Coming to Portugal is like being born again and no not THAT way. You have to learn so many things from scratch. Every way you turn there is something new, a sensory overload for days, weeks, months. But slowly, like a toddler, you begin to pick up the rhythm. More and more of daily life becomes routine or at least doable without drama.
And if you are newly “retired”, there is a whole different set of challenges. Maybe a sense of loss of your identity because you are no longer the “Doctor, lawyer, or Indian Chief.” But then … what are you?
For many/some/all of us, it’s a chance to rediscover our true self or, possibly, an outright reinventing of who we are. As the philosopher Jimmy Buffet sang: “It's those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, nothing remains quite the same. With all of our running and all of our cunning, if we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane.”
And then there is the rainy season. Months of cool,muggy, damp grey skies, some places worse or better. What to do, what to do?
Why not write a book? Lots of people say they’ve always wanted to or that they are “going to do it someday.” Now you have time, lots of time and not so many excuses. And so ….
“I’m going to write a novel,” I said to my wife one mid-winter morning while we were enjoying a morning coffee. She looked at me with a bit of a frown and I couldn’t tell if she didn’t quite hear me or didn’t believe me.
“Well, at least a story, maybe long enough to be a book.” I said with determination. This time she blinked twice so I knew she was processing it.
“That’s great,” she said. “You should use your experiences here in Portugal, particularly Coimbra and all the outlying villages that you explore on your bike. Paint them into the story, weave the sights, sounds, smells and tastes into the backdrop for your narrative.”
So I was committed and she was supportive, as she always is. I didn’t realize then she would be my compass, keeping me on course, as well as my editor and proofreader. It’s only a simple piece of fiction, but she kept me grounded and was a stickler for details.
I got great advice and vision from various masters along the way. Steven King started it off with his book on writing, a gift from my son. Dan Brown, Neil Gaiman, and Amy Tan all contributed through the Masterclass series, gifted by my step-daughter, as my writing progressed.
At some point, I realized that writing has some advantages over talking. If you are like me, you probably remember conversations or situations where you wish you had precisely the right response. You know … to a question or statement someone else made. Unfortunately, you and I didn’t think of it in the heat of the moment, only much later. So often that perfect response pops into our heads effortlessly, but just too little and too late. But when one writes, one can rewrite! Or at least delete and start over again.
Dan Brown and other writers say a main character has to have a challenge, something he/she wants but can’t get without overcoming an obstacle. Basic story writing 101 - hero - quest - dragon - fair maiden’s heart to win. But for some reason, I resisted that, resisted the idea of problem solving.
Instead, I created a character at a turning point in his life and then threw him into a cauldron. Life and fate do that, after all. And isn’t life what happens when you’re making other plans?
And luck , good or bad, intensely pushes any narrative, in books and in real life. Do you wonder if Karma exists? Do you wish that it did?
So why not write a story where Karma does exist? Close the loops. Maybe the good guys win; bad guys lose, but bend the rules, make the moral lines curve. Who says a line in the sand has to be straight? If you are interested, check Amazon in the books category, and search for A Lie Never Dies. You can read the opening sample chapter before you decide to buy it.
And so this is my Sunday Fun Day post:, part pride and part a challenge. Why not go beyond Meta/Facebook and Substack posts and put your dreams, your stories to paper. If I can do it, so can you.