tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21714294306006230412024-03-07T08:32:44.041-08:00WritervilleMichael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.comBlogger591125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-90008642424742486952024-03-07T08:31:00.000-08:002024-03-07T08:31:58.107-08:00A Note on Woke<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCjbB0a5_N-KW4tTmt45SW2sIJZHbzMzhNxlCVtyt-7pg5_hMVMdB34A9AAjd1x827UyiwNTbfpAVVOECJsdLrk077WqW06zxNKVC1MonCr7g5RvytU8np0JWcSSFmbiLCF6ZewpeJI3mXUyBViWzGlUzXzp_hAU746Mtine1emlXl_FEBchkJm80DrJli/s520/Comanche-family-520.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="404" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCjbB0a5_N-KW4tTmt45SW2sIJZHbzMzhNxlCVtyt-7pg5_hMVMdB34A9AAjd1x827UyiwNTbfpAVVOECJsdLrk077WqW06zxNKVC1MonCr7g5RvytU8np0JWcSSFmbiLCF6ZewpeJI3mXUyBViWzGlUzXzp_hAU746Mtine1emlXl_FEBchkJm80DrJli/s320/Comanche-family-520.webp" width="249" /></a></div><br />If being "woke" is just too dreadfully arduous a task for you, then, at the very least, if you have any desire to understand why you are so fortunate to be an American, I ask you to undertake a mental exercise with me.<p></p><p>First, transport yourself out of this artificial, skin-based identity of "white" and imagine yourself to be simply a Human Being-American.</p><p>Now, place yourself in the body of an indigenous American, wracked with disease brought on by the recent arrival of Europeans, your entire village dying around you. This, even more than the constant Indian wars, is what "opened up" the continent for European settlement.</p><p>Your next role is that of a Black American, ripped from your African culture, forced to contribute hard labor to build the foundation of an historically great economy, momentarily freed, but immediately subjected to another century and a half of soul-breaking oppression.</p><p>You don't have to take on the responsibility for all of this. Guilt is much less important than the acknowledgement of truth. If you can at least go this far in understanding the involuntary sacrifices made on behalf of your country, then perhaps you can call yourself an American.</p>Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-29820725089642428592022-08-25T04:00:00.004-07:002022-08-25T04:02:27.638-07:00Mermaids' Tears (the story)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWphWMUeBIXrpAMW5Z3FV6KYsbGVVEyH4mMQv29W1Pe1xiJ66T0W9VnVDEvV4k2PxQVZhlDzBGEzcvU3zdGZtiX9Ek-zCWj6SxuxGn3rRg9_0L96xRxHM0U08bjNMe5ZPp8YCxBdhP9orbb5IwS8kGgdqEtIKs2nEsMVm0Wrb4mLwnW8GpfvwwNQs0YQ/s900/FB_IMG_1661424648416.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWphWMUeBIXrpAMW5Z3FV6KYsbGVVEyH4mMQv29W1Pe1xiJ66T0W9VnVDEvV4k2PxQVZhlDzBGEzcvU3zdGZtiX9Ek-zCWj6SxuxGn3rRg9_0L96xRxHM0U08bjNMe5ZPp8YCxBdhP9orbb5IwS8kGgdqEtIKs2nEsMVm0Wrb4mLwnW8GpfvwwNQs0YQ/w320-h400/FB_IMG_1661424648416.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />In my latest novel, Mermaids' Tears, my twelve-year-old protagonist, Rusty, writes the title story as a way to console his older housemate, Autumn, who has lost her brother to suicide.<p></p><p><br /></p><p>Mermaids' Tears</p><p><br /></p><p>In the month of October, in the terminally charming town of Caramel-by-the-Waters, there was born a cute and sweet girl. Her parents named her October. Almost three years later, in the month of July, there was born a cute and spirited boy. His parents named him January. This would not seem to make sense, but the boy’s big ice-blue eyes reminded his father of winters in Wisconsin.</p><p><br /></p><p> It’s not unusual for a first-born child to resent a second, mostly for intruding on her parental monopoly, but this was not true of October. She gazed at her big-eyed brother in his crib and said, “I will always be here to protect you, because you are my dear brother, and we will be the best of friends.”</p><p><br /></p><p> October and January were, in fact, the closest siblings that any of their friends had ever met, and they both grew into smart and kind young adults. They did, however, have troubles. January’s problem was his brain, which had an on switch but no off. It was constantly on the prowl, and like an overworked engine it would run hot and drift into redlines of worry and fear. It also prevented him from sleeping. Many was the night that October would rub January’s temples and sing wordless songs into his ear - but sometimes even this wouldn’t help.</p><p><br /></p><p> October’s problem was her body, which was a healthy body but large and unwieldy. The girls at school made mean jokes that burned like hot embers.</p><p><br /></p><p> Caramel-by-the-Waters had some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and the two siblings spent many an afternoon walking their sands. One June day, they came to the tidepools to discover an albino sea lion sunning herself on the rocks. The sea lion tumbled into the water and barked at them. October heard this sound distinctly as an invitation, and before she knew it she was diving headlong into the cold blue waters. She didn’t see the albino creature anywhere, but discovered, much to her surprise, that she, Autumn, was an exceptional swimmer. Her ungainly body, so awkward on the land, became, in the water, a divine transport. She dove deeper and discovered that she could stay underwater for several minutes at a time, navigating the gold-green curtains of the kelp forest.</p><p><br /></p><p> When October finally surfaced, she found January pacing the shoreline in a frenetic state. “Where did you go? I thought you had drowned! We need to get home - it’s almost time for supper.”</p><p><br /></p><p> Just then, the albino sea lion appeared fifty feet away and repeated its funny barking.</p><p><br /></p><p> “No,” said October. “I can’t go home. I think I will stay here and become a mermaid.”</p><p><br /></p><p> October knew that this was preposterous. She wasn’t even certain that mermaids existed, and she had no notion of how to go about becoming one. But somehow, January seemed to understand.</p><p><br /></p><p> “I’m going to have a hard time explaining this to Mom and Dad,” he said. “But you do seem happy here. Tell you what. I’ll tell them you found a nice place near the beach, and we’ll fill in the rest later.”</p><p><br /></p><p> October let out a high-pitched laugh like a dolphin (which was very odd). “Thank you, brother. When you come to the beach, just call my name and I’ll come up to visit you.”</p><p><br /></p><p> “Sure.”</p><p><br /></p><p> October loved her new life. She swam through swirling eddies of silver sardines, their fins tickling her skin. The sea otters taught her how to float on her back and open shellfish on her stomach. The whales taught her their beautiful and eerie songs. The albino sea lion, Snowball, took her to the edge of the Montrez Bay Canyon.</p><p><br /></p><p> Every afternoon, January called for her at the beach. He brought green apples, her favorite food, and used a stick to bat them into the surf.</p><p><br /></p><p> October waited for signs that she was becoming a genuine mermaid, but none came. And she worried about her brother. Each day, he looked more and more worried, and grew deep bags under his eyes. She asked if she should return to land so she could take care of him, but he wouldn’t have it. January waded into the surf and gave his sister a long, sad embrace.</p><p><br /></p><p> “I’m afraid it’s not something that can be fixed,” he said. “I have come to a decision. I cannot bear this torment any longer. I am leaving to a place where the pain can no longer reach me. Sadly, sister, you won’t be able to reach me, either. But I really need to go. I love you, October.”</p><p><br /></p><p> October thought of a hundred arguments to make January stay, but she realized that she could not ask him to suffer what he simply could not suffer. Especially when he had been so supportive of her odd mermaid ambitions.</p><p><br /></p><p> “I will miss you terribly, brother. But I think I understand.”</p><p><br /></p><p> January handed her a silver necklace. “I recorded some music onto this amulet. It sounds to me like whalesong. Hold this to your ear and it will play for you. Maybe you can share it with your whale friends.”</p><p><br /></p><p> They held each other for a long, long time, until the sun dipped under the horizon, and then finally October let January go. He gave one last wave from the crest of the white sand, and then he was gone.</p><p><br /></p><p> October thought he might change his mind, but after three days of keeping watch over the beach she realized he would not return. She held the amulet to her ear and sang along with its mournful tune, and as she did she could feel a great pain entering her body.</p><p><br /></p><p> The next morning, the pain had traveled to her legs. She swam to the tidepools and lifted herself onto a rock to discover that she had no legs. What she had was a gold-green tail with fins instead of feet. What she had not known was that a human could not become a mermaid until she had suffered a great loss. And certainly, the loss of January was greater than any she could imagine.</p><p><br /></p><p> This sudden transformation filled October with alternating waves of joy and despair. She began to cry, and her emotions were so strong that her tears crystallized into bits of colored glass. The waves carried her tears to the shoreline, where beachcombers found them among the pebbles and sand dollars. Most of them called these little gems sea glass, thinking them to be fragments of long-ago bottles, tossed and burnished by sand and surf. But the more whimsical called them mermaids’ tears, and they had no idea how right they were.</p><p><br /></p><p>Mermaids' Tears (the novel) is available at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mermaids-Tears-Michael-J-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B0B8X1PJ4K/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=michael+j.+vaughn&qid=1661318951&sr=8-1">Amazon.com</a>.</p>Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-85467478056304547502021-02-16T16:00:00.003-08:002021-02-16T16:06:00.255-08:00Kyle<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="483" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWwe1f6rUGeUme5hmAo4KJUdzL5kMEw1tbsHVvlA5rdvqcOYkSrrhdSQ16faSSsvLXgVbk7KDpfQVA4Sb-L8Otevqa_TsU3HHZTa3qWLK82FVyrFyISs1Fj78-6HTYXOk0b4Py5oQbnbP/w181-h400/kyle.jpg" width="181" /></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-e3a644e9-7fff-f3b6-7628-f4a5f735a898"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He is a hole in my heart,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a hard breath,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a slump of the shoulders a</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">smile that Cheshires away</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A determined scowl at the plate,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the line of scrimmage,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a song in the digital sea</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A breathtaking embrace,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a joke that now</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">someone else must tell</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are fortunate beings;</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the mind keeps us in mind.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We fill up on the daily particles:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">errands, assignments, protocols,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">our tumblers too full for bitters</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the busiest of lives finds a</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sandbar, and the</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">space fills up with souvenirs,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">visitors at a clinic,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dosing our griefs like</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">intravenous drips</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kyle left us too soon,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">long before he was</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">due at the station,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and now we live in parentheses</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(cartoon eyes, bobbing voice a</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tear on the page,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">memory’s whisper a</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">poem that demands to be</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">written, a pen that</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">runs out of</span></p><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 24pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-53158977592631259152020-12-18T22:21:00.000-08:002020-12-18T22:21:05.031-08:00Review: East of the Cookie Tree<p> </p><div id="logo_section" style="background: rgb(221, 51, 51); border: 0px; color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 18px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto; padding: 18px 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 324px;"><div id="logo" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; float: left; font-size: 17.6px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 324px;"><p style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img src="http://www.dragonflypress-ca.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dragonfly-press-banner.png" style="background: transparent; 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padding: 10px 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 275.828px;"><h2 style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: AurulentSansRegular, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 36px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 36px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Review of East of the Cookie Tree</h2></div></div><div class="post_entry" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto; padding: 20px 7.875px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 275.828px;"><div class="entry" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; clear: both; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 275.828px;"><h3 style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #fcd183; font-family: AurulentSansRegular, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">by Michael J. Vaughn</h3><p style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 22px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michael J. Vaughn’s EAST OF THE COOKIE TREE, written with jauntiness and immediacy, presents us with a dizzying array of responses. What at first glance appears a carefree road trip in which Daniel Maryland, a professional actor, wending his way from San Francisco down to two weddings, one in Gilroy, California and another in Malibu where he is tasked to serve as the officiant for longtime friends, unfolds to become a multi-faceted odyssey deftly calibrated to ignite and captivate the interest of every reader. We are treated to a beguiling cast of characters, most notably the adorable and intermittently manic 19 year-old runaway/stoway, Gina Candiotti, who harbors a horrifying familial secret, Willie Craig, the charismatic older idol of the silver screen, the saucy young Cherry who demonstrates an uncanny capacity for executing and expeditiously rendering an erogenous maneuver with our lead character, Daniel, Shelby, the gorgeous and accomplished wedding planner with whom the officiant, also nicknamed, the Rev. and Umpqua Man, enjoys an exhausting tryst, and finally, the Larroquette House which in many ways is a character in its own right. In actuality, all of Vaughn’s characters, whether they be the countless members of the hospitality industry who populate the book or those who dominate greater stretches of the novel’s trajectory, prove memorable because of their authentic dialogue or distinctive eccentricities. </p><p style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 22px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There is outright intoxication felt at the opening festivities of joyous reunions among two separate groups of close friends gathered for intended nuptials all emceed by the main character, Daniel Maryland, Shakespearean actor, commercial spokesperson for a nationally renowned insurance corporation, musician, burgeoning fine artist, neophyte wedding officiant for friends, and beloved “Uncle Danny” to numerous unofficial nieces. Daniel possesses an irrepressible charm and luxuriating in the witty, erudite exchanges between the main character and his retinue of animated and engaging friends makes for a lengthy montage of heartfelt interconnectedness we all long for during this somber pandemic, despite the fact EAST OF THE COOKIE TREE transpires during pre-COVID 19 days. Daniel Maryland is a pied piper of sorts who acts as a magnet of positivity and Merlin for sparking the innate creativity of all fortunate enough to be drawn into his orbit. Perhaps it is precisely because he casts this transformative spell on his readers that the psychological bombshell that erupts upon young Gina’s arrival at her home in Eugene, Oregon carries with it the unsettling and explosive impact it does. That said, in retrospect, as readers we can acknowledge the author has consistently introduced a multiplicity of hints, hints seeded at select intervals, that adeptly foreshadow the darker undertones of the narrative. Against the backdrop of the surreal, carefree ambience of the lifestyles of the rich and famous runs the ominous undercurrent of existence in the everyday world plagued by post-apocalyptic West Coast wildfires replete with hellish orange skylines, and inescapable and volatile contemporary social issues, most expressly, systemic racism.</p><p style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 22px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EAST OF THE COOKIE TREE also provides provocative exposure not only to some of the finest Shakespearean dialogue, but compelling references to outstanding musical and cinematic interludes that help enliven the romantic, upbeat and non-formulaic wedding ceremonies and receptions featured in this spirited novel. The author also shares insights into the main character’s newest vocation as a fine artist whose talent is quickly appreciated by the discerning eye of an upscale gallery owner. We can traverse the pages of EAST OF THE COOKIE TREE, part archetypal road-trip, part magical musical mystery tour, and through-the-looking-glass “classic” cinematic romp into the landscape of what esthetic and philosophical perspectives occupy the inner recesses of a 21<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">st</span> century Renaissance Man’s kaleidoscopic mind. </p><p style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 22px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">While Daniel Maryland’s character may have entertained periods of self-deprecation during his lengthy career as a Shakespearean actor, one can only aspire to capture a single ray of the light Vaughn’s memorable character imparts in his incomparable gift for embracing, inhabiting, and surfing the waves of an inspirational and always indomitable life force.</p><p class="has-text-align-right" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 22px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;">— Calder Lowe, award-winning editor and widely-published author</p><p style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 22px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/East-Cookie-Tree-Michael-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B08NWKCBB6" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #ffaa00; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">EAST OF THE COOKIE TREE is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.