David Harry's Blog

In the era of widespread access to electronic information it is tempting to dismiss libraries and physical bookstores as historical relics.  

First, I must confess that I am biased in favor of public libraries and bookstores.  I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where we were blessed to have the Carnegie Library system.  The main library, at least at that time, was directly across the street from the University of Pittsburgh and had at least four floors, with the top floor accessible only by climbing a hidden set of stairs.  Up in that “secret place” were books such as Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and other such research publications.  More often than not someone chased me off the floor, the pretext being that I was far too young to understand and appreciate the content of the books in that section of the library.  But just being there was enough to spark my interest in science.

I would go downstairs and a kindly woman would direct me to  books more “appropriate” to my age.  From a less than perfect memory I recall the first book I ever checked out of the library on my own being A Coffin For Demetrius by Eric Ambler.  I was caught in a net that I have yet to shake off.

Libraries and bookstores expose us to the world of ideas whether or not we understand them or not.  We gain exposure to worlds beyond our imaginations, beyond our dreams and yes beyond even our understanding.  It happens because those ideas reside in books, which are in the room with us even if we are unaware of their presence. 

In the mid 70’s I walked into a bookstore having no idea what I wanted to read.  The man behind the counter politely suggested Lucy, the story of an Ethiopian fossil over 3 million years that could bridge the evolutionary gap between apes and humans.  My interest in human evolution has not yet waned.

Yes, certainly, it’s all electronically available over the Internet.   Just log on and find what you want.  But that begs the question as to just what do you want?  Are we destined to leave it to Google and Yahoo to guide our understanding of life?  Electronically suggested reading lists doom us to learning the same set of facts  presented in different formats.

Learning beyond our comfort zones, becoming involved with ideas and concepts that are “beyond us”, stretching our imaginations, requires nurturing of the type that humans give one to another.  What better place is there to find the human element than in a library or a bookstore?  Do you agree?  Let me hear your thoughts.

 

”Whatever possessed you to write that story?” is a question I am often asked at book signings.  Along with, ”How long did it take you?”

I am not certain any author can answer either of those questions with any degree of accuracy.  But we all take a stab at it because, “I don’t know,” just isn’t satisfying to the audience—or to me.  After all, I wrote it, I should know how long it took and where the idea came from.  So I take a stab at it. 

For my mystery series, the answer is easy enough.    Counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs, atomic weapons, embedding bombs in human bodies are not original with me.  I took the liberty of juxtaposing such shenanigans with the well-known porous Texas/Mexican border resulting in thrillers that are very real.  Real enough so that authorities have questioned where my information comes from.

 My latest book, Standard Deviation, blends autism, child molestation and quadriplegia into a story of friendship and frustrated love.  So why did I write such a story?  Partially because so many people I know are caregivers to family members who require some degree of special care.  And partially because one of my granddaughters exhibited behavior which, in my mind, was “off center”.    In some sense Standard Deviation resulted from my quest to understand my granddaughter.

Thank God neither child molestation nor physical infirmity are issues my family has had to deal with.  Unfortunately, however, these problems are far too real to many people around us so I decided to include those digressions from “normal” as well.

 The theme of facing the consequences of one’s actions, and the theme of friendship boundaries, are themes that have fascinated me for as far back as I can remember.  So the real answer to how long it took me to write the story is, in truth, it took me a lifetime.

Confession: I am not typically a fan of poetry.�� ��However, ��a few days ago I had a delightful time at Paragraphs On Padre listening to poet Katerine Hoerth read some of her poetry.�� Hearing the back-stories for each piece made it even more enjoyable.�� Her words flowed smoothly and effortlessly from the paper forming images of everyday occurrences that I had never before appreciated for what they truly were.��

Poets with paper and pen, like artists with brush and paper, simply have a different way of seeing the world around us.���� To them it is as if time stops for an instant while every little detail comes into clear focus.�� They then weave these minute details into images that are exactly accurate but yet we have never seen with our ���naked��� eyes.��

For example, an insect smashes into my windshield as I race down the highway and I see a mess that will require cleaning.�� Katie���s artist mind captures�� a different picture altogether.�� As she writes in her poem titled MARTYR,

They come from the south

to paint the landscape with bursts

of beauty and sail across hills, fields

and borders without ever looking

back, following the scent of spring

and a simple yearning to a land they���ve

only felt. . . .

��

Does this sound like the last second of an insect���s life, the insect that just smashed into your windshield?�� It certainly didn���t to me when I read it until the Thud that appears on the page a few stanzas down.�� Who but an artist would ever think of an insect as being a martyr?�� Simple observations, complex thoughts.�� ��That���s what artist���s of Katie���s caliber bring to us.�� ��As I confessed to her afterward, I take 80,000 words and still fail to accomplish what she achieves in several hundred.

For the rest of the above poem I refer you to Among the Mariposas published by Mouthfeel Press (www.mouthfeelpress.com). I also suggest Katie���s other poetry, such as The Garden Uprooted, which describes her transformation from Wisconsin to South Texas, published by Slough Press (sloughpress@gmail.com).

��

Confession: I am not typically a fan of poetry.   However,  a few days ago I had a delightful time at Paragraphs On Padre listening to poet Katerine Hoerth read some of her poetry.  Hearing the back-stories for each piece made it even more enjoyable.  Her words flowed smoothly and effortlessly from the paper forming images of everyday occurrences that I had never before appreciated for what they truly were. 

