Broken Old Broad Blogs Week in the Rearview - Sunday, August 8, 2021

Hiya Everybody,

I just wanted to let you know that I plan to post this blog on Sunday evenings (possibly Monday morning if I'm running late or family stuff comes up on Sunday…you know how it is.) and share it on my Twitter and Facebook pages. (Links at the bottom of the blog.) So if you follow me on social media, you can find the handy links to my blogs there.

As far as personal updates go, this week was quiet. I've been in editing mode, trying to get BOB Writes online as well as editing an upcoming project for Blaze next week. Busy, busy, busy. But it's joyful busy. 

I made a very loose interpretation of blueberry cobbler last week when Blaze came in from his daily walk with a bagful of blueberries he picked on a vacant lot near our neighborhood.  It was pretty good, but we decided we prefer folding the blueberries into vanilla pudding. All kinds of sweet berry goodness. 

Exciting, right? We haven't gotten back into the swing of things quite yet since the pandemic seems to be dicking us over again with more surges in cases. We are both vaccinated but are still wearing masks when we go out – because vaccinated people can still carry the virus and infect others. I would be incredibly upset if I ended up carrying Covid and giving it to someone else. Although at this point, everybody who's eligible should be vaccinated. I don't understand why people are taking such foolish chances with their health, other than the whole pandemic was politicized and most of the GOP misled whole swaths of the population down a dangerous, life-threatening path. But still. At this point I have zero sympathy for adults (who are eligible for the vaccine) who get sick because they refuse to get vaccinated or even wear a mask. And adults who don't get their children (who are eligible) vaccinated just confound me. Who takes chances with their children's health? Ugh. 

Okay, rant over.

I guess that's about it. It was a busy week but kinda dull for you guys to read.

 

The Laundry Experiment

I've been trying to whittle down my usage of appliances recently, a little experiment. I bought a little washboard and have been handwashing Blaze's and my clothes, sheets, towels, etc. The only thing I haven't tried yet is blankets. I do the washing in the kitchen sink (which in fact, in our studio apartment is a bar sink, though set in a counter) in our little galley kitchen, and wonder if I'd be able to manage a blanket.

Part of this experiment is simply to see if I can do without the machinery – so far so good. The other is that I'm disabled and dragging load after load of laundry upstairs to my landlord's kitchen where the machines are located is actually more work than washing out a few pieces of clothing each day after I do the morning dishes. The washboard is made of bamboo and is only about 8 inches wide. I also discovered Zote soap in bar form. I was concerned about whether it would bother my allergies, but it has a light citrussy scent that just smells clean. It lasts forever – I've been doing laundry by hand for about six or seven weeks now and have barely dented the bar.

I let clothes soak in hot water with OxyClean (undies overnight, shirts and pants for about half an hour), in a bucket. When the clothes are done soaking, I dump the bucket in the sink and rinse. I bought a cheap but wholly effective collapsible drying rack which I positioned in front of a small fan so that the clothes dry quicker. Takes 'em about 8 to 12 hours, depending on the thickness of the cloth.

I have managed to get stains out of some pieces of clothing that I thought were ruined. All in all it's been a good experience that I plan to continue permanently. 

As an added bonus, my arm muscles are toning up nicely.  😊  

Okay, on to the rest of the blog!

Writing project update – Terri

It's been a busy writing and editing week. I edited two upcoming projects for Blaze, and finished editing Broken Old Broad Writes and published it Saturday. Over a month ago I remember saying to Blaze, "Oh, I should have this edited and published in a week.  Yeah…right. I forgot the half dozen or so articles that needed finishing, and that the whole lot of them needed to be reformatted.

It turned into a 245+ page monster that kept growing.  Plus I did 4 complete edits to make sure I didn't miss any glitches, typos, or other screwups. I mean – it's a writing book.  I don't want to be laughed out of my profession.  On the bright side, I am a week earlier than the hard deadline a set for myself last week, so all is good. And having the bonus time means that I'll be able to start editing Broken Old Broad Scared Healthy a week early, and get that collection of articles and essays up early as well. Then I can focus on my novel, Diamond Lil and Gaslit Granny, which I hope to have completed by spring…emphasis on hope. If not, July 4^th would be a good release date…it's sort of an independence kind of a book. At least for me. 

So new stuff of mine up on Amazon – woot! 

Broken Old Broad Writes

https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Broad-Writes-Terri-DelCampo-ebook/dp/B09C43QK3W/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=broken+old+broad+writes+terri+delcampo&qid=1628463965&sr=8-2

Writing project update – Blaze

We re-released Blaze's novel '68 Buick recently, so if you didn't catch it the first time around, here it is: 

https://www.amazon.com/68-Buick-Blaze-McRob-ebook/dp/B01KPAYEK6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=68+buick+blaze+mcrob&qid=1628464101&s=books&sr=1-1

Quote of the week: 

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self." – Ernest Hemingway

QOTW Honorable Mention:

I'm reading The Great Shark Hunt – Gonzo Papers Volume 1 by Hunter S. Thompson which is a collection of articles that includes his coverage of Watergate. As everything was going down and Nixon was getting ready to resign in disgrace, Thompson described it as "watching Nixon sink deeper and deeper in the quicksand of his own excrement." 

