Recommeded Mystery: Deadly Stakes by J.A. Jance

J.A Jance is one of my (Rob) favorite mystery writers and the latest in the series of Ali Reynolds mysteries is another winner. I read this book in about 1 1/2 weeks (amidst all the comics and graphic novels, magazines, newspaper, etc. I read) and it's gripping. You really feel for the characters and want to know what's happening with whom.
  Of course, it opens with a murder of a haughty, selfish, snobbish woman, and it's hard to figure out who did it- but it all makes sense. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! 
 
THE BOOK SUMMARY: Former reporter Ali Reynolds finds herself working against the police to add up the clues that connect one frightened teenager, two dead bodies, and $300,000 . . . with the body count rising.
    Hired to investigate the grisly murder of a gold-digging divor­cée on behalf of the woman accused of the crime, Ali Reynolds is immediately drawn to the case of the secretive teenager who found the body. A. J. Sanders was in the Camp Verde desert to retrieve a mystery box buried by his absent father—a box that turns out to be filled with hundreds of thousands of dol­lars’ worth of poker chips. When a second body is found in the desert, it seems the three cases are more closely related than anyone could have imagined. Though Ali’s friends in the police department grow increasingly irritated by her involvement, Ali must stop a ruthless killer from claiming another victim . . . before she is lost in this game of deadly stakes.
**to get the book on Amazon-Click here**

Video TALK! Rob @ StrangeCon 2014:"Recognizing Signs From Loved Ones"

For those who want to know what in the world I (Rob) talk about when I give talks about my paranormal experiences, a 35 min. talk is finally on YouTube. I gave a talk at  StrangeCon 2014 :"Recognizing Signs From Loved Ones" This is one of my favorite talks because it educates people how to look for signs from those who passed (it provides highlights from all 3 books).
   I cover the basics of ghosts and spirits, use science to explain their existence, and explain how YOU can recognize signs from ghosts and spirits. You can find all that information in my three books: Ghosts and Spirits Insights from a Medium, Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead, and Pets and the Afterlife. All books are available in E-book and paperback from Amazon.com.

VIDEO LINK: Click to see 35 minute video or Rob's talk

Rob points to a photo of the Inspired Ghost Tracking Group

Dolly Parton's New Video! "Home"!

Dolly is my (Rob's) favorite female singer and she just released her new CD called "Blue Smoke." The CD is great (of course I'd say that), and this is a video of the first single being released called "Home." Its a catchy song and the video is mostly Dolly singing and posing in different outfits, with really funny quirks. It'll make you smile!
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-ifWeaSdrc

TOM'S HAND INJURY AND 2 out of 3 BAD ER EXPERIENCES

TOM'S HAND INJURY AND 2 out of 3 BAD ER EXPERIENCES - 
 Last evening after dinner we were in our backyard playing with our dogs as we like to do. Our Weimaraner's favorite game is rope toss, where we toss a rope and she catches it in her mouth. Tom and I (Rob) were tossing the rope to each other and letting Dolly have it every couple of throws and she was really enjoying it. On one toss as Tom reached out to grab it, Dolly thought it was to her, and she went to grab it at the same time... which led to one of her canine teeth slicing a wound into Tom's had between his index finger and his "U.S. driver aggressive finger (the middle one)."  - Tom yelped and blood dripped out so we knew we had to RUSH to an emergency room... 
    So we RUSHED to THREE OF THEM before we were satisfied.

Stitches in Tom's hand - eeeeeewwwww!!!!

 TOM'S CONCERNS ABOUT EMERGENCY CARE IN OUR AREA -  Tom said "I had a minor mishap last evening and needed to get a couple of stitches. Can I tell you that I now have really serious concerns about the emergency medical care available in this area? Seriously. Bowie Medical. What a joke. AAMC. OMG! An unbelievable experience that is blog worthy. Finally went to Righttime in Crofton. It took over 2 hours to see a doctor. It was my first time at the facility, but somehow they managed to mix up my info up with another patient by the same name already in the system. How does that happen? If they couldn't even get my name, address, and DOB tied to the correct patient, imagine if they mixed up medical info? You could kill someone. Absolutely ridiculous.

