I remember when my high school French teacher talked about us, her students, going to Paris some day.  I never believed it would happen.  So, I sampled her French onion soup and even ate an escargot or two, because I really never thought  I'd ever leave Ohio.  It just didn't happen back then.  I didn't know anyone who traveled.  Well, life has surprises.  Still, I traveled an awful lot of the world before I ever made it to Paris.  It took way too many years to get to the City of Lights.  But, when I finally made it to the heart of France, I again sampled French onion soup, a snail or two and even added crêpes Suzette in a café along the Seine to my discoveries.  I knew for certain that one trip was not going to be enough.  Of course, I wrote to my French teacher. 

She cried.

Paris has a web of underground metro trains that I found very confusing.  On my first visit, I frequently found myself going the wrong way.  But, I was in Paris and there was a continual smile on my face, no matter which direction I traveled.  One of my friends gave me instructions on how to get to my first stop, the Louvre.  Where else would an artist go?  When I reached one connecting point, he said it might be a good place to go above ground to find a place to eat.  So, I came up to the surface.  To my left was Notre Dame Cathedral and to my right was the Eiffel Tower.   Above were blue skies and I chucked the Louvre that day.  It was time to walk Paris.  And, it was a good move, too, because the rest of my stay in Paris was rainy and gray. 

So, my first stop in Paris was Notre Dame Cathedral.  I'd envisioned the isle on the Seine to be a garden with the cathedral tucked away in one small corner.  Silly me.  The place was a mass of concrete and elegant buildings.  But, the cathedral was simply beautiful.   And from there, I went on to explore so many historic monuments, museums, churches, restaurants and delights that Paris has to offer, even if you barely can communicate in French.  Sorry, Madame Heine.

That was my first trip.   I made many more trips to Paris when I lived in Belgium for nine years.  After all, it was just a day trip away, a frequent weekend destination.  Yep, that was life in Europe.
 
One of my friends in Belgium had the most amazing job.  François created and managed the website for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.  He called the place "the office".  How cool is that to have on your resume?  Whenever he went to Paris, they put him up -- for free -- in an apartment right next to the Cathedral.   He said that the morning bells blasted him from his bed.   Who had travel envy? 

That would be me.

Well, when he finally invited me to Paris with a free place to stay, he didn't have to ask twice.  And, he was right about the cathedral bells.  While my host spent Saturday at work on the cathedral's website, I went to see a museum expo featuring the works of Picasso and Matisse, which I had been dying to see.   And during his work that day, François heard the rector of the cathedral say, "I wish I knew an artist who drew cartoons that appealed to children."

Timing, as they say, is everything.  My friend said that he knew an artist and he just happened to bring him to Paris.  It's one of the few times I ever felt that I was in the right place at the right time.  Just as I strolled out of the exhibition, I got a phone call to come meet the rector.

So, I was on my way to Notre Dame and not as one of its million upon millions of tourists.  It's one thing to say you can draw, and it is certainly nice when your friend can put in a good word for you at a cathedral.  But, I arrived at Notre Dame with my website and clip art to show examples of my work.  I knocked the rector's socks off when he saw my art.  Well, that is if he wore socks under his robe.  Anyway, it's always nice to impress anyone, with or without socks, and I was hired.   I didn't know exactly what I'd be doing for the people at Notre Dame, but right away it was clear that I had what they wanted.  So, there would be even more trips to Paris for me also to work at "the office".

As it turned out, the project was to illustrate an interactive computer presentation that explained the history of the cathedral.  My cartoon was the host novice used throughout the presentation.  If that wasn't awesome enough, the rector made sure I got a private tour that included sitting at the cathedral organ, walking on the roof with gargoyles and a few other hidden passages that tourists don't get to see.  And one day when Gérard Depardieu happened to be in "the office", I was pulled into the rector's office for a meet and greet.  The whole experience in Paris was a piece of heaven on earth, which I guess, Notre Dame is supposed to be anyway, or it was until April 15, 2019.

Hopefully, it will be again soon.

There really hasn't been much to write home, or blog, about in February and March.  Yes, the polar vortex departed, but there still has been an abundance of cold, snow, rain, wind and gray in Buckeye Country.  I've stayed indoors and tried to remain warm.

While huddled in front of my computer, I've been in kind of a publishing mode.  I have two books in various stages of unusual publishing, a third in the process of illustrating and a fourth just waiting for me to work on.  It's kind of a new experience and a new direction for me.

