And this was supposed to be a calmer week. Once again, however, a single phone call upended my schedule by dropping a new deadline in my lap. In this case, we have a City event this coming Tuesday. It’s a civic thing, but happens to involve local history. Not surprisingly, I was contacted because of the Town Hall Museum. Except the list of questions involved more than just the history questions. Well, that isn’t strictly correct as technically, each component can be considered history. My initial response was we could cover the primary history part, but not the others. Then I re-thought and knew what was likely to happen. And that would be uncertainty of where to find all the answers and a last-minute come back to me. Now, this is another situation that between the museum, me being the senior writer for the local paper, and my role in Homestead Center for the Arts, I did know where to get all the answers.

So, there were four segments. That meant I had to send out emails, then go and look at some old newspaper articles, plus check a few sites for some more bits. Set up a document to put everything into. Then take all the info, distill it, refine it, and send the responses. I forgot to mention, these particular questions are for a TV spot which will probably take place prior to the event. The crews have to set up early, and if true to form, they want to shoot this piece before the official speeches. Added to the mix was I had to be careful to phrase everything in a way to make sure I wouldn’t contradict anything that would be said from the stage. And yes, I know the main ones who will be speaking and the kinds of things likely to be said. The only remaining piece is if I will be in front of the camera or if another individual will be. I’m completely neutral on that. I’ve been interviewed often enough that I’m comfortable with it, but the other individual might like to be on camera.

And this is exactly why I rarely have a week where I don’t get extra tasks to deal with.

I’m waiting for today’s Facebook posts where son and daughter-in-law express astonishment that granddaughter is 10 today (yes, she was born on a Friday the 13th). I won’t dwell on this, but she is a little pistol and we shall see what the next few years bring. From early on, she has a love of putting things together and her ability to create from Legos is slightly amazing. She has an artsy side too and because of being literally raised in the dance studio, she is now into four types of dance. Hard to know which directions she will ultimately take.

Anyway, switching gears to the opposite end of the spectrum, a dear friend called Tuesday to catch up as we hadn’t talked for quite some time. Her 72d was yesterday and she is dealing with the stubborn insistence of her father that despite an almost revolving door of hospital and rehab stays, he’s convinced he can go home and live independently. Another situation of a guy who has always been active and vibrant and over this past decade, minor things have become not so minor. We covered the usual ground of limited options and the hope everything can be handled in the best way. She has long had my book, “Room at the End”, and was hoping, as we all do, that the hard choices wouldn’t have to be made.

Another dear friend, recently turned 80, is dealing with some unexpected health downturns, but those really should be somewhat temporary although potentially taking the next 8-10 months for resolution. Not surprisingly, how to handle that is proving tricky and our circle is standing by to see what we can do to help.

So here’s to the coming ten years that will no doubt zip by faster than we are prepared for.

One of the cable shows we watch occasionally is, “A Fishing Story”. I don’t recall the exact background of the host, but in having a couple of different careers, to include time as a Marine, he fondly speaks of learning to fish from his great-grandmother. He said for him, almost everyone has a “fishing story”. Most of the episodes we’ve seen are about other veterans, but we happened to have it on this morning and the guest was a member of REO Speedwagon, a band the host has always enjoyed. In the second segment of the show, he asked how the move into the famous band occurred. The guy and a friend had been in a college band together and they went separate ways; the guy on the show playing bars, small events, and such. His friend did get into the big band and one day called. “You’re moving to California,” he said, “You’re in REO Speedwagon now.”

The simple fact is if your last name is Sinatra and you want to sing or Coppola and you want to be in the movie business, you do still need talent, but you don’t have to fight for entrance into the industry. For everyone else, somewhere along the way, an incredible element of luck is involved. The director or producer that sees something with an actor in a minor role, the teen who reads a little known book and says to his best-selling author father,  “Hey Dad, this book is really terrific, you should read it”, or however the right moment in time strikes. For most in the arts though, actually making a living will be extremely difficult and the more likely scenario is either a lifetime of a passionate avocation or a cobbled together two-or three part time jobs/multiple careers. Wait staff who get the extras work, the musician who does the bar circuit, the author who does content writing while working away at the book/play/screenplay. Many who begin with great dreams eventually come to understand this and manage to adjust their definition of success and enjoy their craft of choosing. If not, it can be bitter disappointment.

Okay, some of you already know I decided to use a different publisher for “Shades of Remorse”. At the time I did so, it was primarily because of a marketing package they were including. The trailer they developed is nice, although I’m not sure I’m seeing any effect from it. https://youtu.be/wXUthErPzh0

The essence of my displeasure is the delays in publication. The interior design took longer than I am accustomed to, plus there were some alleged software glitches that caused further delay. Then physical production of the book – which does look nice – took me past the holiday market I wanted. Then the Kindle version took another absurd amount of time and was only made available Monday. That put start-to-finish time from when I sent the file in from Sept 6th to February 10th. They were pleasant enough people to deal with and the cover came back quickly which is part of why I didn’t anticipate these other delays. In truth, over the years I have used seven other publishers. The one I really liked suffered the common situation of successful small businesses. They were acquired by a very large business with the usual line of, “You can operate much as you always have; just as part of us.” Right, that lasted for about two years, then they were completely absorbed by the large entity.

Anyway, the e-book is out and I will have to see if maybe the publisher also did the format for Barnes and Nobles. That doesn’t usually happen and I don’t really expect it as Kindle definitely has the major market share. Ah well, another lesson learned.

It is a known expression and with some of the recent headlines about Big Pharma, lifestyles, etc., this is not about politics, but more about life choices.

Those who follow the blog know I often talk about being overweight and finding foods that are carb friendly. I am not diabetic, although my sister and nephew are. The lower carb issue is for basic weight. In essence I have been a yo-yo dieter since age seventeen which means a lot of years. Back in the day it was a constant struggle with 5 pounds and that amount steadily increased as I aged. Being in the Army was tough because that was an unrelenting thing and yes, after I retired, I slipped up until the struggle was with an extra 10 pounds. Then, for reasons that aren’t important, I really went out of control about 18 years ago. I came back down some, but still need to lose another 30 pounds.

What does that have to do with the above subject? High blood pressure does run on my paternal side and my doctor put me on medication years ago. She added a second one and later a statin for cholesterol. We have these constant one-way discussions about how if I would lose the weight and cut out more foods that I like, we could reduce the meds. Yes, I know that, and yes, I do still work at it. I have an exercise program of six days a week and I have given up greatly on a number of foods I enjoy. The simple fact is I don’t want to go to the kind of diet that I know will work. I did enough of that. Will I someday say, “Yeah, okay, I’ll  do it again”? Maybe. I certainly won’t do so because of lecturing. On the other hand, I am not big on lots of medications, but these are a conscious trade-off for me.

Okay, having now realized the long gap between posts, it’s the usual story, plus a little. I had hoped this year after the holidays, things might be a little slower and I might have resolved a couple of issues that demand so much of my time. Apparently not.

I did have good reason to think this; I merely miscalculated being able to accomplish tasks that are linked to resolution of the issues. Since these tasks are out of my control, that means – news flash! – I have to wait on other people. Sigh! In other words, I may or may not get my resolutions so will try again next week to set things into motion. One item has been resolved, but that was an extra “pop up” anyway. Another I thought was resolved has come a little unraveled and might perhaps be back under control after a meeting next week. Ah well, this is why I have a category in my topics of, “When Real Life Interferes”.

I do have an author presentation this evening which is the first one in a long time. I  enjoy these and I am going to contact the nearest County library branch to see about maybe doing one there. While libraries won’t carry my physical books, I will see if the local folks have a choice about e-books. If controlled at County level, I don’t think I’ll have much of a chance, but I won’t know if I don’t ask.

Anyway, the topic this evening is, “Mechanics of Murder”. I’ve discussed this in previous posts about how to decide which victims will be killed off and how. I may have mentioned when I began “Shades of Remorse”, I hadn’t planned a large body count. Turns out I had to kill off six more than the original two. This is the kind of thing that can happen as they story develops. However, only one of the extras was sort of a good guy.

We once again were fortunate – although twice is more correct. Hurricanes Helene and Milton went north and west of us with rain and wind here. While there was some flash flooding, a few tornadoes, there was no appreciable damage in the area. Our hearts go out, especially in the “perfect storm” disasters of Tennessee and North Carolina. Many within the farming community here have strong ties because even though we grow amazing things all year, summers are too hot for most produce. Traditional produce like lettuces, tomatoes, corn, etc., come here in the summer from those states. That’s why there are the connections a bit north. In addition, a lot of people who have lived here for years decide the summer heat and cost of living are too much and relocate into Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. In Mother Nature’s way of irony, another reason for some who moved was to get away from hurricane areas.

On the municipal side, we send power people and as many first responders as can be spared. These are the times you hear heart-warming and heart-breaking stories and in the instances of those who loot or otherwise try to take advantage, we only hope they will all be caught and dealt with accordingly. We do still have the rest of October to get through and while November is still “in the season”, storms that late are really rare. Of note, that does not mean I am challenging Mother Nature to prove me wrong.

As holidays approach we have some yearly tasks to attend to. I have one of our friends who has a cleaning services and moving/storage company come clean up the exterior of the house and the hardscape in back. When we put the pool in, we took out the little grassy sections from the edge of the house to the fence. Even though we sweep periodically, enough dirt builds up to require power washing and while Hubby has done it in the past, it really is worth the money to hire someone. Plus, it helps out friend’s business.

I am in the midst of both trying to catch up from trip and discovering the errors I made in thinking I had closed the loop on certain thing prior to our departure. So far, of the two, both have been recoverable with a dollop of embarrassment.

In reality, in setting the dates I did, I overlooked one other critical task I would need to deal with in September/early October, but back when I set the dates, I thought both the major events of Sept 28th and Oct 17th would have taken place in July and August respectively. Changing those dates due to unexpected issues are actually what jammed things up so badly. While we do intend to plan the annual Art and Artisan Show for the first weekend of October for 2025 onward, the museum fundraiser (if we have one next year) will be held in July. That separates the two enough to give me breathing room.

Hubby continues to post wonderful photographs from the trip and people are really enjoying them. As always, he has to work through the 1,500 he took to decide which ones to actually process. That’s the whole deal of digital cameras where a photographer can take hundreds of shots quickly, then use different software in post-processing. That is the extent of my knowledge of the subject. He plans to do another book of our trip like he did of the trip to Disney. I don’t remember which company he uses for it, but they do a nice job and it’s not terribly expensive.

We have the rain bands from Hurricane Helene. It’s going up the Gulf side and way up into Georgia and Tennessee. That means lots of rain, not much wind for us and at least this time, Houston may be spared. Not sure about my brother and sister-in-law in Mandeville though. Will check on them later this morning.