Morning “Mrs. Baxter?” The young woman knocked softly on the screen door. “May I come in?” Cora Baxter, who had been snoozing lightly in the warm sunlight filtering in through the living room window, took her time to get up from her chair by the heat register and walked slowly to the front door. The hardwood floors creaked under the weight of her shuffle. As she approached the front door, she had to squint her eyes to try to discern her afternoon visitor.

“Who is this.” I asked my mom as I stared up at a very tall stranger. He had short dirty brown buzz cut hair and these magnificent green eyes. They almost looked like emeralds when you looked at them in the sunlight. He had on a brown button up coat with a black hood in the back. Along with blue jeans that had rips in them, and parts had faded so much that they looked white rather than blue. He was wearing some black running shoes that looked worn down. His face was very sharp and clean cut with no facial hair along with cherry red lips that was complemented by his small nose. His ivory skin glistened in the sunlight. I only reached up to his belly button because of how tall he was. Who are all these people? Everyone around me is very tall and white they all look the same except him. “Who is he.” I'm asking my mom at five years old, very curious about all the people around the fire that the men had made. In front of the little chop shop on the big space of land that these people owned I stare at the boy that is not like anyone I see.

We live in a world where time is limited. I, I was 5 years old and I didn’t know what that meant for us in life. I mean I was just a kid, an innocent child who knew nothing.

“You’re gonna regret that. You just made the biggest mistake of your life” The man looked at the woman who had tears in her eyes and curled his mouth up at the sides in a smirk.

Chapter Four I turned and looked out through the glass door. I saw a dark figure standing there looking at me. I couldn’t see their face or tell if it was a guy or a girl. Whoever it was turned and walked away but my body still felt like it was vibrating and my eyes were burning. I must’ve gotten something in my eyes, so I headed towards the bathrooms. When I headed over to the sink and saw my face in the mirror. I shrieked and fell against the bathroom stall. My eyes were bright green, kinda looked like they were glowing. My body still was pulsing and my head started pounding.

Marcus was having a strange dream. It was swirly smokey colors fading in and out and in the background he could hear someone calling his name. He was having such a nice dream about his girlfriend that he didn’t want to wake up. Marcus was fighting waking up but the person calling his name was persistent.

Marcus Flag, Jr was weaving his bicycle in and out of traffic at a fast pace trying to hurry to the firehouse his family worked at. He peddled into the open garage portion with his arms up in the air and yelled a triumphant, “Yes!”. His dark curly hair was laden with sweat and his breathing was coming out in pants as he removed his medium height frame from the bike.

Leon arrived home and was parking the car in the driveway when a bottle rocket came shooting from next door. He got out and ‘reminded’ the older teen boys next door that it wasn’t safe because of how dry it was and the city did have a burning ban on because of the wind. They were apologizing when their parent come out to find out what was going happening. Leon explained the situation to them and the parent yelled at the boys but had to leave to go to work; leaving the unsupervised reckless teenagers alone. Leon waved over to Marcus and the twins and went inside the house to get ready for the evening out with Morgan to celebrate their anniversary.

What is MAD Love 11:33? Well, it's not so simple to explain. You see, it started the very moment I entered this world. Some would say that you enter this world the moment you are born, but I believe it is from the very moment you are formed in the womb. Either way this story's quite interesting no matter where you begin, but we’ll go ahead and start from the jump. Why leave out any of this madness (state of frenzied or chaotic activity)?

Hidden away on the inside of the jacket he found a letter, its creases worn. It was one he had read a thousand times, but that he'd not seen in quite some time. The jacket, a black, leather biker’s jacket which he'd once worn nearly every day, had been tucked away in the corner of his closet. The motorcycle he’d long ago gotten rid of, but he couldn’t ever bring it on himself to get rid of the jacket. Once more, he opened the letter and read.

Many older adults feel satisfied with their lives and are ready to settle for a simpler lifestyle. A frugal lifestyle may be something you are considering as you approach retirement. Like with any decision, frugality may not be for everyone. Some decide to try a frugal lifestyle to stretch their savings as much as possible while others feel that frugality is in harmony with their values.

This year has been chaotic for many people. Tensions are running high, a lot of anger everywhere, and to top it off, it's an election year. I'm not a person who knows a lot about politics, and I prefer to keep my political views to myself. I don't vote for any party. I prefer to study what each candidate has to offer and use my gut instinct to comply with my civil duty of voting, and that is about it. But what I've seen this year among family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers regarding politics and COVID-19 is just atrocious.