Alice part 5 finale

Alice sent the selfie with three heart emojis 

the detective said the gang will be checking the metadata now to verify your location

a few minutes later the gang called the bank to verify the wire transfer

the call was picked up at police HQ

the skilled operator pretended to be from the bank

he was stalling to keep the call open as long as possible

Alice was surprised that the caller sounded just like her

and equally surprised that she answered all the bank security questions

the patrolling SWAT team locations were on a huge screen

soon the police traced the calling cell phone

they dispatched the nearest SWAT team

who arrived minutes later to arrest the entire gang

They also arrested satellite teams who were roaming in vans 

printing out stolen ATM cards and withdrawing cash

the detective thanked Alice for her help

he said they had been trying to catch this gang for months

Alice wanted to understand how the gang got all her information

the detective explained how they work

Dave is an experienced actor and con artist

he targeted you as a wealthy single woman

while you were dating Dave he was recording all your conversations

to build up a voice profile database

the gang used that with some sophisticated software to call your bank

Dave got to know you well enough to answer the bank security questions

Dave probably used your computer sometime with your permission

he then installed spyware to record all your keystrokes

when the boys came they accessed the spyware to obtain all your passwords 

the wire transfer requests came from your computer to make them appear authentic

the boys probably copied your credit cards while you were asleep

do not feel bad said the detective many people have fallen victim to this gang

luckily we got them before they they stole all your money 

Alice declared she was done with online dating

Alice Part 4

the detective asked Alice to gather her bank statements and credit cards

he then called his superior at police HQ

I am bringing in a victim of ongoing identity theft

we need the incident room with comms IT forensics and the bank fraud squad

make sure you bring your cell phone said the detective

Alice jumped into the police car and they went lights and sirens

the detective received a radio message from HQ

operation stingray is launched and three SWAT teams mobilized 

upon arrival at Police HQ they rushed to the incident room

it was packed with about thirty people and banks of computers

the detective handed the credit cards and bank statements to different groups

he asked Alice to hand over her mobile phone to the comms team

the detective sat a command post with multiple monitors

within minutes he was briefing Alice on his team findings

the gang have made multiple charges on your credit cards

your phone has been hacked and cloned

they have successfully completed a modest wire transfer

that was just a test and a $5000,000 wire transfer request is pending

we now have your bank on the line

they will give us control of the wire transfer authorization call

an operator in a sound proof booth made the call pretending to be the bank

the detective told Alice it will be to your cell phone but this one will not ring

because they are forwarding your calls to another cellphone in their possession

the call went to VM and the operator left a call back message

the detective told Alice to standby

the gang will want to be sure she had not gone to the police yet

a few minutes later Alice got a text from Dave

Hey how is it going….the boys told me you went out

text him back saying you are at the mall said the detective

Dave responded with I miss your smiling face Alice please send me a selfie now

the detective led Alice to a green backdrop to take a selfie

the IT guys added a background and changed the metadata to match the mall location

