THE PATRON SAINT OF WRITERS

When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time."
–                                                                          St. Francis De Sales

About St. Francis De Sales

St. Francis de Sales (1567–1622), known as the Gentle Saint, was bishop of Geneva. His motto was, "He who preaches with love preaches effectively," and his religious texts, including Introduction to the Devout Life, have resonated with many non-Catholics. Pope Pius IX proclaimed him a patron saint of writers. Some consider him a patron saint of the deaf; he invented a form of sign language to teach a young deaf man how to communicate.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

This Was Helpful To Me: 
    http://www.wimp.com/thegovernment/

This website/video looks and sounds like simple high school "book learning," but it made clear to me some important things about my good life in the USA.

http://www.wimp.com/thegovernment/

   It reduces the emphasis on "Liberals" and "Conservatives." It challenges the myths spread by some TV commentators and debunks the promises made by the gang of "We'll Take Care Of You" politicians.
   In laying out the basics, it serves as a warning to me that our country's system might be quietly changing. Based on other histories of the world, this could become very troublesome.
   I appreciate my friend who sent this to me. It awoke me from my unconcerned, day-to-day existence. I now remember that I have a duty to become more active in my community affairs.

             http://aronbestsellers.com

PEACE BE WITH YOU

              It Is Too Great Of A Day
      To Have Only One Good Thought.
                     Thought #2
                            For
            Tuesday, August 4, 2009:

"I have no right to say or do anything that diminishes a man in his own eyes. What matters is not what I think of him, but what he thinks of himself. Hurting a man in his dignity is a crime."
                      Antoine de Saint-Exupery as quoted in
                            How to Win Friends & Influence People, 
                                           by Dale Carnegie, p 226


      

               Failure seldom stops me.

              What frequently stops me

                   is the fear of failure.
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             Another version of "One Day At A Time"

"Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more."
                                                     – Louis L'Amour, the famous writer
                                                                            of pulp westerns

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      "Who looks outside, dreams.
        Who looks inside, awakens."
                                        Carl Jung
        "Dream big dreams,
          then put on your overalls."
                                         Trigger Bill

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                   Upon Awakening 
               My First Thought Was ...
                        GO FOR IT!

Then I read:
"You miss 100% of the shots you never take."
                                                                                         – Wayne Gretsky

     I have the feeling this will be a fantastic Friday!

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                                         FISHING

"Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish."
                                                                              – Ovid
                                                               The Roman Poet  

   Years ago I was fly casting for trout in a high mountain lake. I had waded out from the shore to get a better chance to catch something. As I made my backcast in preparation to fling the fly way out there, I felt my line pull up tight.
   Thinking I was snagged on a weed or limb, I pulled hard but to no avail. Then the snag began to move! A good sized trout had been cruising the shoreline and had grabbed the fly.
   I try to remember that experience, especially when I think I know what I'm doing in life.

             http://aronbestsellers.com

         My Philosophy About Writing
           (If someone earlier created this thought,
                        then I stole it with ESP)

         "Ideas for sale. Words are free."


                    http://aronbestsellers.com

                         Interesting Moral Question

   You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus:

1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.

2. An old friend who once saved your life.

3. The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.
 
   Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car? Think before you continue reading.
   This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application. You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first. Or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your
perfect mate again. What do you do?
   The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered:
    'I would give the car keys to my old friend and ask him take the old lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.'

                   http://aronbestsellers.com

                   Gobbledygook
                       From The
                   Business World

"Information wants to be free, but it also wants to be expensive."
                                   -- Stewart Brand

     "Often wrong. Never in doubt."
                                    -- Marc Andreessen


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                 I CAN BE GREAT
Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great.
                                                                                        -- Mark Twain


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I feel good today and I know that

   "I AM A MIRACLE OF LIFE!" 


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The Six-Word Story

My Opinion:

  The greatest six-word story ever written --

      "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
                                                                           Ernest Hemingway

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Political Question

If con is the opposite of pro,

is Congress the opposite of

progress?


