Marcia Lynn McClure's Blog, page 7

Veteran's Day and The Navajo Code Talkers

Oh, you know me…always an emotional wreck on Veteran's Day!  I can hardly look a Veteran in the eye with out bursting into tears of gratitude, reverent admiration and a feeling of being so small and insignificant in comparison.  Heck!  I can hardly glance sideways at a Veteran without bursting into tears!  So please take a moment today (and every other day that you are lucky enough to pass one on the street) to thank every Veteran you see for his or her service to us!

I'm not kidding about this being an emotional day for me…therefore, I thought I'd just leave you with a little snippet on an astounding group of WW II Veterans that often are forgotten…The Navajo Code Talkers!  If you're not familiar with them, then please take the time to watch this short video concerning their service to our country…and to us!

God Bless ALL Our Veterans!

Shine on Harvest Moon! (Contest winners, too!)

I LOVE the song "Shine on Harvest Moon" for about a billion reasons!  A few of the billion reasons just happen to be:

1.  Well…the obvious…it's about the Harvest Moon!

2.  It's romantic!

3.  It's vintage (Approximately 1900)

…and the list goes on and on!

Well, last year I was youtubing the song and came across this little video someone had done using the one of Billy Murry's renditions (not the actor…the old vaudeville performer).  Except for the three seconds between :51 and :54 where the guy doing the video used 4 scandalous old magazine covers (close your eyes if you want to during that 3 seconds), I LOVE this video!  All the old vintage moon photos just thrill me through and through!

So enjoy a moment of vintage "Harvest Moon" today…sit back and relax and let yourself be transported back in time (approximately 1910) and just enjoy a peaceful autumn moment with me!

Now, as for contest winners for the last couple of contests:  Marche Siefken!  I pulled your name out of the hat as the winner of the Ichabod and Mr. Toad DVD, the Legend of Sleepy Hollow book, and appropriate treats!!!  Ahhhh!  Congratulations!  (Go Ferndale!)  E-mail your snail mail address to me so I can get your package in the mail asap!

Also, Rebecca Vance won the "How Many Words in Kevin Bacon as Valentine McKee" contest!  Great (and wildly amazing job, Rebecca!)  E-mail your address asap please!

I'll post another contest tomorrow!  So enjoy "Shine on Harvest Moon" and see you on the flip side!

Fun Videos – Levi Commercials

You know, way back in the 80's and 90's, Levis commercials were some of my favorites. They made men look like heroes–you know, masculine, capable, handsome, etc. My very favorite Levi's video is the 'stalled car on the side of the road' one. It's appears below:

However, while looking for the 'vintage' Levi's commercial I loved so much from the past, I came across another one I had never seen! It reminded me so much of something I might write that I had to share it with you, too! Ah ha ha ha! You gotta love the old Levi's commercials!

Win a Kevin Bacon Movie! (Time-Stamped Contest!)

Ahhhhhhhhhhh! I'm having a Kevin Bacon moment! Therefore, here's what's down today:

Sending your answers to me ONLY at marcialmcclure@cs.com (do not post a comment with your answers here) with the Subject Line reading, Kevin Bacon, by 8 p.m. Pacific Time tonight…

find and write/type as many words as you can using only the letters in this phrase:

Kevin Bacon as Valentine McKee (i.e. we used to do in elementary school using worlds like Halloween to get "wean, hall, on, woe, wall, etc.)!

The person who submits the most words (valid/real/in the dictionary) to me by 8 p.m. will win a DVD OR Blu-Ray (winner's choice) of the Kevin Bacon movie Tremors!  PERFECT for October/Halloween fun!!

Remember, this is a time-stamped contest!  You MUST submit your word list by 8 p.m. Pacific Time tonight to be entered!  Good luck!  Long live our beloved KB!!!!

Fun Video – Lonesome Ghosts

When my sister was really, really young…she had this little movie thingy. It looked sort of like an old 8mm movie camera, only it was plastic…and some little movie cartridges came with it. Seriously, I think I enjoyed it more than she did! I loved that little toy! My favorite movie cartridge was The Lonesome Ghosts! The Lonesome Ghosts was released in 1937 and it's still one of my favorite, favorite spooky cartoons! Since we're all bathing in the wonder of October, I thought I'd share it with! So sit back and enjoy The Lonesome Ghosts…your October treat for today! Too, fun!

