A Beach Ball in the Storm

After checking the hurricane forecast, I called my cousin's wife down in Perry, Fl., to see if she needed to wait out Kirk in my studio. I knew her husband was still working a power crew of 500 in the areas hit hardest by Helene. And now with the mother of all hurricanes churning toward the coast, I wanted her to know she had a place here.

They've been hit by three storms since they moved there a little over a year ago. Helene was the first one that drove them from their home.

She said things looked okay to stay...that the roads were jam packed with people who had to evacuate from places south of them. There were long lines of cars at the gas stations, and the county authorities were asking locals to stay off the roads. I can only imagine what a terrible ordeal this is for the people having to leave their homes.

I listened as she talked about why they were probably going to sell and leave Florida.

"It's so sad. I can hardly stand to go the beach. All of the houses are gone, except for a few, and the ones left are damaged really bad. There're folks walking around with plastic containers, picking through the rubble, trying to find something of theirs. I'm afraid insurance rates are gong to be unaffordable, and people will just walk away.

"We were fortunate. There are only a couple of trees left on our property, but the house survived...which is a miracle. There was like a little pocket here that was spared, but then the storm moved into the town and tore up everything.

"It won't ever be the same. The small, coastal-town feel won't ever come back. Maybe some wealthy developer will buy it all. But then it certainly won't be what it was before.

"And with storms, there are always stories. Someone I know who lives further inland and didn't evacuate told me she was watching the storm from inside her home. There were trees falling and stuff blowing around. The wind was howling. But in the midst of it all, she saw a beach ball, sitting undisturbed...barely rocking back and forth. Now that is strange."

I agreed and told her if things got dicey, she could head this way, hung up the phone, and thought about that beach ball.

Was that a "big fish story" of a factual account?...not sure, but it reminded me just how easy it is for our minds to churn at the drop of a hat. Mental hurricanes are real. They can swallow up one's sense of sanity as quickly as a storm can wipe an entire town.

Nothing can stop Kirk, but I pray the folks who are trying to get to safety do so soon.

In the meantime, I'm going to work on being like that beach ball and find a refuge where I just rock back and forth and hold the hurricanes at bay.

See you next week.

"Four in the Stable"

"Hey. It will be fun -- yeah. I think I'll add three more books to the mix this year."

And so we did.

As Randy Hale, my publisher said: "Now you have four in the stable."

And I am really proud of these. You can visit my website to find out the back ground on each and how to order, but please allow me to share some thoughts on each:

"The Tanner Side of Town", released in 2022, is my first novel and now in its second printing. I wrote this during the pandemic and had a blast doing so. For those of you who enjoyed it, I intend to continue writing the sequel as soon as this fall selling season is over.

"What Tink Told Us..." is a product of pure love and joy, inspired by my two granddaughters. When my lifelong friend, Tom Barnes, agreed to illustrate the poem, the words became stunning pieces of art.

"The Adventures of Sam the Crow" came to life on the stage 30 years ago. I wrote it for the dance and drama students I taught at the Crossroads Studio, which is located across the pasture from my home. Their performance and portrayal of the barnyard characters inspired me to adapt the script to a manuscript. My cousin, Maggie Fielding, who owned a printing and publishing company in D.C., did the heavy lifting to produce it, along with her husband, Buddy. The late Angie Lee Talbott, her sister, produced the beautiful and very accurate illustrations. "Sam" was my first book and will always hold an incredibly special place in my heart. This is the second printing.

And last, but by far, the least, "Dirt Road Dreams" is a compilation of over 30 years of writing and a lifetime of living. Deeply rooted in my rural upbringing, it is a very personal and soulful reflection of getting through life -- the joy, pain, challenges, love, and laughter. I included photographs -- mostly of my farm -- taken over the last 20 years. Many of you who subscribe to this blog were loyal readers when I worked for the Grimes newspaper group here in West Georgia. You gave me the courage to write what was on my heart and mind. And for that, I will always be grateful.

But books, just like horses, need a lot of attention -- regardless if self-published or represented by an agency. If one writes it, ya gotta sell it. Otherwise, there will be a lot of books with your name printed on it piled up somewhere.

So, I am entering a very busy fall selling season. Here's a schedule of upcoming events, and when more are added, I'll let you know.

In closing, I would encourage each of you who have ever had the thought, "I should write about that" to do so.

Just write without worrying about what it's going to be or what you'll do with it.

Simply put the words you are thinking on paper.

And if you do, you'll begin a journey between yourself and your imagination that could become one of the best relationships you'll ever have.

See you next week.

"Find Me the Votes" -- A Must Read.

…investigative reporting that reads like a novel...informative and entertaining...required reading for those who support free and fair elections. These phrases aptly describe Isikoff's and Klaidman's book.

The authors delve into and uncover the extent to which dubious players went to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Touting lies based entirely on conspiracy theories, the group of now either indicted or convicted participants stopped at nothing to try and change the results pf the 2020 vote.

The authors uncover the salaciousness of the operation and the false theories pushed by those desperate to undo what the voters sanctioned. Regardless of one's political or personal opinions, the results should make anyone with a sense of right and wrong sit up and take notice.

Of course, there needs to be a sequel, because we don't know yet what the ending will be.

Court cases are on pause, another election looms in a little over a month, and hearings are pending.

But. We do know this: The unthinkable almost occurred. But because a few people did their jobs and upheld their oath of office, democracy barely survived.

And. It could very well happen again.

The strongest deterrent to autocracy is an informed citizenry. And "Find Me the Votes" is a must if you choose to be part of that defense.