George Inness: After a Summer Shower (1894)

Now Must Be The Time
I once believed that a time might come when my patience would be amply rewarded, though I never invested much time defining what that payoff might entail. Would it come in the form of no longer needing to exercise patience? After all those decades diligently practicing my patience, I might have earned a payoff that promised only the continued practice, by then masterful, of ever more patience. I might have mastered waiting. It seems now, from the perspective of this once far and distant shore, that practicing patience itself might have always been the underlying purpose, promise fulfilled in the very act of striving to practice. Of course, anyone who has practiced patience understands that this practice never seems to approach perfection. Even the avid practitioner understands that even diligently practicing patience involves experiencing considerable impatience, too, and that it's ultimately a failed pursuit if judged too absolutely.

My mother's Uncle Curtis served as an early example of both diligence and patience. He worked for decades as a correctional officer at the local state pen. He manned one of the towers on the night shift, watchful for any attempted breakout. Near the end of his career, a breakout finally occurred, though he was on the toilet when the alarm sounded. He struggled to man his machine gun, which he ultimately managed before pulling his pants back up. There he stood, finally fulfilling his purpose with his pants down around his ankles. He never outlived the resulting reputation.

He retired soon after, sold his side business, and bought a sporty car, planning to move to sunny Mexico, where the living would be cheap and easy. He was back a scant few months later, complaining that he'd never suspected Mexico was so full of Mexicans. He died of a heart attack a few months shy of the first anniversary of his retirement party. Life occurs while you're waiting for your life to emerge. Now must be the time.

——

Weekly Writing Summary

This FollowingChapters Story finds me pondering what it means to be UnAmerican and what represents what we might each easily recognize as our common heritage.

American Issue Publishing Co.: Liquor Problem: United States. A "wet and dry" Map of Temperance Reform in the U.S.: "Wet" and "Dry" Map of the United States, January 1, 1912: Areas shown in white are areas in which the sale of alcohol is prohibited by law. (1912)
"I wonder if we can survive until the curtain rises on our next performance."
—
This FollowingChapters Story finds me grieving again for what used to be but came to a hopefully temporary end. The self-described Christian Nationalists have taken power, and there will be Hell to pay. They seem determined to turn us into a 3rdWorld nation, and they may.

Vasily Kandinsky: Painting with Green Center (1913)
"Nobody imagines us essential anymore."
—
This FollowingChapters Story finds me anticipating an increasing number of Disasters as our MAGA brethren further dismantle our disaster prevention administration. Preventing Disasters produces "dogs that never bark" outcomes while disasters create sympathetic photo opportunities.

Thomas Rowlandson: The Double Disaster or New Cure for Love (July 10, 1807) - Published by Thomas Tegg
" … after the previously almost unthinkables start occurring regularly again."
—
This FollowingChapters Story tells the tale of a Tariffied terrorist who chose Tariffs as his medium of terror. He basically baffles his allies into confusion before going off to spend another million bucks on a round of golf where he cheats and always wins. How inspiring!

Lucian and Mary Brown: Untitled [baby reaching for typewriter] (c. 1950)
"Nobody ever applauds a terrorist."
—
In this FollowingChapters Story, I manage to give myself permission to engage in some midsummer hibernation: Lowbernation.

Edward Clark Potter: Sleeping Infant Faun Visited by an Inquisitive Rabbit (1887–89)
"All might be right with the world contained within the midsummer guest bedroom walls."
—
This FollowingChapters Story finds me rooting out disappointment and remembering that my BrightIdeas! that encouraged me to start something probably won't survive into implementation.

Harold Edgerton: Death of a Light Bulb (1936, printed later)
" … the crucial resource I need to deploy to succeed."
— —

This was not so much a disappointing writing week as one bookended with disappointing experiences. I am still learning, so my anticipating sometimes manages to get way out ahead of me, leaving me exposed when, inevitably, difference manifests. I might have learned by now that my first expectations tend to be uninformed, so it's usually a blessing when they go unrequited. I persist in investing in futures never likely to emerge, producing fresh context within which to feel disappointed. I am not learning quickly, though I am still learning.

I began this writing week on the day following the most discouraging 4th of July The Muse and I ever experienced, pondering on what constitutes UnAmerican activity now that we have a scofflaw incumbent and a spineless majority in Congress, not to mention a mentally-challenged SCOTUS. I concluded that I've been seeing not so much UnAmerican as AntiAmerican activity.

I then launched into a lament over how my native country seems to be transforming into something more closely resembling a 3rdWorld one, and all the risks and disappointments attendant with this.

I noticed a curious paradox accompanying all the Disasters we've been experiencing since the incumbent took office. Each provides an opportunity for him and his hapless administration, which has largely created the context that encourages these experiences, to enjoy a relatively positive press briefing.

I then admitted that our incumbent's whacky and also wildly illegal tariffs have left me feeling Tariffied. They amount to the most significant tax hike in this nation's history, and many more are planned.

I tired of my writing week and took refuge in a hot detective novel in Lowbernation.

I then ended this disappointing writing week with a paean to BrightIdeas!, the fuel that motivates new beginnings before morphing into fresh disappointments. I'm hoping for better next week! Thanks for sticking with me through this sweaty summer writing week!

©2025 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #FollowingChapters, #PureSchmaltz