One Year's Time - What Got Cut...

So, One Year's Time, for any that don't know by now, is the book I have been working on, tirelessly.  Just almost ready to go to print, looking back, I have so many things that didn't make the finished product.  Some of these things were fun, and I hate to cut them, but rather than have them go to waste, I thought maybe, some of them would be suitable for a little literary snack for what is to come.  What'dya think?  Should we do it?  Let's!

This particular cut didn't make the final project because, while it was full of information, I felt like it was too slow to start our story.  I edited this part out, and there is no way for it to make an appearance, and make sense, in another book in the series.  So, I would like to share it with you.  Please excuse any typos, or editing issues.  This was captured from the very first draft, before ANY edits were done.  The mistakes will show that I'm only human!  If you read this, please take it when you and keep it for when the book actually comes out.  There is information that might make the final product more meaningful to you!  I hope you enjoy it.  Please comment and let me know what you think!


When Derrick wasn’t working, he found things to entertain himself.  He had his workout routine.  He liked to go fishing.  He felt empowered every time he completed a home repair project.  But, his favorite place in the whole world was the pier his grandfather had built.
For the past 72 years, the Decker family had owned the 823 acres that Derrick, currently, called home.  Derrick’s grandparents bought the property when they were first married.  His parents, John and Elise, never had an interest in the property.  They had three sons and the small house his grandfather had built was not large enough for the family of 5.  However, after he graduated the police academy, Derrick decided he would live with his grandfather to help him out.  A short time after his grandmother’s passing, his grandfather joined her at the Pearly Gates.  Derrick promised himself, then and there, that his grandfather’s house would never be a run down shack.  Plus, the fact that the house was at the edge of one of the largest lakes in Lock Creek made it everything Derrick had wanted in a home.  The lake was private since it was seated in the middle of the Decker property.  Derrick’s grandfather had built the pier “just out of earshot,” as his grandfather would say.  He built it close to the house, but far enough away that he could go out on the pier and fish without being disturbed. 
Derrick and his two brothers had all pitched in on a boat.  Out of the three boys, Derrick was the youngest.  Grady was the oldest and Josh was the middle child.  Even though the boys all pooled their money and bought the boat, the two older boys rarely had an interest in going to the lake.  So, it was up to Derrick to maintain the boat, the property, the house, and the pier.  Thankfully, he had spent a lot of time, as a boy, learning skills from his grandfather.  Plus, his dad, John, was in construction.  So, whatever one man couldn’t teach Derrick, the other could.  As a kid, it seemed like more fun than anything.  Now that he was the one responsible for the acreage, he could see how much work it really was.  He didn’t mind it though.  Having a private lake was very rare.  There were other lakes that were “private,” meaning they were shared by all the residents of that particular subdivision.  But, in this case, Derrick truly had his own private lake.  Come hell or high water, he wasn’t willing to give up that luxury.
The Sheriff, sometimes, being off duty, would go milling around town.  He had errands to run, the same as anyone.  But, most of the time, when he was out and about, he would drive his personal truck with tinted windows and he would wear a baseball cap to help shield his face.  He wasn’t an antisocial recluse, by any means.  He loved his community.  He was the muse of most of the women that knew him.  That could become a daunting ordeal when he was trying to conduct his business around town.  Occasionally, he would have to put his foot down and that was the part he hated the most.  He just wanted to live his life, the same as anyone else.
Many men would use his position and his popularity to his benefit.  Derrick Decker had spent too much time with his grandparents, as a child, to be anything other than old fashioned as an adult.  He knew how to conduct himself.  He had a lot of friends, but there were very few that really knew him.  His grandfather had taught him to be diplomatic, direct, honest, sincere and loyal.  But in the case of his following around town, it was not a situation that required diplomacy, honesty, sincerity or loyalty.  It just required creativity so he could navigate through his day and accomplish the things he had set out to accomplish. 
Until Anne came to town, Derrick has decided he was just destined to live a life of solitude.  He had grown up with most of the women in Rindle county.  If he didn’t know them as a kid, he had gotten to know them as an adult.  He just felt uninspired.  He had dated women through out his life.  But, most turned out to be the same.  They were superficial, shallow and vain.  Any women that he dated also liked to flaunt him around like a trophy and they seemed to like to try to show ownership by barking commands at him.  He knew he would never be happy to be hen pecked and he made his mind up that he would be single before he’d be miserable. 
When Anne came to town, Derrick wasn’t sure about her.  He didn’t know her, so he was curious about the newcomer.  It didn’t take him long to see that he wasn’t the only one looking for something the current dating pool didn’t offer.  There were plenty of guys that would talk about Anne.  They would gawk at her.  They would chat about her amongst themselves.  Derrick heard the chatter.  Sometimes, the townspeople would try to involve him in their speculation and gossip.  Derrick would just dismiss them.  The bottom line was that no one really knew the new girl in town.  As far as Derrick was concerned, that was even more appealing.  His desire to keep his private life off of center stage in the small town just made a girl that seemed to be able to keep her story to herself even more interesting. 
Derrick spent a lot more time at the café these days.  Since Anne started working there, it was a lot more fun.  He did his best to conceal his interest.  He just liked to stare at her when she wasn’t looking and try to find clues to who this pretty, small framed blonde was.  He just knew that when she looked at him, he felt like he had found an answer to every question he ever had.  He found her attractive, without a doubt.  He also listened to conversations she would have with other diners.  He saw her sense of humor.  He watched her as she moved.  He liked it when she curled her long blonde hair and the curls would tumble around her shoulders.  If she was in a hurry, the curls bounced as Anne moved through the room.  He was starting to feel like a stalker.  He could only admire her internally.  It had not escaped him, however, that she seemed unimpressed with him.  It was almost a refreshing change for him.  

