Saturday, I went over to Ricky and Tammy’s place. Bobby had come up from Orlando, so I got to see him too. We ended up grilling out, and it turned out great, save the mosquitoes, and the “bug repellent” that Tammy gave me to put on. I got to grill for the first time in at least a couple of years, and the burgers I did turned out pretty good. So did the sausages Ricky did. He intended to cook eight pieces, but nearly had nine after a mishap with the knife.

Afterward, the four of us ended up going to O. Henry’s, a coffee house in Homewood. Some friends of the other three were there. I had met a couple of them before at Ricky and Tammy’s wedding. We worked on a crossword puzzle, and if my memory serves correctly, got everything except a couple of letters. I also earned a nickname from people I may never see again – “slewed” – from the crossword clue “turned on a pivot”. It fit in with all the other clues that we had, and hey, at least it was right…

Yesterday, I didn’t feel very good. It might have had something to do with the fact that it was 80 degrees inside the house, and the air conditioner never wanted to come on. I spent the majority of the day with two fans blowing on me.

I finally got over my writer’s block, and have the first three or so chapters of my “great American novel” (yeah, right) completed. Well, the first incarnation of it, anyway, as I think that they need to be fleshed out some more. I’m not crazy about unecessary exposition, but at the same time I don’t want to leave any part of the story untold. It’s more of a fine line than I had thought it would be. I do like the way that the story’s progressing thus far, and the research that I’ve done for it has proven interesting, to say the least. More to come.