Too Late (1984 hits)
Category: UberMadness!Rating: 0.91 on 103 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Uber Madness 2004 (View user info) at 2004-05-03 09:30:12 EDT
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This post is officially part of UberMadness!. Click here for more information on the rules and restrictions. |
Entry 1
When I first saw my title, I immediately started to think about and formulate this post. It called to me and its siren song was strong, very strong. It wouldn't stop and I was finally lured into writing while sitting at work pondering the day's events.This is neither fact nor fiction. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent and there is absolutely no science fiction or fantasy to be found. No portrayals of people on their death beds, and no violence whatsoever. I am bucking the Ubermadness system and relying on the strength of a single, simple post. I do this because I believe that if you, dear reader, care to venture into these writings; it could change your life.
I am hoping it will.
You will probably know who I am while you read this post. I do not care. You may say, "There's no way a post like this can win". I do not care. I have grown fond of Ubersite over the past year or so and I feel that I have made some friends here even if they are just "Uber friends" or "cyber friends" or whatever. There are quality people here. Amongst the rocks and dirt there are diamonds, my friends. Diamond shining brightly for all to see, if you can just get to them
I will appreciate it if you can find the time to read this. Maybe you will take something out of it and make your world a better place. God knows we could all use it if the world surrounding us were better. If you like this, you may just vote for it. If you dislike it then you'll vote for my esteemed competitor whom I happen to feel is a very fine person even though I know little about him. Either way, if you get through this then I feel it was all worthwhile. If just one or two of you our there actually change the way you behave or feel about your world then I will have succeeded in making the world a better place to live in.
I will shed more than my share of tears before I finish writing this because this topic brings memories to me that I haven't experienced in years. It also brings to the forefront many lost hopes, dreams, and ambitions that I cannot get back.
It's too late for me, for most of this; it may not be too late for you. This is the advice of a man looking back across an expanse of years too great to traverse safely without emotional turmoil. Yet, I write on anyways.
It will be too late before you know it. I am asking you to trust me here. Life is fleeting, and as it moves it takes everything with it. It takes your hopes, your dreams, your aspirations. Do these things before it is too late.
Patch things up with your parents.
If your relationship with your parents is a rocky road, patch that road before the holes become too big. I know it is hard sometimes to live up to the expectations that your parents have for you. They see you in a whole different way than you see yourself. It just doesn't matter in the long run. Make things nice between you. If there are hurdles in your relationship with them that you must jump in order to do this, then just jump them. Don't wait until they are dead to regret not spending enough time with them, or not going to lunch with them because you don't feel like it. Someday they will be gone forever and you will be staring at a headstone, crying, wondering how it all went wrong. No amount of flowers at that headstone will atone for the regret you feel for not making your parents your friends. Make the tears you shed in their death worth the time you spent with them in life.
Stop smoking or drinking to excess right now.
Smoking and drinking to excess will kill you. This includes cigarettes, marijuana, cigars, hard alcohol, beer, whatever. Your body is not designed to handle overload of anything, especially things that are not good for you. I've seen too many people become sick because of these things. I've seen alcohol and cigarettes ravage my mother. I've seen good friends hospitalized for ailments related to smoking and drinking. I think about how Cancer has affected my life and the lives of others around me. Your body can handle things in moderation. Party moderately if you have to. I have the occasional beer and I smoke very lightly. I am working on eliminating these things from my life. The last thing I want to see is my family standing around me as I lay in a hospital bed dying from cancer or liver ailments. This one is important. What you do, your kids or friends will want to do. You can save lives by stopping, your own included.
Show compassion to those around you.
All too often we go through our busy days ignoring those around us. I plead with you to stop and notice the people that are there. The people you work with, the people you interact with on a daily basis, people here at Ubersite, your family, your friends. If someone is in obvious need of help, see what you can do for them. It doesn't matter if you get something in return or nor. Nothing will make you feel better than a little altruism every once in awhile. Help someone for the heck of it. Do something nice for someone you don't know. There are some people who subscribe to the motto "what comes around goes around". This works for being nice as well. Give freely and it will be returned upon you tenfold. There is an invisible network of good out there that you can only experience if you think and act like a good person. I guarantee you that this is the case. Try it for a month and see what happens.
