g that g looks odd!

Hey, Dood!
Nice trick! Your letter [which wished me a "Happy St. Patirck's Day"] arrived on St. Patrick's Day! What great timing! I'm glad to know kittypuss is doing well and will no longer have to go through heat. Poor little thing! I'm amazed the prison paid for her to get spayed - wow! That's like a little miracle!
Have you noticed something odd about my "g"s? Go back and look at that first paragraph... I'll wait. Bing bing, bing bing, bing bing bing, bing bing bing bing Bing, bing bing bing bing... (theme song of "Jeopardy - did you get that?) Did you see it? If the "g" is on the end of the word, like "bing", is doesn't get the little swoosh and it might easily be mistaken for a "q", right? But sometimes, especially if an "e" is after it, like "get", there's a loop thing going on.
I have no idea why. It just happens.

Life is going well here... hey, did you see that? Two different "g"s in one word! Not consciously, either. Maybe I should see a doctor about that.
:-D
Tonight I'm going for a steak dinner with my friend Hai Dang. (He's Vietnamese, but a citizen of the USA. I've known him, through Sam Johnson, theatre, and church - oh, and school, too - for better than 8 years.) Actually, he is eating steak - I'm going to have seafood. (And I just did it again, with the "g"s in one word. It's really starting to be distracting. Or maybe these comments are. Or maybe both.)
Over the winter break from school, we hung out together a lot, going to movies and even Christmas Eve service together, with caroling afterward. Very nice!
Then I wanted to go to Dave & Buster's in Jacksonville and invited him along - just spur of the moment - and he went and I paid for the meal and the gas - and on the way back to Savannah, a propos of nothing, he says he's going to treat me to a steak dinner in March, after we both get our paychecks at the end of February. (He works part-time at the school since his graduation last year.) And now, time for that dinner! Woohoo!
Secrest? Well, I'm glad you asked! He cooked me dinner (pork loin with sweet potatoes) on Tuesday and we watched a movie at his place. We've been doing that on a fairly regular basis on Tuesdays and will again next week.
Yep, life is pretty good right now - I hope you can say the same!
with my love!

early hearts flying north

Hey, Tony!

You will never guess what I did last night! I was there and even I can hardly believe it! Really! Here's a hint: I was in a time machine that took me to fifty years ago!

Actually, yesterday's travel back in time began at noon. It was Free Museum Sunday and I joined a group of friends at the Savannah History Museum. There, I saw Johnny Mercer's Oscar (from 1962), Juliette Gordon Lowe's Girl Scout uniform, and a 1902 car! My No Kidding! group was joined by my longtime friend Hai - he really enjoyed meeting them, especially Christa, because she is a "Dr. Who" fan like he is. Yeah!

Afterward, we all had lunch together and then I went to join a new movie-going group, Cheap Thrills, so called because they go to matinee films. Somehow, I had the theater wrong, so I missed them. But, no harm! It was a beautiful sunshiny day and warm enough to have the car windows down - so I had a nice drive to Pooler and back. Yeah!

(inside the card) Happy Valentine's Day!

Okay, okay, what about last night? Right?? I traveled back in time to 1964, watching "The Ed Sullivan Show" episode with the first appearance of the Beatles!!! They sang six songs, 3 at the beginning of the hour-long program, then 3 more near the end! And it was shown on a movie screen! Hai had invited me to accompany him to this invite-only screening - lucky me! There were probably forty people there and we all felt like we were part of the audience at the tv show. The screening even included the old commercials for Pillsbury pancake mix and Lipton tea - What a hoot! Of course we had to go to Waffle House afterward, to step back into the present year.

What an awesome blessed day!

with my love!

it's not for lack of bread, like the Grateful Dead

I had a dinner guest over tonight and we were enjoying a bit of conversation while i was putting the meal together. I was asked what kind of day I had and I replied that it was a good one, I was catching up on my blogging. And that response led to the inevitable follow-up query: Why do I blog?
First and foremost, it's therapy. I don't always have an ear willing to listen to me without judgement as I natter on about whatever devil is troubling me. Sometimes, not always, but sometimes, it's just good to be able to get the words out of my head, out of my heart, OUT, to see and hear and feel them. As I had written once upon a time, I've always lived near a beach to drown my demons and this special virtual place serves that purpose when the physical beach is not an option.
However, there are other times I want to share something special with whatever WhoVille denizen might be bopping through the ether. A photograph clicked on a whim, an especially fun joke, a pun or two, a quote. Sometimes the pieces are more serious, concerning death or cancer, but with a reassuring slant. I even hang out one of my bits of special writings from time to time, to allow them to blow in the breeze and be fully aired out. My rap, my poems, my songs! One of those eventually made it to an open mic nght for an actual visible audience to hear and feel and taste. Sometimes I just think about doing that with the others, though I have the jellyfish lightning one ready when my moxie is.
And then we have those times when my imagination gets hotwired and simply MUST be expressed. What's the story, morning glory? Why did that happen in THAT way? What do you mean, you have fingernails now? How about a tale for the kids!
You know... weaving tales of alternate realities, when this one is not enough.
Every once in a while, I talk of music, even going so far as to re-print the song lyrics to make sure I'll always have them at my beck and search. Music has definite charms for me, whether it's blues, good ol' rock'n'roll, Motown, jazz, pop alt or not! Ear candy! Some music calms, some encourages me to rage against wrongs, some simply entertains, and some gets me up and wigglin' my butt! It all has a place in my life, in the mental filing cabinets of my brain, in the soft softs of my heart. And every once in a while, a featured place or two on the sands and surf here.
I think it's time for a few tunes now, y'all. Later!

why write?

Corrine Colarusso, a painter from Georgia, has this to say about her muse: "...what brings us to the studio every day - that mark, that surface, that color, that film of glaze, images formed, infinite possibilities unremediated and powerful."
I so get it. For me, it's words with precise meaning, nuances, inflections, the juxtaposition of syllables, the lure of a fine-turned phrase, the possibility of making marks that make sense to myself and others. I enjoy writing, even more so now that I don't have to do so. In college, I even enjoyed writing, but felt rather limited, as the professors weren't interested in random topics. Actually, I'd wager they would have preferred some randomness, rather than the same topic expressed through forty different pens.
Today, at work in a hardwood flooring store, just in casual conversation, I heard myself utter "auspices" and was amazed when it came through my lips. That is a word with a very precise meaning and I was talking on the phone with my Charleston bird at the time. He took it in stride; I was the one who noted what I had said and was surprised by it. Now that I think about that, it WAS rather nice that he took it as such a natural utterance. Yes, I do like that about him.
As I was saying, though, I am inspired to write because of things I hear, things I see, things I taste or touch or sense. Writing about these things makes them more real, gives them context in my world, helps me find my place in the universe. All artists create - not just paintings or poetry or songs, but a new piece of the world we all live in, a bridge between our personal space and that inhabited by all. I like to think that I'm helping to do that, too, for myself and perhaps, in some small measure, for others.

progress!

Well, I've jumped ahead with my writing, though I have a LONG way to go to hit my mark. Still, I'm rather pleased that I've gotten this far. Truly! And I am now ranked 49 of 167 would-be novelists. Woohoo!

One thing I'm definitely learning: I'm not cut out to be a novelist. Nope. Short stores, I think I'm your girl. But the last book I wrote was my dissertation for my doctorate and that took a couple of years to complete. I even had about fifty graphs in it, so that cut down on some of the writing. (You know, "a picture is worth a thousand words" and all that, though making the picture can take about as long as writing the words would have.) Writing that book taught me that I didn't want any more doctorates!

Writing this book is teaching me that I may not quite be ready to let my freak flag fly in this direction. I would certainly have to use a pseudonym, because if any of this material made it to print, everyone would wonder what kind of kinko I am. I guess I spent too much time in the Navy. Or maybe I've read too many of "those" magazines. Or maybe I should blame it on the a-a-a-a-alcohol, as Jamie Foxx would say (though I have liquor of any kind - except virtual on facebook! - rather infrequently these days). Or maybe, just maybe, it goes back to me not being wired right.

I've read interviews over the years of folks who act in roles that are contrary to their character. Carroll O'Connor was one of the most educated, liberal, laid-back, accepting people on the planet, EXCEPT in his role as Archie Bunker, racist bigot extraordinaire on "All In The Family." For eight years, he let his alter ego loose upon the tv screen, to much acclaim. Then there's Robin Williams, a comedian who is left of center and off the charts, effortlessly letting loose his wit in whatever venue he finds himself. EXCEPT when he's Walter Finch or Sy Parrish, the sociopaths in "Insomnia" and "One Hour Photo", respectively. Talk about creeps! he completely let his dark side come out to play.

So, maybe that accounts for the words that flow from my fingertips when a "novel" is being written. Hey, it's all fiction, right? Fiction is defined as "works of imaginative narration, especially in prose form." Imagination is "forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses." And fiction is just a milder word for fantasy, is it not? Why not make it sexual fantasy as well as romantic fantasy and dramatic fantasy? Why not, indeed? My writings are simply imagination gone wild, much like college kids on spring break: fairly harmless, but don't let the family know the details of your exploits!

52 of 166

No, I haven't become a Borg creature. My ranking has moved up slightly in a slightly larger field of participants. So... GO ME!!! After quite a hiatus, I'm back and up to 8000 words after a brief period of writing this afternoon. (Hey, it was slow at work and I jumped at the chance!) I intend to spend more time writing this evening, after dinner and my usual Monday night pursuits, i.e., watching The Big Bang Theory and How I met Your Mother. Yes, I am quite aware that they'll be repeats. Yes, I will watch them anyway, and enjoy every minute of it. There is truly so little tv I partake of; this hour of frivolity helps keep my sense of time's passage intact, much like the sun's travels across the sky help me during daylight hours. Now, to get some supper and clear my schedule of all else crying for my attention!

still going...

It's been a rather busy time for me, so I haven't had the time to write like I would have hoped. Still, I AM persisting, and that's the point of rising to a challenge, is it not? At a grand word count of 6100, I am now ranked 53rd in a field of 165. This was Day 16 of the challenge, so I do need to try to work in some more word counts in the next two days, before my friends from Hiram come on down. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I took a little writing interlude during their visit, but I don't know that I would be comfortable with them... or anyone at this point... possibly reading over my shoulder.

Now, I'm not saying that they would throw me off my game. When I start writing, the first few lines are hard, but then the characters move right on in and make themselves at home and I never quite know what they'll come up with next. Well, that's not exactly true, now is it? I have a really good idea of what will happen, and I'm actually a bit surprised about it. You see, well, are you familiar with the works of Harold Robbins? You know, the guy whose books all deal with sex, sex, and more sex? Well, my characters think they're in one of his novels. Only they're a bit more graphic. Yeah.

So, who's to say anyone will ever get to read this but me? Still, I am rather enjoying it. I can't wait to see what they're gonna do next!