A New Year & Something “New.”

I feel confident that President Trump CAN “Make America Great Again!” without my help, so I believe I will move on to something else and just enjoy the ride. I am a Gemini, which means that I have to be doing something creative all the time, or I get antsy. Are you like that? Or, are you content with just “LOLing” your friends on Facebook? I’m sorry, I need more than that to stimulate me. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate all those who request to be my “friend.” (I never request someone to become my “friend” because I don’t feel comfortable imposing on others in that manner. But that’s just me). On, the other hand, I always check those who send me a request, because I feel honored by such an appeal.

So, on to other things. I have now written and published four action/adventure novels and one contemporary novel, and tons of short stories. I have proven to myself (and to my dear, dead mother) that I really am a good legitimate writer/author. She never doubted me. If none of my work ever becomes roaring best-sellers, that is fine with me – I have done my part – I wrote ‘em. Will I write another book? Yeah, quite likely. As long as people enjoy them, I’ll come up with something new every year. Even when I was on TV, telling your grandmother what the weather was going to be, I was also writing stuff for magazines and newspapers. So that kind of creativity never entirely leaves me. I’m always thinking of plots.

But, something else that I enjoy is painting. (No, I don’t paint houses. Not even my own!) I don’t have the inherent or genetic talent to “look” at something and paint a picture of it. However, I am able to “reproduce” paintings from pictures that I have enjoyed looking at in the past. I may take an 8 x 10 picture and reproduce a semblance of it in a 24 x 30 size. I’ll tell you the secret: I take the smaller print and divide it into “squares.” Then, on my larger canvas, I pencil in squares that are the same ratio as those on the small print. Then, whatever is in the small squares, I reproduce that in the larger squares on the bigger canvas. I paint with oils, so the brush strokes are authentic.

They never turn out as exact copies, but they do turn out the way I see them. So, for the New Year, my resolution is to take up painting again. My vision is fading as I age and there are so many things I wish to do before the curtain goes down. BTW, I suggest that you do something “different” for 2017. Why not try something new for a change? You have nothing to lose, and you might learn to love something fresh and innovative. Pick up a new hobby, or revive an old one that you haven’t tried for some years. You can’t stop the “years” from piling up, but you can keep your brain young – and that will make you live longer.