...and probably everything is possible
from Worm Moon by Mary Oliver
Running in the early morning is a mixed bag. Today it was high tide so the soft sand made it hard to pay attention to an audible book (in the queue; Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting*). The worm moon (last full moon of winter) made it worthwhile though as I opted for my running playlist.
Music was the perfect accompaniment for the focus required while navigating a dark beach with a head torch and wobbly legs.
Music of all genres can elicit an emotional connection for me. Opera is the most likely culprit but when I hear music of my youth I am right back there. I have a companion out there in the predawn sand — 20 year old Bonny — as I hear the echo of the guitar strings through my AirPods heralding one of my favorite bands of the era — Guns N’ Roses.
Not sure why this Bob Dylan song written for the movie Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and performed by Guns N’ Roses is the one that gets me in the feels when Axl Rose’s pharyngeal voice sings across his 5 octave range. But it does…
This morning, I think I figured it out. The summer before graduate school I was committed to paying back all of my undergraduate student loans. In those days, tuition was reasonable, especially for a state University like Rutgers.
I worked in a few Princeton restaurants and relied on the New Brunswick to Princeton bus to bring me from campus to Princeton and back again. Did you ever work in a restaurant? If yes, it will not surprise you that the manager of the restaurant tried his darnedest to make sure I missed that last bus. Trivial tasks were remembered or last minute requests were made. I felt helpless and powerless. Until I decided to bring my bike with me on the bus. I was a member of the Triathlon Club at Rutgers and had a high-end Pinarello racing bike. It was light weight and easy to maneuver.
It was the bandana I wore under my helmet that earned me the nickname, ‘Axl Rose’s little sister’. I rode 18 miles on that bike along the Princeton to Rutgers route more times than I can count. It may have been the last thing I wanted to do after a full night of restaurant service but you know what I did want? Power and autonomy.
As an aside, 30 years ago my husband Steve and I were married by a justice of the peace in Malibu, California. You know who else he married that weekend?
Slash from Guns N’ Roses…
When I hear this song especially, I am glad to be the ancestor of 20 year old Bonny — those challenging days evolved into the ability to take a less than optimal situation and breathe opportunity instead of dismay or helplessness.
Publishing books is rife with disappointments and perhaps misguided expectations. You can either whine or take it as an opportunity to see what you are made of. Well let’s be honest, you can do both (in moderation though with the whine).
I am learning about what you think publishers do and the reality of what is unceremoniously left to newby authors to figure out.
I don’t plan on missing any more buses.
I am pulling myself up by my boot straps (a friend uses the phrase bra straps and it cracks me up) and learning what I need to know. For example, books about geospatial should be listed in geospatial categories in Amazon lol.
On a positive note, my teams are quick to respond to my insights gained from talking with colleagues and fellow authors.
…and (now) probably everything is possible.
Read the full poem by Mary Oliver or buy it over on Amazon*, 12 moons (affiliate link).
Open Data Science Conference (subscriptions from Substack newsletters made me able to accept the invitation to speak— thank you!)
Python for Geospatial Analysis
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