Master Procrastinator

Posted on 21/10/2024 by Grumpa Joe

Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? So asks the genie within my brain. Tomorrow I am committed to giving a short program to a neighboring Lions Club. Two months ago, I wrote a speech that I would use to give to fellow Lions to awaken them to blindness which is one of our pillars of service. I posted the speech on this blog, but no one has read it. That told me that the speech was not very good. Or else the title put people off. I thought it was rather catchy, “How Many Ways Can You Go Blind?” It turns out that there are so many ways that ophthalmologists have lost count. No one is interested into why some people go blind until that person is you. Then it becomes the number one priority on your list.

My job today, immediately after this post, is to rewrite my speech to eight minutes down from fifteen. Why am I procrastinating? I didn’t become a Lion to write and give speeches. I joined to serve my community, and giving speeches has become that service. So, I must put my mind into gear and rewrite what I thought was a perfect speech.

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Why I Stopped Blogging

Posted on 07/07/2024 by Grumpa Joe

I’ve been so involved in completing my second book, which I began in 2014, that I have stopped posting. This story is totally the opposite of the one I submitted to a publisher last month. The first called Space Rod is loaded with sex, while BAC doesn’t spend any time on sexual matters at all. Space Rod deals with grief and impersonal sexual relationships. This new story is based on the premise that George Washington was killed during the Revolutionary War and the thirteen colonies which extended to the Mississippi River never got any larger.

The world was very different because there wasn’t a United States of America. Consequently, there was never a Louisiana Purchase, and Texas remained its own country. Texas expanded into the Mexican domain and stretched up to Canada. Spain was left with Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington, and Hitler won the war in Europe. My head spins with all the possibilities that exist in storytelling. Hopefully, I’ll complete the manuscript before the end of Summer, and return to Blogging.

I am obsessed with finishing this goal because my time on this earth is shortening rapidly, and there is so much I still want to do. I first began writing Space Rod in 2013 and then switched to BAC-British American Colonies in 2014, thinking I’d finish them both. Then Peggy developed dementia, and my life turned into taking care of her. Peggy has been gone for five years already and I don’t have that as an excuse any longer. It is time to put on my big boy pants and do the job.

I have pledged not to do any Intarsia or gardening until I submit BAC to a publisher. If one, both, or none get published, my goals will change accordingly based on my desire to sell stories.

That is my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Filed under: Aging, Biography, Writer | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Itsy Bitsy Steps

Posted on 01/04/2008 by Grumpa Joe

Do you have a dream? Is your dream materializing? If not, why not? Are you procrastinating? Are you afraid to take a step forward? Why? Most of us are afraid of failure. If we make a move it might just lead to something bigger than we are. The move may be very uncomfortable for us, so we put it off. Realize your goal by taking a small step. Put a tablet of paper in front of you. We write our goals down don’t we? The act of putting the tablet in front of yourself is a step on the right direction. Next, find a pen to write with. Start small, think smaller to get started. Realize your dream. 

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