www.IMADEAMESSS.COM NOW HAS 3 S's

I have my own domain name now so all you have to do is type "www.imadeamesss.com" into your browser and the blog will pop up. This is a first for me. Notice that I had to add an "s" to "mess" to make "messs" because some person had taken my blog's name and put a junk site in it's place.
Below is the begining of a film I started to write but couldn't decide if it would be a better book or what.
AND THE 'L' IS SILENT Copyright Leslie Jones McCloud 2007

ACT I

Fire engines break the silence of the quiet block. The large fire hoses
cris cross the manicured lawns and fire personnell trample neat flower beds
in a hurry to douse more water on the fire that raged in Cissy's kitchen.

Cissy, who had just moved into the neighborhood last year, alternated
between staring at the flames, trying to get her hair in to a pony tail and
clutching at her robe trying to keep it closed. But Haelo--who lives next
door, wanted answers. Cissy turned when she touched her shoulder.

CISSY
Hey.

HAELO
Are you okay, girl? What happened?

CISSY
I don't know T. I woke up and smelled smoke and ran
into the kitchen and the whole thing was on fire.
All of it. And you know I can't afford this.

Haelo lit a cigarette and offered one to Cissy. The women pulled hard on
the cigarettes and stood in silence, watching the fire damp down little by
little.

CISSY
I know they'll be asking me how this happened.

HAELO
No they won't they'll go in there and tell you how
it happened. Did you pay your insurance?

BeBe rolled her eyes.

CISSY
Yes, ma ma, I paid my insurance.

One of the firemen walked over to BeBe and pulled her to the side. Haelo
watched as they talked. She saw BeBe lower her head into her hands, silent
and still. Haelo sighed as her stragly friend walked back over to where she
was.

CISSY
He said it started from the hot comb. I left the hot
comb in the stove and it set fire to a towel. And I
guess from there it did this.

HAELO
Well, at least you can get a new kitchen out of the
deal and possibly new furniture. What else did you
have in there that was valuable.

CISSY
Who knows? I hadn't even gotten around to cleaning
out the attic and basement from the old owners. I
was so happy to get a house...

HAELO
That fireman sure was cute, girl. Did you get his
name?

Bebe rolled her eyes again and the women just stood there looking at the
smokey, smoldering mess that used to CissyBe's kitchen.

HAELO
Don't worry, I'll help you get it back together
again. I remember when you bought this house.

BeBe 's mouth curled into a smile, gigling like school girls to the
amazment of the fire fighters.

CISSY
Yeah, we must have looked pretty country--trampling
over the lawn, hollering and all.

FLASHBACK;

Haelo leads a group of her chattering relatives up to her new home. She is
dressed in early 90s garb, as the rest of the group, holding a small box
under one arm and the keys to her new house in the other. It ends abruptly.

Chapter One
Haelo didn't really like to ride the bus but she needed to get around with
out the hassle of a ticket being slapped on her car when she got back. The
bus reminded her of how different everyone is. There are those who have
cars and ride for convienience and there are those ride out of necessity.

She always wondered about the people walking the streets she drove by when
she was in a hurry. Where are they going?

But nobody ever said much. It was just another thing Haelo noticed about
life and kept to herself.

She pulled out her notepad and started to scribble down thoughts as the bus
whizzed by her stop.

"Huron," the driver said.

Haelos eyes popped wider than they already were as she shoved her notepad
deep into her pocket, simetaneously checking for her tape recorder and
grabbing her bag.

"I missed my stop. Can I get off here?"

Without acknowledgement the driver opened the doors with a hydrolic sigh.
Annie felt the cold wind eat through her tights as she scurried off the bus
a good mile from the office.

She didn't see Tim tucked away in his car but he saw her.

Annie was hard to miss.

Long-legged antique bronze face and a long shock of streaked dark brown
hair she dared to let hang far below her shoulders.

T u-turned and whipped his shiney new BMW 320 Si down the block to get
another look at the woman marching--damn near bouncing--down the street in
stilleto boots, a wool coat and neat bag.

He saw her duck into one of the buildings then noticed a bar and grill next
door. But in the T tradition, he looked at the clock in the car and drove
away.

Haelo bounced out of the office, assignments in hand and the idea that
tonight she would party. She stuck her arm out to get a cab. Her friend
Cissy screamed her name from across the street.

CISSY

"Girl, wait," she said breathlessly.

"Hey, where are you coming from? Wanna share this taxi?" Haleo said,
noticiing Cissy's new look.