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DO IT NOW

                        1440

The number of minutes in this day is
one thousand four hundred and forty.
At first that seems like a lot of time. I
certainly could not hold my breath or
jog that long.
Then I realize that 670 minutes have
already passed in this day and it's
only eleven-ten in the morning. Most
discomforting, I can't get the 670 back.
They are gone forever.
One way I can get the most out of this
day is to follow the slogan:
                   DO IT NOW
Whether it's write a new story, go for a
walk, take a nap, read a book, or reconcile
my checking account, if it is to be done,
                    DO IT NOW
This is one of the suggestions in Success
Through Positive Mental Attitude by Hill
and Stone.
I want my life to improve and I believe that
I'll be happier if I consider new ideas.
So here goes DO IT NOW. Gone is the old
thought - Round Tuit.
Let's see what happens next.
          http://aronbestsellers.com

Belief v. Snoops

June 23, 2009

                         Belief v. Snoops

During the last ten or so months, a modern day artisan named Victor has been helping (for free) the rebuilding of flood-damaged homes in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The local newspaper wrote this story about him:

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090620/NEWS/706209936/-1/FLOOD

Some who witnessed and benefited from his work have been deeply moved by the experience. They believe that he is a man totally surrendered to God, whose prayers are answered ... a man who himself may be an answer to many prayers.

As of today there have been twitters of doubt and skepticism about Victor. Much of the material world cannot let reports of such a spiritual experience stand. It must be discredited, sooner or later, right?

What comes to mind is the legend of the circular stairway in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. After about one hundred years, the skeptics had enough of all the miracle talk. Research was done and books were written debunking the entire matter.

Of course the nuns and other witnesses to the stairway's construction had been long dead. The skeptics had no one to challenge their intellect. Their persuasiveness even led the Internet investigator of rumors (Snoops) to label the mystery of the stairway as false.

Such has been the case even with the mystery of Jesus and the Bible's record of his life. Skeptics have long debunked the stories and laughed at the believers. The kindest critics gave Jesus no status greater than merely a good man or a teacher. His divinity, though the foundation of organized religion for two thousand years, could not be accepted.

In the year 2109 will there be convincing proof that Victor was a charlatan and a fraud? That he secretly pocketed millions while pretending to work for free? Is it far-fetched to anticipate that in one hundred years, the 2008 Cedar Rapids flood will be considered just an exaggerated report? Will Victor be replaced in history by Barrack Obama, the president of the United States?

Will the world continue to see a conflict between belief and Snoops?

I pray that the witnesses to Victor's activities in Cedar Rapids get off the merry-go-round of life long enough to write books about this event. Their writings may not carry the weight of the Bible or stop the skeptics. However, the books will make their late-day efforts much more difficult in 2109.

They might even inspire future generations to live a useful and totally surrendered life.

 

Thoughts For Father's Day 2009

   When I turned 21 I had just graduated from college. I went to my father and asked him what I needed to do to be successful in life. I expected his answer to be like how to make money or how to marry the right woman, etc.
   However Dad told me, "All you have to do is to trust God." That seemed pretty lame. I knew that there had to be more to it than that.
   Twenty-nine years later I walked into a spiritual group to try to improve my life. THEY TOLD ME THE SAME THING!
   I had gone through hell with my hat off all those years and I had known the answer all the time! Fortunately Dad lived long enough for me to tell him "thanks."
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A Reminder For Me To Pray

   Ever so often I need to be reminded to pray. This usually occurs when I've been thinking too much.
   Last week someone popped this one-liner on me and I can't get it out of my mind.
          God's the answer,
       what's your question?
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CONGRATULATIONS TO SOME REAL PATRIOTS

       CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to my writer friend "Scarlatti" and to the citizens of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She and all of them are real Heroes - Real Patriots. 

One year ago this week (June 12 - June 19) a huge flood hit their city. TEN SQUARE MILES were inundated. Thousands lost their homes and businesses.

Scarlatti was washed out of her historic family home; watched its walls collapse inward under the water pressure. 

One day she was living an active, productive life. Two days later she was removing her precious belongings by canoe.

She saved small animals and pets and united with her neighbors in life-saving, sanity-saving measures. She began living in her car, in an empty office, in someone's spare bedroom, and finally in a tin-can of a trailer with vermin and bad water.

Immediately after the initial shock wore off, the rebuilding began.The total task was huge, but the federal government was nearly invisible. It was busy bailing out greedy people living in safe and dry parts of our country.

