Change my Stripes? Not.

Time was when guys working in banks wore coats and ties. They just did. It didn’t matter if you met with clients once a minute or once a year. Most of my banking career has been spent involved with the management of the back office where many transactions are processed but few customers tread. Despite the fact that we in bank operations were a tad overdressed in de rigueur jacket and cravat, at least the neckwear provided an outlet for style and flair.

Enter casual Fridays, and 20 percent of the tie wearing was gone, just like that. After everyday casual arrived, my collection of ties seemed to be every bit as overabundant as Pat Dye’s. Some of you might remember the 1987 Sugar Bowl in which the former Auburn football coach chose to kick a field goal with four seconds remaining to tie 11-0 Syracuse 16-16. To express extreme consternation, a Syracuse radio station instigated the collection and delivery of thousands of neckties to Dye. He autographed and contributed them for sale to raise money for Auburn’s scholarship fund. My original point was that without neckties there rose a need for a new way to channel all of that pent up style and flair.

By chance, I bought a pair of top-to-toe striped socks. They were actually rather conservative with varying stripe widths of blue, gray, black, and white. During a biennial checkup, my dermatologist told me she liked them, going on to say she thought most guys wouldn’t be confident enough to wear striped socks. I told her that striped socks did not scare me and went on to let her know that I would not hesitate to eat quiche on the same day I was wearing a pink shirt. After thinking about this exchange, it dawned on me that striped socks were the perfect successor to neckties as a way to express style and flair.

That’s when I started buying nothing but striped socks. They were tough to find back then, though they are more easily procured nowadays. It took a while, but I eventually reached a point at which I was able to abandon all of my non-striped socks. I even have ultra-conservative stripers that I have worn with tuxedos.

I do have some slight exceptions. For instance, I buy argyles under the premise that their patterns are stripes of diamonds. There are also checked socks in my collection, justifiable in that they display stripes of squares. I even have one pair of polka dot socks in my drawer. That’s right, their pattern forms stripes of dots. Oh, yeah. Vertical stripes make for a nice change of pace.

Forget that adage about the avoidance of quiche by real men. It ain’t so. I’m a Southern boy, a Louisiana Southern boy. We know good food, and quiche are some. Real men wear striped socks. Real men in my family and circle of friends are discovering this for themselves, one pair at a time. Besides, you just feel better when you’re wearing striped socks. A purple and gold pair is an excellent way to exercise bragging rights for the LSU Tigers’ national football championship, don’t you think? I waved the wheat when Kansas won the national basketball title, but it would have been more fun with socks sporting stripes of Jayhawks. By degree, my wife worships the mythical bird of KU, so I get to play, too. Maybe she’ll get me some socks like that.

Anyway, I thought I’d give you a glimpse of my realness. So here’s a picture of my collection of striped socks.

Can You Spell Hiatus?

H-i-a-t-u-s.

In this reference, it is a euphemism for being out of routine, distracted, otherwise occupied, and downright lazy. Yet again I must apologize for my failure to write with regularity.

Excuses. However inadequate they might be, here they are:

Out of routine. We went through what was supposed to be a six-week remodel of our kitchen and ended up taking a lot longer. Contractors, especially good ones with lots of jobs, never guess right when it comes to time frames. The project necessitated setting up a cooking and dining outpost in our family room. It also included annexation of our patio. Grilling there was familiar, but heating water in a tub in the microwave in order to wash dishes on our patio table was too much like camping. My idea of roughing it is staying in a hotel that doesn't have a coffeemaker and minibar in every room. The half bath off our kitchen provides our only facilities of the type on our first floor, and it was out of commission for the duration. Upstairs and downstairs are words that should not be associated with that many trips to the head.

Distractions. First ventures into large processes and projects with new bosses fry the brain. Most often, my brain is involved with my writing. Ergo stuff at work impeded writing progress for a while.

Otherwise occupied. Lots of spare time was used getting in shape for a bicycling weekend in Rocheport, Missouri. Riding the Katy Trail as it traced the Missouri River was a delightful experience. In addition to simply gorgeous scenery, we also saw prehistoric pictographs on the side of the bluffs and caves formerly used by the Katy railroad for storage of explosives. Riding our bikes through the Katy's only rail tunnel was interesting, too. Having one of my stepdaughters and her husband along for the adventure simply amplified the fun.

Our stay at the School House Bed & Breakfast there was pure pleasure. The accommodations and the victuals were top notch.

