A Done Thing is Better Than a Perfect Thing (Prepare yourself, Terri's about to rant.)

"A done thing is better than a perfect thing."

I keep hearing this sentiment passed around in different circles (from nieces and nephews talking about schoolwork to colleagues talking about manuscripts, to co-workers where I used to work, to crafters), in all walks of life.

 

And I call bullshit on that. Something doesn't have to be absolutely perfect to the point of obsession, but some of the garbage that passes muster these days doesn't even come close.

A done thing is better than a perfect thing.

·        Tell that to anyone who's had their car recalled (especially anyone who's had a serious accident because they weren't notified in time).

·        Tell that to anyone who's had a heart attack because the medicine that they were prescribed hadn't been tested enough.

·        Tell that to women who had deformed babies when they took thalidomide because that drug was under-researched.

·        Tell that to people who developed cancer from cyclamates.

·        Tell people who, on a day-to-day basis, buy inferior products because of the slipshod work ethic and bottom-line mentality prevailing in manufactories today.

·        Tell that to anyone who's been sold a book full of page after page of awkward sentences and spelling errors that distracted them from a good story.

·        Tell that to the families of the Challenger space shuttle whose lives were shattered because of faulty O rings.

 

Is this our legacy for the future?

If we raise our children with this mentality, they will carry it out into the world and do everything half-assed starting with washing the dishes at home for Mom and Dad, right on up to producing inferior products (if any at all), to raising the next generation of slackers whose only activity will be to consume without replenishing or giving anything back that's worth having.

 

This attitude erodes the very fiber of our society and in turn lowers our reputation worldwide, which in turn lowers the self-esteem of our population.

 

Lowering the bar on a regular basis weakens Americans and globally demeans us.

All because one schmuck somewhere down the line decided to be lazy and coined a destructive phrase: "a done thing is better than a perfect thing".

 

It was bad enough for that one person to adopt such an attitude – but for an entire population? It's a death knoll.

 

Now. Having shrieked all that, perhaps we should try a different mantra. How about, "Well begun is half done."?  Or "Put your best foot forward."? There are dozens, if not hundreds of adages that encourage everyone to do their best and tackle the toughest jobs. My personal favorite is a quote by Tom Hanks' character, Jimmy Dugan in "A League of Their Own": "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."

 

Take that last sentence into the world with you and pull it out when you're facing a difficult task: "The hard is what makes it great."  

 

[Originally published on Medium in 2020.]

 

Broken Old Broad's Week In the Rear-View 8-1-2021

 

Hiya, Everybody,

I don't know about you, but last week was busy for me. So many projects going on, both personal and literary.  I finally figured out how I will divide up my time between my fiction and non-fiction. I'm going to work on my fiction projects in the mornings, and in the evenings do micro essays and articles in this Broken Old Broad's Week in the Rear-View blog, as an online journal kind of thing.

I watch a lot of YouTube and post on my social pages in the evenings. I catch up on the news, watch several of my favorite YT channels and I share them on my social pages along with my commentary. I also share comedy videos, animal videos, the whole shebang.

I thought I might, at the end of each week, go through my social pages and choose some of the more thought-provoking stuff and do a micro article or two within this blog. I've come across many TED Talks, news items, interviews, and other online stuff that I find fascinating, and often gives me added insight into the goings on of the world, as well as opens my eyes to perspectives other than my own.  I can also review books, music, and movies.

And there will be the usual updates on my own projects, and some of the routine craziness of Terri's world. 

Just letting you know what I'm up to.  More to come…

Ter

 

2020 Year of Hell - Terri DelCampo's Bizarre-Ass Interview

 

 

Hello Reading Friends,

 

2020 was indeed the year from hell, including a big hullabaloo on the publishing platform Blaze and I had chosen to write for. We were both submitting at least one story a day, often more, and the individual publication we wrote for almost exclusively was temporarily suspended until the main platform could get a disagreement sorted out. The newly formed publication's writers had formed a community, and everyone was disconcerted by the events, which only lasted a couple of days, thank goodness. This article came out of it, and I got quite a few responses to the interview. It was a fun distraction, including for myself. (I included my own response to the interview below the original article.)

