JUNIPER’S DAUGHTER 3: WAR IS OBSOLETE - FUTILITY AND HOPE BY NICK ARMBRISTER

JUNIPER’S DAUGHTER 3: WAR IS OBSOLETE - FUTILITY AND HOPE 

BY NICK ARMBRISTER 

A  COLLECTION OF DARK/LIGHT POETRY/NARRATIVES AND STORIES.

A FOLLOW UP TO MY JUNIPER’S DAUGHTER SERIES.
 

Poetry Collections 

2006 “Fade into Focus, Focus into Fade”  – ISBN 9780595410354 

2007 “Skeward Images” –  ISBN 9780595454563 

2008 “Her Name is Hope – Life Force” – ISBN 978-1-4092-4669-5 

2009 “Aeroplane Related Poems”  – ISBN 978-1-4452-2045-1 

Short Story Collections 

2007 “A Nation in Flames” –  ISBN 9780595478897 

Novels 

2009 “The Final War” (Written under the pen name Anneke van Ginn) – ISBN 978-1-4092-9764-2 

2009 “Here Comes the Devil Snails! Quick Run Like Hell! The Laser Beam Poodles are Coming!” (Written under the pan name Anneke van Ginn) – ISBN 978-1-4092-9591-4 

External Links 

Nick Armbrister on myspace http//:www.myspace.com/nickspoetrybooks  

Nick Armbrister on Written Expressions http://www.e-written.com
  

“What will it take for the culture of our world to become one without an enemy? A culture with no sense of an enemy? This perfect ideal is alleged to exist somewhere, someplace in our lost confused vicious yet beautiful world. Will we find it before it’s too late? I wish to find my own inner peace and hope our precious world finds it too to renounce war forever...” 

Nick Armbrister 15/02/2010 
 

JUNIPER’S DAUGHTER 3: WAR IS OBSOLETE - FUTILITY AND HOPE  

A MIXTURE OF DARK/LIGHT POETRY/NARRATIVES AND STORIES

A COLLECTION BY NICK ARMBRISTER.

A FOLLOW UP TO MY JUNIPER’S DAUGHTER SERIES. 

FORWARD 

   This book was my difficult book number 7 from which I struggled endlessly over ideas, story or poem or a mixture. Fate brought me into a situation where I tried to help but was powerless to change the outcome; indeed I could have been in danger but that thought never crossed my mind. I reacted to events that fate put me in, I’m unsure of the reasons but I accept my role in them and I did my best. I saw evil actions and that upset me very much but I was in no way affected like the relatives of the gun shot victim on that awfully desperate night. For them things changed forever, I only hope and pray that those responsible for their vile evil actions get the book thrown at them receiving the longest possible jail sentence and that they burn in Hell. The message of my book is no more illegal guns and knives on the streets of Great Britain, enough is enough with too many people innocent or not killed and murdered. Not to mention those injured and maimed both physically and mentally. So I ask you whoever reads this spread the message, no more firearms or blades on our streets. I got to do my book but I wish I had never done it or witnessed what I did but I’m unable to change the past, all I can do is say be positive for the future and don’t use violence to sort your problems out. I’m not really the best person to say or do this but I’m attempting to, my message is stop this war on our streets, if a single person changes their behaviour and others follow then that is a result, isn’t it? I won’t mention gangs or drugs but they’re all related to these crimes that need to be addressed too but how? I don’t know all I can do is to do my book and send the massage out, enough is enough; stop this war in our towns and cities.

   This book is dedicated to all those who have lost loved ones and suffered in the war that is engulfing our towns and cities. I must also mention violence without guns or knives like that that took the young precious life of Sophie Lancaster and that hurt her partner very badly. Just because she wasn’t shot or stabbed doesn’t make that evil wicked act of what happened to her any less terrible. So I include all of the others who have been touched by the violence that is engulfing our precious country, really enough is enough. Think about your actions before you pull the trigger, thrust the knife or throw the punch. Respect to all those who try to stop these evil crimes and incidents, civilians and those in uniform. The line between war and chaos and peace and stability is but a fine one. 

I dedicate this book to all those have lost their lives to the futility of gun, knife and other violence, for whatever reason. And also to those who are left behind to pick up the pieces after the awful events, be it loved ones or friends. May the dead Rest In Peace and the living continue to live in the hope that things will get better in the future? If not war will engulf our streets and us all and then our hope was futile.


