Chapter 2 Armed and Dangerous

Chapter 2

I could hear the emergency sirens for only a few more minutes before the enemy subsequently shut them down.  No one had foreseen this attack, and there were no reinforcements were on the horizon.  How did this happen?  Was it my fault?  How did Private Ruiz, or anyone else for that matter, not see the signs before me?  There were too many questions and now was not the time to pass blame on anyone.  I was in hostile territory and the longer it took me to reach my destination, the more likely that my fellow Marines would suffer, or worse…. possibly die.  I needed to keep myself hidden from enemy eyes if I was going to succeed.  After crawling on my belly for nearly a mile and a half, I decided it was finally safe for me to stand up.  The surrounding savanna was a disaster.  Dead or dying animals littered the grassy expanse.  Various birds of prey were already gorging themselves on the spoils of our scourge.  It was then that I saw the true horror of it all.  Many of the fallen animals had been skinned or worse.  A majestic white rhino appeared to have been plundered solely for its horn.  Several zebras were skinned of their striped hides. It was all so terrible and my stomach turned at the sheer horror of it all.  As disgusted as I was feeling, I continued on with my quest moving closer and closer to my intended destination.  Within minutes, I began to see the outline of the communication tower's antenna as it started to poke up on the nearby horizon. 

It was then that I saw him out of the corner of my ear.  He was a dirty and unkempt visage of a man sporting a rather unruly mustache and goatee. He wore a spotted, sleeveless cheetah vest, a broad-rimmed, yellow safari hat and was carrying a machete in his right hand with a longbow slung over his left shoulder.  I actually felt like I smelled him before I saw him.  He was bent over the body of what appeared to be a cheetah and was stuffing two cheetah cubs into a brown gunny sack.  At his side was a rather large and brutish looking warthog with a nose ring, tattoo and pierced ear. 

I was almost immediately enraged and found myself yelling in his direction. "Hey! Get away from those animals!"  It took a moment for him to look up from the task at hand to acknowledge me. 

“And who are you that’s gonna be makin me,” he snarled in reply.  

"I’m a Marine and you, are in violation of more than a few international wildlife conservation laws!"  

What was I doing?  I needed to get to the communications tower and radio for help, but I couldn’t ignore this terrible poacher.  

“Laws? Bahhh! Alright mate, I reckon you’re looking to start a fight with old Gnawgahyde then?”   

I reached for my handgun as quickly as possible.  Imagine my dismay when I could not locate it. Much to my chagrin, it must have slipped out of its holster during my mile-long crawl. I was mortified, and I had no time to waste, as the despicable man came upon me slashing fiercely and wildly with his machete.  It was a good thing that I had actually studied some Jiu-Jitsu in my early teens, as it would not be uncommon for someone to lose their head or hands to this type of weapon. I quickly tore off my rucksack and created a shield between the two of us.  As his machete dipped down to the ground past my pack, I released my right hand and clocked the poacher in the jaw as hard as I could.  The blow stunned him long enough for me to then kick the machete out of his hands.

“Oh, the wee lad has got him some spunk eh? I like that in me opponents!” he teased through gnarled teeth.  

"I’ve got a little more than some spunk!"  With that response, I turned around and unloaded a combination of left and right roundhouse punches followed up with two fast uppercuts.  He began to fall backward and before he hit the ground, he sharply whistled. As I attempted to move in closer to apprehend him, I had only a split second to respond to the three hundred pound warthog that was now barreling towards me. 

“Go on an git him, ehhh Bacon!” he commanded as he clumsily staggered into the taller grass.  I quickly grabbed my bowie knife to stab at the enraged beast and narrowly missed losing part of my arm as it clambered past me.  

The creature turned on its heels and made a final attempt at bowling me over when my knife connected solidly with its thick hide.  It squealed in pain and I noticed a crimson trail of blood as it promptly ran off in the direction its owner had staggered.  I took a deep breath, steadied myself and surveyed the area looking for any signs of movement in the tall grass, any indication that the horrible killer was still about,  but I could find no sign of Gnawgahyde or his plus-sized pork chop. 

Well, that’s something that doesn’t happen every day.  How many people can say they survived an attack by a wild boar and a deranged poacher wielding a machete?  I walked cautiously off in the original direction that I had first taken notice of him. I wanted... no, I needed to check in the bag he had clearly dropped prior to our altercation.

As I got closer to the area my brain began to process the scene. In the grass lay the mother cheetah, clearly she had died as a result of a well-placed arrow and some menacing bite marks.  No doubt a result of that overgrown ham sandwich.  I felt terrible.  How could anyone do this to such a beautiful and majestic animal?  Then I saw the rucksack.  It was oddly still.  I felt a pit deep in my stomach as I forced myself to open it and peer inside.  Part of me really didn’t want to, as I was expecting the worse for the cheetah cubs that had been tossed inside not so long ago.  I repositioned the bag on the ground and slowly pulled back the edges.  One cub didn’t move at all despite my prodding, but the second one was clearly alive and well.  As I gestured to pick him up, he growled and attempted to bite me.  

"Well, aren’t you just a dangerous little kitty?"  I teased him a bit as I held out my hand a bit closer.  He sniffed it, pawed at me, and finally allowed me to pick him up.  "O.K., little buddy.  What shall we do with you?  I can’t very well leave you here.  Sadly, your mommy is not coming back, and your brother or sister is...well... gone."

 I fought hard to hold back the tears in my eyes.  I felt angered and pained by both the mother’s murder and the orphaned cubs.  "

So. . . I guess you’re coming with me."

I scooped up my fallen knapsack and made some room for him inside by removing my shovel and some other non-essential items.  I offered the cub some of my dried officer rations which he reluctantly ate. I then proceeded to dig a hole in order to bury his mom and sibling.  No one’s coming back to steal their hides! This much I can ensure.  I said a few words imploring upon the higher power to grant them eternal life and peace. Oddly enough, I felt myself attempting to channel their spirit energy as I had witnessed Hidalgo doing on more than one occasion.  It was, in a way, very calming as it helped to quell the anger the poacher had instilled in me.

"So..What am I going to call you?"

 The little cub had clearly put on a spirited display.  Proving that one day he or she would be a formidable foe.  "How about Dangerous?"  The cheetah cub cocked its head to one side and purred at the name.  "Alright then, Dangerous is it!  And together people can call us Armed and Dangerous.  I like it!  It’s got a good ring to it and I feel it definitely suits us."  I then scooped up my backpack, cheetah inside, and headed back in the direction of the radio antenna.

I made quick work of the remaining two miles to the communication station.  But when I finally did get there, things only got worse.  Apparently, Cobra or Gnawgahyde had gotten there before me.  The place had been trashed.  It would easily take me several hours to put together anything that would even remotely resemble a communicator, and there was no guarantee that it would even work.

“Hey! Hold it right there soldier.  Name, rank and serial number!” I turned in the direction from which the order was given regarding a fellow Marine. However, he was not one I recognized.  I quickly saluted and responded. "Private First Class Kordos 131 446 23334 United States Marine Corps Sir!"

  “At ease soldier! The name’s Mainframe and I’m with the G.I.Joe team, but first and foremost I’m a Marine. OoRah!”   

"OoRah!" I quickly responded to his proclamation, but I couldn’t believe it.  A member of the G.I.Joe elite force was actually here in my midst? And he was a Marine? There was no way he could possibly turn down helping me to rescue the rest of my platoon.

“How much do you know about comms soldier?”  I mulled it over for a bit.  Computers and radio waves really weren’t my thing.  The closest experience I had to splice together a radio system was installing a car stereo.  As a teenager with more than one old car, I had had quite a bit of experience there. So.. How hard could it really be?  Black to black, red to red, check for power and ground, etc.

I cleared my mind, refocused, and responded shortly afterward.  "Not much, but I’m a quick study, sir!"

“Stop calling me sir!  We’re on the same team.  I need you to trace back those wires in that wall and try to splice together as many as possible.  I also need to verify that we still have power.”   

I did as I was asked.  Surprisingly, I was able to find some unused butt end connectors and electrical tape amongst the debris.  From there I got to splicing and taping.  I left my backpack on not wanting to draw any attention to my furry, new friend inside.  And he seemed calm and quiet as long as he could feel my warm body under and against him. 

“So do you have a handle?” Mainframe asked.  

"A what?"

  “A moniker? A code name soldier?  Doesn’t the Marine Corps do that anymore?”  

"I think that’s more of an Air Force thing Mainframe."

“Nonsense, you need a code name pronto!”   

My mind immediately turned to the cheetah in my backpack and the conversation we had had just a little while ago. 

"Fine! I go by Armed."

“Armed? That’s a strange code name soldier.” 

"And Dangerous," as I slipped off and unzipped my backpack to expose the baby cheetah inside.  

“That’s’ an interesting companion you have there but OK…... Armed and Dangerous it is. So tell me, soldier, what did you see out there?”

I thought back to my morning and recounted to seeing the plumes of dark smoke on the horizon.  I guess you can say it’s been a crazy sort of day.  

“Welcome to combat. Things can get really crazy, pretty fast out there.” 

"Agreed. Well, it started off with what looked like a wildfire and a stampede of animals.  I remember sounding the alarm as a precaution.  Then the soldiers in blue appeared riding ATVs.  A short while later, the blue A-10s appeared overhead and started dropping bombs on us."

“Wait; did you say soldiers in blue?”  

"Yeah, and their faces were covered by black scarves or bandanas.  They also had some really weird weapons.  My brothers at arms were able to stave off the initial wave, but once the incendiaries started exploding, everything went to pot.  My teammate Hollow Point was picking some of them off with his sniper rifle before my tower came crashing down.  I initially panicked, but when we saw the enemy storming the gates, my CO said I needed to get away and find reinforcements. So, I crept through the tall savanna grass for the first mile or so.  That’s where I found the dismembered animals and ran into the poacher.  He called himself, gnaw and hide."

  “Do you mean Gnawgahyde? Grungy and smelly looking guy with a giant hog as a pet?” 

"Yeah, that’s him."

“Interesting, so Cobra is definitely in the area.  I wonder if the presence of Gnawgahyde means Zartan and the Dreadnoks are nearby as well, or if it’s just a coincidence.”  

"Whoa! Slow down. Cobra?  Dreadnoks?  How is it that I am a Marine and have never heard of either of these factions?"

  “Well, that’s just it.  Usually, Cobra and the Dreadnoks operate more covertly.  Cobra is known to have a localized presence in Europe and the Dreadnoks have been more of an Australian faction. The fact that they are operating so openly means that Cobra Commander is stepping up his game.  We seriously need to get these comms working so I can report back to Duke, General Hawk and the rest of the team.” 

With that, we resumed our cutting and splicing, but only after we had secured the entrance from unwanted visitors.  It was a slow go at first, but in about an hour we had a functioning radio. The question now was: Would anyone hear us?

“Armistice 22, Armistice 22.  Does anyone read me?”  Nothing. Just radio static.  Mainframe began to sift through the available bandwidths, but they all picked up nothing.  “We need to check the wiring to the antenna.” Mainframe instructed as he continued to switch through the available channels.  I began to follow the antenna wire up through the wall as it disappeared into a conduction tube.  
"I don’t see anything out of the ordinary inside Mainframe.  It’s quite possible the link is severed topside.  One of us needs to go up on the roof to check it out.  It should probably be me since I don’t know the proper radio code."
 “Yeah, and I’m really not that much of a fighter if we encounter hostiles.” I nodded in agreement. As I un-barricaded the entrance, I remembered another experience from my childhood. 

I was roughly sixteen years old when my friend Keith and I decided to go and investigate an abandoned factory.   It was really cool.  Outside there was a small fenced-in area topped with barbed-wire that housed an old railroad oil tanker car.  The rusted, old tanker car’s paint was still mostly black and loomed menacingly at us from just behind the fence.  We decided that we wanted to take a closer look.  So we used the knowledge we had gained from watching television to clear the barbed wire and get safely to the other side.  It was kind of simple.  All we did was throw our denim jackets over the barbed-wire and then up and over we went.  We thought we were so cool, even though the whole time we kept watching for police cars.  We definitely didn’t want to get charged with trespassing.  There were signs all over the fence saying: Do Not Enter, No trespassing, Area Under Surveillance.  We simply laughed it off.  We knew the security cameras hadn’t worked in years. It was evidenced by the one on the building wall that had been knocked off and only hanging on by a wire. We climbed up on the tank car using the wrought iron ladders and balanced on the catwalks.  We felt like we were on top of the world.

 Shortly after, we rescaled the fence, cleared the barbed wire a second time, and retrieved our coats.  What an adrenaline rush it was! It was too bad cell phone cameras didn’t exist at the time, because it would have made for some awesome selfies.

  Then we ventured inside the abandoned factory by way of a partially open side door.  It was so eerie and quiet.  I swear we thought we saw ghosts in there.  It was so weird.  It was like time had literally stopped. It reminded us of the story of Chernobyl in Russia where houses were left with full course dinners still set on the tables. Everything that had been used by the employees was still in there: desks, phones, file folders, even a functional forklift in the loading bay.  The electricity still worked even though most of the lighting had been damaged and many of the bulbs shattered. There was even an old clock radio that could be seen still flashing 12 o ‘clock over and over again.  We explored every room of that abandoned factory looking for things we could possibly pawn, and we went there several more times after that in the future.  Not realizing that every time we could very easily have been walking into a trap containing dangerous vagrants or possibly rabid and wild animals.  Hell! We didn’t care.  We were sixteen and invincible!

I called upon some of that innate sixteen-year-old adrenaline now to force myself outside the communication tower.  I immediately scanned the horizon for hostiles.  It seemed clear and I began the scale the outside ladder to the top.  I was nearing the roof when I heard then spotted the blades of a helicopter off on the horizon.  I immediately looked for a place to conceal myself not knowing if it was friendly or hostile.  Too late! The helicopter seemed to turn almost immediately and headed in my direction. Damn! I needed to get to the top and check the antenna connection.  I had to move fast otherwise the chopper would have enough time to circle back here and possibly wipe me out.  I could hear the chopper blades beginning to get louder in the distance.  I finally made it to the flat roof and I could then clearly see the problem.  The wire connection had been clearly severed from the base of the antenna.  I pulled out my knife in order to pull up the fasteners holding down the remains of the antenna wire in order to reattach it.

  The perspiration began beading up on my brow as the mystery chopper continued getting closer.  The first few fasteners came up easily and allowed me to gain some much needed slack.  My hands shook as I frantically tried to reconnect the wire; the whole time I could hear the inbound chopper.  Too late!  The smattering of bullets off the tin roof was my first warning that the chopper indeed was not friendly.  Luckily, I wasn’t hit.  The chopper cut a wide left and would take a couple more minutes to make the full turn and return to shower me in another round of bullets.  I moved even faster and was able to pull the wire the extra foot needed to reach the base of the antenna.  I just managed to attach the wire as the second volley of bullets rained down upon me.

I quickly rolled back towards the direction of the roof ledge and threw myself over.  I caught the railing of the ladder halfway down and saved myself from the complete devastation of the fall.  I could feel that my left shoulder was quite possibly out of its socket, but I needed to get back inside and let Mainframe know to send the distress call again.  I gritted my teeth, descended the last several feet to the ground, and cleared the doorway just as the third round of bullets pelleted the side of the building.               "Mainframe!  Try the call again!  We’ve got company."
“I’m on it!  Armistice 22!  Does anyone read me?”  
“Armistice 22 this is Crow’s Nest 13, what’s your 20?”  
“I’m stationed at Lat: 1°16′59″ S Long: 36°49′00″ E and we’ve got Cobra hostiles.  I repeat we’ve got incoming Cobra hostiles!”  
“Armistice 22, we are sending reinforcements as you speak.  LT is inbound with a Tomahawk ready for extraction and to lay down cover fire.  Hold tight! Over.”  
"How long before they get here?"
 “Listen for the sound of heavy thunder and you’ll know the answer.  In the meantime, I found us some rifles with ammunition to take care of that pesky Cobra F.A.N.G.”  
I quickly reached for the rifle from Mainframe’s extended hand and we secured the door.  Mainframe suggested we slide out the bottom floor window and avoid the front door completely as soon as we heard the incoming blades of the Tomahawk. 

The fourth volley of bullets peppered the outside of the building and we hid firmly behind a sturdy desk and file cabinet.  Then we heard it.  A definite Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! The much anticipated and welcome sound of the approaching Tomahawk’s blades was accompanied by the sounds of machine gun fire.  We slide out the back window just in time to see a trail of thick, black smoke billowing out of the Cobra F.A.N.G. as it began tail spinning to the ground under a barrage of G.I.Joe bullets.  The pilot promptly ejected and pulled the chord on his parachute. We watched as he defiantly continued firing upon our rescue ride with his handgun during his descent.  Our victory seemed short-lived as we heard the sounds of new cannon fire from close by. 

The Tomahawk threw us down a rope ladder and Mainframe and I were quick to grab on.  The winch carried us upwards into the safety of the chopper, but for a few moments, I still feared for my life as the enemy’s artillery began to roll in closer around us.  There were odd looking black tanks and a couple of smaller blue six-wheeled vehicles that resembled miniature dual Scud missile launchers.  Luckily, those vehicles did not have enough time to lock onto our position and fire.  The Tomahawk was out of the area almost as quickly as it appeared, and several F-14 Tomcats streaked past us, lighting up the enemy ground troops below.   The sounds of enemy shots turned into screams of agony as more than one of the modified surface to air missiles scored direct hits.  The skirmish was over as quickly as it started as Mainframe and I was being whisked away from the battle.

I was greeted with the thumbs up sign from the helicopter’s pilot, Lift Ticket. There were also two other crew members who had helped me into the chopper.  One was wearing camouflage fatigues, a green shirt, and a green ski mask.  The other wore a bright red and white suit and resembled more of a medic than a soldier. It was extremely loud on board, but I knew I needed to strap myself in and hold on.  The flight back took us over the savanna and into a more remote almost desert area where we began to descend.  I peered out the side of the Tomahawk expecting to see a landing pad but saw none.  As we continued our descent, the ground below began to move as a platform rose up from the sand and a large hatch opened.  This provided the helicopter with a secret place to touch down.   
Upon landing, we exited the chopper as the dual blades slowed to a gradual halt.  Mainframe led me with the other crew members to a side door.  Upon walking through, I was frisked, my gear was immediately taken from me, and the soldier with the green face mask leveled his gun at me. 

“Sorry soldier got to follow protocol!” the soldier in green barked at me.  
“At ease Beach Head, he’s a friend!  If it wasn’t for his valor and determination, I might not have been able to even contact you,” came Mainframe’s defense.  
“We can’t always be so sure! What outfit are you with soldier and be quick about it!”  
"The Marine Corps Sir!" But as I began to rattle off my name, rank and serial number he waved me off."
“At ease Private First Class.  Why didn’t you say he was a fellow brother in blue?”  Mainframe could only shrug as Beach Head lowered his weapon.  They handed me back my equipment and I immediately checked on the safety of Dangerous.  The cheetah cub was still happily curled up inside my backpack showing little signs of distress.

I was relieved and as we began walking, they started to ask me about how I had come to assist Mainframe. It was then that I remembered my original mission.  I needed G.I.Joe to come back with me to save Hidalgo, Hollow Point and the rest of my unit.  As I began to recount the details of the attack, I could already see the wheels of a plan beginning to develop on the faces of my new found friends and allies.  I felt confident that the Joes would not hesitate in helping me to save my friends.

Chapter 1 Armed and Dangerous "A G.I.Joe Origins Story"

Chapter 1

          Ever since I was a little kid, I have had an affinity towards wild animals, exploring exotic places, and oddly enough, the military.  My dad and mom were strongly against the idea of me ever joining the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, or any branch of the military.  I, however, was not going to allow that to keep me from my dream of one day being part of the elite team referred to as, Real American Heroes.

 It had all started roughly fifteen years ago with my first set of green, plastic, army men and a bag of colorful safari animals.  I grew up in a small suburb of New York City known as Elmwood Park, New Jersey. My parents had a cute little colonial cape with a huge backyard. I would play for hours in that backyard against both seen and unseen foes.  My imagination was ever running wild as I concocted new and exciting adventures that somehow always seemed to incorporate larger than life animals with anthropomorphic characteristics.  These animal companions could not only communicate with their teammates but at the same time, lay out strategic plans which they would later carry out.  This involved several missions. There was one where a lion led a successful ambush against the bad guys and another where a giraffe had led a rescue mission for imprisoned POWs. I knew in my mind that these things weren’t real, but I always hoped that these things would someday change.

          On the morning of my tenth birthday, my grandfather visited with a unique gift in tow.  “Son,” he always called me that. “I brought you some interesting new friends from up country.”  

     What could he possibly be referring to?  He carried with him an empty plastic milk gallon with part of the top cut off that appeared to have some grass and water in it.  He handed it to me with a big smile on his face.  “I had to wrestle these away from some of the local kids up at the lake house,” he said proudly.  I peered inside to find three, no wait…. five new friends in the form of orange-colored newts all with red spots running down their backs.  Cool! I exclaimed.  These are awesome! I gave him a big hug. And so began my obsession with exotic pets. 

I trained those little amphibians to not only respond to their unique names but also to eat from my hands.  I saw in them a curiosity and intellect I didn’t think a little salamander could have.  They had the ability to learn, remember and communicate not only with each other but with me as well.  I knew when they were hungry, sick or just wanted to be left alone.

          Over the next few years, many other creatures joined my pet sanctuary.  I had catfish, toads, an opossum, a rabbit, a snapping turtle and even a cat or two.  I know compared to the rest, the cats seemed pretty ordinary.  Each one of my pets had its own unique personality and varying IQs.  While I learned from my new found friends, I continued to dream of the day that I would finally be eighteen and able to run away and join some branch of the military. 

By the time I was sixteen, I had started to hear rumors of a newly formed super-secret branch of the military.  One, that only the best of the best could be a part of.  I didn’t yet know all of their requirements to join, but I knew that that is where I wanted to be.  So when I turned eighteen, amongst the falling tears of my mom, I left home and joined the Marines.  It was the early 1990’s and U.S. military forces were being sent off to Iraq for Operation Desert Storm.  I had started my basic training nearly three weeks into the war.  My parents were terrified that the war would be long fought and that I would soon be deployed.  I, on the other hand, was hoping for the latter. I wanted to be a part of it!  I knew in my heart of hearts that if I could just get out there on the battlefield, that I could do spectacular things.  This would be my in.  This is how I was going to become part of that elite military team known only as G.I.Joe.

