TURKEY DANCE 2014

Pow Wow at the Sacred Grounds of the Vigo County Conservation Club

It's been a while since I last posted as I have been quite caught up in a career change. Nonetheless, the wife and I were able to attend the yearly Pow Wow at the Vigo County Conservation Club, where we are members.

We attend every year and this year's event was the best we've ever seen.

As you can see, we're just a bit skewed. We must be the villains in an old Batman episode.

Here is the Drum Circle, which is the focus of all the energy of the Pow Wow.

We brought along 3 of the grandkids, along with our daughter, Meghan. As you can see, they're having a fine time!

 

 

 The dancing was very moving and powerful and we enjoyed it immensely.

  

I find it amusing when people I talk to complain about illegal immigrants and how we should protect our borders from foreigners. I like to remind them that it is we who invaded the borders of this country hundreds of years ago and then systematically slaughtered, imprisoned and otherwise subjugated the original natives of this land. They always shut up after that fact is pointed out to them. Even my family, who immigrated here in 1746 are not native to this land. Only these people seen at the Pow Wows around the nation can be considered true occupants of this country, and only of very select few of them are true, full-blooded Native Americans. Still though, I have great respect for them, their culture and their devotion to the old ways.

I wasn't able to get a picture of it, but during the Ladies Dance, a large hawk flew directly over the Drum Circle. It was an inspiring site. Amanda and I, as well as the daughter and grandchitlins had a great time.

Hopefully, by this time next week, I'll have completed my schooling for my new career and have already begun the planning for the next step, heading back to North Dakota where all the money is!!!

James C. Wallace II

Royal Liaison of Oz

Great Times at the Wizard of Oz Festival Illinois!

On Saturday past, I had the pleasure of attending the Wizard of Oz Festival Illinois in Mapleton, Illinois, which is located a few miles south of Peoria along the Illinois River.

This was the third year for this festival and I can say that it was a huge success, both for myself and everyone who came to explore the Yellow Brick Road of Oz.

It all started the night before with a grand Wizard of Oz 75th Birthday Party in celebration of the film's release 75 years before.











Of course, the Fab Four, Glinda and The Wicked Witch of the West were in attendance and provided a wonderful evening's worth of entertainment for the large number of kids who were in attendance.

 

I had a great time doing balloon animals, a few small bits of magic and telling the kids a wonderful story about Billina the Hen and how she once laid Deviled Eggs. Look for this short story, and many more, later this year when Tails of Oz is published.

The next morning was a bit wet, but only for a half an hour or so, then the rest of the day saw cool temperatures and no rain.

Here I am early on before I had a chance to get completely set up.

Once things got going, the crowds were steady and seemed to be really enjoying themselves.

One of the highlights of the festival was Bob Walls Marionette Show, featuring Steven's Puppets.

As you can tell, the kids were absolutely captivated by the performance of the Wizard of Oz. I've seen this show before in Chesterton during that wonderful Wizard of Oz festival that is no more. The performer, Bob Wall is a most amazing talent with a wickedly twisted sense of humor. The best thing the festival organizers did was to book this show for their festival. In this day of video games, television and Kindle, seeing a live performance is such a rarity and kids need more of this in their lives.

The puppets themselves are quite detailed and very unique.

 

Later in the day, the Grand Parade down the Yellow Brick Road was a huge hit for all the kids, especially those in costume... and there were a LOT of kids in costume.

After a fantastic day that saw book sales do very well, the whole Gang of Oz got together for a group photo under the rainbow.

Then, it was time for the closing ceremonies. Lots of thank-you's for the many volunteers who helped make the event as good as it was.

And the closing event was a wonderful colored balloon launch in celebration of 75 years of the Wizard of Oz movie.

Of course, I had to get in one last photo with the great costumed characters that I've known for a number of years now from all the Wizard of Oz festivals I've attended.

