A long time ago I read a book called Candy by Terry Southern. The main character couldn't say no when propositioned for fear of hurting someone's feelings, leading to numerous improbable trysts. I remember it being quite funny and pretty racy for its time. I'm the bibliophile equivalent of Candy. Offer me free books and my eyes glaze, I salivate and I can't say no. While this often eats up a big chunk of my day off and clutters the library, it also adds interesting titles to the library at no charge and generates considerable revenue. In the past three months, I've scooped up 4 truckloads from other libraries while giving away two truckloads myself.
   In the process, I've listed a couple hundred on Half.com, sent 25 boxes to Betterworld Books and listed over 1000 on Bookmooch and Paperback Swap. Since I started using these two websites to give and get books, I've added close to 750 new titles to the library while sending nearly 650 all over the world. At the same time, these biblio-addictive behaviors have helped a patron almost complete her collection of V.C. Andrews and generated close to $300 for the library. It is easier to keep on than to try to stop-that's the seductiveness of addictive behavior. Anyhow I'm still having fun doing it.

   On Monday, I shot the chef. It was great fun and the neighbors were oblivious, even though they were puttering around outside. The crime involved a chef (naturally), a brush saw, a .32 lever action Winchester deer rifle, a dead log, a Rebel, a hunting vest, a forgiven library fine, a half dozen books and a stepladder. I'll reveal more later about this delightful homicide in my back yard.

   One movie line I remember frequently was spoken by Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry: "A man's gotta know his limitations." He had just outwitted another baddie, but in life, accepting limitations is a classic zen paradox.  Last week I got a lesson in exactly that. I reached a point where I realized I couldn't go through with a project I was pursuing. When I finally accepted the situation, it was as if a great weight was lifted from my shoulders and all the energy flowing into the black hole that had been that project was freed up for other things. My mood improved, the back yard got mowed (twice), trees got pruned and I got in touch with the zen paradox which I have known for years, but had temporarily forgotten: Letting go=freedom.
   Now it is time to look at accepting another limitation. Sugar is hazardous to my health. If I want to be energized and productive, I need to stay away from anything sweet. If I want to feel disgusted and listless, then I should jump into as much sugary crap as I can jam down my throat. The zen paradox of this reality: hunger=energy.

   T.A. Barron sent me an advance reading copy of Merlin's Dragon to read and review. It is by far the best book he has written to date and flows beautifully. I finished it last night and will write a review when my head sorts out all the relevant details.

  Today is Mother's Day. I got up at 5:45 and gave Beth her presents and cooked a fancy omelet with a blueberry scone on the side. She's off to church and I'm vacuuming the house before her parents come for lunch. If I can retrieve any energy from wherever it goes following a sugar binge, I'll spend a pleasant afternoon on my knees, weeding the flower garden.

    I'm practicing creative avoidance. The drizzle and just-barely-fortyish outside environment effectively limited my excursion into the world to a quick dump run that netted 4 Pepsi points and 15 cents worth of returnables on the way back. I'm staring at a major grant and an article for the Sebasticook Valley Weekly that need to be done by tomorrow. Two book reviews and my weekly column are in the rear view mirror. Somehow, doing a quick essay here helps the transition to something on my plate.
   Yesterday I took the day off and headed to Portland for the spring get together of the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts sweepers. Nancy Thayer from Mass. deserves a big thanks for all the work she put into making the day tons of fun. There were 42 in attendance and we had 107 prizes up for grabs as well as a quilt, 50/50 and two basket raffles. In addition, there were prizes for trivia, sweeps poetry (I won 3rd prize) and sweeps bingo which I ran. There was a better than nothing swap, stamp, envelope, postcard stamp and postcard raffles and an envelope decorating contest. In the middle of everything, one of the Massachusetts sweepers got a phone call informing her of a $5000 savings bond win. There were 19 members of the Maine Sweepers present, including Pam who flew in from Missouri. There was also a table where prizes could be bought, sold or traded. I took my last NASCAR collectible and sold it to Pam who promptly swapped it with Rhonda for the quilt she won in the Mesweepers raffle. I used the $ to buy a new skateboard to give away as a prize during the summer reading program at the library. Nancy Thayer gave me a box of books and videos for the library as well and I won a Bosch Automotive clock that will be yet another summer reading prize. Pam and Rhonda also gave me several new music CDs to use as prizes. I stopped at Borders before heading home and used a gift card I won last month to get three more DVDs for the library collection. I'm afraid I'm not going to be terribly helpful when it comes to stimulating the economy because I have pretty much everything I need or want right now, so shopping doesn't excite me much. I came home with several hundred envelopes to use in my quest to win more stuff. 
   Among the prizes were 15 gift bags from the Bee Movie. Valerie won one and gave me the bee deely-boppers which I wore most of the afternoon. I'm going to wear them to work on Monday in preparation for getting costumed-up for a 4-H mystery potluck supper next Friday where everyone is encouraged to come in costume. Link to photos of the day follows.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23492841@N03/ 

