TERMINATED -- But I'm OK!

     Before I grew up and the world became so cold, calculating, and terribly cruel, I was able to blow through employment opportunities with the whim of a butterfly, flapping, skipping, and landing here, then there, but always landing somewhere. I must have had a dozen jobs before I turned 16! My first job lasted a little over three hours. I was a waitress at just over 14 and 1/2 years old, but when my dad found out I was carrying beer from the counter to the tables at a burger and pizza joint, he pulled the plug.

    Maybe it was because I literally walked next door to my former place of employment and secured a job for myself within a day that I never really thought keeping one was a problem or even a necessity. It was the 70s; what can I say. Things were different then, and certainly so much easier for a kid to find work. Today, corporate America has to worry about taxes, laws, overworking a kid, etc., etc.; those were better days, and we had better music as well.

    When I lost a job back then, I'd call my best friend up and say something like, "I'm free Friday to go to the game. My boss and I had a disagreement about what hours I should work, but apparently, he's agreed to let me go to the game with you. I'm not entirely sure if the word 'terminated' means I can return, but I assume he's happy for me." Once I remember saying, "It was a mutual agreement between myself and my employer that I should no longer work for the establishment."  Even in my teens, I had a way with wording the not-so-good announcements.

    Today, well, it's completely different. I was just terminated from a job I've held for a little over 2.5 years. I LOVED that job. It was the epitome of fun and easygoing, with very little pressure, and the only stress I had was deciding whether to tell the truth. In a position like that, I'm reminded why I worked for myself for as many years as I did. I won't lie to people. I won't lie for my boss. I won't lie for the company. I won't lie for the client. At the end of the day, I lie down - and when I lie down, I'm always (daily) reminded that I answer to Jesus, not to anyone else - EVER.

    So, I refused to lie. I refused to cover up. I refused to turn my head and ignore what I found. I don't have to go into it. I don't have to be dramatic. Suffice it to say, Jesus will bless me for standing alone and telling the truth, even if others in positions over me choose not to. My grandpa used to tell me that standing with God, even if you seem to be standing alone with Him, is better than being one of millions who stand against Him. And though you may think I could have just shut my mouth and kept quiet, I couldn't. That would be an omission, and it really is the same as a commission when it comes to sin.

    I am so very grateful for the lessons I learned at the company I worked for. I am equally grateful for some of the people I met, and the various scenarios I went through, dealt with, understood, and questioned. I am absolutely sure I was meant to be there for the time I was, and now I'm meant to be somewhere else. If nothing else, I'll have so much fodder for my new book! Corporate fraud, nepotism, tort crimes, felonies...they always make good reading when spun correctly. Though the book will be 100% fiction, there will be enough truth in it to allow those who have been through the employment wringer to relate -- some cave. Some do what they're told because to choose not to would mean personal sacrifice.

    I look at it another way—I don't have the sin of the world on my back. I don't have holes in my ankles and wrists where I was hung for hours on a rugged beam, naked, beaten, spit upon, and worse. I'm good.  When I start complaining about all the bad things people did to me, and how I deserve to really blast them with this or that—I'm calmed by the verses that say He will lift me up. He will cause my justice to shine like the noonday. 

    He will have His revenge - not me. Now, that doesn't mean I have to sit on my hands and do nothing. I'm not above flipping tables over and pulling out the whips!  I'll just pray really hard before I hire the best attorney in the city to do what needs to be done both to my employer and the client that forced them to terminate me.  As a whistleblower in 2026, I'm protected. If more people did what I'm about to do, we'd have less corruption in the companies that think they control us.

Photo Credit: Western CPE

AND...the Winner is....TEXAS RANGERS!!

     I have a friend at work who is a HUGE L.A. Dodgers fan. He's a real die-hard, and he even once lived in Los Angeles and was a big-time game-goer. From time to time, he'll plan a trip to L.A. to see relatives, but always around a game or two, so he can see the players in person. That is true loyalty, true fanship, and I just never really had it. I never did - but it's also never too late to start! (I won't be over the top, I promise.)

    So, I wanted to pick a team - one that meant something to me. I was a Padres fan back in the day only because a friend of mine played for them. He and I went out a few times, and he was recruited right out of college. He played ball at Oklahoma, and let me just say, if I had driven more, maybe hung out with the man a few more times, I too could have moved to San Diego in the mid-80s, and my life would have been so very different; I assure you.

