Podcasts about Pony Express

Send us a textAn ominous help note finds its way to a 1980s post office, connecting a dead letter investigator to a podcaster who is chained to a flimsy pipe and cannot break free. On Episode 669 of Trick or Treat Radio we discuss the 80s throwback Dead Mail from directors Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy! We also talk about the allure of Dead Letter offices, the act of actually mailing a child, and the cutthroat world of synthesizers! So grab all your unmailed letters, get that 80s aesthetic ambience just right, and strap on for the world's most dangerous podcast!Stuff we talk about: Edgar Wright, Spaced, Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero, Shaun of the Dead, Simon Pegg, whether to sequel or not, RIP George Wendt, Cheers, Horrors Hallowed Grounds, Sean Clark, RIP Ella Maye Smith, Psychomania, Alien 3, David Fincher, Tormented, Poltergeist, World War Z, The Zombie Survival Guide, Paul Winfield, Mars Attacks!, Final Destination series, Yoga, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Saturday the 14th, Westworld, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, what is best in life, Police Academy, bad handwriting in the 19th century, Dead Letter Office, mailing children, circus peanuts, Pony Express, Kevin Costner, Cal Ripken, the Cal Ripken Power Outage conspiracy, vibranium Campbells soup cans, Deliverance, Ned Beatty, Freaks, Todd Browning, Dracula, Abhay, the cutthroat world of synthesizers, Beyond the Black Rainbow, 80s aesthetic, group home for men, cinema veritas, early DV camera, grainy 80s cinema, Ravenshadow vs. The Toilet, Ren and Stimpy, The Black Phone, and analog insanity.Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/trickortreatradioJoin our Discord Community: discord.trickortreatradio.comSend Email/Voicemail: mailto:podcast@trickortreatradio.comVisit our website: http://trickortreatradio.comStart your own podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=386Use our Amazon link: http://amzn.to/2CTdZzKFB Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/trickortreatradioTwitter: http://twitter.com/TrickTreatRadioFacebook: http://facebook.com/TrickOrTreatRadioYouTube: http://youtube.com/TrickOrTreatRadioInstagram: http://instagram.com/TrickorTreatRadioSupport the show

This is an update to let you know what's been happening in my world and to explain "wassup" with the podcast. In this episode I explain where I have been since the last episode in 2022, new things going on like my near death experience and I tell you about Jackson's senior project. Bear in mind that the sound samples I include are low-res, mono files and the actual vinyl and CDs are full bore stereo. You know how it is with podcast audio. But, I think you'll get the idea.   Music credits: Intro: Prison Walls by Randy Godwin, performed by Buddy Ashmore and Pony Express. Outro 1: The Ghoul (short sample) written and arranged by Jackson Laird. Outro 2: The Spot Reprise written and arranged by Jackson Laird. The expected release date of his album is June 2025. Look him up on Band Camp. The title of the album is "Up Time".   Podcast Note: All past, present and future GrassTalkRadio episodes are available on Podbean here: https://bradleylaird.podbean.com/   I trust that all of you are doing well, enjoying life and making good music.

Gunslinger comes moseying into town, taking potshots at Chris and Charlotte as they discuss Beverly Garland, Allison Hayes, Roger Corman, the Pony Express, and sex workers of the Old West.

The Pony Express was a fast mail service operating from 1860 to 1861 that used relays of horse-mounted riders to deliver mail between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California in about 10 days. It was a significant means of communication before the advent of the transcontinental telegraph. Ron Bell, poet and raconteur of this short-lived but critical time when storm clouds of Civil War were gathering, is our guest.

Every June, hundreds of riders saddle up for an epic journey spanning eight states and nearly 2,000 miles — all in the name of history. On a recent episode of The Spark, host Asia Tabb caught up with Petra Keller and Linda Jenny of the National Pony Express Association to talk about the enduring legacy of the legendary Pony Express and how it continues to ride strong today.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Esther Chapter 8-9 Watch Our Sermons Online! Freedom Baptist - Facebook Freedom Baptist - YouTube Freedom Baptist - LinkedIn

Episode: 1349 Short-lived, but dramatic technologies.  Today, technologies that last only a little while.

When a person gets saved, they're thinking process no longer centers around what makes them happy or what makes me happy. Our whole thought process now is about pleasing our Savior and not pleasing ourselves. The pony express of our life meaning the decisions that we make, and the process of how we make the decisions that please ourselves needs to be replaced by following our Good Shepherd through thinking paths of righteousness for His namesake and not for ourselves anymore. Are you ready to replace the pony express in your life?

On this edition of the On The Pony Express Podcast, Billy Embody and Hayden Howerton break down the latest on SMU spring practice after watching the Mustangs in action on Saturday.Texas insurance rates are ridiculous. Call Mark Villasana, a proud SMU alum and owner of Northwest Insurance Agency, is here to fight back. Northwest Insurance Agency fights for our clients and finds the best insurance coverage at the absolute lowest price.Call Mark at 214-352-5656or email him at markv@nwagencies.com to discuss your current rates, coverage and where you may lack protection.If you know, you know - Rusty Taco has been an SMU favorite for years. Late-night runs, post-game stops, midweek breaks… you've been there. Now, Rusty's just got an upgrade. Their new menu just dropped at the Greenville Avenue location - same classics, even better flavor. Through March, mention Pony Express at the Greenville Avenue store or enter "ponyexpress" online (Greenville Avenue store only) for FREE Corn Fritters with any purchase. Available for delivery, pickup, takeout, or dine-in. Head to RustyTaco.com and find your location today!Head to StatusJet.com to learn more about the official presenting sponsor of the On The Pony Express Podcast. Use code PonyUpACC or mention On The Pony Express for a discount on a round trip flip booked with Status Jet. Status Jet is more than just a private jet charter company. They offer a personal touch in every aspect of your business and travel. Whether you are looking for charter flights, searching for the perfect aircraft to buy, or interested in selling a plane, experience a new level of luxury with Status Jet.Check out our sponsor, Tomes Auto Group! Mention On The Pony Express for EMPLOYEE PRICING on a new or pre-owned vehicle! Whether it's a new Ford, Subaru or Volkswagen, Tomes Auto Group will take care of you! Come and check out Tomes Auto Group's full selection of new vehicles, or get a great deal on a reliable pre-owned model. No matter which vehicle you decide on, their professional finance teams will help you get settled with a competitive financing or lease plan.

On this edition of the On The Pony Express Podcast, Billy Embody goes through subscriber mailbag questions and breaks down SMU spring football, recruiting and more.Texas insurance rates are ridiculous. Call Mark Villasana, a proud SMU alum and owner of Northwest Insurance Agency, is here to fight back. Northwest Insurance Agency fights for our clients and finds the best insurance coverage at the absolute lowest price.Call Mark at 214-352-5656or email him at markv@nwagencies.com to discuss your current rates, coverage and where you may lack protection.Want to revamp your yard with artificial turf, a putting green or both? Take $500 off your first project with code PONYUP at AKM Turf and Greens! AKM Turf and Greens strives to provide a quality product at a competitive price with customer service at the forefront. Head to akmturfandgreens.com NOW to connect with their staff or email info@akmturfandgreens.com to start the process! If you know, you know - Rusty Taco has been an SMU favorite for years. Late-night runs, post-game stops, midweek breaks… you've been there. Now, Rusty's just got an upgrade. Their new menu just dropped at the Greenville Avenue location - same classics, even better flavor. Through March, mention Pony Express at the Greenville Avenue store or enter "ponyexpress" online (Greenville Avenue store only) for FREE Corn Fritters with any purchase. Available for delivery, pickup, takeout, or dine-in. Head to RustyTaco.com and find your location today!Head to StatusJet.com to learn more about the official presenting sponsor of the On The Pony Express Podcast. Use code PonyUpACC or mention On The Pony Express for a discount on a round trip flip booked with Status Jet. Status Jet is more than just a private jet charter company. They offer a personal touch in every aspect of your business and travel. Whether you are looking for charter flights, searching for the perfect aircraft to buy, or interested in selling a plane, experience a new level of luxury with Status Jet.Check out our sponsor, Tomes Auto Group! Mention On The Pony Express for EMPLOYEE PRICING on a new or pre-owned vehicle! Whether it's a new Ford, Subaru or Volkswagen, Tomes Auto Group will take care of you! Come and check out Tomes Auto Group's full selection of new vehicles, or get a great deal on a reliable pre-owned model. No matter which vehicle you decide on, their professional finance teams will help you get settled with a competitive financing or lease plan.

April 3, 1860. The Pony Express begins when the first letter is carried from Missouri to California on horseback.Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Before the transcontinental telegraph, sending a message coast-to-coast in the United States could take up to a month via stagecoach. Until, that is, the opening of the Pony Express, on April 3, 1860. Its founders, William H. Russell, William Bradford Waddell and Alexander Majors, set up over 150 relay stations along a pioneer trail, recruiting wiry teenage lone riders (‘orphans preferred') to make the precarious trek in a record-breaking ten days.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the employment clauses insisted upon by these entrepreneurs; consider how Buffalo Bill Cody enshrined the concept in the American frontier myth for generations; and explain why, if you thought a job as a mailman sounded risky, you *really* wouldn't want to be posted at the relay stations… Further Reading: • ‘The Pony Express Was Short-Lived And Costly' (Smithsonian Magazine, 2015): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pony-express-was-short-lived-and-costly-180954986/ • ‘Pony Express Debuts' (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pony-express-debuts • ‘Trailer: The Pony Express' (Paramount, 1953): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5va9JXedVo #1800s #US #Animals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Briefzustellung als großes Abenteuer. Ziel: die schnellste Verbindung zwischen Atlantik- und Pazifikküste. Am 3.4.1860 startet die Postzustellung mit dem "Pony-Express". Von Martin Herzog.

My co-host today is Close-up Magician Gavin Griggs, you can check Gavin out at https://gavingriggsmagic.com/  and at linkedin and facebook.  Today is National Barrito day.  Entertainment from 2002.  The Pony Express began, Unabomber was caught, TV Guide went on sale.  Todays birthdays -Marlon Brando , Jan Berry, Billy Joe Royal, Wayne Newton, Tony Orlando, Alec Baldwin, David Hyde Pierce, Eddie Murphy, Sebastian Bach, Jennie GarthIntro - God did good - Dianna Corcoran    https://www.diannacorcoran.com/I'm a barrito - Perry GrippAint it funny - Jennifer Lopez  Ja RuleBlessed - Martina McBrideBirthdays - In da club - 50 Cent   https://www.50cent.com/Surf City - Jan & DeanDown in the boondocks - Billy Joe RoyalDanka Schoen - Wayne NewtonTie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree - Tony Orlando & DawnFrasier tv themeParty all the time - Eddie MurphyYouth gone wild - Skid RowExit - A friend with weed - Kyle Daniel   https://www.kyledanielmusic.com/ countryundergroundradio.comHistory and Factoids website 

This week The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers talk about the digital short, Jizz In My Pants! Plus, they chat about the SNL episode with Tim McGraw hosting and memorable sketches like Clear Rite, Blizzard Man, Trick or Turkey, Dateline, and Virgania Horsen's Pony Express. They also revisit a deleted scene from last week's digital short AND you won't want to miss this week's latest podcast jingle from a special guest! Virgania Horsen's Pony Express - https://youtu.be/yuQmfOhWZaM?si=gxqDOimUtMGrFB43Jizz in My Pants - https://youtu.be/4pXfHLUlZf4?si=WxIdJkvhd1khR0BNEveryone's a critic (air version) - https://youtu.be/NTwwxs3Lqhc?si=9pB7QwIuc5bWxlosJon Hamm's Jon Ham - https://youtu.be/IiLJsOsRKUI?si=u5l0WztbZ6NaNUbrBlizzard Man with Ludacris and T-Pain - https://youtu.be/vnEwHOoKg-I?si=7_PNQI2G9cAChk2zClear-Rite - https://youtu.be/BG684Ws80J0?si=Bz1TrW4ZyULd7KJ2Dateline: Real Life Crimes - https://youtu.be/sxlr6LAjx-E?si=CUMbE18zxQg-iLcp The Real Me | Kyle M - https://www.stonesthrow.com/store/the-real-me/ (Not all the clips we mention are available online; some never even aired.) We know you want more out of these show notes but we're being serious when we can't find some things. And if the guys mention that something WILL be in the show notes then it will either be here or on the show's Insagram page. So make sure you're following that @lonelymeyerspod. And even if they do say something will be in the show notes that doesn't always mean it will actually be in the show notes. Apologies if you feel like we're letting you down but please know it doens't make us feel good either. Oh and don't forget to send us an email! thelonelyislandpod@gmail.com - just not about the show notes please. Thanks! Support our sponsors:Maker's MarkThis episode of The Lonely Island Podcast is brought to you by our friends at Maker's Mark. You too can celebrate the spirited women in your life with a free personalized label to go with a bottle of Maker's Mark! Head to makersmarkpersonalize.com and fill in the details in order to create and mail your custom label. MAKER'S MARK MAKES THEIR BOURBON CAREFULLY. PLEASE ENJOY IT THAT WAY. Maker's Mark® Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, 45% Alc./Vol. ©2025 Maker's Mark Distillery, Inc., Loretto, KY.   CremoHead to Target or Target.com to find Cremo's new line of antiperspirants and deodorants in the Italian Bergamont and Palo Santo scents. Once again, that's Target or Target.com. Produced by Rabbit Grin ProductionsExecutive Producers Jeph Porter and Rob HolyszLead Producer Kevin MillerCreative Producer Samantha SkeltonCoordinating Producer Derek JohnsonCover Art by Olney AtwellMusic by Greg Chun and Brent AsburyEdit by Cheyenne Jones

