Who is Shayla Black?

Come back on Friday and find out ......

Today ....

Is National Alzheimer's Day

All of the facts that I'm about to give you comes from The Alzheimer's Association's website.

Did you know that there are about 3.5 million people with Alzheimer's in the United States. Can you imagine how many there are world-wide?

Did you know that the healthcare costs for people 65 years and older are tripled because of Alzheimer's and dementia related disorders?

Did you know that someone develops Alzheimer's approximately every 70 seconds?

Did you know that the seventh leading cause of death is Alzheimer's?

Did you know that more than $148 billion dollars each year are spent by Medicare, Medicaid and businesses as a direct, and indirect, result of Alzheimer's and other dementias?

Ten Signs of Alzheimer's

1. Memory Changes that disrupt daily life.

2. Challenges in planning or solving problems.

3. Difficulty in completing familiar tasks at home, at work, or at leisure.

4. Confusion with time or place.

5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships.

6. New problems with words in speaking or writing.

7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.

8. Decreased or poor judgement.

9. Withdrawal from work or social activities.

10. Changes in mood or personality.

Risk Factors

(I am going to cut and paste this directly from the site)

Age

The greatest known risk factor for Alzheimer’s is increasing age. Most individuals with the disease are 65 or older. The likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s doubles about every five years after age 65. After age 85, the risk reaches nearly 50 percent.

Family history

Another risk factor is family history. Research has shown that those who have a parent, brother or sister, or child with Alzheimer’s are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. The risk increases if more than one family member has the illness. When diseases tend to run in families, either heredity (genetics) or environmental factors or both may play a role.

Genetics (heredity)

Scientists know genes are involved in Alzheimer’s. There are two categories of genes that can play a role in determining whether a person develops a disease. Alzheimer genes have been found in both categories:

1) Risk genes increase the likelihood of developing a disease, but do not guarantee it will happen. Scientists have so far identified one Alzheimer risk gene called apolipoprotein E-e4 (APOE-e4).
APOE-e4 is one of three common forms of the APOE gene; the others are APOE-e2 and APOE-e3. APOE provides the blueprint for one of the proteins that carries cholesterol in the bloodstream.
Everyone inherits a copy of some form of APOE from each parent. Those who inherit one copy of APOE-e4 have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Those who inherit two copies have an even higher risk, but not a certainty. Scientists do not yet know how APOE-e4 raises risk. In addition to raising risk, APOE-e4 may tend to make symptoms appear at a younger age than usual.
Experts believe there may be as many as a dozen other Alzheimer risk genes in addition to APOE-e4.


2) Deterministic genes directly cause a disease, guaranteeing that anyone who inherits them will develop the disorder. Scientists have found rare genes that directly cause Alzheimer’s in only a few hundred extended families worldwide.
When Alzheimer’s disease is caused by deterministic genes, it is called “familial Alzheimer’s disease,” and many family members in multiple generations are affected. True familial Alzheimer’s accounts for less than 5 percent of cases.
Genetic tests are available for both APOE-e4 and the rare genes that directly cause Alzheimer’s. However, health professionals do not currently recommend routine genetic testing for Alzheimer’s disease. Testing for APOE-e4 is sometimes included as a part of research studies.

I know first hand the toil that Alzheimer's takes not only on the patient, but on the family. After a while the person with Alzheimer's doesn't know any more - but the family does. It's the family that has to watch what I refer to as "the death of the soul". It's the family that, at the end, bears the brunt of the last stages of the disease.

Please, if you know someone who is taking care of an Alzheimer's (or dementia) patient, offer to spell them for an hour; take meals to them; clean their house - do laundry, etc. Anything is a blessing to those taking care of loved ones. For that matter, do this for anyone that is the caregiver of anybody.

I miss you mommie

Died of Alzheimer's October 14, 2006

And so it continues .....

Mary Travers, 71, of the folk group Peter, Paul & Mary has passed away after a long battle with leukemia. Who doesn't know the song "Puff the Magic Dragon"? Their harmony can never be reproduced.









And Henry Gibson, known for his poems on the 60s series "Laugh-In", has passed away at the age of 73. He recently had a recurring role on "Boston Legal" as a judge. Mommie always knew she was in for a laugh when he would walk out on the "Laugh-In" stage, a flower in his hands, and announce "A Poem, by Henry Gibson".

Such a Loss

With all of the talk today about Kanye West and his asinine antics, a true gentleman slipped out of our lives. I tried to find my favorite scene from "Dirty Dancing", but every one of them had embedding disabled. So the only thing I can do is post the link to the clip.