Terri DelCampo's Bizarre-Ass Interview

 

I promised AGH I would do my part in keeping all the publication's writers in touch and knowing that the vanishing act is only temporary, and things are being worked out as we speak.  I had no idea in hell how I was going to do that and continue writing my own articles – I have dozens in my "under construction" files in each of my niches.

I woke up this morning with a lightning bolt zapping my morning fogged brain: Interview them, dummy!

 

Only not with the conventional, 'when-did-you-know-you-wanted-to write?' or 'what-writer-inspires-you-the-most?' stuff that everybody asks. Uh, uh. No such luck for you guys. Heh, heh, heh.  I'm a horror writer. I live for making people squirm.

Here's how I plan to do that for the whole lot of you – and you will each get your own story to publish.

 

Do this:

Copy the questions below (only the questions, the names list in this article already tags everyone) and paste them into a "new story" of your own.

 

Change the title to:

 

"MY NAME Responds to Terri DelCampo's Bizarre-Ass Interview"

 

(That will ensure that we both get credit for our parts in the interview.) 

Plug in your answers and click publish!  Voila! We help each other get our names out there, establish our solidarity as our publication's writers, and have some laughs doing it!

 

One extra thing: If you know of a writer who isn't on the list below the interview questions in my original article, please tag them in your article.

 

Okay…one more extra thing: Add a question of your own to the interview – remember, it can't be anything conventional.  You're some of the best writers on the platform – dazzle me!

 

Okay everybody! Have at it if you dare! Muahaha! 

 

 

Bizarre-Ass Interview questions: 

 

1.                 What bizarre-ass guilty pleasure do you imbibe in way too often? 

2.                 What bizarre-ass book/movie scared the crap out of you so bad it changed your behavior (left lights on, made you look in the back seat of your car before getting in, make you look around your house to make sure you were alone, etc)? 

3.                 What bizarre-ass thing instantly pisses you off? 

4.                 What was your most bizarre-ass vacation/trip?

5.                 What's your most bizarre-ass writing spot? 

6.                 Ever do some bizarre-ass thing that almost got you arrested?

7.                 What's the most bizarre-ass thing you've ever eaten?

8.                 What bizarre-ass joke made you laugh so hard you almost peed your pants? 

9.                 What bizarre-ass thing have you written just for living-expenses money?

10.            What bizarre-ass thing have you fantasized about but would never, ever do? 

11.            What's the most bizarre-ass thing you ever did on a dare? Brag about it or regret it?

12.            What bizarre-ass experience changed your life forever?

13.            As a kid, what was the longest/worst punishment you ever got and what bizarre-ass thing did you do? 

14.            What's the most bizarre-ass haircut/hairdo you've ever had? Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words…heh, heh, heh.

Okay – I'm out of bizarre-ass questions for now. Feel free to fire up the bizarre-ass parts of your brains, add some of your own, and shoot them back to me!

 

Go for it and have some fun!!

 

[Originally published on Medium in 2020]

*****

 

Terri DelCampo Responds to Terri DelCampo's Bizarre-Ass Interview

 

1.                 What bizarre-ass guilty pleasure do you imbibe in way too often?

I "fake eat" chocolate. – I'm allergic to it, plus, I'm on the fringes of insulin resistance, so I put a piece in my mouth, let it melt, savor the hell out of it, then spit it in the trash so I avoid its harmful effects.

2.                 What bizarre-ass book/movie scared the crap out of you so bad it changed your behavior (left lights on, made you look in the back seat of your car before getting in, make you look around your house to make sure you were alone, etc)? 

"Helter Skelter" had me sleeping with the lights on for weeks. The fact that the Manson killers got into Sharon Tate's home (with a wall and electrified fence) and slaughtered everyone there was bad enough, but Susan Atkin's description of the Manson Family members breaking into people's homes, crawling around their beds as they lay asleep, and leaving without being found out, completely freaked me out.

3.                 What bizarre-ass thing instantly pisses you off? 

The sight of Fake President Trump's orange face, especially if his mouth is open…so…constantly.

4.                 What was your most bizarre-ass vacation/trip?

Well, it wasn't a vacation, per se, but a mini-trip to a funeral home to see an embalming when I was 12. I was curious, my father was an undertaker. We bonded. 

