"1211" IN PUBLICATION! (Woot)

 I just now sent the book up for publication with Ingram Spark, so in 3-5 days, usually 3, I'll have it back and can go over it to be sure I didn't miss anything big. I'm usually afraid of the smaller things that I miss, to be honest. I do miss quite a few small things.

    I did use Grammarly this time, and that's cool. I hope I can subliminally learn from the program and get all the rules embedded into my head so I can use it less and less in the future. I don't mind using it to be honest. It's a great safety net, to be sure. 

    So, what you do is you write your book, you go over it 10x, and you make a bunch of your own corrections. Then you run it chapter by chapter (I did 3 at a time) through Grammarly, and you pay attention to all the suggestions because you want your book to be your book, not the AI's book. Grammarly asks you if you want their AI to correct for informal or formal issues; it also asks you if you are educating or telling a story. There is a huge difference in the way the AI suggests corrections.

    After you do that, you go through the book and separate the paragraphs. I decided to use James Patterson and John Grisham as examples. They have differences between them as well, but it's always good to use the best when you're trying to mimic greatness. I read the way I did the other books, where I separated all the dialogue,  is also acceptable. The book was closer to 400 pages before I chose to consolidate. It's 372 pages now.

    The book does have a memorial to Toby Keith; it seemed fitting to do so. He was a great Oklahoman, and this book primarily takes place in Oklahoma. I decided to dedicate the book to my good friend Karen Treadwell, so that should make a few people laugh -- if you know, you know.  I have the standard "Thank You" page, my fabulously famous "Disclaimer" page, and I think you, the reader, will find the book lighter, fun, weird, and interesting.

    I wanted to add so many more stories from the days I lived at 1211 N.W. 30th, but decided I really had to stop and draw the line at some point. I only mentioned a handful, to be honest, leaving out the stranger smaller events, but it will be fun for the readers to know that some (most) of the antics in the book actually did take place in some manner or the other. Life, they say, can be stranger than fiction. This is true about 1211, for sure.

    It will be about $19 (paperback) on Amazon until I can get the books I've written in EPub format. I can't do that until I'm hired and making good money. I tell people I may be an author, but I'm not yet a successful one. When I can, I'll bring the price way way down since a download to Kindle or Nook will be around $2.99, and I'll make more, too! Win!

Photo Credit:  Mindstir.com

1211 New Cover (Almost Ready for Production)

    So, here I am writing about how I loved using Grammarly for the editing of my book, and I do, but when I just now asked it to rewrite what I had written for the blog it all but completely changed what I said. Yeah, you really have to watch the program to make sure it is writing what you want it to. You could end up with someone else's words other than your own.

    I am 99% finished with "1211". I have to go through it one more time and put all the indentions that Grammarly took out. They want the book to be more "traditional," and I still want my indentions. I've looked it up, and both are acceptable. If it's good enough for James Patterson, it's good enough for me. 

    The heavy hitters tend to use only 3 spaces for an indention, they publish their books in size 11 font, and they have different preferences for their numbers. To each their own. I still can't figure out how to start the numbers in the first chapter, but if that's my biggest problem, I think I'll survive.  I like size 12 points. I'm not saying it's a deal breaker, but it is sort of a deal breaker for me. I like my Kindle because I can change the font. I can't hardly read books these days, even with my readers. I know I'm getting older, but I pay for a book, so I want to be able to read it. 

    I went through the book chapter by chapter today and uploaded it through Grammarly to do the editing. I really had to watch the program, like I said, because the AI wants to write in a much more "white paper" style even when you set the settings to casual speech and general wording for an informal audience. I really am trying (purposely) to be relaxed. It's a novel, not a journal article. 

    Then, after I did that, I had to put it down for the day. I'll go through it tomorrow to do the spacing. Because I took out the spaces between dialogue, I lost about 11-14 pages. I reduced the book from 390 to about 365 because I pulled the margins out to the same degree that the professionals (heavy hitters) do as well. I am trying to mimic them as closely as possible so my books won't be made fun of on the literary school yards.

