Category: Lifestyle

Every man needs a garden
Remember when you were a kid and you took the tops of carrots and placed them in in a jar lid of water on the windowsill? Then every hour, all day long, you would run back to check; to see if the carrots had sprouted yet? Then, the next morning, as soon as you got up, you checked again? Then later that day too? Then —. Well then — it would always get a little boring. And by the end of that day you had forgotten it all?

Remember that?

Then later, about two weeks, you’d finally think about those carrots and you would run to the windowsill to find one of two things?
1. Either the carrot tops had completely dried out from neglect and stood there mocking you? Or —
2. Your mother had watered them, which meant that you had bright green sprouts of success projecting from the top?
And when that happened, you —. Well, you felt like a —. Well, like a guy who could get carrot tops to grow on a windowsill. Which, at six years old, is about as big a deal as it gets.

And that — my friends — was your very first garden.

And for some of us, that was our last one too.

There are many reasons to have a garden — and when I say garden I mean everything from a few tomato plants to an acre of produce. A garden is just something you grow on your own.

Reasons to have a garden
1. No matter where you live, you can have a garden. If you are in the middle of Manhattan or the backwoods of Tennessee, you can grow stuff. On a windowsill, a roof top, the sunny part of an alley or in the many community gardens that are set up. There is no place, no living arrangement, where you can’t grow a few things.
2. There is little skill involved. Yeah, I know, you don’t have a green thumb. And yes there is an art to gardening. But the basics are incredibly simple. You put seeds in the ground. You water them. They grow.
3. Cost savings. Just a few tomatoes or squash from the small patch of dirt by the garage saves you money that you would have to pay out. And that’s not even adding in the value of canning or freezing for the winter.
4. Pride. Yeah, it sounds hokey but there is pride involved. When you take a few zucchini to a neighbor or a basket of tomatoes into work, there is enormous pride in that. A sense of accomplishment.
5. Health. Whatever you grow in your garden you know how it was grown. You know what pesticides you put on and how much. There are no secrets. And you have the advantage of taking the food at its most peak time and going from garden to table.
April 19, 2015
REVIEW: Audio Book. Johnny Cash: The Life

Audio Book:

Johnny Cash: The Life

Written by: Robert Hilburn

Narrated by: Charles Pittard

As I’ve mentioned, I spend a great deal of time in the car — a great deal. In fact, if I sat down and calculated it, I’d say that I average about 2,000 miles a week.

My routine is simple. In the morning I get in the car. I drive. I have meetings during the day and then I drive home. That’s my life. And it’s not unusual for an average day to contain six or eight hours behind the wheel — or more.

And when I get in the car — after I return all the phone calls, send the audio emails and check on my mom at least once — what’s left is pure windshield time. And the majority of that windshield time is spent listening to audio books.

At any given time if you were to look in my car you would see three different audio books. One of them will most likely not have passed my five-minutes-test and I’ll put it in the backseat and not finish it. The second will most likely be tolerable and the third will be good to possibly great. Depending.

I just finished an audio book that was the biography of Johnny Cash. It wasn’t great.

Now, the first thing to know is that I knew very little about Johnny Cash before this book. I could name a handful of songs but I never really followed him and didn’t see any of the films made about him. So I had a clean slate going in and picked up the book to learn more about the singer.

As the book opens, we learn about Johnny’s — then called JR’s — childhood and this beginning had a great few chapters. We looked at the artist’s very early life of growing up in the hills of Arkansas and we saw his family through their struggles and hardships. I enjoyed this part — even though the narration was probably one of the worse I’ve ever heard.

See, audio books are an art form and there is so much talent in these narrators because you don’t have sound effects or music, you have one person reading the book with all the different voices, characters and accents. And a truly good narrator will allow you to forget that there is only one person reading this book and you would swear that there are a dozen or more.

This is not the case with this book.

The narrator — a gentlemen named Charles Pittard — simply reads the book. And he reads the book the same way that you would read a shopping list or instruction on putting together a chair. Drole. Dry. And flat. This is probably the second worse reading I’ve ever heard, next to Juila Roberts when she narrated The Nanny Diaries — it was a long drive and the book was loaned, not my normal choice of books — and I couldn’t get past the first few minutes. She just read it like she had one eye on the clock.

Now you could get around the narration except that most of the book is written in this flat manner as well. In fact, a few chapters in the book stops being a book and becomes more of a report. A list of all the songs Johnny Cash wrote, recorded and all the places he went. I didn’t feel like I was there, I felt like I was sitting in a Moose Halls listening to someone’s presentation on the life of Johnny Cash; while watching slides and getting to see the speakers collection of albums and concert tickets.

Not a good audio book. Don’t bother.

March 26, 2015
10 things to never buy from a dollar store

Dollar Stores are amazing — and by Dollar Store I am referring to Dollar Tree or others like it where everything costs a dollar; not any one of the discount stores where the word Dollar is simply in the name.

I frequent Dollar Tree a great deal and these are great places to get greeting cards, decorations, cheap hand tools and Millar balloons — nothing cheers someone up more than a dozen helium balloons from the dollar store.

But in my experience, I’ve discovered that there are certain things that you should never — and I mean ever — buy from the place. Here are the top ten.

10. Ear buds

How bad can they be right? They’re only a buck and if the sound isn’t that great you can just chuck them. No. First of all these things are designed for some race of ears much larger than humans have and even if you can cram them in your ear holes the sound will melt your brain. Stay away.

9. Glue sticks

A pack of four, Elmer’s glue sticks at Wal-Mart is about five bucks. A pack of four no-name glue sticks at the dollar stare are, of course, a buck. What’s not to like? Except that these are made from one of the few materials in the store that are not sticky and permanent. These don’t work so don’t waste your money.

8. Band aids

The Band-Aids at The Dollar Tree must use the same stick-technology as the glue sticks. It’s as if someone printed Google Images of band aids and put them in packs. They don’t work so skip by them.

7. Razors

Okay, we are getting in serious territory now because buying Dollar Tree razors will simply tear your face off. It will. These are dull and dangerous devices and even if you’re traveling and forgot your razor, it’s far better to walk into your meeting with a two day beard, then it is to do it while missing an ear. No.

6. Soda

I’m not even sure that Dollar Tree soda is legally soda. It’s more like Kool Aid with a very slight carbonation sound added when you open it. Horrible stuff. Buying the individual bottles of the brand name soda in the cooler up front is fine, but never get one of these three-liter horrors.

5. Knives

Dollar Tree sells many kind of knives; kitchen knives, utility knives even no name Swiss Army type knives. And the ones that are actually made from a metal — most are silver painted plastic blades — will never hold an edge and therefore are extremely dangerous. You will slice off a leg with one of these things trying to cut something, so don’t buy them.

4. Colognes/perfumes

Again we are getting in an area that is a danger to human life. The only thing worse than cologne from The Dollar Tree is the thought of the long term environmental impact if that same bottle managed to getting in the water supply. These things will set off smoke alarms. Stay far away.

3. Super Glue

Any super glue that is not made by Loctite, is just glue — my humble opinion, of course. And this stuff is barely that. It doesn’t work and don’t buy it.

2. Aluminum foil

Aluminum foil is expensive — especially if your barbecuing or using a smoker, when you’re going to need a lot of it. But there is not enough Dollar Tree aluminum foil in that entire store to do what you need to do. It’s thin, it breaks easily and it’s more like shiny paper than anything even close to aluminum foil. Don’t buy it.

1. Batteries

Right before a battery dies, as its saying goodbye to its wife and children, they unplug the monitors and wheel it into The Dollar Tree. By the time you get the battery out of the store and into your car, the trip will be enough to kill it.

March 22, 2015
How to pack a suitcase
I love the type of movie where there is a tortured soul, filled with wanderlust, who hears the call of the open road and decides to see the world. So he throws a few meager possessions in a small backpack and starts walking. He hitchhikes, he takes the bus, and he meets people along the way. Then we have scene-five. This will be after he arrives in a town — usually to help a rancher or struggling non-profit group out of a crisis — and he meets the girl. Scene-five will be their first date. You know the scene — the darkened restaurant, the candlelit tables, him in a suit and her in a dress, and as you watch, only one thought goes through your head.

Really? You packed a suit in that small backpack? C’mon.

This kid has a daypack that is half full. He carries it from New York City to Provo, Utah, and during that time he has six full changes of clothes, a suit, a raincoat, hiking boots, sneakers and during the date scene he is wearing an expensive pair of Italian loafers.

No. You did not get all of that in your twelve pound pack.

But that’s what we want. We want a bag to be light and small, yet we want it to contain a never ending supply of clothes, coats, shoes, formal wear and a few books — just in case we get bored. We want it to be our house — in a bag.

Type of travel

There are two basic types of travel packing. You are packing for weight, or you are packing for content. You can’t do both.

If you are going to be in three different locations over four days, if you are going to be carrying your bag through train stations, airports or have it on your back most of the time, then you want the bag to be the smallest and the lightest possible.

But if you are going to one location and then back, then you want your bag to contain everything you need, or will ever need, for a specific time period. You want maximum content in a limited space.

The suitcase laws

Half of everything in your bag you will use.

A quarter of everything in your bag you will not use

And a quarter of items that you end up needing — you forgot to pack.

Staging

Most of us pack this way. We open the bag and start stuffing things in. When there is no more room, we’re done packing. But by staging, we can guarantee that we get everything we need.

Spread out the bare minimum you need for the trip — the absolute least you will need. Pretend that this is all you are allowed to take and you could survive the trip if you only had that. Now pack it. When you’re done, the available space is what you have for everything else you think you’ll need.

Over packing is a common — and sometimes costly — mistake. Pack too much and your free carry-on could easily cost you a hundred dollars or more in fees. Remember, laundromats exist in hotels, resorts and in every town or city you’ll be in. You can always wash clothing while you’re away.

And remember if you’re going to be bringing things back — souvenirs, clothing, items purchased while away — you’ll need space for that.

Rules of the road

Try to bring one belt if possible — something that can be used for both casual and dress.

