Good Friends

Poppy, the dog, and John, having fun on the front deck. Didn't realize until just now looking at the picture, but the cat looks almost as big as the dog. And the dog is a border collie - Aussie mix. She is not a small dog. But then, John is not a small cat.

He is definitely bigger than our other dog, Misha, who is a mix of Pekingese and Dachshund. When we got John, we called him Little John. A variation of Little One, because he was such a cute little kitten.

Ha!

Now he is the king of the castle, intimidating all the other animals. Even Poppy stays clear of his claws, although John swears he is only playing.

Our son captioned this picture: "Aw, someone needs a hug."

Our son- in law captioned it: "Would you quit touching me."

Which caption do you like best?

No Resolutions

We were out of town for a few days bringing in the New Year with our children and grandchildren. Had a wonderful time visiting, playing cards, and eating waayyyy toooooo much.

Time to get serious again about exercising and dieting. Somehow that thought tends to hit a lot of us early in January when we think about how much we ate since Thanksgiving and consider losing the ten pounds we gained.

Too bad I can't be like my oldest granddaughter who loves to snack, yet is rail thin. No diets for her, but I will have to check out the latest tips on dieting.

I'm not going to make that a definitive write-it-down-on-paper resolution. I've learned over the years that resolutions and I do not get along well. But I know that I will be better off if I lose ten pounds and stick with an exercise program on a more regular basis than I have of late.

I'm also not going to write down my intent to this year finish the book I have been working on for a number of years. Reading some authors' blogs, I have picked up some advice on how to stay focused on a project, and I am going to put some of them to work for me.

The best tip was to make writing the book a priority in a working day, and that is a good suggestion for whatever project a person is working on. Don't check messages on the phone or e-mail. Don't give in to the impulse to take care of some other business first. Spend an hour working on the project, then start taking care of business.

Which means I've got to go. Didn't get my hour in with my book this morning.

Happy New Year

We are going on a short vacation for a few days, so I wanted to take a minute before we head out to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

As we cross over from one year to the next, it always seems to be a good time for taking stock and perhaps deciding to make some changes, but as far as resolutions go, I don't think I'm going to make any.

I never was good at keeping the ones I used to make, so why bother?

But I will try to be more mindful of the good things in life and savor the moments that make living so worthwhile. That way I might not mind the swift passage of time so much and might discover a little gift of nature that could have gone unnoticed.

I hope good things come to all of you in 2009.

Make My Day

We who write so often do so without a lot of personal feedback, and it is always exciting to get a note from someone who was touched by our words. Yesterday morning, I was pleased to find two wonderful messages in my guestbook on BooksWeLove.net

" I loved your book "One Small Victory" and am grateful to have this opportunity to thank you for your fine work! Continued success in 2009!" Denise DiFalco, Fort Gratiot MI

"One Small Victory touched just about every emotion I have. I loved the way you felt as if you truly knew the characters and could feel her anguish as much as her courage. This is one of those books which linger in your heart and mind longer after you have read the last page." Laura Emerson, Biloxi MS

It is always such a thrill to find a fan letter, and these came at a time when I really needed the boost. Thank you ladies!!

Writing a Synopsis Doesn't Have to Kill You

I am guest blogging today, sharing some tips on how to write a synopsis here: http://murderby4.blogspot.com/ It's a technique I learned sort of by chance, but has really helped me.

Stop by if you have a chance.

Yuck, Germs!

Being sick on the holidays is no fun. I started with a cold early this past week and sniffled my way through Christmas Eve and Christmas. Then I wasn't getting any better so I went to the doctor yesterday to find out I have a severe sinus infection -- as opposed to an ordinary sinus infection, I guess.

Anyway, this has sure put a crimp in all my plans to do some projects with the new cordless drill I got for Christmas. Or maybe start working on one of the jigsaw puzzles.

