A Daily Devotion For A Needy World

Originally published on Yahoo Voices

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For those who functionality is hindered by daily confusion, I pray that the Lord remove their confusion so they see clearly what life has to offer.

For those who are emotionally disturbed, I pray that the Lord give them relief so they might know love as it truly is.

For those who have problems focusing on their tasks, I pray that the Lord help them focus so their tasks they might complete.

For those who were abused during their childhood, I pray that the Lord give them the truth of his mercy and guide them through life.

For those who abuse others, I pray that the Lord teach them the gentleness of His own hand.

For those who suffer from delusions, I pray that the Lord help them learn the goodness of reality.

For those who suffer from mental illness, I pray that the Lord clear their minds and their hearts.

For those who live in fear, I pray that the Lord whisper the words, "No need to fear for I am by your side."

For those who suffer from bipolar disorder, I pray that the Lord give them the balance of His peace.

For those who do not believe in the Lord, I pray that the Lord reveal Himself to them.

For those whose activities are filled with iniquities, I pray that the Lord guide them back to His grace.

For those who do evil, I pray that the Lord open their hearts to the grace of His goodness.

For those who believe in other gods, I pray that the Lord grant them the knowledge of His glorious Existence.

For those who do not know the Lord, I pray that the Lord open their eyes so they might become accustomed to his light.

For those who suffer from cancer, I pray that the Lord grant them healing to cure body and soul.

For those who suffer from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, I pray that the Lord mend their broken lives and perceptions.

For those who mourn the loss of a loved one, I pray that the Lord give them His comfort and grant them the knowledge that their loved one, in His presence, lives on.

For the world that suffers in hurt, violence and hate; I pray to the Lord that they might know the enormity of His love.

For those who don't understand the plight of the needy, I pray that the Lord soften their hearts, open their minds and give them His compassion for all.

Tribute to our Fallen Soldiers

Originally published on Yahoo Voices

Names etched in stone

Those who did not come home

to enjoy tomorrow

Their families in sorrow

No greater a sacrifice

then to give up one's life

for our country, for you and for me

--

The people they fight for

Risk their lives day and night for

Some give up a life for

and demonstrate our might for

the world to see and victory

and for our privilege to be

those who are free.

--

They gave proof of the cost

via the lives that were lost

for us to see

that the liberty gained

was not for free

--

May God bless them all

and grant them eternal life

Bless each surviving brother and sister,

husband and wife

Let them stand tall

in our memories

and let us never forget

the battles they won

and the families they left

Comfort them now and

for the rest of their years

Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland

Originally published on Yahoo Voices

Walt Disney originally released Alice In Wonderland in 1951 was an introduction to Charles "Lewis Carroll" Dodgson's tale. Tim Burton's "Alice In Wonderland" can be considered part 2 of the 1951 film.

This tale of Alice's adventures in Wonderland is based loosely on Lewis Carroll' classic. Mia Wasicowska won three awards for her performance as Alice and was nominated for four other awards. Johnny Depp was nominated for four awards for his performance as the Mad Hatter.

The story was derived from Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. For those who are not familiar with these two classics, here is an excellent source of summaries and analysis of these two classics.

http://www.literature.org/authors/carroll-lewis/alices-adventures-in-wonderland/index.html

The plot of the movie is derived from the Jabberwocky poem and the Oraculum. The Jabberwocky poem tells of a young boy who slays the Jabberwocky. The jabberwocky is a huge terrifying creature that breaths fire and obeys the Red Queen.

The Oraculum is a compendium of Wonderland containing all events that happened and will happen up to and including Fabjous Day. Fabjous Day is suppose to be the fabulous, joyful day the Red Queen is removed from power.

The Red Queen gained power during Griblig Day. Griblig day is a day of grumbling and discontent. It is the day the Red Queen gained power and kicked out her sister, the White Queen. The Red Queen terrorized the people with the Jabberwocky.

The Red Queen also terrorized the people with the Jubjub bird and the Bandersnatch. The Jubjub bird is another dangerous creature that the Queen uses to terrorize the people.

The Frumious Bandersnatch is a fuming, furious creature that guards the only sword that can kill the Jabberwocky. The sword is called the vorpal sword and is a sharp, deadly sword. But the only person who could successfully kill the Jabberwocky with the vorpal sword is the boy in the sketch in the Oraculum.

The Red Queen's Knave is the Knave of Hearts. He is a deceitful, dishonest person who obeys the Queen's orders. The Red Queen is the Queen of Hearts. She beheads people for the smallest reasons like stealing her tarts. She is a terrible nasty Queen with a childish attitude. Death of her people means nothing to her. The threat of death and the terror of the Jabberwocky is her key to power. The people will live in terror and fear until the Red Queen is removed from power. The Red Queen's soldiers are red playing cards.

