I really ticked off someone who is now a former blog reader because I deleted two comments he made in my post A Grim Reminder Of The Past about the Oregon Holocaust Memorial. I very seldom do that, but in this case, his comments were antisemitic and offensive, claiming that the Holocaust never happened and […]
Because I have to do so much research on everything for the time period, I’m behind schedule on my new Tinder Street book. I need to really pick up the pace if I want to meet my self-imposed deadline of having it out by the end of the month. Especially since my daughter Tiffany is […]
We may not be in Kansas anymore, but I kind of wonder if Kansas showed up here on the Central Florida coast yesterday. It was so darned windy here that when I went out to get the mail, I kept my eyes on the sky so a flying house didn’t land on me. The temperature […]
Several blog readers have asked me how Terry and I are feeling after getting our shingles vaccinations on Wednesday afternoon. As I said, I had a big lump on my arm, and both of our arms hurt all night long. By yesterday evening, mine was tender but not sore anymore, though Terry was still experiencing […]
I had my patience tested yesterday. As it turns out, I am negative. We had a lot to get done yesterday and we only accomplished about half of it. But in the process, I certainly got my patience tested. And I’m the first to admit that I’m not a patient man. We had to go […]
I know that a lot of us are numb from yesterday’s events in Washington DC, and I think we will be for a while yet. But it’s a new day, and while we should never forget the treacherous activities of the mob of terrorists who attacked the Capitol, let’s try to focus on some other […]
Like millions of other Americans, my heart hurts for our nation following the violence at the U.S. Capitol yesterday. My heart hurts and I am ashamed of the country I fought and bled for. The right to peacefully protest is protected by the Constitution of the United States, but nowhere does it allow damaging and […]
When Jake from Lindley’s Garden Center planted our new citrus trees on Saturday he said they needed to be watered every day for four weeks, and to continue watering our perennial peanut plants with the soaker hoses once every three days or so for a while yet. I always try to listen to the experts, […]
The weather has been beautiful here for the last few days, but when I opened my office door yesterday morning to let in the nice fresh air there was a 17 foot long rattlesnake/cobra hybrid on the doormat. I didn’t scream like a little girl, because no sound would come out, even though I tried. […]
While in Ohio researching a new book series, we spent some time at the Toledo Police Museum. This was a place I was especially interested in visiting because of my family’s association with the police department. Though small, the museum’s volunteers have managed to cram a lot of history of Toledo, and specifically Toledo law […]
I like to wear T-shirts that have a message on them. Quite often, the message is about me being a writer, such as one that says, “Pay No Attention To My Browsing History, I’m A Writer, Not A Serial Killer.” You would be surprised how many times this leads to a conversation with a perfect […]
Just off of Interstate 64 at Exit 10 in Virginia we found the last remaining covered humpback bridge in the United States. The bridge spans Dunlap Creek, a tributary of the Jackson River, and is a much-loved landmark popular with area residents and visitors alike. Photographers and artists come from all over the country and […]
Several readers have asked why we were at the Mayo hospital in Jacksonville and have asked about our well-being. We appreciate your concern. We were there for several days of testing and procedures to determine the extent of Terry’s internal damage from the intense radiation she received during her cancer treatment in 2000. It was […]
Sometimes I want to find the person that invented the Internet and poke his eyes out. Does anybody know where Al Gore is hanging out these days? Yeah, yeah, I know he didn’t say exactly that, but somebody somewhere had to come up with the idea, and whoever that person is, I hate him (or […]
After a few weeks of testing and adjusting to make sure they had things just right, yesterday afternoon we returned to Connect Hearing in New Smyrna Beach and Beverly turned in the loaner units and picked up her new hearing aids. I had no idea how much goes into getting properly fitted and adjusted for […]
Between catching up on a ton of email that accumulated while we were on the road to Arizona and back, working on a new John Lee Quarrels book, getting my cousin Beverly settled in and arranging for the things she needs, and setting up doctor appointments for her and for us, it feels like we […]
When we bought a house and got off the road, and stopped publishing the Gypsy Journal, a lot of people thought that that we were retiring. But that’s not true. We just changed our lifestyle and refocused our energies. But that doesn’t mean we’re sitting around watching the grass grow and listening to our arteries […]
I spent most of yesterday being very busy doing not much of anything at all, if that makes any sense. If you’ve ever been an employer, you know what I’m talking about because you’ve probably seen employees do that more than once. I had written the first chapter of my next John Lee Quarrels book […]
I loved history even back when I was a young boy in school, and I was always asking questions. So many questions that I think I frustrated my teachers sometimes. I remember once when I asked two or three questions about whatever the lesson was that day, my teacher told me that I had a […]