Author: doesbuck

Wiley Coyote

On May 24, 2021

One thing I looked forward to doing when I retired was going fishing in the middle of the week. However, in the seven weeks since I retired, I have only gone fishing once. I do not know if this says more about my priorities or about how busy I am. It is probably both. My priority when I retired was to write, hoping to finish my novel. I am making progress, but I have also been extremely busy with other things. One of the other things was having cataract surgery. This consumed two to three weeks with the surgery and time for my vision to clear. Then it was time to put in the garden. I had to replace two of my raised beds and hoped to add a third. I replaced the two beds, but I did not have enough dirt to fill the third, though I placed it. I finished planting last week. Now that those things are complete, I should have time to go fishing. But I promised another Bailey story.

After Bailey broke my wife’s leg, I walked her, and took her to obedience classes. Bailey usually gets at least two walks each day, morning, and afternoon. While I worked from home, this was easy to do much like my current routine. I would take her to a park a few blocks from the house where we would walk around it. When I went back to work, I needed to walk her before I left the house at 6:30 in the morning. This meant I was walking her at around 5:30 AM. During the summer this is not an issue because it is light out. But later in the year it is dark.

The park is next to a floodway that runs North of our house. To the East, the floodway runs by a large open space, Austin Bluffs. It runs down and empties into Monument creek. This is a highway for wildlife like deer and coyotes, and occasionally a bear or moose.

The lower parking lot is next to the floodway. There is a city owned swimming pool next to the lot. Above the pool is a large open field with a baseball field on one end and playground on the other. Up a hill from the field, are tennis courts and another parking lot. One fall morning I was walking Bailey at the park just before sunrise. It was just light enough to see large objects. Bailey was off leash and we were crossing the field. Suddenly, Bailey took off running, and I saw a coyote chasing her. I called Bailey, but she did not stop or come. I tried to run after them, but they were too fast. All I thought was, I have lost our dog. If the coyote did not get her, I would never find her in the dark. I continued to call for her as I walked back to the parking lot, but she did not respond. When I got to the lot, Bailey was at the car and the coyote was not in sight. Though thrilled to see me, she could hardly wait to get in the car and go home. Since then, we do not walk in that park early in the mornings. We go to a park with more lights, or we walk around the neighborhood.

It surprises me when I think about how smart Bailey was to go to the car and wait for me. She is highly intelligent. She is also very fast and just like the Roadrunner, she avoided the Wiley Coyote. If you enjoy stories about Bailey, leave a comment and sign up to receive updates on new posts.

Bailey Becomes My Dog

By doesbuck

On May 10, 2021

In Uncategorized

I would like to thank everyone who commented on my last post “Bring Home Bailey.” As a rescue dog, she was a challenge when we first brought her home. Especially, as I noted, house training her. But also in other interactions. She was afraid of everything. Initially, when we wanted to go to the park, we carried her to the car. She wouldn’t go out the door, and when she finally did, she wouldn’t jump into or out of the car. We spent a lot of time and money training her. She needed to behave on the leash so my wife to take her on walks. A few months after we brought her home that plan suffered a major setback. I got a call from my wife while I was at work. She told me she had fallen in the park and couldn’t walk. When I asked if we needed to call an ambulance, she said no that I needed to come to get her. So, I left work, went to the park, and took her and Bailey home. We called our orthopedic surgeon for an appointment. The x-ray showed she had a tibial plateau fracture. (The flat portion at the top of the tibia on the knee joint had a vertical fracture.) It didn’t require surgery, but she could not put any weight on her leg for weeks to allow it to heal. During their walk at the park, they met a man with another dog. When she tried to introduce Bailey to the other dog, Bailey shied hitting the outside of her knee forcing it in, and her femur down onto the tibial plateau causing the fracture. It turns out pets are a major cause of injuries for older adults.

