Some Things You Can’t Even Find in Lost and Found

I’m a pretty average guy but have managed to do a lot of different things. My passion is writing and I’ve published four novels with numbers 5 and 6 in the works. I’ve traveled the United States and seen some amazing sights. I have dined on some weird stuff and enjoyed most of it. I’ve played lead guitar in rock bands from classy hotels to dumps that didn’t deserve a title that prestigious. If there ever was a soulmate, I married mine. I built a log cabin and cut my own timber frame. I know it’s not a grandiose excitement filled life, but it’s been a lot of fun. The one thing I can’t wrap my head around is a statement I’ve heard for years, “I’m going to find myself.”

It seems to me, that one glance in the mirror, along with a twenty-four hour period alone, that you’d know all about yourself that there is to know especially since you’ve been bouncing around in this body for years up to this point. What it boils down to is if you haven’t found yourself by now, either you’re not worth looking for or you need to enlist some help in your search . . . just sayin.

Books Can be Wonderful, Despicable, Life-Changing, and in Some Cases Down Right Diabolical. If You’re an Author, They’re all the Above.

I’m working on a new novel. On the one hand, I love every minute I put into it. On the other ,I’ve set the bar so high with twists, turns, numerous factions, dimensional travel, time travel, giant people, little people and a plethora of creatures, some good, most bad that the manuscript, at times, falls from my good graces. Each time I begin a new manuscript, my aim is to hold the reader’s attention, to draw them into the novel, and make them feel as though they are living the story along with the characters.

The closest thing I could compare it with would be a dream that faded into reality once you awoke. The world of writing is unique unto itself. You create worlds and characters that readers become passionate about, yet only exist in their minds. To take it one step further, each reader would have a slightly different conception of the same book. It gets to be mind-boggling if you give it too much consideration. A good book can be cathartic for the reader and author though not necessarily for the same reason. I can only go a day or two without writing; else I start Jonesing. That being said. I suppose my mission is clear.

They Say, They Say, They Say, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah

The point of this blog is something I have probably mentioned before. Being that it brings with it such a lack of understanding, I believe it bears mentioning again.

I’m sure we’ve all heard a phrase such as, “They say it’s gonna be hot today,” or perhaps, “They say if you don’t rotate your tires, they’ll wear unevenly.” Finally, they say, “If you sneeze with your eyes open, they’ll pop out of your head.”

Now, we have to ask ourselves who is “they” since “they” have a massive amount of influence over our daily lives?

I imagine a panel of crinkly old aliens sitting around a semi-circular, high-tech desk. Each one dressed in a futuristic robe, carrying an exotic staff.

They grunt in a guttural fashion constantly spewing out things that, according to them, are things we say. “We,” of course, meaning, “they.”

Giving the concept of “they, them, or whoever,” anymore thought than this is probably not a good idea. I just wanted to give you a heads up. I’m going back to my current manuscript. Have a great week.

Water, Water, Everywhere and Only a Few Quintilian Gallons to Drink

Our bodies can do without water for a short time. Deprived of H2O, dehydration takes over, we dry up, then die. Down through the ages, if you put it in a nutshell, the way we gathered water is a bit of a misnomer.

When we were hunter-gatherers, we drank from pristine streams originating in the mountains. As we became more civilized and built cities close to rivers, we drew water from the river in the same place we emptied raw sewage. We have names for periods of time such as Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Jurassic and so on. I like to call this water retrieval period, “Stupid in Reverse.”

Today most of the population drinks bottled water. Not so many years ago, I would have laughed had someone told me  I would be paying for it. The funny thing about this is, when I tested my tap water against the brand of bottled water we were drinking at the time, the tap water tested superior to the bottled water and by a significant difference. I even wrote a novel, Rising Tide, about a world inundated by water. There was land available but it was definitely at a premium. What it boils down to (no pun intended), is there’s water everywhere–in the ground, the air, oceans, rivers, streams, creeks, mud puddles and pretty much anywhere you can think of (except the arctic which is actually the most arid place on earth with deserts running a close second). So the next time you pick up that cool, clear glass of water, be thankful you’re not drinking from a municipal source a hundred years ago.

What Easter Means to Me

The spring season brings the Easter Bunny, Easter Egg hunts, and a new dress or suit of clothes for a trip to church. 

For me, Easter means the death and resurrection of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Crucifixion was a ruthless and cruel way to die, but Jesus suffered much more than this on his way to the cross.

Jesus was tied around a post, pulling the skin and muscles on his back taught. He was beaten with a multi-tasseled whip containing sharp objects that were woven in to its tips. His back would have been shredded after receiving up to forty lashes.

His beard was ripped from his face. A sack was placed over his head, making him unable to brace for the numerous blows he would receive. The Bible tells us, and I paraphrase, looking upon Jesus you would not have known he was a human being. A crown of thorns was pressed into his scalp, and all this brutality before the first nail was driven.

Once on the cross, the painful process of attempting to breathe began. As bad as all of this was, I think the worse was yet to come. Fully man and fully God, Jesus knew no sin. Yet he bore the sin of all people past, present and future. Jesus paid for our sin, so we would not have to. This wonderful story strengthens me each day. It tells me I have nothing to fear, because Jesus paid it all. He has such love for us, I find it difficult to understand, but am oh so grateful.  I hope each of you had a wonderful Easter weekend and may God bless you and yours!