LIFE HAS CHANGED

It seems to me that life has changed since I grew up until now. When I was a little boy in the 1950s, there was no cable or satellite TV. We had an antenna on the roof of our home in the Pocono Mountains of PA. Turn the antenna to New York we got 3 stations and turn it to Philadelphia we got 2 channels. Stations would go off the air at midnight and not come back on until 6am.

We had no microwave, no smart phone, no tablet, no computer, no self driving cars, We had the normal electric stove in our kitchen, we had a black corded phone with a rotary dial. In school if we wanted to do research we used a card catalog, we had cars made out of metal- not mostly plastic. Our cars had no bucket seats-no cruise control. Our car had a standard shift. That is what I learned on.

On my first job in 1965 I made $1.50 an hour. Now 60 years later and the federal minimum wage is still only $7.25 an hour. People can't live on that. Some states have raised it to $15.00 an hour. I bought my first new car in 1973 for $3,500. Today according to Cars.com the average price of a new car in 2025 is $50,080. Insane, the cost of living today Prices at the grocery store, people can't afford. Many of us will pick something up and look at the price and we put it back. Seniors are especially hit hard. Life at $1.50 an hour in 1965 was much better than what a life is like in 2025.

Am I complaining, yes and no. I am pretty much just stating the facts or at least the way  I see it. Everything just seems worse in 2025. I can turn on the news almost every day and hear that there has been a mass shooting somewhere. Shootings in schools, it was never heard of in 1965. What has happened to America? This is not the America that I grew up in. It makes me sad. I realize that as time goes on life in a country will change, however life should change for the better.

Yes, life has changed, Not much that I can do about it. I can give my two cents, for what it is worth. I can vote for who I think is the best candidate. Can I trust any of them to make my life better, very few. No one was stressed back in 1965, now it seems like everyone is stressed about something.

I hope you all enjoy my blog and continue to follow me. I may ruffle some feathers as I give my opinion. I realize some people will complain about anything. haha. Slow down people, learn to take life easy. Don't get mad about everything. Smile at people and say hello and good day, hold the door open for someone, let someone go ahead of you at the checkout line if they only have a couple of items. A little act of kindness can make them feel better and you as well. Love you all and take care.

Larry W. Fish

GUNS

 I was born a true country boy, raised way back in the sticks as some would say. I had a gun in my hands when I was about five years old. I spent many hours shooting at targets and tin cans. I was taught from the first time that I held that gun that I was to point it at no one. My father was very strict about that and I soon learned that it was something that I would never forget. We had no close neighbors. I grew up in the 1950s and 60s. Our high school even had a rifle team and would have competitions with other schools in the area. Often guys would carry guns in their cars or trucks so they could go hunting right after school.

Oh, how times have changed. I have been saddened with mass shootings ever since I learned about the shooting in Sandy Hook. In the times of today, it is not news anymore, but something that is almost an every day occurrence. As a veteran and someone that grew up being taught how to properly handle a firearm I am shocked about what I am seeing today. I know I will I touch a nerve with a lot of people, but I feel there are to many guns in today's America.  

I am also a firm believer that no military style firearms should be in the hands of civilians. For instance the AR-15 is a military firearm made for one purpose, to kill as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. Why should anyone be allowed to walk into a gun shop and walk out with an AR-15. Many of those buying are mentally ill or just plain bad people. I have heard some say I need a military weapon for hunting. That is a lie. I hunted deer for many years. I never needed more than one or two shots to down a deer.

Life is tough these days and a lot of people are worried about their safety. I see nothing wrong with someone buying a gun for that purpose. However, I do have a problem with anyone buying a gun and having no idea how to use one. I believe those people should have a class and be taken to a shooting range and prove that they are a responsible gun owner. 

I turn on the news every morning and I hear that someone was shot in the city about an hours drive away. It happens every day. That is an occurrence in about every city. This country has the most gun violence of any country in the world. I don't have all the answers and I don't think anyone does. However, I do know that something needs to be done. To many guns, I think so. Guns in the hands of people that should never be allowed to have one, that I do know.

I don't want to make people think that I am totally against guns. I am not. I think having a gun for protection, shooting target practice, skeet shooting, shooting in competition is fine. This post is my personal opinion. I am fed up with hearing about anyone being killed with a firearm. Mass shootings are as sad as it gets, especially in schools. I have said it before and I will say it again something needs to be done.   

Larry W. Fish                                                                                        

HOW TO MEASURE GREATNESS

I first published this in 2017. Because of what I see is happening to America I think it is time to re-post it.

There is to much greed. Some billionaires aren't satisfied with what they  have, they can't get enough. I don't think anyone is worth 2, 3, 4 hundred billion dollars. What if they lowered their prices or services and were only worth 100 billion. Poor babies. Remember the ones working hard to make them rich were the great ones.        I am now 77 and have been married 54 years

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I'm 68 years old and I have seen a lot in my life. I have seen literally thousands of good things and thousands of bad things in that long lifetime. I heard a very rich man say on TV not so awful long ago that you have to be wealthy to be great. That has been getting under my skin for the last several months and I have to say that man is dead wrong. You do not have to be wealthy to be great. Greatness is measured by what someone does, how they threat other people, what they have accomplished in their life.

I am not a highly educated man and I do not pretend that I am. I graduated high school as an average student. I could have done better, I just didn't apply myself as much as I should have. Two years after I graduated I enlisted in the United States Air Force. I served my country and I did it proudly. To those people that think you have to be wealthy to be great I say, I served my country for four years and I am great.

I got married at the young age of 22. Now my wife and I who I met in the Philippines have been married for 46 years. That is a great accomplishment. I love my wife as much today as the day I first met her in the Airmen's Club on Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. We have a son who served for 20 years as a U.S. Marine. We are so proud of him. We have a daughter that went to college and studied art. She is an artist/graphic designer. We are so proud of her. What she can do in her line of work makes us so proud. She designed the cover for three novels I have written. Our son and our daughter are great.

I spent 30 years working in manufacturing. I started as an engraver and worked my way to be a machinist. It was at times stressful but often rewarding. I worked on hoists for shrimp boats, engraved small gold drums that in the 1960s went into the guidance systems of missiles, I worked on valves for sewer and water lines, I worked on panels for computers, parts for aircraft, parts for the space shuttle. Sure they were minor parts but all important parts to accomplish a mission. My greatest achievement when working in manufacturing was a tiny but necessary part for a company. For 30 years the engineers at this company tried unsuccessfully to rivet a contact into a part only about an inch long. That part went into security and fire detection systems for large buildings. I worked on that part on and off in my free time. It took me a long time but finally I developed a process to rivet that part in that thin piece of beryllium copper. After, I was a technical adviser to  a company that built an automatic machine to rivet that part. The machine allowed us to make 1,000 parts an hour. It made $750,000 dollars a year for the company. I received the MVP award for that accomplishment. I got a watch and a dinner along with other people that did similar successes. That was my greatest accomplishment in manufacturing and yes I am great.

As I neared retirement, I got an overwhelming desire to write. I started by writing short stories. Some of those were published in Our USA Magazine. It gave me the encouragement to keep writing. I wondered if I could write a novel. The more I thought about it I came to the conclusion that each chapter in a book is a short story. That first novel was published in 2011, one year after I retired. The title was, Golden Haze, the story of a four legged angel and demons. Everyone that has read that novel have told me how much they enjoyed it. To that rich man who says, you have to be wealthy to be great, I say you are wrong again. When that novel brought joy to my readers, that is greatness.

I have written three other fiction novels. All have received good reviews on amazon and I feel proud when someone tells me they couldn't put the book down, they had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. If someone can give that feeling to someone else, that is greatness. I will continue to write, because I enjoy it.

My point to this article is that you don't have to be wealthy to be great. I consider myself great for what I have accomplished in my lifetime. No, I am not rich, I am great. I am a patriotic American that served my country. Worked hard all my life and decided to not sit back and do nothing when I retired. To the millions of hard working Americans out there that go to work everyday to provide for themselves and their families, YOU ARE GREAT. Remember if it wasn't for you, that rich man could not brag about how wealthy he is. I am proud of how I have lived my life, by hard work, respect for others, and being a decent man. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

Copyright  Larry W. Fish   2017

GROWING OLD

When I was in my teens I was sure I was going to live to be 100.  Those sure feelings have now drifted over the horizon. I may make it, but a few health scares in my life have made me just lucky now to be alive. A little over a year ago I went to the ER  and discovered that I had a blood clot in each lung. I was pretty much told that I was knocking on the door of death.

I have been feeling pretty good ever since that health scare. I just turned 77 a couple of weeks ago. I am happy to reach that milestone. It is not super old but many from my high school graduating class are already deceased. Some as early as their 30s. So young for people to die. I am thankful reaching 77. I still have high school friends that I keep in touch with. We joke about the old days, as we call them. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s was so different. We had no computer, cell phones, or the technology that we have today. I think so much of that technology is good, but some of it I frown on.

As an example the cell phone. When I was a child I wore penny loafers and had a dime in each one so I could go to a phone booth and call home for mom to come and pick me up. Our phone at home was a corded black one with a rotary dial. We were on a party line, three houses on the same line. Wow how times have changed. The cell phone is great to have in case of an emergency or making a quick call to a family member or a friend.

However, I think those cell phones also have a bad side. It seems like people  have become obsessed with them, people seem to be looking at them constantly. Sitting in the doctors office waiting room the other day there were about 12 people that we could see around us. Everyone was using their phones. Before cells people actually talked with each other while they were in a setting like that. I honestly text with my older friends and we say there were times that we wish we were back in the good old days. Those days were much simpler, we didn't have the stress that is placed on us today.

I often look at the local TV news and I see that someone is celebrating their 100th birthday and they look so happy and full of joy and life. I think to myself, I just might make it. I exercise every day. Sure not as hard as I used to. There was a time when I was young that I could do a thousand situps. Now I do chair yoga for seniors. They are not stressful exercises but they help with the balance and mobility. Keeping me more limber and in good shape. I also do a few other exercises on my own.

Yes, I am 77. My wife is 80. We still do work around the house. Do yard work outside pulling weeds, mowing the grass, trimming the bushes. We plan on doing it even when we get old. We feel young, act young, can do much that we did at 30, it just takes us longer to do it. We are happy, have been married for 54 years. Don't worry about getting old, many people don't have that privilege. Enjoy it!

Larry W. Fish

 I'm Back

It has been a long time since I have written  a blog post on this site, to long as a matter of fact.

For those of who don't know who I am my name is, Larry W. Fish. I live in the small town of Roxboro, North Carolina. I have in the past written 4 novels and many short stories.

My life has had many ups and downs through the past number of years including two major health issues. On the good side my wife and I have moved from the city of Raleigh to this small town of a little over 8,000. Many farms surround this area and some nice drives have given us a lot of enjoyment.

In the coming weeks I plan on writing about one blog a week. We all know that our country is in real trouble. I want to get the word out to my readers and give my opinion on many of those problems and issues. Two things I will not discuss are politics and religion. I have my own reasons for doing so.

HATE

After the violence that happened last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia I feel that it is necessary for me to give my thoughts on the situation. I am so saddened that violence there caused the death of a young woman and two state troopers. I feel that our country is moving backwards and that very much saddens me.

