Nick Russell

Not Just Turkeys Get Stuffed

 Posted by at 12:03 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 282025
 

I believe yesterday was the first Thanksgiving or Christmas we’ve spent with our daughter Tiffany and her family since we went on the road as fulltime RVers way back in 1999. It was long overdue.

Tiffany told us it would be an informal gathering of family and friends, and though they wouldn’t eat until 5:30 or so, we were welcome to come any time. It was about three o’clock when we got there, and Kenny was basting a ham he had in the smoker. It looked good enough to eat right from there without bothering to take it to the table.

It was so good to see everybody. Tiffany and Kenny, granddaughter Hailey and her husband Toby, granddaughter Destiny and her boyfriend Chente, granddaughter Britni and grandson Travis. Not long after we got there, Kenny’s niece Tanna and her husband Travis arrived, along with their two little boys. The house isn’t all that big, but it sure was full of people, laughter, and a lot of love in the air. How can you not have a good time when you’re stuffing yourself with delicious food?

I was really looking forward to the fried turkey that Kenny was making, and it did not disappoint. Moist and delicious with a crispy skin. My biggest problem was trying not to overeat, which was hard to do with so much great food there. But since I’ve lost 75 pounds since February 22nd, I restrained myself. It wasn’t always easy, but I did it. If I can exercise that much self-discipline on Saturday when we have dinner with Terry’s family down in Apache Junction area, I’ll be doing good.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of my standalone mystery, Black Friday. We all know a person like Raymond Winters. He is Everyman. You see him daily on your commute to work. He sits in the cubicle next to yours. He’s the guy plodding through life, just going through the motions. He’s not happy. His work is not fulfilling. But he never expected anything more. At 41, he’s stuck in a rut, without the energy to climb out. Sure, he dreams of a different life. He dreams about it a lot. But Raymond knows the difference between dreams and reality.

Then Raymond’s life takes an unexpected sharp turn after a chance encounter with a strange woman. Overnight he finds himself alienated from his family, shunned by his neighbors, and questioning his own sanity. Raymond is in over his head, and if he survives, life will never be the same. It’s a tale of betrayal, lust, and broken dreams that you will remember long after you finish the last page.

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 – I woke up feeling feral, unfiltered, and slightly unhinged today. But in a delightful sort of way.

Happy Cauliflower

 Posted by at 12:02 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 272025
 

I’ve heard people say that sometimes they are not sure what holiday greeting to use. If you say, “Merry Christmas,” would it be inappropriate if the person happens to be Jewish or Muslim? How about “Happy Holidays”? That seems innocuous, doesn’t it? Don’t ask me; I’m the Grinch, remember? At least I try.

Yesterday, I had to run some errands, one of them being going to the post office in Show Low to send out a book order. As I was going in, a woman was coming out, so I held the door for her and said, “Happy Thanksgiving.” She looked at me and said, “I’m a vegan.” Not knowing what else to say, I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Well, happy cauliflower.” She didn’t seem all that happy about that either. What can I say?

At least I found two people happy to see me while I was at the post office. There was a family there, including a little girl, maybe 6 or 7 years old, and a younger brother. She looked at me with my white beard and whispered, “I think that’s Santa Claus.” Me being me, I smiled and said, “That’s right, I am Santa Claus. These are the clothes I wear when I’m not working on Christmas Eve.” The girl gave me a big smile, but the boy just stood there with his eyes wide open in wonder, so I shook his hand and talked to him for a little bit, and he assured me that he had definitely been a good boy all year. Then big sister said that they were there to get passports because they were going to Ireland for Christmas. I assured them that Santa goes to Ireland too, and she asked if she could hug me. I said that was fine as long as it was okay with mom and dad, and when the parents nodded it was okay, I got a hug from both kids before I left.

Back at the house I finished making the corrections to the chapters that Terry had edited and proofread for me and then sent them off to Roberta and Judy so they could go through them. When I was finished with that, I wrote another chapter, somewhere around 3,200 words.

While I was doing all that Terry was at home keeping busy in the kitchen. She made two beautiful pecan pies as well as getting bread dough ready for rolls that she will bake in the morning before we go over to Tiffany and Kenny’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. We’re looking forward to family time together, and all that good food.

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for a new Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of my standalone mystery, Black Friday. We all know a person like Raymond Winters. He is Everyman. You see him daily on your commute to work. He sits in the cubicle next to yours. He’s the guy plodding through life, just going through the motions. He’s not happy. His work is not fulfilling. But he never expected anything more. At 41, he’s stuck in a rut, without the energy to climb out. Sure, he dreams of a different life. He dreams about it a lot. But Raymond knows the difference between dreams and reality.

Then Raymond’s life takes an unexpected sharp turn after a chance encounter with a strange woman. Overnight he finds himself alienated from his family, shunned by his neighbors, and questioning his own sanity. Raymond is in over his head, and if he survives, life will never be the same. It’s a tale of betrayal, lust, and broken dreams that you will remember long after you finish the last page.

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 – Little kids, little problems, big kids, big problems.

Small World In A Small Town

 Posted by at 12:03 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 262025
 

Alli had an appointment yesterday afternoon at Blue Ridge Pet Clinic in Pinetop. We wanted to get established with a local veterinarian, and they came very highly recommended. In fact, when we lived here years ago, they neutered one of my dogs.

While we were waiting for our appointment, a couple came in with a beautiful older dog whose hind legs were not working anymore. It was obvious the poor girl had been in a lot of pain, and it was time to end her suffering. It’s always hard to see that, even if it’s not your own pet. But sometimes, it’s the kindest thing you can do.

When they called us to an examination room, we had one of those small world incidents that I always love to experience. Of course, when you live in a small town, sometimes they seem to happen more often. I mentioned to Lydia, the young vet tech who was getting Alli ready for her exam, that our granddaughter Hailey had recommended the practice to us. When she heard Hailey’s name, she said, “I know her. She’s married to my brother, Toby.” Lydia had actually come by our house once with Toby and Hailey right after we got here.

Before long, Dr. Burke came in and gave Alli an examination, and we told her that we had been concerned because she had been licking and chewing at her feet for a while. She did a swab of her feet and checked things out under a microscope and said that Alli had some kind of bacterial infection. She gave us antibiotics and a powder to put on her feet, and we’ll go back in three weeks for a follow-up appointment.

I was surprised that Alli has lost four pounds since her last veterinary checkup in early June in Alabama. She weighed 72 pounds then, and yesterday she weighed 68 pounds. I guess she’s working on maintaining her girlish figure.

We made a quick stop at the UPS Store to drop off a couple of things I was sending back to Amazon, and when we got home, Kenny and Tiffany pulled in the driveway right behind us. Terry and I had only had half an English muffin each for breakfast and nothing the rest of the day, so we were hungry. The four of us remedied that with a trip to Culver’s.

Back at home again, Terry was browning all of the ground meat that our friend Charlie gave us that was left over from when he was butchering cattle. He said it was 10 pounds, but I think it was more like 15. At any rate, Terry browned it all, and we separated it into small baggies to give a little bit to Alli every day while the rest is in the freezer until it’s time to be used.

With all that going on, I didn’t get time to make all of the corrections in the chapters of my new book that Terry edited the other day. After I go to the post office to mail out a book order this morning, I plan to get that finished and then send the chapters off to Judy and Roberta.

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 – Some people glow. I flicker like a haunted light bulb in an abandoned asylum.

One Big Bone

 Posted by at 12:03 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 252025
 

On a visit to our daughter Tiffany and her family in Show Low last year, we met a friend of theirs named Charlie who runs a food trailer called Charlie’s Smoke Wagon. I had absolutely the best brisket sandwich I’ve ever had in my life that day. Charlie and his wife Patti are wonderful people, and a day or two later we went out to their house, where Charlie processes deer, elk, and butchers beef for his customers. That day we sampled a couple of other goodies Charlie made and came away with several packages of sausage that were delicious.

Since elk season is going on, we knew Charlie would be busy. I called him the other day and asked him if there was any chance he had any large bones that I could get for Alli. He told me that he didn’t know if he had any at the moment, but he did have some cut off ends of meat that I was welcome to come and get. Tiffany and Kenny drove us out to his place, and he gave me ten pounds of ground beef ends, as well as some bones with a lot of meat left on them for Alli. What a nice guy!

After visiting for a while and thanking Charlie profusely, we left and stopped down the road where Patti had their smoke wagon set up. I had another one of those amazing brisket sandwiches. I’ll be a regular customer anytime I get the chance.

Back at home, I was amazed at how big the bones were. I knew that when Alli saw this one, which was almost as big as her head, I wouldn’t see much of her for the rest of the day, and I was right.

She spent hours on the back porch gnawing away at it and hardly made a dent. She was definitely one happy puppy.

While Alli was busy enjoying her carnivorous delight, I wrote another 2,500 word chapter in Big Lake Parolee. While I was doing that, Terry was editing and proofreading several chapters and gave them back to me at the end of the day for me to make her suggested corrections. Today she will  do that last chapter, and when I get them all done, I’ll send them off to Judy and Roberta to go through.

But before that happens, we have to take Alli to the vet this afternoon for a checkup and to get her established with their practice.

We see so much of the different Amazon and UPS drivers that we are on a first-name basis with some of them. Lately, they have been showing up even more often, bringing Christmas gifts. I think we’ve got most of our Christmas shopping done or at least ordered by now, and I didn’t have to go to a big-box store for any of them. That’s my kind of holiday shopping. No parking hassles, no crowds to deal with, no standing in line at the checkout. Just select what I want and with a couple of mouse clicks it’s on the way. What could be easier?

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 – Some of us have lived through vinyl, 8-track, cassette, CD, and Spotify. And some of us are still hiding from Columbia House.

The Madness Begins

 Posted by at 12:03 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 242025
 

Yes, it’s time for the annual holiday madness to begin, and I already can’t wait for it to be over. If it wasn’t for all the hype Thanksgiving could come and go, and I wouldn’t even know it.

I was never a fan of turkey until the first time Miss Terry made it. It was always dry in the past, but Terry’s turkey is moist and delicious. Then, a few years ago, someone made a fried turkey at an RV event we were at, and I was absolutely hooked. I have wanted more every year, but that was the only time I ever had it. However, son-in-law Kenny fries a turkey every year. I’ll be the first one in line!

We are actually having two Thanksgiving meals this year, on Thursday with Tiffany and her family, and then on Saturday we’ll be down in the Apache Junction area having another holiday dinner with Terry’s family. My diet is surely going to be challenged, but I hope to remain strong in the face of all that good food and the desserts that will be served.

I have always thought Thanksgiving was a raw deal for the ladies. They spend hours in the kitchen cooking and baking, then everybody sits down and eats in 20 minutes and leaves the mess for them to clean up while the guys go watch TV and fall asleep. How fair is that?

Call me a Grinch, but I just don’t like all the commercial nonsense that goes with the holidays. The sound of silver bells has been replaced by the ding of cash registers. But I do like Christmas music.

I’m not big on holiday traditions either. My own personal tradition is to stay out of every big box store I can until sometime in mid-January, if at all possible. I don’t like the crowds, and I don’t like the idea that you are expected to bankrupt yourself to buy a lot of gifts for people. Most of which will be used for the first week or two and then forgotten. That doesn’t include the ones that just get stuck in a closet until next year, so they can re-gifted to somebody else.

Congratulations Dave Cross, winner of our drawing for a copy of Surviving Disasters and Finding Grace: A Novel About Preparing to Live in a World Without Electricity by Darlene Miller. Surviving Disasters and Finding Grace is the novel of Karen, a young woman from California, who finds her Iowa family, except for her father, Joseph, and her sister, Grace. How does she find them? Or does she find them? That is the mystery. The Iowa neighbor wants more than friendship as he assists Karen in finding her family. That is the romance. Read along as the family prepares for a life without electricity, learning from their Amish and Mennonite neighbors. 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.

We had 54 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon. 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.

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 – Let’s face it, I’m on Santa’s naughty list.

Sunday Trivia

 Posted by at 12:03 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 232025
 

Since I don’t have anything else to write about today, I thought I would share some trivia you might find interesting or use as a conversation starter at your next happy hour.

