Seattle was incredible. I'm in love. Lakes, mountains, the ocean--it has it all. Thanks to my good friend and spiritual guru Marcus Reynerson and the vibrant, artistic, and always nurturing Bryn Cowgill I feel rejuvenated and in love with life. Did I mention how cool Seattle is? Good. I just want to reiterate.
I was in Washington this week visiting friends and participating in a writer's conference. Both experiences were fantastic. The conference had a multitude of good speakers with useful information on the craft and the industry of writing fiction. I probably had more panic attacks than one person should have in a three day period--from feeling completely out of my element--but I learned a lot that will help me in writing my next story. Funniest story I heard: One literary agent said he took home submissions from authors and read the sample chapters to his seven year old daughter and when she said, "Boring" he threw it aside and moved on. Disheartening, but friggin' hilarious! What else can you do when you recieve 1400 submissions a week?
The flight home was an interesting experience too. Two tornados apparently hit St. Louis just prior to my landing. We landed in a lightning storm and the runway had only emergency lights on because of a power outage. When we touched down the flight attendant came on and said, "You should all congratulate your pilot on the way out, that was a pretty sweet landing." More like punch our pilot in the neck for trying to land in that mess, but hey--we were still alive. In the airport all the electricity and air was off. Thousands of people were running around in the dark in hundred degree heat. Madness. I went to the restroom using my cell phone as a flashlight. I would have been pretty upset except I got a free week's worth of parking out of it because they couldn't charge anyone with the computers down. We're so dependent. It's scary.
Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed the trip! My very best wishes to all.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Friday, July 07, 2006
Mexico Story
An American businessman stood at the pier of a small coastal village in
Mexico, when a small boat carrying a lone Mexican fisherman docked.
Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American
complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long
it took to catch them. The fisherman replied, Only a little while.
The American then asked, If it took only a little while to catch these
fine fish, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish? The
fisherman explained that this catch was enough to support his family's
immediate needs.
The American then asked, But what do you do with the rest of your time?
The fisherman replied, I sleep late, fish a little, play with my
children, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each
evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full
and busy life, señor.
The American scoffed, I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should
spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With
the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats.
Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling
your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor,
eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product,
processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small
coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then L.A., and
eventually New York City, where you would run your expanding enterprise.
The fisherman asked, But señor, how long will this all take?
The American replied, Fifteen to twenty years.
But what then, señor? inquired the Mexican. The American laughed and
said, That's the best part. When the time is right, you would announce
an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich.
You would make millions.
Millions, señor? Then what? asked the Mexican.
The American said, Why, then you would retire, of coursemove to a small
coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play
with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll into the
village in the evenings, where you could sip wine and play your guitar
with your amigos.
Mexico, when a small boat carrying a lone Mexican fisherman docked.
Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American
complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long
it took to catch them. The fisherman replied, Only a little while.
The American then asked, If it took only a little while to catch these
fine fish, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish? The
fisherman explained that this catch was enough to support his family's
immediate needs.
The American then asked, But what do you do with the rest of your time?
The fisherman replied, I sleep late, fish a little, play with my
children, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each
evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full
and busy life, señor.
The American scoffed, I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should
spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With
the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats.
Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling
your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor,
eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product,
processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small
coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then L.A., and
eventually New York City, where you would run your expanding enterprise.
The fisherman asked, But señor, how long will this all take?
The American replied, Fifteen to twenty years.
But what then, señor? inquired the Mexican. The American laughed and
said, That's the best part. When the time is right, you would announce
an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich.
You would make millions.
Millions, señor? Then what? asked the Mexican.
The American said, Why, then you would retire, of coursemove to a small
coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play
with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll into the
village in the evenings, where you could sip wine and play your guitar
with your amigos.
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