All-consuming, a new novel is being written. He suffers from the usual issues. Eating is put off even though he’s hungry. His backside endures extended periods in a chair. Coffee cools, virtually untouched. Blog posts are thought of and dismissed. To converse with others means he must forcefully shift attention from the book to the people. He resents their intrusion.
The novel keeps hypnotizing him, drawing him in with its character, worlds, scenes, progression. He feels helpless. To resist the novel goes against everything he’s trained himself to do, because he wants to write.
He suffers; others suffer. It’s an odd conundrum because chasing words also exhilarates him. It’s the old writer’s curse.
Floof-by(floofinition) – 1. An inspection by an animal done in a quick and cursory manner.
In use: “When he went out and began yardwork, the house floofs did floof-bys to verify no food was involved.”
2. Checking quickly and briefly on an animal to assess their welfare, condition, or activity.
In use: “After she found a fawn in her yard, Karla did several floofy-bys to ensure it was okay. Discovering it gone on the fourth, she hoped mama had come by and re-claimed her offspring.”
Hello! Is anybody out there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone at all?
Today is the 25th and the last Thursday of May, 2023. Next Thursday will be the first day of June, 2023. Schools are preparing to wrap up the year and shut down for the summer in the northern latitudes. Solstice is creeping up.
But spring continues to rule in Ashlandia. It’s 54 F now and sunny under a cloudless blue sky. The day is heating up in a lazy, spring-like way. High will be about 77 F, weatherists claim. I believe ’em. Sunrise was at 5:39 AM and sunset is predicted to be 8:36 PM, providing us with a lot of daylight hours.
I have a Dire Straits song in mind today. See, it’s because Tina Turner died on Wednesday, which was yesterday. My generation, or at least my tribe, were fond of her. Her energy, skills, and talents impressed us. We enjoyed her singing, performing, and acting. After breaking up with her hubby, who was her musical partner, she struck out as a solo act. It took some years but she made it. One of her big comeback hits was “Private Dancer”.
Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits wrote “Private Dancer”. He even sang and produced it for the band’s next album but then he pulled it. He though a woman should be singing it. Eventually, through Tina and Mark’s managers, she recorded the song.
That’s a recap of an often told tale. After reading it again and remembering Tina and her career, The Neurons guided me back to Dire Straits. I find myself with “So Far Away” from 1985 stuck in the morning mental stream. It’s one of those songs I heard in my head after it came out and I was traveling around on my own, first in the military, then in marketing as a civilian. More than physical distance, the song is about emotional distant, and the situation, how the two people seem so different that the gap between them never closes.
Stay pos. Have some fresh coffee, if that’s your bent. It is mine. Here we go. Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 