I made some more progress on the rewrite today. It’s not as much as I’d hoped for, but I’ve got a lot of plates spinning, and this juggling bear keeps dropping his balls.
Stupid bear.
I did some searching of that knot, and explored the strange ambivalence I had when Jonathan asked me about my sketch comedy. Here’s the 1.7a version of that stuff:
“How did it go?”
“I took my sketch group out there and we did a show. It was really fun.”
“Oh! I heard about that. I hear you’re really funny.”
“Yeah, I try to entertain the kids.” I said. The knot nearly tightened so violently in my chest, it felt like a heart attack. I felt intensely uncomfortable and embarrassed. The feeling surprised me; here was the one thing that I’d been doing, and doing well, I was very proud of my sketch work, yet I didn’t want to talk about it.
“I may be funny in some sketch comedy shows that hardly anyone ever sees,” I thought, “but I’m struggling to pay my bills, I can’t get hired for anything in Hollywood, and all of you guys have gone on to be rich and famous. I may be funny, but I sure fucked up the biggest opportunity of my career when I quit ‘Star Trek.'”
I shoved several carrots in my mouth and I changed the subject.
“Have you been watching TNG on TNN?”
“Yeah,” he said, “It’s amazing how those old shows hold up.”
“Except Angel One,” I said.
“And Code of Honor,” he said.
“No vaccine!” we said in unison, quoting one of the actors in that show and laughed. The knot loosened.
“It’s so weird for me to watch them,” I said, “because I was so young. It’s like my high school yearbook has come to life.”
“That’s because you”ve actually grown up since then,” he said, “the rest of us have just gotten fatter.”
“Don’t let Marina hear you say that,” I said.
He thought for a moment, and added, “Okay, all of us except Marina.”
He winked. I smiled. The knot untied itself.
It’s not quite there, but it’s better. Writing about it also forced me to open some doors that I’d rather leave closed: I quit Star Trek to do other things in my career, but ended up doing other things in my life. I can’t say I regret that, because my life is really quite good. My career is in the shitter, but I’m not my career.
Yeah, right.
I keep telling myself that, but I still don’t fully believe it. I often feel like I had so much promise in my career (life) but I squandered it. I suppose the good side of that is I managed to blow most of my chances because I was young and immature, unlike most of my peers who blew their chances (lives) with drug abuse. That’s all well and good, but it’s cold comfort when I miss out on yet another fantastic acting opportunity, or when my agents dropped me earlier this year. Of course, with the notable exception of Patrick, the rest of the cast hasn’t exactly used Star Trek as a massive launching point for their acting careers, either. I suppose they don’t need to, and I’m sure they’re all content wherever they are in their lives (careers) . . . but I wonder if they ever feel like they missed any opportunities . . .
Woah. Got a little off-topic there. Sorry about that.
I spent some time today working on more of the story. I didn’t get very far, but I’m fairly happy with what I accomplished:
“Did you get the latest draft of the script?” Jonathan said to Brent.
“Oh my god, they’re talking about Nemesis!” My inner fanboy said.
‘shut up!” I said, “You’re not a fanboy here. You’re a peer. Be cool.”
I took my own advice and stood there, silent, and listened to them talk about the movie. Production hadn’t started yet, but I could tell that they were excited about putting on their uniforms and getting back into character.
While they talked, I felt like a grounded kid, sitting at the living room window, watching his friends play kickball in the street.
“They want to make some substantial changes to the wedding,” Brent said.
“I like it the way it is,” Jonathan said.
“Well, I’m talking with Stuart and Logan about it,” Brent said, “We’ll see what happens.”
“Is this really the last one?” I asked, in spite of myself.
“Yeah,” Brent said.
“I think so,” Jonathan said.
Illusions of returning to the bridge of the Enterprise, awoken just a month earlier on Star Trek: The Experience, quickly faded. In the hallway, the elevator bell rang again.
“That’s really sad,” I said, “It’s like the end of an era.”
“For all of us,” I thought.
“We’ve done it for so long,” Brent said, “I think it’s time for me to do something new. I’m getting too old to play Data.”
“I’m the only one who’s changed. They’ve just gotten older.” Jonathan’s words echoed in my mind.
A deep, commanding voice bounced off the marble floor of the hallway, and filled the room before its creator crossed the threshold.
“Are there Star Trek people in this room?” it boomed, “I just love those Star Trek people!”
We all turned to the door, as Patrick Stewart walked in.
