writing

 


(Mayan Road)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. Just waking up?
JOE: You know better than that. We had overnight guests staying downstairs. I didn't want to disturb them using the computer.
CALLIOPE: Did they just wake up?
JOE: No again. We had to visit with them and then stop in at their family reunion in Attica.
CALLIOPE: I see. Glad we got that straightened out. What news?
JOE: I am nearing the end of my work on our book. My reviewing is finished, the table of contents is in order and the index I worked on yesterday is looking good but in need of a few corrections.
CALLIOPE: When will it be out?
JOE: Possibly next week. I have to give it a final going over and see if there is anything else to tend to first.
CALLIOPE: Is this your first e-book.
JOE: Two of my other books are available in e-book format through BookLocker but this is the first one I will offer directly.
CALLIOPE: There's always something new to experience.
JOE: So there is. I don't know where this will lead except to a new adventure.
CALLIOPE: Enjoy the ride.
JOE: I plan to. Talk with you on Monday.

(Sunset in Leroy)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Sleepy.
CALLIOPE: Didn't you go to bed last night?
JOE: I did but I kept waking up with new ideas for my writing.
CALLIOPE: I had a few ideas I thought I might share with you.
JOE: Thanks. I woke up early and wrote them all down before I forgot them.
CALLIOPE: I hope they help.
JOE: I'm sure they will?
CALLIOPE: Where do you plan to start?
JOE: I finished reviewing our book, Conversations with Calliope, and I think the text is adequate.
CALLIOPE: But?
JOE: It could use a little enhancement.
CALLIOPE: Such as?
JOE: I am going to try adding a cream background instead of white which seems a little boring. I will also rearrange some of the photos and complete an index I started yesterday. I also plan to add to the announcement and publicity ten reasons to read this book and ten reasons not to. I'm anxious to get going again. Talk with you tomorrow.

 
(Sunset on Honeoye Lake)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Still meditating on last night.
CALLIOPE: On what specifically?
JOE: Sunset. I spent the day reading and talking about what we do to the earth and don't even seem to notice our destructive ways.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: Despite it all, the earth favors us with treats such as fantastic sunsets despite all our worst habits.
CALLIOPE: An interesting thought.
JOE: My question is where it will take me.
CALLIOPE: Do you have any ideas?
JOE: Not specifically. I realize I can't change everyone's attitude about the earth any more than I can change how people treat each other.
CALLIOPE: You're not God.
JOE: Exactly. Even God leaves it to us how we treat the earth and each other. Although we have free choice, we also must accept the consequences of our decisions.
CALLIOPE: Maybe you should write about the connection.
JOE: I have been, but maybe I need to do more of it. Talk with you tomorrow.

 


(Nature's Beauty)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Feeling productive.
CALLIOPE: What did you produce?
JOE: My column for Saturday, My Great Life and The Dream of the Earth.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it.
JOE: It's a long story. The highlights are that I read three books connecting my thoughts about stewardship of the earth rather than raping it and leaving a pile of junk in our wake.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like a strong statement.
JOE: The more I read the more troubled I become about our throw-away society and what we are doing to our environment in the process.
CALLIOPE: And you wrote about this in your column?
JOE: I did.
CALLIOPE: Don't you think you might stir up some controversy?
JOE: I hope I do. Sometimes I feel like Chicken Little but the voice of one crying in the wilderness is usually not a popular one.
CALLIOPE: Getting people to change never is a comfortable pursuit.
JOE: I agree. But I think it's time to speak. Talk with you tomorrow.

 


(Dream of the Earth)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. You were going to tell me more about the book you were reading.
JOE: You mean Lost in Translation. I finished it Saturday after we talked.
CALLIOPE: So tell me more.
JOE: The story portrayed an archaeologist in search of the lost bones of Peking Man in China. The translator for the archaeologist was the protagonist and she balances dealing with her own father, Chinese culture and her attraction to a government representative accompanying the expedition.
CALLIOPE: What did you like about the book?
JOE: I mentioned my interest in the subplot of a priest, Teilhard de Chardin, his book The Phenomenon of Man and his relationship with a woman in the 1930's as well as his involvement in possibly trying to preserve the Peking Man bones.
CALLIOPE: Tell me more about him.
JOE: He wrote about evolution of the earth and mankind at a time when the Catholic Church was not ready for his thoughts. He lived and worked under a cloud.
CALLIOPE: Did you have some personal involvement.
JOE: Yes. I fell under a cloud as well when I read his works and discussed them in the monastery in which I lived.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like you were a bit of a rebel.
JOE: No doubt. While the cats were away, several other monastic mice and I attended a week long conference at Fordham University which further cast suspicion on all involved.
CALLIOPE: I see. And now?
JOE: I still like to challenge peoples' perceptions with my writing but now try to do it a little more subtly. Talk with you tomorrow.

 

(Swimming Racehorses)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine. I feel rested, relaxed and energetic.
CALLIOPE: How nice.
JOE: I think so.
CALLIOPE: What do you plan to do with the state in which you find yourself?
JOE: Good question. I can always count on you for a little prod.
CALLIOPE: Well?
JOE: I was thinking earlier this morning about how technology has drained all my energy lately.
CALLIOPE: What do you plan to do about it?
JOE: Patience! Patience! I'm getting to that.
CALLIOPE: Not very quickly.
JOE: That's just the point. There's no rush.
CALLIOPE: Proceed.
JOE: My plan is to take some time in the second half of summer (such as it is) to recharge my creative batteries.
CALLIOPE: Now we're getting somewhere. How?
JOE: My art supplies are getting dusty. I plan to get them out and get to work painting and drawing. I also plan to delve into reading to start my creative juices flowing again. Talk with you tomorrow.

 

(Western New York Sunrise)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. Did you just get up?
JOE: Don't be cute. I was up at 6:30 and planned to make a few minor corrections to my websites before contacting you.
CALLIOPE: So what happened?
JOE: I screwed up more than I fixed and it took a while to get back to where I was.
CALLIOPE: Is everything okay now?
JOE: As far as I can tell. Take a look at my websites at www.commonsense wisdom.com and www.slidingotter.com and let me know what you think.
CALLIOPE: I'll do that. Maybe some of our readers will too.
JOE: I'd welcome that.
CALLIOPE: So now what?
JOE: I have some more to do with my websites but I am weary of the process now.
CALLIOPE: Do you have some other pursuits in mind.
JOE: Yes. I will take some time to work on my writing. I plan to ready for publication our book based on this blog.
CALLIOPE: I can't wait to see it.
JOE: Neither can I. Talk with you on Monday.

(Nina Sails)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Tired but energized.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: Last night after golfing with my brothers and nephew, and dinner also including my sister-in-law we watched the movie Doubt which one of my brothers had not seen.
CALLIOPE: How did you choose that movie?
JOE: Those of us who had seen it had various opinions about whether the main character, a priest, had molested a boy.
CALLIOPE: What caused the various opinions?
JOE: It was staged with clues suggesting possible guilt. One opined that he was guilty as sin, another held that he was not guilty and still another thought there were indications but not proof of guilt.
CALLIOPE: What do you draw from the experience?
JOE: A well crafted movie or novel for that matter can elicit various reactions and conclusions.
CALLIOPE: Why does that fascinate you?
JOE: Art can be a way of bringing us together to compare our views and begin to understand each other.
CALLIOPE: I agree.
JOE: I'm glad you do. That's what I want to do with my writing.
CALLIOPE: A good aim.
JOE: I'm glad we are together on this. Talk with you tomorrow.

 

(Ready to Relax)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. I wondered what became of you.
JOE: I have been wondering the same thing.
CALLIOPE: Have you come up with any answers?
JOE: I believe so. Mastering website technology at least to the point of getting satisfactory sites has taken me over to the point where it feels like an addiction.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: I have reached the point where there is not much room left in my awareness for anything else.
CALLIOPE: What about your writing. I am barely keeping up with my journal and our conversations.
JOE: As you can, see it took me until now to get around to you.
CALLIOPE I do feel a tad slighted.
JOE: I was afraid of that. However I think the end is near or at least a plateau where I can stop to consider some other pursuits.
CALLIOPE: I'm glad to hear that.
JOE: I did manage to post my latest revisions to my Sliding Otter Website yesterday and am happy with it for the time being.
CALLIOPE: Then what's keeping you tethered?
JOE: Now I am hard at work on my Commonsense Wisdom site which is coming along nicely. I hope to be done with it in the next few days. Talk with you tomorrow.

