When You Do The Right Thing...You Might Win A Raffle

 Funny story...when you do the right thing, you might be a raffle winner.

Let me explain.

A few weeks ago my wife and I were on our way to find a place to eat for Date Night when we drove by the local fairgrounds. Cars were parked in the parking lot and several people were outside at various food trucks. We thought we'd give the food trucks a try.

Since we're new to the area, we're not aware of the events taking place in the city. Turns out the food trucks were there for the people attending a craft fair. We decided to step inside and check it out.

We didn't know you had to pay $1 to enter.

We had no cash, so we were about to leave when the nice lady behind the table said we could go in. The place was full of adorable crafts and items, many we liked, none we bought. We were excited that events like this were taking place so close to our new home. We vowed to be more aware of happenings at the fairground.

This was Friday. The fair continued until Saturday at 5pm.

The next day we were picking up some groceries for the evening meal when we drove past the fairgrounds. It was close to 5pm, and everyone was packing up. I decided to stop and go pay the $2 we owed the craft fair. I grabbed eight quarters in change from the car and ran inside. I told them that since we didn't pay the day before, we owed them the money and wanted to make sure we paid it. I was asked if I wanted to enter a raffle because we paid, and I thought, "what the heck?"

Turns out, I won. 

A local vendor put together a package of honey, roasted walnuts, and a bath bomb as a raffle prize.

Score!

It was another of those pleasant serendipitous things that happen. Had we not won the raffle, I wouldn't have thought anything about it. I doubt the winnings were a reward for me paying what we owed, but...you never know.

Donations...Please

 I ordered our lunches and because we didn't order ahead, I sat in a booth and waited. It's a local eating establishment, animals from past hunts looked down from elevated positions, letterman jackets and posters signed by local sports stars from days past adorned the walls.

It's as small town as small town can get.

It's beautiful, wonderful, humble.

As I waited, I noticed a donation jar on the counter. Underneath the picture of a man who looks like he lived life on his own terms asked for help on funeral costs after his passing. You can't see from the picture, the jar was not jammed with dollars and/or cents. Hopefully, it was recently emptied and set back on the table, but I don't know. And asking how the donations were going would seem insensitive at best.

I hope the donation jar helps. Of course, no amount of money, big or small, can replace the man who's black-and-white picture adorns the printed page, even if they raise all that's needed and more. I know that whoever went to the trouble of creating the monument would rather it not be there.

Writing Retreat (From Home)...Day 3

 Thus ends Day 3 of my stay-at-home writing retreat, and I eclipsed the 50k mark. I know that for many, 50k does not even cover the beginning. I'm looking to wrap it up.

Amazing how some authors do it.

The past three days have been wonderful. On Sunday (I don't write on Sundays...), I considered following my regular routine, but instead of going to work, I'd get up at 6:30am to write. That did not last even one day. Day 1 I began writing at 7am, Day 2 at 8:30am, and this morning at 9am. And I'm okay with that.

Rule 1 of being a writer is: Don't beat yourself up when things don't go exactly as planned.

Technically, I have one day more of the retreat, even though it goes until the weekend. Tomorrow should be a mostly full day of writing and I hope to get some done on Friday as well. My plan was, if not finish my latest work in progress, at least know how it will end.

Goal achieved!

For me, that's been the biggest hurdle. Right now, I'm about to put together the final battle, four against ten. I've never written a scene like that before, so I'll have to dig deep and see what happens.

When you're a writer you dream of what life would be like to write full-time, to support yourself and your family just with the words you first imagine then create. I'd have to put in more hours, take it more seriously, but I think it's something I'd love to try. 

Maybe after retirement...I'll keep you posted.

It's A Cat's World...We're All Just Necessary Interruptions

 The other day I walked in on our cat, hanging out in our room and a thought came to me...it's really a cat's world. We're just necessary interruptions in that world.

I grew up with dogs, not cats. My mom didn't like cats, even though we got one and it disappeared shortly after we named it. We believe it migrated to our neighbor's house--she had so many cats, I'm not sure even she knew how many. We were always mad at that neighbor, but as I've grown older, I realize the cat was the one who made the decision to leave. The neighbor just took care of her, which is her being a good neighbor.

But the cat...it was that particular cat's world after all.

A few years ago we answered a classified ad for a kitty that had been abandoned by its mother. We drove south to see if we could help. There were two kittens. When we drove home, there was only one...the other came home with us. It's been an adventure ever sense.

The cat turned into a monster--almost 20 lbs, and he entertains us daily. 

What's amazing about having a pet is that, to them--obviously--it's their world. It's all they know. We, as their caretakers, know the world is much bigger than them. We know that without us they would need to find their own food, their own shelter. Animals have been doing this for as long as there have been animals. And yes, our pets in the wild would survive, at least for a little while. We know it's not entirely their world. But, we also know the world would not be the same without them.

When Your Work Station Becomes Your Vacation Destination...

 For the past several years around this time of year, I took a week off from work, traveled south, and joined several writers to write as much as possible.

This year...well, I guess some things have changed. 

And it's not due to covid.

This year, I decided to participate in the writing retreat, but I'm going to be at home. I now live twice as far away from the hilltop abode. Still, the drive would not be a problem. This year, I wanted to see how effective I can be here.

Today was Day 1 of the retreat. I spent much of the morning re-reading the words I wrote years ago. This story is my first novel where there are more than one storyline. I'm dealing with three and weaving them together has been a challenge. I needed to know not only where one story left off, but the others as well. After reading several chapters--and thanks to Scrivener which allows me to have several chapters open at the same time--I caught up on the stories and dove in to further the adventure. I had hoped that by the end of my writing vacation my novel will be done. I don't think that will happen, but I do believe that I will know how the novel will end. 

In my experience, once I know how it will end, I can finish things up quickly, and by "quickly," I mean quicker than a couple of years.

This morning I entered my work office, parted the monitors, and set up my laptop. Thanks to a wireless keyboard I could sit and type just like I do for work. Only this time, the work is for a different boss...it's for me, and for anyone who will one day read this story. Day 1 is in the books. Bring on Day 2!

Give Thanks...Friends Who Can Disagree (And Still Like Each Other)

 You may be asking yourself--if you looked at the picture of a clown with a BYU logo over its face--why is there a BYU logo over the face of a clown?

That's a good question.

I have a good friend at work. He and I have known each other for over a decade and he's been my supervisor, off-and-on, since that time. He and I agree on many things. There is one thing, however, that he and I disagree on. It's a healthy disagreement...and it involves sports fandoms. I wear red hats/shirts/sweatshirts with the letter "U" found somewhere on the clothes. My friend chooses to wear a different color, in his case, blue with the letter "Y" found somewhere on his clothes.

My supervisor and I chat at least once a week. Our team has a weekly zoom meeting and not only do we get to chat, but we get to see where we all work...the miracle of modern technology. A few months ago, as we waited for the formal meeting to begin, we were just shooting the breeze. Somehow the topic of "things that scare you" came up. My friend said he's always had a thing for clowns. He does not like them, something he'd experienced since childhood.

As fate would have it, I had just hung up a picture of a clown in my office. It was something that for years hung in my father-in-law's CPA office. I thought it was a good choice to hang in our home office. Then, came the zoom meetings and the news that some disliked clowns. I decided to turn the scary clown into non-scary clown.

At the next zoom meeting I let my supervisor and everyone on the team know that I had made some adjustments. I know it's a small thing, taping a white Y on a clown's body, but it's how he and I get along, even though we disagree on some things. We live in a crazy time. People are disowning family members--some are killing each other over disagreements. I'm grateful for a friend with whom I can disagree and have some fun at each other's expense doing it.

My Pre-Covid Writing Life...I Didn't Realize Just How Spoiled I Was

 The first time I stepped inside the Tremonton Library, I noticed several flyers on the counter with pictures of authors I knew on them. These were notices that Utah authors would be visiting the Tremonton Library to chat about their books and/or do a reading of their works.

I was so stoked! 

I was going to have my friends come up to our local library--I'd get to see my friends again. We could chat, discuss books, and just hang out.

Turns out these incredible writers would be visiting our neck of the woods, but not in person...they'd be visiting virtually...digitally...not physically.

Bummer.

I was able to log into an author reading from Steve Heurmann on Friday. He's an amazing person with a wonderful story of how he became a full-time writer. You can access his information by visiting his website: HERE. He read from his book, Paper Heroes.

The meeting ended--I was able to say, "hello," I thought about how disappointed I was that the author chats are all virtual. I also thought about how spoiled I've been for the past eight years. Except for last year, I have been able to attend several writing conventions, writing symposiums, and comic cons every year. I was averaging one every three or four months. And I pretty much knew who would be attending these local events--many of my good writing friends.

How I miss those days.

If Steve had been able to attend his reading in person, or if we had been at a convention, we could have talked about writing, about how his latest project was coming along, any news on new books, new ideas. And I could have done the same things with a dozen or more friends. Attending these events to sell books is wonderful, but so is hanging out and chatting with friends.

Hopefully, we can return to normal soon. If so, I will try and go to as many as possible, so I can be spoiled again.