Anger - Not Always a Bad Thing

I was sorting through some handouts yesterday from grief workshops I used to conduct in my role as a hospital chaplain. Several about anger were clipped together, and when I glanced through them I realized that I have always had a problem around anger. Probably because I grew up in a family that had no clue about the healthy ways to express that particular emotion. Anger tended to erupt like some dormant volcano, and I would run to avoid the flow of lava.

It took me a long time to realize how much that instinct to run away from anger and confrontation affected my writing. I could be working on a scene that had some major conflict between two characters, and I would quickly insert reason and bring the level of conflict down.

This was pointed out to me by Stephen Marro, a producer/director in New York that I worked with for a while doing script editing and doctoring. We also wrote a few scripts together. He would come up with the ideas and the basic story beats, and I was to flesh them out. He read one of my scenes and then asked, "Where's the beef, Maryann? These people are talking this conflict to death."

So, much like I had to force myself to allow my characters to use colorful language (see my post at The Blood Red Pencil) I had to force myself to let my characters get really angry and ratchet up the conflict.

What about you? Are there emotions that you struggle with in your writing? How hard is it for you to separate yourself from your characters?

Book Review - In Dog We Trust by Neil S. Plakcy

 Thanks again to Carl Brookins for sharing another book review here....

In Dog We Trust
Neil S. Plakcy
ISBN: 2940000889596
Ebook available from Amazon, Smashwords, B&N.

Steve Levitan is a convicted felon. Through a lapse in internal discipline, he did a little computer hacking and ended up in prison.  Released on parole, he returns to his home, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where he obtains a position as a part time faculty, teaching English at a local college.

His marriage fell apart, which is another factor setting up everything that follows, murder, car chases, odd and interesting characters, such as a sort of hard guy named Santiago, Steve's parole officer, and a couple of cops, one of whom is a long-time school buddy of Steve.

Then there is the dog. Who names their dog Rochester? The dog belonged to a dead woman, and dog and Steve bond almost immediately, although both seem to have serious issues with authority.

Without revealing too much, this is a very "now" detective novel, delving into computer and other crime. How closely do you reads your credit card statements? The novel  is well written, smooth and interesting. It's always good when a crime novel teaches or reminds readers of information they should know. This story does that, without preaching or lapsing into lecturing. The classroom scenes and internal dialogues regarding student
attitudes are authentic. For anyone who enjoys a jaundiced look at small college academic life, this novel is a pleasure to read on that level.

Everything about this novel smacks of a professional, polished approach. The writing is smooth, the characters well developed, and they stay in character. The plot has been carefully laid out and proceeds at a good pace. It's conclusion is satisfying.

Then there's the dog, Rochester. Dog lovers will be pleased to know that the author refrains from
anthropomorphizing the dog. Undeniably talented, Rochester is helpful throughout the novel, but only in naturally occurring, that is, doggy ways.

In Dog We Trust is a completely enjoyable way to spend a  reading afternoon.

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Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com, www.agora2.blogspot.com
Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,
Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!

Friday's Odds and Ends

First off today is a wonderful bit of wisdom regarding the debate about the mosque and Ground Zero. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who would be the spiritual leader of the mosque, was recently  quoted as saying the clash is not between Christians and Muslims. "The real battle that we must wage together today is not between Muslims and non-Muslims. It is between moderates of all the faith traditions. We must not let the extremists, whatever their faith, whatever their political persuasion, hijack the discourse...."

Amen.

I'm a Plugger. I have no idea who this Lady Gaga is and what is the deal about the meat dress?

AWARD - Carol Kilgore from Under the Tiki Hut presented me with the Versatile Blogger Award.  It is quite an honor to receive this award and according to the rules I am supposed to tell seven things about me and then pass the award on. Carol, who shares my inclination to be a rule-breaker, decided to share seven things about her writing. She also gave us permission to mix-up the rules any way we want, so I am going to share some things about my cats. I might get to seven and I might not.
       1. Little John, who is definitely not so little anymore, thinks he is king. The rest of the cats defer to him, so maybe he is right.
       2. Shadow, new kitty on the block, has given up on trying to make friends with the other cats and plays with the dog.
       3. Orca is a pig. He sits like a vulture while the other cats are eating, just waiting for the leftovers.
       4. Orca is also a great hunter. The other day he got that gopher that was tearing up my pasture.
       5. We only have one cat that we got on purpose.
       6. Misty, the matriarch of the herd - is that the proper term? - tolerates the other cats, but really wishes she lived alone.

Now I will pass this on to a few of my blogger friends. Tracy Farr at I'm Just a Guy  because I think he will have the most fun with breaking the rules. Mary at Giggles and Guns because she, too, will have a twist on the rules. Don't you just love the name of her blog? A new blogger friend, Alex, at Breakfast Every Hour . You can really tell I like blogs with unusual names.

Lastly, I am a guest today at Elaine Cantrell's Blog  where I am interviewed by the central character in my upcoming release, Open Season. Since Robin Spano and I are still debating whose idea this type of interview was, I am going on record as saying I did this one for Elaine looonnngggg before Robin did hers. Just sayin...
Elaine's blog has lots of links to interesting sites and articles about the publishing business and is a nice place to visit.

Not your Normal Interview

Robin Spano's first book, Dead Politician Society, was  released  Sept. 1 in hardcover   from ECW Press. She has been visiting blogs recently to introduce people to her work and today let her central character ask her a few questions. Enjoy....

Clare Vengel: Why would you want to write books all day? Don’t you get bored?

Robin Spano: Are you kidding? I love writing. Sometimes it frustrates me and I want to scream, but I’m almost never bored.

Clare: I’d go mental. I’d rather be out in the world doing things. Want a cigarette?

Robin: I’d love one. But I quit years ago.

Clare: At least have a beer.

Robin:  Gladly.

Clare:  So…you ride a motorcycle. At least you haven’t given that up in your old age. Do you do your own repairs?

Robin: I wish. I tried to at first. But I’m a lousy mechanic.

Clare: You need focus to be a mechanic. And you need to groove with your machine.

Robin: Yeah. I can’t do it. I can focus and groove with my writing, though.

Clare: Okay, I kind of get why you wouldn’t be bored. Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Robin : I think so, but I’ve spent most of my life trying to do everything but write.

Clare: Why?

Robin: I think I was afraid of it. Of not succeeding. Then not having the dream anymore.

Clare: That’s stupid.

Robin: I agree.

Clare: How did you get over that?

Robin: It was my husband. He couldn’t understand why I would possibly NOT spend my life doing what I love. His favourite saying is that life is not a dress rehearsal, and one day I understood what he meant.

Clare: Why crime fiction? Is it because you live such a boring life, you need to spice it up with some adventure?

Robin: That’s not it. I used to have a lot of trouble with plot. With a mystery, you’re forced to spend a lot of time crafting the plot. So I couldn’t run away from my main weakness as a writer.

Clare: Okay, that’s boring. I don’t care about writing technicalities. Why did you write about dead politicians? Do you follow politics in real life?

