There are just some days when the writing sucks. You try and try and try (!!!!Z*^&#$@) to get motivated with your story and it keeps falling flat. So, what do you do? You put on your best Jimmy Buffet flowered shirt, your crazy bedroom slippers, and start humming Banana Republic in your head (No, not the clothing store, guys, come on!). Then, you put on a sweater or jacket. (It’s still winter, after all!) Then…. go back to your journal, of course! At least you can write something fun and not fill yourself with self-loathing. (Thanks, Anne Lamott for that image!) Today, I was stuck on a pivotal point in the main character’s dilemma; how she would express an important message to the people she cared about, to get them motivated to do something. How do you explain something that is in a character’s mind – her mindwork? (Check out my book if you don’t know what that is, by the way.) How do you get that perfect Stephen King moment where the reader just knows what’s going on inside the character’s head? It’s not an easy task. I usually skip over those parts of the book, only to come back and agonize over them a week later. Then, I change it up a bit and describe something she sees, in detail.

Recently, I have been reading Neil Peart’s books about his travels on his motorcycle while he is on tour with Rush. His attention to detail is fantastic. His literary references inspire me, just like his music. I love reading journal-type books. They are so personal and fulfilling. You feel like you get to know someone really well, someone you’ve cared about for a very long time.

So, here goes. Here is my on-line try at describing something that is in my main character’s (and thus) my head:

Snow

Snow falling brings a quiet hush to the world. For a moment your life is suspended, and you watch the world become white in front of your eyes, making it clean for a little while. You watch it pile up around you, enveloping the house, enveloping you. It smells different – fresh and invigorating. And, depending on the time of day, it isn’t just the color white. It’s a bright blue in the daylight, turning purple and pink in the twilight. Snow is an amazing thing. It can get into your head and make you feel cold, and alone. But, it can also inspire you to write, because you don’t want to go out and walk around in it, thus spoiling the pristine state of a covered path. When you do go out and walk in it, you are once again humbled. You are a small being in this vast universe, and your footsteps are just one of many that will take this path.

The path may be only a small group at first, but eventually everyone can choose to take it. Now I can describe what she wants! Voila!

So, I may get overwhelmed at times, but I know there are others like me with the mantra, Infinite Possibility; those that are seeking this same knowledge, aspiring to become that best-selling author (or just a selling author).  So, keep the faith and enjoy the good moments!

Recently, my son’s teacher sent home a note about how the class had struggled with working through a really hard task. She stopped the work and asked them to give her a list of how they could become really good at something. She said they were so excited that their hands shot up and she couldn’t write fast enough. They then came up with an amazing list. I wanted to share this with my readers. It was so inspiring that I put it up on our refrigerator:

 WHAT DO YOU DO TO GET REALLY GOOD AT SOMETHING?

• Practice
• Say it a lot
• Say what you’re doing
• Watch what other people are doing
• Try it again, try it again
• Never give up
• Don’t do the opposite
• Do it for many years
• Join in a team
• Just do it
• Focus
• Never say never

I look at this list every day now when I am struggling with a task. I am amazed every day at the things kids know. Never Give Up! Never Surrender! (Galaxy Quest for all you non-geeks!)

Isn’t that what you always hear from all the advice nuts out there? “That is why you are here.” “That is your God Given(!) Purpose to be put on this planet….”

All my life, I’ve secretly wanted to be a Superhero. I wanted to save everyone from harm, from hurt. I never wanted to see anyone suffer. So, I’d put on my Super suit – OK, maybe it was lime green short shorts and a seersucker shirt (hey, it was the 60’s!). But in my HEAD, I was dressed in a super cool, bulletproof spandex outfit, that fit me tight, and I was drop dead gorgeous!  And, I would always go out and save the world and never get hurt.

Depending on my age, my role model was Laura Ingalls Wilder, going across the west in a covered wagon, living in strange places, working hard, riding horses, and helping those in need. (Actually, I did that – driving out west in a 1973 Toyota Corolla.) Later, I was part of the crew on the Enterprise, a key member with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, protecting alien races from harm. Or, patrolling parallel universes as a Time Patrol officer in the worlds of Poul Anderson, or jumping and living in the worlds of Piers Anthony. (That was my police officer years.) I was a combination of Friday and Lazarus Long (Robert Heinlein), a Super spy who had lived a long time and could solve anything. (That was my crime analyst/profiler years.)