No, what I do is maybe a little bit of work and then collapse on the couch for another nap. And the work isn't that productive. Not when my head feels like it is stuffed with cotton. Not much clarity of thought under those conditions.

My hope is that the doctor was right and I will be feeling a WHOLE lot better by tomorrow.

What Success Means

I had several recent signing events for One Small Victory, and I am pleased that I will be able to donate a nice sum to the two charities benefiting from sales this month. The Trails Country Centre for the Arts and Morgan's Mercy Mansion, a drug rehab center for women in East Texas are the charities I am supporting.

At the most recent signing, a nice young boy, about 12 or 13 stopped by my table for a piece of candy. He seemed genuinely impressed to meet a real live author, and we talked a bit about books, and reading, and writing.

He left, then came back and asked if he could take one of my books to see if his dad would help him buy it for Mom for Christmas. "I know she would love it," he said. "I just have to ask The Man for money."

This young man was such a delight to talk to, and he was so excited when he came back so I could sign the book to his mother. "This is the kind of book she reads all the time, and she will be thrilled to have one signed by the author."

Moment like these make all the hassle and work of signing events worthwhile. I know I should be more of a capitalist and be more focused on selling lots of books, but I can't help it. To see young people so excited about reading and writing, just does it for me.

Sock it To the Consumer

I heard on the news today that one of the large oil refineries is going to cut production because the cost of oil is more than the price of gasoline, so they cannot continue to produce until the price of gasoline goes back up.

Excuse me. This is the same oil refinery that six months ago had record profits. Why can't they suck this shortfall up like the rest of us do when we face hard times?

No, their response is to make sure they get more money and hold the consumer hostage.

Is anybody ever going to get the fact that we simply cannot survive if the economy continues to be driven the same way it has in recent history? We can't just be focused on our own bottom line without regard to the impact on other businesses and other people. And we can't continue to just keep throwing more money at the problem and inflating the paper economy even more.

We have to put money where it will do some good. Like into the marketplace and into individual pockets to stimulate retail sales.

Instead of corporations being bailed out or going into bankruptcy, why not ask the highest paid people to forgo their salary for a year. Certainly those who make millions every year have enough in the back to live for a year without the salary. And that money could go toward keeping the company afloat.

And instead of the government increasing the deficit to find money to help people through this crisis, why not a hold on all top-level government pay for a year? And streamline administration to save millions in man hours and redundancy.

Okay, rant over. I feel marginally better. That is until next week when the price of gas jumps for Holiday travel....

Better to Laugh Than Cry

Here's another bit of humor from my friend, Tracy Farr.....

It's more than just a haircut

Our country is going through some dire times. Banks are collapsing, the American auto industry is hitting speed bumps, and people are just not buying executive jets like they used to. So, it is up to us -- you and me -- to get this economy going again, and that's why I did my patriotic duty this weekend and got a haircut.

Tim is my barber. He's been cutting my hair for almost 15 years. He knows exactly how I like it cut without me having to tell him. And if Tim's barbershop goes under, so goes the country.

It's a known fact that my money ($10 plus a dollar tip) helps to keep Tim and many others in business. When I pay Tim for my haircut, he spends it on things like rent, shaving cream and magazine subscriptions. His landlord is happy to be able to keep landlording, the shaving cream company is happy to continue delivering Tim's favorite shaving cream, and the magazines are happy because they are assured they can print next month's edition.

Tim takes a portion of that $10 as his salary and spends it at Wal-Mart, thus guaranteeing job security for the Associates. The Associates use their 10 percent discount to buy T-shirts and Jessica Simpson posters, thus guaranteeing that the T-shirt companies and Jessica Simpson stay in business. The T-shirt companies and Jessica Simpson are so happy to be making money that they decide to work together and make a Jessica Simpson T-shirt, which the Wal-Mart Associates buy in bulk and wear on their days off.

