Tag: writing

Ken Kirkby, A Painter’s Quest for Canada

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Excerpt

Ken closed his eyes, his lids like coarse sandpaper scraping against
his eyeballs. Opening them was worse. The woman tied a piece of soft
hide over his eyes and all he could do was bear the agony and wait. For
days, he travelled as a blind man, in pain and nauseated from the gentle
rocking of the sleigh. When the pain eased, he took off the hide, and the
old woman gave him a pair of goggles with a small slit, explaining that he
would have to carve them to fit his face. He carved with great care so they
barely touched his skin. Close contact would freeze them to his pores.
They had been travelling a long time, when a golden glow appeared
on the horizon. As they drew nearer, the golden fire resolved into a large
group of igloos. The dogs heralded their approach, and people streamed
out of the igloos to welcome them. The first questions were about food.
The caribou had not crossed their path this season. Did the new people
have caribou? Yes, they had much caribou and it would be shared.
A feast was prepared for the newcomers, who entered the largest igloo
in the centre of the village. In the anteroom, they took off their parkas
and beat them vigorously before entering the main room, where layers of
caribou hides were spread on ice benches that circled the room. Kidney
shaped seal oil lamps provided warmth and light. When they had eaten
and told stories, people dispersed to their own igloos. Ken and his people
crawled under many layers of hides and slept. The old woman had told
the people that Ken was a quiet Kabluna. “He is a friend,” she had said.
“He is now Inuk.”
The next morning while the men built igloos, Ken pulled out his roll of
sketch paper and drew them, as they searched for the right sort of snow
by poking deep into it with a knife or a long sharpened piece of bone.
When they found the right spot, they drew a circle and began cutting out
uniform chunks of hard-packed snow, beginning at what would become
the entrance. They lifted the blocks into place, bevelling the edges, and
chinking the spaces between with loose snow.
Ken was invited to accompany the men on the next hunt. For the Inuit,
hunting is the essence of life. The animals must be revered and not offended.
Kablunat don’t understand this, the old woman told him, but Ken
was now Inuk – no longer a Kablunat. She convinced the hunters that
Ken was an exception. They set off onto the frozen sea that was covered
with a thin layer of transparent ice that moved in front of the sled teams
like a rubbery wave. Underneath them, thousands of air bubbles bounced
and rolled.
When they spotted a seal in the water beneath them they searched for
the beast’s breathing hole and waited. When the seal was forced up to
gasp for air one of the men heaved a long spear and the water stained
crimson.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981073573

Jazz with Ella

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Excerpt

As she and Michael drove down Fourth Avenue in the beater car they had just bought at a used car lot and had not yet fully paid for, she fell in love with the area. It was August under a cloudless sky and her window was rolled down. Chestnut trees hung over the street. A man in a bright serape and sandals was juggling vinyl pins in front of a health food store. Another man was handing out copies of what appeared to be the local newspaper, The Georgia Straight. Music blared from speakers in a record shop. Crowds of tanned young people roamed the streets carrying radios and backpacks. No one seemed in a hurry and everyone smiled. “Peace, peace,” one man called out to her holding up his fingers in a V as they drove by.
“Let’s live here, Michael, not in the student apartments. They’re so god awful concrete and gloomy.”
As usual, Michael’s reply was brief. “Maybe.”
He’ll come around as soon as he lives in Vancouver a while, she thought. Maybe he and Paul will become friends.
But that faint hope, borne briefly as they got out of the car and entered Paul’s building, was quickly dashed.
“Isn’t this great?” Paul said right away, hugging her and spreading his arms wide to take in the wicker chairs, battered sofa, tiny kitchen and a balcony with a glorious view of the ocean. “It reminds me of California, you know, where I grew up. I love it here.” He seemed so relaxed, so laid back, as they said out in Vancouver. He shook hands warmly with Michael who returned the handshake but stared at him as if he were a lab specimen.
“It’s great to see you here, finally, Jennifer. And Michael, too. Let me show you around.” They examined some of Paul’s nicer possessions including a collection of Russian literature and a brightly polished samovar, with Jennifer ooohing and aahing periodically.
“We’re quite close to the Russian community centre here,” he told them. “It’s cool to visit.”
“It’s perfect,” she cried. “Isn’t it, Michael?”
Paul relaxed. “Just about. The only thing that would make my life complete here would be a girlfriend. Sue and I broke up.” Immediately Michael’s expression changed from one of puzzlement to repugnance. He began to bristle, Jennifer thought later. It had to be jealousy. But why? Paul had always been her good friend. Michael knew that, accepted it, or so he had said. Men, she thought with exasperation.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763246

