While You Got It, Flaunt It! New Press Release Coming Out!

Since the new e-book has retained first place in the non-fiction e-book category at Payloadz.com for the entire three weeks since its debut, I thought it was an occasion for another media release, so I have written one and submitted it to PRWeb for publication on May 21.


But because you're all my buds, thought I would give you first dibs on it. Feel free to copy and paste it into emails to send to your TREK/De pals, and to send it to TREK and De Kelley websites if the spirit moves you. The more people who get involved in disseminating it, the greater its exposure... and I'm all for that! And hey, if your very own essay is spotlighted in the book, send the media release to everyone you know, to let them know that you helped create the top-rated non-fiction e-book at Payloadz! (That would be you, Mary, Billie, Alison, JD, John and Maria... you know who you are!)

Thanks!


Newest DeForest Kelley Title Debuts as #1 Nonfiction E-Book at Payloadz.com as Newest Star Trek Adventure Warps Across the Silver Screen


Kristine M Smith, author of DeForest Kelley: A Harvest of Memories (2001), claims top spot for her newest Kelley book, ENDURING LEGACY, at Payloadz.com.


Seattle, WA (PRWEB) May 21, 2009 A newly-released e-book, The Enduring Legacy of DeForest Kelley: Actor, Healer, Friend, written by Kelley's former personal assistant Kristine M Smith, skyrocketed immediately to first place in the non-fiction category at Payloadz.com upon its May 1st release, where it has resolutely remained for three weeks.

In the new 61-page electronic book, Smith compiled the memories and reminiscences of nearly two dozen fans and friends whose lives were blessed and changed forever by the career or kindness of the late actor who portrayed Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the original Star Trek television series and motion pictures.

"I'm delighted the new book is receiving top honors at Payloadz," Smith says. "It was a real labor of love for so many of its contributors and for me. And the unanimous, positive reviews of the book have also been gratifying. "

The e-book reveals that many of Kelley's devoted fans have gone on to become doctors, nurses, medical technicians, social workers, and other helping professionals, while still other fans continue to impact the world as writers, actors, and teachers.

The success of the new book has also bolstered sales of Smith's earlier memoir about the actor who became her mentor. DeFOREST KELLEY: A HARVEST OF MEMORIES suffered from an untimely release date, coming as it did just weeks after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001, relegating the memoir to easy dismissal by and silence from mainstream media. Now that both books are receiving attention during the recent release of the newest STAR TREK movie, prospects for both books have increased significantly. Smith has been contacted to do radio and podcast interviews from science fiction and golden oldies radio producers.

Smith says, "This June 11th will be the tenth anniversary of De's passing. I can't imagine a greater tribute, at this time - to the man and to the actor - than the timely attention being paid to these two books, along with taking in the wonderful resurrection of the McCoy character as portrayed by Karl Urban. He was able to capture so much of what De's spirit and sensibilities brought to the role. I hope my two books will show that DeForest Kelley, the man, was every bit as worthy of respect and emulation as was his alter ego."

Author Kristine M Smith's blog is located at http://almostfamousbydesfault.blogspot.com/.

Her copywriting service business URL is http://kristinemsmith.elance.com/.

She can be reached at KRISTINEMSMITH@MSN.COM.

I Wrote a Comment on a SLATE Article...

You can find my response to the SLATE question "Is Obama Arrogant?" here:

http://fray.slate.com/discuss/forums/2790069/ShowThread.aspx?ArticleID=2218357#2790069

Oh, what the heck. I'll re-print it here, too. It's my article, with my byline, so they can't call it plagiarism!

Obama Ruthless -- Like RFK and Mr. Spock?

Every time a truly effective leader comes along -- whether it's President Obama, Lyndon Johnson, Hillary Clinton, Golda Meir or Robert F. Kennedy -- one of the first charges leveled against him or her is ruthlessness.

Mr. Spock of STAR TREK had the same problem. Not that he was ever actually "wrong" when he elected to sacrifice one or more crewmembers (including himself) for the good of many others, but it seemed somehow less-than-human to be so blasted blase about it. At times like these, logic sometimes sucked, big-time. (Lucky for Spock: he was a half-breed and, as such, more-than-human.)

Logical thinkers look for ways to move the ball forward. And while it isn't simply a matter of "whatever works," depending upon the moral uprightness of a person's spirit, the avenues that great leaders take and the decisions they make often rub less-logical folks the wrong way.

If President Obama is seen now by some as arrogant because he believes in himself as fully as our lapsed president believed in himself (horrors!), the fault lies in the eye of the beholder, not in Obama. Belief in oneself should be an absolute prerequisite for anyone aspiring to occupy the highest office and the bulliest pulpit in the land.

And if he's viewed as ruthless that, too, is myopia, not fact. Ruthless people don't do all he has tried (mightily) to do to bring diverse, passionate people to a table where issues can be discussed and responsibly wrestled with, resulting in ways forward which can never be accomplished as long as we're busy throwing barbs, bricks, slurs and silliness at each other.

I plan to vote for Obama again in 2012. I don't see anyone else on the horizon of either major party (or any of the minor ones) who can do for our nation what Obama has dedicated himself to doing for it and for the world.

The term "civilization" (heavy emphasis on "civil" ) is beginning to look possible again!

May Gene Roddenberry's -- and Obama's -- warm regard for IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) live long and prosper.

Without it, we can kiss our continuing existence on this beautiful planet goodbye!

Fascinating Interview with AC Lyles of Paramount...

For anyone wanting to know how to break into the motion picture business, this interview will be well worth your time!

http://www.iconsradio.com/aclylesshow.html

AC is a dear friend of mine, was a dear friend of De's for sixty years, and has been with Paramount for nearly 80 years. (Today is his 91st birthday.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AC!

Enjoy the Attached from Spitzer Science...

George Takei and Mark Hamill both make appearances during the ten minute program, which is all about gravity/attraction...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gU61WHNMZM&feature=player

Happy 30th Birthday, Anitra and Deaken!

My "serval son" Deaken would be 30 years old today if cats enjoyed the longevity that human beings are capable of. Alas, that's not the way it goes... but he's in my heart to stay. I still dream about him from time to time. When that happens, I get to run my hand through his fur again and hear his bird-like chirps and purrs. I had the foresight to record his bird chirps and other sounds, but haven't had the guts to listen to them since he passed away. I know right where the recordings are, though, should I ever decide I need a good cry!

I have about 30 phone messages that the Kelleys left on my voicemail, too, tucked away on audiotape. I've only heard those once since De passed away, when Terry came out to research De's biography.

There are some things that are just hard to do. Listening to the voices of departed loved ones is one of them. It makes their absence all the more real, and you miss them all over again as though their leave-taking just occurred -- only this time you're no longer numb, in shock, or in denial.

