Gloom, Despair, Agony on Me

Hey Y’all,

Here it is at the last day of July. Tomorrow James returns to full time work. He grumbles but he is excited to be back with his “Ladies” at work.  In December he will have completed 17 years at Cooper Elementary School. 

I graduated from East Atlanta High School in 1967. It doesn’t seem like 55 years have passed. I was terrible shy in school and really didn’t have many friends. Those whom I was close to have moved far away. We keep in touch with face book and email.  

One of those friends, Darby is coming to our reunion at Manuel’s Tavern. We have been friends since kindergarten at H O Burgess. That is 67 years if my math is correct. My best friend growing up, Dotti (AKA Pickle) and I have had 71 years of friendship.  

Someone mention something that happened such a long time ago—1983.  I thought, that isn’t a long time ago. But if you born in the 1980 or 90’s I guess it is a lifetime ago. 

It has been so hot that the yards now belong to Mother Nature.  We had the truck and all the lawnmowers go down at the same time. With all the shipping issues and people not wishing to work, it took four months to get the part for the truck repair. We are trying to reclaim the yards, but I think I will let the pastures grow up in wildflowers and pines.  Gwinnett County messed us up by forcing a sewer line down by the creeks and the lower edge.  I think I just might let them maintain it.

Snell is doing very well. He sees the heart doctor in August. I really liked his original heart doctors but I fired them. I wrote the doctors a very nice note about how well I liked them, BUT you could not get a return call from that office. You couldn’t get an apt scheduled to save your life. We moved to the doctors that took care of Mama. I am very pleased with Snell’s care.

Here is a little story I put together. Writing has been hard for me to get back into doing. I am writing some short pieces like this one, but loosing this nearly completed book has done me in.

I am going to try again to get my newsletters and stories on the webpage. I don’t know if I am not crossing my eyes and holding my tongue just right or what. So far, I haven’t been successful.

​Happy August, y’all. Take care. And let me hear from you when you have a minute.

Gloom, Despair, Agony on Me

Do you remember the TV show Hee-Haw? It was a variety show that showcased many
country-western entertainers and other stars of the times. There was always a segment that
included my new theme song--

Gloom, despair, agony on me.
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery.
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.
Gloom, despair, agony on me.

That’s me this morning. I save the books I am writing on thumb drives. I have three in the
works. One is all finished except for a few editions and editing. One is a good start with concepts
and characters, but only about 6,000 words, quite a ways before it is done. Then there is Finding
Home, the title of the book I have been concentrating on. It was three-quarters complete in the
writing. Something like 60,000 words. I would have finished it this week. I WOULD HAVE
finished it this week. Gloom, despair, agony on me.

  Until this morning, I could insert the thumb drive and open up my story. Everything is
gone but part of the first four chapters. I really don’t understand. I thought I was saving it to both
a thumb drive and to the computer program. I “save” at the end of each chapter. My computer
guru said my thumb drive may have been old and it just failed. Well, guess what? If it weren’t
for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.

I had printed out a full copy of everything. I do that so my husband and I can read it. It is
my way to check that things are flowing in the book the way they flow in my head. Isn’t that
brilliant? A paper copy I can retype into the program. Yes! NO!!! After making the changes from
paper to the thumb drive I tossed the paper copy. “Oh no, you didn’t?” You say. “OH yes, I did.”
I wale in deep, dark depression, excessive misery.

So—four chapters saved. Basically, the intro. Three thousand words in and I had just
announced the victim. Twelve or fifteen hours of my life. Only 57,000 words to be back where I
was. And I can’t seem to recreate those 57,000 words. My brain just fizzled. Do I start over? Do
I just go on to another project? Right now, my plan is to pick up the story at chapter four and
write from there. So far what I have done has been a struggle. I think I must set it aside and let
the cloud of despair lift. In the meantime, I will continue to hum Hee Haw’s song as that is the
only thing circulating in my brain right now.