This week the variety of wildlife visiting us increased. For the first time, we saw two hairy woodpeckers (I think), an Eastern bluebird, and twenty-one wild turkeys. While the turkeys have visited before, we haven’t had this number. While we’ve heard the woodpeckers before, this was the first time they were close enough to the house to see them. We continue to have regular visits from eight deer, along with squirrels, crows, pigeons, sparrows, cardinals, and blue jays. It’s always interesting to check out our visitors.
I continue to follow the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans’ basketball teams. Both team played twice during the past week. Michigan one their first game in overtime, but lost the second one. They are now 14-5, and currently listed as 21st in the Top Twenty-Five, but with the loss will likely lose their position. Michigan State won both of their games, improving their record to 17-2. They are now ranked eighth in the Top Twenty-Five.
With the Detroit Lions faltering at the end of the season, I’ve started following the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons had an abysmal record last year (2023-24), finishing 14-68. They are already 23-22 this year.
“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” – Mario Andretti. Compliments of https://www.aspiringwriteracademy.com/45-motivational-quotes-for-aspiring-writers.
So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on January 26th, the fourth Sunday of 2025 and the last one for January. (Compliments of https://www.onthisday.com/birthdays/).
Florent Chrestien, French writer; Claude Adrien Helvétius, French controversial philosopher (On the Mind); Achim von Arnim [Ludwig Joachim von Arnim], German Romantic poet and writer (Des Knaben Wunderhorn); Rufus King, American newspaper editor, politician and Brigadier General (Union Army); Mary Mapes Dodge, American children’s author (St. Nicholas Magazine), editor and writer (Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates); Samuel Hopkins Adams [Warner Fabian], American journalist and muckraker (Average Jones); Edward Sapir, American linguist and anthropologist (North American Indian languages); Charles Scribner III, American book publisher; lya Ehrenburg, Russian Soviet war correspondent, writer (The Fall of Paris; The Thaw; People, Years, Life), editor, and poet; Menno ter Braak, Dutch writer (Carnaval of the Citizens); Romney Brent, Mexican-American actor and writer (Dinner at the Ritz); Kaye Webb, English writer and publisher (Puffin Club); Philip José Farmer, American sci-fi writer (Riverworld); John Logan Gorlay, British journalist and editor; Michael Bentine, English author and comedian (Reluctant Jester, The Goons); Claude Ryan, Quebec newspaper editor; Farman Fatehpuri [Syed Dildar Ali], Urdu scholar, linguist, critic and author; José María Valverde, Spanish philosopher, poet and translator (La espera, Historia de la literatura universal); Roger Landry, Canadian businessman and newspaper publisher (La Presse); Angela Davis, African American activist, author and professor; Christopher Hampton, Portuguese playwright (Oviri, Hotel du Lac); Jonathan Carroll, American author; and Shannon Hale, American author.
Any names familiar to you? There weren’t any for me this week. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one!
My Work In Progress
Work continues on Vendetta, the sixth novel in my Bedlam series. I posted chapter ten this week to the two subscription writing sites I use. There were another thirteen reviews this week, bringing the total to 141. As always, plenty of suggestions to improve my writing.
As previously mentioned the cover is a filler, as the final cover won’t be done until the entire first draft is completed. Here’s another snippet:
Andres López, the local leader of the Gaitanistas in Necoclí, paced the veranda of Hacienda Los Urabeños. It was named in honor of a former name for the Gaitanistas. As one of the nephews of the group’s leaders, he held his role with passion and power—both dangerous in his quest to one day become the primary boss.
He flicked the butt of his Cuban cigar over the railing as he continued to pace, running his hands through his long, black hair. He turned as he sensed someone opening a door from inside the hacienda.
One of Andres’ servants held the door open. “Excuse me, Jefe. Breakfast is ready por favor.”
Andres nodded and entered, walking along the inner hallway to the dining room. As he approached, the aroma of the buffet breakfast set his stomach rumbling.
Two of his underlings stood as he took his seat at the head of the table.
Andres motioned for them to sit. “Buenos días, Carlos and Diego.”
The men returned the salutation. “Good morning, Jefe.”
Andres gestured to an empty seat. “Where is Felipe? I thought he would be joining us.”
“Sí, Jefe.” Carlos Ramírez frowned. “We received a message he hadn’t returned from El Tapon del Darien yet. It seems there is a problem near the plant.”
“What sort of problem?”
“It is unclear, Jefe.” Diego Sánchez shrugged. “One of the Embera-Wounaan assisting us reported an issue, but we have not learned the details.”
Andres sighed as he rubbed the jagged scar on his left cheek, the result of a mishap in his youth. “If the Darien weren’t such an excellent place to hide some of our drug-smuggling operations, I would propose we vacate the area. However, we are making a fortune from this business and by charging an entry and transiting tax on the migrants who want to cross into Panama.”
A servant filled a plate from the buffet with beans, rice, and eggs and set it in front of Andres.
A second servant brought Andres a glass of mango juice and a cup of Café San Alberto.
As he drank from the glass, this signaled to the others they could help themselves at the buffet. They stood and filled their plates before rejoining Andres.
Only the sound of the men eating and drinking filled the room as conversation ceased.
Once he finished his breakfast, Andres pushed away his plate and reached for the coffee. After sipping to check the temperature, he smiled and leaned back in his chair, holding the cup.
Even though they hadn’t finished eating, Carlos and Diego followed standard protocol when in Andres’s presence and stopped eating.
The two servants, who had remained in the background, refilled coffee cups and glasses They cleared away the dirty dishes and left the dining room.
Andres cleared his throat. “We must decide soon on where we will push forward with my plan to increase our drug supply distribution center toward the eastern edge of the Darien Gap. I still think La Palma would be the logical choice, given it has a decent-sized population, so we would be able to hire additional men if needed.”
“Sí, Jefe.” Carlos glanced at Diego as if seeking reassurance. “There is an airport outside the town. If memory serves me, it’s called Miraflores Airport. Your advice is always well-intended. However, I propose Yaviza as the better location. Your father established our initial center outside the city to take advantage of access to the Chucunaque River when the population was larger than La Palma. Today, the towns are about the same size. Beyond Yavizi to the east, the roads are paved, making it easier to transport our product into Panama City. La Palma does not have such access. There is also an airstrip near Yaviza.”
“Hmm.” Andres closed his eyes as he stared at the ceiling. Carlos is right—I forgot about El Padre’s venture into the Darien which the rest of the Gaitanistas admired. If he hadn’t sent me to the los Estados Unidos to attend university, I would have remembered. But I can’t let Carlos think he’s in control.
When he opened his eyes, Andres studied his manicured hands before staring at Carlos. “Gracias for the reminder. I had forgotten El Padre’s efforts when the Gaitanistas began taking advantage of the Darien. So, if there are no objections, we will proceed with expanding our distribution center in Yaviza, but I also want to further explore putting a second facility in La Palma.”
Carlos and Diego glanced at each other. They both nodded.
“S-Sí, Jefe.” Diego grinned. “We both a-agree with your p-plan. W-Who will you put in c-charge of the new f-facilities?”
More next time.
This brings us to an end for another week. I hope you found something of interest. 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.
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