I haven't watched more than about three episodes of original TREK since De passed, except for brief scenes that were shown at TREK conventions where I appeared. McCoy isn't De, although De is McCoy. There is a difference; it's hard to define what it is, exactly -- except to say that De was a far gentler man on a daily basis than it seems McCoy was. McCoy could get mighty crotchety, and that usually made me laugh because it was so UN-De-like.

Oh gads, let's get off this subject before I get maudlin!

I miss my two De's today -- De Kelley and Deaken serval.

Note: Anitra is my niece, Laurel's eldest daughter. She was born five hours after Deaken on May 16th, 1979. I always joked to Laurel that my "child" was born first that day...

New Radio Interview to Air May 31st at 9 PM PDT

The newest radio interview about my DeForest Kelley saga (and books) will air on STARR TALK WITH SONNY STARR on May 31st at 9 p.m Pacific Time. You will also be able to find it on the web at that time (and ever after) by following this link:

http://www.sunstarstudios.com/starr_talk.html

Thank you, Steve Jensen, for hooking me up with Sonny Starr, and thank you, Mr. Starr, for spotlighting me for one of your ten minute segments on the 31st.

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Sis Jackie is in Seaside this weekend fro Altruse International. My older sister Laurel (an attorney) dropped by for a hug and a howdy this evening on her way home from a conference in Seattle. We had dinner at TGI Friday's on South Hill in Puyallup. Fabulous meal.

Then Laurel showed me how to play a new board game that she got Jackie and me for Christmas (but delivered to us just a few weeks ago) so I can help explain it to others the next time we open the box (probably next winter). By then I will probably have forgotten everything she told me, but hey, at least the game won't look like a total mystery to me when I open it again. It's a European game about building settlements and roads in the wilderness. I think it's called Catan. It's much more involved than most games I've played. Quite compelling.

I've been fighting a cold for a couple days now, and need to attend the Writer's Edge class at church tomorrow to critique essays, so I'm going to hit the hay now and see if I can get some serious shut-eye before then. I'm dragging right now, with this cold...

My New DeForest Kelley E-Book is Rated #1 at Payloadz.com!

Availability: Instant Download
Date Added: May 1, 2009
File Format: Adobe PDF
File Size: 617 KB
Contact Seller: Email Seller
Sales Rank: 90 (out of all Payloadz products!)
eBooks Sales Rank: 38
Non-Fiction eBooks Sales Rank: 1

I'm floored -- and very happy!

And it's getting 100% 5-star reviews, too.

Please add your own at http://store.payloadz.com/go?id=382995 if you haven't already...

STARR TALK WITH SONNY STARR...UPCOMING RADIO INTERVIEW WITH ME

I just got an email from Sonny Starr asking me if I'm available Friday at 11 a.m. Pacific Time. I said yes. I think that's when we'll be recording the STARR TALK WITH SONNY STARR show.

The show airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. Pacific Time, and I think he has the next few shows already "in the can," so I don't expect the one with me to air real soon. But I'll certainly keep you in the loop and let you know where to logon in to catch it the night it airs. (The show is radio and Internet-based, as was the Sci Fi Pulse show, so it will be available in perpetuity for you to catch any time).

The guest blog I'm doing this week for Pat Bertram is available in perpetuity, too... so if you've missed any of it, you haven't really. Just go to an earlier blog post and follow whichever link you want to whichever interview or blog you want.

I'll even provide the link to thE 2006 podcast I did with Rico Dostie of Treks in Sci Fi right here:

http://treksinscifi.com/podcast_notes/index.php?PHPSESSID=d10f3438647550d1f98d692ffe424058&s=DeForest+Kelley

(Scroll down a little bit when you get there until you see my photo, then click on the link that brings up the podcast.)

One of My Articles to Appear Tomorrow...

Author Pat Bertram (More Deaths Than One and A Spark of Heavenly Fire, available from Second Wind Publishing, LLC; Bertram's website URL is http://patbertram.com/) is scheduling a Facebook Event for tomorrow.

For the event, she'll be publishing my newest article, Writing a Memoir, and then will be opening up the forum for its readers (mostly writers) to send me questions.

If you're interested, here's the link:
http://ptbertram.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/deforest-kelley-a-harvest-of-memories-my-life-and-times-with-a-remarkable-gentleman-actor/

Let me know what you think afterward, please!

Word of Mouth Cures That Really Work

Interesting article!

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100237727&GT1=31036

My Interview Is Available at This URL...

My interview at Sci Fi Pulse is available to hear now:

http://audioam.blogtalkradio.com/show_518012.mp3

I'm on after the first 45 minutes to the end of the show.

Let me know what you think.

Here's The Link to TODAY's Radio Show With Me...

Check it out ahead of time to familiarize yourself with the protocol. There will be an opportunity to call in and ask me questions.

The call in number appears in the URL below:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/SciFiPulse/2009/05/10/Episode-Seven-Post-Trek-Discussion-Featuring-Writer-Kristine-M-Smith

Please Note: In order to call in and ask a question, you have to sign up (it's FREE and FAST!!)

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Thanks to Mary Doman for this:

In the May 11-17, 2009, issue of TV Guide, Leonard Nimoy is interviewed by William Keck in the article "A Fresh Enterprise".

Here is what Nimoy had to say about DeForest Kelley:

Just ask what it was like observing the scene when a young James Kirk (Chris Pine) first meets a cranky Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban), and the memories of his days with the original Bones overwhelm Nimoy with phaser-like force. "I started crying--and it still moves me now," he says, voice quavering as he remembers his old pal DeForest Kelley, who passed away 10 years ago this June. "I loved De Kelley, salt of the earth. I cried a lot watching this production."

I'm Ranked #67 out of 20,000+ Writers at Elance!

Holy Bazoley! I just found out that, in addition to being ranked as a Premier Provider at Elance (which is huge!), I'm ranked #67 out of 20,000-plus Writing and Translation providers at the site! (Up from #69 last week.) And I just hung out my shingle there early last year, and didn't get many projects until November of 2008 because I was such a newbie, without a quantifiable track record as a copywriter! WOO HOO!

I'm also getting 10% of the the bids I bid on. When I started out, I was getting just 2%. (Again, because I didn't have a portfolio or a track record at Elance until November or thereabouts.)

This is fantastic news! I'm tickled pink.

So if you or anyone you know needs a good -- no, a great -- copywriter, no matter where you are in the world, please visit (or have them visit) my Profile Page at Elance. The URL is http://kristinemsmith.elance.com/. YOU can just click on the photo on this page (upper left hand corner) to go there.

I'm dancing on the ceiling over this news.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Trekker-in-Chief Wants a White House Screening of the New Trek

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=99728199923&h=sXRAS&u=M7pQq&ref=nf

Sure am glad I voted for this guy! I knew Michelle Obama was a big TREK fan, but didn't know about the Prez. NOW I DO!

So is King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. He actually visited a STAR TREK set when I was living in Hollywood.

Maybe in 2012 we should ask all the candidates for their take on TREK! It might be a real eye-opener! And ask them who their favorite character was, while we're at it.

