Gun control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gun control - Essay Example As the Second Amendment of the US Constitution states, â€Å"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.† (Gardner and Anderson, 232) Therefore, the constitution itself gives the citizens the right to own and carry firearms with them. The size and effectiveness of the weapon must have caused for its spread in the land. The excessive use of gun is a developing tendency among the people in America. The easy availability of gun in America, at present, causes for the increasing homicides, suicides, and other violence and crime in this state. This has led many to think on the gun control policies in America. But still a hot debate on gun rights and gun control is going on in the country. This essay tries to make a study on the disasters that happened in the society by the gun use and further, a research is done on the need for controlling the use of guns by the civilians. The thesi s statement is, ‘The increasing disasters in the American Society caused by gun-use and the need for gun control’. It is very clear that there are a number of problems that are arising day by day by the use of guns. Still it can be seen the government is reluctant to ban the use of guns, and it makes a person puzzled. The history of private ownership of guns in America stresses the need for guns. Both sides of gun control and gun rights are strong in America. The increasing mass killing at various schools and colleges using guns lead government to make new amendments in the constitution in order to control the use of guns by the civilians. Background and Historical Material /Definitions (Literature Review): America is considered to be the strongest nation in the world. It may be the only nation that has not made any control for the private use of guns. Gun was a need for every Americans to defend themselves from the natives of the land. â€Å"Despite their firearms, th e survival of the English colonies often appears highly improbable.† Further the possession of firearms by the settlers enabled â€Å"to arm their enemies with theoretically advanced European weaponry.† (Bellesiles, 112) After the threats were over by the natives in America gun was a mandatory to protect their land. The American government envisaged the need for private ownership of firearms by the civilians. This has led the possession of guns as a constitutional right for the people. It is very easy to purchase a gun in America. The Office of the Attorney General in California gives the procedure to possess a gun in the State as a simple procedure. The person must be 18 years of age to buy a rifle or shotgun. To buy a handgun a person must be 21 years of age and he or she should ‘possess an HSC plus successfully complete a safety demonstration with the handgun being purchased or should qualify for an HSC exemption.’ (Frequently Asked Questions) The spread of guns in America turned from self defense to mass destruction. If an analysis is done, it can be understood that ever since from the widespread of this deadly weapon, many causalities are being occurred day by day in America. The incident that happened in the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, on April 16, 2007 showed the ferocious face of it. A student named Seung- Hui Cho murdered 32 people and attempted to murder 29

Quantitative Analysis for Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Quantitative Analysis for Managers - Essay Example This essay describes an allocation of manufacturing overheads and explaines it using an examples. This essay responses to the request for the analyses of the allocation of manufacturing overheads related to two our products. A comprehensive report detailing the allocation basis and possibilities of our two products Rona Loa coffee and Colombian coffee along with their related implications and recommendations are provided for your study. Using activity based costing as the basis for assigning manufacturing overhead cost to products, the researcher established the total amount of manufacturing overhead cost assigned to the Rona Loa coffee and to the Colombian coffee for the year amounts to  £32,900 AND  £7,300 respectively. The amount of manufacturing overhead cost per kilo of the Rona Loa coffee and the Colombian coffee amounts to  £0.33  £3.65 respectively. The unit product cost of one kilo of the Rona Loa coffee and one kilo of the Colombian coffee amounts to  £4.83  £7. 15 respectively. The researcher also calculated costing as the basis for assigning manufacturing overhead cost to products, the total amount of manufacturing overhead cost assigned to the Rona Loa coffee and to the Colombian coffee for the year amounts to  £32,900 AND  £7,300 respectively. For detailed working regarding the calculation of these amounts please refer Appendix A and B. It also provides the reader with the detailed statistics tables and results.... Traditional costing systems therefore can result in significant under-costing and over-costing. However, traditional costing systems are simpler and easier to implement than ABC systems. The use of such a rate enables us to determine the approximate total cost of each job when completed. In recent years increased automation in manufacturing operations has resulted in a trend towards machine hours as the activity base in the calculation. It is believed fluctuations in product costs serve no useful purpose. To avoid such fluctuations, actual overhead rates could be computed on an annual or less-frequent basis. However, if the overhead rate is computed annually based on the actual costs and activity for the year, the manufacturing overhead assigned to any particular job would not be known until the end of the year. Simplistic overhead allocations using a declining labour base cannot be justified, particularly when information processing cost are no longer a barrier to introducing more s ophisticated cost systems (Drury 2004). ABC provides a way to allocate costs more accurately when overhead costs are not incurred at the same rate as direct labor hours. Using ABC means that all the individual activities that are part of a process can be accurately costed. For example in case of our entity it will be possible to accurately determine the cost of each activity involved in processing a coffee from input to final packaging. In this way it will be easy to identify the most and least expensive parts of the process. Process improvement activity could then focus on the most expensive parts of the process. A model could then be constructed showing a comparison between the existing process costs and the redesigned process and its associated costs.

Problem For Swinton Hotel Management

Problem For Swinton Hotel Management The aim of this project is to build a comprehensive tool E-reservation system for Swinton Hotel Management. Swinton Hotel provides all facilities like, advance booking room facilities, Better Food quality and also management believes to present good customer services. Management does not have proper reservation system and lack of data management system. In addition, they dont have any advance E- reservation system for tourist. The organisation needs to take further step to implement its business by develop a website. The projected system will be more flexible to use for tourist and Faster for staff to manage all information. Currently, the existing system is based on paper work, manual checking and use of Microsoft Excel Data sheet. Apart from this, advance reservation does by telephone. Due to which the staff faces lots of problems and also very time consuming for tourist to reserve room in advance. A new web based application is developed to provide reservation solution to the management. The application comes out in form of an Information Management Tools, like, ASP.NET. And database will handle through Microsoft Access. So, with build up a new system will helpful for tourist to reserve room and itll beneficial for staff to manage data. After all, new web based system will be benefited to management. TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 02 1. Introduction 04 2. Problem Identification 05 2.1 Current System Specification 05 2.2 Consequence for Issues 07 3. Proposed System 08 3.1 System Architecture Specification 10 3.2 Technology Used 11 3.3 System Requirement Specification 12 3.4 Cost of System 13 3.5 Impact of the Proposed Changes 14 4. Change Management 15 5. Conclusion and Future enhancements 15 6. References 16 7.0 Diagram 17 1. Introduction: Now in present time, web-platform becomes necessary for all sector of business to get more success. Especially, in Banking, Hotel, and many other educational and training organization it becomes basic needs for business to have web-platform. In hotel Industry through website tourist can reserve room in advance. And also able to get other information of the hotel which will be useful for them. Static or dynamic website is useful for the organizations growth. The projected Hotel Reservation System brings the main requirements of the Swinton Hotel Management. In addition, reservation system classifies a way to manage the database of the tourist (Customers). And reduce paper and manual work system. Moreover, business point of view, it is time and cost effectiveness which is vital assets for the organization. In addition, Swinton Hotel Management has very simple and complicate reservation system. The organization has faced many issues with current System. Firstly, the current system is running on Microsoft Excel datasheet. Secondly, management requires allocate one staff for manual room check. Last but not least, it is very difficult to manage vacation time for staff schedule. And lastly, its very complicate process for tourist to reserve room in advance. So, management has been facing these major issues with reservation system. Furthermore, the purpose of develop website for Swinton hotel to improve in customer service. Customer can easily communicate with Hotel Staff and can browse all latest information about Hotel for advance room reservation. Apart from this, it will be extremely useful for staff to manage customer database. For instance, no time consuming process for room checking availability. , easy to access customer details. And also itll very simple to handle invoice of customer. Invoice handling is more important for management to know about real profit of business. In addition, account department also able to get profit and loss account. 