In Bell,California the avergae income is $40,000, but the mayor makes $800,000! The mayor's assistant makes $350,000 and the sheriff makes $400,000. But, I'm not done yet. The mayor also lives in a million dollar house and has his own horse farm? This is just simply ridiculous. While, his people are struggling to make it through one meal he's pullin gin nearly a million dollars a year! Oh, I almost forgot. The city officials in Bell,California (it may have been a few years ago I guess) signed a document giving the power to determine people's income. Including their own. It's things like this that make us, the people, question the government. It's peole like this that help build that barrier between the government and average citizens. The mayor defends himself by saying that in order for a city to be succesful the city officials (people like him and the sheriff) need to make more money. This is simply an excuse. A bad one at that.

Tell me readers what should be done to these crooks? What should their punishment be? I believe they al have already resigned, but is that really enough? Let me know.


My Apple Tree (Pt3) should be coming out soon.

My Apple Tree (Pt2)

I sat in the yard until night fall. Then, the police came and got me. They tried talking to me, but I didn't respond. I didn't see the point in talking if the only thing I'd do when I open my mouth was scream. I was hurting so badly inside.

"Why does everyone abandon me?" I thought as the officers led me to the Sheriff's car, "Why doesn't anyone want to stay around long enough to love me?" When I was seated in the car the Sheriff turned around to look at me. He frowned and said, "I'm sorry, Kid,but Old Lady Crones has passed away." He waited for a response. I just stared,waiting for him to continue.

He coughed and moved his shoulder awkwardly, "Do you understand what I'm saying, Kid? You're Granny's gone. She died." I nodded so he'd know I was following. He nodded as well and turned back to the steering wheel. We waited a few minutes for his deputy to tape off the area. When his deputy finally returned, the sheriff turned on the car and drove to the station. "It's a quiet night." I thought as we drove through the town," but it seems even quieter now that Gran's gone."
The car pulled into the station parking lot. The sheriff turned to me, "Okay,kid,now-"
I cut him off, "I know she's dead. I knew she was dead from the start....I just didn't want to admit it." My shoulders began to shake, but I wasn't going to cry. I couldn't. I never did. The officers just shook their heads. They probably already thought I was crazy. Everyone else in town did. I was the weird girl who liked apples.

The Sheriff opened my door to lead me into station, but I wasn't going. I jumped out and pushed him aside. Then, I picked up my scrawny chicken legs and ran like the street was caving in. The officers called and yelled for me to come back, but they didn't chase me. I knew they wouldn't because they didn't care enough. The only person that cared about me was now dead yet I still wanted to see her one last time. Dead or alive....she was still Granny. I ran home,through the police tape like a track star and burst into the front room. I looked around. Nothing had changed. Everything was as Granny had left it the other night. There were still cards on the table from Gran's and my game of Goldfish. The sink had two plates and two forks waiting in it to be washed. Both utensils had been used for chocolate cake. Everything was exactly the same,but the house no longer had that tingly warm feeling. No, now it was like an overbearing dark cloud had taken refuge in my home. That's what my life was without Gran. A dark cloud.

I went in my room,under my bed and pulled up a loose plank. From under that plank I pulled out a tin container full of money. I had been saving it since my eighth birthday. I told myself that if I saved enough money, one day I could buy Granny and myself a huge house by the sea. There was no need for that now. I took the container and placed it in my pants pocket. Next, I went to Gran's room. She was the same as I had left her that morning. I looked at her face. She seemed happy. I wondered if she was happy to die? Just to get away from me maybe? Still, Gran wouldn't be happy until she was lain to rest properly. I went in the back yard and found an apple by the tree. I picked it up and wiped it on my jacket. Then I took it back into the house and placed it on Gran's chest. "You always said you wanted to be buried under your apple tree," I said to her knowing she wouldn't respond, "I hope this is good for now."

 With those words I returned to the front room. Granny liked her house clean so I gathered up the cards and cleaned off the table. Then, I washed the dishes in the sink,dried them and put them away. The floor needed sweeping so I did that,too. The other bedrooms had carpet that needed to be vacuumed. I cleaned them,too. The bathroom was a mess. I cleaned that, too. The living room curtains were dirty.....I washed them. By time I was done cleaning the whole house it was morning,but the apples didn't smile at me like they use too. They knew Granny was gone. Before leaving I went back to Gran's room. I looked at her. Still the same form last time I saw her. "I love you, Gran," I said, "Bye." I closed her door and left out.

When I was outside I walked to the local bakery. As soon as I opened the door a bell rang and all eyes fell on me. I ignored them and walked to the counter where a young brunette waitress stared at me. Like I said news traveled fast in that small town. I tried to smile at the waitress, but failed. I wouldn't be able to smile again until I got my release. "Give me all the cinnamon cookies and hazel doughnuts I can get with this," I handed her the jar. For awhile she continued to stare,but eventually she took the jar with shaky hands and began to count. A few moments later I was greeted with several bags of release. I took in a deep breath and managed a tiny smile.

 "Kid," the Sheriff placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked at him. He was with the deputy who was wiping his mouth with a napkin. The Sheriff had some strawberry frosting on his cheek. They had been in the bakery the whole time. "Kid," he repeated himself, "it's time to go." I solemnly nodded and gathered up my bags. People were staring at me like I was some kind of science project.

