These are the thoughts of a Texas transplant in West Michigan who makes his living as a newspaper reporter by evening, and a struggling novelist by day.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

lost and urricanes

just got through watching the season opener of Lost. geez, it realy left me hanging. who the hell is desmond? why is he on the island, brother? i dunno know. and what's up with all this '80s puters and records? this dude's living in the dark ages.

certainly with part of the crew on the raft (on shown today) and the rest on the island, this could really divide the time between both segments. damn them! of course, this will also keep the show running a little longer because less time will elapse in "lost" time.

very satisfied, though. i wonder who won the bet between krista and mark. she left with a folded piece of paper that had the "spoiler of what was in the hatch. mark had seen it on some internet thing. if he's right, krista would buy him dinner. if it was wrong, mark would have to get her something. find out tomorrow at work.

this hurricane is on my mind. my whole family is in the area. i know my mom and dad, linda and my bro's family all live well inland from the texas coast but still. this hurricane looks like a monster out there. it's amazing how in two days, it's grown to thsi category 5. i think after this hurricane, they might consider adding a sixth category.

there are the uncles, aunts and cousins in corpus that concern me. i know uncle elias had bene placed in a nursing home in pleasanton, and he should be away from most of the hurricane's winds and rain. i dunno what the others are doing. i think they're better off going to the ranch and staying with Mine. at least they will be further inland. i talked with jessica today. she was on her way to dallas with todd and aiden. school had bene cancelled and todd couldn't work, so they decided to leave to higher ground. when i was talking to her, she said traffic was at a crawl up north away from houston. they were taking back roads to dallas.

i still have friends in corpus, though. i haven't talked to rose to see what she's going to do. i think a call will be in order today. they might consider going to san antonio. and there's lilly. they might go south to the valley, where it might not be that bad. and then there's my old friend rosy in refugio. she's nearby too. i hope she's gettin out too.

estimates say matagorda bay between galveston and and corpus. if it does strike in there, at least it's not a highly populated area like new orleans. most of the texas gulf coast if not too populated, except for the corpus area and further north along houston and galveston and of course the southern tip on texas with brownsville.

i gotta admit i'm a little scared for my folks, despite them being inland. i suppose some relatives will ride out the storm with them at home. they've done it before. and it's a good thing my dad had his chemo this week and that he's doing well right now. it would be tough if he was in bad shape right now. then, i'd really be freaked out.

well, let's see what the next few days bring.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

carmen deedy

i had an interesting assignment tuesday. the library hosted this picture book author, carmen agra deedy, who gave a presentation on her book "the yellow star."

to be honest, i had never heard of deedy, despite her appearing on NPR and having won some awards. i expected a bland talk about some book or her life or something.

i was pleasantly surprised. what i found was a talkative woman who is a natural storyteller. we spoke prior to the presentation and found her an engaging conversationalist. the presentation proceeded with her detailing how she wrote "the yellow star." it was a fascinating process filled with ups an downs. she had the auditorium in stitches.

i liked that she brought in her cuban culture into the presentation. it provided both humor and perspective on her life and her life while writing the picture book.

afterwards i made my way up to her and said my goodbye. she told me to get a book, compliments of herself, and she'd autograph it. of course the evening couldn't go smoothly without me acting like a bafoon. she said to go by the bookstore and pick out a book and to tell them she (deedy) would cover it. i had to say, 'any bookstore i town?' she meant the small room near thea library auditorium where they were selling her books. jeez, what a dork i am.

anyway, she ended up signing the book for me.

but what she did went a long way. in her presentation she said she tok years to write a 32-page picture book. i think i'm going to have to be more patient with myself and my writing, instead of rushing headlong into something and then being disappointed when i'm struggling.

it's something dawn's already told me anyway.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

the rolling stones

ok, so it's taken me until my mid-30s to discover the stones. yeah, i'm lame, i know. don't remind me. i got into the beatles some years back when dawn introduced me to Abbey Road and Lennon's greatest hits.

but for some reason, i never got into the stones besides the usual songs i'd listen to back in texas (satisfaction and start me up) and those dont' count. so i started hearing steones' songs on the radio every time i'd turn on the radio. i thought it was destiny that maybe we'd see them in concert. that probably isnt' going to happen unless we win free ticket (too expensive). so next best thing: greatest hits.

check herrick and it didn't have any greatest hits or any of the libraries in the system. i asked around and nothing. finally asked mark at work and he said he had the greatest hits 40 licks. it took some searching but he finally found it in a cabinet and i now own a copy.

it rocks like nobody's business. i like the bluesy style of their songs. i'll admit they're loud sometimes and many times their music annoyed me because of its loudness. but now, that's put aside and i listen to them for the music itself. as jim hayden (the biggest beatles fan i know) said about the stones: they're all sex, drugs and rock n roll. they are.

never got to see the beatles (obviously) but since the stones are still around, i'd like to see them some time. something to tell the cats when we're old.

Monday, September 19, 2005

sunday night

or should i say monday morning. jeez, it's damned late, but here i am still at this thing. i thought i'd post. i'd been a freaking week since i posted. shame on me.

got back from peg's late. she invited dawn and me for dinner. great meal. and we got to meet her son and some of his friends. then good conversation.it always is good.

dawn's back at work. school started two weeks ago and she's had several gigs subbing. i'm glad she enjoys it.she found her niche after she got the hang of it last year.

me? still doing my thing. season's changing around here. air cooler and leaves are either falling or changing. changing really early, too.supposed to be because of the dry conditions. who knows. and since the atmosphere around is changing so is the atmosphere at the paper. seasons affect everything and everyone. moods shift. i think at this point we know winter's coming and we must take full advantage of the time left to be out and about, enjoy the cool air and the sun, our skin still feeling sulinght on it, before it pales for the following five months.

there is such a closed in feeling when winter arrives, especially the snow. it's sorta claustrophobic at times and everything is small, enclosed. but there is still time to spread the wings and take the deep breath, let the cool air hit the face with solid force.

it's still good to hear the boats out on the lake. soon enough the roar of their motors will sound no more -- at least for half the year. the sound of children will no longer esonate thorugh kollen park, their laughter will cease, penned up in their throats, confined to their rooms.

and the tiny creatures will be gone, hiberating for the winter. squirrel chatter is muffled and mute. birds' calls coming out only when food is plentiful.

so for now, we'll have our fun, we'll do what we have to to enjoy the outdoors.
and the weekend is gone. the week looms ahead. meetings and such, scribbles and notes, stories and gripes. oh well.