My Jazzman

A young man whom Paul roomed with on Suffolk Street in downtown Manhattan contacted me today. And though his email is most welcome, it made me think of My Jazzman even more.

My jazzman                                                                       

beat it out

on the mighty eighty-eights,

played those riffs,

tapped his feet

bent his head

down to the keys,

felt those sounds

on his fingertips.

Yeah, he was a hot man

on those eighty-eights.

But all too soon

his bag grew dark.

He went down,

deep down.

My jazzman

played the blues,

lost that spark,

closed the lid.

And, yeah, you got it right,

quit the scene.

laid himself down

in that bone yard

for the big sleep.

Yeah, for the really big sleep.

The final, final, final review

Great cover photo by Madison Poulter
http://www.LuckyPress.com/madelinesharples.html

I’ve been procrastinating about getting down to my writing all morning. And I didn’t write a word yesterday. Am I feeling the need to relax a bit about my writing schedule – after all I’ve sent off the final, final, final corrections for the book prior the launch just about six weeks away.

Dealing with the final corrections is a whole other story. I received my review copy early this month – in a paperback edition although the book will come out next month in hardback. I really hadn’t intended to read it. I just wanted to have a copy for my records. So my husband Bob decided to read it front to back. He had read little bits of the book when I had the drafts posted on the storyboard wall, but I had never asked him to read or review it before. (I was told some years ago not to let a significant other read your drafts – the risks of hurt and hard feelings are too high.)

So needless to say, his reading the book at this point was a huge confront. Although I didn’t worry that there would be any hard feelings, because he's an excellent editor, I did worry that he’d find things that were too late to fix.

Luckily he was kind and he only made a few suggestions. In fact, at first he didn’t even know if I wanted him to mark any typos. So by the time I asked him to, he had already found a couple in the first half of the book and didn’t note where they were. That was my undoing. I felt adamant against coming out with a book with known typos. I looked through the first half of the review copy and couldn’t find them. I looked through my last word version online and couldn’t find them, and Bob didn’t have the time or patience to go through the book again to see if he could find them.

I finally asked my eagle-eye friend to take a look, and although she found only one of the places Bob mentioned (he said he saw two places where two words were run together) she found a couple of other typos as well. And then we had to be done. My publisher gave me a deadline of March 28 and we were down to the wire.

So what I know is no matter how many times I read the book and no matter how many times I say it is final, final, final, I know it could be looked at one more time. And there is always the need for another pair of fresh eyes to take a look. Of course I also know if we had unlimited time to keep reading and reviewing, nothing would ever get published.

My only hope now is: if it was so hard for my eagle-eyed friend and me to find the other pair of run-together words, none of my readers will find them either. Even though you know it’s there?

  

What a difference a week makes

Actually since my husband Bob started walking just less than a week ago our lives have changed considerably for the better. The scooter has been picked up (its real name is RollerAid by Footsteps), the crutches that were always at the ready on the bottom and top floor landings and the walker that he used for help in hopping in and out of the shower are now in the garage. The only implement still in use is the boot – though at his physical therapist's advice he's even wearing that less and less at home. Walking with the boot causes another malady – an aching back, so the sooner he can walk with a regular pair of shoes the better.  


He’s also been staying at work longer, he’s not reluctant to go out to dinner, and we even went to the movies and opera this past weekend. So, all in all things are definitely looking up – especially since I don't have to bring him his orange juice and paper in the morning. He actually went out the last two mornings and brought the paper in to me. (My only continuing job is being the family driver – and that chore couldn't stop soon enough for me)


Who would have thought a little spill down the stairs would have caused so many weeks of pain and immobility and the need for so many helper implements? My big question now is: should I take the crutches and walker to Good Will now or wait awhile? Really, what would I be waiting for?

In case you've forgotten – this is the best mobility

device ever – the RollerAid (AKA scooter)

http://www.rolleraid.com/

More kudos for Leaving the Hall Light On

http://www.LuckyPress.com/madelinesharples.html

My friend and advisor on all things related to getting a book published, Mark Shelmerdine, CEO of Jeffers Press, sent me this note yesterday after he finished reading a review copy of my book. I thank him immensely for his kind words.

