Ohio casinos, racinos continue their business boom post ...

I started working on this months ago, and stopped a day later, then picked it up recently because I wanted to finish it. While it's mentioned below, I'd like to say it here: I know that this might be a mess, and not everybody will like it. But that's the fun of it all; it's not official, and will never be official, so it's fun to create stuff or imagine what happened that hasn't been explained yet. Whether you enjoy it or hate it, I had fun doing this! :)
7 DAYS TO DIE (UNOFFICIAL) LORE—TIMELINE
THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL TIMELINE OF THE LORE LEADING UP TO THE SETTING OF 7 DAYS TO DIE. ALL EVENTS DEPICTED IN THIS ARE UNOFFICIAL/UNCONFIRMED AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH (duh).
THIS IS NOT PERFECT. MUCH OF THIS MAY NOT SEEM REALISTIC OR MAY BE TOO CONSTRAINED. IF YOU FEEL THAT SOMETHING DOESN’T QUITE FIT, LET ME KNOW AND I CAN CHANGE IT. IF YOU WANT, YOU CAN HELP OUT.
--------------------------------------------
BCE-April 24, 1986 CE: History is unchanged.
1986
April 25
- A nuclear inspection team arrives at Chernobyl, the negligence they discover and resolve in reference to a soon-to-occur safety test is ruled as 'criminal' by the Russian government due to the estimated damage that would've occurred if the test had gone through. As a result, the true danger of Nuclear Meltdown does not set into the psychology of first world countries and they continue with lax construction of reactors.
2000
January 1
- Y2K occurs in computers across the planet. Multiple systems are permanently fried, pushing technology back several years. DIVERGENCE occurs.
2018
OCTOBER 9
- The United States Of America grants Puerto Rico statehood. The flag now carries 51 stars.
2025
June 9
- A meeting is held at the United Nations in New York to discuss political tensions between North Korea following the death of Kim Jong Un seven months prior. A 19-6 vote is enacted to increase security at the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
October 7
- North Korea attempts an attack on soil with the launch of four ballistic missiles aimed at Guam and Hawaii. Three are confirmed duds; the fourth strikes Guam’s Tamuning. Thousands are killed in the attack. Minutes later, the United States launches three ballistic missiles; all three successfully strike the capital of Pyongyang, killing several thousand people in its limits, including NK leader Kim Ju-ae. South Korea and Japan experience one of the largest refugee crises in human history. This leads to a depression in the region that lasts several years.
October 22
- A local group known as the Woodstock Militia form in the United States, their goals claiming to be “nothing more but the peace among man.” Their numbers grow over several years, expanding beyond North America.
October 23
- Backyard Bunks, a company set on the construction of backyard fallout shelters, is successfully funded and founded in Manchester, England by US expatriate Donovan Clarke, beginning construction immediately.
2032
September 2
- A Woodstock peace rally in Iraq is ambushed, leading to dozens of rally-goers dead or missing. An investigation discovers collusion between some members and a terror group known as the COG, or Caliphate Of Glory. The WM is banned from Iraq as a result “until further notice.”
December 22
- The United Nations begin talks on expanding territory further into the North Korean ruins. China argues against it.
December 30
- Talks at the United Nations ends with the UNSC voting 17-8 on territorial expansion through the North Korean ruins. China warns against this.
2033
March 27
- US expansion into the North Korean ruins begin, expecting to take a total of 18 months to succeed. Protests occur near the border. Later in the evening, a brief riot breaks out, leading to the death of a Korean Border Security Officer and several arrests.
April 1
- China sanctions the United States. As a result, the US sanctions back. The Trade War, as it is simply called, begins.
- Stocks in Chinese trade fall soon after.
August 13
- Backyard Bunks expands into the United States, quickly gaining popularity in major cities, with several hundred requests in just that single day.
September 11
- A terrorist scare occurs in Washington, D.C., after a vehicle was pulled over containing a homemade nuclear weapon. The bomb was successfully deactivated and disposed of properly.
September 19
- China begins underground nuclear testing in a remote region of the country, prompting fears in the United States and Japan of potential military action.
- Coincidentally, hours prior, Russia also announced that they would resume nuclear testing 18 years after it was discontinued.
September 29
- Lucky Larry’s, one of the largest casinos in the midwestern United States, opens to the public in the city of Gravestown, Arizona.
December
- A mass shortage of functioning antibiotics leads to an outbreak of Cholera in India, killing 3 million from December to January 2034, where it is eventually placed under control with international aid.
- Due to the Trade War, the United States experiences what is called “The Year Without Christmas.”
December 19
- United States scientists work with the United States military with the creation of a contagion with the intent to overwhelm enemy territories. Early testing is a failure.
2034
- Nuclear plants undergo a worldwide reconstruction effort to improve performance and defend against large-scale man-made attacks. Very few nuclear plants are completed.
January 2
- Seven bodies are discovered in the Cascade Range. All of them are mauled, covered in human bite marks, leading to rumors of a cannibal group nearby. Law enforcement denied these claims.
January 10
- The United States cancels the remaining expansion into the North Korean ruins, stationing soldiers as far as the city of Wonsan. China lifts few of the sanctions; the United States follows suit, but the Trade War persists.
January 11
- Construction of bunkers by BB in all Las Vegas hotels are complete.
March 18
- China ceases its nuclear testing temporarily, out of fear of radiation leaking into neighboring territories. Russia continues its nuclear testing.
March 19
- Midterm elections begin in the United States.
June 7
- Chinese President Chen-Chi is assassinated while on a trip in the United States. The United States is immediately blamed for her death. Many terror groups across the world claim responsibility. Some say this was a tactic to prevent any retaliation by China.
June 11
- China, upon full belief that the United States is responsible for the death of former president Chen-Chi, declares war on America.
JUNE 12
- World War III, or simply known as “The War,” occurs as late as 6:18 PM EST. It is unknown precisely who fired first, but blame rests solely on China.
6:15 PM
- The Integrated Operational Nuclear Detection System (IONDS) detects seven nuclear ballistic missile launches from an unknown location.
6:17 PM
- NORAD confirms all seven launches. USAF enters DEFCON 1, prompting immediate takeoff of all available bombers. Several of them head for China, believed to be the sole cause.
6:18 PM
- POTUS authorizes full-scale retaliation. Several US ballistic missiles are launched.
- The War commences. China denies any action against the United States, despite their declaration of war the day before, but are bombed shortly after. The United States preps a full-scale invasion scenario into China. The seven immediate nuclear missiles are destroyed. Several more are launched from ocean level, believing to be submarine-based launches. Three of them reach the west coast of the United States. Several submarines are destroyed by military response.
6:23 PM
- Los Angeles is struck by two nuclear warheads several seconds apart. Few of the city’s skyscrapers collapse from the shockwave and sheer force of the explosions.
- News quickly spreads across the nation, confirming the detonation of nuclear weapons in Los Angeles. Panic spreads nationwide as people try to evacuate. Highways quickly go into gridlock, forcing people to escape on foot. Several people take shelter in several bunkers, only to quickly fill up.
- Divisions of the US Armed Forces are deployed in several cities to assist in the evacuation.
6:28 PM
- Seattle and San Diego are hit by two separate nuclear warheads.
- The San Diego warhead was not a head-on strike, instead striking closer towards the outskirts, nearest to the highways. Most on the highway were killed in the immediate blast, while those in the inner city survived.
- Thirty-two more ballistic missiles are confirmed launched from China as retaliation. Many of them strike the west coast and further inland. The midwestern US (Colorado) all the way to the east coast is spared from ballistic strikes due to NORAD’s immediate response.
6:30 PM
- Gravestown is devastated by two consecutive nuclear strikes. The majority of Navezgane County is spared the immediate effects of the detonations.
6:30-8:00 PM
- Six more nuclear warheads breach past NORAD defenses from China, striking Portland, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and even reaching Austin, Texas.
8:00 PM
- No further nuclear launches from China. Birds are in the air and are headed for China. Cities affected/destroyed are Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Xi’an.
- Over the next five days, the USAF is deployed across the United States and throughout China. Martial law is declared in the US, and POTUS is relocated to the Mount Weather Communications Shelter on June 14.
JUNE 14—RUSSIA BECOMES INVOLVED
9:58 AM EST
- A van containing a nuclear weapon is detonated in the US capitol. Armed forces are sent to assist the injured and dying.
- NORAD detects several Russian submarines off the east coast of the US. DEFCON 1 is once again in effect, formerly set to DEFCON 2.
10:10 AM
- Russian aircraft arrives in Washington, D.C., dropping soldiers across the city with the intent to take over the White House and overthrow the president. It is revealed the president is hidden away.
- Evacuations are set for the unaffected areas of the city. Several Russian soldiers kill people attempting to flee the city limits.
10:14 AM
- POTUS and NORAD authorize launch of four ballistic missiles targeted at Moscow, Russia.
10:16 AM
- Four ballistic missiles are launched from the United States towards Russia.
- USAF continues to evacuate the outer regions of Washington, D.C.
10:17 AM
- A second nuclear weapon is detonated in the capitol, killing millions. It is unknown who detonated it or where it was detonated.
10:19 AM
- Russia retaliates by launching seven nuclear ballistic missiles targeting New York, Washington, Orlando, Boston, and Atlanta.
10:22 AM
- The United States launches nine more nuclear missiles targeting several Russian cities.
- Several Russian planes fly over the skies across the eastern seaboard attempting to drop soldiers with the intent on invasion. Many of them are shot down, their soldiers killed in their parachutes, regardless of the Geneva Convention.
10:25 AM
- Two Russian bombers drop three nuclear warheads onto Columbus, Ohio, destroying the city entirely. The resulting EMP causes the planes to crash, killing all onboard.
- Poland, France, and the United Kingdom join the conflict, firing their own missiles at Russia and China.
- Several Russian planes touch down in Detroit, Michigan, assuming complete control of the city over several hours.
10:40 AM
- Moscow is struck by two of three nuclear warheads, one failing to detonate. The other nine launches strike other Russian cities, including Saint Petersburg, Omsk, and Samara.
11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
- New York City, Orlando, Boston, and Philadelphia are hit by nuclear warheads and sustain heavy damage. Russia retaliates against Poland, the United Kingdom, and France with nuclear launches targeting them respectively. London, Paris, Nice, Manchester, Warsaw, and Marseille are all struck.
- Many refugees within the United States flee towards the center of the country, residing within the countryside and avoiding major cities. Denver, Oklahoma, and Houston—to name a few—are mostly deserted, with many vehicles remaining on the roads, forever trapped in gridlock.
- The east and west coasts are in complete blackout, a result of the EMPs created by the nuclear detonations.
- China has gone quiet in all military aspects. US soldiers in the region have confirmed that survivors are surrendering.
- Russia invades sections of the UK and Italy, expanding their territory with the intent to take control of more military weaponry. At the same time, their government no longer exists. Many survivors in the affected regions panic; the country is in absolute turmoil, with riots occurring everywhere.
- The northern area of Manhattan is mostly unaffected by the blast, but the radiation has killed most of the people in the vicinity. Cars are left running, filled with the corpses of those who succumbed while trying to escape. Bodies of USAF soldiers can be found as well.
- Riots break out in the few US cities still densely populated. Martial law is further enforced.
- The Blackout occurs: Many power plants within the affected regions are abandoned or destroyed. A rolling blackout occurs across most of North America. Very few cities still hold access to electricity.
June 14
- Radiation from the seaboards begins to seep into water systems and streams, which will begin to irradiate and pollute most major water sources across the country in the coming weeks.
- Patients in hospitals across the United States begin to die by the millions as backup power fails.
- Order starts to break down across several areas in the mid-US.
- Several more nations join into the conflict, firing their weapons at Russia and China.
- A global, limited nuclear exchange occurs. Action between nations is limited to several minutes. Detonations occur over three hours. 49 nations are confirmed affected or destroyed by the exchange. Very few nations remain unaffected or functioning, such as Africa, Australia, regions of South America, and parts of the central US. The rest struggle or collapse from radiation or economic failure.
June 15
- An undetonated nuclear warhead in Moscow suddenly explodes. Millions are killed in an instant. Remnants of Russian missile command see this as an attack and immediately fire twelve more nuclear missiles. They launch in random directions.
- Poland is hit again. England is hit again, London is devastated. Paris is struck again, causing the collapse of the famed Eiffel Tower. Uganda, Africa is struck, leading to them retaliating against Russia.
- The United States is once again hit by Russian warheads. New York’s north side is hit, killing millions of survivors. Washington, D.C. is hit again. NORAD nearly shoots down all of them. One surviving missile strikes Kansas City, devastating it in moments.
- After this day, no further nuclear missiles are launched from any nation. Communications break down across the world. The Great Silence begins.
June 16
- The War ends. Two-and-a-half billion people are dead. Many more are injured and dying; the death toll is expected to climb another billion over several months.
- Several countries drop communications, either intentionally or unintentionally. The United States, for two weeks, is isolated from the rest of the world except for Canada and remnants of Mexico.
June 18
- Radiation has seeped into the water systems of many inhabited US cities. People are poisoned and begin to die. USAF remnant soldiers begin to ration food and water to the population.
- NORAD is abandoned, its surviving crew scattering across the mid-US.
- Surviving members of the Woodstock Militia regroup in Denver with the intent to boost morale across the surviving states.
- Navezgane County, Arizona regains contact with the mid-US states. Several other counties of other western states soon do the same. Navezgane’s climate is heavily altered. Snowy regions plague the mountains, while plant-life blooms elsewhere. The area surrounding Gravestown is abandoned, filled with the bodies of war victims and populated with survivors, who are only now emerging from their bunkers with the intent on beginning a cleanup effort.
June 20
- Cleanup attempts begin across remnants of the nation with the help of USAF. The president is relocated to Denver, Colorado and addresses the nation to his best extent.
July 2-5
- The United States is divided into three sections: The States, The West Wasteland, and The East Wasteland.
- USAF members return from overseas after weeks of silence. Many have died from radiation poisoning and were buried in China.
- Survivors from neighboring countries, including China and Russia, begin to appear on shorelines as they make their way to the States. Very few are turned away. Many Chinese and Russian survivors surrender, only to be taken in and sheltered. It is from these survivors that the extent of the damage from the war is revealed. Russia’s economy collapsed in a matter of days, whereas China’s economy “seemingly collapsed the moment the very first bomb touched down.”
- People begin farms in their own backyards, planting gardens and producing crops.
July 5-16
- Power plants across the States are restored; the lights turn back on across the country, even in areas across the Wastelands. Navezgane County’s power is restored. Some power plants have melted down in recent weeks, irradiating parts of North America for thousands of years.
July-August
- The Great Meltdown occurs, a period in which power plants across the world experience near-simultaneous meltdowns as a result of abandonment and lack of maintenance. Several European countries are irradiated, millions killed.
- Japan’s nuclear plants melt down; those who were unable to flee die quickly of radiation poisoning.
- Hawaii is spared from the radioactive cloud, which eventually reaches North America by early August.
- The west coast of North America is devastated by radioactivity from the GM. Those not already killed by the war are killed by the cloud.
- Alaska is spared from the radioactive cloud.
- The majority of South America is spared from the radioactive cloud, but its west coast is devastated.
- Most of Europe is devastated. Those who are able to escape are forced underground.
- The world truly becomes isolated. Two billion more die during the Great Meltdown. Three-and-a-half billion survivors remain on Earth.
- The States are spared from the radioactive cloud that covers the majority of the planet.
- Very few places on the coastlines are spared from the radioactive cloud, such as Navezgane County.
- Many cities lie dead, full of the remains of the people who used to live there.
August
- An outbreak of Cholera occurs in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A mixture of radioactive and infected water leads to 100,000+ dead, an eighth of its population.
OUTBREAK OCCURS
- A mutation via radiation exposure leads to the full-blown outbreak of V-713, or known more as the Muerto contagion in North America.
August 4
- Cases of an unknown pathogen are reported in Navezgane and several other spots of land across the western board. Reports of infection are heard in Albuquerque and Sante Fe, New Mexico, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Denver, Colorado. Due to recent outbreaks of Cholera and other dangerous diseases, USAF and doctors collaborate to deliver protective masks, while simultaneously quarantining the sick.
August 5
- Bodies are found in multiple areas across several states, in similar condition to the bodies found in the Cascade Range months earlier.
- Muerto spreads into several more towns and cities. Hospitals quickly become overwhelmed with new admissions.
- Many fear the outbreak will reach their area and attempt to leave. Highways are once again clogged, while soldiers attempt to console and comfort those panicking, encouraging them to return home.
AUGUST 6 – THE MUERTOS RISE
- Cases spread further to larger cities.
- Hundreds of infected individuals begin to die in hospitals; some die on the streets. Several areas are quarantined, with hazmat teams burying the dead; in most cases, the dead are burned once space runs out.
- Reports of attacks begin to pile up in areas hit hardest by the infection. They are dismissed as riots and labelled as “fearful anarchists.”
- In the evening, sudden mass ‘riots’ break out across the western board. News reports depict people chasing each other and knocking others to the ground ‘with the intent to maim or kill’.
- Citizens, sick or healthy, attempt to flee the cities and areas that are in chaos. Many seek protection by local police forces, but are gunned down mistaken for attackers.
- Police forces in the main cities are quickly overwhelmed. USAF forces in the area respond with deadly force, but many of them are overwhelmed as well.
- Roadblocks are set up on highways, hoping to contain the violence to the cities—however, reports emerge of similar attacks occurring in small towns and even villages.
- The cities’ streets are a mix of stampeding civilians and crazed attackers.
August 7
12:00 AM – 5:00 AM
- USAF forces are forced to pull out of Denver’s limits. The president is long gone, relocated to De Moines, Iowa.
- Roadblocks outside Denver, Salt Lake City, and Santa Fe are overrun by infected individuals.
- Doctors confirm on radios and functioning stations that the attackers are deceased. The Muerto contagion is gained its name, but the infected are rarely, if ever, named as zombies.
7:23 AM
- The president addresses the nation, revealing the full scale of the situation and urges calm. This does little to prevent further panic.
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- The infected overrun multiple military outposts across several cities.
- USAF forces conduct mass napalm bombings in Salt Lake City, Denver, Santa Fe, and more, in an attempt to control the spread. The effort fails.
- Reports arise that USAF forces have gunned down refugees pouring into towns neighboring Denver and Santa Fe. Outrage spreads quickly as the infected continue to migrate further east.
4:00 PM – 11:00 PM
- USAF outposts in Fort Collins, Colorado and Rapid City, South Dakota are overrun by infected.
- Reports of infection arise in the city of Wichita, Kansas. Suspected cases are either quarantined or killed to contain the spread.
- Fort Collins is firebombed by USAF pilots. Containment is initially a success, but the sound draws mass herds of infected hosts. The fort is declared a lost cause.
August 8
- Outposts and blockades are stationed across several areas not yet hit, such as Navezgane County. Cities further to the east succumb to infection and riots.
- Firebombing methods are abandoned for major cities; citizens are left to their own devices. Many die in the panic.
August 10 – August 11
- The Muerto contagion is reported in Navezgane and several other counties. People resort to locking themselves in their homes or committing suicide. However, many commit suicide by either poisoning or hanging, leading to reanimation.
- Suicide patients begin to reanimate over several hours, leading to a siege of infected hosts in several towns.
- The Diersville hospital is under siege throughout the 11th, leading to the infected escaping and attacking the neighboring folk.
- Infection reported in Perishton.
August 13
- Perishton under siege.
- Diersville confirmed lost. Many residents forced to fend for themselves. USAF forces abandon the town after failed attempts to control the infected hordes. Some fleeing residents are gunned down, mistaken for the dead.
- Several nuclear weapons are dropped on Denver, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque as a last resort. The resulting blasts irradiate the entire region. Navezgane County is more or less sealed off from the rest of the nation.
August 18
- Power failures plague large regions of the States.
- The infection is controlled in several areas via USAF border fences.
- USAF forces begin airdrops in areas affected, but still holding survivors.
August 25
- Navezgane is declared a hazard zone. Airdrops still occur, but it is forbidden to set foot until otherwise.
- The Muerto contagion is contained; half of the States survive.
- 7 Days To Die begins.
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CONTRIBUTORS
u/Making_Bacon
u/watson895
u/Buggaton

