Sunday morning, I added OLD BEATNIKS EATING DONUTS to the end of HELD-IN-ABEYANCE
(HIA): TALKING TO MYSELF and printed it out.
I printed out copies of the
DONUTS manuscript to send to two members of the Buzzard Cult who weren't able to
read it, since I didn't post it online.
Now that I am online again, they
can read WORKINGMAN'S BLUES NO. 2 at The Daily Bulletin.
* * *
Q: You mean the Bottom Feeders can read it at The Daily By-Catch.
A: Whatever.
Q: What were your thoughts, as you added OLD BEATNIKS EATING DONUTS to the end of HELD-IN-ABEYANCE (HIA), and printed it out?
A: That book had three pamphlets in it. Black Papers (the presentation),
Madcap Titan of the Dustbin, and This Is Not a Pamphlet.
I
wondered what a reader at a writers conference would make of them.
They make
more sense in the context of a book.
The book makes more sense in the context
of my stack.
It's something to do.
I look forward to it.
Writing.
Advancing the books forward.
Seeing what comes up under
the pen.
It's exciting.
I thought, "I'm lucky to have this.
Most people don't."
Most people, their working lives are a trial and
an ordeal, and when they retire, they are lost.
That's sad.
Q: It is sad.
* * *
Then I pasted up the pamphlet Writing the Black Novel After 9-11.
This afternoon, when Office Max opens, I'll take the camera-ready copy to the kwik
print shop and make copies.
I enjoy doing that, too.
It's time-consuming,
but relaxing.
* * *
Q: Were you adept in Power Point before you got the job writing training
programs?
A: No. I learned it using it. I also learned to use Adobe PhotoShop. And
the snapshot tool in Adobe Reader.
We have a copying machine at work that
lets me send a pdf file of whatever I copy to myself, email. Then I can capture pictures
in that document and paste them into Power Point.
Q: That's amazing.
A: In two months I have written two courses. I have a month to write a third one.
That's a very aggressive schedule.
Q: Have you observed any of the classes?
A: No. But my boss took pictures of the students, in the classroom, and
the shop, and I downloaded them from her camera and burned them to a CD for her.
The students look proud of themselves, for learning a new skill. Mastering a new
set of skills.
They can get a job at an air-conditioning company as a helper
bending sheet metal and fastening pieces together.
I contributed to that.
These are out-of-work people, retraining themselves.
Q: The alternative is Timothy McVeigh.
A: The alternative is Timothy McVeigh. Some of these guys were Gulf War vets, or Iraq War vets.
Q: How did you feel, seeing their smiling faces.
A: Proud. Of the job I did.
Proud of the economic stimulus program.
Proud of the Democratic party.
Proud to put my queer shoulder to the wheel, as Allen Ginsberg said.