Melissa’s Cozy Teacup

head on over to The Scarlett Rose Garden to watch some great videos on how to pinup your hair like Rosie, do Victory Rolls, and retro make up. It’s fun!

Our government was/is supposed to be created by the people, for the people. That was all blown away when Congress held a secret meeting on March 13th of this year. Please watch the following videos and be educated about how your rights are being stripped away. Americans have enjoyed unpresidented freedoms for the last 300 or so years. If we don’t stand up for our rights, we could end up like China and North Korea.

What is REX-84?

Rex 84, short for Readiness Exercise 1984, was a plan by the United States federal government to test their ability to detain large numbers of American citizens in case of massive civil unrest or national emergency. Exercises similar to Rex 84 happen periodically.^[1] Plans for roundups of persons in the United States in times of crisis are constructed during periods of increased political repression such as the Palmer Raids and the McCarthy Era. For example, from 1967 to 1971 the FBI kept a list of persons to be rounded up as subversive, dubbed the “ADEX” list.^[2]

According to scholar Diana Reynolds:

The Rex-84 Alpha Explan (Readiness Exercise 1984, Exercise Plan; otherwise known as a continuity of government plan), indicates that FEMA in association with 34 other federal civil departments and agencies conducted a civil readiness exercise during April 5-13, 1984. It was conducted in coordination and simultaneously with a Joint Chiefs exercise, Night Train 84, a worldwide military command post exercise (including Continental U.S. Forces or CONUS) based on multi-emergency scenarios operating both abroad and at home. In the combined exercise, Rex-84 Bravo, FEMA and DOD led the other federal agencies and departments, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Secret Service, the Treasury, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Veterans Administration through a gaming exercise to test military assistance in civil defense.

The exercise anticipated civil disturbances, major demonstrations and strikes that would affect continuity of government and/or resource mobilization. To fight subversive activities, there was authorization for the military to implement government ordered movements of civilian populations at state and regional levels, the arrest of certain unidentified segments of the population, and the imposition of martial rule. ^[3]

Existence of a master military contingency plan, “Garden Plot” and a similar earlier exercise, “Lantern Spike” were originally revealed by journalist Ron Ridenhour, who summarized his findings in “Garden Plot and the New Action Army.”^[4]

Rex 84 was mentioned during the Iran-Contra Hearings in 1987, and subsequently reported on by the Miami Herald on July 5, 1987. ^[5]A number of websites and alternative publications that span the political spectrum have hypothesized upon the basic material about Rex 84, and in many cases hyperbolized it into a form of urban legend or conspiracy theory. Rex 84 is sometimes cited as an extension of the fictional King Alfred Plan, a strategy to detain African Americans. Nonetheless, the basic facts about Rex 84 and other contingency planning readiness exercises–and the potential threat they pose to civil liberties if fully implemented in a real operation–are taken seriously by scholars and civil liberties activists.^[6]

CHAPTER FOUR

Devlin watched as the sun came up over the eastern plains. He had been up all night pacing back and forth in front of the fire place in his room. The argument at dinner last night only increased his aunt’s resolve to give everything away to That Woman. How had she done it? How had she been able to wheedle her way into his aunt’s life and into her/ his fortune? What now? He could not stand idly by and risk losing the family estate to a stranger no matter how captivating she was or how beautiful she looked when she was flustered. She seemed to be flustered around him quite a bit. The idea came to Devlin as a surprise at first. Why hadn’t he thought of it sooner? Could he pull it off without getting caught up in her web of lies? His tired body wanted to rest after a night of anxiety ridden pacing. He sat down in the wing back by the fireplace. Not to rest, but to plan. This was something he had done before, he could do it again. The only difference was that the stakes were higher. What of it? He was a man of means, used to being challenged and used to getting his way. He rarely disappointed himself by not getting what he wanted and this would be no different. In fact, his plan would get him everything he wanted and a little more, just because he could.

