Today is Independence Day. It is the "birthday" of America the Beautiful. Millions are celebrating our country's beginning with bbqs, picnics, visits to the lake and fireworks.
Our family isn't getting together - we've already done that this summer - so we're scattered from here to there today. Which means my thoughts have not been focused on cleaning the house, making a list of MUST DO STUFF, planning meals, shopping for groceries or any of the other chores that precede houseguests.
I heard no random fireworks this morning (nor through out the day), which would have been a familiar "wake-up" call on the Fourth in the past. We haven't had a good rain since March, and we're going on our second week of triple digit temperatures, so our entire area is under a necessary Burn Ban. Private fireworks displays are off limits, but there will be the unsual magnificent fireworks display over the river for the public tonight, where the water makes such things safer.
I didn't go to any of a dozen flea markets. I watered flowers. I didn't shop the holiday sales at the mall. I read a book and edited another chapter for Court's WIP. I didn't attend special programs or parades or go to a ballgame.
It's been a quiet day.
What I have done is reflect on this country of ours and three people who fought to keep it free. I'm combining patriotic holidays here - a sort of Memorial for my special Veterans on the Fourth.
America is the beautiful. I'm not a huge traveller, but I have seen the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Cumberlands, the Smokies, the Rockies, the ocean, the plateaus of the midwest, the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee (where I was born) and the length and breadth of Kentucky (where I live now) with its lakes and rivers. I've seen the nation's capital and hiked the battlefields of our country's wars. Many times the beauty of blue skies over shining seas and amber waves of grain touched my heart. As well as producing the scarier emotions during winter ice storms and blizzards, of roaring floods on the Mississippi and the Ohio, in the fearful winds of tornadoes, and through the destruction of hurricane force gales. But regardless, America is a country I love, a country worth preserving. A country where millions of soldiers over the years have willingly given their lives to insure freedom.
Morris Eugene Crain, a Medal of Honor recipient from WWII, was one of them. There is a monument bearing his likeness in front of our local high school. The school boasts the word "memorial" in its name because of him. He was a twenty-one sergeant when he died in France protecting his squad. He left a wife, a daughter born after his death, his parents, and ten Crain brothers and sisters. My husband's mother was his sister. I heard about "Uncle Eugene" almost as soon as we married. His sacrifice has had a profound effect on his family - including the third generation - and provides a legacy of service and an appreciation for country and soldier.
My father-in-law did not win special medals in WWII, but he volunteered to fight for our country as a teen-ager. One of the youngest men in his unit, nick-named "the kid" by the men he served among, he was tough enough to help build the Burma Road and then to return to life after war unscared by its ugliness. My father-in-law was a strong, quiet man with a quick smile and a wealth of common-sense wisdom. He was always "there" for his son, his family, and his friends, and ever ready to lend a willing hand, to advise if asked, and to show a deep, abiding love of God, of community and country and for his family.
As so many other draftable young men, my dad did his required year of training in preparation for the expected war, was released and then returned to his hometown. Six days later during Sunday lunch with his parents, he listened to news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He immediately returned to his unit, went to OCS and then to the Pacific Theatre; Manila and Guatemala and all the islands. There he remained, steadily moving up the ranks, without benefit of leave, for three long years. He commanded an ordnance division, which he said was located on the "island behind the (combat) island." During those three years, my dad wrote a weekly letter to his parents, which we were priviledged to read them after his death. They were dated and so provided a colorful and meaningful chronological record of his war service. They also gave me a visual picture of my dad as a young man, a unique and miraculous opportunity to "see" him the way he was and to juxtapose that with the man and father he became. I was blessed to understand the origins of his character and to see the development of the spiritual and patriotic values he passed on to his children. After the war, as a businessman, Dad continued in the Army Reserves and continued to rise in rank. Always a patriot, he left us with the legacy of a strong work ethic and rock solid moral and spiritual values.
Three men. Different ages, varied experiences. Each commands my respect, my appreciation and my love. And each one helped to preserve the country I love.
Many things have changed - are changing - in our country since these three men grew up and fought for a younger America. I love my country, though I have many concerns, many fears about the direction America seems headed today. Some are public, some private and personal, but too many to write about here. I end my July Fourth Thoughts with 2Chronicles 7:14.
"If my people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and heal their land."
Amen.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
A Day in the Life Of - Part 2
“Yesterday” – June 15, 2012
“Today” - JUNE 25, 2012
Such JOY and ANTICIPATION,
and I could not even TELL why! I have wanted to shout the news OUT LOUD.
