JodyPryor.com

Changes. That's what life is all about.

People around us change, and sometimes, we're the ones who change.

Things I used to care about, aren't important to me now. Things I didn't know existed are now important. Some things I thought I understood, and realize I don't have a clue about, and other things, I thought I had a grasp of, but know I didn't have a clue but now I know deep in my gut what it means.

I ran away to Dillingham. I thought I went over there because I needed a job. Okay, I did need a job and they made me a pretty good offer. One I couldn't turn down. The truth is, I ran away from Homer.

I couldn't stand the thought of spending the fall here. What would I do? How could I hit October with all the birthdays, anniversaries, etc., without Barbara? I couldn't. How could I spend Thanksgiving in Homer without Barbara? I couldn't.

When she died, all of our old routines went with her. She was such a part of our lives, it was impossible to stay in Homer this first season without her here.

I didn't go to Dillingham hoping to find Barbara there. She's gone. I know that. Besides, I didn't find her there. No. Yesterday at Safeway in Homer, I found her. It wasn't her, but a lady who reminded me of her. I did a double take. Then a triple take. She's taller than Barbara was. Her hair is darker. But the way she stood, head high, poised was Barbara. I smiled.

I'd love to pick up the phone and call Barbara. I have so much to tell her. In years past, we'd go to Don Jose's and she'd have a drink or two, with her straws lined up so she wouldn't lose track and we'd talk. Chat. Visit. Spend time together.

I'd love to do that again. Talk to Barbara. But alas, I can't. I'd love one of her boney hugs again.

So, I ran away to Dillingham until I could face life in Homer without Barbara. A funny thing happened though. I found my life. I found a reason to get up every morning. I found reasons to laugh. I found people to talk to. Not like I used to talk to Barbara. After all, that type of talking takes years to develop.

I'm back in Homer. Where I can listen to the Saturday's 70s show on the radio. Where I look out my window at the mountains, bay and glaciers.

But there's something missing. Something that I found in Dillingham.

Will I go back? Yes! In fact, I have my next assignment over there.

As I sit here and type, I remember small things. Big things. And I smile.

The man who used to allow me to wash his dirty dishes says he won't go back to Dillingham. And I can't not go back. It's not a perfect world.

Good morning, John.

It's posting old entries, so I'll see if it's posting things now.

Keep your fingers crossed. Hopefully, this one will post.

Is it just me, or are others having problems getting their entries to post?

Until I can write an entry that actually posts, things will probably be lean around here.

Good morning, John.

In the world of publishing one of the ways to pitch a book is to give the shorthand version of it. Which is the X meets Y scenario.

Something like, Surf 'n Turf is Jaws meets City Slickers. Yes, that's really a horrible example, but from the title and the reference to Jaws and City Slickers the potential reader, usually an agent or editor gets a complete feel for this new book.

For the X meets Y tagline to work, both X and Y must be cultural icons.

A generic tagline for chick-lit (the books, not the gum) would be Pride and Prejudice meets Lucielle Ball. Yes, I know this is a broad generalization, but for the readers of this blog who have never read a chick-lit book, they'll have a basic understanding of the genre with those two references.

My current WIP (work in progress) has a perfect X meets Y tagline. Well, it does except for one small problem. People either know and love the X portion of it, or they've never heard of the X portion.

So, this is a plea to all my readers. September 13th is the new season for House. It's a Fox show and it kicks ass. Seriously. It's the only show I know I'll watch this next season. The tagline for it would be Sherlock Holmes meets ER. It's smart television, so obviously the ER reference is to when ER was still smart television. Watch House. Make it a household word. That way I can use my wonderful X meets Y pitch for my WIP and agents and editors will know exactly what it's about.

If you watch the show and like it, tell your friends. Let's make House a cultural icon.

Good morning, John.

We went back to the fishing hole today. Two men were fishing beside us. We chatted. Not unusual.

The wife of one of the fishermen stopped by. We chatted with her, too. She asked where are fish were. I told her that I was leaving them in the hole until we were ready to go home. They stayed fresher that way.

At the end of the fishing trip, we decided we weren't ready for our salmon. Obviously. They are still in the water, freshing up some more.

We'll try again tomorrow. I'd really like to fire up the smoker again. Honestly.

I managed to crank out a couple chapters today. Don't panic. They are very short chapters. In fact, one of them I rewrote from last night. I realized I didn't like what I'd written. So, I kept the two or three paragraphs that fit and completely rewrote it.

It's August. Yikes. Summer is almost over. In fact, today didn't feel like summer. In other parts of the country, they'd be laughing at global warming if they had our temps. Today when I tied a new hook on the line, my fingers were numb.

