Great things about no longer working all the time:
1. Time to clean... the house, the drawers, the closets, the car...
2. Reading. Those books gathering dust on the shelf are getting a real work out.
3. Window-watching. Just the other day as I looked out the window, I spied three deer, a kitty cat, a turkey and a raccoon!
4. Redoing the resume. Who knew that this kind of writing was the hardest of all? But it's always good to have the thing up to date.
5. Volunteering. I hadn't been without my largest client for 24 hours before the requests for my time and energy to some worthy call came pouring in.
6. Cooking. With a tighter budget, less prepared foods means brushing up on those cooking skills.
7. Gardening. Nothing like the threat of starvation (I'm just kidding, it's not that bad ... yet) to engender a green thumb!
8. Weight loss. I suppose it's the worry, because I didn't think I'd been doing very well at eating, but I've dropped a couple of pounds since April 30.
9. Exercise. More times means more Tai Chi. Or Wii Fit. Or whatever.
10. Video games. Plenty of time now to get it right on Farm Town on Facebook or get the highest score on Scramble or Word Challenge.
11. Caught up laundry. Seems like I used to think I had laundry to do all the time, now I really am doing it all time.
12. Social networking. All of those Facebook thingies I was ignoring now have a little appeal as I try to fill the hours.
13. Reading help wanted ads. I used to read these for story ideas; now I'm looking for a job.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; you can learn more about it here. My other Thursday Thirteens are here. This is my 96th one.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Self Publishing
Monday night I ventured into Roanoke, husband in tow, to go to the Roanoke City Main Library for a talk. The event was sponsored by Valley Writers, which is a group of writers I probably should belong to but don't.
The talk was on "The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing." Becky Mushko, whose blog is the Peevish Pen, sort of emceed the event.
Becky has self-published a number of books, a couple of which I have here on my shelf. She is a good writer.
Anyway, the things discussed included real self-publishing, which involves using a printer and everything, and vanity or digital printing, also known as print-on-demand.
I wanted my husband to hear this talk so he would know what I might be getting into if I end up self publishing something.
Mostly he is concerned with numbers, as in dollars, and how much it would cost and what kind of profit you stand to make on a book.
Essentially it's a deal. If you spend a $1,000 you stand to get that as a return plus an additional $1,000. The trick, of course, is selling the books. That's always the hard part.
The other speakers were Jim Morrison, who has written and self-published a history book, Rodney Franklin, who has self-published a memoir, and Sally Roseveare, who has self-published fiction that is set at Smith Mountain Lake.
Print on demand seems like a logical way to go - less up front costs and decisions to make, for one thing.
The downfall to any of this is no editing, no promotion, and no upfront money. You have to do it all.
It was a very good talk and I will certainly ponder the information in the days and months to come as I try to steer my life in a new and exciting direction.
The talk was on "The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing." Becky Mushko, whose blog is the Peevish Pen, sort of emceed the event.
Becky has self-published a number of books, a couple of which I have here on my shelf. She is a good writer.
Anyway, the things discussed included real self-publishing, which involves using a printer and everything, and vanity or digital printing, also known as print-on-demand.
I wanted my husband to hear this talk so he would know what I might be getting into if I end up self publishing something.
Mostly he is concerned with numbers, as in dollars, and how much it would cost and what kind of profit you stand to make on a book.
Essentially it's a deal. If you spend a $1,000 you stand to get that as a return plus an additional $1,000. The trick, of course, is selling the books. That's always the hard part.
The other speakers were Jim Morrison, who has written and self-published a history book, Rodney Franklin, who has self-published a memoir, and Sally Roseveare, who has self-published fiction that is set at Smith Mountain Lake.
Print on demand seems like a logical way to go - less up front costs and decisions to make, for one thing.
The downfall to any of this is no editing, no promotion, and no upfront money. You have to do it all.
It was a very good talk and I will certainly ponder the information in the days and months to come as I try to steer my life in a new and exciting direction.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Farm Machinery
About two weeks ago, my husband decided it was time to wash and wax the farm machinery so he could use for the year.
This is his little tractor.
This is his farm tractor. It's an older model that we purchased in 1996. It was old when we bought it, actually.
This tractor belongs to my father-in-law, not to us, but the mowing machine behind it is ours. My father-in-law purchased the tractor last year (or maybe the year before that, not so long ago, anyway), and we just bought the mowing machine earlier this spring.
Time to cut hay! Onward and out!
This is his little tractor.
This is his farm tractor. It's an older model that we purchased in 1996. It was old when we bought it, actually.
This tractor belongs to my father-in-law, not to us, but the mowing machine behind it is ours. My father-in-law purchased the tractor last year (or maybe the year before that, not so long ago, anyway), and we just bought the mowing machine earlier this spring.
Time to cut hay! Onward and out!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother's Day
Mother's Day has always been a day of mixed emotion for me.
Since I am childless I will never know the joy of having a little one hand me a wilted dandelion, delight spreading a smile from ear to ear. I do not know the sacrifices mothers make, or the gains they have simply because they are a mom. I can imagine it from a daughter and wife perspective, but I can't really know, and never will.
My mother and I had a stormy relationship and there were many Mother's Days when I longed for a card that REALLY expressed how I felt.
Fortunately I never found one. I always ended up caving in to the sentimentality of it all. It was just as well.
Since my mother passed away, the day has turned into a focus on my mother-in-law, and rightly so. She is a dear, someone who puts up with a lot and asks for little.
