MORE MAGGIE STORIES (And $10 well spent!!!)   I snapped the above selfie as we traveled back to Arizona. I believe our Boston Terrier/Jack Russel mix had an attitude that day and was saying, “Really, Mom. I have a window to look out of, and you’re bothering me.” She can be such a brat. HA!!! PAYING IT FORWARD: If I haven’t told you, I’m not a fan of LITTER. When I see it on the road, I want to pick it up. On this particular day in Coeur d’Alene, I spied a large piece of cardboard lying in the crosswalk as we pulled into the station for gas. While Ray filled the tank, I watched high schoolers as they came to the convenience store during their lunch hour. One young man carried what looked like the item I’d spotted on our way in. He then disposed of it in the trash can. I’m almost beside myself and rushed out of the RV to commend him for his act of service. Ray’s still pumping gas, and I asked my hubby, “Do you have $10?” He did, and I went into the store and located the boy. I tapped him on his shoulder and handed him the money. Then I said, “I saw that you picked up the trash and threw it away. Thank you for doing that.” He gave me a huge smile and thanked me for the money. Before I left, I asked him his name. He said, “Justin.” He made me proud and renewed my faith in the generation coming up. I hope his friends didn’t give him too much trouble because a gray-haired lady (me) accosted him at Maverick. It felt great to ‘pay it forward.’   WRITING NEWS: Here’s another error that I’m glad didn’t make it into the final draft of my book. I scratched my head when I came across it, wondering why my brain and fingers disconnect at times. It does make for a touch of humor when I run into them. And I changed ‘flood’ to ‘floor.’ HA!   MORE WRITING NEWS: In my work in progress, I’m tackling the repetitive words I used in my first draft. Remember, I write by the seat of my pants. OH, MY GOODNESS!!! Here’s a short list of the vocabulary I overuse - think, that, glanced, stared, all words with ‘thing’ in them, and grin. The good news – I’ll be done with the pesky process by mid-week.   FINAL PIECE OF WRITING NEWS: I’m getting ready to attend a writer’s conference the end of September. It’s my first one in a long time, and I’m excited. Ray will drop me off at the hotel in Phoenix, and I’m off to fill my brain with writing information. I’d appreciate your prayers.     We spent three weeks in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and it wasn’t enough time to see everything. If you’ve never visited there, make plans to do so. The lake, mountains, and friendly folks will have you questioning why it took you so long to get up there. The city is not paying me to promote it, but I have to tell you it’s worth seeing. We left our RV up there in storage, so we’re heading back up there in the spring once again. SEPTEMBER FUNNY: A few weeks ago, I took Maggie out for her morning stroll. About five minutes into our walk, I discovered I didn’t have a bag with me to pick up her poop. Normally, this would upset me, but not today. My ingenuity came to the rescue and cracked me up. I searched my pockets for a tissue…anything to help me be a good citizen. I glanced over to Maggie, and she was nosing a chip bag. Hum! That could work. I snatched it up and wondered how I’d get Exhibit A (poop) into Exhibit B (bag) when I needed it. We walked a little farther, and another piece of trash caught my eye—an empty flip-top cigarette box. Ah hah! A scoop. Maggie did her business, and the ‘scoop’ and chip bag worked without incident. Praise the Lord!!! I hurried back to the RV and told Ray, “MacGyver doesn’t hold a candle to what I just did.” Then I explained what had happened. We both had a good laugh.   Fall is in the air, so why don't you grab a book (preferably mine) and head to your porch? Pigtails and a Tool Belt (a Romantic Comedy) is ON SALE for .99 cents. https://amzn.to/3sa1KNP Until next time…     Janetta Fudge Messmer - Author of Christian Comedy/Romances “Turning Life Into Comedy” E-mail: janettafudgemessmer@gmail.com Website and sign up for the newsletter: http://janettafudgemessmer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janetta.fudge.messmer Twitter: https://twitter.com/nettiefudge