The Humble Beginning

This is the beginning.  Well, technically, the previous and first post was the beginning.  But that was the "explain the title" post, and this is the introductory, what-it-is post.  Bear with me, please.

I've been writing for a long time. What's that?  Never heard of me or read anything I've written? That's because only recently have I overcome the fear of rejection and started submitting stories for publication.  Rejection conquered!  Upward, escalator shoes, upward!

What's more, a story of mine has been selected to be published.  It's a big deal for me, and I feel very lucky and blessed and excited.  My hairline might have even advanced a tiny bit.  Or my eyebrows need trimming.  Either way, I'm feeling good and had to share.  I want you to be excited, too.  Ride the escalator.  It smells better than the elevator.  I'm sure you agree.  Isn't it great how the word "you" is both singular and plural?  That's nice because there might just be one of you (hi, mom), but I hope there will be more and more of you as time progresses and the escalator continues climbing.  I hope you find your own escalator, too, maybe next to mine so we can chat as we ride.

I'll certainly have more information about the publication to share in the future.  Stay tuned!

Escalator Shoes?

I'm not a fan of elevators.  The motion often makes me queasy.  My imagination traps me inside a box that's plunging a million feet at the speed of sound toward certain death.  Nearly every elevator I've ridden has smelled either of bleach or some mixture of the worst odors produced by human bodies.  If anything could make me love stairs, it's elevators.

Escalators are open and you can see where they're taking you.  When they break, you can still climb them.  It's even possible to use them against the "current" if you're quick.  When I was a kid, the escalators at the mall were the main attraction.  I would ride them for hours if allowed and pitch a fit when we left them behind.

That's why I want escalator shoes instead of elevator shoes.

I'm five feet and five inches tall with my regular shoes on.  There.  It's out there on the web forever. Being ashamed of being short is like being ashamed of going bald or having a big nose or a cackling laugh.  Short is just part of who I am even though if I could be taller I would, just like I would have more hair and laugh without scaring people.

My escalator shoes are more figurative.  I like to think every experience that I can turn positive makes me stronger and figuratively taller, and there's no limit to how tall I can become.  It's my damned escalator, and it can defy the laws of physics if I want.  In fact, I'll make it big enough for everybody else who wants to ride with me.  I hope that includes you.

This is going to be a blog about growth for me.  I hope there will be funny parts.  I hope there will be uplifting parts.  I hope there will be regular, if not long, updates.  I hope people will want to join me for this and future posts.  If you started late, then maybe you caught the downward escalator and rode back to start at the beginning.  Thanks for coming along.