          Unfortunately, basic training wasn’t exactly easy for me.  I had to work really hard every day to get into the best physical and psychological shape.  The early morning run was a bit more than what I had grown accustomed to running on the high school track team, but I never wavered.  I conditioned myself and over the next couple of weeks, I began to excel.  The obstacle course soon presented little challenge for me and I was also becoming quite a marksman.  I was interested in learning how to accurately shoot every firearm the corps had available. The area where I felt I was lacking, however, was human interaction.

 I didn’t care much for my fellow recruits and spoke with them very little.  I spoke even less with my superior officers, preferring to let my actions do the talking.  Surprisingly though, they did take notice of me.  I made it hard for them not to. During the first eight weeks I spent in basic training, I slowly clawed my way to the top of my class, but I sorely missed my animal companions back home.  My parents had promised to take care of my cats and fish.  Many of my other pets from my childhood had long since passed on, but I never forgot the spark of intelligence I had seen in their eyes. 

          I began to look for animals in and around the base.  There really weren’t many to be found.  The sounds of daily target practice and PT did much to keep them away, but still, I yearned to find new friends.  As the thirteen weeks of boot camp flew by, so did Operation Desert Storm.  It was over almost as quickly as it had begun. Kuwait was liberated and the U.S and other European superpowers began to enforce sanctions upon the Iraqi government.  My opportunity to get right into the heat of battle was lost; my mother's wish had come true. 

          Upon graduation, I was deployed to a United States Marine outpost on the coast of Kenya. The region was peaceful, so our presence there was a peaceful policing. Talk about a dream come true.  I was not only one of the few and the proud, but I was also stationed in one of the world’s well-known centers for biodiversity.  Around the outpost, I could regularly see wildebeest, lions, hyenas and the occasional giraffe or elephant.  It was here that I finally made a friend.  His name was Max Cory, but he insisted I call him Hollow Point.  He was a country boy from Quitman, Arkansas and one hell of a crack shot.  The Marine Corps had almost immediately taken notice of his marksmanship and began training him as a sniper.  He could easily shoot the flies off the back of an elephant at sixty yards on a breezy day.  He was a lot like me in that he didn’t talk much, but when he did, it was about his parent’s farm back home and the animals he had come to know as friends.

          We began to share stories of the strangest animals we had had as pets growing up.  He was intrigued by the fact that I had been able to own and train as many reptiles as I had.  I also shared with him my obsession with automotive repair.  I recapped for him how in order to stem some of the boredom of high school; my father would take me to work with him at a service station on weekends and over the summer.  It was a great experience. I was willing to learn whatever anyone would show me.  At the early age of twelve, I already knew how to set up a car on a lift, change the oil, remove, replace and balance tires, and replace air filters and spark plugs.  By the time I was thirteen, I was pumping gas and had learned to check and change just about every fluid in a car.  Max would share with me how he had driven his dad’s tractor at the age of ten to till the fields. It wasn’t quite the same, but we had each been granted permission by our fathers to do some things earlier than most of the other kids our age had done.  Hell! I was moving cars around the parking lot when I was fourteen and could drive a manual transmission shortly after.

          It seemed like such a long time ago.  I was nineteen now and had spent a full year in the corps without seeing any military action.  It was a little disappointing, but every time I wrote home and received a reply letter; I could sense my mother’s relief.  She was happy that her oldest son was still alive and well and she was still holding on to hope that I would give up my ridiculous dream of becoming a military hero and eventually come back home. She wanted more from me.  She felt I deserved a safer existence; that I should be going to college and getting some sort of degree.  I just couldn’t imagine that at this point in my life.  I was holding onto my dream of being part of G.I.Joe.  I just didn’t know how I was going to make the cut. 

Max wanted pretty much the same thing, but at least he was becoming a sniper.  I was spending most of my time on daily watch duty.  I was stationed in the north tower from sun up till dinner every day.  My lunch was brought to me every day at 1230 hours and around 1700 hours my shift would end.  My evening consisted of two hours of intense lifting and cardio.  I would then eat a light dinner in the mess tent and retire to my barracks for some light reading or banter with my roomy and friend, Max.

We shared our room with one other individual, who went by the name of Hidalgo.  He was a Mexican-American with some ties to the Hopi out west.  He really didn’t talk much and usually spent his nights on what he called a Vision Quest.  He basically just burned a lot of incense and meditated.  Max and I didn’t care, we respected his beliefs.  In some ways, I found it fascinating.  These vision quests were an attempt for him to connect to the essence of his ancestors and totem animals, as a way to gain their strength, guidance, and a direction in life.  A little creepy if you asked me, but who am I to talk?  I spent half of my life talking to exotic pets and believing that they could understand me.

          Most days were uneventful.  Not that that is necessarily a bad thing.  It was the beginning of my shift on a warm, dry Wednesday in April; when I started to see plumes of smoke rising on the shoreline.  When the ground suddenly shook violently, I immediately sounded the alarm, not really sure what the threat was.  On the horizon, I began to see and hear a stampede of wildebeests.  More disturbing were the zebras and gazelle intermingled with them.  I was almost expecting to see a pride of lions rounding the animals up, but what I saw next could not have been predicted.  And that battle cry... “COBRAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!” is something I had never heard before and that would be forever etched in my mind. 

          The troops were all clad in navy blue fatigues with black facemasks. They were riding ATVs behind the approaching herd.  Using what appeared to be electric whips and laser pistols as if they were attempting to herd the animals towards the river.  Then I heard the bullets begin to erupt from my own brothers at arms.  I could see the silvery glare reflecting off of Hollow Point’s rifle in the western tower.  He had easily sniped two of the blue soldiers from atop their quads.  I could see him lining up his sights for a third but then……. the air overhead became filled with blue fighter jets resembling  A-10 Thunderbolts.  They streaked over the base depositing a line of firebombs in their wake.  I could hear the timbers at the bottom of my tower snapping as the incendiary devices ripped through the support posts.  I tried to quickly scramble for lower ground and cover in the hopes of not being burned or buried alive. 

There were fires and destruction at every turn and soon enough the foreign troops had forced their way inside.  I was dazed and my ears were ringing due to the loud noise of the exploding bombs. A firefight had ensued and I my commanding officer tackled me as the faint sound of bullets ricocheted off the debris where I had previously stood. He pulled me in close and yelled in my ear.  

"Go find reinforcements, I'll cover you."  I looked at him in utter disbelief.  I was a Marine.  We didn't run from a fight.  He slapped me hard across the face.

"Go!" He leveled his gun and took out two soldiers in blue as they attempted to overtake us, and I did as I was told. I crept through the rubble of the shattered back wall and made my way into the cover of the Kenyan savanna.  My CO was right. Someone had to survive.  Someone had to tell the U.S. about this new threat.  As I slipped away into obscurity I could hear the invaders calling for the surrender of my fellow Marines. I resisted the urge to turn and fight. I didn’t know whether Hidalgo and Hollow Point were KIA, POWs, or if they had escaped like me.  I honestly could not dwell upon that right now. I needed to stay focused on the task at hand. I made my way north, knowing full well that a communications outpost was located roughly five miles from base camp. There I could radio for help.  There I could find the reinforcements needed to rescue my brothers.  

What's an author to do?

