Bart "J.B." Hopkins's Blog, page 28

Guest Blog on Booky Ramblings

Hey World,

Click the Pic to check out the guest blogging I did over on Booky Ramblings of a Neurotic Mom yesterday!

 

Good night, Hipsters!

~Bart

 

A look at … The Shipping News

The Shipping News

by Annie Proulx

Very rarely do I not finish a book that I start. I am discerning, yet adventurous, but I always, always try to give a book its due.

And, I certainly wouldn’t leave a review if I had not finished a book. In the words of one of the smartest people I know, “Could you review a movie if you left after 5 minutes?” I don’t think that’s possible, not with any credibility.

But, I’m rambling more about me than the book now.

I picked up this book because it was award-winning, and on sale … a deadly combination for me and my Kindle and buying habits. Admittedly, the synopsis, or cover blurb, wasn’t a perfect match for me. So, take that into consideration in regard to this review.

The writing style was somewhat clipped. I think that style of writing should be used in moderation. The beautiful flourish of a complete sentence is nice now and then. This is a stylistic disagreement (read, opinion).

I thought the plot was mediocre and not very exciting. I could imagine locals to the Newfoundland area enjoying it, seeing their local traditions, actions, and locales, depicted in a novel. That’s neat for anyone–rooting for the home team.

I didn’t like some of the characters … didn’t find them believable.

Overall, the writing was competent, but a style I didn’t like and I found the story a bit slow. Recommended for people from that geographic region … NE United States, Quebec, Greenland, Iceland. Also those who have spent time on the ocean might feel pangs of familiarity or commonality with it. People who enjoy the fat trimmed off of every single sentence may like the writing style, while those who like robust prose will probably find it lacking.

3 Stars from this guy.

Turkey

Tomorrow … turkey.  In my face, looking at me, turkey.

Hmm.  Turkeys are a little strange looking, but sometimes, turkeys are adorable.

But, when are turkeys even more adorable?

Most adorable?

Adorable beyond all reason?

Well…

Turkeys are cutest when sitting next to cranberry sauce and stuffing and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie and gravy and carrots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am thankful … for Turkey.

I am thankful for people that shoot turkeys.  In fields and stuff.  Not in the store.

I am thankful for my wife.

She will cook the turkey until tender and delicious.

I am thankful for turkey gravy that covers the mashed potatoes and makes them taste a little bit like turkey.

Mmmm.  Turkey.

I will probably dream about turkey tonight.  And my mouth will water while I sleep and dampen my pillow.

Mmmm.  Turkey.

I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving.  With lots of turkey.

Stalkers Release

It’s almost time…

The STALKERS ANTHOLOGY comes out tomorrow.

 

This is one dynamite deal.  Seventeen authors, seventeen stories, seventeen different points of view.

Pick up a copy of STALKERS on 11/26/2013 and discover your new favorite author.

What does the Fox say?  Maybe you’ll find out in this book.  Probably not, but you never know–anything could happen.

**Please note: this is not a “how to” manual for stalking.

The authors and stories…

Don’t Kiss the Dead Fred by A.E. Killingsworth, Lucid by Andrea Stanet,

Donations by Bart Hopkins

Bernice by Chad Foutz, Destination: Death by Eaton Thomas Palmer,

Autumn by Elizabeth Collins, Dead Ringer by Jason Brant,

Freezer Burn by Jon Messenger, Powerless by Laurie Treacy,

The Watcher by Lindy Spencer, Immortal Luck by Magen McMinimy,

Say My Name by Michael Loring, Damaged People by Nicki Scalise,

Izzy’s Assassin by Nicole Clark, Blog Stalker by Phil Taylor,

Every Thorn by Rene Folsom, and last but not least …. Affliction by S.L. Dearing

LOOK FOR IT ON AMAZON – - – 11/26

Stephen King

If you caught my last blog, you now know the answer, the name of the childhood hero that I had the pleasure of meeting recently: Stephen King!

It started days earlier.  Behind the scenes, my wife was working her magic.  She asked a fellow military spouse, one who cares about her Air Force family, and who I’d met selling my books at our local Bazaar, if there was any way that she could get me a ticket to meet Stephen King.  She was willing to give up our anniversary evening together, if she could just get me in to the Stephen King reading.

