Bruce A. Borders: December 2013

Monday, December 30, 2013

Last Year's New Year's Predictions

If anyone remembers, about a year ago, this blog was about my predictions for the coming year of 2013. For this week, I thought I’d go back and visit that again - to see how well I did.

Just to refresh everyone’s memory, or in case you didn’t see it, the text of last year’s blog appears below in italics.

12-31-12 Blog

It’s that time of year again, when everybody makes their predictions for the coming year. Everything from sane and rational expectations to outlandish foretellings and dire warnings of things that will never come true. For instance, I read the other day that 2013 will be the year aliens land on the Earth and we will discover life on Mars. Yeah, right!

The good news is, I won’t look too peculiar making a few predictions of my own. Keep in mind that I do not have a crystal ball and wouldn’t know what to do with one if I did. Okay, here goes.

I predict 2013 will have 365 days (Approximately - the time discrepancy which necessitates the occurrence of leap year not withstanding).

I also predict the weather across the country will be generally cooler at the beginning of the year, followed by a warming trend throughout the summer months - even downright hot in some areas. Then, with fall, temperatures will moderate, eventually turning colder toward the end of the year. And then I predict some moron will blame the variation in weather on global climate change.

I further predict 2013 will see politicians spending more money they don’t have, blaming each other and then trying to figure out ways to have the rest of us pay for their stupidity and insatiable desire to spend.

And I predict that when 2013 is over, 2014 will be ushered in - like clockwork.

Hey, this predicting thing seems pretty easy! I could go on, but I’m fairly sure nobody wants me to. so, I’ll end this blog with one final prediction; next year, about this time, there’ll be a whole lot more of the crazies coming out with their predictions - not at all dissuaded by the fact that none of their previous “enlightened” prophetic statements came about. Except me - I think I have a pretty good shot at all of mine coming true!

So, how did I do? Pretty well, I think. As of tomorrow (12-31-13), the year 2013 will have racked up a total of 365 days. Just as I predicted. So far, so good!

The weather followed my predictions right down to the letter - even to the point of some moron, a lot of them actually, blaming the temperature fluctuations on global climate change. Not bad huh? I didn’t even rely on the Farmer’s Almanac for those predictions! Just a few years of weather data floating around in my head!

And my predictions about the politicians were right on the money! All year long we were treated to the blame game - with ultimately both sides contributing to our, now very out of control, $17 Billion debt.

One of my predictions, the calendar turning to 2014, hasn’t happened - yet. However, things appear to be on track for it to occur within the next day or two. Unless something drastic happens, the year will end just as I said!

The last of my predictions also came true. Many slightly crazed individuals have already made their wild predictions for the new year - with no mention at all that their ridiculous prophecies from last year never happened. Just to clarify, aliens did not land on Earth and life was not discovered on Mars. (If I’m not mistaken - and I’m not - I alluded to this being the case as well, with my “Yeah, right!” comment in my blog. Chalk up another one in the win column.)

I think it’s safe to say that I have ended up with one hundred percent accuracy! So, I’ll quit while I’m ahead. (And, before anyone gets too bored or decides I have truly lost it)!

Happy New Year!

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books. Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and other titles, are available as ebooks on Apple I-Pad®, Amazon Kindle®, Barnes & Noble Nook® and Sony Reader®, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords. His books are also available in paperback at most online retailers or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. The popular Wynn Garrett Series Books are now available on Barnes And Noble® at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/?series_id=867526 See Bruce’s Smashwords Profile at www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BruceABorders?ref=BruceABorders #BruceABorders

Monday, December 23, 2013

My Snow Removal Business

‘Tis the season. No not Christmas, necessarily - winter. And snow. It’s no secret I don’t like the stuff. (As a truck driver, it greatly inhibits my efforts to make a living in a timely fashion, potentially turning my day from what is normally thirteen hours into sixteen, eighteen, or twenty. You can see how difficult it would be to work a full week with those kind of hours. The DOT sort of frowns on driving that long). I didn’t even like snow as a kid. But, at one time, I did think I could maybe make a profit off it.

The winter I was twelve, I got the grand idea to make some money by shoveling snow. I was going to be rich! I figured all the neighbors would jump at the chance to have the snow removed from their sidewalks and driveway.

The first snowfall of the season, I took my dad’s shovel and walked around the neighborhood, knocking on doors. A lot of doors. And got no favorable response whatsoever. It seems no one wanted to pay me a measly five dollars to shovel two inches of snow for them. Who knew?

The next time it snowed, I tried again. This time there was a little more of the white stuff (maybe four inches) and I hoped my luck would improve. It did! I actually got a lady up the street to let me shovel off her driveway. And yes, she did pay me! But that was the only one.

So, I gave up. If no one wanted my help, then I wasn’t going to ask them any more.

Then came the big snow. In three days, during which it never stopped snowing, we got several feet! Enough that cars were buried, roofs were caving in, and driveways were completely gone.

That’s when I learned that my neighbors were more than willing to change their minds. Several of them solicited my services. But, that’s also the day my neighbors learned that I wasn’t as dumb as they thought - I declined the offers - even from the guy who said he’d pay me double. Ten dollars! I wasn’t even tempted.

That could have something to do with the fact that I was busy. Shoveling snow. All day. Apparently, my dad thought shoveling snow was a great idea for me - and my brother. And it didn’t seem to matter that I no longer wanted to do it. He just said something about, ‘tis the season. He did help us and by the end of the day, we had most of it removed. But, by the end of the day, I had decided I never wanted to shovel snow again! In fact, I never wanted to see snow again!

