Optimists

This last Thursday I went to a kindergarten graduation and then gave a presentation at an Optimist Club. What both events had in common: the pledge of allegiance. It struck how few places still give a pledge to the flag. I remember doing a pledge of allegiance when I was in grade school but now the only other place is at service organizations. One of the things I like about Optimist meetings (and I have spoken at approximately ten different clubs) is the positive Optimist Creed that the members recite at the end of the meeting. There are ten tenants of which one is particularly appropriate for all writers: “To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.”

Surveillance Duty

I’m writing a novel that has a private investigator in an urban fantasy setting so I wanted to get a feel for the life of a PI. I contacted a fellow member of Mystery Writers of America who is a PI and spent part of the day being an assistant PI. My assignment was to be on surveillance in my car watching one end of an alley to see if anyone drove up and entered a particular house off the alley. I was briefed on my assignment, given a sheet with instructions, met the client who described the three people we were looking for and then parked where I could watch anyone enter the alley. At first I was nervous, particularly since someone across the street was working on a lawn and kept walking back and forth. I expected at any time for this man to stroll across the street and ask what I was doing sitting in my car for a long period of time. I didn’t know what to do while I waited so I started writing on my notepad observations about the neighborhood: a redwood fence around the house where I was parked, another car like mine in the driveway ahead, birds chirping, the sound of a train whistle in the distance, sun shining on my car so I had to open all the windows a crack, etc. Then a car turned into the alley and I started fumbling to get on the two-way radio to send an alert. I was asked if I could identify anyone in the car. I couldn’t. I saw the car was silver but didn’t get a good look at the make of the car. I got a partial license plate but couldn’t remember all the numbers and letters as I wrote a note. My partner drove through the alley from the other end and verified that the car stopped at a neighboring house and not the one we were interested in. I realized that I needed to step up my observation skills. The next car that drove down the alley, I got the type of car, color and license number but again couldn’t see the occupants because of tinted windows. Turned out to be a false alarm as well. I learned that nearly everyone driving in this neighborhood had tinted windows. Made it hard to spot someone. After an hour we swapped ends of the alley. I was becoming more comfortable being parked there watching. On this side there was more traffic but no one doing yard work. Several cars started into the alley and then turned around. I guess it was a good place to change direction if needed. After the second hour we swapped ends of the alley again. I parked in a new place. Now there were two men on the corner talking. I tried to act non-obtrusive. Finally, it started to rain and they each got in a truck and drove off. I had the place to myself. I wrapped up the surveillance with two more false alarms. We found that no one entered the target house during our three hour surveillance. Surveillance work is much like playing outfield in baseball. Ninety-nine percent of the time boring, with a few moments of panic.

Humility

As a writer, I can become self-involved in my novels and promotional activities, but the one thing to bring about a sense of humility is to play video games with a nine-year-old. My granddaughter always challenges me to WII games when we visit her. I used to be a competitive tennis player, but let me tell you, she always clobbers me at WII tennis. And it’s not just because I’ve aged. I can still hold my own in real racquet sports but with the video games, I’m just cannon fodder. Oh, well. I can write it off as helping her with her self-esteem. But what about mine?

Older Americans Month

This is Older Americans Month. The theme this year is: Age Strong! Live Long! I’m on the Aging Advisory Council for Boulder County, Colorado, where I live. Yesterday we had a meeting in Nederland which is up in the mountains from Boulder. Arriving after several inches of snow had fallen from a May snowstorm, we learned about the operation of the Community Services Department of our county government. Wrist bands were handed out with the theme of the Older Americans Month, so I’m proud to wear mine and take my place with other older Americans.

Older Americans Month

This is Older Americans Month. The theme this year is: Age Strong! Live Long! I’m on the Aging Advisory Council for Boulder County, Colorado, where I live. Yesterday we had a meeting in Nederland which is up in the mountains from Boulder. Arriving after several inches of snow had fallen from a May snowstorm, we learned about the operation of the Community Services Department of our county government. Wrist bands were handed out with the theme of the Older Americans Month, so I’m proud to wear mine and take my place with other older Americans.

Introver versus Extrovert

A lot of writers are introverts yet we have to promote our books and venture out to meet the public. Introverts gain energy when by themselves which is important when you spent months in front of a keyboard writing a manuscript. Extroverts become energized when around other people. In addition to tests like the Meyer-Briggs that indicated where you fall on the introvert-extrovert scale, there is another simple indicator. At the end of a hard day of work would you rather curl up by yourself or go to a party? When I’ve taken Meyer-Briggs tests in the past, I always place just past the middle on the introvert side. But over the course of a career in marketing and now promoting books, I’ve learned to be more outgoing and now enjoy giving presentations. I’ve also thought there could be other scales to consider. Maybe a refinement of the introvert-extrovert measurement would be the activert-relaxavert to measure if you spent your spare time in activities or relaxing. Or the Emotovert vs. Holdinovert on how we show our emotions. How about the Takeovert compared to a Giveovert on a me versus you orientation? And then there is the Talkovert-Listenovert scale on whether we are talkers or listeners.