Library Score!

I enjoy going to see what the local libraries have for sale in their used books, used CD, used DVD sections. I can often locate something cool to purchase when I venture in to see what I can locate. Sometimes I'll get lucky and find a collectible, such as I did when I found a first edition copy of the biography of Walt Disney written by his daughter. In dust jacket. In excellent condition. I bought that one for fifty cents and sold it for over $700 on Ebay. Not bad.

Today I nabbed some good DVDs. I'll be burning some time watching films, now.

I liked the American version of the first chapter. So when I saw the Swedish versions of the next two book adaptations I glommed onto them.

I had SHOWTIME for free for a few years and enjoyed the Dexter show. But when they took away the freebie offer I just couldn't justify paying all that money to watch one series and a couple of films per month. So I never saw any of the episodes after the third season.

This was the best score of the day, though. Criterion disk  of THE WAGES OF FEAR. A classic. One of those movies that is flawless. This is the movie that spawned SORCERER in a remake that proved to be every bit as powerful as the source movie, which shows the power of the original script and theme.

Chance

Since I'm a pretty heavy reader I sometimes like to buy used books at the local library branch where they sell them really cheap. Basically, they almost give them away. Paperbacks are a quarter, hardbacks fifty cents. I only buy used books from authors who have croaked or if the book is out of print.

Since I'd never read any Truman Capote material except for a single short story some years ago, I grabbed up an old paperback edition of BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S. At an original cover price of sixty cents, I think it's a mid-60s edition, but I can't be sure. Might be as late as early 70s.


When I opened it to start reading it, a bit of airline ticket fell out. It looked to have been used as a bookmark. It was for a flight from Atlanta to New York City/Laguardia Airport. Issued to someone named "Dailey/Jeffery". How long had that ticket stub been in the book? Did he buy this book to read on the flight? Where is he now? What was he doing in New York City? Or had he lived in New York and was returning from a visit to Atlanta?

I'm sure I'll file it all away and, perhaps, use it as fiction some day.

A Great Day of Writing

Wow. I had a great day writing yesterday (Wednesday). It was, as they say in the USPS, my "non-scheduled" day. That is, it was the day of the six-day work week that I was not scheduled to clock in and carry mail.

So, after sleeping very late I got up, shaved, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and headed out to the barber shop to get a haircut. After that I drove straight on to the Mint Hill branch of the library. I did that to write. Carole was at home sleeping (she works at night and sleeps most days), so I didn't want to hang around the house making noise and disturbing her sleep. Instead, I decided to go to the library with my laptop computer and write.

This is what I did. For several glorious hours I was able to write in relative quiet. I produced about 5,000 words of fiction. I came much closer to finishing THE CLAN and putting that project behind me.

This is the kind of day that lets me know--just a little--of what it might be like to to write full time. It was a very nice feeling. One day it's what I'd like to be able to do.

While my mind percolates and contemplates the filling in of the gaps remaining in the manuscript, here are a few photos from Yellowstone National Park:


On our first full day in the Park, we went to see a spot called Lewis Falls on, appropriately, the Lewis River. At the parking area there was the remains of a huge log jam. This log jam provided a kind of stage where you could stand and look upriver at the falls. To my surprise, Carole chose to walk out on the logjam to get a view of the waterfall. Here was Carole surprising the crap out of me with Andy helping her along.

Andy standing on the log jam while I take his portrait in front of the falls.