Angels Among Us

A few days ago I accompanied a friend to a doctor's appointment in Washington. Judy drove, and I got the job of navigator. We got to the hospital on time and Judy got good news about her condition with a 'wait and see' prescription from the specialist.

We were pretty happy on the turn-around, but somehow lost the route. Try as we might, we couldn't find the route out of town - although we did see some pretty nifty neighborhoods.

After a while it became clear that we were hopelessly lost. We stopped for directions, and although each person we asked seemed pretty clear about where we had to go, we continued to find new vistas, but no trail to home!

Finally, Judy stopped at a you-pump gas station where she struck up a conversation with a wonderful woman who went out of her way to lead us to the right route! What a relief. Not only was my friend relieved about her health problem, we were on the way back to the Eastern Shore! What a blessing.

It gave me reason to think. A total stranger went out of her way to help us! She must have been an angel for she had been there to help in a city of strangers. God surely blessed us that day! And He kept the promise that we would be safe...

It occurs to me that there are angels among us and that they will appear when trouble threatens. Both Judy and I were so thankful for the woman who helped us and we both wished there was a way to thank her.

I hope you find the angels in your life and that you keep on the sunny side. Love, Terry

Predictions for a New World

Good Morning Friends,

I sure hope you are keeping warm these days. I know I am finding it increasingly difficult to get out of my fuzzy robe when it is below zero outdoors. You watch, I predict one of these days the medical profession will perfect a hibernation pill and people will be able to nap away the winter with no ill effects.

Is that wishful thinking? Maybe, but I am a writer and I can't help but notice that writers are always thinking up nifty - but impossible - stuff that comes true in 20 or 40 or a hundred years. They call it Science Fiction, but I have the idea something else is at work. I think some writers develop a future sense that allows them to tell others what to expect a few years down the line.

Following that theory, I would like to throw out a few predictions:

In 10 years, people will be vaccinated for the disease of depression, saving thousands of lives and dollars every year.
In 20 years, science will 'discover' that people make themselves sick and that drugs do not fix disease.
In 30 years, people with middle and upper level incomes throughout their lives will have to prove real need in order to collect Social Security benefits.
In 40 years, wars will be waged on computers, with losers required to do community service.
In 50 years, all transportation will use alternate fuels and the use of petroleum products will be outlawed.

If you are still around after that, let me know how I did. Oh yes, and keep on the sunny side! Terry

Weekend With Sis

Good Morning Bloggers,

I spent this past weekend with a friend in Delaware. I met Sue nearly 20 years ago online, she paid me a visit shortly after, and we have been friends ever since.

Sue just loved Cambridge, and she has visited often over the years, helping me over the hard spots, and supporting the artistic endeavours I seem to need to keep my life going smoothly. People think we are sisters, and we don't mind. In fact, it seems like a good thing.

I do have some natural sisters, but they are far away, and we have not been close over the years. That happens sometimes, and I don't know if the situation will ever change. There is an old saying that you can choose your friends, but you can't change your family. Seems to be true.

I have had some truly wonderful friends and some issues with sisters. If you don't take the blood connection too seriously, the bonds of friendship have remained far stronger over my years.

So, let's hear it for friends that are truer than sisters. I know I enjoy my female friends very much and thank the heavens for putting them here where we can enjoy each other during good times and bad. So. I suggest we call today 'sister appreciation days' and think about the friends who are as close as sisters.

Big hug, Sis. Terry

An Early Gift

Good Grief Bloggers, it is cold out there!

Winter has arrived on the Eastern Shore, and lots of hardy souls are going to come out tonight to attend the Cambridge-Dorchester Christmas Parade. I'm staying in where it is nice and warm and shop for books at the new gift guide from Promo 101 Virtual Tours. You can check it out and download a copy at: www.nikkileigh.com/gift_guide_2008.htm.

My gift came yesterday when my friend and book publicist Nikki Leigh sent me my own copy of the gift guide. I was surprised and delighted to be included as her Roving Reporter and featured author! Looks like she got every one of my print and e-books included in the guide and I am feeling hopeful that holiday shoppers will find my books for gifts. Maybe Santa will put some copies under your tree?

I really love to write, and the characters in my books are my sisters - women who prevail through hard circumstances and never stop believing that life is good and love is possible. Maybe one of my heroines will remind you of someone you know? I hope so.

Keep on the sunny side! Terry

A Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I am writing to ask you for a very special gift. I would like to have peace on earth this year. The old folks used to say war is good for the economy, so why are so many people teetering on the verge of bankruptcy? It doesn't make sense to me, and I know it doesn't make sense to the families who have sons and daughters stationed at one of the hot spots in the world.

I would like to have peace on earth here in the homeland as well. It would be really nice if everyone would stop the frantic activity and step outside on a clear night to look up at the stars and take note that man did not create the sky, nor the stars, nor the moon and sun. Something greater than you or I made the heavens.

Dear Santa, it would also be nice if people could be kind to one another. I post another blog at Virtual Tours 101 where authors take the spotlight. Take a look at C.J. Scarlet, wo offers the Kindness Cure and asks her readers to perform an act of kindness each day. I can only imagine what life might be like if everyone read her book and tried to do that one act of kindness each day! What a wonderful world it would be ... to borrow a like from an old song.

I don't want a lot of gifts this year. There is no room in my house for anything new, so I think I will continue my quest to give the nice things away and throw out the not-so-nice things. Maybe that will make room for some joy!

Take care Santa and don't work too hard.

Terry

Calling All Angels

November 14, 2008

Good Friday Morning,

Angels have been on my mind lately, so I have posted a photo of the angel my friend Dawn Tarr painted for me last Christmas. I hung the canvas over my desk in my work room so that she can overlook my efforts as a writer, musician and craftsperson. I was a bit taken aback when I saw my sexy guardian, but she has become an inspiration and I have seen signs that she is a big influence on my life. I have lost a little weight! Thank God for angels in lingerie.

Dawn is a very talented painter, selling in the worldwide market on ebay and in Maryland galleries. She did the cover for my youth book Glinda's Crystal Garden and the covers for my Maryland Heritage series, novels set in colonial days. So, Dawn is one of the angels in my life.

My publisher Arline Chase of www.ebooksont.net and Cambridge Books has been my angel for years. She took me in when I was homeless and helped me find my first employment here on the Eastern Shore. She always has helpful advice and guidance when I run out of literary steam.

Dorothy Morford was an angel earlier in my life. Dorothy inherited her family's antique business and a carpenter gothic hall stuffed with vintage clothing. She employed me all through the years, including those difficult and exciting times while I earned degrees from Fulton-Montgomery Community College and Skidmore College. You can't imagine how much I learned while working for her!

Lately I have been car-less and Jeanne Pinault has been my angel to get me to meetings and places where the trolley doesn't run. She introduced me to the Wednesday Morning Artist where I have learned lots about art and the benefits of having a network of like-minded and creative individuals.

There have been dozens of angels in my life. The latest is Nikki Leigh, creator of Promo 101 Virtual Blog Tours. I contacted Nikki to ask if I could help with those tours as a stop for authors, and she asked me to post a daily blog, thus giving my work a lot more promotion than I ever dreamed of.

Today, whenever I start to feel down, I think of the angels who have blessed my life. Now, Dawn Tarr's angel overlooks my work and I know I can't fail.

Have a blessed day,

Terry