    I am glad I redid the cover because there was a HUGE mistake on the back cover. I had two words reversed; instead of saying "his own neighborhood" it read, "own his neighborhood". Yeah, I'm the dork who didn't see it for three weeks. I have been staring at that cover for that long. Geez!! So the new cover is much like the other, but I did add the words "A Nick Posh Thriller" on the front of it. I didn't do that on the first cover, and I forgot it on "Pinball" as well. I may redo it, but I don't think I will. I can live with it.

    My book should be out on Tuesday, 2/20/24, at Amazon, and anyone can order them online at Barnes & Noble as soon as I fill out the forms to have that a reality. I'm doing that tomorrow, as a matter of fact. Fun times. So, when you get my books, and you love them, please, please give me a good review on Amazon, EVEN if you find errors, please. Even the Perry Mason books I'm reading have errors, so yeah, I'm in GREAT company!

    Have fun reading!

Photo Credit: Me

Grammarly is a Thing.

     After not doing such a great job of editing my works from the past three or four (OK, nine) books, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a monthly subscription to Grammarly. Remember, I'm only doing this for the month, and then I'll likely buy a year's subscription because it is so worth the money. (They can pay me to say that so that I get it for free if they want to.) Grammarly is kicking my butt, but I am loving it.

    So, there I was, here I am, thinking I know what the heck I'm doing when it comes to writing and applying the correct punctuation, but no, I suck. I suck so badly that even when I'm typing this, there are red lines under the words. You can't see them; they are there. I'm making corrections, and you'll never even realize I did. This is the power and the magic of Grammarly.

    I told myself over the past 9 books I wrote that I don't need it; I can do my own editing. I lied to myself. I didn't lie to the audience; I lied to myself. If and when I have the money and time, I'll pull all the other books and run each chapter at a time through Grammarly's AI and make changes before uploading them again. It should have been done before, but to be honest with you, when I uploaded the chapters in the past, I didn't realize that Grammarly was a paid subscription. I thought it only lets you make 100 corrections, and then you make your own. It was a tutor of sorts. (It's not; it's a flat fixer, and you should buy it.)

    I'm doing the one-month thing now as it is $30 a month, which, for me, is expensive. I'll do the yearly subscription soon. It's only $12 a month, but you do have to pay for it one year at a time, so $144. But...and this is huge, it is worth it. It is worth every penny of it. I'm finding so many tiny and more significant mistakes. I'm correcting about 87% of them because I want some of the things I said to remain as they are to reflect a character's voice or attitude. I intentionally misspelled some things when I wrote.

    For example, I'll say "gonna" or "hangin' around." Those are not really supposed to be written out that way, and they would not be used in a white paper, but they can be used in an informal novel. I'm seriously going to write a white paper, though, just to add the genre to the mix of things I've written. I'm that way.   Getting back to the Grammarly thing, I'm on Chapter 4 of "1211" right now, pushing it through the AI, and it shows a potential 122 mistakes! WHAT? In one chapter? Well, let's be fair; much of it was spacing because I do the two spaces after a sentence, and apparently, you don't have to do that now. I do that.

    I overuse the semi-colon, and the AI tells me so. I underuse the comma, and the AI tells me so. I have run-on sentences, which I KNOW I do, so the AI helps me write to clarify. I appreciate that. I also drop letters off of words because I'm typing and not thinking. I'll say "his" for "this" or "as" for "has" or "was," and the AI will find my errors. I love this thing. I really do love it. Feel free to get it or to use it. It has been so enjoyable to find out exactly how wrong I have been and am currently. I don't mind changing my ways; it's hard sometimes.

    I've got to get back to it. Have a great Valentine's DAY!! I hope you have the best of times and get as much chocolate as you expected.

Photo Credit: Grammarly.com 

1211 (Last Efforts) I'll Publish 2/18/24

 February 18, 1894, is my grandmother's birthday. She will celebrate her 120th birthday in Heaven, and I'll have the book published on that day so that I can remember when it was published. She lived just about a mile or so from the location, so that's fitting.

    Today, I am reading the book "1211" through from top to bottom. I'm trying to find mistakes, and I'm looking for ways to edit it so that I can eliminate any mistakes and/or errors. I have taken a view of being good but not perfect after I have spent time reading several of Erle Stanley Gardner's books. He wrote all the Perry Mason books. His books are full of errors! I laugh when I see them, thinking this guy had editors!!

