1. I finally got around to
taking my mini pumpkin out to get some cool, creepy photos and videos
for Halloween. I went to an area just off the Cape Cod Rail Trail in
Harwich. There is a cemetery that is good for running around as it’s
a circular road. I was out at sunset walking through this cemetery
looking for photos that spoke to me. I was way over at the far end of
the cemetery after the sun went down. As it struck the top of the
hour a nearby church started playing music for several minutes. It
was a perfectly creepy and surreal moment as I had to walk through
the cemetery as the light faded and this music played. I loved it.
2. I have seen foxes a lot
living on Cape Cod. They are usually scampering through people's yards
or wooded areas typically near dusk. Until this week I’d never seen
a full-grown and healthy fox just standing in a beach parking lot. At
first, I thought it was sick but it was a perfect specimen, like how
you think a fox would look. I debated trying to approach it since it
stood maybe 20 feet from my car for a good minute. Once I got done
shooting a video though it ran off under a fence.
3. If you walk your dog, and
it takes a dump, and you put this in a bag, but then leave the bag on
the ground, you are a jerk. If I put my trash in a bag but leave the
bag on the side of the road it counts as littering right? Why do
these lazy selfish entitled dog owners think that putting their dog
crap bags on the ground somehow counts as ‘cleaning up?’ Nobody
forced you to get a dog, but you got one, learn how to be a
functioning member of the human race.
4. Your reminder to always
check expiration dates on the things you buy. I mentioned this in a
blog post several months back well it rears its ugly head again. This
time it was a 4-pack of ready-to-drink protein shakes. They were on
sale (now I know why) and I figured why not save money and have
breakfast ready for the next 4 days. If I had checked I’d have seen
they were expired by a month. Unfortunately, I didn’t until getting
ready to have one for breakfast. Needless to say, I had to skip
breakfast that day or else risk whatever illness severely expired
food could give me. These supermarkets really need to step it up when
it comes to removing expired foods so that idiots like me don’t buy
them because it’s on sale.
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| Do these look expired? |
5. A surefire way to become
my friend is by begging me several times on social media to take you
on a photo trip with me. Not only did I have a strange woman
essentially demand that I take her with me on a future trip, but this
was the 2nd
time it’s happened. I could understand if you are my friend or
even someone I’ve interacted with on social media a few times. For
a total stranger to introduce herself by saying ‘you need to take
me on a photo trip,’ there has to be a screw loose. No thanks, you
can keep stalking my social accounts for now, unless a blocking is
needed at some point.
6. My speaking events about my
books are always fun. No matter the crowd size I do my best to make
the event worth the while of those who come out to see me. Sometimes
I end up with unique stories from these events. One I had this week
was what I could only call an attempted entrapment. Speaking about my
Searching For the Lady of the Dunes true crime novel I mentioned that
my opinion about who was involved in the murder of the woman later
found to be Ruth Marie Terry differed somewhat from what police say.
Police say 1 man, her then-husband Guy Muldavin, killed her. I agree
he was a part of it but that he probably had 1 or 2 accomplices. In
my book, I mention a few potential accomplices but only 1st
names. A man at my event was hell-bent on getting me to give a
definitive statement on who I thought was involved. Seeing as how a
few potential accomplices are still alive I’d be a fool to point
fingers. I might as well just beg to be sued at that point. Nice try
guy, and he didn’t even buy a book so the hell with him.
7. Daylight Savings starts
November 3rd
when we ‘fall back.’ On November 2nd
the sun rises at 7:15am. One day this week it was cloudy and rainy in
the morning. Even though the sun had technically risen it still
looked dark at 7:45am. It reminded me of the time when I took a bus
from Las Vegas to Hyannis in 2001. We stopped in the small town of
Ogallala, Nebraska. Inside the bus station looked like it was
straight out of the 1950s. The fact that it was still dark at 8:15am
made me start to think that maybe the bus had crashed and that we
were all dead and Ogallala’s bus station was purgatory. My lasting
memory of that small town was my Nana’s laughter every time she
said the name. That was worth the Twilight Zone episode it felt
like.
8. This year Halloween was a
fun throwback. No, I didn’t go Trick or Treating, although if I wore
a mask and pretended I had a sore throat and couldn’t talk I bet I
could still pull it off. I always watch the original Halloween from
1978 with dinner. It’s been a tradition for probably close to 20
years This year I watched it at my mom’s house with my sister,
nieces, and nephew which was a lot of fun. The actual Halloween scene
was also a fun throwback. At first, there didn’t seem to be too many
kids coming to get candy. My sister and my oldest niece were outside
handing it out since it was 65 degrees at 6pm. As I was getting ready
to leave and go home it was like every kid within a 2-mile radius
flooded my mother’s street. It was such a great scene of kids
everywhere yelling ‘trick or treat.’ I almost didn’t want to
leave but I needed to get home to eat and find a different horror
movie to watch.
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| Halloween was fun. |
9. On Halloween morning, well
before sunrise, I got my annual creepy photo/video shoot. I had to
work early regardless so it wasn’t too out of my way to end up deep
in a cemetery at 6:30am. With the sunrise close to 7:15 it was pitch
black. I rolled about halfway deep into the cemetery and shot a
creepy video of me with my mini pumpkin. It was odd yet perfectly
normal for me around Halloween. I had to get to work otherwise I
might have shot some more video out there. Don’t get me wrong it
was definitely creepy but when it comes to interesting content like
photos and videos my dedication to the craft sometimes takes over the
normal part of my brain.
10. Birthdays
in your 40’s are far different than when you’re a kid. Family and
friends aren’t all readily available and without meticulous
planning, you likely won’t get to see all of the people you want.
That said, you have to try to make each birthday feel special, after
all, it is a milestone of making it another year. For me, I filled my
birthday this week with everything I liked. Foods I liked, visiting
my mother, going for a secluded hike. These things are what I enjoy.
No more super late nights of drinking. Low-key and fun is what I seek
out in life in general. Here's to good things ahead in my 47th trip around the sun!
