BeatBoxx*Eternal
02-18-2008, 10:59 AM
Please do not delete this until after today. I simply posted it here because my school serever blocks hotmail. This is the deadest forum as well. Ty pz.
Boundless Horizon
By: Spencer Kostiuk
Night time had a bad habit of falling fast over Vancouver. This mattered little for part time dishwasher Ernie Potac, who was usually up to his elbows in dishes on the nightshift. On an attractiveness scale, Ernie Potac was sadly a 3. Standing 5’7, he wore outdated clothing and his hair parted awkwardly off-center, but he bore the brightest smile that could lighten up anyone’s day. A jewel in a pile of pebbles, a yellow wall in a white washed house; Ernie immediately possessed the room with his presence. Following a hard day’s work as a dishwasher at Don Kane’s Bird and Hog Emporium, Ernie traced a strict route home that would make sure he wasn’t caught up with ruffians and folks up to no good. Without fail to his plan, Ernie would be home every night by 11:00 and in his full body pajamas (midnight bathroom-dash flap included) with his teeth brushed by 11:30. While falling asleep, Ernie would list the entire bus schedule from Prince George to Kelowna to White Rock, maintaining the bond suturing it to his mind. Pick any bus route and Ernie could recite every time for every stop, even the weird ones. Yes, Ernie had it made.
However, he did lack one thing. For some time, he watched as those around him married, and generally had been happy. ‘God must have a reason for limiting me so,’ Ernie thought to himself one morning as he got up for work. By 8:25, Ernie had made himself toast and cereal, had read the comics, and had put on his jacket, ready to wait for the 8:45 bus. 9:30 crept into the present and Ernie mechanically went to work, as if he were a pencil in a stencil. No one topped Ernie when it came to dishes, ‘and today will be no different,’ he told himself during his break from the hours of 3:00 to 5:00. Ernie knew that the manager had entrusted only him with the tough responsibility of closing dish-pit on Valentines Day. ‘I won’t stay late,’ he thought to himself and with that he adjusted his seat as if impatient while watching the seconds slowly tick past on the clock.
5:00 had arrived and departed, and Ernie was blasting through the never-ending onslaught of dirty plates. However, while unloading a tray of clean dishes, he discovered a noticeable mark on a bowl. Now, Ernie has never let a dish get past ‘the pit’ without making sure it was 100% spotless. Believing this bowl to be like any other, he set to work scrubbing it.
7:00 descended, and the spot was kicking Ernie’s ass. Cooks could be heard within the dining room screaming like maniacs for dishes. It was the third complaint from paying patrons that drew the manager away from the front of the house and into dish pit. Peering through the rising piles of filth, the manager spotted a fixated Ernie working on the bowl from hell. Four swift steps and a hand movement later, and the bowl lay broken in the garbage.
“I know I shouldn’t say this Ernie, but every plate that comes out of here should be clean. If it’s dirty, the cooks will just send it back.” Ernie looked down to the shattered bowl and back up to the manager.
“But it wasn’t clean!” he pleaded. Close inspection and you would be able to see a faulty vein popping out on the manager’s head.
“Let me put it this way; unpack a tent because you’ll be here ‘til the morning! Now get goin’ jackass!” the he barked. Sure enough, there Ernie remained until the hefty hour of 1:12 until he finally checked out. ‘It’s late,’ he proclaimed to himself, tripping while walking out the back door. Night had appeared suddenly like snow from the sky, causing Ernie to shiver intensely. His internal bus schedule never lied – the bus that would take him home had stopped running; Ernie had a problem.
Avoiding ruffians and folks up to no good was nearly impossible now; Ernie would have to pass through the park if he wanted to go home. That was a ways off, and Ernie tried to keep his mind on other things, like his mom (and his dad’s whereabouts), his new 1903 battery operated steam engine, the bus schedule; anything. Pretty soon, Ernie could see the path leading into the park down the street. He felt a heavy object (a ‘rockthing’) in his stomach and tucked a hand below his suspendered pants to rub his belly. As he neared the path leading into the evergreens, doubts began to build. The ominous shadows fell along the edge of the trail like gutters in a bowling alley.
Ernie had stood at the entrance to the park for a good eight minutes before a voice sprang forth from the darkness.
“Are you going to stand there forever?” It was that of an old man.
