I’ve taken pictures of this area before.

But here is the view from the opposite side:

Impossible Queens are unruly rulers.

And they like to free to play and have fun so that they lift the spirits of others.

The intimidation is just the lead talking — so the Queen thumbs her royal thumb at the lead.

The laughter is light and if whatever she does brings light, she’ll just do more of the same.

She does her own thing because she is an impossible Queen…

It’s sweet and addictive.

I like the selection and trying ones I haven’t tried before.

Fun for sharing, too.

But sometimes I think that’s the best part…

This has really been a mash-up of sorts — I sort of see some of the structure I originally wanted for other things getting in here — and yet there is also a lot more original ideas coming into play, too.

So I don’t know how long this type of writing is going to stay with me — so I am pushing this for as long as I can because I have never written like this before. But I am trying to balance being gangbusters on writing and taking it easy and enjoying myself in other ways, too — like having a nice cup of Turkish coffee while not staring at a computer screen…

She had always seen the stage as the realm of the Diamonds.

She can only show her own face.

She never sought the scripts of others or taken to wearing someone else’s masks.

She would never follow a script, not even one of her own making.

For she speaks from the heart.

A script she created one day may not have anything to do with what she was feeling the next.

She is unruly.

He heart may be the Philosopher’s Stone, but it is made of light.

It flows and cannot be reigned in.

Her heart is spontaneous and while it may be orderly, it is one that is does not like confines of scripts and masks of others…

Go Horatio!

I’m not scared to walk downtown alone at night, and not just my own.

I don’t think of myself as a Hellcat, but I am not a pushover, either.

A Queen of Hearts belongs in a gritty city.

Because she sees it as the wonderful paradise it really is…

Lead blinds.

But gold can distract you from looking at your own lead.

It takes courage to rise about the metals and see things the way they are.

But it also takes courage to go down to the ground to see the smaller things you may have missed standing so tall.

Because if you only see what you want to see and not what’s really there, you start to play a game of Blind Postman.

You have no idea what you are giving or to whom or whether you’ve made the right delivery.

You have no idea if you are giving gold to a Heart or you are giving it to a Spade. You may be giving lead to a Heart instead.

You don’t know. Your metals blind you.

And the delivery you make is pure poison.

Or you reward an unworthy Card with a prize.

The act itself is meaningless.

The motive is irrelevant.

The bottom line determines everything.

And your willful blindness is not an excuse, it is the proof that you have failed someone because you saw only what you wanted to see…

They are a representative of their creator’s beliefs, ideals, lessons, and visions.

And if their creator comes under fire, the figment fires back…

The less there is between them, the higher the payout.

But the payoff is the largest when there is no distance between them…

But the trouble is there is not an honest banker in sight…

But you first must tear down the walls.

And it is a game of solitaire.

The game sounds like child’s play, but it is extremely difficult to win…

The Nine of Diamonds.

It is also known as the Curse of Scotland, but it is a game based on the games Commit and Matrimony.

And there can be a pot or a board for Pope Joan.

The Jack of Hearts is intrigue.

The King of Hearts is matrimony.

But the Queen of Hearts is the game…

It was a court life way of life.

48 Cards.

12 suits.

4 cards per suit.

Each suit representing a month of the year.

January is pine.

February is plum.

March is cherry.

April is wisteria.

May is iris.

June is peony.

July is clover.

August is pampas.

September is chrysanthemum.

October is maple.

November is willow.

December is paulownia.

But there are many animals in the deck from cranes to a phoenix to deer to boars.

Flora and fauna in a deck of their own…

A Queen Bee and a honeycomb.

A Queen’s guards in on a board filled with circles.

But Queens and cups also seem to go together.

Getting the Queen into the center cup and then getting her six guards to surround her is the object of the game.

But those rules turn over and break if you have an unruly Queen who does not care to be surrounded by six guards — no matter how attractive they happen to be.

Because some Queens do not play well on boards for they find them very boring.

Like a Queen of Hearts…

They are proper, but they like to say silly things and dress silly.

They play with toys and tell silly stories.

They are made of pure light.

But within that light there is vision and wisdom and lessons and protection from the darkness.

Because figments were created to combat the dark to make it a place of joy and light…

But you can’t keep a good woman down…

And no smart comments, Travis!