Patrick is one of the most disarming people I’ve ever met. If you only know him as Captain Picard, or Professor Xavier, his mirthful exuberance is shocking. Patrick is one of the most professional and talented actors I’ve ever known, but he’s also one of the most fun.
“Bob Goulet” I haven’t seen you in ages, man! You look great!” he said to Brent, and hugged him.
“Jonathan Frakes! I am a big fan,” he smiled at Jonny and hugged him to.
He turned to me. “Who are you? You look familiar, but . . . I can’t place you.”
“Wil Wheaton, Mr. Stewart,” I said.
He looked thoughtful for a moment and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but it doesn’t ring a bell.”
“I was Wesley on Next Generation,” I said.
“Get out! You were never that young!” he said. “Do you know how old that makes me?”
“I do, sir,” I replied, solemnly, “I believe we spent some time in a shuttlecraft together.”
He nodded slowly, but remained unconvinced. “Go on . . .”
“That’s all I’ve got, man,” I laughed.
Patrick smiled broadly and said, “Wil, darling, you look wonderful.” He held his arms wide, and pulled me into a warm embrace. “I am so happy to see you!”
“You too,” I said.
He held me at arm’s length, and looked at me. Even though Patrick and I are the same height, I felt, like always, that he towered above me.
“I like that shirt, Wil. It’s very cool.”
He looked at Jonathan, then at Brent. We all wore black shirts. Brent and Jonathan wore black pants. Patrick wore a blue shirt and khaki pants.
“I guess I didn’t get the memo about wardrobe,” he said.
“It’s okay,” I said, “I don’t think anyone will notice.”
“Gentlemen, we’re ready for you downstairs,” one of the convention volunteers said from the doorway.
I felt a surge of adrenaline as we walked to the elevator.
I’ve noticed that almost everything I write lately comes out with great ease. I don’t have to search a lot of for words and feelings, and I spend considerably less time staring out the window at the Big Tree looking for them, like I did with Dancing Barefoot.
Something strikes me, as I recall these moments: the joy. I felt so much pure, unspoiled joy when I was around those guys, it was like being wired to a droud. I used to miss the chances at fame and fortune that were a consequence of my departure from Star Trek. Now, however, I just miss the joy that I should have embraced when I was there.
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Oy vey, so I’m also new to the blogverse, and I’ve also never posted before, but I quadruple everyone’s emotions here – this is captivating stuff, and kinda horribly insightful. Life is all about the choices you make, and some great author dude said that the unexamined life isn’t worth living, so . . . yeah, tidy up the end of that in some nice package there. I’m really enjoying every moment that this writing gives me pause and makes me consider my own life in relation to others, and it’s a small world after all, blah blah. Thanks for sharin’ and barin’, Wil. When I go home to Portland this week, I’ll drop into Powells and pick up a copy of Dancing Barefoot.
Oh my god, you have to finish this book soon. I am dying to read it. You posting tid bits on your site can be considered cruel and unusual unsihment, like a carrot onm a stick just out of reach….although I wouldnt consider your wrting a carot as much as I would a nice big juicy steak or something.
I really like this peice you have written. Honestly I liked it alittle better before you changed it. It seemed to flow better and it seemed more natural. With the change it seems like you are tryiong to force it out. But it is still good and I still love to read your stuff.
I don’t know about everyone else, but I can’t wait to buy JAG… And the prospect of seeing uncle willy on his own TV show…
And while everyones jumping on the bandwagaon, that “you’ve” could do without the ” 🙂
——————-v
“That’s because you”ve actually grown up since then,” he said, “the rest of us have just gotten fatter.”
(go go power monkeys)
Not sure if this is ground covered before…(is there a way to search for text in old posts and comments?)
William Gibson kept a blog, but, stopped when he started writing his next book. Quoting his final entry:
“I’ve found blogging to be a low-impact activity, mildly narcotic and mostly quite convivial, but the thing I’ve most enjoyed about it is how it never fails to underline the fact that if I’m doing this I’m definitely not writing a novel, that is, if I’m still blogging, I’m definitely still on vacation. I’ve always known, somehow, that it would get in the way of writing fiction, and that I wouldn’t want to be trying to do both at once. The image that comes most readily to mind is that of a kettle failing to boil because the lid’s been left off.”
What do you think? Does blogging help or could it be a slow-leak in the creative center of your brain?
– Mike (in NoHo)
The six websites I check every day, from last to first:
6. http://www.neopets.com
5. http://www.joelackerson.com
4. http://www.larrymarciano.com
3. http://www.davidpeters.com
2. http://www.sethsbase.com
and without fail, right after I log on and scan email…
1. http://www.wilwheaton.net
your recent posts being exemplars of my reasons for checking even if I don’t have a “Hey, I’ve blogged today” note from you in my inbox.
