ANOTHER IDEA I HAVE FOR WRITING MY NEXT BOOK

Photo courtesy of praxiscenterforaestheticstudies.com

I HAVE SOMETHING TO ADMIT…

I have not started working on my next book at all.

I haven’t even written any outlines whatsoever.

Not word one.

Basically because of life in general and being busy with that;

I haven’t really found the time to sit down for a significant length of such and do an outline and background of the characters and scene, as it requires lots of time at one setting for that.

That doesn’t mean that my mind hasn’t had ideas, however;

Remember when I mentioned how two of my ideas for a second book were,

• A guy on the autism spectrum who’s simply a social failure in the neurotypical mainstream world who finds out about a place made for people on the spectrum, goes there, and is not only accepted, but flourishes, and…
• A futuristic story about America being embroiled in a Second Civil War based on political, social, and cultural philosophies and views, i.e., liberal, “Black Lives Matter” types vs far right wing conservative supporters of the former President-Whose-Name-I-Do-Not-Mention-On-This-Blog

Well,

When I go to bed at night, to help me go to sleep I create stories and scenarios in my head; essentially telling myself bedtime stories that I imagine.

Lately I’ve had this scenario/outline of a story pop into my gray matter as I try to wind down and sleep…

In a not-that-distant future, the United States, realizing once and for all that the polarization and pronounced animosity between liberals and conservatives is too overwhelming for the country to ever unify, ends and partitions itself into three separate countries, the liberal factions taking the Northeast and West Coast while the South, Midwest, and much of the Rockies go to the conservatives.

In the conservative nation, which I have an idea to call it the Columbian States of America, the clock is pretty much turned back 100 years as far as issues pertaining to race, gender, class, and socioeconomic status as the saying “He who is a conservative and has the gold, rules” rules the day with its one party status; meaning abortion, unions, and equal rights for anyone who isn’t white, wealthy and male are more or less non-existent as even the moderate conservatives are lacking of rights.

Meanwhile, the liberal countries – I’m calling the West Coast nation the Republic of Pacifica while I’m not sure what to call the northeast country yet – are likewise a one-party nation but are not free of problems and issues; crime, drug abuse, extremely high taxes and prices to things like gas and housing, homelessness, and general lack of funding and red tape blocking anything significant from getting accomplished.

Those scenarios, at least for now, set up the story, which is this:

A young African-American male in his 20s from the conservative nation, who is on the spectrum, is in a really terrible state;

He’s getting treated very badly by too many people because of the color of his skin as segregation, harassment by law enforcement and other authorities, denial of services like being refused service in stores due to color, ethnicity and/or gender, legalization and encouragement of people of color being called racial epithets, including blacks being called the “N” word, and (not literal, but virtual in the form of various programs reminiscent of the sharecropping era) slavery has been re-established in many parts of that new right wing country.

Not only that, he’s not being treated too well by his fellow Blacks either due to his being on the spectrum and behaving in a way that is seen by too many as strange, resulting in him being bullied, taken advantage of, and being called a “Goofy Mark” for the bulk of his life.

In fact, he doesn’t have any real friends, or anyone who really cares about him, at all.

His family is dead (I’m not yet sure how), and he’s at the very end of his rope to the point where he tries suicide after trying to get a job and not only being called the “N” word as he gets turned down, he gets chased by bigoted thugs who want to hurt him if not outright kill him.

After he escapes the bigots, that’s the last straw for him as he finds a bridge to jump off of when he hears someone get his attention, asking for help.

A prominent tool of my writing trade. Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com

It’s a young, olive-skinned, dark-haired, mixed ethnic-type lady who tells him of a place where he can go and feel safe and flourish; not in the Republic of Pacifica or the northeast country, but somewhere far north in what’s known as Canada.

They set off, walking, taking buses and trains, and hiding in various places reminiscent of the Underground Railroad of the pre-Civil War 1800s, seeing all kinds of spectacular scenery while not only becoming friends, but growing closer on the way to becoming more than friends, especially after the young lady sees him doing some very nice things like feeding some stray animals.

As they get closer to their destination, the guy, while sleeping in their shared tent, wakes up and sees the lady praying for food (they are running out) and suddenly beginning to shine in a very bright light while an abundance of food appears.

The young lady, now decked in a bright white robe, turns out to be an angel who was sent to look after him on their journey as she tells him,

“Now you know what I am.”

When they reach their destination, a town where there is incredibly no crime, racism, or any of the ills of society whatsoever where it turns out that the town is run by angels like the young lady.

“No, this is not Heaven,” the young lady tells him when he asks, “But it’s pretty close as it’s just a tiny hint of what Heaven is like.”