Local church members and other citizen volunteers contributed free rehabilitation of the homes, including Scarlatti's. Not only did they rebuild her family home for free, they helped inspire her and the others to become overcomers of this natural catastrophe.

One year to the date of the flood, Scarlatti moved back into her refurbished home.

But what about the economic impact? Was there a bailout in Cedar Rapids? Maybe so, but the real recovery was self-directed.

Scarlatti never quit her parttime job as a realtor (Deborah Lebeda.) She and others approached their work with a purpose of helping the flooded homeless. Their income was down, of course, but they remained gainfully employed. They were useful, helpful.

Scarlatti and the citizens of Cedar Rapids, Iowa are real heroes and definitely are patriots.

They probably do not want to be recognized as such. Certainly the mainstream news media doesn't care about them. However, for every one of them, ten of us have been touched and inspired. Our entire country, not just Cedar Rapids, is a better place because of them

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

HOW I'VE BEEN CHANGED

"To change one's life:
              1. Start immediately. 
              2. Do it flamboyantly.
              3. No exceptions."
                              – William James

 

American psychologist and philosopher William James, brother to author Henry James, wrote voluminously during his life, exploring a range of issues from a theory of emotion to a philosophy of history. He was born in New York in 1842 and wanted to be an artist, but his father disapproved. He obtained a medical degree, but felt unsatisfied  He then began his more fulfilling second career. His thoughts helped inspire and support several American movements including Alcoholics Anonymous. He died in 1910.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

June 8, 2009 NOTICE

NOTICE -- This Blog will be shut down temporarily for re-evaluation of the legal status of the messages that have been posted. Website lawyer has advised that violations have occured in the nature of the entries without express reference to or permission from the original author.
   Since T.S. Eliot is dead there will be a delay in complying with the legal advice.
_______________________________________________________

June 8, 2009

 

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."
                                                                                                     – T.S. Eliot

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

SOMEBODY SPECIAL

Somebody Special As A Role Model For Me:

 

                         Linus Pauling

American chemist Linus Pauling is the only person ever awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes. He was born in Portland in 1901. He won a Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his breakthrough work on hemoglobins and proteins. He also originated the theory that DNA was formed in a double helix. He became a peace activist after studying fallout from nuclear bombs. His influence and work in concert with other scientists led to a test ban treaty and his second Nobel Prize, for Peace, in 1963. He died in 1994.

What I Can Change

   I have accepted the notion that I can change myself regardless of my genetic analysis or environmental history. When I Let Go and Let God in these matters, I have no limits on my potential. With God, all things are possible.
   On the other hand I must never over-estimate my ability to change others. That too is a Let Go and Let God matter.
   However, as I change me and my awareness, others seem to change also. I wonder whether they always were different from what I thought they were. Probably so.


With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

IS IT LEGAL OR ILLEGAL?

   History proves absolutely that everything Hitler did was entirely legal.
   History also shows that everything George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and all the early Americans -- everything that those guys did was illegal.
   What a cop-out the legal issue is for not following our own intuition and our own standards.
   By the way, this is not my great intellectual prowess bursting forth. No way. A guy named Martin Luther King wrote this while in jail.
   Go figure.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

A Rose

"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses."
                                                     – Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

       

A Life-long Montra - I Must Change

"Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken."
                                                                      – Frank Herbert

About Frank Herbert

American author Frank Herbert is the author of Dune, the ecological science-fiction classic that has inspired cult-like devotion among fans. He was born in Tacoma in 1920. He lied about his age to get his first newspaper job in 1939. He was inspired to write Dune after researching an article about sand dunes in Oregon. The book took six years to write and was rejected by 23 publishers. It was a critical success for its exploration of issues of religion, politics, and survival. He died in 1986.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Really Happy

      

Quote of the Day

"Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is."
– Aleksei Peshkov

About Aleksei Peshkov

Russian social realist author Aleksei Peshkov, known as Maxim Gorky, was so esteemed that his birthplace, Nizhny Novgorod, was renamed Gorky in his honor. He was born in 1868. His parents died when he was young, and he left his home at age 12. He was arrested in the late 1880's as a revolutionary. His writing, including his best-known novel, The Mother, portrayed a decadent society and immense poverty. He became disillusioned after the Russian Revolution, feeling Lenin's Communism was little better. He died in 1936.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

