A guest post by Courtney C. Stevens (2.)

September 25, 2012

The following is a second guest post from author, Courtney C. Stevens. She posted it on her blog at quartland.blogspot.com on August 10, 2012 after HarperCollins (HarperTeen) officially announced the sale of her debut novel - Faking Normal - in Publishers Weekly.

 

My Name on a Spine

Words that I will never forget: "Courtney, I have an early birthday gift for you."

My agent called on Wednesday, June 13th to tell me that HarperCollins (Harper Teen) offered a contract on Faking Normal, my debut novel. My agent and new editor spent the next two days doing what Agents and Editors do and we accepted on Friday, June 15th, my 33rd birthday.

Here are my thoughts:

1) My book gets to be a book.

2) Can I keep my mom quiet until they release this officially? (Not completely.) But I can't blame her. She's been such a great partner to me. If you only knew how bad my grammar was (and sometimes still is) when we started five years ago, you would give the woman three gold stars.

3) I have the best agent and editor in the world. I am so blessed by the professionals in my life. I pray every writer with dreams in their heart has a day when they are paired with the perfect person.

4) My critique partners have their fingerprints all over this manuscript. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

5) Did I really start this entire process (on Faking Normal) August 8th of 2011? (Yes- even though it doesn't seem possible. Oh, what a year!)

6) My accountability group believed in me much more than I believed in myself. Thank you to them for BELIEVING BIG and doing the dance (They know which one).

7) In the season when my husband and I needed encouragement the most- God delivers. Perfect timing.

There's so much more to say, and I'm sure I'll find the words over time, but for now, here is the release from PW.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/deals/article/52702-deals-week-of-june-25-2012.html

A guest blog by Courtney C. Stevens (1.)

September 25, 2012

The following is a guest post by the author of Faking Normal, a YA contemporary fiction debut novel that will be published by Harper Teen.  Courtney C. Stevens posted it January 15, 2012 on her blog at quartland.blogspot.com the day after she received an offer from agent Kelly Sonnack (Andrea Brown) for representation. Reprinted with permission.

Prayers of a Newborn Author

I have been on a print journey since September of 2007. One fall day, I woke up with an idea for a series of books (which will probably never see the light of day). And I was obedient to this idea, a slave to the concept that I would someday become an author.

And because I know I’m not the only one out there who has been on a quest for an agent and someday a publisher, here is a little bit more of the back story. A short timeline from idea to agent.

September of 2007-2009- I wrote and re-wrote the first book of said series

September 2009- Joined SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and attended my first Mid-South Conference

October 2009- Joined a critique group in Bowling Green, KY.

July of 2010- I started my first realistic fiction manuscript SOME SECRETS BLEED

March 2010- I sent out my first ever query letters on the series book to the faculty of the conference

September 2010- Attended my second SCBWI Mid-South Conference and got an honorable mention in the fiction contest for SOME SECRETS BLEED  (Met Kelly Sonnack for the first time)

June 2011- I queried a handful of agents on SOME SECRETS BLEED

July 2011- I joined a second critique group in Nashville, TN

August 2011- Attended my first SCBWI National Conference in Los Angeles. I had a critique on that series book with Beverly Horowitz, who told me to go write the book I HAD TO WRITE

August 2011- I started TWENTY-THREE- the book I had to write

September 2011- Attended my third SCBWI Mid-South Conference and pitched TWENTY-THREE to agent Erin Murphy

Between August 8^th-October 18^th- I wrote and re-wrote and re-wrote TWENTY-THREE, following the request of agent Kevan Lyon

November-December 2011- I started two next realistic fiction manuscripts to explore which would become my next project. I decided to pursue one titled Unit 42

December 2011- I queried agent Kelly Sonnack of Andrea Brown Literary Agency

January 5^th-12^th 2012- The week all the amazing agents read TWENTY-THREE

January 12^th 2012—I signed (agrees by phone) with Andrea Brown agent, Kelly Sonnack

Upon getting my dream, dream, dream agent, what did I do???

-scream.

-shout.

-dance.

-cry tears of happiness.

-cry tears of fear.

ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Since I am a youth minister who makes no apologies for the fact that I use the lens of faith to understand my life, the first thing I did was sit down with God and process how I felt. And in a moment of transparency I’ll share with you my journal entry from that evening.

