I can't believe how much time has past since my last blog. Since that blog, I have finished about seven short stories, half a novel, and several articles. I graduated with my second graduate degree from UMKC with a 3.94 GPA. I also decided to pick up 18 graduate hours in English. I have had the good fortune of taking classes from two predominately well-established professors who have real writing careers as published novelists and poets. I have learned a lot. The question is, have I learned enough to evolve as a writer? As an educator? Or have I wasted three premium years of building my niche in the coaching/educational sector? I think this time out was mandatory. Reaching the next level often means we have to take inventory, hone new skills, discard what is no longer working for us, and make sure we are on the right path. I know two things: I write a lot better than I did three years ago and that liberal hell hole has made me literally, fearless.
Back to this blog, I asked myself, why do I call it The Narb? Narb was the term of affection my mother called my dad when I was a child. To me, it reminds me of my father, a man of integrity who constantly reflected on life and the "why" of it. I think I inherited that same mindset.
This week, the Coronavirus has the world in a fear grasp. While it is a real disease, the real issue is the state of our over preparedness for an emergency. In America, the toilet paper shortage demonstrates that most people could survive more than a week without going to the store. This is really dumb. My father having lived through the Great Depression instilled in me the necessity of preparing winter food stock in the summer, keeping everything with a motor tuned up and in operating order, and living on the cash system, not using credit for daily living. That alone puts one in the weird category in a society that literally lives moment to moment!
Regardless of the month or season, there is always going to become a crisis. Do an inventory of your pantry and supplies and make necessary adjustments. Pretend you can't leave your house literally for two months. What would you need? Then stock up and forget about it. Let the idiots fight over that last roll of toilet paper! The well prepared will be able to weather any storm: real, imagined, natural, or manmade.
EJN