Patrick Swayze at his finest - so virile, vibrant. He will be missed.

Patrick Swayze
1952 - 2009

And please don't forget the post below and vote every day. Thank you.

Could you do a favor for me?

This is my little friend Mocha. She and her mommie Jan does a lot of wonderful things for people and animals. They take treats, blankets, food and toys to animals at the shelter. They have MySpace auctions to help pay vet bills, or even to help a family get through a hard time. Earlier this year I thought I was going to have to give up my furbabies because I didn't have the money to feed them - Jan and Mocha showed up with food, toys, litter and money from the MySpace group to help me through.

Why am I telling you this? Because Mocha is in a contest and the prize is a million dollars. Here's the thing - she isn't getting a lot of votes, which I don't understand because she IS the cutest doggie. I know for a fact that they would use a lot of this money to help the animals in their local shelter, to help their friends, etc.

So if you could - it really only takes a moment - go to this site and vote for her. You have to register, but once again it doesn't take long - and it's really for a good cause and for someone that deserves it. You get to vote every day - so please do this for me.

Thank you.

I want this .....

'Nuff said ............

September 11, 2009

America's Got Talent

This is my pick for this years winner. She has an absolutely beautiful voice!!

YouTube won't let me embed the video - so I can only give you the link. Let me know what you think of her, okay?

Barbara Padilla

Casey at Bat, pt. 2

Remember - not edited!!

“You gonna sit there in the middle of the sidewalk like a damn speedbump all day?”

Nick looked up from where he had been contemplating her skinned knees. Casey stood over him, all 5’8 of her, hands fisted on hips that were a bit fuller than in youth, a frown flittering her face.

“You bit me ..”

“You laughed at me”

“Laughing did not in any way leave a mark. You have your rabbies shots?” Nick prided himself on his reflexes, but even he had to move quicker than expected to avoid the foot that shot out in his direction. Having lost what she had hoped to connect to caused Casey to overbalance again. Instinctively, he pushed to his knees and grabbed her waist to keep her from falling.

“Now now Casey, don’t want to land on that cute little butt again, do you?”

A withering glance, enough to sear his ears off, was her only response, but Nick found it interesting that she hadn’t pulled herself out of his grip. She stood there and stared down at him, hair framing her face, eyes … oh oh, Nick suddenly felt like he’d been caught in the corsairs of a snipers rifle as Casey’s eyes narrowed to slits. Slowly he pulled back, not taking his attention away from her. But slow was not the way to go this time, no a faster pace would have been much better as she reached out and latched on his ear, painfully twisting and pulling on it, tugging him up to stand.

“Shit woman.” Rubbing his ear, Nick took a couple of steps back. So did Jit for that matter. The other man still hovered however, because, you know, life was so exciting in Satchel. Nick noticed that a small crowd had begun to gather. Well, not exactly a crowd, but 10 people was a crowd by Satchel standards. If there were any such thing – standards in Satchel that is. He took special note that the town gossip, Edna Cambridge, was in the front of the group. Great, he’d just made the Satchel grapevine. Not that it mattered since as soon as he finished his business here, he was back to work, but still being the subject of gossip would not have made his mother happy. He could visualize her grave rolling now.

“You think you can just come back here, laughing, kissing and whatever and no one’s going to say anything.” Casey brushed off her shorts and looked around for her flip flop, which had landed in the gutter.

“Kissing?” Jit scratched his head and narrowed his eyes at Nick.

“What? You don’t think anybody wants to kiss me?” Nick felt a little less heat as Casey swung towards Jit.

“Hey now Casey, I, er, of course they’d want to kiss you. You’re very kissable.” Jit, ever conscious of impending work or danger, took two more steps backwards.

“You wanna kiss me Jit?”

It wasn’t often that Nick felt absolute pity for another man, but poor Jit was digging himself deeper and deeper into the shit pond.

“I, um, well … “ Jit’s face was turning a lovely tomato red as Casey towered over him. “I meant that other guys would find ya irresistible, yeah, that’s what I meant.”

“And you don’t?”

Nick was pretty sure that Wile E. Coyote felt much the same way as Jit did, as the Acme safe came down on him. Yeppers, not really a good day to die. He also noted that ol’ Edna had stepped away from the peanut gallery.

“You kissing a lot of men lately Cassandra?”

