Tue, 10 Mar 2026 21:14:19 -0500WeeblyWed, 11 Mar 2026 01:46:59 GMThttp://www.bleviworldofscifi.com/b-levis-amazing-blog/a-little-excerpt9975912Fall 2019

“Toby, where the hell did you get that picture?” Sav Taffert asked his best friend, Toby Ingram, when he walked into their Lincoln Park apartment in Chicago.
“I happened upon it at a garage sale, and I liked it, so I got it. I think it would look so good above the TV,” Toby replied.
“What the hell is it anyway?”
“It’s a watercolor artwork of a horse.”
“Since when did you like horses?” Sav asked.
“I honestly have no idea why I like it so much,” Toby said.
“How much was it?”
“You really want to know?”
“I’m curious.”
“Four dollars.”
“Get out of town! Yes, let’s hang up that thing above the TV.”
]]>Sun, 08 Mar 2026 01:00:49 GMThttp://www.bleviworldofscifi.com/b-levis-amazing-blog/a-little-excerpt2872610Summer 2024

Toby Ingram just came back from a run, and his girlfriend, Alyssa, was waiting for him at his apartment. They were planning to spend the evening in and watch goofy cartoons. He needed a breather before taking a shower, so he lay on the common area floor with Alyssa, and he lifted his shirt up to his chest, exposing his ribs and belly button. Alyssa then put her right ear against his upper stomach.

“Jesus Christ, Toby. Your heart’s thumping,” Alyssa remarked.
“Yup, I can feel it in my chest,” Toby replied.
“You’re so hot and sweaty, too. How did your run go?”
“I think it went well. Ran up Halsted through Boystown and back and then a little past Fullerton and back.”
“How crazy was it today?” Alyssa asked.
“It wasn’t bad. It’s gonna be insane next weekend though,” Toby said.
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Oh, can you do me one favor?”
“Yea?”
“Can you tell me your middle name?”
“You know my middle name.”
“I do, but I want to hear you say it,” Alyssa said.
“Alright, my middle name is Matthew,” Toby replied.
“What is it again?”
“It’s Matthew.”
“Again?”
“Matthew.”
“I just love hearing you say your middle name.”
“Sure.”
“You’ve got a strong and sexy heartbeat.”​]]>Thu, 05 Mar 2026 04:49:57 GMThttp://www.bleviworldofscifi.com/b-levis-amazing-blog/a-little-excerpt2088175Summer 2018

“Do you remember when all five of us boys would drive to all the fast food restaurants in the area and prank them?” Toby Ingram asked his brother, Brody Ingram, over the phone.
“Oh my god, yes. Those were some of our finest moments,” Brody replied.
“So my high school besties and I did that last night.”
“Oh my god. How’d it go?”
“It was actually Sav’s idea,” Toby said, “But it was me, Sav, Mike, Eric, Donnie, and Kyle. We made amends with Kyle.”
“I think my most favorite moment was when we were in Lowell, and it was like 2 am, and we were pretending to ask for a job application,” Brody said.
“I think it was Brett who pulled that one off.”
“He is FUNNY with his pranks. Used to hate them back in the day, but now I’ve learned to appreciate him and his sense of humor.”
“Yeah, we were such morons back in the day.”
“Well, we clearly still are.”
“How late were you out last night?”
“We started getting tired around 3 am, so they all crashed at our parents’ house.”]]>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 04:09:11 GMThttp://www.bleviworldofscifi.com/b-levis-amazing-blog/a-little-excerpt6716686Spring 2019

“How are you feeling now, Toby?” Brody Ingram asked his younger brother, Toby, in the hotel room in Door County. They were both hanging out in the hotel playing video games, since Toby was sick with pneumonia.
“My chest hurts when I breathe in,” Toby replied.
“Oh yes. Pneumonia sucks. Been there, done that.”
“I’m just glad that I have someone to play video games with.”
“Honestly wasn’t feeling up to going out anyway, so it all worked out,” Brody said.
“What were we all planning to do today? I’m completely out of the loop since I’ve been so sick,” Toby asked.
“I remember we all wanted to go to a fish boil. Not sure who all will be going to that now. I think otherwise they were gonna go on a boat ride.”
“F*ck me, I wanted to do that.”
“Honestly I’d rather not be on a boat.”
“Yeah, I could fall asleep at any moment.”​]]>Mon, 23 Feb 2026 02:46:32 GMThttp://www.bleviworldofscifi.com/b-levis-amazing-blog/a-little-excerpt8212848Summer 2024

“So I attempted to run 10 miles around the park close to our parents’ house, since I went home for the weekend,” Toby Ingram said over the phone to his older brother, Brody.
“How did it go?”
“Not as well as I had hoped. I think, at this point, I’m so used to being able to run up to 8 miles, that somehow I knew something was up around Mile 5.”
“What happened?”
“I noticed that my heart was beating really fast, and so I thought I needed to slow down a bit before going much further. I walked a mile to slow down my heart rate, and then I just chilled by the lake for about 15 minutes. After that, I was able to finish strong,” Toby replied.
“Were you able to run the full 10 miles?” Brody asked.
“I would say more or less 9 miles, but close enough. Then, as usual, on my way home, I got an iced coffee, and right now I’m at Mom and Dad’s house waiting for Dawson and everyone to come over.”
“Yeah, sometimes around Mile 5 or Mile 6, I have issues with my heart pounding really hard, and I have to also slow down for a bit. McCalsky and I are training for the half marathon next year. So far, we are able to run up to 8 miles, walk 1 to 2 miles, and then finish it out. I’m not too worried about it honestly. I’m just there to have fun, not to win money or anything. But that would be nice.”
“Yes, it would be,” Toby remarked.
“By the way, why did you not go back to Crown Point with Dawson and everyone else?” Brody asked.
“They had friends over last night. I’ve been back in Crown Point since last night because I wanted to run at the park. It’s been a minute since I’ve been there, and it’s one of my favorite places to run.”
“Makes sense.”​​​]]>Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:52:52 GMThttp://www.bleviworldofscifi.com/b-levis-amazing-blog/a-little-excerpt5666631Summer 2024

