M.E.: (Mystic Entities)

By Joseph M. Manganelli

Strangeis it not when your life seems to be flashing before your very eyes. How you tend to lose control of your feelings and tend to just go berserk. As in yelling out obscenities and doing all sort of nasty things, like our dear friend Johnny here is doing. I guess one cant really blame him, could we. But really, does he really have to yell so dog gone loudcause there isnt anyone to hear him in a flying ghost helicopter with a freakin ghostof all things. Still this is what our old friend Johnny is doing, as he wonders thru his freak out mind OF who or what will help him thru this here situation that he seems to be in, at the moment.

ALWAYS SEEKING THAT
OF WHICH WE KNOW SO
LITTLE ABOUT, NEVER
REALIZING HOW OR THE WHY.
STILL IN OUR SEARCH WE

OFTEN FIND THAT WHICH WE

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463444068

Joseph M. Manganelli

Joseph Manganelli grew up in the Highlandtown section of Baltimore, Maryland, situated in the middle of two railroads, the B&O and the Penn-Central. Overtime the Penn-Central became Conrail and today is know as the Norfolk-Southern. Joe has spent the last 32 years “railroading” on that line and his experiences were the inspiration for his first novel. If he is not watching football or baseball or shooting a little pool, Mr. Manganelli can be found in the outdoors or in a stirring conversation with someone. He enjoys listening to music, going to the movies and writing poetry and short stores.   Joe is the second child in a family of six children and was graduated from Patterson High School. He has been married for 30 years and has two daughters and three grandchildren.    

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M.E.

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Joseph M. Manganelli

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AuthorHouse™

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© 2011 by Joseph M. Manganelli. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 07/26/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4634-4407-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-4406-8 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

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Contents

CHAPTER ONE Remembrance

CHAPTER TWO A CAPTIVATED FAN

Chapter three A Friend In Need

Chapter four SHADDEA’S HOME COMING!

Chapter Five The Feminine Way

CHAPTER SIX THE NEXT MOVE

Chapter Seven What lies Beneath?

CHAPTER 8 WHERE TO NEXT!

Chapter nine When things come together.

CHAPTER TEN When tides collied!

CHAPTER ONE

Remembrance

In the darkest of nights

There lingers a guiding light

It shines upon thee always,

Thus… seek it out

For it will lead you on your way!

Johnny… Johnny… JJJooohhhnnnyyyyy!!!

Beth, honey, you’ve came back to me, I lo… . Ah… hell it was just another dream. Just like the others, simple reflections of my love life from the past, coming back to haunt me in my sleep. What little sleep I get, now an days. The mind although it be a terrible thing to waste, it’s still all we have to call our own, and it keeps us in touch with reality, all of the time. Through the good as well as the bad times. Although I wonder why does these images come back to haunt me all the time, what reason does it’s haunting me serve, to aggravate me once more, to tell me what a great love life I once had with Beth, and for some unknown reason she just had to up and go away. Without any reasons of why.

Well, now that I’m awake to realize that. As I lie here in bed all alone, something I’ve been doing for the past five years. Ever since Beth just up and walk out of my life one day, without a goodbye, kiss my ass or anything. Why? I’ll never know and, she didn’t say. Not even a hint as to where she was going, nor as to if she’ll ever come back. Sure do miss that wife of mine, bitch! Leaving me like that, alone and miserable. I wonder does she miss me as well? Probably not. Like most women, they love you for a little while then it’s adios amigo.

Love… is sometimes very strange. Some what like the weather here in Baltimore, the land of pleasant living… as they say. Where one minute it’s bright and sunny, then raining and windy the next. One fella once told me he was standing on a street in the middle of April years ago. It was bright and sunny on one side of the street and snowing on the other side, weird I thought. So… some one once told me that if you can take the weather here in Maryland, you could live almost anywhere. It seemed weird to me at first when I heard that saying, but like I said the weather here does change and, sometimes very rapidly. So I suppose they may be right anyways. Yeah well who gives a good shit anyhow, me I suppose, at least for now. But through it all I think moving to Baltimore wasn’t all that bad. It does have it’s advantages and, some disadvantages. But… don’t all cities? Then sometimes, just every once in a while I think of sweet old home and the way it once use to be but… hey doesn’t everybody think of those times, now and then. Sure do miss them times.

