Hauntn' Taunton, The State Asylum: - Free Preview - No App and No Sign in

Taunton State Hospital for the Insane: an eerie New England campus of forty ornate 19th century buildings that have housed some of America’s most bizarre and dangerous criminals – murderous monsters who avoided the hangman’s rope only because they were judged to be lunatics. Sometimes punishment comes from a different source, as Poison Ivy (the Hug and Drug Killer) and "Cannabelle" who pickles human fingers and toes, are about to find out in Bill Russo’s take on ‘Hauntin’ Taunton – The State Asylum.

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Coming for Halloween, The Infamous "Hug and Drug" Killer and others

Based on the real Taunton State Hospital - the Insane Asylum that refuses to die, "Hauntin' Taunton - the State Asylum" takes the reader on a tour of the notorious institution that housed some of America's most inhuman murderers; horrid demons who were found innocent of their crimes due to their insanity.  Sometimes punishment comes from a different source, as Poison Ivy (the Hug and Drug Killer) and "Cannabelle" who pickles human fingers, are about to find out.............

COMING FOR HALLOWEEN 2017 

Hauntin' Taunton - The State Asylum

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How To Make a Tree From Words

For many years I earned a living from words, either by speaking them on the radio or writing them in newspapers in various New England communities.  

Frankly the job of a radio newswriter is often boring, You work up to eight hours writing and rewriting  the same handful of stories for your entire shift, from six a.m. to two p.m. for example. 

In smaller communities the day's big news might be something like "Selectmen Push for New Town Hall." The story might run every hour, and in some stations also on the half hour, for eight hours or more.  If the article isn't rewritten and refreshed for every newscast, two things will happen.  One, the writer/reader will get bored, and two, many listeners will either space out or tune out.

Variety is the key.  The writer needs to know how to make the item seem fresh each time it's re-written.  

The key to being able to write interesting variations on a single theme is to be able to pluck new words and phrases from your own personal word tree.

A word tree is similar to a thesaurus - a book of synonyms and related concepts, except that the words come from your memory and not a book or a Google search.  If you write a word on paper, or digitally, and then write down the branches of the word, you'll quite likely memorize the whole tree with very little effort.   

Here's one that I built from the word, Dialect:

Dialect - a speech pattern specific to a certain area such as a "Bawhstin" (Boston Accent); as in "I went to  Hahvud (Harvard) University and lived in Kenmoah (Kenmore) Squay-yah (Square).  I used to pahk (park) my cah (car) near Fenway Pahk (Park). 

I came up with about a dozen related words.  Here are some of them.

Lingo: Special set of words particular to an occupation or industry, as in, "I didn't understand the instructions because they contained a lot of computer lingo. It is also used to denote a foreign language -   as in it's tough to get around in Paris if you don't speak the lingo.  In some cases 'lingo' and 'dialect' are interchangeable. 

Jargon: This word too can often, but not always, be a substitute for dialect, but I think it's more closely related to Lingo.  For example, Mirriam-Webster says jargon is 'the specific terminology of a special activity or group.  The example citied by the dictionary was the jargon of baseball - such as two sports fans discussing terms like RBIs, OBP, five tool player, bad ball hitter, and such. 

There are variant meanings, but I think it's fair to say that 'Jargon' and 'Lingo' are more closely related to eachother than they are to 'Dialect'.

Patois:  this is a word you'll hardly ever see used, but it is a legitimate branch of the "Dialect Tree". You will not go wrong if you substitute the one for the other.  The word is pronounced 'pat-twa'. 

Regionalism: This word has several meanings, one of which is a word or phrase found only in a particular section of a nation. It can't automatically be used as a direct substitute for dialect, because it generally refers to a single word such as the following local takes on  a "Submarine Sandwich".

Hoagies - Philadelphia
Grinders - Boston
Wedgies - Providence, Rhode Island
Heroes - New York City
Torpedos - Los Angeles
Po' Boys- New Orleans

Vernacular: This noun is pretty much a carbon copy of "Dialect" and qualifies as a substitute in nearly every case.

Patter:  There's no chance to successfully substitute 'patter' for the other words we've hung on the Dialect Tree.  Patter refers to a spiel rattled off mechanically by television pitchmen, circus barkers, and high pressure salespeople.  Still, 'patter' deserves to be a branch on the tree, because it is, in a sense, the dialect of a group - even if the group is largely composed of 'con-men'.

Argot: The word does refer to the speech of a certain group of people, but it's more closer kin to 'patter' than 'dialect'. In patter, the speaker wants people to understand him, but with 'Argot', the person speaking is usually conversing with a confederate and employing a more or less secret 'jargon' generally only understood by a particular group.  Some people use Pig Latin as an argot and are able to speak it so rapidly that only others skilled in the fake lingo can understand them. 

In pig latin, the first letter of a word, is moved to the end of the word and coupled with 'ay'.  Example: 'Pig Latin' in Pig Latin is Ig-pay Atin-lay.  

The final word,  and I'm it using as a tree topper is 'Cant' and I do not mean can't, the contraction for can not.  'Cant' is pretentious, hypocritical, sanctimonius speech generally involving religion or politics. "If they'd stop canting about 'honest work' they might get somewhere".

