I'm working on the next post, which I thought would be a simple article, relatively easy to spit out. However, it's grown into a octopus, tentacles wrapped around me. I'm splashing and flaying around, trying to calm the beast and slip out of it's suction cup arms, but I just have not yet found firm ground for my feet or the proper leverage to wiggle free of the beast.
It started with a simple idea, then grew into pages of meanderings, researched facts and dubious legends. Like any noteworthy monster, it's bigger than life. I'm struggling to keep my head above water as I whack the beast down to a reasonable article size.
Check back in a few days and ( I hope) you will find me triumphantly standing with the beasts head on a platter.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
I Don't Have The Answer.
Did you ever feel like you were having trouble staying focused? I mean on life?
Being the highly educated type person that I am, I remember being at say, year six, of my continuing education process and walking into class asking where am I? What quarter is this and which class am I in now? What book am I supposed to be reading and when the heck is that lab midterm test?
What? It was yesterday morning? Yesterday? The day I skipped class to have breakfast with my friend Laura because it was her birthday and she had no one to go with because everyone else was in the lab class? Oh God! And I never did get along with the lab instructor, do you think if I cry and make up a story about "female problems" he will fall for it? (he did).
Did you ever feel that way about life? Sometimes I find myself just tooling along doing a comfortable cruising speed, thinking I'm seeing all the signs, following the mapped out route, taking the planned turns, not missing my exits and everything is kosher and wham! Out of no where a cruiser is on my tail with lights flashing. Maybe I wasn't focused enough.
How the heck are we supposed to navigate this life with so much going on? You almost have to ignore a large part of it just to tend to the basics - work, pay the bills, do laundry often enough to have a good supply of clean underwear and all that. Add a few moments of personal time here and there and you are about maxed out. How can we stay focused on the necessities and still have the attention to notice the flowers blooming, the beautiful sunset, the bird nesting in the tree right above our head?
I don't have the answer, it's just a question.
As a writer sometimes I must focus on the tools of my craft, get serious and edit. It's so much easier to let the words spill out than it is to clean up the overflow. Yesterday morning, however, I did just that. I got focused and looked at my last article with an editor's eye. I knew it could be better, flow smoother and sound more balanced. I chipped away a little here, added a little there. I tweaked a bit, exchanging one word for another. It's hardly noticeable when you re-read the finished product, but it does make a big difference.
Now if I could just edit my life, chip away a little of the "not so important" stuff to make room for a little of the "more important" stuff. If I could tweak it a bit, keeping the main structure and meaning, but leave it more balanced and flowing smoother. If I could just focus a little more on the underlying story, the main point, and shed some of the trappings that come from living in a world where we are so influenced by society that is constantly moving faster and wanting more, would I find a richer story of my life?
I don't have the answer, it's just a question.
Being the highly educated type person that I am, I remember being at say, year six, of my continuing education process and walking into class asking where am I? What quarter is this and which class am I in now? What book am I supposed to be reading and when the heck is that lab midterm test?
What? It was yesterday morning? Yesterday? The day I skipped class to have breakfast with my friend Laura because it was her birthday and she had no one to go with because everyone else was in the lab class? Oh God! And I never did get along with the lab instructor, do you think if I cry and make up a story about "female problems" he will fall for it? (he did).
Did you ever feel that way about life? Sometimes I find myself just tooling along doing a comfortable cruising speed, thinking I'm seeing all the signs, following the mapped out route, taking the planned turns, not missing my exits and everything is kosher and wham! Out of no where a cruiser is on my tail with lights flashing. Maybe I wasn't focused enough.
How the heck are we supposed to navigate this life with so much going on? You almost have to ignore a large part of it just to tend to the basics - work, pay the bills, do laundry often enough to have a good supply of clean underwear and all that. Add a few moments of personal time here and there and you are about maxed out. How can we stay focused on the necessities and still have the attention to notice the flowers blooming, the beautiful sunset, the bird nesting in the tree right above our head?
I don't have the answer, it's just a question.
As a writer sometimes I must focus on the tools of my craft, get serious and edit. It's so much easier to let the words spill out than it is to clean up the overflow. Yesterday morning, however, I did just that. I got focused and looked at my last article with an editor's eye. I knew it could be better, flow smoother and sound more balanced. I chipped away a little here, added a little there. I tweaked a bit, exchanging one word for another. It's hardly noticeable when you re-read the finished product, but it does make a big difference.