Try to bring two pairs of shoes — or if needed the pair of shoes your wearing, one extra pair and a pair of sandals. No more.

HOW TO PACK A SUITCASE:
1. Use the roll-up method. By taking your clothing — shirts and pants mostly — and rolling them in a tight tube, you can get the best use of space in your bag
2. Underwear. Pack one pair for everyday your away, plus one extra pair. No more.
3. Wear the same clothes on your way out, as you do on your way back in. This will save you one change of clothes.
4. Toiletries. Clean out your toilet kit before you leave — otherwise you’ll be carrying those free shampoos and conditioners you had to have from the last trip out, and then back home again. And if flying, remember the TSA regulations of liquids being 3 ounces or less — unless you are checking your bag.
5. Pack for the weather. The forecasts for your location could change a dozen times before you get there, but it doesn’t hurt to have a rough idea of what the weather will be like so you can pack accordingly.
6. Fill your shoes. Pack socks and underwear in the shoes that will be in your bag. This is wasted space so fill them up.
7. Fill the edges of your bag first. Again, this is where pockets of wasted space often hide, so fill that in first.
8. Use the outside pockets for items you’ll want to get to quickly: phone chargers, books, magazines, etc.
9. If checking a bag it’s a great idea to fill your carry on with all you’ll need to survive a few days — contact lens stuff, change of underwear, toothbrush, etc. That way if your bag gets lost you can stick with the plan while they find it and get it to you.
March 19, 2015
10 free things to do this weekend
When the kids were little — probably around age 7 and 9 — we had this Saturday tradition. I’d get them up, get them fed and dressed, and we would head out for the day; just the three of us. No girls allowed. Now, we could do anything we wanted to on those days. Anything. But there was only one rule. We couldn’t spend any money.

Now part of the reason for this was because we were a young family and were trying to be frugal — hey, just an afternoon of bowling or movies with kids will cost fifty dollars or more — but there was actually more to it. When you pay for something — especially when you pay for entertainment — it loses charm quickly. It’s less special, less personal, since it’s easily accessible and available to anyone who will pay for it. But if you have to find the things to do, to locate and get to them; there is a reward at the end.

So those Saturdays had to be free.

And today, if you asked the kids about those times — ten years later — they will tell you, in exciting detail, of all the goofy things we did. Of the battlefields we went to, of the time we took a bus tour of a landfill — which was actually pretty fun. They’ll tell you of open air concerts, of the wars we had in the woods, the street fairs and the concerts of Irish dancers. We went to museums and zoos. We toured churches and synagogues and we caught buckets and buckets of fish.

All fun. All free.

10 FREE THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND

10. Movie festival.

This may seem corny, but home movie festivals are a lot of fun — and can be as large or as an intimate as you want them to be. Break out all the DVD’s in the house and pick the top ten or so and that’s your film selection for the day — an entire guilt free Saturday of doing nothing but watching movies. If you want to open it up to family and friends, a quick post on your favorite social network showing the schedule, and you’re good to go. Or you can pull down the curtains, turn the phones off and just escape for the entire day.

9. Community Calendar.

Community calendars are amazing and much of what the kids and I used to do, came from these sources of information. On any Saturday, there are always little festivals, tours, classes and concerts. Always. And these folks are so glad to see you and to tell you about what they do.

8. Community sports

Professional and college sporting events are pretty pricey and even High School level sports will cost you a few bucks. But there are always community sports that are open to the public. Softball leagues, Little League Baseball and Pop Warner Football, are a lot of fun to watch. But what’s really interesting is to find the less mainstream sports — I just found out that in our area, there are Cricket Leagues. I’ve never been but we’ll be going this year.

7. Create a potluck open house

With a few phone calls, texts or posts, you can invite the world in for the day. Ask everyone to bring a dish to pass and break out the board games, the horseshoes, the video controllers or just sit in the backyard and catch up. People can come and go, arrive and leave, all day long.
1. 6. Learn how to juggle
Okay, hear me out on this one. On Monday morning, when your co-workers ask, “So, what did you do this weekend?” You can answer, “Oh, not much”. Or you can say, “Me? Oh I learned to juggle.” With a few tennis balls, some online videos and a couple of hours of practice, you can learn the basics of juggling — in a single day. And believe it or not, you will use this for the rest of your life.

5. Frisbee golf

Most of the Frisbee golf courses I’ve ever seen are open to the public and are inside parks. A cooler full of sandwiches, a few Frisbees and some friends, and you have another cool story to tell on Monday morning.

4. Pick up game.

With the exception of basketball, you rarely see pickup games of baseball and flag football anymore because organized sports are more the norm. But with a few phone calls you can organize a pickup softball game on Saturday. Bring a cooler and sandwiches and your all set — and if it’s a park where you can bring a charcoal grill, even better.

3. Have a yard sale.

I said you couldn’t spend any money, I didn’t say you couldn’t make any. Yard sales are actually pretty fun to host and can be quite lucrative; depending on the goods you have to sell. And it also allows you to clean out your attic or garage.

