Rodney M Bliss

November 4, 2022

Remember The Alamo? Let’s NOT

I watched a movie tonight. It was an old movie about the Alamo. It had a young Alec Baldwin as the heroic Col Travis. An aging James Arness of Gunsmoke fame, was Jim Bowie. Brian Keith, also older actor played Davy Crockett.

The story was the one we all remember, 179 heroic Texans hold off thousands of evil Mexicans at a small mission in San Antonio. I didn’t like it. The movie was done well enough, despite being a made for TV movie. But, I was not able to sufficiently suspend my disbelief.

I love, or rather, I used to love the story of the Alamo. There’s a Johnny Cash song about it that I know by heart. I actually got a chance to visit the historic site in San Antonio. One of my favorite stories is the story of the Marriot hotel in San Antonio. Marriot wanted to build a 20 story hotel, but it became clear that the shadow of such a large building would, at times fall on remains of the Alamo mission. Since it is now designated as a war memorial, the hotel had to be shortened. It’s against code for anything to shadow a war memorial.

Walking through that historic building was moving. The floors of the chapel are stone. The same floors that Bowie, and Travis and Crockett walked. The floors that ran red with their spilt blood. Blood spilt for betrayal and slavery.

Wait, what?

Yes. The story of the Alamo is not exactly like I remember it. And I can’t think about it the same way again. The movie rightly pointed out that in 1824 the Mexican government (who owned what was then Texas) invited Americans to come to Texas. They were given land and opportunity. There was one pretty significant restriction: No slaves.

Mexico had outlawed slavery and they insisted that Americans coming to Texas had to abandon the practice of slavery. It was a condition of their immigration.

The problem? The Americans weren’t ready to give up their slaves. Forty thousand of them came to Texas and many brought their slaves. In fact, the movie even made reference to Jim Travis’ slave. The character, based on a real person, survived the attack on the Alamo.

Why was Santa Anna attacking Texas? Why was he attacking the Alamo?

Because the Americans refused to abide by their agreements and abandon slavery.

The fight wasn’t about freedom. It wasn’t about an oppressive dictator trying to kill Texans. It started and ended with the desire by the Texans to keep and encourage slavery. That’s what Santa Anna was fighting them over.

It’s said that history is written by the victors. The Union won the Civil War. The North got to write the history. And it was simple: Slavery was bad and we fought a war to end it. (Okay, it wasn’t that simple, but it also wasn’t a lot more complicated.)

Mexico lost the war with Texas. So, the Texans, got to write the history. The brave Texans held off the mighty Mexican Army. Then, they were massacred. (Ever notice that the winners in history never massacred anyone? It was always the losers who were the murders.)

History wasn’t quite that simple.

I’ll never be able to listen to the story of the Alamo the same again.

Stay safe

November 3, 2022

Say It Like You Mean It

My second language is American Sign Language, ASL. I’m pretty good at it. I used to be very good at it. I learned ASL during a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. During the two years I was a missionary, I had several companions. One of them, Jay Randles, was a child of deaf parents, CODA.

Jay was very very good at sign language. I was not. He wanted to teach and I wanted to learn. One of the first things Jay thought me was how to not use signs. In fact, most of communicating via ASL is about expression and body language. Facial expressions are how you convey emotion; curiosity, anger, fear, love. A sign, such as “smart,” can be signed to imply you think the person you are talking to really is smart. Or, they only think they are smart. Or you wonder if they are smart. The point is that the sign without the context doesn’t convey information.

That’s the issue as a writer. We write words, scenes, and create worlds. One of the most important advice for writers (right after: make sure you are writing) is “Show don’t tell.” I’m a writer who doesn’t like to use dialogue tags. A tag is when you add something to the dialogue.

The word “said” is a tag. And using “said” is considered bad form. Anyway, I prefer to explain the scene through dialogue.

I recently ran into a couple of phrases that literally could mean the opposite of themselves depending on tags.

