Winning Football Teams

I just watched the NCAA handing out its penalty to Penn State regarding their actions by sweeping child abuse under the rug.  The NCAA premise, that having a winning football team trumps education and the protection of children is wrong.

Thank you for reaffirming that winning a game at all cost is not justified.    

Hearing about the child abuse at the first instance by Penn State and reacting correctly would have only resulted in a mild ripple and people would have stood behind the university because it did the right thing.  But by sweeping everything under the rug and believing that winning a foot ball game is everything and to borrow an army term, collateral damage happens.  Well, I can understand if you are under the gun, but for a foot ball team, absolutely not.

The Time for Gun Control is Now!

When will America have gun control laws to protect its citizens?

The recent killings and wounding of innocent people in Aurora, Colorado begs the questions, why would a sane person need a assault rifle, a glock and a rifle?

Please do not inundate me with the constitutional to bear arms which is the same constitution that gives me the alienable right to pursue life and liberty.  Well, the NRA made the wishes of a few tantamount to the wishes of the majority.  I also blame our spineless congress and senate to stand up to the NRA.

Somewhere along the line, the pursuit of power  became the goal of our congress and senate.  Shame on them for their lack of moral fiber and back bone.

The blame for the killings is on the hapless individual whose synopses misfired, on the NRA for stymieing proper gun control laws and our representatives, congress and senate for being such overt cowards.

Don't tell me, criminals kill guns, not guns.  Someone has to pull the trigger and firing a gun is so very impersonal.

Once and for all, let us address the issue and not mourn for a few days, then shove the whole matter of gun control under the carpet  until the next time the senseless killings occur.  For as sure as the sun rises each day and night descends upon the land, this kind of insanity will happen again and again.

Obama Care

What a touchy subject. The Supreme Court just ruled that Obama Care was constitutional. And the outcry began.

Let's look at the issue without sentiments. First off, it is now that law, so learn to live by it. Second, the current law needs to be tweaked to improve health care. Instead of arguing, yelling that it will be repealed, why not make the law better.

As a homeowner, I am taxed every year by the local hospital district to pay for the indigents that overflow our emergency rooms because they lack insurance. As a county hospital, they are required to treat patients irrespectively if they have insurance or not.

I wish someone with a back ground in econometrics would study what is cheaper, for everyone in this country to have health insurance or continue with the current system that burdens and bankrupts our community hospitals and raises property taxes every year?

The question also that needs to be examined is the income distribution by doctors. The battle cry that the doctors spend so much on their education, therefore they can charge as much as they want is disingenuous. I do not begrudge them their income I am only asking them to wait a couple of years longer.  Instead of five years, wait for ten years and learn to police your ranks.  If a doctor is bad, throw him/her out.

Being old enough, I can remember when Medicare came into to being. The outcries from AMA were terrible and so were all the statements from doctors, and yet I venture to guess Medicare is the biggest money maker for the medical profession.

Case in point, the Congress woman who was shot. I am truly grateful that she received the medical care that she got, but I on Medicare would have not received that level of care, and that is what is wrong.

So, let us examine the law, keep what is good and throw out what is bad. America has the best medical service in the world, the sad part is not all of its citizen have access to it. Lastly, let's make Congress,  the Senate and all the government agencies become part of the same health plan. And why not, after all it is being funded with our tax dollars.  If the individual wants a better plan, go for it and pay for it out of your own pocket.

Reality Shows and why not to watch them

Summer is upon us and with it the customary bottom of the barrel reality shows.  So let's be honest.  Would a TV producer really let a contestant get hurt?  I don't think so.  Even though the participant most likely will have to sign a release and all kinds of stipulation, however we have become a litigious society and as every American knows, we have the inalienable right to sue, whether is makes sense or not.

The drivel dished up is bad and will rot your brain.  What ever happened to a well written show, may it be comedy, drama or whatever rings your bell.  There are many gifted and talented writers, actors, musician and countless behind the scene artist that make a show happen.  Yet we continue to indulge people who have no discernible talent in any artistic field other than self promotion.

Let's grow up and don't live vicariously through other people by watching them debase or make fools of themselves.  Let's stop being voyeuristic.  Once the interest in these type of shows wanes, we will get scripted shows once more. 

I am not a censor or will I tell you what you should like, just think about what happens to you, your children or your life watching such gems as "My Redneck Vacation or Life with the Kardashians."

