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The Trickster – A Short Story – The Suburban Times
The Trickster – A Short Story
Don and Peg Doman · May 6, 2021 · ·
Small towns never mean small minds, but grudges do linger and grow. I grew up with Jeremy. His mind was always working and making big plans. They usually got us into big trouble. My parents would take me to task. Jeremy's parents just shrugged their shoulders and it was back to business as usual for him. It's not like we robbed banks or anything at an early age, it was just little stuff like stealing cigarettes from parents so we could pedal out into the woods and smoke. Or, like when we found hidden Easter candy and gobbled it all up. We weren't mean or anything . . . we just didn't think things through to the logical conclusion that we would end up being punished in some way or not. But it really just comes down to the last shenanigan that Jeremy came up with . . . before he left town. We were a little older by then.
We were out looking at used cars for sale along South Tacoma Way. Between Tacoma and Lakewood it seemed as if there were hundreds of car lots, but that was to the untrained eye. We knew where the best deals were. We had already looked around two of our favorite places and then stopped in at Happy Dave's Used Cars just a block or two from the headquarters of Roman Meal Bread.
As I went from car to car looking at the prices, and sitting in them to check out my comfort level I noticed that Jeremy was just standing and looking slightly up towards the sky. I stopped car hopping and walked back to Jeremy. He wasn't just looking up at the clouds he was looking at the new eye-catcher Happy Dave was using to attract customers off the street and into his car lot. Strung on a wire between balloons were images of Happy Dave. They were drawn images, possibly by Dave's young daughter, on white card stock and then cut all around the face. The excess was trimmed to just show the face and hair. If you drilled a little hole in each earlobe and connected them from behind with string, you could easily make a mask to wear at Halloween time as Happy Dave. So, what we saw was about three dozen images of Happy Dave fluttering in the wind. I raised and waved my empty hands in front of his eyes to distract Jeremy's reverie and said, "What are we doing?" His response was "Planning a little revenge." I shook my head back and forth and mumbled, "Nononononononono."
Back in my dad's car I drove Jeremy to his place. I knew who he wanted to deliver a little come-upance to. "I'm out," I said. I wanted no part of it, but knew I would somehow be sucked in. This was March and graduation was only a few months away. Jeremy had been completely quiet during the ride back. I stopped at his drive-way and he hopped out of the car. He looked back at me and wagged his head back and forth and said, "No problemo."
Nothing really changed about our daily habits. We joked around like always, but I could see his mind working. I knew something was coming and then the thought struck me. April Fool's Day. I had nothing to go on of course, but we were so tuned into each other I could almost see the cogs in his head turning. I thought to myself, "Keep it clean, keep it legal, and keep me out of it, Jeremy." He did.
The 31st of March was the last time I saw Jeremy. He took off and left town. I got a postcard from Hawaii, with no return address, so I hope he has been successful. His parents got divorced and both left a year or so after Jeremy. It's too bad Jeremy never knew about what happened after he set up his revenge.
Apparently Jeremy made a number of flat face masks like Happy Dave's. His target was Mr X, an middle-aged, well thought of man about town, who most people didn't like if they really knew him. He took credit for things he didn't do and blamed people for his own screw ups. His wife had already left him. Jeremy and Mr X had a history. Jeremy and I had mowed Mr X's huge back yard several times and were paid less than agreed upon . . . and no tip. He always found a reason to complain. I roll with the punches. Jeremy didn't. Mr X went to a fund-raising function on April Fools Day eve and didn't get back home until well after mid-night. He was known to drink a bit too much. Mr X made it all the way to his bedroom, which looked out onto the beautiful fountain in the backyard that many times had dish washing soap poured into the water creating mountains of suds. So far, no one had ever come clean about the suds.
As Mr X entered the bedroom a motion detector light went off just outside the window, but lighting up the room. The flash back-lit eight or nine Happy Dave face masks. Someone said one looked like me. Mr X responded by pulling out a revolver and firing at the Happy Dave people. He was actually a pretty good shot. Consensus is that the bullet went through his own likeness and wounded a Fort Lewis soldier who was throwing stuff in the back of his station wagon. The stuff had come straight from Mr X's basement. His buddy threw up his hands as Mr X fainted (this is not official). Soon sheriff deputies arrived and arrested the two soldiers, slapped Mr X awake and sober and then called for an ambulance.
The deputies never saw the Happy Dave masks, the local news made Mr X a hero. A month later he died of a heart attack. His wife returned smiling, and sometimes laughing, for the funeral, which was held in the back yard by the fountain (no suds). About a hundred people gathered to show their respects for Mr X. Some of those who gathered saw the Happy Dave masks and had no idea why they were taped to the bedroom windows.
