Until the next time... is a blog usually focused on writing, music, and travel to places near and far. It concerns some of the things I've learned and some of the things I've messed up through the years. The blog also appears at www.michaelembry.com/blog.html.
Between now and Christmas Day, I'll be giving away digital copies of "Laments: Short Stories" to the first 25 people who respond to this post. All you need to do is give me your name, email address and format preference -- Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords. You might also want to give me your country since I would like to acknowledge all the recipients on this blog when the contest is over but that's optional if you'd prefer not to have your name published.
If you'd like a copy, then send the above information with "Holiday Giveaway" in the subject line to Michael.Embry@gmail.com. I won't be selling or giving your email address to anyone (I'm not that organized). I simply want to show my appreciation to readers and supporters during this holiday season.
Bailey is a little fella -- a Yorkie-Chihauhau mix -- also known as a Chorkie. He's almost ten weeks old and weighs about one pound, and probably won't get bigger than five pounds.
He arrived at my house yesterday (Dec. 14). I received a call from my friend Deb, who had made all the arrangements. She picked up Bailey from a kennel in another town and told us he was ready to go to his new home. My wife and I were expecting a call from her on Dec. 17 so this was an early and wonderful surprise for us -- an early Christmas present!
Bailey is nearly coal black with some white streaks on his chest. And he has blue eyes. I'm sure his looks will change as he gets older.
We also have Baxter, a Yorkie, who is going to have to get used to having a new "brother" around the house. Baxter is about 15 so there's quite an age difference, but I'm sure he'll show the new kid the ropes.
If you follow my blog, you'll be reading more about Bailey and Baxter in the coming months. I promise.
Most of us have been homesick at some point in our lives -- perhaps in college or the military or moving to another city after getting married. Or maybe, as Bobby Bare sings in "Detroit City," at a job away from the place we consider home. The tune, written by the legendary songwriter Danny Dill and Country Music Hall of Famer Mel Tillis, is about a Southerner who goes north to work at one of the automobile factories. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1963. So often people seek fame and fortune in other places only to discover they may have lost much more in terms of personal happiness. And on the flip side, sometimes we have to leave home to find happiness -- wherever and whatever that may be. "Detroit City" opens with the mournful:
"I wanna go home,
I wanna go home
Oh how I wanna go home"
The narrator then tells of falling asleep and dreaming about the home and loved ones he left behind:
"I dreamed about my mother, my dear old papa, sister and brother
I dreamed about about that girl who's been waiting for so long"
Then we learn that he's been living a lie from he's been telling the folks back home:
"Homefolks think I'm big in Detroit City
From the letters that I write they think I'm fine
But by day I make the cars, by night I make the bars
If only they could read between the lines"
Then he admits the he's been wasting time in Detroit and needs to return to where he's happy:
"So I just think I'll take my foolish pride and put it on a southbound freight and ride
And go back to the loved ones that I left waitin' so far behind"
Bare won a Grammy for Best Country & Western Recording for the song in 1964. Billy Grammer, Dean Martin, and Tom Jones also charted this song on various Billboard charts. Does the song make you think of times you've been homesick? "Detroit City" lyrics
It’s been a week since I completed the 30-day writing marathon – also known as National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.
Since I closed the file on Nov. 30 -- at 50, 171 words -- I haven’t looked at it. I probably won’t for a few more weeks. I experienced the hodge-podge of words I produced during those weeks of “literay abandon” and I simply don't want to revisit them now.
In the meantime, I have spent time doing research on bullying. I have 45 graduate hours in special education (four shy from receiving my master’s degree) so I have some knowledge of the subject.
I’ve also been working on another collection of short stories. I think it’s important for writers to write.
Another thing is I've been reading because I believe it’s important for writers to read as well.
I've had several friends deal with the passing of a "best friend" in the past month or so -- their beloved dog. Some people will say it's like losing a member of your family. For dog (and cat) owners, it is losing a member of your family. It's painful. It's tearful. And it's sad.
Henry Gross wrote about the passing of a dog in "Shannon." The song was somewhat inspired by the loss of Beach Boy Carl Wilson's Irish setter, Shannon," that was struck and killed by a car. You can read about the story behind the song on Gross's website.
The tune beings with the mother having problems dealing with the loss:
"Another day is at end Mama says she's tired again No one can even begin to tell her"
Then we learn about Shannon:
"Shannon is gone I hope she's drifting out to sea She always loved to swim away Maybe she'll find an island with a shady tree Just like the one in our backyard"
And we learn how her loss affects those who loved her:
"But finally the tears fill our eyes And I know that somewhere tonight She knows how much we really miss her"
One comment I read about the song was that it couldn't just be about the passing of a dog; that it had to be a metaphor for personal loss. All I can say is that the death of a pet is a painful, personal loss.
Gross, a founding member of Sha Na Na, is so expressive in the lyrics and his high-pitched vocal -- it simply sounds sad without even knowing the story. It can move you to tears.
"Shannon" reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. Gross, now 61, is still an active singer-songwriter.
So for Doug, Mark, Sharon, Jerry, Jim, Linda, and others who mourn the loss of their dogs (and other pets), this post is dedicated to you.
(In the spirit of the holiday season, the digital price of "Laments: Short Stories" has been reduced to 99 cents on Amazon.com, B&N.com, and Smashwords.com. If you decide to purchase, please leave review/feedback).
I finished the National Novel Writing Month on the last day with a few words to spare. The goal was to write 50,000, and I wrote 50,171 words.
The working title for the manuscript (and that's all it is until published) is "Bullies." It's a young adult novel about, well, what the title indicates.
This first draft will go through numerous edits and rewrites in the coming months. I won't look at it for several weeks. I want fresh eyes when I open the file on my computer.
For the other writers who also took part in NaNoWriMo, and especially those who reached the 50k goal, my sincere congratulations. I know firsthand what you had to do to produce that diamond in the rough.
In the song, the grandfather tells his grandson story of planning to meet his future bride in 1923 so they can run away and get married. When he gets to the meeting place, he finds a letter nailed to a tree:
"If you get there before I do
Don't give up on me
I'll meet you when my chores are through
I don't know how long I'll be
"But I'm not gonna let you down
Darling wait and see
And between now and then
Til I see you again
"I'll be loving you
Love, me"
The song moves forward to narrator's grandmother deathbed. The grandfather cries as he repeats those words to her.
I believe this song goes straight to the heart with its poignant lyrics. I think of my paternal maternal grandparents when I hear this song and remember the strong bond and love they shared in their long marriages. "Love, Me" lyrics
Between now and Christmas Day, I'll be giving away digital copies of "Laments: Short Stories" to the first 25 people who respond to this post.
The tune, written by the legendary songwriter Danny Dill and Country Music Hall of Famer Mel Tillis, is about a Southerner who goes north to work at one of the automobile factories. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1963.
Since I closed the file on Nov. 30 -- at 50, 171 words -- I haven’t looked at it. I probably won’t for a few more weeks. I experienced the hodge-podge of words I produced during those weeks of “literay abandon” and I simply don't want to revisit them now.
Henry Gross wrote about the passing of a dog in "Shannon." The song was somewhat inspired by the loss of Beach Boy Carl Wilson's Irish setter, Shannon," that was struck and killed by a car. You can read about the story behind the song on Gross's website.
indicates. 
The tune, written by Skip Ewing and Max T. Barnes, tells the story of an enduring love between the narrator's grandparents. It topped the Billboard Country Chart in 1992, Raye's first No. 1 hit.
