Comments

If you would like to send any thoughts or comments, send to me at: mgbarc@worldnet.att.net

My Novel

Exciting News! My novel is out and can be ordered on Amazon.com Check it out, and if you order it, I hope you like it and then pass it on to a friend. I am donating all the author proceeds from this novel to "Second Harvest," an organization to feed the hungry in America. My two year project and adventure is complete, and I am now half way through my next novel which takes place in New York City. It will be some time before I see this next one in print. In the meantime, I enjoy the writing of it which is the fun part for me! (Scroll down after synopsis of "Sundog" to read beginning of next novel entitled, "Misfit in the World"

Synopsis of the Book: The first sentence of my novel, "To See a Sundog" draws you into the small rural farm community of Sawhill, Missouri in 1952. "The town of Sawhill, Missouri is like a mobile that gently swings back and forth, and on most days it swings in harmony, but when one side of the mobile tips and bends, the whole town tips and bends with it."

Here you meet Jeb and Mary Anne Blexley who are struggling with the loss of their three year old son; Dan Bradley who is trying to live peacefully with his alcoholic wife and two children; Jenna Louise Harper who has lost her young husband to illness and is falling in love with one of the married men in town, and Jake Blexley who comes back to the farm after fifteen years to reunite with his estranged father.

There is also Ted Faraday, the new bank president in town who nobody trusts, the eccentric and uppity Martha Winthrop, the exuberant teen, Edie Mahoney who wants to fly airplanes, and the town gossip who loves to embellish a good story even if it is harmful which it often is...

An event occurs midway through the novel that brings the whole town together to help each other, showing that, in the midst of tragedy, people coming together can heal a community.

The title of the book refers to "sundogs" (mini rainbows) which are signs in the book of mini-miracles showing that everything is going to be alright. "Just God winking at us," says one of the characters in the novel.

This book gives a realistic depiction of rural farm life, its difficulties and hardships, and shows the very smart, hard-working farmer doing the multi tasks a person in his own business would have to do. A segment in the book deals with the encroachment of large industries trying to take over the small family farm.

There are four children in the novel, each of whom have specifically developed personalities and struggles, and one of whom saves his sister from disaster in a very dramatic way.

This is a novel of good character development, realistic small (rural) town dialogue, enlightened and realistic farm community depiction and numerous human interest stories. It is a very heart-warming story filled with surprises that keep you reading, and gives you a very satisfied feeling at the end.

Misfit in the World

Willard Jacob III does not like his name. He isn't sure he likes his nickname either. But when his twin brother, who is limited in numerous ways of the world, had begun calling him Jelly when he wanted this on his toast, he began saying Jelly to get Willard's attention, and it had stuck to him like; well, like peanut butter. Jelly knows that his name is not the only thing different about himself, and even though he lives in New York City with all its diversity, Jelly realizes that he doesn't "fit in the world' in more ways than just his name.

Just when he had this insight is still uncertain. "When does anyone know himself," he wonders, "at least well enough to compare himself to other people around?" Is it the age of reason? And if so, who decides when the age of reason is? Five years? Six years? Seven years? Hell, Jelly knows twenty-year-olds who still haven't reached the age of reason if that means the ability to think.

And how much reasoning are we talking about here? Reason enough to know when mom yells at you, she doesn't like what you are doing, or how to tie your shoe laces so you don't trip, or that three is the square root of nine, or that Einstein was a genius. Now, that man could reason," thinks Jelly. Jelly guesses that he'd reached his own age of reason at about the age of four. He began to "get things" then. Things like, everything did not belong to him, and no he wasn't the most powerful little person in the world; his sister was, and the big people in his life made all the rules.

Rules; now there was a subject he could talk about over a full bottle of wine. Rules, he had decided at an early age, were fluid and flexible and allowed you to adjust them up or down or sideways depending on who you were, or what you wanted. And, of course, how much money you had. Rules were made for the gullibles of the world was Jelly's thinking; made for people who needed solid structure, guidance, and Big Brother to tell them what to do. Look at all the people still racing to church every week, not to pray or worship, but still looking for someone else to tell them what to do, and how to live. As if their own brains were bowls of luke warm mush.

