THANK YOU, “BREEZY”! [Hal’s 3 year-old Cavachon]

THANK YOU Friends, Family,

Readers, Followers, Connections, 

. . . and Kathy, I’ll miss you forever.

SPECIAL THANK YOUs to Jonena,

Valerie & Pegi for all the positives

each of you have brought to my life!

And Thank You, Dear Readers, For These

WONDERFUL Book Reviews:

This is blog post number 1,181 and many of you have been with me since day one (April 24, 2008). I am so grateful to each of you! The AMAZON book reviews that follow (for my just-released first novel) are awesome, and I thank each of you as well. Please urge others to read and review, to join you on this list! There cannot be too many favorable reviews on the best-seller path!

I am staggered by the kind and exciting comments about my book, and by the generosity of your time and effort. I consider myself blessed. In the spirit of this season of giving thanks, I am truly appreciative.

For those who haven’t seen the reviews, here are a few:

AMAZON High Tide Reader Reviews

*****

By Dan Duffy (Massachusetts)

“An engaging mystery story set at the Jersey Shore. Enjoyed everything about High Tide…The Jersey Shore setting was quite realistic and engaged me throughout the story. I also enjoyed how Hal incorporated the story within a college environment. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like it.”

*****

By Patrat

“VERY Exciting! Great read! Kept me in suspense the whole time. Sorry to see the story end. I am anxiously awaiting Mr. Alpiar’s next book.”

****

By Marie A Drayer (Maryland)

“YOU’LL BE HOOKED! As soon as you begin to read HIGH TIDE, you’ll be hooked! The characters really come to life as the fast-paced mystery unfolds. This is a great read!” 

*****

By Beverly Marsh (New Jersey)

“Jersey Shore Whodunit! Couldn’t ask for a better plot and humor (always a key). ! Can’t wait for the sequel with the Professor, Hal!”

*****

By Kelly Trombino (California)

“Loved High Tide! Brought me right back to the early 80s. Professor Rick was a hoot. Loved the romance and the intrigue with the drug dealers. Wasn’t sure how he was going to get out of this mess with those Jersey bad guys.”

*****

By Suresh Kodlikar(Delaware)

“Just finished reading High Tide. The book is absolutely amazing! It deserves to go on New York’s Best Seller list! You have done a terrific job of researching the topics, maintaining suspense and presenting it in an enviable style of writing. We are proud to have such an accomplished writer in our midst! I am already looking forward to the sequel!”

****

By Jo (California)

“High Tide is a riveting story that took me back to my college days where professors looked more like their students and engaged their students like Professor Rick Maddigan, the main character. I was pulled into the story from page one and couldn’t put the book down. With just his first novel, Alpiar showed us his successful transition from writing non-fiction to fiction.” 

*****

By Jim Hall (Delaware)

“Hal’s ability to sketch characters and scenes is outstanding. The book grabbed me from the start and wouldn’t let go until I finished it. Great writing job! And Windy’s Mom thanks you for the exciting diversion into the professor’s life while she was recuperating from her knee surgery. It was wonderful (:”

****

By Sara G. Kraft (Delaware)

“Just finished High Tide and enjoyed it. I had a slow start but plowed through the ending with all kinds of excitement on the edge of my seat – Loved it!”

*****

By Jim Jordan (New Jersey)

“HIGH TIDE appeals to me for a number of reasons. It is about the area where I live, and it was fascinating to see the story unfolding in the NJ marshes of Little Egg Harbor. The Author raises the level of suspense with each drug deal and manages to discreetly work in some tasteful and amusing sexual fun. He skillfully outlines Professor Maddigan’s relationships and the “smoking faze” of that era. I enjoyed the plot and writing style. Both are outstanding. Hal is a wonderful storyteller and an excellent researcher. I wish him continued success with his future adventures.”

*****

By Susan (Delaware)

“Love the Shore, Loved the book! If you like exciting stories and have memories of your favorite beach town, this book is for you. The characters are colorful and stay with you long after the last page is turned. You’ll be asking for the next installment to come soon…as I did.” 

*****

By M Slosberg (New York City)

“THE HIGHEST OF TIDES. Mr. Alpiar has the ability to pull his reader much as a rip-tide drags a swimmer. I may have lost a night of sleep finishing HIGH TIDE, but I gained HIGH REGARD for a powerful new novelist.”

*****

By Bob Wainwright (New Jersey)

“High Tide is spirited adventure and a real page-turner. This story is a throwback to the Jersey Shore –in the easy living 80’s– when life was experienced by doing things, not just keyboarding them.  A brilliant, blackmailed, pot-smoking professor, soulless gangsters, and an adoring student lover make for an exciting mix in this high seas adventure.  Definitely a must-read book!”

*****

By Bo and Lois Wood (Delaware)

“We are both from the Jersey Shore & this book took us back to our roots. We love the action & story line. Great Book!”

*****

By King of La De Dah (Maryland)

“HIGH TIDE is a fast-paced action-filled adventure with interesting characters, unique plot twists, and tongue-in-cheek humor, all wrapped around a “down the shore” love story. With unique turns of phrase and word play liberally sprinkled throughout, Mr. Alpiar has provided his readers with a rollicking journey that is not only fun and stimulating…it is also a book that is virtually impossible to put down. I just had to see what happened next! Mr. Alpiar is a true talent, and I am eager to get my hands on his next effort. I HIGHly recommend the TIDE.”

*****

By Tennant Barron (New Hampshire/Pennsylvania)

“If you’re looking for an intriguing, fast-paced, fact-based novel you’ll want to tell your friends about, HIGH TIDE is the book for you! It’s as gruesome as it is funny, as thought-provoking as it is flighty, and as romantic as it is mysterious. I’m definitely anxious for the sequel!”

*****

By Donna M. Powell (Maryland)

“Great read! There is suspense, humor, love, and wit in this book. I found it hard to put down. I can’t wait for the next book or even a sequel to see what Madigan will be up to next.”

****

By Kathy Mcnulty “Kathy M” (Delaware)

“Mr. Alpiar turned the fascinating events of his real life experience into an intriguing story that is sure to keep you wanting more. The attention to detail provides a clear image of life in the 80’s on the Jersey shore.”

*****

By Robin Standlee (Florida)

“I rarely read novels because a good one will keep me from doing anything else. High Tide did that. It’s based on a true story which makes it even more intriguing.”

*****

By Linda Fleetwood (Delaware)

        “I HATE the author! This book kept me up until three in the morning. I couldn’t put it down. A great read!”

*****

By Ken Peach (Florida)

“High praise for HIGH TIDE! What a fun story, and I also got a lot out of Professor Maddigan’s classroom lessons. In fact, I have a bunch of pages turned down for reference . . . now, that doesn’t happen often when reading fiction! I eagerly await the sequel.”

 # # #

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Hal@Businessworks.US

I am thankful for my

 Kickstarter Backers!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope it is a time of great rest, relaxation, reassessment and re-energizing for entrepreneurial leaders everywhere. Certainly, it is a time for family, friends, and appreciation . . . a time for prayer and caring and tolerance.  

Thanksgiving is for me personally —and most of all— a time for saying thank you to those who have locked arms with me through the two years of harsh realities and trauma that ended with Kathy’s death this past March.  

It is only because of that allegiance and outpouring of love and support for my personal and business survival that I have indeed survived. It is with full and deep appreciation for all that Kathy meant to me and the joy she brought to my life, that these friendships and offerings of time and help, and support (even food!) have prompted me to do what she urged of me consistently (but that I unwittingly resisted) over her last two years: to move on! 

AMAZON Kickstarter, as many of you know, has enabled me to step forward with the wonderful book manuscript –HIGH TIDE— that occupied thousands of hours of my spare time (and much of Kath’s) over the past twelve years. But Kickstarter is just a platform, a format.  

It took a concerted effort by a small army of close friends and family members to give me the faith and incentive and encouragement to bring that format to life… to move on. As it stands this minute:  it works!         

