My dad just sent me this picture. It’s me, Aunt Barb and my brother Fred. I’m the one with funky hair and Taz shirt. I don’t remember this picture.
The picture was taken from the Dollar General parking lot. The parking lot of the ice-cream place is a lake. And that’s just the beginning.
The big winter storm is coming. We’re expecting freezing rain, snow, high winds and whatnot. I will probably lose power, for how many days is unknown.
I don’t have a generator, but I can manage without electricity. I could go to my mom and dad’s, where they have a big generator ready to go on as soon as the power goes out, but I’d rather stay home, unless it gets too cold.
I got Armour Vienna Sausage and beef jerky and I plan to boil a dozen eggs and keep them in the refrigerator. Because when the power goes out, I won’t be able to cook, and I need meat. I have plenty of bottled water and pop., and I have snack foods.
My phone will be on the charger until the power goes out. After that, my phone usage will be limited, so I don’t run down the battery.
I’m ready. Bring it on.
This picture was taken just before I left the Suncrest nursing home in November, where we had that little family gathering for Aunt Barb. I’m not sure who took it. I didn’t even know there was a picture until later. All I knew at that moment was I wasn’t leaving without saying goodbye to Aunt Barb.
The celebratory mass will be January 20, 11 AM, at the St Joseph Catholic church in Lake Orion.
Every once in a while, Michael Knost posts a question on Facebook about books that we’ve read. For example, his latest question about books was “What was your first book that made an impact on you as a reader?”
I’m often among those who responds. I love books and I appreciate the invitation to share about the books I’ve read. Though, to several different questions that Mike had posted over the years, my answer was “The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton.”
This copy here is the exact same copy that I read when I was 12 or 13. I kept it all these years. It was just lying around the house when I was a kid. I believe it came in a box of used books that our aunt Charlotte gave us.
There is no book that I love more than The Outsiders. I relate to Ponyboy in a lot of ways. This is also the only book that I’ve read more than a few times. I read it several times when I was a teenager, and I read it a few more times when I was in my twenties. I plan to read it again. It’s on my to-read list, I just haven’t gotten to it yet.
The Outsiders influenced my writing. I feel it every time I’m writing a story. The emotions that I try to bring out of my characters and hopefully my readers. I’m always trying to write something that will shatter even the toughest of my readers. But I’ll probably never pull it off the way S.E. Hinton did.
Well, today was productive. I wrote ten new pages into the novel and I edited 10 pages of a short story.
I’m sad that Mike Resnick died. He once explained to me how he was able to write around 15,000 words a day, finishing novels in a few days. Resnick was one of the writers who inspired me to just bang down one story after another.
I just got the text from my dad. Aunt Barb passed away this morning. This feels like “The Queen has died.” and church bells should ring for hundreds of miles. Barb was Catholic and she carried herself with dignity.
The drums of doom sound in my head as deep depression washes over me. I approached 2020 eager to launch a new year. I had hopes of high productivity, successes, and I had planned to get out more and have a social life. I thought 2020 would be a good year for me.
Since day one, 2020 has been a downward spiral. An entry that I had intended to be nothing more than an update about my day started a chain reaction of misconceptions that I cannot set straight. Now I feel like I could never again be in the same room with those involved.
I’m struggling to hold my head above the water. Maybe I’ll make it to shore, but it’s hard when my ankle is tied to a brick. Maybe I’ll make it to shore or maybe I won’t, and I’m not sure I care if I don’t.
I admit that I had rooted for the New England Patriots in the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl a few times. But I was getting tired of them, winning the Super Bowl year after year. There was always this controversy surrounding the Pats, about whether they played an honest game of football.
Last season, I rooted against the Pats and they won the Super Bowl anyway. This season, I’m glad the Titans knocked the Pats out of the playoffs in the Wildcard Round. It makes me feel like the playoffs will be more enjoyable. Less bickering, and no controversial mindfucks about whether someone let the air out of the ball.
The Divisional Round is January 11 and 12. AFC will be Titans Vs Ravens and Texans Vs Chiefs. NFC will be Vikings Vs 49ers and Seahawks Vs Packers.
I’m rooting for Green Bay. The Cheeseheads are my number two team in NFL. If the Packers should fall, my next pick would be one of four teams, Titans, Ravens, Chiefs or 49ers.
I know, during the preseason, I predicted that the Lions would win the Super Bowl this season. I was wrong.
Michigan’s men’s basketball team just lost to Michigan State. 69-87. I thought Michigan might catch up in the last few minutes. They did not.
When I realized the men were playing State today too, I thought the men and women teams had traveled across the state together, but nope. The women’s game was on Wolverine turf and the men’s game was on Spartan turf.
I just watched Michigan’s women’s basketball team beat Michigan State. 35-32. They were toe to toe when I turned the game on and it was a little tense.
There are times when I’m in discussions about sports and someone says they don’t have time for men and their balls. I immediately think about the women’s leagues that are struggling. I think WNBA is doing okay, but it’s not as popular as NBA. I know there is, or was, a women’s professional football league. Women’s football leagues surface and then collapse because of lack of support.
When people say they don’t have time for men and their balls, I’m thinking maybe they would be interested in supporting the women’s leagues that need to grow their fanbases.
I tell them about the women’s leagues and suggest that they might be interested in following them. Then they say, they’re not interested in sports.
Why didn’t they just say that? Why did they have to make a comment about men and their balls?