</a></p><div class="clear" style="background: none; border: 0px; clear: both; float: none; font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden; 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margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Light on His Feet</h3><br /><b style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://dragonflypress-ca.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/TLOHF-order-form-web-sm.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #ffaa00; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Available now – Order yours today!</a></b><br /><a href="https://dragonflypress-ca.com/the-light-on-his-feet/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #ffaa00; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img src="https://dragonflypress-ca.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/book-cover-TLOHF.jpg" style="background: transparent; 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width: 266.812px;">National League of American Pen Women</h3><div class="textwidget" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 14.2891px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.nlapw.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #ffaa00; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><img alt="NLAPW" src="http://www.nlapw.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/badge250x125_nlapw.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 10px 12.8594px; max-width: 90%; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></a></div></div></div><div class="sidebar_widget widget_text" id="text-4" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 9.52344px 19.0547px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 285.875px;"><div class="widget" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 5px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto; padding: 0px 0px 9.52344px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 285.875px;"><h3 class="widgettitle" style="background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(28, 28, 28); border-bottom-style: solid; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; font-family: TitilliumText22LRegular; font-size: 24px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto; padding: 9.52344px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 266.812px;">82nd Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition Award Winner</h3><div class="textwidget" style="background: transparent; 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Box 746<br />Columbia, CA 95310</div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="footer_section" style="background: rgb(27, 27, 27); border: 0px; color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto; padding: 18px 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 360px;"><div id="bottomfooterwidgetcontainer" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 17.6px; margin: 0px 2.14062px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: auto; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 348.508px;"><div class="bottomfooterwidgety" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; float: left; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 313.656px;"><div class="footerp" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 10px 15.6797px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 282.289px;">© All rights reserved.</div><div class="footercredit" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 15.6797px 10px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 282.289px;">Powered by <a href="http://www.wordpress.org/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: white; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">WordPress</a></div></div></div></div>Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-73892913312168041902020-07-12T15:16:00.004-07:002020-07-12T15:16:51.126-07:00Applauding My Critics, Part 1: Tess AilshireIt's a shame that the word "critic" is so identified with the word "criticize." It's more accurate to relate it to "critique," an art form in which the writer uses observations both positive and negative to report what they witnessed. As a veteran of thirty-plus years of critiquing in the world of theater, opera and literature, I am more equipped than most to handle whatever reviews come my way.<br />
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Still, many of today's reader reviews can be childish and lame, as if the author has failed if they didn't anticipate the exact thing the reader wanted to read. One particular assassin gave me one star out of five and reported, "I didn't read it." For some reason, a lot of this came from the Goodreads site, so I have made a habit of avoiding it. Recently, I went back there for a different reason and stumbled upon a lovely, insightful review for my best-seller, The Popcorn Girl. I then discovered that the reviewer had decided to read several of my books and had given each the same kind of beautifully observed, well-written critiques.<br />
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I have been fortunate to enjoy a handful of reviewers, some of them writers themselves, who have followed my career in this fashion, leaving beautifully crafted critiques in their wake. And so, I thought it was time that I expressed my gratitude. That recently discovered reviewer is a Virginia resident named Tess Ailshire, and these are her reviews You can find my books on my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Michael-J-Vaughn/e/B002IP76E8?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1594591984&sr=8-1">Amazon author page</a>.<br />
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The Popcorn Girl (five stars)<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">A joy of a story, but a story that is not joyous. The characters are flawed, complex, multi-faceted, and unexpected. One feels there is so much more to these people and their lives, which makes them very real.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">I'm not generally a fan of books where one has to know which character is narrating a chapter, but this works.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">It made me want to read other Vaughn books.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Gabriella's Voice (four stars)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">I've become a fan of Vaughn since I read Popcorn Girl without knowing the first thing of his writing style, his peccadilloes, or his themes. Vaughn has a knack for description that reflects a love of words and an awareness of the universe -- perfect similes that leave cliches choking on dust and gasping. He then goes on to wrap a silken scarf around most of the most hideous of human traits, revealing it only slowly, making the reader realize life is not all apple pie and ice cream, but not thwocking him over the head with truth either.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">That said, Gabriella's Voice was not my favorite.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">In this story, I felt I was being hit over the head with the similes. It seemed descriptions were overdone. Do I really need half a page to describe a foggy ferry crossing? What I normally like about Vaughn seemed too much in this novel.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Perhaps I understand enough Italian that I don't need *every* lyric to hold a parenthetic translation; it seemed to interrupt the flow of the paragraph, as if the narrator were stuttering. The sense of the paragraphs could easily have remained using only the English or only the Italian.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">The Monkey Tribe (five stars)</span><br />
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<span id="freeText9719427029245575577" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">This is the fourth Michael J. Vaughn book I've read in the last four to six months (The Popcorn Girl; a Painting Called Sylvia; Gabriella's Voice). Vaughn again shows his mastery of mindfulness - of describing both scenery and emotion vividly and without cliche. He again tackles the character who is different, and slowly reveals to the reader that character's passions and failings.<br /><br />This novel, like Gabriella's Voice, shows a deep understanding of music as a natural part of the human experience, and explores the theme of giving as a way of receiving. Like A Painting Called Sylvia, it explores chaos in human experience, but in a controlled manner. Like The Popcorn Girl, it shows a character who is so much more than a surface.<br /><br />Vaughn can keep writing. I'll keep reading as long as he does.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">A Painting Called Sylvia (five stars)</span><br />
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<span id="freeText1478484012599838000" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">I think I'm about to become a huge fan of Michael J. Vaughn. I read "The Popcorn Girl" because "the owner of an atheist bookstore" in the description intrigued me, and found I truly loved the work.<br /><br />So I picked up this volume when it was available for free on Amazon. This one was even better, I think. I was more able to relate to these people - a couple with a teenage daughter, an artist, a few others - than in "The Popcorn Girl".<br /><br />Both works I've read seem to me to be paintings of emotions, rather than words on a page. Not too much on the logic or concrete details, but a complex image of the character's thoughts and feelings. I found myself marveling at how complete a seemingly minor observation seemed to render the character.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">The Girl in the Flaming Dress (five stars)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Like so many of the Vaughn novels I've read, the style is lighthearted and action-filled, with descriptions so far from cliche that I often stop, consider, and even read them aloud. That is a mark, I believe, of a good writer.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">I like the fact that it's often a complete surprise to find out where his novels end up. The characters reveal themselves more and more as the novel goes on, and the endings may or may not be what you expect. I was amused to see the popcorn girl included.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">This one hasn't the depth of Gabriella's Voice, nor the complexity of The Popcorn Girl, but is no less an enjoyable read.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Mascot (five stars)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">I'm a big fan of Vaughn's writing style. The present-tense prose evokes an importance that might not work in past tense, and Vaughn has a knack for describing scenery and ambiance in a decidedly original and evocative manner. Vaughn's characters are decidedly human and absolutely unique. I find difficulty in predicting the ending of a story, much less the plot line that gets us to that ending.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Mascot does it again. Complex characters whose timelines show them different from what we originally see, with enough left unsaid that the reader has no choice but to be involved and to look beyond the words on the page.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Mascot is another that does not end at all as I expected, nor as I would have wished it to. That makes it no less a picture of life.</span><br />
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Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-85852792301196901122020-07-03T09:26:00.001-07:002020-07-03T09:26:58.317-07:00Climies: A Handmaid's Tale Meets Climate Change<div class="dialog-off-canvas-main-canvas" data-off-canvas-main-canvas="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 14px;">
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By Naomi Bolton, Manybooks.net</div>
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Michael J. Vaughn is the author of twenty-three novels, including the award-winning The Popcorn Girl and his latest, Climies. He is also a professional painter and drummer, the latter with the San Jose rock band ECRB. Vaughn's novels have won prizes in the San Francisco, New England and Hollywood book festivals. He is a regular competitions judge for Writer's Digest. Vaughn is also a widely published poet and opera critic. He graduated from San Jose State with a journalism degree and a classical voice minor. He was born in Brunswick, Maine, and spent much of his childhood shuttling around the country, courtesy of his father Harold's career as a pilot with the US Navy. As our author of the day, Vaughn tells us all about his latest book, Climies.</div>
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Please give us a short introduction to what Climies is about.</h3>
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A young man, mysteriously deprived of his memory, ventures into the world to discover that the sea levels have risen 500 feet. He finds a small mountain community that has adapted exceedingly well to the situation and settles in as a born leader.</div>
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What inspired you to write a Handmaid's Tale meets climate change type of story?</h3>
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I began writing by placing a character (Russell) in a situation (a garden labyrinth) and literally writing my way out. When he came out to a rooftop beach to discover a town underneath the water, I knew that I was going to write a speculative novel about climate change. It was an excellent way to tap into my subconscious and find out what I really wanted to write about.</div>
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Tell us more about Russell Peppers. What makes him tick?</h3>
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Despite his amnesia, he is a very capable young man. One of the running jokes is how he keeps discovering things that his body knows how to do, like playing a guitar, riding a jetski, and playing basketball (and unintentionally hustling his opponents while he's at it).</div>
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What inspired you to set this story in the survivor community of Skyline?</h3>
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It's based on Skyline Drive, a road that follows the tops of the Santa Cruz Mountains from San Jose to San Francisco. It's an area I know well. It was also morbidly fun placing so much of the Bay Area under water. At one point they're sailing past what looks like a long metal fence, and it's actually the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. Many of the survivors are actually tech workers from Silicon Valley; their ingenuity allows them to create a surprising kind of utopia, and also to cope with the weather, which fluctuates between hard snows and 120-degree days.</div>
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Give us three "Good to Know" facts about you.</h3>
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I am also a professional fine arts painter. I play drums and sing in a classic rock band, ECRB. I worked for thirty years as an arts journalist, and have interviewed celebrities including Ray Bradbury, Molly Ringwald and Barry Manilow.</div>
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Your novel poses the question "what could happen if we don't pay attention or believe in climate change"? Why did you find this an important topic to explore?</h3>
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It could be THE topic. I am afraid we're already on the road to some level of sea rise and extreme climates. It was important to me to devise a plausible worst-case scenario, both politically and environmentally. I have always done a lot of reading on the topic, and I have a colleague, Jeff Goodell, who writes amazing books and articles on the subject for Rolling Stone. You have to be careful with issues-oriented novels, however. No one likes to be preached at. You have to stick to the story and be true to the characters. Some of the more surprising characters are Patriots, the extremist climate deniers who call their rivals "climies." A pack of them ride into town, and the results are not always predictable.</div>
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Do any of your characters take off on their own tangent and refuse to do what you had planned for them?</h3>
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Ha! Constantly. Russell's love interest is Shandhra Basu, a beautiful Indian-American (literally the daughter of a rocket scientist) who is always dragging Russell off into one bit of trouble or another. I always say, When you reach a point where you're asking not "What should I have Shandhra do next" but "What would Shandhra do next?" you have created a real live person, right there on the page.</div>
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When working on a novel, how do you immerse yourself in the main characters' lives?</h3>
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I think you have to do it your whole life, really. You have to pursue lots of different experiences so you can apply them to characters later. There is much room, however, for empathy and imagination. This is especially helpful when your timeline is circa 2050!</div>
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Additionally, I think it's greatly helpful to read good non-fiction. And also, San Jose is a beautifully diverse place. I am surrounded by so many cultures. The Indian presence here is very strong.</div>
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Is there an underlying message you wish to relay about basic human nature in this book?</h3>
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I think there is a way to be a hard-nosed scientific realist and yet retain some optimism for humanity. Perhaps the key is humor. This book sounds dystopian, but there are many funny scenes and situations.</div>
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<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; font-family: centurygothicregular; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">
In this book you’re dealing with so many difficult themes – as a writer, do you feel a sense of responsibility? If so, how do you deal with this?</h3>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Venturing into my first speculative book, I did feel a lot of responsibility. And I did back up the searise with a plausible worst-case scenario. But obviously this is only one vision of what could happen. I actually believe we will find our way out of this. But as The Handmaid's Tale served as a warning against theocracy, perhaps a good climate nightmare will provide us with some extra incentive.</div>
<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; font-family: centurygothicregular; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">
When working on a new book, what is the first thing you do?</h3>
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I have a "brewing period" where I let various ideas drift in. My current book had to wait a little longer as we sat through the early stages of the pandemic.</div>
<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; font-family: centurygothicregular; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">
Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?</h3>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;">
I write three drafts, in this thing called a spiral notebook, before it goes into a computer. I write completely at coffeehouses.</div>
