BigGator5.net

Do you know why I love you so much?

You are my every thought,
my every dream.
(more…)

DragonGate has shipped out to Afghanistan this morning. Until she comes home, I will place a yellow ribbon in the side bar.

This here is the most beautiful woman in the world and a smarter writer than me. DragonGate could do better than me if she really wanted to, so I feel lucky that she has choosen me. I want to marry and then have beautiful children (I want 10, but she’s drawn the line at 2) with her. She will clearly be my better half.

I first meet DragonGate online at a forum. There we developed a friendship. Through a series of events that I will not get into right now, we slowly lost contact with each other. I was disappointed becaused I liked her and wanted to get to know her better, but soon wrote it off as life on the internet.

Next I heard from her, she had dropped out of college and joined the Army. On top of that, she was in South Korea. From then on I talked with her a lot and I started to have real feelings about her. She got back State-side in August 2008 and I told her I wanted to see her. So in the first week of December 2008, I went to New Mexico and visited her. When I got there, I told I loved her and she told me she love me too. We talked a lot about her coming to visit me shortly afterward.

Then she came to visit me and we had a great July 4th Weekend. I am hoping to have many more adventures with her when she gets back from Afghanistan.

Well, see ya’ later!
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So my trackball finally died this morning. It just stop working altogether. The left button on the thing hasn’t worked for months, but the rest of the mouse worked. I’ve had the thing since 2004 and the warranty lasts for only five years, so I think I have gotten my money’s worth over it.

It sucks, because I hate the touchpad on the laptop. However I will have to just live with the mousepad for now. Nothing I can really do, since I have no money or job.

Well, see ya’ later!
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I took Blake to the park today. We didn’t have any snacks so by the time we wanted to leave we were both hungry. So we headed to a church my grandmother is a member of and got us some grill hamburgers (they give them free to members on Saturdays).

Blake was amazed how good they were. Growing up on McDonald’s bugers, I realized that this kid hasn’t had a real grill burger in his young life. I have to say that my taste buds have also been dulled by fast food burgers. Burger King comes close to that grilled taste, but you sure can taste the difference. I will still eat fast food, but if I had the choice I would go with the home-made grill burger.

Well, see ya’ later!
(more…)

Yeah! Earth Day!

To be honest, I’m not too much on the whole saving the planet stuff. I’m like George Carlin, we have to learn to take care of ourselves first before we can take care of the planet. The amount of the pollen in the air has made me sick all day, so my wanting to “save the planet” is at an all time low. So I will be looking forward to the end of this spring, that is for sure. I will spend most of my time in the pool this coming summer, when I am not looking for a job (that in itself will be rough by just looking online).

Well, see ya’ later!
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The jury was funneling back in as the courtroom filled back up. Matt looked behind him, not surprised to see Alberto Arfiglio in the back row, obviously interested in his fingernails as he picked at them with a long, sharp knife. He caught the eyes of the lawyer looking at him and turned the knife, light glinting off the blade.
Matt fac palmed as he looked back to the front of the courtroom. “I’m a dead man.”
Eddie shrugged. “Better you than me.”

“Yeah, I bet that’s what you told Chucky Vercetti, too.”

Eddie got a hurt look on his face as the bailiff conferred with the judge. “I shot Chucky in self-defense.”

Matt rested his head on the table. “Screw it.”

After the judge nodded a couple of times, the foreman stood up and spoke. “We the jury in the case of Callatano versus New York find the defendant Edward Callatano not guilty of murder in the second degree.”

The judge rapped his gavel to quiet the uproar in the audience. “Order in the court!”

Once the court room settled, Matt looked behind him again. Don Arfiglio was still watching the defense table, and gave the impression he’d been doing so the whole time the jury had given their verdict. The lawyer let his head fall back on his arms. ”I’m dead.”

The judge gestured at the defense table. “This court is adjourned, Mr. Callatano, you are free to go barring out-processing with the city jail.”

Rita had a new round of steam coming from her ears. “Hope to hell you’re happy, Duquesne.”

Matt watched quietly as the courtroom emptied and Eddie walked out. As he was packing up his briefcase, the Don approached. “Very nice work, Mr. Duquesne. I believe your practice is a very recently founded,” to himself he whispered, “very recently founded.”

He completely ignored the repetition. “I recently came back home to the Diamond after a graduation trip in India, that went a little longer than I intended, Mr. Arfiglio.”

The Don nodded. “You were not supposed to secure Callatano’s acquittal, my figlia Donna told you this.”

Matt figured, if they were going to kill him, might as well be splashy about it. “Strange, I’m a defense attorney, I thought that was what people hire me for.”

Don Alberto steepled his fingers. “That is not always quite the case, Mr. Duquesne. You were told to throw the case,” Alberto whispered to himself, “throw the case.”

“And now you’re going to have me killed? Good luck with that.” Matt picked up his briefcase and left the courtroom.

Alberto Arfiglio went back to cleaning his nails with his antique switchblade as he followed the attorney out.

A weary Matt unlocked his office and flicked on the lights, hanging his suit coat on the wall hooks. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay open today, honestly. And he was starving. He went in the mini-kitchen and opened the meat tray. “God, I need this,” he muttered to himself as he pulled a family pack of steak out and threw them up on the counter to thaw.

He heard the clatter of his door bells and stepped out into the waiting area. Spotting Detective Molle, he made a mock bow. “Welcome to Duquesne Law Offices, I’m the secretary who happens to look just like my boss. What can I do for you, Detective?”

“Actually, it’s more what I can do for you, Duquesne. Telling off a Mafia don in Diamond City is tantamount to attempted suicide.”