Now if I could just edit my life, chip away a little of the "not so important" stuff to make room for a little of the "more important" stuff. If I could tweak it a bit, keeping the main structure and meaning, but leave it more balanced and flowing smoother. If I could just focus a little more on the underlying story, the main point, and shed some of the trappings that come from living in a world where we are so influenced by society that is constantly moving faster and wanting more, would I find a richer story of my life?
I don't have the answer, it's just a question.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Stars Dancing on Water
Today I spent some time cleaning out a closet. I am planning the biggest yard sale in the universe and I figured that closet held about a gazillion things that would make some yard shopper really happy and make me a bunch of loot to boot!
While I was rummaging around in that closet looking for discardable treasure I happened upon a box of papers. There were newspaper clippings of interest-
Berlin Wall Falls! (now that is exciting!)
White Buffalo Born! (Praise the Great Spirit)
Visit The Real Hotel California! (It’s in Todos Santos and Don Henley was part owner).
Retired Nomads Parked in Paradise! (Bisbee Arizona’s own time warp- a campground where you can stay in the retro luxury of a 1950’s travel trailer decorated in vintage fabulous style! How Cute is that?!).
I also found all kinds of cards sent to me from a whole bunch of you, from as far back as 1979, I found photos also, but don’t worry, I won’t post them.
When I dug a little farther I came up with some writing I did many years ago. I found this one piece that I think is rather nice, so I’m going to share it with you. I remember the day well, I took a break from Atlanta,the big city I was going to school in, and drove a few hours north to the mountains to sit by a lake. Being the serious, dedicated student that I was, I also took my books. I sat by the lake, books cracked, sun warm, sky blue above and pine trees on the breeze. I watched the sunshine reflecting off the ripples created by the breeze across the lake. Then I got all creative and wrote this:
The stars fell right out of the sky, and landed in the lake. They are hiding from the sun, but I can see them, like a huge swarm of fire flies dancing. They gather around my toes on the wake of the water. They fall from my fingertips, white light dropping back into the lake. They stick to my hair until I shake my head and they are flung away, now shooting stars. Stars riding, like tiny bright surfers, disappearing into the crest of the wave as it meets shore. They are dancing now, dancing just for me and I watch, mesmerized by their beauty, their light, their easy motion on the water.
My brain starts to melt into deep relaxation and my eye lids become heavy. My body becomes light, and the wind blows through me. I float like a feather on the wind. I float up, into a cloudless sky to a place where everything I dream is real, where my thoughts are heard and my feelings known. My hand touches my heart and it touches me back. The trees sing to me and I know where I come from, where I am and where I belong.
As the day lengthens, the sunlight softens and the stars in the lake flash with a different rhythm. I am awakened from my aware slumber, changed forever.
While I was rummaging around in that closet looking for discardable treasure I happened upon a box of papers. There were newspaper clippings of interest-
Berlin Wall Falls! (now that is exciting!)
White Buffalo Born! (Praise the Great Spirit)
Visit The Real Hotel California! (It’s in Todos Santos and Don Henley was part owner).
Retired Nomads Parked in Paradise! (Bisbee Arizona’s own time warp- a campground where you can stay in the retro luxury of a 1950’s travel trailer decorated in vintage fabulous style! How Cute is that?!).
I also found all kinds of cards sent to me from a whole bunch of you, from as far back as 1979, I found photos also, but don’t worry, I won’t post them.
When I dug a little farther I came up with some writing I did many years ago. I found this one piece that I think is rather nice, so I’m going to share it with you. I remember the day well, I took a break from Atlanta,the big city I was going to school in, and drove a few hours north to the mountains to sit by a lake. Being the serious, dedicated student that I was, I also took my books. I sat by the lake, books cracked, sun warm, sky blue above and pine trees on the breeze. I watched the sunshine reflecting off the ripples created by the breeze across the lake. Then I got all creative and wrote this:
The stars fell right out of the sky, and landed in the lake. They are hiding from the sun, but I can see them, like a huge swarm of fire flies dancing. They gather around my toes on the wake of the water. They fall from my fingertips, white light dropping back into the lake. They stick to my hair until I shake my head and they are flung away, now shooting stars. Stars riding, like tiny bright surfers, disappearing into the crest of the wave as it meets shore. They are dancing now, dancing just for me and I watch, mesmerized by their beauty, their light, their easy motion on the water.
