Thursday Q&A

I’m back with more questions from blog readers. While I try to answer all questions individually, I also share some here occasionally.

Q. Congratulations on your amazing weight loss, Nick. I am curious if you went through the VA to get the medicine?

A. Several readers have asked me this question. No, I went through my civilian primary care physician, and Medicare pays for most of the prescription. It’s my understanding that the Veterans Administration will approve it under certain circumstances. I would advise checking with your VA doctor to see if you are eligible.

Q. I’m thrilled with your amazing weight loss. Like many of us, I have been on the diet roller coaster for many years, losing a little bit and gaining it back again, but I’ve never come close to what you accomplished. Are you finding that you feel better after losing all that weight, and how much do you hope to lose completely?

A. I am definitely seeing some benefits of the weight loss. While my chronic back issues have not gone away, I do find myself moving around better, and I think as time goes on it will help me increase my stamina. How much do I hope to lose? I wouldn’t mind dropping another 75 pounds. That sounds like a lot, but when I started, 50 pounds also sounded like a lot.

Q. Before your move to Arizona I used to get your blog somewhere around midnight or 1 AM here in Ocala, Florida. Now it’s not up until the morning, and a couple of times even in the afternoon, before I receive it. What’s up with that?

A. It’s a simple case of timing. I try to post the blog as close to midnight local time as I can. But right now there is a three hour time difference between Florida and here. So if I post it at midnight local time, it would be 3 AM when you receive it. There have been a few occasions where there was a glitch and the blog didn’t post automatically like it was supposed to. When that happens I have to go back and manually publish it when I get up in the morning. Which means that you won’t get it until late morning, or even in the afternoon, depending on when I drag myself out of bed.

A. I enjoyed seeing all of the new guns you bought last month, but I wonder what Miss Terry thinks about you spending so much money? If it was me my wife would have used one of them as a suppository on me.

Q. Terry doesn’t object when I spend money on something I want, just like I don’t object when she buys something she wants. Neither of us smokes or does drugs or drinks, I don’t blow money playing golf and things like that, and all our bills are paid well ahead of time. So, if we can afford it, why not? I’ve been buying and trading guns all of my adult life, and if you buy good quality firearms at the right price, they are a better investment than most things you can put your money into. When I bring home another gun Terry knows that her retirement account just increased.

Q. I’m tired of waiting. When does the next Big Lake book come out? Going through withdrawals here.

A. My writing schedule got thrown way off course with our move from Alabama to Arizona and I’ve been trying to play catch up, along with everything else that’s going on. I’m currently working on Baby Boom, the next book in the Tinder Street series. Once it’s done, I will be moving on to Big Lake Parolee. But I really can’t predict when it will be available to purchase on Amazon.

It’s Thursday, so it’s time for a new Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of an audiobook of Pirate Trials: Hung By The Neck Until Dead by my pal Ken Rossignol. The second in the series of Pirate Trials drawn from news reports of the day and actual trial documents. Join this bloodthirsty crew of pirates on ships which includes the dying declarations of the most brutal and vicious deeds ever set upon innocent civilians and merchant ship crews. The Demon Rum is cited as the chief cause by one pirate for his awful and murderous acts. Their day of reckoning came when they faced their final day of judgement when captured in Spain. In another tale, when a crew of passengers leapt from their disguises to overpower a steamship after it left New York on a trip to Portland, Maine, the pirates claimed the ship in the name of the Confederacy, at the height of the Civil War! Learn what happened to the ship and the pirates.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – Always paddle your own canoe.