    I'm posting the following sign on the library door today:  CAUTION, the librarian ran out of patience at 3 P.M. on Thursday. A new supply has been ordered, but won't arrive until Tuesday. Please plan accordingly.
   It's my own fault, I suppose. Wall-to-wall kids in the library every afternoon. Some change from when I arrived 2 years ago and had stretches of 2-3 hours with nobody there. Small wonder I don't get as much done these days. I was dour and smoking from my ears by the time Beth came in to water the plants at 5:45. Anyhow, I told her over supper, let me be and I'll be fine. That's an important part of our relationship-respecting what works in the other for certain moods. I do fine getting out of ugly spaces by having time alone to let my head slow and process stuff. Invariably, my sense of humor returns and I mellow out, but I can't do that with someone around me. That's what's so great about fishing or gardening-the beautiful solitude of outside.
   Anyhow, I needed to get things ready for the big sweepstakers get-together in Portland tomorrow. I'm doing sweeps bingo like I did when we hosted the 3rd New England Sweepstaking Convention a few years back. After fiddly-futzing around with creating label templates for an hour, i decided to see if I could find a bingo card template. Bless educators! They eventually create everything, including a word bingo sheet that can take 25 terms and randomize card after card, so I'm all set. This morning, I got ambitious again-won a Dr. Pepper Indiana Jones t-shirt and then adapted Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by a Snowy Woods" to a sweepstaking version to read as my entry in tomorrow's poetry contest. It should be a marvelous time.
   Unfortunately, somewhere in this upcoming weekend, I need to finish the Maine Historical Society grant and review 3 books. Oh, did I mention the lawn is growing while I watch from the kitchen window and I can hear individual blades of grass laughing gleefully. BUT, as Chlorinda would say, "Dahling, come dance with me. The weekend ain't here yet."

   Josiah and Gilraen keep glaring at me from the back of my head. "Have you abandoned us on the back of this wyvern?" they wail, "Condemned to hover over Coughlin's Burrows while you nincyfonk about with lesser writing projects?"
   I hear their anguish and cringe. They are absolutely right. I have abandoned them temporarily, an act that my writing group would find inexcusable. My dilemma stems from having too many delicacies on my literary and life tables. There's something terribly decadent and satisfying about writing short pieces. "There," I think, leaning back and admiring 500 or so words. "That's perfect and so done." I love the magic of my books and can see scenes from each of them as clearly as the day I first wrote them, but slogging through 110,000 words to get that "There, it's done" feeling isn't as addicting as it was in the beginning. I suppose it would be different if they were in print. Nevertheless, I like my now and that's what really counts.
   If I look at what's in my accomplishment pile and what's in front of me, the net result is very impressive. One grant done last weekend and another, far bigger one in process to be completed this weekend. The complete bibliographic records of Shaw Public Library on my thumb drive awaiting processing so I can load them in the statewide database, nearly $500 worth of prizes already accumulated for the summer reading program, T.A. Barron's ARC of Merlin's Dragon to read and review, Frank Vencil's new mystery manuscript Dead Letters to read and review. The cover photo competition for Level Best to design and shoot, an article and column for next week's Sebasticook Valley Weekly to write. Heck, that doesn't even touch the sweepstakes get together in Portland on Saturday for which I need to have Sweepstakes Bingo for  and another load of books to retrieve ar KVCC on Monday. Did I mention the fallen tree on the lawn that will need mowing this weekend?
   Sorry Josiah and Gilraen. I hear your pain. I'll get you to a meeting with Terralof Vinetrainer and another with Clymer the Smith soon, but you have more patience than grant deadlines and growing grass. That's probably why I have far greater fondness for both of you.

