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This week on Adam and the Ants:
I was having a pleasant, if somewhat surreal dream that featured an ice cream truck driving the halls at school. The students were laughing and enjoying Rocket Pops and Push-ups as they roamed from class to class, but they all carried stacks of sticks and leaves instead of books. Gradually, though, the festive atmosphere dissipated. The hallway became uncomfortably warm, and the students' icy treats began melting in their hands. The ice cream truck's mirthful song turned dissonant and out of tune. One by one the students dropped their sweets as grins and giggles turned to wide-eyed masks of fear. Some began to run erratically up and down the halls, ducking in and out of classrooms.
A copper-haired girl in a blue and white cheerleader's uniform shuffled past me, mumbling "Danger... Save the babies... Danger... Save the babies..." Others nearby took up the mantra, and soon every student was chanting in unison.
"Danger. Save the babies. Danger. Save the babies."
I'm very excited about this week's chapter. It's actually the first part of the story that I wrote. I'm going to be bouncing up and down in my seat all week, sitting on my hands to stop myself from putting too much information out too soon!
This week's song is Out of Time by Stone Temple Pilots. The Adam and the Ants 'soundtrack' is available for free listening on Spotify at http://bit.ly/13U48s1
Over the past couple weeks I have gone over A&TA and made some changes, mostly cleaning up typos and other aesthetic changes to the formatting. I also added a paragraph near the end of Chapter 9 after a suggestion from a reader. All of these changes are in the queue and should be up soon.
I want to take a moment to thank once again the rest of my growing team of editors, proofreaders and beta readers. The story is much better thanks to all of you!
Lastly, as always, I need to thank you, my readers, for your honest votes and feedback.
LCA
Chapter 9 went up a bit earlier than I had expected. I'm still trying to get the hang of the submission wizard.
This chapter features another event based loosely on my own life.... But in my case, rather than my rival, it was my so-called best friend! In both junior high and high school, he had a nasty habit of ending up going with girls I had hopes of dating. (THREE times between 9th and 12th grades!) Eventually I learned my lesson and quit confiding in him about my crushes.
I've been getting more emails as the story progresses. I'm doing my best to keep up with replies.
Remember, readers: if you email me anonymously, I can't reply!
Useless trivia: The Americanized term "Mayday," used when calling for help via radio, comes from the french "M'aidez" which translates as "help me."
M'aidez-vous, s'il vous plait?' translates fairly closely in English as "Help me, please?"
This week on Adam and the Ants:
The depth of that last insult must have finally made its way through Miller's skull. His fists were clenched, his face was ruddy, and his eyes narrowed. For a big guy, he sure moved fast! He took two quick steps forward and shoved me-- hard-- in the chest with both hands. Taken by surprise, I caromed off a garbage can and fell over sideways into the dirt. Before I could get up Miller was on top of me, straddling me with all of his considerable weight on my chest. A part of my conscience felt the ant colony nearby. They were agitated at the disturbance, but at the moment I had other concerns.
"Can't... breathe.." I wheezed.
"You're going to have bigger problems than that in a minute, Grasshopper." Miller had my arms pinned to the ground and his face loomed over me. "Right now I'm going to rearrange your face. You can breathe again when I'm done."
It looks like Mike Miller is about to get his 'next time...'
This week's song is Ant Music by Adam and the Ants (The band). The Adam and the Ants (the story) 'soundtrack' is available for free listening on Spotify at http://bit.ly/13U48s1
I debated extensively with myself over the use of "What's Love Got to Do With It?" as both the chapter intro and Eddie's parody. I considered using "Photograph" by Def Leppard as the chapter intro, and even re-wrote parts of Chapters 5 and 7 to add the birthday party photo... but under scrutiny, the lyrics of "Photograph" don't mean as much in the context of the story. In the end it was too good to pass up; "What's Love" matched the mood of the chapter, it was the #1 hit in the summer of 1984 and, to be honest, I don't think I could have done better with another song for the parody.
Useless trivia: Cyrano de Bergerac was a real person, somewhat famous in his own time as a wordsmith and swordsman, and did have a 'rather large nose' -- but not as ridiculously large as depicted in the play and movies. José Ferrer won a Tony award for his portrayal on stage as well as the Best Actor Oscar for the 1950 film.
The (colorized) insult scene is on YouTube: http://youtu.be/QEacXeAbHpQ …also see the 1987 re-imagining with Steve Martin at http://youtu.be/ODFSF8MNTSs
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