If Time Flies, When Will It Land?

I can't think of a time the past few years where I haven't been crying in my soup over not having enough time to meet my obligations. I've stated here in the past that one of the pieces of advice I regularly give to writers is to "find ways to say 'yes.'" On the other hand, I haven't found the answer to the question of what happens when you say yes so often you can't weather any bumps in the road.

Last year I broke my wrist. Could have had surgery. Should have had surgery. The doc put me in a cast, said I'd be able to type. Nope. That was seven months ago. I've been able to type the past couple of months but not only am I so behind, I'm going to PT twice a week, I'm supposedly a year out from "recovery," and at the same time the second surgery on my left knee (fourth total! Yay!) still has me literally limping along.

I was so bulletproof until I was twenty-seven. I could take a punch, I could fall of a truck going down the highway in Nassau, I could jump off upper story balconies at the U of M, I could jump down flights of stairs rather than walk them, spit out crowns after hard parachute openings... there was no limit to the stupid things I could do and walk away without apparent lasting damage.

Then one day, there came a day, some bony apparition came calling with its hand out, and took, and took, and took, and keeps taking. By the way, it's easier to write this after a therapy session after lunch and a dose of painkillers and muscle relaxants. Just saying.

I desperately need to update my website and put up 2018's calendar dates. There are going to be a lot of them. Seems like the Noir @ the Bars are drying up a bit lately. They take a lot of work and from time to time new people need to step up. I just hope they don't die altogether.

I'll be doing more conferences this year than in years' past, and I'll also be presenting at least three workshops. If anyone wants particular information on those, let me know ASAP. All three are in March, one is in Baltimore, and two others will be in New Jersey.

Lastly, a few years ago I wrote about a movie depicting the life of artist Jackson Pollock. Here is a link to more information about Pollock, his life and his art. Pretty cool stuff. It defies a quick once over, probably as most good art should, though "good art" will always be relative to us common folk.

"Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is."
-Jackson Pollock

Look for that website update but if you have any questions in the meantime, don't hesitate to shoot a carrier pigeon. Or shoot me an e-mail.