Posted by There’s no way around it:
The world is in chaos. Cities are on fire. A virus still circles above every country and every population. People are divided for a plethora of reasons. Unjust actions continue to happen.
Do we have the “right” to talk about books and movies and cute animals?
In a word – yes.
Unfortunately, situations like this are not new. For decades, nay, centuries, people have been witness of man’s inhumanity to man. Disease and plagues have withered the masses through a variety of manifestations. Hate, prejudice, and distrust of fellow human beings has always been prevalent. We should continue to fight against this, but I believe it will always exist.
Books, cinema, and television are ripe with expressions of rage and stories about what is happening around us. They can also be a great escape for when we need a respite from our exhaustion. It is here that we as writers can help. We can provide that much needed escapism – in all manner of ways. Fantasy, sci-fi, horror, romance, poetry, etc – the list goes on forever.
I feel like I am preaching to the choir. Of course you know all of this. But it’s good to say it, to type it, to remind ourselves that we all need a break from time to time.
I have 11 chapters left on my 2nd round of revisions for Rage. Our computer was not behaving, so we had to take it in (many times). If not for that, I likely could have been done, but…it is what it is…and here we are.
I also have to go back to work at Milner Library on June 8. Not looking forward to that, but it puts me a little closer to that retirement goal date of July 1, 2021. I’ve heard folks say that they don’t know what they’ll do with themselves when they retire. I don’t think I’ll have that issue! 🙂
As of late, I’ve seen Uncut Gems (I am NOT a fan of Adam Sandler, so I was surprised how much I liked this one), and Waco (the Netflix series). I’d recommend both of these. We also started watching The Mighty Boosch and after one episode, I refused to watch any further! (Charlie liked it. I did not! LOL) The disks went right back to Netflix!
And our yard is doing special things!
Take care. Stay safe! Keep washing those hands!
Sue
Sue Rovens 
Wishing you well when you return to work. I’m coming up on my second week of having returned to my office. It’s a different environment than before but good to see the friends and coworkers I missed.
You are so lucky to have a retirement date only a little over a year away. Lucky you! I don’t think I’ll want for a means to keep busy either, but I still have several years to go. Stay safe! Let’s pray the insanity gripping the world passes.
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Totally agree on the world right now. I’ve never seen anything like this before (I was only 4 when the Chicago Riots of ’68 happened), so I’m trying to wrap my head around everything.
As for retiring – oh yeah! I feel like I have senior-itis! 🙂
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Listening to the news about the protests, demonstrations, riots, I remembered the protests, demonstrations, and riots in the late 1960’s. Nothing has changed. My nephew (who will be 59 in August) emailed “Listening to the news, I’m having childhood flashbacks: riots, civil unrest, violence, the space program in its prime.” I’m 68. This is like deja vu. I’ve seen it all before.
As far as retiring, if you’re writing, and I hope you continue to write, you technically aren’t retired. I resent it very much when at one of our mini-reunions, one of my classmates says, “we’re all retired.” I’ve worked very hard to get to the point in my life when I can spend more time writing. Why would I want to give it up now simply because I’ve reached a certain age?
Sue, I love your blog!
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Thank you so much, Amanda! As I stated, this entire year is beyond reason. And yes, I plan on continuing my writing – I’m working on novel #4 now and hopefully, it will be out sometime next year.
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I completely agree about needing a break, Sue – cute pics of fluffy kittens will always lessen the load. Sandler is hit or miss for me, and hubby and I watched Uncut Gems – thought he did a surprisingly good job in the role, but we were meh about the movie. Hope things go well with your return to work!
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Thanks! We need to start preparing for waking up at 6:20am and NOT going to bed at 2:30am! LOL.
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