As a result of my wife’s injury, I worked from home and took care of her, and Bailey became my dog. I took for walks at least twice a day and training classes. Though she is still skittish especially with dogs or people that approach too quickly, she is much better. She has learned to trust me and if she is uncomfortable, will often lean against me for reassurance. She is by far the most affectionate dog we have owned. Today my wife walks her on occasion, though it took a while for her to overcome her fear of falling.

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Bringing Home Bailey

By doesbuck

On May 4, 2021

In Uncategorized

Writing a blog turns out to be a lot of work. My original thought was to post every week to ten days, but I have actually posted about every two to four weeks. Everything gets in the way. In the last post, I talked about getting into a routine. Unfortunately, writing the blog is not yet part of that routine. I think I need to focus on a more specific topic. The original topic being my writing journey. I am progressing in that journey but I am not generating much interest in the blog. Even my family shows little interest, and they are the only ones who currently receive notifications of new posts. If you are reading this, I need help developing a focus until I actually become a published author. The comments I received indicate the two most popular posts are “Old Dogs” and the “Adventure Begins”. When I asked my wife what would be a good topic for this blog, she said to write about Bailey.

Bailey after we first brought her home in April 2017.

She is a German Shepherd and Australian Cattle Dog mix and looks like a miniature German Shepherd. We got her shortly after we put down our previous dog, Lizzie. We were out and my wife said, “Let’s go to Petco and see if they have any puppies.” I reluctantly agreed. I didn’t want a puppy, I wanted a two-year-old dog that was already housebroken and possibly trained. When we arrived at Petco, they had this litter of puppies. They told us the dogs were feral when they found them. My wife wanted a female, and when they showed Bailey to us, she fell in love. As soon as she held Bambi (as she was called at that time), I knew we were going to get her. We took her for a short walk and sat at a picnic table behind the store. We talked about the forgone decision that we would take her home. ‘Bambi’ was a very frightened puppy. When we walked her behind Petco, all she wanted was to get back to her littermates. When we brought her home with us, she was so frightened she would not go outside by herself. This made her house training a long and patience-building ordeal. Even after four years, she still wants one of us to go outside with her.

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Getting into a Routine

By doesbuck

On April 20, 2021

In Uncategorized

The initial two weeks of retirement felt like a vacation. Although, I started to develop a routine for my day. I set my alarm for 5:45 AM each morning. (One hour later than I did while I was working.) I get up, make coffee, and read the paper. At around 7:00 AM, I take Bailey for a walk. After the walk, I sit down at the computer and work on my book until lunch, (11:00 – 11:30 AM). During that time I will either write new sections or edit existing sections. When writing I have a goal of at least 500 words per day. When editing, I try to do one chapter per day. After lunch, I plan on working on my office remodel, but the last two weeks were the UEFA Champions League and Europa League quarter-finals, which I watched.

During this time I submitted a 2500 word section from one of the edited chapters to the local ACFW (www.acfwcosprings.com) critique group. It was a real learning experience. My first mistake was the initial submission. I typically write in yWriter and export it to a Word document. I thought I submitted a Word .docx file, but actually submitted a text file (.rtf). When I converted it to the .docx file, I lost some of my formattings. The three people who critiqued my submission all noticed. Regardless, the feedback I got from them on the other issues was good. I had too many punctuation errors, and I still need to work on showing not telling. I am working on punctuation and other grammar errors during my editing sessions.

I downloaded the Grammarly (www.grammarly.com) free edition and also use the included Word Editor. Both give slightly different suggestions. One of the people who critiqued my submission also suggested ProWritingAid. Unfortunately, the free version limits you to 500 words, but I found a 40% off offer and purchased the full version of ProWritingAid (www.prowritingad.com) which I really like. I did not submit anything this week but will submit more in the future. One of the requirements for the group is for you to provide as many critiques, to other members, as the number of critiques you receive. I received three critiques, so I had to critique submissions from three other members. This was my first attempt at critiquing. I did receive positive feedback from them, but it is a learning process.

