Oasis: Chapter 48

[note: If you have never read Oasis before, it's better to start at the beginning. Also, It looks like everything is just swell here on my new host. Let me know if you come across any problems.]

Exhaustion

I was breathing heavily by the time I made it to the third floor.

My legs were shaking, and I felt wobbly all over.

I had made a mistake. I had overestimated my condition.

I had barely made it up the stairs that morning. And that was with help. What made me think I could just sprint up them now?

I was too tired, too tired, too tired.

People might die if I don’t make it.

I pushed onward and upward.

The stairway seemed to push me back.

Down below I heard the door open.

They’re delivering the next load of ammo.

A flicker of hope sparked somewhere inside me.

I opened my mouth to (more…)

Emergency Server Move

OK, so my bungling web host is doing some major changes on Friday. I just know they’re going to mess something up horribly (They have already done so in so many ways…), so I’m preempting their incompetence and I’ll be starting the switch to another host tomorrow. Hopefully, all will be good by Friday. The next time you read a post from me, you’ll know it’s on the new server. Comments made between now and then may be lost (hopefully not many), so don’t say anything you need for posterity until you see Oasis Chapter 48.

Cheers.

-Bryce

The Phoenix Mystery Castle

One of the places we stopped on our vacation was the Phoenix Mystery Castle. I’d highly recommend visiting if you’re ever in the area.

It was built in the 1930′s by a man named Boyce Gulley. Well, at least it was started in the thirties. He worked on it for something like 15 years.

It all started when Mr. Gulley of Seattle, WA found out he had tuberculosis. He disappeared that day, never again to see his wife or three year old girl. He ended up in Phoenix. He started building a house on a mining claim, which, of course, he had to mine a little each year to keep. He had always promised his little girl that he would someday build her a castle.

He built the house out of whatever he could find freely/cheaply. You’ll see a few pictures as we go on.

Anyway, about fifteen years after Boyce had left, a lawyer showed up on the doorstep of his long-estranged wife and daughter with a message: Mary Lou Gulley (the daughter) was now the owner of a Castle her father had built in Phoenix.

By the way, Boyce Gulley apparently beat tuberculosis and ended up dying of cancer.

Here’s a couple of highlights:

Mary Lou Gulley still lives there. Her bedroom is the only room that is off the tour. We were told that this was so we didn’t disturb her feline friend “Cleocatra.” She wasn’t giving tours on the day we went, but she was up and about. The tour starts in the main living room area of the house, and as we were ready to start the tour, some of the folks that were supposed to be in our group were standing around talk a ways away from the rest of us. Mary Lou gave them to the count of ten to get with the rest of the group.

This is the main living room where we started the tour. As you can see, there are stuffed animals all over the place. Also a whole bunch of rocks painted to look like animals. The portrait on the wall is of the builder.

Here’s another of Mary Lou’s myriad stuffed attractions.

An interesting way to fix a broken window at the mystery castle. I have no idea if this was Mary Lou’s or Boyce’s doing.

The Many of the rooms in the Phoenix Mystery Castle aren’t connected by such standard, boring things as hallways. There’s this big open area in between two sections of the upstairs. In the upper left you can see part of a bizarre little staircase that leads to the roof/veranda known as the “Mother-In-Law’s Room.” You’ll see a picture of that staircase again in just a moment.

Also, in the lower right of the picture, you can see my fat self.

You may notice a fireplace in several of the pictures. The house has a total of 18 rooms and 13 fireplaces. Take special note of the broken bottles and other random items used as part of the wall.

Much of the brick around the house is malformed and looks melty. Mr. Gulley got all of that brick for free, as they were rejects. Nowadays, that brick is called “architectural interest” and costs much more than standard brick.

Here’s that staircase closer up.

There was a room that had a whole bunch of pants nailed to the ceiling like this. I’m not exactly sure what that’s all about.

I didn’t get a good picture of this, but it’s Mr. Gulley’s bed. His room has two levels, and his bed is on rails so that it slides underneath the upper level. Also on the upper level is a couch given to him by Frank Loyd Wright.

A better picture of the rails. Also a neat cactus mosaic on the floor.

The fireplace in the chapel room. Sorry folks, Mary Lou stopped letting people schedule weddings in here a few years ago. You’ll have to find someplace else to get married.

A shoe rack and a shoe from said rack in the back of the chapel room. The sign on the shelf reads,

In the chapel
If the bride
Leaves one shoe
Then forever will
The groom be true

There chapel is like right next to the cantina/saloon room, which I thought was a natural fit.

