Major New Development...

I've had a major development in the progress of my current book project. Groundbreaking even. I have been working on this project for over three years now and feel like I am nearing the end. But just haven't been able to push myself over the finish line. I even have some good ideas about what I want the story to be. OK, enough whining and excuses. One of the central character(s) in the denouement is going to be the Texas Rangers. As I was thinking about this I recalled that one of my classmates from A&M is a retired Texas Ranger. I thought, you know, I should call him up and see if he would collaborate with me on this book. Not only would that be interesting and fun in itself, it would give my novel a sense of realism, adventure and excitement not otherwise possible. The lore of the Texas Rangers is something everyone likes to read about. These guys are real life excitement and adventure. They are the real deal.
So I email him and tell him a little about what I'm doing and ask if he would be interested in helping. He sends his cell number and says to give him a call. A couple of weeks pass and I finally get around to calling him. He says, I'm in Houston right now, why don't you stop by my hotel after work and we'll talk about it.
We haven't seen each other since we graduated from A&M thirty-nine years ago. Yes, we're old men now. We had a good visit, caught up a little without going into much detail then talked about the book project. I gave him a rundown on the project, what I'm doing and what I am planning to do and how me could help me. He's a very nice gentleman and was agreeable to helping with the project and collaborating with me. I believe his ideas and experiences with the Rangers will bring a dimension of realism and adventure to the story  that otherwise would never be possible. I think this will be the nudge that pushes this book over the edge from being a good story to being a great story. I am excited.
During our conversation he noticed my boots. Nothing special, just a pair of plain, black Justin Ropers. He said, if you're interested, there's another pair of boots you might want. He pulled out his cellphone and fingered through a few screens then showed me a photo. They were custom made boots by Justin, full quill ostrich with the Texas Ranger badge on the shaft. He said Justin offers them to the Rangers, one pair a year at about half what the same boots would cost in the stores. He said if I wanted I could have his allotment for this year. It took a while for this to sink in. Custom made Justin boots made specially for Texas Rangers. And I could get a pair. I am getting a pair. Oh yes, I'm definitely getting a pair.
I'm thinking this will provide the motivation I need to get this effort going again. I haven't made much progress in several months, frankly because I couldn't generate the ideas I needed. Kind of an extended writer's block I guess. But I think the spell is about to be broken. Now I can just put on my Texas Rangers boots and let the ideas flow.

A good read, a very good read...

As a writer, I read a lot. It's kind of like practicing. Professional athletes practice a lot. That's one of the things that makes them so good. That, and a boatload of talent. If we could practice six to eight hours a day we'd all be able to play whatever our sport is much better. We wouldn't be pros but we'd be much better at it than we are. To hone our skills and expand our knowledge we read. It's sort of like 'practice' for us. And we all have our favorites, as in genres, writing styles and authors. Mine, I like action thrillers (of course...). Some of my favorite authors are Joshua Graham, John Irving, Robert Dugoni, David Baldacci, Jay Giles, Scott Turow, Dean Koontz, Harlan Coben, John Grisham, Jeffrey Small, Sandra Brown, James Patterson, Vince Flynn, John Sanford, Robert Goolrick, Sean Chercover,  Jeffrey Archer, John Rector, Michael Connelly. Sorry, got carried away.
I just finished one by a new author though, one I haven't read before. Paula Hawkins, it's titled The Girl on the Train. It's a sub-genre called psychological thriller. I love books that are so well written that they keep your interest so well that you literally don't want to put it down. And this one does that. Her character development is so good you have no problem creating these people in your mind as you read. I've spent a pretty fair amount of time on the tube in London and I can 'see' Rachel sitting across from me and the expressions on her face. When the action really gets cranked and the denouement is unwinding, your pulse will quicken. You may have been reading just before you were about to fall asleep but that will have to wait. You just have to know what's next.
I'm sure this young lady will be drawing a lot of attention in the near future. She's signed a deal with a major publisher and will be on an eight city tour in the US soon. She's a Brit in case you were wondering. The English have found some really good writers in recent years. TL James with her sordid tales of sex and debauchery. Not my style but lots of people like the porn novel. JK Rowling is the master with the kids novels. Read her debut with her first adult novel, she needs to keep her day job writing kids books. And now Paula Hawkins with the thriller. This girl has found her niche. If this is your genre, pick up The Girl on the Train. You will have trouble putting it down. I guarantee it.

The Audacity of hope...

