Rode up the mountain in the pickup, fly fishing gear in the back of the cab, tall 7-11 coffee (five shots of cream) in the drink holder, and Dylan's Highway 61 on the box. Spent the better part of the late morning and early afternoon in Elevenmile Canyon, fishing the South Platte. Hardly anyone up there. Picture perfect fall day. Was casting well, given I haven't had much time on the water lately, but didn't have much to show for it. Creeled a nice brown early on, using a #16 beadhead pheasant tail. After that, the action died. Tried a couple of new patterns the boys at Angler's Covey suggested, but no luck. Didn't matter. Had a great time being outside on the water. Would like to have stayed till dusk, see if things didn't pick up, but a dinner date precluded it. Maybe another time.
Fragments...
Late entry tonight. Busy day.
Another project out the door, critiques off to N, an afternoon looking after small stuff, and more. Felt the blues creeping in last night, but rallied back and even managed a new draft of "Working to Beat Hell" out of the way.
Weather's cooled quite a bit. Supposed to warm up by the weekend. No complaints. Enjoying the sharp fall days. Just takes a bit more courage to walk out the door to the gym in the morning. Cold isn't bad, but the dark--the dark's no fun.
Learned of the passing of an old acquaintance today. Saddened to hear it. Brilliant guy. Talented guy. But troubled.
Feeling it...
Went dark for a few days. Back tonight. Appointments, meetings, phone calls, a crazy schedule, and new of work all conspired to keep me offline. But that's okay. Have still had at least one high-water moment already this week.
Pushed a revised version of "Frank the Redeemer" out the door, and will do the same with "Working to Beat Hell" tomorrow. Two big commercial projects finished, too.
Missed most of the day, which looked pretty nice through the lens of the office window, but no complaints. Good to be busy. Good to have work.
Wrote a letter to Mom before quitting the office, only to have her track me down at the gym. Predictable, right? Good workout anyway. Been getting faster and stronger with the heavy bag. Love the bang I'm getting from the gloves. Crisp, sharp, substantive.
Old friends, bookends...
Up early, meeting. Tough news about a buddy. Why does everything sting more when you get old? Anyway, I'm making a prediction here and now he not only gets through his predicament, but prevails.
Busy with office work today. Enjoyed it. Found a nice pace and rhythm and went with it. Home earlier than expected, but alright with that, too. Was a nice day until I decided to leave the office, then the wind picked up and the sky went gray. Light shower passed overhead. Not sure what the evening will bring.
Gonna re-group tonight and get ready for tomorrow. Looking for a fast start on the stories I've been noodling. See if I can't get two of them out the door by Sunday. One's only a sentence or two away, the other's not far behind.
Lovely Autumn Day...
Home late from last meeting. 6:30.
Big day with new projects. Also managed a few last revisions to "Frank the Redeemer" and "Working to Beat Hell." A lot of back and forth, with a quick trip to the gym early afternoon. Was hitting the heavy bag yesterday when one of the regulars informed me "Yes, but bags don't hit back." He's quoting Bruce Lee? Enter the Dragon? Really? This is why I have to change gyms every three years. You can only outrun your own anonymity for so long. Sooner or later, people want to chat. Be friends.
Nice close of day meeting with an old buddy. He's directing a gallery now. Gonna do a bit of pro bono work for him. The new show he's curating will be a photography exhibit. Looking forward to helping out.
New stories in from N, too. Gonna try and get a good jump on them.
Walking the line...
Off the grid for a couple of days. The week's been alternately flying by and dragging its feet. A lot of work, a lot of meetings. Meanwhile some good revisions on a couple of stories. Hope to have two of them back in the mail by Saturday.
Gorgeous weather. Gorgeous light. This time of year, everyday's a good day for fishing.
Looked after small things this afternoon, and had a nice time doing it.
Missed seeing a good buddy this morning, but look to make up for it on Friday.
Read the craziest news in days. Truman Capote's ashes were auctioned off for $45K. I wondered, aloud, what that came to, per word.
On, off, and all over the road...
Crazed morning. Meetings cancelled, rescheduled. Late start to gym, late start to office. Next week already shaping up into a wild one.
Long time at doc's office. Happy it's just a once-a-year fiasco. Funny. Instead of those sappy informercials touting a happy, healthful life, the TV in the waiting room was tuned to the Food Network. Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives. Sometimes you just gotta stand back and appreciate the honesty.
Accidentally dialed Mom on the way home. Caught up on unsought family news for the next hour. Sounds like she's doing okay. Told her I'd make a visit soon. Probably in the next couple of weeks.
Finished Empire of the Summer Moon a few days ago, and am looking to lock in on something new. Gotta get cracking on the Anthony Doerr novel, too. Prime reading time, autumn. Want to make the most of it this year.
More good revisions on "Frank the Redeemer." May take a week or so before I get it right. First 500 words or so are the bugaboo, but the rest flows. So no worries. Just plug away and wait it out.
Nothing gold can stay...
Would like this weather last a little longer. The street outside the bedroom window this morning was gold. Like someone had thrown open the door to a great vault. Overcast off an on during the late morning, but beautiful now.
Revisited "Frank the Redeemer" today to see if I could strengthen the opening. Glad I did. Made few critical revisions, and the story was all the better for it. Will let the ms sit a while, before going back again.
Read Ursula Le Guin's "Ile Forest" today. Sorry to admit it's taken this long to get around to it, but happy to have finally become acquainted with the piece. Wow. What a story.
Looked after small stuff this afternoon and had a good time doing it. Going to try and get into the gym early tomorrow.
A less-than-hasty retreat...
