“the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes, aww!” — Jack Kerouac
What I've Been Meaning to Say
There's so much I've been meaning to write, say, sing, dance that I've become overwhelmed and haven't written anything. Instead of veering away once again, I'll forgive myself and report less eloquently than I'd wished and simply list what I've been meaning to write, say, sing. Dancing will just have to stay in the kitchen, where it belongs.
- Perigee Moon 2012 - afternoon shadows at midnight
- Kennedy Space Center - a kid's dream realized 40 years later
- Falcon 9 Rocket - how space exploration has evolved
- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - "the Sixth Borough"
- Holding one's tongue - think of how thoughtful that is
- How amazing silence can be - proverbial pin dropping
- Not holding one's tongue - dangerous
- How some words are louder than others - fireflies vs. fireworks
- Drinking Blanton's bourbon - sipping, really
- Baseball! - the boy's final high school season
- The beach - fishermen at 6 am, sharing bait with a wounded heron
- Reading hundreds of manuscripts - exaggerating
- Longing to read the story collections and novels on my shelves, and then reading more manuscripts - not exaggerating - Megan Mayhew Bergman, Caitlin Horrocks, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Lori Ostlund, Myfanwy Collins, Claire Keegan, Nell Freudenberger, and Shannon Cain are just some of the authors whose books are waiting
- Spending far too much time on unimportant things - Facebook
- Proofing galleys - and compromising on edits
- Discovering "En Couleurs" - les chansons de Feufollet!
- Writing, not writing enough - the novel
- Thinking too much - the novel
- Submitting stories - not the novel
- Coming up with a plan - at the end of each day for the next
- Heading into days of graduations and goodbyes - how to cry while laughing
- Summertime - the weather and the song
And that list is long enough.
The 2nd Half of December - Reverie 2011
Swallowed alive by the holidays, and so in a nutshell, here are the rest of my Reverie 2011 musings. For each day’s topic, a few words of response or less.
Choice – writing
Protest – against SB5 - Ohio Workers' Rights - & for environmental awareness along the Gulf Coast
Solstice – so dark, so bright
Technology – iEverything!
Service – the Gulf Coast: wetland restoration awareness
Bizarro – miscommunications
History I – Japan and the tsunami, Gulf Coast restoration, the deaths of Liz Taylor and Amy Winehouse and Steve Jobs, violence in Arizona, revolution in Egypt, tragedy in Norway, the Brits and their Royal wedding, the end of bin Laden, U.S. troops returning home
History II – reading, writing, places to workshop and write from San Francisco to Acadia
History III – short story publications, editing work, blog posts, nearly finishing the novel, traveling on West and East coasts, children's milestone birthdays and daughter's college graduation
Dreams – teaching, traveling, finally going back home to New Orleans, writing words that others want to read and that will hopefully make a difference
Table of Contents – Chapter title for 2011 – “The Year of Seven Stories”
A Day to Delete – the day the bizarro miscommunications began
New Year’s Eve 2010 – I could’ve been home – in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl and bringing in 2011 – but I stayed alone at my desk in Columbus, writing and writing. It took an entire year for me to regret this. Serious delayed reaction. Sometimes getting-things-done at the expense of not-visiting-your-mama is just-not-worth-it. So 2012’s theme might just be, Make-Sure-There-Ain’t-No-Room-for-Regrets!
Best of 2011/The List – Reverie 2011 – Day 9
Snow-encrusted walks
Reading
Plane ride over the Sierra Nevadas
Bittersweet goodbyes to The White Stripes
Sun over Alcatraz
Writing
Wintertime workers’ rights demonstrations before the Ohio Statehouse
Revision, revision, revision
Hannah's 21st!
Paul Simon’s “Rewrite”
Nancy Zafris on Flannery O’Connor
Kentucky Derby
Roses
Heat
Stop ‘n’ Go
Friends
Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont
Writing alone and together and at dusk when the hummingbirds are searching the wide-open flowers for some answers
Secrets
Wide-plank floors
Sex with a one-armed man
Surprises
Concessions
Patience
Live Fast, Die Young
Hunkering
Lighting candles
Giving thanks
Jeni's ice cream
Walks with Atticus
Wrapping
Hannah - all grown up and saving China!
Zak's 18th!
Thinking
Considering
Congratulating
Sleeping