Feeling energized by his new plan, he rang for breakfast and hopped into the shower. He was done and shaving when Myers knocked on his door with the tray. She set everything up by the window as was his custom and left without a word. Devlin finished his routine and sat down to enjoy his spinach and cheese, egg white omelet with whole grain toast on the side and strawberry jelly. Black coffee and the morning paper helped to greet the morning and make it some what bearable to be awake at this hour after not having slept all night. Despite his lack of sleep, Devlin decided to keep his appointments for the day which meant beginning the day at the Garden of the Gods country club. After dressing in wool slacks and a cashmere sweater over a button down shirt, Devlin went downstairs to don his coat and scarf and headed out the front door and into his vintage DB5 Aston Martin. As he drove to the club he kept thinking about Ruby, his aunt, and about how much had happened in the short amount of time since he had met Ruby yesterday morning. In a little over twenty four hours she had gone from a pretty stranger in the park, and possible conquest, to a house mate but still possible conquest. He shifted the gears a little harder than he intended just thinking about all the trouble she could cause now that she was in residence. She would most likely chop the house up into apartments and rent it to strangers who would steal the fixtures and ruin the floors. He growled at himself, no matter how hard he tried to stay angry at her, his mind kept wandering to the way she smiled, when she had smiled at him, before she started scowling at him, which seemed to be all she did since he first met her in his aunt’s hall.

She was curvy and beautiful, slightly plump, and as he tried to formulate the rest of his plan, all he could do was think about was how pretty she was and how flustered he made her. It made him smile to think about her. He was still smiling at the thought of her when he turned his car into the club’s drive way. He was hoping a good game of racket ball would clear his head so he could think later. He handed his keys to the valet and entered the club and checked in before heading to the locker room. Charles was already there and changing into his shorts when Devlin set his bag on the bench between them and began to fill in his friend on all that had happened since their last match as he changed his clothes and they headed to the court and began playing.

“You’re in love!”

“Charles, don’t be ridiculous.”

“No, I’m serious.”

“So am I. She’s a liability that’s all. Someone I need to deal with if I’m going to keep that house in the family. I’d marry her to do it. I would.”

“What, did you have to invent a reason to marry just so that you wouldn’t look like you had caved?”

“What?!”

“You met this girl. She got to you. You’re thinking, ‘Hey maybe she could be the one.’

But you have such a reputation as a ladies’ man you can’t just do the dating thing and marry her so you invent some drama to make it all worthy of the reputation of the Great Devlin Black. You can’t just go out and find a girl, there has to be a thing. A catch. You can’t just fall in love you have your reputation to think about.”

“You’re so full of it!” Devlin shot the angry words at his friend and hit the ball harder. He had come here to think and to get some support for his plan, not to be picked apart and analyzed.

“No, man, think about it. You have spent time in Europe, Asia, India. You have done business all over the world and you’ve had pretty women in every country but you’ve never needed or supposedly had a reason to marry any of them until now.”

“Focus, Charles, it’s about the house. The house that my great-grandfather built. The house that was supposed to be mine.”

“Please. You have enough money to build a replica of that place ten times over and still have enough left over to keep generations of Blacks happy and gainfully unemployed.”

The growl started deep within Devlin’s chest. Charles never had a chance. Suddenly it was impossible to keep up with Devlin who seemed determined to take his anger at Charles’ words out on the racquetball, and his friend.

“Hey, ease up.” Charles tried to protest but it only drove Devlin’s anger deeper.

Whack, grunt, splat. Devlin looked over to see his friend sprawled out on the court floor, unconscious. He cursed to himself under his breath and pushed the buzzer for one of the club’s first aid techs. A few moments later, Charles was sitting in a club chair with an ice pack on his face glaring at Devlin. It had been serious enough for the tech to call in the club doctor but Charles and declined a trip to the E.R.

“Here, let me take a look,” offered Devlin.

“You’re not going to punch me now are you?”

“Shut up and let me look.” Devlin felt about an inch tall for what he had done but did not know how to make it up to his friend. At the time of the incident, he wasn’t sure with whom he had been more angry, himself or Charles. The fact that he took his anger out on his friend only made it worse when he had been hurt. He had only wanted his friend to lose, not to be injured. He pulled back the ice pack and winced at what he saw. Charles’ eye was now swollen shut and the skin around it was beginning to darken. He would have a nice shiner before too long. Devlin’s heart sank. He offered to give his friend a ride home. When they had changed and were getting ready to leave, the club manager asked to speak to Devlin in private. Charles waited patiently.

“What was that all about?” He asked when Devlin finally emerged from the manager’s office, his face a barely contained storm of anger.