<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; font-family: centurygothicregular; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">
What are you working on right now?</h3>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;">
In 2018, I served as the officiant at two weddings. It was such a remarkable experience that I'm using the settings as the background for the novel. One of them took place in Malibu, in John Larroquette's old house.</div>
<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; font-family: centurygothicregular; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">
Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?</h3>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;">
I post many peripheral works at blogspot.writerville.com. I have a good author page at amazon.com (Michael J. Vaughn). And they can check in at my Facebook page, which is also under Michael J. Vaughn.</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box;">
A final note: an underlying message to Climies is that scientific issues should never be politicized. I never could have dreamed how powerfully that point would be made by our viral situation.</div>
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class="ns-q3nd7-l-banner-simple ns-q3nd7-v-2"><div class="ns-q3nd7-e-0 x-layout GoogleActiveViewElement" data-google-av-adk=994588611 data-google-av-aid=0 data-google-av-cxn="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pcs/activeview?xai=AKAOjssslVgqHdyuPAuhUlBoYRTU2BMjN_vJAZrmrIMZaH4s5mSQx094YI5NH8As9Jb96Ju9RoMT5J-qCEyhF00E1TIbkmKmHVcmRb-DBmyZ8JjjZNddVIpO0tONkOpRRriDm1cLHlU1kV8qDU7wzr7y3ChUa0DG_x_SxjVylAw_pxJMlVkIFb0FrjIGPyyRUAinmw&amp;sai=AMfl-YQLlaYHMcAzukhyGo5-nlczI_zqMtF8bFJfNrpgGjz74hAQAefcfPYXQAxDPfPw9whA3D5Y1ltcMc-5kstE8j336pzeeB65tlrpUh4thjfkafvNXdw1eK8tLi4bYG6g97ehrg&amp;sig=Cg0ArKJSzAPI36vPdPrPEAE" data-google-av-dm=2 data-google-av-immediate=true data-google-av-itpl=22 data-google-av-metadata="la=0&amp;xdi=0&amp;" data-google-av-naid=1 data-google-av-override=-1 data-google-av-rs=4 data-ifc=[[[&#34;12,12,12,12&#34;,null,null,2]]] id=banner-simple lang=en><div class="ns-q3nd7-e-1 column-container"><div class="ns-q3nd7-e-2 row-container"><div class="ns-q3nd7-e-3 app-icon"></div><div class="ns-q3nd7-e-4 short-app-name"><span class=ns-q3nd7-e-5 dir=auto>Audio Books,<br>Stories &amp; Audio<br>Content by Audible</span></div><a class="ns-q3nd7-e-6 cta-button-outer" data-asoch-targets=ad0,ochButton 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on="tap:asoch-exit-api.exit(target=&#39;ad0&#39;, _asochNbParam=&#39;8&#39;)" target=_blank><div class="ns-q3nd7-e-7 install-button center-content"><div class="ns-q3nd7-e-8 button-text"><span class=ns-q3nd7-e-9 dir=auto>INSTALL</span></div></div></a></div></div></div></div><div aria-hidden=true class="abgc abgf pen" dir=ltr id=abgc><div class="abgcp pea" id=abgcp><div class=abgs id=abgs><a class=abgl 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BOOKS ADDED THIS WEEK</h2>
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<article about="/titles/immortals-requiem" class="book is-promoted is-sticky slider clearfix" data-history-node-id="232741" role="article" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><div class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
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<a href="https://manybooks.net/titles/immortals-requiem" hreflang="en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #17a288; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Immortals' Requiem by Vincent Bobbe" class="img-responsive" height="330" src="https://manybooks.net/sites/default/files/styles/220x330sc/public/2020-06/immortals.jpg?itok=uIS1VOVV" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 110px;" typeof="foaf:Image" width="220" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://manybooks.net/titles/immortals-requiem" hreflang="en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e3e3e; text-decoration-line: none; text-overflow: clip;">Immortals' Requiem</a></div>
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<a href="https://manybooks.net/titles/induction" hreflang="en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #17a288; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Induction by T.K. Eldridge" class="img-responsive" height="330" src="https://manybooks.net/sites/default/files/styles/220x330sc/public/2020-06/induction.jpg?itok=hnZ-BJUv" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 110px;" typeof="foaf:Image" width="220" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://manybooks.net/titles/induction" hreflang="en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3e3e3e; text-decoration-line: none; text-overflow: clip;">Induction</a></div>
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<a href="https://manybooks.net/featured-authors/michael-j-vaughn-a-world-where-sea-levels-have-risen-500-feet" hreflang="en" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #17a288; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="mvaughn2" class="img-responsive" height="260" src="https://manybooks.net/sites/default/files/styles/360x260sc/public/2020-07/51EM4jLbBhL._SY346_-side_0.jpg?itok=OjBiEl07" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" typeof="Image" width="360" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://manybooks.net/featured-authors/michael-j-vaughn-a-world-where-sea-levels-have-risen-500-feet" hreflang="en" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #616161; text-decoration-line: none;">Michael J. Vaughn - A World Where Sea Levels Have Risen 500 Feet</a></div>
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FEATURED AUTHOR - Michael J. Vaughn is the author of twenty-three novels, including the award-winning The Popcorn Girl and his latest, Climies. He is also a professional painter and drummer, the latter with the San Jose rock band ECRB. Vaughn's novels have won prizes in the San Francisco, New England and Hollywood book festivals. He is a regular competitions judge for Writer's Digest. Vaughn is also a widely published poet and opera critic. He graduated from San Jose State with a journalism degree and a… <a class="views-more-link" href="https://manybooks.net/featured-authors/michael-j-vaughn-a-world-where-sea-levels-have-risen-500-feet" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #17a288; text-decoration-line: none;">Read more</a></div>
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Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-24626705594279221252020-03-28T15:45:00.001-07:002020-03-28T15:45:53.858-07:00The Ply's the Thing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKraojWw_yCVK9FvFvHfI5bcqQamRp6Ao5rr-EBaXF98uGXaJ935qCqHKSRsOPizxcKsqkjXGFgvWh4UgEVSlJLW4rBqusOZT3KFg0U2bkirhg4yOcNSyiaFLtaW0RxmJ2wvKVvXMktTwh/s1600/20200328_154102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKraojWw_yCVK9FvFvHfI5bcqQamRp6Ao5rr-EBaXF98uGXaJ935qCqHKSRsOPizxcKsqkjXGFgvWh4UgEVSlJLW4rBqusOZT3KFg0U2bkirhg4yOcNSyiaFLtaW0RxmJ2wvKVvXMktTwh/s400/20200328_154102.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
TP or not TP, that is the question<br />
Whether tis nobler in the behind to<br />
suffer the squares and tubes of outrageous Charmin<br />
Or to take arms against a sea of two-ply<br />
And by wiping our ends then:<br />
To wipe, to sleep; no more;<br />
And by a swipe to reach the end<br />
The butt-ache, and the thousand empty racks that tush is heir to?<br />
Tis a consumption devoutly to be swished.<br />
To wipe, to sleep, perchance to stream<br />
Aye, there's the rub,<br />
For in the virus of corona,<br />
what reams may come.<br />
When we have shuffled off this mortal tissue must give us pause<br />
There's the disinfect that makes calamity of such long rolls<br />
For who would bear the bowls and bidets of time<br />
The supermarket's wrong, the stock man contumely<br />
The pangs of despised bowelings, the truck's delay<br />
The insolence of flushings and the toiletry that patients merit of the tissue takes<br />
When he himself might his hygiene make with a bare bodkin?<br />
Who would fart-ass bare to grunt and sweat under a weary movement<br />
But that the dread of something after shitting<br />
The undiscovered market shelf from whose bourn no shopper returns,<br />
puzzles the will, and makes us rather bare those hinds we have,<br />
than leave for others that we know the pot of.<br />
Thus six-packs do make collectors of us all<br />
And thus the native poo of Revolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of Scott and enterprises of great itch and torment with this regard their toilets turn awry and lose the name of traction<br />
Soft you now, the fair Paraphernalia? Nymph, in thy Cottonelle be all my shits dismembered.Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-79379987527953841772019-10-08T19:32:00.002-07:002019-10-08T19:34:08.009-07:00Rocky and the Callbacks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Rocky Horror Show<br />
San Jose Stage Company<br />
October 5, 2019<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFk8EIIoODkBvoL0S335pxpUj2_bjj1gD7fNXqIWOCQcuQGyUbns-e3QKITWCL72tVW9Fupn_UP2P8JXELplAP62JbC_U5LzJw13oB4sSfdTFJcCnPBCQveGMqlrDw9jci4cGKUxLvL0G/s1600/71952213_10157350295825953_1252905169276895232_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFk8EIIoODkBvoL0S335pxpUj2_bjj1gD7fNXqIWOCQcuQGyUbns-e3QKITWCL72tVW9Fupn_UP2P8JXELplAP62JbC_U5LzJw13oB4sSfdTFJcCnPBCQveGMqlrDw9jci4cGKUxLvL0G/s400/71952213_10157350295825953_1252905169276895232_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Allison F. Rich as Magenta, Parker Harris as Brad,<br />
Ashley Garlick as Janet, and Sean Okuniewicz.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"The callbacks," the practice of inserting one's own lines into the dialogue, has long been a part of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but not necessarily of the stage version that started it all. The Stage Company makes no bones about where it stands; they invited audience members to speak up, sold "participation packets" with the familiar RH props (playing cards, spray bottles), and one of the wittier hecklers turned out to be their artistic director, Randall King.<br />
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At times the back-and-forth is a little chaotic (this is not a rehearsed element), but it produced a number of superb moments. When Brad surmised that the castle must be one of those places where sicko millionaires hide out, an instigator at audience left shouted "Mar-a-Lago!" But the most fun came with the Narrator, Edward Hightower, who had a brief Harvey Korman moment when one of the comments struck his funny bone, and made comic battle with his hecklers the rest of the night, aiming his lines and gestures for effect.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-vssbeTjDweVeIQjQzfaqz0gkZwRJA7bIOs1ftC0ttdJ-Bn5qbx817Y6-GaZ0TjSmNGLXGxAbRUnQaEprkHjoQNjf46O3Ra-_2qgMPuFljTHzBjjBfZDBYxa2qsNyRJtp0Og-iaYlQR5/s1600/72331481_10157350296570953_1508003845584715776_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-vssbeTjDweVeIQjQzfaqz0gkZwRJA7bIOs1ftC0ttdJ-Bn5qbx817Y6-GaZ0TjSmNGLXGxAbRUnQaEprkHjoQNjf46O3Ra-_2qgMPuFljTHzBjjBfZDBYxa2qsNyRJtp0Og-iaYlQR5/s320/72331481_10157350296570953_1508003845584715776_o.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Allison F. Rich as Magenta,<br />
Matthew Kropschot as Rocky and<br />
Jill E. Miller as Columbia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Beneath all this unfettered democracy, Stage has itself a freakishly awesome production. There's a certain quality - call it "presence" or the "it" factor - that an aficionado might find once or twice a season. You know it when you can't keep your eyes off a particular performer. This single show has three. One is (no surprise) Allison F. Rich, whose commitment to Magenta is absolute, and intense. Another is Sean Okuniewicz, whose Riff Raff is a 100 percent freakball liable to go off at any moment (he also has a true rock star voice suitable to the Time Warp). The third is Keith Pinto, who moves with a fascinating, precise elegance, giving an undercover fussiness to Frank 'N' Furter.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0kJm6K6bOUMrx0NcXn-qdKapH2Rxq3PhXgwr3fZL7hV-Hc5kxEA-Uy0-HIMox9MZJtY2tG61R8oCo0DM_UiSfwFbb8xO7tBIfbGL6mC0YQcWddWS2pWhFygW_HI0MxCb29MS7ndwh44q/s1600/71902964_10157350296725953_6112377317118443520_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0kJm6K6bOUMrx0NcXn-qdKapH2Rxq3PhXgwr3fZL7hV-Hc5kxEA-Uy0-HIMox9MZJtY2tG61R8oCo0DM_UiSfwFbb8xO7tBIfbGL6mC0YQcWddWS2pWhFygW_HI0MxCb29MS7ndwh44q/s320/71902964_10157350296725953_6112377317118443520_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keith Pinto as Frank 'N' Furter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Over all, I keep coming back to that word "commitment." The cast offers no half gestures, they are all there, all the time. Matthew Kropschot could easily cruise on his ridonkulous physique, but he's also quite loose and funny, and a good singer. The phantom ushers offer a tight, athletic dance team. Performing Eddie's "Hot Patootie," Will Springhorn, Jr. whipped out a sax and played the solo himself. It's also nice to hear a Janet Weiss with real pipes (Ashley Garlick), and Parker Harris gives Brad a likeable Niles Crane nerdiness that turns to fetish on a dime. The only flaw I even noticed was a little tightness from Jill E. Miller on Columbia's Time Warp solo, but her later drug trip is an excellent little monodrama. It's obvious that director Allison Rich and choreographer Tracy Freeman-Shaw got the absolute most out of their players.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QhJnhsCbOZXnWpar5vL4sYrYSmunFE18TjItK8jh_onbcx0hMYevLq560ZgN79cMYB3ehwqLSyyUDvZKB3LduhGbdGq9Cb2fb62Dqk4RoRiywKi3SHgNI9oL7gFEjre7vsbCGdyAwA6M/s1600/72255555_10157350296100953_4011376966291685376_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QhJnhsCbOZXnWpar5vL4sYrYSmunFE18TjItK8jh_onbcx0hMYevLq560ZgN79cMYB3ehwqLSyyUDvZKB3LduhGbdGq9Cb2fb62Dqk4RoRiywKi3SHgNI9oL7gFEjre7vsbCGdyAwA6M/s320/72255555_10157350296100953_4011376966291685376_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Allison F. Rich as The Usherette</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The production creates a nice balance between providing all the touchstones of the 1975 film without being a slave to them. Ashley Garlick's costume design, for one, made some amusing innovations. When Riff-Raff entered the final scene in his white platform boots, our friend at audience left remarked "Didn't you wear those in Mamma Mia?" Which was my exact thought.<br />
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Through Nov. 3, The Stage, 490 S. First Street, San Jose. 408/283-7142, thestage.org<br />
<br />
Michael J. Vaughn is the author of 22 novels and two plays, Darcy Lamont and Cafe Phryque, which are available for free downloads at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cafe-Phryque-Michael-J-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B00CIGRGUQ/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?keywords=vaughn+cage+phryque&qid=1570586932&sr=8-1-fkmr1">amazon.com</a>.Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-38153798935298890262019-09-25T12:13:00.001-07:002019-09-25T12:13:28.756-07:00Amateur Opera Critic Meets Diva<br />
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Reprinted from Manybooks.net, story by Naomi Bolton. Free download of Operaville the novel at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AS8NJ7Y/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p2_i5">Amazon.com</a>.</div>
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<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Michael J. Vaughn is the author of 22 novels, including Mascot and The Popcorn Girl. He is a thirty-year opera critic, a jazz singer, and plays drums for the San Francisco rock band Exit Wonderland. For Gabriella's Voice, the predecessor to Operaville, Vaughn was awarded a $3,000 fellowship from Arts Council Silicon Valley. As our Author of the Day, he tells us about his latest opera novel, Operaville.</div>
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Please give us a short introduction to what Operaville is about.</h3>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Mickey Siskel is a survivor of a traumatic divorce who sort of klutzes into opera as a form of therapy. He discovers a great ruse for getting free tickets - just start a blog and figure out how to write reviews. He gets unexpectedly good and attracts the attention of a world-class diva, Maddalena Hart, who meets with him and finds herself smitten. It's a bit like "Notting Hill" (which I saw AFTER I wrote Operaville, please note).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozexIh8kX4s2q2jad-ENQZDmUtC8MxTsoyad59dNOwt4D1XVszbPS5mbdratWwBZw4UYhwpJdNQaM2j8HNP-ygd6lAHnGopVu27nruzgjX-26DkGSaNitrm0hXcKvIXg0Y-NSanPqoniZ/s1600/51J4%252B%252B7x6HL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozexIh8kX4s2q2jad-ENQZDmUtC8MxTsoyad59dNOwt4D1XVszbPS5mbdratWwBZw4UYhwpJdNQaM2j8HNP-ygd6lAHnGopVu27nruzgjX-26DkGSaNitrm0hXcKvIXg0Y-NSanPqoniZ/s320/51J4%252B%252B7x6HL.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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What inspired you to write about an amateur opera critic who finds himself in an affair with an opera diva?</h3>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px;">
I am a long-time opera critic, but after I quit my newspaper jobs to focus on fiction I still wanted the free tickets so I could continue seeing opera. So I started a blog called Operaville. But somewhere along the line, I thought, Hmmm, interesting device for a novel. As for the diva, I've had the good fortune of befriending quite a few opera singers and I find them to be delightful, fascinating creatures.</div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: centurygothicregular; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">
Your first opera novel, Gabriella's Voice earned you a fellowship from the Arts Council in Silicon Valley. Tell us more about this.</h3>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px;">
That award was very important; it gave me a sense of legitimacy early in my career. Authors really need those! Gabriella actually makes an appearance in Operaville.</div>
<h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: centurygothicregular; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">
You are an opera critic yourself. How much of your own experiences have you incorporated in the book?</h3>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: helvetica; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Lots! I have learned so much through my reviews. When it comes to opera, it's easy to fall into stupid cliches (the fat lady with the horns). The real world of opera is so much more interesting. And also I'm able to write about the music in a deep, thoughtful way, and hopefully translate these concepts and descriptions to the lay reader.</div>
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Tell us more about Maddalena. What makes her so exceptional?</h3>
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She's at the very top of her game and yet she never stops learning. Some of this is based on Renee Fleming. She wrote a book on singing in which she said she never stops re-evaluating a role, even if she's performed it a hundred times. I think this endless seeking is indicative of the most successful people in all fields. Also, Maddie is very sexual, which is the thing that perhaps people don't know about opera singers. I always want to say, But look at all these shenanigans they get to onstage? Don't you think that has an effect?</div>
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Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?</h3>