Questions about mid-Ohio (Columbus/Cleveland) casinos

Part 2: A Timeline of Epstein, Trump, Sex Trafficking, and the Intelligence Community

I don't think John DeCamp gets everything right, especially his claims about satanic groups, but in 1988 we learn about the Franklin Coverup, which Wikipedia describes as:

"The Franklin child prostitution ring allegations began in June 1988 in Omaha, Nebraska and attracted significant public and political interest until late 1990, when separate state and federal grand juries concluded that the allegations were unfounded and the ring was a "carefully crafted hoax."[1][2].

From the NYT:
(12/18/88) A Lurid, Mysterious Scandal Begins Taking Shape in Omaha

In the Executive Board's public session Monday, Mr. Chambers said the activities of Lawrence E. King Jr., the credit union's manager for the last 18 years and the central figure in its collapse, were ''just the tip of an iceberg, and he's not in it by himself.'' But Mr. Chambers added nothing that would shed light on his cryptic assertion....Mr. King is a 44-year-old Omaha resident who wholly or partly owns several small businesses here and lives with his wife and school-age son in a large house in one of the city's better neighborhoods. He is a tall, expansive figure well known for his costly style of dressing, lavish celebrations and extensive travel, sometimes in chartered jets and often with an entourage of young men.In 1972 he headed a national political organization, Black Democrats for George McGovern. But he gained greater prominence after he had switched parties a while later, serving for a time as vice chairman of the National Black Republican Council, an official affiliate of the Republican Party, and becoming a familiar figure on the Republican social scene.Mr. King has maintained a $5,000-a-month residence off Embassy Row in Washington and has also entertained generously at Republican National Conventions. At the 1984 gathering, in Dallas, where he sang the national anthem on the convention floor, he rented the ranch where the television series ''Dallas'' is filmed and organized a party there for black Republicans....Mr. King's trouble with the authorities came to the surface early last month when officials of the Government's National Credit Union Administration, acting on information from the F.B.I. and the Internal Revenue Service, arrived at the offices of the Franklin Community Federal Credit Union and shut it down. Then, on Nov. 14, the agency, which oversees the nation's federally chartered credit unions and insures their deposits, filed the Government suit against Mr. King, whose salary as Franklin Community's manager had been less than $17,000 a year.

(1989) Washington Call Boy Scandal

Craig J. Spence (1941 – November 10, 1989) was a Republican) lobbyist who was found dead in a Ritz-Carlton hotel room in 1989.[1][2] ...Spence was implicated in a gay call-boy ring scandal, that arranged after-hours visits to the White House, the Washington Times and other papers reported in June 1989. Afterward, Spence committed suicide in a Boston hotel....Spence's name came to national prominence in the aftermath of a June 28, 1989 article in the Washington Timesidentifying Spence as a customer of a homosexual escort service being investigated by the Secret Service, the District of Columbia Police and the United States Attorney's Office for suspected credit card fraud. The newspaper said he spent as much as $20,000 a month on the service. He had also been linked to a White House guard who has said he accepted an expensive watch from Mr. Spence and allowed him and friends to take late-night White House tours.[4]Spence entered a downward spiral in the wake of the Washington Times exposé, increasingly involving himself with call boys and crack,[5] and culminating in his July 31, 1989 arrest at the Barbizon Hotel on East 63rd St in Manhattan for criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of cocaine.[6]Months after the scandal had died down, and a few weeks before Spence was found in a room of the Boston Ritz-Carlton Hotel, he was asked who had given him the "key" to the White House. Michael Hedges and Jerry Seper of The Washington Times reported that "Mr. Spence hinted the tours were arranged by 'top level' persons", including Donald Gregg, national security adviser to Vice President George H. W. Bush at the time the tours were given.[5]When pressed to identify who it was who got him inside the White House, Spence asked "Who was it who got [long-term CIA operative] Félix Rodríguez) in to see Bush?", agreeing that he was alluding to Mr. Gregg.[5]Gregg himself dismissed the allegation as "absolute bull", according to Hedges and Seper. "It disturbs me that he can reach a slimy hand out of the sewer to grab me by the ankle like this," he told the reporters. "The allegations are totally false."[5]

I'll let you decide how credible you find any of this so far. It should be noted that many of the people implicated in these affairs -- Wilson, Singlaub, Moon, Casey, Rodriguez, Bush, Stone, and Gregg -- were also involved to varying degrees in the Iran Contra Affair, which illegally raised money for anti-communist terrorists in Central America through the use of death squads, rape, and drug sales. One does not necessarily equal the other, but sexual blackmail and human trafficking don't seem like much of a stretch.
An article by The Guardian notes:
Czechoslovakia ramped up spying on Trump in late 1980s, seeking US intel:

In summer 1987, Donald and Ivana Trump visited Moscow and Leningrad, following a personal invitation from the Soviet ambassador in Washington, Yuri Dubinin. The trip was arranged by Intourist, a travel agency that was also an undercover KGB outfit. Soon after returning from Moscow, Trump announced he was thinking of running for president. That presidential bid failed to materialise.In October 1988, on the eve of the US election, Ivana Trump visited her parents in Zlín, known at the time as Gottwaldov. According to the files she “confidently” predicted Bush’s victory to her father, who in turn passed the tip to local StB officers.“The outcome of the election confirmed the veracity of this information,” StB field agent Lt Peter Surý wrote, in a document dated 23 January 1989 and marked “secret”.The prediction came “from the highest echelons of power in the US”. Ivana was “not only a well-heeled US citizen” but moved in “very top political circles”, Surý stated....It is unclear when the KGB began a file on the future president. In Prague a bout 60,000 StB documents were declassified in the mid-1990s, after the collapse of communism. The StB destroyed most records.However, secret memos written by the KGB chief, Vladimir Kryuchkov, in the mid-1980s reveal that he berated his officers for their failure to cultivate top-level Americans. Kryuchkov circulated a confidential personality questionnaire to KGB heads of station abroad, setting out the qualities wanted from a potential asset.According to instructions leaked to British intelligence by the KGB defector Oleg Gordievsky, they included corruption, vanity, narcissism, marital infidelity and poor analytical skills. The KGB should focus on personalities who were upwardly mobile in business and politics, especially Americans, the document said.

Another article in the Chicago Tribune notes:
Czechoslovakia secret police file: Trump sure of presidential win — in 1996:

A year before the 1989 collapse of communism in many parts of Europe, details about Ivana Trump's 1988 visit back to her homeland were recorded in a classified police report. The Oct. 22, 1988 report claimed that Trump refused to run for president in 1988 — despite alleged pressure to do so — because he felt, at 42, he was too young. But the secret report said he intended to run in the 1996 U.S. presidential race as an independent, when he would be 50."Even though it looks like a utopia, D. TRUMP is confident he will succeed," the police report said, based on information from an unspecified source who talked to Ivana Trump's father, Milos Zelnicek, about her visit.It was unclear where the alleged "pressure" was coming from. [Note: In "Get Me Roger Stone", Stone claims he was the one who convinced Trump to run.]...Trump's first wife was born Ivana Zelnickova in 1949 in the Czechoslovak city of Gottwaldov, the former city of Zlin that just had been renamed by the Communists, who took over the country in 1948. She married Trump, her second husband, in 1977. As she kept traveling home across the Iron Curtain on a regular basis, Ivana became a tempting target for the powerful, deeply feared Czechoslovak secret police agency known as the StB.