Instead, I had to be content with *whispering* to a few
friends and family with a promise to KILL if they told anyone else.
All these emotions link to Part 1 of my post, A Day in the Life Of on June 15, 2012,
and to my daughter, Courtney Potter). In January of 2012, she posted the story
on blog of her author journey. I was
privileged to tag along with her then and for the thrill ride it has been to
date; for that is what the journey has become. It has felt like a long one in
some ways, but actually has been a relatively short one in others. We have
arrived at the first destination - a mere stop along the way in her ‘dreams
come true’ desire to become a career author - but a very important milestone
(in many future ones to come)!
AND I AM SO EXCITED and CRAZY-HAPPY for Courtney!
BECAUSE …
HARPER
COLLINS just bought Courtney’s contemporary young adult novel, Faking Normal. They made the final
offer (and Courtney’s agent accepted the contract on her behalf) on June 15. It
was Courtney’s 33rd birthday. What a wonderful, AMAZING present!
Especially since it was a Very Nice Contract!
How beautiful is that!
And today,
June 25 – a mere week later – Harper Collins announced the acquisition of Court’s
manuscript in Publishers Weekly. So
now, NOW, we can TALK about it! Shew. Thought I’d NEVER get to shout it out!
And so it begins. The life of an author. Writer. Wordsmith.
Creator of memorable characters and purposeful plots.
The deal validates all the long solitary hours of penning
words on a legal pad or committing them to a laptop. It makes worthwhile the
‘nice’ rejections (though very encouraging, they were still read ‘no’) from
agents and then a few editors. Writing is a business of rejections. Writers
have to develop thick skins. (So do mamas).
I always wanted to write. I’ve scribbled stories and dreamed
up characters all my life. I am a voracious reader, who secretly dreamed that
*one day* I’d write a novel, too. I even took a short story writing class in
2003 and enjoyed every minute of it. In
the course of the class, I realized that I don’t really have what it takes to
sustain a book-length plot, but I enjoyed the creative endeavor, and I learned
a lot.
The desire to write runs in our family.
My dad told me he always wanted to write a book. He
‘settled’ for writing his Army memoir (and let me edit the draft), which was
published by the county historical society as a tribute to veterans. In 2001, Courtney and my sister and I put
together an anthology of family anecdotes for my dad. The three of us enjoyed
the process so much! When Daddy died in January of 2002, he had only had time
to read one section, but it was clearly something he treasured.
As I did, my mother scribbled stories when she was young.
And she liked to illustrate stories that her best friend wrote, too. My son
remains fascinated with graphic novels and comic books. He keeps plots in his
head and shares them with two friends who have the same interests. My sister
has kept an extensive journal for many years; she has a story to tell as well;
and one day, I believe she will. I also have
a cousin who is the author of three books.
We are a family of readers and writers.
Courtney is the only one of us who actually got down to it and DID IT! Writing is hard work. It
requires consistent, persistent effort. It requires learning ‘the business’ and
how to grow as a writer and how to polish your craft. The rest of us yearn, but
Courtney did it!
And me? Court asked if I would help (would I?). She wanted grammar/English advice and someone to ‘talk’
the book with her. And that’s the way my
part in this adventure began. Courtney excelled at writing non-fiction. She
easily wrote reports and research papers and sermons (i.e. ‘talks’), even poems
and skits as a part of college classes and then in her job as youth pastor.
Though she’d written something all her life, had had a distinguished writing
portfolio in high school, and had won a national short story contest, it had
been years since she’d written something that required dialogue. Therefore,
there was a slight learning curve for her when she began. I helped with
punctuation and phrasing. I thought she had a GREAT plot outline for a YA fantasy
novel, a genre that she loves to read. She wrote, then emailed me a chapter at
a time; and I proofed it and emailed it back. And so on, again and … again. We worked on and revised that book
three times, shortening it, changing perspective and point of view, and even
the plot … over time. That first
full-length novel was a great learning tool. And I still believe it has
redeeming value, but for now, it resides in a folder on the desktop! Neither of
us is ready to re-vise it again … yet! Meanwhile, Courtney joined a writing
guild, The Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and
attended her first Mid-South conference. She
attended one session by Kelly Sonnack of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency in
San Diego, CA, and told me that Kelly was her ‘dream agent.’ She just couldn’t
believe she would ever be ‘good enough’ to attract representation by such an
amazing agent!
