Creative Writing

 We Americans are, above all, innovators. With the Pandemic we have created new, innovative responses to an evil virus. It has not been, however, the most innovative period in our history. That came immediately after 1776, when we declared ourselves free and independent from George III and the British empire. In THE WORDS THAT MADE US, by Akhil Reed Amar, the 800+ page book in which I have gotten to less than 200 pages and will be forced to return to the library this week, the former colonists of 13 separate states were suddenly tasked with bringing forth a state constitution. Collectively, they made several attempts. Proposed constitutions were widely published in the newspapers, and to a large extent, the writers copied from each other. It was a HUGE, unprecedented exercise in self-government. They were asking themselves and each other, what are the rules we are going to live by? How innovative can that be -- we get to establish the rules that are going to govern our lives. Talk about creative writing.

Jobs for the Homeless

 I'm so pleased, my letter to the KCStar editor was published this morning, September 24, on the lower right corner of page 9A. Some homeless people DO want to work, but they need a place to clean up and get some decent clothes before they apply for a job. I keep wondering if there aren't some thrift shops that could help with this need.

Ensorparkandmuseum.org

 The City of Olathe has allowed Ensorparkandmuseum.org

to be opened on a limited Saturday and Sunday schedule in September and October. Yesterday a visitor was a neighbor who knew Loretta Ensor, and who is an amateur radio license holder himself. It's my understanding that a video interview was filmed, and in time may be available on YouTube. The property was operated as a farm, but Marshall and Loretta also left an amazing legacy as early amateur pioneer hams, talking to people all over the world from their tiny little remote farm in rural Johnson County.

Everything in the home and the adjoining buildings is authentic.

Marshall's sweater and an apron still hang on hooks just inside the kitchen door.

A Boost from QST Magazine

 Soon after Sidewalk Sale Across America came out, an editor at QST, the member magazine for ARRL (American Radio Relay League) sent me an email that they might mention the book in a 'stray' news item.

Of course, I've been waiting (im)patiently ever since. It happened with the October issue, which came out in early September. The item is down in the lower right column of page 95. (I have that memorized.) Last Saturday I drew red lines around the item, with red arrows covering the rest of the page. I passed it around the radio club meeting Saturday.

And one of them asked me, {Did you have to pay extra for the red arrows?"

Sidewalk Sale Across America is available from Amazon, as a Kindle or a soft cover. It's getting great FIVE-Star reviews.

What do you think A1 Stands For?

 You think AI stands for Artificial Intelligence? No way. AI stands for Accumulated Information. If one person told you the moon is not made of green cheese, you would not be inclined to believe that person.

But if ten people told you the moon was not made of green cheese, you would get right in line.

Remember that -- Accumulated Information.

And NOW -- something different -- A COOKING LESSON

 Want to know how to improve your sandwich-making skills?

The first -- and most important -- step:

Spread what will be the inner side of two slices of bread with room-temperature butter. Go clear to the outer edges. Scrape the knife over the surface to remove any excess butter,

Proceed with the other ingredients of the sandwich, maybe mayonnaise or mustard. The tiny bits of butter just on the surface of the slice of bread will protect the bread from becoming soggy until lunchtime comes and you are ready to eat it. 

Radio Garage Sale

 The Radio Garage Sale in Lawremce was cancelled, to my great dismay. I was looking forward to meeting some Douglas County hams. It may be re-scheduled to September.

The Pandemic, Covid-19 variants, seems to be coming back with a vengance. All the more reason to contniue encouraging sidewalk sales. I can see a sequel in the making. The most recent reviewer, someone identified as 'Drome' (sic), wrote "An enjoyable and fun book to read. At the end I wanted more."

Sidewalk Sale Across America

 Sidewalk Sale Across America was not the original title. While working on the manuscript, I referred to it as The Queen, by which I meant The Queen of Sidewalk Sales. I'm not exactly superstiticious, but I prefer to use a working title prior to completion. It was my co-editor, Britt Nichols, who gave the book the official title. It took me about six weeks to pound out the framework, and together Britt and I spent probably another six weeks polishing the work. We've entered a few writing contests which have off-year deadlines. Most writing contests involve the entire calendar year. We won't be able to hold our breath that long.

