Posted in weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare 7/8/2017

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Good morning everyone! So sorry I am a little late. I am glad we decided to meet in the coffee shop for our #weekendcoffeeshare this morning today. I am busily getting ready for my trip. I can spend a short time with you. Then, when I leave, you can hang out here as long as you like. I see the owner did as I asked and prepared his special raspberry scones for all of you plus cold as well as hot beverages. Great!

Yes, I am taking a short trip to my friend’s house, Marty, who lives in Tennessee. She is having some surgery and I am going to help out and just spend some time with her. I am sure I will write some while I am there, but it will be sporadic.

I would be so interested to know how your writing is going? I am going to try something new when blogging. I have opened a new blogging site. It is hidden from the public for now, but I will open it up at some point. It is going to be only fiction and consist of short stories, novellas, and something new for me, serialized novels. These are works I am going to try to sell. When I open it to the public, I will be very interested in your comments! The only works I won’t be selling are short stories that are characterizations of figures in my novel. They are simply to stimulate interest in my novel. So watch this space! Tell me what you think!

I hope writing and life are going well for all of you! I must go for now. Enjoy the beverages and scones and I will look forward to your comments and hope to see you again next weekend for our #weekendcoffeeshare.

 

 

Posted in Challenges

#SoCS – 7/8/2017

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Unconditional love is a thing I’m not sure we humans know. Maybe we do. I think we think we feel it more often than we actually do. There is a bond, as old as time, between a person and their dog and a person’s dog loves him/her unconditionally. No matter what we do. We can ignore our dog. Abusive people can even abuse their dog. The dog still loves their person unconditionally. I’ve always thought it was a miraculous thing. This unconditional love between a person and their dog.

Some of you may know that, recently, my dog has been sick for a while now. I’ve written about her in a couple of articles, “Tender Betsy” and An Update About Betsy.

On July 4, 2017, just three weeks after Betsy was diagnosed, she passed away.

I’ve had many special dogs in my life. They are all, indeed, special. They all give me a chance to know that I can love unconditionally. Betsy was at the top of that heap. I have been inconsolable.

In a few weeks, it will be time for me to decide whether or not to get another puppy. I’ve never been without a dog. I feel sure I eventually will. I will never forget the dog from the movie I saw so long ago, “Lady and the Tramp.” Betsy looked just like Lady. She was beautiful, inside and out. She made me laugh and later, cry. She comforted me. She was my constant companion. As the veterinarian put her to sleep, she went to sleep licking my face. Betsy was only four years old. I’ll never forget my little spaniel. She was a very loving trooper.

Posted in Challenges

Upward Mobility

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“Another stack of manuscripts,” Jenny thought to herself as she started opening envelopes.

As an editor, Jenny read and edited dozens of manuscripts each year. Debut novels mostly. Few would make it. Publishing was changing. She had always wanted to write herself, but her finances had never allowed it.

She started reading a manuscript that was an environmental thriller on climate change. This was the kind of thing she wanted to write. She knew how to do it for mobile applications.

“Why not!” she thought. She threw the jar of used staples across the room and walked out the door.

 

Photo credit @ Claire Sheldon

Posted in Challenges, Uncategorized

One Liner Wednesday

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A line from my upcoming novel:

“All Wendy knew was that it was torture trying to have sex with Patrick whether she was sober or drunk and it would have been even if she was straight.”

1-LinerWed

Posted in Non-fiction

Independence Day in America

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I started to write this blog post about what Independence Day, the Fourth of July, meant to me. But, I changed my mind. Independence Day only means one thing and it should mean the same thing to all of us. This day, the Fourth of July, Independence Day, marks the birth of the United State of America. Our independence from Great Britain in 1776.

When the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, in Philadelphia, they knew that Great Britain would certainly take issue with the American colonies breaking away from their mother country. They knew they were effectively declaring war. They knew that the American colonies did not have the numbers of people or weapons to fight off the British. They had faith that they would, somehow, prevail.

Four days later, the real celebration began. The Continental Congress was still meeting. The Declaration of Independence was read. The Liberty Bell rang. The coat of arms of the King of England was taken down and the celebration began. The United States of America came to life.

What followed was the American Revolutionary War between the 13 colonies and the British Crown. It lasted through approximately 1783 and was a bitter and bloody battle. The French entered the war in 1778 and assisted the Americans. By 1781, the Americans had basically won their freedom. On September 3, 1783, in France, the British recognized that the Americans had won their freedom in the Treaty of Paris.

