Argh!

Trying to write dialog into a Corpsman Chronicle. I've got the whole thing done, really, but great big swaths of the dialog just suck!

That's all good, really, because it's something new I'm trying and I'm discovering a few things.

Dialog really needs to be (imo) tight with lots of punch, and it's got to convey a lot of information. All of the stuff you get in a conversation, especially the tone, flavor, context, and the non-verbal stuff.

It's a lot harder than I anticipated.

The biggest problem so far -- and I think I've mentioned it before -- is getting back into my twenty-something mind. Sometimes I can get there easily, sometimes it's very hard. And writing from that youngster's mind is guaranteed make it vanish in a puff of smoke.

But I'm fighting through it and I'll win out in the end. Might even be a better writer for it, who knows?

Given the abject failure of my early morning attempts, I gave up and headed out to knock down a mild hike before heading over to Scottsbluff with Mom.



By the time I was trudging along the glaciers on the north side of a windbreak I was feeling much better about my lot in life. The morning was very springlike and pleasant, there were grouse everywhere, and I was joined by Swainson's Hawks. Just gorgeous.



On the west side of a windbreak Red and I kicked up a coyote. We had the wind, so Red knew just what it was and wanted to challenge it. Well, maybe she did. Kinda. The coyote couldn't scent us so it wasn't exactly sure if we represented trouble or not. It was a cool little interlude.



A while later I began to get very hungry.



Then I had a good Eddie Murphy laugh.



Can you believe ol' Cosby was known to be the sweetest, nicest, most perfectest guy of all time back then?

At the end of my mini-hike I'd done 6.91 miles. It was a great hike and just what the doctor ordered.

Mom and I went to Scottsbluff to get dog treats and to have lunch. Mostly to have lunch. We went to Ole Fine Mexican Dining, which I think of simply as Ole's. They were very busy but the service was fantastic. As was the food. They make their own salsa and chips in house. Mixing the red and green (Christmas!) yields the best chip dip ever.

Mom had a Quesadilla with all the fixin's including fresh in-house pico.

I had the Enchaladas Rancheras. Man was it good. Best Mexican I've had since visiting Avila's in LA.

Of course it was way too much food and of course I ate it all, so no need to eat tonight or tomorrow. Maybe Sunday too.

When we got home I let the chickens out of their enclosure, just to see what would happen and how they would react. About a third of them routinely fly over the fence when they feel the urge, and fly themselves back in when they feel like it. But the other two-thirds had never been out before. I think they liked it.



They went back in pretty easy when it was oatmeal time. Mom feeds them a big pan of freshly cooked oatmeal and scraps every afternoon. They really like that. They may be the only chicken flock in the world with their own chef.

So spring is here two weeks early, at least according to the calendar. There will be plenty more cold and snow. Some of our biggest snowstorms and blizzards come in April and May. But that doesn't mean it isn't spring!

Be well and embrace the blessings of liberty.