    I realized this morning I must retire in the spring. While I have no current plans, it seems like the most logical time to do so. This hit me when I awoke after a full 8 1/2 hours of sleep to stiff muscles and blistered hands-the result of yard work yesterday. We have been rewarded for our onorous winter by having a spring where snow melted gracefully and the relatively unfrozen earth absorbed it nicely. As a result, we have the most awesome display of daffodils in our flower garden, the lawn is almost ready for mowing and rhubarb is shooting up with great vigor. On Friday a gust of wind toppled a rotting poplar at the edge of the lawn. I hauled two loads to the dump yesterday and raked up another. I still have the logs to dispose of. In addition, I changed the oil in my riding mower and put in fresh gas. The battery is down cellar getting charged up. While these activities are pleasing to the eye, the resulting burst of endorphins wreak havoc after dark. Both Beth and I sat in front of computers with silly grins and minimal brain activity. The time I had planned to use for writing slid into ebay browsing, ripping music and entering sweepstakes, leaving all my grand thoughts bumping up against one another. But I slept like a log. All of this was revolving in my head as I helped Beth find her shirt and prepared my coffee this morning. As a result, I decided retiring is best left to springtime so there will be plenty of time for both writing and rogue endorphins.

   I submitted two stories for the Level Best Books competition this year; a revamped version of Summer Romance and a shorter story called Just Passing Through. Both are ghost stories set in Maine. The other day Level Best announced they were having a contest for the best picture to go on the cover of this year's book which will be called Deadfall. I have a dandy concept and have enlisted the aid of my friend Terry. Once the competition closes, I'll share more specific details.

   Last week was school vacation week. In addition to running programs on making soap and cheese and spinning wool into yarn, we were jammed with kids every day; many to use the computers, but others were drawn to the library by the possibilities it offers to them. A library is one place where kids aren't under any expectations like school nor do they need money like a store. I had great fun with two sisters ages 7 and 8 who got their first library cards. They were incredibly polite and always prefaced a question by saying softly, "Can I ask a question?" When they learned they could take out anything in the library, they tested the validity of that assurance by checking out a little bit of everything from audios to medical reference and adult fiction. They brought their items back the following day. I doubt they read much of what they borrowed and it really isn't important. What was important was that they learned a library is a place where they have a special freedom and are treated as unique individuals who can have their needs and interests addressed in the same manner as adults.