 
(Shoes at a Street Fair)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What's this about success?
JOE: I am finally mastering Dreamweaver and getting it to do what I want with my web pages.
CALLIOPE: How did that come about?
JOE: I realized I was getting nowhere with trial and error or at least not where I wanted to be.
CALLIOPE: So what led you out of the labyrinth?
JOE: Going back to basics.
CALLIOPE: Tell me more.
JOE: Yesterday I took my son for his second cataract surgery. I had some time to use productively while he was in the hospital and wandered over to the library.
CALLIOPE: And what did you discover?
JOE: Among other things, Elizabeth Castro's book HTML, XHTML &CSS.
CALLIOPE: How helpful was it?
JOE: Extremely. I'm finally beginning to make sense of this whole process. I finally developed a template I liked and am revising my websites yet again.
CALLIOPE: Good luck.
JOE: I think I'm on the right track. Talk with you tomorrow

 (Fire Pit)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I guess you had a busy weekend.
JOE: You said it. Wall to wall people since Thursday.
CALLIOPE: That must have been quite a change from your regular routine.
JOE: No question. I have accustomed myself to quiet days with my computer. When I did have the chance to get at it, my energy flagged and I had little to say.
CALLIOPE: What did you like best?
JOE: I enjoyed meeting all of Carol's high school friends. Perhaps best was meeting one husband whose early life paralleled mine in terms of education and wrestling with the uncertainties of the draft in the late 1960's.
CALLIOPE: A kindred spirit.
JOE: Yes. He even had the same college major I did and knew some of my professors.
CALLIOPE: Any grist for the writing mill?
JOE: I am sure there will be but I need to digest the whole experience and find ways to store it in my mind other than as a whirlwind.
CALLIOPE: Is that how your mind works?
JOE: I guess I haven't thought about it much but I suppose it is. After reflecting on the weekend I will end up with some reflections and insights about my own life.
CALLIOPE: That's good.
JOE: I think so. It helps me keep some perspective. Talk with you tomorrow.

 
(Oatka Creek Falls)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I missed you yesterday.
JOE: Sorry. I had to go out of town to do a police candidate evaluation and one thing led to another.
CALLIOPE: What about later?
JOE: I had planned to write then but the weather was perfect and we decided to attend a free Chubby Checker concert.
CALLIOPE: How was it?
JOE: All we expected. The high point for me was seeing Carol dancing in the aisles, caught up in the moment.
CALLIOPE: As I recall you had a column in the works.
JOE: Correct. I didn't get to that either yesterday. However I woke up at 2:00 AM this morning and wrote it.
CALLIOPE: Did your thoughts come together at that hour.
JOE: Maybe that's why I woke up. The words flowed easily and I had it ready for Carol to proofread this morning.
CALLIOPE: What's up for today?
JOE: I hope to work a little on my website, but mostly I will by busy preparing for company arriving tonight for the weekend Oatka Festival.
CALLIOPE: You certainly are becoming the social butterfly.
JOE: I can't deny it. I am looking forward to it after all the work alone on the computer lately. We have guests staying in the computer room so I don't know how much I will be able to contact you over the next couple days. I'll do my best.

(In the Rockies)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Good. I had a friend review my new websites and I am busy following his suggestions for improvements.
CALLIOPE: Don't you have a column in the works?
JOE: I do.
CALLIOPE: So how's it coming?
JOE: You caught me at an interesting time. I have a theme in mind but haven't fully developed a plan for the piece.
CALLIOPE: Well, tell me about the theme then.
JOE: Okay. I plan to write about peak experiences.
CALLIOPE: Which are?
JOE: The psychologist Abraham Maslow saw them as being transported to a different level where you may lose track of time and place and leave behind fear, anxiety, doubt and inhibitions.
CALLIOPE: Sounds exciting.
JOE: That's the point.
CALLIOPE: What's your focus for the column?
JOE: It's still in process but I think it will be on how we tend to seek such moments while passing by the everyday pleasures which are much easier to find. Talk with you tomorrow.