January 12, 2012

There is a moment of fear, terror really, that follows the moment of peaceful success. Yes. For this very breath and second, I hold this accomplishment, this achieved goal in my hand, but my fingers are not yet conditioned to hold on. What if I can’t maintain? Why does this thief named SELF-Doubt sneak in and so quickly make my heart beat fast with fear instead of excitement?

All I can do is pray.

Oh God, Father, Abba, Creator, when you breathed into me and brought me to life, that breath contained words. Words of a future, a plan for me - a good plan for me - a story I would tell that you’ve been telling: LOVE IS REAL. LOVE IS REDEMPTIVE. (As I'm fond of saying, everything has redemptive possibilities.) Help me to believe these words won’t run out. Help me to believe that you gave me a lifetime supply instead of a mere 80,000. Help me to know I won’t let you down.

I am happy.

I am scared.

Of failing. Of succeeding. Of only succeeding just once. Of letting people down. Especially Kelly. Of not enjoying the moment in front of me because of future fears.

I said yes today to a career in books. Today, I make the first step toward being an author. I might have my name on a spine someday. But I know, God, that it is your name that rightfully goes there. You did this. Not me. I prayed and words came. You came. I trust you to keeping coming and breathing words, poetry, dialogue, life into me.

I trust you to help me believe this prayer. Even now, when it’s hard. Help me rise to the occasion by falling on my knees in thanks and praise. Give me the patience and faith to believe without seeing. Because right now I don’t know how to write what is next. Or I’m scared that I’ll never write better than now. And God, that sucks, because the whole goal of my life is to always be on a journey toward better. What if I can’t?

Be the whisper, God. The whisper that says, You WILL. You can. You have to... not because I’m pressuring you, but because you’ve got the creator in you. THE CREATOR.  And I like to share.

Share with me.

Share the words of a 1000 books

Share the words of a 1000 books that matter

Share the words of a 1000 books that matter and are beautiful

Share the words of a 1000 books that matter and are beautiful and connect me to people in need

And now God, if it’s not asking too much, I pray for the people around me. Kelly. Give her the plan for me. Give her wisdom and favor. Build and multiply her career. Tell her how to challenge and encourage me. For Twenty-Three. For Book Two. For books two-to-a-thousand. And for the way Kelly leads her other clients, especially Jess and Sharon; give her a vision beyond our todays into our tomorrows. Please give them all ten times their hopes and dreams.

And the people around me- the creative folks who share their lives with me- my mom, dad, Adam, CJ, my amazing, amazing critique groups, Ruta, Jess, Erica, and all the cheerleaders (Katie, Leah, Brooke)- the professionals who have encouraged me (Sarah, Kevan, Erin, Tina, Tricia, Emily) Bless them. Bless them more than you bless me. I need them all. Raise them up. Let them have their dreams come true the way mine started coming true today. I wouldn’t be here without them. I wouldn’t. This I know.

And it is You – the path-crosser of destiny, friendship and love - who puts me in their life’s way. You told them to chant, move, keep going, you can, you will; just move on the path toward your dream.

And I move.

Today, I move toward the unknown to me but the certain for you. Oh, how I’m scared. Oh, how I’m grateful.

Courtney C. Stevens

Book of Lists - My Idea of ...

Book of Lists

~An On-going List~

 

 

My idea of camping is ... a Motel Six.

 

My idea of jogging is ... a brisk walk. I don't jog.

 

My idea of hunting is ... figuring out where in the house I left my iPhone.

 

My idea of window shopping is ... surfing the net.

 

My idea of reading is ... daily. I mean that.

 

My idea of shoes is ... any pair of Easy Spirits. In every color.  On sale.

 

My idea of vacation is ... a white sandy beach, a big umbrella and sunshine.

 

My idea of dessert is ... Golden Oreos, Mom's homemade chess pie, Grandmother's Italian Creme Cake and Aunt Millie's chess squares. Oh, yeah and fried apricot pies ... made the old-fashioned way!

 

My idea of dinner is ... the one inch pork chop at Patti's, and any entree plus a 'throwed roll' at Lamberts.

 

My idea of lunch is ... Donzella's fried chicken, mac and cheese and cornbread sticks.

 

My idea of swimming is ... lying on a float in the pool.

 

My idea of sports is ... the St. Louis Cardinals and UK basketball.

 

My idea of highschool sports is ... summer league, travel team and BMHS softball (Courtney), BMHS BB (Courtney & Abby), BMHS baseball (Caleb), BMHS track (Matt & Courtney), BMHS volleyball (Maggie & Mackenzie).

My idea of a cruise is ... four days - The Mississippi Queen - the Ohio River.

My idea of an amusement park is ... DisneyWorld, Orlando, Florida.

My idea of an amusement park ride is ... Pirates of the Caribbean.

My idea of a dress is ... I never have an idea of wearing a dress.

My idea of comfortable clothes is ... jeans, sweat or t-shirt and a pair of Easy Spirits.



 

 

 



Book of Lists ~ Things I Like About the Beach

Things I Like About the Beach

~an on-going list~

 

• White sand. (as in Gulf coast white "silvery" sands).
• Crystal clear, green salt water (no seaweed).
• Starfish. We've only found them two of the many years we've been to the beach.
• Tiny sand crabs that tickle my palm.
• Beach umbrellas.
• A good book to read under the umbrella.
• Early morning beach walks and cool sand between my toes.
• Sunrises.
• Sunsets.
• Sea turtles and sea turtle nests.
• Feeding popcorn to the gulls.
• Searching for shells.
• Finding unbroken sand dollars.
• Casual beach style furniture and decor.
• Family.
• Renew-ing old friendships.
• Appreciation for the beauty of the sea and our Creator.

My earliest memories of our family vacations involve all of these things, in one way or another.

As soon as school was out for the year, my sister and I received our "summer haircuts." This was a short, carefree cut my mother called a Pixie Cut. Basically, just wash it and wear it. This look was much more flattering for my sister, but I didn't want to waste valuable summer time washing, rolling and sitting under a hair dryer either. Our visit to the beauty shop usually heralded the approach of our week long Florida vacation.

My mother did the packing in the early days. My sister and I were allowed to pick out one or two toys to take with us, depending on their size, because car space was limited. I nearly always chose my favorite baby doll - Judy - and the small "little pillow" I required for sleeping. Over the years, the toys we chose would change, but a selection of books to read was always essential.

In the days before extensive interstate travel and air-conditioning, the trip was long and hot. My mother hid road trip surprises in the car. When two little girls got car-fever, she pulled out a surprise to delight us and distract us from the long ride. New colors, new coloring/activity books, paper dolls (that required no scissors), drawing pads, a new book. It didn't really matter what they were, they got us through another hour (and made an easier trip for her).  We made frequent stops to "stretch our legs" as well. My dad encouraged us to get out and run around the car a couple of times. The hope was that this exercise would make us less antsy, and therefore, be an easier trip for the parents. I never believed it helped. For me, frequents rest stops just made the trip longer!

I have random memories as to how my parents made the trip affordable. Gas cost roughly 25 cents a gallon in general, but the cost would be higher at "filling stations" along the main tourist routes, up to 30 cents (gasp). My dad complained about this and sometimes drove an extra mile off the route in order to save pennies. We rarely stopped at restaurants on our trips; my mother packed a picnic lunch to eat at roadside tables. Travelers looked for places on the side of the road with a couple of white concrete tables with attached benches; these were the precursors to interstate Rest Areas. We also had a green gallon thermos jug with a spicket (it fascinated me) that my mother filled with lemonade. She packed pop corn and other homemade snacks; we knew we'd never get the green light to buy sugary snacks at Stuckey's or some other store along the way.

We didn't have iPods and DVD players and other electronic devices, so parents often resorted to bribes. My dad paid a nickel to the child who saw the ocean first. If the amount of kid monetary awards has increased as much as the Tooth Fairy's payment for a tooth, then I figure I'd be paying out a fiver in today's world in order to keep a child occupied during the last hour of a long trip.

We also didn't have reservations. Upon arrival, we stopped at likely cottages and motels to inquire about their prices. I learned early what the words "No Vacany" were. Once, my sister and I left the car to inspect playground equipment on the sand just beyond a motel, while my dad negotiated with the manager. We were very happy with the place and looked forward to taking advantage of the extra amusements. Turned out there were no ground floor units available, so my dad moved on to the next place. There, we rented a small efficiency unit. My sister and I were happy with that and immediately headed out to play on the merry-go-round, only to have the manager run us off because we weren't staying there. I was young, but old enough to feel embarrassed and then angry. Funny how the brain retains memories like that.