Alice is 19 years old. She had dreams about Wonderland when she was a little girl. But on this day, the day of her engagement, she is not happy. Her parents chose her mate for her. This is the day of her engagement. However, she does not care for the man chosen for her. And when that man asks her if she will marry him, she tells him that is what everyone expects her to do.

During this engagement party, she sees the White Rabbit with a watch in his hand. The White Rabbit leads her to a hole by a tree. A hole Alice accidentally falls into. It is the porthole to Wonderland. The people of Wonderland are in trouble and need urgent help from the boy who will slay the Jabberwocky on Fabjous Day. But is Alice that person slaying the Jabberwocky in the Oraculum? Alice thinks not.

Alice is befriended by two short boys named Tweedledee and Tweedledum. She meets the caterpillar named Obsolem. Absolem is the absolute authority on the Oraculum and becomes one of Alice's mentors. She meets the Chesire Cat. The Chesire Cat can smile and can vanish. The Chesire cat helps Alice realize her fate.

Alice is also befriended by the Mad Hatter. The Mad Hatter use to be the Hatter for the White Queen who was defeated by her sister, the Red Queen on Griblig Day. The White Queen's soldiers are chess men. The Mad Hatter and his two friends, the March Hare and the Dormouse have tea every day. The Mad Hatter is certain that Alice is the little boy who slays the Jabberwocky on Fabjous Day. Alice disagrees.

During this experience in Wonderland, Alice learns to live up to her responsibilities and she becomes a woman in her own right. She returns to the real world to settle the issue of her engagement.

This movie was very entertaining. It had a lot of action and will hold the interest of children. The climax was very satisfying. An opening for a third movie about Alice in Wonderland occurs when Alice tells the Mad Hatter that she will be back.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

Movie Review: The Karate Kid 2010

Originally published on Yahoo Voices

'The Karate Kid' 2010 staring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan is a remake of the 1984 classic movie 'The Karate Kid' staring Ralph Macchio and Pat Marita.

This movie is very entertaining and worth watching even if you saw the original. It follows the general plot of the original, but is not an exact duplicate.

The movie starts with a boy name Dre and his mom moving to China. At first Dre experiences the usual relocation problems; missing his old school buddies and entering a new school and a new home. However, Dre soon finds a new friend. Her name is Mei Ling and she likes him. While talking to her, they are approached by a boy named Cheng who wants Mei Ling to stay away from Dre. A fight breaks out between Dre and Cheng. This fight provides the viewer with the nature of both Dre and Cheng. Dre fights like an 11 year old with no Kung Fu training. Cheng is a brutal fighter and a Kung Fu tournament champion. He throws Dre to the ground, wherein Dre lands on his back, at least several times. Each time Dre gets back up and the fight continues. Dre won't give up until he cannot get up. This fight sets the stage for the rest of the film.

Cheng's Kung Fu coach is Master Li. Master Li teaches his students to attack their opponent when their opponent is down. He instructs them to have no mercy.

Dre has no King Fu teacher and no place to turn. He refuses to confide in his mother. He does visit a Kung Fu training center only to find Cheng there. After that, Dre's desperation plays a part in a verbal argument with his mother. Dre needs to learn Kung Fu to protect himself from Cheng who has been bullying him ever since that first fight. But Dre has no one to turn to for help. Or at least, that's what he thinks. He knows the maintenance man, but does not know that the maintenance man, Mr Han, has been watching him.

The acts of Cheng and his friends are nearly maniacal. A fight scene later in the movie reveals how maniacal. Dre is down on the ground in great pain and unable to get up. Yet Cheng moves toward Dre to hit him again after reminding one companion that Master Li said 'No mercy!'

Mr Han is a non-violent person who learned Kung Fu from his father. With Mr Han's help, Dre learns Kung Fu. The story's climax is the King Fu tournament. It is a better climax than the climax in the original movie.

I found the movie very entertaining. It almost becomes the classic story of good against evil. It is a story of a young boy who doesn't quit; a young boy with the courage and determination to pick himself up and try again no matter how many harsh blows life deals him. It is the story of the courage, tenacity and strength one needs to be a success in what often is a heartless, cold world. And that is why I think this movie is well worth watching.

　

Book Review: The Yahoo Style Guide

Originally published on Yahoo Voices

I have been searching for a book on internet publishing for a long time. Every time I came across one at a book store, I would sit and read portions of the book. But I haven't found any I wanted to purchase until recently.

As soon as I saw the advertisement for the Yahoo Style Guide I knew I wanted it. I reserved the book at a local book store and used two gift cards to reduce the price down to $4.00. That's a bargain for this particular soft cover book.

When I got home, I immediately start reading it and applying what I learned to my website. I am very pleased with the information in the Yahoo Style Guide. It is a comprehensive guide covering every aspect of Internet publishing in great detail.

Among the areas of Internet publishing the book covers is increasing the views of your web site. It gives many details including easy navigation through the web site, sentence structure, words and phrases to avoid, punctuation, user interface text, style, common pitfalls, selecting the right keywords, SEO, etc.

And the book doesn't gloss over any topic it covers. It goes into great detail at every level of Internet publishing and gives examples to illustrate each point. The examples are clearly laid out. The book points out bad practices in Internet writing and gives detailed examples on how to correct the bad practices. It lists phrases and words to used in place of those phrases which should not be used.

If you want a book that is well organized, well written and easy to understand then this book should be on your 'must buy' list. It will help the reader figure out why his or her articles are not getting many views. It will also help the reader figure out why his or her website is getting few views. This book shows you how to write for a global audience.

And the only requirement to improve your Internet publishing abilities is to sit down and read the book and apply what you learn. That's right. I said read, not study. Read, learn and apply. Good luck!

Our Christmas Story

I remember when I was a child. I was so excited on each Christmas Eve that I rarely finished my meal. That was the only day of the year when my mom and dad didn't insist on my finishing my meal. All I could think about was the Christmas presents sitting under the Christmas tree. No, Santa Claus had not come yet. But my mom and dad always had some gifts for us to open on Christmas Eve. Those were the gifts from mom and dad. Our gifts (my brothers and I) from Santa Claus would arrive sometime during the night.

As I grew older, I became more and more aware of family problems that sometimes could not be set aside on any day, not even Christmas. My dad had suffered a nervous and mental breakdown at the end of his duties in the US Army during the Second World War the problems due to his experiences during the war and his breakdown were almost always present. He did his best for all of us and did exceptionally well bringing in an income when I consider how difficult it was for him to work and how easy it would have been for him to sit back and collect disability.

When my wife was a child, she always had a joyful Christmas. Her mom and dad would not talk about problems during Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. About a week before Christmas, her dad and mom would take her to a local Christmas Tree Farm to pick the perfect Christmas tree for cutting. They would tie the tree to the top of the car. Joyce was so excited she could hardly hold it in. She would assist her dad cutting the trunk of the tree to the right size to fit in the family tree stand. Then the family would settle down and decorate the tree. The family tree was not just a decoration for a few days. In fact, the tree became almost a family pet that was watered and fussed over; sometimes for over a month and mourned when taken down.

So the Christmas season difficulties that arose when we got first were married were almost unavoidable. Joyce was extremely enthusiastic about Christmas. She truly enjoyed decorating, wrapping gifts and Christmas shopping. Christmas was often not a happy occasion for me. I was far less enthusiastic then Joyce. This Joyce could not understand not knowing my background. We got through Christmas, but I had disappointed Joyce. My lack of enthusiasm was a downer for her.

Joyce would put a Christmas reed on the front door. She would set up a Dickens Christmas village on a table in the dinette. She would set up the Christmas tree and the Nativity scene on a folding table in the living room and have various Christmas decorations on the walls. I had never seen this during my younger years and thought it was a bit overdone. It wasn't. At least, it wasn't for Joyce.

I remember the year we had seen Jurassic Park. I had bought a toy T-Rex. It was just the right height for the Dickens Christmas village. So, while she was not looking, I placed it in the Christmas village. We also had a toy hippopotamus. I placed that in the line waiting to see the baby Jesus in the nativity scene. The expression on Joyce's face when she saw them made the whole joke worth it. When she protested, I said, "Well, they're God's creatures too!"

Creature In The Attic

Originally published on Yahoo Voices

Tommy and Jimmy were sound asleep. It was 2:00 AM. A thumping sound began in the attic. Tommy woke up, listened for a moment and then woke up Jimmy. The two boys sat up in their bed listening to the thumping.

"What's that?" asked Tommy.

"I don't know." Said Jimmy, "I never heard it before."

"Neither have I. Do you think we have an animal up there?"

"I don't think so. How would an animal get in?"

"Maybe Jerry is hiding one up there?"

"If mom finds it, she'll be angry."

"Let's go up and take a look."

"Okay. I'll get the flashlight." Jimmy left the room and returned a few minutes later with a flashlight in his hand.

Then the two boys headed for the attic door. The opened the door. It was very dark. Jimmy turned on the flashlight. Slowly they climbed the stairs. The thumping sound stopped. Once they were in the attic, Jimmy scanned area with a flashlight.

"You think we got a ghost?" Tommy asked.

"Maybe." Jimmy answered in a trembling voice

"We could talk to it if we had one of those boards."

"No way."

"Why not?"

"Mommy said we should never use one of those boards because it is a sin."

"What's a sin?"

"A sin is when you make God angry."

"Honest?"

"Yeah."

"So what should we do?"

"Maybe we should ask Mom."

They went down the stairs and knocked on mom's bedroom door. Their mom, Mary, opened the door.

"What's the matter?" asked mom.

"I'm hearing sounds in my room." said Tommy.

"Maybe you were just dreaming?" Asked mom.

"No I wasn't. Jimmy heard it too."

Mom looked at Jimmy. "Okay, boys. Let's go to your room."

They went to the boy's bedroom and the boys jumped into bed.

"There's no sound now." She said. "Now I want both of you to go to sleep." She kissed each boy. "It's probably just an animal."

After mom left, their older brother, Jerry, came into the room. "Hey guys. What's happening?"

"We're hearing noises in the attic." said Tommy.

"You are?" asked Jerry.

"Yeah." Said Jimmy, "Maybe a ghost."

"Ya think we got a ghost? Why would a ghost be up stairs?"

Both boys shrugged their shoulders.

Mom suddenly appeared behind Jerry. "Everyone to bed. No more talk."

The thumping started again. Mom frowned, grabbed the flashlight and approached the attic door. She opened it and slowly went up the stairs.

Tommy, Jimmy and Jerry approached the attic door. The thumping was getting louder and louder. The floor vibrated with each thump. Suddenly a loud scream. They heard someone scrambling down the stairs.

Mom came out, slammed the door behind her and leaned against it. "Jerry, get some wood, nails and hammer from the garage." Her face was pale. Her hands were trembling.

"What happened?" asked Jerry.

"No time for questions. Go!"

Jerry ran. A few moments later he came back with the wood, hammer and nails. Something started banging on the door as mom nailed the door shut.

"Okay." She said, "Everyone outside."

The boys went down the stairway to the first floor. Suddenly the wall near the attic door shattered as a large claw came through and grabbed mom's arm. She screamed and hit it repeatedly with a hammer until it let go. Then she scrambled down the stairs tripping on the last step.

"Are you okay?" asked Jerry.

"Yes. Go! Go!"

The claw and a hairy arm was tearing apart the wall near the attic door.

Mom and the kids raced for the front door. She tried to open it. "It won't open." She then tried to open a window.

Something was coming down the stairs. Jerry grabbed a chair from the kitchen. "Get out of the way." He flung the chair smashing the window.

"Okay. Jimmy and Tommy first." said mom.

Jimmy and Tommy climbed out the window followed by Jerry. The mom climbed out with the flashlight. They ran as a claw reached out the broken window. When they reached the corner, they stopped and looked back. Nothing was following them.

"What was that?" asked Jerry.

"I'll tell you this much." said mom, "That's no ghost!"

She hugged Jimmy and Tommy and then hugged Jerry. "We need to decide what to do." She paused, "There's the diner ...." Her voice faded. The kids wouldn't sleep well tonight anyway. "Let's go."

They walked to the diner, entered and sat at a table.

After ordering food, mom asked to see the manager. Her brother, Fred, came walking out of the kitchen. "Hi Mary. How are you?'

"Not so good." said mom, "Fred, we need your help."

"I'll help if I can. What's the problem."

"You have some time?"

"Yeah."

"Sit down."

Fred pulled up a chair and sat at the table.

Mary told him what happened.

"Do you know where this creature came from?"

"I have no idea." said mom.

"Can you describe the claw?"

"All I was interested in was getting the boys to safety. I wasn't about to stop and take a good look at a claw coming out of the wall!"

"Hmmmmm." Fred scratched his chin, "How large was the claw?"

"About the size of a twelve inch pizza would be my best guess."

Fred was silent for a few minutes. "When have you been in that house now? A week maybe?"

"More or less."

"Could you describe what you found when you moved in?"

"What we found?"

"Yeah. I'm interested in the attic."

"Nothing." said mom,"Nothing unusual"

"Mom." Interrupted Jimmy.

"Hold on, honey. This is important."

"Mom, the cross."

'Jimmy, I said to -- "

"Let him speak." said Fred. "What cross?"

"Oh it's really nothing." said mom, " Seems the last owner left a crucifix up in the attic. But let's get back to that creature or whatever it is."

"That's exactly what we're doing." said Fred. "Where was the crucifix?"

"It was on top of a wooden box." said Jimmy.

"A wooden box?" asked Fred

"Yeah." Said Jerry, "I think the box was nailed to the floor."

"And one more thing." said Tommy, "There was this white stuff all over the floor."

"What stuff?" asked Fred.

"I don't know." said Tommy.

"What did it look like?" Asked Fred.

"Ummmmmm" Tommy was thinking.

"Salt," said Jerry, "Mom asked us to clean the attic. So we swept up the salt."

"Did you remove the crucifix from the box?" asked Fred.

"Yeah." said Tommy and Jimmy.

"Where is it now?" asked Fred.

"In our bedroom." said Tommy.

"Why are you so interested in a crucifix and some salt?" asked mom.

"Because it may reveal how your problem came about."

Silence. Fred kept scratching his chin. He looked like he was in deep thought.

"You know something we don't?" asked mom.

"Listen." said Fred. "We don't have much time."

"Much time for what?" asked mom.

" To get rid of that creature before more appear." answered Fred.