A Butterfly wants to kill the World?Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.Although Love is both fire and shadow, we often forget to take comfort from the coolness of the memories when the burning flames are absentThere were precisely two things, okay, four things, keeping me alive. The fourth thing would come to her later when her 'furious was replaced by her 'curious' ~ as in how I knew her inhuman lingo ~ which would lead to my legacy with Grandpa.The top three reasons -She had poked my chest. It was a challenge, calling for one of my guardians to come out and play. The avatar knew I was the chosen heir of the Goddess Ishara and my goddess had devoted a good deal of time and effort to my survival and continued service in her cause. If Ishara made an 'appearance', it would be enough reason to not eviscerate me for my foul treatment of her august personage.Nope. It seemed Ishara was busy at the moment.Still, she most likely knew SzelAnya had shown a keen interest in me in Romania, though I'd never told Selena, or any other member of the 9 Clans, the Dragon's Daughter had killed Ajax for me. Figuring out SzelAnya, a storm deity, had helped me and Aya escape from our kidnapping in the midst of a cyclone in the Pacific Ocean wasn't much of a reach.But no bolt of lightning coalesced from my chest to singe her finger. No clap of thunder. Not even a cloud with a hint of disfavor appeared above us.Her obsidian fingernail began penetrating my shirt, touched my skin, then drew my blood, and something 'twitched'.That would be Contestant Goddess #3. She wasn't actually hanging around me. She didn't have to. She'd left me a memento of our last shindig before we parted ways. That was the nightmare-inducing episode where she, the chthonic goddess Sarrat Irkalli, had compressed one man's body into a dagger and then proceeded to suck another's soul into it to use as a power source for an Airbus 350 (a commercial airliner, if you didn't know).I still had that snaggletooth-looking thing at my back. Well who the Hell was I going to leave it with? Honestly, the only people I felt could keep it safe I loved too much to curse with it. Anyway, the second her divine claw touched my blood, the long dormant weapon whispered to me in a somewhat bored, lofty feminine voice from beyond the grave,Do you want me to discorporate this pathetic has-been for you?Quick check. Only the avatar and I, and her priestess-savant heard that. Of course, in downtown, New York City, noon Sunday, how weird would such a declaration be? The avatar's eyebrow arched. Her big bat-ears (still looking human to the normal viewing public) flicked this way and that, figuring out precisely where the threat originated from. Slowly, her once poking hand began to slide across my chest, along my ribs and around my back.She touched the dagger. Nothing.Gingerly, she drew it forth. I'd had a makeshift sheath made. As the blade made its journey around me, she took a half-step back to better observe it."Please don't kill him!" Theddy squealed. "We haven't had sex yet!"Being 'who' and 'what' she was, the avatar did what came natural. Fortunately for Theddy, I'd become accustomed to working with psychopaths.She stabbed the dagger at Theddy. I clamped my hand down on her wrist. The claws of her left hand came down on my constraining wrist. My free hand came down on that hand, trying to pry it free. It was a hopeless struggle, except.Yes, my old friend 'except'. Except the avatar was holding the dagger. As powerful as Ītzpāpālōtl was, she wasn't pushing against me. She was pushing against Sarrat Irkalli.Ītzpāpālōtl was a living, breathing terror machine who killed and received sacrifices on a regular basis.Sarrat Irkalli hadn't been actively worshipped in 3,000 years.Uneven contest? Oh yeah.See, Ītzpāpālōtl had spent the past 500 years continuously fighting against the Weave to keep her fingers on this side of reality.Meanwhile, for the most part, Sarrat Irkalli had sat upon her throne in the Sumerian Underworld with hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of souls toiling under her watchful gaze for eternity. Sure, her version of Hell wasn't getting any fresh deposits, but she knew how to milk the system well.Even the bad karma for the dagger's creation wasn't hers. She'd stolen it from the foolish Gong Tau sorcerers who had meant to enslave my soul, aka one-third of the Baraqu-Alal-Cáel deal she'd worked out millennia ago. It was the Weave giving her a 'freebie' for playing by the rules, if you considered the Weave sentient.And now Ītzpāpālōtl was touching it. Whoops. It wasn't as if Ītzpāpālōtl was stupid. It isn't like there are tons of magic weapons running around, much less soul-munchers like the one I had. Rationally, who would give a novice like me, a weapon like this? I say again, 'whoops'.Once I'd figured this out, I couldn't stop being me."Theddy, do you like girls?""What?" she squeaked. Here was this psycho trying to drive a Smilodon incisor into her bosom and I was giving her a sex quiz.Ītzpāpālōtl was really starting to struggle now."I, ah, are you okay?" she continued."Oh, I'm dandy. I'm serious. You think this chick is hot? I mean, would you do her in a three-way?" I proposed casually."Timothy?" Sovann."Bro?" Timothy to me."It's all good. Sovann, you want to know what my life is like? This lady who came to discuss business with me today is an immortal mass murderer. You give the word, I'll let go and this knife is going to cut her up like a Ginsu blade on market day because just cutting her heart out isn't going to be enough. Worse. Eventually she'll get back up.""Timothy?" Sovann repeated, this time with more concern. He thought I was nuts. I released my left hand. The blade flipped up, twisting in the avatar's grasp. That was the point her minions figured out something was wrong."El Amado?" the priestess-savant called out softly. The three goons began reaching for 'things'."Call them off, or I open my other hand," I cautioned the avatar. She spared me a swift, hostile look. My fingers tingled."Esten quietos!" she snapped. They stopped."Cáel, bad day, or not. This isn't you. Stop it. The girl's in danger," Timothy spoke up. He didn't mean Theddy. He meant the avatar."I'm being a real asshole, aren't I?" I sighed."Pretty much. You never let the bitches get to you before. Girl pops an attitude, you smile and move on. Life is too short," he reminded me. Too true."I'm going to put my hand over the blade," I told Ītzpāpālōtl. "When I do, you can let go."She didn't say anything for several seconds, even after my left hand covered the semi-serrated edge."Why should I trust you?" she sizzled."Because 'me' letting anything bad happen to you would make me a total, judgmental jerk. I don't know you. Whatever you did before you showed up today shouldn't matter to me. I acted stupidly. I should have stopped you. I didn't. I didn't even warn you and I could have. I was angry, and not even at you. Just angry and I apologize. Now, let go.""Why?""Hi. I'm Cáel Nyilas. Can I have my knife back? Please?"Blink. She released it. For a millisecond, it wanted to do something else because bitches are bitches. It didn't, so my palm wasn't sliced open. My right hand took the hilt. I carefully put the blade away."Yes," Theddy gulped."Huh?" Sovann shook his head at the sudden evaporation of the life and death tension. Welcome to my life. Theddy meant 'yes' to the 'girl-girl-guy' thing I had proposed earlier. It pays to keep things prioritized."What is this movie you were talking about?" Ītzpāpālōtl asked. Had she forgiven me for anything which had transpired? Bwahahaha, no way. She was taking the initiative and going with Option 1 from my earlier insane diatribe."Wait!" Sovann nearly shouted. "You nearly, I don't know, threatened Cáel's life and tried to stab Theddy and now you think you can go with us to a movie?""I told you," Timothy put an arm around his shoulder, "life with Cáel is rarely dull.""I thought you meant he was fun to party with, or something like that," Sovann looked up at his lover. "I thought his uncle showing up, and trying to kill him and then being blown the fuck away by those women and federal agents, and that other girl who pointed a gun at us, is this the new normal?""I love you, Sovann," Timothy grew compassionate. "Cáel is my best friend. He'd never deliberately hurt either of us and normal friends are something he has in short supply. Today being a great case in point."Ten seconds passed."The title is 'As Above, So Below'," Sovann addressed the avatar, "and what do we call you?"Since 'if you are not a worshiper and addressing me, I normally am about to kill you' would sound really cool in Olmec-ic, but I might be asked to translate,"How about we go with 'Obsidian', please?" I pleaded with her.She knew I was currying favor now ~ and behaving like a weather vane caught in the wall of a tornado ~ she gave a gracious bow of her head."Obsidian will do for now. Is the Legend of the dagger 'business'?" Translation: it had better not be."No," I smiled. "It's pillow talk." Rancor, 'how presumptuous', followed by 'but that dagger ups the count to three Goddess interested in him', and next to recalling all the trivial babble about me being a sexual dynamo (I prayed my PR was that good) having some relevance. Her chimera emotions allowed me to get a few more crucial words out, because even women who aren't sleeping with me are jealous."Esta mujer fue la primera en ofrecer bienes funerarios tras la muerte dee mi padre," I reinserted Theddy back into my close company. For some reason, Obsidian considered me unreliable thus had to verify what I'd just said."Did you make funerary offering upon his father's passing?" she asked Theddy. Let's think about this. The wacko chick questioning Theddy had tried to stab a huge freaking blade into her not a minute ago. Fleeing in terror while screaming for the cops? Nope."Yes. I baked him some walnut and caramel chip cookies," she nodded. "It is a family recipe." Sovann looked over the three of us, then back to Timothy."I told you 'that's impressive cocking like I've never seen before'," he explained."She may remain," Obsidian 'permitted'. Theddy wrapped up my right arm with her left and gave it a squeeze. She wanted attention/explanation."Obsidian is a Master Vampire, Theddy," I leaned in and whispered. "Before she was turned, she was captured in a raid by the fey, mentally, spiritually and physically raped and made into their sex-slave. Part of her spirit never healed properly. While this imperfection allows her to walk around in daylight, her heart can never hold on to any emotion for long, so she is forced to forever seek passion, no matter how dangerous, from the world around her."Revealing secrets? Ha. I had noticed Theddy had every work done by Laurel K. Hamilton in her place, including the comic book series."You are not supposed to know, so act like I didn't tell you anything, okay?"'Okay,' she mouthed back at me. I could see it in her eyes. My chaotic life suddenly 'made sense' to her because a best-selling fiction author said so.Obsidian thought the movie was; hilarious. She couldn't stop snickering, giggling and poking at me as horrible shit happened to the various actors. She thought the plot was 'insightful' and wouldn't stop whispering to me throughout the entire thing. During the closing credits, I told her I'd get her the DVD for Christmas ~ she knew the concept behind digital technology, but didn't own any ~ she kissed me.The first kiss was fierce and joyous with the added benefit of her tongue doing things no normal tongue could do, it stretched. Not sure how I felt about that. The second kiss was more sultry, longer and came with some accompanying body action which, I'm no virgin. Not even close. She was on my left side, so when she twisted in her seat, her left leg insinuated itself between mine. Her left hand cupped my jaw and held my head in place as her lips played along mine.A dance of the scorpion perhaps? Tender at first, then suddenly stabbing, dominant and brutal. My lips and tongue battled back, using my superior Kiss-fu to nullify her natural strength and agility. She liked it. By her moaning, she liked it a lot. As the kiss progressed, more and more of her flowed from her seat into my seat, body facing me. Her body rose over mine, forcing my neck back to maintain contact."So, Dot Ishara is hovering around somewhere close, isn't she?" I murmured as our lips separated barely a centimeter apart. One chick kissing you to make another one jealous. It's happened to me plenty of times. Obsidian didn't give a damn about Theddy, or any other mortal woman in close proximity so,"Yes," she purred. "Do you mate with her?""A man does not brag of such things, but no, unless heavy petting counts?""What will she do to you when I steal your seed?"'When'? Why was I not surprised? Why was I not surprised another concussion was in my immediate future either? Was it possible I was, learning?"Chastise me for not fighting harder," I breathed across her lips, "and, in case you forgot, I'm on a date with the girl beside me.""Who I care nothing for," she sent a cruelly playful look Theddy's way. Wisely, the girl shivered."Who I am indebted to and how I honor my debts might matter to you," I hazarded. My words hurt Theddy's feelings. That was on purpose. Obsidian took pleasure in me hurting Theddy because she was basically a vicious monster."Yes?" I pressed her gently."Yes," Obsidian allowed, easing up slightly both romantically and physically."And Theddy, if you believe I'm with you solely because of some sense of obligation, you clearly haven't been listening to your recordings," I shot the human girl a wink."Oh.""Am I, or am I not, a sex-obsessed little monkey?" I teased her. Theddy giggled. I paid for my diversion with four obsidian claws to my ribs outside of Theddy's view. After all, it wasn't like Theddy could possibly compete with her for my attention. Considering Obsidian's legendary ability to rip open her opponent's ribcages and feast upon their hearts, I slipped my left hand, the one next to her between her legs and stroked her cotton-slacks covered cunt.Theddy hugged my right arm and put her head against my shoulder. Not to be outdone," Qu  un centenar dee hombres se quemaron vivos como el sonido?" Obsidian inquired with sexually sadistic hunger. Ah, memories of burning 7P Commandos.Whoops. Theddy knew Spanish."No lo s . Ten an respiradores en," I replied casually. "Si lo desea, puedo describir lo que se siente al tirar de una flecha de guerra lanzar mi propio muslo.""Eep," slipped out of Theddy's lips."Why did you do that?" Obsidian looked over us both."Well, I was showing a little girl I believed in her,""And she shot you?" Theddy gulped."No. She hit the target I was standing next to. A co-worker mistook me for a cardboard cutout of a Jehovah's Witness and let fly. Seems she had issues with organized religion as well as a reaction to the oscillation effect of florescent lighting and ceiling fans.""But why did you pull the arrow out?" Theddy asked. "Couldn't you wait until you got to the hospital?""Mosquito," Obsidian menaced, insinuating Theddy was a pest."I wasn't thinking rationally at the moment, I work in an asylum, I had a hot date in a few hours, any of those three will do," I smiled at Theddy."Copil such as Cáel don't bother with petty human conventions," Obsidian turned my gaze back her way with her hand on my jaw. 'Copil's were 'god-touched' in her lingo."More than one girl?" Theddy mused."Four.""Okay," she sighed happily."Theddy, three under-age girls and the police office he was dating acting as their chaperone," Timothy intervened. "He hurried home so he could keep a promise to the children, not for sex." Bastard. He really was my best friend. He didn't mention my post-injury, pre-festivity sex with Odette giving me a few extra, urgently needed Brownie Points to suggest I might be a decent human being."You are a wonderful guy," Theddy ran a fingernail over my free hand. Clearly I was 'wonderful' enough to risk Obsidian's anger over. The screen went blank as the last credits scrolled away and the room was plunged into darkness. Five seconds later, the lights snapped on.Pain!"Fuck," I hissed. It wasn't any extra physical trauma causing me discomfort. No, a metaphysical dam had burst within and my stream of conscious thought had been turned into a white-water rapids. The competing cyclones of thoughts in my mind had stopped cooperating and my hypothalamus was letting me know I was in danger."Cáel", "Cáel", "Bro", and "Ishara" all came in rapid succession. I needed some space both tangible and social."I need to step outside," I eased Obsidian off me and stood up. My sense of my personal danger was ratcheting up. While I had been studying Obsidian, so I could screw her, I had discovered more and more Alal-badness.The light display had ignited a series of pressing implanted memories which had been clamoring for my attention. Things like not all 'divinities' were stewards of the Weave. Some even wanted its destruction, preferring risking all on a chaotic restructuring of reality over what existed now ~ things like Obsidian. They weren't attempting to do so because they thought they had no chance.But there was. A real serious chance to unravel reality existed; and it was staring her in the face. It wasn't 'me' as in 'I was the Anti-Christ'. But with the torrent of memories pouring forth, I knew where the peril lay and I was completely responsible for it. Hell, I was a prime ally of Armageddon and hadn't even known it.'Holy Shit!'I blinked. Timothy was shaking me. We were out in the lobby."Oh my God, Timothy," I nearly wept. "What am I going to do?""I have no idea what you are talking about. Is there someone you can talk to about this?" he suggested. Normal folks were around us. Obsidian was at my side. Sovann was behind Timothy with an arm around Theddy's shoulder."Theddy," I looked at her. "Can I catch up with you later? I just realized I've screwed up something fierce." I put my best 'really don't want to go but I gotta' face on. Her worried look brightened, she slipped around Timothy and gave me a tingling French kiss."I'll hold you to that, Cáel," she murmured when we parted."Timothy, go home, I got shit to deal with," I hoped my grin didn't become as feeble as I felt it to be."I," he started to say something. "Time not to ask questions?""Yeah.""Okay.""Wait." I pulled us to the side and went on to my toes, leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Tell Pamela 'he' sent Ajax to kill the Professor, his family and the sisters. They were the targets all along. It wasn't me, or the other women. Just in case,""Okay," Timothy patted my arm. It was cryptic. It was the best I could do. See, I wanted to cry so badly.{2:09 pm Sunday, September 7th ~ Last day}Where to begin:Every mythology across the globe has some creature, or creatures, which threatens Existence. Usually a God, or a Hero-God, slays the creature and everything is right with the world, except such a being, being older than Existence itself, can't really die, so they are carved up, buried ~ what have you.Illuyankamunus was one such manifestation of this underlying cancerous desire to destroy reality. He'd had a far more real child, SzelAnya, and she's never quite given up on her dad. Of far greater critical importance, she was 'part' of Illuyankamunus, somewhat in the way I was part of Alal and Baraqu. And yes, that meant all the offspring of Bolu, the guy I'd praised a few hours earlier, held the seeds of that malignant deity as well.And Alal knew it. He hadn't been killing off the descendants. He'd left that task up to a group far more capable of the task, the Egyptian Rite, who knew a fucking threat to existence when they saw it. Lest I forget, No secret society are the 'good guys'. Also lest I forget, I alone decided to go after the Arinniti sons to fulfill Vranus' quest. I had no divine mandate I was aware of nor any real world orders.Inadvertently, I had rounded up the last five mortal remains of Illuyankamunus in one place for convenient disposal in a remote Transylvanian town. The only problem was: if someone didn't get to them quickly, I was also about to whisk them into the loving (and heavy-armed) protective embrace of the Amazon Host, where the completion of centuries of culling would have suddenly become a cast-iron bitch instead of a simple disposal.Enter Ajax. Yeah, I bet the Egyptians were trying to figure out how I stopped him as well as Alal. I thought I was being clever by not telling most of the world. In fact, they most likely suspected; and the reality of SzelAnya watching over me was much more terrifying. Ishara had put a serious curse on the Amazons, yet her curse only affected her followers, the Amazons, who were fair game.SzelAnya had killed someone for me, and I hadn't been one of her followers. Thus I had committed a blasphemous act only a magician of some significant ability could have managed. I wasn't a sorcerer, but I had a cornucopia of mystic knowledge rolling around in my noggin. Trying to figure all this out was one of my major headaches.The others?I even suspected I knew who betrayed me ~ kinda. They didn't do it on purpose. At least I hope they didn't, because my odds-on favorite was my Mother by way of Captain Delilah Faircloth. Realistically, there was only one secret society who might help her against Grandpa and that was the Egyptian Rite, and they did send three people to Dad's funeral including two 'somebodies'. I'm an idiot.I'd chatted away in fluent New Kingdom Egyptian and it never occurred to me how odd it was for two of them to also be so fluent in it. Know it, sure, but as fluent as Kimberly had taught me to be? That should have been a Red Flag.The Earth & Sky had sent Iskender, who should have been the benchmark I judged the other delegations by, damn it.Three Condos? They'd killed my Dad and their guys had been flunkies.The 7 Pillars had been nobodies, which they'd proven by their inaction.Now I had to question why I had 3 actual  9-Clans  assassins at my dad's funeral too. Holy Ishara, I wasn't nearly paranoid enough.Anyway, why would the Amazons be aiding and abetting the End of All Life on Earth? Normally, they wouldn't be, but 3000 years ago, the majority of Human life did a colossal dump on the Amazons. And when they needed help, they got it in the form of SzelAnya and her dual-sex followers. I seriously doubt they told the Amazons their purpose was to resurrect SzelAnya's daddy. I imagine the Amazons didn't pry too much either.It turned out almost to be okay. During the 2nd Betrayal, the Amazons betrayed SzelAnya and almost short-circuited her plans by exterminating her lineage.Except for the Arinniti elders and Bolu. Good old 'except'.I can imagine when the Egyptians heard about the 2nd Betrayal, they figured they were 'okay'. Those wacky Amazons had inadvertently done the world a favor. Except an act of maternal love kept a slender hope of Illuyankamunus' return alive. By the time the Egyptians realized they'd been prematurely hopeful, Bolu's descendants were all over the Balkans and hunting them down had proven difficult.But, it gets worse. Much worse.When those Gods shattered Illuyankamunus, they scattered him in the relative certainty no one would ever gather the parts back together.His flesh was scattered across the land, modern day Turkey, but encompassing everything from Pakistan to Italy and Egypt to Poland. The flesh became soil, then plants, the things that eat plants, then food for humans. Get the picture.Whoops. SzelAnya had been doing just that for centuries upon centuries every time she mated with a mortal of Illuyankamunus' line and had offspring, they accumulated his energy, which made hunting down the few remaining ones easier to find, since they were 'beacons of badness', except...There were two key pieces missing which SzelAnya could never get. After all, you would think burying them on the far side of the world would matter, right?The 'breath of Illuyankamunus' ~ his cosmic fire ~ they buried in a volcano in a distant land far across the Great Sea. His spirit 'body' they imprisoned in a great river, again, across the Great Sea.But wait, it gets worse.The being standing next to me knew precisely where the 'breath of Illuyankamunus' was. Seems Mesoamerica is laced with volcanos. They'd discovered 'the breath' long ago and used it as a weapon called Xiuhcoatl. Better yet, Alal suspected she and her buddies were more than happy to reunite it with the rest if they thought the Weave itself wouldn't annihilate them for daring to do so.In their current, weakened state they were vulnerable to such a karmic backlash. In theory, a reborn Illuyankamunus would have access to power beyond the bounds of the Weave, older and more terrifying. Still, without the mortal remains to anchor the energy, giving it to the spirit would be pointless.Alal knew where the spirit body was (in general), but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was where it was,Of all the places the Arinniti sons could have fled to, they had to choose Brazil, the burial place of the restive spirit body of Illuyankamunus. Mother-fucker.And Ildiko 'Alkonyka' aka Dusk Lovasz had sworn she'd travel to Brazil to fulfill Bolu's side of the quest in the same way I was holding up Vranus' end. If I tried to stop her, SzelAnya would know something was up. Fuck.I was processing all of this when Obsidian violently yanked me out of the way. A cabby had swerved to avoid a flurry of trash and nearly run over us. It was the third near-concussive experience in the past five minutes she'd help me avoid while she had walked by my side. I'd been mumbling like a madman."That would be my Goddess wanting to talk with me," I looked her way."I know," she gave me a clever smile."She's really not going to like that," I shook my head."I know that too," she kept smiling. "Where is your mind?""Five lives away from making the world a safer place," I sighed."Safer for who?" she purred. Where were all the bimbos? Not only was it an insightful question, it cut straight to the heart of my dilemma.What decision could I make? If I elected to help my fellow Amazons, I risked screwing with the world. In truth, I was risking everything even if I did nothing. Well Dad was always clear that things didn't change by themselves. You needed to do something that would have an effect. So, 'What are you going to do?'More to the point, I wasn't Grandad. Killing the last five of the line of Illuyankamunus wasn't 'me', so it wasn't going to be something I'd worry about.SzelAnya wanted to bring back her Dad, I could understand that. I'd have to figure out a way for her to believe this world sticking around was more important. How? Well, I had a goddess-like creature right in front of me to probe for ideas."You are an immortal," Obsidian commented. She'd been weighing her opinion for some time. I could tell by the wonderment with which she gifted each word."What? No. I can die.""No. I don't think so. Your wounds. Normally the wounds I inflict flow freely for some time. Yours have already scabbed over," her eyes flickered to the various minor scars she'd imparted to me in the few hours we'd been together.Of course, her idea was insane, Oh God No! I was in Grandad's body. Well Duh! His body was supposed to be immortal."Are you sure?" I looked deep into her eyes."You are a young immortal, the youngest I've ever met, but you are an immortal," she seemed to be convincing herself as much as me.Stupid Assumption (on my part)! I wasn't in Alal's body. I was in Cáel's. Because the Cáel soul shard was young, Alal hadn't been able to find it because it had moved through Time, to me, sonofabitch! 'I' hadn't been around for him to find. No! I was making yet another damn assumption.What did I know? When Pamela found Baraqu, it had been in an object, not a person, though she had been short on details. When the Alal-shard went to the Land of the Endless Black Sands to bring Saku back, the Cáel-shard had been in reality, so it had been allowed to create a body, 'me'. Still, the curse Sarrat Irkalli placed on Baraqu was on Alal and myself as well, which meant I might just be immortal.My Alal-mind agreed with Obsidian's assessment. In his first years, his healing had been slow, still taking days for what took mortal people weeks. I'd stupidly attributed my swift recovery to Amazon medicines, ugh. Because I got wounded more than most Security Detail trainees while concurrently entertaining two and three sex partners."Can you talk with Dot Ishara?" I asked her."Yes, but why would I?""Sex?""We are going to have sex anyway," she smiled. I'd tricked her. Set her up with the right so I could now drop her with the left."I can bring the mbo  tat  back to life," I pledged. That was not what she was expecting at all. "If you bring the Xiuhcoatl, I can bring the flesh and we can unite the three." Mbo  tat  was the Tupi name for the legendary 'fiery serpent' of the Amazon Basin. In Portuguese, it had become Boi-tat , a will-o-wisp with a confused, Christianized mythology ~ a serpent dwelling in darkness, devouring the eyes of corpses, glowing in the forests at night."Where is the flesh?" she whispered."In his mortal children," I replied."Who?""You are a monster, Ītzpāpālōtl. I'm not going to tell you and you don't have the time to drag the information out of my mind before my allies drop on you like a nuclear detonation," I drew my body tightly to her."Why would the Amazons do this?""They are not. This is a deal between you and me," I kissed her lips. I pulled back. A few seconds later she kissed me back."Why?""My grandfather had my father murdered and I would avenge him. In the end, despite my father's Amazon heritage, my 'Sisters' will let his death go unavenged for the greater good of the Host. He was a man and they will never look beyond that ~ they will never value his life as they would that of a woman.""Your mother's father?""Yes. Cáel O'Shea of the Illuminati.""We are not at war with the Illuminati," she murmured. It was a casual observation, not a protest."You are at war with Cáel O'Shea.""He was slain.""He didn't stay dead.""You know much more than you are saying," she was finally catching on."Absolutely.""I need much more than a few names to convince my kin to help," she purred, a cocktail of sexual immersion and flesh-flaying pain."I don't work for you. You are agreeing to work for me," I was hard as iron in more than one way. Why? Boundaries. She lived in a world where only the fundamentals of reality constrained her. Having a human, no matter how polished my pedigree, or how much I might appear to be 'special', tell her 'you are not the boss' in a reasonable fashion was new and very unwelcome."What would make you think that?""My mentor taught me knowledge is a curse. It is our inability to forget, and I can see into your soul, Ītzpāpālōtl. You care not one wit for the life of an assassin. But the thought of the other 'Factors' of the 9 Clans treating you as an equal galls you almost as much as the crushing reality that you need them."You have lived 500 years in chains and I'm offering you a desperate grab at freedom," I added."Your brief glimpse of immortality gives you no insight into my existence," she bristled."Oh, how many have given up? How many have decided the fight was no longer worth it and faded from the Sunlight to make their final trip into the Underworld, never to return? Do you even visit them?" I spoke with a voice tinged with compassion and loss. I pulled upon the pitiless, blank memories of a childless Alal all those centuries and imprinted on them my own fears of fatherhood and failure."How do you know so much?" she let her fa ade crack, then blow away, in the hollowness of her own sorrow. How could I pity such a monster? I could because I was me and I wouldn't surrender that to the barbaric past and most likely horrific future. I pulled her close, resting my chin on the top of her head."You are not the first, wonderful, very bright woman who has stepped into my life, Obsidian," I whispered. "You are not even the first divinity. For all the millions of differences enforced by power and time, I think love, hate and the conflict between the two wear upon us all. If anything, you face an endless parade of hope and misery. Even if you chose to ignore it, you have seen it and perhaps it leaves its marks ~ water scarring the rocks of a riverbed."We paused. I was able to peripherally scan about and realize we'd made it to Central Park ~ the Ramble and off the beaten path."Your Goddess is a fool for not keeping you closer," she murmured."She does keep me close. You have been actively keeping me from her," I reminded my guest. "She also plays by the rules, so is of limited help in my plans for vengeance."Translation: I could enlist Ītzpāpālōtl's aid while still remaining loyal to my matron Goddess. Ishara could not provide what I needed and my Amazons wouldn't agree with my scheme, so I needed her. Three hours ago, she wouldn't have considered me a worthy supplicant, much less an allied equal, yet here she was conspiring with me to shake the foundations of Creation.Personally, I was thanking Mamitu, Destiny. Had I not been having my worst Sunday ever when we first crossed paths and then acted like a total cockhead, pissed her off and led her to holding Sarrat Irkalli's dagger, thus putting her life in my hands, and not had Timothy as a best friend, I wouldn't have taken her to the movie, and my mind wouldn't have wandered down those dark corridors of Alal's memories to piece things together.Whatever itinerary Obsidian had approached me with, my abrasive behavior had forced her to it cast aside. Dagger, movie, revelations, I was now so much more in her eyes than she had envisioned."Share my need and share with me an ounce of your sorrow," I murmured to her as I gently curled my fingers in her hair and directed her head up until she faced me."The dagger," she rumbled. While she was stroking my hard-on, I knew she was using it as a double meaning."I was pinned to an onyx sacrificial table," I began my tale. We worked off pants to mid-thigh then 'got busy'. Penetration was only going to be possible by turning her around. Ground-breaking was her ready acceptance of my instruction. I leaned against a tree, then pulled her onto my lap. She guided my phallus home.One locomotion and I sunk in deep. It was warm molasses until I hit and pressed against her cervix. For a second Obsidian trembled, then her muscles clamped down tightly, gripping my manhood firmly in a vise, keeping me still."Ah," I groaned. Obsidian had her neck twisted, so we were kissing with eye contact as I described my adventures with the Gong tau sorcerers. She shot me a quick twinkle of delight, a connection. She'd relayed physical pleasure in the way I was giving her cerebral gratification, aka hope.I rolled up her shirt, and gave both nipples a brutal tweak in response. She gasped. I was applying a little 'rough' with my tender intercourse. She rolled her tush against my groin, an invitation to double-down on my nipple-play. I kept my left hand working over each tit while working my fingernails down her abdomen. As I described the terror in old Tsu's face as he shouted out 'M iyǒu! (Mandarin for 'No!') as he recognized too late the curse he was invoking. She relished the visual of the Han necromancer's terror.'Me' smacking two fingers down on her clit earned me a squeal and a small gush of fluids on my nut-sack. Her look of astonishment was something I'd always cherish. Before me, sex was something she demanded from her followers/victims and definitely orchestrated. Her partners being fearful/worshipful must have limited their initiative."A-a-a-ah, we are being observed," she groaned, her lips less than an inch from mine. It took me a second."Which direction?" I kept pumping her, strumming her clit and treating her tit like taffy on a hot Coney Island summer afternoon. Her hooded eyes flickered to our right. I gave it ten seconds. I had to get Obsidian refocused on what I was going to do to her next, in case this was innocent voyeurism. Nope. It was Chaz.Why Chaz? See, I'm an idiot. My cryptic warning to Timothy for Pamela had been good for all of one minute. He'd called her and she'd gathered what she could and come looking for me.Why was she concerned? I was babbling to Timothy then wandering off with a 'beyond-freaky' chick I had just met named 'Obsidian' who came my way courtesy of another chick with the name of Estere.Let me see, Estere was Hashashin and for Timothy to describe someone in my life as 'beyond freaky' was bad news. Timothy was seriously worried about me and Timothy was an emotional rock ~ he didn't panic. Lest we forget, I was in a federal taskforce. A quick peek into New York traffic cameras revealed me and Obsidian wandering into Central Park from the south, so in the rescue party went, splitting up and Chaz 'lucked-out'.I still had two, no, three problems. I was really enjoying my sexual excursion with Obsidian and she was seeming to truly enjoy her experience with me. Oh, and Central Park is big, Pamela had been pressed for people, so she had pressed some unlikely participants into my rescue party."He's," smooch, "my brother, by adoption," I headed off the whole idea she'd been briefed on me already."Visual, Peacekeeper Six, OS2, L-11," Chaz muttered into his headset before taking up a casual stance on the path overlooking our trysting spot. Sex with an audience didn't bother her, so, we worked out as much action from twist, turns and two inches of in-and-out motions (she liked to keep our bodies tight) as we could. Obsidian was humming along in no time. Her vaginal walls were undulating, wearing away at my self-control.Panting, not from us,"Is he o, are they, who is she?" huffed and puffed a trio of voices from Chaz's locale. Oh. Pamela had recruited my 'Hounds'.I accidently (from a timing perspective) took that moment to grind my nails into her left nipple, pinched her clit and hammered her as hard as I could. Obsidian howled. Her vocalization exited the human realm in a cataclysmic manner.The noise scared avians a mile away into terrorized flight. Cats hissed, then raced for cover. Dogs tucked tail and ran. Streetlights a hundred yards away shattered in sprays of glass. Better yet, for the entertainment of my viewing public, she lashed out with her right hand at the closest Black Cherry sapling, exploding it into a mist of sap and pulverizing the bark and wood fiber into pulp.On the downside, her cervix gave my balls an ultimatum ~ release my seed at once, or she was going to twist off my head. My cock and balls have a long history of making decisions without me. I began lavishing her. Before I finally got the feeling I was out of the danger zone. She was back to rubbing against me and purring in blissful satisfaction."Onun g zleri," whispered Belgin, one of the Turks. 'Her eyes'?"Cáel, are you aware of the alternative nature of your liaison?" Chaz coolly cautioned me. Translation: 'mate, do you know you have your cock in a demon?'"Yeah," I coughed. I had a face full of her hair. I was working on some post-coital nuzzling along with slowly helping her get her pants back up."Ininzqueoccehpa," she hummed to me, ignoring our gathering. That was 'let's do this again'."Tehuatlcochitlehua," I replied with some fondness. She studied me for a second before deciding my term was one of endearment, thus 'you are what dreams are made of', not 'nightmares'.Obsidian had another issue to deal with. Timothy would call it a righteous cocking. Whatever it was, her hold on her human mein had slipped and her inhumanity was slipping through, mainly in her glass-like, black, multi-facetted eyes and her fingers which now ended in molten obsidian talons. On the subconscious level, her predatory nature was setting everyone close-by on edge. I could also make out the high pitched, ultrasonic pipping of her chiropteran cries ~ purpose unknown.Obsidian made her way off farther into the underbrush leaving me a few precious seconds to appreciate her retreating posterior while holstering my equipment. More people were arriving. I had one more thing to take care of before, oh look, Nikita had brought her Mom along, the NYPD Sergeant."Chaz, I need to have a quick chat with Dot before I can explain things. She's been waiting and that's unwise," I looked to the Brit. He nodded."Cáel? Mr. Nyilas? Prince?" all came my way. I relaxed as best I could. Chaz went to a body blow to stagger me, then an epic upper cut to send me to Lullaby Land.Dot & the DragonessDot and SzelAnya, in dragon form, were waiting as I tumbled forward. By the state of my haziness, I knew my unconsciousness wouldn't last long."You gave her your seed," came the accusation."Yes," I staggered, "and now you should be able to track her," I pointed out the bonus part of the arrangement. No comment."I've got to make this quick, SzelAnya, I've found your father, geographically speaking," I dropped the bomb."Don't," Dot Ishara commanded. After all, she and her divine cohorts had done the killing and corpse-dividing eons ago. Undoubtedly, they'd executed their own oaths to one another to 'never reveal what they had done' as well."Too late," I shook my head. SzelAnya's attention was magnetized. "I owe you and I'm paying my debts. I'm not blind to the dangers, believe me.""You have no idea what power you are invoking," Dot's undercurrent of displeasure was the worst I'd experienced."Wrong. I've got thousands of years of Alal boiling around in my head, Plus the rest of you betrayed her 2600 years ago. It doesn't mean I have to. And now, given the chance, I'm not. Even if you kill me, she's got enough toBack in the Ramble"Really expect me to believe," Nikita's mom was growling."Man down," I waved a weak arm skyward."Mr. Nyilas, what is going on here?" the Sergeant addressed me. I was reclining in a circle of my 'Hounds'; most were kneeling. Chaz was in a tiny bit of trouble for having clocked me."Umm, thanks for coming out and looking for me. I assure you, Mr. Tomorrow did what he did as a matter of his professional duties ~ intelligence gathering." As I struggled to stand, my ladies helped me. I saw Pamela with three Hounds coming up fast from one direction and Virginia with three more coming from the other. The gang was all here.The mutterings in non-English tongues suggested a bit of explaining was already going on."You've been bleeding," Nikita pointed out with an unspoken 'again'."This?" I pulled my shirt out and looked at the first bloodstain of my encounter. "This is the just the start of the bad news." I shed my windbreaker and then t-shirt.The professionals shouldered aside the others to take a closer look."All of these are from noon and less than an hour ago," I identified the damage. Sarge was skeptical. Chaz, Nikita and Virginia less so."They look older," the senior lawman noted."I've been curious about that," Chaz frowned."I've inherited my Grandfather's curse. My soul fragment was in the 'Here and Now' twenty-three years ago while his was, 'over there', so I was allowed to come into creation. According to my recently departed guest,""You are immortal," Virginia mumbled to finish the thought. Had the speaker not been a member of the FBI, who knows how the thought would have been received."From the memories I've been gifted with," I tapped the tiny divot on my forehead, "his healing abilities started out rather slowly too. I certainly don't want to test this theory, so no worries there," I scanned the group."How do you explain seeing your Grandfather in Hungary and again in Rome?" Virginia wondered."Again, that woman who just left," I got out."Was no woman," Nuray, another one of my Turkish Hounds interrupted. "Her eyes..." she tried to explain, "and look what she did to that tree," she pointed to the greatest piece of evidence of supernatural wrongdoing. The other two witnesses nodded."We all saw the same thing. Her eyes were, bottomless, definitely not human," Belgin affirmed. The veteran players looked to Chaz."She had a collapsed nose-bridge, lacked a blink response, her dental work was carnivorous and her tongue was extremely clipped and showed prehensile qualities," he reported calmly. Pause. Chaz was a freaking intelligence operative, after all."If her hands were a type of glove weaponry, I've never seen it s like before. While I know it is possible for a human to exert the force-pounds necessary to snap a two inch diameter tree trunk in one blow, it is a rare skill and requires intense discipline. This appeared to be done spontaneously, without preparation of any kind and as a reaction to other stimuli," he added."It was also your assessment he needed to be knocked unconscious?" Nikita's mom countered."Mr. Nyilas' psychological constructs are something the whole team has to work around. At times, he seeks 'insight' from his mind in a deliberately unconscious/non-sleep state," he replied."He claims to be talking with spirit powers. I know when he returns to consciousness, he delivers useful intelligence. I'm not a psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychic. I don't know why his mind functions that way. I do know results. And I know I work with people who would achieve those results by other means if it were at all possible. Since we haven't found another method, we accept that from tim

