I’ve Always Wanted to…Skydive

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I always wanted to skydive. 

Really.

I had plans to do so with a friend, but dammit all, she had the temerity to get herself killed in a motorcycle accident before we could execute the plan. 

Photo by Mario Gogh on Unsplash

She was quite an inspiration in my life and I was just never able to bring myself to do the skydiving thing without her.  And then in my late 30s, my chiropractor asked me, “Do you ski?” I said No.  And he said, “Good.  Don’t take it up.”  And then I said, “I suppose that means skydiving is out too.” 

The look on his face.  Apparently, he was terrified of flying.  You would have thought I’d suggested he remove a testicle or something.  “Oh, God, no.  No.  No skydiving.”

And so, it’s a want that will forever be unfulfilled and I find myself mourning the loss.  How many other I always wanted tos am I not going to be able to do?

Getting old sucks.

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The Secret West Virginia Writers Spring Conference

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The West Virginia Writers annual conference, always in June, always at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV is one of the writing world’s best-kept secrets. Where else can you see a lineup like this (including me!) for $125 for members and $150 for nonmembers. Lodging, on-site, is reasonable as is the cafeteria food plan. You can give yourself a stellar writing retreat for not much moola! Info here.

West Virginia Writers, like the people of West Virginia, are very welcoming. You needn’t worry about coming alone, you will leave with friends. Find your writing tribe in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.

The April Fool

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Today, I will be The April Fool and declare a new beginning.  The winter of my discontent is over.  Has to be over.  I am weary of trudging and want to skip. Tired of standing, want to dance.  Sick of worry, want to be fearless.

Today is that day. 

The Fool from the Robin Wood Tarot

I will let the high winds of today clean out the debris and clear my head of the toxic build-up of the past years.  The rains will clear the dust.  Spring cleaning of a sort – more like a pressure wash with the torrents of late.

I will let my little dog frolic as I skip along and ignore her yelps when she warns me of the cliff.  I need to fall off this cliff I’ve been perched on like some hermit sitting on a mountain.  I am the seeker; I am not the teacher.  The sage.  The prophet.

The waterlogged hillside may collapse spilling me onto a road I’ve never been on.  The change might do me good.  Another meaning for winning by a landslide.

I may have to skip through some mud.  My inner child will be delighted to splash in the puddles.  I’ll get dirty.  A hot bath will be a solace.  I will be weary and sleep the sleep of the innocent.  I will.

The future is bright, my outlook is rosy, and I’m determined to make it so.  As it is written, so let it be done.

Meet Me at Waffle House

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At 2:30 a.m., I couldn’t sleep any longer.  Cruised into the Waffle House.  All told, six other customers and 2 employees.  The juke box was blissfully quiet.  This usually means everyone is sober.

The dancers from Southern X-posure are sitting there eating and laughing and carrying on like the young girls they are.  Their heavy makeup and false eyelashes still perfect after what must have been a long night.  Me, basically, in my pajamas.  There are two old guys in the back booth behind me.  I’m getting hard of hearing which is starting to annoy me and interfere with my people watching.  I think they were talking about Vietnam, but I couldn’t be sure enough to join the conversation.  Yesterday, March 29, was the Vietnam War Day of Remembrance.

I am sitting in a booth eating my usual: two eggs over easy, wheat toast well done and well buttered, hashbrowns with extra onion, and sausage.  Coffee.  Of course, coffee

The old guys leave first. Sure enough one is wearing a hat emblazoned with Army Veteran.

My waitress, a stunningly beautiful African American woman, offers to pour me more coffee. She is soft-spoken and seems shy. She too is wearing false eyelashes.  Is this a thing now?  Last year it was eyebrows, so I bought an eyebrow pencil.  I think I draw the line at false eyelashes. 

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