The Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans, by David Lummis

Author David Lummis is my guest on Sunday's episode of The Palm Springs Savant & Co Radio show on Blog Talk Radio. Lummis' new book,The Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans is the story about "The agnostic, ten-years-sober son of a Baptist minister, B. Sammy Singleton has an opinion about everything. He also has a guidebook on New Orleans coffee shops to write. But when his best friend Catfish—reluctant heir to the Beaucoeur sugarcane fortune—is arrested for “grave robbing” and then goes missing, events spin out of control. The outcome is a personal journey into a past Sammy thought he had laid to rest, an excavation of buried truths about himself and about what the tragedy-bound Catfish calls the American Holocaust.
Set in the French Quarter and Faubourgs Marigny and Tremé, The Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans - Part 1 blends satire, mystery, and historical fiction. The book is narrated and “reviews” local coffee shops including CC’s, Rue de la Course, Café du Monde, Café Rose Nicaud, and Envie, while exploring such themes as the “sacrament” of coffee drinking, living sober, New Orleans’ civil rights history, and the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow in America." (Summary reproduced from the back cover of the book.)

Coffee Shop Chronicles is a marvelous read, filled with genuinely likable characters who come to life across the pages. Whether you listen to the show live, or whenever you can on demand, tune into my radio show to hear David Lummis discuss The Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans. You will want to order your copy of the book today!
Order it now, click here

Live in LOUISIANA? You can find it at the following bookstores:

New Orleans area:

Maple Street Book Shop
www.maplestreetbookshop.com
7529 Maple Street
New Orleans, LA 70118-5045
(504) 861-2105
Open Mon-Sat 9am-7pm

Faubourg Marigny Art & Books
www.fabonfrenchmen.com
600 Frenchmen Street
New Orleans, LA 70116-2002
(504) 947-3700
Open Daily 12pm-10pm

Garden District Book Shop
www.gardendistrictbookshop.com
2727 Prytania Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 895-2266
Open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 10am-4pm

Who Dat Coffee Cafe
2401 Burgundy Street
New Orleans, LA 70117
(504)-701-1575
Open 7 days a week, 7 am - 10 pm

Live in FLORIDA?
Seaside

Sundog Books
www.sundogbooks.com
Seaside Town Center
89 Central Square
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
(850) 231-5481
Open Daily 9am-7pm

Vintage Ad Series: Smoking is Believing!

Its been awhile since I've run a mini series, so I thought I'd get back in the swing of it. So here I introduce: Vintage Ads, with today's installment, "Smoking is Believing". It is amazing to look back at how naive we were, as a nation about smoking. Of course big tobacco companies wanted everyone to believe how great smoking was, and were quite effective at it. Check out the copy of this ad: "During the summer season of extra smoking-begin enjoying the cigarette of extra smokes! Everyone can afford the coolness, the true mildness, the ripe, delicate taste and fragrance of smoking pleasure at its best. More smoking for your money." Did they really say "season of extra smoking? What the heck is that about anyway!

Sometimes the Truth Hurts...

Today I received feedback from someone about a matter where I expressed my opinions. Following my conversation with this person, I understood the implications. I'm being cryptic, but my message back is that sometimes, truth hurts. If you'd like a refresh on the matter, you may remember this post from a few months ago. I stand by those remarks and hope that it helps explain my true intentions. Yes, Integrity Does Matter- a lot. At least in my book anyway.

Thinking of Buying a Mac, iPad or iPhone?

Thinking about buying a Mac, iPad or iPhone? Well here is all you need to know about Apple. Even back in the 1970's "Apple Computers". I love how this ad says: "Tens of Thousands have already chosen Apple" Wow, I think they have a few more users by now...

Mystery Cruise to BERMUDA

Mystery Cruise destination was to Bermuda!

Well the surprise is over! Some of you guessed Bermuda correctly the locale of the Mystery Cruise. It is a lovely island with its own rich history and charming traditions that make it interesting to just poke around and explore. The beaches are pristine and quiet- undeveloped and a perfect place to get away from it all. I've also been enjoying of the local provinces, or Parishes as they call them here, such as St George, Hamilton, Sandys, Smith's and Devonshire. Horseshoe beach was the location of the family wedding we attended, which was a perfect spot for wedding nuptials with sweeping views of the coast. Here, in this photo I'm standing on the steps of St Peter's Anglican Church, which is the oldest continually used Anglican church in the Western Hemisphere. Originally built in 1612, it still has a feel of the olden days. While inside I spent a few moments to give thanks for this terrific vacation, it is a wonderful church to worship in. Bermuda has been a great place to vacation. Soon we'll set sail back to the US; after a few hot humid days in the beach resort atmosphere of this tiny island I'm looking forward to a few luxurious days at sea. Here are a few last photos I'd like to share:

above: I still marvel at the color of the waters here.