"And rules don't come with assurances either," thinks Jelly For example, what about the rule of crossing the street safely right here in New York City? This is a safety rule you can "take to the bank," thinks most New Yorkers when a bright yellow hand goes up to tell them when to cross, and then ticks off twenty seconds: 20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11- 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 for them to walk right before getting hit by the foreign taxi driver who isn't paying attention to any rules; he can't even understand English for God's sake. Do you think he's following the 20 second rule before he makes his turn and hits you at number 13? Jelly thinks he'd rather be in the taxi with the driver....might be safer, but of course then, he wouldn't get where he wanted to go. No matter how intelligible and clear he is about directions and his destination, it won't matter. For, how can a man who has just arrived here, well ahead of his English, get you to 32nd and Broadway? "You'd be better off getting out and walking, avoiding all crosswalks, if you know what I mean," thinks Jelly.

On this day, Jelly is walking down the back streets of New York City. For some New Yorkers, this means Madison Avenue instead of Fifth Avenue, but for Jelly, it is the streets that are well away from the maddening crowd of frantic tourists who are desperate to begin their shopping for N.Y. souvenirs, designer shoes, jewelry, hats, luggage, clothes; you name it...they're after it and New York has it. No, he is walking the back streets where he can actually hear a bird chirping in the one tree he can see; hear the click-clack of the high heel shoes on the lady walking behind him; hear the pissing of the man behind the garbage can and see a vendor rolling out his carpet of trinkets and "knock-off" jewelry for the day's selling enterprise that will keep body and soul together for one more day, as well as feed his wife (or wives) and children living upstairs in the one room flat with no bathroom. No wonder the whole building had an odoriferous smell as he walked by. Where do people without bathrooms go, he wonders. Oh yes, he forgot...the man behind the garbage can.

Jelly is on his way to the public library to do more research on his new interest of ocean sponges. Somewhere he has read that we all originated from the sponges in the ocean....that these sponges, a long, l..........o..........n.........g time ago contained the molecules or DNA, or whatever, inside them to finally evolve into human live form. Of course, the sponge had to come up throught the ranks like everything else, but eventually, sponges did arrive, for better or worse, depending on who you talk to, in the form of human life.

And humans continue to have the qualities of sponges after all these trillions of years because we are still 85-90% water! No wonder everyone walks around with water bottles these days afraid to lose even an ounce of their essence. Now there is an enterprise Jelly wishes he had thought of....selling bottled water to the masses when it was pretty much free for the taking everywhere. "And we say that we have reached the age of reason," Jelly thinks. "Hell-o."

Web Links

www.shopittome.com: Notifies you when items in your designated brands and sizes go on sale at major merchants, like Nordstrom and Zappos


www.Grocerygame.com will provide you with coupons, sales, free stuff to significantly reduce your grocery shopping.

Smartertravel.com is a goldmine of information on travel of all kind and will tell you when the "shoulder season" just past the peak season is, when you can find the best rates etc.

Travel Tips: The most efficient speed is 55-60 per hr. on highway.

www. autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx gets prices from 90,000 gas stations in U.S.

http://www.roadfood.com/: Best small town eats on the road.


Hotelchatter.com is a great website to check if you are looking for a hotel. The information is vast, and each hotel is rated and reviewed with maps and pictures. Very helpful when traveling.

For a spiritual start to your day, go to "Sacred Space: Daily Prayer Online. I usually get here through Google.

For FUN, go to "Jackson Pollack.org and click on the first entry. When the blank page comes up, click on mouse to begin creating your art piece. Every time you click, it will change colors. Fun for kids and adults alike.

Fun for kids (and adults). Go to: sheppardsoftware.com where you will find free games that are education based, everything from math, vocabulary, geography, science and art. Difficulty levels vary.

New Stuff

,"Second Harvest" where I am donating the proceeds from my first novel, "To See a Sundog" is the largest charibable hunger-relief organization in the United States serving more than 25 million Americans each year. In it's first year, the America's Second Harvest Network distributed 2.5 million pounds of food to a Network of 13 food banks. Today, it is comprised of more than 200 food banks and food rescue organizations serving all 50 states.
America's Second Harvest today feeds more than 25 million Americans...including 9 million children.

Something great I just read about!!! Program 800-Free-411 into your cell phone. This is a no-cost directory service that works like 411... After you dial in, you'll hear a brief 10 second ad before a recorded voice ask the usual "What city and state." Savings up to $3.50 a call.