Not Everybody's Happy with New Trek Movie...

Thanks to Mary Doman for this link. She wanted my opinion on the article.

(WARNING: There are several spoilers in the attached article, so if you want to see the movie before reading this blog entry, please do so!)

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2009/05/trekkers-take-illogical-new-star-trek-warps-coherency

My opinion: I enjoyed the movie, and hey, Wired writer, let's lighten up:

1) It's the first movie of the new franchise and

2) it's based in an alternate universe than the one we're used to

Remember original TREK's first movie, STAR TREK: THE MOTIONLESS PICTURE? (Groan. That one was worlds worse than this newest effort.) 'Nuf said.

Let's give the franchise some time to develop its legs. The new offering is a fun, quite riveting first attempt, and a worthy successor (despite all the deus ex machinas necessary to keep it all on track). It will never replace original TREK, nor is it meant to.

SO WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE FUMING?

STAR TREK SHOULD BE FUN!



Don't forget the radio interview tomorrow! Scroll down to the next blog entries to get the scoop on how to access the show and call in.

Update for This Sunday's Sci Fi Pulse Interview...

Here's the latest scoop from Ian Cullen at Sci Fi Pulse, moderator for the Sunday Radio/Internet Interview with me:

Ian will be starting the show at 2 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. During the first 45 minutes, he and a few others will be going over their thoughts in-house about the new movie. The interview with me will begin shortly after 2:45 pm PDT.

The phone number you need to call in on is (347) 308-8787. But please WAIT to call in until you hear me with Ian on the air, because the studio has limited lines and I need to be on one of them. (DUH!) Up to five people can call in on the line at once and get a spot. At least two lines will be dedicated to callers.

I've already heard that several of you (two in the Hollywood area, one in Colorado, two in New York, and others) will be listening in and may even be calling in, so it should be a lot of fun.

See you there, then! (Er, hear you there, then, I mean!)

The show will be available afterward to listen to, if you are too swamped with Mother's Day happenings to listen in on Sunday.

STAR TREK MOVIE REVIEW

I think JJ Abrams and crew have hit it out of the park and have re-energized the franchise with the new STAR TREK movie. The movie was fun, dramatic, funny, and the production values were stellar. I think all of the actors played their parts very well.

I didn't "get" (at all) the story line about Spock and Uhura being all over each other but hey, maybe that was a part of the alternate universe the story line makes reference to? (I often get lost when watching sci fi.) A romantic liaison between the two was not even hinted at in the STAR TREK universe I'm familiar with. Last I knew, Uhura and Scotty seemed to be an item, or on the verge of becoming one. And I hate to think of Uhura, lovely as she is, "making the rounds" of the starship. I'm an old-fashioned (monogamy-minded) girl.

As to how I think Karl Urban did as the new McCoy: He made the new McCoy uniquely his own, just as De made the original McCoy uniquely his own. The two actors are not perfectly interchangeable in the McCoy role because each actor brought to it his own soul, style, and sensibilities.

I truly believe that Karl Urban did as good a job of "representing" (as opposed to "resurrecting") the character of McCoy as anyone on the planet is capable of doing today. McCoy's mannerisms and sardonic humor are there. Urban definitely did his homework, as did the writers of the show. Urban and the writers "got" -- and get -- McCoy. There is no doubt about that.

That said, there is really no "De" in the new McCoy that I could see. (But this is expecting far too much of anyone who isn't De!) Urban "channels" Dr. McCoy beautifully. But McCoy without De is, for me (and perhaps only for me) missing a crucial element.

I guess that's because I was so close to De that I always resonated most to the De "flavoring" in McCoy more than I did to the McCoy character itself. So my perspective is perhaps unique, so in no way do I want this "problem" of mine to come across as anything less than a stellar review of Urban's portrayal.

Bottom line: I give a resounding thumbs up to BOTH McCoys... the old and the new. Each took the character and gave him life that throbs and dances on the screen. Both made magic.

Urban did a masterful job.

I just miss De... and always will. So watching a new McCoy is both joyous and bittersweet to me.

LONG LIVE BOTH McCOYS!

I'm Going to see STAR TREK Today

This morning I'm taking in a matinee of the new STAR TREK film. I'm looking forward to it because I've heard so much about how well Karl Urban did at "resurrecting" the reel McCoy. I'm also taking a hanky, because I understand that Nimoy cried when he screened the movie and saw how well Urban did with De's character.

The reason I'm seeing it this soon (I wasn't planning to see it opening weekend) is because on Sunday, as you know, I'm being interviewed by Ian Cullen of Sci Fi Pulse on blog radio and he's going to ask me what I think of Karl Urban's take on the "reel" McCoy, so I can't just take other people's word for it; I have to see it for myself before I offer an opinion. I'm just glad to know that my opinion will probably be a good one. It would be just awful to have to tell Karl Urban and his fans that I think he blew it! I don't anticipate that happening. It sounds like he got closer to the original McCoy than the other two actors did with Spock and Kirk. But the new Spock looks so much like the original that I'm having a hard time believing it until I see it.

I think they've all probably done a marvelous job with the roles and I fervently pray that they will have as much fun -- and as much success and longevity -- as the original cast did. It's time for a new generation of fans to catch the bug and boldly go!

And yes, yes, yes... I will blog about it when I get home. So stay tuned. You'll probably be able to read my "review" in less than six hours from now.

Beam me up,

JJ Abrams!

Here's The Link to Sunday's Sci Fi Pulse Radio Show With Me...

Check it out ahead of time to familiarize yourself with the protocol. There will be an opportunity to call in and ask me questions. The call in number appears in the URL below:


http://www.blogtalkradio.com/SciFiPulse/2009/05/10/Episode-Seven-Post-Trek-Discussion-Featuring-Writer-Kristine-M-Smith

Great Interview with Karl Urban at Trekmovie.com

Thanks again to Mary Doman for this link:

http://trekmovie.com/2009/05/06/exclusive-interview-with-karl-urban/

Karl Urban definitely "gets" what De was doing with the McCoy character.

There's one thing Urban responds to in the interview that I would like to put in my two cents worth about, too:

I, too, have heard a few (very few) comments over the years that some of McCoy's comments seemed "racist" or xenophobic. Comments like "You pointy-eared hobgoblin" and stuff like that.

I disregard such fears out of hand. McCoy was not racist in any way, shape or form. (Good heavens, how many times did he offer his own life, limb or sanity for all manner of sentient beings?)

I think people who feel this way are seeing McCoy from the limiting perspective of today's culture, with its pervasive-but-carefully-cloaked racist underpinnings.

Two people working closely together - or even close friends who sometimes get on each other's nerves - often choose a particular characteristic of their sparring partner to differentiate themselves from the "accused:" Four-eyes, Blond Bimbo, Skinny, Commie or Bleeding Heart (for liberals), what have you. In certain ways, these become "terms of endearment," because they are ways to convey, "We're close enough as friends that I can insult you and you know I'm just trying to get your attention; it's nothing personal. I love you -- but you are driving me absolutely crazy right now, crazy enough to call you something that sounds like I don't even like you!"

