Happy Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving tomorrow and I have more to be thankful for than most.  I am married to "the Amazing Charlo" and have lots of kids around to spend time with and love, the newest is my granddaughter Kiparoo, who is only 7 months old, so she's new on my list of things I'm thankful for.  Am very happy and thankful for having a great team to work with every day at the Cancer Center, and am so very happy that we are doing good work and helping folks.

The Uncommon Thread is out and on sale, and The Hard Times is written and awaiting release in April or May.  I'm excited about our new adventure, China Grove, the literary magazine Luke Lampton and I are starting, this summer.  We are working on the first issue, had a great visit with he and his family in Magnolia and shot some photos of China Grove while we were down south.  Our premier issue is going to feature a new short story by Ellen Gilchrist from her upcoming collection due out in 2014.  We also have some previously unpublished communications from Eudora Welty on the occasion of the publication of her first book, so that's cool.  We have art by Scott Schisler of Virginia, Lesley Wilson, and Cindy McDaniel from here in Mississippi along with whatever dribs and drabs I can come up with as filler from the photo shoot in China Grove.  For those of you who aren't aware of China Grove, it was the setting for the Eudora Welty story "Why I Live at the P.O." and since Ms. Welty gives us our name it is fitting that we feature something by her in our premier issue.  Want to be a part of our new adventure?  We will be accepting submissions for poems, short stories, essays, and art.  We will be using Submittable, keep a eye on this spot and I'll put the details out as soon as they are available, or check in at Chinagrovepress.com.

Once again Happy Thanksgiving!    Scott

Obama Re-Elected or Romney De-Selected?

Everybody take a deep breath and calm down. Obama was and is our president, nothing has changed, America isn't sliding straight down into hell tomorrow, that should take eighteen months at least, just kidding. What will happen is nothing. We have a divided government and a president who did not win the popular vote. There will be two more years of gridlock and then a new mid-term election.

As we look to the future perhaps Republicans should consider who they run for office more carefully, perhaps both sides should take a big step towards the middle, perhaps politicians should get the ___ out of making pronouncements about reproductive issues, perhaps religion should actually be separated from matters of the state as our founding fathers suggested?

The Republican Party has spent billions of dollars shooting themselves in the foot with two inappropriate candidate pairings in a row.

It not enough to be not Obama, or not Biden, or not Clinton.  Candidates should have something distinct to offer.  I will try to say this without gagging, but being "a Maverick" was and is not a campaign, neither is being "Not Obama."

Wake up, redefine how as a party the Republican Party will serve the needs of all Americans and move on to the next election cycle with a plan that has a chance to win.