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I came from a musical Disneyland called Peterson High School in Sunnyvale. We had 120 guys in the men's glee and used to tour other schools, encouraging boys to sing. From there I went to San Jose State, where the choir performed with the local professional orchestra. My own singing continues with jazz (Sinatra a specialty) and rock; I'm a drummer/vocalist with a classic rock cover band, ECRB. Not surprisingly, music plays an active part in most of my novels.</div>
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<img alt="mvaughn" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5ee8a8f0-155c-4bb9-bbf6-027c4d0ac579" src="https://manybooks.net/sites/default/files/inline-images/FB_IMG_1569280052785-side.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" /></div>
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Was there a single defining moment or event where you suddenly thought, 'Now I'm an Author,' as in—this is now my career?"</h3>
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I've always been self-powered, but there was one moment. I graduated with a journalism degree and immediately realized, Who am I kidding? And got a day job so I could start writing novels.</div>
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How do you force yourself to finish what you're doing before starting the next project when the new idea is nagging at you?</h3>
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I have actually begun a new project while finishing an old one. It didn't seem to bother me. Though I usually do enjoy a month or two of "brewing" between books.</div>
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Among the wealth of characters in Operaville, who was the most difficult to create?</h3>
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The ex-wife kept shifting on me! I really wanted to indulge in an old-fashioned nasty villain, but she insisted on being human and showing all these redeeming insecurities. In the end, she might be the most intriguing character in the book. I always preach a certain lack of control to beginning writers, because you never know when a character will raise her hand and say, I think you're wrong about me.</div>
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If you could choose one character from your book to spend a day with, who would it be? And where would you take them?</h3>
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Oh, Maddalena, naturally. I'd like to take that 4th of July cruise into Seattle for the fireworks show. What fun!</div>
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Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do to combat it?</h3>
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I really don't because I don't push myself to write when I'm not feeling inspired, but I do keep a sketchbook around for doodling. I actually wrote a story about this for Writer's Digest; visual play has a way of re-energizing those parts of the brain used for writing. And sometimes I get a page or two when I wasn't expecting it.</div>
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What are you working on right now?</h3>
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I did a rather unusual thing to start my new novel. Without any preliminary theme, I simply put a character in a certain place and wrote my way out. I ended up with a speculative novel about post-flood California (a climate-change Handmaid's Tale), which is unlike anything I've ever done. So perhaps this is a good way to push one's boundaries and find out what your subconscious is up to.</div>
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Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?</h3>
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I have an author page on Amazon (22 titles), and a page on Facebook. Also, my blog is at <a href="http://operaville.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box;">operaville.blogspot.com</a>, and I continue to write opera reviews.</div>
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Extra notes:</h3>
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The sex scenes In Operaville are pretty candid. Prudes, please note. Inspired by authors like Kundera and Tom Robbins, I tend to write about sex as if it were a normal part of life. Although you won't find godawful erotica tropes like "throbbing" and "perky."</div>
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The opera descriptions get pretty technical sometimes but never fear. They're not essential to the plot.</div>
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The cover photo is a selfie! Taken by a soprano friend, Isabella Ivy, before going onstage in a Mozart opera. I'm so grateful that she let me use this extraordinary shot.</div>
Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-19743645590410632662019-08-22T13:18:00.001-07:002019-08-22T13:18:54.966-07:00Alviso<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Alviso</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">The Chicanos from the tidelands had no school so they were bused to ours. Like children everywhere, we latched onto their differences like hungry leeches.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">The shirts buttoned to the collar. The boxy work pants, the constant black T’s, a strange affection for gothic lettering and vintage cars.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">We stood in the quad in our bell bottoms, puka shells and disco shirts and asked, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What could they be thinking?</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">We learned the appropriate slurs, which now seem pathetic: greasers (because they used product in their hair), Spics (because they spoke Spanish), beaners (because they ate beans?).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">One day, my little brother’s gang – let’s call them The Squirrely Bunch – were performing their best Cheeches and Chongs, tossing around words like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cholo, wetback, low-rider, puta</i> in those odd Mexican rhythms, the words falling like dominos to the obligatory <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eh? </i>(unintentionally paying tribute to the things they professed to hate). My mom finally had enough.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">“That’s it! You boys get in the car right now. We’re going for a ride.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">I can only imagine them, huddled in the back seat, muttering.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Omigod, Vaughn, your mom finally snapped. She’s gonna kill us and leave our bodies in the swamp.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">My mother, one of the more navigationally challenged of women, puzzled her way through unfamiliar back roads until she arrived in Alviso, a former railroad town and fishing port where Mexican families found shelter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">I don’t have direct quotes, but I’m guessing she said, These are real boys with real homes and friends and families who love them, and they are not to be made into cartoons by you. Also, look how far they have to travel to go to a white school where mean boys make fun of them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">I imagine, too, the faces of the locals as a blonde, blue-eyed housewife cruised through town in a station wagon, boys peering out the window like caged animals. It must have looked like the world’s most pathetic tour bus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">Decades later, I sit at a fire pit in Malibu, hearing this story for the second time. My brother has never forgotten that trip, has lived his life accordingly, and keeps this story in his back pocket as a reminder of his mother’s huge, loving and slightly lunatic heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">As a story always brings more stories, I flash on the day when I turned from my middle-school locker to be punched in the face by a lean, ferocious-looking Chicano.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">More shocked than hurt, I stumbled down the hall, holding my nose and shouting, “Why did you do that!?” He and his friends continued to follow me, and I was afraid they were looking for more. They scattered, finally, as I made my way to the nurse’s office.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">(Where were the adults? Nowhere. Adults in the seventies were useless.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">As the year went on, I tried to hate those Spics, those beaners, those goddamn greasers. After all, I had reason. But my attempts were always cut off by my mother’s voice, a permanent installation in my head. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now Michael. Think of how that other person feels. </i>(I sometimes envy people who freely hate. Their worldview must be much less complicated.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">Eventually, I managed to place myself in that kid’s shoes, and the equation came clear. He was the alpha male, his friends the Alviso equivalent of The Squirrely Bunch, and it was his job to find the biggest, whitest kid in the place and take him down.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">Because that’s what you do on your first day in prison.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">Michael J. Vaughn is the author of 21 novels, most recently <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Flaming-Dress-Michael-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B07GV4NRG8/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1537208946&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=girl+flamingo+dress+vaughn">The Girl in the Flaming Dress</a>.</span></span></div>
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Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-77867751869854973092019-06-24T18:26:00.003-07:002019-06-24T20:00:41.820-07:00Harold in Motion<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Harold
in Motion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Sports
Dad<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I remember my dad calling me back to his
den. These were always significant occasions, and I ran a quick scan to figure
out if I might be in trouble. I sat next to his tan office chair and looked
at the squadron plaques ringing the walls, with military names like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ComPatWingsPac Patrol 131</i>. He folded his
hands and leaned toward me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Mike,
I just wanted to check in with you on something. As you might have noticed, I’m
coaching your brother’s team this season, and I wanted to make sure you were
all right with that. The thing is, you kinda got ahead of me. I’m not really
qualified to coach at your level.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Of
course I was okay. I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">loved</i> baseball.
I was like a duck in water, and I really hadn’t thought much about my dad’s
coaching pursuits. (In fact, I noticed that coaches’ kids got perhaps a little
too much scrutiny.) But I was touched that my dad cared enough to ask.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Especially
in hindsight, I really appreciated my dad’s approach when he came to watch my
games. As I neared the plate, he would give two handclaps and a brief
encouragement: “All right, Mike! Let’s go.” Just enough to let me know he was
there, but not so much that it messed with my focus. To this day, I hear
parents trying to coach from the stands and I have to quash the desire to tell
them to shut the hell up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another
aspect of my dad’s self-restraint was in the choice of sport. My dad was the
captain of his high school football team, and when his eldest son shot up to six
feet by freshman year, he must have had some hopes. But my stocky build almost
guaranteed I would be on the line, knocking heads, and it just didn’t appeal to
me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That
said, I inherited my dad’s toughness in other ways, and his high threshold for
pain. Third base and goalkeeping gave me plentiful opportunities to go
airborne, and I wasn’t really happy unless I finished a game with some blood on
my uniform. This trait showed itself in our other athletes, as well. Sister
Carla would proudly display the raspberries she got sliding in shorts, and I
have personally witnessed brother Larry performing flying somersaults in
pursuit of a soccer ball.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But
my dad’s toughness was at a whole different level. When he finally went in for
surgery on his long-injured rotator cuff, the doctor spent hours cleaning
things up. Afterward he asked him, “How were you even walking around without
screaming in pain?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s
a long-standing joke that men talk about sports so they don’t have to talk
about feelings. But the adjustment from son to fellow adult can be awkward, and
I always appreciated the place of sports as a kind of conversational lubricant.
During the various heydays of the Giants, ‘49ers and Warriors, we would use
playoff games as male tribal events. We celebrated touchdowns, home runs and
buzzer-beaters with silly high-fives as Dad’s monster poodle, Java, jumped and
barked at all the excitement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My
dad also had a reputation as an amateur football broadcaster. He would watch a
play and say something like, “Well the tight end wasn’t sealing the three-four
gap. Kaepernick should have optioned it outside.” Three seconds later, the guy
on the TV would say, “Johnny, the tight end wasn’t sealing the three-four gap,
so clearly Kaepernick should have taken that one outside.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
spectating occasion I most remember, though, came with the 2015 Super Bowl
between the Patriots and Seahawks. Neither of us really cared about either
team, but the ending was so stunning – a Patriots interception at the one-yard
line – that I fell to the ground, slapping the carpet and exclaiming, “I can’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">believe</i> that just happened!” My dad was
highly amused, watching his 50-year-old son roll around the floor like a
teenager.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">The
Secret Musician</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I recall a road trip in 1971. Big sis and I
were headed to a family reunion in Indiana courtesy of Dad’s rotary-engine
Mazda (Larry and Linda were flying there with Mom.) The hits of the day were
Miss American Pie, Maggie May, Lean on Me and Sweet Caroline. Not that we were
hearing any of these, because Dad was hunting down the oldies stations:
Montavani, the Ray Coniff Singers, Englebert Humperdinck. We didn’t complain,
because the man was in his element, driving across America, checking his maps
and puffing on a cigar, the smoke escaping out the little triangular window
vent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
he wasn’t smoking, he was whistling along with the radio. The Shadow of Your
Smile. Moon River. I Left My Heart in San Francisco. My dad had a very pleasant
whistle, rich and resonant. But he did things that I couldn’t quite figure out.
He would craft little phrases in between the lines of the song. Then he’d
whistle things that traveled over and under the melody. It reminded me of a
movie scene I saw with Bing Crosby.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Years
later, after I came to understand more about music, I realized that my dad was
riffing, and that this was not a common talent. Later, I learned that he played
cornet in high school, and was a fan of trumpeters: Louis Armstrong, Al Hirt,
Herb Alpert. By sheer coincidence, his first and middle names made up the name
of another famous trumpeter: Harry James.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A
few years later, as I began my life-long love affair with singing, I sort of
wondered where I got my voice. (Mom was enthusiastic but not great.) One
Christmas Eve, I stood next to Dad in church as we sang hymns. He was trying to
blend in, but the talent was unmistakeable: a rich, resonant baritone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Dad
was a huge Elvis fan but he had other favorites as well. One day, Ray Charles
appeared on our television and Dad said, “Mike! Listen to this. This guy is the
coolest man on the planet!” My military father was suddenly talking like a hipster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
never completely understood why a man with such apparent gifts didn’t pursue
music more – although I suppose having four kids might have played a part. He
also seemed pretty happy to be an aficionado, and he enjoyed playing with his
reel-to-reel tape deck. He also seemed to enjoy the pursuits of his musical
son, as I went from choir singer to opera critic to rock drummer. One night, I
got the chance to pay him back big-time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
had attained a job as publicist for an arts center, and our gala performer was
one of those trumpeters, Al Hirt. I checked with Al’s tour manager, and then,
at intermission, I led my parents back to his dressing room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Al
couldn’t have been more perfect, sitting behind a desk in a ruffled tuxedo,
smoking a big ol’ stogie, looking a little like Orson Welles. My dad was more
nervous than I’d ever seen him. He told Al how much he admired his music, and
then handed him an old album for an autograph.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Wow!”
said Al. “I haven’t seen <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this</i> one in
years!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
you ever get the chance to turn your fiftysomething father into a wide-eyed
youngster, don’t pass it up. It’s priceless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2xjn9x_CuuyuZNHtduUJFLQzjDMYwuOPs5pfN40TYTe1Z7_79soLycVIy4HMx_Ao0s4IYyPR5xCxpfDyW4nXbkjtyInWLVldFTGuzaC03mYR-ODha3notTpH2YRE6cbIJh36L0E45Uh6/s1600/64636999_10215697053513978_2692572816712138752_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1113" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2xjn9x_CuuyuZNHtduUJFLQzjDMYwuOPs5pfN40TYTe1Z7_79soLycVIy4HMx_Ao0s4IYyPR5xCxpfDyW4nXbkjtyInWLVldFTGuzaC03mYR-ODha3notTpH2YRE6cbIJh36L0E45Uh6/s400/64636999_10215697053513978_2692572816712138752_o.jpg" width="277" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">The
Example</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As most good parents know, setting an
example is so much more important than speaking the words. And this doesn’t
just happen early in life. As I entered college, I decided to study journalism,
but I was actually considering something riskier. At the same time, my father
was retiring from the Navy. His weakening eyesight had ruled out flight time,
and he decided it was time to go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Following
the path of his work as Moffett Field’s safety officer, he got a job as a
safety manager at a major corporation. Within six months, things weren’t going
so well. He was being asked to “work around” safety regulations, rules that in
the Navy were considered ironclad. Also, he wasn’t crazy about sitting at a
desk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So,
he got a job driving buses for Santa Clara County Transit. My dad <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">loved</i> driving, had even toyed with the
idea of being a cross-country trucker. The transit union guaranteed good pay
and benefits. And, as it turned out, Dad was also good at customer relations.
