On to bigger and better things.

I suppose you could say things are settling down a little. Granted, there have been protests in several major cities, even some violence. But in the context of the times is that really surprising? It will fade away, I think that's pretty much a given. What are the chances the protesters will prevail and congress will say, "You know, you people are right. He's not the right guy for the job. We're giving him the boot and he's outta here. We're going to hold another election and keep on having them until we get a bonafide liberal in there." I mean , it would have to be a liberal, how many conservatives do you think are in those protest crowds? What are the odds of that happening? Well, let's see. Let me grab a calculator here, hmmm, as soon as I turned it on the answer is right there. Zero, zip, zilch, nada.
Once again I say, thank God we have a constitution and someone is paying attention to it.
The good news is all the white noise from the rancor of the campaigns is gone. All is quiet on that front. Now we can all go back to our regularly scheduled lives and get on with life. At this point it is what it is and all the protesting in the world won't change a thing. If you want to prognosticate and predict, knock yourself out. Frankly, I'm tired and I want to move on to bigger and better things. I've been offering my opinion on subjects of a political bent on here for awhile and I know you're probably getting tired of hearing them. Even if you're not I'm growing tired of talking about it.

Following politics I think is like watching TV. There are myriad programs on, many of them during prime time that include lots of drama, suspense, ruthless characters who try to ruin other people's lives, power-hungry dirtbags, scheming and dishonest politicians, and people love to watch them. During a presidential election they can watch the same but this time the characters are playing themselves. It's salacious skullduggery at it's best. And it's for real. Many people prepare to vote, i.e. learn about the candidate's backgrounds, their platforms, intentions and so on the same way they prepare to watch TV. By doing nothing. Then they get in a voting booth, (let me qualify that so you'll know I'm not just blowing smoke. Some of them get in a voting booth. Only 40% of qualified voters actually voted in the election. Sad and quite pathetic, but true) and this is what happens. He said he's going to build a wall, click. She said she was going to make college free. Click. And that's just the ones that actually voted. When you look at it that way, maybe the electoral college system isn't such a bad idea after all...

At the risk of putting my veracity in doubt, let me move on to bigger and better things as I said I would. I started writing a novel back in 2011. Five long years ago. I was so excited about finishing my first one, I went right into the second one. My first novel was a pure action, suspense thriller because that's my favorite genre. I love to read them. To me there's nothing better than a good, well-written thriller. I've read countless thrillers by all the journeymen writers in the field. It's like any other craft, you learn from the pros. I wrote the first one and right out of the chute I had some success. It didn't make the NY Times bestseller list, but hey, give me time. The second one is a thriller as well, but it takes a little turn. It's what I call a 'historical thriller'. The main characters are all fictitious but it takes place at actual locations and involves some real people and events. Which of course means there is a lot of research that has to be done. If you're going to talk about real people and places you have to be, well, real. And I'll be honest, research isn't one of my favorite things to do. I'm no James Michener. I like to sit down, crank up the imagination and ride. When I'm doing that I feel like I'm in the wheelhouse. But I chose to do this for personal reasons. The story involves some Choctaw Indians who grow up in a very difficult time in history and go on to change the world for the better. I'm having a helluva lot of fun writing it and I'm doing my due diligence, historically. My wife is a Choctaw Indian and the setting is her ancestor's home place. Some of them thankfully survived the Trail of Tears and settled in this area. It was a monumental time in history and I must do it justice.

Hence, the reason it has been five years and counting. Well, there have been a few other reasons. Life happens. And it can be damn distracting at times. But I have refilled my fountain pen and I'm back on the job. And when I'm done, you're going to love the story. Or your money back.