    Then, sometime around 1990, and for no reason whatsoever, I decided that Chicago was the way to go.  I was married at the time, and my husband was a White Sox fan, so I wore the jersey, and I really tried to pretend I liked them, but I just couldn't get past their past. I didn't like what I knew - and the Cubs were a much cuter mascot; you have to admit that. So, the Cubs it was. That lasted a good 15 years, but again, I was never really into it. I would watch; I would say, "Yeah! Go Cubs!" but I couldn't tell you a single player, or if they were in the playoffs - nothing. When they won the whole thing in 2016 -- I knew, and I smiled. First time to win in 108 years! You gotta smile.

    Well, that was then - again, another 10 years of so, and I've not even given baseball much thought at all. I'm not saying I've given football any thought, and certainly not soccer or basketball. I just haven't. I'm writing, I'm reading, I'm thinking, I'm doing stuff, but I'm not sporting - just not doing it. What I decided to do, in order to have something to do and to be sharing the experience with a co-worker who, like me, is old, is to be a fan of a team that isn't the L.A. Dodgers because I've absolutely never liked them or the Yankees, but to pick a team that means something to me - a team closer to home, and I don't care if the team I chose starts with TEXAS -- I'm not into the pretense of the big Red River Rivalry anymore.  (I actually love the State of Texas!)

    I chose the Rangers. I didn't just throw a dart and say I'll be a Ranger fan; no, it is much deeper than that. We have the Royals in Kansas City; they're a great team. We have other close-enough teams, but the Rangers were named for the famed and fantastic law enforcers who simply take my breath away! I have and will always be a true Texas Ranger fan - the cowboy lawman more than the baseball player. I'll wear the shirt, I'll root for them, and when Scott P and I talk, I'll try to keep up with his side of the conversation by at least knowing whether or not my team has won -- or even played! (Research is my middle name)

    The Texas Rangers! I can get behind that. I love the colors: Red, white, and blue. I love the area -- central north Texas. I know the real lawmen wear Stetsons, boots, and badges, but I'll be OK in my new tee from Amazon, and I'll get a bobble-head or something to knock around when we talk. I think starting a new hobby will be good for me. It will give me something to look forward to, and something to laugh over when we're not talking about work.  I can promise you this: I probably still won't know a single player, their stats, or anything too deep, but I'll try to keep up with games, the wins, the losses, and the playoffs! 

    I know I'm coming in late this season, but the playoffs haven't started, so I'm not cheating!  I picked the Rangers for who they are named after, and that's it —and they tend to choose our Oklahoma players more often than a lot of other teams. That's something to root for!  Go Rangers! Let the games begin -- or, you know, end well.  Besides, I do have a connection to the sport; my brother played, and my cousin (2nd) was a big-time professional player: Cal McLish! (who was actually a Dodger at one point)

My Daughter the Handy-Woman!

     More than once, over the past few years, I've relied on Laura's abilities to watch a YouTube video or two on how to fix something, all the while hoping and even expecting her to actually fix something.  To date, she's batting a 1000! She's been able to turn a wrench, fix a fence, lube a machine that was making noise, fix a toilet handle, and even caulk the bathtub. She's awesome! 

    Today was absolutely no different. I took a shower when I woke up and noticed almost immediately that the hot water wasn't exactly hot. I mentioned it to her, and she had experienced the same thing the day before. We just bought this house! I wasn't happy at all that the hot water tank was going to be the first thing to go out on us after only one full month.  Believe me, I wasn't looking forward to calling the gas company to find out exactly what I needed to do. I know they have a crew that helps people relight pilot lights, but who wants to spend money if they don't need to?

    Laura, in her typical fashion, sat herself down and watched a few videos about it. She took a deep breath, went into the garage where the tank is, and she went over it a few times in her head, imagining what she would need to do. Then, she did it! She read a short article, watched a video, and when she hit a snag, she stepped back, watched another video, and fixed it. Bam!

    The water heater is an A.O. Smith 100, which is powered by gas, but the ignition is electric. There isn't a small viewing window to check whether the pilot is lit; there's a button that lights up! She followed the instructions and fixed it. We have no idea why it went out, but it did. We'll need to keep an eye out for ways and reasons this happens, but I'm absolutely certain she's gonna save us both a lot of money and a few headaches.