Go visit your grandparents.
Do you have grandparents that are still alive? I don't. I regret not getting to know them. Senior citizens are a vital part of what's happening around us today. Get to know your parents parents. Draw off of their wisdom and experience. Call them if you can't visit. Write them if you can't call. You will be a better person for it. If you have no grandparents, visit a nursing home. Imagine you are a senior citizen in a nursing home. You have no spouse, your kids are all off making their lives, and all your friends are dead. You sit there, in your rocking chair day in and day out with nobody to keep you company. You stare at the TV all day waiting to die. No joy. No comfort. No life. You have a real opportunity to bring light into someone's life and enrich your own. Visiting a nursing home will bring joy into the lives of people who have none. Your consideration and company will be appreciated. Please, please do this.
Be someone's mentor.
Take someone under your wing and care for them. Teach them. Show them how nice the world can be. Be a big Brother or Big Sister. Help with a Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop. Get involved in your local community and help others who need you. There are people out there who need you. More people than you can ever imagine.
Believe in something and excel in it.
Get involved in something and believe in it. Maybe it's your job, or religion, or sports. Whatever it is, choose something that you can really sink your teeth into and take a big bite. Go wild with it. Be the best ever at it. Skateboarding? Rollerblading? Poker? Monopoly? Whatever it is, take it as far as you can with as much vigor and resolve that you have. Become accomplished and show others how they can too. Don't reach your latter years wallowing in regret, covered with "what ifs" and "how comes".
Give.
Give freely of yourself. Give money to charity. If you have no money to give, give time. You don't have to give much but every little bit helps. Throw a few quarters in the Salvation Army kettle at Christmas. Put your change in the little "Save the animals" box at the convenience store. Spend some time dishing out the food at a shelter at Thanksgiving. There are many unfortunate circumstances out there that people get caught up in through no fault of their own, it may be too late for them, but it's certainly not too late for you. Do something about it.
Cherish your significant other.
As humans, we all have this need to be loved by other humans. It doesn't matter who that significant other is. It could be your wife or husband, your boyfriend or girlfriend, it doesn't matter. Have some consideration and love for this person. Do things for them. Surprise them every once in awhile. Forgive them their faults and ask forgiveness for yours. No lies, no falsehoods, no anger. Understand that your significant other feels the same way about you that you do about them. There is love there and it is a shame to cloud that love with anger, fear, suspicion, or regret. Cherish the moments that you are together. Be thankful that there is someone whom you can walk through life with that shares your happiness, your grief, your depression, your elation. As a matter of fact, go hug that person right now. Tell them how much they are appreciated and loved. Look into their eyes when you say it and be sincere. If you are at work, pick up the phone and call them. Do it now before you are done with this post. They are much more important than any of this is.
Don't take children for granted.
Whether you have kids or not, you should find time to spend around children during the course of your week. If you have nieces, nephews, younger cousins, it doesn't matter. Children are the light of our lives and to disregard the beautiful presence that they have in life is truly a shame. If you have your own kids, go kiss them right now. Again, do not wait until you are done reading this. The post can wait, the kids cannot. I spend most of my time here on Ubersite in the dead of night. I always make sure that I tuck my kids in and tell them how much I love them. They tell me they love me too. It makes my life worth living that much more. Parents do not ignore your children. Play games with them, eat with them and take them on walks or trips. Cuddle with them and make them feel safe. Let me reiterate that, make them feel safe. One day they will do the same for you. Children are the most important things in our lives because they are the future. If you don't believe me now, there will come a time in your life when you do. There is nothing I cherish more than a smile on the face of my children. Nothing.
These may seem like things that you cannot do. They may seem like a mountain before you. Initially you may not be willing to do these things. I am here to tell you that YOU can make a difference in the lives of others. You can have real impact on your world and the world of others. You can make the world a better place to live. Please try...........
..........before it's too late.
Thank you all. from the bottom of my heart.
- VS -
Entry 2
What is the significance of a single second in time?
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (6 AUGUST 2003 12:04:47 AM)
"You ready to do dis son? You ready? You fuckin' READY?"
"I dunno if this is a good idea, Rashawn."
"Too late, son. Too late."