I'm hoping that Jeremy will eventually return. I miss him. Perhaps he'll come back for our 25th reunion at Clover Park.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
About Don and Peg Doman
Don Doman/Peg Doman: Professional writers and authors. Ideas and Training - Human Resources/business training products for modern business. PublicDoman - Video production, internet video, website construction and online marketing and social media. NW Adventures - Fun places to visit in the Pacific Northwest: Great Restaurants, Lodging, and People. The Doman Directories - Business directory listings for many categories in Tacoma, Pierce County, and Washington State.


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Home / Special Sections / Adoption/Foster News / Mission Liberate to host human trafficking survivors at meet and greet Jan. 8
Mission Liberate to host human trafficking survivors at meet and greet Jan. 8
A new local organization seeking to have an impact on ending human trafficking will launch a grassroots campaign tonight. Mission Liberate, founded in 2019 by several students at the University of Kansas, will hold their first public meeting.
Livia Palmieri
Livia Palmieri, one of the founders and president of MIssion Liberate, told Metro Voice, "This is where interested individuals can learn how they have a positive impact in even small ways."
The meet and greet will be held Friday evening, from 6 to 8 pm at Talk of the Town Grill, 5201 W. 135th St., Leawood, Kan. Special speakers include Lucy Bloom, Executive Director of Veronica's Voice, a survivor-run rehabilitation center, and Kristin Tebow, a Missing Youth Specialist working with KVC Kansas (and Metro Voice sponsor) to locate and recover youth who are absent from their foster care placements.
Topics will include exploitation as Bloom leads the Kansas City Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation and assists at both the federal and state levels in support developing new specialized services for survivors while at the same time working to reduce demand.
Lucy Bloom
Tebow's focus includes consulting with Homeland Security and the FBI and, since 2012, also serving as a sought-after speaker on the issue of human trafficking. Tebow's work stresses the importance of prevention through developing trusting and genuine relationships with vulnerable youth.
Palmieri says she knows what it's like to have an interest in a topic like human trafficking but to be at a loss for what to do. Her passion arose when she and another founder attended a lecture at KU by a human trafficking expert.
Kristin Tebow
"The speaker at the event said nothing could be done," Palmieri remembers. "We left a little down but after some thought, realized ordinary people could play a part in stopping it. They just needed direction."
Many people are concerned with human trafficking, but have little idea how to help end this horror, she shared.
Human trafficking exists and grows through multiple scenarios yet there is very little awareness of the issue–even when it exists in our own communities.
"We are building a bridge between people who wanted to help but who don't know how to. We can give them practical ways to make a difference," she says.
According to the organization, every little step in the right direction brings about change.
Mission Liberate, which is non-political and religiously unaffiliated, is available for speaking engagements at civic events and church meetings.
Tickets for Friday night's event are limited to 30 to comply with COVID-19 preventative measures.
You can visit the event on EventBright for more information.
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Dwight Widaman
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Silk and Steel: French Fashion, Women and WWI National WWI Museum and Memorial 2 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, MO 6410
13NovAll Day11AprSilk and Steel: French Fashion, Women and WWI(All Day) National WWI Museum and Memorial, 2 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, MO 6410
November 13 (Friday) - April 11 (Sunday)
National WWI Museum and Memorial
2 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, MO 6410
WWI exploded in the late summer of 1914. Armies took the field in bright uniforms. Navies steamed to sea flying the colors of their nations. For the ensuing years of
WWI exploded in the late summer of 1914. Armies took the field in bright uniforms. Navies steamed to sea flying the colors of their nations. For the ensuing years of global war until the peace treaty was signed on June 28, 1919, most history has centered on battles, leaders and destruction.
Throughout this time of global upheaval and a devastating war primarily fought by men, women around the world actively responded to the tumult by accepting, and at times actively pursuing, new responsibilities and roles. French women, like others, worked in war industries, in agriculture, in nursing, in transport, for suffrage and equal pay and respect. In France, recent scholarship has shown that the survival of women's fashion also played an important role in life during the Great War. Women's fashion needed to adapt to the necessities of new actions, scarcity of materials and ever-present societal morale needs. The fashion industry, particularly in France, responded.
Silk and Steel feature original dresses, coats, capes, hats, shoes, and accessories. Topics presented are the evolution of the war-time silhouette, Parisian designers during the war, military uniforms' influence, women's uniforms in France and America, war work, economics of fashion, and post-war emancipation.
