Louisa would have loved our toys

     So many of you have been so kind in your words and suggestions for how to get rid of aches and pains and I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your help.  Today was another sleeping day.  Maybe I should be thankful for these pain-filled times because it seems to be almost the only time that I dream.  Sometimes my dreams find their way into my writing.  'Course, I have been very fortunate in being able to write almost anytime I want to, so it wouldn't hurt my feelings if all the pain left and I never dreamed again.  I'm sure I would find a way to adjust.

     Still, I'm not one to look a gift-horse in the mouth.  I used to dream quite a lot.  As a result, I have a good many stories and several books that are in various stages of completion.  I work steadily on each of them, switching from one to another as my creativity wanes with any given project.  I don't know how other writers work, but I seem to need that kind of variety in my life.  It keeps me out of trouble.  Rather, it keeps me from thinking up any NEW kind of trouble.

     Do you aspire to be a published writer?  Is this a method you use?  I often think of some of the writers who paved the way for people like me.  Can't you just imagine how thrilled someone like Louisa May Alcott would have been with the toys we have today?

     In some of the High Schools I attended, one of the required subjects was Typing.  Picture, if you can, the frustration of a 90-something pound student, sitting on the floor, her legs wrapped loosely around the typewriter and her tongue held just exactly SO!  In those days, there was no room for error.  When a mistake was made, I ripped the paper from my machine and started over, again.  Never mind that I typed perfectly until the last word.  Riiiiiip!  Tears flowed freely in those days.

     For those of you who have never had to use a typewriter, be thankful.  It is an experience that I am very grateful to have replaced with my wonderful computer.  I can make all the mistakes I want to, without having to rip any pages out.  In fact, I sometimes make mistakes and correct them just to prove to my computer that I can.  We live in a good time. 

     Still, I worry a little about what I will say to those writers who did so well before computers if I don't, in fact, succeed in getting published.  Oh, well.  I'll think about that when I meet them, I guess.  Have a wonderful New Year and until I see you next year, keep a hug on.

Yaya