True Life and Fiction

Well, here it is. December 22nd, 2012 and we're all catching another sunrise. But for centuries, people all over the world lived their lives with that little thought poking through the backs of their minds that asked, "What if the Mayans were right?" The Mayans were right. The Mayan calendar factually represented a phase of time in the course of the history of our civilization. Our sun was at the high point of an eleven-year cycle of solar activity (read MSE or Mass Solar Ejection) and, at some point during the day of the twenty-first, the sun was aligned along the galactic center. This is something that happens only once every twenty-six thousand years, so it was quite a special event. My personal belief? The Mayan people, for the most part, went extinct before they started another calendar. And why would they continue the calendar they made. They did not make a calendar to cover the millions of years before their civilization came into being. They did the same...

My Grand kids loved their little raised gardens so much this year that we decided to extend the fun and plant a winter garden. Problem is, we just had a bit of a cold spell here in Southeast Alabama. I know, all my relatives from up North are probably laughing at me right now. After all, When I say "cold spell" it's relative to our usual climate. Well, in a desperate attempt to save the onions, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, and beans planted in our four little raised beds, I decided to build a greenhouse. So here it is. My first foray into self-sufficiency posted here for all to see. I'm a cheap bastard so I attempted to build the greenhouse using as much salvaged lumber as possible. My list of materials consisted of a ten by twenty-five foot roll of clear plastic, ten (ten foot) lengths of one-half inch PVC pipe, six T-fittings, six cross fittings, and lots and lots of staples! My afternoon project turned into a two day project as I had to sacrifice more o...

With the last debate behind us, we're in the home stretch to to election day. Our political candidates have put themselves into overdrive, crisscrossing the nation, trying to hit all those states in question and answer to the lies put forth by whoever was there before them. I almost became politically active this year. I say "almost" because I find it hard to make a choice when I'm so disappointed all the political rhetoric lately. Each candidate is guilty of not telling the truth about their own beliefs and giving a clear plan. And, I guess the real bottom line is that I agree with certain aspects of each side of our political system while vehemently disagreeing with others. I find myself conservative on some issues while liberal on others. I hope there are many others falling into my category of thought. I remember a time when our two political parties would fight and argue, filibuster and stall; but in the end, things would get done for the good of our nation. ...

  Yay, it's finally here! I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. Yes folks, my new (old) typewriter arrived today via UPS. I am now the proud owner of a 1952 Smith-Corona Sterling model portable typewriter. It is funny that back in the day, this was considered portable when the shipping weight was just under twenty pounds. I first learned to type in high school back in ... well, we'll just call it back in the day. We started out on manual typewriters and I later found the transition to an electric typewriter difficult. I do remember that I did not do well in typing class. I'm pretty sure I signed up for the class for the same reason I attempted home-ec class--girls. Back then, I wrote most of my work out longhand, mostly because most of my writing back then was four line limericks designed to draw attention from all my immature friends. I still have the first short story I wrote for an actual grade. It weighed in at a whopping three thousand words. While the page h...

Today I was surfing around the Interwebs in the few spare moments I stole between playing kickball with the grandson, flushing the shower pipes with Drano (don't ask) and spending that nine or so hours in that ether of my full-time job. Lo and behold, I just happened upon my own blog and realized I've not been tending it well over the last month. Did I mention that I also planted the winter garden only to find animals of some kind (probably cats) ate up all my beans and spinach as soon as they sprouted? Well, there it is, but I've still got onions, lettuce, and broccoli left. I've also got a big ol' box of pellets for my pellet gun. Anyway, I've realized that I need to get back to my roots. I've spent the last year working and writing "other" stories instead of my beloved speculative fiction, mystery, and adventure stories. I did manage to complete a novel under my pen name. And no, it's not porn. It just happens to be paranormal romantic s...