I think that was the title of Obama's book, wasn't it? I think it was an appropriate title for my blog post today. You'll see why after you have read it.
About 18 months to go in the Obama presidency. About 18 months before a new president is elected. I think that's pretty exciting, getting a new president. Not that I'm confident that the new prez will be a great one. Hell, he may not be great. But after what we've been through the past 8 years, how much worse could it be? I suppose it is actually possible, but any reasonable person knows it isn't likely. I know, there are some that don't agree with me, they'll defend the prez and engage (or attempt to...) you with a lop-sided conversation of what he has accomplished. Let me engage you in such a conversation for a moment. Our national debt has increased more under his watch than all presidents who preceded him COMBINED. We have national healthcare now. I know, call it whatever you like, but a spade is a spade. More people have insurance than ever before you say, millions lost their insurance they had before and had to pay higher premiums to get more. And lest we forget, this is the first and only piece of major legislation in the history of our country that was passed 100% unilaterally. Not one, single Republican vote. If that's not shoving down our fucking throats then tell me what is... And while it was being debated (calling it a debate is the joke of the century..) the Speaker of the House said, "We've got to pass this bill so we can see what's in it..." Now that's crossing the zenith of stupidity. Scandals one after another. Fast and Furious, IRS targeting conservative groups and individuals, the Benghazi attack, Bowe Bergdahl, the contraceptive mandate in ACA (thanks Sandra Fluke), military intervention, or lack of, against ISIS, the New Black Panther voter intimidation case, Operation Choke Point, Presidential Policy Directive 20 (Edward Snowden), Solyndra, the VA scandal of 2014. And the list goes on. And on. At present the POTUS is attempting to get a bill passed that would allow the TPA to be approved. Only he has run into opposition from his own party because they see it for what it is. It gives him the power to negotiate the deal without the approval or involvement of Congress. Isn't that how our constitution works, the system of checks and balances you know?... Does this behavior come more from arrogance or stupidity? I wonder.
Defend him all you want, but don't expect me to listen. Most of the people in this country are ready for a new leader. One who has the interest of the country and Americans as his priority. And who will defend and uphold the constitution. One who will work to improve race relations. One would think having a black president would be a major step forward in improving race relations. Unfortunately, quite the opposite has happened. They are worse now than at any time since the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's. We are sorry Rosa Parks and Dr. King, we are truly sorry.
Yes, we are ready for a new leader. Call that audacity, call it arrogance, call it whatever you like. But we hope for a change that will bring prosperity and growth for the country and for ourselves. We hope for a leader who will help us to leave a respectable legacy for our children. We hope for a better future.

Another Day in Paradise...

Another day in paradise. Living' the dream. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Not at all. We've got it pretty good, considering. The price of oil is down, the energy industry is laying off people right and left and the prognosis isn't good. My own opinion about that isn't the same as most of the industry pundit/geniuses. My take on it; it won't last that long. How long I can't say, but the reason for it is the new technology making it possible to drill new sources and the market is 'flooded' with crude driving prices down. The kew to the solution is when will demand shift gears to start soaking up the excess crude. Presumably China's economic growth has slowed, Russia is in a recession (when are they not in a recession...), Europe also is in somewhat of a recession (actually it's more of an economic collapse for some EU countries) and global demand has slowed as the glut formed. Thus, the downturn in commodity prices. So when does the demand pick back up and what might jumpstart it, well there are a few things that might do that. The first that comes to mind is trouble in the Middle East. There's all kinds of ways that might kickoff, but we won't go into that. But if serious conflict such as a war, on any scale, were to start, believe me demand would go up, and quickly. Tank farms the world over would start emptying in short order. Another situation that might cause an uptick in demand, global economic recovery. Now, what would it take to spark something like that? Some major would powers electing some new leaders that were actually competent and had their nation's best interests at heart. Which is more likely to happen? You tell me.
Yes, our leaders are screwing things up for us. I wont go into listing specific items they are doing that are causing things to be messed up, this would become a very boring blog if I did. But who, that walks the planet have more influence on economic matters that affect our lives than Vlad Putin, B.O. Obama, David Cameron, Stephen Harper, Angela Merkel, Salman of Saudi of Arabia, Abdullah bin what's-his-name of Qatar... Who folks?
I'll tell you who, no one. I'm not saying all of these people are idiots, but I am saying this, and don't misunderstand me. Some of them are. Let me give you another dose of reality, and it doesn't matter if you're conservative or liberal, it is what it is. Our president is one of the idiots. In fact, he may be the leader of the idiot pack. He has done his best, and he doesn't have a lot of 'best' of anything, but he has done his best to undermine Bibi Netanyahu in the recent elections, unsuccessfully. Don't be alarmed, he's not really successful at anything when it comes to being president. And, he's doing all he can to pave the way for Iran to have nuclear capability. What a mouthful, huh? Iran, of all countries having nuclear capability. Any reasonable, educated person would know what the implications of that are. Then why doesn't the POTUS understand that? Another good question. The Ayatollahs, the mullahs, the jihadis, having nuclear capability, and the president of the United States of America enabling such lunacy. They're probably laughing till their thawbs are soaked in urine.
These are indeed sad and volatile times. And that's just the world stage. We all are going about our lives trying to pay the bills, keep our jobs, avoid cancer and things normal people do. It's not easy, life is never easy. One of my favorite sayings, crude as it may be is "Shit happens". Wow, does shit ever happen. The real problem is we have to keep on paying the bills, working, and dealing with whatever comes our way in spite of what these fucking morons do to make it harder. That is, unless of course you're one of those living on the handouts that B.O. doles out to those in need. I guess that's a topic for another day.