I also attended the monthly Zoom meeting of the local ACFW. The topic “How Not to Be Toast When Moving from Writing to Publishing” covered a lot of information on the time and money required to actually get a book published after it is completed. There is a lot of information floating around on self-publishing, but not much on the costs associated with it. It seems the Pareto Principle for writers is 80% of the money from selling books is earned by 20% of the authors. There are not many J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Beverly Lewis, or George R.R. Martins selling books. Regardless, as writers, we dream of making money selling our stories.

If you liked this post, please leave a comment on the contact page and subscribe to get notifications of future posts. By the way, I used Grammarly Free to edit this blog post.

Best Laid Plans

By doesbuck

On March 6, 2021

In Uncategorized

Well I started this blog with every intention of updating it regularly. However, as Robert Burns wrote: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men/ Gang aft a-gley”. Since my plan is to pursue writing after retirement, I needed to up-date my home office starting with a new computer. I decided on a desktop rather than a laptop so I could have a larger screen and I have an adequate laptop if I want to travel with it. Trying to be frugal I purchased a renewed Dell Optiplex similar to what I use at work. I set it up on my old desk and started the process of creating this website. Everything worked fine, other than I forgot to proof read my initial blog. Once I opened my website and saw some obvious errors I decided to edit it. Unfortunately I didn’t remember my password. (Sometimes I don’t like getting old.) That weekend I started my new computer with some difficulty. I had to restart several times with various Windows error messages and didn’t get to the edit or writing my next post. The next time I tried to start the computer I got a Windows stop code. I tried several times to reset and/or repair windows and start the computer but kept getting stop codes. I emailed customer support and made a new Windows boot disc. When I tried to install it I couldn’t because the hard drive partitions were the wrong type. A couple of calls and messages resulted in enough frustration I decided to return the computer. I got an RMA number and a prepaid UPS label for the return. However, the unit came as a package with the computer and monitor in separate boxes. UPS will not accept the same label on tow packages so I had to call customer support again and get a second label. By this time I was totally frustrated and found a new HP Ryzen 5 desk top and monitor in stock at the local big box electronics store. I bought it and am now using it. Hoping it will continue to function. It is very fast and I love the 24″ monitor. Now I need to replace my old desk and chair.

Just for fun I decided to post a short story I wrote while in high school. I wrote it ‘tongue in cheek’ and after going through it realize the writing is not very good. But, it was printed in the school literary magazine that I still have. Otherwise, the original story would be lost.

Please comment and let me know your thoughts to both my ramblings and the story.

C. Buck Jones

The Very Old and Toothless Dragon

Once upon a Time, in the merry old Town of Cloister, which was the town surrounding the castle of Sir John, the Dragon Slayer and Damsel Rescuer. There lived a wise old shepherd whose sheep were constantly being stolen by a cunning, old, Toothless, smoke breathing dragon, which lived just outside of The Town. This dragon was so cunning and clever that not even Sir John, the Dragon Slayer and Damsel Rescuer’s best knights could slay him, and he was so old and toothless that he had to take The sheep he had stolen to the ugly old Troll’s bubbling hot spring on The other side of The hill from the Town of Cloister.

One day the wise old old shepherd went to Sir John, the Dragon Slayer and Damsel Rescuer, to complain about the very old and toothless dragon that was stealing his sheep.

“Sir John, I have come to register a complaint, said the wise old shepherd.”

“Well, wise old shepherd, what kind of complaint do you wish to register?” replied Sir John he Dragon Slayer and Damsel Rescuer.

“Oh!” explained the wise old shepherd, It is the very old and toothless dragon that is stealing my sheep, sire.”

“Ha, ha, ha, ha!” laughed Sir John, The Dragon Slayer and Damsel Rescuer. A very old and toothless dragon eh?”

“But sire, he is also very cunning and clever. Why, not even your best knights could slay him!” exclaimed the wise old shepherd.