Since Jessica reaps the benefits of being worn all over the place, she takes her cut of the profits and produces a Christmas special, thus employing a bunch of Hollywood types who know just how to make a cheesy TV program but wouldn't be caught dead wearing a Jessica Simpson T-shirt. These Hollywood types produce "The Jessica Simpson Wish You Were Here Holiday Christmas Sing-A-Long Special" and make millions on advertising by airing it on prime time TV, thus causing simple folk like you and me to say, “How can they get away with putting this goat poop on television?” at which time we turn off the TV and get down on the floor to play games with our kids.

Because of my little $10 haircut, hundreds of people are employed, millions of dollars exchange hands, thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer are emptied trying to keep all those germs at bay, families all over this great nation are doing something family-ish, and I feel like I've done my part in bringing this country back from the brink of disaster.

So what are you waiting for? Our country needs us! Go get a haircut, and together we shall save the world!

_____________________________________________________
The Daily Spittoon -- Almost worth a shave and a haircut!

Excerpt Contest

One Touch, One Glance Anthology -- A collection of "sweet " romances

I am so pleased that my story "New Love" is part of this wonderful book and I am sharing space with such terrific writers. The book will release officially on December 9 -- It can be purchased HERE

As part of our release celebration we are having a contest. If you come here as part of the contest, the excerpt you are looking for is below. Have fun and good luck.



BLURB:

Love can be just as sweet the second time around. And there are no age limits.

EXCERPT:

“What am I doing? Acting like a love-sick teenager, that’s what.”

He made the personal indictment aloud while driving slowly down the tree-lined street checking addresses. Ten hours of driving had left him with burning eyes, and the shadows of near dusk were hard to penetrate. It didn’t help that he hadn’t been here in ten years. What if she’d moved since they had last seen each other? What if she didn’t want an eighty-year-old man showing up on her doorstep with courting in mind?

Then he saw it. Her house. A little yellow frame structure nestled between two sprawling brick ranches. It was so unique, he should have remembered the distinction and not bothered with trying to read addresses. He started to stop in front of her home, but panic struck and jangled his nerves. What if she’s married again? Accelerating, he drove past to the end of the street. There, he pulled to the curb and took a couple of deep breaths. Leaves of gold and red scuttled down the sidewalk driven by the evening breeze. God, Patrick, why didn’t you think of this sooner? A simple phone call would have answered that question.

He pulled out his cell phone and looked at it. It was a present from his kids. They had all agreed they would feel better if he had one while he was traveling. His son had programmed all the important numbers into the phone to make it easier for Patrick to call them. But he didn’t need numbers programmed for him. He might forget a lot of things. But not numbers. Even after all these years he still remembered Jean’s number. He could call now, and if a man answered, he’d hang up.

That thought elicited a chuckle. Was his life now a cliché?

Directing "Scrooge"

This has been a busy week as we draw closer to opening night of the play, Scrooge, at a community theatre here in East Texas. Tonight is dress rehearsal and we open tomorrow. I am directing, as well as playing a small role, and the nerves are going into over-drive.

We are a small theatre, so there is no real depth of tech support, etc. People step up to help, which is great, but we never seem to have a designated stage manager or producer who take care of all those responsibilities for the show that shouldn't fall to the director. And no matter how hard we all try to plan and organize, it seems like there is always a new problem to deal with every day. Actors who can't continue so we have to find replacements. Props that we forgot we needed until almost the last minute. Who is going to do sound and lights? Who can do make-up?

There is always a lot of pressure to get a show mounted, especially one with a large cast and lots of set changes, sound and light cues. But when it all comes together and the magic happens on stage, it is all worth it.

So I am going to go to rehearsal tonight, take a deep breath, and let the magic begin.

Who's Responsible?

I just read an update on the tragic incident Friday in New York where a Wal-Mart employee was trampled in the "Black Friday" stampede of 2000 shoppers. According to the following statement by a union leader, the store is at fault, not the people who were so crazed with greed and "me first" that they became an unruly mob.

"This incident was avoidable," said Bruce Both, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, the state of New York's largest grocery worker's union.

