"Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched."
Guy de Maupassant: French short story writer and novelist (1850-1893)
In my first novel in the HERITAGE series, BOTTOM'S DREAM, my story begins with the rebuilding of a once-great country from the ashes of tragedies. There are two tragedies actually: a pandemic and a civil war. The former preceeded the later, but respectively I tagged them the Green Fever and the Poor Wars.
With our economy sinking into this horrible abyss where 401k's (K nows stands for Knockout, huh?), pensions, and savings huddle in shivers, my husband now wonders how prophetic teh HERITAGE series could be. I hope not very.
If you missed either BOTTOM'S DREAM or SOME TOUCH FIRE, the first two in the four-part series, it's understandable. They haven't found a home with a publisher. Such is the life of a writer. There's always another story...
But anyway...
In my last blog, I waxed eloquent (OK, maybe just "waxed") about layaways. This morning's Wall Street Journal includes a story about the reappearance of such an antiquated device. According to a story by Miguel Bustillo, KMart, Burlington Coat Factory, TJ Maxx, and Marshall's are again offering layaways. Kmart even has Jon and Kate Plus Eight's mommy, Kate Gosselin as its layaway spokeswoman. Of course, there is a charge for taking the merchandise off the showroom floor. Additionally, ELayaway.com supposedly offers some fantastic merchandise for those who prefer online shopping.
Either way, when 2009 rolls around, there will be no hefty bills for all that fun shoved under your kids beds.
Okay, I'm off to my life now...
Best
Judi
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Life Goes On or Denial May Be THE New Virtue!
My brother used to call me "Quarter Judi" because, as he contended, give me a quarter and in a little while I'd own the world.
Of course, he was wrong, but way back then when I wanted something -- clothing, books, presents, etc. -- I wouldn't feel shy about plunking down a quarter to lay something away. Layaways were more than common then. Everybody did it, especially in the months just before Christmas.
I snatched up the very first copy of the Beatles' RUBBER SOUL album at the 5 & 10, securing it away with a whole 25cents. The album sold out before the next Monday at both of the dime stores and the record store. And even if it took me several weeks to earn the money to spring that album free of its bin, I knew it was there, waiting for me.
Back then credit was something rarely used and when it was, payments were made in a timely manner. The little old ladies in our neighborhood had some of their groceries "put on the books" at the corner grocery. Then when their Social Security or pension checks arrived, they'd clean the slate.
I know because besides being the princess of the layaway, I was also a demon on a Schwinn who brazenly dashed the extra "delievery charge" the corner market tacked on. I ran errands for a number of very sweet old ladies and charged nothing. On the other hand, these sweeties were rarely without a freshly baked cookie or two. That seemed more of even trade, and for an aspiring writer, the tales I heard in kitchens ripe with scents of powdered detergent and boiling kale.
Which brings me to the present. I didn't wind up owning the world, and all those quarters my husband and I tucked away for sunsets on a sugary beach have dwindled to a sad stack.
We're hardly alone, I know. There are far too many in our situation. We trusted that there were only two things to do with money: spend it or save it. We trusted the latter meant it would be there for us to do the former someday when jobs weren't as available to us.
But... well, life goes on. Possibly the world can still be had for a quarter. Maybe I can buy a share of Ford Motor Company now. :-)
Don't look for www.judirohrig.com. I couldn't afford the site just now. Maybe later.
+++
Please do vote during this presidential election. Look closely at the candidates for president and other offices. It doesn't cost a dime (or even a precious quarter) to cast your ballot. As an American, it is your right and responsibility to vote. Exercise that or it may up and disappear, too.
Meanwhile, hang in there for as Scarlett O'Hara declared: "Tomorrow is another day!"
Of course, he was wrong, but way back then when I wanted something -- clothing, books, presents, etc. -- I wouldn't feel shy about plunking down a quarter to lay something away. Layaways were more than common then. Everybody did it, especially in the months just before Christmas.
I snatched up the very first copy of the Beatles' RUBBER SOUL album at the 5 & 10, securing it away with a whole 25cents. The album sold out before the next Monday at both of the dime stores and the record store. And even if it took me several weeks to earn the money to spring that album free of its bin, I knew it was there, waiting for me.
Back then credit was something rarely used and when it was, payments were made in a timely manner. The little old ladies in our neighborhood had some of their groceries "put on the books" at the corner grocery. Then when their Social Security or pension checks arrived, they'd clean the slate.
I know because besides being the princess of the layaway, I was also a demon on a Schwinn who brazenly dashed the extra "delievery charge" the corner market tacked on. I ran errands for a number of very sweet old ladies and charged nothing. On the other hand, these sweeties were rarely without a freshly baked cookie or two. That seemed more of even trade, and for an aspiring writer, the tales I heard in kitchens ripe with scents of powdered detergent and boiling kale.
Which brings me to the present. I didn't wind up owning the world, and all those quarters my husband and I tucked away for sunsets on a sugary beach have dwindled to a sad stack.
We're hardly alone, I know. There are far too many in our situation. We trusted that there were only two things to do with money: spend it or save it. We trusted the latter meant it would be there for us to do the former someday when jobs weren't as available to us.
But... well, life goes on. Possibly the world can still be had for a quarter. Maybe I can buy a share of Ford Motor Company now. :-)
Don't look for www.judirohrig.com. I couldn't afford the site just now. Maybe later.
+++
Please do vote during this presidential election. Look closely at the candidates for president and other offices. It doesn't cost a dime (or even a precious quarter) to cast your ballot. As an American, it is your right and responsibility to vote. Exercise that or it may up and disappear, too.
Meanwhile, hang in there for as Scarlett O'Hara declared: "Tomorrow is another day!"
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away?
"There are some things which practice does not enhance. Thunderstorms never practice. Surf does not take graduate lessons in hydraulics. Deer and rabbits do not measure how high they have jumped and go back and try again. Violinists must work at it and study. And ballerinas. And goalies and shortstops and wingbacks and acrobats. But that business of acquiring expertise in screwing turns it into something it wasn't meant to be." Travis McGee (DRESS HER IN INDIGO by John D. MacDonald)
By coincidence I found the time to sit down and visit my blog today, exactly one year to the day since I last posted. I guess that means my life has been busy. It has.
Q: So how's the writing going?
A: Not as well as I would like.
Q: Do you have excuses?
A: Of course! I'm a writer. Writers have more excuses than finished products. (Well, except if you're Gene Wolfe, Joe Lansdale, or Ed Gorman.)
Q: Then what did you want to blog about today? The economy? Politics? Child rearing? Celebrities? The Olympics?
A: I'd love to comment on any of those subjects. Economy: There's a plot among the rich to put the rest of us in our place. We've ruined designer clothes and handbags and shoes for them because WE'RE wearing them, too. My theory began when I found Crocs on sale by the boatload at the Rural King. Politics: I'd like to see Barak Obama and Evan Bayh paired against John McCain and Condolezza Rice. Yeah. Child Rearing: I'm glad I was a kid in the late 50s and early 60s. Boy, was it fun. And schools need to be smaller. We're driving kids to drugs (kids need to run and jump freely, not be tamed with drugs) and into gangs (smaller schools allow for more cheerleaders and sports teams and leaders which big schools limit). Celebrities: I am not interested, thank you. The Olympics: Boy, did we get ripped off in women's gymnastics! And having said that I would like for the NBC commentators to understand that the other countries have come to the Olympics to drag home metals, too. I doubt any one athlete came to deliberately dash the hopes of any other athlete. Better him/her? Of course. But honestly.
But, that's not really why I'm posting. As usual, I feel compelled to write about writing. Strange, huh?
Nobody I know seems to be reading much these days. Or if they are, they aren't BUYING books. This seems a sad time. But then again, a few of the books I've been struggling through are just that: a struggle. Did we writers kill the written word?
I'm gonna ponder that and try to get back here tomorrow. You see I've just gotten Joe Lansdale's LEATHER MAIDEN and I'm chomping at the bit for some good writin'.
Best
Judi
By coincidence I found the time to sit down and visit my blog today, exactly one year to the day since I last posted. I guess that means my life has been busy. It has.
Q: So how's the writing going?
A: Not as well as I would like.
Q: Do you have excuses?
A: Of course! I'm a writer. Writers have more excuses than finished products. (Well, except if you're Gene Wolfe, Joe Lansdale, or Ed Gorman.)
Q: Then what did you want to blog about today? The economy? Politics? Child rearing? Celebrities? The Olympics?
A: I'd love to comment on any of those subjects. Economy: There's a plot among the rich to put the rest of us in our place. We've ruined designer clothes and handbags and shoes for them because WE'RE wearing them, too. My theory began when I found Crocs on sale by the boatload at the Rural King. Politics: I'd like to see Barak Obama and Evan Bayh paired against John McCain and Condolezza Rice. Yeah. Child Rearing: I'm glad I was a kid in the late 50s and early 60s. Boy, was it fun. And schools need to be smaller. We're driving kids to drugs (kids need to run and jump freely, not be tamed with drugs) and into gangs (smaller schools allow for more cheerleaders and sports teams and leaders which big schools limit). Celebrities: I am not interested, thank you. The Olympics: Boy, did we get ripped off in women's gymnastics! And having said that I would like for the NBC commentators to understand that the other countries have come to the Olympics to drag home metals, too. I doubt any one athlete came to deliberately dash the hopes of any other athlete. Better him/her? Of course. But honestly.
But, that's not really why I'm posting. As usual, I feel compelled to write about writing. Strange, huh?
Nobody I know seems to be reading much these days. Or if they are, they aren't BUYING books. This seems a sad time. But then again, a few of the books I've been struggling through are just that: a struggle. Did we writers kill the written word?
I'm gonna ponder that and try to get back here tomorrow. You see I've just gotten Joe Lansdale's LEATHER MAIDEN and I'm chomping at the bit for some good writin'.
Best
Judi
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