I’ve read that the average person has 50,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day.

I hope that’s not true because it’s 7 p.m. on Monday as I write this and I’ve only had about 10 thoughts today.

Most of them have been about writing books because the rewards of penning something that touches other lives is countless.  I once received an email from a man who said that he read my book (a non-fiction business book) during a flight from Rio de Janiero to Paris and that he learned a lot from it.  I floated on air all day that day.

Then there was the critic from whom I sought a review who responded to my request with this: “Thanks for sending me a copy of your book.  I shall waste no time reading it.”

Ooops, well okay, that one could be taken two ways….

Anyway, I’ve said before that I’m done writing non-fiction.  (Never say never?)  I just want to focus on fiction. However, my 7^th, 8^th and 9^th thoughts today were that if I ever write non-fiction again, these are the topics and books I’d tackle:

1. Parenting – Remember the Expecting series? You know the ones: What to Expect When You’re Expecting, and What to Expect the First Year.

Now that I’m on the other side of that mommy stage, and I’ve experienced the truth, I’m going to write, What Was I Expecting!?

Its sequel will be Lower Your Expectations!

2. Travel – As I’ve mentioned, I travel a bit, mostly from Marpennsylginia to Georgia.  I’ve also been to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Alaska, England, 13 countries in Europe….and on.

Before each trip I’ve flipped through detailed travelogues and boned up on what to see in my intended locales.

Now, with 20/20 hindsight, I’m going to write the ultimate coffee table travel book:  Don’t Bother!

There are a lot of places in the world that are just not worth seeing, such as several parts of Cleveland, and choice sections of the Big Apple.  Many spots in Appalachia would rate the list too.  You know… the kinds of places where the Clampetts lived before Beverly Hills; the places where, if a tornado were ever to hit, it might do $100,000 worth of improvements.

 Don’t Bother would save many people a lot of time and money!

3. Sports – I enjoy sports, so the Olympics is one time I often choose TV over books; however, I might just write a book in the background during the next Olympics.  My book will be a journalistic expose called The Olympics: What Were They Thinking?  It will analyze sporting games that are not included but which I feel should be, such as Hide and Go Seek; Red Rover, Red Rover; Pick-Up Sticks, and Extreme Coin Flippers.

Something tells me that if I were to have an 11^th thought today, it would be to not publish this posting.  I think I’ll turn in before that thought hits.

No man can be called friendless who has God and the companionship of good books. ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning