A Visit to God's Country

Well, my time in Fayetteville has come to an end. Yesterday, our little party traveled to Willard, North Carolina to finishing up filming for the book trailer and some good photo ops. Dennis and Debbie Walsh, the folks who started us on this journey, Aaron and Mattie Johnson, and me.
To hear Aaron tell it, Willard is God’s Country. Back in his day, Willard was a southern, segregated farming community where his parents sharecropped. They worked on the land owned by the family, the white Johnsons, who owned their ancestors as slaves. Today, a smattering of both sets of Johnsons, black and white, still lives there.

We visited the house where Aaron was born. It has electricity and running water now, but it didn’t in 1933. We sat on the weathered-stain back porch of the small schoolhouse he attended until the eight grade. It was a ‘colored’ school back then, with a wood stove for heat and an outhouse. Paint is peeling off the sides of the modest building now as broken windowpanes flash you a toothless-like grin. But for Aaron, this little building it was a shining star of his past.

We visited the segregated graveyard where his parents and most of his siblings are buried. As I walked through this sunny, but hallowed ground, I felt like I had known all these folks. Aaron had told me so many stories about Miss Cassie and Wille Johnson, his parents, his Aunt Annie, his brothers, Tommy, Lennard, RV and James, and his sister, Bertnita—they’re all there. And, finally, we lingered awhile near the trees where his neighbor, Doc Rogers was killed by the Klan. It was a special day.

Today, I fly home weary but filled up with such gratitude for this experience and this opportunity. I can’t wait to introduce you to Aaron through the book, MAN FROM MACEDONIA- a tale of hope. You will be blessed… trust me. But for now, I pack my bags hurriedly and anxiously await the first sight of my hubby, the love of my life to welcome me back home with tight hug. I can’t wait to step back onto Wisconsin soil and the three little acres of South Moon, our home. It’s time to get back to my family and loved ones. I believe I have some grandbabies coming to visit me this weekend and I can’t wait!
Blessings, all!

STARTING NEW CHAPTERS

Today, I'm trying to get started on Chapter 28 of MAN FROM MACEDONIA. I've been working on this book for almost three years now. It's a book of six sections. I'm on Section Five. This section will have about five chapters in it. I'm half way through this section. My problem? Every time I begin a new chapter, it's like starting all over again. First, I have to get organized. I have to put away all the notes of interviews, research, newspaper articles, etc., from the previous chapter that I have strewn all over my desk. I work these notes over pretty good as I write. By the time I'm finished with a chapter, I can show you book, chapter and verse from where I got what I got. I figure it's a good idea to be able to show your sources if ever challenged. So, I file them away carefully so I can find them again. Sitting beside me, even as I write this, is a roll away file box made of plastic. The top box is full of file folders and interview CDs. The bottom drawer holds my note cards, photos, newsletters, etc., A book in a box.

THEN, when all previous chapter resources are put away. I start digging through the box for all the folders, note, cards, interview transcripts, etc., that I need for the next chapter. Out they come and they will be rearranged a thousand times before this chapter is completed. I also may have to get on Internet and do a little snooping as well before I get started with the actual writing. Believe it or not, it can take a couple of days of prep before I write the first word of the next chapter. That's where I am write now. I've done all the prep. The new resources are at my finger tips. I've been snooping around online and now I need to settle down and actually write. I pose myself in front of the computer. Chapter heading is blaring out at me. My finger poised over the keys and...hey! maybe I should go unload the dishwasher; Or, change my sheets on the bed; Or take a walk and stretch before I write; Or go write my blog...

Get my drift? It is sooo hard to actually write those first words of a new chapter. Why? Beats me. Once I delve in...I'm in....there's no turning back....I'm hooked...I'm flying. Yet, it is so hard to attack those first few words. Funny, huh? Such is the writing process for me. Any other writers out there have quirks in their writing process. If so, I'd love to hear from you.

Well, I must get with it. This next chapter will not write itself. My fingers are poised. I'm ready...is that someone at the door?