Do I have to reregister for the Do Not Call List?
NO, You number will stay on the Do Not Call list unless you direct the Federal Trade Commission to remove it. The FTC no longer requires people to sign up every five years, and it is NOT necessary to register cell phone numbers since telemarketing to them is illegal. Sign up at the FTC website: http://www.donotcall.gov/ or call 1-800-382-1222. (Information from AARP Bulletin, April, 2008)


I have recently discovered a Web Site called: Freerice.com where you can donate grains of rice to feed people in third world countries. It is easy, free, educational and fun to do. Go to the website, and choose the right definition of the presenting word from four choices. For every definiton you get right, ten grains of rice are donated to hungry people around the world. When you miss a word, the words get easier, so don't be discouraged. There are some darn hard words. My goal is 1,000 grains of rice every time I play.

Funny Stuff

SIGNS AND BUMBER STICKERS FUN

Electricians Truck: "Let us remove your shorts."

Optometrist's Office: "If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."

Scientist's Door: "Gone Fission."

Podiatrist's Office: "Time wounds all heels."

Vet's Office: "Back in five minutes; Sit! Stay!

Computer Store: "Out for a quick byte."

Farmer's Fence: "Farmer allows walkers across field; bull charges."

Car Dealership: "Best way to get back on your feet; miss a payment."

The Minister and the Cab Driver

A minister dies and waits in line at the Pearly Gates behind a guy dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket & jeans. When asked by St. Peter who he is, he replies

"I am Joe, a taxi-driver in Noo Yawk City."

St. Peter consults his list and then says to the taxi-driver,

"Take this silken robe & golden staff and enter the Kingdom."

The minister then says to St. Peter,

"I am Pastor Snow of St. Mary's parish for over 45 years."

After consulting his list, St. Peter says to Pastor Snow,

"Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom."

"Just a minute," says the minister. "That man was a taxi-driver and he gets a silken robe and a golden staff; how can that be?"

"Up here, we work by results," says St. Peter. "While you preached, pleople slept; while he drove, people prayed."

The Psychiatric Hotline

* If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly

* If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2

* If you have multi personalities, please press 3,4,5,6

* If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line so we can trace the call.

* If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you what number to press.

* If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press. No one will answer.

Poems

THE FARM

When I first met my husband

I was charmed

By the romantic notion

He'd grown up on a farm

And had worked the land

With his dad by hand

He'd had cereal for breakfast

With fresh cream from cows

Before doing the chores

And feeding the sows

Big dinners at noon were common

With pot roasts and pies

Early to bed and early to rise

Monday through Sunday

Outside, in all kinds of weather

Planting and harvesting

May through September

Never bored, I supposed

Always a task or something to do

A life that I knew

I'd have loved for myself

Or, at least, I thought I knew

But I didn't know

I didn't really understand

What it meant to "walk beans"

Without machines

In the heat of the day

And the physical work they did

Whether hauling in crops

Or stacking up hay

And the worry over weather

That each farmer can say

Is in his mind, day after day

The long hours of brawn

Sometimes until dawn

Of harvesting the nation's grains

Before it snows or rains

Just one day set aside for fun

Saturday night in town

To eat, bowl or see a film

And when the town shut down

It was back to the work of the farm

My husband couldn't wait

To separate from the farm

And enter the world of business

Which was fine with me

A city girl, you see

But now that we are back

In the country

Close to the old home-place

The charm and romance of the farm

Is seeping back into our souls

Slowly by drops

As we see the rows of crops

With new life beginning....

And searing sunsets over beanfields

That make our steps stop

And take a longer look

And we are at peace....

And now my husband, in spring and fall

Joins his brothers in the yearly call

To come back and work on the farm

To sew the seeds and reep the harvest

Once again

And now, the boy who left the farm

Has renewed moments of joy

For the farm really never left the boy.

Books

I highly recommend the book I am now reading called "The Importance of Living"....the noble art of leaving things undone by Lin Yutang. This is the book I have been looking for all of my life, a profound read about how to enjoy your life....of which we only have ONE! This is a "thoughty" book that I am reading a little at a time so that I can underline, think about and absorb the enlightening thoughts therein.


Web Sites for Book Ideas

www.whatshouldIread next.com
*Type in name of book you enjoyed and you'll receive a list of similar suggestions.

http://www.literature-map.com/
*Enter name of favorite author and see what shows up!

http://www.goodreads.com/
*A book lovers community and a place to share favorites.

http://www.novelaction.com/
* On line swap ( The cost for this is $25.00 per year, and I just sent off my first five books in exchange for five that I picked from their fiction list. Great idea, I think, to get rid of all those books you have read or don't want, and get ones you do want to read!) They send the books to you book-rate which is usually about $4-5.

