StanleyWheeler

   The season whispered that it would be wise to trade my Buttercup Rocinante, the steel steed, for the Rattlin' Battle Wagon, so I made the trip to begin the exchange. The morning of my departure carried a warning of colder weather to come. I shivered through the first hundred miles with the Craters of the Moon being the usual scenic high point of that portion of the trip. I did see another guy on a bike coming from the main gate there, and I thought he was headed in my direction, but I never saw him again.  Fortunately, the trip was uneventful--as far as you know. I got to the mowing right away so I could watch a ball game with friends on Saturday morning. The game was more exciting that we cared for, but our team managed to hang on to an early lead. At 4-0, having beaten a ranked team last week, they earned a rank in the top 25 but were still underdogs in the match up against a 2-2 unranked team. Once again they overcame those odd odds to come out on top.  Hoses a...

  "My opinions, even if I were the president of the United States, are neither important nor necessary." - Zachary Taylor Fun Fact: Henry Clay's 1850 Omnibus Bill for the admission of California as a free state; establishing territorial governments in Utah and New Mexico, leaving the question of slavery to those states to determine; establishing the border of Texas to exclude New Mexico; paying Texas' debts; not abolishing slavery in D.C. but prohibiting the slave trade there; and recognizing that Congress had no power to prohibit the slave trade between slave holding states, consumed months of debate in the Senate. A variety of plans and amendments were presented. Some carved California into multiple states; some split Texas into two or more states. Only Clay's plan left Texas intact. Clay received the support of Stephen Douglas, and Lewis Cass railed against the Southern Democrats and their desire for an effective veto over any legislation. Senator Tom Benton ar...

  There are many trails in life. Some we choose of our own volition while others we discover by fortunate circumstance or its opposite. I selected two trails this week that I had not tried before from the All Trails app. First, although no one told me to go there, I nevertheless went to Hell's Half Acre Loop Northbound trail and took my bride with me. It was an easy, paved trail that we walked twice and which featured this kind of scenery: I don't know what this plant is called, but it has a smell that makes me think of honey. Saturday, we drove out to the Wiggly Worm trail. The thing about the drive to it was that the map and directions took us to a point where we made a left turn and I was supposed to then make another left turn immediately. I didn't suspect the second left turn direction until forty or fifty feet beyond the turning point when the left turn at 0 feet notice disappeared and the view was blocked, so I couldn't see the trail head. Instead of indicating t...

 Before I get to some of the stirring quotes from Daniel Webster, let me share some stirring news of my own. I doubt it will be quoted like Webster, Clay, and Calhoun, but it's almost as meaningful for me. I signed a contract yesterday for the publication of another one of my short stories. I finished and submitted it last month. It will come out in an anthology early next month, and I''ll be sure to post a cover picture and link. In addition, I'm about to finish another short story and submit it for consideration. I'm down to the final thousand words. I had a wrestle before the computer screen about how to construct a satisfying ending from the materials I brought to the project through the telling of the story to the two-thirds point. From that point the story must reach an exciting confrontation, which was already in progress, and resolve the tension the unanswered questions and conflict created. It's always the latter that is tougher to handle. It's easy...

    Interview with Elizabeth Lavender Author of The Sunspear Series  Please tell me a little about your current work in progress .   I am currently writing the fourth book in my sci-fi/fantasy series.   The series already includes The Spinning of Deception, Deception’s Hold, and Shadowed Bonds.   The fourth book continues with sunspearbearer Dante’s and The Girl’s desperate fight against the Black Dragon .   Where did you get the idea for this book or series?   I enjoy sci-fi and fantasy as well as psychological/suspense thrillers.   The sci-fi universe has a Star Wars feel to it, because that’s my favorite sci-fi.   I also always liked Star Trek. I enjoy the earlier ones in the timeline (the ones with Captain Kirk and Captain Archer) more than the later ones. They seemed more personable/relatable to me. Then there was a sci-fi series I loved as a kid. It was called Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. It was one of my earliest introduct...