--NEXT TIME I'LL MAKE SMARTER MISTAKES

…I have a new story, “Conquistador” up at The Scrambler and also here under “Words in Print.”

...I am reading a great love story told through postcards and notes taped to the fridge or left on a mirror.
It's cute.
Adorable really.
It's wonderful and funny, touching and real.
It's a collection of all the little drawings and notes George Carlin (the late great comedian) wrote to the love of his life, Sally Wade.
The book is called "The George Carlin Letters: The Permanent Courtship of Sally Wade."
Here are some of my favorite excerpts/notes:

--"There's no better place in the world than the room where Sally Wade is located."
--"Hey, Sister-See that twister? That's what you did to my heart--stirred everything up and changed my whole inner geography."
--"Being without you is like having no air, sunlight, scenery, stars, clouds, birds, flowers or trees."
--"No star twinkles brighter than your eyes. No planet holds more wonders than your mind. No inter-stellar distance matches the dimension of your soul. And no galaxy is vaster than my love."
--"I'm silly for Sally."
--"Hang in there, Baby. Hormones come and go, but true love lasts. And you're doing fine. We're both in withdrawal.
--"Sally, you upgraded me."
--"Hey Girl! Wish I was lyin' in my usual spot. I'd reach over and start something. You a sexy thing. I'll be right back. Keep it warm. Nitey-nite."
--I bet you won't even notice this note."
--"Man, I can't wait to see your face." - The George Carlin Letters to Sally Wade

…I'm also reading Barry Graham's book, "Nothing or Next to Nothing." I've always liked Barry's writing and I am enjoying his novella.

…Lastly, ("lastly" is a strange-sounding word) I am two thirds of the way through "Twins" by Marcy Dermansky. I loved her other book, "Bad Marie." This one started off strong, felt a little flat in the middle, but is getting weird and fun right now. The whole idea of twins is sort of fascinating to me. There's a lot of material there to be mined.

…I am giving blood today. I do not like to give blood. I've given blood for a few decades. It makes me feel good afterward, as if I'm a responsible citizen. It makes me think that should I ever get smashed up in an accident and get rushed to the hospital where I'd need many pints of blood that I'd be able to accept said blood without feeling guilty, or like a greedy blood glutton, because I'd given blood in the past.
I never watch when they stick the needle in my arm.
I hate the sharp, stinging pinch when it pricks my flesh.
I never watch the blood slaking down the tube into the thick plastic sandwich baggie-type thing.
I look away, to the right, because they always stab my left arm.
I usually have a book.
They always come by and ask if I'm doing all right.
One time the nurse person really jammed the needle into my arm, sort of like John Travolta stabbing Uma Thurman in "Pulp Fiction" only it was the soft under slope of my arm that got jabbed, not my chest.
It hurt like a mother. My arm felt as if it would sort of wind its way free of my body, as if in protest.
After that experience, I have no longer wanted to give blood.
But I'm going back again today.
Wish me luck.

…I like these other things on a Wednesday:

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the live you've imagined.
-- Henry David Thoreau

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
-- Albert Einstein

"To think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral down into ever increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline - training - is about." James Clavell, "Shogun"

"I was homesick at home. I didn't feel comfortable anywhere, not even in my own body." CK Chesterson

"When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in
our life, or in the life of another." Helen Keller


"Today is the oldest you have ever been, yet the youngest you will ever be. Enjoy it!" David James

"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to
lose sight of the shores for a very long time." Andre Gide

"Writing is such a solitary act. You spend hours alone, only with your thoughts, and you torture yourself. It's a tendency of many writers to temper the self-destructive act of writing with other self-destructive acts. I certainly was one of those people for a long time." Ben Gibbard