Almost A Month To Go...Until Fyrecon 3!

I heard a couple of radio ads for next month's Fyrecon 3 today. They're great and they got me excited for the event. The third incarnation happens June 20 - 22 at the Weber State University Davis Campus in Layton. It's such a perfect place to hold a conference.

Of course, I'm biased to the location. It's where most of the classes for my master's degree were held. Back then (and it was only ten years ago...) there was only one building. Now there's two. Another reason I like the location is because it's only 10 - 15 minutes from my home. After attending a slug of conferences in Utah County, I'm all for holding more up north.

I know I hype this particular conference each year. As a writer with some success, I like attending events where ego doesn't drive everything. Truth be told, most of the conferences I attend there's not a lot of ego involved, and if there is, I usually don't feel it. With Fyrecon, there's a real sense that you can hang out with successful writers and artists. You can also spend time with people just like you who have normal questions about writing, publishing, editing, and marketing. There's not a lot of opportunities for your average person to have access to this much information. It's unique and wonderful.

Schedules are being finalized now. You can, by accessing their website (click: HERE for the Fyrecon website), to see the Master Guests who will be teaching at the conference. I've attended panels with many of them--they're knowledge and experience is amazing! Definitely worth the cost of admission.

I plan on writing more blog posts as the conference gets closer. But, if you're looking for a good conference to attend--even for your children who are interested in writing and art to attend--please check out Fyrecon. We're almost a month away!

Missing Mom On Mother's Day...

The older I get, the more my friends go through the same thing I did eleven years ago. 

The day - Mother's Day, 2008.

That was the first time in my life I spent Mother's Day without my mom. Sure, I had been away from her on a couple of those Mother's Days, but that Sunday in May of 2008 no plane could have taken me to her, no car or train or boat could bring us together. She passed eleven months earlier.

And because of social media, I can keep in touch with thousands of friends, and millions of strangers expressing the love and appreciation for their mothers, grandmothers, wives and sisters. Personally, I love reading all the posts--even from those I don't know--of regular people telling one of the most important people in their life how much they love them.

Social media allows us to see the good things that happen to people, but we also get to share their pain and heartache. This year, millions will log on and tell a story how this year is different, this Mother's Day has forever changed for them and their family. Because this year, their mother, their matriarch, their rock, is gone, and they face a day full of unknowns. They've never had a Mother's Day where they can't visit, call, or send a card with flowers. They can't sit down and share a meal or remember a childhood memory.

And they never will again.

Saying goodbye at a funeral service is tough, sometimes unbearable. But, the heart heals as the realization of life is accepted. Then, comes the holidays and you get kicked in the gut again. And when the holidays that center around the person--even celebrating the person gone--it's even tougher.

For all of you missing your mom for the first time, to those who can't call or laugh or hug the woman who loved you for a million reasons, or just because you were you, I pray you'll be comforted, I pray for peace. May you remember those beautiful women forever in your hearts. Happy Mother's Day, Mom. Hope you had a wonderful day.

Your Own Personal Astroids Machine...Turning Back Time

I spotted the machine a few weeks ago, but the crowds at Costco kept me from it. This morning, however, I arrived early to buy things completely unassociated with this item. Because there were so few people in the store, I was able to draw close, and even give it a try.

Instantly I was a pre-teen in the Farmington A/G store with my childhood friends, lining up quarters, finally able to play my favorite video game.

I mean, I have no idea how many Astroids video game consoles they built in the late 1970s--I would suspect millions. I'll bet if I looked on-line I could find an operating machine from that time, one that requires quarters to work, one that has the original Atari name--the world's first great video game manufacturer--proudly displayed for all to see.

The thing at Costco costs $200. There's a question about who exactly is this marketed for? Is it for kids? Most likely not. For kids this is like preferring a Sony Walkman over their smartphone. No, I'm their target audience. Which brings up another question--if it's for aging video gamers who were born before the invention of Pong, why is it so small? It it weren't raised up a foot or so, I would have had to bend down to play it.

I don't know. Maybe it's for aging video gamers who think it would be a great gift for their kids (or grandkids...), but really they want to play it themselves. And I wonder how many of the units they've moved since it first hit the sales floor.

Of course, I did not buy it. I've got an infinite number of games available on my phone or the laptop on which I'm typing this blog post. Still, there was something about seeing the most basic of computer effects, the feeling of the hard plastic buttons responding to my touch. Turns out there's a price to have a piece of your childhood returned to you.

It's $199.99, plus tax.

Gracie...20_ _(?) - 2019

Wednesday I made the call. Looking back, that was the hardest thing. Because once that call was made, the decision was final. Sure, we could have called and said we'd changed our minds, but the reality was this...now was the time.

Back in January 2012 we visited some neighbors. Outside their house was a cat. The neighbors love cats so we wondered why this one was outside in the middle of winter. Turns out this cat was a stray and they were feeding it, but not allowing it inside in case it turned out to be sick (they didn't want their animals to catch anything...). 

When I saw that cat, I wanted to rescue it. That's just what we did. We drove down and brought her home. Her name was Gracie.

Today, with tears and broken hearts, we buried Gracie in the yard.

I've only had one pet we had to put down. When I was thirteen I got a dog, Tasha, a shih tzu/little neighborhood dog mix. She was a great dog and lived seventeen years. When we put Tasha down, she was blind, deaf, and her back legs were paralyzed. It was definitely time. 

With Gracie, her physical downfall was much slower. In fact, ever since we brought her home more than seven years ago, she was unwell. In the last year, we noticed a dramatic change. She wasn't the same animal. She was losing weight and not making it to the litter box in time more often than not.

We tried everything the vets told us to do. She got steroid shots again and again. And they helped, but as the vet said, not as long as he would have liked. Turns out, not as long as we would have liked as well.

After months and months of deliberation and hours and hours of discussion, we came to the painful conclusion it was time. The last thing we wanted was for our friend to slowly decline to the point where her suffering went unnoticed. Her condition was inoperable--she would never get better. As her guardian and friend, we needed to do what was best for her. That's not always what we'd like.

Wednesday, I made the call setting up the appointment. Today, as my wife held our little beautiful friend, we said goodbye. We brought her home and buried her in the yard where she loved to explore, in a box we signed. We'll miss your little face and your sweet little spirit. Goodnight, Gracie. Until we meet again.

Fixing The Ford...

When we acquired my father-in-law's car, the vehicle was in pristine condition. My in-laws pride themselves in taking care of things--their house, their yard, and their vehicles. Because of his declining health, my father-in-law's Ford stayed mostly tucked away in the garage. After we bought it, we let our oldest son use it for work, school, and for going on dates.

It was the dates that put the miles on the car.

That happens when your girlfriend lives two counties over.

But we don't mind. We're glad he had reliable transportation for him to use.

There was one tiny issue with the car and it had to do with the back middle break light. In a word, its condition was: jimmy-rigged. My in-laws had fixed it, but it was a temporary fix at best. Since my son bought a new car, the idea of selling the trusty Ford has crossed our minds. And we don't want to sell a car with an unfixed back middle break light.

It needed to be fixed.

I had an idea on how to fix it--it was more conceptual seeing as how I had never fixed a problem like that before. I thought if I could find the hardware, it should be done quickly. Amazingly, I was able to find everything I needed in our random nuts, bolts, washers, and other odds-and-ends jar. I couldn't believe my luck. After several awkward turns of a screw, everything was in place--we had a complete car once again.

Back in the day, I drove VW beetles. I did a lot of fixing on those cars, much of it definitely not up to VW certified mechanic's standard. Cars have changed so much since my 1965 beetle rolled off some assembly line (most likely in Mexico...). There's a lot I cannot fix, but tonight, I was able to fix the Ford.

That Time I Was On A "In The Telling" Podcast Episode...

I knew my friend Liz Christensen had begun a new podcast promoting storytelling in all its incarnations. I even blogged about it when it came out. I've enjoyed the episodes already out there in the podcast universe. It's been fun for me because she's interview many of my writing friends. I know Liz from theater and not a lot of my theater friends interact with my writing friends.

A few weeks ago Liz contacted me. She wanted to do an interview for an upcoming episode. Of course, I agreed. We recorded last Friday. The episode came out Tuesday, and I heard it this morning. I recommend you listen to every episode she's made, but I have to say, I'm definitely partial to this latest one. You can access the episode by clicking: HERE, or you can do a quick In The Telling search in the iTunes Store.

I'm not the only one interviewed. Liz's style is to interview multiple people and combine guests's comments. And in so doing, she uses other's memories and experiences to tell a unique story where points are made, impressions given, and hopefully, minds opened.

In the latest episode, there's three of us interviewed, myself, musician Columbia Jones, and artist/educator Jordan C. Brun. Each of us have different careers, different family situations, different goals, but we do share one thing--a desire/need to create. I love how Liz uses our stories to show there are always different perspectives on life. She's really good at it, a natural interviewer.

If you've never heard the InThe Telling podcast before, give this one a shot. And Columbia's song at the end is good--worth the price of admission. Thanks Liz for giving me the opportunity! It was fun.

What I Was Looking At...A Year Ago Today

Sometimes, when I'm kicking back thinking about what to blog about, I think about the day that's been, and sometimes, that makes me think about what I blogged about on this particular day a year ago, five years ago, or longer. The great thing about keeping records, is you can always go back and see.

That's what I did tonight.

What I found wasn't the greatest revelation, but it did make me smile.

Has it really be one year?

I remember posting the picture. We had been at Walmart during the day and I noticed a couple of items, a portable CD player and a digital voice recorder. I remember snapping the picture because you don't see much of these items anymore, let alone being able to buy them new. Yes, those awful smartphones have put so many digital voice recorder and portable CD makers out of work.

I remember getting several comments after posting the picture. Apparently, others found the picture amusing as well.

Since I've posted a picture everyday, I could have gone back and looked at the picture I posted in 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011. I've done that before for a blog post. But tonight, I remembered that one picture.

And it made me smile.