I lived through the turbuent decade of the 1960s. I saw the shooting of our then President John F. Kennedy. I saw the shooting of his brother Robert F. Kennedy that was running for president, and I saw the shooting of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a time that I never want to see America go back to.

Hate is a terrible thing. In this country we are seeing an uprising of the KKK, more exposure of the Nazi Party, and vocal White Supremacists. I feel that much of it is caused by the actions of our present president during his campaign and since he has become president.

Much has been caused lately by the removal of Confederate Statues. I do not believe that the Confederate or Nazi flags should be seen in public. We have one flag in this country and that is the Stars and Stripes. It is what our service men and women fight for and what they have been fighting for in World War I, World War II, The Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and in the Iraq and Afganistan Wars. People have lost their lives fighting for what they believe should be a democratic country.

Back to the removal of the Confederate Statues. I will probably get a lot of anger and disrespect for what I think, but I do not think that Confederate Statues should be removed. There was a terrible Civil War in America, but it is over and those statues are a part of American history. Our elders, our young adults, and our children should look at those statues and think of history, of the Civil War and realize that it was a bad time and both sides fought for what they believed in.

That war is over and it is time for White Supremacy and racism to end in America. It is time for the Confedrate and Nazi supporters to put their flags and their hatred into hiding and make America a better place for all of us.


Copyright   Larry W. Fish   2017

Child Suicide

I have been a writer of fiction for quite a few years now. I have barely made enough money to keep a bird alive for a day, actually I have lost money. However, I write because I love to tell stories and make people feel happy.

Last year I made somewhat of a turn in my writing and I wrote a fictional novella about school bullying titled, Out of the Darkness. It has received good reviews and I hope to get it schools where it will do the most good. After writing that novella I started to do much research online about school and cyber bullying. What ripped my heart out was reading of stories of children that were bullied so bad in school, online, or both that they committed suicide. No child should be bullied to that point and it truly is an epidemic that needs to be dealt with. I have come across several foundations that where started by the parents of a child that committed suicide. Those parents are reaching out to schools and parents, working to put a stop to bullying so that no other parent has to endure the pain that they have suffered.

I am now in the process of putting a book together of facts about bullying, educating parents and teachers of what to look for, telling parents what to do when the school does not protect their child from the bullying. Sadly I have read quite a few stories of schools that claim to have a no bullying policy, but seldom take the necessary action. Cyber bullying is now a major problem that parents have to be aware of. Whatever gets posted on social media is there for everyone to see. I recently read a story of a young girl that sent a nude photo to her boyfriend. That photo ended up being plastered all over the Internet. That child was then bullied in school and online, causing her to end her life. These stories are sad and hard to read, but parents need to see what can happen.

In my book I am hoping to include ten or twelve true stories of children that were bullied in school or online and then committed suicide. I am now trying to contact parents of those children. Writing those letters is honestly one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. However, if I can get those stories in my book and end up saving the lives of some children then it is well worth the effort.

I live on Social Security and funds are getting tight. In the not to near future I will be opening a GoFundMe page in hopes of getting donations so I can afford to have this needed book published. I will need help to afford the book cover design, the publishing, and then I want to start a massive promotional push to get that next book recognized across America. I know it is a dream, but with the help of people that care I am sure it will be turned into reality.

If you see changes in your child's behavior then get to the bottom of it fast. Do not think that it is just something that is normal. Most often it is not. Children do not want to tell their parents that they are being bullied. They often feel ashamed to talk about it with anyone.


Copyright   Larry W. Fish   2017

SCHOOL BULLYING

As many of you know I have been very concerned about school bullying. I have done a lot of reading on the subject, plus stories on school bullying I have seen on the TV news. It is a major problem that can not continue to be swept under the rug. I have been so concerned about school bullying that I wrote a novella titled, Out of the Darkness. I look at the side of the victim, the side of the bully, and an over the top solution to the problem. I hope that you all go to, amazon.com/author/larry_w_fish, and order your copy today. It is available in paperback or on kindle.

The following facts I got from the website, www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-bullying

1--Over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year.

2--Approximately 160,000 teens skip school every day because of bullying.

3--17% of American students report being bullied 2 to 3 times a month or more within a school semester.

4--1 in 4 teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4% of the time.

5--By age 14 less than 30% of boys and 40% of girls will talk to their peers about bullying.

6--Over 67% of students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying, with a high percentage of students believing that adult help is infrequent and ineffective.

7--71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school

8--90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying.

9--1 in 10 students drop out of school because of repeated bullying.

10--As boys age they are less and less likely to feel sympathy for victims of bullying. In fact they are more likely to add to the problem than solve it.

11--Physical bullying increases in elementary school, peaks in middle school, and declines in high school. Verbal abuse, on the other hand, remains constant.

I have read stories lately about students that were bullied so much that they committed suicide. According to the CDC, suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death between the ages of 10 and 14. It is sad to think that this is going on in the United States of America. Bullying is evil, there is no other way to describe it. One act of kindness will beat evil every time.

As students, parents, teachers, and concerned citizens you need to become involved. The children that are in school today are the future leaders of tomorrow. If bullying is not stopped when they are in school it will follow them to their adult lives.


Copyright  Larry W. Fish  2017

DEATH

It was last summer that about 40 of my fellow classmates celebrated our 50 year high school reunion. It was a great time seeing everyone again. As we are all in our late 60s now, we have lost quite a few of our classmates. We had another classmate die yesterday. We all know that we will never live forever, no one has beat it yet. Out of a graduating class of 128 I know that about 15 have passed on. Naturally like, I am sure, our other classmates wonder when that day will come.