Yes, it was a great day to be in the Land of Oz over in the Land of Lincoln. I look forward to next year and I expect great things as this festival continues to grow and prosper.

James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison of Oz

The Mad Hatter's Christmas in July!

Teatime was always a favorite time of day for the Mad Hatter of Wonderland as he celebrated the 7th Annual Mad Tea Party.

 Just then, the Mad Hatter looked at the pocket watch that had magically appeared within his sphere of reference and noticed something only he could have seen.

"I see by the clock that it mid-July, so it must surely be time to celebrate my favorite time of year!"

The March Hare reached down and plucked the Dormouse from his usual sleeping spot within the teapot.

"Do do, do tell!" the March Hare requested... and the Mad Hatter politely obliged.

“Twas noel, and the santaclaus did crèche and tinsel in the snow;
All wreathy were the aunts-in-laws, and the merry mistletoe.

’I wanta lectrictrain, my dad! With car that slides, with track that rocks!
Beware the bricabrac, and shun the magi jackinbox!’

He took his blitzen sword in hand; Long time the festive foe he sought,
So rested he by the reindeer tree, and stood awhile in thought.

And as in holly thought he stopped, the lectrictrain, with eyes of flame,
Came yuling through the fruitcaked shop, and eggnogged as it came.

One, two! One, two! And through and through the blitzen blade went snicker-snack!
He grabbed it, and, with it in hand, He went decembring back.

’And hast though come with lectrictrain? Come to my arms, my gifty dad!
O Christmas day! Yip yip! Hey hey!’ He caroled in his glad.

Twas noel, and the santaclaus did crèche and tinsel in the snow;
All wreathy were the aunts-in-laws, and the merry mistletoe.”

 Just then, very merry fireworks exploded high above as the Dormouse came floating gently down.

As he landed among the cups and platters and teapots of the Mad Hatter's gathering, he noticed that something very odd had happened. It was as though time had slipped by... or backwards, as the case may be. I'm not quite sure~

Why Alice, where did you come from?

James C. Wallace II

Royal Liaison of Oz

Full Moon Rising over the Baaken

Yesterday was a most unusual day in Orbital Mechanics.

1st: There was a Full Moon rising. (not so unusual)

2nd: It was Friday the 13th. (getting a bit more unusual)

3rd: Mercury is in Retrograde (that means it appears to move backwards in the sky).

Combine the three and now you've got unusual.

Fortunately, I had a decent camera on me where I work in the North Dakota Baaken oil fields.

 

It is such a beautiful country up here. No wonder the Native Americans  worshiped this land and considered it holy.

James C. Wallace II

Royal Liaison of Oz

Magician of Oz joins the 7th Annual Mad Tea Party!

Over the years, I have enjoyed participating in a number a blog events, celebrations and the like, all of which are usually related writing and such. Being a writer of children's books based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) by L. Frank Baum, I always enjoy these events.

In the past, I have especially enjoyed being a part of the Celebrate Oz blog happenings that are hosted by Oma Linda and her blogsite, Olde Bagg 'n Stuft Shirts.

Now comes a wonderful blog celebration entitled: 7th Annual Mad Tea Party; hosted by the blogsite; A Fanciful Twist.

Last year, I had the pleasure of writing a short story about the Mad Hatter for the Altered Oz blog celebration.

I'll be curious to see how the Mad Hatter celebrates his own very unique awesomeness during the 7th Annual Mad Tea Party?

James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison of Oz

Legends of Oz : Dorothy's Return Looks to Be a Big Hit!

This weekend sees the return of yet another fine film that explores the world of Oz. It has a high bar to step up to, but all reports so far suggest that this film is up to the task.

