LAST CHANCE FOR FREE BOOK

All of us are reading a lot more during the pandemic. I don’t know about you, but I’m running out of good books to read on Amazon and at the library. During these last dog days of summer, I’m offering you a copy of my first novel. Fire up your kindle, and **download a FREE BOOK: TAKE THE MONEY: ROMANTIC SUSPENSE IN COSTA RICA. This offer runs out at midnight, tonight.**

Synopsis:

fly away with me via Kindle to romantic Costa Rica — TAKE THE MONEY: ROMANTIC SUSPENSE IN COSTA RICA @ https://amzn.to/1AgDW8a

What would you do if you witnessed a murder and the victim gave you $60,000 just before he died? Should you keep the money or call the police? Julie Lawson has only moments to decide.

Julie goes for a drive in her boss’s new Porsche, but a joyride turns to terror when they’re rammed from behind and tumble into a ravine. Knowing he won’t survive, Kevin Dufrain urges Julie to take the money and run because, “they’ll get you, too.” She boards a night plane to the cosmopolitan city of San Jose, Costa Rica and meets mysterious businessman, Bud Jimenez, who helps her find a job at the “Memphis South,” a popular nightclub run by Texas beauty, Nellie Compton. But when Julie discovers the killer has tracked her down, she heads for a beach near the Nicaraguan border.

Julie’s small plane is forced to land in a remote Indian Village where she meets the passionate and charismatic Dr. Enrique Rojas, a widower who runs a medical clinic for the impoverished natives of Costa Rica. Here, Julie thinks she’s found the secret thing she always wanted to do, but it may be too late. The killer is still on her trail and the DEA suspects her of drug trafficking. Her fragile hopes for happiness seem about to shatter. Now, Julie must lose herself to discover what’s really important in life.

Take the Money is a compelling tale full of passion and courage. It takes you from a corrupt, inbred, southern Indiana town to the mountains, beaches, volcanoes, waterfalls, rain forests, and all of the fabulous natural wonders of costa rica.

August 3, 2020August 3, 2020

WEIRDNESS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

The other day, I stopped to rest on a bench while walking through the park. As I sat under a shade tree, a couple passed by , leading a large white dog. They walked out of the park, which means they live here in the city. Something about them struck me as rather weird. Why? Because the man’s wife was petite, and the dog was big as a horse. I couldn’t understand why someone would want a dog that outweighs their wife. That’s when I realized that I’ve formed some opinions as to what constitutes weirdness—things that might seem completely normal to others. Weirdness is in the eye of the beholder.

Weirdness is in the eye of the beholder. Having a dog as big as a horse seems strange. — Weirdness is in the eye of the beholder. Having a dog as big as a horse seems strange to me–but normal to others.

Here are some other things that strike me as weird:

A movie star who lives in a separate country from his wife. I’m talking about George Clooney and his wife, Amal. Publicly, they claim to adore one another. And yet, she lives in New York with their twins, and he lives in Italy or some other country. Every so often they get together in another house. Does absence make the heart grow fonder? As far as happy marriages go, that seems rather weird to me.

Elderly women with long, stringy white hair. My mother had long white hair, but she wore it in a bun. I don’t know why some older women ( and men) believe stringy white hair hanging down their back is attractive, but honestly, it just seems rather ghostly.. Are they living in the past—at a time when their long hair looked glamorous? It doesn’t now.

Bodies covered with tattoos. . Tattoo parlors have turned into profitable businesses, so tattoos are now considered mainstream. . Although I wouldn’t want one, I can see someone getting one or two tattoos. But when they cover your entire arms, chest, and back? That seems weird.

Extra long acrylic fingernails.. Shorter nails are understandable.. Especially if you work in the public eye. But how do you clean a house, peel potatoes, and weed the garden with nails that look like talons?. How can you open a bottle of pickles or a stuck window? What kind of indolent life must you lead in order to keep those long, pointed nails intact and clean?

Wearing a wig when you have your own hair. For much of my life, I didn’t know ordinary people do this. Then, I worked with a woman who had short black hair. One day, she got sick, and I stopped to visit her in the hospital. Much to my surprise, I saw that she had thick, naturally curly gray hair. It was vastly more flattering than the wig. Why wear a hot sweaty wig unless you have to because you’re bald? I can understand cancer patients. Or someone in show business, like Dolly Parton.. But this lady worked in the business office. That seemed weird.

Men who smell strange women’s hair. You may have read my blog about Joe Biden. Seems he’ has a fetish about smelling women’s hair. Just so you know I’m not taking sides, I think Donald Trump’s hair used to be weird. He’s toned it down since he got to be president, but it looked orange and squirrelly at one time.