I apologize I don't know the name of this old ship, but it looked cool.
Thanks for stopping by these past few days and playing the Mystery Cruise blog game!
-Rick Rockhill

Mystery Cruise, Final Clues

A few final photo clues of my Mystery Cruise for you. Tomorrow I shall reveal this destination! For those of you still following along trying to guess, these may help give you a better idea of my where-abouts. Check out the color of these homes on the hill overlooking the water, aren't they beautiful? Everything is a feast for the eyes here, and so visually stimulating too.

above: this photo won't necessarily give a clue, except for the age of the bike. This place has some history, with a connection to another country...

above: The colorful main square in this city still has horse-drawn carriages.

above: the window shutters are very typical of this locale...

above: I enjoyed a nice relaxing lunch outside yesterday right here...

above: These flowers could be anywhere, I admit but the theme of today's clues is all around COLOR. I hope it helps you guess. I forgot to mention the story of what activity I did on the other day that was typical of this place, and very uncharacteristic of me. Well, I rented a scooter and rode the bike all around the island. I am not adventurous for that sort of activity....I was scared out of my mind to be honest. Zipping along winding narrow roads, riding along trucks, cars and other scooters. It made me quite nervous. My hands were numb from gripping the handles to hard! I don't think I'll ever do that again. Not to mention the stress of driving on the left side of the road. OK that's enough of a clue to help you all guess where I am. Do stop by tomorrow! Hope all is well.
-Rick Rockhill

Mystery Cruise, More Clues

More from the Mystery Cruise. Here are a few more photo clues from the destination. Today's should help you figure out where I am. Although I do admit that some of these could be ANYWHERE, so I've tried to get a little more bold in sharing photos that could "give it away". I'm guessing that experienced cruisers like Empress Bee of the High Sea has already figured this out, along with a few others. But for the rest of you, I hope you are enjoying these mystery clues to guess my locale. One comment clue for you: There is a famous Hollywood acting couple who have a home here. OK, here are the rest of the clues for today:

above: another photo of a residence on a particular street of some fame. Now no cheating and googling things, just try to guess!
above: This could be a major clue, for those of you familiar with this destination. Otherwise it is just a nice photo from the wedding ceremony I attended yesterday.
above: this clue has something that should suggest the locale, but I admit my camera may not have correctly captured the color hues...
above: Another clue. The color is the real HINT!
-Rick Rockhill

Mystery Cruise, Some Clues...

The Mystery Cruise continues with plenty of fun in the sun along the way. Yesterday was an interesting day, I did an activity on land that surprised me, and might surprise a few of you as well, once I tell the story. I decided to save that one until tomorrow as it could give away too much early on! Let's just say my arms are all sun-burned and they sting. Earlier today I attended a wedding on the beach, which was the main reason for this trip. I paused for this photo (top left), which is why I'm fully clothed despite being inches from the surf. The wedding ceremony was about to commence, but I sneaked away for this picture.

above: it has been fun taking photos and selecting ones that won't give up the location of where I am YET. This next clue is a very pretty private residence with beautiful flowers and palm trees everywhere on the grounds.

above: The next clue is one of the many stunning views of the ocean...the crystal clear waters have such beautiful colors of blue and green.

above: this next clue could provide insights to the observant few. Look closely and see if it gives a hint... Thanks for stopping by today. Tomorrow I may add a photo of the wedding..and a few more photo clues.
-Rick Rockhill

I'm On a Mystery Cruise....

