On the Hiatus

The writer has many reasons for not writing, some of them good, some not. Those reasons are irrelevant to the reader¹. The writer has many excuses he uses with himself, some good, most of them not. Those excuses are pointless with the reader. Choices are made: to write or not, to read or not.

I enjoy writing and I am amused and gratified that some people actually read. I also enjoy not writing, but then can derive no amusement or gratification from this set of exercises. So, what do you know, there is an incentive.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

We visited my parents and hers, sailed, played with the dog, played with my niece and nephew (6 and 8) and with her nephew (right between 1 and 2).

We bought antiques, though I daresay that I didn't really enter into the spirit of the thing. Mrs Martial went antiquing with my mother one day and then the next she took me directly to the items that interested her and asked for a thumbs up or down. The total time between heaving my recumbent bulk from the chair on the porch to the moment I eased back into it was about an hour. The ice cubes in my lemonade hadn't yet melted completely. And we only spent $150.

I read one novel (Perfect Circle by Sean Stewart; "good!") - and I read it in one sitting. I read one book of history (Courtesans and Fishcakes by James Davidson; "good!"). I read the newspaper front to back every morning and didn't think about it again.

I listened to Mark Lanegan's new record Bubblegum several times. Rock 'n roll fans, do yourself some good and sit down with it.

What did I do on my summer vacation? Absolutely nothing.

. . .

¹ But not, I know, irrelevant to my friends out there. Cheers!

Posted by Martial