Dr. McCoy and his alter ego, DeForest Kelley, had not one drop of racism in them. Even though De was raised in the deep south (as was Gene Roddenberry), he came away from there knowing that all are God's children and all deserve to be regarded with respect and deference. De's preacher father spent every fourth Sunday preaching in black churches, and one of De's closest childhood friends was a black boy whose family lived in desperate conditions. (De tried to locate this family during STAR TREK to help them out financially because he finally had the wherewthal to do something significant for them. The story is in my first book about De, DeFOREST KELLEY: A HARVEST OF MEMORIES. And this was back in the late 60's when few people believed they would see a black President in their lifetimes.)

One of De's most prized possessions, which he kept in his wallet, was a snippet from an interview Paul Winfield (Captain Terrell et al) did. In it, Winfield said that De Kelley (I'm paraphrasing) was the least racist man he had ever met. For De to read that probably tickled him to his toes and put a tear in his eye, because all people who aspire to be -- or feel we are -- "pure as the driven snow" where intolerance or racism is concerned would love to hear something like that from our black, Hispanic, Asian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Catholic, etc. friends and associates. We all want to feel that our culture has not tarnished our souls to a point that racism (or any other type of cultural intolerance) can be spotted by the groups that the bigotry most affects and hurts.

Dr McCoy and DeForest Kelley both pass the "smell test" for racism. Both pass with flying colors.

Watch the episodes again. You'll be able to discern the difference. McCoy was being a rascal, not a racist.

Just How Good Is Karl Urban As Dr. McCoy?

"Leonard Nimoy said that he actually cried during one of the screenings of the new movie as he watched Karl Urban filling the role of Doctor McCoy, because Urban's sense of De's portrayal of McCoy was so accurate."

Oh, God... guess I'd better take a hanky to the movie, huh?

Thanks for this, Mary Doman!

TREK FANS WILL ENJOY THIS ARTICLE

http://tech.msn.com/products/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=19523950&Gt1=40000

A Terrific Quote. Memorize It and Believe It!

"I'd gone through life believing

in the strength and competence of others,

never in my own.

Now, dazzled, I discovered that my capacities were real.

It was like finding a fortune in the lining of an old coat."

-- Joan Mills

The above is what I discovered about my helping abilities and resiliency during the fourteen month period of time during which I lost my mom, DeForest and my dad to death. In the first two cases, I became a trembling caregiver for mom and De (eight months apart), not knowing if I would be able to provide what was needed, or whether I would survive the trauma of what was being required of me.

It's also what I discovered as I began to truly trust in my abilities as a writer. I stopped comparing myself with other writers and discovered the truth of what De and others had been telling me for years: I have a remarkable knack for stringing words together!

I hope you, too, have found that the above quote has resonated with you and that you recognize, with a smile and a little surprise, all of the things you are capable of and all the things you have accomplished well. God doesn't make junk, you know! (We may at times make junk of what God has created, but He didn't create any of it to become junk.)

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And... on another spiritual note....

I just received an email comment about yesterday's blog entry from Mary Doman and asked her permission to publish it here. She said yes, so... get a hanky.

Dear Kris…Your blog remembrance of the May 4th anniversary when you first met De and Carolyn transported me back to a time nearly 7 years ago, when my father died.

My 85-year-old Dad went into the hospital for a gastric upset on Thanksgiving Day 2002. By the next morning he was comatose. He died later that day, surrounded by his family and a myriad of friends. I experienced a sure and certain conviction that he was resurrected and with Our Lord. And yet I still could not find a way to reconcile the incompleteness I felt at his absence. That incompleteness became a fervent focal point of many of my prayers.

June 8 of the next year (the day after my birthday) was a Sunday. I went to my church, Emmanuel Episcopal, for Communion. As I knelt in my pew for the blessing of the Offering (the monetary collection and the Bread and Wine), I suddenly felt the distinct presence of my father next to me on my left, his arm around me.

At the same time, a voice inside of me interpreted the words of the blessing in a new way, and I received the reconciliation I had been seeking. When I read your remembrance, I received a very strong directive to find the interpretation I had been given, and send it to you, modified to suit your relationship with De. The words in quotes come from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.

So, on May 5, my late mother’s birthday, I am sending it in honor of De and you, and the very blessed relationship you shared. The words come to you as they did to me, from Our Lord:

"All things come of thee, O Lord"...including DeForest, whom I gave you to help guide you. As you treasured DeForest, so he treasured you, recognizing that you were My gift to him. Likewise, DeForest was My gift to you, guiding you by his words and deeds into the paths I have chosen for you.

"...and of thine own have we given thee." Now it is your turn to open your hand, the one that held DeForest’s hand on Earth. I do not ask you to let him go, but rather to make room for My hand as well as his, now that he no longer walks the Earth with you. Put his hand into Mine, for he is Mine, just as you are Mine.

Be at peace and comforted, Kris.
Mary

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We (Carolyn, De, Pastor David Grant, and I) were all holding hands as De passed away, and we had all given him our permission to go with the Lord. So we really did hand him over to God in those final moments.

I guess I may as well tell, here, of my own spiritual visitation (one that occurred four years after the completion of my first book about De.) . It seems proper timing for it!

Just two weeks after Carolyn Kelley passed away (in 2004), I was lying in bed just about ready to fall asleep, in that state where the mind is free and thinking of absolutely nothing just before you slip into unconsciousness.

Suddenly I sensed, palpably, two spirits leaning over me from the left side of the bed. I knew immediately that they were De and Carolyn, even though I hadn't even been thinking of them when I slipped into bed.

And both of them were at peace, and I knew they were smiling (although I couldn't see them). Their very presence existed at that moment, it seemed, to bathe me in their love, in God's love. I suppose I should have been afraid to experience something this real, this palpable, from the spiritual realm, but I wasn't, at all, because it was a heaven-and-earth interface -- there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of.

The visitation lasted for just a few seconds but I know it was a gift from God, letting me know that the Kelleys were both safe, and with Him, that they are healthy again, together again (so much for "til death do us part"!) and that they are very happy where they are.

I know it's going to take me at least a couple centuries of earth time before I even think to take my eyes off Jesus after I get to heaven, but when I do begin looking around for who else is there, I know I'll find De and Carolyn and Mom all standing nearby, just waiting for their embrace...

"When I get where I'm goin'

Don't cry for me down here!"

-from the song

P.S. I apologize for the formatting errors. It looks right in "Preview" but formats weird when I publish it! I really do know all about paragraphs and such!

This has been happening for the last two days...

I Met DeForest Kelley 41 Years Ago Today....

Flashback, May 4, 1968

Wow! I just realized it's May 4th.