My father died young, age 59 from lung cancer from years of heavy smoking. My mother lived to be 92. She got dementia in the final months of her life. I was in the Philippines in the Air Force when my father died. I got home a couple of hours before the funeral. My mother moved into an apartment behind mine about four years before her death. It so sad to see a loved ones mind loose its function. Mom was good for someone of 90, but in the next two years she began to do things that at first I just thought it was old age. The last 6 months were real bad. I had to keep track of her medication, she would forget or take to much. Soon before her death I went back to her apartment one time and she was holding the phone in her hand. She was trying to turn the TV channel. It is sad to see, but a reality.

Mom spent a few days in the hospital and eventually 10 days in a nursing home. She gave up on life and refused to eat anything. I felt so helpless, knowing that there was nothing I could do. She had a living will, not to be kept alive if it looked like there was no hope. The day she died, was one of the worst days of my life.

I imagine you have all heard stories of people that have died and then wake up and say they saw the light. Also stories of people dying and looking down on themselves. It was in early 1995 that I was very ill. I had headaches that were extreme, so dizzy that I couldn't walk at all without falling down, terrible nose bleeds. For three months I went for every medical test under the sun and nothing was found. It was so frustrating.

I would lie in bed and it felt like my head was staying still but my body was moving back and forth. I was afraid to go to sleep because I thought I wouldn't wake up again. It was during that time when I was floating near the ceiling looking down on my body. I had died, I knew it. I felt strange, lifeless, motionless, pale. Was this the end? It seemed like forever that I was looking down on my body lying in bed. I knew it was only a couple of minutes, but I was dead. I then lowered and reentered my body. I could feel it like a jolt. I woke up and looked around. I was alive, I had an experience that I have heard and read about others having. I didn't see the light as some say. However, looking down on your own body is out of this world. God did not want me then, it wasn't my time.

That was 22 years go, but I can remember it like it was yesterday. I finally went to a chiropractor after 3 months of illness. Within two weeks I was feeling better. Medical science couldn't find out what was wrong with me, but it was the darkest time in my life. I have a lot of faith in chiropractors.

Life is a strange thing. What happens after we die? I believe in heaven and hell. I try to live my life like I would want others to live. I am far from perfect, there is no doubt about that. However, I care about other people. We are all going to die. Some like myself, get a second chance at life. After that dark time in my life I got a whole different outlook on life. Work and money used to be so important to me. After that time, family is now the most important thing in my life.


Copyright  Larry W. Fish  2017

DON'T RUN IN THE HOUSE

I have written a book of true short stories of my youth that is not yet published but I want to share one of those stories with you now. How many times did your parents tell you not to run in the house? Well my brother and I heard it often, but boys will be boys.

DON’T RUN IN THE HOUSE

In the corner of our living room, we always had a stove that was about two feet away from the walls. First, we had a coal stove. It was replaced by an oil burner and finally changed back to a coal stove.

     My mother was always fanatic about heat and I believe if she kept it any hotter the skin would have melted from our bodies. I do remember that our cocker spaniel used to lie in front of that first coal stove.

     I’m sure everyone has heard it and my brother Jim and I heard it many times, “Don’t run in the house.” Boys will be boys as the saying goes. One day after school, while my father was at work and mom was out somewhere, maybe shopping, I’m not sure. It was an afternoon of chasing each other around the house.

     On this particular day as I chased Jim, he ran behind the stove when the unthinkable happened. Jim’s butt hit against the sheet rock wall that had seen years of intense heat. The years of intense heat had made the sheet rock soft and brittle. As Jim moved away it revealed the perfect imprint of butt cheeks in the wall. I can still remember the look on our faces.

     We both knew that this wasn’t going to be good when the parents got home. I don’t ever remember being spanked, but the yelling still rings in my ears to this day. “How many times have we told you not to run in the house?” They kept repeating it over and over. I don’t know how many times we heard it, but I guess we should have heard it at least one more time that day.

     We would spend hours running around outside, but that day for some reason we just started running around in the house. It has been well over sixty years. When something like that happens and you are a little boy you just know it’s going to be a bad day. Now well over sixty years later my brother and I get a good laugh about it.

     I remember years later when I had a little boy and he came running into the kitchen telling us that water was running all over the floor. I ran after him and he pointed to the hot water heater. He had opened up the valve for the drain but when water started pouring out he ran to us rather than closing it. I sit here writing this with a smile. My son, Tom, was the adventurous type when he was a little boy. It just reminds me so much of myself.

Copyright   Larry W. Fish   2017

WHAT MATTERS

As I look back over my life I realize that I have been pretty fortunate. Yes, I have had ups and downs much like everyone. However, as I have told my children, when you have bad times they will end and it will make the good times much more appreciated.

Is having a huge fancy house the most important thing in life? Many people think so. I feel that if I have a roof over my head and a decent place to live I am happy. My wife and I rent a small apartment.

Is a fancy car the most important thing in your life? Many people like to put on a show and have that feeling that it makes them look important. I own a KIA, it gets my from point A to point B and that is all that matters to me. I have no desire to own a super fancy expensive car.

Is a large bank account the most important thing in you life? It would be nice to have more money in the bank, but I am not obsessed with it. As long as I can pay the bills and have a little money to spend I am happy.

Is a high paying job important to you? I used to think so and I had jobs where the money was great. For example I used to work for General Electric. I worked 7 days then 2 days off, worked 7 days then 2 days off, worked 7 days then 3 days off. The down side was I had to work holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's unless it was my scheduled day off. The money was fantastic, but the jobs that I enjoyed the most paid the least. I was a maintenance man in a library and again in a church. Those jobs made me happy and I wanted to go to work. I finally realized as I got older that money isn't everything, your health and happiness is.

Is family and friends important to you? It is very important to me. This December I will be married to a wonderful woman for 46 years, I have a son and a daughter that mean everything to me. I have 5 grand kids and 1 great granddaughter. I have friends that have shared their lives with me. We can talk about anything, true friends.

