I hope you’re taking care of yourself
We’re fine, but things here in Michigan are a little strange.
Michigan, having lost its collective mind, told Florida, “Hold my beer,” and went a little COVID crazy. All that the collective Michiganders needed to do was wash our hands, keep our distance, and wear a mask. Instead, our infections are higher than ever before. Hospitals are filling up again.
Two men I know, both in their forties, died from COVID this week. Doubly tragic now that vaccines are rolling out. We can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re not out of the goddam tunnel.
This photo is a transition between wearing a mask and coloring eggs, which we did outdoors this year. Why transition? Because coloring Easter eggs was a highlight of the year for my Aunt Olga, who passed away this week.
Her death is particularly sad because she was a spirit angel for us, holding a now extended family together, the de facto matriarch of four generations, despite not having children of her own. She wasn’t the person to necessarily get things done for the family; it was more like she embodied the idea of this extended family.
Except Easter eggs. If you needed to get some eggs colored, Olga was the go-to person.
Olga started a TikTok account recently, thanks to her great-great niece. You can see some of her dance moves, and read my eulogy here.
I’m not expecting the extended family to implode, mind you, but as we celebrate her life this weekend, we’ll begin a transition. The family has an abundance of nice people so I’m confident we’ll find our way, if only by our shared grief for those who have gone before us.
That’s my cousin Donna and Aunt Olga coloring eggs this year.
Meanwhile, at My Writing Desk…
Along with restarting the Picayune, I’ve been blogging to connect with readers. Last issue, I mentioned a book that blew me away: Cassandra at the Wedding. The finish was better than I hoped, and I recommend it, along with To the Lighthouse and When You Are Engulfed by Flames in this blog post you may enjoy (if you enjoy novels and stuff).
I also completed a short story for an anthology of updated fairy tales, and submitted that to the publication. It should be a hoot to read when it’s published. It started as a tweet by someone I follow on Twitter, and I found a writing partner, and away we went. We are re-telling the fable called The Little Peasant. I had never heard of that fable before this, and the idea my partner had for the updated story was a hoot. It was a lot of fun to write.
Upcoming Books and Stuff
I’m moving forward with my two novels, working on the covers, and getting ready to layout the book for printing. Here is the cover for one of those books:
It’s called Ruthless.
Because I’ve been a hands-on kind of tinkerer with computers and stuff, creating books was a natural extension. In fact, one of the fun things I did with my very first computer, the Commodore 64 (back in 1983), was to write a novel with it. That poor, miserable bastard of a story will never see publication, but it still bounces around in my mind.
Maybe You’d Like
The venerable purveyor of satire and humor, Robot Butt, published my piece: The Four White Men of the Apocalypse. I hope you get a chuckle if you’re into that.
Next Month
I’ll have another book recommendation (note to self: read a book) and some story news to share with you. Soon, I’m going to have advance review copies of the novel available soon. Cool?
Until then, get your covid vaccine when you’re eligible, wear a mask regardless, and keep gatherings to the essentials. Your health is your most important thing to defend and improve. (Your time is the next most important.) So take care of yourself and help others when possible.
Thanks for reading the Mickey Picayune.