Thursday – A Little Personal

June 11, 2015June 10, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 13 Comments

I shot the following photo on a bike ride Monday of this week. Typically I tell stories about the beach on Tuesday but I couldn’t resist taking a little detour here. In case you don’t recognize the object in the picture it is a life vest with the name Cubierta Skandinavian. Loosely translated the words mean Cover Skandiavian. I tried searching many boat name data bases, and this one doesn’t show up. I also searched drilling rigs off shore with no luck. So with nothing to go on I had to make up a story.

“So where you going?”

“I’m going for a swim.”

“You crazy? We are in the middle of the ocean.”

“Yeah I know. I thought I would tire this rope around my waist and let the ship tow me along. It will be like waterskiing.”

“This sounds dangerous. You know the water is thirty feet below right?”

“I used to be a high diver and went a lot higher than that distance.”

“You drunk?”

“No. Well, a little high why?”

“I wouldn’t do that without a life vest.”

“Great idea. Here is one. Look it has the name of the boat on it .”

“I still think you are nuts.”

“Okay, here I go.”

“See ya. Don’t forget to tie the knot.”

“The what?”

“The kn-. Aw, gee too late. Bon voyage.”

Thursday – A little Personal Request for Readers of the Sequel to My GRL

June 4, 2015June 1, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 21 Comments

Not the real cover since there is no cover at this point.

As some of you know I have been busy writing full-time for the past three years. I have completed what I refer to as the John Cannon Trilogy. Right now, the only one that has been published is the first titled My GRL. The second His Revenge is with the publisher, and the third Our Justice is sitting on my computer waiting for the second to be published. The point of this explanation is I have no idea when my second book is on the schedule for release. I have continually queried the publisher and have received several dates all of which have effectively passed. My contractual arrangement has actually locked me into the three books so unless the publisher has no desire to publish the books I will have to wait. I have asked the question about desire but still have not received the answer. If I do get a response telling me the publisher is not interested I will probably self-publish.

What I would like to do while I’m waiting is have those who have an interest read the second book. I have to warn everyone the only edit done so far is mine. You can believe I’m not the best editor on the block. I’m looking for those who would enjoy reading the book and to provide any suggestions regarding plot holes or other obvious problems. Also, any Beta reader type comments would be appreciated. I think the number that will be right is five. I will answer each e-mail and thank you in advance for your help. You need not have read the first to read this one.

Here is a blurb:

America loves John Cannon its newest hero, and the President wants to present him with a medal for heroism. Terrorist concerns take a back seat to the ceremony. While en route to Washington, it becomes clear John is going to be an unwilling accomplice in the achievement of a terrorist plan to destroy America’s economy.

If you have interest I would ask three things:

1 Send an email to johnhowell (dot) wave (at) gmail (dot) com

2 You will need to tell me the format you want. (mobi, pdf, word).

3 Once I receive the e-mail I will confirm and lay out a couple of questions that I would have for you to answer.

Thank you in advance.

Thursday – A Little Personal

May 28, 2015May 26, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 21 Comments

Last week Dan Antion on his blog No Facilities ran a lovely post where he pictured and described the Enfield Connecticut Town Hall. You can visit the post here. I commented on how nice the town hall was and Dan asked to see a picture of the city hall here in Port Aransas Texas. I thought that was an excellent idea even though our city hall looks nothing like his. Still the idea is a good one and maybe could start a movement where we all post a picture of our town hall.

So Dan, here is our city hall. It does look like something you would see on an island.

I decided while I was out in the sun (Man the sun felt good )taking pictures of the town hall I would go ahead and take one of the Civic Center. Notice that fish. It is a Tarpon, and the statue commemorates the Port Aransas Centennial in 1986.

As long as I had a photo of the Civic Center I decided to let you see the police station and courthouse. The police station and courthouse are not places you want to visit. ( Let’s just say there is always plenty of parking around these two.)

The Civic Center sign pretty much sums up what the people think about visitors, Welcome to Port Aransas

Thursday – A Little Personal

May 21, 2015May 20, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 44 Comments

One thing I miss living on the coast is the profusion of flowers that are able to be grown away from the salty sea air. We have very few species that can withstand the salt and wind that is part of living by the water. We have tried to cultivate some standard flowering plants with little luck. This time of year, the flowers are few and far between. Later in the summer and through the winter we can look forward to the Birds of Paradise and others. I thought I would give you an idea of what we have right now and I think you’ll agree it is pretty slim pickings.

