Archive for April, 2014

I’m still close enough to my product (vis-à-vis my books) that I actually pay attention to what reviewers write in their comments. I’ve gotten a thick skin over the obvious things: the explicit sex scenes, the complaints about the curse words, the ick factor with some of the murders, even the editing. But I was thrown for a loop recently when someone pointed out that Bernice’s morals were in contradiction to her going to church.

This is not an apology, by the way. This is an explanation.

From my experience these past few decades of attending church, I’ve made some interesting observations concerning people’s reasons for attending.

I’ve made note of those steadfast followers who attend very regularly, but they never look happy about it. It’s like church is simply a way to reenforce their own self-righteousness. They are the “right kind of people” because they go to church faithfully every Sunday. It gives them carte blanche to pass judgement on others who don’t follow their strict moral code. I even recall as a child, watching these same people put money in the offering plate, and when they went to leave, look up at the ceiling like they were telling God: “There ya go….You’re welcome.”

I’ve also made note of the churchgoers who look rather desperate in their pew. These are the parishioners who are experiencing pain, and they are going to church to find hope. They are looking for solace in the words, for some sign that if they just hold on, just keep trusting that their faith will carry them through, that life will straighten itself out. That feels like a good reason to go to church to me, but I don’t always see these folks stay consistent in their attendance after the crisis has passed.

Then there are the “traditionalists.” Going to church is a custom, and it is usually done in conjunction with other social gatherings: weddings, funerals, baptisms, and the holidays: Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, etc.

Now, how does this translates to the characters in my books?

Well, Darlene is the self-righteous one. She goes to church like her parents went to church. Bernice went to church while she was on the farm to placate Darlene, and to see other people from time to time. Bernice’s feelings about God and organized religion in general have not really been touched on in the books. Neither have Agent Wyatt’s. Cameron comes from a Baptist background, but it’s obvious in his behavior that he doesn’t live by a strict moral code either.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, people attend worship services for reasons that have virtually nothing to do with their level of faith. If you choose to be outraged by that, so be it. I tend to believe a person’s behavior toward others should be the measure of their moral stature, not their personal vices. The last time I checked, we’re all sinners.

To break the Third Commandment in a really blatant way,”Oh my Lord Jesus and all that is holy in this world, it has been a LONG ASS WINTER!”

Here in the Great State of Wisconsin (and the upper Midwest in general), it will go down as the coldest winter in seventy-five years. That’s a very long time. In 2013, we only had four months when it didn’t snow. It snowed until mid May and started right up again in late September. That’s just nuts. But once the snow started again, it just wouldn’t stop. And if it wasn’t snowing, it was twenty below zero. I wish I were exaggerating, but I’m really not. Between the middle of November and the beginning of March, we had maybe two days when it got above freezing.  We have fifty days below zero.

Me and mine made it through all right, but there were people I knew that were close to living in “Little House on the Prairie” conditions. People whose wells froze and they had to melt snow for washing and basic toilet type functions. People whose sewers froze, and I probably don’t need to elaborate on that. There were desperate liquid propane shortages, something most rural people depend on for heat. Some people were able to switch to other, less glamorous methods of not freezing to death in their sleep, but even those began to be harder to get. People literally ran out of fire wood. Firewood needs to be cut and stored at least one year before use, and people just didn’t count on winter being so cold for so long.

March stayed below zero until the third week. It snowed a foot last week. but FINALLY, it was mid sixties yesterday, above average for a very pleasant change. And as the stubborn snow began to melt, I did what I do every year and stared down my flower beds to see if anything at all was green.

I was pleasantly surprised. Some of my Thyme was still green (tough as nails even in Zone 3b and super drought resistant. Full sun, 6 inches high, and bursts of pink flowers in the summer, plus you can pick it for cooking. Highly recommended). So was my  low growing Sedum (Luuuuv Sedum). My Strawberries are still alive, and my Dianthus, Geraniums, and Creeping Phlox looked quite happy hiding under the oak leaves and peeking out at me.

But I got really excited when I saw the bulb spikes. I’m not an organized enough person to remember what type of bulb I planted where last fall, but there were some lovely pale green spikes poking up in front of my pallet fence, and I actually squealed when I saw them…like a little girl getting a pony or something.

Because after making it through this insanely long and cold winter, I deserve to squeal with joy. Welcome Spring! Stick around a while, why don’t ya?