The cover summarizes life in many ways. It was not intentional but obvious when I looked at it later. The tree represents the many things that can interfere with a productive and rewarding life. This tree was once healthy and beautiful but now is in a state of dying. The limbs that once provided strong support are weak and failing. The eagle on a mission displays the majesty of God’s creation. The white surrounding the text of the title represents the protection that surrounds us daily—God, the creator; Jesus Christ, the savior; the Holy Spirit; a loving family; and a few loving friends. We are responsible for surrounding ourselves with these layers of protection by maintaining effective relationships with these great resources. As you go through this book, you will see a couple of points that are emphasized by bold and/or large font. This may be a revelation to some, a reminder to others, or for some, it will be very familiar and be a part of their daily life. One of my most impressive bosses referred to points like these as gold nuggets. That term has stuck with me for over thirty-five years.

On Collecting examines the nature of collecting both in Europe and among people living within the European tradition elsewhere. Susan Pearce looks at the way we collect and what this tells us about ourselves and our society. She also explores the psychology of collecting: why do we bestow value on certain objects and how does this add meaning to our lives? Do men and women collect differently? How do we use objects to construct our identity? This book breaks new ground in its analysis of our relationship to the material world.

Twelve-year-old Symphony Strange has had enough. Enough of the ‘gruesome twosome’ Phyllida and Suzette’s mean ‘tricks’ because they don't see her as being posh enough, enough of St Bartholomew’s School for Girls and most of all, enough of having no friends. With headteacher Mrs Grabbit and all the other pupils in the twosome's menacing grip, Symphony can’t see things ever changing. So she’s mega happy when she gets a new neighbour and best friend in the shape of Annabatya de Vole, who is also joining their year. Okay, she may seem a bit odd and is batty about bats, but Symphony thinks Annabatya is amazing and she totally is, at absolutely everything, which sends ‘the gruesome twosome’ into a meltdown. Promising trouble with a capital T, they threaten to snoop into Annabatya’s father’s top-secret work. Desperate to protect her new BFF, Symphony decides to play Phyllida and Suzette at their own game, but has she done more harm than good?

My dad, Lew Horton, always had a place to do woodworking. After he retired from Penneys he rented places in Lincoln, Illinois to store his stuff and work on projects. I helped him to move his shop twice-- a hard, dirty job. On one move an older fellow helped, probably because he had a pickup and Dad was using part of an old chicken shed on the guys property for his new work space. I didnt know the man, and when I asked Dad about him Dad explained, Hes just a guy, meaning, I suppose, that he was no one special and that Dad did not know him well. That phrase stuck in my mind for years, for some reason. Most of us are just guys, unworthy and unknown and forgotten in, at most, a generation. We are the common folk. But all of us guys really have some memories stored away that we dredge up for pleasure, contemplation, regret, analysis, and entertainment, and often they pop into my head as part of an unrelated chain of memories caused by something unknown. Some are triggered by events, others just come. I thought it would be nice to share them with someone else whether or not they wanted to know them. Perhaps this memoir will give some future historian or descendant a feel for how it was to be just a guy during my years on earth.

Boys' Life is the official youth magazine for the Boy Scouts of America. Published since 1911, it contains a proven mix of news, nature, sports, history, fiction, science, comics, and Scouting.

A burned-out pop diva runs away from fame and falls for a handsome Roman Catholic priest, who allows her to hide inside a Church rectory in an idyllic small town known as the real-life Mayberry. Grace Stevens has it all. Beauty. Fame. Money. But, at only twenty-seven, all has become too much. Grace has become a prisoner to her own fame. She’s tired of the crazy tour schedule, the intrusive fans, the paparazzi hounding her, and her sleazy business manager controlling her. She yearns for a normal life. And she wants to find love, true love. Danny O’Connor is a thirty-one-year-old Roman Catholic priest and a combat veteran of the Afghan War. He suffers from severe PTSD. Danny made a battlefield promise to God that if He got him safely home from war, he’d become a priest. Reluctantly, Danny agrees to allow Grace to hide inside the St. Mary’s Church rectory, where she takes up residence with him. What he didn’t count on, though, was falling in love with her. Now, he’s confronted with the ultimate choice—will he choose God or the girl? Will he break his vow of celibacy in the heat of passion or abide by his commitment to the Church? Just Grace and Danny is a slow burn but steamy romance about the power of love to mend brokenness. It’s a triumph of small-town values over the bright lights of the big city. It will get into your laughter, your heart, your soul. And maybe even a little into your tears. And leave you craving penny candy from a small town five and dime store, and bubble gum kisses in the rain.

Boys' Life is the official youth magazine for the Boy Scouts of America. Published since 1911, it contains a proven mix of news, nature, sports, history, fiction, science, comics, and Scouting.