Yup.
Baseball is like Country music.
Many people love it.
Other people think those first people are idiots
This is the hardest time of year for baseball fans. The World Series wrapped up months ago. And Spring Training is still a month away.
But, the last week of January gets a dose of Baseball juice and this year it was juicier than normal. This is the week that Hall of Fame ballots are revealed.
Baseball’s Hall of Fame inductees are chosen by the Baseball Writers of America. There’s even a club. I think it’s called The Baseball Writers of America. . .Club.
Anyway, five years after a player stops playing baseball he is eligible for the Hall of Fame. He remains eligible for 10 year. If he doesn’t get elected in that time he’s no longer eligible. If he gets more than 75% of the vote, he’s in. However, if he fails to get at least 5% of the vote, he’s no longer eligible, even if it hasn’t been 10 years.
Some players, like Seattle Mariners great Ken Griffey Jr, get elected on the first ballot. Other players, like Seattle Mariners almost-as-great Edgar Martinez, get elected on their 10th ballot. Only one player, the truly great Mariano Rivera ever got 100% of the voters on the first ballot. (Rivera played for some team back East that escapes my memory right now. . . .not gonna give Yankees the exposure!)
The Baseball Writers each get to vote for up to 10 players on their ballots. It’s not unusual for a writer to return an empty ballot. In other words, that writer doesn’t think any of the current crop should get in.
You would think in a sport as statistics-heavy as baseball it would be easy to figure out who should be in or not. You look at how the player performed against his peers. We have statistics going back more than 100 years. Here’s the stats for a one of the players who was on the ballot this year.
- 22 years in the Majors
- All time home run leader with 762
- Seven time National League MVP
- 14-time All Star
- .298/.444/.607 (Take my word for it, this is a great batting/slugging/OBS line)
- 2,558 walks (most of any player ever)
- 1,996 Runs batted in (#4 all time)
- 162.7 WAR (an obscure baseball metric that measures a player against other players in the same position. This is 4th highest total in history behind just Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson and Cy Young.)
Seems like a pretty good resume, right?
It’s a GREAT resume. He didn’t get in on the 1st ballot. He didn’t get in on the 2nd through the 9th ballot. This year was his last year of eligibility. He got 66% of the vote and is no longer eligible for the Hall of Fame. (Although a Veterans committee made up of current Hall of Fame members could vote him in.)
Here’s another guy who was on the ballot this year. A pitcher this time.
- 24 years in the Majors
- Won 7 Cy Young awards (given to the best pitcher in the league each year)
- 1 MVP award (very rare for a pitcher)
- 11-time All Star
- 7 Times had the best ERA in the league (Runs scored against him)
- 354 wins (9th all time)
- 4,672 strikeouts (3rd all time)
- Two World Series titles
- 139.2 WAR
He was a monster on the mound. He also didn’t get in. And on his final ballot he garnered just 65.2% of the vote. He’s also out.
Pete Rose played for the Cincinnati Reds. In his 23 year career he managed to collect more hits than any player before or since: 4,256. He’s not in the Hall of Fame. He bet on baseball while he was manager of the Reds, and that’s one of the baseball’s unforgivable sins. Pete agreed to a lifetime ban from the game including not being eligible for the Hall of Fame.
You may not have heard of Pete Rose. But, you have no doubt heard of Joseph Jefferson Jackson. Better known by his nickname, Shoeless Joe Jackson. The movie “Field of Dreams” features his character. Also, “Eight Men Out” tells the story of the 1919 Chicago “Black” Sox who colluded with gamblers to throw the World Series. They got banned from baseball.
Many people, (including Kevin Costner’s character in Field of Dreams) think Shoeless Joe belongs in the Hall of Fame. The man has been dead for 70 years and hasn’t played in over 100 years. But, baseball is not interested in forgiving the unforgivable sin.
So, Rose and Jackson are out of the Hall for gambling. What about those two players I referenced above? Well, the first one is Barry Bonds. The second is Roger Clemons. Despite never failing a drug test, both are STRONGLY suspected of using performance enhancing drugs.