The British set sail for America. Our freedom was hard won by hard scrabble colonists against professional British soldiers more than 200 years ago. We became a republic, a democracy, then, and have been a shining example of hard-won freedom since. We’re reminded on this day, the Fourth of July, how hard those colonists fought and under what terrible circumstances. Many of us in America have ancestors that fought in that war, myself included. We have a stake in America’s freedom. We should celebrate this day and be sure that America beats the standard that democracies usually don’t last more than 200 years.

Happy Fourth of July to all of you in the United States of America!

Posted in Challenges

Cold Blooded

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It was Sunday night in Harlan County, Kentucky. Jeremiah and his girlfriend, Jamie, were walking to services at Holiness Church of Harlan. They’d heard something new and exciting was going to happen tonight. Both young people had gotten dissatisfied with their church recently. It was becoming increasingly conservative.

Near the middle of the service, some of the men carried in a wooden box. Jeremiah and Jamie looked at each other, neither knowing what was going on. The pastor opened the box and pulled out a large rattlesnake. Jamie grabbed Jeremiah’s hand. Their’s had never been a snake-handling church although they had heard of such churches. Supposedly, if the snakes didn’t bite the handlers, they had the appropriate amount of faith.

One of the men in the congregation went up to handle the snake. It took about 20 seconds for the timber rattlesnake to bite him on the hand. As he was screaming and the snake was put back in the box, Jamie and Jeremiah ran out of the church, knowing their religious preference had just changed.

Posted in Non-fiction

Freedom of the Press, the U.S. Democracy, and Donald Trump

I sat down at my desk just now to work on a book I’m writing. I started thinking about Donald Trump’s attacks on the free press in the United States and the relationship between our free press and our democracy and I found myself pulling up my blog to write this article because this is important. Once again, a disclaimer. Don’t read this if you are thin-skinned, if you can’t see both sides of an issue. Only read it if you are disturbed by the video that Trump tweeted today that shows violence toward one of the news networks, CNN. Only read this if you think that this was patently wrong and illustrated the President of the United States advocating violence. Thinking more about it, maybe you should read it anyway. Feel free to say whatever you wish in the comments.

The comment was made earlier in the week that Donald Trump denigrated the Office of the President of the United States by his low-blow attacks on the co-hosts of the show “Morning Joe” on the cable news network MSNBC. He didn’t just do it once, but a number of times. My questions about his attacks are two-fold: Doesn’t he have anything better to do with his time than watch Cable News, like work on U.S. policy or prepare for the G-20 summit and his meeting with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin? and second, Is Donald Trump ignorant to the fact that the existence of a free press is necessary if a country is to have a democracy? I was under the impression he had advanced degrees from some pretty good schools. That begs the question of whether Trump has yet another agenda. We’ll get to that later.

A couple of days after he first trashed the Office of the President with his big, nasty mouth, Trump posted his video on Twitter that was particularly violent regarding CNN. This is where Congress should draw the line. Where is Congress? Having a nice Fourth of July weekend? Really? The anniversary of our Independence? One would think that the members of Congress would realize that our way of life and our form of government is at risk because of this man who is taking up space in the White House. I stated earlier that it is necessary to have a free press in order to have a democratic form of government? Perhaps Trump is interested in an authoritarian form of government where he is the “end-all, be-all” dictator? He is so insecure and has such a low sense of self-esteem that he keeps having to have even his Cabinet praise him and he constantly refers to the fact that “he won” the election (like we don’t know that).

He has set up his inner circle like a dictator (or a king) with his family at the core and a member of the disgusting publication, Breitbart, an alt-right, white supremacist publication as his right hand. That is extremely similar to what a dictator would do since he would be unwilling to trust others. Steve Bannon, of Breitbart, obviously has a great deal of influence over Trump.

Trump first trashed the judges who first stopped his travel ban. He ordered the Senate Majority Leader to use the nuclear option to get his Supreme Court nominee confirmed. Now, he has ordered the 50 states to turn over the voter records and confidential voter information to a commission he created. The last time I heard, 29 out of 50 states had refused. He doesn’t use Congress as a legislative body. He uses Executive Orders. All of these actions, and more, are hallmarks of an authoritarian President. Then there is the fact he has shut down White House daily briefings, for the most part.

Why does he fear the press? Because they expose these actions to the American people. He fears the press because he is afraid the American people will become wise to his actions. Without the press, there is no democracy. Look at Russia and other authoritarian governments. They have no free press.

Does Donald Trump have an agenda concerning the press besides whining about his image? I’ll let you be the judge. My answer to that question is an unqualified yes and it is to fundamentally change our form of government.

 

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized

Song Lyric Sunday – 7/2/2017 – Free Bird

Our theme for this week, considering it is the Fourth of July weekend, is “freedom.” The song I instantly thought of was “Free Bird.” Here it is. Enjoy!

Free Bird

Lynard Skynard

If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be traveling on now
‘Cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see.

But if I stayed here with you, girl,
Things just couldn’t be the same.
‘Cause I’m as free as a bird now,
And this bird you can not change, oh, oh, oh, oh.
And this bird you can not change.
And this bird you can not change.
Lord knows I can’t change.

Bye, bye, baby, it’s been a sweet love, yeah,
Though this feeling I can’t change.
But please don’t take it so badly,
‘Cause Lord knows I’m to blame.

But if I stayed here with you, girl,
Things just couldn’t be the same.
‘Cause I’m as free as a bird now,
And this bird you’ll never change, oh, oh, oh, oh.
And this bird you cannot change.
And this bird you cannot change.
Lord knows, I can’t change.
Lord, help me, I can’t change.

Lord, I can’t change.
Won’t you fly high, free bird, yeah?

Songwriters: Ronnie Van Zant, Alan Collins

 

Dedicated to Betsy:

Fly, Betsy, Fly

Free as a Bird

No More Pain, I Was to Blame

You Were My Sweet Love

Song Lyric Sunday

 

Posted in Non-fiction

Donald Trump, Health Insurance, and A Big, Ugly Mouth

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Fair warning, friends, readers. I’m pulling no punches, holding nothing back in this blog post. You can do the same if you post a comment. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you can’t take the heat, hear the truth, stay out of this particular kitchen. Trump has finally gone too far and, by the time he meets with Vladimir Putin of Russia this week, those among you who still support him, may even agree with me.

I have tried for six months to find something redeeming about Donald Trump. Some reason why he got the majority of the electoral college votes for President of the United States. Some legitimate rationale. I have determined there was no legitimate rationale. Some people bought his rhetoric, bought what he was selling. He can be pretty convincing. It sounds good when someone totally different from a previous administration says they are going to step in and fix everything. It sounded good that he was a businessman and was going to run the government like a business. But, the government is not a business. Running the huge machine that is the federal government is not very much like running Trump’s real estate businesses. For one thing, we just try to balance the budget. We do not seek to necessarily make a profit. Not that Donald has made a profit many times. He’s taken bankruptcy several times. So the profit-seeking motive is still eluding him. His billions (if they are billions) came primarily from investing his father’s money. Do you know the last President that balanced the federal budget and, actually, had a surplus? Bill Clinton.

Trump apparently has an attention-deficit problem. He does not read. He spends his time tweeting and watching Cable News. He was great screaming out all of the things he was going to do at his famous rallies. But, sitting down and reading his briefings and his foreign policy reports is something he does not do. He doesn’t even have anyone in the White House that can talk to him about the contents of the briefings verbally. No one there has any experience. They are either his family or his own appointees who are as inexperienced as he is. Even the Secretary of State, a deeply experienced man, has been reported to be screaming in the White House that he can do nothing because he finishes second to Trump’s son-in-law.

I cannot say this strongly enough. Donald Trump does not know what he is doing. Not with regard to domestic policy nor foreign policy.

Health care insurance. Everyone is upset about health care insurance. Do you know what the problem is? YOU elected him. YOU elected a man who is going to take away Medicaid and, eventually, Medicare and probably some Social Security benefits. You thought that Obamacare was so bad? Well, parts of it are, indeed, terrible and way too expensive. Was that a reason to elect a toddler to serve as President of the United States? If you voted for Trump, YOU caused this horrendous situation in which we find ourselves. Your health care insurance may be going away? Really? TOUGH. You did it. You voted for him. Why didn’t you nominate a Republican candidate for President that was experienced and wasn’t a con artist and grifter who would rather bash the Morning Joe program than help figure out health care? Don’t even mention Hillary Clinton. There were sixteen other Republican candidates to choose from. Obamacare could be fixed if Congress had support by this so-called President to fix it.

