Hurrah! I think I am starting to recover from this. I also think that stopping all the darn drugs is making me recover faster. There was one for not being able to breathe, one for antibiotics, one for the cough and one to stop me throwing up as the first three made me so sick.

A nurse friend remarked that she thought it odd that they gave me Vicaden, as it is addictive, and I said HELLO??? No danger there. Let’s see? What did I enjoy more? Throwing up? Nightmares? Shaking? People do that for FUN???? Sigh. Had it not been for the fact that I would shortly develop “illness” that would cause me to need whisky on a daily basis, I would have been much better off with a shot of scotch in a mug of herb tea. Ease the breathing and coughs and send me to sleep.

One weird thing, you know how the drug ads on TV must list the side effects, which they do in haste at the end of the beautiful ad? Well, in the mist of my illness, I heard the strangest one of all. We will call it New Wonder Drug, or NWD for short. I can’t remember what it was meant to be FOR, but at the end of the general “May cause weakness, dizziness, heart trouble, nausea ect…They said “In certain circumstances may cause DEATH” and then “A certain percentage of some studies indicate that some people may be helped by NWD” (actual words, wrote ‘em down)

Hello? IS there any indication that this NWD actually HELPS any condition? I am not a paranoid person, but I am starting to SUSPECT SOMETHING, as Pooh said of the Bees,
in regards to big drug companies…

Cabal, the Pipe Wielding Dog, had his first day in the Canine Good Citizen class tonight. (go ahead, snicker) I did explain to him yesterday that tripping on the Tire Jump and knocking it into my Boss, knocking him out, and bloodying his nose was NOT Good Citizen behaviour, and he said he was sorry. He did great tonight tho. The wonders of the cooked chicken treats in my pocket, I am thinking.

I got myself into a Thing the other day. A Nice Lady from a Literary Magazine that I cannot remember the name of, asked Boss if he would write some non-fiction for them. Boss cannot take anything more on, but I said “Hi, non-fiction? I’m your women” Great, says the Nice Lady, send it on over.

Oh. Says I. What do you want. Here is what the Nice Lady told me…

I’m not looking for any special topic; We have a very broad aesthetic. I guess our only real “requirement” is that it have a measure of literary value. That sounds kind of stuffy, but we like to publish essays that are more than anecdotes or experiences, essays that expand beyond themselves. We’ve published funny essays, ones that break your heart, some that really stir up discussions. I’m glad you’re still interested in sending some work this way!

Hmmm…I think my essays are rather fun, like “Top Ten Things Never to Send Your Favourite Writer” or ” Day in the Life of a Personal Assistant” or “How I survived One Day in Therapy” or even “Owning Bengals: What the Internet won’t tell you” but, one wonders, do they have Literary Value? How does one tell?

Is it like when you go to a big bookstore and they have a Literature section and a Fiction section. Does anyone know what the difference is? I can’t seem to figure it out. I know there is sci-fi, fantasy, romance, mystery, but many novels that might be in any of them end up in Literature. And Vi’s versa. All very confusing.

I would like to write something that has Literary Value. I think the Book Malena and I are working on has Literary Value, in that people will read it and it will make them dream, and happy, and see things they would not have seen, had we not written it. But again, who can say?

I would like to write something for these people, as I have quite enjoyed corresponding with this Nice Lady. (She is a one of us) but what, one wonders…..

What?

Love and Mysteries,
Lorraine