Swamped

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Excerpt

Eteo dialed Susan’s number.
“Hello sweet Susan.”
“A sweet hello to you too, Eteo,” she replied.
“Want to hook up for lunch?”
“Sure. Are you very hungry?”
“Extremely. And you?” he asked, teasing her.
“I am.”
“Hungry for what, though, sweet Susan?”
She laughed into his ear. “And for that.”
“I’ll make sure you’re fed, my love,” Eteo promised.
It was the first time Susan had heard him call her that. She felt
her cheeks redden, and a sweeter feeling ran down her spine and over
her whole body.
“What time is your lunch break today?” Eteo asked.
“In twenty minutes. Can you wait for me?”
“Twenty minutes, yes, but not a single minute more. You’ll come
down here?”
Susan assured him she would be there on time
“See you in twenty, baby,” Eteo said, putting down the phone.
A quick check of Platinum Properties showed it trading at 55c
with his orders lower than the market. He called Logan into his office.
“Raise these two orders a little higher. From 49 and 51 cents to
53 and 54. We’ve been sitting too low. I don’t see us getting any shares
otherwise.”
Logan quickly changed the prices of the buying slips and went
to the trading desk to instruct the traders. By the time he got back to
his father’s office, they were first in the line of purchasers and within
a few seconds they had secured almost twenty thousand shares in a
couple of transactions. Eteo smiled.
“Stay at this position until the end of the day. John might decide
to take some of his profit and walk.”
Logan agreed, seeing what was happening in the market as another
seven thousand shares came to them at the same price. Almost
as soon as Logan had gone back to his desk, Susan arrived. Eteo got
up at once, took her by the arm and walked her out. Susan was still
flushed and warmed up from his earlier words today.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WP3LMPX

Arrows

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Excerpt

I managed to push him off and he sauntered away,
seemingly satisfied he had not only taught Tamanoa a lesson, but
me as well.
I looked at Tamanoa’s mutilated face. He was choking on his
blood. turned and threw the nose at my feet, then disappeared into
the night, whistling. I helped Tamanoa up and tried to guide him by
the shoulders, hoping perhaps to take him to see Pedro Montes, but
he shook me off and refused to speak to me as he walked towards
the river. And who could blame him? I was a Spaniard after all. It
was for me to prove that Spaniards were not all the same.
I found where Josefa had been sleeping. Gregorio had found her,
too. They were seated near one another, but not talking. Gregorio
drew shapes in the dirt with a long stick and glanced furtively at her
and me. I wanted to tell them both what Pánfilo had done, but I
knew it would not make any difference if they knew. Nobody cared
about the half-breeds.
It was dusk and pleasantly cool in the mountains. Wesat around a
fire. Josefa’s eyes were puffy and red-rimmed, a sign of the depth of
her weariness. The experienced conquistadors had ignored Josefa,
but now that she was widowed, Losada came by to offer his
sympathy and put himself at her disposal to arrange her return to El
Tocuyo once it was safe to do so, if that was her wish.
Infante followed, bowing deeply and kissing her hands. He
expressed his concern about her delicate situation and asked her
permission to inquire after her welfare, so that he might be at her
service in the future.
Gabriel de Ávila, Camacho and others, although modestly, also
showed interest in her that night. Josefa received them graciously,
while Gregorio watched in sullen annoyance. I hoped she might find
a husband among all these men.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981073522