“I’ll tell you in the car. Let’s go.”

Devlin eased his friend into the front seat, tipped the valet and climbed into the driver’s seat and took off, losing himself in his thoughts.

“Dev?”

Devlin smiled at the old nickname. They had come up with them when they were younger thinking their given names were too stiff for a couple of ten year olds. Dev and Chuck.

“I’ve been suspended. Unsportsmanlike behavior. One month.”

“One month! But I’m fine.”

“That’s not the issue. They reviewed the game from the tape. You know they have cameras everywhere. Even though I didn’t deliberately aim for your head, I hit the ball too hard for you to avoid it. I’m sorry, Charles. I only wanted to win. I never meant to hurt you.”

“I know, I know.”

Devlin drove through the familiar streets of downtown Colorado Springs. His friend lived in one of the over priced (in Devlin’s opinion) lofts that lacked the character and charm of the older neighborhoods. Some developer a few hears back, had bought up some of the older buildings, stripped them of their charm and built industrial looking lofts within their historic walls. Devlin hated the exposed heating and air conditioning vents and the fact that you had a really great view of the police communications tower. For almost a million dollars he could find a hundred properties he liked better that had more room, character and no bums relieving themselves on the sidewalk in front of the building. His car bottomed out on the entrance to the under ground parking but he didn’t say a word.

Charles looked at him in disbelief.

“Wow, you must feel really guilty.”

“Let’s just get you upstairs.”

He was sure it would hurt too much to make laughing at his friend worth it, so Charles let it go and they rode the elevator in silence. Once inside, Charles flopped down on his leather sofa and turned on the t.v. looking for a game as Devlin refilled the ice in the baggie for his eye and grabbed them both a bottled water from the fridge.

“Here” he grunted at Charles offering both items to him without much fanfare. He sat down in a chair and focused on the game for a while as they both sipped in silence.

“I think you’re right.” Devlin waited for his admission to sink in and for his friend to react. Charles sat still and waited for his friend to continue. These moments were few and far between so he thought it would be best to just let his friend get it all out at once.

“I do want the house, but it’s more than just that. How can one chance meeting make a man feel this way. It’s more than just wanting a one-nighter with her, but why? Why is she different than the others that I’ve had. And let me tell you, there’s been more than a few.”

Charles rolled his eyes at that one but let it pass. The great womanizer, Devlin Black was having an epiphany. He would have gladly suffered two black eyes not to miss this.

Devlin went on, “She’s tall and red headed. When have I ever gone for a tall red head?”

Charles shrugged knowing it wouldn’t matter but feeling like he need to interact a little.

“I haven’t even really sat down to get to know her. There was dinner last night but that turned into a fight and I left this morning before she was up. She probably wouldn’t want anything to do with me now anyway after all that’s happened and I still have my doubts about her motives.”

Charles cleared his throat. “Maybe you should go home and get to know her.”

Devlin looked at him.

“She may not be as bad as you think. Obviously there is something about her that appeals to your aunt or she wouldn’t have done what she did. I don’t think your aunt was trying to hurt you, Devlin. Look at all she has done for you over the years. She has always been involved in charitable organizations and loves helping other people. Maybe she thought you had proven that you can take care of yourself and she just wanted to help out this woman-”

“Ruby.”

“Ruby, and give her a chance.”

“Well, that is what Aunt Vi said last night.”

“There you go. Why didn’t you believe her?”

“Because she’s getting older and I had been gone for a while and I thought she had been taken advantage of by Ruby.”

“You need to trust you aunt’s judgment.”

“Maybe. Ruby’s not going anywhere and the doctor said you needed to be monitored for twenty-four hours so I’m staying until Becky can come by and stay with you. If Ruby is still at Vi’s when I get back I’ll make things better. If not, well, there’s my answer.”

Charles looked at the clock. It wasn’t even eleven. It was going to be a long day until six when Becky could get there after work. His girlfriend’s boss wouldn’t let her have the day off to look after him but he knew she would be here as soon as she could leave work.

“Why don’t you order some food then if you’re going to stay.”

“Chinese?”

“Chinese.”

Devlin picked up the phone and speed dialed their favorite place.

“They’ll be here in about 30-45 minutes.”

They sat in silence watching the game, waiting for the food.