My Wife Knows Everything My Wife Doesn't Know

Watch the entire video....... this was not staged.

Jack Rackham & The Black Raven Mutiny

(Photo from brochure - the rest are Deb's)

Aye 'tis no secret to ye landlubbers followin' this blog that me grandson Jack is the descendant o' that notorious scallywag Calico Jack Rackham. Alas, we celebrated the good fortune of 'is seventh birthday makin' due course through the Matanzas beyon' the Castillo de San Marcos amongst a hearty band of thieves and cutthroats aboard the galleon known as The Black Raven. 'Twas a seagoin' 

adventure worth every dubloon in me pocket, make no doubt o' that.

                              

As man o' the hour young Jack's first duty was to hoist the colors, assisted by that rogue William Mayhem

                              

Alas, underway were we on the high seas when Captain Scary Larry donned 'is swimmies n' snorkel an' threatened to abandon ship.

                            

All were in mortal danger with such o' madman at the helm so Jack an' Mayhem conspired and rallied the crew to mutiny an' save the ship from certain peril.

                             

Aye, as the battle raged Jack took the wheel and guided the seventy-two foot ship through the murky swells.

                            

The grateful crew, Mayhem, Kathy McCarthy & Magpie Maggie elected Jack as their new captain and lowered the treasure stowed upon yonder yardarm.

                             

Singing "Here's to ourselves, and hold yer luff, plenty o' prizes an' plenty o' duff" they presented the gifts.

                               

The voyage and the pillaging ended an' Captain Jack made haste to the tavern for a wee dram o' rum..... (Okay, no rum, it was a pineapple and coconut concoction. Just play along here.)

                            

And told stories of pirates and treasure to 'is old matey JaxPop......

Hi 5

HI

Ignore the picture stolen from the internet (& that man behind the curtain) - this is not really my hand. First clue would be the long sleeve. South Florida is one hot, steamy place. Blech! Didn't miss it.  

Drowning after a week's vacation & playing catch up on everything. While "off" they had tons of rain in Miami (see last post) so job progress went down the drain, so to speak, which makes me even more nuts.

Planned to post some pics from last week - but they're not downloaded to this computer &, since Deb stayed in St Augustine (*sniff*) this week with all 1800 photos will have wait 'til SHE returns to the dreaded condo in Ft Lauderdale. Deb hates it here. Have managed some editing & resumed work on cover art for RECKLESS, so I'm stoked about that.  

Bought a Kindle a few weeks ago. Was iffy about it, but I got a good deal. Turns out to be a pretty cool toy. It's (too) easy to buy books & it's comfortable to use - even at red lights. First book I read on the thing was NO MERCY by John Gilstrap. He's an author that blogs on "The Kill Zone" (link on my page) & he's really good. Here's the deal - No Mercy was a freebie offered when his new book HOSTAGE ZERO was launched last week. I suppose lots of folks took the free book & moved on with their lives but I figured, I'll give the guy a shot & buy the new release. Hard to go wrong on a 2 for 1 deal. Well, he's got a new fan & I gotta quit clickin' "buy" buttons. 

So whaddya think about ebooks? Good for authors? Bad for publishers? Here today - gone tomorrow?

Wonder if they'll ever make a waterproof Kindle. I'd buy that.

The Railroaded Writer

Deb says I need to post more frequently. She's right, but spare time comes at a premium & stress levels are off the chart. My day job (as you will see below) tends to keep me buried, & mentally exhausted. Being away from home doesn't do much to help the creative flow either. Writing is sporadic at best. Mickey Muse stayed home in St. Augustine for this latest excursion, far away from the South Florida sauna. We're living in a condo in Ft Lauderdale - working in Miami. Here are some pictures of what's got me bogged down - a ridiculously paced $30M railroad construction project that has to be finished in about six months, before liquidated damages (fancy words for fine) of $7000 per day kick in. No pressure. A walk in the park.

As a 16 year-old I remember telling my teacher that geometry was a useless subject. It was the first of many assumptions that turned out to be wrong. Above is a sampling of track geometry. (Click on it & do the math for me.) Track work ain't my favorite. Can you guess what happens to a train if the track layout is wrong? Again, no pressure.

A typical boring day.....

Working in the middle of an active train yard - forming foundation walls - very close to live tracks.

I get to deal with the best of 2 hardcore worlds Railroaders mixed with Construction Workers, all trying to out badass each other.

Pumping concrete beneath the water inside coffer dams

Sometimes we use divers, like this poor shlub. (Should be me, hiding from the Amtrak Reps.)

These guys get to go into the pit (there are 4) after we've pumped 500,000 gallons of ground water - per day. The equipment is being lowered with a crane. It's not a hovercraft with a bucket.

And while all of the concrete & pit work progresses - we're 'flying' steel.

So writing & blogging have taken a back seat for a while. Cut me some slack! I've been railroaded! 

Eye Was Just Thinkin'...