BAD STOP #1:  Bowie Health Center-Emergency Medical Care at 15001 Health Center Dr Bowie, Md  used to be good- I was treated there for Asthma. Not good this time.  (although the Dimensions Surgery Center part was great when I had my sinus surgery).  
WHAT HAPPENED  ?-    When we went into the ER last night, a security guard directed us to a woman at a stand up desk that couldn't care what the hell was happening with anyone. Tom's hand was wrapped in a towel and the woman pushed a clipboard to the corner of the small podium-top saying "fill it out and sit."NEVER ASKED "are you bleeding severely?" nothing. THEN... she walked away. There were 3 other people waiting. SO WE LEFT.  **In the past, they didn't have that idiot at a podium but had several people taking incoming cases. That's gone and replaced with a woman who obviously didn't give a crap about the people coming in.**
 
 BAD STOP #2: Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) in Annapolis, Md. *
 This is the SECOND DISASTER at this place and we will NEVER RETURN. 2 years ago Tom went in for kidney stones and they refused to recognize me as his legally married husband to fill out paperwork, etc. (altho MD hadn't made gay marriage legal yet, the state recognized gay marriages outside -ours was in CT.). At that time, Tom was in agony, and I offered to fill out the paperwork- and they told me to "shut up and sit down" - they refused to recognize our marriage. Then -he waited in an ER room for over an hour and NO ONE CAME to see him. By then, the pain subsided and we were both furious, so we walked out.

  THIS TIME: Not much different. I dropped Tom off and went to park. Within 10 minutes, he called me to come back with the truck and go somewhere else. He stood at the reception desk 10 minutes as the receptionist laughed and talked with her back to him all that time. He said "Aren't you working the desk?" She was totally dis-interested. He asked if the 100+ people in the waiting room were all waiting to be seen and she finally said something: "yeah." - SO WE LEFT.

GOOD STOP#3: Righttime care in Crofton, Md. - We were greeted and addressed immediatelyand they asked the nature of the visit. They were friendly, efficient, helpful. I filled out Tom's info. We were called in back within 15-20 minutes and the nurse immediately cleaned the wound. We then waited another 90 minutes that included the doctor stitching him up. We got home at 1am. -

An Extreme Dog Rescue Story: Our Friend Scott

Our friend Scott Lope is all about saving animals.   This past weekend he found a stray dog and went to EXTREME LENGTHS to return the dog home! (We work with 2 dog rescues, so this story really resonated with us)
    Some background about Scott: He's made a lifetime of it. He's the founder and CEO at Animal Warriors. He worked for big cat rescue (dealing with lions, tigers, etc.); He's rescued wild birds, raccoons and all other  kinds of wildlife. He was named Animal Planet's hero of the year in 2009. He also co-authored 2 issues of Marvel Comics' Wolverine #12 and 13 earlier this year (that deals with Rhino poaching).  

Scott went to extreme lengths to get Joey home

    On June 12th, here's what Scott wrote about a dog he rescued this past weekend:
    UPDATE on the mystery pup that was rescued from a busy roadway on sunday afternoon. I apologize for not getting this up sooner, but things are crazy as always.
    I took him to a local vets office on monday morning to check for a microchip and to much to my surprise he had one. Home Again agency was alerted and they left a message at the listed contact phone number. About an hour later the agency called me to say that they hadn't heard back from the owner and could they call again and give them my cell number. I said of course and I asked if they could at least tell me the owners location. I was told the owner lived in Asheville NC, which is about 400 miles from where we found this dog. 

Joey

   The only other info that the company would give me was the dogs listed vet, also in Asheville. So I called Hawcreek Animal Hospital and explained the situation. They were super nice and double checked the microchip # and it was indeed one of their patients. My mind was swirling with theories, "were they at the beach on vacation and lost their dog ?" and " was he abducted and somehow escaped his captors ?" I learned that his name was Joey and that he was a saluki that was over 10 years old. I also learned that the he was listed as "Deceased" in their records and had last been seen their in 2009. They gave me the owners name and number and I immediately called him, completely expecting to make someone incredibly happy with news that Joey is alive and safe.
     However ... an angry male voice answered the phone with "I don't have a missing dog and you people need to stop bothering me". I was stunned and asked him if he was Mr. C and had a dog named Joey to which he refused to answer, repeated his opening statement with an added "never call here again, and hung up. 
   I immediately called the vets office back to see if they had possibly given me the wrong, but found out that they had had a very similar conversation with Mr C as well. There was no other people listed in the vet record, but the technician assured me she would she would go to the basement and pull Joeys file out of the individual pet record hard copy file. I took Joey to Aunt Kerry's Pet Stop and they gave him some yummy food and arranged for a nail trimming. Back home to wait. 
   When I didn't hear back from them all day, I called again right before they closed and the technician looked again and found Joeys old file. There was a woman's name listed on one of the forms but no contact information for her. Time to play Sherlock Holmes and figure this out. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.  
    One last attempt turned up her name as a member of an outdoor commune style community in Raleigh NC, a little closer but still 150 miles away and no contact information. As we backtracked through the searches an address about 3 miles from where the dog was found randomly popped up under the commune listing. So the only option was a stealthy drive by to see what kind of horrible hell-hole Joey escaped from. Well, as was par for my predictions up to this point, I was completely wrong and it was a very nice neighborhood. Ugh, what to do, what to do ... 