"Now you're scaring me. Before more what appears?" asked mom.

"I'll explain later." said Fred. He gave some directions to his crew and then turned to Mary and the kids. "Come with me."

They left the diner and got into Fred's sedan. He drove them to his house. He went inside and got a crucifix, a large container of salt and a gallon of water. From there he drove to the church and brought the salt, water and crucifix inside. A few moments later he came back to the car and drove to another home a block away from mom's house. A few moments later Fred and another man came out. Fred got into his sedan and the man got into his truck. The man followed Fred to mom's house.

They parked and everyone got out.

Fred turned to the kids. "Stay in the car."

Then he turned to mom. "Mary, this is Joe."

Mary and Joe greeted each other.

"Okay." said Fred, "Before we get started, let me explain what we are about to do. When the kids swept up the salt and removed the crucifix from the wooden box, they unwittingly freed the creature. The creature came up through a portal which you know as a wooden box."

"So you had the crucifix, the salt and the water blessed." said Mary.

"Exactly." said Fred. "We have to trap the creature near the box. Then comes the tough part. We have to force it back down the portal, cover the box and place the crucible on top of it." He paused. "Mary, this is an extremely dangerous task. I prefer you stay with the kids."

"Fred, thanks for the consideration. But I've never backed down from anything and I'm not about to back down now. I want my home back."

They each took a crucifix. Joe had two and gave one to Mary. Then Fred and Joe each took one box of salt and Mary took the holy water. They opened the front door. The house was quiet. Joe put some salt in the area by the door. Fred checked the kitchen and put salt across the kitchen entrance. Each of the three now carried the crucifix and a container of salt. They checked every closet, every room and every hallway. After each area was checked, the blessed Dead Sea salt was spread across the entrances. Finally they reached the attic door.

They opened the door and slowly climbed the stairs, spreading some salt on each step. Then they looked around the attic. There was no sign of the creature. They walked over to the wooden box and placed the cover back on it. Fred placed his crucifix on the cover and turned to face the stairway. Suddenly the creature appeared seemingly out of nowhere and swung it's arm hitting Fred in the head. Fred flew across the attic and landed on the floor unconscious. Joe and Mary held their crucifixes in front of themselves. A piece of wood flew across the room hitting Joe in the head. Joe fell to the floor unconscious. Mary was alone now. The creature stood before her. It was bent over because of the slanted roof. It looked somewhat like a human except for it's rugged leather skin, huge eyes and large claws.

Suddenly the creature hit Mary's hand with another piece of wood. The crucifix fell to the floor. The creature grabbed Mary by the arm and dragged her away from the crucifix as she screamed.

Outside, Tommy, Jimmy and Jerry were waiting inside the car.

"I don't like this." Said Jerry. "They have been in there for too long."

"What do we do?" asked Tommy.

"Maybe we should call the police." said Jimmy.

"The police can't help us. We need a priest." said Jerry.

"We do?"

"Yes. Lets go to the church." said Jerry.

Jerry got out of the car. "Come on! Let's go."

Jimmy and Tommy got out of the car. "Where?"

"There's a church about three blocks away." said Jerry.

They ran to the church and looked to the priest's residence.

They found it and knocked on the door. Father Benjamin opened the door.

The three kids spoke at once.

"Hold on. One at a time." He turned to Jerry, "What is this about?"

Jerry explained it to the priest. The only reason the priest believed the boys was because of the petrified look on their faces. Father Benjamin blessed himself and the boys. He excused himself saying he'd be right back. He came back with a blessed crucifix and holy water. "Let's go." They got into a car.

When they reached the house, the priest asked, "Did you say this creature was in the attic?"

"Yes." they answered.

"Okay." He said, "I hate to say this but I need your help." He pulled three more crucifixes out of his pocket and gave one to each of the boys.

"What are the chains for?" asked Jerry as he saw the priest pull four chains out from under the seat. Each chain was two feet long.

"If this creature outsmarted your mom and her companions, we need to be creative. Do they have holy water?" asked the priest.

"Yes." said Jerry.

"You have any water?"

"There are two buckets of water in the truck." said Jerry.

"Good." The priest got out of the car. Jerry opened the truck door which was unlocked. The priest blessed the water and then blessed the chains. "Okay." he said, "If you encounter the creature, dip the chain in the holy water and hit the creature with it."

"I'd rather throw the whole bucket of holy water on the creature." said Jerry.

"Don't miss." said the priest.

As they stepped on the front porch, the priest asked, "Has this creature ever come out of the attic?"

"Yes," said Tommy, "When it chased us out of the house."

They repeated the actions of their mom and companions, checking each room and closet on each floor. Finally they were at the bottom of the attic stairs.

They slowly climbed the stairs. The priest was the first one up the stairs. The kids followed. They found Fred and Joe unconscious on the floor.

"Where's mom?" Asked Tommy.

