First, I went for a walk to the library and the Dollar General (the closest thing we have to a grocery store in walking distance). It was just a normal walk, the kind that usually lifts my spirits. But everywhere I went, I just saw...doom. Desolation. Like, everyone seemed so fucking unhappy. Maybe it's winter? I don't know. It was a lot. So I'm feeling that barista. It's not politics or sports. It's just a general atmosphere of doom.
Second, I love All Creatures Great and Small so much. Read all the books when I was younger. Watched the original show on PBS. I need to watch the re-boot. I love stories where people are decent. Those stories are just as true to life as the stories in which humans are all horrible, like The Sopranos. The reality is somewhere in between, but if I'm picking what I consume, let me pick decency and kindness.
Finally, I find it really hard to read anything else when my own writing is going really well. When I'm in the groove, reading anything else feels pointless. And maybe that it's not as good as what I'm working on? I've always hated all the rules and suggestions for what and how you should read when you're writing. Have you ever heard some of those? Be careful what you read or it will influence your own writing. Like, and that would be a bad thing? Anyway, maybe that you don't want to read means your writing is going really well. That's what I'm going with.
I find it so interesting that writers and readers (myself included) give ourselves such a hard time about what we are reading or not reading. I'd like to write a piece about this, if only to see what I really think :)
I wish I could be there for your reading! Sending all the love and good vibes you need. Here's a trick I learned . When I'm feeling anxious, I say out loud "I'm feeling excited!" I do that as many times as it takes and my brain flips the switch to excitement. I'll be using that trick today because I've having a table read of a new play. It has been YEARS since my last table read, thanks to Covid.
I'm so sorry I'll miss you at VAMP on Thursday Betsy. I'm in San Miguel de Allende at the writers' conference. Want to hear all about it when I return.
Haha you have just reminded me of a moment many years ago when my partner and I were naked in the dunes at a remote New Zealand beach and along came a bunch of horses and riders. One of the horses saw us and just stopped dead in its tracks, refusing to walk on and prolonging an extremely awkward moment for what felt like an eternity 😂 I do hope you'll share your full story here with us some day 😊
I'm not certain this is the best forum to scratch out my wild sexcapades, but I can titillate you with minimal raw data from my past: such as being tied up on top of a San Diego baseball diamond until my jeans were in shreds, or the time when I was blocked from leaving a Buenos Aires Condo after accepting an invite from a native in a disco (I can still hear Madonna singing "Like a Prayer") who later held a threatening sharp knife high in the air, or the time when I was dropped off 20 miles outside Tegucigalpa (Honduras) in front of a building that was supposed to be the only gay club in the country (as the taxi sped away, I realized it was the only building for miles with one light announcing the entrance). I'm still alive to tell these tales, but it could have gone so very wrong (my mother says she bargained with her god for an angel to protect me). As soon as a publisher accepts my short stories for publication, I'll let inquisitive readers, who want the intimate details, know, but don't hold your breath.
I've loved 'All Creatures Great and Small' too, Betsy, and I've been trying to put my finger on exactly what it is about the show I'm drawn to (especially right now, at this particular moment we're in). You hit the nail on the head -- the characters are decent, they care about the people around them, the community that surrounds them is important and their actions reflect that, their lives reflect that. So, so spot on.
Susan and I married in 1977, after taking off like a rocket in a matter of hours back in July 1975 at a museums conference in Durham, England. As for publicly reminiscing about al fresco sex and bears, relive the moment. I would have thought the prospect of running naked into your mum’s house and finding her up and about would trump the bear bit of the story. For the record, a few years after Susan and I married we had a big row, which ended when we tore up our marriage certificate and flushed it down the toilet. Give me daylight, a bed, a duvet and trees I can see through a window. Three minutes or a week, with no interruptions. Heaven comes no closer than such time alone. 🐰
Betsy, I'm so sorry to have missed seeing you while I was in San Diego. I blame the week of rain we got which kept me stuck in Bonita. I'm on day 3 of a 3 day conference and then heading to LA for a reading/signing so will miss seeing you at the Vamp show too. It just ain't fair!
The table read was GREAT! Such delightful actors, and they read it as it should be read. Lots of feedback too, which I welcomed. The play is about relationships and self-identity. And it's funny.
I'm not sure how to explain my love for All Creatures Great and Small (besides wanting to dress like Helen), but that the decency, courtesy, and kindness, are key. I also find the unspoken respect for the necessity (and beauty) of different stations in life a solace, and a breather from the constant cultural attention paid to acclaim, influence, status, wealth: measurable achievement. But I was never good at maths anyway. As for the reading/not finishing: praise be to the short story: I just finished a hefty collection of Alice Munro. Thanks for sharing this with us Betsy, and I hope you enjoy your event!
I appreciate your comments about TV. My brain often just needs a break. I write for several hours each day and then I also see Spiritual Companioning clients, which is a different, but still intense, way of using my brain. I also have three teenagers, two in their first year of university and a third in high school. They all need some emotional energy from me. My brain gets tired, and reading is sometimes beyond its capabilities. So I watch really bland TV, like reno shows and vet shows. There’s something about watching a mess get tidied up or something broken get fixed that is soothing. I think this also touches on why All Creatures Great and Small is such a balm. Thanks again! The story about a possible bear, sex, and near death. Sounds great!
I have a lot to say about this.
First, I went for a walk to the library and the Dollar General (the closest thing we have to a grocery store in walking distance). It was just a normal walk, the kind that usually lifts my spirits. But everywhere I went, I just saw...doom. Desolation. Like, everyone seemed so fucking unhappy. Maybe it's winter? I don't know. It was a lot. So I'm feeling that barista. It's not politics or sports. It's just a general atmosphere of doom.
Second, I love All Creatures Great and Small so much. Read all the books when I was younger. Watched the original show on PBS. I need to watch the re-boot. I love stories where people are decent. Those stories are just as true to life as the stories in which humans are all horrible, like The Sopranos. The reality is somewhere in between, but if I'm picking what I consume, let me pick decency and kindness.
Finally, I find it really hard to read anything else when my own writing is going really well. When I'm in the groove, reading anything else feels pointless. And maybe that it's not as good as what I'm working on? I've always hated all the rules and suggestions for what and how you should read when you're writing. Have you ever heard some of those? Be careful what you read or it will influence your own writing. Like, and that would be a bad thing? Anyway, maybe that you don't want to read means your writing is going really well. That's what I'm going with.
I find it so interesting that writers and readers (myself included) give ourselves such a hard time about what we are reading or not reading. I'd like to write a piece about this, if only to see what I really think :)
I wish I could be there for your reading! Sending all the love and good vibes you need. Here's a trick I learned . When I'm feeling anxious, I say out loud "I'm feeling excited!" I do that as many times as it takes and my brain flips the switch to excitement. I'll be using that trick today because I've having a table read of a new play. It has been YEARS since my last table read, thanks to Covid.
I'm so sorry I'll miss you at VAMP on Thursday Betsy. I'm in San Miguel de Allende at the writers' conference. Want to hear all about it when I return.
Haha you have just reminded me of a moment many years ago when my partner and I were naked in the dunes at a remote New Zealand beach and along came a bunch of horses and riders. One of the horses saw us and just stopped dead in its tracks, refusing to walk on and prolonging an extremely awkward moment for what felt like an eternity 😂 I do hope you'll share your full story here with us some day 😊
I'm not certain this is the best forum to scratch out my wild sexcapades, but I can titillate you with minimal raw data from my past: such as being tied up on top of a San Diego baseball diamond until my jeans were in shreds, or the time when I was blocked from leaving a Buenos Aires Condo after accepting an invite from a native in a disco (I can still hear Madonna singing "Like a Prayer") who later held a threatening sharp knife high in the air, or the time when I was dropped off 20 miles outside Tegucigalpa (Honduras) in front of a building that was supposed to be the only gay club in the country (as the taxi sped away, I realized it was the only building for miles with one light announcing the entrance). I'm still alive to tell these tales, but it could have gone so very wrong (my mother says she bargained with her god for an angel to protect me). As soon as a publisher accepts my short stories for publication, I'll let inquisitive readers, who want the intimate details, know, but don't hold your breath.
I've loved 'All Creatures Great and Small' too, Betsy, and I've been trying to put my finger on exactly what it is about the show I'm drawn to (especially right now, at this particular moment we're in). You hit the nail on the head -- the characters are decent, they care about the people around them, the community that surrounds them is important and their actions reflect that, their lives reflect that. So, so spot on.
Susan and I married in 1977, after taking off like a rocket in a matter of hours back in July 1975 at a museums conference in Durham, England. As for publicly reminiscing about al fresco sex and bears, relive the moment. I would have thought the prospect of running naked into your mum’s house and finding her up and about would trump the bear bit of the story. For the record, a few years after Susan and I married we had a big row, which ended when we tore up our marriage certificate and flushed it down the toilet. Give me daylight, a bed, a duvet and trees I can see through a window. Three minutes or a week, with no interruptions. Heaven comes no closer than such time alone. 🐰
lol clicked the comments immediately for the weird sex stories but…
Betsy, I'm so sorry to have missed seeing you while I was in San Diego. I blame the week of rain we got which kept me stuck in Bonita. I'm on day 3 of a 3 day conference and then heading to LA for a reading/signing so will miss seeing you at the Vamp show too. It just ain't fair!
The table read was GREAT! Such delightful actors, and they read it as it should be read. Lots of feedback too, which I welcomed. The play is about relationships and self-identity. And it's funny.
I'm not sure how to explain my love for All Creatures Great and Small (besides wanting to dress like Helen), but that the decency, courtesy, and kindness, are key. I also find the unspoken respect for the necessity (and beauty) of different stations in life a solace, and a breather from the constant cultural attention paid to acclaim, influence, status, wealth: measurable achievement. But I was never good at maths anyway. As for the reading/not finishing: praise be to the short story: I just finished a hefty collection of Alice Munro. Thanks for sharing this with us Betsy, and I hope you enjoy your event!
Thanks for the shout out, Elizabeth. And how lovely to be included in the same issue as Michael!
Can’t wait to hear you read your story at Vamp!
I appreciate your comments about TV. My brain often just needs a break. I write for several hours each day and then I also see Spiritual Companioning clients, which is a different, but still intense, way of using my brain. I also have three teenagers, two in their first year of university and a third in high school. They all need some emotional energy from me. My brain gets tired, and reading is sometimes beyond its capabilities. So I watch really bland TV, like reno shows and vet shows. There’s something about watching a mess get tidied up or something broken get fixed that is soothing. I think this also touches on why All Creatures Great and Small is such a balm. Thanks again! The story about a possible bear, sex, and near death. Sounds great!