   After surviving income tax preparation (35 forms between state and federal), I heaved a sigh of relief and dropped them in Monday's mail. The labyrinthine adventure known as TurboTax is almost like reading a kinky adventure novel because I never quite know whose gonna win; me or them. Anyhow, after sending them off, I headed north, through Athens and Cornville, Harmony and Guilford before turning west and heading through Abbott and Monson to Greenville. While we have bare ground here, there's very little of that upcountry. Snow banks in Greenville are still 3 feet high and despite all the 'danger, frequent moose  collisions next X miles' signs, all I saw was one lonely pair of Canadian Geese. Still, it was a perfect day to go into Maine mountain country. Visibility was limitless, the sun was bright and the mountains still sported their pristine coats of snow.
  I couldn't help wondering how the emotional climate was in the many remote and destitute dwellings I passed. Poverty isn't limited to specific areas in Maine. It and despair line many of the main roads in this state. Still, I saw plenty of semis going and coming carrying loads of logs destined for everything from paper to pellets. I couldn't help wondering if there wasn't a more economical way to transport the raw materials, especially when seeing loaded trucks pass in opposite directions. Couldn't the southbound driver deliver where the northbound guy was headed and save a bunch of $$ since diesel is hovering around $4.25 a gallon?
  Once I reached Greenville, it was a snap to find the Shaw Library. I told Karen Chandler a while back that I'd help them get up and running in Solar even though my consulting contract has expired. In the process of taking a snapshot of their records and teaching them how to catalog in Millennium, I discovered I had a spiritual kinship with the lady who does the cataloging and that the fellow who maintains their computers graduated from high school with my cousin John Ray who I haven't seen in 40-some years. It really is a small world up here in our big state.
  Yesterday, I managed to get all my books for Half.com and Bookmooch reorganized in author order downstairs at the library. If the folks who took half my free books on Saturday return for the rest this week, I'll have space and sanity back in my professional life.
  Tomorrow, my sister Kate comes to do a program at the Somerset Valley Middle School on how mystery writing and science work together to make a writer's work believable. I'll be taking pictures and writing an article for the local newspaper. It should be a fun day.

   I have a friend who is fond of saying "my mind is a dangerous neighborhood, I shouldn't go there alone." There are times whan this is totally true for me. The other night my sister Kate sent me her promotion idea for her next Thea Kozak book, due out in June. I have copied it below so you can see what got me excited. I thought it was a boffo idea and immediately posted it on the Maine Library listserv, the MHLIB listserv (I'm list owner) and on rec.arts.mystery. Then, I went back and re-read what she had prefaced it with; namely that it was an idea in development. OOPS, I thought, I jumped the gun, she's gonna be mad. I spent most of my semi-sleeping hours that night worrying about her reaction. What was it? she was cool with the whole thing and plenty of copies were pre-ordered on Amazon.com. 
   The past week has been an interesting roller-coaster ride, mostly a good one. On Monday, I spent much of the day ay Kennebec Valley Community College, loading discarded books into my truck. After they offer their weed list to the Maine library community, I get everything nobody wants. It is a classic case of one person's trash is another's treasure. They weed items that are outdated or have low or zero circulation. I cart them back to the Hartland library and as time permits, I price them online. Many are rather valuable on Half.com, so I list them there and store them in author order downstairs. Others go on Bookmooch or are boxed and sent to Betterworld Books where they sell and I get 15%. I make about $200 a month for the library and save a lot of stuff from going to the landfill.
   On Tuesday, my friend Jon Forest announced he had taken a job as systems librarian in Klackamas County, OR. I had been one of his refrerences, so I pretty much knew it was coming. Since Jon is on of two who support and maintain the Millennium systems here in Maine, that creates a big support gap. Unfortunately, there isn't much leadership or vision at the top in the Maine library community, so things are likely to stumble along without adequate help for quite some time.
   Yesterday, I was all over the place: Ripped because kids are stealing DVDs again, pleased because I was able to figure out a way for a Chinese immigrant to get documents (through my email) from her brother in Mississippi and print them for a hearing in CT. today and excited because I won one of the daily trip prizes from Pepsi and we're going to Jacksonville, FL this fall to see a Jaguars home game.
 
This week my seventh Thea Kozak, Stalking Death, became available for preorder on Amazon. The book is scheduled to be published in June.

This book has had a long and ragged journey to publication. It first sat on my editor's desk at Forge for an entire year while she wouldn't make up her mind whether to buy it or not. Then it sat with an agent for another year while he gave it a desultory shop and then told me to give up on the series.

In the end, because I wasn't ready to see Thea die, I sold it myself, without an agent, to a small press, Jim Huang's Crum Creek Press. Since then, because it is a small press, the book has been postponed so many times I had nearly given up hope. But now, at last, it is at the printer.

Because this book comes from a small press, there isn't likely to be much energy behind the book besides my own, and I would love to see it read. It's a good book that takes Thea to the campus of a small, prestigious New England boarding school where a minority scholarship student claims she is being stalked by the grandson of the school's largest donor. The administration doesn't believe her, and when she decides to take things into her own hands to stop the stalker, her stalker ends up dead and her brother in jail for murder.