I didn’t come to an understanding of how these worlds helped me become the adult I am until this year. All of this reading and fantasizing prepared me for most of my adventures out west, as well as the world of criminals (and writing). I would do it all over, if I could. I would put on the Super suit – OK this time maybe it will be a white button down shirt, black jeans, and some kick-ass boots – and help solve crimes and all of the world’s woes.

I think I’m still working toward finding out what I really want to be when I grow up. All I know is that all of this living has prepared me for why I was put here – for now it’s becoming a good mother to my son.

So, we’ll take our adventures as they come, flying around the world when we can (in our make-believe airplane box), shooting bad guys as Jedi warriors, or just be content to dance, sing and laugh with Elmo (or Bob Marley, Rush, or Queen – he has his mother’s tastes in music). Hopefully, he’ll grow up full of wonder, and seek adventure like I did, and become a Superhero, like me.

What if we had a catastrophic event, so devastating, that over half the population was gone? What would you do?

For a long time, I have been contemplating this possible event and have been trying to wrap my head around it. We are so comfortable in our surroundings that we’ve lost a lot of those survival skills that may keep us alive someday. We want more and more laws and rules to protect us, yet we don’t know how to protect ourselves.

If civilization breaks down as we know it – no TV, cell phones, no computers – how will society break down? Will we all just panic and run in the street, only to be killed instantly? Or would a community buckle down and pull together?

Just recently, I saw a news cast where local authorities were teaching school workers how to defend themselves against an event like the attack that happened in Connecticut. I shouted, “Hooray! It’s about time.” My very next thought was, “Wow! How did we ever lose that survival instinct in the first place?”

I’m no survivalist, but I remember all the lessons that my parents taught me, which I hope I have been passing on to my child. We talked about what happened to the kids, and that it was not like a video game, that it was real. We talked about things we would do it something catastrophic happened in our town. I don’t know how much he learned from this event, but I do know that he is quite the leader, and my hope is that he would think rationally and get his classmates and himself to a safe place. It is also my hope that I could get to him in time and help out.

I am concerned that the people (and the media) are now screaming for more laws and rules that take away another right for the individual. We are now contemplating yet more gun laws when we haven’t fixed the old ones, many non-enforceable, on the books. Is this going to keep us safer? Is this going to keep illegal guns away from criminals? I don’t think so. People want to feel safe, but don’t want the responsibility. This “Let someone else take care of it” doesn’t keep us any safer. We have to strive every day to understand how the world ticks and keep ourselves safe. One more law, (or one more school rule) won’t change the fact that there are always going to be crazy people out there who want to harm us. Taking away guns from all citizens won’t keep them out of the hands of criminals. We need to just take responsibility for our own safety. And, we have to talk to our children in a logical manner about safety and how they can protect themselves.

Yes, we need rules and regulations, but not to the extreme that we are going to pass another school rule about what we can bring for holiday snacks!  Parents can take the responsibility to teach their children what to do and what to eat. They can teach them by doing. They don’t have to rely on one more rule that supposedly protects their children. I am happy that we have changed the lunch room menus to reflect healthier choices, but I am opposed to the thought that we can’t bring an occasional treat to our child for their classroom or for their birthday. Now, I’m not saying that we go to the grocery store and buy a sugary, full of weird ingredients, snack. I’m saying that we have to plan ahead and prepare it – you heard me – prepare a snack. I made a lovely snack for my child – cookies we made together from scratch with healthy ingredients and fruit kabobs. My son’s birthday is near a holiday, so we had a theme. We had a great time making them together – putting monster faces on some of the cookies, decorating the cutout cookies (yes, we did Christmas designs-not holiday neutral designs), and enjoying the moment. And, he loved that his friends enjoyed everything. And, yes, there is some sugar in them, but not the kind and amount that you would have when you buy them.

It just takes a little more effort, but we can all do it. Even if you are a single parent, a working mom (or dad), or just a busy person, you can carve a little time out each day to cook a nice meal, and make a nice snack. It is the best survival skill you can learn. And, it provides quality time to spend with your child. So, turn off the TV and video games, turn up the radio and dance a little dance. Enjoy the moment. Even if the powers that be decide to pass more rules about snacks, you can be proud that you aren’t one of those people who need more rules, just a little life change.

