People often ask me for fan fiction recommendations, so I thought it would be fun to share a list of my personal favorite Scarecrow and Mrs. King stories; therefore, I present "The Aluminum Sun Awards." 

Note: These are my own personal choices and categories. I tend to enjoy a well written, character driven drama a little more than fluff - but no worries, I included plenty of fluff. Would love to receive some feedback - I know not everyone has the same taste as I do, and would like to hear what your choices would be. (I hope someday to do this for Chuck, but have barely scratched the surface of Chuck (Charah) stories out there – although, I do love the story Amilyn wrote for me – Neighborly Intervention - it is utter Jellie joy). 

A drum roll please - and without further ado, my favorite Scarecrow and Mrs. King stories. . . 

The four scariest words in the English language for a woman are, “I feel a lump.” Those words were uttered to me about two weeks ago by my primary doctor when I went in for my yearly exam. She had felt a walnut size lump on my left breast. I tried to shrug it off – it’s most likely just breast tissue or a cyst. My mother and grandmother had a long history of cysts and I have them, too. (I have a particular large cyst on the top of my forehead – my bangs cover it up, but it’s been there for as long as I can remember and because it has not changed – I don’t worry about it).

I told my mother and my husband, but did not tell the news to anyone else. Why say anything if it turns out to be nothing, I had thought. I also wondered if the breast reduction I had years ago wasn’t a factor in the amount of tissue in the breast. Nevertheless, I did say a silent prayer or two that nothing would be found. I really did not need cancer on top of everything else my body has been through. “Why me?” I questioned. However, I would not let fear course through my body, but knew if it were cancer, I would cross the bridge, with my family by my side, when I came to it.  My thoughts turned to Mary, a good friend who recently went through chemotherapy and radiation treatments, my aunt Martha, who recently had a mastectomy, and my high school friend, Lisa, who has stage-four cancer, and the cancer has spread to her bones and brain. She faces life’s challenges with humor and grace. I admire her courage and feel for her children who are close to the same ages as mine.

“I’m sure it’s just a cyst,” I repeated this mantra over and over again for the next week, until it was time for me to have the diagnostic mammogram. I was more concerned with the pain then the thought of cancer, thinking about the medieval torture device that squishes the ‘girls’ between two glass plates. However, the procedure was not as awful or painful as I thought it would be – sure, there was some pressure and having to stand still for a few moments in some rather awkward positions (mostly because of my height), but it wasn’t too bad. The next step was the ultrasound, and I have had several of those over the years, so I knew what to expect. The technician did the procedure and chatted with me, putting me at ease as we talked about boys and teenagers eating us out of house and home. When the exam was all over, a doctor from the imaging clinic came in and talked with me; nonetheless, he found nothing but breast tissue. I think I finally brew out the breath I had been holding for the last week.

Needless to say, I feel great and I'm grateful it wasn't anything. 

Driving down a dark, deserted, narrow roadway on a cool, crisp early November morning, on my way to Seminary with my younger sister in the passenger seat, I hit a patch of black ice.  The vehicle I was driving quickly spun out of control and the car rolled end over end. I remember how everything seemed to be in slow motion, the feeling of helplessness, the sound of glass shattering, the reverberation of tortured and twisted metal, and my sister yelling my name. Seconds later, I sat in the mangled car, hanging upside down, pinned against the window and my seatbelt holding me firmly against the drivers seat, frantically calling out to my sister. I believe guardian angels were watching over both of us that day, because I walked away without a scratch and my sister who had not been buckled, although tussled around the inside of the car, was miraculously not thrown from the vehicle. I learned some important lessons that day, first, you can’t beat the laws of physics, and second, sometimes our world needs to be turned upside-down for us to realize we are right side-up. 

Bruce Boxleitner (Tron, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Babylon 5) is promoting a new Steampunk television series called “Bruce Boxleitner’s Lantern City." Steampunk artists and designers will have the opportunity to have their work featured on weekly episodes.

I have to admit, I never heard of Steampunk, so I had to "Google" it. According to Wikipedia, "Steampunk is a genre which originated during the 1980’s and early 1990’s, and incorporates elements of science fiction, fantasy, alternative history, horror, and speculative fiction."

To get in touch with Bruce Boxleitner follow him on Twitter or go to Lantern City to read how to submit your work and learn more about the show or become a citizen. 

A few weeks ago, because of my medical issues and the lack of energy, I would have thought attending Pop Con LA was out of the question; however, I was feeling good and going stir crazy and tired of all the rain in Washington and thought a trip to California was just want I needed.