The Journey of a Thousand Books is the goal I have set for myself of selling a thousand copies of this book. The preorder price on Amazon is great. The book is good, and you have a chance to win exciting prizes.

I am hoping that everyone who orders it will send me a picture of themselves with the book when it arrives, which I will post on my website as part of the book's journey. I'll take names, and whenever a benchmark is reached (first 100, 250, 500, etc.) I'll draw a name and award a prize.

This may be 21st century marketing. This may be a lot of craziness and more of the stuff we authors get into because we believe in our books. But mostly, this is a sentimental journey by an author who doesn't want her character to die without a fight. And you can join me.

Book cover and sample chapters are at: www.kateflora.com

 Here is a perfect example of the longevity of the ripple effect. Two months ago, I hauled 12 boxes of old books  to Lippincott Books in Bangor. Bill bought $1225 worth and the rest went to other dealers. In addition to the money, I gained much-needed space to extend the VHS video collection as well as a place to keep the audiobooks on CD separate. In the process, I discovered a closet full of archival material. I hadn't had time to get back to evaluate what was there yet.
  This week I got an email from another librarian in graduate school who was writing a research paper on libraries whose holdings included the works of Mark Twain during his lifetime (through 1910). Since Hartland Library started in 1903, she contacted me to see if we had any information on holdings going back that far.  In the closet were the original accession books (formal record books used to document library holdings before the advent of automated circulation systems). I was able to check all holdings between 1903 and 1910 and give her the dates, accession #s, titles, donors and publication data on books by Mark Twain. If I hadn't tossed the pebble of weeding and selling the old books into the cosmic pool, I wouldn't have been able to help her with this research. In addition, I now know a lot more about the origins of the Hartland Public Library.
  Yesterday I got my new issue of Maximum PC which is one magazine I read from cover to cover every month. There was a section on killer apps--super cool computer programs for geeks. One that searches internet radio and rips MP3s from streaming audio caught my eye. I bought it, downloaded it and installed it around 9 last night. An hour later, I had ripped 15 new songs, mostly really bouncy techno-trance stuff directly from the airwaves; a slightly more self-gratifying example of ripples, but a fun one nonetheless.