2. Habitat for Humanity

There are many organizations that don’t want your money as much as they need your time. Habitat for Humanity is a great example. On any given Saturday they have ongoing projects where they could use your help and the great thing is they don’t care if you’re a carpenter or don’t know which end of the hammer to hold. There’s something for everyone to do — and it’s a great way to learn basic construction skills.

1. A trip to nowhere

Probably the most fun I’ve had with my kids is when we would get in the car and head out with absolutely no destination or plan. Because when you do this, you’re not just focused on the destination — because you don’t have one — you’re enjoying the entire trip.
February 15, 2015
The core

I just reviewed some standard sourcing material that Guidance Counselors use for career assessment — you know, the stuff that helps students determine what majors to take in college and then what career path to pursue. There was a lot of information to go through, so I first took a few aptitude tests and then familiarized myself with learning platforms. Then I ran through personality assessments, aptitude enhancing exercises and tracking material to map my career path through online grids. I did all of that.

And? What did all of this determine that I should be doing for a living?

Well, it looks like I should be in —- Alternate Dispute Resolution.

Yup. That’s the career for me.

Now, I’m not really sure what Alternate Dispute Resolution is, but it doesn’t really matter because I love the field that I’m in and I love the job that I have — which has absolutely nothing to do with Alternate Dispute Resolution.

So what does this mean? Does it mean that the tests aren’t accurate? Does it mean that real life will lead you to where you should go?

Well sort of. But first, let me distract you with some statistics.

Recently, Monster.com did a survey which interviewed over 8,000 people in seven different countries and asked them detailed questions about their education and their careers. This is what they found.

15% of the US workers interviewed said that that they hated their jobs — this was the highest rate among the seven countries surveyed.

Who had the lowest rate of people who hated their jobs? India, with only 5%.

The highest pay per capita of all the countries surveyed? — yup, U.S. But — now this is interesting — the US had both the lowest allotted vacation time given to employees as well as the lowest vacation time actually taken. 60% of all US workers roll unused vacation time over each year, where in the Netherlands it’s only 7% and— now this is also interesting — only 8% of the employees in the Netherlands stated that they hated their jobs.

Hmmm.

Okay, question two. What percentage of college graduates end up working in their career fields?

Answer: Roughly half. About 50% of those people with college degrees end up working in their field — and 35% of those people said that they have never worked in that field. Ever.

Okay, one more. 38% of the people polled said that the need for professionals in their chosen field drastically changed by the time they graduated. So, they entered school to be a teacher because the market was good, and four years later there is an overabundance of teachers and they couldn’t find a job in their field.

Okay, so what does all of this mean? Well, one thing it means is that we have a culture that works hard, is afraid to unplug and who never really ends up in the field that they spend thousands of dollars being educated in — and then spending the next twenty years paying off. It means that following the money never works. It also means that the long term career plans — don’t really work.

So —. That’s it.

What? What do you mean —-? That’s it?

Yeah. That’s the whole point. That as simplistic as it sounds, the answer to this — and most large questions in life — is that plans are important but with the bigger aspects of life, plans are simply a direction to start moving in. There are too many variables that will determine the end result. They don’t really matter.

Only this does.

The core.

If your heart is strong. If you give more than you take. If you put the needs of those around you in front of your own and if you respect the person who looks back in the mirror — then you will go where you need to be. You will head where you need to head. You will land where the world needs you to be. Every time.

But if your core is out of balance; is self focused, bitter, jealous or simply driven by the prize itself. Then where you end up is just a location.

Always.

You can do all the math, take all the tests and use all the tools and it wont matter. If you contribute, if you think, if you create, if you love and if you believe. Then you’ll get where God wants you to be.

Work on the core and pick a direction. The rest will take care of itself.

February 12, 2015
The world’s greatest venison roast recipe — ever!

The first thing I need to mention is, I don’t hunt.

Not at all. And that’s not because I’m against hunting, I’m not. I don’t view hunting as being wrong, cruel, barbaric, in fact as long as the meat is being used I think it’s a self-sufficient and admirable thing to do.

In fact, I grew up in a little town in the Catskill Mountains called Walton, NY. and although it might be different now, in those days if Dad didn’t get a deer, it was going to be a long winter. There were many families back then that depended on wild game to supplement their food stocks and The State Police had a long list of families that would take deer killed in car accidents so the meat didn’t go to waste.

I have no problem with hunting. Never did. I just don’t hunt.

But all of us — myself included — know plenty of people that do hunt. Plenty of them. And hunters are very generous people that enjoy sharing some meat with friends and family that will use it.

Which means, that if you’re like me and don’t deer hunt, that doesn’t mean that we don’t need to be familiar with how to cook venison. Especially a venison roast. And the reason to focus on the roast is that besides being a great piece of meat, it’s not as sexy and sought after as say, the tenderloin; which everyone prizes and covets. So, many folks will have extra venison roasts in their freezer and are more than happy to share with all us non-hunters out there that enjoy it and know how to prepare it.

In fact, if you have family or friends that have never had venison and are a little apprehensive to try it — this is the recipe for you. Which is actually how I came to get it.

