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Pat Ritter. Books


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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:38 pm

'Dynamic OMR Stories' - Story 31:

The Dawn Of Insanity

When is a person deemed to be insane? This question arose many times when I investigated crimes involving people who thought God told them to murder the other person or to do them harm.
I remember clearly an investigation which happened many years ago involving a father and son who lived on a property. At the time the son had been released from a mental institution to visit his father who was dying of cancer.
During his visit over Christmas the son fatally shot his father while the father watched television. He admitted to killing his father, to put him out of his misery. At the time he honestly thought he did the right thing when God told him to do it.
Later when the son appeared in the Supreme Court, he pleaded ‘not guilty’ on the grounds God told him to murder his father. His admission to hearing voices in his head demanding he shoot his father to stop him from suffering.
The detective asked this question, ‘if a policeman was standing beside you, would’ve you killed your father?’ His reply, ‘no, it would be wrong to murder someone in front of a policeman.’
The jury found the son guilty of murdering his father. His answered, he knew it to be wrong shooting his father if a policeman was standing beside him, he had the capacity to know how wrong to commit the offence. He received a life imprisonment for his actions.
Up until this time many persons escaped their punishment on the grounds of ‘insanity’. Detective Brown from the Criminal Investigation Branch in Adelaide posed this question to a suspect during a murder investigation.
If Detective Brown didn’t ask this question, perhaps more persons would’ve escaped punishment by admitting to being insane at the time of the offence. This always puzzled me when in my work as a detective because if a person claimed they were insane, the prosecution had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the person was sane at the time they committed the offence and knew what they did wrong.
Detective Brown’s initiative and clarity when questioning his offender about a policeman being present at the time certainly placed the onus of proof back onto the offender to prove they were insane at the time of the offence.
Word count:390
IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE OF THESE STORIES CLICK ONTO THIS LINK: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/501597.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:20 pm

'Dynamic OMR Stories' - Story 32:

The Perfect Tenant

Let me share a family story about my grandmother. At twelve years old she came into my life. My family moved from the country to live with her in the city until suitable accommodation found for our family. Her dark grey hair, silky skin and always wore an apron. She lived in a flat at Spring Hill, an inner city suburb of Brisbane. Early in her life she lost sight in one eye and had it replaced with a glass eye.
She paid rent to live in a shop, one of four shops converted to flats. One walked from the footpath directly into the lounge room, which joined the kitchen. Glass windows, painted white fronted the footpath with double doors in the centre. A narrow stairwell went upstairs to three bedrooms. A small verandah overlooked the city. Downstairs, the toilet, bath and laundry with the narrowest back yard possible. Weekly she paid a guinea for rent. To my knowledge she lived in this flat from 1936 until 1971. She was the perfect tenant.
My grandfather passed away before I was born. He and my grandmother lived at the flat in Spring Hill when he died. She remained living there. When one considers the perfect tenant, one must take into consideration the time spent in the residence and making payments.
My grandmother lived at the same flat in Spring Hill Brisbane for thirty-five years. Obviously the rent rose from the time she first arrived to when she finally departed. Each week she paid the rent on time plus the electricity and gas even after she became a widow. She was the perfect tenant.
My memory living with her still remains in my mind. I still smell the gas from the stove, pungent odour. Her cooking on a small gas stove, one of those you placed a shilling coin into the slot of the meter to use the gas. If children were near, her voice still echoes in my head. 'Get outside. Children should be seen and not heard.' She repeated this saying over and over until we never came near adults while they were speaking.
One fond memory, each Saturday afternoon she allowed my sisters and I to play records on her record player in her bedroom. This became a joy to be allowed to use her player and listen to the latest music. Another fond memory when she took us shopping with her to the city. We'd walk with her from her home to the major shops to enjoy the crowds, eat at a canteen and walk home.
She always had visitors. My aunt lived a couple of doors away and she often visited her mother and talk over an afternoon cup-of-tea. Unfortunately my aunt was an alcoholic and needed to have extra tonic in her cup to mix with her tea. They'd argue about two flies crawling up the wall, or more than not two cockroaches scooting across the floor.
I attended the local school which my father and uncles also attended in their earlier days. A teacher who taught my father and his brothers still taught at the school. As soon as my name was mentioned, an instant dislike became apparent between the two of us. He reminded me on more than one occasion how similar I behaved to my father and uncles thus I received the cane for deeds I didn't think I deserved. It was living in hell until I left when my parents purchased a house.
My grandmother always cooked. Around the kitchen table we sat not saying a word whilst the adults chatted about their day. As soon as dinner was finished my grandmother bellowed for us to take a bath and go to bed. Confused because it was five o'clock in the afternoon and still light.
Eventually my family moved from my grandmother's flat in Spring Hill to a suburb in western Brisbane. My grandmother remained at Spring Hill. Off and on over the next decade I seldom visited her and each time found my time with her to be difficult. It was always with my family and she never wanted to have much to do with her grandchildren, especially me for reasons I couldn't explain.
Word count: 709
IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE OF THESE STORIES CLICK ONTO THIS LINK: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/501597.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:20 pm

'Dynamic OMR Stories' - Story 33:

The Tables Were Turned

Control freaks of this world annoy the crap out of me. Why do others need to take control to always get what they want? If things don't go their way, then all hell breaks loose. Needless to say everything worked for and achieved, I've done myself.
Don't worry, I'm not an angel in disguise. When the tables were turned when confronted by a control freak, I sink to the background and keep out of sight. All through my life confrontation of any type especially when it stems from an authoritative figure displeases me. I'd shudder down to my boots when I became confronted for anything blameless. More times than not I became the innocent party.
I remember one incident most clearly. At the time I established 'Crimestoppers' for Queensland Police. My role to establish this programme within three weeks. At the time the programme became a political football because of the 'Fitzgerald Inquiry' being conducted on Queensland Police Force into official corruption.
Crimestoppers had nothing to do with this inquiry however the Police Minister at the time thought Crimestoppers would be a good bargaining tool to gain points on their opposition. As it turned out the act by The Minister became fruitless because the opposition won the next election.
My role to establish Crimestoppers placed me in a position of autonomy, 'to get the job done'. Actually I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. To be given this task after twenty years of continued service became a blessing in disguise. In my mind I could do it. In my heart everything would turn out right.
Instead of my workday being eight hours this expanded to at times eighteen hours 'to get the job done' on time and delivered. Every skill I learned over the twenty years joined together into a funnel of hope. Within three weeks everything worked as required.
My major role to write computer programmes, select staff, train, implement programmes through television, news print and radio. When I think back to the time July 1989 computer software hardly existed. Don't ask me how, but everything worked.
By the final day before the official launch exhaustion overtook my body and mind. I needed a rest. I'll never forget one of my staff the morning after the official launch wanted to speak with me about something important. We sat in our tea room and whilst having morning tea she shared with me probably the most important news I never wanted to hear. She told me I'd become a treat to our superior officer now with the programme completed. I'd be asked to leave.
When confronted about this information I thought back since the period I started the programme and thought, no-one asked me what I'm doing. I went ahead and did what I thought proper. Is this information true. Is there a dagger sticking out of my back? I thanked the officer for her information and thought nothing more about her comments.
Within a week I appeared before my superior officer and told in no uncertain terms my tender terminated and to leave forthwith. Her information correct. The knife driven into my back, twisted and blood flowed down my legs. What could I do? Absolutely nothing. I packed my office equipment, said farewell to my staff and thanked them for their valuable work and left never to return.
At the time I never understood about 'control freaks' however this became my introduction to these individuals who want to control everything with their hold on control. Since personally experiencing this act of 'control freak' there's nothing to defend against this type of individual. I treat everyone how I want to be treated myself with dignity and honesty. Not to be controlled.
Certainly the tables were turned in this incident, but I'll never forget being told before I left, you did the best you could've done under the circumstances. It's a long hard road without any turns with the destination never known where this road is going to take you. These words still remain in my mind. I'm a believer in fate and destiny. Things are sent to try us with lessons learned to make us a stronger person and live another day. I certainly learn and continue to learn each step to reach the end of this winding road and much more to learn thanks to the table being turned.
Word count:737
IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE OF THESE STORIES CLICK ONTO THIS LINK: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/501597.

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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Mon Jan 26, 2015 10:02 pm

'Dynamic OMR Stories' - Story 34:

The Watch – The Favour – The Very Big Fish

My grandmother became the dearest person to my heart during my childhood. Anytime I wanted her advice, she gave it. We became close. I trusted her more than anyone else on earth.
On my twelfth birthday she told me when I turned twenty-one years old she would present me with a gift of my grandfather’s gold watch. My grandfather had fought in World War 1 in France. She showed me the watch many times and I couldn’t wait for the time I received it.
My cousin Danny, who reached his twenty-first birthday two years before I did became a conscripted soldier and sent to Vietnam War. On his departure my grandmother presented him with my grandfather’s gold watch which she promised to me.
At the time Danny should’ve been entitled to the watch before me because he not only represented his country and fought overseas, he was the eldest grandchild. He did me the greatest favour by receiving the watch before departure.
After the war Danny returned home and life went on and the watch never mentioned again in our family or between my grandmother and me. I didn’t feel any jealousy nor did I resent Danny receiving the watch, perhaps it may have been a good luck totem whilst he served in Vietnam. Let’s hope so!
Many years later I became an author beginning my journey late in life at aged thirty-five. Little did I know where this journey would lead me and moreso how would I realise writing became my good luck totem.
After my grandmother passed on I decided to write her story for the sake of the family to keep her memory alive. Speaking with my aunts, one particularly took an interest and shared information when my grandmother was ten years old she won a writing competition.
This information sent alarm bells off in my mind. I love to write but always I asked a question, ‘where did this writing gene come from’? Obviously this gene had been handed down from my grandmother who won a writing competition when she was ten years old.
With this information on hand I considered to be the luckiest person on earth to receive this gift from my grandmother. This gift provided me with a feeling of ‘catching the very big fish’ in life.
Word count:395
IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE OF THESE STORIES CLICK ONTO THIS LINK: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/501597.

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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Tue Jan 27, 2015 10:16 pm

Thank you dub for your kind thanks. Here is the story for today: 'Dynamic OMR Stories' - Story 35:

The World Is My Oyster

At first I didn’t realise how important this information from my English school teacher would have a profound bearing on my life. Mr Imoff told me, ‘you have a gift for writing. You write the way you speak which is unique’. At the time fourteen years old, the bells and whistles didn’t go off in my mind.
Jump forward twenty years when another teacher praised my writing in a similar manner almost using the exact words as quoted by my English teacher two decades before. Again bells and whistles didn’t explode in my mind.
From this moment began a journey I never imagined would happen to me. I began to write, or should I say given an opportunity to write, my way, instead of worrying about how to write. This world became my oyster.
Lessons learned along this journey forced me to change directions many times, for instance, with the first book I co-wrote with my lecturer who told me I had a gift for writing. I believed him at the time however didn’t understand this so-called ‘gift’. I had no idea what he or the other teacher meant.
Writing and having published the first book over a quarter of a century ago, I decided to write and publish my own book, writing and publishing myself. Did I know if it would work? I didn’t have a clue, but this was part of the journey with lessons along the way to understand writing.
After self-publishing the second book, whilst continuing to sell the first book, my mind told me my future to be in writing. I began to write, write and write. This became an obsession, my mind created ideas to write, develop these words into sentences to complete a story.
One book led onto the next and after twenty-five years I’ve now written my fifteenth novel. How did this come to be such an important part of my life? From the beginning I never had any idea of writing and only wrote the words echoed from my mind. Was this sufficient to become an accomplished published author?
After all of this time, the world is my oyster, because my self-belief tells me I can do anything to achieve my goal in life. I love to write and now my books are sold across the globe in fifty different countries.
To think as a fourteen year old lad sitting in an English class, a teacher had the foresight to remark, I had a gift for writing in that I write the way I speak which is unique. I can’t thank Mr Imoff or lecturer Mr Bob O’Sullivan enough who told me exactly the same words twenty years later, for each teacher to praise their student on his journey of knowing his world is his oyster.
Word count: 473
IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE OF THESE STORIES CLICK ONTO THIS LINK: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/501597.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Wed Jan 28, 2015 11:11 pm

'Dynamic OMR Stories' - Story 36:


They Don’t Make Men Of That Calibre Anymore

Darren Lockyer retired from playing Rugby League a couple of years ago. His career spanned almost twenty years during which time he captained his country, state and club.
As a child I witnessed Arthur Beetson, another Rugby League legend, strange as it may seem both players originated from Roma, a country town west of our city. Both captained their countries, state and clubs through their illustrious careers.
Arthur Beetson became my hero watching him score try after try each Sunday hoping to one day be as good as him. Alas I never reached those heights or anywhere near what Arthur accomplished.
My family moved to the seaside suburb of Deagon and Arthur moved to Redcliffe to play, not far from where I lived. Most Sundays, at every opportunity, I’d try to watch Arthur play, particular in 1965 when Redcliffe won the State Premiership. You’d swear I’d won the Premiership the way I felt. Arthur went on to represent his country to show his brilliance as a Rugby League player.
At the end of his career Queensland Rugby League introduced ‘State Of Origin’ when players were selected by their state in which they first played, to represent their State.
Before the introduction of ‘State of Origin’, players were selected who played for their clubs. The year 1982, Arthur Beetson captained Queensland in the first ‘State Of Origin’ in which Queensland beat New South Wales. This changed the history of Rugby League between States. Queensland took the upper hand and still holds most wins since the concept began.
In 1988 Brisbane Broncos joined the National Rugby League in Brisbane to play against all other national clubs. A couple of years after their entry into the National Rugby League along came a young player from Roma, his name Darren Lockyer.
Darren began his role as fullback and eventually went on to play for his state and country in that position. Brisbane Broncos needed a new player in the position of five-eighth. Wayne Bennett, the coach of Brisbane Broncos moved Darren from his favoured position of wearing number 1 to wear number 6.
Prior to Darren moving to number 6, he stepped into the boots of many famous players who’d carried the Broncos number 6. Darren excelled at this position and went on to captain his country, state and club wearing number 6.
Unfortunately they don’t make men of that calibre anymore and I wonder what’s in the water at Roma to produce these two great players of Rugby League.
IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE OF THESE STORIES CLICK ONTO THIS LINK: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/501597.
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Re: Pat Ritter. Books

Postby patritter » Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:06 pm

'Dynamic OMR Stories' - Story 37:

This Is My Theory

Human nature fascinates me to a degree of frustration. We’re different because if we were all alike, we’d know what each other is doing or going to do.
Let me explain my theory. In my other life I worked as a detective which skills encompassed identifying facts which turned to evidence in solving crimes?
Whilst I loved this occupation with passion, I became amazed how many people ‘didn’t tell the truth’ or ‘twisted the truth’ to escape punishment. After leaving this type of work I ventured onto being an author.
One occupation led from the other because my role as an author didn’t alter too much from a detective. I still needed to find the truth and stick to the facts. Along this journey I discovered another theory: ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’.
Beginning my journey as an author, I wrote stories and books about my own life. Then I ventured on with writing lifetime stories of other people. This experience gave me, with my previous occupation as a detective, skills to identify ‘if the person was telling the truth’.
Along this journey my skills improved with an unknown degree of intrigue to study behaviours or habits of different people I wrote about. For instance, because I initially wrote books about my own life I questioned my own self. Questions like, ‘why do I love to write?’ Other questions such as ‘where did this writing gene come from?’
This question burned in my brain, ‘how come others in my huge family are not authors?’ I decided to investigate this theory.
Last year I wrote and published ‘The Shearer’ a story of my great grandfather who was a shearer in 1891. My grandmother always spoke of her father being the leader of ‘The Great Shearer’s Strike in 1891’.
My grandmother passed away many years ago so I wrote her life story as a tribute to her life. I mentioned when she was ten years old her mother died giving birth to her youngest sister Nellie.
At the time her father couldn’t cope with the loss of his wife, plus the responsibility to rear four children under aged ten. He gave them away to families in Cunnamulla ‘like a litter of pups’. Nellie went with a relative to another town. My grandmother never saw her sister again.
Out of the blue I received an e-mail from a lady who told me she’d read my grandmother’s story on my website and she was Nellie’s eldest daughter. She’d been searching for her family for forty years. Ninety-nine years passed from the time Nellie was born to the time her daughter contacted me. After we confirmed this wasn’t a hoax she told me she also wrote and published books.
My mind went into overdrive; a light bulb flashed inside my head, my theory of ‘behaviours or habits’ must be in the genes of families. The proof lay in the connection of my newly found second cousin to myself being both authors. This is my theory.
Word count: 510
IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE OF THESE STORIES CLICK ONTO THIS LINK: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/501597.

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