 

The following gives a pretty good description of the main thrust of this film:

"Dorothy wakes up in post-tornado Kansas, only to be whisked back to Oz to try to save her old friends the Scarecrow, the Lion, the Tin Man and Glinda from a devious new villain, the Jester. Wiser the owl, Marshal Mallow, China Princess and Tugg the tugboat join Dorothy on her latest magical journey through the colorful landscape of Oz to restore order and happiness to Emerald City"

There are many wonderful voices that this film draws upon. I was particularly pleased that Patrick Stewart, of Star Trek fame, 

 

voices the role of Tugg the Tugboat, who actually starts out as a tree, but ends up as a boat.

I have yet to see this film as I am out in the oil fields of North Dakota and away from movie theaters at the moment. I know that when I do see it, I'll be very interested in the role of Tugg, especially given that when I wrote Magician of Oz back in 2009, trees played a major role in the story. They include Tree-in-the-Road (an actual tree in Vigo county, Indiana that has a road built around it rather than having been cut down), the Council of Trees, the Gnarled Scrub Oak, the Flowering Plum Tree and especially The Sycamore, who leads an army of Fighting Trees against the Tin Woodman, who had destroyed so many of them back during the days of Dorothy's adventures. 

Another odd Oz connection with Tugg the Tugboat for me is that in my second book, Shadow Demon of Oz (2010), I wrote about a boat that comes to life named Navicula and also plays a major role in the story. Oz is indeed and wonderful place for many wonderful visions.

 

I wonder if Tugg the Tugboat will utter Captain Picard's famous command: "Make it so!"?

James C. Wallace II

Royal Liaison of Oz

The Great Baton Blog Hop!

Having followed the Writer's Fun Zone blog for a number of years now, I'm pleased to have been invited by Beth Barany to participate in the fun. It's all about the writing process and I'll be posting my own writing processes early next week, so look for it.

Be sure to jump on over to Beth's blog site and follow the fun and learn about how we writers go about our process for writing.

Baton Blog Hop: My Writing Process; by Beth Barany

James C. Wallace II

Royal Liaison of Oz

UPDATED: Food Poisoning at Red Lobster !!

 UPDATE

It's been 24 hours since I received a call from the local manager of our Terre Haute Red Lobster and I felt it neccessary to wait this long before responding as the call was very disturbing and I didn't want my initial anger to color my words.

That being said and time having passed, I'm still upset, so now I'll post my thoughts about Red Lobster's response to my blog posting of Monday.

To begin with, if you are not familiar with what occurred, please scroll down below this update for the original posting, which describes an unpleasant experience I had on Saturday at our local Red Lobster and their Lobster Fest promotion. 

So I get a call yesterday afternoon from a man who identified himself as Shawn (Sean), the manager at Red Lobster. He apologized for our unpleasant experience with their restaurant on Saturday and asked some very thorough questions regarding the food we ate. He was polite to this point and offered to send a gift card to make up for the bad experience. I expressed some concern about eating at the same place where I got ill and he reassured me that the gift card was valid at Olive Garden as well, which my wife and I both really like. This satisfied my concerns and I was pleased... for only a moment. 

Had it ended there, I would have considered the matter closed and posted a response here (as I have done with other issues in the past when dealing with customer service-related issues at other places) and praised the response and moved on. However, this Shawn/Sean felt obliged to then make a not-so-veiled implication that I was making up the whole story. "I'm not saying your making this up, but in the last several years, I have never had a single complaint like yours" was his statement. He outright accused me of lying and frankly, I found his comment to be both rude and offensive. If you have read any of my Oz books, you are well aware that Truth and Honesty are core values in the stories I write, especially since they are meant for kids and fans of the Wizard of Oz, not to mention that my parents raised me to be honest, truthful and I have imparted those values to my own 5 kids and 14 grandkids. 

As such, I will NEVER spend my money at Red Lobster again and I will certainly NEVER recommend Red Lobster to anyone... ever! No wonder Darden Restaurants are losing money with this franchise if Shawn/Sean is any indicator of the management style employed at the rest of Red Lobster's outlets.

