Still Hanging!

 April 2022 Blog

Delayed Reaction: A Haiku

I’d put off musing

About the day until it

Improves somewhat, but...

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(3/30/22)

...it may not. And the war and the virus continue. And I’ve come to a conclusion: I am that which is...  and the only one who can “make it so”, as Captain Jean Luc Picard used to say. All is my responsibility (at least in my immediate family), and I do not have the right to consider it onerous. Nor do I have to be happy about it. It is what it is.

“Somewhat Improved” is not something, it seems, I’m going to hear about anything, anytime soon. The virus tapers off, but it continues. The war continues. The Earth’s tipping point looms. And doctors’ diagnoses (at least in my husband’s case) are still “best guess”, and not one of them has found a solution in the last three or four years.

Yet we continue to plod on. And plodding it is. There has been little forward progress in quite a while, and the year is one-fourth gone already. Spring has barely come upon us, and I am little refreshed.

So, we push things back. We wait...  for what, I’m not sure. The end of the pandemic? There is no end in sight. The end of the war? Not on the horizon anytime soon. A breath of fresh air? That would be lovely, but so far only ill-winds are blowing everywhere.

So, I have decided to just do what I can – remembering Yoda’s famous words: “Do! There is no try.” And the old Nike slogan: “Just Do It!” (when that was not mired in controversy)

So, I will go about my daily chores, pay my bills, and write my chapters. But there is little joy in any of it, except maybe in writing my chapters. I will nap as I am able and expend what energy I can garner to improve my little corner of the world.

I am so happy to have you, my loyal friends, in my little corner of the world that I will do my best to make is a brighter corner. Even if that means more murder and mayhem from Marie Delacroix’s ravens (my Sam Rock sequel) and exposing Dhavin’s true origins in my Acqueria prequel.

Those will be still brighter than what’s happening out there in reality.

By the way, it’s a sad thing when the news of war is overshadowed (but for the briefest moment) by the slap seen ‘round the world. And I stand with Will Smith. Okay, he shouldn’t have done that, but I understand why he did it.

And so, I leave you now with this shortest of blogs to delve into another world where I can actually make things happen just by scratching my pen across the page (until the ink runs out and there are no more legible scratchings).

If you need some sweet relief from the the realities that confront us daily, check out my selection on Amazon. There may be something there you have not read yet.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this month we can really recover from the woes that plague us, and the following month will find us enjoying a more beautiful, peaceful Spring in anticipation of a stunningly brilliant Summer.

 

 

 Tomorrow Has Come!

December 2021 Blog

Tomorrow Has Come: A Haiku

The time to do what

You put off is now. There will

Not be a better.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Today is yesterday’s tomorrow. The day I swore I would do “it”. Time to do “it”.

Starting to work early on my New Year’s resolutions. I feel I need to catch up and get super-organized before I can’t.

The Sam Rock sequel will be published next Spring, but I need to schedule and complete several more following that. I need to have a prolific year.

I also need to get all my pesky personal life in order.  Medical, insurance, financial. You know, all that stuff – just in case.

Time I guess also to start downsizing my possessions. I really, really, really don’t need all this stuff I have accumulated over these many years. I could never move this stuff again – even if I had to move (which I’m not anticipating any time soon).

I have a closet full of stuff I’ll never wear again and drawers full of gadgets I’ve totally forgotten I have.

 There are also boxes that are still packed from my last move (surely full of things I don’t need and will never use again).

Also, I’ve kept receipts and papers well past their get-rid-of date. The only things I don’t want to want to part with are the original drafts from my novels. I’m kind of fond of those pages.

My biggest problem is that I can’t past making plans to get stuff done to actually doing stuff. You know, that old three-step deal; (1) Conceive, (2) Plan (3) Execute. I’m great in the first two – not so hot in the third.

I’m trying to go back to scheduling my time, but I’m having trouble sticking to it. There are always distractions – including not wanting to jump out of bed in the morning to get started.

     Maybe it will help with winter coming on. I won’t be spending so much time outside. Maybe if I’m looking at what needs to be done, I’ll tackle it sooner. And then there’s the storage spaces we’re paying for. It would be nice to be able to save money this coming year.

Perhaps I’ll even have more brain space to write more and get to publishing faster. Sur couldn’t hurt. Maybe even have some fun next year, when the pandemic is finally over and we can all breathe freely again.

Hard to imagine, but we’ve been at this for two long years now. We’re still wearing masks and keeping our distances. And now we even have  a new and possibly more easily contracted variant ”Omicron”. When will it end? Would sure like to see more people embrace the vaccines that are available. It sure couldn’t hurt.