Well, you might say that this fellow spouse has some pull.  And, when she told her husband Perla’s story, he made things happen.  Big time.  I received a surprise phone call Friday afternoon, and was given some instructions … where to go, and what to do, so that I could meet and greet Stephen King when he arrived at our base…

How cool is that?!?

On Sunday, the night before the event, my family and I were shaking hands with Stephen King when he stepped off the plane.

Insanity.  Totally amazing.

And, the next night, thanks to our local USO folks, we attended the reading.  Local author attends Stephen King reading on LUCKY 13 Anniversary with gorgeous spouse.

Wow, it was about the coolest gift ever and, overall, a damn fine day.  Second to wedding, children being born, and that sort of thing, but a close second.

I read my first Stephen King book over 30 years ago, as a 7-year-old tike with a penchant for the scary stuff.  To top it off, we got an autographed copy of Doctor Sleep.

Yeah.  It was a good weekend.  Naturally, I owe it all to my wife and those amazing AF people I have intentionally left unnamed.  They are a pure, blinding flash of awesomeness.

Stephen King, by the way, is an incredible storyteller in person, too.  Funny, intuitive, and engaging … a friendly guy.  A regular guy.  Many thanks to him for taking the time to visit us.  Much appreciated, sir.

Perhaps, in the near future, I will share a few of Mr. King’s entertaining tales.  For now, it’s time to sleep.  Not the deep, dark sleep of the dead.  Just a visit to the subconscious.

To my wife, thanks for another wonderful year, Lucky #13, I love you always.

To the rest of the world: good night.

Bart

Childhood Hero

Hello world,

There have been a number of people that I have idolized, or admired, through the years.

Some, such as Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris, briefly fueled a somewhat unrealistic dream from my early childhood: becoming a ninja.  It’s true.  I even “trained” by crawling through bushes and practicing stealthy approaches.  My friends and I bought throwing stars.  Luckily, that one passed quickly.

Another might be the bandit, Burt Reynolds, who made me want to race cars and own a Trans Am.  I exerted a lot less effort with Burt … bought a Hot Wheels Trans Am, daydreamed a bit, then it was gone.

Rambo and Indiana Jones … you can figure those two out.  I bought a whip and used it to swing from tree branches.  Again, no longevity to the idolization.

Bono made me want to sing.  But, hmm, voice is only mediocre on good days.

Naturally, there were the standard young-boy dreams of being an astronaut and a police officer.  Those dreams stemmed from everyday clips on the news, from buddies, and popular movies of the time.  When The Right Stuff came out, man, I wanted to be every one of those guys.  To the moon … wow.

M-O-O-N … that spells childhood heroes.  When they’re good, they’re good, and they give  you something to focus on, in a good way, fuel the fires, and let kids know that they can do anything.  Anything.

So, my heroes came and went.  Some stayed longer than others.  One, in particular, caught my attention at an early age and has remained one of my heroes to this day.  As a matter of fact, he inspired me to be a writer.  Sure, there were a couple of others, but nobody that had the profound impact he did.

And, today I had the chance to meet him, this influence, this guy that kept me awake, I don’t know how many nights, reading his books.  The best storyteller ever…

Who is he?

I’ll share soon.  For now, I have to get some sleep.  Work tomorrow and I need some winks.

I’ll leave you with this thought.  Today, this person shook this hand…

…I’m tempted not to wash it.  Ever.  I’m hoping some of that magic transferred from him to me in that handshake.  Because there’s nothing I want to do more than tell stories, too.  And he helped form that dream over 30 years ago and it just makes sense to me that it comes full circle.

Good night, world.

Bart

19 Years

Nineteen years is a long time … almost 7,000 days.

That’s half of the time I’ve been on Mother Earth; in twenty five minutes, that’s also how long I will have been in the Air Force.

The beginning is sort of a communal memory for many of us, shared … unique yet the same.  Nineteen years ago I arrived at Lackland Air Force Base in the wee hours of the morning and stepped off the bus to a deluge of barked orders from the Training Instructors that were waiting for us.

Some people fly, I hear, but they pull out the red carpet for native Texans … Greyhound all the way from MEPS.

