I Thimk

I'll add, I often worked alone in the art/printing press room late at night, sometimes to 1 a.m., and walked across campus to the big garage to my car, before my visit to 7/11 and ice cream. Never was attacked then.
Back then I didn't know my eyes were bad, different from others'. Looking back, the campus was likely quite well lit, as I even I could see.

Wondering about lighting these days.

I've never been mugged. I did have people try to con me. One episode in Long Beach, CA, still annoys me. This woman approached me, as I sat in my car, while her "brother" waited on the opposite corner. She asked me to give them a ride. Then she smiled, as fetchingly as she knew how and said, "You can have anything you want.." I was certain that I would be left with no car and no wallet, if they got in the car. Maybe no life. I immediately drove off, the only sensible answer to one like her.

Yeah, good move by you.

I'll have to think back. I don't have an immediate memory of a real con.
I've anger at my high school nuns, not other nuns, just those, but clever as they were, much as they messed me up, I get it from their point of view. That was a particularly strict order.

An early boyfriend, good man, was mugged in Europe, where I don't remember.

I'm in there on the now famous to some of us rape thread, no link, since I never want to see it again. In short, it was around noon, no alcohol; he had a cafe with good food and a salon for his art, and I liked his art. He got me in his studio. I should have reported it, but even the woman doctor I picked from the phone book didn't believe me, and gave me the worst gyno physical in my now long life.

My very good boss, an internist I worked for after school/uni, had the last name McKenna. I had no crush on him. Gads, I think he had seven kids, but they could afford it. Then his wife died in childbirth, and the whole hospital clanged in stress.

I mention this, since the woman doc I picked from the telephone book had that last name. I guess I had no clue then about some of the hatefulness of us irish, and no clue to not to count on names.

Life long lesson on choosing names.

It's mostly a crap shoot. I could go on for weeks about odd characters I met in a younger time. Once, when I was hitching back to the naval base, this guy picked me up and zoomed off. "I'm going to teach you how to make love," he said. His eyes made me figure he was high. I didn't answer him, because I felt I could get away from him without a fight, by simply getting out of the car at the first opportunity. A few blocks up the street, I got my chance to leave. He parked and looked around for another guy, whom he had instructed to wait there. He got out and went to look for him. So I got out and went the other way.

I hitched in that area, because I got paid something like $37 each two weeks and could not afford a cab.

I often got picked up by encyclopedia salesmen. After I discovered how they conned sailors into paying for complete sets, with Bible and dictionary added, I began my counter con. They told me it all was free, because my word of mouth to others would make great publicity. I signed the agreements under the names of poets - Auden, William Carlos Williams and so forth. They never caught on. Some of them taunted me after I was leaving them. "Mr Auden. Have a good evening." Their little smiles told it all. But, at last, I encountered a pair and in the midst of their spiel, broke into uncontrollable laughter. My cover was blown and they pulled over and put me out.

While stationed at Travis AFB, my girlfriend lived in San Mateo, and had to hitchhike to see her. Wore my uniform, so I got picked up, several times by a Cad.

You meet some fine people hiking, too. I just pointed out some of the odd ones.

My first book manuscript was accepted with New Times Roman font. So I formatted the current novel the same way. The two publishers I am targeting both want garamond. Which would be no problem, except it scrambles the pages to make the change. So now I am reformatting it, after saving the original to disk. I have another novel in the works. Too early to say more.

The large stove top burner began to fluctuate wildly, temperature wise. Bad switch. The front small burner has rarely been turned on. Therefore, its switch is new. I swapped the infinite switches. All I need now is a nice porterhouse steak, to try it out. >drool<

Such a gloriously beautiful post - I am so happy for you.

I plan to buy it.

That's exactly what my truck looks like, except it has a few added bumps since I bought it.

Wonderful. Congrats and good luck.

Looking forward to reading your book. Let us know when it's available.
I would appreciate it if you could sign a copy, and send it to me. I'll contact you by PM on payment and mailing address.

Thanks, folks.

"Beyond the dark water of the womb, there is an entire universe to be dealt with."

I have been at leisure today. My neck hurts from some unexpected move yesterday. Today I have mostly just sat around. Heating pad. I took an Aleive and that seems to be helping ease the pain. Read some in the new book I bought. Not liking it so far. I didn't expect it to be written in the first person in the voice of a school girl. Actually not that much a girl. She is 22 and married, but is carrying on about like a high school girl.
Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

On both matters.

Thank you. I usually recover pretty quickly, but it takes a little longer for the quickly to take hold these days.

How I injured my neck: I had let down a half-full five gallon bucket on my picnic table. I grabbed it up with one hand, just as I would have done when I was younger and much stronger. By evening I was suffering the effects of what I now call 'whiplash.' Had I gone to the doctor, I am certain he/she would have put a neck brace on there. Today I see much improvement. I expect to be pretty much normal this time tomorrow.

Yesterday our internet was out for 13 hours. A likely result of the onrushing storm.

During the storm, Rocky kept rushing into the yard, barking, trying to attack the thunder. But at one point the thunder came from every direction at once in rapid succession, unnerving the poor dog and sending him off looking for a place to hide. He wasn't so bold the rest of the day.

The neck began to improve yesterday. Today is much better. I expect to be near normal on Saturday. It's not a sign I need to quit these projects, but just shows a need for smarter.