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AURORA, ILLINOIS (15 APRIL 1976 3:11:23 PM)
Mike O'Connor, a thirty two year old roofing expert working for a man he hates on what was supposed to be his day off picks up a single grain of dust from a shingle with his boot and unwittingly carries it up a ladder and onto the roof of a house he is working on. He deposits the grain of dust, unknowing, onto a beam that frames the attic of the house, but he has other concerns.
Mike had planned on getting together with his estranged wife, Sylvia, that afternoon to try one last time to patch things up. He called her to tell her that he needed this job, and that he had to work today. He assured her that he would meet up with her that evening and take her out to dinner.
Too late. At 5:56:47, Sylvia will be turning the ignition in her beat up Chevy and will be leaving town for good, thorougly fed up with Mike's shit. In the back seat, snuggled up against a worn out blanket and unaware of the significance of the moment, their four year old daughter Susan dreams of horses.
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NEAR ORLÉANS, FRANCE (22 AUGUST 1954 12:15:04 PM)
Saul and Ethel Goldberg say their wedding vows in a field - a field in which ten years to the day has passed since Saul accepted the surrender of an entire unit of German soldiers as the Allied forces swept through eastern France. In attendance is one of those soldiers, Gerhard Straussen. Straussen credits Saul with saving his life and the two will be lifelong friends.
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O'HARE AIRPORT - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (5 AUGUST 2003 11:56:58 PM)
Frank Perkins, an insurance investigator from New York who, according to his sister, gives no consideration to his personal life, arrives at O'Hare airport six hours later than originally planned thanks to mechanical problems in his airplane. Having already rescheduled his meeting for tommorrow, he intends to spend the night at the Raddison hotel. For Frank, it seems no different than any other night - he spends more time on the road than he does at home.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (5 AUGUST 2003 9:15:18 PM)
Susan O'Connor, a thirty one year old English teacher, is out on a blind date. She finds the man she was set up with to be boorish and exceedingly dull. Her only consolation is the steak she is eating. Finally, she thinks to herself, a place where medium rare is actually medium rare.
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (5 AUGUST 2003 10:35:22 PM)
Alice Sullivan is sitting in the back seat of a taxicab, swearing profusely into a cellphone. She is running late for her flight to Washington D.C., and wants nothing more out of life than to get to her house, light scented candles, slip into a warm bath, and masturbate until she is ready to sleep.
The driver of the taxi cab, Ali Massouf, knows the best route to O'Hare airport, and is not taking it. He generally earns an extra two dollars per fare by simply going the long way.
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AURORA, ILLINOIS (5 AUGUST 2003 7:45:13 PM)
Ruth Stein, the daughter of Saul and Ethel Rosenberg, is pulling apart boxes in her attic looking for her mother's wedding dress. Her daughter, Alyssa, has just called to tell Ruth that after
four years, her boyfriend Joshua FINALLY popped the question and she has accepted.
As she looks fondly at the dress and wonders how romantic it must have been to marry in France, a grain of dust that has sat undisturbed on a beam in her attic for twenty seven years is gently dislodged by the commotion and comes to land on her shoulder.
Later, as she gives her husband Jonathan a goodbye hug and wishes him well on his trip, she transfers the grain of dust to his suit.
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O'HARE AIRPORT - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (5 AUGUST 2003 11:21:03 PM)
A grain of dust floats through the air, having long divested itself from Jonathan Stein's suit. It floats through the air, here in the wake of a passing traveler, there carried along on a draft by the airport's climate control system.
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O'HARE AIRPORT - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (5 AUGUST 2003 11:23:04 PM )
Jeffrey Lewis, of Shreveport, Louisiana, inhales a grain of dust and pauses to wipe his nose. He is unaware that he is now moving through the airport exactly one second later than he otherwise would have been. His mind is occupied with trying to recollect the name of an actress he recently saw in a movie.
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O'HARE AIRPORT - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (5 AUGUST 2003 11:26:22 PM)
Alice Sullivan, running through the airport in an attempt to make her flight on time, plows full force into Jeffrey Lewis. Her laptop computer hits the ground and its LCD screen cracks open. By the time she and Jeffrey have extracted themselves from each other, Alice is now running three mintues later than she otherwise would have been. She makes it to the terminal.
