You've Tried Everything Else to Lose Weight. Try This: It's Natural

By Bill Russo

There have been few studies to prove it, but many people swear that this common household item will help you drop a few pounds  - Apple Cider Vinegar.

Long used in cooking, thousands of enthusiasts contend that among its other benefits is that of steady weight loss if you ingest just two tablespoons per day. That's it. You don't have to do anything else. Of course, you will gain further benefits by exercise and proper diet. But even if you eat Big Macs, fries, and ice cream, the Apple Cider Vinegar proponents say you will still lose a pound or two every month.

It is speculated that the vinegar speeds up the body's metabolism in a natural way, while at the same time curbing the appetite. One quick caution, the vinegar is acidic, so it is recommended that you dilute your two tablespoons in a glass of water and sip it with your meal.

This makes the vinegar diet an effortless way to lose weight. You will be speeding up your metabolism and taking in fewer calories each day because of a lessened appetite.

Here's another use for the vinegar that will save you money and make your household work easier. Don't buy those expensive sanitizing cleaning products. Use your Apple Cider Vinegar instead.

It works small miracles as a natural cleaning agent. It cuts grease and leaves a crystal clear shine on a variety of surfaces around the home. Use it on your windows instead of Windex and similar products. You will find it works better and leaves less streaking. Using it on counter tops and stoves will yield a grease free, germ free mirror-like finish.

This vinegar is also a natural germ killer and deodorizer. It will do as good a job as the much more expensive sanitizing and germ killing products.

Vinegar is also said by a large quantity of users, to help with digestion and circulation. As an all-natural, all-around health tonic, it is consumed by many thousands of people.

I cannot vouch for this, but people do say that pets can also benefit from apple vinegar. It reportedly keeps insects at bay; including mosquitoes, fleas and tics. 

Flea remedies like Frontline can cost up to $100.00 depending on the size of you dog or cat. So, for a few pennies, Apple Cider Vinegar might be worth a try.  Put about four ounces into a spray bottle, add a half teaspoon each of salt and baking soda.  Then shake the mixture gently until combined.  If you shake too hard, you could actually explode the bottle.  USE CAUTION.  Spray the solution on the cat or dog and work it in. Start at the tail and work to the head.  Use your hands to distribute the solution when you get to the head and ears.  MAKE SURE NOT TO GET ANY OF THE VINEGAR IN YOUR PET'S EYES.  

Some pet owners use the product to take care of pet skin conditions. The vinegar is also ideal for getting rid of many pet stains. Even skunk spray can be treated with this natural home remedy.

In addition to all the other uses, you can use Apple Cider Vinegar for its original purpose - cooking.

It is a prime ingredient for many dishes and salad dressings. You can use it to enhance the flavor in your foods and condiments.

Finally, you can even use it as a weed killer. Be careful, it kills everything including the grass. Use it with care, it is deadly to weeds and grass, but unlike Round Up and similar products, it is not harmful, poisonous, or deadly to pets.

Next time you are in the Super Market, pick up some Apple Cider Vinegar. Get the cloudy kind if they have it. It has more probiotics and other beneficial bacteria.

Use it to lose it (the weight) to Kill it (the germ colony on your counter) and to dress it (your salad).

Apple Cider Vinegar - the natural acid with a thousand uses.  

Beating the Odds - the 85 Year Old Dot to Dot Detective

There are more than 15 million books available in the Kindle Store.

By Amazon's own statistics, the vast majority will sell LESS than
100 copies.  Rick Bates, 'The 85 Year Old Dot to Dot Detective',
is beating the odds.

The old guy's book was downloaded more than 350 times during
the recent Amazon promotion and has been selling between one and four units per day since the end of the promo period.  That's not a huge number and it certainly does not bring the old Chief anywhere near best seller status, but he's pretty happy about the sales.  

He already has his Watson (John Charles Weeks) working on Volume Two.   Weeks was angry when Bates promised to let him spice up the tales and then abruptly departed for Key West.

 In Volume two, there is a reconciliation of sorts; as well as a crop of new stories about Rick Bates -  the 85 year old retired Police Chief of Cape Cod, who did not start drinking until he was 75 and is now making up for lost time.

