Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

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Why Can’t We Use Our Ruby Red Slippers?

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by Kimberly A. Cook             (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Met with my writer support group on Saturday. Wonderful bunch of folks. We don’t critique, we talk about our works in progress and writing challenges. This time everyone had personal issues which were messing up our writing lives. Or the other way around.

My very own ruby red slippers. Dreams do come true.
My very own ruby red slippers. Dreams do come true.

Afterwards it dawned on me that no matter what happens in anyone’s life, mine included, we still have to do the work. Writers have to write. The elves are not writing for us and no one else can perform a Vulcan mind meld to get it out of my gray matter.

Since I am currently on knitting sabbatical, it reminded me that sometime no matter how much you want to write your muse is tired or fried and it’s just not time. We have to acknowledge that we are mere mortals and sometimes we need to pace ourselves and rest.

Which made me think about my ruby red slippers. Many years ago when I was at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., I made a point of seeing Judy Garland’s ruby red slippers from the movie “The Wizard of Oz.” Yes, the same movie that is being re-released in 3D in theaters Friday for one week and on a 75th Anniversary collectors DVD edition Oct. 1; how’s that for story staying power?

I told a friend many years later that one day I wanted to have my very own ruby red slippers. When you ask the universe……be careful. Several months later she gave me a bag. Inside were my ruby red slippers, complete with sequins, and in my size. OMG.

She found them at Goodwill for $5. They were the only ruby red slippers in the store. Now, I had no idea that’s where you buy ruby red slippers, but I love them. Not the same as Judy’s, but close enough for me. Tried them on last night just to make sure they still fit. They do. Clicked my heels together to see if they would write for me. Nope.

Writing might be easier if that had worked but the journey is part of the creative process, even when you wish magic would do your work for you. If we build the words, the magic will come; to borrow loosely from “The Field of Dreams” movie.

I know my writing time is getting closer, I can feel my muse flexing its muscles ready to spill out again. And that is how the ruby red slippers came to be in the first place, from the imagination of an author who made them silver to a movie costume designer who changed them to ruby red. All the artists did their work and we ended up with ruby red slippers.

Judy Garland’s ruby red slippers are one of the most asked about items the Smithsonian has in its collection.  But of course! Do you have ruby red slippers?

Read more about the slippers here: http://americanhistory.si.edu/press/fact-sheets/ruby-slippers

We’ve Had Kittens! Er, Cubs!

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by Kimberly A. Cook        (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

The Oregon Zoo is at it again, we’ve got babies! This time three adorable lion cubs born last Saturday night to Neka. A first time Mom, she’s doing a good job so far of taking care of the kids. We won’t see them for six to eight weeks, so in the meantime, the zoo hooked up the Cub Cam.

See Neka check out the camera, very up close and personal with a lioness nose, and then watch the newborns. There is even a day two follow-up with one cub making a break for it from his den. Here’s hoping all goes well with the kidlets. Happy Quirky Friday!

Who Is Going To Report On The Squirrels?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Girding myself for the big change coming to my life next month; the daily newspaper goes to Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. While this may not seem like a big deal to digital natives who popped out of the womb with a laptop, for us vintage folk it’s a major life change.

A furry friend in Camp Sherman, Oregon. Who knows what he might be plotting?
A furry friend in Camp Sherman, Oregon. Who knows what he might be plotting?

It is part of my morning routine to fetch the newspaper. One letter writer to the paper wanted to know how he was going to explain it to his dog who gets a treat when he brings in the newspaper. I’m thinking that guy is going to have to become Santa paperboy and place a dummy one outside on the porch each night.

Wondering how all this switch to the web was going to actually affect the reporters, the Sunday edition offered up this explanation of how the reporters would send in “Twitter-bits” of news, I’m going to call them, then the “curators” (formerly called editors) will try to muck all these bits together, grab a visual and throw it on the web. Okay, he said it better, but that’s what I’m thinking it sounds like.

Read the article here: http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/09/peter_bhatia_digital_focus_mea.html

SO, it seems speed wins in this new era of digital journalism, but I thought that traffic safety ad said speed kills. We shall see. But even more fun for me was the serendipity I will miss of the daily paper where I found a huge squirrel article on the flip side of the editorial article. Titled, “Zapped by Squirrel Power,” in our paper, it is a reprint written by Jon Mooallem with the New York Times News Service.

