Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

March 27, 2015March 23, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 21 Comments

Finally, the good weather is here for us locals. It is still forecasted to rain over the weekend, but the week has been fabulous. The beach is vacant, and you can move around in town. We will venture out to our favorite places again and enjoy the surroundings. The next big deal will be Memorial Day, and hopefully this little curse I bought from the medicine man will continue to serve up inclement weather over that holiday as well. Today’s JohnKu (a term coined by Words4jp) is about home and what it means.

Always welcome there,

Bringing burdens and troubles. . .

Eased, refreshed now go.

#Rave Reviews Book Club Recruitment Day.

March 26, 2015March 25, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 27 Comments

Today is Recruitment day for Rave Reviews Book Club. I can’t say enough good things about the club and can only hope if you would like to receive the kind of support I have received you will consider joining.

The club is made up of like-minded authors who believe it is in their best interests to help each other promote the books we have all worked so hard to bring to life. There are a number of ways this help is available:

In addition to having their books listed on the club website each member is eligible for the following:

Every week each member is given a tweet with their handle and a nice word – twice.

Each Tuesday the entire membership is invited to tweet a member who is the #PUSHTUESDAY honoree.

Each week a member is chosen as Member of the Week and receives tweets all week and a website listing.

Each month a member is chosen Member of the Month and is tweeted all month and listed on the website,

Each month three members are chosen as Book of the Month and for the entire month they are recognized and listed on the website. Members are encouraged to buy and review the Books of the Month so you can imagine how sales and reviews go up substantially

Twice a month a member is chosen as Spotlight Author and is feted with a Spotlight Tour that reaches thousands of readers through guest spots on popular members blogs. In addition, the Spotlight Author is interviewed by club President Nonnie Jules on her popular “Who’s on the Shelf” feature.

The #RRBC hashtag is available whenever an author member would like the rest of the membership to support a tweet. In addition there numerous contests drawings and ways an author can help others and get help in return. You also meet some terrific people.

All of this is available for only $25.00 per year.

If this sounds like a program, you could see beneficial to you go to the website and tell them John W. Howell sent you. Also, you can vote on the best blog in support of recruitment day. Go here and vote http://wp.me/P49Fi9-GG Thanks

Thursday – A Little Personal

March 26, 2015March 25, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 19 Comments

This week’s personal item started as a trip to the library and then moved from there. Our town has a library, and it is a very nice one. In fact, they are very helpful folks there. During the winter, when all the Northerners come down here to escape the cold the use of the library expands twenty-fold. I have always wondered how this kind of increase does not cripple library operations. There is an organization called Friends of the Library who does a great job of fundraising with special book sales. Although I must say the staff never allows the overcrowding to reduce their friendliness or courtesy. Here is a picture of the front of the building.

You may wonder about those little boats (green and blue) in front of the building They are cement and are depictions of a watercraft called a Farley boat. These are for the yard and made in honor of the Farley Boat Works. There are a number of them all over town. I think one day I will do a pictorial of just the Farley yard boats. The Farley Boat Works was a Port Aransas original and manufactured fishing boats from 1915 until the mid-seventies.

The works is now a museum where a limited numbers of boats are in production. The picture above shows how it looks today.

Here is a picture from in 1936 of President Roosevelt and a Farley boat and an unlucky Tarpon. Port Aransas used to be the Tarpon capital of the US. The great Texas drought in the fifties brought the building of dams to preserve water had an effect on freshwater spawning for the Tarpon. Also, runoff from fertilizers altered the coastal waters and overfishing spelled the end of Tarpon fishing in Port Aransas.

I got lost in the story of the Farley Boat works and the Tarpon. I was going to let you know My GRL is in the library and here is a picture of her sitting in the New Books section. (You have to look close to find the little blue cover and yes I pulled her out of the alphabetical by the author arrangement for the picture. I did put her back after ) Thanks to the Port Aransas Library staff for putting up with my foolishness.

Wednesday Story Day – AKA – Hump Day

March 25, 2015March 22, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 24 Comments

Last week was the conclusion of the Frank and Billy saga. Although it looked bad for the duo, there was a last-minute trick a la Bob Newhart finale where I pulled a dream sequence to save the boys from certain destruction. Maybe some day we will see Frank and Billy again but this week we have a brand new cast of characters. The first character is named Bob, and he wants to be a published writer. The second character is Bob’s mentor named (you guessed it) Jane. The reason the names are a little like a primary reader is so we don’t all get lost in the dialog and can concentrate on the story. Okay, okay, I’ll change the mentors name to Charlotte. There everybody happy? So the opening scene has Bob in Charlotte’s office, and this is their first session together. I give you Bob and Charlotte. Hope you enjoy.

“So what is the first thing I need to do to get published Charlotte er I can call you Charlotte right?”

“Yes, Bob Charlotte is fine. You have finished your manuscript?”

“Yes, I have it’s right here.”

“Let me look at it.”