The most important things in life that matters is that you have good health and that you are happy. If you work at a job, but you aren't happy then think about a change. Life on this earth is to short as it is, so be happy and enjoy life.

Taking a nice walk in the forest with my wife and my dog Cookie means a lot more to me than going to a fancy party. Happiness that is what life should be about.

Copyright   Larry W. Fish   2016

I KNOW HOW HE FEELS

This is dedicated to my Facebook friend, Dennis. Dennis recently had the hard task of ending the life of his loved dog, Dexter. I know how the feeling is. A dog is not just a dog, it becomes a member of the family when you bring it into your life.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The two dogs shown here are my last two dogs. The one on the left is Isabel (Izzy) that I got in 1995. My wife and I went to visit family in North Carolina for Christmas. My son at the time was away in the Mediterranean with the Marines. My daughter-in-law told me to close my eyes as I sat on the sofa. She laid something in my lap and when I opened my eyes I looked into the eyes of a sweet black and white, beagle/lab mix. She had a red ribbon around her neck. Izzy was so sweet and she filled my life with happiness for many years. In 2004 she became very sick and an emergency operation was needed. We took her to the animal hospital. The operation was done and she woke up for about twenty minutes before her heart stopped. My Izzy that I loved so much was dead. I couldn't eat that night and I cried when I thought of her for the next six months. Finally I was able to think more of the good times and the memories of her love that can never be taken away from me.

The dog on the right is my present dog, Cookie. We adopted Cookie from an animal rescue site. After we got her she had violent seizures. Some people may have immediately taken her back to the site. I knew she needed help and after taking her to the vet it was determined that she had epilepsy. We got her on medication and now she gets a mild seizure once in a while. A few weeks ago she got very sick with diarrhea and vomiting. She wouldn't eat and was very weak. We got her to the vet and they kept her and after the first day she didn't look good, she was getting weaker. She was transferred to another vet hospital where she spent two days. She was getting somewhat better, but far from her normal self. My wife and I got to thinking about Izzy and the heartbreak we felt. Cookie then went back to the first animal hospital where she spent two more days and one night. After taking her back there the vet said they needed to do an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that her gall bladder and her pancreas were inflamed and bile was built up in her gall bladder forming like a sludge. It was very serious. They put her on medication for gall bladder disease and she started improving. She came home finally and was on seven different medications. After a week she was getting much better and is now down to two medications for the rest of her life. It cost us $2,500 a few weeks ago and so far $5,000 for the year. Cookie means everything to us.

The love between a dog and the owners are a bond that is amazing. Those little four legged friends give so much love and make a home seem complete. When Cookie was in the hospital for four days and three nights the apartment seemed so empty.

I know the feeling Dennis has and I know that it takes much time to heal. He has lost a family member. It took me a long time before I got another dog, actually almost 9 years. However we had a cat that we also had the same time we had Izzy, so it eased the pain until her death in 2010. We moved to a different city in 2013 and I wanted a dog again. That is when Cookie came into our lives. Yes, she has health problems, but we will do everything in our power to see that she gets the care that she needs.

Dennis will have that pain of loosing Dexter for a long time. I'm sure he will get another dog again. He can't replace Dexter just like I couldn't replace Izzy. Each dog is different, with different challenges. Some day Dennis will cross rainbow bridge with Dexter just like I will cross it with Izzy. Love is what it is all about. All I can say to Dennis is to keep looking back at the times he had with Dexter. Memories can never be taken away. I lost Izzy twelve years ago, but I look at her urn every day and smile at the times we had together.

Copyright  Larry W. Fish   2016

                       

ORDER FOR CHRISTMAS

                                                                              

                      

                           

Christmas time is just around the corner. Many people like to read and they know other people that like to read as well. This year think about giving a book to those who like to read. I have four choices that you can choose from.

Golden Haze, is the story of a four legged angel with a special power to heal. It is also the story of demons and how a family is terrorized in their new home.

Walk to Love, is the story of a man that was in deep depression after the death of his first wife. God enters his life and sends him on a walking journey across America that changes his life forever.

Wilderness Passion, is the story of a man that went through a horrible experience in war. After returning home the emotional stress was more than he could bear. He left family and civilization and walked deep into the forest of Minnesota where he lived for years without seeing anyone. Finally his life is changed after meeting two men.

Out of the Darkness, is the story about school bullying. Something that every student, parent, and teacher should be concerned about. I wrote this novella by looking at the side of the bully as well as the one being bullied.

You have four books to choose from. They are all available at amazon.com in paperback or kindle editions. Consider purchasing them for yourself, a family member, or a friend. I firmly believe that although these books are fiction they will make people think about how they can be looked at in reality. I love to entertain my readers and get them to let their mind wander to out of the ordinary.

The link to purchase my books is:  amazon.com/author/larry_w_fish

Thank you all for your support and I hope you enjoy the journey that my words will take you.

Copyright   Larry W. Fish   2016

COOKIE

It was over 3 1/2 years ago that my wife and I adopted a cute little beagle from an animal rescue site. Cookie had been abused and abandoned and seemed so shy and scared. I took one look at her sweet face and I was immediately in love with her.

We took Cookie home and in a few days she was having violent seizures. Should I take her back to the site and ask for my money back. I never gave it a second thought, this little dog was now mine, she needed help and I was going to take care of her. Her seizures were violent up to 4 a day. I got her to the vet and it was determined that she has epilepsy. We got her on phenobarbital. Her seizures are under control. She still gets a seizure once in a while, but they are fairly mild. I get on the floor, hold her, talk to her, and keep her safe until the seizure is over. I love her and she loves my wife and I.