2.0 Problem Identification In Hotel Industry a reservation system must be very accurate and very user friendly. So, customer or tourist can access all information which they want to browse. In this are of business, website should be in proper way which can helpful for customers and also for Hotel department. However, Swinton Hotel Management has very simple stage of reservation system for advance room booking or get any information about hotel. Inaddtion, A management is facing many issues with this present system. Here, we are going to present what are the major issues in present system? 2.1 Current System Specification First of all, we collect all information about Current system through interview with manager and staff members. Manual Data Sheet Screenshot of Excel Database A management of Swinton Hotel is using simple this format database for customer. First of all, its very difficult to unique identification of customer. Means that, not allocate any facility which can identify user unique information. For instance, if same name customers come then its very difficult to identify. Secondly, Staff does manual entry for tourist which is very difficult to manage during the peak time or vacation time periods. Last but not least, its very complicate for other staff members to understand this system. Only one staff member is able to handle this complicated system .So, for future point of view itll be difficult for management. Telephone Reservation Change Telephone Reservation system in this Hotel done by Telephone which is one of the major issues with management. Customer can get room information through telephonic it is time consuming. First of all, a manual room checker will check room whether room available or not? And passed information to the call receiver. Furthermore, other disadvantage of telephonic reservation thats, cost of call. Because, sometime its very expensive to make call. So, in this situation its very expensive to reserve a room via telephone through current reservation system. Manual Room Checking In present system, to access room information need to allocate one staff for checking all information about available room in hotel for traveller. This is very cost and time consuming process for staff and customer. Especially, during the peak time its very difficult to access all information about available room for customer. In addition, for management point of view its very expensive to allocate special one person for check. They can not allocate for other work. So, this is one of the issues in this current system. Lack Of Customer Communication Current System of Swinton hotel, Staff not able to communicate with customer. Customer needs to introduce self every time for access any information about hotel. The Current system is done by manual entry. So, staffs needs to follow that process and they are not able to answering in proper and right way. And only one staff allocate for excel data sheet, for telephonic reservation and also for receiving call. So, its really difficult to handle all tasks at a same time. And which can create negative impact on customer mind for Hotel. No Registration system for Customer In this Current System, traveller needs to show own identification every time. Its complicated and time consuming. Apart from this, customer has to pass reservation process. And every time need to feel a form and give it back to staff. So, during the vacation time period its difficult. And it influences on customer service. No Customer Database In this present System, a management has faced problem with customer database. Because, currently all customer data saved in Excel data entry sheet. Its very time difficult to handle all data. So, management keep only one week datasheet. So, no any security for hotel point of view. 2.2 Consequences for Issues Management of Swinton Hotel has faced all these major issue with current system. There are many consequences for raising these problems for management. Firstly, lack of management. as we seen that management has faced many issues with current system. But, management doesnt think about to build up a new system for Hotel. Secondly, untrained staff. This is one of the big consequences for all. Only one staff handles too many tasks which is very difficult. And not allocate other staff for this role. This shows untrained staff. Finally, structure of management is not in proper and right ways is also one the main cause for failure in business. 3.0 Proposed System Nowadays, tourist business has gained extremely top level. In addition, in this area of business, in this present time web-platform modifies a structure of business for ever. For instance, Travelodge. Even more, with help of IT tools really change the way of the business of hotel. Hotel reservation has started through web-platform. In this present time, most hotels worldwide use online Hotel Reservation .its very convenient for traveller to book hotel room. Here, we are going to develop a new web system for Swinton Hotel Management. 3.1 System Architecture Specification The projected system is basically based on web-platform. And the main architecture of the web-platform three tiers. Client Application Server Database Server The main aim of using three tier architecture for the system to improve execute faster and also can easily fetched data from database which is one of major advantage for use of three tier architecture. In addition, new system can manage large database as well. This will solve a Customer Database problem for current system. Faster responses make the user more user- friendly and comfortable to work with the system In addition, vital advantage for use of 3 tier architecture is more secure for personal data. CLIENT APPLICATION SERVER DATABASE SERVER Request Reply Command Result Fig 1. Three Tier Architecture 3.2 Technology Used Operating System> Windows XP Front End > ASP.NET(c#) Data Base> Microsoft Access Design Platform> HTML, PhotoShop Front-End Platform ASP.NET ASP.NET is the next version of ASP framework to build up a web-application. The .net framework consists of many class libraries, functions, and common execution platform. We can create ASP.NET applications using any of the built-in any languages. Web-application is easier and faster compared to other technologies. With use of ASP.NET clients gets the faster response which is one of the major advantages to use this platform for build an application. In addition, ASP.NET is totally server side technology. ASP.NET advantages Asp.net reduce the amount of code for build an application. It is very easy to maintain with server side programme model. This platform pages are very simple to write and maintain. Very easy to design any page for application. ASP.NET makes for easy deployment. There is no need to register components. ASP.NET applications run faster in large volumes of data without any problem. ASP.NET validation controls entered by user without any coding. .So, for security point of view its more secure compare to other technology. (Source: http://www.startvbdotnet.com/aspsite/asp/) Data base Connectivity: ASP.NET can configured with any Database. In the projected system, Microsoft Access database has been used. There are many benefits for using this platform as a back- end. ASP.NET platform has wide range of data access options. These include support for the generic class library data access classes. ODBC, OleDb, dbExpress driver. ADO.NET is the portion of the ASP.NET foundation class library that applies to data access, storage and manipulation. (Source: http://www.devx.com/dbzone/Article/42281) 3.3 System Requirement Specifications: R1: Login Form Input: Travellers Username and password Output: Travellers Details Description: Once Traveller registered in website. Then they are able to access all information about SWINTON Hotel. And they can reserve room, Extra facilities, details information about rent etc through access reservation form. R2: Registration Form Input: Travellers Details Output: Allocate Username and Password Description: Traveller needs to fill out the form for access any information and reserve any room. Through this form unique username and password will allocate to tourist. So, next time traveller need to enter username and password in login form. And they can access any information. In addition, through this form a management can manage their customers records. R3: Staff Login: Input: Staff Username and Password Output: Administrators Homepage Description: The main purpose of this form to develop an interface for any staff to look at the Travellers Details. With Staff username and Password can access their respective homepage where they can browse the travellers details. R4: Reservation Form: Input: Select Room number and Type Output: Current Status, Rent, Facilities Description: when traveller enters successfully through login form then they can reserve any room, can access rate information, facilities details etc. R5 Invoice Form (only for Staff access) Input: Room