Jack meets the Billionaire

Short Excerpt Jack meets the billionaire

August 31, 2012

Gene saw me noticing, “These are from the collection of King Henry he boasted.”
There were guillotines and stretching racks and other devices all made of aged wood and black iron. Some had big weathered chain links hanging from them and leather straps. There were black iron turning wheels, the sight was gruesome.
Gene motioned to a large axe with a semi circular blade and an unusually long thick handle.
“This is my prized piece of the entire collection – the axe used to behead Katherine, Henry’s youngest bride.” Mounted next to the axe on a polished cherry post was a scrap of parchment. Next to it carved in gold lettering over black onyx was inscribed an onlooker. The parchment had faded to an almost illegible degree and was kept behind glass.
Gene said, “The onlookers account is sealed in helium just like the Declaration of Independence to preserve it.” I’ve had it authenticated by historian’s expert in the period. The words were transferred onto the stone.
The eerie account told of the misty morning when the helpless fair haired teenager, a mere girl forced to lay under the weight of the wealth of England, was led to her death.
I read the inscribed; Queen Katherine emerged just before 9 in the morning. A rain the night before had turned the courtyard muddy to our ankles. The streets containing the foul smell of chicken scratch and horse urine slurried into the mix. Gawkers’ pushed for position and strained to see the delicate fawn-like Katherine as she walked barefoot clothed only in a very plain and simple linen dress. The skin of her partially exposed breasts was so pale I could see the ghostly blue vein patchwork just beneath. The last time I had seen the young queen she was amazing, the most beautiful women in all England. Fancily dressed and bright riding in an open coach smiling sweetly waving to her subjects, I fancied the thought our eyes might have met for a second.
‘Spill her blood,’ a spectator called out. I thought what cowards this mob content to stand by and watch. Greedily clinging to their own lives – any one of which could be wrenched from him in a second.
This bitter gray morning the little Queen made her way slowly up to the old worn wooden steps pausing briefly, turning sad Doe eyes back to the crowd. A pitiful thin waif of a child so helpless and demure, Katherine continued up the stairs carefully gripping the railing as if it were her mothers hand, that somehow she might be swept away from all this.
Once upon the platform, facing the crowd full on, her tiny limbs were exposed and pale, a simple dress hung over her nearly shapeless frame. She wore no jewelry her one remaining vanity–long hair perfectly combed. The henchman placed her firmly against the block and with a blank and helpless stare Katherine moved her beautiful locks to one side exposing her slender neck.
I waited for her to jump to her feet and scream out in defiance, “What have I done that your precious King isn’t guilty of?”
Laying her head sideways on the block she awaited her fate in silence.
The black hooded killer appeared to us like a giant, standing over her a moment before even the handle of the axe and the blade had been taller than the living little queen. He drew back –
I heard the neck cracking then a thud as the girls head crashed to the platform floor. Steam rose from the blood pouring in a warm pool from the lifeless body slumped behind the block.
Gene Hobbs had acquired the only known account of the gruesome event; one can imagine that onlookers must have rushed to write on whatever they could find to recount the scene. The metaphor of the rich over the poor and the machinery of torture in the room made me shudder. Reading the narrative I felt sickened by the horror of the day, for lost innocence and the tyranny of the time. What a waste of a beautiful young life, what a disgrace for England.
Never a fan of the monarchy I never understood the concept that some human beings considered themselves born to privilege. Life itself is so unfair and as far as I was concerned the Royal Family was the most visible representation of that. They could shove it up there collective arses, I had no patience for them. My favorite part of history is when we kicked the English out of America and took it over.
“Betty let you decorate this room yourself,” I tried to joke to lighten my mood; these so called artifacts give me the creeps.”
Gene said, “my family thinks the decorating eccentric I’ll admit, but I’ll have you know the artifacts in this room cost me 14 million dollars to assemble, more than the young king’s entire inheritance of 1.5 million pounds from his father back in 1509.”
“Inflation”, I joked.
Gene continued, “I paid two million for the axe and another five million for the eyewitness account at auction, there were several bidders. Everything on the upper shelve is from the fifteen hundreds and authenticated by experts as owned by the Tudors.”
I thought to myself this guy is a real head case. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but there was something very sinister about Gene that went much deeper than his taste in decorating. A voice came over the intercom, it was one of Hobbs’s many staff of underlings and clingers on, “they are setting up for the senator in the entry hall Mr. Hobbs.”