Volume One is available in the Kindle Store for just 99 cents.  During its promo run it reached number 20 on the Amazon popularity charts for its category.  Volume Two is coming in January.

Day 3 of 5. Free Kindle book - The Creature from the Bridgewater Triangle

This is DAY THREE of the FIVE FREE DAYS for the Creature from the Bridgewater Triangle and other Odd Tales from New England. 

The book has reached the top of the Amazon Kindle Chart in its genre - Kindle Short Reads. It is NUMBER ONE!
More than 150 people downloaded the book during the first promo day.  That is a large number of readers for a title with no paid promotion.  The books that you see on sites like Bookbub and so forth are all part of a paid campaign.  The authors have to plunk down some fairly serious cash to get listed.  The Creature has NO PAID PROMOS.  So to reach Number One and stay there for two days is gratifying to me.  Thanks everyone.  

The 85 Year Old Dot to Dot Detective ended his promo run at Number 37 in his genre and more than 350 books were ordered. Amazon said that for a no name author like Bill Russo;  the best you can expect is about 200 readers.....the old guy almost doubled that.  I also used NO paid promos for that book.  Since its promo run ended, the old detective has sold one or two copies per day. 

 I released two other books this week. Swamp Tales - Horrors from the Hockomock Swamp and the Marshes of Cape Cod (selling well and moving up the charts) and "Crossing the Musical Color Line & Other Adventures of Singers and Players." It's moving very slowly but is my best work and will find an audience when people realize that I am writing about the seminal artists that paved the way for their favorite singers and players.

SWAMP TALES takes place in the Bridgewater Triangle and in the marshes of Cape Cod.  Four men sit around a smoky campfire next to a kettle pond in the Bridgewater Triangle.  They swap eerie tales of the area - but these stories are not the common 'Triangle Tales' of UFOs, ghostly hitch hitch hikers; these are new stories, fictional tales that bring fresh,new horror into the swamps and the marshes.  

Don't forget to mark November 28 on your calendar.  It's a Friday, and Discovery's Destination America Channel will be showcasing a 60 minute version of the Bridgewater Triangle Documentary at 10:00 P.M. Eastern Time.  

A lot of people have told me that the segment I am featured in is compelling, so I sure hope I don't get cut out.  

Here's an excerpt from a Summertime article in the Boston Sunday Globe:

It was a late-night walk in a Raynham neighborhood silent and still, lost in sleep.

Suddenly, William Russo’s dog, Samantha, began to shake and quiver — as he describes it, “rattlin’ like an old Chevy.”

Russo looked around, listened, and finally heard what was terrifying her.

“Eh wan chu. Eh wan chu. Keahr. Keahr.”

A sort of high-pitched wail.

And then he saw it.

Illuminated in the circle of a street light was a creature unlike any he’d ever seen: 3 to 4 feet tall, potbellied, big-eyed, covered in hair, unclothed. Later, as he struggled to make sense of what he’d seen, Russo realized that whatever it was, it was beckoning him: “We want you, we want you . . . Come here, come here.”

But he never saw it again.

These are the sorts of stories — seemingly endless and diverse, bizarre and flouting reason — that emanate from the so-called Bridgewater Triangle, the subject and title of a full-length documentary by local filmmakers Aaron Cadieux and Manny Famolare (to whom Russo told his story).

The film, making the rounds in local screenings, weaves history, paranormal research, first-hand accounts, police reports, and urban legends as a means to explore, if not completely make sense of, the “how” and the “why” of this infamous area’s multitude of unexplained phenomena.  “Our goal was to present information from eyewitnesses and experts in a neutral, journalistic way, and let the viewer make their own determination,” said Cadieux, a Dartmouth resident.

Don't miss the upcoming screening on Destination America.  To see the full film, you can go to the Bridgewater Triangle Documentary website.  Aaron and Manny have set up an online store with DVD and Blurays available as well at tee shirts mugs and more.  There's also a link to watch the film on line as well as lots more news of the 'Triangle'.  

The two creatures shown in the 

photos are from filmed accounts of my encounter.  The one directly below was created by

the artist for the Bridgewater Triangle Documentary.  The second one, is a photo of a costumed actor, created by the Discovery Channel for Monsters and Mysteries in America Season Two Episode two 'Puckwudgies', in which I am featured.  

