When you call me because as you will because in your words we are inextricably linked maybe we’ll talk about the scene below and how it applies to life.
I am haunted by water and echoes of the future. Maybe we’ll talk about what haunts you too.
Can’t say what made me think about that or how this song came unbidden into my head and I heard a specific section
Like a heartbeat, drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost
And what you had
Keep flipping back and forth between letting the beard grow wild and unkempt, return to the days of being known as an uncivilized barbarian and shaving it all off.
Will the reflection in the mirror more accurately the one in my mind’s eye?
Does it matter?
I know the light in the eyes and the curve of the lips looks familiar, but that guy looks so much older than I expect and I can’t figure out if that is just life or what happens when you spend a decade fighting to get to that other side.
Sing along if you want to or just let it play and keep reading.
A good friend of mine asked if I would talk with a colleague of his who was thinking of moving from LA to Texas and I gladly obliged.
They were among the most obnoxious people I have encountered but I gave them 10 minutes and celebrated when they hung up.
He called me later and said his colleague described me as very serious. That was the second time that week that someone described me that way.
Mr. Wilner the younger says that is good sign that I don’t like someone.
“You get serious like grandpa, except you’ll mess with people and grandpa wouldn’t.”
That made me laugh too because it is pretty accurate. He wasn’t afraid to bark at you or anyone else, but he wouldn’t waste time on what he called nonsense but almost always pronounced nunsense.
Don’t ask why he said it that way, it was the one word he pronounced differently and we would tease him about it. His father, Grandpa Wilner pronounced Cincinnati as Sin-seh-natteh but I can’t tell you why he did that either.
I’d call it a Chicago thing but none of my 6,983 Chicago relatives do that. That includes Mom, she was born and lived there through high school.
Doesn’t matter, just one of those family peculiarities that jumps out at me. I am sure my kids have at least two or three things that apply to me.
****
Fixed the freezer, restored the headlights on the van, took apart the vacuum and tightened the bolts on the toilet while trying to figure out if the wax ring is shot or if there might be a broken flange.
Tried to figure out if I could repair the broken office chair and wandered through the garage holding Dad’s hammer while thinking about buying a car to rebuild.
Grabbed Mr. Wilner the younger and asked if he realized how cool it is to have YouTube videos to watch people do these work-with-your-hands jobs.
He laughed because he has been watching YouTube videos for years.
Kid doesn’t appreciate how much easier it is to do some things when you can watch a video or two to see how it is done.
I don’t always need the visual, but sometimes it offers a big assist in helping to avoid hiccups and make sure you are prepared.
Doesn’t fix one thing, my damn hands are two big to get in certain spots so some jobs require more work than guys who have tiny hands with thin fingers.
Flotsam And Jetsam
Frank Schaeffer posted a video titled What is Your Writing Process that caught my eye. I haven’t watched all of it because I came across it while I was busy with other things, but some of it resonated with me.
It was familiar and it made me want to reach out and ask a few questions. Don’t know that I ever will, but we can add him to a list that Stephen King, Dan Rather and Bruce Springsteen are already on.
There are others, some dead and some alive.
Writing is a subjective thing and it is hard to get a feel for what is going to secure interest and what won’t.
I still receive praise and I still receive plenty of criticism.
Someone told me I ought to remember that feedback is a gift and I said that is what people say when they want an excuse to say something that will insult and or offend you.
I dislike that expression as much as I dislike people saying “no offense” right before they say something they expect to irk you.
“I don’t want to hurt you” is marginally better but I still find it disingenuous from most people who say it.
Not all, but most.
There is an art to saying these things but very few good artists exist.
Sometimes it is just easier to spell it out and not try to clothe criticism in finery or maybe I am just grumpier than I once was.
Hell if I know for certain and I certainly am not going to try to figure that one out. I think about enough nonsense already without diving into unnecessary nunsense.
