Rodney Strange's Blog, page 9

'Faceless Names'

I stumbled across the picture a while ago...yes, that picture up above, and the moment my eyes locked onto the image, some pretty amazing things happened inside my brain. I immediately smelled how the old mechanic's garage surely smelled. I inhaled the aroma of old motor oil that had seeped deep into concrete and grease that had forever stained the old wooden workbench. Though you can't make it out in the image, I'm sure the floor is littered with greasy, misplaced bolts and car parts that no longer serve a purpose. Tools that only a mechanic could name clutter those shelves in an unorganized fashion and only the man who placed them in their exact spot could reach over and put his greasy hand on whichever tool he needed without even shooting a glance in that direction. Yes, I can say I have stood right there in that shop...or one identical to it once upon a time.
The only thing wrong with that picture is the car. Uncle Charlie only worked on Model T's and his shop was always filled with several in various stages of restoration. He'd always beam with pride while giving my dad and me a tour of that old greasy shop each time we visited. We finally timed one of our visits just right and before we even had a chance to knock on his front door, Uncle Charlie's head appeared from the door of his garage, a smile on his face that I'll never forget.
"Over here! You're just in time. I'm ready to start one up that I just finished!"
Minutes later, me and my dad and Uncle Charlie were cruising the streets in a Model T that surely looked even better than the day it rolled off the assembly line. And that's what I remember about Uncle Charlie. He's probably been gone forty years now...and all it took was that picture to bring him back!
My mom handed me a manilla envelope the other day, so overstuffed with old photos that one more picture would render it useless.
"I don't know who they are...family, your dad's family."
I carefully opened the envelope and scattered the photographs on the couch beside me and found myself lost in unknown history for the next two hours. Many of the old pictures were from the eighteen hundreds and progressed, I guessed, into the era of World War Two. With my dad gone now for several years, these images were only faces without a name...lost for eternity. I found myself wishing I knew more about our family. I found myself sad that I didn't.
In this day of digital images that one cannot put his hands on, I wonder...will someone decades, even centuries from now have our faces a mere arm's length away? It's certain we won't be stored away in a worn manila envelope resting on the top shelf of someone's closet. It's even doubtful that our images will survive in a junk drawer on some antique iPhone that will no longer charge. I fear that we will be the 'missing generation.' Without foresight enough to preserve our cherished moments that made life special, our future grandchildren, and their grandchildren will only have faceless names to remember us by.
And this is the 'Age of the Selfie!' Many of us take pics by the hundreds...of ourselves, our pets, the food we eat. We plaster ourselves all over social media. Some of us put our faces out there on dating sites. We have our own blogs and websites with our faces all over them. We're in the online church directory. We're in the clouds, those virtual storage lockers that absorb the overflowing images our smartphones can no longer hold. And yet, not one picture that you can hold in your hands. I challenge you! Go find a real photograph of yourself...of your kids, that was taken in the last year! I bet the farm most of you can't do it.
Do you really think your Facebook page is still going to be around a hundred years from now? Do you think Facebook will be around that long? Will cloud storage still have your cherished images safely tucked away? Will future generations be able to pick up a newspaper clipping of your obituary? No...duh! But I have my grandfather's and great-grandfather's obituary, as yellowed and fragile as they are.
My daughter studied the old black and white photo in her hand.
"He is definitely one of us. See the eyebrows?"
I nodded and pursed my lips as I stared at the handsome man in a World War II soldier's uniform.
"Look, same eyebrows on this guy! This was taken at some studio in Boston...says 1846. Did our family come from Boston?"
I smiled and replied, "No, we came from England...through Boston. Perhaps this ancestor became the first American in the family?"
I don't want to be a faceless name for future generations to simply forget about. I want someone a hundred and fifty years ago to stare at my picture and exclaim,
"Look! You got those eyebrows from your great-great grandpa!"
Anybody got a polaroid camera you wanna sell cheap?

'New Way of Life'