Ferguson...

What was on the news last night was disturbing. It was worse than disturbing, it was horrific. The implications of it were horrific and scary. They were also embarrassing. A race riot in the very heart of America. The prosecutor spent about an hour delivering his announcement that no charges would be brought against the officer that shot Michael Brown. In doing so he succintly summarized the facts that were presented that led to the decision. The rule of law was followed and due process was performed.

Without doubt, this was a tragedy. A life was lost and another life has been critically marred. In a better world, not perfect, there is no such thing and never will be, so let's settle for just slightly better, this would not have happened. Michael Brown would not have robbed a liquor store, stole some cigars and walked down the middle of a busy street blocking traffic, requiring a police officer to respond to a call and ask him to please walk on the sidewalk. Michael Brown would not have promptly told the officer to go fuck yourself and proceed to pummel him and attempt to take his gun.  Yes, in a better world Michael Brown would not have done these things and this wouldn't have happened. The protesters who commenced looting, rioting, vandalizing wanted to hold the officer responsible and punish him. Screw the facts and the evidence, we've got our own facts and evidence. In a better world Michael Brown's parents would have done a better job of parenting him. He wouldn't have been robbing a liquor store and telling a policeman to go fuck himself. And reaching into his waist as he charges the officer with clear intent to inflict bodily harm? Come on man.


Don't get me wrong, I'm not pro-police. I'm not really fond of the bastards myself. I grew up in a house with an abusive stepfather who happened to be a police officer. And all of his fucking police friends were the same kind of shithead he was. A good majority of them are no more than half-cocked bubbas with a badge and a gun. They should be avoided at all costs.

Things aren't exactly great in this country at present, but one of the things we have going for us is we are a nation that lives and works within a framework of laws. For over two hundred years that has served us pretty well for maintaining order and justice. Far from perfect, very far. Not everyone receives justice when they are trespassed upon. Facts are often ignored and some do indeed go unpunished. And sometimes the innocent are punished. But for the most part it serves us well. We enjoy freedom here that most others in the world do not. That freedom isn't only from the oppression of foreign aggressors, it's often from those who would do us harm and steal our property right here at home. Our rules of law facilitates and provides our freedom. As our prescient forefathers stated, everyone is equal under the law. No special treatment for anyone, it doesn't matter if you are black, white, red, yellow or any other color. If Michael Brown had been white and did what he did that fateful night in Ferguson Missouri, he still would have been shot. It was not about his skin color when  he was shot. But it became about skin color afterwards by a lot of other people. The problem, my fellow Americans, was not his skin color, it was the content of his character. And nothing else.

