A few years ago, my daughter and I went on a tour of Arlington National Cemetery. It was truly an inspirational tour. Years later, I still (literally) get goose bumps thinking of the many, many cemetery headstones, all belonging to men and women who have served in our country’s armed forces. It is truly a humbling experience.

About a month ago, I was able to watch a documentary called Arlington: Call to Honor (on the Smithsonian channel) about Arlington National Cemetery. It is a really good one-hour show. (The show will be played tonight at 9:00 and midnight – Eastern.) It features the young men who take care of Arlington’s burial ceremonies, and shows just how special these special armed forces men are… from taking care of the horses, to shining the bridles, to having to mask their feelings of sorrow as they inter yet another person at the cemetery.

I know we should always strive to remember all of those who have given so much of themselves to keep us all safe. But, I also know that life is hectic and hurried. And because of this, I am glad that we have Memorial Day each year – so that we can think about those who have given so much for all of us!

As I was driving cross country a while back, I saw some things that I thought were interesting:

1) I drove on a patch of highway that had to have had one dead skunk on the side of the road every ten miles. (Is there a place that boasts of being the Skunk Capital of the World?)

2) I saw windmills, windmills, and more windmills. Wouldn’t it be great if wind and sun could be our main sources of energy?

3) Which takes me to the next item on my list. I saw a lot of oil drills. Those things always remind me of that Rock Hudson, James Dean, and Elizabeth Taylor movie Giant. (I’m not even sure if there were oil drills in that movie…)

4) Oh my goodness! How neat is it to drive through a little Dairy Queen-type of town and see those beautiful, old courthouses?!?

5)Yikes! There’s a place called “Cannibal Draw”. I don’t even want to know how that place got its name!!!

6) You are not going to believe this: I pass by a functioning Drive-In Theater on my regular route. Oh my goodness! That takes me way back to days when we (even our Cocker Spaniel!) would go to a drive-in movie and feel all snug in the comfort of our car- watching the movie as fireflies fluttered around, anticipating the cold, sweet watermelon that awaited us in my grandmother’s kitchen.

Sometimes it seems that a long, boring drive through the flat, barely inhabited plains can be a lot more picturesque than one would expect…

Our daughter came home for a week before heading out to Washington, DC for her summer internship. She will be living in the same housing place as she did during her last summer’s internship. I have come to terms with her living so far away, although I wish she were closer. Between Cambridge for the school term and DC for the summers >>> I guess I should resign myself to the fact that she is now an east-coast adult.

My husband and I planned to visit her during her internship, as we did last summer, but the three of us have decided that since she won’t be there as long as she was last summer, we will probably wait until the fall and visit her in Massachusetts instead. I have to admit that visiting her in DC last summer sure calmed the “mother in me.” Seeing all the police officers patrolling the area set my mind at ease. It seemed like there were police officers on every corner – not at all like what it was like when we lived the area – way back in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Whenever my husband and I are away, our son takes on the responsibility of taking care of Sprite. And, at 16 1/2 years old, she is one finicky puppy. She has definite likes and dislikes, and she lets you know about them! I am almost embarrassed at what Sprite now has us doing just to get her to take her pills each morning and night.

Anyway, it’s not officially summer yet (June 21), but we’ve already had our yearly summer visit from our daughter. It does seem those visits are getting shorter and shorter…

 

Getting back to the pseudonym question that I have been pondering for a while…

For some reason, this story has stayed with me – hidden in the deep recesses of my memory – as one of my “tid-bit interesting” stories relating to famous authors.

Stephen King was an English teacher before his books “took off.” Actually he worked many jobs, one of which was janitor at a school. Given his enormous writing talent, it was only a matter of time (and perseverance!) before his books became best sellers.

Once King’s books hit the best seller lists, he conducted an experiment. In the 1980s, he published several novels under the pseudonym “Richard Bachman.” He denied all rumors that Bachman’s writings were his. There was a phony author picture, and a phony author’s biography attached to the books. His Bachman books’ dedications were to Bachman’s significant loved ones, including Bachman’s loving wife. King deliberately distanced himself from the Bachman pseudonym. Apparently, King wanted to see if his “Stephen King” notoriety affected his book sales.

While Stephen King’s novels were all hitting the best sellers’ lists, his Richard Bachman novels did modestly well. One of his Richard Bachman novels sold 28,000 copies. When it was finally discovered that the Richard Bachman novels were actually Stephen King’s, that particular novel increased its sales by 10%! Stephen King had made an important discovery.

Name Brand, Name Recognition, Name Loyalty, Name Demand… call it what you will… There’s apparently a lot to be said about name recognition.

Pseudonyms may be nice, but it’s up to the loyal fans to track you down!