Neil A. Waring's Blog

When I was born, my life expectancy was just under 65 years. Today, for people like me born in the late 1940s, life expectancy is around 73. Born today, and life expectancy jumps to 76 and a half. Here I am at 78 and still living on.

    One of my favorite things - speaking to a nice group of peopleNo one ever told me how much I would hurt, joints mostly, as we age. My older brother used to say, "I'm not sure how I should feel at my age, I've never been this old before." And that fits perfectly. Aches and pains, but still doing lots of things every day. I hurt before and then worse afterward, but I'm still working on projects, playing golf, gardening, hiking, and walking, and enjoying life. I have learned that Tylenol can fix most of what ails me.
For anyone reading who is near the twilight time of life, I hope you are doing well and loving beating the odds and growing older. Every morning, I walk, eat a nice breakfast, and then spend some time sitting in the sun or, on warm days, in the shade. Sadly, after that, I watched a bit of the news, limited to about 40 minutes. Afternoons are for hobbies and projects and some YouTube favorites; evenings, and sometimes into the late hours, are for writing and editing.                                             My 14 books

Now it is time to go back to work on my three WIPs, yes, three books going at the same time. Call me crazy, and some do, but it keeps me young!

 Writing-It has been a long time – too long, but I have ordered a proof copy of mynewest book. Health problems set me back many times, but finally, it wascompleted. Funny when good health came back how much I could, once again, do.  This book, entitled Morning Walk, is mythird book for and about senior living.

The first two, On Turning 70 andElderly, sold enough copies for me to forge on and, at last, finish thisone. It's good that I did, as I have another in the works, although it is moreof a memoir than the previous three.

So,what's next? I am in the final edit of my third BladeHolmes western. I have said that before, but I neverfinished the edits. This time, I believe I will.

Itis always the weather. Cold weather has kept me mostly inside,which has been good for my writing. I don't know how much I will get done inthe world of writing when April comes along, with its suitable weather forgardening and golf.

"Writing is just work—there's no secret."    -   Sinclair Lewis

Today'sphotos are from my morning walks the past few days.

Enjoythe rest of the month, and keep reading and writing.

 Looking Ahead

It is getting so closeto the end of 2024 that many are already considering 2025 resolutions. Nevermind; I don’t do them, but if you do, great. Change for the goodis never bad, and isn’t that what resolutions are all about?

Looking back on 2023 -here are a few things I have learned.

 Itnow seems unlikely I will get my followers on X to the one millionnumber. Being short by a little over 998,000 after over a decade, it mightbe time to give up—not give up Twitter—X, but give up on trying to drumup more of a following. I have not tried too hard, and my numbers show it.

Engagingin any online politics is not only a waste of time but might also harm ourhealth. (worry, worry, worry) I occasionally comment, but let's face it, no onewill change their mind when any of us disagrees with a political post. It isgood for a smile or laugh some days; otherwise, not much good comes of it.

SayingI will write or edit more next year is not enough—I guess I will really need to do it.

If independent writers want to sell books, it takes work.

Andthis is the last one—my resolution for 2025 – I will finally publish the twobooks I have completed, even if that is all I get done in the world of writing.

 

Today’s Photos– All taken within ten miles of our home in East-Central Wyoming.

“I’m writing a book.I’ve got the page numbers done.”    

StevenWright

Happy New Year! Keep on writing, editing, reading, and, most of all, publishing and raking in all that money.

 

 

 

Writing -After a couple of years of low output, I am once again rollingalong. Yep, I am writing, editing, and working on a new book cover. With a bitof luck, I might get something published in 2025.

Weather- We are experiencing a mild winter so far. We have been getting more wind thanI like, but most days are reaching close to 40 degrees with an occasional 50.It was so mild, in fact, that I played golf several days last week.

The early sunsets makeit seem like the days are shorter, which, according to the calendar, they areas far as sunlight is concerned.

Books- Tonight, I should have the third book in my series for seniors ready to sendto my first readers.

Walking- I'm still getting in my morning walks. A skiff of snow slowed me down todaywhen I was on hard-surfaced roads. Luckily, most of my walking is on gravel,which is much safer for an old guy like me.

Today’s Photos– From my walks and drives nearby. 

Have a great rest ofthe month. Make sure to finish your Christmas shopping soon. Meanwhile, keep onreading and keep on writing.

