All Kinds of Storytelling

 

I love storytelling. All kinds, all forms.

I read. Classics, history, biography, science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, thrillers. Just to name a few. In addition, I read comic books, graphic novels, magazines, current events, and blogs.

I watch. TV and movies. I don't binge hard - seeing full seasons in a day or two. But I slow binge and see a variety of stuff. I see an episode or two with Alison on most evenings. Recently we finished Season 4 of Orville, and when that was done, we saw the first season of Mayfair Witches (based on the Anne Rice books). Last night we started House of the Dragons, the Game of Thrones prequel. And, yes, I've read the book the series is based on, Fire and Blood, by George R R Martin.

I watch an episode of something after Alison goes to bed (she likes to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep, and it's difficult for me to sleep much more than 5 or 6). I've started Station Eleven, a series dealing with the aftermath of a virus that wipes out most of the population.

I also watch silent movies. I watch them for about ten or fifteen minutes, so they take me a week or so to see. The most recent I've seen is The Passion of Joan of Arc.

You can laugh at me all you want, but I've picked up watching the soap opera Days of Our Lives. I skip over chunks of it - I don't care which character is schlepping with another character. But the show has fantastical elements - resurrected characters, brainwashing, visits to heaven, purgatory, hell, and a mad scientist. There are whodunits, and I love a good mystery.

I perform. I've done a hundred or more community theater productions. I love being a Lector and Intercessor at church. Recently, as a lay episcopal minister, I've even been able to do a couple of sermons.

Most special of all, through the magic of the interwebs, I've been able to read stories to my granddaughter. I've also been able to read to children at our local public libraries. 

Someday, I would like to do podcasts and/or audiobooks. I possess the voice and talent - I do not possess the technical skills. Maybe someday I can find somebody to help me with that.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

It's Another Manic-less Monday!

 

This view greeted me as I left the carport for my early morning roundabout.

My legs and knees feel much better, thank you very much. They're not perfect, but I am mobile, which feels good!

I just saw my health profile results from a recent testing. Blood pressure? My best reading in years! Blood glucose and A1C? For me, they were much better than I expected! They are still prediabetic readings, and I need to use caution. But I don't think there is a good case for medication. If I'm smart and continue to improve my diet and exercise, I can manage it independently.

Yes, my health situation is pretty good, given my age. My boys are scattered, but they are great people, and I love seeing them when I can. And I am one proud Grandpa!

The following are musings, which some consider negative or whining, so please bail if you don't want to read this stuff. Sometimes I kvetch. Fact of life.

Now that I've sold a large portion of my comic collection and have had some time to relax and enjoy life, I'm thinking about what to focus on next.

I hear about it and also sometimes meet seniors who still work - some out of necessity and some because their personalities drive them to it. For example, the two partners in my old firm may never quit - they wouldn't know how to fill the time if they did.

I don't have a problem with filling time, and Alison assures me that there is no necessity to me working,

Nevertheless, it would be nice to help build up our resources so we could do more traveling. And to provide whatever support we can to help Benjamin in his last year in college and his transition to a career,

Because travel is crucial to what I want to do, tying me to a regular employer and reporting to a workplace on a full or part-time basis doesn't seem very desirable.  

I don't want to do any accounting. I got my fill of that. I served my time in it and don't want to return to it.

If I had to grade my accounting ability, I would give it a gentleman's C. I did enough to contribute and keep a job, but there was no way I was ever going to shine. My natural abilities weren't great, and I would never put in the 12 to 16-hour days that some do in that profession.

I once told my employer that I was probably the lowest-paid full-time CPA in Georgia. He did not disagree. He also did nothing to change it. So, if anyone wonders where my sense of inferiority comes from - waalaa! That's a good chunk of it.

Even though I have given up accounting, I have grandfathered in the Treasurer's position at church. Recently, I have made some mistakes that made me aware of my limited abilities and have left me embarrassed and humiliated. It reminds me of why I no longer want to be an accountant.

I love writing. Most of the time. I would give my writing grade a B+.

But, so what? Many A-grade writers have trouble getting published.

I have shown no ability to market my books. My salesman grade would be a D-. That includes the ability to sell me and a book to a literary agent or publisher.

I have had a few things happen recently that have caused me to question my writing ability, which has shaken my confidence.

Nevertheless, because I love to write, I will continue to do it, and maybe I will stumble on a way to make a little bit of money off it.

I love acting. I would give myself an A grade unless dancing is involved.

Currently, I will be starting rehearsals for Harvey. I am playing the same part I did in 9th grade, that of an 80-year-old Judge. The significant change is, this time, I will need less makeup.

I have never figured out how to make money off of acting. Again, that requires a level of self-promotion I do not possess. There is a TV and movie industry in Georgia. Unfortunately, most of it is farther north of where I am, and the commuting costs would negate whatever meager money I might make.

I can't rule out being an Extra in something someday, but the odds are relatively low.

The one thing I can do at an A+ level is read aloud. Having a podcast, reading for audiobooks, posting children's stories - all that would be the balm. Besides my inadequacies in self-promotion, the only thing that stands in my way is technological issues. Can I, within my own home, create a studio with the right equipment and soundproofing to do what is needed for a quality reading?

There are considerable obstacles to making it work, but if I had my choice, it is what I would love to do.

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I may not achieve a moneymaking level with any of my creative solutions. But I'm going to try. And that's half the battle.

Or maybe 35%. Who knows? My math/accounting ability is quickly fading.

Anyhoo, y'all have a great day!

Thanks for reading.

I'll keep the blog on for ya!

Goliath and the Golf Ball

Lowering the Draft Age

War of the Witches and the Martian

Story Time with Mr. Tom #2

A Child of Capitalist Impulses

Story Time with Mr. Tom #1

Run, You Idiot, Run

Hansel Exposed! The Audio Version!

Weekend in Jesup

This weekend featured a trip to Jesup, a town about thirty miles away from us.  It's bigger than Blackshear but similar in size to Waycross.  We go there only rarely.  It's a charming town with a robust downtown, but we don't often have a reason to go there. 

Saturday we had a reason.  The Wayne County Arts Council invited me to present a reading from my books, and being the hamwich that I am, I couldn't resist.

It was a fun, positive experience.  No, it did not have world-beater crowds.  But those who were there seemed to enjoy it, and it was a great variety of local talents, including some extraordinary authors.  I read from Here Comes Tommy and Crowley Stories.  Not to brag, but they were well-received.  If I am unsure of some of my abilities, that uncertainty does not include my ability to read aloud.

I wasn't sure what to read from Crowley Stories.  I practiced the two-page introduction of Crowley Stories and found myself a bit overwhelmed.  Sometimes I reread something I wrote years ago, and I am horrified by the mistakes I find that I had not previously caught, or the reading flow is not as sharp as I expected.

Not so with the introduction of Croley Stories, Good Morning Bright Crowley Sun.  It held up, so much so, it almost took me to my knees, and I had hard keeping my emotions in check while I read it.

One of my decisions not to try agents with Crowley Stories was that this brief intro has a very long run-on sentence at the heart of it.  That was a stupid decision.  Having read it aloud for the first time, to me, it sang beautifully, a hymn as to what's to come in the Crowley Stories.  My inability to promote this excellent book is one of the biggest failures of my life.  That and not moving back to Michigan in 2016 and convince 11,000 Michiganders not to vote for racist Donald Trump.

We also discovered a great new restaurant in Jesup, One Love, with 'island" food, which I believe is Carribean,   Alison had some jerk chicken, and I had island pork with guava BBQ sauce.  The sides were delicious as well, and I had a custom made fruit punch that was out of this world.   Now Alison is busy trying to come up with reasons to go to Jesup!

They have a TV facility at the Wayne County Arts Council, so some of what we did may be on TV there, or even on YouTube.  If I hear more about it, I'll let you know!

Open Mic Night at The Wayne County Arts Center!

I, T. M. Strait (my illustrious pen name), will be there to do selected readings from one or more of my books!

History of the Trap: Tear One

a YA novel with mystery, SciFi, action, and romance

The Twilight Zone crossed with Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Stranger Things

Crowley Stories: Swamp's Edge

inter-related slice of life short stories featuring a small Southeast Georgia town on the border of the Okefenokee Swamp

Here Comes Tommy

imaginative and entertaining stories about my not so wayward youth

Adventures in Time and Space

a nifty collection of stories for young readers, from late elementary through early high school

I will be there to read from and talk about my books.  I may accidentally have a few copies available for purchase.  As always, the books can be found online, from the author, or at the Okefenokee Heritage Center.

Come out if you can!  There will be many exceptional local talents there!  And if you can't, please be sure to check out my books at your favorite online retailer!

New Roads Monday Musings

I am trying to cope with the change.  I am trying to deal with my three sons now all away from home.  My oldest is all the way to Calfornia, where he is a successful film editor, specializing in coloring and bringing to life the flat tones of the original filming. Look for his credited work this Fall in the new CBS drama All Rise!