I met DeForest and Carolyn Kelley for the first time on May 4, 1968, 41 years ago today. Never would I have dared to dream, on that special day, that this meeting was a God appointment and that the Kelleys would figure into my life in the way they have and always will.

It seems like a fairy tale dreamed up by a school girl. But DeForest Kelley and his wife Carolyn helped make it all come true for me, as they did for so many others.

I have a three ring binder here at home containing copies of De's important papers. I have the list he wrote for me of the addresses and phone numbers of his closest friends and relatives, the people he wanted me to call as soon as he passed away so that I could give them the sad, unexpected news and they wouldn't have to find out on the radio while driving home or on the TV after they got home. I have a copy of his personal address and phone book. He wanted me to have all this for the biography I never wrote. (I loaned it all to Terry Lee Rioux so she could do the honors, because I'm an anecdotal writer, not an historian.) I have lots more... andI will find an appropriate repository for all of these artifacts -- a museum that "gets" and truly honors his importance -- and pass it along to them when I'm sure I have found the right one. Terry is helping me decide because she's the historian. I just pulled it out of my archives because I remembered that on the cover of this (very sentimental to me) three-ring binder is a poem I found and placed there, because it pretty much says it all. It reads, in part...

FOR YOU

by Martha Snell Richardson

The things you loved I have not laid away

To moulder in the darkness, year by year;

The songs you sang, the books you read each day

Are all about me, intimate and dear.

I do not keep your chair a thing apart,

lonely and empty, desolate to view --

But if one come a'weary, sick at heart --

I seat him there and comfort him for you.

I do not go apart in grief and weep,

For I have known your tenderness and care.

Such memories are joys that we may keep,

And so I pray for those whose lives are bare...

Perchance so much that now seems incomplete

Was left for me in my poor way to do,

And I shall love to tell you when we meet

That I have done your errands, dear, for you.

OK, I'm in tears. This poem reveals the soul of what my two books about DeForest were written to accomplish: I wanted to finish the loving errands that sickness compelled De to leave undone, to let his fans, his friends and his co-workers know that he loved them more than they would ever be able to accept or realize.

He was simply and truly sum'pin' else, my friends.

The PR is LIVE Now!

WOO HOO! The press release for my new book, The Enduring Legacy of DeForest Kelley: Actor, Healer Friend has been LIVE since midnight at PRWeb and the book has already received three five-star reviews (highest possible rating) at Payloadz.

Gosh, I love it when a plan comes together!

There have already been 4,700 views of the press release. A significant percentage of viewers have also printed out the press release for follow-up. Perhaps with the new movie coming out this week I have finally released a PR that won't be swallowed up (God forbid!) in the way the PR for the first book was. (DeForest Kelley: A Harvest of Memories came out just weeks after September 11th, 2001 and not even I was interested in thinking about much else in the aftermath of that tragic day.) I'm glad I had the insight to release it this week just before the debut of the newest TREK incarnation and not wait until the actual 10th anniversary of De's passing (June 11th, 2009). That would have been too sad a day to do it, anyway. Why not announce it when the puppies are bouncing over a new TREK movie, so it can do double duty?

I will be going to Facebook and listing an announcement on the De Kelley fans pages there, and on some of the STAR TREK sites as well.

Thanks to all of you who worked like the Energizer bunny to get the word out in advance of the PRWeb release. Because of you, the outlay for the PR ($100) is already halfway paid off! That means that 10 people downloaded the book before the PR even went live at PRWeb.

Keep at it! If you visit a De or Trek website that doesn't have a blurb about the new book, please send them the PR and let them deal with it, if you would be so kind!

Thanks!

Here's a copy of the official PR from PRWeb (you can cut and paste it wherever you like in the TREK/De Kelley realm as long as it, or something about the new e-book, isn't already there:)

New DeForest Kelley Book Debuts During Tenth Anniversary of Star Trek Actor's Passing

Kristine M Smith, author of DeForest Kelley: A Harvest of Memories (2001), celebrates the late actor's enduring legacy in a new e-book

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) May 3, 2009 -- In the first edition of a newly-released 61-page e-book, The Enduring Legacy of DeForest Kelley: Actor, Healer, Friend, DeForest Kelley's former personal assistant Kristine M Smith has compiled the memories and reminiscences of nearly two dozen fans and friends whose lives were blessed and changed forever by the career or kindness of the late actor who portrayed Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the original Star Trek television series and motion pictures.

On the back cover of the new e-book, available via Payloadz.com, Smith writes, "I was going to write a book about all the things I had to leave out of my first book about De (in order for readers to be able to lift the blasted thing!), but then got to thinking that enough of my own story has already been told. I don't want anyone getting the impression that I was the only fan that DeForest and Carolyn Kelley took under their wings, because that simply is not true. The Kelleys were emotionally invested in their fans. They loved them, appreciated them, respected them - and it always showed."

The e-book reveals that many of Kelley's fans went on to become doctors, nurses, medical technicians, social workers, and other helping professionals. One even went so far as to become a space nurse for NASA. Still others continue to impact the world as writers, actors and teachers. All have realized the impact that the iconic "Dr. McCoy" has had on their lives. Smith says, "The legacy of the reel McCoy has blessed the world with some very real McCoys who continue to boldly go where few have gone before, making a difference every step of the way."

Smith adds, "One goal of the book is to encourage other Kelley and Star Trek fans to 'go thou and do likewise.' De was always most proud of fans who took their inspiration from the series and elected to use it to help others. Another goal is to present the e-book as a keepsake to new DeForest Kelley fans who are too young to remember when he was among us. I don't want anybody to miss out on his unique and continuing influence."

Author Kristine M Smith's blog is located at http://almostfamousbydesfault.blogspot.com/. Her copywriting service business URL is http://kristinemsmith.elance/com. She can be reached at KRISTINEMSMITH (at) MSN (dot) COM.

# # #

Info on the Upcoming Sci Fi Pulse Podcast/RadioShow

Ian Cullen sent me this about the upcoming radio show next week:

"Your friends [that's YOU!] can listen live and even join the chat room while we're live on air. Only catch to using the chat room is that they all need to have registered an account with BTR, which they can do for free and securely at http://www.facebook.com/l/186ef;www.blogtalkradio.com.

They can listen to the show live while hiding (LOL) or, if they choose to register an ID, they can listen and chat with other fans in the chat room.

Most people choose to listen to the syndicated feed which is on http://www.facebook.com/l/186ef;http://scifipulse.net.



So this is the scoop you need to rock and roll with us next Sunday, May 10th!

Go see the new movie before then. It opens Friday, May 8th! We'll probably be discussing the new reel McCoy, Karl Urban, at least a little.

