My Dad

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad. I'm not sure why because he looks very uncertain about posing for this picture. Maybe it's because, in later years, he'd be much more comfortable behind the camera, writing for a large, city newspaper.

Paul Bulleit was the middle child of three brothers. They were born pretty close to one year apart. Maybe because he was the middle child, it became his duty to leave Hanover College in the early thirties, and his dream of playing college football, to help support the family during the depression. His two brothers went on to graduate. Dad went on to a career as a newspaper reporter.

He never complained about the 12-14-hour days (including the commute to and from Louisville, KY), and seemed to thrive during his days on the court beat, the medical beat, and finally, his own column in the Courier Journal. He was especially fond of his yearly "duty" covering Millionaires Row at the Kentucky Derby.

My dad's been gone for over 25 years. He was an amazing writer and is 75% responsible for my writing career. My English teacher, Mrs. Elam gets the other 25%. I just wish I'd shown more appreciation for his craft because I know, now, just how hard it is.

As proof, this is a picture of my dad in the Courier newsroom in the early 60's - hard at work.



Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Glamour Girl From The Stars - Carlton Scott

GLAMOUR GIRL FROM THE STARS-- Out of this world rhyming story about a 3 foot tall alien girl named Plee-Dee who borrows her father's flying saucer to visit Earth hoping to enter the Miss Universe Pageant in LA. She visits different cultures around the world realizing she feels good about herself without having to enter pageants. The book intends to teach little girls self esteem. Illustrations in colored pencil and photos from the author.

Review:

As a kid, I loved anything to do with space. At risk a revealing my age, the first poem I ever wrote (around age 9) began, "When I was a little girl like you, I went up in Sputnik # 2." For those of you younger than 60, Google Sputnik.

I can only imagine how much I would've loved Glamour Girl From the Stars, by Carlton Scott. Heck, I love it now at a much-advanced age.

Looking through a telescope across the Universe, Plee-Dee, an alien girl from across the galaxy, spots Earth and likes what she sees. Convincing her father that she's only shopping for a new spacesuit, she takes off in his spaceship toward the blue planet. After a time-traveling mistake sends her back to dinosaur age, she sets course for 2010 Las Vegas where shoes, clothes, Elvis impersonators and the Miss Universe Pageant (imagine the irony!) is her first stop.

After realizing Area 51 is onto her, she zips across the Pacific to Waikiki Beach, China, Africa and exciting places all over the world.

The illustrations, also by Scott, are colorful, pleasing and beautifully drawn. His style blends well with the storyline.

All his books are now autographed and shipped to people’s homes from his website: www.carltonsbooks.com

Bio:

At the age of 33, Carlton Scott was pursuing a second degree in nursing when he had a case of misdiagnosed glaucoma and lost the vision in his left eye. To help deal with the stress of being visually impaired, he would hike in the Rocky Mountains near Denver, Colorado where he lived. He then took off to Southeast Asia, backpacking and venturing through Thailand; Cambodia and Bali, Indonesia to decide what to do with his future.

During this time, he finished his second children’s book, Little Big Wolf, based on his drawings and collection of hiking photos. He published both Grin’s Message and Little Big Wolf in hardcover and sold 2000 of each through Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, craft shows and street fairs. He then returned to Florida and finished his second degree (a bachelor’s in nursing) and accepted a job at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Pediatric ICU.

Today, Carlton travels with his wife, Annie (also a nurse), throughout the United States providing critical care services to hospitals from Alaska to Los Angeles. His newest children’s book, Glamour Girl From The Stars, was published in April, 2010.

Be sure to check the next stop on the Glamour Girl Tour: Joyful Paws!

To see all Carlton Scott's books, visit his Website:
Blog Tour Info:

Mary Cunningham Books
Amazon
Kindle
Fictionwise
Quake/Echelon Press

Sad Days Ahead For The Gulf

A Brown Pelican is seen on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast after being drenched in oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Thursday, June 3, 2010.

I wake up every morning wondering whether the flow of oil is going to slow today. Wondering what the ultimate price is that we'll pay for our oil dependence. Will B. P. eventually figure out how to cap the poison gushing into the Gulf and when (if) they do, will it be business as usual?

I sincerely hope that all the people picketing B. P. and the rage at this environmental disaster will continue until the world and especially this country realizes that we need affordable, clean energy.

Please understand that I'm not blaming B. P. alone, or the government for failing to regulate the industry. I'm blaming all of us. We've sold out for convenience. Need something at the grocery? Gotta run to the bank? I jump in my SUV and think nothing about it. Okay, it's a small SUV and gets pretty good mileage and I try to run all my errands at once so I maximize a tank of gas.

But, I'm afraid we're still years away from realizing the sacrifices we need to make.

I remember when Jimmy Carter was laughed out of office for even suggesting that we needed to make hard choices in stemming our thirst for oil. We were incensed when gas prices in 1978 rose to an average of (gasp!) $.63 a gallon!! But, we got over it and it was "business as usual." We're slowly realizing the price of our indifference more than 3 decades ago.

Not sure what I hope to accomplish with this blog post. Maybe just add my 2 cents to the anger and disgust for the shameful way we're ignoring the facts concerning our fragile world.

Thanks for reading this far! Oh, and in case oil in the Gulf doesn't interest you, try reading this: Arctic Sea Ice At Lowest Point In Thousands Of Years

Read About The Earth Day Network Website Don't be Stupid!