The Writer's Life 10/10 - A Quarter Each

I've completed the first of what I hope will be only three phases before I submit my next novel to Create Space for self-publishing. This morning I added two segments. There are a few thoughts among the notes I'd taken since March that still have to be inserted somewhere in the narrative. That won't be hard. I will now let the file sit until November 1st. Here's one of the reminisces I added today. The two characters are riding in a car during the conversation:
“Oh – I almost forgot. Sal Barrato came into the bar last night.”
Tony reflected a moment. “His father was a police captain?”
“Right. He’s divorced and just started seeing a girl who lives nearby.”
“What’s he doin’?”
“Sanitation.”
Tony smirked. “Figures.”
“I was dying to bring up the incident in the lot, but I didn’t have the nerve.”
Again Tony pondered. “I don’t remember.”
Freddie twisted in his seat. “Come on! He never lived it down. We were all hangin’ out in that lot we used to call the Rocky Mountains. He was a little younger than us. He must’ve been twelve at the time. He had a little box of stick matches with him. It was hot as hell. The stalks were taller than we were and dry as tinder. The knucklehead set fire to one and pretty soon the whole lot was up in flames. I almost crapped my drawers.”
Tony’s eyes brightened. “Yeah? Now I know I wasn’t there. I would’ve remembered that.”
“He turned white as a ghost and begged us to help him put it out. We balked and he started crying. He looked at us and pleaded: ‘I’ll give yous a quarter each. My father’s gonna lose his job.” Freddie stamped his foot for emphasis the way Sal had so long ago. “We were laughin’ our asses off.”
Tony smiled broadly. “So what happened?”
“The fire burned itself out. I hadn’t seen him since I left for college. His family moved while I was away.”

Football coach Gary Anderson left Wisconsin despite a very respectable 20-7 record, irked that its tight academic standards hampered recruiting. He took the head job at Oregon St. and failed miserably, the team going 7-23. He was fired yesterday. In an unprecedented move, he waived the remaining $12 million of the salary due him. It's a noble gesture, but also points how highly (overly?) compensated major college coaches are.

RIP Jimmy Beaumont, 76, of the Skyliners, the beautiful lead voice of Since I Don't Have You, recorded in 1959, a great listen to this day. Surprisingly, given its popularity, it rose only to #11 on the pop chart. I'm sure it's sold millions through the decades, especially in digital downloads. I hope the group's members received royalties. The music industry was notorious for stiffing artists during the early days of rock n roll.

Spasibo to the three elderly folks, two gentleman and a lady, who bought four books in Russian between them, and to the middle age guy who purchased E. L. Doctorow's Ragtime, which he'd read in Russian while living in the old country. My thanks also to the woman who donated ten Danielle Steel novels in Russian.

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