Again this year I am giving my wife, Madeline, the card I've been giving her for about the last 20 years. It is one of your standard Valentines Day Hallmark cards, with a beautiful poem written on the inside of it. But what makes this card so special is, I added a little poem of my own, written just across from the one they wrote--and, Madeline just loves it. It's her favorite card!

Here's the poem:

Giving

by

Kent D. Walsh

You give my heart joy!

You give my heart warmth!

You give my heart faith!

You give my heart love!

And I,

Give you my heart.

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Uncle Kent

Today I would like to share an email a friend of mine sent me this morning. Its a short message--but it might be just long enough to save you or your loved ones life.

"Hello everyone!

     I receive many emails asking me to do this, that, or the other thing, as well as emails keeping me informed as to what is going on around us. I came across this website that I truly believe is imperative you not only take a look at, but also take a few seconds (literally) to do what they suggest, possibly saving your life some day!

     The website is www.icestickers.com.

     The point I would like you to take away is not purchaing the stickers, but taking a few seconds to add an ICE contact in your cell-phone (or, 2 or 3 to be safe). ICE in this case stands for, In Case of Emergency. Many people in America who end up in the emergency room have no identification, or a bigger percentage are incoherent and need someone else to make decisions for them, but the ER staff do not know who to call. By simply putting a contact, and most importantly their phone number (ie ICE wife, ICE mom, ICE dad), the ER staff can quickly know who to call if you are not able to tell them. This system started in the UK, and is now spreading rapidly in the US.

     Please take a moment and do this.

     Really, DO IT NOW! Then pass this on to your loved ones.

Thanks,

Brian J. Rohan"

Thank you for sharing this very valuable information, Brian. It just might save a life someday!

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Uncle Kent

Since the release of my most recent book, Disrupted Ambitions, I've been asked several times; isn't your new book just a story about those wild and crazy high school days at Fort Vancouver High School back in 1962 through 1965? And my answer is a resounding--NO--its much more than that! Not only does it tell of the life and death struggles of a 16 year old athlete determined to accomplish his high school dream of competing in the State Championship Wrestling Tournament, but it also features a couple of Washington State coaching legends, Coach Chuck Furno and Coach John Eagle.

Yes, the story includes a girl! In my case it was a secret crush I had on a beautiful dark haired girl named, Paula Parkey. Unfortunately I was very shy at the time, and never did build up enough courage to let her know of my interest. Along with that, there was just that normal high school stuff; my friends and I cruising down main street from one end of town to the other with the cars horn blasting, goofing around in class with my fellow students while our teachers looked the other way, and of course laughing and joking at the silly things we all do while growing up. It was great fun!

But even more importantly, this book is intended to bring awarenwss of the symptoms and potential seriousness of a desease that affects over 5,000,000 Americans--ulcers. And that's not even counting the millions of people that don't even know they have them.

Inspirational and filled with emotion, this book sends a clear and distinct message to all; "Never give up your dream!"

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Uncle Kent

In the area of Southwest Washington (state) where my wife, Madeline and I live, it's very unusual to have a white Christmas. And, if we were lucky enough to see snow falling during this very special season, normally, all we'd have are a few wet flakes, or perhaps a little slush covering the ground, here and there--but that's all! However this year has been the exception. Not only has it been snowing off-and-on for over a week now, currently it's accumulated to about a foot-and-a-half of the stuff; not so lucky for a place that three inches is considered a snowstorm. But you know something--even with the difficulty in traveling to visit family and friends, we're going to have a wonderful Christmas, anyway . . . It may not be celebrated for a week or two--but it will be celebrated!

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

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Uncle Kent

Over the last several months my blog has given a number of preview excerpts from my then unreleased memoir, Disrupted Ambitions. I know this has been a long time coming for those of you that have been waiting for it. But now I am pleased to say, after almost two full years of working on this book, it is finally being released.

When I first decided to write this story my intent was to bring awareness to our youth that if their body starts to do things it should or shouldn't do, or if they just don't feel right---they need to tell someone. For me, looking back, I had some very specific symptoms of something bad happening to me, but unfortunately I ignored them. A mistake that almost cost me my life! I mean who would have thought a 16 year old kid in peak physical condition would ever develop something like bleeding ulcers? In fact back then, I didn't even know what an ulcer was! But you know something---with over five million people in the United States suffering from ulcers of some type---and many of them not even knowing they have them, this book is for them too!