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O'HARE AIRPORT - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (5 AUGUST 2003 11:34:01 PM)
Too late. Despite Alice's vehement protests, Delta airlines has no interest in delaying Flight 401 for a single passenger. After talking matters over with the airline, she finds to her dismay that she will have to wait until the next morning to take a flight to Reagan International Airport. No bubble
baths tonight, she will have to settle for a hotel room. She calls her sister, Sarah, and tells her that she will not be coming in tonight.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (5 AUGUST 2003 11:42:00 PM)
Sarah Sullivan, freed from the obligation of picking her sister up at the airport, instead decides to drive to the local convenience store to pick up a pack of cigarettes. Leaving the parking lot, she is having difficulty making a turn onto the road due to the thick traffic. Eventually, a kind
hearted soul, Susan O'Connor, waves her in with a smile.
Susan O'Connor is thinking about her date. She is thinking that perhaps he was not so bad after all. Perhaps, as her psychologist tells her, she holds men up to the impossible standard of an idealized father figure she has not seen since the age of four.
Two lights later, Sarah Sullivan makes it through a yellow light, and Susan O'Connor arrives at the intersection too late. She will have to wait.
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O'HARE AIRPORT - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (6 AUGUST 2003 12:04:17 AM)
Alice Sullivan sits down on an airport shuttle next to Frank Perkins. She is his type - lean, brunette, business suit. Frank strikes up a conversation and eventually asks her if she will join him in the hotel bar for a drink.
What the hell, she thinks, and accepts his invitation. Neither Frank nor Alice is aware that they have exactly four months, eleven days, seventeen hours, six minutes, and thirty eight seconds between now and the moment that Frank will get down on one knee and propose to her.
Again, she will accept. What the hell.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (5 AUGUST 2003 11:53:15 PM)
The light at the intersection Susan O'Connor is waiting at turns green; she puts her foot on the gas and her Nissan Altima moves forward.
At right angles to her line of travel, a nineteen year old boy named Brandon Appleby has accidentally dropped a cigarette in his lap. By the time he looks up, it is too late. He slams on his breaks but still plows into Susan O'Connor's car at a speed of thirty-five miles per hour.
Police are dispatched to the scene. By the time they arrive four minutes later, it will be too late.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (6 AUGUST 2003 12:05:13 AM)
Rashawn Wallace and Leroy Hill enter a 7-11 store with the intention of committing an armed robbery. The nearest police car has already been dispatched to the scene of Susan O'Connor's death, and for that reason it takes the police an additional one minute and thirty seconds to arrive at the scene of the crime.
Too late. Rashawn and Leroy are already running. The police will come close to catching them... from Leroy's perspective, terrifyingly close. He will make it around a corner and hide behind a dumpster with a single second to spare. The police will drive by the dumpster, and speed around the next
corner looking for him.
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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA (6 AUGUST 2003 6:13:22 AM)
Sylvia O'Connor makes the hardest phone call of her life. She has not spoken to her ex-husband Michael in over twenty five years, and now she has to tell him that he will never see his daughter again.
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BOSTON, MASSACHUSSETS (17 JUNE 2008 3:52:41 PM)
Leroy Hill, scared straight from a life of crime by his close brush with arrest, walks across the stage of Boston College, having graduated with honors. He will, over the course of his life, become famous for his anthropological fieldwork with the remaining hunter-gatherers of the Kalahari desert. Future generations of anthropology undergraduates will find his work to be required reading.
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PERTH, AUSTRALIA (1 JANUARY 2005 12:00:06)
Mary Elizabeth Perkins, the first child of Frank and Alice Perkins, is also the first child born into the world in the year 2005. As for what the world has in store for Mary... who knows?
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The average adult human being lives to the age of seventy-six years. During those seventy six years, approximately 2.4 billion seconds will pass.
How important is any given one? How many divergent eternities exist within each? How many have you spent on this story?
Weren't you counting?
Too late.
