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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