Bacon By Alexandria Williamson

My daughter wrote the following for her college English class:

     Take a trip with me to my crispy, warm, happy place; I’m talking about a warm plate of bacon. After a long day at work, in class, or just doing chores I love slaving over a hot oven to broil my favorite food. Broiling with a slotted pan is the only way to get the crispiness that I desire, as opposed to pan frying, or the lesser cousin microwaving. In the oven the bacon pops like a synchronized fireworks show and hits the bright red oven prongs with a sizzle, this causes my natural reaction of “oohs and ahs.” The kitchen fills with smoke and the aroma of a late-night bonfire with a hint of maple syrup. At this point the beautiful little slices of bacon change from a light pink and white color to a dark red and charcoal color. The charcoal texture is not exactly what I look for, but to get the bacon crispy enough there has to be some sacrifices like anything else in life, sometimes the edges are rough, but the inside is what matters. When the sweet little morsels are cooked to perfection they must rest on a paper towel like a little blanket cradling a new born baby. When cooled a little bit, they crispin’ up and glisten with a little of the fat still on the surface. After about three agonizing minutes they are ready to eat and crumble when I pick them up but still stay intact almost like a chocolate bar melting in my fingertips. The flavor is that of nothing else, a sort of black sheep in the meat world. It tastes almost like a mix between beef jerky and hot sauce, hot sauce only because it always leaves a very strong after taste that is indescribable. After I finish a plate of bacon, I always look down at the white plate that is juxtaposed with the little black crumbs and wish I had more. Then again my stomach never agrees and growls because of the spontaneous overload. All I have is the memory of my favorite comfort food that I enjoy when I’m feeling down.


I am impressed and proud of her writing skills. Good job, Alex.

2011 Flooding of Omaha Is Officially Over

Haworth Park, Bellevue

I don't normally watch the news, read the paper but catch tidbits here and there via my radio, twitter and occasional internet sites.  I lived in Omaha most of my life, moved to Bellevue about eleven years ago and my home is just separated by a county line and the two cities run into each other. In essence, fairly close to Omaha if you're not familiar with Nebraska.

Mayer Sanders

Watching the local evening news, Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle deemed that the huge flood of the Missouri River is over. Finished. Done. Over. Kaput.  I'm always interested in what's happening on the river as we like to boat and the marina is about fifteen minutes from our home. Flooding has been horrible this year and I didn't count but obviously the Muddy Mo has been over flood stage for 104 days.
Maybe it's my frustration with not being able to plunk the boat in the water on scorching days this past summer but I find Mayor Suttle to be dense.  Did he consult the mayor of Bellevue? Does Mayor Sanders have to send out a press release or contact the local news stations?      
Omaha is up river, Bellevue is just a few bends down the river, and from here the same flood waters flow down past St. Louis, combines with the Mississippi River and heads to the Gulf of Mexico.  Believe me, I'm not brilliant. I knew the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico but I Googled the exact path. So since Omaha is about 15 minutes up river by boat is it possible that Bellevue is still flooded?
My thought is don't announce the Great Flood of the Missouri River affecting Omaha, Council Bluffs, Bellevue and other local highways and major roadways is done UNTIL all the flood water has receded.   

Mayor Suttle

Hmm, he looks a little perplexed.  Oh and did he contact the mayor of Council Bluffs?  I don't think so.  Just my humble opinion. Sometimes I forget that I don't live in Omaha and the larger city where the local news originates is not the same and the mayor of Omaha is not my mayor.  Mayor just give a shout out to the cities that surround Omaha. And to his credit, the mayor did mention Council Bluffs.

A Quote Of Inspiration

I love quotes. Especially quotes that inspire me. I hope you like this as much as I do.
"There's one thing your writing must have to be any good at all. It must have you. Your soul, your self, your heart, your guts, your voice -- you must be on that page.  In the end, you can't make the magic happen for your reader. You can only allow the miracle of 'being one with' to take place. So dare to be yourself. Dare to reveal yourself. Be honest, be open, be true . . . if you are, everything else will fall into place." -- Elizabeth Ayres

This is one of my favorite success stories!  At the age of 60 he took his Social Security check, a whopping $105 and took to the road to peddle his world famous chicken recipe.

Harland David Sanders - Perhaps better known as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, (now KFC) Sanders had a hard time selling his chicken at first. In fact, his famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it.

Recognize this man?

When it comes to success stories in the world of marketing one of the most remarkable would be that of Col. Harlan Sanders the Colonel behind Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Now, in today’s day and age you will see a multitude of Kentucky Fried Chicken shops on street corners around the world. Most would assume that this means that the founder of the restaurant chain simply came up with a very good tasting recipe, went into business and made a fortune. Hey, the product was a great chicken recipe and the world responded positively. What’s more to know? Well, there is a lot more to know because it provides a lesson as to why one should never, EVER give up when faced with adversity. You see, no one really wanted anything to do with Col Sanders’ recipe when he first debuted it in the late 1960’s.

Col. Sanders was a fellow who really loved to share his fried chicken recipe. He had a lot of positive influence from those who tasted the chicken. Now, the Colonel was retired and up in age and when most people who believed in the sanctimony of retirement the Colonel opted to sell the world on his cool new chicken recipe. With little in terms of means at his disposal Colonel Sanders traveled door to door to restaurants all over his local area. He wanted to partner with someone to help promote his chicken recipe. Needless to say, he was met with little enthusiasm. In fact, most assumed he was little more than a crank! While most would have given up under such circumstances the Colonel did not let it get him down. He persevered until he would hear that magic yes that would skyrocket his business. Of course, as history has shown he found someone who had faith in his recipe and Kentucky Fried Chicken was born.

Most people would have probably gotten extremely discouraged at the first instance of rejection. This would be a common reaction among the average person. Thankfully, the colonel was far from an average person or achiever and he continued on in the face of rejection. This should prove as a wonderful tale to anyone who is contemplating quitting when things are tough because it clearly shows that great things can happen if one persists with one’s dreams and never loses confidence.

Two things about Colonel Sanders:  1) Age did not matter to him. He was 60 years old when KFC became successful proving that it is never too late!!   2)  He never let rejection get him down. He was determined and believed in his product.  

There is still hope for me!  Information for this post was collected from Wikipedia.com, Smilepls.com and From Debt to Success. Thank you.

Dee Ann

Introduction

My blog is up and running! I'm currently working on a contemporary story that takes place in western Nebraska.  I'll keep you up to date as I progress with my WIP.  For the first few posts I'm going to focus on famously successful people who originally failed. I personally love to hear about people who overcame obstacles and achieved their goals!
Thank you  for reading and come back often!
Dee Ann