My Kind Of Guy

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
                                               – St. Francis of Assisi

 

About St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology in Catholicism, was born Giovanni "Francesco" Bernardone into a wealthy Italian merchant family in 1181. As a youth, he was known for carousing. After a series of illnesses, one of which occured while a prisoner of war, he had a spiritual awakening. God came to him in a vision and told him to build up his crumbling church. Taking the dream literally, he began rebuilding a local chapel. He took a vow of poverty and began traveling, preaching, and working to help the sick and the poor. A group formed around him, becoming the Franciscan order. He died in 1226.

My Kind Of Guy!

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Writing A New Story

Saturday, May 23, 2009

                                Spiritually Driven

 

    As a writer I usually feel called to always look forward. I try not to base my story expectations upon the past -- what happened, who I was with, what I once wrote or said. Memories can provide inspiration or insight, but I do not allow them to restrict me.

    Sometimes I just try to shut down my magnificent brain and immerse myself in peaceful meditation. In that condition I usually receive new revelations of divine inspiration.
   I see past any old limitations and I recognize new resources, strengths, and insights. My comprehension expands beyond what I would have usually considered.      
   Filled with new ideas and energy, I align with God as I understand Him. Then I do my best to follow through on a divine plan. Without exception my story takes off in an unexpected and delightful direction.
   As its first reader, I, the author, am fully entertained. What a joy!
 

         "I about to do a new thing; now it  
     springs forth, do you not perceive 
     it?"
                                                             -- Isaiah 43:19

        With Respect & Gratitude,
                       Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

What I Oppose Gets Stronger?

May 17, 2009 Quote of the Day "Everything you are against weakens you. Everything you are for empowers you." – Dr. Wayne Dyer

                             About Dr. Wayne Dyer

Dr. Wayne Dyer, called the father of motivation by his fans, is a clinical psychologist and author of such best sellers as Your Erroneous Zones and The Power of Intention. He was born in 1940 in Detroit and grew up in orphanages and foster homes. After four years in the Navy, he received his doctorate from the University of Michigan. His spiritually based message focuses on self-reliance and ways to change the tenor of one's thoughts. He has appeared on the Today Show, The Tonight Show, and Oprah. He now lives in Maui.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

GOD IS THE SOURCE

I HAVE TO REMEMBER: GOD IS THE SOURCE OF ALL THINGS IN MY LIFE - ALL OF IT. I AM RICH, PROSPEROUS, WEALTHY, AND SUCCESSFUL BY GOD'S GRACE.
		Today's Daily Word - Friday, May 15, 2009 Prosperity Divine love is my source of abundance. My life overflows with good. Whenever feelings of lack begin to surface, I quickly reverse my thinking and affirm: My life is filled with the abundant love of God. Divine love is my unlimited supply in all matters and my definitive answer to every doubt or concern. Centering myself in God, I devote time to prayer. Exercising my faith, I achieve calm and balance. With a spiritual perspective, I realize how prosperous I am. I have patience because I know that the perfect fulfillment of my faith is being revealed. When the answer appears, I witness the power of God at work in my life. What could the source of this activity be other than divine love? Divine love is the source of my abundance, and my life overflows with good.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Lord, Help Me Keep My Mouth Shut

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
– Lady Dorothy Nevill

 

                                   About Lady Dorothy Nevill

Lady Dorothy Nevill, the noted British gardener, was one of the most celebrated society hostesses of her day; her salons attracted leading writers, artists, and statesmen. She was born Dorothy Walpole in 1826 in England. She married a wealthy cousin with a 23-acre estate, where she pursued her interest in plants. She built 13 greenhouses and carried on an extensive correspondence with Charles Darwin. Her memoir, Leaves From the Note-Books of Lady Dorothy Nevill, was published in 1906. She died in 1913.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Imagination

"The power of imagination makes us infinite."
                                                                                                              – John Muir 

                                        About John Muir

American naturalist John Muir is remembered as a passionate champion of the natural wonder of Yosemite; he was instrumental in turning the land into a national park. Born in Scotland in 1838, he immigrated with his family to Wisconsin in 1849. He dropped out of college to walk 1,000 miles from Indiana to Florida. After falling in love with Yosemite, he took a job herding sheep nearby. He developed the theory that the valley was created by glaciers, which is now accepted as fact. He died in 1914.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Alaska Isn't "Cold"

   Cold is appreciated only in the eye of the beholder. Generally speaking, Alaskans have a tougher view of REAL cold. The guys down south are creampuffs.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com
Cold is a relative thing.....
 