At dinner, he would regale us with stories of his devoted regulars, as well as
the dicey characters who rode the infamous 22 line. He joked that bus-driving
was much more hazardous than flying, since the air didn’t have so much traffic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Dad’s
new job was also good for me. Dependents got free rides, and I rode that same
22 line to San Jose State. I attribute some of my good grades to all the
reading time afforded by those trips, and every once in a while the door would
open to reveal my very own father at the wheel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But
the stronger benefit was the example, and its inherent message: do what you
love in life. When I got my journalism degree, I started freelancing for a
local weekly, but I also began my first novel. My dad expressed due concern
about my finances, but along about novel number five I guess he decided I was
serious about this. My dad was not much of a fiction reader, but he supported
my ambition nonetheless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Years
later, we boarded Dad’s bus on his final shift with a birthday cake and
balloons. Soon after, he bought an RV (which he described as “much smaller”
than his usual rides) and drove his second wife, Sharon, across Canada and the
United States. It was, quite literally, a busman’s holiday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2xup5HL8TUeMPZWQMGU9yapXxha8vJWMNDkBYhp2ngoG0YVTrPcik_DDWMSnDlsBZB8UNCBZ5JPnuRDgPMnCB1DjYoFAPxiV0YlqgScFm-ARMGVCK9JgeeGOgN1rgEP8zB6j4RJsncKr/s1600/64560501_10215676933770997_8114594352145104896_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2xup5HL8TUeMPZWQMGU9yapXxha8vJWMNDkBYhp2ngoG0YVTrPcik_DDWMSnDlsBZB8UNCBZ5JPnuRDgPMnCB1DjYoFAPxiV0YlqgScFm-ARMGVCK9JgeeGOgN1rgEP8zB6j4RJsncKr/s320/64560501_10215676933770997_8114594352145104896_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">No
Pack of Lifesavers for this Father-Son Talk</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">From the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sunnyvale Sun</i>, June 12, 1996<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I was sitting in front of the wood stove
reading the paper one evening when my father came by and set a bright yellow
box next to me on the end table. Condoms. An unopened box of 12 – ribbed, with
spermicidal lubricant (Dad’s a devotee of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Consumer
Reports</i> and buys only the best).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“These
are left over from my brief dating period,” he said. “I thought you might be
able to use them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My
father has an uncanny ability to endow small actions with volumes of meaning,
and this was one of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I’ll
start from the beginning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
my mother died two and a half years ago, my relationship with my father was
destined to go through large changes. In hindsight, it seems that my mother
served as an unwitting screen between us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Mom
and I were both extroverted, verbal types, given to gossip, amateur psychology
and hours-long philosophy sessions; we were both obsessed with the nature of
human character and human characters. In a typical visit to the house, I would
share a couple of sentences with my father – a question about work, a reference
to some Bay Area sports team – and then adjourn to the kitchen table for a
marathon chat session with Mom. Dad, given an understated, more introspective
nature by genes, a tough childhood and 20-odd years in the Navy, would retreat
to the den with his newspaper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
my mother passed away, my relationship with my father would necessarily become
more direct. But that was only the beginning. After being accepted at three
different artists’ colonies, I realized that keeping up rent on my apartment at
the same time would be an impossibility and asked my father if I could move back
into the house. And so, we were housemates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And
what’s more, we were single guys. As the time of mourning wore on and my dad
thought about the idea of dating again (something my mother had insisted on,
instructing us to “get his butt out of the house” if he began to mope), I found
myself in the unsettling position of counselor. The sum of my dating experience
was, after all, approximately four times that of my father, and he was
returning to a radically changed landscape. Young men in the ‘50s didn’t have
to worry about dying if they slept with the wrong partner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
strangeness of the situation was intensified when Dad went on his first date
with the widow around the corner – whose daugher had been my sixth-grade crush.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I’m
not saying I sat around giving my dad great advice like some Babe Ruth
Westheimer – I’m too smart to say I really understand much about this thing we
call love – but one time I did hit the bullseye. On the eve of my departure for
my first artist’s residency in Wyoming, he had begun dating an old family
friend – high on my mother’s list of recommended successors – and he found
himself surprised and alarmed at the strength of his feelings for her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“There
are no rules to this game, Dad,” I said. “I’ve been looking for the right woman
for nearly two decades. You may have found her after two months.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
I came back from Wyoming six weeks later, before I could even pull in all my
bags, my dad came up to me with a boyish grin and a different kind of energy
about him. “I’m getting married,” he said. Six months later, I sang at my
father’s wedding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
may have been something my mother said or something I thought up myself (the
two are not very different), but you don’t have to worry about life bringing
you changes. It will, and in very unexpected ways. The best you can hope to do
with these curveballs is go with the pitch, try to hit a single the other way
or at least move up the runner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
the last few years, my family – new and old – has been facing curveballs,
sliders and knucklers, and in a very twisted ‘90s sort of way, they all seem to
be summed up within this bright yellow box of condoms. These little rings of
latex represent health, safety and love, after all, and I couldn’t think of a
better gift a father could bring to a son.<u><o:p></o:p></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyHxX5dm-t-qAwIDe_4HlZSvwCODgwPYtr4wj2609qlyjxFwrvjqt9S3Plid-Qbd0FdExn_8GvfdoMv958zH0SeNRUaf5K5jbviF7j0CDl6YORlR1v7Cozu3B_7bok09dWyJkenWhJHQsE/s1600/64285397_10215676933450989_2377055761709662208_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="898" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyHxX5dm-t-qAwIDe_4HlZSvwCODgwPYtr4wj2609qlyjxFwrvjqt9S3Plid-Qbd0FdExn_8GvfdoMv958zH0SeNRUaf5K5jbviF7j0CDl6YORlR1v7Cozu3B_7bok09dWyJkenWhJHQsE/s400/64285397_10215676933450989_2377055761709662208_n.jpg" width="372" /></a></div>
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<br />Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-86395818113126246342019-06-10T22:25:00.001-07:002019-06-10T22:26:23.237-07:00Drunk on Amy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8rj1NJqPORMAu1kFWgLgOg9P9UvxADDk-G28tpZ3vUMV32pEc1qfUKxuskwGJWcgdGBvU9mNosx_UNuKvRkR54ubVEOFt7y4UdF_nTYnVzQqk-mfN0VmmBD1dlNlVJZDAmuM1okE5gGA/s1600/20190604_200225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1220" data-original-width="1600" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8rj1NJqPORMAu1kFWgLgOg9P9UvxADDk-G28tpZ3vUMV32pEc1qfUKxuskwGJWcgdGBvU9mNosx_UNuKvRkR54ubVEOFt7y4UdF_nTYnVzQqk-mfN0VmmBD1dlNlVJZDAmuM1okE5gGA/s640/20190604_200225.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b>Drunk on Amy</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Aging bachelor goes into the<br />
world, Amy-blessed,<br />
bits of her roiled up<br />
in his halo<br />
<br />
low-level conjures at the<br />
places she has touched,<br />
valence electrons pushed<br />
before him like ranch hands,<br />
cleaning up the dogies<br />
<br />
He wonders at the<br />
nonchalance of the<br />
greater world,<br />
was expecting to be<br />
arrested or made a god<br />
<br />
Can you not see the<br />
light shooting from my pores?<br />
<br />
He did not actually have to<br />
leave her but his ruts are<br />
housepets and perhaps he<br />
needs the distance to<br />
see what kind of<br />
painting his life has become<br />
<br />
A cool blue stew to the<br />
northwest, shimmering golds and<br />
yellows, purple and<br />
pink birthing magenta,<br />
black for definition<br />
<br />
A few free minutes to<br />
drink Ethiopian coffee and<br />
write another poem for he is<br />
Amy-loved and can't<br />
quite believe itMichael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-33522978723352809072019-05-16T19:36:00.000-07:002019-05-16T19:36:11.695-07:00Transubstantiation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_mz2ZTpwYTliDz2Vhs6UdbrvSKJdBNufwGuWOYfAcQ0JfsxX2FUjTb5gI8HVYXak_W_b2PTzY1sjd9cUo1xYiydwRI2hEmoINAakKVI899_F-lyVC-I1yXLJ61x56gK6X1GcNhTucVvY/s1600/60067412_10215426265904457_1111804442652442624_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_mz2ZTpwYTliDz2Vhs6UdbrvSKJdBNufwGuWOYfAcQ0JfsxX2FUjTb5gI8HVYXak_W_b2PTzY1sjd9cUo1xYiydwRI2hEmoINAakKVI899_F-lyVC-I1yXLJ61x56gK6X1GcNhTucVvY/s400/60067412_10215426265904457_1111804442652442624_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Transubstantiation<br />
<br />
Zoom in and the<br />
margins disappear<br />
skin devours skin<br />
eyes turn to oceans<br />
<br />
Amy in a half moon<br />
crushing iceplant in the<br />
sand and wine<br />
<br />
I am captured and free,<br />
let out to romp the borders,<br />
exothermic<br />
<br />
She smiles and says,<br />
<i>I could eat you up.</i>Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-16904745959638458602019-04-28T14:37:00.002-07:002019-04-28T14:37:24.599-07:00Opera San Jose Paints a Dark Butterfly<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hKQDqK4E9AZvaCl9L5Lo1q0BTXuB4zlIR757-EYc1VUgX0qXh-Ddd_glK31mDkomzK3ZjKZGt3vYER0XCiZWlln2NYH5K1EF1jYAS-MKKx1IkEPft7rxAoPacWmGrmzxJoKZMuMbDX-3/s1600/wedding.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hKQDqK4E9AZvaCl9L5Lo1q0BTXuB4zlIR757-EYc1VUgX0qXh-Ddd_glK31mDkomzK3ZjKZGt3vYER0XCiZWlln2NYH5K1EF1jYAS-MKKx1IkEPft7rxAoPacWmGrmzxJoKZMuMbDX-3/s400/wedding.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maria Natale as Butterfly. All photos by Pat Kirk.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Opera San Jose<div class="MsoNormal">
Puccini's Madama Butterfly</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
April 26, 2019<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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One of the more popular misconceptions about opera is that
you can separate “acting” and “singing” into discrete categories. In truth, the
two operate in a constant dance, and if you’re not singing your acting and
acting your singing, you’re not doing the job. Opera San Jose’s dark, assertive
Madama Butterfly demonstrates how even a musical matter like vocal timbre can
determine how a stage director (Brad Dalton) delivers his vision.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The obvious place to start is the happy (Act I) couple,
Pinkerton and Cio-Cio-San. Dane Suarez possesses a classic lyric tenor, but one
vested with just a bit of an edge – not all the way to spinto, but one capable
of a little force. This serves to bring out Pinkerton’s early knuckleheadedness
about cultural differences, his young man’s focus on his own needs. He’s a bit
of a firecracker.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zc5rTA6N5gVEfHIoqKbI29fo-af34BhoPZ0gAcgYPh7L2Bz5vbrjRfyH4pMqxdCRTAth1E3Fs__cBDOGflb_Kqk_oUhyfom7GP_E57rUf8ozaLbcs8W1fU5kscpp-xG9z30l8yn5CkWZ/s1600/blosom.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="474" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zc5rTA6N5gVEfHIoqKbI29fo-af34BhoPZ0gAcgYPh7L2Bz5vbrjRfyH4pMqxdCRTAth1E3Fs__cBDOGflb_Kqk_oUhyfom7GP_E57rUf8ozaLbcs8W1fU5kscpp-xG9z30l8yn5CkWZ/s320/blosom.jpeg" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Renee Rapier as Suzuki, Maria Natale as Butterfly.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Our Cio-Cio-San, Maria Natale, takes this further. She, too,
is a classic lyric, but with a fantastic capacity for ferocity at the top end.
This really brings out Butterfly’s sometimes-overlooked strength, her
determination in Act 2 to fight off the doubters and wait for her American
husband to return. Her “Un bel di” seems to rise out of nowhere, as it should,
and her later high pianissimos are delicious.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This timbral match makes the wedding-night duets into
soaring tonal tangos. The sense of power and assertiveness is reinforced by
Trevor Neal, who uses his rich baritone and natural presence to play a fiery
Sharpless, who makes no bones about how much Pinkerton is ticking him off. Brad
Dalton does a masterful job of taking the players he’s given and directing to
their strengths.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Renee Rapier uses the depth of her mezzo to plumb the many
lines of foreboding about her mistress, and to underscore the luscious unison
passages with Butterfly in the blossom-strewing celebration of Pinkerton’s
return. Mason Gates delivers an impish Goro, and Philip Skinner is truly
imposing as The Bonze.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMhY9EVsNfLzFgWPkLaDAnZGYWyiJ8TuHjMKUrfQ9X6nMrWNtxEUdp-kkTgSHpEII2ZBDqbILqd7upfey_0uTgTka3pe5XO5bw1sGXyCWDHUQ7TTPjtx-brx44dwYrqa6ulxlAJe9a_T6L/s1600/goro.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="493" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMhY9EVsNfLzFgWPkLaDAnZGYWyiJ8TuHjMKUrfQ9X6nMrWNtxEUdp-kkTgSHpEII2ZBDqbILqd7upfey_0uTgTka3pe5XO5bw1sGXyCWDHUQ7TTPjtx-brx44dwYrqa6ulxlAJe9a_T6L/s320/goro.jpeg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trevor Neal as Sharpless, Mason Gates as Goro.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Adding to the sense of darkness is Kent Dorsey’s set, a spare
black stage deploying various flying screens and backdrops. The vigil scene is
particularly lovely, Butterfly, Suzuki and Sorrow gazing into the pinhole
lights of a night sky. Atom Young did a splendid job with Sorrow, handling his
many small assignments with ease (and it confounds me how anyone can get a child
to stand still for that long).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Joseph Marcheso and his orchestra demonstrated an excellent
sense of dynamism, from the playful lilt of the letter-reading scene to the
grand sweeps of the love duet and the heart-stopping timpani-driven death
scene. The production shows a distinct attention to traditional Japanese
movement, guided by choreographer Hanayagi Jumasuga. Butterfly’s descent to the
stage at Pinkerton’s return contains a different emotional gesture for each
step. The death scene is a little bloodless. I understand not messing up
valuable kimonos, but perhaps even a little stage blood on Pinkerton’s hands
would have helped.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPr8WWIuIHiUR_aQ-9WgW_u8w_0hExGlhTNru-2HuprZhXRkh1JqEXyho3yZOE9SBzJLexWZlTDduwY7YZLJied6htQHZVWZR_o-tCyheKOcOJ_PThRfNYRRRxcP84jEBmvm8hJ_ffLb9/s1600/trouble.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="408" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPr8WWIuIHiUR_aQ-9WgW_u8w_0hExGlhTNru-2HuprZhXRkh1JqEXyho3yZOE9SBzJLexWZlTDduwY7YZLJied6htQHZVWZR_o-tCyheKOcOJ_PThRfNYRRRxcP84jEBmvm8hJ_ffLb9/s400/trouble.jpeg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maria Natale as Butterfly, Dane Suarez as<br />Pinkerton, Ezra Kramer as Sorrow.</td></tr>
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I offer a special note of gratitude to OSJ’s general
director Larry Hancock on the eve of his retirement. Going back to 1985 (!),
Larry added an enormous amount to my opera education through intermission chats
and official interviews, and no one has worked more tirelessly in service to an
arts company. I have especially enjoyed the way he has led OSJ into recent ambitious
ventures like this season’s production of Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick. Enjoy your
rest, Larry – you’ve earned it.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Opera San Jose’s 2019-20 season includes Strauss’s Die
Fledermaus (Sept. 14-29), Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel (Nov. 16-Dec. 1),
Verdi’s Il trovatore (Feb. 15-March 1) and Mozart’s The Magic Flute (April
18-May 3). 408/437-4450, <a href="http://operasj.org/">operasj.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Michael J. Vaughn is the author of 21 novels, including the
