02.14.09
Early Spring?
It seems as though winter has turned the corner here in NC. Early flowers are blooming. Trees are budding and some have new leaves. Yesterday I saw a pear tree or something in full bloom! However, I say ‘seems’ because a freak storm can come anytime. In fact, the biggest snowfall on record here came in March, but it was a north/south train— 60 miles east or west of here and they didn’t get anything.
I love Autumn in Michigan— though knowing what is to follow gives me some anxiety. Last year I even enjoyed Winter weather up to the New Year. But the long haul from then until May was depressing.
As far as the cold goes, I don’t much care for weather that dips below freezing anymore. Fortunately, those periods are short even during the worst portion of the winter here. The rest of the time winter here might be compared with a perpetual early springtime in Michigan.
Writing
My main project remains writing. I guess you could say it has split into 2 fronts: learning how to write a novel, and learning how to write.
I’d always considered myself an able writer, and I guess I am, but perhaps not as a story teller. I suppose I’m a good writer because I went to a parochial school and from an early age was drilled on how to diagram sentences and construct paragraphs. What I’ve figured out is that the paragraphs we learned to write are essentially for essays— and not of a type best for story telling.
During my structure studies: micro structure, Swain’s structure, humor structure, dialogue structure, and deep theory structure, one thing I figured out recently is that the structure of a good fiction paragraph is quite different from that of an essay paragraph— never occurred to me that there is a difference! So now, along with other goals, I am learning to rethink how I write paragraphs for fiction— they are delineated quite differently.
Learning new lessons is all just part of the fun.
Music
I am also playing more music than ever. Lately I’ve been playing in a trio with tight harmonies. The other 2 gents are strict church goers, so we will probably never work anywhere for $, but I don’t mind— it’s the best music I’ve ever made. Today (Valentine’s) we are playing a benefit for a local church.
It’s 4:44 AM. I should be sleeping, but I came home from doing my Friday karaoke show just after midnight, slept a couple hours, and the woke up ready to go! Darn. I’ll probably be dragging butt about mid afternoon
House Sitting
I have been house sitting here since last March. Nearly one year! I am bored with living alone. Back on the farm in Michigan, people came and went constantly. Here, no one visits. I’m not lonely. I have many friends and acquaintances here. But I like to share meals and only get to do that when I go out. Only Bucky eats my cooking here…
And I miss having a garden! Not much sense in that here— place could sell any time.
Politics
I know we aren’t far into the new administration, but I am pleased thus far with Obama. He is eloquent and seems very confident. I admire his willingness to surround himself with adversaries and include Republicans in his cabinet. The comparisons with Lincoln aren’t trivial.
Perhaps Bush’s greatest legacy will be that he screwed things up so badly that he inadvertently made the race barrier irrelevant.
Travel Urges
I am uncertain about spending another summer in NC— in the event Todd’s house doesn’t sell. Though I have a creative groove going here, other places also draw me. I am urged to visit family and friends in TX. My cousin’s house in Knoxville has been a good place to write— as is another cousin’s farm in northern MI and the Hine’s residence in Traverse City.