Join me on my journey from editing to publication

Join me on a journey from contract signing, through the editing process, to publication. I will also be writing a second book-a sequel to Jack Canon-All In and telling everyone how that is going. I was very blessed to have the Lords hand helping me every step of the way in writing this book. I prayed for his loving hands to guide me word by word. I dedicate the book to my mom-who loved to write- and my dad. They both passed recently. I figured it would be better to sit down and write than to let myself think to much about the loss.

Adaptation to Exercise by Greg Sandora Naples Florida

Adaptation to Exercise by Greg Sandora Naples Florida

 

Adaptation to Existing Exercise Programs causes lack luster Fitness Results. Program Modification is needed to break through Training Plateaus. By Greg Sandora Advanced Certified Personal Trainer. The topic of adaptation to exercise is an interesting one and its ramifications seem to be much overlooked by both beginning and seasoned trainees alike. It is typical to see a new flock of highly charged newcomers join their local fitness center during January at New Years Resolution time. The new trainees are given a program at orientation and follow it for several weeks. At first the results seem spectacular, trainees muscles are sore, as they are experiencing the lameness one gets from using muscles they didn’t even know the had. Every new movement seems fresh and the body responds to the new routine by communicating a symphony of aches, pains and soreness that front desk gym staff and other well wishers assure is part of the sport of weight training. Lofty goals are set to finally get the body that’s been here to for only imagined. Thoughts of this year will be different fill the minds of the new comer and this time they vow to stick to the fight through thick and hopefully thin! The first few weeks efforts result in new found strength gains as trainees who began with say a 20lb. Bicep curl can after 6 weeks time manage 40lb. Gains in other areas are similar as all body parts on a comprehensive program get their respective share of the bounty. Note: Strength gains are first, visible changes like shaping and toning take longer. Then it happens, the inevitable disappointments, further gains seem elusive and/or even difficult to maintain. The hoped for new body does not show itself and the whole process starts to feel a lot more like lifting groceries up three flights of stairs than like the endorphin high promised. Standing on the winners podium at the 2012 summer games , to the sounds of our National Anthem and the roar of an adoring public seem harder to attain than once imagined and even outright impossible, despite forced positive thinking and affirmations. The trainee once bursting with enthusiasm decides to throw in the towel or wait for next year or maybe even try no carbs for a while. Carbs aren’t the enemy Why does this always happen to people, why is it so difficult to actually change the look of the body for the better? Why are the dreams of the summer beach body dashed within the first few months of a brand new gym membership? Why is it that millions flock to the local gym in January never make it to April? What is the answer? Recently during a training appointment at a local gym, the center happens to be in the process of moving, a lady next to my client on a treadmill quipped about the movers, “ How would you like to do that all day? You sure wouldn’t need the gym!” Here in lies the problem, people actually believe that hard work alone will yield impressive physical gains and body change. It is counter intuitive but that is wrong. If hard work alone could produce a consistently improved physique then every lumberjack or construction worker would look like a Mr. America. If Dieting alone were enough then everyone who ever ventured to eat less would lose only fat and keep it off. We all know this is not the case. What people do not realize is why it is not so, and ignorance is not bliss. Americans need to be more physically active and motivated to stick with their exercise routines. Our Health Care Crisis could be lessened if a great effort were made to educate and help every American to get in better shape. Kids need to be taught in the schools how and why the body does what it does with food, and the perils of inactivity. With a massive effort our National Health would improve and be the envy of the world within one generation. Reversing the spiraling mess we are now in. Folks this is not an option, we either get together and reverse this trend or we as a Nation suffer the consequences in health problems and all the associated medical and emotional costs. Why when we exercise do we not make the progress we would like and then end up frustrated and discouraged, even with sometimes years of hard work? The answer is this: The Body is a Survival Mechanism, and in its own miraculous fashion quickly adapts to a level of activity. Once used to its level of activity, no further progress will be realized Period. I know that is hard to believe and your probably shaking your head in disbelief right now, but this is the truth, I have seen people invest years with very little to show