In the middle of my Kickstarter website, you’ll find a lengthy list of individuals who stayed with me through the long haul and who passed me the torch to light up HIGH TIDE. 

Many others, too many to list here, have eagerly jumped on the bandwagon to help. They know who they are. I will thank each publicly as soon as I can get through the Kickstarter project, regardless of outcome.  

I will simply say here and now that I am deeply grateful to each of you who have taken the time from your own busy lives to reach out and pull me a rung or two up the ladder and for bringing God’s blessings to my doorstep. Thank you. I love you all. And God Bless YOU.  

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I ask also that anyone reading this please be sure to remember all the families still suffering from Hurricane Sandy, and to send God’s blessings to them, as well as to all our young men and women serving in America’s armed forces and emergency services throughout the world. Pray to grant them all continued courage, resourcefulness, patience, forgiveness, and understanding.

# # #

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Hal@Businessworks.US    302.933.0911

 Coming soon to your  

expanding consciousness

. . .Two of the world’s three 

most important words!

Besides “Please” (which does not have a special day devoted to it), “Thank You” may be the world’s most important words because –in every language and every neighborship  in every country– they make people smile inside.

You can prove it to yourself just by thinking for a minute that it’s Thanksgiving time: 

• the general business climate begins to relax
• our thoughts turn to family — our “family-families” of course, but it’s also an appropriate time to take stock in and remember our “business families” as well.

And while we’re on the subject of thankfulness, let us not forget all our military and “first responder”  (police and fire and EMS) families. They are, after all, the ones who have given us the freedom and the opportunities to choose and achieve, who make it possible for us to pursue new horizons, and ways to grow our business interests, which support our families.

“Thank you for your service to our country!” with a sincere handshake and straight look in the eye addressed to the occupant of every passing military uniform or veteran hat is a rewarding and meaningful practice all year, 24/7. “Thank you for your service to our community!” is an equally important expression of appreciation to local, county, and state first responders.

If these are not routine practices

for you, try them out this week!

I had the pleasure for a number of years of serving as management consultant to H&H Swiss, a precision metal manufacturing company in Hillside, New Jersey. It was the company’s tradition to send out Thanksgiving cards to customers and friends every year instead of Christmas cards. Their mailings expressed timely thanks for business friendship, and never got lost in the “holiday shuffle.”

With most of us looking forward next week to the annual trekking or hosting of our assorted dysfunctional “family-families,”  it may be appropriate to pause to appreciate not just all the good food and relationship renewals, but also the accomplishments of our “business families.”

Remember that special favor

someone did for you

 this past year? That extra

effort you were too busy

to acknowledge?

No, you needn’t start doling out cash bonuses, or even turkeys. But you might want to hand out, instead, your sincere appreciation for those special contributions of time and commitment that surfaced within your “family-family” as well as your “business family.”

Go ahead. Take the risk. It’s a reasonable one.

Let each person know how much you genuinely appreciate her or him going the extra mile. Nothing to lose. Everything to gain. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

302.933.0116    Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You,

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

“Oh, My! You’ve Gotten So Big!”

     Remember hearing this every Thanksgiving  while you were growing up? The proclamation was typically accompanied by a hand on top of your head or shoulder?

     Ah, yes, and it usually came from some ignorant,  but maybe well-intentioned adult member of your dysfunctional family? Some aunt or uncle you only ever saw once a year gorging herself or himself on the annual turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce banquet?

     Well, that was good training. Now you own and run or manage a business.  The likelihood is great indeed that you still see signs of ignorance in your family, and that it has — VOILA! — remained a dysfunctional entity!

     But odds are those growing-up days  dished out more suffering than you recall. Insecurity. Anxiety. Disproportionate thrusts of physical and emotional change. Hatred of all people older than 23.

     When did you last travel with a fourteen year-old?  You look at one a little crooked, and odds are you’ll be rewarded with a convulsive shudder followed by a flood of tears. He or she’s worried about which sweater to wear or iPod tune to buy and you’re trying to resolve travel delays. It’s a communications lock-down and some one’s going to end up angry.

