Better World Books

I love books, I always have. But now the pandemic has changed a lot of my old bookish routines. It’s not that I don’t read as much. In fact, my intake of vernacular material has grown exponentially since COVID began almost three years ago. The need is still there, but satisfying that need has changed directions.

Fortunately, part of what has changed is the length and breadth of material that I now consume on a weekly basis. In the past, I would go to our local library every couple of weeks, grab something interesting off the shelf and consume it as time permitted. Now, after almost three years of an altered lifestyle and most libraries being closed or restricted in their lending material, I’ve chosen an alternative pathway that proved to be better than most libraries I’ve patronized in the past.

It’s called Better World Books. In short, I’ve discovered a discount wholesaler of books of every subject matter, genre, form, and interest. All online, BWB allows me the time and comfort of an easy chair to peruse thousands, if not millions of books to buy, all at a deep discount.

For me, the secret was being exposed to books I would never have found on my own. In the past, I had certain library stacks I would always visit and peruse. I seldom ventured over to new areas of interest. Now with the comfort of a cup of coffee, a relaxing chair outdoors, and plenty of time; I can spend as much time and focus as I want to visit, examine, ponder, and finally decide whether or not to get a book that has caught my attention. I can also travel across genres, formats, categories, and subject matter as my mind wanders across this new online literary landscape.

The subject matter I’ve chosen recently covers a wide range. Listed below are just some of the categories I’ve selected books from.

American history

Western history

World history

Business and finance

Architecture

Adventure

Americana music

Politics

Biographys

Music

Vietnam

Military history

Travel

Real Estate

Urban development

Health and Wellness

Maybe that explains my wide-ranging and sometimes eclectic choice of stories to tell in the form of novels, plays, and screenplays - and now children's books. BWB has provided me with a smorgasbord of thoughts and ideas from which to gleam my own take on a wide range of story material. It’s a journey I probably wouldn’t have taken if it hadn’t been for a pandemic and the ease of the internet. Even with libraries opening back up, I’m sort of stuck on BWB and the journeys it can take me on now and into the future.

Up, Down, or Level

Here we go again, another season in the desert. Only third time is still no charm. It’s just a repeat of the last two seasons living with Covid. The names have changed from Delta to Omicron but the results are the same. The ever-present hospital crisis, labor shortages, food chain disruptions, a lack of social gatherings and old habits now curtailed because of the pandemic.

Beginning in late fall and early winter of 2019, Sharon and I could all feel that something was going on. Despite the half-hearted reassurances from the government and confusion on the part of the media, it was obvious that things were amiss both abroad and probably in our own back-yard.

Fast forward just a couple of months and a world-wide pandemic was upon us. After a couple of months basically sequestered at home, we grabbed a Suburban rental and headed back to Minnesota.

After a limited summer in Minnesota, our return to the Valley was delayed by a surprise illness. Sharon and I didn’t get back to Palm Springs until early December of 2020 instead of our normal November return. That abbreviated season was limited in our social engagements, work-out venues, and a return to ‘so-called’ normal activities.

The summer of 2021 (seemingly) promised hope with its diminishing returns of infections. Then chaos returned with a vengeance and it was deja-vu all over again with a new virus named Omicron.

Over the years, a lot has changed in the Valley and many things have stayed the same. We’ve been here during some horrific wind storms, infrequent torrential rainstorms, too many minor earthquakes to count, social changes, and economic ups and down.

I could probably trace my time in the desert by the number of books, blogs and plays written during the winter months spent here. But there’s another equation that is just as pertinent. That would be the activities that used to be a big part of our life while residing here. Over time, a lot of those same organizations, events and past patterns of behavior have changed, evolved or adapted to the times.

There were a number of mountain trails I’ve hiked in the past and the tram road challenge I’ve tried to traverse. Time, age and a lack of exercise have narrowed that list down to just a few now. I could review the many gyms I’ve used for periods of a year or more. Covid shut down a lot of those places for extended periods of time. Now my own hesitancy of entering small enclosed spaces has kept me away from all of them.

The Palm Springs Writers Guild has gone through many different mutations; changing leadership, members, activities and purpose. I joined several writers critique groups over the years and participated in almost all of their book fairs. Sharon even taught selling techniques to members before the book fairs. Like any organization, that one has evolved and changed with the times.

Script2stage2Screen, a theatrical venue in the desert, provided me a wonderful opportunity to stage manage a number of their scripted plays and even had one of my own (Polly’s Amorous Adventures) produced there. That also closed down during the pandemic and only recently took tiny steps toward reopening.

