ON WEDNESDAYS THE WORLD IS TOO WIDE AND WISE FOR ME

…I have three new things: "Putting You Away," at In Between Altered States; "Baby, Baby, Baby" at Bluestem Magazine; and "Eclipse" @ Literary Laundry. "Putting You Away" is somewhat odd and tragic, about a guy freezing a Polaroid of his soul mate. "Baby" is a little saucy. "Eclipse" is dark and moody and a tad longish (4,800 words.) All are also here under "Words In Print."

…I am a bit besieged by writing projects at the moment. I like it, though. Far better that than the opposite. I will just have to be more focused and therefore more productive. I look at Roxane Gay as an example--she's a professor, edits PANK and Bluestem, is a prolific writer and blogger--and I feel like a slacker, but in a good way that gives me a hard boot to the ass.

…Wednesday is called "Hump Day." I get what that means, but I've never liked the word "hump," just as I've never cared for "dump," "rump," or "lump."
There's something paradoxical about Wednesday, the middle day, more or less. It should bring a sense of security, being snuggled warmly between the rest of the days of the week, yet it can feel sort of claustrophobic that way, what with little sister Tuesday squishing from the left and big brother Thursday snoring on the right.
People typically detest Monday and love Friday, with Saturday a close second. I don't know if I love Wednesdays, but for me they are a kind of weigh station where I'm pitted with choices: I can coast, I can slow down, or I can push and accelerate.
Wednesdays are wide, full length mirrors, the kind that highlight every pore and every wrinkle, the type that tell the truth and accentuate murky delusions.

…I finished "A Witness in Exile," Brian Spears's poetry collection. It was quite good. If you like prose poetry, this is your ticket.

…Here are some things I like today, that you might like as well:

--"If you come to a fork in the road, take it." Yogi Berra
--"No man ever said on his deathbed, 'I wish I'd spent more time at the office." Paul Tsongas, deciding not to run for President after it was determining he had cancer.
--"One day in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful." Sigmund Freud
--"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." Hemmingway
--"Anyone who lives within their means, suffers from lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde
--"I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me." Noel Coward
--"Reality is something you learn to rise above." Liza Minnelli
--"Pleasure and displeasure wrap around each other like snakes." Natasha Vargas Cooper
--"Brevity is not just the sould of wit; it is damned hard work." -- Mike Resnick.


And I like these six words stories:
--"For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Hemmingway
--"Longed for him. Got him. Shit." Margaret Atwood
--"Revenge is living well, without you." Joyce Carol Oates