65 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Alaska plant gardens of huge vegetables.

60 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Alaska sunbathe (they also sunbathe in the winter, for 20 minutes then the sun sets.)

50 above zero:
Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Alaska drive with the windows down.

40 above zero:
Georgians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, and wool hats.
People in Alaska throw on a flannel shirt.

35 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Alaska have a last cookout before it gets cold.

20 above Zero
People in Miami all die.
Alaskans close some of the windows.

Zero:
Californians run away to Mexico .
People in Alaska get out their winter coats. 

10 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Alaska are selling cookies
door to door.

20 below zero:
Washington DC runs out of hot air.
People in Alaska let the dogs sleep indoors...sometimes.

30 below zero: 
Massachusetts airports cancel airline flights because wing defrosting won't work.
Alaskans get upset when they can't keep the frost off the windshields of their snowmobiles
 
40 below zero:
All atomic motion stops. 
People in Alaska start saying...'Cold enough for ya?

50 below zero:
Hell freezes over. 
Alaska public schools will open 2 hours late

Rise To Greatness

It is the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected of him."
                                                                                       – John Steinbeck

I have the feeling that this is true even if I am the one who expects my greatness. I do not need a consensus of the opinions of others to spark my essential nature.

It's great to be back on this blog. I was out-of-pocket and out of town for a while.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

I Believe In My Dreams

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
– Eleanor Roosevelt

                      About Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was a powerful political figure in her own right, crusading tirelessly for humanist causes. She was born in New York in 1884 and was orphaned young. After Franklin was struck by polio, she acted as his eyes and ears. She was central to the creation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which she considered her crowning achievement, and wrote numerous essays, including a long-running column called "My Day." She died in 1962.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Got To Listen To A Guy Whose Middle Name Is Wolfgang

"To think is easy. To act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult."
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

               About Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the multitalented and prolific German author and scientist, is best known for the play Faust, which has been adapted into operas, films, and novels. He was born in 1749 in Frankfurt. An unhappy love affair inspired his first play; his similarly themed novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, created the prototype of the romantic hero. He also invented the color wheel concept of light and made important discoveries in plant and human biology. He died in 1832.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

The Mind of Tom - Very, Very Strange

I can't explain it.
I'm just reporting.
Late Saturday. March 7, 2009.
   This afternoon I saw the Clint Eastwood movie Grand Torino. Lots of violence. Great profanity. Politically incorrect. Some foreign language spoken WITHOUT subtitles. In the end, a guy is killed by gunfire - lots of gunfire. He was shot maybe 200 times. It was wonderful.
    I fell asleep upon returning home and dreamed of riding off with Dirty Hairy into the Colorado Rocky Mountains. We were in a streaky-green Hummer. I think we shot a Sasquatch wearing a Rockies cap.
   Woke up at 6 p.m., having missed my 5:30 meeting. No guilt about that. Clint showed enough of that character trait in the film.
   An hour and a half later I found myself sitting in the Ninth Avenue United Church of Christ watching a performance of The Longmont Chorale. They sang some stuff by Franz Joseph Hayden ... celebrated his being dead 200 years.
   The highlight was a performance of "Missa in Angustiis" (the Lord Nelson Mass). For the most part it was sung in Latin. I cried a little. I have not heard a Mass sung in Latin for 55 years ... about the same time as Clint Eastwood's Grand Torino character was fighting in the Korean War.
   I was not in Korea - I was in Miss Craig's Latin class learning the language and getting subliminal instruction in how to become a good Catholic.
   My friend Sally got me a ticket to the Chorale performance and overall, it was great. However, they put her on the riser behind a woman with a tall blond wig. Sally could not see the faces I made at her. Silently I prayed that Clint Eastwood would come along. He'd known some cool stuff to do about the blond.
   About 9:15 my mind started really acting up. I imagined that the Grand Torino foreigners were yelling at Clint in Latin. I became convinced that the old lady sitting beside me had died. (It was just past her bed time.)
   Before I crossed that invisible line beyond which psychotherapists are needed, I heard their singing of Dona nobis pasem! It was the final stanza of the performance (and rightly it means "grant us peace.")
   It was a wonderful event. However, the whole day was very, very strange. As I go to sleep, I pray that God doesn't waste his time explaining the diversity of my entertainment to me. Don't want to hear it ... might have something to do with the word "nuts."