A big, satisfied smile crossed my face as I read that, because I drew a lot of parallels between Nixon and Scump. (Scump is far, far worse than Nixon ever was…but that's another blog.) With Scump's band of thugs being investigated and charged and going to court, and knowing that the Justice Department is only scraping the surface so far, I thought this quote was apt. And, like I said, an extremely satisfying comparison.

Book(s) I read this week: 

They Say – Ida B. Wells and the Reconstruction of Race by James West Davidson

She spoke the truth with a "pungent pen", to quote the papers of her day.  While she was a teacher, activist, and journalist, Ida (Iola – penname) Wells' main mission in life was to draw attention to and in turn see lynching (which ran rampant in the late 1800s especially) eradicated. Horrific tortures, followed by hangings and burnings were public events – postcards were even made of these despicable horror shows. 

Ida B. Wells was a determined, brilliant, gutsy woman who risked her life to publish the truth and fight with her pen for justice and equality for her race. 

I highly recommend you read this educational and thought-provoking book and perhaps several that the author lists in his bibliography.

I was dismayed to read this book and realize just how racist my country still is more than a century later. Most of it is spurred by sheer ignorance with a shovel full of meanness that often incites violence. Education is the key to calming that violence and learning to step into the future as one people, celebrating all the cultures of our country, both indigenous and immigrant. We might have started off on the wrong foot, but that doesn't mean we can't make things right.

Movie(s) I watched this week:

The Dressmaker – So many plot twists and surprises! Excellent film that I really liked. It made me laugh, it made me cry – a lot on both counts. The characters were textured and gritty. The entire cast gave stellar performances, especially Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Sarah Snook and Liam Hemsworth. If you're looking for small-town drama and mysterious circumstances, this is your film. 

Product I recommend this week:

I just got the Bissell Pet Stain Eraser cleaner. To preface this, Blaze and I have a tiny apartment that's only one-third carpeted. There is a high traffic spot in the middle of that carpeting that was positively disgusting. (We live in a large bonus room off the garage on a wooded lot, so vacuuming is a daily thing.) Plus the carpeting is taupe. ☹ Between limited storage space and not really needing a large machine to do this relatively small job I went on Amazon. I started looking for the Bissell that's like an upright vacuum size, and then saw this little hand-held model. Sold. It worked great, even taking up stains that were in the carpet for the past couple of years (I know, gross…but I never said I was a flawless housekeeper). I used the fluid that came with the cleaner, but I went online to see if there was any commentary about variations. One woman said you can use any cleaner you want in it, including vinegar and water. She recommended using very hot water with the cleaning fluid of choice).  I think when I do the next area (I'm disabled and any task that requires bending over I do in small increments, so I don't further cripple myself) I'm going to dissolve Oxyclean into hot water, add a tiny bit of Dawn dish soap. Also, I've read that if you put shaving cream on a rug and scrub it into a stain a bit and let it sit for an hour then clean it up, it cleans well without saturating the carpet. But the BPSE is like a little wet vac, and really pulled up the moisture on the first patch I did.

All in all, I give this appliance a big thumbs up. 

Recipe of the week: 

I wouldn't say recipe, so much and a throw-together thingy because Farmer Blaze came into the kitchen with his first banana peppers. I wanted to stuff them but didn't have much to do that with. And there were only three of them. I looked in the cupboard and spied a can of spicy refried beans and smiled.  I mixed refried beans and shredded cheddar cheese together, split the peppers lengthwise (saving the seeds for Farmer Blaze to plant) and stuffed 'em. Popped 'em in the oven until the cheese melted and the filling browned a bit. They were YUM!  Can't wait for more.  Thanks Farmer Blaze!

YouTube:

I watch a lot of YouTube both for research purposes as well as entertainment.  There are some I watch every night (like Beau of the Fifth Column, Dr. Ramani, TED Talks, and Stand Up comedy), some I watch as frequently as they drop videos, (like Bailey Sarian and Caitlin Doughty) and some I watch less often. I try to watch at least one lengthier interview so I can do a Jigidi.com puzzle (or two) guilt free because I'm still getting research done.  Heh, heh, heh. 

Anyway, in my opinion, some of the best videos In the Rearview this week were: 

Beau of the Fifth Column:

BEAU OF THE FIFTH COLUMN – LET'S TALK ABOUT REPUBLICANS REJECTING DEMOCRACY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx2JD5TR6VU

The most chilling Beau link of the week, saying that 67 % of the GOP think voting is a privilege rather than a right, and therefore are abandoning the fundamental principles of our country and democracy. They are setting the stage for an autocracy. 

