Sage McDermott here.

I am afraid I'm not doing very well.  You see, my beloved Grandma Eileen died; she died last month, and I still can't talk about it without crying.  She died of complications resulting from a raging bacterial infection:  it started in her buttocks, in a bedsore, raced up her body, and it killed her.  She was just too weak to withstand the infection.  She was in her sixties, the only mother I ever knew since my own mother ditched out on me.

I'm still with Uncle Fenton and Aunt Reba.  I love them, don't get me wrong; however, if I hear one more word about church, religion, or Jesus, I'm going to hurl.  I am not into that stuff; never have been, never will.

I still have to go to church with them every Sunday. I don't have to go, but I do anyway, just to keep the peace.  I'm tired of bickering with them.  And they keep raggin' on me about my weird ways, my clothes, my hair; I'm sick of it all already!!

I am no longer on the computer; the only reason I'm on one now is because I'm at my friend Wendy's house; she let me type on her computer.  The computer at my house is off limits excepting for the adults; it's really a pain.  Maybe it's better, I don't know; however, since those threatening e-mails I got last month, I've been totally on edge.

If you don't hear from me a lot, now you know why.

So far, nobody's tried to harm me, but you never know:  there's a lot of nuts in our world today.

Case in point:  an 11-year-old boy in California was badly burned over 20 percent of his body after friends wrapped him in toilet paper and foil and set him ablaze.  I don't know what they were trying to prove, but now the kid is in the hospital, fighting for life. 

It's really stupid.  I mean, where were the boy's parents when all of this took place??  I wouldn't want to leave my own kids alone like that; you don't know what they're capable of getting into!!

I'm not looking forward to the start of school this coming September (only a few short weeks away).  Kids make fun of me, call me "Witch-Girl", worse names, and it makes me feel bad inside.  I don't know why I'm so into the goth fashions, music, but I am, and if people can't accept me without judging me, based on outward appearances, then the hell with them, is all I have to say!!

The only thing I am looking forward to regarding school is seeing my goth friends again.  Clover Winslow.  Teal Richards.  Toby Puckett.  Erich Goerstenhoffer.  Yeah, they're like me:  into the goth thing, real heavy.  There's just something dark, mysterious about the goth way of life that draws us in; that's why we dress in black, make our faces pale (if they aren't already), blacken our lips (not always, but sometimes we do), dye our hair black, look all creepy, spooky.  We love the new age music, ideals, and we refuse to stick with the normal kids, normal way of life.

We may look creepy, but none of us is involved in demonology or witchcraft (to my knowledge, anyway).  We don't bite bats' heads off or drink their blood for kicks, go to satanist meetings or see people being sacrificed: oh, no.  We don't do any of that stuff:  we just like looking, being, dressing different.

Summer for me has been rather boring, but that's okay.  I like boring.  That way, I can read, listen to my music, be myself.  I'd much rather be alone; I'm an alone type of person.  I do have friends, as I alluded to above, but when I'm not in a school environment, I'd rather spend my time alone.

Well, Wendy's ma is calling; she's going to take us to the mall, possibly out to eat.  I hope we go to Chili's; I love their food!  I will write in here again soon; take care, and blessed be!

~Sage.