    Well, I am my own editor. What I did in the past was to go through the book twice and send it up. Then, I'd order a book and go through it in book form, find more mistakes, go back to the file, correct it, and send it back up. The problem with that was, that Ingram Spark sold books that were not corrected before I could get them 100% sound. It's my fault. I'm not blaming them. I did ask them not to, but they are a business, and I am just an author - - one book out of thousands to think about at any given time.

    So, I'm reading it today, and I'm reading it tomorrow and will make as many corrections and changes as I can. Then, I'll set the book down for a few days and read it Friday and Saturday of this week to find even more mistakes, but then I'll send it up on Feb. 18 to be published so that I can remember when I did and so that it will be a gift to my granny who I know would never read my books. LOL. She didn't have much time for nonsense.

    Some day I'll write a book and tell the world exactly how I feel about my life, my family, my friends, and my animals. It may shock a few, but it may not. Let's just say I don't feel cheated, but I wouldn't have picked the slot in life I was given. That being said, I would have to have been born in or near Bethany, Oklahoma so I could still be Jeannie's best friend. That would never change. I'd have to have my three kids too, but yeah, no, I would not have picked the girl's father. Those kids may end up looking differently I suppose, but it is what it is.

    As far as animals? Well, I'm smarter now, I would not have wasted so much time and money on as many horses as I did. I would have been a lot smarter about money if I had the chance to do it all again - - wouldn't we all? I'd have kept Faithy that's for sure; and Rover, Doni, Chrissy, Matrix, George, Ginger...and yeah you know, all the dogs, and all the cats I've ever kissed.  If I had to pick one horse to keep it would be Norman, and then Hero. I'd keep two...OK, I get two. 

    "1211" will be up and for sale in about a week or so, please feel free to buy it, tell the world about it, and then you can buy the others too, since "1211" is the third in the Nick Posh thriller series. You need to read them all.

Photo Credit: Me. (This is me with Chrissy in 1983...look, I was pretty!!) Christmas, or Chrissy, was 16 when she passed. I got her on Christmas afternoon 1977. She was a neighbor's puppy and wandered up on my doorstep (of course). She is part Chow and German Shepherd. She had TINY feet, and a purple tongue.

Mentally Speaking.

 I am about to write a book (I will not reveal the title until it is produced) wherein I will discuss mentality, mental illness, mental awareness, and the invisible wounds, scars, and disabilities that rise up and hold people hostage from life. Whether it is because they don't or can't see their worth, or because others can't see or refuse to see their worth, the fact is some are in fact essentially invisible, ignored, overlooked, and even (sadly) dismissed.

    The book will reveal industries, entire industries that choose to ignore people; and even those people they have sworn oaths to assist and protect. The book will shed light, shine exposure, and peel back the corners to blatantly put the blame where it should be put; and in some cases, surprise the world with what I can show so boldly.

    Some have told me not to write the book. I've been told I'll be threatened if I do. I'm writing it as a fiction novel, there will be no real names, real corporations, or real attachments to what I suppose or suggest. I'm holding out a light and lifting it up so that you, the reader can see for yourself what is literally all around you. You're in your car, you're next to them. You're shopping at the store, you're next to them? Who? Who are you next to, you ask.  You're next to the invisible people, and you're next to those who purposely don't see them. My desire for my audience is that they LOOK.

    When you look, when you see, when you hear, when you listen, and when you understand, you'll be in a better position hopefully, to either lend a hand, say a prayer, or make small changes that can affect everyone. We're here at this time for a reason; not one of us knows how long we're allowed to remain here. There will be a judgment for all of us; not for punishment necessity, but for blessings poured upon us for having made the right choices to be there for someone else without expecting anything in return. We are to love, and this book is about that, about love. 

    I think it was Albert Einstein who said that if we "... judge fish by their abilities to climb a tree, it will believe its entire life that it is stupid." If you take me, a woman with a Ph.D. and the ability to write a 390-page book in under two weeks, and you put me in a room with an orchestra on the stage, you can't compare my worth or my experiences. I would be lost. I have no talents that could compare or be useful in that room. I am only as worthy as I see or know myself to be, and if I allowed myself to think I was worthless because I couldn't play an instrument, read music, or make extraordinary sounds, I would be depressed and anxious wondering why I was so damaged.

