Why I did what I did...

Goosed! (Away to me Home)

Wouldn't it be cool to show a group of birds doing what they do and then going somewhere new. That is the basis of "Goosed!".

This project tied together many themes and feelings for me. I had been playing at writing more technical and plot-intense stories, but I lacked a connection to the test paragraphs I wrote. Then I spent three-weeks in India. The people are so cooperative and happy. They work together on things and no one ever travels alone - someone always accompanies you to the store or out on a walk. THAT was the connection I needed. I imagined that care and concern among the flocks that I observed.

I also had been thinking about birds again since I just saw "March of the Penguins". Here are birds making a go of it in an impossibly challenging place. How do they do it? Behavior that plays more to the good of the group than the benefit of the individual. Birds and their behavior were a centerpiece of "A Star for Bailer" and I had been an avid Canadian Goose watcher. I would spend hours sitting by small lakes just observing them as the graze and preen and rest. I also was angered somewhat by the "geese police" sort of things that would drive them off the manicured grassy lawns of corporate complexes, presumable because they could not deal with their shit and noise and sometimes aggressive behavior.

So why not put the two inspirations together? As I thought about the story the plot came quickly but the voice and style was the challenge. I didn't want to do the usual "dumb english" for the birds,nor did I want something like "Animal Farm". What I decided on was simpler English and somewhat repetitive, terse phrasing, with emphasis on things important to Canadian Geese. Sounds, color and wings are important. Gender and names are not. What does a goose care about gender? A mate is a mate. All the others are "other". Of course they aould cateabout the posturingofthewings or neck - those things are so important to them, functionally and socially. I was careful to use actual words for anatomy and actions, too. I did not want the reader to have to learn a new vocabulary to appreciate the story.

I read that Canadian geese have like 13 calls. I sounded out the calls as best I could and gave them numbers because all geese would know them and what they mean. I also hoped the reader would learn the calls as I named them and maybe begin to understand how my geese "spoke". Admittidly, the calls I wrote on the paper are abstractions of what I hear. I liken it to what a goose might make of a human voice. In one draft I actually put what was supposed to represent what a human voice as heard by one goose. This was to maybe show the reader how familiar they had become with the goose calls as presented in the story and to maybe push them a little deeper into the goose psyche. But it came off as cheesy soI dropped it.

I spelled each of the calls a little differently for each of the geese. That included differnt letters and capitalizations. How else toindicate dialects and styles? Naming individuals in the group was something I struggled with, too. How do geese distinguish one-another? I know they key on sound so why not have our main character refer to others in his clutch by their dialects?

"Goosed!" is admittidly not futusist except that it looks to that day the group makes a great social leap. After all, we got to where we are today because of language and tools and development of social order and history. What if one goose didn't act like a goose, even just once, and it caught on?

For publication, the editors suggested that I drop the genderless "it" and stick with "her" and "his". The story actually read better so I kept it in this "official" release. It was interesting that during editing they were not aware that the "blurry black thing" is actually a border-collie.

A Star for Bailer

This story started with the name of the main (and only) female character - Slice. I was at one of my favorite restaurants (which has now since closed) and saw amongst the deli items a bottle of "sliced sweet peppers". I thought, "what a cool name that would be - "Slice sweet", and the character just came to mind.

Her original first name was "Maggie" but "Maggie Sweet" is a designer so that was out. "Laura" was a nod to "Laura Croft" of "Tomb-raider" fame.

I have actually been to the Everglades, spending two, three weeks camping and hiking about. yes, the places in the story actually exist - even "croc lake".

As I thought more about the main character I was taking a new step class at the gym with a new instructor, LT. The whole Everglades plot was coming together and one day in class I though about how much slogging through the mangroves was like this step class. L was a good friend of mine and she was such an inspiration and the whole sub-plot of the story just came to me. She was nuts in class and counted as much on me being there as I on her leading the way.She has what looks like maybe an old scar just under her eye and that fit perfectly with Slice's name and I carried that feature into her character.

Simbatu

I have always been a cat-person and just thought so much about them - their abilities and little talents. In 1990 I was a graphic artist for a tool distributor, putting together ads and flyers and catalogs. I had a couple of housemates and, of course, a cat named "Autumn" because of her pale grey and reddish coat.

I thought how neat it would be to put one in space - zero-G and all. But who would bring one up there? I knew some of the traits I wanted in the main character but it came together one day at work looking at a layout for cement-working tools. The thing that puts the long groove in leveled cement - the lines you see in sidewalks - is called a "bronze groover" and I just saw this bigger-than-life over-tanned happy fellow that to me would own a little cat and bring him everywhere. The blond-hair thing came as the story developed.

