Big Fish/Little Pond

Black Friday? Hell no!

Pardon me if I didn't get up early this morning to go shopping. It's just not in my blood. The mere idea of getting up early on a day off is bad enough all by itself, but getting up to go shopping? Sorry, I know I'm missing the point, but you won't see me elbowing anyone in any store any time soon.

I saw a great photo in Facebook this morning. A friend of mine, who always tends to live on the sarcastic side of the street, had posted it. It was a Black Friday shopping photo, with people pushing and shoving each other to get in the doors of whatever store it was. It was the caption that brought a smile to my face (and I'm certain to many others). The overlaid words inscribed on the photo: "Black Friday - When people trample others for cheap goods mere hours after being thankful for what they already have."

Another Facebook favorite this morning was from TakeMeFishing.org, showing 2 men in a boat fishing. The caption read "I'd rather cast a line than stand in a line." Turn Black Friday into Fishing Friday; another great idea I could get on board with.


You have to love these if you're a stay-at-home guy like me who wouldn't go out to any store today. It's emblematic of what our lives have become; the world keeps spinning faster and crazier, and you best hold on for the ride if you want to keep up. Thankful yesterday; crazy as hell today. It seems to work for many; personally, I'm staying home to write this story.

On a more serious note, I hope that each of you had a wonderful day on Thanksgiving. It's a terrific day to come together with family and  friends, both old and new, to enjoy the bounty that most of us are privy to throughout the year, but don't stop to say thanks for each day. Thanksgiving is non-denominational; you can be of any religious persuasion (or not) and still thank whoever or whatever you believe in for what you have. But most of all, it's a day that brings people of all religions, races and creeds together to share their time, their food, friendship and love; it is a unique day in that sense for most Americans.

It's a day to welcome the new to our table, and to remember those who are no longer with us. My youngest daughter Kerrin had a beautiful baby boy earlier this year. Bradley was at the family Thanksgiving table this year, while my mother was spending the day in a nursing home. She was put on Hospice Care this week; only time will tell the remainder of her story here with us. I'm most thankful for her lifetime of devotion to all of us in my family; she will always have a place at our table.

But back to Black Friday; here's my idea, for what it's worth. I say the stores just have ridiculous prices every day, year-round. Give us everything we could possibly want for next to nothing, and all this craziness will go away. You could only stock a small handful of these blowout deals (you know, just like you do on Black Friday), and people wouldn't all have to go nuts on the same day every year. People could just spend Thanksgiving weekend like they always did; putting up the Christmas or Hanukkah decorations, watching football, eating leftovers and savoring the time spent with loved ones.

Oh hell, my cell phone just rang; it was Wal-Mart telling me my prescription's ready. I guess I'll go pick it up; maybe I'll even look around. Does anyone know where I left my helmet and pads?

Mark T. Bradbury, Author

Literary Associate of Little Pond Publishing

Digital Publisher | eBooks | Marketing

For information on my new eBook, Serpent's Curse, please follow the link:

http://littlepondpublishing.com/book-titles/serpents-curse-by-mark-t-bradbury/

Big Fish/Little Pond

WRITERS WANTED!  This is a heads up for any authors out there, both published or just starting out.

My publisher, Little Pond Publishing, currently has two contests running. For those of you who have a fictional work involving murder, mystery or romance there's a contest called "Autumn Tales," and for those of you who write children's stories or poems there's a separate competition called "Tattle Tales." Each of them offers a $1500. digital eBook publishing package to the winner.

This is a terrific opportunity for those of you who would like to have your book published as an eBook. Even if you've published your book in print, you may still be eligible for this event. As long as you have the rights to publish your work digitally, you can qualify.

But there's not a lot of time left to submit your entries. November 28th is the deadline for submission; contest winners will be announced on January 1st. Please visit the Little Pond website for more information at: www.littlepondpublishing.com.

Mark T. Bradbury, Author

Literary Associate of Little Pond Publishing

Digital Publisher | eBooks | Marketing

For information on my new eBook, Serpent's Curse, please follow the link:

http://littlepondpublishing.com/book-titles/serpents-curse-by-mark-t-bradbury/

Big Fish/Little Pond

Today being Veteran's Day, I'd like to start off by thanking every man and woman who has worn the uniform of one of our nation's service branches. We extend our gratitude to not only the living, but to the memory of everyone who has passed on, either through military conflict or just Life's natural causes. We salute you all! Thank you for your service!

If you've read my blog before, you've probably figured out that I'm a Red Sox fan. It already seems like a month has passed since the Sox won the World Series, but in reality, it's only been a week and a half. What can I say? I'm a baseball junkie! I missed watching them play on Thursday, the day after they won it all; I didn't sit around waiting for a few weeks to go by to start whining.

You didn't need to be a card-carrying member of Red Sox Nation to enjoy the Series this year. The Cardinals and Red Sox played a terrific series, one of the best in a while. Millions of people all over the world watched the games and heard about the amazing last-to-first Sox; they learned everything there was to know about the "chemistry" that General Manager Ben Cherington had created with a terrific mix of veterans, free agents and some rookies thrown in for good measure.