And by at least 1989, Trump himself was in the social circle of both Iran Contra figures and the father of Epstein's alleged "madame", Ghislaine Maxwell:
(This is from a previous post I made, seen here. Some of the links are subscription only, but are provided for accuracy)
NY Daily News - May 5, 1989:

“Everybody, but everybody at the party aboard British media mogul Robert Maxwell’s yacht Wednesday night had to doff their shoes before boarding the plush-carpeted “Lady Ghislaine.” Maxwell insisted, and his guests cooperated, including Donald Trump (minus Ivana), who has a much bigger yacht and was happy to compare notes with Maxwell. [Note: This is in reference to the Kingdom 5KR, originally owned by Adnan Khashoggi, international arms dealer and uncle of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi.] There were John Tower [Republican Senator in charge of the Tower Commission, which investigated Iran Contra]; ex-Navy secretary John Lehman [Reagan appointee 1981-1987], now with Paine Webber; lawyer Tom Bolan [law partner of Roy Cohn]; literary agent Mort Janklow [clients include both Nancy and Ronald Reagan for their memoirs]; UN envoy Thomas Pickering [currently a board member at the world’s biggest pipe company, OAO TMK, in Moscow and Chairman of the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation, “a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC that supports programs to improve the health of children worldwide”]; and Peter Kalikow, owner of the New York Post [awarded the Israel Peace Medal in 1982; created a super PAC for Herman Cain that was later revealed to be entirely financed by his donations]; Maxwell’s daughter, Ghislaine, and his niece, Helene Atkin of Macmillan, the publishing house Maxwell recently took over."[Note: This sentence wasn't in the Daily News article but shows up in a St Louis Dispatch piece a week later]: “Maxwell, who weighs about 300 pounds, went over the guest list personally.""No one could tell who didn’t make the final list, but we do know that Martha Smilgis of Time was disinvited by David Adler, public relations chief at Macmillan. She wrote the profile of Maxwell which he apparently did not like.”

Who was Ghislaine’s father?

Ian Robert Maxwell "MC (10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991), born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch, was a British media proprietor and Member of Parliament (MP). Originally from Czechoslovakia, Maxwell rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire….Maxwell had a flamboyant lifestyle, living in Headington Hill Hall in Oxford, from which he often flew in his helicopter, and sailing in his luxury yacht, the Lady Ghislaine. He was notably litigious and often embroiled in controversy, including about his support for Israel at the time of the 1948 Palestine war. In 1989, he had to sell successful businesses, including Pergamon Press, to cover some of his debts. In 1991, his body was discovered floating in the Atlantic Ocean, having fallen overboard from his yacht. He was buried in Jerusalem. Maxwell's death triggered the collapse of his publishing empire as banks called in loans. His sons briefly attempted to keep the business together, but failed as the news emerged that the elder Maxwell had stolen hundreds of millions of pounds from his own companies' pension funds. The Maxwell companies applied for bankruptcy protection in 1992....Shortly before Maxwell's death, a former employee of Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate, Ari Ben-Menashe, approached a number of news organisations in Britain and the U.S. with the allegation that Maxwell and the Daily Mirror's foreign editor, Nicholas Davies, were both long-time agents for Mossad. Ben-Menashe also claimed that in 1986, Maxwell had told the Israeli Embassy in London that Mordechai Vanunu had given information about Israel's nuclear capability to The Sunday Times, then to the Daily Mirror. Vanunu was subsequently kidnapped by Mossad and smuggled to Israel, convicted of treason and imprisoned for eighteen years.Ben-Menashe's story was ignored at first, but eventually The New Yorker journalist Seymour Hersh repeated some of the allegations during a press conference in London held to publicise The Samson Option, Hersh's book about Israel's nuclear weapons. On 21 October 1991, two MPs, Labour's George Galloway and the Conservative's Rupert Allason (also known as espionage author Nigel West), agreed to raise the issue in the House of Commons under Parliamentary Privilege protection, which in turn allowed British newspapers to report events without fear of libel suits. Maxwell called the claims "ludicrous, a total invention" and sacked Davies.[44] A year later, in Galloway's libel settlement against Mirror Group Newspapers (in which he received "substantial" damages), Galloway's counsel announced that the MP accepted that the group's staff had not been involved in Vanunu's abduction. Galloway himself, however, referred to Maxwell as "one of the worst criminals of the century....The Maxwell companies filed for bankruptcy protection in 1992. Kevin Maxwell was declared bankrupt with debts of £400 million. In 1995, Kevin and Ian and two other former directors went on trial for conspiracy to defraud, but were unanimously acquitted by a twelve-man jury in 1996.”

Epstein's own weird history has been spoken of to some degree, and I'm not sure I have much to add at this point, but perhaps it's important in context.
Financier in sex abuse case went from math whiz to titan

He taught calculus and physics at the prestigious Dalton School, a prep school in Manhattan, from 1973 to 1975, despite not having a college degree. Attorney General William Barr's father, Donald Barr, was headmaster at the time...Epstein left Dalton in the mid-1970s for a job at Bear Stearns at the urging of a student's father who arranged a meeting with the chairman of the investment bank, according to published reports. He later began his own money-management business, J. Epstein & Co....Epstein has long obscured the source of his wealth. Even after his arrest, he refused to provide authorities with even basic information about his income and assets. His attorney said Epstein's lawyers intend to provide the information but want to make sure it is correct first.This much is clear: "He is a man of nearly infinite means," federal prosecutor Alex Rossmiller said in court....Epstein also forged a relationship with Leslie Wexner, the retail titan behind Victoria's Secret, The Limited and other store chains. He started managing Wexner's money in the late 1980s and helped straighten out the finances for a real estate development Wexner was backing in a wealthy Columbus, Ohio, suburb.It was through Wexner that [in1996] Epstein acquired his Manhattan mansion, a seven-story, 21,000-square-foot former prep school less than a block from Central Park. It has been valued at about $77 million.

Around the same time, Trump started dating Marla Maples, who was working at his Atlantic City Taj Mahal Casino:
(1988) The Untold Story of Trump Model Management (Part 1):

Donald Trump, for his part, was becoming increasingly restless, and reckless. Despite fathering 3 children and having a devoted wife, by all accounts he didn’t spend much time with any of them, preferring work and play to the routines of domestic life. In the 80’s he made at least two life changing decisions-to step out on his wife publicly, and to expand his negligible empire into Atlantic City casinos. He built Harrah’s at Trump Plaza in 1984, and a partially completed building that became Trump Castle in 1985-a property that would be managed by his first wife, Ivana. He also scooped up the Taj Mahal in 1988, which at a cost of $1.1 billion made it the most expensive casino ever built at the time.

Some weirdness starts to pop up here, at least allegedly. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer:
(10/27/83) GROUND BROKEN FOR RESORTS' 2D N.J. CASINO-HOTEL

Resorts International, which opened the city's first gambling hall 5 1/2 years ago, broke ground yesterday for a second casino-hotel that will cost $250 million to build and will contain 1,000 hotel rooms and the world's second-largest casino.

According to Wikipedia:

Resorts International was a hotel and casino company. From its origins as a paint company, it moved into the resort business in the 1960s with the development of Paradise Island in the Bahamas, and then expanded to Atlantic City, New Jersey with the opening of Resorts Casino Hotel in 1978.

So how did a paint company morph into a multimillion dollar casino company? We're going to have to go to conspiracy theorists again. Make of it what you will:
Goodfellas: The Hidden History of Resorts International:

Resorts International was largely a family affair that grew out of a company called the Mary Carter Paint Company."Mary Carter (she never existed) was pretty much a family affair controlled by Jim Crosby, two of his brothers, and his in-laws. Based in Tampa, Florida, the firm included in its directorate James Crosby, John Crosby (a plastic surgeon in Mobile, Alabama), William Crosby (a Tampa realtor), and the Murphy brothers, Henry and Tom, who'd married the Crosby daughters. Henry owned a funeral home in Trenton, New Jersey, while Tom was board chairman of Capital Cities Communications, a successful broadcasting business founded by explorer Lowell Thomas. The explorer too was an early shareholder in Mary Carter Paint, as was Republican Thomas Dewey." (Spooks, Jim Hougan, pg. 381)Acclaimed researchers Sally Denton and Roger Morris note: "... the Mary Carter Paint Company, which was widely considered to be a CIA front that laundered payments to the Cuban exile army in the early sixties..." (The Money and the Power, pg. 284).This is certainly quite plausible considering Mary Carter was then based out of Tampa, a hub for joint CIA-Syndicate efforts to assassinate Castro. As was noted before here, Tampa don Santo Trafficante, Jr. was one of the gangsters initially tapped by the CIA's notorious Office of Security to arrange for Castro's untimely demise. Trafficante, a close associate of Meyer Lansky (whom we shall return to again), had been deeply involved in Cuba's gambling operations prior to the revolution and would later become even more deeply immersed in the world heroin trade. As was noted before here, he was very close to the emerging Cuban Mafia, which provided ample recruits to the CIA during the early 1960s despite much suspicion that Trafficante was a double agent for Castro.Certainly the Mary Carter Paint Company would have been well positioned to assist Trafficante in these endeavors in Tampa. And such a connection would also explain why the corporation, in the mid-1960s (as CIA Cuban operations were winding down), abruptly sold off its paint business and boldly delved into gambling. By the end of the decade it was managing one of the most profitable casinos in the world on the Bahama's Paradise Island.What it amounts to is that by the late period James Crosby emerged as not only the CEO of Mary CarteResorts International, but as an extremely well connected figure within the GOP and beyond."... Crosby was himself uniquely situated in Republican circles: a sometime guest at the White House, he'd donated $100,000 to Nixon's 1968 campaign. He was also a friend of, and frequent host two, Bebe Rebozo (with whom he banked). Moreover, Crosby's private intelligence agency, Intertel, was even then working with White House aides and ITT executives to discredit Jack Anderson's revelations anent ITT and Chile. At the same time, Intertel was the de factocustodian of the demented billionaire Howard Hughes (his own $100,000 donation would later result in two volumes of Senate testimony in the Watergate affair). Indeed, the ties between Paradise Island and Richard Nixon's administration were of the sort that bind: Allan Butler, owner of the failing bank that was his namesake, claims the Nixon was a silent partner of Crosby's in his Bahamian ventures, sharing a healthy chunk of Paradise Island bridge revenues with yet another secret partner, Bebe Rebozo. And by by no means finally, James O. Golden, Resorts' vice-president and one of Intertel's founding spooks, had formerly served as Nixon's Secret Service shield, later taking charge of security for the Nixon forces at the GOP's 1968 convention in Miami Beach. That Paradise Island is a special place, and had a special place in the heart (or what passed for a heart) of the Nixon regime, is abundantly clear... (Spooks, Jim Hougan, pg. 180) ...And that brings us to possibly the most curious aspects of Resorts, namely its ownership of its own vast private intelligence network.It was known as Intertel, short for International Intelligence, Inc. Intertel was incorporated in 1970 as an almost wholly-owned subsidiary of Resorts International and hit the ground running. During its heyday, Intertel had an impressive roster and an international reach. It would turn up in host of intrigues throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Curiously, it had its origins with Robert Kennedy's "Get Hoffa" squad."... Intertel, known especially and remarkably for its composition of former organized crime strike force attorneys from Robert Kennedy's Justice Department... The IRS considered Intertel... 'an organized crime enterprise of some type aimed at the Bahamas,' as one account summed up the agency's view. Roberts Peloquin and William Hundley, Kennedy's top crime fighters, had joined the firm and recruited operatives from the CIA, FBI, IRS, Secret Service, and other intelligence agencies. Staffed exclusively by what one author called 'Get Hoffa agents,' it was likened into a corporate CIA.' (The Money and the Power, Sally Denton & Roger Morris, pg. 284)...Intertel's other ventures include spying of muckraker Jack Anderson) for ITT, investigating the Chicago Tylenol murders and the Bhopal disaster. Even more ominous, however, were its dealings with a shady Belgium-based private detective agency known as Agence de Recherche et d'Information (ARI). As was noted before here, ARI was linked to members of the neo-fascist terror organization known as the Westland New Post, a few of whom had also been implicated in drug trafficking and pedophile rings. Intertel reportedly hired ARI to do some work for them during the 1980s....What is of great interest to us here is Trump's third Atlantic City casino: the Taj Mahal. While now widely associated with Trump, thanks in no small part to it leading to his first bankruptcy, it was not in fact Trump who started the casino. That dubious distinction lies with Resorts International.The company had begun construction on the Taj Mahal in 1983, but had run into persistent difficulties in finishing construction in the following years. Then, in April 1986, James Crosby died suddenly. This left Resorts in turmoil (allegedly) and Trump stepped in. Trump bought a controlling stake in the company in 1987 and was promptly named its chairman of the board.Let that sink in for a moment: Donald J. Trump, the current President of the United States, was briefly the chairman of a corporation long suspected of being a CIA front, that had decades-spanning involvement with the Syndicate, numerous "rogue" financiers, various drug and arms traffickers and which owned a vast private intelligence network...."

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer:
(07/22/87) TRUMP COMPLETES THE DEAL FOR RESORTS INTERNATIONAL

Developer Donald Trump took control of Resorts International Inc. yesterday in a $79 million deal that gives him his third Atlantic City casino, including what will be the largest gaming hall in the city.Trump sealed the deal in New York with those connected to the estate of the late founder of Resorts International, James M. Crosby.Trump paid a cash price of $135 a share for 585,068 shares of Class B stock, which has 100 times the voting power of Class A stock.He is expected to make a formal tender offer for the remaining 167,230 shares of Class B stock within the next several weeks at the same $135-a-share price. Owning all the Class B stock would give him 93 percent of the company's voting power.At a board meeting immediately after the transaction with the Crosby estate, Trump was elected chairman of the board of Resorts International, replacing Henry B. Murphy, Crosby's brother-in-law, who resigned.

And his relationship with Ivana was falling apart:
(1989) Ex-Wife: Donald Trump Made Me Feel ‘Violated’ During Sex

After a painful scalp reduction surgery to remove a bald spot, Donald Trump confronted his then-wife, who had previously used the same plastic surgeon.“Your fucking doctor has ruined me!” Trump cried.What followed was a “violent assault,” according to Lost Tycoon. Donald held back Ivana’s arms and began to pull out fistfuls of hair from her scalp, as if to mirror the pain he felt from his own operation. He tore off her clothes and unzipped his pants.“Then he jams his penis inside her for the first time in more than sixteen months. Ivana is terrified… It is a violent assault,” Hurt writes. “According to versions she repeats to some of her closest confidantes, ‘he raped me.’”Following the incident, Ivana ran upstairs, hid behind a locked door, and remained there “crying for the rest of night.” When she returned to the master bedroom in the morning, he was there.“As she looks in horror at the ripped-out hair scattered all over the bed, he glares at her and asks with menacing casualness: ‘Does it hurt?’” Hurt writes.