     So, by now I'm sure most people are aware that Amazon shut down the KindleWorlds website. With the termination of this service, countless literary works based in the various worlds offered, have been permanently lost to the online community of readers.  The rights have been reverted back to the original authors, but since most of what was contained here is technically fan-fiction, authors cannot publish these works without the written consent of the property license owners.  So, what to do?
     I am no longer allowed to sell my G.I.Joe titles to the public, but I can post them in forums, chat groups, or on my own personal web page for free. I could post a chapter a week or a day until the entire books are out. The other option is, I can wait and see if anyone else extends the literary rights for the property to authors, which I really don't see happening any time soon.  My final option is to let them go, and turn all my creative energy towards sci-fi and fantasy writing.
    What would you all like to see me do?
Cheers!

Drakov

New Home Official

     Well, we are officially homeowners.  At the expense of canceling my trip to the last official GIJOE convention happening this weekend, I am happy to say that our new home is awesome!  The closing was a little hectic but completed. Double moving went off well and most of our items are already unpacked and I am close to getting ready to unpack and decorate my new GIJOE/collectibles room.  In addition, I have a full basement for my HO scale trains and an official sound booth in the works for my VO recordings. 
Life is great!

Drakov

G.I.Joe International Convention Goes Live Tomorrow in Chattanooga, TN

Well, fellow Yo Joers!
   The final International G.I.Joe convention kicks off tomorrow and although I will not be there in body, I will be there in spirit and through text messages and youtube videos.
I had really hoped that dates could have fallen differently, but in reality, I am ending up with a really awesome New Home!  And a place to display my Joe and Cobra collections.
     What I will not be able to do is appear at the final Kindle worlds panel with Don, Wes, and the others.  So I am going to do one final plug of my two-part G.I.Joe series featuring Armed and Dangerous and the Headhunters.  So if you are looking for a good read over the weekend or on your four or more hour flight, please check them out here:

Armed and Dangerous Book 1

Enter the Headhunters

Cheers!

Drakov

Crunch time is fast approaching

     So, I have been crazy busy preparing for the closings and packing for our move.  Our hope is that the closing on the new home will take place in the morning so we can be in our new home on the actual day. To date, we have packed  over100 boxes of various sizes (who knew we had so much stuff jammed into our tiny condo?).  I've contacted cable to schedule our move and next on the list is PSE&G and Verizon.  The stress has been immense and I am totally looking forward to being able to pull into the driveway of our new home, take a shower and enjoy a relaxing night with the wife. 
     Let the countdown begin. T-minus 10 days.
Cheers!

Drakov

Armed and Dangerous Series

Hello all,
     It has been a week since the release of book two, "Enter the Headhunters," and initial sales have been good.  Thank you to everyone who has supported the series, and welcomes to everyone who recently discovered it, and bought both books. 
     I was hoping to initiate a little conversation, and get some opinions from those of you who have read either book.  NO SPOILERS PLEASE! for others who may not have finished both books yet.  Here's what I am hoping to get:

• I really like the character of "insert name here."
• The topic covered really hit home.
• This made me laugh.
• I was really hoping for this...
• Ideas for book three.

As always thanks for your continued support and I hope to hear from all of soon.

Yo Joe!

Cheers!

Drakov

Available Today "Enter the Headhunters."

OK Everyone,
     Today is the day!!!  And I am very excited.  Even if only for a short time, as KindleWorlds will be shutting down at the end of August, I felt the obligation and desire to get this out to my audience.  I needed to share this story and it covers a topic of great importance in society today, the opioid epidemic.  I hope you all enjoy it and if you purchase it, it will continue to exist in your ebook library long after KW ceases to exist.

Cheers!

Drakov

Book 2: Enter the Headhunters

Well This is Disappointing

     So here is the news.  Amazon Kindle Worlds is coming to an abrupt ending.  As a result, any and all G.I.Joe fanfiction will no longer be available for purchase after August 29th, and will cease to exist.  The final day for submission of works is today May 16th, as of tomorrow, no new submission will be accepted. 
     I have uploaded book two, Enter the Headhunters, with the slim possibility that it may actually be published, if only for the next three months.  I am truly distraught by this unforeseen turn of events, and will be turning to traditional publishing avenues after today.
     I will include any updates as they become available, and I hope to have a link to book 2 to share here.  If not, I will be uploading chapters to my blog over the next several weeks so that my fans can enjoy what I have envisioned.

Thank you to all who have supported me.

Cheers!
Drakov

Enter the Headhunters

Hello All,
     I have been working diligently to complete my third proofread of "Enter the Headhunters."  I am trying to be as thorough as possible, but a combination of being a PARCC test proctor, and more importantly, my dad being admitted to the ER for heart problems, has set me back a little.  I am currently about 25% through my final edits and have already written the book synopsis.
Please just bear with me.
Thank you everyone who has reached out to me with well wishes.  They are greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Drakov

Book Two: Enter the Headhunters Update

     Alright everyone.  Editing is done.  I just want to read through this WIP one more time before hitting submit on KindleWorlds.  This has been a labor of love for me, and I hope everyone enjoys it!  Looks like May 1st, will be the day.

Cheers!
Drakov

G.I.Joe Convention Chattanooga June 2018

     Well, it appears that some of the forces that be are working with me and others are against me.  In our quest to find a new forever home, I am happy to say (fingers crossed) that my wife and I will be closing on our new home in mid June.  And as happy as I am about this, it has thus prevented me from attending the Final JoeCon in Chattanooga.  With the closing date hovering between June 14th and the 21st there is no way that I can do both.  So, as much as I would like to see all my friends, hang out and talk Joe, buy convention exclusives and the like, there is no way that I can do both.  As a result, yesterday with a heavy heart, I cancelled my flight, hotel reservation, and switched my convention set to "Home Front Hero" status.  I am hopeful that some of my friends will be able to hook me up with the exclusives, but I am not holding my breath.
    Hope everyone has a great time!

Cheers

Drakov

Book Two Update (delayed again)

Hello everyone,
    I would like to apologize for:
 1. My lack of blog posts and
 2. Not releasing my second book at the promised time.

     As we all know, life has a unique way of rearing its ugly head and getting in the way of the best laid plans.  An issue with my current living situation, has caused the wife and I to go in search of a new home with greener pastures.  As a result of this and a tight timeline, my writing time has been greatly reduced.  It is also crunch time so to speak at the school with April Benchmarks, end of the 3rd marking period, and the end of the school year fast approaching. 
    Believe me, I know it's no excuse and have been doing what I can in terms of editing when time permits, like during jury duty two weeks ago. (Almost wish I had to go back on the second day)  My new G.I.Joe book is currently going by the title "Enter the Headhunters" and will feature several well-known as well as some obscure Joe and Cobra characters.  Expect cameos by Ghost Bear, HeartWrencher, Wraith, Tracker and Law and Order to name a few.  There will be returning favorites and continuing story lines started in my first title, "Armed and Dangerous." (Kindleworlds 2017)
    Current word count is  up around 77,640 and counting; with close to 400 pages of  action packed scenarios.  Current editing has me around page 282 with over a hundred pages to go.  Work has been slow, but ultimately, I want to provide my fans with a much deeper novel than the first installment in the series.  "Enter the Headhunters" will feature more mature themes. Expect a darker story with more realism.  Expect some of the quirkiness of the Sunbow characters, but more importantly expect a story that will leave you wanting to read more.

Thanks for reading, and hopefully I will see some of you in Chattanooga for JoeCon 2018.

Cheers!
Drakov

I Don't want To Grow Up I'm A Toys R Us Kid.