On this edition of Walking 'Strong with Bill Armstrong and Billy Embody, the guys visit with some of the greats to play for SMU on the 2024 College Football Playoff team. Plus, the guys talk with former SMU wide receiver James Proche. Check out the run of interviews with Elijah Roberts, Jahfari Harvey, Max Yao, Justin Osborne and Jonathan McGill.The Pony Express case can be found at EpochWines.com/Pony! It's an incredible, 12-bottle case for SMU and ACC fans to enjoy! Bill's coined this as the best case of wine ever assembled. You can also buy wines individually, but the case is a fantastic "deal" for the wines included.Use promo code PONY for FREE SHIPPING on any order from EpochWines.com! Buy the newly-minted No. 1 Rose in the world or check out a Top 5 wine in the world, Veracity!If you're new to following the Walking 'Strong Podcast, it's a fun, light podcast from two SMU alums that share a bottle of wine while breaking down SMU's football season game-by-game, interviewing prominent Mustangs, and much more! We hope the ACC crew that SMU's now a part of enjoys learning about some of the world's best wines from Epoch while hearing things from SMU's angle.Head to EpochWines.com to join the Epoch Wine Club, a customizable club for those eager to automatically access new releases of Epoch wines two times a year. If the club isn't for you, buy individual bottles online! Get custom engraving, gift packaging, bundles and more!SUBSCRIBE to On The Pony Express YouTube by clicking HERE!Want more coverage of SMU Basketball and SMU Football, including the inside scoop on the team and recruiting? Subscribe to On The Pony Express by going here to join for $1 for your first week: https://www.on3.com/teams/smu-mustangs/join/Want to buy the official game ball of SMU Football? Check out BigGameUSA.com or click HERE to see the official game ball for the Mustangs! Use promo code "BEON325" for 10% off your order + FREE shipping! Use the code on SMU balls or any available ball on BigGameUSA.com!