With Respect & Gratitude,
Tom
http://aronbestsellers.com

Money - Money - Money

"It is more satisfactory to live richly to than die rich."
                                            Sir Thomas Browne

   "I want the last check I write in life to bounce."
                                from the movie - Oceans Eleven

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Alaska is getting older and so am I

Wow! It surprises me to realize that when I worked in Juneau, the State was less than ten years old. That also was the era of the people and events I wrote into my novel Sour Rain.
I do not feel ancient, but I think that my bear-hunting days are behind me. I'd still go to Alaska to try to catch a fat trout or a huge salmon. Yep, no more bears and I never was excited about the moose, a caribou, or the teenie weenie coastal deer.
Maybe I should consider doing something I long believed was too tame for me to do ... find a date and take her on a cruise to Alaska. A guy should go to Alaska at least once every fifty years!

With Respect & Gratitude,
Tom
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Alaska's 50th Anniversary Happy 50th Birthday Alaska! Alaska became the 49th State of the Union on January 3, 1959. The United States congress signed the bill authorizing a vote for statehood by Alaska residents in the summer of 1958. The following year, on January 3rd, 1959 Alaskan's voted to become a state and President Eisenhower ratified the count later that day. The historic photo to your left shows President Dwight Eisenhower with the Secretary of Interior Gerald Ford and Alaska's territorial Governor, Mike Stepovich. Statewide celebrations began as early as last summer and will continue throughout the year. This summer will be a special time to visit Alaska as many communities and tourism businesses continue to recognize the anniversary locally through special events and special savings for travelers. In Anchorage, the Anchorage Museum is celebrating its grand reopening after completing a $106 million expansion. The Museum has special that exhibits will mark the anniversary including the American Museum of Natural History's traveling exhibit "Gold!" that will be sure to amaze summer visitors with more than 300 gold objects. The Anchorage Museum will add an Alaska-specific gold exhibit titled "Pay Dirt!' explaining why there is gold in Alaska, how gold has historically affected the state's economy and what life was like during the Gold Rush. In addition, the Anchorage Museum will offer a special exhibit honoring the 50th Anniversary of Alaska Statehood called "Life in Alaska Leading to Statehood" Also new for the year, The Alaska Railroad is beginning premium Gold Star dome service to Seward. A ride via the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward is one of the most scenic routes in Alaska and traveling via the Gold Star dome car will make it an even more memorable experience. The Alaska Native Heritage Center is celebrating its 10 year anniversary along with Alaska"s 50th anniversary. The Center's theme this year is "Changing Lives, Living Values" to reflect the changes that have occurred to Native Alaskan culture in the modern era and the effort to maintain their traditional values. This summer is sure to be a unique opportunity to save on Alaska Tour & Travel"s custom vacation packages as there are terrific values to be found on our web specials page including our "Turn 50 with Alaska and travel FREE" offer which provides the opportunity for visitors who are turning 50 in 2009 to travel free both on the Alaska Railroad and on the Park Connection motorcoach.

Life Is What We Make It

"Life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be."
– Grandma Moses
 

                              About Grandma Moses

American folk artist Anna Mary Robertson, better known as Grandma Moses, began painting in her late 70's when arthritis made it difficult for her to wield an embroidery needle. She was born in 1860 in rural New York and lived most of her life as a farmer's wife until an art collector discovered her work gathering dust in a shop window. She became a success at age 80 for her colorful, primitive depictions of country life and her feisty, down-home personality. She died in 1961 at age 101.