I haven't posted anything for awhile, truth is I've been overwhelmed. Life has a habit of doing that every now and then. It gives me a break sometimes, thank goodness, but as the old saying goes, "When it rains, it pours." I just haven't been able to get my mind in the right frame for writing for some time now. My sweet little angel granddaughter has been the only thing I can think about. She finishes her proton therapy treatment this week, for that we are all excited and so glad. We are hoping and praying that this six week treatment she has been through will get the job done, but time will tell. It's been exhausting, for her certainly and for us. But when one of us goes through something like this, we all go through it. May God bless our little Kaitlin and take good care of her.
In the mean time I must find the time and the frame of mind to do some writing. I have found that writing is difficult when you try to do it in intermittent one hour blocks. It takes a little time just to unwind yourself and get your head right. It's sort of like going into a trance. You have to get into the setting and the characters, your mind becomes their mind while you are writing the story. You, personally are living the story while you are writing it. You can't just pop in and pop out. At least I can't. However, when I wrote the El Morro Connection I wrote in two hour blocks. That seemed to work. I would get up at four each morning and write until six or six-thirty then shower and dress and go to work. And in about a year I had a pretty good novel ironed out. The BVP has been a work in progress for a little over three years now and I'm still not finished. This is different though in that this novel has a historical basis and there is copious research to do as I develop the story. It has still dragged on for much longer than it should have. I'll be honest too. There have been a couple of times, at least, that I have entertained a thought or two about abandoning the project. Giving it up and starting another. This whole historical thriller or historical anything I don't think is my bailiwick. But in spite of it all I like this story and I especially like who and what this story is about. I like what it stands for. These were great Americans. In spite of the way they were treated (abused...) they persevered and built an important part of American life and history. And I like writing about it. And I'm pretty sure you're going to like reading about it.

The battle continues...

We thought we had made it through the worst of it. Kaitlin had brain surgery that was successful by any standards. The recovery seemed to go remarkably well. A few weeks later, on the day radiation treatment was to begin, she became ill and had to be hospitalized. A simple blood test revealed something that made my blood boil. MRSA. A bacterial blood infection. A hospital-borne pathogen. Dirty surgical instruments to put it bluntly. I lived through the same hell myself about six months ago.  These little talked about things can kill you, and for some unlucky souls, they actually do. The maddening factor about these things is they are so easily preventable. Just follow the proper protocol in sterilization of the surgical instruments. Some lazy fucking hospital worker who is tired or just doesn't give a shit doesn't do their job and a poor helpless and very sick child who has cancer gets a serious infection. Whoever that person may be that is responsible for that, keep their identity away from me. Not that their worthless ass should be spared, it shouldn't.
But she is recovering from the malady. In spite of the pain that the scourge of the world inflicts on her, she is getting better. She'll recover from this and go back to fighting the cancer that no child should ever have to face. But this is a physical world that we mortals live in and this is an unfortunate part of that physical world. Thank God we have some really smart people who have chosen some very altruistic occupations. They do some wonderful things and we should never take them for granted. Add to that faith and the power of prayer and you have something more powerful than the destructive force of cancer.
She will win. Kaitlin will win. She is a precious little girl and hers is a precious life. All of us are so lucky and blessed to have her in ours. If grandparents could choose a beautiful, angelic, sweet and loving child as a granddaughter, it would be her.

Sometimes, nothing else matters.

When was the last time something happened in your life that made you stop thinking about or perhaps even caring about other things? This 'something', whatever it was, sort of took over as number one on your list of important stuff and all the other things became a distant second. It made you feel, at times like nothing else mattered. That would have to be something pretty big, pretty important I'm sure you'll agree. Unfortunately, that 'something' has happened to my family.
A few months ago my beautiful little granddaughter Kaitlin started having problems with headaches and she woke up each morning throwing up. Her mom and dad became quite concerned and took her to the doctor to try and find out what was causing this. I might add that her mom and dad are two of the best parents a child could possibly have. Several doctor visits later the problem is still there. Their pediatrician decides she should go to the emergency room where an MRI was ordered. A tumor was found, a brain tumor. A couple of months later another MRI and it was discovered that it had grown. A neurologist decided, after consulting with a bunch of other neurologists that it would have to come out. This little five year-old angel had brain surgery. It went well, the doctor said they were able to remove over 95% of the tumor. They thought up to this point that the tumor was benign, but a pathology report a couple of days after the surgery confirms that it's not; it's cancerous and it's malignant. They were able to get almost all of it out, which was of course a good thing, but there's still a little bit of it there. Even one cell of a cancerous brain tumor is cause for concern. So now she begins six weeks of daily radiation treatments to try and take care of the rest of it.
I could give you all the usual metaphors for how we feel after all this, like run over by a truck, hit by a freight train, had our legs chopped out from under us, but those don't really describe it. What do we really feel like? Like nothing else matters. Human nature causes  us to first ask ourselves why, why would something like this happen to such an innocent, beautiful being as this little girl? This sweet, little person is as close as a mortal can get to being an angel. Mother Teresa herself, no offense intended, was no closer to being an angel on earth than Kaitlin. I suppose about as good an explanation as any is we live in a physical world. Car wrecks, explosions, airplane crashes and tumors. They happen. God doesn't will things like that to happen to us but He is there to help us find the strength to get through them. We can wonder how and why these things happen till we drop but the important thing is to do whatever we have to do to get through it. First, get good doctors. She's in the care of doctors at Texas Childrens and M.D. Anderson, it doesn't get any better than that. In fact, the little lady who was the chief neurologist that performed the brain surgery on Kaitlin is now my hero. Dr. Lam, any human who can do what you did for Kaitlin or anyone else is a true hero. The world is lucky to have you. Second, pray. No more needs to be said. Pray. If there is anyone who can help get us all through this, it is God. Just pray and have faith.
As grandparents, the most valuable and precious thing we have ever had around our necks is Kaitlin's arms. Nothing compares to having that sweet, little angel hug our necks and say I love you. In fact, nothing else matters...

