Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Pamela - Good luck with making the necessary changes.  I know how
tough inertia can be, and how the weight of life can pile up and make
change seem impossible.  Keep at it - I know all of us will be sending
positive energy, in hopes of getting that boulder to move.

I'm with madman on the Disney trip - I'd love to do it, but can't
swing it around the holidays.  Already making a road trip to Detroit to
do the family gig.

And on the subject of road trips, and moving, etc - things got more
complicated this evening.  My car has not had a good day - first,
trying to leave plenty of room between my car and the next in a garage,
I cut things too close and discovered that concrete pillars do not, in
fact, move out of the way under any circumstances.  So, my
nine-year-old Honda got a lovely scrape/dent/excision of rusty bit over
the left-rear wheel.

But wait, it gets better (actually, much worse)........

So, after putting the deposit down on the electric service for my new
place, and within three miles of the old apartment, I was driving along
at a steady 50mph on the dark country-ish roads in the misty rain
that's been falling all day, listening to "Marketplace" on NPR.  I
crest a small rise that then dips down into an s-bend at the precise
moment that a deer decides NOW is the best time to cross.

There was just suddenly a ghostly shape in my headlights - no time to
brake, swerve, or do anything else besides exclaim something
unrepeatable.  It wasn't very big, but it did severely mess up my hood,
and ripped the driver's side mirror off.  I (and the car behind me)
stopped, but I never saw what happened to the deer.  When I called the
police, they said that somebody had already reported an injured deer,
but the officer who checked couldn't find it.  I can't imagine that it
didn't die, but I just don't know.

The car seems okay, except for the hood and mirror - hoping there's
nothing really damaged under the hood.  I thought I smelled coolant in
the immediate aftermath, but didn't see anything obvious when I checked
the car out a couple hours later.  The hood does open - I'm just
hoping it's not too bad, and that the car will be driveable so I can
use it to move next week.

I have to admit, I'm not as shocked as I thought I'd be.  I've seen
animals hit before, and it's always made me feel horrible.  This was
different, like some apparition appeared in front of my car, and this
violent thing happened, but once the deer was out of my headlights, it
ceased to exist in a way.  I was too stunned to stop immediately, and
not particularly interested in seeing what was left.  The deer is just
this freeze-frame in my brain, just before the impact.

Still feel awful, but that's tempered by the knowledge that there was
literally nothing I could have done, short of not being in that exact
spot at that exact instant.  I guess I feel a bit lucky that it wasn't
worse, but that's small consolation.
  

    
Michelle, Pamela~ Thanks for the support. I came back home to find,
not only an email apology, but that he'd called and apologized via
Cameron. So  maybe standing up for yourself works, at least with the
people who count. : )

Rick: Wow, I hate that your car got messed up, but man you were lucky!
Around here, deer are common, and car v. deer usually = death or
serious injury to the driver. I've actually had one of those suckers
jump over the car I was riding in; I think they lie in wait for cars,
like bored dogs...
  

    
JaNell - yeah, I guess I got lucky on the size of the suicidal beast,
at least.

Glad to hear about the apology, and hope that Con stuff gets sorted
out.
  

    
Rick,  congratulations on the apartment! I am glad you found things
out before just agreeing to her terms. I learned the hard way that
people with unreasonable terms only get their way when you don't get
the facts yourself. Oh, geez, I'm sorry about the deer incident. I hope
the damage to your car is fixable.

Will,  I envy your sister! My sister is (was) a dancer, and I loved
watching her teach classes. It looked so complicated. I can't imagine
having to re-choreograph a dance with so little time. That's very cool.

Johanna,  Wow, MIT! Best of luck to your sister! I'll cross my fingers
for her too.

Kelly,  I love your reaction to my older-sister-isms! And I love the
flame thrower! I hope Mars didn't melt any appliances.

JaNell,  I'm sorry about the whole interview fiasco. Part of the
territory, being a part of my family, is that every once in a while one
of the reporters will ask to talk to me about my sister or brother. I
hate it, because they are always looking for some new angle on them,
some funny family anecdote, and the thing is that I don't want them to
have my funny family anecdotes. My brother's and sister's little quirks
are things that people should find out on their own when they get to
know them. It really bothers me too, because my sister and brother have
had their share of bad press, but when they do something spectacular,
the same guys who wrote bad ink want the inside scoop, saying they're
only interested in printing good ink. It's frustrating. 