"Over there." The priest pointed to the corner. He cautiously walked over to checked her. "She was knocked out. I think she'll be okay."

The kids sat the buckets of water on the floor between them They dipped their chains in the water. The priest did likewise. They waited.

"What is it waiting for?" asked Jerry.

"For us to put down our guard." said the priest. "This is a smart creature."

"So what do we do?" asked Jimmy.

Before the priest could answer, the creature jumped out from behind the boxes and threw a wrench at him. The wrench hit the priest's arm and the priest dropped the cross. The creature reached for the priest as Jerry picked up the bucket of holy water. He dumped it on the creature. The creature screamed and dropped the priest. Jimmy and Tommy picked up the second bucket of holy water. As the creature lowered to the floor, they dumped the second bucket of holy water of the creature. Then they dumped the rest of the holy water, left by Mary, Fred and Joe, on the creature. The creature screamed constantly as it slowly melted down to nothing.

Father Benjamin blessed himself in thanks. Then he went to the aid of the three people on the floor. He took out his cell phone and dialed 911. He calmly stated that there were several injured people who apparently have head injuries and then gave the address.

Then he turned to the box and prayed a prayer of protection. Then he piled the remains of the salt on the box. Then he placed a crucifix on the box. He turned to the boys and said, "That should keep the portal shut."

The ambulance arrived. Father Benjamin, the boys, Joe, Fred and Mary were taken to the hospital. They were all fine. Father told Mary to paint a warning sign on the side of the wooden box in the attic.

Father smiled at the boys, "Keep the crucifixes, boys. Ya never know when you're gonna need them!"

Back at the house, things were not quiet. In the attic, sounds of the creatures within emanated from the wooden box. But the box remained sealed below the crucifix.

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Tommy and Jimmy were sound asleep. It was 2:00 AM. A thumping sound began in the attic. Tommy woke up, listened for a moment and then woke up Jimmy. The two boys sat up in their bed listening to the thumping.

"What's that?" asked Tommy.

"I don't know." Said Jimmy, "I never heard it before."

"Neither have I. Do you think we have an animal up there?"

"I don't think so. How would an animal get in?"

"Maybe Jerry is hiding one up there?"

"If mom finds it, she'll be angry."

"Let's go up and take a look."

"Okay. I'll get the flashlight." Jimmy left the room and returned a few minutes later with a flashlight in his hand.

Then the two boys headed for the attic door. The opened the door. It was very dark. Jimmy turned on the flashlight. Slowly they climbed the stairs. The thumping sound stopped. Once they were in the attic, Jimmy scanned area with a flashlight.

"You think we got a ghost?" Tommy asked.

"Maybe." Jimmy answered in a trembling voice

"We could talk to it if we had one of those boards."

"No way."

"Why not?"

"Mommy said we should never use one of those boards because it is a sin."

"What's a sin?"

"A sin is when you make God angry."

"Honest?"

"Yeah."

"So what should we do?"

'Maybe we should ask Mom."

They went down the stairs and knocked on mom's bedroom door. Their mom, Mary, opened the door.

"What's the matter?" asked mom.

"I'm hearing sounds in my room." said Tommy.

"Maybe you were just dreaming?" Asked mom.

"No I wasn't. Jimmy heard it too."

Mom looked at Jimmy. "Okay, boys. Let's go to your room."

They went to the boy's bedroom and jumped into bed.

"There's no sound now." She said. "Now I want both of you to go to sleep." She kissed each boy. "It's probably just an animal."

After mom left, their older brother, Jerry, came into the room. "Hey guys. What's happening?"

"We're hearing noises in the attic." said Tommy."

"You are?" asked Jerry.

"Yeah." Said Jimmy, "Maybe a ghost."

"Ya think we got a ghost? Why would a ghost be up stairs?"

Both boys shrugged their shoulders.

Mom suddenly appeared behind Jerry. "Everyone to bed. No more talk."

The thumping started again. Mom frowned, grabbed the flashlight and approached the attic door. She opened it and slowly went up the stairs.

Tommy, Jimmy and Jerry approached the attic door. The thumping was getting louder and louder. The floor vibrated with each thump. Suddenly a loud scream. They heard someone scrambling down the stairs.

Mom came out, slammed the door behind her and leaned against it. "Jerry, get some wood, nails and hammer from the garage." Her face was pale. Her hands were trembling.

"What happened?" asked Jerry.

"No time for questions. Go!"

Jerry ran. A few moments later he came back with the wood, hammer and nails. Something started banging on the door as mom nailed the door shut.

"Okay." She said, "Everyone outside."

The boys went down the stairway to the first floor. Suddenly the wall near the attic door shattered as a large claw came through and grabbed mom's arm. She screamed and hit it repeatedly with a hammer until it let go. Then she scrambled down the stairs tripping on the last step.

"Are you okay?" asked Jerry.

"Yes. Go! Go!"