Swamp Tales - Horrors from the Hockomock Swamp and the Cape Cod Marshes

264 units of The 85 Year Old Dot to Dot Detective have been ordered through 8:00 A.M. today. This is the last day of the promotion for the old detective. The book is Number 38 in popularity in the Amazon listing of Mystery/Crime/Detective offerings. 

My new book, just published, is Swamp Tales. Macabre stories from the Hockomock Swamp in the Bridgewater Triangle and in the Marshes of Cape Cod. The yarns are narrated by a 15 year old boy who lived near 'The High Tees' in the 1960s.

This book makes no attempt at a reality claim for the Hockomock Horrors, but simply aims to scare you into NEVER entering the eerie Bridgewater Triangle in Southeastern Massaxhusetts; or that little island called Cape Cod.  

The book is available in the Kindle Store as a 99 cent download.

Here's a sample from the opening pages.....

  The greatest boxing match ever, was not contested in a slick Las Vegas fight room with glitzy ringsiders paying $2500 a seat; but in a back alley, most likely in a rust belt city, by two unknown combatants - probably with no onlookers.

The most skilled baseball player? He was surely a farm boy in Texas who never traveled more than a hundred miles from his home, but could 'chunk' a fist sized rock 61 feet through the air and knock a fly off a frog's tongue.

So too with stories of the paranormal - Ghost stories, Vampire Tales, and Werewolf Wanderings. The best of these never come from Hollywood or from television.

The ultimate yarns come from close to the ground. From trailside cooking fires and bunkroll musings; the scariest narratives are born.

Are they real? If I tell you that the haunting of the old Josiah Spant mansion on Cape Cod, is nothing more than wind rustling through the cracks in the ancient attic walls; I will ruin a good ghost tale for you as well as damage the livelihood of those who make a living from such places.

I will only repeat again, that the eeriest yarns are the ones that emanate from the source. When the tales being told, are being iterated in one of the most haunted places in the world, the stories get even icier.

Such is the case with the offerings in this short book. It takes place mostly in the Hockomock Swamp, which is a spooky place that lies within the even scarier, Bridgewater Triangle.

The Bridgewater Triangle is a focus point of some 200 square miles in Southeastern Massachusetts about half way between Boston and Providence, where thousands of unexplained happenings have mystified residents and researchers for hundreds of years.

The areas of strange activity are centered around the towns of Raynham and Bridgewater, but many weird tales also come from the whole area, stretching down even to the island/peninsula of Cape Cod.

In one of the most credible UFO sightings ever, two respected TV journalists reported seeing a large spacecraft over the Raynham Dog Track.

Bigfoot, Middlefoot and even Littlefoot sightings are as common as Little League baseball fields, in the towns of The Bridgewater Triangle.

Cannibalistic monster dogs with glowing red eyes, and sharp,long fangs have been spotted dining on local farmers' stock. A 40 ton rock, unearthed at low tide in a salty river turned out to be the prehistoric equivalent of a graffiti wall. Thousands of ancient scrawlings on it, of undetermined meanings have boggled the brains of men and women of science for over a hundred years.

One man was walking his dog on a midnight trek when he met a squat, hairy swamp creature (perhaps a Puckwudgie) who spoke to him; begging him to 'come here'. The gentleman refused the chance of chatting with the pleading bushy being, and in so doing, probably saved his life - according to those who claim to know the power of such demons.

Ancient extinct dinosaurs with the ability of flight; (pterodactyls) reportedly still fly in the spirited air of the vast, uncharted Hockomock Swamp. The most reputable witness to such a featherless flyer, was a Norton Police Sergeant, who besieged with so many questions, eventually declined any further comment on the matter.

Serpents, or snakes, nearly as big around as telephone poles, are seen with some regularity. Ghostly lights sometimes illuminate whole sections of trees in the thick forests that surround tiny kettle ponds.

Spectral illuminations, on occasion, shine far above 'The High Tees' - a swath of land running from Boston to Providence, hosting the high tension wires of the Electric companies. There are those who say that this verdant strip is a superhighway for all manner of odd creatures traveling back and forth from Lizzie Borden's home in Fall River, to Boston and Providence.

You will not find stories such as those in this writing. Those tales are well documented in dozens of books and hundreds of articles written. The Swamp Tales in this work, come from four Counselors of a Summer Camp.