 Previous Post Monday: March 31, 2014

Over the last few months, I had been reading where Red Lobster was facing declining sales numbers and facing a sell-off by their parent company, Darden Restaurants, and having enjoyed Red Lobster's fare in the past, I felt we should go there before it goes out of business. If my latest experience is any indicator, it won't be long before they are restaurant non grata! It turns out that I received a lovely case of food poisoning from their Lobster Fest.

Let's backtrack a bit for some background info. As I said, I've been reading reports of Red Lobster's imminent demise. So, when I started seeing ads for Lobster Fest while working up in North Dakota, I vowed to my wife that we would visit our local Red Lobster, which happens to be in Terre Haute, Indiana. We had been in the past and always enjoyed their lunch specials. Given our income back then, it was all we could afford about twice a year. Now, money is not an issue, so bring on the Lobster Fest I told myself.

So this previous Saturday, March 29, 20014, we showed up a little past 2pm and after a brief (15 minute) wait, we were seated and soon had two large Lobster Lover's plates before us. We hadn't eaten anything that day, so our appetites were quite high.

Initially, my wife was concerned about the serving temperature of the entree, but we didn't think too much over it. After paying our bill and going home, my wife felt a bit queasy and did so for the rest of the day. She was the lucky one! I also felt an initial queasiness, which soon turned into full blown diarrhea, severe stomach cramps and vomiting. I have spent the last two days confined to bed.

It's now a little over 48 hours later and, following a doctor's visit to confirm  my concerns, it does indeed turn out that I had a lovely case of food poisoning.

Thank you Red Lobster for a lovely bout of diarrhea, severe stomach cramps and vomiting. What a lovely way to spend my time off from work.

I will think long and hard about ever returning to Red Lobster, and may never if this is what I can expect from there. 

James C. Wallace II

Rainbow Hues for Mr. Tinker of Oz

It had been over a century since Mr. Tinker had built his ladder to the Moon in hopes of picking stars for King Pastoria’s crown, only to find the Moon so lovely a place that he had pulled up his ladder and decided to make his home there.

During that time, he watched as men from Earth in very strange vehicles came flying around his home. 

He watched in amazement as a number of those strange craft would split in two, allowing one part to actually land on the surface and men would get out and take a look around. He was amazed by the strange clothing they wore and how they bounced around, picking up rocks, saluting flags and even playing golf. 

Then there was that one time when one of those very strange craft landed near his home in Mare Imbrium, which he knew as the Sea of Rains, even though it had never rained there since his arrival. 

What made the visit by the oddly dressed men from Earth very odd was the even stranger vehicle they left behind, much like a horseless carriage, which Mr. Tinker discovered could allow him to travel great distances across Mare Imbrium.

Now, Mr. Tinker found himself looking down at the lovely blue planet where his former life in the Land of Oz had once been. 

He wondered to himself how things were in the Land of Oz and was even more curious how Tik-Tok; the Mechanical Man, who he and Mr. Smith had had invented long ago, was doing. Had his mechanical works remained in good working condition, or was he now only a pile of rusting gears, wheels and cogs? 

The visit by the men from Earth and the mechanical devices they left behind had rekindled his curiosity and his desire to revisit the Land of Oz.

He looked down at the gray dirt beneath his feet and longed to see color once again. With the exception of the blues and greens of the planet Earth which crossed the skies above Mare Ibrium every twenty eight days, much like the Moon had done when he lived in Oz, the only color to be found on the Moon was gray. Be it charcoal gray, light gray or dark gray, the color of his home was gray. He found that he truly missed seeing the Great Rainbow of Oz, as well as Polychrome, Daughter of the Great Rainbow.

Mr. Tinker adjusted the control button on the little silver box which controlled the size of the air bubble that surrounded him and served as his means of breathing while living on the Moon. The bubble grew a little bit bigger and Mr. Tinker reached down and grabbed a handful of gray, lifeless dirt. He watched as the gray soil slowly ran through his fingers and down onto the gray surface beneath his feet.

