Crazy busy
Whew, pretty much recovered from an insane week at this point, but it was an intense work week. Seven stories last Sunday - two which the USA Today picked up, a nice feather in the cap - plus a sad story that occupied much of the rest of my work days.
Got the rest of my plants out today- had most of them out last Sunday. Did some pot cleaning and transferring. This is probably the latest I've had my pots out but my leafy babies overwintered well and we did have a couple freak cold spells. I think we are well past that now, touch wood. In fact, tomorrow through Tuesday could se temps in the mid-80s.
I did leave my holiday cactus inside, although I moved them to a sunnier spot near my one window. Took a couple years, but I realized that there was just too much sun for them-- my previous two dwellings were almost entirely shade, so previous cacti did great. Here, there's far more sun, especially in the afternoon, and their leaves were burning. Yikes! The others seem to be enjoying the warmer weather and greater light.
We had an unusual amount of solar flare activity, and a lot of people took photos of beautiful aurora borealis formations. I mean, they were stunning! I MIGHT have seen a dim one, but I'm not sure. The trick I found, too late, is to take photos of the sky- the borealis showed up far better through a camera lens. Still, it was amazing seeing all the photos. Sightings of the aurora borealis aren't common but the intensity of these were unmatched. Also, for the most part, the clouds stayed away- a minor miracle around here! So, total solar eclipse last month, vivid northern lights this month. It's been a good spring for astronomers, for certain.
Got in some good writing last night. I finished one new scene (which replaced a good chunk of my story). All in all, I rewrote two large sections and added a new scene. The story isn't much longer than it was when I finished the initial draft, so that's probably a good thing (we're talking less than a thousand words).
Also read some more O. Henry stories. I also currently have three books I'm in the process of reading. I'm nearly done with two of them (less than 40 pages).
72. The Girl and the Graft. Possibly O. Henry's kindest take on women, although I hesitate to call it a feminist tale as I've seen others write. More a statement on the barriers women would have faced in the turn of the 20th century. Here, a friend of the narrator, a "classy" grifter, shares a tale about how what he calls a woman's nature led him to a not unsurprising conclusion.
73. The Fool-Killer. Another gem that made me laugh out loud. A man meets up with a longtime friend and artist, and he calls his friend a fool for abandoning his family (and family fortune) for love. The artist friend introduces the man, a writer, to absinthe. Suddenly, the writer sees a figure straight out of the southern tales he has been brought up on, a "fool-killer" who targets fools. I saw the ending coming, but it's still an amusing story.
74. The Flag Paramount. Another chapter in Of Cabbages and Kings. Probably one of the saddest stories I've read by O. Henry. The simple but dogged first admiral of Coralio comes across a man and his companions who are wanted for desertion. What happens is a battle between patriotism and cunning.
75. The Ferry of Unfulfillment. Cute story, but O. Henry's done this particular theme - misunderstanding leads to potential love thwarted - several times before. Here, a shop girl is heading towards a ferry so she can get home, when she catches the eye from a man who is visiting from Nome, who falls head over heals for her.
76. The Enchanted Profile. An older woman, who happens to be one of the wealthiest women in the world, is enchanted by a lovely young woman. The younger woman agrees to be the matron's companion and maid, but a buying spree by the millionairess leads to buyers remorse, and causes the younger woman to rethink the agreement. The ending made me chuckle.
77. The Duel. When one typically thinks of duels, images of swords or guns generally comes to mind. But what is depicted in this short is a duel of ideals between two friends. They had come to New York City from the west, eager to make their fortunes while not "selling out." One friend accuses his comrade that he has, indeed, become a part of the city and mulls whether to head back west.