An Essay Exercise

          My writing classes in college taught us that there is nothing wrong with thinking ahead to the future and having a dream. This is my challenge for you today. I want you to imagine that your novel has made the New York’s best seller list and you suddenly find yourself rich. How would your life be like? What will your house and car look like? Will you continue to write or give it up for fancy parties and celebrity visits? If you don’t complete your assignment you will be cursed with seven years of poverty. Seriously, nothing will happen to you. And that is the truth if you don’t dare to dream a little, you won’t be able to move on. If you want to share your dream with others that if up to you, but try it and give yourself something to look forward to.

        If I suddenly found myself rich and famous, I would expand my current property line to include half of the block. I don’t want to move. The old houses will be torn down and a large new one built to accommodate the kids and I. It will have to have seven bedrooms and three full baths and a garage equipped with enough room to house about six cars. Facing reality means that if it ever happened, I would not have much hope at all left of the kids moving out. Whether I mind this or not is something that I will deal with if it ever happens.

        I would have to have a housekeeper and laundry attendant since I have trouble keeping up with household chores even now. There would also need to be enough room left on the property to have an herb and vegetable garden. Perhaps even a green house since I’ve always dreamt of having one. This would be shared with my closest neighbors and friends. Even if it is against city ordinances, I would find a way to include a chicken coop full of those tiny feathered beast.

        And aside from donating to charities and giving God his ten percent, I want a quiet place to myself. I want a woman cave.

        This personal retreat of mine will have at least two of the walls lined from floor to ceiling with books. Perhaps not all the way to the ceiling, since I have to leave room for decoration. The bookshelves will be made out of cherry wood. Even now I envision walking in with the moon pouring through the skylight above and the musty smell of collected works from all over. Two plush reading chairs lay in front of the bookshelves hugging the small cherry wood end table. A fresh pot of hot herbal tea sits on top in a fine porcelain pot ready to drink. The tea has come from my herb garden so its flavors would vary from dandelion to mint. Occasionally I would send out for fresh sassafras. The smell is stimulating and earthy. I’ve found noting yet to match this aroma.

        Two pieces of exercise equipment in the middle of the room mark off the end of the library and beginning of my office area. The office will have two desktop computers for friends and family to use. I will also have my own desk with a laptop, fax machine, phone and other necessary supplies available on my desk.  Looking into the last corner of my office, you would find a significant amount of space marked off by false retractable walls. This is the photo studio. It will contain at least the basic necessities to take photographs for book trailers. I dream of inviting my writer friends and local churches over for business meetings and study sessions so the whole room would have to be a sufficient rectangular size to accommodate this.

        For anyone who knows me personally should be able to guess without much effort, the way I would decorate my woman cave.      About two feet will be left on top of the bookshelves for glass cases that fit snugly within this small confine of space. This will house my Harry Potter toy collection. Inspiring today’s youth is very important. Plus I want to be able to protect my collection from dust and decay.

        That’s about it. I don’t really care what kind of car I have. I would drive a clunker as long as it gets me to my next destination. My clothes would still consist of sweats, pajamas and work clothes. I don’t plan on becoming a stuck up socialite and I would get even larger if I quit working. I love my current job of companionship with the elderly as well as offering light house cleaning and cooking services. This is my dream and I think it would fit in with my life well.

My Latest Book

     I realize that it's been awhile since I've checked in, but the holiday season is a busy time for me. I at least found the time in my busy schedule to finish my latest project, Trapped In Skorggatory. It is available on lulu.com and will make a wonderful gift for those of you who knew my brother. It is also great fictional reading for those of you who didn't know him.


     My latest composition is about a young man names Stephen Columbus who decided to take his own life. To this day we are unsure why. He finds himself facing judgment in the afterlife and starts to understand that he has put himself in a hellish cycle of death and reincarnation. He starts out as an Indian warrior in his first life and after committing suicide, he is caught up in every major U.S. war as a solder. As you travel through his many lives, you not only see why he has set himself on this path of destruction, but you also feel some of the struggles he has had to face and the horror associated with war.

     The most disturbing life he had to face was during World War One as a lesbian nurse. Since all of his other incarnations he was a man, facing the emotional turmoil of war and seeing the men cut up was emotionally shattering. He also starts to see God's plan in all of this as the Lord lets him know that he is a forgiving God. The only way to break the cycle is to live a full life dedicated to God and so, God assures him that he will be helped.

     Stephen is born once again as a baby boy. You are then taken through a brief glimpse of his young life before his parents move to the United States. On his first day in their new home, little Stevie is stung by a bee and suffers an allergic reaction. He does not die but tragically falls into a coma. From this point on, you find out how what God's plan is and how he will help him.

     This book is a fictional account of my dear brother's life based on a true story. I have included actual facebook notes and blogs I've written while our family was suffering with our loss. All the notes and obituary are real and only the names have been changed to help protect my families identities. So please check it out and may God be with all of you.