Writing Life

A periodic record of thoughts and life as these happen via the various roles I play: individual, husband, father, grandfather, son, brother (brother-in-law), writer, university professor and others.

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Location: Tennessee, United States

I was born on Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina, then lived a while in Fayetteville, North Carolina, before moving, at the age of 5, to Walnut, NC. I graduated from Madison High School in 1977. After a brief time in college, I spent the most of the 1980s in Nashville, Tennessee, working as a songwriter and playing in a band. I spent most of the 1990s in school and now teach at a university in Tennessee. My household includes wife and son and cat. In South Carolina I have a son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

2012

I have one resolution this year, which is to write more, including blogging. I don't intend to put myself under a lot of pressure, but I would like to average at least one post per week. I'd like that one post to be something significant, although not necessarily long. So, this is my start.

As I wrote in my previous post, 2011 left a generally bad impression, even though lots of good stuff came my way. I'm not looking for a perfect life in 2012, but I would prefer that the world not fall apart in the way it does in the film 2012. Lots of people have made dire predictions based on the Mayan calendar, but others have refuted these same predictions. Either way, it's not something I can do anything about, so I'm not going to worry about it.

The only thing I really dread already about 2012, is the election process. We have become a parody of our best selves. The media will batter our ears and eyes 24/7 with all the crap swirling around in the clogged bowl of an election system entered by candidates who are neither of the best minds nor the best morals. Spin doctors will continue to work their wickedness from both sides until what is actually spinning is our heads. Candidates will say and do stupid things. Americans will continue to be drunk on that dangerous cocktail made up of equal parts arrogance and ignorance. Few if any will recognize that this country and this world are different from what they were in 1776, in 1876, in 1976; most will continue to act as if this is not true. We have difficult questions to face, the answers to which will not be found in the "good old days" or the golden age or, truly, in the things of this world.

All right, you can see how I feel about the national and world scenes.

Here's a list of things that I'd like to see happen in and around my life in 2012: I want to continue to be happy with my family (wife, older son and family, younger son). I want them to continue to be happy--and happy with me. I want to be healthy and continue regular physical activity at the gym. I would be thrilled to see my mom standing upright and walking without a walker. I want to relieve my brother and aunt more in the work they do to keep Mom going. I want to be happy again with my work at ETSU. I want to be a better teacher, and I want to keep learning. I want to read more. I want to continue making music, and I want to get better at it. I want to continue to write fiction and poetry and get better at that as well. I want to start writing songs again. I want to play the flute more. I want to continue being part of a church (Cherokee) that seeks to do the difficult work of helping our community and the world.

I guess that's enough to keep me busy for a year or so.

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