No. Output: Invoice Description: This form presents all information about user. Which facilities they have used, time periods, Room Type etc. and shows total invoice amount for user. 3.4 Cost of System How much does a website cost? Basically, there are main two separate cost elements. First is cost that covered the registration of domain name and Internet space for hosting the site. In addition, second element is creation of website. There may also be some on going maintenance costs depending on how often you require changes to be made to the site when it is complete. First of all, management of the SWINTON hotel will not pay any amount for system up to three year. Because, the organization has done big deal with some outsourcing small IT company. So, for domain name, space and any other specification IT company will responsible. However, if the management of SWINTON HOTEL needs to pay some amount after three year. This will cost only  £30 every year. In addition, management of hotel is not giving any cost for developing a new system to solve problem of the old system. Furthermore, management has benefits at initial stage in this web platform. If in future any problem will create regarding system then IT company will responsible up to three year. So, for management point of view it is major advantage. [https://auctions.godaddy.com/?ci=13335] [http://www.toucher.co.uk/website_cost.htm] 3.5 Impact of the Proposed Changes The purpose of the new system is to provide better services to traveller, so they can able to access important details and also reserve Hotel room through website. In addition, developers of this system try to build a user friendly web platform. And the new system will be easier for staff to maintain traveller data. Furthermore, a tourist can browse information from any where and any time. The major advantage of this system is the able to keeps all information about traveller, staff information, and maintenance of database periodically. Client Functionalities Traveller can get all information about SWINTON Hotel. Once traveller is registered in website then to have own username and password. Traveller able to access important details any time. And also check its status. Traveller also able to access other facilities which provided by hotel. Admin Functionalities The main aim for develop this system is to provide better service to travelers of the hotel. In addition, for management point of view, to provide easy system to maintain tourist database. As the main goal of this system is to reduce manual, paper work and time of the administrative department. So, it will bring more efficiency in work and customer service. Furthermore, through help of this system staff can able to access all information about travelers. 4.0 Change Management According to press release Dec. 03 2009, A hotel website will help to management boost in worldwide. A hotel website will only give lots of advantages towards promoting hotel more in this competition era. The management of SWINTON hotel will need to invest on web based platform for success in Hotel industry. In addition, management of the hotel also needs to focus on database maintenance for tourist. The database of the system will increase more. Because as the new travelers come for reservation room and other facilities. So, for management point of view it is very vital part in system. Furthermore, if new system will success in future then a management needs to think about further implementation of the system. Finally, the proposed system Hotel Reservation system is developed on proper way. Especially for user it is very easy to access this website. However, I can recommend that for future point of view need to require some more implementation of the system. 5 Conclusion and future enhancements: In this present era web platform is necessary for success in business. Especially, for hotel industry. So, new system will helpful for SWINTON HOTEL management. Through proposed system time can be saved, more accuracy, security and reduce manual work which is one of the major advantages of this system. Last but not least, the management is not paying any amount for develop a new system. For clients point of view, it is more flexible to access information about hotel. And for staffs point of view, it is very easy to maintain database for travellers. Future Enhancements: Invoice report Auto e-malling system Track Travellers data

Hamlet or the Epic of Son-Jara - The Biggest Influence on The Lion King

The Lion King is Disney's most successful movie to date. Many believe that the Lion King is Disney's only original movie; the only movie not previously a fairy tale from one country or another. In fact, The Lion King is in on based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Disney writers conceal the basic character archetypes and simplified storyline in a children's tale of cute lions in Africa. On the other hand William Shakespeare’s Hamlet was based on the Epic of Son-Jara or Sundiata. This lead to the debate is the Lion King based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet or the West African story, the Epic of Son-Jara. Simba, Hamlet, and Son-Jara are all heroes in their own story. All of them must take on a villain that knew very well, but who does Simba’s journey resemble the most Does Simba represent Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, or Son-Jara, the lion king. The characters in The Lion King closely resemble the characters in Hamlet. Simba, the main character in The Lion King, embodies Hamlet. Simba and Hamlet are the son of kings and both are the rightful heirs to the throne. â€Å"By pairing the play Hamlet with the Disney movie, The Lion King, students discover that both Hamlet and Simba represent the mythical archetype of exiled child whose role is to restore world order and who has a heroic task. Students also realize that they too are unique individuals on heroic journeys.†(Gavin 55) Hamlet and Simba, when he was a lion cub, were banished from their homes. Simba exiled himself because he believed that he killed his own father but, it was in fact his uncle scar that killed him. Hamlet, on the under hand, was sent off to college by his uncle Claudius. Claudius became the king of Denmark after death of Hamlet’s father. Claudius believed that Hamlet played a ha... .... Dir. Roger Allers. Walt Disney Pictures, 1994. Flim. Simon, Peter Ed. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Shorter second edition, Vol.I. New York: W.W. Norton + Company, 2009 Nobumitsu .The Epic of Son-Jara. Simon 1552-1587 William Shakespeare. Hamlet. Simon 1782-1872 Gavin, Rosemarie. The Lion King" and "Hamlet": A Homecoming for the Exiled Child. The English Journal 3rd ser. 85 (1996): 55-57. Print. Paterno, Domenica R. "The True Lion King of Africa: The Epic History of Sundiata, King of Old Mali." Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English. Orlando. 16-21 Nov. 1994. Speech. "Q&A WITH THE DIRECTORS OF DISNEY'S THE LION KING!" Interview by Victor Medina. Q&A WITH THE DIRECTORS OF DISNEY'S THE LION KING! Web. 3 Apr. 2012. Hamlet or the Epic of Son-Jara - The Biggest Influence on The Lion King The Lion King is Disney's most successful movie to date. Many believe that the Lion King is Disney's only original movie; the only movie not previously a fairy tale from one country or another. In fact, The Lion King is in on based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Disney writers conceal the basic character archetypes and simplified storyline in a children's tale of cute lions in Africa. On the other hand William Shakespeare’s Hamlet was based on the Epic of Son-Jara or Sundiata. This lead to the debate is the Lion King based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet or the West African story, the Epic of Son-Jara. Simba, Hamlet, and Son-Jara are all heroes in their own story. All of them must take on a villain that knew very well, but who does Simba’s journey resemble the most Does Simba represent Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, or Son-Jara, the lion king. The characters in The Lion King closely resemble the characters in Hamlet. Simba, the main character in The Lion King, embodies Hamlet. Simba and Hamlet are the son of kings and both are the rightful heirs to the throne. â€Å"By pairing the play Hamlet with the Disney movie, The Lion King, students discover that both Hamlet and Simba represent the mythical archetype of exiled child whose role is to restore world order and who has a heroic task. Students also realize that they too are unique individuals on heroic journeys.†(Gavin 55) Hamlet and Simba, when he was a lion cub, were banished from their homes. Simba exiled himself because he believed that he killed his own father but, it was in fact his uncle scar that killed him. Hamlet, on the under hand, was sent off to college by his uncle Claudius. Claudius became the king of Denmark after death of Hamlet’s father. Claudius believed that Hamlet played a ha... .... Dir. Roger Allers. Walt Disney Pictures, 1994. Flim. Simon, Peter Ed. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Shorter second edition, Vol.I. New York: W.W. Norton + Company, 2009 Nobumitsu .The Epic of Son-Jara. Simon 1552-1587 William Shakespeare. Hamlet. Simon 1782-1872 Gavin, Rosemarie. The Lion King" and "Hamlet": A Homecoming for the Exiled Child. The English Journal 3rd ser. 85 (1996): 55-57. Print. Paterno, Domenica R. "The True Lion King of Africa: The Epic History of Sundiata, King of Old Mali." Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English. Orlando. 16-21 Nov. 1994. Speech. "Q&A WITH THE DIRECTORS OF DISNEY'S THE LION KING!" Interview by Victor Medina. Q&A WITH THE DIRECTORS OF DISNEY'S THE LION KING! Web. 3 Apr. 2012.

