Saturday, August 14, 2010

Reading the signs

 Mid-autumn 1981 photography class assignment

Signs:
  • Robins feeding until almost dark; sure sign of migration time
  • Robins are no longer singing
  • Should soon be plenty of mushrooms in the woods; they are always good photo subjects
  • The lawn is half covered with brown and yellow leaves
  • Squirrels are infested with warbels; some severely
  • NFL "pre-season" football has begun
  • Allergies; sinus; headaches
  • Each foggy August morning will bring a snow in winter
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I've placed my longest short-story on the Brasstacks44 blog. It is one draft away from being final as I see some errors and it has not been fully spell checked or checked for clarity. I feel it is also my best story and I will leave it posted for a few days. An earlier draft of it was accepted for for publication in a prestigious regional magazine but we could not reach agreement on payment and terms as they wanted it with all rights for very little money. All rights means the story will no longer belong to me; ever; period. I will not sell my babies! Rent them out I surely will. If you have time to read it and if you like, dislike, or are ambivalent to it please take a moment to let me know your honest opinion. If you do not care for it, I will feel much like the following quote from the story: "I didn’t feel particularly uneasy about the situation–if there really was one. At age 70, I felt there was little harm that could be done to a man whose timeworn and now lonely life isn’t worth much anyway."
Thank you, my friends.
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Also, thank you for the clicks on my Google ads.
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Have a wonderful weekend!


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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ken ... give me some time for reading your story. I must translate some words, and I must print it; and as you know in case of printing I still fight with our PC.
I like that you call your stories "my babies". I like also your photo from 1981. Photography class assignment. Nice!
Polish August is warm, bright and green. I regret that I'm spending all my days in the office. I enjoy evenings (on my balcony) and our short weekend trips.
xo

Anonymous said...

Take all the time you need, Jola.

Yep, my stories are my babies; I've nurtured them and changed their drapers many times, watched them grow, and have even kicked a few out of the nest for being unruly. :-)
You should have noticed the on purpose "mistake" in the photo; it is very easy to see. ;-)
I am happy you are having wonderful weather in Warsaw and the countryside. It is too warm here to do much; the only time I can sit outside is early morning before the sunrise.
Thanks, my friend.

Maggie said...

Its a good story. I read it before. Did you shorten it somewhat? or am I just familiar with it and it did not surprise me as it did the first time I read it.

I like Joe Alex. He is a good man. and I like stories with happy endings. Well almost a happy ending. I almost wish there had been more time spent with Julia. But I guess that would have made me suffer through her death. Seeing his loss was bad enough.

I hope you get your babies published one day!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Maggie. The story is basically the same length. I once wrote a draft with more Julia in it but in the end decided to use just enough of her to set this final phase of the old man's life in motion. I gave them the Germanic name of "Bruner" so I could do some research on a different place than E. Tenn. for a story location. More people of German descent settled in Wisconsin than here.
BTW, Joseph Alexander and Julia Ada were my maternal grandparents names.

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