My middle son lives in metro Atlanta, and is a successful Professional Engineer working in the environmental field.  He is married to the beautiful and talented Paige, and they have a home together in a wonderful house where they have solar panels and gardens and bees. 

And now, my youngest son is away at college.  He is starting his post-secondary academic career at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville.  I'm proud of the way he's taken to it so far.  He has gotten out of the dorm room and met new people.  He has joined the choir.  He attended church and has started up with the Episcopal Youth Group.

Not that things have been tear-free.  Church was particularly hard yesterday, especially the singing.  We were very conscious that his voice was not there next to ours.  There were some more tears during a phone call on Sunday afternoon.

Alison and I are trying to fill our lives with some new roads.  I am once again in theatre, joining the cast of WACT's Murder on the Orient Express.  That's not only practice time, but time taken to learn lines - the older I get, the greater the struggle that is.

Readers of this blog may have noticed that some blog entries are now audio.  Thanks to Benjamin's help, I have finally begun to take baby steps towards a potential audio career.  Hopefully, I will get more polished as time goes on.

We've completed some series binge-watching, recently completing Legion (intriguing but weird - I hate to say it - may be almost too weird), and the first season of You (intense by Lifetime standards).  We're now moving on to the last season of Preacher.

Some familiar roads have also been left behind.  I am moving away from the Writer's Guild.  Five plus years of trying to sustain it have been wearing to me, and I have to take a break from it.  There are some ideas to move forward, but I have to backburn for awhile.  It has to grow to exist without my consistent involvement. 

Right now, I'm still involved in a summer audit at work, so that should keep me occupied this month. 

And Labor Day Weekend is coming soon.  And that hopefully means a visit from Benjamin!

The roads are winding.  The roads are new.

But they're still there.  And they can be traveled.

Old Pat T & The Great Bathroom War

We Didn't Stop It

Echoes of '59

Another Picture Free Monday Musing

Yeah.  I gotta start using my phone camera more, so I can get some fresh pictures on these blog stories.  I'm not a natural picture taker, and I often don't think about it when I'm "in the event."  Traffic to the blog is driven more by pictures than words.  A picture may not be worth a thousand words, but it's worth about another few dozen views!

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The biggest event this last weekend was picking up Benjamin from church camp at Honey Creek.  It's his last camp as a student.  He had a great time and was one of the speakers at the closing ceremonies.  He has been invited to come back as an intern next month, and if he does well, will put him in line to be a camp counselor next summer!

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Alison and I went to murder mystery dinner theatre Friday night, put on by Purlie Productions, and including a number of my theatre buddies.  It was entertaining and unique, and something I hope our area does more often.  I did not participate, due to reasons listed in the blog post I Like Home.  But with Benjamin going away to school in August, and with hopefully losing some weight (at least enough to deflate the basketball to maybe youth soccer size), I hope to try again in a few months.  Suitable parts are getting harder to find, but I'm not sure I can give it up altogether.

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One of my hopes is to move more towards events where I read aloud -  children's storytelling, events at senior centers, audio recordings.  This is stuff I would love to do if I could get over the inertia of not taking the next steps. 

I see people like Alison's father, contributing more to others, by utilizing their talents and abilities to be helpful.  Alison's father has done noble and vital work in Haiti building homes and shelters.  I'm not a builder.  My skill set in putting together anything is less than zero.  There are many things that people do for charity work that are not natural fits and do not take advantage of where my talents lie.  But., like it or not, I can read aloud as well as anybody on the planet.  I don't mean to be braggadocio, but I can't help it - it's true.  I need to find a way to do that to make a positive contribution to those in need.

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I'm happy that Morning Joe seems to be on the Never Trump train, but they are still at heart a very conservative and establishment-bias show.  They sing the praises of Biden and trash Bernie every chance they get.  If a Progressive moves up in the polls, they bemoan that they will lose to Trump.    Polls move, up and down.  Do not make presumptions at this point who can beat Trump or who can't.  I still feel that a candidate loudly advocating for the working class is better than mushy centrist positions. 

I am. of course, prepared to vote for whoever the Democrats nominate.  Trumpism must be vanquished - not just defeated but humiliated and excised.

A few years from now, no one who voted for Trump will be able to explain or support what they did.  Trump voters will disappear like Nixon voters did after his resignation.

At least, that is my sincere hope and prayer.  It's our best chance for survival.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

P. S.

If any of my liberal/progressive friends have a suggestion for a progressive morning show, I would appreciate hearing about it.  It's almost like they think Progressives don't get up in the morning.