Rick DeStefanis

Rick’s Blog

  • The Sexual Revolution on Steroids

    Sex, Politics and The Emmys…

    Someone said the Emmy Award show the other night turned into a political-left mudslinging contest that even featured a cameo by that recurring bad dream Hillary Clinton. I actually expected as much and planned on ignoring it. It’s like going to the zoo, where you expect to smell the animal poop. And I must admit I missed Hillary because I had turned off the TV and gone to bed.

    So, what was it that sent me to bed so early? It was something that leads me to believe we have entered the new and surreal world of an alternative reality. It was something much worse than the political prostitution by the artists, and it was on national television for our children and grandchildren to see. What is this “it” to which I refer?

    Well, don’t get me wrong. I’m from the sixties generation. Remember? We were the ones who removed many of the taboos associated with sexual expression. But my lord! I believe we opened Pandora’s box instead. There were people right there on stage dry-humping one another as if it were acceptable civilized behavior. And there were also men and women alike pawing at their own genitals while singing songs with lyrics I wouldn’t want my wife or daughter to hear. What the mortal hell have we become as a people?

    I am all for freedom of expression, but this crap is beyond the pale. I listen now with disgust to all this drivel about respecting women, and it must be drivel because it’s the same people promoting black dresses and white roses who are fawning over these so-called “artists” doing things on national television that gets kids arrested while on spring break. We teach generations to dance like mating animals and we then demand they respect one another’s gender. No wonder our children look at adults nowadays as if we’re three-eyed space aliens. They see the paradoxes and the double-standards, and they’re confused.

    And that’s all I have to say about that. Thank you for enduring my rant. I think I’ll go now, and take my friend Evan Williams to my safe-place and read a good book.

    You may also enjoy: The Nature of Things in Mississippi and Glenn Hates Books by Glenn Conly

  • BEAR SIGHTING — DESOTO COUNTY

    Bear Sighting – DeSoto County

    Sometimes a photographer just has to get lucky…

    I was down in the Coldwater River Bottoms near Highway 305 shooting photos of wildlife this morning. For those who may not know, when I am not working on a new novel, I try to get out and take wildlife photos. (Okay, time for a moment of truth in advertising–and/or when I am not doing whatever the wife needs to have done first.) Today, however, I was free. Problem was, things were pretty slow this morning with only a few shots, of some birds and deer.

    This is the one of the deer—a doe and two yearlings—not a great shot, but what the heck. Every shot can’t be a classic.

    Junco in The Snow

    I also got these birds, a junco in the snow, and a thrush looking pitifully about for some sunshine.

    It had grown cloudy again.

    Thrush: “Is it spring yet?”

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Sparrow

    This sparrow shot was one of many, but I did get a pretty decent photo of a bluebird in a cedar tree. I may actually post this one on my photography website.

    Bluebird in Cedar

    The swamps and canals remained frozen, so there were no ducks, waterfowl, beavers and such anywhere around. I gave up a little before noon and headed back to the pickup.

    The outing was nothing to write home about, but I’m not complaining. It was a pretty good morning spent ghosting around in the river bottoms in search of critters. Little did I know I was about to be the most famous bear photographer in DeSoto County. Yup, I always did want to be famous–have groupies and order my olives stuffed with jalapenos instead of pimento.

    I cranked the old pickup truck and eased up the dirt road toward the blacktop. Thankfully it was still frozen, and I had no problems getting out of the bottoms.

    As I was coming up Adair Lane toward the highway I was having visions of hot coffee with eggs, bacon, and grits, when I glanced to my left and there he was—a bear.

    I could “bearly” believe my eyes. (Sorry, couldn’t resist that one.) Having often heard folks tell of sightings that include cougars, Big Foot and other such “rarities” while almost never producing photographic evidence, I was determined to get something that proved I had seen this critter. Stopping my pickup, I grabbed my camera. Luckily it was on the seat beside me with the telephoto lens still attached.

    The bear seemed to be resting against a tree and mesmerized by the warming temperatures. And in case you thought me foolhardy, rest easy. I didn’t dare get out of my truck, but rolled down the window, and got my photo. The animal seemed content and never moved. He was still there when I drove away. By the way, this one did not at all resemble our native black bears, not even the Ole Miss variety, so perhaps someone with a little more knowledge of wildlife can tell us exactly what kind of bear it is. The photo is below.

    Incidentally: With the good lord above watching my every move, I give my word, this is exactly how I found him, and the photo was in no way staged. I checked with some of the locals down there, and they too have seen him previously. After seeing my photo, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks has declared no interest in this bear sighting–typical government coverup.

    You may also enjoy: Road Trip: Jackson Hole and Rawlins Research and Rick DeStefanis Wildlife Photography

  • Valley of the Purple Hearts wins the 2017 BIB Award

     

     

     

     

     

    Valley of the Purple Hearts wins the BIB Award for Literary Fiction…

     

    The Best Indie Book Award

    Valley of the Purple Hearts, Book #4 of The Vietnam War Series, has been awarded the Best Indie Book Award for Mainstream Literary Fiction for 2017. I am humbled and honored, but most of all I am grateful to you guys, my friends and readers, for your words of encouragement and the reviews you have posted. It is because of your support that my passion for writing has not waned. I am, however, taking a break.

    Although rewarding in many ways, creative writing can be a tedious endeavor as well as an emotionally draining one. Writing Valley of the Purple Hearts was particularly so because the story is based on facts and the actual experiences of several friends with whom I had the honor of serving after their return from Vietnam. While in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg I spent many a less-than-sober weekend with these men as they spilled their hearts out and related their Vietnam experiences to me; something they did with no one else and never when sober.

    The story of an infantry squad in Vietnam.

    I will begin a new book after the first of the year. It will be a departure from the Vietnam War Series. A western of sorts, it will begin near the end of another war that fractured our nation over a hundred and fifty years ago. Because my stories are “fact-based,” this next one, too, will require extensive research, and I have no idea how long that will take. Regardless, it will be a welcomed respite from Valley of the Purple Hearts and writing about the Vietnam War.

    If you have any comments, please contact me. I do enjoy hearing from readers and friends, and if you have read one of my books and wish to leave a review on Amazon.com/books under the book title or Goodreads.com it will be more than appreciated. Your reviews are what keep me writing.

    Click here to purchase Valley of The Purple Hearts.

    You may also enjoy: Rawlins: No Longer Young and Silver Medal: Readers’ Favorite Award