I received a text this morning at 5:02. It was a GIF of a little cartoon dog with a message that said: “It’s a new day... A new beginning.” Thankfully, my alarm had gone off two minutes earlier, otherwise I might have been tempted to give the little dog a new beginning. The text was, of course, from my wife. She’s out of town visiting her mother, who is currently in the hospital (prayers would be appreciated). I thought that text was not only a great way to start things off, but culturally and personally quite appropriate - even prophetic - for a number of reasons.

First, every day is a new beginning. That’s a truism that we tend to forget. Each morning is a reset that provides us with an opportunity to start over and do things right, better, more passionately, more successfully... To forgive, to apologize, to be kind, to love others.

Second, this season on planet earth is definitely a new beginning. We’re trying to figure out how to do things post-pandemic, much like we did after 9-11. We’ve been grieving, we’re in recovery, peering out of our hidey-holes like frightened prairie dogs, trying to get our bearings. It is, indeed, a new day and a new world.

Third, today I will be accepting an offer for a new job. After almost two months of sulking around, working on my latest novel, moping around, walking the dogs, brooding, applying madly for every job under the sun, and unashamedly pouting, I finally landed a salaried position! Woo-hoo! Thank you, God!

Each morning is a reset that provides us with an opportunity to start over and do things right, better, more passionately, more successfully…

There is one small problem, however: I’m not sure which job I landed. You see, today I will find out if one organization is making an offer (they promised to decide by today) and will be fielding another offer that is already on the table from a different organization. They asked for an answer today. Yep - it’s goin’ down for real.

As of this writing, I don’t know where I will be working. I just know that I will have a job... somewhere... before the day is out. I might even know by the end of this blog and be able to share that as late-breaking news. Or not.

(Insert suspenseful North by Northwest music here)

So as I wait to learn how things will play out, (Excuse me while I check my inbox... Nope nothing yet.) I want to share a few of the “new beginning” things that have been inspiring and motivating me, along with some of the new art and written work I have produced. These are all in the shadow of COVID-19, in the midst of joblessness, and, of course, while watching our cities burn.

Yes. I am stalling.

New Reading

Above is a shot of my current reading material. In addition to my dedicated plasma book (see last blog), these are what I’m digesting. My wife thinks it’s funny that I always have so many books going. But I like the variety. It’s like having cable - you can watch something, then change the channel to change the pace. One channel would get pretty boring (although, I guess that would be way cheaper!).

The collection of short novels by John Steinbeck is great for lunchtime. I finished Tortilla Flat and am now halfway through Cannery Row. I love his characters and how he describes the settings. The Plague is a fictional, but scarily-realistic account of the plague (the actual disease) coming to a town in North Africa in the 1940s. Like Camus’ other novels, it’s very well written and very depressing. It’s also spot-on in terms of how human beings react to disease, death, and lockdown.

The Message will probably infuriate some of my NIV-only compadres, but I find Eugene H. Peterson’s poetic paraphrase of the Bible to be soothing and provocative. It makes me think. The First 90 Days is preparing me to be successful at whichever (Still no word... dang it!) organization I end up at. Loveability was suggested by one of the people I interviewed with and is a hope-inspiring examination of what makes a company lovable to both employees and customers.

Oh, and Atlas Shrugged. I’ve read that before but plucked it from the shelf the other day. It is extremely timely for our present circumstance. While I don’t agree with Rand’s philosophy of objectivism, I do go along with the idea that those who work should eat and those who don’t, shouldn’t (2 Thessalonians 3:10) Also, Rand was an amazing writer. Even if you are opposed to her viewpoint, I challenge you to read the first chapter of Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead and tell me the woman couldn’t write. Wow...! As I make my way through the colossal bulk of this novel, I keep hoping some of that talent will rub off.

New Artwork

This can best be illustrated visually. So here are a few of the pieces I’ve been working on, a couple of them still in progress.

You can see a short video we did about our stay-at-home/quarantine artwork here.

New Writing

As mentioned above, I’m working on a new novel. The thing is, I’m ALWAYS working on a new novel. People are often impressed to learn that I’ve had eight novels published and have a new one coming out next year. What they don’t realize is that I have written an additional 15 or 20 novels that haven’t been published. The reasons they remain in limbo are many: some of the manuscripts haven’t been pushed to agents or publishers, some were pushed but were soundly rejected, some simply suck, others are pretty good but just haven’t found a home. The bottom line is that I write all the time and have racked up quite an impressive collection of unpublished manuscripts.

I have also written a bajillion short stories. These I have not yet tried to publish. I consider them more an exercise to help build my writing chops. Last year, for instance, I took the Ray Bradbury challenge. Bradbury (author of Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and many other novels) once recommended writing a short story every week for a year. His logic was that nobody, even a lousy writer, could write 52 crappy stories. At least a few would be worthwhile. I ended 2019 with 50. Here’s a link to one that may or may not be crappy.

Just checked my inbox - still nothing from the company in question. The plot thickens. (Insert teeth-gritting emoticon here)

While I’m waiting and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, I’ll tell you about the novel I’m working on right now. It’s kind of a riff on the short story mentioned above. The main character is a homeless dude who resides at a rescue mission. It opens with him having an episode - he’s a vet with PTSD and a menagerie of other psychiatric issues - and discovering the lifeless body of a female friend under his bunk. In the following chapters, he is accused of the murder and, with the help of a very motley crew of fellow vagabonds, tries to sort out the details of what really happened before they toss him in prison. It’s written from his skewed, mentally deranged, borderline psychotic perspective.

I’m about halfway through the first draft, still struggling with the plot, but, as always, enjoying the process. And I guess I’ll work on it for a while right now. Just checked my phone and my gmail. Nuthin! These people!

But as the little cartoon dog reminds us: It’s a new day and a new beginning. I just wish it would hurry up and get going already!

Post Script: As I was laying this out, my phone rang. It was them…!