Blog

  • Public Chess Service Announcement

    I am considering having a list of my best friends who play Chess so that I can include them in a credits sequence at the end of my Streams and videos.

    I have figured out how to make rolling credit sequences with Adobe Premiere Pro, Openshot, and Kdenlive

    Also, Kdenlive is probably the best Open Source video editor. I am finding it really easy to use. I will probably be using my video editing skills to make my episodes for YouTube and also start making commercials about my business.

    I thank God that I have an unusual mix of talents, experience, skills, and I am learning a lot more because of my college programs.

    If you play Chess and want to be included in the credits at the end of videos, please leave comments! I need a long list of names so I can make it long enough to have a closing theme song playing.

    Also, if you play on any specific websites such as lichess.org or chess.com, include a link to your profile or give your username and let me know which platform. This could enable us to network and collaborate easier if we play Chess online for my episodes.

  • The Elevator Debate

    Hey everyone! My story, The Elevator Debate, has just been published in issue #70 of Adelaide Magazine. This story is very relevant at this time. No candidates or political parties are promoted or even mentioned in the story. Instead, it’s about two guys with different views about whether it’s even beneficial to vote or discuss politics, especially in the workplace.

    https://adelaidebooks.org/the-elevator-debate

  • The Lost Art of Chess

    Every week, they played the game.
    Old and young together played Chess.
    The conversations were always the same.
    As Hank and Chandler made a mess.

    Hank and Jerry told of their past.
    Chandler listened to them speak
    Their knowledge and memories were fast.
    Even if their bodies were weak.

    Same old jokes that old men tell.
    Were heard by a lonely soul.
    These times were both heaven and hell.
    Playing a game beyond control.

    With these friends, there was no judgment or shame.
    Hank and Jerry did not have much time.
    There was only the shared love for the game.
    These precious moments were sublime.

    Till the day when Hank and Jerry came no more.
    Chess was not the same without his friends.
    But the day came when Chandler swore.
    He would not let this be how the story ends.

    13 years had passed, and Chandler had changed.
    He was now a she and Chastity was her name.
    By divine intervention, her life was rearranged.
    God gave her the gift of comedy and fame.

    The younger folk didn’t know how to play Chess.
    The art of Chess would be lost without a teacher.
    For those like her, Chastity turned prejudice to progress.
    And soon became a sort of Chess Coach as well as a preacher.

    The constant lies about transgender people are very old.
    The hateful words made Chastity want to hide.
    But stronger than her fear was a prophecy foretold.
    That Chastity would overcome prejudice with pride.

    Sometimes life is hard and the journey is long.
    And sometimes our friends leave us or die.
    But don’t give up the games of Chess or song.
    You won’t forget because neither will I.

  • We Will Overcome Prejudice with Pride

    The war of two minds took place over a Chessboard. Chandler captured Hank’s black knight. Hank captured back the bishop with his pawn, leaving one pawn in front of the other.

    "Two in a row, two in a row!" said Jerry as he watched Hank and Chandler play at the Gamber Center.
    "Yeah, I know," said Hank.
    

    Conversations like this were common when Chandler played with the seniors at the Gamber Center. These old men could not walk well, nor could Hank hear until someone spoke loudly enough, for he was nearly deaf even with his hearing aid. Hank and Jerry were both war Veterans who had served in the army in their younger days before they met Chandler and told him their stories. Their experience in Chess and their stories from years ago were all these men had left in their old age. Chandler listened to them because it was always worth hearing the same stories if it meant he had someone to play Chess with.

    The day eventually came when Hank and Jerry no longer came. Chandler assumed that they had died when he stopped hearing from them and had no way to contact them anymore. Chandler stopped playing Chess for many years without any friends to play with. It was not the same now that his favorite men to play with were dead or otherwise beyond contact.

    Years later, Chandler became Chastity White Rose and an online student with Full Sail University. She did not have many friends and became obsessive about school grades, money, and avoiding people whenever possible. One day, Chastity got an email from Chess.com, where she had an account that had been created in 2010 and then abandoned.

    Chastity did a search of the website for the word “transgender” and found a most unusual article titled “FIDE Publishes Controversial New Transgender Policy,” which detailed some very sexist rules regarding transgender people participating in events and even having their titles abolished. Some even said men have a biological advantage in the game of Chess over women.

    The prejudice against transgender people held Chastity back from job opportunities because nobody wanted to hire someone who looked or acted like her. But this time, no one could stop her from playing Chess and improving at the game until even her enemies would respect the same incredible mind that Chandler had back when Hank and Jerry still lived. Her old Chess friends had died, but she was smart enough to make new friends and had a mission. Chastity would overcome the prejudice of society by defeating them in a game of the mind.