"You know, those little clamps that you pinch with a pair of pliers...for a lawn mower?"
The chubby guy behind the counter at the farm store stared off absently for a full thirty seconds as he attempted to grasp what I needed.
"Ooooh!" I saw that light bulb glowing dimly above his head, "Like for your fuel line! Yeah, we ain't got none of those. We do have fuel filters, though!"
My head dropped as I turned and headed for the door. I had been everywhere in this podunk town...both places and neither had those clamps I desperately needed to repair my lawn mower.
And so it goes when you live in a small town. Pray your sneaker doesn't have a blowout...not a shoe to be had in our little community since the Walmart closed down. I glanced over at the abandoned building as I drove passed it on the way home, the faded facade still sporting the outline, 'WALMART' above the shuttered doors. On down the road a ways I passed by the Sears Homestore, standing vacant and dark as the Walmart. The Sears folks had simply disappeared into the night a few weeks ago, not bothering to announce their departure. Word around town is they emptied their inventory into a U-Haul truck in the wee hours of the morning and drove away...just like that.
Arriving home, I reached for my laptop and within a minute or so had ordered those little clamps I needed from Amazon. Five clamps for less than five bucks and with my free trial of Amazon Prime, free two-day shipping! I would have easily burned twice that much in gas driving up to the city for those clamps. I chastised myself under my breath for even wasting the gas to drive to the farm store. Amazon had become a way of life for me since the closing of Wally World, and judging from the numerous packages protruding from rural mailboxes up and down my road, I'd say I'm not alone.
UPS has announced plans to hire six thousand workers as they roll out Saturday delivery. The Post Office has quit their whining about losing money. And if you need further proof, Amazon is poised to hire five thousand new workers, work-from-home customer service representatives, to handle their constantly mushrooming business. Meanwhile, Walmart, Sears, JC Pennys, and Payless Shoes are locking up stores faster than a loose woman after a rich man.
The world as we knew it changed as we binged out on Netflix with glazed-over eyes. Actually quite rapidly, I believe. Like overnight! We, unable to pry ourselves away from continuous episodes of 'Supergirl' and 'The 100,' began to discover we just simply didn't want to leave our homes. So, in desperation and a dire need for supplies like shampoo and underwear, we turned to Amazon.com. By the droves!
Here's how I know...I have a few websites here and there. Why? They have from time to time made me some pocket change. In fact, those pesky Google ads that annoy all of you so much paid off my house and my pickup. And I still had enough fun money left over to occasionally chase a few women on Saturday night. But over the past few months, my revenues from Google have dwindled dramatically. I'm talking no more Happy Hour at Sonic!
Google considers themselves the god (little g) of the internet. Trust me, they do. The very thing that made google GOOGLE was their advertising and since their conception, the company has shared a portion of their revenues with webmasters who are willing to place ads on their sites. But I think Google has fallen asleep at the wheel, perhaps like those retailers going under on a daily basis.
I have gotten accustomed to my pocket change...that monthly check from Google, and as those checks became smaller and less frequent, I began searching for something more. During the past few weeks I have redesigned most of my websites, The Rusty Goat included, and incorporated Amazon ads throughout them, trimming down Google's presence. And the result? A two hundred percent increase in revenues! Yes, I admit I am overwhelmed as I wipe tears of happiness from my face.
Not only do I sell my books exclusively on Amazon (pocket change) I am now a die-hard Amazon Associate (more pocket change.) But in spite of the income, I am able to garnish from the company, I am also a true believer in the concept of Amazon. As a frequent Amazon shopper, I save significant money...even more since going Prime. My stuff shows up in the mailbox in two days and I have a world of variety to choose from when I shop. And I can shop while bingeing on 'The Heart of Dixie.'
Here's a rundown of my Amazon purchases this month:
Ariat Western Boots $100.00 (Western Store $169.00)
Imitation Rogaine 3 bottles $18.00 (Walmart 1 bottle $12.00)
Blades and belt for the riding mower $35.00 (Sears 80.00)
Cabin filter for the pickup $7.00 (Auto Zone 15.00)
European virgin human hair toupee for men $105.00...I didn't really buy that! Just seeing if you are paying attention.
I gotta wrap this up. The Smoke Shop in town was out of my Irish Latte Vape Juice. What if Amazon doesn't have that? Cinnamon, cotton candy, watermelon...this may take a while. Hemp flavored...wonder what that tastes like?
What is our world going to look like in five years if all the stores close down? Heck, we'll never know, we will be streaming Amazon movies and shopping online for popcorn...hey, here's something called 'Horny Goat Weed,' Interesting...

'This ill kept secret'

See the author's books

I am an author. I have to remind myself of that sometimes. I've kept that part of me a secret to many people for a very long time. In fact, up until two years ago I never attached my name to any of my writings, disguised behind the mask of 'The Rusty Goat.' It was out of necessity at first. Those stories in the very beginning were about real live people, mostly crazy women, who had haphazardly crossed my path, most times only hours before the tales went live on the internet for all to see. So, you can see the need for secrecy.
I feared I'd be discovered, and sometimes I was in spite of my best efforts to remain incognito. Some women just disappeared. One confronted me with a warning.
"You better be glad I don't have my pistol with me!"
And another took vengeance by pinning women against the restroom wall at the bar.
"That guy you're dancing with out there...stay far, far away from him! He'll destroy you!"
There were even rumors she had scribbled her warning on the women's restroom stalls. I dunno. It's not like I could go in and check.