Eye get annoyed reading some blogs or listening to someone speak when every sentence starts with the word eye. (Disclaimer: This excludes my favorites - you know who you are!) Eye mean, there are times, when sharing something about your personal life, when it is absolutely necessary to use THAT word. No problem as long as the topic isn't ALWAYS focused on self. It's also okay if you're discussing an opinion & in reply say "eye agree" or "eye disagree". The worst IMHO is the self appointed expert who pompously beats everyone over the head with "eye recommend" - over & over (unless it's an informational / teaching / mentoring blog). Maybe pose the recommendation(s) as a question - "Have you ever tried ____?" Hellooooooo engage the reader / listener. One-sided dialogue sucks!

How 'bout that person determined to make an impression with - eye bought, eye own, eye have, eye like, eye am so popular eye can't get enough of myself. Eye get so many wonderful emails from my throng of fans. Eye get so many checks in the mail. Eye had such a tough day with the Bentley being in the shop & the maid calling in sick. (Hint: This is what's known as bragging. It's boring - not impressive, enlightening or entertaining.) Want to mention a cool review or terrific news - GREAT - but don't take it to nauseating lengths. Just kinda makes everyone's EYES glaze over anyway.

Eye also despise when folks jump into a discussion on a specific blog / chat / conversation topic & try hijacking it to shamelessly promote themselves & their work, without at least a disguised attempt at providing topic-related input. Eye think that's rude. It's okay to say "eye tried it this way" or "eye had some success with _____ "  or "eye had something similar happen to me" if it pertains to the subject .... but then ... zip it.

Eye don't know. Eye guess eye have little tolerance for the self absorbed.

"See" y'all. Eye gotta go now.

I Got Nothin'

I'm in the middle of a very intense out of town project for a huge railroad client & my writing life currently  resembles a train wreck. Seriously - I got nothin'.... & it's frustrating as ______ . Can't even edit.

RECKLESS hasn't been touched since February, though we're going through cover art drafts (now up to version number 6). The blog has been nearly abandoned. A few straggling comments here & there on FaceBook is about all I've managed. Another oddity - I usually read a couple of books per week, but I've been slogging through the same book for about a month. Finally reached the Epilogue today.

Well, no sense wasting time whining. Hopefully, my brain will re-engage soon. Maybe this post will be the first step in igniting the spark, the light at the end of the tunnel. Hmmmm.... On 2nd thought, that light's probably another train headed my way. 

The Storyteller (An Old Re-Run)

This is a slightly modified version of an old post. If you read this one already - you can click to another blog.

My youngest son was born a few weeks before my grandfather passed away. My grandson Jack was born a few weeks before my dad died. Strange how history repeats. I hope my grandson waits a loooonnnnggg time to have kids. So here I am - JaxPop posting something about 'Dave's Pop'. (Dave would be me. What... you thought JaxPop was my real name???)

The picture at the top of this post truly represents the beginning of my love for stories. It's an old watercolor from 1898 in a battered frame. Yeah, I was just a wee lad when this was painted. This picture hangs in a large closet in the master bedroom sitting room - where many of my books are shelved. As much as I love this old painting, it ain't makin' it to the hallowed walls to mix with Debs 'tropicasual' decor. It was given to me in 1980, just after 'Pop' was buried.

When I was a kid, I stayed at my grandparent's house at least one weekend every month & this picture hung in his room (next to a cut out Santa that I 'colored' when I was about 3 - Sentimental old codger he was).

'Pop' was from a large family - 15 kids altogether & I think he was number 10 out of the brood. School wasn't a big priority in those days so, at the tender age of 9, he went to work, in the coal mines, to help pay the bills &, I guess, to make it easier for great grandpa & grandma to continue adding to the population of the Pennsylvania Dutch community. The point is, even without the education, he was a magnificent storyteller.

It became a game. Whenever I visited, I would ask what the big guy was saying to the little chubby guy. Pop had the most twinkly blue eyes & he always started his tales with a squint. (Why do I remember that?) I was never disappointed. His stories would go on for nearly an hour, & I never budged an inch. He loved it when I would hit him with questions 'cause he could keep elaborating. In the end, I suppose, I've decided that the tall guy in the picture was & would forever be 'the boss'.

When my boys were young, I made up stories to tell them. They're all grown now and, since my grandkids live so far away, there was only one way to continue the tradition, I started writing. A key chapter in BAD LATITUDE incorporates my grandfather as a character, making him the one ultimately responsible for acquiring a certain diary & map, both integral components in my tall tale based here in St Augustine. Thanks Pop - for teaching me to tell such whoppers.

Above is a rare photo of my grandfather, without his engineer's hat. Notice the belt worn with suspenders & the missing thumb on the right hand. When I asked him how he lost that thumb he would only say it was 'cause he was just too damn slow. Not shown is his left hand - also missing a finger. Must've been REALLY slow.

Hopefully my stories will always do my Pop proud.