Thoughts about Prince Seven Months Later

I had my i-pod on shuffle the other day while riding my bike when a Prince tune came on. His song, Let’s Go Crazy, is so prophetic that it gave me chills. I listened to it twice in a row.

The song starts with Prince talking, giving sort of a eulogy.

“Dearly beloved

We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called ‘life’

Prince. Courtesy of Google Images.

Electric word, life
It means forever and that's a mighty long time

But I'm here to tell you
There's something else
The afterworld

(Harp music here)

A world of never ending happiness
You can always see the sun, day or night…”

Then he sings about how to get through life.

“Cause in this life
Things are much harder than in the afterworld
In this life
You're on your own…”

and..

“If you don't like
The world you're living in
Take a look around
At least you got friends…”

Little Richard. Courtesy of Google Images.

He sings about the elevator. WHAT? You say? The elevator? Yep. The elevator. What if the elevator is death? Is the elevator death?

“We’re all excited

But we don’t’ know why

Maybe it’s cause

We’re all gonna die

And when we do (When we do)

What’s it all for (What’s it all for)

You better live now

Before the grim reaper come knocking on your door

Tell me, are we gonna let de-elevator bring us down?

Oh, no let’s go!...”

Prince is (was) pretty avant-garde, but I think he was also a musical genius. This is probably why I didn’t “get” some of his work.

Rick James. Courtesy of Google Images.

But this song got me thinking of some what ifs..

What if Prince did not die in his elevator, but instead instructed his people, his handlers, to announce that, upon his death, they should say it took place in the elevator? That kind of thing sounds like a Prince move to me.

I think Prince could be considered a healthy mix of the flamboyance of Little Richard, the funk of Rick James, the sexuality of Elvis (remember his hip gyrations?), and the fashion sense of Michael Jackson.

Elvis. Courtesy of Google Images.

What if Prince didn’t die from a similar drug O.D. as Michael Jackson? Maybe he was sick and didn’t want people to know. That seems like a Prince move, too.

I read that Prince had started writing his autobiography and it was to be published in 2017.

It’s also weird to me that Paisley Park, Prince’s home in the suburbs of Minneapolis, has already opened as a museum, much like Elvis’s Graceland. In fact, they’re both managed by the same company.

How could a product as big as Prince get a museum opening off the ground just six months after his death? Maybe the deal was done by Prince himself far before his death on April 21, 2016.

Michael Jackson.
 Courtesy of Google Images.

I think Prince had total control of every aspect of his life. Perhaps even right down to how his death would be played out.

I know this post is not exactly “timely,” in fact, Prince’s death is probably considered old news by now, but Let’s Go Crazy prompted me to write this. And as you may know, I like song lyrics.

Until next time,

Be Good to Yourself,

~Nadine

Veterans Day 2016

This Friday is Veterans Day. November 11, 2016.

I come from a long line of men who have served our country, and I believe it is my duty to honor and pay tribute to all who haveanswered the call to serve our county.

My grandfather served in WWI and WWII.

My dad served in the Korean War. My uncles Terry and Jerry served in Viet Nam. (All of my dad’s four brothers served in the military.)

When my generation of young men and women were of “going to war age,” the U.S. had relative peace- no wars to fight.

Veterans Day dislplay at the LeClaire
Community Library

My nephew, Jake served in Afghanistan, where he earned a Purple Heart. My son-in-law Phil, still active duty, served in Afghanistan, too. My son, Nate, and nephew-in-law, Corey, serve on the front lines right here in Iowa.

God bless those who are willing to confront the bad in order to protect the good.

On that same note to honor and pay tribute, I created a Veterans Day book display at work (The LeClaire Community Library.) I chose books that gave first-hand accounts of events… Also Known As: When shit goes down.

 

The summaries of the following books are courtesy of Goodreads.

FLYBOYS: A True Story of Courage by James D. Bradley

This acclaimed bestseller brilliantly illuminates a hidden piece of World War II history as it tells the harrowing true story of nine American airmen shot down in the Pacific. One of them, George H. W. Bush, was miraculously rescued. What happened to the other eight remained a secret for almost 60 years. 

