Friday May 30, 2008

Elderly man bounces off a dark Honda that is apparently chasing a light Toyota. Both cars take off down a side street, leaving the man motionless and bleeding in the street next to his emptying milk carton.

Pedestrians stop and stare, but do nothing. Cars swerve around the obstacle in the street trying to get to their appointed locations. One man stops briefly, pausing to look out the window, before pulling back into traffic. Another man circles the victim on his scooter before driving away.

Some approach but stay at a distance. Most of the observers stay to watch. A cruiser responding to an unrelated call finally stops. Perhaps it was fate that led him down this street. The hit-and-run victim is now in the hospital fighting for his life.

Later, a store owner says, "Nobody did nothin". The graphic surveillance video backs her statement.

The police chief says "we no longer have a moral compass". Once upon a time, if somebody fell down, somebody else would reach down a hand to lift him up. The apparent callousness of the bystanders was disheartening to see when that surveillance tape was played on the news. Is this what we have come to?

Though perhaps I am too harsh. It is probably not so much that we have become callous, but more that we have switched from offering a helping hand to waiting for someone else to step up and do it. Perhaps there is so much violence that we are becoming desensitized. The herd mentality kicks in, waiting for a leader to take control.

I hope that somebody called 911. I hope that that news report was just sensationalized to shock the viewers. I refuse to believe that nobody at least called. But I am still disheartened that nobody went out to that man to sit with him, to tell him help was on the way and to direct traffic away from him. All they would do was stand back and watch. This disturbs me.

(postnote: Four people placed a call to 911. At least this was something. However, this does not change the inaction of the people who drove around the man nor the people on the sidewalk who did not go out to the man. I find this unacceptable. I am still disturbed.)

Hi there.

A while back, I posted a note on my homenode that informed anyone reading that I wouldn't be around for a while because I was writing a book. The funny thing is that I wasn't actually writing a book -- I was writing a book proposal. Writing the proposal took a lot longer than I thought it would, simply because I'd never written one before. I think I worked on it for at least half a year...compare this to the mere weeks it took me to write my second proposal!

To make a long story even longer, I finished my proposal, I landed an agent, and then, after a number of rather long months, I was offered a contract by Simon & Schuster. The advance I received was fairly good for a first time author, though I wouldn't have complained if they'd offered me more.

I wrote the book in a relatively short span of time while buying and moving into my first home. That, as you might very well imagine, was more than a little stressful, but I thought it prudent to deliver on time no matter what. I'd say it paid off, considering my editor recently said how much she enjoyed working with me and asked me if I had any new projects in the works.

The book is iDo: Planning Your Wedding with Nothing But 'Net. Yes, it's a wedding planning book. I kind of fell into the topic a few years back. So far, there hasn't been a great deal of publicity. I was invited to contribute to iVillage and what I wrote can be found here. Our own Quizro interviewed me for his fantastic podcast, Writing For Pay. If you know someone in the U.S. or Canada who's engaged, I'd be so pleased and grateful if you'd recommend my book as an all-inclusive planning resource.

In conclusion, this is me saying that I'm still around, and I still read e2 when I have a few minutes free. I won't be noding, however, because like I said on my homenode way back in the day, "Chiisuta is writing a book."

Cheers!


Only a few years ago I was a child, learning of life. Now I am a mother, a grandmother, and soon a mother-in-law. I am turning 50 next year, which means that I have, in all probability, lived more than half of my natural life. It feels a little weird.

My son is getting married. As of this Saturday - tomorrow - he'll be legally hitched to his until then girlfriend of some 8 years. Also they'll be baptizing or christening (I never know which is the correct translation of the Danish døbe) their first born, Sofia.

I have bought new dresses for the occasion. I want my son to be proud of his old mom. This means a lot to me.

/me sighs.


Damn, I feel totally sappy...


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