In the interest of fairness I must confess that my guilty pleasure is: Dancing with the Stars.

Creative Living - - Time

So  much is written about what to do when you are retired, but no one ever addresses time, our currency.

Right now I am sitting outside with the laptop and the CD, Hope for Haiti Now, playing the song "Hallelujah, Hallelujah,"  and I am at peace.  It is 92 degrees with a soft breeze musing up my hair, which soon I will get cut.  My view encompasses the canal to my right and bordering on other side of it, a park, the pool and there is no one around so the music is not low but quite stimulating.

Point for all of this, I've written several pages and I am pleased with how the novel is progressing, because once you are in the flow of the story, it tells itself, you are just the person putting it down.  So tonight when I reflect on my day, I will feel great. 

The reason is simple, time was exchanged pleasantly.  My senses relished the scent of the afternoon and my eyes drank in the blessed peacefulness of the time and my mind created new pages in my novel, A Heavenly Revolution.

Overall I would say I received maximum value for my currency.  Isn't life great? 

Memorial Day

In spite of who I am, a naturalized German, I celebrate Memorial Day.  Why?  Let me give you some history that will explain my feelings about this holiday.

My father was an officer in the German Army and because of who he was, was rewarded with a post in Stalingrad, Russia.  One evening he took his men out on a patrol and my father stepped on a fragmentation mine.  The majority of his patrol died instantly and the survivors were injured and maimed in the process.  Due to his injuries, my father was put on a plane for transfer to hospital behind the fighting lines.  He was fortunate, because his plane was the last one to leave Stalingrad before the city was overrun. 

America resoundly defeated Germany and I am eternally grateful to the many Americans that died in the process of liberating my country.   This does not negate the service of my father because I can separate the two issues.  One, the service of a soldier and the other, the leader that caused the war.  A comparison would be the very unpopular Vietnam conflict.  Americans could not separate the act of a soldier from the leaders that created the conflict.  By the time Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan came, the American people understood that you may disagree with the policy of the government, but you still must honor the service of the men and women fighting the wars.

In the eighties, my father came to visit America.  Driving around the country, he said very quietly, "How could Germany defeat a country like this."  He admired the friendliness and acceptance he was given by people where ever we stopped.

This is why I celebrate my adopted country's Memorial Day.

The Art of Writing, Characters II

Your Protagonist

This is a brief continuation of my protagonist comments.  In the previous writing I stated that the protagonist must be the center of the action and not a sideline participant.  In the fourth book 'Liars all,'  of the Brodie Farrel Mystery, written by Jo Bannister, she again made Brodie a supporting character.  Like in the other three books I read, she made Daniel and Jack the focal points of the story while Brodie wrestled with religion and faith.

Additionally Ms. Bannister has several author's intrusions, something her editor should have caught.  Simply put, it's knowledge of a scene, action etc. only the writer would possess, not the character. 

The Art of Writing, Characters I

Your Protagonist

Many years ago, the first principle of writing drummed into my head was: the reader must like your protagonist.  If the reader does not feel empathy for the hero, the reader will not purchase your second book and will not speak kindly about you.  My basic assumption, you do want people to read and like your writings, if not, skip the entire segments on characters.

Your protagonist can have flaws, shortcomings and in general be a rude person, but the reader must be able to identify and have empathy for him/her and must be the central character of the story.  I just finished reading three books by Jo Bannister who authored the Brodie Farrell Mystery.  The first one, 'Reflections,' was a disappointment, however since I had three additional books from the same writer I figured maybe the other novels will get better.  As a rule, when I get a book that is part of a series, I generally get all of them and read the books in the order of the published year.

In the Brodie Farrell Mystery, the protagonist, Brodie is not a very like able person.  Although the author tries to explain what made the character this way, it does not come across as reasonable or acceptable.  In 'Flawed,' the main character driving the story line was not the protagonist, but her best friend Daniel and part-time lover Jack, a policeman.  Brodie entered the story in a deus ex machina mode and solved the problem.  In 'Closer Still,' Brodie participates and solves the conflict.  However the story line is propelled by Daniel and Jack, yet improbable as it is, Brodie solves everything.  This kind of ending is difficult and leaves the reader unsatisfied.  In fantasy, soft core and hard core sci-fi, the reader will generally accept this king of ending, providing the foundation had been properly laid and is logical.  Examples: Lord of the Rings trilogy, when Gandalf the Grey, later known as Gandalf the White,  returns as dawn rises and changes the losing battle turn to a winning one.

