Raggedy Ann and Andy go out on the town

Well, Raggedy Ann and Andy made a stop at several Halloween parties about town. That's your humble author as Andy, and that beautiful woman as Raggedy Ann is none other than the incredible Ms. Stephanie. Man, she looked awesome as Raggedy Ann (I have a picture of her doing a little curtsy that is, simply put, in-freakin-credible). What a sexy woman. We made it to a party down the street from my house, then went to the Halloween party at The Cellar. We were complimented on our outfits many times, and several people took our picture. I'm sure it was simply for a picture of my smokin'-hot Raggedy Ann. Then, we went back to the party down the street from the house and hung out around the campfire. We finally got off to bed sometime around 3 a.m. We both had a great time and I apologize for the out-of-focus picture.....I didn't have autofocus on, apparently, and the photographer was a little, well, shaky.

Once again, I'm sure that was due to Stephanie's incredible attire.

Hope everyone has (or had) an awesome Halloween. More later, Roger

A Post for Stephanie

This post is specifically for Stephanie. October is her favorite month and she's a wonderful woman. I figured I'd give her a good chuckle with these pix I unearthed tonight while looking for "legitimate" images for a business card.

Hope you like them, Stephanie.
Love,
Roger

Unintentional day off

Well, I've got an unintentional day off today. Stephanie called me this morning and let me know. She had to work, though, and is grading papers in relative darkness as I type. Seems the storms last night knocked out a major power grid and my children's school (and Stephanie's) was affected. They had no power and, rather than teach by candlelight, they closed the school. That's fine....it gives me time to get caught up on things. I also need to clean the house desperately (dust bunnies abound!) so I'll probably dig out the broom and start on that shortly, if I can keep the children tamed. But, it's also quite nice out, so I might take the kids out for a stroll in the stroller. Windy as heck but in the 70's. Might put a sail on the front of the stroller and let the wind do the pushing. Or, I might just lay around and look like a bump on a log. Not sure which, but probably the latter.

Anyway, just figured I'd post a blog because I had the time.

Later,
Roger

The fictive spirit continues

I meant to post an update on my fictional adventures these days. THE BIG MUDDY MONSTER film script is finished and in the can, so to speak. We just need to film it later this month. My mystery novel, BLEEDING HEARTS, is over 50,000 words now and I hope to finish it by year's end. Ditto with the other mystery I'm working on, MURDER AT PK'S. MURDER AT PK'S is, of course, set at PK's bar here in Carbondale, the second of a three volume "locally produced" book series I am writing. I go to the establishment, sit, and write. Simple enough. TALES FROM THE CELLAR, written at The Cellar, of course, was the first one. Sometime next year, I will begin work on the third volume. The location where it'll be written is still up in the air. I'm debating a few locales as we speak.

As anyone who can read my blog will note, the past year and a half have been rough on me. Most of the fiction I've written in that time has been either dark or deeply reflective. I just finished ALL SUMMER LONG, a book of poetry that I wrote over the summer, and a change took place during the writing of that book...I found a good woman. She has affected my writing and my heart. The last quarter of ALL SUMMER LONG is all about how I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I still see it. So, early next year, I will begin work writing a new book. This is a book that's been in my head for 25 years or so. It will be the tale of three estranged friends who come together again in a nursing home. Their families have left them there to die, and they will face their mortality and the reasons they parted ways many years ago. It will be dedicated to Stephanie because, without her beautiful heart for guidance, I would never have attempted the tale.

Thank you, Stephanie....you are the best.

Roger

Confusion and Paradox

Well, today is my daughter Hope's 7th birthday. I remember seeing her borne unto the world. The doctor had to use forceps to remove her from the comfort of the womb, and the plates in her head were scrunched up between the metal "spoons" of the forceps. I remember being sickened at that sight, thinking "that's got to affect her brain." Of course, naive me, I was wrong. She's sharp as a tack. She till has marks on her head where the forceps pulled her into the world, but no one would notice if they didn't know where to look for them. I do. I was there.

Anyway, today is both a happy and sad day. I am happy for so many things in life right now. My beautiful young daughter, my son, my legal-drinking age daughter Sarah, Stephanie, the most incredible woman I've ever known and her daughter, Stasi. All wonderful reasons to be happy. I am a rich man indeed these days.

Sadly, I also got the notice of the final court date of my marriage today. Isn't that ironic? Funny how God will try to depress you when you're happy. I had thought the farce that was my marriage to Hope and Darrien's mother would be over long before this. And, while I will always love the children I had with her, I have come to the realization that she was an absolute stranger to me throughout our marriage. Certainly, she was watching out for her own self-interests. I will never regret Hope and Darrien, but their mother?......well, that's a different story. It is certainly a paradox.....how to love them and how to deal with her. I am working on that. Unfortunately, it is a work in progress.

Confusing? You bet. But, I do know one thing....I am with the most incredible woman I've ever known now, and I want to continue being with her. The more I am with her, the more I realize what a farce my marriage was. This is a woman who genuinely CARES for me. This is a woman I can TRUST. And, in the end, if you can't trust someone you love to watch your back....well, you shouldn't be with them. They don't deserve you.

Sorry for the candid post, folks, but I'll give you a final word of advice. Or, rather, I'll let the Great Criswell from the Ed Wood movies do it. He said: "The future is where we'll live the rest of our lives."

Live for the future. Embrace the good in your life. Life is too short.

Have a good day.
Roger

Summer's Over

Good morning,

Well, the kids are still in bed at 8 a.m. on a Sunday (this is as rare as hen's teeth, my friends). Stephanie (whose last name will not be mentioned here lest she be inundated with marriage proposals from men reading my blog hunting for an incredible woman.....get your own! She's mine!) and I took the kids down to the SIU Homecoming parade in strollers. It was a decent walk and we each had to snooze a bit afterwards. Then, last night, we went down to BellaTerra Winery in Creal Springs to see Breeden, Bradley and Maze perform. The kids ran like crazed animals while we listened to the band, drank a bottle of wine, and generally had a great time. We were going to dine at the winery but, alas, they weren't serving food any longer. So, we went to Tall Tree Lake in Buncombe to have dinner prepared by Nick Rion (of Lick Creek General Store fame). The food was wonderful and we had a great time. On the way home, my son, Darrien, crashed out. I knew how he felt. I was exhausted, too. I think we all were. At least, I'm pretty sure of that. October is Stephanie's favorite month and we've got a lot of fun things planned. I feel like a very lucky man to have found such a fun, wonderful woman. She's a keeper. I haven't had this much fun and adventure in years. And, even though summer is now over and fall had fallen, I think we'll find plenty of ways to keep ourselves, and the kids, busy.

On a totally different note, I have completed the script to THE BIG MUDDY MONSTER movie and will do some rewriting over the next week or so. I have put out a casting call for a few actors, as well as a make-up artist to design the monster. My buddy Rehab will play the part of Conrad Brown, a man who was accidentally shot in the head and roams the woods near the Big Muddy in search of his lost wife and child. Local rock legend Jon E. Rector will be Park Ranger Bob, a cynical park ranger, and I'm going to try to get Brad Moore, local artist extraordinaire, to play the monster. Rehab and Brad have practiced fighting each other (pseudo-acting/fighting) and I think they need to capture that on film. We'll see. The film is, tentatively, scheduled to begin filming by the end of the month.

Anyway, figured I should put up a new post. Hope everyone's doing as well as I am.

Have a beautiful Sunday,
Roger