opera novels <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gabriellas-Voice-Michael-J-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B01M0KMVQO/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=gabriella%27s+voice+vaughn&qid=1556487325&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull">Gabriella’s Voice</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Operaville-Michael-J-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B01AS8NJ7Y/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=operaville+vaughn&qid=1556487364&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull">Operaville</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-88632376023688434582019-03-04T17:56:00.002-08:002019-03-04T17:56:52.031-08:00Michael J. Vaughn: Recent Reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtjifSQig_HEqnrSnNEJjZZNRlZd8PIWevqiYiFX5V65EEvm2UYonRgRcooT9sX0xIeKjt4JSsURZFKMtJFTpDCJk1Z6TgI5H_NZQb-moj4vsvBUwFrrV3vrPQqPdHeh-2Oj5QCF0OMgz/s1600/monkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtjifSQig_HEqnrSnNEJjZZNRlZd8PIWevqiYiFX5V65EEvm2UYonRgRcooT9sX0xIeKjt4JSsURZFKMtJFTpDCJk1Z6TgI5H_NZQb-moj4vsvBUwFrrV3vrPQqPdHeh-2Oj5QCF0OMgz/s200/monkey.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Monkey-Tribe-Michael-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B018ZTW4FG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=monkey+tribe+vaughn&qid=1551750241&s=digital-text&sr=1-1-catcorr">The Monkey Tribe<o:p></o:p></a></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Five</span></span> Stars<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;">Always evocative and compelling </span></span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">March 2, 2019<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Perhaps because the locations in this novel were significant in my own love affair and spiritual growth, I was particularly moved by this story. Perhaps because this is the fourth book of Vaughn's that I've read, I now consider myself a huge fan. He elevates everything which could be mundane into rich gratitude.” --</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Nancy Gingrich<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Luminous-Sandwich-Michael-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B01LW3R6TJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VN0KZXSJVKS8&keywords=luminous+sandwich&qid=1551750341&s=digital-text&sprefix=luminous%2Cdigital-text%2C187&sr=1-1-catcorr">The Luminous Sandwich<o:p></o:p></a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Five</span></span> Stars<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Remember "Watermelon Sugar"? Did you love Brautigan?</span> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">January 28, 2019<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Fantasy, hope, sex (more than I expected) but kind, magic. How something semi-real is captivating. Very California in all the best moods of that phrase.” –</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Terry<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfEIJ7Dr0fx9S7MPLvPFFlG9o2Ado2ATrFBEc_7PZ2sz1K-gifYGogd9DpzNP_qKlJU3LujSqlt5Z1GvGal36fC8SrKHyZefhn5kVHVnqJUP6PbNLD2G5xT4kCu9_QQTyHNLZCOlguxtD/s1600/bil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfEIJ7Dr0fx9S7MPLvPFFlG9o2Ado2ATrFBEc_7PZ2sz1K-gifYGogd9DpzNP_qKlJU3LujSqlt5Z1GvGal36fC8SrKHyZefhn5kVHVnqJUP6PbNLD2G5xT4kCu9_QQTyHNLZCOlguxtD/s200/bil.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Billy-Saddle-Michael-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B0165BJJEU/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=billy+saddle&qid=1551750421&s=digital-text&sr=1-1">Billy Saddle<o:p></o:p></a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Five</span></span> Stars<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">AMAZING</span><span style="color: black;">!!!</span> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">December 5, 2018<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">“This was one of the most unusual books I have ever read. A little too much musical band jargon made it a bit uncomfortable to read, but the characters were well developed and the Falter family was a joy to read about, especially Pablo and Derek, the sons-well raised. Thanks” --</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kindle Customer<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Boy-Michael-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B01BK5PNPK/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=nature+boy+vaughn&qid=1551750490&s=digital-text&sr=1-3-catcorr">Nature Boy<o:p></o:p></a></span></span></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">Five Stars<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Great book</span> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">January 6, 2019<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">“The 2nd book I've read by this author, though I didn't realize it until I finished. This was a story of an epic adventure that every young man dreams of and some accomplish to greater or (probably) lesser degree. It kept my interest and I only put it down when I had to. I haven't read of a cross country like this since ‘On The Road.’” --</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Will St. Iver<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Five</span></span> Stars<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">A must read.</span> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">January 1, 2019<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">“This is a fantastic, magical read. Couldn't put it down. The main character, Skye is on a never ending journey. He is a very likable guy who meets many interesting people who help him grow on his journey.” --</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">R Lillis<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Flaming-Dress-Michael-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B07GV4NRG8/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=flaming+dress+vaughn&qid=1551750569&s=digital-text&sr=1-1-spell">The Girl in the Flaming Dress</a></span><span style="color: windowtext; mso-no-proof: no; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Five</span></span> Stars<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Best in a long time</span> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">October 3, 2018<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Not sure why, but it had everything great in spades. I didn't even really know it was a love story till the last. Very cool. Like this author a lot and editing was good!” --</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ellie Winslow</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Note: These reviews were written by Amazon customers entirely unconnected to the author. Beware of false reviews! (An excellent clue would be a book with 17 five-star reviews. Those most assuredly came from friends and family.) Special thanks to Julie Moore Rogers Promotions and <a href="https://booksends.com/">Booksends</a> for this recent spate of excellent publicity. MJV</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></div>
Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-8083299624843496462018-03-14T19:51:00.000-07:002018-03-14T19:51:15.266-07:00Notes from the Judge: The Dangers of AutobiographyMichael J. Vaughn is a long-time judge for Writer's Digest novel competitions. He's using this series to pass on the issues brought up by the entries he reads.<br />
<br />
The danger of writing a purely autobiographical novel is that real life wanders ceaselessly, whereas good novels tend to have tightly focused narratives. This is exacerbated by the questionable edict of "write what you know," which has led to millions of dull novels. Why not use your life as raw material, and bend and create where the demands of the story call for it? After all, if you were being completely accurate about these events, why aren't you writing it as a memoir? It's called imagination. Use it.Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-45750592455139471852018-03-14T11:50:00.001-07:002018-03-14T11:50:19.873-07:00Notes from the Judge: The ShowoffI am a judge in a novel contest, and I hope this series will provide some insight on the common flaws that appear in the entries.<br />
<br />
Today's entry featured an author who had a high vocabulary and was intent on showing it off. In a single sentence, he used "flexion," "incurvate," "turgidity," and "torsioned." A good twenty-dollar word works well in the service of a more precise description. But it's like a good spice, best when used in moderation. Thesaurus overload makes your prose too thick, ruins the rhythm of sentences and distracts the reader from the story. The emphasis should be on communicating, not showing off.Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-48138433663081509772018-02-14T13:45:00.000-08:002018-02-14T13:47:28.227-08:00The Hits Keep Coming: a Punster's Delight<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmZJS6iJm-sHqJvlMOD8SOIi7jSVM5H8qUwFl0bxAyqa041GqYJ3xZmGB2SUZqloVrjr_f83oRayvIKBOwwlbsUGht2ffEQ-cEQZOGT0KJquUdrNPmPFH-CZYgOQi2i5_yudDTa_PpzSj/s1600/carlos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="395" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmZJS6iJm-sHqJvlMOD8SOIi7jSVM5H8qUwFl0bxAyqa041GqYJ3xZmGB2SUZqloVrjr_f83oRayvIKBOwwlbsUGht2ffEQ-cEQZOGT0KJquUdrNPmPFH-CZYgOQi2i5_yudDTa_PpzSj/s320/carlos.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carlos Santana, lead guitarist for the<br />
Cleveland Indigenous Peoples.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Or<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I Started a Joke That Sent the Ball Flying<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">By Michael J. Vaughn<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Chris Isaak and I went to Fenway and saw a Wicked Game. I’m sittin’
there trying to Guess Who the visitors are; They Might Be Giants. But no, in
Only the Beginning, I realize it’s Boston versus Chicago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Chicago’s got quite a lineup. Their last game was
high-scoring, 25 or 6 to 4, I Don’t Recall. Who’s on First? Why, it’s Carlos
Santana (actual ballplayer, look it up), a Smooth fielder if ever there was
one. Springsteen’s in center ‘cause he was Born to Run, and the rest of the outfield
is played by The Outfield. Of course, the real Iron Man is Ozzie at short.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Unfortunately, the starting pitcher, Steppenwolf, was Born
to Be Wild. He walks the first three batters, so they bring in The Mick, who
can really paint the black. Jagger says Start Me Up!, gets his Signs from the
Five Man Electrical Band and finds The Way to a Fastball. The first two calls
give him some Satisfaction, but then Ann and Nancy Wilson come up in the Heart
of the order, and hit two balls to The Wall, then George Michael gets up and
Wham! Bases cleared. Then Chris Martin Clocks one to the Pesky Pole. Why, Boston’s
got more Styx than the Babe himself! Jagger’s feeling Shattered, but he finally
gets a Superfly to end the inning and trudges to the dugout, where his manager
takes some Sympathy for the Devil and says, “Well, You Can’t Always Get What
You Want.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">There’s more trouble in the bottom of the inning. James
paints first base Brown, and David Ortiz complains until the field crew came
out and Papi Got a Brand New Bag. Will Smith took the mound (actual ballplayer,
look it up) and was Getting Jiggy With It when Ray Charles, formerly of the
Tampa Bay Rays, Busted a seeing-eye single to John Fogerty in Centerfield. When
Ray was thrown out at second it was Cryin’ Time Again, and the ump said, “Hit
the Road Jack!” “What’d I Say?” complained Ray, as he was dragged away by the
Police.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Blue Moon Odom, one of the Ohio Players who was recently
Fired, faces Idina Menzel, a real Survivor who’s getting the Eye of the Tiger
now that she’s back from Detroit. Menzel Let It Go and smacked a Frozen rope
over third. After hit singles by Simon and Garfunkel, she was Homeward Bound.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Mitch Williams, The Wild Thing, enters in a double switch
with the Troggs and Surrenders a walk to Cheap Trick, followed by a long Drive
to Incubus.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But you know what? I can’t finish this story. I’m headed to Ebbets
Field for a Dodgers reunion, and the way things are going I’m gonna get No
Sleep Till Brooklyn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Michael J. Vaughn is the author of twenty books, including <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Popcorn-Girl-Michael-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B01M1V5YG8/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1518644489&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=popcorn+gir+lvaughn">The Popcorn Girl</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Atheist-Evolution-Bradburys-Giraffe-Popcorn-ebook/dp/B079KQF9RY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518644444&sr=8-1&keywords=atheist+vaughn">Atheist Evolution</a>, and a licensed punologist for the San Francisco Giants. Don't try this at home. No musicians were harmed in the making of this story. That we know of.</span>Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-82715338465729948662018-02-14T12:02:00.002-08:002018-02-14T12:03:32.233-08:00The Separation of Sex and Church<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXu75BataQ0bIvCB2etLhm-87jbDg6KyrhX5VieIvRliksOucL6CZ2w_65TY1CaV0-0PcU_RLU8tgfFBDKQLksyp1P0A9GOIoBg25Fh0yVy327j_fMISYoGt9KRUv8qqTuCtYW8piOngqc/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="213" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXu75BataQ0bIvCB2etLhm-87jbDg6KyrhX5VieIvRliksOucL6CZ2w_65TY1CaV0-0PcU_RLU8tgfFBDKQLksyp1P0A9GOIoBg25Fh0yVy327j_fMISYoGt9KRUv8qqTuCtYW8piOngqc/s400/cover.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: small;">From </span><em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1985029049/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517783243&sr=8-1&keywords=atheist+evolution"><span style="font-size: small;">Atheist Evolution</span></a></em><span style="font-size: small;">, a book by Michael J. Vaughn</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>The Vise Grip<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In my personal life, I
operate by what I call the John Lennon Rule. That is, when it comes to other
people’s belief systems, my attitude is, Whatever Gets You Through the Night.
Far be it for me to completely comprehend what someone else is going through in
their life and what they might need for basic survival.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> That said, I do think the human
species needs to eventually rid itself of religion in order to get on with its
evolution. The reason being, once a religion is created, it operates very much
like a corporation: soulless, concerned only with its own survival, and willing
to run over anyone who gets in its way.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For a robust, worldwide view of
religious toxicity, I recommend <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God is
not Great</i> by Christopher Hitchens (2007, Hachette Book Group). When I first
read this book ten years ago, it was like someone had set fire to my brain.
Here, backed up by a lifetime of religion-focused journalism, were all my
darkest suspicions on the subject, explicated in fierce, brilliant arguments.
Although I will try to describe these manipulations in my own terms, it would
be a mistake not to acknowledge the paths that Hitchens burned through my
synapses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Original Sin Shell Game<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The primary con of the
church, writes Hitchens, is to maintain strict control over its followers by
ensnaring them in a game they cannot possibly win, a vise grip of ill logic.
The ace up their sleeve is original sin, the idea that a baby pops from the womb
with demerits already ascribed to its permanent record. This is because you,
Mr. Newborn, are culpable for the actions of your ancestor 6,000 years ago, a
young lady who listened to a talking snake and wrongfully took a fruit from the
Tree of Knowledge. (And why was this bad? Because religion wants you to be as
stupid as possible.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Just to make sure that no one ever
clears this imaginary slate, the church concocted sins that are blatantly
unavoidable. A perfect example is the Tenth Commandment: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his
ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A pretty
interesting list! Note how the wife and servants are listed as property, on the
same level as the ox and the ass. But anyone who understands the free-firing
nature of the human brain knows that the negative action of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not coveting</i> is impossible. The mind
simply<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>goes there<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, </i>and Voila! The Unavoidable Sin. I can still hear George Carlin’s
voice saying (and I paraphrase), “If you’ve lusted after your neighbor’s wife,
well save your car fare, man, you’ve<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
already </i>sinned!” (I might add that this is a sin near and dear to my heart.
As a fiction writer, one of my greatest assets is a brain that always <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">goes there</i>. It’s called imagination.)
Put another way, what we have here is a religion that doesn’t ask for much,
they simply want <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to control your every
thought.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s not really
the church’s aim, with the coveting rule, to catch you in a misdemeanor. The
goal is to make you feel bad about yourself, and to guarantee that you will not
spend five seconds of your life as a non-sinner (in fact, if you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did</i> manage to grab those five seconds,
you’d be guilty of the sin of pride). The only possible way out, say the
gatekeepers, is to cart your sorry uncleansible soul to church for regular
maintenance, and while you’re there it wouldn’t hurt to put some more money in
the offertory. Sucker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Perhaps the most obnoxious Christian
idea is that Jesus died for our sins. To which I posit a few questions. 1) Who
asked him to? 2) Why do you continue to refer to everyone as sinners when his
death wiped out all of our sins? 3) Why is Jesus’ death any greater or more
painful than the death of any human ever born? 4) So God declared us sinners
for being exactly who he created us to be, then tried to make up for it by
killing his own son? What kind of a sick fuck <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> this guy? (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">See Old
Testament.</i> Oh, right.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fifty Shades of Circumcision</span></b></span></b></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What could be a richer
arena for manipulation than sex? Our higher mind is already plenty conflicted
about these guttural, noisy, messy things we do when nobody’s looking. How easy
would it be to throw a little gasoline on the fire and send one’s followers
into that same no-win vise grip?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As with original sin, the sociopaths
of religion can’t bear to leave the babies alone. Welcome to circumcision, a
barbaric ritual (descendant of the blood sacrifices of paganism) in which the
intelligent design propagandists of the world turn to their god with knives
unsheathed and say, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You got this one
little part wrong.</i> And slice off the foreskins of their defenseless
newborns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In recent years, medical science has
finally overcome the frightening lobbying power of the church and declared this
procedure to be completely unnecessary. This clarifies the actual aim of this
vandalism, which is sexual repression. Without the protective foreskin, the
head of the penis becomes less and less sensitive. What happens next has a sort
of elegant irony. The sexual urges remain the same, while the outlet for those
urges has been damaged, creating a kind of bottleneck. Recent studies show that
circumcised males compensate for their lowered sensitivity by pursuing ever
more dangerous sex acts, increasing their chances of contracting and spreading
sexually transmitted diseases. This completely blows up the already weak
argument that circumcised penises are more hygienic. (Here, try this. We call
it “soap and water.”)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Armed with information from the radio
doctor Dean Edell (a personal hero of mine in the realm of logic-driven
thinking), I once wrote a letter to the editor on this subject. A Jewish friend
read it and accused me of being antisemitic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“But I’m not Jewish!” I responded. “I
was born in a secular American hospital to Christian parents. Why was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I </i>circumcised?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I lost that friendship over this
discussion. Which is just as well. Having one’s dick sliced up is a bit far to
go to prove you’re not antisemitic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Unspeakable, Obvious Act</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One of the supreme <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ah-ha!</i> moments in Hitchens’ book is his
discussion of masturbation. Given the super-redundancy engineered by evolution,
the average male reproductive system will produce 525 billion spermatozoa over
a lifetime. This kind of overabundance creates a great amount of pressure.