Entry 1:
bargled
Bigmike
BLITZKREIG_BOB
coley
Death_Metal_Dude
Dufflady
engine13
fionavar
griffsrgr8
Heimdallsman
Herpes
iddqd
itchy
jeetkunetony
Kristen
loki
magical_invisible_torso_man
Orange-San
PeopleAreStrange
Quartermain
QueenAshlee
Rixes
Scott_James
Totally_useless
Trout
Walrus_King
Whiskey_Sour
wijormiclat
WiKi
William_Q_Percy
21 eligible votes (30 total) *
Entry 2:
AlwaysAnEagle
Anansie
Anjie
antluvdog
AshK
Awko
Chronic
Circe
conrad
Falconer
fell-8-me
firefly
Genko
Gent
geofroley
godking
hcp28
humor_me
iamhewhoisnot
Ingsoc
Insanethemind
jimbo
JMG114
JohnGalt
Judoka
kimmy02721
littledan
Loren1
lucid
Melany
Method
Mr_Insanity
My_dixie_wrecked
mystiamoon
Nicole3
polyamorousaj
potatomanjack
Razor
SausageKing
SixThousand
spacemonkey
spedmonkey
Titinita
transcendent
ugaly
vaya
volklcess
whataefag
WillZone
YELLOW-MAN
Yes
43 eligible votes (51 total) *
* Eligible votes are those made by users who had either (A) posted 3+ messages OR (B) written 100+ [lowered from 750+] reviews as of the beginning of the UberMadness! competition.
User Reviews
Submitted by godking (user info) at 2004-05-05 10:29:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Oops, sorry I didn't reply sooner. I couldn't remember the title, so I had to look through the posts again. The story that this reminded me of was the second entry titled "Circles" in the round of 16.
Not exactly the same, but similar.
GK
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Submitted by author of post two at 2004-05-03 09:59:52 (#)
Ranking: 0
godking, what other UberMadness post was similar to this? I've read every single one from the screw the pyramid all the way to here, and haven't seen a single story about chaos theory.
Submitted by bart (user info) at 2004-05-05 00:01:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Damn, my vote missed the cutoff. I went for #2.
These were both awesome. True championship material.
Submitted by bart (user info) at 2004-05-05 00:00:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by SixThousand (user info) at 2004-05-04 22:23:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Judoka (user info) at 2004-05-04 16:38:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by bargled (user info) at 2004-05-04 15:47:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by Insanethemind (user info) at 2004-05-04 15:16:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by itchy (user info) at 2004-05-04 14:12:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by jeetkunetony (user info) at 2004-05-04 12:35:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Whiskey_Sour (user info) at 2004-05-04 12:32:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Dufflady (user info) at 2004-05-04 12:32:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Entry one. Although both were moral standpoints I was able to keep up with 1.
Submitted by vaya (user info) at 2004-05-04 12:09:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
wow.
Submitted by volklcess (user info) at 2004-05-04 11:32:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Both were beautiful.
Submitted by Nicole3 (user info) at 2004-05-04 10:27:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Entry 2 was a little confusing. I think it would have made a much better visual story, as it would be easier to track the characters. While I liked everthing in 1, it really didn't speak to me, probably because I already follow such advice for the most part.
Submitted by Walrus_King (user info) at 2004-05-04 09:45:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by PeopleAreStrange (user info) at 2004-05-04 03:55:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Ops my bad you're not in the contest anymore Rizzo! Think I'll go over and read Razor's instructions about Ubermadness and shuffle out of here in a most inconspicuous manner :o)
Submitted by PeopleAreStrange (user info) at 2004-05-04 03:52:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hmm I suspect the author of #2 to be Rizzo.
An excellent set of writing from both in this round.
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2004-05-04 03:28:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by ugaly (user info) at 2004-05-04 01:26:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Author one, I really enjoyed your post. I didn't think it sounded like a lecture. I looked at it like you said "learn from my mistakes." I completely missed the part about you saying you had much wisdom, although I am sure you do because you are the Uber Elder. (assuming you are BigMike)
"Believe in something and excel in it. "
I really liked that line, mainly because of a post I read a while back. It said something about all you need is a distraction. A distraction to get your mind off the things that are troubling you and all that good stuff. This is what nearly got me to vote for your post.
But like I said before, the last few lines of 2 won me over because it is what I am going through. I never looked at it as the time that I am wasting hesitating. If he hadn't made that point I would have most definately voted for you.