I've mentioned the first two books before, but there is more to tell.  Once Upon West Africa is a collection of fifty Liberian folk tales that I collected as a Peace Corps Volunteer decades ago.  Over the years, I've edited, re-edited, added to and revised them.  And, a year or so ago, I illustrated them as well.  They've just been sitting around, gathering dust inside my computer and waiting to be discovered.  Recently I met a Liberian living in Columbus, Ohio.  He couldn't believe the treasure I've been sitting on.  He wants them in the hands of the one and a half million students in Liberia.  That's a big dream, bigger than I ever imagined.  I believe he's going to make that happen.

In recent weeks, we've passed the stories back and forth, editing and re-editing.  And, to eliminate 32 blank pages in the book, I had to expand 32 stories.  It really made them a lot better, too.  But, I have read all fifty stories at least six times in recent weeks.  My Liberian friend has read them about that much as well.  Every time I read them, I find mistakes.  Every time!  The text is surely 99.99% error-free by now.  But, it is just impossible for me to eliminate that other .01%.  I had no idea how hard it was to get about a hundred fifty pages perfect.  I'm sure they still aren't perfect, and that drives the perfectionist in me insane.

My other book, "Pick Me!" Cried Arilla, is a whole lot shorter.  I was so excited to have it written and illustrated, that I quickly printed off my own edition from an online company that prints individual books.  They print expensive books.  Very nice quality, expensive books.  I paid $42.00 to have one copy made.  And then, I realized that I really should have had someone else help me proof-read the book.  It really is very hard to proof-read my own writing.  My eyes know what I want to say and they kind of glide over the mistakes.  And, this $42.00 book had five errors in it.  Utterly maddening!

Arilla is currently in the works at a self-publishing house.  But, it's not the regular kind of self-publishing house.  Usually, if you do this, you get the books and are responsible for selling them.  If you aren't good at that (and I don't really think I am) you might have a large pile of books in your garage.  My book is being published by Elm Hill, a Christian book publisher associated with HarperCollins, one of the top five English publishers in the world.  Elm Hill will use their HarperCollins connections to help promote my book.  So, in my mind, it's a step above normal self-publishing.

I'm learning a lot in this whole process.  This week I attended a meeting of local writers and illustrators in the Columbus area.  Who knew there were enough for a meeting?  I didn't know what to expect and I certainly didn't get what I wasn't expecting.  It was a critique night.  Authors shared their stories and others in the group gave their advice.  Honestly, I never liked group work when I was a student.  Nothing has changed over the years.

I don't think I'm alone in that dislike.  The woman in charge said, "There's a good chance you won't agree with anything you're told in the group.  But, go in with an open mind.  You might find something you agree with later on when you think about it."  I was doubtful.

This group had their rules.  I know I'm great at reading my book.  It's something I know I do very well.  But, according to the rules, I had to pass my book to the left, to a woman who wasn't familiar with the text.  Of course, in my very biased opinion, she didn't do the story justice.  And, I honestly believe that very few people on the planet would read my story to my satisfaction.  You may think the word "diva" but don't say it aloud.

There was some praise (which I always love to hear) and some advise (which the woman in charge was right about.  I didn't agree with it).  The contact I have at Elm Hill told me my book was perhaps the best children's book to ever come across his desk.  I wasn't going to readily accept any criticism from people I didn't know.

And, then it happened.

One guy gave me advice that I really liked.  Drats!  Did I mention that I paid $42.00 for a beautifully made edition of my book?  Of course, I did!  My book was perfect as it was, except for those five typos.  I needed no advice, but I got it anyway.  And, I really liked it.

I don't really want to give the plot of my story away, but Arilla is a star and she wants to grow up to be part of a constellation.  However, she keeps getting overlooked in the selection process, hence "Pick me!" in the title.  The guy across the table said, "I want to know what Arilla did that finally got her picked.  What made her shine?"  (Yes, he really used the pun and I so appreciated it.)  I kind of had it implied, but it needed to be spelled out.

He didn't know how much I appreciated the suggestion and hated him at the same time.  It meant that I had to throw out four pages, write new text and re-illustrate it.  And, it made the book so much better and it probably is going to cost me another $42.00, unless I have the patience to wait three months on Elm Hill.  My favorite line in the story is now:
                                             So our little star learned the thing she should know
                                             and it gave her heart a warm heavenly glow.

I'm not going to tell you what she learned or how she made the change.  Buy the book.  It's a delightful read and beautifully illustrated.  If you have any doubts about that, just ask me. 

But, the cute little story makes me think.  If I want to shine, if I want a warm heavenly glow, if I want to be picked to do the job I'm meant to do, what are the things I need to learn?  What are the things I should know?  I think that's a question that we all need to ask ourselves.

In my last blog, I used a whole lot of Christmas carols.  And, Baby, It's Cold Outside!  There is a polar vortex whirling around Ohio right now.  Let me assure you, I do not belong in this kind of cold weather. 