Two points always to remember, your reader must like your protagonist and and the protagonist must be the center of the story, not a side line participant who at the end resolves the conflict.

To read a detailed explanation of the deus ex machina in literature, movies, television, etc. and Lord of the Rings trilogy, please go to:

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina;  www.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings

The Art of Writing, Protagonist Line II

This chart is an even bigger mess than for protagonist I, but so is the story line for protagonist II.

Again, let's look at this analytically. Briefly, the straight line is our daily life (black), the line going up at an angle (blue) begins at the star (green).  Conflict enters our protagonist's life at the peak, pale yellow star.  The line drops down to join the straight line (yellow and black), when our protagonist has resolved the conflict and is ready to resume daily life.

The squiggly lines (red), are the valley and peaks representing the protagonist's struggling to find the antagonist.  This is why you have all of the ups and down, because if you don't have the conflict and just have a straight blue line, what is the point of writing the story!   After all, the protagonist does not arrive at the scene and knows who caused the demise of the person.

The yellow star, as English teachers like to say, is the Denouement when your protagonist has found a solution, except in mystery writing, were the attempt at resolving the problem starts right at the beginning and at the end the hero can prove the who is the antagonist.

This type of story line is generally used in mystery, murder and spy stories.  Example, a murder occurs and the protagonist must solve the who done it.  Along the way our protagonist encounters all kinds of problems before he/she can unravel the puzzle. 

One final note, the person who invented this basic story telling structure for mysteries is non other than Edgar Allan Poe.

The Art of Writing, Protagonist Conflict Line I

I know this looks like a big mess, but whose life isn't?

Let's look at this analytically.  The straight line is our daily life (black), the line going up at an angle (blue) beginning at the star (green) is when conflict or conflict enters our protagonist's life.  At the peak (yellow star), where the line drops down to join the straight line (black), our protagonist has resolved the issue or issues and is ready to resume his/her daily life.  

The squiggly lines (red), are the valley and peaks representing the protagonist's struggling in his/her life  while working towards an acceptable resolution.  As of today, I have never met a person who can resolve issues instantly.  This is why you have all of the ups and down, because if you don't have the inner struggle and conflict and just have the straight blue line, what is the point of writing the story! 

The peak, yellow,  as English teachers like to say, is the Denouement when your protagonist has found a solution and resolved the conflict or conflicts in his/her life.

Example, in The Regulators, the heroine goes to the bank to deposit her checks and a bank robbery occurs and her life is changed.  At the Denouement, she finally accepts how she can never return to the life she had prior to the bank robbery.

 One final note, the person who invented this basic story telling structure is non other than William Shakespeare.

The Art of Writing, U-Turn

Driving down the road to visit the local Winery, I missed the turn into the parking lot.  I informed my passenger, not a big problem, I'll just make a youie.  Her response, you're pretty good at this.  Well she's right.  I have no problem making a U-turn.  Now segue this principle to writing.

A Heavenly Revolution, my latest novel and about forty percent completed.  Overall, I'm happy how the story line is progressing, but!  It just didn't feel right, something was missing.  U-Turn.  By going back to the beginning, I discovered the missing element, added a few hundred words, and voila.  Suddenly it all jelled.

In writing as in life, when your instinct tells you, something is amiss, U-Turn.  There will be no points taken away from you and just like in writing, it will make the story line better, because deep inside of you, you knew something was amiss.

The Art of Writing - Reading is fundamental

Reading is fundamental, the title of this post.  This is so basic that it's worth repeating, especially to a writer.  One caveat, try not to read in the genre you are writing.  The reason, you will not even accidentally include thoughts, ideas or passages in your writing that are not yours. 

Now to reading.  When you read a novel read the novel from several points of view.  The basic one, to be entertained by the story.  The second view point, see what you can learn from the author.  How does he/she handle dialogue, scenes, introductions of characters, etc?  Are his paragraphs short, long, or broken up.  Each writer has a certain style, the point of learning is not copying a style but to see how the writer handled the writing technically.  You may find fault with everything because the writer did this wrong, forgot this and should have included that, but remember you are reading a published book.  Never become so jaded or envious of this fact.

As mentioned previously, writing is technical and the more techniques you learn the more proficient you become.  My first writing teacher informed me very sternly, "learn all of the rules of writing and after you have learned them, you can break all the writing rules, and not before."