On this edition of the On The Pony Express Podcast, Billy Embody and Hayden Howerton break down SMU spring football by previewing the defensive line and tight ends heading into the 2025 spring.Texas insurance rates are ridiculous. Call Mark Villasana, a proud SMU alum and owner of Northwest Insurance Agency, is here to fight back. Northwest Insurance Agency fights for our clients and finds the best insurance coverage at the absolute lowest price.Call Mark at 214-352-5656or email him at markv@nwagencies.com to discuss your current rates, coverage and where you may lack protection.If you know, you know - Rusty Taco has been an SMU favorite for years. Late-night runs, post-game stops, midweek breaks… you've been there. Now, Rusty's just got an upgrade. Their new menu just dropped at the Greenville Avenue location - same classics, even better flavor. Through March, mention Pony Express at the Greenville Avenue store or enter "ponyexpress" online (Greenville Avenue store only) for FREE Corn Fritters with any purchase. Available for delivery, pickup, takeout, or dine-in. Head to RustyTaco.com and find your location today!Head to StatusJet.com to learn more about the official presenting sponsor of the On The Pony Express Podcast. Use code PonyUpACC or mention On The Pony Express for a discount on a round trip flip booked with Status Jet. Status Jet is more than just a private jet charter company. They offer a personal touch in every aspect of your business and travel. Whether you are looking for charter flights, searching for the perfect aircraft to buy, or interested in selling a plane, experience a new level of luxury with Status Jet.Check out our sponsor, Tomes Auto Group! Mention On The Pony Express for EMPLOYEE PRICING on a new or pre-owned vehicle! Whether it's a new Ford, Subaru or Volkswagen, Tomes Auto Group will take care of you! Come and check out Tomes Auto Group's full selection of new vehicles, or get a great deal on a reliable pre-owned model. No matter which vehicle you decide on, their professional finance teams will help you get settled with a competitive financing or lease plan.

This week on The Whiskey Trip, Big Chief takes you deep into the heart of Missouri whiskey country—to Weston, Missouri, where history and bourbon collide at the legendary Holladay Distillery. There, he sits down with Master Distiller Kyle Merklein to uncover a story of grit, determination, and damn good whiskey. Kyle paints a vivid picture of 1856 Missouri, a time when stagecoaches rumbled through the dusty roads, Pony Express riders pushed the limits of endurance, and silver mines promised fortunes. Amidst it all, two bold brothers, Ben and Major David Holladay, saw something even more valuable—a pure limestone spring that would become the foundation for crafting world-class bourbon. And what's a story without a pour in hand? Big Chief and Kyle start strong with the Ben Holladay 1856 Bottled in Bond—a 100-proof, 6-year-old stunner with a mash bill of 73% Corn, 15% Rye, and 12% Malted Barley. One sip delivers lush stone fruit, crisp cherry pie, and a touch of warm allspice—a perfect way to set the stage. Then, they turn up the intensity with the Ben Holladay 1856 Original Rickhouse Proof—a 123.3-proof cinnamon spice bomb that coats the palate with a velvety heat, unfolding into layers of roasted nuts and rich caramel. For the second half, they dive into the Holladay Soft Red Wheat Bottled in Bond, where a mash bill of 73% Corn, 15% Wheat, and 12% Malted Barley brings something special to the table. Big Chief is instantly transported to a county fair—biting into candied apples, munching on fig newtons, and savoring the creamy sweetness of butterscotch. Finally, they bring it home with the Holladay Soft Red Wheat Rickhouse Proof—a six-year-old, 120.4-proof powerhouse bursting with dark cherry, caramel, and baking spices. This pour takes Big Chief back to high school, with the nostalgic flavors of Big Red cream soda and an atomic fireball—a bold finish to an unforgettable lineup. For over 165 years, Holladay Distillery has stood the test of time, crafting whiskey with character, history, and an unwavering commitment to quality. They're not just making bourbon—they're carrying on a legacy, Missouri-style. So pour yourself a glass, buckle up, and get ready for another wild ride on The Whiskey Trip. Cheers!

