Having not written in a week. . .

. . .it's time I catch up on my blogging.  Part of my absence was caused by a 4 day vacation we took to compensate for the 14 days we were supposed to spend in Florida but couldn't because of my stupid gall bladder and its complications.  Where, you ask, was the destination of this 4 day getaway?  Glens Falls, NY, I answer, and despite the chorus of "you're kiddings," GF is a great place to go.  Believe it or not, they have a world class art museum, good restaurants, a ton of shopping outlets, and, most importantly, a great hotel.  The Queensbury Hotel is a trip into the past mixed with the present.  The hotel has been in operation continuously since 1926.  The old-fashioned lobby is furnished with classy armchairs and couches, and a painting of a scene from a Fenimore Cooper novel rises from the mantel above the fireplace a full two stories to the ceiling.  Of course, the guest rooms, though seeming to be delightfully retro, are equipped with flat screen TV's.  There's also a warm, welcoming pub in the hotel, where we ate dinner both Monday and Tuesday.  It's great, and if I were writing about writing, it's would be a fine place for a writer to hang out.  Did you know that a surprising number of great novelists of the 20th century--Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck, and more--were alcoholics?  Maybe I should spend more time in the Fenimore Pub if I want to publish something.  Could "publish" and "pub" be from the same root word!?

     I had another thought this week, which has nothing to do with writing.  I think that most piercings are fine.  I could imagine getting an earring myself.  I also have nothing against nice little tattoos of roses or tribal symbols on people's lower backs, ankles, or wrists.  But what is it with the absurd stained glass window of a tattoo on the right arm of exited American Idol contestant Megan Joyce.  The girl's gorgeous, why does she want her upper arm to look like a page from a college art textbook?  

     Some writing news.  This Sunday's POST STANDARD Star Magazine will contain a WIZARD OF OZ short story contest.  Winners will receive books signed by Oz luminaries and publication in the PS.  The contest features a story that must be completed.  The really cool part for me is that I wrote the beginning that must be ended by the contest participants.  So, if you feel the creative muse come upon you, buy the paper or go to SYRACUSE.COM and find out how to enter.

     My writing plan for next week is to get as much of ARTHUR REDUX done as possible.  I also hope to send THE LAUGHING MAN, last summer's SUMMERPLAY, to Dramatic Publishing Co.  I've received a couple of very positive rejections from them.  

They kept A GIRL OF TWO WORLDS, my very first play, the one in which Jake Hess danced so wonderfully yet strangely, for 9 months before finally turning me down.

     I think that tomorrow I will share a short story that didn't win a contest.