Week must be catching up with me. Came home early from the office to rest. Just up now from a much needed nap. Got out of bed early this morning, thinking to go to the gym. Didn't realized until I was already dressed it was only 4:00am. Circadian clock must have sprung a spring somewhere along the way.
Clinic this morning, then the office. Fell a bit behind again. Too many interruptions to stay on track. Insomnia didn't help, either. Bad dreams last night amounted to a lot of distracted thoughts today. Wish I could kick this damned cold, I might be able to fight through the rest. Calling it even for tonight. No point taking anymore losses.
The ties that bind...
Looking for a theme by which to hang this day, but nothing comes to mind. Spent half of it tending to little things, the other half tending to even littler things. Pushed "Oceans Apart" out the door this afternoon, and doubled down on "Rocky Mountain Sweetheart Murder Ballad." If I'm lucky, might be able to get "Man of Letters" on its way as well. Behind in my submissions. Need to catch up.
Still fighting off a cold, or whatever. Scratchy throat. Congestion. Made this morning's workout a bit tiresome, but, oh well. Nothing to be done about it.
Feel the blues creeping in. What's that about? Overcast sky probably didn't help, Going in for my annual physical on Thursday?/Friday? Maybe some helpful soul at the doctor's office will sort it out for me.
Feel like I want to sit down and read the latest B.A.S.S. cover to cover. Nothing worse than being a prisoner inside your own skull. Need to soak up some new, good fiction, stop worrying about things, cut loose and see what happens.
Funny. Had a conversation over breakfast about the Gordian Knot. Who does that?
A few of my favorite things...
Digging on the weather. More blue skies, more of that soft, diffused sunlight. A light breeze. Man, it could stay this way year round and you'd never hear a peep out of me. Perfect day for fishing. Maybe translate that thought into action this weekend.
Revises on "Ocean's Apart" finished. Feels that way, anyway. One last look tomorrow, then off it goes. Revisited "Rocky Mountain Sweetheart Murder Ballad," too, making a couple of small but essential edits. (Thank you Messrs. B&T!)
Caught up with an old buddy on the phone this afternoon. Gabbed for ten minutes. Good to hear his voice. Meeting another old friend for coffee on Friday. Like getting news from the outside world.
Soup to nuts...
Where did last night's post go?
Technology, Christ.
Up later than usual. Coffee on the back patio, two hours of story revisions, a quixotic attempt at trellis building, then off to the gym.
Cooked up a pot of split pea soup, too, somewhere along the way.
Beautiful day, just beautiful. Hoping there'll be many more to come.
Riding the high...
Fall doesn't look any prettier than today. Soft gold light, a small breeze, blue skies.
Had no obligations, no ambitions, and rode most of the afternoon out making small revisions on two stories. Picked up half a bushel of roasted peppers at the market to make green chili, stopped at the grocer after that, then came home and cut my lawn(s.)
Easy day. No complaints.
Nice end to a long week...
Couldn't ask for a better day.
Tired, but in a good way.
Many happenings, many doings, and a new reader draft complete.
What's better?
Did it....
Good day.
Scripts out door. Quick revision of "Ocean's Apart." Close to a mail draft.
Got a nice email from the New Yorker this afternoon regarding "Rocky Mountain Sweetheart Murder Ballad." Not as nice as an acceptance, but not bad.
Talked to mom tonight. Sounded good. Think one of us is going be on the road to see the other before long.
The Great Escape...
Can't remember how the day started out, but happy with the way it finished. Meetings and other distractions kept some scripts from being finished, but they're close enough now I can see an end.
Quiet evening in the hood. Excitement earlier, trying to track down an escaped pet. Breakout ended quietly, said pet wandering home in search of food and drink. All's right with the world.
Dinner's on me tonight.
On and off again...
Still clocking along.
Improvising most of the day. Little things, big things, and everything in between. Came close to putting the finishing touches on the new scripts, but was waylaid by phone calls and other interruptions. Maybe tomorrow.
Overcast, cool and humid this morning. Sun on the drive home. Glad to see that.
Kinda wish I'd gone fishing last weekend. Need to remember that when the new one comes around. Not a whole lot of warm days left to squander.
Introductions, acceptances, and more...
Another long day. Gym early, office early. Finished one long script, got in a good draft of a second, then off to meetings. Somewhere in the midst of all this, an acceptance slip came in for "Beggar's Banquet" from HVTN, a lit journal out of the UK. Nice to see. Wasn't able to work on any fiction today, but that's the way it shakes down sometimes.
Quick note of introduction from new Assistant Ed at N. New stories to come along soon. Gonna be buried here, I think.
Gearing up for Monday...
Long day, short entry.
Reader draft of "Man of Letters" in place. Good revises on new story, too. Have "Ocean's Apart," ready to send out.
Hit gym late morning, had a light workout, then off to office to work on video scripts. Still haven't gotten back to the Robert Coover story in the NYer, but figure to later this evening.
Dinner with kids.
Home now.
Looking to get a hard start in the morning and see if I can't tie together the loose ends. Could be a busy week.
Been thinking about my dad a lot, mistakenly believing I should call him.
A Saturday Evening Post...
Beautiful fall day. A little cool, but sunny, breezy, topped with blue sky full of wandering clouds.
Up later than usual, but made good edits on "Man of Letters." Small cuts here and there made all the difference. Very close to having a reader draft. Took a break, did a little shopping, came home and made a pot of cream of mushroom soup, then drove to the office put in some time on a video script.
No gym. No time. Will catch up tomorrow, most likely.
Started a Robert Coover story in the NYer, but had to abandon it. Need to go back. Coover's one of my all time favorites.