Tag: Thoughts

TEN THINGS I’D DO IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 4 Comments

Admittedly, a million ain’t what it used to be, and at this point in my life, I’m looking at it quite differently than I might have a while back. For one thing, I’m more cognizant of the security of my wife and family, now that they’re part of my life. That said, here goes.

  1. Invest the initial sum and live off the income. Just a 5% return would be an additional $50,000 a year income. That would be a huge change in our lives. (A prudent strategy would also require ways of protecting the capital, should I be afflicted with a long-term illness.)
  2. Can some of this be applied as angel investing for startups without involving great risk? Or low-interest loans to worthy individuals? This could be fun and satisfying.
  3. Increase our charitable donations. We do have many causes we passionately endorse.
  4. Contribute to political candidates. Relatively small amounts still add up, especially at a local level.
  5. Travel. Even getting away for a few days can be great fun and refreshment.
  6. Home renovations and repairs. A three-season porch with hot tub would be at the top of our list, but there’s plenty of upkeep needed in an old house like ours – energy-efficient windows on the second and third floors, painting inside and out, tree-trimming … oh, it’s a very long list, believe me.
  7. New wheels. Nothing fancy, mind you. But I’m really pushing the limits on my Camry.
  8. Attend more concerts and theater. We really enjoy going when we can.
  9. Quality of life gifts for others. These don’t have to be big or splashy – just little things that can make a difference. A class for a child, for instance, or a pound of good coffee.
  10. Support for my own writing. It would be wonderful to hire an editor for the revisions, artists for new covers, or move into paper editions for my lifetime of creative output. (Oh, dream on!)

~*~

Things would get really interesting if we raised the amount to $10 million. So what would you do with that first million? Or the next nine?

~*~

Brussels sprouts get sweeter after they’re hit with frost. We harvest ours for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners the day the cook’s ready. The biggest, tastiest ones are no doubt buried in the snow.

Of course, this is totally unrelated to the theme. Just another thing on my mind.

I REALLY WELCOMED THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECAST MY NOVELS

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords.com, is a refreshing breeze in the publishing world. With his ebook empire, he’s allowed countless authors and aspirants to put their work in front of the public at no cost. And, unlike Amazon, he’s made these works available across a range of digital retailers and their platforms. That in itself is amazing.

I find his reflections on the publishing industry refreshing. For one, he’s noted that one of the advantages of ebooks is that they can be updated and revised easily and inexpensively. A new cover, for example, can work wonders. When it comes to paper publishing, this would cost thousands and is almost unthinkable.

Well, that got me thinking about my earlier novels once I had finished polishing What’s Left, which begins a generation later. Looking at those events from the perspective of the central hippie boy’s daughter, I realized crucial changes were due. I just had no idea how thorough they’d be.

For one thing, I found myself renaming many of the characters and giving each one more of a backstory and motivation. In Daffodil Uprising, the dorm residents no longer run as a pack, and I’m especially fond of three who end up functioning as elders.

I also added a weekly peace vigil and a clandestine bomber, even before getting to the university president and his conniving wife. I’m still not sure which one is more of a vampire.

Now that the entire Hippie Trails series has been recast into a Freakin’ Free Spirits cycle, I’m quite happy that the books form a more coherent whole. Being away from the newsroom for the past several years has allowed me to look more closely at the fictional scene I create. The journalist would see mostly action but not much of the characters’ differing psychologies. Just the facts, ma’am. This time around, I’m hooked on their quirks – especially their irrational feelings.

And as for the dreaded editorializing? Not me, oh no. But Cassia’s presence freely unleashes an opinionated viewpoint that I find most refreshing. That daughter can have quite a tongue.

OH, YES!

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments

Think of this as a referendum. No nation can be great if its soul is ugly. Stand up for factual truth rather than unsupported claims.

As the bumper sticker says:

Love this bumper sticker. And to think, these days it’s a political statement.

 

TEN MORE IRRATIONAL FEARS

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

Maybe I really am afraid of nearly everything. Here are 10 more.

