11/30/18 RMB November Raindrops

11/30/18 RMB November Raindrops

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

November has brought us enough rain for the land to take a good long drink, a little too much for the California parts touched by fire this year.

On the drive home last night, raindrops rested on the windshield and captured street lights and headlights, small spheres reflecting green, red, yellow, and white, and then rolling down fast, only to be replaced by another and another. It was a vision of water at play. “Wheeeee” they wooshed by. It brought me a smile. Although rain is more plentiful in your neck of the woods, I hope this observation brings a smile to you too.

December, here we come,

Loraine

11/16/18 RMB Bright, Shining Sun

11/16/18 RMB Bright, Shining Sun

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

It is Friday. The sun is shining, and the air is cool and crisp, what a wonderful combination.

The bustle of the day will be underway soon. There will be calls to be made, emails to answer, orders to process, books to ship, all of the fun that goes with working in a small publishing company.

But for just a moment, my friend the Sun reminds me to enjoy the good tidings of this day.

Hope your day is bright and shiny and full of magical moments too,

Loraine

11/13/18 RMB Birthday Wish

11/13/18 RMB Birthday Wish

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

With your birthday fast approaching, I wanted to get this letter out to say Happy Birthday! I wish for you a wonderful “new” year. May it be filled with little happy surprises, companionship, and a wealth of good tidings that fill your days with joy.

Election day is passed and it is good that people are voting. Our America can be better than this, more united, more compassionate, and wise. We will get there.

The fires in California are a challenge and have left heartbreak in their wake. Survivors will rebuild or relocate, and we all mourn the loss of animals and loved ones, whether we knew them or not, it takes a toll to hear the news and our hearts go out to those effected.

The same for the other tragedies happening around the country. People are connected. Together we grieve our losses.

We also celebrate our accomplishments, our good deeds and triumphs. It is so easy to see in the eyes of one another whether we are discussing a football game or the nightly news, an invisible connection of energy, full of possibilities.

As with the old theme of good vs evil, it takes only shift for the connection to be lost and destruction to ensue. Perhaps with recognizing the connection, writing about it in a letter to a favorite author, discussing it with a friend, or just giving it a moment of thought, we can strengthen the bond. United we stand.

Celebrating with you,

Loraine

7/30/18 RMB “Our” People

7/30/18 RMB “Our” People

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

July, with her high temps and summer activities, is coming to a close. August promises to be just as warm, easing us closer to fall.

Comic Con was fun this year and, again, I marvel at what it has become, having lived and participated in its humble beginnings. The costumes have moved from mostly handmade contraptions to elaborate designs worthy of a movie set. A Storm Trooper here, Wonder Woman there, Rochelle Ibarra even donned a costume: Negan from Walking Dead.

Despite the immense size and massive attendance, it is still a place of magical energy, where strangers meet and find common ground, interests and experiences, within minutes.

This year, while waiting in one of those lines that goes forever, where some sleep overnight and many have that zombie look, not from make-up, nor a costume, but from staying up all night for days on end, we met an older woman and her grown daughter. They had traveled from Texas. For the duration of that line, from dawn into the wee hours of the morning, and into Ballroom 20 for the Supernatural show’s panel, among others featured, they were “our” people. People who we will likely never see again, yet for those hours of that day, we were connected.  

It is interesting how people will travel great distances to be at one of the many conventions, rallying around a common interest. I suppose it is much like any group activity, a fox hunt, a horse show, a political rally, and so on. Each has its own sort of magic, its own energy. However, I feel there is something more that draws us, more than the interest or focus at hand, it is the gathering, the sharing, the sense of belonging.

What would it take for us to feel that sense daily, to be able to walk anywhere, among strangers and acquaintances alike, and feel that sense of belonging, for all people to be “our” people? We share the planet earth, her resources, the sky, and the seas. We have more in common than we allow ourselves to acknowledge.

To Infinity and Beyond!

Loraine

6/24/18 RMB Summer, Dreams

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

It is the first weekend of summer here in sunny southern California. Our deserts have settled in up in the 100s during the day, with warm, windy evenings.

I’m listening to Magic Street by Orson Scott Card. I enjoyed Enders Game very much and expected the same experience with this one, but it is a far different read. Although he draws a person into the characters with drama and intrigue, I am looking forward to my next Rita Mae Brown book, Puss'n Cahoots.

On the non-fiction front, I’m listening to Brain Warriors. It is a bit deep, with talk of brain scans and medical terms I’m only vaguely familiar with. I’ll take bits here and there that I can apply to my own life and leave the rest for someone much more ambitious than I, someone more warrior-ish.