This special exhibition, Silk and Steel: French Fashion, Women and WWI, is presented by the National WWI Museum and Memorial from Sept. 25, 2020 to April 11, 2021 in the Wylie Gallery
Virtual Retreat: The Lord's Prayer Conception Abbey 37174 HWY VV, Conception, MO 64433
15JanAll Day17Virtual Retreat: The Lord's Prayer(All Day) Conception Abbey, 37174 HWY VV, Conception, MO 64433
January 15 (Friday) - 17 (Sunday)
Conception Abbey
37174 HWY VV, Conception, MO 64433
How often has this traditional prayer taught to us by Jesus been recited with little thought
How often has this traditional prayer taught to us by Jesus been recited with little thought of the powerful meaning of each line? Take time to reflectively grasp the deep spiritual meaning of this prayer that is prayed so often and by so many every day. Led by Fr. Roger Schmit, OSB
This retreat will be given in virtual format only. Abbey Guest Center (660) 944-2809
Price: $25 per computer connection or household.
AVOID PROBATE SEMINARS Lewis Living Trust Center 700 N. East Langsford Road, Lee's Summit, MO 64063
19Jan7:00 pmAVOID PROBATE SEMINARS7:00 pm Lewis Living Trust Center, 700 N. East Langsford Road, Lee's Summit, MO 64063
(Tuesday) 7:00 pm
Lewis Living Trust Center
700 N. East Langsford Road, Lee's Summit, MO 64063
Learn How Wills Do Not Avoid Probate Learn How to Protect Your Home and Assets: • From unnecessary PROBATE COSTS at death or incapacity • From unfortunate ESTATE TAX consequences • From potential family
Learn How Wills Do Not Avoid Probate
Learn How to Protect Your Home and Assets:
• From unnecessary PROBATE COSTS at death or incapacity
• From unfortunate ESTATE TAX consequences
• From potential family disputes
• Through effective planning strategies
No Cost, No Obligation. Call for Reservations, Seating is Limited
Topeka Rally for Life Kansas Capitol SW 8th & SW Van Buren, Topeka, KS
21Jan8:45 am3:45 pmTopeka Rally for Life8:45 am - 3:45 pm Kansas Capitol, SW 8th & SW Van Buren, Topeka, KS
(Thursday) 8:45 am - 3:45 pm
Kansas Capitol
SW 8th & SW Van Buren, Topeka, KS
United for mothers and babies!
Join special guests Kristen Day, Executive Director of Democrats for Life of America, and Kim Borchers, Kansas Republican National Committeewoman, as they stand united for mothers and babies! Life is truly the winning coalition!
8:30 a.m. – REGISTRATION – Get info on legislative activities, maps, lobbying, capitol tours, pro-life booths and more
9:00 a.m. – WORKSHOPS 1 &2 – 30-minute educational workshop sessions provided by KFL
10:30 a.m. – NON-DENOMINATIONAL RELIGIOUS SERVICE— Capitol workshop room
10:30 a.m. – Catholic Mass with Kansas Bishops at TPAC or stream it at www.livestream/ArchKCK/KSMassforLife
11:45 a.m. – MARCH FOR LIFE from TPAC to south steps of the state Capitol
12:15 p.m. – Rally for Life on the south Capitol steps
2:30 p.m. – WORKSHOPS 3 & 4 – 30-minute educational workshop sessions provided by KFL
All workshops will take place in the Capitol Visitor Center and are no charge.
Everyone is welcome for lunch any time between 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. for free-will donation in the Mater Dei Assumption Catholic Church basement. Mater Dei, 204 SW 8th Ave., is north and across the street from the Capitol.
If weather is a problem, the rally will be held on the 1st floor rotunda of the Capitol.
For details about the capitol building and parking information, visit www.kshs.org/p/kansas-state-capitol-plan-your-visit/18649. For emergency or media, please call KFL personnel Jeanne 785.383.8636 or Mary Kay 913.406.4446 Hosted by Kansans for Life
Women's Encouragement Day City Center Church 17500 West 87th Street Parkway, Lenexa, KS
23Jan8:30 am4:30 pmWomen's Encouragement Day8:30 am - 4:30 pm City Center Church, 17500 West 87th Street Parkway, Lenexa, KS
City Center Church
17500 West 87th Street Parkway, Lenexa, KS
Join us for a restful day in the middle of the school year set aside just for you! Our morning starts with coffee or tea while enjoying a light breakfast
Join us for a restful day in the middle of the school year set aside just for you! Our morning starts with coffee or tea while enjoying a light breakfast over good conversation with other mama's who homeschool. We will gather together to hear speakers, enjoy worship sprinkled throughout the day, and sit down to enjoy a delicious lunch – without any cleanup!!! You don't want to miss this day to be encouraged as local moms share what it looks like for them to say "it is well" as they dwell in the Lord through different seasons of life while homeschooling. We can't wait to see you! This year we will offer an online option for those that won't be joining us in person.