   Last weekend, I got my comeuppance after playing an April Fool's joke. We have been having a woman paint the library on Mondays when we're closed, an arrangement that has worked rather well. In February, she went to Florida for a couple weeks and just before returning, came down with walking pneumonia. I remember vividly how painful this can be, having had it when I was 19. Anyhow, it slowed the painting process. The week before Easter, she painted the remaining ceilings and we agreed she would paint the reading room and main stack room walls last Monday. This necessitated my coming in on Sunday to empty numerous shelves around the walls and put the books in order between the stacks before removing the book cases themselves to allow her room to work. Four hours later, I had the big room readied, but was feeling dizzy, so I called her to let her know I wouldn't be able to finish the reading room.
  There was a long pause before she said "Oh dear, I meant to call you. My pneumonia came back and I can't do any painting for at least two more weeks."
  Well, what could I do but take a deep breath and give out a rueful laugh. It was one of those situations where it's really nobody's fault and you just have to roll with it. 
  On Monday, I was committed to being part of the Automate Me conference at the Augusta Civic Center, so putting everything back was out of the question. After checking in and getting the schedule, I went to the Maine State Library to meet a friend for coffee and get a fresh supply of review books. Every month, Beth and I review new juvenile and young adult books that are sent to the Central Maine District Consultant by publishers. It's a no-brainer for us. Hardcovers are $1.00 and paperbacks are $.50 each. I get $20.00 worth every month and all are brand new. We read them and submit the reviews which are collated quarterly and returned to the publishers. It's a terrific and very cost-effective way to build the collection for younger patrons. 
  Anyhow, over coffee, I asked Felicia if she knew what bemusement meant. She wasn't exactly sure, so I told her about my weekend and said bemusement was that emotional area between Ha-Ha and Oh Shit; a landscape of feeling that is comprised of equal portions of absurdity, surrealness and humor with a little outrageous fortune tossed in for good measure.
  On Tuesday, I went in early to restore order. I've taken to leaving my shoes by the door and working in my stocking feet. I do so because my shoes are usually muddy or dripping melting snow when I arrive; I also like the freedom and comfort of padding about like an amiable tiger. Anyhow, I made a considerable dent in the chaos by opening time, even spackling the holes in the walls, vacuuming where the bookcases were and wiping down the mop boards with Pledge. When JoAnne came in at noon, she pitched in and by 4:30 everything was back to normal and we had weeded another 60 books from biography and literature.
  Wednesday, I kicked back and enjoyed a day on cruise control. Today, I got an email from Felicia about her own bemused moment-spilling her first cup of coffee all over her writing table and onto the carpet. I quote: " So I was scrambling as fast as I could to get everything off.  Meanwhile the coffee was running off the table onto the carpet.  But for some reason I didn’t care – didn’t even get upset.  I thought of what you had said to me the other day about being “bemused” and I guess it sort of stuck with me.  I just quickly removed everything off my desk and thought “oh well.” 
  It's nice when a moment that could be disastrous gets put into perspective by something someone else said about a similar experience. As I get older, I'm finding bemusement is more and more a friend in insane times, allowing me to back away, get my bearings and even think to myself "There's a story in this somewhere."
  Speaking of stories, I spent time this evening judging the creative writing entries for the annual Home School Academic Fair this Saturday. I gave each age group 2 words as prompts. I was extremely pleased at the quality of the writing. 
  And finally, kudos to my sister Kate for her nomination, but you can check out her blog for that.
http://writersplot.typepad.com/writersplot/2008/04/still-waters-ma.html#comments

 

   I made a good faith effort to stop being aware of the news. It lasted a day and then I was back reading the paper and scanning USAToday.com. I now believe that a reasonably sentient being can't avoid awareness of the cannons of despair-those booming (and not so booming) broadsides trumpeting the latest assault on optimism. Today is a perfect example. In addition to the usual shooting/meatpacking plant explosion/financial collapse/broken budget ho hummers I see daily, Mother Nature essentially said "Dammit, I want a piece of the publicity pie, too." A mega chunk of Antarctica broke up, leaving another piece the size of Connecticut about to go as well. Aroostook County (or as Mainers call it, the County) faces economic disaster by an all time snowfall record, not to mention guaranteed flooding when it all melts in who knows when (July????). Then to add insult to injury, they broke the all-time low temperature 3 times in a row -5, -24, -24. UGH!!!!!!
   Can I, or anyone maintain a sense of serenity and peace while dodging these absurdly loud cannons? Maybe. I keep thinking about the concept of ripples. No ripple I create can stop ice deteriorating in Antarctica, but one might change the life of a human being...And with that possibility, I must be content.

   I crave a weekend with no events, but seldom get one. I'm far from antisocial, but I like having an unfettered, uncluttered immediate future. However, I was able to make Easter weekend pretty productive. In addition to finishing the book for our discussion group on Tuesday, I read/reviewed two kids books as well as Michael Holley's new book on Terry Francona and the Red Sox. Then I polished my first ghost story-Summer Romance, wrote my column for the paper, did a news article for the paper and worked a bit on my book. Sandwiched in between these were the freeing of my truck from ice in the driveway, an Easter birthday and my twice-monthly writer's group last night in Dexter.
   Going to the Dexter writing group has an unexpected bonus/onus. We get there early, so Susan can set up and I wander over to Bud's Shop and Save where I invariably buy a bag of big sourdough pretzels. On my last two trips, I've not been able to go past the service desk without buying a used DVD. the first time it was Stardust, a terrific family picture our daughter, Sara, brought for us to watch. This time I grabbed two; Bee Season and another CGI dinosaur flick the kids at the library will love. I'm definitely on a movie kick for Hartland patrons. I've used 540 of my Pepsi points to get 6 movies for the collection; Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Ratatouille, both Fantastic Four movies, another Aussie film-Walkabout and an anime collection-Witch Hunter Robin. In less than a year, we have jumped from 75 to 400+ movies on DVD. 
   This afternoon, I head to the Farmington Public Library for a meeting on the grant from Maine Historical Society. If nothing else, I'll get a sense of who else in Somerset County is interested in pursuing it. Then there's the book discussion group at 7 and I'm hoping to crash early tonight. At some point, the big mound of cataloging beside my desk needs attention, but that's an easy task for a night when music and mindlessness take precedence.
 