By now, I hope that you are all into the New Year groove, nose to the grindstone and all that. Having been sick the entire time at Christmas, I didn’t post anything, so now I am warming up the fingers (and the brain) once again. I recently read a fantastic book entitled Clockwork Angels, by Kevin J. Anderson from the story and lyrics by Neil Peart. Then, I listened to the music – Rush – of course! Then, I went back through the book. Wow! It’s a wonderful weave about extremes – about total control vs. total anarchy – and a young man learning how to live his life. For you diehard Rush fans out there (you know who you are – admit it!), read this book, listen to the music, read the book again, go back through all the Rush storytelling albums, go onto Neil Peart’s blog, and then buy and read his book Far and Away, A Prize Every Time. It’s so great to know that there are still amazing people out there who are willing to share their lives with you. (I didn’t know Neil Peart liked to cook! Coooool!  Kindred spirit…..Sigh). And, I learned that Kevin J. Anderson lives in Colorado Springs, my old stomping grounds; and I never knew that the whole time I lived there!  It led me to buying a bunch of his books that I hadn’t read before. And, of course this is eating into my writing time. Yeah, I’m back into the groove. (Yes, Sheldon, that is sarcasm.)

Here is a list of things I’ve pondered in my Hallmark Moments:

1.     If a parsley farmer is sued, do they garnish his wages?
2.     When it rains, why don’t sheep shrink?
3.     Should vegetarians eat animal crackers?
4.     If you shoot a mime, should you use a silencer?
5.     What was the best thing BEFORE sliced bread?
6.     Is it true that cannibals don’t eat clowns because they taste funny?
7.     Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?
8.     How do you know it’s time to tune your bagpipes?
9.     When cows laugh, does milk come out of their nose?

AND….

10.    When you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn?

 Ba Dump Bump.

Nerds used to get picked on a whole lot, so I refused to think of myself as a Nerd, even though I got picked on—except my generation wasn’t called Nerds. We were just called Weird.

Everything we said and did was weird. Well, guess what? All of you people who said we were weird? We are weird, and we’ve taken over! So there…. And…we’re happier than you all.

My California friend told me the other day that I wasn’t a typical woman. His wife didn’t like it that I always sided with the guys to go see one of those wild Action films or Sci-Fi, rather than girlllll movies, so she always had the disadvantage when we were all together. (We’re still friends, so don’t worry.)

I do like some girl things. I bake; I knit; I organize; I go to all the school events for my son. The thing is: I like Legos, reading great books, exercise, walking, and watching action films. I love Science Fiction. It makes my mind expand and ponder the Universe. Who can get enough of the Zombie Apocalypse, and bounty hunters that are witches and vampires? Come on!

My senior water aerobics friends just look at me in that same old weird way that I always got when I was a kid. It’s like that deer in the headlights stare thing when they were doing math. Well, guess what? I like math, too.

All I’m saying is that we have to learn to enjoy all the differences in people that are outside of our element. We can try new things and learn something new each and every day!  I don’t appreciate people who give me that look, but I’ve learned to ignore it and get on with my life. If they start giving me their sad, sob story, I try to listen respectfully, but then I tell them, “OK, it’s time you moved on with your life. Enjoy it while you can.”

I’m not the same person I was 5, 10, or even 15 years ago, but I have learned a lot, and learned to live with whom I’ve become. That’s all I ask of others. Help each other out, but move on!!!!

My new sign to hold up:

NO WHINING ZONE

Happy Holidays everyone!I

Here is a great new story my 7-year-old son wrote and asked me to publish. He has been learning a lot of new words at school and wanted to put them into a story. I hope you enjoy it:

My bug friends like eggs. While the bugs were eating, they heard over the loudspeaker:

“The Bug Gym is now closed until further notice.”

The bugs panicked because it was their favorite place, But, the bugs were so clever they built a rain forest. It was 20 feet high and 100 feet wide.

They went and got their hive and got to work. The were just about to go in the hive when the announcements came on:

“The Bug Gym is now open.”

The bugs were so happy they put the forest in the garage and went to the Bug Gym.”

THE END

And, speaking of baby boomers, I never really thought I was old until I saw Al Sharpton on the TV a few nights ago. I thought to myself, “Wow, he really looks old!”

Then, he said, “The first time I was allowed to vote was in 1972.”

Then, I said, “Holy crap! That was the first year I could vote!” Next thing you know, I’m looking at myself in the mirror and see the face of a stranger – no wait! It’s my mother!

We go through these series of ups and downs as we grow older. Some of us embrace the changes. Others just get grumpy and afraid. And, when exactly did we get so afraid?

Here is an excerpt  from the book I am currently writing that might give an explanation for this fear:

“What happened to us?”

“I’m used to women who went to Alaska to save the birds when the oil spilled.”