With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Hope & Expectation

"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something wonderful tomorrow."
– Orison Swett Marden

                          About Orison Swett Marden

Orison Swett Marden, the American writer who is considered the forerunner of motivational authors, wrote an average of two books a year from 1894 to 1924. He was born on a New England farm in 1850. During college, he worked in hotel management. He then used his seed money to buy a resort in Rhode Island. Wanting to inspire people as he himself had been inspired by British author Samuel Smiles, he began writing books like You Can, But Will You? and founded Success Magazine. He died in 1924.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

The Economy Of The Heart

"Forgiveness is the economy of the heart.…forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits."
– Hannah More
 

                                      About Hannah More

English writer and philanthropist Hannah More, one of the most influential women of her time, is seen as a proto-feminist because she argued for true education for women. She was born near Bristol in 1745. When her long engagement to a local landowner ended badly, he gave her a yearly stipend in apology, which allowed her the freedom to move to London and write plays. She later shifted to philanthropic work and writing popular religious tracts. She died in 1833.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Goals Aren't Just For Hockey

February 22, 2009 Quote of the Day "The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach." – Benjamin Mays

 

                              About Benjamin Mays

African-American minister Benjamin Mays laid the foundation for the civil rights movement with his books and speeches and as a mentor to Martin Luther King. He was born in 1894 in South Carolina to tenant farmer parents. His study, The Negro's Church, co-written with Joseph Nicholson, was a groundbreaking look at the black religious experience. Mays served as president of Morehouse College from 1940 to 1967. His work emphasized the inherent dignity in all people. He died in 1984.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Being Discontent Can Be A Blessing

This is true for me right now - February 19, 2009, at 4:50 a.m. ---

"Discontent is the first step in progress. No one knows what is in him till he tries, and many would never try if they were not forced to."
– Basil Maturin

                                About Basil Maturin

British cleric Basil Maturin, renowned for his oratory skill, was ordained as an Anglican but later converted to Catholicism. He was born in 1847 in Ireland. He ministered in Philadelphia before returning to England in 1888 to resolve his conflict about his religious identity. He died on board the Lusitania when it was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915. He was observed giving last rites as the ship sank, looking pale but calm.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

A Very Special Tevye

   One of the great privileges I enjoy is to witness a live stage performance, be it music, dance, or drama. Every performance is a unique expression of talent, even if the production has been done thousands of times. 
   The priceless value is that each show is dynamic. The performers usually want to improve their presentation in every show. Equally important is that each audience can participate by feeding the actors with its energy.   
   I get to participate in a live show without involving my inadequate talent, yet the performers feel it, respond to it. 
   That means I get an original art work every time, unlike films or videos that always are the same. Their good scenes are always good and their gaffs always remain a flubber. I can throw a pillow at the TV set and the video does not change.
   However, in live performances there never can be identical ones, never another one exactly like the one I attended. Live performances never have the same audiences and the energy in the theater is always slightly different. 
   Each show always is "one of a kind."
   Therefore, with great anticipation I went to the Boulder (Colorado) High School presentation of Fiddler on the Roof. Not only was I not disappointed, I was amazed with the precocious talent of several of the actors, especially Noah Kloor who portrayed Tevye.
   Noah was not just "good for his age." He was good - period. For me Tevye now will always look, sound, and act like Noah Kloor of Boulder in 2009. He will succeed wherever he goes to college. 
   
With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

Imagination Is The Beginning

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will."
– George Bernard Shaw

                      About George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw, the witty British playwright best known for Arms and the Man and Pygmalion, is the only person to win both a Nobel Prize and an Academy Award. He was born in Dublin in 1856 but moved to London in the 1870s to begin his literary career. He wrote five novels, all rejected, before becoming a music critic; he began writing plays after a stint as drama critic. He was an outspoken Democratic Socialist; his plays include highly political prefaces. He died in 1950.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com

High Inspirations

Far away in the sunshine are my highest inspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead."
– Louisa May Alcott
 

                           About Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott, the beloved American author, is best known for her semiautobiographical novel, Little Women, which was made into a movie five different times. Born in 1832 near Philadelphia, she grew up in Massachusetts. Her family lived in the genteel poverty depicted in her fiction. She wrote lurid stories anonymously to bring in money but gained fame under her own name with young adult novels, which held readers with their warm characterizations and simple, engaging style. She died in 1888.

With Respect & Gratitude,
                Tom
       http://aronbestsellers.com