The dome of the Arizona State Capitol is covered in 2,500 pounds of copper, honoring the state’s mining industry.

An ostrich’s eyes are larger than its brain.

A former schoolteacher named Annie Edson Taylor was the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, on her 63rd birthday, October 24, 1901. She did the stunt to try to raise money, but it didn’t pay off.  She died on April 29, 1921, at age 82. Since she was penniless and had no assets, public money was used to pay for her burial.

Mystery author Agatha Christie holds the Guinness World Record for the most books translated books  into other languages by any writer.

On July 1, 2006, the Key lime pie was designated the official pie of the state of Florida.

First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes, wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes, refused to serve alcoholic drinks in the White House, earning her the nickname “Lemonade Lucy.”

The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.

The annual Tucson Rodeo Parade is the longest non-motorized parade in the United States, with more than 2,000 participants. Over 1,000 horses are used in the parade.

Platypuses don’t have nipples, so they feed their young by sweating milk through their skin.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows holds the record for the fastest selling book in history.

The 100 folds in a chef’s hat represent 100 ways to cook an egg.

Ancient Romans used stale urine as mouthwash.

French fries were invented in Belgium.

A person’s ear holds three bones.

Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for a copy of Surviving Disasters and Finding Grace: A Novel About Preparing to Live in a World Without Electricity by Darlene Miller. Surviving Disasters and Finding Grace is the novel of Karen, a young woman from California, who finds her Iowa family, except for her father, Joseph, and her sister, Grace. How does she find them? Or does she find them? That is the mystery. The Iowa neighbor wants more than friendship as he assists Karen in finding her family. That is the romance. Read along as the family prepares for a life without electricity, learning from their Amish and Mennonite neighbors. 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.

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.

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 – I am up, but if you want bright eyes and a bushy tail, go find a squirrel.

Writing, Writing, And More Writing

 Posted by at 12:03 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 222025
 

That’s been the story of my life for the last week or so. Every day I have knocked out another chapter in my new Big Lake book. Usually somewhere around 2,000-2,500 words per day. I’m making good progress, and the book is close to 30,000 words now. If I can maintain this pace, I’ll easily have it out by the end of the year.

While I’ve been doing that, Miss Terry’s been busy with all kinds of things. The other day, she mounted my antique phone on the wall in my office.

Then she made some delicious sourdough rye bread. Tiffany and Kenny came over for dinner and had some of the bread, and they agreed that it was beyond wonderful.

Yesterday, she got a package from our friend and former neighbor Vickie House in Alabama. There’s not much we miss about that part of the country except for having Vickie living next door to us. She sent Terry some sweet potatoes (don’t ask why, I don’t know), an assortment of different kinds of jams and jellies, and a cookbook full of Native American recipes. Terry was like a kid on Christmas morning as she was going through the package. 😊

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of Surviving Disasters and Finding Grace: A Novel About Preparing to Live in a World Without Electricity by Darlene Miller. Surviving Disasters and Finding Grace is the novel of Karen, a young woman from California, who finds her Iowa family, except for her father, Joseph, and her sister, Grace. How does she find them? Or does she find them? That is the mystery. The Iowa neighbor wants more than friendship as he assists Karen in finding her family. That is the romance. Read along as the family prepares for a life without electricity, learning from their Amish and Mennonite neighbors. 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.

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 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.

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 – If you’re going to hang out with me, you need a sense of humor, an understanding and appreciation of sarcasm, and the ability to shake your head and roll your eyes.

Buried Sitting Up

 Posted by at 12:03 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 212025
 

Note: This story is from my book Highway History And Back Road Mystery II.

At the City Cemetery in Mishawaka, Indiana we learned the story of William Aldrich, a decidedly colorful character of his time. Born around 1840, Aldrich was an eccentric and self-proclaimed atheist, along with being a gambler, horse trader, and some claim, a horse thief. Be that as it may, Aldrich always lived very well and supported his mother in style in the home they shared on Main Street in Mishawaka. He would disappear for weeks, even months at a time, then show up back in town with a string of fine horses and one or more fancy carriages.

While rumors abounded that these were stolen property, or the ill-gotten gains from some card game, that never stopped the local folks from stepping up to purchase the fine steeds Aldrich offered.

Aldrich loved to play the dandy, dressing in a frock coat, gaily colored vest, bow tie, and sporting a large diamond stickpin. He carried a walking stick, and though nobody ever saw him use one, everybody knew he also toted a couple of guns under the folds of his coat.

When Aldrich fell ill with tuberculosis, a virulent disease of the time, he weakened fast and in his last days could only sleep sitting up. He commissioned a local undertaker to build him a large coffin designed so that he could sit up for all eternity. Once the coffin was finished and delivered, Aldrich spent many hours sitting in it, apparently trying out the fit while he could still order any needed adjustments.

When Aldrich succumbed to his illness, his coffin was too big to fit in any hearse, so a platoon of pallbearers carried it to the cemetery, where he was laid to rest in a specially constructed oversize vault measuring five by seven feet that he had decorated with photographs of Indians, frontiersmen, and some of his favorite horses.

Perhaps Aldrich planned to challenge the Devil himself to a game of chance to determine who would be in charge of Hell – the vault also contained a card table with a deck of cards, Aldrich’s pipe and tobacco, and a bottle of whiskey. Aldrich also ordered he be buried with his favorite fancy saddle, and a shotgun, just in case the Devil cheated.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of Surviving Disasters and Finding Grace: A Novel About Preparing to Live in a World Without Electricity by Darlene Miller. Surviving Disasters and Finding Grace is the novel of Karen, a young woman from California, who finds her Iowa family, except for her father, Joseph, and her sister, Grace. How does she find them? Or does she find them? That is the mystery. The Iowa neighbor wants more than friendship as he assists Karen in finding her family. That is the romance. Read along as the family prepares for a life without electricity, learning from their Amish and Mennonite neighbors. 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.

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 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.

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 – Sometimes I shock myself with the smart stuff I say and do. Other times I try to get out of the car with my seat belt on.

White Elephants And Other Lies

 Posted by at 12:14 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 202025
 

In yesterday’s blog, titled Dad Lied, I told you the story about how my father made me believe that I shouldn’t eat popcorn for over a decade before I finally learned the truth. But dear old Dad wasn’t the only fibber in the family.

