Day: October 4, 2021

A Tale of Two Earrings

I lost one of a favorite pair of earrings last summer. I searched everywhere for it. Every placed I’d been that day at Day Job. My car. Every place I’d stepped or sat at home.  I tossed the widowed earring into a container on my bureau. Periodically I would see it and think I should dispose of it, but I somehow managed not to.

The seasons changed. I wore my fall/spring coat when temperatures required it. I drove to work everyday. I had the car inspected. I made a road trip to a friend’s house in a nearby city for a writing day. I made another road trip to another nearby city with my husband to visit a museum of interest to us.

One chilly morning late this summer, I pulled on my jacket, hopped in my car, and drove to my parents to take them to an appointment. When we came out of the house to get into the car, I discovered the missing earring hanging through the fabric on the back of the driver’s seat. Facing the steering wheel. You know, where I’d sat nearly every day for a year.  Yes, it had been a couple of months since I’d worn that coat, but I had worn it. Repeatedly. Through fall and spring.

Perhaps there’s a black hole or a time warp in my car. Regardless, the earrings are happily united, and I wear them with pleasure.

 

Movie: Hidden Figures

The movie Hidden Figures is on my top 10 list of favorite movies of all time. I saw it three times in the theaters when it first came out. I cried every single time. When I watch it again, I’m sure I’ll cry again.

As Leslie Jones asked on SNL when the film came out: “Why didn’t I know about this?” Super intelligent women who made going into space possible. Black women who served their country despite all obstacles put in their way. These are people to celebrate.

I have always felt John Glenn was “my” astronaut. He became the first American to orbit Earth on my birthday. I was home sick from school and watched the coverage on TV. He gave me a wonderful birthday present that year.  In the movie, when he said, “Get the girl to check the numbers,” I nearly swooned.   My personal hero acknowledged girls could be smart.

Why didn’t any of us know about this?

 

 

 

MJ Monday: Manuscript — Keeping Characters in Character

I recently finished the revisions on my next book (stay tuned for more details closer to publication date).  My editor and I went back and forth on the ending. She wanted me to do something I felt wasn’t in character for my hero/heroine. I thought that what I had written would suffice. She wanted more. It was a delicate balance. In the end, what the reader wants (according to my editor) won out.

I guess I’m not a typical reader. When the same thing happens in books I otherwise love, I want to toss the book against the wall. There is a Very Famous Author who does this all the time. Her rough-and-tumble heroes suddenly start sounding as if Shakespeare wrote their dialogue at the end of the book. That guy is not the guy I (and the heroine) fell in love with! It’s fraud. Bait and switch.

I lived with my characters for a couple of years. The hero has been knocking around in my head closer to twenty years. I know this werewolf. He’s not a gushy male.

I once saw an older couple being interviewed on TV. The question to the wife was, “When was the last time he told you he loved you?” She gave an exact date, which was kind of weird. When the husband came out, he was asked, “When was the last time you told her you loved her?” He gave the exact date. The wife explained: “It was our wedding day. He said I love you, and if I ever change my mind I’ll let you know.”

I think that’s who I had in mind when I wrote the final scene in my next book.

 

Thursday Thought-Self-Help: Orbiting the Giant Hairball

Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving With Grace by Gordon MacKenzie is one of the easiest self-help books I’ve ever devoured. There’s no jargon, no quoted sources or case studies (or if there is, they are a minor mention at best).

MacKenzie writes about his time working for Hallmark and the frustrations of a creative thinker trying to be productive in a corporate one-size-fits-all structure. He shares his methods for coping. Most of his ideas wouldn’t work in the majority of businesses. These days, they wouldn’t even work in “creative” business, such as broadcasting. They’d be great for advertising and marketing.

One of the most important lessons I learned is from Chapter 19. “Orville Wright did not have a pilot’s license.” (I once quoted this, then had to explain the meaning, which shocked me.) This may be the best advice I’ve ever read.

This is an older book (1998); technology has changed many things in our world. But the human brain, if properly treated, can triumph.

MJ Monday-Meals: Pasta Salad

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Pasta has always been my “fallback” ingredient. It’s budget friendly, filling, and shelf-stable. What with COVID-19 reshaping our lives, I’ve been more and more dependent on pasta. Every couple of weeks, I’ve been making a pasta salad. I think I’ve made more so far this year than I have in the previous two years. It’s a good way to get vegetables into the diet, too. It goes well as a side for many things.

Here’s my recipe:

  • 1 box of rainbow rotini, cooked al dente
  • matchstick carrots
  • a cup or so of green peas (frozen, microwaved for a bit to thaw)
  • roasted red peppers
  • a can of artichoke hearts, cut into eighths
  • a can of sliced black olives
  • a yellow bell pepper, cut into small dice
  • a slice or two of red onion, cut into pea-sized chunks

I throw everything into the bowl while the pasta is cooking.

For dressing I use Good Seasons Garlic & Herb made with canola oil and red wine vinegar. I toss it all together (including the pasta). Then I add dry basil leaves, dry parsley, and garlic powder to taste.