I even got busted by the preacher at church. I had made a bad judgment call by listing my twitter name in the church online directory and well, really who reads that? The preacher! There I sat one Sunday morning amongst a thousand other sinners. The pastor takes his place behind his pulpit and gazes directly at me then lowers his eyes to the notes before him, and with an audible sigh, shakes his head in disgust. The topic for his morning sermon? Why a bar is no place for a Christian. It was during that sermon that I made the decision to dedicate my talents to writing 'something of substance' from that day forward.
I made a difficult decision to take off the mask as I made preparations to release the novel, 'Imperceptible - The Parables of Steele,' a book which I had digilently struggled to create as a work worthy of attaching my name to. It wasn't that particular book that made me uneasy about coming clean with my secret passion of writing. I knew the revelation that I was an author would open up a can of worms about the previous books. 'The Search for the Perfect Woman' could get me in hot water...and it has more than once. I have had local women literally hunt me down after reading that book. The scenerio looks something like this:
"I am not the Rusty Goat. He is a figment of my imagination. I just made him up!" I protest, staring at one woman or another standing before me wearing nothing but a robe.
She smiles, a twinkle in her eye, "I know, I know..." as the robe falls silently to the floor. (Okay, that only happened twice.)
Even with the release of 'Nineteen Seventy Something,' I had to maintain some attempt at anonymity. There is a woman or two...or three who could read this novel and pause mid-sentence.
"Wait a minute...this is me in this book! How dare him!"
Well, I deny everything! I write fiction. I make people up in my head! And chicklet, you were a bit phycho back in the seventies.
Even when I cautiously admitted I indeed wrote books two years ago, I was very selective with who was privy to receive this breaking news. I diligently skimmed through my Facebook friend list, choosing only those whom I felt I could trust. Even then, I only let them in on what I wanted them to know. My own mama only knows about one book...that I know of. Do I really want her reading 'The Search for the Perfect Woman?' And even with many being aware of the books, they have no clue of my weekly blogs. You just have no idea how it is to write these articles with the knowledge that if I make one mis-step, someone I know personally might take it offensively...and personally.
As you'd expect, as time passed, more and more of those close to me have discovered this 'ill kept secret.' A resurgence of discovery has reached epidemic porportions in the past month, thanks to a few personal acquaintences who have become dedicated fans of my work. So, the secret has been unleashed... and I may as well embrace it with open arms.
There are downfalls. It changes friendships. People I know seem to shy away once they discover my secret, maybe from fear that I might kill them off in my next book...I don't know. Perhaps it places me in a different league somewhere in their minds, like 'Why can't you just watch football and drink beer like the rest of us?' There are a few who are convinced that I have another deep, dark secret. That I am only playing the part of a dirt poor washed up over-the-hill wanna be cowboy. I have millions stashed away in some foreign account... they're sure of it. To set the record straight, I make a couple of bucks off of a book. I have to sell five books just to go to Starbucks. But regardless of the consequences, I have to confess.
"My name is Rodney Strange. I..." I pause as sweat forms on my brow, "am an author."
My eyes lock onto one woman in the room staring intently at me.
"We've met somewhere?" she questions.
"Yes," I respond as my heart races, "I believe you're in chapter five..."

'More Woes of a Single Dad'

You've heard of dry humor? I do dryer humor. I go through dryers faster than I go through women. Yes, dryers...clothes dryers. I am on my third one this year. I know this is not a typical topic for a single man, but I'm not the typical single man. I am a single parent to a teen aged girl. Some of you are nodding in understanding now. One cannot go through a single day without a dryer with a teen aged girl in the house. Unfortunately, I suffered through three days of NDS...'no dryer' syndrome. It wasn't easy. I probably need counseling.
I had a dryer...bought it twenty years ago along with a matching washer. The last three years of its life was touch and go. At the end, it was on life support. Finally out of pity, I pulled the plug. Wasn't really pity per se, it died with a good forty pounds of wet clothes inside it. Before you marvel at the fact that a dryer lasted twenty years, let me explain. It wasn't actually used for twenty years...it left for about ten years. With my ex-wife. It wasn't too long after the ex and the dryer and our child left that the trio stumbled across a fella who had a dryer of his own and that dryer went into storage. I happened to meet a woman who had a dryer as well, so it all worked out...for about seven years. As much as I liked her dryer, I found the woman herself impossible to live with, and as luck would have it when I kicked her to the curb, the dryer went with her.
Finding myself dryer-less and womanless, I called the ex who had left with my first dryer and questioned her about it. Yes, she said, it was in storage. Do I need it, she politely and thoughtfully asked. I replied that I was in desperate need of a dryer, and by the way, that evil woman took the washer as well. As luck would have it, both were in storage just waiting for some needy man like myself to come along. And then she moved in for the kill.
"I'll sell both of them to you for three hundred dollars."
I grew quiet as I lowered the phone from my ear and flipped it off. I could distinctly remember standing in the appliance aisle down at the Sears and Roebuck, writing out a check for over five hundred bucks for the pair some years earlier...and now I was expected to buy them all over again for three hundred bucks! But I needed a washer and dryer.
The old dryer ran like a Lincoln up until the weekend before school started this year, and really could it have picked a worse time? As my daughter headed out the door to spend the weekend with her mom, I stopped her.
"Hey, do you know if your mom has another dryer?"
With a sly smile, she responded, "I'll see what I can do."
Before the sun set that evening I was the proud owner of another used but free dryer. I must admit it took the edge off of my paying for the other one twice. Now, how my ex keeps coming up with all these dryers is a story in itself, and it's really none of my business...or yours. I'll just say this...if a man wants to work his way into a woman's heart, or wherever he was trying to get to...I suggest a bottle of wine and some roses, not an old beat up used dryer. But hey, it got me through a whole three months and I didn't have to buy any wine or flowers.
And so this evening I again stood in the aisle of the Sears and Roebuck, staring at dryers.
"I like this Kenmore." I pointed to a dryer that looked just like all the rest.
"Sure, I can order one for you and it will be here Monday." the pony-tailed, goatee-sporting salesman responded.
'Naw, you don't understand. I need it tonight."
"But this dryer is just for show. I can't sell this one to you."
"You don't understand. I have a teenaged daughter at home."
"Oh..." He stroked his beard as he thought for a minute, "Well, back your pickup up to the door and we'll load this baby up!"
Hey, what's that? The buzzer! My clothes are dry...I'm so excited!

