How many people do you know who say they are writing a book or have a book in their head that they will write someday? You may know several. I’m one of them. I’m in the process of writing a book. I have high hopes for that book even though I know by listening to other authors that publishing a book in similar to winning the lottery.

I still want to write this book. Writing itself is a good thing for me and to finish a book and have it ready to market is a near-term goal. To accomplish that much would make me very happy.

I am a voracious reader. As a child, I grew up reading about wonderful worlds that happened in your imagination, like The Wizard of Oz. Since I had long blonde hair and blue eyes, it wasn’t hard to imagine being Dorothy from Kansas or Alice in Wonderland. Only a voracious reader would know that The Wizard of Ox and Alice in Wonderland are just one book in a series. The other books in the series are just as wonderful, they simply haven’t been made into a movie.

Have you ever read Alice Through the Looking Glass? I always liked it better than Alice in Wonderland, but maybe only because it was lesser known.

I have spent my life with a book in my hand, one in my purse, and another on the nightstand. At any moment I have a stack of about 20 books on a shelf waiting to be read, and a hundred or more waiting to be re-enjoyed. I used to say I read everything including cereal boxes, but to be honest, I’ve quit reading cereal boxes.

When I lived in the big city of Philadelphia, a long while back, my cereal boxes had comics on them. A particular favorite was CheeryOats (later Cheerios), which featured a comic strip called Cheery O’Leary. Instead of a coupon to send in for a movie, or a cheap prize, I got an even cheaper cartoon to read and I loved them. No more. Now I buy my cereal based on sugar content and fiber. Such is life.

I encourage you all to pick up a book to read. Read books to the little ones in your life and have them read to you. You’ll discover your imagination is alive and well and ready to transport you away on a new adventure.

Marilynne

Even before we visited the vet we could tell that our dog Jake has a lot more energy.  This gain is after only three weeks on a diet that includes 3/4 his old amount of dog food, only tiny tastes of the treats he once enjoyed, and no leftovers from Restaurants.

The vet told us that Jake is down to 98 pounds (from 102).  That’s 4 pounds in three weeks.  Good job for all of us.

Jake continues to look hungry and whine when we fix his dinner.  He’s adjusted to having carrots and green beans cooked in salt-free boullion as treats and as filler in his evening food dish.

We’ve also been watching his ear.  It had an infection in it, which means daily cleanouts and medication.  What a pain.  However, we’ve learned that Jake eats with his nose.  That means that after his ear is medicated I can give him a half-inch square of Pupperoni and he takes it with the same amount of gusto that he enjoyed from a half piece.  If it smells like a treat, apparently the quantity doesn’t make a lot of difference.

 So, that’s the scoop on Jake.  Me, I’m down 2 pounds, but losing is better than gaining.

 Marilynne

Bloggers write in the hopes that someone will read their work, and maybe leave a comment.  I love comments.  Imagine my excitement today as I saw there were four comments!  For me, that’s a lot.

What were they?  Four spams for car insurance.  Honestly, would you buy car insurance from a scammer?  I certainly hope not.

So, I was disappointed, but you readers should not be.  I deleted the spam and will continue to delete it.

I really don’t like spam.  If no one ever responded to it, would they quit doing it?  I really doubt it.  Some people are ever hopeful.

Marilynne

Postscript 1:  June 16, 2008 – I asked for comments and I got spammed!  A Google search shows that this particular spammer does it to everyone.  No one can make sense of it.  If it’s true that the spam makes no sense at all, why do people send it?  One could study people and their motives forever and never understand it.

 Marilynne

Do you remember when you were a kid and growing older was a big thing?  You wanted to be old enough to have a bike.  You wanted to be old enough to go on a date.  You wanted to be old enough to leave home.  We all did.

Then we grew older and all those things happened.  We grew up.  We got a job.  We got married and had kids.   After a while it was like you had been thrown like a ball and now you were rolling along, just rolling through your life.

Life is good, but never wholly what we expect.  Life is a continuing series of puzzles to solve, mountains to climb over, surprising adventures and quiet happy times.  There is not a lot about life that’s boring, unless you allow it to be.

So, now, by anyone’s definition, I’m old.  I have all the standard indicators.  My bones creak, my knee complains, and I can’t walk everywhere like I used to.  Is life over? 

No.  When you were very young, didn’t you think life would be over at xx age, “xx age” being your current definition of how old was old?  I know I did.  I thought when I was old, I would sit on a rocker on the porch and live in my head, and speak only when someone remembered I was there and still alive. (But then I didn’t know about blogging.)  Or, looking at our parents, I thought I would probably sit in my recliner and watch TV. 

Have you watched TV lately?  Of course you have, but as I grow older I find I don’t want to waste my time watching something I don’t care about.  I do sit out on the porch reading and drinking something cold.  But not in the way I thought it would be.  If you’re not old yet, I’m telling you now, life is different when you’re old, but not in the way you thought it would be.

We’ve been retired for 8 and 7 years.  If you’re young enough, you probably think “and you aren’t dead yet?”.  We are so busy we can’t believe it.  My spouse has his big garden and his mission to fill the neighborhood with fresh fruits and vegetables.  I am writing a book and learning to watercolor.  This is the time of our life when we can do what we want – if our aging bodies will let us.  And they do.  Sometimes it’s a bit harder, but it’s always worth doing. 

For me, sitting around watching TV for hours, or not interacting with life, is a kind of death.  For me, each day is a day in my life and I’m going to live it the best way I can.  So, we square dance.  My spouse is the delight of all the single ladies because I can’t dance more than one or two squares.  I tease the ladies and tell them they can dance with him, but they can’t take him home.  I really don’t have to say that.  They know it’s true, but they love to dance and he does too.

I’m involved at church, and Sisters In Crime.  Sisters In Crime is an organization that supports women who write about crime.  It includes a large number of men.  It was formed to gnaw away at the inequity between women and men who write about crime.  So, I belong, but to tell the truth, I enjoy the company of other writers more than I have a fire burning inside of me to fight.  I would if I had to, but I pick my battles carefully these days.

So, I didn’t want to pick a fight today, or as my mother said “get on your high horse.”  I just wanted to say that you should live every day of your life the best way you can.  You don’t know how many hours are allotted to you (thank heavens) so enjoy what you have.  Each and every one of them.

 Marilynne