My brain starts to melt into deep relaxation and my eye lids become heavy. My body becomes light, and the wind blows through me. I float like a feather on the wind. I float up, into a cloudless sky to a place where everything I dream is real, where my thoughts are heard and my feelings known. My hand touches my heart and it touches me back. The trees sing to me and I know where I come from, where I am and where I belong.
As the day lengthens, the sunlight softens and the stars in the lake flash with a different rhythm. I am awakened from my aware slumber, changed forever.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Your Comments Count!
I just love getting comments from ya'll, each comment is like a small gift especially for me, that I can share with all my friends. Thank You for taking the time and effort to read and write to me, I know it's a busy life out there.
Special thanks to JC in SC who guessed correctly that the mystery photo was taken at the Grand Canyon. She may have had a slight advantage, as she is my sister and knows how much I love the Grand Canyon! I have no problem with the winner having a slight advantage, after all, she's my sister and I'm queen of the blog!
Special thanks to JC in SC who guessed correctly that the mystery photo was taken at the Grand Canyon. She may have had a slight advantage, as she is my sister and knows how much I love the Grand Canyon! I have no problem with the winner having a slight advantage, after all, she's my sister and I'm queen of the blog!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Elephant Tamer
I’m comfortable in the ring, intent on just being there, relaxed. With a thundering run that shakes the ground the lumbering beast appears. The whole floor shakes as the beast comes close, with a leap he lands right next to me in the ring. He circles, circles, circles about. I turn and twist, keeping the beast in front of me. I remember all the times I have seen the elephant tamer gently nudging the great beast into submission.
There is no way to rush a beast of this nature, you must await the beasts’ own time. And time it takes, as the beast circles and sniffs and hops about. He comes close and sniffs at my ear, barely missing landing his great paw on my face. He comes around the other side, leans in and places a slimy tongue across my face and my lips are covered with his saliva. He enjoys this and I twist about, trying to protect life and limb as I wipe his spit away with the back of my hand. The beast sniffs about and circles more, stepping over me as if I’m a crack on the sidewalk.
Whip you ask, why don’t I use a whip? Well, you wouldn’t know that with a beast of this nature, a whip does no good. No, a short stick works best. I can tap at the beast and slowly, gently direct him to the place I want him, a tap on the leg, a tap on his side, a tap on his rear. One tap at a time. I wait until he is close to the position I want him in. It takes some time as he has to plod about, sniffing my hair and clothes. He stretches a few times, great tail in the air, big body arched, long legs splayed in front and behind. At one point he drops like a rock, and rolls onto his back, huge paws flailing about in the air. He rolls, side to side for a few minutes and rights himself. This I know to be a sign that the beast is about to settle down.
I carefully give him a nudge on a back leg, moving him along to a position closer to where I want him. The trainer in me is on full alert as I know, one nudge to soon, to hard or in the wrong place will send the beast into another frenzied dance in circles and we would have to start all over again. I nudge, nudge, nudge the beast slowly in a circle and then a tap behind the leg and he starts to lower him self to the ground. A tap on the other leg brings him a bit closer and a tap on his side and he rolls over, onto his side, his great head just an inch from mine. He is not quite settled in as he must stretch his great paws and grab my hair, tousling it into a rats nest of tangles, this I have learned is a sure sign of affection from the beast.
He seems calm and just wiggles about for a few more minutes, actually wedging himself against my shoulder, his nose just inches from my ear. For a moment there is silence, then a great rumble erupts from the throat of the beast as he starts to serenade me with a purr.
Only an elephant tamer knows. Knows how to settle a great beast, one who can not be intimidated, nor threatened. One who cannot be beat into submission. An elephant tamer works with the natural instinct of the beast, and a lot of patience, as they gently nudge the elephant to do as they wish. The use a stick, and tap a signal on the elephant to indicate what they wish the elephant to do, a tap on the leg they wish the elephant to raise, a tap on the shoulder when they wish the elephant to kneel down, a tap on the side they wish the elephant to turn to. Only the elephant can decide if the wish will come true.