And that has joined gambling as an unforgivable sin. In addition to Bonds and Clemons, Sammy Sosa just aged off the Hall of Fame ballot. Sosa is the only player to hit over 60 homeruns three years in a row. Back in 1995, he and Mark McGuire put on a summertime spectacle as they chased the homerun record held then by Roger Maris at 61. (Maris is also not in the Hall, but only because despite holding the HR record, his other stats just weren’t good enough.) You may remember that McGuire finished that year with 70 round trippers. McGuire and Sosa were both juicing that year. The homerun record was broken a few years later by a juiced up Barry Bonds who hit 73.
So, as a baseball fan, I say, so long to the Rocket, Bonds and Sosa. They join Shoeless Joe and Charlie Hustle as Hall of Fame-worthy athletes whose actions made them unpalatable to the voters. And I couldn’t be happier.
Oh, and David Ortiz, the great Boston Red Sox slugger was elected on his first ballot as the only inductee this year, after there were none last year.
There was one other name that appears on the ballot first time this year, who would have been an automatic first ballot if not for performance enhancing drugs.
Alex Rodriguez got 34.3% on his first ballot. Only 9 more year until he too can join the others on the outside looking in.
That’s the end of the post, but here are some baseball pictures from my office.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
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or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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I’ve spent the past week talking about the gifts I made in my workshop. I made cedar chests for some kids. I made an airplane for my grandson. I made toys for other kids.
I also made gifts for adult family and friends.
I guess it qualifies as art. I don’t think of it that way. I take 3/4″ boards and cut (carve?) them into names. The names are designed to either sit on a shelf or hang on a wall.
In previous years, I made them for my brother
My lovely wife
My married children
And my friend Archangel.
This year I made them for another brother (Bliss,) My dear mother and step-father, (Nelson,) my birth father (Keeney,) my daughter (Ruth) and my friend (Toad, yes that is his real name.)
Are they art? I don’t know. But, the people I give them to seem to appreciate them. And art or not, we all do what we can.
Overall, despite some serious setbacks, it was a good Christmas.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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You are the Hero of your own Story.
– Joseph Campbell
If you’ve read this space at all you know that I recently had a short story published in an anthology. (Miscellany Volume II: Available now on Amazon!)
I have a long but sparse publishing history. I wrote my first book in 1997: Microsoft Exchange Connectivity Guide. Used copies still available on Amazon. (But, don’t buy it. The technical information in it has been obsolete for over two decades.)
Miscellany Volume II represents a goal that I’ve fostered since my first technical book came out. It’s my first foray into fiction writing.
During those long years where I “thought” about being a writer, some of my friends were actually becoming full-time writers. Today, I want to talk about Dave Wolverton. He wrote under the pen name of David Farland. But, I met Dave in the 1980s before either of us published anything.
Dave died last week. It’s taken me until now to be able to write about it. We are writers. We process things by putting them down in a string of words. I guess I wasn’t ready to process what his death means to me until now.
In 1987 Dave wrote his first novel. It was called On My Way To Paradise.
It was the start of a very successful career for Dave. He became a writer. I became an IT guy. It’s been a good career for me. I worked for WordPerfect. Then Microsoft. Then, private consulting. Then other companies. I got to travel. I wrote a lot of boring documentation (and a couple of tech books.)
But, whenever I saw Dave I’d talk about being a full-time fiction writer. . .someday. Dave knew that my someday, if it ever came, was going to be a long time coming. But, he was unfailingly supportive. He always believed in me. Even when I was not taking writing as seriously as needed if I really wanted to launch a professional career.
And then, I got more serious. Dave started a writer’s group: Apex Writers. Why “Apex”? Well, you know what an Apex predator is? The one at the top of the food chain. That’s what Dave wanted for his writers.
And I started to write. At one point, I sent Dave a copy of one of my stories.
Rodney, this is really good.
He offered some edits. We were good enough friends that if my writing had been terrible, he’d let me know. He told me that if my story were submitted to the Writers of The Future contest of which he was the main judge, it would do well.
And then, I got a chance to join another writers group called Word Addicts, and submit a story to their upcoming anthology.
Because Dave had convinced me I could write well enough to get paid for it.
Miscellany Volume II came out January 12, 2022. Dave passed away two days later.