Kiss Fix – Han and Leia

Okay…if you were a teenager in the late 70s and/or early 80s, you know how long we all waited for THIS kiss!  It certainly wasn't long enough…but it was better than nothing, right?!  Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!  At last!  At last!  At last!  Han backed Leia up against that wall and…FINALLY!

New Book-The Haunting of Autumn Lake! (No, I'm NOT Kidding!)

I just cannot keep quiet about this any longer!  I just can't!  I'm way way way way way too excited about it!  But where do I begin to tell you the tale?  Hmmm?

Okay, so here's what happened…I was feeling a little like a wanted some autumn in my life a while back.  I knew my beloved season was on it's way, but that wasn't enough!  I needed more!  Something really, really, really autumn-ish AND something really, really, really me!!!!  And so, as I was laying in bed one night, literally praying for some Autumness…BAM!  It hit me like a ton of bricks!  The Haunting of Autumn Lake!  Yep!  The entire story just began running through my head like a freight train!  I couldn't slow it down!  I was up all night outlining and jotting down scenes, etc.  I LOVED it!

Writing The Haunting of Autumn Lake was just what I needed!  And I HOPE HOPE HOPE that it's just what you need, too!  I think the book will be available to order on Friday…and the e-book shortly thereafter!  And I know I should've let you be surprised, but I couldn't stand it anymore!

Hey!  Wanna read an excerpt from Chapter One?  If you do, here are the first three paragraphs:

The dusky path meandering through the old maple and oak grove was still amply bestrewn with summer-green grass. Birds still chirped in the leafy branches above. Yet it was there—the slight change in breeze, the few leaves in the tops of the trees that had begun to tip with scarlet, gold, and burnt orange. Yes, it was there—the sense that summer was waning, that autumn was gently stretching forth her lovely, bejeweled hand to clasp the world in the wonder and beauty of  harvest time.

Naturally, Autumn Lake always imagined autumn as a woman. It was her season after all—the season she was named for—her mother's most beloved time of year. So of course she imagined autumn itself was a personage—a woman of such great gentleness and beauty that all the world waited for her to appear, gasping at her loveliness when she did. Yes, the season of harvest and respite was a woman in Miss Autumn Lake's bountiful imagination—auburn-haired, with ribbons of pumpkin orange and sage green woven through. Her eyes were the color of ripe green apples and her lips such a perfect bittersweet that all men who looked at her desired to kiss her. Autumn wore a gown of leafy amber and chestnut brown that swirled in the breezes the way dry leaves flurried when a little giggle of harvest's breath whispered to them. Her lovely hands were spangled with golden vines, rubied rosehips, and amethyst mums, and at her feet were slippers woven of soft, supple corn silk and yet-green corn husks that would soon be honey-colored instead.

With a heavy sigh, Autumn Lake wished for a moment that she were as beautiful as was the season of harvest—that her hair were auburn and her eyes the green of ripe and juicy apples. Yet, smiling to herself, she shook her head—glad at once that she favored her father. Oh, her mother was a beauty, it was said in town—and it was true. Yet her father was a handsome and striking man who still left women's mouths hanging agape as he passed them in the street. What care did Autumn have for green eyes when hers were the blue of a stormy sky just like her father's? What care had she for lovely auburn hair when hers was as black as a raven's feathers and far softer than sable?

What do you think?  Is it autmny enough for ya?  I LOVE this book!  I wrote it with an open heart, a soul-felt love for all things harvesty and autumn…not to mention a wild passion for someone we all know as Handsome Ransom!  This is a 5×8 size book (you know…like An Old-Fashioned Romance), and it's packed with everything I love about writing…lots of romance, kissing and autumn description!  I know you'll like the mystery in it, too!  And as far as the hero goes?  Boom chicka wow wow!  You'll LOVE him!

So?  What do you think?  I want The Haunting of Autumn Lake to make your October and November perfectly delicious!  I LOVE this story and I really think you will, too!  I can't wait for Friday to get here!  Wait until you see the cover!  Yowza!  I LOVE it!