There is no way to rush a beast of this nature, you must await the beasts’ own time. And time it takes, as the beast circles and sniffs and hops about. He comes close and sniffs at my ear, barely missing landing his great paw on my face. He comes around the other side, leans in and places a slimy tongue across my face and my lips are covered with his saliva. He enjoys this and I twist about, trying to protect life and limb as I wipe his spit away with the back of my hand. The beast sniffs about and circles more, stepping over me as if I’m a crack on the sidewalk.
Whip you ask, why don’t I use a whip? Well, you wouldn’t know that with a beast of this nature, a whip does no good. No, a short stick works best. I can tap at the beast and slowly, gently direct him to the place I want him, a tap on the leg, a tap on his side, a tap on his rear. One tap at a time. I wait until he is close to the position I want him in. It takes some time as he has to plod about, sniffing my hair and clothes. He stretches a few times, great tail in the air, big body arched, long legs splayed in front and behind. At one point he drops like a rock, and rolls onto his back, huge paws flailing about in the air. He rolls, side to side for a few minutes and rights himself. This I know to be a sign that the beast is about to settle down.
I carefully give him a nudge on a back leg, moving him along to a position closer to where I want him. The trainer in me is on full alert as I know, one nudge to soon, to hard or in the wrong place will send the beast into another frenzied dance in circles and we would have to start all over again. I nudge, nudge, nudge the beast slowly in a circle and then a tap behind the leg and he starts to lower him self to the ground. A tap on the other leg brings him a bit closer and a tap on his side and he rolls over, onto his side, his great head just an inch from mine. He is not quite settled in as he must stretch his great paws and grab my hair, tousling it into a rats nest of tangles, this I have learned is a sure sign of affection from the beast.
He seems calm and just wiggles about for a few more minutes, actually wedging himself against my shoulder, his nose just inches from my ear. For a moment there is silence, then a great rumble erupts from the throat of the beast as he starts to serenade me with a purr.
Only an elephant tamer knows. Knows how to settle a great beast, one who can not be intimidated, nor threatened. One who cannot be beat into submission. An elephant tamer works with the natural instinct of the beast, and a lot of patience, as they gently nudge the elephant to do as they wish. The use a stick, and tap a signal on the elephant to indicate what they wish the elephant to do, a tap on the leg they wish the elephant to raise, a tap on the shoulder when they wish the elephant to kneel down, a tap on the side they wish the elephant to turn to. Only the elephant can decide if the wish will come true.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
What's in a Profile? #2
I finally did it folks, I wrote my brief but revealing profile.
I figured if people are reading my posts, they already know quite a bit about me, so I didn't want to go overboard. I still think it's not about me, it's about the stories. I do understand though, I mean, I always read the author profiles on the back flap of the dustcover of every book I read. I never know what interesting fact I may find or what I may have in common with the author. Sometimes there is a clue as to where the story comes from. Sometimes there is a little known very personal fact, like a nickname.
I figured if people are reading my posts, they already know quite a bit about me, so I didn't want to go overboard. I still think it's not about me, it's about the stories. I do understand though, I mean, I always read the author profiles on the back flap of the dustcover of every book I read. I never know what interesting fact I may find or what I may have in common with the author. Sometimes there is a clue as to where the story comes from. Sometimes there is a little known very personal fact, like a nickname.
Ghost Readers
Hello all you wild eyed adoring fans.
Every one of you. Literally.
Really, I'm beginning to think nobody is reading my blog. Or maybe no one has any idea where and what that photo is. Maybe no one has the time for such nonsense in a world that moves at the speed of cell phone and internet transactions.
Maybe I did not offer enough incentive to entice you to guess the location of the object in that photo. I'm gonna leave it for a few more days before I tell you the truth about that photo, which, hint hint, was taken somewhere that everyone in the USofA should have gone at one time or another. So far I have received nada in the way of speculation from my adoring fans. Maybe you will be the first?
Every one of you. Literally.
Really, I'm beginning to think nobody is reading my blog. Or maybe no one has any idea where and what that photo is. Maybe no one has the time for such nonsense in a world that moves at the speed of cell phone and internet transactions.
Maybe I did not offer enough incentive to entice you to guess the location of the object in that photo. I'm gonna leave it for a few more days before I tell you the truth about that photo, which, hint hint, was taken somewhere that everyone in the USofA should have gone at one time or another. So far I have received nada in the way of speculation from my adoring fans. Maybe you will be the first?
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