In Disrupted Ambitions I cover in great detail the many symptoms I suffered throughout this ordeal. From when my symptoms began, how they progressed over a period of time into actual ulcers, and what should have alerted me that my ulcers had started to bleed. Next of course was the grueling operation that would save my life---and then the difficult journey to recovery.

Filled with blood, sweat, smiles and tears, this isn't just another one of those boring medical books that are chuck full of big unpronounceable words. No, it's much more than that. It's the real life or death story of a teenage boy trying to survive a horrible invisible illness, the disruption it caused to his education, promising athletic career and his high school dream---and what he thought and felt as he went through it.

So---if you're one of those individuals that sometimes have a numb burning sensation in your stomach---my suggestion to you is: read Disrupted Ambitions!

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Uncle Kent

It doesn't matter if you are family, friend, or just someone that happened to click on this blog, I would like to wish each and every one of you the happiest of Thanksgivings---and may each of you have much to be thankful for---and may God bless you and yours.

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Uncle Kent

Today I wanted to talk about some of the newest and most revolutionary technology in literature; the amazon.com e-books program, Amazon Kindle.

Amazon Kindle can be utilized by aquiring a convenient, portable reading device from amazon.com that will wirelessly download books, magazines and newspapers for your reading pleasure, anytime and anywhere. It was designed to provide a screen as clear and sharp and natural as the pages of an actual book. With the ability to hold hundreds of titles at any given time, it can become your own personal and portable library. Currently there are over 200,000 digital titles in the Amazon Kindle Book Store to choose from. And the neatest thing of all is, electronic books are usually about half the cost of hard copy.

After studying up on Kindle Books for some time now, I have decided to have all three of my books, Dustin and a Mouse Named Cody in "The Mouse That Stirred on the Night Before Christmas, Thaddeus T. and Barnaby and Disrupted Ambitions reformatted into the Kindle digital format. So, in the near future be sure to look for any of my titles in the Kindle Book Store.

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Uncle Kent

For my Halloween blog this year I thought it might be fun to share my "not so scary" poem, The Happy Spider with you. So, here you go:

THE HAPPY SPIDER

By

Kent D. Walsh

(Uncle Kent)

I saw a spider crawling,

From a web above my door,

I couldn't believe how quick he went,

From the ceiling to the floor.

Oh he looked so awkward,

As he wandered upon my rug,

Traveling to his other web,

Where he had caught a bug.

He climbed the wall so quickly,

Until he reached his fine spun net,

Then I watched him in the center,

Where he carefully wrapped his catch.

I moved a little closer,

While the spider weaved some more,

And I could see him smiling,

As he labored above my door.

Then I looked around my room,

With my cloths all in a heap,

At my scattered toys and schoolwork,

And the bed where I would sleep.

As I looked into his eyes,

He seemed to give a wink,

Then I began to understand,

For the spider made me think.

All this mess belongs to me,

But to the spider it's clean and bright,

That's the reason he acts so happy,

To him it's a beautiful sight!

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Uncle Kent

Wow---this year has sure gone by fast. Summer is over and winter is fast approaching. The next thing you know, Christmas will be here.

I know some of you have already started your holiday shopping and are searching for that perfect reading gift for your children. Let me offer you some suggestions---first and formost I recommend my newest children's book, Thaddeus T. and Barnaby---your little ones will love it. A few others you might want to add to your shopping lists are, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber, The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack, and Frog and Toad  Together by Arnold Lobel. All are very special books and are some of my own personal favorites; they have wonderful descriptive illustrations, include lovable and colorful characters that overcome difficult situations, teach the value of friendship, are extremely warm and funny, and are able to provoke a child's imagination. They are all great choices!

If you would like to buy more than one of these books at a time---by ordering in multiple through amazon.com, you can often receive some pretty good discounted prices, or possibly even postage free delivery. You can check it out by going to the "About My Books" section on my web site, www.kentdwalsh.com, where you will find a preview of Thaddeus T. and Barnaby, my other books, and a direct link to amazon.com.