 

Writing Thought from Someone Famous - “Get it down. Takechances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.” William Faulkner

Long Time- As I say each time, it's been a while. No, I'm not dead; I'm just notactively writing much. In the past few days, I have started to edit one of myfinished projects, hoping to get to the final edit done stage. Maybe I'mback. 

What am I Doing?I am staying busy, working on putting my yard and gardens to bed for the winter,and still spending some time out with my cameras. It is always fun.

Staying Busy- I found myself following more of the news as we went through another electioncycle. My hope for the new administration is that prices will stop going up. Iwould love to see them drop, but I have lost hope for that. 

Keeping Fit- Still working on staying physically active and making sure to get my dailywalks in. On that note, I am ready to create a cover for my book on seniorwalking/fitness. Yes, that one is done. 

Western Writing- My Blade Holmes western mystery, book 3 of the series, should be out thisspring. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. 

With my Camera- Photos today are from my morning walks this month.

Writing Quote of theDay- “You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences andthe creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, andreading is the finest teacher of how to write.” — Annie Proulx.

Random thoughts today - 

Where has this month and the summer gone? It's hard to believe it's already the last day of July. Here in Wyoming, we have been warm and dry, as normal, but maybe a bit dryer than the past two or three years.

I continue to work, halfheartedly, on some of my finished books. Someday I will reach the level of polish that I want before I reach the satisfaction I need to publish. Meanwhile, I spend too much time working on covers for the two books closest to completion.

I have been spending some time in the mountains, but my outside hours are curtailed presently as we have a huge fire that got within two miles of town yesterday. We are safe, but lots of smoke. 

It seems I am spending more time writing on X and Facebook than I do on my fiction and nonfiction. Oh well—I guess I am still writing something. 

Photos from around my little part of the world this month.

"I need this wild life, this freedom." Zane Grey

Sometimes,it is difficult to get back. But, slowly, I am. For the past two weeks, I havebeen both writing and editing some works I have finished but not polished. Odd,but I thought they were finished, but I couldn’t get myself to publish. Thereason was simple – they were not ready. Why? They were not good enough. I still had work to do and knew it. Now, I seem to be rolling along and, best ofall -  enjoying it.

We have been busyenjoying summer company and doing some traveling ourselves. After physicalcomplications kept me off the golf course for two years, I am also back at itagain.

Enjoy your summer!

Photos today from ouradventures over the past week here in beautiful Wyoming.

And Off We Go - We are off andrunning now - it's already the second week of January. For us, that means cold,and it's coming. Nighttime lows down to -20 this weekend, and right now, we arewaiting for the furnace man to show up. We have good space heaters and a gasfireplace, so we are not in any danger, but that makes for some hot and somecold rooms. Oh, how I like my creature comforts.

Edits Never End - have beenspending about two hours a day editing, for the final time, my third book forolder readers. This one follows On Turning 70 and Elderly. Titled Morning Walk,it is a physical and mental well-being book. As usual in this series, I try toadd as many antidotes, stories, and jokes as I believe my readers can stand. Gettingold is many things, even, at times, funny. I have put this one away so manytimes, but now it is starting to grow on me, looks like a go. 

MorningWalk -  an excerpt fromchapter 2. 

Walkingis as close to the perfect exercise as will ever be found. We can do itanywhere and at any time of the day - other than a good pair of shoes, nospecial equipment is needed.  I walk in blue jeans or khakis with at-shirt or a hoodie in cooler weather.  In warm weather, it’s shortsand a tee shirt.  I see people dressed like me, and I see peopledressed to the nines in the latest fashion for runners andwalkers.  For younger readers, dressed to the nines is something frommy childhood and teen years. Not sure why it made a comeback in the 50s and60s, as the term goes back about 200 years.  My favorite explanationof this saying is that tailors, at one time, used nine yards of material tomake their best suits.  Thus, dressed in the best the tailor couldsew together, they would be dressed to the nines. That’s a pretty long-windedexplanation of people who dress in nice running/walking gear when I see them onthe trail.

 

Photos - Today'sphotos are from my walks and drives over the past few days/weeks.

Quote of the Day - “It is impossible tolive without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you mightas well not have lived at all - in which case you fail by default."-  J. K. Rowling

 

That’s it for today - stay warm and enjoywinter as much as possible.

 

I hope everyone is off to a great start in the new year. My 2023 was a bit of a loss, so I am happy to put it behind me. 