We also savored the offerings of Le Bourgeois Vineyards and their Blufftop Bistro and Winegarden. The view of the Mighty Mo from the restaurant's perch is spectacular. When I mentioned that one of the menu items, an appetizer called arancini, reminded me of the wonderful Sicilian dish served under the same name by deservedly famous Gino's Restaurant operated by Marino family in my hometown of Baton Rouge, the chef sent a complimentary serving of his version to our table for sampling.

The folks at the Trailside Cafe & Bike Shop at the Rocheport Trailhead provided invaluable information about the trail, scrumptious food, and even got our address on the sly from my stepdaughter and mailed me their recipe for seven-layer salad.

Rocheport is a great venue for antique shopping. We enjoyed simply looking at most of the places. Several items made it impossible for us to get out of Richard Saunders, Inc., located in the historic 170 year old Wilcox House, without parting with some of our money.

What nice people we found in the little river town. Relaxation, indulgence, and fun abound there.

We punctuated the middle of our Rocheport weekend with a 15 mile jaunt (by car) to Columbia for the Saturday night session of the Roots ’N’ Blues ’N’ BBQ Festival. My favorite blues artist, Taj Mahal, was the headliner of the evening. I thought that seemed to fit perfectly, since one of my favorite Taj songs is "She Caught the Katy (and Left Me a Mule to Ride)."

Otherwise occupied even more. We also went to Estes Park to attend the nuptials of the daughter of dear friends. A really nice cabin at the YMCA Camp shared with three other couples of dear friends provided a place to rest our heads for the weekend of the wedding. The event was both touching and beautiful. An exceptional suite at Mary's Lake Lodge was an excellent home base for the extra few days we stayed. It was fortuitous that we were in Estes for the Elk Festival. The good townsfolk actually close a golf course for two weeks to allow large numbers of elk to graze and mate. Even Mr. Spock would have found it fascinating.


Otherwise occupied more than more. Another trip to Tulsa for a visit with my other stepdaughter and her husband was fun and relaxing. It afforded a rare opportunity for a round of golf. This son-in-law is quite proficient on the links and yet so kind and patient to share the fairways and greens with this unpracticed duffer. Years ago I worried about my scores. Though I now play less often, I relish the opportunity to commune with nature on a beautiful course. The way I play, I commune with parts of nature unknown to most folks. The kids made our stay relaxing and fun.

Otherwise occupied even more than that. It was fun to visit Big BR on the weekend of the LSU-Florida football game. Watching a Tiger game with folks from Red Stick (the English translation of Baton Rouge, for those of you who haven't figured it out) is a rare pleasure for a bayou boy transplanted in Kansas. I watched it with my mom and twin daughters. One daughter is a sports aficionado of the highest degree, while the other could care less. The contest was so exciting that the could-care-less daughter was, possibly for the first time ever, watching a pigskin contest with bated breath. How about them Tigers, huh?

And more. At least this flavor of otherwise "occupiedness" is productive from a writing perspective. The short story I mentioned in my long ago last post is finally in progress. It is an effort to get some publishing cred. I'm shooting for something between 7,500 to 10,000 words, but as I have gotten into it, I could easily see expanding it out to novel length if I decide to do so later. Visions of Billy Bob Thornton's 25-minute short, Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade, and full-length Sling Blade cross my mind.

Downright lazy. All Southern boys can do this. Though we don't do it often, it is considered a survival tactic on hot and humid days in Dixie.

As mentioned earlier, I regret that I haven't written with greater regularity. In my defense, I have to mention that there are many products on the market that make the claim that they insure regularity, but I have yet to find one that at all affects the frequency of my writing.

If there is anyone still out there who checks this blog, thanks for continuing to stop by. I promise to spill a few words here more often from now on.

Cobwebs and Creaking Hinges

It has been so long since I have written here that I could swear I felt that tickly feeling you get when you walk through the whispery wisps of webbing left by the cobs who adorn our unoccupied spaces. Yeah, I know these networks of silky threads really come from spiders, but I’d rather think that the creaking of hinges caused by my first-in-a-while post is disturbing a cob rather than angering a spider.

I suppose part of my withdrawal from spilling words here stems from the disappointment of not hearing from a Pennsylvania agent of bestsellers. She was the fourth agent to ask for my full manuscript. Having often read that only one in 200 queries results in such requests, I am always filled with promise and anticipation when someone wants to see By the Light in its entirety. This agent’s handwritten note of request had warmth and personality, so naturally I assumed that she would be the one who would guide me to the Promised Land. That she intimated that it would be three or four months before I would hear from her did not dampen my parade. Now that nearly double that amount of time has passed without a note, a call, or the return of my story in the free-ride envelope I provided, my parade seems awash in New Orleanian proportions of the wet stuff.

