Standing Into Danger: June 2019

Friday, June 28, 2019

Howdy!

It's so good to be home!
We were delayed getting back,
because Spirit cancelled our flight at the last minute
and couldn't rebook us for three days.
Denver International Airport rarely looked so good!

Denver International Airport

June 21, 2019

I've been buried in the mundane: unpacking, laundry, groceries, mail, and sleeping.
Ten days in Las Vegas and Laughlin definitely drained me.

I'm so glad to have fast, dependable, and secure internet again,
and I'm looking forward to catching up with all my blogging buddies!
See you starting tomorrow!

Denver International Airport

June 21, 2019

Saturday, June 15, 2019

!@#$%^&*

I'm experiencing technological difficulties as I travel.
I couldn't get a good internet connection in downtown Vegas.

Replacing the Iconic Fremont Street Canopy

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

June 12, 2019

I thought I'd have better luck in Laughlin on the Colorado River.
No such luck!

Busy Weekend On the Colorado

Laughlin, Nevada, USA (this side)

Bullhead City, Arizona (other side)

June 15, 2019

I'll be home shortly and will catch up with everyone then!

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

IWSG: Wednesday, June 5, 2019 ~ Searching for Meaning

It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.

To visit the IWSG website, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG founder Alex Cavanaugh are:
Diane Burton, Kim Lajevardi, Sylvia Ney, Sarah Foster, Jennifer Hawes, and Madeline Mora-Summonte

I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.
I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every month the IWSG that members can answer with advice, insight,
a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.

Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.

Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is:

Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy IWSG Day, Everyone!

I hope May has been a good month for each of you!
We took a break from house hunting late in the month,
after a stressful couple of months of searching and bidding.
The right house will turn up when it turns up.
Meanwhile I am loving early summer in Colorado.

Writing is going much better,
because in the last couple of weeks I have been able to focus.
It is such a relief!

I finally made it to the end of The Mueller Report.
It was a slog, because I am not used to reading dense legal reports.
The documentation of Russian interference in the 2016 election
was really informative,
and I found the Russian inventiveness and reach chilling.
As for the rest of the book, this is not the time or place to delve into it.

I am thrilled to be on to reading more typical fare for me,
and I started Damien Larkin's Big Red last night.
Science fiction is much more my style,
and I always enjoy stories set on the Red Planet.
The book has gotten off to an intriguing beginning.

Damien Larkin ~ twitter

I'm really looking forward to seeing how fellow IWSG members answer
this month's question about which writing genre is their favorite to write in and why.

I've been tearing my hair out trying to answer this question,
and I can't wait to see the brilliant, insightful, succinct answers
that I'm sure everyone else will have.

I primarily write narrative nonfiction/personal narrative,
with my memoir, blog, journal, and letters demanding most of my writing time.
This has been my consistent choice throughout my life.

Why?
Since I spent twenty-five years in the company of second and third graders,
I'll borrow the answer a third grader used once
when I asked her to explain how she solved a challenging math problem:
"My brain did it."

How do you explain the path your creativity takes?
I'll go with the third grader! ~ It's what my brain does!

Seriously, I think the answer lies in C. G. Jung's theory of psychological types.

I gained a sudden and illuminating answer as to who I am and why decades ago.
Shortly after we were married, my husband and I participated
in a well-attended workshop given by the priest at our Episcopal church.

Father Rick passed each of us a sharp pencil
and a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory;
and our sanctuary was soon filled with chatter, laughter, and excitement as we worked,
our assessments supported on hymn books, pew seats, the floor,
whatever flat surface we could find.
And then, all of a sudden I found me, so to speak.

Our Wedding

St. Matthew's Episcopal Church

Parker, Colorado

September 1, 1984

After thirty plus years of wondering why I always felt like
a square peg being rammed into a round hole,
I had an answer that made sense: I am an INFJ, a rare critter.

This is one of sixteen personality types defined by Isabel and Katherine Briggs,
and based on Jung's theory of psychological types.
It's their effort to make his theory understandable and useful in people's lives.
myersbriggs.org

Without getting lost in the weeds of the interactions of human preferences
among the four dichotomies in Jung's theory,
I'll just say that INFJ stands for Introversion, Intuition, Feeling, and Judging.

That means that I am energized by spending time alone
that I focus on ideas and concepts rather than facts and details,
that I make decisions based on feelings and values rather than logic and consistency,
and that I like having a plan and being organized
rather than keeping my options open and being spontaneous.
myersbriggs.org

INFJs

MBTI® Type Head

mbtionline.com

INFJs Distressed

MBTI® Type Head

mbtionline.com

In short, I am drawn to writing narrative nonfiction/personal narrative
because I am constantly seeking meaning in my life
and looking for patterns and connections in my life and the world around me.

It's not enough for me to know a rock is a rock;
I want to understand why it is what it is.

It's not enough for me to know I had a father;
I want to understand why he was who he was
and how he impacted the person I am.

Tying me on with a harness and rope

during much of my early childhood

did not deter this serious seeker.

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

Summer 1952

I'm going to stop now.
I feel like I'm getting lost in the weeds after all.

That's why I love that third grader's answer.
She solved that math problem because her brain did it.
I write what I write because my brain does it!