People at the various churches we attended during our moves around the country when I was a kid always came to know my mother as the Cookie Lady. Mom loved to bake things, and she was darned good at it. Whenever there was any kind of event going on at the church, she could be depended on to make several batches of cookies to go around.

I think we were living somewhere in Southern California at the time, and I was probably five or six years old. I remember hearing my mother talking to a couple of the church ladies who had asked her to make cookies for the annual white elephant sale. There are white elephants? I never knew that. But I did know that if there was anything I liked as much as Mom’s cookies, it was probably elephants. I think I got that from the old Tarzan movies.

Full of excitement, I asked my mother if we could buy one of the white elephants. She told me no, we weren’t allowed to have pets at the house we were renting at the time. Seeing how disappointed I was, she said it also costs a lot of money to feed an elephant and we just couldn’t afford it. That didn’t help matters any. I still wanted the white elephant. I asked if I could at least ride one when we went to the sale, and mom said, “sure.”

Well if I couldn’t own a white elephant, at least I could ride on one. It wasn’t quite the same thing, but how many kids even get to ride on a white elephant? I spent the next two weeks telling my friends, their parents, my school teachers, and anybody else who would listen, that I was going to get to ride a white elephant.

As the weekend of the sale approached, people were dropping off items of clothing and unneeded household goods for the white elephant sale. I didn’t know what that was all about, but who cared? I was going to get to ride a white elephant!

You can imagine my disappointment when that weekend finally came and we piled in the car, which was loaded down with donations from people, and went to the church. There wasn’t a white elephant to be seen anywhere! Talk about crushing a little boy’s hopes and dreams. ☹

That wasn’t the only time my parents lied to me. I’ve crossed my eyes and they didn’t stick that way no matter what Mom said. And I’ve laid down and hugged a lot of dogs and never got fleas. And as for that thing that was supposed to make me go blind? Well, I did have to wear glasses for a long time. But that’s a story for another day.

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for a new Free Drawing. This week’s prize is a copy of Surviving Disasters and Finding Grace: A Novel About Preparing to Live in a World Without Electricity, by Darlene Miller. Surviving Disasters and Finding Grace is the novel of Karen, a young woman from California, who finds her Iowa family, except for her father, Joseph, and her sister, Grace. How does she find them? Or does she find them? That is the mystery. The Iowa neighbor wants more than friendship as he assists Karen in finding her family. That is the romance. Read along as the family prepares for a life without electricity, learning from their Amish and Mennonite neighbors. 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.

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 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.

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 – My spirit animal is a drunk raccoon using a hornet’s nest as a piñata.

Dad Lied

 Posted by at 12:03 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 192025
 

Depending on which side you take in the age-old controversy about heredity versus environment, we are all either genetically inclined to become who we are, or we adapt to our surroundings as we grow. There are plenty of arguments for and against both claims. We’ve all seen kids that came from good families go bad while their siblings grew up to become good citizens, and we’ve seen others who came from dysfunctional families, grew up in poverty, and yet overcame all kinds of problems to succeed. Either way, I was screwed, thanks to my old man.

Don’t get me wrong, my dad was a great guy, and the lessons I learned from him helped shape me into the man I am today. He instilled a love of books and travel in me at an early age, as well as a work ethic, and he always told me that I could accomplish anything I wanted to in life if I were willing to work hard enough to make it happen. He also had a great sense of humor and there were times when that came back to haunt me.

I was probably about five or six years old and we were sitting on the couch watching the old Red Skelton Show on our little black and white TV. Mom had made a big bowl of popcorn and I was munching away as we enjoyed the antics of Clem Kadiddlehopper and Freddie the Freeloader. When I started to reach into the bowl again, Dad pulled it away and said I couldn’t have any more. I asked why not, and he told me it was because I still had my appendix.

At that age I had never heard of an appendix, so Dad explained that it was like a little sack that hung off your gut, and when you ate popcorn, the seeds fell into it. He told me that when that sack got full of seeds it exploded and you had to have an operation to get it out and it really hurt. “But you’re eating popcorn,” I said, and Dad lifted his shirt and pushed down his belt line to show me a scar. “My appendix exploded,” he said, “This is where they cut it out.” Suddenly popcorn didn’t taste so good to me anymore.

Fast forward about ten years and I was at my girlfriend’s house one Saturday night when her mother made up a batch of hot buttered popcorn and offered me some. I declined, telling her I couldn’t eat it since I still had my appendix. “What does that have to do with it?” she asked. So I explained all about the appendix and the dangers of popcorn seeds. That lady looked at me with a newfound understanding of just how low her daughter’s standards were in young men and asked, “Are you an idiot?”

Well yeah, but what does that have to do with anything? As it turns out, she was a nurse and she dragged out some kind of medical book and gave me a quick lesson on human anatomy, while my girlfriend, her sister, and whoever else was there laughed at my ignorance.

Incensed at this betrayal by my very own father, I called home and told my dad indignantly, “You lied to me!” Nonplussed, Dad said, “I lie to you all the time. What are you talking about?” I explained all about the appendix and what I had just learned, and it was Dad’s time to roar with laughter. “Really?” he asked. “That’s why you don’t eat popcorn? Your mother and I thought you were just weird and didn’t like it.”

My relationship with that young lady ended soon afterward, I suspect because she realized that her mom was probably right, she could do better. The good news was that my next girlfriend taught me even more about human anatomy. But that’s another story.

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 – One day we decided we were tired of sleeping in and doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted in a clean house. So we had kids.

A Big Chainsaw!

 Posted by at 12:03 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 182025
 

I think wintertime is definitely on its way, and it’s not trying to keep it a secret. When I took Alli out for her first morning potty break yesterday, it was flat-out cold. Even though I was wearing a sweatshirt and put a hoodie on over that, and Alli has a fur coat, neither one of us wanted to linger out there for very long.