Submitted by QueenAshlee (user info) at 2004-05-04 00:00:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by griffsrgr8 (user info) at 2004-05-03 23:47:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by SausageKing (user info) at 2004-05-03 23:42:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Author of entry 1 at 2004-05-03 23:42:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by whataefag (user info) at 2004-05-03 11:54:23 (#)
Ranking: 1
"These were better than the others. It's evident both authors spent a lot of time on the posts. I voted for number 2, mainly because the other one was just too goody-goody, "I have so much wisdom to convey, and these are my life lessons that everyone should know." I don't know, I guess it was just too didactic. I'm sure I can guess the author, but since I like him I'll stop my criticism there. Nonetheless, I voted for 2."
Criticism well taken whataefag. I can see how this could be taken in that way. I don't really have that much wisdom to convey. I was taking a "learn from my mistakes" point of view on this.
I know some of you thought this sounded like a lecture but it wasn't. I am not your parents lecturing you because you are not living up to my ideal of how you should be.
I am just a friend telling you, in my most sincere, non condescending way, that this happens to people. Life creeps up on you and before you know it, it's gone.
Submitted by Author of entry 1 at 2004-05-03 23:29:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
You'll have to help me here, what is The Sunscreen Song?
Submitted by coley (user info) at 2004-05-03 23:13:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked both.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2004-05-03 23:11:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
This was a tough choice for me. I wish I could've voted for both.
Submitted by Awko (user info) at 2004-05-03 23:09:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow.
I'm goin with #2. #1 reminded me too much of the sunscreen song.
I don't like that song.
Submitted by fionavar (user info) at 2004-05-03 22:53:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Very, very tough choice.
+2 to both.
Submitted by wijormiclat (user info) at 2004-05-03 21:39:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Holy fuck these were good.
Submitted by Author 2 at 2004-05-03 21:35:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Author 1:
Your post was right on point... it's good advice, all of it. Obviously I'm not as far along on the path as you, but I have at least a strong glimmer of everything you're talking about. One of my coworkers lost his father last week, and boy...
As for its similarity to a chain letter, yeah I guess it reads like one, but that's because a lot of those chain letters contain good advice.
The thing is, one of the interesting things about people, nobody wants to listen to advice unless they solicit it, and even then they don't want to listen to it.
That's something I need to include in my writing.
Submitted by Author of entry 1 at 2004-05-03 21:08:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I want to thank you all for reading my post.
To my competitor: Fantastic job! I would have expected no less from you. It did remind me of "Floating" though, only better.
It's funny, I knew this post would lose, I really did. It's not the kind of fare that wins in this venue.
It had to be written though. Some of you got it and for that I am grateful.
Sometimes I feel so old and regretful, but then I do things that make me feel better like visit my Dad or look at old photographs. Then I got this topic and the whole post just kind of wrote itself.
I'm dead serious about all of it btw.
I don't want any of you sitting in a chair when you are 45 or 50 and wishing things were different or that they had gone better for you. You can have impact now. I guess that's the point of my post.
Thank you again for reading my post.
Submitted by author 2 at 2004-05-03 20:50:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
PAS, the ending of this story was "uberized"
Submitted by geofroley (user info) at 2004-05-03 20:34:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hell of alot better than the 1st one.
Submitted by littledan (user info) at 2004-05-03 20:28:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by sean at 2004-05-03 20:28:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
absolutely amazing. that's all i've got to say. reminds me of butterfly effect, but explained much better. sweeeeeet....
Submitted by PeopleAreStrange (user info) at 2004-05-03 20:21:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was a tough call. As much as I appreciate the sentiment of entry 1 and as much as I suspect it was from BigMike, who rocks my socks off, and as much as I thought when I started reading entry 2 "there is no way this can get my vote after what I just read"...I've reflected on both posts and decided entry 2 is the one I prefer.
And that is because so much thought and effort went into creating the story, creating the writing style, thinking about the characters and how to intertwine them, how to bring the threads together. It wasn't the best story I've ever read and the ending was a bit cocky but it was good.
Ah fuck it I've changed my mind. Entry 1 was so sincere and nice. I love nice people. I vote entry 1 (sorry story 2 dude). It was close.
