Point Made

 I'm not a weatherperson, one of the few professions that allows you to be wrong often and not lose your job. But I've noticed something I think is interesting. We are experiencing one of the milder, more comfortable summers I remember. Who am I referring to when I say we? I thinking of Southeastern Wisconsin with Milwaukee as my center of reference. Not only have we had fewer days of extreme heat, but we don't have any extended periods of high heat indexes (90's) and high humidity (65+ dew points). Often those uncomfortable days are sandwiched in between very pleasant ones. We have periodic rain storms that might challenge our storm sewer capacity and cause high water levels in the streams and rivers. If there is a problem with rain, it tends to fall on weekends. Surprise!  I reached a publishing milestone this week. Last year I published my novel, 26 Women . My lack of promotion tempers my hope of hitting the NYT bestseller list or even long listing in one of the pre...

  The inspiration for my current painting. This is my great-granddaughter, Jonny Bird Sieve. I love the innocence and wonder this image presents. A Shallow Dive Into The Twelve-Step -Step Program I often joke about starting a twelve-step program for silly things. For example, during the Annual All Saints Used Book Sale to battle hunger, as we sorted and priced the donated books, I would joke with fellow volunteers that I would start a twelve-step program for people who continuously bought books they would never read. The twelve steps is a reference to the Alcoholics Anonymous program or AA. Many people might be tentative in their levity because they know I'm an alcoholic. Truth be known, I did not avail myself of AA in my battle against the bottle. However, I don't deny AA's worth and I advise people to try it f they feel it will help them in their effort.  If you look at the program and how it works, it can and is used as a template to deal with any addiction. The label ad...

Image in Pastels by Carol Rhode Curley Surprisingly, I can't come up with a name for this young lady. When writing my stories, I often name characters on the fly. Often they stick, such as Richard Harrison and Denise Bogard. Sometimes, as the character develops, the name doesn't fit, and I change it as when Antonette Gerber became Cynthia Gallow. I've become drawn to French names. So, with help from friendly Francophiles, I named one alluring woman Valarie Russo. In a new piece, my protagonist is Claudette Rose Dubois. I avoid Bill, Mary, Jane and other stereotypical first names and common last names like Smith, Miller, Johnson and Jordan. However,  I have used two of my ex-wives' names. Eventually, they will all fit in somewhere. None of the characters I name them after are evil or even unlikeable.  Often I apply nicknames that spring from the lips of a younger sibling's inability to pronounce the character's real name. For example, my female character in Lose ...

 First a highly thought-proving look at music. It had to be a cat. Thought Provoking (Continued) My editor, close friend, and confidant Pamela suggested that I consider publishing a book containing my blog entries and my art. This suggestion did not immediately resonate with the normal white male tendency to inflate the ego and float on the vision of success. After all, I have self-published a novel. I know how ego-deflating that can be. It's tempting for a couple of reasons.  Regular readers know that I have an inordinately large family, given my three marriages. I have a small squadron of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. While some of them may have saved some of my blog entries and jpegs of my artwork, I'd like to think a collection of my work would be a better legacy. And so I ponder. First, I recognize that the collection has little or no commercial value. It will not be necessary to mount a marketing campaign. There is no consideration of the content marke...

What's Up, Doc!  I'm sure it's nothing I said or did, but my primary physician has fled to the burbs. (Cedarburg) This burg and I share some history since it is where my latest wife graduated from high school. I attended her high school reunion with her. Located on a river with a prominent waterfall, this cozy outpost is home to a hotbed of big box retail, some manufacturing, lots of car dealerships and confusing borderlines with Thiensville and Mequon. Yet, it's not entirely a new suburb because it has a pleasant historic district and some fascinating history. For example, many years ago, it was a recording hub for black musicians who were not welcome in traditional recording companies. What it doesn't have is a bus service. Seeing I don't have a home to mortgage, I won't be taking an Uber out there. It's not in Milwaukee County, so neither of the senior ride services can ferry me. I switched to a more conveniently located clinic here on the lower east ...

 As it has been my recent habit, I open with pictures of my grand and great-grandchildren. I know that this is much like the proud grandparent who forces people to look at snapshots of his human legacy stored on his phone or, old school, wrinkled from his wallet. But like that grandparent, I don't care.  Save this one. Brixton could succeed in some capacity, and the feeling behind this challenging stare may contribute to that success. You will say you saw it here first. This might be the best father-son image since Kevin Kostner and Ray Liotta in Field of Dreams . This is my great grandson Brixton and his dad, A. J. Sieve. Perfect on the Pitch As I write this, the US Women's National Soccer is playing in Mexico at the CONCACAF Tournament. They have won every match and have allowed no goals scored against them. They have one more match against Canada. Canada is the reigning Olympic Gold Medal Champion. Score: US 1 Canada 0.  A penalty kick won the game in the 78th minute. ...

 We will discuss books in this missive, but first, let me shamelessly use my adorable grand and great-grandkids as clickbait to improve my analytics. Stepson, Ryan Schmidt & his boys, Brogan and Tate. The ultimate Mark Trail branch of the family. I think they hunt with every weapon except clubs. The twins, Ledger, Jonny and the kid most likely to win the best big brother award, Brixton Sieve. The All Saints Annual Booksale for Hunger. This year, I've again volunteered to help sort, categorize, and price used books donated to this decades-old tradition. Starting in June, we began arranging the donations for display and purchase. Beginning with the coveted "buy a chance to buy any book you want" night, to the madhouse "Make me an offer I can't refuse" closing day, we will raise thousands of dollars which are contributed to local kitchens that feed the poor and homeless. We made over twenty-five thousand dollars last year. For me, the fun is seeing books I...