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Uncle Kent

In my memoir Disrupted Ambitions, not only did I mention some of my experiences as a youth, but I also introduced the different members of our family. So today, I would like to take this opportunity to talk about one of those special family members: our dog Tar Baby.

Tar Baby was a smallish pure-black mixed-breed puppy that my brother Dan had brought home one day after completing his newspaper route. A lady on Dan's route had found Tar Baby wandering around all alone, and figured he had been abandoned. She decided the right thing to do was to find him a nice home. When she saw Dan coming to deliver her newspaper, she suggested he take the dog home with him. Dan really liked the cute little thing, but warned the woman our mom would never let him keep it. He also noted that it costs a lot of money to feed a dog. The woman said, "Well then, I'll give you twenty-five cents so you can buy it some food." Now that sounded like a pretty good deal to Dan, so he picked the dog up, put him in his newspaper bag, and brought him home. It turned out he was right about Mom's reaction, because the first thing she said was, "No, you're not keeping that dog!" But after a lot of pleading by all of us kids Mom finally caved in, and Tar Baby became a member of our family.

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Uncle Kent

Disrupted Ambitions:

Evening came. The team had assembled in our locker room for what would be our fourth and possibly most important game of the year. Everyone was slapping helmets, hitting each other's shoulder pads and screaming, "We can do it, let's beat Olympia." I think everyone on the team felt positive and confident that they were prepared enough to win that night---everyone except me that is. I just didn't feel right! But I was determined to just suck it up and do the very best I could.

       The game began. It wasn't long before I took a couple of real good hits to the midsection, and it hurt. On every play I felt as though I were running in slow motion. I just didn't have the strength and energy to play the way I was accustomed to. Although I knew I wasn't up to speed, I had no idea what was going on. The game almost seemed like a blure. One time after we had turned the ball over on downs, I ran to the sidelines, where Coach Furno hurried over to me and screamed, "What the hell is going on out there Walsh? You look like you're moving in slow motion or something."

       I didn't say a word. I just stood there. Coach moved on to yell at someone else.

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Uncle Kent

Here's another excerpt from my book, Disrupted Ambitions:

       It was a long tiring drive down I-5 back to Vancouver. Don and Pat were in the back seat dozing off and on, and Coach Campbell was struggling to keep his eyes open. At the time I still didn't have my driver's license, although both Don and Pat did. Yet neither of them volunteered to give coach a break. Finally I thought to myself, maybe if I offered to drive, one of them would speak up and want to take my place. I was right about coach wanting a break. As soon as I asked if he wanted me to drive for a while, he couldn't pull over to the side of the road quick enough. He said, "Gosh Walsh, I really appreciate this." I glanced at my two buddies in the back seat; neither one of them said a word.

       I guess I had driven for about forty-five minutes or so, when coach woke up and started to look around. He noticed a car over in the right lane pulling alongside to pass. He said, "Watch out for that guy on your right, Walsh." After that he stayed awake while trying to make conversation with me. "How long have you been driving, Walsh?"

       Before I could say a word, there came this voice from the back seat out of Hayden, "Oh, about an hour now!"

       I thought Coach Campbell was going to come out of his seat. "What? You do have a license don't you?"

       Not knowing what to say I just said, "No not yet, but I'm working on it."

       I couldn't believe how excited he got. "Hurry up and pull over Walsh," he fairly screamed. "Wait! I mean not now, as soon as these cars go by."

       After the traffic passed, I pulled over, and Coach Campbell quickly changed places with me. He asked Pat and Don why they hadn't said something. They said he never asked; besides I was doing fine. Coach nervously drove the rest of the way home himself; all the while Don and Pat sat in the back seat laughing their guts out.

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Uncle Kent

Now that I have announced the upcoming release date of DISRUPTED AMBITIONS, I have had a number of people requesting more of the details about, what's in the book. Wondering how to best do this without being too repetitive, I decided to include a few of the books excerpts in my blog every now and then. So---here is one of my favorites:

     One day after school, just before track season started, Don McAtee asked whether I wanted to walk down to the sporting goods store with him. Only a few blocks from the high school, the store was just a few minutes' walk. Don explained that he needed to buy himself some track shoes. I said, "Hey Mac, are you going out for track and field with me?"