Also, nothing Ashley (my sister) ever says actually shows up in print.
They *always* change her words. Always. She always joked that she
didn't mind, because they made her sound smarter. I don't know, though.
I'm very happy never ever talking to reporters (except Steve Tucker,
who was always very good to Ashley in print, and who paid for breakfast
at Brennan's in New Orleans, and who has funny names for his ex-wife).

Pamela,  I hope that life lets you breathe soon - it's no good feeling
flattened. I've heard platitudes like "the hard times make the good
times much sweeter," and such, but I don't really believe there is any
justification for the hard times. Internal conflict does seem to get
creativity burning, so here's hoping that the best of things come from
what you're going through now. I kind of just restated the platitude I
hate, didn't I?
  

    
Just spent a LONG time reading about the first 80 posts in <Leroy>'s
topic - Bad Linda, no bickie :)

Great stuff!
  

    
Rick--boy, am I glad you're OK.  I come from the wilds of Mississippi,
and JaNell has it right--that stuff is not funny.  Except the good ol'
boys I know throw the critter over the hood & take it home & dress it
out.  Good eatin'!

JaNell--bummer on the whole interview thing, but I'm glad he
apologized.

Pamela--girl, I am so with you!  You feel free to whinge on as much as
you like.  You gotta talk to somebody, and since we don't know anyone
else involved, we'll take your side  ;-)  This whole teaching thing is
me trying to get out of a life that is so not me.  We can do it.  It
may not be a lot of fun, but we *can* do it.

I wanna go to Disneyland!

DanGuy--good luck on the job front.  May you have no writer's cramp.

Off now to read <leroy>

Mary (reading The Wisdom of St. Patrick by Greg Tobin)
  

    
Rick - having survived a ghost-cow car crash, I know _exactly_ how you
feel. I suggest you stencil a deer on your side door, to serve as
warning for the next one who things like might be a good idea,...   :-)

-Kelly
  

    
Rick, glad you're ok, I was a passenger in a car that took out a buck
once and was terrified that it was a person.

Madman, going to be in Connecticut, drop me a line and we';; get a
barking mad coffee thing or something.

JaNell, no not at all is it that one. I did one for the Tart's. It
just embarrasses me is all.
Backbones rule and I'm glad you got an "I'm Sorry"

Jinx
  

    
Argh. It's like stepping off a moving walkway -- I turn my back for
five minutes and Rick's gone through wife and apartment hell and is
already working on Deer.  (Commiserations and well done and I'm so glad
you're okay.)

JaNell -- most reporters (as opposed to interviewers) know what their
story is long before they talk to you. Sometimes they've been told what
the story is. There's not a lot you can do, except play or not play
and keep your fingers crossed. 

If you think an interviewer may be dodgy, then, as someone said, take
your own tape recorder, and make sure they know it's on. It will make
them be a bit more careful about what they say.

Maure -- that's great on your brother!  The Lake St DreamHaven is the
one to send stuff to.

The Disneyland Mob -- have fun. Ride the Haunted House for me,
remembering it's all done with mirrors.

Many years ago I did a press conference at Walt Disney World, and I
could swear to this day that the Mickey Mouse (who was there for the
photo op) was flirting with me. Quite enthusiastically. It was the
first time it had occurred to me that the person in the costume was
probably not a bloke.

Abbess -- your welcome. Everyone should read Pinkwater. And if Fish
Whistle is available these days, they should listen to Pinkwater as
well.

Dan Guy -- Treece was a really good novelist, and a better poet. 
There's an awful lot of E Nesbitt in print these days -- Dreamhaven had
LOTS of her.

Pamela -- there's a lovely transcript of the Guardian Lecture
Interview with the guy from Pixar. And Cait's journal is lovely, isn't
it.

mary -- you're welcome. I enjoy meeting the people too.  And Maurice
is quite brilliant. Especially fun at a chapter a night.

...

BBC America's "Are You Dave Gorman?" is unbelievably watchable TV
considering the premise (Someone named Dave Gorman looks for other
people named Dave Gorman.) It's just meant to be background stuff while
I study a book called THE ELIZABETHAN WORLD PICTURE, but I keep paying
attention to it.
  

