Observations From Hadleyville: LAKE ARROWHEAD

Friday, July 27, 2007

LAKE ARROWHEAD

Karen and I drove to Lake Arrowhead yesterday. Two aunts and a cousin live there. I grew up at the bottom of that mountain range, so I know the road pretty well. I even enjoy driving those twisty mountain roads. You really give your vehicle a workout that way. However, I am not in the Dale Earnhardt Alpine Division. Apparently everyone who lives up there—including the Little Old Lady From Rim of the World—is. Hooee! Them fellers is FAST.

I love the climate up there. 5,000+ feet and twenty degrees cooler than the desert where I live. My aunt lives in a condominium above the lake. I think I delivered cabinets to that development back in 1979. I worked for Custom Fabricators in San Bernardino then. After twenty-five years, the cabinets are holding up, but the stain and finish need some help. On the slalom ride down the mountain, I realized I wouldn’t enjoy living there if I had to commute to the flatlands and back.

At times like this I truly appreciate the desert. My aunts live in the mountains and my parents live on the beach. Those wonderful places might seem ho hum If I lived there, too. Sometimes I surprise myself.

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it.
-Jerry Pournelle

WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”