: About Me

Having recently crossed that half century mark I find myself in the middle of a life change; illness having forced me to give up the job I had maintained for the last 12 years. Because of it I spend a great deal of time at home these days. Writing on the Internet has helped fill that time; something I truly appreciate. Helium is probably my favorite site; it being more of a community than just an online publisher. I also enjoy reading the work of the others writers on the site; but to be honest I read more on my own than I do through the "rating" portion of the site. I've come to enjoy the time I now get to spend writing , and it helps keep my mind occupied while I decide what to do with the rest of my life.

As for me personally, I'm average at best. Your basic working class stiff, my hands have made my living all my life; but writing has always been my private passion. I have had a lifetime love affair with words. I can not claim credentials like so many of the premier writers on the site. My lust for words was born of simpler, more natural seed; desperation. It took it's training in verse when I was still in my early in my teens; poetry being a medium that allows a person to encode those thoughts that need to be said but not heard. Since then I've tried to improve my skill and expand my range. Hopefully I have.? I guess we'll find out together.

Early on in my writing I had wanted to be the "Steinbeck" of American poetry. I wanted to be the common man poet, selling small books of verse from the racks at the register of the local grocery stores. The hope was to write verse in a way that would excite my drinking buddies as much as it did me. I settled on "working class regular," writing to serve a greater cause; keeping the worms from eating my brain. Words have always been my friends; offering me a way to drain the mental overload. Helium offers me a place to present those words. I appreciate that! In return I will try to exhibit those thoughts with clarity and creativity. I hope to develop a strong association with this site, and in time make contract with many of the other writers presented here.

My passion is ...

left to me alone

I know too much about ...

the little stuff and not enough about the really big stuff

My parents always told me ...

if you want it you got to go earn it

My childhood ambition ...

photography

My favorite memory ...

the roads trips I took on my bicycle in my early 20's

Why I write ...

to stay sane

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

I'm revisiting some old friends; Steinbeck's, "Of Mice and Men," & "The Grapes Of Wrath." This was inspired by an article I read on Hellium about, "Of Mice and Men" It reminded me of how much of the details I had forgotten and just how good those stories were.

My first job ...

I worked the grape fields at 14 ,as soon as I got my working papers

My best moment ...

I'm still waiting

My inspiration ...

the light of every new day

Pets & Animals > Pet Ownership Pampering your pet

7 of 7

America loves its pets - dogs and cats being the favorites. According to the American Pet Product Manufactures Association, 68 million dogs in the U.S have families. Forty million households have at least one dog; 24% care for two, and 13% have three or more. Cat lovers carry similar numbers with 34.7 million households having at least one. Of those, 51% have two or more. Birds come in a soft third, being in 3.4% of homes. A variety of small animals - guinea pigs, fish, reptiles, etc. - fill the gap. They are all pampered with great care and expense. The pet retail market generates nearly ...

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