#252 - Denny's and Runners

We made plans with the kids to go for breakfast at Denny’s, but only if it was after twelve o’clock.

They both managed to let us sleep in for a change.

I woke with a stiff right hip, likely caused from slouching on the outdoor sofa last night when our friends were over. Sitting incorrectly has become my new extreme sport in my fifties.

 By twelve forty-five we were out the door on another beautiful June day. The weather was perfect: the sun was shining and there was a cool breeze.

Arriving at the restaurant, the parking lot was jam-packed with cars, but we were able to get a booth almost immediately. We were sat in the lady's section, who always remembers our orders. She even remembered that I never choose the same thing. She updated us on her life since we’d seen her last, and then she took our orders. I got something from their feature menu called a Maritime Slam.

“Warm buttered lobster, scrambled eggs with fresh spinach, caramelized onions and Hollandaise sauce plus a dash of Old Bay seasoning, all stacked on sourdough toast. Served with seasoned potatoes and fresh seasonal fruit.”

And I was very pleased with my choice.

Denny’s isn’t my first thought when I think of a Sunday breakfast spot, but the kids and Robyn love it. And yet, we get great service and I always find something there that I like.

After eating we headed across the street to the Sketchers Outlet. Robyn and I have needed new shoes for some time. Think about all those daily walks we take! They had a second pair for 50% deal on and that worked out a treat for me.

Years ago I bought a pair of “All Terrain” Sketchers that had amazing traction from a very aggressive sole design and they were comfortable and water resistant. Meaning most puddles didn’t give me the slightest concern. I wore them in the winter and they were great against the thick slush that often coated the sidewalks. I would come home with dry warm feet every time.

I wore the souls out of those shoes eventually and could never find them again, not even on the secondary markets like Amazon and eBay.

But today, I came across a nearly identical pair. The tread was the same and the show details were a little different. There was a shoe beside it that was the exact same shoe design as the ones I loved but it had a crappy sole. After examining the shoes for a few minutes I was able to confirm that these were the shoes I loved, with slightly different design of overlapping panels that didn’t matter much to me.

I grabbed a pair and tried them on and knew immediately that these were the ones I had been searching for. The other new thing about these shoes is that they were co-branded with John Deer and Goodyear on the sides. Can’t wait to try these new ones out on the trails. The rubber feels premium like you’d get on a high end sports car tire.

I found a second pair of shoes. Runners with and all black design, spring loaded heels like the old Rebook NRGs that I used to love thirty years ago, and Sketchers’ slip on designed heels. I’m not used to an all-black shoe, but Robyn said she preferred the look over my Black Nikes with their large branded white swoops.

The new shoes are definitely more comfortable than my three-year-old Nikes. They’ve been used and abused for too long, but they held up well for all that time.

Robyn found a new pair for herself as well, but the kids couldn’t find anything they wanted. So, we packed it in and returned home before we spent anymore money. Me moving slowly as my hips were still stiff from sitting while having breakfast.

Robyn and I headed straight out to the back deck since the weather was so lovely. I promptly stretched out on the outdoor sofa and Robyn read from one of the comfy chairs. Lying down took the pressure of my hip, and I fell in and out of consciousness. The temperature was perfect, feeling like it was at body temperature and the cool breeze was enough to make it even more pleasant.

I must have dozed off for a bit, because when I sat up, robyn was no longer on the back deck with me. I went upstairs to our room, and she was napping before she had to leave to do her support work at seven.

I should have started my mentor writing assignment hours ago, but sitting with my eyes closed felt like the tonic my mind needed. I don’t often get that kind of mental recuperation these days. I just lie with my eyes closed and let my mind wander. I’m not asleep, just existing with my eyes shut. It’s a very peaceful thing to experience, like lying on the beach on vacation.

Robyn left to do her support work, and that story isn’t going to write itself. The kids have left ot go to the mall and then to a late movie. The house will be quiet for the next hour or two. Time to get writing. I might go use my lazy boy recliner while the kids are busy to givemy hips the best chance at relaxing.

Another Advil wouldn’t hurt either!

I’ll check back into this blog with updates on how the new story is going.

There is a scene that I can already see in my head. I may start with writing that first and then go from there.

Back in a sentence for you, hours for me.

It’s now nine PM and I am just starting the writing. I did some stretching to ease the pain in my hip, followed by a very hot bubble spa and two Advil. I feel much better, but I am concerned a long stint in the writing chair is going to bring me some more pain as the night goes on.

After all, preparing my body as well as I could, it was time to descend to the writing cave. I got myself set up with some beverage, notes pads, pens and all the other things I thought I’d need.

I spent about half an our going through my sheets of half titles looking for inspiration. It helped me flesh out a few details of the story. Next, I looked at a sheet I made up last week with character names I liked scrawled on it and extracted three names to use for the story.

With the setting roughly figured out, the main character’s name and the main baddies name it had enough to get started. More than I usually do to be honest. I had a vison of what the opening scene was going to be this week, so I am going to start with that.

It’s now eleven twenty and I have managed to write about five hundred words. Which doesn’t sound like very much but is the norm for starting a new project. The opening of the story takes longer to write than the rest of it does. I’m starting to get some momentum, but until I nail the opening it will be slow going.

I did a little sketch of the setting for the opening which takes place on a zero-gee platform at the far end of an O’Neill Cylinder orbiting a planet that is definitely not Earth. I’m nearly at the point where things are about to go very wrong for some of the people on the space station.

It’s now almost one o’clock in the morning and I have just finished writing the opening scene. It’s taken longer than I’d like to get this far, just over 1100 words since 9 pm.

Too slow.

At this rate I’ll be in bed by 7 am again!

It’s now almost 3 am and I have been writing notes and figuring some things out. I don’t normally do this, but I felt this story needed a little thought before I continued. Mostly I wanted to make sure it was staying within the bounds of the spy thriller genre. And that means there has to be things going on. And particularly there needs to be spy things or thriller things happening!

Not sure if I am going to make the deadline at this point, but I am going to keep at it.

I’ve reached 4:37 AM and I just figured out why I don’t like the second scene I am writing. I forgot some basic things about a thriller. Obvious things.

So, I spent some time rethinking my approach and one of the things I did wrong was having characters jabbering away with nothing interesting happening. No tension, no conflict. Boring.

But I know how to proceed now.

I just that I have run out of time to get it done.

So, I am off to bed, and I’ll attack this story again when I wake up.

Good morning, all.