   

     Last week, Toys R Us announced that they would be closing or selling off all of their 800 stores located across the United States.  Toys R Us at least for me, has been a source of happiness and good memories over the past several decades.  It was the place that I would walk into on a day where I was not feeling completely happy, and come out in a much better mood.
     As a child of the 1980's, I would travel to the gigantic toy store with my family and spend what felt like hours staring at the enormous selection of action figures and games.  In their heyday, Toys R Us stores would have aisles dedicated to each major toy line.  Some of my all-time favorites to look at were G.I.Joe, Masters of the Universe, Sectaurs, Thundercats, Hot Wheels and anything Dungeons and Dragons.  I can still remember saving the five dollars my grandmother had given me to spend on my school class trip in order to buy Zartan and his Swamp Skier Chameleon.
     "What a great day it was to go home with the color-changing Master of Disguise."
       Although it wasn't a normal occurrence to come home with toys when I was a kid, the enjoyment of simply being able to look at all the possibilities was enough to fuel and fill my holiday and birthday wish lists.  Even the Toys R Us Wish Book that would come in the Sunday newspaper or the mail was awesome to peer over.
     When I was a teenager and old enough to drive, I would travel to my local Toys R Us stores almost weekly.  I had a well-paying part-time job and other than gas and food, my paycheck was mine to spend. My favorite place to look would be the clearance aisles.  I bought many items over the years which included almost all of the 15th-anniversary G.I.Joe figures and vehicles, a Mantua HO scale Super Bowl train set, and all the Dragonheart figures and monsters.  I amassed quite a collection of MOC figures, many of which I still own today.
     On other days, my good friends and I would simply go into the store to challenge each other to two-player games like Virtua Fighter.  One of my best memories is my friend Troy saying, "Do you know what KO stands for?"
    Me "No, what?"
    "Kicked Oss!"
     We still laugh about that to this day.
     At other times, we would go in and have Nerf wars, or ride bicycles around the store.  It was a more innocent time and salespeople were friendlier and much more accommodating.
     In my mid-twenties and even my early thirties, I would visit my local Toys R Us on Thursday mornings when the store was opening.  This was the day that new items would be on the shelves and if you wanted them you need to be the first person in the store.  I collected all five of the G.I.Joe five packs this way.  I was so happy when a 4 of 5 and 5 of 5 were sitting on the shelf for me to scoop up one Thursday over the summer.  I also bought all the new Thundercats figures this way.  The clearance aisle was still a place to check regularly, as rare gems would show up hidden among the things that apparently no one wanted.  I purchased a second Crimson Chopper with the twins Tomax and Xamot this way for a whopping $7.00.
     One of my last acquisitions in a Toys R Us store was the three-pack of Thundercats Dorbs.  At first, it appeared as if there were none available. Then as I was also searching for Destro and Flocked Beastman from the recent Comic-Con, behind some Minecraft packages I found them. Total score!
     Toys R Us has always provided me with a place to discover things I never knew existed like newer board games and even some of the more scientific lab kits and models.  There is truly no place left like it among all the brick and mortar stores.  I bought awesome games like Lord of the Rings Stratego, Dungeons and Dragons Clue, Star Wars Monopoly, Hero Quest and Battle Masters.
    During my life, I have experienced the demise of Lionel Kiddie City, ChildWorld, Kay B Toys and now I will see Toys R Us fall.  It is a sad day indeed.  I hope that I can make it into my local store one last time to take some pictures or videos for posterity.  Although not the same layout of the days of the 80s, there are still many gems hidden in the aisles of the store, and I fear that future generations of children will miss out on the memories and good times that this once great toy giant have provided for countless Toys R Us kids the world over.  Where else will children be able to find anything from Playmobile, to Lego, to boardgames, and the "Slip and Slide" all under one roof?

     "From bikes, to trains, to video games,
       It's the biggest toy store there is.
       I don't want to grow up, cuz baby if I did,
       I wouldn't be a Toys R Us kid!"

Reformat, Edit, Rewrite, Rip up, Repeat: The Life of an Author

     Anyone in the self-publishing market knows the importance of creating a worthwhile literary piece.  The process at times can seem daunting, as writing the first draft of your story is actually the easiest part.  When the story is coming together, it flows quite readily from your mind to the pages of your notebook, or onto your computer screen.  Days, even months go by and you continue to grow your tale.  the pages and chapters add up. Then, the day of reckoning arrives.  You write the last line of your story and a temporary relief washes over you, followed shortly by a wave of sheer terror.
     You have poured your heart, your mind and your soul into your new literary masterpiece.  Some of you have even given blood, sweat, tears, hair and lack of sleep to your worthy cause.  Was it all for naught?
    My advice to you is simple.  Once you have finished your book.  Walk away and read someone else's book.  Take some time away from your book, in order to distance yourself from it and create some unfamiliarity.  This might mean taking anywhere from a week, up to a couple of months away.  This is important so that when you read over your manuscript the next time it will be like you are looking at it from an outsider's perspective.
    We all want to believe that we are the masters of or literary universe, but in reality this is not always the case.  What we are masters of, is the process we choose to follow when writing, editing and eventually publishing our new book.  Not everyone can afford an author for a book which may only capture mere pennies on a dollar for you in overall sales.  Even if you can afford an editor, you don't want to send them an unorganized, slip shod writing mess and have that be the impression they get of you as an author.

    So, what do you do?

    You do what every author before you has done, and attempt to edit your work.  A good friend of mine and fellow author suggested the following practice.  Read the words you have written on your page aloud exactly as they are.  Make believe you are a voice actor reading for an audio book recording.  I guarantee that you will come across mistakes that you didn't notice on your first pass.  Maybe even record yourself, so you can listen back in your car on the way to work, or on your ear buds at the gym.  You'll be happy you did.

    Then get a scratchpad and get to editing.

     Look for the following things:

1.  Sentence Flow.  This will be determined by commas, periods and other punctuation.  "Never underestimate the power of a perfectly placed comma."

2. Subject-Verb Agreement.  Do your subjects match their verbs in terms of singularity or plurality?  This is a commonly overlooked writing error.  Not sure?  Google it.

3. Continuity.  Does your story follow a specific time line?  Does it flow effortlessly, or are you constantly jumping around?  These are other things you may notice.  Was the sun rising on the first page of the chapter? Only to set three pages later?  What happened in between?  Fill in the blanks for the reader, or rewrite the section to make more sense.

4.  Correct Tense. Does your story shift from one tense to another?  Most writers tend to write completely in the present, or the past tense. Others tend switch between the two.  Do you do this correctly?  It is important to keep your reader informed of what has happened, what is happening and what may or may not happen in the future.  Do you use flash backs? Inner dialogue? and Conversation?  These things need to be correctly denoted using quotation marks or italics.

5. Typos.  You may find a lot of these by reading what's on the page and not what you think you wrote.  This is why it is important to step away from your story, and return to it after some time has passed.  Is there a double word?  Did you write "to" instead of "the" or "in?"  So many times, the mind is in hyper drive when we are first writing that the fingers cannot keep up, resulting in typographical errors.

     Don't let the dread of editing, destroy the joy you experienced from drafting your new story.  The read aloud and listen back is an invaluable and inexpensive tool to catapult you into becoming a better author.
Good luck and happy writing!

Cheers!
Drakov

Special thank to @geekfurious

What on Earth TV series, My New Addiction

     So, I recently discovered this television series due to the fact that the Winter Olympics have crippled new showings of some of my regular viewings over the past two weeks. With nothing for my DVR to record, I was forced to explore channels and shows that I had not viewed before.  I discovered the "What on Earth" series on the Science Go channel.  They were running a half day marathon so to speak this past Sunday, and I recorded eight consecutive shows.

