Do you ever wonder if you’re being followed? Or at the very least, feel like you’re being observed? I do.
It all started with the Daily Post last Thursday. The word of the day was “obvious.” I follow their prompts on my fiction blog, so that day I wrote a post entitled “Obvious.” Obviously. It’s a very short fiction piece about a car accident. You can find it here. The next day – Friday – the Daily Post prompt was “witness.” Hey, that’s handy, I thought. I’ll just write a part two for Thursday’s post. Here you have “Obvious, Part 2.”
When the prompt came up on Saturday, and the word of the day was “mistake,” I was tempted to keep going on my little car accident story, but I didn’t. Instead I wrote about a cheating husband. So what happened? Today’s one-word prompt on the Daily Post is “cheat.”
I may sound like a broken record, and for that I apologize. It’s the Canadian thing to do, eh? But I feel the need to record this both for myself and on behalf of my fellow Canadians.
There is no power equal to that of music. It brings us together and gives us, as humans, a connection that crosses all barriers. As one who has traveled the world for the privilege of hearing it live, I can attest to this. It’s one thing to listen to it on the radio, or on your home stereo, knowing that you can replay it a million times, but that’s light years from standing before a stage, surrounded by not only the sound but the energy, the vibration, and the unique experience that is being at a concert. It must be that, times ten, for the performers.
So we come to the point. The Tragically Hip. In case you somehow missed the news, their lead singer, Gordon Downie, was diagnosed in May with terminal brain cancer. Their final concert last night at the K-Rock Centre in Kingston was a one-off like none other. I watched as Gordie stood on stage with his eyes closed, absorbing the sound, the experience, just as I have so many times. Living in that moment because that moment was all he had, and all he will ever have. I pray he wasn’t in pain, that the adrenaline was enough. We, as a country, watched as he bravely did what he does best. If he’s like me, he shared with us what he loves the most besides his family – the power of music.
He spoke about The Hip’s third performance in Kingston, 28 years ago, when six people attended the show. Last night it’s estimated that 11.7 million Canadians watched their final performance. It wasn’t enough for me to watch it after the fact: I needed to feel the undeniable connection of my country, my Prime Minister who was there at the concert less than an hour from where I live, and of course, the band.
This video, choppy as it is, shows a moment at the end that will stay with me for the rest of my life. As someone on twitter said last night, we watched a man who is dying. With Courage and Grace, Too.
Grace, Too
He said, “I’m fabulously rich, come on just let’s go”
She kind of bit her lip, “Jeez, I don’t know”
But I can guarantee, there’ll be no knock on the door
I’m total pro, that’s what I’m here for
I come from downtown, born ready for you
Armed with will and determination, and grace, too
The secret rules of engagement are hard to endorse
When the appearance of conflict meets the appearance of force
But I can guarantee, there’ll be no knock on the door
I’m total pro here, that’s what I’m here for
I come from downtown, born ready for you
Armed with skill and it’s frustration, and grace, too
I’m giving this book four stars even though it pissed me off. For the first half of the book I didn’t really like Clementine, the main character, which made it hard to care about her. What gives the novel four stars is the compelling way it’s written.
Ms. Ream is an extremely talented storyteller. She pulled me through the tale until I couldn’t put it down. Until I began to feel angry because in the end, I was forced to care about a woman determined to end her life. I was mad at Clementine. The novel made me feel, which for me is the greatest compliment anyone can give to a writer.
Losing Clementine is not a lighthearted read. It’s a powerful one, about relationships and how deeply they can affect everything, right down to personality.
I’m breaking from Helen’s theme on Song-Lyric Sunday today because what I want to write about is time-sensitive.
I’m not much of a Tragically Hip fan. I never have been. But what the band is going through right now affects me. It has the potential to affect all music fans, regardless of preference. You see, a few months ago, when The Tragically Hip announced their final tour, they also came out with the news that their lead singer, Gordon Downie, has brain cancer.
Over the years, The Tragically Hip have become a Canadian icon, every bit as much as David Bowie was to England. Yet they chose to handle the same disease differently. Some would say Bowie did it right, not allowing his fans to fawn over him during his final days. Those same people might say The Hip announced Gordon Downie’s disease as a publicity stunt. But I would have to disagree. The same number of people would have bought tickets to their “final tour” (in brackets because we know what that usually means) and perhaps some of their most loyal fans would have waited until they came out of retirement. As it is, it doesn’t seem they will.
Imagine.
On August 20th they will walk off the stage for the very last time, in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario. The venue, the K-Rock Centre on Tragically Hip Way. How difficult will that be for both the band and the fans? I’m in tears just thinking about it, because even though The Tragically Hip isn’t “my band,” it will happen to every one of them, eventually. Because of the timely announcement, the CBC will simulcast the concert countrywide.
To one of Canada’s greatest bands. I salute you.
Wheat Kings
(Lyrics from Google Play Music)
Sundown in the Paris of the prairies
Wheat kings have all treasures buried
And all you hear are the rusty breezes
Pushing around the weathervane Jesus
In his Zippo lighter he sees the killer’s face
Maybe it’s someone standing in a killer’s place
Twenty years for nothing, well, that’s nothing new
Besides, no one’s interested in something you didn’t do
Wheat kings and pretty things
Let’s just see what the morning brings
There’s a dream he dreams where the high school’s dead and stark
It’s a museum and we’re all locked up in it after dark
Where the walls are lined all yellow, grey and sinister
Hung with pictures of our parents’ prime ministers
Wheat kings and pretty things
Wait and see what tomorrow brings
Late breaking story on the CBC
A nation whispers, “We always knew that he’d go free”
They add, “You can’t be fond of living in the past
‘Cause if you are then there’s no way that you’re going to last”
Wheat kings and pretty things
Let’s just see what tomorrow brings
Wheat kings and pretty things
Oh that’s what tomorrow brings
As a subtitle to this post, I should write, “And What Turns You Off?”
The reason I ask: I’ve been told by the experts that I should be “spamming” my friends on my blog, and on all other social media, in order to entice everyone to buy my new novelette, All Good Stories. I told the experts, but I don’t want to do that to my precious blogland friends! but the experts were insistent. “Choose between your friends and your success!” they said. Chanted, really. It was like a waking nightmare until I thought, why don’t I just ask my friends what they think?
So, friends, let’s start with what convinces you to hit that “Buy It Now” button when you’re considering the purchase of the book.
Initially, for me, the cover has a lot to do with it. We do, in fact, judge a book by its cover. The artwork has to be attractive AND hint at what might be inside. It has to make me ask questions. Like, why the parrot? But it’s not only the front! The back (or the blurb in the case of an ebook) is a crucial part of my decision. It not only has to make me want to read the book, it has to be free of errors and give me a hint, through its voice, of what I can expect on the inside.
Reviews and recommendations come next. Even if they’re not jumping off the page to say “This was the best thing ever!” there has to be some consistency to them. For example, “This made me laugh!” and “I chuckled when I read this!”
But then there are those authors who keep on and on and on. Some of us can ignore it, turning it into white noise. I especially tend to disregard an ad if I’ve already bought the All Good Stories book. Then again, seeing “Buy it today!” or “Pre-order now, only 99 cents!” really seems to get under other people’s skin. There has to be a balance! Am I right?
What do you think? What’s most important to you? And would you spend .99¢ to shut me up? (Please see the link at the top right-hand corner of this page.) 😀
Whew! It’s been a busy day. Now, back to real life. I still need to post something to my fiction blog… Do you read my fiction blog? I’ve posted something every day this year so far. There have been days when I’ve felt like giving up and just skipping it, but I’m stubborn. When I get something in my mind that I’m going to do, I do my damnedest to stick to it. I expect far more from myself than I do anyone else.
In fact I live by the adage, Never expect anything of anyone, and you’ll never be disappointed. I find it fun to do things for people without expecting a thank you, and it’s allowed me, with practice, to find ways to do things for people and have them not even realize that I’ve done it. It’s gratifying. And it all started for me with that adage.
Life is so much simpler, so much less stressful when there are no expectations. Expectations live in the future. I strive to live in the moment. Here, where I am right now there is just me and my surroundings. Nothing is in my way when I am still. I can choose a clear path when I am concentrating on where I am, rather than where I should be. Being in the future before I arrive blinds me to where I am. Does that make sense?
Anyway, before I go I just wanted to say thank you to the four (so far) participants in the SoCS Badge Contest with their amazing entries. If you haven’t seen them yet, go here https://lindaghill.com/2016/08/04/its-the-3rd-annual-socs-badge-design-contest/ and look in the comment section for the links. And don’t forget if you plan to enter, do it soon!
Anyone who would like to participate, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do,
you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.
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As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.
Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”
The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:
1. Make it one sentence.
2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.
3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.
4. Add our very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!
I just had some random, young buxom blond on Twitter put me on her “delicious” list. I swear to God, no one on Twitter has tasted me. That I know of.
I find it interesting when celebrities follow me. Most of the time, if I follow them back, they unfollow me. It’s how they get the high numbers. So I don’t follow them but I keep them on my radar to see how long they’ll hang on. So far I’ve had the group, Foreigner, Kim Mitchell, Taye Diggs (I think he follows everyone), Braxton Cosby (Bill’s nephew), and the woman who voices Siri, among others attach themselves to my feed. Oh, and Sigmund Freud, but I don’t think it was really him.
There are some seriously weird attention-graspers over on Twitter.
“If you let the dog out of his crate, you’re not getting your lemonade stand today.”
That’s how today’s disaster started. Over and over again I tell my mentally delayed son that if he doesn’t do as he’s told, he’ll suffer the consequences. And over and over he goes ahead and does the opposite anyway. And then we all suffer the consequences.
I’m sure he understands the “if/then” concept. But like a two-year-old (he’s 15), he enjoys pushing his boundaries. He is, in fact, caught somewhere between the terrible twos and puberty. The “what ifs” and “I can do what I want.” And it’s scary.
It’s been so long since I’ve raised a child in a normal situation, that I don’t really remember how long it usually takes a child to understand consequences. It’s normally after a few failures, isn’t it? I’m asking the parents of “normal” toddlers and young kids. If you add the deafness and the fact that Alex and I don’t speak the same language to the mental delay, my situation is hardly “normal.” I want to add to this that I am very consistent. If I say there will be a consequence, I stick to it, no matter how long the screaming, hitting, and breaking things goes on. Him, not me. But I’m tempted sometimes. 😛
To be fair, it’s not a very good day for a lemonade stand today anyway. It’s cool, cloudy, and there aren’t many people about. I promised him next week, if he can be good.
So instead he’s gone with his brother for a ride on the city bus. On the way back home I was listening to the radio in the car (from dropping them at the bus station) and the announcer said the following:
“Get your face painted or get your kids’ faces painted. It don’t matter.”
This in regards to a festival going on in the next town. Wouldn’t you think they’d hire people at a radio station with maybe not impeccable, but at least good grammar? Am I being too picky?
So anyhoo, if I’m not around too much next weekend, you’ll know I’m outside in my driveway selling lemonade. We’ll see what the weather’s like then.
If it’s not one thing… I’m sure at some point or another I’ve started a post like this before. In fact if I have, it’ll probably show up in the “see also” previews below this post. And the truth is, I hate being negative. So I’ll just get this over and done with. It’s really not that bad. In fact it probably hasn’t even been worth all this intro to it.
You know I had a bug bite the other day that made my hand swell? Well, that’s better. Now I have a sore on the very tip of my “d” finger. Why do I refer to my finger as my “d” finger? It only hurts when I type. No idea what the problem is. Can’t see anything except a painful blister. Yeah, wasn’t worth the intro.
In other news:
I used a sprint (set a timer for 10 minutes and just typed until the buzzer went off) to kick-start my novel writing. I got less than 400 words written in that 10 minutes, but it got me back into my story. I managed to write another 1,600 words today. The moral of the story is, sprints work when you’re stuck. It’s kind of like stream of consciousness that no one will ever read.
Every time I see “Cookie Policy” on a website I think about my own cookie policy – don’t buy them if I don’t want to gain weight. And definitely not if I go to the store hungry.
How is it that people think by writing f*ck instead of fuck no one will be offended? Is an asterisk any less offensive than a “u” just because it looks like a pretty flower? Okay, maybe it is.
Getting back to not wanting to write about miserable things, I’m actually a funny person most of the time. You can tell by my humorous fiction over at my fiction blog. Oh, and the novelette I’ll be (hopefully) publishing next week! It’s a light, romantic comedy that you’ll be able to read over a lunchtime or two. On sale soon for just $0.99 at Amazon and Kobo. Watch out for my celebratory post when the details are finalized!
It’s hard to be funny when you’re under pressure to be though, isn’t it? Waaay back when my SoCS prompt was fairly new, I made the prompt for the week “funny.” We all found it difficult to write about anything that was laugh-out-loud funny, so most of us wrote about something peculiar instead.
Knock, knock! Hang on, that one doesn’t work very well in a post. Why did the chicken cross the road?
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