     How did you handle it then?  Somehow you got through it all because here you are reading this post. What about now? Has your business reached puberty? Is it still in adolescence? Is it caught in the middle somewhere?

     Do you find yourself gulping, clenching your teeth and scratching  your head more that the startup years when there wasn’t even time to eat, never-mind scratch? Do you hate when people talk about how much your business has grown when in your heart you know you’re stuck in mud and hoping it’s not quicksand?

     Well, then, give your business a shot of “Adult.”  Stop thinking small and defeated. Stop acting small and defeated. Stop resenting outsiders sizing up your venture. Stop choosing to accept your circumstances. START choosing to change your circumstances. 

YOU DO NOT NEED TO CHOOSE TO SETTLE FOR ANYTHING.

     Some after-hours places to start:

• Run your disk defragment and anti-virus programs (uh, not at the same time)!
• Clean out your old email files, old databases, old business card collections!
• Clean out your supply cabinet (and discover what’s been over and under ordered)!
• Develop 3 new challenges for each employee and plan a group briefing!
• Explain your business to a five year-old and to an 80 year-old, then listen!   
• Check out work spaces – are they getting cluttered? Sloppy? Dirty? Lighting?

     Add your own. A quick monthly take on these “inventory” items will help your business grow up faster and with less damage than most humans experience! What have you got to lose? What have you got to lose if you stay stuck in mud another few years?

# # #               

Blow the sale or

hold your tongue?

Diplomacy: Skill and tact in dealing with people

It’s comin’ ’round agin… the ole trainin’ ground fer dip-lo-macy. Yup! Thanksgivin’ gatherin’s.

Now if you can get through the entire dysfunctional-family -Thanksgiving-experience this year (especially this year with the sucky economy and your brother-in-law crabbing about the price of gas to drive to your house to eat), you will have earned a medal.

But –more importantly —  you will have completed the qualifying round for your annual refresher training on how to deal diplomatically with your internal and your external customers! (Internal: associates, employees, referrers, alumni, key suppliers; External: customers / clients / guests / patients, other suppliers, industry and community organizations, and the media) Maybe missing someone here, but you get the idea.

IF you can deal with your in-laws,  little kids terrorizing your dog and spilling unknown fluids on your furnishings and floor coverings, your uncle ranting about his adolescence (which he’s still in), your aunt Tilly reminiscing about her last 47 Thanksgivings, the neighbor’s kid revving up his overhauled Mustang next to your only broken window, and having to step over eleven spastic bodies glued to some idiotic football game on the TV that separates you from the only available bathroom, while hearing that four hours into the roasting process, the turkey still has ice inside of it

… YOU are ready to sell (No, not your house! Your products and services!)

How do we know this?  Because you’ve managed to deal with all of that and not be in jail, or the nuthouse! Somehow, you’ve risen to the occasion, kept the peace, swallowed your pride, bitten your gums and held your tongue (doing the last three items at the same time, by the way, is a pretty good trick!)

So what will you have learned  on the Thanksgiving firing line? There are times to speak and there are times to listen. EVERYONE is a prospective or repeat customer. EVERYone. Your appearance and demeanor and receptivity will determine whether others have a good time or not. Too much alcohol can undo the best of intentions. Too much food will give you a stomachache. Not stepping outside into the fresh air periodically will give you a headache (but avoid the side of the house with the revving Mustang!)

Every day is a new opportunity to do the best that you can do.  Thanksgiving, besides being a truly great opportunity to appreciate family and friends and all the brave young servicemen and servicewomen who make it possible to be able to gather together in the first place. It is also a great day to practice diplomacy and carry that renewed spirit forward in returning to your work.

OR, hey, don’t wait ’til the end of the month;  just read about it here, today, and start holding your tongue tomorrow! Sales are only made by listening! 

# # #

C’mon, everyone, let’s

play more and work less! 

     You know, I really look forward to the annual holiday slow-down many businesses  start to experience at this time of year.  It’s chance to finally catch up with all the “I’ve been meaning to” projects.  So, that’s a good thing. 