     Well, I parked the car and went up and knocked . A trio of super nice people answered the door and very kindly greeted me. I asked if any of them was Mrs HD and they all got an odd expression on their faces and said no and that she doesn't live here. So I asked if they knew a skinny dog named Joey and they all got happy, excited, and concerned immediately. So, and I promise this is almost over, I explained my side of the story and they told me theirs. Mrs. HD is indeed Joey's owner and is a close relative and she had lived there for a few years with Joey but had recently moved into a new apartment which (yes you guessed it) did not allow dogs, so Joey was now living with her daughter and grandsons about 1/4 mile from where I found him. I voiced all my concerns about returning the dog to them and they showed me pics of Joey when he lived there and yes he was always super skinny as is typical of the breed, especially a senior dog. I asked if they would look at Joey before I returned him just to see if he seemed ok and they absolutely agreed. I ran back and got the dog, he was ecstatic to see them and they assured me that he only ever weighed 40 pounds at his heaviest. They said they would check on him more often and with that I was finally taking Joey home. 
      His owner was working that night so I left him with the boys and went to get tags made for his collar, now that I had all the information. I texted the owner and told her about the ID tags and stopped back by and personally attached them to his collar. I think I scared the boys a little as I instructed them not to lose him again and with that I hugged Joey and finally went home. 
    I later received a text from Joeys owner, who is a hard-working single mom with 2 teenage boys and I'm going to share the text with you guys: "You are awesome, my life is upside down right now, then Joey getting out and getting lost was the icing. Tears pool my eyes over your amazing heart and helpful soul. This is the turning point, I know it. Things are going to be ok now. Thanks so much."
     So now, I had tears in my eyes and quickly texted her back to say that if she ever needed help or could no longer keep Joey that she must please please please contact me. I'm pretty sure she will and I will do my best to make sure Joey is ok, it shouldn't be too difficult because I can actually see their house from my backyard ! 

Wedding Day: Darold and Kevin

getting ready for the service

Our friends Darold and Kevin have been together over  2 years and live in east Tennessee where marriage equality isn't a reality, so they came to Washington, D.C. to get married on Friday,June 6th. 

Darold and Kevin getting instructions from the officiant

Kevin's dad doing a reading

Kevin - "do you take Darold..."

 





CASUAL CEREMONY -  They had a brief and very casual ceremony at the Church of the Holy City in Washington, D.C. and decided to be very casual with matching polo shirts - so the officiant joked about 5 times during the ceremony that someone needs to teach them some fashion sense! 

Darold and Kevin laughed and cried during the event

 

Darold's aunt doing a reading

holding the marriage certificate

  Members of Kevin and Darold's families were there -all from out of state, to see the marriage become legal. We enjoyed talking to their cousin Ruthie and her husband Kevin who live in Virginia (others live in the southern U.S.) and Reggie who came up from Tennessee.

L: Tom (front), Kevin, Darold  R: Kevin, Ruthie, cousin and aunt

Walking out a legally married couple!

A LUNCH RECEPTION -  After the service, we all had lunch at the Bali Thai restaurant in D.C. - and Tom and I had not really tasted Thai food before.  There were a total of 18 of us, including the two grooms, and it was a really fun time.
  Darold and Kevin spent the next day touring their families around Washington, D.C. (we couldn't go because Rob had two book related events to attend). 
  Enjoy the pictures!

Earliest Sunrises in Northern Hemisphere -Just Before June 21!

According to EarthSky.org, at mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the earliest sunrises of the year happen around mid-June, despite the fact that the summer solstice – the year’s longest day – comes about one week thereafter. And if you live at middle latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the earliest sunsets also take place around mid-June, even though the winter solstice – the year’s shortest day – isn’t for another week.