for it. I have been in this game for over 30 years and 15 of those years with a National Franchise Fitness Center and seen the wasted effort with my own eyes. I have also seen people make remarkable progress and there are key distinctions and strategies that make the difference. Read on and I will explain how you can get amazing and consistant results. For example in the case of the lumberjack, for the first couple of weeks the axe seems heavy and every muscle in his body aches. His arms get a little thicker and his shoulders and back get a bit broader. But, then he gets used to the work and stays about the same, he’s sore after a hard days work but nothing like those first few weeks. Ten years of hard work later and still no noticeable improvement over what appeared in the first few months. Sound familiar? Apparently his body adapted as a survival necessity to a task repeated often enough that survival of itself and therefore the species is assured. This adaptation to stress is a survival necessity and ranks way above looking good at the beach. In the case of our New Years Resolution Dieter the first few weeks see great results as the body rids itself of bloat and water weight mixed with yes a little fat loss. The weightloss then slows to a halt the body reset and further progress very difficult. Oh, if only we could decide the bodies order of priorities, then every 90 year old would have a six-pack, every high school kid a pair of 20 inch guns, no need for the billions America invests in diet therapy in an anything goes world regardless of the metabolic cost. Americans gorging at the troth want bodies they see existing only at newsstands, the stuff of science fiction, fabrications of the mind. Corporations make millions off this airbrushed, digitally enhanced media. Even the movies we watch are doctored frame by frame by technicians to make eyes bluer, torsos trimmer, veins pop, and other enhancements. My own entry into weight-training began after a disappointing taping of my right arm at 10 ¼ inches revealed the problem and that I was more than a few protein shakes away from the cure. Along with a likewise afflicted neighbor who helped scrape together the $8.95( we were 12 and only had paper routes), and after six weeks of meeting the postman the package arrived. We would spend three afternoons a week for the entire summer following the program. Seven years later on a pilgrimage to see the Night of the Champions, while eating at a Worcester Hotel restaurant, my friend who in his haste for autographs had locked his keys in his car, thought he saw Mr. Universe, (his course purchased for the 8.95), eating at the same restaurant. We all agreed that this 180 lb. 45 year old man sitting in a booth eating alone, although bearing a striking facial resemblance, albeit a jaundiced version, was not Mr. Universe. That evening faith restored, while sitting in a pitch black auditorium, lit only by a single bulb, center stage, the guy from the restaurant, metamorphisized into a 400 lb. terminator look-alike exo-skeleton covered by a thin plastic substance fabricated to look like human skin. Middle age not withstanding when the skin is thin enough and the lighting is just right anyone can look like their from a video game. Our group of four was so motivated to hit the weights after that viewing we barely stopped to smash the side window before driving home. I mean that’s what we all wanted to look like, and we knew you had to lift weights (today it’s called resistance training) to get it. The purpose of this article is to spread the word, incredible physical transformations are possible with the application of sound scientific principles and the aid of the miracles attached to ones own arms. As to the science, how can adaptation to exercise be overcome? How can gains be planned for and achieved? How can trainee’s goals be realized? How can motivation be maintained? The answer is Program Modification, changes in training stimulus must be of primary concern in order to by pass the survival mechanism of adaptation and instead make it work for us. By changing the stimulus and making the body continually seek to adapt to a new stress in a trainng situation we can use the bodies own defenses, its own absolute need to survive in our favor. You can create the body you’ve always wanted. Yes you do need to do resistance training and you may have already guessed it dieting alone ( in my humble opinion does not work ) can not get one to ones best. Progress becomes far easier when the body is tricked into performing its primary function, namely survival, and to our training benefit. Just imagine the concept of working out being that easy. New trainees would have no battle with motivation because no one and I mean no one leaves a winning table during a hot roll. When changes for the better are seen in the mirror the trainee is intoxicated with success and the desire to work out becomes even stronger, a good habit formed and the process self-perpetuating. Copyright

Check out my website   www.gregsandora.com  for information on my New Fiction

Jack Canon's American Destiny

JACK CANON - ALL IN

JACK CANON - ALL IN

Synopsis

　

JACK CANON is going to be President of the United States—no matter what!

