Lighter Than Air - A My Town Monday Post

Okay, I'm kind of ticked right now. The New York Times did a piece about Amarillo on September 4th, and they failed to mention me, or My Town Mondays even once. The nerve!

To top it off the author, Jim Atkinson (A New Yorker I presume) described the city and area far more articulately than I ever could. He even trumped me by mentioning my subject matter for this week's post. Seriously, if you get the chance read the article, and check out the accompanying slide show of pictures as both are more interesting than my post this week. My only disagreement would be with Mr. Atkinson's choice of Mexican restaurant and the snubbing of my expertise on the Amarillo and the Panhandle region. Okay, so I'm just some writer/blogging hack nobody but y'all have ever heard of, but that's beside the point.

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Now to this week's post.

It's colorless. Odorless. Tasteless. And non-toxic. (No, I'm not talking about my cooking.)

It's atomic number is 2. It's boiling and melting point are among the lowest of all elements. It is nearly always a gas. It is the king of the so-called noble gases.

It has served admirably in war time.

It has the power to change your voice.

It is helium and 95% of the world's supply is found within a 250 mile radius of Amarillo earning the city the nickname of "Helium Capital of the World."

Helium was discovered in 1868 and in 1903 it was learned that huge amounts of the element were present in the natural gas fields around Amarillo.

In 1925, the U.S. government established the National Helium Reserve at Amarillo with the goal of supplying the military in times of war, and commercial airships in times of peace. Due to an embargo against Germany that restricted helium supplies, the Hindenburg was forced to use hydrogen as the lift gas. Helium has a far greater stability so history could have been changed without the embargo.

Throughout the 1940’s the Amarillo Helium plant’s produced 24 million cubic feet annually, though President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to up production to 150 million cubic feet for the construction of 200 lighter-than-air aircraft for the Navy. In response, Congress approved nearly $17 million to expand the federal helium operations. In order to satisfy the 150 mmcf annual production quota, the federal workforce increased from 36 employees at the Amarillo Plant, to more than 400 men and women working at five separate plants.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management still operates north of Amarillo, and about 40 percent of U.S. helium production - and almost 35 percent of the world's helium production comes from the Amarillo operations, but in 2006 the General Services Administration declared the old Amarillo Helium Plant on the west side of town as surplus government property because of "excessive deterioration." It was auctioned off and is now in the hands of private owner, but the building stand as a ghostly reminder of a bygone time.


So think of Amarillo the next time you're at a birthday party and somebody huffs a bit of helium and does their best Alvin and the Chipmunks impersonation.

The city has a National Helium Monument, but I did not make it out for a picture, but I plan to include it in a future post anyway.

Links to other MY TOWN MONDAYERS

Lana Gramlich --A look at Abita Springs, Louisiana's visit from Gustav.
Linda McLaughlin -- Digs up some dormant memories about the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.
Debra -- Go on a stroll with her through Peninsula, Ohio
Britta Coleman -- Basks in the glow of that silver star in Fort Worth, Texas.
Terrie Farley Moran -- Wants him buried in the Bronx, New York.
Lyzzydee -- Takes us on vacation with her to Kinderdijk, Holland.
Barbara Martin -- Uncovers history and heroes in Toronto, Canada
Joshua -- Spices up Columbia, Illinois.
Barrie Summy -- Feeds us in the Little India, section of Toronto, Canada
Patti Abbott -- The ugly side of politics in Detroit, Michigan.
Mary Nix -- Working on the railroad in Olmsted Falls, Ohio
Clair Dickson -- Goes looking for the trains of yesteryear in Livingston County, Michigan
David Cranmer -- Introduces us to the Kom people of Cameroon in West Africa.
J.L. Krueger -- Gives us more insight into the people and culture of Kabul, Afghanistan.

I Don't Mean To Piss People Off

Here is a shot of the setting Texas sun last evening.

In the nearly year and a half I've been writing this blog I've come to know tons of new people that I know consider friends. I've yet to meet any of y'all in person that I didn't already know before I started this blog. I've sold a few short pieces directly as a result of this blog and I've had a couple of people in the business contact me after liking what they read. The blog also gives me a place to post my mind drippings and get a bit of feedback. Creating fiction does not provide that kind of immediacy.

So all in all this blog has been a positive, but like most everything thing in this world there are cons that accompany the pros.

Blogging takes time. Time I could spent on my fiction. Time I could be marketing my pre-published novels. Time I could be reading novels and studying the craft. But I learn about the craft through my connection with fellow writers , agents, and editors out in the blogosphere as well. so I see that as somewhat of a wash.

So what other cons are there?

My greatest fear about this blog is that it will somehow hurt my chances to build the writing career I desire. The last thing I want is to post things that could alienate agents, editors, or even potential readers, BUT

Ahhh ... the big proverbial but, ... You can't please everyone.