LONE SURVIVOR: The Eyewittness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson

On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less then twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive. 

NO EASY DAY: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen, Kevin Maurer

No Easy Day puts readers alongside Owen, of the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group--commonly known as SEAL Team Six, and the other handpicked members of the twenty-four-man team as they train for the biggest mission of their lives. The blow-by-blow narrative of the assault, beginning with the helicopter crash that could have ended Owen's life straight through to the radio call confirming Bin Laden’s death, is an essential piece of modern history.

BAND OF BROTHERS: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose

As good a rifle company as any, Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, US Army, kept getting tough assignments--responsible for everything from parachuting into France early DDay morning to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. In "Band of Brothers," Ambrose tells of the men in this brave unit who fought, went hungry, froze & died, a company that took 150% casualties & considered the Purple Heart a badge of office. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers' journals & letters, Stephen Ambrose recounts the stories, often in the men's own words, of these American heroes.

FLAG OF OUR FATHERS By James D. Bradley, Ron Powers
In February 1945, American Marines plunged into the surf at Iwo Jima—and into history. Through a hail of machine-gun and mortar fire that left the beaches strewn with comrades, they battled to the island’s highest peak. And after climbing through a landscape of hell itself, they raised a flag.
Now the son of one of the flagraisers has written a powerful account of six very different young men who came together in a moment that will live forever.

THE GOOD SOLDIERS By David Finkel

It was the last-chance moment of the war. In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it the surge. “Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences,” he told a skeptical nation. Among those listening were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them.

UNBROKEN: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.

ELEPHANT COMPANY: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II by Vicki Constantine Croke

Billy Williams came to colonial Burma in 1920, fresh from service in World War I, to a job as a “forest man” for a British teak company. Mesmerized by the intelligence, character, and even humor of the great animals who hauled logs through the remote jungles, he became a gifted “elephant wallah.”  
When Imperial Japanese forces invaded Burma in 1942, Williams joined the elite Force 136, the British dirty tricks department, operating behind enemy lines. …In a Hollywood-worthy climax, Elephant Company, cornered by the enemy, attempted a desperate escape: a risky trek over the mountainous border to India, with a bedraggled group of refugees in tow. Elephant Bill’s exploits would earn him top military honors and the praise of famed Field Marshal Sir William Slim.

People, I challenge you to read at least one of these books. Use your hard-earned American freedom to read whatever you want! I’ve read Unbroken already. It was not an easy read and because of that, I still cannot watch the Unbroken movie. I’m going to start at the top of this list and read Flyboys next. My dad was an Air Force man and my son-in-law still is.

Until next time,

Thank A Veteran.

~Nadine

Book Review: The Red Thread by Ann Hood

Last week I talked about how life events show up in my writing, and how I like watching for the unusual or quirky behaviors in people because these are the things that make a character believable. Makes them imperfect. Makes them come to life.

Then, I found a novel with a title that hits directly at the heart of my novel. I HAD to read that book!

Courtesy of Google Images

The Red Thread, by Ann Hood was written in 2010. It is a story of six American couples, each who want to adopt a baby girl from China. It’s also the story of six Chinese parents who, because of China’s One Child Family Planning Law, are forced to give up their baby girls.

The six American couples have complicated and sometimes overwhelming ordeals in their quest to build a family.  But the Chinese mothers’ stories just broke my heart.

**Spoiler Alert!**

Courtesy of Google Images

One young mother tried to keep her child hidden from the community because she already had a nine year old daughter. She would have been able to keep the second child had it been a son. (This part of the story is not fiction, but LAW!) She was tricked into helping another family member and left the sleeping baby unattended for a moment. Her husband when in the bedroom and took the baby away.

A teenage girl got pregnant and her boyfriend took off when he found out. When the baby girl was born, the teen had to sneak to the park with her newborn and abandon it there- hoping that she would be found before it was too late.

