And Today's Winner is... YOU!

Thought for the day:  Today I will live in the moment. Unless it's unpleasant, in which case, I will eat a cupcake.

[image courtesy of Unsplash]

 I'd say we're all winners, or at least, we all have an equal opportunity to make this a terrific... and winning... day. All we have to do is carpe the hell out of the diem. Seize the day, people!

I was at a loss as to what to write about today, so I decided to let the day itself dictate the topic.

So what's special about this day?

Well, for one thing, February first is the day Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th amendment, which ended slavery in the United States. In 1948, Truman honored the event by making today National Freedom Day as a way to recognize America as a symbol of freedom.

May freedom and justice become realities... and not just lofty ideals or symbols... both in the U.S. and in every corner of the world.

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. [Martin Luther King, Jr.]

So, please... feel free to celebrate! We can't all visit the Liberty Bell to lay a wreath, but we can most certainly go to Taco Bell for lunch.

[image courtesy of Morguefile]

Know what else today is?

Hula in the Coola Day! Woo HOO!

Know how to celebrate? Go outside and do the hula, of course! Maybe you could have a luau, even. With tiki torches and ukuleles, the whole bit. (On the plus side, if there's snow on the ground in your neck of the woods, maybe the tiki torches will encourage it to melt...?)

Reminds me a little of the one and only time I ever went trick-or-treating. I was thirteen years old. My father was... let's just say he was difficult... so Halloween at our house meant locking the door, closing the drapes, and turning out the lights. Forget giving candy to any so-and-so neighborhood kids, let alone allowing this so-and-so kid to go out begging for it. But that year... my father was working the 3 to 11 shift, and my mother said I could go out with my friends. (Yes, there may possibly have been some uber dramatic begging involved.) Anyhow, I decided to go as a hula dancer. Yeah. In Maryland. In October. I made the coolest grass skirt ever out of crepe paper, and I decorated a bra top out the wazoo, and I even had a lei. I was ready, baby!

My mother said no way.

She made me wear a sweater under the decorated-out-the-wazoo bra top, dungarees under the skirt, and a big old coat over top. Let's just say I didn't do the hula... but don't let that stop YOU from doing it today!

[image courtesy of morguefile]

Let's see... what else is being celebrated today...?

Well, it's Change Your Password Day. (You can go first...) It's also G.I. Joe Day, a day to celebrate the first doll designed just for boys. Yeah, yeah, I know. NOT a doll. An action figure. (I wonder why he and Barbie never got together? Think her personality's too plastic for him?)

Today is also (ta-Da!) Decorating with Candy Day. Pretty cool, I guess, but heck, I celebrate that darned near every day. I simply love to decorate my tummy with candy...

[image courtesy of morguefile]

YUM! Today is also National Baked Alaska Day. To be perfectly honest, I've never tasted this dessert before, but the cake, ice cream and browned meringue combination sounds absolutely scrumptious. Maybe today's the day...?

Today is also National Serpent Day and Robinson Crusoe Day. (Rather fitting that the day falls on a Friday this year, dontcha think?)

It's also National Get Up Day.

Somehow, I think expectations are higher than simply crawling out of bed, but at least, I accomplished that much. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Tomorrow, I may touch my toes.







I saved the best for last.

                                                       Today is Spunky Old Broads Day!

Actually, today is the first day of a whole month's celebration of us sassy women over fifty who refuse to get old quietly, and who are hell-bent on living a regret-free life. YAY, us!!!

Today is the oldest you've ever been and the youngest you'll ever be, so make the most of it!

                             Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Understanding Veterans

Thought for the day:  The willingness with which our young people serve our country shall be directly proportional to the way they perceive our nation and how it treats our veterans. [George Washington]

Today is Veterans Day, a day devoted to honoring the men and women who have served in the military. These dedicated  people put their civilian lives on hold, and if need be, put their lives on the line to defend our way of life. They selflessly personify the meaning of words like honor, duty, and sacrifice.

Today, there'll be a smattering of small-scale parades throughout the country in their honor, and some restaurants will be offering them free meals. Then tomorrow, it'll be back to business as usual. For civilians. Not so much for many veterans. Shutting off the experiences of military duty, especially for those who experience combat, is much more difficult than most civilians realize.

The following was originally posted for Veterans Day in 2011 as We Owe Them. With some editing, here it is again. Hopefully, it will help promote better empathy for our veterans.