His destiny: To someday have the power--to use the highest office in the land--to make things right.

Jack and his loyal group of friends are going to change America, but first they must break all the rules in Washington. Beginning with campaign finance law--ending with murder, Jack and company embark on a thrill ride that tests them at every turn!

America is like a once powerful locomotive that has left the tracks on a collision course with economic disaster. Ordinary Americans are suffering from the longest recession in United States History. Jack knows there’s plenty to go around and changes to a corrupt system will improve people’s lives. Born into great wealth and privilege, at a tender age Jack sees injustice that forever molds and drives his life's purpose. Now a three term Senator from Kentucky; making a second run for the Presidency, he thinks he knows what it’s going to take.

　

　

The price turns out to be far greater than he planned.
Focus on changing pressing social issues - concentration of wealth and energy in America--

makes powerful enemies. Wolves come bearing gifts; Jack gets involved with rogue billionaires, "Big Oil", even the mob. The heir to the fourth largest fortune in America has his eye on the Senator. During a major fundraiser at his lavish home, billionaire GENE HOBBS pulls Jack into the library for a meeting...

The ceilings are 30 feet high. Three walls hold books up to about the first 15 feet, just above a platform circles three quarters of the room. Opposite the door are five, floor to ceiling arched windows. Each is partially opened allowing the outside winter cold to fight with the heat in the room. On the landing above the bookshelves are housed various artifacts of torture.

"These are from the collection of King Henry," Gene boasted. Visible are guillotines, stretching racks and other devices all made of aged wood and iron. Some have big weathered chain links hanging and leather straps. There are black iron turning wheels, the sight is gruesome. Gene motioned to a large axe with a semi circular blade and an unusually long thick handle. "This is my prized piece of the entire collection - the axe used to behead Katherine, King Henry’s youngest bride." Mounted next to the axe on a polished cherry post was a scrap of parchment. Next to it carved in gold lettering over black onyx is inscribed--an onlooker. The

　

　

　

　

parchment was faded to an almost illegible degree and kept behind glass. The words transferred onto the stone told the eerie account of the misty morning when the helpless fair haired young

girl, forced to lay under the weight of the wealth of England, was led to her death. The inscribed read--Queen Katherine emerged just before 9 in the morning. A chilling rain the night before turned the courtyard muddy to our ankles. The streets contained the foul smell of chicken scratch and horse urine slurried into the mix. Gawkers pushed for position straining to see the delicate teenager as she walked barefoot clothed only in a plain linen dress. The exposed portion of her breasts so pale I could see the ghostly blue gray vein patchwork just beneath. The last time I had seen the young queen she was amazing, the most beautiful women in all England. Fancily dressed and bright riding in an open coach smiling sweetly waving to her subjects, I fancied the thought our eyes might have met for a second. ‘Spill her blood,’ a spectator called out. I thought what cowards this mob content to stand by and watch each greedily clinging to his own life, any one of which could be wrenched from him in a second. This bitter gray morning the little queen made her way slowly up to the old worn wooden steps, pausing briefly, turning sad Doe- Eyes back to the crowd. A pitiful thin waif of a child so helpless and demure, Katherine continued up the stairs, ascending carefully. Gripping the railing as if it could be her mother’s hand, hoping somehow she might be swept away from all this.