'More Than Empty Words'

It was eight years ago this month that the Rusty Goat came into being. I swear it was an accident, not premeditated nor a random item on my bucket list that I wished to fulfill. I was just a suddenly single, over the hill west Texas cowboy who had begun to venture out into the world of dating. I had set out to find the perfect woman, something I’d not managed to accomplish in the fifty something years I had been roaming this earth.
Being inexperienced with the dating game, I did the only thing I knew to do. I began searching for the perfect woman in, of all places, a bar. No, I never found her, but night after night I’d come home with a story to tell, not that there was anyone here to listen to it. So, at the suggestion of a friend or two, I began telling my weekly stories on the internet. And as they say, the rest was history.
It started out with a few hundred stopping by the Rusty Goat website every week, then as time passed, a few thousand became a few hundred thousand. I haven’t been keeping track, but I believe around .3.5 million folks stopped by my site last year to see what the fictitious Saturday night dancehall cowboy has been up to.
It’s true. I have held a thousand women or more out there on the dance floor, and I confess I enjoy sharing that with most anyone who will listen. But when the dust settled on the dance floor and the lights went out, I had not found the perfect woman, just lots of stories to tell. I gave it up…the boot scooting and the woman chasing, though not for the reason you would think. I enjoyed my freedom, much like a wild mustang on the open range. I cherished the adventures. I constantly made mental notes inside my little brain as yet another story took shape on another Saturday night. Perhaps I had long given up the idea of actually finding a woman. It was the search for another story that kept me going back.
The Good Lord had allowed me to flitter around all my life, living as I pleased, and I did without so much as a thought about where my life might eventually wind up. But there came a time right there in amongst the dancing that I began to feel a change working its way throughout my body and mind. My online following continued to grow and I began to realize that perhaps there was something more I should be sharing with the world besides my silly stories. Week after week as I typed one tale after another about one crazy woman or another, I felt I was sharing nothing more than empty words, yet I continued onward.
What happened next would take a book to tell in its entirety, but short and simple, stubbornly as I plunged forward, my Creator grew impatient with my reluctance to change my ways. So, He changed them for me.
I set out on a new adventure, walking in sunlight even on the cloudiest of days. I moved the radio dial from the country station to Christian contemporary. I started reading my Bible. I went to church every Sunday. And I prayed. It never occurred to me to pray for myself so I prayed for others who needed God’s attention the most. I didn’t know if my prayers were working or not, I didn’t ask the people I prayed for if they’d noticed a change in their lives…seemed an odd thing to do. Then one night I did something different. I prayed for myself, as selfish as it seemed at the time. And things started happening…good things.
I sit here eight years later and ponder the thought that I’d never imagined myself being where I’m at today. I never thought I’d write a book or four. I never thought I’d ever see a day that I wasn’t in debt, yet today I owe no man on this planet a dime. Well, I did get the electric bill in the mail today, but that’s about the extent of my obligations. I never imagined a time would come when I didn’t have to get out of bed and go to work. I still do, but it’s because I lack good sense. I never thought I’d live a day without stress or worry, but since I gave all that to the Lord, I don’t fret much. Unless I break my e-cigarette right at bedtime and have to suffer until the next day. Come to think of it, I never thought I’d ever give up smoking…or drinking. Never was much of a drinker though. Most of all, I never imagined that a day would come when I’d have the privilege of being a full-time single father. It is perhaps the biggest blessing I’ve received in my entire life. God put the perfect little woman in my life…my daughter. What more could possibly be just around the next bend in the road?
So, what are you waiting on? Say a prayer. Say it for yourself and see what happens in your life!

'The Potty Blog'

 

With author Rodney Strange

*Author's note:  I wrote this last year during the 'Bathroom Bill' controversy in Georgia and with my home state of Texas tackling the issue in its current legislative session, I thought it was good for a rerun...enjoy.

I guessed it was probably around midnight as I pushed and shoved my way through the crowd toward the restrooms. The bar was packed beyond capacity, I was certain, filled not with the typical Saturday night wannabe cowboys and lonely women, but with rowdy football fans. Tension was high with a Texas Tech win over the Oklahoma Sooners and scores of fans sporting their teams' logos raised their voices over the blaring music, each determined to outdo the other. Me...I just wanted to pee.

