Pumpkins and a Corn Maze

The sky promised a typical autumn day filled with chilled gusts and maybe some rain but with the days quickly coming to the second best holiday in the world (Halloween) we had to get a pumpkin. I remember those days when my parents took me to a pumkpin patch to pick out my pumpkin.

I've only lived in the area since I was 20 and I didn't have a huge desire to go to  a pumpkin patch because if I really wanted one I would just go to Wal-Mart. Anyway we were supposed to go to Way Fruit Farm and lucky for us, it was closed so my husband mentioned Harner Farms. And that is where we went to. Good thing too because they also had a corn maze which was really fun.

The brown stalkes reached to the sky and the sun decided to come out and shed some light on the maze yet the wind blew. The stalks smacked against each other and there was a quiet in the corn eventhough you could hear other people in the corn. There was also a fall festival there and my daughter played some games, we bought some baked snacks and of course we got the pumpkin.

Halloween is my favorite holiday right up there with Christmas and July 4th (I've always July 4th don't know if it is the beer, the fireworks or a little of both. Maybe it is because that is our Independence Day.) And this year the three of us will be dressing up.

My daughter will be a zombie bride. I have to start making the costume. I bought this really nice white dress at the thrift store so all I have to do is rip it up, make it dirty and throw some blood on it. I am going to make a bouquet out of brains ( don't fret, I am using cauliflower and some red food coloring). I am going to take the brains and make a bridal bouquet with it. In my opinion it is going to be freaking awesome.

I am going to be a vampire punk rocker chick. And my husband is going to be a dead preist. Yeah and if there isn't a bizarre story to be told here. I was thinking about making one anyway when the day comes.

If we are lucky we can hit two different towns for trick or treating. That way I can get plenty of snickers and peanutbutter cups. Yummy....

And there it was, a perfect fall day one to be recorded to remember always. Until next time...

Hey Man, I Need Some NBA Tickets

Jake's phone rang while he was in the middle of fighting with his wife. He looked at the caller id, it was JJ, his pain in the ass brother.

"JJ, this is not a good time. It better be important," Jake said. Hi wife stormed off into the kitchen.

"I need some nba tickets."

"Yeah could you be more specific? And when the hell are you interested in basketball. Is it a girl?"

"No, I wish. I want to impress a prospective client."

Jake shook his head, he knew prospective client was just an euphimism. His brother was trouble and Jake always got him out of trouble. The very reason why he and his wife were fighting. "Where are you?"

"How about los angeles lakers tickets? Everyone loves the Lakers, right?" JJ replied.

"Against Philly or New York?" Jake knew some people and he could get decent seats in either in Philly or New York. He hated helping JJ but they were family and he couldn't turn him away. And maybe this time JJ was on the right path.

"No, I want staples center tickets. That's where they play right?"

"Your in LA?" Jake asked.

"No but I will be landing there soon. I knew I should stay with you guys and I know my parole officer will have a field day but I had to do this. I have a chance at something real here. I could make a lot of money and I bet I won't have to steal or set fires."

"I don't understand, what are you getting yourself into?"

"I met this guy who is a private eye and he wants to hire me and my  illegal skills to help him out. Anyway, I am supposed to meet up with him in LA do a job and see if I am the guy he is looking for. Well he loves basketball and I told him I have connections. Well I want to prove it to him by getting some awesome seats at a game."

"JJ, you get caught," Jake said.

"Yeah, well not all the time, like twice. I just don't you tell everything I do. This is my straight and arrow path just like you wanted for me, except this is my path and it is a little crooked."

Jake exhaled, "all right, I will see what I can do."

"Thanks little brother."

"I'll call you in a few hours but first I have to make things right with Sandy."

A Very Good Idea in the Works

One thing that I want to do on this blog is create a serial web novel or whatever you want to call it. A very long story written especially for here, where I would try to make a new chapter every week or so. And of course, I want to write something long (50,000 words or there abouts is a novel) because I would like to write (or I should complete the two I started) a novel in the near future.

I've been thinking about vampires. I know vampires are over done or maybe not. Don't get me wrong, I love vampires. I love vampire books (except for Twilight but that is a story for another time), vampire shows and vampire movies. I don't write much with vampires because I wanted to be different. All right I am not dumb either vampires are really popular and there is a lot of good (for me of course) to come from writing a vampire story. Hopefully, I will get more readers. More readers equals more fan base. And let's go all the way with the good so maybe it will be so popular, someone from Hollywood would contacting me for the rights to make a movie or television series. How awesome would that be.

I think most writers would love to see something of theirs on a big screen, either at the movie theater or at home just some don't want to admit it.

In a perfect world, I would have a schedule where every week I would religiously post a new chapter. Ha, the world is not perfect and I don't do well with keeping schedules. But once I start it, I will finish it regardless of how long it takes me. Why? Because I have this belief there is this one person (all it takes is one fan) who only comes here to read the new installment. That is the thing that will keep me going, that one reader (fifty is better though). I know I should write for  myself but I need a bit of ass kicking to stay motivated.

The excitement is starting to build and my mind keeps wondering to this place where the story will be born all I need is a few names, an image or scene and the rest will fall into place.

Wait for it all because it will great, you'll know when it hits...

And Its the Writing...

Yesterday, I came home from work and there she was sitting on the couch writing. No, not me but my daughter. She sat there very focused as she created her story and drew corresponding pictures. And I remember someone else who did the very same thing with the same kind of fervor.

I have been writing for well over 20 years. I've been obsessed with the written word for a lot longer than though as I am an avid reader and always was. I started writing poetry when I was about 10. When I went to 6th grade I had a teacher who encouraged journal writing. Except I didn't care for writing about the going ons in my life. Really, I had much better ideas. So I wrote stories. My teacher loved them so much. I loved doing it as well. My stories were written as if they were a radio show, I even included some really odd advertisements as well. And this was where it all began all those years ago...

Years that followed, I always some kind of notebook on hand with a pen in the other. I would write on long car trips by flashlight if needed, while on vacation and even visiting the relatives. And everyone around was okay with it. They encouraged it. I wrote because I was driven to write. There were voices in my head (metaphorical voices, I am not really that insane. I am but I ignore the other voices) and stories that had to be told. I wrote all the time. 

My mom would tell you about how I jumped out of bed in the middle of the night just to write a poem I was thinking about. My grandmother would tell you about how I was so involved in writing a story, I didn't realize I fallen off the couch and got wedged between the sofa and the coffee table (I am still not sure how that really happened. All I know is she had to rescue me.) I thought like a writer and I still do.

It wasn't utopia in the writing world. I put myself through hell with writing. I know or think I am going to be famous but as of yet I am not. I am rejected constantly but I keep sending stuff out. I even quit writing all together. Or at least I tried quitting, soon I would find myself writing a poem or a story because I have come to realize that I can't turn off the writer mode even if I wanted to. I could try ignoring it or beating it into submission but it always comes back. Always. I have so many excuses now for writing as much as I should. And that is what they are excuses. There are no good excuses for not writing. Probably just trying to avoid it or maybe some other unknown reason.

Maybe I am afraid of being great or taking a chance. I might not be working hard enough. I might not have faith in my work. Although the faith thing is improving. I am just still lost in the body of work I have and where to send it to. See above to taking chances. I think I follow very little rules about the publishing game. I don't read the magazine only because it doesn't help. I do send simultaneous submissions. The only rules I follow are format rules. I just tempt the fates and I hope they bite somewhere.

But what I should be doing right now is actually writing because I do have so much joy in the act.

Meet Juniper

Since seeing  The Karate Kid a million and half moons ago there is always one thing I wanted ( sure I wanted to be a black belt in karate and do that crane kick with precision but then again I was a young kid when I first saw the movie) a bonsai tree.

I always thought they were cool. Who wouldn't though it is a tiny little tree. I could never find one. Really, I could have put more effort into it since I used to go to New York City all the time, I am sure I could have found there or even used the web. Last week, I went to Wegman's and I saw a customer carry one out. I really got happy because now I could buy one but I had to wait for payday.

Payday came and went and yesterday I made a special trip just to Wegman's and for $17 plus tax I got a lovely Japanese Juniper. 

Isn't she lovely. Since it is a Juniper tree the name is Juniper. I never had one before so I have to get a book from the library in the near future to learn how to prune it and how to repot it when that time comes. According to the little tag that came with the tree, bonsai means "tree in a tray" and this particular tree is 4-6 years old.

My main character's  name in my novel that I am working on is Juniper Laurel, so this is a nice little reminder that I should be working on my novel.  Yeah I am cool.

Other than my tree there is nothing new going on just working and enjoying the awesome leaf changes. I love the fall.

Until next time may the pizza on your plate be overflowing....

Desert Marquee

Big Dreams on the marquee,
cutting through the dark curtain on the
desolate desert,
an enzymatic catalyst
for failing.

For some people who are expected to succeed, fail;
for some people who are expected to fail, succeed.

Late winter stars fall behind the marquee,
where do we go when we die?

To know the answer, will always be too late.

The lights of the marquee shine on
until the bulbs break and the solemn,
courteous stars meet once again with the desert.

Tis the Season for.... Politics

Yeah, it is 2012 and the time for presidential election but lets zoom in. Zoom way in to state politics. Don't worry though I will have plenty to talk about when it comes to Obama and Romney.  So the incumbent in my area Bud George is retiring from office and he has been there since the we became a commonwealth (for those who don't know Pennsylvania is where I hang my hat). With this opening there are two persons who think they are worthy.

Obviously, one is a democrat and one is a republican. I just want to make on thing clear I am  registered democrat only because in this state you have to pick one or the other to vote in the  primaries (oddly, I rarely vote in the primaries however, I voted 4 years ago when Hillary was against Barack). When it comes to voting time I will choose candidates because of their ideas regardless of their party affiliation.

Almost everyday I get a piece of mail from candidate Sankey, he is a republican. Really, I have so many fliers I could make an impressive political pyramid. And the big thing he is really playing is how he is small business owner and he wants to create jobs. The catch phrase is something like a real job creator. He owns a business but I don't really recall him hiring a lot of people. I have fliers showing his work shoes and his past accomplishments. Oh yeah he loves the area and cares about us.

I care about the job market. I want America to keep jobs here, I believe in higher minimum wages and all that because I want America to be self sufficient as much as possible and rely less on other countries. The one thing I do know is since it is getting expensive to ship from overseas to back here, some jobs are coming back to the states. He wants to create jobs as does everyone else but you know what he never says how he plans on creating jobs. Obviously, being a republican he wants to lower taxes and things like that.

I don't want to argue about party platform. And maybe sometimes certain ideas work and other times other ideas work. Ideas must change and adapt just like the people have to. But honestly, I don't think it is enough. Cutting taxes may help business "a" and business "b" hire maybe three or four people but does that mean that these people will make more than $7.25 an hour? Does that mean they will have benefits that won't slaughter their paychecks? No it just means 4 people now have jobs and really if we want to dive in semantics he did get jobs created.

I can go around saying I want to create jobs and it sounds so nice. But I am the voter and I want to know how he will create jobs. What are his plans to encourage a more diverse industry to come his voter area? And not just job creation but what about jobs that are quality in pay and benefits.

So here's my thought, send me one letter with all his ideas and thoughts. With all money spent on fliers, he should have saved the money and hired someone new for his company.

Oh yeah, love this time of year...