A blog post by  KD McCrite, a writer friend and former neighbor about writing something well along with something ‘good’ pushed my button for justification of what many see as a bad habit.

I almost always read the end of a book first. If the book is even HALF well-written, I will go back and read through the rest of it, putting all the puzzle pieces together. This is my ’speed-reading’ gesture– if the book is junk in writing and/or publication, I can make a speedy decision to move on to the next book.

But, when I confess to my habit and explain why I do it “So many books are badly written that they aren’t worth my time and eyes.” I get the same expressions described in Writer to Non-writer.

Is it the writer id that insists on a decent tale? I can even endure being battered about the head and shoulders on every page spread with FORMULA and THE PLOT. Louis Lamoure was highly skilled at spending 10-20 lines on every page spread telling me why his protagonist was here at all. But a decent tale with interesting filler can hold my attention.

I have long enjoyed the mysteries of Agatha Christie and Dick Francis. They wrote well and I enjoyed their words even though I knew perfectly well ‘who done it.’

My neighbor will grin when I remind her of my rant over an Ozarks writer whose publisher/proofreader/printer is so BAD that the writer shall remain unnamed because anyone with that kind of talent who sells it in such trashy presentation isn’t going to get a commercial from me! This writer had “it”, but didn’t produce his talent. He should beg the forgiveness of trees for the waste of paper!

I have to admit that writing something good offers pleasure to readers who aren’t writers…who don’t watch for certain basics or object to being entangled in messy presentation. Readers who just like to have something to do with their eyes and don’t mind a loopy trail of words that never goes anywhere.

I have to recall that ‘genius’ is often recognized LATE in the story…many of my Victorian pet authors were not well received in their day. And, I’ve never seen a first edition of Mark Twain — maybe they didn’t clean it up either. (Although, I do have a copy of a hilarious essay wherein Twain ‘cleans up’ Washington Irving’s The Deer Slayer, challenging facts and measurements.) We may not be super-popular writers, KD, but we keep good company with writer/readers!

Treat yourself to an elegant read by following the link to KadyWords’ blog post. Writer to Non-Writer

Ann Duckworth, Ozarks’ freelance writer, recently wrote a book about the baseball career of  Carl Mays and was influential in getting Mays included in the Missouri Hall of Fame.

Author Ann Duckworth at Reception for Carl Mays Family and fans.

Ms Duckworth was part of the reception for the Carl Mays family who came to Mansfield, Missouri on June 26, 2010 to participate in the dedication of a memorial plaque in honor of Mansfield.

Dedication of the Carl Mays Memorial Plaque at Mansfield, Missouri, 2010

She also spoke to the crowd at the dedication, offering statistical information about Mays baseball career and observations about the project to get Mays into the Missouri Hall of Fame, write the book and get an exhibit at the Mansfield Historical Society.

The Mansfield Historical Society celebrated the weekend with a ribbon cutting for the season’s opening.  Their facility has been remodeled, redecorated and rearranged to show various items of history, most particularly Mansfield history.

At the KickinCountryWeekend.com website, Amy and Alexis have added a roster of the lifeblood of a any community event or activity. THE SPONSORS.

It takes backers and investors, both in time and funds to help bring an event to a community. This year KickinCountryWeekend.com has made a super bold step forward by connecting with country music artist, Joe Nichols. Nichols has roots in the Ozarks, but he’s branching out and ‘networking’ with the world to share his talent, interests and music community.

When that sort of branching gets going, the ‘tree’ can be intimidating and expensive. But, Mountain Grove, with the encouragement of Big Country 99 and the Mountain Grove Chamber of Commerce has come together to carry off their bold plan. They’ve connected with 107.9 Country Music Radio in Lebanon and Camdenton for even stronger promotion.

At the Partners page on KickinCountryWeekend.com you can see a list of the sponsors for the event in 2010 when Joe Nichols comes to town on July 2 at 7 PM.

Before Joe performs, the opening act is talented, if not as networked yet…Jason Plummer is another Ozarks music artist who gives a lot of musical pleasure and fun to the region.

Congratulations on your vision — Crowley’s Homeworks, Larsen Farm and Lawn, First Home Savings Bank, Casey’s General Store, Country Mart, S&H Farm Supply, Farmer’s Ag Center, Hirsch Feed & Farm Supply, Town & Country Bank, CenturyLink, Club 60 Restaurant, Will-Co, Hawkins Home & Lawn, Sears of Mountain Grove, Community First Banking Co. Keep up the good work and keep supporting your community.

I love THE WEEK magazine and read some of it almost immediately.  Then, I dig through for weeks till I’ve found all the little pieces that will interest me. Sometimes I re-read favorite items.

I wish this article, which I suspect someone picked up from The ONION, were available online so I could offer you a link, but it wasn’t, so….

NEWS and SCIENCE: Killers on your garden: Earthworms spend their time underground eating dead plant material, recycling nutrients and improving the soil for living plants. Or so scientists thought. A recent study by German biologists hints at more troubling activity. When given a choice of foods to eat in the lab, worms of the common species Lumbricus Terrestris actively sought out and ate living, nitrogen-rich seeds and seedlings — effectively killing the plants.

I did find the article online at News-Pushpi.com — as with THE WEEK, this website claims the article came from the BBC.com which in turn claims NOT RESPONSIBLE.