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 20

I didn't expect to hear from Dante so quickly. Based on what he'd said about the difficulty of the Nyx-charm, I'd figured it would be a while – if at all. Hugh's observations on the matter had only reinforced my growing skepticism about Dante's abilities. â€Å"I've got your protection,† Dante told me on the phone. â€Å"Or at least as close as I can get. You want it, come pick it up.† He disconnected. I drove to Rainier Valley, finding Dante's shop empty as usual. â€Å"Guess you don't see a lot of business so close to Christmas, huh?† â€Å"Actually,† he told me, emerging from the back room, â€Å"you'd be surprised at the kind of desperation the holidays can bring out in people. Here, catch.† He tossed me something baseball-sized. I caught it, feeling a little disappointed when I studied it closer. It looked like a wicker ball, made of very thin, dark branches. Through the gaps, I could make out a few things inside. One looked like a rock. Another looked like a feather. The whole thing rattled when I shook it. â€Å"This is it?† I asked. â€Å"This is going to keep away an uber-powerful dream entity? It looks like a prop from The Blair Witch Project.† â€Å"It can't force her away,† he said. â€Å"Nothing can. But it might make her think twice. It's more of†¦a repellent.† â€Å"Like citronella?† He rolled his eyes. â€Å"Yes, like citronella. Depending on her energy charge, she might blow past it. If she's weak enough†¦well, it might hold her back.† I examined the ball again. It still didn't look like much to me. I sensed no power or magic off of it, but not all objects had an aura I could sense. For reading inanimate items, a psychic mortal tended to be more adept than a lesser immortal. My silence appeared to further annoy Dante. â€Å"Look,† he snapped. â€Å"You don't have to use it, but it took a fuckload of power for me to craft it, okay? It'd be nice if you could maybe withhold your customary sarcasm for a whole five minutes to thank me.† â€Å"My customary sarc – â€Å" I stopped the burst of temper starting to flare in me. Dante ranked near the top of my list of cynical acquaintances, but I wasn't exactly Pollyanna myself. I'd given him nothing but a hard time since I first came to him for help. And now, studying him, I noticed he was pale and tired-looking. His eyes were bloodshot. The ball might be worthless, but he'd clearly exerted some sort of effort in making it. â€Å"You're right,† I said. â€Å"I'm sorry. Thank you. Thank you for this.† His eyebrows rose, and I could actually see the self-control it took for him not to mock my sincerity. He nodded. â€Å"You're welcome.† We each waited for the other to speak. I don't think we knew what to do without the sarcasm. â€Å"So†¦did you find your angel friends?† â€Å"No. I apparently need a fucking Bat Signal or something. Jerome's gone too. Hugh – this imp friend of mine – could get a hold of him, but it'd probably piss Jerome off if we were wrong about all this.† I scowled, recalling the conversation in the deli. â€Å"Anyway, Hugh's pissing me off right now, so I don't even know if I want his help.† Dante smiled. â€Å"I thought succubi were supposed to make friends everywhere they went. Or is that a myth like the bat wings and flame eyes?† â€Å"He's just being an asshole about Seth.† Dante looked at me expectantly. I sighed. â€Å"He thinks us dating is a waste of time. And not because of the sex thing. He thinks I'm going to get hurt.† â€Å"Terribly altruistic of an imp. But then, considering your quasi-morals, I'm starting to think it's a bad idea to assume anything about you guys.† He took a few steps toward me and playfully tapped my nose. â€Å"And what about you? Do you think you're going to get hurt?† â€Å"No. And if I do, that's for me to deal with. Hugh shouldn't be worrying about it. And he shouldn't make Seth worry about it either!† â€Å"Don't get so upset about people worrying about you. It means they care. If enough of us were like that, there'd be a lot less pain in the world.† That was an unexpected observation from Dante. â€Å"Maybe. But there'd also be a lot less unnecessary stress.† He chuckled and caught hold of my hand. Flipping it over, he looked at the palm. â€Å"A random assortment of lines for this body?† he asked. I nodded. â€Å"Can you change it to your original?† â€Å"What, so you can read it? I thought this was a bunch of bullshit.† â€Å"Sometimes.† I waited for more, but it didn't come. His gray eyes were serious and thoughtful as they met mine. Something in them compelled me, and with great reluctance, I shape-shifted my hands back to the ones I'd been born with. I hadn't worn my original body since the day I'd become a succubus, and this small change felt unnatural. I hated this form. While my original hands weren't gargantuan, they were larger than was proportional to this petite frame I carried and appeared weird and mismatched. Dante held my hands in his and glanced back and forth between the palms. After just a few seconds, he snorted and dropped them both. â€Å"Surprise, surprise.† I shape-shifted them back to the way they had been. â€Å"What?† I asked. â€Å"Right-handed?† â€Å"Yeah.† He pointed to the left hand. â€Å"Those lines represent what you're born with – your inherent traits. The right hand is the hand that shows how you grow and change and adapt to what you're born with. Nature and nurture.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"Yours are identical on both hands. Your heart line is high on the palm – which means you have an intense, passionate nature. No surprise there. But it's broken into a million pieces. Sliced and diced.† He tapped my left hand. â€Å"You were destined for heartache.† He tapped my right hand. â€Å"And you are going to repeat that pattern forever. You aren't learning. You aren't changing.† â€Å"If I'm destined for it, then what does learning or changing have to do with anything? Isn't it a done deal?† I didn't like the censuring tone in his voice, like I'd done something wrong by having these palms. â€Å"Don't start,† he said. â€Å"I'm not a philosopher and don't want to get into any pre-destination or free-will debates. Besides, palm reading is a bunch of bullshit.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said dryly. â€Å"So I hear.† To my surprise, Dante put his arm around me and drew me close in a sort of half-hug. â€Å"Be careful, succubus. You've got a mess o' dangerous things in your life right now. On all fronts. I don't want to see you get hurt either.† I stayed in the embrace and rested my head on his chest. â€Å"When did you get so nice? Are you still trying to get me into bed?† â€Å"I'm always trying to get you into bed.† He pressed a kiss to my forehead, to my nose, and then to my lips. â€Å"But I kind of like you too. Just watch out.† I drove home after that, a bit confused over Dante's surprising behavior. Thinking about him, I soon arrived in Queen Anne before I knew it. I found neither Vincent nor the angels in my apartment and decided to go to the bookstore. I had today off too, but I knew they were busy and could use the extra help. I needed the distraction. Just before closing, Seth called my cell and asked if I could pick him up at his brother's. He and Terry had indeed gone to see the movie, but Seth's car was actually here in Queen Anne and he needed a ride now since Terry had originally picked him up. I finished what I was working on in my office and headed out. Terry and Andrea greeted me warmly when I showed up, reminding me to come to Christmas dinner – even though I'd long since told them I'd be there. They always regarded my relationship with Seth as a tenuous, fragile thing (which it was) and felt compelled to do all they could to protect it. The girls were as thrilled as always to see me, and they assaulted me with questions and chatter. All except Kayla. She'd apparently gotten to stay up late tonight. In some ways, her silence wasn't surprising. Aside from the startling conversation the other night, she almost never spoke anyway. But usually, she'd come forward with the other girls to see me. Tonight, she simply stayed on the couch, watching me solemnly. When Seth made motions to leave, I broke from the girls and went over to Kayla. â€Å"Hey, you,† I said, sitting down beside her. â€Å"How's it – â€Å" I hadn't touched her, but Kayla suddenly jerked away from me as though she'd been burned. Backing up, she scrambled off the couch and tore out of the room. We heard her small footsteps on the stairs as she ran to her room. Startled, I looked at the others. â€Å"What did I do?