“Sure here. Watch out it’s pretty heavy.”

“Did you print this from your computer?”

“Not exactly. I wrote it by hand.”

“You’re kidding me. Let me see this. Oh my gosh, this is all in cursive writing.”

“Yeah, I don’t feel comfortable working with a computer on my books.”

“Why not for heaven’s sake?”

“I don’t think the true value of the work comes through. You know the pain, the angst, the struggle.”

“You don’t think working with a computer would ease a little of that for you?”

“Yes, but then how will a publisher know of my journey.”

“A publisher doesn’t give a crap about your journey. They want to be able to read the work and evaluate whether or not it is commercially viable.”

“I have a problem with that word.”

“Which word?”

“Commercially. I am an artist, after all.”

“And you want to be published.”.

“Yes, of course.”

“I agreed to mentor you only because your mother and I were roommates in college. I have to tell you I’m not sure you are ready.”

“Aw don’t say that. What do I need to do?”

“Besides get this manuscript typed?”

“I don’t want to have it typed.”

“Oh, my gosh.”

Top Ten Things Not to Do If You Are Going to Disneyland

March 23, 2015March 21, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 33 Comments

This list has as inspiration the idea of spring and trips to Disneyland and Disneyworld

Ten Things Not to do if You are Going to Disneyland

10 If you are going to Disneyland, do not tell the kids until you are there. If you do, at best there will be no hiccups, and you will get there after what seems like an eternity. At worst, your fight has a detour to Fargo North Dakota because of weather, and the snow will melt in ten days. (And the kids will ask every three minutes when you are leaving for Disneyland)

9 If you are going to Disneyland, do not try to navigate the park without a guide-book. If you do, at best a three-day visit will seem like three years of waiting. At worst, you and all the other uninformed visitors will be arriving at the same rides at the same time only to all decide to go to a different ride at the same time and so on and so on till you realize you haven’t ridden one ride in eight hours.

8 If you are going to Disneyland, do not think the weather will be the same in the afternoon as it is in the morning. If you do, at best there will be a little rain you didn’t expect. At worse, you may get caught in a monsoon-like downpour or a North Pole like cold snap which will also be the perfect growing conduit for the flu virus you picked up on the airplane.

7 If you are going to Disneyland, do not let your kids talk you into allowing a friend to come along. If you do at best, they will all get along and only cost an additional five hundred dollars. At worst, after the first day the friend are no longer speaking to your kids and insist they want to go home and have informed their parents you are holding them against their will. (The state police and FBI are very understanding on these kinds of situations)

6 If you are going to Disneyland do not think the breakfast with the characters is going to be anything but a trial. If you do, at best you will be dismayed at the lack of non-screaming picture-taking opportunities. At worst, your child will be the one who is afraid of a giant Mickey Mouse and makes a scene that is so traumatic you hear people talking about the reaction for three days. (Luckily your child looks completely different when not screaming bloody murder)

5 If you are going to Disneyland and plan to eat in the park, do not think the cost will be reasonable. If you do, at best you will discover the three meals you are used to will need to be trimmed to one and a half. At worst, you will have a dinner the first night you are there and then will spend your time at the front gate with a cardboard sign that reads “will write for food.”

4 If you are going to Disneyland, do not try to make the actors break out of character. If you do, at best you will simply be annoying for the kids. At worst, you may encounter a character like Jim Fink king of the river who will take great pleasure breaking out of character with a knuckles sandwich to your nose.

3 If you are going to Disneyland, do not try to join the main street parade just because it looks so all-American, and you had one too many pops at dinner. If you do, at best you will be sleeping in the car tonight. At worst, the parade was a success and unfortunately it came to an abrupt end with fingerprinting and a drafty cell.

2 If you are going to Disneyland, you cannot think the rides are for adults only. If you do, at best your children will think you don’t know how to share. At worst, you will need to have a time out while your spouse explains the purpose of going to Disneyland in the first place.(the session in full view of the park visitors)

1 If you are going to Disneyland, do not forget the idea is to have fun. If you do, at best your family will have less of a good time.. At worst, you will find your family has made up a little game of hide and seek, and you are it. After you count to one hundred, they have all disappeared and the next time you talk to them is at the hotel through a locked door.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – I/Aye/Eye

March 21, 2015March 20, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 8 Comments

Stream of Consciousness Saturday time again. This week’s prompt is I/Aye/Eye. If you want to join, in go here for the rules. http://lindaghill.com/2015/03/20/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-2115/

SOC Badge by: Doobster at Mindful Digressions — SOC Badge by Doobster at Mindful Digressions

“Where have you been?”

“I had to go to the store why?”

“I missed you and I was yelling all over the house.”

“I told you when I was leaving.”

“You did?”

“Aye. I said I’m going to the store and is there anything you need?”

“Now I remember. I asked for something for this dry eye.”

“I asked the pharmacist what to get for a dry eye.”

“What did they say?”