Wil, I’m half again your age and have never come close to being famous with any but my immediate circle of friends–and that’s mostly for my killer cheesecake and bodywork talents. And I’m learning that that’s okay, because if I’d made different choices, there are a whole bunch of wonderful people I might never have met. People who, just by being there, enrich my soul in ways I can’t begin to describe.
One of those people, I’ve discovered, is you, via your con appearances and writing. No, I’m not sucking up, and I don’t worship the ground you walk on–sorry if that disappoints! But as was mentioned in one of the posts earlier today, it’s important to tell people these things. I agree that, if you haven’t already, you should tell your Trek compatriots how you feel about them.
And you might consider asking them if they feel they’ve squandered any of their chances. I’m betting you’ll get a universal “yes” even from Patrick, because being human, we all think we could have made better choices, that there was one thing back there in the depths of time where if we’d said yes instead of no–or no instead of yes–our lives would now be perfect.
Guess what?
Perfect is having someone in your life you’re crazy about, who’s just as crazy about you. Perfect is knowing that, even if you don’t have that someone, the possibility exists. It’s spending your birthday with (a) a friend you met 14 years ago while on jury duty and (b) her husband who you’ve only met twice but who is so terrific you thank every deity extant that they met. Perfect is a cat trying to crawl under the covers with you on a cold night, a hokey pink birthday candle adorning a scrumptious chocolate mousse, and all those million and one other wonderful things that we tend to forget about when we focus on the past instead of the now.
Right now, Wil, you’re a damn fine human being. Permission granted to stop kicking yourself in the tuchus…unless that kick gets you to a keyboard…
Syd
Maybe compared to your Star Trek days you feel like it is, but Wil – your acting career is NOT over! At the most it’s on hiatus, that’s all. You had perfectly valid reasons for leaving TNG – don’t blame yourself for a difficult decision made in a bad situation.
The break from working as a full-time actor forced you to look at your other talents – and you’ve discovered that you’re a hell of a writer. Would you really have discovered this if you were instead just spending your time playing yet another one of the many stereotypical characters that plague our televisions?
You’re at the very beginning of a new stage in your working life. Ten years ago you were one of the THOUSANDS of hired guns working for Tinseltown. Today, you are an author and a playwright, a performer and a presenter, a webmaster, a political voice and a husband and father. You’re far more influential now to a great many more people than you were back then. And this is only the beginning.
You’ve got an amazing life ahead of you Wil. The ability to create characters and stories that YOU want to play and to see on stage and screen. To have YOUR voice heard, and to create powerful roles not just for yourself, but for your fellow performers around you. It’ll be a hell of a ride, and your loving family and friends and all us monkeys will be along with you.
You’re an artist now, truly feeling the need and want to create. And you are SO FUCKING TALENTED Wil, in so many more ways than you think.
When the world gets to be a little too much or the sadness takes a hold of me, I can always come here and be comforted by your honesty and optimism. You’re not afraid to tell everyone who you are, and that’s a beautiful thing. It makes me feel better about being who I am. Thank you.
Brought a tear to my eye…Damn you. Can’t wait for the next part.
At the danger of repeating others… dude, I think you really captured Patrick. I have only seen him once in person, 8 years ago… but that overwhelming presence and personality I will never forget. And you put it in words, you wicked man!
wow, today’s my first day seeing this…
I can’t believe you actually have time update and read all of these comments…
That’s quite an unusual perspective for me… seeing those actors as real people with acting just being a job… and with you, Wil, thinking that it would been much more fun making TNG with them if you had opened up to the experience. As someone else already said, I’m all for Carpe Diem, but don’t be too harsh on yourself.
Robbie Williams may not be right about too many things, but I believe he’s right when he sings “Youth is wasted on the young.” You always seem very critical about the way you were while growing up. Well, most people are, in retrospect (at least I am, too).
“…wired to a droud…” I recognized that immediately. What an odd reference. I guess you’re a wirehead wannabe. Maybe you should buy a tasp instead! Heh.
It’s funny the way each of us sees his or her own life. You ponder your missed opportunities and so-called squandered career (insert a good swift ass kick here). Maybe you aren’t getting richer than Bill Gates, but you are touching people’s lives in ways you will never know. (This little community you’ve built right here is a force to be reckoned with.) I’ll bet that there are very few people who are truly and completely satisfied with their lives and the choices they have made. (Even Bill Gates probably has some regrets.)
