I’m giving away a chance for a free, all-inclusive long weekend to my Tranquility Base Retreat in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas to everyone who subscribes to my weekly newsletter during April. For more details, go to steve-watkins.com, or sign up directly here. #notaprilfools
Old cypress barn north of Oil Trough, AR.
November news from WordServe Literary. Better to make the very last paragraph than no paragraph at all! Still feeling so incredibly blessed to partner with this agency.
As usual, some great things have been happening this month at WordServe Literary!
On the final post of each month you’ll find a list of Water Cooler contributors’ recently released books along with a recap of WordServe client news.
New Releases
Congratulations to author Martha Bolton and BroadStreet Publishing on the new release, Forgettable Jokes for Older Folks: Jokes You Wish You Could Remember about Things You Thought you’d Never Forget.
Laugh all the way to your next birthday … and beyond!
We all age, but why grumble about it? If you’re still here, have some fun and enjoy life. The best way you can do that is through laughter.
From well-known comedy writer Martha Bolton comes a refreshing book of jokes for older folks. Topics for laughter include senior foibles, doctor visits, grandchildren antics, travel, politics, pets, technology troubles, good ol’ days, and love.
Give yourself a laugh…
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An interview with my Seattle friend, Beth Jusino who will release her own “camino” book in 2018.
There are dozens of books written about people’s personal experience on the Camino. Today, a new one will be added to the list, and I’m particularly excited about it.
This is Pilgrim Strong, by my friend (and tattoo buddy) Steve Watkins.
Steve walked the Camino Frances (St Jean Pied-de-Port to Santiago) in the fall of 2015, setting out just a few weeks after I returned from my own adventures. He traveled to Spain by himself, and he took full advantage of social media and his own storytelling skills, posting almost daily updates, videos, and photos to the American Pilgrims of the Camino Facebook group. He attracted thousands of followers who journeyed vicariously with him through a winter Camino, complete with snowstorms and empty albergues.
A screenshot from one of Steve’s many videos from his Camino journey, shared on Facebook
Those posts, and the encouragement he got from his…
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My guidebook was, and is, like an old friend.
Every morning’s typical breakfast routine, planning the day ahead and thinking just a bit about tomorrow.
Dear David & Anna,
Everyone approaches things differently, I suppose. Some people try planning every detail as much as possible. Others go at it knowing almost nothing. Getting ready to solo walk 40 days across a country, I wanted a balance somewhere between the two. Your guidebook was the perfect planner.
It may be true that anticipation of an experience like pilgrimage is one of the very best parts. As part of my anticipation, I searched all the popular guidebooks and chose yours as my companion before, and during, the walk. It seemed it had everything a person could need.
Adventurers and authors, David and Anna Dintaman Landis
Reading through the sections in the weeks before departure, your descriptive narratives, elevation charts, beautiful photos, and historical sidebars only increased my excitement. If the trip…
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Another story about friendship and hospitality on Camino. So many stories.
Dear Maite,
It was a lovely Saturday for walking. The poplar trees stood reaching for the azure sky, golden and majestic, full of glory, leaves rustling gently in an easy western breeze. The late November weather was cool, but not cold, much as it would’ve been back home, and walking into Nájera my mind transported momentarily 4,000 miles west.
My imagination could practically smell the barbecue grills firing up for Saturday afternoon tailgates and SEC football games. It would be a good day to stop short, I reckoned, and enjoy a Saturday afternoon relaxing in your sweet Spanish town.
As I walked hesitantly inside Puerta de Nájera just a few minutes after noon, the furnishings practically said “welcome home.” You carried a mop and bucket working feverishly just behind the stairs and I noticed one young German pilgrim nursing his heavily bandaged wounds on a couch in a quaint sitting area…
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Not all my blog posts at Note a Day are appropriate for the Pilgrim Strong blog. This one includes a message that’s such a part of me, I felt it was okay today.
Dear Coach Roberts,
Before writing you this morning I spent time reflecting on your years as head coach here at Arkansas State. I was on academic staff much of your tenure and recall it as a new, refreshing, even glorious eight years. Something definitely felt different with you in charge. Something surely changed.
Then a little quick research into your win-loss record at A-State honestly shocked me. I forgot, by the numbers, you never had a winning season. There was a conference championship, a remarkable program “turnaround,” in fact, attendance numbers grew, you were a conference coach of the year, and we won at home much more than we lost, but we never had an outright winning season. That can’t be right, but the record speaks for itself. Or does it?
What I recall more about your ASU coaching career than wins and losses is the dynamic you brought to…
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(Reblogging from Note A Day.)
I’m often amazed and count it as a great blessing when I consider the personal, wonderful stories I have from Camino life.
Dear Kathy,
For the longest, I scoffed at notions of Camino Magic. I was wrong. You’re a slice of Camino Magic if I’ve ever seen one.
Happy birthday, my pilgrim friend. I wish you the happiest of days.
At the heart of everything I’ve learned about life are two simple things: (1) Everyone needs a cheerleader; and (2) we’re all at our very best when we’re cheering for others. It’s my good fortune to share both experiences with you.
As much as I’ve tried, words may never adequately describe my initial desire to walk the Way of St. James, or to convey the experience itself. If it’s not possible, that’s okay. Perhaps the best stories are the ones that remain forever in the privacy of our hearts.
Dana and I, meeting our friend Kathy McLeskey in Santiago de Compostela last November. We’d been social media friends for a year, but…
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