“I’m used to women who took martial arts and could defend themselves an others and felt good about it.”

“I’m used to women police officers, horseback riders and trainers – women who have their own tools!”

“What happened to us?  These new twitter-tweeters, texters, Facebook, bloggers, crazy people who don’t step outside and do anything?  Is there a gene that says we have to become passive and safe after we turn 40? I’m at a loss when I talk to women who’ve never tried skydiving, or taught juvenile delinquents how to take care of themselves – how to take responsibility despite the fact their family is dysfunctional – women who could nurture, yet at the same time remodel a house, remake a garden, bake bread, or rebuild a car and have their own all-women’s car club!”

“What happened to us?  I’ve been hanging out with savvy women who aren’t afraid to invest their own money even after 9/11. They are the kind of women I want in my life all the time. I don’t won’t the whiners – the poor pitiful me types. That really brings me down. When I go there it makes me sad. I still want to live a productive life even if I have to be alone, which is a hard thing to do sometimes.

“After 9/11 why were we so afraid?  Safety became so big – no big government except to protect us – was what people screamed. Viagra, Paxil, those things we started worrying about more because the ads told us to worry about these conditions. Red Hat Societies started, but what did they really do?  Talk a lot, drink a lot of tea?  Come on!  Where’s the doing?  Ads about body hair for crying out loud!  What’s that all about?  Reality TV instead of making our own reality; cable shows getting better and better than regular channels but we have to pay for it; elections being about women’s bodies, gay rights, and religion; our rights being taken away each and every day. What happened to all these women speaking up in the 60’s and 70’s?  We got old and gave up. We worried about health care, instead.”

“I say, ‘Bahala Na! Come what may!’ I recently read a novel called Lost In Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff. It is about women soldiers surviving a plane crash during WWII. They were on a small island on what is now part of the Dominican Republic. They had to survive their injuries – concussions, gangrene due to severe burns from the plane exploding, all while walking in uncharted territory with little or no food, where no non-native woman had ever been. These were some tough women! Why have the majority of us never been exposed to this environment? Oh, sure, we’re weekend warriors; we have running clubs, but have we really ever had to survive like they did?”

“And yet, there are people out there doing this every day. They live on the streets. Yes, perhaps they made bad choices somewhere along the lines. Perhaps they overspent, and then lost their homes and their jobs. Perhaps they were living on the edge. But, as things get more and more expensive for all of us, we need to rethink our finances and try to help these people in our community. We have so much wealth where we are today. I mean wealth as a term for our lovely town, of living standards that surpass any other place; for green and sustainable living; for our ability to buy and prepare foods that have been grown locally, and being able to eat out in places that are healthy and actually good for us. And, one that makes us above the average income of any other place in the country.”

“I know, I know, you don’t think you have a lot of money because you have to pay off your house, your college, your kids’ college funds. But, there are people who have no savings at all. They live day-to-day. And, if they lose their jobs, they plunge more quickly in debt. They are not the ‘welfare moms’ image that the Reagan administration foisted on us. People who sometimes need help genuinely want to work and don’t have jobs, not because they are lazy, but because their job was outsourced. Women our age have a lot more influence than I had in the past. Now is the time, to use our leverage.”

“We came from a generation that taught us how to pinch pennies. Now, we have an opportunity where we can give back. We can become the mothers and fathers that some people never had. We can teach others how to live within their means, no matter how meager it is. We can give others a chance to survive in this world.”

“Material things aren’t the most important things in life. We can learn this lesson and teach others how to understand that survival and safety come first. If we are good cooks and bakers, we can help others make their own warm, crusty bread and healthy, hearty meals. The house smells wonderful, and they learn how to be a family.”

(Mmmmmmmmmm. Breaddddd!)

“We help ourselves and others turn off the TV and learn to appreciate what is free in life. We learn to take a good walk.”

“If we grow personally, we get ideas to stimulate growth in others. Ideas escalate to useful concepts for humanity. Only then can visions of paradise become reality.”

I wonder what my mother would have thought about zombies taking over the world, or what some of us affectionately call “The Zombie Apocalypse.”  Would she have picked up my father’s rifle when she saw them come onto the farm? Would she have aimed and blown them away?

Or, would she cower inside her house and simply die?

I’d like to think that she would revert back to her old self – that self-confident young woman who went out into the world like That Girl, an old sitcom starring Marlo Thomas – the person she was before settling down into domesticity – marrying my father when he came home from the War (WWII, that is) and having children.

I’d like to think she would be one of those folks who took up arms and defended herself and others – and generally took care of business.

