Your Past Will Find You

Copyright 2016, Steven M. Moore

Part Two

Rena watched Will’s pickup pull away, bothered about two things.  First, she had liked his gentle touch, his patience, and his conversation.  You’re a lonely woman!  Second, Will was a mystery.  She wanted to know more about him.  He doesn’t seem to belong here either.

She entered her house, glanced at the studio, and decided “Moon Madness” would wait until tomorrow.  She found a pint of pistachio ice cream in the freezer and sat down at her laptop.

She was still worried about the strange call to her agent.  The gun was some comfort, but she had no confidence in her ability to use it yet.  Maybe I could scare a person off by just waving it?

These days she didn’t have many emails.  There was one from her agent that repeated the message he had left on her answering machine.  There were two from Will, the first confirming the meeting at Curly’s, and a more recent one telling her to be careful with the gun by guarding it in a safe place and keeping the safety on.  A bit condescending, but probably well-intentioned.

The third caused a cold sweat and her skin to crawl.  It was disguised as a message about a MoMA exhibit.

“It’s only a matter of time and I will find you,” it said.

I need to get another email account.  But she knew that the damage was done if the sender had any hacking skills.

That night she tested all the doors twice and vowed to get a guard dog.  She was afraid of the gun, but she kept it handy in her nightstand drawer.

***

Will lay awake thinking of Rena.  He had given up on finding the right person to share his life with, but she was definitely intriguing.  There wasn’t any doubt she was running from someone, though.  An abusive husband?  There was no wedding ring, but a jerk can still be abusive after a divorce.  What about the distance she created between the Big Apple and where she ended up?  What was that about?  And why the gun?  In her situation, he would have to describe the desire to learn to shoot as a response to fear.  But fear of what?

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I’ve always said true conservatism has its place. In our haste to polarize the country’s political discourse, progressives give conservatives a bad name and vice versa. But putting the brakes on really radical ideas in order to study their consequences, so often lacking in wild-eyed progressives, especially one-issue voters, is a sane course. The law of unintended consequences applies to both conservative and progressive thinkers, of course, because not changing something might have worse consequences than changing it. “Making progress” implies striving to make things better, not worse. Logic and reason, also so often missing in today’s political discourse, seemed to be more prevalent in our nation’s history, probably because the media didn’t have as much reach and was less into sensationalism.

All that said, Daily KOS, who has become my least favorite progressive newsletter (being blindly for Hillary Clinton is hardly being progressive—the Clinton machine is a throwback to Tammany Hall and the Daley machine in Chicago), came out with an interesting list of items current conservatives would rather have people ignore in “Independence Day Special: A Dozen Facts About America Conservatives Would Like You to Forget” by Richard Riis. The 4^th is already past but the conventions are upon us, police brutality issues and the Dallas murderer are now part of our bloody history, so these points might still be interesting. Here they are with my comments:

Conservatives opposed the Founding Fathers, the American Revolution and a lot of other righteous stuff as well. The nation’s Fathers were radicals, pure and simple, and stealthily planned the whole thing. Their lofty ideals, while noble, sprung from the onerous financial situation of the colonies. The militias (the only ones the Founding Fathers wanted to guarantee arms to—they’re now our National Guards) were terrorists as far as the Brits were concerned. They hid behind trees and took potshots at the Redcoats in Lexington and Concord. The true conservatives in the colonies were called Tories and swore allegiance to King George.

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Eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 p.m.  The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.  (Seen in a church bulletin.)

***

The “Mary Jo Melendez Mysteries” are on sale. Mary Jo is inviting you to celebrate with her for leaving Amazon exclusivity and appearing on Smashwords too. She’s an ex-USN Master-at-Arms who manages to get into a lot of trouble as a civilian; she also manages to beat the odds and survive, though. Muddlin’ Through (Smashwords coupon code KY27A) is an international thriller where she works to clear her name and pay back the group that framed her. In the process, she discovers the MECHs, Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Humans, and romance as she runs around the U.S., South American, and Europe. Silicon Slummin’…and Just Gettin’ By (Smashwords coupon code VT64E) takes place almost exclusively in the Silicon Valley where she has two government groups pursuing her, one U.S., the other Russian. She also has a stalker on a revenge mission. Both books, normally $2.99, are $0.99 on Smashwords, using the coupon codes, until August 1—lots of entertaining summer reading for $2!

