This has been a week from Hell. But it’s now Sunday, and an appropriate day to give thanks. Perhaps every day is the same, but I’m getting it in because friends need to know how much they mean to me. Even one who is annoyed at me right now. I will come back to my old self soon. Just give me a little time, darlin’.
All these are writer friends for some reason. They have been friends for a year to many, many years. One is a musician and my oldest friend. Most of them show up on this blog, either with comments or smack on the blog face. I couldn’t write this damn blog without their support. Or their friendship.
MaryMargaret (shia) is my rock. Her heart is enormous, her counsel steadfast and good, and I wake most mornings with her email telling me to get up and shake a leg. She offers up much for the souls in purgatory, being a good Catholic, and she makes me laugh. I have such a fine friend in Mary. I can’t remember what life was like before her. We have spent lots of money on phone calls, but we try to curb that right now because of economics….When the economy recovers we will be burning up the lines again.
If Mary is my rock, Nick is my staff. Nick has been a heavy writing influence in my life. He has been a constant for over 2.5 years, and we both have grown in this time as writers. Nick is also a fabulous musician, and produced “Angel Factory”, composed all by him and all instruments played by him. It is one of my very favorite cds and I am going to about wear it out, but he promises to send me another.
Angie is half my age, with twice my sense. She is another rock and a real Southern woman…notice I didn’t write ‘lady’. She has too much energy and vigor and she’s a fighter. Once she crashes on vampires, I think she will be the new Faulkner. Angie is one of the most generous writers I know…always pushing me towards publishing, always getting me opinions and resources.
Phil is a very special friend. If Mary is my rock, Phil is my mountain…Snowdon comes to mind. His voice is hypnotic but he knows that. He calls me frequently from Wales and a day hearing his beautiful voice can change the course of events. He’s pissy at me right now with some reason. I’ll return to my old self soon, Phil…you know how I am. Your friendship is precious, and your advice is golden. We’ll get back to normal..well, as normal as we get.
Rose is my long winded friend, but she is also one that is like a littermate. She has guided my writing, actually likes my poetry! and has been there at the worse of times. I think we have the same mother…in fact I know we do. Rose I love so much that sometimes it hurts. She is just a bit (lol!) younger than I, but she is more like the older sister I never had. And she is an incredible writer. She understands everything.
Bill is another mountain, and one of the funniest men I know. “A Seasoning of Lust” would not be on this earth without his hard work. He stands ready to do Volume II this fall, but he’s also right now writing a blockbuster: “Mortal Turpitude” and it’s a page turner. Bill and Nick are two of the strongest writing influences in my life. He dragged me into eroticrits , our private writing group, just Nick , Bill and I , and it’s a oasis at times for me.
Katie Troutman I adore. I formed “Not Dead Yet”, our main writing group because I wanted to get close to her and learn her tricks. Katie has become an incredible friend and confident. She is an incredible artist, too, doing amazing paintings on gourds and furniture. Katie has walked through Hell with me and I will walk through Hell with her. Come to think of it, every person I mention here has done so. We try to support each other, and they have all taught me more about loyalty and friendship than anything else in my life.
Jerry is a particularly dear friend, of over 40 years in the making. I’ve written about him here before, and that he still tolerates me after all these years speaks of a deep love. That is clear. Jerry is also one of the finest studio musicians around. He can play anything including goat hair.
Ox is the Rabbi of our group. We get our religion and big doses of the Torah from him. We also get commonsense, love and good cheer. He has been writing “Oxnotes” for a year now…maybe longer, and we await his special distillation of his particular Jewish wisdom. Ox worries us when the bombs fall or explode because he is in a particular part of the world that violence is a daily trial. Must worse than Detroit. Ox also is very dear to my heart because he writes much multicultural stories….and is a cheerleader for decency in erotica. Ox, you are a decent man. We are are devoted to you.
Brady is our comedian. He is also a devoted friend. We tease him about adjusting his meds, and he recently had a knee removed, or maybe it was a testicle, we get mixed up. He is very generous with his meds….and we are not picky. A very sentimental man who has personally taught me something about faith. I should listen more, Brady.
Susan is our resident tart! She is courageous in her writing and adventurous in her life. We live through Susan’s exploits. Susan is writing an incredible journal of the last year, and it’s a pot boiler. Excellent writer who we grabbed when she first appeared on the scene. A new, but very charming friend. She’s a keeper.
Margie! Margie isn’t in any writing group, but she’s a fine writer. She also my cousin through almost marriage. I’ve known Margie for many years and I love her dearly.
I almost forgot my best friend: my husband, Fred. For 24 years he has shown himself to be the kindest and calmest man I have ever known. People who know us well wonder if we ever fight..We kind of do, but it doesn’t seem to effect us much. Perhaps we have short attention spans:
“Silent night, holy night, oh look! a froggie! Can I have a cookie? And why is France so far away?”
That about sums up our attention to slights. Where others are mountains, Fred is the lump in the bed, the encompassing warmth that soothes me to sleep, the sharp toenails that rake my ankles…oh! wait, that’s his complaint. But all in all, I am very blessed to be married to such a sexy guy. And a best friend as a husband is golden.
Tonight I love all the above dearly, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get pissy. We just know when to kiss and make up. I guess we have held hands and hearts and we know life throws curves. We got our backs.