The world would certainly be different for her (and for us) if we had a catastrophic event. We would have to relearn how to take care of ourselves and keep alive. We would have to bring back those skills that we knew from a very long time ago, before convenience food came into play. We would have to survive, not watch Survivor.

We go through a series of ups and downs as we grow older. Some of us embrace change. Others just sit on the sidelines, get grumpy, complain a lot, and become more afraid. Yes, we are getting older, but are we getting wiser? Here is an excerpt from my book, Discover the Life You Want to Live, about this very subject:

• Each of us grows older every day. It’s how we continue to use our time that makes us wiser. What makes a wise person?   It is a person we can respect. It is a person who is a hopeless romantic and a reluctant leader. This person has learned capabilities as well as intuitiveness. It is a person who can learn about new things every day. It is a person who has achieved mastery in something. A wise person gives a little to someone each day to make her life better. This is what I am working on as I get older – to be a wise person who is a role model, and a person that people will respect.

•  We are all getting older, but are we getting wiser?  Are we learning and contributing something to society each day through our actions?  Ask yourself, “Why should people listen to me?”  “What right do I have to give advice either to my peers or the younger generation?”  If you believe you have achieved everything you asked of yourself, in the above questions, then you have earned the right to be called a wise woman and be respected.

• Women’s studies describe three archetypes of women:  maiden, mother and crone. The wise women were known as crones. A crone is an idea that we can all embody to help the younger women (maidens). And, with modern medicine, we can become older mothers, which let us bridge the gap between all three. We can create a community that helps each other

We do get older every day. That’s a fact of life. If we can believe in ourselves, do something good and stop with the “I can’ts,” we will be happy with our lives when we finally leave this world. It takes more time and energy to sit around and complain about everything. Why can’t we take this energy and fix the very thing we are whining about – become involved? Think how powerful senior citizens have become. Let’s do something positive as a group, not just worry about keeping mine.

I think if my mother were alive today, she would be proud of what her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren have accomplished. We have embraced change and will continue to learn how to survive the Zombie Apocalypse.

I was never really a hippie because I believed in daily bathing.  I blame my mother who made me a clean freak, so I couldn’t quite blend in with the masses. She made us clean our house every day, so now that’s what I do. While people were out protesting, and not washing, and going barefoot, I learned to clean, be organized, and go out and fight to maintain order against those masses who were protesting with bare, dirty feet.

I was also the kid who left home and didn’t look back.  I didn’t know what I was looking for at first, only that I wanted to leave.  I learned a lot along the way and became an expert in figuring out bad people’s motives. Alice may have left home because she wanted to pursue her singing career, but I left home in search of life. Even when I slept in a tent, I always knew where everything was. It was that organization skill that kept me safe and sane.

Here are some excerpts from my book, Discover the Life You Want to Live, about that very process that helps me.  Perhaps it will help you in your daily life:

•  We learn how to organize our commitment to live a good life. We learn to find that key, and a way to do this was by returning to a beginner’s mindset. We rediscover the rhythm of life by looking at past behaviors, what was inhibiting us, what made us dissatisfied, and change what needs changing, thus dropping the negative thought, and going out for a nice walk!

•  Maybe women are the only ones plagued with a low tolerance for dirt. I don’t know. What I do know is I cannot get started on my work if the house is a complete disaster zone – especially now that I’m working primarily at home. I’ve found that Mondays are usually my cleaning and wash day, if I haven’t gotten to it on the weekends. I allow myself the time and energy it takes to clean up what needs to be cleaned up, and then move on. I am unable to concentrate if I know there is a mess in the kitchen, or laundry piling up. That’s just me. Now, I’m not saying you should let cleaning stop you completely from getting your other work done. You can solicit help from your family, and you can learn to multitask. I can finish a thought, and then put a load of laundry on. By the time I need a break from writing, I can go vacuum a room, or dust, or water the plants, or whatever. I can fold clothes while I’m on the phone solving world problems. I can load dishes in the dishwasher while something is cooking. If my house gets too cluttered, I can’t think. I’ve found a place for everything, and given away, or thrown out what is no longer needed. My desk is organized and I have clean space to write. Plastic storage containers on wheels are my friends – they are the most wonderful invention of the last decade!

My mom died recently and I have learned to appreciate the little things she taught me. She was a Southern Belle, but she had a lot of attitude, which she passed on to all of us. I love you Mom.

Let me know how you organize and live your life. I learn something from everyone! Enjoy.