An octogenarian who writes a blog, saying it how she sees it, may be also seem strange. Weirdness is in the eye of the beholder. .

July 31, 2020July 31, 2020

HAVE ROAD RAGE DEATHS INCREASED?

A man was shot to death in my Indiana city yesterday. It happened in a Kroger parking lot at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Reportedly, it was a case of road rage. Strange as it may seem, another road rage fatality took place at approximately the same time in Laurel County, Ky. Our town is relatively peaceful. Most serious crimes are drug related. This is the first crime of its kind that I can remember happening here. Have road rage deaths increased during the pandemic?

The stress of covid-19 may trigger more homicides due to Road Rage — Have Road Rage deaths increased? Two similar shootings occurred Tuesday afternoon in neighboring states.

Statistics on covid-19 cases and deaths are updated every day. It would be interesting to publish a separate set of stats on crimes caused by the stress of the entire pandemic. According to National Public Radio, robberies have declined overall during the pandemic, but shootings and killings are up.

The BBC reports domestic abuse has increased by 20% worldwide. Child abuse cases have increased at about the same rate. According to the National Sexual Assault Hotline, there has been a 22% increase in monthly calls from people younger than 18. In the majority of these cases, the perpetrator was a family member, and the abuse was escalating in frequency and severity.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll, showed more than half of Americans — 56% –reported that worry or stress related to the outbreak has led to at least one negative mental health effect. Those include trouble with eating or sleeping, drinking alcohol more, frequent headaches or stomachaches, shorter tempers, and other health problems. Among frontline health care workers and their families, 64% reported worsened mental health, as did 65% of those who had lost income.

Consequently, at some point in time, we’ll have to decide which is worse? The disease itself, or increased violent crime, poverty, nervous breakdowns, drug overdoses, and all of the other miseries of a prolonged quarantine.

We’re in the midst of a national mental health crisis. Will the the stress of the covid-19 pandemic lead to more cases of road rage? I have to believe that it will.

July 29, 2020July 29, 2020

What Strip Clubs & Churches Have In Common

Last weekend, about 17 people at a local “Gentlemen’s Club” came down with covid-19. Contact tracing was pretty tough. Most people who go to such places don’t advertise their names. And some wouldn’t want family and friends to know they were there. On the other hand, it’s easy to contact trace churchgoers who’ve contracted covid-19. Nothing to be ashamed about when attending church. And yet, these two places have the same problem. They’re currently among the worst places for catching covid-19. What do strip clubs and churches have in common?

For starters, both are high intensity, emotionally charged atmospheres. If you’re attending crowded church services or going to a strip club during the pandemic, there’s a feverish quality about it. You’re throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of your passions or beliefs.

Consequently, religious services and choirs have been cited as clusters of spread of the coronavirus, A study published by the CDC  on May 22 shows how the covid-19 can spread in a church setting. Among 92 people who attended a rural Arkansas church, 35 people developed covid-19 infections and three people died. 26 more cases linked to the church occurred in the surrounding community, and one person died.

A crowded church service is one of the most deadly places to be . The combination of singing in close quarters and decreased ventilation is like a petri dish for viral growth.

Department of Health and Human Services officials say that entertainment facilities run the same risk of bringing large groups of people together for an extended time. In addition, social distancing is likely to fall by the wayside when alcohol is consumed. Like some fundamentalist churches, strip clubs also require yelling over loud music and singing, meaning the risk of transmitting COVID-19 is higher.

Like it or not, attending churches or going to strip clubs during this pandemic is risky.

July 27, 2020July 27, 2020

7 THINGS COVID-19 CAN’T STOP

The pandemic has turned our lives upside down. The things we took for granted have been taken away, and we wonder if life will ever be normal again. But here are seven things Covid-19 can’t stop.

1. Kids growing taller. They may be in lock down, missing school and sports, but they’re still growing, in spite of the pandemic. My youngest grandson grew 5 inches in 5 months.

covid-19 can't stop the rain and bumper crops — 7 things covid-19 can’t stop: One of them is rain, resulting in bumper crops of corn.

2. Rain: It’s going to rain when it wants to, and the virus can’t stop it. This year, Hoosier farmers are looking at bumper crops due to the sudden abundance of rain that fell last week.

3. Live Births: Just look at the vital statistics in our local newspaper, you can see that babies are still being born every single day of the week, and every hour of the day, I have no doubt that those who survive this virus will never face another covid-19 scare, because by the time they’re in school, we’ll have a vaccine. Just like we wiped out polio

4. Weddings. They may be postponed or scaled down, but people still want to get married. Look at Princess Beatrice of England. The good thing is that smaller weddings result in far less expense.