These websites gotten from May Issue of "Real Simple"


Books I am Reading Now:

"Farewell, My Subaru" by Doug Fine, (new book, 2008) This book is, by far, the funniest book I have read in decades! It is the true story of a guy who buys a small ranch in New Mexico to "go green" without any experience of living off the land. Not only does it have some good insights about this subject, it is a "laugh out loud book!" My husband will attest to this as he was trying to go to sleep last night while I was on the other side of the bed laughing hysterically. Don't miss this book!

"Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a woman who is a present day political voice for women in Muslim countries. It is her story of being raised in a strict Muslim family in Somalia. She escapes a forced marriage and seeks asylum in the Neatherlands where she earns a college degree in Political Science. She continues to fight for the rights of Muslim women around the world, and is in constant danger from radical Muslim groups. This book is an "Eye Opener," and presents a real life picture of the plight of Muslim women today.

I have come late in life to the joy of reading John Updike. He has such style, humor and insight that he is now one of my favorite authors. I am presently reading, "Due Considerations: Essays & Criticisms" 2007, and I especially like his essay, "A Case for Books" where he makes the argument to keep "reading" in published book form. I agree with him in so many ways; how could I ever carry a computer with me instead of a "flood book" to read if there is a flood, or a long waiting period at the Dr. office? Updike gives four excellent reasons not to turn over books to pocket PC's and computers. Here they are:

1. THE BOOK AS FURNITURE: to decorate with, making you look smart with a bookshelf of important looking books.

2. THE BOOK AS SENSUAL PLEASURE: "Smaller than a breadbox, bigger than a T.V. remote,
the average book fits into the human hand with a seductive nesting, a kiss of texture, whether
of cover cloth, glazed jacket, or flexible paperback."

3. THE BOOK AS SOUVENIR: "One's collection comes to symbolize the contents of one's mind."

4. BOOK AS BALLAST: " As movers and the moved both know, books are heavy freight, the
weight of refrigerators and sofas broken up into cardboard boxes. They make us think twice
about changing addresses."

Soul Stuff

" Speaking as a Chinese, I do not think that any civilization can be called complete until it has progressed from sophistication to unsophistication, and made a conscious return to simplicity of thinking and living, and I call no man wise until he has made the progress from the wisdom of knowledge to the wisdom of foolishness, and become a laughing philosopher, feeling first life's tragedy and then life's comedy. For we must weep before we can laugh. Out of sadness comes the awakening and out of the awakening comes the laughter of the philosopher, with kindness and tolerance to boot." Lin Yutang


Aging Prayer

Lord, I am growing older, and some day, I will be old. Please, may I keep from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from the craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody, helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Lord, I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details, give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains; they may increase, and love of rehearsing them may become sweeter as the years go by. I may not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for improved memory but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Please keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint; some of them are so hard to live with, but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people. And give me Lord, the grace to tell them so. Amen (Author unknown)


"In some small way, however small and secret, each of us is a little mad. Everyone is lonely at bottom and cries out to be understood, but we can never entirely understand someone else, and each of us remains part stranger even to those who love us.
It is the weak who are cruel; gentleness is to be expected only from the strong. Those who do not know fear are not really brave, for courage is the capacity to confront what can be imagined.
You can understand people better if you look at them, no matter how old or impressive they may be, as if they are children. For most of us never mature; we simply grow taller.
Happiness comes only when we push our brains and hearts to the farthest reaches of which we are capable.
The purpose of life is to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we lived at all."

Author Unknown (to me)

Wisdom Pearls

"To me personally, the only function of philosophy is to teach us to take life more lightly and gayly than the average business man does." Lin Yutang

"A man may own a thousand acres of land, and yet he still sleeps upon a bed of five feet, or sixty inches." Lin Yutang (Basically, we all take up about the same amount of space on earth, and are just about as important as our size.)

