Take the Journey

Not Journey the band. I wish! I really like “Wheel in the Sky” from the boys at Journey including lead vocalist Steve Perry. But wait, if Steve Perry was their lead vocalist, who’s this guy?

Oh, right. He’s the Journey vocalist after Steve Perry left when their albums sucked. That makes sense that he’s playing a free concert locally. Hard pass from me.

But that’s not the journey I’m writing about. I want to get a little contemplative and explore why I am writing this blog and why you may be reading it.

I did two things over the past weekend that I normally don’t do, and it should comes as no surprise to anyone that neither involved personal hygiene or good grooming. I entered a short story contest and sent in a movie audition video. I stumbled across the short story contest, and I even blogged about it. As for the movie audition video, I sent in a headshot, and they sent me a script.

I don’t expect to win with the short story I submitted. It’s unpublished and one of half a dozen, half-written, half-assed stories I have knocking around for my next book of short stories as a follow-up to my current award-winning book of short stories. The story I chose is called “Mount Driveway,” and was sort of complete except for integrating my editor/cousin’s suggested changes and rewriting a couple parts. It’s not the greatest story I have ever written, but it’s sweet, heartwarming, and funny. My editor/cousin called the humor organic. I think she meant that it wasn’t forced, although she may have been referring to the joke about composting I included.

I looked at the date of the last time I had touched the story, and it was one year ago. One year and I haven’t completed another one. That saddened me. As I put the finishing touches on “Mount Driveway,” I realized how much I had missed creating actual stories. I used to write early in the morning, and now I exercise in that time slot. I have to find a way to do both.

I don’t expect to be chosen for a speaking part in a feature film, regardless of whether it is indie or not. There’s the whole lack of talent and training issue that limits me. But it was a fun experience. My middle daughter read the other parts with me, and we had 30 or 40 minutes of fun. Submitting the audition videos also gave me a chance to throw my hat in the ring as a non-speaking background extra, a role I was made for.

My point in this blog post is to take the journey. Write that story or chapter of a book. Paint that picture. Run for public office. Record that song. Start that small business with one listing on ebay. Sculpt that ashtray. Or maybe just reconnect with that child/parent/relative/former friend. Take another step forward on that journey of creating something, tangible or not. Not because of the destination or any prize at the end. Go and enjoy the actual journey, and by that I don’t just mean the Journey with Steve Perry as lead vocalist. I know I enjoyed my little journey to both nowhere and somewhere special last weekend.