Greetings Kind Reader. So nice to have you stop by. And before I go any farther I want to say - from the bottom of my heart I'm sorry for having been away for a ... month. Geez, it sounds so bad when I see it in print like that. It sort of makes me feel like someone who dropped their kid off at boarding school and said, 'I'll call you as soon as I can' - only 'as soon as I can' never came because I let things get in the way.
But then again - this is more proof as to why New Year's resolutions and I don't do too well. I go into the year with the very best of intentions and then, well, I do a little of this and a little of that until the thing I said I was going to do gets pushed so far out of the picture, I forget it was there.
Although, I didn't actually forget about my favorite little blog site. No. Believe it or not, I think I've been sort of afraid to post here because I've been feeling a bit of self doubt in regards to my 'light, airy, step away from the harsh realities of life' posts. Posts which are exceedingly long winded but at their heart always have a message. I'll bet you didn't think there were messages in those little stories I've been telling over the past...gosh, close to 7 years. But there were.
If you've followed along with me through my journey here at WASWR, you probably know that I've taken several of my favorite posts over those 7 years and have put them into books that are available (at the moment) for free. I hope to complete a full set of WASWR books (It'll wind up being a set of 7 books - but as of now, I've only actually 'published' 5 of them)
Now as for those writings - my goofy little stories about people being people when they think no one is watching them and my sometimes silly, sometimes sentimental stories that come directly from things that have happened in my personal life. Occasionally, I have thrown in some serious pieces, too. Yes, I can be serious - very serious - when I feel the mood strike.
But to be honest, I've tried to stay clear of writing commentaries on issues that might be inflammatory because I don't want my readers to become incensed with me because I make a comment that stabs at something they believe strongly in. I suppose it all goes back to my Grandmother - I loved that woman.
Aside from my father (who was my bestest best buddy), my grandmother was a hero of mine because she did some really cool things. She came from a rather 'hoity-toity' family with a great deal of money - How much? I don't really know. I just know my great grandfather owned a coal mine allong the Tennessee/Kentucky border. So I assume it was a good deal of moola.
But if you met my grandmother she would have talked not about her childhood. But not because it wasn't good - it was rather nice, rather it was because she didn't 'do' things until after her childhood. Meaning - when my grandmother went to college the world opened up to her. She studied acting and even directing. I have one picture of her - I cannot put my fingers on it at this exact moment but when I find it, I'll make sure to post it - she's about 20 in the picture and she's walking tall (which is pretty impressive since she was my height 5'2"!) with two of her closest friends through the city.
The smile she's wearing says 'I can do whatever I set my mind to.' And she did. When she was married to her first husband and things went south - she divorced him. And that was in the 1930's folks...in the South. That sort of thing was pretty much unheard of back then. But my grandmother was a maverick of a lady.
Eventually she met and married the man who would become my grandfather. Now he had to be something like 6'4" and sort of a hulking man who moved to America from England when he was very young. Their marriage was not the greatest, I must be honest. They argued - loudly. They sometimes drank a bit too much and argued even louder. But in the end, they loved each other.
One of the coolest things about my grandmother was the fact that she always loved the theatre. She'd been enamored with acting her whole life. And when I knew her she performed in plays and even did some TV commercials. (She was the 'Cate's Pickle Lady' for a few years - yeah that was pretty cool)
She's part of the reason I love the arts. Grandmother took me to see some awesome exhibits in Charlotte. I remember going to the Mint Museum when I was about 10 and seeing the King Tut exhibit. And I didn't just see the 'standard' exhibit. Nope. My grandmother was active with the museum, so I got to go on a behind the scenes tour. How many people can say that? Not a lot, I'd imagine.
I suppose my grandmother was as odd fish with the ladies at the Junior League and at the Country Club because whereas there were women who 'enjoyed the arts' my grandmother had actually lived the arts. Grandmother was also the president of the DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution - so, yes, that makes little ol' me a DAR Dame, too. Oh, and I suppose I should also point out that she was a member of the Daughters of the Confederacy - NOT because she wanted to be - it was sort of expected by people like my great grandmother and the rest of the family.
Even my totally cool grandmother knew there were some family lines that were best left 'uncrossed' because the turmoil it would have created would have done nothing but cause division and discord.
That's why my grandmother told me there are three things you never, ever discuss in polite company. Likewise, there are some things that you must carefully weigh before you ever commit them to paper - will it be hurtful to others? - will it anger others? - what is your reason for putting pen to paper in the first place?
Now what 3 things could cause that much friction in polite company (code for among friends and sometimes frienemies)? Sex --- Politics --- Religion. To be honest, I sort of knew this before she told me - but hearing it from her really made it click in my head. Since the tender age of about 10, I've always been aware of those 3 'no, no' topics.
So that's why I've tried very hard to avoid writing stories about sex (because what folks do in their bedrooms is not for me to judge). I also steer clear of anything political here at WASWR because your political views are your own.
And the last thing I do NOT like to discuss here is Religion. Nope that is not a train I want to ride!
Geez, the hearts of the world are heavy enough without another voice to make them chuckle or down right giggle. I don't want to cause strife for anyone...
Alright I've had my ramble and now I'm REALLY tired - my new medicine makes me very tired. Gosh I hope this wacky ramble made some sense to you all - because It makes PERFECT sense to me.
Ok there you have it! I'm done. I did it. I got at least 1 post in for the month of February got too far into! I will try to do more.
Now - I'm off to bed because the medicines I take for Fibromyalgia are pretty darn strong and my pillow is calling me. So if this is riddled with errors please know that I am sorry! Sleepy eyes are not good editing eyes.
Night y'all!
