My Top Ten Thoughts for 2014

Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice. - Dave Barry 

I believe I've entered the Jet Age of life. You know, that time in your life where years fly by so fast you feel like you're hurtling through space? I'm having a difficult time absorbing the idea that next week we're going to enter the year 2015, but whether we like it, or not, it will greet us like every new year before it. 

Balls will drop all over the world, people will cheer, hug and kiss their way through the stroke of midnight and then.... Bang! It's here. 

With that being said, I think it's a good time to reflect on this past year and offer up some of the things rumbling around inside my mind. We'll each have our own list, I'm sure, and I know that what I'm about to say may not mean anything to you, but I hope that in the end my story will encourage each of you to reflect on your own lives and decide for yourself what's most meaningful in your world. 

Without further delay, here's my Top Ten list for 2014:

       10) According to Dennis Miller, the comedian: "Santa is very jolly, because he knows where all the bad girls live!" Let's tip our glasses to naughty girls and boys everywhere. What fun would the world have if everyone was boring? Let’s be naughty and save Santa the trip!

         9) Some of my friends think I'm still a liberal, left-wing Hippie left over from the Sixties. But that's not true; I support the President, while hating some of the things he does. Does that make me a right wing Liberal? Here's to Freedom and our right to express ourselves! Stand up and pledge allegiance to our flag, take your hat off when the National Anthem is being sung (or played) and appreciate every man and woman who puts on a uniform to protect our country. And pull your damned pants up!

         8) Lightening back up: Bernard Manning, a comedian, offered up this tidbit. “I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, Toys Not Included.”  Let's hear it for enjoying Life without all the toys. As we get older we realize that material wealth means less and less, while embracing the beauty around us has so much more inner value. To the simplicity of Mother Nature's palette!

         7) What will happen if our Congress shuts the government down again? Who's ass will we be able to kick then, with none of the politicians working? Seriously, go ahead and admit it; you love being able to complain about politicians, whether they're Democrats or Republicans. Some of us would have nothing else meaningful in our lives without our ability to gripe about everything political. So my friends; raise your glass to the men and women who make living here in the USA so much fun!

         6) Victor Borge once said “Santa Claus has the right idea.Visit relatives once a year.” While that may sound funny to some, I think most of us will agree that family and friends are really what Life is all about. Sharing our lives with people that matter is a special privilege for us all; make the best of your opportunities while you can. Here's to special people! And men; here's a little reminder from Joan Rivers: “The one thing women don’t want to find in their stockings on Christmas morning is their husband.”

        5) I'm a sports fan; I seem to have been born into it. I come from a long line of people who follow sports. But as each year goes by, and athletes continue to get mega-million dollar contracts, I find myself wondering what the hell happened to the ideals we grew up with. You remember; "If you work hard, you'll be rewarded" or "Keep your nose to the grindstone." The average athlete today is being paid more money than the people who run our country. Does that scare anyone else? Especially when some of them are so damned dumb it hurts? Salud to the agents of the world!

       4) Enjoy the innocence of youth, and savor the wisdom of age. One is free, and the other is earned over a lifetime, but both are precious commodities.Remember, Santa is a very old man for a very good reason.

       3)  Maria went to the Post Office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards. "What denomination?" asked the clerk. "Oh! Good heavens! Have we come to this?" said Maria. "Well, give me 50 Catholic and 50 Protestant then..." Poor Maria! She wasn't Politically Correct." Is anyone else sick of all this PC nonsense? Go ahead; tell me I can't say Merry Christmas or Happy Hannukah just once more! Here's to the Scrooges and Grinches of our lives; Kiss off!

       2) Let's stop for a moment to remember the very special people in our lives who left us in the past year. People who will only return in our thoughts and prayers; the ones who helped to shape our lives by touching us in many ways. A very special toast to each of them!

        1)  Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men, Women and Children, dogs, cats and pets of every kind (except for snakes; I hate snakes)!  I hope you all enjoy your holidays! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Mark

Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/marktbradburyauthor

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1

 

FREE Book Offer - Serpent's Curse

At some point over the weekend one of you clicked on my author page and “Liked” it. That click brought me to 100 “likes” on my page; not a big number, but a magical one for me. When I first started my page it didn’t seem like I’d ever get to 100; it felt like it might take a year to reach the number. But here I am at 100 “Likes,” and I’m excited by what that means.

To me it’s just a beginning; I hope that I have a thousand soon, and then a million! Why not, right? But today, because I can, I want to take a couple minutes to thank all of you who have taken the time to go to Mark T. Bradbury, Author. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, I thank each of you for helping me launch what I hope will be a career that I can look back on with pride.

I can’t begin to explain how good I feel when I finish a book that I actually like reading one more time. I cherish each of you who have read any of my books and told me just how much you’ve enjoyed them. For an aspiring author, those words mean the world to me! They’re the frosting on my cake, the syrup on my pancakes and the light that shines through the darkness.

My tunnel is getting brighter thanks to my special group of friends and family. That’s each of you, for the record; you’re all much appreciated by me, I assure you. For those of you who haven’t “Liked” my author page, I hope you can find a couple of minutes to become one of the special group that has. Here’s a quick link to my page: 

 https://www.facebook.com/marktbradburyauthor

I recently published a genealogy guide titled “Shaking the Family Tree.” It’s a light “How To” on tracking your family’s roots. It’s available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and iTunes.com. My other two books are available there, as well. Here’s my author link for Amazon.com:
                                           

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1

I’ll be publishing the long-awaited sequel to my first book, Serpent’s Curse, sometime soon. It’s called Serpent’s Return, and my reviewers have told me it’s better than Curse. I personally agree with that assessment; I like it better myself. I think I’m evolving as a writer, as some of my friends have told me.

I want to make the debut of Serpent’s Return something each of you will be looking forward to, but if you haven’t read my first book the new release won’t mean anything to you. So here’s what I’m doing to fix that; here’s a link that will give you access to a PDF copy of my manuscript for Serpent’s Curse, and it’s on me. Read it and enjoy it. It’s FREE!

http://www.cocoabeach.com/bradbury/Serpent%27s-Curse_Mark_T_Bradbury.pdf

Please share this post on your timelines and pass this offer along to your friends and family. I want this to go viral, but I need your help. Feel free to share the link with anyone you’d like, also; keep it going!
 

Thanks again for being so supportive! Have a great week!

Mark                         

Gypsies Wanted for Travel Abroad

I'm just kidding about the Gypsies, at least the ones we grew up hearing stories of. You know the old threat "I'm going to ship you off with the Gypsies when the carnival leaves town;" those are the ones I'm not talking about.

No; I'm looking for the modern-day version. The people who fearlessly pack a few bags and move to another part of the country, or better yet, a different country altogether. I have belonged to the American version for the last twenty years of my life. After spending over forty years of my life in Massachusetts, I picked up and moved to Indiana for a job. That job took me to parts of the country I'd never been in before.

I spent a good deal of time in Texas, which is like being in a different country all by itself. I went from one end of Texas to the other, marveling at the differences throughout that state. From Texas I crossed over into places like Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama. From my office in Indiana, I visited states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Later ventures brought me to the Carolinas, Virginia, Delaware and Georgia. But when I moved to Florida almost twenty years ago, I thought I had found my forever home.

Whether you live here, or are just a tourist once in a while, this state has a lot to offer. If you like mild weather, America's largest coastline (Florida is ranked second behind Alaska, but it's not quite the same) and true diversity, this is a great place to be. Most cities in Florida are rarely more than a two-hour drive from a terrific beach, and outdoor activities are enjoyed year-round. What more could you want, right?

Well, I'm ready for a new adventure. I'm retired, and spend a great deal of time every day on my computer. I write and edit mostly, both of which can be done from anywhere in the world. I've decided to look for a new place to settle (I'm certain that I would have been on a Conestoga wagon 150 years ago moving west, as thousands did); the world is my oyster!

So where am I heading? South; to Ecuador, unless something happens to change my mind. I was sold on the southern part of Portugal, a place called the Algarve Region, until I started investigating more. I've sifted through a ton of information and decided that Ecuador may be the best place for me. The Algarve is beautiful, with spectacular beaches and colonial cities and towns, but I've heard that Portuguese is a difficult language to learn.

I took Spanish in High School, then a year of Intermediate in college. I always did well with it, so it would seem to be a sounder decision to move to a Spanish-speaking country. I've done a complete turnaround in locale; the area I'm looking at is eight thousand feet above sea level in a major valley of the Andes, and is nowhere near the ocean. There are beaches to the west, about three hours away, and hotels there are very inexpensive. The weather? The temps are fifties at night and seventies during the day in the valley; very comfortable! The Pacific Ocean beaches are usually in the 85-90 range; quite tropical.

By now, most of you probably think I'm crazy. I possibly am, but the idea of living in an idyllic setting in a small town nestled between two mountain ranges, whiling away the days writing are very Hemingway-esque, if you know what I mean. I grew up in the hustle-bustle of the great Northeast, where every day is "bang-bang!" When I moved to Florida, I changed all that and slowed my life down. Now, I'm ready to slow it down even more.