    I didn't want to just post it on Facebook; I wanted to blog about it. I want to brag about her openly. She's really handy, street-smart, and has a little know-how for just about everything that needs to happen to help life push its way through. She's a game-changer, a life-saver, a great friend, and an amazing daughter. I'm so very happy to have her, and I'm so very blessed to have her. Jesus knew exactly what I needed when He made her - and when He gave her to me.

Photo Credit: Me (one of my favorite photos of her)

NEW BOOK! "The Trust" Has Begun.

     The new book "The Trust" has begun. It is the 10th book in the Nick Posh series and, I believe, my 23rd book. I'd have to sit down and write them out to be sure, but I think it's my 23rd book. At least, if I do nothing else in my life, I can prove I was an author. When I was writing my first book, I was so thrilled, so scared, and ultimately so very green! I had no idea what I needed to do to start it, keep it going, finish it, publish it, print it, sell it, or anything else. To be honest, I ended up hating it and almost didn't write the 2nd book. The experience was harder than I could have imagined. If I had money, I could have worked through it much better, but life is life, and that just didn't happen.

    Now, because I've learned so much more in terms of what I can do on my own, and what I absolutely don't need from anyone else (publishers, editors, agents, etc.) I can write a book using Word, edit it using Grammarly and AI, and design the book cover on Canva before loading the interior and the exterior into a file with IngramSpark, creating my own book from scratch! This book is probably my 19th book (I think) that I've created entirely on my own. Again, I'd have to sit down and figure out the math on it, but it's around that. 

    "The Trust" is a book that will take the readers through the mill in one way, and up and down an emotional rollercoaster in another. It tells my own story as it relates to real estate hell, and it digs deeply and intentionally into the various disasters Laura and I had to endure just trying to buy a place for ourselves. The deceit, the lies, the half-truths, and the pressures put on us were tremendous. We didn't deserve any of it, but there we were, swimming in the muck with one hand raised, asking for help before going under, and the other hand holding onto my daughter as she had to face extreme choices due to the people we trusted to smooth the way for us into the path we believed we could achieve. 

    God. God and God alone achieved the end results for us. We are in the house we need to be in. We are now, finally, after more than nine months of extreme mental and financial abuse, in a house we love and will love for years to come. The journey was rocky, deeply pitted, and sometimes impossible to imagine. We were misled by those whom I had hired to guide me, and in the end, even those people appeared close to innocent compared to the owners of the house we first believed we'd own, and the previous owners of the same house - a trust. 

    What takes place in the book is NOT what took place in our lives. No one died in reality. No one purposely tried to wrangle our situation into chaos, but we felt as if we were spinning out of control more often than not. The book is an outlet for me; a therapeutic adventure. It is my way to let off the steam I allowed to build up during the agonizing time(s) I was dragged through the mud, pushed into the ropes, and made to jump through so very many unnecessary hoops - hoops that didn't need to be jumped through if the people I had trusted had just done their job to begin with.

    "The Trust" is a murder book, a look-the-other-way-before-you-get-pulled-in book. It's a hard book to write, but a good book to write at the same time. I can get rid of some of that nagging indigestion I've been holding onto due to the way we were treated. Maybe when it's over, and the book is on the shelves waiting for people to buy it, I will look back and see that my bottle of Pepcid and Mylanta don't need to be refilled. Maybe the people who did what they did will read the book and understand I could have said so much more than I did. I could have filed complaints and raised disciplinary flags for them, but I chose not to. I chose to write a fictional novel instead. (It's my way of giving the one-finger salute.) 

    I have written two chapters today. I don't have a deadline. I don't know when it will be finished. I'll write it as I feel led, and I'm sure it will be timely. I'm sure I'll stick with it, like I do with all my other books. I'm thinking by Christmas it will be out - that's not too far in the future; maybe that's a goal. At least I know this: I can relax in my new home, a home God was able to secure for me, and I can breathe better, eat better, and know that what I (we) went through will never happen to us again.

Photo Credit: Me.

FALL is Coming!!