Robin: Politics entertain me. Sometimes I get riled up about an issue, but mostly it just cracks me up how these grown men and woman happily sling mud around while they’re supposed to be making the world a better place.

Clare: Why did you set your book at a university?

Robin: Because it’s such a great age. People in their late teens/early twenties reason like adults but are ruled by their emotions and ideals. They still see a lot of the world in black and white, but they’re starting to understand that gray might have some merit. For the political murders and their motives, I needed a group of intelligent characters at that stage in life.

Clare: So what’s my job?

Robin: You’re undercover as a student. You have to befriend the suspects, try to get into the secret society, and find the killer if you can.

Clare: But I don’t know anything about politics. Or university.

Robin: The politics don’t matter. This is all about the people.

Clare: Will I do a good job?

Robin: You’ll have your moments.

Clare: Will I end up solving the case?

Robin: How would I know? You have to go in and do the best job you can. That’s all we can ever do.
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Robin Spano grew up in Toronto, studied physics in New Brunswick, then dropped out to travel North America on her motorcycle. She met her husband, Keith, while working as a waitress, and helped him run his Toronto pool room until they moved to Vancouver. She unwinds by snowboarding, boating, or arguing about politics.

Robin's  Web site 

 See the book Trailer HERE
 

Guest Blogger Tomorrow

Robin Spano, author of  Dead Politician Society,  will be my guest tomorrow. She will be interviewed by the central character in her book and is a great deal of fun. Stop back by tomorrow if you get a chance.

Robin loves to write crime. She loves the plotting, the pacing, and the character arc of her protagonist. Her first novel, Dead Politician Society, was just released  Sept. 1, 2010.  It is a hardcover release from ECW Press

Here's just a little teaser for her book:

After the mayor falls down dead in the middle of a speech, a clandestine student society claims credit for his demise.

Clare Vengel is given her first undercover assignment: to pose as a student and penetrate the society. A streetwise amateur mechanic, Clare finds university a foreign land, and she has trouble creating an in with the suspects. She quickly alienates a popular professor and loses the respect of police superiors.

When another politician is killed, Clare kicks herself into high gear. She forges friendships with students and makes inroads into the secret society.

As the body count rises, Clare realizes that the murderer she has to unmask is someone she has come to consider a friend. She only hopes that the friend doesn’t unmask her first.

Robin's Web site

Book Trailer

Excerpt From my Humorous Memoir in Progress

 Here's another excerpt from my book, A Dead Tomato Plant and a Paycheck. This is from the chapter titled School Daze; Is There Hooky in Kindergarten. Enjoy...

The beginning of each new school year is always met with varying degrees of eagerness and excitement. There are some kids, like Jason in the comic strip Fox Trot, who live for each school year so they can amaze a whole new set of teachers. Others go begrudgingly because in some respects it is better to have something to do every day than be home with Mom who might find some unsavory job to do, like clean the toilets.

Mother’s are generally thrilled to have the kids gone most of the day, but first there is the mad rush to get them all outfitted with a few new clothes and the 10-page list of school supplies.

One year, a couple of days before school was going to start, I went up to our local grocery-drugs-everything-under-the-sun store to get those school supplies. When I arrived, I discovered that I wasn't the only one who'd waited until the last minute to perform this little task.

The aisles were crammed with shopping carts, harried mothers and a multitude of kids, which created more confusion than in the pits at the Indianapolis Speedway. The mothers wore a grim look of. determination which clearly said, "I can only suffer through this indignity because it is all for a greater good," as they jiggled crying babies, fought their way up and down the aisles, and did their best to ignore the earnest pleas of their kids.

"Oh, Mommy, please! Can't I have this organizer? See it has Star Wars stuff on the front and this neat thing for paper. And I won't ask you for another thing extra, I promise."

"I know it's not on the list, but I really need these felt-tip markers, and the big box of crayons and some of these notebooks."

For the first time in my life I actually had the presence of mind to think ahead and only brought one kid with me on this shopping trip, and he had masking tape over his mouth. So I was in a position to see a little humor in the human drama occurring around me. Although I did have to hurry to cosmetics if I felt a laugh coming on to avoid the risk of being attacked by a horde of irate mothers armed with wooden rulers.

The store clerk probably deserved as much sympathy as the shoppers. He valiantly tried to keep the shelves stocked, answer questions, and help locate vital items. He looked like he'd been through the proverbial wringer, and I wondered whether he would pull his hair and scream if I asked him to help me find the grade two manuscript tablet.

I decided not to take the chance.

To make matters even worse, we all knew that we'd back in a few days to try to exchange the things that shouldn't have been on the list for the things that should have been. None of us was more acutely aware of this than that poor clerk, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that as soon as he clocked out for the day, he took off for a quick vacation in Siberia.

Book Review- River of the Arms of God by Irene Sandell

 This book was published in 2008, but is still in print.


River of the Arms of God
Irene Sandell
Sunbelt Eakin Press
Trade Paperback – 294 pages
ISBN: 978-1-934645-59-8
$18.95


River of the Arms of God is a story of two women held against their will in the harsh Texas frontier. Sarah is held by Eli along the Butterfield Stage Line in the mid 1800s, and a hundred years later Kate is the emotional prisoner of a rancher in those same Texas plains. She thought Colby loved her, but he only wanted her to bear him a son. When she failed to provide him one, he lost interest in her.

Against great odds, Sarah manages to survive in the isolated cabin for almost two years and makes a daring escape with her son, Edward. She leaves behind a diary and some stone carvings that Kate eventually finds. Reading about Sarah’s courage gives Kate the courage to demand a divorce.

As the story unfolds, the parallels between the two women become more obvious, as does the emotional connection that Kate makes to Sarah. It is written in a style that captures the look and feel of cattle country in Texas, and the characters are well-drawn and endearing. In introducing Kate, the author explains how she came to call herself that. “The people in Wheeler, Texas, would have been shocked to know that shy Kathryn Rowley had defied her father and chosen her own name. It was her secret and an uncharacteristically rebellious decision on her part. It hinted at strength that even she could not imagine.”

This is an enjoyable tale of two strong women who fight against all odds to escape the tyranny of their men and their circumstances

Ms. Sandell is a retired history teacher and River of the Arms of God is her second novel. In a Fevered Land was published  in 2003, and Ms Sandell was chosen as a highlighted author by Barnes & Noble Booksellers when that book was released. She is a fourth-generation Texan and has written and produced 16 documentaries on Texas history.
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FTC Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the author for possible review and did not contain any money to influence my decision to review it. Drat!

Remembering...

Very few people in the world were not touched by the events of 9/11, some more deeply than others. For those of us in the United States we will probably never forget where we were that morning and what we were doing.

I was getting ready for work, putting the finishing touches on my makeup and about to head out the door when my daughter called to tell me to turn on the television.

