July 13, 2015 I've never been very interested in science fiction. Of course there's "Star Wars" and, oh yeah, "Firefly," oh, and can't leave out "Hunger Games," and then, well, you get the picture. Let's say I've never been much interested in writing science fiction although I did dabble with it once upon a time. The inspiration came in a supermarket of all places. To begin with I can not stand the odor of the universal coverup scent, Febreze. A friend from the old days would have said it smells like a Dutch whore on a Saturday night. However I know lots of people stand by it. It's called a ..read more

 Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stared at walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing. – Meg Chittenden Journey into a new novel 1.    Inspiration 2.    Hurriedly write opening grafs Fred? tucked a Ziploc bag under the windshield wiper of his truck. It contained an envelope and he could only hope new snow would cover it until it was found. (This could be too obvious foreshadowing) He slipped the straps to a small backpack over his sho ..read more

  PRINCE WILLIAM AND THE BLUEBERRY QUEEN Prince William Sound is the body of water in Alaska where I used to live.  It was named for the second son of King George III of The was the theater. England by Captain James Cook.  A lot a blueberries grow in the sound, and the inspiration for this story came from a woman I spent time with in the sound who was always picking them and making pies. The was rewritten into a play that was put on using 3-foot tall marionettes and performed by a group of Valdez Alaska kids in the summer of 1989 --Tim  A sound is a noise like wav ..read more

 I had quite an adventure with Jimmy Buffett fans yesterday and I tried to share these from the Buffett News — Jimmy Buffett facebook page but the comments didn't come with them. So here are links to the two entries, with comments which are the best part. Have fun. Buffett page posts Second post  ..read more

  Waiting in the usual place   I waited for you in the usual place. In time a small bird landed on a branch, a whistle sounded in the woods but there was no way of knowing if it was this bird. Was that you? Doubtful, I never heard you sing. I waited for you in the usual place. A moose calf meandered past, in no hurry so his mother must have been close. Was that you? Doubtful, there is nothing at least apparently maternal about you. But I still waited for you in the usual place. Clouds drifted by, occasionally blocking the sun for a moment. Was that you? Doubtful, though you have occ ..read more

      I woke up around 6:30 a.m. September 2, 2023, and turned up the computer as I usually did to catch up on what happened while I was asleep. The first thing I saw was a message from a friend telling me Jimmy Buffet had died the day before. You could have slapped me in the face and I would not have been any more shocked. Eyes watered immediately and I leaned back absorbing. Then as the day progressed and more and more announcements and stories about him filled my screen. I attempted posting a couple of things and sharing a few more but none of them really said what I was fe ..read more

     How often do you hear something in a television drama that challenges your beliefs or is a deep enough thought to change your view of something? Or, as in this case alleviate some of the guilt you might feel about sonnething?      First, I am a dedicated meat eater. I do at times feel a little guilt or remorse over animal meat I eat being killed for food, and recently went on a largely vegetarian diet for physical reasons rather than philosophical ones and that brought up more thought about it.      I’ve been streaming “Yellows ..read more

A memory triggered: I've been streaming Friday Night Lights and in the third season now. Focus is on a school in a poor town trying to resurrect its football  team and the subsequent losses. In the third game they play a top team and as expected they lose but this time they scored and gave that top team a tough time of it. Afterward the coach built them up with words about how well they played.       The memory? I was coaching a youth league basketball team. About halfway through the season they still hadn't won a game. During practice the week after theat midway ..read more

 Here are a few thoughts I posted on facebook today. A hint for those who missuse and misspell consistently here. The mark of a good editor is not so much knowing how to spell every word in the language, but in recognizing when you do not know how to spell a word and looking it up. It's pretty easy to type what you think into a Google search to find the correct spelling. Stimulated by a "payed" meaning "paid." Who said scammers were getting more sophisticated? Hi, I was wondering if you wanted an app. Like - Food Delivery apps, Dating apps, Finance apps, Pet Apps, Ecommerce Apps, Shoppin ..read more

 Some fun at the store Friday. First of all two old-timers in front of me checking out with what looked like a season's worth of food for their gold claim. They were amusing enough, but the laugh came when the young guy checking them through lifted an ear of corn, went to his books apparently to find the price, but in frustration he eventually held it up and asked, "What is this?" I laughed right out loud and so did the sourdoughs. Adding to the fun at the store that kid carded me (at the age of 80) for the purchase of a spray can of compressed air (AIR for crying out loud). When I laughe ..read more