I sometimes get emails from readers. i won't call them hate emails but they are certainly critical. They come in two forms.

Dear Idiot,

You call yourself a writer but you misspelled superfragilisticexpeallidocius in yesterdays post and you forget two commas, one hyphen, a semi-colon and you participles were dangling all over the place. No wonder you can't sell your novel.

Signed,

Strunk & White

or,

Dear Torturer,

How dare you stand there grinning like a fat hairy ape while you torture that poor fish in your picture. How would you like me to yank you from your home and hold you underwater so you can't breath? You have no right to be cruel to any of God's creatures.

Signed,

The Second Coming of Noah

Rarely do I respond to the first type of critic, mostly because I've explained on here numerous times that I cannot devote the necessary time to edit my blogs in the same manner than I do my fiction. Otherwise I would only be able to post a few times a month or I'd have to give up my fiction completely.

I do respond to the latter, but I'm not sure why. I'm never confrontational. I simply say that I'm sorry they feel that way, but I consider myself a responsible outdoorsemen. I do not break any laws and that for me hunting and fishing is a relaxing hobby. I mention that I also consider myself a conservationist as I belong to several organizations that promote natural habitat and in fact because of these efforts there are many species of animals that are larger in number today than anytime in the last century. (Such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation) Then I thank the emailer for reading the blog and wish them well in their endeavors.

Most I never hear from again. A few of you have become regular readers and commenter's which I am proud you stayed. I guess what I am trying to say is that while I don't try to provoke argument or rub any one's nose in my ideals I am who I am, ... a meat loving, hunting, fishing, law-abiding, gun owning Texan. I've got my liberal side as well but that is a post for another day.

And for the record, that largemouth bass in the picture was released back into Lake Ray Roberts down near Dallas within seconds after that picture was snapped, so I only tortured him a little while. Could have been worse, I could have sent it to Guantanamo.

And that picture above ... I took while Dove hunting. So I open the debate. Does that make me evil? Should I apologize for being me?

Forgotten book Friday

It has been a while since i took pat in Patti Abbott's fantastic Friday feature, Forgotten Book Friday.

Outlaw by Warren Kiefer first came out in 1989. I first read it shortly thereafter and reread it again a few years back. The story and main character have stuck with me over the years. A sweeping historical saga that spans the entire 89 years of Lee Garland's life. From the frontier west of his cattle rustling adolescence to Garland's days as a member of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Rider's this novel reads like a memoir. Weaving historical fact with fiction, Kiefer brings the story and character of Lee Garland to life and ultimately death.

Sadly, the novel is so forgotten that I couldn't find a single image of the cover on the internet.

For more great books check out the link on Patti Abbott's blog.

The Way I Write

I haven't posted much about writing lately so thought I'd do this writing meme that both Shauna Roberts, Charles Gramlich, and Writtenwyrdd did in the past on their blogs.

What is your genre(s)? I've written a little bit of everything in short form, but my first three novels were all women's fiction. I am marketing my latest creation as a comedic mainstream novel. I am considering working on a creative non-fiction project for my next book length endeavor., but that depends on how the agent search for Plundered Booty progresses.

How many books are you working on now? None, unless you count querying and sending out submissions. I have been going back and forth between two short stories but they are nearing completion. I tried to do two books at once when i first started Booty but ultimately, I abandoned the other story.

Are you a linear or a chunk writer? Linear writer. I can't move forward until I'm satisfied. that is not to say I do not become dissatisfied later but before I jump ahead I must be okay with what I've already written.

What POV are you partial to? Used to be third person, but lately seems like I've been choosing first more. I think that has to do with subject matter more than anything else however. Some stories need first, others can only work in third. Until I become an overpaid professional athlete it is doubtful I'll ever uses second.

What tense do you use? Past, but a bit of present was called for in Booty.

What theme keeps cropping up in your books? Winning by losing. Life never works out the way any of us planned an if you get too caught up in the things that go wrong you just might miss it the first time they go right. Sometimes happiness comes in a form we never expected.

How many days a week do you write? All of them. Maybe it's a line or two, Maybe it's twenty pages, but I write a little bit each and every day. And anytime I have a quiet moment I am writing scenes and dialogue in my head.

What time of day do you get your best writing done? This goes in streaks, Sometimes I get up early and write with great results. then I get in the habit of staying up late. On my days off I tend to write late morning and early afternoon then go about doing other tasks.

Who are your mentors? I have had so many along the way. RWA hall-of-famer Jodi Thomas gave me the initial encouragement to submit my work to agents and editors, Kensington editor Hilary Sares was the first person in the business to say "You have talent and a great voice" and she has offered tons of advice along the way. Deborah Elliott-Upton once put me in the hospital while whipping me into writing shape in a short story course.