    Yesterday, I succumbed to the urge to create an April Fool's Gotcha, something I did annually when in Boothbay Harbor. I'll say more about that after the first of the month.
   A month ago, I wrote one of my library columns about the value of thumb drives-those portable flash drives that you can carry around in your pocket. I said they were a no-brainer for storing dada because of their portability and durability. This morning, I'm lying in bed, half-asleep and dreaming about whatever while Beth is tiptoeing around the house. She comes into the bedroom, sits on the bed and starts tearing up. "I've waited two hours to tell you this," she said. "I ran your thumb drive through the wash."
   "No, big deal," say I. And it wasn't. As soon as I made sure the connector was dry, I plugged it into my computer.  All data secure and undamaged.  Try that with a floppy disk.

   My sister, Kate took time to read and edit two of my short stories. It's great to have a sibling with generosity and unique skills like this. In the same vein, I was asked if I was considering offering another creative writing class anytime soon. I had not, but got so much satisfaction from the last one I did that I might offer another one this fall, possibly expanding the age range to include adults as well.

 Teens are an interesting mix these days. Their language would lead you to believe they haven't got an ounce of common sense, but their actions (fortunately) sometimes paint a totally opposite picture. I had a bunch in the library yesterday and after hearing the F*** word or variations one too many times, I pulled out the trick that my mother used on my sister and I 45 years ago. It will be interesting to see how it works.  When Mom got fed up with our using that word, she challenged us to substitute kitchen sink or variations thereof for a week. We took the challenge. Conversations with phrases like go kitchen sink yourself, or how the kitchen sink did you do that, had us in hysterics and our teachers and friends in complete bewilderment. By the end of the experiment, the F*** word had lost most of its illicit allure and our vocabulary had taken another step forward. Whether the kids will follow through and learn anything from this, I haven't a clue. However, in my family the trend continued when my nephew Max came up with "Fudge you, anthole" when he was in high school.  I lament the lack of play by others with the English language. as a writer, I'm constantly playing with words and phrases. Possibilities are endless and impossibly intriguing. Yesterday, my neighbor called, asking for a refresher on cutting and pasting redemption codes from Coke online. He said something about a live demonstration and I asked if he had seen any dead ones recently.  After a long pause, he said, "Well, now that you mention it, no." Enjoy your day. Hopefully nobody will come along and kitchen sink it up.

   Whenever I get down, it helps to look at previous literary efforts.  I have been writing regularly for Wolf Moon Journal, since late 2004. Aside from the opportunity to expand my creative horizons, writing for Wolf Moon has allowed me to re-frame a number of events/experiences in my past as well as shed some of my self-consciousness. Having said that, I'm adding a link to back essays from the magazine which are archived on their website.  Enjoy mine as well as those of other talented Maine writers.
http://www.wolfmoonpress.com/Essays/index.htm

   I have always prided myself for staying abreast of events, whether they be local, state, national or international. I read the Bangor Daily News every morning while my coffee brews, scan the web versions of USA Today, the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Sentinel newspapers and read Newsweek cover to cover when it arrives. I have always felt my time doing so was well spent.
  However, I'm having second thoughts these days. The overwhelming focus on drear and disaster seems to be gnawing at me in ways I do not like at all and twice in the past week, I have started to question whether I get anything remotely useful from reading about endless financial misdeeds, drowned snowmobilers, re-arrested pedophiles and the latest act of mindless terrorism. I'm asking myself, does knowing any of this make me a better citizen or more able to function as a productive member of society. I'm beginning to doubt it. There was a time when television was an important part of my life. When networks began moving programs I cared about willy-nilly and neglecting to announce the changes ahead of time, I became angry, then disillusioned and finally disinterested, That was more than 12 years ago and I haven't regretted my decision. Will reading the news become like bowling and television; something I once believed integral to my life, but now just a ghost from my past?  I don't know, but the possibility becomes greater each day.