Well, let me tell you about a cure for the potholes and mountains situated between first-time novelists and “the dream.” My wife and I just spent a week in a 1930s cottage recently restored by Jane Coslick and complete with its own pool on Tybee Island, Georgia. We discovered two days before we arrived that it was featured in the May-June issue of “Cottage Living,” but as good as the spread in the magazine is, the real deal is way better. I have been in over half of the states and on a Caribbean island, and this little piece of heaven is the most peaceful and relaxing place I have ever experienced. The America I knew as a kid still exists there today. They have a saying there about “living on Tybee time.” It’s an attitude. The locals, lucky devils that they are, exude it. Visitors needn’t try to resist adjusting to the pace.

Rolling out of bed and into the pool in the morning was invigorating. Bicycling for hours on the beach and through the neighborhoods of quaint cottages and venerable beach houses was awesome. More than half of our baths were taken in our outside shower. Talk about liberation.

Shrimp and grits with scrambled eggs at the Breakfast Club, source of the victuals at the late junior John Kennedy’s Cumberland Island wedding party, was a treat had on two separate mornings. A.J.’s Dockside Restaurant, approachable by land or by sea, serves great seafood within its walls or on deck over the water. That the address printed on their hats, like the one I bought there two years ago, is stated in latitude and longitude rather than as a street number tells you a lot about this place. Then there's the Sundae Café. It might sound like an ice cream joint, but rest assured, they serve serious and memorable cuisine there. A class act they are.

Dinner at The Lady and Sons, where Paula Dean dishes out the best that Savannah has to offer, was indescribably delicious. My wife, a salmon aficionado, says they serve the best. Hey, I’m Louisiana born and bred, and I sort of cotton to her particular version of shrimp and grits. On another night, Churchill’s Pub provided a delectable diversion from the seafood in the form of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Dining on their rooftop was quite a delight.

Our last night in the Low Country was spent in Forsyth Park listening to the Neville Brothers and Ziggy Marley at an outdoor concert staged by the Savannah College of Art and Design to honor their new alumni on the eve of their commencement. Corporate citizens rarely contribute as much to a community’s ambiance and culture as SCAD does to Savannah. Having attended a lot of open-air musical events, I’ve seen some outstanding grazing and quaffing techniques, especially in my native state of Louisiana. From chilled microbrews and tailgate food to wine, brie, and fresh fruit, that diverse crowd of Savannahians and guests proved that they’ve got it honed to a genteel art.

Weather on Tybee from Saturday to Friday was as if it had been ordered from the deluxe section of a catalog. Not so for our Saturday of departure. We were awakened that morning by the sound of raindrops on our roof. It was fueled by a tropical depression coming up from the waters off of Florida, so things deteriorated as the day progressed. Not to be denied, we proceeded with our participation in the Tybee Tour of Homes. Opening the umbrellas, dashing from car to house, pulling blue disposable footies over our shoes, and reversing the process to drive to the next stop. The homes were fabulous and provided a bright ray of sunshine on a wet and cloudy day.

Rejuvenated, I can now endure waiting to see what happens, if anything, with the lady from the Keystone State. I’ve also started work on Tit for Tat, as short story of suspense with a villain every bit as twisted as the bad boy in By the Light. If there is a tarot card that represents a determination to not be denied, the seer might as well plop that sucker down right in front of me.

As for Tybee time, we have decided that it will come around for us every other year. The years in between will afford opportunities to see new and different places. Our long term plan is to have a place of our own on Tybee for whiling away a third to a half of each year of our retirement. Once our own hinges get creaky, it will be the place where we can relax to a speed that might put us in jeopardy of being webbed by cobs.

Enriched

In the About Me graph of this blog, it is mentioned that the seed that grew within me to attempt writing a novel was planted in childhood by a slightly older cousin. Blessed with intellect and maturity beyond his years, he was at that early age endeavoring to pen a sequel to L. Frank Baum’s Oz series. I know not what became of that effort. Such a project would never have crossed my mind even by the time I completed the three more years of life experience he had on me. Yet, he made it sound fun, exciting, and most importantly, doable.

That Rich dealt with the ravages of polio in his earliest years and was left with a slight limp and some muscular diminishment probably had something to do with his finding a niche in scholarship as opposed to boyish mischief or athletic pursuits. Truly a superior student with academic honors in his wake and innumerable possibilities in his future, my cousin chose a ministerial path. It is a blessing that he chose to journey through existence next to his Lord, for life would unfold into greater challenges.