I could'a been in the Caribbean!
I should'a been painting two murals in Jamaica!
I would'a been there most of January if it were not for the partial government shut-down.

So, instead of painting, sweating and mildly tanning in Caribbean sunshine, I've holed up in Ohio freezing, waiting and mildly muttering.  But, we all know what's supposed to happen to those who wait.  And, fortunately, a few good things have been going on in Ohio in addition to freezing temperatures and drifting snow.

Actually, thankfully, there hasn't been that much snow.  I once drove through a blizzard from Ohio to Kansas.  In Indiana, my car slid head-on, out of control, into a guard rail.  I was able to back the car out - with no damage - and continue on my foolish way.  In Illinois, visibility was near zero.  I didn't even see the truck from behind when it rear-ended me.  Of course, I felt it.  And, again, I could'a damaged my car.  I seriously should'a crunched something, but there was not even a scratch.  And finally, in Missouri, in the middle of the night, I had fuel line freeze up.  The truck driver who stopped to help me said, "I'm taking you to a hotel."  I could'a frozen to death if I stayed in my car.  Sometimes, you have to listen to your guardian angel (or trucker) and do what you're told.  I know, I should'a known that without this guidance.

I try to avoid blizzards these days.

Anyway, it's been cold in Ohio and I've stayed indoors.  But, let me tell you about a couple of the good things happening.

"Pick Me!" Cried Arilla    In recent weeks, one of my friends asked me, "Why don't you write your own kid's book?"  The only answer I've ever had for that question was that I didn't have an idea for one.  I've often been told that I write well enough to do this.  I seriously believed that illustrating a book would'a been easy for me.  It's kind of been on my bucket list long before I ever even heard of bucket lists.  So, when my friend urged me to consider the task, I thought about it and found the inspiration I needed.  And, since I had time on my hands and no desire to go outside, I illustrated the book while I should'a been in Jamaica. 

The inspiration for "Pick Me!" Cried Arilla centers around my grandmother.  I kind of think she would'a been flattered that I used her name and, at the same time, horrified that she was the center of attention for the story.  But, Grandma was the first artist in my family tree, and I thought I needed to honor her influence in my life.  So, like it or not, Grandma, this one's for you.

The story, in my very biased mind, is rather clever.  A school teacher reads a tale to her class about another school in heaven.  In that school, the Archangel Michael teaches stars all the skills they need to know in order to fulfill their purpose.  Of course, Arilla is one of those stars, but she is also one of the students in the library where the teacher is reading.  Illustrations on the Earth mirror what also takes place in the classroom in heaven.  I've never seen a book like that before, so I think it's unique.  And, if that isn't enough, it all rhymes!

Of course, now I have to figure out how to publish the book.  If I self-publish on the site where I've made coffee table books in the past, the price could be as much as a hundred dollars.  I don't think even the people who already love my writing and drawings would pay that price.  I wouldn't.  If I try to find a publisher, they usually don't accept unsolicited manuscripts.  An author needs an agent and a literary agent doesn't usually want to represent someone who is not published.  It's a difficult situation.   When I get it figured out, and the book is for sale, I will let everyone know.

Once Upon West Africa    Okay, I've never actually had any children's book published, but right now I also have a second one in the works.  I collected fifty folk tales from Liberia when I was in the Peace Corps, which was a long time ago.  After I revisited Liberia in 2016, I was inspired to illustrate the tales.  One of my connections at the U.S. Embassy thought it was a project that might qualify for a grant to get the stories into the hands of young Liberian readers.   That could'a happened, should'a happened, would'a been wonderful, but it didn't.  So, I've been sitting on these tales and their illustrations for quite some time.  I just needed the right connection to move the project along.

And, that connection came through CORVA, a Central Ohio Returned Peace Corps Volunteer group that meets monthly in Columbus.  It was through CORVA that I first heard about contacting U.S. Embassies for mural projects.  And, it was also at a CORVA gathering one night that two separate people told me that I needed to meet LeRoy, a Liberian living in Columbus.  I knew there were Liberians in central Ohio, but I'd never actually met one.
That was about to change.

LeRoy and I met up at a local restaurant.  I would'a preferred an African meal of cassava leaves, but I guess that is not to be found in Columbus.  If you want that dish, you have to go to someone's home.  LeRoy wasn't going to invite a complete stranger into his house for the first meeting.  (However, he did for our second meet-up, and the cassava leaves were so delicious.)

My new Liberian friend has his own N.G.O. called Village Improvement Project that does development work with rural Liberian communities.  So, of course, I was interested in what he's doing.  I dream of an extended stay in Liberia painting community murals across the country.  Fortunately, LeRoy was just as pleased about meeting me.  He couldn't believe I've had this treasure of Liberian folk tales so many years.  He said that they should'a been in the hands of Liberian readers a long time ago.  And, LeRoy has experience and connections that could bring this about. 