    I won one out of two battles at town meetings. St. Albans has agreed to increase support of the library to the level I wanted; Palmyra did not. This means I start charging Palmyra residents for cards beginning March 31st. I'm sure there will be some sour grapes as a result, but when a town thinks $240 is adequate support for 93 library cards, something's not right.
   Over the weekend, I scanned and edited the complete booklet that was put together for Hartland's 150th birthday celebration in 1970. On Monday, I uploaded it to Flickr and discovered I had hit the limit for a free account. Two years of unlimited photos and sets cost $49.00, so I spent the $. I figure the investment will be well worth it by the time I'm finished. On Sunday I got a call from my neighbor Hilda as I was scanning the booklet. She and the president of the historical society wanted to see what I was doing and find out more about the grant from the Maine Historical Society. I went across the street and gave them a demonstration of what I had done thus far. That was enough to get them on board and be excited about the possibility of getting one of the grants-$10,000 plus assistance for training, setting up a profile, etc. There is a meeting in Farmington on March 25th to learn more about the grant, so I hope to talk them into going with me. The immediate obstacle is getting the local school on board. Thus far, I've had little success in getting any response from them, even after several tries. If they're not interested, then we probebly won't get the grant, but I'll still go ahead with my efforts.

 Everyone's gun-shy these days where weather is concerned. With no place to put more snow, roofs caving in left and right and roads showing the effects of way too much salt and ice, who can blame people for expecting the worst out of every incoming weather front. Last weekend was no exception. Dire predictions of apocalyptic flooding, ice-covered power lines hanging low everywhere and thousands without power were the red banners scrolling across the tops of local TV web pages. Indeed, we gave serious thought to our Saturday plans. Beth and friends were meeting in Benton at an inn for Saturday brunch and we were going to see an Irish music and dance program at the Waterville Opera House that evening. When Saturday dawned calm and above freezing, We went forth with plan A. Beth to Benton and I to the library, armed with ladder and ax. After realizing even my dedication was no match for the roof pitch, I settled for hacking off the 6" of ice in various spots along the roof edge. An hour and a half later, I was toast, but there were enough spots clear along the edge so I felt the roof would survive whatever was headed our way.
  We got plenty of wind-driven rain, but most of Maine avoided ice and flooding. Parts of the County (that's how we describe Aroostook County for those from away) picked up another 14-18" of snow, but around here, the snow depth dropped another foot. Hopefully, we're about to crawl over the hump into more friendly weather patterns. I'd like to be able to plant by mid-July, thank you. 
  As for the Irish music and dance program, it was fabulous and the place was packed. The show featured three musicians; a guitarist who also played various penny whistles, a drummer and a fiddler who doubled on mandolin. There were 2 male and six female dancers. Two hours of foot-stomping, hand-clapping fun helped everyone forget the drear outside.  This was a Christmas present from daughter Sara and was a terrific one.
  I'm well into my experiment using Flickr.com as a way to expand access to Hartland's history. I have scanned and uploaded many of the postcard reproductions we had made for Fun Days 2 years ago. I added the covers and dedication photos from most of the annual reports and I'm now working on scanning pertinent sections of available Ripples, the yearbooks from the old Hartland Academy. I have about 12 hours invested thus far, but the benefit outweighs the time spent. Students have a new resource and anyone on the planet who has a connection to Hartland. Today's project will be scanning and uploading the 150th birthday publication.  If you want to check out what has been done, I have copied the link below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23799756@N07/