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    Ways of the Fallen
    Ways of the Fallen
    Ways of the Fallen
    Ebook41 pages38 minutes

    Ways of the Fallen

    By Rori O'Keeffe

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Five stories are included that capture people at their nadir, whether they are low points in behavior or the depths of despair. An additional tale is taken directly from my own youth, and it's a chronicle of my time with a wonderful first love. Originally published from 2013 - 2018, the stories here might help the reader reimagine themselves and others; the presentation of villains is mercilessly accurate, and the protagonists are shown in realistic lights. Heavy reading for reflection.

    Adult reading, ~10,000 words.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRori O'Keeffe
    Release dateOct 15, 2018
    ISBN9780463884317
    Ways of the Fallen
    Author

    Rori O'Keeffe

    rookee75@gmail.comA thought for my fellow journeyers:The new narrative of the right, I've noticed, is downright scary. Is the following an accurate characterization of the new right, or is it satire?"Women have been oppressing men. People of colour have been oppressing white people. LGBTQ people are oppressing straight people. Political correctness is nothing more than a concerted effort to advance those people's agendas. If democracy leads to rule by the weak, stupid and perverted, then to hell with it. Dictatorship is the best and surest way of enshrining the status of the the male, the white, the straight."I wish I could say it's just satire, but observing the multitudes of right-wing voices on social media, as well as paying close attention to the American GOP's ultimate fulfillment of Reagan's dream, it's obvious that Americans are flirting with catastrophe. Beware modern conservatism: It's nothing but authoritarianism, pure and simple.How long will it be before Canadian conservatism becomes infected with this virus? Not too long, I don't think. The same well-moneyed forces are at work here as in the U.S. Expect a sharp shift further to the right if the Republican party takes control of both chambers in the next U.S. midterms.What are whites, men and straight people afraid of? I think the common denominator of their fears is the challenge of having to compete for jobs and status in an inclusive society. Most are insecure because they are woefully unprepared psychologically to compete on a level playing field, having been sheltered by generations of unearned privilege. Soothe them, don't make them feel worse about themselves (think of Hillary's poorly-considered reference to the "basket full of deplorables." That comment may have cost her the election. It proved to many that liberals just hate the uneducated and mostly poor white people of the country.)Whatever you do, don't try to make them feel inferior. That is central to their fears about themselves in an increasingly inclusive social environment. It's important, because if the U.S. goes down to dictatorship, then most or all the other democracies will as well, and civilization will expire in a global Orwellian nightmare. There are so many scathing things I could say about these democracies, but they are almost paradises compared to what a future of dictatorships would be like.Please be kind, unwind.Peace.

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      Book preview

      Ways of the Fallen - Rori O'Keeffe

      Ways of the Fallen

      By Rori O'Keeffe

      Copyright © 2018 by Rori O'Keeffe

      Published at Smashwords by Rori O'Keeffe

      These stories were previously published, variously, in 2013, 2014 and 2018. All rights reserved by the author.

      The image on the cover is courtesy of Pixabay.

      Table of Contents

      Love Eclipsed

      Our Anniversary

      Hot Tar and Woody: Happy Memories of Youth

      The Powers of Prophecy

      Sandra's Last Goodbye

      Nine Tails of the Sphinx

      About Rori O'Keeffe

      More by Rori O'Keeffe and links

      Love Eclipsed

      Martin held his head in his hands, face blank and unresponsive, lost in the world he had created and lived in for a very long time now. His rumpled dress shirt and mismatching pants and shoes told of his detachment that morning as he had readied himself for breakfast at Mabee's Diner - his regular haunt on weekends. It was a place of hash browns, greasy eggs and ketchup smells in his mental compartment of affectionate memories. So often he had taken comfort at the diner that he even had come to love the cheap vinyl seat covers in the booths and the sound of Rose's insincere Good morning!

      It was here at the diner that he had had his first breakfast with Stephanie two months earlier. Early on in the relationship, it was like it always was: Animated discussions about life, politics, relationships, and sex - especially sex. Now, the morning after Steph had broken up with him, he was performing his familiar ritual of mourning yet another lost love, and recanting in his mind the various things he had done and said that always turned his girlfriends away from him.

      His penchant for sarcastic, mocking humor was often what attracted women to him, aside from his slim athletic build and handsome face. In time though, his girlfriends always decided that in actuality, his humor was just plain bad - there wasn't a person or concept that were beyond the reach of his irony-laden ridicule; in fact, many women spurned him immediately upon hearing one of his acid-tongued jokes. I should control my anger when I'm cracking wise, he told himself silently there in the booth by the window; Just for once, try to make more pleasant, lighthearted jokes. Martin looked down into his coffee now, feeling warmed by its aroma and the creamy brown simplicity of his daily mood brightener in its plain white cup.

      He accepted with a nod and Thanks! the bacon and eggs with hash browns from Rose, as he always did; politeness was one of his more appealing traits to the people that knew him, and the women in his life would all agree, if they could be brought together to discuss Martin's good and bad points.

      Talking about me! He thought to himself, as he often did when perusing his memory's scrapbook of his girlfriends. If Stephanie, Sue, Cindy, Maureen, Reena, Sylvia, Clarice, Violet, Jasmine and the second Sue could all be found willing to get together and talk about Martin, they would say the sorts of things that always enraged him.

      Irresponsible, says one. Mmm-hmm, the other women agree.

      Immature, says another, and the other women gathered

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