“Yeah, well, if he tries it, they’ll probably get eaten. Or mauled. Probably not in that order.”

Harold hissed through his teeth. “You’ve changed since you came back from India, Matt. The Matt Duquesne I knew back in college would be lapping at Arfiglio’s hand.”

“Yeah, well, Harold, India was a game-changer in my life. So, other than, wait a second! Mauled and eaten? Do you know who I think you know?”

Matt wanted to kick himself. Too late to take it back. “Well, you know, somebody’s gotta point him at the bad guys in this city.”

Harold nodded enthusiastically. “Tell ‘im the entire police department loves him, Matt. As long as the bank thing wasn’t a one-trick pony.”

“It wasn’t.” Matt picked his suit coat off the hook and walked briefly to the kitchen, putting the steak back in the refrigerator.

Harold nodded in a pleased fashion. “Good, we want to see more. Only this time, tell him to not put them in the hospital. We’d prefer ‘em in the morgue.”

Matt nodded, locking his office as Harold walked back to his car. To himself, the were-tiger muttered, “I’m pretty sure Durga wouldn’t approve, though.”

Back in his apartment, Matt took off his court suit and hung it up in the closet, noting a trip to the dry cleaner tomorrow was in order. He unfolded the suit Durga had left the night before. “Seriously? She can’t be more original than this?”

He laid the two pieces out flat, the material was a thin orange with black striping in both pants and long-sleeved shirt. “Oh, lookit, there’s a mask, too. Obviously, I can’t tell the entire city I turn into a Bengal tiger. They’d disbar me for being fucking nuts.”

Stripping down completely, Matt pulled on the clothes Durga had left. “It’s Friday night, I’ve got nowhere to be on Saturday. Time to try out the ‘heroic patrol’ thing.”

Matt opened the window for himself first, pulled on the mask and jumped out the fourth floor window, catching the third floor fire escape and agilely swinging off it back to the fourth floor escape on the building. Dangling by his arms with as little effort as pushing a pen, Matt vaulted over the handrail and flipped in air before landing on his feet on the creaky metal. Looking back at the hand rail, and thinking about the acrobatics he’d just done, the fledgling hero shook his head. “I’m pretty sure most people can’t do that.” (more…)

He stayed like that in the Automat until 1030. “Time to do my job.”
Matt headed upstairs towards the courtroom where the initial hearing for Callatano v. New York was taking place. Rita was standing outside, looking she needed a smoke. “I hope you don’t drag this crap out through lunch, Duquesne, I need a nicotine fix.”
“This ‘crap’ is our justice system.”
“Whatever.” Rita walked into the courtroom, Matt looked up to see Eddie in a good suit and with a calm look about him.
“Eddie, you look good.”
“Gotta look good, Mr. Duquesne. I’ve got a jury to impress.”

Matt crossed his eyes and sighed. “We’re gonna lose,” he muttered as he followed Rita in and led Eddie behind him.

Both lawyers had their briefcases open on tables and papers spread out with their notes for opening and closing statements. Matt made a proper show of looking interested while Rita stood up to give her opening.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we are all well aware of why we’re here. The killing of one Diamond City lowlife by another.”

“Objection, Your Honor. Characterizing my client as a ‘lowlife’ in opening remarks is prejudicial.”

“Oh for pete’s sake, Duquesne. You’re defending the Arfiglio  family’s trigger-puller.”

“Objection, statement without corroborating evidence.”

The judge gave both of them a hard look. “Sustained and sustained, refrain from making any sweeping opinions about the accused, if you would, Ms. Hayes.”

Rita gritted her teeth while trying to hide the fumes coming out of her ears from the jury. At least she’d rung the bell. “Yes, Your Honor. We are to look at the facts of a situation that no one but Eddie Callatano knows what really happened in. I only ask that the jury will take what they know of this city,” she glanced at Matt for another objection, “And come to a verdict that fits the known facts. Thank you.”

Matt stood up as Rita was sitting down. “Esteemed members of the jury, we are faced with a thorny problem. Self-defense where no one but the man defending himself comes out the other side. Had one other person been present, this would be a non-issue. As our sorry situation stands, we have only Eddie’s lone word that Vercetti drew on him first and forced him to shoot to defend his own life, as any person in Diamond City would. The defense will show reasonable circumstances, since we all know we can never be sure what really happened, and I ask that you put yourselves in Eddie’s shoes and give him the same benefit of the doubt you would wish for yourself. Thank you.” Matt sat down and wiped his hands on his pants legs.

Rita was steaming as she stood up to call witness. “The prosecution calls Detective First Grade Arthur Firelli to the stand.”

Firelli got out of the audience and moved slowly to the front. The veteran homicide cop didn’t like testifying and had wanted Callatano to plea bargain. Unfortunately, that Mob lawyer dipshit Duquesne had the case.

Rita approached him with a friendly smile. After swearing Firelli in, she started her questioning. ”If you would please, Detective, state your name and occupation for the record.”

“Arthur Lucas Firelli, homicide detective with the Diamond City Police Department, 15 years.”

“And what did you find when you were first called to the crime scene, Detective?”

“Well, Vercetti had a hole in his chest and Callatano was sitting on his, he was sitting down on the curb holding his gun in his lap. He said Vercetti had drawn his gun first, and after the Medical Examiner arrived and cleared the body, we started looking for Vercetti’s Hello Kitty pistol.”

“Did you find it, Detective?”

“Not at the time, no.”

“So it was possible the gun wasn’t there immediately after the shooting?” (more…)