The claw and a hairy arm was tearing apart the wall near the attic door.

Mom and the kids raced for the front door. She tried to open it. "It won't open." She then tried to open a window.

Something was coming down the stairs. Jerry grabbed a chair from the kitchen. "Get out of the way." He flung the chair smashing the window.

"Okay. Jimmy and Tommy first." said mom.

Jimmy and Tommy climbed out the window followed by Jerry. The mom climbed out with the flashlight. They ran as a claw reached out the broken window. When they reached the corner, they stopped and looked back. Nothing was following them.

"What was that?" asked Jerry.

"I'll tell you this much." said mom, "That's no ghost!"

She hugged Jimmy and Tommy and then hugged Jerry. "We need to decide what to do." She paused, "There's the diner ...." Her voice faded. The kids wouldn't sleep well tonight anyway. "Let's go."

They walked to the diner, entered and sat at a table.

After ordering food, mom asked to see the manager. Her brother, Fred, came walking out of the kitchen. "Hi Mary. How are you?'

"Not so good." said mom, "Fred, we need your help."

"I'll help if I can. What's the problem."

"You have some time?"

"Yeah."

"Sit down."

Fred pulled up a chair and sat at the table.

Mary told him what happened.

"Do you know where this creature came from?"

"I have no idea." said mom.

"Can you describe the claw?"

"All I was interested in was getting the boys to safety. I wasn't about to stop and take a good look at a claw coming out of the wall!"

"Hmmmmm." Fred scratched his chin, "How large was the claw?"

"About the size of a twelve inch pizza would be my best guess."

Fred was silent for a few minutes. "When have you been in that house now? A week maybe?"

"More or less."

"Could you describe what you found when you moved in?"

"What we found?"

"Yeah. I'm interested in the attic."

"Nothing." said mom,"Nothing unusual"

"Mom." Interrupted Jimmy.

"Hold on, honey. This is important."

"Mom, the cross."

'Jimmy, I said to -- "

"Let him speak." said Fred. "What cross?"

"Oh it's really nothing." said mom, " Seems the last owner left a crucifix up in the attic. But let's get back to that creature or whatever it is."

"That's exactly what we're doing." said Fred. "Where was the crucifix?"

"It was on top of a wooden box." said Jimmy.

"A wooden box?" asked Fred

"Yeah." Said Jerry, "I think the box was nailed to the floor."

"And one more thing." said Tommy, "There was this white stuff all over the floor."

"What stuff?" asked Fred.

"I don't know." said Tommy.

"What did it look like?" Asked Fred.

"Ummmmmm" Tommy was thinking.

"Salt," said Jerry, "Mom asked us to clean the attic. So we swept up the salt."

"Did you remove the crucifix from the box?" asked Fred.

"Yeah." said Tommy and Jimmy.

"Where is it now?" asked Fred.

"In our bedroom." said Tommy.

"Why are you so interested in a crucifix and some salt?" asked mom.

"Because it may reveal how your problem came about."

Silence. Fred kept scratching his chin. He looked like he was in deep thought.

"You know something we don't?" asked mom.

"Listen." said Fred. "We don't have much time."

"Much time for what?" asked mom.

" To get rid of that creature before more appear." answered Fred.

"Now you're scaring me. Before more what appears?" asked mom.

"I'll explain later." said Fred. He gave some directions to his crew and then turned to Mary and the kids. "Come with me."

They left the diner and got into Fred's sedan. He drove them to his house. He went inside and got a crucifix, a large container of salt and a gallon of water. From there he drove to the church and brought the salt, water and crucifix inside. A few moments later he came back to the car and drove to another home a block away from mom's house. A few moments later Fred and another man came out. Fred got into his sedan and the man got into his truck. The man followed Fred to mom's house.

They parked and everyone got out.

Fred turned to the kids. "Stay in the car."

Then he turned to mom. "Mary, this is Joe."

Mary and Joe greeted each other.

"Okay." said Fred, "Before we get started, let me explain what we are about to do. When the kids swept up the salt and removed the crucifix from the wooden box, they unwittingly freed the creature. The creature came up through a portal which you know as a wooden box."

"So you had the crucifix, the salt and the water blessed." said Mary.

"Exactly." said Fred. "We have to trap the creature near the box. Then comes the tough part. We have to force it back down the portal, cover the box and place the crucible on top of it." He paused. "Mary, this is an extremely dangerous task. I prefer you stay with the kids."

"Fred, thanks for the consideration. But I've never backed down from anything and I'm not about to back down now. I want my home back."

They each took a crucifix. Joe had two and gave one to Mary. Then Fred and Joe each took one box of salt and Mary took the holy water. They opened the front door. The house was quiet. Joe put some salt in the area by the door. Fred checked the kitchen and put salt across the kitchen entrance. Each of the three now carried the crucifix and a container of salt. They checked every closet, every room and every hallway. After each area was checked, the blessed Dead Sea salt was spread across the entrances. Finally they reached the attic door.