What does that mean? AT first I thought it meant that someone was going to fight you. And it certainly could be the start of a fight. But, then I realized there was a different possible interpretation. It could be that someone will be your ally in your fight. They will help you fight someone else. One interpretation makes the other person you enemy and a completely different interpretation makes that person your ally.

Again, what does it mean? A friend posted it. I assumed he meant that he was fed up with his situation and he was abandoning it. But, I also remembered he was a writer. And perhaps he meant that he had finally finished his novel. Same exact words, two completely different meanings.

It’s all about finding the context.

Stay safe

October 27, 2022

False Fall Colors

Fall is my favorite time of year. The weather turns colder. Baseball playoffs. Football games. Holidays. And, of course, the fall colors.

I noticed a particularly bright leaf today. Our neighborhood, and my yard, are full of maples. And sometimes we get great color. Other times the trees go quietly into Winter’s night.

But this leaf was stunning.

And yet, when I turned the leaf over it wasn’t nearly as vibrant.

Still pretty, but not as much color as the opposite side. I then looked around and realized why the leaf had only one bright side. And it had nothing to do with the beautiful Fall weather.

The internet crews were marking their lines and weren’t too careful about overspray.

Still a pretty color. . .on the leaves.

Stay safe

October 25, 2022

English Is Weird. . .Vowel Version

We all know the rules, right? I’m talking about “a” vs “an.” You use “a” if the following word starts with a consonant. You use “an” if the following word starts with a vowel. It’s one of the simplest rules. Mostly because there are only 5 vowels.

No problem.

“A house.” (Because “h” is a consonant.) But, it’s an honor.

Wait, what? Sometimes it’s “an” before a consonant? But, vowels are easy; a, e, i, o ,u.

Okay, so it’s “an elephant.” Easy enough. Until it’s “a unicorn.” Really? the unicorn gets the “n”? We’ve got “an orange.” But, it’s “a ouija board.”

English is weird. Even the simple rules are complicated.

Stay safe

October 24, 2022

I Don’t Care If I’m Right But This Is Ridiculous

I once worked with a guy who had to be right.

I don’t mind. Really, I don’t.

I’m a pretty good team player in that respect. I believe as a team lead you take the blame and give away the credit. If your team looks good, you will look good. Measure a man by the results, not the accolades.

So, working with Travis didn’t bother me. Travis REALLY wanted to be right. And since he was my supervisor, who was I to argue?

There was just one problem.

Travis, while very smart, wasn’t always right. When he was right (which was often,) I had no problem acknowledging even supporting his answers. But, there were times when I was right and he was wrong.

Now what?

I don’t care who is right. But, when talking to the client, it’s important to not be wrong.

My solution?

Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve found it works best let the issue resolve itself. I knew I was right. And eventually that would be born out. It’s certainly not the most efficient. It would be much more efficient to simply be able to have a dialogue. To each be confident enough in our position to simply say, “You were wrong on this one. ” Or, “I was wrong on this.”

Sadly, it doesn’t always work that way.

Stay safe

October 13, 2022

Utopia Comes To Pleasant Grove

What if your car could suddenly double its top speed? Or triple? Of course, if your car could suddenly go faster it wouldn’t do you much good since there are speed limits on the highway.

Fortunately no such limits exist on the internet, what was once called the information superhighway. You can go as fast as your internet connection, or ISP will allow.

Today I got a major speed boost.

My little town of Pleasant Grove recently installed fiber throughout the city. It’s been rolled out in waves. Each part of the city was given a schedule when it would be available. Originally my neighborhood was supposed to have fiber installed sometime around March of 2023. But, the program has been greatly ahead of schedule.

Utopia, or Utopia Fiber was installed at my house today. You might think it would be complicated to switch from an over-the-air wireless connection to a fiber connection.

It was not.

