JUST A CHAPTER, NOT THE BOOK

When I was young I would read anything I could get my hands on, from the usual juvenile fiction to the more adult bestsellers of the time. There were several occasions when the librarian would have to call my parents to make sure it was ok for me to check out what she considered objectionable material for a youngster. To my parents credit they never denied me my bizarre requests.

As a child, I would get so wrapped up in the better tales that I felt invested in them and made them almost real in my mind. And sometimes, in that weird way that the ignorance of youth encourages, the stories would almost become real in my mind, and the best ones almost seemed to spill from between the covers to intrude upon my "real" world. I still remember how disturbed I would become if a chapter contained something upsetting, or made it appear that characters I cared about were going to meet sad fates. And sometimes they did, as occasionally the best stories don't necessarily have to have a traditional happy ending. But more often than not the subsequent chapters would steer my heroes or heroines to safer, calmer waters, and that without the chapter or two of menace or sadness, the final destination would not seem as well earned, or as satisfying.

This blog started as one thing, and then became something else much more satisfying. You see, I am not even the author per se, I am just recording the details, the book is actually writing itself.

As with any book, this one contains chapters. No one chapter should be the sum of the book. There should be chapters of happiness and love, some silly and inconsequential, some full of hope and mystery, and yes, some of anger, hurt and bitterness.

You see, again, I don't write the story, I just record the details. And as an imperfect author, ghost writing my own story, I am subject to the same human frailties as everyone else. But each and every chapter is real and honest, and to try to change or influence the chapter in any way would be dishonest.

So sometimes I sit here, recording instances of pain, hurt, or anger, but I think that even as I record these details I realize that the chapter is only a snapshot of rare importance, and not the story itself, and that these chapters are necessary to make the final story arc more satisfying and magical.

So while I won't or can't apologize for individual chapters, I do want to stress that, as the one recording these stories, the book itself is a beautiful, magical one, and while the ending is still unknown, it will be one of hope and triumph over a mundane world filled with angry, small people who live to destroy others.

I have no idea where or how this book will end, but I do know this- every chapter, every moment, good, bad, angry, happy- each and every one leads to an ending that will be glorious. And as is often the case in evolving books, even know, as this is being recorded, a wonderful new chapter is about to be written (which will be the subject of the next post).

So don't read too much into any one chapter, while what it may contain night be hard to read, it is only making the denouement so much more satisfying. Ulysses took years and underwent many trials and tribulations before returning to his beloved. If he had just been able to take a cab home it wouldn't have been much of a story.

The most rewarding thing is that this story has two protagonists, writing their book together. And because each reveres and loves the other, and each are willing to do anything for the other, it is indeed a story of true love, and while some of these stories end badly, this one will not, because that love is pure, strong, and primal, and nothing or no one will ever unbind the ties between us.

Until the next chapter......