The novella I have been working on is done--thank God--150 pages. now for the editing phase. I am actually looking forward to it. I enjoyed writing fiction for a change. Did not know I could do it. I have been focusing on poetry, songwriting essays and political writing--forever.

It's good to surmount a creative barrier like that.

I have another whole set of essays on creativity but I felt that the material was much to "I" oriented and it irritated me. Yet, I do not want to do a quasi-academic book. It's been done, many times over.

Pitching my manuscripts has been the tough part. Lots of rejections. Yet, I'm not giving up. I now have three book-length manuscripts. I think that they are good. And I'm not a quitter.

I got out of my routine of basketball at the Y, especially while writing this novella. After we get back from california, I want to resume. I need to resume. The needle on the scale is stuck. I need to unstick it.

Politics is tough, but meeting with Christie of Obama for America has be great. I do enjoy phone banking, surprisingly. I am good at establishing some kind of rapport. I do not try to sell Obama, just ascertain where people stand and if they would like to volunteer in Western North Carolina. I am having a hard time with USA Today increasingly. Not their editorial page, which tends to be middle-of-the road, which I like. But it seems to me that their news department is tilting right, very noticably. At least I have taken notice. I have communicated this to USA Today. I do apprerciate them publishing my letters overr time--since 2009. More than a dozen, I lost count. (Today, USAT did publish some good economic news on their front page; maybe they are listening, or it was a coincidence.)

The way you deal with facts can be very influenced by your point of view, especially if you are pursuing the pathway of a propagandist.

One day till we fly out of Asheville airport.

I am enjoying the feeling of being myself and not worrying about what others may think, not trying to change my message to suit others.

I continue to enjoy Ralph Fletcher's book, Why Poetry Matters. This man and I are definitely on the same page, as far as poetry and creativity are concerned--our perspectives. I am also enjoying listening to songs such as November Rain, Where the Streets have No Name, Born to Run and several by Bon Jovi, especially You Want to Make a Memory. I was listening to that song one day in South Carolina and suddenly it started to get inside of me and then I went on to some other great Bon Jovi songs. It's a matter of opening a door and letting something new in, and then a world of creative expression opens up--yours or another artist's. 

A certain song gets inside me and I just go with it. Suddenly I find myself paying closer attention to a song I have been virtually ignoring, and the beauty and poetry of the lyrics and the message become more apparent to me. Isn't that the way it is with life: when we stop and pay closer attention, we can be surprised. But maybe this happens when we ARE READY to receive something--like a work of art or a relationship.

Time to brew that coffee...