Welcome to my "Mystery Cruise" post. I'm off enjoying the high seas along with some sun, fun and relaxation too. I thought it might be fun to do something different with the blog. Normally I announce the destination and ports with all sorts of photos along the way. This cruise, I'll post a variety of photos from the journey in the next few days designed to give you some clues as to where I might be, without actually saying the primary destination. Today will just be a few very generic. But here are a few photos for you to enjoy. I took this photo (above left) from the
balcony of my stateroom. It was a nice bright sunny morning and the sky just had a few wispy clouds overhead. Earlier, this was the sunrise that preceded this beautiful morning. I just love the way the sunlight reflected on the surface of the ocean here. And look at the water, so smooth it looked like velvet. I enjoyed a pot of tea with some danish pastry and fresh fruit as the sky filled with color. It was truly magnificent, and put a smile on my face. I love being at sea, it is such an interesting contrast to my life in the desert. Sleeping with the balcony door open, hearing the ocean waves move gently as the ship glides along, it is all so soothing to me.

above and below: I took these two photos while out doing my morning laps on the Promenade Deck

OK well that's all for today's post. Tomorrow I'll post a few photos from a port of call, to give you some hints. I'm not looking for anyone to guess today, just come back and see what you can guess tomorrow or the next few days. Thanks for playing along with my Mystery Cruise...
-Rick Rockhill

Chain Smoking Toddler...WHAT?

Just when you thought you had seen everything...

A Few Words About This Blog...and on Being Happy

This original post has been edited.
You may have noticed that over the past few months the frequency of my blog posts has diminished like a stone dropping from a cliff. Actually I'm not sure that is the correct analogy but you get the idea. I recently started wondering why it was the case. I'm not any busier than I was a few months ago. In fact I think I have a bit more free time these days. So I started looking back over my posts to search for clues. And then I realized that it all changed when I switched jobs. Now here is the really interesting part, but settle in with a nice cup of coffee, as this may take some 'splaining.

From the moment I began working for my employer I knew I'd made the right choice. We're a dynamic company with lots of fun and exciting things in the works. Plenty of fulfilling challenges with a broad scope of responsibility in two divisions. Every day I go home with a sense of accomplishment from tangible results of my team's efforts. The cool factor of heading up the international division really gets my juices flowing, too. I'm home at a reasonable hour and my weekends are generally free from stress. Yes, it has been an excellent decision.

Close friends continue to tell me they have never seen me so happy and relaxed- and I agree. I had forgotten what it was like not to not be so stressed. So why then with all my new free time, less stress and general overall bliss have I been blogging less?

Well I realized that my blogging has always been a creative outlet. Not to suggest that this is a highly creative work of art or anything, it's just a vehicle to channel pent up energy and ideas. Ah....I'm getting somewhere in the detective work.

My career is so stimulating and fulfilling that I have had less of a need to find an alternative outlet to find satisfaction. These days I feel satisfied and enjoy life again. Yes, that was it, I was entirely bored and tired before, only I never realized it. I was going through the motions, like a robot. I was also tired of fighting with a certain nitwit bully individual whose destructive behavior some seemed to tolerate and find acceptable. It was far too much negative karma from that individual than was worth being exposed to on a daily basis. His behavior caused a toxic environment actually. A year ago I knew I had enough- yet ever the diplomat I kept it all inside and repeatedly tried to press on with a smile. Looking back I now realize that the toxicity from that individual was more than it was worth.

Throughout the past five years, the coping mechanism I had was writing this blog as my outlet. Never to vent about work (although I did once in a post on September 23, 2009), but rather to find some lighthearted fun, and create things. About a year before I left I recognized in myself that I was no longer giving it my best effort, I knew I had to do something. Despite all that negative energy I enjoyed a fabulously successful career at a generally great company with mostly good people. I had been well taken care of, valued and rewarded along the way. When I left I walked away from some substantial potential financial upside.

Once gone, I quickly realized it was all worth the change in my life. That one low-life, idiot bully I mentioned suddenly became irrelevant! In fact I was amazed at how my mood immediately improved and the dark cloud was gone. All those years I had turned to my blogging to find peace, solitude and to escape...

These days I feel happy and sufficiently stimulated. I do plan to continue blogging, as it is important to me. I'm not taking a break, it has been a journey for me as I re-charged my batteries and started a new life with my new career.

My words of advice to anyone in a similar situation is to remember that life is short. Our time on this planet goes far too quickly. Should you find yourself in a situation that makes you exceedingly unhappy, do something about it. Don't just accept it. I'm not saying give up or quit when the going gets tough, but I am saying to realize that we should all be masters of our own destinies. Set the course you want and remove negativity from your life. Some other day I'll wax philosophic and expand more on this, but you get the concept.

Have a great weekend, I know I will.
-Rick Rockhill

note: this original post has been edited. I deleted several of my remarks that were misconstrued as disparaging an organization. This is mainly about my personal life lessons learned about the perils of having regular interaction with someone lacking morals, common decency and unwilling to respect peers. For more remarks, re-read this link.