As I approached the restrooms, my mouth fell open as I caught sight of a line of women stretching from the far side of the bar to the door of the women's' room. Women stood squirming in a never ending line waiting their turn. I forcefully pushed my way through the line after several polite attempts to pass failed, the frantic, fairly intoxicated females apparently fearing I would try to cut in. Once I had cleared that obstacle, I was relieved to find a somewhat shorter line leading to the men's' room. After a fifteen minute wait, I finally found myself inside the tiny room where at least thirty people were crowded against each other, impatiently waiting their turn. In the din of agitated voices, my ears caught several shrill, screechy voices above the rest. Women! A dozen or more drunken chicklets had taken their stand inside our restroom, giving up hope of ever making it into the women's' room. It would be a new experience for me, but I needed to pee, having reached my limit of two beers.
Another fifteen minutes later, I found myself face to face with a urinal. With a sigh of relief, I assumed my position. A huge Sooner fan at the urinal beside me squirmed his way back and a cute little blonde suddenly appeared in my peripheral vision, quickly squeezing her little hiney into the urinal, her stare stoically focused on the floor beneath her. I froze. I mean, literally froze.
'I can't do this!' I thought to myself, 'try...you need to pee!'
I glanced over my shoulder as a petite brunette began goading my rear with a half empty beer bottle.
"Hurry up!"
Sweat formed on my forehead. Relax, I told myself. Still nothing.
"Why aren't you peeing?"
It was the blonde beside me, intently staring.
"You're watching me?"
That's about as far as I should go with that story. Restrooms are a sore subject right now and I don't want to get into any trouble. Folks are losing their jobs over restroom talk. It may come to beheadings and crucifixions and I'm really not ready to lose my head over potty talk. I'm just a storyteller and this particular story is the one that comes to mind in light of all the hoopla in recent weeks. But the point I want to make with this tale is...even though this event took place at least five years ago, it is still fresh on my mind. Out of all the times I peed in that particular restroom in that particular bar...it is this memory that comes to mind. I am a full grown man. A smoking hot twenty-something-year-old intoxicated chick dropped her britches and peed not more than twelve inches from me. And I'll never forget it. Perhaps I'm scarred for life.
But we can't talk about that. So, let's go this route. I personally don't believe that collectively we have the kahunas to stand up and protest this current fiasco. I don't think that we in mass unison, will refuse to shop at Target or use Paypal or terminate our business ventures with any of the other businesses who have risked everything for a man's right to pee where he deems appropriate. I believe Springsteen concerts will still sell out and I think millions will still tune in Nashville every week even thought Connie doesn't feel comfortable filming in Tennessee anymore because they're not 'potty friendly.' It saddens me to say this, but America has been steamrolled by dudes in skirts and tights.
Now, bear with me. If I sneak down to the lake and cast a line, knowing I don't have a fishing license, I know what my penalty is if I get caught...a fine. If the city cops ever catch me doing sixty out by the cemetery where the speed limit is fifty, I know the penalty...a fine. There's nothing wrong with fishing or driving sixty miles an hour. It's just that somewhere along the way, the 'powers that be' determined that if they said there was something wrong with it...we should all just go along. We all still go fishing and we still speed, and we know we'll pay the fine if we get caught.
If voicing our opinions about men using women's restrooms is wrong, then fine us! Don't destroy a man's career because he spoke his mind, a right afforded us under the constitution. Pass your damn laws! Make it a crime to speak out! Then punish us under the full extent of the law. Until then...shut up and let us be!
In the meantime, I firmly believe that any person who voices their opinion concerning restrooms, who is harassed, bullied, terminated from employment, and ultimately destroyed...is the subject of discrimination, every bit as much so as those some of you spend so much time fretting over about where they should get to pee. We cannot allow discrimination to be indiscriminate. If we don't stand on this...there will be no stopping point...none! It is absolutely ludicrous for anyone to think that something that has been deemed morally wrong by society since the beginning of civilization as we know it will suddenly be accepted with open arms, no questions asked...just because someone tells us it is now okay. Are we as a society really that freakin' stupid? Lord, I hope not!

'Rent-A-Mom'