In libris libertas!

[For authors mainly, but also for readers who want to understand authors better….]

I bought another one of those megapacks—genre: sci-fi; subgenre: space opera. It’s a collection of short stories, novellas, and novels covering many years of sci-fi writing. You sort of feel like you’re reading some of Chesterton’s Father Brown tales, though. Long sentences and dialogue, but also long narrative, and quite orthogonal to anything you might call minimalist (hard-boiled for mystery lovers). There are delicious turns of phrase, though, one reason I recommend that even the most fervent atheist take a course about the Bible as literature. If the latter in its best King James Version reads like Shakespeare, you shouldn’t be surprised—they were contemporaries, and I suspect each plagiarized the other.

One thing you see right away with those old space operas, though, is how dated the science is. E. E. “Doc” Smith, who wrote many good tales and is often called the “father of space opera,” entertained me a lot as a kid with his Lensman and Skylark series. They were dog-eared and coke-marked in our local public library even back when I read them, and that goes pretty far back. Skylark #1 is in the metapack. The protagonist is a brilliant Rambo-like romantic scientist who was maybe the model for Stan Lee’s Ironman (Tony Stark). The prose has many of the characteristics I indicated above and, in retrospect, I wonder how I got through it in junior high (I’d read all the sci-fi books in the public library by the time I finished and all of my brother’s sci-fi book club editions too).

Besides passing on my OD experiences with nostalgia, hardly worth doing nowadays for all the non-readers of all ages out there who have trouble reading anything beyond 140 characters, let me take this opportunity to give warning to authors: dating your prose is another reason for minimalist writing. Doc Smith, a food engineer, not a scientist, strove to make his Skylark character appear to be a brilliant scientist by describing his inventions in excruciating detail. It’s all techno-babble of the times. In his defense, he was writing at a time when many of the advances in science and technology we now take for granted didn’t exist. The story’s not a bad one, especially if you like Tony Stark. Like Ironman, it’s not even an extrapolation into the far future.

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[This short story is a bit different than my usual—call it a bit of mystery (but not a cozy) and a bit of romance (but not erotic) and a bit of a bow to the great Midwest. Enjoy.]

Your Past Will Find You

Copyright 2016, Steven M Moore

Part One

Will Richardson spotted the woman across the street before he had to close his eyes.

“Who’s the newcomer?” he said to his barber, Leroy, who was trimming his eyebrows.

“Rena Edmunds,” said Leroy.  “She bought the old Sullivan place.  Know where that is?”

Will opened his eyes and smiled.  “Yeah, just beyond Curly Bonner’s ranch.”

He was new to the town five years ago, so people assumed he still didn’t know where things were.  It’s not like finding an address in the Village.  But he had always spent a lot of time at Curly’s.

“She’s a good looking filly,” said the barber.

Will ran a horse business.  He bred and sold horses, stabled them for people, and was the only one left in the area that could take a young horse and patiently train it for riding, what was once called breaking, a term he didn’t like.  He had worked for Curly and learned the trade, but the old man was now retired and out to pasture himself, so Will had taken the business over.  Most people said he was better than Curly ever was at training a horse, but he didn’t think so—the old man could look a horse in the eye, calm him, and become his friend.

“But she might be a bit high and mighty for you, Will.  She’s from back east.  An artsy type who paints them fancy, high-priced works no sane person can understand.”

“Have you seen her paintings?”

“Well, no, but I heard they’re weird.  She’s even on that worldwide web!”

Will smiled.  “I wonder what brought her here to our little piece of heaven.”

“You’ll have to ask her.”

