CE Wills

Hey, everyone. I've been busy with a new novelette. The title is The Amulet Covenant. It's my first excursion into the science fiction genre. I wrote the majority of it months ago but I just finished it in October. It's a light read, not intended for a Nobel Prize. It is entertaining and will give you a few hours of escape reading.     The hero, Ryan Latch is manipulated into going to an alien planet by an attractive woman. Once there, he discovers that he is needed to save a sterile and dying race. When he meets The Vampire Queen of the Vanis all other plans and interests vanish. It's fast-paced and funny. I hope you like it. Here's a link to the book page on Smashwords. It will be about two weeks before it appears on I-Books, Sony, Kobo, Barnes and Noble,etc. http://smashwords.com/b/31593 From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills PS. This book contains adult content.

    It was an odd evening here at the green retreat. Ever wonder what life might be like as you get old? Try this on for size. After working outside all day and doing the post about the wrens, we settled in for the evening. My wife cooked some home-made donuts. Then we ate the donuts with some Cheetos. We drank a bottle of champagne with them. Experimenting with different foods and how they taste with champagne is a late-night snack option that we enjoy.     While we snacked, we watched an Elvis documentary. I always enjoy Elvis shows and this was no exception. Do you remember what you were doing when you heard about his death? He died not many days before my Father. I was about to be discharged from the military. It really was a huge story. As great a generation as the World War Two generation was, I think that they had become a little too tightly wrapped. That's probably why my generation, the baby boomers, tended to resent authority and long for freedom. I think that people lik

    Hey, everyone. It's been a cool day in the mountains with a high of 42 degrees. I dumped a truckload of firewood in the front yard. It was in chunks and the plan was to use a wheel barrow to get it around back and stack it neatly at the edge of the woods. Well, I didn't get finished, which is fine. Shortly before dark I was walking by the window and saw two Carolina wrens jumping around on the pile of wood.     The wrens are awfully cute. They like to hop along the ground. They are small birds, brown and white, with a little bit of yellow color. They like to live under porches or decks, in an old tire sometimes. They are so chubby that they are almost perfectly round, like a ball with legs.     So these two wrens, a couple I suppose, were hopping in and out of the caverns created by the wood being piled up, one chunk tossed upon another. So I told my wife that they were searching for a condo. She began to watch them and quickly decided that they were hopping around on the

    Hey, everyone. In any generation, the number of truly outstanding entertainers can be counted on the fingers of one hand. For instance, how many people can boast of ten or twelve really great songs? You know, top forty or top ten songs. For this reason and more, I think Johnny Rivers has never gotten his due. If you don't know his music head over to I-Tunes and grab some. I believe the dude was from California but he sounded like he was from the deep south. (Sounds like Credence Clearwater Revival in that regard)      A few years ago, my wife and I drove to Cherokee, North Carolina and saw Johnny in concert. He was appearing at a Casino there, Harrah's, I believe. His warm-up band was an Elvis imitator who specialized in the young Elvis, pre-sequined suits. I don't remember the guy's name, which probably speaks well of his impersonation. At any rate, he was quite good. I think his name was Travis something.     When Johnny Rivers came on I was having a huge time.

    I took some time off from my labors today and watched some football. I thought I'd share a few thoughts. First of all, I hate to see Brett Farve's life going down the tubes like this. That's probably putting it strongly. His life, compared to most people's, is probably going pretty good. I wish he had retired before this year started. Even though I don't like the Packers, I've always liked Brett. The deal with the alleged texts to the lady reporter is distressing to him and his family, I'm sure. To get embarassed by Green Bay today had to be a bitter pill to swallow. I hope he goes ahead and retires tommorow. It looks as though he may be suspended anyway. In my opinion he is one of the top ten quarterbacks in NFL history.      Tough day for Vince Young. By all accounts a bad thumb injury on his throwing hand, a tiff with his coach, threw his shoulder pads into the stands etc. What most of us don't understand is that fame is like a magnifying glass.

    Hey everybody. The title sounds like an 80's rock band, right? I saw an odd sight last night. I had gotten a bit of cabin fever(for those overseas viewers, that means I'd been indoors too long). It was midnight and I walked outside to stroll around a bit. Then I saw something large running across the yard, which startled me. It was a coyote chasing birds around, hoping for a midnight snack, I suppose. Let me digress for just a moment to tell you about these birds. We have these funny birds that hang around in the south. They are called kiwis by the locals. They like to run along the ground in these bursts of speed. They are gray with white bars under their wings. When they have chicks they will try to lead you away from their nest by cheeping and running away from the nest, very cute. Sometimes when I'm mowing they just freak out and they're running all over.      One night, late, I was watching out the front door and I saw something really cool about these birds.