Fortunately, evolution has provided a convenient means for release: appendages
that result in our hands dangling directly next to our genitalia.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The church, of course, saw this
irresistible, natural act as another chance to place its followers in the vise
grip. Do that, they said, and you’re going straight to hell. But even the
threat of eternal torment wasn’t enough, so they added all manner of folk myths
about hairy palms and gradual blindness. (This is a basic truth about religion:
it consistently treats the realities of nature as the enemy.) If a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">female</i> is caught masturbating (an act
pursued more blatantly for pleasure), the slut-shaming goes on forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In one area – birth control – the
church is wildly pro-nature, seemingly doing every stupid thing they can to
encourage breeding. The realities that they purposely ignore bring disastrous
results.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The first reality is a growing gap
between the age when a female <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can</i>
reproduce and when they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should</i>. Given
the increasing income equality of the U.S. economy, it’s not possible for a
couple to support themselves and a child till their mid-twenties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The church, self-serving, patriarchal
sociopaths that they are, see just one more vise grip. Thou shalt not use birth
control, thou shalt not use abortion – yes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i>,
our follower, are expected to defeat billions of years of reproductive evolution
(and raging hormones) through sheer power of will. But here, here’s a
2,000-year-old made-up story about a nice Jewish carpenter to help you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If pro-life fundamentalists actually
wanted to prevent abortions, they would do their damnedest to encourage birth
control, but here’s where Christianity’s unnatural view of sex deals another
blow. The mere thought of their children fornicating is enough to send them to
their rosary beads, accompanied by a complete amnesia about how horny <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they</i> were at that age. Birth control, it
seems, is seen as an admission of defeat. As for the church, they just seem to
want to breed as many followers as possible, even if all of them are miserable
and impoverished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Given religion’s misogynistic tendencies,
the issue of abortion is a dandy opportunity to control half their followers by
using their own bodies against them. And it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">enrages
</i>them that the U.S. has granted women sovereignty over their own
reproductive systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>You will meet many pleasant, admirable
people who work for religious institutions. Indeed, it’s a wise atheist who
judges people as individuals, not for their affiliations. That does not change
the fact that religions are soulless entities, ones that are perfectly willing
to wreck lives in the service of their own survival.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span> </div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>Michael J. Vaughn is the author of twenty novels, including the popular atheist novel <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Popcorn-Girl-Michael-J-Vaughn/dp/1517610346/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517783378&sr=1-1&keywords=popcorn+girl">The Popcorn Girl</a>.</o:p></span><br />
<o:p></o:p></span>
Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-81613018295832658512018-02-04T14:29:00.000-08:002018-02-04T14:30:07.285-08:00The Gospel According to Thomas JeffersonFrom <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1985029049/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517783243&sr=8-1&keywords=atheist+evolution">Atheist Evolution</a></em>, a book by Michael J. Vaughn<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSmbDPjDxpxcDgKj5QVZN4mZ_LM9eu_Oby3dZ4CFkQtZL8YZlcKN0nCzw9_Y0Au7g-00FrtEiUVGRK16nWdhH7QFM_31uVfrAWLz78dIWYAogUA_7LimbAkMTtQ9NDyuxRqRqqBwHxs2O/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSmbDPjDxpxcDgKj5QVZN4mZ_LM9eu_Oby3dZ4CFkQtZL8YZlcKN0nCzw9_Y0Au7g-00FrtEiUVGRK16nWdhH7QFM_31uVfrAWLz78dIWYAogUA_7LimbAkMTtQ9NDyuxRqRqqBwHxs2O/s320/cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One of the more
annoying assertions of the fundamentalist right is that America is a country
founded on “Judeo-Christian values” and that it ought to return to such values.
Translation: we need more religion in our government, we need to refer to the
Bible when it comes to issues like abortion and gay rights, and we need,
generally, to remove the wall separating church and state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I could make several arguments just
from a practical, political point of view. 1. The Founding Fathers were looking
to avoid the theocratic traps of the European countries they fled, like
state-sponsored religious oppression and divinely ordained monarchy. 2.
Religious institutions are never more pernicious and violent than when they
hold the reins of both church and state - see Medieval Christianity and Modern
Islam for examples. 3. Faced with a country packed with different sects and
religious experiments, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">last</i> thing
the Fathers wanted was to try and regulate them or anoint one of them as a
national denomination. 4. The wall between church and state was designed not
just to eliminate religious influence over the government, but to prevent
government interference in churches. Be careful what you ask for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That said, let’s go back to that
original argument: “America was founded on Judeo-Christian values.” In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Faiths of the Founding Fathers</i>
(2006, Oxford University Press), religious studies professor David L. Holmes
takes a look at the six principal players – Franklin, Washington, Adams,
Jefferson, Madison and Monroe – and comes away with an alarmingly consistent
pattern. To a one, these men performed their public religious duties at
orthodox churches. To a one, their hearts belonged to Deism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Enlightenment flame of Deism took
hold at colonial colleges during the middle of the 18<sup>th</sup> century,
just when the future Fathers were matriculating. Of particular import was
Virginia’s William and Mary, where Monroe and Jefferson studied and Washington
served as chancellor. The college was described by an orthodox Episcopalian as
“…the hotbed of infidelity and of the wild politics of France.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Deism influenced, in one way or
another, most of the political leaders who designed the new American
government,” wrote Holmes. “If census takers trained in Christian theology had
set up broad categories in 1790 labeled ‘Atheism,’ ‘Deism and Unitarianism,’
‘Orthodox Protestantism,’ ‘Orthodox Roman Catholicism’ and ‘Other,’ and if they
had interviewed Franklin, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe,
they would undoubtedly have placed every one of these six founding fathers in
some way under the category of ‘Deism and Unitarianism.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So What is Deism?<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">defining</i> Deism is like landing a Space
Shuttle on an aircraft carrier. The Deist worldview begins with an all-powerful
God, but one who remains a little distant. He is portrayed as setting the
universe into motion and then leaving the rest to us, like a pool player who
sends the balls scattering over the table and then leaves the room. The New
Testament plays a part – largely in the teachings of Jesus – but is subject to
the judgements of Reason, against which it does not fare well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In his provocative tome <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Age of Reason</i>, Thomas Paine
professed a great love for this Deist god but often sounded exactly like an
atheist. He labeled Christianity “a fable, which, for absurdity and
extravagance, is not exceeded by any thing that is to be found in the mythology
of the ancients.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yet if a reader cannot call Deism ‘atheistic,’”
added Holmes, “it is equally impossible to call the movement ‘Christian.’ Deists
repeatedly called into question any teaching or belief of Christianity that
they could not reconcile with human reason. For them reason was paramount in
determining religious truth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The harshest critic was Thomas
Jefferson. An outward Anglican and Episcopalian, Jefferson attempted to keep
his more radical thoughts to his closest friends. Nonetheless, in the 1800
election he was smeared by Adams ally Alexander Hamilton as an atheist.
Congregationalist clergy warned their followers that, if Jefferson were
elected, they would have to hide their Bibles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In character, Jefferson was a
restorationist; he wanted to return Christianity to its original intentions.
“Christian Mythologists, calling themselves the Christian Church,” wrote Paine,
had “set up a system of religion very contradictory to the character of the
person whose name it bears.” Jefferson agreed, and seemed to have special
places in hell for the gospels’ Hellenic influences, the apostle Paul (the
first “corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus”) and Protestant reformer John Calvin,
whose followers “introduced into Christian religion more obscenities than its
leader had purged it of old ones.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Propelled by these passions, Jefferson
literally took up scissors and razor and removed anything from his copy of the
New Testament that he believed to be unreasonable or corrupt: Paul’s letters, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Revelations</i>, all miracle stories and
prophecies; virgin births, resurrections, any argument for Jesus’ divinity, and
the Last Supper. The resulting work, comprising mostly the teachings and life of
Jesus, was not published until a century after Jefferson’s death, under the
title <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Life and Morals of Jesus.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This highly individualized view of
religion was common among Deists, and the six Founders profiled in Holmes’ book
all had different takes on Christianity. Washington, for instance, had a strong
aversion to the Last Supper and its magical cannibalism, and refused to take
communion. (This snowflake diversity is similar to modern atheists, each of
whom seems to carry their own packet of idiosyncratic definitions. As well they
should.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I suppose what I wish to demonstrate
with this chapter is that our dear Fathers, so often reduced to cold marble
statuary, were radical thinkers, and, by the standards of many of the day’s
churches, heretics. (To repeat, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thomas
Jefferson did not believe in the divinity of Jesus.</i>) Fueled by coffee and
The Enlightenment, they were letting their great minds run roughshod over every
old idea of government and theology. And if there was one principle on which
they agreed, it was the preservation of religious freedom. The firmest
guarantor of that freedom was a solid wall between church and state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Historian Gordon C. Wood, in his book,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Radicalism of the American Revolution</i>
(1991, Vintage Books), gave a particularly blunt summary of the Founders’
attitudes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Most
of the founding fathers had not put much emotional stock in religion… Most of
the revolutionary gentry only passively believed in organized Christianity and,
at worst, privately scorned and ridiculed it. Jefferson hated orthodox
clergymen… Even puritanical John Adams thought that the argument for Christ’s
divinity was an ‘awful blasphemy’… When Hamilton was asked why the members of
the Philadelphia convention had not recognized God in the Constitution, he
allegedly replied, speaking for many of his liberal colleagues, ‘We forgot.’”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>Michael J. Vaughn is the author of twenty novels, including the popular atheist novel <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Popcorn-Girl-Michael-J-Vaughn/dp/1517610346/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517783378&sr=1-1&keywords=popcorn+girl">The Popcorn Girl</a>.</o:p></span></div>
Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-20556394243837809372017-11-20T14:40:00.002-08:002017-11-20T14:40:18.546-08:00A Thanksgiving Wish
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I just want to stop and THANK you baby – THANKS for the
memory – THANK you for being a friend – I want to THANK you falettin be mice
elf agin – THANKS for the time that you’ve given me – You didn’t have to love
me like you did but you did but you did, and I THANK you – THANK you girl for
teaching me brand new ways to be cruel – No THANKS Omaha THANKS a lot – THANK God
I’m a country boy – THANK you India – Wham bam THANK you ma’am! – THANK heaven
for little girls – I THANK the Lord for the nighttime – Just be THANKFUL for
what you’ve got – THANK you for the love you brought my way – I’m bound to
THANK you for it – DANKE Schoen – THANK you for the music<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy Thanksgiving! Michael J. Vaughn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-22858749635575644092017-09-27T16:15:00.002-07:002017-09-27T16:15:53.452-07:00You Essay<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5vinCcpuj4zFZqtvdlxE-Cj0o8gtuIzcFl6REIAPOi6q1qLfNdtRCQBa_KP69s8Dl889-RHrNE2LD7wWxqE3BoRCr4JXxuZ8fOzeX1nGOmjvTFR7TEieCdp1U5lmSZkpdYqKYhpv8VtR/s1600/20989228_10211189119698450_7023268456229074704_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="864" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5vinCcpuj4zFZqtvdlxE-Cj0o8gtuIzcFl6REIAPOi6q1qLfNdtRCQBa_KP69s8Dl889-RHrNE2LD7wWxqE3BoRCr4JXxuZ8fOzeX1nGOmjvTFR7TEieCdp1U5lmSZkpdYqKYhpv8VtR/s640/20989228_10211189119698450_7023268456229074704_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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You Essay<o:p></o:p></div>
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Freedom for the patriots,<o:p></o:p></div>
soap for the clean<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
pokers and prodders,<o:p></o:p><br />
wanters and yellers we<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
are not an orderly bunch.<o:p></o:p><br />
It would be easier to<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
funnel your genomes through a<o:p></o:p><br />
collander than to cal-<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
culate just what sort of<o:p></o:p><br />
thing is a country<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
A fiction, a haystack of<o:p></o:p><br />
gathered wishes, a false fish<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
The self-proclaimed spend their<o:p></o:p><br />
days singing to a festive rag<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
worshipping a god that<o:p></o:p><br />
no one can agree upon<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
collecting bumper stickers<o:p></o:p><br />
proclaiming what they hate<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
I know you want to kill me;<o:p></o:p><br />
the time will come soon enough<o:p></o:p><br />
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Michael J. Vaughn's twentieth novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Figment-Michael-J-Vaughn/dp/1975843665/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1503860912&sr=8-1"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Figment</span></a>, is now available in both digital and paperback forms at Amazon.com.<o:p></o:p>Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-56438020906754464282017-09-21T17:33:00.003-07:002017-09-21T17:33:55.744-07:00Figment: Novel Excerpt<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Michael J. Vaughn recently published his 20th novel, Figment, at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Figment-Michael-J-Vaughn/dp/1975843665/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1506040262&sr=8-1">Amazon.com</a>. The story follows Channy Adams, an Olympia, Washington radio journalist, whose everyday life begins to unravel little surreal bits at a time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">She gives Shawn a long wraparound kiss and watches him amble to his car. He leaves a track in the dew of her driveway and disappears into the fog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She takes a long shower to clean out the déjà vu, sits down for a bowl of cereal and fills a Thermos with coffee. Across the lawn, the gardeners have cut a long hallway through the undergrowth. Tendrils of salmonberry reach out to catch at her sweatshirt. She emerges at a waterside trail, packed mud that slaloms a series of willows before opening to a rocky beach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Channy takes a swallow from the Thermos and almost drops it at a piercing noise behind her. She spins to find a bald eagle perched on an overturned rowboat. The bird is post-office perfect, golden eyes, a cowl of white. He gives her an offended stare, unravels an impossibly broad pair of wings and launches, straight over Channy’s head. He continues north along the water, pausing to make a talon-strike on the surface but coming up empty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Once she rediscovers her breath, Channy inspects the rowboat and finds upside-down lettering: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">HMS Bessie</i>. She recalls this vessel from the summer, a long and lovely drift as she tried to work husband number two out of her system. As with all things Bessie, the setup is immaculate. The boat is tied to a metal post to prevent high-tide driftaways. Flipping it over, she finds the oars and a lifejacket velcro’d to the center bench.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After a bit of tugging and dragging, she manages a launch and drifts into the Budd Inlet, sliding the oars into their locks and searching for the old rhythm. Looking south, she can see the masts at the Swantown Marina. Her limbs begin to loosen, and she marvels at the speed she’s attaining. She stops for a rest and realizes that the boat is going on without her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Channy leans forward to inspect, and almost has her face taken off by a wall of black rubber, exploding from the water and crashing back down. It resurfaces, revealing a patch of white shaped like Africa. It’s an Orca.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Shit!” Channy feels the grip of panic, but fights it back by giving herself assignments. The oars are dancing in their locks, their blades skipping on the water, so she slides them out and stows them on the bottom of the boat. She peeks over the bow and finds the problem: the lead rope is taut, and somehow attached to the Orca. She takes a couple stabs at untying the knot, but it’s drawn tight by the force of the pulling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>They’re gaining speed. The boat feels like it’s hydroplaning, ridges and banks rushing by to the east. If she wasn’t completely terrified, it might even be a fun ride. She considers hurling herself overboard, but the Puget is a hypothermia trap, and also she might become Orca food. She grips the gunwales and tries her best to stay balanced. The mental pause allows Channy to entertain another horrifying thought: Orcas like to dive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She needs to cut the rope, but she has nothing sharp, not even her housekeys. Then she thinks of Bessie, paragon of preparedness, and considers the interior of the rowboat. The only unobservable space at this point is the underside of the bench. She reaches a hand and feels a plastic edge, then rolls to the floor, landing her shoulder in a puddle. One good yank brings the delicious rip of velcro.