One Of Heaven's Angels Has Arrived....

Today is the birthday of my newest granddaughter....straight from heaven...Dakota Lynn...a beautiful name for a beautiful girl....my son Travis called at 4:30 AM to tell me the good news...after 30 plus hours of labor my daughter-in-law Shannon and Travis became immortal...now they shall live forever through the lives of their children and their children's children....if you would like their address to send congrats just let me know..

Kyle Joins Dad In Paradise....

My son Kyle has joined the Taki Tiki team as the official Vice- President in charge of all Kayaks ...its a job any 20 year old would kill or die for...look at that smile on his face....it truly brings joy to my heart to see him happy...he moved here from upstate New York last week and left behind 12 degrees and two feet of snow...also pictured the owner and CEO of all operations..Lisa..the Taki Tiki is a small breakfast and lunch cafe, bar, eclectic art and kayak rental shop....she is giving my son the chance to enjoy his youth and perhaps find a direction he would like to take for the rest of his life....she was nice enough to give him the opportunity and provide room and board as well...hopefully he will be going to school to follow his dream of being a paid firefighter... he just left the Air Force and this is the perfect place for him to make some life decisions.....in the meantime he gets to live, work and play in our corner of paradise....boy do I wish I was twenty again....

My friend and neighbor Karen came down for a short visit and while she was here we played a little golf...or I should say they played golf and I played very LITTLE golf.....my game is more like the sport of Flog...that's golf spelled backwards for those of you a little slow on the uptake....while playing we observed this obviously mating pair of birds on the course...we know they were a mating pair because they were constantly fighting and bickering with each other...I don't know what kind of birds they are but they were about four feet tall and very beautiful ....

Ain't Science Grand.....

Some things I am thankful for in this new age of technology are the marvels of ultrasound imaging and cell phone cameras...both of these inventions have allowed me to witness and document the miracles of life....first the about to be birth of my fourth grandchild and first born for my son Travis and my fantastic daughter-in-law Shannon....as seen here in the newest 4-D imaging available....when you look at this face or the face of any small child....you truly are looking at the face of GOD and the miracle that is life......we still don't know if we have a boy or girl...but only because the parents want to be surprised....with pictures like this, it would not be very hard to document the baby's sex....I personally think its a boy....but I will be very happy for a new granddaughter as well....this baby was due several days ago and the computer attached to this device also said the baby is about 8.5 lbs. right now....my sons friend just had a child and the same computer said the baby would be 7.5 lbs.....it arrived at a whopping 10.5 lbs.....my new grandchild could start out life in first grade if this computer is wrong again!!!!.......

I would also like to thank the person who invented the camera for the cell phone...believe it or not these pictures of a manatee mom and her new baby were taken by cell phone in bright sun lite....I wasn't even sure if I even got them in the frame because the person who invented cell phone screens should be taken out back and shot.....does anybody have a cell phone screen that you can actually see during the day?.....

A Cold Day In Paradise...

Burr....It's cold in paradise today...the temp is about 60 and that's cold for southern Florida...its supposed to stay cold til next Wednesday...the only thing I caught this week was a chest cold that moved to my head and now I think it wants to go back to my chest again...No way was I going fishing this week....I could barely move from my bed...everybody is catching whatever this bug is and it really does knock you for a loop....

Even though I feel like crap...I did manage to make it to my favorite spot for coffee today...a little gift shop on Dearborn Street appropriately named Village Gifts and Coffee....I wrote most of my book there last season....a friend of mine took my picture while I was working last year...see picture on left...they have Wi-Fi so I can link to the Internet, check my email and see if anyone has even read my blog....so far my kids and a few friends are the only ones that know this exists....that's OK...like I said in my first post...I'm not expecting to change world opinion with the words I write here...

As I write this my son Kyle is on his way to paradise...he just got out of the Air Force a few months ago and decided that life back in New York was not for him...a friend of mine has offered to put him up rent free and give him a job...boy do I wish I was 20 again and had the same opportunity....I hope he finds himself soon..like most young people today...finding a direction in life is hard when there are so many choices...good and bad....I've been very lucky.. my children seen to have a good grasp on reality and whats right and wrong...they are and were all honor students and stayed out of trouble...I'm proud of every one of them...Kyle is going to love it down here simply because its new and exciting...when that wears off and he realizes that he is surrounded (for the most part) by a lot of old farts and that summer here is like the fourth level of hell....he may not like it so much...only time will tell....In any case it will be a life experience and if hes anything like his father, its just one more adventure in the book of life....the true test for him will be when I go back north for the summer and he stays here....

My one and only daughter..Kelsey...sent me a valentine that I haven't received yet...she called last night to see if I had gotten it yet...she is my pride and joy...a high honor role student and a cheerleader...isn't that an oxymoron?.... in any case she is my favorite girl and I couldn't be more proud of her...she makes me smile every time I think about her....