On this edition of the On The Pony Express Podcast, Billy Embody and Hayden Howerton break down SMU spring football by previewing the running backs and linebackers heading into the 2025 spring.Texas insurance rates are ridiculous. Call Mark Villasana, a proud SMU alum and owner of Northwest Insurance Agency, is here to fight back. Northwest Insurance Agency fights for our clients and finds the best insurance coverage at the absolute lowest price.Call Mark at 214-352-5656or email him at markv@nwagencies.com to discuss your current rates, coverage and where you may lack protection.If you know, you know - Rusty Taco has been an SMU favorite for years. Late-night runs, post-game stops, midweek breaks… you've been there. Now, Rusty's just got an upgrade. Their new menu just dropped at the Greenville Avenue location - same classics, even better flavor. Through March, mention Pony Express at the Greenville Avenue store or enter "ponyexpress" online (Greenville Avenue store only) for FREE Corn Fritters with any purchase. Available for delivery, pickup, takeout, or dine-in. Head to RustyTaco.com and find your location today!Head to StatusJet.com to learn more about the official presenting sponsor of the On The Pony Express Podcast. Use code PonyUpACC or mention On The Pony Express for a discount on a round trip flip booked with Status Jet. Status Jet is more than just a private jet charter company. They offer a personal touch in every aspect of your business and travel. Whether you are looking for charter flights, searching for the perfect aircraft to buy, or interested in selling a plane, experience a new level of luxury with Status Jet.Check out our sponsor, Tomes Auto Group! Mention On The Pony Express for EMPLOYEE PRICING on a new or pre-owned vehicle! Whether it's a new Ford, Subaru or Volkswagen, Tomes Auto Group will take care of you! Come and check out Tomes Auto Group's full selection of new vehicles, or get a great deal on a reliable pre-owned model. No matter which vehicle you decide on, their professional finance teams will help you get settled with a competitive financing or lease plan.Mignon, Plano's premier French inspired restaurant, is your next stop for a 5-star meal. Nick Natour, a former SMU offensive lineman, and his family own and operate this impressive restaurant, which serves dinner seven days a week and brunch on Sundays. Mignon offers two private dining rooms, a charming main dining room, a classic bar, and one of the best waterfront patios in Plano. This neighborhood gem is the perfect place to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, drinks with friends and family, corporate gatherings, wedding receptions, and rehearsal dinners. Make a reservation today on OpenTable. Want to revamp your yard with artificial turf, a putting green or both? Take $500 off your first project with code PONYUP at AKM Turf and Greens! AKM Turf and Greens strives to provide a quality product at a competitive price with customer service at the forefront. Head to akmturfandgreens.com NOW to connect with their staff or email info@akmturfandgreens.com to start the process! Are you…Ready to leave the corporate Rat Race for the American Dream?Looking for a side hustle while working your current job?Wanting to diversify, build wealth, and/or leave a legacy?Andy can help!!!Andy is a franchise consultant (as well as franchise owner) and helps people find franchises that fit their skill sets, financial requirements, time to commit and more….His services are 100% free and he's here to help if you have any questions about business ownership.Learn more about Andy and franchise ownership through these resources:Andy's StoryWhy a FranchiseService Based vs Brick and MortarSemi Absentee OwnershipThe Process and How It worksAndy Luedeckewww.MyPerfectFranchise.Netp: 404-973-9901e: andy@myperfectfranchise.netBook time with me at: Andy's Calendar

On this edition of the On The Pony Express Podcast, Billy Embody breaks down what SMU Basketball's ACC Tournament loss to Clemson means, the addition of Brown transfer Nana Owusu-Anane, and some spring football storylines to watch. Texas insurance rates are ridiculous. Call Mark Villasana, a proud SMU alum and owner of Northwest Insurance Agency, is here to fight back. Northwest Insurance Agency fights for our clients and finds the best insurance coverage at the absolute lowest price.Call Mark at 214-352-5656or email him at info@nwagencies.com to discuss your current rates, coverage and where you may lack protection.If you know, you know - Rusty Taco has been an SMU favorite for years. Late-night runs, post-game stops, midweek breaks… you've been there. Now, Rusty's just got an upgrade. Their new menu just dropped at the Greenville Avenue location - same classics, even better flavor. Through March, mention Pony Express at the Greenville Avenue store or enter "ponyexpress" online (Greenville Avenue store only) for FREE Corn Fritters with any purchase. Available for delivery, pickup, takeout, or dine-in. Head to RustyTaco.com and find your location today! Head to StatusJet.com to learn more about the official presenting sponsor of the On The Pony Express Podcast. Use code PonyUpACC or mention On The Pony Express for a discount on a round trip flip booked with Status Jet. Status Jet is more than just a private jet charter company. They offer a personal touch in every aspect of your business and travel. Whether you are looking for charter flights, searching for the perfect aircraft to buy, or interested in selling a plane, experience a new level of luxury with Status Jet.Check out our sponsor, Tomes Auto Group! Mention On The Pony Express for EMPLOYEE PRICING on a new or pre-owned vehicle! Whether it's a new Ford, Subaru or Volkswagen, Tomes Auto Group will take care of you! Come and check out Tomes Auto Group's full selection of new vehicles, or get a great deal on a reliable pre-owned model. No matter which vehicle you decide on, their professional finance teams will help you get settled with a competitive financing or lease plan.Are you…Ready to leave the corporate Rat Race for the American Dream?Looking for a side hustle while working your current job?Wanting to diversify, build wealth, and/or leave a legacy?Andy can help!!!Andy is a franchise consultant (as well as franchise owner) and helps people find franchises that fit their skill sets, financial requirements, time to commit and more….His services are 100% free and he's here to help if you have any questions about business ownership.Learn more about Andy and franchise ownership through these resources:Andy's StoryWhy a FranchiseService Based vs Brick and MortarSemi Absentee OwnershipThe Process and How It worksAndy Luedeckewww.MyPerfectFranchise.Netp: 404-973-9901e: andy@myperfectfranchise.netBook time with me at: Andy's Calendar

On this edition of the On The Pony Express Podcast, Billy Embody talks about the ACC settlement for Clemson and FSU, its impact on SMU, SMU Basketball Senior Night vs. Syracuse and more!Want to revamp your yard with artificial turf, a putting green or both? Take $500 off your first project with AKM Turf and Greens! AKM Turf and Greens strives to provide a quality product at a competitive price with customer service at the forefront. Based in Dallas, Alex Carpenter and his team deliver incredible work and terrific attention to detail. Head to akmturfandgreens.com NOW to connect with their staff or email info@akmturfandgreens.com to start the process! Mention code PONYUP for a $500 discount on your project!Texas insurance rates are ridiculous. Call Mark Villasana, a proud SMU alum and owner of Northwest Insurance Agency, is here to fight back. Northwest Insurance Agency fights for our clients and finds the best insurance coverage at the absolute lowest price.Call Mark at 214-352-5656or email him at markv@nwagencies.com to discuss your current rates, coverage and where you may lack protection.Head to StatusJet.com to learn more about the official presenting sponsor of the On The Pony Express Podcast. Use code PonyUpACC or mention On The Pony Express for a discount on a round trip flip booked with Status Jet. Status Jet is more than just a private jet charter company. They offer a personal touch in every aspect of your business and travel. Whether you are looking for charter flights, searching for the perfect aircraft to buy, or interested in selling a plane, experience a new level of luxury with Status Jet.Check out our sponsor, Tomes Auto Group! Mention On The Pony Express for EMPLOYEE PRICING on a new or pre-owned vehicle! Whether it's a new Ford, Subaru or Volkswagen, Tomes Auto Group will take care of you! Come and check out Tomes Auto Group's full selection of new vehicles, or get a great deal on a reliable pre-owned model. No matter which vehicle you decide on, their professional finance teams will help you get settled with a competitive financing or lease plan.If you know, you know - Rusty Taco has been an SMU favorite for years. Late-night runs, post-game stops, midweek breaks… you've been there. Now, Rusty's just got an upgrade. Their new menu just dropped at the Greenville Avenue location - same classics, even better flavor. Through March, mention Pony Express at the Greenville Avenue store or enter "ponyexpress" online (Greenville Avenue store only) for FREE Corn Fritters with any purchase. Available for delivery, pickup, takeout, or dine-in. Head to RustyTaco.com and find your location today!Use code PonyExpress20 on Rhoback.com for a generous 20% off for all new customers. Take a look at the brand new SMU line of clothing that Rhoback unveiled. That's 20% off all Performance Polos, Shorts and more with code PonyExpress20. 

In the latest episode of Pony Hoops Insight with SMU Basketball greats Jarrey Foster, Nic Moore and Shawn Williams break down the latest on Andy Enfield's Mustangs ahead of facing Stanford on the road and after the road win at Cal.If you know, you know - Rusty Taco has been an SMU favorite for years. Late-night runs, post-game stops, midweek breaks… you've been there. Now, Rusty's just got an upgrade. Their new menu just dropped at the Greenville Avenue location - same classics, even better flavor. Through March, mention Pony Express at the Greenville Avenue store or enter "ponyexpress" online (Greenville Avenue store only) for FREE Corn Fritters with any purchase. Available for delivery, pickup, takeout, or dine-in. Head to RustyTaco.com and find your location today!The 1911 Group was founded by SMU alumni Lindsey Brown (Dedman Law '13) and Mitchell Brown (Dedman College '10 & Cox MBA '20) to create a space for alumni to connect, collaborate, and build meaningful relationships. Our mission is to leverage the strength of the SMU network to create opportunities for professional and personal growth, including new hires, clients, investors, and partnerships. Through exclusive events and networking gatherings, we bring SMU alumni together to exchange ideas, engage with industry leaders, and form valuable connections. With over 300 members across diverse industries, we foster a thriving community dedicated to collaboration, growth, and shared success. Subscribe to OnThePonyExpress.com for $1 for your 1st week! Join the best message board community of Mustang fans and gain access to a staff that has over a decade of covering SMU. There's no better time to join On The Pony Express than NOW!

On this edition of the On The Pony Express Podcast, Billy Embody does a full LIVE mailbag podcast taking questions on SMU football, basketball and recruiting!Texas insurance rates are ridiculous. Call Mark Villasana, a proud SMU alum and owner of Northwest Insurance Agency, is here to fight back. Northwest Insurance Agency fights for our clients and finds the best insurance coverage at the absolute lowest price.Call Mark at 214-352-5656or email him at markv@nwagencies.com to discuss your current rates, coverage and where you may lack protection.Head to StatusJet.com to learn more about the official presenting sponsor of the On The Pony Express Podcast. Use code PonyUpACC or mention On The Pony Express for a discount on a round trip flip booked with Status Jet. Status Jet is more than just a private jet charter company. They offer a personal touch in every aspect of your business and travel. Whether you are looking for charter flights, searching for the perfect aircraft to buy, or interested in selling a plane, experience a new level of luxury with Status Jet.Check out our sponsor, Tomes Auto Group! Mention On The Pony Express for EMPLOYEE PRICING on a new or pre-owned vehicle! Whether it's a new Ford, Subaru or Volkswagen, Tomes Auto Group will take care of you! Come and check out Tomes Auto Group's full selection of new vehicles, or get a great deal on a reliable pre-owned model. No matter which vehicle you decide on, their professional finance teams will help you get settled with a competitive financing or lease plan.If you know, you know - Rusty Taco has been an SMU favorite for years. Late-night runs, post-game stops, midweek breaks… you've been there. Now, Rusty's just got an upgrade. Their new menu just dropped at the Greenville Avenue location - same classics, even better flavor. Through March, mention Pony Express at the Greenville Avenue store or enter "ponyexpress" online (Greenville Avenue store only) for FREE Corn Fritters with any purchase. Available for delivery, pickup, takeout, or dine-in. Head to RustyTaco.com and find your location today!Use code PonyExpress20 on Rhoback.com for a generous 20% off for all new customers. Take a look at the brand new SMU line of clothing that Rhoback unveiled. That's 20% off all Performance Polos, Shorts and more with code PonyExpress20. 

In the latest episode of Pony Hoops Insight with SMU Basketball greats Jarrey Foster, Nic Moore and Shawn Williams break down the latest on Andy Enfield's Mustangs ahead of facing Clemson in Moody Coliseum in a massive ACC matchup.If you know, you know - Rusty Taco has been an SMU favorite for years. Late-night runs, post-game stops, midweek breaks… you've been there. Now, Rusty's just got an upgrade. Their new menu just dropped at the Greenville Avenue location - same classics, even better flavor. Through March, mention Pony Express at the Greenville Avenue store or enter "ponyexpress" online (Greenville Avenue store only) for FREE Corn Fritters with any purchase. Available for delivery, pickup, takeout, or dine-in. Head to RustyTaco.com and find your location today!The 1911 Group was founded by SMU alumni Lindsey Brown (Dedman Law '13) and Mitchell Brown (Dedman College '10 & Cox MBA '20) to create a space for alumni to connect, collaborate, and build meaningful relationships. Our mission is to leverage the strength of the SMU network to create opportunities for professional and personal growth, including new hires, clients, investors, and partnerships. Through exclusive events and networking gatherings, we bring SMU alumni together to exchange ideas, engage with industry leaders, and form valuable connections. With over 300 members across diverse industries, we foster a thriving community dedicated to collaboration, growth, and shared success. Subscribe to OnThePonyExpress.com for $1 a week for your 1st year! Join the best message board community of Mustang fans and gain access to a staff that has over a decade of covering SMU. There's no better time to join On The Pony Express than NOW!

On this edition of the On The Pony Express Podcast, Billy Embody and Dean Ralsky break down SMU's win over Notre Dame and look ahead to basketball's big ACC matchup against Clemson. Plus, Rhett Lashlee and SMU Football is recruiting a 4-star flip target who just locked in an official visit. If you know, you know - Rusty Taco has been an SMU favorite for years. Late-night runs, post-game stops, midweek breaks… you've been there. Now, Rusty's just got an upgrade. Their new menu just dropped at the Greenville Avenue location - same classics, even better flavor. Through March, mention Pony Express at the Greenville Avenue store or enter "ponyexpress" online (Greenville Avenue store only) for FREE Corn Fritters with any purchase. Available for delivery, pickup, takeout, or dine-in. Head to RustyTaco.com and find your location today!Texas insurance rates are ridiculous. Call Mark Villasana, a proud SMU alum and owner of Northwest Insurance Agency, is here to fight back. Northwest Insurance Agency fights for our clients and finds the best insurance coverage at the absolute lowest price.Call Mark at 214-352-5656or email him at markv@nwagencies.com to discuss your current rates, coverage and where you may lack protection.Head to StatusJet.com to learn more about the official presenting sponsor of the On The Pony Express Podcast. Use code PonyUpACC or mention On The Pony Express for a discount on a round trip flip booked with Status Jet. Status Jet is more than just a private jet charter company. They offer a personal touch in every aspect of your business and travel. Whether you are looking for charter flights, searching for the perfect aircraft to buy, or interested in selling a plane, experience a new level of luxury with Status Jet.Check out our sponsor, Tomes Auto Group! Mention On The Pony Express for EMPLOYEE PRICING on a new or pre-owned vehicle! Whether it's a new Ford, Subaru or Volkswagen, Tomes Auto Group will take care of you! Come and check out Tomes Auto Group's full selection of new vehicles, or get a great deal on a reliable pre-owned model. No matter which vehicle you decide on, their professional finance teams will help you get settled with a competitive financing or lease plan.

