The blessings of having someone to walk the journey of life with you should not be underestimated. Your dreams, fears, and goals should mean as much to them as they mean to you. I’m a romance author and I'm lucky to have the MOST amazing man in the world by my side. The support I get from him is unparalleled. If you’re a writer, or an entrepreneur working on a startup, you understand the need of moral support (at a minimum) from your mate – without it, well, I can’t even imagine how that would work. The reason I’m writing this post is because my latest novel South Beach will be available next week and I’m in awe of how my guy still gives back to the community. This past weekend my guy decided to show me around the parts of South Jersey he loves. We set out to travel all over Egg Harbor Township, into Longport and back into Egg Harbor Township again but I’m sad to report that our road trip started with an accident. Two cars collided at an intersection. My guy was the first to run over, stopped the drivers from having a heated exchange, and access the casualties. A pregnant woman in the minivan passenger seat was pretty shaken up. He called 911 and then began directing traffic around the vehicles. As I stood on the sidewalk and watched him move traffic around the scene, like a seasoned traffic officer (which he isn’t), a woman joined me. She was finishing her run when she came upon the incident. She began to speak about how this intersection badly needed a flashing yellow light as I watched an ambulance and police vehicle approached and parked a few yards away. (NOTE TO SELF - I need to find out if anyone is actually petitioning to get a light installed and not only talking about it.) Anyway, I watched as my guy stated his credentials to the officer and continued to handle the traffic so the pregnant woman could be helped quickly. He was composed under pressure and didn’t let any driver linger to get a closer look at the scene. When a second officer arrived at the intersection, putting his crossing vest on, my guy quickly gave up his place and joined me. He didn’t have to be a first responder to that accident (he’s an electrical engineer) but he has a strong sense of community and duty. He was thinking about that mother, her unborn baby, and the possibility of seconds being the difference in their medical care. The moving traffic helped the emergency service personnel to get to her quickly. Thank goodness. When my guy re-entered the car and we began again on our South Jersey road trip. His demeanor was unchanged. He didn’t brag of any heroic effort or give a very descriptive account of what happened to impress me. He just grabbed my hand and kissed it. I told him how amazed I was that he was able to stay calm and keep traffic moving and he shrugged it off. It wasn’t a big deal, he had the skill-set, this was his community, and he would have wanted someone to do the same for him. All of us need to remember that accidents and tragedies can happen to any of us. If you can help others, then do so. And if not, then don’t prevent others from doing their duty or from following their moral convictions. I pray the passengers of both vehicles are okay and vehicle damage and tickets are their only concerns. As you can see from the few Jersey shore photos below we’re recovering nicely from Hurricane Sandy. I’m hope to attend 25th Annual City of Somers Point Bayfest Celebration this month so if you’re in the area on April 27th, I hope you’ll come and support the Jersey Shore.
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There are very few women that I consider friends in my head but Jada Pinkett Smith is one of them. On April 14th she cleared up one of her previous statements that led the media to believe she didn't deny the 'Open Relationship' rumors. Silly rabbits tricks are for... well, you know the rest of that catchy slogan. After 16 years of marriage, Will and Jada must be doing something right. They both speak highly of each other and appear to be very much in love. I'll tell you one thing... if they ever did break up, I'm going to need a day off to recover. I'm a true romantic so it would be a big blow to my Pollyanna sensibilities. Will and Jada give me hope along with Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Grant and Tamia Hill, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks. In case you didn't get a change to read Jada's Facebook post, here's her complete statement. Open marriage? I think everyone should understand a marriage is between two people, not the media and the world. We’ll never know the inner workings of someone else’s marriage and we really shouldn’t want to be privy to that information. I know it’s the mother gene in Jada that’s making her clarify her statements to the world. She understands her children are confronted with whispers and stares from intrusive adults and she just wants to ease their burden. I admire her protective nature. Let’s give the Will and Jada marriage rumors a rest. They are working on loving each other every day. They are making choices to be faithful and loyal every day. So their walk together is just that… their walk. Let’s find our entertainment in more wholesome places, shall we? Thanks. Patriots' Day is a Massachusetts state holiday commemorating the opening battle of the American Revolution, which took place at Lexington and Concord April 19, 1775. The holiday takes place on the Monday closest to the 19th. The Boston Marathon is run on Patriots' Day every year. Many schools and businesses close for all or part of the day. Other people take the day off to watch the Boston marathon or join other celebrations. The 26.2-mile marathon route snakes through quiet suburbs around Boston. Yesterday this wonderful event was scarred by a horrific art of violence. I first learned about it when my guy called me while I was at work and explained what was going on. There’s something particularly devastating about an attack on a marathon. It’s an impressive event in which people appear almost herculean. The winning runners run for hours at a pace even normal fit people can only hold in a sprint. But it’s not held in a stadium or on a track. It’s held in the same streets everyone drives on and walks down as they live their normal lives. One of my colleagues, Erica ran in the New York Marathon and inspired me to run a few 5Ks a few years ago to raise money for Breast Cancer so I know the sense of community at running events. My heart aches for the participants of yesterday's race. They will be in my prayers for a long time. Once again our country is on alert. We'll reached out to connect to our loved ones because this event caused us to be confronted with our mortality. We'll grieve, pray, and hope that the culprits will feel the full weight of justice. Okay, I’ll admit it. Justin Timberlake has a great CD with the '20/20 Experience'. Forget the critics that are saying they dislike the long tracks or some of the heavy Timbaland produced sounds. It’s current, it’s hot, and it’s genuine artistry at its best. There’s nothing better than driving down to the Jersey shore in my Hyundai Sonata with JT crooning from the speakers. Now, I know it’s not the luxury car many of you pictured that I would drive but it’s a great car; it takes me from point A to point B and still looks new and runs like its new, so I see the blessings. Besides, I’m hoping my dream car will come once my student loans are paid off. (Man, I can’t wait for that last check to be written.) Getting back to JT, I purchased the Target version CD, with the bonus tracks, on the day of JT’s latest release. The hype during JT’s launch week was dramatic and with my college-aged daughters feeling every bit of the JT fever. Even my guy is obsess about trying to see Justin and Jay Z ‘s Legends of Summer stadium tour in California during our summer vacation, so I just had to see what the buzz was all about. In the past, I’ve purchased his previous works, 'Justified' and 'FutureSex /LoveSounds' so I was already a fan of JT’s music and his lyrics. I knew I would either love the music or have a reason to dismiss it. I can happily say it’s a masterpiece. Bravo, JT! Bravo! I love how JT deals with various themes of romance. It’s a wonderful CD for my musical collection, and as the resident romance author of the family, I’m playing it every time I’m in my car. The '20/20 Experience' has a song for any mood. Timberlake reveals himself as a starry-eyed romantic to a sexy faithful lover to sensual Casanova that can dance his behind off; it’s like 50 shades of JT. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 968,000 copies, becoming Timberlake's second number one album on the chart and best-selling debut week of his solo career. The album also became Timberlake's third consecutive number one album in the United Kingdom. So give it a try, I’m sure you’ll find a least four songs on Justin Timberlake’s CD that you’ll love playing again and again. Yes, he’s just that good! |
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