Friday, July 24, 2020

July Open Spaces 20.7

Open Spaces
Vol.:  20.7       7-25-2020
By John W. Vander Velden
 
Greetings from our home in Northern Indiana,

Another month is nearing its conclusion and time has come again for these few words to be sent your way. It is my hope that July, as strange as it has been, has brought opportunities, new perhaps, different surely, but opportunities all the same.

My dearest, Jackie, is, as I have surely mentioned before, an essential worker within the healthcare profession. We have had our own challenges because of her obligations in caring for others. Finally Jackie has been allowed to take a few extra days off. A necessary respite from her normal life. Considering what she has been through over these last months, this time away has been more than necessary, it has been vital.

Yet we have remained vigilant these few days of near-to-home-escape. We have taken social distancing and other precautions very seriously. Wearing our face coverings (masks) in all public situations and avoiding places that MIGHT include larger groups.

A trip to a Shades State Park made for a long day but we savored the time hiking, surrounded by the grandness of God’s creation. We also did a few other visits to the kind of places we love close to home, always conscious of doing our part during this crisis.

That is the point I hope to make today. Each of us has a part to play in this world we share. Our actions affect more than ourselves and the small circle of family and acquaintances. What we do has an impact on so many others. It is therefore up to each of us to share the burden in ANY way we can. To make those little changes that are able to make BIG differences.

So I wear a mask, I keep my distance, and though I would love to reach out and touch each of you, I will not. Not because I do not like you, but because I love you. Small things that might make a difference. And the possibilities of making things LESS bad, is, to me in any case, better than going on as if nothing has changed.

For my dear friends Covid-19 has changed many things!

Now for a bit of news about my writing.

I am four to six weeks from beginning a major revise on the book length story. I finished that first draft in May and set it aside for these months in order to have “fresher” eyes when I take on the momentous task of revision. A rather long draft, it will take months to pour over it trying to take off a bit of the manuscript’s roughness.

In the interim, my writing time has been trimmed by summer’s demands. Between the grass’ plea to be lowered and bushes that need to be wacked (a little off the top and sides please), I have been working on a standalone story. During these two and a half months I have managed to add nearly ninety pages to that tale, but likely will not finish the draft before I must return to the marinating pages that have been waiting.

Also I hope to have another Virtual Author’s Event, a video, soon. It will be posted on my Facebook Author’s Page and on YouTube as well. This one will be my seventh short video and I will talk about setting and give a short reading. For the curious I will send an e-mail link.

So I come to the end of this month’s note to you, my dear friends. It is my hope that you remain well. That the challenges you face do not overwhelm. That you have been able to make special memories this summer.

Take care, and may God bless you in all your goings on, in your home, and may He bless the lives of all those you love dearly.

John
Author of the Misty Creek Saga   

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