 "That's that apple girl."
 "She's so weird."
 "I heard her Gran passed away in her sleep. Poor thing, whose she got now?"
 "Nobody that's who."
" That child is just plain odd. Coming to a bakery after having your only family die! Just ain't right. I wouldn't be surprised if she killed her Grandmother."

I walked in between the officers. As we approached door I looked at the table where the woman sat who accused me of killing Granny. She was accompanied by a man and a baby who was crying like there was no tomorrow. I stared at the man and he stared at me. Then, I walked to his table and said, "I didn't kill my Gran ." I looked at his crying baby. She looked to be in about as much pain as I was so I dug in one of my bags and pulled out a cookie and doughnut. I held it up to the woman and child. The mother looked at me with raised brows, but the baby stopped crying and smiled. "Here. This makes me feel better when I'm sad." I placed the treats on their plates. Nearly everyone in the restaurant was stunned. I looked at the baby," These are my favorites. Whats yours?"

My Apple Tree

When I was young,my mother left me at my grandma's house promising she'd return when she got on her feet. I never saw her again. After awhile I couldn't even remember her face, but I never forgot her scent. Before she left me, I'd crawl in her bed Sunday mornings and lay beside her. She'd wrap me in her arms and I'd take a deep breath,inhaling her scent. Roasted cinnamon and hazel. Til this day every time I get a whiff of cinnamon or hazel, I get mixed feelings of love and loss.

There was a apple tree in the back yard of Granny's house. It was tall,strong and its branches stretched out through the sky. And on every branch was a ripe red apple. "Hundreds......no thousands of ripe red apples," I'd think to myself staring up at the tree. When the blaring orange of the sun hit the apple tree every morning,it'd cast a dark shadow over the apples and their faces would smile at me. Beautiful, ghastly smiles just for me.

I didn't get along with the other kids at school. They would make fun of me because my mother had abandoned me (Granny lived in a small town and word traveled fast). They'd say things like, "You're mother doesn't love you!" "Do you even have a mother? I bet you don't. I bet the devil dropped you off in the cabbage patch for someone to find." "I heard your mom was a whore. That's what my mommy says."

 Every day they'd taunt me with their words and  I couldn't fight back. I was powerless against them because the fact was that Mommy had abandoned me and so she couldn't have loved me. The kids said she didn't love me. That was one thing they had said that was true so why wouldn't the rest of their words be true, as well?

Their words would tear me up inside, but I'd never cry. No, that wasn't my release. I'd go behind the local bakery Friday afternoons when they'd make cinnamon cookies and hazel flavored doughnuts. There I'd sit behind the dumpster so no one would see me and breath in the rich aroma until my nose went dry. One afternoon of that and I was ready to go back Monday morning for another week of suffering thanks to my mother.

When the summer drew near, I got into the habit of waking up extra early and going into the back yard. There I'd pull out the ladder, take a broom and knock down a few apples. Ten was a few to me. Then, I'd sit in the yard and surround myself with the apples. Neighbors would walk by and ask me why I did that but I was too scared to answer them. They'd go to my grandma about it and she'd just tell them to leave me alone or she'd put a curse on them. Ha! That was Granny for you.

I loved Granny. From the moment I met her she was forever carved into my heart. She was old, well into her eighties when I was dumped at her door step,but full of more life then a twenty year old cheer leader. Her skin was wrinkled and saggy like wet clothes. Her hair was grey and thick and she had a few missing teeth, but that made her smile all the more original. She was the only one I talked to, though I never told her about the kids at school. I didn't feel like she needed to know. I deserved it after all, I was the daughter of a whore.

Gran was a talker. If I wasn't talking then she was. She'd go on and on about Grandpa. She'd say, "He was so handsome. The best dang pilot I'd ever seen. Oh, all the girls wanted him but he choose me. Ha! That stuck it right to old Sheryl thinking she could get every man." Then, she'd get quiet and wait a bit. Finally she'd say, "He was the best pilot and the most beautiful corpse." I'd sit and listen to every word like a sponge sucking up her knowledge about the war and life.

It was a daily ritual for me to get up in the morning,brush my teeth,get dressed and tell Granny I was leaving for school. She'd give me a smile and a sloppy kiss as a response. I was thirteen when I got up for school,brushed my teeth,got dressed and went to tell Granny I was leaving. The only problem was this time Granny didn't smile nor did she kiss me away. No,this time she lay there,eyes closed and mouth open. I touched her arm lightly and got a chill. I pushed on her shoulder. No movement. I pushed harder still she didn't move. "Granny,I'm leaving." She didn't say a word. "Granny,I'm leaving." Nothing. I could feel my heart began to tear. "Granny,please! I'm leaving. Don't you want to say goodbye! Don't you want to kiss me! Granny,please!" No matter how much I yelled and pushed, she wouldn't respond.

Granny, wasn't saying anything so I went to the backyard and picked twenty apples (double the amount I usually picked) from the apple tree. I gathered the apples around me and sat in the yard, staring at everything. Starring at nothing. I huddled them close and rest them around me. The next door neighbor walked by and looked. Though I had never answered when he had asked me before, he asked again anyway. He said," Why do you do that every morning?"

 I turned to him and said, " So I won't feel so lonely."