On a three day training mission before the official start of the season, they were seated around a smoky fire; doing what people have done ever since fire was first captured and corralled by a group of round stones: they shared stories.    

The 85 Year Old Dot to Dot Detective - Free Until November 13 (Currently #37 in Kindle)

                            Free! 

The adventures of  "The 85 Year Old Dot to Dot Detective" 

 Read it for FREE, through Thursday November 13.  It's in the Kindle Store.   

 Rick Bates spends his winters at Sloppy Joe's in Key West and his Summers on Cape Cod. Even at 85, he is a one man stone wall against the waves of crime. In Chapter One, he solves the case of the NAME GAME MURDERS. Mrs. Blade was killed with a knife. Mr. Gunn died from a wound caused by a pistol. And John Roper? He was found hanging from a rope tied to a beam in his cellar!. Cape Cod was scared stiff. When the Town Administrator, Martin Hammer was clubbed to death with a wooden mallet; they summoned the old chief from his bar stool at Sloppy Joe's.  The Chief didn't start drinking until he was 75. He's making up for lost time

The Dot to Dot Detective is currently Number 37 in the Amazon rankings of mystery/detective/crime books.  That's a pretty lofty spot for a little book about an 85 year old guy! Thought  It's positioned in a small niche, the book has had a surprising number of reads.  

Comments from readers: That looks and sounds like an enjoyable read- thanks for posting it and bringing a smile to my evening!

tootles~  Susan from Maine

Jeff (Who got the book for himself and his Dad)  - My father is an avid reader, also retired, and although not from a career in law enforcement, loves reading theses types of books. He is also a veteran of the Vietnam War, serving with the Army's 82nd Airborne (I thought it fitting to include this, it being Veteran's Day and all).  

The Book has been downloaded over 200 times in the three days as a free Kindle offering.  I have gotten a number of emails from people who like the book, but no official reviews as of Wednesday morning.  

Superstar Racer Gronk (the Dog) is in Rest Mode

Gronk Suffers Rehab Setback

Rob Gronkowski the Greyhound, won 25 of his first 30 races.  In an era where Dog Racing has shrunk to a fraction of its popularity 30 years ago, Gronk did manage to win $100,000.00 in about a minute.  He picked up $20,000 in Palm Beach when he won the Puppy Stakes in less than 30 seconds.  He repeated his performance by winning Southland Park's $80,000 derby in less than a half minute.  He also set a few track records and became the talk of the racing world.  Steve Sarras, who manages the Gronk, wanted the canine gronk to wear Number 87 just like the Patriots player he was named for; but racing dogs can only have a number from one to eight!  Sadly, little Gronk, just like the big Gronk, got hurt.  Nine months ago he began limping and was put on extended rehab and R & R.  Sarras, who is from Brockton, Massachusetts and used to race at Raynham Park, until misinformed tree huggers got the Sport of Queens banned in Boston and in the rest of Mass; reports good news!  Just like Big Gronk, who has come back strong for the Pats, little Gronk is on the mend.  

                                UPDATE ON GRONK'S CONDITION  

Steve Sarras said that Gronk ran a schooling race in late September and looked really good, and more importantly, did not have any pain. But on his website this month, Sarras reported that  the Gronk had a setback in October, so he is currently in 'rest' mode.  Gronk was born in August of 2011, so he is now past three years old.  Most racing dogs lose the ability to compete at the highest levels before they reach their fourth birthday, so the racing future of this wonderful canine athlete is in doubt. 

During his nine month layoff,  the Gronk has also been busy as a 'Romeo' and is proud daddy of a litter of pups that will be competing in about one more year.  So the next big news about Gronk the Dog, may be the news that some of his pups take after the 

'old man'.  

Back in the Day, when the 'Numbers' were Illegal and Fun!

Massachusetts:  The Bridge between the Birthplace of the American Navy
(Beverly) and the Witch City, (Salem).

By Bill Russo

The United States that I was born into, in the 1940s, was a vastly different place than it is today. 

We have added Alaska & Hawaii, but have lost much more than we gained.

By 1940 the Automobile had transformed this nation from a country of farmers to a land of blue collar workers. Most people were employed at a factory within walking distance of their home. They didn't even need a watch.