For me, the move is an adventure! It's another chance  to explore new places and things, to learn a new language and to make new friends. I'm going to start out in the mountains and see if that takes me back to the ocean, or to another country altogether, perhaps.

I'm signing up for my official "21st Century Gypsy" card and packing up my bags next summer. It's much more advantageous for me to wait until my 65th birthday in August before going to Ecuador, so I'm going to spend the time learning Spanish and getting rid of everything I've collected over the years. That alone will take months!

I'd love to hear from any of you out there who might have some experience or knowledge about Ecuador. Please share your comments with me if you have something to pass on. I'd love to hear from you!

                                    The Central Plaza of Cotacochi, Ecuador

Buenos dias, mi familia y mis amigos! Tenga un buen fin de semana!

For those of you not speaking or learning Spanish, that's "Have a great weekend!"


Mark


Here's a link to my books on Amazon.com. Please take a moment to check them out if you haven't already.

                               http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1

"The only mystery in life is why the kamikaze pilots wore helmets."
             From Al McGuire, Basketball Player, Coach and Commentator with NBC

Random Thoughts While Driving Myself Nowhere

Today, the 29th of October, is the birthday of the Statue of Liberty. It's 128 years old! Can you name anyone (anything) that has made so many people from all over the world smile as much as the Grand Lady who has done nothing but welcome the poor and huddled masses to our incredible country? She is a national symbol for us; a symbol recognized the world over as the beacon of hope in a crazy world. Tip your hat or raise a glass to her today; she deserves it!

And speaking of people from foreign lands, here's  a quick one I heard that should make you smile for a minute.

           Two English businessmen in London were sitting down for a break in their soon-to-be new store. As yet, the store wasn't ready, with only a few shelves set up. One said to the other, 'I bet any minute now some idiot tourist is going to walk by, put his face to the window, and ask what we're selling.'
           No sooner were the words out of his mouth when, sure enough, a curious Irishman walked to the window, had a peek, and in a thick Irish accent asked 'What might ye be sellin' here?'
           One of the men answered sarcastically, 'We're selling assholes.'
           Without skipping a beat, the Irishman replied 'You’re doing well ... only two left!'

Forgive me my sins! It's Halloween in a couple of days and I still haven't decided what to get dressed up as. Right now I'm leaning towards the "Casual Florida Tourist." I've got everything I need; I'll just have to wear black socks with my sandals.

Seriously (or not), I haven't even heard of a good Halloween party anywhere around me. I do live in a "55+"community, so the streets will be filled with the living dead just going back and forth to their mailboxes.And that will all be happening before it gets dark. As Laurence J. Peter once said "In spite of the cost of living, it's still popular." That's even more true here in the Sunshine State.


I saw a report today that said New England is going to get some snow this weekend. I know I'm repeating myself, but I do love watching it snow (on TV). Throw another fake log on the fake fireplace, dear!


With elections just around the corner, we all know in our hearts that nothing much is going to change. Whoever wins will blame everything bad on "THEM," and will claim to somehow be responsible for anything good that's happened while they were gone. Unfortunately, it will be business (oh thank you very much, BIG Business for the millions!) as usual, I'm afraid.


I just saw a funny meme on Facebook; it showed the Wicked Witch of the North (from the Wizard of Oz) and it proclaimed the movie as:


               The Ultimate Chick Flick - Two Women Fighting Over a Pair of Shoes


It's amazing how you can see a movie fifty times but never see the irony!


Let's not forget the World Series! Oh, you already have? Yeah, me too; I have to admit I haven't watched much more than ten minutes of any game so far. I love baseball, but is anyone I know actively going crazy over this one?


A fine segue to a baseball joke. "If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base." This courtesy of Dave Barry.

My 11th generation great-grandmother, Mary Perkins Bradbury, was arrested, tried and convicted of witchcraft in the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692. She was never executed and died of natural causes a few years later. She was pretty pissed off about it, though, and still flies around every Halloween looking for Puritans. Don't dress up as a Pilgrim, whatever you do!

So let's wrap this up! At this point I've managed to offend Englishmen, Florida Tourists, Florida Retirees, New Englanders, Women Shoppers (or maybe all women), Baseball Purists, and Pilgrims. Sheesh! That's probably enough for now; I'd like to make it to the weekend to see the New England Patriots kick the Denver Broncos butts! Oh damn; now I have to add The Denver fans (and everyone else in America who hates the Patriots) to my list! I think I'm done!