It's time for Walden again...

Ah yes, it's May, the time for my annual weeklong sabbatical. I look forward to this week each year when I get away for a solo trip to the farm. The purpose is to unwind and decompress, but also to write. My current project, as yet unnamed, I have code-named the BVP project. BVP simply stands for Buffalo Valley project. For the past year I have found it very difficult to find enough time to write. It has been sporadic and infrequent. I have about 60k words so it's getting toward completion but there is still a lot of work to be done. I think this is going to be a very good novel so I'm not about to abandon it. I have put a lot of work into this project. I have no plans to ever write a book like this again, but I think this one is going to turn out nicely. And my week at the farm is going to be my opportunity to get some work done on it. It's the perfect environment, I can see Mr. Thoreau's train of thinking now. If you want to get some serious writing done, get rid of people. All of them. Go and live off the land, deliberately. Oh I'm going to do some physical work too. I'll be doing some mowing, the place is growing over with grass, weeds and briars. I'll cut some firewood and stack it up, you can never have too much firewood. One of my favorite things to do to pass a little time in this world is to build a nice fire at the farm, sit back in a nice comfy chair and enjoy a glass or two of whiskey on the rocks. Yes. That's how to get your head right. Meditation and yoga can't touch the firewater for relaxation. And it just so happens that the moon is near full now. Have you ever experienced a full moon while you were alone in the woods at night with the sound of howling coyotes in the distance? I've even heard a cougar a few time out there. Now that's a real attention getter. Before we went and put up that stupid area light you could enjoy the magnificent storybook sight of fireflies by the hundreds twinkling in the darkness. There are few modern conveniences out there, like no running water, though there is an old abandoned farmhouse I have cleaned up and use to sleep in. It's actually pretty nice except for the occasional mouse running across the floor, a spider here and there and yes, I did encounter a snake in there once. It was just a little rat snake, harmless little fellow.
It's all those things that make it special. Buddy and I, my boxer, roam the place exploring. There's a lot of history there, hence the inspiration for the book project in progress. It's a fascinating place that I  thoroughly enjoy, especially for that special week each May.

These are strange times indeed...

Kind of an understatement really. They could arguably be called much more than strange times. Or might I say much worse than strange times. I don't like to consider myself a political commentator but I suppose Charles Krauthammer said the same thing at one time.  Don't get me wrong, I have no illusions that I'll ever be a Charles Krauthammer. But, I do have a few things to say.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way...

Recognize those words? Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities. They seem to be so eerily relevant to all that's going on in our country now, don't you think? It depends on your perspective which of the contradictory phrases you like best. I consider myself a pragmatist. I'm optimistic, but I'm a pragmatist. Facts are facts. Period. One of my favorite expressions is "It is what it is..." Let's go to one of the most talked about events of our time. Benghazi. It has been revealed in the last few days that there are emails that have surfaced that gave the talking points for U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to say regarding the cause of the Benghazi attack on the embassy. And of course we all recall that she said the attack was the result of protests to a You Tube video. Ben Rhoades, a White House communications advisor wrote that one "goal" for Rice was to "underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure or policy." If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck; well this looks like a bunch of ducks trying to distort the truth to me. Or to put it in simple terms, fabricating a lie. The White House knew this had nothing to do with an internet video. So why did they decide to lie about it? I'll put that in simple terms as well. This happened in September and Obama was facing re-election in November. A policy failure would not have bode well for him right before the election. But now we know that the script for Susan Rice to talk about the situation came from inside the White House. Because that's what they wanted the public to hear. So a black woman in a high office who should have been able to think for herself simply read what they told her to read. Yet once again, Obama and his slackers lied to the people of the United States. In the Senate inquiry Hillary Clinton said the talking points came from the IC, Intelligence Community. No, Hillary, they did not. And you know they didn't. They came from the White House. A close aide to the president to be more specific. In context, she made light of the situation by saying, "whether it was a protest or a bunch of guys out for a walk and deciding to go kill some Americans, what difference does it make?" What difference does it make you ask? I'll tell you what difference it makes. It was neither. Not a protest or a bunch of guys out for a walk you idiot. It was a terrorist attack. And boots on the ground at the time it happened told you all as much. But you chose to ignore them and make up some bullshit about a You Tube video. What difference does it make? Four good Americans serving their country died. And you and the president don't even have the decency to tell the truth about the circumstances of their death. And you knew the truth. 