At first I wasn't sure what I was seeing and we both watched in horror as the second plane hit. I was stunned. Not even sure I could go to work, but I had to. I was working as a chaplain in a hospital at the time and I thought of all the patients who were feeling the emotional impact of this tragedy on top of the hardships they were already experiencing. If ever they needed a chaplain it was that day.

So I went to work.

There's a great country song by Alan Jackson that seems appropriate for today "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?" 

Every time I hear that song I cry a little more.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Recent Headlines:
BP Cites String of Failures
"BP's internal investigation concluded that a series of failures by its own crews and its contractors led to this summers Gulf of Mexico spill."

Right. It had nothing to do with cutbacks and shortcuts to protect the almighty bottom line.

Animal Control Officer Drags Dog With Broken Legs
I'm not even going to publish the story that went with that headline. Suffice it to say, the officer has been suspended.

A Shift in Perspective
A 24-year old man who has been blind since April 2009 has not only learned to deal with the challenges, he has excelled at meeting them. It took him only 3 months to learn independent travel with a cane, and it usually takes a person a full year to master that. He is anxious to complete his training so he can teach mobility skills to other people with vision impairment. He says dealing with blindness just takes "a shift in perspective."

What an inspiration, unlike the following....

The Wealthiest Lawmakers Got Wealthier Last Year Despite Recession
According to an annual survey conducted by The Hill, the top 50 wealthiest lawmakers combined worth increased $85.1 million during 2009, topping out at a total of $1.4 billion. Sen. John Kerry topped the list with a $20 million increase in minimum net worth to a  total of $188.6 million. The lawmakers made millions more dollars while the economy struggled and the nation's unemployment rate hit as high as 10 percent.

ACK!!!!

Great Comments:
At  meeting to discuss issues surrounding the Trans-Canada pipeline RoseMary Crawford of the Center For Energy Matters said, "If we stand together and tell our stories in a calm and courteous manner, we can impact government policy and procedures."

How refreshing that was to hear someone call for focusing on the issues instead of promoting heated rhetoric that only promotes more heated rhetoric and completely obscures the issue.

At a meeting in Dallas to discuss imposing stricter regulations on the disposal of coal ash, the Dallas Chairman of the Sierra Club suggested that the "Texas Commission on Environmental Quality be renamed the Texas Industrial Permitting Agency."

You've got to love it. It does appear that big business does have too much power on the local, state, and federal level.

Many Forms of Creativity

When you really stop and think about it, you realize   people are often creative in a number of different ways. My friend Lindy Hearne is a singer/songwriter, and he is also an amazing photographer. I tried to snag a copy of one of his pictures from Facebook, but couldn't. If you would like to see a few of his shots, here is a LINK  And if you would like to hear some of the music he creates with his partner, Lynn Adler, here is a LINK to their page on MySpace.

I have another friend who is a writer, Jory Sherman, and he is also a painter. What is the most amazing thing about that is that he is legally blind. Well, so am I in one eye, but he is blind in both. He can see light and dark and make out some large images, but that is all. The work he has turned out on canvas is stunning and he has won awards for that work as well as his writing. Here is a LINK to a story I did about Jory last year. You can see some of his paintings there.

I thought about this cross-over of creativity this morning when I set out on my morning walk. This will now explain the pictures of the buzzards in case you were wondering what on earth they have to do with this topic.

As I was walking, I was checking out the cows and the egrets in the pasture across the road from me when I saw this dead tree full of buzzards. It is a gray, cloudy morning and the silhouette of the birds against the gray sky was captivating. I thought about just walking on by, but couldn't resist the urge to go back and get my camera. 

That urge got me to thinking about this cross-over of creativity and  how people are loaded with it, even if they don't realize it or explore it. Since reading The Artist's Way,  I have been more aware of the forms of creativity I enjoy and am apparently gifted at. At least that's what people tell me.

I don't think I am as gifted as some of my friends, but then I have always had a hard time being my own cheerleader. I do enjoy singing, acting, directing, playing guitar, and I have even done some painting. All of that feeds my creative core, and as I learned from that book and from wise friends, all creativity is connected and feeds each other. So I believe I have become a better writer since allowing myself to enjoy all these other forms of creativity.

What about you? What types of creative endeavors do you enjoy? It doesn't have to be in the arts. Creativity can take many forms.

I'm Not Believing This

I ran across this little news bit this morning and had to shake my head.

"The Gainesville, Florida-based Dove World Outreach Center announced plans to burn copies of the Koran on church grounds to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but has been denied a permit to set a bonfire. The church, which made headlines last year after distributing T-shirts that said "Islam is of the Devil," has vowed to proceed with the burning."

There are so many things wrong with this, it is hard to know where to start dissecting it. I couldn't help but notice the dichotomy between the name of the church - if we even dare call it that - and the hatred they are promoting. Isn't a dove a sign of peace and love?

No matter what one thinks about the Muslim extremists who were responsible for the horror that was 9/11 and all the other horrors committed before and since, the Koran is a holy book. Dare I even say it is as holy as the Christian Bible and the Jewish Torah?

Yeah, I do dare. There are thousands, maybe millions, of people who practice the religion of Islam who have had nothing to do with terrorism. They revere their holy book and burning it in effigy is a grave insult. It is also stirring the embers of hatred among Muslims.

Today there are protests in Kabul over the plans to burn the Koran, and the protests have been taken to the same extreme as the plan. Protesters are calling for the death of President Obama, somehow believing he is behind the church's plan.

As I think about the ramifications of this, I wonder what the Dove World Outreach Center would think of a group burning a Bible to mark the horror that was the Crusades?

Book Review - McMansion by Justin Scott

Thanks to Carl Brookins for sharing another book review....


McMansion
by Justin Scott
Poisoned Pen Press
255 pages, hardcover
ISBN: 1-59058-063-X

Justin Scott has written over a dozen mysteries, thrillers and adventure novels under several names, taut, exemplary stories that illuminate and explore many of our social concerns.  They are good stories, well-written
with drive and panache.  This is another, peopled with interesting characters, a serious underpinning, and enough crime and mystery to satisfy the most enthusiastic crime fiction reader.

Ben Abbott is a sometime private investigator, sometime real estate agent, and a full time commentator on some of the more egregious aspects of our modern society and the influence on small town America.  Abbott is also one of the more pleasant and thoughtful investigators readers are likely to run across in this age.  Abbott is concerned about the effects of aging on his Aunt Constance who lives nearby, he takes in children in need of adult supervision and he worries about unrestrained development of open spaces in the Connecticut town of Newbury where he lives.  That last concern forms the core of this interesting novel about crooked developers, and a badly twisted legal system.

One of the worst developers, a Billy Tiller, possessed mostly of terrible taste, monumental greed and a willingness to break the law anytime he thought there was profit in it, gets his come-uppance when somebody drives a bulldozer over him at a construction site.  The perpetrator, a young member of ELF, is discovered by the local troopers sitting at the controls of the offending 'dozer with the crushed body of Billy Tiller underneath.  Open and shut, but Abbott, retained by the boy's lawyer, doesn't believe it.  His pursuit of the truth leads him into some interesting and stressful situations.



Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com, www.agora2.blogspot.com
Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,
Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!

Friday's Odds and Ends

What is it with some people and their attitude toward kids? In one week's news in Dallas there was a story about a woman who killed her boyfriend's son by setting his bed on fire. The father woke up, but was unable to save the boy. 

Another story was about a mother who bit her five-week-old baby all over his body. There were also other signs of abuse, and she told doctors that she did it because she didn't want the child.

What's happened to maternal instincts?

"Ecologically it's not responsible & maybe ethically it is not a good idea either." Franklin Percival, wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geological Survery questioning the wisdom of flushing pet alligators down the toilet when they get too big.

"What the heck?" Maryann Miller questioning the wisdom of folks who have alligators for pets.

Another oil rig blew up in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday. Do we need to take a serious look at the safety of off-shore drilling?

And ending on a lighter note. I love to read the comics in the newspapers. One of my favorite strips is Pickles and a recent strip had Opal and a friend at the beauty shop sitting under a hair dryer. Opal is reading a magazine and says, "I'm feeling more irrelevant all the time."

"Why?"

"Every time I read a People Magazine it seems like there are more celebrities I've never heard of."

I'm not so sure I want to admit to how much I can relate to that.

Aid to North Korea?

A recent news story I read said that the United Nations is planning to spend more than $290 million on a number of aid programs in North Korea. Apparently this is part of some negotiating tactic to get the country to accept oversight conditions from the countries that will donate to the cause.

According to the news story:  "The U.N. plans demonstrate the determination of the world organization and its most influential backers -- notably, the U.S. government, which is the biggest single financial supporter of most U.N. aid and development organizations -- to keep dangling carrots of assistance before the North Korean regime."

At t least a dozen U.N. agencies hope to be involved over the next five years in North Korea’s national welfare, in areas ranging from health care and education to sanitation and civil service training. Exactly what that involvement would be was a little vague, as there were no details given of specific programs planned to address  these areas.

I guess the reason I've never gone into diplomatic service is that I don't understand why the U.N. and the U.S. would invest that kind of money into a plan that has no guarantee of success. Even if Kim Jong II accepts the oversight conditions, there is no guarantee that his son, who will probably take over leadership in the near future, will abide by the deal.

That's an awful lot of money to risk on what could be a roll of the dice. And I'm sure there are a lot of hungry people in Africa, Pakistan, and a lot of other places who would like a piece of this  290 million-dollar pie.

For more about the proposed aid CLICK HERE

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By the way, the real reason I haven't gone into diplomatic service is because nobody asked me. But I think I could do a bang up job and I wouldn't waste a lot of money doing it.

Just a Little Bit of Fun

 As the summer winds down and school is starting for kids across the U.S., I thought it would be fun to take one last look at the challenges of summer vacation. This is another excerpt from my humorous memoir, A Dead Tomato Plant and a Paycheck. Enjoy......

Those fun-packed summer days always made me wonder why we didn’t have year-round school. I personally, thought it was a grand idea, and if a candidate for public office ever wanted to guarantee his election all he'd have to do is run on a platform of year round school. He'd win hands down because I'm sure mothers far outnumber teachers when it comes to the voting public.

On the other hand, I would never vote for anyone like this priest I knew who suggested we close all the schools and give our children the opportunity to learn in a home environment. His reasoning was that it would be good for parents to assume more responsibility for teaching their children, and on one hand that is a grand idea. But in practicality, I considered it a downright rotten idea. 

I decided that the idea was probably an attractive to him, because he wasn't a mother, and he wouldn't be faced with instant insanity at the thought of a five-year continuation of summer vacation. Undoubtedly, the only thing that keeps us mothers from curling up in a fetal position on the floor of our closets by the middle of August, is the knowledge that school starts in two weeks.

Can you imagine no end to the lament:  "There's nothing to do."

"Why don't you playa game with your brother?"

 "With David?"

"Well, why don't you help me clean the house, then I'll playa game with you."

"I guess I'll just watch T.V."

 Or the fights:

"I was watching my program."

"Mommeeee! Anjanette won't let me watch what 1 want to watch."

"Michael, shut up!"

"Mommeee! Michael won't shut up!"

 Or the complaints:

"We never have any fun."

"All we ever do is work. Don't you ever work?"

"I always do my chores and David never does his."

"Why is it always so hot? Why can't we have a pool?"

 "Why do I have to go to bed? I'm not even tired."

If there was never an end to the challenges of five kids and 11 weeks of summer break from school, it would have been the end of me. Nine months of school each year was the only thing between me and an institution.

Well, that and the fact there wouldn’t have been anyone to take care of those five kids while I was gone. Carl always said if I left, he was going, too.

Book Review: The Protest Singer: Pete Seeger by Alec Wilkinson

 Thanks to Carl Brookins for offering this review. This is a bit of a serendipitous occurrence considering just last night I revisited my love of the music of this era by performing some old Peter, Paul, and Mary songs at a Cabaret show, with two of my talented kids. I remember well the days of hootenannies, Seeger, Biaz, Dylan et al. What a fun time that was. And it was fun to go back in time last night, except most folks had never heard "Stewball."
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The Protest Singer: Pete Seeger
By Alec Wilkinson
Pub by Vintage Books, 2010,
ISBN: 978-0-307-39098-1
Trade Paper, 152 pages, including
credits, acknowledgments and testimony.

The mystery is that Pete Seeger survives and endures.  In his lifetime which spans much of the turmoil of the Twentieth Century, he has been beset by some of the most vicious and evil forces we have experienced in this country and in the world.  Yet, here he is, still pluckin’ and singin’ and taking on injustice and good causes, like cleaning up the Hudson River.

I suppose I’m biased.  I grew up in a time when folk singing in America was in the ascendancy and I have a lot of old records and memories of these folks, including Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, several others. I once had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Seeger through the good offices of my friend, another fine folk singer, Gene Bluestein.  So it was great to read about all those folks, many of whom it’s easy to think of as friends, whether personal or only through their music, through the sensibilities of Seeger and Wilkinson.

It is wonderful, although disturbing, to read this elegantly written, honest look at a man, his friends and companions, his family, his trials and his triumphs; a man who sang his way into the hearts and memories of a lot of people.  Seeger’s influence, not just in the music world; after all, the Weavers recording of  “Goodnight Irene” in 1950 sold over a million copies.

This slender book, written in the kind of engaging style that is somehow the essence of Seeger’s approach to a principled life, is a moving tribute to him and to everything that’s right in these United States.  Readers may disagree with his points of view, but you cannot disagree with the way Mr. Seeger fashioned his protest.  Wilkinson has set down, in a most engaging manner, for readers everywhere, the values and the reality of a true American.
------------

Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com, www.agora2.blogspot.com
Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,
Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords

Friday's Odds and Ends

First I want to acknowledge all my new followers. Glad to have you aboard and hope you find your visits worthwhile.