My mother-in-law grew up being one of those people unfamiliar with venison but her mother-in-law would cook it occasionally for Sunday dinner. This young, recently married woman did not want to insult her husband’s mother, so she tried it. And she was hooked. The meat was tender, moist and tasted, well — nothing like what she expected deer to taste like.

And that is this recipe here. The actual venison roast recipe from my wife’s grandmother, Elsie Wilkins, circa 1950 and the greatest venison roast recipe you will ever find and the only one you will ever need.

It’s so simple, fun to make and has an amazing flavor.

THE WORLD’S GREATEST VENISON ROAST RECIPE — EVER.

Ingredients:

A 4-6 pound venison roast

Flour

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 large onion

One half garlic clove

4 teaspoons oregano

1 pinch celery seed

4 tablespoons wine vinegar — not cider vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Accent ™ to taste.

Directions:

Peel half of a small clove of garlic

Cut small slits in the roast and place long pieces of garlic into the roast — this will add moisture while the roast is cooking.

Place the oil in the bottom of a French Oven (French oven is an enamel covered version of a Dutch oven and retains heat a little better than its Dutch cousin), and bring up to a medium heat on the stovetop.

Brown roast in oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until a nice brown sear are on all the edges.

Slice one large onion and set aside.

Remove roast. Place onion and vinegar in French oven.

Place spices liberally over the roast (Accent ™, celery seed, salt and pepper, oregano).

Place roast on top of the onions and cook at 325 F for 3 to 4 hours.

Check half way through to see if additional moisture is needed.

Eat and enjoy.

February 6, 2015
Fan mail

We don’t get a lot of e-mail at 543 Magazine — not really — but what’s interesting is that what little email we do receive — in fact almost every piece of it — comes from writers, editors, SEO and internet types. Some want to write for us but all are very happy to tell us everything that we’re doing wrong.

And apparently there’s a lot.

Now what’s fascinating about all of this is, that if you do the math, there are actually more people out there that want to write for this site, than are actually reading this site. And I don’t know exactly what that means.

So removing the many, many e-mails from editors and writers who ask us to stop butchering the English language — okay, we stuck a few of those in — but mostly stuck with our favorites …

Dear 543skills,

So am I better at writing than you? You tell me. Here’s a link to my blog. My life is very interesting so I have a few ideas.

I have experience as a writer so I don’t work for peanuts. We can do a flat rate or word count rate but I need a viable monthly income if I’m doing this full time (we’re talking $2,000+). If you want me to write 600 words you’ll be paying me at least $30-40 an article. I also insist on being credited for my work or at least getting to use samples, having a profile on the site or a link to my personal website & blog.

(Wow, let me grab my wallet before the rate goes up).

Hello,

I just visited your website. While there, I began reading the “to whom it may concern” letter. I found numerous upon numerous grammatical errors in the writing. I’m not sure if this piece is indicative of the writing style throughout the site but as its a letter from the editor, it raises concerns.

(Didn’t he just use the wrong form of its, in telling me how horrible my grammar is?)

Dear 543skills,

Please find attached my article on Gene Doping. I would like to submit this as my first piece. I noticed you don’t have anything on Gene Doping and you should.

(How could I be so stupid as to forget to do an article on Gene Doping? I am such an idiot).

Hey,

In lieu of my resume, here is my email address. We don’t need to wast time with writing when I can save all my good idreas for yer site. How do you get paid for this?

(I’d tell him, but I don’t want to wast his time).

Dear 543skills,

Would you please review my work and get back to me I need work.

(But there was no work attached. Did he mean for me to review it —- telepathically?)

Hello,

I’m a writing specialist and have read a number of your articles, and (shudder) your writing sucks. The articles are poorly edited and …

(Wow. I made someone shudder with my words).

Hey Fellas,

My name is XXXX. I have been a writer for almost 8 years now and I am currently doing freelance work. I do articles, academic papers, web contents, blogs, and creative writing. I always get a high satisfaction ratings from my clients. You will see two bad reviews if you Google me. Ignore them. I can deliver quality output on time with …

(No problem. Consider it ignored).

Greetings,

I have experience in blogging and content writing. I would like to know when and how I get paid. And how much then I’ll let you know if I will write for you.

(Sure. Makes sense).

Prepare to have your mind permantaly blown. HERE. IS. MY. WRITING.

(I refuse to read it. What if he’s right?)

THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY THREE SEPARATE EMAILS ….

EMAIL #1: I’m an experienced freelance writer and I would very much like to join your magazine. I’ve visited your site, browsed through the stories and believe I could make a very good contribution. I would love to be able to

EMAIL #2: Sorry, Im trying to do this on my phone and messed up. Let’s try this again. I’m an experienced freelance writer and I would very much like to join your magazine. I’ve visited your site, browsed through the stories and believe I could make a very good contribution. I would love to be able to write on a variety of topics.

EMAIL #3: Sorry, me again. Can you just call me?

(That’s the entire email).

EMAIL: I’m interested in learning more about your magazine. Can you direct me to a website so I can check out your credentials? Do you have an issue submitting to a background check?

(Nope. And I have a polygraph in the car we can use).

