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

Tomorrow is another day

Had one of those days today....everything was chaos. On days like today, I wonder what the heck went wrong with the lofty goals of mankind? Or, sometimes, I wish I were a pioneer, trapping and hunting my food, trading pelts for things that I need. Of course, I'm a horrible outdoorsman. I'd probably starve to death. My father would have been perfectly suited for such a life. He loved to hunt. Me? Well, I simply didn't. But, in my daydreams, I'm like Jeremiah Johnson, hunting in the great outdoors. Those must have been wonderful - if incredibly tough - times. You could be your own man without being governed by the bureaucracy that the world has become these days. I guess, in a way, I crave simplicity. I think a lot of people do. While we've made medical advances that add decades to a person's life in comparison to the pioneer days, I sometimes think the pioneers lived more exciting lives. And, on days like today, daydreams about being a pioneer keep me sane.

What do you dream about?

THE RED LION

On September 10th, I made the 350+ mile journey to Chicago for the GraphExpo at McCormick Place. We drove all day. But, that evening, I jumped the "L" and went to the Red Lion Pub at 2446 N. Lincoln Ave. I'm glad I did. It turns out they'll be tearing the Red Lion down to the ground next month and rebuilding it, brick-by-wonderful-brick, from the ground up.....with the exception of putting a foundation under the building. The Red Lion is an incredibly old pub that the Twilight Tales writing group has meetings at every Monday night for many years. I discovered it thanks to my friend Wayne Allen Sallee. We reacqainted ourselves there for the first time in a decade and some change. I fell in love with the place and go there every time I'm in Chicago on a Monday night. Hopefully, The Red Lion will be rebuilt the next time I'm in town. It's a wonderful place and I hope you make the trek there just to meet the bartender, Joe. He's a nice guy.

By the way, that lovely lady I'm hamming it up with is Martel Sardina, co-editor of HELL IN THE HEARTLAND. It was her birthday. I bought her a birthday beer. That feller with his head turned is Wayne Allen Sallee. Always the gentleman, Wayne turned his head and blushed.

Check out the Twilight Tales site (www.twilighttales.com). I think there are some links there worth checking out.

later,
Roger

Glory Days

I've been thinking a lot of the future these days. Things are looking up. But, I've also been reflecting on the past. Stephanie, the wonderful woman I've been seeing lately, mentioned the glory days of Lick Creek General Store to me. I used to work down there frequently. I was sort of "Chef" Nick Rion's minuteman....he called me when he couldn't find anyone else to cook the chickens or stir the jambalaya. It was always a good time working there. And, Stephanie, I have to make a confession....I do remember serving you at least once and thinking "what an attractive woman." It's funny how things can come around to revisit you.

But, back to Lick Creek.

Lick Creek General Store was a wonderful place to have a nine-course meal. I've boiled crawfish about a million times down there, usually with a beer in my hand and a smile on my face. Anyone who's ever dined there will attest to the wonderful and adventurous atmoshere of the place. I've certainly seen some weird things at Lick Creek - people dancing half-naked on the tables was a common thing. Often, the tables would collapse and, at least once, the dancer didn't miss a stride. It was a magical place.

Sadly, "Chef" Nick moved on to Tall Tree Lake (by the way, you can Google both establishments....God Bless the Internet) and Lick Creek sort of fell into a lull. Emma Taylor and Lance Jack are working hard to bring Lick Creek back, and "Chef" Nick has called me at least once in the last year to come down and work at Tall Tree Lake. So, I guess the purpose of this post is to give a nod to Lick Creek and Tall Tree, and to remember the past. Those were good times.

I hope everyone out there has a Lick Creek General Store or Tall Tree Lake in their memory. It would be sad if you didn't.

later
Roger

in-plant graphics article

http://www.ipgonline.com/story/story.bsp?sid=73267&var=story

That's the link to an article I wrote for In-Plant Graphics about polyester plates. I used the plates to print three books so far, with a fourth and fifth one coming very soon.

Check out the article.

Roger

p.s. That tired old fart in the picture is me.

Life is weird

Life is a weird thing, my friends. Anyone who knows me knows the last year and a half have not been kind to your humble author. To be honest, there were times I wanted to do nothing more than hide my head in the sand and wait out the crap storm that my life had become.

It's funny what a week can do.

Last weekend, I spent alone. My children were with their mother and, when that happens, I'm alone. I feel lost without my children. But, last weekend, I also had a epiphany of sorts. I decided it was time to find someone and quit being alone. And, to be honest, I already knew who she was. You can say it was divine intervention (and I'm not about to argue that with you), dumb luck, or something else entirely, but I'd noticed this woman a million times in the last year and a half. Everywhere I went, she was either already there or not far behind. On Monday, I decided the best way to break the ice was to send her a dozen roses. We've hung out together a couple of times in the past week and I've truly enjoyed her company. She's smart, pretty and has the most incredible smile. In a lot of ways, she's perfect....and it's done my heart a lot of good to be around her. I hope she feels the same way, and that we'll be seeing each other for a long time to come.

Time will tell.
Roger

Things are looking up

I hope my buddy Wayne Allen Sallee doesn't mind my leeching the picture in this post from his blog site, but it seems to fit my life. While there is a certain sinister quality to the picture, there's also a bit of a smile. Things have been looking up for me lately. I have a novel sitting with a real, live, honest-to-goodness literary agent, I have a date (of sorts) with a lovely woman I'm quite smitten with tomorrow evening, my motorcycle might actually be finished and ready to ride this week, I finally got a new cell phone ( I machine washed my old one to death) and I helped a friend in need the other night by listening to him. So, things aren't so bad. I see people everyday who are worse off than I am. I find it sad that we have multi-zillionaires in this world and, yet, we also have starvation by the millions. The world is a mess. But, for the moment, I'm trying to find comfort in the things in my life that aren't so bad.

Just call me a member of the optimist club, Edwin.

Anyway, I wouldn't want anyone to think that I'm overly cynical about life. It's good.....and a whole lot better than the alternative.

Live life, be free, but love someone. Life is too short to go it alone.

Roger