“That man, he is inside of June…again.”
It took a moment for me to realize I was who they referred to as “that man” but I didn’t pay any attention to it because I was where I wanted to be doing what I wanted to do.
“Call it destiny, fate or karma. Can’t stop this train, not now and maybe not ever.”
No one responded to my remark and so my focus returned to where I wanted it to be and I resumed my exercise and pumped away.
****
That is most of what I remember from the dream, but short on the details for that story isn’t meant for this page.
We’ll bang it out elsewhere so it isn’t forgotten and do so with speed because fortune favors the bold and those who put their mark upon the coven tree are given luck.
Write Your Truth
Won’t be long before I live the bachelor life again and some of that which was put on hold moves from a long term plan to the immediate future.
The folks in Austin are asking for in person visits as are the good people of a variety of other cities here, there are everywhere.
Got Marvin Gaye singing Sexual Healing and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough while I look at a map and consider when I will declare it time to roll.
This week of vacation is almost over and soon I’ll decide it is time to hit work…hard.
Lots of changes taking place and lots more coming with more than a little curiosity on my part as to how some things will unfold.
Some things feel certain and I think time will prove the effort and patience will be rewarded.
But there is no guarantee or way to confirm until they come and even then it will require playing the hand to know what the outcome will be.
It offers a mix of excitement and a certain amount of heartbreak and heartache cuz you don’t get there without paying the ferryman to take you across the river.
But it is better to move and see than to wonder.
Life had been on hold and now the icebergs that blocked the way are not as formidable as they once were.
So you have to make like Johnny and walk the damn line to get from here to there and then see if you were correct.
Someone asked me to be more specific and I said I wrote it down where it could be read.
“Where?”
“The garden of the kingdom.”
“Where is that?”
“Sometimes I put it down so that I can read what my real thoughts are on a particular topic, subject and or situation.”
“Does it help?”
“Most of the time. Sometimes I know exactly where I am at but there is nothing to be done because of others. But better to know because you can’t take effective action without that.”
****
A newer writer asks me to tell them about how I write and then complains about my answer.
“What does write your truth mean? That is claptrap.”
“No it means be so fucking honest it hurts. Write about the girl you wish you had and why you think Love The One You’re With is ridiculous. Listen to Layla and ask if you could be that honest and that direct.
Put something out about the idiot you once worked for who made you sick with fear and worry and how you struggled to survive because you got fired and didn’t have enough cash to pay your bills.”
New guy says he can’t do that because it is too hard and there is too much risk.
“You don’t write like that. How can you give that advice?”
“You haven’t read everything I have written and much of what you have isn’t something you’ll recognize for what it is.”
“Does that mean you have done it?”
“Don’t worry about me. Write about your truth. My truth doesn’t matter because it is mine and not yours.”
Two weeks later he calls and asks me how I handled him so well.
“You said a lot but didn’t answer any of my questions. You handled me. I don’t like that.”
“I didn’t handle you. You weren’t listening to me or interested in whether I had done what you asked. If you were you would have asked specific questions and you didn’t.”
“Ok, I have specific questions. Do you have people you think of or are writing about?”
“There might be a woman or women. There might be experiences. I might write about my former neighbor who left LA to go start a boutique chocolate business on the East Coast. There might be someone who broke my heart or an experience(s) that did.
My truth is mine and I probably won’t tell you what is mine or not. If you don’t know the story you probably don’t need to. It is better for you as a reader if you use your imagination to fill in the blanks of the outline/structure I created.”
“Do you write in more than one place?”
“Of course.”
“How often?”
“Sometimes daily. Sometimes more than once a day. Sometimes not for extended periods. But I always write somewhere on a daily basis.”
