We hope you enjoyed the June 2024 issue of This Awful Awesome Life. Many thanks to Orlando Bartro for his contributions to the magazine.

Our July theme was supposed to be travel, but sometimes life gets in the way.

I have friends finishing up fantastic vacations and there wasn’t enough time for them to be interviewed. I’m hoping to have travel as our August theme.

I hope you had a happy 4th of July.

I spent my 4th at the emergency vet with my cat Annika. She was doing well after a flair up of pancreatitis related to chronic IBD, but she stopped eating and drinking on the evening of the 3rd. She was released from care in the afternoon of the 5th with assurances that she was doing well and would make a complete recovery. Less than 18 hours later, she passed away. I’m still trying to come to terms with why the vet at that facility sent her home when she was clearly not out of danger.

The emergency veterinary clinics in my area were filled to capacity. It is one of their busiest days. In addition to regular emergencies, excessive celebrating, picnicking, and fireworks can spell danger for pets. They can slip out of the house unnoticed, eat foods that are delicious for your human guests , but toxic for them. They can become frightened by the noise of the fireworks, run away, and get in an accident or altercation with another animal. Please, please, if you have a cat, dog, or other pet and you are having a party, designate a safe quiet room for them with food, water, their favorite toys, litter boxes for cats, and post a sign on the door alerting your guest not to open the door. If you have a dog, set an alarm on your phone to remind you to take them for their walk. It’s not good to make them hold it in.

We’re celebrating summer in this issue, and addressing a few of my concerns about the social and political climate in many places around the world. No, I won’t be telling you who to vote for this year. Politics and media coverage have reached a toxic level, and I want to share a few ideas to help us refocus on the issues instead of the mudslinging, finger pointing, and misinformation.

It's summer and we all want to look and feel our best. If you are a woman (especially a woman over 40) there is no end to advice and lists of dos and don’ts out there from “influencers” and “hip” websites. I recently learned that wearing socks that don’t show above my shoes will make me look older, and I will risk being pointed at and disparaged if I venture out of the house not wearing crew socks. Silly me, I thought the years I’ve been alive, and my life experiences played a factor. Find out what other helpful not so helpful advice is out there and what I plan to do about it.

I reviewed Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow this month. I studied political science before switching my major to business/economics, so I knew about some Nazi propaganda efforts in the United States before and during World War I and World War II, but I was shocked by how easily Americans and American politicians could be influenced by misinformation. The parallels to today are frightening.

This year, I’m writing a short story for each issue related to the theme in some way. This month, my short story is about summer.

For our new column, “Happy Birthday,” our author this month is Franz Kafka. “Dare to Believe” features Leon Lewis and Josephine Baker who fought fascism.

Our words for June are words and terms related to summer.

We’re streaming summer movies this month. Here’s a hint, “Summer Lovin’ had me a blast.”

This month in “The Twelve Months of Salsa,” I made Mango Salsa. It’s the perfect salsa to serve with tortilla chips, chicken, fish, or shrimp. My kitchen is 99% complete, and you can get a sneak peak of it in this month’s recipe photos.

This month, Orlando Bartro, who did not let the daily grind distract him, wrote a fascinating article about a hotel.

We found some great choices for our summer reading recommendations for kids and adults. Also, check out July in Pictures, and our preview of our August Traveler’s issue. Take our July  quiz, “The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon’s Birthday.” That’s right Kevin has a birthday this month! I thought it would be fun to connect Kevin with other actors who also have July birthdays. With over 70 films to his credit, Kevin Bacon offers many ways to connect!

We updated our Author Page to include the newly published works.

Everything in Between will be released in audiobook soon. I’ve approved the second nineteen chapters, and I’m anxiously awaiting the last third of the book. I’m sorry the audiobook still isn’t finished, but hold onto those Amazon gift cards, it’s coming!

USA Today best-selling novelist, Annette Dashofy has a new book in the Zoe Chambers Mystery series. You can order What Comes Around on Amazon or find it at your local bookstore. Congratulations Annette!

Alaska Wilderness Mystery Author Robin Barefield has a new book out. The Ultimate Hunt is about the disappearance of a U.S. senator’s daughter in Kodiak Alaska. When FBI special agents investigate, they soon discover other young people are disappearing. It’ll take every available investigator including amateur sleuth Jane Marcus to find and stop the people responsible. You can order The Ultimate Hunt on Amazon. Congratulations Robin!

I hope you are carefully vetting the candidates who have formally announced their intent to run for office in the 2024 elections. Senatorial and presidential hopefuls are campaigning for the 2024 elections, but you still have time to start the vetting process. Presidential candidates will be announcing their choices for VP soon. Don’t forget to vet them carefully as well. These people could be next in line to the presidency. Make sure they are qualified and listen to what they have said and will say. They will show you and tell you who they really are – listen carefully, and don’t be fooled by the spin doctors out there. Please keep showing up and voting. We will never tell you who to vote for, but we will keep telling you to vote and do your homework!

Vet all candidates and insist that all political parties do the same. Which incumbent legislators have actually authored and submitted legislation to benefit Americans? Who’s all talk and soundbites? Who refuses to bring legislation to the floor of the House of Representatives or Senate, so our Representatives/Senators can vote on it? We pay them to conduct the government’s business, not to sit and do nothing. We don’t pay them to do the bidding of political parties or presidential candidates.

Follow the money. Who is the new darling of the billionaires? What will they do, and who will they sell out to keep those dollars rolling in? Vote for the candidates who are the most qualified and who will safeguard our democracy.

Samantha Sayers has been missing since she disappeared on August 1, 2018, after a day of solo hiking at Vesper Peak near Seattle, Washington. Sam grew up in the Erie, Pennsylvania area where her parents Ron and Lisa still live. Her family is exploring all avenues of inquiry to find and bring her home. In the face of such an enormous challenge, they have chosen hope. Please keep sending positive thoughts to Sam and her family. As promised, we will be displaying a yellow ribbon for Sam on the opening page of each issue of This Awful Awesome Life until she is home.

If you are a person of faith, please pray for her safe return to her family. Because we are an online publication, we can update this article with any news. We will also post information on our Facebook page, but only after it is verified. Thank you!

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Happy Reading,

Fran