lots of news, lots going on. the cd is out- more on that soon. there will be a cd release party, and this will mean that the band will actually play together, all together, for the first time in a long time...the cd is a big deal for me- it has one of my own songs on it, and a lot of my fiddling and banjo picking. now i listen to it much more critically- at the time i was grateful to have any acceptable version of any song, including my own, because i was pressed for time, as i always am. but now i can barely listen to it without hearing other ways i have played it/could have played it. such is life.

just came back from a family trip to columbia, mo, which was a lot like iowa city, old favorite of mine. i could never get my wife to move further north, but i could get her to move to a town like columbia, and this is a place which apparently thinks highly of her. it had a homey feeling in spite of my never having been there, to my knowledge- i've spent almost twenty years within twenty miles of missouri, but never actually lived in the state. The baby was a little sick and was a tough customer; the five-year-old was tough too, but the weather was good, people were nice, and driving was uneventful. memorable scenes- the lakota coffeeshop and the peace nook, a cards-cubs game on television, as you would expect i guess, and a friendly guy at the mcdonald's where corey was asleep in my lap, while eli played on the structure, and we discussed little guys caught in the foster-care system indefinitely. lots more- but these snapshots will have to do for now...others will find their way, slowly, into my writing...

ok, here's another one: Have a good day - a story about the checkout line. part of a series: (Five) stories from a big-box, discount retail chain, it's tentatively called. scroll back on this blog to find the others. comments welcome!

april birthday club!

ok, read it & weep: Road Atlas, another in a series of wal-mart stories, not trying to rake the dub or anything, just getting some ideas down on paper. let me know what you think.

i'm not sure i'm getting a lot of business here on the web, but that's ok...it's a good place to store them, and dredge them out to work on them occasionally, if i ever get time.

had an experience last week, when someone stole my blue sticker, and sent me into a short investigation of the entire parking situation on a large midwestern campus. blue is one of the preferred, the faculty sticker- maybe someone thought a guy with a 68 ford truck would have more of a sense of humor. well, now that they charged me $5 and a couple hours of my time, i have less of that. and the stories i heard will go well in my novel, if i never get that $5 back. they might be sorry they didn't dredge up an abe to hand over to me on the spot. after all, they'd caught the guy right away; i'm sure he paid that & more in fines and towing, i'm sure they had the money.

had another experience, actually visiting my son in the dorms of the univ. of kansas, over the computer i-chat, listening to his friends talk, play bass guitar, kibbitz on the online bog game, which we did ok on. the interesting thing about i-chat is the feeling that you don't have to speak into a mic- you're right there, you just talk. sounds better even than the cell.

and now, horrendous news out of virginia tech, and i can only think, what brings out another day, what gives me a right to see another one, when all those others can't? it is, maybe, that my daughter is coming, and that will be something, big news in a small world. try not to think of the scary stuff, i'd like to tell the 5-yr.-old, who got a run on fear from watching a tornado shelter go in, and still hasn't gotten over it. to the 14-yr-old i'll say, check the standings. both the indians and mariners are in first, though it may be temporary, so is life, all of it, april in particular. read the story.

here's another one, this one called Wee Hours. read fast, if you don't keep up with them, they'll fly by & be gone.

i must say that i've noticed, it's more fun saying i've been writing wal-mart stories, than just saying i've been writing stories. it's like, now they have a theme, and the theme is good. just hoping wal-mart doesn't mind. i really have no ill intent toward the big dub- it's a great setting for these stories though. this one is related only tangentally. doesn't matter though. another one is on its way.

ok, here's a new one, Lord of the Ringers, in a new blog which i intend to fix up in time. it's a busy time. a person has to make time to write. but, i feel like i'm making progress. i need readers. care to help?

picture break- a cold chill has come over the area, a frost; there was even snow today. at work a woman who has both adopted and borne many children said something to this effect: having borne children, she said, i can honestly say that it is an awesome experience, enlightening, and i feel badly for people who have wanted to do it but never could. but, having adopted also, i can also say the same for adoption: it's different, but it's every bit as enlightening, as growth-encouraging, as awesome as bearing them. and i feel just as badly for people who were never able to experience that...

here's to that. and here's to april: as one of my students said, having seen snow today, all four seasons at once. a birthday kind of season, a kind of time when it's good to see them come around again. the sun will come around again...and here's to corey- happy birthday! april rocks. the 29-yr-old and the 53-yr-old have their days coming too. not to mention my dad, jim- he wrote the book.