Will watched her look along the street with an apprehensive expression and enter the hardware store.  What’s her story?

“I think I will.  How much do I owe you today?  No beard trim should make it a bit less.”

***

“I hope you’re not scratching my car,” Rena said to Will when she exited the store and saw him sitting on the hood of her Land Rover.

He jumped down.  “Let me help you with that.”  He hoisted bags of seed and fertilizer from a dolly into the back of the SUV.  “Looks like you’re going to try to grow a lawn at Pat Sullivan’s old place.  Have you broken up that hardpan yet?”

“Mr. Bonner’s going to use his little tractor to break it up for me.”

“Place has some good pastureland, but Pat let that lawn die out years ago, I’m told.”

“And you are?”

Will wiped his dusty hands on his jeans and held out his right hand.  “Will Richardson.  I raise and train horses.  I took over Curly’s business.”

She nodded.  “I’ve seen you working there.  I thought you worked for Curly.”

“He lets me run the business and keep the horses there.  I can’t afford to buy his place.  Any other for that matter.  And he likes to watch me work with the horses when he can.”

“Some of those horses look pretty wild.  They won’t let me get near them.”

“Do you ride?”

“Not really.  I’d like to get a few riding horses, though, and learn.  I have space for them.  If I’m going to adapt to my new home, I should have a horse or two.”

“You’ve come to the right person, then.”

“And here I thought this was a western come-on.”

Will laughed.  “Business and pleasure, ma’am.  The business is letting you know about mine.  The pleasure is introducing myself and welcoming you here.”

“Thank you for that.  And for putting those heavy bags in the back.”

“Give me your number and I’ll give you a call.”  The apprehensive look returned followed by a raised eyebrow.  “When I’m out to Curly’s working with the horses.  You might want to try out the tamer ones.  I have a few that are nearly ready for inexperienced riders.  There’s a big demand.  Kids are always asking their parents for a horse, you know.”

“Do you work with young riders?”

“All ages.  Kids are just adults without all the problems.”  Will tilted his sweat-stained cowboy hat.  “You have a good day now.”

“Wait!”  She handed him a card.  “Give me a call.”

“Will do.”  He shut the Rover’s door for her.  “Curly has a spreader for that sad little tractor.  Pay him extra, and he’ll spread the seed and fertilizer too, I bet.  If he can’t manage it, I’ll do it.  All you need do, then, is water it and watch it grow.”

Will sauntered off.

Rena looked after him.  That was interesting!

***

That night in his room at Mama Dora’s boarding house at the edge of town, Will studied the business card.  It said: Rena Edmunds, Acrylics and Oils.  There was a website URL and 212-area code phone number.  He opened his laptop.

Phew!  Leroy was right.  The paintings on the website were out of this world.  It was as if some alien had merged Van Gogh with Picasso and asked the resulting golem to paint his landscapes.  And what landscapes and colors!  He was sure the laptop screen didn’t do the paintings justice either, but you could still feel the sweet savagery of it all. Read the rest of this entry »

Legend of Tarzan. David Yates, dir. Wow, did the reviewers ever get this one wrong! This is the best Tarzan ever. I went in with few expectations, generated by the negative reviews, but the film was astonishing and entertaining. (Unlike book reviewers, you can’t use the “peek inside” to prove them wrong—movie trailers are so misleading.) The origins of Tarzan AKA John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, well played by Alexander Skarsgård, are handled by easily understood flashbacks (I guess the reviewers who didn’t like them never read a serious book) and asides from Jane, Lady Greystoke (Margot Robbie), to Dr. George Washington Williams (Samuel L. Jackson). If you need more background, see Greystoke (it’s a good movie but lackluster in comparison) or read the Burroughs’s novels.