Beautiful Life...

I have been feeling like a jerk lately.  Why?  Because so many of my friends are having hard times and struggling.  Me?  Oh, who'm I kidding!  We're all having hard times and struggling right now.  So, I have my very own set of issues.  However, I can't get this silly grin off of my face.  I'm just happy!  Life has been pretty alright lately.  I don't have a winning lottery ticket or anything like that.  I'm just finding that I'm totally ok - on an emotional level.  I can't find a lot to complain about.  I bounced back from being sick the last few weeks.  I'm suspecting bronchitis or something in that family.  But, I still can't laugh without hacking and whatever.  But, the aches and pains that accompanied this previously have left.  I'm feeling alive and I have my energy back.  I just wanna go, go, go!  So, if you wanna ask me if I wanna go somewhere, the answer is yes - provided I haven't' said yes to something else already.  I'm just happy!  I love life and I love living it.  I feel bad for all of those who have lost their jobs, or family members, or spouses, or whatever.  But, I'm here to tell you, it gets better and there's changing winds; the glory of the earth turning!  Anyway, if you're hurting because of someone, chances are you put too much into the wrong peeps.  You can't blame people because they are incapable of treating you the way you want to be treated!  It just means that particular person was the wrong person.  Scoop it up, and carry on.  You'll be alright!  Just watch! 

Now, on a different note, it's camping season and I wanna go.  We've talked about it, and decided that maybe we'll try the route of renting a camper this time.  There's too much with kids and my mom and all that stuff.  So, renting a camper just might make things - different - but fun just the same.  Especially because today, we found a campground type thing that is a "members only" type of arrangement.  The people all looked older, and the "wilderness" features a few really great bass ponds.  The guy also said that there is a huge issue with rattlesnakes.  So, that part is a little unnerving.  But, if we rent a camper and join this group, then we can camp there anytime we have an RV.  So, there's a fun time!  The tent, in a place like that, would just ensure we'd be sending someone out by helicopter.  Zac and his lack of fear and limited pain sensation would just about guarantee that.  Brennon lacks coordination, through no fault of his own.  Anyway, I could run down the list and give reasons why we'd all be in trouble.  But, it's more fun to just say that we'd really have to watch out.  It would take every adult at our disposal to help make sure those sneaky snakes take a detour en route to any of us.  Ha!  It would be ironic though, seeing as how we've been "snake hunting" for the last few days and haven't seen a single one.  We're smart!  We stay in the car and go to those places where they're supposedly "guaranteed to see a snake."  Still, nothing!  It would be my luck, I'd wake up and find one snuggled up, sleeping right beside me.  And, I'm here to tell you, I'd probably cause gingerbread shaped cut outs in the side of that shelter - no matter what kind it would be.  I have a history of moving pretty fast when snakes come around - so I'm told.  All I know is the one that was slithering across my foot caused me to black out for a second and I was standing on the bottom step and bounded up to the top (approx. 6 stairs - maybe 8?) without ever knowing I had moved.  Fight or flight took over and my aunt about hurt herself from laughing at me so hard.  I was scared - I'll admit it.  And when I lived in MS, we had a house built on a lake - so there was no shortage of the slithering little beasts there for sure.  But, there, I had a dog that was very protective and with the exception of 2, did very well at keeping them away from us.  (One he didn't keep away from us was on the outside of his kennel in the side yard.  The other one had apparently decided to build himself a den at the base of a drain spout and had obviously been there for quite some time - we just never noticed him.  Anyway, bottom line is that I'm scared about bald of snakes - and here I am out trying to hunt them down.  I apparently suffer from a lack of good sense.  But, it's been fun so far and we've discovered all kinds of places around us that we'd have never known about otherwise.  It's a fun time!  I'll do my best to take photos if and when we hit pay dirt. 

Finally, I'd like to say that while I do have a heart and I do feel bad for all those struggling with life right now, I do hope that everyone can find something that makes them smile.  Life is tough for everyone right now.  So what if you didn't get approved for that refinancing!  So what if the bank is coming for your car.  Who cares that you're having to choose between buying groceries and paying bills.  It happens.  And, anything lost is a sign that it's time for your like to exclude whatever you're giving up.  It will be ok.  I've lost houses and cars.  It sucks and it hurts.  But, it's also nice when you don't have to worry every month about paying for those things anymore.  So, take the time to let it go and just simplify.  You gotta eat!  Your kids gotta eat!  It's a no brainer.  If you're working 22 out of 24 hours a day just to scrape by, then it's really time to give it up.  Take pride out of the equation, and take desire out of it and you would've given it up already.  Pride and desire can easily be rejuvenated.  All it takes is one more "the" thing.  Just watch!  We're all one "want" away from being right where we want to be.  Without desire, we lack a need to get up in the morning.  But, in the same notion, we have to learn to desire things that are healthy for us.  Am I gonna tell you that a Prius is the answer?  Uhhhhhmmmmm....NO!  Not just no, but HELL NO!  But, there's a lot of possibilities in the world.  For every person that has to give back a house or a car is a bank that isn't getting money from you for them anymore.  They are going to be desperate to unload that liability pretty quick.  So, they're going to need to be especially clever about wheeling and dealing.  So, while that may not help you on your particular car or house, it may help on one of the multiple other broken dreams in the world.  It's sad, I know.  But, think necessity rather than want.  You'll see you've been silly to try to make it all come together anyway.  And, if you are worried that you're not going to be able to fix it all by tomorrow, in the words of Dave Ramsey, "You didn't get in debt overnight.  Why would you expect to fix it over night?"  You can't!  It's just not human to be able to pull some of this off.  But, take away the lesson and you'll be rich beyond your ever years!  If you like this concept, you might be interested in a book by Dave Ramsey!  Try it out.  It's very helpful and it will help you see that it's not just you.  It's all of us and it's a lot the same mistake!  So, no worries!

Fun Things To Read

Ever wonder if there is any truth to what a person's handwriting says about them?  There is truth to it.  I've been reading this book and it teaches you how to see beyond the exterior of a person.  All you need is a sample of their handwriting.  It teaches you what their slant says about them, what the shape of the letters mean, even the spacing.  It is full of fun information.  You can learn how a person truly feels about you just by how they write your name.  You can find out how to detect written lies.  But, on a good note, you can also learn the good things too!  You start this book by writing a sample of your own handwriting.  Then there are various quizzes through out the book as you go.  This helps you put what you're learning to work.  It's just something fun and interesting.  Plus, I found it on Amazon for you for $3.67.  Yay!  Whether you're just bored and looking for something interesting to do, or you're wanting it for specific reasons, I highly recommend this book!  It's easy to follow and the author makes it fun!  It's kind of like taking a course, only you're the only student in the class.  They explain things and then give samples.  It's very easy to comprehend and as I said before, it's just a lot of fun and very interesting!  So, check it out!  :)