LOST HIGHWAY

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What’s on today: A post inspired by a Writers’ Island prompt. Have you had a go yet? … inc: a touch of flash fiction, Guru Tony on the mysticism of rivalry, and the inevitable poem
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

LOST HIGHWAY

The sun blazed down on us. In all directions the desert spread, as if a calm sea. Yet also a treacherous mistress, I knew.
It was unusual for one so young to lead an archaeological team, but I wasn’t the normal kind of archaeologist anyway. ‘You must be mad,’ Rachel had said as I proposed the expedition. But her rebukes were also the sweetest things. It was as if she respected me for my abilities – quite normal for an under-grad.
At least, that’s what I thought, then. It never occurred to me that only seven years difference in age was nothing at all – or that her feelings for me were much deeper.

But I digress.

The ancient city had been discovered decades ago, and it was thought there was nothing more to find. But I had been fascinated by the myths the locals told – of a lost highway leading to the Temple of Eternal Love. Which was why I was thought unusual. After all, archaeologists were to concentrate on facts, not myths. But it had become embedded in my heart that I must find this temple. And Rachel agreed to come with me.
For a week we searched for signs of the highway without success, and as we searched, I must admit, I did become closer to Rachel – thought, for a moment or two, that we could be more than just friends and colleagues, but I soon put it out of my mind. And then came the seventh night.

It was an unusual darkness …

… and as the wind came up, a sense of wonder took me over. It began to howl, and bit by bit, I saw the sand seem to separate, and beneath it, a highway seemed to appear.
I walked on, the sand clearing in my path, and it wasn’t long before I came to the door. My excitement was intense, and I could hear myself shouting as the adrenalin pumped, as I held out my hand to the door, ready to push it open …
It was, of course, a dream, for as I opened my eyes, an agitated Rachel was shaking me, looking, worriedly into my eyes. Yet also, the Temple of Eternal Love was obviously a metaphor, focusing the mind, and symbolizing the love of a man for a woman. Something I realized in that moment of enlightenment when I pulled her to me and we kissed.

© Anthony North, April 2008

ROAD TO NOWHERE

Round and round and round they race,
fighting, always, for first place;
Round and round and round we go,
where we’re going we don’t really know;
Round and round and round I see,
we’re all in love with the exciting Grand Prix;
Round and round and round our thought,
as we create the lives we wrought;
Round and round and round we bare,
the Grand Prix a symbol of our flair,
racing like idiots so we might dare,
but like the driver,
going nowhere

(c) Anthony North, April 2008

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GURU TONY

The Mysticism of Rivalry

Rivalry is good. We are all aware of this. A rival ‘ups’ your game; demands that you try harder – takes away the cosiness of your comfort zone, your satisfaction that you’re trying your best.
Often rivalry improves more than your own standards. Take debate. Ideas are thrashed out, leading to all sides being heard, and a balanced view arising. In politics, such debate is how societies are regulated, proving the importance of such rivalry.

Yet rivalry can be a religious thing.

Some elements, here, are obvious. God verses the Devil – an understanding of good and evil. Indeed, mystical traditions such as alchemy are grounded in rivalry.
Alchemy is about opposites, best symbolized in the alchemical image of the face of the beautiful young woman on the reverse side of the face of the wise old man. Rivalry, it seems, is more fundamental in the religious sphere.

The idea of good verses evil led to western ideals.

Fundamental to our way of doing things is the idea that things can be normal or abnormal. What is ‘normal’ is whatever we see ourselves as being. Everything else is abnormal, or wrong. This is rivalry in concept, in philosophy, in our very bones.
Yet this form of rivalry can also lead to persecution, to conflict, and is maybe the wrong way of looking at it. In eastern philosophies, rivalry is seen in terms of influences towards preservation and destruction. Yet they are held together by a life force which provides balance.
Maybe this is how rivalry should really be seen. For in balance, each side is weighed, but the conflict is stopped. I think we could learn a great deal from eastern mysticism – the west’s rival, as it were.