Since August she has had three bouts with diarrhea. About two weeks ago she got diarrhea bad and was vomiting every half hour or sooner until we could get her to a vet. She wouldn't eat, she was very weak, and she was sicker than I had ever seen her. She was in two vet hospitals for four days and three nights. She was getting better after a couple of days, but still refused to eat. Our vet said the only way to be sure was to do an ultrasound. She was given the ultrasound and it was determined bile was built up in her gall bladder forming like a sludge. Her gall bladder was inflamed and also her pancreas. She was a sick little girl. She was put on  medication and for the next week she was taking seven different medications. However, she was getting better and is now home with us.

Cookie also had an operation in the spring to remove a lump on her belly. So far this year her vet bills have totaled almost $5,000 and $2,500 of that was for her last health problem. Her vet bills are staggering for two people living on Social Security, but Cookie will continue to get the care that she needs. She will be on two different medications for the rest of her life, the phenobarbital to control her seizures and ursodiol for her gall
bladder.

I have opened a gofundme account to help to recover some of the costs that we have have been hit with this year and continue to give her the care that she needs and deserves. If you can make a donation to the gofundme account my wife and I would greatly appreciate it. The link to her account is: gofundme.com/2t5yr6c

No donation is to small and we are thankful for any help that you can give us.


Copyright  Larry W. Fish   2016

MEMORIES

I arrived in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania on August 19th with my wife to attend my 50 year high school reunion. We spent a few days in the Poconos where I grew up and lived until I was 55 years old. It was such a peaceful country setting when I was a little boy. I would ride my bicycle all around without wearing a helmet and never feared for my life, I swam in a cold mountain stream, and I went to the railroad tracks to watch for the trains and waved to the engineers as they blew the horn and waved back. So many wonderful memories.

On the Friday we arrived in the Poconos. I had to stop at a couple of libraries and see the people involved where I would have a couple of author talks/book signings. We got to our hotel in East Stroudsburg a little after 3 p.m. It had been a long day and in the early evening we decided to get something to eat at Friendly's Restaurant in East Stroudsburg. My wife ordered chicken strips and I ordered a Turkey BLT without the tomato. Our orders soon came and the waitress walked away and I ate a couple of my french fries then took a close look at my sandwich. It looked awful thin and I took off the top slice of bread. All I had was lettuce and bacon. There was no turkey on my Turkey BLT. I called the waitress over and said, "I know I ordered a Turkey BLT, so where is the turkey?" She took the sandwich back and soon came back with plenty of turkey on my BLT. She said the cook said, "I thought I forgot something." OMG!!!

We did some driving around on Saturday morning before my class reunion in the afternoon. I drove past Penn Hills Resort in Analomink, PA which used to be one of the top honeymoon resorts in the Poconos. It was now all closed up, windows boarded over, and graffiti on the buildings. What a shame such a great resort had deteriorated into such abandonment. We also drove by Buck Hill Falls Inn. It was built in 1901 and was once the pride of the Poconos. My father worked there for a time as an elevator operator. He also sold his jewelry there in the gift shop. I often went there to see movies on the weekends. It closed many years ago and is now in a state of disarray. What a beautiful place it used to be, such a shame to see it now.

We then went to McComas cemetery where my father and mother are buried. There is no longer a McComas chapel and the cemetery is no longer taken care of. The grass was a foot high and needed to be mowed. I felt sad to see my mother and fathers tombstones in a cemetery that is no longer taken care of.
I did smile though as I thought of my mom and dad.

We left there to go to High Acres Park in Canadensis where a friend told me that my name and my brother's name were added to a memorial honoring those from Barrett Township that served in the military during Vietnam. It was a wonderful memorial and I knew many of the names listed there.

In the afternoon on Saturday we arrived at Memorytown for my class reunion. Before the reunion many of us went to take a tour of our old school. What memories I had as we walked through the halls of a school that we graduated from fifty years ago. It is amazing how the memories can flood back to you. We then went back to Memorytown for the reunion. I had more handshakes and hugs on August 20, 2016 then I have ever had in my life. It was so good to see around 40 of my old classmates that I hadn't seen in 25 or 50 years. We talked about old times and where our life has led us. We are all pushing toward seventy years old now so I imagine that will be the last time we all get together. I just want all who attended the reunion to know that I love you all and it will be a day I will never forget.

My two author talks/book signings that I had planned did not get the turnout that I hoped for, but an unknown author does struggle. I love to write and I will continue to write, write, and write.

On Monday we went to the West End Fair, a true country fair in Gilbert, PA. My wife and I could not leave there without having a funnel cake. Oh, it was so good. We listened to music, looked at the exhibits, saw the animals, and just had a great day.

Tuesday morning we went to a place that we loved to go to and haven't been to in years. That place is Bushkill Falls, the Niagara or Pennsylvania. It is a beautiful falls, but I will say it is nothing like Niagara. The walk to look over the falls was wonderful and I thought of the times us and our kids walked the trails of Bushkill Falls.

I want to thank everyone that helped to make our 50 year high school reunion a success. Thank you Marilou, John, MaryBeth, Malinda, Barbara and anyone else that gave their time.

We drove back to our home in North Carolina on Wednesday and were glad to get back home.


Copyright   Larry W. Fish   2016

Out of the Darkness

School bullying is something that every student, parent, grandparent, teacher should be concerned about. There is to much hatred in America today. When children see adults spreading hatred by talking bad about Blacks, Asians, Gays, people that are disabled or look different than you, it is only natural that children think it is alright for them to do it. Adults in this country need to wake up and teach their children that love is the influence that children need to see. Hatred and bullying is wrong, dead wrong. Anyone with any compassion should realize that bullying in our schools needs to stop.