Hey site, How’s it going? I sent along my piece yesterday, but I realized that I didn’t attach any contact info. I’m XXXXX and I can be reached via e-mail at XXXXX@yahoo.com or by phone at XXXXX. If you do call, please leave a detailed VM as I get many calls from publishers and can’t keep them straight. And I will get back to you ASAP.

EMAIL: Hello, name is XXXX. I’m the guy that Jesus Half Animal Villa uses for his content on his website. That should be all the references you need.

(Oh. Well then —. Who?)

So keep those cards and letters coming.

Thanks,

Everett

February 4, 2015
To Whom it May Concern

My name is Leo Blathe and I would like this letter to act as a personal recommendation for Brandon Delucca for the position of Senior Vice President at Cheltech Industries.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Brandon for over three years now and during that time I have found him to be a creative and goal oriented individual to which any company would by impacted by hiring.

I first came to know Brandon when he was a young college student and went door to door looking for odd jobs in our neighborhood. And yes, I have to admit that I was very impressed by his tenacity but I didn’t feel that we needed any help at that time. It was actually my wife, Jocelyn, who immediately saw the potential in this young man and he soon began doing odd jobs for us; helping around the house, mowing the lawn as well as running errands. Later on, as my position changed and I needed to spend more time on the road, Brandon became invaluable to us by not only taking on more responsibility at the house but was even thoughtful enough to stay overnight while I was away. Jocelyn often commented on how comforting it was to have Brandon there while I was gone and I felt better knowing that he was.

As time moved on, Brandon became a bigger and bigger part of our family. But it was about a year later that I got to know Brandon extremely well during the many court appearances that I would see him at during our somewhat complicated divorce trial. At that time, Brandon was not only dependable enough to make sure that Jocelyn made it to each and every court appearance — she didn’t miss even one — but he was also thoughtful enough to drive her in my 1967 Camaro that I had restored so that I could see it. And I have to admit, seeing that car made the long walk back to the hotel all that more pleasant.

As a side note, Brandon is a very talented singer; he plays the guitar and has some extremely impressive dramatic talents. And — oh my gosh — this boy is funny. If you could have seen him during the trial; convincing the judge and court officials that I ran a large methamphetamine lab in our garage —holy cow, I thought I was in a comedy club. In fact, this act was so impressive that the court folks didn’t know that Brandon was joking! Isn’t that amazing? And it was this very enactment that was responsible for me being able to now see my children any time I want to — as long as that is no more than twice a month and providing that a Child Protective Service’s agent is available.

Brandon is an intelligent, capable and dedicated young man. He is quick on his feet and adept at handling any situation. One example of this was when my security clearance at work was being questioned due to the media coverage of our divorce. It was Brandon who played another one of his practical jokes and convinced the National Security Agency that besides being an obvious flight risk, that I had also bragged to him about my years of embezzling and should probably remain under house arrest until this could be fully investigated. And let me tell you, besides it being a pretty funny joke, I sure did appreciate all that down time right about then. I mean, after all the stress of the divorce, my arrest, the heart attack and Brandon’s accident when the Camaro was totaled — don’t worry, he’s fine — it was sure nice to sit in that hotel room and decompress for hours on end. And what a treat; the calming sounds of the freight trains, wow. But it was one nostalgic trip down memory lane getting to watch all three television channels on the hotel rooms black and white television, with vintage rabbit-ears antenna — just like I did as a kid. Ahh, good times. Good times.

So please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the employment of Brandon Delucca for my old position at Cheltech Technologies. Although I no longer have a cell phone and am not allowed near a computer until I can explain how all those photographs got on my laptop, you can always contact me through my court appointed attorney; Martin Pincolwski. And please do. I don’t receive much mail any more and I would very much enjoy corresponding with anyone about Brandon. Or if you’d like, we could discuss sports. Or current events. Or anything you’d like. Anything at all.

Please write me.

Sincerely,

Leo Blathe

January 27, 2015
REVIEW: Book: Hughes. By Richard Hack.

There are certain names in American history that we have a vague knowledge of. Howard Hughes is one of those names. We know that Howard Hughes was the wealthiest man in the country. We know he was a test pilot, a record holding aviator and we know he was a famous recluse in his later years. And after that — the details become foggy.

In his book Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters; The Definitive Biography of the First American Billionaire, author Richard Hack has been able to juggle a few difficult objectives. He has supplied a never ending minutia of detail about the man — from specifics of Hughes’ father in the late 1800’s through day to day accounts of the man himself. But do it in such a way where even the smallest facet is both fascinating and lures the reader deeper down the path.

Howard Hughes was born in 1905. When his overprotective mother died in 1922 and his workaholic father two years later, Hughes became heir to the Hughes Tool Company fortune — then valued at half a million dollars — at nineteen years of age. At that time his goals were to be the world’s greatest golfer, the world’s greatest pilot and the world’s greatest movie-maker.

At nineteen, Hughes decides that a serious, young businessman needs a wife so he chooses Ella Rice, a pretty, socially prominent young lady in Houston. Though already in love with someone else, Ella was persuaded by her mother that Howard was a better catch. Soon Hughes was so involved in his golf and movie making endeavors — as well as other women — that he had little time or interest left for Ella or any of his extended family.

