Hixon Dance

My sister is a dancer and choreographer with a master's degree in baroque dance (at least... I think that's right).  She has been part of the Columbus scene for many years now and has performed several pieces, including running a studio.  Of course, my favorite pieces that she choreographs are the comedic ones, but she is really quite good at anything and everything she does.

Now, I know this is a shameless plug, but she is currently working on a dance movie, an homage to the late, great Doris Humphrey.  The piece is called "Air for the G String."  She only needs a little more than $2,000 (as of the time of this writing) in order to get off the ground.  If you've got $10 or so to spare, why not consider endorsing the arts?  I am sure my sister would be eternally grateful.  How do I know?  It says so on her site.

Air for the G String: A Tribute to Doris Humphrey's Film

Soul Fiddle

"Does it play good?" asked the round man as he turned the instrument in appraisal under the tobacco-ladened fan.  The amber glow of the street lamp glinted off the smooth curves, briefly lighting up the two men's faces.

"Nah,  I'm the best around and I could never make it sing.  It just too soft, too malleable.   Makes it sound dull.  And you feel how heavy the thing is.  I'll be damned if I can't make it through a whole jig with that thing.  But it sure is pretty, huh?"  The young man leaned over the desk and deftly plucked the fiddle from the other's hands.

"And the bow?"

With a quick flash of his teeth, the young man produced the rosined violin bow.  "Same as the fiddle, Bill.  Pure gold," he said.

Bill's leather chair creaked when he sat back.  "I'm not convinced.  It's not that I don't trust you, Johnny, but word gets around.  I heard you tried to sell it before."

The confident smile faded from Johnny's lips.  "Yeah, I had to try.  It ain't worth keeping if I can't make it sound good.  I tried the banks, but the ones that would listen would only accept it as collateral for a business loan."  He set one end of the fiddle down on the desk and started to rub at the gold finish with a dirty cloth, trying to bring back its shine.  "The jewelers wanted to melt it, but I don't want her to end up like that.  The pawn shops thought I was lying."

"So you bring it to me outta desperation?" Bill asked, bringing his steepled fingers to his lips.

"That's not it at all, Bill!  I… I didn't want to burden ya."

"With a gold fiddle?"

Johnny nodded and put a violin case down on the desk.  "Are you a superstitious man?"

Bill folded his hands in his lap.  "I can't say that I am.  You know that, Johnny."

"Well I am.  Ever since I got this fiddle I've had a hard time finding gigs to play at.  And those I did find never paid well.  I didn't want to bring you any bad luck.  You've never steered me wrong before.  And now I'm in hard straights, Bill.  I need some money."

"How do I know it's not hot?  Something like this a man don't just come by."

"Well, that's the funny thing.  I won it in a contest., fair and square.  Some guy comes up to me and wagers I can't outplay him.  It's his fiddle against my soul.  I knew I could do it, so I agreed.  I mean, what's a soul, anyway?  I laid him down, Bill.  I laid him down good."

"Sounds like the Father of Lies was trying to pull a fast one on ya, Johnny."

"It's all true, I swear!  He just gives me the fiddle and disappears.  Haven't seen him since.  Besides, I'm a musician, not a thief.  I haven't stolen a thing in my life."

Bill grunted as he stood up to walk around his desk just as Johnny was putting the fiddle in its case.  "Hell, if you say you won it square, I believe ya.  But are you sure you wanna do this?  Everyone knows you've been struggling with the vice."

"I been sober and straight for a year, Bill!"

"Don't think I haven't heard that before."

"Well, so what if I pay for a few drinks and a girl?  Maybe I'll get a dime bag while I'm at it!  Don't you think I've earned it?  Shouldn't be your business what I do with the money anyway, so long as I pay you back, right?  You know I'm good for it."

With a heavy sigh, Bill patted Johnny on the back and pulled the violin case across the desk over to him.  "You're like family to me, Johnny.  I don't want to see you get in over your head with this."

"I'm fine, Bill.  I can handle myself.  Once I get the money, I’ll be alright.  I'll clean up, play a few gigs again.  I mean, I am the best fiddler around."  That charming, self-assured smile slowly crept back to Johnny's face.

"Alright.  Alright!  I'll lend you the green.  But I'm gonna get this thing tested, and if I find out this isn't pure gold, or that it's hot, there'll be Hell to pay."

Johnny looked relieved when he heard he'd be getting the money.  "I've gotten out of Hell before, Bill."

Triumphant Return

So it has been a little less than a month since my last post.  It took us a while to get the internet up and running again, and we are still surrounded by boxes.  I have not had much chance for writing, as a result.  But I wanted everyone to know that I am, indeed, still alive!

One thing I am noticing is that whenever I try to approach my novel to revise, I feel overwhelmed and do not want to work on it as a result.  When I get settled in a little more, I am going to have to revise my method of revising.

At the moment, I have a list of changes I wish to make before letting anyone else read it.  I am going to have to go chapter by chapter to decide where which changes go, and how to make them.  Some of them are minor, such as a character witnessing something.  Others, not so much.  I am going to make some fundamental changes to a couple of the characters, to help define them more. But these changes are not going to be easy at all.  It means I may have to rewrite entire chapters, or even add or remove some.

So, in short, I will return to writing shortly!  I might even try a short, short story for Friday Flash! We shall see!