Snow Days

Proof that I was once able to parallel park.

It was the 80's - big hair, and apparently, big cars. Yes...this was it. The famous Animal Patrol Wagon. At one time it had been the best car in the department. When it was new - it was the Chief''s car - driven only by those who held the highest rank.

Then the years went by... Watergate, the end of the Vietnam War, The Oil Crisis, Pet Rocks...the advent of Hamburger Helper. Yes, those were good times.

However, since those events are from the early 70's or so and... as you may have noticed... I mentioned that this photo was from the 80's - by the time it had been demoted to Animal Control, this car had seen better days.

Better years.

It was a car from another era. I think it even took regular leaded gas. It must have. Some of you reading this may be thinking "Leaded gas?" "There's such a thing as leaded gas?" If you are one of those people, you should probably be in bed by now - young people need their sleep.

That thing could fly though - 8 cylinders and a powerful engine, even if it was a little bit on the older side. Looking at it now makes me a little sad, nostalgic. Today there was no school - a snow day. Instead of doing the mountains of work that sit in not just one, but two bookbags, I looked through photo albums. I scanned some photos from years gone by - to give as gifts to some of those people from years gone by. Perhaps the memories I give them will make them smile. I hope they do. Today was that kind of day.

It was a day to remember how it felt to drive that old car with the windows open, wind blowing, the highway in front of me - and no traffic as far as I could see.

Cyber-Monday's Coming - Still time to get Tales from a Dog Catcher using only Standard Shipping!

I've been hearing about this Black Friday, and from the stories I'm hearing - it sounds a bit frightening. Besides, I'm pretty content sitting here eating leftover turkey - the humans who live at my house have been giving me snacks all day. So since I am warm and comfortable here sitting in front of the fireplace I'm planning on doing my Christmas shopping on Cyber-Monday. It's easy - I just get on the computer, (once that silly cat gets off of it - I think she has a facebook addiction), and click on Amazon.com and buy all my friends things I think they will enjoy. If I start now I can choose standard shipping and everything will get there on time for the holidays. A great holiday choice this year is a book called Tales from a Dog Catcher. I know - you're thinking; "A book about a dog catcher...what, are

you nuts?" No, I am most certainly not nuts - I am a dog who can update a blog so obviously I am incredibly intelligent - the point is, it's a good book and I think you'll like it. There's some funny stories, (mostly about silly humans -they're the ones you should be worrying about), and some sad ones too. Maybe giving this book as a gift will inspire someone you know to adopt one of us who isn't as lucky as I am. I guess you could adopt a cat too. They are pretty cute, but don't tell anyone I said that. I have a reputation to worry about.

photo courtesy of dog star daily.

Happy Thanksgiving from a character in Tales From a Dog Catcher

Best wishes for a great holiday - enjoy your dinner, whether it be lasagna, baked ziti, roast beef, pork chops, soy burgers, and..um, chicken. Okay - you can have chicken but you didn't hear it from me.

If you have a copy of Tales from a Dog Catcher, check out the chapter "The Protest March". If not, pick one up or stop by the library - It will give you a laugh and show you what can happen when us turkeys band together!

Happy Holidays to all.

photo courtesty of wyoming news.

Welcome Portuguese Readers -Muito Bem Vindo!

Recently I have been receiving some email from Portugal - another place I've always dreamed of visiting but have never had the chance.

It's always fascinating to hear from people who enjoyed Tales from a Dog Catcher - especially from a place so many miles away from the Hudson Valley of New York State. I would like to think that these stories resonate with people on many levels not necessarily related to geographic region. I consider it a great privilege to know that there are readers in this beautiful part of the world, (currently a lot warmer, and less rainy than here), who are enjoying my tales of dogs, cats and other critters! I hope you enjoy the laughs and even perhaps a bit of the tears included within the book. Tudo de bom to my new friends! Find out more about visiting Portugal at www.visitportugal.com, Portugal's official tourism website. There's some great deals on vacation packages right now - especially for those of you not limited only to school holidays.

photo courtesy of visitportugal.com

Tales from a Dog Catcher is Now Linked to Goodreads!

This may not seem to be the monumental event that it is in my mind - however - feedburners, widgets, atom-somethings, chiclet-ize, etc. These are not my strong points. Last I knew chiclets were gum, the kind you got on Halloween and what was left after you ate up all of the chocolate and twizzlers.