It’s kind of like your geocaching. It isn’t so much finding the cache (although cache/cash is very nice…), but the hike you take looking for it and the discoveries along the way.
I believe I lead a very small and insignificant life, loving my family and raising my kids to be nice human beings. But every once in a while I hear how I’ve made a difference to someone. I guess there’s a little George Bailey in all of us. We just don’t know it. Perhaps it won’t make us any money, but we will be richer for it.
Whew, I’ll just climb down from the soapbox now…
Well done so far, Wil, I’m really enjoying these excerpts.
Re: “My career is in the shitter, but I’m not my career. Yeah, right. I keep telling myself that, but I still don’t fully believe it.”
I think the only reason to fear this sort of thing is if you have no money coming in. I’m not my career either, but I’m facing imminent unemployment and it scares the shit out of me. I think you’ve redefined your career now anyway, to “famous geek and writer.” Or should that be the other way around? 🙂
It’s interesting for me to read your thoughts on your career and how you feel you stuffed things up for yourself during the course of your life. I am no actor but I can totally understand what you mean. For as long as I could remember I wanted to be a psychologist and, the classis case, when i got into university I stuffed things up for myself, consequently never achieving that goal. My thoughts are often centred around “if only I’d done this differently”, etc. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one, seems all the people around me are doing exactly what they set out to do.
PS Love reading your work, very much looking forward to the next book. This morning we had a courier delivery and I got all excited thinking it was finally my copy of Dancing Barefoot, but, alas, no. So reading your blog tides me over. Please keep updating even though you are really busy now.
PPS That was the longest PS ever!
For not the first time, your words have brought tears to my eyes. I have nothing witty to say. A lot of folks have already expressed the things rambling about my head, far more eloquently than I ever could.
I truly enjoy seeing the rewrites and revisions and watching the story develop and flesh out. With each added bit, i’m pulled that much farther in. Thanks for sharing….
I guess I can’t say that I’m a “big” fan of your site, in that I don’t read it as religously as other people do. But I really enjoy reading it when I get to. I’ll remember about every couple months or so, and think “Hey, what’s that Wil guy doing?” It’s like catching up with old friends, but without the pressure of sharing anything going on in my own life.
I guess that gets to the point of your knot. You made a descision, and it seems like you’re still struggling with whether or not you made the right one. I do that too. All the time. I think most people do, but I’ve never asked. What I do to deal with it is to take a look at my life. Am I happy with where I am now? It’s the decisions I’ve already made that got me to this point. Had I made any other decisions I could have easily wound up unhappy, or worse. Yes, I could have also been better off, but are you willing to sacrifice your current happiness for a chance at something better that you can’t even control because its time has past? I can’t, so I have to be happy with my past decisions. (Granted all this assumes that you are indeed happy.)
So, if I’m happy now, why do I have such difficulty expressing my current endeavors to friends? For me, I think it’s because I’ve got such a built-up future in my head of where I want to be that I feel that I’m always underachieving. I have lists and lists of what I want to do with my website, my career, my house so that I never feel like I’ve made much progress only because the progress is shadowed by the imaginary progress yet to be made. I don’t know that I’ve gotten over that shadow, but recognizing it helps.
I think I’ve rambled, but it felt good.
Ah… my Mark Hamill joke got deleted 🙁
Wil Wheaton isn’t the kind of guy to cherry pick what comments he allows on his site, is he?
Wil,
I have to say that you’re completely full of shit. Before you go off another “the worst thing I ever did was quit Star Trek” tangent, please consider the following:
1. You have a beautiful and loving wife.
2. Great kid(s).
3. You’re a published and well thought of writer.
4. You have a plethora of friends and supporters.
Stop dwelling on a decision that you made as a teenager (hell, we all made bad decisions as teenagers). As on who “met” you during the height of your teenage years I can honestly say that you have come a very long way.
Keep writing. Keep loving your wife. Keep smiling at every surprise that life brings.
Of course, this is just my opinion and it’s worth about 2 cents (Canadian).
