​I put my birds on a diet. They’re not really my birds, they’re the birds. The birds outside that I started to feed (of course they are the outside birds, it would be pretty weird if they were inside birds that weren’t mine…). Anyway…
 
Let’s back up a bit. I decided to put out some seeds and bugs – I KNOW! You can buy bird seed that has bugs in it! Pretty cool. You can also just buy the bugs, I think that they are mealworms, so I suppose I should call them grubs. You know, when I was young, my father would buy coconut fingers (chocolate coated coconut-very yummy) and we would call them “grubs”. Gross! Unless you are a 7-year-old boy. Anyway…
 
Birds go nuts over it. Literally, they lose their little minds. It took a few days, but finally they discovered my little snack tray outside my patio door. I didn’t get a lot, maybe 6 or 7, they are hard to count, it might be 1 or 2 really fast ones. It is kind of like the one fruit fly I keep seeing. I know it is the same one because it looks the same. I started putting my compost in the freezer because I didn’t like the cloud of flies every time I  opened the lid. I don’t know what that guy is eating now. Anyway…
 
I woke up one morning to a tapping sound. I looked out and there was a bird pecking at the pieces of bread that I had put out. It was going stale (the bread, not the bird) and I don’t like throwing out food, I never have. I’ll eat food that is past it’s best before date. Sour cream keeps a long time it you don’t open the lid. Recently, there was some guy who lived off “expired” food for a whole year. Kudos! It is really shocking how much food is wasted. I try to do my part by not buying to much and checking out the discounted food. Anyway…
 
This bird was pecking at the bread, so I put out a few more seeds (and grubs). The next morning about 8:00, the same thing happened (pecking and feeding). Then the little stinker came at 7:50, then 7:45. He had it all figured out – The early bird gets the seeds (and grubs). Then, he came at 7:30 and I realized that he had ME trained. Well, I put a stop to that and made him wait. I was told that that was cruel but the little guy is not going to starve in 30 minutes. And, he probably has little stashes of seeds (and grubs) all over, most of which he is not going to be able to find. Such wasteful creatures (see how I turned that whole thing back onto them? Ha!) I know they waste because there is a squirrel that buries his acorns and seeds everywhere and I find them sprouting up everywhere. Squirrels are cute, but boy do they make a mess. That’s why I started to trap them (humanly) and relocate them to a ritzy neighborhood. Don’t ask me about the skunk. Anyway…
 
Back to waste. I noticed that there were still bits of seeds (but no grubs) left on the feeder each morning, so I wait until those are all gone before I put out more seeds (and grubs). Not really a diet, more like a fast. Which was the main point in this post.
 
Anyway…

​The music world lost an incredible talent yesterday. John Mann, from the band Spirit of the West, died at the age of 57.  My life has many memories related to this band. The Winnipeg Folk Festival, where I was first introduced to them, rubber boots, mud and all, remains engraved into my soul. Friends and future relationships were forged with a soundtrack that continues to play. Each song, like a private video, reminds me of times past that forever will not be able to erase.
 
I am grateful that I was able to see them at their final concert at the Commodore in Vancouver with the person that I loved. Unknown to me at the time, this would be one of my last good memories.
 
Spirit of the West represents a wonderful part of my life and at the same time brings me sadness because by no one's fault but my own, I threw what I had away, the ashes of an previous existence taken by the winds to be forever scattered.
 
Thank you, John, for your talent. You will be fondly remembered.

When I was growing up, my father would read or make up science fiction stories when I went to bed.  As I got older, I began to read short story anthologies and novels from some of the pioneers of science fiction writing. I was filled with wonder at the fantastic visions of the future. Just like a child’s imagination is unfettered by boundaries, these writers were able to make the unknown their own.

I grew with the writers, following the up and comers with their new approaches, styles, and understandings. More discoveries made for more scientifically accurate writing, and gave the next generation of authors the opportunity to stretch the boundaries of belief even farther. The advances in science however, revealed the folly in some of the earlier ideas that were put forward, making some of the stories that I was so fond of just a little more absurd. While the new technical knowledge gave credibility and possibility to the stories, I missed the early days when any idea was considered  fair game.

I decided to write a series of short stories in the style of the early years of science fiction, where scientific knowledge wasn’t king and imagination drove the author to create something that a young boy could read and dream about travelling to the stars and having fantastical adventures, while falling asleep to the voice of his father… 

​Leon

​Book release is getting closer. With a lot of back and forth with my design team, I think that what I initially envisioned is what I am going to get. There were a few things that they were able to suggest to me that in the end made sense and somethings I did stand my ground (alignment, Table of Contents).
 
I think the hardest part was the editing. I elected to do the editing myself; in hindsight I would pay for the next time. It is so easy to overlook errors in something that you have written, since when you read it, you read what you think you wrote, not what is actually on the page, unless you read really, really, really carefully. One trick that I discovered was the “read aloud” function in Word. I caught my remaining errors this way by hearing the poems. I didn’t have many errors. Most were just due to spell check correcting incorrectly.
 
So, as long as everything is right in this round of revisions, everything is good to go. It’s pretty exciting. When I have a copy in my hands, that’s when it will feel real. Would I like to make a living with my writing? Of course, but I’m not spending any royalty checks anytime soon…

When I first began to write a blog, I wasn’t sure about how often I should. I thought once a week was about the right amount of time. Looking at my last post, which was several weeks ago, I now know that I am not going to hold myself to any time frame.
 
So, why write here at all? The same reason that I decided to publish my poems- so that others can enjoy reading them. I’ve read a few blogs here and there and a unifying feature is that you need to be passionate about doing it. I like writing. It does come in fits and starts, and most of my writing has occurred during the crappy times in my life. But a lot of it has also been a growing process, and it have enabled me to come to terms with how my life is now.
 
I try to tweet once a week though. I like short little bites that force you to be concise and not ramble. I hope you have been reading them.
 
‘till next time,
 
Leon

I do a lot of my writing while I'm running or biking. I rarely listen to music and I'm usually alone, so my mind is free to explore.  Here are a few nuggets of wisdom many miles in the making.

• Going downhill is easy, the challenge is getting back to the top
• One foot in front of the other is the way to move forward
• No pain, no gain is unfortunately true
• The wind is rarely at your back, so take advantage of it when it is
• Quitting is a sure way to fail
• Personal bests are more rewarding than victory over others
• Sometimes you just need a break
• Take the hard road as often as you can, save the easy one for when you really need it
• Sometimes you can go it alone, other times, you need help

​"I do my best writing when I am running or hurting. Often, that is the same time…"
Leon