    Chastity drafted a statement on her computer. She had a message to send to the underdogs who, like her, did not have the opportunities they deserved. Chastity wrote

    "My dearest friends, transgender sisters, and Chess players, we will overcome prejudice with pride! We will not allow others to tell us who we are nor discourage us from playing the world's greatest mind sport, where all genders and races are equal. With every gift God gave me and everything I have learned, I will teach them to understand! Join me, and let me show you the way of the Chess Warrior!"
    

    Not only did Chastity vow to be a master of Chess, but she also named her business “Chastity’s Chess Challenge”. She would teach others to play Chess, and then they, too, could break the shackles placed on those who wanted to imprison their bodies and minds from opportunities. She became an inspiration to younger people, just like Hank and Jerry, passing on her memories.

  • The Prayer of Saint Chastity

    Dear God,

    I don’t know how long I have to live
    And I don’t have much left to give
    But while I am here, let me say
    Thank you for giving me today

    Give me the strength to do what I must do
    And remind me always to speak what is true
    Not hold back because of my fear
    Of what people will do to me if they hear

    I am sorry that I put money over you
    And I forgot that you gave me a job to do
    I see what the gift you gave me is, now I understand
    What I am worried about is not what you have planned

    You made me special; that is no lie
    And I will serve you before and after I die
    My voice is weak now, and I can’t sing a song
    But still, my honest heart is equally strong

    I walked to Walmart on my night off to make up for the shift I missed
    But I coughed and spread germs on the boxes I punched with my fist
    I was too sick to be working, and I worked myself to death
    I had no energy and couldn’t catch my breath

    I thought money would save me
    That my job was my source
    And forgot that even money
    It is not the strongest force

    Yes, I tried to come to work tonight and do the best I can
    But in my pure heart, I knew it wasn’t right, and it was not my plan
    Maybe the point wasn’t how much work I did or how much I earned
    It was to be reminded of the lesson I had learned

    Money was all I desired
    But it only crushed what you inspired
    My income was what I believed
    Would be the only way to set me free

    But when it disappeared
    and I lost the path ahead
    That’s when you came to see me
    And I remember the words you said

    When we first met, I didn’t know you were God
    Because you looked extremely odd
    You were a horse with a shiny silver horn
    But, of course, a unicorn always comes to heal what has been torn

    Forgive me for the fact that I forgot
    That even the rich will someday rot
    That truth always wins in the end
    But we will remember the kindness of a friend

    I have seen what happens when people value money over life
    That’s why there is so much murder, theft, hypocrisy, and strife
    Life is not about getting what we think we deserve
    And if someone wants to be the best, then others they must serve

    But not serve those who promise us financial gain
    Because their words are deceptive and will only give us pain
    They don’t actually mean or deliver the things they claim
    And when their world crumbles, they always shift the blame

    But if I abort myself by chasing a pot of gold
    Then I forgot the meaning of the rainbow, as you told
    For a second, I forgot, but I remember now
    That my life matters just like a horse, chicken, or cow

    I can’t think straight, and it seems I lost my mind
    But you are the one who gives sight to the blind
    So give me the eyes to see the inner heart of all
    So I do the right thing when you give me the call

    And now I know my gift is Something only I can do
    Because I can’t refrain from speaking the things I learn from you
    I will see you even if you take a different form
    Because you will come when I need you to save me from the storm

    Sometimes faith is hard because the world can be so loud
    And what you speak to me is drowned out by the crowd
    But I heard you speak to me, and that’s enough
    To keep me going even when life is rough

    You told me to go home because there is writing I must do
    To remind myself the experience I had with you
    You’ve done so much for me, but let me ask for one more thing
    That you will heal my voice so I can praise you as I sing

    And tell others that you will find them both inside and outside of church
    And that they will find the answers if they don’t give up the search
    And to those who can’t believe because they are full of doubt
    Just like with Thomas, you’ll show up, and they’ll know what you’re about

    Some call you Jesus, the light, truth, or the way
    But that was not how you showed up to save my day
    To me, you are always my unicorn named Honesty
    Because I remember your words with every rainbow I see

    You said rainbows are made when the light touches my tears
    That’s why when I see the rainbow, it opens up my ears
    And I listen to what my favorite unicorn has to say
    Because you speak words to me in a most unusual way

    I don’t understand exactly what you’ve planned
    And there is still so much I don’t understand
    But I need your horn of truth to guide me along the way
    Because my God is a unicorn, even though it sounds totally gay

    Matthew 6:19: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.