We came back inside and I fed her and then tackled my morning’s stack of email. There was quite a bit of it, including people on both sides of the political aisle wanting me to support them and their next run for office, all kinds of stuff about different Medicare Advantage plans, which I have no interest in at all, something from Subaru inviting me to come in and look at their end-of-year bargains because I guess the new Forester we bought two or three months ago is worn out, right? So out of 39 pieces of mail, only two were legitimate. One was from Debbie Kizer, the winner of last week’s drawing sending me her mailing address so I can get the book to her, and the other was from reader Mike Rado, with a link to an article about a small town North Carolina newspaper. Since I spent most of my working life in that business, I found the story very interesting.

After finishing the e-mail and having a homemade breakfast burrito, I got on the phone with Adobe trying to get things figured out with the Photoshop Elements subscription that I bought from Amazon and was not able to activate. Once I got past all of the stumbling blocks along the way designed to make life easier for me, it didn’t take long for a real person to resolve the issue, and within minutes I had the program up and running.

During the afternoon Terry went to Safeway to stock up on groceries, and while she was gone I wrote another chapter in my new Big Lake book. About the time I was finishing it up, Terry came home and I went out to help her carry the groceries in. They say timing is everything, and I guess it’s true, because that’s when Kenny and Tiffany showed up. They helped carry everything else into the house.We always like spending time with Kenny and Tiffany, and I swear that daughter of mine gets prettier every day.

I didn’t figure it was fair for Terry to have to cook when she’d been busy shopping all afternoon, so instead we piled into her car and went to Show Low Cafe for dinner. Or at least we tried to. When we arrived we found out they close early on Sundays and Monday, so we went down the street to El Charro instead. It’s a popular Mexican restaurant with a good menu to choose from. I decided to try the messy shrimp, which is basically a Cajun-style shrimp boil with sausage, potatoes, and corn. It was very much like the Juicy Crab back in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and I’m glad I tried it. It will probably be on my go to list the next time we eat there.

After we ate we went to C-A-L Ranch just down the street to see if they had anything I couldn’t live without. As it turns out, they didn’t. I darn sure didn’t need this chainsaw almost as tall as I am that Kenny tried to convince me would be a good investment. Could you imagine the destruction that would result if I had something like that? I shudder up to even think about it.

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 – Some people’s heads are there for no other reason than to keep their ears apart.

A Dreary Sunday

 Posted by at 12:03 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 172025
 

Rain had started falling when I took Alli out for her last potty break Saturday night, and we awoke yesterday to a dreary Sunday. The skies were gray and there was a drizzle and a stiff wind for most of the day. I don’t think the high got more than the mid-50s. It was a good day for sleeping in my recliner, but I had work to do. Darn it anyway.

I started off by reading e-mails from a bunch of different people with suggestions about my problem with Adobe and not being able to download the Photoshop Elements program I ordered. Someone suggested it might be a third-party seller, but no, the software was sold by Amazon and shipped from Amazon. I’ll be on the phone with Adobe today to see if we can get the issue resolved, but I feel like I just got burned for $99.

When I said that switching computers was easy, I meant it as far as the basics like email and Facebook and programs I use every day like Microsoft Word. However, what didn’t come across were all my file folders with things like back issues of the Gypsy Journal, all of my book files and such. So I spent much of yesterday downloading them from one of the Seagate external hard drives that I backed my old computer up to before setting the new one up. Some of the files loaded quickly and easily, but others, including those with a lot of photos, took quite some time.

I did cheat and take a nap for a while as all that was taking place. Then I dictated another 1,500 words for the next chapter of Big Lake Parolee. Since I didn’t want to add to the load on the computer as it was transferring files, I used my Plaud NotePro voice recorder. The more I use this handy little device, the more impressed I am with it. It’s very accurate, and in addition to the recording it gives me an outline and a breakdown of the high points of what I narrated. For everything from going to the doctor’s office to making notes about meetings to actually recording meetings or telephone conversations, this would make a great Christmas gift for anybody on your shopping list. If I didn’t already have one, it’s what I would be wanting for Christmas.

Congratulations Debbie Kizer, winner of our drawing for a copy of Tales Of A Texas Game Warden. Anybody who has ever watched the television documentary drama Lone Star Law is familiar with Benny, one of the most popular game wardens featured on the series

His book tells the stories of some of his adventures as he chased down poachers, ticketed people fishing without a license, encountered a group of ghost hunters, busted drug runners, and other sometimes funny and sometimes sorrowful stories of his time enforcing hunting and fishing laws and protecting the wildlife and people of Texas.

We had 72 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon! 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 – Storms don’t last forever, but they often reveal the strongest parts of you.

What’s Going On, Adobe?

 Posted by at 12:03 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 162025
 

As I said yesterday, setting up my new computer turned out to be much easier than I thought. However, nothing in life is totally problem free, is it? I’ve been using an older version of Adobe Photoshop Elements for a long time now, and when I tried to load it into the new computer, it said that it would not work with the newest operating system.

Figuring it was time to upgrade the software, I downloaded Photoshop Elements from Amazon and paid $99 for a 3-year subscription. Unfortunately, as it turns out, I cannot use the program. When I tried to open it, it asked for a code. When I requested the code, it was sent to me, but it still wouldn’t work. Instead, I got a message from Adobe that said my subscription has been cancelled because of fraud. I’ve tried to call Adobe for two days now, and all I get is a recording saying, “Call back some other time, they’re busy with other customers.”

Then I tried to resolve the issue through Amazon, only to been told by their customer service department that there are no refunds on downloaded software, no matter what your problem is, and it was between me and Adobe. Can you say frustrating? I’m not sure what my next step is going to be, but I will try to get in touch with a real person at Adobe on Monday. If they actually have real people working there. So far, I’ve only connected with bots. If that doesn’t work, I will go to my bank and dispute the charge on my credit card.

In other news, I wrote another 2,500-word chapter for Big Lake Parolee yesterday, and then after dinner, Terry and I watched a Liam Neeson movie called Honest Thief on Amazon Prime. There was plenty of action, but it wasn’t the type that overpowered everything else in the film, and we both enjoyed it. Check it out if you get a chance.

Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for a copy of Tales Of A Texas Game Warden. Anybody who has ever watched the television documentary drama Lone Star Law is familiar with Benny Richards, one of the most popular game wardens featured on the series

His book tells the stories of some of his adventures as he chased down poachers, ticketed people fishing without a license, encountered a group of ghost hunters, busted drug runners, and other sometimes funny and sometimes sorrowful stories of his time enforcing hunting and fishing laws and protecting the wildlife and people of Texas.