Sunrise from Nantucket by Janice Plourde

Tomorrow: Rob Signing Books at Carroll County Pet Expo

Come out and say hello at the Carroll County Pet Expo this Saturday, June 14 - 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Rob will be doing Book Signings at the "Pets and the Afterlife" booth!
706 Agriculture Center Shipley Arena, Westminster, MD 21157
Admission: $5/adults; 17 and under/Free Tickets are also available at the door.  For more information contact Helen Dagilis at 410-857-7869
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/marketplace/carroll-county-pet-expo/business_4000009731.html
or https://www.facebook.com/CCTPetExpo

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Summary: PETS AND THE AFTERLIFE by Rob Gutro: The loss of a pet is like the loss of a child to pet owners. The love we share with our pets never dies, and in a new book called "Pets and the Afterlife" by Rob Gutro, the author provides proof that our pets do communicate with us from the other side.    Available in paperback and E-book, on Amazon.com and other outlets at: To order paperback of Kindle- http://tinyurl.com/mqgamq2%20

This week's Funny Things We've Said to Each Other

Go find "3:20" on the Beltway!

Every day we make each other laugh -and that's the formula for a great relationship.
Over the last couple of days, there were some things that just made us both burst out laughing so we thought we'd share them with you.
IT'S AT 3:20 - 
   Tom and I were driving over the weekend and he was talking about where something was located off the Washington, D.C. Beltway (the interstate the circles the District of Columbia for outsiders). If you look at the beltway, "noon" is Silver Spring, Maryland, "3 pm" is Annapolis, "6pm" is Arlington, Virginia and 9 pm is Dulles Airport, Virginia. So, Tom said that it was a "3:20 pm on the Beltway. 
  I looked at him and laughed. I said "You mean 4pm on the Beltway." He said, "No, I mean 3:20 pm on the Beltway." I repeated "4 p.m." and then he got it. We laughed a long time after that!

ANNIVERSARY CARD LAUGH - I was going through a box of old cards that we received (and
gave to each other, and it was filled with several years' worth of cards. Because our 5th Wedding Anniversary is coming up on June 26th, I pulled out the card I gave Tom last year and a bunch of the other anniversary cards I gave him from the previous years.
  I said to him that I couldn't find a card he gave to me from the last several years and he responded "I don't know, what did you do with IT?"  (Meaning ONE).  I shot him a look and we laughed out loud.  - Eventually, I did find one. :)

Take the Test: How Gullible Are You?

How gullible are you?  Well, you can find out by taking this simple test concerning mass emails that are circulating!  

1)  Do you believe this Claim?:   The U.S. government is opening gas stations to distribute free gasoline in poor neighborhoods.

 Origins:   On 29 October 2013, the Daily Currant published an article positing that the Obama administration was using a little-known provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly known as "Obamacare") to have the federal government open a network of gas stations to provide free gasoline to residents of poor neighborhoods:
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/gasstations.asp#uiDdXUAuTJwDr5SA.99 

ANSWER: FALSE - The article was just a bit of political humor from the Daily Currant spoofing the subjects of Obamacare and government benefits. The Daily Currant is an English language online satirical newspaper that covers global politics, business, technology, entertainment, science, health and media.

 2  Two-Striped Telamonia Spider

Warning that venomous 'two-striped telamonia' spiders are lurking beneath toilet seats in public restrooms.

FALSE:  Read more at http://www.snopes.com/info/top25uls.asp#YYTksGbRZRHV2kJa.99

3) Has President Obama announced a nationwide Muslim outreach program for children grades K-12?

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/gasstations.asp#uiDdXUAuTJwDr5SA.99

THE TRUTH:  Origins:   On 27 September 2013, the National Report (A SATIRICAL NEWSPAPER)  published an article   that President Obama had proclaimed November 2013 to be National Muslim Appreciation Month, a time to "celebrate the Muslim community" in the United States 

ANSWER: FALSE.  The National Report is ANOTHER political satirical Website. (Apparently conservatives don't know What "Satire" means (Exaggeration , sarcasm or parody to ridicule or shame people (unjustly). 

TRUTH:The National Report's (since removed) disclaimer page notes that all of the articles are fiction:  National Report is a news and political satire web publication, which may or may not use real names, often in semi-real or mostly fictitious ways. All news articles contained within National Report are fiction, and presumably fake news. Any resemblance to the truth is purely coincidental. 

   Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/muslimmonth.asp#gFKbVSMpUg0pUm2u.99

4)   Claim:   Barack Obama is the only president who has failed to visit the D-Day Monument on 

D-Day.