However, after an hour or so, (Okay...two hours then, if I'm going to honest about it), I was able to link this Tales from a Dog Catcher blog to Goodreads through an rss feed. After all of this I feel like I could really use a nap, but that's not in the cards because about 150 or so students need to have report card grades and I wouldn't want to dissapoint them. (Insert evil laugh here). No, not really - The truth is that all of my kids are the best and it's a privilege to see them each day. I'm sure some of them would rather be home lying on the couch watching re-runs of Spongebob...but who wouldn't?

Photo courtesy of Cadbury Co. Twizzlers manufactured by Hershey's Co.

Another Tales from a Dog Catcher Free Book Giveaway on Goodreads. Just in time for the Holidays!

Another Goodreads Giveaway - Tales from a Dog Catcher by Lisa Duffy-Korpics. Sign up is now until December 10th when two readers will be chosen for a free copy. Last time the copies went to readers in London and Michigan. The Giveaway is open to readers in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. I wanted to include Australia, (even though the postage will hurt a bit!), because of the overwhelming support from readers and libraries in that part of the world. I'm thinking that once I get some time, (and of course the finances), to plan a trip - New Zealand and Australia will be the place to visit, even if it involves going to every library in every part of the island(s) to say "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I thought December 10th was a good date to end the giveaway since the holidays are approaching and there's nothing that says holiday spirit like a book about lovable animals, (except the sociopathic dog - hmmm...interested? Pick up a copy and find out more!), and a flaky, and accident prone, but well meaning dog catcher. To be honest though, I thought that if people wanted to ship a book or two to relatives and friends that I should make sure to leave enough time for that.

I'm a bit distracted at the moment since my daughter is watching some movie where a woman dressed as a sexy pirate is singing "We've got scurvy- yes, we've got scurvy...we need a lemon tree!" Okay. Well first of all I suppose it's good information about the need for vitamin C on those long voyages during the Age of Exploration that will show up on her Global History Final Exam in about 2 years. Secondly, you have to admit - it caught my attention.

Have a great weekend. Finish up that Halloween Candy and if you're up to going out to dinner tonight and you live in the Hudson Valley and can't decide where to go, check out my friend Chris's blog "Burgers & Brews Reviews" for some suggestions on some of the best places to eat around the area. If you'd rather stay home and grill during these crisp but still lovely Fall days you can check out his recipe sight at Burgers & Brews Reviews Recipes blog.

An Evening at Temple Sinai - Great Evening and a Great Honor!

I had the great honor of speaking to the Temple Sinai Sisterhood in Middletown, NY last Monday. Organized by my good friend and retired colleague Arline Friedman, it was a night filled with amazing food, (delicious homemade minestrone soup - thank you Gerry!), an outstanding salad bar and so many lovely desserts to choose from. The ladies working in the kitchen truly outdid themselves.

I met a lot of wonderful people and everyone made me feel so comfortable that I was able to conquer one of my biggest fears - speaking to large groups, (unless they're 18 and under which I do every day), and using a microphone ...at a podium no less! I love Arline so much that I was able to do this. With such a warm and receptive group, I felt comfortable in no time at all. Much of the book talk was about my writing journey over the years that finally resulted in the publication of Tales from a Dog Catcher. There were several future authors in the group so some discussion was about writing and the process involved in getting a book published. I was able to catch up with some old friends like Pet Therapist Marian Zaritsky who will once again be bringing in Sasha the pet therapy dog to visit with the students in my Psychology Class. Sasha is now a professional, certified therapy dog - but I don't think it's gone to his head! It was also great to see Lucy Fox, another dear friend and retired colleague. It reminded me how much I miss seeing her at work each day. I met some great ladies, Sherry, Gerry, Lisa, Irma and especially Shirley who actually grew up in the City of Peekskill and won one of the copies of Tales from a Dog Catcher. I hope she enjoys the book - she will most definitely recognize most of the landmarks and perhaps even some of the characters in the book!

I also met a great lady named Aviva Schwab M.Ed. She runs a training program for Systematic Training for Effective Parenting, (STEP). Aviva has been featured on NBC's Live at Five and also on Eyewitness News. This program promises that it is possible to have happy cooperative kids without yelling, bribing or punishing. I think meeting up with Aviva was fate! She gave me some great advice - exactly when I needed it most. Check out her site at www.tiredofyelling.com. Incredible testimonials! The program is great for parents and teachers of children of all ages. She has free trial classes within the New York and New Jersey area, but if that's too out of the way for you, the training program is also available on tape and CD. If you would rather contact her by phone, drop me a comment and I'll pass along her number, although her number and tons of great information can be found on her website.

