The Mind of a Struggling Writer

Today was the anniversary of the worst snow storm in Louisville history

The Year the River Froze

John Rowan's home inspired Kentucky State Song

We've seen or at least heard of these popular shows on TV that show people stockpiling food and weapons for the coming collapse of the government, World War III, Armageddon, or zombie apocalypse. We look at these people and think, "God, what a bunch of whack jobs." I found out recently this is not a new phenomenon. In fact, following World War II many people thought that it was only a matter of time before the Commies from Russia or China would make their way to American shores and we would have a another devastating global war. People began building bomb shelters in their basements. Stockpiling canned goods, water, and gasoline people expected any moment to hear the sirens signaling them to take shelter as an incoming atomic bomb arrived to blow them all to oblivion. Of course, we all know this didn't end up happening. Those bomb shelters went thankfully unused and the cans collected dust as the threat of nuclear winter faded with the fall of the Berlin Wall. I...

Probably one of the best tools a writer can have is the ability to network. Being able to seek out and communicate with publishers and fellow writers is key to success.  I've been lucky to have several friends in the writing community that give me ideas and suggestions on places to submit work or to find freelance gigs. Another important thing is conventions and festivals. Today in Louisville they had the Writer's Block Festival. It included workshops--which I didn't attend because they cost money and I'm broke--and panels--which I didn't attend because the topics this year just didn't interest me. What did interest me was the building that had several publishers and journals. About a dozen local and regional publications were on hand with copies of books, journals--some of them even free--and plenty of business cards and free swag. Probably the most important part was speaking with their reps that were there. These are the people you really want to talk wit...

My family started a tradition a year or so ago. We are all spread across the states of Kentucky, Indiana, and Florida that it is hard to get everyone together. So we decided to do a few big family get together meals a year, aside from the major holidays. Tonight we went to the always awesome Mark's Feed Store. But an incident happened that has been running in my head all night. My uncle Kenny suffers from Parkinson's disease. For those that don't know it is a disease that attacks the nervous system and wreaks havoc on the person's ability to move. Two famous people who are sufferers of this disease are the boxer Muhammad Ali and the actor Micheal J. Fox. Though the disease is treatable to an extend, there is no cure at this time. So two incidents happened as we at. We were all eating and sharing stories. I was ragging on Zack, my younger cousin who I always make a point to give crap to because he is younger version of me. My sister was telling a funny story about my...

The Olympic Apartment Building