Phil Brown: Blog

Just a quick post to let you know that after ten years, I finally posted a new story. Well, the first twenty chapters anyway. There’s about fifty-seven more chapters to post. The story’s written, and I’m working on cleaning up the last half dozen chapters or so. But I’m torn.

A lot of the more prolific posters to StoriesonLine seem to use the “chapter-a-week” format and when I asked why, they said it drives up their downloads and their scores. Now I personally never even look at works-in-progress so I have no idea if this is true or not. Any advice?

Also, I haven’t been writing for maybe ten years…

The reason is: I had to sharpen my ax.

What’s that got to do with writing.

Well, nothing really, but if you’re gonna offer an excuse, one’s just about as good as another.

Hope you enjoy Lightning in a Bottle

Phil Brown

I recently overheard one of my relatives trying to explain to his 13 year-old daughter why she needed to wear her mask at our annual 4th of July family gathering here on the lake.

"…and besides, you wouldn't want to kill Uncle Phil, would you!" he asked her.

"Whoa! That's a pretty heavy load to be laying on a new teenager!" I thought to myself.

Later, as I was discussing this with my wife, she pointed out that, while it might be a grim concept for her to understand completely, it was still very accurate and very true.

"I don't wear my mask just for me," she told me emphatically. "I wear it for you!"

We live in a fairly remote part of Southern Appalachia and, so far, our area has been fortunate not to have experienced what some of the more densely-packed parts of the nation have endured.

Obviously, If you have explored my blog, you'll know that I am in one of the highest risk groups there is, so if I have to venture out at all, I take every precaution I can.

Let me tell you; I hate wearing masks! But I do it.

Mostly because I want to be fashionable.

But I'll also admit that I don't want to die just yet.

And every time I'm tempted to leave the damn thing off, or not walk back to the car to retrieve it because I forgot to put it on, I remember her words;

"…I wear it for you!"

And I am also thankful that y'all wear them too!

Thanks for saving my life!

Phil

I hate being the bearer of bad news, but Book Five is nowhere near being published.

That said, I feel sort of obligated to explain why. (However… as I get older, those kind of obligations seem to affect me less and less. To tell the truth, they hardly phase me at all these days. Oh well…)

Just so you know, I do plan to finish the fifth book one day, but right now, I have no clue as to when that will be.

You see, I'm alive! And living my life as fully as possible these days, cherishing every minute I can get with my wife and my daughters and my grandsons.

I'm alive! And I'm ever so thankful for every minute. I know a lot of people are complaining about the high cost of medicines and medical insurance these days, but not me! I thank the good Lord every day for the doctors and their skills, and for the inventors of the experimental heart valve implanted in me. And even for the drug companies for the medicines that keep me from rejecting it too.

And while I enjoy writing, it just hasn't been as important as it once was in my life. Maybe one day soon.

Anyway, I want to thank those of you who have read my stories, and taken your time to write me. And while your emails are always welcome, they may not always get answered right now.

For the record, my new theme song is Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying". Check it out if you're not familiar with it.

It's my wish for you,

Phil

FYI... Just posted the final three chapters of Book 4

Thanks for being patient.

There was an old English proverb that my daddy was fond of quoting. It went something like this:

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
If turnips were watches, I'd wear one by my side.
If if's and and's were pots and pans, there'd surely be dishes to do.

From the book of collected poetry by James Orchard Halliwell (1840)

I've had several emails asking for a general update, but being the private person that I am and experiencing what I am going through, I couldn't think of anything to say.

Thanks to all of you who have followed my torturous journey of recovery with your thoughts and prayers and WISHES for a speedy recovery. Please believe me when I tell you I want to write again just as badly as you want me to finish Book 4. (And wait until you see Book 5. I think it's pretty good, at least in my mind…)

For the most part, I am progressing nicely. I am growing stronger every day. However, I WISH every single day that they (the doctors) could do something about the meds.

I can be sitting there watching TV when I think I'll go to the kitchen to get something, but by the time I get there (a dozen steps or so) I can't remember what I went for. Or I will go to the grocery store and forget what I came for. (I have learned the value of making lists). And remembering the names of even simple items is a chore sometimes. Oh, it eventually will come to me, but I have to work for it.

We discussed this lack of concentration with my doctors, and one even did some testing, but they all finally agreed that it was caused by this Daedalean cocktail of medications that I take every day. (Most of them to keep my body from rejecting the experimental valve).

So while I read your emails, and empathize with your desire to have more of the story, I am unsure how to respond. I find myself WISHING every day that I could focus enough to write, but even this short note is pushing the boundary for me. And as for when I'll be able to write, well… hopefully when they reduce some of the medicine load. That's what I'm WISHING for.

My one-year follow-up is next week, and I'll be going back down to the hospital in Atlanta for a few days so they can run their myriad tests and really see how the old ticker is faring. I hope they will decide to lessen the med load so that I can focus better, but if I had to choose, I much prefer living with a lack of concentration, than not living at all.

Still, I do understand your desires for me to continue the story, and so my WISH for you is the patience that I also, am forced to endure at this time.

Best WISHES,

Phil