The hibiscus always does well and this year seems to be doing better than ever. I think several feet of rain has done wonders for them.

The lowly Oleander (we call them highway trees) takes on an unusual importance when it becomes one of the few flowering trees able to make it in the harsh environment.

Tha Natal Plums have little white star-like blooms.

And, of course, we can try to keep a plant sheltered from the elements and hope for the best.

This is the second year for the Portulaca and since it sits on the west side of the house (away from the water) it does well. Other plants in the same location have met an untimely end.

Here is another plant on the West side. It is an Ice plant and usually has a chance.

On the Eastern side we are going to try a Moss Rose. I can almost hear the eulogy now.

This little Jatropha has been with us for three years and lives on the east side. She faces the Gulf but has a lot of friends around her to keep the salt spray from causing harm. She is just beginning to bloom so I thought I would give her an honorable mention.

Thursday – A Little Personal – Noah on Speedial

May 14, 2015May 13, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 28 Comments

I have been discussing the fact that we have been getting a lot of rain lately. I thought I would put it into perspective with a couple of photos. On Monday night, our area received six inches of rain and wind gusts of thirty-five miles per hour. The net effect was a lot of flooded streets and flood warnings all night. Here is a photo showing how full the collection pond is behind our house.

That thing made out of concrete is the storm drain with the pond behind. The street is flooded. The next photo shows Wednesday morning’s result of three inches more.

That house on the right is ours and as you can see the water is getting serious. We are fortunate our builder put the house on a high mound of fill. The next photo gives you a bird’s eye view of the water level.

This is a photo of the backyard from the sundeck above. You can see the water making an incursion into the palm tree bed and the flooded street. We expect more rain and won’t be clear of the weather until Friday. We have also had a few tornado warnings as well.

“Hello. Is this Noah? Yeah, a question for you. Got any room on that Arc? Port side cabin preferred.”

Thursday – A Little Personal

April 30, 2015April 27, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 35 Comments

Here is another photo from a bike ride. It is a perfect shoe sitting just above the high tide line. Also, the picture has captured some footprints showing someone walked by the shoe, and it is clear the shoe has not been disturbed. I could not resist another story prompted by this picture. I hope you like it.

“What are we going to do?”

“The first thing is not panic.”

“Easy for you to say. You are the survivalist I’m just along for the ride.”

“Okay, I never thought the boat would sink.”

“With everything we need to survive I might add.”

“Yes, that is true. Don’t forget I’m a trained survivalist. I will keep us safe.”

“Safe? You’ve got to kidding. Look around. There is nothing on this little island. One palm tree and that’s it.”

“The tree will give us shade that we will need until we can get some water.”

“Too bad I left my Perrier on the desk in the galley.”

“You are alive, so that is something.”

“For how long with no food or water.”

“Oh, that’s easy. No food thirty days. No, water? Well, that’s a little less. Like seven.”

“Seven days? You gonna dig a well or what?”

“No, I will collect the dew in this plastic bag. Also, I have a pen and some paper. I’m going to write a note and stuff it in my shoe. These shoes float. It will be like a message in a bottle. I know we are less than seven days from the mainland the way the current flows. There the shoe is drifting see?”

“Yeah I see. Somehow I can’t imagine anyone looking in a shoe for a message.”

“Have faith.”

“Yeah sure.”

Thursday – A Little Personal

April 16, 2015April 14, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 30 Comments

Last week I showed some pictures of the beach where I live. This week I would like to give you a peek at what it is like to live in a beach town. I’m not going to give you a view of boats, fish, and tourists. That may come later. I am going to let you see some of the shops and sights we have in the downtown area.

This first photo is of two old salts that watch over the happenings of the town. They are over twenty feet tall and quite imposing. That boat in front of them is a cement Farley boat that I talked about a couple of weeks ago. Behind them is the Islander souvenir shop.

Here is another view of the Islander shop. It is one of the nicest looking buildings.

These shops are across the street, and the one on the right is a surf shop and the one on the left jewelry and gifts.

What would a beach town be without a Henna tattoo shop.

