When are you an adult? 18 or 21? Make up you mind, America!

Just so we're straight on this, I'm 58. None of what I'm about to spew out applies to me. But it does matter to me and gives me a pause with concern.

Right now, today, if a young person is 18 they are considered an adult...sort of.

They can: drive a car, vote, get married, have a child in or out of wedlock, enter into a legally binding contract and so on and so on and so on. Okay, got it?

They can also join one of our armed forces and serve (and potentially die) for their country. Kind of a biggie in my mind.

Now, they cannot legally buy or consume alcohol (though they can die for their country...kind of odd, but okay)! They still drink (some/most of them) and they still drive cars so I can see where you'd want them a little more mature before you give them access to liquor stores...sort of.

They cannot buy handguns and soon (if some people have their way) they will not be able to purchase certain other weapons until the age of 21. Some stores have already "self" implemented these policies.

But we still allow them to vote? Huh!

What is the age of majority in this country of ours (the USA)? Can someone please explain to me this sliding scale in a way that makes any sense?

Teens and 3,000# vehicles have always been a bad mix. Teens and alcohol can lead to trouble in a lot of settings. We all know what happens when angry or depressed teens get their hands on guns. And let's face it, most 18 year-olds understand as much about legal contracts as I do about using Pinterest (and that ain't much)!

However, the problem should be obvious to all: If an 18-year-old is an adult, then they're an adult. If you want them to be 21 before they have access to all these great things that we adults get to have, then make it 21. But this odd mixture has to go!

If they can enter the military then these people deserve to drink, and the right to buy whatever firearms are legal for the rest of us to purchase. I do not believe it's fair to give them some rights, but not all rights.

I believe our legislators need our help in solving this issue. Our children deserve a clean, uncluttered path to adulthood. Quite frankly I don't care what age is chosen (my youngest is 30 and served 8 years in the USMC). Just give them everything they deserve and don't keep certain parts of adulthood hidden from them behind "curtain #3" until they turn some other magical age.

What do you think? I want to hear from you on this! Please comment below.


Until next time,

e a lake

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Catching up again!

I know, I know...it's been a while.

Sorry; I've been busy creating new novels and new ideas to be released in the next twelve months. I think you're going to like them. So stay tuned!

Here's what you might have missed while I've been on hiatus:

My latest release (from about a month ago) was The Remnants of Antietam. It's post-apocalyptic and involves a little more fighting and weaponry than my usual stuff, but follows much of the same vein you've grown to like.

Set in Sharpsburg, MD (near the Antietam Battlefield) a small community of preppers finds themselves thrown into the world they thought they were ready for. But is anyone ever truly prepared for the end of times?

You can get it by clicking on the picture/cover below:

Also, if you were following the online novel Glitched, it's available in ebook and paperback as well now:

I'll have more to tell you in a few days. I'll catch you up to speed on what I'm writing and an exciting series that will be released in 2018.

Until then, have a great week.

Thanks for reading,

e a lake

Oh My, Your Car Doesn't Work? I Warned You!

This week we continue with what your world is going to be like if (or perhaps when) WWIV comes a callin'. Last week we hinted at life without electricity. This week, I take your vehicles away.

Here's your first hint. Jumping won't help. To be exact, it's not even possible. Unless you find someone with an older car (sans computer), and, they had it stored properly.

Whatever happened to cause The Darkness was bad

Real Bad, actually. It seems to have emulated an EMP (electromagnetic pulse). And those aren't good. Here's a link to what it would be like after one of those babies. Scroll down to the part covering "effects". And trust me, if you dig a little deeper, it gets a whole lot scarier.

Suffice it to say that if The Darkness hits the world with the same effects as an EMP, well - we are all in a lot of trouble.

Damn computers, the bane of our existence

It's bad enough your laptops, and desktops, and tablets won't work. But your 2103 Chevy Impala has a computer as well. Several computers actually.

And guess what? It's dead, now that The Darkness has come. Dead - never to work again, never to be fixed, never to be replaced. You see, radiation has come to rest on our world. And it has covered and destroyed EVERYTHING!

(I'll cover more about what happened later - as in it will all be revealed in Book Three of my Shorts Series The Truth)

So, I guess we'll be walking a lot more now

You know your daughter's cute bike out in the garage? The pink thing with the streamers on the handle bars? Yeah, get used to it.

Or get some good shoes.

Or find a sturdy horse.

'Cause there won't be any more planes, trains, nor automobiles. Not for a long, long time (most likely ever, but let's not perseverate on that right now). Just like last week - can you say welcome to the 1800s? That's what transportation is going to look like - for the rest of your life for sure!

It's sobering, isn't it?

Never again will you take a Sunday afternoon ride to Grandma's. Quick trips to the store some five miles away? Nah, I don't think so. Weekend jaunts to cities hundreds of miles away are now things of the past.

On any given weekend, I drive as much as 300 miles from my home. Perhaps I'm off to the cottage for a weekend of fishing and relaxation. Or maybe a fall dash to the farm to hunt deer. Ah, the good ole days.

After The Darkness comes, my range will be limited greatly. Maybe five miles, perhaps less. Without a vehicle to transport me here and there, I'll be doing plenty of walking. I've got a bike, something my daughter and her husband gave to me as a birthday gift a few years back. But, I don't bike much. Perhaps I'll have to dig it out of the corner of the garage and become more acquainted with that thing.

What will your life be like without gas-powered transportation? Tell me about it...if you dare.

Have a great week; enjoy Thanksgiving (my US readers). 

e a lake

(books below are interactive, so go ahead and click on any of them)

                       

This Must Change! It Absolutely Has To!

22 veterans a day take their own lives due to triggering points associated with combat stress. That's one veteran every 65 minutes.

That statistic is unacceptable - Period!

PTSD is real, and must be properly addressed. 

How can we let our sons and daughters - nieces and nephews, our grandchildren, our neighbor's kids, the nice boy from church, that sweet girl from the animal shelter - go off to war, return home in one piece, and then be ignored to take their own lives?

It stuns me that this isn't headline news in each and every newspaper - EVERY DAY! 

It shocks me that Charlie Rose isn't screaming about this on the morning news!

It saddens me that it's always "someone else's problem". 

It is our problem; each and every one of us

I'm sickened by the fact that the Sunday News Shows had a casualty report every week during combat times. Where is the recognition for these brave souls now?

Veteran's Days was last Wednesday. I waited a week to start this campaign. A simple writer's blog where I typically talk about anything but this. Until this week. I want the madness to stop. I want all of our children safe. It's time we put an end to issues like bullying and teen suicide. Time for an end to the "heads in the sand" attitude over PTSD!

It is time we quit ignoring the atrocities occurring right here; whether on American soil or any of our Allies.

Our children are dying, people! Dying at alarming rates! We need to do something...NOW!

PTSD is Real!

If you don't believe me, I feel sorry for you. I've seen it first-hand; felt the pain first-hand; laid awake at night - all night sometimes, worrying about it.

You don't have to agree with the war to love the warriors. I don't love war. More precisely, I wish all war would stop, now! Because our children are the fighters in these battles. Not the President, not Congress, or the Supreme Court. Not any State Legislator, or Governor. Our children; that resource we hold so dear!

Over the next few months, I'll continue posting on this subject. It's not going away - so neither will I! 

Share the post with everyone you know. Because everyone you know knows someone in the military. And chances are that military member might just have PTSD.

Let's start saving lives one at a time, or two at a time. Or how about 22 a day?

Yeah, I like that idea.

Until later, pray for peace!

e a lake

(BTW - 22 a day equals almost 8,000 a year. Do I have your attention now?)