milk truck

I watched again a movie I like
THE CLOCK (1945) for the scene
with the milk truck. I have a milkman
in my 1942 book also driving around
at dawn.

book becoming

I've been busy these last few weeks
getting my next GOOD DEED RAIN book
ready for publication. It's a mighty big
poetry collection, currently at the printer.
Slowly the wheel is turning...Stay tuned...

clown

My 1942 book is all typed up now.
I hope to proof it this weekend.
Here's a picture from the 1942
Herald, showing 3 of the stars
of Clown Alley. One of these
stars plays a part in my book.

zen read

When I went to see poet Sam Green read
I spotted this book in the Buddhist section,
THE DUDE AND THE ZEN MASTER.
There's some good stuff in it.

saint lemonade checkouts

SAINT LEMONADE is checked out from
the Bellingham Public Library and also
continues to be checked out at Wilson Library.
Good news, people are reading it. Thank you!
I'm currently working with Mike
to get our next big poetry collection
published next month.

watermelon tiger

Reading Carl Sandburg's ROOTABAGA STORIES
I found another page that reminded me of
Richard Brautigan's IN WATERMELON SUGAR,
the watermelon and the tiger.

air raid ending

Here’s a picture of Big Ole, the steam whistle 

used in Bellingham during World War 2 as 

an air raid siren. It currently resides on the roof 

of the Steam Plant here at WWU. It’s still used 

a few times a year. Very loud! My 1942 book 

ends with this thing going off.

when wind blows it away

I just finished reading SO THE WIND 

WON’T BLOW IT ALL AWAY, one of 

my favorite Richard Brautigan books. 

I’m amazed how he plays with time in 

this and also his last novel, AN 

UNFORTUNATE WOMAN. It would 

be interesting to draw a timeline of those 

stories. Speaking of time, this is the 

date due card from SO THE WIND…

Libraries don’t often use these stamps 

anymore (a lot of libraries are growing

more and more against paper) 

but I love seeing these cards.

I’ve been reading Carl Sandburg’s 

ROOTABAGA STORIES.

This page from Sandburg almost 

skips ahead in time to echo 

Brautigan’s title. 

100 pages typed

I typed my 1942 book all weekend, listening 
to 1940s music. I'm up to 100 pages typed. 
It's nearly there. Then I just need to proof it. 
There's a beautiful map drawn for it too. 
It will have the look of an old children's book. 
I'm really excited about it. I actually miss 
not having that notebook in my pocket writing it. 
However, I do have an idea for a 1962 book that 
I've been thinking about for ages, so that will 
spring when it's ready. 

8:50 PM

next crop

Now the dandelions have gone
to seed, buttercups are everywhere

rootabaga stories

I couldn't resist mentioning
Carl Sandburg's ROOTABAGA
STORIES in my 1942 novel.
The librarian suggests it to the
boy in the story.

Bill Peet

I just remembered Bill Peet
drew great pictures for his book
ELLA. Here he is at a circus in
the early 1940s, the same time
my book takes place!

draft done

I finished the rough draft
of my 1942 book. Today
I also met with Fred who
drew the amazing map
for the first page.
It's going to be a beauty.

Radio Steamship

Watched Woody Allen's RADIO DAYS
again. Way back when this movie first
showed, my friend Neal and I would
drive to Portland each night to see it
again and again. My 1942 novel has
a lot of radio and music and movies
in it too.

so the wind

I'm getting closer to the end of my novel
and I've been rereading one of my favorite
Richard Brautigan books, SO THE WIND
WON'T BLOW IT ALL AWAY.
There's even a 1942 postcard in
his book, which ties into something
that just happened in my book.

tonight at the Mt. Baker

72 years ago, MOONTIDE was playing here.
Tonight we'll be seeing Steve Martin

Great show, Steve! Though he did
refer to the Mt. Baker Theatre as
"a roadside honkytonk."
Excellent band and great to
see Edie Brickell again.

empress tree

The empress tree outside my window at work
First the flowers bloom then the leaves.

moontide movie theater

The boy and girl in my 1942 novel
snuck into the Mt. Baker theater
walking in the balcony light of
Moontide, looking for someone.

book with a story

This is the amazing book I had the honor of repairing.

The wooden cover is hand carved. It was acquired by

an American stenographer who was at the Nuremburg

trials in post WW2 Germany. Someone in those ruins

had to part with it for food or coal.