I completely agree with the comments everyone has made. In my eyes you are still a “movie star” (I watched Stand By Me over 200 times as a teen and only got into TNG because YOU were on it, still don’t understand how you could have been hated) and I think it’s awsome that you are now a writer and so accessible to your fan base. My husband and I were discussing your website the other day (I’ve converted him) and he was wondering why you didn’t make use of your TNG contacts (ie: Patrick, Jonathan and Brent) to get into movie deals? I told him that judging from what you had written you would not be comfortable doing that, because you had those guys up on this pedestal. I know you don’t make money with this website Wil, and that doesn’t pay the bills (been there), but I am really hoping that your books take off in the mainstream and that you can make your living that way, if that makes you happy. I would love to see you on TV or in the movies again, but if that happens, I am also praying that you continue with the web site, cause it’s one of the very first things I check when I turn on my computer each day and you have quickly grown from teenage heartthrob to one of my favorite writers. (Hmmm, there’s some of that “growing up” stuff)And I’m still “patiently” waiting for my copy of DB in the mail. (Wow, this was all over the place!)
you know, i’ve just started reading your site, and i’m very impressed with the writings you’ve been displaying. my husband directed me here, after i bought a CD that had your name listed in the credits of a song. i was surprised to see it there, and he mentioned that you have your hand in several projects, which you do… things that most people would never guess. talents show themselves in interesting ways. you definitely show a talent for writing as well as acting. your myriad talents are by far not dwarfed by your peers, though i can certainly imagine why it would feel that way. keep up the great work, i can’t wait to read more, and hopefully soon the finished product.
Rhia
Enough already! Stop fishing for encouragement and finish the damn book. I’d like to read it some day and get all misty-eyed too ya know.
*sigh*
I am NOT “fishing” for anything, yo mamma. I occasionally worry when I write about a fear or a regret, that it will be perceived that way by readers . . . but “fishing” for anything is just not my goal.
/back to work!
Hey Wil,
A well-published author once told me that in order to write at one’s best, one had to write ALL the time. With the blogging and everything else going on, it doesn’t surprise me that you find words flowing more easily.
I loved this entry. You ROCK!!!
-Amanda
Wil, your career just looks bad to you right now because you’re in transition from being an actor to being an actor/writer/comedian. In two years you can look back on this time and wonder why you ever worried.
Was that a Larry Niven reference in there?! Nice…
Dear Wil,
I’m not surprised that you still rehash important decisions, good or bad, that you made in your teens or later. Hell, I still do sometimes, and I’m 48. It’s normal, we all do it. What’s more important is that you have a sense of perspective about what is important *today*, and I think you do.
And at the risk of sounding like an overaged fanboy, it’s great to know that the people who portray(ed) our fictional heroes are as cool as themselves as their characters were. Thank you for the backstage dialog.
Best from my family to yours,
Dave Klaus
The last couple of posts you have put up about your writing have been very well done. The words fow from the paper and pull me in to these experiences and feelings you share so vividly with your readers. I truly look forward to reading the finished product.
Keep up the good work. ^_^
As far as yoru career goes and struggling to pay bills, don’t worry man, I know how that goes. I am a starving multimedia student at the UO and also a part time hack writer of
sci-fi and X-Com: Fan-fic.
I must say, from a writer’s perspective, you are doing great with your rewrites. now my question is do you get your finished prouct and then rewrite it, or do you write a chapter, then rewrite that chapter until it sounds good?
Oh, and I just ahve to say this, for those of you who want another movie that Patrick Stewart did when he wasn’t a high name in the movies…. check out a little known, VERY BAD movie entitled ‘LIFEFORCE’ and be ready to cringe and gawk at the same time. Hot girl…… terrible movie.
Here is a url to some photos from the convention Wil is writing about. Thought it was interesting to see what he was describing so eloquently.
No close-ups of Wil though.
http://www.trektoday.com/news/181101_03.shtml
I was watching Angel One the other day and wondered whether Jonathan Frakes looks back at that ep with a shudder. Check out the hairstyle on his love interest.
Speaking of Trek, I saw Parallels for the first time the other day and you rocked in it Wil. Good to see that there are thousands of Wesley Crushers still out there zipping around the universe.
In regards to the other stars not using StarTrek as a launching point in their careers: I don’t remember seeing any of those people, accept Patrick and Jonathan on anything else besides ST. To me they are kind of stuck in a typecast. No wonder they were so excited to put on their uniforms one more timewhat else do they have going on? At least you have a ton of talents, obviously we love your writing, and I’m sure you have a great deal of comedic karma in skits on stage. So really, you might think they are better than you in some ways when I really don’t think thats the case. Star Trek might have launched them (or not) either way they’re still stuck in that one and only role.
Nitpickiness: I thought that with TV shows, episode titles were usually in quotation marks. The name of the show is underlined or italicized and the episode is in quotes. Maybe I’m wrong.