The help he gave me was the same help he provided hundreds of students over the years. And many went on to worldwide success. Like, “Twilight” or Brandon Sanderson-level success. Because Stephanie Meyers and Brandon Sanderson also benefited from Dave’s mentorship.
Dave taught people how to tell stories. And especially stories that sell. A common type of story is the hero’s journey. Poor farm kid is forced to become a hero. There are specific elements to a hero’s journey: Frodo Baggins, Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, One element is the idea that the hero has a guide character: Gandalf, Dumbledore, Obi-wan.
Dave was our guide as we each worked our way along our Hero’s journey.
But, while the hero’s journey has a guide, in order to become the hero the story needs, the guide must leave: Gandalf vs the Balrog, Dumbledore vs Voldemort’s agents, Obi-wan vs Darth Vader Until the guide leaves the hero cannot truly grow.
I, along with many of my fellow writers realized that in his passing Dave was still teaching us and giving us that chance to shine as the hero should after the guide is gone. The problem is that none of the heroes think they, we, are ready. Frodo still has a long journey, Harry Potter doesn’t know how to defeat the dark lord, Luke is only beginning to learn the ways of the force. The hero feels lost without the guide.
I lost my friend. And my guide character. It’s up to me now to take Dave’s last, best lesson to heart and become the writer that he’s seen in me for over 30 years of friendship.
And I shall miss him terribly
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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I made lots of toys this past Christmas. Yesterday I talked about the airplane I made for my grandson. Before that I posted about the cedar chests I made for some of my granddaughters.
For the younger kids I decided to make old fashioned pull toys. Like the airplane, I’d never made these kind of toys before. After a bunch of cutting and some use of hole-saws, I ended up with a pile of pieces. Not unlike an Ikea toy set where you had to put them together yourself without any instructions.
I’m not a huge fan of painting, but toddlers don’t much like toys that aren’t bright colored. So, lots of bright spray paint.
The final painting was done while the ducks were hung up.
The front wheels have offset hubs. When the duck it pulled it “waddles” back and forth.
The Frog also has offset hubs. When it’s pulled the back of the frog “hops” up and down.
In addition to the pull toys, I created cars and tractors. More painting.
A pink race car for one granddaughter.
A tractor for another granddaughter. These tractors are a pattern that my father-in-law designed years ago for my oldest two children. It’s a privilege to be able to carry on his tradition.
Eventually, each toy got individually wrapped. But, they made quite the colorful collection before that.
I have one more set of presents that I also made this Christmas. I’ll talk about those next week.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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A couple of days ago I started posting about the gifts I made some of my granddaughters for Christmas. Read about building their cedar chests here.
My oldest grandson is 5 years old. Have you ever seen a 5 year play with a toy? There’s lots of, let’s call it stress, that a five year old boy can put on a toy. So, in designing his toy, I knew I needed something that was going to stand up to some pounding.
I also wanted something that I thought he would uniquely like. Last year I gave him a homemade tractor. . .and I repaired it at least a couple of times during the year. I don’t mind doing the repairs, but it’s more fun if the toy doesn’t break.
I decided I’d make him an airplane.
I’ve never made an airplane before. My original design was pretty vague.
Next I looked through my scrap pile for useful pieces of wood. I wanted the wings to be about 15″ from tip to tip. And the plane to be about the same length nose to tail.
Here’s what the VERY early mockup looked like.
The body was an old 2×4 that had a knot. I was going to cut around it, so that was fine. The main wing was a 3/4 piece of pine I had. The tail wing was oak. I decided that’s the weakest part of the plane and the oak, while heavier was worth it to provide strength.
After a trip to the bandsaw and A LOT of sanding (I’m not a fan of sanding. . .or painting) it started to look like an airplane.
There was plenty more sanding that went on after it got put together.
And more sanding after that.
Eventually the sanding came to an end. And it was time to paint. I considered a silver paint job, but decided that red would work better. (That and the fact I realized I was out of silver spray paint.)
I think the red might have also been inspired by the toy plane in Disney’s The Kid.
I didn’t even think of the similarities until the plane was done and my lovely wife pointed it out.
When my grandson unwrapped his plane, he first question was “Why doesn’t it have any wheels?” Of course that was his first question. Because he’s five. And that’s exactly why it has blunt wooden pegs instead of wheels. . .because he’s five.
