Ta-Da!

My aged dictionary doesn’t have “Ta-Da” in it, but in my experience it has come to mean a sort of proclamation, like, “Here I am!”

Liz Curtis Higgs gives a slightly different spin on “Ta-Da” in her DVD on God’s grace. She has spent a lot of time in Scotland and those folks have shortened the word, “thanks,” to Ta. They have also come up with a shorthand version of the word, “father” or “dad,” which comes out da.

So Ms. Higgs’ suggestion, stemming from the scripture, “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it,” is “Ta-da.”  Thanks, Dad.

This is a somewhat convoluted way to introduce my Ta-da for the week. My book was finally birthed on Kindle, Amazon’s e-book platform. The Women Who Knew Him took me about 20 years from the idea to this point. (I hope the next book doesn’t take that long.

 
This link should work: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BFKOYOM?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

After reaching the Amazon site, click on “See what’s inside” and go to the To My Reader page. It tells a little about the incubation of the stories.

By the time I retired in July 2010 I only had 3 stories fully written with another two started. By July of 2011 I had all 13 stories finished and sent them to an editor-friend in August. She returned them to me in early October and then it was revision time.

By May of 2012 it was time for another editorial eye to look at the stories. Then Dean was diagnosed with lung cancer and the writing schedule traveled a slight detour. All the stories were back from the 2^nd editor by December 2012. They went out and returned one story at a time so I was able to revise them story by story.  Last month the stories went once more to my proofreader friend, then a little more revision on my part. Then it was time to get the document ready for e-book publication.

Fortunately, the process was not as scary as it originally looked and once son, Jeff, designed the book cover, we were in business. Now I need to put my mind to marketing and also getting the book into the format needed for print. I will also use Amazon’s print on demand company so that I can have copies of books to give away (and, or course, sell).

So Ta-Da. Thank You, Father!

Hiding Place

“Here I come, ready or not!” After a count-down of 1-10 or 1-20, the game of Hide and Seek began. The adrenaline would be pumping whether you were the Hider or the Seeker. The Hider would be looking for the perfect place to nestle in, hidden from view so no “harm” might come from the Seeker.

Flashing forward a generation, my sons managed to find some ingenious hiding places. Jeff discovered that he could get into the narrow, vertical closet housing the vacuum sweeper, along with the sweeper! Another of his favorite places was crawling into the china cabinet’s lower section where the tablecloths were stored. I think he only used that spot once!

Brian and his cousin, Todd, “put the icing on the cake” when it came to hiding. They hid themselves so completely, we ended up calling the police because we still had not found them by nightfall.

The boys finally emerged, jubilant at having found the perfect hiding place—under shelves in a walk in closet in the basement. I don’t remember any more games of Hide and Seek after that. The disciplining from that incident may have taken the joy out of any further escapades.

These memories surfaced in my mind when I was reading Psalm 32 a few days ago.  David writes in verse 7, “You (God) are my hiding place.”  The modern day songwriter used that verse and finished the thought with, “whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.”

That idea led me to thinking of ways and things we trust that stand on pretty shaky ground. In King David’s day, world powers trusted in their horses and chariots (see Psalm 20:7). Modern day Americans trust in stocks and bonds, houses and cars, boats and 4-wheelers, plus Star Wars weapons and military might. These delightful or powerful things make very poor hiding places in the final outcome.

I think I’ll stick to the psalmist’s idea.

The Gathering

I was going to take a week off from my blog since my philosophical bent seemed to have broken. However, I realized there might be some friends back east who have never heard of the “Gathering.”

Most everyone in Elko County, Nevada knows about the Annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering held each year at the end of January. It’s a time for cowboy poets, musicians, and artisans, e.g., saddle-makers, etc.  to get together, share their creativity, (and probably get drunk). 

This is the 29^th year of the Gathering and, for the most part, Mother Nature got the sub-zero weather out of her system earlier in the month.  We had a fog bank this morning worthy of San Francisco, but the sun won out and the rest of the day has been beautiful and we almost suffered a heat wave (above freezing).

Dean has been a “logger” for “The Gathering” for maybe 10 years, and despite his lagging energy, signed up for a few sessions this year. By way of explanation, a logger in this context doesn’t cut down trees. Instead, he notes down the name of each poem or song that each artist performs during a particular session. The logger also estimates the time an act took, the number of attendees and the reception given to each artist. The reason for this amount of detail aids in putting together the video/DVD put together each year after all the cowpokes have left town.

I thought I would insert a picture of Dean’s cowboy boots as they are a purchase made during this past year, likely with an eye toward looking the part as he mingles. 

Not sure how many horses Dean has ridden. If motorcycles count, then make that several.

The “Gathering” really is a worthwhile week to attend if you are interested in the history of the West, what ranching is like in the 21^st century, western music, art,…Can you tell I’m a fan? So maybe we’ll see you next year at the end of January.