Bailey Sarian:

Dark History Podcast – The Dark History of Lobotomy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feHnfZ7Tsyc

I love Bailey Sarian's Murder, Mystery, and Makeup on Monday nights, and the Dark History podcasts on Thursdays are equally fascinating. I recommend both. If you're just discovering Bailey Sarian's stuff, she has a lot that will keep you glued to your screen for weeks. She's gaining lots of followers, and I'm genuinely happy for her success.

A word about my social pages – particularly Facebook:

My personal page is listed below, and then I have subpages:

Oh Say Can You See – This page is for my commentary, posts, blogs and links of a political nature. Mainly because I wanted to keep my personal page light. I'm an extremely opinionated Broken Old Broad, as you have undoubtedly discovered if you've read my blogs – or social page comments – and especially during the Scump era I decided it would be healthier and happier to compartmentalize my Facebook account.

Terri DelCampo, Author – Same deal. Not that I don't share the daylights out of my books and blogs on my personal page, but I tend to keep the writing stuff corralled on my author page.  Then writer and publisher friends don't have to wade through Simon the Cat videos, my cousins' wedding pics, dozens of recipes, snarky GIFs, mushy GIFs (to Farmer Blaze, only), and other various non-literary twaddle.

Owl's Eye View Magazine – I started this page years ago when OEV was going full steam. I have published all 104 existing issues both separately and in a bundle for enthusiasts. I think there will be more activity on this page before the end of the year, as I am tossing around an idea for an new OEV project.

 

Terri DelCampo Sites and Contact Information:

Blazing Owl Press (Founding Partner/writer/editor):

http://www.blazingowlpress.blogspot.com/

Twitter Page:

https://twitter.com/terridelcampo

 

Broken Old Broad Blogs (Personal update blog):

http://terridelcampo.blogspot.com/

 

Facebook: Personal Page:

https://www.facebook.com/terri.delcampo

Facebook: Owl's Eye View Magazine Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Owls-Eye-View-Magazine-296740517101/?fref=ts

 

Facebook: Blazing Owl Press Page:

https://www.facebook.com/BlazingOwlPress?ref=hl

 

Facebook: Oh Say Can You See Page (Op-Ed/Political):

https://www.facebook.com/Oh-Say-Can-You-See-115986311782935/?ref=pages_you_manage

 

 

More Terri DelCampo Titles:

 

NOVELS

 

Reflection

Into the Mist

Holy Terrors

MEDS

Parliament

True Crime Shelf

James Reborn

 

NOVELLAS

 

Tooth for a Tooth

Screech

Carnival / Carnival Battle

Night Ops

 

NOVELETTE

 

Ides of March

 

SHORT STORY SINGLE

 

Food Truck Fair

 

BLAZING OWL SHORT HORROR STORIES

 

Shonk

Joinings

Flash In the Pan

And He Screamed

 

SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS

 

Assbiters from Hell (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Happy Bloody Whatever (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Romantic Shadows (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Blazin' Toybox (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Silver Hells (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Blood Spatter (Co-Authored with Blaze McRob)

Chills (Holiday Horror)

 

ANTHOLOGIES

 

Morbid Metamorphosis (Published by Lycan Valley Press)

Grey Matter Monsters (Published by Lycan Valley Press)

 

LITERARY PERIODICALS

 

Owl's Eye View Magazine – Dark Fiction Individual Issues 1 - 104

Owl's Eye View Magazine – 1-104 Issue Bundle

 

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

 

The Tales of Princess Rosie & Joey Owl

The Adventures of Kid Joey

Team RoJo & Friends

 

POETRY COLLECTIONS

 

Scumpericks (Satirical Limericks)

Broken Old Broad Busts a Beat – Love Poems: 1969 – 2021

Broken Old Broad Busts a Beat – Ho – Po (Horror Poems)

Broken Old Broad Busts a Beat – Op - Po (Opinion Poetry)

 

 

NON-FICTION

 

Terri's Bookshelf – Intriguing Authors I Read in 2015

Broken Old Broad Writes

Broken Old Broad Scared Healthy

Stomach-Roiling Articles & Poems (2016-2021)

 

 

DISCLAIMERS:

MEDICAL:

Any medical information within my articles is my own, and applies to only myself. It is not intended as advice for anyone else. Before making any changes to your own health regimen, you should absolutely talk it over with your healthcare professional first, just to be safe.

FICTION:

My horror and other fictional works are just that – fiction. I made the whole thing up.

**

©Copyright

Copyright 2021 by Terri DelCampo. All rights reserved.  In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitutes unlawful piracy and theft of the author's intellectual property.  If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting Blazing Owl Press or the author directly.  Thank you for your support of the author's rights.

 

 

 

 

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.