The biggest twist in this story idea is the fact that the young man and the angel fall completely in love, even going on what turns out to be a wonderful date that solidifies in concrete how they feel for each other, but of course the angel is not allowed to be with him and she’s very upset about that, telling her fellow angels “I love him!” as she sheds tears.

Finally, she’s given a choice;

• She can be with the young man, but she has to give up being an angel and become human
• She can remain an angel, but she has to return to Heaven and can never see the guy again – at least until he dies, and even then they can never be a couple

When she tells the young man of her options, he tells her,

“I’ll make up your mind for you; I can’t let you give up being what you are just to be with me. I’m not important enough or worthy enough for that.”

So they split up amongst tears, a big hug, and her kissing him on his cheek.

But a few days later, he hears a knock on his door.

It’s the angel, who tells him with a smile, “It’s not your decision!” as she not only kisses and hugs him in complete happiness, she produces a ring and asks him to marry her, saying that his humility in telling her to not be with him because he didn’t feel that he was worthy tipped the scales.

Which of course he accepts, her telling him that she can remain an angel after she was so sad after returning to Heaven, God telling her, “I want you to be happy,” in letting her be with him, also informing her that she is still needed as an angel.

At the wedding reception, someone brings news of a devastating Second Civil War that destroys all three countries in the former U.S., the young man, although sad at that development, thanking God for blessing him to be where he is and for his now-wife.

And of course they both live, proverbially speaking, “Happily Ever After”.

You know what?

I think I have just written a first draft – a VERY ROUGH first draft – of my story outline!

But in stating the obvious, that’s all that I have for now as this is still a very, VERY rough idea whose details can well change.

It’s all a matter of finding the time to sit down and really work on this outline, story background, and the development of the characters.

I’m convinced this idea comes from the fact that since I’ve never been in any kind of romantic relationship in real life, I’ll create one in book form as the young man is kind of (but not completely) based on me.

I’m very much interested in finding out what everyone thinks of this idea for my next book.

Please let me know in the comments…

What the first draft of my for book, “WALKING ON EGGSHELLS”, looked like (sort of). Photo courtesy of hayimoshkyblog.com

CALIFORNIA RECALL THWARTED: My Thoughts On Gavin Newsom Remaining The Governor

What California voters did to decide if there should be a new governor. Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

GOP CONSERVATIVES FAIL TO OUST NEWSOM

As it turned out, maybe I shouldn’t have been as concerned as I was regarding the possibility of Larry Elder becoming the next Governor of my home state.

(BY THE WAY: I changed my mind about not regarding Elder by name)

IN CASE YOU WERE ON MARS OR SOME OTHER PLANET AND MISSED IT:

The recall to try and remove Gavin Newsom as the chief executive of California failed.

And it wasn’t even close;

65.1% of my state’s electorate voted a resounding NO on the question of should Newsom be removed as Governor, with a mere 34.9% of the people voting to dump him and replace him with Elder, who got 45.7% of the votes among the 46 candidates on the ballot to take Newsom’s place.

Much like the opinion of pretty much everyone else,

I think it was Elder’s stances on climate, immigration, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent vaccination and mask mandate efforts, and his views on women, particularly women in the workforce,

That woke this state’s liberals and the bulk of the Democrat population – which outnumbers California’s Republicans by a margin of two to one – up and got them to the polls.

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Barack Obama campaigning for Newsom certainly didn’t hurt, either.

I was surprised when last week at my condominium complex, someone hung a banner from his patio saying, “RECALL NEWSOM – VOTE ELDER”, being that I live in Culver City.

Which is located in the Westside of Los Angeles.

Which has LONG been VERY well-known as the bluest part of one of the bluest areas in a what’s widely acknowledged as the bluest state in this country.

It was a tiny bit shocking, actually, a (seemingly) far right conservative living in my neck of the woods,

Much like it would be if I, being an African-American who considers himself as a solid Democrat with a level of liberalism that I would rate as a two out of five five being an extreme far right conservative and one being a far left liberal,

Were living in rural Alabama or Mississippi or some other deep red state among far right supporters of former President You-Know-Who (that’s right, I’m still refusing to mention his name on this blog) and members of the Ku Klux Klan.

Apparently that guy who hung the banner in my complex saw the writing on the wall in a crystal clear fashion, because that banner was gone by the end of the weekend before the election.

Anyhow,

When I saw the recall election being called for Newsom to stay as Governor on KTLA Channel 5’s coverage, it of course put a smile on my face and a fist in the air.

As well as saying these two words at my TV screen…

“BYE LARRY!”

Yes, I know that California’s political scene has probably not seen the last of that so-called “Sage of South Central”, as he has indicated that he is strongly considering a run for the Governor’s office in Sacramento in 2022.