     But, I notice as I get older (is it just me?), that the workforce in our country gets . . . lazier(?).  When I was a kid, everyone’s parents got off early on Christmas Eve and maybe New Year’s Eve, plus Christmas Day and New Year’s Day (or maybe just one, and not the other). 

     And the week in between?  Work went a cog or two slower than usual and people drank a pint or two more than usual.  Kids played with their new toys.  Emotions were harp strings.

     When did this all change?  Can someone fill me in?  We no longer have a holiday week.  We now have a holiday season.  It starts with Halloween and runs through January White Sales!  Kids now play with new toys (and emotions now run fragile) all year long.   

     To be completely honest, I must admit I can appreciate that we all need that vital first week of the new year to collect our business selves and put them back together. 

     It is, after all, a great week to just fall off the calendar while we do lots of Alka-Seltzer, cover whatever we can find of our heads with our pillows, gargle mouthwash, eat mints, brush teeth and take however many deep breaths our lungs will tolerate. 

     So, okay, let’s chalk up that first week of January as necessary recovery time, and a period to re-learn to change the last digit or two of the year we write on checks and memos.  Good.  We took care of that one.  Now that period from Halloween to Thanksgiving, and then again from Thanksgiving to Christmas, needs some adjustment.

     I mean why not just start with making Valentine’s Day a week-long lovefest that simply dissolves into a heavy-drinking St. Patrick’s Week and then just cruise through to Earth Day?  Hmmm, only one day for the Earth?  Oh, yeah, and take off your birthday too! 

     Seriously, folks, we’ve already got 4th of July and Labor Day, both of which started as a day (Labor Day even says Day!) and then –as if by a miracle– both suddenly (like POOF!) turned into whole weekends, and are now both settling into a full week each.  Maybe we should just close everything for the whole summer.  I mean schools do it!

     Oh well, at least as we head closer to that great White Sale week under all those new sheets and pillowcases, we can be excited about anticipating all the new Christmas clothes we can start wearing (if they’ll still fit!) when we finally drag our sorry selves back to the reality of some serious labor . . .  at least until Ground Hog’s Day.  Maybe that could spread out some?  Hmmm, Ground Hog’s Week.  Sounds good to me.  halalpiar                                                       # # #

See Nov 29th post (below) for New Year’s contest prize and rules – Then GO FOR IT!  Emails to Hal@TheWriterWorks.com with “SOUNDS OF THE SEASON” in the subject line.  # # #

Check out and contribute to the daily growing 7-Word Story started 92 days ago (inside a coffin).  Click on the link to the right, or go to the “BOOKS” tab at the top of this page, then to the top headline link.

This is the time

  between waves. 

     Have you ever noticed the utter serenity of the sea in between waves? 

     How much is that like your life and the work you do? 

     Thanksgiving visits and family were here in a tidal wave (perhaps more like a tsunami for some), and gone . . . tiny stones and shells aclatter, scamper down the beach in withdrawal as the tide turns low. 

     Business activity slows incrementally to more of a crawl each day between now and New Year’s when it all grinds to a halt.  Ah, but not for entrepreneurs or manufacturers!  Not for writers!  Not for retailers!  Not for emergency personnel!  Not for those forced out of work by economic uncertainty.   

     This is the time between waves. 

     Now is when small business owners and operators and manufacturing enterprise management can finally take a breather from the year-long pounding of phones, faxes, mail deliveries, media broadcasts, meetings, conferences, emails, text messages, trade shows, endless travel itineraries, and industry reports, and get some real work done.

     Now is when their attentions shift to strategizing, planning, scheduling, catch-up reading, assessing, courtesy-calling, audits and inventories, and getting ready for the next big wave in January. 

     Writers?  Yup!  Now is when writers can drop back from their day-to-day discipline and actually review what they’ve done; this time between waves is the perfect time to edit and polish and prepare to get the manuscript or feature story done, to get an agent, get a publisher, get a direction for developing more freelance work. 

