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Reading, Writing, Pondering: Big Life Themes, Literature, Contemporary/Historical Issues |
 Welcome to the 14th century, in a farflung outpost of the Holy Roman Empire, and a new Convent outpost of the terrrifically powerful Roman Catholic Church. Sound historically dull? Hopefully not so--for this is NOT an ordinary 14th Century Convent. Back after a six-year hiatus.... From NaNoWriMo historical Supernatural novels in Scotland, Michigan, South Alabama and historical horror in Standwood Station, GA-to the Phantom Northern Woods-to singlehandedly refighting the American Civil War-to exploring Social Justice and standing for First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution-we deal out horror, Supernatural, Historical, fantasy, mystery, and more. We do not fear outspokeness. And always, always, always, We Do History. Find it here. We write it. We read it. We hold strong opinions. We orate. Meanwhile, whether we're writing or just reading, we love to rave about books and authors right here!  |
| Three days till Dec. 21; five days till Dec. 23; six till Christmas Eve; fourteen before end of 2012. December 18, 2012: It's been said that there are three different types of people: those who prefer to make things happen, those who prefer to watch while things are happening, and those who ask, "What just happened?" Which category do you fit into? None of the above! There are certain aspects of my life I can’t alter, due to the way circumstances have played out. So I don’t “make things happen.” I don’t “watch” because I am very insular (I miss a lot of heartache and grief this way). I don’t ask “What happened?” Like Descartes, I Think, Therefore I Am. |
| December 17, 2012: Optimist, pessimist, or realist - which one are you? It’s difficult to believe now, looking back-but as a child and adolescent I was highly optimistic, a generous, save-the-world kind of individual. As a young married woman in my 20’s, I remained optimistic, believing the outrageous lies despite the evidence. Somewhere along the line, though, and I’m not sure when, that optimism failed and I became a neurotic hard-core cynic. A life lived without hope, dreams, or goals doesn’t allow much room for optimism. Today is one week to Christmas Eve: some of us [me] need to develop some of the Spirit of the Season: peace on Earth, goodwill toward all:) |
| December 15, 2012: Name five moments in your life so far that you believe you will remember happily in your old age. I’m already in my old age, thank you! I’ve been considered disabled since late January 2011, officially since September 2011, and turned 60 in September. Of course, I’ve always felt I was one of those “born old.” 5 Moments: Reading “The Secret Garden” in third grade. Being befriended by a kind classmate in third grade. Meeting someone in the fall of my 21st year who was kind and respected me; I still remember this even though I never saw that person again. Graduating magna cum laude in B.S. Psychology at age 46 Completion of my first NaNoWriMo and first novel in November 2007, age 55. |
| December 14, 2012: Your very last meal ever - what would it be and with whom? I’ve a couple of thoughts in regard to this one, Gentle Readers-thoughts inspired by the dates this month, and by the approach of some to the dates. I admit to having undergone 12-12-12 anxiety. 12-21-12 is fast approaching; it seems to be the date that ends the Mayan Calendar, although I read this AM that the date might also be 12-23-12 LOL. My daughter said my 13-year-old granddaughter became very upset yesterday because on Facebook she found that a particular church, or pastor, is claiming 12-21 to be the date of the Second Coming. My comment: I give you Matthew 24: 36 (Mark 13:32) "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” No one knows the date nor the hour. Indeed, if the world should end by asteroid impact or viral outbreak, no one is going to be able to predict it in advance. So let’s stop worrying and instead focus on what is coming up: What are we going to do in 2013? I think that topic is getting overlooked, as people decided, “hey, the world is ending, let’s party like it’s 1999.” I for one hope to finally dig out from under the Review Mountain, and I guess that means setting some personal guidelines, like: quit requesting review books, and just accept requests from authors and publishers. Slow down on the blog tours. Finally catch up on the requests I’ve already got. Now: My last meal: in the first place, how to know in advance it’s the Last? I refer to my comments above. Nobody knows when/if the world will end, nobody knows when it’s their time to pass. (except suicides of course) I guess whenever my Last is, I’ll manage it like I do all my meals: my two or three forkfuls all by myself. |
| Whoo! I survived 12-12-12 (there should be T-shirts for these events! I wanted to have T-shirts made earlier this year, but didn't get to: Victoria Woodhull for President 1872 2012 and Abraham Lincoln for President 1860 1864 2012 Pretty cool, eh? December 13, 2012: Write about a holiday in which things just did not go as planned I remember one Thanksgiving, I believe it was 1990: we lived for a time, my three children and I, in an older house, with a large dining room (where I used to study my Accounting homework). That Thanksgiving I decided to cook a big dinner, and invited my Mother, who was then 75 (my father had passed in 1989), but due to her long-term health concerns (she passed away in 2002), she was unable to attend. So here is this sizable dinner, with just my 14-year-old daughter, and my sons, 10 and 7. A lot of food. Really, a lot of disappointment too, because as long as I can remember both Thanksgiving and Christmas have been really negative holidays for me, even when as a child I had lots of Christmas spirit and loved attending Midnight Mass. As an adult, Christmas was difficult as a single mom because I never felt I could properly provide. Christmas, Thanksgiving, and my birthday have always been events I’ve preferred to, or wished to, avoid. |
| Nor, so far, as it been the End of Civilization as We Know It, and Emperor Ming hasn't arrived... December 12, 2012: Pretend a time machine sends you a letter from your future self—ten or twenty or thirty years from now. What will that letter say? Write it. I am slowly surviving Dec. 12. (or, 12-12-12) I began to feel better this AM, when I checked the World Clock and saw that Dec. 13 had already come to the Land of the Rising Sun. Now here in the East U.S., I only have 9 hours and 39 minutes to get through. If no Asteroid Impact, then no Zombie Apocalypse-unless of course, Planet X replaces the Asteroid, or Planet Nibiru. Or Solar Flare or Coronal Mass Ejection or Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). Okay, now to get serious: twenty or thirty years from now I’d be 80 or 90, which is really difficult to conceive. I never thought I’d reach 60 (Teddy Pendergrass didn’t), nor even 30. |
| Will tomorrow's entry be about the End of the World?:) December 11, 2012: What's one career you just could never do? Don't know if I can say this on WDC: but exotic dancing. Never could, never would, never wanted to, never will. We are now only 13 days away from Christmas Eve. Either the Mayan calendar ends tomorrow, or in 10 days. Oh, joy! So eager to see what people are saying on Thursday! |
| I first typed this as Dec. 11, I must be eager for 12-12-12 LOL December 10, 2012: Write about your most cherished childhood memory. A classmate befriended me in my 3rd grade (4th grade for him, since I was in the “little class” promoted into the “main class.”) He was a genuinely kind-hearted individual; even after all these decades, I’ve never forgotten him. If the world were populated with more like him, the world would be much more Utopian than it is or ever has been. |
| December 8, 2012: Why do you think you were born into this world? Oh, this one cuts close to the bone: I’m on Earth because I have a purpose. What is it? I don’t yet know. Am I fulfilling it? I don’t yet know. Do I feel like I am? Not very often. Nonetheless, I have complete faith and trust that the Deity put me here for a reason-a purpose-to fulfill. |
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