Sunday, July 31, 2016

D. T. Pollard Provides Analysis of the 2016 Democratic Presidential Candidate...

If Hillary Clinton was a man she would be seen as strong, determined
and resilient, which is everything you want in a President. The same
qualities a man possesses that would make him a strong leader will
be seen by man to make a woman a word that rhymes with witch. Is
it fair that a strong woman has to deal with a double standard, no,
it's not fair, but is it a reality?
~~~
According to D. T. Pollard's newest book on Hillary Clinton: Madam President?, Clinton has been gearing up for running for the presidency for years... Most of us have realized it...but when Obama showed up out of the blue to run, he soon became the top candidate. Pollard openly discusses that the toss-up between a Black man and a Female for Presidency would both prove to be explosive. But history showed that Obama would be nominated and continue for his two full terms...

There was only one problem Clinton didn't anticipate, Senator Barack Obama decided it was time to run for President. Obama was like a bolt of lightning and before anyone realized what was happening, there was a battle for history for either race or gender to break a glass ceiling. As the Democratic contest worked its way to conclusion, it became evident that Hillary Clinton would not win the nomination for President. Clinton was stunned and eventually became Secretary of State in the Obama administration...


It may be the angry white men that are resistant
to the changes in America will never change their
opinion. Many white men feel no one is talking for
them or to them...



Hillary Clinton: 
Madam President?


By D. T. Pollard

Never in my life have I been as concerned about politics as I am this year. I have found that I, like many, have strong feelings about the two candidates... I was looking serious at Bernie Sanders because of his expertise, but a little worried about his age...hey, I'm close to his age, so I can rightfully worry about that...LOL

However, after reading this book, I have greatly changed my opinion of the candidate who would be called "Madam President..." For one, I felt that she might be elected purely on the grounds of being a woman... I would be as opposed to her as I am Trump for that reason... For another, my family has always expressed their lack of trust about her... Frankly Pollard's book gave me good insight on what I should be thinking about in relation to Clinton...

But I had to face that, before now, no candidate for presidency really impressed me, other than our last one. I am a person who hates the political realm of government activities and saw it in action many times during my professional career...
D. T. Pollard did an outstanding analysis in his book about the Republican Candidate. So I certainly wanted to also hear what he said about the Democrat candidate.


So Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic
nomination to face off against Donald Trump
for President of the United States in the
general election, but why does everyone get
excited about any other candidate except
Hillary Clinton?
~~~
What I will first say first is that the book has obviously had to be written in a very short time and does not include the references that he cited in other books of his that I've read. However, in this book he has found his passion and has let it come out freely...but...I believe, fairly, given his knowledge. More specifically, I was very impressed with the quality and quantity of information that he used in support of his positions on various issues. 

For me, the volume of information that this author provided was gratifying . It is quite obvious that Pollard is well read and has been keeping up on the political scene for many years. And he effectively shows the parallel between the two candidates.

I must admit there was the comparative analysis between Trump and Clinton that I enjoyed...Pollard has done an outstanding job in comparing "issues" in an effective manner and then hones in on what is really happening from Trump supporters...The following are just samples to give readers a taste of what the book covers...

Another issue thrown at Hillary Clinton was the trust issue. Many people said they simply could not trust Hillary Clinton. Granted, Hillary Clinton has dealt herself many self-inflicted wounds in the area of trustworthiness with the latest being the private email server she used while she was Secretary of State...Hillary Clinton was pounced upon by her adversaries as being the cause of the deaths. Republicans in Congress were relentless and held multiple hearings on Benghazi trying to find a way to definitely hang the blame on Hillary Clinton without success...

Yes, Hillary has made missteps and misspeaks, but her opponent, Donald Trump, has changed position within hours in some extreme cases. Trump can be seen on video supporting positions a few years ago that he stated he was staunchly against when the Republican Primaries started...Trump University took the life savings of many Americans and delivered nothing in return...Donald Trump has a mountain of lawsuits, broken contracts and position reversals in his past, but thus far it has not seemed to matter to his supporters...

Given the background of Clinton and Trump, why is Trump trusted more? Donald Trump is channeling and attempting to ride anger to the White House...All joking aside, anger has its place, but every American needs to remember the word danger is anger with one letter added at the beginning...