     Retailers?  Let’s not even go there.  This between waves time is “make it or break it.”  No time even to think. 

     Emergency personnel?  We all know that emergencies never stop and, if anything, they increase dramatically during the holiday season . . . and afterward, especially during the depression-heightened month of January! 

     So holidays mean relaxing business ebbs for some, and ulcerous anxieties for others.  Where are you right now?  You’re definitely not a retailer or EMT or ER nurse because you’d never have time to read this. 

     So since you are reading this far, it might be useful to remind yourself to make the choice to take full advantage of being between the waves.  It’s easy to get caught up in nonproductive activities, but you won’t get this valuable “down time” back until –maybe– the end of next year!  DO relax, but don’t fade away.        

     If you’re out of work, don’t count yourself out and head for the bridge.  You have the ability to pull yourself back up, kick yourself in the butt (a bit tricky, but not impossible for most!), and propel yourself forward back into the job market. 

     Remember that every problem that a company has is an opportunity for you to find the job that’s right for you, either in that company or another.  Stop beating yourself up.  Get focused.  And go for it!  Make it happen!  You can do it if you really want to.  All behavior is a choice.  Choose to make it easy

# # #

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Hal@Businessworks.US   302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Well, it’s here: Thanksgiving,

and my 200th posting! 

     Now you not may think much of either of those milestones, but suffice it to say about the first of these that I do love turkey (except the species featured in yesterday’s post!), and about the second, that it’s like a baseball player reaching 200 career errors (because I’ve learned something from every post and miscue!).

     Actually, I never thought I’d find anything as challenging and rewarding at the same time as writing a daily blog.  It’s challenging because I rarely know where the inspiration is going to come from ’til I’m staring at the blank screen like a post-surgical labotomy patient.

     And the discipline involved?  I’d rather do push-ups.  The nightly time crunch and rapidly advancing bedtime with a take-out-the-dogs thing sandwiched in between doesn’t do much for my heart rate when all I’ve figured out is some dumb headline that I’ll inevitably scrap and redo anyway.

     I know, it’s welcome to the journalist’s world.  God bless ’em, I really admire the talented few writers who can pump out daily newspaper features that educate, inform and entertain . . . night after night. 

     Anyway, enough of me spamming your brain.  All I really want to say today is thank you. 

     My blog visitors have grown from a weekly count-on-one-hand number seven months ago, to a consistent few hundred-and-growing-steadily every single night. 

     People tell me they laugh and they learn.  Who could ask for more? 

     I am so grateful.  I appreciate every time you stop by and every new person you send along to visit . . . and every laugh.  YOU are my adrenaline. 

     Have a safe, peaceful and happy Thanksgiving wherever you are and who or whomever you’re with.  Thank you Michael Infusino for your skillful, good-natured tech support.  And thanks, Kathy, for always letting me stay glued to my keyboard without complaining when I know I should be doing chores.  I love you!  

     Oh, and remember our troops out there, will you?  Their courage, sacrifices and vigilance make this special day and all the freedoms we enjoy possible.  Thank you.  Hal    

# # #

Check out and contribute to the daily growing 7-Word Story started 79 days ago (inside a coffin).  Click on the link to the right, or go to the “BOOKS” tab at the top of this page, then to the top headline link.

Yep! History In The Making… 

This being a thankful week, I thank you for joining me today.  With anticipation of my blog post #200 coming on Thanksgiving Day, YOU now have the chance to be part of history in the making . . . 

     I am asking all my friends and blog followers to write favorable comments in the window below that I can take with me to Washington. 

     I will print out your comments and hand them over as accompanying support for my request to be granted a real, honest-to-goodness, taxpayer-dollars-paid-for government bailout. 

     This financial relief will enable me to continue writing blog posts that benefit society without putting any compensation burden on me to have to sell advertising banners, or pay myself a salary with money that I’m just not earning right now. 

[Of course the future will be different, and I’ll only need annual bailout money for possibly seven or eight more years until my, ahem, ship comes in!]  