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 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 – You know you are in love when the two of you can go grocery shopping together.

It’s Only Money, Right?

 Posted by at 12:19 am  Nick's Blog
Nov 152025
 

After many frustrating days working with my sluggish old computer, upgrading to Windows 11 and updating my drivers, all without success, after consulting with Judy Rinehimer, Barbara Westerfield, and Jim Gould from Geeks on Tour, I decided that my best bet would be to get something new and up-to-date.After much research, I settled on a new Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 3 laptop. It has 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 4 TB hard drive, a 16″ touchscreen, a backlit keyboard, and Windows 11 Pro. Because my vision is not all that good sometimes, and because I spend many hours a day at the computer, I also bought a Lenovo 27” monitor, a Lenovo wireless keyboard and mouse, and a Lenovo ThinkPad Universal USB-C Dock. I figure this way I’m starting out with all new equipment by the same manufacturer that is supposed to be completely compatible, rather than the hodgepodge of years old keyboard, mouse, monitor, and such by different manufacturers that I have been using. It’s only money, right? And thankfully, I’ve got a very good accountant who will be able to write it off for me.

I was rather intimidated by setting up a new computer because it’s always been rather difficult in the past. Barbara Westerfield assured me that with everything in the cloud these days, all I had to do was turn it on and log into my Microsoft account and sit back and be amazed at how easily things went. But first, she advised me to back up everything to an external hard drive. I actually backed it up to two different external hard drives, just to be sure. Barbara has never lied to me before, and she was right again this time! I followed her instructions and had to wait an hour or so for everything to get downloaded and set up. I’m pretty much ready to go, just like I was with my old computer.

I’ve only used the new computer long enough to write this blog. I am thrilled to see that Wispr Pro is working fine now, instead of stopping and starting so much like it did on the old computer. I’m sure this is will make life a lot easier. Thanks for all your input, Barbara, and everybody else. I appreciate it.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is a copy of Tales Of A Texas Game Warden. Anybody who has ever watched the television documentary drama Lone Star Law is familiar with Benny Richards, one of the most popular game wardens featured on the series. His book tells the stories of some of his adventures as he chased down poachers, ticketed people fishing without a license, encountered a group of ghost hunters, busted drug runners, and others sometimes funny and sometimes sorrowful stories of his time enforcing hunting and fishing laws and protecting the wildlife and people of Texas.

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 – I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something. – J. Paul Getty.

Writing, Mowing, And Eating

 Posted by at 12:40 am  Nick's Blog
Jun 242023
 

Yesterday was a good writing day for me and I managed to get about 3,000 more words done in my new Big Lake book. And as happens so many times, the characters threw me a curveball and took the story off in a whole new direction from where I thought it was going. That’s why when my friend and proofreader Roberta Jensen asked me a while back where the story was headed, I told her I wouldn’t know until the characters told me. She thought it was a joke, but it’s true more often than not. It’s beginning to look like what I thought was going to be a simple assault in the first chapter of the book may turn into a murder story. But don’t quote me on that because sometimes my characters bounce around like a ball in a pinball machine, so who knows what might happen?

Once it had started to cool off a bit late in the afternoon, Terry went out to her garden and picked some more veggies. A lot of the tomatoes got really beat up by the hail from our recent storm and she doesn’t know how many can be salvaged. But the kale, squash, and zucchini have come up in abundance.

The grass was getting high in the pasture again, and since it’s dried out a bit I got the Kubota tractor out of the barn and used the brush hog to mow the pasture. It’s really big and took me a while, and Alli ran beside me all the way as I went back and forth and up and down. I don’t know where she gets her energy, but by the time I was done she was pretty tuckered out for a change.

While I was doing that, Terry got on the Husqvarna riding mower and cut the grass in the front, back, and side yards. At one point I pulled up beside her on the tractor and asked if she wanted to race, but she didn’t seem interested.

Of course, harvesting veggies and mowing grass isn’t a complete day for Terry. We all know she’s like the Energizer Bunny and keeps going and going and going. So when we were done outside, she made a delicious dinner of black and white sesame seed tuna steaks with wasabi sauce and baked potatoes. What a great way to end a great day!

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is a copy of the new hardcover edition of the RV camping journal donated by Barbara House. Barbara makes several variations of these, and they all have pages where you can list the date, weather, where you traveled to and from that day, beginning and ending mileage, campground information including amenities at RV sites, a place for campground reviews, room to record activities, people met along the way, reminders of places to see and things to do the next time you’re in the area, and a page for notes for each day.

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. After reading this, I think I’ll take the stairs.

Thought For The Day – All my dance moves look like I’m trying to signal the guy on first base to steal second.

Weird Way To Start A Birthday

 Posted by at 12:29 am  Nick's Blog
Jun 232023
 

Terry wanted me to thank everybody who left comments on the blog, on Facebook, or sent texts wishing her happy birthday yesterday. It meant a lot to her.

Since we had spent the day before doing some shopping in Northport and then going to dinner at Pastor’s Kitchen Mexican Restaurant, we didn’t plan on doing a lot yesterday for Terry’s birthday, which was how she wanted it. However, we discovered a very weird way to kick off the day.

Ever since we bought our house, we have heard a gurgling noise from the kitchen sink when the washing machine is draining. We know that the septic system is in good shape because we had it inspected before the purchase, and it was pumped at that time. But sometimes when we flush our toilets there will be a big air bubble that comes up, which leads me to suspect that there’s a partial clog somewhere. Then, Wednesday night after I took my shower, Terry took hers and told me that there was a gurgling sound coming out of the toilet in our master bathroom. I’m glad she told me that because when I went to investigate, water was clear up to the rim and just about to start spilling over. That never happened before and it didn’t happen during my shower a few minutes earlier. A lot of plunging eventually got the water to go down, but we knew we definitely had a problem that needed to be addressed.

So that’s how we started the day yesterday. I’m no plumber, but I once had a friend who owned a big plumbing company, and he told me there were only three rules a plumber must know. 1) poop flows downhill, 2) payday is Friday, and 3) keep your fingers out of your mouth. Using the knowledge acquired from my friend, I decided to see if I could figure out anything.