Courtesy of Google Images

Another mother had twins. Like the mom with a second child, she could have kept both if one had been a boy and one a girl, but since both twins were girls, she had to make a decision on which one to keep and which one to let go. (Talk about Sophie’s Choice!)

There are three more stories like this, each one devastating.

The American parents have their own regrets and pasts to work through in order to adopt a baby from China. It’s a soul wrenching story that, I believe, people who have never experienced adoption could completely understand. This story gives us a glimpse of that emotional upheaval.

The epilogue is eloquent torture. Ann Hood puts the words together in emotional beauty and my only regret in this story is that it seemed to end fairly abruptly.

Courtesy of Google Images

I wished I could have known more about why some of the characters made the decisions that they made. Did Sophie ever forgive Theo, and why is she staying with him? Nell, a powerful business woman, does everything she can to have a baby. Why did she think she needed a baby in her life anyway, and why did she realize she was making a big mistake only after she was on the flight to China? Did Maya ever forgive herself? Could she trust herself with a child?

I guess a good story gives you food for thought, huh?

Courtesy of Google Images

In the acknowledgements Ann Hood shares with us that she lost a baby daughter and that she and her family went through the adoption process for a baby girl from China. This fact blew me away! I don’t know how this woman, this mother, this author-lady could even write a story like this! She’s a super hero in my book.

Courtesy of Google Images

Ann Hood has written several adult novels, her newest, The Book That Matters Most, released in August 2016, is getting good reviews. I know that I’ll be reading it, along with all her others.

I send my love to all adoptive families. And to my favorite “baby”, David, I’m so blessed to have you in my life.

Until next time,

Be Good to Yourself.

~Nadine

 P.S. In 2015, China relaxed its thirty year old One Child law, allowing families to have two children of either/both sexes.  However,in my opinion, I think a statewide tradition (especially in China) would be very hard to break.

The Red Thread

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you know I’ve written a novel called THE INK OF TIME. Many of the smaller details that help tell the story are things that I’ve actually witnessed or experienced.

For example, I have friends who are scuba divers and they’ve talked about getting their certification in very dirty, murky water. This happens in my novel. 

My Grandma Hill had a dog named Duke. In my novel there is a dog named Duke. 

Some of my nephews are in and Irish band and one of them plays the bodhran, which is an Irish drum. I would have never known of this instrument without these young men in my life. A bodhran is a key component in the first part of my story. 

Also, my in-laws, at one time, drank prune juice mixed with vinegar to flush their digestive systems. One of my characters does this too.

These things help tell the story and give the characters life. I’m always on the look-out for ideas. I pay attention to the quirky or unusual.

Like the time Tim and I stopped at a truck stop to eat and the table next to us ordered steak. Who orders steak at a truck stop? This is a priceless bit of information. But it gets even better. When the steaks came out, the patron complained about the steak and proceeded to tell the waitress how to grill a good steak.

I think I laughed about that for five miles after we got back in the car. I’m going to use that snippet of life someday in one of my novels.

Anyway, couple of years ago I happened to notice a UPS calendar in a friend’s office. It was June 2014 and the quote was a Chinese proverb about an invisible red thread that connects those who are destined to meet. That quote gave me the fuel to keep my novel moving. 

Here is an excerpt from my novel that grew from that proverb.

…No answer from Otto prompted Hazel to take a red marker and small pad of paper from her backpack. She always carried something to doodle on- inspiration for a new tattoo design could hit at any time. Also, drawing helped her relax. She closed her eyes and started to draw. She started making zigzags across the page. After a bit her hand took control and she relaxed a little more. She only used the red marker, and never picked it up off the page. She drew and drew. Finally, she slept.

My idea of Hazel's doodle.

When she awoke, and as the fog of sleep lifted, she realized that Otto was frowning at the notepad still in her hand. She looked at it to see why. At first glance the page looked like a red scribble, like an angry knot of red yarn. But when she looked into the white negative space of the red doodle, the shape of the state of Alaska appeared. Attached by a crimson line across the paper, floating in the white space of the page, was a scribbled bundle of an infant swaddled in red. It looked as if a baby, floating in a vacuum, was tethered to Alaska.