Another funny memory: we used those photo booths on the beach to take Before and After pictures. By the end of a week in the sun, we were dark tanned!

Over the years we spent a week at many different towns along the coast; Clearwater, Indian Rocks, Pensacola, Panama City, Navarre, Ft. Walton, Destin and more.  Our accommodations changed from primitive cottages and cabins with screened porches and no air conditioning to the more modern townhouses and condos with all the amenitiesin recent years. The unchanging variable has been mealtime. We were not those people who ate out every meal. Our places had kitchens where my parents carefully prepared meals in order to save money. Once each trip we went out and had a seafood meal. I loved eating at a table with a view of the water. Still do.

Sand. Sand. Sand. Kids. And bare feet.  Definitely equals SAND IN THE BED! We weren't allowed to get on our parents' bed either. And every night, it was almost necessary to strip the bed in order to sleep in a bed with a minimal amount of sand. That changed the year we had carpet on the floor for the first time (I was married with a toddler in tow!). To my surprise the sand disappeared into the carpet fibers long before my feet hit the bed.

Every summer in Florida with my family is a precious memory. We spent our honeymoon in Florida. We took our children to Florida. And our grandchildren. It is OUR idea of a true vacation.

After I retired, my one-week-during-the-summer beach vacation extended to several trips a year and lengthened to a month at a time. I love returning to the same beach, the same condo, the same restaurants, shops and old friends time after time. I may take other vacations, but I feel as if something is missing when I don't get to the beach.

And I don't require new experiences for my beach stay.
The traditional experiences on my list more than satisfy.

 


Remember

Today is not September 11, 2012 (obviously, huh). But I have some things to say about remembering and could not get my thoughts together in time on Tuesday (when it WAS September 11, 2012).

Eleven years ago.

I officially retired from teaching after nearly 30 years on July 1, 2001. I had imagined for years (particularly the last ten of them) what it would feel like to wake up on THAT day in August when teacher inservice began and know I did not have to attend. Near the end of every summer vacation, I'd think of the old joke where it sounds like the mother is speaking to her 'reluctant learner' child. She says something like, "YES, you have to get up now, and YES you have to get dressed, and YES, you have to go to school." Dramatic pause. "You're the teacher!"

So FINALLY the time had come. I thought.

I taught kindergarten and first grade all those years, but in the beginning I earned an art education degree. It only took a semester of student teaching and one year in a junior high art classroom to make me realize that though I loved DOING art, I didn't necessarily like to TEACH it. So I added elementary education, in particular kindergarten certification, to my credentials ... and thank the Good Lord I did.

In the spring of 2001, I filled out the paperwork to retire, but my principal immediately persuaded me to take a semester long substitute job the following fall for our elementary art teacher who became ill just before school let out for the summer. So, I like to say that I began my years in the classroom teaching art, and I ended my years in the classroom teaching art, albeit a very different and more pleasureable experience the second time around. The only downside was that I had to put off for one more year finding out what it felt like on Teacher Inservice Day when you no longer have to attend (Oh YEAH, it is GREAT!).

So. Flashback to eleven years ago.

I was standing in the door of the art room, having just dismissed twenty something students to return to their regular teacher (one of the perks of being a so-called 'special' teacher where the students come to you is that you do have five minutes to breathe between those classes!). Another teacher came down the hall leading her children in a line behind her; as she passed me, she whispered, "Turn on your TV. A plane crashed into a tower of the World Trade Center." That's all she had time to say, and of course, I thought she meant it had been an accident.

I turned on the TV in time to see the second plane crash into the tower and very quickly learned that it was no accident. That day - the sights, the sounds, the emotions - and the days that followed, are indelibly inked in my brain.

A particular attribute of the modern media age is that we "get to see" and often, we see it live.  I saw a man walk on the moon and heard the "one giant leap for mankind" speech when it happened. I saw John John in his sweet little powder blue suit salute his dead president father as the flag covered caisson rolled down Pennsylvannia Avenue (the sound of the horses hooves on pavement takes me back to that day). I saw Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald. I watched when the space shuttle with a teacher on board blew up in front of her family and her third grade class (and was so thankful we were out of school because of snow, so I didn't have to cope with my first graders when I could barely cope myself). And I've watched countless other things happen live via the screen of my television (including OJ's white bronco leading a cadre of state troopers down the interstate!). My generation relates and remembers where we were when because of TV. Recently, I added a slightly different perspective. A friend told me (as we remembered 9-1-1) that her mother cried when she heard about the World Trade Center; she said it was just like hearing the news about Pearl Harbor. Nine-eleven made her remember that day of horror.