Talk Radio "Appearance" About DeForest Kelley and My New Book Scheduled for May 10th

Hey, Trek and De Pals,

Next weekend (Sunday, May 10th) I'll be on internet Talk Radio with SciFi Pulse's Ian Cullen talking about my newest book about De, THE ENDURING LEGACY OF DeFOREST KELLEY: ACTOR, HEALER, FRIEND (available at Payloadz.com) and about my 30-year long association with the Kelleys (detailed in my 2001 book, DeFOREST KELLEY: A HARVEST OF MEMORIES, My Life and Times with a Remarkable Gentleman Actor , available at Authorhouse). If you order either of these two books NOW, you'll have the new one in hand immediately and the other one in hand by showtime if you order it from the link provided. Why not read them in advance if you haven't already and call in with any additional questions you want answers to (if there's a Q&A period during the show).

In the next few days, the publicity for the show will be up at the following link (and this is the same link where you'll access the radio show next Sunday, so please write it down or make it a favorite right now):

www.blogtalkradio.com/scifipulse


Showtime (Pacific Time) is 2 PM (I'll be on the second hour of the show closer to 3, though, I think); UK time (where the show originates) is 10 PM. If you live in other time zones, I hope you can figure out the time difference between either Pacific Time and UK time and wherever you are!

Please let other Trek/De fans know. And let me (and Ian) know how you thought it went afterward, please!

Thanks!

Mary Doman is the First Purchaser of ENDURING LEGACY AT PAYLOADZ.COM

Mary Doman

in Southern California

(Garden Grove, to be exact)

is the first owner of the new book,

THE ENDURING LEGACY OF

DeFOREST KELLEY:

ACTOR, HEALER, FRIEND.
Congratulations, Mary!


And if you think THAT'S special,

just wait till you read HER contribution in the book!

It'll blow you away... in the absolute nicest way.

Mary has also disseminated the PR as far away as Australia!

Go, Mary, go!

What a team De Kelley folks are!

Stay tuned! I expect there will be updates all weekend!

On Your Mark...Get Set... Go!

OK. I've just downloaded the new De Kelley e-book to Payloadz.com and ordered one copy for myself to make sure the system works. It does!

I have written a press release and submitted it to PRWeb for dissemination on May 3rd. I should get an approval on that in the next few hours.

Launching the announcement from PRWeb has cost me $100.00. Now I want to see who's the better disseminator of news -- Trek/De fans or PRWeb. David... or Goliath?

(Shades of Ashton Kutcher vs. Larry KingLive/CNN!)

So, here's the PR...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New DeForest Kelley Book Debuts During Tenth Anniversary of Star Trek Actor’s Passing

Kristine M Smith, author of DeForest Kelley: A Harvest of Memories (2001), celebrates the late actor’s enduring legacy in a new e-book

Seattle, WA (PRWeb) May 3, 2009 >
In the first edition of a newly-released 61-page e-book, The Enduring Legacy of DeForest Kelley: Actor, Healer, Friend, DeForest Kelley’s former personal assistant Kristine M Smith has compiled the memories and reminiscences of nearly two dozen fans and friends whose lives were blessed and changed forever by the career or kindness of the late actor who portrayed Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the original Star Trek television series and motion pictures.

On the back cover of the new e-book, available via Payloadz.com, Smith writes, “I was going to write a book about all the things I had to leave out of my first book about De (in order for readers to be able to lift the blasted thing!), but then got to thinking that enough of my own story has already been told. I don’t want anyone getting the impression that I was the only fan that DeForest and Carolyn Kelley took under their wings, because that simply is not true. The Kelleys were emotionally invested in their fans. They loved them, appreciated them, respected them – and it always showed.”

The e-book reveals that many of Kelley’s fans went on to become doctors, nurses, medical technicians, social workers, and other helping professionals. One even went so far as to become a space nurse for NASA. Still others continue to impact the world as writers, actors and teachers.

All have realized the impact that the iconic “Dr. McCoy” has had on their lives. Smith says, “The legacy of the reel McCoy has blessed the world with some very real McCoys who continue to boldly go where few have gone before, making a difference every step of the way.”

Smith adds, “One goal of the book is to encourage other Kelley and Star Trek fans to ‘go thou and do likewise.’ De was always most proud of fans who took their inspiration from the series and elected to use it to help others. Another goal is to present the e-book as a keepsake to new DeForest Kelley fans who are too young to remember when he was among us. I don’t want anybody to miss out on his unique and continuing influence.”


Author Kristine M Smith’s blog is located at http://almostfamousbydesfault.blogspot.com. Her copywriting service business URL is http://kristinemsmith.elance.com. She can be reached at KRISTINEMSMITH@MSN.COM.

The URL to order the book is http://store.payloadz.com/go?id+382995 (in case the link above doesn't work).

Send this information (you can cut and paste the whole blog entry if that's easiest) to every Trek/De Kelley person you know. We have until Sunday (or Saturday midnight, I should say) to find out how many e-books get downlaoded before PRWeb gets a stab at announcing the new offering.

Let's see if Trek fans are mightier than PRWeb!

Ready... Set... Go!

DeForest Kelley's Home Still Exists -- in Cyberspace!

Although the Kelley home was sold and torn down following Carolyn's passing in 2004, the realtors who sold it have kindly left the listing in existence. So if you ever wondered what kind of home the Kelleys had, you'll be surprised to discover how small it was and how un-Hollywood-like.

http://tours.tourfactory.com/tours/tour.asp?t=205550&home=www.JerryKeller.com&slink=-1&sReferer=&r=http://www.google.com/search?sourceid%3Dnavclient%26ie%3DUTF-8%26rls%3DGGLR,GGLR:2005-52,GGLR:en%26q%3D15463%2BGreenleaf%2BStreet%252c%2BSherman%2BOaks%252c%2BCalifornia

When furnished, it was the most comfortable-feeling home I ever walked into. It felt familiar and "like home" the moment you entered.

I wish it hadn't been razed to make way for a McMansion, but buyers aren't sentimental in the least, in most cases. In fact, they may not even have known whose home they were buying...

Alas...

But do enjoy the only tour you will ever have of the home!


P.S. I'm very much looking forward to finding out what Karl Urban has done with the reel McCoy this time around. I'll be seeing the movie opening weekend (next weekend) and blogging about it afterward. I expect good things, based on all I've read, seen and heard.

P.P.S My newest De Kelley book, the first edition of THE ENDURING LEGACY OF DeFOREST KELLEY: ACTOR, HEALER, FRIEND will be ready in time for the tenth anniversary of De's passing (June 11th, 2009). In fact, except for a final proofreading and deciding on its "carrier" (Payloadz or Clickbank), it's ready NOW! So get the word out, and let Trek folks and reporters know that I'm available for phone interviews about it...

Thanks!

Way Cool! Find Out What President Obama's Admin Has Done For Your State in Only the First 100 Days

This is a really cool interactive map. Check it out and tell your friends that the Obama Administration is on the ball and keeping things rolling in the right direction!

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/foundationforchange

Short and Sweet...

Sure am sad to hear that Bea Arthur (from The Golden Girls, Maude, Archer Bunker, Mame, and so many other great acting venues) has passed away. Her career has given me a lot of laughs, smiles and sighs... and will continue to give them, thanks to syndication.