Poets with paper and pen, like artists with brush and paper, simply have a different way of seeing the world around us.   To them it is as if time stops for an instant while every little detail comes into clear focus.  They then weave these minute details into images that are exactly accurate but yet we have never seen with our “naked” eyes. 

For example, an insect smashes into my windshield as I race down the highway and I see a mess that will require cleaning.  Katie’s artist mind captures  a different picture altogether.  As she writes in her poem titled MARTYR,

They come from the south

to paint the landscape with bursts

of beauty and sail across hills, fields

and borders without ever looking

back, following the scent of spring

and a simple yearning to a land they’ve

only felt. . . .

 

Does this sound like the last second of an insect’s life, the insect that just smashed into your windshield?  It certainly didn’t to me when I read it until the Thud that appears on the page a few stanzas down.  Who but an artist would ever think of an insect as being a martyr?  Simple observations, complex thoughts.   That’s what artist’s of Katie’s caliber bring to us.   As I confessed to her afterward, I take 80,000 words and still fail to accomplish what she achieves in several hundred.

For the rest of the above poem I refer you to Among the Mariposas published by Mouthfeel Press (www.mouthfeelpress.com). I also suggest Katie’s other poetry, such as The Garden Uprooted, which describes her transformation from Wisconsin to South Texas, published by Slough Press (sloughpress@gmail.com).

 

I am excited to be launching my new novel-Standard Deviation soon..Stay tuned

Last week a woman tragically died on a roller coaster ride at a Dallas amusement park. From news reports it appears her safety restraint opened. The media is all over this story. They can’t understand why there is no police investigation. So the police, responding to the media noise, are now investigating. What are they investigating? Do they really think someone intentionally opened the restraint? Do they think the manufacturer has it rigged so that every ten years the restraint opens and drops someone out? Short of active bad behavior, the police have nothing to investigate. The last accident on the coaster was more than ten years ago. So this is not a pattern of behavior. It is a tragic accident—and nothing more.

Sure a person is dead. That person’s family will most likely negotiate a major settlement or they will sue. I know that does not return the mother, but it is what we do. The insurance carrier will investigate. If something is wrong with the coaster, or the coaster design, it will be fixed because money talks. Since coaster deaths are just not common in this country there is no reason to even suspect bad behavior on anyone’s part. So why is the press all exercised, locally as well as nationally?

The sad truth is that when something of this nature happens, something that is rare, it is easy to cover because it stands out. Just like following a red bean in a sea of green beans, it is easy to follow the action. It is easy to follow the story. That is what journalism has become, a series of simple to follow stories. But just since the roller coaster death, over 400 people have died and 4000 people have been injured on our highways. Yet at least one Senator has called for national legislation for roller coaster safety when only a few people have died in over ten years. What has this politician done to stop the carnage on our highways? Nothing, because it still continues unabated.

Children, a lot of children in fact, die when they are left unattended in the heat. A simple sensor that would sound a siren if a child is sensed in the seat when the temperature rises to a certain point could be made mandatory, but it is not. Yet, the media and the politicians are concerned about roller coaster safety when only one person dies! Because it is easy to follow the story.

Where are the media and the politicians when a person dies in an accident on the highway? Where are media and the politicians when a child dies from heat in a locked car? Where are the media and the politicians when 40 children are shot on the streets of Chicago in a few weeks time? Those are the things that really matter in us all. But the media and the politicians-well they are busy investigating why a passenger restraint opened once in ten years in a Dallas amusement park.

Is it any wonder then why we can’t solve the real problems that diminish our collective lives?

I was off the island for a month. In island life, nothing much happens in a month. Somme say that about a year. But the first thing I heard upon my return was that the Coast Guard fished some hapless guy out of the Gulf of Mexico, almost in the exact spot a dead body landed to open my latest book THE PADRE PANDEMIC. The preliminary cause of death was drowning, but an autopsy was ordered to see what really happened. One story has it that a man was seen running from the beach around the time the dead guy went missing. The police have the runner is custody. Are the two events connected? No one in the general public knows and the cops aren’t talking.

My only hope is that the dead guy, may he rest in peace, was not involved in the type of activities the dead guy in my book was. Jimmy Redstone and Angella Martinez have their hands full in the PANDEMIC just trying to figure out who is doing what to whom. You don’t want to miss reading this book-I promise you.

The Padre Pandemic was just released, generating great excitement. Everyone who has read it says it is the best of the Jimmy Redstone/Angella Martinez international thriller series. Here is the synopsis from the back cover.

Angella and Jimmy are drawn into a drug investigation when a parachute carrying a dead man lands on the beach. Their investigation brings them face to face with a killer from their past on the squalid docks of Buenos Aires where prescription pharmaceuticals are being loaded on an Iranian ship for transport to the United States. Imposters, impersonators and double agents abound in this international thriller that pits nations against each other with the United States helpless to intervene.

Read it and tell me what you think.

I am happy to report that my three books THE PADRE PUZZLE, THE PADRE PREDATOR and THE PADRE PARANOIA now are available until the end of August at a 30% discount. Please go to http://www.createspace.com/3866413 and use the discount CODE JT63WAMB. You can follow the links to all three books. I hope you enjoy the remainder of your summer.

So far this summer South Padre Island has been storm free. I hope it continues that way.

For those who have been waiting, THE PADRE PARANOIA is now available on Kindle. Hope you enjoy.