5.                 What's your most bizarre-ass writing spot? 

Hmmm… I jot ideas down on the toilet sometimes, but I think every writer probably does that. I used to sit in cemeteries occasionally, choosing a particular stone, trying to build a character around the information I found there. (I'm a horror writer.) If I want a creepy vibe, I go at dusk and stay until after dark. 

6.                 Ever do some bizarre-ass thing that almost got you arrested?

Closest thing was I got caught in a speed trap on Marathon Key at about two in the morning. I was temporarily homeless and in a minivan stuffed with everything I owned, and the cop was a colossal prick. He saw my Delaware license plate and grilled me about what the hell I was doing. He gave me a ticket with a hefty fine (that was reduced – he jacked up the amount for the speed I was doing) and had to let me go because I really wasn't doing anything wrong. I just wanted to see the sun rise on Key West before I attended a Heritage Festival the following day where I planned to interview a Native American flutist for a book I was writing.

So much for my crime spree…heh, heh, heh. 

7.                 What's the most bizarre-ass thing you've ever eaten?

Chocolate covered ants. In the unusual but not bizarre-ass category, I have also had smoked rattlesnake (delish!), stewed alligator (also yum), frog legs, and snails.

8.                 What bizarre-ass joke made you laugh so hard you almost peed your pants? 

Well, it's not a joke per se, but the first time I saw Robin Williams stand up on HBO – the very first one before anyone really knew who the hell he was – I laughed so hard I couldn't get my breath.

Wait! I got pranked one time, and it was hilarious! My dentist at the time was a friend of the family, and I needed a bridge after having a tooth pulled. I came into the office to have the permanent bridge inserted, and Doc placed it in my mouth, and said he wasn't happy with the fit, that it would give me problems later. He put the temp bridge (I thought) back in my mouth, handed me lunch money, and said to go with my friend (his office manager), have lunch on him, that he would rush the bridge to the lab, have it fixed and ready by the time we got back. Out we went.

 

It was lunchtime mid-week, and we went to Pat's Pizzeria, which was hopping busy. I kept getting odd looks from people whenever I spoke. I turned to Andrea, and asked, "are my gums bleeding or something? People are looking at me funny." She assured me I was fine. 

 

Long story short we get back to the office and I'm in the chair, and Doc says he wants to take some photos of the bridge, because he wants to document the problem with it in case there were any questions later.  When he got through snapping pics, I noticed Andrea was standing in the doorway to the treatment room. Doc turned to her and said, "time to show her?" Andrea, as well as the rest of the staff, all of whom I was friends with, peeked over Andrea's shoulder. He handed me a mirror and I saw this: 

 

PIC of me with blue teeth/red dots. 

I congratulated him on the best prank ever.

9.                 What bizarre-ass thing have you written just for living-expenses money?

I worked on the correspondence team at a bank writing business letters to mutual fund customers for four years. It was writing…sort of. 

10.            What bizarre-ass thing have you fantasized about but would never, ever do? 

My first husband was a sky-diving instructor and it really looked like awesome fun, but the bum knee screamed, "No freaking way." 

11.            What's the most bizarre-ass thing you ever did on a dare? Brag about it or regret it?

Ate the chocolate-covered ants.

12.            What bizarre-ass experience changed your life forever?

Reading "The Telltale Heart" at age 13. I'd just finished writing a romance novel. Reading Poe started a lifelong fascination with the macabre, and I began writing horror stories, screenplays, and novels.

13.             As a kid, what was the longest/worst punishment you ever got and what bizarre-ass thing did you do? 

My mother was one to lecture if I did something wrong – mostly stupid kid stuff, like I swiped dimes out of her jar to get penny candy for my friends and me a couple times. She noticed. I could swear the lecture lasted for hours…maybe it just seemed that way. I didn't get into much trouble.  I was a serious kid – somewhat introverted and a writer by the time I was eleven. 

14.            What's the most bizarre-ass hair cut/do you've ever had? Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words…heh, heh, heh.

Remember the cartoon "The Hair Bear Bunch"?

 

 

[Originally published on Medium in 2020]

 

 

 

 

Struggle to Write - Flashback to 1995

 [Originally published as a Write Now blog, this was written on 5/21/95, just before massive changes in my life.]

Struggle to Write

Thirty-seven years on shaky ground

Writing always sidetracked.  Marriage, kids, jobs, housework, procrastination.