“Well, this is interesting,” Otto said. “What’s it all about, Hazel?”

“I couldn’t relax. I tried to talk to you, but you fell asleep, so I had to do something,” Hazel explained. “Drawing always makes me feel better. I fell asleep while I was doodling.”

“It looks like Alaska…” Otto said.

“…with a baby tied to it,” Hazel finished in a whisper.

“Weird.”

They looked at it a moment longer then Hazel closed her notepad and stowed it as they prepared to land at the Fairbanks International Airport…

Then, this weekend I went to a library used book sale and found a book that kind of shocked me. The title is The Red Thread and it’s by Ann Hood. This book was written six years ago in 2010.

The blurb on the inside cover says it’s about a lady who opens an adoption agency that finds homes for Chinese baby girls in American homes. My book, without giving a spoiler, touches on this subject as well. I hope this story is not my story!!  

After I read The Red Thread, I’ll write a review for it.

I also looked on line and found that the “red thread idea  is somewhat synonymous with adoption. It's strange that I was drawn to that quote,  along with having never heard it before, adapted it to that very concept in my book.

Life is always full of 

surprises.

Until next time,

Be Good to Yourself.

~Nadine

Craft Club

I have a group of friends that I do crafts with. We call our get-togethers Craft Club.

My friend Karen is the mastermind and creative guru for the rest of us girls. (She even has her own craft-room! It’s like a Man Cave only better.) We do what she says and our crafts usually turn out pretty nice.  I didn’t think I would like doing crafts and I was skeptical of my creative abilities, but this group of girls makes it fun. We eat. We drink. We laugh. We encourage.

Some of my projects have turned out better than others. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised in what I’ve created.  The Hearts-on-a-Stick craft involved a lot of hand sewing. I found that I really enjoy sewing and have now taken up 

quilting.

Below is a little photo gallery of some of our crafts over the past couple of years.

Halloween Door Hanging

Christmas Painting

Hearts-on-a-Stick sewing craft

Fourth of July Wreath

So, this week I ventured out on my own in the crafting department. I found a door “wreath” on Pinterest that I liked and thought I could probably pull it off. I’m happy with the outcome. I think my Craft Club girls will be impressed too!

$3.98 Walmart Spray

$2.99 particle board
(not real wood) letter R

$5.00 picture from Goodwill.
I only needed the frame so I
removed the picture and glass.

          

Sandpaper, paint, and super glue.
TA-DAA!

Inviting front door on a budget.

My Pinterest inspiration.
My Pin-spiration!

I would love to see and hear about any craft projects ---or really any project--- that you’ve had fun with or learned from.

Until next time,

Be Good to Yourself,

~Nadine

My First 5K

All the medals!

This past Saturday I participated in my very first 5K Run Walk.

Like many 5K’s this one had a cause that it supported. There are Run Walk 5K’s for any matter of diseases – and this one wasn’t any different. Well, maybe it was different. You see, most diseases are of physiological and biological origins. The disease I walked for is not. I walked for awareness of sociological disease. A problem in our society. (And there are many, but that’s another story for another day.)

A closer look.

I participated in the inaugural Iowa event of the OfficerDown 5K. This 5K’s purpose was to celebrate and support officers who put their lives on the line daily to keep our communities save and to honor those who have fallen in the line of duty.

This cause is near and dear to my heart because my beautiful son is a police officer. It is not a profession I would have chosen for him, but it’s also not a surprise to me that he was called to this duty. My son, since he was a very little boy, had (and has) a strong sense of right and wrong. Not that he didn’t get in trouble like any kid does, because he did, but that he could see injustices and wrongs at a very early age.  And he was always perplexed by them. He would ask: Why do they do that? Why did that happen?

He is proud of his work and I am proud of him.