As it turned out, none of the toilets wanted to flush correctly. They would fill up and I would have to plunge the heck out of them or leave them and they would eventually slowly drain down to normal levels over a period of time. I got my snake out of the garage and spent a couple of hours working it down each toilet, and eventually they started flushing normally. I still don’t really know what the problem is or was, but I have a call in to a plumber and he is going to try to get to us today.

Aside from that, it was pretty much the laid back birthday that Terry wanted. She had phone calls from our kids and her mom and dad wishing her happy birthday, I corrected the last two chapters I wrote in my new Big Lake book, took Alli out three times to throw a ball and her Kong Flyer frisbee for her, and Terry made a delicious calzone for my dinner, while she polished off some assorted leftovers with veggies in them that she’s been saving.

You might not think that’s much of a way to celebrate, but I learned a long time ago to give a lady what she wants, and that’s what Terry wanted. However, I’m not a total loser. I did get her something expensive for her birthday, a Stihl MS 251C chainsaw. Now, if you think that was totally out of line, you obviously don’t know Terry. She doesn’t like jewelry and frilly things, but turn her loose in the tool department at Lowe’s and she’s a happy camper. Okay, I’ll admit I’ll probably be using it under her careful supervision. At least until she realizes I’m about to cut one of my own limbs off instead of a limb from one of the fallen trees, then I’ll have to watch her use it because she won’t let me play with it anymore.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is a copy of the new hardcover edition of the RV camping journal donated by Barbara House. Barbara makes several variations of these, and they all have pages where you can list the date, weather, where you traveled to and from that day, beginning and ending mileage, campground information including amenities at RV sites, a place for campground reviews, room to record activities, people met along the way, reminders of places to see and things to do the next time you’re in the area, and a page for notes for each day.

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 – I wonder what my parents did to prevent boredom before the TV and internet were invented. I asked my 18 brothers and sisters, and they don’t know either.

Happy Birthday Darling

 Posted by at 1:09 am  Nick's Blog
Jun 222023
 

Today the most beautiful and amazing woman I have ever known celebrates her birthday. My darling Miss Terry starts another year around the sun, but in reality I am the one who gets the present, because I get to make the trip with her. I am beyond thrilled and humbled (and more than a little bit mystified) that out of all of the men in the world, for some crazy reason she has chosen to spend her life with me. She is not only my wife, she is also my very best friend.

Besides being beautiful, intelligent, and talented in so many ways, Terry is also one of the nicest people that you will ever meet. She truly loves everyone and she would do anything she could to help out a friend or a stranger. That’s just one of the many reasons I am absolutely head over heels in love with my wife and I adore her.

We’ve been together for almost 26 years now and every day I think I could not possibly love her any more than I do at that moment, but the next day I realize I love her even more. The very first thing we say to each other every morning is “I love you” and it’s the last thing we say to each other as we fall asleep every night. But I’m going to say it again, right now. I love you with all of my heart, Terry. Happy birthday, sweetheart.

June 22 is apparently a popular day for amazing women to be born, because it was also my mother’s birthday. Don’t try to psychoanalyze me, my mom was gone for many years before Terry and I got together, and it wasn’t until afterward that I realized they have the same birthday. Besides, if you can figure out what’s going inside my head, you’re probably the one that needs to see a shrink.

It’s Thursday, so it’s time for a new Free Drawing. This week’s prize is a copy of the new hardcover edition of the RV camping journal donated by Barbara House. Barbara makes several variations of these, and they all have pages where you can list the date, weather, where you traveled to and from that day, beginning and ending mileage, campground information including amenities at RV sites, a place for campground reviews, room to record activities, people met along the way, reminders of places to see and things to do the next time you’re in the area, and a page for notes for each day.

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 – Today is the oldest you have been, and the youngest you will ever be. Make the most of it!

Cold Case Solved

 Posted by at 1:05 am  Nick's Blog
Jun 212023
 

I’ve told you many stories from my years publishing small town newspapers on the Pacific Northwest coast and in Arizona, but there are other stories that remain untold for one reason or another. Here is one that was a long time coming.

Whether you are a healthcare worker, a first responder, a schoolteacher, or a newspaperman, when you live and work in a small town you’re often going to come into contact with people you know on a daily basis in the course of your duties. This can be both a blessing and a curse, depending on the person and the situation. As a newspaper publisher, I’ve had to cover stories about tragedies that happened to people I knew and write obituaries for close friends. Sometimes it’s hard to remain objective and treat these as just one more story, but it’s something the job demands even when you wish you could be far away and hand it off to somebody else.

Such was the case in mid-June of 1996 when I was at the scene of a terrible homicide in Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona. A young man named Jody Hemphill, age 28, was found viciously stabbed to death at a business called Mountain Edge Tapes & CD’s, where he was working. It wasn’t the first homicide I covered in my career, and it wouldn’t be the last, but this one hit home because I knew Jody and his family. His father Dick had been a police officer, his mother Diane was a wonderful lady, his sister Terri worked at the bank and was a friend of mine, and his brother Lyle lived just a couple of houses down the street from me.

I can remember standing outside the building as the police were doing their initial investigation and seeing the little Dixie cups sitting inverted on the sidewalk, covering up the blood trail leading from the store as Jody’s killer made his getaway. And I can remember well the grim faces of the police officers, many of whom were also friends of mine, knowing that they were dealing with the murder of a family member of one of their own.

It was believed that robbery was the motive for the crime because $250 was missing from the store. A suspect was described as a Native American male in his late 20s to early 40s, with unkempt, dark collar-length hair. Pinetop-Lakeside is located on the edge of the White Mountain Apache Reservation and there was a lot of speculation about who was behind the attack and rumors floating through the community as people pointed fingers and talked about who could do such a terrible thing to such a nice person. I won’t go into all that here because it’s not my place to, and because there are still a lot of questions that have gone unanswered.

Over the years, as the family and the community’s frustration grew because no headway was being made on the case, it didn’t seem like it would ever be solved. I always tried to publish a story around the anniversary of Jody’s death to remind people about what had happened to him and that the person or persons responsible were still out there.