Well anyways… they do seem to have wondrous seafood here, like crabs, oysters on a half shell, lobsters, and crab cakes, plus shrimp and all kinds of fish. One could say it has about every kind of seafood one could possibly want, or desire. But then I was never one to complain about food. For when I was younger and the world back then wasn’t so troublesome, it never matter to me what I ate, for if ma said it was good and she cooked it, it was good enough for me too. Good old ma, she always was good for those hot, home cooked meals and witty little sayings, that I would often hear as I was growing up and learning how the world really was. Always a word of wit she would always tell me as she would do her house work, or while she was cooking. Those quaint little phrases like, Don’t put off tomorrow, what you can do today, for tomorrow may be too late! Or something like, Save your pennies and dimes! Simple little sayings they once may have been, but they seem to have a bad habit of always coming back to haunt me. As if it was yesterday. Amazing what effect old memories can have on you. Yeah… old memories, like an old dog who refuses to learn new tricks or change his ways.

Sometimes early in the morning as I walk along the harbor’s shore line here in the city, you can smell the seafood in the air, as well as hear those sea fairing men down at the foot of Gay and Fleet street singing as they unload their catches, to be sold in the open markets. Yes… I would definitely say Baltimore is a land of many wondrous things. Also the people here seem to be very friendly but… sometimes they can also be a royal pain in the ass, if you know what I mean. funny how one thing is taken in so many different ways by so many different people.

Still… they’re always ready to have a good time down at the harbor, or where ever it may be. Given the situation or the place. Perhaps in a local bar, where it’s considered the most likely spot. Or perhaps down in Patterson park, looking out of the pagoda that stands on the southern end of the park, really a marvelous over view of the city, on a bright sunny day. My favorite spot is up on Federal hill, with a lovely view of the harbor. But… no matter the place or the strange or unfamiliar face, Baltimore is a wondrous place, for what ever the occasion. God’s little acre as someone once called it. Yes… . surely a land of pleasant living.

Well anyways… where was I, oh yeah, my dear Beth. Perhaps someday, I say maybe, someday, she will return. To tell me how it was, that she had to go off to find herself again, to be free once more. As if I wouldn’t have liked to go off with her, galloping through the country side, worried free. Nah I don’t do things like that, but hey maybe I should… someday.! Just to see what freedom is really like. For I use to know how it felt to be free… once!

Then I heard it again, from across the room. Live from New York city, hereeee’ssss Johnnnyyy!!! Came the announcement on the TV. Ed McMann’s introduction of Johnny Carson. Maybe, in my state of sleepiness, that’s who I heard calling my name, and woke my ass up. Yet then again, perhaps, just maybe, it was her calling to me from far away in her sleep. Nah, now how stupid is that.

Still it was a nice thought anyways. It reminded me of days gone by, hey baby I still love you honey, where ever you may be luv. Just do what you got to do and perhaps we can someday be together again. For absence makes the heart grow founder, as the saying goes, dang, stupid sayings. It’s almost as if my mother was lecturing me from the grave. Those little bits of wisdom that we so often hear, but never bother to pay much attention to. Not until your all alone, off somewhere and your mind is wandering off into space… . .lol… . space!!! The one place no one really knows, but sets us apart from others, when we’re all alone.

I always thought that me and her would be together for a life time. Well hey! Nobody’s perfect. Still it’s been two lonely years and still not a word from her, oh well. Perhaps she’s not ready to come back. Maybe she just won’t… ever come back!

Women, they are a strange breed indeed!

Time… where have you gone to? Why does it taunt me so and, where will it lead me to next?

Questions, always so many stinking questions, but never no answers do I get. I don’t understand something. Here I gave her all that any women could desire, and still, vamoose, gone, like the wind! Oh hell, have your fun honey, I’ll be around somewhere, when your ready babe.

Timeeeeeee, where did you run toooo… . . Never was one for singing much… lol… like always.

Yepper, sometimes when your all by yourself without out shit to do. The weirdest things just seem to come upon you, as if shit was attracted to yah. Silly it is how it leaves you in the end. Making you feel like the ass that you really are!

Ok, ok, enough of remembrance and all that mushy stuff. On to something new, something more interesting, something… . shit, more like nothing! Haven’t had a case as of lately, say within the last 6 months to be exact.

This P… I… work just doesn’t do very well. Not that I really need this sort of thing, being the dirty, old multi-millionaire and part time P.I. mystery investigator that I am. It’s just that sometimes, I just need something to do. Something to keep me from going completely freaking’’’’ nuts.

Well Johnny old boy… whispered a voice from across the room.

