Saturday, March 27, 2010

I'm Late!

By Keith Fisher

I'm late, I'm late for
A very important date.
No time to say hello, good-bye,
I'm late, I'm late, I'm late
I'm late and when I wave,
I lose the time I save.
My fuzzy ears and whiskers
took me too much time to shave.
I run and then I hop, hop, hop,
I wish that I could fly.
There's danger if I dare to
stop, and here's a reason why:
I'm over-due, I'm in a rabbit stew.
Can't even say good-bye,
hello, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.


These lyrics sung by the white rabbit, in Disney’s version, of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, describes my feelings today. My friends will tell you I’m notoriously early. Almost everywhere I go, unless I get delayed waiting for somebody, I like to be early, but today, I feel late.

I have three blogs to write this morning, so I woke at six, went back to sleep for (just ten minutes), and woke at 8:30. the City of Orem is holding an auction of stolen goods today and I planned to go and see if they had anything stolen from me. I didn’t make it.

I suppose it started last night when I staid up to watch a PBS Frontline story, about the economy and unemployment. I realized that all the people they were spotlighting, and those at their networking groups, were all over fifty. Since I’m back in the job market, I realized I’m late. Too late to start a new career, and I have too much experience for an entry-level position.

After the Frontline show, I turned to an interesting movie I’d never seen before about the Vietnam War. The story was about a seventeen-year old, Vietcong soldier named HO. An American officer, played by Beau Bridges told the story from a diary he’d found. The American had been the kid’s prisoner. Anyway, I got caught up in it, and was late getting to sleep.

All of this lateness causes me to think about my most recent book. I’ve heard editors talk about finding similar stories on the slush pile and they publish the first one they received. So, I feel pressure to get my story sent in. I write with a sense of being late.

Often, I feel a purpose in my writing. I feel like there is someone out there, who needs to read certain parts. I’m sure we’ve all had a book, song, or movie that touched our lives and influenced us for good. This is my purpose, and I don’t want to be late.

Then I realize, the stories that touch my heart usually don’t come to me, until long after the premier or launch. Like the movie I saw on television last night, I read stories at just the right time, for me. Perhaps, if my story is meant to touch a heart, it will find that person, whether I get it published now, or later. But, still, I’m rushing to get it to market. I’m late!

On another note, Our very own DN Giles is holding a book launch today at 1 p.m. click on this link to read my review and find the launch information.

Good luck with your writing—see you next week.






2 comments:

L.T. Elliot said...

I understand the feeling, Keith. But let me assure you, as one of those who was "late" to this party (reading your blog) your words found me at the right moment and ever since then, I've been hooked. I know it's made a huge difference for me.

I wished I could have been there for Nichole's launch but family stuff had me unable to go. I hope to catch her later.

Nichole Giles said...

Good blog, Keith. Believe me, we all have that sense of being late when we submit. And while timing is important, it isn't everything. Keep going and submitting. One of these days, it's going to happen for you.

Thanks for always showing up to support me. You are truly a good friend.

L.T. I'll catch you at the conference!