To all of you veterans....Thank you.

To those who died, honor and eternal rest; to those still in bondage, remembrance and hope; to those who returned, gratitude and peace. [engraved on the Illinois Vietnam Veterans memorial]

*****************

Thought for the day:  As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.   [John F. Kennedy]

It's  Veterans Day, and although this day was set aside to honor all veterans, I'd like to dedicate this post to our combat veterans, in particular. There's a definite disconnect between those who fight our wars and those of us who remain safely at home. This is nothing new, but it's still troubling. The reality of war is such that when soldiers in Vietnam talked about returning home, they referred to it as going back to the world. And when they did come home, their faces often wore a bone-chilling thousand yard stare. That stony expression didn't go away overnight, either; in many cases, it didn't go away for decades. If at all. I can say from experience that it took twenty years... twenty years... before my husband started resembling the easy-going man he was before he went to Vietnam.

In earlier wars, the lengthy ride home via ship allowed time for decompression. Not a lot, and certainly not enough, but more than our soldiers coming home from Nam got, and more than our soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan get. One day, our soldiers are in a stress-filled war zone, and the next, they're sitting around the family table, shell-shocked, asking someone to please pass the eff-ing potatoes. (Yep, also from experience...)

And yet, many of us treat our soldiers as though they should simply put the war behind them. Get over it. 

It isn't that simple. Psychiatrist Jonathan Shay, author of Odysseus in America, describes what our returning soldiers face as follows:  In combat, you have to shut down those emotions that do not directly serve survival. So sweetness, the gentler forms of humor, grief --- all shut down. And this is profoundly disconcerting to families when a soldier comes back, and he seems to be made out of ice. It's not that he is irrevocably and permanently incapable of feeling anything. It's that this adaptation of shutting down those emotions that don't directly serve survival in combat is persisting. 

Registered nurse Alison L. Crane, a former Captain and mental health observer-trainer for the 7302 Medical Training Support Battalion, is all too familiar with the difficulties veterans face when trying to re-assimilate into civilian life. In 2007, in an attempt to help civilians better understand our returning soldiers. she produced a startling photographic essay, which I'm pleased to share with you now. Our veterans deserve not only our respect and appreciation, but our understanding, as well. Ms. Crane's photographic essay is called

                                                  WHEN A SOLDIER COMES HOME

 When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard to listen to his son whine about being bored.

                              ... to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.

           ... to be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.

                        ... to be understanding when a coworker complains about a bad night's sleep.

                                        ... to be silent when people pray to God for a new car.

                           ... to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.

                     ... to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.

   ... to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they're afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.

                      ... to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.

          ... to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.

             ... to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.

                                      ... to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.

             ... to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.

               ... to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.

                                                The only thing harder than being a soldier

                                                                      is loving one.

And when you meet one of our returning soldiers, please remember what they've been through, and show them compassion and tolerance.  [Pictures and text courtesy of Alison Crane]

A very special thank you to all our veterans out there. For all you non-vets, with an estimated 24.9 million veterans in the country, it should be fairly easy to find one to thank. God knows, they've earned it. How about making it a point to hug a vet today?

Congress should stop treating veterans like they're asking for a handout when it comes to the benefits they were promised, and they should realize that, were it not for these veterans, there would be nothing to hand out.   [ Nick Lampson -former Texas Congressman]

Let's end on a feel-good note, shall we? How about a video of soldiers being welcomed home by their four-legged best friends... HAPPINESS personified.

                                     Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

A Unique Monument

Thought for the day:  The willingness with which our young people serve our country shall be directly proportional to the way they perceive our nation, and how it treats its veterans. [George Washington]

Georgia Guidestones

Just about everyone in the world has heard something about Stonehenge, and regular readers of this blog have heard of the Georgia Guidestones, but there's another remarkable set of stones in the fine state of Arizona that I think we should all know about, too. Especially now, with Veterans Day just around the corner, because these special stones form a very unique monument dedicated to our country's veterans.




Aligned with our celebration of Veterans Day, on November 11th of each year, at precisely 11:11 AM, the sun's rays pass through the ellipses of five Armed Forces pillars to gloriously illuminate a mosaic of the Great Seal of the United States. 

