There Is A War Going On At Home

Sure, when our soldiers and sailors come home from the Middle East on their last deployment, they don't have to go back into the fray, but they've been frayed themselves and need mending in many cases - a lot of them for years to come or the rest of their lives.

The government hasn't got the organizational skills to assist them in a timely manner. Some have gone it alone since the Viet Nam era. Many have substance abuse issues that are unresolved. Necessary cancer care and PTSD numbers mount. The volume of those in need is overwhelming.

However, if each family member, veteran and neighbor takes it upon themself to act as a pitbull ombudsman for that man or woman in need, the government providers will be forced to be more efficient and the legislators will be forced out of office if they drag their feet and block common sense funding for our servicemen in need.

If all else fails, or in addition, pick a reputable organization such at the Wounded Warrior Project and lend your support that way. There are several groups whose mission is solely to help a servicemember in need.

They remembered us. Let's remember them.

Gary

A New Experience

I mentioned in another of my blogs my trip to Northwest Trek yesterday, May 17th. I have noticed lately that my knees and hips aren't as forgiving as they were when I was eighteen. This is no doubt due to my allergy related to exercise, but the discomfort is there nonetheless.

I have had a carved walking stick in my truck for awhile now, thinking that one day I would be doing more hiking in the woods. Yesterday I looked at the carved yew wood stick and had a moment of brilliance.

What better way to practice with said walking stick than to use it on the hilly terrain of the animal park? Besides that, I would wear my S'Klallam bear claw ball cap and make a statement about my author hood for anyone who asked.

I'm a tall man. This stick fit me like a cane, thus everybody and their brother made it a point to open doors for me and all of the accouterments associated with an old coot - something I hadn't thought of. The other main advantage was that it helped me putter around the grounds with much less discomfort associated with balance. Why hadn't someone thought about this before?

Oh, that would have been me and my vanity, calling it something it wasn't - a walking stick instead of a cane. By the time my visit was completed and ate my bison burger, I even had enough energy left to replace the walking stick reverently back to its place behind the headrests of the back seat and then hoist my weary legs into the truck. The next outing might be someplace like the mall where I can also club anyone trying to grab an item I have my eye on.

Vanity cured.

Gary

It's Time To Relax!

Sometimes nothing is better than a moment of reflection and a cold iced tea after a project is completed. Hollow Point hauling in a couple of 5-star ratings and a 4-star help quiet a bit. I'll get to the next work in progress manana, but today is all mine!

Gary

The Wheels In My Brain Go Round and Round

I am finding that multi-tasking is for those who enjoy living on the edge before their off switch gets flipped. I am not one of those people. As a matter of fact, if I can get one task completed, I feel a sense of accomplishment that far outshines the many tasks my counterparts generate pride in.

For instance, take my lawn. I have both a riding mower and a regular one. I can get the bulk of the lawn cut in twenty minutes or so. I have now spent approximately 30 days mulling over firing off the rider and laying waste to the hay field that has magically appeared since the warmer weather has arrived. I should do something about that and when I do, that sense of pride and accomplishment will be chewed on and appreciated by both me and my neighbors.

This whole blog tour project has allowed me to feel the thrill of victory, but a steady diet of this venue could cause dilatorious effects on my psyche I think. The positive reviews I have received are awesome, so I will sally forth and make it through to my big Juniper Grove interview on May 9th. After that there are no guarantees that my mental condition will not deteriorate.

I know this sounds more like procrastination, but trust me when I tell you that this is really slow uni-tasking. I have taken to heart many tribes' belief that learning about the universe takes careful contemplation of one's surroundings. You can't do that when you buzz around like a schizophrenic bee flying from flower to flower.

I must go contemplate my lawn again. Maybe my rabbits have knocked it down a bit. If not, I should think about buying goats and saving my mowers' gas!

Gary

Wowzer!

I thought that writing contemporary stories about Native Americans was something worth pursuing when I got started, but things weren't taking off as fast as I had hoped. I love writing and researching and wasn't discouraged, but I wasn't sure how to get my foot in the door and get the word out about them once they were ready to go.

Enter my publisher's senior editor. She asked four of us to participate in a blog tour to get better exposure for our newest books. I'd never been on one before and honestly didn't have great expectations. It was going to be a lot of work and the rewards weren't guaranteed by any stretch, plus it was going to be hitting different blogs for nearly a month. That seemed like a long time to hold my breath.

Lo and behold, the activity started the very first day. People I'd never heard of were signing onto my website and blogs, plus Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads. Some were bloggers from the tour and some were interested readers, like one young man from Romania, of all places. Every day the list has grown.

People want to read Hollow Point. One host has already given the book a five star review. Another a five wineglass agreement with the review. This is by far the best promotional avenue I have experienced.

I have no idea how sales are going, but I'm not sure that matters so much right now. I don't need a yacht or a G5 jet for the time being anyhow. I think that what I needed was some validation and I got it on this tour! Stay tuned!

Gary

I've Become One Of The People I Knew

When I was a Paramedic long ago I'd have a few "regulars" that seemed to show up on a frequent basis. They were the frequent fliers. They weren't system abusers. They always had a legitimate need for emergency assistance when they called 9-1-1.

I must have seen one dear little old lady a couple of dozen times before she finally died in her bed. It was not unusual to call on her at least once a month. She was severely asthmatic and whenever we entered her home, you could hear her distinct wheezing from anywhere in her house.

I thought about her last weekend as I propped myself up on the Emergency Room gurney hearing myself wheeze with acute bronchitis a lot like she used to. I had just finished a couple of out-patient kidney stone procedures the week before, so this was way beyond humorous and approaching unbelievable. This month has been unique, to say the least.

One of the things I have come to realize is the farther down your health takes you, the harder it is to do the things that are supposed to improve it, like exercise and reasonable nutrion. If you want your joints to move, you must take more pills. You get tired of preparing nice meals for one and throwing away the left-overs from three weeks ago to make room for more left-overs in the fridge. Call in the microwave dinners.

You walk around Walmart and can barely get back in the truck when you're done shopping. You walk up a hill and all the dogs in the neighborhood bark at your wheezing. Changing lightbulbs in a ten foot ceiling is a nosebleed experience and hip fracture waiting to happen.

All I can say is if someone were to try to pick a fight with me, one of two things are hopefully available; Thirty seconds worth of super-charged, lightning fast Seal Team moves, or that I will be packing my nine millimeter and leave one round for myself if I miss with the rest of the clip. Anything after that would be humiliating.

At least when I write I can live vicariously through my characters and block out the need to listen to my body getting crumpled by time! I hear it is pretty normal, but I've never been accused of that before.

Gary

I Feel Like A Teeny-Bopper!

Next Monday (April 14th) kicks off the blog hop that myself and a few other authors from my publishing house, Champagne Book Group, are participating in. We'll tell you all about our books and ourselves, plus give away juicy secrets about what we do in our spare time. I don't have all the specifics just yet, but it promises to be a barn burner. Some of my colleagues can flat make me blush with some of the stories they have written. My innocense is at risk!

By the time you get done reading my contribution, you will know absolutely too much information, plus what color longjohns and wool socks I'm wearing that day. You might even find out where the idea for my book "Hollow Point" came from and who I am likely to offend (unintentionally, of course).

This should be a hoot, but it may be the last time my publisher lets me out of the asylum!

Gary