    We, all of us, are wonderful. We are all genuinely genuine, and creatively creative. We are bountiful with our own us-ness, we are unique and singular. This book, I pray, will allow someone (even if it's only one person) to know that you are not alone, you are not unseen, you are not worthless, you are not invisible. You are not less, you are not reduced or void. You have everything you need to be the one thing you were created to be, and that is YOU. I'm the only me that I could ever be, and that's a damn good thing - - there should not be two of me out there.

    Stay tuned. I'll keep you posted.

Photo Credit: L.A. Times.

1211 (DONE!!! Well, Sort of)

 So, this is it. The book "1211" is finished in that I have written it. I have completed the book.  Now, what I need to do is go through the manuscript tonight and check all the words and phrases that need to be in italics, and then I find all the underlined words to see if they really are misspelled or if it's supposed to be that way. I write words like thinkin' or gonna, and then when you do that the computer thinks you've made an error.

    I'll go over the red lines tonight, which are the potential errors. I'll go over the blue underlines, which are potential grammar errors. I'll do that tonight, and wait until tomorrow to go through it for more mistakes.  I will also, tomorrow, go through it and add about 70 or so "notes" or things I wanted to be sure and add. I have small phrases I want one or the other character to say, or an action they can do. I'll add that.

    The manuscript is at 82,800 words now, and by the time I am finished with it, it should have closer to 85,000 words. I'll have to see if I can stretch it to 390 pages so it fits the already-created book cover. I can go as low as 380 I think, but no lower than that without having to re-do it. If I do have something close to 380 I'll add a few blank pages at the back, or add something like a memorial. In fact, I was going to add a memorial to Toby Keith in this book. If I don't do it in this one, I will certainly do it in "Mesa". 

    This was a heck of a book to write, and I'm so glad I did it. It has a difficult finish, but one that actually (for the most part) took place. Some creative licensing was used as I was not part of the trial process. I only lived at the house when it took place and of course, I was younger, I heard rumors, but I didn't really research or investigate it at the time. I've lost all recollection of the actual names of the people who lived in the house; but then again, I wouldn't have used them anyway. 

    I will say this, we did have a Good Bill and a Bad Bill, but I have no idea what their last names were. Our real landlady's name was Wilma, and Mercedes' last name was not Kuhlman. I do know what it was, but I won't say. Arthur never existed, and neither did Celeste or Phyllis, but there were really cool people, including myself, who lived in the house. I lived in Apartment E, Celeste's apartment, and the same one Mercedes Kuhlman's boyfriend died in; in the book. 

    Done!! The book is DONE...I'll add to it tomorrow, then read it through Wednesday/Thursday, and have it ready for production next week maybe around the 19th or 20th. I'll let you know....DONE!! Woot!!

Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com

1211 82% (Woot!)

 I am 82% finished with the first draft of the book "1211" and I will say it has been a lot of fun to write. I'm going to wrap things up for now and call it another day after writing 3 chapters.  I will start Chapter 26 tomorrow, and write another 3, so 26, 27, and 28. Then, on Sunday, I'll close the whole shebang by either writing 2 chapters, ending with 30 chapters, or I'll write 3 and end up with 31, I haven't decided. 

    Who am I kidding? I don't decide these things. The characters decide. Just like they decided to take a hike and see the...oh wait, that's tomorrow. I can't tell you what they see, I only have an idea about it. I have the outline. I have them leaving their house, driving to the end of the Scottish shores to what is known as the "End of the World". This is not to be confused with the "End of the World" pub, which is at the end of Edinburgh's old street boundaries. 

    Remember, this book is taking place in Oklahoma City for the most part, but we do visit Edinburgh, and we talk about Chicago.  The next Posh thriller will begin in Oklahoma City, and leave Edinburgh in the dust for nearly the entire book, but speaking of dust, it will take us through the Mauve Desert, and there will be a tribute to Toby Keith in that book, even though he didn't come along for another 30 years. There will be someone like him in the book, and I'll be sure to give him a grand tip of my hat  -- such a really good man, that one.