Casey jerked towards the newcomer in only what Nick could describe as a marionette gone wild, strings yanking arms and legs in staccato motions. Oh yeah, this was going to be a show.

Oh sheesh

Job interview this morning. Trying to figure out how to leave my stomach at home. So, I know I just did this a couple of days ago, but I'm too nervous to think of anything else.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures


see more Lolcats and funny pictures


see more Lolcats and funny pictures


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Did You Know?

A great writer died this weekend and you probably heard nothing about it. Maybe because he wasn't Louis L'Amour, but the Western Writers of America voted him Best Western Author of All Time. Still, not one word on the news, not an obituary alert from CNN (yes, I get obituary alerts, so sue me).



Four of his books won the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. The aforementioned Western Writers of America awarded him their Spur Award 7 times. Four of his books won the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. In 1987 he received the Barbara McCombs/Lon Tinkle Award for “continuing excellence in Texas letters” from the Texas Institute of Letters. Yes, he was born in Texas and lived here his entire life, and yet not one local news channel commented on his death.



You probably never even knew that one of his books "The Good Old Boys" was made into a TV movie starring Tommy Lee Jones.



His name? Elmer Kelton. While there are more Louis L'Amour books in our store than any other western writer, it's Kelton's books that are rare - when they come in, they go out quickly. He is in high demand.



“His contribution to literature in this state cannot be underestimated,” Judy Alter, former director of the TCU Press, said. “Elmer didn’t write the traditional western; he wrote history."



Kelton had 62 fiction and non-fiction books to his credit.



Four of his books won the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.



The German Association for the Study of the Western, based in Muenster, Germany, made him an honorary member. The association presents the Elmer Kelton Award for Literary Merit every year.



He earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He was a true Texan, and except for the years he spent overseas in WWII, his whole life was spent here.



Yes, a great writer died last weekend ....




April 29, 1926 - August 22, 2009 “One thing is certain: as long as there are writers as skillful as Elmer Kelton, Western literature will never die.”

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

I have a job interview Friday morning! I'm really nervous about it too. This is the first job interview that I've had in almost 12 years. Sooo, after getting my outfit figured out I realized that my hair wouldn't do. It was half-way down my back, straight and unmanageable. What do you do with fine Irish hair except scoop it up in a clip? I can't French braid, if I could it probably wouldn't be a problem. Bebo took me out yesterday and got me a haircut. It's a bob that stops at my shoulders, and there are bangs. It's certainly, well not really different 'cuz I've had it this short before in my life, but it does make a big difference.

So I'm ready for Friday. Maybe. If I can get my stomach to settle down.

What are you looking forward to this week?

It's Friday already? Sounds like LOLcats to me

see more Lolcats and funny pictures


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures


moar funny pictures

Casey at Bat

I've been participating in this writing game - a certain number of new words a day. Doing okay - not wonderful, but good. I'm going to share a bit - BUT it is totally unedited. I'm not stopping to fix things, not reading through to make sure that spellcheck didn't catch "saw" instead of "was", not even stopping to "fill out" spots. I'm considering this the bare bones of the story. I've already decided that I need to go back and insert 2 chapters, but that's for later. Anyway, this is a bit of what I'm doing.


Now, it wasn’t that she was overly tall, okay maybe she was; but Jit was about as tall as a toadstool, and skinny to boot. And standing there in that oversized jumpsuit, its pants and sleeves rolled up at least half a block, he looked more like a scarecrow than anything else. Yet, he was Jit, always faithful, always ready to lend a hand, especially if Casey were involved. She didn’t feel guilty worth a wit for using that hound dog loyalty to her advantage, and this month she really needed advantage.

“Jit hon, I really need that car fixed. You know I promised Maisey that trip to Dallas this weekend, and I can’t let her down.” Again. In Maisey’s short life, Casey had let her down in more ways than she wanted to think about.

“Don’t worry, Mac and me’ll get this old piece of junk ready afor Friday evenin’.”
Narrowing her eyes she looked directly into his “If you don’t sleep through it. So help me Jitty, I’ll pull out whatever hair you have left on that scrawny head if you let me down.”

“You know, didn’t your momma ever tell you that you can kill more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.”

“Yeah, and a few other aphorisms too, like you can lead a whore to culture, but you can’t make her think.”

“Aphor-what?”

“Aphorisms, little sayings. That’s my word of the week.”

Jit scratched the three hairs on his chin, his face screwed up tight. “Sounds dirty to me.”

“That’s ‘cuz you have a dirty mind Jit.”