This year we had thought to take her to dinner but the rains came and now the sun is shining. On Friday my husband looked at the weather forecast and predicted that he would be spending today from sun up to sundown in the fields cutting hay. "Get her flowers," he said, and since she is his mom, that is what I did. And he is where he thought he would be, on the tractor.
A little later today I will visit my mother-in-law and then I will venture to the cemetery to have a chat with my mother. I wonder what she thinks of me now?
To all my friends who are mothers, I hope that your children honor, love and respect you as good children should. I wish for you much joy in your sacrifice, and many wilted dandelions, brought to you with love.
"Across all these studies, the pattern of the strong crushing the weak kept repeating itself and repeating itself, so that when I was not bitterly angry, I was bored at the repetition of the patterns of persecution. When I was not desiring to be cruel with the cruel, I was a monster - like, perhaps, many others around me - who could look up torture and death without a shudder, and who therefore looked upon life without a belief in its preciousness." - Philip Hallie in Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, (1979)
Saturday, May 09, 2009
The Auction
On April 24, we headed up to Warrenton, VA, which is in the northern part of the state. It is about a four hour drive.
We planned an overnight stay.
We headed up Interstate 81.
Our first stop was The Cheese Shop in Stuarts Draft so I could replenish my supply of cinnamon, dried mustard and other assorted spices.
After we topped Afton Mountain on Interstate 64, we stopped at the lower viewing area so I could regain my equilibrium. Driving over mountains makes me a little sick.
Here there is a memorial to Virginia Department of Transportation workers who have been killed while working. Drive safe, people!
We stopped for dinner at Red Lobster in Charlottesville and then headed on our way. I forgot to take a picture.
We arrived in Warrenton to stay at this Holiday Inn Express. It was full of farmers.
Early the next morning we woke and went to the local IHOP for breakfast before heading out to our distination:
We were attending a farm tractor auction. There was a LOT of farm tractors and assorted machinery there.
These little toy tractors were the first items up for bid, and they sold for about $200 each. It was my first indication that bidding would be on the high end at this sale.
This is what we hoped to buy: a cattle trailer. My husband was not impressed with the looks of this one, though, because it was kind of beat up.
He really liked this tractor.
He liked this one too I guess because of its age or something.
I liked this tractor because it looked like a big workhorse muscle tractor.
We watched the bidding for quite a while. It was very warm - in the high 90s. I finally found a shade tree and sat under it with a book while my husband watched the auctioneer move among the machinery.
In the end, we didn't buy anything at all because the prices were very high. There were at least 1,000 people there and we saw vehicles from as far away as Montana and Alaska! I had never seen so many people at an auction before.
We planned an overnight stay.
We headed up Interstate 81.
Our first stop was The Cheese Shop in Stuarts Draft so I could replenish my supply of cinnamon, dried mustard and other assorted spices.
After we topped Afton Mountain on Interstate 64, we stopped at the lower viewing area so I could regain my equilibrium. Driving over mountains makes me a little sick.
Here there is a memorial to Virginia Department of Transportation workers who have been killed while working. Drive safe, people!
We stopped for dinner at Red Lobster in Charlottesville and then headed on our way. I forgot to take a picture.
We arrived in Warrenton to stay at this Holiday Inn Express. It was full of farmers.
Early the next morning we woke and went to the local IHOP for breakfast before heading out to our distination:
We were attending a farm tractor auction. There was a LOT of farm tractors and assorted machinery there.
These little toy tractors were the first items up for bid, and they sold for about $200 each. It was my first indication that bidding would be on the high end at this sale.
This is what we hoped to buy: a cattle trailer. My husband was not impressed with the looks of this one, though, because it was kind of beat up.
He really liked this tractor.
He liked this one too I guess because of its age or something.
I liked this tractor because it looked like a big workhorse muscle tractor.
We watched the bidding for quite a while. It was very warm - in the high 90s. I finally found a shade tree and sat under it with a book while my husband watched the auctioneer move among the machinery.
In the end, we didn't buy anything at all because the prices were very high. There were at least 1,000 people there and we saw vehicles from as far away as Montana and Alaska! I had never seen so many people at an auction before.
Friday, May 08, 2009
The Bloggers Meet Up
And so it was that yesterday at 1 p.m., on a partly cloudy Thursday, that the first ever Bloggers Meet Up in Botetourt County took place.
First on the scene? Myself and Diane, The Blue Ridge Gal.
We waited but a moment and who did we spy? Ginger, from landuvmilknhoney. And her five kids who all ran from the camera and went inside to eat pizza.
We ordered - side salad for me - and waited to see who else would show up.
Cathy from The Botetourt View appeared. Unlike the rest of us, she's a paid blogger. She used to work for The Fincastle Herald, the same paper I wrote for up until last week. We have been friends a while.
Soon, Becky from Peevish Pen popped in. Becky came from Franklin County and won the award for furthest traveled. Except we didn't really have any awards. If we had she would have won that one, though.
She also handed out information about an upcoming talk called "The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing, which will be on Monday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Roanoke City Main Library.
Becky and I are in the Roanoke Valley Pen Women together. So we've known one other for a while, too.
Soon Tanya from Around Roanoke came to visit. She didn't eat, though. I wonder if she just doesn't like pizza and grinders?
Here we all are (except me, of course, I'm taking the picture) after we've sat and talked and laughed. Our discussions ranged from why we blogged to who had the best ghost in their house. It was invigorating conversation, to say the least.
(From upper left clockwise: Becky, Cathy, Ginger, Diane and Tanya)
After more than an hour of delightful conversation, we ventured outside for a group picture.
(From left: Tanya, Diana, Ginger, Becky, Cathy and that's Rose, Ginger's girl, in the front! I'm behind the camera, of course.)
We stood outside and chatted for a while like long lost relatives at a family reunion. We knew we should go home but we weren't quite ready to let the good times go.
Apparently Diane and I were the shutterbugs of the group:
And here's the roving reporter writing it all down to make sure she got the scoop on the FIRST EVER Bloggers Meet Up in Botetourt County! (Click the link for her story at The Botetourt View!)
Stay tuned, we'll likely have another!
First on the scene? Myself and Diane, The Blue Ridge Gal.
We waited but a moment and who did we spy? Ginger, from landuvmilknhoney. And her five kids who all ran from the camera and went inside to eat pizza.
We ordered - side salad for me - and waited to see who else would show up.
Cathy from The Botetourt View appeared. Unlike the rest of us, she's a paid blogger. She used to work for The Fincastle Herald, the same paper I wrote for up until last week. We have been friends a while.
Soon, Becky from Peevish Pen popped in. Becky came from Franklin County and won the award for furthest traveled. Except we didn't really have any awards. If we had she would have won that one, though.
She also handed out information about an upcoming talk called "The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing, which will be on Monday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Roanoke City Main Library.
Becky and I are in the Roanoke Valley Pen Women together. So we've known one other for a while, too.
Soon Tanya from Around Roanoke came to visit. She didn't eat, though. I wonder if she just doesn't like pizza and grinders?
Here we all are (except me, of course, I'm taking the picture) after we've sat and talked and laughed. Our discussions ranged from why we blogged to who had the best ghost in their house. It was invigorating conversation, to say the least.
(From upper left clockwise: Becky, Cathy, Ginger, Diane and Tanya)
After more than an hour of delightful conversation, we ventured outside for a group picture.
(From left: Tanya, Diana, Ginger, Becky, Cathy and that's Rose, Ginger's girl, in the front! I'm behind the camera, of course.)
We stood outside and chatted for a while like long lost relatives at a family reunion. We knew we should go home but we weren't quite ready to let the good times go.
Apparently Diane and I were the shutterbugs of the group:
And here's the roving reporter writing it all down to make sure she got the scoop on the FIRST EVER Bloggers Meet Up in Botetourt County! (Click the link for her story at The Botetourt View!)
Stay tuned, we'll likely have another!
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Thursday Thirteen: The Big Day!
For Thursday Thirteen, here are 13 things I might say or hear (or overhear) at the first ever Bloggers Meet Up in Botetourt County.
That is today at 1 p.m. at Bellacino's!
1. It's a long drive out here! (from folks who live in another county)
2. I can't believe I'm meeting you in person!
3. Wow! You look just like your picture!
4. Why did you start to blog, anyway?
5. Snap! Snap! as cameras click.
6. This is really good pizza!
7. How long have you been blogging?
8. What is your favorite kind of blog to read?
9. Do you remember that blog you wrote about ....
10. How do you find blog topics?
11. Those are great pictures on your blog!
12. Gosh, you talk in person just like you write!
13. Great to see you! Thanks for coming!
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; you can learn more about it here. My other Thursday Thirteens are here. This is my 95thd one.
That is today at 1 p.m. at Bellacino's!
1. It's a long drive out here! (from folks who live in another county)
2. I can't believe I'm meeting you in person!
3. Wow! You look just like your picture!
4. Why did you start to blog, anyway?
5. Snap! Snap! as cameras click.
6. This is really good pizza!
7. How long have you been blogging?
8. What is your favorite kind of blog to read?
9. Do you remember that blog you wrote about ....
10. How do you find blog topics?
11. Those are great pictures on your blog!
12. Gosh, you talk in person just like you write!
13. Great to see you! Thanks for coming!
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; you can learn more about it here. My other Thursday Thirteens are here. This is my 95thd one.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Meet Up Reminder
It's happening soon! The First Ever Bloggers Meet Up in Botetourt County!
Join us on May 7 at 1 p.m. at Bellacino's in Daleville!
Ever wanted to meet the person behind this blog? Or maybe some other local blog?
I will be there and so will The Blue Ridge Gal. I hope that many of you who write the blogs I read regularly will be able to come, also.
We thought it would be fun to get together and meet.Please come, buy yourself a sub or a pizza, and sit down and get to know other bloggers in real life!Bellacino's is located not far from Exit 150 on Interstate 81. Take the north US 220 exit from the interstate and head toward Fincastle.
After you get through the mess at the intersection, go through one more light - there's a Kroger on the left. Bellacino's is on a hill on the right just a little bit beyond that traffic light.If you get to Lord Botetourt High School, you've gone too far.
Hope to see you there.
Join us on May 7 at 1 p.m. at Bellacino's in Daleville!
Ever wanted to meet the person behind this blog? Or maybe some other local blog?
I will be there and so will The Blue Ridge Gal. I hope that many of you who write the blogs I read regularly will be able to come, also.
We thought it would be fun to get together and meet.Please come, buy yourself a sub or a pizza, and sit down and get to know other bloggers in real life!Bellacino's is located not far from Exit 150 on Interstate 81. Take the north US 220 exit from the interstate and head toward Fincastle.
After you get through the mess at the intersection, go through one more light - there's a Kroger on the left. Bellacino's is on a hill on the right just a little bit beyond that traffic light.If you get to Lord Botetourt High School, you've gone too far.
Hope to see you there.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
My monthly tasks
I thought I would post a listing of what I wrote in April for the newspaper. This is about what I wrote every month. I am not including 16 other stories I wrote in April that are supposed to run in May in a special edition. So those could be added to this total.
I took this directly from my invoice to the publisher. The dates are the edition the story was printed in; most are front page stories and these are the headlines. I have blanked out a few names to protect privacy.
As you can see, this took a lot of time. I am still grappling with the idea of losing it, but I am sure that things will look up soon. Maybe even tomorrow - Mondays can be good days!
Anyway, here you go:
04/01/09 Crew starts moving dirt for ER Library
04/01/09 Photo: Eagle Rock Library construction
04/01/09 3 dozen laid off at Metalsa
04/01/09 Women’s legacies important component
04/01/09 Photo: F--- W---- with Attic Productions
04/01/09 Photo: R--- A---- at Historic Fincastle lunch
04/01/09 Photo: Board honors H---
04/01/09 Southern States delays rezoning request
04/01/09 It’s wait and see after water territory hearing
04/01/09 Septic system issues could be getting stinky
04/01/09 Overhead wiring gets reluctant approval
04/01/09 County signs lease for Boxley Fields
04/01/09 Court says garbage haulers can join suit
04/08/09 Master thesis looks at Upper James and Bay
04/08/09 Photo: I---- C-----
04/08/09 Photo: They’re off! Easter Egg hunt
04/08/09 Photo: Clean Valley cleanup – Town of Troutville
04/08/09 County budget down 1.7 percent this year
04/08/09 While unemployment rises, rate still lowest in the area/state
04/08/09 March building permits
04/15/09 B---- elected to head state’s CA association
04/15/09 Photo: J--- B-----
04/15/09 County seizes first house/asset forfeiture
04/15/09 Botetourt farmers market begins second season
04/15/09 Photos (2): Trash now goes to convenience center
04/22/09 Austin, Clinton, Wallace, Sullivan running again
04/22/09 County voters will have varying choices in June
04/22/09 Photos (2): Farmers market opens
04/22/09 Photos (2): Yard sale benefits Troutville Park
04/22/09 Former county attorney asks council to fight
04/22/09 County voters will have choices in June
04/22/09 Pen Women earn Kendig Award
04/22/09 Troutville Town Hall faces $200,000 repairs
04/22/09 $88.8 million county budget expected
04/22/09 Photos (2): British classics cruise BR Parkway
04/29/09 Stimulus means I-81 guardrails, paving
04/29/09 SCC plans September hearing on water territory
04/29/09 Motel says it wasn’t negligent in bedbug suit
+ 16 stories for special edition
I took this directly from my invoice to the publisher. The dates are the edition the story was printed in; most are front page stories and these are the headlines. I have blanked out a few names to protect privacy.
As you can see, this took a lot of time. I am still grappling with the idea of losing it, but I am sure that things will look up soon. Maybe even tomorrow - Mondays can be good days!
Anyway, here you go:
04/01/09 Crew starts moving dirt for ER Library
04/01/09 Photo: Eagle Rock Library construction
04/01/09 3 dozen laid off at Metalsa
04/01/09 Women’s legacies important component
04/01/09 Photo: F--- W---- with Attic Productions
04/01/09 Photo: R--- A---- at Historic Fincastle lunch
04/01/09 Photo: Board honors H---
04/01/09 Southern States delays rezoning request
04/01/09 It’s wait and see after water territory hearing
04/01/09 Septic system issues could be getting stinky
04/01/09 Overhead wiring gets reluctant approval
04/01/09 County signs lease for Boxley Fields
04/01/09 Court says garbage haulers can join suit
04/08/09 Master thesis looks at Upper James and Bay
04/08/09 Photo: I---- C-----
04/08/09 Photo: They’re off! Easter Egg hunt
04/08/09 Photo: Clean Valley cleanup – Town of Troutville
04/08/09 County budget down 1.7 percent this year
04/08/09 While unemployment rises, rate still lowest in the area/state
04/08/09 March building permits
04/15/09 B---- elected to head state’s CA association
04/15/09 Photo: J--- B-----
04/15/09 County seizes first house/asset forfeiture
04/15/09 Botetourt farmers market begins second season
04/15/09 Photos (2): Trash now goes to convenience center
04/22/09 Austin, Clinton, Wallace, Sullivan running again
04/22/09 County voters will have varying choices in June
04/22/09 Photos (2): Farmers market opens
04/22/09 Photos (2): Yard sale benefits Troutville Park
04/22/09 Former county attorney asks council to fight
04/22/09 County voters will have choices in June
04/22/09 Pen Women earn Kendig Award
04/22/09 Troutville Town Hall faces $200,000 repairs
04/22/09 $88.8 million county budget expected
04/22/09 Photos (2): British classics cruise BR Parkway
04/29/09 Stimulus means I-81 guardrails, paving
04/29/09 SCC plans September hearing on water territory
04/29/09 Motel says it wasn’t negligent in bedbug suit
+ 16 stories for special edition
Friday, May 01, 2009
Doors Closing, Others Opening
Sometimes things end with a huge bang, bursts of smoke and lots of noise.
Other times things end with a whimper, a whisper or an uncanny sigh.
Sometimes stuff just ends.
So it is that after working as a "perma-lancer" for the last 15 years for a single newspaper entity, my work is done.
Yesterday I received word that there is no more money for the stories I wrote and poured my heart into.
Just like that, the door closed. It was a pretty powerful slam.
Essentially I lost a major client, since I am self-employed. I have a few other folks I write for on occasion but this was my bread and butter. This was consistent and constant and I lived and breathed it.
It was also my joy. I cannot tell you what it meant to me to be the person who interviewed interesting folks and reported on them, the person who spent time at meetings and then worked hard to explain what happened so that everyone could understand it.
I loved writing my little stories, my vignettes of someone's life and the stuff that makes up the day to day news.
I did the job well, as a number of Virginia Press Association Awards will attest. I worked hard and I took the job seriously. If I said I would be at a meeting, only an ambulance ride would have kept me away.
I am told it is difficult to find freelancers who are true to their word and who will continue to produce near-perfect copy and who require little editing and oversight. But that is me. It's how I have always done things. I always tried to determine my editor's needs and I met them in the best way I knew how.
Now I will take a long hard look at myself. Maybe with a little repackaging I can find a new route. New clients and new stories of a different kind are perhaps in my future.
Maybe this time I will find a career path that will lend me down even more exciting venues. Perhaps they will be more lucrative, but I honestly have never been in it for the money.
I have been a newspaper writer for the love of the word, the ability to share and teach the public, and the pure unadulterated joy of being part of my community in a way that made sense and worked for me.
I write because it is the way I share parts of myself and the world. It is how I express what I am thinking and feeling.
It is who I am, and now who I am must be revisited.
While I am sad at this change, and a little worried about my financial future, a part of me is excited at this opportunity. My calendar, filled with reoccurring appointments in the form of town council and other meetings, is suddenly a vibrant mostly white blank, another page for me to fill.
Filing cabinets full of newspaper material will be empty, and I will have to find something else to fill them.
And maybe, who knows - this is the time to write that book.
Other times things end with a whimper, a whisper or an uncanny sigh.
Sometimes stuff just ends.
So it is that after working as a "perma-lancer" for the last 15 years for a single newspaper entity, my work is done.
Yesterday I received word that there is no more money for the stories I wrote and poured my heart into.
Just like that, the door closed. It was a pretty powerful slam.
Essentially I lost a major client, since I am self-employed. I have a few other folks I write for on occasion but this was my bread and butter. This was consistent and constant and I lived and breathed it.
It was also my joy. I cannot tell you what it meant to me to be the person who interviewed interesting folks and reported on them, the person who spent time at meetings and then worked hard to explain what happened so that everyone could understand it.
I loved writing my little stories, my vignettes of someone's life and the stuff that makes up the day to day news.
I did the job well, as a number of Virginia Press Association Awards will attest. I worked hard and I took the job seriously. If I said I would be at a meeting, only an ambulance ride would have kept me away.
I am told it is difficult to find freelancers who are true to their word and who will continue to produce near-perfect copy and who require little editing and oversight. But that is me. It's how I have always done things. I always tried to determine my editor's needs and I met them in the best way I knew how.
Now I will take a long hard look at myself. Maybe with a little repackaging I can find a new route. New clients and new stories of a different kind are perhaps in my future.
Maybe this time I will find a career path that will lend me down even more exciting venues. Perhaps they will be more lucrative, but I honestly have never been in it for the money.
I have been a newspaper writer for the love of the word, the ability to share and teach the public, and the pure unadulterated joy of being part of my community in a way that made sense and worked for me.
I write because it is the way I share parts of myself and the world. It is how I express what I am thinking and feeling.
It is who I am, and now who I am must be revisited.
While I am sad at this change, and a little worried about my financial future, a part of me is excited at this opportunity. My calendar, filled with reoccurring appointments in the form of town council and other meetings, is suddenly a vibrant mostly white blank, another page for me to fill.
Filing cabinets full of newspaper material will be empty, and I will have to find something else to fill them.
And maybe, who knows - this is the time to write that book.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Grey Gardens
I watched an HBO production of Grey Gardens just over a week ago.
I am still haunted by this picture.
The true story of Jackie O's aunt and first cousin had eluded me. I never heard of the 1970s documentary and knew absolutely nothing about these people. I watched the film because I have always enjoyed Drew Barrymore's work, though I have on occasion wondered about her choice of film.
She was absolutely fantastic in this role. Scarily so, actually. This was acting at its finest. She played opposite Jessica Lange and they were an incredible team.
In the 1930s, these two ladies were used to wealth and servants and the good life.
Somewhere along the line, things went terribly wrong.
The movie did not really give an indication to me as to what happened. They feel upon misfortune and lost their money because Dad left the house and didn't give Mom any allimony. Perhaps the documentary makes it clearer, I don't know.
The filth the women lived in, complete with cats and racoons, troubled me greatly. Obviously they were both mentally ill, but that for me needed to be clearer in the movie. The movie almost made it seem as if they thought that picking up their own trash was beneath them. So they'd rather live in squalor. There wasn't enough focus on the reasons to suit me, I suppose.
Which is the scary part, isn't it? That it can just happen... one minute you're living the good life and the next you're eating cat food. Sometimes there aren't any reasons and that makes it all the more terrifying.
The mother, played by Jessica Lange, was overbearing and dominating. She had her daughter under her fist, and the younger Edie never stood a chance. Mother Dearest was a rather scary woman as Lange portrayed her. Her daughter Edie had lots of sympathy from me but after a while I wanted to shake her into action. Obviously she could not take action, though.
In some discussions of young Edie I have read online, there is talk of schizophrenia, etc., and I can accept that. For both of the women.
That's because there was something deficit in the souls of these characters. Something strangely amiss.
By the 1970s the two were living alone in a falling-down ramshackled mansion. The city wanted to condemn the place. Jackie O and her sister stepped in and fixed the home back up.
And then some fellows came along and made a documentary, which from what I've read was an eye-opener that brought some modest fame to the younger Edie, at any rate.
I am always disturbed when I learn of people living in poor conditions, for whatever reason. It happens with greater frequency than most folks realize. I would hazard a guess that in every neighborhood in the US there is at least one home that has someone in similar circumstances. It might not be visible from the outside, but inside ... what a disaster.
But I believe these people are doing the best they can. It just doesn't live up to societal standards.
There are lists of homes with city health officials where people like firefighters are told they should not enter the home. I have seen them.
I think I live in fear of becoming a person like this. Someone beyond eccentric.
Anyway, I haven't been able to shake Grey Gardens from my brain. I am hoping this post will knock it loose from my skull.
I am still haunted by this picture.
The true story of Jackie O's aunt and first cousin had eluded me. I never heard of the 1970s documentary and knew absolutely nothing about these people. I watched the film because I have always enjoyed Drew Barrymore's work, though I have on occasion wondered about her choice of film.
She was absolutely fantastic in this role. Scarily so, actually. This was acting at its finest. She played opposite Jessica Lange and they were an incredible team.
In the 1930s, these two ladies were used to wealth and servants and the good life.
Somewhere along the line, things went terribly wrong.
The movie did not really give an indication to me as to what happened. They feel upon misfortune and lost their money because Dad left the house and didn't give Mom any allimony. Perhaps the documentary makes it clearer, I don't know.
The filth the women lived in, complete with cats and racoons, troubled me greatly. Obviously they were both mentally ill, but that for me needed to be clearer in the movie. The movie almost made it seem as if they thought that picking up their own trash was beneath them. So they'd rather live in squalor. There wasn't enough focus on the reasons to suit me, I suppose.
Which is the scary part, isn't it? That it can just happen... one minute you're living the good life and the next you're eating cat food. Sometimes there aren't any reasons and that makes it all the more terrifying.
The mother, played by Jessica Lange, was overbearing and dominating. She had her daughter under her fist, and the younger Edie never stood a chance. Mother Dearest was a rather scary woman as Lange portrayed her. Her daughter Edie had lots of sympathy from me but after a while I wanted to shake her into action. Obviously she could not take action, though.
In some discussions of young Edie I have read online, there is talk of schizophrenia, etc., and I can accept that. For both of the women.
That's because there was something deficit in the souls of these characters. Something strangely amiss.
By the 1970s the two were living alone in a falling-down ramshackled mansion. The city wanted to condemn the place. Jackie O and her sister stepped in and fixed the home back up.
And then some fellows came along and made a documentary, which from what I've read was an eye-opener that brought some modest fame to the younger Edie, at any rate.
I am always disturbed when I learn of people living in poor conditions, for whatever reason. It happens with greater frequency than most folks realize. I would hazard a guess that in every neighborhood in the US there is at least one home that has someone in similar circumstances. It might not be visible from the outside, but inside ... what a disaster.
But I believe these people are doing the best they can. It just doesn't live up to societal standards.
There are lists of homes with city health officials where people like firefighters are told they should not enter the home. I have seen them.
I think I live in fear of becoming a person like this. Someone beyond eccentric.
Anyway, I haven't been able to shake Grey Gardens from my brain. I am hoping this post will knock it loose from my skull.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Bloggers Meet Up
Ever wanted to meet the person behind this blog? Or maybe some other local blog?
There will be a local bloggers meet up on May 7 at 1 p.m. at Bellacino's in Daleville in Botetourt County.
I will be there and so will The Blue Ridge Gal. I hope that many of you who write the blogs I read regularly will be able to come, also.
We thought it would be fun to get together and meet.
Please come, buy yourself a sub or a pizza, and sit down and get to know other bloggers in real life!
Bellacino's is located not far from Exit 150 on Interstate 81. Take the north US 220 exit from the interstate and head toward Fincastle. After you get through the mess at the intersection, go through one more light - there's a Kroger on the left. Bellacino's is on a hill on the right just a little bit beyond that traffic light.
If you get to Lord Botetourt High School, you've gone too far.
Hope to see you there.
There will be a local bloggers meet up on May 7 at 1 p.m. at Bellacino's in Daleville in Botetourt County.
I will be there and so will The Blue Ridge Gal. I hope that many of you who write the blogs I read regularly will be able to come, also.
We thought it would be fun to get together and meet.
Please come, buy yourself a sub or a pizza, and sit down and get to know other bloggers in real life!
Bellacino's is located not far from Exit 150 on Interstate 81. Take the north US 220 exit from the interstate and head toward Fincastle. After you get through the mess at the intersection, go through one more light - there's a Kroger on the left. Bellacino's is on a hill on the right just a little bit beyond that traffic light.
If you get to Lord Botetourt High School, you've gone too far.
Hope to see you there.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Books: Orchid Blues
Orchid Blues
By Stuart Woods
Copyright 2002
Audiobook
Read by Dick Hill & Susie Breck
7 hours
I picked this up simply because it was read by Dick Hill. Good story.
Holly is chief of police at Orchid Beach. On her wedding day her fiancee is shot and killed in a bank robbery.
Ham, Holly's father, volunteers to help her out when things start getting weird with the robbery investigation.
Holly follows a hunch and finds out an extremist group (think that Tim McVey guy who blew up the Oklahoma federal building in the early 1990s) is responsible. The FBI is already involved but Ham ends up infiltrating the group because as an ex-super-army dude he has sharp shooter skills.
The characters involved with the group are a very scary lot. They want to take over the country.
My only quibble with the book was Holly's superficial reaction to her boyfriend getting blown away. She also has been in the Army and that was supposed to explain it but I felt like that wasn't handled as well as it could have been. But once we got away from that and into Ham's infiltration of this group the book moved along.
My husband would have liked this book, I think.
By Stuart Woods
Copyright 2002
Audiobook
Read by Dick Hill & Susie Breck
7 hours
I picked this up simply because it was read by Dick Hill. Good story.
Holly is chief of police at Orchid Beach. On her wedding day her fiancee is shot and killed in a bank robbery.
Ham, Holly's father, volunteers to help her out when things start getting weird with the robbery investigation.
Holly follows a hunch and finds out an extremist group (think that Tim McVey guy who blew up the Oklahoma federal building in the early 1990s) is responsible. The FBI is already involved but Ham ends up infiltrating the group because as an ex-super-army dude he has sharp shooter skills.
The characters involved with the group are a very scary lot. They want to take over the country.
My only quibble with the book was Holly's superficial reaction to her boyfriend getting blown away. She also has been in the Army and that was supposed to explain it but I felt like that wasn't handled as well as it could have been. But once we got away from that and into Ham's infiltration of this group the book moved along.
My husband would have liked this book, I think.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Thursday Thirteen
On this day:
1. April 23, 1985. Coca-Cola released New Coke, a product that lasted only three months. At the time I was a big Coke drinker and I tried it only to reject it. New Coke was so much like a Pepsi that any true Coke lover could do nothing but reject it. I remember my relief when they brought back the old formula as Coke Classic. Is that the last time a corporation used common sense, I wonder?
2. According to Isaac Newton, April 23 is really the day Jesus died. I think it's kind of nice to have that pinned down, since Easter moves around so much.
3. This is also the day William Shakespeare died. I used to know most of Macbeth by heart but these days I do good to remember "toil and trouble" and "out out damned spot." I haven't read Shakespeare since high school and probably should rectify that at some point.
4. In 1983, I started my first day of work at a law firm in Fincastle. I had previously worked as the "parts manager" at a machinery and tools shop in Roanoke (since I had refused to go on to college, which was stupid on my part), but I lost the job because I developed mono and had to be off work for six weeks. The boss laid me off instead of firing me but also informed me that someone who was so sickly wasn't wanted back. I hated the job so it was no loss.
5. Lee Majors was born in 1939. I had no idea he was that old. He was the Six Million Dollar Man in the 1970s and I adored that show, though not as much as the spin-off, The Bionic Woman.
6. Michael Moore was also born on this day in 1954. Moore is not the person I would have chosen as spokesperson for the poor way America has been managed of late but I have to admit he's brought out some very interesting facts and pointed out problems more so than most of us.
7. In 1635 the first public school in the United States was founded, somewhere up north (Boston). So THAT's where it all started.
8. In 1988 Pink Floyd's album Dark Side of the Moon leaves the Billboard charts for the first time in more than 14 years. I don't own this album and have no idea what is on it.
9. This is the 113th day of the year. Got your Christmas shopping started yet?
10. This is Canada Book Day. I think every day should be a book day, myself. Go Books!
11. Oh wait, this is also World Book and Copyright Day according to the U.N. I can go for that.
12. On this day I will be working. How about you?
13. It's also the night Survivor comes on in the USA. This is the only reality show I watch. This season I seem to be rooting for an Alabama cattle farmer and a former pop music star.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; you can learn more about it here. My other Thursday Thirteens are here. This is my 94nd one.
1. April 23, 1985. Coca-Cola released New Coke, a product that lasted only three months. At the time I was a big Coke drinker and I tried it only to reject it. New Coke was so much like a Pepsi that any true Coke lover could do nothing but reject it. I remember my relief when they brought back the old formula as Coke Classic. Is that the last time a corporation used common sense, I wonder?
2. According to Isaac Newton, April 23 is really the day Jesus died. I think it's kind of nice to have that pinned down, since Easter moves around so much.
3. This is also the day William Shakespeare died. I used to know most of Macbeth by heart but these days I do good to remember "toil and trouble" and "out out damned spot." I haven't read Shakespeare since high school and probably should rectify that at some point.
4. In 1983, I started my first day of work at a law firm in Fincastle. I had previously worked as the "parts manager" at a machinery and tools shop in Roanoke (since I had refused to go on to college, which was stupid on my part), but I lost the job because I developed mono and had to be off work for six weeks. The boss laid me off instead of firing me but also informed me that someone who was so sickly wasn't wanted back. I hated the job so it was no loss.
5. Lee Majors was born in 1939. I had no idea he was that old. He was the Six Million Dollar Man in the 1970s and I adored that show, though not as much as the spin-off, The Bionic Woman.
6. Michael Moore was also born on this day in 1954. Moore is not the person I would have chosen as spokesperson for the poor way America has been managed of late but I have to admit he's brought out some very interesting facts and pointed out problems more so than most of us.
7. In 1635 the first public school in the United States was founded, somewhere up north (Boston). So THAT's where it all started.
8. In 1988 Pink Floyd's album Dark Side of the Moon leaves the Billboard charts for the first time in more than 14 years. I don't own this album and have no idea what is on it.
9. This is the 113th day of the year. Got your Christmas shopping started yet?
10. This is Canada Book Day. I think every day should be a book day, myself. Go Books!
11. Oh wait, this is also World Book and Copyright Day according to the U.N. I can go for that.
12. On this day I will be working. How about you?
13. It's also the night Survivor comes on in the USA. This is the only reality show I watch. This season I seem to be rooting for an Alabama cattle farmer and a former pop music star.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; you can learn more about it here. My other Thursday Thirteens are here. This is my 94nd one.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Those Missing Days
I have missed a day here and there in posting because I've been too busy to blog.
Having said that you'd think I'd have something exciting to be blogging about, being busy and all, but no.
I have been bogged down with work. Last week I put in several 13-hour days, thanks to evening meetings (including one town council meeting that I thought would never end).
Thankfully the extra work is interesting but nothing I can actually write about for several weeks still. The nature of the work, I guess, means I feel I must keep quiet about what I've been doing until the newspaper hits the streets.
What I can tell you is that the new "convenience center" is open at the county landfill, the supervisors have a light agenda for April (they meet April 28 at 2 p.m., at the Greenfield Education Center if anyone is interested and I personally think everyone who lives here should be), people are still filing lawsuits for various and sundry things, criminals have been caught, crimes have been committed, the library construction in Eagle Rock is on-going, the kids are in school, the grass is greening, the cattle are pretty happy, the Easter bunny came and went and apparently decided to take up residence in my yard in hopes of eating my kale, and I have a dental appointment today.
By the end of next week I will be finished with my extra work and I will be able to look around and see where to go from there.
In the meantime, thanks for sticking with me and I'll try to do better with the blogging. You're great readers, even the really quiet ones!
Having said that you'd think I'd have something exciting to be blogging about, being busy and all, but no.
I have been bogged down with work. Last week I put in several 13-hour days, thanks to evening meetings (including one town council meeting that I thought would never end).
Thankfully the extra work is interesting but nothing I can actually write about for several weeks still. The nature of the work, I guess, means I feel I must keep quiet about what I've been doing until the newspaper hits the streets.
What I can tell you is that the new "convenience center" is open at the county landfill, the supervisors have a light agenda for April (they meet April 28 at 2 p.m., at the Greenfield Education Center if anyone is interested and I personally think everyone who lives here should be), people are still filing lawsuits for various and sundry things, criminals have been caught, crimes have been committed, the library construction in Eagle Rock is on-going, the kids are in school, the grass is greening, the cattle are pretty happy, the Easter bunny came and went and apparently decided to take up residence in my yard in hopes of eating my kale, and I have a dental appointment today.
By the end of next week I will be finished with my extra work and I will be able to look around and see where to go from there.
In the meantime, thanks for sticking with me and I'll try to do better with the blogging. You're great readers, even the really quiet ones!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Jane and Fred
When I was small, I had a Disney jukebox toy.
It played popular Disney songs, including
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Do Re Mi.
I tried to find a picture of the jukebox online but failed.
At any rate, I sang these songs at the top of my lungs, and with great gusto. I am sure I drove my parents crazy.
In the Do Re Mi song, I sang one line incorrectly.
Instead of:
Te, a drink with jam and bread
I sang it
Te, a drink with Jane and Fred.
Jane and Fred made perfect sense to me. Of course you would want to have tea with your friends, Jane and Fred. Why drink alone?
Even after someone told me I was singing it wrong, I didn't believe them. I was an adult before I realized I really was singing the line wrong.
I have no idea what that means but my last entry, the Do Re Mi dance thing on youtube, made me think about it.
It played popular Disney songs, including
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Do Re Mi.
I tried to find a picture of the jukebox online but failed.
At any rate, I sang these songs at the top of my lungs, and with great gusto. I am sure I drove my parents crazy.
In the Do Re Mi song, I sang one line incorrectly.
Instead of:
Te, a drink with jam and bread
I sang it
Te, a drink with Jane and Fred.
Jane and Fred made perfect sense to me. Of course you would want to have tea with your friends, Jane and Fred. Why drink alone?
Even after someone told me I was singing it wrong, I didn't believe them. I was an adult before I realized I really was singing the line wrong.
I have no idea what that means but my last entry, the Do Re Mi dance thing on youtube, made me think about it.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Easter Surprise
When I went into the Herald office last week, a basket sat on my editor's desk.
He nodded at it. "That's for you," he said.
It was not from him.
The Friends of the Park, which would be a civic group that works at the Troutville Town Park, offered up this basket of goodies as a thanks for the publicity and good press I have given the group in the past.
I was pleased and grateful because truly writing for a newspaper is generally a thankless job.
I am overcome when someone notices and appreciates the hard work that what I do often entails.
Many thanks.
*I generally don't accept gifts from people I write about as I don't think it's ethical (though verbal or written thanks and praise is always welcome). But since my editor accepted this first and passed it on, I figured it must be okay.*
*Added a little later.
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