 
What on Earth



     The episodes are roughly an hour in length, and cover information gathered about four to six odd photographs captured by the 4000 satellites orbiting above the Earth.  Scientists and other special investigators use the odd images to determine their cause.  This leads the viewer to many unique and previously unheard of world locations.
    As a fictional writer, I have found some of the information presented to be worthy of story inclusion.  Just to divulge some topics:  evidence of previous villages removed from the Earth, unexplained animal convergences, strange colored bodies of water, signs of civilization in uninhabited regions of the world, and unknown wreckage found on land or underwater.  I absolutely love this type of X-files type show, but only this is real.
   I highly recommend the series for anyone looking for some obscure information on the unknown.
Follow the link to view some of the series.


Cheers!
Drakov

Strange Pairings 2018, Ash Wednesday, Valentine's, Easter and April Fools

    2018 is host to a couple a strange event pairings. The two I will discuss are a little controversial and morbidly entertaining at the same time. 
     For starters, Saint Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday are on the same day this year.  So a day that is commonly associated with chocolate, lavish dinners, and lustful acts is on the same day that Catholics are supposed to be fasting and preparing for Lent.  An odd pairing which has left many self-proclaimed Christians with a problem.
      The Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, addressed the issue and said that Ash Wednesday takes precedence and that Catholics should find other ways to show their love of God by committing selfless acts of charity, instead of fasting.  "Giving love to those who don't have it."  Others like the news have delivered the message that since it's only this year, that you can go back to your normal Valentine's traditions next year.  In all actuality, the last time this pairing occurred was 1945.  So I guess god-fearing people can adapt.

     On the flip side, horror fans have made a joke of the whole situation by posting gifs of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Ripping out their lover's hearts, and using images of Ash from the Evil Dead to celebrate "Ash" Wednesday.  The whole situation is amusing, to say the least.

     The other celebration that coincides with another holiday this year is Easter Sunday, the holiest day in the Catholic calendar, and April Fool's Day.  Talk about a strange pairing and an opportunity for tricksters and naysayers to mock an important religious holiday.  Get ready for people who would not normally wish you a "Happy Easter" doing just that, only to renege with an "April Fools" a moment later.

    Hardcore atheists will use the coincidence to mock the resurrection of Jesus Christ, proclaiming that "even the calendar knows it's a farce."  To add to the fun, parents and guardians can make other claims such as hiding Easter eggs for a back yard hunt. After their children search frantically for thirty minutes, they can then break it to them that it was all nothing but an April Fool's Day joke.  the same can be said of Christ's resurrection and the Easter Bunny.
    I can see some of these pranks getting a little out of hand.  Regardless, it is a pairing that hasn't happened since 1956 and won't happen again until 2029.  The following is a list of past and upcoming pairings:  1714, 1725, 1736, 1804, 1866, 1877, 1888, 1923, 1934, 1945, 1956, and will coincide again in 2018, 2029, 2040, 2108, 2170, 2181, 2192, 2238, 2249, 2260, 2306, 2317, 2328.  
     Just my thoughts.  What are yours?

Cheers!
Drakov

Top Five Reasons Why United Airlines Sucks

     I have been flying around the globe since I was a youngster.  I have been many places including London, Budapest, Jamaica, the Bahamas and at least twenty of the fifty continental United States and Hawaii.  Over the course of my travels, I have flown with anyone from Evergreen to Pan Am, Continental, Delta, United and Jet Blue.  I currently live in the tri-state area and commonly use Newark Liberty International for my flights, which just so happens to be United's hub. Over the past five years, I have been pretty much forced to fly United when I wish to travel, but in all honesty, "They Suck!"  and if you haven't flown United Airlines, I'm going to tell you why you shouldn't.

1. Schedule Changes: I am on top of vacation and business travel reservations.  Many times, I book my flight six months to a year in advance.  In the past five years, the representatives at United Airlines have changed my scheduled departure and arrival nine out of my last ten flights. To make it worse it's never earlier, and almost always later.  My most recent complaint affects my upcoming trip to Chattanooga in June.  I picked from one of only two flights offered in September.  I chose the evening flight (7p.m.) so I could arrive with enough time to make it to a trade show.  I received notice that my flight was rescheduled to two hours later just this week! Now, I will not be able to make it to my desired location at an acceptable time. Unreal!  Once they changed the entire day of my flight wanting me leave the day after I needed to be somewhere.  I mean seriously United...."You Suck!"

2. Flight Delays: If changing flight times isn't enough to deter you, add in unscheduled delays.  Anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours seems to be the norm with United Airlines and quite frankly is not acceptable.  I can understand weather delays, wind, rain, but many times it has to do with none of these and well United...."You Suck!"

3. Seat Size and Leg Room:  I'm six feet tall and 200 pounds, I am by no means obese, but the seats on the typical United 747 will make you feel oversized.  Not to mention, lack of reclining and lumbar support.  I refuse to fly anywhere on United that is more than five hours away, because the lack of comfort isn't worth the price tag.  Not to mention, if you want added leg room, you can purchase non reclining seats in the emergency exit row for 75-100 dollars more.  Pay more for less.  I don't think so and that is why United..."You Suck! Once again."

4. Cleanliness:  Still reading?  Here is reason number four.  United Airlines jets are down right dirty.  The delays and schedule changes apparently equate to lack of time for the flight staff to clean the cockpit.  Garbage on the floor, in the seat backs, and even in the overhead compartment bins leave little to brag about, and just another reason to say United..."You Suck!"

5. Lack of Customer Service:  Since United Airlines pretty much has a monopoly at Newark Liberty International Airport, they do very little to keep their guests happy.  Questions and complaints usually fall on deaf ears and if you don't like their service they really don't care.  call the 800 number and chances are you will talk to one of their outsourced employees who in many cases are difficult to understand.  At the airport itself, add in a "state of the art" terminal where everything, even the bar, is automated with iPads and lack of service personnel, and I really can't find any good reason to continue using them. Other than the fact that they are the primary airline servicing my region, they leave little to applaud.  So once more I will say it United...."You Suck!"

     So, if you are in the market for an airline that regularly changes your flight times, runs late, lacks comfort, is dirty, and doesn't care about your opinions.  By all means fly United Airlines, but don't say you haven't been warned.  United Airlines..."You Suck!"

Cheers!
Drakov

Five Reasons Why Technology is Ruining Society

     It's 2018 and everyone, who is anyone, has more technology in their pocket than ever.  Smartphones, iPhones, tablets, smartwatches, and the like abound.  Heck! I've even seen preschool students with their own electronic devices, but at what cost?  What are we starting to lose as a society as a result of all these devices aimed at making life simpler?
     The epidemic has created a world where people lurk hidden behind a touchscreen. Online phishing schemes, catfishing on dating sites, scams on Craig's List, and cyberbullying on social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snap Chat, and whatever will be the new fad tomorrow, are becoming more and more of a commonplace occurrence.  Ultimately, what is society losing, while making all these "gains"?

1. Social Interaction Skills:  Elementary students, middle school students, teenagers, and twenty-somethings have all grown up with internet-based cell phones. They would find it impossible to imagine a world without them.  Take away a teenager's cell phone today, and you would think that you stole their favorite puppy.  They experience anxiety and lose the ability to focus on anything, but the device that they think contains their life. They spend so much time on Snap and texting, that even when they sit next to one another in the cafeteria at lunch, or at a diner, they communicate through their handheld device.  If you send them into a social situation that requires talking like an in-store purchase, ordering food at the diner, or asking for directions, they lack the ability to initiate and carry on a coherent conversation. This, in turn, can lead to Number Two.