However,

Being that the population of California overwhelmingly leans liberal and Democratic, namely in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Areas in the grand tradition of,

“As goes L.A. and the Bay Area, so goes the state,”

And being that Elder – or whoever ends up as the GOP candidate in the General Election a little over a year from now – now needs a majority of a general populace that has voted blue for years to unseat Newsom,

Though anything can happen,

I’m confident about the likelihood of Newsom being re-elected for another four years in the Governor’s seat.

That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have MUCH work to do, as homelessness, wildfires, and the ever increasing inability of middle class folks to afford decent housing are issues in which Newsom needs to make significant progress.

Now.

In the meantime…

I am both glad and relieved that we won’t be seeing an Elder Administration.

I am also looking forward to seeing what Newsom will do to increase housing for the homeless, and make housing for the middle class more affordable, among other things.

Because though the people overwhelmingly voted for him to remain the Governor,

A message was also sent that many are unhappy about the way things are going in too many areas.

At least, that’s how I would be seeing it I were on that recall ballot.

I think I’ll end this post with this message for the man who was trying to oust or Governor and ultimately make this state of mine like Texas and Florida, particularly as far as the coronavirus/vaccine/mask issues…

“BYE LARRY!”

THE WINNER AND STILL GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: Gavin Newsom at a pre-recall election rally. Photo courtesy of newsweek.com

MY 20th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION OF SEPTEMBER 11th

A shot of the World Trade Center Twin Towers being attacked with the Brooklyn Bridge in the foreground. Photo courtesy of internationalbusinesstimes.com

WHAT I WAS DOING ON THAT TRAGICALLY FATEFUL DAY (and other thoughts and memories regarding those attacks on the World Trade Center)

CLICHE ALERT COMING UP…

Twenty years sure goes by fast.

Much like John F. Kennedy’s assassination and Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins landing on the moon, as everybody remembers where they were when significant events like that happened,

Those nineteen members of Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda flying those planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and being thwarted from crashing into Capitol Hill in D.C. by those passengers on Flight 93 in rural Pennsylvania is definitely no exception to that notion.

Everyone alive back then remembers where they were on that Tuesday morning of September 11th;

Or, at the least, I’m absolutely sure that everyone knows where they were and what they were doing on that day.

Here’s where I was and what I was doing…

The 9-11 Twin Towers Memorial in New York City. Photo courtesy of woondu.com

I was living in Culver City, CA and in my third year working as a Physical Education teacher at Farragut Elementary School, which was/is located down the street and around the corner from my house; it was quite convenient to get there as it was a ten to fifteen minute walking distance between my home and the school.

I wish I can talk about something spectacular that happened that day,

But it was truthfully an uneventful school day as it was the second week of school and to be honest, I don’t remember everything as far as what I exactly did;

I was most likely getting the first graders acclimated to the routines of P.E. class – warm-up exercises, running a lap – before partaking in whatever activity we were partaking in.

I was also most likely setting up temporary squads with my other classes and doing various activities that I unfortunately have no recollection of what they exactly were.

The only references to what happened in New York, D.C., and Pennsylvania at Farragut was when someone in the teacher’s lounge mentioned that morning that the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were attacked,

And when a fellow P.E. teacher brought little American flags to me and my other P.E. colleague; I still have those flags to this day.

To make a long story short, I went about my day in teaching my classes and went home, just like any other day.

When I got home, I asked my brother to turn on the TV in the living room, which is where I got the details of that historical tragedy from the towers blowing up to people jumping off of such, and everything in between.

One thing I do remember was thinking how I wasn’t shocked beyond belief like practically everyone else, as it wasn’t as if those fundamentalist extremist Muslims had never attacked U.S. buildings before; a truck full of explosives crashed into that same World Trade Center eight years earlier.

And I knew that Bin Laden and the rest of those Muslim terrorists hated America, American democracy, and democracy in general, seeing us as “The Great Satan” for our supporting Israel, imposing sanctions on Iraq, having troops in Saudi Arabia, and what they saw as general immorality in the U.S.

The other thing that I remember about September 11th is something that happened eleven days later that I was a part of.

I was at UCLA’s football game vs. Ohio State at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and being that all the sporting events were postponed the week before, it was obviously a big deal as I knew that much like at every other major sporting event in the country, my alma mater’s Bruins and the Buckeyes were going to do something during the pregame festivities in remembrance of the 2,996 people who died eleven days before.

Sure enough, there was a big moment of silence; the cheerleaders from both UCLA and Ohio State joined hands together in solidarity, there were a lot of American flags in the large crowd, and in the middle of the moment of silence someone – I think it was an Ohio State fan – screamed loud enough for every one of the 73,723 fans who were there to hear…

“GOD BLESS AMERICA, YEAH!!”

I must admit, I got a tiny bit choked up over that.