In Hollywood, Hughes produces and directs several films including; Two Arabian Nights that wins an Oscar as well as the infamous Hell’s Angels — considered the best special effects film of the decade. Hughes goes on to make many other profitable films and in 1948 he buys RKO Studios which establishes him as a major film maker.

Hughes romantic conquests included Lana Turner, Ginger Rogers, Ava Gardner, Ida Lupino, Olivia de Havilland, Katherine Hepburn, Terry Moore, Yvonne DeCarlo, Kathryn Grayson, Bette Davis, Rita Hayworth, Linda Darnell, Billie Dove, and so many more. In fact it wasn’t uncommon for Hughes to actually be engaged to two even three women at once.

In 1938, prompted by the success of Charles Lindbergh, Hughes set a new record for an around-the-world flight. This won the man a congressional medal, the Harmon Trophy and the Collier Trophy for Aviation. He was also honored with a ticker-tape parade down Broadway in New York City. Hughes — now convinced that air travel had a future — acquired TWA Airlines.

But it’s when Hughes develops a case of syphilis, that his already high fear of germs begins to percolate.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is that in his last twenty years of life; when he was a complete recluse; naked in blacked-out rooms devoting days at a time to screening B-movies, dictating long memos to his staff — important memos such as a 22 page procedure on how to open a can of fruit for him — and going through a dozen boxes of Kleenex a day — that his empire actually grew the most. In fact, Hughes orchestrated the purchase of dozens of Las Vegas properties all while being naked on a recliner and never seeing another human being. In fact, his long term aid, Robert Maheu, who had daily — sometimes hourly — contact with the man and managed all of his interests, never even met Howard Hughes in person.

In the last few decades of life, Howard Hughes liberally injected codeine, his hair and fingernails grew to grotesque lengths, he kept urine in mason jars and his body was covered with bed sores since he would spend entire days at a time in a recliner in the dark.

By the end of the book you will know Howard Hughes well. You may not like him — because there isn’t a lot to like about the man — but you will know him. And you’ll be thankful to Richard Hack for the introduction.

January 20, 2015
The 10 most amazing abandoned places of the U.S.

They’ve always amazed and intimated us; those great empty houses, abandoned factories and forbidden structures that lie just beyond the fence. The ruins of a previous time. There are so many to choose from but here are our top 10.

10. Glenwood Power Station, Yonkers, NY

On the banks of the mighty Hudson River, the closed Glenwood power plant closed in the 1960’s and is an abandoned industrial monster in one of the larges cites in the world. .

9. Fort Caroll, Baltimore, MD

You can see it as you drive across the Francis Scott Key Bridge, A weeded island on the water, that was once a defense against possible attack during the Civil War. The irony is that so many generations of birds have made the fort their home that it is now protected from development by US environmental law.

8. Mispillion Lighthouse, Mispillion, Delaware

Built in 1831 it served until 1929, when it was deactivated and replaced by a steel tower at nearby Cape Henlopen. The lighthouse had fallen into an extreme state of disrepair, and was considered by Lighthouse Digest magazine to be America’s Most Endangered Lighthouse.

7. Francisco Morazán shipwreck, South Manitou island, Michigan

Wanting to make one last trip before winter, the Francisco Morazan left Chicago on November 27, 1960 bound for Holland. Blinding rain and snow forced the shop aground at of South Manitou Island. The crew abandoned ship and was taken by the ice-breaker Mackinaw to Traverse City. The owners of the ship could never be found and nothing was done about removing the ship.

6. Michigan Central Station, Detroit, Michigan

Built in 1913, it was the tallest rail station in the world. By the late 1970s, it was falling under disrepair and the last train left the station in 1987. Restoration projects and plans have gone as far as the negotiation process, but none has come to fruition.

5. Hushpuckena, Mississippi,

Hushpuckena is a small community of abandoned buildings that lies behind Highway 61 north of Shelby, Mississippi. that includes stores and a small hospital. Old clothing an still be found in the stores as well as piles of medical records from in the small hospital.

4. Chippewa Lake Park – Medina, Ohio

Chippewa Lake Park was an amusement park that operated from 1878 through 1978. It was closed due to lack of attendance. The rides and structures were left largely untouched and unmaintained for almost 40 years.

3. Brookfield Air Force base, Brookfield, Ohio

Brookfield Air Force Station was opened in 1952 as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station. The squadron’s focus was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit’s radar scopes. It was closed in 1983 due to budget cuts.

2. Roseville Prison – Roseville, Ohio

The prison at Roseville is just across the county line Muskingum Ohio. Good behavior inmates were sent there to work in the ovens and make bricks. The prison was closed in 1977.

1. Palace Theatre. Gary Indiana.

The Palace Theater was built in 1924 and featured live stage shows, vaudeville acts and motion pictures. But when the US Steel plant went into decline, so did the town. The theatre closed in 1972 and has been abandoned ever since.

January 17, 2015
Steve Vaught; The fat man walking

It was not only the feel good story of the year but it was the greatest underdog comeback — ever. We loved it. And we couldn’t get enough of it.

This is what happened.