The installers were done in about 30 minutes. At that point All I had to do was switch my firewall computer from it’s connection to the wireless router to the fiber router.

My son was playing a video game. The internet switch didn’t even disrupt his game.

The real question was, “Did it work? Did the speed increase?”

Yeah, just a little.

Stay safe

October 11, 2022

But It Doesn’t MEAN Anything!

My team lost today.

I had nothing to do with it.

Sports are weird that way.

I’ve followed the Seattle Mariners all year. I’ve watched some games. I’ve listened to most games. I’ve checked the score daily. And two weeks ago they made the playoffs. And last week they won the first round of the playoffs. Today they played the Houston Astros. They got to the Houston ace, Justin Verlander knocking him out of the game in the fourth inning. He gave up more runs today than he’s given up in his last six starts COMBINED.

But, eventually the Astros clawed their way back. They hit a walk off homerun in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. They are playing a best of five series. Two games in Houston, two back in Seattle and then a fifth in Houston if needed.

I was disappointed. The Mariners haven’t been in the playoffs since 2001. I’ve been following them all that time.

But, my life is completely unconnected with the fortunes of the Seattle Mariners. Whether they win or lose, my job doesn’t change. My family will be fine. . .or not fine. My car will still run. . .or not run.

And yet, if they manage to win the series, I’ll be happy. If they manage to win the World Series, I’ll be ecstatic.

Why?

What is it about sports that makes us care who hits more white balls over the fence, or throws more round balls through the hoop, or who tosses more. . .oblong balls to the endzone?

We shouldn’t care. But, they lost today. . .so I kinda do anyway.

Stay safe

October 10, 2022

What’s In A Name?

Have you heard of the author Robert Galbraith?

What about Richard Bachman?

Mary Westmacott?

Mrs. Silence Dogood?

Clive Hamilton and N.W. Clerk?

Paul French?

Jonathan Oldstyle, Diedrich Knickerbocker and Georffrey Crayon?

I’d venture that you have heard of all of these authors? Let’s try another list.

J.K. Rowling?

Stephen King?

Agatha Christie?

Benjamin Franklin? (Yeah, the guy on the money.)

C.S. Lewis?

Isaac Asimov?

Washington Irving?

All the same people. The famous authors at times decided to write under a pseudonym, even though they were already well established authors. Why would they do that?

Because when you establish a following you also establish a brand.

Have you seen the new electric Mustang cars from Ford Motor company?

I’m a huge Mustang fan and I think they are ugly and look nothing like a Mustang. They are four door and they look like a Honda hatchback. Ford broke the brand. (Ironically they also have a new 2022 gas powered Mustang that looks like. . .well, a Mustang.)

One of my writing mentors was David Wolverton. He wrote some Science Fiction stories under the name Dave Wolverton. Then, he wanted to write Fantasy, eventually coming out with the RuneLord series. His editor was worried his fans would become confused if he had both Science Fiction and Fantasy under the same name, so he wrote fantasy under the name David Farland.

He was so successful as Dave Farland that he eventually rereleased his Science Fiction under the Dave Farland name.

I’m not nearly as successful as any of those writers. I picked my author name to be “Rodney M. Bliss.” My website is www.rodneymbliss.com. And the genre I write in is Science Fiction. If you select the link below you can find the anthology with my latest short story. It’s a Science Fiction story.

I’m getting ready to submit stories for the next anthology. It’s a Halloween theme that will be available for next Halloween. I have two stories in mind. One is a traditional Science Fiction story about a haunted spaceship. It will be appropriately creepy and also fit comfortably within the Science Fiction genre.

But, I also have an idea for a YA, or Young Adult story called “The Halloween I Saved The World.” It’s about an alien invasion that happens on Halloween. The kids have to save the world from the aliens. I don’t know if the editors will even consider two stories. It’s not often done in an anthology; allowing more than a single story by an author.

But, I’m also considering what name to submit it under. Would it “confuse” my readers if I were to write a YA story?