In 1992, Trump would divorce Ivana. It's this same year that we find him arranging a party of 30 for himself, Jeffrey Epstein, and 28 young aspiring calendar girls:
(1992) Trump Was Alone at a 1992 Party with 28 Girls and Accused Sex Trafficker Jeffrey Epstein

Part of a “calendar girl” competition organized at Trump’s request, the party was put together by a businessman named George Houraney, who spoke with the New York Times for a story published Tuesday.Houraney was also one of many to accuse Trump of sexual harassment, this time toward his former girlfriend and business partner, Jill Harth, who described an incident in 1997 as an attempted rape by Trump.“I arranged to have some contestants fly in,” Houraney told the Times. “At the very first party, I said, ‘Who’s coming tonight? I have 28 girls coming.’ It was him and Epstein.”...Before the “calendar girl” event, Houraney warned Trump about Epstein once again.“Look, Donald, I know Jeff really well, I can’t have him going after younger girls,” Houraney recalled telling Trump in the Times interview. “He said: ‘Look I’m putting my name on this. I wouldn’t put my name on it and have a scandal.’”

[EDIT: MSNBC reports on 07/17/2019 on newly discovered footage of Trump and Epstein discussing women at a party in November of 1992.]
The Boston Globe reported:
(1992) The pageant of Donald Trump’s dreams

It was a snowy night in Manhattan, December 1992, and the festive group was embarking on a circuit of exclusive clubs after a sumptuous dinner at the Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room.As the limo wove through the city, Trump discussed his views on dating, according to one of the women riding along. The billionaire casino mogul declared that “all women are bimbos” and said most were “gold diggers” who would be smart to go after men with money. Like him.Rhonda Noggle, the model who relayed the story to the Globe in an interview, said that, at that point, she had had enough. Speaking sharply to Trump, she said, she asked him to stop the limo. The car grew silent.

(1989-1995) The Untold Story of Trump Model Management (Part 1):

1989-1995 just so happens to be the same time period in which Donald Trumps world and empire was falling apart at the seams. In the beginning of the decade he was facing the end of his first marriage and a looming court battle. Despite his purportedly active dating life, by many accounts Trump was being rejected by many, if not most, of the women he pursued-including Carla Bruni and Jill Hearth. Marla Maples, after years of being the secret mistress and repeated rounds of being dumped and publicly humiliated by Trump, was starting to lose her patience. And the big gamble he took in Atlantic City was, by all accounts, failing miserably-a direct result of his jaw droppingly awful business practices and general incompetence. In 1991, his Taj Mahal Casino filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. In 1992, he again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy again, this time on his Trump Plaza Hotel (also in Atlantic City), at the time owing $550 million dollars. Recall that he would report an almost 1 billion dollar loss on his 1995 tax returns, according to the copies obtained by the New York Times. Indeed, the early 90’s were not a very good era for Donald Trump. In light of this fact, it’s worth noting that the sexual assault allegations against him are all clustered within this very time frame. [Note: This article was written in 2016, prior to more allegations]...By the time “New York Magazine” did a front page profile of him in 1988, Casablancas reputation for bedding young models was established and begrudgingly accepted (a price to pay in exchange for his “genius”) within the New York social scene, but the expose came as a shock to many outside the bubble. John Casablancas would soon find out that he was not as untouchable as he thought he was. In the article-which ran under the title “Girl Crazy”-Casablancas was portrayed as a champagne guzzling pervert, singularly dedicated to the “new look” department of Elite where he spent his days ogling the scantily clad, sometimes naked bodies of teenage girls. In light of Donald Trump’s more alarming comments and decisions around his daughter Ivanka, this quote stands out:"Casablancas talked about his seventeen year old daughter, Cecile. He said Cecile had been solicited by a photographer last summer on a beach in Ibiza. The photographer asked her to pose in a bikini, and Casablancas raced over to try to get a $2,000 fee for the shot. “She’s got a great little body” he told his models."Another quote that brings a chuckle and a nod of recognition in this story is Casablancas’s bizarre pride over never having changed a diaper. Donald Trump would make similar boasts in a Howard Stern interview a few years later. Compelling proof this is not, but I do believe it’s a hint at the kind of Don Juan persona that Don, far from a Juan, actually a dejected, balding husband with a crumbling empire....But the scandal did not end there, nor did it begin. Less than a month earlier 60 minutes aired a prime-time special on the abuses of underage girls in the modeling industry. Investigative reporter Craig Pyes portrayed the modeling industry as infested with agents who were notorious hustlers and playboys. His report revealed that both Claude Haddad- the head of European scouting for Ford- and Ford’s Paris-based agent Jean-Luc Brunel had been accused of horrific sexual misconduct by many models. [Note: Brunel's name appears multiple times on Epstein's flight manifests.] The special aired the interviews of dozens of women who accused both Brunel and Haddad of a litany of crimes, ranging from racist invective towards black models to violent rape. And in fact the hidden camera footage captured in filming the special caught it all- from Xavier lamenting about n**er models, to Haddad chuckling about drugging and raping 13 year old girls. According to Model At a retreat soon after the one-two punch delivered by the coverage, Haddad, Jean Luc Brunel and Casablancas were once again overheard (albeit not taped this time around) laughing about their crimes. Alternatively they were angry when confronted by interim scouting manager Trudi Tapscott - ”I’m a man and I have needs, I will not apologize for that!” Casablancas is said to have declared....Over time Donald Trump would emerge from the ruins of his empire with a new approach to business, and a new source of income-in 1996 he bought the rights to the Miss Universe franchise, and became the central figure in the running of these pageants. And in 1999 he started a modeling agency - T models, later changed to Trump Model Management. The correlation of interests is quite clear-for a man awkward around women but dependent on his public image saying otherwise, a stable of women under his employ was a way to boost his image-and even better, he was able to lock all of these women into non disclosure agreements, ensuring that his behavior with them had little chance of becoming public knowledge. It also appeared to have served as a useful tool regarding his business transactions-which, in the aftermath of his bankruptcy, were increasingly dependent on some less than savory characters. How he did this, and the breadth of this activity, will be explored in the next installment. But for the time being, there is one final aspect of this story that is breathtaking, and speaks more to the character of Donald Trump than anything else.

More in Part 3.

Gathering Weekend.

I could use an opinion. Maybe some love. (Very Long Read)

I am not good at writing even though I am an American.... Bear with me.
How to start this? I will make this short as possible. Still it is a story of the abuse I went through. So grab a snack or a drink if you want to read this. Its long. Real long.
My father, mother and I never got along. I was the black sheep when it came to the family mentality. I was a rebel. An outsider. My father would think beating me would set me right but, really it didn't. This began in New York City when I lived around Avenue K.
My first time remembering his abusive ways was when I was a little kid, going to school (P.S 115.) I cried that I did not want to leave on my first day... This embarrassed my parents, so when I got home my father tied me up (Hands and feet), and placed a chair before me. He broke a broom in half. Not the aluminum ones. This is the end of the 80s and the start of the 90s when brooms sticks where still made of heavy wood. He would raise my tied up legs so I was in a L pose with my back on the floor. He sat in the chair and my legs are now between his legs. He used the stick to hit the soles of my feet, as hard as he can. I do not remember what happen after.
Also we had this dirty furnace room. It was tiny with a water heater and other things. I think a air central conditioning unit. He would throw me in there when I do something bad and the furnace would make sounds that I did not like. My father said there is a monster in there lurking and he hoped it eats me. This traumatized me as a kid.
I also remember him holding my head. He is a pretty big guy. His hand did wrap around half my head. He picked me up and smashed my cranium through the dry wall.
Another punishment he does that is a slightly passive was this. Imagine you are made to face a wall. You put your hands high over your head touching the wall and made to stand on one leg... for hours.
Last thing I remembered before we moved to another area was that my father took the same broom stick and beat me like a pinata on my right hip. There was massive bruising there. I was limping. My teacher noticed and suspected abuse when I showed it to her. I lied though. My father made me lie.
Then we moved to Sheepshead Bay. I kind of liked it there. On weekends my mom and I go out. She will check out the fish market, where fishermen sell their catches. However, the abused of course continued. My father slapped me around for playing with a worm. I was 10 at the time and I know now it is normal for boys around my age to play with creepy crawly things. When my father slapped it was not the ones that make your face turn. No. He does it as hard as he can knocking me to the floor.
I misbehaved at school again, and my father woke me up at 1 in the morning. This was my first time being awake this late at night. He asked "You know what time it is?" And I remember shaking my head. He replies. "Its 1 in the morning." and I was confused. As a kid I thought night meant darkness and morning means when the sun rises. I remembering replying. "Its not morning. Its still night." I am not sure what what said after that but I do remember my father made me do the hands up and stand on one leg on the wall thing for the rest of the morning until the sun rose. I was tired as a overworked mule when I went to school.
There were fights between my mother and my father. Sometimes the fights got so bad, he spends the night at a friend's place leaving my mother in tears. Sometimes he got physical. Rewind to when I was a child, before I went to school. I remember I saw my first fight between them. I had to be maybe 3 or 4 years old. My mother took scissors out to defend herself and I can tell now my father is holding her back from stabbing him. It was brutal. I was hiding in the shadows, the far side of the living room watching. I did not understand what was happening that time.
When the fight was over my father took her to the bed room and locked the door. I came out of hiding, and saw drops of blood for the first time. It was on the floor. I did not know what it was. I remember thinking it has to be rubies. Like the jewel on one my mother's rings I like to look at when she held me. She wears three rings. I touched it and it was water, and I thought to myself "Water rubies?"
Now fast forward back to me being 10. I was tied up a lot, beaten, punished for the slightest misbehavior. Children around my age love to explore things and touch. My father hated that. When I would go shopping with them I would touch things, to see how they worked. I had a knack for touching things, looking, exploring with my hands. Taking apart my toys and see the inner workings and understand how it worked. It was my way to explore the world. I understood engines and car maintenance at such a young age. My father would take me to the junk yards a lot to look for car parts. As he is busy I would mess around with things. My hands covered in rust and grease.
If I was caught touching things in stores, when I got home I got a beating. Another way, he would make me hold out my hands, palms up. Then use a spatula. He would hold the flat end and hit my hands as hard as he can with the handle end.
I had a hard time focusing, cause of ADHD. My father would give me assignments during summer vacation. Such assignments are like, memorize the capital cities of each country. Where each country is at in the world. Multiplication, division. Making me write everything in a book he highlighted and it was a lot. It was hard. I just couldn't focus. He beat me if I didn't get it done or properly memorized. He will not stop until I was broken in spirit and refuse to get up.
One time he spat in my face for not getting a chapter in a book written down on paper. The mucus was all over my face. When I went back to school new school year, math was getting harder. Words and literature was becoming advance. Cause of this I could not focus. I was placed in special ed for this reason. I was bullied a lot too.
I wanted to be normal. I wanted to be like the other kids. Have a normal life. I even begged my parents to put me on medication to help me... but they refused. Because of the abuse, and how empty I felt, and realizing I wasn't a normal kid at the age 11, I wanted to commit suicide. Some serious people got into this and I had to attend therapy and special classes to deal with this for awhile.
Also my father is a Muslim, and around this time forced me to memorized things in the Quran. He'd tortured me, like placing a pencil between fingers and squeeze down on my hand. I can feel the finger bones around the pencil bending causing a great surge of pain. He'd do this if I get one thing wrong. What is worse, I did not speak Arabic. So to me, I had to memorize gibberish.
Age 12, we moved from New York City to Columbus, Ohio. There is a strong Islamic presence there and my father wanted to be around that. Shortly after the move, my mother who is a Chinese Buddhist converted to Islam. My father got her tapes that talked about the Quran in Chinese, so she can understand.
I was failing at 5th grade, and I did my best, but it wasn't enough for my father ofc. I would hide my report cards and lied to them I lost it. I did not want to show him my failing grades. When he found them, oh I was in for a world of pain. He told my mother to get out of the apartment. She protested but demanded her and she relented. I forgot to mention my sister, she was 4-5 around that time. So my mother took her too with her.
My father went to town on me. Tied me up with rope and tape. Gagged my mouth so I could not yell and started wailing at me with fists. He even picked me up and threw me across the living room a couple of times. Cause my legs and hands are bound, I was like dice getting tossed at a casino. I landed whatever side was facing the ground. He knocked my bottom left canine tooth out.
Thankfully that was a baby tooth. A new one replaced it, and its longer than the others. A reminder where the tooth had broke.
Another time I am not sure what I did, but I remember him tying me up and placing a knife to my throat. Threatening me to slaughter me like a lamb. He has put a knife to my throat so many times. Even now as a adult if my neck and throat is touched by someone, I wig out. I go from 0 to angry and scared when touched there.
Still I got into trouble. Still I was a trouble maker.
Age 15, my parents moved to Florida. In New Port Richie my uncle convinced my father and mother to moved there. Also the Islamic presence there is strong too. So it convinced my parents to move and try to make it work there.
The beatings have almost stopped. Like literally almost stopped. My father worked long hours and only saw him at dinner before I did homework and went to bed. The first time I was able to focus in school better. I was much more well behaved. My self esteem shot through the roof. I made friends. The hot weather, I enjoyed it! My uncle took me almost every weekend fishing. He would even get me rental videos for VHS to watch. ((One video was a anime that show tits. Oh god my parents would have flipped if they saw that))
I was a happy teenager! The higher taxes there made my mother work too. Both my parents are too busy working. I was okay with this as I barely had to spend time with them when I got a loving uncle. I got to spend time with my friends. The only trouble I would get into was messing with fire ant hills as I love pissing those things off. I had awesome teachers at, Seven Springs Middle School. My grades shot up, as well as my mental and physical health was getting better and better. I was tan and lean and was a handsome young man. Everything was looking good for me.
However, it was not to last. We did not stay even for a year. Because how my parents had to work like dogs, they decided to move back to miserable Columbus Ohio. My uncle gave my parents a massive roll of paper to use as packaging for the frail items like dishes and vases. This thing was heavy. I brought this up as this is important later.
In the middle of cold autumn too. The sudden climate change screwed my body up. I got the chicken pox again. So literally I got the chicken pox twice! Once when I was a kid and then as a teenager.
Cause of the school I had to go to, it was in the ghetto. I was bullied a lot. My father is less busy so the beatings came back. I was very miserable. Suicidal. Reckless. What even crazier, my father was a trucker. How he supported the family since I was 11. He take me in the truck on weekends and lecture me and beat the crap out of me while I seated in the passenger seat.
Then this day I will never forget. It's the day that changed me forever and I know it. Big story short, the day I got in trouble for climbing the open cafeteria windows to flirt with some girls eating lunch. When my father got home and heard the news... He loses it. Remember that big roll of paper? Well he took that and threw it on my head. I had to be rushed to the E.R and get 13 stitches. So much blood. I was concussed. Confused.
My mother begged me to lie. So I did to the doctor saying a large china dish fell on my head as I was horsing around.

The beatings and punishment got worse and worse. My father would make me stand in the middle of the living room all night some days. If I fell asleep on the floor, he'd kick me on the sides like a dog. He prohibited me from moving that sometimes I would be asleep on the floor and I accidentally urinated on my myself. So I had to run to the bathroom to pee out the rest before I made a mess. I would then go back to standing in the middle of the living room in the dark until my body and mind is too tired.
I couldn't take it anymore. I was cutting myself. Shop lifting. Stealing bikes. Causing trouble for the neighbors. Smoking. I was venting my frustration, my anger, and my sadness out by doing crimes. When I steal, I did not steal cheap stuff. I stole gameboys and games. I stole from stores, friends and so on. Each time I did it, I got better at it. I felt hollow inside once again and doing these things made me felt alive. I bury my head in games I stole to drown the world out. Make me forget my problems. My mental problems decline real fast too. I was spiraling out of control.
I was bullied a lot at school, so as petty revenge some of the bullies played football. I would pretend to go home. Once most the students left I would return in different attire I had in my backpack. I would sneak into their locker rooms while they are at practice and my fingers got real sticky for their money. Most did not use locks on their lockers and I did this a handful of times. Cause of this, people wonder who the thief was and no one suspected it was me.
I started to run away from home too. The frequency picked up on the runaways. If I had $100 for every time I runaway from home, I could afford a house or a super car by the time I was 18. I was caught a lot by police and they would send me though different children services. One place I visited more times I care to count was called the, Huckleberry House. A short term living place for troubled children and teens. It was like a short stop so children services can figure out what to do with the children.
Another time I was caught I was sent into a mental ward for kids and teens. Where I was diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar. The medication help... but just barely.
Then I did the biggest crimes in my life.... I wanted to go back to Florida. I wanted to feel safe and free again. I needed money though. So, one morning I skipped school, and went to a supermarket. I set fire in the car isle where I know all the flammable stuff was... My goal was to rob the registers as people left the store for safety, and use the money to get to Florida.
I was caught.... Police took me home with a court date and everything as there was no substantial proof I did it. They had to look at evidence and footage. My father was at work, and he threaten to kill me as soon as he got home. I tried running away again but my mother blocked the door. I never touched my mother, but in desperation I had to. I pulled and dragged her from the door and ran out.
I was lost and confused and very scared for my life. Night settled, I was still determined to get to Florida. That is all on my mind. Get to Florida and be safe. I felt like I died inside. So night came, and I broke into a small collectibles store. Broke the door window with a log i found, I got in and took the register and got out quick. It was locked, so I took it to a feild and tossed it around and banged it with rocks till it opened. Nothing but change, but I took every penny, nickle, dime and quarter. Then I walked for an hour, and I went to Meijers when they started having those coin counters. I manage to get over 200 dollars. I tried shop lifting for supplies I needed on my trip but was caught.
I was sent to Juvenile jail in the Franklin County District in Columbus. I was let out a few weeks later, given probation for a year with some community service. It was to school, work and back home. Still, I did things if I knew I can get away with it, to feel alive. Stealing. Smoking. That kind of stuff. My father got more violent with me and tried to drill Islam into my head even harder. He thinks that it should help me with my problems. Beatings and abuse still continued and I was powerless.
Then the neighbors kids started to bully me. Beating me up and so on. On the last two weeks of my probation.... I made a Molotov cocktail. I was planning to threaten the bullies with it if they do not leave me alone. Well... they ran away to a cop that was rolling down the streets. Yep... busted. So I was given another year of probation and this time with an ankle monitor. Because I was still causing trouble in school, and I was bullied and I am violating my probation time to time, my lawyer stepped in. I was about to go to Juvenile detention once again, instead she manage to get me into a place called the, Buckeye Ranch.
A place for trouble kids to stay long term to see professionals for help and therapy. First day there, they cut the ankle monitor off. I stayed for about a year. There I learned to improve on my social skills and other things. I was taking my medication and making some strides. My behavior was improving. Because of the lack of abuse, I was happier. Not as happy as in Florida but never the less I felt safe and secure. I still caused trouble but, the stealing has stopped and I stopped smoking. I learn to grow plants, and take care of horses, and how to find a career.
I let out my feelings a lot more. A lot of pent up rage and sadness was in me. Later, time to time I get to visit home on the weekends before I had to return.
When I return I was 17, and my parents bought a house during my stay at the Buckeye Ranch. They promise not to hurt me anymore and things will be better. Boy was that a big lie.
Again the beatings did return and my father had to use more force as I was a bigger guy by then. Also, I drew a lot. And in Islam, drawing people and animals is prohibited. My father would find my drawings and burn them in front of me. So much art I had was lost. So, I kept them hidden. In my room's vent. The vent grill was coming out the floor and was not bolted down. Do I hid my drawings... and some naughty material in there..... What? I was a young man still going through puberty! Sue me!
My father had no idea. He would raid my room invading my private area randomly to search for things but never he looked in the vent. Then I would keep my drawings in a binder, in plastic sheets to protect them. I almost always leave that binder in my school locker.
The house was in Hilliard, Ohio and I went to Darby High School. I realize I was also bisexual around this time. I met my first guy crush there and he liked me back. He given me a necklace of a arrow head and a wolf to show his fodness for me.. My father found this necklace and thought it was offensive to Islam and took it away from me. He later admitted he took it with him on his long haul drives in his truck and threw it out the window somewhere in Indiana. I was devastated. It pissed me off to no end. Another chip on my shoulder I will never forgive him for.
I wanted to learn how to break dance, and I joined a club for that. My father did not approve and wanted me home on time. I defied his orders staying late at school to do activities. I wanted to do something with my life and in a more productive fashion! My stealing days was long behind me. Oh this did not set well with him.
Surprisingly, the day I came out the closet he did not do anything to me. I think the shock was too much for my father to do anything. Instead he tried to talk to me about it. It felt awkward. Strange. To be honest. I was expecting to be buried alive. That was short lived as my father would call me a faggot and other demeaning names cause of my sexuality.
I was a couple of months from my 18th birthday, and on this day was another event that turned me differently. I was practicing break dancing at school with my brothers (close friends at this point) and I called my mother to pick me up as usual. However my father was home early and she said he is coming to pick me up. I did not want to deal with my father because I know he will never approve of me staying after school and lecture me and smack me around. Instead I decided to walk home.
When I got home I wanted to just go upstairs and be in my room. No as soon the door closes my father attacked me. He punched me to the floor and dragged me across the hallway into the living room by my hair. He started to wail at me with his fists. He beat me until he was out of breath. He sent me upstairs, no dinner and after crying for a good hour, I slept it off. Next morning I ran away from home.
Another friend heard the news and told me he knows a family I can stay with a little bit until I turn 18. I took the chance. And for privacy I will say the husband is J and the mother is K. They had three children. Two twins and a young baby that was approaching toddler hood. They had a older daughter near my age we will name her R, who I thought was nice but was a bitch to me.
I took care of the young kids as payment for my stay. Fed them. Babysit. Put them to bed. I had to be careful though as they had a head lice problem and I was letting my hair grow out. I would comb and take care of my hair and check for any signs of lice in my hair. I did get infected with head lice only once and because I caught it early I was able to treat it right away. I was that careful. J kept his hair short as possible, so he can spend time with his girls without worry. The day when I turned 18.... I was free from abuse....
Oh I was so wrong on so many levels.
Living with J and K for awhile... about 6-8 months. I found a guy I liked online that lived in Dayton, Ohio. I went to go live with him and he WAS AN A$$HOLE!... The f%$#er forced sex on me a lot! Even when I was sick as a dog with the flu, he forced me! What is worse... he got another guy and tried to have a three way. This new challenger was even a bigger asshole... but you know what they say about guys with small dicks beings an asshole? It is very true with this new guy. My thumb is bigger than his "you know what!"
One day I had enough. Boyfriend tried to force his way on me, and tried hitting me. I upper cut him in the solar plexus and told him "No!" which made him cry like a little girl as he heaves in pain. Then I dumped him there. When he realize I wasn't going anywhere and I will fight back, he moved out. Leaving me with small dingle dong man.
Also the Landlord was gay with a boyfriend and they were Zoophiles. I walked in one day on him and his boyfriend having sex with a dog! It's. Still. Burned. Into. My. Brain. To. This. Day. God. Help. Me.
Also it was hard for me to land a job too. So I helped by looking after their dog and some other chores. Whatever... I needed a roof. One day the dog got loose when I went outside to do some yard work to earn my keep. The landlord came home and got furious. He started beating me up on the porch for everyone to see! Which later got him arrested.
His boyfriend got arrested too for harassing the police.
His mother later came to kick me out. A friend was helping me pack my things. We told her what her son (the landlord) has been doing with animals and she refused to believe it. Oh well...
I had a friend's mother come pick me up and take me back to Columbus, Ohio where I again lived with my parents. My father was sorry for everything and bought me new clothes and a cell phone. Because Social Media was becoming a thing around this time I had a lot of online friends. Two weeks living with my parents I was stupid to post my new number online and day and night I got texts. So 4 am I woke up to text chimes and I get up to go online to make a post to my friends not to text me on such and such hours.
Then my dad walked in. I am on a computer.... 4 am.... doing nothing wrong.... Yet he lost it. He went from 0 to psycho very fast. He grabs the keyboard and pulls it away from me so hard the cable snapped before my eyes. Time seem to slow down for me there as I witness this keyboard cord just snaps in front of me.
Then we had a shouting match. I realize... "He is not trying to hit me. Oh yeah! I am 18!" So I decided to shout back and we got into our first shouting match. He told me to get the F&@% out and never come back or else he'll call the police. I packed up my things and left him, calling him all sorts of obscenities. It felt gooooood. I was in tears but it felt good at the same time.
I stayed with a friend, until I manage to get a hold of some people I can stay with in Saint Louis, Missouri. They took me in, and lets just say.... their house.... should have been condemned as unlivable by the city ages ago. I am not joking. The basement floods, the house is falling apart. Bugs everywhere. Oh and they let a crazy cat lady live with them with dozens of cats and they were infested with fleas!
Summer is approaching and I am close to the age of 19. Then I met this man who later becomes the love of my life I am still with today. We dated and he shown me kindness and love. Honestly I wasn't use to this. I thought he was trying to butter me up and let my guard down. Sometimes in my head I am like "Okay what does he really want? There has to be something. This is not normal for this to happen to me." But, trust came slowly and I learned to love.
As for the situation I was in that time. I had a minimum paying job that barely covered my part of rent. I was behind. I need new shoes badly as I did not have a car or a bike. So everywhere I go was with my own two feet. When I bought new shoes and my own watch for the first time I earned with my money, she flipping lost it. I tried showing her my old shoes are falling apart. I had them for about 2 years give or take. No she wasn't having any of that. She kicked me out.
Around this time I was having a infection grow under my right armpit. It was getting bigger and bigger each day and turning all sorts of shades of red, blue and purple.
Also funny enough, the house I was kicked out of was condemned by the city three months later and everyone in that place had to move out.
After I got kicked out. My boyfriend got me to stay with a friend who was cool. He was out in Saint Charles, Missouri. Few months later we got our own home. We live together and happily.
However, my father would not let go of me in his clutches. My siblings would find me on social media and beg me to talk to him. I would cave and call and my father would try to guilt trip me into coming home. I would reject his offer and again would go from 0 to psycho that we have a shouting match over the phone. This would happen every two to three months as I tried my best to avoid talking to my family. Each time we talk, he would beckon me to come home and make many promises. When I reject he would mentally and verbally abuse me.
Age 24, my father really hit me in the heart. We got into another fight when I refuse to come home when I am already home with a man I love and treats me well. He knows I like guys and he used that against me with homophobic talk. Calling me all sorts of homophobic names. He finished it off with "I HOPE YOU GET AIDS AND DIE!"
Next two days it really impacted me. I felt shattered. This would go on and on. I would talk to him trying to set boundaries but he kept crossing them.
Also age 24 I got my first car. Even my father was critical, and verbally abusive. He told me I should have given him the money and he will find me a nice car. Now at this point in my life I knew something was amidst. He could have put the car under his name with mine and used it against me to come home. Nope. Not falling for it.
Also I denounced being a Muslim as I want to follow my own path in spirituality. My father and mother do not know this. I know they will both flip out. I tend to keep them in the dark about this.
Age 27, totaled said car in very bad and wet conditions. Got good insurance money out of it, and put it as a down payment for a Nissan 350Z. Again my father became critical saying I am too stupid to drive something that has so much horse power. Still have the Z to this day.
Also I was not being treated for my depression, and over the years I had no clue I was a ticking time bomb...
About 3 years ago, I had a mental break down. My depression got suddenly worse. Depression can not only make one suicidal but also homicidal too. That is what happen to me. I was terrified as I felt extremely suicidal and homicidal. It was not for attention. I felt it like the way I was starving for food or thirsty for water. I wanted to. The urges were powerful. I realize something is very wrong with me. I ask my spouse to hide my handgun. He did at his company he owned. Locked and hidden.
Also his company is protected by fencing and cameras and alarms. So I know there is no way I can find them in case I become more of a basket case.