Yet, just last weekend, there I was, shoveling my driveway. And thinking, “Yep, ‘tis the season.”

Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Murder - Part II

Last week’s blog about how I almost bought a house where there had been a triple homicide, got me to thinking. A dangerous activity, I know.

I realized that I have lived within a block or so of a lot of homicides. Several, in fact. And no, I didn’t commit them! More than half were suicides and the others were all solved, as far as I know.

As I started counting them up, I was a bit surprised. There have been nine. This seems like a rather inordinate amount for my short forty-six years. Even more so, when you consider that the first one didn’t happen until I was fifteen. So, that’s an average of about one every three and a half years.

It would seem that perhaps I have lived in a bad neighborhood! But, I’ve lived in numerous neighborhoods, in multiple states, during this time. Maybe it’s just that my neighbors don’t like me. Although, I can’t imagine that would drive them to suicide or murder. I may not be the perfect neighbor but I’m fairly sure I’m not that bad.

Then I hit on another theory. I’m a writer. I like to write crime stories. Could it be that my neighbors were all trying to help out by providing me with plots and scenarios to write about? Book fodder; is that what it was?

But then, I must admit, it seems highly unlikely all these people would go to such great lengths just to help a writer. However, it is certainly odd that I started writing around age fifteen - right when the first one occurred!

So, now I suppose I need to get busy immortalizing these individuals in book form. I’ll write the books, sell a few, other people can read and maybe enjoy them; everyone’s happy! As the old saying goes, if you look hard enough, you can find the good in anything!

Told you it could be dangerous when I start thinking!

Okay, just to clear things up. I don’t actually think the murders and suicides had anything to do with me. Nothing whatsoever. Most of the people didn’t even know me. They didn’t do it because of me, or for me. My presence had no bearing on anyone else’s fate. Of that, I’m sure.

Pretty sure.

But just in case, it may be wise not to move in beside me!

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books. Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, and Miscarriage Of Justice, and other titles, are available as ebooks on Apple I-Pad®, Amazon Kindle®, Barnes & Noble Nook® and Sony Reader®, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords. His books are also available in paperback at most online retailers or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. The popular Wynn Garrett Series Books are now available on Barnes And Noble® at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/?series_id=867526 See Bruce’s Smashwords Profile at www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BruceABorders?ref=BruceABorders #BruceABorders

Monday, December 9, 2013

House Of Murder

I’m not superstitious in the least. Things that might bother a lot of people don’t affect me. My wife is much the same. Which is why, we didn’t think twice about trying to purchase a house where multiple murders had taken place.

In short, here’s what happened there. (At least, as I heard it). The house was the home of an elderly couple. Late one night, three young males from out of state broke into the place. The three were on the run due to several criminal incidents in a nearby town and needed a place to hide. The home of the elderly couple apparently looked like a good choice. Evidently, they didn’t want anyone informing law enforcement of their whereabouts because they killed each of the occupants in the house, the couple, and a younger relative.

This happened several years before my wife and I arrived in the small town - a small town where everybody knew the story so there was no hiding it. Somehow, anyone who looked at the property was made aware of its history. As you can imagine, the bank was having great difficulty selling the house with such a stigma attached. For years, the house had remained empty. But we had no qualms over it. Obviously, we weren’t the ones killed so it didn’t really matter to us. What mattered to us was the price. And the price was more than right - less than half of its fair market value!

Unfortunately, we didn’t end up purchasing the property, but not because of the murders. The house would have needed some major remodeling, a couple of additions. This would have left us with almost no yard at all - and brought the cost up. So, we opted for another home a couple of blocks down the street.

Good thing too, I suppose. Recently, when one of our daughters found out about all of this, she was appalled, horrified at the thought that we would have even considered such a thing. The idea that she could’ve been living there; that she could have grown up there, was revolting to her.

I think, had she been raised in that house, and then found out the history, she might have seriously considered killing her parents!

Monday, December 2, 2013

Still Thankful

I know Thanksgiving is past but as I write this it is still the holiday weekend so, I guess I’m still feeling thankful. Thankful for a lot of things that never really get mentioned because they are overlooked or just taken for granted. I would name them all but unfortunately, I can’t. I know because I once tried to name everything I was thankful for and discovered the seemingly simple task was impossible.

So, I’ll just highlight a few things that are on my mind due to the holiday.

I’m thankful for the food, a wife who can, and will, cook. Thankful for the family who showed up to help us eat the food too. My parents, my brother and his family, an aunt, all of my kids and the four grandchildren, as well as several friends were here. Yeah, we had a full house!

I’m thankful for a job that allows me the opportunity to work and make a living - so we can afford to have a holiday! I’m thankful for getting the day off from work too, so I could spend the time with the previous mentioned list of people.

I’m thankful for a warm house, ‘cause it’s cold outside. And speaking of cold, I’m thankful the weather didn’t interrupt our plans.

I’m thankful for simple little things such as a camera - to take pictures that make memories easier to recall.

And I’m thankful to live in a country where we can have a Thanksgiving holiday - and actually have things to be thankful for.

These may seem like insignificant things but to me they’re definitely not. I don’t want to be one of those people who do not appreciate what they have until it’s gone. And someday, all the things I mentioned may very well be gone. There are no guarantees in life. So, I just wanted to say I’m thankful for them - at Thanksgiving and all year long.