Day: July 11, 2020

This past week some friends and I were discussing how the average person probably thinks of Jesus’ birth and life as such a pretty story. In reality there were many dark and unpleasant days, beginning with King Herod the Great. The lessons to be learned were how he and those around him dealt with their circumstances.

King Herod the Great has surely been studied by many great psychologists, and for good reason. In the church world he is known for his great act of cruelty after learning of Jesus’ birth. He was terrified that someone else should be called King of the Jews, and commanded that all male children two years old and younger living in Bethlehem and the surrounding region be put to death in an attempt to stop the arrival of this new king. Having no understanding of who Messiah was, his rage ruled as babies were innocently…

I don’t spend nearly the time on social media that I once did, using it more for checking into friends’ activities while relaxing and aimlessly wandering through a few comments. Therefore it is also unusual for me to deliberately add new friends or even check the suggestions they are so kind to offer.

If you are on social media, and you are by virtue of reading this, you know what I mean…suggested friends, suggested pages, suggested products. The stalking, I mean, list is endless. The minute I agreed to hand over my contacts list it was all over, and with every click I gave them more opportunities. I am one of those people who almost never deletes a contact. In fact I add every contact into my phone. Some because I want to know you are calling. Yea! Some because I want to know you are calling. I…

Gautier, Mississippi – 20:05 Central Standard Time

Opening the front door, Ronnie was struck by the silence. He paused in the doorway and studied the dimly lit apartment. Nothing looked out of place. There was no breeze from an open door or window, and everything smelled as it should.

Johnny, who was standing behind Ronnie, eased closer. “What is it?”

Ronnie continued studying the space before him. “Probably nothing. Go check the kitchen and utility room.”

Ronnie stepped inside the apartment, pulled his .40 pistol from under his right arm, and thumbed off the safety. He watched Johnny enter the kitchen, check the utility room, and give the “OK” signal. He nodded to Johnny before turning and creeping toward the bedrooms.

Turning the doorknob, he eased the bedroom door open, yet the door hinges refused to move quietly. Grimacing he pushed the door open and raised his pistol. Rebecca sat…

I got this image from the Otel Carpe Diem Gold site. It’s one of the images that helped me choose Finike as a location in my story.

I don’t know about you, but I have always read books as a inexpensive form of travel. From Nelson DeMille’s trip through Moscow in “The Charm School” to Clive Cussler’s trip along the Niger River in “Sahara” to W.E.B Griffin’s trip through South America in his “Presidential Agent” series. To me, books were/are a ticket to exotic places I might not ever get the opportunity to see.

The difference between reading and writing is when you’re reading you’re on the tour, and when you’re writing you’re the tour guide. That’s one of the reasons I love writing, to take you places I’ve been and places I want to go. One of those places is Turkey.

In my beginning, Turkey was not a place…

I got this image from the Otel Carpe Diem Gold site. It’s one of the images that helped me choose Finike as a location in my story.

I don’t know about you, but I have always read books as a inexpensive form of travel. From Nelson DeMille’s trip through Moscow in “The Charm School” to Clive Cussler’s trip along the Niger River in “Sahara” to W.E.B Griffin’s trip through South America in his “Presidential Agent” series. To me, books were/are a ticket to exotic places I might not ever get the opportunity to see.

The difference between reading and writing is when you’re reading you’re on the tour, and when you’re writing you’re the tour guide. That’s one of the reasons I love writing, to take you places I’ve been and places I want to go. One of those places is Turkey.

In my beginning, Turkey was not a place…

If you’ve been tuning in to Barbecue Talk for a while you’ve probably noticed I’ve smoked several chuck roasts. There’s a reason for that. I love beef barbecue, but most beef barbecue, especially brisket, it pretty expensive around Alabama. Chuck roast is one of the cheaper cuts of beef around these parts, so I’ve set my mind to making the best roast beef barbecue I can… I mean good enough that it can stand shoulder to shoulder, haha, get it, with Boston Butt.

If you didn’t get it, a Boston Butt is actually a pork shoulder. If I remember correctly, in the old days, pork shoulders were shipped in barrels called “Boston Butts.” Also, another piece of useless trivia, we get the term “eating high on the hog” from eating pork shoulder.

But this is about chuck roast, not Boston Butts.

By the way, chuck roast is cut from the…