I hope you enjoyed building this word tree with me and I hope we can do it again sometime.

Bill

The First 'Trick or Treat'

The first time 'Trick or Treat' was mentioned in print was ninety years ago, 1927, when an Alberta, Canada daily paper ran an article on the new fad.

How to lose 40 Pounds Fast! - Even after the age of 70!

Monday: Chopped down two small trees, shredded their stumps, ran a mile to Fernandes Bog, then walked a mile back home. Watered the plants in the yard, raked a bit and counted my blessings as I approach my 74th birthday.

Though I love to exercise, I didn't do any while I was losing the weight. Mostly because it was too difficult. After the weight loss,  exercise was both easy and enjoyable.

The picture shows me before and after a nearly 40 pound weight loss in just a few months - of course, I wrote an E-Book about it. https://www.amazon.com/Diet-Letters-Exercise-S…/…/B01GUSEPJM

The Great thing for me is that I've kept the weight off for three years.  I backslide a bit now and then and eat too much, but if I notice that I have to let my belt out a notch - I jump right back on the diet for a few weeks and quickly get back on track.

TRUMP 2020? - no! 2080 Yes!

Whether you love him or hate him, remember what Reader's Digest has been telling us for the last 97 years....

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Internet Newswriters don't know their Knows from Their Nose!

Okay guys, I know it's not your fault.  The American school system failed you, but  it's really important to try and get it right.  Here's part of a Nintendo story:

"When the company announced earlier this year it was pumping the breaks on the console..." 

********

WRONG! You can't pump BREAKS.
You can only pump BRAKES!

If I don't see an immediate improvement in the quality of the writing on the various newsfeeds I'm going to tell Trump to put a wall around the internet and make YOU pay for it. 

This is a break.....

but this isn't a break.....it's a brake!

Sorry for the rant. My job depended  on me knowing the difference  between things like breaks and brakes (Homophones) and I'm jealous of the internet writers who have no editors to answer to, and brake/break the rules of how to rite/write/right with know/no consequences! 

Seriously folks, you get your news/gnus from people who don't know/no their/they're knows from their nose!?

In the old days we read newspapers written by literates,

but today we read the internet written by ill-iterates!

49 Days to Halloween

Notes From the Cape on Nine Eleven

(September 11, 2017)

Nights are getting cold in Barnstable County,

there's a shiver-wind moving on through.

But the 'Giving Tree' laughs in the face of autumn

and delivers four blossoms of a beautiful hue.

Sorely needed today they were a gift from Heaven,

to ease our sadness, for this morning is Nine Eleven. 

Hibiscus Tree on our deck in Barnstable County, Cape Cod Massachusetts

I needed a sign at dawn today, for 9-11 I will never forget.
Of the photos I took just this bright morn, here's the best yet!
Look closely at the crimson flower to see the reason why -
the inspiration of new life and renewal from this hopper guy.

Photos by Bill Russo on lower Cape Cod on the morning of 9-11.  

The 'Giving Tree', a Hibiscus, produces saucer sized blossoms all summer long, every single morning - but each one lasts only a day.  No matter how brilliant its color, every flower dies at sunset.

At next the dawning, it brings forth another crop of brilliant buds. Like human life itself, one bloom dies, yet another comes to take its place. 

One up, one down.

The rhythm of life.

Speaking Algebra!

Many, many years ago in school my teacher asked me to say something in Algebra.

"Pie are round," I offered.

"No, NO, NO!," she protested. Pie are square!"

I never believed her until I saw this picture.  The old girl was right. 

Pie are square!

First Sharks, now Killer Catfish on Cape Cod?

New! Free Read! 5000 Word Short Story  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/747189

This is not a Halloween story though you might find monsters in it, depending on what your definition of a monster is. Rather, it is the tale of two young men in search of an eerie pond they read about in a book - a strange lake said to be filled with man-eating catfish. Against the counsel of a wily old Cape Codder who claims there's no truth to the story, they venture into the wild, uninhabited area in hopes of collecting specimens to sell to a museum in Maine. You could go to that Museum (It really does exist) and see if there are any collections of Killer Catfish on display - or if you find it more convenient, you may read the story!

Here's the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/747189
Bill Russo, Sepember, 2017

The Weird Story of the First JackO' Lantern

As I write this it's September and Halloween is still about two months away, but to many of us, anytime is a good time for a tale about one of our favorite holidays.  With that in mind here's a folk story about the 

Origin of “Jack O’Lanterns.”

As of September 8, 2017

The tradition of cutting faces into pumpkins originated in America, probably around Boston or New York.  Actually the first carving was in Ireland, but it was a large turnip, not a pumpkin that was hollowed out, had a face cut into it, and was supplied with a candle to give it a scary glow.

According to the legend a mean, disorderly fellow, named Jack who lived in a shack in Dublin, loved to play tricks on unsuspecting people.  His foul antics affected everyone from his own family to the town’s upper class.

He took great delight in tripping old ladies, suspending wires across pathways to injure human and horse alike, and tying a thread around a gold piece that he tossed on the ground and then snatching it away from a person who spotted it and went to pick it up. 