Good Day on Saturday

Saturday was a very good day. Sold some books -- Sidewalk Sale Across America --  gave away a lot of bookmarks during a "special event" at Ensorparkandmuseum.org . The event was to mark the 80th anniversary of Marshall Ensor receiving the Paley award for activities in the field of amateur radio. Operating from the Santa Fe Trail Amateur Radio Club trailer, club members made contact with other hams in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

It was just a fun activity, a chance for brief ragchews, practice for having equipment in good working order, ready to provide emergency communications. Disasters are unpredictable. What is predictable is the readiness of amateur radio hams to provide critical communication capabilities.

100 Hits on Kindle?

 I wish I knew how to interpret Amazon's reports on book sales, but it looks like Sidewalk Sale Across America got over 100 hits on one of the days over Memorial weekend. That's a lot of people. I wish I knew who some of them were. It's a short book, maybe a little over 50,000 words, but there are several stories woven through the pages. With so many people working from home, will Harold be able to keep his job with the vending machine company? Can Sabrina save her yarn shop? Will the neighbor who volulnteers to help when Sabrina is in quarantine -- whose late wife was a quilter, not a knitter -- ever learn how yarn is measured? And the unfortunate raccoon, who the amateur radio hams reported being hit on the Overpass, will the poor creature reover enough to be released back in the wild? Quirky and endearing characters one reviewer said.

SIX -- count 'em -- SIX

 SIDEWALK SALE ACROSS AMERICA now has six 5-Star reviews. The headline on the last one is "The ingenuity of the American spirit shines through".

The headline before that is "Ordinary People Striving in Extraordinary Times".

Please, if you have read the book, let me hear from you.

Why Did I Marry a Journalist?

 I first read The Front Page, that landmark stage play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, in high school as a printed script, and it was not an assignment. I had to go to a lot of trouble to get a copy. I was mesmerized. It was decades before I saw the story as a movie. Since, I have seen it as a stage play twice and several movie versions. The first time we were in London, my daughter insisted we would see the stage play, 'The Windy City'. I balked. Drug my feet. Why did I go all the way to London to see a play about Chicago? When the curtains opened, I knew -- it was The Front Page! So why did I go and marry a journalist? There must have been a reason.

Read Local KC

 A kind fellow writer has posted SIDEWALK SALE ACROSS AMERICA on ReadLocalKC at   https://www.facebook.com/ReadLocalKansasCity   Besides the Harkins, Harold and Sabrina, my writer colleague also had some nice things to say about the rest of the characters, each one with their own story, Nathan, and Tressa, and Nana and Dayl, plus several amateur radio hams and knitters. In spire of all that, it's a quick easy read at about 50,000 words. I no longer believe in books so long they keep you up all night.

Sharing With Libraries

 Both the Oskaloosa Independent (full disclosure, my son, Rick, is the editor) and the Valley Falls Vindicator ran an article, along with a picture of the front cover, I thought it appropriate, then, to offer a free copy of SIDEWALK SALE ACROSS AMERICA to the Jefferson County libraries.

That would be Winchester, (which has a lovely separate library building, made possible by funds contributed by a former resident who had a successful career in Silicon Valley). Others were Nortonville, McClouth, Oskaloosa, Valley Falls, Meriden/Osawkie, and the commlunity library at the Highland College satellite campus in Perry. Mission completed yessterday.

SIDEWALK SALE ACROSS AMERICA

 So what have I been doing during the Pandemic?

Writing a novel about the Pandemic.

The Harkins family is struggling to get back to normal. Harold, also an amateur radio ham, is fearful his day job with a vending machine company will vanish -- so many people working from home -- but he feels confident the family will survive with the income from his wife's yarn shop. Sabrina is afraid her yarn shop will go broke, but she feels comfortable that the family will stay afloat with her husband's steady paycheck.

Unless you can catch me or my co-editor, Britt Nichols, tooling around in our vehicles, you can order SIDEWALK SALE ACROSS AMERICA from Amazon -- either Kindle or paperback.  If you like the book, consider posting a 5-STAR review on Amazon. If you do not like it, send me an e-mail at kd0vqo@arrl.net

Blog Recovered

 She's back. Not for the first time. She's elusive, comes and goes. Every time I try to access blogspot the navigation has changed, and I am an old grey-haired mouse in a new maze. Lost again. Long ago I gave up trying to find some coaching for blogspot. Went to computer class after computer class. I learned a lot from one group that I joined. Every month a questionnaire was passed out to the members, how did you like today's meeting, what future topics would you like to see covered and I would write "blogspot" and the next month we would have someone speaking about youtube, or how to send e-mails, or managing spread sheets. All helpful except for blogspot.