A REAL-LIFE FAIRY TALE: THE EPILOGUE
I don’t know if fairy tales are supposed to have epilogues. But since it’s my fairy tale, I get to make the rules. Epilogues allowed. Exactly one year ago today, as I stumbled into my ninth decade of drawing breaths on this planet, I wrote a blog with my views on growing old. I allowed…
Read MoreTHE FAIRY TALE CONTINUES–BARBARA AND BUZZ
The fairy tale continues. The rise of what I like to think of as Schloss Bernard, my new writer’s studio—my castle—signals the beginning of a new phase of my life. I have a few weeks remaining in Georgia before I, and my Shih-Tzu buddy, Stormy, wing our way west to where the freshly-minted Mrs. Bernard,…
Read MoreBARBARA AND BUZZ—A REAL-LIFE FAIRY TALE
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, where gray mists hid the tops of green forests, and deep snows crowned the sawtoothed peaks of rugged mountains, a young girl spotted a young boy. “He’s different,” she said. “I want to get to know him.” She did, and for a brief time they…
Read MoreI’M 80, I GUESS I’M NOT SO OLD—PART II
In the email Barbara sent me that altered the course of my life (see I’M 80, I GUESS I’M NOT SO OLD–PART I), she said, in part: “I know there is always a risk in writing one’s thoughts to another because they may be perceived differently than intended. I hope you know me well enough…
Read MoreI’M 80, I GUESS I’M NOT SO OLD—PART I
The airliner sinks slowly over the quilt-work brown and green landscape of southeastern Washington state as it approaches the Tri-Cities Airport. The Tri-Cities are Pasco (where the airport is), Richland, and Kennewick—where a woman who was my girlfriend when we were in the eighth grade, sixty-seven years ago, lives. Her name is Barbara. Yes, eighth…
Read MoreTHE SHANGRI-LA RAIDERS, APRIL 2, 1942
Today, April 2, 2021, marks the 79th anniversary of the beginning of one of the most remarkable adventures in U.S. military history: the bombing raid on Tokyo, Japan, led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle. The attack, battling horrendous odds against its success, became legendary in the annals of WWII history. Bombs were not actually dropped…
Read MoreI’M 80, I’M OLD—SOME ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS
First of all, please allow me to slip in an update about my newest novel. When Heroes Flew: The Shangri-La Raiders is on track to be released July 13. It’s a captivating tale of bravery, determination, and an unlikely love set against the legendary Jimmy Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in 1942. Next, since I published…
Read MoreI’M 80, I’M OLD—SOME OBSERVATIONS
Allow me, please, to depart from my usual blog topics about writing or weather. Today is different. I’m 80. I’m old. “Senior middle-ager” doesn’t cut it any longer. And for the record, that old saw about age being just a state of mind is BS. As much as I try to convince myself I’m merely…
Read MoreIT’S A PIECE OF CRAP
My adult grandson (who is special needs but high functioning) and I were cleaning out my garage recently. He found something bulky wrapped in a trash bag and opened it. “Hey, Gramps,” he says, “what’s this?” I look over his shoulder. It was something I’d forgotten about. “It’s a typewriter,” I say. “A what?” “Typewriter.”…
Read More“THE END” IS JUST THE BEGINNING
In a previous blog, I mentioned that I had a new work-in-progress (WIP) with a tentative title of The Shangri-La Raiders. I thought the title might not stick. But it has. My publisher, Severn River, decided the new book would be a nice follow-on to When Heroes Flew. Thus, the “official” title of the WIP…
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