One topic of debate among political pundits was the White men that supported Trump over Clinton...that should not come as a surprise. Regardless of how you see it, many White men feel like their place in this country has been usurped by minorities, immigrants and to some extent, women...There is a great deal of resentment among white men and Trump is mining that without hesitation. It may be difficult for some to understand where White men get their point of view. To allow you to understand... (includes quotes from Donald Trump: The Reverse Obama)...


What is it about Hillary that would drive Americans that state they are patriotic and have the best interest of the nation at heart to vote for someone so much less qualified? Hillary Clinton has one quality that even her detractors have to admire and abhor at the same time, determination...Hillary has shown women everywhere that a person is not defined by what others call them, but by what they answer to...
~~~

Here is an author that, although he has strong opinions and has let more of them out in this book, he does not negate the need to prove and substantiate his information. I find him a credible source of information that I can use to consider my own choices. I believe you will too. Highly recommended.

By the way, this author arrived in my sight less than a week ago, by his giving his books away...I had never read anything but the last three books he has written and shared and I certainly did not know him before I started reading him. For some reason, my review of his book on the Republican Candidate has been handled differently than any of my other reviews have. I am adding this in the hope that this will not happen this time.


GABixlerReviews

D T PollardESSENCE ® bestselling author D.T. Pollard lives in the Dallas/ Fort Worth, TX area. He is married and has one son.

He earned an academic scholarship to the School of Business and Industry at Florida A & M University and stopped writing during his second year in college.

D T was at the top of his class in Marketing and graduated Summa Cum Laude and won the Most-Outstanding-Performance-in-Marketing award for the graduating class of 1981.

While working in sales for giants of the high-technology world for over 28 years, his desire to write returned after losing several siblings from various causes. D T Pollard is the author of many works including Rooftop Diva, Fools' Heaven, Vulture Capitalism and Ratchet Woman. Rooftop Diva, a fictional account about a Hurricane Katrina survivor became an Essence Magazine bestseller and is featured in libraries nationwide and abroad in hardcopy and audio formats.





July 31, 2016 The Case Continues - Who is Taylor Madison? - Can a Pseudonym Be Stolen?




Last Night: A Short StoryLast Night a Quick Read

Getting to Ethan’s apartment, Mia repeatedly rang the doorbell, while nervously looking over her shoulder. She was scared that someone would attack her from behind. She does not know if it was just her nerves, but she thought she was being watched. “Mia, I was expecting you a bit later.” Ethan said as he answered the door, inviting her in. It was only once she was inside,,,, that Ethan like one would hold a scared child. “The phones were tapped.” Mia said bursting out in tears, the stress of the past 24hours becoming...

“Then when I phoned Jayden earlier today, he heard a clicking sound across the phone line, and said that someone was listening in to our conversation. So when I got home this afternoon, my whole apartment looked turned upside down, and everything in her apartment was destroyed. I know they were looking for the evidence, they knew that I had it.” Mia very close to tears...

“Did they find the evidence?” Ethan asked worriedly, hoping that they did not lose the evidence. “No, they didn’t find it; I had it safely with me.” Mia said opening the locket around her neck and handing the memory card to Ethan.
~~~


I just read this short by...Taylor Madison... The writing is not the work of the author of Blaine, in my opinion. Although that book was published and the author might have received editing assistance, it is nowhere close to the quality of writing in this short story.

Obviously the book was not edited, nor was it correctly formatted for Kindle. The sentences run continuously, breaking off to continue onto another line. The "potential" paragraph lines cannot clearly be shown...the entire story reads, mostly, as one long paragraph...

But that was minor compared to the writing...The story is trite, lacking in substance.  The word, evidence, for instance, is used repeatedly and yet the readers never have a clue about what that evidence is. 

Neither of the characters are identified except by names. You must assume that one of the males, is an officer from some branch of the government...

The villain is the syndicate...that's it, you have no idea what the criminal is involved with, nor who they represent...

The personal feelings of the female character are thrown in inappropriately as it related to the "business" being conducted. This apparently is an attempt at a touch of romance but it failed horribly...if I was to assume anything from the book, I'd say that the male was using the woman in a supposedly dangerous situation, although readers have no idea why.

The action of the female between an attacker, who is not identified, is fairly decent action...but by that time, it's too late...

