Mortaine’s Blog

OK, this is a shout-out to all of my holiday-celebrating friends.

Toys for Tots is an organization in which you donate a new, unwrapped toy for a child.

Why do I put the “new, unwrapped” part in bold? Because last year, my sister’s family signed up for this kind of holiday assistance, and what did they get?

Used, broken, and dirty (as in soiled) toys.

I urge everyone this year to donate a Really Cool Toy to Toys for Tots (or whatever the child-toy-donation organization is local to your area) if you can possibly do so. And don’t be skimpy on it– come up with a great gift for a little girl or boy, something they will really like.

If there’s an adopt-a-gift program at your local Post Office, take a tag and give a kid something on their wish list this year.

Remember: for some of these kids, this will be the only gift they receive this year at all.

I was working on the novel today, and just decided to stop for a while. I needed a break. So, I’m working on a short story, tentatively titled “Baggage” about a young woman picking up her mother’s coffin at the airport. Kind of a Walter Mitty-esque piece, as the woman continually imagines herself in some wild and wonderful place, having great sex and ignoring her mother’s nagging voice (or the ghost of her voice).