Savages and Beasts

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Excerpt

slowly-slowly he pressed the woman’s lips until they opened, her
tongue suddenly was licking his finger, her body started swaying
upwards and down, erotically, sensually, provocatively, full of
desire. He smiled, let his hand travel under the bed-sheet, he
touched her body slowly, methodically like a master in the field
he enticed her until she opened for him and let him explored all
her secret coves. She moaned now, her body was in exhilarating
mood, ready to be used, taken, to be enjoyed. He pushed the
bed-sheet away. He knelt on top of her bed. He pulled her
up on her fours. He violated her, crashing in from behind in a
beastly, rough way. She just let go. She was his. Sister Gladys was
a woman who could do anything to please him. She loved him,
she knew. He knew that too.
All his life Jerome, liked to be on top of things; from a young
age growing in a family of five children, in Gatinaeu, Quebec, he
always competed with his four siblings for who would be up front
when it came to sports activities, to studies, in both elementary
and high school classes; His parents certainly loved education, his
dad, a notary public and a very successful one insisted on education
and three of his other siblings, two boys and one girl got high education,
either in college or university. His youngest sister decided
early after high school that she didn’t want to carry on with her
studies and devoted herself to volunteer work for various charity
organizations. Jerome, a shy person by nature, loved the books and
when time came to decide, this was very important to his father
who demanded timely decisions and results thereof, he chose to
become a priest. He followed religious Studies at the University of
Toronto he conscripted himself in the Canadian Diocese, the head
of which sent him to British Columbia. After a few years in Vancouver,
he was sent to the Kamloops Indian Residential School
where he was truly on top of things from day one.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763602

Still Waters

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Excerpt

Tyne wondered if she should show them her gift, but decided
against it. She knew Aunt Millie would admire it, but her mother
might appear less than pleased. She hoped to spare Morley, and herself,
that embarrassment. Today, of all days, people should be joyful
and of one accord.
Tyne picked up her handbag, and smiled at the two older women
who stood watching them. “Bye for now. I’ll see you both later. I’ll be
home in time to help with dinner.”
Tyne hoped, but did not expect, that her mother would invite
Morley for lunch. She saw Aunt Millie glance expectantly at her sister-
in-law, but Emily did not take the bait. Tyne kicked off her slippers
in the entrance way and pulled on her fur boots. Then they let
themselves out into the crisp winter morning. 
Morley’s parents were already seated when the young couple
walked into Emblem Evangelical Church. The usher, a man Tyne recognized
as an employee of one of the three grain elevators in town,
greeted them warmly and led them to the pew where the Cresswells
waited. Mr. Cresswell, a stocky man slightly shorter than his son,
stood and shook hands with Tyne. Mrs. Cresswell also stood to welcome
her. She, too, was stocky and short, and Tyne had to bend from
the shoulders to return her hug.
She turned towards Morley’s father. “I’m pleased to see you looking
well again, Mr. Cresswell.”
He nodded and smiled. “The Lord is faithful,” he said simply.
“We’re so happy you could come, Tyne,” Mrs. Creswell said quietly.
“Come, sit beside me, dear, and Morley can sit on your other side.”
The warmth of Morley’s parents, and their obvious pleasure at her
presence in their church filled Tyne with ambivalent feelings. How
different their attitude towards her than her parents’ attitude towards
Morley. Their acceptance pleased her, yet at the same time made her
heart ache for the rejection Morley must feel from her parents. She
hoped that Aunt Millie’s acceptance – and Jeremy’s as well – made up
somewhat for her parents’ lack of grace.
As soon as the service began, Tyne became caught up in the joy
of the congregation. They sang the beautiful Christmas carols with
passion and enthusiasm.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763068

