janchristensen

One part of healthcare reform is now apparently a dead issue because of misrepresentation and lies regarding the counseling of patients about end-of-life care and advanced directives. This counseling is not only about the elderly but for any patient who wishes to document an advanced directive. Those opposing this clause failed to realize they are cutting off any discussion about organ donation. In some states, this allows folks to sign up on the state donor registry which makes this binding donor consent. Family or surrogate decision makers cannot override this and do not have to be asked for consent.

Of course this is a hot button for me since my daughter has had two kidney transplants, and there's a strong possibility she'll need at least one more during her lifetime. But this can happen to anyone, and the list for those needing a transplanted kidney is very, very long. We need more people willing to donate their organs after they die.

I do not at all mind good, honest discussion about the issues. But when something is defeated because of outright lies, I get both furious and deeply upset. Is this the way American politics is headed? Where is truth in advertisement, and where is the demand for those who are speaking about political issues to speak the truth?

Those who lied about this issue and so many others ought to be deeply ashamed of themselves. And they ought to be held accountable. I guess since "Thou shalt not lie" is not in the Ten Commandments, certain Christians, especially those in politics, think it's okay.

Senator Johnny Isakson (R), Georgia, proposed the "end of life" provision to the health care reform that would allow patients to consult with their physicians about living wills, or "end of life" decisions. Isakson was a co-sponsor of the same provision to Medicare in 2007. He was trying to help his constituents by allowing patients to be reimbursed for meeting with their doctors to discuss living wills.
Iskason was asked, "How did this become a question of euthanasia?"
ISAKSON: I have no idea. I understand — and you have to check this out — I just had a phone call where someone said Sarah Palin’s web site had talked about the House bill having death panels on it where people would be euthanized. How someone could take an end of life directive or a living will as that is nuts. You’re putting the authority in the individual rather than the government. I don’t know how that got so mixed up. It empowers you to be able to make decisions at a difficult time rather than having the government making them for you.

Saturday we left Kerrville and headed for Arlington, Texas. We arrived mid-afternoon and went to our site at the campground. Called the "kids," got set up.

The "kids" came over Sunday and we caught up with them. Monday decided to check on something online about my ancestors, and I ended up researching the genealogy until late that night, barely stopping for lunch and supper. What an addictive pastime that is, especially using the internet. I'm looking for Putnams (found them all, I think), Taylors (starting with Charles S.), and Lutolfs. I'm also a Shed/Shedd, but I have the book, so they're pretty much covered. Those Taylors and Lutolfs are hard, though, and I look for them every so often to see if anything is updated. I found some more info on some of "my" Putnams--census notes. Found out one was a bobbin maker, another young woman worked in a notions store, and a young man in a candy store. Two may also have participated in the Salem Witch trials as accusers! I have to look into that a bit more, but I know they all lived in either Salem or Salem's Village, so it's a strong possibility. Not something I really want to claim went on in my family, but what can you do?

The rest of the week was spent doing quite a bit of writing stuff, and I'm happy about that. I also went to the dentist on Tuesday and am sure glad that's done!


Today we spent the afternoon with the "kids" again and had a wonderful time.

Life is good!

Fulltime RVing is a compromise between having too much stuff and having enough space to turn around in the coach. The other day I found a very handy, pretty, cute item at Dillard's--a stacking creamer and sugar bowl (with lid) in crystal. I love crystal and used to collect many items, now almost all in storage. When we moved into the motorhome, though, I forgot to bring a set (I have several sets in crystal, plus a set to match my china which I did bring--four place settings). I found a really neat set in an antique shop--they are both diamond shaped and have an intricate pattern, and bought them. But they are hard to store and take up a lot of room. The other day I saw this stacking set at Dillard's, and decided it would sit very nicely right on my counter next to my glass coffee mug. And it does.

I've looked on-line for almost an hour, and I cannot find a picture of this set.

If you don't like crystal, here's another option, but no lid:

http://www.goantiques.com/scripts/images,id,230628.html

Meanwhile, I've packed up even more things, including the other creamer and sugar bowl in a box to take to our storage unit in Arlington, Texas. You can never have enough storage, but you can certainly have too many things.

On the writing front, I finished going through, again, the novel I'm shopping to agents, tweaking it here and there. Now I'm finishing a short story, editing another, and writing on another novel set in Newport, Rhode Island.

We are at a rally in Kerrville, Texas, and enjoying ourselves. One day will be quite cool, the next warm. We leave tomorrow for Arlington.

Until next time, remember:

A successful life doesn't result from chance, but is the succession of successful days.

I have been working on getting together a list of literary agents I think might want to work with me to get one of my mystery novels published. I made up a table in M.S.Word and ranked the agents, worked hard on a good (I hope) query letter, went through the novel one last time, and yesterday I sent out seven letters via email.

This morning I found one rejection in my inbox. Already. That's how fast it can happen.