No news on the new grandson or granddaughter from Travis and his wife Shannon...hes the one still in the Air Force....her due date is today....his friend's wife was due later and she had her baby two days ago...10 and half pounds... that's one big kid....It would have been nice to have the baby born on Valentines Day....but now as long as its healthy that's all that matters...hey the baby could have been born on Ground Hog Day...so I'm thankful for small favors...Travis was born on the first of February and we really pushed to make sure he wasn't a Ground Hog Baby....or I should say my wife really "pushed".....

Well that's all from paradise for now...Kyle will be arriving and my life in paradise will be forever changed...I hope for the better....only time will tell...

Monk

My Book's Final Cover and other thoughts from Paradise

Got the final cover design a few days ago and after some minor fixes like putting my name on it and getting the word Marine more readable, I think it will suffice. My publisher says that the book is designed for a young audience and that he made it a little "Rambo" looking and somewhat cartoonish to appeal to the under 25 market. I agree with the market and I hope whoever reads it takes away a little more understanding of what it really was like to be a Marine in Vietnam in the sixty's. What most readers won't know and only the privileged few who read this blog will, is that the picture on the cover was taken from a photo that I sent my publisher, it was a picture of me at age 18, in full combat gear in our squad bay just before we shipped out to Vietnam. It doesn't show that the only clothes I had on was a pair of white boxers and black socks. So much for Rambo and Gung-Ho. Now you know the truth. Don't tell anyone.

Went fishing on the bay yesterday and experienced a new kayak design that is a great way to fish. Its a pontoon kayak and its stable as a rock and comfortable to fish from. I'll scan a picture in to the blog soon and let you take a peek at a super way to catch fish.

Lemon Bay has lots of great fishing opportunities and most times its easy to catch something, But not yesterday. I threw jigs and plugs into a strong north wind at high tide and got three lizard fish and one puffer for my trouble. Still it was the first day in over a week that I even had a chance to get out. Its been cold in Florida and that means anything under 70 degrees for anybody that lives here. Even some snow birds were wearing jackets. Your blood thins out when your down here for a while. I know that someone who was suffering in below zero temps this last week up north will probably being saying, "Oh stop, Your breaking my Heart", but it was cold by our standards down here. Its going up to 80 today, boy do I love Florida!!!

If anybody wants any tips on saltwater fishing, just leave me a comment and I'll do my best to help you catch the fish of your dreams.

Till next time......Its another day in Paradise.....I wish you Tight Lines and warm days....

Monk

Another Day in Paradise

I spend my winters in Florida and most days are sunny and warm. Today we have a high temp of about 60 and everybody is running around in jackets and sweaters. I guess its a matter of perception, I talked with my son and its 12 degrees in upstate NY. He wishes it was 60, they would be out in shorts and sunbathing.

I try to fish everyday when I'm here. Fishing is my passion and for the last few days it really has not been warm enough to be comfortable standing in water up to my waist. I fish the back bay area for all kinds of saltwater fish and have even joined a web site called Helium that allows you to write about your passions and earn money. Well, lets just say the money part is more of a fantasy, you earn something like .001 cent per hit on your article. It's really not about the money its more about the fun of writing about what you love to do. If I can get one person interested in fishing from something I write about that would be just great.

My publisher (South Farm Press) says I should see a cover design this week. I'm really excited about my soon to be published book, "Monk's War". I've already lined up several book signings here in Florida and hope to get a few more up home this summer. I'm still amazed that as a first time author I found a non-vanity press publisher to accept my work. Take a look at his sight if you like war stories...war-books.com .

I'm still working on the site and I haven't posted a lot of info about me. I will work on it as I go along. I've got to spend time on writing volume 2 of "Monk's War" its tough to work in paradise.


Monk

In The Beginning....My First Post

Wow....My first post....I feel empowered....will the words I write here change world opinion...will what I have to say make a difference in someones life?....I doubt it...but I'm still excited about it.

I still have to decide what my blog will look like...I've just begun to envision the possibilities....I think I will add some pictures....perhaps some links to some of my favorite areas....of course I will tell you a little about myself in my bio...I am going to be a published author...something that I didn't think was even remotely possible....my publisher is not a vanity press and I was very lucky to find him...the kind of stories I write are exactly the kind he publishes...(war stories) we met through a very nice rejection letter that I received way back in 1981....at that time my book was a coming of age story...something like "Wonder Years"..the old tv show...but with a twist... this main character grows up and goes to Vietnam...he liked the war stories he just didn't want any of the coming of age part....I gave up on the book and went on with the rest of my life...last year I decided to write the war stories out in chapter form and because I had saved that very nice rejection letter...I found an e-mail address for southfarm press and contacted the publisher...Walter Hann...he said that he remembered me from 20 plus years ago and that if I had some stories he would take a look at them....the rest is history as they say...he liked what he read and one year later my first book will be published in March...Monk's War (Memoirs of a Marine Grunt) Vol. One......there will be two additional volumes to complete a three volume set of stories about Vietnam with a personal twist....you can visit Walter's site at War-books.com ...buy some books...buy mine when its published...I think you'll like the stories...well that's all I have for now...I'm excited about my new blog and the book...just thinking about the fact that my thoughts and memories will be published and now on the web gives me a sense of immortality....what a rush....