 

NICK ARMBRISTER  

Nick Armbrister (Nicholas Arthur Armbrister) is an English writer, born in Oldham, Lancashire, England on 26/7/71. He is best known for his poetry and short stories published since 1996 in the “small press,” his own self published collection of books, which include the poetry volumes “Fade into Focus, Focus into Fade” (2006), “Skeward Images” (2007) and “Her Name is Hope – Life Force” (2008). A collection of short stories “A Nation in Flames” (2007) brings his early work together. A collection of his aviation based poetry was released in 2009 on lulu, “Aeroplane Poems.” 

Nick moved into fiction writing completing two novels in his “Juniper’s Daughter” series, these included “Juniper’s Daughter” and the follow up “Juniper’s Daughter – Frontier Town.” He released these under his new pen name of Anneke van Ginn as “The Final War” and “Here Comes the Devil Snails! Quick Run Like Hell! The Laser Beam Poodles are Coming!” 

Nick began working with Written Expressions (www.e-written.com) editor Milena Gomez in 2008 and released several online ebooks including a free read “English Goth” and romantic titles like “Sexy Independence 1” and erotica titles like “Ian Gets a Treat” amongst other ebook titles.  

Early Life 

Born in a working class town Oldham, north of Manchester, Nick left school in 1987 and went into college and into several varied jobs ranging from motor vehicle repair, bakery work to fork lift truck driving. His early aspirations to join the Royal Air Force came to nothing. As a child Nick wanted to join the RAF due to his love of aviation and planes but he was put off by the strict discipline. For most of his life Nick lived in and around Oldham where he worked and started writing, his writing stemming from his love of music and reading. Growing up in the latter years of the cold war shaped Nick and he gained a strong interest in aviation and military history. Along with his love of music of that era formed his journey into writing. For a few brief years Nick made plastic model aeroplane kits and drew aircraft drawings on his path to creativity that would eventually stop in his writing. He is an only child. 

Writing Career 

He tried to join a band but couldn’t sing or play any instrument. He follows music like gothic bands of the 1980s like The Mission, All About Eve, The Cult, The Sisters of Mercy and more. He also a fan of 80s pop like The Bangles and Berlin and some metal bands like Metallica and Guns n Roses. He got into gothic metal from Europe and Scandinavia in 2001 when a penpal sent him a tape of The Gathering and Lacuna Coil. Nick has tattoos of these two bands and some other band names and other tattoos. All of this inspires his writing and feature in some of his poems. He has seen many gigs live and this inspires his poetry too. Nick started writing poetry in April 1996 while listening to Goth and metal music at an old friends’ flat while getting drunk. Each Wednesday Nick went and drank beer, listened to music and created his very early work. He did up to eight short poems or a few longer ones and took a chance in sending them off to get them published. If he failed and none were accepted, he would of quit writing. But one was accepted in an early issue of an Alanis Morrissette fanzine called The Pill, Nick’s poem was called “Ode to Alanis”. Other poems were published in the “small press” (poetry scene) in a selection of magazines like pagan magazine Ace of Rods (his long poem in verse “The Dark Tower”). Nick had poetry included in a variety of poem anthology books featuring various poets. His first was called “Through my Eyes” in a Poetry Today book called “Rivers and Bridges” in 1997, more followed. Different subject matter in Nick’s poems appeared in collections by the Poetry Guild and in up to half a dozen books by the Select Publications of Tilbury, Essex. Nick appeared in these in the late 90s with up to two poems in a single book (e.g. “The Road” and “Mustiness”).  

From 2001 Nick was published in DJ Tyrer’s series of magazines (Atlantean Publishing), appearing in The Supplement, Awen, Bard, Garbag and Monomyth. Several dozen of his poems on much subject matter have been published up to 2008. Also several short stories appeared in Monomyth which is a short story magazine edited by DJ Tyrer. Two examples of Nick’s stories are themed around the Cold War like “Red Empire” and “Final Flight”. 

Nick’s only piece to be published in Oldham was called “Kahlia Akasha” this was in a short story collection book about Oldham titled “Big Sky, New Light” and was published in 2004. Nick was in the local newspaper called the Advertiser. His story was about an aeroplane. 