We had four or five others join us … a couple of guys from New York, a Carolina kid, an Alabaman … and our group was formed.  Most of us would “enjoy” the next six and a half weeks together.  A couple would wash out for violations like sneaking chewing tobacco into the restroom stalls.

I remember a name or two, I think, but I haven’t spoken with anyone from my group since the day we graduated, except for the instructor, but that’s another story.

After basic training, I took off on a career that would lead me around the world.  Two rounds of technical training and seven assignments later, I’m in Germany for a second time, and it’s just hard to believe that so much time has gone by.  I shake my head when we get new people into the unit and I find out they were born in the 1990s.  Where did it all go?

I bought my first compact discs in 1995, a year after I joined … I had mix tapes before that.  I briefly used a pager back then (yikes).   I remember an article coming out in the base paper at Ft. Campbell that highlighted Hotmail.  Several of us signed up for accounts that very day.  Wow, I remember thinking, this EMAIL stuff is awesome … no more mailing letters!

I’m not as excited about email any more, I download music files in seconds, and I’m almost embarrassed about that whole pager thing.  Still holding out on getting an iPhone. Changes, changes, and more changes…

I remember being excited driving Hummers or eating MREs or painting my face to match my woodland uniform–I loved it.

Now, It’s been three years since I had an MRE, five years since I drove a hummer, and probably six or more since I painted my face.  And, I’m good with that.  I’m happy with those things being relegated to nostalgia status.

I weighed 135 pounds in basic training, I went over 200 pounds in 2003, and I’m sitting at 191 pounds right now.  I have a few gray hairs, but hey, it’s just a few.  Not many at all, really.

I met my wife in 1998.  Had some kids.  Took vacations to Bosnia and Kuwait.  Got rid of our twenty-year-old, 26″ television in 2009 and upgraded to a 55-incher.  That was glorious.

Met so many good people that I couldn’t give you a number.  Didn’t let the few bad apples spoil anything … had a great time.  Always an adventure.  Kept myself laughing the whole time, sometimes until my stomach and face ached.  Laughed so hard I cried at Columbus Air Force Base.

Every morning before our week-long inspection in 2011, a few of us in the weather flight would gather around and play the Highlander theme on YouTube.  We laughed at that, but we got amped, too.  That’s funny stuff, good stuff, the things I’ll never forget.

It’s only now, writing this, that I realize there are far too many things to repeat in one sitting.  It’s almost midnight.  I’m older now … it’s late, and I’m tired.

So, happy anniversary for you and me, Air Force.  I love ya.  It’s been a crazy, awesome ride…

—-Bart—-

 

 

 

Cherokee Spleen

My friend, David Elliott, co-author of Fluke, has a new book out … Cherokee Spleen.

When you’ve had four near-death experiences, you have to wonder who’s screwing up: you or God.

That’s just a morsel from his book description on Amazon.  Sounds good, right?  I bet if you check out the description, you’ll be hooked.

Go ahead … choose your poison, and grab a copy, fresh out of the oven…

CLICK ME FOR KINDLE

CLICK ME FOR PAPERBACK

 

Take care!

—Bart—

Veterans

It’s 9:15 A.M. and I’m about to count some sheep after a brutal night shift (brutal because I’m feeling too old these days).

Before I sink into inky oblivion, I wanted to take a moment and say thank you to all the Veterans out there.  Without your service, our country would not exist, not as it is today.  I’m honored to have had a small part in it, and proud of my wife, who also served.

I wish you all a glorious day! – Bart

Get Ready!

Is it ever too early to start thinking about Christmas?  On a whim, we watched Christmas With The Kranks tonight, and it got me thinking that old St. Nick is going to be landing on the roof again (or driving his pick-up over) before we know it.

So, I thought I’d take a minute and highlight some things we all look forward to this time of year…

Christmas trees.

Santa & his Toyota Tundra.

 

 

 

 

 

Door decorating at work.

Leaving milk and cookies out for the bearded one.

Decorations.

Skiing.

Santas with large SANTA belt buckles.

Christmas Markets in Germany.

And Snow & Frosty.

Happy Reading through the Holidays,

Bart