They opened the door and slowly climbed the stairs, spreading some salt on each step. Then they looked around the attic. There was no sign of the creature. They walked over to the wooden box and placed the cover back on it. Fred placed his crucifix on the cover and turned to face the stairway. Suddenly the creature appeared seemingly out of nowhere and swung it's arm hitting Fred in the head. Fred flew across the attic and landed on the floor unconscious. Joe and Mary held their crucifixes in front of themselves. A piece of wood flew across the room hitting Joe in the head. Joe fell to the floor unconscious. Mary was alone now. The creature stood before her. It was bent over because of the slanted roof. It looked somewhat like a human except for it's rugged leather skin, huge eyes and large claws.

Suddenly the creature hit Mary's hand with another piece of wood. The crucifix fell to the floor. The creature grabbed Mary by the arm and dragged her away from the crucifix as she screamed.

Outside, Tommy, Jimmy and Jerry were waiting inside the car.

"I don't like this." Said Jerry. "They have been in there for too long."

"What do we do?" asked Tommy.

"Maybe we should call the police." said Jimmy.

"The police can't help us. We need a priest." said Jerry.

"We do?"

"Yes. Lets go to the church." said Jerry.

Jerry got out of the car. "Come on! Let's go."

Jimmy and Tommy got out of the car. "Where?"

"There's a church about three blocks away." said Jerry.

They ran to the church and looked to the priest's residence.

They found it and knocked on the door. Father Benjamin opened the door.

The three kids spoke at once.

"Hold on. One at a time." He turned to Jerry, "What is this about?"

Jerry explained it to the priest. The only reason the priest believed the boys was because of the petrified look on their faces. Father Benjamin blessed himself and the boys. He excused himself saying he'd be right back. He came back with a blessed crucifix and holy water. "Let's go." They got into a car.

When they reached the house, the priest asked, "Did you say this creature was in the attic?"

"Yes." they answered.

"Okay." He said, "I hate to say this but I need your help." He pulled three more crucifixes out of his pocket and gave one to each of the boys.

"What are the chains for?" asked Jerry as he saw the priest pull four chains out from under the seat. Each chain was two feet long.

"If this creature outsmarted your mom and her companions, we need to be creative. Do they have holy water?" asked the priest.

"Yes." said Jerry.

"You have any water?"

"There are two buckets of water in the truck." said Jerry.

"Good." The priest got out of the car. Jerry opened the truck door which was unlocked. The priest blessed the water and then blessed the chains. "Okay." he said, "If you encounter the creature, dip the chain in the holy water and hit the creature with it."

"I'd rather throw the whole bucket of holy water on the creature." said Jerry.

"Don't miss." said the priest.

As they stepped on the front porch, the priest asked, "Has this creature ever come out of the attic?"

"Yes," said Tommy, "When it chased us out of the house."

They repeated the actions of their mom and companions, checking each room and closet on each floor. Finally they were at the bottom of the attic stairs.

They slowly climbed the stairs. The priest was the first one up the stairs. The kids followed. They found Fred and Joe unconscious on the floor.

"Where's mom?" Asked Tommy.

"Over there." The priest pointed to the corner. He cautiously walked over to checked her. "She was knocked out. I think she'll be okay."

The kids sat the buckets of water on the floor between them They dipped their chains in the water. The priest did likewise. They waited.

"What is it waiting for?" asked Jerry.

"For us to put down our guard." said the priest. "This is a smart creature."

"So what do we do?" asked Jimmy.

Before the priest could answer, the creature jumped out from behind the boxes and threw a wrench at him. The wrench hit the priest's arm and the priest dropped the cross. The creature reached for the priest as Jerry picked up the bucket of holy water. He dumped it on the creature. The creature screamed and dropped the priest. Jimmy and Tommy picked up the second bucket of holy water. As the creature lowered to the floor, they dumped the second bucket of holy water of the creature. Then they dumped the rest of the holy water, left by Mary, Fred and Joe, on the creature. The creature screamed constantly as it slowly melted down to nothing.

Father Benjamin blessed himself in thanks. Then he went to the aid of the three people on the floor. He took out his cell phone and dialed 911. He calmly stated that there were several injured people who apparently have head injuries and then gave the address.

Then he turned to the box and prayed a prayer of protection. Then he piled the remains of the salt on the box. He turned to the boys and said, "That should keep the portal shut."

The ambulance arrived. Father Benjamin, the boys, Joe, Fred and Mary were taken to the hospital. They were all fine. Father told Mary to paint a warning sign on the side of the wooden box in the attic.

Father smiled at the boys, "Keep the crucifixes, boys. Ya never know when you're gonna need them!"

Back at the house, things were not quiet. In the attic, sounds of the creatures within emanated the wooden box. But it remained sealed below the crucifix.