In-Person Prices
11/20–12/31 $20 Members/$30 Non-Members
1/1–1/15 $45 Everyone
Online Price (Must have a Facebook account)
11/20-12/31 $17 (everyone)
1/1–1/15 $37 (everyone)
The March for Life
29JanAll DayThe March for Life(All Day: friday) Washington DC National Mall
Washington DC National Mall
The March for Life is an inspiring, peaceful. Every year, tens of thousands of pro-lifers converge on the National Mall and march on Capitol Hill on the anniversary of the
The March for Life is an inspiring, peaceful. Every year, tens of thousands of pro-lifers converge on the National Mall and march on Capitol Hill on the anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling which legalized abortion in all 50 states.
Pre-Rally Concert with Matthew West: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Rally Program: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
March: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Rose Dinner (virtual): 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Caravans leave from the Kansas City area. https://www.missourilifecaravan.org/ Also local events. https://www.respectlifekcsj.org/march-for-life.html
MRL Prayer Vigil Ilus David Plaza 400 E 9th St, Kansas City, MO 64106
29Jan1:00 pm2:00 pmMRL Prayer Vigil1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Ilus David Plaza, 400 E 9th St, Kansas City, MO 64106
Ilus David Plaza
400 E 9th St, Kansas City, MO 64106
Come join us for a truly amazing experience. Join with pastors, students, and fellow pro-lifers to pray for the sanctity and protection of life in our country. Also, hear from
Come join us for a truly amazing experience. Join with pastors, students, and fellow pro-lifers to pray for the sanctity and protection of life in our country. Also, hear from various pro-life organizations that address issues such as education, legislation, lobbying, protesting, prevention, pregnancy, and healing.
Dress warm for cold and wind! Receive a goody bag to get informed and show off your pro-life pride!
Parking available at the Catholic Center Garage, 20 West 9th Street, KCMO
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Call KEMAH FLOWERS & COMPANY and send flowers with feelings that come straight from the heart. Make someone's day more memorable with this charming basket of pink lilies, roses, alstroemeria, carnations and freesia.
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Much like cultures are divided into diverse regions, this is often represented into their traditions and art. Each region, country and culture has individually developed contextual art, which give meaning to their culture. Many of them are very expressive and descriptive art where each one can draw their own interpretation and means.
South Africa's most advanced photography portal. Find photographers, cameras, lenses, courses and more here.
Troufotograaf in Gauteng-omgewing, Suid-Afrika. Foto's van onlangse bruide, albums, komplimente en kontakinligting.


Our experienced team of brokers bring passion and a dedication to customer satisfaction. We aren't here for just one transaction—we work to earn your business for a lifetime. The better we know you, the better we can help you find the right car at the right price. Whether it's new or used, financed or leased, we keep your best interests at heart.
Click on any broker's photo to learn more about him or her, and either call or use the contact form to send an email when you're ready to get started. If you live in the Ft. Collins or Colorado Springs areas, scroll down to see our brokers located in those areas.


It's actually a stupid statement, whether you mean it literally or figuratively, but it's been so often repeated over the last several decades and in so many places that it bears making the point again.
But people do react to their perception, and the picture they built in their heads of you is a reflection of how they perceive you. It's entirely reasonable to remember that every person you have ever met has a different perception of who you are. That perception can never be based on complete data and always comes coloured with whatever life experience and mental baggage they are bringing to it as well. That's a piece that most people miss. Who you think I am is in part based on your experience of the world and how that experience has shaped you. And you probably no more know the real me than I know the real you.
And most the time, that doesn't occur to most of us.
Perception is not reality but people react based on their perception of reality.
I do think it's reasonable, however, that once you learn of some person or group's perception of you that you examine that perception. Not so much to find out if you agree with it not, but to examine your actions and motivations to see if that perception might be reasonable in their eyes.
Let's say your perception of me is that I'm a giant jerk. What if the way I see things is that I'm constantly in a position of having to make quick and concise decisions without the ability to be able to explain those to everyone every time. If I examine that through your eyes, can I see how you might see it that way? Can I then soften my approach?