    Hey, everyone. Animals certainly do some interesting things. The other day I was at work. I looked outside to check the weather and saw something white weaving an erratic path across the parking lot. I blinked, trying to make out what it was. The object went over in the grass, next to the fence, and stopped.     I went over toward the white object and saw it was a tin can. When I got a little closer I heard the most pitiful whimpering coming from the can. Then I saw that a little puppy had gotten his head stuck in a dog food can. No telling how far the little guy had wandered in the darkness caused by the can. Now he had manifestly given up and was lying in the grass, a miserable little dude, without hope.     His body, other than his head, which I could not see at all, was so small I could have lain it in my hand and it would have reached from the tip of my fingers to my wrist. He was stocky and healthy-looking. He was a mottled, dark brown color.     In his haste to get the la

    Hey, everyone. It's a rainy day here in the southeast, thank goodness. We desperately need the water. I have a lot going on right now and I've had to concentrate on activities besides the old blog.     So, the Beatles are finally on I-Tunes. Excellent. I had a bunch of their songs that I had bought as CD'S and transferred over to my I-Pod. It would be a snap to pick out 50 good songs by these guys. The other night I watched a DVD of Help! It was a really bad movie but I loved seeing the Fab Four when they were young again. Very pleasant memories and yes, just a bit melancholy. It was great seeing John Lennon young and healthy, cutting up and having fun. Seeing a young George Harrison made me think of a story I heard. Paul took George into his home and nursed him during George's terminal illness. I think Paul is a good dude.     I noticed that Tom Clancy has a new book coming out shortly. Early in his career he was my favorite author. Then he started letting other

    Many years ago, I was in New Jersey. I was due to report for a contract engineering job the next morning and was spending the night at a cheap motel.     At two o'clock in the morning someone started pounding on my door, waking me from a sound sleep. A cautious man, I answered the door with my pistol against my right leg. There were two drunk ladies standing there.     They looked at me and noticed the gun, I'm sure.They both were smiling and in a good mood. One of them spoke up.     "Hi. Is John here?"     "No one here by that name."     She waved a hand toward a bar which lay just across the parking lot behind her.     "We met a guy at the bar who invited us to his room; Room 22." She pointed to the number on the door. "See, Room 22?"     Her logic was unassailable, I'm sure, to her. To me, it merely meant a delay in getting back to sleep.      Her friend said, "Hey, honey, maybe you want to party?"     "

    A few years ago I was in the Nashville area, traveling on Interstate 40. It was a trip that I didn't want to make, to get some training. I stopped at a rest area and I parked next to a new Mercedes and started toward the rest rooms. It's really a nice rest area, as much as a rest area can be nice. There's big shade trees, a nice lawn and all that.     Then I see this guy under a big tree. He's got a stick and he's reaching up with it, trying to bend a limb down to the point where he can reach it. Without thinking, I walk over, jump up and grab it for him. He grabs the limb and breaks off a twig with a couple of leaves on it. He says thanks and I say you're welcome.     I'm looking at the dude. He's in his fifties, superbly fit and a good-looking guy. His hair is longish and sandy blond/brown. He shows no expression when he talks. He's inscrutable, yet he seems like such a good guy, just reserved. Then I think, "Man, this is Bjorn Borg.&quo

    Hey. everyone. I was walking in the woods today and saw more signs that a bear is hanging about. I found another nice track at the base of a different sourwood tree and saw where the big guy was digging for grubs around a fallen tree. All this reminded me of a somewhat gross but interesting fact about bears.     Around this time of year when they feel the call of nature to hibernate, they seek out a lot of weird things to eat. I'm talking about leaves, pine needles, bark. Their goal is to plug up the digestive track with this stuff so they don't have any excrement during hibernation. I'm sure they don't sit around and think this up but rather it is an instinctive thing.    At any rate, in the spring, when they awaken, they discharge this plug. It is sometimes two foot long or more, quite massive and decidedly gross. Several times in the spring, here at the green retreat, I have come across these plugs. Trust me, it will freak you out. It's like, oh my gosh, wh