I thought it was a phase and I tried to wade it out for 4 days. When I realize I wasn't going to win, I turn myself into the E.R and got into a mental ward. I felt shattered, broken, as if my true kind self is going to fade into the abyss forever.
The next 7 days they concluded I suffered PTSD, major depression and possibly boarderline personality disorder from my past of being abused badly. I was evaluated by 4 psychiatrist. A leader and three students. You know its bad when a psychiatrist (The leader) says "Because of your past Mr. *******, its not surprising you feel homicidal." I was taken back by this. Took me a moment to accept that... yeah it is possible I was feeling this way because of all the harsh abuse I've been through.
Also it did not help I turned myself in at the start of OCTOBER and people were watching HORROR FILMS with blood and people stabbing other people at that ward.
After I got out, I started to see a psychiatrist and take therapy for my BPD. I am taking a a pill to help with my symptoms and I am back to normal... mostly. Still get the urges to maim someone or jump off a building but its very much controllable.
Then my father called, and we get into yet another fight... I had it with him trying to guilt trip me home. When he got angry that I refuse to come home I stopped him. "I know why you are pissed I wouldn't come home! I left you like your father did!" And hung up the phone.
I mean it is true. His father bailed out on him shortly after he was born.
And here is the crazy part. Someone pinch me to make sure I am not dreaming. After that when we talked, he started to respect my boundaries and became more understanding. We do not fight any longer. I told him what I told you reader about my mental breakdown and he feels fully responsible for it. He even brought up Florida. He mentioned he noticed my sister and I were very happy to be there. We were healthier and flourishing. He mention regretting moving from there.
Reader, to me this is very strange. I am not sure if its old age or something with my old man. I am 32 and going to be 33 this summer. There is a little peace and a hint of solace in knowing my father realizes the damage he has done to me. Still, somethings he did I can never forgive him for. I know I given him WAY more chances he deserves. I still do not trust him at all, and I am keeping very cautious. I do however have slight optimism that he maybe changing just a little for the better.
Ah reader, my journey has been hell, but I am happy. Still with the man I fell in love with when I was 19. I have my own car, and trying to open my own small business thanks to the enormous help from my spouse.
To be honest, I want to cut all connections to my father. I want nothing to do with him anymore. Reader, what do you think about all this?

Truck Drivers have some of the Best Stories: Drive Like a Girl [part 1]

I'm going to apologize in advance for the length of this post as there's no short way to tell it without splitting it in two. My name is Ripley and your OP has graciously allowed me to tell my story. Again, I'm so, so sorry.
Love at first sight, most folks think it’s a myth, more likely its Lust at first sight and the feelings grow from prolonged familiarity with the object of your infatuation. Truth be told, this is probably how most relationships begin. This relationship was no exception. I was driving for a nationwide company that had me on a regional haul, up and down the Mississippi corridor was my territory, I usually hauled things that wouldn’t be allowed on the river itself, Hazmat, things like that.
My name is Ripley, Yes, my parents were huge Ridley Scott fans back in the day and I am indeed named after Sigourney Weaver’s character in the Alien film series. Not a bad role model to have growing up as a painfully shy brunette who barely sprouted tits at age 17, in rural Wisconsin. Most of the girls I was surrounded by had the bodies of full grown women by the time they were 14. It was embarrassing as fuck, especially when the boys you choose to have crushes on decide to join in the torment by saying that Ripley isn’t just your name, it’s your figure, like a warped board, thin, flat and Ripley, that was me. The only difference between me and a board was that I was in no danger of getting nailed anytime soon.
That was fine with me after a certain point. I realized I was more attracted to girls by the time I hit 14, the boys were my parents idea and I humored my mom when she’d point out a “cute guy” and I would look along with her, but my eyes were usually drawn to the girl on his arm. The toughest times were changing for gym and feeling the strange stirrings in my nether regions and the butterflies in my stomach when another girl would stand there, completely confident in her nakedness, rambling on as if we were girlfriends hanging out in the food court at the mall, talking about boys. I found it difficult not to stare at their breasts while they spoke and would usually avert my eyes, focused on something really interesting in my locker.
I was so ashamed of my body that I was made fun of for wearing a bathing suit in the shower. I tried not to shower with the other girls because even though they mistook my arousal for being cold, it was still humiliating, “Ladies! Come see the tit-less wonder as she tries to mimic the teacher’s stapler and stick herself to the wall with her nipples!” “Watch as she cuts glass with her moundless nubbins!” God, teenage girls are rotten cunts.
I wanted to go to college but my folks just couldn’t afford it. Financial aid would have put me in debt up to my eyeballs, so I did what I could, I joined the Marines. I was a BAM through and through, I sprouted muscles instead of tits. I got hit on by more guys in the Corps than you’d believe. Either I really looked good to them or those guys were fucking desperate. Either way, I tried dating guys, even had sex with one or two. I wasn’t impressed and I’ve come to the conclusion that dicks are gross. I tried Mom… I really did, sorry, no grandkids from me.
I served my 4 years and got out. I thought about going to college right then but I decided to see the country a bit. All the deployments in the Corps filled me with a bit of wanderlust. So I started this job, driving.
So here we are, back in the present, so to speak. I’d been driving for a few years when I landed this gig. I love the Mississippi River Valley. All the way from the Delta in NOLA to the navigable headwaters all the way up in Minnesota. There’s so many different kinds of people and cultures and they just become a blur of beautiful humanity, Norwegians and Dutch in the north to the Cajun, French and every other culture that has made a home in that region.
For the most part, the people of this region are very friendly and accommodating, and, in particular, the women of the delta, my gawd, girls in New Orleans are very, very liberal and friendly. Life is hard enough as a female truck driver without your male counterparts giving you shit for being a “Muff-Munching-Bull-Dyke”. First of all, I’m far from a bull-dyke. I’m about as girly as lesbians come, the only things that meet their description are my occupation and that I love women as much as they do. Secondly, I’m more into receiving oral than giving, so I don’t do too much munching.
That being said, I will make exceptions for the right woman. I think I found her. I was having lunch at the Huddle House in the Palace Truck Stop & Casino, right there off Old Gentilly Rd. in New Orleans. I stop there every time I’m in NOLA because their hash browns are phe-nom-nom-nom-enal.
I was sitting at the counter looking at the menu, just for shits and giggles, I know what I’m ordering before I even walk in the place so looking at the menu is just a formality. I heard a voice from behind my menu, a new voice, almost intoxicating from the start. “Coffee Darlin?” I slowly lowered the menu, and before my eye was one of the most beautiful creatures the creator put on this earth. Now, I know that if you saw her, she might be a little bit plain Jane for this description to fit. For me however, she was perfection. Strawberry-blonde pixie-cut, green eyes the color of an old Mt. Dew bottle, cute button of a nose and the bowed lips, smiling right at me. “Coffee, yes… coffee and a glass of water, please.” Even with the amount of life I had under my belt, I was terribly awkward around pretty girls, still.
“Hi, I’m Barrett” she held out her delicate hand, which I gladly took, “Hi… I-I’m R-Ripley…”. GODDAMMIT, why did I have to stutter like an idiot NOW? She stared at me with an astonished look. “Shut the front door, Ripley? Like… Ellen Ripley?” I hung my head a little bit. “Yeah, my folks are huge Sci-fi/Horror fans. Say, what kind on name is Barrett, for a girl anyway?” She giggled then and it was a sound like the wind chimes in the gentlest summer breeze.
“Looks like our folks were both fans of Ms. Weaver, My parents named me after Dana Barrett, her character in Ghostbusters.” By this time, my heart was hammering so hard in my chest that it was hard to hear her. “That’s weird and crazy.” She seemed to catch herself then, “Oh my, Ripley, let me get your coffee and water, you know what you want, or do you need a minute?” I gave her my order and let her get about her job, I didn’t want to get her in trouble. I tried not to watch her the whole time, but she made it difficult. She looked to be about five-three, and I guessed about a hundred and twenty pounds. Next to my five-nine and one hundred and fifty pounds, she was so tiny, and adorable, and… snap out of it Ripley, jesus.
The owner walked in then, “Rip! How’s it hangin girlfriend?” Internally, I sighed exasperatedly. “Hey Will, how goes it?” “Dandy! Haulin the daaaaangerous stuff?” Will was a goofy fucker, but a likable guy for the most part. Probably the most closeted queen I’ve ever met. He proclaimed his straightness with a fervor usually reserved for suicide bombers, but I’m fairly certain he was the only one who didn’t know exactly how gay he was. “Have you met the new girl, Barrett? Barrett! Honey, get over here sweet cheeks!” I turned my head in her direction and expected her to look mortified, she was smiling and practically skipping my direction.
“Yes sir, what can I do for ya boss-man?” A more chipper ray of sunshine there wasn’t. “Barrett, darlin, this here, is Ms. Ripley, long time customer, salt of the earth gal and certifiable badass, lives up to her namesake, isn’t that right Marine?” His mouth dropped open as he looked at me. He went full-on queen mode when he saw my face, “Well, Bless my stars and bars! Ripley, are you BLUSHING?”
I quickly excused myself and rushed to the bathroom, I was practically hyperventilating when I sat on the bench opposite the mirrors. Jesus-fuck Ripley, get your shit together. I heard the creak of the bathroom door and quickly stood and walked to the sink, running water, I splashed myself with cold water, when I stood, Barrett was there, behind me.
“Are you alright?” her eyebrows were raised in genuine concern. I cleared my throat, “y-yeah (dammit), I’m fine, Will is just a bit much for me sometimes.” She laughed, “HA! Tell me about it, try being related to him, he’s my Mom’s little brother.” That made me laugh as well, “Oh dear god , you poor thing.” I sat on the bench, “I’m sorry about that earlier, I usually don’t get that flustered, it’s just…” She sat next to me on the bench. “Look, I’m not a forward person, at all.” I was looking at my hands as she reached over and took one of them, “Ripley, I get off at 3, so in (she looked at her watch) about 2 hours. Be here.” With that, she gave me a peck on the cheek and strolled out of the bathroom. What. Just. Happened?
I had two hours, I mentioned I’m a girly-girl, right? Barely enough time to get ready. I rushed to my truck, grabbed my toiletry kit, my makeup bag, thought about the humidity, stowed the makeup, thought better of it and grabbed the makeup again. I bring about 2 dresses with me on the road, not because I’m expecting a date, but because if I’m going to be somewhere for a day or two, I tend to like to feel like a woman, off the truck, scrubbed up and presentable. I went to the showers and shaved every stray hair from the armpits down, not that I was confident of getting laid or anything, hell, I didn’t even know if Barrett was being anything but friendly, but if I’m wearing a dress, it’s gotta go! I washed my hair and combed it out, its natural waviness let it drop to about the small of my back. I checked my eyebrows, they were ok. Protip: If you EVER want to freak a girl out, just occasionally glance up at her eyebrows questioningly. It’s a brutal mind-fuck that I reserve for my most reviled enemies.
I grabbed my stuff and stowed my gear back in the truck. I grabbed a pair of heels but stowed a pair of flip-flops in my small backpack/purse, just in case we were going to be doing a lot of walking. I want to at least look pretty, but I don’t want to hurt my feet, (insert joke about lesbians with comfortable shoes here). I had about 20 minutes to wait for Barrett to get off, so I went to the restaurant and had a seat at the counter, the looks of other regulars who had never seen me in a dress were hilarious, they didn’t recognize me at first. Will came up to the counter and asked “What can I ge…. Holy Shit!, Rip? Ohmygawd, you’re a girl!” I laughed, “Thanks for noticing, dick.”
Barrett came in from the walk-in freezer and shivered, she saw me and her mouth dropped open, she mouthed the word “Wow”, it was too much, I felt a flush creep up my spine and down my arms. “I… uh..I got the freezer restocked” she was staring at me, Will noticed how we were locked in this gaze and cleared his throat. “A-hem, I, uh… think you’re good to go Bear-bear. Give Uncle Will a hug before you go.” She did then ran off to get changed. Will turned his eyes on me. “Rip, she’s a young lady, 19, I want you to realize that and I also want you to know, I approve, but if you hurt her, I’ll cut your balls off.” He swooped in and pecked me on the cheek. “Now get out of here and stop eye-fucking each other in the restaurant, people are trying to eat.”
I looked up and Barrett was waving me to the door. Outside, she motioned for me to do a turn, which I humored. “My sweet baby jesus, Ripley, you are gorgeous! I mean, I thought you were pretty in the jeans and tank-top, but damn.” I couldn’t take my eyes off her, and my chest hurt a little, probably because my heart was beating the shit out of my ribs. “Stop it, you’re going to make me faint from all the blood rushing to my face, you want me constantly blushing?” I looked at what she was wearing, capris and a t-shirt, I was ok with that. She reached in her purse and pulled out a key fob, “Hop in, we’re stopping by my place so I can change.”
I hopped in her tiny Mini-Cooper, “Mom let me borrow it until I get a newer car, my Prius died last week.” As she drove the 15 minutes to her apartment just off Tulane University campus, she explained how she was a student in their pre-nursing program, “Mom has been a nurse longer than I’ve been alive and she’s always been my hero, I’ve wanted to do this since I was a little crawdad.”
We had so much in common, but a lot of differences, she was a popular girl in school, but never dated boys, she said she’s known she liked girls since about 7th grade, but had never been in a serious relationship until her senior year. It ended badly when her girlfriend moved to Ohio for college and started seeing someone else. “Columbus has a large LGBT population and she just… grew into herself I guess, and outgrew me.” She sighed then, it sounded like it still bothered her, a lot.
“What about you? Any relationships?” I told her no, not really. “I tried dating boys when I was in denial, it didn’t work out.” I grimaced. She laughed. “I touched one, once. That’s all it took, it was too weird. I like mine with batteries and no feelings attached, thanks.”
We parked on the street a few blocks from her place and walked, she took my hand and led the way, in the building and up to the second floor room garden apartment that was her sanctum. She immediately flopped on the couch and flung her shoes into the air. “Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Oh man, that feels good!” She patted a cushion near her head and said “sit”. I did. Ever since I laid eyes on her, I’d wanted to touch her, I reached out a hand and ran my fingers through her short, strawberry-blonde hair.
She let out a luxuriant groan, “Ohhhhhhhhhhmgawd, yes…. Right there.” And began shaking her leg like a dog when you scratch just the right spot, she caught me off guard and I didn’t laugh, I guffawed so hard that I snorted, we desolved into giggles like best friends at a sleepover. It was the first time I’ve ever felt this comfortable with another human being.
After just sitting there for a while she sat up an announced, “Well, I’m gong to hop in the shower and get that greasy spoon off me. Then we can go somewhere. I’ll be right back. Unless you just wanna come in there and talk while I get ready.” I went in with her and watched her as she stripped off her clothes nonchalantly and hopped in the glass-doored shower.
Her body was sheer perfection in my eyes, from the faint tan lines on her breasts and ass, to the little tiny heart tattoo on her left hip. I felt a bit dizzy with adoration for this girl, this woman I’d just met, it seemed crazy and I actually pinched myself, “Ow!” she jumped as I had been silent for a minute while she washed her hair. “what was that? Are you ok?” I rubbed the spot where I’d pinched myself and told her I was fine as I watched the bubbles trail down her well muscled legs. “So, what do you want to do? I’ve got 72 hours before I have to get back on the road.”
“That long?” she sounded pleasantly surprised as she finished rinsing and shut off the water, “Hand me those two towels, please.” I did and we made plans for the evening. As we were leaving her apartment, I felt like I was being watched, Barrett stiffened a little as she locked her door and I looked at her questioningly. She shook her head ever so slightly and walked down the stairs at a speed that probably wasn’t best for her heels. Outside, she shuddered in the balmy night air, “The guy across the hall, gives me the heebie-jeebies, it’s like I can feel him watching me through his peep hole.”
I told her I’d felt it too, she put her arm through mine and leaned on me a little as we walked to the corner where our Uber driver said he’d pick us up. It was a short ride to the French Quarter and our waiting reservation at Galatoir’s, but it was a good idea to catch a ride as the weekend festivities seemed to have already kicked off on Bourbon St. and we ended up walking the last 2 blocks to the restaurant, followed the whole way by wolf-whistles and shouted propositions. We held tight to each other’s hands and politely dismissed them all, giggling all the way.
I was on Cloud Nine as the evening went by in a blur, punctuated by flashes of flavor as course after course came our way, I was a bit tipsy from the wine we’d consumed and I was ready to go wherever, dancing, drinking, to a party, I didn’t care as long as Barrett was by my side. We left the restaurant later than I’d thought it was going to be and the revelry seemed to be in full swing. As we navigated our way through the crush of people, we were groped and pawed at from every direction, or at least I felt like it. My skin was crawling by the time we reached a break in the crowd, Barrett seemed to be having a similarly difficult time.
“Well, that was fun.” I laughed as I adjusted my dress back to the way it should be. We hopped a cab back to her place and she stopped me before we went in the building, pointing up at her balcony. The sliding door was slightly open and one of her lights was on. “The fuck, Ripley. We turned everything off and locked up tight, right?” To be honest, I was so caught up in her that I hadn’t noticed. “I think so” I pulled out my phone, “I’m calling the cops.” She held out a hand to stop me, then thought better of it. “Good idea, fuck, this night was going so well.”
I saw tears welling up in her eyes and pulled her close to me. I gave the address to the dispatcher and they stayed on the phone with me for the 5 minutes it took someone from NOLA PD to show up, along with a car from Tulane University Campus Security. “Who’s the resident?” asked a tall, skinny cop. Barrett raised her hand and he took her aside to ask questions for a moment before he and his partner went into the building with Barrett’s keys and her express permission to kick the shit out of whoever had violated her home. We stood on the edge of the sidewalk and watched as the lights came on in her apartment and we heard the cops announce their presence to whoever might still be in there.
One of the cops, the tall one, threw open the balcony door and rushed out, vomiting over the side of the wrought-iron railing. We both gasped at what we were seeing but still didn’t quite comprehend. The other cop walked out of the building and caught her breath. “Ms., do you own cats?” Her brow furrowed, “No officer, we can’t have pets, what the hell happened in there?” The cop gave her a look of sympathy as she led her further down the block. “It’s probably best that you don’t go in there right now. Somebody…” she gagged a little as if just thinking about what she’d seen was too much.
“Barrett, can I call you Barrett?” she nodded her assent, “Barrett, do you know anyone that might wish you harm?” Barrett shook her head, “No… No, nobody. Please, what is going on?”
Tears rimmed the officer’s eyes, “Honey, this is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen and I’ve been a cop for 12 years. Right now, I just think we should get a statement of your whereabouts and activities over the last 24 hours and, do you have somewhere to stay tonight?” I chimed in, “she can stay with me.” The officer nodded and made a phone call. “A detective will be calling you in the morning for your details.” She passed Barrett a card and handed Barrett her keys, minus her the one to her front door.
“I’m so sorry Ripley, I have no idea what’s going on, I.. I..” she burst into tears and threw her arms around my waist, her face buried in my shoulder. I led her away from the scene walking the few blocks to her car. “Where are we going to stay? You said I could stay with you tonight.” I pulled her closer, “We can get a hotel, or we could stay in my truck, it’s up to you.” She seemed to think it over for a bit as I unlocked her car and opened the passenger door for her. “I’ve never stayed in a truck before, I think it’d be fun.” I smiled and put her car in drive, glad for once that the Corps had turned me into a neat freak.
It was a brief drive to the truck stop and I parked her car near the Huddle House and we walked to my truck. I noticed a black minivan trailing behind us, after the events of the night, it unnerved me a bit, so I took us a roundabout way through the maze of trucks and trailers, ducking between them when I noticed no followers. I got us to my truck and helped Barrett inside.
I shut the door and threw the curtains, peeking out in time to see that same black minivan cruising slowly down the aisle. “Well, that was an adventure, what was that all about?” I shushed her as the van cruised by. “Do you know anyone who owns a black minivan?” I saw her brow furrow in concentration, even in the darkness of my truck cab. “Black minivan, Ripley, what’s going on?”
“I think someone is following us. Is there something you should have told the cops? Is there someone they should be looking at, like an ex, or someone you turned down, anything?” She looked scared, “No, nothing! I swear, I haven’t been in a relationship or anything since my ex moved to Ohio. I’ve had the occasional offer from both guys and girls alike, but no, nothing stands out.” I mulled that over and got my phone out again, “I think we should call the police.” She sat on the bottom bunk in my sleeper, “Can you get the license plate or something, tell them about it in the morning? I just want some peace right now.”
I’d met Barrett less than 12 hours earlier and here I was, making decisions for her, I cared for this girl. Too much? Too fast? “I’m sorry, but I can’t be negligent about this, as crazy as it sounds, I care for you Barrett. I don’t want a missed opportunity to stop whatever is going on before it goes too far, do you understand me?” I dialed the number on the card she handed me. “Officer Beauman.” It was the same officer, good. “Officer, my name is Ripley, I was with Barrett, the girl whose apartment you and your partner responded to earlier this evening.” There was a pause.
“Yes, I remember you. How can I help you?” I told her the situation and I heard the sirens fire up in the background. “Can you two stay where you are? We’re on our way now, we meant to call her in the morning but under the circumstances, I’ll tell you what’s going on.”
I told the officer to hold on a second and put the phone on speaker, “Go ahead officer, Barrett can hear you.” There was a pause on the other end, only the wail of the sirens could be heard. A man spoke, “Barrett, does the name Chrissy Seaquist mean anything to you?” There was a sharp intake from Barrett, “Omg, Chrissy, she’s my ex, but what does she have to do with this? She moved to Ohio over a year ago.” Another pause,
“Barrett, this may come as a bit of a shock, but it seems Chrissy’s parents filed a missing person’s report two months ago, she disappeared from Ohio State campus, without a trace. Tonight, as we were processing your apartment, we found fingerprints and they immediately flagged under that missing person’s report.
We were sure that Chrissy was the subject we were going to look for in connection with the vandalizing of your apartment.” I sensed a “but”. “However, when we started clearing your apartment we found… we fragments of human remains Barrett, we found the hand of Chrissy Seaquist in your bed Barrett. We have some questions for you and (pause) Ripley.”
I looked at the phone in disbelief, “Look, officers, We’re not going anywhere but if you’d be so kind as to get here most Rikki-tikki, and check out this black van, it’d be greatly appreciated.” I gave them my truck description and ID numbers and got off the phone.
“In the meantime.” I told Barrett, “I better stow this”. I took my Springfield XD .40 and stuck in in the hidden lock box under my bunk. Barrett’s eye widened, “You had a gun on you this whole time?” I laughed and kissed her. “Honey, you don't last in the real world by being a sheep.” We lay on the bed and held each other and waited for the cops to show up.
Part 2
Final

