That feeling was taken away from her so violently when she was 13 years old ... After that nothing was the same. There was no safe house, her mother c...uld not protect her and all she was left with was an empty shell of herself, of who she used to be and of who she could become ... Sometimes it was as though she hadn't grown up a day since her 13 birthday.The phone started ringing and she jumped from the chair. Her heart was pounding. Fear, that god damned fear was always there!"Hello"."It's me,. At least James knew about business. With him at her side she might be able to wing it, to make people forget that she was just a housewife with no formal education. There was a price to pay for his allegiance, but perhaps he could bring some normalcy into her life.All this reasoning notwithstanding, the knowledge that she had lost her first love left her with a dull pain deep inside.John and Ethel Elrin were salt of the earth Josie thought. They were representatives of a dying breed of parents. " Yeah, it's probably the one you're thinking of. Hard to turn away from, harder to look at." Fits the image in my head. What's her name?" I am kind of trying to forget." Not for now, try to remember things while they are still fresh. In a year she might be a fading memory, a ghost of the past that makes you shiver and hiss in shame when you think about her, hardly knowing why you liked her enough to do this to you."Leaning back into the pillows Marc smiled to no one in particular. "Wouldn't be. Your loved one’s will be glad you did.????????????????????Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. Plato, ancient Greek PhilosopherPoliticians are the same all over.They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.~Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet Union politicianWhen I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I’m beginning to believe it.~Quoted in ‘Clarence Darrow for the Defense’ by Irving Stone.Politicians are.