We actually went out the other day to a restaurant to celebrate my birthday and my friend’s . We went to lunch at our favorite place, which used to be packed for lunch every day. Now, it’s nearly empty. They have even down-sized the menu, and it’s printed on one sheet of paper for a one-time only use. Everyone is still friendly, but there are a lot of new faces, and like everywhere else in town, they are hiring.

No one seems to have the staff now-a-days to service even the most limited clientele.

Well, here’s hoping for a brighter and better New Year. We certainly deserve one – world-wide – all we’ve all been through.

Here’s hoping for a milder, gentler winter also. Not looking forward to nasty weather on top of everything else.

Happiest of New Year’s to us all!

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this month we can enjoy our holidays and next month will find us actually embracing in a great New Year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Departure

 

August 2021 Blog

No Way: A Haiku

It may seem I’m not

Getting anywhere, yet I

Will not go nowhere.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Stubborn, aren’t I?  As August starts on another rainy note, it also brings an upswing in Coronavirus cases again. My mind has grown tired of living in fear of its own life. I would have peace from this global hell of man’s creation.

I would have surcease of constant sorrow. I would have freedom from constant fear of death, either of mind or body. It also wouldn’t hurt to have freedom from the constant restrictions imposed in the battle to fight this pandemic for over one-and-a-half years.

I would have an end to it all.

I had a dream about nothingness last night and woke up with the tune and words to The Beatles “Nowhere Man” running through my muddled mind. Hence the above Haiku. In the dream, I was choosing a morbid dark-hued cloak with even darker symbols which I don’t remember clearly except for a dark maroon star (and I’m not even sure of its shape).

I also chose a pliable blue mask of a freakish cat face. It all might make a great horror novel some day, but I have no clue what any of it means.

     But that idea will have to wait until the completion of my many other projects . When will that time come?

Sooner than later, I promise. Starting today, I have promised to write every day. At least until the end of the year, if not forever. So far, such a pledge has worked well for me. I’ve posted at least one Haiku a day every day since January 1, 2014 and a blog on the first of every month since January 1, 2017.

So, next month’s blog will herald the progress I will have made during August. Should put me close to the end of the Sam Rock sequel. Would love to publish that by the end of the year, lest I publish no new book this year at all.

Other than that, there’s not much new in my world. Hard to have new experiences when there’s little you can go out and do, even with some of the restrictions being lifted. And sad to say that I’ve gotten used to not going anywhere and not doing much.

You’d think that I would  enjoy the isolation and write and write and write. But I always seem to run out of time or find some way to put I off until a tomorrow that seldom comes.

I so need to get beyond that and get back in the habit of writing ever day. It’s the only way I’m going to get things done what I need and want to do.

And to do that, I would best leave undone that which would waste my time – easier said than accomplished.

But, since I prefer not to be a “Nowhere Man”, I will give it another shot.  We’ll see what happens. We’ll see how far I can get.

July has also been brutal. Looking for so much better from August. Here’s hoping.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Also, please feel free to visit me at my Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

 

 

Oops!

 

March 2021 Blog

Well that didn’t work!

 

Daylight: A Haiku

Sad – when the day shines

More brightly than I ever

Can hope to again.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

But then, it’s been a busy month – and short. And I’m not the brightest tack in the box lately – nor the sharpest bulb.

Most notably, I’ve had my second vaccine shot (Pfizer) and there were no noticeable side effects for either. One more week, and I should be immune.  My husband got his first (Moderna) and gets his second March 15^th. By the end of the month, we can both breathe more easily.

Also, our county is out of our state’s red zone and into the yellow, so more businesses will be reopened. Hope our favorite restaurant, Peppers’s Grill and Bar, makes a comeback. They will be sorely missed if they don’t. They are an institution around here.

The audio version of “The Seasons of Sam Rock” is inching ever more closely to being released. And my narrator, Steven P. Hamm has expressed an interest in doing my “Black Oak” novels, starting with “Town of Joy”. He’s done a preliminary chapterm and it’s just great. It helps to have a talented actor as narrator.

The Sam Rock sequel is inching ever closer to publication. Found that I really like the story behind “Raven’s Roost”, so I’ve been saving the changes I was contemplating for a third Sam Rock novel on how he got kicked off the police force. Spoiler alert – it wasn’t all his fault.

I continue to write (and post to Twitter and Facebook) my daily Haiku. That’s 2,614 Haiku (at least) since Jan. 1, 2014. I’m still going strong, although I’ve considered quitting a few times. I always seem to manage to crank out just one more.

March heralds the coming of Spring, and I’m starting to consider Spring cleaning. I would love to see everything bright and shiny and free of any chance of harboring the Covid-19 virus. I think we all deserve a new start this year, and Spring is a great time for renewal.

