Open
Spaces
By John W. Vander Velden
Vol, 21.10
October 25, 2021
I have been reminded,
repeatedly, that Halloween is this weekend. Not that I am big into ghosts and
goblins or witches and such, though I have written a spooky stories in the
past. But the approach of Halloween is a certain sign that the month of October
is coming to its conclusion.
Where does the time go?
I suppose that’s a
question we all ask ourselves. Especially those of us that have some frosting
blended within the few strands of upon our heads. Time rushes onward and
carries us along like it or not.
But October’s ending
means we are well into autumn...a season of transitions.
So on this rainy day, we’d gotten most of
three inches overnight, I consider how the summer’s warmth had slid into late
September and most of October. Oh it wasn’t oppressive by any means, just
warmer than usual. I told Jackie just yesterday that we normally get the first
killing frost around the middle of October.
That’s the farmer in me.
But even as November approaches
we haven’t had even a light frost this year. Yet the weather is a changin’. The
leaves are falling and there is no doubt the days are shorter. I am reminded
that each year is different. It helps to keep us on our toes. So enjoy the good
weather days, and bundle up for the others.
Now for a bit of writing
news.
I have finished the first
pass of the editorial revise of my next book. A major task completed. I am,
presently reading With the Sun’s Rising,
the third book of the Misty Creek Saga, out loud to Jackie. It’s her first exposure to this volume and an
opportunity for me to catch errors I have missed. Things like repeated words,
echoes my editor calls them, or opening too many paragraphs with identical
words. I keep my eyes open for “crutch” phrases. Word groups I use far too
often. Fact is each time I read through a manuscript I stumble onto mistakes,
but reading the text out loud, verbalizing the scenes, helps to catch many of
them.
I also have three Author
Events scheduled in the next six weeks. The first is less than two weeks away
on Saturday November 6th from 2:00PM until 4:00PM, hosted by my
friends at La D’zert Café, 401 N. Michigan Street, Plymouth, IN. I am very
excited to once again have the opportunity to meet with readers face to face.
The next events will be
in the Bell Memorial Public Library, downtown Mentone, Indiana on Tuesday
evening, November 16th, 4:30PM – 6:30PM. I love going to libraries,
don’t you? The third will be in Fables Books downtown Goshen, Indiana, on
Friday evening December 3rd 6:00PM until 8:00PM.
If you’re in the area of
any of these events, please stop by.
Well I need to wrap
things up, so let me close with something Eloise Jenkins shares within the
pages of With the Sun’s Rising, when she tells Elizabeth that, Change is not the enemy.
I for one HATE change,
and maybe you do as well. But the Handcock’s Bluff shopkeeper’s words carry
some truth. Living means facing changes. Some are appreciated. Many are not.
But we can, with God’s help, continue our life’s journey, accepting the changes
that come. And in the end find that change never intended to undo us.
So as the weather
changes, as this month ends and another begins, as we look toward the end of
this year, we recognize that each day...each and every day...brings with it
changes. Embrace the new days. Experience the new opportunities, knowing that
you are never alone, for God is with you, today, tomorrow, and always.
Blessings,
John
