Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
A day in the life of Kim
I was staring at my computer screen, absorbed in my work. Sometimes work creates a rhythm that helps the day move along...sometimes it's just helacious. It turned out that today would be a very helacious one.
I get a message on my computer screen. My buddy Paul wants to go out for lunch today. Yay...for a person that just had weight loss surgery I'm strangely preoccupied with food. Why is that? I lost 28 lbs in the three months leading up to the surgery. Lost 10 in the week after...and then gained five back. Now I'm teetering along the edge of losing and gaining 2 and 3 lbs.
 |
| I think this is 2 days after weight loss surgery |
Hmmm my preoccupation with food. It's like this song by Dionne Farris; Food for thought
Using food for thought and thought for food
All I have is my attitude, the hour glass, and my
Ever changing mood...
Paul says meet me outside at 12:30, and then we'll decide where we're going to eat...which really means HE'LL decide where we're going to eat. He has the car after all. Just as I'm signing off my computer my cell phone rings. I think its Paul telling me he's early. I check the clock, 12:25, but it's not Paul it's Mom.
"Kim!"
"Hi Mom..."
"Kim, it's broke! It's broke so bad." I start pacing.
"What's broke?"
"My leg!"
"Okay, where are you?"
"I'm at the house! Kim it's so bad!"
"Okay, did you call 911? Do you need me to call 911?"
"No, I already called them. Their on their way." I realize that I've already put on my coat and I turn back to my computer and sign out of all my programs. I have to get out of here.
"Kim! I need you!"
 |
| Mom |
"Okay, Mama I'm coming. I'll meet you at the hospital. Which one? I took the bus so..." Then I remember Paul--with his car. Mom tells me what hospital. I hang up my phone and hurry to my co-worker to tell her that my mother broker her leg and I have to leave and she has to do the last two cases and ...well bye! On the way out I call my manager and then Paul and explained what was going on. He said he'd take me to the Hospital.
"We need to eat first," I say as he pulls up to the curb and I slip into the car.
***
So yes. Yes I did eat Taco Casa while my mom was in emergency with a broken leg. What? An apology, remorse? Shame? Hell no. Okay, a bit of shame. Though I did need to eat, I could have taken it to go...
At the hospital, my Mom is in a private triage room. I've never seen one. I begin to fuss over her. She describes how her ankle just twisted while she was in the back yard and how she had to reach under it to put it 'back on' and then how she yelled for help but to no avail, and then dragged herself up the porch stairs and into the house where she called 911. I took plenty of pictures, rubbed her good foot, braided her dreds and pinned them up (they reach the small of her back) I helped her pee and kissed her and told her I loved her. I listened as she talked to my sister and described how her foot had broke off, and how the doctor said it was a terrible break and was so bad.
I was looking at her thinking...the doctor never said that.
TOP 5 SIGNS THAT THINGS ARE GOING TO TURN TERRIBLY WRONG IN EMERGENCY:
5. When the doctor tells your Mom that he has to pull her foot to straighten the break BEFORE giving her a nerve block.
4. When your Mom screams HELP!
3. When your Mom says she's going to act a fool up in here.
2. When she finally gets her shot of demerol and morphine and begins to lift the broken leg up and down up and down...(an hour later she will yell that it hurts even worse. OHHHH IT HURTS!!)
1. When your Mom is no longer under the influence of pain killers but still proclaims, "I'm not taking off my bra and panties! They just want to see what a naked 65 year old woman looks like!"
My sister gets there later that night. Now its her turn to show Mommy all kinds of attention while I pace and watch and wait for the doctors to assign her a room so that she can finally get some sleep. My sister asks her how bad it hurt when they put on the splint and straightened the break. Mom shrugs and says it didn't hurt that bad.
I didn't even bat an eye at that. Mom sure enough acted like it hurt! She even apologized to the doctor and he was visibly shaken when he was done. I will admit that there was a small part of me that was on the verge of 'acting a fool, too.' I wanted to hit the doctor in the back of the head and yell, 'Stop hurting my Mama!'
Well she did end up getting surgery the next day. Two broken bones in her leg and two days in the hospital but she seems to be doing good. She's getting around on a walker--and she's getting a sliding, seated walker to put her knee on.
Before I wrap this up I have to tell you that I'm a bit of a germaphobe. The hospital is a bad place for a germaphobe. I developed a bump on my knee during the last hour of my stay--My mom said it was just an ingrown hair but it just DEVELOPED! This was about 9:00 and I felt very strongly that it was MRSA. I went home and stripped off all my clothes, washed them and took a long long shower and then climbed into bed. I talked to my other sister on the phone and my throat began to close up as if I had strep throat so I took 2 shots of Nyquil--convinced that I had caught something at the hospital (and YES I did! My nose is running as I type!)
