Don't Shoot Your Mule

     As a writer, I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to see this photo posted on Facebook today. A charming, erudite gentleman reading my very own Delaney's People.

     Wow. And the charming erudite gentleman is from Vermont, to boot.

     

     Ayuh.

     I began creating stories in 2008 and shared them with my daughter, mom and a few friends. I never dreamed they'd be enjoyed on a cruise ship vacation.

     These days I am consumed with sequel-writing. The new book will be called Don't Shoot Your Mule. According to one of my idols, Alabama's own Rick Bragg, authentic Southern writers must kill mules. It is my good fortune to have an ancestor with a rather colorful mule murder, and I have found a way to incorporate the tale.

     Delaney will still figure prominently as a twelve-year-old. She and her family experienced Alabama's historic tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011. Chronicling the destruction and recovery is part of the process, and my friend Margaret Higgins Pendley supplied an informative book to add to my own experience.

     It is an honor to write about my home state's noble people and their warm hearts.

     Thank you to those who have purchased and read my work. I hope Don't Shoot Your Mule takes you to places you've never been and leaves you wanting more.

Love from Delta.

You are a child of the universe.

 Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

© Max Ehrmann 1927 

Take a moment to listen to the Hayden Planetarium's Neil DeGrasse Tyson. In this fascinating video he reveals his idea of the most astounding fact about our universe. I was inspired to dust off my old favorite Desiderata and remind you, my friends, that no doubt it is unfolding as it should.

Happy Sunday with love from Delta.

Les Musts de Cartier . . .

My mother, a long-time Cartier fan, told me about this amazing commercial today. Watch!

Beautifully done.

Click to read AdWeek's comments.








Love from Delta.