“What would Mr. Smith think of my little device?” he had often thought to himself. The little silver box was indeed quite a feat of mechanical ingenuity and Mr. Tinker was certain the oddly dressed men from Earth would have loved to get their heavily gloved hands on his device.

He recalled how he had nearly suffocated upon his first try at climbing his ladder to the Moon when he first discovered that the higher he climbed, the less air there was to breath, until he found himself nearly blue in the face and had to make a very quick decent back into Oz.

On his second attempt, he had created a bubble of air which he thought would work well, only to discover that as he approached the Moon, his breathing made the air inside the bubble stale and un-breathable.

Only after much thought did Mr. Tinker finally come upon a means of providing fresh air within the bubble that he depended upon if he was going to visit the Moon and accomplish his goal of picking stars for King Pastoria’s crown. He had called it his “Breather-rator” and it worked very well, at least as long as the small copper tank that contained air from Oz remained filled.

Fortunately for Mr. Tinker, his first journey to the Moon found him wandering the South Pole, where he found that by digging into the soil just a little bit, he would come upon ice. 

 

This was so because comets had crashed there long ago and the craters they made at the South Pole of the Moon had never seen sunlight, so the ice from the comets never melted… ever!

Mr. Tinker, being an ingenuous sort of fellow, discovered that he could place chunks of the comet ice into the small copper tank, and by tinkering around with the mechanics of his “Breather-rator” and placing a couple of metal plates that he found attached to an odd metal device which looked like a large mechanical bug that apparently had landed elsewhere on the Moon, 

into the copper tank, he could turn the ice into water and then the water would somehow turn into two types of gas. One gas he could breath, which he assumed was air and the other was some sort of gas which burned easily when lit. Of course, Mr. Tinker didn’t know about Hydrogen and Oxygen, which are the two gases that, when combined, make water. He only knew that could breathe one gas and use the other gas for heat and to power his new home on the Moon.

It was then that Mr. Tinker, awestruck by the apparent beauty of the Moon, decided to leave Earth and Oz behind, and live on the Moon. When men from Earth had left behind their horseless carriage, it had made his life on the Moon much easier, especially when it came to gathering ice from the South Pole. 

No longer did he have to walk for days just to get there. Now, he could do it in a matter of hours.

Still though, after many years of living on the Moon, the longing for color gnawed heavily at Mr. Tinker’s soul, as did his desire to check up on the condition of Tik-Tok.

As he contemplated the conundrum of which he found himself in, Mr. Tinker found himself thinking about rainbows and green grass, the road of yellow brick, of blue skies and the clear, cool waters of Oz. 

The small dwelling that he had carved out of the mountainside which bordered Mare Imbrium seemed dull and drab compared to his memories and a sadness overwhelmed the lonely tinker from Oz.

As he often did when times like this overcame him, Mr. Tinker went about tinkering upon the mechanical devices that he had created from the remnants that the men from Earth had left behind. He was nearly finished repairing a minor fault within the “Breather-rator” which had left him without heat during the last sunset when his screwdriver slipped and tore across the dull copper surface, leaving a tiny fine scratch in the metal and a hiss of steam emitting from it.

Mr. Tinker watched as a small cloud of steam rose slowly into the shaft of brilliant sunlight that came streaming in from the little window above the small doorway of his home. He marveled at the interaction of light and steam and was pleasantly surprised when the sunlight, passing through the water vapor, created a small rainbow arcing across the back wall.

 As he stared at the arc of colors splashing across the drab, gray surface of rock, his mind began wandering, as it often did when inspiration was looking for a way out.

“Eureka!” he shouted. His excited shout echoed across the rock walls and bounced off the inner surface of the air bubble which encased his underground home.

The little tinker from Oz ran about excitedly, gathering tools and working out details in his mind. He was coming to terms with the scale of what he had in mind and the thought of it filled him with excitement and enthusiasm.