Good morning, John.

They're supposed to be running. We just returned from the fishing hole. Yes, it's going on 2 a.m. and we were out fishing. See my previous entry...that should explain why I don't want to get up at 5 a.m. and cook breakfast.

The rumor was there was supposed to be another big run tonight. Perhaps there was. I sure didn't see them. What I've noticed about silvers (they're a type of salmon for those who are curious) is when they're dancing on the water (and yes, they do dance on the water) they aren't interested in biting the hook. The more they leap, dance, prance, and show us they're there, the less likely you are to actually catch one.

Silvers taunt. Horribly. But they're tastey. Which is why we fight to get our fair share of them. The other day my son, his wife and his sister-in-law caught sixteen in about an hour. Two of them limited out and one was two short of getting her limit for the day. We keep thinking if we hit it right, we'll get down there and limit out too. All it takes it a couple days of that and we'd have more than we can go through in a winter. So, we're working on harvesting our bounty from the waters.

We spent most of our years here running a business so we didn't have time to watch the tides and fish. Now we have the time so we're going to take advantage of it.

It's time to grab a few hours sleep and hit the hole again tomorrow. The tide book is by my side and I've got the perfect time figured out. Right. I'll let you know tomorrow if that's true or not. If we arrive home empty handed, my theory was wrong. If we come back with plenty of fish to smoke, we hit the jackpot.

Good morning, John.

Today our company left. All in all, we had a good time. I think all of us would have had a better time if our house was larger. So, on my to-do list is to figure out a way to get a larger house constructed. Hey, why not have an impossible event on such a list?

For the last year or two, the man who allows me to wash his dirty dishes and I have discussed the possibility of opening a B & B. Here's the bottom line...thanks, but no thanks. While we enjoyed our guests, neither of us want a summer of guests each and every year. I don't like the idea of cooking breakfast at 5 a.m., again at 6, again at 7, and so on until 9 a.m., or something around that time.

Okay, the truth? I don't like cooking breakfast until after 9 a.m., so all those times prior to 9 are unpleasant for me. I'm willing to wager, guests wouldn't appreciate my grumpy morning attitude either. Paying guests would probably consider me rude or down right bitchy. They'd have a reason to be put out with my morning attitude.

During the last two weeks, I did manage to get some writing done, too. Yay for me. Not a lot and some of it isn't all that good, but at least I was able to move forward with the story.

This might sound so unAlaskan, but in the last two weeks I did a first. I smoked salmon. No, I didn't roll it in papers and light it. I didn't smoke it according to Wuffer's recipe. The first batch we did before we had his special blend. The next batch we didn't have time to let it soak for 24 hours, so we went back to the first recipe. It really was kind of fun (except cleaning the grates in the smoker) and it didn't taste bad at all.

Now we have to go out and see if we can't get a few silvers of our own. I'm ready to stock the freezer with salmon and halibut. Sometimes I get out of the habit of fixing fish and the nice thing about company...we learn to eat fresh Alaskan fish all over again.

Another thing I enjoy about company, I get to see Alaska through their eyes. While I always appreciate the gorgeous views, there's something special about seeing them with those who want to soak in the sights so when they're back home they can remember the bay, the mountains and the glaciers. It puts things in perspective for me. Maybe my house isn't the best in the world, but I have a view out my front door that others envy. And I very rarely take it for granted.

Good morning, John.

Part of life in small town Alaska is the simple fact any death in the community affects the whole community.

Since Thursday evening, we've lost five members of our community. One to cancer and four of our young to an auto accident early yesterday evening. All of this less than a month after losing our dear friend Barbara to cancer.

To the families of Barbara, Drew, Toni, John, Becky and Randall, our deepest sympathies to each of you. In this small community, please know all of us are sharing your losses. For those of you who lost your children, my children have shared their memories of your children with me. Some recent events, others throughout the years. Your children brought joy to my children.

For Philip, as you know, your mother was more than a friend. The two of you were and you still are an extension of our family.

For Drew's family, years ago, we (my husband and I) were talking to one of Drew's deckhands. He summed up Drew perfectly. "He'd give you the shirt off his back." It's such a cliche, but with Drew it was more than an overused phrase, it was his motto.

This blog will go into hiatus for a few days. In light of our losses, nothing I have to say right now seems very important. Please join me in lighting candles and saying a prayer for the families who have to adjust to a life without their loved ones. Please say a prayer for the adult surviving children of Barbara G and Drew S and the babies who lost their mothers this weekend.

Good morning, John.