Nick moved from Oldham in December 2005 to the Essex/London area to further his writing career and to compile his writing anthologies, his first four volumes. This he did until his return to Oldham in late 2008 where Nick continuously writes. His first three self published books are with iuniverse of America. The first two are poetry collections “Fade into Focus, Focus into Fade”  and “Skeward Images.” This was his early poetry. A short story collection followed titled “A Nation in Flames”; this comprised his stories on war, planes, Goth, horror and more. Nick compiled a further third volume of poetry under the title of “Her Name is Hope –  Lifeforce”. This contains the rest of his poetry from 1996-2008 that never made his first two poem books and is published by lulu.  

Nick was invited to do spoken word performances and work with a guitarist/band on his poems performing in front of a live audience. This he did in The Abbey pub and also The Gardeners pub in Oldham in 2009/2010. Nick opened for a Manchester indie rock band called Blouse at the Night and Day Cafe on 12/02/2010 before the band played; he read his “Spitfire Bride” poem. 

Nick has been published several times by Written Expressions online publisher doing ebooks on romance and erotica. His stories like “English Goth” (a free download), “What Could Have Been?”, “Sexy Independence”, “Banana Nana”, and “Ian Gets a Treat” are widely acclaimed and just a selection of his lighter online work. 

Nick is working on a collection of poetry/short stories for 2010 release called “Juniper’s Daughter 3: War is Obsolete - Futility and Hope.” 



 

CONTENTS 

Forward  

Section 1 FUTILITY short stories and narratives

Section 2 HOPE poetry, songs and reviews






































 

Section 1 FUTILITY short stories and narratives 

FUTILITY 

This is a narrative of events and some fiction, I saw an incident and it resonated in my head, one thought came to me. Only a country’s armed forces should be allowed guns and knives, in no way should such weapons be allowed on the streets. What brought on this view? I saw a man who had been shot and who was dying, I heard his wife scream for help, I saw a German car speed away, I heard two bangs all thrown together in my shocked mind in a cacophony of evil deeds that will be with me forever. I’m confused though why the bangs after the car went? I hope I don’t get flashbacks. I must help educate people on this issue of murder by firearm or knife how unacceptable it is. Also this can tie in with the loss of Sophie Lancaster two summers ago, a lovely gothic lady who was killed for being alternative defending her boyfriend. The words SOPHIE tells it all – STAMP OUT PREJEDICE HATRED INTOLERANCE EVERYWHERE. Now weapon use on our streets can be added to this cause and any other evil act done by people for whatever reason with illegal lethal weapons. Through my writing I can help make a difference I guess and make people realise that if you aim and fire a loaded gun at a person you will kill them and be on a murder rap; it’s not a water pistol full of water you’ve got a 9mm bullet will end your life, period. I was walking back from the pub after a boring night out, early coz my heart wasn’t in it. I was not very drunk and could walk straight rather than my normal staggering down the road.

I feel the last part of my innocence went away from me on 18/09/09 call it my 911 to be over dramatic but it’s just that. A hysterical wife whose husband was dying not a yard from me affected me quite a lot and I have to live with her screams, if only I could have helped and done more. If only… but life doesn’t work like that, “if” is just that, one of the many variations that could happen but don’t happen. Do I feel any better living with her screams or seeing her husband dying on the floor knowing two men have been caught less than thirty-six hours later for the hideous crime? My answer has to be yes and I want the bastards to burn in hell for leaving a wife a widow and her two kids fatherless. Some things should not be seen or happen at all this was one event I got caught up in by fate, I ask fate why did you pick me on that dark night to be part of this wicked awful real life drama? I don’t think I’ll never know but I accept my role in it by fate and that alone, I did my best. I’d do it again and I’d like to think anyone else would too, your duty as a good person and all that. If this is what coppers and ambulance people see in their jobs they can keep their jobs coz I never want to do that job and experience that, even if it involves saving people and helping them. That’s enough but what goes with it entails things above what I can deal with, how do they deal with it? The medic was very calm on Friday night so he was someone who was trained to deal with and do this most difficult often-dangerous job. I was asked on the phone is it safe to send the medics? Yes I replied not knowing where the gunman was, still around? We could all be the next targets; I could for being there, for being a witness.