We have TV, but our parents' generation had the radio. The news of the tragedies of their generation came over the radio waves as they sat huddled around it, listening to a disembodied voice relating something terrible. My dad had just returned six days earlier from his required year of Army training and service when they heard about Pearl Harbor. He and my grandparents were sitting around their Sunday noon meal after church. He rejoined his unit shortly afterward and spent the next three years (without leave) in the Pacific Theatre. When he told me that, I was a senior in high school, but he remembered exactly what he'd been doing and how he felt. It was the same for my mother. She also can describe sthe moment at the "picture show" that Sunday afternoon when she heard about the bombing (there were also newsreels shown in those days.)

Each year, Nine Eleven also makes me think of my son, who is a professional fireman. When everyone else rushes away from fire, firemen run toward it. It is a profession that I respect and honor and admire. I give thanks daily for the men and women, my son among them, who have that kind of courage and bravery and sacrifice bred deep in their hearts.

And so on this September 11, 2012, I remembered. I thought of the many things that changed after that day; the stricter laws regarding airports and the Department of Homeland Security, just to mention two. I thought of the many, many acts of bravery from policemen and firemen and office workers and heroic men on airplanes and at the Pentagon. I thought of the families who will never forget that day for a much more personal reason than I. They lost a family member, or perhaps a career and a lifestyle they'll never regain. Or they may now live with a loved one who has a terminal or debilitating disease because of rescue or clean-up efforts in and around Ground Zero.

For all of us in America, September Eleven changed us and our way of thinking. It made us stronger, more patriotic, more compassionate or bitter, but in some indisputable way, it stamped each of us, and we are different.

As Churchhill once said about Pearl Harbor, this day - September 11, 2001 - was "a date which will live in infamy."

Book of Lists - Things I Don't Like to Hear

Things I Don't Like to Hear (in Conversation)

~an on-going project~

1. "I don't mean to be ugly (i.e. mean, cruel, sarcastic) but ..."
2. "I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, but ..."
3. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell."
4. "They're not our kind."
5. "They're not like us."
6. "We've never done it that way before."
7. "That's stupid." (one step from saying you are)
8. "I'm not lying." (ps - you probably are)
9. "My child never lies." (YES he does)
10. The Lord's name in vain. Ever. (Aloud or in print.)

I WONDER as I WANDER

Have you just ever paused and thought about the funny, odd and so typical things we sometimes automatically do or think or say?  What do you take for granted about yourself and others? What's the phrase you use all the time that others associate with you?

I started thinking about this - in a seriously random way - during a long drive one night when I had nothing else to do ...

1. How you can imagine something great and work (and work) long and hard to make that something wonderful happen - a particular something - and you believe with all your heart that one day, ONE day, it will.  And then it does ... and you're, like, O.M.G. and you can't believe it! (that even sounds silly. Can't believe I typed O.M.G. - I'm older than 13!) You say things like, "I can't BELIEVE this is true" and a whole lot more phrases like that.  Just as if you didn't really work that hard to begin with. Yes, some timing and some luck were involved, but in the moment of realization, you forget the hard work and can't believe "your luck." #I KNEW Courtney's book would sell. And now ... I have to pinch myself to believe that something so awesome has actually happened!

2. How did I survive so many years without a GPS. As direction-challenged as I am, it's a wonder I'm even here.

3. Which reminds me ... I tried to use one of those "You Are Here" directories at a city mall recently. And apparently it lied. Or (possibly) I wasn't where it said I was ...

4. How many times in a day do I ask myself, "What did I do with my phone?" And how many times is it lying on the same arm of a particular chair (where it totally blends in)?

5. So ... then how many times do I use the landline to locate my cell phone in the house? Yeah.

6.How many times in his life has the son said, "Trust me, Mom."

7. Corollary: How many times has the same son told me to get a MAC. "Macs are better." (Trust me, Mom.)

8. How will the daughter feel the day Fed Ex drops that big box of Faking Normal ARCs from HarperTeen at her door? And sees her name on the spine.

