My original purpose for writing these short stories of my life was to help answer the question some descendent might ask of my grandchildren, “What do you know or remember about your Grandfather Smith?” They are fragments - in the sense that they are generally independent from one another. In most books chapter 3 builds from chapter 2 builds from chapter 1… these chapters do not fit together that way. You can open to any chapter and find that it stands alone. I’ve written approximately 175 stories and essays; these are my favorites.
As a student at the University of Illinois my rationale was that at some time I could pursue the liberal arts, but the first order of business was to get an education that would translate immediately into a job. My engineering degree opened the door to a job at Caterpillar. My technical career at Caterpillar had the unexpected benefit that I had to learn to write! Not poetry or fiction or stories in general, but technical writing. This meant that I had to learn grammar, sentence structure, and a certain amount of brevity. My bosses insisted that good writing meant that, unlike poetry, technical messages had to be structured in words and phrases that were unambiguous! Their definition of good writing was to state things in such a manner that they could not be misinterpreted. There was no room for anything that did not help clarify the messages of results and recommendations. With retirement I now have the license to construct whatever combination of words I wish and this experience of combining words more freely is a newfound pleasure. And good storytellers and speechwriters do not use words that require a dictionary.
I enjoy editing because I am always looking for the right combination of words that bring a scene or an insight to a shining clarity or to a better sense of the moment then a lesser set of words would. Mark Twain explained seeking just the right word as the difference between a lightning bug and lightening! But most of all I write because, despite the frustration of the initial putting words down on paper, I do it for the pleasure of doing it! I have to admit that the main reason for writing is for the sheer joy and gratification of doing so; my own satisfaction has been a sufficient reason to write.
You might be asking “why do you presume to impart anything that I can’t read about from authors far more qualified to speak about life and death, and how to look at the world and events and relationships… and God?”
You are right; I don’t know anyone who has had their picture on the front page of the New York Times, or Newsweek. But I know people who have lived lives of dedication and perseverance and responsibility and commitment. What I’m trying to say is, look for the important lessons about life in the people around you. Why do you think about things the way you do? How did you develop the priorities in life that you have? Look to people who have mastered living the routine of life; “showing up” as I say, doing more than going through the motions, not waiting for something better to come along. They are people who may have shown interest in life after death but have stayed engaged in life before death. They have led me to the following belief: Live life before death to your fullest and best, and your life after death with all the constraints of time and space removed, will be even better.
Enjoy!