† â€Å"No idea,† said Andrea, puzzled. â€Å"She's been fine all night.† â€Å"Something must have gotten into her,† said Terry. â€Å"No telling with kids. Especially with girls.† He mussed Kendall's hair, and she yelped. Everyone promptly forgot about Kayla and continued to make farewells to Seth and me. I spoke to them half-heartedly, though. Kayla was always happy to see me, and last time, she'd demonstrated a special trust and belief in me. Tonight, she had looked at me with abject terror. Why? Was it a little girl mood? Or was there something hanging on me from another plane that I couldn't see? Just before we left, I asked if I could go say good-bye to Kayla and give talking to her another shot. Upstairs, I found her curled into a corner of her bed, clutching the unicorn. Her eyes widened in terror when she saw me, and I stopped in the bedroom door. â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"You okay?† No answer, just wider eyes. â€Å"I won't come any closer,† I said. â€Å"Promise. But, please†¦just tell me. What do you see? Why are you afraid of me?† For a moment, I didn't think she'd answer. Then, finally, she spoke in a voice I could barely hear. â€Å"You're bad,† she whispered. â€Å"Why are you so bad?† That wasn't what I'd been expecting. I'd thought maybe she'd tell me there was a ghostly hag hovering above my head. Something in Kayla's words made my stomach sink. I knew I was evil – it was kind of the definition of a Hellish servant. I lived day to day with my eternal task, seducing and corrupting men. But somehow, a little girl telling me I was â€Å"bad† hit me harder than the cruelest, most profane accusation could. Without another word to her, I headed back downstairs. As I drove Seth back to my place, I gave him the scoop on the angels and my subsequent lack of progress. â€Å"You've got some creature stalking you, and you decided to go into work?† He sounded both amused and exasperated. â€Å"You might as well have gone to the movie with me.† â€Å"Oh.† I felt kind of stupid. â€Å"I didn't want to interrupt any brotherly bonding.† â€Å"And,† he added, â€Å"you forgot.† â€Å"I never forget about you,† I said stoutly. â€Å"But I was kind of distracted.† â€Å"Funny how that's never a good excuse when the roles are reversed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My apartment was still empty when we got there. I left my coat and Dante's charm in my bedroom and then went to sit on the couch with Seth. â€Å"I hate waiting,† I told him. â€Å"Why does this always happen? Some big, supernatural crisis pops up in my life, and I always end up sitting around and feeling useless. I'm always dependent on others.† â€Å"No, you aren't,† he said, lacing his fingers through mine. â€Å"You're wonderful and capable. But you can't do everything.† â€Å"I just wish I could do something else besides shape-shift and look good. I wish I could, I don't know, shoot laser beams out of my fingers or something.† â€Å"You think that'd stop Nyx?† â€Å"No. But it'd be cool.† â€Å"Me, I always wanted frost power.† â€Å"Frost power?† â€Å"Yeah.† Seth gestured dramatically toward my coffee table. â€Å"If we're talking superhero abilities. If I had frost power, I could wave my hand, and suddenly that whole thing would be covered in ice.† â€Å"Not frost?† â€Å"Same difference.† â€Å"How would frost and/or ice power help you fight crime?† â€Å"Well, I don't know that it would. But it'd be cool.† I laughed and snuggled into Seth, feeling better. I could wait this out. â€Å"Are you hungry?† I asked him. â€Å"Yasmine and Vincent have been waging their own version of Top Chef around here.† We went to the kitchen and found it stocked with more food than it had ever had since I moved in. I unwrapped a plate of what appeared to be slices of freshly baked shortcake. Seth pointed to the refrigerator. â€Å"If there are strawberries in there, it's proof of God's existence.† I opened the door and peered around. â€Å"Get ready for a religious experience,† I told him, pulling out a bowl of chopped-and-sugared strawberries. With the other hand, I pulled out a larger bowl covered in plastic wrap. â€Å"And homemade whipped cream.† â€Å"Hallelujah,† he said. We piled plates high with shortcake and strawberries, and suddenly, dream entities seemed downright comical. I unwrapped the whipped cream, and Seth promptly dabbed a finger in it. â€Å"Savage,† I scolded. â€Å"Heavenly,† he countered, licking off the cream. He stuck another finger into the bowl and held it out to me. I leaned forward and ran my tongue over the tip. Rich sweetness flooded my mouth. â€Å"Mmm,† I said, closing my eyes. â€Å"Mmm,† said Seth. I opened my eyes. â€Å"Are you talking about the whipped cream?† â€Å"Not exactly.† â€Å"You talking about this?† There was still whipped cream on his finger. I took it into my mouth and sucked gently on it, cleaning up the last of the cream and stroking Seth's skin with my tongue. When I finished, he exhaled a held breath. â€Å"Thanks for the cleanup.† â€Å"Cleanliness is next to godliness, I hear.† â€Å"I think I have more on me, though,† he said. â€Å"Really?† I asked. â€Å"Where?† He swiped his finger through more whipped cream. â€Å"Right here.† I licked that off too, sucking and kissing all of the fingers on his hand – not just the guilty one. Finished, I flipped the hand over and kissed the top of it. â€Å"There. Sparkling clean.† Seth shook his head. â€Å"Oh no.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"You've got some on you too.† â€Å"Do I? Where?† He dipped into more whipped cream and dabbed it on my lips, my chin, and the side of my throat. â€Å"Everywhere,† he said. Before I could formulate a response, his mouth was on my neck, licking and kissing with as much sensuality as I had just used on his fingers. The eroticism of it astounded me – and I was hardly one to be caught by surprise with such things. I instinctually moved my body toward his, arching my neck back as his lips continued moving up. I felt his tongue, warm and amazingly skilled, clean up every drop of the whipped cream on my throat before sliding to my chin and finally to my mouth. We kissed harder, dessert (of the food nature) now forgotten. I felt his lips fit perfectly with my own. My back was against the counter, and Seth pressed his body against mine, trapping me. When I finally pulled back from the kiss, I could scarcely breathe. â€Å"Wow,† I said, eyes wide. â€Å"This is why I don't cook. It only leads to trouble.† Seth, still right against me, glanced left and then right. There was a heated, feral look in his eyes that made me shiver. â€Å"I don't see anything too bad happening.† â€Å"Not yet,† I admitted. â€Å"But you know the drill.† He shrugged. â€Å"Yeah. But nothing bad is happening now.† â€Å"It will if we – mmphf!† Seth was kissing me again, and this time his arms went around my waist, pulling us closer still. I wrapped my own arms around his neck, tilting my face upward to get more of the kiss. It was hot and dangerous and amazing, and I couldn't get enough. I knew, though, that I'd have to get enough of it pretty quickly here and was contemplating how to stop it when Seth broke away first. â€Å"Ah,† I teased. â€Å"You've come to your senses.