Supposedly the Mayans believe the “end of days” will come about in 2012 AD, but over a century ago that date was challenged. When people converted the date to our calendar, they used our year 365.4 days instead of the Mayan calendar year of 360 days. Which means, the date is not 2012 but 2087.

In the crossword puzzle of life, you have to expect a lot of ups and downs.

Time has a way of weeding out the trivial.

Think big thoughts but cherish small pleasures.

Everything a writer learns about the art or craft of fiction takes just a little away from his need or desire to write at all. In the end he knows all of the tricks and has nothing to say.

Raymond Chandler

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the universe.

Albert Einstein

Have you seen this email that’s going around? Cracked me up.

A group of 15-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Dairy Queen next to the Ocean View restaurant because they had only $6.00 among them and Jimmy Johnson, the cute boy in Social Studies, lived on that street.

10 years later, the group of 25-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the beer was cheap, the restaurant offered free snacks, the band was good, there was no cover and there were lots of cute guys.

10 years later, the group of 35-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the cosmos were good, it was right near the gym and, if they went late enough, there wouldn’t be too many whiny little kids.

10 years later, the group of 45-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the martinis were big and the waiters had tight pants and nice buns.

10 years later, the group of 55-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the prices were reasonable, the wine list was good, the restaurant had windows that opened (in case of a hot flashes), and fish is good for cholesterol.

10 years later, the group of 65-year-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the lighting was good and the restaurant had an early bird special.

10 years later, the group of 75-years-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the food was not too spicy and the restaurant was handicapped-accessible.

10 years later, the group of 85-years-old girlfriends discussed where to meet for dinner. Finally, they agreed to meet at the Ocean View restaurant because they had never been there before.

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. ~From a headstone in Ireland

Here’s the truth about flouride. When bauxite is turned into aluminum, a highly toxic waste product is formed — flouride. After being fined repeatedly for dumping this waste into lakes and rivers, the aluminum industry publicized several obscure, inconclusive tests showing that flouride is good for the teeth. So now, instead of being fined, the aluminum companies are being paid to dump their waste product into municipal waters. This would be fine except for one minor detail. After the formative years, flouride conferes no benefits. In fact, it is implicated in heart disease and cancer.

Famous Inventions : A to Z
Research the history of famous inventions – past and present.

A line used to be scratched in the dirt as a starting line for races, including horse races. Some of the competitors “started from scratch” while others were given a handicap that allowed them to start ahead of the scratch line. And that is how the phrase “starting from scratch” originated.

After a year of dreaming, planning, preparing and building, a group of authors is about to open a new independent bookstore in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. You can check them out on their website, http://www.onlyatbarnhills.com. As you’ll find, they have lots of popular books, wine, fine art, exquisite gifts, merchandise, coffee and chocolate. What they need more of are books by independent publishers. They are looking for publishers of quality titles who are willing to sell their books on a consignment basis. Correspond with mike@onlyatbarnhills.com and he will fill in the details.

I can do with less reason in the madness.

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.

The fool wonders, the wise man asks.

Benjamin Disraeli

The law of the hammer: Give a child a hammer and everything becomes a nail.

Fiction seeks out truth. — John Gardner

The marine mascot (a snarling bulldog’s head wearing a crushed military cap) was chosen because in France in 1918, the Germans called the Marines Teufelhunden — devil dogs.

Calling a spade an entrenching device doesn’t change it’s nature.

Mark Twain said, “You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”

PT Barnum did not say, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” He said, “The bigger the humbug, the better the people will like it.”

Harboring resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other guy to die. –Carrie Fisher

There is no maritime law that requires the captain to stay with his passengers, or that women and children are the first allowed off a sinking ship. In August, 1991 as the Greek liner Oceanus was sinking off the coast of South Africa, the captain made it off on the first helicopter, elbowing aside the elderly and leaving 170 astonished passengers on the ship.

The other morning I was staring out the window at all the leaves on the ground, marveling at how so much come from almost nothing. A bit of water, a bit of soil, a bit of sun, and something exists where nothing did before. I cherish those leaves. There’s no lawn here, just native grasses, so I don’t need to rake the leaves. I let them finish out their natural cycle of replenishing the soil from which they came.

Looking at those leaves, I was reminded of written words, and how they come from almost nothing. A circle, a few lines, a couple of dots, various arcs, and something exists where nothing did before. We never run out of words. We use the same words over and over again, combining them infinitely into ideas, stories, lullabies.

Recycling the very same words you use every day, I wrote four novels (plus that one poor begotten thing that’s locked away never to see the light of publication), hundreds of bloggeries, and thousands of comments. I hope my words live out their natural cycle, replenishing the mental soil from which they come.

Okay, I’m getting a bit over the top here, so I’ll get to the point. Some of those words are now residing on other people’s blogs all over the Internet from Canada to Florida, from Australia to South Africa. Today I’m in the U.S.A. Please stop by to visit me at one or all of these locations. I’ll be glad to rake up a few words of greeting for you.

Murder by 4 — Suspense: More is More

Bookworm — Names Matter

Dragon My Feet — Interview

Also, I am pleased to welcome Aaron Lazar to my blog. Please stop by and mumble, groan, hiss, grunt, expostulate or simply say hi. — Dialogue Tags.

Click here to find: Bertram’s novels on Amazon

Click here to find: Bertram’s novels at Second Wind Publishing

My novels are available in all ebook formats at Smashwords. Also, 30% of each novel is available as a free download. Click here to find: Bertram’s novels on Smashwords.

No success or failure is necessarily final.