There are other friends, but the pill I took for my shoulder is kicking in, it starts with Hydro something and I am getting goofy. I’ll have to ask Brady our resident pusher what it is…but it works!
I am so blessed to know these people and to hear their voices periodically, mostly in loving terms, but also yelling at me when I most need it. But that is the way of love and friendship and as I said,
I am deeply blessed. And I am now going to sleep.
Lady Nyo
Tags: friends, Great Blessings, love and endurance, Not Dead Yet
May 17, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Yes, the comment about “silent night……..why is France so far away?” is what it is like to live with a multi-faceted woman. Sometimes she is going ninety miles an hour, and in that hour she will go half way around the world and back. It can be exhausting but I, and her collage of friends, still love her. In many ways it is we who are blessed to have her, no matter how wacky she is sometimes. We encourage her to keep up the good work.
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May 17, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Wow…you are being nice this morning…was it the breakfast??? The clean sheets?? Your favorite lasagna???
Keep it up and you might get something even better.
Love,
Your wife
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May 18, 2009 at 2:45 am
Wow, I feel so honoured to be the resident tart! I’m been waiting years for that honour. But seriously, I am even more honoured to be your friend and to have been included in the group. I started my book when I joined such a short time ago and its bones are already written because I am inspired by you. You are an extraordinary woman and there’s no doubt you can overcome anything life wants to throw your way, not just because you’ve got great friends but because you’ve got guts, courage and enough sheer bloody mindedness to make lemonade. Good for you! And thanks
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May 18, 2009 at 2:46 am
Malcolm, I remember you pointing that out then, the love of my friends, and I was amazed that they did. It is a source of wonderment to me, because my growth was so truncated at that time and the confusion was like a fog. I was lost about what to do next but I knew where I had been was a deep source of things more dark than anything else.
Having the book to concentrate on was part of the escape and recovery. And having friends like you and the other NDYs was the support I needed to find my way to solid ground. The writings of all of us have taken off, and you, Nick and I as the poetry corner on NDY has been a special joy. It, and they, have brought a lightness and a Light to all of our lives.
I am honored to have such remarkable friends. I am indeed, blessed. We all on NDY are.
Love, Peace and Light!
Jane
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May 18, 2009 at 3:01 am
ROTF!
I wondered whether I should be so bold to call you ‘resident tart’ but, as we know, I meant it as a compliment. You are a good example of a very adventurous women who embraces her total sexuality. I wish I had known you years ago, perhaps I wouldn’t have made these recent mistakes. It got caught up in a darkness I couldn’t maintain mostly because I didn’t fit the form. LOL!
Guts, courage and bloody mindedness are good things, but they need the support of friends …and their loving guidance. I have received all this at NDY, and with so many others….especially in the last 9 months.
Susan, there is so much in life and within our collective friendships that are accounting for all our present growth. We talk about writers working in isolation, but NDY certainly isn’t that at all. The outpouring of your writing, a house a fire, Malcolm’s poetry…Good God that man has amazing energy!…Bill’s “Mortal Turpitude”, Ox’s incredible stories, Nick’s renaissance, Brady’s stories, all of the creativity that is bursting at the seams of NDY….well, it’s amazing.
And our Angie’s publishing success…she’s amazing…and her contract!! Wow.
But it’s the mixture of folk. shia is pumping up, but when you get to know her better, you will find that she is bedrock of incredible psychological insight. There is not one slacker amongst us, and the true blessing on NDY is the constant attention to the creativity abounding.
But the bottom line for me is that I have great friends. You guys collectively pulled me to shore.
Love and Hugs,
Jane….and Lady Nyo
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May 18, 2009 at 3:33 am
I am so honored to be included in this grouping of your friends – “cousin by almost marriage” – perfect description! I confess that reading your blog almost daily has inspired me to try my hand at some poetry. I’ll share one of these days via email!
Love, peace and comfort to you,
Margie
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May 18, 2009 at 11:23 am
Well, Margie…I have come to know your heart and character and it is I who am honored to cuzzle up to you. So many people have died in our families and what remains is so precious to both of us.
This recent rash of articles was unfortunately necessary, but I PROMISE to get back to novel chapters, lighter observations and a lot more poetry.
I am so happy that you are writing poetry, Margie…and I am greedy to see some. Please send to me. Some think that poetry is passe, but I am finding there are a LOT of places for poetry to be published. And that’s some of the good news…
Love and Peace to you, cuz, and you have been a Major source of comfort to me, now and then.
Jane
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May 19, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Thank you! You are a good friend to me. I know we can’t talk as much as we did..lol.. But there will come a time we will again. We have email so that is good.
I help you see the answers you already know, deep down. I just help you bring them to the surface. Actually, it is you who know them.
Take care friend
We need each others support
shia
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May 19, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Your crystal ball is clearing than mine…
LOL@ Mine’s all lumpy.
love you, shia.
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May 19, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Long-winded? Moi?!!!
Rose 😉
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May 22, 2009 at 12:17 am
Rose….extended ink cartridges were made with you in mind.
But your advice (which I fought and stuck around behind and did what I wanted anyway) proved each and every time to be true and valuable.
You know…stubborn Hunkie here.
Sigh….had I listened to you better, closer, I wouldn’t have ended up with a metaphorical foot up my ass.
Or maybe it wasn’t so metaphorical….
LOL!
Jane
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