Those of you who've followed my stories all these years already know this, but for some of the folks who have recently begun following along, you may not know who I used to be. Well no, I figure you really don't care and no, I never was somebody famous. But up until a couple of years ago, I was the one your husband always wished he could be...secretly, of course. I was a legend around these parts, a Saturday night cowboy who lit up the faces of thousands of single women over the course of several years worth of Saturday nights. I'm not embellishing one bit when I tell you I've held thousands of women in my arms out there on the dance floor. Quite a number of them fell in love with me and I fell in love with them all. That was my problem...I never could bring myself to let go of all those women to love just one. Looking back, I figure it was mainly because out of all those women, I hadn't met the right one. I suppose I'd still be out there searching for the perfect woman at this moment if things hadn't turned out the way they did.
It was the prophet princess who warned me of a change in my life. She was by far prettier than all the women I'd met along the way, and in the course of a conversation one night, I mentioned that I couldn't understand how, out of all the women I'd met, I'd not found one who was a keeper. That's when she took my hand and stared at me with her sky blue eyes and said,
"God has something He needs you to do first."
I spent a full two years wondering and waiting on God to tell me what I needed to do, and in the process I found myself letting go of the life I had been living. I started venturing into the church building on Sunday morning, something I'd not done in all my adult life. I gave up the bar on Saturday night, didn't even have a single beer in the fridge, and I quit smoking. I curtailed my cussing and read my Bible. As time passed, I began to realize I was not the man I used to be...and still, I waited.
And one day the wait was over. The Good Lord gave me my biggest assignment. There never has nor ever will be another of this magnitude...the biggest blessing of my lifetime. It was that day the winds of fate changed me from an ex-Saturday night woman chasing cowboy into a full-time single parent. That same fate brought a fifteen-year-old girl, who had only known her daddy on a part-time basis, into his home to live. And life has not been the same since that day!
I hear these comments all the time, "She's a single mother...I just don't know how she does it!" Well, I have the answer...A) She's a mother and B) She's a woman! I would never make light of any single mother's challenges, but dammit...try doing all this when you're a man! I'll be the first to confess we aren't built for this! No longer can I just nuke a chunk of smoked sausage in the microwave and call it supper. I have to cook! Laundry is no longer two small loads on a Saturday morning...it's two hefty loads every night! Things constantly disappear, like nail clippers and tweezers...and my money. I have to be social, no not at the bar...at volleyball games with all the other moms, married I must add. I fold clothes that I can't identify, scrub mascara out of the sink, and dump unknown items from the bathroom trash. I receive phone calls and texts from teachers and school nurses. I bake brownies and host sleepovers. I wash pots and pans then wash them again because they don't look clean enough...I never used to do that.
But the hardest part of this full-time dad thing is...I do it all alone. There is no one to turn to for advice, to discuss my child's best interests. I find myself afraid sometimes, afraid I will fail her. And this I know...what's hard for me is even harder for her. A girl needs a mom and as hard as I try to be, I can't be a mom.
So I have this great idea and I just may make millions on it. Rent-A-Mom! Without even stressing my brain I can think of at least four other men who are raising their kids alone. I'm sure there are thousands more. I think I will pop an ad on Craigslist and see what turns up. Just fold the laundry, cook some supper, wash the dishes, and braid my little girl's hair...then go home! Unless she's really cute. No, scratch that. But if the Rent-A-Mom works out, I'm going to franchise!

 

'Just Name It'

I don't know who came up with the idea back in ancient times, but this rule giving parents the sole responsibility of naming their children really needs to be re-evaluated. Don't you agree? If you were going to name yourself, would you have picked THAT name? I asked my dad once why he named me Rodney. He replied that there was a guy at church with that name. That's all he had to say about the matter. I eyed him suspiciously. Was there more to the story, I wondered as I stared at him through squinty eyes. Finally sensing that I needed to know more, he continued,
"He seemed like a nice guy and I sort of liked the name."
"You named me after some random dude who sat behind you at church because you kinda liked the name?"
Naming your first born son should be way up there on your to-do list! Thankfully the man's name wasn't Captain Crunch or Mr. Clean. I'd really be stuck like Chuck! See, Chuck is an okay name. Most any name would beat my name, in my opinion.
I think parents should only be allowed to name their children temporarily. When the child reaches a certain age, they should be able to name themselves. We'd have to set a limit on that or there would be lots of youngsters calling themselves Play-doh and Lego. I dunno, maybe by the age of fifteen they could make a sound decision on what they'd like to be called for eternity. Beibers and Mileys everywhere you turn.
Even God had some issues with those dreaded names parents picked for their kids. He just couldn't deal with the name Abram, there was just something missing. Throw in an 'H' and add another 'A' and walla...Abraham became known as the father of Isreal. In foresight, the Lord was even known to instruct folks what to name their kids. Name him John the Baptist...not Rodney the Baptist, he said. My daddy, the most dedicated Christian man I ever knew, chose not to name me Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Not Abe or Moses or Noah but Rodney. Go figure!
We all are entitled to a misstep now and then. An author like I claim to be tends to claim their novels as their children. Seriously. I have spent more time pondering what to name my next book than I ever did with my kids. Took after my dad, I guess. I picked easy to spell names for my offspring...three and four letter names just in case they turned out to be on the slow side. I named a dog 'Dog' once. Three letters...can't mess that up. But naming a book...wow! Endless sleepless nights.
I gave the best book I ever wrote the wrong name. People told me not to name it that but did I listen? Did it sell? Noooo... It really is a great read. My mom and my ex-wife said so. They may be the only people who read it because names matter. Would you buy a book named 'Rodney?' Of course not. Neither would you buy a book named 'The Chimera Parables' because A) you have no clue what a Chimera is and don't even know how to pronounce it and B) "Parable" you mumble as you wrinkle up your nose and C) you just accidently followed the link to this post from Twitter and stopped reading this after 140 characters including spaces and punctuation.
But can you really rename a book? You can't rename your kid after you've sobered up and realized what you've done. Amazon.com seems to have no problem with it and while they are certainly not God, they're pretty powerful when you're a writer. If Saul can become Paul, then 'The Chimera Parables' can become...are you ready for it?
'Imperceptible: The Parables of Steele' and it didn't just come to me and yes, maybe y'all won't buy the book anyway. But I spent nearly a year writing this novel and dammit, someone needs to read it. Permit me to cue up a random blurb:
When his young son is kidnapped, Russell Steele sets out to find him, guided by nothing more than an obscure, twisted dream...
This vision, this dream, this supernatural experience driven by an imperceptible force from deep within his very being had led him to this very place, to this very woman who stood before him. The power from within that had directed him to this exact moment in time, overwhelmed him. The revelation of its now confirmed existence made his knees weak. What he had failed to understand throughout his life was now crystal clear. Beyond the logic, the knowledge, the common sense…there was more. Supernatural? Perhaps so, yet much more…a force from beyond, somewhere where one cannot reach guided him to this precise location on a planet so vast...
This suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat, novel is near impossible to categorize into one specific genre. A romance filled, action packed adventure, 'Imperceptible - The Parables of Steele' takes the reader on a spiritual journey full of twists and turns of one man who discovers if he is to find the most important person in his life, he must first find himself.
For fans of inspirational romance and suspense.
Now get this...not only do I have to choose names for all my books, I also have to name the characters in the books. That's no easy chore! Russell Steele? Let's call him Rusty. I think if I had been given the option to chose my own name, I'd have picked Rusty. Bet you never saw that coming!