“Hmm … say, is that Nick Trevor over there?”

Casey didn’t need him to indicate what ‘there’ was, the hairs on the back of her neck had already alerted her to the fact that her bastard of a neighbor was in the vicinity. Blatantly she turned around, just in time to see Nick slip into the hardware store, the bell on the door jangling from across the street. She hadn’t seen him since Friday, when he’d disappeared quickly over the fence into his own yard. Not that she’d been looking of course, but then again …..

Stepping into the street, she nearly tumbled forward when the sole of her flip-flops curled under her, but she continued to walk doggedly towards the store, ignoring Jit’s call behind her.

“Friday, Jit. Just have the damned thing ready by Friday.” Upon reaching the other side, she hesitated, unsure of herself for the first time in a very long time.

“Shit a duck, it’s only Nick, a man. A member of the forever doomed and avoided. Get a grip.” Still, she wished she had something else on instead of her Daisy Dukes, cropped top and flip-flops. “Excuse me? He’s a moron, a degenerate, a piece of ….”

“Cassandra Sue, you talking to yourself?” Jit’s voice, so close to the middle of her back, startled her, and this time the flimsy flip-flop gave in, tumbling her gracelessly to the cracked sidewalk. Even Jit couldn’t catch her, not that he could have handled her weight if he had, no the lame-brain stood watching helplessly as Casey landed on hands and knees just as Nick stepped out of the store.

“You all right?”

Casey stared at his knees, unwilling to look up.

“You know, at any other time, that wouldn’t be a half bad position to have you in.”

This time Casey lifted her head, the hair that had earlier been pinned up tumbling into her face, obscuring her view. But she didn’t need her eyes as she blindly crouched forward and bit him on the leg, hard.

“Dammit Casey” Nick leapt back, hand clasping his leg just below his knee, hopping on the other leg for just a second before smashing to the walk beside her. There he lay, sprawled on his back and Casey felt a bit of a smirk.

“You know honey, at any other time, that wouldn’t be a half bad position to have you in.” Jit snickered behind her and Casey couldn't help but giggle. Yeah, this could work.

But they're vintage ...

New Upcoming Authors:

(you figure them out - if you can't,just ask - and remember, on some of them, they may have the name right, just not the pronunciation - I'm spelling them like they said them)

Lori Forster
Jill Shallis (Hey, once again, at least they're asking for her!!)
Kate Quinn
Louie Laymur
Jane Pikcoat

There are no stupid questions ......

After being told that we don't have that book, and neither does our other store. Now we've suggested *shudder* our competition, 'cuz we're like that.
"Do you know if they have it?"
(Yeah, I go through their inventory every night after they close ...)

"Do you have their phone number?"
(Yep, number 0 in my speed dial)

Or, we won't take their stuff, and again have suggested that "other" store:
"How much will they give me for it?"
(How much do you want? I'll call ahead and suggest it.)


You're bringing us what?

"I have 30 boxes in the truck, where do you want me to put them?"
(at that other store ....)

"These belonged to my grandmother and she only read them once"
(Every Sunday while driving her car to church)

"I have two bags of magazines, will you take them?"
"No, we only take current magazines, unless they are .... "(names off very few exceptions)
"These are from the 70s, they're vintage."
(I'm going to shoot her ....)

My Playlist

I know, blogging on a Wednesday, what is the world coming too?

I'm actually here to ask you for a few prayers. My brother David had 2 heart attacks yesterday, and is having a cathertization (spelling?) this morning. For those of you that remember, David had quadruple bypass in 2003, so his heart is definitely a big issue.

Okay, and here is the playlist for the current WIP Casey at Bat. Normally I pick only instrumental music, and music that has never had lyrics - like the soundtrack to Lord of the Rings or something. The words tend to distract me. But this time I felt the need for actual music to set the mood.

Oh, and I've written 2,156 words since Monday. WhooHoo!!!

Ummm .... hi there

Just got home from work and realized that I'd forgotten to blog. It's funny, 'cuz I just mentioned to someone last night that I needed to think of a blog topic for tomorrow (today) .... and I literally just remembered now. Sheesh, sorry about that. So, since I'm supposed to either write 1001 new words or revise 28 pages, I need to get going. Here's a funny for you to smile at as you contemplate the fact that Bailey forgot you .... *kiss*


see more Lolcats and funny pictures



see more Lolcats and funny pictures



moar funny pictures



moar funny pictures

Imagination is a writers friend

BOOGEDY BOOGEDY BOOOOO

Bless you

Huh?