    With "1211" being 82% done, I can tell you that one character has been completely changed by the events that took place in the book; she will never be the same. We see and find that less is more in some cases, but not in all cases. We have a killing, a death, an accident, and talk of other crimes. We have comparisons of things similar and things not so; it is a good book. I really like it - - I'm having a great time writing it. I even pulled out a few old friends and gave them a nod. God rest the Three Guardsmen. (Here's the link to them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Guardsmen )

    If you ever have the opportunity to write you should do it. I don't watch television, so I have a little more time than most do I suppose. I mean, I have on-demand CBS and Paramount, I do watch shows, but I'm not addicted to the tube or anything. I don't go out partying, and I don't go out with anyone - - dang, having said that I realize how boring I am. Maybe I need to write about how pathetic I am...LOL, nah, no one who knows me would believe me.

    So, "1211" will be done by this time Sunday. I'll read through it Monday/Tuesday, adding and fluffing. Then I'll set it down for a few days, picking it up again on the 15th or 16th, and I'll make final corrections, size it up, and send it off to be published. I'm trying to not have to stop the press so I can make even more corrections. That's the reason I'm setting it down for a few days. I need to do that. I hate it, but I can't find my own mistakes for a while after I write something. 

    It will be out in the middle of the next week with a publication date around the 20th or so.  I can't wait to get $$$ in my pocket to make all my books into Ebooks. That's the next big step for me. That will be grand.  The next Posh thriller will be titled "Mesa" and will be out in late spring or early summer. I've got another book to write in the middle of this one and that one. After I write the drama book and get back on track with Posh, I will likely write at least three more Posh books in 2024. That's the goal. Let's see if I can do it.

    Here's a book for you, it's Tom Rizzo's book https://tomrizzo.com/justice-times-three/

    

Photo Credit: TomRizzo.com 

New Tartan Book from Waverley on the Way.

 When I was a kid, and I don't remember exactly how old I was, I saw a little tartaned book in my great-grandmother's dresser drawer. She kept ideas in it and things she wanted to remember. It wasn't a diary, it was too small. I think it was a Waverley book, but if they weren't made back in the day, then it was something else. I have found or refound the Waverley notebooks online about three or four years ago and I have decided to use them for my books. I was going to have one Waverley for each Nick Posh book but after writing the notes from Murder Book into the first notebook I realized I didn't need to waste the rest of the notebook. I can use one Waverley for two books, so I am. 

Right now I have four Waverleys but one more (Isle of Skye pattern) is coming in the mail and I'll use it in the future. I have:

• Murder Book and Cask (Mackenzie Clan) green/blue/white
• Pinball and Mesa (Macleod Clan) yellow/black/red
• 1211 and Kingdom (Fraser Clan)  red/blue/some white
• Shadow and Stollen (Campbell/Blackwatch) Dark blue and black
• Death Mask and Yet to be Determined (Isle of Skye) also green/blue and white.

I am very much a fan of tartan plaids.  My other novels, the romance books, all but "Of Kilted Pleasure" have other, somewhat larger tartan-covered books because a friend purchased them for me as a gift thinking I would love them. I do love them, but all of my Posh books will be Waverley and the others can be recorded in the other books. So far I have three of these books, and like the smaller ones, they too will be host to at least two and maybe even three books. I just write ideas in them, disorganized and random ideas. Things that crop up out of nowhere and I don't want to lose them in the mire of my mind.

    I will say that I've always been a note-taker. I have a file cabinet drawer full of notebooks, and composition books, literally crammed with thoughts and notes I've taken for this or that reason over the past 500 years of my life. Before paper, I had to make do with rocks, and let me just say it's incredibly difficult to carry those from place to place. Thank God for paper. Though I am keeping the title of my next book (a dramatic book) under tight lock and key, not revealing the title literally until it is published, I will use one of the larger books for it. It is not a Nick Posh book. It is not a romance book. It is a drama, but not like "Bay Sorrel Ranch", in that no characters are falling in love, marrying, going on vacation together, hoping for the best, and making things happen.

    The new book will have a working title of "The New Book" and I'll refer to it as that until I give it the actual title. It is an exploration and expose type book that will bring to light some of the more dramatic failures of our society; the people we intentionally avoid, and why so many people are in fact ignored by our government and by those who swore an oath to protect the very people they hurt daily. It will be sad, it will be hard, it will be factual. It will bring home a lot of hurt and sorrow that needs to be brought to light because quite frankly, it's been in the dark just too long - - without the disinfectant of true light. We all need to be made aware of just how raw the world is around us -- maybe we can still do something about it. 