Though a rogue and a no-good, mean Jack was very skilled in the art of doing bad things and always managed to escape harm from his foul tricks, even when he pulled one on the Devil himself!

By means of his extraordinary cunning he managed to convince Satan to climb up a full grown apple tree.  When the Lord of Hell was halfway up, nimble Jack tacked crosses all around the trunk of the tree.

“I can’t get down,” moaned the Devil. “I’ll suffer eternally if I even so much as brush across one of those terrible crosses. Take them away Jack,” begged old Satan.

“I might remove those crosses for you if you are in a bargaining mood.”

“Name your price you scallywag.”  

Jack smiled and thrust out his chest, puffing himself up as big as he could get and told the Devil…..

“The price for me to do it is merely one soul – my own.  You must promise me that when I die you will not claim my soul.”

“Take away those dreaded crosses and it’s done.  I shall never lay claim your dark soul, no matter what.”

Keeping his end of the bargain, Jack removed the crosses and the Devil climbed down the apple tree and went to Hell, while Jack went to the pub to celebrate his big victory over the Lord of Darkness.

About 20 years later after a life of deceit and drunken debauchery Jack died and applied for a small apartment in Heaven.  At the Pearly Gates, St. Pete took one look at the old reprobate and said “Not a chance. No way! There’s no place for the likes of you in Heaven Jack.  Go to Hell!”

So Jack did.  He knocked on the door of the gates to the inferno and was met by Satan himself who demanded to know…

“What the Hell do you want Jack?”

“I’d like a little spot in Hell.  It doesn’t have to be very big.  Really, even a little closet will do.”

“We made a bargain Jack.  I promised that I would never claim your soul no matter what.  I’m keeping my end of the deal.  Get lost Jack!”

“Yes, it’s lost I’ll be,” said the miserable old sinner, "for now I’m stuck forever in the dark netherworld between Heaven and Hell and I can’t even see where I’m wandering.”

“I’ll do one thing for you Jack. Here….” said the Devil as he tossed him a flaming ember from the furnace of Hell. “That ember will glow forever and guide you on your endless walk between the gates of Heaven and Hell.”

Jack had a turnip with him, a plentiful and favored food in Ireland at the time.  It was a large turnip and Jack felt that it would make a good holder for his flaming ember which was too hot to hold in his hand.

Jack hollowed out the turnip and cut holes in the side.  When he placed the ember in it, the light shined through the holes and lit the way for him in his perpetual walk. 

From that day forward, the last thing new souls arriving at the Gates of Heaven and Hell see before being admitted to one place or the other is mean spirited Jack carrying his brightly lit “Jack O’Lantern”.

And so it was that during the first great waves of immigration, the Irish brought the tradition of turnip carving to America – though once they got here and discovered pumpkins, they stopped using turnips because pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve. 

Happy Halloween 

With 53 Days to Go, Here's some Trick or Treat News

As of September 7, 2017

In bygone days Halloween in the United States meant hayrides,  parties with games like bobbing for apples, walks at midnight through spooky graveyards, and playing slightly mean tricks on your neighbors - a practice which developed into Trick or Treat during the 1920s. 

By the time my generation came along in the 1940s after World War II much of the 'tricking' was gone from the holiday although quite a few times my group and I were guilty of knocking on doors and then running away. 

For Halloween in 2017, let's hope that 'tricks' are a thing of the past and it's all 'treats' this season.  

Here are a few vintage Halloween artworks from the very early days of "Trick or Treat".

Happy Halloween:

May your Tricks be very, very small 

& your Treats  be large enough for all!

Monster Seeks Parole

Mugshot of a Monster

This monster has been a model prisoner for 40 years after killing a man and his wife for "Monster in Chief Manson." So what have the people she killed been doing for the last forty years?  She should have joined them four decades ago at the end of a short rope after a speedy trial! Parole? She's reformed? That news must be a great comfort to the dozens of members of the families of her victims.

The Most Popular Costumes - with less than 2 months to Halloween

54 days and counting as of September 6, 2017

Halloween comes just once a year, but thankfully the Holiday Police didn't get it moved to Mondays.  It always falls on the 31st. of October.  This year it's a Tuesday.  

For many years the Princess Costume has been the top seller for young ladies, but 2017 belongs to Super Heroes.  It is expected that the best sellers will be Supergirl, Batman, and Superman!   These costumes are going to account for much of America's 3 billion dollar Halloween spending spree.

It's interesting to note that the popularity of Supergirl, Batman, and Superman simply reflects the nature of time - it is a pendulum. Back in the 1950s the most sought after costumes were pretty much the same as now!  Every post war kid wanted to be a superhero.

It seems as though only one popular costume from the 20th century failed to make it to the new millennium - the Cowboy Suit.

 In 1950 every buckaroo from Boston to Miami was sporting a pair of plastic six guns, a five or six gallon hat, and a tin badge.  As it says in the Bible, 'this too shall pass'.  It's very likely that in the near future Hollywood will launch a Western Movie that will spawn a whole new batch of rhinestone cowboys.