Probably not.

I think the better question is, “Might it be just a TOUCH early to be too worried about confusing my handful of readers?”

Absolutely.

Stay safe

October 7, 2022

Meet The Authors

Miscellany III authors to hold book signing

I wrote a book.

Well, I had some help.

It’s called Miscellany III A Collection of Holiday Short Stories.”

Several of us wrote a book. It’s full of short stories. I haven’t actually received my author copies, so I can’t really tell you if it’s any good. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be enjoyable. Many of us contributed to previous versions of Miscellany.

This version had two themes. First, all the stories have to involve the holidays. Second, they all needed an element of love. My story, “You Can Call Me Dan,” is set in Chicago at Christmastime. It’s about a man who falls in love with his neighbor and his computer gets jealous. (I write science fiction.) But, the stories cross genres. There are romance stories, adventure stories, even a horror story. . with a love theme.

You can order the book off of Amazon here.

But, if you are around Southern Utah tomorrow, you can meet myself and many of the other authors. We’ll be Shep’s Grill in Fountain Green, Utah from 11:00 am to 2:00pm. If you are out of the area, it’s probably too late to start now and arrive now. Fountain Green is about two hours South of Salt Lake City.

Why are we having a book signing in a tiny town in Southern Utah?

Well, because we wrote a book. Be silly to have a book signing if there weren’t a book.

Stay safe

October 6, 2022

A Brother I Only Knew For One Day

Ronald Price died last week.

You probably didn’t know Ronald. He was 89 years old. Ronald was a brother to me. I met him for one day. In fact, only a short hour on that day.

See, Ronald was a Mason. He’d been a Mason for over 50 years. He joined Masonry in Wisconsin. But, in 2013 he petitioned my lodge, Story Lodge #4 of Provo, UT.

I’m the chaplain for my lodge. Last year our secretary did some work and suggested I go visit or at least call our 50 year members. Ronald lived in Saratoga Springs, just a few miles from my house. I admit I put it off for weeks. Finally I called him. Ronald was pleasant on the phone and was happy to invite me to come visit him.

I drove around his neighborhood twice before I finally stopped and went to the door. His daughter answered. Ronald lived with his daughter and son-in-law. She escorted me downstairs where I met Ronald. The house was busy with kids and adults getting ready for dinner.

We talked for awhile. I told Ronald about the lodge. He was too sick to attend. Cancer. Stage 4. Ronald knew he was dying. He seemed at peace with it. I was out of challenge coins so I took him a Story Lodge 150 year anniversary pin. I brought him greetings and warm wishes from the worshipful master. I told him that the lodge missed him and that as chaplain, I’d be sure to pray for his health.

I didn’t stay long. And as I left I was very glad that I’d gone. Masonry was important to Brother Price. Even in his weakened condition he missed the opportunity to attend lodge meetings with us.

When he died, his wife knew that he’d want the lodge informed. But, she hadn’t been part of our interview. She searched for the name of the lodge, but there are many Masonic lodges in Utah. Finally, she remembered that I’d given him a pin. She found the pin and identified the name of the lodge from the pin. She then contacted the lodge secretary and informed him of Ronald’s passing.

Such a small thing, both literally and figuratively. To stop by and visit. Say hello. Share a memento of our anniversary year. And yet it made such a big difference. Ronald will no longer be on the roles of Story Lodge #4. He’s laid down his working tools and gone to the Celestial Lodge.

Until we meet again, brother.

Stay safe

Rodney M Bliss

Remember The Alamo? Let’s NOT

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Say It Like You Mean It

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False Fall Colors

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English Is Weird. . .Vowel Version

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I Don’t Care If I’m Right But This Is Ridiculous

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Utopia Comes To Pleasant Grove

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But It Doesn’t MEAN Anything!

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What’s In A Name?

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Meet The Authors

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A Brother I Only Knew For One Day

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