08 September 2013

Notes - giving a damn / (final) Pouch 1 / Ch. 1 - 3529 words / "Control"


         0955 hours. It is humbling indeed to be tweaking a final draft of the Chapter Page that was missing words that should have been caught. Instead, it is an example of being caught up in the concept of the words not the words themselves. This has been a lifelong problem that will continue to show, no doubt. I will have to work my way thought these things. At least I have parentheses around the word (final) as in draft.

         This is an example of a curse as well as a gift of freedom in keeping these works open and out there for a public read. It is worse for you because you were a teacher of English for thirty-seven years and you should know better, that’s how you see it. You see yourself here as an old man who has not learned much of the craft of writing. – Amorella

         Each word is as a brushstroke. I know this. It is not a curse though to be human. Errors in the blog and books are a momentary embarrassment that pass rather quickly without the substantial memory and will to hold them intact. I do give a damn though then let it go.

         Post. - Amorella


         1358 hours. I finished the drafting for “Pouch 1”. This is challenging. I go though adding and deleting and adding again while eventually trimming it back into the 700 - 800 word range. The tone seems the most important aspect as I work it through. Before I go on I need to recheck the chapter as a whole for misplaced words and/or proofing errors.

         Agreed, boy. It is late for lunch, Carol is finishing drying her hair. Add Pouch 1 and post. – Amorella

***
Diplomatic Pouch 1 ©2013,rho

            Pyl Williams-Burroughs sits next to her brother and pilot, while they await departure instructions from Detroit to Burke Lakefront in Cleveland.            Pyl turned excitedly, "Justine, what'd you think of the auto show?"
            "I liked it. I liked the new plug-in hybrids the best."
            "I liked them too. Which ones did you like best, Blakey."
            "Right now, I like the sunny and mild, not bad for a third of the way through January,” he paused then matter-of-factly remarked, "We are a go on 33."
            Justin leaned forward pushing himself back to sit up straight and adjusting himself to better observe the instrument needles fluttering as the worn asphalt runway began to more swiftly disappear beneath the fuselage. ‘We are up,’ rested the anxiety, ‘now all we have to do is come down.’
            An hour into their flight Blake and Justin were enjoying the meticulous drone of the Rolls-Royce engine in line with the darker blue above and the gray blue waters of Lake Erie ten thousand of feet below. Dusk will be around five, brooded Blake when the tip of the left wing appeared to lightly tap into an unseen object. “What the hell?” mumbled Blake while settling the plane.
            "Was it a bird?" asked Pyl cautiously.
            Justin interjected, "That sounded like a car tire kicking up a stone."
            Blake picked up the small binoculars for a quick inspection, "There's a crack near the wing tip light." His puffed lower lip and grumbling demeanor lead to another round nervous of cabin silence into a satisfactory landing at Burke.
            While Pyl and Blake visually inspected the landing light held fiberglass wingtip of the parked Cessna more closely Blake observed a minute gray spongy substance within the slight crack, it was secondary to the fact that the crack appeared repairable for a lot less money than he had anticipated.
            "What is that gray stuff?" asked Pyl.
             After a slide-between-the-fingers pause, Blake replied, "Probably bled out bird gut."
            "Squeeze me some," ordered Pyl. "I'll have it analyzed. I want to see what kind of bird it was."
            Standing beside her Justin moaned, "What for? Jeez, Pyl, it’s ground guts.”
            Pyl ignored the comment and politely instructed, “Justin, get me something to put this in. We were pretty high for it to be a bird."
            At that point a stranger walked up to the wing and began inspecting the damage.
            Pyl asked politely, "May I help you?"
            "I saw you coming in. I am interested in buying an old Cessna P210N like this."
            The woman has such an odd dialect, thought Justin as he picked up a small plastic envelope for Pyl. Noting the stranger’s dark Mediterranean-like eyes, he first gave Pyl the envelope and then extended his hand and said, "I'm Justin. This is my wife, Pyl and that's her brother, Blake, on the stool.” Curiosity got the better of him, “I’m surprised you just didn’t call it, the Eagle or Silver Eagle, that’s what people usually say.”
            The female marsupial humanoid quickly gathered herself into a warm smile, "Hello, I’m Eric."
            "That's your name?" questioned Pyl.
            "Yes," as she gave her hand to Pyl she caught her error and she added, "My given name is Erica, and you are Pill?"
            Pyl giggled, "My brother couldn't pronounce my real name so I have been stuck with P-y-l ever since."
            The humanoid turned slightly and shook Justin's hand, "And you are the brother?"
            "No, he's my husband,” responded Pyl. “My brother Blake is still inspecting the damage."
            Blake quibbled business-like, "We think a bird hit the wingtip light. A slight crack, but it appears repairable."
            "I have a trace of the remains," added Pyl. "I'm going to have it analyzed to see what kind of bird it was."
            A slight crack, thought the humanlike alien. Ship was considerate. He would have been more so had he not allowed the touch at all. Interrupting her thoughts she said, "Well, good luck with making the repair. I assume you are not interested in selling."
            The stranger quickly lobbied, "Blake, how much would you give for her?"
            Pyl moaned, "Daddy would never want us to sell this plane, Blake. She's family."
Looking directly into Blake's face with a renewed confidence to interject a swift end to the matter, she declared, "Upon a decent inspection and fly about, I’ll give you up three hundred thousand and not a dime more." The human lookalike concluded with a quick hard bargaining and masterfully business-like smile.
            "Give me your card. I'll contact you tomorrow," responded Blake with a bit more politeness than he was accustomed to.   

***
 Total (final) Chapter One words: 3529

           Late afternoon. You have gone over the GMS for Chapter One and added a ‘Microsoft Word Chapter Statistics’ document to keep track of the words, sentences, Sentences per Paragraph, Passive Sentences, Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level. This is to give you a sense of ‘style and tone’ continuity throughout each chapter. We will not set the final draft chapters in three chapter orders as before. There will be none even at the conclusion of the book. This is as close to the final as blog readers are going to get. When the final draft is ready for publication you will decide what will be the best way to publish. Post. - Amorella

          You went for a thirty-mile late Sunday afternoon drive into east rural Warren County country and return. You had snack suppers, watched ABC News, and last week’s PBS Masterpiece Theatre production of “Silk”. Carol is working on her iMac and you have perused Chapter Two attempting to come up with a subtitle of sorts. “Circumstance” popped into mind after reading the four segments. It will do. – Amorella

         2224 hours. Does this mean “Circumstance” is just satisfactory? Is there a better word for this, please?

         You have little confidence in yourself but there is no reason to grovel, boy. “Control” is a better word but I am pleased that you came up with one on your own first. Post. – Amorella

         I have a lack of foresight not confidence. If I had a lack of confidence I would have stopped long ago. This work is made for me to attempt. No one else can write this but me with your help.

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