April 21, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

Rain later today. Brings the possums and coons out (??). Or maybe they hunker down in their dens.

Saw an interview on GMA with Trump—the “new, statesman-like” Trump. What a joke.

I’m rewriting ARTEMUS KEEL’s framing. I never liked the contemporary frame so I’m redoing it.

 

Take care.

 

Love,

M

 

April 14, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

Maybe next time I’m wished a “blessed day” I’ll wish the wisher an “enlightened day.”

In the interests of health I’ve given up drinking bottled beer. You should be proud of me.

I just got David Kessler’s book CAPTURE, with a subtitle something like “understanding mental suffering.” I caught his interview on NPR. He’s one of these wunderkinds you have to hate—law degree, M.D., ex-head of the FDA, where he was very active when it came to testing new drugs.  An overachiever. But you have to respect what he says so I wanted to see for myself. One person called in and told him: “Now I understand my problem perfectly. But what can I do about it?” That’s about when I went into the post office, so I didn’t hear if there was a cure.

Enough for now. Protect the snakes—and possums and coons–in your yard…

 

Take care,

Love,

M

P.S. Played hell getting my draft beer dispenser set up but I think it’s finally working. Draft is so much better than bottled!

April 8, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

I read Cal Thomas’ column this morning. The man is an evolutionary throwback who makes Neanderthals look modern, but today I agreed with almost everything he said: Bernie would bankrupt us, Hillary’s an old warhorse, Trump has united us all—against him; and Cruz is an idiot. Thomas is right. No person who’s halfway decent would compromise his integrity to such an extent as to run for public office and we’re all (except the media) tired of all this non-stop political nonsense.

 

 

Love,

 

M

April 7, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

More tinkering with my refurbished draft. Really has to be completely redone. Out of 365 pages I may be able to use 20.

 

Went to the post office yesterday and the stamp machine wouldn’t work, so I had to stand in line. The woman behind me said, “Nothing here works.” Amen. The clerk at the window told me to have a “blessed” day. I don’t know where this particular expression has come from but it seems to be all over the place now. A subtle way of injecting religion into everything.

 

Just read some stuff about the late Scalia. God, what an intellectually dishonest character. And such a condescending bastard, too. Thought anybody who didn’t believe what he did was a fool and told them so.

 

Take care. Have a blessed day.

 

Love,

M

April 6, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

 

I keep running through my mind on my rewrite.  Why didn’t I think of all this stuff before? Well, I guess because that’s not how my old brain works.

 

Take care.

 

Love,

 

M

April 4, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

I feel, having completed a first draft (even if it’s a stinker) that a huge weight is off me. Now I can put my mind to figuring what’s wrong with it and retooling it for the next draft, even if it means a complete rewrite. I just never have been able to sit down and write from GO and end up with something that only needs a little touching up. I can’t work from an outline. At least, when I do, the outcome has little to do with the outline I started with.

 

 

Take care.

 

Love,

M