    The book is good. There is hope. There is joy. There is happiness. There is reality, and there will be fictional situations that didn't really happen but could have happened, and maybe did happen somewhere that I'm not aware of, but for the most part, it is a book about love and what love actually means. I think it will be a very therapeutic book for me to write. I've been in some of the situations that I'll write about - - and my mind has been to other places through videos, television, movies, interviewing, reading materials, and research. Yes, this book needs to be written. I'll make that happen, and then I'll climb back in the saddle for the next Posh thriller -- and by climbing in the saddle, I mean yeah, it's a little foreshadowing of what the good detective himself does. Woot! (or Whoa...not sure which is best to say.) 

Photo Credit: Me

1211 (70% done) Last Umph!

 So, with 61,000 words in the can, I have about 70-71% of "1211" finished, and I'll do the rest over the next two or three days. This is Thursday, and I wrote three chapters. That put me over the 70% mark, and I decided to outline the last 8 chapters so I know exactly what my goals are. 

    I have about 150 notes which I'll go through to be sure I added them in the book. If I have not added them, I will try to. If I can not add them anywhere I'll save them for the next book. I'll go back over the notes from the last two books to see if I need to add any of those notes to this book. That will be fun. After all the notes have been exhausted I should be at 86,000 to 90,000 words and since I have the book cover completed for a 390-page book, I'll be sure to make the font a 12-pt Georgia font, and the spacing 1.25 or 1.3 so there is enough space but not too much space, and the book should turn out to be perfectly sized.

    This one, as are all the books now, is a 5x8 book, paperback and with cream paper. I did have white paper on some I think. I may go back into their metrics and change that for future publishing. I think I like the cream paper better. It's a preference and I think I do like it better. I don't know why. It really shouldn't be a thing, but it's sort of a thing now in my head.

    Soon, and very soon, I will have all the books on Epub and they'll be listed on Amazon as Ebooks. That will lower the price for everyone. I make about $1.45 a book now, and when I lower the price of the books from $18.00 (which I don't have control over) to $2.99 for Ebook, which I do have control over, I will earn $2.10 per book - - that's really a much better thing for me and for my readers. I don't and can't control what Amazon charges for books.

 When I upload them I must make a small profit, and I must list the books over the print-cost. The average book will cost the printer $6.48 to print and I have to earn $1.45 according to them. You'd think I could make the book $10.00 but no, they want their profit too. The lowest I can set my price is $17.00 and in some markets, it negates my profit if I do. (I don't get it, but it is what it is. I follow the rules.)

    So, "1211" is about to be finished. I will then go over it for obvious errors, adding, and fluffing. Then, I'll go over it again for mistakes, corrections, and more boo-boos. Then, I may wait a week, and go over it again, so my eyes will catch the mistakes. I tend to not see them all if I am too close to it. I usually run a test book and go through it, but I am trying to not do that because someone usually buys the book and there it is out there for the world to see with mistakes until I can pull it and make corrections. I think I may be able to ask them to run it, and print me a book to correct, but hold off on all sales until I give a final word, but if they charge for that I can't do it.

    Believe it or not, I'm not a successful author yet, just an author. I'm not writing to get rich; if anyone buys my books I get excited. I really do. I think it's cool to make something and have others like it - - but I write to write. So, when "1211" is done, and I've gone through it, and it's for sale, I'll post that as well. It will be on my other social media platforms too. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/judestringfellow (LinkedIn)

https://www.instagram.com/judestringfellowauthor/ (Instagram)  I have a Facebook, but it's really more for family and friends whom I've known. There's another Facebook out there actually, and I really should keep it up. I may do that. It's 

https://www.facebook.com/jude.stringfellow  I just have to figure out what my password is so I can get back onto it. LOL

I'll keep you posted!!

Photo Credit: Me.

Waxing a bit Nostalgic.

 I just watched a YouTube video showcasing the differences between the kids born and raised in the 60s and 70s and those who were born in the mid-2000s (Gen Z basically). The whole video had me laughing, shaking my head, agreeing with the guy narrating the thing, and saying "Yes!" or "You're damn right" on most of it. 