Another year goes by

Getting older

Aging fast

Joints aching

Hearing fading

Friends passing

No surrender

Still active

Exercise daily

Bike riding

Long walks

Staying healthy

Working hard

Multiple projects

Fixing stuff

Feeling young

Mind alert

Writing poetry

Memories fresh

Visited often

Travel plans

Visit family

Maintain friendships

Discover more

Forever curious

Always learning

Happy birthday

To me

Many more

To come

Alice part 3

Alice was trying to understand it all

why would Dave tell her he was visiting an injured relative 

then move out of his home 

leaving his boys with her

sorry it looks like your boyfriend has done a runner 

said the man at Daves house

he seemed like a nice guy and a great tenant

he paid me his rent in cash every month

how long had he been living here asked Alice

only two months but he paid me an extra month before leaving

that means he rented the place after we first met thought Alice

she drove home fast to check on the boys

there was no sign of the them and their belongs were gone

she noticed the place smelled of cleaning products

stepping outside to look for the boys

she saw a neighbor working in his yard

have you seen two boys leaving the house she asked

yes they left with suitcases a while ago

than a couple of workmen in hazmat suits went inside with chemicals

I assumed you were having some kind of pest treatment

Alice became very concerned

she called the police to report the missing boys

they came very fast and listened to her story

the officer told her not to touch anything in the house

soon after a detective arrived

he asked her to describe the boys appearance

he nodded when she provided the details

the detective told Alice to listen carefully

we have been searching for this criminal gang for a long time

the boys are sophisticated computer hackers

they have given your bank account login details to the gang boss

we need your cooperation to catch them all emptying your bank accounts

Alice Part 2

Alice brought the boys inside

just then a text came in from Dave

my brother was in a bad car wreck

I am driving to the hospital to see him

so sorry replied Alice what can I do to help

feed the boys dinner please replied Dave

can they stay with you

I may not be back until tomorrow

she gave the boys dinner

 they settled down in front of the TV

there was only one more text from Dave

not looking good so I will stay here tonight

the next morning she made breakfast for the boys

they each had laptops to do schoolwork

the elder boy Jimmy said his laptop was broken

Alice set him up to use her computer

the boys spent all morning doing homework

such great kids thought Alice

not wasting their time on video games

she sent Dave a text but there was no reply

she asked the boys if Dave had said anything to them

dad said he had a family emergency and we were to stay with you

by late afternoon there was still no text from Dave

her calls to him went straight to voicemail

Alice felt something was not right

she decided to drive across town to Daves house

telling the boys she was going to the store and would be back in an hour

she pulled up at his house and saw the front door wide open

she walked inside and the place was totally empty

can I help you said a man at the open door

I am looking for my boyfriend Dave she said

the man told her Dave had loaded a van and vacated the house that morning

Alice

Alice starting online dating two years after her divorce

she was almost fifty and very attractive

she was not looking to remarry

companionship was what she wanted more than anything

the vast majority of the men contacting her were much older

many were old enough to be her father

she focussed on those under fifty five

picking out a short list of five

just meet these guys for coffee her friends told her

be pleasant but do not tell them where you live

she followed their advice and met the first guy

he turned out to look nothing like his picture

subsequent dates were equally disappointing

mostly fat lonely old men looking for a younger woman

she had almost given up after four disappointments

then she met the fifth guy Dave

he was fifty two, handsome and charming

his wife had passed away after a long illness

he told her about his two teenage boys

wanting to be sure it was not a dealbreaker for her

Alice had never had children

she had many more dates with Dave

she felt herself falling in love with him

she found his sons to be well behaved and very polite

she asked Dave to bring the boys around for dinner

upon answering the door at the expected time

the two boys were standing there with suitcases 

there was no sign of Dave

Where is your dad she asked

the boys just shrugged and handed her a letter

I am sorry Alice but I cannot cope any more

please look after my boys love Dave

Where are my car keys?

Did I close the garage door?

I don’t remember taking my pills

did somebody move my car keys?

forgotten where I parked the car!

yes we all forget stuff like this

How can we avoid repeating these memory lapses. Well they are not really memory lapses, when doing things automatically you you hardly need to think about them. For example your breathing is controlled by your brain but do you remember when you last took a breath, probably not because you did it automatically without paying attention.  

When you drive out of the garage, you most likely hit the door remote while driving off and it becomes an automatic action like any other part of your driving. So try this for a change, put a sticker or some kind of mark halfway down your garage door.  Next time you back out of the garage,  stop the car and put it in park before you hit the door remote.  Don’t move the car until your eyes make firm contact with that mark on you garage door.  Once you repeat this routine a few times it will become automatic and you will never have to turn back to check if its closed.

Organize your medication into a box with days of the week compartments. Yes thats what old people do but they are old for a reason, they still remember to take their daily medication.

Designate a place at home for your keys: a bowl by the front door, a drawer or a hook on the wall. Always put the key in the same place each time you enter the house. Most cars now have a push start so your car key can stay in your pocket or purse. Don’t leave them loose, fasten them to your purse or belt with a clip or carabina. 

When you park in an unfamiliar place like a mall or airport parking, write down the row number on the parking ticket or take a photo with your phone. Some phones will help you find your parked car with GPS tracking apps.  Hey where did I put my phone? 

My quest to be an influencer

I am told that an influencer can make a lot of money

All you need is a bunch of social media followers

Who watch your photo and video postings

Surely an easy transition from being a poetry blogger

I am already dreaming how to spend all that new income

After researching I discovered the typical profile of high earning influencers

They are mostly 20-30 years of age

Majority are female and very attractive

Dressed in the latest designer fashions

With followers measured in millions

The age and gender things are insurmountable hurdles for me

I would not look that good in designer clothes anyway 

I would also need more than 200 times my current Cheeky Monkey followers 

Then I discovered that there are senior influencers out there

Labeled as Granfluencers with some in the 80’s and 90’s

They mostly do incredible things like body transformations

Turning their flabby midriff into rock hard six packs

Showing seniors how to pump iron like a champ

I am not a gym rat so that line of work is out for me

There must be something entertaining I could do

I thought about cycling but that is not outrageous enough in itself

What I need is something interesting that would entertain folks

Then I hit on this great idea

I could give talks on single malt whisky

Film myself drinking scotch daily while traveling

Get sponsored tours of Highland distilleries

Film myself drinking scotch in exotic places

Surrounded by attractive women in designer clothes

Better still I could drink scotch while riding my high end road bike between distilleries 

Followed by a big peloton of beautiful female riders in skimpy lycra suits advertising scotch

All I need now is a catchy name for my new single malt sipping cycling tour blog

After a lot of marketing brainstorming I found the perfect label:

UNDER THE INFLUENCER

The horseshoe

Photo by Laura Stanley on Pexels.com

A young boy was playing in the yard

Digging for buried treasure

Thinking he had struck gold

Unearthing a rusty old horseshoe

He took it inside to cleaned it up

His father helped him oil it

He spent hours playing with it

Throwing it towards a stake in the ground

At night the horseshoe slept by his bed

He picked it up if he had a bad dream

Falling asleep while holding tight

His horseshoe never left his side

He carried it to school in his bag

Placing it on his desk in class

Holding it during his exams

Carrying it to his graduation

He took it on his first date

Introducing it to his girl

She could feel the energy of the horseshoe

As they both held it on their first kiss

The horseshoe came to their wedding

Decorated with white ribbons

Watching over them at the ceremony

They held it proudly for all the photographs

When he got the call from the hospital

He raced there with his horseshoe

Just in time to meet a new arrival

He held his baby son close to his horseshoe

He taught his son to play horseshoe games

Put the horseshoe by his bed when he was sick

Held the horseshoe when his son graduated

He fell ill in his senior years

The horseshoe stayed at his bedside

He held it when he passed away

People gathered at the graveside

Sad faces saying their last goodbyes

The casket was lowered into the hole

His wife was clutching the horseshoe

When she got home she told her son to bury it in his yard

Until his own son was old enough to dig for treasure

push yourself and pull those you love along with you

push yourself

seize opportunities

push yourself

embrace the uncertainty

push yourself

accept the inevitable transient wave of fear

push yourself

acknowledge wrong turns and start over

push yourself

remove objects blocking your path

push yourself

reach your goals

push yourself

bathe in the glory of your achievements

push yourself

avoid long lasting regrets

push yourself

set new goals and keep learning new things

push yourself

collect many beautiful memories

push yourself

and pull those you love along with you