My Ghost

My Ghost

By Abigail Shaffer

I am pursued

By the ghost

Of a man who never died.

His voice I hear

In my dreams—

He calls.

His face I’ve known

Since I was old enough

To draw.

Once I was told to choose

Between him,

And reality.

But I bet you will

Never guess

What I chose. 

Building Castles

Building Castles

By Abigail Shaffer

She despises him, because she once loved him so much.

She hates, because it’s the other half of love.

He’s spent his time arguing with a man in the sky,

Swearing loudly that he does not exist.

In the meantime, she’s been busy building her world,

Putting into practice the dreams they started together.

But it doesn’t matter to him. He’ll begin anew.

He takes another draft

of comfort and says he’ll try again tomorrow.

But it’s too late.

The years fly by and his time is half over.

What will become of a man who shakes his fists at the sky,

And hides away his talents from the wind?

It's 2017. How Does Sexism Still Exist?

How does sexism still exist? When as a woman, will I feel like I am completely of value to people?

A few months ago, before Brentton and I married, we were trying to find someone to give us pre-marital counseling (usually required by the person who officiates) and to marry us. We went to this one guy, and I just left with a sick feeling in my stomach. The man had not only pitted Brentton and I against each other with his questions, but he paid me almost zero attention the whole time. And once we told him we don’t have any plans for children right now, he shut down towards me completely, as if I was solely to be blamed for that decision.

Brentton and I walked out fighting, and we both realized that this man had done more harm than good. I don’t think a counselor is supposed to START fights. I know sometimes that information they dig up and be the source of some contention, but the way he did it was downright malicious.

Then, there was last night. We went to a financial planner who had been recommended to us. All week I had this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I thought about it. This, in the past, has ALWAYS meant, “GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!” yet, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to it once. Lol I felt like it would be good to get the opinion of a professional, on our finances as we are starting out.

Well. This woman had no interest in me. At all. She shook hands with me when we walked in, and then turned to Brentton and said, in a long, drawing voice, “Hellllloooooooo!”

I’m a girl. I know flirting when I see it.

Anyway, we sat down with her for two hours and talked about jobs and money and 401Ks. And I mean, sometimes she looked in my direction and asked me what she had to, but for the most part, she just talked to Brentton. When she asked him about his job, she asked him dozens of questions. So many, that I thought we would never move on. When she got to me, she asked where I worked…and then it was back to Brentton. That was it.

She even asked us questions that I felt would be better directed towards a single person, than a married couple. She kept asking questions that not only pitted us against each other, but that made it sound like our financial life together was a contest. The questions were things like, “Which of you is better at saving.” I mean, no matter what, someone comes out as the “winner” here. In our relationship we are VERY similar in how we deal with money, it’s one of the best things about our partnership. Yet, here we were, feeling like we were in a contest against each other.

By the end of the night, I was so angry. I had been slighted before by men, and treaded like I was a second-rate human. I’ve even been treated as the little home-maker, housewife before…but I have never been so treated by another woman. How can a woman treat another woman so badly? Has feminism taught her nothing? Does she honestly believe men are superior to women, with her, being a woman herself?

Sure, she could just be an absolute (fill-in-the-blank), and was openly flirting with my husband right in front of me, but I got the definite feeling that there was more to it than that. She didn’t think my contribution to the family was worth it. She didn’t care about my benefits or my income, or how this would affect me. She just cared about the man sitting there. As the woman, I was an afterthought.

P.S. If all you took from this was that we don’t want children, then YOU are part of the problem. 

If You Lived in a Jane Austen Book

If you lived in a Jane Austen book:

You would probably have lots of sisters.

You would be proposed to by your cousin (apparently not too gross back then), although you are not his first choice.

Either your mother, or your father would have a “complaint of the nerves” or a “delicate constitution” which will dictate everything in your life.

You should not trust the first handsome man you meet. Wait for the second.

If you’re over the age of about 27, you’re an “old maid,” and are obviously too old to find love. You must keep house for your widowed father now.

You will meet a dashing man in the militia, who you will think is the noblest man you will ever meet, however, he will undoubtedly turn out to be a complete scoundrel.

If a man is detestable to you early on, either because of his advanced age, or his sense of pride—hold out. He’s about to get really sexy.

Although your family might be considered middle class, or even poor, because your father is not a gentleman, you will still have servants and a house with a name that includes the word “manor” or “estate.”

Your younger sister will run off to live with an absolute scoundrel who used to be in love with you. He will ruin her reputation, soiling forever the good name of your entire family.

As the old adage goes, if he’s making fun of you, it’s because he likes you. In the same way, if he believes you are “not handsome enough to tempt” him, it’s because you’re TOTALLY handsome enough to tempt him.

Escaping Alice's Wonderland

This time of year, in the cold of winter, the cobblestone streets of downtown Annapolis might make you think you’ve stepped into a Charles Dickens’ story. There is something about the charm of the old town that whisks you into another world.

Another such world is Mission Escape, located at 40 West St. Annapolis (missionescaperooms.com/annapolis). As an avid escape room fan, I was ecstatic to be offered the opportunity to test out their newest room. I was even more thrilled when I found out that the room I would be trying to escape from was modeled after one of my favorite childhood classics: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol.

As an avid reader and writer, I appreciate the literary themes in the lobby, which includes many subtle nods to different classic novels. The walls are covered in old books, there is a hall of mirrors, a gorgeous copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland sits on a side table, and gracing the hallway is a hilarious cutout of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

The Alice in Wonderland room is like stepping into the story itself. At first, when you enter, you are awed by the beauty of it. Green grass, shrubbery, and crawling ivy are everywhere. The large, gorgeous roses are reminiscent of the Queen’s croquet lawn from the book, giving the whole room the feeling of being outdoors. And of course, the whole place is utterly filled with pieces from the book, from paper machete characters up on the walls, to the Cheshire Cat’s hookah, and many other elements that would be too much of a spoiler to tell.

As for the gameplay, I can describe it in one word: challenging. The entire room is based upon observation. If you take a moment to walk through the room and just look at everything first, it will help you understand how all the clues fit together as you go along. All of the clues require critical thinking, but everything you need to succeed is right there at your fingertips. However, if you need a little extra help, they offer unlimited hints. At the push of a button, you can talk to someone who will give you just a little nudge in the right direction.

What if Alice in Wonderland really isn’t your thing? Well then, you’re in luck, because they offer three other amazing rooms, with a wide variety of themes from the Military room, to the Black and White room, and then to the one I’m going to try next: the Edgar Allan Poe room.

So the big question is: Did we escape?

No. Sadly we did not. Thankfully, however, one of the employees stepped in after our time ran out and showed us that we were only one clue away from escaping. I’ve only ever done escape rooms with my husband, and I’m pretty sure that if we did them with more people, that we’d escape faster. The Alice in Wonderland room allows for up to 7 people, so feel free to bring some friends!

So over all, do I recommend the Alice room? I do, 100%. I think you’ll find it thrilling, challenging, and breathtakingly beautiful. Have fun!