In Her Element

A holiday weekend in the summer here in the White Mountains means tons of flatlanders coming up to visit, crowded restaurants, and crazy drivers. That’s to be expected. We are a tourist destination, and those tourist dollars are vital to our economy. But it doesn’t mean we have to take part in any of it.

Instead, Terry got to play with tools and put something together yesterday, which meant she was in her element. After using a neighbor’s Earthquake rototiller a while back, I decided I needed to have one my own. He’s a great guy and assured me I could use his anytime I needed to, but I don’t really like borrowing other people’s equipment. If I’m going to break something, I’d rather break something of my own.

It came in a big box and took a couple of hours to put together, mostly because the instructions weren’t all that clear. But that never slows Terry down, and she managed to figure out how everything came together and got the job done.

Then we took it out in our huge backyard, where we have a lot of work to do, and after filling it with gas and oil I fired it up. I was pleased that brand new, right out of the box, it started on the second pull. As I said after using our neighbor’s unit of the same model a while back, it’s a beast. We have very hard, rocky ground here, and a couple of weeks ago, when I dug three holes to help Terry plant her new lilac trees, it took me hours with a pick and shovel to get them dug. With the tiller, I just held it stationary, and it dug right through without a hiccup. I’m impressed.

Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for a copy of Philly Warrant Unit by lifelong friends Tristin Kilgallon and Mark Fusetti who grew up on the same block in Philadelphia. I featured Tristin in last week’s Author Spotlight. Though life led them down different paths, their bond endured, and years later, they found themselves working side by side in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania Warrant Unit, a specialized team tasked with locating and apprehending wanted fugitives in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties.

Their book isn’t a traditional cover-to-cover read. It’s a powerful collection of short stories, true accounts that reflect the intensity, tragedy, danger, and dark humor that come with the job. Some of the stories will make you hold your breath, while others might break your heart, or make you laugh out loud. But you can be sure that all of them will give you an authentic look at a world rarely seen by the public. Whether you’re interested in law enforcement, true crime, or just want a raw, unfiltered look at the streets of Philadelphia through the eyes of two men who lived it, this book is for you.

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 this evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 30 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

Did you know that you can find all of my books and sign up for my free author’s newsletter on my website at www.nickrussellbooks.com?

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 – The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces. – Will Rogers