Trust me, I disagreed with him greatly, however, in retrospect and as much as it pains me to admit, he was one hundred percent right.

The Art of Writing, Theme

When you google Theme you will see the following sentence.  “In contemporary literary studies, a theme is the central topic, subject, or concept the author is trying to point out.”  This is an excellent explanation and now let's put this to work.

In 'The Regulators,' the premise is, 'no one escapes justice.'  How you show this in the course of the novel is the central theme and how your protagonist deals with the central theme makes compelling story telling.  My protagonist was not happy how justice was dispensed and this created a conflict in her.  She had one idea of justice and the writer, me, had another point of view.  However, at the end of the novel, the character reconciled with the way justice was dispensed. 

Some literary people often call the theme 'leitmotiv' when referring to the story and the development of the thematic meaning, yet in the end the writing stands by itself.

One of the first things I learned years ago in my writing class was something that our writing group  always told a new writer wanting to join our group.  "Your writing must stand by itself.  You will not be in the room to explain the meaning of what you have written."  This sound easy but holds so true. 

The Joy, Heartache and Fun of Writing

The joy, heartache and fun of writing may sound strange but think about it.  In writing you get to create characters, worlds and scenes that you, the writer is in charge. 

Let's try a little experiment.  You go the work and you have a really bad week, we all have them or had them.  You just want to scream and inflict bodily harm, however you can't.  After all this is your job and it pays certain things, such as food, housing, etc.  How do you deal with the stress?

Write.

Write a short story and create a character whose characteristic closely resemble your problem(s) in real life.  Then have that person(s) suffer an unfortunate incident that causes his/her demise.  The same holds true for something very upsetting.  I cannot guarantee that the writing will be easy, what I can guarantee is when you are done writing, you will feel relieved, and you can smile again.  You then have the option of tearing the story up or polishing the story and submitting the same for publication.  Writing is a natural way of releasing your emotions and better than drugs or alcohol any day. 

Here is an award winning short story I wrote.

THE NATURAL STATE OF BEING

The cream colored, delicately embossed envelope lay innocently enough on the simple white plate, yet the governor's seal in the upper left hand corner hinted at the importance of the message inside.  I knew what the envelope contained.

“Do you still persist in believing this nonsense?”  Gabriella asked.  Voluminous strawberry curls draped her pale face.  “What are you waiting for?  Or are you afraid to read what's in there?”

“No Gaby.  But you're wrong.”

She reached out for the object of dispute.  “Well, Lucinda, then let me do the honor.”  And she promptly used her knife to slice open the envelope and, using her thumb and forefinger, deftly removed the invitation.  I saw the cruel smile form on her face and for the first time I noticed the age lines on her pale skin as she read the message to herself.

“Read it,” Gaby uttered maliciously as she deposited the linen paper in front of me.  The black ink glared menacingly back while a tear crept down my cheek.

“In compliance with the Laws of the Sovereign State, you are hereby ordered to attend the execution . . .”  I trailed off amid Gabriella's hollow laughter that drowned my voice as the echo of her glee reverberated in the stark room.

“Lucy, can't you see?  This proves my point.  Good people don’t get executed.  Only damaged people are.”

I stirred the sugar in my cup and the sun broke through the closed window in a myriad of colors that splashed across the gray wall, dousing it in subtle, dainty hues.

“Gabriella, the natural state of being is good.  Look at it this way, a well-adjusted person will raise an alike person.  A child that is damaged by a parent while being raised will eventually go awry.  After all, when we break things, how do we glue them back together so they won’t break again?”

The screech of the opening jail door pierced in resonating agony through the silent night.  The Guard shuffled softly along the bleak corridor, afraid of waking the single prisoner housed in the Death Row compound.  The condemned person’s last night was here and a suicide watch had been posted.  The Guard was on his way to relieve the mid-night Shift.  The soft yellow light illuminated the sleeping area and he saw the rhythmic breathing beneath the blanket and the peaceful, handsomely angelic profile of the sleeper in the night.

"What now, Lucy?  You're the bright one with all the answers.”

“We have to go, Gaby.”

“I’ve told you the Governor would not grant a pardon.”

“Why should he?  The crimes were terrible and the public outcry too loud.  Remember what we learned during the trial?”

“Yes.  Yes.  Abuse, mistreatment, drugs, torture as a child, then foster homes, etc., etc.  A routine story.

“Gabriella, routine?  I don't think so!”

“So what Lucy.  Other people survived lives like that.”

I looked at Gaby.  She seemed innocence personified, but cruelty was her daily bread, and unforgiving her creed to live by.  Yet, I loved her.  She was part of me, belonged to me, and was spawned by me.  But in the last months, our arguments had become worse as the days passed and the execution date neared.  For the umpteenth time I would try to convince her that her conclusion was wrong.  “Then name me one person that survived?” 

Gaby swirled her hair in her hands, forming more and more curls as her hazel eyes, dazed, looked far beyond the window into a distant world only she knew.  The cruel smile again formed around her lips.  “You, Lucinda.”

“I don’t count.  It's much too easy of an answer.”

Thoughts of protest sputtered out.  “Well, I don’t know other people’s lives.  They do not tell me what is going on in their heads.  So how would I know?”

Bravo Shift came on, relieving the guard from Alpha Shift. “Did the prisoner pick the menu yet?”  the relief asked.

“The list of wishes was slipped outside the door.”

The guard glanced at the slowly ticking clock posted on the wall.  It was a standard, institutional issue and blended in smoothly with its drab surroundings.  A white porcelain face, black roman numerals with matching black minute hands, and a red second hand.  No gray and no doubts existed here, just starkness, clear-cut.  “Well, we better get the show on the road.  Three hours pass quickly,” he uttered as the red second hand clicked along.

The Guard unlocked the cell door, entered, and tapped the sleeper lightly on the shoulder.  Before the condemned prisoner could be strapped into the chair, a whole litany of regulations had to be complied with.

“Your ordered meal will be served shortly.  The minister is waiting along with the doctor.”

Sleep-filled eyes blinked back momentary disorientation and a yawn was the prisoner’s unspoken reply.  The guard coughed lightly to hide his discomfort with the silent reply before asking, “Whom would you like to see first?”

“Does it matter?”  whispered the prisoner.

“No.  I guess I’ll bring the doctor in first, seeing that you're not dressed.  It would not be right to bring the priest in, with you still  . . .”  The words trailed off as the guard unlocked the door and re-locked it on his way out.

“Lucy, you should have told them how it all began.”  Gaby said accusingly as her fork speared the steak and brought the juicy morsel to her lips.  “Their bleeding hearts would have understood.”  Gaby's wide-open mouth revealed perfect teeth that chomped on the meat with gusto.

“Gabriella, remember mother’s words?  ‘Don’t air your dirty laundry in public?’  I couldn’t bring myself to talk about it, besides the doctors, the police and the attorney all did it for me.”

“Yeah, but nothing beats hearing it from the mouth of the person who witnessed it.  And you were there, there is no way of denying it.”   

“You’re right.  I saw it all.  This is why I believe that our natural way of being is good.”

“No, Lucy, you’re wrong.  Besides, you’re afraid to talk about what happened and what went on.  That’s why you're using mother's words to hide behind them.”

“Gaby, I’m not afraid.  Embarrassed, yes!”  The hot coffee burnt going down my constricted throat, as the bitter memories of the past welled up in me, creating their own acid taste in my mouth.

“You're remembering, aren’t you?”

“Yes.  And it was bad.”

“You still can’t talk about it Lucy, can you?”

I looked at Gaby.  She was there when it first happened.  She saw it and she could talk about it in her matter of fact way, why not I?  “You're right.  I’m so sorry.”  Tears ran down my cheeks.  I brought my hands up to my face and resting my elbows on the table, I cried.  The pain of what I had known was as ever present as the pale moon against the black sky.

“Lucy stop it.  I can’t stand it when you get all weepy and sappy,” Gaby shouted.  “You have to do what I do.  Every time the pain comes, I act on it.  It’s simple and it works.”

“Oh child, how I wish it would be this simple.  But someone is dying today because of our pain.”

“Dying?  No, Lucinda.  Executed, yes!  And all because you did not want to talk!”

“No.  I can’t.”  I screamed back at her and blackness engulfed me as the horrid memories of the deeds surfaced.  But Gabriella’s seductive voice penetrated the fog of pain and the haze of fear in me.

“Get even, Lucy!  Get even.  That’s the secret.”

The prisoner shivered lightly as the steel stethoscope touched naked skin.  The doctor’s examination was thorough.  According to the law, the prisoner had to be in perfect health before execution.  The irony brought a smile to the condemned person’s face as the doctor pronounced, “The prisoner is healthy and ready to be executed.”

The doctor placed his hand on the head, “I’m sorry.  Please forgive me, but I had no choice.”

Hazel eyes looked up at the man, while slender fingers buttoned the shirt and in a hushed tone she whispered. “Yes,” came forth.  Relieved, the doctor waved at the guard to open the door for him.

The Warden entered the cell.  “Do you have any thing to say?”

She looked up, shaking her head in silence.

“You are the third woman in our state’s history to be executed.  I know you killed all the people, but why do I feel that you don't deserve to die?  I have to know for myself: why didn't you talk at your trial?”  The hands in his pockets were balled into fists.  His jaw was clenched and the sharp pain in his head constricted his eyes.  “If you only would have talked, they would have spared your life.”  He paused lightly before asking, “Are you ready?”

As an answer, the woman stood up, smiled forlornly, and began to lead the way to the chamber with the priest by her side.  The clock on the wall ticked and ticked as the woman walked silently toward her death on a plush, red carpet that ended in front of the open door.  She knew that the room behind contained the beckoning chair and was encircled with glass walls to allow the invited witnesses to observe the execution. 

“Lucy, look around the chamber.  Didn’t I tell you everyone asked would be here?”

“It’s the law, Gaby.  Besides, people enjoy sensationalism.”

“Did you see her?  She looks almost happy.  She can’t wait until it's all over.”

The guard snapped on the restraints and the sharp smell of alcohol permeated the air as he swabbed the marked places on her skin to clean them of body oil.  Finished cleaning the exposed areas, he squirted gel from a tube onto the dry skin, assuring a perfect contact for the electrodes.  The prisoner was ready!  The red second hand of the clock ticked with maddening determination towards the time of execution.  The hooded Executioner watched the hand move.  It was time. 

Gaby panted with fear as recognition surfaced in her.  Her hands grabbed my shoulders and the strong hold of her grip belied her fragility.  “My God, Lucy, stop her.  Don’t let her do it.  She’s killing me.  Oh please, stop her.”

The prisoner's eyes opened and acceptance was in them.  She was all of them—Gabriella, Lucinda and the damaged self.     “Gabriella, we had to stop you, that's why we never spoke.”

“You just don't understand, I had the right.”  Gabriella fought back, her body writhing, trying to escape.

The Executioner yanked the switch down.  The light flickered and finally, she was at peace.

The Art of Writing, A Premise-What If

Michael Connelly, creator of the Harry Bosch detective novels had his character in The Last Coyote, make this statement repeatedly, "Everybody counts or nobody counts.  That's it.  That is my rule."  What a lovely premise.  In a nut shell, the premise is the reason we write the short story, novel or screenplay.  

The more defined the premise, the better the story.  The premise should not be a treatise or a one page explanation, but a succinct statement.  For my novel, The Regulators, the premise is, "No one escapes justice."

How you deal in the story with the premise is what makes you a writer.  In The Regulators, the criminals believed that they successfully evaded justice until the Regulator pops up and shows the convicts the different purgatories that awaits them after their death.  And purgatories are not fun.

One caveat, you cannot change your premise halfway through the novel.  If you do, then the premise was wrong in the beginning and you now need to examine what you written up to this point.

The best way to develop or find a premise for a story, pick a subject that you are passionate about, ask what if, make a statement and then write the sentence. 

The Art of Writing

I am asked if I can teach someone to write and my answer always is, "Yes, why not."  Writing, like anything else is a skill that is learned, just like carpentry, cooking or any other profession, manual or not.  What separates is that 'soupcon' of talent and that cannot be taught.

A writer friend of mine was a skilled technician.  Her syntax was perfect so were her similes, plot development, description, everything that makes a prose great, except it was so perfect the writing became sterile.

Your syntax maybe wrong at times, you may have an incomplete sentence or have a dangling participle, but your story is alive and grabs the reader.   So join me in what I consider a compelling obsession, writing.  A solitary and lonely endeavor unlike any other of the 'many artistic professions.'

The Time of your Life

"The Time of your Life," what an appropriate song and title.

My neighbor and occasional swimming partner invited me for dinner.  During dinner we discussed various topics, one of them, his inability to accept growing old.  I guessed his age to be in the late seventies.  I asked him what he found so difficult about growing old, and his answer surprised me a great deal.   "When he was younger, he go out every night, meet women and after dinner they end up in bed.  Now he can't do this anymore because young women won't look at him anymore.  The ones that do go out with him, always end up asking him for money."

Being of certain age and relatively well-bred, I just smiled, "Maybe you just need to adjust your point of view with women."  He agreed, but could not accept the premise.  I did find out he has no family or children and is very bitter about his long ago divorce.  I will leave the analyze of his problem to professional, my issue is broader and simpler.

The time of your life is now, not yesterday not tomorrow nor a year from now.   

Senior Gene I-Aa, time and passion

A final word on time, maybe!

When we were kids we all were passionate about a particular subject and as we got older between school, life and work, the passion waned and went dormant, but it did not die.

Well I have news for you, it is time to discover and bring passion back to life. 

After all, who and what can hurt you?  Honestly.  I understand, working we needed to toe the line.  In my job, I  reported to board of directors, believe me, no pick-nick and the same held true for when I worked with for the State of Florida.  One of the greatest joy I discovered after retiring, we are fire proof. 

Enough said.  Discover your passion again and pursue it.  Don't worry what people will say.  if you don't follow your passion, the consensus will be, "Ah he/she should have.  What a waste of time."  And if you do follow, "Crazy bugger, look what he/she did with the time."

Well, what do want people to say about you?  

Senior Gene I-A, time

In the Pina Colada song, the lyrics state, ". . . me and my old lady have fallen into the same old dull routine."   Complacency and routine, so perfectly expressed. 

So let's do something about it.  How?  Simple. 

On a perfect weather day, whether you live, in the coldest or warmest part of the country, snow covered or desert region there will be a day that will make you feel happy that you are alive.  Sit outside, either bundled up or in a bathing suit, close your eyes and drink in the day.  Don't move, enjoy the sweetness of being alive and give thanks.   See if you can do this more than once a week.  Time was used greatly and just think, when your children asked, "what did you do today,"  and you respond, "I enjoyed the sweetness of life,"  what their reaction will be.

Again, no matter where you live, there are things you have not seen, explored or visited.  Pack a lunch and go forth to the unknown.  Use your GPS or map and become a tourist for a day in your city or county.  What did you do to day?  Oh, I found old headstones in the cemetery, I searched for clover leaves in the county park, I walked in the city center and remembered when the various buildings were erected.   The reaction from the questioner, I leave that up to you.

Spend your time wildly, adventurous and with passion.  Complacency and routine belong to youth and the people in between and not seniors, blessed with the time. 

  

Senior Gene I, time and money

While sitting on the balcony and contemplating retirement it dawned on me that the Senior Gene is made of two equal parts:  Time and Money!  Both items we either have too much or not enough.

Let's talk about time.  Up until retirement the average person worked forty hours a week, factor in the daily lunch and time to drive to and fro work, it comes to around fifty hours a week that were occupied and suddenly are available.  Life and our routine as we knew has changed forever.

What to do, that is the question.  For the first few months we just decompress from having worked for  fifty odd years give or take a few and getting up the same time during the week. 

We are told by experts AARP and geriatric specialists what to do and how to do it.  NO!  Do what you always wanted to do.  Fill your life with moments of happiness.  Create your routine and if it does not suit you or make you contend, discard.  We are adults, worked our entire life and the time we now have is the earned principle we accumulated for working and participating in the system for all these years.  

This is the reason behind that we exhibit at times a touch of eccentric behavior.  And why not?  We earned it!  Let us embrace the Senior Gene I and spend the time as we see fit, no matter how unconventional it may appear to our family or other people. 

Besides, your family will love you anyway and just think of the wonderful stories the relatives will have to gossip about.

Senior Car Wash

Retired, Living, Learning?  I really don't know under which title this post should be.  I do believe once we turn sixty-six, a dormant senior gene awakens, kicks in, and from now on governs many of the things we do.  Case in point.

Due to the persistent water shortage in South Florida and the expensive water bills, the condominium board of directors voted to abolish the car washing stations located through out the development.  Also, when it rains in South Florida, some of the rains can be very heavy.  Can you see where I am going?

Two days ago we had one of these very heavy downpours that lasted about fifteen minutes.  After the rain had ended, I looked at my car, the poor thing was drenched.  I grabbed a few rags and promptly went outside to wipe and dry the car.  My neighbor came out of his apartment, smiling.   "I see you are doing a senior car wash."  I was a bit surprised by this statement and asked him to explain it in more detail.

Simply put, he had lived for many years in St. Peterburg, Florida, a city well known for its senior population.  When ever the local weather station told its listener that rain was forecast for the day, the elderly people, en mass, would drive their cars out of the garage for the rain to wash the vehicle which afterwards the seniors would dry and polish.  The reason behind this behavior, saving on the water bill.

Needless to say,  smiling and shaking my head, I retorted, "I am a senior."   And I proceeded to finish drying and polishing the car. 

Critique and how to be graceful

I guess one of the hardest thing to accept is a critique.  Having belonged to a writing group, the first item a new writer wanting to join is told, "you must learn to accept critique,"  and trust me, we have had many talented writers come and then disappear.  They took the everything personal and could not separate the writing from themselves.  We writers look at our material as children.  We slave, polish, refine and sweat over what we put in the story, forgetting that the listener or reader does not have the same emotional attachment to the story as the writer.  So when a story is critiqued, we are only questioning the writing and not the person.  My first writing teacher informed his student at the beginning of the class, "bring a towel to wipe the blood of the floor."  And he was so right.

One of the benefits of learning to accept critiques it makes you a better writer and person because learning to distinguish between a personal attack and a valid statement makes you grow.

I was accepted to the Guardian ad litem program and one of the questions during the interview was, "How do you feel about being critiqued?"  I smiled and told them, "I welcome critique because it teaches me to do my job better."   

A final word, this is not something that one learns in three easy lessons, it's messy, painful and a b*&%#&, but the end results are really worth it.

What writing has taught me

I have written on what writing has taught me.  Now I am going to put a link that will take to to all the ebooks and smashwords.com.  I've posted many of my writing on this site.  Explore and let me know.  You can read the about twenty percent of the book.  This will give you an idea.  www.smashwords.com  follow the link and type in my name under search.  Enjoy

Day Two

With the blog, things are a bit rough.  I tried to sign in, and true to form, could not.  Had to contact the powers to be to be able to sign in.

Murphy's law was in full force.  

Continued Learning

I did learn an important item, you must save your blog before hitting 'Publish' otherwise what you typed, will be gone.  Oh the learning curve.

Now to what brings me joy, writing.

I started writing years ago, when computers, word processors and electric type writers were non existent and writing was done in long hand on paper.  After this, you would type your stories on a manual typewriter.  Mistakes in typing and writing were corrected with whiteout.  What a mess this was.  My fellow writers and I got very adept at cutting sentences and paragraphs and using scotch tape to piece pages together.  Those were the days.  Not Really!  Some of my pages would only be a paragraph, while others could be as long as 17 inches.  Then came the electric typewriter and corrective tape.  Whoa, what used to take ten hours could now be done in half the time and would look nice and neat. 

The next improvement were word processors.  I actually could save my work on floppy disks, 5'1/2 inches no less.  Then came computers.  Hallelujah.  Now it was getting interesting because I needed to learn DOS and I could serve on the Internet, providing I could figure out the commands to access the net. 

Word Perfect brought sanity to all the frustrated writers that could not deal with DOS.  Yeah.  Then Bill Gates unleashed Window 3 on the world, and peace reigned for writers who now had the challenge to learn computers. 

This brief excursion in history revealed that writing required me to learn computers.  I am very happy for this as in my career and school my computer skills were extremely beneficial.  So the next time, you insert pictures, graphs, headers, footers, move or delete words and run spell check and grammar think of all the writers that wrote in long hand on the back side of obsolete correspondence to save paper.

Day Three of Learning

The sign in to the blog worked.  Yeah.  There is hope after all and I will not need to label the days anymore.

Yesterday I was interviewed by the Guardian Ad Litem program director.  The interview was detailed and surprisingly long.  I answered many questions about myself and responded to scenarios.  Driving home I understood why the program is always looking volunteers.  The vetting process is more detailed than we use on our politicians and rightfully so because  as a volunteer you deal with children that are in precarious family situation.

And now to what is my joy, writing.  If you google my name you will find the many books I have written.  Through the years writing has taught me a great deal and in the ensuing days, I will share what I learned.  I welcome your input. 

First Post and Struggling

The title of the post, "Retired and Learning," pretty much conveys everything.  In the coming weeks or months, the blog will undergo changes as I learn. 

In between the learning curve, I will also post my thoughts and feeling about issues as they pertain to retired life, mine, politics, good grief, and assorted subjects.

For now, I need a break.