No One Out There

Ok, I guess all of you are busy or on vacation. I'll wait until school starts to post. I will post on Sunday nights. Hope to talk to you!

Saddle Up! Writing Contest for the Brave and Bold

Ok, the time has come for me to start getting things stirred up. I know I'm a little early in the saddle, but I hate being left at the barn. So, let's just throw something fun right out there.

By now your palms should be sweating and your head should be spinning. School is right around the corner. Mixed with those new packs of paper, wild neon papers, and pointy new crayons of a bazillion colors is also a little fear. Yes, let's just go ahead and admit it; we all have that first day anxiety. What I want from you are you teacher dreams. You know those nightmares that leave you breathless on the side of the bed. Or the ones that make you kick your partner in the middle of the night. The really scary ones that bring beads of sweat on your forehead.
The format doesn't matter, poem or prose. . . . . . .whatever. You can even stretch the truth a little; I'll never know. Just write!

This time I will be the only judge, so impress me! The winning teacher will get a back to school surprise in the mail. I need all entries by Saturday of this week. I will post the winner by Sunday night and that--by the way--will be when I post the topic of the week. To get his/her prize, the winner must send his/her address to my e-mail: keyles@atc.cc Savvy? Capture them dreams, my maties! (Oh and don't pretend you're not out there. I can smell ya scurvy dogs!)

Blog Coordinator

When school starts, Katie Eyles will start a new position as Blog Coordinator. In that capacity she will post a topic to the blog once a week to encourage people to use it more. Also, she'll be writing and responding weekly, so we hope people will visit the blog more often. I'm not sure yet if she'll pick a set day for posting or if it will vary every week, but stay tuned in for further developments.

2007 posts

I just looked through some of the posts from this years BWP. I really like the bumper stickers, and especially about pencils misspelling. Wish I could have been there. Maybe next year I can spend a few days with you and recapture the ideas and the feeling of being in like company.

Just hot...

HOT!HOT!HOT!
Understatement of the week. I didn’t notice the heat since I was indoors all day working on papers and then a nap. It wasn’t too bad when we left the house to come into town, but standing outside City market and waiting, then walking up there to catch others who didn’t know the change in plans, made it beyond hot. It was downright intolerable.

Arizona and California had been hot places too, and the temperatures got higher than the 97 here, but there really is a difference between hot and dry, and hot with humidity.

Donna was reading the weird news earlier, and some guy was entangled with a woman for 45 minutes, too hot to be tangling outside for any reason. But entanglement is a good word. You can have a web of things that are tangled and connected through the strangest of ways. That poor woman has had to defend herself and deny the entanglement, but can she really. Even if it was unwanted attention, she was entangled. I was more amazed at 45 minutes !!!

I keep wandering in my head back to the paper I have to finish by next week. I am glad that classes are almost over. I really need a break. I had no idea how hot this summer was because I am locked in my little corner of the world just working. Next Tuesday, I will be relaxing. Going to go to a friends and swim, just take a day off. I shall feel so guilty, but as long as I have my paper ready to submit I shouldn’t have that need.

Right now my hubby is at home working on the pool and yard and wasting away in the heat, melting like a popsicle. He has already mowed one yard, and is hot from heat and annoyance with his mother who is beginning to drive us nuts. Who knows what her problem is, I refuse to go over and try to find out. There is way too much going on in my life to play her stupid games, so if she wants to move again, go for it. All I know is, is that I am not moving her again. I was watching from the window and saw him going around and went to see if he needed a drink. He had a beer in one hand and was kicking up dirt and tiny pieces of grass clung to his ear and beard. The beer can was empty and was now just something to hold. I brought a new beer and before I even got across the yard it was sweating, rivulets of water running down the side, a whoosh and a pop and foam climbed out the hole. A small sip convinced me that it would feel good but the sweat pouring down a face would merge with the sweat on the can until it would no longer be distinguishable one from the other.

My oldest son is currently in Kuwait, and a grandson was born in the middle of June. I am eager to go see him, but we have to wait. By the time I get to go it will be the holidays I think. GRRRR. My son is feeling frustrated because he can’t see the little boy either. Blake is my grandson’s name and he is cute. But he still has days and nights mixed up. When I get to see him, I think I will need to have a letter that can be put in his baby book for when he gets older and he can see how much he was loved even though we can’t be there.

Sean is 16 now and almost ready to get his drivers license. Keeping cool when teaching someone to drive is not easy. Next week Robert will get his permit since it is his birthday on Saturday. All the driving and letting them go to friends or stay at the mall is scary. It reminds me that not too far from now I will not have children at home. If they have their way they will quite a way from home for school, on at the Air Force Academy if his dream comes true.

In here, in Wes’ studio it is cool and quiet. A rustle of paper and tapping of keys as we four sit comfortably writing of things the others cannot know until shared. Cars are rushing by outside, I wonder if they are trying to get out of the heat?

Theory on the True Cause of Global Warming

Hot, hot, hot was the topic of tonight's writing session. During the course of my ramblings, I believe I may have stumbled on the cause of global warming. It's a theory that bears consideration and here is how I developed it:

I’ve come to the conclusion that the hot weather induces other behaviors to heat up. Hot flashes seem to be worse and more frequent in the uber-hot days of summer. Hot flashes are like stepping into the blast furnace and turning the heat up just a little bit more. It was during a particularly hot night mixed with raging hot flashes that I was struck by a blinding flash of the obvious…why not put an ice pack on my neck to cool myself down. Eureka! Not only does this stop the hot flash but it cools me down from the heat. That was my “hot idea” for a “cool night” of sleep.

Speaking of hot flashes, I think I may have just stumbled onto a plausible cause of global warming. Forget about the fossil fuel emissions, cow and sheep methane emissions, deforestation, think for a moment about the aging population in America. The Baby Boomers are entering menopause and if you factor in the heat emissions from all of those hot flashes, the earth’s climate is bound to be effected. At least my hot flashes feel like they are candidates for melting the polar ice caps. Talk about your “Inconvenient Truth,” while many criticize Al Gore’s movie as based in junk science, I really think I’m on to something that hasn’t even been explored. I wonder if I could get the Nobel Prize for my theory on the effects of hot flashes on global warming. If this were the cause of global warming, then maybe the scientific/medical community would develop as safe, reliable method of alleviating hot flashes.

Hot Hot Hot

I just remembered that we are an hour behind GA so I wanted to log on before time to close down for Big Brother. Jerome, JC, and I are in Arkansas for our week vacation.

Yes it is unbearably hot.
I decided that I wanted to go to Office Depot today because they had a sale on crayons and pencil cases. I am pregnant so I really don't want to be out in the heat for longer than I have to. Well, Office Depot ran out of pencil cases so Mom suggests that we go to Target to see what they have on sale. I really am not feeling going to another place because it's hot. (At least there are no alligators growling at me.) We go to Target and shop around. I am so happy that there isn't much of a selection because by this time, I am tired of walking. Even though it has been nice and cool in each store that we have stopped in. As we exit Target my loving husband thinks aloud as if we had been talking about this all day.

"Ok, off to Dillard's. I want to see if I can find some jeans."

I guess you can probably guess how long my face looked at that moment. It was even worse because we were with my mom I couldn't fuss. I was trying to be a good girl. Any other time I would have fussed and whined until I got my way and we didn't have to make the unplanned trip.
Thankfully Dillard's was very cool, almost too cold and he didn't find anything that fit. (smile)
I know, that is very mean of me, but I was irritable by then.

On Fire

I'm hot, not hot as in "I look good," but hot as in I need an air conditioning vent blowing directly on me. I rushed to Publix for beach groceries, mixed up the sauce for quesadillas, found out City Market was closed, scrambled for a new place to meet, threw snacks into a bag, and headed to the studio. The combination of July heat and stress doesn't relax me. Snacking on potato chips helps a little as does throwing words onto the page. Writing usually calms me. I wonder why. I wonder what the research says about that.

A UPS truck stops outside, waiting on the light to change. I look at the African American female driver with no door to shut. She must be miserable, I think. I'd rather be in here looking out than in her vehicle looking in.

I pause for another potato chip, wondering what to write.

Hot moments:

• getting sunburned several years ago with Will
• the jalopena jerk
• our wedding reception
• the wedding I helped Wes with

Here's the story . . .

Panic

Wes and I headed to a small country town one Friday night for a wedding. This couple had won free wedding photography from Wes, so he took me along as an extra photographer, and we planned to head to St. George Island immediately afterwards. We arrived at the house, a cute cottage with a pond, at 4:00 p.m. for the three-hour session.

"What do I do?" I asked Wes. nervously, unsure of my role, my photography skills, my social skills. He reviewed some photography techniques with me and let me practice. The bride wasn't ready yet, so we snapped some pictures of the setting and interacted with the children, one little girl and two younger boys, adorable children who were fascinated by our equipment. They loved looking at the pictures we took on the small screens.

When the bride appeared, we posed them and took pictures outside, but we couldn't take too many. Heat flooded us. Sweat beaded on the bride's forehead, so we returned inside, not wanting her make-up to ruin.

Nothing seemed to go right for the couple. People didn't arrive on time, and the groom's cake had melted into a bright, colorful blob. The bride and groom were really sweet, but catastrophes continued.

Finally, it was time for the wedding. Wes headed down to the dock where the wedding would occur. I stayed at the cabin to capture the bride walking out of the door.

She opened the door, and I took a few pictures. Then I realized she was trying to get my attention. "Yes?" I asked, staring up at her with my brow furrowed.

"What happens now?" she asked.

I stared at her, my mouth open. What does she mean what happens now? I wondered. The wedding happens!

"Who goes first?" she asked. "The flower girl or the ring bearers?"

Oh, God. I panicked, having attended very few weddings since my own. I'm only here because it's on the way to the beach, I thought. I turned and looked for Wes, who was very far away now with all the other people who were looking our way, ready for the procession to begin. Think, Donna, think. "Um, I think the ring bearers go first, or they can walk together--whatever you prefer." I smiled reassuringly, pretending to know the answers.

The bride smiled back, but she looked on the verge of tears. The flower girl disagreed. "No, I need to go first so that the boys can follow me," she insisted.

I smiled weakly. The little girl took off with the little tykes waddling behond her. They really were adorable.

The bride and I were left alone. Please let this be over soon, I thought.

The bride's face contorted, and I feared tears. "Will you walk down there with me?" she pleaded.

I froze, wondering how to answer. I yearned to go hide in the car and read a book until Wes finished, but she looked so scared. I didn't know how to answer. Blame it on the husband, I decided. "I would be glad to," I said, "but my husband will kill me if I get in any of your shots. You're the star here." I smiled brightly, faking confidence again. "You look beautiful," I added, thinking, Please, please, please be okay.

She sighed, squared her shoulders, and started toward the dock. I moved off to the side and snapped a few pictures, wondering which of us was more scared.

Change of Venue

Yep, it happened again. City Market closed at 6:00 p.m. Diana called me at 6:00, so I called Wes, and he agreed to let us invade his studio since it's right down the street. If you're looking for us, we're at 303 N. Patterson St. in Wes Sewell Photography. Look for the big black awning with his name on it.

Sorry for the mix-up. I promise I'll call the place in August to make sure it's open before I say where we're meeting.

Write Night Topic: Hot, Hot, Hot

It's the first post-Institute Write Night at City Market. I'm posting the topic before I head that way just in case I have trouble connecting there.

I just rushed to the grocery story, so the July heat is on my mind, but take the topic wherever you want: summertime activities, weather issues, what's hot to you (but keep it clean), times you've been burned, whatever. Or ignore the topic altogether and write whatever you want. I hope to see you in person or on the blog.

Fourth of July

I just thought I would wish everyone a happy 4th. I miss you guys. Guys of course being used in the biblical sense. Enjoy the fire works!!!!