<The new stuff follows the "*****" found below...>
This book has been suggested to me by my uncle, the world famous, Carlos Dunning.
It came yesterday via Abebooks.com for the reasonable price of $7, postage included. It's used but looks to be in good shape.
As I've mentioned to Carlos, I've been having my doubts about this writing thing. It is starting to look like a lot of work and I did retire for a reason. Is golf work? Well, on occasion, it does seem that way. As an intellectual exercise, getting better at something is always welcome and thus I cannot complain too much. I will plug away for awhile and see if I come to a conclusion. Maybe I'll dive into it or let it go and look for the next subject to come along. And new stuff always does. One of my guides to life is that "There are a million little worlds out there."
I read chapter one of the book. Dwight Swain tells me that writing is all about emotion! Besides a few other things, you need emotion and more emotion. The world has too many engineers and schools dealing in facts and without emotion, we are all doomed... Dwight and I may differ a bit on this world view, but for the moment I'll accept his point of view and see where it leads me.
I've been pondering this call to emotion for a number of hours. I read the chapter last night. I seem to have slept reasonably well; I can't cite the chapter for a lot of personal upheaval yet.
If I am truthful, I probably have to admit to more emotion than I am willing to recognize. I can see that the great issues of the first world are mostly emotional blather without a lot of serious effects one way or the other. The politicians and activists seem to appeal to emotion only. Would the world be better if it were run by engineers?
My father imparted words over the years about how he had scant respect for engineers. He tested a lot of them and found them lacking. I think in intelligence he said, but I could be wrong. As I wandered through the technical job space in my career, I worked with a lot of engineers and engineering types. Most of the managers I had had engineering backgrounds. I found engineers to be easy to work for, pleasant folk, and a "proper" outlook on things that needed to get done.
If I were to sum up what I did for a living and what, it turned out, I was good at, was solving problems. Programmers and engineers were gifted in those areas. And the bottom line in that work area is that the solution had to be right. You couldn't be close or near, it had to be correct or you were going to do it again.
If we take journalists, who are in the news for having lost their jobs recently, and climate scientists, who also are lecturing us on a daily basis about the evils of modern life, they have no downside or penalties for being wrong. They just go on to the next story or peer reviewed paper and the only thing that counts is quantity. And as long as they stir the emotions of us little people, it's all good.
Hmm, I see I'm about to write that book. Each of the above items is leading me to another topic... I do have a couple of things to do this morning and time is lacking for the moment. I need a nut for my boring head and the toilet handle needs some adjustment... Did Hemingway have these problems?
Ok, let's call this part one and I'll return to this soon...
*****, Part, the New...
It's the next day. I've managed to fix the toilet, get my boring head draw bar all sorted out, and had lunch at Costco, and gotten in 18 holes with Rich II. A busy day, but getting home too late to get in a nap before the dinner festivities begin.
I wrote a bunch and then decided that it didn't belong here. Editing of this post caused it to be withdrawn from the blog. I've removed the offending material, saved it for the future, and I'll end this here.
But, good news for my loyal readers, I've got the next post designed and I'll work on it until the driving range dries out enough to go practice.
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