He Rode Tall

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Excerpt

stands that were crowded with all kinds of people visiting and
catching-up with each other since the last show. At the canteen,
Joel ordered a large coffee and then found an empty table at the
edge of the eating area to sit at and ponder his dilemma. He sure
didn’t want to sell to that no-good Buck Smith, but maybe that’s
what it would have to come down to. Joel thought that he should
have talked to Tanya sooner about the money problems, but it was
his pride that held it tight inside him. It wasn’t fair to her the way
she found out. She had done an exceptional job training the pretty
little palomino and he knew that she had high hopes for the filly.
There had to be something he could do to fix the situation.
“Joel.” It was Tanya, and her tears had been replaced with a
fresh smile. “I want you to meet my friends Morgan, Jesse, and
Sue Ellen. We are going to head into town and catch a movie or
something. Want to come along?”
Joel was relieved to see that Tanya had recovered so quickly.
She was obviously pleased to have connected with old friends
from the rodeo circuit.
“Well, do you want to come?” Tanya repeated.
“Oh no, you kids go. I want to hang around and make sure that
the horses are all bedded down for the night. But hey, have fun.”
Tanya and her friends hurried out of the arena. Joel couldn’t
help but think what a special person Tanya has become. His feelings
were nothing romantic—now, don’t get silly. She was just a
real good friend who happened to be female and nineteen years
old. Oh yeah, she was one heck of a horsewoman.
They had only been friends for a couple months, but now,
their first meeting seemed so long ago. He still remembered
when she had asked him on her first visit to the ranch, “Are these
horses just pretty, or do they ride too?” He was sure he would
never forget that. Harry and he had been proud of the good
schooling they were giving the three-year-olds, but that afternoon
when he first saw Tanya ride one, then another, and finally a
third horse, he recognized that she was taking them beyond
where he could even dream of, into another dimension.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0980897955

Ken Kirkby, A Painter’s Quest for Canada

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Excerpt

never been a connection between those people and the Inuit and yet here was
an original seminal idea being spoken by a woman in a completely different
time and space and place. All these things were like jolts hitting me. Here I
was living with an ancient people that were speaking to me directly. This was
not something being told to me by a teacher or a relative. I was getting the
original story and it affected me very profoundly.
When the old woman finished her story, silence enveloped the igloo like
a down blanket. Quietly, Ken stood and walked outside. The sky was filled
with as many stars as Ken’s mind was filled with thoughts. In one instant,
his life had changed. Knowingly or not, the old women had answered his
question about his role in this place, and in the lives of the Inuit.
She joined him, and he linked his arm through hers. Together they
stood gazing at the sky. Icy crystals of thought invaded his heart, while an
avalanche of ideas roared through his mind.
This was that crystal moment when everything that had happened before
made sense. I now had a clear purpose. I had gone to the Arctic because of
the stories that had been told to me in that cave in Portugal, but now, I felt
an urgency to gather as much information as possible – and to disseminate
it. It was clear to me how brilliantly I had been prepared. From this moment
on, I was no longer pursuing childhood dreams. I had a white-hot fire burning
inside me.
One day, the sun reappeared over the horizon and Ken felt as though
he was awakening from a dream. For a seemingly endless amount of time,
he had lived in darkness, listening to stories and legends, and the line between
waking and dreaming had blurred. And now the sun – a cause for
celebration – a reason for feasting!
Feasting also served to remind them of their great good fortune. They
had food, warmth, and clothing. Even more important, others had been
helped and they were grateful to have been able to help them. The young
man who had amputated his toes had survived, and that was even further
cause for thanksgiving.
As the days grew longer, the polar bears came out of hibernation. One
had been spotted nearby and men quickly prepared for the hunt. Once
again, grandmother prevailed upon the hunters to include Ken. When
the dogs picked up the scent they were released from their traces, and the
men followed their high-pitched howling.
When the dogs found their quarry they surrounded it, darting in close,
and then running back, staying out of reach of its lethal claws. Finally,
overheated and exhausted, the bear collapsed. The hunters fired at the
downed body until it lay still in a pool of blood, and then they began the
enormous task of skinning and butchering it. The oldest hunter stood
back. “In my day, that’s not how we hunted bears,” he said. “When we
hunted, it was one man with a spear and one bear with his claws.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981073573