Now…you know how I am…I need contests…I always need contests!  So, I should probably begin by pulling a name out of my hat for the Monster House DVD and treats contest from last week (or whenever it was…I've had company so I'm a little more off my game than usual).  So, the winner of the Monster House DVD and the accompanying treats is:  Leanna Morris!  Leanna…e-mail your snail mail address to me at marcialmcclure@cs.com so I can get your winnings in the mail to you asap!  Congratulations!

Now, as for this week's contest…I canNOT allow an October to go by without paying homage to my favorite, favorite book Mr. Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow!  I LOVE it!  And my very first introduction to that beautiful story was, of course, Walt Disney's version!

Who wouldn't love the Disney version…not to mention the songs and FABULOUS narration by B-B-B-Bing Crosby!  So, taking my youthful intro to the cartoon version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, this week's contest is comprised of Sleepy Hollow stuff!  Here's the list:

1.  DVD-The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (though I only watch the Ichabod part, of course)!

2.  The Legend of Sleep Hollow paperback book!

3.  Appropriate "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" snacks (chosen by yours truly) to accompany your DVD watching or book reading!

4.  Four Pumpkiny/Autumny surprises (also chosen by yours truly), to enhance your October Autumness!

To enter, just leave a comment here about anything autumn-ish, Sleepy Hollow-ish, or The Haunting of Autumn Lake-ish!  Okay?  Oh how I LOVE October!  Oh how I hope you'll love the new book!  (I'm soooooooooooooo nervous!)

My Sister's Imaginary Friend "Siggy" (Contest Winners…New Contest!)

So, as you may or may not know, my sister and I are weird.  But in a good way…at least to my way of thinking.  But…well…let me start from the beginning:

When I was little I fell in love with a groovy little British boy named Jack Wild.  Now, you know Jack…he played the Artful Dodger in the 1968 movie version of Oliver!  (Stole the show, too, I might add.)  Anywho, I didn't fall in love with Jack because of his Oliver! performance.  No siree!  I fell in love with Jack as Jimmy in the all time greatest TV series EVER, H.R. Puf N Stuf!  That's right!  Though I realized many years later that WitchiePoo is the true wonder of the show, at age six I LOVED Jimmy!  I remember embarrassing my dad once in regard to my passion for Jimmy.  Understand MY dad is way way way hard to embarrass!  However, when at the grocery store with him once in good ol' (somewhere near) Grace, ID…I begged and begged and begged him to purchase a teenager magazine for me with Jimmy's picture on the front!  I mean I LOVED Jimmy!  LOVED him.

However, as we all know, even though I loved Jimmy, I loved Huckleberry Finn more…and Huck always won out and remained my imaginary friend for a couple of years following the My-Daughter-Embarrassed-Me-By-Begging-For-a-Movie-Start-Magazine-in-the-Middle-of-the-Grocery-Store incident with my dad in 1971.  Yes, it's true.  I did have an imaginary friend for that long.  But hey…at least he was a human!

I mean, take my sister, Luanna, for example…my little sister also had an imaginary friend when she was approximately three or four years old.  She called him, "Siggy" and he was always there to play with her, sit down to dinner with the family, etc.  Ah yes, Siggy…I remember it well.  Siggy this and Siggy that.  It was adorable!

Furthermore, Siggy was also a 'real' entity of sorts.  Just as my Huckie was my imaginary proxy for the real Huckleberry Finn…Siggy was Luanna's imaginary proxie for…of course…Sigmund the Sea Monster!  Yep!  It's true!  (And at the moment I'm wondering how my sister and I would've survived our childhoods without the brilliant minds of Sid and Marty Kroft!)

Yep…good ol' Siggy…or Sigmund the Sea Monster and you know him.  What a guy!  A little on the skiddish side, but with Luanna there by his side, he did all right.  I mean, his family was really mean to him (which you already know, if your familiar with the TV show Sigmund the Sea Monster).  Yes…Luanna and Siggy were quite the pair (as you can see by this photo of them together.  See him?  Right there next to her?  Oh, wait…that's right…he's imaginary so you probably can't see him!  Sorry!)

Yep…good ol' Siggy.  Good ol' Luanna.  What a couple of mischief makers!  I'm telling you, you never saw such a pair!  (Reminiscent sigh of mechanically over childhood things.)