Well what… ? Was it the TV again or something else. It sounded like the TV, but then it didn’t. Was my mind playing tricks on me again? Being half asleep that I was, or was it a start of something. I can’t never tell half the time. Until it just jumps ups and bites me in the ass!

Ringgggg… . . went that miserable phone. Rriinnggggggg… . .

Okay, okay already I’m coming, give me a sec… . as I jumped out of bed naked ass and all.

Hello J B’s mystery detective here, how can I help you!

Silence… just another prank caller. Misery, it can be so lonely I suppose. That’s why we have so many idiots making those silly prank calls all the time.

Hello… . for Pete sake, either answer me or else. Ah… the hell with yah.

Ja meina seita nee nas tou, came the stranger than shit response. Just as I was about to hang up the phone.

Okay that was funny, but I’m not laughing who ever this is, I haven’t th…

Ja meina seita nee nas tou, came the voice once more, only loud enough to pierce my ear drum from across the street, wowwwww!

Alright pal that hurt, and this conversation is over. Yet… before I had the time to hang up the phone, or finish the sentence.

John Braxton, I need your assistance, please!

Huh, say what, it needs my help now! A very strange call indeed, and I was wondering once more. Who… or should I say what needed my help? Seeing how the voice on the phone was using some strange off the wall language of which I’ve never heard before. The call itself seemed to be from a far away distance, with a weird sort of echo type effect tone of voice. As if it was coming from within a tomb or something.

A tombbbbbb!

Johnny help me honey… . came the voice on the phone again, only this time it was a feminine tone of voice, a more familiar one.

Beth, is that you luv? Baby where are you? I mean, nah can’t be, or can it. Hell what am I saying. Someone is really messing with my mind now.

It sure as hell sounded like her, but was it really her voice. Silently, I listen for a minute, and silence was all I could hear. Out side of the static that one would often hear over the telephone line, as always.

Baltimore’s finest at their best… Bell Atlantic here can we help you. Repeating one of their latest ads off the TV. Don’t get me wrong Baltimore in it’s own way is a very nice city, but sometimes it has some very strange and weird moments.

Suddenly a dial tone… shit! That’s just great, a prank call, and then it leaves me hanging, wondering as to what in hell’s name did it or they want.

As I was hanging up the phone, I started to glance up at the ceiling fan going round and round and round. I began to get light headed as if in a trance like state of mind. All around me began to fade from my view. As to where was I going to, sure beats the hell outta me. Yet there forth I did go but to see… . lol. Besides, what else was I suppose to do? I was a captive fan at the moment.

Dizzier and dizzier I got, so I closed my eyes and just stood there. Hoping that when I open my eyes again, the spinning would stop, and it did.

Ahhh… that’s better, wrong!!

The spinning had stopped but as I opened my eyes I found myself outside on the street. In a down pouring rain. What kind of a stupid trick is this, and who’s pulling it on me? Especially when I’m standing here in my pj’s getting soaking wet, in a cold down pouring rain.

Still, something didn’t seem quite right, sure I was out on the streets of Baltimore, but it just didn’t look the same as it did before. Then as I began to look harder of the things around me, I began to see what those differences were.

The street lights were different, as of those colonial type days, say… some where’s around early 18 hundreds or earlier. You know with real little fire lights, instead of those neon type electrical ones, that are about 20 feet high. The streets were made of large grayish colored cobble stones, not those of asphalt or cement, not cluttered with trash. Even a few stragglers were roaming the streets too. But they were weird too somehow. Wearing strange clothing, that of say John Paul Jones or Paul Revere era. What in blue blazes was going on here, and why am I standing here, shit… dressed in these weird, Paul Revere clothes.

My God!! What is happening to me, and why?

Seek out the light amidst the pleasant blue waters!! Came a low, yet creepy type voice.

I turned around to see perhaps where or from whom the message came from, but no one was even near me. Those illusive voices again like once before, years ago. Those days when old Jack would haunt my ass. Although I thought those days were long gone, guess not. That special gift of mine, I imagine is the reason for this, I suppose.

Seek of the light!!!! Again came the voice, but with a colder, and louder shrilling type sound. Seek of the light to find your way!!!!

Doing a 180 degree turn as quickly as possible, still there was nobody around.

"Okay, okay already. I’m suppose to seek out this light, okay! In these pleasant blue waters, ok!!!! But where in hell are they! Seek of this so called light to find my way, my way to where, my ass I suppose. Then suddenly I found my ass uplifted off the ground and thrown about a hundred feet backwards. Did