That's but one case of the president and his slackers lying to the people. There are more. The IRS scandal, Fast and Furious, "If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. Period." I don't know about you but I feel embarrassed. In front of the world our president is lying to us. Repeatedly. And he is dumb enough to think that we're dumb enough to believe him. You don't need to be a political scholar to see that the government is growing. It is expanding it's role and it's authority in the details of Americans' lives. Do you need evidence of that? You shouldn't. It's more than obvious. Take Obamacare. Federal law now dictates that you will buy and keep health insurance. If you don't you will be fined. That choice has been taken from you. Oh, you HAD health insurance you say. No problem, Mr. Obama said if you like your plan you can keep your plan. Period. No, you can't. Most of those plans no longer meet the federally mandated requirements. Like providing condoms to idiots who can't keep their zippers up and dresses down. 

Yes, these are strange times. But I don't think strange is the best adjective. It was the age of wisdom it was the age of foolishness... Need I say more.

A writer's secret...

Everybody likes secrets, right? Especially other people's secrets. In this post I'm going to reveal one of mine. It's not some sordid characteristic  that carries over into my stories and no, I don't have a concubine. I love my wife and I like to keep my life simple. This secret reveals a little about me as a writer. And for me personally, it's exciting. Every year for the past six to eight years (time flies and who's counting anyway...) I make my way up to our place in Oklahoma. We have a couple of hundred acres in southeast Oklahoma near the little town of Talihina. You've heard of the contemporary rock band called "Kings of Leon" for sure. Well, they're from Talihina. It's hard to imagine a rock band, especially a really good one being from Talihina.
Our place is about eight to ten miles from town and in the middle of it there's an old farmhouse. I stay in that farmhouse whenever I go there. My wife's grandfather built it back in the sixties just before he passed away. There's something very peaceful and relaxing about being in that farmhouse, I love it. Of course, it's old and old farmhouses have mice and spiders and even an occasional snake. Rat snakes, nothing to be afraid of. My wife refuses to stay in it, she says too many spiders and critters for her. I've never been bitten by a spider or a mouse or a snake and I've slept really close to all of them before. I did get bitten by a tick while I was there once and got Rocky Mountain Spotted fever. I think a snakebite may have been easier to deal with... This farmhouse is a respite, a temple of peacefulness. There's a few ponds on the place, I used to fish them before the drought a few years ago caused them to get really low and killed off all the fish. And the place is big. A couple of hundred acres. Lots of trees, open meadows, as you walk around you're sure to flush out a herd or two of deer and some turkeys. To the north towers the modestly high Buffalo Mountain. No majestic, craggy peaks like the Tetons, and certainly not high enough to have a timberline. Just a beautifully wooded, verdant mountain that was once roamed by Choctaws, Chickasaws and the James Gang. As in Jesse and Frank James. On the other side of Buffalo Mountain is Robber's Cave, the infamous hideout used by myriad marauders back in the 1800's.
This place is called "The Farm". Has been ever since I can remember. It was once a working farm and probably will be again someday. But for now it's just a quiet, peaceful and inspiring place. As a writer if you come here and aren't inspired you probably need to be embalmed pretty soon. It inspired me to write a book that I'm working on now and should be published sometime this year. I call it a 'historical thriller'. It's fiction of course, but based on a real place, real events and real people. Some of the characters were real, the main characters weren't. I got the idea for the book while I was there several years ago and have written much of the story sitting in the old farmhouse. I am, in fact headed up there this morning to spend Easter weekend there. Early spring is an absolutely wonderful time of the year to be there.
I suppose you could say The Farm is my Walden Pond. I choose to go there and live deliberately, as Thoreau would say, but I take plenty of food with me. And unlike Thoreau, I have to return to civilization pretty often. But while I'm there, sitting around the campfire listening to the coyotes and the occasional cougar (that's no joke, I've heard them), gets me as close to God and nature as I've ever been. God doesn't even mind the glass of whiskey as I sit around the fire. He told me so. Really.