“She said you need drops for the dry eye.”

“Drops for the dry eye?”

“Aye. Here they are.”

“Thank you. Let’s see two drops in each eye.”

“So we are good?”

“Aye, I have what I need for my eye.”

“This is another prompt isn’t it?”

“Aye smart guy who got the drops for the dry eye.”

“Let me guess. Rhyming words right?”

“Not even close.”

Friday JohnKu – AKA TGIF

March 20, 2015March 18, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 17 Comments

Friday is here and with it comes the responsibility to begin to relax. Yes, it’s true. Everyone owes themselves some relaxing time. Think about all the stuff you accomplish for the week. Heck, just getting up five mornings in a row is worthy of an award. Beyond that is the fact that you worked all week. You wrote some nice stuff, and you were kind to some folks who didn’t deserve it. You made your boss feel good, and you supported your spouse. You were in meetings, on the phone and in your car. All this activity takes energy, and there has to be a recharge period or like a battery the charge may get too low to continue to power the machine. This week’s JohnKu (a term coined by Words4jp) is about recharge. Hope you like it.

The power is on,

To carry the spirit up. . .

Rest to continue.

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.

Wednesday Story Day – Frank and Billy Finale – AKA Hump Day

March 18, 2015March 17, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 27 Comments

Wednesday Story day again. Last week we left Frank and Ms. Sutter about to give up and walk out together to face the police. Frank changed his mind and decided to stay behind and politely asked Ms. Sutter to go ahead without him. We need to join up with them for the finale of this little opera.

“Frank. Please be careful. I will go out and tell the police you are coming out okay?”

“Yes, you do that Ms. Sutter. Tell them I’m right behind you.”

“But you aren’t going to do that are you Frank?”

“No, Ms. Sutter I’m not.’

“Tell me why Frank.”

“This won’t mean much to a beautiful, successful person like yourself but I am tired of failing everything I try.”

“Frank you can learn to do something useful.”

“Sure like pastor or something.”

“You can be anything you want to be.’

“I respect what you are trying to do but you need to leave now.”

“Oh, Frank I hate to see you throw away your life like this.”

“Don’t worry Constance it has been thrown away for a long time. Go now.”

“You called me Constance.”

“Shows I’m not really professional, after all.”

“Frank─.”

“Constance get out of here.”

“Who’s Constance Frank?”

“W-What? Billy where are we?”

“You fell asleep while we were waiting here in my car in front of the bank.”

“Asleep? How long?”

“I don’t know maybe ten minutes. It’s about time though. We should be going inside.”

“T-To hold up the bank. You mean we haven’t done the job yet?”

“Frank what’s the matter with you? You planned the whole thing. You even gave me some bullets for my gun. We just got here. Like I told you about ten minutes ago.”

“For god’s sake Billy let me think.”

“We should get going. No use us sitting here wasting any more time. I’m all rearing and ready to go.”

“We should think a little more about going in there. I-I think it might be a mistake.”

“You chicken Frank?”

“Shut up Billy. Let’s go.”

End

Tuesday Discussion – Anything is Possible – Short Story

March 17, 2015March 17, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 9 Comments

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not doing shamrocks or green beer. Today’s discussion is on a new series for writers called Channillo. I have a once a week feature called Four Hundred Words or Less. Each Wednesday I post a story that is four hundred words or less. I have often said that what I do to relax or when I’ve reached a roadblock on something is write short stories. So now I have an outlet to do just that. Here is the debut story. Hope you like it.

Gerry wakes up from a wild dream. It was only a minute ago, but the memory of it is fading already. How hard it is to deal with irrational dreams when the only real thing left after you wake up is the cold fear, he thinks. Wiping his face with his hand brings away more sweat than he thought is there. Reaching for the clock on the bedside table he sees it is four o’clock in the morning.

It is the fourth morning in a row in which a dream wakes him. Funny thing too it is always four o’clock. There are at least two more hours until he has to get up, so Gerry puts the alarm back and pulls the covers up and turns on his side.

A quick flash of the dream jerks him as if he is falling. He looks up and sees the cargo door of the airplane slowly rising up into the sky. His brain is telling him to look down but as the airplane gets smaller he is afraid of what he might see. His stomach feels like he is on a fast-moving elevator that is going down rapidly. The wind is rushing in his ears and is causing pain as the pressure of air begins to exercise his eardrums. Rolling slightly to his left, he can look below him. His heart begins beating out of control at the sight. The green Earth is rushing up at him spreading out so he no longer can see the horizon. Reaching across his chest looking for a handle in hopes this is a skydiving exercise in which he blacked out or something.

There is no handle, and now it occurs to him that this is the dream he has been having for the last four nights. He needs to control his breathing and try to concentrate on his heart rate since he is sure he will be waking up.

“So what do you think happened?” says the Police Officer.

“I can’t tell,” says the EMT. “Heart attack I would guess officially. To look at his face though I would say he was scared to death.”