Hey! How is everyone doing? Me, I'm doing fine. Normally when I get on this thing, I am either making fun or someone, some thing or even myself. I wanted to go a different direction and at the same time give anyone interested in "The Book" an update.
Let us start with "The Book". "The Book" is still in the works. I have encountered a couple of issues while writing "The Book". The biggest issue is formatting. As it turns out, I am not much of a writer but I have had so much encouragement from some of you guys. A couple of you have said, "That is the appeal of you writing a book. Maybe you're not a great writer but you are a good story teller and you are funny." For those of you who have encouraged me and have offered support, thanks a bunch. I really mean it and I can't tell you how important your support really is.
The thing with this book is, it revolves around my time in the bar business. With nearly 20 years of walking the plank, I have had so many hilarious things happen that they should be shared. This type of stuff would really strike home, I think, with anyone who has worked in the hospitality industry or general customer service industry.
Some of the problems have to do with people being named, how they may take their representation and me getting the shit sued out of me. I don't need that and I am not in the business of putting a negative spotlight on anyone. I think we all do a good dnough job of that with ourselves and it's just really not my cup of tea unless you are a particularly nefarious asshole. Then I'd be happy to talk shit about you.
Another problem is continuity. I can tell these stories as I remember them, and I have doezens that come to mind instantly. The problem lies with writing them down and being able to continue to write. I've searched the internet far and wide to find some help with this. Almost all of the advice I found is "keep writing, regardless of the topic" and "write about the things you know".
Back to the continuity issue. I can write a quick story. I'm confident in that. Here's the kicker though. Stories have a beginning and an end. In my soup sandwich of a fucking brain, it seems as if I need to write this compilation of short stories in order. I can't do that. It just seems wrong and I can't get around it yet. Don't get me wrong, I am continuing to write but when a story hits me, I grind it out and walk away. I have to because the next story is not in order. A friend asked, "Why does that matter?" The answer is, I don't know but it matters in my head. I spend more time writing stories as they hit me, leave names out (which I think kind of kills the story in some situations) and end up frustrated with what I've done. Is it writers block? I don't know, but it is a hell of a thing.
Now, back to the "write about what you know" thing. Yeah, I know the bar business pretty well. I wouldn't say that I am an expert because I learned something new every week. One thing that I do know and am passionate about is mental illness.
Mental illness still has a stigma attached to it. Many stigmas, in fact and it seems like we can't get out of our own way in order to open the dialog and make more progress. Thankfully we are headed in the right direction but I feel as if we are crwaling along on a snails pace.
We can do better and I want to help. I'm willing to tell my history dealing with my own mental health in an attempt to make people more comfortable with their own issues, perhaps leading them to get the help they need.
In closing, I'd like to tell anyone suffering that you are not alone and there is help. There are also at least one set of ears open to hear about your struggles. Know this. The struggle is real and there are qualified professionals that can help you find your way through the maze of mental illness. Please reach out.
Thanks for your time and I'll see you soon with something else.
BD