“I Sir John, The Dragon Slayer and Damsel Rescuer, shall slay this very old and toothless dragon.” stated Sir John, boastfully, since he had already slain ninety-nine young and toothful dragons.

“Very well, sire,” replied the wise shepherd as he left.

The next morning Sir John, fully dressed in his second best suit of armor with a long red feather in the helmet, strutted to his big white charger, which had a silver saddle and red bridle, and mounted with the help of his squires and pages.

Sir John rode across the drawbridge, through the town of Cloister and info the pastures of the wise old shepherd, who was tending his flock of fluffy white sheep.

“Wise old shepherd,” began Sir John, has the very old and Toothless dragon appeared to steal your fluffy white sheep?”

“No sire,” answered the wise old shepherd, “but he will shortly.”

Sir John, the Dragon Slayer and Damsel Rescuer dismounted with the help of the wise old shepherd and sat down to wait for the very old and toothless dragon. It came shortly, as the wise old shepherd had said, for there could be seen a cloud of black smoke moving swiftly towards the wise old shepherd’s fluffy white sheep. Sir John in his second best suit of armor with long red feather in the helmet stood ready to face the onrushing dragon, while the wise old shepherd ran to tell the people of the town of Cloister what was about to happen.

When the town’s people arrived, all that could be seen was the cloud of black smoke, but when that cleared there lay Sir John, the Dragon Slayer and Damsel Rescuer, with his second best suit of armor with the long red feather in the helmet stained by The smoke.

Sir John struggled to his feet and in a mighty oath declared, “I l have not begun to fight!”

Stomping to his white charger with the silver saddle and bridle, he mounted with the help of The town’s people and the wise old shepherd and rode from the wise old shepherd’s pastures, through the town of Cloister, across the drawbridge, and up to his ingenious wizard, whom he ordered to make a potion to keep away The smoke.

The next morning, Sir John, The Dragon Slayer and Damsel Rescuer, fully dressed in his best suit of armor with the long blue and yellow feathers, sauntered up to his big black charger with a gold saddle and blue and yellow bridle, mounted with the help of his squires and pages, and rode across the drawbridge, through the town of Cloister, through the wise old shepherd’s pastures, and The hill to the ugly old troll’s bubbling hot spring, where he found the very old and toothless dragon and The ugly old troll sitting, boiling the wise old shepherds fluffy white sheep.

Sir John dismounted with sword and potion in hand and shouted. “Very old and toothless dragon, prepare to meet thy death!”

Startled, the very old and toothless dragon, blowing smoke, charged ferociously, but Sir John had drunk his very ingenious wizard’s potion and was not fazed by the smoke. But the ugly old troll was fazed and fell into his bubbling hot spring shouting his last words, “Why is everybody always picking on me?”

Having missed Sir John on the first charge, the very old and toothless dragon charged again, but this time Sir John landed a crashing blow to the very old and toothless dragon’s left knee, causing him to fall into the ugly old Troll’s bubbling hot spring.

Moral: If you are a very old and toothless dragon stay away from the town of Cloister, which is the town surrounding the castle of Sir John, the Dragon Slayer and Damsel Rescuer, who has already slain ninety-nine young and toothful dragons and one very old and toothless dragon.

Going into the Unknown

By doesbuck

On February 21, 2021

In Uncategorized

I am writing my first Christian Sci-Fi Fantasy novel because God is the creator of all things on earth and in heaven. This is a step into the unknown for me since I will be retiring soon, after 20 plus years at the same company. I enjoy Sci-Fi fantasy books, though not exclusively. I started my first novel several years ago but never completed it. I never seemed to have enough time to actually write especially when I got stuck. The story is still on my mind and I believe it was Stephen King who indicated that was one way to know the story needs writing. My posts will revolve primarily around the writing journey but may branch into such diverse topics as spiritual insights, dealing with retirement, fishing, etc. Posting is scheduled to occur every 7 to 10 days, but I am not actually retired so time constraints may prevent it. I hope you enjoy this journey into the unknown with me.