After he married, Rich’s wife, Susan, would bear two daughters. The second child would have neurological problems at birth that would leave her intellectually and physically challenged for the rest of her life. She would need a constant caregiver. As it later turned out, Susan, who suffers from significant bipolar impairment and later became reliant on a wheelchair as a result of an automobile accident, would require substantial care, as well. Yet, the smallish and frail guy who had battled polio as a child proved equal to the task and more. Even in the face of burdens and obstacles, the elder daughter, Genevieve, was raised, educated, married, and now provides nursing care to those in need.

When I completed my novel, cognizance ran deep that By the Light would not exist had it not been for Rich. Consequently, I obtained his e-mail address and sent a message to let him know that I appreciated his provision of its genesis. It also expressed my hope that he would read the story and, since I valued his opinion, that he might comment on it. I never got a response and assumed either that he never got my message or that he simply had a lot on his plate.

I was shocked and pained to receive a call from my mom in Louisiana two days ago. She called to tell me that Rich and his challenged daughter, Sophia, had died in a house fire in Virginia. In our conversation she told me that my aunt had intimated that Rich had at some point mentioned my e-mail message. He'd told her that he was flattered that I’d thought of him and that I valued his opinion.

Rich had made his last visit to our hometown of Baton Rouge a while back, and my mom told me how wonderful he was with Sophia, by then an adult. More important than the thoughts I conveyed to him about my writing and his inspiration of it, I shared mom’s observation of what a good caregiver he was. She would know. My younger sister suffered encephalitis at 14 months of age and lived for almost 38 more years in a persistent vegetative state under Mom’s loving home care. I knew that, given the source, he would recognize her comment as high and knowledgeable praise indeed.

If I’m able to find an agent to represent me and actually get my novel sold and published, what a ride it will be. Rich will be with me in spirit for every inch of it, just as he always will be whenever I sit down to write.

I know, too, that his spirit will live on in the hearts of Susan and Genevieve, as well as in the hearts of his mom, Be Be to me, and his sister, Diane. May God bless them in this time of sorrow.

Ricochets

After receiving a comment from Rob Brooks, who blogs about the ongoing process of writing his first novel at Work in Progress, I decided to take a look at some of his posts. It became obvious to me that he and I approach our writing in different ways. I was inspired to leave a comment on Rob’s doorstep in this regard. Provided below, with some bracketed commentary from both Rob and me, is the gist of my comment on his page. It just goes to show there are more paths than one between points “a” and “b.”

When I started my completed manuscript, I had neither an idea how long it should be nor an inkling of what the story would be other than an intention to write about a serial killer. There was no outline. I simply wrote until I had a sufficiently long trail of blood, made my good guys adequately likable and inspiring, and revealed a villain both pitiable and worthy of hate. I ended up stopping at a bit over 72,000 words. I did some research that told me that novels fell between 50,000 and 100,000 words. It seemed I was right in the cozy middle, so I simply polished and tidied up. As you might have seen in some of my posts, I have since discovered that I might be a bit word-stingy for my genre, though James Patterson writes at about that count or less and seems to be prospering. One misconception, at least for me, revealed early in my writing process was that a keyboard would be the tool of creation. My experience with composing for business purposes was that the edit-on-the-fly capability provided by a computer was a good thing. I quickly found in writing my manuscript that I got too involved in editing and formatting and lost my creativity. In my case, story flowed much better from a pen. Granted, I wasn’t too happy about having to transcribe, but it really is all about creativity, characters, and story.

[Rob responded that his creativity flows right into his keyboard from his fingertips.]

My writing sessions were compartmentalized in the form of lunch hours spent up a spiral iron staircase in a loft windowed to overlook the main floor of a coffeehouse. Being in that environment came to mean putting my creativity in gear. The ability to observe the other patrons helped in writing people stuff, especially one scene that actually played out in a fictional coffeehouse. The story revealed itself to me in session after session, and I was excited each day to see where it would go.

I’d love to know the percentage of novelists who keyboard versus pen their works or who are outliners as opposed to spontaneous writers. It would be nice to know this in the overall, as well as segmented by authors categorized as the bestselling, the published, the middling, the struggling, and the unpublished. Another view might be by genre.

[Rob said, “I'd like to know, too. I know I would love to be a spontaneous writer. Stephen King claims to be, says he doesn't outline. I don't know how that could be, though, because there are so many things going on in his books, and they all tie together so nicely. He must change a lot in the edits.”]

[Red Stick Writer: I think sheer genius is the explanation for King. Simply in terms of subject matter, I’m not crazy about all of his stories, but they are told masterfully. Others of his stories, The Stand for instance, are among the best I’ve ever read. I would probably not have read it, but a friend strenuously recommended it. I’ll be forever grateful. Though I only saw the movie, The Shawshank Redemption, based on a King novella, was a great tale, too. His On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is one of the best books about writing to be found.]