Later that year, Court revealed a new plot idea she’d had.
It took a year of writing, revising and proofing to get it to publishable
standard. But in this one, a contemporary teen romance, Courtney found her
writing style and her unique voice, and her
genre. The words, the characters, the setting, all just flowed. I was amazed at
the quantum leap in quality, in the depth of her writing with this book. When she
submitted it to the fiction contest at SCBWI that fall,
judges awarded it an Honorable Mention. We finished the book and began to
submit it to agents for representation. There were many encouraging rejections!
Last fall, Courtney attended the national conference of
SCBWI in Los Angeles. An editor at the conference gave her the best advice of
her writing career. “Go home and write the book you HAVE to write!” That night
in the CA hotel, Courtney began the first chapter of that book. And it is the one that got her three offers of
representation by top agents in January of 2012 – a late Christmas present!
Courtney realized one part of her dream when she accepted Kelly Sonnack of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency AS HER very own
AGENT! It is the book that Harper Collins will publish (possibly 2014).
Courtney does the hard work, and all I do is move commas
around and act the part of a watchdog for over-used words and phrases. IT IS
SO MUCH FUN! I get to enjoy the pleasure of creation and suffer none of the
birthing pains.
It is the fulfillment of one of my dreams.
Thank you, Courtney, for allowing me a part in your journey.
Thank you, Kelly Sonnack, for believing. Thank you, Rosemary Brosnan of Harper Collins,
for sharing the vision.
Today, on June 25, 2012, Courtney’s
deal is in Publisher’s Weekly!
Wow. That takes my
breath away. (so thankful!)
I CAN’T WAIT!!!!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Ten Things I Love; No, Eleven
It is the dark of the moon … the middle of the night … and I
am awake. AWAKE.
A.W.A.K.E.
As if I’ve had six-cups-of-coffee awake. (Now I get the "eyes wide shut" thing.) This is not usually a problem for me. I don’t need as much sleep as some people, so I tend to burn the midnight oil AND get up early. That's normally not a problem. I'm comfortable with it ... most of the time.
Not so much tonight.
I went to bed and went to sleep. Then I woke up, and
then I tossed and turned, making certain
I stayed even more awake. Ever noticed how many body parts ache when you know you
should be asleep? Vicious cycle!
So. Here I am at the computer thinking about Things and
making a list. Let's view it as a form of “counting my blessings, instead
of sheep” kind of thing.
Ten Things
- Coffee; really good
coffee. (Okay, it doesn’t have to be that good.)
- Early mornings in the
rocker on the front porch or in the Adirondack chairs by the pool,
listening to birdsong, to crickets, to frogs, the owl who lives in the
woods across the street. (With coffee … )
- Breezes. Warm ones. Cool ones. If they gently stir
the air, then I enjoy them on my face.
- Crossword puzzles; the moderately
difficult ones most of the time; really
difficult ones some of the time and the feeling of accomplishment that
comes with completion. The L.A.
Times crossword is my favorite.
- Walking. A daily walk with
a friend is a “feel good” on so many levels; conversation, exercise
(insert pats on the back), and country scenery.
- A good book; reading fiction
every day is necessary! I love words and the visual image they conjure up.
I read character-driven romances, plot-driven murder mysteries, paranormal
and fantasy novels with either, historical fiction, a tiny bit of sci-fi, and
all genres of YA fiction because it is just so good. And THE
Good Book (non-fiction J
of course). Hey, I am eclectic.
- Music; the kind that stirs
me and causes goose bumps, either with provocative lyrics or with
heart-stirring melody. I like haunting minor keys: Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and Dance Me to the End of Love, Ravel’s Bolero, the trumpet solo from Rio Bravo , the theme from Exodus,
The Sting, Chariots of Fire, 2001 A Space Odyssey …
- Visually pleasing rooms; I
feel a sense of contentment from pleasant surroundings, from rooms filled
with color and good design and objects I have reason to love.
- Flowers and foliage; the satisfaction that comes from color and texture and nature; the pleasure of seeing growth, but mostly the visual assault on the senses.
- The beach, where I enjoy some combination of the things above. I love the sand, the waves, the shells, the heat, the color and especially, the Huge-ness of God’s creation.
And Eleven.
I’m so thankful and so very
grateful for the blessings of a loving family and the close friends with whom I
share my ten loves.
Sleepy …
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