  1. Sounds in the middle of the night. Running water, scratching in the walls, noises on the roof or the street.
  2. Did I leave the lights on … once I’m 15 minutes from home.
  3. Can others really read my mind?
  4. Offending others. A boss, partner, friend, high official.
  5. It’s my problem … my responsibility when it’s not.
  6. I utter something vulgarly revealing about myself … in vocal ministry in Quaker worship … and am shamed as a fraud.
  7. Auto breakdown in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night.
  8. Getting lost in a swamp.
  9. Having my pants fall down … in public.
  10. Anything, actually, arising from guilt or shame.

~*~

It’s your turn to come clean.

~*~

Amsden, Maine.

Of course, this is totally unrelated to the theme. Couldn’t pass it without getting out the camera.

TEN WAYS THIS ‘DAFFODIL’ IS NEW AND IMPROVED

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

My new novel Daffodil Uprising is a meatier, more emotional work than its earlier incarnation, Daffodil Sunrise.

Here are ten reasons.

  1. The people and events are now seen from Cassia’s perspective. Just look at her snide commentary for amusement and relief. Really.
  2. Many of the characters have been renamed, starting with the one who would become her father in What’s Left. They’re more fully developed, for sure. In the previous version, the dorm inmates ran as a pack. Now they’re spread out by age and interests, and three of them serve as wise elders for the newbies.
  3. Her father’s reasons for coming east to Indiana are more clearly defined. As a photographer, he’s part of a fast-track program in the fine arts.
  4. Two new characters introduce elements of fantasy and paranormal. The Victorian elements in the earlier version are now amplified.
  5. The focus in now more on their emotions in reaction to the happenings.
  6. The story is now character-driven, more than erupting from the plot.
  7. This is about boyz, especially, trying to make sense of a confusing world, even before they get to the girls.
  8. This version, for all of its light playfulness, is now more baroque and brooding. That matter of loving a flower child, for one, is far more difficult than you might imagine. Or, for her, that matter of sticking with someone as flawed as Cassia’s future father could produce a really baffling relationship.
  9. More dark sides of the era are introduced. It’s not just early questions about vampires or ghosts on the campus, but the violent fringe of the time, too. Just what are they to make of the protest bombings or the drug overdoses, for instance? Or their failure to live up to the responsibilities of living together?
  10. This is clearly focused on the Sixties rather than reaching out into what would come after. It’s the making of a hippie, in particular. Hey, just don’t blame him.

Be among the first to read my newest novel.

TEN HOUSEHOLD CHORES

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Yes, there are those daily and weekly and monthly tasks each of us must do to help maintain our household. My list includes:

  1. Mowing the lawn or shoveling snow.
  2. Bringing in firewood and carrying out the ash, six or seven months of the year.
  3. Vacuuming and dusting. Not in that order. Then washing the kitchen floor.
  4. Cleaning the rabbit cage.
  5. Paying bills.
  6. Taking compost from the kitchen out to the covered container by the woodpile.
  7. Handwashing dishes.
  8. Hauling the green trash bags and our recycling down to the curb.
  9. Picking berries in season.
  10. Making our bed.

~*~

What about you? And which of yours do you most dislike?

~*~

Oh, to get away from it all! Even if there are no doubt chores here, too. (Sandwich, New Hampshire)

TEN THINGS I DON’T LIKE ABOUT JULY

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 5 Comments
  1. Too many days are too hot and too humid. I hate running air conditioning.
  2. Flies and mosquitoes.
  3. Lethargy.
  4. Everything’s sticky.
  5. Mowing the lawn. I’m drenching in sweat all too quickly.
  6. Tourists flock in. Means we stay away from the Maine Turnpike on weekends and the Kittery Outlets altogether. Route 16 to our north can be a parking lot, especially in Conway.
  7. Our water bill from irrigating the garden.
  8. The loft of the barn is a useless oven.
  9. The weeds are winning.
  10. The Sox are probably in a slump. And if they’re not, we’re jittery. We have good reason to be superstitious.

~*~

What displeases you at the moment?

~*~

Japanese honeysuckle. Its runners can grow almost 30 feet a year, and once it’s in place, it can become a very thick knot. Yuck!