Family transitional stages, depressions. 

            I’m responsible for my own dreams coming true, even if others stand back waiting for me to fall on my face. 

            As I made notes to myself concerning things to do during the course of next week, I realized I was doing it again.  'It' being, allowing my To Do list to overshadow my To Write list.

            The one constant in my life since I was a small child has been my love for writing.  My love for putting words together on a blank page until they tell a story. 

            And though this passion for the written word has consumed me for well over two decades, my efforts to get my material published has been half-hearted to say the least. 

            There was always something more important than going after what I wanted.

            First of course, there were homework assignments.  Math problems, French vocabulary, science projects.  God forbid I should get a C in French because I spent too much time on an essay for English. (My favorite class by far.)

            Then along came Bill, my husband.  Going through serious teen-aged angst, bombarded daily by problems with his parents, I felt compelled to be there for him.  To encourage him, listen to him, and finally, drop out of college and marry him at the age of nineteen. 

            Bill has always worked hard to support us.  When we were first wed, he held a day job at McDonalds, and a night job at Howard Johnson’s, just to make ends meet.  Naturally I got a job, not wanting to be a lazy, stereotypical lady of leisure.  It never occurred to me to try writing a magazine piece.  Of course, I was only nineteen, what experience did I have to speak of?

            Then our first child came along.  We were struggling financially, but Bill and I came to the conclusion that any job I might land would probably not cover the cost of a decent daycare, so I stayed home with the baby.

            Within six months of our son’s birth, we took in Bill’s grandmother who'd had a falling out with family members she’s been living with.  There I was in a one-bedroom apartment with a 6-month-old infant, a husband who was working himself senseless to support us already, and a grandmother sleeping on our sofa.  I’d written a couple of short stories by then and had submitted them to magazines.  I got them back.  Bill’s grandmother said: “Well, I guess that’s the end of that nonsense.”

            I looked around at the pile of laundry, my child snoozing in his playpen, Bill’s grandmother dusting the bookshelves, and nodded in agreement as I headed into the kitchen to begin preparing a less than modest dinner for us all.  Not only was my time at bare minimum, but I couldn’t afford the postage to keep sending manuscripts to editors just to have them sent back.

            Finally, we moved into a small house in the city of Wilmington.  Bill had gotten a job with a more generous employer and was working hard to pass night school so he could go on to earn his plumbing license.  There were times when he’d worked all day then had to go to class and then go on overtime calls.  I watched the toll mount.  His lunches were Spam or egg sandwiches with a Maalox chaser.  I always tried to make him feel special, while burying my dreams deep inside so my disappointment with getting nowhere wouldn’t show. 

            Then there were the months that I was consumed with potty training and ridding my house of mice and ants.  During that time, I did little writing.  Household chores and baby-rearing seemed all I could handle.

            When Bill was finally through with night school became an official journeyman his employer gave him a raise and we were doing all right financially. We decided it was time for a second child since little Billy was three.  

            Joey was born, and by the time he was a week old he was sleeping through the night.  I, on the other hand, must have been geared to rise for wee-hour feedings because I found myself lying in bed awake by four-thirty every day.  I decided on one of those sleepless mornings to make the most of my insomnia.  I got up and began writing a screenplay.  As I worked on it, I realized I needed answers to questions that books weren’t giving me.  I attended a screenwriting seminar in Philadelphia one weekend.  I sponged up everything Michael Hague had to say, and applied it to my screenplay work. 

            Writing from four to seven each day I completed two screenplays in as many years.  Only to find out as I began contacting production companies that screenplays are a penny a dozen and virtually impossible to sell. 

            I thought though, that perhaps it was my subject matter, and wrote yet another three screenplays while raising my boys, encouraging my husband to study for his mechanic's license and take the test. I knew if he struck out on his own, he could have a successful plumbing business and call his own shots. And I was right.

            I was awarded a job answering the business phone.

            This was a mixed blessing.  On the one hand, I hate talking on the phone.  Even as a teen-ager I hated talking on the phone (imagine!), and I cringe whenever I hear that nerve-grating electronic warble.  On the other hand, the phone tied me to the house and since my children were both in school, (Joey was in nursery school for a couple of hours a day), the job gave me time to write. 