5. Home building. New homes are going up all over town. And they’e selling like hot cakes. I saw construction workers outside starting in early March. In our city, entire new sub divisions are sprouting up .

6. Making love. Condom sales have skyrocked all over the world. It makes sense. Couples are locked down together, with much more free time.

7. The beauty of nature. Sunrises and sunsets. Verdant landscapes. Mountains. Waterfalls. Oceans, lakes, rivers and creeks. Because industries and businesses have closed down, there is a sudden drop in carbon emissions, which means covid-19 has been good for the environment. As an example, levels of pollution have been reduced by 50% in places like New York City.

Life goes on…

July 24, 2020July 23, 2020

LIBRARY IS THE SAFEST PLACE

We haven’t eaten in a restaurant for four months. Took one trip to the doctor in Indy. Have seen a few family members. It’s a pretty dull situation when going to the grocery store is the highlight of your week. Thanks to the pandemic, life has become rather boring for those of us who aren’t in panic mode. The local library was one of the last places allowed to open, way after bars, restaurants and hair salons. Which seems odd, because our local library appears to be the safest place in town.

While they were closed, you could still order books for curbside delivery while you waited outside in your car. All returned books were “quarantined” for several days before going back in circulation. I think they’re still doing that.

When the public library finally opened a couple of weeks ago, I barely recognized the interior. All personnel wore masks. Strangely enough, it was nearly empty of patrons. Maybe four or five at any given time. You have to wonder why people would feel comfortable in bars and restaurants, but not in the library, which is spacious, modern, and has good air circulation.

Library is the safest place. Computers are spaced far apart. — Books are quarantined, and computers are spaced far apart. Library is the safest place.

They’ve made a lot of changes. There used to be about 25 computers for use. People sitting close together while tapping away. The keys were often greasy. Now, they have fewer computers which are cleaned between use. Time is limited to one hour. Free masks are provided, but not mandatory.

The biggest and most important changes are about the furniture. They’ve removed all the upholstered furniture, and large tables. Only a few stiff metal chairs and a couple of small metal tables are available. Why is this important? Because we no longer have people hanging out in the library. There’s no place to sit or lounge for hours on end. If you think that’s cruel, , let me add that a local not-for profit has opened a homeless shelter. Here, the homeless can shower, rest, and get counseling as to ways to get off the streets. This is a much needed alternative to spending the day in the library and washing your hair in the toilet. It’s a win win situation for everyone.

If you do take the risk of going to the library, you have another nice surprise in store. The best seller shelves are full of brand new books. You have lots more to pick from, even in the large print section.

Are you tired of sitting at home, playing computer games and cleaning your house? Take a trip to the library.. It’s the safest place.

July 22, 2020July 22, 2020

FIND NORMALCY IN THE WATER

Everyone’s longing for that elusive state of being called normalcy. The dictionary defines normal as natural, orderly, ordinary, regular, routine, traditional, typical or commonplace. Because of Covid-19, our lives haven’t been normal since social distancing began in March. Nothing is like it used to be. Except for water, which is all of the above. If you can find a creek, lake, river, ocean or pool that’s open this summer, go for it. Find normalcy in the water.

I fell in love with water as a child on my grandpa’s farm. There was a wide, cool creek In the woods beyond the cornfields. You don’t think of a creek as a good place to swim, but if you’re a little kid, it comes up to your neck in spots. It’s a safe place to stand, play, splash, and maybe learn to swim.

One of the best things about water aerobics or swimming as an adult, is the camaraderie with fellow aquaphiles. Water is the great equalizer. You can be young, old, crippled, rich or poor, but once we’re in the pool, we’re all the same. Consequently, you don’t have to dress up, wear makeup, or worry about your body type. And one of the best things is socializing with like minded individuals.

If you’re involved with water at a community pool, you may have become acquainted with the others who are there when you are. As a result, you end up talking to each other. Race, color, educational status and social class are forgotten. At first, someone starts talking about their dog. Or maybe a new recipe. Once a topic is introduced, others feel free to drift over and chime in. However, If you tire of the conversation, you can swim away at any time, and no one cares.

After you get to know some of the regulars, the conversations might become more serious. Trouble with relationships. Surgeries, Depression. Worries and fears. Anger about some injustice.

We’ve missed those relaxing times in the water during the pandemic. All the pools were closed. Lately, our YMCA has slowly opened up, allowing only a limited number in the pool at any one time. Yes, we social distance, but we can still talk to one another while six feet apart. For the first time in a great while, we can find normalcy in the water..

LIVING WELL AFTER 80

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