Watermelon Festival in Naples

 I hope your summer is going well in spite of the heat and the storms.  If you haven't already made your vacation plans, may I suggest you consider a visit to Morris County in northeast Texas?  You are sure to enjoy the rodeo and Watermelon Festival in Naples the weekend of July 26 - 28.

  When you’re on the way to Naples on Highway 67, be sure to stop in Omaha, Texas.  This charming small town by the railroad track is going through a revival, thanks to the efforts of some visionary area ladies.  Just as the Texas countryside presents an array of wildflowers in the spring, Omaha is blooming.  The train station is now an antique shop, the Melba Dean is a boutique that is drawing in fashion conscious ladies who stop for lunch at one of the cafes, and the 67 Mercantile and Market Mall has recently opened.

    While you’re in the 67 Mercantile and Market, you can pick up a copy of my book Trouble In Texas: A Summer Adventure.  Most of the incidents in the book really happened (in a slightly altered state) in the Omaha /Naples area and characters in the book may even have their real names.  I’ll admit, some of the facts have been “changed to protect the innocent.” 

  To look at Omaha and Naples, you wouldn’t think much ever happened there, but think again.  In fact, think cattle rustlers, Texas Rangers, ornery mules, rabid foxes, a belligerent roster, and the forging of friendships that will last for a lifetime.

  The 67 Mercantile and Market also carries my novel Picketing the President: Delia’s Dilemma – Grandmother Nolan and the Suffragists.  Pick up a copy and find out how brave women were demonstrating so that today’s women might have the right to vote.  This book features my great-grandmother Mary Nolan who, when she picketed the White House, was literally thrown in jail and force-fed when she went on a hunger strike. 

  If you can’t make it to Texas, both books are available at bookstores and online.

  Now that Delia is home from her adventure with Grandmother, would you like to know what she does next?  How about Matt?  Should he go back to Omaha next summer? Let me know.

   Enjoy your summer and, when November comes, don’t forget to vote!

                                   Best Regards,

                                       Mary