2. Public Speaking:  Hiding behind a touch screen and using your thumbs to communicate has made a stressful situation like public speaking an Everest for the newer generations.  their inside voices lack volume, confidence and they have the inability to make eye contact.  Are these individuals really on the spectrum? Or have we as a society taken away their confidence at public speaking? Many people experience so much anxiety at the thought, that they refuse to speak in class, at public meetings, in front of their teams, etc.  This is slowly creating a generation of social followers.  hanging on to every written word that they read online, or worse, nameless, faceless individuals who lash out online and block others when they disagree with their opinions.  This leads me to Number Three.

3. Lack of Respect:  Freedom of speech is one thing, but it was originally just that.  People would stand up in a public forum and voice their opinions in front of their peers.  Today, much of this has changed.  The public forum has become an intangible place called the internet.  Countless people can hide behind the anonymity of their device, and troll other people.  They read their posts, stalk others, look at their pictures, and in many cases lack a filter when posting their hurtful comments.  "Your opinion sucks!  You look like a "such and such".  You're ugly!" and these are tame in comparison to what people really write.  They forget that there is an actual person on the other side who has feelings just like them.  This is not cool! It's not funny! and it's not how many of the older generations were raised.  We didn't hide behind a phone and torment others.  We didn't harass others from the safety of our private servers.  If you insulted the wrong person, there could be swift and fierce consequences.  We grew a backbone and knew when to open our mouths and when not to.  I don't feel this is the case for the people living on their smartphones today.  Lack of face to face confrontation has created a world of cyberbullies who respect no one but expect to be respected.  Unacceptable!

4. Knowledge and Common Sense:  Constant connection to Google, Bing, and other search engines like Alexa and Siri have given people the excuse not to retain any information.  The way I can still recite over fifty percent of the Preamble to the Constitution is the way today's children can't remember what a verb is after twelve years of school.  And forget doing mental math, people today can't figure out what 10%, 25%, or even 50% off means without using the calculator on their cell phone.  Having a countless amount of information at our fingertips should be making society smarter, not dumber.  It's no wonder that America is slowly falling behind other world powers in terms of business, technology, and innovative ideas.  Having a Smartphone doesn't necessarily make the user smart. In many ways, it makes them LAZY. Knowledge is still obtained by studying, reading, critical thinking, rote recall, and hard work.

5. Spelling and Grammar:  Twitter and Instagram are littered with sentence fragments and atrocious spelling.  Blog posts are sometimes so poorly written, that I stop reading after only a few lines.  Come on people, use Spell Check, and Grammar Check, or how about actually proofreading your posts?  Autocorrect is NOT always your friend! Just look at some of the online postings involving some auto-corrected texts. Since people can't see you face to face, they are more inclined to judge you based upon your social writing skills or postings.  If I have to see one more "your" the best instead of  "You're the Best," I might start going all Grammar Police on people, but I promise, I won't go all Number Three on anyone.

Just my daily rant.  I feel a little like Lewis Black. ( Insert brrr mouth sound here.)

Cheers!
Drakov

Top 5 Mistakes Self-published Authors Make

     The past few years have seen a huge influx of self-published authors.  Online platforms like Kindle Direct, Lulu, Createspace, and personal blogs have become household words. Many leisurely writers are foregoing traditional methods of publication and taking matters into their own hands.  Now, I'm all for being your own boss, but there are some things that other people do better than I can, because, quite frankly, they were trained to do it.  With that being said, I am a self-published author and I, like every other self-published author, have made mistakes.  I have compiled the following list of the top five things I feel could be helpful to new aspiring self-published authors who are just starting out.  So without further delay...

1.  Don't Rush Through Your Manuscript-  One thing I have noticed is that many authors rush through the creative process in an effort to just get their story out. Even though they may have had an awesome idea, they did not allow it to ferment into an intoxicating tale.  I have read quite a few self-published works that are riddled with spelling, grammatical, and formatting issues making them difficult to read.  Take your time and do a second, third, or even seventh proofread of your manuscript before hitting the submit button.  If the first book you put out is not well-written, it can greatly deter the public from looking at your future titles. This leads me to number two.

2.  Not Getting a Proofreader or Beta Reader:  Writers like many other professionals, can be a proud bunch and want to believe that every word they write is literary gold.  Well, the truth is, they're probably not.  Don't be afraid to let others read your work after you have written your first draft and performed your first edit.  A fresh set of outside eyes may see errors, or plot holes, that you may have missed.  If you don't want to share your story with a friend or stranger, send off a sample to one of the many online editing companies for a free 2000 or 3000-word edit.  Even if you don't decide to hire them to edit your entire book, they may have some valuable notes, which can be applied to the rest of your W.I.P  (work in progress) on your next edit. Another helpful tool out there is the Grammarly extension with Google.  This Godsend makes it possible for an author to proofread their manuscript with a professional eye.  Although it will not catch every mistake, (Not even the best editor can) it will help with comma placement, subject-verb agreement, and spelling.

3. Writing Because You Want Fame, NOT Because You Enjoy It:  This is probably the most important thing that many self-published authors forget.  Very few of us will ever be the next Dr. Seuss, J.K. Rowling, or Agatha Christie no matter how badly we want it. In an effort to gain fame and fortune, some authors forego the enjoyment of writing and fabricating a believable and tantalizing tale in exchange for writing the next great rip-off of Game of Thrones.  When we write only to earn a paycheck, writing becomes a J.O.B. and stops being our passion.  We all write because we are passionate about our craft. If you write an awesome story, other people will eventually find and read it with the right exposure. This takes time. As much as no one wants to hear it, how many famous authors became well-read and known after their death?  You have all heard of Herman Melville, Edgar Allen Poe, Franz Kafka, and H.P. Lovecraft, just to name a few.  Terrible, I know, but isn't it more important to leave behind a legacy?  And a well-written one?

4. Not Researching What You Don't Know:  We all possess knowledge about certain topics that are foreign to others.  Each of us is an expert at something or several things.  I know quite a bit about automotive repair, mythology, education, and forensics.  I tend to write about fantasy worlds populated with mythological creatures and G.I.Joe characters fighting futuristic, military battles.  There are many other things that I am unfamiliar with, and that I need to either consult an expert on or research online.  There is an awful lot of reading and research that goes into good writing. Realism will only add to your work and create a more encompassing experience for your readers to indulge in.  Don't forego realism because of laziness.  I once spent the better part of three hours just reading about foreign cuisine to fabricate a short chapter in a fan fiction novel.

5.  Not Promoting Your Work Before Release:  More times than naught I see self-published authors promoting their work after its already been published.  I'm not saying this is completely wrong, but you need to establish an audience, and the best way to do that is by offering tantalizing nuggets of your current W.I.P to your would-be readers.  This can be done in your blog posts, on your Twitter, Facebook, or any one of a dozen author websites like Marketlist.com or an Amazon author's profile. You don't have to give away full plotlines or even complete chapters.  Equate this practice to movie trailers, not the ones that give you the whole story, but the good ones that leave you with a multitude of questions and wanting more.  Apply this concept to your book updates and add some flashy pictures to whet the appetite of your fans.  A picture can be worth a thousand words and a thousand new readers.

    Hope this helps some of you out there.  Thank you for reading. Have comments or other ideas to share?  Feel free to leave them here and share this article with others.  Until next time.
Cheers!

Drakov