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Joy

Here's a thank-you story for an early reader of Eight Hurricane Maria Stories from Puerto Rico. This one is for Alma. Her topic, and I suspect her way of life, is JOY In the town of Valladolid, it's not unusual to see people wearing traditional clothes. White suits, white hats, red kerchiefs for the men. White dresses with floral embroidery for the women. Not a fashion statement designed to shove centuries of time-honored traditions down your throat. No hiding behind long-gone ancestors here. The clothes are just plain nice. In the town of Valladolid, time is under no obligation. You can stare up at the double towers of the stone church and let history hang over you, or you can hop on the double-decker party bus that blasts electronica. When you return to the town square, the world may be younger, older, wiser, weirder. Depends on which way you look. In the town of Valladolid, every meal is unreasonably good. Local, Mayan, Italian, hole in the wall, upscale
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Trans-Siberian

Mirela Fox really wanted to leave a review for Eight Hurricane Maria Stories from Puerto Rico, but Amazon hasn't let her and other readers post reviews. Oh well... here's Mirela's story! Her topic is TRAVEL ON THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY, the longest railway in the world: Vjerovatno ste čuli za Mirelu Fox osnivačicu i vlasnicu hads ekpressa ali jeste li znali kako je sve počelo? Pritisnite 1 za engleski audio vodič. You have selected the English audio guide. Welcome to the Hades Express! Please take a moment to listen to the HEX rules: 1) No buying or selling of souls on the train. 2) Self-styled demon hunters will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. 3) Refrain from performing exorcisms, purification ceremonies, or any other rituals meant to cast out so-called evil spirits. Many of the employees on Hades Express may look different, but we can assure you that they have feelings too. Press 1 to hear the rules once more. Press 2 to he
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You're an A+ Specimen, Ben B.

This one was supposed to be a "ninth" story within a story that would appear at the end of the Five Survival Tips story in the earliest version of Eight Hurricane Maria Stories from Puerto Rico. While the tale had a loose connection to Hurricane Maria, it didn't fit the with non-fiction foundation of the other stories, so out it went! This is its home for now: *** Dear Dr. Frag. Ill get my tag Ill be the Ginxi man That is my awsome plan Even be the hero when Im beter So heres my lucky leaf with the leter Yes I know it rimes Frag tag man plan leter beter. Thanks! -Ben B. Dr. Maria Frag, whose name did not rhyme with “tag” and was instead pronounced like the “frag” in “fragile,” read the note for perhaps the twentieth time. One of Don Sluglord's men had delivered the message earlier that morning to mess with her. A plastic four-leaf clover, Ben B.'s lucky leaf, had come with the note. Foolish. Ben B. would need all the luck he c
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Hope

Kelley was the very first person to share her thoughts on Eight Hurricane Maria Stories from Puerto Rico. Kelley's topic, and the gift she gives others, is HOPE, so here's her story: Before Captain Kelley tore through our azure skies, life on Pnub was all about rocks, rocks, and more rocks. Mining, trading, and collecting rocks was very important. The best people on Pnub were the ones who owned the best rocks, of course. After she landed, Captain Kelley stole the best rocks from the best people and gave their rocks to the worst people. Then, when the worst people started acting like the best people, the Captain took the best rocks away from everyone! It was a very confusing time for the people of Pnub. We don't know where Captain Kelley came from or why she did this to us. All we know is that she was terrible. She once made Cobalt Pete cry in front of everyone by calling his rocks worthless. Everyone knew that Cobalt Pete had the best of the best rocks. The peopl
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New Beginnings

Susan was one of the earliest readers of Eight Hurricane Maria Stories from Puerto Rico, so she gets a story! Susan is following a new direction in life, so she wanted her story to be about... NEW BEGINNINGS There is a man who knows the future. He is not a god – he just happens to possess the all-see'ums, a pair of goggles capable of viewing all to come. So how do you steal the all-see'ums from that man when he knows what you're going to do before you do it? That's the question that Susan must answer. A difficult question because she does not believe the future exists. For Susan, everything takes place in the present. This is Susan's story, so we must do our best to stay in the present. She's a professional thief, so at least she has that going for her. But everything else about this job is all wrong. Art is her specialty, and she never fools around with so-called magical items if she can help it. Stealing stuff like the all-see'ums ca
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Frog on the Balcony

Ruth was one of the earliest supporters of Eight Hurricane Maria Stories from Puerto Rico, so I decided to write a story for her. She and Onofre (Ony) keep receiving visits from this strange frog on their balcony. Ruth showed it to me once. I said it was a toad (I was probably wrong). Still, I don't think it's a frog either. Sometimes this creature vanishes for weeks on end before returning to the balcony. Ruth wants to know what it does while it's away, so here is the true story of the... FROG ON THE BALCONY She calls me FROG. I am not FROG. I am TOAD. How does she know of FROG? Is she one of his followers? I venture inside her head, but her mind is not surrounded by the red haze that blinds the minds of FROG's chosen ones. Within her thoughts, I can see myself as she sees me. I am flat and wide, low to the ground, the green of new growth. Sticky toes, bulbous eyes, moist skin. Not ideal, but I have had worse forms. “Only, did you put that
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