Thursday, January 14, 2010

Death

I'm still having technical difficulties with the blog but I am determined to continue for now.

I'm asking that everyone who gives a fig please keep my grandmother in your thoughts. We pretty much were told today that she's dying and it could be at anytime. Of course that also means it could be a week or two as well and that's the hardest part I think, sometimes.

Elizabeth Hess is ninety years old, she was born in 1919 and a better or more compasionate woman you would be hard pressed to find. She met my grandfather in the small coaltown where she grew up at a church revival. In 1930's appalachian coaltowns church revivals were about as exciting as it got. My grandfather went to the revival just to meet her. So there ya go. No one said coal miners were dumb.

Their first child died in the crib, now they call it Infant Death Syndrome. Back then it was just death. However next came my aunt Shirley and my father Charles. Grandma and grandpa bought their home in 1952, going through some old boxes I found her property tax receipts from 1952 to 1967. God knows what happened after that but she kept everything she could.

My mom and dad finally divorced sometime around the time I was 3 or 4. After some rocky experiences with my mom, I was put in the custody of my dad. When bills and such got too much; Dad and I moved in with my grandmother when I was in second grade, so I was about 7 or 8.

From that point on she raised me. Her unofficial third child I suppose. She was a christian and did her best to walk the walk and talk the talk and raise me right. Unfortunately I had way too much of my dad in me. Still a lot of my moral character is due to her. She kept that house emmaculate. I remember how she do her ironing timed to the commercial breaks of her favorite soaps. I actually began watching Guiding Light because she wouldn't let me watch anything until after it was over when I came home from school.

I am what I am because of her.

I know right now people can't post comments. Right now though I had to write this to cope a bit. She's suffering and there isn't a damn thing I can do to stop it. It's tearing me up inside.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

O.K. Let's try this again.

It's been a while and I've been a bad bad boy. However I'm trying to get this thing off the ground again. So here's hoping.

A quick update. With the help of my wonderful wife I did finish my story in time and submitted to the publishier. It took two and half days to get my rejection. HOWEVER I did make the short list. To do so your first time out is pretty amazing and I'm totally stoked. Working on others as we speak I'm feeling the need to start collecting rejections until I get that lucky break.

Well here's hoping this works I have to go give the kid a bath, I'll post more later. This time I promise.