    

Jinx- Where in CT are you?

Neil- Does this mean you won't be joining us? :>

Everyone- even if a Barking Mad trip doesn't happen until next year, I _do_
highly recommend that anyone who loves Tim Burton and/or the Nightmare
Before Christmas see the current Haunted Mansion before they take it down in
January. (Take it down = revert to the old attraction).
  

    
Neil~From a long ago and far away summer job, I can tell you that most
of the people in costumes are female. 

Madman, in a little hellishly "nice" place near the
casinos....Norwich.

Jinx who saw a band called Mad Hat tonight with a little girl who had
a HUGE voice.
  

    

Jinx- why don't you drop me an email? madman@well.com. I'm not going to be
particularly close to Norwich but we can talk.
  

    

madman - please explain about the "current" Haunted House as opposed to
the "old" attraction?  I remember waiting and waiting for the Haunted
House to open.  Since I lived in SoCal, that's where we went for Grad
Night - Disneyland until 5AM, drunk with unaccustomed freedom and dreams
of infinite possibilities for the future!  Only disappointment was that
the Haunted Mansion wasn't scheduled to open until the following year.  
So what did they do to it??

Pamela - hi!  Hope you're doing better today.

Rick - I've always thought that the deer-in-the-headlights thing was the
deer saying to itself, "Now which was it that mom told me?  Run TOWARD the
lights or AWAY from them?  Wish I could remember..."  Glad that you
are okay and that the damage to your car isn't too bad.

But, please tell me what a bickie is so that I will know how disappointed
to be.

And if not this month, then when shall we go to Disneyland?
  

    
Just heard that George Harrison died of cancer. Sigh. I only met him
once, briefly, about five years ago. He was smaller than I'd expected
and seemed really gentle, and was amused by the music (a Beatles
tribute band, playing at a mutual friend's birthday party).  Sad.
  

    

Very sad. It's the first Beatle to go down of natural causes, and I suspect
that will hit the other two pretty hard. (My father tours on occassion with
Ringo, you see, so I've heard enough about him to be able to make that guess
at least...) Young as I am, the Beatles were a big part of my growing up.

Linda- For Halloween this year, they redecorated the Haunted Mansion at
Disneyland (not Disneyworld) in Nightmare Before Christmas theme. Basically,
Jack Skellington came to the mansion and decorated it for his vision of
Christmas. I thought it was rather cool. Lots of little details. But Tim
Burton and Danny Elfman asked them to take it down in January.

There were rumors that they might do it again next year, though- the people
selling Nightmare/Mansion T-shirts and such kept talking about how much more
stuff they would try to get next year- because the cart would sell out of
anything within a day of getting a new shipment. They had no idea it was
going to be this hugely popular. So, if Burton and Elfman say it's all
right, expect them to do this again next year... and possibly even if they
don't. I'm not sure but I think Disney has enough of the rights to be able
to do it anyway, though I expect they'd prefer to stay on the good sides of
people as talented as Burton and Elfman if they can.
  

    
... dunno what to say about Harrison. May not have been my specific
time, but it's amazing what kind of an effect a band can have on you
when you're named after one of their songs. ick.

Linda - Grad night at Disneyland... Never had one myself (and I still
don't really think about it without pouting a bit), but Kurt played at
my friend's grad night there. 

Now I *really* have to get down to see Jack's decorations.

Rick - Hope the car is alright. Am very glad that you are! My dad
knows someone who had to run through a rather large and antlered thing
with his motorcycle once. After having to hear about that, I'm VERY
watchful driving through certain hills in the area.

squeaks, who may have to pop in Sgt. Peppers to sleep to tonight.
  

    
Neil,  Mom has been reading the Lemony Snickett series to her 2nd
grade class. We work in the same building, so I popped in one day and
taught the kids the song. It's funny on the website, but it's even
funnier when you have 23 second graders singing it. 

(They really really like the scream and run away part, and the run or
die part)
  

    
re: Harrison,  the Beatles are what pulled me away from jazz, into the
realm of rock and roll. I'm sad to hear that he's gone.
  

    
madmatt: Aaaaaaaarrrrgghhhh...  I wish you hadn't told me that!
Nitemare Before Christmas freak that I am, I am now sitting here being
very glum, despite having almost no other interest in anything Disney.

