Lexi Sobado -- AKA "Alex," AKA "Lynx" -- is a remarkable young woman. She is immensely educated -- none of it formal -- and has extrasensory perceptions that warn her of danger. She has a newlywed husband deployed in the Middle East, extra-official relationship with an extra-government entity, and a serial killer after her. She …
Author: wastedpilgrim
I'm a writer.
Blogs. Novels. Journalism. Songs.
It's all I know how to do well.
With Basketball in the Background
I'm watching the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. Well, not really watching it. It's on TV. Bill Walton and Maui go together, I think, but that's about all that has pierced my consciousness. I look up after hearing Walton mention Willie Mays. Indiana leads St. John's, 16-8. It beats The Weather Channel, especially since the forecast …
Irony and Amusement
It was bound to be an interesting day. The first sign was when I put on some coffee and turned on the TV. A local news, uh, person was talking about the terrorist attacks in France and said that, in January, a terrorist attack killed "Charlie Hebdo and 11 others." How could a person whose …
I’ve a Rambling Mind
The NFL has a commercial in which a couple of Arizona Cardinals male fans take part of the picket fence around one of them's home to the game so they can hoist up one of those "D-Fence" signs. The wife calls them at the game to complain. The home is in a neighborhood unlike any …
The Case of the Sweaty Solon
I try to learn something, even while I am watching TV, where it is difficult. Last week I was working, just as I am now, while the House Committee on Damning the Democrats was in session, and I found something in its chairman, Trey Gowdy, with which I could relate. Every time I play my …
A Triumph of Youthful Self-Reliance
James Morris's fine thriller, What Lies Within, conjures up suspicions that gnaw away at the reader's psyche, which is exactly what a thriller is supposed to do. Shelley Marano is an intelligent young woman from a working-class family, a high school senior getting ready for college. As tends to be the case in a thriller, …
Isn’t Fun the Greatest Thing You Can Have?
My greatest ally is my guitar. Or, my guitars. I keep one leaning against the couch to my left while I type away here. I just got finished playing a few songs to get me ready to write this blog. I played a couple of mine, "Stuck in a Rut" and "Uh, Huh." Then I …
Whatever the Kids Want
It was Sign-Up Day at Meriweather High School, and the armored trucks were lined up outside. Everyone was excited. Everyone would change. The ballplayers would get stronger and run faster. The board scores would improve. The future would be better in every way. The cheerleaders would get cheerier. The teachers would get teachier. Some called …
Grab a Novel, Don’t Cost Nothing
It's not raining now. Well, maybe a mist. It's been raining. Last night it was heavy when I was driving home from Spartanburg. It's going to rain some more. A lot more. On The Weather Channel, it looks like a wall of fire is coming through South Carolina on Saturday. Any old rain is light …
‘Nasty Habits,’ a Song
I love to write songs. You can find rough versions of them on my YouTube channel (oddly enough, called "Monte Dutton"), mostly videos from back when I was occasionally playing little gigs at places near NASCAR tracks. This one, "Nasty Habits," is the first one I've written in about six months. I love writing songs, …
Nightrider's Lament 