The phone rings at 4 am as I'm in a Nyquil induced haze. It's Mom. They had moved her surgery up to seven am and she was all alone. I rushed to the hospital but...why was she still wearing the bra and panties?! I did manage to convince her to take them off--want to know how? I told her she'd probably develop MRSA if she kept her undies on.
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| Mom's broken leg |
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Feedback requested
Well the Amazon contest will begin January 23rd and there are two categories; youth story and general audiences. None of the stories that you all have read by me would really fit either category. But I believe I can make Untitled fit, and I have another Untitled story that would fit the youth category.
My daughter and I call the story The Purple World. I began writing it for my daughter many years ago and we are the only two to ever see it--until now. It's about a group of friends that find each other out of necessity of their circumstances. And then they go on to experience the greatest adventure of all time. Here is my PITCH:
I'll share some chapters with you. But please let me know what you think--is it a little boring? Or am I suffering from over-editing syndrome?
THE PURPLE WORLD
THE PURPLE WORLD PT 2
My daughter and I call the story The Purple World. I began writing it for my daughter many years ago and we are the only two to ever see it--until now. It's about a group of friends that find each other out of necessity of their circumstances. And then they go on to experience the greatest adventure of all time. Here is my PITCH:
Eddie is a shy, sickly, yet smart boy that finds himself bullied by his peers. It's difficult for him to open up but when he does he is loyal and true. Hestler is a little girl that is shunned by the townspeople, abused by the one that raises her, and possessed by a demon that she has learned to live with. Her home is the barn of the boardinghouse that she is forced to cook and clean--but people come from miles around to eat her delicious food or to watch and wait for her demon to emerge. Matteo is their strange link. He is a mixture of every race but one would be hard pressed to identify any one of them. His lion colored eyes are like no others--and is the key to the mystery that he holds secret... His mysterious appearance in school is made only stranger by his odd clothes and the weird manner that he speaks. And then one day he says, "I will barter an adventure more valuable then your fried sticks of potato!" And then begins the experience of their lives.Okay, so that's my PITCH. How did it sound? Does it make you want to read it? I have 120K words and I'm not done yet...rounding third and heading home.
The trio experiences a magical journey of different worlds, strange customs until they are joined by their final friend, someone so devastatingly deformed that no one knows if their newest member is boy or girl...This journey takes them through the true test of friendship and teaches them the true meaning of home.
I'll share some chapters with you. But please let me know what you think--is it a little boring? Or am I suffering from over-editing syndrome?
THE PURPLE WORLD
THE PURPLE WORLD PT 2
Friday, January 20, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Dr. Martin Luther King day--I feel sorry for you if you've lost the dream...
No work today (for some of us at least), a day of rest or a day to hang out with friends and family. We know that we are supposed to acknowledge why we are off, and many black people probably do. But what about the rest of America--the non-black part? We hear it all the time; MLK day is not a 'black history' day. MLK is an 'American history' day. But do we really understand what that means?
Do any of us ever think about the contributions of non-whites during the civil rights movement. Even today when racism is supposed to be a distant memory it is still hard to take a stand for right, against hatred.
During the civil rights era, many white people were sympathizers but felt as if they couldn't take a stand or they just weren't willing to risk what others thought. Imagine being a white man, woman, or child that actively stood up for the rights of a black person in the face of so much hatred! How much courage did that take--when sometimes you had to even go against the wishes of your very own family? Imagine how hard it was to stand up for what's right when being different was a matter of life or death?
Now think about those people who still do it--now when the racial issue is not just about black and white, but about Hispanics and Middle Easterners as well as human rights issues with gays and lesbians. How about today we become conscious of those people that are not the passive observer of racist jokes. I am proud of those people that can tell their co-worker to shut his mouth when he spews some racist statement, or that won't allow the cashier behind the counter to skip the black kid that was before him in line.
Maybe we can all do our little part--not just today but everyday! Maybe we can stand up for our fellow man and not be afraid to say, 'Wow that was racist. Not cool.' or 'Stop saying they! We're all people. It's us! Or stare someone straight in the eye and say, 'I don't feel that way.'
My friend (who happens to be white) wrote something on his facebook that was very nice and I decided to repost it here. And remember, today is not about commemorating a BLACK hero, but commemorating ALL people that can stand up for themselves and for their fellow man.
Do any of us ever think about the contributions of non-whites during the civil rights movement. Even today when racism is supposed to be a distant memory it is still hard to take a stand for right, against hatred.
During the civil rights era, many white people were sympathizers but felt as if they couldn't take a stand or they just weren't willing to risk what others thought. Imagine being a white man, woman, or child that actively stood up for the rights of a black person in the face of so much hatred! How much courage did that take--when sometimes you had to even go against the wishes of your very own family? Imagine how hard it was to stand up for what's right when being different was a matter of life or death?
