Before Cats Went Public

So many people I know avoid the news. Much of it started in 2020. For some reason, people turned off the news in 2020. Hmm, what newsworthy events of any significance happened in 2020? *drums fingers* Hmmm. I can think of a couple, but the one that leaps to my mind is a big freaking pandemic. No wonder people turned away. Who wants to hear about that?

I often wonder if we would’ve been more interested in Covid-19 if it had caused oozing blisters on our faces like cold sores, or bloody projectile vomiting like the Spanish Flu. Gak!

Ironically, one guy I know said he avoids the news like the plague. Ha!

Others say that they keep current events at bay because, what can they do? They’re powerless.

I want to remind them, but I don’t, that we have one very powerful thing we can do. Vote. But how are we supposed to know who to vote for? We have to do a little research. Use some discernment. Not just vote for the person our neighbour is voting for, which we infer from the sign on their lawn. Or how our dad voted when we were growing up.

My dad always said votes were private. He never told me how he voted. But he liked to needle me by saying he’d cancelled out my vote—said with a sly grin that made it impossible to tell whether he was joking or already a move ahead of me on the chess board he called parenting. Oh, Dad.

Anyway, what the heck is the news anyway? Oh, who cares? This isn’t an essay about that. This is an essay about me.

I think what amazes me is that I’ve lived through more change than I ever expected to and I’m still trying to stay awake for it. (I mean, literally trying to stay awake.)

I can’t get over how fortunate I am to live in a moment when I can gather with people from all over the world on a thing called Zoom. My first question is always: where are you zooming from?

I’m tickled to say I’m in Ontario, Canada, because maybe I’m delusional, but I think Ontario, Canada, home of the city of Toronto, one of the biggest most cosmopolitan cities in the world, and it’s my hometown, is very exotic indeed.

I’m also fascinated to have lived during the decades when social media emerged. Most of my life was PRIOR to social media, so I still remember what it was like to not know what everyone was eating for lunch, or what their cat looks like, or whether they’re watching The Pitt.

When I write fiction, I want to either write about people struggling with technology (Odd Mom Out) … or a time prior to smart phones (Where the Night Winds Wail). Maybe it’s my age, but I preferred the time before social media and smart phones. Or, at least I appreciate that I know what it’s like to live and thrive without them. I think that’s why I write the way I do, and why I still pay attention: because I’ve lived through enough change to know that staying awake is part of the job of a writer.

This week I am thrilled to announce that my book, Where the Night Winds Wail is available for preorder. Please support my writing by ordering the eBook now.

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