 

(View from the Siege Tunnel- Gibraltar)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Still savoring our visit to last night's Taste of Stafford and the music of John Sieger and his band.
CALLIOPE: What made them special?
JOE: If you closed your eyes, you would swear you were listening to Louis Armstrong, voice and trumpet.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like fun. You seem intrigued by music lately.
JOE: I can't deny it. But I did wake up this morning wondering how my musical musings applied to writing.
CALLIOPE: What did you discover?
JOE: Everything I said about music applies to writing too.
CALLIOPE: Why do you think authors write?
JOE: First to make sense of their own world. At least that is my primary motivation.
CALLIOPE: What else?
JOE; If I think I'm on to something, I like to share it with others for their consideration to see if it makes sense to them and helps them clarify their life path.
CALLIOPE: Noble aspirations. What else?
JOE: To explore life's possibilities- how it could be under different circumstances whether better or worse.
CALLIOPE: Very interesting. Let's talk about this some more.
JOE: Sounds good to me. Talk with you tomorrow.

 

Woody on the Allegheny

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How was your weekend?
JOE: A nice change of pace.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it.
JOE: We spent Friday night at a party with Carol's family at their cottage on Canisus Lake with only a slight passing shower.
CALLIOPE: And the rest of the weekend?
JOE: We camped with friends at their campsite along the Allegheny River next to Allegany State Park.
CALLIOPE: Is it Allegheny or Allegany?
JOE: Hard to tell. The best I can discover the park is Allegany and the river Allegheny. But the spellings seem almost interchangeable.
CALLIOPE: Very confusing.
JOE: I puzzled about it too.
CALLIOPE: So how was camping?
JOE: A good chance to get away from my computer and spend time with people.
CALLIOPE: How did that feel?
JOE: A little awkward for me after spending so much time with the computer working on my writing. I will work on more balance. Talk with you tomorrow.

(Gull over Dunkirk)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I wonder if you could tell me more about your visit to Spiritus Christi Church.
JOE: I'd be glad to. It's been on my mind ever since Sunday morning.
CALLIOPE: Please proceed.
JOE: I was raised in the Catholic Church and then spent nine years in the seminary and monastery.
CALLIOPE: Hence your book, Young Man of the Cloth.
JOE: Exactly. By the end of my time there, I became hopelessly embroiled in controversy about how life in the monastery should be and ended up leaving.
CALLIOPE: And then?
JOE: I discovered that my concerns about the direction of the monastery was part of a larger concern about the direction of the Catholic Church which I also eventually stopped attending.
CALLIOPE: Then what happened?
JOE: I drifted for a while and eventually discovered Unity Church where I felt comfortable for quite some time.
CALLIOPE: Yes?
JOE: I still felt some nostalgia for the Catholic Church in which I was raised but conflicted about the rigidity and other aspects of the church. Then I discovered Spiritus Christi, a church in the Catholic tradition but stressing the joy of redemption rather than a punitive, controlling stance.
CALLIOPE: Now what?
JOE: I want to make sure this is all I hope it is based on my initial impression. One step at a time. Talk with you tomorrow.

(Phalaenopsis Orchids)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Relieved.
CALLIOPE: On what account?
JOE: Having met the technological challenge of developing new websites and living to tell the tale.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like an accomplishment.
JOE: I like to think so.
CALLIOPE: So now what?
JOE: I';m taking a little time to enjoy summer.
CALLIOPE: How?
JOE: Carol and I will walk down to the Leroy Farm Market this morning and this afternoon our friends have invited us to bask in their pool with them.
CALLIOPE: Sounds like fun.
JOE: I feel like the world has been passing me by while I became engrossed in my technological challenge.
CALLIOPE: With everything going on in the world it can still be a beautiful place.
JOE: I plan to remind myself of that this weekend. Talk with you on Monday.