The "Old Block" Tells All.

  Deep in the heavily wooded forest, a pretty little bird named Robin Redbreast, lived in the tallest pine tree, with her three little hatchlings, Betty, Bobby and Billy. With eyes wide-shut and mouths wide-open, they could be heard to say, “Chirp, Chirp, Squawk!” every morning when they woke up. “Chirp”, said Betty. “Good morning, Mother.” “Chirp”, said Bobby. “Good morning, Mother.” “Squawk”, said Billy. “I’m hungry, Mom!” Robin Redbreast had made a comfy little nest for her hatchlings, with seemingly no help from their father, who had flown off to see the world, before the hatchlings were even born. Robin did not care, though, because Betty, Bobby and Billy were all that mattered to her. And like all good moms, Robin protected her hatchlings from all two-legged and four-legged predators. (She was not worried about six-legged and eight-legged creatures because they would become a tasty meal if they ventured too close to her nest.) “Yummy”, she said at the thought of such multi-legged

  This is a simple, yet invaluable skill that I taught my children when they were very young. As you may have already read, I was plagued with incessant haunting as a child, especially in my dreams. My mother, bless her heart, tried to help me by placing scissors under my pillow, (Old Wives’ Tale; don’t ask)! That never worked. The first crutch that I employed did, however, work. Since Lady Bugs protected crops and plants from parasitic insects, why not protect me from horrific, night-terror creatures and demonic entities? Thus, the Lady Bug became my midnight, mystical savior that I called upon in my dreams to save me from spooks and spirits with ill intentions. However, as I mentioned, this was just a crutch, to help me hobble through my nightmares and bad dreams, not a permanent solution that would carry me beyond the strangling hold that “The Fort” had on me. My greatest asset, even as a child, was my innate problem-solving skill. I was a living, breathing, virtual thinking cap, an