The factory whistle went off at eight in the morning and blew again at noon for lunch. At one p.m. the blast meant back to work and the final scream at five p.m. signaled the end of the work day.

People didn't live in cities; they lived in neighborhoods. Ours was composed of Italian immigrants, many of whom would gather in their spare time at the Old Rose Restaurant near the Beverly/Salem bridge, which was owned by my Uncle - The restaurant, not the bridge. There were 30 stools at the lunch counter, six more stools in the adjoining bar, and four booths near the bar (for the elite - you know, the people who used glasses for their beer).

My Dad was a regular occupant of one of the six bar stools and his pal Jake smothered another. Jake was so fat, that when he sat down, the stool disappeared from sight and so did half of the supporting leg. I never knew exactly what Jake did for a living, but I suspected he was an accountant, because Dad said he worked with numbers ( I was seven years old at the time).

Unlike now, in the 1940s, gambling was declared evil and illegal by the government - except in Las Vegas, which was for some reason granted an exemption from pretty much any kind of morality.

Jake felt that he should be just like 'Vegas' and he ran a nice little 'numbers' operation for all the Italian community and a good part of the rest of the town. Most times, the law left Jake alone.

Our city, like all middle sized to large communities, had 'beat cops' who would do a walking patrol of a specific set route; calling in to headquarters at regular intervals from special phones installed on metal poles every few hundred yards.

On one particular boring, sweltering Summer day, Gino, the regular cop on our beat, decided to have some fun with Jake. He followed Jake from place to place as the fat man walked his route and picked up his betting slips and wads of cash, at stores, offices, and homes.

By the railroad tracks near the harbor, Gino confronted Jake, who by then had a thick pile of slips in his flabby hand.

"Okay Jake", Gino shouted, with one hand shading his eyes from the blistering rays of the sun, "I am taking you in for making book. You're going to jail. Hand over your slips."

"Leave me alone Gino," protested the sweltering fat man, rivers of sweat ran from his wet head and splashed onto his grubby white tee shirt. Looking as wet as if he had just emerged from the ocean, Jake quickly swallowed in one big gulp, the whole chubby pile of betting slips.

"You ain't got no evidence, Gino. I guess you're just going to have to let me go!"

Back at the Old Rose Cafe at sunset, my Dad, my uncle, Gino the Cop, Cushy the car salesman, Joey the Kid, and a few other regulars; were having big laughs at poor Jake's expense.

Jake was seated by himself at the lunch counter with only a single glass of water in front of him. No food. No beer. No chips.

"Hey Jake," shouted my Father, always pretty good with the needle, "How come you're not eating today?"

"Wassamatter Jake?",  Joey the Kid chimed in, "Is your tummy upset? We've never seen you go a whole day widdout eating!"

"SHUD UP YOU GUYS, JUST SHUDDUP!!", from his solitary spot at the lunch counter, Jake screamed at the group sitting at the bar, "Thanks to that bum Gino, you are sitting with, I already ate today and now my stomach don't feel good. Don't ever try to book anudder bet wid me....I am talking about alla youse guys. You're shut off. No more bets, you bums."

"And one uddah thing", Jake added, "Gino, you think it's so funny. I hope you have three murders and a bank robbery tomorrah. Den you'll have enough paperwork to feed da whole station, you bum!"

Many years later,  before my Dad passed away, he and I recalled that day at the Rose.

"Jake was so mad that he kept cursing us for a week till there was a big race at Wonderland Greyhound Park. He forgave us as soon as we started pulling out 'fins' and 'sawbucks' to make a few bets," Dad recalled.

"Poor Jake," he added. "I am glad ol' Jake died and did not live to see this legalized lottery thing. Scratch tickets. Numbers betting. Everything run by the government. Jake would say that it's just another case of the government stepping in and taking over private enterprise."

"I know Dad," I sympathized. "This legal gambling would have put Jake out of business."

"Yah, "Damn lottery stinks!! And you know what else?"

"What Dad?"

"I will tell you what else, if you won $500 from Jake, he would give you $500. If you won money, he paid yuh. He paid yuh every single cent!!! He was totally honest, not like the government lottery."

"What do you mean?"

"Jake gave you your money," Dad said again, "and he never took no taxes!"