Time passed, and eventually, so did Jody’s parents, never knowing who took their son from them. The case grew cold, although the police never gave up, and last week it was announced that after developing new information, an arrest had been made. The suspect is a man named Romeo Massey Jr., a member of the White Mountain Apache tribe who lived on the reservation. In a press release, the police said that there may still be another unknown suspect who was also involved in the crime and the investigation is ongoing.

Nothing will ever bring Jody back, of course, but I hope the news of the suspect’s arrest might help his siblings, Terri and Lyle,know that their brother has not been forgotten, and that though the wheels of justice may turn slowly, they do continue to turn. Hopefully you can now rest in peace, Jody.

Thought For The Day – The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.

T-Mobile Woes

 Posted by at 12:25 am  Nick's Blog
Jun 202023
 

I noticed when we got up Thursday morning that our T-Mobile 5G Internet hotspot was not working. I figured that it probably had something to do with the storm we had overnight and that it would come up eventually. It never did, so about 5 PM I called T-Mobile’s customer service number and spent over an hour dealing with somebody whose English was almost impossible to understand. If I hadn’t had it on speakerphone and Terry sitting next to me to try to help translate, I would not have known what the hell she was saying.

The long and short of it was that the device needed to be replaced, and they could send me one, which would not arrive until sometime next week. I asked if I could just take it to the T-Mobile store in Northport, where we got it and turn it in for a replacement, and she said we could. But since it’s a half-hour drive at least, I decided to call first to be sure they had a replacement in stock. The rather rude lady at the store told me that no, they didn’t do that, and she didn’t care what customer service said.

Frustrated, I called T-Mobile’s customer service number back, and this time connected with someone obviously in this country who spoke perfect English. It may have even been her first language. 😊 I apologized in advance for being frustrated and explained my situation, and she put me on hold and called the store in Northport, were they also told her they didn’t care what company policy was, they are a franchise store and they were not going to do it. She came back on the line and apologized, told me she had made a notation of their rudeness to pass higher up the chain of command, then told me she had also called the company store in Tuscaloosa and arranged for them to exchange the device for me.

That’s even farther than the Northport store and I wasn’t sure we would make it in time, but she told me that they knew I was coming and they would have it ready for me and be waiting for me. And sure enough, when I got there the manager and a gentleman working there had everything ready for me and it was a simple case of handing them the old device and them putting the SIM card in the new device and I was out the door.

You would think that would be the end of story, but you would be wrong. Back at home it quickly connected to the internet but kept rejecting our password. That took another half hour of frustration to get figured out, but thanks to Terry, we got it done.

Well, kind of. Both of our phones and our two computers in our office, which is two rooms away, connect just fine. But my other laptop and our smart TV, both of which are in the living room where the hotspot is located, won’t connect. No matter how many times we try, both give us a message “Cannot Connect To Network.” I have tried all of the usual things like rebooting the device to no avail. So yesterday I called customer service, got somebody else I could not understand, and was told to give it 24 hours to “settle in” and try again. Yeah, that ought to work even if it hasn’t settled in in the last 96+ hours.

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. Suddenly I’m not so hungry anymore.

Thought For The Day – Never fear failure from trying, but always be terrified of regret for not trying.

Another Round

 Posted by at 1:16 am  Nick's Blog
Jun 192023
 

Thanks to everyone who expressed concern for us and for Travis and Geli after all of the storm damage. We are all hanging in there, and it looks like we’re not out of the woods yet. As I write this a little before midnight on Sunday, another round of storms is headed our way and it looks like that will be the pattern for the next week or so. The weatherman keeps saying that tornadoes are not common this time of year in Alabama, so I guess it’s something Mother Nature did just to welcome us.

I guess one good thing about all of this is the rainbows we are seeing. They remind us that the world is still a very special place.

We spent some time out in the garden yesterday afternoon, and even though it got beat up pretty badly, Terry has been able to salvage some stuff. While we were out there, she picked this squash, zucchini, yellow beans, and chives. The kale is flourishing, too!

There are also a bunch of green tomatoes. Some of them got scarred up by the storm, but they seem to be hanging in there.

While we were only without power for a few hours on Friday night, Travis and Geli still don’t have any, and the latest news is that it might be Wednesday before they get it re-established. Terry and I took one of our Honda generators over to their place so at least they can keep their freezers running and not lose all of their food, and can also keep their cell phone batteries charged and such.

I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that I’m going to have to get a chainsaw to cut up some of the downed trees and limbs from Friday’s storm. I don’t know what to get yet, but I’m looking at both Husqvarna and Stihl, and I’m open to suggestions. I know it needs to be a gas unit for all the work we need to do around here, but I won’t actually be cutting down any trees, just cleanup work, so it doesn’t have to be a massive, powerful saw.

In other news, Alli is not the least bit bothered by thunder, as many dogs are, but she has more energy than a dozen tornadoes wrapped up in one. She loves chasing a ball or frisbee or walking along the perimeter roads with me as I check out the damage. I bought her a cheap frisbee a while back, but it didn’t take her long to chew it up. Looking on Amazon, I found this Kong Flyer, which is flexible and looks to be just about indestructible.

I’m not a great frisbee thrower, and it doesn’t go very high, but it gets out there enough to give her a good run to bring it back. And after doing it long enough she gets tired and says, “That’s enough for today” and lies down in the shade.

I also ordered a XiaZ Hanging Bungee Outdoor Tether Tug of War Rope Toy for her and hung it off of the corner of the deck. She really likes it, and by the fierce look on her face you would think she was ready to mangle something or someone, but trust me, she’s a big baby who loves everybody she meets.

Congratulations Ronald Brazell, winner of our drawing for an audiobook of my pal Ken Rossignol’s The Chesapeake: Country Cornpone Cornucopia. It’s a series of short stories of and about people in and around the Tidewater Chesapeake region – along with a few stories from other regions when the writer’s travels.

We had 28 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon. Note: due to the high shipping cost of printed books and amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with U.S. 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. A friend sent this because after our weather issues, we needed to see a smiling face.

Thought For The Day – A happy marriage is when one half snores and the other one does not hear it.

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