March 9, 2025 by Amy
Pointing
Ross Gay, one of my favorite poets/essayists, said that writing is a version of pointing at things. “Writing stuff I notice helps me, I think. It’s a version of pointing, writing is. Pointing and thinking, to be more precise. Preciser still: wondering!”
He also says “less internet” is good advice. Well, duh. And practice. As in the practice of writing. Or rather, practicing writing is good advice.
I was at a St. Louis Writers Guild event recently and got to spend some time with our former president and current historian and publisher guru and tech guy and prolific writer and he mentioned, almost in passing, how important it is to simply show up every day to the paper. Show up and write. He is working on book three of a middle grade trilogy and has seven or eight (!) adult novels in a serial outlined and is anxious to start work on the first. “I might write in the morning on that one, since I’m so excited about it, and then turn my attention back to Book 3 in the afternoon, when I’m a little more tired and a little less creative.” That is some serious productivity.
We celebrated our president at our workshop last weekend, because she has self-published 40 books (in a variety of genres) before she turned 40. Damn.
All of this is hugely inspiring to me, and it’s high time I get off my ass and start working. Or preciser still: sit on my ass and start writing. Butt in chair!
In that vein, I’ll channel Ross Gay and share what I’m pointing at these days:
- A bald eagle live cam that shows the next of Jackie and Shadow, two eagles parenting their three eaglets who have just hatched. Several years ago I became obsessed with a different bald eagle webcam but when I checked about six months ago, the cam was offline, the nest abandoned. I was sad to not have this voyeuristic view into another creature’s life. My obsession is back, though! I’m astounded by the hundreds of thousands of other humans who are intrigued by this nature reality show. The Friends of Big Bear Valley webcam currently has nearly 500,000 subscribers, and I’m guessing there are far more who, like me, don’t have a YouTube account and just pop in now and then to see how it’s going.
- New cars. M’s car needs some expensive work and he’s simply done with this car that he was never quite 100% sold on anyway. It’s my fault, really. We had a child at home and I made him get a Big Boy Car, with four doors and a usable back seat. He’ll never be happy with anything more than two doors and a back seat in name only. Honestly, I think if he could cram himself into a Matchbox or Hot Wheels sports car, he’d do it. His grand idea is to trade in his car and buy me something new, since I have the oldest car. So we’ve been researching and test driving and talking and talking and talking and it looks like we’re going to add an electric bowtie to the stable. Now we just have to wait for the damn thing to come in, because of course I want the rare color that’s hard to get.
- Sam Moore of Sam & Dave, a blues duo I’ve adored for, well, a couple decades now. Sam just passed so they’ve been particularly top of mind. They’re probably best known for Soul Man, but Soothe Me is my favorite. It’s just so mellow and sweet. Hold On, I’m Comin’ is also phenomenal, and Sweet Home is delicious. Give ‘em a listen. Rest in power, Sam. Thanks for the great music.
- Liver transplants and the gratitude I have for doctors, nurses, orderlies, and everyone who makes this miracle possible.
- Packing for vacation that includes a long drive, which is very different than packing for vacation that includes a flight. There’s a spirit of gluttony, of “Why not? Throw it in!” that exists. It feels like an embarrassment of riches to cram your shit in a Mazda CX-5 rather than a suitcase.
- I’m keeping a tentative eye on what’s happening at the federal level, but I get so upset that I can’t watch for long. I’m relying heavily on Letters From an American by Heather Cox Richardson, Civil Discourse by Joyce Vance, and Robert Reich to keep me apprised, because I cannot stand to listen to or even see the current office holder for more than two seconds. For a laugh, I highly recommend The Borowitz Report by Andy Borowitz. Do not take a drink of anything before reading his stuff because you will end up with your drink all over your screen. I’m sending you to their individual sites because a.) I don’t want to throw a single crumb towards Zuckerberg and b.) well, that’s pretty much it.
- Related to the bullet above, I’m growing increasingly wary of supporting the oligarchs and am debating heavily my contributions to Facebook and Instagram, small as they might be. When I do decide go dark on those channels, I’ll let you know, but just in case, please feel free to subscribe to my blog. You’ll get an email every time I post here, which isn’t terribly often (sigh). Scroll down to the bottom of this page, or any page on my site, and type your email addy in that little subscribe box. This will ensure you know exactly when I post something new and won’t be cut off when I finally decide to peace off of social media. A thousand thank yous to those of you who have already subscribed. I’m grateful you’ve invited me into your inbox.
- My child’s playlists. She has curated several and I love them all. She has great taste in music, which is not surprising as she is a musician herself. I’m listening to one called “vibey” right now that has a great mix of songs I know and songs that are new to me. Thanks, kid.
So that’s what I’m primarily pointing at right now. There’s more, but most of it’s pretty boring so I decided to catalog the slightly less boring stuff here. You’re welcome. (That was sarcasm. I’m fully aware this is interesting to absolutely no one, but hey, I’m writing so I’m calling it a win.)
What are you pointing at these days? I’d love to know. Email me, text me, shoot me a DM. Connection is what’s keeping me whole, so please connect!
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