[photos courtesy of Anthem Community Council]

 

[photo by Mike Spinelli]

This monument,  located in the rather aptly-named town of Anthem,  and designed by local resident Renee Palmer-Jones,  offers a stirringly visual tribute which honors the service and sacrifice of those who have served in the U.S. armed forces.  The five marble pillars represent the five branches of service, and are staggered from seventeen feet to six feet, in accordance with the Department of Defense's prescribed precedence, in descending order from the Army, to the Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. 

[photo courtesy of Anthem Community Council]

[photo courtesy of Anthem Community Council]

[photo courtesy of Anthem Community Council]

The red bricks within the Circle of Honor are inscribed with the names of more than 750 U.S. servicemen and women, and along with the white pillars and (hopefully) blue sky, combine to represent the colors of America's flag, and the circle itself symbolizes an unbreakable border. Local resident and chief engineer Jim Martin had the onerous task of correctly aligning the memorial with the sun, so that its rays would illuminate the country's seal at precisely 11:11 AM each November eleventh. 

[photo courtesy of Anthem Community Council]

Let's  hope the sun shines down brightly on the little town of Anthem, Arizona, next Wednesday, so those who are gathered will be able to see this extremely unique monument work its magic.  

[morguefile]

Veterans Day is an official United States holiday that honors people who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, also known as veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the end of World War I (major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect).

The United States also originally observed Armistice Day; it then evolved into the current Veterans Day holiday in 1954. Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. Military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.

 To those who died, honor and eternal rest; to those still in bondage, remembrance and hope; to those who returned, gratitude and peace.  [inscription on the Illinois Vietnam Veterans memorial]

  HAVE YOU HUGGED A VET TODAY?

By the way, looking for something good to read? This past Monday, Redemption, the third book in Jessica Therrien's series Children of the Gods, was released. In case you haven't read the first two books of the series, I'm pleased to announce that book one, Oppression, and book two, Uprising, are currently on sale for the paltry price of ninety-nine cents. Check out this cover:

                                                                How's about a little blurb?

Lead Council member, Christoph, is dead by Elyse’s hand, and Descendants have begun to emerge, exposing their secret to the world. Some see this as the prophecy come to fruition, but the prophecy caries a heavy consequence. It was never meant to be as peaceful as most had hoped.

Humans and Descendants struggle to live together in a world that isn’t ready for such a change. America is divided. Those who glorify the supernatural race believe Descendants truly are the gods they claim relation to. Others see them as a threat.

When Elyse gives birth to the next generation oracle, she sees one final vision—war. The destruction of the country’s major cities, and the end of America as we know it.

After her daughter is born, Elyse finds herself without the ability she needs to predict the future. Desperate to save the world from such conflict, she puts her faith in the hope that Descendants are the key to survival. After all, they have the power to supply a broken society with the means to survive.

Only from the ashes can a new world be born.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

                                                          Sound good? Go get it!

Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other. And to all of you veterans? A very special thank you.  Freedom is not free. 

May the Fourth Be With You

Thought for the day: Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.   Moshe Dayan

[morguefile]

OK, for today, America's birthday, let's take a look at some appropriate quotations while we're waiting for the cake to come out of the oven, shall we?




 "As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protection of the civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."  George Washington

"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom." Albert Einstein

"Life without liberty is like a body without spirit."  Kahlil Gibran

 "I have always been among those who believed that the greatest freedom of speech was the greatest safety, because if a man is a fool, the best thing to do is to encourage him to advertise that fact by speaking." Woodrow Wilson

"We must not be free because we claim freedom, but because we practice it."  William Faulkner

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."  Thomas Jefferson

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."  Erma Bombeck

[morguefile]

And a quick poem by Carl Sandburg:

                                                 Fourth of July Night

                 The little boat at anchor in black water sat murmuring to the tall black sky.
                 A white sky bomb fizzed on a black line.
                 A rocket hissed its red signature into the west.
                 Now a shower of Chinese fire alphabets,
                A cry of flower pots broken in flames,
                 A long curve to a purple spray, three violet balloons ---
                Drips of seaweed tangled in gold, shimmering symbols of mixed numbers,
                Tremulous arrangements of cream gold folds of a bride's wedding gown ---
                A few sky bombs spoke their pieces, then velvet dark.
                The little boat at anchor in black water sat murmuring to the tall black sky.
                               

                             

                                                     
I hope you all have a wonderful ... and safe ... Independence Day. Oh yeah ... know what one flag said to another? Nothing, honey... it just waved. (Sorry)

Oh yeah... for any of you folks in the UK who might be interested: from July 1 until the 8th, my book Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade is on sale through Amazon.uk for next to nuttin', honey.