A recent letter to the editor in the Dallas Morning News responded to the lack of civility in public discourse. The person wrote, "As repugnant as it can be sometimes, this country embraces freedom of speech and permits the right to hate for all."

True, but that doesn't mean that we should all go into some sewer to make a point or join a debate.

We would all like to believe that bigotry is dead, yet people on Grand Isle in Louisiana got nervous when a group of minority workers showed up to keep beaches free from oil during the Gulf oil spill. According to a news story, the people were nervous because they were not used to seeing a "mass of people of color coming onto their isle."

Hmmm. What colors are their maids and gardeners?

Some company is offering bikini waxes for 8-year-old girls.

Not even worth a comment.

And finally, this word from the political arena.  The $600 million border security bill was passed in the senate recently with 98% of the chamber empty.  Senator Charles Schumer from New York and one other senator opened the session for 31 minutes and passed the bill. And Schumer actually nerve to gave a speech thanking "Everyone for their bipartisan support of the bill."

To whom was he speaking?

Any absurdities you might want to add to my list?

Do Politicians Think We're Stupid?

Actually, I think they do. Consider all the mis-steps, lies, shady dealings, and other nefarious activities associated with those in the political arena. How can they keep doing all that and still try to convince the general public that they deserve our trust and respect?

The latest bit of shady-dealing news concerns Texas House of Representatives member  Joe Driver   who is on the hot seat for double billing the state and his campaign fund for travel and other expenses.  The total amounted to a little over $17,000.

Granted, not a lot of money in the overall scheme of things, but it is money he thought he was entitled to. When the double billing was discovered, he said he did not realize there was anything wrong with asking reimbursement from the state for expenses his campaign fund had already paid for. Can he look at himself in the mirror and honestly say there was not a little voice suggesting that perhaps this was wrong?

More recently, he has said an ethics official told him that charging both was okay. So, if he did not think there was anything wrong with it, why did he consult an ethics official?  I would really like to know the name and credentials of that ethics official.  None of the ethics courses I took ever had a loophole for outright fraud. 

Perhaps the biggest irony in this whole mess is that Driver has reimbursed his campaign fund, but not the Texas taxpayers. So he still get's to keep the money. Shame on him.

What do you think? Is there any excuse for this type of thing?

The Great Debate

Unless you have been spending a lot of time on some remote desert island in the middle of the Pacific ocean, you must be aware of the debate that is going on over plans to build a mosque in New York City near Ground Zero.

Those opposed say that it dishonors the memories of those killed on 9/11 to have a building that supports Islam so close to where so many died in the horrendous attacks on the World Trade Center. Some have even gone so far as to imply that there is something nefarious going on with the plans to build the mosque.

In a recent column in the Dallas Morning News, Zulfi Ahmed, an American who practices the Muslim faith of Islam, asked people to stop, take a deep breath, and consider  this issue from another perspective - Freedom of Religion.

Like other people of his faith who have spoken out recently, Zulfi asks that we not appoint "guilt by association." Just because the terrorists who blew up those buildings were of the Islam faith, that does not mean that all people who practice that religion are terrorists waiting for the next time to strike. It is a small group of extremists who support and propagate Jihad against the U.S. and other Western countries. Just like it is a small group of Catholic priests who abuse children, not every one that has a church next to a school playground.

 Zulfi cites the numbers of mosques, temples, churches, and synagogues that are all "within a stone's throw of each other" in the suburban town where he lives, making the point that religious freedom and tolerance is alive and well in some parts of the country.

He concludes by saying that "If as a nation we do not protect the legal rights of one minority, then all minorities will be at risk, eventually. What is being built in Manhattan is a cultural center, with a pool, community services facilities and outreach teams, not training grounds for suicidal al-Qaeda operatives of women-beating Taliban."

To read the full essay by Zulfi, click HERE

So, what do you think? Is it insensitive to build the mosque so close to Ground Zero?

Book Review - The Anteater of Death by Betty Webb

Thanks to Carl Brookins for sharing his reviews....

The Anteater of Death
By Betty Webb
Poisoned Pen Press,
December, 2008, Hard cover,
230 pages, $24.95,
ISBN:  9781590585603

This is the beginning of a new series for this veteran author.  Just look again at the title.  Somewhere in the back of my head there's a Shakespeare quote.  Ms. Webb is an accomplished writer with several excellent novels to her credit. This one is a distinct departure for her, and it seems she is almost unable to restrain herself.  There are a great many asides and some tongue-in-cheek humor that sometimes distracts the reader from a rather thin plot, although the setting is intriguing and Webb uses it well.

Theodora Bentley, the central character in this drama, is a zoo-keeper in a private enterprise somewhere in Southern California in an old seaside town interestingly named Gunn Landing.  This zoo is the private plaything of some very wealthy families who have deep roots in the community.  The situation is made more complex because some of those family roots are deeply entangled in their own history.  Thus there is a darkness to this novel which offers some opportunities for the author to move in directions which would have been unthinkable even a couple of years ago.

One of Teddy Bentley's responsibilities is the giant ant eater of the title, in the wild, a fearsome creature indeed, equipped with razor claws designed to rip logs open in search of ants.  The book opens in the mind of this anteater, improbably named Lucy, in a highly unusual approach which has the potential to cause a number of readers to immediately close the book.  I suggest that such readers persevere.  Pregnant Lucy is disturbed when a male human enters her enclosure and she goes to investigate.  Her investigation leads to an accusation that the animal has killed the man, a director of the zoo.

This accusation against Lucy rouses anger and frustration among the zookeepers especially Teddy.  Gradually Teddy becomes snarled in the murder investigation, complicated by her own roots in the community and her past relationships with the Sheriff and several others.  Eventually the smoothly written and complicated plot gets sorted out and Teddy receives lots of help from a substantial range of off-beat and even strange characters, not all of whom are caged in the zoo. Funny, ironic and sometimes irreverent, the book will give readers an inside look at zoo keeping, animal protectionism and the often distorted lives of wealthy idlers.


Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com, www.agora2.blogspot.com
Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,
Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!

Lasting Relationships

Sorry to disappoint everyone who popped over to read Friday's Odds & Ends, but today is our wedding anniversary. I thought readers might enjoy finding out what has kept us together for 45 years. The following is another excerpt from my humorous memoir, A Dead Tomato Plant and a Paycheck. While most of that book is humorous, now and then I get serious about families and the ties that bind. Enjoy....

The year we celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary was special to me because that was the year I had spent exactly half of my life married to Carl. Sometimes I had a hard time remembering what my life was before this marriage. Fragments of memory would come back in little flashes, like quick freeze frames, but they seemed to have less to do with who I was then, than what began on our wedding day.

I can vividly remember the fantasy I had about us in those early years. We would be the perfect couple. Have perfect children. A perfect home. I would become a rich and famous author, which would put us in the public spotlight, and people all over the world would marvel about how great we were.

When I fantasize, I don’t fool around.