"Where were the safety barriers? Where was security? How did store management not see dangerous numbers of customers barreling down on the store in such an unsafe manner?"

This is not the first commentary I have read that is deflecting the blame from the people to the store, and I can't beleive that good thinking people can go in this direction. It is almost as big a disgrace as the behavior of people who make shopping turn into a battle for survival.

On that tragic day, where was common sense? Where was concern for fellow shoppers and store personnel? Where was patience? Ethics? Acceptance? All the elements that are part of what we used to see as "strong character". It was a lack of all that that caused the death and injuries, not an oversight by the store management. How were they to know that they didn't have a crowd of regular shoppers, but had a crowd of crazed animals?

Next up, I'm sure, will be an announcement of a lawsuit by the families of the man who was killed and the people who were injured. The media and the union are helping to provide plenty of arguments in favor of making Wal-Mart dip into their deep pockets.

Shame, shame on them.

If a lawsuit is to be filed, how about rounding up all those people who stormed the store and holding them responsible?

Missed Opportunity

I fully intended to write a blog yesterday to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, but got sidetracked with a killer headache. What a way to start the day. I managed to get the turkey stuffed and in the roaster, then told my husband I was going to lie down for a while before our company arrived. I fell asleep and kind soul that he is, he let me sleep. Right up until the company pulled up.

Yikes, I was out of bed in a flash, ran a comb through my hair, splashed water on my face, and went out to greet them. Luckily, we were dining casually, so my sweats and t-shirt didn't raise an eyebrow.

Our company, which consisted of our daughter, her husband and her youngest son, and our youngest son, all brought the side dishes. I was responsible for the turkey, dressing, rolls, and pie. All in all it was a great feast and by mid afternoon we were all pleasantly full and ready to watch the Cowboys beat Seattle.

Later that afternoon, I realized my headache was gone. Not sure if it was the third dose of sinus pills, the good company, or the pumpkin pie. Or maybe a combination of all three.

There's nobody in here but us chickens...

Here is another guest blog from Tracy Farr who has a particularly warped sense of humor. Thought you all would appreciate a bit of levity.

As most of you may know, I'm a quiet, unassuming kind of guy who is basically shy, never wants to stand out from the crowd, never speaks out on "the issues," who always does what he's told, and prefers to let rude people run all over me rather than to stand up for myself.

Yep! That's who I am! But today's going to be different. Today I'm going to stand tall and talk about a potential disaster that, if we don't do anything about it, will affect our local economy for now and for ever more. I'm talking about the possible demise of Pilgrim's Pride and the removal of Bo's Head.

(FYI: For those of you who don't know, there's a massive Bo Pilgrim bust standing alongside Hwy 271 just north of Pittsburg, Texas. It's a huge tourist attraction. People come from miles around just to see Bo's Head. So when I say "the removal of Bo's Head," I don't actually mean Bo's REAL head, I mean the tourist attraction head. Okay, now that we have that clear, let's move on.)

Since we live in a capitalistic society, and we all firmly believe that competition is good for the consumer -- that survival of the fittest dictates only the "strong" companies will survive -- there isn't very much we can do about helping Pilgrim's Pride. But if we lose Bo's Head, we might as well cash in our chips and head to the house.

I don't know about you, but when my friends and family come to visit from out of town, I always tell them to go see Bo's Head. And if they go home to THEIR communities and tell others about it, then a steady stream of tourists come through this area and that means they're eating in our restaurants, sleeping in our hotels, shopping in our Wal-Mart, and that's good for our local economy. In other words, it would devastate our community if Bo were to lose his Head.

Besides, Michelle Barganski is a loyal subscriber to this newsletter and Gil Newman is a founding member of The Stinky Creek Jazz Band -- and they both work for Pilgrim's. I sure would hate for anything to happen to their jobs, 'cause I like having them around, too.