Casey and I rode bikes this morning. Other than that, I've just been on the Elance website bidding on projects. A self-employed person's work is never done... but I wouldn't be happy any other way. I love what I do much better than anything I have ever done before!

Obama's 100 day anniversary is coming up this Wednesday. I am so proud of all he has accomplished and so proud I campaigned for him from the very beginning and voted for him. He's helping us out of the woods and re-engaging in global diplomacy in ways we have seldom seen before. That can only bode well for America's reputation in the world.

Guess that's all for now.

Peace!

You'll Like This -- I Sure Do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYgpPB1kwU

Here in America, in God We Still Trust!

Thanks to April Rogers (Selena's mom) for sending me this wonderful link!

Whew! Got Around Just in Time!

Jesus loves me, this I know! (In all the walks I've had the past four months, twice a day, I haven't been rained on yet!)

It's pouring outside. I just finished my second walk of the day and the skies opened up. The clouds looked black and foreboding both times I walked, but they were always just far enough away that I thought I could get away with very quick walks. It worked! Then I played Wii sports games (tennis, bowling and golf) for an hour and a half, so I'm well exercised.

Whenever I don't have a writing project, I exercise. And this month, that has been a lot of the time. My usual client (who gives me half of each month's income usually) is slowing down for this month and next (she's having her first baby in a week or so) and I haven't landed another steady client or even a temporary client to take up the time yet, so I'm scrambling to find some quick projects. I can't afford to remain idle, even though I'm walking and exercising my tail off -- which is a very good thing. I need more work than I need walk right now, so if you know anybody who needs an exemplary copywriter for a short-term project (a day, a week, a month, two months, whatever) please send them to my page at Elance (http://kristinemsmith.elance.com). Thanks!

Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover! Or a Person By Hers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

This is the most amazing, heartwarming, wonderful thing I witnessed in many a year...

Sending You a Little Spring!

http://www.procreo.jp/labo/flower_garden.swf

Click anywhere as much or as little as you like!

Weighted Vests + Wiii Fit + Walking = Weight Loss!

Yesterday I took advantage of a huge sale at Big 5 Sporting Goods (sorry, the sale ended yesterday) and bought a ten-pound weighted vest for $20 (they're usually $50). The Danskin vest is very well designed and sturdy, unlike so many other ones I've seen (and left in the stores).

I've already walked 72 blocks wearing the new vest and what a difference it makes. I've lost ten pounds over the past month or so with the Wii Fit and walking, so didn't think that putting on an artificial ten pounds would "stretch" me much... but it's amazing how quickly the body responds to weight loss, because wearing the vest causes my heart rate to go up noticeably, and my "dogs" are again feeling the way they did when I first decided to walk the lard off: they are barking at me for carrying around so much extra weight! I look forward to walking off another ten pounds in the next couple of months.

When not writing, or looking for writing projects, I have been out in the back yard cutting the brush from the periphery of our property to the east and north. (It's only on the east and north, thank God!) Decades' worth of dense, dead, dry blackberry bushes blocked our view in both directions, and numerous downed trees on the north side weren't even visible because of them.

Now we can see in all directions and have massive amounts of downed detritus to get rid of somehow. It's illegal to burn it, so we'll either have to rent a chipper, rent a truck and haul it all to the dump, or stack it up and wait for it to turn into a compost pile over the years. There is one spot on the property where a compost pile was started by the previous owners years ago, so I could just add to it, but I took so much down that the pile might rival Mt. Rainier in height by the time I finished, so composting isn't my first choice!

You ought to see my legs. Even though I wore heavy jeans, I got stabbed hundreds of times by dead, dry thorns from the berry bushes. I also got bruised all over because I was using a big limb cutter to take down limbs and sometimes I had to use other parts of my body -- my chest, sides, legs, etc. -- to use as a "fulcrum" when exerting enough pressure to cut the limbs. So, when I'm naked, I look like I've been in a bomb blast, with shrapnel markings all over the place. I stopped the project for the long weekend on Thursday, so now my body is beginning to recover after numerous sea-salt-and-essential-oil soakings, but for a while I looked like a survivor from a war!)

Last weekend we went on a 12-mile bike ride on the Orting trail for the first time this spring. It was chilly but it didn't take very long for all of us to peel down to one layer of clothing and start drinking water.

I'm loving being active. My Wii Fit "fitness age" fluctuates between 34 and 49 years old (depending on how tired I am when I finally decide to check it out), which is pretty phenomenal since I'm 30-35 pounds overweight and 58 years old. It's in the genes and in my background -- I grew up very active and it's hard for me to sit still for long. (In fact, I feel crappy when I do forget the time and write for 4-5 hours without a break. Human bodies weren't created to sit still for hours at a time.)

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

HE IS RISEN!

I went to church this morning for the 9 a.m. Bible study and for the 10-11:30 a.m. Easter Sunday Celebration. Loved the Bible Study, loved the praise and worship segment... but had I known that the sermon was going to be such a fizzle, I would probably have driven to the Lutheran church two miles away where the rest of my family worships and was celebrating Easter.

I worship where I do (http://www.churchforallnation.sorg) because it has a marvelous Bible study and the sermons are usually more alive and challenging. Now that I'm quite knowledgable about Biblical matters and my relationship with Christ is solid, enduring and passionate, I no longer resonate to "ritualistic" worship. I require evangelical or Pentacostal underpinnings -- with their passionate worship styles -- to keep me fanning the flame. If the service doesn't get me all fired up for God, I'm prone to skipping it. Because for me, God/Jesus/The Holy Spirit is why I'm there and what it's all about. I want to interface with God in church beside fellow believers, or else what's the point? Otherwise I could just stay home and share intimate time with the Creator. I don't want to just show up, "do my duty," and leave unchanged from week to week.

My love for God is a passion and a privilege, not a duty. That's why ritualistic worship leaves me feeling robbed -- and wondering how it can do anything at all to deepen one's relationship with God.

But I know that millions of people wouldn't have worship any other way than the way they have always known it. God meets each of us wherever he finds us. If in ritual, so be it. There's nothing "wrong" with ritual. I just don't feel that I'm connecting when a church is too ritualistic. I need "space" where the divine can reach in between the notes of the music and the words being spoken and captivate me in the same the way a lover discerns the right time and the right way to embrace his beloved and carry her to the secret place where they enjoy each other totally.

God is love. He loves us, and He longs for us to love him very bit as passionately.

Pastor Braaten was saying -- in Bible study this morning -- that the reason we don't see our Christian brethren being raised from the dead, or their lameness healed, or their blindness cured, is because "we don't love them the way Christ loved us. If we did, we could do everything Jesus did while he was on earth. In fact, he told us we would do even greater things than he did. So why aren't we doing it?"

We love lamely. We love selfishly. We love "just enough" to get by. We wear love masks. We usually love too selectively to be able to call ourselves genuine image-bearers of Christ.

