Talking with my nieces and nephews whose ages range from 18 to mid-thirties, I asked, “Do you know the expression, drop a dime?”
No. None of them knew it. They asked about it, and I explained it.
Drop me a dime and I’ll tell you what I said.
I Catch Myself
I catch myself
berating others for being cruel, short-sighted, stupid, insensitive, or inattentive
and
I catch myself
doing the same damn stupid things that I berated them for doing
and
I catch myself
remembering other times that I did these stupid damn things
and
I catch myself
reminding myself that we’re all human, with foibles and inconsistencies
and
I catch myself
realizing that I’m just as fucking flawed
and
I catch myself.
Off-kilter
My writing world is a little off-kilter this morning. I’m again doubting that the muses and characters know what they’re doing. I suspect they’re conning me.
The muses and characters agree about what’s to be written, what’s happening, and what’s to come next. “Trust us,” they purr.
I’m jaundiced about their plans. “Seems like we’re going around in a bac.”
“A what?”
“Bac. ” I spelled it, “B.A.C. Big-ass circle.”
“Writers,” one muse mumbled to a character (Brett), who nodded back with an eye-roll. They didn’t care that I’d witnessed this, implying a disrespect that I didn’t like.
“We know what we’re doing,” another muse said, like a young mother speaking to her mother about the way she’s raising her child. “Just follow our guidance.”
“I am,” I said. “If you could let me in on a little more, I’d feel more comfortable about I’m typing.”
Several muses and characters unloosed scoffing sounds while another muse said, “We don’t want to burden you with too much.”
“I’m the writer here,” I said. “Shouldn’t I know where the story is going?”
“You do know,” one muse said.
“Yes, you know how it’s ending, don’t you?” said another muse.
Handley, a character, “Nothing personal, but we don’t want to give you too much to juggle. You already seem a little strained by the novel’s direction.”
“It’s more than a novel, it’s become a series,” I said.
“Exactly,” Handley said. “And there’s a great deal more material available that we could give you, but you seem tired of writing this.”
“Yes,” a muse said. “You’re weary of writing this, doubtful of the content, dubious of your skill and talent, and worried that you’re pulling a Wonderboys.”
I clamped my lips tight for a second before speaking. “None of that’s germane to this conversation. While that’s all true, that doesn’t change that right now, it seems like you guys are leading me in a — ”
“Big-ass circle,” a muse said. “Yes, we know.”
Realizing that I wasn’t going to win this discussion, and that the muses and characters weren’t going to tell me more until they thought I was ready for it, I finished my walk, purchased my coffee, and set up to write.
Time to write like crazy and see where the characters and muses take me. Do you know that the muses have never told me their names?
John Hall Wheelock Said
Agree with this, anyone?
A Sign
It’s a sign that things aren’t going well, computer-wise, when you try to reach http://www.isitdownrightnow.com to see if a website is having problems, and you can’t reach it because it’s down.
Amazing how frustrating something like the inability to reach one or two sites makes me.
Catsip
Catsip (catfinition) – conversations between feline about information that might not be true, often passed through a nose to nose close exchange.
In use: “The orange cat and the long-haired black paws feline catsipped nose to nose for over a minute, arousing his curiosity about what was being exchanged.”
Thursday’s Theme Music
Knowing the root of a morning stream would be welcomed, because, sometimes those choices stream in from nowhere in my cerebralsphere. Today’s surprise visitor hails from my graduation year, 1974. A television and A.M. radio mellow staple, I can sing every word to “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone. I remember it being used to sweet effect at the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy, but I haven’t seen that movie in a few years. The streaming began as I was popping through my trends, feeding the cats, making my coffee, and worrying over my writing, an average morning at home on the Michael Scale.
It’s just one of those things.
A Little R & R
I’ve been away, traveling across America (southern Oregon to western Pennsylvania) to visit with Mom and my sisters and their families for Mother’s Day. It was an impressive gathering. All five of Mom’s children were present, along with spouses, children, and grandchildren of three.
Mom and my little sisters
Besides that, to celebrate my older sister’s birthday, we did a Gateway Clipper Sunset Dinner Cruise. Fun and informative, we saw Pittsburgh’s bridges and buildings from the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio Rivers, or we danced to the DJ’s music. Oh, yeah, and we had a buffet dinner, and we drank.
A large group of teenagers were on our cruise. When the music broke out, they appropriated the dance floor by forming a large circle. People then danced inside the circle. I wasn’t familiar with this practice, but others assured me that it started with the first homo-sapiens centuries ago.
The young ones were friendly and inclusive. I requested “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang for my sister’s b-day. When it started, they all let out a whoop, and then began dancing and singing the song. Sis got up to dance to her birthday song, and they all started dancing with her. “Happy twentieth,” one girl called to my sister, who replied, “Twenty-fifth.” “Can’t stray too far from the truth,” my sister later confided.
Fun as that was, more fun was the “Cupid Shuffle”. All were familiar with this, and it was terrific. Most didn’t know how to cha-cha, though, but one of my little sisters had it nailed.
One of my younger sisters organized everything for us. She’s my little sister (one of three), but she’s also a grandmother. My sisters are all attractive, intelligent, and accomplished, so I’m always nursing a suspicion that I might have been adopted. Of course, I inherited Dad’s face, arms, and hair, and Mom’s chest, shoulders, and legs, so there’s no doubt I wasn’t adopted.
My younger sister and her husband were also our hosts for several days of eating and partying. They took such great care of us. Her husband, Pat, is a fellow who remembers everything that I tell him. Told him once that I like Blue Moon with orange slices. Guess what he had on hand for me? I’d mentioned in a previous visit that I prefer other cheeses over American, so he had sharp cheddar available for my cheeseburgers. They’re good people.
Oh, the food was good. I immediately transformed into a glutton. I don’t regret it.
I didn’t write during that period. That wasn’t planned. As other writers have noted and been quoted, writers don’t take vacations. No, I didn’t sit down at my computer or even pull out a notebook, but I wrote in my head. I did attempt to get up and go write in the early mornings, but frankly, I was lazy, and chose sleep.
So now, a little R & R is required: reconnect and recommence. That is, reconnect with my novel and characters (done, thanks!) and recommence my writing routines and rituals (done, thanks!)
Time to write like crazy, once again.
Baby Steps
“I’ve seen some things, man.”
Recognize that line? Anyway, this is about what I saw while traveling through airports during the last few days.
- Breast-feeding rooms. I need so many hands to address this, and its pros and cons. Good that moms are given a space for privacy, but are so many people shocked, outraged, embarrassed, repulsed, disgusted, disturbed, et cetera, by a woman breast-feeding her child?
- Service animals relief area. There is a need for this. Nice the animals are being taken care of.
- Police carts. These appear to be the courtesy carts used in airports to give people a lift between gates, but with police markings and lights.
- Fewer designated smoking areas. I’m amazed people still smoke, but I still drink, and both habits can have adverse impacts on your body. So does living, though.
- More and more drinking, eating, and shopping areas. These are a good thing, because air travel is a gritty gamble. You can have a ticket, but not a seat, and if you don’t have a seat, you’re not on a plane. Even with a seat and ticket, you might not be going anywhere because weather is the controlling authority. The biggest issue with these is that when people really need them, after all the flights are delayed and canceled, and nothing can be done for you to get to your next destination, they start shutting down for the night, leaving passengers in the terminals restless, hungry, and thirsty. Basically, we become abandoned by capitalism, because, you know, convenience is expensive.
- By the way, eating in an airport is not a cheap affair. Beer at one place was six dollars, and eight at another. Margaritas were eleven at the latter. Healthier options are emerging, at least.
- More Internet options on aircraft and airports. I encountered more airports offering free services. They’re not secure, so they’re a risk. Protect thyself. Aircraft are also offering more inflight Internet services. Some entertainment is free through these aircraft nets (airnets?), but connecting to the greater web will cost you. The prices are reasonable.
- More people are trying to take as many bags as possible onto aircraft to avoid paying to check bags. You should see the size of some of these. Yes, they’re checking them planeside in many cases, but more often, they’re being dragged onto the flights and shoved into overhead bins. I kept hearing the words, “We’re oversold,” or, “We’re a full flight,” or, “If you can, store your bags under the seat in front of you because there’s no room left in the overhead bins.” That last is ideal, as we have so much leg room to sacrifice to begin.
How about you? Notice any trends in your air travels?
Michael Seidel, writer 