I’m told the plane has made several successful test flights.
Remember, any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.
Tomorrow I’ll talk about the toys I made for the babies.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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Yesterday I told y’all about the cedar chests I made for my granddaughters for Christmas. And today, I planned to include more stories from Papa’s Workshop. But, that will have to wait because Amazon came today.
And inside the big Amazon box with a sticker that says HEAVY was this.
That’s 20 author copies of Miscellany Volume II. And if you have a copy and turn to page 217 you see this page.
So, yeah, just a little excited. I’ll tell you all about building more wooden toys for my grandkids tomorrow.
Today, I’m just going to stare at this pile up books. . .probably for most of the day.
You can order your own copy of Miscellany II here.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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Sometimes my five posts per week schedule makes me feel like I’m scrambling for content. Other times, I find the topics stack up like the line at the the Walmart checkout counter.
So, here it is the middle of January and I’m just getting around to my Christmas stories. I made a lot of stuff for Christmas. Most of it was for my grandkids. I have eleven grandchildren, although the youngest was born last week.
First up was the biggest project and the one I finished last. I created cedar chests for three of my granddaughters. I designed the cedar chest several years ago. It’s my own design. I built these for each of my children. So, I built 13 of them over the years. And now, I’ve moved on to the grandkids.
Building three chests is only slightly harder than building one. I label each piece. A, B, C, etc. If you look at the pile of boards, you can see they are labeled A – D.
The pile of scraps in the above picture are what I had left over after chopping up ten 8′ long 2x2s. I’m normally not this efficient.
In addition to the 2x2s, I cut out the panels for the front, back sides, top and bottom.
The sides were slightly different thicknesses Although the design is uniform, each chest is slightly different.
Here you see what they looked like after being built, all the hardware added, the cedar lining added and, of course, the painting. (I hate painting.)
I used stencils to put each girl’s name on her chest.
I used to wonder how artists could spend months working on a picture and then just give it away, or sell it. After putting so much of themselves into something how could they let it go?
And now I know. Each granddaughter was thrilled with her chest. And knowing I designed and hand built it, they know that they are special.
More presents for the younger kids in tomorrow’s post.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Pre-order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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The back of the dust jacket has the following text:
In 1943, German U-boats lurked in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, anxious to bring down allied ships.
On board the Dorchester, at 3:30 in the afternoon, signals flashed from the Tampa up ahead. Through the snow, the bright flashing code was clear: “We are being followed. Submarines estimated in our vicinity. Inform all ships to close up tightly and stay closed for the night.” . . .
All four chaplains descended into the lower holds. By then, the troops knew something was going on; the announcement had blared over the loudspeakers. It was vague. The ship was entering into troubled waters, where U-boats were known to prowl; they were to put on their life jackets and clothes just to be safe. Tensions were rising
Okay, got it. The chaplains are the immortals. And the book is about how they handled the sinking of the Dorchester. The book is based on a true story. And to emphasize the message the front of the book includes the text,
The World War II story of five fearless heroes, the sinking of the Dorchester, and an awe-inspiring rescue
Okay. I think I’ve got the picture.
This book was a Christmas present from a friend of the family. It was a good choice. I love historical stories. And I was very much looking forward to finding out more about the Dorchester and why it’s sinking made news.
So, half way through the book why was I frustrated with the book? Disappointed, even.
Because the promise on the dust jacket wasn’t being delivered on. Half-way through the 265 page book the four chaplains weren’t even on the ship yet. That didn’t happen until page 142. So, what were those early pages about? During them we met the four chaplains. We learned about their upbringing. We learned why each of them became a chaplain. We also learned about the fifth hero in our (still future) story, Charles Walter David Jr, a young black man who was a big part of the rescue effort. We also met the captain of the German U-boat who would (again) EVENTUALLY sink the Dorchester.
The sinking of the Dorchester was the worst loss of life during a ship sinking. Over 900 men were on the Dorchester when it was sunk by a single torpedo. Six hundred and seventy-four died, either during the initial attack, or by being exposed to the harsh North Atlantic weather. The rescue was hampered by a lack of quick response from the support ships. They were hunting the U-boat.