Obviously, the fantasy was just that, but reality hasn’t been all that disappointing. We have longevity to our relationship and that is noteworthy. We have a great family. 

Who wants perfect, anyway? 

We did more than survive those first 22 years – and the years since. We lived and loved and laughed and cried and grew together.

In light of that accomplishment, I wonder if there is some kind of secret to it all, and after careful consideration, I think the answer is “yes” and “no” and “maybe.”

Yes, because when we married Carl and I made a commitment to each other. A commitment we decided to honor even when things got rough. A commitment that kept us in the same house even when we couldn’t stand being in the same room together. And a commitment that made us dig in and work to make things better when it looked like it was all falling apart.

No, because the secret isn’t really a secret. Every married couple voices the same vow on their wedding day and we are not the only ones who continue to honor it.

Yet, maybe there is some magic to our particular blend of single-mindedness and determination. What used to be his strength and my strength became our strength and kept us from ever considering an alternative. For the most part, it also kept us from evaluating our relationship according to modern standards. We never had “his and her” towels or “his and her” rights and responsibilities. When we’ve found ourselves asking, “What am I getting out of this relationship?” the answer usually becomes “what am I giving?” And we’ve tried to focus on acceptance and understanding instead of expecting and demanding.

Of course, we haven’t always lived out those ideals. But ideals are a lot like virtue. Just because a person has the virtue of patience doesn’t mean she can’t scream now and then. 

One of the articles I wrote for a national magazine, Marriage & Family Living, dealt with staying committed in a marriage. I decided to ask some dear friends who were like foster parents to me, to share the secret of their 50 + years together. He considered my question for a moment then said, “Well, the way I see it. It’s like getting into a boat together to cross the lake. As long as you are both paddling  with the same effort, you will get across to the other side.”

"And if one of those someones can’t row anymore?"

"Then the other person has to row harder."

Driving Lessons

Among the many lessons my father taught me were certain things about driving. First and foremost that driving was a privilege we should never take for granted. That may seem weird in our modern society when having a car is a given once one reaches a certain age, but it wasn't then.

My father also taught me some of the basics of maintaining a car - changing the oil, checking the tires, changing a flat tire, replacing spark plugs, and checking all the other fluids. I wasn't allowed to get my license until I had mastered all that.

However, the most important thing my father taught me was courtesy on the road - also not so common in this modern society.

People seem to have forgotten some of the basic rules and courtesies:

• On the freeway and interstate, the left lane is for passing only 
• Allow one car length between you and the car ahead of you for every 10MPH of speed (nothing is worse than looking in your rear-view mirror and not even seeing the grill of the car following) 
• An orange light means prepare to stop, not speed up
• A red light means stop, not blast through the intersection
• Don't pass a car and then slow down (UGH)
• Don't pull out in front of a car that is passing you (again UGH)

Driving used to be something I really enjoyed, but not so much anymore. People seem to drive without any awareness of the rest of the cars on the road and not only is that frustrating, it is also dangerous.

So what about you? What are some of your pet peeves related to driving?

Book Review: On Deadly Ground by Michael Norman

Thanks to Carl Brookins for sharing his reviews....

On Deadly Ground
by Michael Norman
ISBN 978-59058-692-1
Pub. By Poisoned Pen Press
270 pages, Hard Cover, 2010


Michael Norman writes in a straight-forward kind of abrupt style that can be off-putting.  An almost endless march of short declarative sentences doesn't allow for much rhythm or flexibility in approach.  Nevertheless, the author has constructed a novel with an excellent foundation, logical development, interesting characters and a long-running, intense disagreement at the core of the story.

To the small southern Utah community of Kanab comes a former Denver detective after the destruction of his marriage and his career.  J.D. Books is hurting.  He needs a job and he needs to recover.  Through the probable intervention of his father, Kanab being the town of his youth, Books lands a job with the Bureau of Land management as the local representative of law enforcement.  The town is divided among those who favor environmental concerns for preserving the natural wonders of the area, and others, who see the vast expanses of land as development potential.

David Greenbriar leads an environmental alliance which, in spite of internal disagreements as to strategy, seems to be winning the local fight to protect the millions of acres of relatively unspoiled land against the desires of developers. Books is hardly settled into his doublewide mobile home when Greenbriar is murdered, shot once while camping in the wilderness.  With some reluctance, Books BLM boss agrees to let him run the murder investigation, his experience being far broader than anyone in the small community.  This decision puts Brooks into conflict with his family's friends and his efforts to balance impartiality with finding the killer makes an interesting story.

In the end, Norman's straight ahead style, serves the story well and while twists and turns are not part of the picture, "On Dangerous Ground," is a solid detective story with comfortable characters many readers will want to see again.

Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com, www.agora2.blogspot.com
Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,Devils Island
Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!

Guest Post - Author Barri Bryan

Please help me welcome Barri Bryan as she shares about... Images and Imagination


I'm often asked where the inspiration came from for books I've written. Most of the time I can pinpoint a specific circumstance or event that inspired me. Occasionally I can't. My inspiration for A Second Splendor is one of those rare occasions. Spontaneous and fanciful thoughts about writing a book with 'true love never dies' as its theme had been running around in my head and images were troubling my imagination for a long time before I began to  put those thoughts and images together in some meaningful combination.

When I did it was more a result of desperation than it was inspiration. To paraphrase Montaigne, I was treating my imagination gently by trying to relieve it of all trouble and conflict. As I sorted through ideas for characters in my little drama, quite suddenly reality collided with my subjective inner world of impressions and feelings. My hero and heroine must be very young at the onset of the story-in high school maybe? I forgot my struggle to put life and substance to my characters as my plot began to unravel inside my head. I would write about a teenage bride. That shouldn't be hard for me to do since I had once been a teenage bride. My imagination took flight and I began to make my outline.  Almost immediately I had second thoughts. I was incorporating into my plot a very controversial subject. After arguing with myself through a long morning, I decided to pursue this plot line anyway.

Later when I tried to write character sketches of my hero and heroine, I ran into a brick wall, leading me to decide that imagination can be both a blessing and a curse. I laid my work aside and forgot it for several weeks. Then one evening, as I read these lines from a poem by John Wilmot:
"If I, by miracle can be
This livelong minute true to thee,
'Tis all that heave allows.

My fickle imagination returned with a vengeance. My heroine must be complex yet straightforward, wise and at the same time foolish. How would I reconcile those disparities? My hero must be strong and at the same time be considerate and kind. It would be challenging to make a man who did some of the things this man did, seem a hero. I had my work cut out for me.

Once more I was writing A Second Splendor. What did any of this have to do with the poem I had been reading? Nothing, except those lines succeeded in kicking my imagination into overdrive. How? I don't know. Who can explain how imagination operates?

From conception to completion, I struggled with this book as I have no other. It defied so many of my unwritten rules for writing. Maybe that's why it holds such a special place in my heart.   

 ---------

CRR Mini Blog Tour!

  CRR is delighted to host CRR Publishing and author Barri Bryan in a mini-blog tour to celebrate the release of A Second Splendor!