Here is another gift store and you can see a pink octopus on the roof. I mean everyone should have a pick octopus. Right?

This picture is also of a souvenir shop that features a giant shark. You can see the size when compared to the station wagon parked nearby. Yes, you can go inside the shark and pose for a picture. (which no one else has ever done. Ever.)

Thursday – A Little Personal

April 9, 2015April 7, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 30 Comments

Today I thought I would post a few pictures which I took on three bike rides. These are all beach scenes since that is the place I do my riding. I hope you like these.

The first is a picture of a group of pelicans who were headed away from where I was going. Notice the birds fly in a V formation like geese. This allows the lead bird to fall back and coast once he/she becomes tired.

Here is a rather far away shot of the Coast Guard helicopter that patrols the beach daily. They are on the look out for drug runners and a possible stray soviet submarine. *chuckle* Also you can see Sunday was a beautiful day. The rest of the photos are taken in cloudy conditions.

Early in the week I came across a lonely Portuguese Man o’ War washed up on the beach. When the surf is rough (as it has been for a few days) these guys have no propulsion system and are at the mercy of the current. They usually wash in from far out in the Gulf.

Monday morning saw this sculpture left behind by someone expressing his belief in the Resurrection. I believe the sign read “He has Risen originally and someone came along and changed it to “He Has Fred.” I hope Fred has an iron clad story. He may need it someday.

I can see the tragedy written all over this scene. “Help me make a sandcastle daddy.” “Sure honey. Here I’ll use this shovel to dig the foundation….Damn.”

This was taken yesterday and you can see the effects of the Gulf high surf. There are thousands of Portuguese Man o’ War and assorted pieces of wood and seaweed washed onto the beach.This is a continuous process and by next week things could change dramatically.

Man O’ War are not the only things washed up. I have yet to find treasure but now and then an interesting item will appear. This is some kind of cover which has the instructions, “close before starting engine” on the top. I wonder if someone started the engine with it open and this is all that is left of whatever it is with an engine. I guess we’ll never know.

Thursday – A little Personal

March 19, 2015March 18, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 21 Comments

Last week I promised to publish a photo of the beach that would be in complete contrast to this one.

I had hoped the photo would show you how much agony spring break brings to the quiet and staid residents of a vacation destination location. I imagined all the sympathy comments and the “poor John” kind of support I would be receiving. Well, it seems the weather had some other plans. For the two weeks (so Far) of Spring Break 2015 it has been cold, windy, rainy and downright lousy. The gigantic population never showed up. So instead of a jam-packed beach fill with drunken youngsters we have this.

The Chamber of Commerce is apoplectic, but we all have had the best spring break ever. Yes, that is fog in the picture Heh, heh, heh.

Thursday – A little Personal

February 19, 2015September 20, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 28 Comments

Thursday – a little personal is the times for me to give open the door a little on my life other than that of a writer. Last week I did a feature on Frankie Blue Eyes my number one fan. Of course, the minute I did, I had a virtual revolution by the other three fur children in the house. (My non-fur children could care less about giving recognition to Frankie) So in all fairness I was forced to give some space to them as well.

The first one who protested the loudest was Stella. She is Frankie’s sister, and we found her with Frankie and three other siblings in a wild part of San Antonio. She and Frankie were about two weeks old when my wife captured the feral mother, got her spayed and released. We kept the kittens and bottle fed them until they were ready to eat solid food. At eight weeks, we found them good homes. (Except for Frankie and Stella. They were forced to live with us). This picture of Stella is typical in that she is trying to avoid the camera.

The next one is Lucy. She is our rescue Boxer. She was living on the streets of San Antonio and after being hit by a car brought to a shelter. My wife is a rescue volunteer, and Lucy knew a soft touch kind person when she saw one. At an adoption event, she came up to my wife and asked to be taken home. She is living the high life ever since. This picture is a pose that has the name of “Lucy Cold Stone.” I did ask her to smile but was told to take the photo as it is.(by Lucy)

The final of the quartet is Bailey. She is a brindle Boxer and keeps Lucy constantly worn out. She is full of energy and keeps all on our toes. In case you wonder about her regal pose her nicknames are Princess and Brat-zilla. I’ll let you figure out how she got those nicknames.