny once heard some wise man say, the leader in a group is not the one who does the talking, its the one to whom everybody talks to. Apparently Kenny was having the best of both worlds.

A twenty something guy, loves to have fun, simple innocuous and innocent fun. A bit of flirting surely classified as one in his list. Got a family, a dysfunctional one, 50 km down Ohio, Logan is the place, and he was half way around his world from Ohio. Northampton to be precise. Works in the local mine in the day and spends his evenings with his girlfriend. He loved his life, the life loved him back.So Kenny’s life, was divided between his day job, Carlton, a bit of fun and Tina.

This evening with Carla, did seem to be going great.

“So, Kenny boy, what did your boss say, when you kicked him on his rear”, giggled Dallas.

“Got late!”,part panic, part sober.

Boy, Tina is gonna roast your ass alive, you are running an hour late

“Gotcha go ladies, Nine o’clock show time!”, Kenny took his keys and made a dash for the door, leaving three giggling ladies, part eying his return and partly envying the lucky lady.

“Cool guy, must say”

What followed this was repeated a million times, a written and rewritten another million times. Interpreted, torn apart, picked for any loopholes. But nothing was found convincing enough to prove otherwise. Kenny Richards, aged 21 ,was found guilty for first degree murder of Christina Anderson aged 20, Jim Matthews aged 6, and Laura Matthews aged 4.Instrument of murder, a 6″ butchers knife and a garrote. Victims died in absolute pain.The Matthew kids often came down to Tina’s home when their parents ran late. Apparently this was one of those evenings. Kenny’s footsteps were found all over the place, Tina was 2 months pregnant. Everybody thought they knew the truth. Kenny was given the moniker of “Monster of Northampton”. The entire country was shocked and media reiterated the evidences. Sheriff investigated with a know-it-all-attitude, media portrayed with a cant-happen-any-other-way-stance, and the jury passed the judgment as an open-and-shut-case.

But the truth was, Kenny didn’t kill.

Kenny Richards was on death row, to be killed by electrocution.

…continued

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