1 Cup Ice Water

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That sounds like an ingredient in a recipe. The truth is, it was the only ingredient in a recipe for disaster!

Maybe disaster is too strong a word here. But it surely seemed disastrous when it was happening.

It all started out innocently enough. My wife and I were having a relaxing Friday evening date. The plan had been to catch an early-ish supper, then go to the newest Star Wars movie.
Naturally, we were were running late. Late enough that the relaxing part of the evening had been displaced by a frantic rush to town. We decided on the fly to get burgers on the run, so we took a quick detour through a well-known franchise drive-thru.
We don't drink sodas, so we both ordered cups of water with our meals, and that's the part where the situation went south. As I attempted to transfer the first cup of ice water to the cup holder in the car's console, the lid popped off and the whole mess went down into my lap. When the cup went down, I went up into the limited air space of my wife's little Hyundai. I believe I did some impressive contortions that could have won me a position with the Peking Acrobats. Unfortunately, I was not fast enough. Just as a reminder, we are having a cold snap here, and a glass of ice water poured into one's lap and pooling on the seat is not a pleasurable experience.

Meanwhile, as I was getting doused in cold water, the attendant handed me the next cup of water and … no. No, I did not repeat that performance. He must have noticed the subtle look of consternation on my face as it was smashed against the headliner of the car. I declined the water, and he changed his offering to a handful of paper towels.

We swept the ice out the door and blotted what we could of the water, but I was thoroughly soaked. And I was cold. But it was much better than just that. When I got out of the car at the theater, it looked for all the world to see like I had a different kind of disaster altogether. Ruefully I noted that I would have at least been warm under those circumstances.

Thankfully, the place was not crowded and no one was within noticing range. Blue jeans dry slowly, so I was cold during half of the movie. But by the end, I was dry and no one ever even knew. I did, however, take away some deep wisdom from that experience.
First, no one notices or cares about the majority of what you do. And second, the next time we get something at a drive-thru, I'll let my wife drive.  

Captured Sentiments

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Life can be flooded with sentiments, which, at times, are too strong to verbalize. Those emotions are a normal part of life and affections, and are indicative of healthy relationships. That said, at times they can become too intense. Fear not, music and literature can come to your rescue. Often those overwhelming emotions can be assuaged with the right stimulus. You have probably experienced that. You may have, like me, self-prescribed an epic album or favorite book at such times. There is a flip side to that, of course. Ironically, those emotions can be evoked by the same music and literature when encountered by chance in the wild. But I think that is all okay.

Since we are on the subject of literature with evocative sentiments, let me introduce you to Book 2 in the Kingdom of the Falcon series.

Ascent of the Falcon

Ascent of the Falcon

Your Last Schilling

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If you are gift shopping for a long list of people and you are down to your last schilling, you might consider going into seclusion for a few weeks. Otherwise, if your budget is in decent shape, and you need six wonderful gifts to complete your mission, look no further.

For those readers in your life who do not have to be spoon-fed in their literature digestion, there is the Kingdom of the Falcon series. These are reality-based 14th century action adventures.

For those young readers, and those who are young at heart, let me introduce The Adventures of Boathouse Mouse. These are delightfully illustrated adventures on the sea. Books 1 and 2 are currently available. For the record, there will be ten more books in this series. Our little adventurer is traveling around the world.

There are several outlets from which you can purchase these books. If you are local, or would like to have the books signed, I have a supply of both series. Contact me here.
Shawna, the illustrator, has the Boathouse Mouse adventures.
The Jarrett Bay Ship Store has copies of the Boathouse Mouse adventures in both their Beaufort, NC, and Raleigh, NC, stores.
Some bookstores have special-ordered them.
Naturally, Amazon has all of the books.
Be sure to order soon to avoid the last minute rush.

Brass Knuckles in the Toy Department

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Dear friends, every year on the day after Thanksgiving, thousands, probably millions, of Americans rush out to participate in combat shopping. It is undoubtedly one of the most paradoxical practices of our culture. It is rumored that some people actually shop for gifts on this day. But, I have not seen any credible substantiation of that. All I hear about is how people scored great savings on items they really wanted.

Humans are weird creatures.

The craziest part is the fighting. Can you imagine the uproar that would sweep social media if two homeless men went to fists over the last drumstick at a soup kitchen? It would be mass outrage from people with warm houses and full bellies. So, why no outrage when people, with more stuff than they know what to do with, fight over a toy?

There is some good news, however. If you need to go to a store on what has been dubbed Black Friday, by the time you read this, the madness will most likely have subsided. It is apparently over by about ten o'clock in the morning. For some insane reason, people who can't pry themselves off of their pillows for 364 days a year to do something responsible, are out in line at midnight. Naturally, they are worn out before noon.

Ironically, this is the one day of the year that I sleep in. Today, I made it to 5:45 AM.

So, here is some advice based on my observations which are seasoned with a hint of cynicism. If you are shopping for Christmas gifts on this day:

  • First, have a list to guide your purchasing. And remember, no one in history ever died from not getting that special thing. It's just stuff (kidney dialysis and some other medical treatments excluded).
  • Second, remember that “shock and awe” have the same effects with gifts as they do in war. No kid needs to be overwhelmed with a ton of junk. There is such a thing as gift gluttony.
  • Third, think through the long-term usage of the gift you are purchasing. Will my person enjoy this for years, days, hours, or minutes? If you answered minutes, it had better be fireworks. (Fireworks are not recommended for minors, irresponsible adults, or persons with certain disabilities. Check manufacturer's safety guidelines and local ordinances before use.) - Bonus points if you heard that in Bob Barker's voice.
  • Fourth, if you have to park so far from the store that the walk is greater than your daily workout, don't go. This is one of those things where you should just take my advice and move along.
  • Fifth, buy books. Books give joy long after they have been read. This may seem like a shameless plug to support my book writing addiction. In reality, it is … no, that's exactly what it is. Buy books.
  • Sixth, find the joy in giving. If you are not experiencing joy, you may be doing it wrong. A little self-assessment can go a long way.