For many hours, he tinkered here and there, putting together various parts he had gathered over the years from those places where the men from earth had landed. He had to make a return trip to the landing place on the Sea of Rains, using the horseless carriage, to gather more parts. He also headed south to gather more ice for his grand plan.

Finally, he was ready to try out his newest device, which he was certain would be his greatest achievement yet. He had made all his calculations and felt certain he had all the angles right, as well as the mechanics of what he now called his “Rainbow Projector.” Now, all he had to do was wait for the coming shadow. Fortunately for Mr. Tinker, the wait was only a few hours.

As he waited, he checked his calculations and felt certain the Terran Eclipse was near at hand. He had seen a number of them before and they had never failed to fill him with awe.

Now, he set about adjusting the control knobs of his newest invention, the Rainbow Projector, and filling it with fresh ice. In the distance, Mr. Tinker could see the approaching shadow of the Earth covering the gray lunar landscape with a reddish glow. 

He turned up the heat on the metal sphere which held the ice and soon heard the hiss of steam emitting into the flange from which the large bubble of gas would form.

As the shadow drew closer to his home on the edge of the Sea of Rains, he set about positioning the large silver shroud that he had fashioned from the silver linings of the strange craft left behind by the men of Earth, atop the ever-growing bubble that was rising forth from the metal sphere.

As the silver shroud encasing the rising bubble began to gain some altitude, Mr. Tinker attached the cords he had fashioned earlier. These, in turn, were attached to the Rainbow Projector, which was now rising high above his home. It reminded him of the balloon that the Wizard of Oz had used to enter Oz long ago.

Just then, the reddish shadow of the Earth reached the edge of Mare Imbrium and Mr. Tinker realized that the time to realize his greatest dream was nearly here.

Moments later, the Terran Eclipse began as the Earth’s shadow enveloped the entire face of the Moon. 

Mr. Tinker then played out more and more of the cord tethering the Rainbow Projector until it was high above Mare Ibrium and out of the shadow which the Earth was now casting upon the Moon’s surface. He played out just a bit more cord until he came to the marking on it that told him the Rainbow Projector was just at the right altitude for what he had in mind.

No sooner had the Rainbow Projector reached its final destination high above Mare Imbrium when a most magnificent thing happened.

A brilliant shaft of sunlight struck the bubble, which by now was more than a hundred feet across and Mr. Tinker watched in awed amazement as an immense rainbow of light spread out towards the northern region of the Moon. 

If his calculations were correct, and the little tinker from Oz was certain they were, the spectrum of colors should spill out just beyond the North Pole, where no one on Earth could see.

He hopped into his horseless carriage, which his Breather-rator now encased in a bubble of air, and made for the North Pole at full speed. He knew that he had about an hour before the Terran Eclipse would be over and he desperately wanted to see the results of his work before then.

Fortunately for Mr. Tinker, his transportation made excellent time and in less than 45 minutes, he was well past the North Pole 

and looking out upon the beautiful rainbow of colors that were laid out upon the gray, dull and darkened surface of the far side of the Moon.

Mr. Tinker looked back and confirmed that the Earth was below the horizon, so he was now confident that he, and only he, could see the rainbow on the Dark Side of the Moon.

For many minutes, Mr. Tinker marveled at the beautiful colors of the rainbow which were his alone. His thoughts wandered back to the Land of Oz and the colors which he missed so very much.

Just then, the Terran Eclipse came to an end and the splash of colors from the Rainbow Projector winked out, leaving the far side of the Moon bathed once more in darkness.

The trip back to Mare Imbrium and his home was filled with both great joy at what he had accomplished as well as great sadness at how quickly it had ended. Soon, he was back inside the hollowed-out cave that was his home and the Rainbow Projector had been pulled back down. The bubble of air was packed away in the back of the cave for further use when he needed more air.

“I do believe it is time to return to Oz,” he thought to himself as the little tinker from Oz began reassembling the long ladder which had been packed away over a century ago.

James C. Wallace II

Royal Liaison of Oz