If your perception is that I'm slow to act and wishy-washy, but my reality is that I've strong preference for information gathering and making as informed decision on something as possible, and then, perhaps, changing course when new information becomes available, can I see how you might view me that way? Can I see that you'll be surprised if I pull you up short and cut you off on something when a decision changes because I've got new information?
In either case, I'm not responsible for your perception of me, but in both cases I am responsible for my presentation me.
And let's muddy the water a little more. Can both of those perceptions result from the same set of actions? If you only see the quick, decisive action, then maybe I come across as a giant jerk. If you only see the slow gathering of information, slow decision, and flip-flop, then maybe I seem slow to act and wishy-washy. If you see some piece of the slow gathering of information and after perception that I'm soft and weak but the decision, when it comes, is quick, decisive, and doesn't fit with your view, am I both wishy-washy and a giant jerk?
Are both perceptions true at the same time? Is neither? I don't know. I can't see inside your head.
Only I know the reality of who I really am. But I can also fool myself, and many people do.
Perception is not reality, but it does matter.


Creating a point of sale system is much easier than you may think – and it can save you a bundle. Anyone with a home computer already has the skills!
Any Windows PC, laptop or tablet will be fine. If it runs any version of Windows then you can use it. Get a touch screen monitor if you want to reduce customer checkout time but you can use any monitor you wish.
The usual devices are a barcode scanner, a cash drawer and a receipt printer. To find local suppliers just do a web search on "pos hardware" and the name of your city. See below for more details.
The installer is fast and easy to use. We will gladly assist with the setup if needed. Just call the toll free support line at 1-888-272-4874. A live one-on-one tutorial via remote connection is also available on request.
Some POS hardware vendors offer bundled packages usually consisting of a receipt printer, barcode scanner and cash drawer. Try DirectDial at 1-866-807-9832 and say Retail Plus sent you. There are a number of other add-ons if you have special requirements (more on those later).
This is a must in stores where customers expect a standard retail sales receipt. The most popular brands are Star Micronics and Epson. Get a thermal point of sale printer because they are smaller, faster, quieter and don't need cartridges. Skip this if you only want to print invoices and statements – those will print on any ordinary laser or inkjet printer.
Any model that connects to the back of a receipt printer will work and no driver installation is needed!
Ask the supplier to give you the right cable to connect it to your model of printer.
Retail Plus point of sale will let you scan a barcode at the checkout and where ever a stock code is wanted. Any USB scanner will work. Just plug it in and go. Once again, no driver installation needed. So easy.
This device will show your customers what item is being checked out, the total due and the change owing. Between sales it will display a message of your own design. Retail Plus supports the Epson and Logic Controls command sets. The Logic Controls LD9000 or the POSX XP8200U are good choices for price and reliability.
If your weighing is done at the checkout counter you will want one of these. The Mettler-Toledo Ariva, Viva, and XPress XRV are good choices for quality and affordability. They handle up to 30 pounds or 14 kilos and come in both counter top and in-counter models. Be sure to order the serial cable that goes with it. It uses a DB9 "null modem" serial cable and these are not usually found in regular computer shops.
If your weighing is done away from the checkout counter then you can use any scale that prints standard Random Weight Barcode labels. The label tells Retail Plus what it is and how much there is. The systems then adjusts inventory and calculates the price.
Retail Plus supports multiple payment systems like X-Charge, Vantiv, First Data, National Payment and Heartland. They all process cards quickly and offer an easy way to launch your own store branded gift cards. They also protect you from fraud with state of the art EMV security features. If you are still charging credit cards by swiping magnetic stripes then it is important to get on board with EMV as soon as possible. Call us for details.
Retail Plus includes links to this popular accounting package using Intuit's QB-XML data sharing standard. It allows you to transfer open invoices from Retail Plus to QuickBooks and make payments on them from the POS screen. You can post your POS revenues directly to your QB accounts and share both client and inventory info as well.
IfYou will want one of these if you have a large amount of barcoded stock that needs frequent counting. To count inventory quickly just walk along the shelves reading a barcode from each item and punch in the shelf count. When you are done transfer the information to your computer where Retail Plus can read it. You can now view a table that shows where the shelf count does not agree with the computer data. A good choice is the Metrologic ScanPal.
Our friendly technicians are here to help, and we are only a phone call away.
Give us a call and we'll guide you through everything you need. We can even install Retail Plus for you – just phone to schedule a live remote technician at no extra charge. Call 1-888-272-4874.
For overseas calls please dial +1 250-931-2555.