Out of the Darkness, is a novella about a new student that enters a school, the bully and a couple of her friends that make her feel like her life is meaningless. God changes her life around. See how it is done.

Out of the Darkness, can be ordered from my publisher, at www.e-booktime.com. Click on store, then click on educational or family and relationships on the left side of the page. Order your copy today and as you read it think about what bullying is doing to the country that we love.

I thank all of you for your support. 

Copyright  Larry W. Fish  2016

2 AUTHORS, 2 CONTINENTS, 6 NOVELS

Jan Reid, is a 6^th generation Australian, growing up on a wheat and sheep property in Central West, New South Wales, Australia. As a child, when the sun went down she would be found under the bed covers reading a book by the light of a torch. In 2009, Jan became a freelance writer. In 2011 she became a Kindle book author. In 2013, Jan completed the Diploma of Professional Writing, with High Distinction. March 2014 she completed her first step of, The Dreaming Series. That first novel, Deep Water Tears, introduces the readers to the social and racial problems that exist in her country. The second novel of, The Dreaming Series, Grace, became a reality in November of 2014. It continues the trials and tribulations of a family growing up. The final novel of, The Dreaming Series, Barons Reach, completed in November of 2015, continues the story of the family and gives factual information on Australia. Jan is still an avid reader and as I have often said to be a good writer you need to be a good reader. When not reading or writing, Jan puts on her walking shoes and takes off on one of her favorite walking tracks, savoring the beauty and tranquility of the South Coast area of New South Wales. Jan is a writer that writes from the heart, a good quality to be a great author. Jan is also the author of several children’s picture books, self-published for her grandchildren

         

                   

Larry Fish, was born and raised in the beautiful Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. He spent 30 years working in manufacturing and 10 years in building maintenance. As he neared retirement he started to write short stories of his youth. He had some published in Our USA Magazine. In 2004 Larry and his wife, Lina, moved to North Carolina where they now reside. In 2009 he began to write his first novel, Golden Haze. Although fiction the dog pictured on the front cover was his actual dog, Izzy that died in 2004. In a way, this paranormal novel is a tribute to Izzy. His second novel, a Christian Romance novel, Walk to Love, was published in 2014. It is a story of how God changed a man’s life forever. His latest novel, Wilderness Passion was published in March 2016. It is the story of a man that a horrible experience in war, and after returning home the emotional turmoil was more than he could bear. He decided to leave home and walk deep into the wilderness of Minnesota where he lived alone for years. Larry likes to write from the heart and make the reader feel like they are part of the story. Larry was born and raised in nature and became an animal lover at an early age. He could be seen at an early age sitting on a large rock by a small country stream reading a book

.

Larry and Jan are two friends that have met through writing.  They live 9,740 miles (15,675 kilometers) apart. A great distance that may keep them from ever meeting each other, but they both write from the heart. Each one enjoys reading each other’s novels. Six novels between them will give you hours of reading. Check out their books, sit back, and enjoy the writings of Jan and Larry.

The advice from both Jan and Larry are, write from the heart, enjoy what you are doing, make your readers feel like they are involved in the story. If our readers feel like we have accomplished this then it makes us feel proud of what we are doing.              

  

All novels are available at www.amazon.com

Copyright   Larry W. Fish   2016                                                                                                                                            

A Simple Act of Kindness

Today, the last day of April, our apartment complex had a yard sale planned. It is one of those times that we just try to get rid of a few things that is taking up space and we don't need anymore. The weather didn't look good as it had rained a little overnight and as I took Cookie on her morning walk at 6:30 a.m.it was drizzling heavily. I walked back to the apartment and told my wife that it didn't look good for the yard sale. We decided that maybe it wouldn't happen.

We had our breakfast and at 7:45 a.m. I took a little walk to see what it was like outside. It had stopped drizzling but was still very cloudy. It was a cool day, exceptionally cool for the end of April in North Carolina. However, it looked like it wasn't going to rain anymore so I got our little table and the things that we wanted to sell and set it up on the sidewalk that runs along the street next to our apartment building.

Another woman was setting up close to us and we chatted about a lot of things as people walked by looking at what we had to offer. Lina and I got to meet one of our neighbors that we had not met before. Events like this always bring people together.

It was an hour or so after the yard sale started that a little boy and a little girl came up to my table. They were I am guessing at five and seven years old. The girl was the youngest of the two it it was obvious that they were brother and sister. I had a stuffed Tweety Bird there that the little girl obviously wanted. She said how much is that. I said a dollar but I will let you have it for fifty cents. The young boy picked up a Spiderman pinball machine that I had leaning against our table. It was still in the original box. It was something we bought as a gift about ten years ago, but decided to give something else instead. He asked how much it was as he was looking it over, saying, "wow, it's neat."

I told him that he could have it for two dollars. I said, "You will have to go ask your mommy if you can have it." He started to walk away carrying it and I told him he would have to leave it here until he got the money.
Off they went to see their mother. I didn't know if they would come back or not.

Meanwhile a woman that parked on the other side of the street was standing near the edge of the road. She walked up and said, "I want to buy those things for those two kids." She handed me a twenty dollar bill and I asked her if she had anything smaller. She didn't but I just happened to have enough change. I counted out seventeen one dollar bills. I was reaching into my pocket to get her fifty cents and she said, "Forget it, three dollars is a fine price." I thanked her for her kindness as she walked away.

In a few minutes the two kids came back and the little girl went to hand me two dollars and fifty cents. I said, "Forget it, give the money back to your mommy. A nice lady just bought those two things for you guys." The little girl walked away carrying the yellow Tweety Bird and the boy was beaming with a smile carrying the Spiderman little pinball machine.

I saw two little kids walk away with something today that they wanted so much. I also saw a woman that I have no idea who she was do a simple act of kindness in making two little kids very happy. I am proud to have met a woman today that did an act of kindness. God Bless her for giving me faith in people. It is people like her that makes me happy to get up every day.