Copyright (c) Protected, April 2008

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SOME OF MY RECENT POSTS

The Photo – A Cass Nova detective story, plus an essay on dieting.

How To Understand Death – Everything you wanted to know about – well – death

The Bounce – A short piece of Sci Fi, plus a poem and ‘what is a parallel universe’?

THE PHOTO

READ MY ULTIMATE MAGAZINE POST - Something posted most days – keep visiting!
What’s on today: A story inspired by a Sunday Scribblings prompt. Have you had a go yet? … PLUS … Dr Illya Ness on the problem of diet.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

THE PHOTO

A Cass Nova Detective Thriller

The Guv took his eyes from the photo and said: ‘Well, Cass, that about wraps it up.’ He smiled. ‘DI Nova does it again.’
And I had. You see a photo can be a powerful thing. We don’t often appreciate this. We take a snapshot of something and don’t realize what’s in the background – what evidence it could contain; what clues it holds. And this photo had been essential to the case.

Of course, I’d always known who’d killed Sarah Johnson.

She had got too greedy, and her pimp, Dwane Davis, couldn’t stand that. But how to prove it? Infact, every time I seemed to get close, the avenue seemed to melt away.
I said this to my colleague, DS Sharp. ‘And I reckon it’s because we’ve got a bent copper on the team.’
He looked at me, a look of amazement on his face. ‘You’re joking.’
I flashed him my serious stare. ‘No, I’m not. And that’s why I’ve been following Davis for over a week now, taking photos of everywhere he goes. I’ve got hundreds at home, and every night I study them, ‘cos at some point he’s meeting his guardian angel, and there’s a clue in one of those photos – a place I recognize where a colleague goes, something. I WILL crack this case.’

That night, in my flat, I took out the photos.

Spread them out on the table. But I did so with a kind of sixth sense – somehow I knew I was being watched. Eventually, I left the flat, headed for the take-away on the corner. But of course, I did nothing of the sort. Rather, I back tracked and entered the flat by the back door.
DS Sharp was bent over the photos, shocked. He looked up at me. ‘How did you know?’ he asked.
‘Oh, I didn’t,’ I said, ‘I’ve had the same conversation with half a dozen at the station before you. But eventually I knew I’d smoke out the rat.
He threw down one of the photos he had in his hand. It was a nice one of me as a kid, holding my mum’s hand. ‘So there isn’t a photo to incriminate me at all, is there?’
I picked up my camera and snapped. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that,’ I said.

© Anthony North, April 2008

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Sin is what you’ve done once you’ve been caught

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Organic Attack

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DR ILLYA NESS

Stuff diets. Stuff yourself. But with the right stuff.

Okay, how many diets have you tried? Add them up. Now add up how many diets you’ve tried that have failed. Is the number the same? Well, surprise, surprise. Diets don’t work. Period.
The reason why is obvious. A diet is a short term measure designed to deny yourself something whilst the weight falls off. So it is obvious that when you stop, you’ll want what you denied yourself and the weight will be straight back on.

So is a large percentage of the population destined to be obese?

Not necessarily. There is a way, but it isn’t a diet. It is a total change in the way you eat food. Infact, you can eat the same food, only different.
Most people eat three times a day, waiting until they’re hungry, and eating ‘til they’re full. This makes your metabolism go haywire on a daily basis. Far better to split your food into five smaller meals.

In this way you don’t wait until you’re hungry …

… and you don’t eat until you’re full. Instead, you eventually learn to feel neither hungry or full, and your metabolism settles down so you don’t need to feed it.
Do this for long enough and another thing happens. Your stomach shrinks. So if you try to stuff yourself too much, you can’t. Ad hey presto! You’ve lost weight and you won’t put it back on because you haven’t dieted. You’ve changed the way you eat. Forever!

Copyright © Protected, April 2008

Find out about my Think Tank

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SOME OF MY RECENT POSTS

Of Home and World – A reflective poem, plus bits ‘n’ pieces for writers

How To Understand Death – Everything you wanted to know about – well – death

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If we indulged in self-help, why do we need a book to help us?

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