Just looked at the last post, 8/25/08, nine months ago. Anyone who regularly reads this (and I'm pretty sure they don't exist...) would think me dead, lazy or too ignorant to know how to post more "thoughts" to something I once desired to turn into a book.
How does one turn into a book, anyway? Would it be like the young folk going into a closet to Narnia? Or maybe stepping into a mirror or going down a rabbit hole? If one could "turn into a book, would it be a paperback, hardcover or comic book? I rather think the third choice for my life. Too bad I can't draw well. The sense of humor is there, otherwise it would be a different type book entirely. Maybe a Gothic novel, or a horror story.
I've thought about writing the latter (Gothic novels would be too hard for me, as I'm not fond of the genre anyway) but something stops me every time. It is the simple ideation of things evil that bothers me. If one can think of horrible things, could one find oneself doing them? How does one of my favorite mystery writers, Jeffrey Deaver, do it? We all have a dark side, and probably everyone thinks of things they shouldn't now and then, but actually constructing a novel around them? Maybe I should try. Seems like horror sells nowadays. Just look at all the CSI shows, and the gory lab scenes in NCIS, Medium, etc.
Well, enough black thoughts. It's been too long since I wrote upon this page, at any rate. We are about to embark on another, albeit much abbreviated, trip to Clayton, NY. We have put the trailer with screened deck up for sale (since last June, actually, when we decided gas was just too expensive for a cross country trip) and are going to visit it one last (we hope) time to try to sell it occupied. That's how it would show best, not musty and smelling of moth balls and dust from two winters alone gathered in the corners etc. We hope to see many old friends again, and one of them is the River itself.
Many times in the last 21 months our thoughts have turned to old haunts and good warm conversations. We've often commented on how much this or that sunset reminded us of our nights on the Clayton dock benches, even thought there really is no comparison between AZ and NY sunsets, and you can't see Calumet Tower in the middle ground under the pinking clouds. You can imagine it though, and conjure up the faces of old friends. I'm looking forward to sitting in the back room at the American Legion, watching the same sun setting over the same river, and imagining that Carol and I are enjoying a beer or two while the ball drops. Alas, the beer is out, as my medication prevents me from even a sip. But to just imagine...
We need to get our Hoffman's hot (her's red mine white) fix at the Castle too. Can't get those in AZ. Wish we could. And a ride at the beginning of the evening, after supper, to circle the wild area of French Creek by way of the Deferno Road, and cross the creek to stop for spring water at Frontenac Crystal Springs. This used to be a weekly ritual, and for a short time it will be again. We'll marvel at the sunset dropping bright sparks on French Creek Bay (now French Bay,it seems) as we cross the highway bridge over the creek itself, and look over to where our little trailer summer home sits in the shade of a huge old willow.
Of course our trip would not be complete without visits to our old places of employment. The Magical Swan in Alex Bay for Carol and The Antique Boat America Showroom near Fishers Landing for me. We would have spent the whole summer there, perhaps working in the same spots again this year, under different circumstances. Now we both have jobs in Tucson we must return to or lose them. In this economy, it's not good to abandon a job!
Yes, please, if you are in the area (or are lucky enough to live there) please do visit us while we're there. We leave Tuesday the 2nd of June, and will be in Clayton until at least June 10th, after which we plan to go visiting our southern New York friends and neighbors, and family. So, until we meet, by chance on a bench by the town dock or the old coal dock, enjoy your summer! And if we don't get to meet, be sure to hoist a cold one for us.
Joel