Columbus Weekend Recap

$60 ——> $530

“Mini” BlackJack Diary - WARNING, VERY LENGTHY NOVEL
Hello guys, me and my family took a round trip tour throughout the United States - with California being our destination.
I live in Ohio and we dropped by Vegas for only 2 days. Just a little story about my profit and losses and where I played.
The hotel we stayed at was Harrah’s (AMAZING place for a little vacay stay btw but AWFUL for blackjack because of the crud rules.)
I had learned BJ with friends a few years prior to this trip because of poker, but never played seriously or practiced before this.
I had only studied a couple of days before this trip because I have a horrible habit of doing things last minute.
I am a Computer science major and study astrophysics for fun, so naturally I am able to crunch numbers without much effort.
My studies were all done within a 4 DAY SPAN. My actual play was done on days 3 AND 4.
I start out with a $200 bankroll for cushion, and only play with $20 buy-ins at a time to pull away when I need to.
DAY 1 —
2 Days prior to hitting Vegas, I knew virtually NOTHING about Blackjack and had taken it upon myself to learn basic strategy.
I had already KNEW how to count with the Hi-Lo system because - as I mentioned - I counted while playing poker FOR FUN at the same time as reading hands. Which I know, counting in poker is useless, but might as well kill two birds with one stone.
I learned basic strategy within this first day using android BJ practice apps, and solidified my memory with lots of water and good sleep.
This was 7+ hours of practice, as I was stuck in the car for the drive there.
DAY 2 —
I decided to squeeze as much info out of this as I could, so I learned the Wong Halves system on this day.
I also searched online hardcore for the best places to play with the BEST rules. Unfortunately, this was useless because we ended up staying at HARRAH’s (known for its shit rules).
For the Wong Halves, this was another 7+ HOURS of brutal brain numbing practice with 10 minute breaks in between each hour.
This system was very difficult to learn due to the halves system, but provides a bit of a more an accurate count. It was tough building the neurons for this new method, as I was already used to the Hi-Lo system.
But nonetheless, I was able to blitz an entire deck in just under 30 seconds.
DAY 3 —
So this was it.
We finally arrived around 4pm and checked in with our luggage and took everything upstairs.
As my parents were checking-in, I scanned the entire bottom casino perimeter to get a good look at my prey and what tables to go for. You could almost get lost looking for the restroom, I’d say - I’m sure they designed the place to have a devils grip on your mind.
The first tables in the party pit were intimidating with $15 - $25 minimums! - I was anticipating $5min, as being a broke college student, I know that variance can devour my entire bankroll.
As I was watching, I could BARELY keep count of the cards flying out from the dealers hand.
Already I was sweating. But knowing the cards were being hand-shuffled here, I was a bit relieved.
I decided to turn away and head to the empty back portion of the LINQ hotel, (basically connected to Harrahs), in hopes of finding a table with $5 min.
Luckily I did! But with an ASM and cruddy rules?? :(
I was screwed at that point, with no real hopes of winning. I decided to go for it and use basic strategy and practice counting while I was there.
I failed MISERABLY, and could BARELY keep track of half the cards that were coming out. My first $20 basically flew out of my hands.
With the night closing in for us, nearing almost 6pm, my family decided that it was time to leave and head out to eat.
DAY 3 — 6:30pm, MAIN ST. Garden Court Buffet
SORELY deceived and mislead, I had already dropped my hopes of having any edge against the house. “How could I be defeated so easily? I get that it was only $20 to start out, but have the rules around here really run to shit?”
After dinner, while my family is finishing eating, I decide to depressingly look around for tables.....
There it is....the fucking holy grail of BlackJack tables. BJ pays 3:2, and dealer hits on S17, with only 2 decks.
I almost cry with joy.
As any good player, I decide to sit back and watch the other players first and how they play.
2 older guys sitting next to each other, one stacking, one not.
The one stacking is generating heat, as passerby’s seem to notice the chips building high. The pit boss notices as well and eyes him the entire time he’s there. I had a feeling he was counting as he was spreading his bets on 4+ count, and I think he was also using a progression system. Who knows. The guy leaves.
I jump in, and am the only one at the table.
I whip out $20, unfamiliar with the game, the dealer is adjusting my mistakes every 20 seconds as I unnecessarily flip the cards over when I’m not supposed to and touch them when I’m not supposed to.
This immediately turns me off from counting.
So I turn to basic strategy and win the first few hands. I struggle through the variance and run this all the way up to $120 within the first 20 minutes!!
My family finishes dinner and comes to get me.
If it weren’t for those meddling kids, I’m sure I’d be up more! - Only kidding. I would have tilted and lost it all like the first time at LINQS, had it not been for their intervention :)
I was happy the entire night, with my bank roll starting out with $200, losing a $20 buy-in at first and then returning that with $120, I was invincible!!! Only $80 profit in total :(
I did not know how to cut my losses.
I wanted more.
11PM, THE VENETIAN - NEW BLACKJACK $5min COLOSSEUM FORMAT
That same night I decided to explore The Venetian. They had a new colosseum style blackjack game with the same crap rules.
I sit down with my $20 buy-in and go to town. It’s quite a long grind, as I ran it up to $60 in 20 minutes.
The free drinks start coming in. And a new guy sits next to me. He is also a Computer science major.
We talk for awhile, have a couple drinks and smokes (I normally don’t smoke cigs, only mary) and we both run up to $140 after about an hour and a half of playing total.
Lady Luck was on my side that night.
I am up a total of $260 in one day. Not bad for $20 buy-in. I decide to call it a night.
DAY 4 — LAST DAY AT HARRAH’S
It was night time at Harrah’s and we had arrived after walking down the Vegas strip and visiting the different casinos.
Mind you this was on July 4th so before arriving to the party pit tables my family was anticipating fireworks to be displayed on the strip that night (it was actually displayed 2 days before July 4th?? Bleh, whatever.)
So me and my mother decide to sit down at the $10 minimum tables - and thank god Harrahs even had a few 10$ min - after she had lost roughly $60 at the 3 card poker table.
I pull out $20 for a buy-in (I know, I know, awful idea but I do it anyways.
I get so freaking lucky and win the first couple of hands, I run it all the way to $220 in 40 minutes! All the while helping my mother gain back her profit as well.
I begin to lose 4 consecutive hands and decided to cut my losses at $170!!
I cash out with a total profit $430 added to my bankroll ($610 total!) and for the rest of the trip, I am a happy, happy boy. 22 and broke never felt so good.
I am actually quite afraid to play again, as there are no good tables in Columbus, Ohio. But am eager to study more.
If you guys have any tips or advice, please let me know.
That’s my story, thank you guys for reading.
As always, happy hunting!