Wil, I just started reading today and I have to say,not only are you down to earth,funny,and very talented. You are lucky to have such loyal friends(fans)and I think that perfection takes time right,you’re not “fishing” around for encouragment,you have all the courage you need just facing the world as it is today,and if you recieve some pats on the back and you can do its,well all the better right?. Creating your own website is pretty cool. I’ve created a few through books,it is pretty fun. I will keep and eye out for your book.
“but I wonder if they ever feel like they missed any opportunities . . .”
As far as I can tell, everyone feels like they missed opportunities, even if they have a “perfect life.” All of us have had to make choices, which means we do miss some opportunities…and seize others. It’s the nature of things, as is our unfortunate tendency to sweat the choices we make.
It sounds like you have a wonderful relationship with your wife, and maybe you would never have met her, or gotten together with her, without missing those opportunities you’re worried about, so maybe you made exactly the right choices.
Thanks for your thoughtful blog!
Amanda
That second section of your blog, where Patrick Stewart finally arrives, was great! It made me feel like I was there, as the last few sections of your meeting have.
Which brings me to my point; please don’t over-analyze JAG. Remember that sometimes, when you’re writing stuff right from your heart, it needs no editing. I’d enjoy what I’ve read as is.
This could be totally off the wall, but as I was reading the part about how your career is not your life and how it’s hard sometims to convince yourself of that, i thought of Jonathan Brandis. I really have no clue what was going on with him or if they’ve concluded if his death was a suicide or not… bu ti seems (from the outside) that his career was his life, and look how he ended up. And it’s very sad. The fact that you’re still alive, have a family and a life and are doing fun things and are not on the verse of some breakdown and slitting your wrists says a lot. So, you know, try not to be so down and some junk. 🙂
Code of Honour: Worst Episode Ever!
Wonderful entry, as usual. The poignancy of your comment about wasted opportunities really hit me hard in the heart. We all have that thought at times, Wil. Best thing to do is just do the next thing. Personally, I have found that, because I really like the person I have become at this stage of my life, I would not take back anything that happened to me before… good or bad. It has been said, “We are the sum total of our experiences”. I have found this to be true.
Thank you again for letting us peek into your head, and at LosCon, if a redheaded dealer asks for a copy of DB, personalized for “Debbie”, I sincerely hope you have one left: it’s for MEEEE!
-Debbie
Hey, Wil.
I’m at the bottom of the pile, it looks like, but I hope you’ll see it.
I love what you’ve written so far, but I think the conversation with Stewart needs some reworking – I can’t quite ‘get’ why he’s saying the things he did – did Patrick truly not remember who you were, or was he play-acting to see how the conversation would go? were you two borrowing lines from a TNG episode?
its begun to flow. you’ve stopped fighting yourself, stopped double reading each word as you write it. congrats. now hurry up, cause it WONT last, and you WILL beat your brains into the wall trying to get it back.
I can’t say anything that hasn’t already been said. I think the resounding conclusion is that you manage to capture some part of dialogue, some rhythm of word usage that really transports the reader into the scene. I think I might write a post about it on my ‘blog…since this isn’t really the place to expound upon such things.
Please keep writing, Wil. You make half-ass writers like myself inspired that the independent publisher/writer can make a difference.
On a totally different note, I spent the good part of an hour trying to figure out which song your post title comes from. I just realized that it’s one of my favorite Radiohead tunes…I think. Unless it was used elsewhere. In which case, it’s that song.
Just a quick question (which will probably not get answered, I know how it works here 🙂
When you write about someone, do you show it to them before you publish it here or in a book?
Just curious.
I’m some how deeply saddened by this — and also very touched. I can totally appreciate the pain you feel with this as saying goodbye to the dearest of people AND times in our lives is so… well, painful.
But it needs to be told, your story.
However, and being that I have no clue about these guys other than what I like to think, they will never forget you or the ways you touched their lives as they touched yours’.
-sam
I feel silly for asking, but did Patrick Stewart really not recognize you, or was that the two of you funning?
Wil,
You may remember me as the guy who gave you a lotta crap about your political views. And I did.
But I give you a big \M/ “That Rawks” for the literary skill I just read in this post. I can sincerely empathize with the position you felt you were in and yet having the strong “joy” feelings that you had being with your fellow “crewman”.
As someone else said above, there is always a chance to reflect and feel regrets for leaving one path while also feeling happiness with the one your now on. Good job. Btw, I believe career and ocurr are the two most f’d up words ever created.
Gran Canaria http://www.grancanariaguide.com 2004 September 27 18:42:36