　

　

　

　

Once upon the platform, facing the crowd full on her limbs looked tiny, the simple dress hanging over her nearly shapeless frame. She wore no jewelry, her only adornment long hair--perfectly combed. The henchman placed her firmly in front of the block, with only a blank helpless stare Katherine moved her beautiful hair to one side exposing her slender neck. I waited for her to jump to her feet and scream out in defiance, "What have I done that your precious king isn’t guilty of?" Laying her head sideways on the block she awaited her fate in silence. The black hooded killer drew back – I heard her neck crack, then a thud as the girls head crashed to the platform floor. Steam rose from the blood pouring making a warm pool, the lifeless body slumped behind the block.

Gene Hobbs had acquired one of the only surviving accounts of the gruesome event. One can only imagine onlookers rushing to write on whatever they could find to recount the scene. The metaphor of the rich over the poor and the machinery of torture made Jack shudder. Reading the account he felt sickened by the horror of the day, for lost innocence and the tyranny of the time. What a waste of a beautiful young life, what a disgrace for England.

Jack cares deeply for his friends. One of his top staffers, LISA has almost given up on finding a man. Feeling lonely, frumpy and overwhelmed; her tears are flowing like rain during an emotional lunch date with her boss.

　

　

　

　

There’s gotta be more to life than her job, even if she is the best Political Strategist in Washington. In an effort to cheer Lisa up, Jack offers to take her to the mall to buy her a new outfit. He feels responsible for her feelings since he was the one who convinced Hobbs to buy SANDY a New Mercedes. Lisa was hurt, after all women talk and Lisa knows Jack’s not sleeping with her. He’s happily married; can he help it that his best friend Sandy, the office manager, just happens to be jaw dropping beautiful?

In a moment of weakness Jack bets Lisa that he can find her someone within a year; after all if he really cares for her, he reasons he’s gotta help. Besides…Lisa wants a baby! His baby…Invitro.

Watch as Jack and Lisa, are greeted by a beautiful woman at a salon during their trip to the mall…Close up her face looked smooth as silk like it was in soft focus. The delicate features reminded of a new fawn with giant eyes and a turned up nose. Jack thought the lighting must be magnificent so he looked over at Lisa to test the theory.

Lisa shot a look like 'don’t you dare compare me to her.' It wasn’t the lighting. The beautiful woman is DAPHNE. Jack ends up hiring her to intimidate and manage the press on the campaign trail.

Jack has the kindest heart, but when Lisa turns up dead, he is forced to fight back using extreme measures. A nationwide manhunt reveals the unthinkable—the President of the United States has ordered the murder to derail Jack’s campaign.

　

　

　

Jack calls on his head of security, TIP, an ex-agency operative to clean up the mess. America’s most lethal assassin is unleashed to exact vengeance on the three men responsible. Disguised as an older person in a wheelchair, Tip sets up and executes the guilty; first, Gene Hobbs, then Mob Boss, TOMMY SANTORO, and finally the President himself. Killing President GIL BARKER is no easy task. Framing Tommy Santoro for the murder—Priceless. The getaway is filled with suspense as Washington goes into chaos. Tip must go to plan B to escape.

Jack struggles with the compromise of ideals, and realization as President they never end. Despite obstacles, Jack proves stronger, determined to fight; ready to risk it all for the greater good. Each dilemma leaves Jack and his loyal team choosing again. Take the journey of a man with charisma, contacts, good looks and a fun loving attitude; who still takes the time to listen and help staff members with their problems. Crime and corruption are interlaced with tender moments of relationship, family, illness, and life on the campaign trail. The pace is quick, and we are left to wonder what lies ahead. This heartfelt story will have you burst out laughing,

make you cry, get you excited, even angry; as you find yourself wanting Jack Canon for President! Go behind the scenes with a group of friends and find out what it really takes to win the White House.

　

　

　

　

We all wish for a better life; and dream of making a difference. The fat cats have been hoarding wealth for two centuries, the system is corrupt and nobody but Jack has the guts to change it. In an age of suffering Jack Canon brings hope. You will believe! Jack is a Presidential Candidate that woman fall head over heals for and men want to be like. You’ll forgive all he must do to break the cycle of greed in America. You’ll be routing for Jack as he fights fire with fire so hot the pages singe. You won't want to miss a thing.