This was supposed to be the first in a series of stories. It started as a graphic novel, layed out like a screenplay then became a short-story years later as I really liked the plot and characters.

Yes the whole thing with the over-sized suit was a little contrived - especially the spacious helmets. May not be technically the best design for space helmets but then this is a small cat and they are so good at sneaking into tight places.

I tried to put as many of the typical "cat things" into the story as appropriate - when you point your finger at something they smell it; they roll on their backs and look up at you. Cat owners know what I mean.

Sperre Heart

This story was a real stretch for me stylisticly and technically. It started as a graphic novel. As a child I read lots of biographies. One of them was the life of Joan of Arc. I was impressed with her story and commitment to what she believed in. The book took the time to explain how she did hear voices in her head and may have been part of a delusional or psychotic state. now as a child i too heard voices in my head, but not the same way as Joan. Mine were (and are) more entertainment and an active imagination. They are not part of some alternative reality. But Joan impressed upon me the need to be true to yourself regardless of what others think. In that was her story affected me and I wanted to retell this influence in a story.

One day I had the idea how cool it would be to have someone from the future find and read a diary from the present-day. That's when the utility of the story hit me. Aston lives in 24th-century NYC. No doubt the language would be different so how would he deal with a diary written in the 1980's? So I decided to go for it - develop his future-speak and let the reader struggle with the meaning just as Aston struggled reading Jessica Jong.

I do love the Empire State Building and always wanted to have it be a character in one of my stories. It is a supporting character in the story, for me, because it has a past and an identity and guides Aston to his decisions.

Twenty/Twenty

I had submitted "Star..." to Sensations Magazine in 2002 and was asked by the editor to resubmit the story for consideration in the "Vacation" issue in 2005. When that rolled around writers could submit up to seven stories, one taking place on each continent. "Star..." was in north America so I figured write another two since I had the time and plenty of ideas.

"Twenty..." started out as a stream-of-consciousness rambling about Remar laying out this interesting vacation he had. I kinda knew what I wanted to say and the general plot was in my head but only when I began writing and got his voice did it come together for me.

I based the interaction of Helen and Remar on my conversations with my good friend JP. As JP is in the insurance field the nod in the story is that both characters work at Prudential.

Without revealing too much of the story, one has to remember that it is an old man remembering a 41 year-old remembering a 30 year-old. The 41 year-old had been to Paris in the year 2000 so that was the Paris I described in the story - the clothes, the traffic, the fact that there are cell phones, in one reference, and nouveau cuisine in another. But the 30 year-old doesn't understand this so is confused by what he sees.

Yes there is no Ramada in central Paris and Laduerre sounds more like a HoJo's. But that is Remar blending his actual memory of that week in St. Louis when he was thirty with his trip to Paris when he was 40.

Light Boy

"Light Boy" I began in spring 2003. I laid off the story for a while because I found it difficult to keep a consistent voice for main character, Lebe. I also became involved in other stories, primarily for Sensations Magazine. I am back on-track now and am finishing what I would consider as the second-draft of the story. I would like to think I will complete it summer 2005. It is a longer short-story and presents, in it's own way, a challenge to me because of the circumstances in the story. Can't talk about that one without spoiling things. One thing for sure - you could never make a movie out of it. More on this story as it nears completion.

Viva Las Vostok

This was originally written for the "vacation" series alone with "Twenty/Twenty". Problem is I did not finish it in time and on re-reading it I don't know that I like it. I have to polish it and perhaps send it off to a few friends for critical review. It is also the last in what I consider my "enlightenment" phase of stories. Personally I went through some changes starting early 2003 and the lessons and insights found their way into my works. No surprise there. But it's time to get back to the techy, futurist works I so love.

Random Notes

CHARACTER NAMES

I have often been asked what's up with all the odd character names - Slice, Aston, Bronze, Clevis, Pleu and so on. It started with "Alto Sporro", the main character in "Death of a Businessman", a short-story I did in college for my "history of the future" class. At first I was thinking Alto=stop in Spanish as the character was to be negative and very immovable in his actions and ideas. But that evolved into a character with calm indifference but I kept the name. There is also the futurist thing that in there are different name out there in the future.

Often times what sounds like a cool character name or nick-name is where a story starts for me. I have a name, create the basic character and then ask what this person does or is part of. This is in line with my feeling that people make the stories. Yes, there are those events larger than any of us and not a direct result of someone's actions but it's what we do with these events that define our lives.

People have also asked if I have put myself into any of the stories. Not directly. No character is just me with a different look and name. We write what we know about and certainly parts of my experience or talk or actions are part of some characters. But none of them is "all me".

But other people have found their way into my stories ...