                                    Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Cover Stories

Thought for the Day:  Do you ever judge a book by its cover???

[morguefile]

So who are you more likely to trust... a pious bunch of church-goers, led by a sweet-faced white-haired man with pale blue eyes and a cowboy hat...

[morguefile]

or a free-wheeling bunch of bearded, leather-clad bikers led by a bad-ass looking dude on a Harley?


Looks can be deceiving, you know. Could be a... cover story.


What if that sweet-faced church leader clutching his Bible like a weapon were... Fred Phelps?  Yeah, that guy.

[wikipedia]

The fruit loop guy who led the Westboro Primitive Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas from 1955 until he died a few months ago, the guy who taught his congregation to... hate. Protected by freedom of speech laws, they got their self-righteous jollies by protesting and picketing... even at funerals. Especially at funerals... especially at military funerals.

[wikipedia]

And what if those scary-looking bikers were Patriot Guard riders? They're members of a nation-wide volunteer organization of bikers who make a difference by attending military funerals to show respect for our fallen heroes, and to shield grieving families and friends from the additional pain dished out by those protesters. What's more, they do it peacefully, legally, and with great dignity.

I certainly know which of these groups gets my respect... and trust.

Bottom line, when referring to those particular church-goers and biker dudes, one could easily jump to the conclusion that you can't judge a book by its cover. But Whoa, Nelly! Not so fast. Sometimes, you can. Sometimes, we do. Like Joyce O'Neal said, You can't judge a book by its cover, but you can sure sell a bunch of books if you have a good one.

And I'm about to reveal a really really good one. My prediction is it's gonna be holding a really really good book inside, too. How do I know? Because I've read Carol's other books, and they were all terrific. Okay, ready to sneak a peek... ?

                                                                       Down...
                                                                 
                                                                       Down...

                                                                       Down...

                                                                       Down...

                                                                      YOWZA!


                                                                         

Isn't that gorgeous??? What's more, the story sounds terrific, too:

By the end of a long evening working as a special set of eyes for the presidential security detail, all Kat Marengo wants is to kick off her shoes and stash two not-really-stolen rings in a secure spot. Plus, maybe sleep with Dave Krizak. No, make that definitely sleep with Dave Krizak. The next morning, she wishes her new top priorities were so simple.

As an operative for a covert agency buried in the depths of the Department of Homeland Security, Kat is asked to participate in a matter of life or death—locate a kidnapped girl believed to be held in Corpus Christi, Texas. Since the person doing the asking is the wife of the president and the girl is the daughter of the first lady’s dearest friend, it’s hard to say no.

Kat and Dave quickly learn the real stakes are higher than they or the first lady believed and will require more than any of them bargained for. The kicker? They have twenty-four hours to find the girl—or the matter of life or death will become more than a possibility.

[morguefile]

Does that have you salivating like Pavlov's dog?


Yeah, me too.


I hate to tell ya, but Secrets of Honor isn't gonna be released until September. Yeah, I know. Bummer.

But don't blame me. Blame this lovely lady for teasing you like this. Blame Carol.

Yeah, just look at that smile on her face. That's because she knows how the story ends... the rest of us are just gonna have to wait. (Don't worry; I'll remind you in September.)

Wanta hear a little something about this talented writer with the 100-watt smile?

Carol writes grocery lists, texts to her family, new lyrics to old songs for her dogs, love notes to her husband, and novels for herself. And for you. In between, she blogs weekly at Under the Tiki Hut and is active on Facebook and Twitter.

She sees mystery and subterfuge everywhere. And she’s a sucker for a good love story—especially ones with humor and mystery. Crime Fiction with a Kiss gives her the latitude to mix and match throughout the broad mystery and romance genres. Having flexibility makes her heart happy.

LINKS

Under the Tiki Hut blog:  http://www.underthetikihut.blogspot.com

Website with Monthly Contest: http://www.carolkilgore.net

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/carol.kilgore1

Twitter: http://twitter.com/carol_kilgore

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6094110.Carol_Kilgore

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Carol-Kilgore/e/B008FRCXQY

Once upon a time, there was a jewel thief. Her name was Katia. She worked for The Government. Yes, that government. But one day, Kat took something she shouldn’t have. She really shouldn't have done that.