By the way, I learned from some Ohio State fans sitting near me what a Buckeye was – a nut native to the state of Ohio.

And UCLA ended up winning the game 13-6.

That’s pretty much what I remember from that fateful day and what – along with this COVID-19 pandemic – is arguably the biggest event that has happened in the 21st century (at least to date).

I know there will be a lot of commemorations regarding what happened that morning in 2001;

I’ve been watching Spike Lee’s documentary on such, called “NYC EPICENTERS 9/11 – 2021 1/2” on HBO;

It’s really good; I recommend it.

Even though it pales on a pronounced scale to what will be seen and heard over the next three days and especially this coming Saturday, which will be the actual twenty years to the day mark,

Consider this my commemoration to 9-11.

#WeWillAlwaysRemember

The Freedom Tower in New York City, which replaced the Twin Towers. Photo courtesy of blogspot.com

A MESSAGE TO MY FELLOW CALIFORNIANS REGARDING THIS RECALL ELECTION

I don’t think any description is necessary here. Photo courtesy of outsidethebeltway.com

SOMETHING I WANT TO SAY THAT I BELIEVE IS CRUCIAL

As we all know…

In the middle of this month, my home state of California will be essentially voting for it’s future, its direction, and its fate.

On the surface, being that Democrats and liberals outnumber Republicans and conservatives in California two to one, the attempt to recall Governor Gavin Newsom seems like it will probably fail and that Newsom will remain in the governor’s office in Sacramento for the remainder of his term.

However,

The operative words are on the surface.

Because I’m about to make a statement that I think people deep down already know, a statement regarding something that deeply concerns me…

Even though he has barely more than 20% of the votes in the polls,

Larry Elder, the ultra-conservative radio host who’s the leader among the candidates vying to replace Newsom, can win this recall election.

(BY THE WAY: This post will be the only time I’ll regard Elder by name, as future posts will refer to him in the same way I referred and still refer to our former President-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named).

Newsom needs 50% of this recall vote to stay in office, and at this moment that’s not a 100,000% guarantee.

Which is a great cause for concern for me because of what an Elder administration would mean.

Simply put,

The only difference between Elder and former President You-Know-Who – who he has claimed as being more extreme than – is the color of their skin.

This so-called “Sage of South Central” does not care about anyone’s well-being except for those who wholeheartedly agree with him and his views.

He doesn’t feel that COVID-19 is that big a deal and will subsequently not allow the testing, mask, and vaccine mandates that I feel are sorely need to combat and end this pandemic sooner rather than later; apparently (at least in my opinion) he’s not opposed to the “thinning out the herd” philosophy in which if people die, it’s unfortunate but that’s the way it goes.

He doesn’t see climate change as too big a deal either, calling concern about such alarmism.

He doesn’t believe there should be a minimum wage, which will make poverty in California worse.

He has not only allegedly brandished a gun on his ex-fiance, he has shown his misogyny in writing that women “…know less about political issues, economics, and current affairs” than men and suggesting that the women who took part in the 2017 Women’s March were obese and unattractive, as well as endorsing discrimination against pregnant women by employers.

In other words, people who are not one or a combination of these following attributes…

• White
• Wealthy
• Conservative
• Heterosexual
• Christian
• Male

Will suffer under Elder.

And as for the COVID-19 pandemic, California will become Texas and Florida with cases and deaths skyrocketing.

Which is why I’m imploring everyone with a compassionate heart the following:

A Larry Elder administration in Sacramento must not happen.

PLEASE vote NO on the recall!

Granted,

If (GOD FORBID!) Elder does become governor,

He won’t be able to achieve all that much because of a super Democrat majority in the state legislature that will undoubtedly vote down and stop his proposals;

He will find out that he’s not King of California and be able to do whatever he wants.

And he will also most likely not be governor for long, as the overwhelmingly liberal Democratic majority in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, who politically run the state as in “As goes L.A. and San Francisco, so goes California”, will make sure he’s ousted in the 2022 elections.

But though I can’t speak for anyone else,

I do NOT want a situation like that.

And as I said, it could happen; I remember documentary film maker Michael Moore stating on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher that You-Know-Who could win the 2016 Presidential Election, which I and many others didn’t believe.

And we all know how that turned out.

That’s precisely the reason why those who would see Elder in the governor’s office as a significantly deep tragedy need to vote NO on the recall.

Gavin Newsom MUST get at least 50% of the vote.

I would be devastated if he doesn’t.

I suppose that’s all I have to say about that.

And I suppose it’s in God’s hands.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, whose chances to remain in office after September 14th are not a slam dunk. Photo courtesy of bnews.mundodeharleck.com

The skyline of Santa Monica – where I grew up – taken from the Santa Monica pier…