     Too bad, John Snow. Before winter can come, we have the entire Fall season, and I don't care if I'm not supposed to capitalize a season; I do it anyway. I am such a rebel!  Fall, Fall, Fall, Fall, Fall... I'll even say Autumn, but I am a FALL person. I was born in the Fall, and I long for it all year round. I'm not a summer fan - nope, hate just about every aspect of the season. It's overrated, it's hot, it's humid, it's stifling, it stops me from exercising. It makes me sick to eat; I find myself with more and more physical ailments from mid-June to the end of September, but once the weather begins to cool and the breezes don't throttle me or make me feel like I'm stepping into an oven, I tend to truly relax.

    To celebrate this year like I never have before, I've decorated my front porch! I know, to some, that may sound really trivial, but when I say it is a landmark experience, I mean it.  For 40 years, I've waited to decorate my porch. I remember Halloween 1986. I was taking Reuben out to Trick-or-Treat at the tender age of 6 months, and so many homes were decorated. So many homes were colorful, beautiful, fanciful, and fun. I wanted that. I really, really wanted that, but it never happened.

    After 1986, I was feeding a baby, making just enough to pay the bills, not buying myself anything new, and barely scraping by. It got worse. I married, had two more kids, and found myself working and earning the money for the most part; even when the two of us were working, we couldn't afford more than maybe a cheap plastic wreath for the door, and I wasn't about to embarrass myself. I decided I wouldn't do it unless I could do it right - whatever "right" is.

    Well, 1997 rolled around and so did the divorce. (It happened at Thanksgiving, and let me just say, I'm still very grateful.) I had little money, lots of kids, more responsibility since I wasn't receiving a single penny from the ex, and my insurance didn't cover most of the things they came down with. I could see the pretty colors and nice decorations, the pillows, the crafty things at Hobby Lobby, at Michaels, and other stores, but I literally could not dole out $15-20 to make the door look good - let alone the porch if I had one.

    When I finally had a little money to spare after the kids grew up I didn't have a porch. I lived at one place in 2014, but it was a rental, and the owner asked me not to decorate; she was trying to sell the house, and she didn't want anything distracting from it.  Then I moved into an apartment. I guess I could have decorated the balcony, but only Laura and I would see it. That was 2015. We lived there for 10 years. Finally, in 2025, we moved to a house with two porches, but unfortunately, it was in an area where, if we put out a pumpkin, it would be stolen. We decorated a little inside.

    We moved to our home in El Reno in November, and I almost put out Christmas decorations, but after moving and all the things you have to pay for, I told myself no. I'll just do it in the summer when the 4th of July rolls around - that didn't happen. By the 4th of June, we were told we had to move out of that house- the house we believed was OURS and we had to not only save for the closing costs, but we also might not even have a house to live in if we couldn't fix every last issue FHA threw at us! To say it was overwhelming would be tantamount to saying the great flood was an inconvenience to most.

    NOW!!  Now, it is time. NOW, the house is ours. NOW, we can (and we did) actually buy decorations and put them outside on the porch, around the pole, over the bench, and in front of God and everyone in the neighborhood. I am so very very happy about. I knew I wouldn't go too overboard, but I also wanted to be sure to do the porch up so it looked warm, cozy, fun, and pretty. I think we achieved that. Jeannie and went to Ollie's Bargain in Yukon, and I bought most of the things you'll see. I'll have to use zip ties to hold up the leaves, but it's cute. I went to Walmart and bought the vegetables, and I already owned the little blanket.

    There you go! Oliver is dressed for the season to come. I'm not ashamed of putting up the decorations a couple of weeks early. No, I'm just really hoping that God will see them and decide to send a massive cold front. We need it. It's been over 95 degrees for over two solid months, and I'm just sick of it. Just down right done!  Bring on the frost. Bring on the sweaters. Bring on the pumpkin spice everything, and bring on the football. With OU winning their opener 51-0 over UTEP, I already feel a lot cooler than I did two days ago!! BOOMER!!

    If you have a dream - keep it. Don't let time or people tell you not to dream it. It may not be a big dream. It may not be a really expensive thing, but when you can't pay for it and you can't do it, you realize that there may be a day when you can. I found this to be true. I will let Oliver (my house) shine, and be the loved and beloved home that he was always meant to be. He's been a rental for many years, but no longer. He is in my family now, and he is beautiful.

Photo Credit: Me