…& the Stack of Written Pages Grows Higher

"I write for myself and strangers. The strangers, dear Readers, are an afterthought."  - Gertrude Stein"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."  - Cyril Connolly"A man really writes for an audience of about ten persons. Of course if others like it, that is clear gain. But if those ten are satisfied, he is content."  - Alfred North Whitehead...A little more than 10 years ago, I signed up for the class.  "Freelance Writing" was the name of the course.  I was about 23 years old & was working in a factory.  I registered for the course because of the buzzing in my ear that constantly nagged me, reminding me that I had never set out to work in a noisy, stinking factory.Well...the buzzing could have been from the machinery in the factory, but either way, the message was the same.I signed up for the class, I paid the fee. ...
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Insanity of the Recluse

…I can't go out there. Someone might see me. They might stand too close to me. Then what? Then it all begins all over again. It all unfolds again. The rapid heartbeat, the stomach churning perspiration, the nausea…I need a cigarette…jeezus. Wondering which words are the lies. Wondering what it might be like to be some microscopic explorer…wandering around, lurking and crawling in all of their hidden caverns…wondering what sort of magical or repulsive truth may be hidden there. Sometimes, I don't want to know. Sometimes, I don't want to explore. Sometimes, it's just better to hide…to crouch in the darkness where they can't touch me can't hurt me can't tell me any stories, no, no, no…nice and safe and I'm ok here….and I have a pen…and this brand new notebook – no one can touch me here. No one can tempt me into pretending that anything is real because I know that here in my shadows it's all real…all real and...
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