Rick: Sorry about the deer -- glad to hear that you and the car made
it through in 3 pieces, at least.  A big buck almost stepped on my
windshield as I was driving home from work last week, so I know (a
little) what it's like.  Glad I didn't hit it though.

Maure: Thanks.  I'm just hoping that MIT can figure out that she's
smarter than I am, so if they let /me/ in, they should let /her/ in. 
But bureaucracies aren't necessarily that sensible... 
  

    
Neil - thanks for the thoughts.  It seems I'm packing all of my drama
into a very short span of time (it *better* be short!).

Thanks to everyone else, as well, of course - I was just starting to
wonder where Himself had gone, so it was good to see him about.

Linda - bickie=biscuit=English cookie.  Not sure if I got the spelling
correct, but that was the idea.

Okay, off to visit the Police station, to fill out accident forms,
then to the dealer to have a look at the car and find out what the
damage actually is.
  

    
Rick~ Maybe you can sue the deer for assault?

Sad about George Harrison, I sort of came in with the Beatles, or
shortly thereafter...

And ToriBat is thinking of saying "hey" or something to himself, when
she has time.
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    
Erg. While I am quite for the idea of holding off until January for a
Disneyland trip... I would also be very into the idea of seeing the
Nightmare version of the Haunted Mansion.

I remember the first time I went to the Haunted Mansion. I was 6, and
my dad decided to take mt at about 11:45 at night.. just before the
park closed and as close to the Witching Hour as possible.
Scared the living bejeezus out of me.
So... of course... even though I've been through the thing about a
zillion times it's still my favorite attraction.

Rick, JaNell - Everyone else has said it already, but add my voice to
the congratulations, consolations, concerns and well wishes. Like many
of us, I struggle at times with what and when to post... especially
when everyone else is expressing the same or similar sentiments.

Maure - I think I've forgotten who your brother and sister are...
Should I know (of) them?

Neil - if we ride the Haunted Mansion for you, do we all need to wear
our leather jackets? *pause* Lord, I just gave myself a vision of
twenty or so of us cruising around DisneyLand all in black, with
sunglasses and leather jackets looking like the Gothic cast of Grease.

Madman - I got e-mail from your friend in Portland... when I got home.
Ah well. It would have been fun to hang out with him. It was a short
trip though. Pleasant, but short. There isn't much to do in Portland
during the week except for browse through comic stores, thrift stores,
and used book stores while drinking lots and lots of good beer in cafes
and pubs. of course, that meant I had a wonderful time. It's tough
being back at work.
  

    
Dan,  no, you wouldn't know them, unless you follow Chicago area prep
and college sports. Both Ashley and RJ hold IL state records for their
respective sports, and were in the papers a lot because they're sister
and brother athletes with extraordinary talent. They both went to PSU,
but now Ashley transferred to DePaul, and RJ has this year and next
year left at PSU. It's very likely he will go to the NFL. That would be
very weird, and fun. He said he'd help me start Eurydice Underground,
so that's cool. 

I'm off to Virginia for the weekend to see him play. If they win this
game, JaNell, I'll be in Texas soon for the bowl game. Most likely San
Antonio. Is that anywhere near you?

Everyone have a marvelous weekend!
  

    
<snort!> That was a hysterical image, <stagewalker>.  Thanks muchly;
I'll keep it forever in the Mob mental storage unit of treasures.

Okay, ummm... I... well, if...

<deep breath>

Okay.  Due to proximity and other inside resources, I will hereby
volunteer to coordinate a Mob trip to Disneyland, if we can come to
some agreement that such a thing should happen, and when-ish.

Dislaimer the first: Kevin and I are in the middle of the
house-hunting, buying and moving thing, so lord only knows where we'll
be in that process if the trip happens before, say, March.

Dislaimer the second: I stage managed EVITA, with a cast of 52,
including 14 children.  Call times may be posted, and you may find
miscellaneous stage directions in your luggage.  Er, what I mean to say
is... I'll do what I can, but I make no satisfaction guarantees.

Or, don't blame me, <stagewalker>'s the Director among us.

Miscellaneous costuming note: Black leather jackets notwithstanding,
this might be the ideal time to debut the Mob tee shirt world tour.

Note to propsmaster: DON'T FORGET JO!  (We'll need to bring along some
token of all those joining us in spirit.)