I was on the board of the Indian Canyon Neighborhood Organization for several years. Sharon and I were docents on a number of their home tours during Modernism Week and even wrangled balloons during the Annual Palm Springs Winter Parade. Now their monthly and annual meetings are all on Zoom.

Sharon began her new painting career in NordeEast Minneapolis at the old NKB, Northrup King building, several years ago. She brought that enthusiasm and continuing growth to the desert and set up our garage as her new studio in the shade.

As mixed and varied as our experiences have been, I think it’s fair to say they’ve never been down or level but always, to some degree, a constant refinement, improvement, and adaptive stance taken. Unlike a lot of other retired folks here in the desert, I don’t think we’ve ever plateaued or lessened our involvement here.

Twenty years is a long time to observe other individuals and couples who reside here part-time or all year round. It doesn’t take much detective work to notice that some folks have slowed down and now totally embraced their retirement lifestyle while others have definitely declined mentally and health-wise over the years. If you’re going to slow down and ‘take it easy’ then this is definitely a good place to do just that.

Granted, the desert doesn’t hold an ace in terms of comfortable places to slow down. I have a number of friends and acquaintances who have moved into Over Fifty-five Senior complexes or straight up Senior living environments. To a person, they’ve embraced this new stage of life for themselves.

I’ve had a rather productive period during our third restricted season in the desert. A plethora of new blogs were published, a new novella, a new children’s book and five plays revised and rewritten. Several play rejections have simply steeled my determination to continue plowing ahead in creating and marketing new product.

I guess I’m still of the opinion that unless you keep moving forward; age, time, and the universe just keeps conspiring to slow you down. As the clichés go, a body in motion is a body still alive. An inquiring mind is still an inquisitive mind and a desire to improve is still a goal worth pursuing.

Level and down are not viable options if you want to outpace the facts of life. It’s an accelerating and rising life that makes the tired bones and sore joints worth getting up every morning.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone

Music has always played an important part of my life. From early pop tunes to the folk movement to the psychedelic Sixties, music painted pictures inside my head. In high school, it was the teen beat, heart throb, lost love affairs of innocent youth. In college, it was the folkie, hard travelin', songs of the open road.

One particular song defined the breakup of my college girlfriend and I. ‘Where have all the Flowers Gone’ continues to define that era and a poignant reminder of my wandering youth on a circuitous route to maturity. The song and that moment was an element in my life that was at once pleasant, impactful and created visceral memories to last a lifetime.

So when I thought about this past season in Palm Springs, the song title ‘Where Have All the Flowers Gone’ just naturally popped into my head. This fall and winter was unlike any other we’ve encountered here in the desert. It was as dramatic and impactful as any drought that has plagued California over the years. Pardon the pun but it could best be described as a flowerless experience.

Instead of exercising at our local hotel, the Saguaro, it meant long walks along the berm or back into Oswalt Canyon.

Instead of weekly trips to the library, it meant buying our reading material from ‘Better World Books.’ Instead of a lot of entertaining, it meant intimate gatherings of a few folks on our back patio.

There were no trips to the coast, no evenings out with friends at local restaurants, no trips to the theater, no local events such as the International Film Festival or Modernism Week or Art Festivals to attend.

There were a few improvements around the house and some literary accomplishments.

My newest novel ’Playground for the Devil’ was finally completed, proofed and ready for printing.

Four new plays were rewritten and tightened up, creating a solid second draft for all of them. Another new play ‘Frenchy’s Eats’ is just beginning to take shape.

By late spring, Palm Springs was slowly starting to open up again. We weren’t comfortable going out to restaurants so it was wonderful to have Melanie and family here for Easter. We get to see the Colorado kiddos this summer.

Besides lemon picking each day, I took Brennan and Charlotte on a nature hike along the Henderson Trail. It was a great opportunity to introduce them to ‘the living desert.’ We explored budding plants, snake holes, moss on rocks and dormant plants.

Even with the vaccine making headway against the COVID-19 pandemic, I envision this upcoming summer will continue to be one of at least moderate isolation. I want to continue with my ‘coffee and chat’ sessions and expand the number of friends included in the group. I want to explore the Twin Cities with a new-found curiosity about the place where I was raised. There are several plays I want to market locally and find markets for ‘Playground for the Devil.’

Hopefully by next fall, the ‘flowers’ will have returned to Palm Springs and we can get back into the swing of things once again.