“Uhmm.. no, I guess I’m not, am I,” Ernie bounced back skeptically into the darkness. He then stood there for another two minutes until the voice sounded again.
“So many people are afraid of the unknown. The unknown is what drives us. It’s what we seek and what we conquer. The unknown is how we thrive, it is how we succeed, and make life of greater ease and peace. The unknown is known to create turbulence but the wake is piece of cake if you take it with cake. The unknown is our destiny, and you are destined to rest in place if you don’t take a step or make a left instead of a right. Your eyes become glazed with foresight, forthright, never clear to look and discover other experiences. Those who live that life become a puzzle piece in a jigsaw world, and only those who can venture beyond the boundless horizon can learn of the horizon’s bounds.” Ernie quietly raised his hand from his stomach and placed it into his pocket. Unsure of what to do, he continued to stand. Another five minutes passed before Ernie became really anxious.
“Ok, I want you to do something for me Ernie, ok?” said the voice, “I want you to never be afraid of doing something because it could have bad consequence. If you use your head when it comes to what you’re deciding, you won’t have any problems in life that you can’t handle. Trust me on this.” Ernie shifted position uncomfortably under the lonely streetlamp. He proceeded to stand for another three minutes. Then, he did something different - he took a step forward. Then he took another step forward, and another, gaining speed to a full on sprint until he burst into the park. The old man was nowhere to be found, so he continued. As he walked through the park, Ernie felt an odd sense of calmness, a feeling he never felt in the unknown. Soon, he had passed through the park, over the bridge, and down the side of the highway to his house. His mom sat worried in the window and jumped up at the site of Ernie. That night, Ernie was in his house at 1:56 and asleep, fully dressed and teeth not cleaned by 2:09.
In the following months, Ernie changed his life. Now, instead of going to work every single day on the bus, Ernie walks. And instead of working at Don Kane’s Bird and Hog Emporium, Ernie now works with children at public schools, teaching students about how being mentally challenged doesn’t mean that you are mentally limited. Ernie has also since moved out from his mom’s house, and lives a normal life in his new apartment with his girlfriend Darla. Ernie may be 3 out of 10, but Darla’s a 12. Ernie also has a dog named Max, and plans to celebrate his 37th birthday in July.
Boundless Horizon
By: Spencer Kostiuk
Night time had a bad habit of falling fast over Vancouver. This mattered little for part time dishwasher Ernie Potac, who was usually up to his elbows in dishes on the nightshift. On an attractiveness scale, Ernie Potac was sadly a 3. Standing 5’7, he wore outdated clothing and his hair parted awkwardly off-center, but he bore the brightest smile that could lighten up anyone’s day. A jewel in a pile of pebbles, a yellow wall in a white washed house; Ernie immediately possessed the room with his presence. Following a hard day’s work as a dishwasher at Don Kane’s Bird and Hog Emporium, Ernie traced a strict route home that would make sure he wasn’t caught up with ruffians and folks up to no good. Without fail to his plan, Ernie would be home every night by 11:00 and in his full body pajamas (midnight bathroom-dash flap included) with his teeth brushed by 11:30. While falling asleep, Ernie would list the entire bus schedule from Prince George to Kelowna to White Rock, maintaining the bond suturing it to his mind. Pick any bus route and Ernie could recite every time for every stop, even the weird ones. Yes, Ernie had it made.
However, he did lack one thing. For some time, he watched as those around him married, and generally had been happy. ‘God must have a reason for limiting me so,’ Ernie thought to himself one morning as he got up for work. By 8:25, Ernie had made himself toast and cereal, had read the comics, and had put on his jacket, ready to wait for the 8:45 bus. 9:30 crept into the present and Ernie mechanically went to work, as if he were a pencil in a stencil. No one topped Ernie when it came to dishes, ‘and today will be no different,’ he told himself during his break from the hours of 3:00 to 5:00. Ernie knew that the manager had entrusted only him with the tough responsibility of closing dish-pit on Valentines Day. ‘I won’t stay late,’ he thought to himself and with that he adjusted his seat as if impatient while watching the seconds slowly tick past on the clock.
5:00 had arrived and departed, and Ernie was blasting through the never-ending onslaught of dirty plates. However, while unloading a tray of clean dishes, he discovered a noticeable mark on a bowl. Now, Ernie has never let a dish get past ‘the pit’ without making sure it was 100% spotless. Believing this bowl to be like any other, he set to work scrubbing it.