This movie had a cast of thousands (that’s only the humans); they all did a fantastic job. The weakest characters were the old Brits only because they were stereotypes—apparently they’d read too much Dickens, but they hadn’t seemed to get past Mr. Pickwick. (If that’s a bit obscure for you, think of Mr. Banks’s bosses in Mary Poppins.) Robbie and Jackson shine in their supporting roles, with GW providing both a lot of help to Tarzan and much humor, including some great lines. Christoph Waltz as Rom does a great job providing the villainous face of colonialism (you have to give the actors who make you hate their characters a lot of credit). The entire cast of Africans does well too, especially Sidney Ralisoele as Wasimbu.

The story is about 19^th century colonialism, slavery, racism, and the rape of a continent—crimes against Africa’s ecology, wild animals, and stealing of ores and jewels. Tarzan is a larger-than-life hero who leaves his comfortable life as Lord Greystoke to return to fight all those colonial sins. His legend has already been made; he returns to live up to it. British colonialism, responsible for many later problems in our world, plays second fiddle to Belgium’s in this film (hints of BREXIT?); King Leopold and his lackeys, led by Rom, are the bad guys as they try to enslave the Africans to further their evil agenda. The Africans are the victims here (as they were and are in real life). There are some nice twists in the story, although some of it is predictable (Tarzan and Jane wanting a kid, for example).

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When ad people make their spins, truth is lost and deception wins.

[Note: If no source is indicated for these pithy pieces of advice, I am the source. I particularly liked this one. It applies to political ads as well, of course.]

Happy 4th of July! Please celebrate safely the birth of the nation. Make wise choices about drinking, traveling, and fireworks. Your family and friends need you.

***

At the risk of seeming to be like a 4th of July car ad, the “Mary Jo Melendez Mysteries” are on sale. Mary Jo is inviting you to celebrate with her for leaving Amazon exclusivity and appearing on Smashwords too. She’s an ex-USN Master-at-Arms who manages to get into a lot of trouble as a civilian; she also manages to beat the odds and survive, though. Muddlin’ Through (Smashwords coupon code KY27A) is an international thriller where she works to clear her name and pay back the group that framed her. In the process, she discovers the MECHs, Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Humans, and romance as she runs around the U.S., South American, and Europe. Silicon Slummin’…and Just Gettin’ By (Smashwords coupon code VT64E) takes place almost exclusively in the Silicon Valley where she has two government groups pursuing her, one U.S., the other Russian. She also has a stalker on a revenge mission. Both books, normally $2.99, are $0.99 on Smashwords, using the coupon codes, until August 1—lots of entertaining summer reading for $2!

In libris libertas!

Not a bad list. Ann Patchett runs a bookstore in Nashville with Karen Hayes, presumably to promote her own books (maybe she doesn’t like them removed from the shelf at B&N either). The author of The Magician’s Assistant compiled a list of the “best books”—75 books from the last 75 years. I initially raised my eyebrows and shook my head, but, after perusing the list, I decided it’s not bad. Asimov (Foundation—but why not the trilogy?), Ellison (The Invisible Man), and Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451) are on it. So are Chandler (The Long Goodbye), Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse-Five), and Le Carré (A Perfect Spy). Non-fiction books entries include Kuhn (The Structure of Scientific Revolutions) and King (On Writing—a course AND memoir, so I don’t know what’s being rewarded).

Of course, notably absent (an author’s and bookstore’s elite snobbery at its best—in Nashville!) are the indies: Howey (Wool) and Weir (The Martian) didn’t make the list. “But it’s not a list of bestsellers,” you say? Not so. Hitchhiker’s Guide and all the Harry Potter books (so why not Asimov’s whole trilogy?) are present—their only claim to fame is bestseller-dom. “It’s only literary fiction,” you say? Not so again. Consider the sci-fi books and non-fiction books.

Patchett should know better. Lists like this can only bring grief from naysayers…like me! (OK, it’s a good list, as far as it goes.) But maybe she thinks any publicity is good publicity (she might be right, considering the sorry state of American politics). In the C&W capital of the world, though, I’m not sure many people will care. The list appeared in Parade Magazine (yes, that pop culture Sunday supplement), so more than cowgirls and cowboys will read it. OK, I’m being nasty here and apologize—not to Patchett, but to Nashville. I actually love the place. It was better when Johnny and Kris were starting out there, though—I walk the line with Sunday morning comin’ down.