Thanks again to Arline and to everyone at Temple Sinai on Highland Avenue, in Middletown, New York for a wonderful evening and for letting me join in the sisterhood for the evening!

This is such a close knit and friendly place with so much to offer the local community.

Photo courtesy of Temple Sinai

More Tales from the Dog Catcher? - a Few Teasers!

Here's a few teasers - These are some possible chapter titles for the sequel to Tales from a Dog Catcher, (I'm still trying to figure out what the title of the book should be? More Tales from a Dog Catcher?...don't know if I like that one - too predictable. Any suggestions are most welcome.)

Going Postal - An unseasonably hot April day brings multiple calls about neighborhood dogs getting pepper sprayed by mail carriers, even when they're just sitting in their yards, not bothering a soul. What's happening? Have the mailmen gone mad? Is there more to this then meets the red inflamed eye?

General Perceptions - The local cat lady is forced to move across town, but her loyal following of feral cats remain behind and conflict results when the landlord demands that I do something..NOW! A story of bloodshed (mine), drama, (the cat), a revelation and an unlikely twist that leads one to second guess original perceptions.

The Internship - a lovely young intern at the police department becomes my unwilling animal control assistant when it becomes obvious that her interest inside headquarters is mostly limited to Police MEN! A quiet morning soon becomes an escalating adventure that involves an incident at the nuclear power plant, a beagle with a weak stomach, and a realization that sometimes what we need most, is to be needed.

These are only a few - there are many more that I'm working on when I get a free moment. The biggest problem being that I've no shortage of ideas, but a serious shortage of free moments. I guess it's important to remember that art is not a substitute for life - my children won't be this age forever, so I try to enjoy them as much as I can.

That, and the amount of homework in this house is ridiculous. I'm a teacher and I even think it's too much, but then again I'm not a big fan of homework. Unless it's a project, research paper or studying for a test, (all of which should be not be assigned the night before), I don't feel it has much educational value. Maybe in Math - but even then, what you can do in 40 problems you can easily practice in 5. You will either get it right and that's great...or you will get it wrong and practice it the wrong way 40 times before you go back to school the next day and find out. Kids don't get enough sleep, quality family time, or enough of those unstructured moments to sit and ponder what could be. There's nothing wrong with a little daydreaming. Sometimes those kids grow up to write books!

That's enough of my soap box - Goodnight All!

Photo courtesy of flickr.com

Winners of the Tales from a Dog Catcher Giveaway at Goodreads!

Congratulations to Derek from London, and Gail from Michigan - winners of the Goodreads Book Giveaway for a free copy of Tales from a Dog Catcher!

I sent the books out from Amazon, (I had a $25.00 gift certificate and it was way easier than dragging the box of media copies out of my closet and standing on line at the local post office). The books should get there within the week for Gail, and up to 18 days for Derek in London.

Thanks to my fellow Goodreads members for signing up for the giveaway. Over 600 people signed up to win a copy of the book. In November I may put up two more copies for a giveaway - they make nice Holiday gifts.

Congratulations once again to my Goodreads friends - I hope you enjoy the book :)

Book Give-Away on Goodreads.com ends October 15th, 2009!

Goodreads.com is an online community of people who love books. This description of Goodreads was taken from Wikipedia: Goodreads is a privately run social cataloging website started in December of 2006 by Otis Chandler, a software engineer and entrepreneur. The website permits individuals to sign up and register books to create their library catalogs and reading lists. As of December 2007, the had over 650,000 members and over 10,000,000 books added.

I have an author page on Goodreads here. If you would like to be involved with the contest to possibly win one of two copies of Tales from a Dog Catcher, you can sign up as a member of Goodreads and join. The give-away ends on October 15th and so far, there are 650 members signed up for the give-away. Because of this, I may offer books for another give-away next month.

If you are a Barnes & Noble shopper, remember that this is Educator's Appreciation Month, and in addition to your educator's discount, (easy to sign up - just show a school I.D., Union card, or other proof of your status at the cashier), and you receive an additional discount on books that results in 25% off your purchase. I recently bought A User's Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain by John J. Ratey M.D.. A fascinating, yet accessible book that translates neuroscience into plain language. A study with a group of nuns from Mankato, Minnesota who are all older than ninety, showed that continued learning through life resulted in a much lower rate of Alzheimer's Disease and age associated dementia than the general population. Practice may make perfect - but learning entirely new skills is the key to a youthful brain. The brain's ability to regenerate and create new neural pathways can lead to a healthier brain regardless of your age.

Hope everyone enjoys the beautiful October weather - until next time I wish you all the best!