Currently, plans are in the works to find a grant that could sponsor this project.  And, while that is going on, the tales are getting a final editing.  It is next to impossible to write something as long as a book without some mistakes.  It's truly maddening.  Unfortunately, I find it next to impossible to edit my own writing.  My eyes gloss over errors because they "see" what should'a been on the paper all along. 

We've already discussed printing with a publisher in Columbus.  It won't be that long before a couple of sample copies are in our hands.  It's actually going to happen!  I've been contacted by the U.S. Embassy in Liberia for a return muraling experience.  It, too, was put on hold by the partial government shut-down.  But, now, I'm seriously hoping that when I do return to Africa, I'll have a few samples of the book to share with the people I meet along my path.   And, if you remember my friend Daniel, the principal of the school in Parken, his students will be among the first young readers in Liberia to receive copies of Once Upon West Africa.

It almost makes it all worth while waiting through a polar vortex.

Christmas came early this year.  When December 25th finally rolls around, there will be no Dreaming of a White Christmas.  There will be no need to Haul out the Holly.  Nobody will have to Deck a Hall or trim a tree.  (Okay, to be honest, the tree was decorated weeks ago.)  But, I have no need to stuff a stocking, hear a Sleigh Bell Jingle, Dash through the Snow (or mall), Repeat the Sounding Joy, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Make the Spirits Bright, care about who's Naughty or Nice, Jingle All the Way or give one hoot about a Fa, La, La at all.  No, like I said, Christmas came early and I already have enough to make my Days Merry and Bright. 

I had a trip to the ho - ho - ho - spital.

I know, nobody wants that under their Christmas tree.  But, consider the alternatives.  It could have been a very long Silent Night.  My blood pressure was out of control.  It was Up on the Housetop - or higher - with stroke numbers.  It didn't help that my blood pressure cuff was really inaccurate.  (Hopefully, the replacement was made by a much more skillful elf.) 

It wasn't like I was ignoring the problem.  I've been going to the doctor for months, trying new prescriptions and dosages in an attempt to correct things.  They just weren't working like they should.  I was asked about a list of symptoms (that I didn't have) but advised that if I had a headache, nausea, vomiting or dizziness, to jump in my sleigh, red PT Cruiser or ambulance and get to an emergency room right away.  And, the day after my last medical visit (actually that very night), I had the beginning of a headache that just didn't want me to have any Peace on Earth.  It was a "hold your head in bed" kind of an ache.  By the next afternoon, it was time to go Away in a Hospital and forget the Manger.  It was probably well past that time.

Still, I wasn't totally sure if going to the hospital was the right thing to do.  But, when the blood pressure machine registered 229/112, it set off an alarm and the doctor said I made the right choice.  Joy to the World!

This Christmas gift included an ambulance ride and an overnight in the hospital.  But, I've been home a few days, my numbers are terrific and All is Calm, All is Bright.  I'm not sure if the Weary World Rejoices, but I certainly am.  This Christmas gift did not include a lot of things that can be the result of a stroke.  It's a long list that includes paralysis, problems with speech, language, swallowing and eating, reduced cognitive ability, visual problems, loss of ability for self-care, behavioral changes and - most certainly - depression.  There is also the possibility of coma or death.  None of those bring Good Will To Men or add even one Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum to your Christmas cheer.  But, I have none of those "gifts" so it Tis the Season to Be Jolly!

It truly feels like a second chance in life when I didn't even know the first chance was about up.  I know my guardian angel always works overtime.  I just didn't realize I had to make him work so hard close to home as well in far corners of the globe.  I plan to sing Hark, the Herald Angels Sing with a little more gusto this year.

There are so many things that I'm looking forward to in the coming year.  I have international mural projects in the works for both the Caribbean and Africa!  If that isn't enough to give you a Holly, Jolly Christmas, I don't know what will do it for you.  In the coming months, I have the idea for a children's book that I want to illustrate.  When it comes out, please Go Tell It on the Mountain.

But for now, I plan to sit back and enjoy the season.  After all, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  My tree is up with the latest set of ornaments I've created.  This year's set are alligator eggs, so the theme was naturally, "See You Later!"  I've illustrated each one with destinations around the world that I hope to see later.  Visiting any or all of them would be wonderful, but none of them were on my list for All I Want for Christmas.  I already have that.  I have my health and a chance to go forth and continue doing some amazing things in the coming year.  I don't need anything else.

When December 25th rolls around in your corner of the planet, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.  I don't need anything else.  I'm blessed enough as it is, just a little early.