    Times were different. We went to church. We walked to school with or without our friends (my first-grade teacher lived across the street, so yeah, I made it to class on time. She walked me from Kindergarten to fifth grade every single day! She carried a Winchester rifle too, and yes, we shot game hens and rabbits on the way to and from school. Not lying.) Mrs. Earp's husband was related to THE Earps. She was rough and tough to boot.

    As kids, we didn't try to get in trouble. We were quite aware that if we got in trouble at school we got in more trouble at home. At the parent-teacher conference, the kids sat out in the hall and we were told to stay quiet. If my parents had come out of the room and I wasn't sitting right where they left me I would not be able to sit down for two Sundays in a row. It was that way.  My teachers never lied. They didn't give me any grade I didn't deserve, and they never made excuses for me either. Ethics were a thing in our day.

    Some of the more dangerous things we did as kids have been talked about and demonstrated in so many YouTube and TikTok videos. We slid down hot galvanized steel slides that were banked on concrete and had rivets sticking out where the rails were connected. We scalded ourselves, fell off, and scraped our knees, hands, heads, and elbows. We got over it. We used the water from a garden hose to wash off, and if we were thirsty we drank from it.  We rode in cars without seat belts, with our parents smoking in the car, and maybe - - just maybe one of them would roll the window down an inch or so to let the smoke out, but not in the summer; they couldn't afford to let the cool air out.

    We became spit-friends and blood-brothers, even if we were girls. We cut our hands or fingers and mushed them together swearing our oaths to remain besties forever. I think I am still keeping that promise with Jeannie  -- so they did actually work. We were given pocket knives around the age of six or seven, and guns around the age of nine or ten. We were taught to use both. I think my dad taught me that I could kill, gut, and skin a fish or a squirrel with my knife - - and he may have mentioned that if a boy tried to kiss me I could do the same to him.

    We tried out for sports and for cheerleading. We weren't accepted just because we showed up. We had to keep our grades above a B, not a C...and if we dared to show our faces with a C on our report cards we had to do the dishes and take out the trash all the way through the next nine weeks until the next reports came back with better grades. It just was the way that it was. 

    We played "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" with a stick pin that was run through a ribbon. We were spun around in circles a dozen times and set loose to try and find the paper with the donkey on it, and we were blindfolded. There is no end to what could have happened and most likely did. We snuck drinks from our dad's beers and finished off mom's coffee at tender ages. We were swimming in lakes, ponds, and creeks with the fish, turtles, gars, and whatever else decided to show up. I remember tossing a snake at my sister when it swam in front of me.

    There were trees to climb and I'm not talking about lower branches. If you were caught sitting on a lower branch you better have a book in your hands; otherwise, you called a chicken. We threw dirt clods that were hard as rocks at each other from greater heights and chased the culprits down the streets on our bikes without caring if a car was in front of us or behind us. We knew the drivers had eyes and could see us. I don't remember having a set of lawn darts, but we played it when we went to my cousins' houses.  Yes, we tried to spike each other; it's what you did.

    Another thing we did was ring doorbells and run away, or we'd ring them and stand there waiting for friends to come out and play. We rang doorbells to hear them chime. We usually got a look from the father or mother of the kid we just said goodbye to, but sometimes other people's doorbells were cooler than mine were. We prank-called people too. You know we did. We didn't do all the mean nasty sinister stuff like telling people they had three days to live. No, we just said things like "Hey, is your fridge running? Better catch it!!" We were dorks. We were really really cool though.

    Our skates strapped right onto our tennis shoes and we had to tighten them with a key. They were metal, and the wheels were metal too.  The tire swings we affixed to our trees hadn't been cleaned and if it rained it rained, and we dealt with the water sloshing all over us. We nibbled on the tar that the city crews laid down on our streets, but not before we popped all the bubbles. What? It didn't get hot enough where you live to have your street tar bubble up? Well, sometimes you had to use a stick so you didn't get burned.  You know what else we had back then? We had horny toads. (Brown Texas Horned 
Toads) They were everywhere. 

    I miss those kids. I miss that my kids were probably the last age of kids to have spit fights, impromptu mud-wrestling, or sleepovers. Times have changed, but not for the better. I can't wait to get to heaven and do these things again -- maybe not the door-knocking thing but yeah...the door-knocking thing too. I'll do it. 

Photo Credit: Reddit