Copyright   Larry W. Fish  2016

www.larrywfish.com

NEARLY CRAPPED MY SHORTS

                             


I served in the U.S. Air Force from 1968 until 1972. It was in January of 1970 that I became stationed at Clark AFB in the Philippines. I was assigned to the 6200 Field Maintenance Squadron. The mission of the squadron was to serve needed supplies to different places in the Philippines where we had American service members stationed.

In 1971 I became a flight mechanic and a crew chief on a C-47 aircraft. When I entered the Air Force in 1968 I was hoping to work on jet aircraft. However, that was not to be. I became an aircraft mechanic on propeller driven aircraft. The C-47s at Clark AFB at that time were built in the early 1940s. Because of the way it took off and landed with the tail wheel it was known as, The Gooney Bird. I loved flying to different places in the Philippines that I would normally never have gotten to if I was not a flight mechanic.

A couple of my favorite places was to a city in the mountains called, Baguio. Baguio was where the officers loved to go and hold conferences. Actually it was where they went to play golf. Baguio airstrip is at an elevation of 4,251 feet. The runway is very short and when we took off the pilots would sit at the end of the runway and rev up the engines. They would knock of the brakes and we would take off just before the runway ended and the mountain dropped a couple of thousand feet. Kind of a interesting take off.

Another place we flew to was on the southern island of Mindanao. We would land on a grass airstrip that was in the center of a huge Delmonte pineapple plantation. The pilots would contact ahead before we left and when we landed we would unload our supplies and then they would give us a dozen pineapples to take back with us. Now those were the freshest pineapples you could get. I remember as we were landing you could smell the aroma of the pineapples.

I loved flying around the Philippines and there were two times that I was really scared. The one time we were were going to Manila. Usually we went there to pick up the Four Star General and fly him back to Clark Air Force Base. On this particular flight the copilot was landing the plane and he always seemed a little snockered. There was no doubt in my mind that he should not have been flying. The flight was routine until the landing. We hit the runway hard and bounced up and down on the runway three or four times. The last time we hit the runway we swerved out into a field next to the runway. The one wing went down and touched the ground and as we were tipping my words were, "Holy Shit." We spun around and came to a stop. I walked up to the cockpit and the pilot said, "Are you alright." I was, but shaking pretty bad. Needless to say that copilot never flew again, Thank God. The plane was still flyable and we made it back to Clark AFB in one piece.

The second time I was scared was once we were taking off from Cebu. The weather wasn't the greatest and as we took off we were in cloud cover for quite a while. As we gained altitude and we finally came out of the clouds we could see it getting brighter and brighter. Finally out of the clouds there was a mountain directly in front of us. I really thought, this is it. The pilot pulled back hard on the wheel and we climbed just missing the mountain and cleared the treetops. I can remember the fear that took over my body to this day. That was close, really close.

All of my other flights were pretty routine, but those two will never leave my mind. It is not what happened that scares me, but what could have happened. The C-47 is the military version of the DC-3, built during the 1930s and 40s. Over 10,000 were built and now Eighty years later there are still about 400 that are still in
service.

My flight time took me to many interesting places in the Philippines, when there was a typhoon about to hit the Philippines we would fly to Taiwan. I once got to fly to Okinawa where my plane was taken for corrosion control. My plane was eventually flown to Vietnam and was then going into service in the Vietnam War. Vietnam, I was only there for four hours. The pilots and I sat in the terminal at Saigon and had a few beers and talked before we got a flight back to the Philippines.

It is funny how I can remember things from the early 1970s, but can walk into a room now and can't remember what for.

Copyright   Larry W. Fish   2016

I CARRIED HER

We had a bad storm over the weekend of a little snow, sleet, and freezing rain. It has left the sidewalks and the parking lot in our apartment complex a sleet of ice making walking very difficult. However, my dog Cookie has to be taken out. I have her on a pretty good schedule of taking her outside so she can pee and poop.

Yesterday as I was walking her around the sidewalks of the apartment complex she started to get a seizure.
Cookie has epilepsy and has been on medication for the last few years. We were told by the vet that she will
always get some seizures but they wouldn't be as bad. Yesterday she was starting to shake and she couldn't walk without staggering. Normally in the apartment I will sit down on the floor and hold her until the seizure is
over.

I couldn't sit down on the ice so I picked her up in my arms and started to walk back toward the apartment.
Her seizures are not as bad anymore but she still needs to be watched so she doesn't hurt herself. The sidewalk was a sheet of ice, as I was carrying her I prayed that I would not slip and fall down. As I was carrying her she laid her head on my arm knowing that she felt safe. I inched my way back to the apartment,
sat down on the floor and held her in my arms until the seizure was over.

I know she feels safe as I hold her and the funny thing is that I love that dog so much that if if came to the worst case I would have sat down on the ice and held her. Cookie brings me so much joy every day. After making the coffee every morning, I will then get her food ready. I look in and see her still curled up in her bed. I open the can of food and then she is running out to the kitchen with her tail wagging. I lean down and pet her and tell her how much I love her. I finish getting her food and drop her medication in with the food.
She finishes eating and then we go for our first walk of the day.

A little after 6:30 in the morning she is walking along sniffing the ground, mostly ice now, and she has to find that perfect spot to pee. Usually she only pees first thing in the morning. We take a little walk around and I look at her she she sniffs and sniffs and sniffs. I say to her, "Do you realize that it is cold out here." She turns her head and looks as me as much to say,  "I will take all the time I want, keep your pants on." Nothing makes me happier than a man and the love of his dog. Mutual love, that is what it is all about.


Copyright   Larry W. Fish   2016