February, 2021 - C.E. Lemieux Jr

February 21, 2021February 20, 2021

Spittin’ in the Wind

I was a Navy kid. Other than some time in Kentucky at my grandparents, I spent the first ten years of my life in the cities where my dad was stationed. When he told us we were moving to Oklahoma after his retirement, I had visions of cowboys and Indians. Although my brother and I had our share of exploring living near canyons in California, along the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, and staying with our grandparents in Kentucky, it was still quite a culture shock to move from the green of Virginia to the dry brown of a Panhandle July.

Coming from a city with concrete and asphalt, lush parks, and the beach nearby, living in a small Oklahoma town was an experience of its own. In Virginia we were right off the bay. We had a small dock behind our house, pine trees, and green grass nearly year-round. I remember seeing it snow once while we lived there. It was the first time I remember seeing snow. We watched the flakes fall from the sky and disappear in our hands. It may have lasted a few minutes.

February 14, 2021January 31, 2021

Sloppy, greasy, meaty, messy

You know what I miss? I miss hometown, community gathering, short-order cooking, vinyl booth seat sliding, cafes. I miss greasy, burgers and fresh cut fries. I’m talking burgers so sloppy they almost slide off the bun. And the buns – buttered buns grilled on the flattop. All served with a plate of lettuce, pickles, onions, and tomato’s accompanied by three squeeze bottles of toppings. Yeah, I know there are some places around that serve decent hamburgers, and I tip my hat to attempt, but that’s not all I miss. I miss menus in plastic sleeves that catered to everything from bacon, eggs, and hash-browns to hot roast beef on sliced bread smothered in brown gravy with mashed potatoes, liver and onions (at least it smelled good) and chicken fried steak with a choice of potato and white or brown gravy. I miss that “Can I have gravy on my fries, too” ordering.

I miss the ladies who ran the places, and the ones that cooked on the flattop; ladies so serious about their craft they swore to take their recipes to their graves, like my wife’s Aunt Max. I miss the coffee drinkers table I’ve spoken of in the past, and the waitresses who’d keep the white cups filled with coffee and the customers in line — giving it right back to the oilfield worker who was giving her a hard time. I miss the polyester uniforms the waitress wore, with the pocket up front for the ticket book she kept nearby, and listening to her complain about the guy at table two who stole her pen. The sound of the mechanical cash register as she punched the keys and it figured the ticket, and the ding when the cash drawer opened was the music of small town commerce.

February 7, 2021January 31, 2021

Margarita’s Dance

So, Margarita’s Dance is nearly ready. I still need some reading review to get to the final step. It’s really easy to overlook things when you are self-editing. My brain knows what I want to say, so my eyes see it in that way. It’s kind of like those posts on Facebook that leave out letters, or print upside down. My fingers can easily type one word (like -role) when it should have been another word (like -roll). Spellcheck and grammar check overlook them because they are a real word. Additionally, since Margarita’s Dance crosses cultures, there are some Spanish translations which I will need some help reviewing.

Once I get some readers to give me feedback, I’ll put it out there. Honestly, I feel really good about the story. There is a little more romance in this novel, but plenty of the life and longing that make a bittersweet novel. I love the characters and the dialogue; I just hope you do too. One of my favorite characters, Darwin, is actually a secondary character, but I hope he comes alive as much for you as he does for me.

Anyway, as soon as I can get some pre-publish readers, and follow up on the feedback, I’ll get it out there. If you are local and interested helping me proof Margarita’s Dance, give me a shout. If you are Spanish speaking, all the better. Thanks as always for the support.