     "Of course not," he said, "I just want some track shoes to wear, that's all. I think they're really cool-looking."

     So I said, "Okay sure, I'd be happy to go with you."

     We walked down the street and entered the store; a clerk approached and asked whether we needed some help. Don said, "Yes, I need to buy some track shoes." The clerk asked what type of track shoe he wanted. Don hesitated for a moment and then said, "I don't know, just track shoes."

     The clerk kind of looked up and down at Don's slender 106-pound frame as if he knew Don wasn't any kind of track star, and with a slight glint in his eye asked, "Did you want the athletic type, or do you want the campus cutie shoes?"

     I could see Don's face; it began to turn bright red as he thought for a moment, and then through gritted teeth he answered, "I guess the campus cutie shoes." Let me tell you, I couldn't help myself as I just totally burst out laughing.

     After Don gave the fellow his shoe size, the clerk brought him a pair of brand-new, bright and fancy track shoes to try on. Quickly putting the shoes on his feet, Don said he thought they were just fine and that he would go ahead and wear them home. He wasted no time paying the clerk, and we started for the door. By then I had almost stopped laughing, but just as we were about to step outside I could hear Don whisper, " 'Campus cutie' my ass; what a jerk." I laughed all the way home. In fact the next day Don got mad at me because everyone in school was having so much fun teasing him about his "campus cutie" shoes. I have no idea how they all found out about it (honest!), but I guess word does get around."

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Uncle Kent

Now that THADDEUS T. AND BARNABY has been officially released and is available for purchase on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, powells.com and other major online book sellers, I am preparing for the release of my next book, DISRUPTED AMBITIONS.

DISRUPTED AMBITIONS, is the true story of a promising young athelete whose high school dream of competing in the State Championship Wrestling Tournament is all but shattered when, at age sixteen, he develops life-threatening, bleeding ulcers.

With his strong will to live--and the incredible faith and hope of his parents, a very special football coach, and a talented and caring doctor--the young man survives the grueling operation that would save his life.

Still, determined to accomplish his high school dream, and not realizing the risks involved, he quietly and secretly begins the torturous and sometimes disappointing journey of trying to return to the same physical condition that he possessed before his medical problems began.

This insperational and emotion-filled book is meant not only to bring awareness to the symptoms and potential seriousness of ulcers, but also to provide a clear and distinct message to all: "Never give up your dream!"

This book is due for release near the end of 2008.

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Uncle Kent

On June 16, 2008 I lost my mother, Agnes E. Walsh. She was 82 years old. Mom was preceded in death by my dad, Edmund T. Walsh who died in 1990. They were married 48 wonderful years, and produced 5 children, 15 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren.

When we lost my dad, as you can imagine it was a very difficult and sad time for all of us. But for some reason, the passing of my mother was so much harder. Perhaps it's the realism of life hitting home---and of course the fact that both the ones that gave me life, no longer live---at least in this world, that is.

In trying to write something for my blog, all I could think about was Mom. So, instead of writing more stuff about my experiences as a youth, I decided I would just share a couple of the poems I had written for her many years ago. They were rough and unedited---but they came from the heart---and she loved them!

MY SECRET LOVE

On the first day that we met,

I'm sure it was love at very first sight,

Of all the woman in all the world,

This was the woman for me that was right.

She held me in her arms,

Giving me more love than any other woman could possibly give,

Sharing everything that she owned,

And I'll love this woman longer than this life I now live.

A woman who praises and protects me,

It feels like a dream,

She has won my love forever,

To me a saint she does seem.

She's a woman beyond compare,

And if it were mine to do all over again,

All those years with another I could not share,

For my choice would still be the same.

Her heart must surely be made of gold,

And her beauty can be matched by no other,

And I do love her so,

For this woman, is my wonderful mother.

MOTHER DEAR

Mother dear I love you so,

For all the things you say and do,

And all the years you've worked dear Mom,

To keep your children safe and strong.

You've given me a ton of love,

And I hope all this I'm worthy of,

So I give you all my love so true,

Because mother dear, I'm proud of you.

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Uncle Kent