Speaking of health care, now we have a situation where Mitch McConnell, the senior senator from MY state (a fact of which I am deeply ashamed) running things with regard to developing a new health care bill. We have millions of people in our state, a poor state, who voted for both Trump and McConnell because they are low-information voters who were taken advantage of. I am not giving them a pass. Educate yourselves, people. Do not vote for the person who just SOUNDS good. Now whatever is passed will likely scale Medicaid way back as well as Medicare benefits. That will decimate Appalachia. Half of my family comes from Appalachia. This saddens me more than I can say. But, the Appalachian people can educate themselves just like anyone else. I am sad, but I do not feel sorry for them. We had enough choices in the primary election that we could have elected someone head and shoulders better than the gross, disgusting man that sits in the White House. Mitch McConnell is one of the senators highest paid by the lobbyists. Do you suppose that might be a reason that he is sucking up to the drug and insurance companies? OPEN YOUR EYES AND FOLLOW THE MONEY. Mitch McConnell is not representing his constituency.

Let’s talk about Trump’s disgusting tweets about Joe and Mika, particularly Mika, of the Morning Joe show on MSNBC. Mika is a consummate professional and the daughter of a brilliant politician and expert in foreign policy. Trump has been tweeting, for two days now, disgusting tweets about Mika’s appearance and sanity and has been doing the same toward Joe. So he is the President? SO WHAT? If I were Mika, I would hire a lawyer and do whatever is necessary to stop him from tweeting one more time anything about me. He is a disgusting pig for doing what he is doing. He is not morally or ethically fit to serve as President of the United States and, instead of being on recess, Congress should be in session determining how to remove him from office due to the fact he has proven himself not “fit to serve.”

Trump’s tweets are nothing but a distraction and he thinks that we, the people, are too stupid to know it. He is trying to distract us from the real issues, the fact that he can’t pass any legislation being one of them.

This is what happens when we let emotion rule our important decisions. People did not like President Obama and I contend part of the reason was because he was half black. I am horrified to have to say that in the United States of America. I’m sure that is not true for everyone, but it is true for some. So many let their emotions rule them when they voted for Trump and this is what has happened. Our democracy is literally at stake and our government is on the verge of authoritarianism. This is not something we want. Imagine Trump as all-powerful leader.

This week, we have to be embarrassed by Trump’s meeting with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, who will likely have him for lunch. Just remember. YOU voted for him. Those of us who did not vote for him are horrified at his activities. I want to believe that America, the shining city on the hill (a characterization by Ronald Reagan) does not have a society that has deteriorated to the point that we can accept a classless thug as a President.

 

 

Posted in weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare 07/01/2017

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Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Fourth of July weekend if you are in the U.S. If you’re not, welcome to my #weekendcoffeeshare on this first weekend of July! Grab some coffee or tea and whatever pastry looks good to you this morning and join me in my writing room. I’m looking forward to visiting with all of you this morning.

Thanks so much for joining me for the #weekendcoffeeshare today. I wasn’t able to be with you last weekend. It’s been a busy time at my house, some of it good, some not so good, but life got out of control last weekend. If we were having coffee, I would tell you that the main reason for that was my little dog. Betsy has always been so healthy – I thought. Seems I was wrong. Her breed is plagued with genetic health issues. I had hoped she had escaped, but it was not to be. She is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and has developed a condition called Syringomyelia, a condition of the spinal column. I won’t go into it anymore than that except to say it is always fatal. We can give her a normal life for a while by managing her symptoms but only for awhile. She is only four years old. So a difficult week became a difficult weekend.

How is your writing coming along? When something upsetting happens to me, my creativity takes a nosedive! I’ve written a little this week, mostly for this blog. But, my novel is sitting, simmering, on the back burner. I have so many ideas in my head for it and so much of it mapped out. I hope to get back to it this coming week.

I do have some other things to do this coming week. My BFF is having surgery on July 10 and I am traveling to be with her. I’ll be getting ready to travel this coming week. I’m anxious to see her and help her as she goes for her surgery and starts the recovery process. She has been sick for one year as the doctors could not really figure out what was wrong. It is an unusual condition. Hopefully, not too serious from a surgical standpoint. We live a little over 200 miles apart. I’ll be able to write a short #weekendcoffeeshare next Saturday and then I’ll leave for a few days.

I don’t know how many of you share my problem, but let me just say that sleep is so very important. I am a long time insomniac. My insomnia has been particularly bad recently. I actually got a decent night’s sleep last night and feel so much better today. I can feel those creative writing juices kicking in again!

If we were having coffee, I would tell each of you to have a good upcoming week and I hope you write well!