So last week it was Corn Worms, and this week it's imaginary friends and sea monsters.  Hmmm…Am I sensing a blog theme in my brain here?  Eureeka!  October is upon me and Halloween at the end of it!  Yahoo!!!!!  Therefore, I think another spooky contest is in order, don't you?

First of all, let's talk about the winner (plus 1) of the Sandy's Corn Worm blog from last week.  Now, as you know if you entered, our dearest friend "K. Lou" wrote that FANTASTIC poem, an "Ode to Sandy's Corn Worm!"  AND I think you'll agree she deserves an award for that!  HOWEVER, there were so many entries and all of them were sooooooo wonderful, that I've decided to choose 2 winners for this contest!  Of course, "K. Lou" is one winner, for her tender, empathetic poem "Ode to Sandy's Corn Worm" and her insight into how forgiving one should be a husband who does dishes, whether or not he grinds up your pet Corn Worm in the garbage disposal!  K. Lou…winner #1…e-mail your address to me at marcialmcclure@cs.com so I can get your autumn/movie-themed prize package in the mail to you asap!

Now as for winner #2…there were so many many many fabulous entries that I'm just going to pull a name out of my hat as the winner…so hold on a second.  And the winner is…hold on…Chris Bails! Congratulations, Chris!  Please e-mail your snail mail address to me at marcialmcclure@cs.com so I can get YOUR autumn/movie-themed package in the mail as well!  Fun!  I LOVE doing contests!

Now, as for this week's contest…oooo!  It's another Autumn/October/Halloween-Themed contest, okay?  For this contest leave your comments on your favorite childhood TV show and you'll be entered to win:  A "Monster House" DVD (I LOVE this movie), and appropriate Autumn/Halloween snacks to munch on while watching it!  Yummy!  Yep!  Another movie and snacks…I guess I'm not feeling too original today!  Still…movie?…snacks?…monsters?  Yep, an ode to Siggy…my sister's imaginary friend!

Meanwhile, if you're not familiar with Simund the Sea Monster…here's the old 1970s opening credits!  LOVE it!

The Sad Ending of Sandy's "Corn Worm" (Contest Winners and New Contest!)

The other day my daughter Sandy and I plopped my grandson (Linkie Dink/Lincoln) in his car seat and meandered down to Wagner Farms in Corrales to see if we could pick up some peaches and apples.  We were hoping for pumpkins, too…though Wagner's doesn't usually put them out until the last weekend in September.

We arrived to find the delicious aroma of roasting green chili and the the beautiful autumn red of chili ristras hanging everywhere.  Mmmm!  Heaven!  Now, as Linkie Dink and I were choosing some perfectly juicy, fuzzy, delicious peaches, Sandy decided she was going to get  a few ears of sweet corn for supper.

Well, after Linkie Dink and I had chosen some peaches, some apples, some tomatoes…I noticed Sandy was still over by the corn.  So we strolled over (Lincoln ran, of course) to see what was up.  Well, what was up was this:  Sandy had never (to her memory) picked through organically grown ears of corn…which just might have had a caterpillar or two hiding inside.  Thus, she was very carefully and very slowly opening the husks to check to see if each ear was a good one or not.  At first, she was a little grossed out, but when I reminded her that half the fun of shucking corn was the eerie anticipation that you might come across a 'worm', she was suddenly overtaken by the sense of adventure, and actually chose a couple of ears that had 'worm' evidence.

When we got back to her house, her hunky husband began shucking the corn and did indeed come across a 'worm'!  It was hysterical to watch, because as he continued shucking, he accidentally pulled some husk off the ear a little to quickly and the worm went flying off the ear of corn and onto Sandy's arm!  She was screaming and laughing and Soren was laughing…even as he heroically removed the worm from her arm.

Well, to make a long story longer…when it was suggested that they put the worm down the garbage disposal I was mortified!  Therefore, naturally I turned into my mother (as we all do) and suggested they keep it as a pet!  I was reminded of the time I found a tomato worm in my mom's garden and made a little habitat for it in a shoebox and kept it as a bet for quite some time.  Therefore, Sandy (also turning into her mother at that moment…it's a generational thing) decided she would indeed keep the 'corn worm' as a pet. She put the tip of the ear of corn the worm had been munching on in a plastic leftovers container, dropped in some corn silk, and VOILA!…a new pet was born!