     I don’t think this is asking too much.  After all, I have a great many years under my belt of paying taxes at great personal sacrifice.  It’s probably time to get some of that back, maybe even more than what I’ve paid in. 

     I have also accumulated significant business debt that came about as a result of my focus change to write helpful business and personal growth hints for others instead of to make sales for myself. 

     Being accustomed to a $900,000 a year lifestyle, I imagine it would be awfully hard to get myself under that to qualify for those campaign-promised tax cuts so I wouldn’t have to be paying into the bailout kitty — let’s see, was it a $250,000 level according to one candidate, or $100,000 level promised by his running mate?  Hmmm.  Well, a hundred, two hundred and fifty, not much difference. Whatever. 

     Paying for incompetence with bailouts funded by taxes.  Now that’s a unique idea.  But, hey, that’s what government is for anyway, isn’t it?  I mean, who else could I turn to?  You might find this surprising, but no one I know of has the ability to pump $3,000,000,000,000+ into shoring up sinking businesses.

(Oh, and, don’t kid yourself: considering that absolutely no one on this planet has even the slightest clue about how many billions and trillions are about to get shell-game shifted around, or by whom, and to whom, and what for, and for how long, and where it’s all coming from, it could be the + on top of that three trillion that’s the real kicker!).

     Of course, I’m sure I will need to unionize first to qualify.  It’d be wonderful to add a dozen or so employees to my blog staff (maybe I could write posts twice a day!) just so I could collect. 

     None of the union folks would actually do anything, but what else is new?  They provide qualification clout.  That works.  Why, it’s almost like being able to get more food stamps by adding more kids to the family!       halalpiar     

# # #

Check out and contribute to the daily growing 7-Word Story started 76 days ago (inside a coffin).  Click on the link to the right, or go to the “BOOKS” tab at the top of this page, then to the top headline link.

Hey, Home Depot!

Hey, Lowes!

Hey ACE Hardware!

Contractors, Repairmen, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Ear!  Pack your tools up safe before you drink beer.  Or if today, on the Milky Way, a grease gun floats by . . . SIGH.

You’ve no doubt heard the news by now that one of our space-orbiting Astronauts lost a bagful of tools in the middle of doing a spacewalk repair.  Priceless.  Well, not quite. 

Actually the tool bag contents are estimated at roughly $100,000 worth of stuff, including a high-tech grease gun.  Hmmmm, whatever will space aliens think when they find out that Earthlings have been at war, shooting grease at one another?

There’s an old movie (name escapes me, but please let me know if this rings a bell): It opens in some desolete, remote jungle clearing occupied by a native tribe (Aborigines?) that has never before been exposed to civilization outside its own primative fire and spear devices of living, when suddenly from a rare passing airplane, a Coke bottle falls from the sky into the sand and ends up wreking havoc on the puzzled tribe members who I seem to recall think it came from God, dropped on them with some deep meaning from heaven.

Okay, now fast forward to the week before Thanksgiving, 2008, and a $25,000 (or $50,000?) greasegun crash lands in your front yard snow bank (if you’re in Maine, Alaska, Minnesota, Buffalo, or Canada, or the Swiss Alps or . . .) or your Southern California, Florida or Caribbean swimming pool, or W H E R E ? 

W H E R E ?

Tell me where it lands? 

What’s the situation? 

Has someone just screamed into the sky for help with the annoying garage door squeak? 

Is it in the middle of a major football game? 

How about you, all you Home Depot and Lowes employees?  Where are your voices, Sears Craftsman, and Black & Decker retailers? 

What would YOU do with a $100,000

bagful of high-tech space shuttle tools? 

Send me some ideas Hal@TheWriterWorks.com (“Space Tools” in the subject line.  I’ll publish your response, even your (decent) photo right here for all to see. 

Be creative or not.  Hard-nosed capitalists are also invited.  I’m waiting!  halalpiar        

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Check out and contribute to the daily growing 7-Word Story started 72 days ago (inside a coffin).  Click on the link to the right, or go to the “BOOKS” tab at the top of this page, then to the top headline link.