RIP, Dolly

I was sorry to hear that Dolly Parton died yesterday. Count me in as one of Dolly's many fans. Her voice was so wonderful and she just brought so much joy to people through her music, her life, and her actions. She will be sorely missed. 

One of my favorite Dolly Parton songs is "Here You Come Again" and I recently read that she didn't write that song, but it was her first crossover hit. It's such a lovely song and she puts so much emotion into the lyrics. I thought about that song a lot when I wrote my last short story "Whenever, Wherever, Whatever" and it's referenced in the story when one character shows up at the door of the man he walked out on, who sees him and says, "This isn't a Dolly Parton song, Jonathan. I'm not going to sing Here You Come Again and fall back into bed with you." But, of course, that's exactly what he does! (Well, maybe he doesn't sing Dolly's song, but he sure falls back into bed with Jonathan.)

RIP, Dolly.

Powerless

Living in the Chicago area, news of the power outages in parts of Indiana that border Illinois, like Gary, has been frequent on the location TV stations and in the local papers. It's a damn shame that some people have been going without power for 10 days now, but it's no surprise to me that places like Gary, a poor, largely black city, has been hit especially hard. Is it a coincidence that power restoration has been slow in a city that's economically disadvantaged? Not bloody likely! Poor communities get poor responses from the government and just about everyone including utility companies. Wealthier communities have more clout to make people hear them when they're dissatisfied with something and their cries usually bring swift action. But when you live in a community where people are struggling to survive on a daily basis, your cries often go ignored. For the United States to have so much wealth and power, some citizens are left behind and rendered largely powerless, unfortunately. It shouldn't be like this, but it is. 

July in My Rear View

My July sucked ass. Just about the whole month was horrible for me due to illness, the heat, the wildfire smoke, and other stuff. I'm so glad to put that month in my rear view and I'm hoping August turns the page and is much better. So far, so good (but I know we're only 5 days in).

I recently returned from a visit to my home state of Michigan and I'll be heading back to the mitten state for a return visit. It's not a terrible drive from Illinois because it's pretty much a straight shot on I-94, but it's still a long drive and the traffic is bad in certain areas, particularly in Illinois and right across the border into Indiana. Then you add pockets of construction in Michigan along with that and you've got a not-so-great drive. Still, I always feel when I make the drive that you're never out in the middle of nowhere for long. You hit so many decent-sized cities along the way that it's comforting to know you don't have miles of barren highway ahead of you. 

In the coming months, I'm planning some personal changes in my life that (I hope) will be positive. I'm also hoping after I get these changes underway that I'll get back to writing because that task has been sorely neglected by me for some time. I just haven't felt like doing it, but I do have a story in the works (and it's been in the works for some time). I'm really going to work to get that done by the end of the year.

Stay tuned!