A Time WarpBy FinalStand. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.What follows is a diversion from the central storyline, but it is crucial to understanding why certain members of the supporting cast are behaving the way they are.808 BCE near Halab in what is today's Northern Syria:For me, Cael Nyilas, it was a return to last night's horrifying scene that engulfed me. The screams of dying horses and moribund men crying the pantheon of life's final regrets. Blood, piss, voided bowels and the stench of comingled sweat and leather filled my nostrils. The true cacophony of battle was all about. The battle shock faded into an innocuous background distraction.In my heart of hearts, I felt at ease, even content. We were cut off and surrounded yet hardly hopeless. Men, my brothers-in-arms and the younger noble sons of Assur and Nineveh combined to put a press of shields, armor and flesh encircling us. Those 'pampered' aristocrats stank with fear and well they should. Death was still possible before their relief arrived.I hurt, Shara (my deity?), I was wounded, but it meant nothing. I laughed; a primitive version of 'atheists and foxholes' passing through my mind. This body had lived through much worse. The closest man, her deceased husband's cousin, and I lifted the shattered wooden chariot off the person our circle was centered on. My arm was extended to her.She was glorious, fierce and half-drunk with battle lust. I could feel her talon-like fingers through the leather and 'parzillu' scales guarding my bicep. She half jumped and was half pulled to her feet. Her kinsman presented her 'misplaced' sword, hilt first. In her eyes, I saw the burning intensity of the Shamash (Sun God, consort of Aya?) at the height of the Burning Season.Her martial mirth exceeded any other noise as it passed her lips."You took your time getting here," Shammuramat taunted me, not a true reproach. "I was so bored, I decide to take a nap in the shade of my conveniently overturned chariot." She defied all fortunes that conspired toward her demise; her own breed of madness."You looked so peaceful in your sleep, I didn't want to wake you," I bantered back. Her 'kinsman' scowled at my familiarity with his monarch. My champions, more like brothers to me than any kin born of my blood, had carved a gory swath to her stranded bodyguard. Mounted on Median steeds, we had pressed back the entourages of two Aramean kings bent on her violent passing.A barricade of overturned, or unattended chariots gave us space to dismount and perform our very visible rescue mission. All the pieces were right where she wanted them; everything unfolding according to her plan. Focus the enemy in the center with her person and the banner of Assur while the rest of her chariots and all of her cavalry swept through an unguarded wadi and fell upon them from behind.Brilliant. Somewhat less brilliant when faced with the desperate energy of our enemies, but her victory was already a certainty. The allied Western Kings were sure my command was attempting to snatch the Queen back to the safety of her infantry. Those hardy, foot-bound souls were still holding their own against the greater mass of the enemy footmen.The children of rebellious nobles bent every bit of their remaining energy, squandered their last reserves to ensure Shammuramat didn't escape. If the positons were reversed, they would have eagerly abandoned their troops and sought safety to the rear. The idea of Shammuramat being overwrought with terror was absurd.Our opponents' bellows for our blood turned into wails of despair. The charging, plumaged steeds of Assyria had appeared behind them. Our enemies had nothing left to slow the new arrivals down, much less stop them. For those who dared defy Shammuramat, Queen of all the Akkadians, the slaughter was just beginning."Come 'Alal' (that was me); I promised 'Atarshumki' I would kick his head over his own city walls before sunset and I always keep my promises," she shoved one of my horse-holders aside and took one of my steeds. 'Alal' was not the name my father gave me. It meant destroyer and it was blasphemy to lay claim to it."Killing kings will cost you extra," was my impious response.Assyrians nobility barely tolerated mercenaries most of the time. My men and I didn't care. I hadn't taken up the killing business to make friends and my troops felt the same way. What mattered to us was that their coin was good and delivered on time. That was a good thing because whores and merchants were loath to advance 'our kind' anything on credit."I'll meet you half way," she grinned manically at me while my fighters and I raced for our mounts. (Saving the junior nobility wasn't what she were paying us for.) "I'll let you take any prince you capture as a hostage." I nodded. My men cheered hungrily, despite the choking dust. As long as I didn't get too greedy, the Kings would pay for their sons. Now we had to capture the bastards."Tūbātu," I reminded them. 'Goodwill'. It was a polite way of saying 'stop your chariot, rest your arms and your mother won't have to come begging for your corpse'. It was best to let opposing nobility keep their dignity in our business. Today's enemy might be tomorrow's paymaster.I blinked and things changed.Planting followed harvest and harvest followed planting. It had long ago become a blur. Shammuramat had grown older. Her first son became king when he was of age. I had long exceeded my welcome and my desire to stay. I was fixed to this small patch of the greater world by a rare emotion, empathy.It had come out of nowhere. We were campaigning against the Scythians raiding over the Zagros Mountains and followed them into Urartu. Night had fallen and I walked the camp as was my habit; being killed a few times in your sleep will make you err on the side of caution. Shammuramat was gazing out over the river Arkas."I though all the scouts have returned," I asked as I stepped to her side. A cool, early autumn breeze blew down the valley, tossing a few loose locks of her greying hair. She always had one patch shorn short which made her left-side braids prone to unwind."They have. We head back for Nineveh with the dawn," she murmured, her mind elsewhere."Do you ever dream of home?" she asked me out of the blue."No. I don't dream anymore. I rarely sleep and if I did, I would hope to dream of something less boring," I snorted in amusement. She had never talked about her home, to anyone as far as I knew."You will be going to Lydia when winter comes," she stated tensely."King Gyges needs someone with experience beating Cimmerians," I answered. The true reason was that I was no longer welcome on the Assyrian payroll because I insisted on recruiting only non-Assyrians into the ranks of my ferociously effective little band of one hundred; never more and rarely less."Shemtsu is a fool," she grumbled."That is unfair," I countered. My willingness to argue with her was one of my charms in her eyes. "He is an excellent Treasurer and he makes sure your vassals pay their tribute on time and in its full amount."The silence was hurtful to me because Shammuramat was never one to obfuscate her thoughts, especially around me. It was one of her charms, to my way of thinking."Salmu Eretu, the northern night sky has no answers for what ails you. Get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to start out cold before it bakes us." I called her 'Black Cloud' in Akkadian.I had first used that name twenty years ago to insult her, highlighting her tempestuous nature. In the Assyrian court, having just received recognition for my quick thinking, Shammuramat had belittled my accomplishment, throwing my body between her, her unborn child (the man who was now not-so-gently ushering me to the border) and a Kassite noble and his retainer bent on killing them both.Had my deed not been witnessed by half a dozen reliable sources, I wouldn't even have received that tawdry token."He sought glory without risk," she spat out her insult in a Hittite tongue alien to this court. Unfortunately for us both, I had worked for a Babylonian family for a few generations and they had been kind enough to turn me from an illiterate commoner to a man of some education.Ironically, they even taught me my native cuneiform long after my birthplace was barely a memory."Well aren't you a black cloud on an otherwise waste of a day," I replied somewhat bitterly. Her eyes widened, then narrowed and then I heard her laugh for the first time."Should I tell them what you said?" she mocked me and my predicament."But of course," I grunted in Akkadian. I'd screwed up. My inner thoughts were 'please not decapitation, please not decapitation' because getting my head on straight after that was a real bitch."You've been nothing but a black cloud bent on turning the choking dust at my feet into a grasping, muddy morass. Why stop now?" I announced loudly. If you are going to die, die well. Having died too many times to count, remembering my last words were all I had left to look forward to.The guards, familiar with the Queen's temper and stunned into inaction by me clearly embracing a long, messy death, stood around uselessly. Had I been allowed a weapon in the royal presence, I might have thought which one to kill first."I gift you, a lowborn man of the South (Sumerian), with honors and you respond by insulting my wife?" King, Shamshi Adad V growled as he rose from his throne."Husband," she stood to join him. I thought it was a pity she rarely smiled. "You asked that I too give a gift to my savior and the savior of our son (all unborn babies were sons back then until roughly half had the audacity to gender switch while exiting the womb). I have chosen." I was expecting my life for the moment and a day's head start to the border."It is your choice to make," the King allowed."From this day, until my passing, this man may always speak his mind in our lands," she demanded. She had a habit of fatally correcting anyone who saw her as less than co-ruler. The hesitation was deafening."As you will," Shamshi Adad V acquiesced to yet another of his wife's odd 'requests'. From that day forth we had been fast friends. She never asked about my immortality, where I was from, or how I ended up with my elite band of professional killers. I returned the favor. It was an unspoken understanding that in a few years, or decades, she would die and I would leave, not necessarily in that order. We had shared more years than I had given to any one person in quite some time."There is nothing left for me but ash," she declared with morbid certainty."Should any of us expect any better?" I did my best to offer words of comfort she would accept."Oh no," her noise was too bitter to be a laugh. "I had my own 'Life beyond Death' and it was stolen from me, along with my birthright.""We are chasing the thieves?" I asked."Yes and no," her face grew grim once more. "These were not the ones I was looking for. They share some bonds with some of the Scythian tribes who live on the far side of the Sea of Death (the Black Sea). These raiders weren't from those tribes.""Why are you turning back?" I questioned. "You know your Assyrians are loyal. They will follow wherever you lead. Your son won't begrudge you these few hundred. I'll come too.""Why?" she turned and looked into my eyes. She still had that blazing fire in her eyes. She was teasing me. If she asked, I too would follow and my men would follow me."The Scythians have been raiding the Lands of the Two Rivers from, well, before I graduated from 'spear for hire' to a 'seeker of a mastery of war'. The rich plunder of their camps will provide plenty of incentive for my men plus we can sell the horses when we come back," I stated."I do not have the years left to spend on such a campaign," she sighed. I had never heard a hint of defeat in her speech before. It was unsettling and rather tragic."I have squandered my years in marriage, being Queen and raising my boys. I tried to make Assyria my new family and I am revealed to be a fool. You had it right. We will always be outlanders. No matter how brave, loyal, just and smart, we would never be allowed in their sanctimonious circle," she said. "You. I should have ridden off with you after my first born was acknowledged (the present King Adad-nirari the 3rd).""We could have gathered up some more fighters, ridden over shattered Phrygia, to the narrows (Bosporus) and into the lands of the Thracians. There is a legend of a great river that pours out from the western shore of the Death Sea. What I seek is up that river.""How many would we face?" I grew equally serious."One," she coughed. "Me." My confusion was obvious. "I am not asking you to fight me, Alal. I want you to come back for me.""I can't. That is not how it works," I stated."How does it work then?" she looked into my eyes. The fire was there, but banked and waning. I didn't say anything. "I have never seen, or heard of you entering a temple.""Your men go. You do not stop them, but you have given up any pretense of worship," she pressed. "Do you not believe that anything exists beyond your senses?""I believe," I sighed. "I believe people are fools for giving offering, pledging their fidelity, pleading for mercy, or extending thanks to any deity. Those Shar-an (gnats) do as they will, unless it is to punish us for treating them like the spoiled children they are."Shammuramat regained her long-stilled laughter."I have always felt a kinship with you through our mutual bitterness.""Bitterness comes with familiarity," I snorted in amusement. Lovers had passion. We shared a simmering anger that came from being irredeemably wronged."I was born Baraqu, the first son of a potter in some city that no longer matters. I was a failure as a potter and an embarrassment to my house and my clan," I began a story I hadn't told another soul in, I couldn't recall. "In those days, the Priest-Kings declared wars and demanded each clan of the city give forth a certain number of males to fight. My family volunteered me and two rowdy cousins.Outside the gates, my clan elder gave each of us a cowhide shield and a spear with a small spindle of copper at the tip so we wouldn't think it was a staff. We marched, I forget which city we were fighting that time. Three days later we found the enemy behind a deep irrigation ditch that had dried out for the season. Our orders were simple, 'There they are. Attack!'My elder was at the back of our mob, making sure none of us ran away. My older cousin made it across the ditch first, but was speared twice; once in the right kidney, I can still remember my first sight of blood, and once, piercing the shield and lodging in his ribcage. My second cousin and I were pushed from behind into the fighting. I stabbed at one shield, doing no harm.Then my surviving cousin's morale broke and he tried to claw his way back into our ranks. He was stabbed in the back, his dying body tangling with mine and bearing us both to the ground. I saw this howling mad face over me. He was a commoner, like me, driven to violence by the terror of battle. His shoddily crafted spear plunged first into my right lung. The second stab found my heart. I died.From there, my spirit fell down toward the wretched dank caverns where all pitiful lowborn dregs are doomed to end up without hope of parole. Instead of endless misery, the Goddess Sarrat Irkalli appeared before me, barring my descent. With icy claws, she trisected my soul. I cannot begin to describe that agony. She snatched up my tattered bits and dragged me back into the world.Sarrat Irkalli is Goddess of the Netherworld, whispered a word that penetrated my brain through the left ear of my cooling corpse. It was an utterance so catastrophic to the fabric of the Veil I dare not repeat it even now.Baraqu? she blew a dark wind upon the first bit of my essence and it flew away.Cael, she whispered to the second portion and off it went in another direction. You are Baraqu no more. The second name was meaningless to me at the time but my name. Do you know that if you have your true name, your spirit can not find its way to your reward, no matter how foul, or pleasing? To the third part of my soul. I name you Alal, he who stands witness to the end of all he desires; their destroyer. Powerful yet powerless.}With that, she left me. My body was stiff from being dead so long. The next few hours were extremely painful. The Sun had set and the Moon was not in evidence. Jackals barked and hyenas laughed as they fought and feasted on the dead. I pushed the body of my cousin off me then crawled down into the ditch to hide. Hardly the reaction of a hero.""Not the actions of the man I know," Shammuramat smirked. "So, your name is Baraqu.""Was and I never much liked the name," I countered. "The priests gave it to me because right before my naming ceremony, a bolt of lightning from a spring storm struck the temple of Shara. So they named me Baraqu, which means 'struck by lightning'.""That sound likes a good name," the Queen Dowager regarded me."That is the noble meaning. The common meaning is less eloquent, it means 'idiot'."Another deep laugh from my treasured compatriot. So few had ever mattered so much to me."Struck by lightning, stricken dumb," she guffawed. "Still not the 'you' I know.""What does the other name mean?""I have no idea. In all my travels I have never found a people familiar with it," I shrugged. She looked out over the low waves lapping against the stony shore."No explanation?" she grudgingly inquired. She had wanted me to continue."No. I have never again come face to face with Sarrat Irkalli, been visited by a messenger, divine, or demonic, received an omen, or any otherworldly presence of any kind," I shrugged. I was long past any resentment. "After the battle I made my way back home, we'd lost, and resumed my life for a few years. My father took the excuse of me 'letting' my kinsmen die to place my younger brother over me.I didn't care. I always hated being a potter, so I ended up being a piddling nuisance all the time and a drunken brawler whenever I had wrangled some beer. I was always the first choice of my clan to send into battle. Despite my lack of training, I began surviving more battles than I died in. At some point, the priests began getting suspicious that I was still hanging around my great-grandnephew's house, so my house Elder suggested I leave the city.I was given a nice copper-headed mace that I had taken in a recent skirmish. Tradition dictated I offer it to the Elder, so he could give it back to me as a sign of my value to the clan. He had taken it for his own. Now he was giving it back out of fear that it held some part of my taint. I had no idea how to live on my own. Two days out, I was robbed and murdered for the first, but not last, time. That inaugural event, I got really angry and hunted those two farmers down.I got my mace back. I also relieved them of an onager, three slaves and a few ingots of silver. I guessed they had been rather successful robbers until they met me."

Today we talked the egg shortage, an early nominee for video of the year, what Liam Neeson has been doing in his free time, Mistress Day, and the latest batch of Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductees! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DirtyBitPodcast 330- Steam Power Spanking Machine tale by Zatanna Xtra and read by SeXXXySherry. Having picked the perfect random gear from the old Pony Express bag and having it mesh with the one  Elizabeth had took him on a Journey he could have  only dreamed of  and or had nightmares about . . . Zatanna Dark Twitter (X) @dark_zatanna smashwords.com/profile/view/ZatannaDark

WMPO New and Improved for 2025 It's time to Tee Up for the Greenest Show on Grass as the 2025 WMPO is about to be underway. Hopefully the weather will hold out for this year's event but there are still lots of lessons learned from 2024 that have brought about big changes for this year's event. Security changes, tickets pricing and information, additional entrances and more. Here to tell us how to still have fun and be prepared is Scottsdale Fire PIO, Dave Folio. https://wmphoenixopen.com/   Calendar of Events WMPO Happening Feb 3-9 at TPC. Lots of changes this year so be sure to check out the website for more information. One of the biggest ones is you have to buy a ticket for the exact day you're going. No more GA for any day. So get those now before they sell out!     Western WeekSaddle up as the West most Western Town gets ready to celebrate Western Week. Events happening all week so be sure to check the calendar. We have the Pony Express happening on Friday, Jan 31 at 12pm sharp followed by Parada del Sol on Saturday.    Arabian Horse Show Celebrating their 70th year of celebration at WestWorld starting Feb 13th. Sure to bigger and better as they celebrate 70 years. Get your tickets now as it's always a fun family event.   

WMPO New and Improved for 2025 It's time to Tee Up for the Greenest Show on Grass as the 2025 WMPO is about to be underway. Hopefully the weather will hold out for this year's event but there are still lots of lessons learned from 2024 that have brought about big changes for this year's event. Security changes, tickets pricing and information, additional entrances and more. Here to tell us how to still have fun and be prepared is Scottsdale Fire PIO, Dave Folio. https://wmphoenixopen.com/   Calendar of Events WMPO Happening Feb 3-9 at TPC. Lots of changes this year so be sure to check out the website for more information. One of the biggest ones is you have to buy a ticket for the exact day you're going. No more GA for any day. So get those now before they sell out!     Western WeekSaddle up as the West most Western Town gets ready to celebrate Western Week. Events happening all week so be sure to check the calendar. We have the Pony Express happening on Friday, Jan 31 at 12pm sharp followed by Parada del Sol on Saturday.    Arabian Horse Show Celebrating their 70th year of celebration at WestWorld starting Feb 13th. Sure to bigger and better as they celebrate 70 years. Get your tickets now as it's always a fun family event.   

You are in for a galloping-good time in this episode about the Pony Express. Yahoo! Come with Old Mrs. Moody and Catbaloo to their library's used book sale where they find a very old and interesting book about the Pony Express. They discover, that if they close their eyes, they can "jump" into a picture in the book and become part of the story! Kiddos learn interesting facts about the 1860's horse-and-rider Overland Mail Company (the Pony Express), while they learn the true meaning of patience.  Patience is not just waiting –– it is finding a way to be happy while you wait. Their neighborhood friend, Lizbeth, returns as the librarian, and they meet new friends in 1860 Sacramento: brothers Tobias Lee, Jesse Ray and their mother; a pony express rider, and the Mayor of Sacramento, himself!  Old Mrs. Moody is called up onto the grandstand to grab the mail pouch from the Pony Express rider as he delivers the very first message from St. Joe, Missouri on April 14, 1860! As always, thank you so much for listening. It means the world.  sb/ © 2025 sb veskerna, all rights reserved Romans 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Welcome to Profiling Evil's new series, Twisted Tales, where we unravel the fascinating crimes and challenges of history. In this episode, we gallop into the perilous world of the Pony Express, a daring enterprise that bridged the gap between East and West for a brief but unforgettable 18 months. While its riders are often celebrated as brave heroes, the story of the Pony Express is equally a tale of robberies, murders, and lawlessness. So saddle up folks and let's explore the twisted tales that shaped this icon of the Wild West. #PonyExpressTrail #WildWestHistory #StagecoachRobbery #GoldRushCrimes #FrontierJustice #OldWestLegends #HistoricTrails #WestwardExpansion #WildWestCrimes #OutlawTales #FrontierGold #StagecoachMurder #WesternHistory #PonyExpressCrimes #OutlawsOfTheWest #mapping #GIS #esri #CourtTV #Newsnation #WildBill #BuffaloBill=======================================Order a copy of Deceived or She Knew No Fear and get the book signed for free! https://www.ProfilingEvil.comDONATE to Profiling Evil: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=T54JX76RZ455SSUPPORT our Podcasts: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1213394/support

On this edition of Walking 'Strong with Bill Armstrong and Billy Embody, the guys recap the magical 2024 SMU football season and share their top moments and plays as the Mustangs marched to the ACC Championship and College Football Playoff.The new Pony Express case can be found at EpochWines.com/Pony! It's an incredible, 12-bottle case for SMU and ACC fans to enjoy! Bill's coined this as the best case of wine ever assembled. You can also buy wines individually, but the case is a fantastic "deal" for the wines included.Use promo code PONY for FREE SHIPPING on your order from EpochWines.com! Buy the newly-minted No. 1 Rose in the world TODAY!If you're new to following the Walking 'Strong Podcast, it's a fun, light podcast from two SMU alums that share a bottle of wine while breaking down SMU's football season game-by-game, interviewing prominent Mustangs, and much more! We hope the ACC crew that SMU's now a part of enjoys learning about some of the world's best wines from Epoch while hearing things from SMU's angle.Head to EpochWines.com to join the Epoch Wine Club, a customizable club for those eager to automatically access new releases of Epoch wines two times a year. If the club isn't for you, buy individual bottles online! Get custom engraving, gift packaging, bundles and more!Want to buy the official game ball of SMU Football? Check out BigGameUSA.com or click HERE to see the official game ball for the Mustangs! Use promo code "BEON32024" for 10% off your order + FREE shipping! Use the code on SMU balls or any available ball on BigGameUSA.com!Want the inside scoop on SMU team and recruiting news? Subscribe to On The Pony Express for just $1 for your 1st week: https://www.on3.com/teams/smu-mustangs/join/ SUBSCRIBE to On The Pony Express YouTube by clicking HERE!Want more coverage of SMU Basketball and SMU Football, including the inside scoop on the team and recruiting? Subscribe to On The Pony Express by going here to join for $1 for your first week: https://www.on3.com/teams/smu-mustangs/join/

Send us a textJacob and Melody Bateman are joined by their father/father-in-law, Marc Callister, who shares his journey to completing his first 100-mile race. They discuss the decision-making process, training strategies, setbacks faced during the training process, and the emotional experience of race day. Marc shares insights on mental toughness, the importance of family support, and offers advice for aspiring ultra runners. The conversation highlights the challenges and triumphs of long-distance running, emphasizing that every race is a unique journey.Follow Marc Callister on Instagram @kenporunner.Give us a follow and we will be forever in debt to you.If you want to run 100 miles...Make it happen!Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show

On this edition of Walking 'Strong with Bill Armstrong and Billy Embody, the guys look back on SMU's incredible 2024 season with "Gratitude" as the Mustangs' season comes to an end. Plus, a behind-the-scenes, must-see video from Rhett Lashlee and Jonathan McGill.The new Pony Express case can be found at EpochWines.com/Pony! It's an incredible, 12-bottle case for SMU and ACC fans to enjoy! Bill's coined this as the best case of wine ever assembled. You can also buy wines individually, but the case is a fantastic "deal" for the wines included.Use promo code PONY for FREE SHIPPING on your order from EpochWines.com! Buy the newly-minted No. 1 Rose in the world TODAY!If you're new to following the Walking 'Strong Podcast, it's a fun, light podcast from two SMU alums that share a bottle of wine while breaking down SMU's football season game-by-game, interviewing prominent Mustangs, and much more! We hope the ACC crew that SMU's now a part of enjoys learning about some of the world's best wines from Epoch while hearing things from SMU's angle.Head to EpochWines.com to join the Epoch Wine Club, a customizable club for those eager to automatically access new releases of Epoch wines two times a year. If the club isn't for you, buy individual bottles online! Get custom engraving, gift packaging, bundles and more!Want to buy the official game ball of SMU Football? Check out BigGameUSA.com or click HERE to see the official game ball for the Mustangs! Use promo code "BEON32024" for 10% off your order + FREE shipping! Use the code on SMU balls or any available ball on BigGameUSA.com!SUBSCRIBE to On The Pony Express YouTube by clicking HERE!Want more coverage of SMU Basketball and SMU Football, including the inside scoop on the team and recruiting? Subscribe to On The Pony Express by going here to join for $1 for your first week: https://www.on3.com/teams/smu-mustangs/join/

On this edition of Walking 'Strong with Bill Armstrong and Billy Embody, the guys preview the College Football Playoff game between SMU and Penn State over a glass of Possibility.  The new Pony Express case can be found at EpochWines.com/Pony! It's an incredible, 12-bottle case for SMU and ACC fans to enjoy! Bill's coined this as the best case of wine ever assembled. You can also buy wines individually, but the case is a fantastic "deal" for the wines included. Use promo code PONY for FREE SHIPPING on your order from EpochWines.com! Buy the newly-minted No. 1 Rose in the world TODAY! If you're new to following the Walking 'Strong Podcast, it's a fun, light podcast from two SMU alums that share a bottle of wine while breaking down SMU's football season game-by-game, interviewing prominent Mustangs, and much more! We hope the ACC crew that SMU's now a part of enjoys learning about some of the world's best wines from Epoch while hearing things from SMU's angle. Head to EpochWines.com to join the Epoch Wine Club, a customizable club for those eager to automatically access new releases of Epoch wines two times a year. If the club isn't for you, buy individual bottles online! Get custom engraving, gift packaging, bundles and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this edition of Walking 'Strong with Bill Armstrong and Billy Embody, the guys preview the College Football Playoff game between SMU and Penn State over a glass of Possibility. The new Pony Express case can be found at EpochWines.com/Pony! It's an incredible, 12-bottle case for SMU and ACC fans to enjoy! Bill's coined this as the best case of wine ever assembled. You can also buy wines individually, but the case is a fantastic "deal" for the wines included.Use promo code PONY for FREE SHIPPING on your order from EpochWines.com! Buy the newly-minted No. 1 Rose in the world TODAY!If you're new to following the Walking 'Strong Podcast, it's a fun, light podcast from two SMU alums that share a bottle of wine while breaking down SMU's football season game-by-game, interviewing prominent Mustangs, and much more! We hope the ACC crew that SMU's now a part of enjoys learning about some of the world's best wines from Epoch while hearing things from SMU's angle.Head to EpochWines.com to join the Epoch Wine Club, a customizable club for those eager to automatically access new releases of Epoch wines two times a year. If the club isn't for you, buy individual bottles online! Get custom engraving, gift packaging, bundles and more!Want to buy the official game ball of SMU Football? Check out BigGameUSA.com or click HERE to see the official game ball for the Mustangs! Use promo code "BEON32024" for 10% off your order + FREE shipping! Use the code on SMU balls or any available ball on BigGameUSA.com!SUBSCRIBE to On The Pony Express YouTube by clicking HERE!Want more coverage of SMU Basketball and SMU Football, including the inside scoop on the team and recruiting? Subscribe to On The Pony Express by going here to join for $1 for your first week and 50% off your first year: https://www.on3.com/teams/smu-mustangs/join/Follow our social media channels:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/on3smu/Twitter: https://twitter.com/smumustangson3Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnThePonyExpress

Send us a textChad Roberts, an ultra runner who shares his journey from running marathons to tackling the challenging Ouray 100 and Pony Express 100. Chad discusses his motivations, training experiences, race day challenges, and the importance of having a supportive crew. He emphasizes the mental and physical aspects of ultra running, the significance of pacing, and the lessons learned from his experiences. Chad also offers advice for beginners looking to embark on their own ultra running journey.Learn more about running 100 miles at our website Trailto100.comFit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show

On this edition of Walking 'Strong with Bill Armstrong and Billy Embody, the guys recap the SMU-Clemson game, talk about ACC Championship Weekend, and how the Mustangs still made the College Football Playoff. The new Pony Express case can be found at EpochWines.com/Pony! It's an incredible, 12-bottle case for SMU and ACC fans to enjoy! Bill's coined this as the best case of wine ever assembled. You can also buy wines individually, but the case is a fantastic "deal" for the wines included.Use promo code PONY for FREE SHIPPING on your order from EpochWines.com! Buy the newly-minted No. 1 Rose in the world TODAY!If you're new to following the Walking 'Strong Podcast, it's a fun, light podcast from two SMU alums that share a bottle of wine while breaking down SMU's football season game-by-game, interviewing prominent Mustangs, and much more! We hope the ACC crew that SMU's now a part of enjoys learning about some of the world's best wines from Epoch while hearing things from SMU's angle.Head to EpochWines.com to join the Epoch Wine Club, a customizable club for those eager to automatically access new releases of Epoch wines two times a year. If the club isn't for you, buy individual bottles online! Get custom engraving, gift packaging, bundles and more!Want to buy the official game ball of SMU Football? Check out BigGameUSA.com or click HERE to see the official game ball for the Mustangs! Use promo code "BEON32024" for 10% off your order + FREE shipping! Use the code on SMU balls or any available ball on BigGameUSA.com!SUBSCRIBE to On The Pony Express YouTube by clicking HERE!Want more coverage of SMU Basketball and SMU Football, including the inside scoop on the team and recruiting? Subscribe to On The Pony Express by going here to join for $1 for your first week and 50% off your first year: https://www.on3.com/teams/smu-mustangs/join/Follow our social media channels:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/on3smu/Twitter: https://twitter.com/smumustangson3Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnThePonyExpress

On this edition of the Walking 'Strong podcast, Billy Embody and Bill Armstrong celebrate a night with SMU Spirit and are joined by special guests Bryson DeChambeau, the legendary Pony Express, HPUMC senior minister Paul Rasmussen and SMU President R. Gerald Turner. Plus, director of SMU Spirit Carrie Teller has SMU Cheer and Pom perform at a special fundraising event and student coach Mia Cassidy introduces the podcast.Andy and Carrie Teller shared at the event that they are excited to begin this fundraising journey with an initial gift of $500,000 and a $1,000,000 challenge gift. If $1 million is raised, the Tellers will personally match it with an additional $1 million. With every gift, the program will be a step closer to achieving financial success and creating a self-sustaining program for SMU Spirit (Cheer and Pom) now and for years to come.If you feel moved to make a commitment or gift to support this effort, please use the link: smu.edu/support-spiritYou can also contact Brandon Starr, the Director of Development for University Programs, who represents fundraising efforts for SMU Cheer and Pom.  His email is bstarr@smu.edu, and his phone number is 214-768-7726.  He could personally assist you with an outright commitment or pledge.