“How’s your weekend going so far?” Brody Ingram asked his younger brother, Toby, over the phone.
“It’s going really well, except Alyssa is sick. Otherwise, I’ve got the whole weekend to myself, so that part is really nice,” Toby replied.
“Are you doing anything this weekend?”
“Today, no. Last night, I went to a blues bar with a couple friends. But Sav and his girlfriend are gone for the weekend, so I’ve got the whole apartment to myself. I’ve been in bed all day playing video games, and it’s been glorious.”
“That was me as well. But I’ve got dinner plans with a few friends tonight,” Brody said.
“I’ve gone overboard with takeout today. I had chicken wings for lunch today, and I’m planning to get Chinese food tonight,” Toby replied.
“We’re getting sushi.”
“Jealous. I might have to get that instead. You might have influenced me in some way. I want to get it delivered since I haven’t showered today, and haven’t even brushed my hair or put on deodorant.”
“So you’re really in for the day?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”]]>Tue, 17 Feb 2026 04:27:38 GMThttp://www.bleviworldofscifi.com/b-levis-amazing-blog/a-little-excerpt3395462Summer 2018

“Do you remember when all five of us boys would drive to all the fast food restaurants in the area and prank them?” Toby Ingram asked his brother, Brody Ingram, over the phone.
“Oh my god, yes. Those were some of our finest moments,” Brody replied.
“So my high school besties and I did that last night.”
“Oh my god. How’d it go?”
“It was actually Sav’s idea,” Toby said, “But it was me, Sav, Mike, Eric, Donnie, and Kyle. We made amends with Kyle.”
“I think my most favorite moment was when we were in Lowell, and it was like 2 am, and we were pretending to ask for a job application,” Brody said.
“I think it was Brett who pulled that one off.”
“He is FUNNY with his pranks. Used to hate them back in the day, but now I’ve learned to appreciate him and his sense of humor.”
“Yeah, we were such morons back in the day.”
“Well, we clearly still are.”
“How late were you out last night?”
“We started getting tired around 3 am, so they all crashed at our parents’ house.”]]>Fri, 13 Feb 2026 02:57:27 GMThttp://www.bleviworldofscifi.com/b-levis-amazing-blog/a-little-excerpt9859701June 2016

“Toby, you alright?” Brody Ingram asked his younger brother, whom he saw lying on the couch in the common area.
“My head’s pounding,” Toby replied.
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, well, I did it to myself.”
“What happened?” Brody asked.
“Idiot me decided to go on a run after taking a week off from it with this damn head cold going on,” Toby replied.
“How do you feel, aside from the pounding headache?”
“I feel okay otherwise, a little tired. It felt really nice getting my pulse up again, but I think I started back at it a little too early.”
“Maybe a little, but at least you got a workout in. Do you think it went well today?”
“No.”​]]>Wed, 11 Feb 2026 01:25:13 GMThttp://www.bleviworldofscifi.com/b-levis-amazing-blog/a-little-excerpt1599532Spring 2024

“So I decided to do a little bit of meditation today,” Toby Ingram said over the phone to his brother, David Ingram.
“And how did that go?” David asked.
“It was really weird.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“I lay in bed all morning because I had nothing else going on. I was lying on my stomach, and I decided to meditate by feeling my heartbeat. My hands were pressed so hard against my chest, that I think I could actually feel my blood flowing through my heart,” Toby replied.
“That’s definitely a different one,” David remarked.
“Yeah. It was definitely weird because I’m pretty sure I could feel inside my heart.”
“I’ve done that type of meditation before by feeling my heartbeat, but I don’t remember having that happen to me. I used to mediate all the time, especially right after I called off the wedding with Olivia. It helped a lot.”
“There was no real reason for me to meditate, other than just clearing my head. Work was really hectic last week, and I am glad to not have any real plans this weekend.”
“I have no plans for today as well, and it is glorious.”]]>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 00:55:20 GMThttp://www.bleviworldofscifi.com/b-levis-amazing-blog/a-little-excerpt6289455Fall 2018

“What’s Brody up to?” Toby Ingram said over the phone to his older brother, David Ingram.
“Oh, he went out on a run. He should be back in about 45 minutes,” David responded.
“I don’t think I can go back to that coffee shop I told you all about, or I’m gonna have to take it to go.”
“Why? What happened this time?”
“Second time this has happened, but I’m at our parents’ house this weekend. I went to this place to do my homework, and I noticed three girls in those long skirts just staring at me,” Toby replied.
“Oh yeah. I know what you’re talking about. Brody and I experienced that once, and I could hear these awkward whispers amongst themselves, and yes. It was super uncomfortable,” David responded.
“If Sav or Mike went there with me, it wouldn’t have gotten to me as much. But I couldn’t stay for more than 30 minutes. I had planned on being there for three hours at least.”
“Man, that sucks. When that happened to us, they whispered about us and then laughed about it.”
“Yeah, I thought nothing of it at first since I was listening to music. But I felt like something was up after a while, so I looked over my shoulder. And sure enough, these girls were just smiling and giggling in my direction.”
“Oh boy.”]]>