I’m also reading a Jack Canfield book, The Success Principles. He is a good guy, that Jack. He writes of good things, inspiring things. This is the second time I’ve read this book. And it is as good, if not better than the first time. I’m a tad bit older and maybe able to digest it better. Interesting how the same experience is felt differently as time goes by, adjusted slightly by the wisdom of age.  

So there we have it, summer is starting out well in my little corner of the world.

The corners of other people’s worlds are less calm and peaceful and some even tragic. I send well wishes out to those facing challenges every day, that their hearts stay strong, and good, and that they have moments of happiness to hold on to.

“I have a dream”… that those who cause strife be guided by a kinder heart and that those who are in the position to mend our world’s aches, do so with unending support.

With high hopes,

Loraine

4/30/18 RMB Billie Jean King and RMB Books

4/30/18 RMB Billie Jean King and RMB Books

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

I just finished Cat’s Eyewitness. I would enjoy an entire book about Boom Boom’s new romance! As always, it was a joy to spend time with Harry, her animal companions, and friends in Crozet.

I also read the Hunt Ball. Your description of the hunting ventures makes one feel the thrill of the fox hunt.

The unraveling of the mysteries in each novel held my attention and kept me guessing along the way.

This weekend I sat back and watched Battle of the Sexes a movie about Billie Jean King’s tennis match with Bobby Riggs. It was very well done. As someone who lived through the hoopla, I feel they nailed it. I especially enjoyed the extra features, including an interview with Billie Jean King herself.

April zoomed by and tomorrow starts a new month. What an interesting world we live in, where time marches on and our biggest battles are the same with each generation. A new spin here and there keeps the flame alive and the battlegrounds raging.

Keep the words flowing,

Loraine

3/30/18 RMB What if

3/30/18 RMB What if

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

Teddy told me a few years ago to replace the word “should” with “could” in my self-talk. The sentence “I could clean house today.” sounds so much gentler and inviting than “I should clean house today”. It rather turns the meaning to an option, an inviting opportunity.

This month, along those lines, I’ve tossed in “What if”. Sometimes that’s the entire sentence. At others, it proceeds “(What if) I really wanted this house clean, what would I do right now?” That one is in keeping with the same theme, but it works for any kind of plan, to better health, improve work habits, direct and steer my life, you get the picture.

It seemed a concept worth sharing, so there you have it.

By the way, I recently ran across an interview of you by David Letterman dated May 18, 1983, on a show also featuring Johnny Winter. I recommend searching it out for any RMB fans, or Johnny Winter fans for that matter. We are fortunate to live in a time where the images and recordings made in our lifetime are so easily replayed and enjoyed.

In my endeavor to read all of your books in order, I recently finished Whisker of Evil, a collaboration with Sneaky Pie Brown. The last line was one of my favorites, and it wouldn’t be giving away any of the plot to share it. In a conversation about life after death the last line reads:

“I believe in life before death.” Mrs. Murphy smiled.

How very Mrs. Murphy that line is. What if we all reveled and cherished life as much? What if.

Have a Wonderful Easter Weekend,

Loraine Paige

2/9/18 RMB Silent January

2/9/18 RMB Silent January

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

Given thirty-one days, I can normally come up with something to say. But January was not a normal month.

On the morning of January 8^th, my brother Rocky crossed over to the next phase of our existence. He would have been 62 today, February 9^th.

There are days that I still find myself doing something routine, normal in every respect, and feeling that there has been a shift. Normal is not normal anymore because my world no longer includes my Rocky.

Although I talk to him and believe he hears and even responds, it is not the same. He does feel lighter though, no longer struggling for each breath from COPD.

On the morning I flew home to California after his services, a light snow fell. I’ve never been in an Alabama snowfall. Having spent summers there since childhood, this was a first. From my father’s kitchen window, we watched three deer eat the corn and grain he put out for them. Snow landed gently on their brown coats of fir and shiny noses. They visit often, but not normally in the late morning light, with four adults making noise in the kitchen and watching them.

I was thankful for their visit. There is more to say about that trip, but for now, this is enough, just a little hello to you, a Happy Birthday shout out to my big brother, and a new RMB letter. He encouraged my writing. He read the letters I posted to you. He was a one of the good guys, one of those people that always did his best, helped others, did good work, a good listener and a good story teller. When a heated discussion arose about various “kinds” of people, he ended it with the statement “People are people”, asserting that there are good people and bad people in every “kind” of people. He will be missed.

Still adjusting,

Loraine