Gatekeeper

There, but unwanted
You prevent
The pearl of a thought
From appearing

There, but unwanted
You screen
The kernel of an idea
From emerging

There, but unwanted
You trap
The sentence, yet unwritten
From radiating

There, but unwanted
You censure
The flow of creativity
From right brain

Gatekeeper,
Who the hell
Granted you
This power?

Yep, I'm A Rebel

I just read the rules for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month.) I had planned to add 50,000 words to my last year’s winning project (see shiny badge to the right.) Even though I completed over 50,000 words last year, the story isn’t finished. I was looking forward to using the focused writing time this November to complete it.

But, the rules say you have to start over each year. From scratch. Bummer. Bummer.

BUT WAIT! 

There’s a Rebel Group forming and we even have our own Forum section. It seems there are many writers working on projects that are outside the boundaries. And we're being wholeheartedly embraced. After all, the purpose of NaNoWriMo is the self-challenge. The REAL prize is the accomplishment, and the new manuscript at the end.

So, I’ll embrace my Rebel Status for the month of November, and continue to flesh out (thanks, Gully :( ) my characters and add to the mystery/romance of my WIP (work in progress.)

I’m kinda likin’ it. Never been a rebel before….

Bad safety vibes this week, or "It’s a Full Moon Martha"

Monday morning we were awakened at 3:30am by loud pounding on our front door. The Sheriff’s Department was searching our property for an intruder who had fled from a neighbor’s home after a home invasion. He hasn’t been caught yet, so it makes you more diligent about locking doors and safety-proofing your home (those plastic rods in the sliding windows and doors are now in place – something we hadn’t gotten around to in the eight or so years we’ve lived here.)

Then today, on my way into town, I was in the path of a car careening towards me from across four lanes of traffic. I hit the brakes and moved over a lane, as the car passed just in front of me and slammed into the rock wall at the side of the road, ejecting the driver onto the highway (I didn’t see that part.). I  pulled over immediately, my hands shaking so badly it took two tries to dial 911. Adrenalin rush. Big time. The 911 Dispatcher had to ask me to repeat myself several times. The lady was run over twice, and a Good Samaritan who stopped to help was also run over. Both are in local hospitals with non life-threatening injuries. No word on the cause.

I’ve read that your life flashes before your eyes during life-threatening instances, but I have to say, all I was focused on was where that car was going and how I was going to make sure it didn’t hit me. A two second difference and it could have been a head on collision. It’s scary how fast it all happened.

So I’m waiting for the third shoe to drop – things always happen in three’s, right? The Moon is still full.

I told my mom, who has Alzheimer’s disease, about the two instances, and her response was, “Well, it could be a good thing that will happen next.”  Hadn’t thought of it that way, but I’ll take it!

Watermelons

My first attempt at growing watermelons was a marginal success. I did succeed in growing two. Here is a picture of one - a beauty, don't you think?

But, pictures can be deceiving. Here are two pictures to put it in perspective:

Maybe next year....

I'll follow you anywhere!

This is the view I had from my car as I followed Cris to the Rod Run in Seaside, Oregon and Long Beach, Washington this past weekend. Luckily, it was decent weather so he could go "topless" in his 1931 Ford Roadster (the car, that is). He did complain that if he accelerated over 45 mph, his hat would push lower on his head, displacing his sunglasses. But that didn't stop him for long--he just took off the hat!

In Seaside, the main streets in town and the parking lot of the convention center were blocked off for the the amazing cars displayed there. Here are a few that caught our attention:

 We motored up to the Long Beach, Washington Rod Run site on Saturday in the '31 Ford and walked through the maze of cars on display there also.

It was fun catching up with old friends and getting to know new ones. Car people always have lots to talk about! The weather cooperated too. Some fog in the morning, sunshine all afternoon, and gorgeous sunsets. A great trip to the Oregon/Washington coast!

The Bonneville Salt Flats and Speed Week

 We drove to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Westover, Utah for Speed Week 2011. The Salt Flats are amazing - blinding white for as far as the eye can see. We were there to watch cars, motorcycles, and other interestingly designed/shaped vehicles compete for the fastest land driving speed in their class.

As visitors, we were allowed to drive on the salt flats along one side of the raceway, but at a safe quarter of a mile away from the action. Temperatures ranged from 90 to 115 degrees depending on the time of day. Tents, canopies, campers and motor homes dotted the track to watch the competition. We were low tech, but colorful and more mobile, with our beach chairs and umbrellas.

We admired the ingenuity of some.

 As a writer of things, I couldn't help but record some of the amazing history and geology of the Salt Flats.

•  They are five miles long and twelve miles wide, covering over 46 square miles or 30,000 acres
•  They are remnants of ancient Ice Age Lake Bonneville
•  Over 17,000 years ago, Lake Bonneville was 1,000 feet deep
• As it receded, evaporation left large concentrations of potash (used now for fertilizer) and halite (table salt)
• The stratified layers that form the flats are five feet deep in the center and only an inch or two at the outer edges
• The amount of salt equates to 147 million tons or 99 million cubic yards of salt
• The Salt Flats are managed by the Bureau of Land Management, on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as an "area of critical environmental concern"
• The fastest recorded speed on the Salt Flats is 622.407 mph set by Gary Gabolitch in 1970

We had a great time each evening strolling through the unofficial "car show" of vehicles displayed in the parking lot.

And we'll probably be back. I've heard that if you go once, you will surely return.

"Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

Blocking up the scenery, breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign"

from "Signs"
Written by Les Emmerson
Performed by Five Man Electrical Band

On our road trip from Portland to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, I took pictures of several signs that caught my attention.