Starting Over - again

I have started and stopped so many projects in the past two years that I could not, even if I wanted to, count them. Now feeling much better, maybe, just maybe, this will be the year I will publish one or two, or all three of my finished first drafts.

Last year, after having a neck fusion in mid-December, I was determined to walk an extra 1,000 miles in 2023. I kept track and made it with three weeks to spare. This was an accomplishment I was proud of since I was still using a walker to get around on January 1, 2023. Now thirty pounds lighter, I am back, mowing the grass, playing golf, traipsing around the countryside with one of my cameras, and enjoying life as a somewhat older person. 

Writing - For many years, I wrote around 300,000. In the past two years combined, I have written about 50,000. Not so good! This year, with some good luck, I hope to get at least 10,000 per month - I will keep you posted.

Maybe this will be one of many writing posts in the new year. I sure hope so.

Photos from in and around our little place in the world.

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”    Eleanor Roosevelt

Thanks for reading - in 2024, keep writing, and keep reading. 

 Likemany writers, I have read much, in recent weeks, about AI vs. Human-generatedwriting. Before I say anything else, my main conclusion is that AI-generatedmaterial might work for technical writing. But, in the world where I live,fiction and creative nonfiction writing, I do not see AI becoming a go-to wayto accomplish a project.

Inmy years teaching high school kids, it was easy to tell when someone got toomuch help. AI stands out like that. I have not read thousands orhundreds of pages written with an AI program. But, I have read several dozenpages, mainly in the form of short historical articles.

Comparison- Here is a short historical story about Wyoming legend Jacques La Ramee. Thewriting prompt I used was – Write a story about why  Jacques La Ramee was famous in Wyoming.

My,written in less than 10-minute report.

Mine- Jacques La Ramee is more of an enigma than a real person to most Wyomingpeople. Fort Laramie is only a few miles from where we live. The Laramie River,Laramie Range, and Laramie Peak are all nearby. I retired from my teaching jobin 2012 at Laramie High School in the city of Laramie. Interestingly, Laramieis in Albany County, not Laramie County, which borders Albany and is the home toCheyenne, our state capital.

Sowho was this man that so much was named after? He was a French-Canadianmountain man and trapper born in Montreal in the early 1780s who lived, worked,and died in Wyoming. His travels, adventures, and life have been passed on, primarilythrough oral history, and may be as much fiction as fact.

La Ramee was undoubtedly well acquainted witheastern Wyoming, where so much is named after him. He may have also traveledwest through South Pass, where he could have been the first or certainly one of the firstnon-native people to enter the Yellowstone area. He leda life that was likely as eventful, surprising, and scary as the legendsportray.

 

AI-generated report –after I typed the prompt, it was up in a few seconds.

AI - Jacques La Rameewas a name that was synonymous with Wyoming. He was famous for being a trapper,trader, and mountain man in the early 1800s. His exploits in the RockyMountains were legendary, and his adventures were the stuff of folklore.

Jacques was a French Canadian who was born in Montreal in 1784. He arrived in the Rocky Mountains in theearly 1800s and started trading with the Native American tribes in the region.He quickly became an expert in the ways of the wilderness and was soon knownfor his incredible hunting and trapping skills.

Jacques was not justa trapper and trader; he was also an adventurer. He explored the RockyMountains extensively and was the first white man to cross the ContinentalDivide by way of South Pass. He was also one of the first white men to seeYellowstone National Park, which he described as "the place where the hotwater came out of the earth."

Jacques was knownfor his toughness and resilience. He survived numerous attacks by hostileNative American tribes and even survived a grizzly bear attack that left himbadly injured. Despite these setbacks, he continued to explore the RockyMountains and trade with the Native American tribes. Jacques La Ramee's legacylives on in Wyoming. He is remembered as a legendary figure in the history ofthe American West and a true pioneer of the Rocky Mountains. His name issynonymous with adventure, exploration, and the spirit of the American frontier.

My Thoughts – AI sounds more likea Wikipedia article, factual but not fulfilling to read. The article also seems to have mixed in some information from other mountain men. Unfortunately, this one sounds likemost history textbooks. Textbooks are probably more responsiblefor kids not liking history than anything else. On the other hand, althoughwritten quickly and without research or editing, mine has some personal touchesthat make it a bit more interesting, at least to me.

What do you think?

 

Today's Photos – All from places named Laramie