In conclusion, it may already be too late to keep Bo's Head from the chopping block. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. But just in case, let's all go out this afternoon and buy a couple of Pilgrim's Pride whole chickens, and maybe even some thighs and chicken wings, just so we can say we did our part in trying to save Bo's Head.

May God be with us all, and may God Bless America.

_______________________________________________________

The Daily Spittoon -- You can't say we don't care about the issues

A Successful Book Fair

Had a great time talking to high school students in Mineola - a small town in East Texas - on Tuesday for the Mineola Book Fair. The students were a respectful and attentive audience, and it is always so much fun to go to the schools and meet creative young people.

In the morning, I talked to two English classes about why we write and one of the reasons I cited was that we write to stir consciousness and stimulate debate.

Toward the end of the first session the teacher pulled up my blog and projected it on a screen so the students could read it. We ended up in a lively discussion about the situation at the DISD that I blogged about on the 16th. That was so neat to actually have live in the classroom a perfect example of the point I was making. One student and the teacher got into a discussion about why the DISD had to let teachers go, and the students ended up with a better understanding of how administration works. Not that it changed her mind that the situation was unfair to students. But it did broaden her view of the issue.

The other great thing about the Book Fair was that the school librarian who started the Fair four years ago said that her circulation has tripled since authors started visiting the school on an annual basis. She said it really seems to stimulate interest in reading to meet authors and have a chance to talk with them.

When someone asks if the event was a success. I tell them about the increase in reading. That is the success for me.

What Part of Fraud Don't You Understand?

A news item on Saturday reported that the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) is being investigated bythe Social Security Administration (SSA) for assigning bogus social security numbers to employees hired from foreign countries. Apparently this started as someones bright idea for expediting the hiring system.

The new hires needed something for identificaion purposes to get on the payroll. So this "someone" decided they could use the fake SS numbers as temporary identification numbers until they received real ones. When new numbers were assigned by the SSA, the employees were supposed to tell officials at DISD so the fake SS numbers could be replaced.

That didn't always go according to the plan. In some cases, the fake numbers made their way to retirement accounts, the IRS, and the Social Security Administration. And some of the numbers were ones already legitimately assigned to other people. The legal department of the DISD is looking into the matter as well

I read this news story several time, trying to figure out how someone could not recognize from the get-go that this was a stupid idea. Not to mention a criminal idea. Falsifying Social Security information is a felony.

DISD is already under heavy scrutiny for budget shortfalls, attempting to solve that problem by firing a number of teachers, and other questionable operations. They sure didn't need another problem because the solutions to the problems always seem to impact the students and teachers most profoundly.

Those creating the problems continue to hold their jobs and receive large salaries and bonuses, while teachers struggle to make ends meet and students struggle to learn in an environment that becomes less conducive to learning every day.

And unfortunately, these are not problems unique to just one school district.

Something to Lighten Your Day

Since I have been so busy this week I thought I would have a guest bring you a bit of humor. Here is another offering from Tracy Farr, a very funny man who also plays a mean banjo.

A rose by any other name...

I don't know how you feel about the matter, but it makes me proud to live in a country where being elected to the highest office in the land does not depend upon the color of your skin, your religion, your sex or having a weird name like Barack.

Millions of people, good, honest, hard-working Americans, live their lives ashamed of having names like Garvin, Earl, Clementine, or Gertrude. Guys try with all their might to hide the fact they have girl names like Carol and Hollie. At the same time, Gals are constantly having to explain that their real name is Samantha, even though they go by Sam.

But now, with a president named Barack, we of unusual names can stand a little taller -- at least, I know I will.

I asked my parents why they named me Tracy, and they said at the time I was born, it was a common boy name. But I have my own thoughts. I think my parents were deep in debt with a bookie, and they agreed to give their first-born son a "girlie" name in exchange for not having their fingers cut off. I believe this because every time I go to the old neighborhood, I always run into an old man wearing a pinstriped suit and wing tip shoes who just points at me and laughs.