Here's a little something for your Halloween bag. If you haven't had a chance to check out my book, Serpent's Curse, follow this link to a FREE sample.

                 
                         https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1456c9f6ce6cc2b2

                                             

 

See you next week!

Mark

Tell Us Your Story

Have you ever thought about sitting down at your computer to write a story that's bouncing around in your head? Maybe you have, but convinced yourself that you'd be the only one who would ever be interested in it. You may have saved what you wrote for another time, but never actually went back to it, leaving it in the dust pile of your memories.

If this applies to you, then you are probably one of millions who share the same dream. People who, just like you, have a story to tell, but remain silent because they lack the confidence to put their ideas on paper. I was one of those people; I moved to Sebastian, Florida, almost twenty years ago and started formulating a story in my head based upon hidden treasure and adventure. I published Serpent's Curse, my first book, last October, because of a couple of friends who liked my idea. It just took me eighteen years to make the jump.

I went to Grammar School and High School in the 50's and 60's. Most of the history we learned back then has since been rewritten. Why is that? It's simple; men and women of the time wrote and recorded their version of the story and it became history. What we took as fact became nothing more than someone's biased opinion. But if people who came before us didn't take the time to tell their stories, we'd have no clue whatsoever what really happened before we burst upon the scene.

Tom Clancy has been one of my favorite authors for many years. He has an interesting quote that I'd like to share. "The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense." And so it does! The history of mankind is full of people just like us who had a story. The difference is simple: they took the time to tell theirs! All your story has to do is make sense to the reader. If someone can read your work and enjoy it, you've crossed over into being a storyteller,.and everyone loves a good story!

I have a friend who is an avid angler; he spends so much time fishing I wonder how he gets anything else done. We talked about his yearning to write what he had learned about fishing; he wanted to compile an angler's guidebook from his experiences. Two weeks ago I received a sample of a fictional story that he's decided to write instead. The beginning was strong enough to get my attention, and that of a few others who read it. I encouraged him to continue, and I hope he does. It sounds like a great story!

So, my friends, tell your story! Talk to your friends or family to see if they think the tale is worth the trouble, and if they think it has merit, then you should charge forward and start writing. Don't worry about the spelling and layout; that's why you have spelling and grammar check in your Word program. There are people (I am one) who will take a rough manuscript and polish it until it's all cleaned up. You don't have to be perfect; you just need to have a good story.

In summary, I should say that it's not an easy thing to get a book launched. Selling and marketing a book takes a tremendous amount of time and effort; more work sometimes than writing the book in the first place. But if you're committed to your work, the results might be the most rewarding time of your life. Your story will become your legacy, read by other people who follow us on this beautiful blue marble. And wouldn't that be pretty cool?

Have a great weekend everybody!


Mark


Your "Veggie of the Day:"

Two cows are standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly "I was artificially inseminated this morning." "I don't believe you," said Dolly. "It's true, no bull!" For a FREE sample of my book Serpent's Curse, click on the ink below:                            https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1456c9f6ce6cc2b2

Colors of Nature

I grew up in New England. Unlike Florida, we had seasons there that were sharply defined. It wasn't anything like the Sunshine State, where the seasons roll into each other, with the occasional cold front thrown in, or where the wet weather takes hold for a few days. Hell, no! There were changes you could feel down to your toes.

Fall was always a favorite time of year for me. The incredible colors of Mother Nature's palette never ceased to amaze and delight my senses. Unfortunately, though, the foliage extravaganza was short-lived, being replaced by hours and hours of raking time. When we were kids, getting rid of the leaves was easy. We'd just rake them into piles and light'em up! That was a special time for every young pyromaniac I knew; it almost took the sting out of the blisters you had all over your hands from raking.

But it's all different today. You can't rake and burn, as we did in the old days. We're all Politically Correct and Environmentally Conscious (thanks for that!), so we now have to deal with the drudgery of getting rid of the leaves. I always had a garden, so turning a majority of my leftover leaves into mulch all winter made sense to me.

My friends up north always tell me about how much they love the seasons (until it's 6 degrees and oil is four dollars a gallon), and how I must miss them down here in Florida. Well, I do, sort of. But after twenty years of suffering here in the Tropics, I've learned to appreciate Mother Nature's colors, Southern Style. The best part is that I don't have to rake them up, or wonder what I should do with them. They come and go on a daily basis here, year-round, and every day the cost is the same: zero! Here's some examples of what I love about Florida colors.