Still not planning any trips, nor considering visitors. I feel it’s just too risky. Although I shouldn’t be able to contract the virus, there’s no guarantee that I can’t carry it from something or someone I’ve touched.

You know, that’s really hard for a little old lady who’s used to hugging people. Doubt we’ll even regain the habit of shaking hands anymore. So sad, to feel you shouldn’t touch someone you love.

Hope all my readers and writer friends are doing well and survived what has turned out to be a horrendous winter of vicious cold and storms. I thought we were going to get through the season with only global warming to worry about. Looks like I was wrong. However, it is nice that we have a renewal of concern for the climate change emergency we are faced with. Hopefully, we get the Covid-19 crisis under control, so we can concentrate on alleviating the world-wide crisis.

Always so much to think about. Where do we start? There’s global and domestic hunger and homelessness. Then, there’s world-wide and domestic terrorism. So much unrest and dis-harmony everywhere. Hopeful here, there’s solutions to be found for more than one of our problems.

In the meantime, I’ll keep writing, if not to illuminate, then to entertain and allow an avenue for some escape for at least a little while.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content, all the while looking forward to enjoying our lives even more in the coming months. Let’s keep the faith.

Hard to believe that I have eleven books published, All are available on Amazon for your pleasure.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

 

 

 

 

Sakes Alive!

 

September 2020 Blog

Egads! Oh, my goodness! What a year this has been, and it isn’t over yet.

 

Sakes Alive: A Haiku

Amazing – how long

You can hold your breath waiting

For that other shoe.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

You just know it’s going to fall; you just don’t know when.

We may just yet survive the year 2020; I’m just not sure how we’re going to do it.

It’s been a toxic year for so many reasons. It’s been hard not to get burned in one way or another.

Fires are raging both literally and figuratively. Besides the devastation of the wildfires raging in the west and the Amazon, we have people raging out of control across America. And then there’s the pandemic. Haven’t seen much control over that lately, either.

In the midst of all of this, we are trying to live and make a living. Both of which are becoming more and more difficult to do as time goes by.

So who has the wherewithal to sit and read? Or to even write? Some of us do, and some of us must.

To that end, “Global Warning” will be published in September. I wish I could say it will take our minds off of “things” for awhile, but that’s not what it’s designed to do.

It’s actually designed to make us worry about one or two more things –  the “Climate Crisis” we have been ignoring since the pandemic hit, and just maybe  the current acidic political climate.

While we are ignoring the above, we are close to registering what may be the hottest summer in history, with the hottest day (130 degrees F) ever recorded in Death Valley, California. Epic storms are devastating our land with their winds and their deluges. (If only we could put that water to good use, dousing the over 500 wildfires raging in California alone.)

And then there’s the “Climate Crisis” among people. We can’t hug, we can’t shake hands. We can’t even breathe on one another. We are, however, in the wake of the lack of niceties, becoming far more hostile toward one another, unforgiving and intolerant. This may be the most devastating crisis of all, and will surely need to be overcome before we can accomplish other needed changes. At this point one can only hope for the best – literally – as it seems we are not in control of our own future. If we were, I would like to think that cooler, more intelligent heads would prevail.

But I digress from announcing the release of my latest Haiku collection. I plan on announcing its release date on my weekly Twitter chat forum, #CelebsForSmallBiz. We’re live on Fridays at 2:00 PM MDT.       It’s in the late evening in the UK from where it originates.

If you can’t catch the chat, I’ll also post it on Facebook once it’s cast in concrete (or relatively so). Look for it on Amazon around the 22^nd of September, maybe with the coming of Fall.

In the meantime, please be well and please be as kind to the people and the animals and the earth all around you as you possibly can. Kindness matters more than ever now.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off of things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, next month will find us all on the mend and on the upside of this thing, but that’s what I said last month, and it didn’t happen. However, I am still hoping...

 

 

 

Sh*tty! Sh*tty! Bang! Bang!

August 2020 Blog

I thought this would be over by now, but it seems, it’s barely started.

Teetering: A Haiku

Difficult it is

To remain sane as the world

Around you crumbles.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

Any little nudge and it’s over the edge. We have been buffeted about on several fronts, not the least of which is the ongoing and still escalating Covid-19 crisis.

It’s a difficult thing to realize that as a nation we cannot master the self-control necessary to bring this catastrophe under control. And that goes from the top down. Our cardboard captain is awash in a contaminated sea in a rudderless boat with ever-enlarging holes in it. Or so it seems.

I couldn’t even make a believable horror story out of that scenario.

Unfortunately, the things we are ignoring while dealing (or not dealing) with this pandemic are not going away. When all is said and done, they will rear up and kick us in the head.

First and foremost of these “things” is the “Climate Change” crisis. It’s on the back burner, just waiting to flare up and consume the Earth.