****

How about you? Are you pretty good at judging books by their covers? Are you as het up to read this book as I am? (And did you find it as ironic as I did that Phelps' family had the audacity to ask the public to respect their privacy after he died...?  I swear, bearing spiritual fruit is one thing, but those folks are religious nuts.)

                             Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

Just a Couple Tootsies at a Time

Thought for the day:  Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

Gee, do you think that's why flamingos frequently stand on one foot... they're so smart they know better than to test the water with both of 'em?

Hi, guys. It's great to be back. I hope you've all had a good month. I've had a reeeeally productive one. (It's amazing how much stuff you can get done when your posterior isn't planted in an office chair most of the day.)

Um, ya know how TV shows take breaks for a while, and then when they finally come back on the air, they show a darned re-run? Annoying as heck, isn't it?

NO, not at all. It gives us a chance to catch back up again before we jump into a new episode, right? They're um, kinda testing the water. With one foot.

Oh, what the heck, this is my way of saying I'm easing back into the swing of things by coming back with a ... rerun. But hey! It's a pretty good one. It originally ran in February of last year as Touched by an Eagle.

Since my last two posts were about birds, why not dip my toes back into the blogosphere with a post about another bird? I hope you enjoy it.

+++

Thought for the day:  Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover.

© Jeff Moore, UK

Some people think animals are a conduit between the physical and spiritual worlds. Native Americans strongly believe in animal spirits and animal guides.

Regardless of whether you believe in this sort of spirituality or not, if you've ever loved an animal, you're familiar with the special connections we can form with them. Most of us experience these connections with dogs and cats, or other domestic creatures.

Can you imagine connecting with a wild animal?

In Arlington, Washington is the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center. There, on a five-acre spread, volunteers rescue and rehabilitate orphaned, injured, and sick wild animals, mostly from the Puget Sound area, with the goal of healing them and releasing them back into the wild.

I'd like to share with you a  remarkable story about one of the volunteers who works there, and the unlikely connection he's formed ... with an American bald eagle named Freedom.

Jeff Guidry is one of the volunteers at the Sarvey Center. In 1998, when a fledgling bald eagle fell from its nest,  Jeff brought it into the center for treatment. The eaglet's badly broken wings were fitted with rods, but the bird remained in critical condition, and hovered near death for weeks. Every day, Jeff cared for this bird he'd named Freedom. He murmured heartfelt words of encouragement to the eagle, and willed him to live.

Finally, on a day determined to be Freedom's last chance for survival, the day he was to be removed from the feeding tube if there were no signs of improvement, the bird finally lifted his head, and slowly stood.

Freedom will never fly, and will spend the rest of his life at the center, where he and Jeff are an inseparable team, an educational team. It isn't unusual to see the mighty bird nuzzling with Jeff, as shown in the picture above. And it also isn't unusual for Freedom to put one wing around Jeff's shoulder in what looks like a gesture of friendship.

But that isn't the whole story.

In 2000, Jeff was diagnosed with cancer, an advanced cancer requiring eight heavy rounds of chemo. In an amazing role reversal, during the entire debilitating ordeal, Jeff sensed Freedom's constant encouragement, and felt the bird willing him to fight, and to live. On the day Jeff found out the treatment had succeeded, he and Freedom went for a walk. It was then that this mighty eagle wrapped both wings around Jeff in what must have felt like the protective hug of an angel. While enfolding Jeff in his wings, Freedom rested his beak on Jeff's nose, and for a moment, time stood still. Can you imagine the majesty of this experience?

Why imagine? Here, why not listen to Jeff tell you about it himself?

An inspirational story, isn't it? It sure sounds like a spiritual connection to me.

You might even call it a love story.

                            We are eagles of one nest --- the nest is in our soul.  [Led Zeppelin]

Don't forget: During the month of May, each comment you leave here earns you another chance to win a FREE autographed copy of my book. (If you missed the reveal about it, you can catch up by looking at the previous post.) And if you mention my book on your blog, that'll earn you another two chances. (Nope, I'm not above a little bribery. Not at all.)

One change: I've decided that ALL of the comments made on the previous post will be eligible for the drawing. Doesn't seem quite fair to include the ones made after May 1 and leave out all the ones made a day earlier. After all, the early birds deserve a shot at the worm, too. (Not that my book's a worm... but you know what I mean.) One other thing: anyone interested in receiving an e-version ARC to read and (gulp) review? If so, let me know. Gotcha covered for Kindle or Nook.


                                   


Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.