Days later after that awful weekend that changed my life forever and totally overshadowed my own personal problems with the woman called Sarah I was involved with; I felt the make up of things had changed in many ways that I hardly understand. I do know my own problems are nothing compared to the problems people have like losing their husband. I vowed myself to be a better person and not to cause undue trouble in life. Will I be able to stay true to this new vocation I set myself or is it because I’m in shock at seeing a murder? I called up the doctor and I’ll arrange to see a councillor and just talk this event out of my system. My father says it’ll pass the trauma and the edge will go, he was a copper back in the day real old skool you come to Oldham and kick off you’ll get a real fuckin’ hammering not like today all forms and paperwork and no tough and ruff ‘em police. How would my father deal with the men who shot dead a defenceless husband? I can’t answer that.

I know that I’ve not been sleeping in the aftermath of the attack, at night bad images kept me awake –  haunting me? Her screams piercing the still night air, the shot man moving after a few minutes though he was out of it his eyes closed unaware of what was happening, I hope. I’m glad I saw no blood flowing onto the floor, no bullet hole deep into his body, brains splattered on the wall of no use there, actually saw him shot by the shooter to fall down mortally wounded. How would I be after witnessing that awful little list of evil? Terror belongs to the night stopping me sleep in the night hours, I sleep from 6am to 2pm like I did the night shift but I do no job, no I suffer the trauma of events from the night a few days ago. I’m going to write this story and send it to me editor to say no more guns and also knives on our streets, even though this is a war. I saw a casualty of war Friday night, his family suffer the collateral damage, I see the flash backs in no way as bad as their loss. The only people who should be allowed these powerful terrible weapons should be the military that bit is clear to me but I doubt it’s possible removing every weapon from our streets. What do you think? We all have a view and I’d like to know yours.

I know all about guns, I’ve seen the films to know which end to shoot. I know that there are different types of handguns like revolvers that take six bullets in a revolving chamber; these weapons date back to the days of the cowboys. Then there are the pistols with a magazine in the handle, a more modern design with more bullets dishing out more death. The modern guns take up to fourteen bullets in two rows of seven in their boxy magazines in the handle. Some even fire on fully automatic just like the larger machine pistols (and these can spit out over a thousand nine millimetre bullets a minute). Truly wicked inventions very well designed and with one purpose in mind, to kill and maim. Mankind certainly made an invention to please the Devil this time with easy death and tragic traumatic after affects lasting a lifetime.

Another shooting in a different part of my town a few weeks before this event I witnessed used one of the most deadly and over designed machine pistols ever invented –  the Mac-10. This can fire 1,200 bullets a minute but the mag only holds thirty. I saw a picture in the paper with coloured markers indicating where the small bullets had fallen around a man I counted over twenty markers. The rest of the shots would have hit him I imagine killing him. Both events maybe linked with the usual suspect words thrown in, drugs, gangs, tit for tat killing. Even if both murders are linked I say enough is enough. Yes drugs are bad and need to be eradicated by the authorities in whatever way they can from the poppy fields of Afghanistan to the streets of our towns and cities. Remove the guns and knives as well, break up the gangs, stop young people joining gangs which give them a sense of belonging, alternative family, a feeling of power and respect between members and other gangs and lastly gives them access to the weapons of war, guns and knives of ferocious power.

I imagine the guy I saw immediately after he was shot didn’t suffer much but I can’t be sure, only the medical staff, people there before I was on scene and of course God can be sure. With two men in the cop shop being questioned that is a good result but the event should never have happened, just like each murder and attack should never have gone down ending lives and tearing families apart. Enough is enough in this vicious war. To me it looks like everyone has a story and knows someone who has been a victim of violence in every built up area in the country.

I talked to my forklift truck instructor who was a marine for twenty-five years, he said put the event at the back of my mind don’t keep thinking about it. He’s right you know I told my lovely artist friend Sue when I saw her wearing her lovely green dress and green eyeliner, a real English lady. She was shocked when I told her and how I’m trying to move on and am waiting for counselling after this awful event. I hope that sorts it out. Ian explained the need to look to the future but how such incidents can come back months in the future, it all depends on the individual. I hope I’m over it and that is that but I’d help again. I’d put my own safety aside and enter danger to try to help but I know my own danger and flashbacks will be the cost of such a foray by myself. What would Juniper’s daughter do? Let’s find out…