'Imperceptible - The Parables of Steele' takes the reader on a spiritual journey full of twists and turns of one man who discovers if he is to find the most important person in his life, he must first find himself.

 

'It's Just That Easy'

It's been a whole month since the Walmart shut its doors in my podunk little town. I wasn't sure how we'd all survive without a Walmart. As I assess how my life has changed in those thirty days, I realize that there is indeed life after Walmart! Over the years I have grown accustomed to using many of the Walmart brand items and found myself dreading the thought of trying new brands of items I deem necessary in my daily survival. I've used the Walmart brand Rogaine for years...no, it really doesn't work...or does it? There are those close to me who say I've wasted lots of money on it. I have found those little blue Walmart brand sleeping pills to be very effective and I rely on a Walmart brand pill to help with my acid reflux. And I could buy a couple hundred Walmart brand ibuprofen for four bucks back when we had a Walmart. And now there is no Walmart.
There are four Walmarts up in the city, a forty minute drive from here. I must confess I have made the drive once since our Walmart dollar store closed, just to buy the necessities like that Walmart Rogaine. As I paid the sixty-five bucks for it and whatever else fit onto one tiny plastic bag, I pondered just how much I was probably saving by not shopping at a Walmart every week. As I ventured out of the enormous Super-Walmart onto a parking lot that spanned, I dunno, twenty acres, I came to the realization that our community was actually fortunate not to have a Walmart to take our hard earned money. Perhaps our quality of life might have improved over the past month. Perhaps no Walmart was a good thing, I decided as I meandered amongst hundreds of parked cars searching for my own.
I am not alone. Yes, Walmart made the first move by leaving our community, but it has opened my eyes to other avenues. I found an off-brand hair growth product on Amazon.com that is probably the exact same stuff I've been using and I can buy three bottles for what I was paying for one. I have some acid reflux pills in route as we speak and again, at a substantial savings. They will arrive at my door in just days and I didn't have to drive forty miles to get them. I didn't have to walk over ten acres inside a humongous store in search for them and I didn't have to frantically search for my car in a parking lot bigger than Texas. And this, folks, is the future.
Warren Buffett, according to Kiplinger (3 Reasons Warren Buffett Is Dumping Walmart Stock) dumped around twelve million shares of Walmart stock last year. We all know Mr. Buffett is a pretty shrewd businessman and I personally respect his insight into the economics of America. So why did he bail on Walmart?
Buffett has made no secret of his admiration for Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos. "We haven't seen many businessmen like him,” Buffett says of Bezos. “Overwhelmingly, he's taken things you and I've been buying, and he's figured out a way to make us happier buying those products, either by fast delivery or prices or whatever it may be, and that's remarkable."
Remarkable indeed! What Amazon has accomplished is beyond remarkable.
I remember the early days of Amazon, their gaudy ads cluttering up numerous websites. I personally never thought they would make it this far...I admit it. I was wrong. Way wrong. Even after making themselves the ultimate American success story, I had doubts about their staying power. Then came Amazon Prime. A hundred bucks a year! Hells bells, Costco doesn't even charge such an exorbitant fee! No, I don't have a Costco membership and I let my Sam's card expire years ago. I confess I am not an Amazon Prime member...but deep down, I know there will come a day when I pony up that hundred dollar annual fee. Because I really like to shop at Amazon!
Brick and mortar retailers are gasping for air. Ecomm retailers such as Amazon meanwhile have seen a 14.5% annual increase. Online purchasing is here to stay and I venture to predict that even with their frantic efforts to join the elite online club, retailers like Walmart will fall short.
Those retail giants failed to concentrate on what's important. They grew their businesses on what they envisioned....enormous stores on gigantic parking lots. They thought they could dupe their customers into believing the fallacy of 'Everyday Low Prices' even to the point of actually willingly standing in extraordinarily long checkout lines. They expanded their businesses relentlessly, shutting down local mom and pop operations, gobbling up every dollar they could get their hands on...and literally destroying entire communities with their greed. That's what they wanted...to get rich. Stinking, filthy rich.
We...just wanted to buy stuff. We didn't want to walk across hot, sweltering, crowded parking lots. We didn't want to trudge the length of Cowboy Stadium for a gallon of milk. We didn't want to haplessly wander up and down endless aisles searching for toothpicks. And we didn't want to stand in long lines like cattle at the slaughter house. We just wanted to buy our stuff.
I can pick up my laptop and buy almost anything I want on Amazon.com. I can do it anytime I wish, wearing anything I wish, right from my recliner. I likely can buy it at a better price than anywhere else. Why would I not want this in my life? It's just that easy!
I randomly searched through Amazon's site the other night and would you believe...you can buy goat feed, pecan trees, and even dentures if you're looking for that sort of thing. But there is something that Amazon lacks that Walmart has...real live people. It's true, I am the first to turn my head as scores of cute little housewives scurry past me in any given Walmart. I cannot deny I've noticed on occasion all those soccer moms in their tight yoga pants loitering on the detergent aisle on a Saturday afternoon, and then there's the infamous 'people of Walmart' you see on your Facebook page. As entertaining as all that is to a seasoned bachelor like me, those folks aren't who I speak of. Walmart and retailers like them have a secret weapon to fight back against the online giants like Amazon and those who will come next..people! Customer service, friendly employees, and lots of smiles. Amazon can't compete with that and never will. That, Walmart...and all the rest of you who wring your hands in desperation, is the answer you seek. It's just that easy...