               This was taken from my backyard a few years ago on a crisp winter night.

             I took this one evening as I sat on a friend's dock, watching a beautiful sunset.

                                 This was an early morning catch at the beach.

                  This is a sunrise shot taken by a friend. View his work at PureOceanTV.com.

                Another beautiful morning photo, complete with shorebirds, courtesy of                                                         PureOceanTV.com.

You see, I'm a believer when it comes to beauty in all things. It's everywhere, and we can learn to love and appreciate it no matter where we live. It's a wonderful planet out there. Let's take better care of it!.


Have a great day everyone!


Mark

                                        Hell, yeah, we got pumpkins down here!


For a FREE sample of my book, Serpent's Curse, please click on the link below:

             
                       https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1456c9f6ce6cc2b2

Wild Rides, Anyone?

I don't know about you, but it would be understatement to say that I have a fear of heights. You know; the kind where your legs seem to turn to Jello and your breathing gets a little faster. That sick feeling you get when you envision yourself falling headfirst from an airplane, or dropping twenty stories without a safety net sort of fear. It's called "acrophobia," and it's a very common feeling amongst other people I've met in my life.

On the flip side though, is my love for roller coasters; all kinds. The ones that turn you upside down, around and around, drop you a hundred feet straight down; it doesn't matter. Buy me a ticket!

How to explain it? Why even try? It's an adrenaline rush that flies in the face of my acrophobia. That's enough for me! It all started when I was a teenager. My older cousins goaded me into getting on the roller coaster at Salisbury Beach, in Massachusetts. Fearing for my life and taking the plunge, I instantly discovered a new love after the first ride. I have yet to meet a coaster I didn't like.

Fear, like so many other emotions we encounter, is a funny animal. If you face it and charge blindly into the light, the chances are high that you'll come out on the other side with the satisfying smile of a winner, and we can all use a little of that every chance we get.

Everyone has had experiences in their life that they remember as "moments of change;" those things we do that later define us. I'm a fisherman, or angler, if you will. Earlier in my life, before I owned boats of my own, I was quite wary of the ocean blue; you know, that very deep body of water that surrounds us. Growing up in a part of the country where legendary shipwrecks had occurred, and where swimmers and fishermen had been swept out to sea by their own carelessness, I had a very deep respect for the ocean.

In the summer of 1968 a friend invited me to go striper fishing on Cape Cod, at the National Seashores there. Anxious to catch a big striped bass, I made the trip. On our first morning we launched his sixteen-foot aluminum boat from the beach directly into the waves. It was, at that time, a very harrowing experience.

We fished for most of the day, until we decided it was time to head in. Here's an excerpt from my newest book, Fish Tails - Bones Not Included, about what happened next. It was definitely a "defining" moment for me!



          The tide had changed, and the waves crashing on the beach were much bigger than when we launched that morning. I was about to ask Bob how he was going to handle this when he screamed over the motor noise “Hold on to your seat! We’re going in and it’s not going to be easy!”

His words rang in my ears. I looked towards the beach; it was coming up very fast. Bob increased the motor’s speed and flew hell-bent towards it with a completely wild look on his face. I knew then that this was going to be what I really remembered about the day, because the launch this morning seemed like a cakewalk compared to what was coming.

We seemed to be going faster; Bob had the boat up on the crest of a wave, and we were actually surfing with a 16-foot aluminum boat! It was scaring the hell out of me, but I didn’t have a lot of time to do much more than hold on for dear life; the beachhead was in my face. The wave started its break and thrust the tiny boat at the beach like a leaf on the wind; and then we hit!

I remember thinking that every tooth in my head seemed to explode, and my entire body screamed at me. I realized that we had stopped, very abruptly, but we were now sitting up on the high-water mark, and we were both still alive. I couldn’t believe it! Bob told me later that I was screaming my ass off, and I still don’t remember if that’s true or not; it’s not that far-fetched to be looked upon as a fabrication. I probably was!

There was a crowd of our fellow campers standing together on the beach, and as I somehow managed to crawl out of the boat, a cheer went up from all of them. I was a rookie, and I had just made my first “crash landing,” a feat that had them all yelling and clapping. My initiation complete, I was being welcomed into the ranks of the wild-eyed, crazy anglers of Truro, Massachusetts.

Fish Tails - Bones Not Included is an anthology of humorous fishing and boating adventures I've enjoyed over the years. There's a story for everyone in there someplace, and I'm quite certain you'll crack a few smiles before you finish it. If you'd like to read more, the book is available as an eBook on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and iTunes.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Mark