Dangling threads..

Last Sat, I reported losing my lighter. Sun morn, I found it lying on the driver's seat in the car. Sheesh!

Esquire mag for May won't be out on the newstands until April 20th, when I will immediately buy it to continue reading Colby Buzzell's series of articles on his experiences in Mosul, Iraq as part of the Stryker Brigade.

Meanwhile, W, Sgt in the San Diego Police Dept, joined J and I for breakfast on the hotel patio this morn. He has a terrific cop novel under way. Novel is due at his agent's come April 30, so he's writing like a fiend to finish the first draft. Next Wed morn he says, he'll be bringing three more chapters for J, B, and I to comment on. We're trying to catch any glitches that would stop an agent or editor as they read. Can't have them jerked out of the story because of minor stuff like the use of too many "it's". Every writer has a favorite word that is overused, and W's is "it's".

About that time, T, the Chief Engineer at the hotel, and parttime bouncer at night clubs downtown, came over to confer with W about the problem with the indigent--belligerant guy--who has been raising hell on hotel grounds, and how best to handle him. When they'd developed a way to go with that guy, T took off to go handle something else.

And M strolled in to join us and have some "beans" as he calls coffee. He's optioned J's, another SDPD guy, book for a short TV series and has been working on that script while his partner works on which studio is gonna get to produce it. It's pretty much come down to an auction situation. At the same time, M and W are working like crazy on the next writers' conf out in Palm Springs.

Speaking of writers' conferences, L emailed me the advance info on the Romance Writers' Conference. I forget where it's gonna be held, but Catherine Coulter will be there. I'm reading her FBI novel, Blow Out, right now...and it ain't no romance as we'd think of one. Straight out mystery. As for L, her agent is busy trying to find a publisher for her latest novel...and she'd best do it pretty quick because another major agent is wanting L as her client. Hoo-boy!

On Tues, April 12, 1981, the first US space shuttle was launched, according to the note on my calendar. And ever since, NASA has had one hell of a time doing all they've done. And we've benefitted mightily through their scientific discoveries and inventions. So here we are, one day away from "Earth Day" on Friday just abusing the earth something terrible and thereby cutting our own throats. 60% of what we need to stay alive, we've managed to destroy. There is no end to stupidity and lack of forward thinking, nor an end to greed and the lust for power of major proportions.

So we come to greed and power...best illustrated by watching the money flow and who gets that cash in DC. Between the Bush admin, the religious fanatics and DeLay, I don't know who can claim the most corruption. On a more minor scale, San Diego's admin can hold their own when it comes to stupidity and corruption. And as always, it will be the citizens who have to bail the city out of the financial mess it's in. But the citizens are short-sighted and cheap enough thinking that they voted against an increase in the hotel room tax (and ours is the smallest of any major city), and would probably vote against a reasonable charge--maybe $6 or $7 a month to pay for trash pick-up...which we're not charged for now but should be. I could go on for a considerable time here, but it's a very pretty day, so I won't.

As the man said, "Sufficient unto the day...."
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