The story of the attack and the sinking of the Dorchester occupies only a few dozen pages. The before and after make up the bulk of the story. And it’s a good story.
So, why the disappointment?
Because the author, or the editor, made a promise and then failed to fulfill it.
Once I figured out that I was reading a different book than was advertised on the cover, I actually enjoyed it. The story is meticulously researched and well told. The author, Steven T. Collis, avoids the temptation of exaggeration. He cites the dialogue he has support for and leaves it to the reader to fill in the blanks, only helping them along with, “The person might have been thinking. . .”
And not being familiar with the story, I was able to enjoy learning a piece of history from the war and reading the story of five true heroes.
What I liked
We each should be inspired when we learn about men and women who literally gave their lives for others. And the five men in this story all had multiple opportunities to save themselves. Instead they put their fellow men first. The author not only describes the actions that we remember these men for, but what led them to that fateful day. He also describes their families, their friends and their circumstances. He truly paints an inspiring story. Although one built upon tragedy.
What I Didn’t
As I said, the book was a different book than described on the cover. Would I have read it without a cover that hyped the actual sinking and instead did a more accurate job of explaining the contents? Absolutely. It was a really good book.
What It Means To You
You can go to Google or Wikipedia and find the details of the story of the Dorchester. But, you will not get the whole story. You won’t get to know the chaplains. You won’t get to know Charles Walter David Jr, the way you will by reading this excellent book. If you enjoy true stories of World War II, you’ll absolutely enjoy this book.
My Rating
Three out of four stars
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Pre-order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength
– Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius is what I decided to name my car. No special reason except that I was going to be writing out it. . .him.
On December 7, 2021 Marcus Aurelius rolled past 295,000 miles. Today, January 14, 2022, at 4:51 pm he hit 296,000. That’s 1000 miles in 38 days, or a little more than 26 miles per day.
In the week from December 2 through December 7 I drove about 1200 miles. A trip to Boise and back. An average of 170 miles per day. It’s been an eventful 38 days. Not only did the holidays fall in that period. But, so did a 10 day quarantine for a COVID positive test.
Today, as I watched Marcus Aurelius roll to 296,000, I was driving on Bluffdale Blvd, past the Utah State prison and actually only two miles from where we rolled through 295,000 a month earlier.
During the past month, prior to the COVID lockdown, we had a day where we got over 8″ of snow. My neighborhood was snowy, but the plows had been through. I made it to the freeway and eventually on to work. . .where our parking lot was not plowed. I followed the tracks of a truck and managed to drift into a parking spot.
My boss was surprised to see me. Well, me and Marcus Aurelius, a 1994 Toyota Corolla. The plow came through about 2:00pm. Not sure where I would have gone if they hadn’t decided to do our parking lot that day.
Marcus Aurelius is headed for 300,000 miles. He’s old and lacks most modern features (manual transmission, manual windows, locks, seats.)
I expect we’ll roll past the 300,000 sometime in April or May.
Stay tuned.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Pre-order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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Miscellany Volume II shipped yesterday. I had a chance to talk to C.R. Truitt, one of the authors.
[Rodney M. Bliss] Your bio on the Word Addicts web site lists twelve different jobs; janitor, typewriter repairman, radio announcer, security guard, private patrol driver, police officer, electronic circuit designer, computer programmer, newspaper correspondent, an editor of a statewide Lion’s Tale newspaper and a small business owner. Were there any jobs that influenced your writing more than others? And what do you think the future holds for you?
[C.R. Truitt] I know this isn’t part of the question, but I actually did all those jobs. I started working at a job after school when I was fourteen in 1964. Just about everything in my life influenced my writing, including the jobs I’ve held. Let me answer the question this way; in my stories, there is usually a computer lurking around and police or security people making my character’s life difficult, if they aren’t one. Any of those jobs that involved electronics, writing or officer of some type would, of course, be the answer. However, being born in a small country town in Texas and growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area in very interesting times such as the hippie movement, the Black Panthers and school riots, did put me in contact with many different kinds of people from all walks of life. In the Bay Area, I met people from around the world.
What do I think the future hold for me? Probably, not a lot. I’m nearing step two of seven decades of life. I’ve retired from all the push and shoving of a professional working life and I just don’t care to do it anymore. I have plans to self-publish two more novels, maybe four and my collection of short stories. After losing my “first editor” (The editor that edits my terrible first drafts), I think I’ve found a new person to keep me from doing what I’m best at, making a fool of myself. (Note–Shakespeare: It is better to appear a fool then open ones mouth and remove all doubt.) Unfortunately, I’m a compulsive writer. My stories will most likely float around out there largely unread after going to my small group of readers.
[RMB] Your stories feature strong female characters. Was this a conscious decision? How have readers responded to your choice of protagonists?
[C.R.]Yes, but not without some trepidation. My most favorite stories to read are first person. Why female? A very intelligent and strong person raised me. She also raised three intelligent and strong daughters. I have been married to a girl of the same caliber for a lot of years. Although I’ve had few girlfriends in my life, I’ve had lots of female friends—if you can catch my drift. Outside of some really close male friends, I prefer female company, mostly my wife. With many males, I have to work around that male ego that thinks they are logical. (The human race is not logical!) Most women use words like “I feel that…” or “I think that…” Those that become my friends don’t deal in absolutes.
Of my female readers that have supplied feedback, most (certainly not all) seem to enjoy my stores, where about half of my male readers do. Most of the reasons I get for not enjoying my stories are a strong belief it is impossible for people of different sex to understand the opposite sex.
[RMB] You grew up on San Francisco during a very different time. How has your writing changed, as you’ve gotten older?
[C.R.] I feel like I’ve been around the block enough times to know that really the generations haven’t changed since Adam and Eve. The only differences are our toys, our ability to make other people miserable, our ability to destroy the earth, and where our attitudes and bias are most popular. In the sixties there was a song with a line something like “a pendulum swings like pendulums do.” Certainly, since I was a teen in those years it had a profound effect on me.
The change from my early writing until now is that there is usually an “old guy” hanging around saying things that my young heroes and heroines haven’t a clue of what he is talking about. Since I write science fiction the “toys” are advanced, but living as long as I have it is hard to guess in what form they will take. To be a science fiction writer is to be dated.
[RMB] How did you end up in Central Utah coming from such a different early life?
[C.R.] That is certainly a long story. The Reader’s Digest version is that I was born in south Texas. My grandfather was a cotton farmer. When my parents got a divorce, I was ten and we moved to California where my mother’s parents had moved from the mid-west to the Bay Area.
The seed to moving to Fountain Green, Utah was planted when I was a baby. My mother became friends with a lady from Nephi, Utah who married a Fountain Green boy. My father and her husband were in different naval services and both were stationed in San Francisco, next door to each other. The ladies kept in touch for many years and finally my mother moved to Utah. I was twenty. The two ladies lived across the street from each other. Both have recently passed. The house I bought fifty years ago went to my son and now I live across the street from our family friends.
[RMB] Without giving too much away, what can we expect from your story in Miscellany Volume II?
[C.R.] For the two stories in the other anthology editions, that would have been an easy question. Not with this one. This one was a 24,000-word short story I made an error in trying to cut down to 10,000 words. It was a gritty period story mixed with fantasy elements. I tried to cut out all of the grittiness but my story elements are entwined. After six rewrites and the patience of my editors there is a Reader’s Digest version of story I can say, I hope people will enjoy it. That’s why I share what I write. After all is said and done, we are entertainers.
One thing I can say, there is point to the story. Look for it.
[RMB] Where can readers find out more about your writing?
[C.R.] I may be a technical person, but I don’t live on the Internet or care to know how to delve into the “social” aspects. The Internet to me is what I was to most companies I worked for—a necessary evil, but if you Google “The Super Mall C. R. Truitt” or “Messengers of the West Mountain C. R. Truitt” everything I’ve been involved in will pop up. My two novels you’ll find in a variety of online bookstores with a price ranging from $6.00 to $20.00. I even saw one for a $1.75 a long time ago. They are available at Barnes and Noble help desk. Our writers group books that I have had the privilege to be part of will also show up under books by the author.
Excerpts from the novels are usually with the book descriptions.
Thank you writers group and thank you Mr. Bliss.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Pre-order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
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