Read the Zapfic serial #GHAWG on LeoThreads to follow the transformation of a courier into a Harley-riding tool of God.
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Cover image is a screen capture of LeoThreads edited with MS Paint
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TL;DR
What is GHAWG?
Zapfic Entries 29-35
2️⃣9️⃣ 2023-April-02 01:17:03
3️⃣0️⃣ 2023-April-03 01:30:27
3️⃣1️⃣ 2024-May-22 11:44:30 (originally posted on 2023-April-04 @ 00:14:57 at /@magnacarta/re-leothreads-7n9jv7)
3️⃣2️⃣ 2024-May-22 11:47:00 (originally posted on 2023-April-05 @ 01:55:39 at /@magnacarta/re-leothreads-5jub8m)
3️⃣3️⃣ 2023-April-06 01:57:22
3️⃣4️⃣ 2023-April-07 00:18:52
3️⃣5️⃣ 2023-April-08 02:11:31
Story Arc So Far
Next Week
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What Is GHAWG?
#GHAWG is short for "God's Hog: A Watchful Guardian." This fictional story tells how David Guardia, a courier and business owner from Bayonne, New Jersey, US moved into the next phase of his life after spending the final ten years of his ailing father's life helping him.
More details can be found in the first post of this weekly recap.
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Zapfic Entries 29-35
2️⃣9️⃣ 2023-April-02 01:17:03
| After chasing Spam with lime seltzer water and a couple of mints I resumed my ride on Interstate 80 northwest toward Cleveland, Ohio. So far my trip to Sturgis was uneventful; getting the starter replaced was just a precaution. |
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| 🏍️ Not much happened here, but I wrote this zapfic entry to show the difference between David's impression of events and the events themselves as they unfold. This becomes clear after David crosses state lines from Illinois into Iowa. |
3️⃣0️⃣ 2023-April-03 01:30:27
| "Is that your Harley?" I nodded. "Sweet ride." After 10 minutes, the gentleman knew about my journey to STURGIS and what led to it. I even told him about that black Big Wheel I had. We both nodded knowingly as we remembered. |
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| 🏍️ Harley-Davidson motorcycles, at least in the United States, have a loyal following and a large fan base. There may be better motorcycles, but few if any motorcycle brands have been transformed into lifestyle brands. These motorcycles are also known as "Harleys" since it's shorter than the full brand name. 🏍️ Big Wheels are large plastic tricycles with seating and pedals aligned in a way similar to a rowing machine. Riders are close to the ground. Usually Big Wheels were mostly red, but special editions of these toys had been made. These were very popular during the 1970s and 1980s. While not as common these days, they are still popular enough to continue to be sold. |
3️⃣1️⃣ 2024-May-22 11:44:30 (originally posted on 2023-April-04 @ 00:14:57 at /@magnacarta/re-leothreads-7n9jv7)
| An older man with a Movember-class moustache found me. "I'm sorry I knocked down your bike." The 3 of us went outside to inspect the Hog; no damage. "Call me if you need repairs," Aníbal Rivera said as he handed me his card. |
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| 🏍️ "Movember" is a portmanteau, or blending, of the words "moustache" and "November." In Australia, moustaches also go by the slang term "mo." The Movember Foundation began this month-long event to bring attention to men's health issues (among them, men's suicide, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer). It also follows October, which has been the traditional month for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 🏍️ "Hog" is another word referring to a Harley. "Hog" itself also stands for "Harley Owner's Group." 🏍️ "Aníbal Rivera" is a character inspred by Geraldo Rivera; GR is a television host, investigative journalist, war correspondent, and lawyer. Much of his television career was devoted to serious topics such as conditions in mental institutions and the American response in Afghanistan to what happened on 2001-September-11, but many people remember his television career for two reasons: his program Geraldo (a competitor to The Jerry Springer Show), and coming up empty while televising the opening of Al Capone's vault. He continued to be gainfully employed for decades after those events. These days, the native New Yorker calls Cleveland, Ohio, US home. |
3️⃣2️⃣ 2024-May-22 11:47:00 (originally posted on 2023-April-05 @ 01:55:39 at /@magnacarta/re-leothreads-5jub8m)
