Author Archives: Charlie Hudson

About Charlie Hudson

Off with my combat boots and onto writing best describes Charlie my two careers. Born in Pine Bluff, Ark., and raised in Louisiana, I count myself as a military veteran, wife, mother, freelance writer, and author. What was intended to be a quick two years in the Army became a 22-year career instead, and somehow in the process, I discovered that I was an inadvertent pioneer by serving in several positions that had previously been held only by men. By the time I was in Desert Storm and later Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, women in leadership assignments was more widely accepted. My love of writing never left me though whether it is a short article that highlights an animal rescue group, penning the stories of a female police detective in the Florida Keys, or presenting issues about aging that Baby Boomers need to address, or working on a corporate proposal. When my husband, Hugh, also retired from the Army, we relocated to South Florida where we can both enjoy the underwater world in dive sites all around Key Largo. We do break away though to still travel, and especially visit the Washington, D.C. area where son Dustin is a professional dancer and lives with his wife, Samantha.

Gap in Writing…..

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In the strictest sense, it is not that I have an actual gap in writing as I’m still doing one, often two, occasionally three articles a week for the community paper. Since 1997, I was publishing at least one book per year and frequently a novel plus a non-fiction (a few co-authored). For those who may be less familiar with my writing, I have three series in novels and some stand-alone as well as the non-fictions. When people ask me how many books I’ve written I have to pause for a count. It comes up to 15 novels, 3 non-fiction, and 4 co-authored (https://www.charliehudson.net/books.html)  I have mentioned before that swapping between a novel and non-fiction near simultaneously was never as issue for me as they are distinctly different in approach. Okay, not an issue from a writing perspective; time management was another aspect.

Anyway, a series of things – again as I have either mentioned or alluded to in the blog – have occurred over the past two years to result in me not having an active book project for the first time in decades. This fall into two categories; 1) real life does interfere sometimes, and 2) priorities can get shuffled around. Part of it is the “Small Town” Quilting series was pretty much intended to be a short run of four books and I closed that out. I have now completed four books in the “Shades” and “Chris Green” series and while I haven’t closed either out, the idea I have for “Shades of Remorse” is a bit tricky. I have to use a technique I haven’t done before and I am not yet clear on how I will do it. I am getting closer though and think I’m ready to tackle it later this year which will put publication in 2024. With that said, I now also have to do some of that re-prioritizing of the time management part.

 

Of Time and Grief…..

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Emotional content alert. If you have followed the posts with me all these years, or even fairly recently, you know I do cross into occasional emotional areas either through musing or making a specific point. Several individuals on Facebook have recently experienced the passing of loved ones. It is difficult and even though we all understand we will lose our parents or another older relative/friend someday, the time and quite frankly the manner of, is painful. In some cases, it is somewhat sudden, in others the pain is worsened with lingering and debilitating illness.

We are coming up on the first anniversary of our father’s passing and in some ways, his decline was the “best” you can hope for. The unexpected part was the passing of my stepmother before him as statistically speaking most men don’t lose two wives. (My mother had always had health issues and actually passed away a few days before her 61st). However, the point with my father was even though he did have short-term memory problems, he had come to manage those and he never reached the stage to where he didn’t know who people were; he might call someone by a wrong name, but he knew them in context. After a mild stroke, he recovered quickly and did opt to use a wheelchair rather than try to go back to a cane or walker because he could get around easily in the chair, in and out of bed, etc., and he considered it to be more stable. The assisted living facility he was in was nothing fancy but well organized and staffed. He never had any kind of condition that caused him continuing pain and when I was back for his 95th birthday, my brother later used the term of “winding down”. The same was true for his 96th and not long after that, he was placed under hospice. This was a case of nothing specific; rather an administrative action to ease things for when the day came.

His 97th birthday did go as well as could be expected and he hung for about an hour in the gathering. It was a few months later when the call came that we thought was “it”. I relayed that in my blog posts then about how after rushing to get to Louisiana, he had rallied. He was seemingly unaware of why everyone had come in for a “surprise visit”. That did give us a chance to make/refine certain arrangements.The private time I had with him was mostly watching him sleep in his recliner, but that is normal in these situations. My stepsister and husband who lived in Texas were working remotely at the time. They stayed and the other “steps” lived in town or close by. The end came quietly a couple of weeks later. So for those going through grieving now, it does get better with time.

Extra Busy Week…..

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The days have been a bit extra jammed lately between helping a couple of people out more than usual added to the already generally full schedule. In fact, I am on my way shortly to cover an second piece for the community paper. This popped up late yesterday and it’s something Hubby would ordinarily cover. It’s an important infrastructure project that is part of a multi-phased program and he covered a critical first part not long ago. He had something else planned for today he couldn’t change and I had to juggle my day a bit to make it work. This happens to be what I call “no creativity required” because it really is a “who, what, where, when, how” piece. My one hope is they have some kind of written program or more detailed press release as there are likely to be at least a few people I am not familiar with and trying to properly identify them for the photos might be tricky. Anyway, that will take care of my piece for next week. I actually have a feel-good one I’m working on, but it isn’t time-sensitive. There are weeks when the editor needs something additional and this is the kind of piece that works well for that.

Continuing on in that vein, one of the reasons I am valuable to the paper is because I am always out and about in the community and run across – or am told – about these kinds of things. Naturally, I am occasionally approached with a topic/event that isn’t suitable, but as a community paper, highlighting local successes or events the public can share in is important. As I have noted in several posts, I have gone to assignments reluctantly, not aware of how heartwarming, uplifting, exciting, or just cool the story would turn out to be.

“You’ve Got A Friend”…..

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I have posted before about attending concerts at our Seminole Theatre. We get some headliners and occasional one-tier up performers, but for musicians, it is primarily “tribute band/singers” those performers who play the music of a particular band or individual musician. All the ones we’ve attended have been quite good and last night was Sweet Baby James, a singer who does James Taylor songs. He was excellent and like many who do this, they devote a lot of study to the band/individual and often share those stories.

Last night was no exception as he saved, “Fire and Rain” and “You’ve Got A Friend”, to close out the show. What he shared was something I suppose was known back when the songs came out. James Taylor struggled with depression much of his life and when he was away in England making an important album, his dear friend “Suzanne” took her own life. Other friends agreed they should not tell him until his return because they were afraid he wouldn’t be able to cope with the news and focus on this important work. Thus the line in “Fire and Rain” of not knowing Suzanne was gone. It is an incredibly sad song with the other line of, “there’s been times when I could not find a friend”. He and Carole King were very close and apparently often shared band members as they were doing their albums. After hearing “Fire and Rain”, she wrote, “You’ve Got a Friend”, specifically for him to let him know he could always depend on her. He asked to be allowed to record it, and they both did so on their respective albums. Ironically, it was the only Number 1 hit he ever had although many of his songs did rank high on the charts.

There was a nice crowd for a Wednesday and everyone was impressed.

Rodeo Weekend Again….

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The expression of, “This ain’t my first rodeo,” is of course only applicable to people who understand that rodeo really is a way of life. Not ours, yet I’ve lived in a couple of places where you can learn about it. There have been lots of different movies depicting the mindset; some of which have at least accurate segments. And so this is the weekend for Homestead with the 74th rodeo founded back in 1949. There have only been three years of interruption; one relatively early in the history; the year Hurricane Andrew destroyed the grounds; and 2021 due to COVID. Apparently it is a sell-out crowd for part of the time. It kicked off Friday night, was held yesterday afternoon, and concludes this afternoon, Jan 29th. I’m not attending this year, but Hubby will be there to shoot the event. He does get some amazing photos, even though he is definitely not a fan of horses. We did go for a while to the Blue Jean Ball last night. That’s one of the traditions and is the main fundraiser for whichever woman’s group holds it. The Homestead Soroptomists took it over a few years back and it’s always a fun time. Who provides the food also changes out periodically and when you’re serving a couple of hundred (or more) people, it can be tricky. It is buffet and there is the dinner option or just come after for music and dancing. Texas Roadhouse had it this year and they did include a chicken option. I was glad to see that as I’m not a big prime rib fan. I like it from a flavor perspective, but I generally find it too fatty to want to deal with. Anyway, the food was good and the band was too. We don’t stay long and the crowd was pretty much at capacity as we left.

Announcement of the Rodeo Queen took place on Friday although I didn’t catch who it was. Unlike some contests, the Rodeo Queen is determined by who brings in the most ticket sales. A couple of months before the event, posters go up around town and on social media and the contestant often make the rounds of other events to garner support. All are accomplished riders and carry on a long tradition.

I know there are people who object to rodeos, but in reality the animals are well cared for because there is a very special bond between owners even though the horses and bulls for riding aren’t what one can call “cuddly”. They do each have their own spirit.

Becoming That Age…..

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Semi-emotional alert. I say “semi” because some of this is simply recognition of our aging and some is more difficult. When I wrote, “Your Room at the End: Thoughts About Aging We’d Rather Avoid”, (Charlie Hudson’s Books) I did sequence it to where the most intense part was upfront as the whole idea was to deal with those things first. Part II is lighter in general. A conversation the other day with five or six of us discussing upcoming birthdays is part of what keyed this post. We all have various issues although we are also in pretty good shape. One unfortunately is going through a terrible bout of arthritis and they are working a treatment plan for her. We all of course can’t do the kinds of things we were able to 20 years ago and except for one of us, we take at least a couple of regular medications. Joints are stiff and so forth.

One husband passed away not long ago; not unexpected considering overall health issues, but there was not lingering illness and most of the family was able to gather in order to say good-bye. There will be a memorial at some point and will no doubt include many stories of what was a life well-lived.

A couple of other friends have moved away to be closer to adult children understanding the time will come when proximity will be better for everyone. We miss them while recognizing the practicality of the decision. One, not involved in this particular discussion, recently did the opposite of relocating an older parent and that has come with some “bumps along the road”. It does seem to be stabilizing though.

For other friends, there are some “routine” things they once took for granted and can no longer do. This is tougher and it’s rarely easy to adjust to. The phrase, “Growing older isn’t for sissies”, exists for a reason.

 

More Tech Troubles…..

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Hubby was always a fan of Bill the Cat with his “Arrrrgh..” exclamation for various situations. I am definitely having an “Arrrrgh..” situation. Back on Christmas Eve I discovered my computer was failing. We did some workarounds and bought a new computer. Just as I was getting mostly used to the differences in it, my main printer died. Really? I mean really? Fine, replaced that the other day with the usual transition woes. I’m not even going to get into Monday’s frustration when we tried to run a hybrid Zoom meeting using my new computer. Let’s say there were multiple problems which we think have been resolved.

This morning – and at least this is the one day this week I could deal with this – my new, spiffy computer would not come on. I tried the usual before bothering Hubby who did have morning boat which meant he couldn’t help any more it if he couldn’t get it going. He had no luck either and I had a Chamber of Commerce breakfast. So pack up the computer and go see the Geeks after the meeting. Fortunately, a tech was available and even thought for about 20 minutes there was an easy fix. Not happening as it turned out, and worse, it could take 2 or 3 days. As with lots of people, I have become so dependent on the computer that 2 or 3 days is going to be really hard to deal with. Now, if Hubby can fix me up with his laptop again and if he didn’t erase my files from the external hard drive he set up for me a few weeks ago, that will be mostly workable.

While I have my small travel computer, for some odd reason, I can’t connect to wireless on it upstairs. That of course makes no sense, but it doesn’t much matter. He gets in a little earlier today than if he had afternoon boat and I will do my best to let him catch his breath a bit when he gets home before he tackles trying to get me a temporary fix. I also really hope the Geeks come through with.

Chilly, But Manageable……

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Thursday started quite cool and did make it back to the high 70s with sunshine. Water temp is at 73 so a lot of locals stay out of the water in Jan and Feb. I missed diving in early December and knew if I didn’t go Thursday the odds were I would not make it out in Jan either. Visibility was not great on the first dive although better on the second. In other words, conditions were on the margin for me, but doable. We didn’t see anything big on the first one even though I did find a hamlet fish which I hadn’t seen in a long time. There were also blue parrots along with the more common type and three midnight parrots did go by. One very large barracuda was tucked back under a ledge and I couldn’t get to the other divers in time to show them. There were quite a few fish around for a pleasant if not great dive. We went to the wreck of the Benwood next; always reliable as it’s been down since WW II as a thriving reef. Hubby found two turtles; always fun to watch. One has been “in residence” for a while and the other was in a separate section of the wreck. There were lots of butterfly fish to include a banded one, the type we see less often. Quite a few trumpets as well as a pair of trunk fish together, plus a file fish in the last bit of the dive. I looked everywhere for an eel to no avail. Two of the divers did see a nurse shark although I’m not sure where. I always enjoy seeing rock beauties and little chromis.

I doubt I’ll be out in February as my schedule and weather don’t usually coincide. Winds can pick up a lot causing frequent choppy seas if not out-and-out cancellations. The latter part of the month might be good; just have to wait and see what happens.

Rock Beauties are the smallest of the angel fish we have on our reefs.

Chromis are seen on most of the local reefs.

Of Rahm Schnitzel and Other……

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One of the things about travel, whether living somewhere else or as a tourist, is learning about new food. As I’ve mentioned before, I grew up in small towns in North Louisiana and we didn’t travel far for vacations. Our cooking was basic and we certainly didn’t have access to different cuisines, although there was Mexican due to agriculture, and some Cajun. When we went to the big city, we were far more likely to go to the Picadilly Cafeteria than any thought of say one of the few Italian restaurants. I’m sure there probably was a Chinese restaurant somewhere, but again, not anything we would have known about.

My first airplane ride and foreign encounter was the summer session in Canada followed closely by the year I spent in France. I detailed the French part in previous posts. While I was wasn’t overly adventuresome in what I was willingly to try, there was a definite expansion of my tastes and I did become accustomed to more seasonings/herbs, and cooking techniques. Later, my initial Army training was at Fort McCellan, AL, so no great culinary changes there from where I grew up. Going to Maryland though included lots of fresh seafood. (Being in North Louisiana with limited truck transportation back then meant mostly freshwater fish and little shellfish).

My assignment after training to Germany is where I broaden my preferences in both food and wine – well, beer, too. German food has quite a range and Italian, Chinese, and other cuisines were commonplace, although I didn’t venture into the Middle Eastern ones. Anyone who has lived in Germany is aware of how many ways schnitzel is prepared. The basic meat is pork or veal and one of those is Rahm which is similar to country fried steak. In fact, the large German population in Texas introduced the meal with it changing from pork to cubed steak due to that cut of beef being more available. Our Publix doesn’t always have cubed pork and I noticed it the other day. I picked some up and that’s why Rahm Schnitzel is what we’re having for dinner. I admit I’m not making the sausage gravy from scratch and am using the prepared version instead.

Humming Bird Briefly……

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One morning while the kids were here, daughter-in-law spotted a hummingbird. I though she was mistaken at first because we hadn’t seen one yet. We don’t have the feeder as out it became rather nasty sitting out over the summer and I’m not sure it’s properly cleaned or if it needs to be replaced. Anyway, she was correct and we all saw it (less Hubby who was teaching). The thing is though, that was the only time. We are still somewhat puzzled as to why the neighborhood barely a mile away has hummingbirds year-round and at least up until now, we have only the migratory ones Nov-April. Last year, the two we had actually spent as much time in the front yard as in back so we didn’t see them very often.

We do have lots of butterflies and bees as the flowering shrubs in back are densely planted and now do overlap with each other to make pretty much a continuing stretch along the back fence. I still don’t know the name of all of them, but we have the Chocolate Raspberry which are kind of a trumpet type blossom, the giant milkweed which has grown very large, then some kind of red blossom – there may actually be two different kinds, and a yellow one. There will be times when we have as many as half-a dozen butterflies flitting about and always a few. They are predominantly the zebras, monarchs, a small yellow I don’t know the name of, and three or four other varieties. The bees are constant throughout much of the day. Granddaughter was a little concerned and we explained they were just there to gather pollen and wouldn’t try to sting.

We will keep close watch for the humming bird and we do still have the flock of green parrots that come over about once a day as they roam between neighborhoods. We usually have two or three at a time and occasionally as many as a dozen. Even if we don’t happen to see them because of the angle they are at, they are easy to hear.