Now think about those people who still do it--now when the racial issue is not just about black and white, but about Hispanics and Middle Easterners as well as human rights issues with gays and lesbians. How about today we become conscious of those people that are not the passive observer of racist jokes. I am proud of those people that can tell their co-worker to shut his mouth when he spews some racist statement, or that won't allow the cashier behind the counter to skip the black kid that was before him in line.
Maybe we can all do our little part--not just today but everyday! Maybe we can stand up for our fellow man and not be afraid to say, 'Wow that was racist. Not cool.' or 'Stop saying they! We're all people. It's us! Or stare someone straight in the eye and say, 'I don't feel that way.'
My friend (who happens to be white) wrote something on his facebook that was very nice and I decided to repost it here. And remember, today is not about commemorating a BLACK hero, but commemorating ALL people that can stand up for themselves and for their fellow man.
PEOPLE WAKE UP!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
2012 Break through Amazon Award
| 2012 General Fiction Expert Panelists | 2012 Young Adult Fiction Expert Panelists | |
 Our panel of experts for the 2012 General Fiction contest includes Linda Fairstein, best-selling author of the Alexandra Cooper novels, including Night Watch (available July 2012); Anne Sowards, Executive Editor of The Berkley Publishing Group; and Donald Maass, literary agent and author of The Breakout Novelist. |  Our panel of experts for the 2012 Young Adult Fiction contest includes Andrea Cremer, best-selling author of Nightshade, Wolfsbane, and Bloodrose; Regina Hayes, President and Publisher of Viking Children’s Books; and Charlie Olsen, literary agent for InkWell Management. | |
 Read more about the General Fiction expert panel | Read more about the Young Adult Fiction expert panel |
| 2011 General Fiction Winner: East of Denver | 2011 Young Adult Fiction Winner: Spookygirl | |
 Gregory Hill has won the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in General Fiction for East of Denver. Expert panelist Lev Grossman says East of Denver is "on a par with that of top-flight black-comic novelists like Sam Lipsyte and Jess Walter, and it deserves to be read." |  Jill Baguchinsky has won the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in Young Adult Fiction for Spookygirl. Expert panelist Jennifer Besser says, "In the increasingly crowded paranormal marketplace, this funny and suspenseful novel sets itself apart and heralds the arrival of a fresh new voice." | |
| Pre-order East of Denver | Pre-order Spookygirl |
Previous Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Winners
Religion; A controversial subject
Eroticism and religion. Can we get any more controversial than that?
I often times include religious references in my writing. I've offended people by not placing a capitol G when using the word god. I show sexuality in people who have spiritual ideas. And I'm not afraid to do these things. But one thing I am afraid of is posting a video on my personal facebook page by a spoken word artist that proclaims his hate of religion and his love for Jesus. There would be no end to the number of disapproving responses I'd receive!
Somehow facebook has turned into a soapbox for religious rhetoric...most of which is perpetuated by your closest family and friends under the guise of offering enlightenment. But this is not about facebook and before I go any further let me just say this; I believe in and love God. Period. (for those who have wondered/ or care) Do I care if the next person believes in God? No. Honestly, I do not care. Do I tell atheists that they will go to hell if they don't believe in God? Do I tell fat people they are going to have a massive coronary? Or smokers they are going to die of cancer?
When an individual decides to share their personal religious ideas then that's their prerogative--just as I'm sharing my views with you today. You can use religion to point out flaws in people that you wouldn't otherwise criticize. And then you can respond by saying; I do this because my religion demands it. As is often the case.
Long ago I gave up the notion of polite debate. When someone criticizes me w/o invitation I correct that bad behavior very quickly!
I wrote a story that has no name, so I call it Untitled. I took the biggest risk ever in my writing career by penning a story about a girl that balances precariously between sin and righteousness. I challenge the reader to look at this girl's life and then to judge her as a sinner because she has broken the rules that have been dictated to her by her region, or to see her as an innocent that can see no wrong in loving.
At one point in the story, Tim looks at Martier--knowing that she wants an intimate relationship with him while he's been reluctant to have her experience any type of regret. But then he understands that she doesn't see intimacy in terms of sin and 'bad', and only then is he able to open up to her and to share something very heartfelt with her.Sex can be just a means to feel good...but sex is so much more than that when it is used as an expression of love. In this way eroticism and religion can be mutually beneficial. The multitude of self-righteous people in the world still like the feeling of sex. They may shun stories written about it, movies that showcase it, but no one can deny the feeling it brings.
Oh...and here is the video that made me think all this. I invite your feedback on the video or the topic as long as no one tells me I'm going to hell :-)
And from the atheists perspective:
Monday, January 2, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
WOS e-book 1
Thank you for reading the special preview of Wheels of Steel the e-book. It will be on sale shortly. Thank you!
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