What I'm Up To, I Think

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Marianne and I arrived in Denver Tuesday, jumped in a rental car, and made a mad dash for the Grand Canyon.  We could have made it in two days if we weren't  so distractible, so prone to side-trips and stopping by the side of the road for no better reason than to breathe the air of a new state.  Yesterday, we went hours out of our way to see Monument Valley, and though we arrived late at our hotel, we were glad of it.

Decades ago, when I had two or three or five stories published, Jack Dann breezed into Philadelphia, as was his wont from time to time back then.  He asked me how my writing was going and I had to tell him it was at a standstill.  "I don't have any ideas for new fiction," I said.  Then I begged him to tell me what to do."

"You're empty," he said.  "Fill yourself up.  Read, take on new experiences, learn.  When you're full again, you'll start writing again.'

And I did.

Since then, I have never stopped writing again, because I'm always full of new stuff.  And I'm always full of new stuff because I'm always out looking for it.

Hence, this trip.

I am not, however, fool enough to try to declare it as a business expense on my taxes.

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