My network of friends comprises an inquisitive bunch, many of whom are members of that diminishing club of retired newspaper reporters and editors.
They have been asking me about the status of the memoir y’all know I’ve been working on since The Flood. I have a mixed report to deliver. First of all, it’s still alive and awaiting an eventual first draft. Second of all, I have been neglecting it for the past several weeks. I kinda place it on the back shelf.
The good news? I am dusting it off and getting ready to launch the sprint to its finish.
My memeoir has a working title: My Life in Print. It will chronicle my joy-filled career as a newspaper reporter, editor and columnist. It began in early 1976 and ended on Aug. 31, 2012. That’s 36-plus years of offering guidance, my own opinion on issues of the day and sharing with High Plains Blogger readers the experiences I had over the course of that career meeting some truly fascinating individuals. I have had a full life and I want to share some of it with you.
Ol’ Father Time has kinda gotten in the way. I am well past 70 years of age and my old body is showing signs of wear and tear. It has become a bit of a challenge sitting for any length of time in front of my laptop, telling the stories I want to tell.
My bride had this idea when my career as a full-time journalist ended. Why not, she said, write about the career you’ve had? Do it for our boys. So … I did. More on Kathy Anne in just a moment.
The list is long. I have finished writing about most of the names on that list. They include folks you know, some you don’t know and individuals who have made an impression — for good or bad — on me during my journey through life. The memoir also includes some experiences that not every human being has been able to say they have done.
Today I had lunch with two dear friends — a husband and wife — I have known for 40 years. I told them about the circumstances of losing my bride three years ago to glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. My friends didn’t know the whole story, so I told them about it. Then my friend, Patrick, asked me, “Have you thought about writing about your story with her?” I said I have actually written about my journey through intense pain, sadness and sorrow on this blog. “Have you thought about publishing them?” he asked. Hmm. Well, I have thought about it, I said.
I believe it’s time to announce another command decision. I am going to find a way to weave some of that journey through the darkness into My Life in Print. If I find a relevant spot to insert a blog entry, I’ll try it, see if it works and then move on.
It’s time to get busy.