We’ve made it to the end of another month–hard to believe how fast February has zoomed past. The weather’s improving a bit, too. Over the past week, there’s been enough sunshine and wind to dry out some of the damp areas so I could finally clean up the remainder of last autumn’s leaves. I even managed to turn over some of the flower beds and snag the weeds I missed before. Why do weeds always grow so well?
There’s still plenty to do outdoor, but I’m not rushing–a couple hours each day is enough. That allows for the sunshine and wind to start drying out everything I’ve dug over or the areas I’ve finally cleared. The hydrangas are already starting to bud and it won’t be long before we begin seeing other signs of springs. Roll on!
“The value of a smile is priceless, yet it is the cheapest, easiest, most rewarding, and most sincere gift to anyone that crosses your path. A smile makes a person’s day, anybody’s day even a stranger’s day. A smile is infectious. Start infecting people with your smile today.”
(Compliments of http://www.wisdomquotesandstories.com/)
So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on February 28th. (Compliments of http://www.onthisday.com/today/birthdays)
Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and essayist (Essais); Ernest Renan, French philosopher/historian/scholar of religion; Quincy Adams Gillmore, American civil engineer, author, and Major General (Union Army); Hermann Schell, German theologist/philosopher (Gott und Geist); Arthur Symons, Welsh poet/critic/co-founder (Savoy); Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian philosopher, playwright and poet; Jose Vasconcelos, politician, essayist, philosopher; Jose Gutierrez Solana, Spanish painter and author (Madrid Escenas); Ben Hecht, American novelist/playwright/screenwriter (Front Page); Laura Z. Hobson, American writer (Gentleman’s Agreement); Rudolf W. Nilsen, Norwegian poet (Hverdagen); Glyn Jones, Welsh, novelist, poet and literary historian; Stephen Spender, English poet and critic (Vienna, Edge of Darkness); Amir Hamzah, Indonesian poet (Njanji Sunji); Bernard Frank, French writer and oriental scholar; John Montague, Irish poet and 1st occupant of the Ireland Chair of Poetry; Bruce Dawe, Australian poet; Jack Thieuloy, French writer; Peter Alliss, English golfer (Ryder Cup 1957 GB winners) and author, course designer and television presenter, commentator (BBC, ESPN, ABC Sports); Alice May Brock, American author; and Tristan Louis, American writer.
Anyone familiar to you? I didn’t see and I new this week. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one and many more to follow!
My Work in Progress
I finished chapter twenty-three of Revenge, the sequel to Colombian 
Betrayal. Over the past week, there were another nine new chapter reviews, bringing the total number of chapter reviews to 360. As always, plenty of useful suggestions to improve my writing. I hope to get back to working on this novel this coming week.
Here’s another snippet for you:
Javier disconnected the call after the sixth ring. Where is she? I thought she would sit in on the interviews. Hope everything’s okay. Perhaps work got in the way.
Before he returned to his seat, something blocked the light. Javier glanced over his shoulder.
A giant of a man approached, a hand outstretched. “You must be Javier. I’m TJ Parker.”
Javier’s hand seemed to disappear in the handshake. He looked up into the man’s face. “What are you, seven feet tall?”
An intense stare emanated from TJ’s dark eyes. He spoke in a soft voice. “Not quite. Six foot nine.”
“Take a seat.” Javier gestured toward a chair, and he returned to his. “What was your military occupational specialty?”
“Ninety-seven echo.”
Javier tapped his chin. Fits—his mere presence would intimidate anyone. “Interrogator, right?”
TJ nodded.
“Ever fire a gun at someone?”
TJ tilted his head and focused his gaze on Javier. “A stupid question. If you read my application, you know I served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Self-protection was paramount.”
“Just wanted to hear your response.” Javier grinned. “I’m planning to use two teams of investigators. One will be handling overseas assignments, and it’s possible there might be some shooting.”
“Sounds like where I belong.” TJ grinned. “What’s the pay?”
“There’ll be a one-year probationary period. During that time, you’ll earn seventy-five thousand, plus overtime, expenses, and bonuses.”
“Don’t seem like much.”
Javier gestured at ET.
“The average salary for a private investigator in Alexandria is sixty-two thousand, plus you would be responsible for your own overhead costs.” ET glanced up from the screen. “The agency will provide medical insurance, which will also cover any requirements overseas, Metro or parking reimbursement, and a 401K package.”
TJ flexed his biceps. “What about paying for a gym membership?”
Javier shook his head. “No. But what you want will be located in the basement of our building.”
“Count me in.” TJ half-rose and offered a hand to Javier.
He stuck his hand into the vice and tried not to wince as TJ crushed it. Javier stood. “Welcome aboard. We’ll be in touch in a few days with the contract.”
TJ waved a hand and departed.
As soon as he was gone, Javier flexed the fingers in his hand. “Hope the last guy doesn’t have a grip like his. We better make sure our gym is fully equipped.”
ET nodded and pointed toward the far end of the table. “Your visitor.”
Javier turned and spotted a tall, well-toned woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. “Can I help you?”
The woman stepped forward. “I made an appointment—Samantha Bennett. Call me Sam.”
More next time.
Books I’m Reading
I’m not quite finished with Act of War (Scot Harvath Book 13) by Brad Thor, so I’ll post my comments next time. What have you been reading? Anything you think I might enjoy?
That’s all for this week. I hope you found something of interest or at least useful for your own writing. If you have any suggestions for a topic you’d like to read about, please let me know. Until the next time, thank you for reading and hope you drop in again.
© Copyright 2021 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved
