The Red Wings just beat the Senators in a shootout.
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?
Well, 2020 is not off to a good start for me. First I was sick, and now I’m struggling with emotions. Overnight, I went off and on about whether I should keep up this daily blogging goal. This post here indicates that I’ve decided to push forward.
Guys, I probably won’t get mad if you, after reading a post where I mention I’m sick, suggest I see a doctor. I might get mad if, after I tell you I don’t need to see a doctor, you call me a stubborn ass or something similar.
Maybe you were joking and it went over my head. Or maybe you were being snarky and I caught it right in the face. Under the circumstances, a comment like that could have been intended one way or the other, and it’s entirely possible that someone could take such a comment the wrong way.
But if you then tell me it was a joke, I’ll likely believe you. I know that I take things the wrong way a lot, but I’m probably not always wrong.
I blog about all kinds of things, some of it could be considered personal stuff. But I don’t share anything that I’m not comfortable sharing. I’ll likely get mad if you tell me I shouldn’t have posted something.
I blog for a number of reasons. I enjoy it and it’s an outlet for me. There are things that I want to say and I write better than I talk. Sometimes I try to be entertaining and sometimes I try to be educational. I have experiences that I want to share and maybe people will be able to relate or feel comfort, or whatever. Sometimes my posts are short entries and sometimes they’re long rants.
I’ve been asked if I write nonfiction. My answer is no, not really, not for money, anyway. I’m just not very interested in writing nonfiction. I’m a fiction writer. Fiction is the stuff that I consider work. It’s what I send to publishers in hopes of making a buck..
But then, there’s my website, RobDarnell.com, where I’ve posted hundreds of pieces of nonfiction (Everything that I post on my website is also posted on Facebook and JAD). So, I guess that’s another thing that my blog is. Nonfiction.
If I’m ever offered money to write nonfiction for a publisher, I would probably take the gig. But I’m not actively looking to sell nonfiction.
I’m starting to feel like myself again. I feel much better. I’d say I’m 92% cured. My energy is returning. Today I wrote five new pages into the novel and I edited five pages of a short story. I aim for more than that, but that’s still a decent score.
My new alarm clock just arrived. I’m not yet sure how it works, but it’s supposed to shake the bed. I’m not completely deaf, but I sleep through my alarms too much. I’d heard about these clocks since MSD, but I’ve never had one before. I hope it makes a difference.
Going to cook a pasta-burger mix for supper. I like Barilla medium shell pasta best, and Prego Italian Sausage & Garlic pasta sauce. The burger comes from the Brower Farms in Brown City.
Think I’ll go ahead and install one of my old games. I want to relax for the rest of the evening.