"Only the mediocre are always at their best."- Jean Giraudaux

Dad lived to 95 and mom's there now. Having witnessed their physical struggles I have no desire to match their longevity but part of me thinks it would be fun to reach 100 just so I could answer the standard question, "What's the secret to a long life."
If I'm ever asked that one I want to be ready with THE dumbest answer imaginable.
"Two packs a day and a 5th of Jack Daniels."
"Cliff diving."
"Playing in the street" or "Running with scissors."

I re-read last night's post and realized one of my two most-excellent editors cringed when she came to the sentence that began with the word, Because. Turns out that's a no-no she flagged the too many times I did that in my manuscript.
Sorry, Sherry.

Facebook showed me this pic from my timeline four years ago. It's just been loaded to head to the new owner who bought it because his wife remembers one just like it from her childhood.
I wish I had it back. It was reliable as the sunrise, easy to work on, got good mileage, turned heads, and would now be worth even more than the very good price I got for it.
Any car sale is a piece of cake if the buyer has an emotional attachment to that car's year or model. The heart overrules the head. That's one of the things that made the VW's so easy to sell; everyone had one at some point in life.
I once sold a '64 Rambler to a guy buying it for his recently widowed and grieving mother. The guy said his parents dated in a car just like mine and he wanted to gift this to his mom for the memories it would bring back.



And this happened today. Pam will be SO happy. (Me, too.)
Turns out that what was above the floor was rusted through but what was underneath was in surprisingly good shape and req'd no special effort.
That's because I called a plumber to do the work. If I'd opened it up myself the whole system from the bathroom to the septic tank would have needed replacement.

In today's big news:

I got a message from Amazon that my files (interior and cover) passed their inspection. Woot!
Next step - I've ordered a physical copy of the book to look through, something they strongly recommend. It won't arrive until Feb 2 (boo) but the wait will be worth it if I catch a problem.
One thing I already know might need fixing is the map on page 16. Apparently the DPI is too low and it's a bit fuzzy. I'll take a look at that to see if it's acceptable. It's a B&W line drawing so it shouldn't be a problem.
They want authors to go through this step to check for layout and grammar issues. My two editors, Sherry & Sharon, went through it for all of that and more so I'm ahead of the game on that count.
I started this thinking it was a 3-year project and it looks like it will hit the streets in two and a half years.
Now that I look back on it I realize it was a whole lot of work. I made it to this point because a) it happened incrementally, one day at a time without thinking too much about the whole, and b) I enjoy writing. Something about it clicks in the same part of me that enjoys teaching. In fact, as I'm writing I picture a group of adult students "listening" to me.

Arguably bigger yet...
The final details are being worked out but it looks like I'll spend from 2/22 to 3/19 at Eastport Bible Church on Long Island NY filling in for a bit while they continue their pastoral search. Pam will stay home to take care of the critters so we'll make good use of the Facebook video chat. This will be the longest separation of our 46-year marriage and we don't like being apart for any length of time. However, I think about military families I know who are apart for months at a time while one serves on active duty on the other side of the globe, often in harm's way. To quote an old hymn, "I am a soldier of the cross" and can do at least a month on the other side of the country.

I've told them to put me to work doing whatever will help in any context. I'll preach and teach, the latter perhaps in a seminar format during the week in addition to their adult S.S. class. But I'd also be more than happy to do visitation or whatever else serves the cause and lightens the load for Jeremy, their youth pastor who has been doing his best to pick up the slack.

It's going to be a busy spring. But that's good. Life should be interesting, especially if you're going to live to 100.