Never Know What You Got, Until It's Gone.

The title is from a Joni Mitchell song, a really good album. (Hope she is recovering from her aneurism surgery.) Why the title? The importance? This week I went thru papers of the Wild Mind sort. Guess what was found? Two writing books that I had bought a while ago,went thru ea., gaining other perspectives on writing, specifically Scott Edelstein (... Indespensible ... ), Robert Masello (Robert's Rules of Writing). Edelstein's was a no doubt purchase, having heard him speaking wise, whitty, and indespensible ideas on public radio. Masello's, besides clever title award, was a fun book to go thru, chapters like Keep Your Promise, Go Inside, ... . Honestly I had written enough pages I thought. More growth was evident, more lexical access drill changes, gains, and maturity. (I took a FB test where I was graded a 27 yrs old. maturity status, being a spritely 53, guessing I would be 120 in maturity, caring for my elderly father to my advantage, and writing in the twenty something range.) Be sensitive to the details, the signs of promise, signs of growth, of benefiting by being an active participant in one's life.

Other losses temporarily (misplaced) was a ms. of friend, talent, gifted and SEO guy, short work "Loser." He embraced what he had lost for the previous week's inventory and made an entertaining, lesson-provided story. Anyway "Loser" was found, a gift, pleasant, a nice touchstone to our early days of writing. I am by the way forbidden to say "lost" in my father's presence. I must say "misplaced." This is mightily a powerful tool however eccentric, like a family political correctness event. Hopefully I will include Daiv's (spelling correct) work along w/ other's hipster moxiness, with a "picante" hot point, bordering at times as educable sarcasm, wit, and nearly in a friendly way, emotional duress, but from a friend who is bringing insights as gifts, sometimes amends.

What I have been missing now in finishing the end of the seasonal yardwork, etc., is a writing schedule. In '91 I started writing, choosing the early morning hours after an evening run, say 2 1/2 hrs. alone w/ Ms. Rand the keyboard and "monitor screen." I had simplicity down, run, pump letters into an old Word Star word processing program on a beater IBM PC a friend and I built w/ $291, dollars worth every bit. Get up, do the daily tasks, run, write, sleep. No time to lose!!!

I kept this schedule going, lightening up to 3,4 days a week, at about 2, 3 hrs. a session, juggling work, classes, friends, exercise. Progress was progress. Later I had a schedule where my Mondays were free, so I wrote 10a to 10p every Monday, even thru the 9-11 massacre, the tragedy. I did write w/ that schedule adding some between days in. Juggling five mss. at once was a cerebral task and a half at that. I lost the la-la-la-la land attitude, healing w/ hope of minimal emotional scars. I always had a love for NYC. I have not lost the sweet memories of the summer before high school on a trip to Switzerland, getting off the boss, and finding Belair, Swiss Air whatever it was that year. My mother is 100% Swiss. The secret comes out when she cooks, or discusses work ethic. She had grown up, and had the experience of an Old Country relative visiting and showing her painting, folk art, etc., picking up little things then later she had taught me mostly by osmosis. I found myself finding the way home from Zurich, and really never was lost, or misplaced. I felt at home there. Anywhere at the keyboard for that matter.

Speaking of misplaced, when I got sober in 1991 I had the time I used to drink and escape life for a bit, time I had misplaced. My counselor suggested running. That sounded good. I wondered if I could fill it w/ something cerebral, like writing. It worked. Time misplaced was time found. Plus my volume of oxygen uptake went to 68 VO2, a healthy number for a young twenties cross-country runner, let alone a 30 something guy, former smoker.

What is the point? Dreams misplaced are dreams to be found. Change happens, and you can change responses when aware of the opportunity and make a difference in your life, big and small. You can get more out of life if you want it. It is all pleasantly hard work and that is the secret, there is no secret. Don't wait til something is "gone," to be grateful for it. Better doors open up. And writing leaves comfortable products at the end of the session, digitally and otherwise. It is not unlike a daily walk and its health purposes and benefits. Simple, straightforward. Walking and writing are inexpensive, rewarding, call it meaningful activities. Their rewards are w/ a simple decision to just "do it" leaves one feeling like one had given when one's time had come.

Task? (Too fun to be a true task?) Take an inventory of what you have; be grateful. Remember to include friends, new and old. And people in general. A chaplain once told me. "She had no friends, no enemies, only teachers." Friends show her who she is. Enemies, show her who/what she is not. Both? ... important teachers.