On this edition of Walking 'Strong with Bill Armstrong and Billy Embody, the guys recap the SMU-Cal game, talk about ACC Championship game against Clemson, and how the Mustangs won while chaos occurred around college football.  Join Walking 'Strong in Charlotte for a LIVE podcast at Clutch Kitchen & Pour House on Saturday from 12:30-2 PM. Grab tickets for $40, which includes free beer, wells and Epoch Wine while a live edition of the podcast with special guests is recorded. Click HERE for tickets and details on our LIVE Walking 'Strong before the ACC Championship. The new Pony Express case can be found at EpochWines.com/Pony! It's an incredible, 12-bottle case for SMU and ACC fans to enjoy! Bill's coined this as the best case of wine ever assembled. You can also buy wines individually, but the case is a fantastic "deal" for the wines included. Use promo code PONY for FREE SHIPPING on your order from EpochWines.com! Buy the newly-minted No. 1 Rose in the world TODAY! If you're new to following the Walking 'Strong Podcast, it's a fun, light podcast from two SMU alums that share a bottle of wine while breaking down SMU's football season game-by-game, interviewing prominent Mustangs, and much more! We hope the ACC crew that SMU's now a part of enjoys learning about some of the world's best wines from Epoch while hearing things from SMU's angle. Head to EpochWines.com to join the Epoch Wine Club, a customizable club for those eager to automatically access new releases of Epoch wines two times a year. If the club isn't for you, buy individual bottles online! Get custom engraving, gift packaging, bundles and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this edition of Walking 'Strong with Bill Armstrong and Billy Embody, the guys recap the SMU-Cal game, talk about ACC Championship game against Clemson, and how the Mustangs won while chaos occurred around college football. Join Walking 'Strong in Charlotte for a LIVE podcast at Clutch Kitchen & Pour House on Saturday from 12:30-2 PM. Grab tickets for $40, which includes free beer, wells and Epoch Wine while a live edition of the podcast with special guests is recorded.Click HERE for tickets and details on our LIVE Walking 'Strong before the ACC Championship.The new Pony Express case can be found at EpochWines.com/Pony! It's an incredible, 12-bottle case for SMU and ACC fans to enjoy! Bill's coined this as the best case of wine ever assembled. You can also buy wines individually, but the case is a fantastic "deal" for the wines included.Use promo code PONY for FREE SHIPPING on your order from EpochWines.com! Buy the newly-minted No. 1 Rose in the world TODAY!If you're new to following the Walking 'Strong Podcast, it's a fun, light podcast from two SMU alums that share a bottle of wine while breaking down SMU's football season game-by-game, interviewing prominent Mustangs, and much more! We hope the ACC crew that SMU's now a part of enjoys learning about some of the world's best wines from Epoch while hearing things from SMU's angle.Head to EpochWines.com to join the Epoch Wine Club, a customizable club for those eager to automatically access new releases of Epoch wines two times a year. If the club isn't for you, buy individual bottles online! Get custom engraving, gift packaging, bundles and more!Want to buy the official game ball of SMU Football? Check out BigGameUSA.com or click HERE to see the official game ball for the Mustangs! Use promo code "BEON32024" for 10% off your order + FREE shipping! Use the code on SMU balls or any available ball on BigGameUSA.com!SUBSCRIBE to On The Pony Express YouTube by clicking HERE!Want more coverage of SMU Basketball and SMU Football, including the inside scoop on the team and recruiting? Subscribe to On The Pony Express by going here to join for $1 for your first week and 50% off your first year: https://www.on3.com/teams/smu-mustangs/join/Follow our social media channels:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/on3smu/Twitter: https://twitter.com/smumustangson3Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnThePonyExpress

If you've been listening for a while, then you know that we have soft spot in our podcast hearts for Horses Help. Their vision for the future is to provide the special needs community a therapeutic and recreational equine environment where collaborative efforts of like minded organizations and volunteers can work together to design, construct and implement unique animal assisted opportunities maintaining the highest industry standards, while providing professional development of its participants, therapists, instructors, staff and volunteers, ensuring growth and diversity of the organization for years to come. Whether its supporting this amazing agency through The Pony Express (and our good friend Phil Fedor) or promoting what they do via The Geoholics platform, we can't say enough about the incredible people that make it all possible. Please enjoy these conversations recorded from this years Barn Bash!  

On this edition of Walking 'Strong with Bill Armstrong and Billy Embody, the guys recap the SMU-Virginia game, talk about ACC Championship game plans, look ahead to the matchup with Cal, and around the chaos of college football. The new Pony Express case can be found at EpochWines.com/Pony! It's an incredible, 12-bottle case for SMU and ACC fans to enjoy! Bill's coined this as the best case of wine ever assembled. You can also buy wines individually, but the case is a fantastic "deal" for the wines included.Use promo code PONY for FREE SHIPPING on your order from EpochWines.com! Buy the newly-minted No. 1 Rose in the world TODAY!If you're new to following the Walking 'Strong Podcast, it's a fun, light podcast from two SMU alums that share a bottle of wine while breaking down SMU's football season game-by-game, interviewing prominent Mustangs, and much more! We hope the ACC crew that SMU's now a part of enjoys learning about some of the world's best wines from Epoch while hearing things from SMU's angle.Head to EpochWines.com to join the Epoch Wine Club, a customizable club for those eager to automatically access new releases of Epoch wines two times a year. If the club isn't for you, buy individual bottles online! Get custom engraving, gift packaging, bundles and more!Want to buy the official game ball of SMU Football? Check out BigGameUSA.com or click HERE to see the official game ball for the Mustangs! Use promo code "BEON32024" for 10% off your order + FREE shipping! Use the code on SMU balls or any available ball on BigGameUSA.com!SUBSCRIBE to On The Pony Express YouTube by clicking HERE!Want more coverage of SMU Basketball and SMU Football, including the inside scoop on the team and recruiting? Subscribe to On The Pony Express by going here to join for $1 for your first week and 50% off your first year: https://www.on3.com/teams/smu-mustangs/join/Follow our social media channels:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/on3smu/Twitter: https://twitter.com/smumustangson3Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnThePonyExpress

On this edition of Walking 'Strong with Bill Armstrong and Billy Embody, the guys recap the SMU-Boston College game and look ahead to the matchup with Virginia, which might have historic implications.  The new Pony Express case can be found at EpochWines.com/Pony! It's an incredible, 12-bottle case for SMU and ACC fans to enjoy! Bill's coined this as the best case of wine ever assembled. You can also buy wines individually, but the case is a fantastic "deal" for the wines included. Use promo code PONY for FREE SHIPPING on your order from EpochWines.com! Buy the newly-minted No. 1 Rose in the world TODAY! If you're new to following the Walking 'Strong Podcast, it's a fun, light podcast from two SMU alums that share a bottle of wine while breaking down SMU's football season game-by-game, interviewing prominent Mustangs, and much more! We hope the ACC crew that SMU's now a part of enjoys learning about some of the world's best wines from Epoch while hearing things from SMU's angle. Head to EpochWines.com to join the Epoch Wine Club, a customizable club for those eager to automatically access new releases of Epoch wines two times a year. If the club isn't for you, buy individual bottles online! Get custom engraving, gift packaging, bundles and more! Want to buy the official game ball of SMU Football? Check out BigGameUSA.com or click HERE to see the official game ball for the Mustangs! Use promo code "BEON32024" for 10% off your order + FREE shipping! Use the code on SMU balls or any available ball on BigGameUSA.com! SUBSCRIBE to On The Pony Express YouTube by clicking HERE! Want more coverage of SMU Basketball and SMU Football, including the inside scoop on the team and recruiting? Subscribe to On The Pony Express by going here to join for $1 for your first week and 50% off your first year: https://www.on3.com/teams/smu-mustangs/join/ Follow our social media channels: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/on3smu/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/smumustangson3 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnThePonyExpress Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What I learned from rereading Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX by Eric Berger. ----Ramp gives you everything you need to control spend, watch your costs, and optimize your financial operations —all on a single platform. Make history's greatest entrepreneurs proud by going to Ramp and learning how they can help your business control your costs and save more. ----Founders Notes gives you the ability to learn from history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. You can search all my notes and highlights from every book I've ever read for the podcast. Get access to Founders Notes here. ----Join my free email newsletter to get my top 10 highlights from every book----Episode Outline: —Numerous other entrepreneurs had tried playing at rocket science before, Musk well knew. He wanted to learn from their mistakes so as not to repeat them.—Elon announces that he wants to start his own rocket company and I do remember a lot of chuckling, some laughter, people saying things like, ‘Save your money kid, and go sit on the beach.'” The kid was not amused. If anything, the doubts expressed at this meeting, and by some of his confidants, energized him more.—Musk was a siren, calling brilliant young minds to SpaceX with an irresistible song. He offered an intoxicating brew of vision, charisma, audacious goals, resources.—When they needed something, he wrote the check. In meetings, he helped solve their most challenging technical problems. When the hour was late, he could often be found right there, beside them, working away.—The iterative approach begins with a goal and almost immediately leaps into concept designs, bench tests, and prototypes. The mantra with this approach is build and test early, find failures, and adapt. This is what SpaceX engineers and technicians did.—"Here was a man who was not interested in experts. He meets me, he thinks to himself, 'Here is a bright kid, let's employ him.' And he does. He risks little with the possibility of gaining much. It is *exactly* what I now do at DysonThis attitude to employment extended to [Jeremy] Fry's thinking in everything, including engineering. He did not, when an idea came to him, sit down and process it through pages of calculations; *he didn't argue it through with anyone; he just went out and built it.* When I came to him to say, 'I've had an idea,' he would offer no more advice than to say, 'You know where the workshop is, go and do it.'  'But we'll need to weld this thing,' I would protest.Well then, get a welder and weld it.' When I asked if we shouldn't talk to sure someone about, say, hydrodynamics, he would say, 'The lake is down there, the Land Rover is over there, take a plank of wood down to the lake, tow it behind a boat and look at what happens.' Now, this was not a modus operandi that I had encountered before. College had taught me to revere experts and expertise. Fry ridiculed all that; as far as he was concerned, *with enthusiasm and intelligence anything was possible.* It was mind-blowing. No research, no preliminary sketches. If it didn't work one way he would just try it another way, until it did. And as we proceeded I could see that we were getting on extremely quickly.  *The root principle was to do things your way.* It didn't matter how other people did it. It didn't matter if it could be done better.  As long as it works, and it is exciting, people will follow you."      — Against the Odds: An Autobiography by James Dyson by James Dyson (Founders #300)—Elon personally interviewed the first 3,000 employees of SpaceX.—His people had to be brilliant. They had to be hardworking. And there could be no nonsense.—SpaceX operated at its own speed.—Pony Express ad: “Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred.”—I've never met a man so laser focused on his vision for what he wanted. He's very intense, and he's intimidating as hell.—SpaceX had juice with the best students in space engineering. The freedom to innovate and resources to go fast summoned the best engineers in the land.—Talent wins over experience and an entrepreneurial culture over heritage.—He always made the most difficult decisions. He did not put off problems, but rather tackled the hardest ones first. And he had a vision for how aerospace could be done faster and for less money.—He didn't want to fail, but he wasn't afraid of it.—The speed SpaceX worked at relative to its peers could be jarring.—No job is beneath us.—No committees. No reports. Just done.—Most of all he channeled an intense force to move things forward. Elon wants to get shit done.—SpaceX likes to operate on its own terms and its own timeline.—90% of the book is SpaceX failing.—Elon spent much of the flight poring over books written about early rocket scientists and their efforts. He seemed intent to understand the mistakes they had made and learn from them.—SpaceX is in this for the long haul and, come hell or high water, we are going to make this work.—Who knows your customers? Find the person that knows your customers and then hire that person to sell your product to them.—No work about work, just work. Shotwell wrote a plan of action for sales. Musk took one look at it and told her that he did not care about plans. Just get on with the job. “I was like, oh, OK, this is refreshing. I don't have to write up a damn plan,” Shotwell recalled. Here was her first real taste of Musk's management style. Don't talk about doing things, just do things.—Within its first three years, SpaceX had sued three of its biggest rivals in the launch industry, gone against the Air Force with the proposed United Launch Alliance merger, and protested a NASA contract. Elon Musk was not walking on eggshells on the way to orbit. He was breaking a lot of eggs.—A Pegasus launch cost between $ 26 and $ 28 million. SpaceX's price was $6 million. Musk wanted it front and center on the company's website. This sort of transparency was radical at the time.----“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — GarethBe like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast

Most of us have heard of the “Pony Express", but probably don't know much about it!  It's a fascinating story and one which our guest, Jim DeFelice, knows all about.  Jim is the co-author of such bestsellers as "American Sniper", "American Wife" and "Code Name: Johnny Walker".  He's also the author of "West Like Lightning:  The brief, legendary ride of the Pony Express".  His website is http://www.jimdefelice.com/ Thinking about starting your own business?  Already have one?  Shopify is the all-in-one commerce platform that makes it simple for anyone to start, run and grow your own successful business.  With Shopify's single dashboard, you can manage orders, shipping and payments from anywhere.  Businesses that sell more, sell on Shopify!  Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/nobody

As we approach the peak summertime Bob-B-Que months (zing), we'd like to share Bob the Drag Queen's 8 tips for a successful chicken wing soiree, which will ensure that your fowl party is anything but foul: 1) Send your dinner party invitations by Pony Express or personal messenger at least 10 days in advance. Include a cooked goose or snuff box for extra enticement. 2) Select an appropriate color scheme and harmonize everything on the table within that palette. If an invited guest passes from consumption before the engagement, consider black, brown, or dark grey as a sign of respect for the deceased. 3) Never, and we do mean NEVER, starch your napkins. You will be swiftly rejected from polite society and burn in hell for eternity if you do. 4) Ideal floral centerpieces include roses, lilies, carnations, ferns and smilax. If you are planning a post-dinner orgy, consider using roses in your bouquet and scatter a few extra petals artistically around the table and on the floor, instructing guests where they can begin their erotic adventures after the dessert and cognac course. 5) Hang satin ribbons, bows, and smilax from your chandelier for a striking visual effect of fresh, dainty beauty. During the holidays, you can also hang mistletoe to encourage pre-orgy kissing and heavy-petting. 6) Use colorful gas or whale-oil lamps, as well as transparent globes to produce a dreamscape of hues in the dining room and beyond. If several of your guests border on the rubenesque, remember that whale-oil lamps are a particularly forgiving source of light for those guests who have eaten one-too-many cherry jubilees over the years. 7) It is recommended to have at least one servant available to attend to the needs of every six guests. During the orgy, this ratio should increase to one servant for every three guests. 8) Last, but not least, it is extremely important that all guests are examined by a licensed physician for syphilis, gonorrhea, or symptoms of the plague prior to the orgy. If you follow these 8 simple rules, we can assure you that come morning, you'll be the undisputed toast of high society! To get an amazing Mint Mobile new customer offer and your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to https://MintMobile.com/BALD Now is the time to make the switch to the best cat food on planet Earth: Smalls! Head to https://Smalls.com/BALD and use promo code BALD at checkout for 50% off your first order PLUS free shipping! Need a website? Head to https://Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you're ready to launch, go to https://www.Squarespace.com/BALD to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain! This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://BetterHelp.com/BALD and get on your way to being your best self! Follow Bob: @BobTheDragQueen Follow Trixie: @TrixieMattel Follow Katya: @Katya_Zamo To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/TrixieKatyaYT Don't forget to follow the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: http://bit.ly/baldandthebeautifulpodcast If you want to support the show, and get all the episodes ad-free go to: https://thebaldandthebeautiful.supercast.com If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: http://bit.ly/baldandthebeautifulpodcast To check out future Live Podcast Shows, go to: https://trixieandkatya.com To order your copy of our book, "Working Girls", go to: workinggirlsbook.com To check out the Trixie Motel in Palm Springs, CA: https://www.trixiemotel.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices