This message is for all you Austin-area folks...

Want a free book? Got blood in your veins? Then come out to the blood drive north of Dripping Springs on Saturday morning. I'll be there at 9:30 a.m. to give blood, and if you meet me there, I'll give you a free signed copy of one of my books. You can have one of the following:

Buck Fever in paperback
Bone Dry in hardback
Flat Crazy in hardback
Guilt Trip in hardback
Gun Shy in hardback

It takes place in the parking lot of the United Methodist Church on Ranch Road 12, about a mile north of U.S. Highway 290. The church is on the east side of RR 12. It's hard to miss. If you miss it, you obviously have inferior genetics and shouldn't be giving blood anyway.

All I ask is that you contact me BEFORE the drive and let me know you're coming. Is that so hard? You can email me through my website, or just post a comment to this blog.

Went down to Bulverde a couple of weeks ago for a luncheon to benefit their library. That's why I look so somber. Fundraising is serious bidness.

Last week at this time, I was shooting skeet near the Texas coast. More accurately, I was attempting to shoot skeet. I hit very few. My excuse was that I'm not a bird hunter and I hadn't fired a shotgun in several years. Shooting flying discs takes practice, doesn't it?

I was at a big, fancy lodge near the town of Seadrift. A friend of mine in the ad biz had put together this excursion, including a bunch of outdoor types--hunters, photographers, writers, fishermen, magazine people, etc. He thought it would be good if we all got to know each other, and it was. I had a great time.

On Tuesday, we went fishing. My friend caught about seven or eight. His business partner caught about the same. I caught zero. My excuse was that I'm not a fisherman and I hadn't cast a line in several years. Catching fish takes practice, doesn't it?

But I redeemed myself Tuesday night, when my partner and I won the washer-pitching tournament. I got three ringers in the first game. My partner got three ringers in the second game. We were unbeatable, a power to be reckoned with in the fast-paced live-on-the-razor's-edge world of washer-pitching.

Overall, it was a nice couple of days off. Saw a lot of exotic game, including a beer-drinking Russian boar named Leroy. That alone made it worthwhile.

Now, however, it's time to get back to work. In just a minute. After one more slice of ham and another chocolate egg.

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/sports/stories/outdoors/03/20/0320legnotes.html