We have a wonderful line-up of blogs to visit, and three arc copies of A Second Splendor will be given to three lucky people drawn from those commenting on the blogs! Click on the blog name below to read and comment and stand a chance to win – make sure you visit on the right day!
A Second Splendor is available HERE

 

9 August – Lovestruck Novice
13 August – Nicole Zoltack
15 August – Maryann Miller’s It’s Not All Gravy
17 August – Linda Banche
19 August – Maggi Andersen
21 August – Steph Burkhart
25 August – Liana Laverentz

Blurb:
Julie Anderson is not happy that her ex-husband is coming home to attend their daughter’s wedding. Max has broken her heart in the past – not once, but twice. Thank goodness she’s too wise to fall under his spell again, or is she?
Max Anderson has some reservations about his daughter’s coming marriage to the son of his ex wife’s business partner. He shows up early and walks into a situation that begs him to intervene. When he does all hell breaks loose.
Have fun everyone!

Guest Blogger Tomorrow

Romance author, Barri Bryan is on a mini-blog tour for her latest book from Classic Romance Revival, and will be here tomorrow to share a bit about Images and Imagination. Come back and help me welcome Barri to It's Not All Gravy...

CRR Mini Blog Tour!

  CRR is delighted to host CRR Publishing and author Barri Bryan in a mini-blog tour to celebrate the release of A Second Splendor!

We have a wonderful line-up of blogs to visit, and three arc copies of A Second Splendor will be given to three lucky people drawn from those commenting on the blogs! Click on the blog name below to read and comment and stand a chance to win – make sure you visit on the right day!
A Second Splendor is available HERE

 

9 August – Lovestruck Novice
13 August – Nicole Zoltack
15 August – Maryann Miller’s It’s Not All Gravy
17 August – Linda Banche
19 August – Maggi Andersen
21 August – Steph Burkhart
25 August – Liana Laverentz

Blurb:
Julie Anderson is not happy that her ex-husband is coming home to attend their daughter’s wedding. Max has broken her heart in the past – not once, but twice. Thank goodness she’s too wise to fall under his spell again, or is she?
Max Anderson has some reservations about his daughter’s coming marriage to the son of his ex wife’s business partner. He shows up early and walks into a situation that begs him to intervene. When he does all hell breaks loose.
Have fun everyone!

Friday's Odds and Ends

The wealthy American mother of three children who were found dead in an Edinburgh town house will face criminal charges in a Scottish court. Authorities issued an arrest warrant against Theresa Riggi, 46, as police completed autopsies on her children — 8-year-old twins Augustino and Gianluca and their sister Cecilia, 5. Riggi is currently going through a bitter divorce with her American oil industry executive husband, Pasquale Riggi, 46, of Colorado. They were contesting the custody of their children. 

Why do the children always have to suffer?

And speaking of suffering children. What about all the children "forgotten" in vehicles who die horrible deaths in the heat? We read about it all the time. A parent forgot to drop a child off at day care. Or a day-care worker forgot a child in the back of the van. How can you forget? It is beyond my comprehension. Some people think it is understandable what with all the distractions in the world today. They also think that Congress should step up and require automakers to install technology that would remind parents to remove kids from the back seat.


If parents are so busy and so stressed out that they can forget their children, then maybe it is time they re-evaluate their lives.


A recent headline: GM Shows Healthy Profit
General Motors shows signs of strength as it posts $1.3 billion profit, but the automaker still owes the government — and American taxpayers — more than $43 billion in federal bailout money it took after it declared bankruptcy last June. Okay, GM execs, are you going to forgo your bonus so we can have our money back?

Christ United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas builds a house every summer for a needy family. Applicants have to be employed  and able to make the mortgage payment of about $550. For that they get a nice 3-bedroom house. Sweet.

Don't be a Victim

The Media in Dallas has all been abuzz over remarks made by Police Chief David Brown to City Council  members.  Those comments were made during a  Public Safety Committee meeting while speaking about a reported 25 percent spike in sexual assaults so far this year compared to the same period last year. He pointed out that a lot of those assaults are connected to alcohol use and date rape.

In putting forth the department's plan to address this increase he said they are considering a public-education campaign urging women to exercise extra caution when going out with someone new, to be careful about drinking too much in those situations or to always have a trusted, sober friend present.

During the meeting a reporter from the Dallas Observer   was doing a live feed to his blog and  reported that the Chief was blaming women for sexual attacks. Later in the week, Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow, came to the Chief's defense saying this idea was no different than public safety campaigns to encourage people to lock their homes and cars and don't leave valuables in cars.

Blow was taken to task by letter writers who said that he was supporting the idea that women are to blame for sexual assaults and rape. Beth Newman, dirctor of Women's and Gender Studies at SMU, wrote, "A public education campaign emphasizing the responsibility of women to protect themselves merely reinforces the idea that a man's taking advantage of an "opportunity" to rape is to be expected."

In response to that letter, another  woman wrote, "No woman drunk or sober ever deserves to be raped, even if she is dancing naked on a tabletop in a room full of convicted serial rapists. However, I would never advise my daughter to allow herself to get drunk while on a date with a man she barely knows."

This controversy has really resonated with me because I was assaulted once. And I was not the least bit offended by Chief Brown's comments. To me, what he was saying was, be careful that you don't make yourself prey. Rapists are looking for every opportunity to take advantage of a vulnerable person. Do what you can to make sure you are not that person. 

That isn't blaming the victim. 

A Little Summertime Fun

Here is another excerpt from my humorous memoir, A Dead Tomato Plant and a Paycheck. Since most of us are still sweltering in the summertime heat, I thought I'd continue from the chapter Summertime Blues. Enjoy....

Another fun part of summer vacations were the skirmishes. Not a kind word could be heard from the troops as they squared off for another major battle over territorial rights in the bedroom. (Loosely translated, that meant which corner did Michael get to fill up with dirty socks?)

At times, there was so much snarling and growling going on, I was tempted to call in a lion tamer to restore peace and quiet.

 The skirmishes were caused by boredom. At least that’s what they always said, even though they had enough toys and games to outfit a small school. The daily lament was always, “There’s nothing to do.” To remedy that, I whipped out my list of odd jobs, saved for just such an occasion. Then they suddenly remembered a million things they simply had to do.

They had to practice their multiplication tables because their teacher told them to.

They had to sort their rock collection.

They had to help their friend get his shoe off the roof, and it might be an all day job because another kid keeps throwing the shoe back on the roof. (It only cost them a quarter to get the kid to work on his throwing arm.)

They promised the lady down the street they'd stand guard over her flowerbeds and catch the culprits who keep smashing her petunias.

This was when I got hit with a summertime problem much worse than grubs in my lawn, army worms devouring my garden, or the challenge of how we would pay our latest electric bill.

Although the latter did have a direct impact on this problem I called The Summertime Blues, more commonly known as, Would I Ever Make It Through The Next Six Weeks Until The Kids Went Back To School?