† Seth smiled at me, and my heart raced at the juxtaposition of the animal desire and trademark laidback look on his face. â€Å"Nope,† he said. â€Å"Let's see how far we can go.† â€Å"You already know,† I said. â€Å"We've timed this before.† That was a bit of an exaggeration. We'd never had a stopwatch or anything, but we'd gained a good sense of how long and how deep a kiss could go before it was time to part. He shook his head. â€Å"Not kissing. This.† I wore a black tank top with a red cardigan over it. Seth reached out and unfastened the sweater's three large buttons and pulled it off of me. Letting it drop to the floor, he then rested his hands on my arms, fingers warm against my bare skin. He looked at me expectantly. â€Å"We're timing how quickly you can take off my sweater?† I asked. â€Å"Wrong answer. It's not always about you.† Removing his hands, he caught the bottom edge of his Cap'n Crunch T-shirt and pulled it over his head. He'd pulled me to his chest before it even hit the floor, and suddenly, I was face to face with golden, delicious-smelling Seth skin. Lots of it. Resisting the urge to start kissing his chest then and there, I looked up into his face and attempted levity. â€Å"Is this like strip poker? Except†¦without the poker part?† â€Å"This, Thetis,† he said, grabbing the edge of my tank top, â€Å"is a test. A test to see how far we can go on all dimensions. Not just kissing.† I should have stopped him, but the feel of his hands sliding up my torso was too intoxicating. The tank top went over my head and joined the other clothing on my kitchen floor. I laughed. â€Å"So†¦we know how much kissing we can do. Now you're trying to see how much naked we can do?† â€Å"Yes,† he said. He was attempting a dignified air. â€Å"It's a scientific experiment.† â€Å"Mostly it seems like you pulling off my clothes.† â€Å"That's part of it. We know how much we can kiss. But can we kiss naked? How long can we kiss naked? Is it the same?† â€Å"I don – â€Å" Again, he cut me off with a kiss, and my whole body tingled as my breasts pressed up against his chest. There was nothing between us, just skin on skin, and it was incredible. Between that and the kiss, I felt dizzy. And so, Seth's experiment progressed. He removed articles of our clothing one at a time, then would kiss me, pause, and examine the results. When we were both completely naked, he stepped back and admired my body, his face gleeful and smug. â€Å"I don't think the succubus thing is working,† he said. â€Å"Oh, it works, believe me,† I said, suddenly nervous. Every inch of me wanted to be touched and caressed and ravaged. My skin burned. And the hunger within me – the instinct that urged me to feed off human energy – was raging, realizing just how close it was to dinnertime. This had started out as an amusing game, but it now occurred to me how dangerous this had become. â€Å"It's less about naked and more about us not kissing so much. Remember that time we started making out in bed? I got some of your energy then, and we were dressed. Push this enough – or start doing things with other parts of our bodies – and it'll be game over.† I stepped back and reached for my shirt. â€Å"But you made good scientific progress tonight, I'll give you that.† Seth caught my wrist before I could get the shirt. He pulled me back to him. â€Å"Just a little bit more. Just to see.† He still had the same intensity and arousal all over him. I'd seen it in him before but never like this. â€Å"What more is there?† I asked. â€Å"Just one more kiss,† he said, feigning innocence. â€Å"A†¦parting kiss.† â€Å"Oh good grief.† â€Å"One kiss, Thetis. That's it.† I hesitated, then nodded. â€Å"Okay. Fine. But I'm onto you, so don't think you can get away with anything here.† â€Å"Noted.† At least that's what I think he said because it came out kind of muffled with his mouth crushing mine. I was pressed back against the counter again, and his hand was moving down my ass, down the back of my thigh. We were so close. So, so close. We'd never been this close, this naked, before. We'd certainly never been this naked and kissing before. I felt alive and on fire, craving him both as a succubus and a woman in love. The floodgates burst, and all the passion we kept restrained flowed forth. I could feel him, how hard he was and how much he wanted me. My own body responded in kind, pushing closer and grinding against him. His hand on the back of my thigh tensed and then pulled my leg up. It was barely around his hip when I felt†¦it. It. Seth's life. Sweeter than kissing, sweeter than whipped cream. It came into me pure and bright, unlike anything else I'd ever tasted – well, other than the last time I'd stolen some from him. I would have moaned if my mouth wasn't preoccupied. Reason seized me, and I did my best to squirm free. My best wasn't good enough, and all I could do was slide my mouth away from his. He simply moved down, kissing my neck. The energy didn't stop. â€Å"Seth. Seth. We made the point. We saw how far we can go.† His eyes, full of so much longing and passion, held mine. â€Å"Please, Georgina†¦we're so close†¦just this once†¦Ã¢â‚¬  We were so close. Too close. â€Å"No.† I pressed my palms to his chest. â€Å"Seth! Stop.† I shoved hard. â€Å"Stop!† I broke free all at once and staggered a few feet back, my hand catching the counter for support. The energy transfer cut off abruptly. He reached out a hand to help steady me, but I stayed out of reach. â€Å"Are†¦are you okay?† he asked. â€Å"I'm fine,† I said, breath heavy. â€Å"But you aren't. I got a little – a little of your energy.† â€Å"A little is nothing.† â€Å"Not to me,† I said, still keeping my distance. â€Å"It's not your energy,† he said. His eyes were still heated and hungry. â€Å"It's mine. And I think it was worth it.† He took a step forward. â€Å"And I'd think it was worth it, even if I lost more.† I held out my hand, palm-first. â€Å"Stop. Don't come closer. I don't trust you.† His expression became less aroused and more dumbfounded. â€Å"You†¦don't trust me? I never thought I'd hear you say that.† â€Å"That's not what I meant. Exactly. I mean, I don't know. I don't think you're going to rape me or anything, but you're†¦uh, persuasive. And you haven't been yourself lately. Ever since you got shot. You've been†¦I don't know. Risky. Like you're having a mid-life crisis.† â€Å"I'm having a life crisis, Thetis. I don't want to be one of those people who discovers on my death bed that I didn't do anything. Why can't you understand this? You're so quick to encourage Maddie to do exciting things, but you're still trying to protect me.† â€Å"It†¦it's different.† â€Å"How?† he asked. â€Å"Why is it okay for her to take risks but not me?† â€Å"Because there's a big difference between going rock climbing and sleeping with someone who's going to take years off your life. How long is this phase going to last? You always said it wasn't about sex between us.† â€Å"It's not,† he said stoutly. â€Å"Not at all. I love you for†¦so many reasons. More than I can even begin to describe. But I don't want to die never having touched you. Really touched you.† I stared. He was serious. How could he say he didn't want to die without touching me when touching me would only lead him closer to death? â€Å"You're only saying this because you haven't had sex in so long,† I accused. â€Å"You got all turned on and now you're not thinking straight.† â€Å"I am turned on,† he agreed. â€Å"By you. The woman I love.† He took another step toward me but still stayed far enough away so we didn't touch. â€Å"I want you, Georgina. So badly it kills me. I know you want me too. How can we go on being afraid of something we never tried? I'll take a hit for it, yeah, but if we go on for years†¦without ever knowing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head and sighed. â€Å"Please, Georgina. Just this once. Let us be together – really together.