Well, the pet worm was doing very well.  Over the next couple of days he nearly doubled in size!  We were all amazed.  And then it happened…one night, just as I was getting ready for bed, I received the following text message:

"Soren killed my worm!!!"

Yes it's true.  Having misunderstood a conversation Sandy and I had had in his presence earlier, Soren had thought Sandy was tired of the pet worm and…well…here's Sandy's blog that appeared the next morning:

Rest in Peace, Very Hungry Caterpillar

I had my very own Hungry Caterpillar.  But Soren killed him just now.  I found him in a corn husk while husking corn.  He looked like this:

I put him in a container to look at him that day. Soren said I was morbid.  I don't think he had the right word down.  But after the weird egg incident I can blame him.  Then I put the bad end of the corn in their with my little hungry caterpillar and that's when it began.  He started eating that corn like crazy…and he literally got fatter by the day!  Just like the very hungry caterpillar!  He was soooo fat today and I wanted to see if he would get fatter…but…that was after I had told Soren to get rid of it a few days ago…apparently he didn't get the updated memo…that I wanted to either keep him to watch him get fatter or let him go in nature.

Therefore, I walked in to the kitchen just now only to find the container missing and Soren doing dishes.

"Where's my caterpillar?" I exclaimed.  He looked at me with a guilty expression and pointed to the sink.

"Where is he??"

Finally he admitted to putting him in the garbage disposal.  "He isn't dead yet.  He's just in there."  Soren pushed the disposal on for a split second then off.

I felt bad for the little caterpillar.  What an awful death.  I felt sick.  "Hurry up and finish him off!  I can't think of him being partially cut up and in pain!"

And so I write this to the sound of the garbage disposal killing my caterpillar friend.  :-(  I know.  I am weird.

Poor Sandy!  I know how she feels!  I had some gerbils once that were brother and sister and had litter after litter of babies.  Eventually the little babies began to show signs of having severe birth defects so my dad put that litter in a brown paper lunch sack, took them out on the back porch and stomped on them to put them out of their misery.  (I sort of  lost my interest in gerbils after that.)  So to have your pet corn worm chewed up in the garbage disposal would be very traumatizing.

Therefore, as a homage to Sandy's sad little corn worm experience (and yet, pets and their deaths do help children to learn to deal with loss), I'm having a blog contest this week!  Yep!  The contest is for not only a bag of yummy yummy candy corn, and some favorite popcorn treats, but also for a Fall/Halloween type movie (DVD) that is one of my favorites to watch this time of year…The Lady in White!  Ooo I have loved this movie for years!  I will warn you that it has some strong themes that I would NOT recommend for young children!  (It is PG-13.) However, our family really likes it because it's so kind of creepy, nostalgic and autumn-ish!  SO just leave a comment here…let's make it a message from you to Sandy about the loss of her corn worm, and you'll be entered to win a care package which includes candy corn, popcorn treats and the DVD of The Lady in White, okay?  (And Sandy things she's weird?)

Also, Megan E. and Lori Nelson…you two won contests!  (See yesterday's blog!)  E-mail your addresses to me at marcialmcclure@cs.com so I can get you prizes in the mail to you!  Fun Fun Fun!

 

Contests Winners!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I'm soooooooooo behind on everything!  I woke up this morning and thought, "Hey!  I never drew names out of the hat for the Tom Sawyer DVD and the cookie box!  Inconceivable!"

Therefore, before I write another pointless blog about anything…I figure we better get these two contests wrapped up!  Right?  So here's the dirt:

Lori Nelson…you won the Tom Sawyer DVD!!!!  E-mail me and address and I'll get it shipped off to you!  Congratulations!

As for the box of my favorite store-bought cookies (I'm salivating over here!):  Megan E….you won the cookie box!!!!  Let me know an address, via e-mail at www.marcialmcclure.com and I'll get them shipped off to you!  Yummy Yum Yum!

Now…I'm off to write a little romance today!  Then I'll think of another ridiculous blog and contest for us!  I love blog contests!