Fascinating article about why the power grid goes down when squirrel’s  fry themselves by making a “bad connection.” I love squirrels. But this writer has been tracking how many squirrels are causing power outage havoc. Talks about how the power grid folks are trying to prevent squirrels from coming to bad endings.

Which made we wonder if the squirrel scientists are talking to the power grid engineers or if we can’t get some behavior squirrel modification training programs going. Those thoughts confirm I need to get off knitting sabbatical and get back to writing because my muse is running rampant with scissors.

So when I went to find the link to the original squirrel article, imagine my surprise when it ranked as one of the top New York Times articles right now. Squirrels are big nationwide. Who knew?

So what do power squirrels and my daily newspaper going to a four-day publication schedule have in common? I’m hoping they both don’t toast themselves in the process. Because the feature articles I used to write for the newspaper and my blog posts now are both longer than a “twitter-bit,” and they take some time to write; and that’s not a bad thing.

(Squirrel article here. You know you want to read it.) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/opinion/sunday/squirrel-power.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Got Time For Some Fluffy Friday Fun?

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by Kimberly A. Cook             (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Rainy Friday here in Oregon. That’s okay, we need the water to put out the forest fires and water my garden.  Over the Labor Day weekend I did a lot of purging and cleaning around the house, so I rewarded myself watching the Gabriel Iglesias Aloha Fluffy comedy special on tv. Too fun!

Sinbad is on of my all time favorite comedians, I’ve seen him in concert several times and laughed so hard my cheeks hurt the next day. Plus, he’s an Air Force veteran, so he double rocks. One of my favorite things about him is he doesn’t need to use swearing to make me laugh; that takes talent.

Gabriel is the same way. This clip is from his Hawaiian concert last year. Take some time for a few good laughs when he talks about the movie “Magic Mike.” And yes, of course, that was a must see movie for me and my girlfriends when it premiered; Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey? Who cares if it had any script!

You can see more of the Aloha Fluffy special on YouTube. It rocks!

Happy Quirky Friday!

Seen A Lost Pirate Or Super Hero?

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by Kimberly A. Cook               (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Back to writing. Last Friday I stocked up on school supplies again, it’s a disease, then headed out to the parking lot. Happened to see two pirates walking past my car and into the store. Oregon is a great place for creative minds.

http://youtu.be/8AwOKO8wPnU

An interview in The Oregonian with Brian Michael Bendis described why he up and moved here and brought a big part of the Marvel comic franchise with him. I loved one line in the article where he talked about going out and about and seeing fun folk here in the land of Oregon.

“As you get older, you don’t leave the house as much, but when you do leave the house, as a writer or artist, you want guaranteed inspiration,” Bendis said about Portland. Read the article here: http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2013/09/brian_bendis_interview_top_sup.html#incart_river

Writers observe, record and imagine new and old worlds. What better place to do that than on our everyday errands? We must keep an open eye and mind to watch for unexpected surprises, like pirates in the parking lot.

I wanted to know when the official Portland Pirate Festival was this year, so I checked out the web site http://portlandpiratefestival.com/

It appears even our pirates are having trouble this year, so the next big festival is Labor Day weekend 2014. Perhaps those parking lot pirates were in search of another festival. One never knows. Need to mark it on my calendar.

Keep your eyes open matey and your notebook in hand. One never knows when pirates or super heroes may show up on your watch.

It’s Time For Duck Football!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                            (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Got quite a lot of feedback from the Ranger folks about Tuesdays’s post, a big thank you to everyone.  And here it is Quirky Friday once again. For those getting a long weekend off, stay safe and enjoy it. For those working to keep us safe during the weekend and all the time, thank you.

It’s been a wild August weather month and this long weekend gives me something to look forward to; Ducks Football is back! So while I try to keep up with Chip Kelly and the Eagles, I get to watch the Ducks too. Life does have its rewards.

To get everyone in the football mood, here is a favorite performance by Puddles and the University of Oregon Band from last season. Can’t wait to see what they do this year! Happy Quirky Friday!