† I swallowed. He was so earnest. So sweet. So sexy. And so help me, he sounded reasonable. The calm way he spoke almost made me believe it didn't matter, that if I gave in and let our bodies come together, the loss would be small and inconsequential. I looked into his eyes and tried to convince myself of his rationalization, bringing up what Carter and others had said. That it was Seth's choice to make, nothing for me to worry about. But, of course, it was. â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"I can't. Please, Seth. Don't do this. Don't look at me like that. I love you too – so, so much. But we can't do this. I'm telling you, you just need to have sex. Go out and find someone – anyone. It doesn't matter. I don't care. It'll fix all this and make it easier for us to go on.† â€Å"You would care,† he said, voice deadly calm. â€Å"You say you wouldn't, but you would.† â€Å"Not if it protects you.† â€Å"Protecting me doesn't matter.† â€Å"Damn it, it does!† I yelled, lunging forward. I drove my fists – lightly – into his chest, and all the emotion that had been building up throughout this argument suddenly burst out. â€Å"Don't you get it? I have to protect you! If anything happens to you – if I'm responsible for anything happening to you – it will kill me. It. Will. Kill. Me. I can't handle that. I can't handle anything happening to you. It will kill me!† I stopped my yelling and met Seth's eyes. Neither of us said anything. And as he stared down at me, I knew what he was thinking. Because I was thinking exactly the same thing. I had just given voice to what Hugh had said, what Seth had been worried about. In my outburst, I'd changed the balance of risk. It wasn't about Seth hurting. It was about me hurting. Gently, he reached out and caught my wrists. He removed them from his chest and let go. Backing up, still not speaking, he picked up his clothes and began dressing. I stayed where I was, naked and frozen. â€Å"Seth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I said slowly. â€Å"I didn't mean it.† â€Å"It's okay, Thetis,† he said, fastening his pants and not meeting my eyes. â€Å"I understand. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I pushed you.† â€Å"No, no†¦it's not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It's okay,† he repeated. His voice was so, so neutral. So, so steady. It wasn't natural. â€Å"Really. But I think I need to go. I think it's better for both of us, and God only knows you have enough going on without me to worry about.† I felt tears starting to fill my eyes. â€Å"I didn't mean†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I know what you meant,† he said. He straightened his shirt and finally looked at me. â€Å"But seriously†¦I should leave. We'll talk†¦I don't know. We'll talk later.† He held out his hand, like he might touch my cheek, and then let it drop. With another sigh, he said good-bye and left. I stood exactly where I was, still not moving. My heart felt like it had just had acid thrown on it. It was burning and raw. Finally, finally, it all caught up with me. My knees gave out, and I sank to the floor. It was cold and hard against my bare skin. I drew my knees up to me and buried my face in them, wondering what I had done. Part of me screamed to go follow him, to beg him to come back, to tell him we could make love and have everything we had ever wanted. Another part, half-reason and half-pride, held me back. It was that same part that had stopped me from going after Andrew that day back in the garden after we'd fought about the Black Death. I'd let him go and gone out of my way to avoid him after that. When the plague finally came to our town, my bishop was one of the first to leave. I went with him and the rest of our household. Just like in The Masque of the Red Death, there was no true place to hide from sickness. Still, some places were better than others, and my bishop took care to keep to the better places. He survived. Months went by, and stories and rumors trickled in about the town we'd lived in. By that point, I'd grown weary of Geoffrey and decided it was time for me to move on. I got permission from my archdemon for a transfer to Florence and sneaked out of Geoffrey's house one night to make the long journey. Our old town was along the way, and a week later, I passed through it. A plague town wasn't quite like what modern people might imagine. It wasn't as though there were piles of bodies lying in the streets or anything. Not always. After all, Europe had survived the Black Death in the end, and civilization had still functioned through the worst of it. Crops were still grown, houses still built, babies still born. But the town seemed quieter and more melancholy than when I'd lived there. Andrew wasn't at the church when I stopped by, and an old man tending the grounds told me that Andrew was off helping some of his parishioners in one of the poorer districts. I found him there, inside the home of a brewer. The brewer had a large family – eight children – as well as a couple of brothers living with him. The house was small and cramped and filthy. Everyone in it was sick except for the brewer's wife who wearily tried to help Andrew take care of her family. â€Å"Cecily?† he asked in astonishment when he saw me. He was kneeling by a teenage boy. Something inside my chest blossomed with both joy and relief. Andrew was alive. He'd stayed, fought disease, and won. I strode forward and knelt beside him. The wife, giving water to a small girl, watched me uneasily. I wasn't in silk or anything, but I was clearly from a different class than theirs, and she didn't entirely know how to treat me. â€Å"You're alive,† I breathed. â€Å"I've been so worried. So worried I'd never see you again.† He smiled that gentle smile of his, and I saw more lines around his eyes than I'd seen before. â€Å"God didn't want to separate us quite yet,† he said. I looked down at the boy. I'd figured Andrew was feeding him or something, but I realized then that the priest was actually giving him last rites. The boy wore no shirt, and I could see on his neck and in his armpits the tell-tale dark pustules that had given the plague its name. The plague usually did what it was going to do in about a week, but from his emaciated look, you would have thought he'd been dying for years. His eyes were fever-bright, and I didn't know if he even knew we were there. Bile rose in my throat, and I averted my eyes. Standing up, I told Andrew, â€Å"I'll let†¦I'll let you finish this and wait outside.† I left the house, going out to where it was warm and things weren't dying. A while later, Andrew found me. I didn't ask if the boy was still alive. Instead, I said, â€Å"How many of them live? Out of all the ones you stay and risk your life for, how many of them actually survive?† He shrugged. â€Å"Three-quarters. Sometimes half, if they're very young or very old.† â€Å"Half,† I repeated flatly. â€Å"That's not very good.† â€Å"If one more person lives because of me, then that's very good.† I looked at that confident, serene face and sighed. â€Å"You're so damned frustrating.† He smiled. I sighed again. â€Å"What can I do to help?† The smile disappeared. â€Å"Don't make light of this, Cecily.† â€Å"I'm not. Tell me what to do.† And that was how I found myself playing nurse in a small town in backwoods England. Honestly, there wasn't anything glamorous one could do to fight the plague. It was all about basics, keeping the people clean and supplied with as much food and water as they could take in. The rest was in the hands of their immune system and – if you believed Andrew – God. When my patients began declining past the point of no return, I usually stopped helping. I couldn't stand to watch and left them to Andrew and his prayers. But sometimes I'd see people come back around, people whom I'd given up on, and then I could almost believe there was a higher power at work. At least, I believed that until Andrew got sick. It started slowly at first, a fever and aches, but we both knew what that meant. He ignored it and kept working until the symptoms began compounding. Finally, he couldn't fight it. Neglecting my other patients, I devoted myself fully to him. â€Å"You should help others,† he told me one day. His skin was pink and blotchy, and he was starting to get the dark spots around his lymph glands. Through all the sickness and fatigue, he was still beautiful to me. â€Å"Don't worry about me.† â€Å"I have to worry about you. No one else is.† It was true. Andrew had helped so many, but no one had come to his side, despite the fact that plague survivors tended not to catch it again. â€Å"It doesn't matter,† Andrew told me, voice frail. â€Å"I'm glad they've survived.† â€Å"You will too,† I said obstinately, even though the signs were starting to suggest otherwise. â€Å"You have to go on so you can keep doing your annoying good works.† He managed a smile. â€Å"I hope so, but I think my time in this world may be drawing to a close. You, though†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He looked at me – truly looked at me – and I was astonished at the love I saw there. I knew he'd been attracted to me, but I'd never expected this. â€Å"You, Cecily†¦you won't get sick. You will go on, strong and healthy and beautiful. I can feel it. God loves you.† â€Å"No,† I said sadly. â€Å"God hates me. That's why he lets me keep living.† â€Å"God only gives us tasks he knows we can handle. Here, take this.† He touched the gold cross around his neck, but he was too weak to take it off. â€Å"Take it when I'm gone.† â€Å"No, Andrew, you won't – â€Å" â€Å"Take it,† he repeated in as firm a voice as he could manage. â€Å"Take it, and whenever you see it, remember that God loves you and knows that no tragedy you face is ever too much for you to bear. You are strong. You will endure.† Hot tears spilled down my cheeks. â€Å"You shouldn't have done this,† I told him. â€Å"You shouldn't have helped them. You would've lived if you hadn't.† He shook his head. â€Å"Yes, but then I wouldn't have been able to live with myself.† Andrew lingered a few more days after that. I stayed with him, but every moment of it was agony. I hated watching what happened to him and was more convinced than ever that there really was no benevolent power looking after humans. He died peacefully and quietly, much as he'd lived. Another priest came to administer last rites when it happened, and Andrew's final conscious moments reflected hope and absolute faith in what would come next. I stayed to make sure the funeral arrangements were taken care of, not that there was much fanfare or anything. There were no viewings or fancy funeral halls in those days – at least not for men like him. I soon left England for the continent, and after a while, the pain of his death began to take on a new form. Oh, I still missed him – still burned and ached and felt like part of me had been ripped away. But added to that, guilt was starting to create a pain of its own. I felt like I should have taken better care of him. I should have insisted on him leaving with me when the plague came. Or maybe I should have gotten my hands dirtier while helping him tend the sick; it might have kept him away from whomever had infected him. Florence was a beautiful city, on the verge of the Renaissance when I got there. Yet even while living amongst all that splendor and art, Andrew's death tormented me for many years, the pain of guilt and missing him digging into my heart. It never entirely went away, but it did lessen – it just took a really, really long time. As Hugh had said, a long life simply means having more time to mourn.

Review of Marketing Article

The article â€Å"Building Social Marketing into Your Program† by N.K. Weinreich provides overview of available techniques how to make social marketing key element of business. The author stresses the important of social marketing and social responsibility as everyone should realize the effects of own actions. Market research processes make social marketers fell exhausted and overwhelmed and, as a result, they may hesitate to pay proper attention to social marketing ignoring its importance. Often, social markets think that lack resources and work experience to undertake social project. N.K. Weinreich, the author of the article, identifies ten effective ways how to incorporate social marketing into business program. The author recommends talking to targeted customers, segmenting targeted audience, positioning the product, being aware of competition, following the audience, utilizing variety of approaches, using effective models, testing, building partnership with key allies, and, finally, seeing what it is possible to do the next time. Weinreich argues that evaluation is the key in social marketing and it is necessary to determine what is to be accomplished and how to improve the program. When developing any program it is required to refine and test products and messages with the targeted audience to avoid misunderstanding and misconception. After the program is implemented one should monitor activities to evaluate whether everything matches the plan. The key of social marketing is claimed to be talking as social marketing is customer-driven process. Importance for the Course I think that the current article is important to be referenced in course it is directly related with marketing study. The paper presents particular aspect of marketing – social marketing – and the author offers informative and well-structured analysis of how to build social marketing. Moreover, the paper is not simply theoretical as the author uses logical arguments and examples to defend her position that every modern business should consider the importance of social marketing as it gives an opportunity to retain and to attract customers, to improve reputation and to succeed in highly-competitive business worlds. Positives of the Article I agree that social marketing should be paid more attention as it promotes fair and honest customer-buyer relations. Social marketing teaches how to talk to customers, how to gain their popularity and attention. Moreover, social marketing aims at satisfying needs and wants of the targeted audience. Further, Weinrich says that information is power and I agree as information gives power to predict and to avoid risks and to develop ways of performance improvement. Negatives of the Article It is rather hard to identify moments I disagree with as the author provides in-depth overview of social marketing and its key elements. However, I think that more attention should be paid to discussing the benefits of social marketing in the introduction. The only thing I disagree is author’s recommendation to follow the audience. I think that successful social marketing should aim at offering services and products in such a way that they should attract customers and not vice verse. Questions 1. What are the main benefits of social marketing for business environment? 2. What are internal and external challenges of social marketing? 3. Why to incorporate social marketing into program? Future Impact Firstly, the article offers new ways of building social marketing programs. Secondly, the article underlines crucial importance of social marketing for business success. Thirdly, the article sets background for further researches in this and related fields. References Weinreich, N.K.(1995). Building Social Marketing into Your Program. Retrieved March 13, 2008