I finished Leaving the Hall Light On last night.  It is a very moving, very intimate and very inspiring memoir.  It must have taken great courage to reveal your story to yourself and your family let alone to the world at large.  I have huge respect for the way you have exposed your feelings for Paul, Bob and Ben with such candor; it is something that it would be impossible for me to do probably because I am a reticent Brit.  The poetry and photographs add an extra dimension that is missing from most memoirs like this since as a reader you get much closer to the reality of what is being described on the page.  For 321 pages I was completely caught up in your life and the heart-wrenching drama that you were experiencing.

What came across for me so eloquently was how hard you tried to make it right for Paul despite all the obstacles he put in your way.  And, then at times you realized you had to back off and take care of yourself and your marriage.  This I believe will be most helpful to readers who are in a similar situation – that as a parent you can’t continue to be a victim to the behavior of your child and that at some point you have to let go and take back your life.  It is a great credit to both of you that you were able to hold your marriage together since I know that even the best marriages fall apart in these circumstances....

The world is a better place for your having written and published this book.  I hope and pray it finds a huge audience.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mark!

I know Spring is here when the clivia is in bloom

My favorite time of the year is when the clivia is blooming. The blooms are in full force right now especially after yesterday's downpour.

We don't have much of a front yard - in fact we hardly have any yard at all - and most of it is in the shade, so clivia is the perfect plant for us. I just wish the colorful blossoms lasted longer than a few weeks in early Spring.

Check out the succulents too

Clivia at full bloom

Foot injury update

Well the "step down" day arrived and it went as we had hoped. Though Bob felt a lot of apprehension last night that he still wouldn’t be allowed to walk on his foot, today's x-ray showed healing has progressed as expected six weeks post surgery. And, the redness and swelling have subsided considerably.

So as of noon today, Bob took his first steps. And though he must still walk with his boot, he can take it off at night. He can also go back to taking showers rather than tub baths that have been easier for him during this recovery time. 

The next thing he wants to do is start weaning himself off the scooter. He’s asked me to bring him one crutch for getting around at the gym with his personal trainer this afternoon. And, I must say I won't miss lugging that thing in and out of the trunk of the car and up and down our stairs. He can't be weaned off of it fast enough for me.

I know he is anxious to be walking again, and I'm anxious to have him walking, but I hope he doesn’t go too fast and furiously. If he listens to the doctor who says he should walk with an awareness of pain and only walk if his foot is pain-free, all should be well.

The next hurdle is getting him back to driving. However, he cannot drive with the boot, so his going back to driving is about three weeks down the line. Guess what that means? I’m still the chauffeur. Well, at least it's not as bad as yesterday, and I expect tomorrow to be even better. 

One more thing. He needs to go to physical therapy twice a week for the next six weeks. Bob tried out the idea of having his personal trainer work with him, but that got nixed. The doctor feels that trainers can get a little too aggressive. Well, duh?


He's made such good progress up until today, what's another few weeks to ensuring a completely healed foot.?

Another survivor

What's been going on in my life all came into perspective when I opened the mail yesterday and found in the Cancer Support Community (formerly The Wellness Community) newsletter a survivor profile on the front page. I looked at the photo of this survivor and immediately recognized a man I’ve known at the gym for years. We’ve only exchanged Hi’s and smiles and once in a while a local restaurant recommendation – I don’t even remember how we got into that – and that’s the extent of what I knew about him. I noticed he always wore a cap, and lately he was looking thinner, but I had no idea that he has been battling cancer since 1997 – first for a melanoma that started on his skull and metastasized to his neck, spleen, liver, and colon and a later diagnosis of prostate cancer. After years of radiation and surgical treatments, as of Thanksgiving 2010 he was pronounced cancer free. And through it all I've seen this man at the gym always with a smile on his face – a guy who looks like he has the perfect attitude needed to survive cancer or any other of life’s challenges.

In his survivor story he told how reluctant he was at first to attend the program offered by the Cancer Support Community. But I am so glad he relented and finally experienced its benefits – especially the care and concern offered by its facilitators and other participants.

I worked at The Wellness Community in Redondo Beach, CA as its first Development Director in the late 1980s and served on its Board of Directors for a couple of years. It is truly a loving and caring place. I know many people who derived a huge value from attending its programs. For more information and a location near you, please go to: http://www.thewellnesscommunity.org/corporate/facilities.php

I looked for this courageous survivor at the gym today, but he wasn’t there. I hope he’s still doing well. He now has a new special place in my heart.