 

'I Beat Arthur'

  

With author Rodney Strange

"Um-hum, it's Arthur. He's always searching for some poor soul to torment."
I winced as the country doctor raised my arm above my head. I shook my head in confusion.
"Who is Arthur?"
"Arthur Itis. He creeps up on folks your age. You say you were painting the trim on your house?"
I nodded as he ran his fingers across my knuckles.
"I'm not old enough to have arthritis," I protested.
"Well, you're payin' for your sins and you aren't a young buck anymore. I can give you a shot of cortisone if you want. It'll hurt but that's the quickest fix."
My eyes widened, "How long's the needle?"
After a short discussion I opted for a prescription for some little green pills that the doctor assured me would relieve my pain but, he had cautioned, would likely 'set my belly afire if I forgot to eat something with them. He proved to be right on both counts.
That's been over a decade ago and the arthritis has nagged me ever since. Motrin managed it fairly well at first and the arthritis only cropped up occasionally, generally right before a change in the weather. But in recent years the pesky pain and stiffness have persisted and I began to notice buttoning my shirt becoming more of a challenge. The knuckles on my hands became seemingly permanently knotted and I couldn't make a fist or open a bottle of Dr Pepper without pulling out the pliers. I started dodging the pastor at church for fear he'd shake my hand. I began having nightmares regularly...me in a faded pair of coveralls just like my daddy and all the other old men used to wear. Now I understood why. They couldn't button anything but they could handle a zipper.
There were days in recent weeks that I had to lay down on the bed to button my blue jeans, like those chubby girls before heading out to the club. (Might have pissed someone off...sorry) I began to fret. Who would button my shirt in a year or two? Who would open all those cellophane wrappers for me? I had visions of myself in a nursing home, some smoking hot nurses aide holding my sippy cup for me as she stuck the straw in my mouth. Oh, woe is me, I despaired. I will be sitting around naked starving to death in just months! Something had to be done!
Well no, I didn't go to the doctor. He'd just want to shoot me up with cortisone and give me those dreaded green pills. But I was almost that desperate, in fact so desperate that I reached for my phone the other day to make an appointment. But just seconds before making that fateful call...
As I sit here writing this, a blue norther howls outside my window. For the first time in quite some time, it snuck up on me. My fingers are working just fine and I can even make a clenched fist. If I had a bottle of Dr Pepper, I'm pretty sure I could open it without the pliers. There is absolutely no pain or stiffness in my hands. So, pray tell? Would you like to know? Did I discover the cure for arthritis?
I don't believe in taking any more medications than absolutely necessary and I don't particularly care to go to the doctor. I also firmly believe that the Good Lord put everything we need right here on this planet for us that we'll ever need. When I began researching arthritis remedies, I ran across an article describing how arthritis isn't so prevalent in southeast Asia due mainly to what researchers believe can be attributed to the customary diet of Asian dwellers. It was worth a try, I decided. No, I didn't cook Asian food...it comes in a neat little capsule!
Tumeric, or more specifically, a chemical called curcumin that is found in the spice, has been used for centuries in southeast Asia to relieve inflammation. It is also used for headaches, bronchitis, colds, lung infections, fibromyalgia, leprosy, fever, menstrual problems, itchy skin, recovery after surgery, and cancers. Other uses include depression, Alzheimer's disease, swelling in the middle layer of the eye (anterior uveitis), diabetes, water retention, worms, an autoimmune disease called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), tuberculosis, urinary bladder inflammation, and kidney problems.
So, there you go...it fixes most everything! I can't vouch for its effectiveness in fighting leprosy or menstrual issues, but I can say...it has helped me tremendously with my arthritis. I feel like a new man and I no longer worry about not getting my britches zipped up when I step out of a restroom at the coffee shop. I beat Arthur! Now, there's a few other minor things I need to check on...like making those wrinkles disappear and um, maybe regrowing some of that hair on my head. If it's out there, I'll find it. I'll let you know!

Psst...you can get it on Amazon.com: Turmeric Curcumin with Bioperine 1500mg.
Highest Potency Available. Premium Pain Relief & Joint Support with
95% Standardized Curcuminoids.