"Naw, let's go to Panties and get a drink. I want to tell you about my new
boyfriend," she said presenting her wrist so that Annie could check out her
new tennis bracelet.

"Where'd you get that from," she deadpanned.

"Common, my treat."

With that Cissy pulled her unbelieving friend inside the place to a table
near the window.

"You look good. What happened in the week I didn't see you. Donald Trump
put you on his list--new job--promotion?

"Fool no, I met a guy on the sidewalk last month trying to get a cab...

Haelo started to gather her things.

"Where are you going?"

"Back out there to get my taxi," Haleo joked.

"Girl! Listen

Marcy explained how she and Brennon met and shared a cab a talked and
clicked and later had dinner and talked about the perfect wedding the
perfect kid the perfect life and fell in love almost immediately. Perfect.

And cissy droned on about it, shaking the bracelet around, moving it up her
wrist, tossing her hair.

Annie wonedered if she was obnoxious when she was in love two months ago.
And she didn't even get diamonds. Just a few lackluster meals with an
average guy who droned on about his past relationships. And he was
bothersome, always on her back about something. Maybe Martin was a hideous
creature--that would lift her spirits.

"Want another? Have one more. I need to kill some time before Martin shows
up," Cissy said with a toss of the head.

HAELO

"Okay,"

"So what's he like? Got any friends?"

CISSY

"As a matter of fact, We're going out with a few of his buddies tonight.
You should come with, it'll be fun. It'll be better than sitting around in
that damn housecoat. I hope you threw that thing away,".

HAELO

"Hush. Where yall going?".

CISSY

"To that new place, Tino's, way up north. They don't hang around down this
way too much," she said.

A man walked through the door, looked around. Annie caught his eye and he
moved forward.

HAELO

"Damn girl, he's fine."

Brendon was gorgeous all the way from his briefcase to his wing tips. Clean
cut, well-groomed, mannerable. Perfect.

MARTIN

"Hey baby," he said. His voice smooth and manly.

Cissy got up and they hugged like they were in a private room. He kissed
her on her neck and grabbed her butt. Then she introduced him.

Flashback Haelo sitting in a bar 1/4/01
Annie didn't know if it was her hair or the cheap french purfume but she
figured one of them had to go if she was to ever climb out of the hole she
had dug for herself emotionally.
She bought herself new purfume for Christmas and swore New Years day she
would never again date a bisexual man.
It was just too hard to do.
She didn't work, but if you call writing working, well--she worked. At home
mostly or on the train or whenever she got an assignment. Annie had stop
being picky about the kind of assignment she would take long ago, so she
ended up meeting men in the strangest of places.
That's where she met Tim, in a strange place.
He was attractive but she was drunk.

A normal occourrance.

She didn't notice as many quirks when she had a glass or three of wine. It
made meeting men easier and it helped drive them away before she got bored.
But Tim wasn't a bad guy only strange. Odd behaviors seemed cute when
fanned by the breeze of Merlot. And then Haelo liked guys who are
considered different, the loners. The kind of men sober women only consider
dating for a few minutes before making up some excuse as to why they can no
longer share that four dollar drink with them at the crowded bar.
But not Annie. That kind of behaivor she considers rude and she suffers
greatly because of her fondness of another human oddity--Miss Manners.
But for a while, Tim and Haelo together seemed to work.
They were sweet together. He was sweet to her, kissing, holding hands--the
kind of stuff girls like. She was affectionate towards him to varring
degrees and he apprecieated it. And for a while they clung to each other in
their self-made storm. But Tim craved drama and Haelo was shy.
The kind of stuff that could be seen as a trap, of sorts. The kind of
closeness that would trap any of the walking wounded, like Haelo. Tim was
good at caring because his feelings were genuine. He cared for he but the
world outside of their comfortable make believe fantasy life could offer
him more of what he wanted.

Then he drifted away.
Cissy's relatives always told her she would never keep a man acting the way
that she does but she didn't listen to them.
Instead, she listened to her heart and learned the way of the down low
brother.

When they met, she didn't notice the things that would later make her cry.

Tinos meeting with Martin's friend Gavin/donovan

He is thin--an ex teen chubster.

Still shy after growing up fat, he talked with anyone. He was too old for
that, his friends thought. They wanted him to act dignified.

He grew up with those who now act dignified--friends, same school same
phobiass And she never would be prepared. He let her know that within the
first hour of their blind date. But it didnt seem to matter. 'Who cares,'
she mumbled. At least she was dating.

He was being himself when they walked into the club.

And she didn't want another horror movie on her hands.