Submitted by fell-8-me (user info) at 2004-05-03 19:50:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by WiKi (user info) at 2004-05-03 19:27:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Reminded me of that Sunscreen song..
I LOVE IT!
Submitted by Herpes (user info) at 2004-05-03 19:16:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Melany (user info) at 2004-05-03 19:06:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Genko (user info) at 2004-05-03 19:01:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Death_Metal_Dude (user info) at 2004-05-03 17:24:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Beautiful.
Submitted by Scott_James (user info) at 2004-05-03 17:14:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Ingsoc (user info) at 2004-05-03 17:11:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
It's #2 fuckin' hands down!
Submitted by My_dixie_wrecked (user info) at 2004-05-03 17:07:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
second one was better.
Submitted by Random Joe at 2004-05-03 16:55:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Anjie (user info) at 2004-05-03 16:54:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by transcendent (user info) at 2004-05-03 16:40:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
Bleh.. didn't care for either of them. But at least #2 didn't preach at me.
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2004-05-03 16:38:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Yes (user info) at 2004-05-03 16:34:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by jimbo (user info) at 2004-05-03 16:24:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by ugaly (user info) at 2004-05-03 16:13:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
These were both awesome. This was probably the hardest decision I have had to make the entire tournament.
I voted for 2 because the last part of it kind of connects with a situation I am in now. The seconds are wasting and others are moving. I'm not. If I don't get a hefty amount of testicular fortitude (a.k.a. balls) I will be "too late"
Submitted by firefly (user info) at 2004-05-03 16:11:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by hcp28 (user info) at 2004-05-03 15:54:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked them both but I will have to go with number two. Although usually I don't like that kind of writing I thought it was very good my hats off to you sir or madame
Submitted by kimmy02721 (user info) at 2004-05-03 15:53:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
#1 had a nice sentiment (BM??) but kinda seemed like an email forward I've received thousands of times...
#2 kinda reminded me of the 'floating' story from a previous round.........loved that one and this one was even better
Submitted by Heimdallsman (user info) at 2004-05-03 15:52:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Anansie (user info) at 2004-05-03 15:39:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Dammit, this is a hard choice.
Submitted by spedmonkey (user info) at 2004-05-03 15:28:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Quar?
Submitted by William_Q_Percy (user info) at 2004-05-03 15:16:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Ahhh... after re-reading and seeing the reviews... (especially the mysterious Author #2) this HAS to be BigMike vs Razor.
Has to
Submitted by William_Q_Percy (user info) at 2004-05-03 15:12:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Preety sure this one is Spike vs Poly.
Submitted by Loren1 (user info) at 2004-05-03 15:07:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Oops.
I accidentally -2'ed.
My travisty was hastily pointed out to me, and I was ordered to beg for forgiveness publicly.
Please forgive me.
+2.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2004-05-03 15:01:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I didn't say they were the same thing, it just reminded me of it. There was something I saw once kind of like this too. It was about a gun and what all happened to the people who owned it. It was forever ago and I don't remember anything else about it, but it was kind of in the same line. What struck me as the similarity of it was the unifying theme around an inanimate object whereas most stories are told from the perspective of active participants.
or sort of like that movie Go where these seemingly unrelated events all tie in together in the end
I'm not the one who made the original comment, I was just clarifying it.
Submitted by lucid (user info) at 2004-05-03 15:01:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
CHEESE!
Submitted by Loren1 (user info) at 2004-05-03 14:54:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Very well written.
Had to go for the fiction.
Submitted by author two at 2004-05-03 14:52:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Loki, those posts were very different.
The first was about a dollar bill that floated different places and had a bad effect on everything it touched. It was a cursed bill. It was also a good story.
The second was a story about chaos theory, in which a difference of one second, that goes unnoticed by everyone, kills someone, causes two other people to get married, takes one guy from jail to a college graduation. It was about the infinite connections in life that we cannot see.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2004-05-03 14:46:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
This is the one it was similar to. I thought the same thing when I read it: http://www.ubersite.com/m/31429
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2004-05-03 14:44:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by antluvdog (user info) at 2004-05-03 14:11:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
All I have to say is - WOW.
