Peers and Self Loathing Near Las Vegas

Just a play on words on the title there.  No I don't think I am like Johnny Depp who played in the great movie portrayal of Hunter S Thompson.  I never have even seen the movie, Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, but someday I think I will.  I do have fear of peers however, and their loathing.  I take umbrage sometimes to reviewers who were not there in the fox hole with me as I spent countless hours on my novel only to dismiss my work with a snarky remark and only give it a few reluctant stars on Amazon.com.

I have been on this new journey in my life for about a month now.  I have not been working in my day job due to a neck injury which has kept me in a haze of pain pills and booze.  So Hunter, my writer brother watching down from writer's heaven;  I think I am beginning to feel your pain.  I also have not been able to earn my comfortable six figure income and am relying on savings and my dear wife to bring home the bacon.  She works as a nurse and comes home with stories of this and that.  Mostly I tune her out except for the story she told the other day of how a rattlesnake managed to get through the automatic doors and terrorized the nurses at work.  One intrepid nurse grabbed a pillow case and a stick and prodded the hissing monster  into the sac and put it outside to slither away.  Shudder.  I hate snakes.

The spiders and snakes are a cause for concern around this mountain community above Lake Isabella, and lately I have been feeling the stare of a possible mountain lion stalking me as I go on walks in the hills around my house.  The dogs have been acting a bit spooked of late, and yesterday they stood stock still, like pointers, silently gazing at the same spot for an uncomfortable minute or two.  Then I heard or else my imagination conjured up a squalling sound like I have heard mountain lions make in movies and commercials.  I don't carry a weapon on these walks and now am reconsidering this lack of preparidness.  I did see a dead mountain lion by the side of the road nearby.  It  most likely was struck by a car and when I drove by the same spot later, it was gone.  Heebeejeebies.

This neck injury setback has  actually allowed me to pursue my life long dream of becomming a writer and so I sit here writing, while wearing a neck brace.  I am getting into a morning routine now.  Coffee and social networking to get my eyes less bleary and brain cells working properly and clear the cob webs.  Then a little editing on my work in progress which I am writting by the seat of my pants.  I still am not sure how the story will end.  Lol.  Not to worry.  I usually write like this.  It makes it more interesting for me.  Like some malevolent entity  is lurking inside my body and using me to write their stories.  He he.  Like in THe Dark Half.  Thanks for planting that in my head Stephen King.

I am picking up a bit of steam now and learning to ignore the distractions in my life.  The television stays off.  I even have decided music is a distraction as I tend to want to sing along.  ScarryOkie style.  I am working towards a thousand word a day quota.  It takes me about 2 to 3 hours to get up there and at this pace I might see a couple of novels done per year.  Dreamer.  But I like to dream big.

So I hope everyone has a pleasant Halloween and more treats than tricks befall you.

Reggie Ridgway
http://characterswellmet.blogspot.com