[Race Report] Flying Pig 4-Way w/ Extra Cheese

Race information

What? Flying Pig 4-Way with Extra Cheese
When? May 4-6, 2018
How far? 1 mi., 10K, 5K, marathon
Where? Cincinnati, OH
Website: http://flyingpigmarathon.com/
Strava activity: Mile, 10K, 5K, Marathon

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	Finish	Yes
B	Don't re-injure my knee	So far so good
C	Beat previous 4-way time	No

Training

I haven't really been training since I ran my last marathon on March 31st due to ITBS and knee pain. I did manage to run a half marathon the weekend before Flying Pig, so I was cautiously optimistic about finishing the races. I figured I would play it by ear on Sunday when I hit the half/full split and if I felt like I was going to die I would drop to the half.

Little Kings Mile

Pre-race

My wife and I drove to Cincinnati from Columbus on Friday afternoon and got in around 5:30pm. We were a bit pressed for time so after checking into our hotel we went to the expo and grabbed our race packets and shirts, as well as this year’s “premium item” (a really cool fold-up blanket thing). We got back to the hotel and changed and walked to Paul Brown Stadium. There we got our Little Kings Mile bibs and shirts, and then walked to the start (about half a mile away).

Race

I wasn’t trying to PR for any distance this weekend since I’ve had to take a lot of time off recently because of IT band issues. I felt okay for the first half of the race, but was definitely flagging towards the end. The race had a single sharp turn at about a quarter mile and then ran straight to the finish line by the Moerlein Lager House (the same finish line as the other races, but going the other direction). I ended up running faster than I expected and finished the mile in around 6:30.

Post-race

After the race my knee was a bit sore, but it seemed to be holding up so far. I watched my wife finish and then we got our 2 free beers and walked up to the street where there was a giant post-race party. We got free chili dogs and visited some sponsor tents and watched the bands playing on the stage. Then we got dinner in the VIP tent (my wife’s company had a booth at the expo, but nobody wanted to attend the VIP party so we got the passes) and headed back to the hotel. Went to bed around 10pm after laying out my stuff for the next day’s races.

Toyota 10K/Tri-State Running Co. 5K

Pre-race

The next morning I got up at around 6:15am and dressed for the 10K. I had some bagels and Summit Tea for breakfast and then we walked to the start line by the stadium. The weather was great at around 55ºF and overcast. I dropped my bag at gear check and got into my corral towards the front.

Race

The 10K course was pretty hilly and included three bridges across the rivers. The first couple of miles are very similar to the first miles of the marathon, but run counter-clockwise instead of clockwise. From the start we ran across a bridge into Kentucky and then over another into Newport. It was a bit humid so I made sure to take water or Gatorade whenever we passed an aid station, and I ran the race VERY easy and made sure not to get caught up racing anyone. There was some food on the course as well and I took a Twizzler at around mile 2 and a Girl Scout cookie at mile 3. We crossed another bridge back into Ohio and the last 2 miles of the course were familiar to me since they were the same as the last time I’d run this race. I grabbed some pretzels from an aid station and then there was a fairly long out-over-and-back section, and then back into downtown by the Reds Stadium to the finish line. Around mile 5 there were volunteers handing out gummy oranges, so I continued my quest to eat everything on the course by taking one of those. I finished the 10K in 51:41 and felt great afterwards.

Inter-race

I grabbed my bag from the gear check buses and sat on a curb. I drank some Skratch and ate some peanut butter crackers and talked with some people around me who were also waiting for the 5K. My wife finished a few minutes after me and we sat around for about an hour before the start of the 10K. Between races my allergies got really bad and my sinuses basically closed up. I was miserable and snotty for 45 minutes, but as soon as I walked to the 5K corrals everything cleared up, so I’m guessing it was the trees I was sitting by. Before the 5K it started drizzling and a cool breeze started up, so by the time it was time to go I was a bit chilly.

Race

The 5K and 10K courses are pretty much the same, but instead of running over the bridge into Kentucky the course loops back into downtown Cincinnati. The last 2 miles are the same as the 10K. I felt really good for the 5K and I was super excited to be done running for the day. The rain picked up a little bit during the race, but it never got worse than a light rain/heavy drizzle. I skipped the pretzels this time and took another gummy orange at mile 2, and pushed a little bit going into the finish line. I ended up running 24:48 for the 5K and my legs felt great afterwards, but I was ready for some food and rest.

Post-race

We walked back to our hotel and showered and then got Chipotle for lunch near the hotel. I walked around the race expo for a while since we didn’t have time on Friday and then got back to the hotel room and covered my legs in bags of ice. After several hours of Netflix and icing I got dinner with friends at Buca di Beppo and went to bed around 9:30pm after laying out my stuff for the marathon.

Flying Pig Marathon

Pre-race

I got up at 4:45am and dressed and ate more bagels and summit tea for breakfast. The weather was decent running weather (around 55ºF again), except for the 95% humidity. At around 6am I walked to the start (again by the stadium) and found the gear check buses. After dropping my bag I tried to figure out where my corral was and got very confused because corrals A and B were one way and the rest were another, and the path to gear check cut between them so it was very congested and hard to see where to go. Eventually I found my way into the A corral and moved up towards the start line, but I moved back a bit to start towards the end of B corral since I knew I’d be going out slow. After the anthem and some fireworks we were on our way.

Race

As with the 10K I took it very easy through the Kentucky section of the race. I made sure to try to grab water or Gatorade at every aid station due to the humidity, and I continued my food quest by grabbing some bacon from a guy on the side of the road (it was delicious). The Newport/Kentucky sections went by quickly and I crossed the bridge back into Ohio around mile 3 and turned into downtown. There were tons of people lining the streets on Seventh St. downtown and I got a nice boost from the crowd going into the hills. The course went up a long, gradual hill past the casino and then turned into the biggest hills of the course. I slowed my pace going up the hills and ended up feeling pretty good when I got to the top.
At mile 9-ish the half marathoners split off and we ran through some quiet neighborhoods. Here there were more Girl Scount cookies, mimosas, and Peppermint Patty’s, all of which I took. I had a gel at mile 12 and did my best to give high fives to all the kids on the course. There were also 2 beer stops to go with the mimosa. At mile 14 we got to the long out-over-and-back section of the race and there was more food including popsicles, graham crackers, candy, and pretzels. At the turn around at mile 15 there was a huge block party with tons of cheering spectators. It definitely gave me a boost through this section. I took a salt tab on the way back and hit the short section of bike path. I had been dreading the section of the race on the highway at mile 17-18, but I managed to stick with a group of runners and make it through.
At mile 20 I took a short walk break since the sun was coming out and it was heating up a bit. My strategy for the rest of the race was to walk for a minute or 2 and then run to the next mile marker. I managed to keep this up for the next 4 miles through some mostly-downhill rollers. I started taking water and pouring it over my head to cool off, which made me feel a lot better. At mile 24 I tried to pick my pace up a bit, but continued walking on any uphill sections. The last 2 miles of the race felt very long. Eventually I hit the timing mat that marked 1 mile to go and, after walking up a short hill, ran back into downtown. I knew how far it was to the finish from the 5K and 10K and I was determined to run it in. The last half mile had fantastic crowds and after going under the highway and passing the stadium I finally saw the finish line. I ran across in just under 4 hours at 3:57:39.

Post-race

I got my medal and some water and grabbed a bunch of post-race food, which included chips, pretzels, fruit, pizza, cookies, granola bars, and protein bars. Once I had recovered a bit I got my marathon finisher’s jacket and picked up my medal for completing the 4-Way challenge. I had a beer and watched my wife finish and then walked around a bit before going back to the hotel.

Final Results

Mile	5K	10K	Marathon	Total
06:31	24:48	51:41	3:57:49	5:20:49

Conclusion

I am happy with my times for all 4 of the races I ran during Flying Pig. My knee is sore today, but a lot of other things are too, so I’m not super worried about it. I feel great that I was able to run a marathon on very poor training and I’m feeling optimistic going into summer. I have 4 weeks until my next race, so I’m looking forward to a few days off to fully recover. I love Flying Pig and am always amazed by the amount of people that come out to support, volunteer, and cheer on runners for all of the races. I had a fantastic time completing the 4-Way and look forward to doing it again.
This post was generated using the new race reportr, a tool built by BBQLays for making organized, easy-to-read, and beautiful race reports.

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It is centred in the state of Ohio (United States). You'll find 2 casinos established in Columbus: Columbus Hollywood Casino & Hotel and Columbus Scioto Downs Casino. They offer a broad array of gaming tables and slot machines. Owned and operated by Penn National Gaming, Hollywood Casino Columbus has made the Biggest Small Town in America that much bigger and better of a tourist destination. It was founded in 2012 after a new amendment to Ohio’s constitution allowed for casinos in Ohio’s four largest cities. There are over 10 casinos in activity in the State of OH. In total, those gaming establishments feature more than 15,000 slot machines, 300 gaming tables, 110 poker tables and the other forms of gambling includes 7 horse tracks. The biggest gaming venue of the Ohio State remains the Columbus Hollywood Casino & Hotel. Ohio has eleven casinos and racinos. This includes four stand-alone casinos - the Horseshoe Casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati and the Hollywood Casinos in Columbus and Toledo - and seven racetracks with casino gaming called "racinos". Sports Hut Bar and Casino – Columbus casinos BestCasinos 0 Sports Hut Bar and Casino 341 North 9th Street, Columbus, Montana Stats Table games:- Gaming machines:13 Poker tables: - 24/7:No Parking:Yes Valet:No Casino sq/ft:- Convention sq/ft:- Amenities Poker Room: - Hotels: Columbus Hotels Rates: - Spas: - Venues: - Attractions: - Golf: - Restaurants ... When you play at Hollywood Casino in Columbus, Ohio, you’ll win. The area’s only Vegas-style casino offers unparalleled amenities, from fabulous dining to magnificent nightlife. Discover non-stop entertainment and experience a variety of delectable entrées - whether you play, dine, or roll, you win at Hollywood Casino. Find out where are the best casinos in Ohio . Every Casinos from Ohio described! s. When you play at Hollywood Casino in Columbus, Ohio, you’ll win. The area’s only Vegas-style casino offers unparalleled amenities, from fabulous dining to magnificent nightlife. Roll into the hottest gaming action featuring over 2,100 blockbuster slots, over 60 world-class table games, and 36 tables of live poker. Columbus, Ohio has 3 casinos in which you'll find more than 4,350 slots and gaming machines. There are a total of 79 table games. The minimum bet we've found at casinos in Columbus is $0 and the maxium bet is $100. Click a casino on the left for more information on a particular property. Ohio casinos, racinos continue ... Topping all Ohio operations in October was Hollywood Casino Columbus with just over $20.3 million, edging above the September leader, MGM Northfield Park.

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Pointer Sisters #1, Hollywood Casino, Columbus, Ohio ...

Columbus ohio Join us for the all-new Hollywood Casino Columbus featuring all the action and star-studded fun you can handle in Columbus, Ohio! Discover endless action at Columbus’s only Vegas-style casino ... Welcome to Pinoy Image Vlog. I'm filipino who plays poker who's also a truck driver. These two fields have nothing in common ;-). I play beginning poker in live cash games. Thank you for watching ... From October of 1986, here is some footage I shot while driving down Morse Rd. and Cleveland Avenue, as well as walking High Street and the OSU Oval! Pointer Sisters:Ruth, daughter Issa and granddaughter Sadako Pointer. So I went LIVE on FB when I won 9 free games on a machine at Hollywood last night, thought it would be fun to watch the free games play out LIVE and while I ... Shot with my iPhone from the back of the venue, audio is a little loud, but here ya go... oh, and there are crappy green things where fades are supposed to ... Pointer Sisters:Ruth, daughter Issa and granddaughter Sadako Pointer.... Cheapest Hotels To Stay In Columbus - http://bit.ly/CheapHotelsPrices-Cheap Airline Tickets - http://bit.ly/CheapAirlinePrices-----... Lakeside HollyWood Casino

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Little Kings Mile

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Toyota 10K/Tri-State Running Co. 5K

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Flying Pig Marathon

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Pointer Sisters #1, Hollywood Casino, Columbus, Ohio ...