These are the main highlights of the issues with this Short Story; I could continue... But, I'll just say, this is definitely not recommended by me, even though I highly recommended Blaine. I don't know who wrote this short, but I'd bet on it it wasn't the same author...Just my personal opinion, of course.

I think I'll be keeping my copy of Blaine after all...I think that author's pseudonymn was stolen...


GABixlerReviews

June 26, 2006 - The Case of the Book With One Review... Blaine by Taylor Madison...


Human Engineering is not a new idea, but by 2030 it will be possible to pre-program your child, just the way you want him! So says Taylor Madison in her first book entitled Blaine.

Because of the advancements in health sciences extending our life span, as well as the world's population which has resulted in a need to delay or forego having children, Katherine Phillips, at age 55, has just now begun to consider having a child. Her husband Paul is 75. They have achieved their goals, and Katherine's business is a multi-million dollar success.

After a physical examination, however, Katherine discovers she is unable to carry a child. After much discussion of options and research into the ability to ensure a healthy baby, Katherine and Paul decide to proceed into an agreement with the doctor and to use a surrogate to carry the child. Katherine knew exactly what she wanted her son to look like, what characteristics and aptitudes she wanted him to have. Paul wanted a son--that was the most important consideration for him. The doctor, well, expanding his research was part of the agreement--so he'd be adding a few genes that would do "this... and... that."

The birth of the child was difficult, with the surrogate mother bleeding extensively. They realized afterward that she had been seriously cut by a protrusion of animal cartilage coming out of his back...

From the first moment, Katherine believed that the baby knew her and that the baby told her what his name was to be. Throughout most of his childhood, he telepathically read his mother's thoughts and acted upon her guidance. The bond between them was extreme. So much so that little by little Blaine pushed Paul out of their lives. And, when that didn't totally satisfy him, he decided to invite his father on a fishing trip, from which he would not return.

Blaine was extremely intelligent, had special abilities and was learning more and more about what he was able to do. He knew he had been created for a special life and moved quickly to assume more and more control and responsibility until finally he was being considered to run for the Senate. He needed his mother, of course, to support him in every way possible.

Blaine is what you might call a slow-moving thriller. The pace of the story moves slowly, however, the events within Blaine's life move quickly and each compels you to read further. I started on the book at noon one day and read through to 10:00 p.m. to finish it. Events were strange, ideas presented provocatively. Little detail is being provided here to ensure that other readers have the same response that I did when I was finished, which was--Whew! Amazing!

One of the most important aspects of Madison's story for me was that she included a storyline both for and against advancements and experimentation in the medical field. Katherine was concerned about having a child because she had grown up having an autistic sister. This sister plays a very important role in the book and, to me, was an especially exciting part of Blaine.

Another interesting sideline was the role that religion and prayer played in the parents' lives, while Blaine, genetically engineered, was an atheist. Bottom line for this difference was that only the doctor actually knew what made Blaine the way he was, but inclusion of this issue made the book much more intriguing in my opinion.

In a time when cloning and other controversial medical issues are being considered world wide, Taylor Madison attacks the most fundamental problem of genetic engineering. She presents a fictional tale that provides a breadth of information upon which to bring each reader into a personal search for what they want to support in the important medical research in our future. Madison's book is well written and both human characters as well as "Blaine," the one and only child genetically engineered, were creatively and beautifully crafted for reader enjoyment. I believe this book and this author should be jotted down on your "must-read" list! You know 2030 is only 24 years from now!


GABixlerReviews


I have tried to find the author of this book on social media, to no avail. Her book was in a stack that I was passing on to charity and before I did, I checked to see that I had placed my review in my blog. I had not, so this is why I'm posting so many years later.

My post on Amazon is the only review. As you can see I was intrigued by the book and did recommend it. But years had gone by, surely another had read the book? Why no other reviews... And does this mean that reviews really are part of the marketing effort? Was there no marketing done on the book? I hoped to discuss all these questions with Taylor. So, if you read this, Taylor Madison (and if you are writing under a different name, I will keep that confidential) please contact me if you are willing to do an interview.

Since then, this author has only been doing shorts...I did buy one and will read it soon...

Was this book put out at the wrong time, too early? Because I've surely read similar books since then, but nothing quite like Blaine. 

If you enjoy scifi regarding cloning, genetic manipulation, genetic engineering, and more, I would still recommend this book to you. Unfortunately, it was never added to Kindle and perhaps was too expensive for an unknown author...

What do you think? Have any other books you've heard about but decided not to read, been because of cost? Or what other reasons beside not liking the genre stopped you from purchasing a book... Just curious...no big survey being held here...LOL...

As a book lover and reviewer, I feel sad that this book may not be selling as it should. Would putting it out in Kindle get attention? Just wondering on this one...



If You Were Me and Lived in...Colonial America by Carole P. Roman is Not Recommended...

If You Were Me and Lived in...Colonial America (An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time Book 4) by [Roman, Carole P.]

I started to read this latest book in a series and was very disappointed. I stopped reading and then skimmed through... The author has chosen to hone in on one religious sect, something which seemed to me totally inappropriate since colonial america included many different types of immigrants and surely were not all representatives of only one sect. It certainly was almost opposite of the way the American West book was presented with all those moving west going together in a wagon train...

If the book was an introduction on early American religions, I'm sure that it would have been fine. But that has not been the theme of those books I've read thus far. Having the characters in "costume" was totally distracting for me and the rules and regulations of that religious sect were much different than those children who were helping colonial America be developed by their parents on their farms, schools and businesses. 

Yes, religious freedom was a main reason for immigrants to come to America. I am not aware, however, that they only came from England and only were Pilgrims...

You decide on this one but I don't recommend it. It is not a representative view of colonial  American as I understood it via history studies...


GABixlerReviews

Coming Home - Just As I Am...



Have you ever been homesick?
It's a hard thing to go through
When you're homesick
your world turns upside-down
and backwards. It can paralyze
you emotionally and keep you 
from enjoying the place
you are in. Homesickness
really is a longing for home.

There is another kind of
homesickness that can impact
our lives. It is spiritual
homesickness. God made us
for the purpose of knowing 
and enjoying Him--so when
we live our lives separated
from Him because of sin,
we experience spiritual
homesickness. We may identify
it as loneliness or lack of
fulfillment. But regardless of
what we call it, it is an
empty place within us that
only God can fill.

--Roy Lessin

"Look! I have been standing at the door,
and I am constantly knocking. If anyone
hears Me calling him and opens the door,
I will come in and fellowship with him
and he with me."
--Revelation 3:20 TLB




~~~



About Roy Lessin
He was led to the Lord by his father, Joseph, who was raised an orthodox Jew in the Bronx, New York. Joseph was forty years of age when he discovered a Gideon Bible in his hotel room in Las Vegas, Nevada. He had never read the Bible in English and started to read in the book of Genesis. When it came time to check out of the hotel, Joseph stole the Bible. He continued reading the Bible whenever he could. As he read the book of Isaiah, God opened his eyes to see that Jesus Christ was his Messiah.  
           https://www.amazon.com/Roy-Lessin/e/B001H6UA8S



Saturday, July 30, 2016

Donald Trump: The Reverse Obama - Amazon Hacked By Russians???

Donald Trump: The Reverse Obama by [Pollard, D T]Well, I had another strange experience regarding one of my reviews this week... This time on Amazon...

I am reblogging my review again to allow my message now online to occur...unless it, too, is deleted...

First, my review was being refused...and refused...and refused. I had cut out most of what I really wanted to include...and then nothing...no posting...no message that it was once again refused... 

Sent a notice to Customer Service...Totally unresponsive email, which I then reported...

So then I wondered if this message could go through...One that really shouldn't have, if the review staff are paying "any" attention. If it's still up today, why not go out and leave a comment... In the meantime, below is my full review.

Maybe the key word is Donald Trump and the Russians are hacking anything about him? You think??? Why not hurry out and get the book right now...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1Y664763L67KS?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl


Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Analysis...July 27, 2016
By 
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Donald Trump: The Reverse Obama (Kindle Edition)
I have written a review on this book that was mishandled...I reported it
to Amazon customer service... Please see my blog, Book Readers 
Heaven for my review of this important book.
Why no voting buttons? We don't let customers vote on their own reviews, so the voting buttons appear only when you look at reviews submitted by others.


























Donald Trump: The Reverse Obama by [Pollard, D T]
I've never been much interested in politics...Along with others, 
I've grown to lack trust...especially of politicians. Oh, sure, 
some are bound to be good, but...  Anyway, maybe it's because 
of all the books I've been able to read since I've retired...or 
maybe it's because I've felt an extreme lack of faith in both of 
the candidates, which I've not felt before. Frankly Trump scares
me, but I don't think Clinton will have the follow-through
America needs at this point...Just my personal opinion of 
course...

Take into consideration that the voting rate in the last United 
States Presidential election was under sixty percent. Republicans lost
the last two Presidential elections and although they took control of 
both houses of the United States Congress, the mid-term voting rate
was less than thirty-seven percent. The prior voting rates means that
over forty and sixty percent of the voting eligible population of the
United States stayed on the sidelines while others elected the leaders
of the nation. That meant that millions of eligible voters basically 
decided it did not matter who or which political party was in charge of 
leading the nation forward because they felt there was not a significant
difference between either major party. Years of political gridlock, 
infighting and talking points without tangible results that rewarded all
of the conservative fervor and energy expended over the past several
years dating back to before President Barack Obamawas elected 
in 2008 took its toll...

The title of this book intrigued me, I must admit... Donald 
Trump - The Reverse Obama. I immediately wondered what 
this Black man had to say. I'd already read his book, Black 
Phobia and Blue Phobia and found I supported all he had said.
Now how would this Black man feel about Trump?

Actually, once again, Pollard did an excellent presentation and
analysis of his topic. He writes well, with no hint of bias in his
work, and is easily followed through his thought processes. His
points are clear and, when appropriated, cites his research, 
such as the past "Operation Wetback". Only at the end does he
share a little personally--much less than me! LOL!

But what about this statement about Obama???

...while Barack Obama was selling hopes and dreams. As crazy
as it sounds Donald Trump is metaphorically the reversed
engineered Barack Obama of the 2016 Republican Presidential 
contest, but he is selling a decidedly different set of hopes and
dreams to a much different audience..

And I understood exactly what he was saying...and I understood...  

Pollard uses his personal history to great effect in this book, 
talking about when he was young and trying to understand his
place in the larger world. For me, I could actually see the 
parallels he was drawing...and I had to agree...

If only a part of his analysis is true--and I felt his narrative
along with research proved credible--then you as a voting
citizen might find this a must-read. If it comes down to
choosing, and now that has been made final...Trump versus 
Clinton... what will happen? I believe Pollard has presented
an effective, easy-to-read analysis to help evaluate what your
future decisions may mean.

This book is also free now on Amazon...Get it!


GABixlerReviews

Friday, July 29, 2016

Celebrate Christmas in July?! Then Here's the Perfect Older Children's Book! by Frances Crossno...



I felt a bit bad about rushing him. I just had to look at the puppies, even if there wasn't time to play with them. I took a last look at the clock behind the counter. It was 5:00--time to leave for home. I grabbed Caleb's hand. "Come on."
I pushed through the now large crowd at the window of the Dog House, pulling Caleb with me. "Excuse me," I said to the man I nudged out of the way. I knew Mom would not have approved, but I would worry about that later. 
Suddenly, I was right up to the window. There they were! All thoughs of heading home, of taking care of Caleb, of Mom and Dad being gone at Christmas--just flew out of my head.

A big puppy, with thick, gray and silver fur, shook a ball at the other puppies. A solid-black puppy ran around the big one and nipped at his heels. A white puppy with black spots growled at a brown, wrinkled puppy. It was funny to see wrinkles on a puppy.
"Look at that one!" Caleb said, pointing to a little puppy with red-golden fur. She was jumping on the window, trying to lick a man's hand. The puppy couldn't understand why she couldn't lick his fingers through the glass. She sat down with a thud and a single frustrated bark.
I have heard grown-ups talk about "love" at first sight. Until now, I never really understood what they meant. But there she was. The love of my life!
~~~

Cole's Perfect Puppy:
Perfect Puppies Book One

Winner of the prestigious Mom's Choice Award
First-Place award in the Purple Dragonfly content--middle grade fiction

By Frances Crossno

Merry Christmas! Cole had made no secret of wanting a puppy--whenever he could get one. And when they had visited the mall that day, he had found the perfect one! He had even become involved with more than he could have ever imagined!
I couldn't believe my luck. The manager of the Dog House opened the back of the display window and picked up the red-golder pup. He put her on the floor. The crowd moved back a little to give the puppy room. Caleb and I pushed our way inside. The puppy sniffed around the floor and pawed at the top of the manager's shoes.
"Let me see her," said a teenage girl...I tried to get closer but there were too many girls. I checked to make sure Caleb was still behind me and moved to the other side of the crowd.

She was out of
breath too, but her
shining eyes said it
all. "Isn't this fun?
I could do it again
real soon!"
One of the girls passing the dog around had dropped the pup when he tore a hole in her sweater. Well, you know what happened...the pup took off...into the mall!

This is a good time to point out that this is a short novella--90 pages--and contains no pictures; however, the author has created a delightfully written narrative that is expressive and emotive and it is easy for anyone to imagine what is happening in the story.


"Yes, I'm Cole Jackson. I live
down Peachtree Road, not far
from here. I love dogs," I said.
I scratched behind the puppy's
chin.
"Mr. Morris, how much does
this puppy cost?" I asked.
"Well, I was asking six hundred
dollars for her...
"Wow, that is a lot of money,"
~~~
It was late when they finally caught the dog and Cole called Uncle Bobby to come get them, explaining what had happened... I wanted to tell Uncle Bobby right then that it was time for Cole to have his Pup! 

But his parents were away working and his Uncle, while staying with them, watching them during this time, Cole was not sure they would even consider a pet right now.

Who knew that, under the influence of his girlfriend, his Uncle would get him... a... piglet... Ahhhh, Duh! You have got to be kidding me, right?! You just can't play ball with a pig...

And right there, readers will realize the kind of family in which Caleb and Cole was being raised. While feeling let down, Cole graciously, but sadly, accepted the gift and tried not to feel bitterness...

I wanted to mention one other character. Her name is Rachel and she was in Caleb's class. In the crowded mall that day, she waved and offered a seat at her table. But Caleb wanted to ignore her because she was called "Wrinkled Rachel" and was teased at school all the time. Cole again, impressed me when he told Caleb right away about what he should say in response to be bully. Her story is a wonderful addition to the book, and I had to add her because, well she liked kittens... She'd had a calico Persian, a present from her father before he went overseas, and was killed. Rachel had to give up her kitten when they relocated to find a job for her mother...

It is Rachel who starts talking to the boys about Jesus...
Rachel put her cup on the counter and leaned forward. In almost a whisper, she said, "Daddy explained it to me this way. Yu know how when you do something bad at school, and you know your favorite teacher will be angry or disappointed in you?"
I nodded.
"Well, you don't feel like talking to the teaher then do you? You feel guilty?
I nodded again and Rachel leaned back. "Well, it's kind of like that. When people do things against what God wants them to do, it makes God sad and keeps them from talking to him or being close to him. He wants us to be close to him where he can love and take care of us. He allowed his son, Jesus to be punished for what we do wrong.
"Like, if I took punishment for something Caleb did?"
"Yeah, like that. He loves us that much. It was the reason Jesus was born...
~~~

And when they learned their parents were in danger, Cole remembered Rachel's guidance...and prayed...

The thing I liked most about the book is the authenticity, the compassion, and the loving attitude of the characters--all of them. The story is a blessing in itself. When you add the beautifully kind and generous characters provided, you just have to realize, in my opinion, that this will be a message to your child from God Almighty...


GABixlerReviews


I grew up in East Texas in the Lufkin area. I graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Computer Science. As an only child, dogs were always good companions for me. Those relationships taught me about unconditional love and what a person might do to have that kind of love.

I think I wrote my first little story as a 3rd or 4th grader about a little girl whose father was flying into a Hurricane to determine information about it.

I am a Christian and belong to the Baptist Church. After college I went to work for Texas Instruments(TI) in Dallas, Texas. I retired from there in 2009 as an Information Technology project manager and now work for the American Heart Association. When I retire from there in a few years I desire to have a writing career. I want my Perfect Puppy series to give Christian parents another option in the 7-12 age group. There are a lot of options for teens and pre-schoolers in the Christian Genre, less for 7-12 years old.