Who are your favorite authors to read? This is the hardest question as I have dozens of favorites. Without comment here are the ones that immediately come to mind. Richard Russo, Jodi Picoult, Ian McEwan, Jennifer Crusie, Nicholas Evans, Anne Tyler, Joshilyn Jackson, Carl Hiasson, David Guterson, Kinky Freidman, Jennifer Archer, Maeve Binchy, Janet Evanovich, Mark Twain, J.K. Rowling, Ernest Hemingway and more that I am forgetting right now.


So tell me how we are the same and how we differ. Any of those authors make your favorite list? Who did I forget?

Two Lines

It's still Tuesday so I'm going to chime in for Two Line Tuesday, the weekly web feature brought to you by the fine minds over at the Women of Mystery blog.

From an as yet untitled short story ...

I'd heard the resonating heart beat of my child before, but today the thunderous twang rang louder, more definitive, and sounded exactly like a saw blade being bent to a steady rhythm.

The ultrasound technician squinted at the monitor before saying, "He's going to be a big one."

I can't decide if I want to stick to first person or write the story in third.

And from my recent reading of Me talk Pretty one Day by David Sedaris. I think writers will relate with this passage.

Unlike the faint scurry of fingers on a plastic computer keyboard, the smack and clatter of a typewriter suggests that you're actually building something. At the end of a miserable day, instead of grieving my virtual nothing, I can always look at my loaded wastepaper basket and tell myself that if I failed, at least I took a few trees down with me.

While I got a chuckle out of Sedaris's passage, I for one am grateful for the ease of writing and editing on a computer. The clickity-clack of an old fashioned typewriter might be comforting, but with my fat fingers and poor typing skills it would take me years to finish a novel.

How about y'all?

The Confession Booth

For as long as I can remember, my grandmother has had a somewhat morbid obsession with obituaries. She reads nearly every last word of the snippets about the recently deceased, and then guesses what caused the unlucky soul's demise.

These diagnoses go in spurts. A few years back diabetes seemed to be her favored method of death, especially if the small picture of the person seemed obese. Too skinny and she surmises AIDS to be the fatal disease. For teenagers suicide is nearly always the call, even when there is a front page story about a car load of high school students in a fatal crash.

Death is not a funny subject but this has gone on for so many years that her habit has become a source of teasing in our family. If one of us throws out a wild guess or comes across as being a bit nosy the retort is usually something like, "Now you sound like granny."

Well I'm saving them the trouble. Today I'm using this blog as sort of a confessional.

I used to work with a guy whom I never got a long with despite we both being avid sports fans. We talked, said hello, and never had a confrontation of any real sort, yet it always seemed like a competition somehow. I guess we were what you call Frenemies.

A few months back he got fired. Truth be told I didn't feel all that bad for him. He'd screwed up and he paid a price for it. His wife had left him a few months before. Then another friend saw him and told me both his car and house had been repossessed. Again, I didn't feel any great surge of sympathy.

Today I came into work and there was a note taped to the time clock. The man had died. I stood staring at the stark black ink on the white paper taped there. Shocked, I muttered, " Shit."

And then I did what my grandma has done for years. I made a wild assumption. My mind immediately whispered, "I bet he committed suicide." He'd lost everything ... his wife, his daughters, home, job, car.

I asked myself if I could have done something. He'd needed a friend. I could have picked up the phone and called. I felt true sympathy and a good bit of guilt. Then I heard that I was wrong. A massive heart attack had claimed his life. I'm still saddened that a man in his mid-forties dies so young and left behind young kids, but I m glad that he didn't just give up. I'm glad that his daughters won't wonder why he chose to leave them fatherless. And yes, I am a bit ashamed at my quickness to assign the cause of his death.

My Town Monday - The Lazy Edition

I've tried to write two different My Town Monday posts and both have been lackluster at best. So I'm taking the lazy way out and posting a video I found on You Tube. I've introduced y'all to most of the things in the video already but there are girls in bikinis, meat sizzling on the grill, and some great shots of Palo Duro Canyon. Sorry, it's the best I can do this week.





Posts from other My Town Mondayers with more gumption than me this week.

Linda McLaughlin -- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Patti Abbott -- Ann Arbor, Michigan
Barbara Martin -- Toronto, Canada
Reb -- Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Lyzzydee -- Gouda, Holland
Barrie Summy -- Del Mar, California
Maria Geraci -- Redneck Riviera, Florida
Sam Winston -- Montchauvet, France
Yellow Dog Granny -- West, Texas
Britta Coleman --Fort Worth, Texas
Debra -- Peninsula, Ohio
Junosmom -- Kentucky
PreTzel -- Des Moines, Iowa