Gone Like the Mountains of the Moon at Dawn

"June came upon us much too soon, then was gone, gone like the mountains of the moon at dawn."

June was packed. I almost don't want to jam it all into one blog, but circumstances dictate because, last of all, I have a scratched cornea, a gouge so deep it's taking over week to heal, and I'm supposed to stay off the computer until it's healed. That simply doesn't work for me.

June began with the Golden Knights, my drum corps. We have two weekend events a year, and June is the Elks Convention weekend. We gather on Friday, parade on Saturday morning, and give a concert that night. In between, we meet up with old friends from our drum corps days, people we've known for more than 60 years. The tradition is to gather at the bar previously known as Kelly's Tavern, now the Copper Dog, and cheer on the corps as they go by. There's no describing the thrill of marching past Kelly's and hearing friends shout your name. I was feeling my oats, health-wise, and determined to march the 1.1 mile parade. Wouldn't you know, I marched the 1 mile and couldn't make the last .1.  I felt that banging in the chest again and couldn't get the air. I had to drop out, so I missed the ovation. Yes, that's what bothered me, not the fact that my health isn't back to normal.

The following weekend was my niece's wedding, which Jack officiated. It took place at a castle in Doylestown, Fonthill Castle, a gorgeous venue. The bride and her husband are a bit iconoclastic, as you can see below. It was good to see all the nieces and nephews together. They're all great kids. (Kids, you know; in their late '30s to mid '40s.)

The week after that, I went out to the book launch for Gregory Frost's Rhymer, while at home I was preparing about 50 pounds of prime rib, baby-back ribs, sandwich steak, wings, and chicken breasts, grilled veggies, cheeses, a double batch of bean salsa, C3PO dip, and various other foods for our annual Summer Celebration. We had to hold it on a Sunday, so a lot of folks who usually come didn't, but some folks who usually don't come did. At least I had very few leftovers!

Cleaning up after the party took a week, and to be honest, I still haven't exactly mopped the floors. But we had the grandkids come to stay on Friday, and our family come to dinner Saturday. A joyous time had by all. 

Meanwhile, one of the most notable moments in my publishing career happened. Soul Scream Antholozine released, featuring a Gwynna Lionshadow tale One More Ghost Story. If you've followed my blog, you know that Gwynna was a character I pursued for years, in three novels, some shorts, and some novellas. The problem was, this was back in the '80s, when a heroine was Olivia Newton John or Molly Ringwald. Forty years later, a kickass heroine is finally a major draw. Do you think a publisher would be interested now? I hope to find out. Please, go buy Soul Scream! It's not just an anthology of stories; it's like a con in your hands, with discussions, author illustrations, articles, and a lot of fun. 

Then the really annoying part happened: While I was tugging a Zip-Loc bag from the fridge, it snagged, then snapped right into my eye, gouging a 3mm slice across my cornea. I don't know how deep it went, but after 5 days it's still not healed, and the doc says to keep my left eye closed for another 5 days! That black line across the moon there is the gouge. 

This is most annoying because I'm in the midst of rewriting a story I thought I'd finished, and it was really good, but I found out in my research that it was historically impossible, and I had to rethink the whole thing. I'll keep the story and re-set it in Paris for another anthology coming up, but in the meantime, I have to write a new story. Thank heaven for research rabbit-holes. That's another blog.