As some of my readers of this non-fiction or at times straight-up-bullshit blog may know, I've been writing short stories after being diagnosed with cancer (the big 'C', as I recall, the usual marks I received in high school many years ago). Actually, my condition now is probably a C-, closer to a D. Unfortunately my eyesight has declined to the point where writing and even simply reading has become somewhat of a chore - I have to really magnify the words and although they are readable, they're still very blurry. I did go momentarily blind for about 20 minutes and I can say stepping out of the studio, hands outstretched in front of me as I struggled to feel the side of the house on a cold November night, was more than a bit scary. If I hadn't of made it, my poor wife would have found me frozen stiff as an over-sized carrot lying face down on the ice.
During recovery time, much of it lying in bed enjoying various degrees of pain - well not really enjoying, more like reassuring me I was still among the living - I wrote several short stories, which will soon be published with some other ones. Anyone wishing to pre-purchase A Sure Thing and 6 Other Short Stories, it will be for sale very shortly for $15. plus shipping.
I know this might sound stupid but does anyone actually read anymore or are they all twiddling their thumbs on their phones these days, hoping they can enter the Olympics first ever strongest thumb event? Anyway, whether or not someone actually buys one of my books, of which I've written several, is not the reason I write stories. The main reason is that I'm hoping one of my stories will be made into an Oscar award winning movie, starring the most handsome actor and the most beautiful actress and I, of course will write the screen play and will become utterly famous and utterly rich, money will fall from the heavens like rain. And oh yes, mustn't forget the young, gorgeous and vivacious starlets, their incredible bodies falling into this old man's lap. All kidding aside, I enjoy bringing my mostly fictional characters to life (some of them nice and some of them at times evil) - what can I say - I often live in my own imaginative world - actually, sometimes better than the real one. My books are currently listed in our Trip 'n Daisy Etsy shop or you can email me directly to pre-order this new book.
My non-fiction stories are occasionally inspired by something someone may have told me or like ROOM 254, this short story came to me while I was in ER at the hospital. I heard a real elderly woman sobbing just a few beds away from me and saying that she was all alone - most likely at her age, most of her immediate family had passed on. Being almost 78, not too far behind that old lady's age, touched this old guy's heart strings, the result being a somewhat emotional story - possibly even a love story, when two totally different strangers meet at the very ending of their lives.
And speaking of loneliness, because of our business or forgetfulness, we should all try to make an effort to visit someone who is alone for long extended periods of time. Like that old lady in the hospital, you can't imagine how much she brightened up when a total stranger or a nurse took a little time to just talk to her - a smile and a few words is often all it takes to brighten up a lonely person...cheers, eh!
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