1. She counted. One.

She could hear the steps coming

closer. Two. Puffs of breath could be seen coming from
his mouth. Three. He stopped beside her. Four. She
pulled the trigger of the gun.

2. It was difficult for him to admit he was wrong. He had been

so certain that he was correct and the deeply held belief
could never be shaken. Yet the proof that he had been
incorrect stood right before his eyes. "See daddy, I told
you that they are real!" his daughter excitedly proclaimed.

Josh had spent year and year accumulating the

3.
information. He knew it inside out and if there was ever
anyone looking for an expert in the field, Josh would be
the one to call. The problem was that there was nobody
interested in the information besides him and he knew it.
Years of information painstakingly memorized and sorted
with not a sole giving even an ounce of interest in the
topic.

4. She looked at her student wondering if she could ever get

through. "You need to learn to think for yourself," she
wanted to tell him. "Your friends are holding you back and
bringing you down." But she didn't because she knew his
friends were all that he had and even if that meant a life of
misery, he would never give them up.

5. I've rented a car in Las Vegas and have reserved a hotel

in Twentynine Palms which is just north of Joshua Tree.
We'll drive from Las Vegas through Mojave National
Preserve and possibly do a short hike on our way down.
Then spend all day on Monday at Joshua Tree. We can
 decide the next morning if we want to do more in Joshua
Tree or Mojave before we head back.

6. Cake or pie? I can tell a lot about you by which one you
pick. It may seem silly, but cake people and pie people are
really different. I know which one I hope you are, but that's
not for me to decide. So, what is it? Cake or pie?

7. I inadvertently went to See's Candy last week (I was in the

mall looking for phone repair), and as it turns out, See's
Candy now charges a dollar -- a full dollar -- for even the
simplest of their wee confection offerings. I bought two
chocolate lollipops and two chocolate-caramel-almond
things. The total cost was four-something. I mean, the
candies were tasty and all, but let's be real: A Snickers bar
is fifty cents. After this dollar-per-candy revelation, I may
not find myself wandering dreamily back into a See's
Candy any time soon.

8.It wasn't quite yet time to panic. There was still time to
salvage the situation. At least that is what she was telling
himself. The reality was that it was time to panic and there
wasn't time to salvage the situation, but he continued to
delude himself into believing there was.

9. She patiently waited for his number to be called. She had

no desire to be there, but her mom had insisted that she
go. She's resisted at first, but over time she realized it was
simply easier to appease her and go. Mom tended to be
that way. She would keep insisting until you wore down
and did what she wanted. So, here she sat, patiently
waiting for her number to be called.