LET''S TALK NUMBERS

 National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

467,000 children missing per year.

86% Are Runaways
10 % Are family abductions
2% Are lost/ injured or otherwise missing.
1% non Family abduction
1% critical missing young adults

 Most cases solved within 2 hours.

VIOLENT CRIME IS DOWN -33%

rape down 43%

There is only 1 child abduction in every 10,000 missing children reports.

THE WORLD IS NOT FALLING APART!

The Sheriff, The Farmer's Market and Metaphysics

I live a diverse life. This week I rode with the Sheriff on Friday night to pick his brain for a book I am writing. On Saturday I read my book to children at an outdoor farmer's market and in the afternoon I went to a picnic put on by the School of Metaphysics and toured their new school in Springfield.

To further complicate matters, I am unable to tell you which I liked best.  I learned all kinds of ways to kill people when I rode with the Sheriff and talked to two murderers, more on that in another blog.

I met a young seven year old boy on Saturday, named Patrick, whose vocabulary was better than most of the people I talk to all week.  Later at the same reading, I met two brothers aged nine and eleven who could intelligently discuss their favorite authors and books and genre. They were so knowledgeable I found myself writing down their recommendations and telling them about Sharon Keeling Davis' book which they are now eagerly awaiting.

When I left the farmer's market I motored over to Phelps Grove Park and sat in on a talk about metaphysics. The subject has always fascinated me..  I am currently reading a three book Summer of Enlightenment Series. Do I seem enlightened?

Don't you dare answer that.

I was going to use all of these events to explain why I haven't been updating my blog, then I realized this was a reason TO update.

The Adventures of Diggitty Dog

The Adventures of Diggitty Dog

I am a firm believer that if you get an idea that will not go away, it is destiny.  You are doing yourself a big disservice if you do not act on it.
 For the past several months, I have had an idea about a series of children's books that teach children something in a fun way.  My dog Diggitty is going to be my hero. Diggitty, who is pictured above, lives on a big farm and takes kids on adventures while teaching them how things grow and live on a farm.
This idea has been in my head so long, I was able to write the first book in less than two hours.  Today I finished book two.
It isn't that the books were so easy to write but that they rattled around until they were complete and only needed to be written down.
The turning point from thinking to writing came the other night when I sat and watched Beth Carter, Allison Merritt and Tierney James give their book reviews at the Friends of the Library in Marshfield last Tuesday night.
I was proud of them.  They did a great job.  That night I asked myself what I was waiting for and the answer came back.  Nothing.
So, be sure to check back and follow the Adventures of Diggitty Dog.  She is a hoot and you might just learn something about gardening, animals, and the antics of an eight pound protagonist.