Return to Writing

While working in the garden, hiking on the trail, cooking, or resting, I’m thinking about my return to writing once the garden is planted. It is particularly important to finish the second book this year and then decide whether or not to put both books in places where people can buy them in 2026. Having a schedule is part of the process. Doing the actual writing is another.

I mentioned that a chronological narrative beginning with arrival in Big Grove Township is not appropriate to this part of my autobiography. On May 25, I wrote:

Up to the time we moved back to Iowa in 1993, a chronological narrative seemed appropriate. Beginning here, in this place that was a vacant lot when we arrived, life got complex to an extent a time-based narrative doesn’t really capture those 32 years. There was no single narrative.

There are some stories I want to tell. Family life after the move back to Iowa is important. My work in transportation and logistics after 1993 covered a lot of territory, yet I want to reduce this to some major stories along with a summary of all I did after returning to Big Grove. Work has been important in my life, so a long chapter about that is in the offing. Becoming empty nesters was a profound change and that merits its own chapter. There was a long period when our child lived in Colorado and Florida, which made frequent visits difficult. My work in environmental activism, on the board of health and in the local food system all are worthy topics with personal meaning. When the money ran out in 2013, and how I coped with that seems important. There is a lot here, yet a lot gets left out by covering these topics. Sorting through all this has been on my mind.

Another writing-related thing is answering the question, What to do about Substack? I don’t post frequently there, but when I do, I get a lot of organic views, more than I do here. Now that the print service I was using to make hard copies of this blog went out of business, I haven’t found a suitable replacement, and maybe it is a good time to move. More on this topic as the summer continues.

Editor’s Note: Still planting the garden and making short posts as I can. It won’t be long before I’m back to normal posting.