I want people to understand. There are good and bad folks in every profession. But a profession in and of itself is not evil. I want people to understand this.

I pray for my son’s safety every night. I wake up in the night and pray for him.

Nate and 2 of his Tutu-wearing nieces enjoy the fun run!

It's a family event.
Nate's wife (in the middle with him) and her family,
along with ours.

Papa  (Nate's dad) and Adalyn (niece) at the starting line.

Nate's brother in law Phil came in third
in the men's division.
And Nate's sister Erin ran with 2 kiddos in her jogging stroller!

Youngest niece, Willow, enjoys the stroller ride!

According to Officer Down Memorial Page, 99 officers have been killed in the line of duty this year between January 2016 and October 2016.  Forty-four killed by gunshot.

Just this past week, three officers were shot and killed in the USA.  

From the Officer Down Memorial Page:

“Police Officer Blake Snyder was shot and killed while responding to a disturbance on the 10700 block of Arno Drive in Green Park, Missouri, shortly after 5:00 am.
He and another officer had arrived at the scene and were met with gunfire immediately as they exited their patrol cars. Officer Snyder was shot at point blank and killed instantly. The second officer was able to return fire and wounded the subject.”

“Police Officer Lesley Zerebny and Police Officer Gil Vega were shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance call in the 2700 block of Cypress Road shortly after noon. A family member from the home had gone to a neighbor's house and and stated that his son was armed and wanted to shoot police officers. Responding officers, including Officer Vega and Officer Zerebny, arrived at the scene several minutes later. The man inside the home opened fire on them as they approached the front door, killing Officer Vega and Officer Zerebny and wounding a third officer.”

“Officer Zerebny had served with the Palm Springs Police Department for 18 months. She was survived by her husband, who also serves in law enforcement, and 4-month-old child.

Officer Zerebny was scheduled to retire only two months after his murder. He was working an overtime shift on the day he was murdered. He is survived by his wife and eight children.

Officer Snyder had served with the St. Louis County Police Department for four years. He is survived by his wife and 2-year-old son.”

The 5K was a great success. It was comforting to be in the company of people who understand what it’s like to have a family member in law enforcement. It’s the only job (other than a soldiers') who, when gunfire erupts, they run toward it. Holy cow and Dear Lord.

Until next time,

Be Good to Yourself and Back the Blue.

~Nadine

THE Vows

Wedding vows are what I'm talking about.

In this past month, we've had three weddings to attend. Weddings are fun. They're all about celebration and anticipation. They're all about making commitments and renewing commitments.

...for better, for worse. In sickness and health, until death do us part...

We, who are married, have said these grave yet sincere words with lightness in our hearts. Of course we mean them, but at that moment we can't fully grasp the concept of their seriousness. 

It's probably part of God's grand design.

This weekend, I was graced with the opportunity to witness these very vows in action. Friends from back in the Glory Days of our youth, softball leagues, and newly married life are fighting cancer. It's a family battle, to be sure.

Cancer is a mean MotherFu%#@r.  A group of three couples from the Glory Days went to visit this couple at their home near the beach. Of the eight of us, you would be hard pressed to tell which one of us is sick. Our friend looks fit and strong.

But he's not. There is no drug or treatment to help him. Their family is living on borrowed time. I just can't imagine it.

I find myself fighting the urge to ask God how and why this happens to good people. I know I can't, because the answer is not for me to know. Not yet anyway.

I try to only look at the graces, the positives of this situation, that have come to this couple in their time of need. There are many. People of their community have reached out to support them. I am grateful for that, since they live so far from family and old friends.

I am grateful for my friends' strong commitment in each other. I am grateful for my friend's beautiful sense of humor.
I am grateful for my ability to travel to visit people and places. I never take that for granted.
I am grateful for my health. I never take that for granted either.
I am grateful that I have the ability to work.
I am grateful for my family and friends.

I send my love to Surfer Girl and Softball Guy.

Until next time,
Be Good to Yourself and your spouse.

~Nadine