9. How will I feel - really feel - the first time I walk into a bookstore or a library and spy Courtney C. Stevens on the spine of a book? (I will definitely make certain it's facing OUT!)

10. Have you ever thought how incredible e-readers are ... really? As a child, I haunted the library and bought as many paperbacks by my favorite authors as my parents would allow; as an adult I have a book-filled library in my home (I have been accused of hoarding books ... nooooo!) I could never have even imagined such a marvelous thing as a child ... so surreal! But I love to read; in fact, I MUST read every day (like a 'fix' for a drug addiction). So I will always love books - the smell and the feel and the hunt for them - but any device that facilitates my love of reading AND saves space gets a thumbs up from me! It is the written word that counts, not the manner in which it is delivered.

11. Having said that ... my dream job would have to be in a library (surrounded by books but without using a cash register). Soooo ... guess that should have occurred to me before I'd spent nearly 30 years in a classroom that was NOT a library. You think?

12. There's the fact that I would love to visit foreign countries - see amazing sights - join in all kinds of activies I've never done before - but I don't like to travel. Neither by bus, nor train, nor plane and sometimes, not even by car ... how about inventing 'teleporting' someone? Anyone?

13. If I have to travel 8 hours in a car, there better be a beach at the end of it ...

14. We had a Blue Moon in August - it's the second full moon in a month. Who the heck thought it should be called blue? It's not blue. So why? A Blue Moon only happens once in a ... well, a blue moon. There won't be another one until the year 2015.

15. I love to work outside, especially with flowers and shrubs, planting, weeding, dreaming about end results. BUT ... I hate to get my hands dirty, and I can't live with dirt under my fingernails. #gardengloves

16. I think about knees alot. Mine are ... aging (that might be putting it kindly). So, I started thinking about those Little League boys and softball girls who are catchers. The Daughter was a catcher in a summer league (starting at age 5), in middle school, on a traveling team as a teen, in high school and in college. I wince when I think about the continuous squatting and jumping up it takes to throw down to first. And the toll on knees. I don't have that excuse.

17. The sisters of those boys who played baseball in the Little League World Series had on tee-shirts that said, "I don't have a LIFE. My brother plays baseball." True. They were grinning and hamming it up for the TV cameras, but I bet they don't always think it's funny. Traveling teams require a lot of dedicated time, and it affects the whole family.  #BeenThere

18. I am no athlete. REALLY not an athletic bone in my body.
I didn't participate in any sport during my childhood, unless riding a bike counts. Neither a team sport nor an individual one, and I hid when intramural teams were being formed at school. Klutz, no eye-hand coordination, no flexibility, no body awareness; zero, zilch. So why was I able to strap on a pair of shoe skates (the kind that require a skate key to fit) on my third birthday and ... skate. Very easily, my mother says. I loved it and skated during my whole childhood and teen years - on sidewalks, in our concrete floored basement, at the occasional rink. I even skated as a teacher with my students in PE for six weeks every year (and I won't tell you how old I was the last time I did it).  And what's more, why could I ride a skateboard? They were introduced the summer before my sophomore year of high school, and I lived on a hill. I woke up every summer morning to the sound of ball bearings on pavement and couldn't wait to get on my board.  No tricks, just plain balancing and riding down the hill way too fast. But you'd think ... maybe if I could do those two things, then maybe I could learn some other sport or something mildly athletic. But no. It is not to be.

19. Have you ever wondered about those contestants on Wheel of Fortune? I worry about them. They are always married to a 'WONDERFUL husband/wife' and their children are without fail 'AMAZING.' Some of them, for heaven's sake, can't even name their children without stumbling over the names ... but they're amazing! I just want Pat Sayjak tell them to use a thesaurus ... get some new adjectives.

20. I think about Extremes. They happen. Last spring we had major flooding in our area, surrounded as we are by the river on three sides. Homes and families were affected as well as many farms and crops. And this year ... major drought. Hardly any rain between the middle of March through the first of September. We finally got a little more than two inches of rain over Labor Day weekend and had to thank a hurricane for that. Farmers have lost most of their corn crop; the verdict is still out on the soybeans. Extremes, two seasons in a row. It affects everyone, those who grow and those who consume.

Just a few things to ramble on about, to think about and ponder.