In 2005, Steve Vaught; an obese man of 400 pounds, a married, ex-marine with young children — saw that his world was spiraling out of control. He wanted to gain his health and his life back. So, with the support of his family, he decided to do something drastic. He would walk — yes, walk — across the country from his home in Seaside, California, to New York City, on a spiritual and mental journey. He would walk 3,000 miles. And when he got to New York City he would be the man, the father and the husband, that he had always wanted to be.

So, Steve said goodbye to his family — his wife April, his infant son Nicholas and his two year old daughter Clara — and began walking, very slowly, heading east. Always east. His wife created a website for him — fatmanwalking.com — to track his movements and to add in journal entries that Steve would dictate to her from the road.

It didn’t take long for the word to spread of Steve’s walk and people began logging into the website — a few people at first and then a few more until millions were on the site. Then people would wait for him along his route to have their pictures taken and encourage him. Then the media became interested. Then manufacturers contacted him; hiking, camping, walking shoe companies; all donating equipment for Steve to use.

And — when Steve was not even half way through his walk — Harper Collins offered him a lucrative book deal with a $150,000 advance and assigned a ghostwriter to do all the actual writing; the publisher quickly got a $70,000 check out along with a book contract. Oh — and this was besides the documentary film crew that began filming him and offered him a distribution deal. And I’m not even including the worldwide media coverage that came everywhere from CNN to Oprah to the BBC.

Steve Vaught had become America’s darling. In fact, Katy Couric used those very words the next morning after Steve entered New York City on May 9^th of 2006, this completing his trip and appeared at the Today Show studios to talk about his journey.

Now that was in May of 2006. And by September of 2006 — three months after completing his famous 3,000 mile trek — Steve Vaught was divorced, broke, unemployed and living in a Super 8 Motel (an actual step up from sleeping in his car where he had been until it was sold to avoid repossession), declaring bankruptcy and fending off lawsuits and creditors.

Harper Collins wanted their advance back, stating they cannot work with him. The documentary company has shelved the project with no plans of ever completing it and a plan for a fat man walking series of runs and speaking engagements were cancelled.

What?

How —? How — did that all happen?

The idea of a fat man, walking across the country, taming his demons, is a great story. An amazing story. And it’s easy to become attracted to it and want to learn more, which is why the interest grew so quickly. But here are the facts.

Vaught abandoned his struggling young family to take this walk. Yeah I know, abandoned is a tough word since it was possible that he could have walked away with $150,000 dollars in his pocket afterwards to better support them — something he did not know or expect when he left. But still, it was a gamble and it demonstrated where his priorities were when he would leave a family who was already in serious financial trouble and needed him as a provider and a father. This character flaw would show itself in other ways.

Vaught went walking but still did not deal with his addiction to food — of all the photos from the website and the video, he eats all the wrong foods and a whole lot of them. A whole lot. For a man on a journey to fight his addictions, it looks like he didn’t fight at all but simply took them on the road.

Steve Vaught has no problem accepting charity. In fact, Steve was glad to receive donations from people on the road as well as donations through his website. Not a problem at all. If you are walking across the country, it’s almost expected that you’ll need some help along the way. But he quickly began to expect these gifts and feel entitled to them and it appears that this practice has not stopped. On one of his most recent Twitter posts, almost ten years after his famous walk, Steve is asking complete strangers to donate money so he can open up an auto repair facility. Before that he was asking for donation so he could pay his rent. These are not the qualities we like to see in our heroes.

There is some question if Steve actually did walk the entire way from California to New York. In fact, on one occasion, he walked 114 miles around Albuquerque in a single day. That’s a very long way to walk for a man who moved at a snail’s pace and averaged anywhere from zero to fourth miles a day. So that was also the highest single day he had ever walked — by triple. But Steve states that he did walk that distance and he did not take a single ride.

Steve Vaught did not lose much weight. In fact, he lost very little weight. Accounts vary since there was not an official weigh in and weigh out. Steve stated he lost 100 pounds and then other times said 60 pounds. But if you look at the before and after photos, there’s not a big difference. In fact, hardly any. And for such a journey we wanted to share in were expecting a spiritual and physical transformation.

Vaught talks about his journey but if you read the journals and his blog, he doesn’t seemed to have changed much as a person over that trip. We don’t read of any epiphanies or adjustment in his outlook. He doesn’t talk of being blessed or lucky. He doesn’t become humbled. He just walked.

Walking across the country should take about six months. It took Steve Vaught over one full year because he flew back to California more than once — and on one occasion he stayed there for several months working with a personal trainer.

And …

Steve Vaught is not a very nice person. He just isn’t. He is self-focused, a little egotistical and he believes that he is entitled to a whole lot more than he has and is waiting to be given it.

Which goes to prove — what?

Well, it goes to prove that opportunity is easy. It’s out there all around us. Everywhere. Big opportunity. But our character will determine if we can capture that opportunity and keep it. Or if it will just burn away.

Carl Bagley, one of the directors on the now defunct documentary project about Steve Vaught, was quoted as saying, “It’s an amazing thing about America: We can make anybody a hero. Whether they deserve it or not.”

January 14, 2015