Megapacks? Ever bought one? I just purchased an Andre Norton megapack. She was a classic sci-fi author who won many awards during her life of writing. I read many of her works in junior high, so some of the stories in the megapack are a trip down memory lane. But there are ones that are new to me too. A lot of reading enjoyment for $10! The company that produces these has many more to offer. They are a good way to enjoy the classics.

All of science in one book? The NY Times will do anything to make money (besides trashing Bernie and praising Hillary, that is). I laughed when I saw the quarter-page ad for their Book of Science. Of course, it’s just a collection of science articles from the newspaper, as if you can learn about science from the Times! Besides, any book on any science topic, let alone a collection of Times articles, is dated even before it goes to press.

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Bernie’s grassroots campaign shook up the Dem establishment. While the old guard, especially older establishment blacks, don’t want any changes in the organization of Dem primaries, younger voters—and by that I mean many people forty-years-old or less—are demanding a change to a more democratic selection of the Dem nominee. But that’s not all! Those same people want nothing to do with the Clinton dynasty.

Even Wall Street is thinking twice about Mrs. Bill Clinton because “Pocahontas” Warren is making noise as a potential veep. (Probably won’t happen, though. Warren labeled Clinton as a Wall Street sycophant in a recent book.) Sanders’s supporters should remember that Warren is a traitor to their cause—she didn’t endorse Bernie in Massachusetts—but Wall Street is still nervous because she pretends to be anti-corporate largesse and anti-Wall Street excess at least, and Clinton is mouthing some of Bernie’s words to mollify Bernie’s supporters. Wall Street just might end up backing Trump over Clinton for these reasons. That would waste all those nice efforts by Hillary to court Wall Street execs with her soothing “I’m on your side” speeches—what a hypocrite!

The Democratic Party establishment must fear two things about all those younger voters in Bernie’s camp: (1) they’re likely to sit out the 2016 general election now or vote for another candidate—I’m voting Green; and (2) they ARE THE FUTURE for progressive action in America—well, maybe not ye olde curmudgeon (I’ll probably either be dead or the country will be if progressive thought doesn’t become reality soon)—but those young voters, especially millennials, will carry the progressive torch (maybe literally?). The Clinton machine isn’t likely to win over those young voters, so said machine and the Dem establishment have to make it an anti-Trump campaign. But idealists get tired of voting for the lesser of two evils when both evils are so flawed—I certainly am, and I’ve been doing it since the sixties.

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As a reader, do you pay attention to genre? Same question to you if you’re an author. “Genre fiction” is often a snooty put-down, but bookstores invented genres long ago as a means to order their bookshelves, and they’ve hung on, even though cross-genre books abound and one can now argue against the need for them. As a reader, I don’t pay much attention to genre—maybe more so than Amazon’s star ranking, though—I’ll read almost anything if it piques my interest. I determine that from the book blurb and the “Peek Inside” feature for the most part if I’m buying it at Amazon. And I’ll make a confession: if I’m browsing for books in a bookstore (I do more browsing on internet sites these days), I’ll leaf through the book and then go home and buy the ebook version (it had better not be comparable in price to the paper version, though—that kills any motivation for buying).

As an author, I NEVER pay attention to genre while I’m writing the novel. Following Clancy’s advice, I’m just telling the damn story! I’m a storyteller, not a mystery writer or sci-fi writer or…you get the idea. When I release a book, I have to think about genres sometimes—retail sites ask for them—but I just consider them keywords. Sometimes it’s easier to describe one of my books by saying what it’s not. My YA novel The Secret Lab is NOT a magical fantasy story, and my new novel Rogue Planet isn’t either, but hard sci-fi, space opera, and fantasy are good keywords for the latter because it contains elements of all those genres—adventure and saga would be some other key words.

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