Okay, maybe that’s a little over the top, but give me a break. I am a poet. I can always claim “poetic license”.

My Haiku Chapbook, “Global Warning” will be published shortly. It will debut to little fanfare and probably little impact, but I am bound and determined that it be published.

I have little to say this month, except to hope all my friends and fellow authors are well and safe and will continue to be so.

After posting this, I’ll get back to that drawing board and finish formatting “Global Warning”. Who knows, maybe I’ll even find the inspiration to work on my “Acqueria” prequel or “Sam Rock” sequel. I have to do something to take my mind off of what’s going on in the world.

Maybe publishing my self-reflective magnum opus Haiku chapbook will lift my spirits, even if I don’t get it out by August 22^nd, the 100^th anniversary of my mentor Ray Bradbury’s birth. But I will get it done. I do still have some pride.

In the meanwhile, my husband and I will try to keep a low profile, stay home as much as possible, and wear a mask and gloves when we do go out.

Hopefully, we will see a slowdown in the virus that plagues us. Maybe we will even see a vaccine sometime soon. We can only hope, and hope is one of the few things we have left – that and maybe a prayer or two.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off of things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, next month will find us all on the mend and on the upside of this thing, and I promise I will check for comments before next month. :)

What a Month We’ve Had!

June 2020 Blog

As I write this, I am waiting for Space X to launch. It will be the first American venture into space in nine years. I am praying it goes well. We need something to go right, right now.

Fair Wind: A Haiku

I would the breeze could

Blow ill-will, disease afar

And good be anchored.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

Still, nothing has gone as planned.  The world has descended further into chaos. Not only do we have a grossly underrated planet-wide pandemic to worry about, the U.S. is currently under siege.

We are rapidly devolving into anarchy, sparked by a single heinous act of abuse of power. And all that’s happening seems to be fomented by the prevalent attitude from the highest of positions.

So,  who can concentrate on writing, editing and publishing during all of this? Surprisingly enough, I have made great strides toward publication of “Global Warning”. I am within weeks (maybe days) of getting it all together.

Writing and editing on the Sam Rock sequel and the Chronicles of Acqueria prequel? Not so much. Kind of hard to slip into other realities with such a persistent, horrendous real world constantly in your face.

I can’t see anything getting easier anytime soon with the months rolling by and a divisive election looming before year’s end.

Perhaps, I should just keep my head down and dive into my projects, but I feel it would be irresponsible not to keep abreast of what’s happening.  If only for my own health and safety and that of  my family.

No matter what your politics, we need to unite and promote peace and harmony. Cooperation is not a bad word, neither is compromise. And it’s about time the needs of the many really outweighed the needs of the few.  (Remember, Spock died for that premise.)

On a more local and immediate note, I badly need a haircut. Salons are opening on a limited basis starting June 1^st in my state. One probably needs to make an appointment and very few will be served at one time, but I will celebrate when I can get in. And I’m considering getting a  boy-cut, so I don’t have to worry about it for a while.

Next, I can’t wait for the opening of my favorite restaurant in Roswell, “Peppers Grill and Bar”. I will be there with bells on, regardless of the restrictions. They make a great “California Burger” with guacamole on it.  My  mouth is watering as I write this.

I would like to go where I want when I want, but I am afraid that won’t be for a long time.

In the meantime, I am glued to CNN, watching the protests. I understand there are demonstrations in over 30 cities across the nation. I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime.

In fact, just this year (and it’s only 5 months old) I have seen so much I have never seen before – regarding anarchy, raging pandemic, and a general nastiness. It’s all unprecedented.

I’m also sure, when this dies down, we will again discover irreparable damage to our environment. Although, the worldwide shut down of so much seems to have improved air quality throughout major metropolitan areas. We can be thankful that, I guess. But then, I’m sure it won’t last long once we fire everything up again.

I hope all my faithful readers and fellow writers are well and safe at this writing. I wish us all a summer of wellness and prosperity, but I realize that is extremely optimistic.

It seems the Space X launch has gone well and is on its way to being a success. I salute all the  men and women  who have afforded us the one moment of happy triumph in the midst of all this pandemonium.

I hope  I will have better news about better times to blog about next month, but I’m not holding my breath until it comes true. I’m now watching the police in Chicago (joined by the State Police) using tear gas against protestors turned destructive rioters. I’m done for now. I’m turning on a  PBS  show about early rock and roll.

Until next time, sit back relax and enjoy a good book.  I have several to offer:

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

As I post this, the lockdown is gradually being lifted, but there are still concerns for the spreading of the virus, maybe soon on an accelerated level. I have yet to become stark raving mad, but I am getting closer. Maybe working on “Global Warning” will help.