Jeff—Saturday
No good news to report from Greece, except an expected
increase in tourism.
No good news to report from the US, except an expected
increase in late night TV material.
So, where does that leave an optimist?
Prayerful.
Well, at least summer is right around the corner. Sorry, I meant spring. From the way the
weather’s been, my mind lapsed into thinking we already were deep into
spring.
Whoops, I better be careful. No reason to rile up climate change deniers into
thinking I’m suggesting something untoward is happening to our planet by our
own hand. Then again, they should rest
easy, because the North Koreans seem hell bent on making concerns over indirect
man-made threats to the elimination of our species moot.
Pause. I don’t even
want to think about how our nation is planning to address that little
situation…and by “little” I’m referring to the guy in charge over there.
Hopefully, in more than 140 characters.
Speaking of creative writing, I’m jumping into writing a new
book, and the going is slow. Hard to
concentrate on writing fiction when the reality of each day hypnotically
carries us further off into the incomprehensible.
Yet I’m trying. And
shall succeed (remember the prayerful part :)).
I’m pretty sure most writers would agree that what keeps us
going through these questioning moments (not writer’s block) is simply this: a
sense of duty to our fans. Not grand advances
(?), thoughts of awards, or the lure of fame, but knowing there are folks out
there who genuinely appreciate what we write.
They fire us up.
I know, because today I received an email from a fan (a Scot
no less) living in Greece with her Texan husband. Modesty restrains me from
repeating her much appreciated words, but one line struck me as particularly
apropos for my current state of mind.
“We like to imagine you typing away, perhaps in Greece,
perhaps in New York, but typing away wherever you might be.
And so I shall type away as requested, happily putting
reality behind me, and moving on into a fictional world where I can be more
assured of the outcome of each passing day.
Time to get back to work.
—Jeff
Posts
Jeffrey, your post is right on point with the World, not just the 2 countries you love. Thank you SO MUCH for this. I admire your intelligence SO MUCH, but your HEART SO MUCH MORE. You will always be a good and lasting impression to me. Sincerely, Marie Boyd Parker
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marie. The feeling is mutual! Glad to hear you're on the mend, my friend.
DeleteLooking forward to new book. Missing Mykonos! Any news of Richard North?
ReplyDeleteAs am I. I missed a teleconference call with Richard a few weeks back, and haven't been able to reach him since. From what I see on FB he's doing well, but I have no first hand info. Can't wait to see the punny guy in the flesh.
DeleteI received the following update from my buddy Ken Richards on Richard North's situation. As you'll see, it's inspiring news about terrific people:
Delete"Since my password no longer seems to work--and I'm done with all of this password bullshit I'll say what I have to say here. We've been talking to Richard and Monika four or five times a week. Richard continues to improve. They have dealt with real hardship this winter with strength, courage and humor. Richard and I continue to crack each other up and joke as best we can about everything. Monika has been a rock. Donna and I are so proud to be their friends. We are very lucky."
Today, more than ever, truth is stranger than fiction. Ya can't make this crap up, and if you did, who would believe you? The truth is so damned out of bounds that we need fiction to provide us with a nice solid, stable foundation. Keep laying those bricks, my friend.
ReplyDeleteIt's making me a mason.
DeletePlease, bro, pretty please with sugar on it--don't put pictures of the orange man here anymore. MIE is one of The first places I look online every morning. It's just too upsetting and ruins my breakfast to see that face.
ReplyDeleteSis, consider it my brotherly effort at weaning you back to the reality you shall confront in NYC. You will find no place to hide from the media's moth-to the flame-like obsession--on all sides of the political spectrum-- with the Orange Crush and Crushettes. Trouble is, I fear we're tethered to the backs of the moths.
DeleteGreat words. Maybe typing away will keep me from reading the news. Must start the next book :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, Triss , do not allow the times to deny the world your great words!
DeleteTwo Scots fans?
ReplyDeleteWe have taste.
Agree. Where would I be without Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Samantha Bee and Trevor Noah? I miss Jon Stewart and Larry Wilmore. And I'll also give a nod to Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer and Kate McKinnon as KellyAnne Conway and Jeff Sessions.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant all of them.
So I'd be in the middle of slush without these comedians and my crime fiction and dvd's. And chocolate. And blogs to read.
The news is impossible. And now President Agent Orange and his cohorts, Bannon, Miller, Paul Ryan, et al., have a "health care" plan that will remove medical coverage for 24 million people. But, of course, the White House is refuting the Congressional Budget Office. Sigh.
Will this ever be over?
The GOP tried to denigrate the ACA by calling it "Obamacare," and Obama made the right move by coming right out and saying he was proud to have it referred to that way.
DeleteI think it's only appropriate that we all refer to the GOP's idea of health "care" as TrumpCare. Then, after that's solidly entrenched in the social mindset, we can more modify it further to more accurate TrumpCareless.
Really, and to place the blame squarely where it belongs: the Trump/Ryan/Price bill.
ReplyDeleteSaw Price on TV about this bill, about as squirrelly as one can get. No direct answers to questions. Like following a maze to try to get even a few words of an answer.
Ryan was on Fox bragging to Tucker Carlson about how much the rich would get in tax cuts. And, even better, it will leave to even more tax cuts! He was smiling.