FALSE -   The first president to travel to Normandy for D-Day was Ronald Reagan, who in 1984 attended commemorative ceremonies there for the 40th anniversary of the Allied landings. Bill Clinton attended D-Day memorial ceremonies in Normandy on the 50th anniversary of the landings in 1994, George W. Bush did so on the 60th anniversary of the landings in 2004, and Barack Obama did likewise on the 65th anniversary of the landings in 2009 and AGAIN  on the 70th anniversary in 2014.   Here's a link to the video from 2009: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guYsufYyQ40

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/dday.asp#7vZKFA4x7qr2bffl.99

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SO, If you believed ANY of these, you were believing fiction. Now you know the truth. Next time you get an email that bashes ANYONE, President, friend, company, etc. Take the time to check it out. And btw, Video clips are the easiest to play with-= because the words before and after sentences can be cut off, changing the meaning (something that people did with the president's words recently that made it sound like he said he wants to be a monarch, when he was saying the opposite.  Check it out before sharing anything and DON'T BE GULLIBLE! 

Photos: Greenbelt Pet Expo! /Rescue Event/A Feathery Sign from a Dog

On Saturday afternoon June 7 I joined Shelley of the Dachshund Rescue of North America at the Greenbelt, Maryland First Annual Pet Expo. It was a sunny and warm day, about 85F and there were about 15 vendors at the Greenbelt Dog Park.
   Shelley contributed an AMAZING chapter in my new book "Pets in the Afterlife." Shelley's chapter is RESCUED BY A DOG'S GHOST." Her true story happened when she was a girl. Shelley is also a scientist, so we share that in common as well as dog rescue. For more about the book, see below!
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   There were a lot of great vendors at the Pet Expo including a Cocker Spaniel Rescue, a cat rescue, pet sitters, dog trainers, veterinary hospitals, a pet photographer, the SPCA, Greenbelt Animal Shelter and more. I went around and spoke to many of them and told them about my book "Pets in the Afterlife" to help comfort people who lost a pet and understand that signs they're giving to their pet parents from beyond!
  

DNRA and Rob join forces to promote the rescue and his book

 WHAT IS DACHSHUND RESCUE OF NORTH AMERICA? - Dachshund Rescue of North America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with one sole purpose — rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing needy dachshunds and mostly dachshund mixes. We are a network of experienced rescue people with strong representation in the northeast, mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Southeast. DRNA has a standard placement fee, regardless of the condition in which the dog was received. We are able to accomplish this through the generosity of donations.  AVAILABLE DACHSHUNDS FOR ADOPTION: http://www.drna.org/Dachshunds

Shelley and Luxie (avail. for adoption)

 MEET LUXIE THE DACHSHUND- AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION - Luxie loves people and snuggling. She very velcro. She does not like other dogs because she is the Princess of her pack. She is a miniature dachshund who walks well on a leash and is housetrained. Luxie is 6 years old. We will have an update on this delightful little dachshund in the days to come.  She's about 15 pounds and needs to be the only dog in the house.

A FEATHERY SIGN FROM A DOG - I had the good fortune to talk with several folks who had questions and one woman shared a great story about her Labrador Retriever that passed. She noticed that since he passed, she sometimes sees white "feather-like" things when she's thinking of him. Sometimes feathers, sometimes the white dandelion puffs (or fruits as they're called).  The white fuzz is attached to the seed and acts as a parachute, according to Purdue University. / Some dog and people spirits will send feathers, birds, butterflies or other things in nature to let people know they're okay. - This woman's dog also wanted to know that her father (who passed last year) is with her beloved Labrador Retriever! 

A sign from a Labrador!

A look at the event from our table!

Here's the summary for my new book: PETS AND THE AFTERLIFE by Rob Gutro: The loss of a pet is like the loss of a child to pet owners. The love we share with our pets never dies, and in a new book called "Pets and the Afterlife" by Rob Gutro, the author provides proof that our pets do communicate with us from the other side.    Available in paperback and E-book, on Amazon.com and other outlets at: To order paperback of Kindle- http://tinyurl.com/mqgamq2%20

Video: Superman 75th Anniversary Animated 2 min. Short

Wow! This is a great 2 minute Superman 75th Anniversary look at the character through time. Anyone who is a big Superman fan will be able to identify all the versions (including the actors who portrayed him).  Of course, I was VERY happy to see Superman's dog Krypto in it!
SUMMARY:  From the creative minds of Zack Snyder (Man of Steel) and Bruce Timm (Superman: The Animated Series) and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, this short follows Superman through the years, from his first appearance on the cover of Action Comics #1 to Henry Cavill in this year's Man of Steel...all in two minutes!
  After watching the short, be sure to check out DC Comics' official list of annotations: http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2013/10/15/the-superman-anniversary-short-75-points-of-annotation
 LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebXB0lBoaQ0&feature=kp