We don't love the way Jesus loved -- enough to lay down our lives for others. Only some parents, lots of soldiers, and a few other souls love that deeply (and many of them only love their own tribe, their own kids, their own nation that much). The rest of us don't want to get involved enough to really make miracles happen in the ways that Jesus did.

And God can't grant the ability to just anyone because some would abuse the gift and take all the glory for themselves.

I'm so glad we're forgiven. If any of us tried to get to heaven on our own merits, we'd all be staring into the open gates of hell, gasping in horror at what we, ourselves, have managed to "achieve" -- a trip no one wants to take and a destination no one wants to arrive at for all eternity!

Without a Savior, salvation is bogus.

With a Savior, all things are possible -- even miracles like those He accomplished 2000 years ago and like those He accomplishes every minute of every day... even now.

HALLELUJAH! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

I'm a Great Foul-Weather Friend, a Lousy Fair-Weather Friend

You've heard the angst about fair-weather friends -- people who are with you right up until you really need them, and then they disappear.

Well, as it turns out, I can document (and have, in a book) that I'm a foul-weather friend. I tend to disengage whenever everything is going fine for my friends. Friends find me hard to access when all is well with them.

Perhaps it's the "rescuer" in me (or the loner/shy one) that causes this strange anomaly, but I just don't ever feel truly "wanted" till I'm needed. I was that way with DeForest and Carolyn Kelley, and I'm that way with everyone else, too.

Is it insecurity? Absolutely!

And it can cause a lot of problems. People who aren't in peril like to be acknowledged, too! Every human being on earth wants to be celebrated, not tolerated. I "get" that. I guess I've just always been such a "do-it-yourself" soul that I feel most serene and grateful when everyone else is happily doing their own thing, too. I rarely feel "lonely."

That's a good thing, but it can cause hard feelings for those who ARE lonely. Not being gregarious by nature, it's stressful to me to have to "entertain" others in person or via email. I love blogging, because it's self-directed and interactive on my own terms.

I'm always busy doing something, but most of it is solitary stuff -- writing, reading, walking, working outside, studying. Perhaps I shoulda been a monk -- or a monkette :-)

Anyway, I just want all of you to know -- if you sense in me any kind of "distance"-- it's nothing personal. It's just the way I am. I don't mingle much. Never have. At conventions, or at work, it's part of my "job" to mingle... and I do it... and you'd never know I was shy... but it exhausts me... because it's way outside my comfort zone.

My sister is just the opposite -- she loves it when people surround her non-stop. I would lose my ever-lovin' mind if I was surrounded non-stop.

But hey, if you ever need serious HELP, I'll be there! My emotional distance should not, ever, be interpreted as not giving a fig about anyone or anything.

I really do care. I just need a really, really great reason to show it.

Rare De Kelley Interview Footage... Enjoy!

Thanks again to Mary Doman for posting her "faves" at YouTube for others to find. These are some real finds!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaJUCuHdVg4&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkMsF_H8rws&feature=channel_page

And these few led me to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrnoGYKLwJA&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGmKPHuaHb4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMgm00A9Ghc

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k6kHBLvFgBNNaWV1jw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5PKFV-n5Os&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj1L1mmlX4A&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlNGeA0vFEM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sj4V-0pURo

Does anyone else have other favorite Kelley/McCoy YouTube favorites? If so, please let me know!

If You Want to Be Blessed, Check out this YouTube URL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC_qzefgElU&feature=email

Many thanks to Mary Doman for sending this link to me.

It's Friday!

Wednesday night Casey, Jamie and Wendy McNiven came over so I could help Casey with a school report and the construction of a "serval" for the class in which the serval report would be read.

For those of you who don't know, I raised a serval kitten (a knee-high African wildcat with ears like satellite dishes and long legs) from the time he was a week old until he passed away at age seventeen in 1996.

Casey is only eight so she never met Deaken (that was the serval's name), but of course she has heard a lot of stories about him, and she has a serval t-shirt which I gave her years ago even though it was waaayyy too large at the time I gave it to her.

So when the teacher asked the class to go to a library and check out several books about any animal they wanted to learn more about and do a report on, Casey chose servals.

They arrived Wednesday night with a short stack of four wildcat books and several sheets of impossibly large paper from which we were to fashion a three-dimensional serval using plastic bags for innards.

Casey had read the books before coming over, so when it came time to answer the questions (Where does your animal live? What does it eat? What kinds of other animals does it interact with, and how? What is its habitat like? What is the greatest threat to its existence? and the like) she wrote answers while Wendy and I stapled together the 3-D "stuffed" serval.

When Casey finished the written part of the report, she colored the serval on both sides. It turned out really great.

Then she had to write at least one paragraph about what make servals unique. She chose their ears because she remembered a story I had told her about Deaken's remarkable hearing. (If you've read my De book, you know what a terrible time DeForest Kelley gave me as a result of my having told HIM the same true story.) She wanted to type the story on my PC... so it took a half hour because she hasn't yet taken a typing class. I was patient and didn't go nuts as she typed... very... slowly... but made very few mistakes! The paragraph turned out great. We have a definite budding writer in the family!

Today my arm is back to normal size so I went out and mowed the lawn (the very large lawn) while Jackie dug up the weeds in the flower beds out front. I also walked twice today.

Last night Jackie and I went to the McNiven's for Wendy's awesome lasagna and while there I bowled three games of Wii Bowling -- left-handed, so I didn't mess up my newly-recovered arm. We also got involved with a few karaoke songs. Casey and I sang two songs together and then Jackie and I did a duet of "Almost heaven, West Virginia..." (what's the title of that John Denver song?). We got astronomically high scores and a "recording contract." (That means we did great.) I love karaoke. It always tells me I'm a great singer. I have a hard time believing that unless a machine tells me. I love to sing, but have an inferiority complex about it, because Jackie is the real singer in the family. She's fantastic.

What else? It was a little slow at Elance for me this week, so I have to make up for that. But my quarterly estimated taxes report will report that I made over $5K in three months. Had I been paid for work I did already, that would have been $6K... but some of the payments came in after midnight on March 31st, so they'll go into the next report.

I'm just amazed that I'm doing this well so quickly. I expected it to take a couple of years to be bringing in this much. It has really taken off the past three months and all the reviews are positive, so that fact (and my designation as a Premier Provider) is even bringing in requests for bids from buyers... I can't accept all of them, because I am committed to several "regulars," but it's great to have them coming in so I can accept the ones I have time for. In late April I will have to take on extra Elance work because one of my regulars will be going out on maternity leave for at least a month, so I'll have to find some temporary filler projects then.

I've been walking twice daily religiously as well as Wii-ing, so I'm slowly losing weight.

Sorry for this train-of-consciousness report. I usually take more time with these blogs, finessing them, but it's Friday night and I want to get off this PC and start enjoying the weekend right about now. If I've forgotten anything, I'll let you know sometime during the weekend.

Have a great one!