Six more weeks of carting them all over town to different activities to ward off the wave of boredom that threatened to overcome us. And with their unerring instinct of gratefulness, they threw a fit when I asked them to take their dirty socks off the kitchen table.

Six more weeks of, "It's too hot to mow the lawn." But they were willing to risk a heat stroke to ride their bikes up to the local supermarket for candy, or go to the park to play a game of baseball.

And somehow I always got elected to serve refreshments to the whole team.

Six more weeks of stupid, senseless, sibling in-fighting:
"Get your stinky foot out of my face!"
"You threw my shorts on the floor so you can just go pick them up."
“You always throw my clothes on the floor so I don t have to pick your stupid shorts up."
"If you turn that channel, I'll break your arm!"
"I want to watch something else."
"You always get to watch what you want to."
"Nuh-uh ... cause you're always watching your stupid shows."
"If you don't leave me alone, I'm going to punch your face in.”
"Mom! He's going to punch my face in."
"Move over, you're bumping me."
"If you touch me again, I'll break your finger."
"You don't scare me."
"Quit looking at me."
"Mom make him quit looking at me!"

Sometimes they covered all that on the first morning, which left them five weeks and six and a half days to think of new things to fight about.

Book Review - The Fourth Sacrifice by Peter May

Thanks to Carl Brookins for sharing his review with us...

The Fourth Sacrifice by Peter May
Thomas Dunne Books
Hardcover, 405 pages,
ISBN: 0312364644
Review by Carl Brookins

Scotsman Peter May is a fine writer and a good journalist. He has experience, a good memory and he knows how to do research. For several months he was afforded unprecedented access to Chinese law enforcement behind the curtains. His books ring with authenticity. Sometimes all this expertise and research gets in the way of a really good story. If readers are fascinated by Chinese history the excavation of the terracotta warriors at X'ian, the capital of the Middle Kingdom, and interested in the rise and fall of the Red Guards during the cultural revolution, here's a novel that opens wide a window on those parts of Chinese history.  For the rest of us, there's a little too much detail.

While the mystery is carefully rooted in those subjects, the principal plot concerns the main characters in May's first novel in this series. American forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell is a smart, irascible expert, widely recognized in her field. After a disastrous affair with a Bejing detective who had abruptly disappeared from her life, Margaret is determined to return to the U.S. although she has little to look forward to. Then an American citizen of Chinese descent who worked at the American Embassy in Bejing is murdered-decapitated. It is intriguing to the authorities because this killing is similar to three other recent deaths of native Chinese.

Higher authority assigns top detective Li Yan, Margaret's former lover, to the case. Then the Embassy insists that Margaret be present at the autopsy of the dead American. Once again Margaret and Le Yan are forced together in a conflicted and tempestuous joint effort to find a killer or killers.

The author's high level skills in characterization and his excellent descriptions of exotic and unusual locations are on display. The novel is replete with insider looks at legal procedures and locations most will never experience. The novel is a wonderful excursion into police procedures and the passions of two individuals from very different cultures who find themselves almost inextricably linked.  An excellent novel.

Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com, www.agora2.blogspot.com
Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,
Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!

Friday's Odds and Ends

As football season gears up the news is full of stories about signing contracts and the high cost of buying an athlete. In perhaps one of the biggest deal this year, Sam Bradford got a $78 million, 4-year contract with the St Louis Rams. Thirty years ago a $30,000 signing bonus was considered a nice deal. Even taking into consideration the value of a dollar then and now, it is still obscene what athletes are getting. And the more they get the more they think need.

There's a syndicated cartoon, Plugger, that leads with "You know you're a Plugger when..." It pokes fun at people of a certain age and a certain economic status that is far, far below the lifestyle Sam Bradford will be enjoying. I came up with one, "You know your a Plugger when your after-dinner mint is a Tums."

Here are a few headlines from this past week:

Right-Wing Pundit Phyllis Schlafly Decries Government Assistance for "Unmarried Moms." Oh, right. Let's do all we can to encourage unwed mothers.


SEC Lets Citi Execs Go Free After $40 Billion Subprime Lie. And the thousands of people who lost their homes paid the ultimate price.

Puerto Rican Man Still Working at Age 104. Emilio Navarro, former professional baseball player for the Negro League, still works at the business he started and likes to go dancing. It is said he prefers to dance with blondes. You go, Emilio.


$3 million for Chelsea's wedding. Talk about a waste. How can people justify paying that much when so many others are struggling just to survive. One columnist wrote that Chelsea deserved it all because she has been such a model daughter. So wouldn't a nice wedding at about $100,000 have worked?

Right is Right, Wrong is Discretionary. No comment.

Guest Post by Tracy Farr

I am doing the Youth Drama Camp again this week, so I am gone from my office most of the time. Thank you Tracy Farr for allowing me to stea... er,  borrow your work when I am desperate for a blog piece. Enjoy....

5 Tips on Surviving Marriage

Sadie and Reese are friends of mine who recently got married. I took their wedding pictures. While at the wedding, I thought about giving them advice on how to sustain a long and happy marriage, but reconsidered, thinking it might be inappropriate to give them my counsel as they exchanged rings or ate wedding cake.

But now that the ceremony is over, Sadie and Reese, I hereby and forthwith give you my Five Tips on Surviving Marriage:

1. Reese: It is YOUR job to mow the yard. Yes, you may be tempted to let her push the lawnmower or ride the tractor around the yard after you’ve come home from a hard day at work, and we (and by we, I mean your man brothers), we may look at you with admiration for conning your wife into doing it for you – but it’s a trap. Let her mow the yard once, and she’ll use it against you until she lays you in your grave. And maybe even longer.

“What do you mean you don’t have time to pick up the milk,” she’ll say. “Don’t you remember how I mowed the yard for you three years ago, without any help? And you don’t have time to pick up a lousy carton of milk? My mother warned me this would happen.”

Sadie: It is your job to mow the yard as often as possible, thus giving you tremendous amounts of leverage against him. If he beats you to the lawnmower, at least bring him a glass of iced tea while he’s mowing. You can use that as leverage, too.

To read the rest of the tips, click over to Tracy's Blog

I am not Believing This

I just read this news update and couldn't let it pass without a comment:

"Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston have called off their second engagement after he told her he may have fathered a baby with another girl. The other girl was not identified, but a pregnant ex-girlfriend of Johnston has publicly denied he is the father."

Apparently Bristol learned about this turn of events the same day they announced their engagement - July 14th - but didn't act on it until now. According to the news story, she decided to call off the engagement in part because obviously Levi does not know how to keep his pants zipped. But the primary reason cited was because he lied recently about going on a hunting trip. Instead he went to California to be in a music video that made fun of her family. 

Okay, I can barely suppress a laugh here. Are not all these stories about their on-again off-again relationship and all the reasons why just a tad embarrassing?

I think our society is more than a little skewed when one can become a celebrity by making all the wrong decisions in life and airing the dirty family laundry.