I remember when I was a young boy, with my friends over for supper, my mother gave me a package that had come in the mail. I opened it up (even though it was addressed to Ms. Tracy Farr) and read the letter: "Dear Ms. Farr, now that you are becoming a young lady, we would like to...." And then the sample feminine hygiene product fell into my lap.

One "friend" said, "Tracy, is there something you're not telling us?"

Another said, "So what's it like become a young lady?"

Finally, the last one said, "Hey, if you show me yours, I'll show you mine."

Now, with the election of Barack Obama, those of us with non-traditional names can walk the streets with our heads a little higher, and be proud of the names our parents dropped upon us. No longer does an American president have to be named George, Bill or Jimmy. He (or she) can be named Barack, Hillary, Jethro, or Daisy Mae.

And if that doesn’t prove change is in the air, nothing will.

_______________________________________________________

The Daily Spittoon -- Always proud of our name

Monday Morning Blues

It's been a busy few days since I posted last, which kept me pretty much offline, especially over the weekend. Our son came to visit for a few days, and we always enjoy working outdoors while he is here. Like me, he is a frustrated farmer, so he likes to do chores. The first day, we built a huge fire in the back and burned a lot of limbs and logs from trees that had fallen over the last year since we cleaned up back there and had a big burn.

We were also having a new roof put on the hay barn and discovered we have termites feasting on the posts. Not good. So we spent a couple of hours doing termite control. That entailed moving some old wood that had been stacked on one side of the barn and injecting insecticide into the ground around all the posts.

This morning, I'd hoped to get that old wood carted off to the burn pile and clean my front pasture, but got up to rain. None of us are liking it. Not even the goats. They head for the small barn when there is even a spit of rain. The cats all ran for the hay and the dog came inside.

I am not sure why I titled this Monday Morning Blues. It is really Monday Morning Gray. If the rain stays at a steady drizzle, I can keep working in my office, but if it develops into thunderstorms, I will have to shut down my computer. Not good since I have tons of work to do today. So maybe that's why I'm a little blue right now.

Letter to Our New President

It's official, we now have a new president and we are in for an interesting four years. I'll admit I was a Barack supporter, and I am pleased that he won.

This morning, I received a message from Barack that was addressed to me personally. As I stated in my response to him, part of me wanted to believe that he had indeed penned -- or typed -- that message personally, but I know he simply would not have had time to write to the thousands of people on his e-mail list. But being the idealist that I am, I wrote a response in hopes that my message might somehow reach him.

Here is my letter:

Dear Barack,
Congratulations on your win. The idealist in me would like to believe that this note was written by you personally to me personally, but the realist knows it was probably written by someone on your staff and sent to your entire e-mail list. Even so, the fact that you probably asked that this be done is commendable.

While I have someone's ear at your headquarters, I would like to make an appeal. Millions of dollars are spent on Inagural ceremonies and Inagural balls, and it sure would make a strong statement if you streamlined all of that. The country is so far in debt that we don't need to be spending on pomp and you would do well to distance yourself from the lobbyists who pay for most of the social celebrations.

I know I am asking a lot. What does Washington live for but these opportunities to pull out the stops and celebrate, especially on such an historic moment. But think of the rest of us of modest means who are no longer going out to dinner once a week because inflation is eating up our cash flow and the financial crisis is killing our retirement.

Thank you for listening.

Sincerely,
Maryann Miller

Your Chuckle For The Day

I laughed so hard after reading this Mallard Fillmore cartoon this morning, I choked on my coffee.

Funny stuff:

"With only two days left in the campaign, the latest polling data show that 92 percent of registered voters now say they'll scream if they hear any more polling data...

"...while 84 percent say pollsters should be eaten alive by gerbils."

The other day, my husband and I thought we'd feed the pollsters to the coyotes, but death by gerbil might be more fitting. Coyotes kill their prey quickly.


Here's a link to more Mallard Fillmore fun