The Day After Christmas at Graytona Lodge
Tuesday I went to the post office. I had a form letter rejection slip from Chelsea
Green Publishing.
That was fast.
I went to K Mart and bought some
pellets for Brenda's pellet rifle. Owen wants to thin out the squirrels at Graytona
Lodge.
We drove over to Grayton Beach. Brenda isn't feeling well. She had
a bad cold. Or walking pneumonia.
* * *
I went to Big Mama's Hula Girl Gallery and bought a Dwight the Potter fish,
for our living room.
Brenda liked it.
Owen had news that the David Davis and The Warrior River Boys album Troubled
Times was nominated for a Grammy.
Balder had news that Dread Clampitt was
oepneing for Jerry Douglas at the Mobile Civic Center in January.
* * *
Owen shot five squirrels and parboiled and fried them, made a gravy.
He caught seven croakers, and fried them.
Brenda and I came home early, as
she wasn't feeling well.
We'll drive back over today for a birthday party
for Ella.
Jean invited several of Jennifer's friend's children. Hotdogs
and birthday cake.
* * *
The boys asked me if I had any news, but I didn't.
I just write,
and send out books, and hear back no.
Actually, I send out query letters,
and hear back no. They don't even need to read the book. Just a description of
it is enough.
What a way to make a living.
Or what a life to choose,
where you don't make a living, doing what you do.
You don't choose writing,
it chooses you. Bukowski said.
The difference between me and Bukowski is
he had a publisher and I didn't. His books sold and mine didn't. He made a living
writing and I didn't.
* * *
In the book I'm writing now, this book, I haven't started writing yet.
Brenda and I are going to be college professors. We think.
Not to give the
plot away but she makes $15,000 a year as an administrative assistant in a community
behavioral health care center, the one where I used to work as a custodian, and make
$15,000 a year.
This might color how I write about what happened to us at
Tulane.
How would it not?