You sneezed, didn't you?

No, I was singing.

Sounded like sneezing to me. What song was that.

Well Bud, it's one that I thought up myself.

You can't do that Ernie.

I can't? Why not.

Voices have no imagination.

We don't?

Nope, Bailey imagines us, and it all comes from her mind.

Can't she imagine that I've imagined a song?

I imagine that she might be able to imagine you imagining a song, but that's really beyond all imagination.

Imagine that!

Yeah.

What if I imagined there was no heaven?

You couldn't even if you tried.

Oh, so everything we think, everything we say ... that's Bailey?

Yeppers

Poor girl

And she's even on meds.

What is she imagining now?

She's imagining that you are saying goodbye Ernie

Okay, goodbye Ernie

You betrayed me so I'm going to have your baby in a flash back

I watched this new series tonight – “Defying Gravity”, the entire 2 hours. I won’t be doing it again next week. The episode was boring (why did I sit through the entire thing???) and confusing. It kept going back and forth in back flashes – to the point where I was saying “Get on with it already!!” It reminded me of my old WIP “The Devil You Know” which was full of back flashes and made me realize just how confusing that can be. It’s a plot device that is used often, but the author must be careful to not over use it to the point that the reader says “Get on with it already”, or worse yet, just put the book down. If I hadn’t been so lazy, that’s what I would have done with this series. A back flash starting a story off, for example, can be effective. Or little snatches here and there as a character comes to turn with something, like amnesia brought on by the shock of a crime, can work too – as long as they are short snippets and kept to a small number. In this TV series the flash backs were entire scenes, or worse yet, interspersed within one scene so often that you lost track of where you were, who was who – especially with the men. The women were easy to keep track of in this back and forth storytelling as their hairstyles changed, but the men were more difficult to follow.

Anyway, that’s one plot device that can be annoying. Others that I’m not fond of?

Lovers that break up because of a misunderstanding or lack of communication and then get back together, with one seeking revenge and the other not really knowing what is going on, or endlessly apologizing, etc. etc. etc. You know what I mean. You’re sitting there reading it and going “you idiot, if you had just asked him in the first place instead of listening to the ex-girlfriend …..” Why don’t characters talk????

Secret babies. ‘Nuff said

Leaving the group of people to explore the house alone after 15 gadzillion people have been slashed to death …. Yeah, I had to throw that one in.

The ex-girl/boyfriend betrayed me so ALL men/women are the same …..

There’s more, but now it’s your turn. What plot device, whether in movies/TV/books, really annoys you?

No, you have to have the password

For those of you who only stop in every once in a while - these are the things that happen in the bookstore where I work. Yes, it's true stuff.

Up and Coming Authors and Books (I'm not giving hints this time. I have to figure them out, so do you. Some are easy.)

John London
Josephine Johnson
Tony Hilleran
Suzanne Foster
Jill Shulbis (my personal favorite - hey, at least they're looking for her.)
Carol Harris
Charles Dickers
Anne Broadrick
Judy Pickle
J.D. Roberts
The Illyard
My Angelina

Customers, we so do love them

"How much for the free stuff out on the sidewalk?" ($350 gadzillion)
"I'm looking for a book and I thought you could help me." (No I only work here)
Looking straight at the CD's on the counter "Do you sell CD's?" (Not to you - those are for the free box sale)
"Do you have the new Harry Potter movie yet?" (If we do, they're looking for us ...)
"When will you get in Bed of Roses? (My guess, when it's out and someone buys it - for the uninformed, that'll be October. For the further uninformed, it's Nora Robb, er, Roberts.)
"I'm looking for a book." (Okay, just stand there and stare at me, I'm sure your thoughts will become my thoughts ... which is scary)


Answer phone: "Paperbacks Plus in Mesquite."
"Jesse?"
"There's no one named Jesse here. This is a bookstore."
"So Jesse isn't there?"
(Yeah, she's over in the "for dummies section".)


"What do you mean I have to pay something? Did you use my store credit?"
"Yes, but store credit only covers half of your purchase. You have to pay the other half plus tax."
"It seems to me that it should cover the entire purchase."
"We have to have money to pay the bills."
"Not my problem."
(no comment, didn't find this one particularly funny - just wanted to share that I didn't hit her.)


And for the finale ...

Woman rushes through the door and up to the counter - points to the interior of the store.
"Can I go look for a book?"
(Only if you have the password)