"Some day we must all just chatter (like women). That will be the salvation of mankind." Lin Yutang

"To love is good, too: love being difficult. For one human being to love another; that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation." Rainer Maria Rilke 1875-1926 "Letter to a Young Poet"

"To be capable of steady friendship or lasting love are the two greatest proofs, not only of goodness of heart, but of strength of mind." William Hazlitt 1778-1830 "Characteristics"

"In comedy, the best actor plays the part of the droll, while some second rogue is made the hero or fine gentleman. So, in the farce of life, wise men pass their time in mirth, while fools are only serious." Johnathan Swift 1667-1745 "The Comic Vision and the Christian Faith"

"Noble deeds and hot baths are the best cures for depression." Dodie smith 1896 "I Capture the Castle"

Gretta's Musings

I cannot help but shout from the rooftop that my first novel of fiction, "To See a Sundog" is out in print, and can be ordered through Amazon.com! This is such a thrill for me; as a passionate writer, what could be a better dream come true! If you read it, I hope you like it! I plan to donate all the author proceeds to "Second Harvest," an organization to feed the hungry in America, and will talk more about this organization under "New Things" on my Blog Menu. I also invite you to visit the Poetry section to read the poem I wrote a long time ago about The Farm, and think that this poem inspired me to write the novel that I did. I am working with my young inspiring friend, Chris, to attach the hardware so that you will be able to hear me read some of my poetry, and perhaps some of my novel right here. Chris keeps me moving forward in this hi tech world we live in. I am half way through writing my second novel which takes place in New York City, and will be putting some of it now in the "My Novel" section. I am thrilled to be published, but the writing of the book continues to be my real and true joy!

Every morning after I get up, I enjoy my first cup of coffee on my back porch while listening to the sounds of birds and admiring the flowers in our garden and fields, both planted and wild. It has been a habit at this tranquil time to read a book of substance; usually a book that deals with the "great" questions of life, and a text that makes me think. I have always done my best thinking in the morning! ....... A friend of mine (a young fella of just 28) has recently put me on to a book that he too is reading (he is wise beyond his years!) called "The Importance of Living"-the noble art of leaving things undone, by Lin Yutang. And now, by page 112, I think I have found the book I have been looking for all of my life. Or perhaps, at my "ripe" age, I am finally able to hear and appreciate what Lin Yutang is saying. ........He is an advocate of the doctrine of "half and half," creating a balance in life between action and inaction. It seems that we of the Western culture, which I have come to realize has its many flaws, are out of balance, driven by action to succeed, make money, be recognized, enjoy privalage etc. etc. etc. to the detriment of the part of us that seeks and craves inaction with the opportunity to sit and think, enjoy the quiet, revel in nature and be at peace. There is a song by Li Mi-an in Lin Yutang's book on page 112 that speaks to this philosophy and I would like to quote a few lines here.

"Halfway in life is man's best state, when slackened pace allows him ease; a wide world lies halfway' twixt heaven and earth; to live halfway between the town and land.....be half a scholar and half a squire, and half in business; half as gentry live...."

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to live a more tranquil life...this guy has the roadmap! I hope to quote more of Lin Yutang in other parts of my BLOG as I am learning and absorbing so much from his thoughts and words.

Springtime!!! Ah, such a beautiful time of year! I can't remember a more spectacular spring season with its colorful tulips, flowering trees, green grasses, robins building nests (one in a tree right outside our front window) and a freshness in the air that gives me added energy and more happiness in my day. I only have to sit on my back deck with my morning coffee and listen to the chirping birds to know that this is going to be one darn good "sunshinny day!"

But all seasons have their ying and their yang, and for me, this season is no exception. On Thursday of last week, I received an early call to say that a very dear friend of ours (my husband and I) had passed away at the age of only fifty-seven. A shock to us, and to his family; a man so loved and alive, now gone...gone for good.

As we know, death has no season of its own, but comes at any time of the year. Once again, how are we to understand and accept this wrenching away from us, a person who has been so much a part of our lives? It is the thing that I despise most about this thing called life.

In trying to find some comfort, I perused the grief books at Barnes & Noble and came across "Transcending Loss" by Ashley Davis Prend. She says that, "death doesn't end a relationship; it simply forges a new type of relationship..one based not on physical presence, but on memory, spirit and love." I like the concept of this; that we need not let go of the people we have loved in life; that we can continue a spiritual relationship with them, and that they can be part of our life in a different way. I think that this book will tell me how to do that.

One of the poems in the poem section was written by me when another dear friend of mine passed away. Writing has always been a healing activity for me, and writing this poem helped me to say what I felt about my friend.

Now I will go back to my deck, sit in the sunshine, listen to the birds and admire the springtime....nature being the best healer of all.