7:00 descended, and the spot was kicking Ernie’s ass. Cooks could be heard within the dining room screaming like maniacs for dishes. It was the third complaint from paying patrons that drew the manager away from the front of the house and into dish pit. Peering through the rising piles of filth, the manager spotted a fixated Ernie working on the bowl from hell. Four swift steps and a hand movement later, and the bowl lay broken in the garbage.
“I know I shouldn’t say this Ernie, but every plate that comes out of here should be clean. If it’s dirty, the cooks will just send it back.” Ernie looked down to the shattered bowl and back up to the manager.
“But it wasn’t clean!” he pleaded. Close inspection and you would be able to see a faulty vein popping out on the manager’s head.
“Let me put it this way; unpack a tent because you’ll be here ‘til the morning! Now get goin’ jackass!” the he barked. Sure enough, there Ernie remained until the hefty hour of 1:12 until he finally checked out. ‘It’s late,’ he proclaimed to himself, tripping while walking out the back door. Night had appeared suddenly like snow from the sky, causing Ernie to shiver intensely. His internal bus schedule never lied – the bus that would take him home had stopped running; Ernie had a problem.
Avoiding ruffians and folks up to no good was nearly impossible now; Ernie would have to pass through the park if he wanted to go home. That was a ways off, and Ernie tried to keep his mind on other things, like his mom (and his dad’s whereabouts), his new 1903 battery operated steam engine, the bus schedule; anything. Pretty soon, Ernie could see the path leading into the park down the street. He felt a heavy object (a ‘rockthing’) in his stomach and tucked a hand below his suspendered pants to rub his belly. As he neared the path leading into the evergreens, doubts began to build. The ominous shadows fell along the edge of the trail like gutters in a bowling alley.
Ernie had stood at the entrance to the park for a good eight minutes before a voice sprang forth from the darkness.
“Are you going to stand there forever?” It was that of an old man.
“Uhmm.. no, I guess I’m not, am I,” Ernie bounced back skeptically into the darkness. He then stood there for another two minutes until the voice sounded again.
“So many people are afraid of the unknown. The unknown is what drives us. It’s what we seek and what we conquer. The unknown is how we thrive, it is how we succeed, and make life of greater ease and peace. The unknown is known to create turbulence but the wake is piece of cake if you take it with cake. The unknown is our destiny, and you are destined to rest in place if you don’t take a step or make a left instead of a right. Your eyes become glazed with foresight, forthright, never clear to look and discover other experiences. Those who live that life become a puzzle piece in a jigsaw world, and only those who can venture beyond the boundless horizon can learn of the horizon’s bounds.” Ernie quietly raised his hand from his stomach and placed it into his pocket. Unsure of what to do, he continued to stand. Another five minutes passed before Ernie became really anxious.
“Ok, I want you to do something for me Ernie, ok?” said the voice, “I want you to never be afraid of doing something because it could have bad consequence. If you use your head when it comes to what you’re deciding, you won’t have any problems in life that you can’t handle. Trust me on this.” Ernie shifted position uncomfortably under the lonely streetlamp. He proceeded to stand for another three minutes. Then, he did something different - he took a step forward. Then he took another step forward, and another, gaining speed to a full on sprint until he burst into the park. The old man was nowhere to be found, so he continued. As he walked through the park, Ernie felt an odd sense of calmness, a feeling he never felt in the unknown. Soon, he had passed through the park, over the bridge, and down the side of the highway to his house. His mom sat worried in the window and jumped up at the site of Ernie. That night, Ernie was in his house at 1:56 and asleep, fully dressed and teeth not cleaned by 2:09.
In the following months, Ernie changed his life. Now, instead of going to work every single day on the bus, Ernie walks. And instead of working at Don Kane’s Bird and Hog Emporium, Ernie now works with children at public schools, teaching students about how being mentally challenged doesn’t mean that you are mentally limited. Ernie has also since moved out from his mom’s house, and lives a normal life in his new apartment with his girlfriend Darla. Ernie may be 3 out of 10, but Darla’s a 12. Ernie also has a dog named Max, and plans to celebrate his 37th birthday in July.