Jazz with Ella

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Excerpt

He didn’t seem to have much family left except his grandmother in California and Jennifer felt as if she had been cast out of her own. They sat in the campus centre’s uncomfortable chairs, too hard for sleeping, just soft enough for flopping, smoked cigarettes—even though neither were smokers—and talked far into the night. At first she thought she wanted to sleep with him and made a few subtle overtures.
Jennifer had lost her virginity during the first year of college to a fraternity man who pressed his attentions on her in the back row of the movie theatre. From there, a succession of eager males had dated her but only a few had captured her interest. She didn’t believe in saving it for her husband, but she wanted respect from her partner. She wanted to find the right one—someone to love when lovemaking would be a passionate, full experience.
Paul was good-looking, tall, grey-eyed, with pronounced cheekbones, and as they wandered the campus together, she found herself wondering how he would look naked, whether he would be a good lover. But when she invited him back to her shared apartment for a nightcap, he told her about his girlfriend in Vancouver, a chemistry major who sounded as exciting as two planks of wood. Jennifer backed off. In his polite, contained style, he offered her nothing but a companionship that she would soon learn to treasure. At the end of the summer they kissed on the lips, promised to write to one another and he suggested that she apply for graduate work at his university where they could be colleagues. This parting tenderness made her feel warmer than the parting kiss of her many dates. Paul was special, no doubt about it. But he wasn’t the one.
The summer had scarcely faded into autumn before she met Michael. She had noticed him in the line-up at the cafeteria; he always ate at about the same time each day, moved his tray through the line efficiently, then always sat in the same spot, a table by the door. One day when the cafeteria was full, she thought what the hell and asked if the seat opposite him was taken. Politely, he gathered up his sprawling papers and books and indicated the seat. Then he returned to reading. She studied him. His most obvious feature was bushy black eyebrows. His thick full hair dropped to his shoulders in the current style. He was wearing a white cotton shirt with embroidery and she could see his well-proportioned body through the material.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763246

The Circle

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Excerpt

HAKIM ISONHISWAY to the Sheraton Hotel to meet his uncle so they can go
together to the medical center. He’s worried about what they will find out, but he
doesn’t want this to show. He wants to be courageous and strong for his uncle.
They arrive by limousine and a specialist meets them in a consultation room.
He confirms what’s already known about the tumor in Ibrahim’s liver. He
indicates it’s a very small-sized malignancy. At this stage, it’s unclear what type of
cancer it is, but he confirms that the tumor is a new type they don’t know very
much about. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for him to tell Ibrahim with any
certainty that it will respond positively to the new chemotherapy. For that reason,
he’ll start Ibrahim on a light dose. The specialist has arranged for Ibrahim to be
admitted to a private clinic where the medication is to be administered, and he’ll
be monitored twenty-four hours a day.
The specialist stops briefly, but continues to look at Ibrahim and Hakim to
ensure that, so far, everything is understood. Then he carries on.
“If we see that the drug doesn’t produce any adverse effects, the second dose,
and the third and fourth, can be given orally in the form of a pill that you can take
on your own, in the comfort of your own home. However, the first time the drug
is administered, we would like to monitor you very closely at the clinic. I’ll leave
you alone for a few minutes to absorb what I’ve told you. Then I’ll return with
further instructions.”
He gets up and the other two follow him out of the consultation room.
Hakim turns and gazes him. Ibrahim is pale and shaken. This is the first time
Hakim sees his uncle with fear in his eyes. The pride and gracefulness that he
possessed are gone. A layer of fear has taken over like a black shroud covering the
old man’s eyes.
“I wouldn’t worry they do miracles with medicine these days.” Hakim says
trying to relieve his uncle’s gloom.
“I guess so,” his uncle nods in agreement. “But, it means I cannot go home yet.”
“When were you planning to go home?”
“As soon as I’m done with these guys dear boy; Mara is most anxious for me
to get home; however, now she has to wait for a few more days.”
“You have to be here for only one or two more days so they can see …

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0978186524