Kudos to both authors. I think this is BigMike vs. Razor, but what the hell do I know? It could be fucking anyone. Who cares? They are both awesome.
I voted for #2 because of its original formatting. It was a tough choice. I wish I could have voted for both.
+2.
Submitted by Method (user info) at 2004-05-03 14:02:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Would you like some cheese with your whine?
Submitted by Titinita (user info) at 2004-05-03 13:57:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
meh
Submitted by humor_me (user info) at 2004-05-03 12:28:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2004-05-03 12:25:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Very interesting read. I had to backtrack now and again to see who was who, but it was worth it.
Submitted by engine13 (user info) at 2004-05-03 12:16:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by whataefag (user info) at 2004-05-03 11:54:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
These were better than the others. It's evident both authors spent a lot of time on the posts. I voted for number 2, mainly because the other one was just too goody-goody, "I have so much wisdom to convey, and these are my life lessons that everyone should know." I don't know, I guess it was just too didactic. I'm sure I can guess the author, but since I like him I'll stop my criticism there. Nonetheless, I voted for 2.
Submitted by author 2 at 2004-05-03 11:40:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Can you clarify on the loose endings? I was very careful to wrap everything up tightly.
Submitted by Mr_Insanity (user info) at 2004-05-03 11:35:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow. Impossible to separate.
But #2, because #1's theme has been done many times before, althrough this is one of the better version. #2 is very unique and clever.
Submitted by conrad (user info) at 2004-05-03 11:35:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Quartermain (user info) at 2004-05-03 11:30:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
They were both really good. Entry 2, however, seemed kind of busy and left loose ends.
Submitted by Chronic (user info) at 2004-05-03 11:22:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Both were well written. Entry 1 was honest, but it wasn't too special and I felt like I was being lectured. Entry 2 had a great premise and very good execution.
Submitted by iamhewhoisnot (user info) at 2004-05-03 11:09:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
thank you author number one
Submitted by Orange-San (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:55:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Orange-San (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:55:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
THSI SUXXXORS GO TO THIS POST IT RULLESSORS LMAO LMAO http://www.ubersite.com/m/32038
Submitted by Kristen (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:52:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Actually, I'm just retarded.
Submitted by Kristen (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:52:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked them both. I would have voted for #1, but I wasn't given the option of voting, so...
Submitted by AlwaysAnEagle (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:49:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
These were both excellent.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:43:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I had to read these each three times - I couldn't decide.
#1 seemed kind of preachy, but wise. This being the case, I feel that it won't get as many votes because it wasn't entertaining to the sound-bite and explosion addicted masses. I couldn't decide, so I went with the underdog.
Submitted by iddqd (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:36:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Totally_useless (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:33:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by spacemonkey (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:31:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
entry one sucked. I dont want "good" advice, prick.
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:31:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Gent (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:20:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
#1 was well intentioned but came off pretentious.
Although I didn't like the fact that a criminal graduated from my alma mater in post #2, I thought it was well done.
Submitted by potatomanjack (user info) at 2004-05-03 10:18:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by author of post two at 2004-05-03 09:59:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
godking, what other UberMadness post was similar to this? I've read every single one from the screw the pyramid all the way to here, and haven't seen a single story about chaos theory.
Submitted by godking (user info) at 2004-05-03 09:57:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
Despite the fact that #2 was very similar to a story already written in Ubermadness, its still better than 1.
GK
Submitted by YELLOW-MAN (user info) at 2004-05-03 09:56:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Falconer (user info) at 2004-05-03 09:52:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Trout (user info) at 2004-05-03 09:50:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by Rixes (user info) at 2004-05-03 09:45:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Good vs. Evil. Too bad there both poop.
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2004-05-03 09:44:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Very interesting...
Submitted by magical_invisible_torso_man (user info) at 2004-05-03 09:43:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
No Comment
Submitted by JohnGalt (user info) at 2004-05-03 09:42:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by WillZone (user info) at 2004-05-03 09:40:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
one was too preachy and mentioned ubersite in it...and ubermadness. bad news
#2 was better, but a little too long...but i like what you were trying to say.
Submitted by polyamorousaj (user info) at 2004-05-03 09:39:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Zone and Deis.