What a difference a single Mickey Picayune makes. Two weeks ago, my brother, suffering from COPD caused by chemotherapy, and wholly dependent on cannisters of oxygen, awaited a lung transplant. Today, if all continues well, he will walk out of the hospital with the lungs of a soul who tragically died but was loving and generous enough to donate their lungs.
Two weeks ago, we were hopeful Vlad the Imposter was bluffing about war. Today, we see death, economic ruin, and the remarkable bravery of Ukraine.
Two weeks ago, I would have added a dumb joke at this point (rule of threes), but here I am humble, grateful and respectful of those who have died and are suffering.
The Great Gate of Kiev. 1928 by Wassily Kandinsky
Remember Joe?
A few Picayunes ago, I mentioned the new kid in my childhood neighborhood, “Joe,” and how our friendship cooled when he escalated his shoplifting to a point that frightened me. (As a reminder, I had my own kleptomania period, so I’m not judging him.)
Besides, passing judgment was my father’s thing.
Joe continued to drop by after our falling out. I think it was to make me feel uncomfortable, or otherwise force me to hang out with him, or maybe he really had nothing better to do. Our little slice of suburbia was tiny houses on tiny lots, and people were up in each other’s business.
One Saturday, while my father repaired a car in the back yard, I stayed in the vicinity watching him work, available to fetch tools, drinks, or whatever. Basically, I didn’t have anything better to do.
Joe dropped by for a visit that afternoon, and showed an interest in the repair work. In fact, Joe asked questions, which my father answered curtly. Joe also offered advice. Apparently, Joe’s father was a back yard mechanic, and Joe wanted to share what he’d picked up watching.
My father, with nerves frayed, snapped at Joe, “Could you just shut up?”
Joe, doubling down, said, “That wasn’t very friendly.”
“Mickey,” my father said, “take your friend back to his house.”
Later, at dinner, my father told me to keep “Joe Asshole” away when he’s working on cars.
I got a kick out of that nickname, “Joe Asshole,” but made the mistake of telling someone at school.
A few days later, Joe returned to our yard and confronted my father. “I know what you call me,” he said. “I don’t think you should do that.”
My father apologized.
Later, after Joe Asshole left, my father lectured me at length about keeping my mouth shut, and he was right. Things said in family should not be repeated. Especially things said to vent anger.
I didn’t have the guts to try to salvage anything resembling friendship with Joe. In the spring, his family moved away and that, as they say, was that.
Meanwhile, at My Writing Desk…
I took a webinar on using humor in fiction two weeks ago, and then used the energy I got from that to polish a submission to a master class on using humor in fiction. Even if I’m not accepted into that class, the piece I submitted is the first chapter of my work in progress, and the energy of the story is much improved.
I’m hoping I get the chance to work with this teacher, but I’m confident that novel is in a better place already.
Part of me feels weird going about things like there isn’t a terrible war going on, but life is a struggle between chaos and order. Fiction is a depiction of chaos, and how the hero restores order.
Also, I hope I’ll have the courage to keep writing when my part of the world is in chaos. One of my writer heroes, Irene Nemerovsky, worked on her novels until the day the Nazis arrested her and sent her to Auschwitz.
If you’re so inclined, I encourage you to donate to refugees somewhere, and maybe, together, we can restore a little bit of order to their chaotic worlds.
Maybe You’d Like
“A fifteen-year-old high school dropout fights for his life as ruthless aliens take over his town.”
Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Vlad, this book may be hitting the zeitgeist. Stories offer us perspective on how to deal with the unthinkable.
Step Into the Future is a group of books set in the future, involving interesting technology or shifts in society. Check them out!
Recommended Reading
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead. I’m not saying anything that hasn’t been said a thousand times before telling you it’s a good book. It has over a thousand positive reviews.
Next Picayune
I’m hoping some normalcy in the world is restored by the time the next Picayune is published, but I won’t hold my breath. Remember, we often have to fight for peace.
Thanks for reading the Mickey Picayune.
All the best,
–mickey
P.S. Remember, my books are available wherever fine books are sold:
Ruthless: When a cop’s daughter investigates her sister’s death, the truth takes her over the thin blue line, into a battle for her life.
