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Sunday, October 30, 2011

Unfittie Redux

In comments on my blog, one or two people have, politely, said they're looking forward to reading my book "when it comes out".
Like a debutante in an old-fashioned romance novel, whose parents haven't enough money for all those dresses and matching shoes, An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel might never come out, so I thought I'd let it out here, a bit at a time, for those of you who don't want to go back to the beginning of my blog in 2009 to check it out.
Yes, writing a book can be a long process, especially for an unfittie.


EXCERPTS FROM CHAPTER 1
Okay, so you’re not as young as you used to be. You have pains in places where you didn’t used to have places, and you suspect your weight in pounds far exceeds your height in centimeters, although you’ve never been mathematically inclined and never mastered the metric system.
The math part won’t matter anyway, unless you want to explore countries where everything is metric.
*
It doesn’t dawn on you right away—you’re not the quick study you once were—but life, as you’ve grown to know it, is over.
*
EXCERPTS FROM CHAPTER 2
This is a true story. It more or less has a beginning and an end, but it isn’t a novel and it doesn’t have a plot. It happened to me.
*
“There are penguins in the Galapagos Islands,” said Dick.
We’ve been traveling ever since.

*
EXCERPTS FROM CHAPTER 3
Regret is something we all want to live without, isn’t it? Disappointment we can handle; pain and sorrow await us all; but regret is something we can avoid by the way we respond to life’s opportunities.
*
I want to share my hard-won knowledge with you. Not because my way will be perfect for all unfitties of all genders, but because it worked for me—sometimes well, and sometimes, well, not so well.
And it’s been fun.
*
EXCERPTS FROM  CHAPTER 4
Perhaps you’ve never really accepted being less than completely fit. Maybe your mental image of yourself is from an earlier time, when you felt ten feet tall and bulletproof.
*
A year later, when traveling with (my brother and) a friend in Queensland, Australia, I tried to run, tripped over a tree root, fell flat on my face, and decided enough was enough.

13 comments:

Jo said...

Oh that's BRILLIANT, Kay! We get to read your book right here, yippee. You inspire me with your excellent English and amaze me with your knack of knowing exactly WHAT to say and when to say it. I struggle terribly with getting my thoughts onto paper. In my head and when they happened to me, they seemed so interesting. On paper, I see it through other people's eyes and feel so critical thinking it's boring. I can only but practice, but as I say, every one of your blog posts inspire me. Bless you dearest Kay. (((hugs))) Jo

SquirrelQueen said...

If I were browsing books your first chapter would most certainly grab my attention.

I look forward to reading more Kay.

Nanka said...

Much fun in the write here!! I loved the book Kay!! I'll find it and get it when its out!! After all we are unfitties too!!The fourth chapter is the best of all and does that mean a long wait for us all!! :D

Kay said...

Oh no! You tripped on a tree root in Australia too? No wonder we think so much alike.

I love learning from you, Kay.

Mara said...

Well, you know you can sign me up for the book when it comes out. In the mean time I will just read your blog.

Friko said...

Are you going to flesh out the chapters at all? Maybe just a tad?

kaykuala said...

Kay,
Interestingly given dosage by dosage. The penguins seemed to have liked warm waters now.I thought only the South Pole or thereabouts were their domains.

Hank

S K Ditta said...

Kay and Richard, you share. Thank you!

Carola Bartz said...

Oh Kay, I love this. Your sense of humor makes up for everything!!! However, I'm afraid that you have to deal with the metric system since you're traveling so much ... :-) (darn it!)

Martha Z said...

Ah, yes, I am coming to terms with the reality, I can't do the things I used to.
I like your style, I think this could be a very entertaining read.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Oh I so enjoyed this, but the snippets want to make me go back to the beginning (which never happens in blogdone, right?) and read the whole thing.

Ummmm.........I hate to ask this, but did you know there are penguins in Stanley Park too? (Good thing he didnt say THAT, or you might never have traveled!)

jabblog said...

You have a lightness of touch that many would envy.I do hope your book will reach (wider) publication:-)

Leslie said...

You have a warm and witty writing style. Have you ever explored publishing an e-book? There is lots of info on the web about it, and according to my daughter's friend, who has published books of poetry through iBooks, the author's cut of the profit is much higher - from 50-80%.