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Dialogue with my muse |
| I have been carrying on a dialogue for almost a year. During this time we have discussed the progress of my writing, editing, and publishing efforts. Join in to listen to our conversation about my daily writing life and add your comments if you think of anything Calliope and I miss. |
| JOE: Good Morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What news? JOE: I shared with you my recent reading of Seth Godin's books, The Purple Cow and All Marketers are Liars. CALLIOPE: Yes? JOE: I have been learning ways to make websites more interesting and accessible to visitors. CALLIOPE: I'm with you. JOE: I have been working on a redesign of my website. CALLIOPE: What have you come up with? JOE: The current incarnation is available at www.slidingotter.com. CALLIOPE: Is it finished? JOE: I don't know. I will try it for a while and see what response it gets. CALLIOPE: It will be interesting to see how it compares to your other site, www.commonsense wisdom.com. JOE: It will. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: I'm fine other than being a little sore from shoveling mounds of snow. CALLIOPE: That's what you get for living in Western New York. You have a rather intriguing title for our discussion today. JOE: You noticed. I suppose you would like an explanation. CALLIOPE: Indeed I would. JOE: Okay. I have been reading two books recently, Seth Godin's Purple Cow and Joan Chittister's The Gift of Years. CALLIOPE: What do the two have in common? JOE: Not much on the surface. Godin's book is about marketing and how what works is being unique and appealing to those who appreciate your uniqueness. Chittister's book is about reevaluating aging, looking at as the freedom to be creative after the demands of earlier life are relaxed. CALLIOPE: Got it. So what's the connection? JOE: I'm working on marketing for my writing and also not getting any younger. Aging is an opportunity to let my uniqueness shine without worrying so much about what people will think about it. It's a freeing idea. CALLIOPE: What do you plan to do about it? JOE: Stop censoring my ideas so much and start making better use of the unique insights I have gained over the years. CALLIOPE: Sounds good. JOE: Stay tuned. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: A little sluggish. CALLIOPE: How so? JOE: Hard to tell. Sometimes I get off to little slower start. Today is one of these days. CALLIOPE: What are you up to today? JOE: Now that I have my column on perfection finished for Saturday, I will turn to other matters. I have been thinking about a newsletter. CALLIOPE: What are you thinking? JOE: I have been sending my column to a growing list of people. I have considered making it into a newsletter with quotes, photos and writing news as well as the column. CALLIOPE: Sounds interesting. Who would you invite? JOE: People already on my mailing list as well as people I have met in various online groups and whom I have established as friends. CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good start. How are you doing otherwise with making people aware of your work? JOE: I've been thinking about that too. I haven't done any local publicity for my book yet but have started exploring options for radio stations and the newspaper. I am also looking at a reader forum at church. CALLIOPE: So at least the wheels are turning. JOE: They are. Now I'm ready for the day. Thanks for listening. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What's this about a beam? JOE: I was reading the newspaper yesterday and noticed all the criticisms people come up with regarding public figures. CALLIOPE: Including our new president? JOE: Especially him. It seems some are looking for any flaws they can find. CALLIOPE: And the above title? JOE: I was reminded of the bible passage, "Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye but fail to see the beam in your own eye?" CALLIOPE: I see. Where are you going with this? JOE: I plan to use this theme for the column I am writing this week. CALLIOPE: What will be the message? JOE: Take care of your own business before looking at others' shortcomings. CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good focus. Good luck with it. JOE: Thanks. I've got a lot to do today. Time to get to work. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: A little befuddled. CALLIOPE: How so? JOE: In my attempts to understand the marketing world, I seem to understand less the more I read. CALLIOPE: Any specific concerns? JOE: I've been pursuing social marketing as I understand it. I see some people using internet contacts merely as a way to peddle their wares and solicit customers. CALLIOPE: What's your approach? JOE: I would like to interest others in what I do but also want to share with them what I have learned about life and work together for the common good. CALLIOPE: Sounds noble. How do you go about it? JOE: I try to make sure my posts are of benefit to those I address rather than just asking them for something. CALLIOPE: Tell me about your befuddlement. JOE: I am starting to make a fair number of contacts. The problem is that I'm not sure I can keep up with them all. Many of them are just names at this point. CALLIOPE: So what's your plan? JOE: That's just it. I don't have one. In theory I would like to be selective about which groups I belong to so I can be an active part of the ones I choose. I wonder how others approach this concern and would like to hear from them. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. You mentioned Joan Chittister's book yesterday. Any further thoughts about what she has to say? JOE: I haven't finished reading The Gift of Years yet but so far I have read about her thoughts on the challenges and fears of growing old and look forward to reading her thoughts about the opportunities. CALLIOPE: What do you think got you interested in this topic? JOE: I just celebrated ( I was going to say "had") my sixty-sixth birthday. It seems like it crept up on me. Joan would say that people perceive us as old even if we don't feel old. CALLIOPE: Do you feel old? JOE: Not really. I have some difficulty with arthritis which I never had when I was younger. CALLIOPE: So you're doing okay physically? JOE: I can't complain. CALLIOPE: What about psychologically? JOE: I feel released from family and work responsibilities and able to set my own direction without anyone else getting upset about it. That's a freeing feeling. CALLIOPE: What are you going to do with it? JOE: I was thinking this morning that none of us knows how much life remains. There's no point fretting about it. Many people don't live as long as I have already. CALLIOPE: So what challenge remains for you? JOE: Right now, to use my writing to continue unfolding life's mysteries for myself and helping readers make the best of their lives for their benefit and that of others they encounter. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: I thought you took the day off. JOE: Actually I was up before five, read the paper and went back to bed. I got back up and went shopping. Now I'm here. CALLIOPE: Okay. I'll let it slide for today. Catchy title for today's blog. Care to explain it? JOE: Okay. In my travels yesterday, I ended up at Preferred Care (health insurance) in Rochester yesterday afternoon for a presentation on the topic. CALLIOPE: Tell me about it. JOE: Eileen Merges, a psychologist from St. John Fisher College presided over a presentation and discussion of myths, perceptions and enhancements regarding sex for seniors. CALLIOPE: Did you learn anything new? JOE: I mostly confirmed what I had already learned in my psychology practice with couples, some of them older. We discussed the importance of communication critical to the success of any sexual relationship and expanding our definition of what constitutes sexual activity as well as hindrances and enhancements of senior sexuality. CALLIOPE: What else? JOE: I was surprised to see the rate of sexually transmitted diseases among seniors. Current patterns suggest that two and a half million people over 40 will contract an STD. CALLIOPE: Sounds like a worthwhile presentation. Have you been concerned about aging lately? JOE: Of course. I'm not getting any younger. CALLIOPE: Have you run across any good books on the topic. JOE: I have found some not so good. One I thought was excellent was Joan Chittister's book, The Gift of Years: Growing Old Gracefully. She stresses the wisdom, freedom and prosperity of old age. She also sees this as "the time in which a whole new life is in the making again. The gift of these years is not merely being alive, it is the gift of becoming more fully alive than ever." I would recommend it to anyone facing older age or who has older relatives facing it. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Excited. CALLIOPE: About the inauguration? JOE: Of course. I became frustrated and worried about the direction we have been taking as a nation. CALLIOPE: Do you think Obama can change our direction? JOE: Not by himself of course. But he can bring new leadership, inspiration and example. CALLIOPE: What do you dare to hope? JOE: That we can start hearing, seeing and feeling each other and become connected in seeking common goals rather than each grabbing whatever we can without concern for each other. CALLIOPE: Sounds like a lot to hope for. Do you expect our whole nation to suddenly start acting concerned about each other rather than just themselves? JOE: Of course not. Not everyone seems to accept that change is even possible. Some will keep grabbing what they can. Some will not even notice others in the same boat with them. Some have given up on doing anything different and will remain hopeless at least for the time being. CALLIOPE: Then what is possible? JOE: I think it's possible for those of us with hope to show how we care for each other and set a good example of the rest. CALLIOPE: And you think that's possible? JOE: I do and I plan to do my part to the extent I can through my writing. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How was your weekend? JOE: Fairly calm. I enjoyed some cross country skiing and watching football. CALLIOPE: Anything of a literary nature going on? JOE: I've been thinking about stories, my theme song last week. CALLIOPE: And? JOE: I told you I wanted to work on revising an article I wrote for possible inclusion in a new magazine, Two Words. CALLIOPE: How did that work out? JOE: I was very happy with the result. Interestingly, the editor was interested in a more personal approach. CALLIOPE: Was that hard? JOE: Not once I got to it. I think I tend to be somewhat impersonal an academic in my writing. CALLIOPE: So how did it end up. JOE: I told a story about when I left the monastery in 1965 and how I came to value friendships. CALLIOPE: I'd like to see it. JOE: I'd like to show it to you but since it's being considered for publication, I guess I can't right now. I'll let you know when it's ready for distribution. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Anything exciting going on today? JOE: Maybe, but not here. It's a quiet day and cold too. Carol and I did get out for some early morning cross country skiing. CALLIOPE: Sounds adventurous of you. JOE: We try to make the best of whatever comes our way. It seemed better to ski than to curse the coldness to paraphrase one of my favorite bible sayings. CALLIOPE: Can't argue there. What else is going on? JOE: I had lunch with a fellow Leroy writer yesterday, Bob Fussell. CALLIOPE: How did that go? JOE: Quite well. We have a fair amount in common in our life outlooks but have taken different tacks in our approaches to writing. CALLIOPE: That's what makes life interesting. JOE: I can't argue there. CALLIOPE: What are you up to today? JOE: I wrote an article for a new magazine which is still in the developmental stages. CALLIOPE: And? JOE: As they develop, they are refining their focus. As a result they asked me to refine the piece I wrote for them. CALLIOPE: How do you feel about that? JOE: Okay. The longer I write the less sensitive I am to comments and suggestions about refining my writing. I plan to work on it today to see if I can adapt to their needs. They too were interested in my feelings and wanted a more feeling oriented piece. We shall see what emerges. Talk with you on Monday. |
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Hope they like snow! 
I just tell them to go get a life...
It's a sunshiny 24 here at the moment; 19 in Buffalo.