I like it because it is a little cove of curiosities.

And a hammock…

It’s a nice little market, and I always said they should do this on Hess Street in the Hammer.

I bought a toasted coconut shortbread cookie here.

Not just food and flowers…

Music, too…

Lots of vegetables to scare the salad dodgers…

I don’t get this — no sign or explanation, but the dude was painting with a puppet…

And had lunch here at the A Catered Affair — salmon Eggs Benedict with a side of fruit.

You can stay in one place, and still not be sure if you are coming or going.

Too hot, too humid, not enough sleep, and not enough energy.

Even the weather has been this way. Right now, it was downpour for about three minutes, then hot and muggy again.

It’s that time of year, anyway.

Some people are moving and working; others are stopping and resting.

But standing still can be work and movement can be play. It depends on your disposition.

Me? I’m just looking for a break from the heat…

Indoors or out…

Sheesh!

They have a vision of what the future should be, and they build accordingly.

Creative and original with a purpose.

But architects can also be Queens.

They are healers by nature.

They can look at a building or structure and see how it is making hearts unwell.

And so they are masters are rebuilding.

Renovations are their expertise.

They can see rot a mile away.

They improve because they are sensitive to the wants and needs of hearts.

Jacks can also be architects. They can see where the building is vulnerable or where it can be prone to attack.

All three in the Trinity can be builders — they just build their castles differently.

And when they join forces, their buildings last for eternity…

They are not confined by what is physical or even logically possible.

But they can inspire others to adapt to have the same freedoms as figments.

Once upon a time, only figments could fly, but then those in the mundane world did the same.

For figments thrive in creativity, ingenuity, and imagination.

The Realm of the Heart…

Deliveries are passive. Someone moves you around and puts you on a silver platter to give to someone else.

Arrivals are active. It’s yout idea all along. You may be moved to action or to come, but you are no one’s pawn.

Arrivals are the best when they are spontaneous. No expectations, no scripts.

Planning always forces you to ignore the signs and blank when something unexpected happens. When everything is unexpected, it’s a different way of living.

It’s a challenge full of adventure, not obstacles to dread.

Unexpected arrivals are always the most telling. Facial expressions tell you a lot when the person does not have the time to put on a mask.

When you are delivered, all those advantages are taken away from you. You hold no cards.

When you arrive, you get to come when you want and stay and go when you please.

When you are delivered, you have to wait until the ride comes, always wondering if you have been taken for more than one…

Sometimes I think the trick is to go exhausted. I’m too tired to think, and things come naturally.

Learned another combo and learned how flow between them. It’s kind of cool because it was like learning a new language — you learn the words and then you put the words together in a certain way to make a statement.

I learned a couple of rope-a-dope moves, but I also noticed how to tell if you are about to be psyched out. You have to keep the eyes on the hips (woo woo, yeah, yeah) and the feet because there is definitely a way of knowing.

A very informative lesson this week…

A King and a Jack solving riddles.

I loved this goodie from Icebox.

All they needed was a queen, and it would have hit a home run…

I never could do better than a bunt, but I had a nasty habit of throwing  the bat across the field, making everyone flee and duck.

No home run, but getting so excited that I unintentionally scared everyone into protecting their heads instead of chasing the ball got me a lot more mileage than I should have gotten.

On the other hand, people on the opposite side of the flying bat had no excuse.

A flying bat as an accidental misdirection and I could chase one base, sometimes two.

Not bad.

And I’d eventually make it to home.

And love the game despite getting yelled at by all the kids in the class…

Not a place for the weak and the easily-offended who would prefer that others do not express themselves and speak their own truths.

They insist that others reign their lead in instead of purging it.

But lead must be purged in the environment.

All of it.

So that it can be dealt with and be exposed as darkness with light.

Not anger or indignity.

But light…

She dresses and does and says what she pleases.

Not at all formal.

Very appalling with her logic and her wishes.

Because she can see further up the road than others.

They’ll say she is a hippie ready to happen.

And that she has no sense.

But she does. Her sense meshes perfectly with the future.

Not the present or the past…

And she can train regardless if she has the tools to do so or not…

She makes do with what she has…

But she is a magician, after all.

And you never know what kind of magic she’ll pull to get the job done…

They remind other Cards that once long ago, there was a paradise that was full of warmth and light and play.

And that it is possible to make the world as fun to play in as a garden…

He can teach his ways to others.

He is a wealth of case studies and techniques and details.

Because he sees up close while the King sees in the distance and is more inclined to draw his apprentices the big picture.

He doesn’t teach like a Queen. Her teaching heals and helps those unlock the alchemist within.

She explains the geography of the Lazy Eight and how to navigate and make your way through the kingdoms by speaking the right language. She will show you how to talk to a King, how to talk to a Queen, and how to talk to a Jack.

She will teach you the ways of the Spades and the Hearts and all kingdoms in-between.

But when the Jack is inspired to teach, he will teach you how to fight the good fight and how to fight with honor and valor.

He will explain the dangers and how to use the tools you have effectively.

He explains reflexes and reactions.

When a King teaches, he teaches vision and philosophy and possibilities.

Jacks teach about what is on the battleground and how to save others while keeping alive and your honor in tact.

All three love their students and want them to succeed.

But because the three see very different things, what they bring to the Round Table will be different.

But the pieces of the puzzle each brings are equally important and needed for an apprentice to learn the ways of the Hearts…

Yeah, I’m the one who takes pictures of people taking pictures…

Every family has their own patron saint which they celebrate once a year — they’ll invite their family and friends, light a candle, and a few other traditions you can read with the attached link. Some families have huge feasts, some, like my family, keep it a small affair.

We celebrate two saints, but May 6 — Saint George the Dragonslayer is our main one…

She uses the seven colors separately, but she will combine those colors to fight darkness with light.

Not just love and truth and wisdom, but humor as well.

She burns through the lead and flashes her light to chase away darkness.

And as foolish as it may be for her to risk everything for truth, she is compelled to do right and use her gifts to fight the good fight…

The second has two Jokers.

By the Axiom of Maria, the third must have a trinity of Comedians…

At first, the differences will be minor.

But as time goes on, the differences become more pronounced.

But the echoes of the creator will still be there.

An idealized version.

A purer form and an exaggerated one.

And a better one than the one before.

But there is a point the two have in common, even if they move in two separate orbits in the Lazy Eight…

Sometimes a creator worries whether the figment will become a Monster…

Or a Queen…

But the creator must always keep their heart close to their figment and keep making the proper introductions as they both evolve and change as time goes on and have faith that the lessons they taught and the love they put in will carry on in essence and in spirit, even though the figment will have their own lessons and spirit to share in the Great Chain of Light…

And though she is a figment, she is all Heart.

Some figments are found in fables.

So is the Queen’s daughter.

But just because a figment has no form, it does not mean they do not have a spine.

The Queen’s daughter is quite the bull-head.

The Queen wanted to raise her in the world of nonfiction, but her daughter had other ideas.

And after a battle of the wills, the Queen’s daughter won.

“No, not those silly old dispatches from Chronicler Knights, fables,” she insisted. “I want tales from the Heart.”

Her mother tried to reason with Chaser, but the girl just laughed.

“Oh, you can find those everywhere,” she yawned, “And didn’t you say that many are just a pack of lies? I want something different from all the other walls!”

Just like her mother in so many ways.

And a high-maintenance daughter she has turned out to be.

So much of her mother’s time is devoted to her.

“Another story!” she insists, but not all those fables have made it on this wall.

“Put this one in a book of fables,” she says and her mother listens.

Her daughter wears her heart on her sleeve and wears very revealing outfits.

She is very impatient, but a very good listener and sounding board.

She has pushed her mother to pursue a different way of exposing truths.

And for that, the Queen of Hearts is eternally grateful…

Not bad for a site I don’t advertise. This baby is strictly word of mouth, and the numbers keep going up…

She can travel at light speed and her many colors make her form difficult to see unless you look closely on the Wall.

She grew up on fables and Queenish musings and many can see her words at once.

But she exists and her name is Chaser…

Jacks are near-sighted.

Kings see the future.

Jacks see the past.

Kings devour.

Jacks savor.

Kings are slow.

Jacks are quick.

Kings reflect.

Jacks react.

A King deals with Infinity.

Jacks deal with One.

And in the center of One and Infinity is the Queen of Hearts…