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Health & Fitness

The Gestation Period for a 'Published' Writer

It may take you 75 years but your dreams can come true. Just ask this writer.

There are some subject matters that are just plain "taboo" when mixed genders are gathered around the fireplace, the dining room table or at the Anaheim Ice/Hockey Rink.

I, personally, find it delightful that Hockey Moms (and other sports-minded ilk) of my acquaintance tend to feel they can break the "rules of societal convention" in the conversational area in today's more liberal or relaxed society; wherein, Hockey Dads, on the other hand, band together (hey, when a Hockey Mom is immersed in record keeping, supplying drinks, cookies and band aids to the team, scheduling family outings around future hockey games, who has time to comply with that four-letter word "cook"?) to discuss how to fix the Thanksgiving turkey in one of those new deep-fry contraptions you can find at your nearby Kohl's or, perhaps, ask around who has the best recipe for Creme Brulee, and, yes, the best use of duct tape?  Like across the once-shy Hockey Team's Mom's mouth when her kid is taking a skull-numbing hit off the end of an opponent's lethal hockey stick. (You ever see a Mother Bear in attack mode?  Kinda like that.)

When I was active in my local PTA's and other stuff when my own three kids were of school age, it was considered beyond the dictates of good taste to ask, especially in a chiding tone: "Is that really a Paula Young Wig?" ..."Now tell me, how much do you actually weigh (or drink...or smoke...or gamble...or cheat)?" And the most cutting of questions ever..."And how is that working for you?"  Bless you, Dr. Phil, for perhaps the most cogent of all questions of this century.  (Personally, I like..."Was it on sale at Kohl's and what was your discount?")

The question put forth recently to the Hockey Moms gathered at the Anaheim Ice Rink really put me to thinking. The question: "What animal has the longest Gestation Period?"

A Hockey Dad piped up (these are erudite family men, to wit: a doctor, an advertising executive, an Internal Revenue civil servant, two teachers among others) and I think it was the rocket scientist who offered: "690 days for one of Ceyla's six baby elephants!"

Of course, the Hockey Moms (and others of their ilk) were duly impressed and upon returning home, I looked up on Ask.com, just to be sure, and sure enough the wannabe naturalist was right. And for purposes of this Blog and just for fun, I looked up information for the "Blue Whale" and found the Gestation Period to be one year, three months longer than that of any of the Hockey Moms who would have you believe their Gestation Period was...forever!

The point I am trying to make here is that these blessed events take time, these "new births at the end of Gestation Periods."

Just for comparison's sake, for me it took a "Gestation Period of some 75 years" to realize a dream come true, a dream that was conceived when I was ten years of age and submitted an Essay on one Abraham Lincoln, the Young Backwoodsman, the Rail Splitter, the Young Man Who Walked Miles to Return Forgotten Change, The Young Lawyer from Springfield, Illinois, the 16th President of the United States, and he had a little something to do with the Emancipation Proclamation!

A good ten pages, handwritten as I did not have access to anything but a No. 2 pencil, and sheets of Woolworth's notepaper upon which I poured my deep and undying love for this Backwoodsman!

I did not notice the facial wart until much later, but I doubt that it would have made any difference in my degree of affection for this man - less than 20-20 eyesight can be a good thing sometime! Even today!  (I personally doubt that his wife, Mary, had for him the kind of adoration I held buried secretly away in my humble heart until today!)

A lot of writers my age are retired, should be retired or no longer among us. Call me a "late, late bloomer" but as recently as last October on Facebook,  Melinda Henneberger, lately Editor of Politics Daily and now a Times Magazine contributor, found me at the age of going-on-86 and gave me something that no one else could: space in her online newspaper for a story covering the history of Hitchcock House in Southwest Iowa!  I love that small town Illinois-born woman, but not as much as I love Honest Abe, but she will understand: there's just "something" about a Rail Splitter!

75 years spent in writing letters overseas to four brothers during World War II, writing the humor column and human interest stories for the AHS's newspaper, The Needle, letters to young classmates of the year 1943 who were in the Service, to Mom in Atlantic, Iowa, after Del and I moved to California, stacks of church and preschool newsletters at my place of employment, 20 plus years of publicity news releases and newsletters for three PTA's, a year's worth of "Portrait of a Teacher" column for our school district (and listen to this, at least two teachers told me they were promoted within a short time of their "Portrait" being printed in the local community paper) over 67 years of personal reminders for Class Reunions and three self-published booklets spotlighting their lives, the annual Family Christmas Letter...this unpaid "on-the-job" training probably is just about the equivalent of the four years of Journalism at the University of Iowa I so dearly wanted to pursue following graduation. But, as I have often said, life has a way of happening, and I am just really pleased with the way Romans 8:28 spells it all out for me!

Melinda told me once that she knew of someone dear to her who, late in life, pursued her dreams with great success. Hardly knowing me at all except for an occasional post, in telling me that, Melinda encouraged me in the only way that I could wrap my heart around...just keep writing, pursue my dream.

I had found a dream earlier in the form of blogging (and from which many of these blogs are lifted) where I aimed to write "from the heart with an attitude of Thanksgiving" as long as there are people like my wonderful Facebook Friends,  friends and family in Iowa who try to keep track of their Auntie in this manner.

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Parlaying two years of Journalism as taught by Mrs. Grace Busse into now blogging for Arcadia Patch  was a long shot as "they" would say at the local Santa Anita Race Track.   I wonder if "Old Moll" saw that in her Crystal Ball when she was foretelling and prophesying. I am betting part of my Social Security on "Win!"

If there is a lesson or moral in this Blog that "says" something to you, take it from me, who took it from Melinda Henneberger...pursue your dream. It is out there waiting for you. Have patience...not all Gestation Periods are the same. I refer you to the Prolific Easter Bunny Rabbit - 33 days; Minnie and Mickey Mouse - 20 days (each); Gilbert (Alan and Molly Cranston's  lordly cat) - 62 days; and Sadie - ruler over all my domain - 65 days, but, again, who's counting!

All those cute little Hockey Moms I know personally have managed to fit in from one to six Gestation Periods. And as long as those handsome Hockey Dads serve up a nicely caramelised Creme Brulee, I don't see that changing any time soon!

Personal aside to daughter Dana...a Hockey Mom who really does understand all those complicated Rules and Regulations of Hockey: Now do you know why I (one of those of like-minded  ilk) asked that "Gestation Period" question? 

 

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