122 Rules by Deek Rhew

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Name the Character Contest!

Yesterday evening I got my first batch of edits, from my first publisher, on my first book. Yep, yesterday was all kindsa firsts!

Erin and I worked through and made notes on the editorial document and reviewed the comments in the manuscript itself. We both love the recommendations made by my editor and I'm very excited to get to sharpen my digital pencil and put digital ink to digital paper.

One of the problems I need to fix is that two of my characters have similar names.

The list of 122's peeps is:
  * Sam
  * Monica
  * Angel
  * Chet
  * Laven
  * Tyron
  * Josha

A secondary character that shows up for a couple of chapters is a sweet, middle-aged, waitress, that meets an untimely demise. I like her, but she has a problem: her name is Loren which is too close to Laven. Laven is here to stay, but Loren needs a new name.

This is where y'all come in! YOU get the chance to name the character and--provided my publisher has no problem with it--get your name in the acknowledgements. It isn't exactly immortality or having your name etched in granite or written in the clouds by a crazed biplane, but still pretty cool. :-)

Here's how this works:
   1) Like my Facebook page
   2) Like my lady and fellow author, Erin Rhew's, Facebook page
   3) Follow me on Twitter
   4) Follow Erin on Twitter
   5) Leave your name suggestion in the comments below or comment on my Facebook page. Loren only need a new FIRST name.

That's it!!

I'll pick the one I like best and post it back to the blog in a couple of weeks. Keep in mind she meets a very unfortunate end, so if you want me to use your name, keep that in mind.

Help give Loren a new identity! Ready? Set? Go!!




Monday, June 8, 2015

The Price of Freedom



My wife, Erin Rhew, and I headed back to her Southern roots a couple of weeks ago. We've flown before when we traveled east to visit family and friends and also driven the 3500 miles across our great nation. This time around, we decided to take the train. 150 years ago, after the wagons rolled in, the west flourished because of the railroad, so riding the iron pony is somewhere deep in my blood. Plus it allowed me to telework while we traveled, giving me the prettiest moving office eva!

Since we had a layover in Washington DC, we decided to see a few of the sights. I've never been, so I was uber excited. Erin said I was grinning like a cheese monkey as we rolled into the nation's capital.

We could have spent several weeks browsing through the Smithsonian, touring the capital, visiting the Holocaust, Natural History, and Spy museums (all but the spy museum are free). But since our time was very limited, we picked just a few. Top of the list for me: Arlington National Cemetery.

You can study maps of the 624 acres, read statistics--over 400,000 graves, learn the history--in 1864, 21-year-old William Christman became the first person buried there, but you cannot possibly fathom Arlington until you see it firsthand. Even then it leaves you spellbound.

What is difficult to grasp from any picture is the enormity of the cemetery. When you enter, there are headstones as far as the eye can see. Then you stare, shift your gaze a bit, and realize you can see through the trees. The graves continue keep going and going. Over the hills on and on.

Each stone marker is a life dedicated to our country. So many...while I was gazing over this sea of white, the impact of the sacrifice so many have made began to impact me. It is humbling, overwhelming, and incomprehensible. So many people have given so much. This is the ultimate price of our freedom.

But it doesn't stop there. As we toured the monuments, gazed upon JFK's Eternal Flame, and climbed the hill to look down upon the Washington Monument and Pentagon, it occurred to me that this is only a fraction of the men and women that have sacrificed all for us. Only a small percentage of our soldiers are buried here. Millions have died and been wounded fighting and are at rest elsewhere.

But it still doesn't stop there. Millions and millions of soldiers who haven't been injured have spent months and years of their lives away from their families. Time is our most precious commodity, and these people have given and given for our freedom.

I tried to capture a fraction of the view from within the cemetery, which is very quiet out of respect for our fallen soldiers.

Arlington Cemetery

Arlington Cemetery

Arlington Cemetery


John and Jackie Kennedy's Graves

Bobby Kennedy's Grave

We got to see the changing of the guard. It is a beautiful, regal ceremony. Formal and military-precise, it made me proud of our soldiers and humbled to get to watch it. I'm going write another blog about just this ceremony.

Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

My dad spent his career serving our country. The pay was mediocre--my parents are anything but rich--the hours were long, and the accolades few and far between, but I am beyond proud of my father. He served with honor, both as a soldier and as a role model.

My father, Jay

I come from a long line of military men, here are few from the family.

My grandfather, Jay

My uncle, Larry

My cousin, David

My uncle, Bill

My grandfather, Virgil

My father-in-law, Bob

Despite the massive amount of media coverage, I believe that we citizens are ignorant of most of the really important facts in the world. Erin and I watched "13 Days," which depicts the events of the Cuban missile crisis. In the movie, JFK addresses the nation about the our country potentially going to war. It was a close call. Russia and the U.S. were on the brink of nuclear disaster but we, as a nation, didn't know about it until many days into the ordeal.

JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis
I believe there are hundreds of such close calls that we never know about--that the people in charge have all the information, supplied to them by the brightest and most dedicated. They are making decisions that, without this information, seem less than smart. As politically unpopular as it may be, I trust the checks and balances of our country to keep us safe and send our military where it needs to be sent. The people lying in rest at Arlington didn't sacrifice all without serious consideration and without our leaders exhausting all peaceful options.

I sleep well at night knowing that our military, from the entry-level privates up to the commander-in-chief, are doing what needs to be done to keep us safe. To all of these people, I offer my humblest gratitude.

Until next time!