I belong to Sisters-in-Crime, and they have an email list called the Guppies. If you join that list, you can also join one called AgentQuest. And there I have found many, many helpful people who are also searching for agents, and some who have recently found one. Everyone is so giving of their time to help one another hone their query letter and to cheer them on.

http://www.sistersincrime.org/

I have also been reading Miss Snark's blog:

http://misssnark.blogspot.com/

I am wondering if having 37 short stories published will be of any help (I mentioned this in my letter). I wonder if being in an upcoming anthology edited by Ed Gorman will help (I mentioned this in the letter as well). I wonder if having another book already published by a small, independent publisher will help. The help I mean is to get my manuscript even read. That's the first hard part of this enterprise. Next, if it's read, the agent has to "love" it.

Am I nervous? You bet.

Here's a fascinating link I found today about monkey's possibly using sentences to communicate:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2185477,00.html

An added bonus is that the putty-nosed monkey pictured is adorable--it looks as if he's smiling, and I love his name--so descriptive.

This type of information has always fascinated me, and as a writer, I find it even more interesting.

So, this blog has become another chore, another thing I should be doing.

Am I spitting into the wind? Is this helping me or anyone else in any way at all?

Of course, it could be argued that it's too early to tell.

But another friend of mine has started a blog, so of course I decided I should enter something in mine today. Was I doing anything else important? Not really.

I have divorced my publisher. He was supposed to have my second book out last June, and by March of this year, it hadn't happened. I asked for a release and the rights back to "Sara's Search." Fortunately, he gave them back. I suppose I'm out some royalities, but who can tell? The entity that prints the books will not tell the author how many have been printed because that info is between the publisher and the printer. It's always the author who gets the shaft.

So, enough whining. I've been working on a short story, and it's been fun. I've been sending out queries to agents, and that's not so much fun but has to be done.

And I am grateful for a loving husband and three quite satisfactory children and one grandson. If you have that much, there's not a lot more you need, after all.

Well, except maybe a million-dollar contract with the right NY publisher.

And I don't know why the librarian didn't show up here where I thought it should. Obviously, I did something wrong. He's on my website--gives you a reason to go there.

And that's enough for today. I always go on too long.

I've been thinking about talent lately. I suspect that every individual has a particular talent; probably more than one.

Many don't even know which ones they have if they haven't tried different things. These, of course, are called hidden talents.

But how many of us have talents we know about but let languish?

Back in grammar school, I started playing the violin, and teacher and parents and others decided I had a lot of musical talent. But I didn't like playing the violin that much, so I didn't practice nearly enough, and I gave it up when I was a senior in high school. I still love music, but I'd rather listen than create it myself.

I suspect I have a slight or maybe more than slight talent for creative writing. Having over thirty short stories published sort of verifies that, I think. But again, I don't work at it hard enough. I feel that I have wasted an awful lot of time NOT writing when I should have been. Is this some sort of personal defect? There are all sorts of programs out there to help overcome this sort of thing. The trouble is, they are written by people, it seems to me, who are already extremely high achievers. They may struggle with procrastination and lack of motivation for a few minutes or so, but it seems they achieve an awful lot in their lives. And they can tell us exactly how they do it.

But I also know a lot of people who do not work up to their potential or who squander their talents on small things instead of going for the gold. Why is this? Is it in our genes? Upbringing? Environment? Our school system which seems to lock-step everyone into one mold?

Another thing the schools and society does to children is to insist that if they are going into the arts that they aim for the highest, fine arts. I wanted to learn to play popular music, for example, when in school. But I was only taught classical (also known now as dead white men) music. If I'd taken creative writing courses in college, the aim would have been for literary writing--no genre writing allowed. This may have changed in the past few years, but only in the past few years. There are millions of us who went through this system of the adults "knowing" what was best to teach us, with no deviation. I even asked to take piano lessons with a teacher who apparently would and did teach some people to play popular music. But again, all she wanted me to learn was classical stuff.

This is getting too long, so next time I'm going to talk about the satisfaction of having talent recognized. And the agony of not having it recognized.

A great link which has some bearing on what I'm writing about above:

http://www.stevepavlina.com/index.htm

I have been so busy that I've been neglecting this already. I tried to answer the comments from my first entry, but when I got to the second one, nothing went right. It put the comment below the third one. I will try again in a few minutes. So, I am not neglecting those who commented, only having some problems.

Here is a fascinating link. Probably a bit macabre, but I am, after all, a mystery writer:

http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/cog_blureffects/index.html

Be sure to scroll down to get everything.

I hope you like this pic here of The Librarian. Isn't he wonderful?

And to read a story of mine just now published at Mysterical-e, go here:

http://mystericale.com/current_issue/happy_christmas.htm

I'm going to sign off for now, answer those comments, and try again another day! Hope this goes through. Wish me luck!

Current Mood: artistic

Today is a wonderful day because most of my small, immediate family is here in the motorhome which is parked in Texas right now--two daughters, son-in-law, and grandson. Missing is son, but he will be here tomorrow when we will all celebrate Christmas early so that daughter, son-in-law and grandson can travel back to Utah.

My daughter has helped me set up this journal where I hope to write about writing, and do some interviews of other writers I know, and do some rants about what's going on in the world that could be better, and talk about our travels as we go, and anything else I can think of.

So, stay tuned. And to learn more about me now, simply visit my website:

www.janchristensen.com

Quote: "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." --Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849), "Eleonora"