Dec 19, 2011 |
I’ve been hunkering down under this laptop for what seems like an endless amount of days, but I am nearly done with the final draft of my cookbook.
That, along with the impending Christmas celebration events and tasks, I have nothing to write tonight except soon it will all be over.
Not the whole writing, just this week. I’m thrilled with everything that’s on my plate; but I can’t devote any energy tonight to an in-depth blog post.
So. You get this instead: my thanks for your tolerance, and the promise that my cookbook will soon be available for purchase.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Dec 18, 2011 |
Every now and then, I wonder if my goals and dreams are reachable. Am I really doing what I’m supposed to be doing, or am I wasting my time? If I’m supposed to be a writer, why aren’t I published yet? Can I report back to my family, friends, and readers that I’m really doing everything I can to reach these goals, or am I just sitting around waiting for that Golden Ticket to fall in my lap?
Am I just fooling myself?
I think not!
Because every time I think of throwing in the towel, two things happen: First, I start singing that song from Annie: “It’s a Hard-Knock Life”. The one with the lyrics about what a sad little life those orphan girls live. And second, I remember.
I remember why I love writing.
It’s because I love reading.
And I remember that my favorite authors weren’t always authors. They all started somehow, sometime. And they never gave up.
They inspire me:
L. Frank Baum was married with two children when his newspaper business folded. In 1898, at the age of 42, he had received many rejection letters and decided the only way to get published was to do it himself. He self-published his book, By The Candelabra’s Glare”, which finally garnered him the attention he needed. Two years later, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published, leading the way for 15 sequels.
Laura Ingalls Wilder devoted her life to her husband, children, and their farm. It was her daughter Rose’s encouragement that led her to write Little House in the Big Woods, the first in the “Little House” series of books for children. She was 65 when it was published in 1932.
Louisa May Alcott fashioned her Little Women stories after her childhood and sisters. She fancied herself to be Jo March, the unsettled tomboy writer of the four. Struck by poverty, Louisa determined to help her family by any means, and took such jobs as seamstress, governess, and teacher. However, she never let go of her dream of writing and at the age of 22, her first book was published. At age 36, Little Women brought her her most famous success.
Stephen J. Cannell overcame dyslexia to produce and write many popular television shows from the early 1970s through the 1990s. He sold his production company and began his second career: a novelist. His Shane Scully series is a popular cop-drama-in-print; the final novel having been published December 6, 2011, just over one year after his death.
Charles Dickens was born into an impoverished family. His father often lived beyond his means and when Charles was young, his father was arrested into Debtor’s Prison. His mother and siblings soon followed. Charles was a young teen when he was forced to quit school in order to work over ten hours each day to help his family. These experiences flowed out of him in his creative works, most notably, A Christmas Carol.
Lucy Maud Montgomery’s mother died when she was just 21 months old. Out of grief, her father handed custody over to Lucy’s maternal grandparents who raised her in an overly strict, lonely manner. When she was sixteen, Lucy spent a year with her father and his new wife, but came back to her beloved Cavendish. Lucy credited her lonely childhood as starting her creative mind, as that’s when created several imaginary friends and began to write. A poem was locally published when she was just 16, but her real success came at age 34 when her first novel was printed: Anne of Green Gables was the fairy-tale telling of a mixture of Lucy’s childhood and the life she had wished for. Ten more novels recounting life on Prince Edward Island followed.
J. M. Barrie’s family dissuaded his writing tendencies, instead encouraging him to go into Ministry. He bargained with his parents and they agreed that he could attend college to study literature. He was first published with minor works in 1888. It wasn’t until 1904, when Barrie was 44 years old, that Peter Pan entered the world. Shortly before his death, Barrie gave all Peter Pan rights to the Great Ormond Street Hospital; which to this day, continues to benefit from Barrie’s talents.
These stories and more inspire me. They inspire me to write my stories. They inspire me to keep at it, no matter what. Because some day, I’ll be on a list like this.
Whatever it is you’re born to do, don’t give up. Learn from others who have forged the way for you. Let their lights lead you. And blaze your own trail for those who follow.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…” [Colossians 3:23a].
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Dec 17, 2011 |
Saint Nicholas is real.
Yes, he is.
YES. He IS!
At least, he was. About 17 centuries ago. Dude, the legend is old. But that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Some elements have been altered from time to time and culture to culture; bringing us to what we now know as the Big Jolly Man in the Red Suit who comes around December 25th each year.
That’s Saint Nicholas! Well, sort of…
Saint Nicholas was born in Asia Minor, in what is now the area of Turkey. He became a Greek Bishop and was very well liked. His parents were Christian, and he adopted their beliefs and lifestyle at a very young age. Unfortunately, his parents died in an epidemic and young Nicholas was sent to live with his uncle, also Nicholas, who was at that time the Bishop of Patara. The elder Nicholas educated the younger in reading and the Church.
Saint Nicholas’ generosity is told and retold in stories that have him giving money to a poor man so his three daughters could each have a dowry and therefore be able to marry instead of supporting themselves through prostitution. One recounting portrays Nicholas secretly tossing bags of coins down the chimney at night, where one inadvertently caught in one of the stockings the girls had hung to dry. This is the origin of today’s Christmas stocking.
Other stories retell the great miracles of Saint Nicholas: how he resurrected three young boys after their murder; and how he convinced a ship’s crew to donate part of their wheat load to the impoverished city but after, when the wheat still on ship was weighed as payment to the Emporer, they had not lost any.
The celebration of Saint Nicholas’ Feast Day is celebrated by Christians on various days throughout the world. Some choose Christmas Day (December 25). Others prefer the Orthodox celebration of January 6. Still other countries have a three-day celebration in mid-May.
The transformation of Saint Nicholas into our modern day Santa Claus took several centuries; and even now it is easy to distinguish the two personalities.
There are many, many wonderful stories of the origins of Saint Nicholas; too many to repeat.
Whoever drops down your chimney this year, I wish you a very Merry Christmas.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