The entire article that says worms eat plants, etc. is a super-crock. Worms have no teeth; they ‘eat’ microbes from decaying organic material. They don’t know if it is an apple or a leaf. OR care. Well, they seem to like decaying apples, but will do fine on your old coffee grounds and filters. The worm named has been a concern to some fanatic environmentalists because they eat decaying leaves on the forest floor, creating ‘dirt’ (worm poop), but changing the conditions which have been dependent on layers and layers of leaves or needles from trees and shrubs. However, this isn’t killing living plants.

I keep worms in tubs in my basement to compost my kitchen garbage and junk mail (paper is organic). The tomato and cantaloupe seeds are never killed in the bins; they show up in my plants after I top dress them with worm castings still containing tiny seeds.

So don’t take up arms against earthworms when you read this insanity about this activity leading to the extinction of some native plants.

My THE WEEK missed it this time…editors and column planner need to stop reading THE ONION and buying into crocks.

According to Barbara Herring, of Mansfield Woods, there will be a meeting of the Mansfield Arts and Crafts Co-Op on Tues., June 7th at 7pm at the Weaver Inn on the square in Mansfield.

Barbara noted. “We will be deciding on a name and opening date this week along with other agenda. We should have some idea of our insurance costs and other start up costs. We will be meeting every Tues. night until we open for business. Please plan on being there.

We are still looking for artists and crafters that would like to display and sell their work. We don’t have anyone displaying weaving, photography, oil painting, pen and ink, watercolors, pottery and of course we are open to any other of your crafts or art work. We are especially interested in the unique. ”

Organizers want you to know that you are welcome to attend and find out what we are about.

Lawn Tractor to be Given Away at Wilder Days

Wilder Days 2010 (September 18, 2010) will be a happy day for some lawn warrior.The Wilder Days Committee, Mansfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Sponsors for Wilder Days have all gathered resources to obtain a Husqvarna Lawn Tractor to give away.

According to the Husqvarna website, features on this model include: cup holder, anti-scalp wheels, deck wash port and fender mounted height adjustment and much more. I’m saving some to write about later!

Tickets will be available from businesses in Mansfield, Missouri and the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce. Contact them at 417-924-3525 for more information about ticket availability.

At Big Country 99.3 FM, the team of Alexis and Amy have built a new website for Kickin Country Weekend.  Awesome website; big event with Joe Nichols, Jason Plummer and FIREWORKS.

There is an ecommerce option that will let visitors order tickets for the 2010 event online. What a boost for busy people. The tickets for 2010 and Joe Nichols with Jason Plummer are available at Big Country 99.3 studios at Houston, Missouri. Tickets are available at Crowley’s HomeWorks in Mountain Grove and Hirsch Feed and Farm Supply in West Plains. Before the event, the price is $15 while the price at the gate will be $20

While I spend plenty of time wondering “Where in the world is Joe Nichols” for the 2010 event, I’m impressed with the web designing that Alexis and Amy have set up that gives us a history of Kickin Country Weekend, acknowledgement of sponsors, a schedule of events (2010 will have the entertainment AND fireworks), PLUS a map and directions to the location in Mountain grove.

You go girls! Congratulations on your work and thank you again for using your skills and talent to promote KickinCountryWeekend.com

The brainchild of Barbara Herring who is one of the owners and operators of Mansfield Woods, a new co-op is taking shape in Mansfield to give local artisans access to at retail outlet at The Weaver Inn and a boost for marketing their work.

In Laura Ingalls Wilder Country, Mansfield Arts and Crafts Co-op (Mansfield, Missouri) is still in the beginning stages, but has some solid ideas and a few artisan members who produce locally themed art items for sale. One goal is to product for a tourism visitor market, but to also offer their work outside the community. I’m sure loyal collectors of good work will be very popular.

As you are now intrigued by the possibilities of original paintings, linen designs, carving, as well as other ‘lost’ or present arts, plus fine art representing the soul of the Ozarks, you’re welcome, as an artisan or a buyer to contact Barb at MansfieldArtsAndCrafts AT Yahoo.com for more information. When you are on the list, you will receive pertinent updates about meetings and other activities.

Tickets for a lawn tractor to be given away at Wilder Days 2010 in Mansfield, Missouri will be available at various businesses in Mansfield, the Mansfield Community Center, members of the Wilder Days committee.  Winners need not be present to win and the tickets will be sold at Wilder Days.

There is only one tractor, despite the many reflections on this photo.  You can see the real deal at Mansfield Community Center

A neighboring business in Mansfield, Missouri, Engrave-A-Crete is taking decorative concrete engraving training to Australia in June, 2010.

Engrave-A-Crete has a manufacturing and training facility in the little town of Mansfield, creating a positive aspect for the community and providing employment and utilization of a building that I would have shoved into a hole.

Instead, these people came in and saw potential and brought their business to Missouri. They offer their own patented tools for engraving on plain ugly concrete, plus stains and sealers for the final touches on that engraving.  They’ve recently added e-Commerce to their websites, most particularly ConcreteResurrection.com.

There is a training seminar held monthly so that people can get hands-on training for the tools. Tool ownership is not necessary and the rates are impressively reasonable.