Kim McMahill

There aren’t any major holidays in August this year, but here are the fun designated days for August. I guess nothing says summer like a toasted marshmallow since it has two designated days. I hope everyone is toasting marshmallows and enjoying summer since it is quickly slipping away. Get out and take advantage of it while you can!   August 1- National Mountain Climbing Day August 3 - National Watermelon Day August 10 - National S'mores Day August 12 & 13 - Perseid Meteor Shower - peak dates vary August 13 - Left Hander's Day August 14 - V-J Day August 28 - Stuffed Green Bell Peppers Day August 30 - National Marshmallow Toasting Day

“Through travel I first became aware of the outside world; it was through travel that I found my own introspective way into becoming a part of it.”    Eudora Welty, One Writer's Beginnings

  I hope you will try A Measure of Madness, the fourth installment in the Risky Research Series. Download your copy today at https://www.amazon.com/Measure-Madness-Risky-Research-ebook/dp/B08TX7C1BZ/ . Not sure about trying a new series? Download a free copy of Midnight in Montana, a prequel micro-read for the series at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YZ53XKJ .

"We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road / the one less traveled by / offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth."  -  Rachel Carson  

In my continuing effort to give readers a look into A Measure of Madness, I thought I'd post another excerpt. Here’s a glimpse of some of the action unfolding in Brazil. Devyn did as ordered as tears streamed down her checks. She felt like a coward running, but knew it was retreat or die. Bullets rained around her as she ran in a zig-zag pattern, trying to avoid being hit. She had almost reached the truck when a bullet grazed her ankle, sending her tumbling to the ground. She scrambled to her feet. Fueled with adrenaline, she ignored the pain as she hobbled the last twenty feet to the truck. As Sofia’s arm lowered, J.R. walked toward her. He knelt on the ground and placed his lips to hers for a long and tender moment. He then slowly rose to his feet and pointed the gun at Sofia. Devyn couldn’t watch. She threw the truck into reverse and hit the gas. The truck’s tire’s spun and skidded on the dirt and gravel as she raced backwards until she reached a spot wide enough to turn

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.” Edward Abbey

“A man practices the art of adventure when he heroically faces up to life. When he has the daring to open doors to new experiences. When he is unafraid of new ideas, new theories and new philosophies. When he has the curiosity to experiment. When he breaks the chain of routine.”  Wilferd Peterson

Thomas Jefferson led a committee that crafted the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1776 Jefferson and representatives from the thirteen colonies voted and approved it.   The Declaration of Independence declared our independence from British rule, but it took winning the Revolutionary War to assure the existence and freedom of our fledgling country. So each year on July 4, we celebrate the birth of our nation.   Every day we enjoy the benefits of the freedom which the framers signed and ultimately fought for, and on Independence Day we celebrate with parades, family gatherings, baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and fireworks, to name a few. Enjoy the day, but also remember that as responsible citizens of the greatest democracy on earth we need to be cognizant that exercising our individual freedoms do not give anyone the right to endanger others or trample on someone else’s freedom, and democracy is not a government representing a few, it is a system of government by the whole p

  Here is a sampling of what’s on tap for July. Happy summer!   July 1 - Canada Day  July 4 - Independence Day July 5 - National Bikini Day July 21 - National Hot Dog Day  July 22 - Hammock Day July 23 - Summer Olympics begins