| Before Aníbal Rivera left, I told him that my father's favorite episode from his talk show featured Isis Chacon. It's also when I learned about women who weren't my mother. The blush on his face showed he knew what I meant. |
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| 🏍️ "Isis Chacon" is a character inspred by Iris Chacón. Before there was Jennifer Lopez ("J.Lo") and Sofia Vergara, there was Iris Chacón. During the 1970s she hosted and starred in the prime-time variety program El Show de Iris Chacón, which earned high television ratings not only in new native Puerto Rico but also in large Latin-American markets such as New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Back then she was what we would call today a "triple threat" thanks to her well-developed skills in acting, dancing, and singing. 🏍️ While reviewing Geraldo Rivera's media credits at the Internet Movie Database, I discovered that Iris Chacón had appeared on Geraldo during the mid-1980s. This is the main reason I had David Guardia-- main character of #GHAWG-- include Cleveland as part of his ride to the annual motorcycle rally held in Sturgis, South Dakota, US. |
3️⃣3️⃣ 2023-April-06 01:57:22
| After my brush with fame in Cleveland, I'm on the road hugging the north coast of Ohio. Sandusky looks like an interesting place for my purposes, so that will be my next stop. I'm not anxious for it, but soon it's time for Spam. |
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| 🏍️ Sandusky, Ohio, US is the main setting for the 1995 comedy movie Tommy Boy starring Chris Farley as "Tommy." I was able to incorporate Sandusky into David Guardia's journey because both Cleveland and Sandusky are near the southern shore of Lake Erie, one of the five Great Lakes. Had Sandusky been further south inside Ohio, I would have had to skip this entry into #GHAWG. 🏍️ David Guardia had been eating cans of Spam to make up for unexpected expense of the motorcycle repair he needed done when he was in East Palestine. Occasionally Spam is OK, but for some people it can get old quickly. While not indicated anywhere, I would have had him eating steak and eggs regularly. |
3️⃣4️⃣ 2023-April-07 00:18:52
| "That's it for the Spam," I thought to myself as I was feeling nauseous. Being behind that fuel tanker didn't help. First chance I had I parked away from traffic. Before the tanker disappeared it turned over and caught fire. |
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| 🏍️ David Guardia had eaten bad Spam that day. Being nauseous is never fun, but in this case it saved his life. 🏍️ This incident is to be one of many examples showing how events are in motion which set up David Guardia for his transformation as God's Courier. |
3️⃣5️⃣ 2023-April-08 02:11:31
| Sandusky, Ohio needed to wait a bit. I decided to stop at a bar for a bottle of Magner's. An arm wrestling tournament was in progress. I was drafted into it, the Good Lord knows why. I shouldn't have defeated the town favorite. |
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| 🏍️ Magner's is a brand of hard apple cider imported from Ireland. It's alcoholic, but it maintains the sweetness of apples. The sweetness would chase away the nausea David had before he ate his final can of Spam. 🏍️ The wrestling tournament was added as the connection for the following entry into #GHAWG. |
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Story Arc So Far
David Guardia gets the starter on his Harley replaced and travels along the north coast of Ohio by Lake Erie. Events begin to unfold which will be called back later in the zapfic serial. Among these events is his brush with fame as Geraldo River finds him, and David finding trouble for winning a competition he never expected to enter.
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Next Week
The next post will feature GHAWG entries 36-42 and explanations for each entry. Act 2 for GHAWG continues.
GHAWG itself continues at LeoThreads, where Act 2 is done but Act 3 can't start yet. The "behind-the-scenes" review of events is nearly done, so now I can make a transition to new events.
Catch the latest zapfic entries for GHAWG at LeoThreads. Get caught up with GHAWG with these weekly summaries at LeoFinance and at the Scholar and Scribe community.
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GHAWG Navigation
To find other weekly summary posts such as this one-- or to read the serial without annotated commentary-- use the GHAWG Navigation threadstorm at LeoThreads. Within LeoThreads, hashtag #GHAWGnav brings up the navigation.