    We do things in this life that we don't anticipate doing. One summer night in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, I was at a concert. We had been to an outdoor concert at Dick Clark's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We walked through the museum, which was cool. Then we sat in the amphitheater and watched the Beach Boys, which was good. I had seen them at the Kansas State Fair once before this. It was a great place to go, with families eating dinner on a quilt spread on the ground and all that. But I digress.     The night in Pigeon Forge, when we returned to our hotel there was an odd thing going on. This Elvis impersonator was in the parking lot at the side of the swimming pool. He had a sequined suit with high collar similar to the king's Hawaii concert. He had a tape machine for his music tracks and was singing all those great tunes. He interacted with the audience, flirted with the women and had a lot of fun. My wife and I were about 40 feet away at the door of our room so I popp

    Hey, everyone. I have to tell you about a really cool little game for I-Pad, I-Phone, I-Etc. The name is Doodle Hangman by Ensenasoft. Much like the traditional thing from your school days but you have this cute little animated guy who gets really stressed when you keep making mistakes. As his body parts appear he at first is nonchalant, like he has complete confidence in your ability. (foolish) Then he starts to sweat. Tears flow and eventually he calls you a loser before the trap door opens. There's a free version which is great. I just bought the paid version for 99 cents. I'd have felt bad if I hadn't. People who put out a cool product should be rewarded.     May I make a suggestion for those of you who are hoping for an I-Pad for Christmas? It's better to go ahead and spring for the 32 gig. The 16 gig is enough for a lot of people and that's what I have. Lately, though, I've been trying so many games that I'm nearing the limits for storage. I'

    Hey everyone. Today we went to see a movie entitled Due Date with Robert Downy Jr. I enjoyed it very much. The plot goes like this. Downy's character is on a business trip. He is eager to get home in time to see his first child be born. Because of a really strange guy, he gets booted off his flight and is left stranded in Atlanta. Then his only recourse is to accept a ride from the same weird guy, all the way to LA. The movie is hilarious. I can't recommend that you take kids to it because the movie is adults only for sure. I would rate this show as at least three stars out of four.     Several times last night I heard some noises outside. I was not too surprised to see tracks on my deck in the sleet and snow. (a very modest amount of sleet and snow) The tracks were round like a dog's but showed no claws, so it wasn't a dog, wolf or coyote. It was most likely a bobcat. The tracks were good-sized, about two inches in diameter. The previous day my wife had pointed ou

    Hey, everyone. We decided to get outside today and get away from our devices. Do you find computers habit-forming? It seems easy to get in the habit of surfing the web, playing games on the I-Pad and staying indoors a bit much. So we went out to do some work. I split some big chunks of oak for the fire place. Then we cleaned out the outside burn pit. It was pretty much a mess but we burned the stuff that was in there and cut up some tree limbs that had fell. It was nice to get the fresh air, even though the weather was a drag. The temperature hovered around 42 degrees. There were periods when it sprinkled rain and sleet. Later in the day there were a few minutes when it sleeted like crazy and it began to lay on things that were up off the ground. The ground was just too warm for it to lay and even the porches didn't stay white long.     Finally, wet and weary and with hands very cold we went in for the day. My wife cooked a pot of potato soup while I built a fire in the firepl

    Hey, everyone. We went for a walk in the woods today. As we walked along we heard a crash and saw a rotten tree falling to the ground. Later, when we returned from the creek we walked up that way to see it. We found fresh bear tracks in the vicinity. They had to have been made this morning because they showed no effects from the early morning rain we had. The sides of the track had not started to crumble at all. A bear track is rather easy to recognize because they are shaped quite a bit like a human, just a bit wider.     A few years ago I saw a bear here at the green retreat. It was winter and I spotted him from a little distance. He was at the creek and I was above him on a hill. He was black and not so very big. A teenager perhaps, but he didn't have a cell phone. When he scented or heard me he ran off to the north in that peculiar, rolling gait that bears use. They are certainly not graceful looking when they run. It was a real treat to see one, however. Since then I'

    I grew up in the South; was born there. One summer when I was 13, a friend and I taught ourselves to swim. He was 17 and lived down the street from me. It was a crummy neighborhood in a crummy town but there was one redeeming feature. The lake was about three miles away. We'd walk or ride bikes out to the lake and have a good time.     One day we got a little cocky and decided to swim across this cove where we'd been swimming. Half-way across I got very winded and tired. I panicked and was in the process of drowning. My friend had the presence of mind to realize that the water was only about ten feet deep. He went down and stood on the bottom and held his breath so he could hold me above the water for a minute until I got myself together. He saved my life that day.     Years later, I was married with two small children of my own. We went swimming with another couple and their kids at a small river in south Georgia. The water was only about knee-deep on a man, but was very