I was talking today with a friend about where story ideas come from and how sometimes these little pieces just jump up and bite you. Later I was in the car driving listening to a CD I have called THIS ARE TWO TONE. Basically ska music from early '80's UK with bands like The Specials, Madness, Rico, etc. And there's this line in a Specials song, "Fashion is my only conscience." And I've heard the song lots of time, but today it hit me, that's a springboard to something. Certainly a character at the very least.

When I decided to have a link from my website to a journal, I thought I would only write about books and writing in the journal. However, as a loyal Rutgers graduate, I am compelled to say here that what we saw last Thursday night (Rutgers vs. Louisville) was sports history! If you haven't seen the game, get a copy and watch or look for ESPN to run it again as they deemed it an instant classic. The greatest fiction writer going couldn't have written a better script, created more perfect characters, or described a more thrilling setting. Unreal! Even though a billion words have been written about this game already, I think I'm going to have to go ahead and write something anyway.

I have veered off course in my reading. I put PINNED aside (no offense to the author, I just had a reading mood swing), switched over to BLUE LIKE JAZZ by Donald Miller and finished it in two days. The liner notes say, "a fresh and original perspective on life, love, and redemption. Think of Donald Miller as Anne Lamott with testosterone." I concur. If you're in the mood to reflect on life and what it's all about, this is a great vehicle for the journey. I would recommend it for young adults too (not just old adults, like me.)

I re-read one of my favorite books of all time, BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY by Jay McInerney. Only 182 pages. Clean, precise, moving. Wow. Not an extra word, not a boring moment. I sometimes think everybody has a perfect book in them. (Some people maybe more) This was his. I don't think anything else he's written has come close. Scary thought in some ways.

Just finished Chris Crutcher's KING OF THE MILD FRONTIER and his collection of short stories, ATHLETIC SHORTS. Both were great reads. MILD FRONTIER is very funny and ATHLETIC SHORTS makes me think he should write more short stories. It's hard to do and he does it well. One big plus for me is these shorts have endings. Too many short stories I read don't.

Now I'm reading PINNED, a YA novel by Alfred Martino, a Jersey guy with a Jersey wrestling story. High school wrestling is very, very intense, especially in NJ, where it's high quality competition. Should make for a good story.