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s a first aid kit. She opens the latch and finds bandages, antiseptic wipes, medical tape – and a Swiss Army knife. With visions of a tragic fumble, she carefully sorts the blades – screwdriver, knife, scissors, can opener – and finds a serrated knife. She saws at the rope, entertaining a vision of the Orca taking her under when she’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this close</i> (and thereby making her death that much more pathetic). After a single seriously long minute, she’s two-thirds through when the Orca snaps the rope with a mighty tug.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Channy collapses on the forward thwart. The boat slows to a stop. The Orca dives, then takes a victory breach, revealing the rope looped around her tail, and continues north. Channy spends a few minutes letting the adrenaline seep from her muscles, then grunts her way back to the center bench. She finds the Thermos and is thrilled to discover that the coffee is still hot. She’d like to figure out where she is, but the weather conspires against her. She is surrounded by fog, turning everything – the ceiling, the horizons, the surface – to a slate gray. But then she sees a spot of yellow and realizes it’s a man in a kayak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Hey! Help me! Hey! Over here!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It takes a long, long time, but eventually he arrives, puts a gloved hand on her gunwale and takes off his sunglasses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Kai?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Channy! Hey, nice surprise. What the hell are you doing out here?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I’m not sure I should tell you. You would think I was nuts.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Lasso an Orca?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Well yes! How did you know?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I caught the tail end of it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“So did I.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Her joke sneaks up on them. Their laughter shakes their boats, sending out ripples. Channy reaches for Kai’s hand, which sends an odd buzz through her body.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Kai? Why did you kill yourself?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Kai blinks, embarrassed, and gazes into the gray distance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“The bullets they gave us were armor-piercing bullets. Do you know what those can do to the human skull?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I… can guess.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I didn’t just kill your husband, Channy. I obliterated him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Channy shivers. “But… you had to.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Look. I’ve run the ethical formulas a gazillion times. I get it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“He was slaughtering civilians.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Kai stares at her. “It doesn’t erase the image. The image never goes away.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I’m sorry.” A low birdcall echoes in the distance. Channy takes away her hand. “So that’s why you took the sleeping pills?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Well, they helped a little.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“No, I mean… the overdose.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“It would be pretty stupid if I left you with the same image.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You’re a good man, Kai.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Was.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She wipes her eyes, remembering him on the bed, looking so peaceful and still.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“So how the hell do I get out of here?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Against his brown Sherpa skin, Kai’s smile is as dazzling as ever. “The tide.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The water rumbles beneath them. Channy drifts away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Why aren’t you coming with me?” she calls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Kai shrugs. “Got no gravity!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The tide is not so bad as the Orca, but still she feels powerless, out of control. She passes an enormous tower, anchored in the water by a concrete base, and looks up to see two long strips in the sky. It’s the Tacoma Narrows bridges, old and new. She feels herself giving in to a drilling exhaustion. Fearing hypothermia, she tries to stay awake, but it’s no use. She gives in, and drifts away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Channy feels a bump, and opens her eyes. She is draped across an aluminum bench, with a tremendous crick in her neck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Hey lady! You okay?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The voice comes from a bright spot in the water. She sees white teeth and brown skin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Kai?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The face produces a rapid stream of Spanish. She shakes her head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I’m sorry?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He laughs. “I thought you said ‘Que.’ I should have known. You’re much too white for a muchacha. Although right now you’re looking a little red. Are you okay?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She marvels at how deftly he switches languages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Where am I?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Port Townsend.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She squints and can see the waterfront buildings behind him, lined up like dominoes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Can I tie up somewhere?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Sure. Follow me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He turns his kayak and paddles away. Channy finds her oars and slides them into their locks. On her first few pulls, her arms feel like putty, but he’s nice enough to wait for her. They pull up to a new-looking pier with green composite planks and shiny metal fittings. He finds a stray length of rope and ties up her boat, then helps her onto the dock. She stumbles like a drunk, so he wraps a hand around her waist and deposits her on a bench.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Man! You’re in rough shape. Hey, stay here, I’ll be right back.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He returns with half a sandwich and a water bottle. She guzzles it down, till he puts a hand on hers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Hey, take it slow. You’re pretty dehydrated.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She smiles. “Okay.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I’m Federico.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Hi. I’m Channy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Channy. Cool name. So where did you begin this little adventure?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She is not about to tell him the truth, so she gestures southward. “Down that way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“The Boat Haven? Geez, good thing a ferry didn’t run you down.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She smiles stupidly. Federico taps her on the knee. “Well look, I gotta get to work. But let me give you my digits. You got your phone?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She shakes her head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Damn, girlfriend! Okay, give me your hand.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He pulls out a pen and writes his number on her palm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You give me a call if you have any more trouble. But if you feel light-headed or nauseous you call 911, okay?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She nods. Federico pulls his kayak from the water and carries it up the dock. Channy finishes the sandwich, drops her lifejacket in the rowboat and heads for the waterfront, trying her best not to look like a homeless person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The main drag is lined with sturdy buildings made from brick, rough-hewn stone and thick timbers. Their offerings are the usual touristy suspects: imports, artworks, boutique clothing, books, ice cream, seafood. The afternoon sun – the one that saved her from hypothermia – peekaboos the high ridge. Channy shivers, her jeans and sweatshirt a weak defense against a Northwest evening. She begins to realize the seriousness of her predicament. She is without money, without cards, I.D., a phone, anything that might vouch for her standing as a member of civilization. Or just get her home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She has managed to think herself into a depression. Her legs feel weak. She finds a bench in front of a brick wall, folds her legs up to her body and cries. It feels good to let herself hit bottom. Perhaps when she gets there she can think herself out. She studies the lights lining a building across the street, rubs her eyes and wipes her hands on her jeans. At the distance of memory she hears a song. It’s a female voice, perfect vibrato, five percent sob, the lines blossoming like time exposure roses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She knows better than to ignore a lifeline. Channy straightens her legs, shakes out the stiffness and wanders past a sign reading Cellar Door. Inside is a classic bar, brick walls painted white, high-varnished tables, a stout L-shaped bar with windowed pantries. Toward the back, a quartet of musicians surrounds a Persian rug: an athletic-looking man on standup bass, a red-haired rascal working brushes over a drum kit, and an extremely tall man hunching over a baby grand. A stool at center front holds a woman with straight black bangs, a short yellow dress with white spangles, and penetrating green eyes. She’s singing Little Girl Blue, and she’s Ruby.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Channy covers her mouth, turning her sob into “mmph,” but still a couple of patrons look her way. After the song, Ruby gives Channy a hug, holds a finger to her lips and takes her outside, right back to the bench.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Channy! How the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hell</i> did you know I’d be here?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Channy doesn’t know where to start. Her realities are insanities. But perhaps a partial insanity is okay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I didn’t. I was just… in town.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ruby gives her a look of stage surprise. “You got some kinda crazy GPS, girlfriend. I had a gig with Billy last night in Seattle, and he invited me to this little thing. I didn’t even bother to send out a tweet. No offense, honey, but you look like shit.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Channy laughs. “I had a little kayaking incident.” A gear turns in her head. “I also managed to lose my billfold in the water. I have not a cent or a way home.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Holy shit! It’s a good thing you found me.” She peers through a window into the bar. “Look, I have to do a few more songs, but here’s a couple drink chips, and I promise we’ll figure out a way to get you home.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Thanks, Ruby.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Channy watches the rest of the show from a chair in the back, letting an Irish coffee siphon the stress from her limbs. A card on the table reports that the drummer is Billy Saddle, a near-mythic figure who once cost the Memphis Blues a pennant by interfering with a fair ball. He’s also a hell of a singer. He joins Ruby for a playful rendition of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” throwing in little jokes that threaten (but fail) to throw Ruby off her game. A half hour later, Billy sings a version of That’s All that threatens to send the whole bar into tears, and they wrap up the gig. Ruby brings him to Channy’s table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Darling Channy. We have a plan for you. Tomorrow I am weighing anchor for Alaska, but it seems that a certain Mr. Saddle is driving home to Ocean Shores, which takes him right through Olympia.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That’s fantastic,” says Channy. “Thank you so much.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“My pleasure,” says Billy. “It’ll be great to have someone to talk to – and keep me awake.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A gear turns in Channy’s head. “Billy, do you happen to have a digital recorder?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“What singer doesn’t?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I am a preposterous woman</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, thinks Channy. Conducting an interview after a day like today. But then, perhaps the first step back from insanity is doing what one is used to doing. And certainly, the man has stories. The Blues shortstop, Pasco Fernandez, whose pennant-winning hit was turned into a ground-rule double by Billy’s grab, tracked him down fifteen years later and shot him during a softball game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Is he still in prison?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yeah. Might be up for parole in five years. I did him a huge favor by not dying.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>They descend to the Hood Canal Bridge, mere feet above the dark water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“So this epic baseball life of yours. Does that distract people from your musical talent?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Sure. But it also brought me a huge audience. I get a lot of lookie-loos, but then it’s my job to turn them into jazz fans. It’s a bit of a Faustian bargain.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>An hour later, they board the high passage of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Channy stares into the darkness below, trying to imagine herself <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">down there</i>, dodging towers, just a few hours ago. She realizes, much to her consternation, that she has left Bessie’s rowboat tied to the dock in Port Townsend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Have I given you enough?” asks Billy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Oh, plenty.” She hits the stop button. She studies Billy’s face as he drives and sees something that she has been suspecting. He is barely concealing a heavy sadness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Billy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>They achieve the end of the bridge and roll into Tacoma, the low hills like muffins frosted with housing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That last song…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That’s All?” He cocks an eye in her direction. “Off the record?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Of course.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That’s our song. My wife, Joyce. She’s dying. Pancreatic cancer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I’m sorry.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Movies would have you believe that once you hit that happy ending, everything freezes. I’m finding it hard to have a positive thought these days.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">there</i>,” says Channy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Have you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s a challenge. She can meet it, but it’s a game she’s tired of winning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Not really.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Sorry. I’m kind of a dick these days.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That’s all right.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“No. It isn’t. Go ahead and mention the song if you like. She’ll enjoy that. But don’t say she’s dying. Say she’s ‘having health problems.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You got it. Thanks.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>They stop at her cottage, sometime after midnight, to load the audio files onto her computer. She starts the coffee, but finds that Billy has fallen asleep on the couch. She covers him with a blanket, pulls out an air mattress for herself, and falls quickly to sleep. Her dreams have no chance of being as strange as her life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-38214678675754258502017-09-09T12:51:00.002-07:002017-09-09T12:51:50.545-07:00Room Service<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE1sZcm32n-rkmgeYqs5v-xSDkQMlxfx5UJIMlYEUwaUjI7zRthQ5mxuiiGLjwYen1JxoELku8xqA7R0fnC5O1T0vcxqZFoznsidz-tApfMe3iBFcofPk-eIlvnUqOoCcRePyNVIHY4dmK/s1600/16402471_10209404043472660_8980946622130631291_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1317" data-original-width="1375" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE1sZcm32n-rkmgeYqs5v-xSDkQMlxfx5UJIMlYEUwaUjI7zRthQ5mxuiiGLjwYen1JxoELku8xqA7R0fnC5O1T0vcxqZFoznsidz-tApfMe3iBFcofPk-eIlvnUqOoCcRePyNVIHY4dmK/s400/16402471_10209404043472660_8980946622130631291_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Room Service <br />
<br />
Haberdash O your fondest frond and <br />
samba southwesterly, my dear, <br />
I am tired of the chessmatch <br />
<br />
You with your bishops and knights <br />
Me and my eloquent pawns <br />
<br />
Power means something <br />
Don’t tell me it doesn’t <br />
<br />
Leave the motivational quotes to <br />
needlepoint and tombstones I want <br />
rare and beautiful meals, <br />
cars that purr, <br />
valets who kiss my <br />
ass because they have to <br />
<br />
Annual incomes that <br />
bring a smile to my <br />
true love’s face <br />
<br />
We drink expensive wines, <br />
sleep on the finest beds and <br />
dream up new religions for the <br />
hungry to feed upon <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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Michael J. Vaughn's twentieth novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Figment-Michael-J-Vaughn/dp/1975843665/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1503860912&sr=8-1"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Figment</span></a>, is now available in both digital and paperback forms at Amazon.com.<o:p></o:p>Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2171429430600623041.post-88620604929765534902017-09-07T13:04:00.002-07:002017-09-07T13:04:44.134-07:00The Path of Totality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Path of Totality<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
High on the igneous ridge,<o:p></o:p><br />
the shadow of a left-<o:p></o:p><br />
hander salutes the shadow of a<o:p></o:p><br />
right-hander and they<o:p></o:p><br />
waltz toward the disappearing sun<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
We do not know what will<o:p></o:p><br />
happen and when it<o:p></o:p><br />
does are we ever ready<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
But I know when to be real,<o:p></o:p><br />
when to stop playing Atlas,<o:p></o:p><br />
and when the world needs to<o:p></o:p><br />
go away<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
We are packets of<o:p></o:p><br />
energy and matter.<o:p></o:p><br />
When we try to be more,<o:p></o:p><br />
we’re not doing anyone any favors<o:p></o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
I am here when you need me,<o:p></o:p><br />
scribbling shadows on the page,<o:p></o:p><br />
constructing wild guesstimates as<o:p></o:p><br />
the moon etches a line of<o:p></o:p><br />
black across the continent<o:p></o:p><br />
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Michael J. Vaughn's twentieth novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Figment-Michael-J-Vaughn/dp/1975843665/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1503860912&sr=8-1"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Figment</span></a>, is now available in both digital and paperback forms at Amazon.com.Michael J. Vaughnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17776890054945089322noreply@blogger.com0