Another weekend of filming--this time around Wacker and Wabash in Chicago:
Countdown – 9/5 Weeks Until Publication
Getting closer! It's either 9 or 5 weeks before Caring Lessons arrives on the warehouse dock in SW Chicago for Marv and me to pick up. We've been assured the boxes will fit in our SUV. Since we live in a smallish condo, my storage--like everyone else living in a smallish condo--will be my bathtub. …
Writing Personal Essays
A few summers ago, I took a class on personal essays at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival with David Bouchier of NPR fame. His dry humor and engaging personality led to a lovely week of pushing us to thinking deeply about seemingly mundane influences in our lives. For example, he had just scratched out an …
Countdown – 10/6 Weeks Until Publication!
Why the 10/6 today? Because the projected publication date for Caring Lessons was ten weeks from today - 10-1-10. But since we're now running ahead of schedule it's been changed to six weeks or even less. So it feels like having a bona fide book in my hand is really going to happen! Back to …
Stashing Away Book Stuff
I'm making progress in my clean-up before Caring Lessons comes out. To encourage you writers that an end can be in sight, here's a stack of eight drafts that I printed off of my book (thousands of pages went into recycle along the way) and three five-subject spiral notebooks that I used to chronicle every …
Ode to a Massage Therapist
For many years I went to the most special massage therapist. And older man, formerly in business, in his second career who wanted to give back to society. And give back he did, generously. He charged only $40, would not take tips because "You don't tips as a nurse, do you?," and readily overflowed the …
Recapping Chicago Visit in Pictures
On July 13, I promised you a follow-up on my sister's visit. Here's a few pictures. All places are within walking distance of Millennium Park at Randolph and Michigan. So if you follow this a bit, you'll notice, except for a mile western jaunt to Union Station, everything takes place between 1200 S Michigan and …
Writers: Take Time to Purge
Boy, am I having fun today. Shredding, filling up the recycle box, setting aside stuff to share with other writers. With Caring Lessons off to the printer, I can finally PURGE this mess around my desk. Piles of drafts, stuff to be filed, books... Writing-related guides, for instance. I have guides to everything it seems. …
Filming Transformers 3 – Chicago
Unlike in Los Angeles, it's not everyday we have movie crews here. So we went for a walk today to see the crash sites for the movie Transformers 3, starring Josh Duhamel, that is currently being shot here. Walk north with us on Michigan Avenue by the Chicago River. The Michigan Avenue bridge is up …
Countdown – 11 Weeks Until Publication
Surprise. Surprise. I didn't know I still had another "edit" coming. I received a final (I think) edit of Caring Lessons itself. And, to my chagrin, this wonderful editor found yet another 32 things she could correct. I have a totally new respect for editors! I appreciate beyond words their nitty-gritty attention to every hyphen, …
Write Along with Me 