HOW ACCURATE ARE THOSE QUOTATIONS?

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

In my new novel, What’s Left, she’s retelling much she’s heard from others.

As Cassia might say, while describing the story she’s telling:

Look, if I’m telling you something, it’s happening now. I don’t care if the event took place a hundred years ago, when I evoke it, it’s all happening now, right in front of us. Anyone mind if it’s for the umpteenth time? Or if I’m quoting someone else in my own voice? It’s all coming through my mouth, so it’s me, too. Pay attention. OK? Now listen! Especially you, Baba.

~*~

As an author, I had to ask myself the question. Now it’s your turn for input.

Is it fair to put secondhand dialogue – even hearsay – in separate quotation marks? Or is it some other blending of voices?

~*~

Mock orange has a lovely scent, too.

TEN IRRATIONAL FEARS

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 3 Comments

There’s a word for these. Phobias. Maybe you know the particular terms for each one.

  1. You pass a police car sitting beside a highway and automatically look in the rear-view mirror, clueless to any possible offense.
  2. Spiders or rats, just because others in my household freak out at the slightest suspicion.
  3. Any missing item. I’ll go squirrelly trying to find it.
  4. Saying the wrong thing … after the fact. Just what was it, anyway? How could that possibly have been offensive?
  5. I’m going to be late – or even miss it altogether. An airline flight, a crucial appointment, or just a big meeting, maybe even where I’m the featured attraction. But interruptions keep me from getting started out the door. And then there’s the possibility of bad traffic.
  6. Some undiagnosed affliction. Like cancer.
  7. Being powerless or helpless. Especially in the face of bureaucracy or injustice.
  8. Losing my keys.
  9. Can’t find the car. Not just a parking lot, either.
  10. Getting locked out of the house when everyone else is away.

~*~

’Fess up now. Add to the list.

Oh, yes, daisies!

Of course, this is totally unrelated to the theme. Just another thing on my mind.

TEN REASONS NOT TO WORRY ABOUT A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE COMING YOUR WAY

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 5 Comments

Do I really have to define this? To be honest, until recently about all I knew about the topic came from overhearing someone who’s truly terrified about it, but then you have to realize he’s terrified by everything, including his own shadow. A little research, though, casts the possibility in a much calmer light. For instance:

  1. It’s essentially a suburban phenomenon, should it erupt, starting at the malls. You don’t go there, do you?
  2. That also means it’s afraid to venture into the ghetto – and anything close to center city.
  3. It self-selects for Trump country, something like the plagues of Egypt. By the way, there’s no harm in sprinkling your doorposts with sheep’s blood, just in case. (You may want to keep some on hand.)
  4. It also heads straight for Walmart. Think of the cockroach hotel ads, “They go in but they don’t come out.”
  5. It runs in terror at the slightest whiff of high culture – paintings, fine literature, jazz, classical music, opera (especially) ward it off. Keep a good supply of Shakespeare quotes at the tip of your tongue. They’re better than any arcane spell you could cast.
  6. There’s some debate about whether it’s spread by infected people or by an airborne virus. Here’s a hint: It has no sense of humor – it’s completely defenseless against laughter. Or really bad jokes. (“You hear the one about two zombies go in a bar?”)
  7. As people? Traditional slow zombies will get in the way of the newer mutant fast zombies. They’ll start tripping over each other, which will lead to biting their rivals. New research indicates their blood types won’t match and that will be that. End of the show.
  8. Or consider traffic gridlock. Major highways and bridges stop moving at a given volume – and many zombies will expire right there. You really didn’t expect them to be walking anywhere, did you?
  9. And as a virus? Simple. Stockpile your vitamin C. And take it faithfully.
  10. They won’t want your home-canned green beans. Or any other greens, for that matter. It’s too quiet where I live. Zombies would be looking for live action. I’m more worried about garden slugs.

~*~

So what potential global catastrophes are keeping you up nights? And how would you advise coping?

 

African violets in a cozy window.

Of course, this is totally unrelated to the theme. Just another thing on my mind.