Chemistry. It's a great word, isn't it? It can be used in multiple contexts, but the team chemistry of this group was what everyone was talking about; it was their insane camaraderie that kept them going from the start of the season way back in April. It was as they say in Boston "a wicked fun ride."

I remember when I got a chemistry set for Christmas. This was way back before video games and tablets dominated youthful interests; I might even remember seeing dinosaurs around that time, that's how far back I go with this story. Some of my friends got a set, too, and before long we were learning how to make gunpowder and blowing things up. No, I'm not talking buildings, trucks or cars; just some stupid little things we'd find sitting around the old trash barrel behind the house. Although I do remember blowing up a big, fat, juicy tomato one time; man, did that make a mess!

But, I digress; sorry. We were talking about the Red Sox and all that incredible chemistry, weren't we?

It's Hot Stove time now; a time when we sit back every year and see what our favorite team is going to do to make the team better than it was last year. Will they improve by signing free agents, making big trades, or maybe just handing over a critical position to an untested rookie? It's all part of the fun; it's what we baseball junkies live for all winter long until we see TV reports of pitchers and catchers in Spring Training throwing baseballs around again.

The General Managers' Annual Meetings commenced today in Orlando, Florida. It's the start of the offseason action; big things will start to happen very soon. Players will sign with new teams, trades will be discussed and maybe even completed, and we'll all begin to see what our team will look like for 2014.

A few of the same people who were saying what an incredible year they had playing in Boston just a week ago have made it clear they're looking for a big payday, and are testing the waters of free agency. They'll be gone soon, and the chemistry they shared with each of their teammates, coaches and Manager John Farrell will disappear with them. We'll have new players to cheer for and follow, but it won't be the 2013 Boston Red Sox. This was a very special group, and I am only one of thousands who will never forget this team.

Mark T. Bradbury, Author

Literary Associate of Little Pond Publishing

Digital Publisher | eBooks | Marketing

For information on my new eBook, Serpent's Curse, please follow the link:

http://littlepondpublishing.com/book-titles/serpents-curse-by-mark-t-bradbury/

Big Fish/Little Pond

Remember when you could trust the people you did business with? When you knew the local owner because he lived down the street and his kids played ball with yours? Today, large franchise companies put themselves in a position that almost guarantees that they'll make a great profit from doing business with all of us by eliminating their competition. Sadly, the "mom & pop" businesses that built our great country have mostly disappeared. They're unable to compete with these franchise store businesses because they've been priced out of the market. 

That would be okay if we all benefited from it; it would just be chalked up to "progress." Unfortunately, once these companies have established themselves as the only game in town, things change. Their prices go up because we don't even notice; they convinced us long ago that they were the cheapest and now we take it for granted. Because a store is part of a big chain, we assume that their pricing will always be the best, but it's not.

 Saturday afternoon my partner Joan and I went grocery shopping. After fighting the crowd for an hour (Saturday afternoon, Joan reminded me, is not when you should go to a Wal-Mart Super Store), we finally got out of there and loaded our groceries into my vehicle. We headed for home, but after about a mile I noticed steam coming from the front of my Explorer. I turned around and headed for the nearest auto repair shop I could get to.

I didn't have time to shop as the smoke poured out from under my hood, so the shop I pulled into was one of the many tire store chains that advertise themselves as service centers. After an inspection by a service tech, I was told that the parts for my car needed to come from a Ford dealer, and I'd have to leave the vehicle there for the weekend. I was given a "rough estimate" of around $400, maybe less.

It certainly put a damper on my weekend. No wheels and a big repair bill; how much fun is that?

This morning I received a cheery call from the tire store. The work was now going to cost me $728, and would I like them to get started? After extracting my head from the ceiling tiles, I flatly told him no. I called my regular service shop, owned by a local guy with a superior reputation. After telling him what was wrong, he did some research and called me back. "I'll get this fixed for $500, or less, if you can get it here." I got it there two hours later.

But here's the good part: when I called the tire store to tell them someone would be picking my Explorer up in an hour, my price started dropping. I no longer needed a coolant flush, etc., which was part of the originally inflated estimate; "we can do this for $546 instead. Would you reconsider leaving it?"

What do you think I told him? Yeah, you probably figured it out. Support your local small businesses; they're your neighbors. 

Mark T. Bradbury lives on the central east coast of Florida after growing up in Massachusetts. Now, after nearly twenty years, he considers Florida his home ground, but his New England roots are still very much alive. He works in the publishing business and also writes; he's the author of an eBook called "Serpent's Curse," an action-adventure set in Florida and Mexico. To purchase his book go to:

          http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G9I8MEI
          https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/serpents-curse/id727826815?mt=11
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/serpents-curse-mark-t-bradbury/1117054863?ean=2940148783268