The bar was made from an actual wagon that was sawed in half. The light you see in the back is one of (I think) six skylights that light the cantina. I thought the Christmas lights added a touch of class to the joint.

There is a lot of the house that is unfinished. Especially in this lower level. There’s a huge pile of dirt down there where Boyce had been digging before his death.

These are the guards to the dungeon of the castle. the alligator’s foot is on the door. Our guide told us that the cellar has a tunnel to the old mine and there are parts of it that haven’t been explored since Mary Lou inherited the house.

These are not glass bricks. At least they weren’t made to be glass bricks. You probably don’t remember this, but before tupperware hit the scene, people used glass dishes to store food in the refrigerator. Apparently, Mr. Gulley bought a whole bunch of them at a super closeout price. The house is full of such windows.

As far as I could tell, there are no interior staircases in the Phoenix Mystery Castle. To go from floor to floor, you have to leave the house and then come back in.

Exterior art at the Phoenix Mystery Castle.

My wife and a cactus in the yard.

I of course left out more than I put in to this little review. The Phoenix Mystery Castle is a great place to visit, especially if you’re like me, who likes Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not museums better than Disneyland. And the tour is only $5 a person. (Currently, that is. Who knows what the future holds?) So next time you’re in Phoenix, check it out and let me know what you think.

Oasis: Chapter 47

[note: If you are new to Oasis, please start with Chapter 1. It's good to be back.]

Moving On Up

I stumbled back a step.

One of the two Samson had grabbed before lined up at his side.

A couple more deads pushed through the door. Their clothes were ripped to shreds and they had that horrible empty look in their eyes. They turned toward the stairs.

Samson raised a large black shotgun to his shoulder.

I jerked my hands up to cover my ears.

Samson fired.

The one on the right was hit in the chest and thrown backwards, colliding first with another dead and then falling to the ground.

The deads continued to press in.

I lost sight of the one Samson had shot, but I had the sinking feeling that it was still moving.

The man who had lined up next to Samson raised his own shotgun.

I don’t need to (more…)

I’m Back

All right, I’m back off vacation. Along the way we stayed at the best motel in all of Arizona, saw the Grand Canyon, the zoo, the Phoenix Mystery Castle and all sorts of stuff. I’ll post some pictures when I get them off my camera.

Alas, what with all the driving and sightseeing, I did not finish the next chapter of Oasis. I’ll be back on track this Friday, though.

Bart Vs. The Banana

Here’s something to keep you occupied for about a minute.

Have you ever been in a heated discussion about “which would work better in a fight?” You know – Taikwondo vs. Kenpo, rapier vs. katana, AR-15 vs AK-47. Or perhaps “who would win?” – Darth Vader vs. Captain Kirk, Superman vs Spiderman

Well my brother would like to illustrate such a conflict and answer once and for all:

“Who would win, a guy with a sword, or a giant killer banana?”

My brother’s the one with the sword.

You are welcome. Yes, I told him he should add exciting music.

Next Week

I’ll be taking a much needed road trip with my family next week. I will be writing, but I don’t know what my internet access will be like, so there may not be another post until the following Monday.

There, now you’ve been warned.

Oasis: Chapter 46

[Note: If you've never read Oasis before, it'd make more sense to start with Chapter 1.]

A Failed Escape

Samson bolted for the door. “Where the hell did he… doesn’t matter.”

I jumped up and followed.

The crowd was dumbfounded, and all heads turned and watched Samson, hoping for some kind of instruction.

Samson reached the door and spun around. “Linda, do what you can to organize the evacuation. Get them to carry as much food as possible. We’ll move everybody down the south staircase to the parking garage if this goes bad. I’ll need five or six men who have experience with firearms to follow me.”

The room burst into commotion and I was glad to leave.

I hoped we could (more…)

My Life In Six Words

I was recently tagged with a blog meme. If you don’t know what a meme is, basically it’s a blog post chain letter. Anyway, here are the rules for this one.

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you�d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4 .Tag five more blogs with links
5. And don�t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

I’m not going to tag anybody, because I’m a spoil sport. But if you want to do this on your blog, go ahead and play like I tagged you.

OK, now on to my memoir.

At first I came up with-

Destroyed my enemies, loved my friends.

But then I decided to use something that resembled my real life.

Embracing family, friends, food, fun and…

I figured my memoir should match my fiction writing style and leave you hanging.