            Several months after starting the business we moved to a new house with an extra bedroom we converted into an office.  (And no mice or ants to chase!)

            I expanded my best two screenplays into novels, gathered and polished up my several short stories, printed up my material and decided to go agent shopping. 

            I’ve sent out synopses packets to dozens of agencies and have come to the conclusion that agents are like everyone else.  They will pick an author with a book deal in the works before they’d pick an author who needs them to field one.     

            Two weeks ago, I decided to quit the phone work.  Aside from some personal reasons for quitting the job, I wanted to see if I could actually make money doing what I genuinely love, instead of pasting a smile on my face while answering that annoying warble. 

            I’ve put myself in a do or die position, financially.  I told Bill that I was giving myself a couple of months to make money writing, or I’d get a part time job.

            Though Bill is supportive on the surface I think in some ways he knows me better than I know myself and is waiting to see if I’ll fall on my face. 

            In the past two weeks (I did say I was going to take a little time for myself) I’ve sent off a magazine article and some greeting card sentiments.  Period.

            I’ve taken care of all the out-of-the-house chores I couldn’t do while tied to the phones during the days of the past six years. 

            I’ve splurged and visited relatives I haven’t been to see for the same reason. 

            I’ve been taking 1-1/2 hour walks each morning (I’m trying to lose 85 pounds that have accumulated during my 17-year marriage), and my laundry is even all caught up.

            It’s time already!  I woke up with an allergy attack three hours ago, and as I sat in my rec-room, draining, I couldn’t help trying to sort through my hang-ups.

            It’s easy to me to see why I’ve yet to achieve my dreams, and even easier to blame it on everything and everyone else in my life.  What it all boils down to is responsibility.

            My responsibility to myself.

            I remember nudging Bill when his confidence in himself waned.  “You’re wonderful at what you do!  You practically run your boss’ business!  Run your own!  Just take the step and do it!”

            He must have been so scared, then, with the whole family’s welfare riding on his success or failure.

            But my instincts about Bill were right.

            Just as I think my instincts about my writing are right.

            Well, my sinuses are just about drained and I’m getting a little sleepy.  Funny how a little thing likes an allergy attack can become a turning point in your life.

            I need to encourage myself just like I encourage my husband and sons; not to mention my mother, and my friends.

            I think I’ve earned my turn to work on my own dreams and make them come true.

            And sooner or later I’ll convince an editor of that. 

 

Beau of the Fifth Column - Appearances are Deceiving

 

June 27, 2021

Greetings Friends,

Let's talk about Beau of the Fifth Column….

A little preface:   While researching the political scene in 2020, looking up politics, civil rights, BLM, gun violence, and of course T**** and his crime syndicate that raped and plundered our democracy for four years, I found a wide range of information on YouTube spanning the whole array of issues from every point of view, far left, far right, and everything in between. As I watched a police officer murder George Floyd, I knew it would touch off violence all over the country, just as it had so many times before, and I dreaded how the racist, soulless T**** administration would react to even peaceful protestors after witnessing his acceptance of neo-Nazis and Klan members earlier during his rule. Appalled at the stand the conservative right (I'm being polite, I usually have less complimentary names for the racist hate-mongers, which is also being polite.) represented on every single issue, I leaned left. I tried to stay objective and fair, but early on realized there was little if anything the GOP had to offer that I could defend – most of their blatant, criminal behavior was completely unspeakable, certainly un-American, much of it nothing short of insane.

But I digress. I found solace in the sane voices of Elizabeth Warren, Former President Obama, Joe Biden, AOC, Jake Tapper, Dan Rather, Sarah Kendzior, David Cay Johnston, Craig Unger, The View, Stephen King, and entertainers like Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Randy Rainbow, Ron Perlman, Robert Di Nero, Alyssa Milano, and many other voices of sanity who, though it was impossible to extinguish the burning ache in the pit of my belly during four years of hell, at least let me know that I was not the only American being gaslit by the psychopaths in control.

Every time I pulled up liberal politicians, journalists, or entertainers on YouTube, this icon of a heavily bearded, baseball-hat-bedecked guy under the handle 'Beau of the Fifth Column' (@BeauOTF) kept popping up. I kept wondering why, with all the liberal-leaning folks I was accessing on YouTube, this redneck-looking guy kept appearing in my sidebar.

Finally, I thought to myself, "Okay, maybe this dude is more middle of the road, or at least has some intelligence," and in the spirit of objectivity I opened up one of his videos.

Before I was a third of the way through the video, I realized that as much as I consider myself open-minded, I'd judged a book by its cover, and shame, shame on me.

Beau of the Fifth Column, aka Justin King, from that very first video, has educated me, clarified, exposed, and reported on current and historical events in a calm and reasonable manner, and in five- to ten-minute videos (usually two per day) put most of my high school Social Studies courses to shame.

I consider myself a moderate liberal (there is only one issue I lean conservative on, which is another blog).

Beau is a liberal, describing himself as an adversarial journalist – which is accurate.

I learned a lot from Beau over the past 18 months, but the most valuable lesson is that the way to sift through all the propaganda and politics to unearth the truth: When you're reading or watching news, absorb it as a human being – not as an American, black person, white person, man, woman, male, female, gay person, Democrat, Republican, rich person, poor person, liberal, conservative, professional person, unemployed person, or religious person. Just as a human being considering how the issue will impact neighbors, animals, and the earth. If it breathes, it hurts – just like me. Treat every living being with compassion and generosity, and respect the earth which sustains every living thing.

If you start listening with that kind of mindfulness, with genuine concern about living beings, and the earth, instead of just profit margins and political talking points, you begin to understand how much nonsense we're force fed every single day by the government and media that feeds off of it.

In the midst of a decent community, struggling to thrive despite a corrupt, thieving, elitest government, Beau is a voice of reason who leads the way through the myriad of distractions slung in our faces every time we power up a communication device. He reminds us with every broadcast that we have minds that need to be opened, expanded, and are capable of critical thinking necessary to sift through the lies, and hearts that beat strong leading us to embrace everyone in our community – everyone – and share equally our bounties as well as our scarcities – and when members of our government betray our trust, we have the power to work in our communities and come up with solutions for ourselves. If we work together in our neighborhoods, cities, counties, states – we can create our own changes and build our own futures. We all should have each other's backs.

Beau reminds anyone viewing his channel that just by listening – really listening – to people we find out that there are no others – there is just us: people trying to raise our children and maybe leave our little smidgen of the world in better shape than we found it. That the ripple effect is real – your every action has an impact, has consequence, not only for you, but for your family, neighbors, and planet.

Beau, with his every broadcast, reminds us of that. All people with open minds and hearts should be listening. More importantly, all people who've been misled and gaslit by propaganda and lies, whose hearts have hardened against their neighbors and who have forgotten what's really important in life should be listening. Because we all need reminders – Beau brings us a couple a day – every day – on his channels and website.

Links and quotes: 

Beau of the Fifth Column (main YouTube channel)

The Roads with Beau (Second YouTube channel)

https://justinking.org

www.facebook.com/beautfc  (Facebook)

@BeauOTF   (Twitter)

TheFifthColumnNews.com (Journalism outlet)

PontiacTribune.com

GreedMedia.com

SleeperCells.US

 

Quotes that appear on his web page: 

"The capital of the United States is the home to the best of the worst humanity has to offer. The most corrupt, the most deceitful, the most tyrannical, the most greedy, and the most evil rise through the ranks of the political machines and eventually find themselves safely in bed participating in the incestuous orgy of corruption occurring daily in Washington DC." – Justin King

 

"If you allow the law to determine your morality, you are letting lawyers and politicians teach you right from wrong." – Justin King.

 

 

Blaze McRob's Patreon Page is a Goldmine for Readers!

Blaze McRob Fans:

 

Just letting you know that you can read several of Blaze's novels on his Patreon page.  These novels are completed:

Wolf Whispers

Mists of Papoose Pond

Last Chance

Destiny Changed

'68 Buick 

 

Currently Blaze is publishing Quarter Moon Haunts a chapter at a time.

 

In addition to the novels on his Patreon page, Blaze has published dozens of short stories.  He publishes every day, and already has over 240 posts on Patreon which will give you plenty of reading material – and it will keep on coming. 

$3 a month is an amazing bargain! Subscribe and start reading today! 

Blaze McRob is creating Stories, Novels, Horror, and Fiction | Patreon